The Cameron Can

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What looks to be one of the coolest movies for 2009? James Cameron's Avatar, that's what. You may remember such Cameron films as: The Terminator, Aliens, T2, The Abyss, and the $1.8B grossing monstrosity, Titanic. According to wikipedia, it's about:

Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na'vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture. Avatar is written by Cameron from an idea he nurtured for over a decade. "For me, as a lifelong fan of science fiction and action, 'Avatar' is a dream project. We're creating an entire world, a complete ecosystem of phantasmagorical plants and creatures, and a native people with a rich culture and language. The story is both epic and emotional." It is the story of a wounded ex-marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in bio-diversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival. In December 2006, Cameron described Avatar as "a futuristic tale set on a planet 200 years hence... an old-fashioned jungle adventure with an environmental conscience... [that] aspires to a mythic level of storytelling...

Also interestingly enough, as part of the new developments in the theater industry, we will be watching it in 3D...as most theaters at that time will have digital 3D projection systems (per anticipatory remarks made by James and Fox Entertainment.)

Peter Jackson's WETA effect house will be doing the...effects. Jackson, in case you hate LOTR and never watched the Oscars, and didn't know that his three films swept award nominations and winnings for three years in a row from 2001 to 2003, was the director/producer of one of the most sucessful film franchises (other than Star Wars): The Lord of the Rings.

Is That a Pole in Your Tent?

Hollywood tentpole productions explode on the summertime movie battlefield. In 2007, we'll have a movie version of a cartoon program popular with folks who were around 11 years old in the early-mid 1980s. OK...I was one of those kids, and yes I played with the Transformers. I could never figure out how all the Autobots could fit inside of Jetscream on the cartoons, while the real-world action figures didn't seem to have a shrink feature.



I'm looking forward to seeing the film, yes. The story is basically one where it's man vs. evil man-like machine (Decepticons), where man is assisted by good man-like machines (Autobots). It's one of your basic 7 plots, but not exactly because you have the Autobots helping us defeat the innumerable hoards of Decepticons. Rumsfeld is doing Megatron's voice, while Condi is providing vocals for Starscream. You should fear the merchandising onslaught that will no doubt erupt in tandem with its theatrical release. Every 10 year old boy will want a Soundwave for Hanukah in 2007...ok, maybe just me.

Please note that there doesn't appear to a single triple A actor in the film, as the budget was most likely spent on the effects. OK, they dug up Jon Voight, John Turturro is slumming, and what the hell is Bernie Mac doing in this film? AMERICA! I hope Bernie Mac's character gets to make an Autobot invoke its mechanical har-har unit. No doubt Tyrese is considering this one big step up from his role in Baby Boy. Hopefully a few dollars were spent on making the screenplay halfway decent.

Also coming out this summer:

May 4: Spider-Man 3
(Vegan Spider meets that 70s show actor)

May 18: Shrek the Third
(fur fook's sayke, ee-noof with tha green troll...ack!)

May 25: Pirates of The Caribbean: At World's End
(didn't#2 just come out?! Sheesh!)

June 8: Ocean's Thirteen
(enough already Clooney!)

June 15: Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer
(yes, Jessica Alba is in it)

June 22: Evan Almighty
(Carell: the new Carrey?)

June 29th: Live Free or Die Hard
(next in line is: "Dead Already")

July 4: Transformers
(sweet)

July 13: Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix
(British kids act better than Americans)

July 27: The Simpsons Movie
(mmmm....movie)

August 3: The Bourne Ultimatum
(Damon...the new Shatner)

August 10: Rush Hour 3
(yaaawwwwwwnn)

I'm going to have to go with Netflix on most of these, assuming they don't significantly throttle my rentals.