Avatar so Popular, that other Contenders are Blind Sided (Part 1 of 5)

By John C.

Each day this week, Monday-Friday, I will be profiling two of the ten nominees for Best Picture. They are arranged in the official, alphabetical, order. If all goes as planned, we will be having capsule reviews of the ten titles following the same pattern next week.

Avatar is so much more than just a film. I’m not saying this for the reasons that its millions of fans would be shouting it from the rooftops. No, I’m saying it because this has become a phenomenon.

It’s a very good movie, but its gotten a little out of proportion. Rightfully or wrongfully, practically everyone has seen Avatar, it’s made well over $2 billion, and everyone is talking about it. But why?

First of all, pre-release hype. James Cameron hadn’t directed a film since the Oscar-sweeping Titanic in 1997. Second of all, it’s controversial. Two reasons why this has become the clear front runner come Oscar night.

Avatar is nominated for 9 Oscars.

The Blind Side did not enter this season as an Oscar contender, but it quickly became one. Partially due to its undetermined popularity, heavy advertising from Warner Brothers, and excellent lead performance by Sandra Bullock - the starting point for the films Oscar hopes.

Though it’s not likely to win, this is the contender for the audiences. It’s a clean, classic, feel-good sports movie, and a very good one at that. Both these movies are two of the big reasons why many mainstream audiences will be watching come March 7th.

The Blind Side is nominated for 2 Oscars.

The Art of Avatar: James Cameron’s Epic Adventure - Book Review

Released November 2009

Page count: 108 pages

Size: 12” x 10”

The Art of Avatar: James Cameron’s Epic Adventure

(Text) By Lisa Fitzpatrick

Preface By Peter Jackson

Foreword By Jon Landau

Epilogue By James Cameron

Published By Abrams Books

www.abramsbooks.com

- This review is in a series running this week and next, leading up to the Oscar nominations on Feb. 2nd. The series includes a profile of 8 books relating to past and present films, as well as the filmmaking process. Check out these titles to get a better understanding of what goes into the art of film.

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The Art of Avatar Book Review By John C.

The Art of Avatar is a beautiful visual companion to the film that everyone’s talking about. With full-page concept photos, and descriptions of each of the creatures, this make for a very interesting read, no matter what level of obsession you have for the film.

It’s very interesting to see how the look of all the creatures, including the Na’Vi, has changed to finally become what we see on-screen. It also gives us a very nice insight into the groundbreaking special effects.

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The Art of Avatar Book Review By Erin V.

James Cameron’s Avatar is breaking box office records, and looks to be on it’s way to several Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, this Tuesday morning. Whether or not it deserves to win the grand prize has been debated by many, but the one thing that most can agree on, is that the film is visually stunning and would deserve a design award.

The world of Pandora created for the film is certainly a visual achievement, one that is accentuated in The Art of Avatar. What I really found amazing about the film, was not so much the animation process, nor the 3D, both of which were astounding, but rather, the design process. A fantasy film like this, if not designed properly, will fail. Had the designs for the moon Pandora not been done with such precisional trial and error, I don’t think the film would have succeeded like it did. You see, the story of Avatar in itself is fairly classic in it’s nature - it is for the visuals that we are captivated largely into this world.

The use of colour and translucency here is what really makes it so visually appealing. That, and the creatures and plants in the world are both new and familiar at the same time - another fine balance a film like this must find. As this book shows us the design process from early concept sketches to almost finished computer renderings, we can really come to appreciate what the graphic artists have done for this film. This is definitely a book that anyone into Avatar, or the art and graphic design world, will enjoy immensely.

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To find out more about The Art of Avatar, or other books, visit Abrams Books’ website here.

If it Weren’t for Ties to Titanic, Would it Still be the Talk of the Town?

By John C.

Don’t get me wrong, Avatar is an amazing movie in nearly every aspect. But it’s not the best movie of 2009. I loved it and had a great time watching it, but I also saw other, better movies.

People have deemed the film of being racist, the Vatican’s newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, suggested that it came dangerously close to being “neo-paganism”. It seems for every fan-rave, there’s someone debunking it’s praises.

I get the controversy, I get why people are put-off by the film. If someone told me they didn’t like it, I’d have to say I get why. There are many elements in the film that could, and very rightfully, upset certain groups of people.

But then I also get why people are loving the film. There’s lots to admire, and a great time is sure to be had by the majority of the movie going masses.

The one aspect everyone can agree on? That it looks spectacular. From what I’ve read, nearly everyone agree’s that Avatar is groundbreaking in terms of visual effects. Which it most certainly is. It’s one of the best looking films I’ve ever seen.

When everyone is talking about a film, no matter how good it is, it sometimes just becomes easier to see it’s flaws. But the fans are backlashing against the controversy, and being totally blind to any of the films problems.

It almost just feels like now the Academy will give it the Oscar, because of all the controversy and hype. But Best Picture it is not. There are some elements that could have, and should have, been tweaked to make for an overall, and more evenly, excellent movie.

All controversy aside, Avatar is a far from perfect picture. For all the brilliance of Pandora, for everything that James Cameron thought through, there was an old-school element that just stuck out like a sore thumb.

Some of the dialogue is very cheesy and laughable, especially the fact that the nearly unobtainable mineral is called “Unobtainium”. And really? In 2154, a scientist would be chain-smoking while up in space at a research base containing oxygen tanks? I truly believe that if it does win, in a couple of years people will be laughing at it.

So I guess the bigger question is, if James “Titanic/King of the World” Cameron had not directed Avatar, would it still have been the front runner for Best Picture that it’s ultimately become? Or would it have just been seen as a groundbreaking, incredibly entertaining blockbuster, albeit a very good one.

Like I said, I loved Avatar. At 163 minutes, it never dragged and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It’s just not perfect, and not the best movie I saw last year. Was it one of the best looking movies I’ve ever seen, and incredibly entertaining? Very much so indeed. Just, in my humble opinion, Best Picture it is not.

Neytiri (Zoë Saldana) and Jake (Sam Worthington) make final preparations for an epic battle that will decide the fate of an entire world. - Photo credit: WETA

Avatar Opens Today

One of the most anticipated movies of the year, James Cameron’s Avatar, finally hits theatres everywhere today. We have not forgotten about the film’s release, we were unable to attend the screening, and that’s why our reviews were not published last week.

After attending Avatar Day in Toronto, after hours of trying to get tickets, and witnessing the release of the new trailer with Amelia, I’m anticipating it immensely, and the suspense is killing me right now.

If we catch up with the film this weekend, we will publish our reviews then. If not, we will be profiling the film during awards season. It’s already up for some Golden Globes, and I have a feeling it will be up for some Oscars as well.

-John C.

Exclusive Avatar Clip on Cineplex!

Cineplex now features two scenes and a featurette from Avatar. The first clip is a worldwide exclusive only available through Cineplex, the second is a slightly longer version of the one released on Rotten Tomatoes a few weeks ago. The featurette, which I believe I’ve already seen, is a behind-the-scenes with James Cameron. All three are very much worth watching.

It’s hard to believe that Avatar is opening in just under three weeks. The anticipation is certainly building. I’m hoping it not only lives up to, but surpasses, peoples expectations.

-John C.

New Avatar Featurette

Rotten Tomatoes now hosts an exclusive, new Avatar Featurette. It runs for just under 3 and-a-half-minutes, and shows off some new footage, including a look inside the weaponery. The AMP Suit looks very cool.

MarketSaw also reports that Weta Digital in New Zealand just wrapped post-production on Avatar’s special effects. Avatar is coming very soon, in just under a month.

-John C.

Trailer Watch: "Avatar" Trailer Now Online!

I reported on this awesome new trailer for Avatar after seeing it in theatres last week with Amelia. Yahoo! now exclusively has the online version. While the regular format version doesn’t seem to be working in Canada, you can watch the trailer anywhere by downloading the HD version. This is the one trailer that has gotten me incredibly excited for Avatar.

-John C.

New “Avatar” Trailer!

I attended a screening of Amelia tonight, (reviews coming Friday), and much to my pleasant surprise they showed a brand-new trailer for the hugely-anticipated Avatar. This over 3-minute trailer has gotten me more excited for the film than the original teaser-trailer and 16-minutes of “Avatar Day” footage put together. It explains the story very well for those who don’t already know what it’s about, has a very classy type-font that looks like something right out of a ‘70’s blockbuster, and best of all reminds people of James Cameron’s impressive filmography.

The trailer plays (exclusively?) in theatres starting this Friday with Amelia, and according to MarketSaw 3D (The best online source for all Avatar related news), will be online next Thursday, October 29th. Admittedly, I was slightly let down by the previously released footage, but let me tell you, this awesome trailer alone has gotten me incredibly excited for the film.

-John C.

Report From "Avatar Day" in Toronto

By John C.

I just got back from Avatar Day at the Toronto Scotiabank theatre, where I viewed 16-minutes of specially selected footage from the upcoming film, in IMAX 3D. The turnout was good, and the audience was receptive and seemed to really enjoy the footage.

The footage started with an intro from James Cameron. Then we were treated to six scenes from the film. The first one was a scene where the army general (Stephen Lang) was warning his troops of the dangers of the Na’vi. The second showed Jake (Sam Worthington) getting his brain scanned and “becoming” a Na’vi. The third was Jake getting chased through the jungle by an alien creature. The fourth saw Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) fighting off some creatures that were attacking Jake. The fifth was a sort of night time run through the jungle. The sixth one showed Jake taming a dragon-like creature so that he could ride it.

The CGI animation is amazing, and the 3D effect is excellent. The sense of depth is very believable. The backgrounds are extremely realistic, and the way Pandora glows at night is certainly beautiful. As for the Na’vi and other creatures, they have more of an animated look to them. They aren't exactly as photo realistic as I had heard they would be. The dialogue is not always the most believable, but I don’t think that really matters in this type of film.

I have to say, this will certainly be a great film in terms of special effects. I just hope that it doesn’t turn into too much of a good thing. Especially if the rumoured 3-hour plus running time is true. The fanboys are certainly already sold on this, but the bigger question is, how will this appeal to mainstream audiences? One thing’s for sure, the way to view this film will be in IMAX 3D.

Trailer Watch: Avatar

As you probably know, tomorrow, August 21st, is Avatar day. Today, Apple Movie Trailers has made available the teaser trailer for the film. Here is a direct link to the trailer in 3 HD formats, which I got off of Marketsaw 3D.

480p

720p

1080p

While the look of the Na'vi isn't as realistic as I had heard it would be, nor as beautiful as the posters, the film looks to be filled with spectacular animated action. And the CGI is quite good. I will have to wait and see the footage in IMAX 3D to get the full experience. One thing's for sure, if this film doesn't deliver on every possible level, it could end up being one of the biggest failures in the history of film making. But if it does deliver, it will be a huge leap forward. It's kind of a gutsy move by James Cameron, especially considering the rumored over $300 million budget.

Check back tomorrow night for my report on Avatar day in Toronto.

Have you seen the trailer yet? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.

-John C.