Monday, March 14, 2011

Avatar Review










Avatar


Release Date: 17th December 2009 – Australia


Production Companies
20th Century Fox (presents)
Dune Entertainment (in

association with)
Ingenious Film Partners (in

association with)
Lightstorm Entertainment

Distribution
20th Century Fox Australia


Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: M

Runtime: 162 minutes

                 171 minutes (re-
                 release)
                 178 minutes
                 (extended)


Budget: $237,000,000
               $9,000,000 (re-release)

Box Office Gross: $2,923,706,026 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Jake Sully is an ex-marine bound in a wheelchair because of his war injuries. Sully gets dispatched to the planet of Pandora, where he intends to take over his recently deceased brother's mission to infiltrate the Pandoran natives of the Na'vi people and convince them to move from their home, which is lucrative mining land. With the new technology and despite being a paraplegic, Jake can inhabit an Avatar body resembling the Na'vi, thus disguising himself in their ranks.

He builds a relationship with
Neytiri, a gorgeous Na'vi
female who teaches him
traditional ways. It results
in him changing his heart
and wanting to help the
Na'vi instead of exploiting
their land. In the ensuing
land war, Jake's loyalty
gets tested.


Cast

The Humans
Sam Worthington – Corporal Jake Sully
Stephen Lang – Colonel Miles Quaritch
Sigourney Weaver – Dr. Grace Augustine
Michelle Rodriguez – Trudy Chacon
Giovanni Ribisi – Parker Selfridge
Joel David Moore – Dr. Norm Spellman
Dileep Rao – Dr. Max Patel

Matt Gerald Corporal Lyle Wainfleet
Sean Anthony Moran Private
Fike

The Na'vi
Zoe Saldana – Neytiri

C.C.H. Pounder – Mo'at
Wes Studi – Eytukan
Laz Alonso – Tsu'tey


Crew
Writer/Producer/Director/

Editor – James Cameron
Script Supervisors – Sarah Hinch and Luca Koulmelis
Executive Producer – Laeta Kalogridis
Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager
Colin Wilson
Producer – Jon Landau
Co-Producer – Brooke Benton
Co-Producer/First Assistant Director –
Josh McLaglen
Casting Director – Margery Simkin
Casting: New Zealand – Miranda Rivers
Initial Casting - Mali Finn
Alien Language Creator – Paul R. Frommer
Dialect Coach Carla Meyer
Consultant: Botany Jodie S. Holt
Military Trainer John David Cameron
Production Designers – Rick Carter
and Robert Stromberg
Conceptual Design/Costume and
Specialty Props – Richard Taylor
Concept Illustrators – Dorian Bustamante,
Ryan Church, James Clyne, Barry Howell,
Victor James Martinez, Steven Messing,
Craig Shoji and Daphne Yap
Concept Art Directors  Dylan Cole,
Seth Engstrom and Ben Procter
Designers: Weta Workshop Gus Hunter,
Christian Pearce, Paul Tobin, Greg Broadmore,
Stephen Crowe, Daniel Falconer, Leri Greer
and Nick Keller
Character Design Supervisor: Stan Winston
Studio – John Rosengrant
Key Character Designers Jim Charmatz,
Jason Matthews, Michael Ornelaz,
Joey Orosco, Scott Patton, Joseph C. Pepe
and Christopher Swift
Lead Creature Designer  Neville Page
Initial Creature Concepts – Wayne D. Barlowe
Vehicle Designer – TyRuben Ellingson
Supervising Art Director: Lead/Set Decorator –
Kim Sinclair
Supervising Art Directors – Todd Cherniawsky,
Stefan Dechant and Kevin Ishioka
Supervising Visual Art Director – Yuri Bartoli
Art Directors – Nick Bassett, Robert Bavin,
Simon Bright, Jill Cormack, Sean Haworth,
Andy McLaren and Andrew Menzies
Virtual Environment Supervisor/Animation
Technical Director (Uncredited) Robert C. Powers
Virtual Production Art Directors
Andrew L. Jones and Norman Newberry
Lead Character Sculptor – Jordu Schell
Construction Supervisor Neil Kirkland
Construction Manager Ed Mulholand
On-Set Link Unit Supervisor: Weta Workshop
Rob Gillies
On-Set Props and Weapons Supervisor: Weta
Workshop Joe Dunckley
Props Supervisor/Specialty Weapons: Weta
Workshop John Harvey
Costume Designers – Mayes C. Rubeo
and Deborah Lynn Scott
Costume Designer: New Zealand
John Harding
Costume Supervisors: Los Angeles Live-Action
Unit – Beth Koenigsberg and Lisa Lovaas
Hair/Makeup Supervisor – Rick Findlater
Makeup Department Head: Los Angeles
Live-Action – Mike Smithson
Director of Photography – Mauro Fiore
Director of Photography: Los Angeles
Vince Pace
Camera Operator/Director of Photography:
Second Unit, New Zealand Live-Action Unit
Richard Bluck
Production Manager: New Zealand –
Brigitte Yorke
Second Assistant Director/First Assistant
Director: Additional Unit – Maria Battle-
Campbell
Second Assistant Directors: New Zealand
Live-Action Unit – Richard Matthews
and Stephanie Weststrate
Second Unit Director: New Zealand Live-Action
Unit/Visual Effects Supervisor – Steven Quale
Choreographer: Na'vi Dance – Lula Washington
Movement Coach: Na'vi/Motion Capture
Performer (Uncredited)  Terry Notary
Stunt Coordinator: US – Garrett Warren
Stunt Coordinators: New Zealand Stuart Thorp
and Allan Poppleton
Special Effects – Stan Winston (Uncredited)
Special Effects Coordinator: New Zealand
Live-Action Unit – Steve Ingram
Model Shop Supervisor: Stan Winston Studio
and Legacy Effects – David Merritt
Workshop Supervisor: Weta Workshop –
Gareth McGhie
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor – Joe Letteri
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor: Prime Focus –
Chris Bond
Visual Effects Supervisors – John Bruno and
Jen Hao Yeh
Visual Effects Supervisors: Weta Digital –
Dan Lemmon, Stephen Rosenbaum,
Eric Saindon, Erik Winquist, Wayne Stables,
R. Christopher White and Guy Williams
Visual Effects Supervisors: Framestore –
Jonathan Fawkner and Tim Webber
Visual Effects Supervisor: Spy Post –
Jonathan Rothbart
Visual Effects Supervisor: Lola Visual Effects –
Edson Williams
Visual Effects Producers – Joyce Cox and
Maricel Pagulayan
Visual Effects Producer: ILM – Jill Brooks
Producer: Weta Digital – Eileen Moran
Digital Effects Supervisor – Nolan Mortha
Digital Production Supervisor: ILM –
Michael Di Como
Creative Supervisor: Pixel Liberation Front –
Stephen Lawes
Pre-Production Manager: Weta Digital –
Mara Bryan
Senior Production Managers: Weta Digital –
Kevin L. Sherwood and Annette Wullems
Previs Production Manager: Weta Digital –
Marion Davey
Motion Capture Supervisor: Weta Digital –
Dejan Momcilovic
Performance Capture Supervisor: Giant
Studios – Matt Madden
Virtual Production Conceiver/Visual Effects
Pipeline Engineer (Uncredited) – Robert Legato
Virtual Production Supervisor – Glenn Derry
Virtual Production Manager – Heide Waldbaum
Animation Supervisors – Richard Baneham
and Andrew R. Jones
Animation Supervisor: ILM – Paul Kavanagh
Animation Supervisor: Weta Digital –
David Clayton
CG/Pre-Visualisation Supervisor
(Uncredited) – Brad Alexander
CG Supervisor – Albert Hastings
CG Supervisors: Weta Digital –
Graeme Demmocks, Shadl Almassizadeh,
Simon Clutterbuck, Dan Cox,
Eric Fernandes, Matthias Menz, Keith Miller,
Sergei Nevshupov, Adrian Fernandes,
Allen Hemberger, Mark Tait, Thrain Shadbolt,
Roger Shortt, Mike Perry and Kevin Andrew Smith
CG Supervisors: ILM – Pat Conran,
Philippe Rebours and David Weitzberg
CG Supervisors: Framestore – Andy Lomas,
Andrew Morley, Michael Mullohand and Ben White
Pre-Production CG Supervisor: Weta Digital –
Matt Aitken
Creatures CG Supervisor: Weta Digital –
Dana Peters
Creature Art Director: Weta Digital – Gino Acevedo
Sequence Supervisors: ILM – Jay Cooper,
Tom Fejes, Jen Howard, Tory Mercer,
Mark Nettleton and Robert Weaver
Digital Model Supervisors: ILM – Dave Fogler
and Bruce Holcomb
Facial Team Lead: Weta Digital – Jeff Unay
Massive Supervisor: Weta Digital – Jon Allitt
Shaders Supervisor: Weta Digital – Martin Hill
Head of Layout/Animation Tech: Weta Digital –
Shawn Dunn
Viewpaint Supervisor: ILM – Ron Woodall
Simulcam Supervisor – Casey Schatz
Creature Simulation Supervisor: Weta Digital –
Andrea Merlo
Lead Creature Technical Directors: Weta
Digital – Julian Butler, Glen Christie,
Matthew Muntean and Eric Tang
Roto and Paint Supervisor: ILM – Beth D'Amato
Digital Matte Supervisor: ILM – Richard Bluff
Special Projects Supervisor: Weta Digital –
Mark Sagar
Compositing Supervisor: ILM – Eddie Pasquarello
Editors – John Refoua and Stephen E. Rivkin
Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer/
Re-Recording Mixer – Christopher Boyes
Supervising Sound Editor/Additional Sound
Design – Addison Teague
Supervising Sound Editor – Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
Sound Effects Editors – Ken Fischer,
Shannon Mills, Tim Nielsen and
Christopher Scarabosio
ADR Editors – Richard Hymns,
Stuart McCowan and Steve Slanec
Dialogue Editors – Kim Foscato,
Cheryl Nardi and Marshall Winn
Production Sound Mixers – William B. Kaplan
and James M. Tanenbaum
Production Sound Mixers: New Zealand
Live-Action Unit – Tony Johnson and Davis Lee
Re-Recording Mixers – Gary Summers
and Andy Nelson
Foley Artists – Dennie Thorpe and
Jana Vance
Foley Mixer – Frank Rinella
Music – James Horner
Electronic Music Arranger – Simon Franglen


Awards

2010 Academy Awards
Best Art Direction – Rick Carter,
Robert Stromberg and Kim Sinclair (Won)
Best Cinematography – Mauro Fiore (Won)
Best Visual Effects – Joe Letteri,
Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham
and Andrew R. Jones (Won)
--------------------
Best Director – James Cameron (Nominated)
Best Film Editing – Stephen E. Rivkin,
John Refoua and James Cameron (Nominated)
Best Original Score – James Horner (Nominated)
Best Sound Editing – Christopher Boyes
and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle (Nominated)
Best Sound Mixing – Christopher Boyes,
Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
(Nominated)
Best Picture (Nominated)


Review
AVATAR is an environmental sci-fi movie that premiered towards the end of 2009 and broke all kinds of box office records. Although the plot has borrowed from other films, it
s best feature for me was that it came out in 3D. It is James Cameron's long-awaited return to feature directing after Titanic in 1997. A well-known fact about this movie is that it has been in development since 1994. It was before, in later years, that the visual effects got better with the technological advancements that Cameron required to realise his vision.

The things I praise about the film are its fantasy elements, like the floating islands. The flawless acting by Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Stephen Lang and the Na'vi look realistic due to its groundbreaking motion-capture technology, which blends into this extraordinary alien fantasy world. It even has incredible cinematography and James Horner's brilliant musical score.

It is one of my favourite films but is considered Cameron's best movie since Terminator 2. If you're looking for something enjoyable and breathtaking, you'll be surprised that AVATAR is an unforgettable cinematic experience just for you, even in 3D, when it was this beautiful.

Star rating: 
(5/5) Best Movie Ever

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1 comment:

  1. I thought that your plot summary was concise and did a wonder job of explaining what is invariably a long and complex story. I too enjoyed the 3D elements of the movie and how far they have pushed the technology. I have to admit that I was disappointed by the 2D version. I just found that the colours and the details were no where near as spectacular in the 2D version. Keep blogging!

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