Thursday, 26 January 2012
Braveheart
Braveheart is a 1995 historical drama directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace. Gibson portrays William Wallace, a 13th century Scottish warrior who gained recognition when he came to the forefront of the First War of Scottish Independence by opposing King Edward I of England (portrayed by Patrick McGoohan) who was also known by the nickname "Longshanks".
The film won five Academy Awards at the 68th Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director, and was nominated for an additional five.
Plot
In the 13th century, after several years of political unrest, Scotland is invaded and conquered by King Edward I of England (known as "Longshanks") (Patrick McGoohan). Longshanks summons the defeated Scottish nobles to a meeting, but instead of discussing terms as they were led to expect, he simply hangs them en masse.
Young William Wallace witnesses the treachery of Longshanks, survives the death of his father and brother, and is taken abroad by his uncle where he is educated. Many years later, Longshanks grants his noblemen land and privileges in Scotland, including Primae Noctis, the right of the lord to take a newly married Scottish woman into his bed on the wedding night. When he returns home, Wallace (Mel Gibson), intending to live peacefully, falls in love with his childhood sweetheart Murron MacClannough (Catherine McCormack), and they marry in secret so that she does not have to spend a night in the bed of the English lord.
Their marriage is eventually discovered and when an English soldier tries to rape Murron, Wallace fights off several soldiers and the two attempt to flee. But Murron is captured and publicly executed by the village sheriff, who proclaims "an assault on the King's soldiers is the same as an assault on the King himself." In retribution, Wallace and several villagers slaughter the English garrison and execute the sheriff.
Now compelled to rebel against the English, Wallace's legend spreads and hundreds of Scots from the surrounding clans join him. Wallace leads his army to victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, as well as the sacking of the city of York. All the while, He seeks the assistance of Robert the Bruce (Angus Macfadyen), son of nobleman Robert the Elder, and chief contender for the Scottish crown. Despite his growing admiration for Wallace and his cause, however, Robert is dominated by his father who wishes to secure the throne for his son by submitting to the English.
Worried by the threat of the rebellion, Longshanks sends the wife of his son Edward, the French princess Isabelle (Sophie Marceau) to negotiate with Wallace. In doing this, Longshanks hopes Wallace will kill her, as the French king will declare war on him in revenge. Though Wallace refuses the bribe sent with Isabelle by Longshanks, she becomes enamored with him after meeting him in person.
Meanwhile, Longshanks prepares an army to invade Scotland. Warned of the coming invasion by Isabelle, Wallace implores the Scottish nobility, who are more concerned with their own welfare, that immediate action is needed to counter the threat and take back the country. Personally leading the English army, Longshanks confronts the Scots at the bloody Battle of Falkirk, where noblemen Lochlan and Mornay betray Wallace. The Scots lose the battle, and Wallace is nearly killed when, in a last desperate act, he charges toward the departing Longshanks on horseback to personally kill him. However, he is intercepted by one of the king's lancers, who turns out to be Robert the Bruce. Realizing the Bruce has betrayed him, Wallace simply gives up and is nearly captured by the English. Robert, however, immediately remorseful of his betrayal takes him to safety before he is captured.
Over the next seven years, Wallace goes into hiding, waging a protracted guerilla war on the English. In retribution for their betrayal of him at Falkirk, Wallace brutally murders Mornay and Lochlan. Robert the Bruce, intending to join Wallace and commit troops to the war, sets up a meeting with him in Edinburgh. Unknown to either man, however, Robert's father has conspired with other nobles to capture Wallace and hand him over to the English. Learning of his treachery, the Bruce disowns his father.
In London, Wallace is brought before an English magistrate, tried for high treason and after refusing to acknowledge Longshanks as his king, condemned to public torture and beheading. Following a tryst with Wallace, Isabelle exacts her own revenge on the now terminally ill Longshanks by telling him she is pregnant with another man's child, intent on ending Longshank's line and ruling in his son's place.
Meanwhile, Wallace is taken to the Tower of London, where a crowd has gathered to witness his execution. Despite being half hanged, racked and disemboweled alive, Wallace refuses to submit to the king and beg for mercy. Awed by his courage, the watching Londoners begin to yell for mercy and the magistrate offers him one final chance. Instead, the defiant Wallace uses the last amount of strength in his body to shout, "Freedom!" Just before the axe falls, Wallace sees a vision of Murron in the crowd smiling at him.
In 1314, (nine years after Wallace's death), Robert the Bruce, now Scotland's king and still guilt-ridden over his involvement in Wallace's betrayal, leads a Scottish army before a ceremonial line of English troops on the fields of Bannockburn where he is to formally accept English rule. As he begins to ride toward the English, the Bruce stops and turns back to his troops. Invoking Wallace's memory, he implores them to fight with him as they did with Wallace. He then leads his army into battle against the English, with him and his men chanting Wallace's name as they charge. This surprises the English soldiers, who were not expecting to fight.
The film ends with a voiceover from Gibson, which intones that Scotland won their freedom in this battle.
Sunday, 22 January 2012
scent of a women
Scent of a Woman is a 1992 drama film directed by Martin Brest that tells the story of a preparatory school student who takes a job as an assistant to an irascible, blind, medically retired Army officer. It stars Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Gabrielle Anwar. It is a remake of the Italian movie Profumo di donna (1974), directed by Dino Risi.
The movie was adapted by Bo Goldman from the novel Il buio e il miele (Italian: Darkness and Honey) by Giovanni Arpino and from the 1974 screenplay by Ruggero Maccari and Dino Risi. Goldman originally titled his adaptation "Stench of a Woman", which was met by resistance from the studio. It was directed by Martin Brest.
Al Pacino won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance; the film was nominated for Best Director (lost to Clint Eastwood for Unforgiven), Best Picture (lost to Unforgiven) and Best Adapted Screenplay (lost to Howards End).
The film won three major awards at the Golden Globe Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Motion Picture – Drama.
Portions of the movie were filmed on location at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, the Emma Willard School, an all-girls school in Troy, New York, and at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in New York City.
PLOT
Charlie Simms (Chris O'Donnell) is a student at an exclusive New England prep school. Unlike most of his peers, Charlie was not born to a wealthy family. To pay for a flight home for Christmas, Charlie accepts a temporary job over Thanksgiving weekend looking after a retired Army Ranger Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade (Al Pacino), who Charlie discovers to be a cantankerous blind alcoholic.
Charlie and George Willis, Jr. (Philip Seymour Hoffman), another student at the preparatory school, bear witness to several students setting up a prank for the school's headmaster Trask (James Rebhorn). Following the prank, Trask presses Charlie and George to divulge the names of the perpetrators. When Charlie refuses to talk, Trask offers a bribe, a letter of recommendation that would virtually guarantee his acceptance to Harvard. Charlie continues to remain silent but appears conflicted.
Shortly after Charlie arrives, Slade unexpectedly whisks Charlie off on a trip to New York City. Slade reserves a room at the Waldorf-Astoria. During dinner at an upscale restaurant, Slade glibly states the goals of the trip, which involve enjoying luxurious accommodations in New York before "blowing his brains out". Charlie is taken aback and does not know if Slade is serious.
They pay an uninvited surprise visit to Slade's brother's home for Thanksgiving dinner. Slade is an unpleasant surprise for the family, as he deliberately provokes everyone and the night ends in acrimony.
As they return to New York, Charlie tells Slade about his complications at school. Slade advises Charlie to inform on his classmates and go to Harvard, warning him that Willis will probably be pressured into not maintaining silence. Later at a restaurant, Charlie and Slade observe Donna (Gabrielle Anwar), a beautiful young woman waiting for her date. Although blind, Slade leads Donna in a spectacular tango ("Por una Cabeza") on the dance floor. That night, he hires an escort.
Deeply despondent the next morning, Slade responds to Charlie's suggestion that they test drive a Ferrari. Charlie lets Slade drive the car and Slade begins speeding, attracting the attention of a police officer (Ron Eldard), who Slade manages to appease without giving away his blindness.
When they return to the hotel, Slade sends Charlie out on list of errands. Charlie initially leaves the room but quickly becomes suspicious. Charlie returns to find Slade preparing to commit suicide. Charlie intervenes and attempts to grab Slade's gun. Slade, however, easily overpowers him. After a tense argument, Slade backs down.
The two return to New England. At school, Charlie and Willis are subjected to a formal inquiry in front of the student body and the student/faculty disciplinary committee. As headmaster Trask is opening the proceedings, Slade unexpectedly returns to the school, joining Charlie on the auditorium stage for support. For his defense, Willis has enlisted the help of his wealthy father, and divulges the names of the perpetrators, qualifying that his vision wasn't clear. When pressed for more details, Willis passes the burden to Charlie. Although struggling with his decision, Charlie gives no information, so Trask recommends Charlie's expulsion. At this, Slade cannot contain himself and launches into a passionate speech defending Charlie and questioning the integrity of a system that rewards informing on colleagues. The disciplinary committee decides to place on probation the students named by Willis, and to give Willis neither recognition nor commendation for his testimony. They excuse Charlie from any punishment, to loud applause from the student body.
As Charlie escorts Slade to his limo, a female political science teacher who was part of the disciplinary committee approaches Slade, commending him for his speech. Seeing a spark between them, Charlie tells the teacher that Slade served on President Lyndon Johnson's staff. A romantic prospect is hinted between Slade and the teacher as they part ways.
Charlie takes Slade home, where they part ways. The colonel walks towards his house and greets his niece's young children happily.
Monday, 14 March 2011
Inception
Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) perform an illegal corporate espionage by entering the subconscious minds of their targets, using two-level "dream within a dream" strategies to "extract" valuable information. Each of the "extractors" carries a "totem", a personalized small object whose behavior is unpredictable to anyone except its owner, to determine whether they are in another person's dream. Cobb's totem is a spinning top which perpetually spins in the dream state. Cobb struggles with memories of his dead wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard), who manifests within his dreams and tries to sabotage his efforts.
Cobb is approached by the wealthy Mr. Saito (Ken Watanabe), Cobb's last extraction target, asking him and his team to perform the act of "inception", planting an idea within the person's subconscious mind. Saito wishes to break up the vast energy empire of his competitor, the ailing Maurice Fischer (Pete Postlethwaite), by suggesting this idea to his son Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy) who will inherit the empire when his father dies. Should Cobb succeed, Saito promises to use his influence to clear Cobb of the murder charges for his wife's death, allowing Cobb to re-enter the United States and reunite with his children. Cobb assembles his team: Eames (Tom Hardy), an identity forger; Yusuf (Dileep Rao), a chemist who concocts the powerful sedative needed to stabilize the layers of the shared dream; and Ariadne (Ellen Page), a young student architect tasked with designing the labyrinth of the dream landscapes. Saito insists on joining the team as an observer and to assure the job is completed. While planning the inception, Ariadne learns of the guilt Cobb struggles with from Mal's suicide and his separation from his children when he fled the country as a fugitive.
The job is set into motion when Maurice Fischer dies and his son accompanies his father's body from Sydney to Los Angeles. During the flight, Cobb sedates Fischer, and the team bring him into a three-level shared dream. At each stage, the member of the team who is "creating" the dream remains while the other team members fall asleep within the dream to travel further down into Fischer's subconscious. The dreamers will then ride a synchronized system of "kicks" (a car diving off a bridge, a falling elevator, and a collapsing building) back up the levels to wake up to reality. In the first level, Yusuf's dream of a rainy city, the team successfully abducts Fischer, but the team is attacked by Fischer's militarized subconscious projections, which have been trained to hunt and kill extractors. Saito is mortally wounded during the shoot-out, but due to the strength of Yusuf's sedative, dying in the dream will send them into limbo, a deep subconscious level where they may lose their grip on reality and be trapped indefinitely.
Eames takes the appearance of Fischer's godfather Peter Browning (Tom Berenger) to suggest that he reconsider his opinion of his father's will. Yusuf remains on the first level driving a van through the streets, while the remaining characters enter Arthur's dream, taking place in a corporate hotel. Cobb turns Fischer against Browning and persuades him to join the team as Arthur runs point, and they descend to the third dream level, a snowy mountain fortress dreamed by Eames, which Fischer is told represents Browning's subconscious. Yusuf's evasive driving on the first level manifests as distorted gravity effects on the second and an avalanche on the third.
Saito succumbs to his wounds, and Cobb's projection of Mal sabotages the plan by shooting Fischer dead.[12] Cobb and Ariadne elect to enter limbo to find Fischer and Saito. There, Cobb confronts his projection of Mal, who tries to convince him to stay with her and his kids in limbo. Cobb refuses and confesses that he was responsible for Mal's suicide: to help her escape from limbo during a shared dream experience, he inspired in her the idea that her world wasn't real. Once she had returned to reality, she became convinced that she was still dreaming and needed to die in order to wake up. Through his confession, Cobb attains catharsis and chooses to remain in limbo to search for Saito; Eames defibrillates Fischer to bring him back up to the third-level mountain fortress, where he enters a safe room and discovers and accepts the idea to split up his father's business empire.
Leaving Cobb behind, the team members escape by riding the kicks back up the levels of the dream. Cobb eventually finds an elderly Saito who has been waiting in limbo for decades in dream time (just a few hours in real time), and the two help each other to remember their arrangement. The team awakens on the flight; Saito arranges for Cobb to get through U.S. customs, and he goes home to reunite with his children. Cobb uses his spinning top to test reality but is distracted by his children before he could see the result.
Monday, 20 December 2010
THE GODFATHER
The Godfather
In late summer 1945,[5][6] as the movie opens, Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) hears requests for favors during the Don's daughter Connie's wedding reception, while his adopted son Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) listens. Singer Johnny Fontane (Al Martino), Corleone's godson, asks for help in landing a movie role that will revitalize his flagging career. Hagen is dispatched to California to meet with studio head Jack Woltz (John Marley) to ensure Fontane gets his desired role. After initially refusing to cast Fontane, Woltz caves in when he finds the severed head of his prized racehorse "Khartoum" in his bed as he awakes in the morning.
Upon Hagen's return, the family leadership meets with "The Turk" Virgil Sollozzo (Al Lettieri), who asks Don Corleone to protect the rival Tattaglia family's planned heroin business. Don Vito disapproves of drug trafficking and feels his political influence could be jeopardized, so he rejects the potentially lucrative proposal. He then sends his primary enforcer, Luca Brasi (Lenny Montana), to find out more about Sollozzo's organization, but Brasi is stabbed in the hand by Sollozzo and garroted to death.
Don Corleone is shot five times in the back at a fruit stand in an assassination attempt. Sollozzo abducts Hagen and persuades him to offer Corleone's eldest son, Sonny (James Caan), the deal previously offered to the Don. The youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), whom the other Mafia families consider a "civilian" uninvolved in mob business, averts a second murder attempt at the hospital where his father is being treated, but his jaw is broken by corrupt Irish American police Captain McCluskey (Sterling Hayden). Sonny retaliates by having Don Philip Tattaglia's son, Bruno, killed.
Sollozzo and McCluskey meet with Michael at a local Italian restaurant in an attempt to settle the dispute. Michael pretends he needs to use the bathroom, and following a plan he initiated, retrieves a gun hidden there. Michael returns to the table and kills both Sollozzo and McCluskey. He leaves the country and takes refuge in Sicily, where he soon marries a young local woman named Apollonia Vitelli (Simonetta Stefanelli). The third Corleone brother, Fredo (John Cazale), is sent to Las Vegas where he is sheltered by casino operators the Corleones financially back. Open warfare soon erupts between the Corleones and the other members of the Five Families, while the police and other authorities begin to clamp down on Mafia activity. Don Vito is particularly distressed when he learns of Michael's involvement, since he had planned for Michael to remain uninvolved in the "family business."
Sonny impulsively leaves the guarded family compound to confront Carlo (Gianni Russo) who has been abusing Connie (Talia Shire). Sonny beats Carlo on the street and threatens to kill him if he ever touches Connie again. Later, Carlo beats Connie again, and upon getting her phone call, Sonny leaves the compound again. En route, he is ambushed and killed at a toll booth. Meanwhile, Michael narrowly escapes death in Sicily when his wife is killed by a car bomb.
Don Vito meets with the other Five Family dons and settles their dispute, withdrawing his opposition to the Tattaglia's heroin business. He deduces from the negotiations that the Tattaglias were acting on behalf of the more powerful Don Barzini (Richard Conte). With his safety now guaranteed, Michael returns home. More than a year later, he marries his long time American girlfriend, Kay Adams (Diane Keaton). As his father withdraws from active control of the Corleone family, and as middle brother Fredo is seen as incapable of shouldering the Don's responsibilities, Michael takes control of the family and its business. He promises Kay he will legitimize its businesses within five years.
Biding his time, Michael allows rival families to pressure Corleone enterprises and eat away at their revenues, disturbing several of his caporegimes. He directs them not to retaliate, disclosing plans to move family operations to Nevada while spinning off New York operations to family members who stay behind. Michael chooses Carlo to go to Vegas and replaces Hagen with his father as his consigliere; Vito explains to the upset Hagen that he and Michael have longer-range plans for him and for the family.
Michael travels to Las Vegas, intending to buy out their casino partner, Moe Greene (Alex Rocco). Greene angrily rejects the proposal, deriding the Corleones as a failing organization. Michael is particularly angered when Fredo, under the sway of Greene and his associates, warns his brother that Greene is too important to be treated in that fashion.
Vito Corleone collapses and dies while playing with his young grandson Anthony in his tomato garden. At the burial, caporegime Tessio (Abe Vigoda) arranges a meeting between Michael and Don Barzini, now seen as the dominant figure in the New York families. As Vito had warned Michael, Tessio's involvement signals his shift of allegiance to the Barzini family; the planned meeting is intended to result in Michael's assassination. The meeting is set for the same day as the christening of Connie and Carlo's son, where Michael will stand as his godfather.
As the christening proceeds, Corleone assassins murder each of the dons heading the other New York families and Moe Greene in Las Vegas. After the christening, Tessio learns that Michael is aware of his betrayal, and is taken off to his death. Michael confronts Carlo over his suspected involvement in setting up Sonny's killing, promising him safety. After Carlo confesses, he is escorted to a waiting car and garroted from behind by Clemenza.
Later, Connie, accompanied by Kay, accuses Michael of murdering the vanished Carlo. When Kay confronts him privately, he denies the accusation to her, an answer she appears to accept. As the film ends, Kay sees Michael receiving gestures of respect from other mafiosi, paralleling the treatment given his father, just before the door to his office is closed.
In late summer 1945,[5][6] as the movie opens, Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) hears requests for favors during the Don's daughter Connie's wedding reception, while his adopted son Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) listens. Singer Johnny Fontane (Al Martino), Corleone's godson, asks for help in landing a movie role that will revitalize his flagging career. Hagen is dispatched to California to meet with studio head Jack Woltz (John Marley) to ensure Fontane gets his desired role. After initially refusing to cast Fontane, Woltz caves in when he finds the severed head of his prized racehorse "Khartoum" in his bed as he awakes in the morning.
Upon Hagen's return, the family leadership meets with "The Turk" Virgil Sollozzo (Al Lettieri), who asks Don Corleone to protect the rival Tattaglia family's planned heroin business. Don Vito disapproves of drug trafficking and feels his political influence could be jeopardized, so he rejects the potentially lucrative proposal. He then sends his primary enforcer, Luca Brasi (Lenny Montana), to find out more about Sollozzo's organization, but Brasi is stabbed in the hand by Sollozzo and garroted to death.
Don Corleone is shot five times in the back at a fruit stand in an assassination attempt. Sollozzo abducts Hagen and persuades him to offer Corleone's eldest son, Sonny (James Caan), the deal previously offered to the Don. The youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), whom the other Mafia families consider a "civilian" uninvolved in mob business, averts a second murder attempt at the hospital where his father is being treated, but his jaw is broken by corrupt Irish American police Captain McCluskey (Sterling Hayden). Sonny retaliates by having Don Philip Tattaglia's son, Bruno, killed.
Sollozzo and McCluskey meet with Michael at a local Italian restaurant in an attempt to settle the dispute. Michael pretends he needs to use the bathroom, and following a plan he initiated, retrieves a gun hidden there. Michael returns to the table and kills both Sollozzo and McCluskey. He leaves the country and takes refuge in Sicily, where he soon marries a young local woman named Apollonia Vitelli (Simonetta Stefanelli). The third Corleone brother, Fredo (John Cazale), is sent to Las Vegas where he is sheltered by casino operators the Corleones financially back. Open warfare soon erupts between the Corleones and the other members of the Five Families, while the police and other authorities begin to clamp down on Mafia activity. Don Vito is particularly distressed when he learns of Michael's involvement, since he had planned for Michael to remain uninvolved in the "family business."
Sonny impulsively leaves the guarded family compound to confront Carlo (Gianni Russo) who has been abusing Connie (Talia Shire). Sonny beats Carlo on the street and threatens to kill him if he ever touches Connie again. Later, Carlo beats Connie again, and upon getting her phone call, Sonny leaves the compound again. En route, he is ambushed and killed at a toll booth. Meanwhile, Michael narrowly escapes death in Sicily when his wife is killed by a car bomb.
Don Vito meets with the other Five Family dons and settles their dispute, withdrawing his opposition to the Tattaglia's heroin business. He deduces from the negotiations that the Tattaglias were acting on behalf of the more powerful Don Barzini (Richard Conte). With his safety now guaranteed, Michael returns home. More than a year later, he marries his long time American girlfriend, Kay Adams (Diane Keaton). As his father withdraws from active control of the Corleone family, and as middle brother Fredo is seen as incapable of shouldering the Don's responsibilities, Michael takes control of the family and its business. He promises Kay he will legitimize its businesses within five years.
Biding his time, Michael allows rival families to pressure Corleone enterprises and eat away at their revenues, disturbing several of his caporegimes. He directs them not to retaliate, disclosing plans to move family operations to Nevada while spinning off New York operations to family members who stay behind. Michael chooses Carlo to go to Vegas and replaces Hagen with his father as his consigliere; Vito explains to the upset Hagen that he and Michael have longer-range plans for him and for the family.
Michael travels to Las Vegas, intending to buy out their casino partner, Moe Greene (Alex Rocco). Greene angrily rejects the proposal, deriding the Corleones as a failing organization. Michael is particularly angered when Fredo, under the sway of Greene and his associates, warns his brother that Greene is too important to be treated in that fashion.
Vito Corleone collapses and dies while playing with his young grandson Anthony in his tomato garden. At the burial, caporegime Tessio (Abe Vigoda) arranges a meeting between Michael and Don Barzini, now seen as the dominant figure in the New York families. As Vito had warned Michael, Tessio's involvement signals his shift of allegiance to the Barzini family; the planned meeting is intended to result in Michael's assassination. The meeting is set for the same day as the christening of Connie and Carlo's son, where Michael will stand as his godfather.
As the christening proceeds, Corleone assassins murder each of the dons heading the other New York families and Moe Greene in Las Vegas. After the christening, Tessio learns that Michael is aware of his betrayal, and is taken off to his death. Michael confronts Carlo over his suspected involvement in setting up Sonny's killing, promising him safety. After Carlo confesses, he is escorted to a waiting car and garroted from behind by Clemenza.
Later, Connie, accompanied by Kay, accuses Michael of murdering the vanished Carlo. When Kay confronts him privately, he denies the accusation to her, an answer she appears to accept. As the film ends, Kay sees Michael receiving gestures of respect from other mafiosi, paralleling the treatment given his father, just before the door to his office is closed.
Friday, 5 February 2010
AVATAR
Avatar is a 2009 American science fiction epic film written and directed by James Cameron and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez and Stephen Lang. The film is set in the year 2154, when humans are mining a precious mineral called unobtanium on the lush moon Pandora in the Alpha Centauri star system.[5] The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Na'vi—a sentient humanoid species which is indigenous to Pandora. The film's title refers to the genetically engineered Na'vi bodies used by several human characters to interact with the natives of Pandora.[6]
Development on Avatar began in 1994, when Cameron wrote an 80-page scriptment for the film.[7] Filming was supposed to take place after the completion of Cameron's 1997 film Titanic, for a planned release in 1999,[8] but according to Cameron, the necessary technology was not yet available to portray his vision of the film.[9] Work on the language for the film's extraterrestrial beings began in summer 2005, and Cameron began developing the script and fictional universe in early 2006.[10][11]
Avatar was officially budgeted at $237 million.[2] Other estimates put the cost between $280 million and $310 million for production, and at $150 million for promotion.[12][13][14] The film was released for traditional two-dimensional projection, as well as in 3-D, using the RealD 3D, Dolby 3D, XpanD 3D and IMAX 3D formats. The film was touted as a breakthrough in filmmaking technology, for its development of 3D viewing and stereoscopic filmmaking with cameras that were specially designed for the film's production.[15]
Avatar premiered in London on December 10, 2009, and was released internationally on December 16, and in North America on December 18, to critical acclaim and commercial success.[16][17][18] The film broke several box office records during its release and became the highest-grossing film of all time domestically and worldwide, surpassing Titanic,[19] which had held the records for the previous 12 years. It also became the first film to gross more than $2 billion internationally.[20] Following the film's success, Cameron stated that there will be a sequel.[21] Avatar has been nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.[22]
Plot
In 2154, the RDA corporation is mining Pandora, a lush, Earth-like moon of the planet Polyphemus[23] in the Alpha Centauri star system,[5] for its reserves of a valuable mineral called unobtanium. Pandora's atmosphere is toxic to humans, forcing them to use breathing masks. Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) heads the mining operation, which employs private military contractors for security.
Pandora is inhabited by the Na'vi, a ten-foot-tall blue-skinned species of sapient humanoids,[24] who live in harmony with nature, worshiping a mother goddess called Eywa. To facilitate relations with the Na'vi and research of Pandora's biosphere, scientists grow Na'vi-human hybrids called avatars, controllable via mental link by genetically matching humans.[25] Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic former Marine, replaces his twin brother, a scientist trained as an avatar operator but murdered in a robbery. Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), head of the Avatar Program, considers Sully an inadequate replacement for his brother and assigns him as a bodyguard.
As Grace, anthropologist Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) and Jake collect biological samples and data in the forest in their avatar forms, a thanator's attack separates Jake from the group. Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a female Na'vi, rescues Jake lost in the forest and brings him to Hometree, the habitat for her clan, the Omaticaya. Neytiri's mother Mo'at (C. C. H. Pounder), the clan's spiritual leader, shows interest in the "warrior dreamwalker" and instructs her daughter to teach Jake their ways.
RDA's head of security colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) promises Jake restorative treatment for his paraplegia in exchange for intelligence that would enable RDA to vacate Hometree of the Na'vi and get access to the unobtainium beneath it. As Jake starts delivering information to Quaritch, Grace becomes suspicious and relocates herself, Jake and Norm to a remote outpost with avatar link units. Over three months, Jake grows close to Neytiri and the Omaticaya, eventually rejecting RDA's agenda. After Jake is initiated into the Omaticaya, he and Neytiri choose each other as mates. Jake reveals his change of allegiance when he disables a bulldozer as it destroys the tribe's Tree of Voices. Quaritch presents Selfridge with Jake's video diary, in which Jake admits that the Omaticaya will never abandon Hometree. Selfridge orders Hometree destroyed.
Despite Grace's argument that the destruction of Hometree could affect the bio-botanical neural network that Pandoran organisms are connected to, Selfridge gives Jake and Grace one hour to convince the Na'vi to leave Hometree. Jake reveals his original mission to the Omaticaya, and Neytiri accuses him of betrayal. Jake and Grace's avatars are taken captive. Quaritch's forces destroy Hometree, killing Neytiri's father, the clan chief Eytucan (Wes Studi), and many others. Jake, Grace and Norm are imprisoned for betraying the RDA. Trudy Chacón (Michelle Rodriguez), a security force pilot disgusted with Quaritch's methods, breaks them out, flies them to the outpost and helps relocate it. During the escape Quaritch shoots Grace, seriously wounding her.
To regain the Omaticaya's trust, Jake tames a Toruk, a powerful flying predator that only five Na'vi have ever tamed. Jake finds the Omaticaya at the sacred Tree of Souls and pleads with Mo'at to heal Grace. The clan attempts to transfer Grace from her dying human body into her unconscious avatar with the aid of the Tree, but she succumbs to her injuries before the transfer is complete. Mo'at declares that "she is with Eywa now".
Assisted by Neytiri and the new leader of the Omaticaya Tsu'Tey (Laz Alonso), Jake unites thousands of warriors from many Na'vi clans in a bid to repel the humans. Jake prays to Eywa, via neural connection to the Tree of Souls, to intercede on behalf of the Na'vi in the coming battle. Quaritch notes the mobilization of the Na'vi and convinces Selfridge to authorize a preemptive strike on the Tree of Souls, reckoning that the destruction of this hub of Na'vi religion and culture will demoralize them into submission.
As the security forces attack, the Na'vi retaliate but suffer heavy casualties, including Tsu'Tey and Trudy. The Pandoran wildlife suddenly joins the attack on the corporation's forces, overwhelming them, an event that Neytiri interprets as Eywa answering Jake's prayer. Jake destroys the bomber before it can reach the Tree of Souls. Quaritch finds the avatar link unit where Jake's human body is located and attacks it, exposing Jake to Pandora's atmosphere. Neytiri kills Quaritch and saves Jake. With the attack repelled, Neytiri and Jake reaffirm their love as she sees his human body for the first time.
Selfridge and the remaining corporate personnel are expelled from Pandora, while Jake, Norm, and other scientists are allowed to remain. Jake is seen wearing the insignia of the Omaticaya leader. The clan performs the ritual that permanently transfers Jake from his human body into his Na'vi avatar.
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
INTRO
Hi frens...have create this blog to give more information to all of u out there..all about movies...from old movies to the latest movies...will be blogging next time with a very good movie news..until then bye from me..
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