Written By: Ezequiel Gutierrez<br>
Head Guy<br>
The director of “Titanic”, one of the biggest films of all times, is releasing his follow-up in less then a month. It’s been 12 years since he sank the Titanic. However, the film opening on December 18, 2009 has been in some form of production for over 14 years. When he came up with the idea for “Avatar” the technology wasn’t in place to make the film to his standards. Since then James Cameron has made a series of films you may have heard of. If you haven’t you can watch the trailer for “Avatar” as the list smacks you in the face. This film, like many of his previous entries, will once again set the bar for technology in film. The actual production started about 4 years ago, just a few years after seeing Gollum in “The Two Towers”. It was then he realized that the technology was finally in place to make his vision a reality. “Avatar” will push the boundaries of filmmaking and after its opening, we may have an answer to the question; is 3D a legitimate medium that the average movie-goer is ready to accept?
I have personally seen 16 minutes of the film in IMAX 3D, the true format for which this film was meant to be seen, and after a few minutes of eye rubbing and corneal adjusting, I was left breathless by what I was seeing. Now, I consider myself a huge movie geek, so the technology present in the scene was giving me heart palpitations all on its own. Not since the Lord of the Rings had I seen something so rich in texture and awe-inspiring. Which is just another reason to love this film, James Cameron enlisted the help of “Rings” helmer, Peter Jackson, himself to create the world in which the film takes place. Wouldn’t it be amazing to hear Peter Jackson and James Cameron talk about film? Well, you’re in luck. Below is the link to my 6-part panel video of these titans at this years Comic-Con Visionaries Panel, discussing among other things… “Avatar”
While, I will be the first to tell you that the story itself is not all that original, Cameron has always been a great story-teller and a perfectionist of his vision. That you can’t deny. If you have seen “Ferngully: The Last Rainforest” or “Terra” you’ve seen the basic story: A human man is introduced to non-human life forms in which he had been ordered to destroy their homes for the good of his people. After getting to know the opposite species personally, he is shown that what he has been ordered to do is wrong. He then joins forces with the natives to fight back, becoming a trader to his own people and attempting to win the hearts of the alien people. Again, not totally original, but we have to understand he had that story in his brain 15 years ago, so lets give him a little credit.
Ultimately, the film will come down to how well that story is told, and as always, how much we invest in the characters. Ill be the first to tell you that three of my favorite film characters of all time have been 100% computerized. That may make other film purist upset and hurt the legitimacy of what I’m trying to do. But, at the end of the day, I could give a shit about what other film bloggers might say about it; Peter Jacksons Gollum & King Kong mixed with Verbinski’s Davey Jones are three of the greatest characters in film history. But like James Camerons characters in “Avatar” there is a human performance behind them, a human who is truly acting, albeit with dots all over their faces. Their performances are there up on the screen just like any other actor in any other film. They’ve just put a new skin on them. I just hope he can find the balance that Jackson did on the Rings trilogy. He needs to find that middle ground of superb story telling AND amazing visuals if he is to make back the rumored $500million budget for the film and marketing.
The following videos will help explain what James Camerons “Avatar” film is all about. The more featurettes, images and trailers I see, the more excited I become.
First, tonight, 60 Minutes ran a special with Jim. This is the most in-depth look we’ve seen on the behind the scenes aspect of the film thus far.
Oh, for those keeping track… like I do… “Titanic” is not the most successful film in history like the 60 Minute piece stated. It IS the highest grossing, which is not the same thing. “Paranormal Activity” is actually the most successful film ever. Ok… now we are good!
Next is my favorite “webisode” thus far discussing the human tech in the film
And lastly, I’ll leave you with the films Trailer. Keep in mind you will be able to see all of this in 3D and IMAX 3D. Again, as someone who has seen a few pieces of the film in 3D, I would maybe warn that IMAX 3D may be a tad much for some people. I’ll let you know December 18th as I’ll be in that theater at a midnight screening no doubt.
There, know you know as much as I do about the film. The next time I ask you if you’ve heard about “Avatar” you better have a damn good answer for it, and if you say, I got my ticket, I’ll give you a big wet kiss. Or my avatar will.
The mission: to develop the psychic powers of gifted soldiers to a level so great that they are able to stop a goat’s heart just by staring at it or break up cloud formations by merely wishing it to be so. The objective: to bring peace to the world by mentally disarming hostile armies. The movie: “The Men Who Stare at Goats.”
However, patience finally avails Wilton, and his big break comes in the form of Lynn Cassady, a leading member of a top secret military organization called ‘The New Earth Army’, which focuses on developing the psychic powers of mentally gifted soldiers. Wilton is grateful for the intriguing story, but finds himself unable to believe the grandiose claims to power attested to by Cassady, for the psychic cohort described by Cassady seems less like a group of dedicated geniuses and more like a group of hippie crackpots. The soldiers of the New Earth Army do not conduct scientific experiments on brains or study the psychological makeup of combatants; instead, these men prance with flowers, do yoga, pray to the earth for guidance, and stare at goats.
The way that “The Men Who Stare at Goats” combines the grim nature of warfare with the lighthearted attitude of hippie culture is both funny and clever. However, that this movie is worth more than a grin is due to the work of George Clooney and Jeff Bridges (who plays the founder of the New Earth Army), who fill their respective roles with twice the genius of the characters they play.
