Hollywood highs in Bollywood bazaar

Till a little over a year ago, Hollywood films contributed to merely four to five per cent of box office collections across India. But in 2009, business doubled. Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince, Hangover, X-Men Origins – Wolverine, 2012 and Avatar, to name a few have set the cash registers ringing.

In comparison, apna Bollywood is lagging behind with only Raaz – The Mystery Continues, New York, Love Aaj Kal, Wanted, All The Best, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Paa and 3 Idiots getting the thumbs up at the ticket windows.

One reason for the turnaround could be the second season of the Indian Premiere League followed by the multiplex strike earlier this year, informs Vinod Mirani, managing editor, Box Office India, a weekly trade magazine.

He points out that with big films on hold, small budget Hindi movies and Hollywood films made merry at the ‘plexes. “The demand for English films, including those dubbed in Hindi, has gone up considerably,” he adds. “At one time, there would be only one print for Mumbai and one for Delhi. But recently, Avatar released with over 450 prints and grossed Rs 20 crore in the first week itself.”

Hemant Panchammiya, managing director, E-Square, attributes Hollywood’s success to big banners and marketing strategy. “Only a big film promoted well works,” he reasons. “2012 has done fantastic business all over. Avatar, in comparison, hasn’t cracked with a section of the audience and its business is restricted to 3D screens in the multiplexes. Many English films still don’t get a good chain of cinemas that still give precedence to Bollywood.” According to a trade source, Hollywood distributors aren’t half as aggressive as their Bollywood counterparts and go with whichever theatres and show timings they get. Panchammiya agrees, “Hollywood continues to have a niche audience in limited pockets. For it to extend its reach, it will have to go digital. That will also combat the menace of piracy.”

Devang Sampat, vice-president, Cinemax, argues that there’s no competition per se from Hollywood. “If a Hangover packed in full houses during the weekends, it was largely due to the lesser number of shows as compared to a Kambakkht Ishq that was playing as many as 28 shows at our multiplex daily. More occupancy doesn’t necessarily mean more numbers. Collections for such films are still largely under 10 per cent of the national gross figures,” he asserts. But Shyam Shroff of Shringar Films is optimistic that the future is bright for the western imports. “With good theatres are coming up across the country, there’s a growing market for such films. People in smaller towns have developed a taste for good action and a gripping storyline,” he says. Vishek Chauhan, owner of Roopbani theatre in Purnia, Bihar, endorses Shroff’s opinion: “Though it’s not doing as well as 2012, Avatar has found a market in territories like Bihar, UP and Bengal and is working better than some of our so-called Bollywood biggies. Five years ago, audiences here didn’t care for James Bond but the last Bond movie, Casino Royale, found plenty of takers. And Twilight drew full houses for the first three days even though people in Bihar don’t understand the concept of vampires and werewolves.” Mirani attributes the success of these Hollywood films to the hype it generated in the media. “Television has created more awareness of the world around us. Even parents in small towns want to send their children to English medium schools and somewhere, that has contributed to the growth of an audience for Hollywood movies,” he elaborates.

Chauhan agrees, “Distributors were offering Minimum Guarantee for 2012 at a time when most Hindi movies didn’t get MG. I’ve already started getting enquiries for Spiderman 4 and the next Iron Man movie. In the coming years, I see Hollywood emerging as a strong competitor for Bollywood. Romances and arty films like Inglourious Basterds won’t pull in the crowds though. It’ll be the disaster and superhero flicks with exciting visual effects that will hit bukll’s eye. Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible series will, any day, work better than a Valkyrie.”

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Cinema rolls big-budget dice on 3-D

After months of anticipation – and a rumoured $300-million (U.S.) – the lithe, glittering blue creatures of James Cameron's Avatar will finally take over the silver screen.

It took a director of Mr. Cameron's clout to raise the money to construct the lush world of his newest, most extravagant epic, which opens in theatres this weekend.

But the entertainment industry is also hoping he'll be able to deliver not just a box-office winner but a significant boost to a burgeoning movie trend: 3-D.

Avatar is not the first major release to bank on the growing popularity of 3-D technology. Releases like Up and Ice Age capitalized on its appeal with younger audiences. Jeffrey Katzenberg, the chief executive officer of DreamWorks SKG, which made such kids' hits as Shrek and Kung Fu Panda , is so convinced of the marketability of 3-D for children's movies that he said last year his studio's future animation releases would all be in 3-D.

But with Avatar , Mr. Cameron hopes to elevate the technology beyond family fare and the occasional horror movie and bring it to the mainstream. The Canadian director has sent a message: 3-D is not a niche technology, it's the future of film.

Mr. Cameron and his backers have bet a lot on this claim. If the rumoured price tag is accurate, Avatar is the most expensive movie ever made. Theatres have been spending too, ramping up their capacity to show 3-D movies in preparation for Mr. Cameron's latest behemoth and in response to the growing number of releases the industry has already been rolling out. That's a major investment by the theatres, and a big bet on 3-D production as a way to counter increased competition from the Internet and other sources.

To show 3-D movies, those theatres need digital screens. Canada's dominant theatre chain, Cineplex, has installed 190 digital screens so far; 149 of those are equipped for 3-D showings. It's a small number compared to the 1,329 screens Cineplex owns across the country, but this year alone, the company has tripled the number of 3-D screens, and there is at least one 3-D screen at nearly 70 per cent of its locations.

There's also a major payout. This has been a record year for attendance, said Pat Marshall of Cineplex Entertainment LP. In the third quarter of 2009, box office revenue reached $155.9-million at parent Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund, (CGX.UN-T18.000.201.12%) the highest quarterly revenue since its inception.

The more customers Cineplex can draw into its 3-D theatres, the better. The chain charges $3 more per ticket over the regular two-dimensional offerings. A movie like Avatar, which is tailored specifically for 3-D, could be a big windfall for the chain if viewers are willing to pay more for the full experience.

“The reviews have all been very, very positive. This is the sort of movie that's just going to continue to build over time,” Ms. Marshall said. “So I think you'll see good numbers coming out of the opening, but you'll continue to see really good numbers over the next several weeks – which is a little more atypical for the way movies traditionally open.”

The TV industry is also trying to latch on to the momentum Avatar could generate for the industry. On Wednesday, just ahead of opening weekend, Sony Corp. announced an agreement to license some of the 3-D technology and equipment made by RealD, which provides the 3-D systems for Cineplex and in most other movie theatres.

It's easy to see why a 3-D expansion in theatres would trickle down to the TV business: a typical movie takes in only about 20 per cent of its revenue at the box office while consumers purchasing DVDs to bring that movie home can account for as much as 65 per cent.

Those revenues will give studios a compelling reason to push their 3-D releases on DVD. If consumers follow suit, TV manufacturers will need to make their products compatible with the trend, or be left behind. Sony had already announced it wanted to put 3-D systems on its popular PlayStation game console and the Bravia TV. This week's deal takes the company one step closer – with the possible bonus of enticing some consumers to upgrade their home theatre systems.

The LCD panel on Sony's Bravia television “will work in sync with new 3-D eyewear based on RealD's technology,” said Sony executive Hiroshi Yoshioka in a statement. “We are excited to work with RealD in bringing 3-D to the home.”

It will be a while before viewers can bring Avatar home. Industry executives are hoping for a long run in theatres. How long the excitement lasts will help to show how big the audience is for 3-D movies among teens and adults. It will most likely also determine if studios invest more in making films that use the technology to tell stories – or if it's a novelty that works for animated romps and slasher flicks, and not much else.

If the conversations that Cineplex CEO Ellis Jacob has been having with the players in Hollywood are any indication, the pocketbooks are already out, Ms. Marshall said. “There are a lot of industry folks looking at this film and looking to see what they should be doing in the 3-D genre moving forward. I would imagine it will only continue to grow.”

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Bambi meets Alien in a failure of nerve

AMONG its vast ambitions, Avatar is partly about colour. It is James Cameron's first movie since Titanic went down 12 years ago, so you can bet he has a lot to say, but the primary directive might be to make a film so beautiful in its use of colour that it restores our faith in movies.

He wants us all to emerge thinking ''I've never seen that before''. He's trying both to invent new technologies and tame them as he goes - avoiding the George Lucas syndrome, where the technology swamped the stories in the later Star Wars movies.

Cameron has made Avatar in 3D because he wants to show the future of action cinema. Along with colour, he wants depth, so that the experience is enveloping. Fifty years ago, 3D was a new way to achieve cheesy thrills - the spear was coming right at you. Avatar has few of these directional gags. It is now possible to make movies that feel as if you have a virtual-reality module on your head. Sound and vision come from all around - almost (even in 3D, the screen still has a limit).

That does mean that Avatar is an overwhelming sensory experience. The colours are extraordinary, the depth breathtaking. More important, the range of emotions in the CG characters is more subtle and surprising than has been possible. The only limit is Cameron's imagination, which is fertile but finite. He seems incapable of really challenging the audience, in case they won't part with their 20 bucks. He wants to be Kubrick but he hasn't the cojones.

Sam Worthington gives a strong performance - unlike some of his co-stars - as Jake Sully, an ex-marine. He is sent to the verdant planet Pandora with a mining team from Earth, almost 150 years in the future. The trees here can reach a kilometre into the sky; the landscape is like a Chinese painting - all mountains and rivers, mist and pinnacles. Beneath are deposits of ''unobtainium'', that old sci-fi term for some fabulous material we don't have.

The problem is the forest is inhabited by stubborn indigenes, the Na'vi. They are twice our size, lithe and gorgeous with blue skin, a tail and ears that twitch as they talk. They don't like us knocking down their forests. The mining trucks return with arrows in their tyres. Pandora's atmosphere is poisonous to humans, so the miners have developed a hybrid life form to try to pacify the Na'vi.
These avatars - grown from a mixture of human and Na'vi DNA - must be ''driven'' by a human in a state of deep sleep. Sigourney Weaver plays Dr Augustine, the chain-smoking scientist running the avatar program, and Sully is her newest driver.

Secretly, he is also reporting to Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) the military head, who wants to know about the Na'vi's weaknesses, so he can blast them out like they used to do with the ''gooks''.

Jake's early scenes in the forest are magical. In the body of his avatar, he marvels at the giant orange-glowing spiral ferns, the iridescent blue plants, the purple birds that look like flamingoes with teeth. He has a face-off with a hammerhead elephant that has two sets of eyes, and is chased by the ravening dogs of night. He is rescued by a beautiful Na'vi woman warrior, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), who introduces him to the tribe. Visiting this 3D Garden of Eden is lovely; it's like a forest painted by Van Gogh or Gauguin, or the bastard child of Salvador Dali. But is it fascinating surrealism or just overblown design - a big technicolour yawn?

The key point in any science-fiction story is not to cross the line of ridiculousness, which is to say it must retain a hold on our emotions. That point is different for everyone, but some people reached it early at the preview screening. Some will go with the film's overall message about conserving our forests; others will collapse into giggles at the sometimes strained and campy world of forest nymphs battling a military commander straight from a GI Joe comic. If the first part is all idyllic and Amazonian, the second half is all army and Armageddon.

For all his command of the dynamics of action, Cameron has a conventional sense of story, a desire to keep us comfortable. His script is numbingly derivative. Its execution may be glorious, taking us no place we've ever been, but the story takes us every place we've ever been. The sources include the adventure stories of H. Rider Haggard and James Fenimore Cooper, particularly The Last of The Mohicans; the Disney cartoon utopias of Pocahontas and Bambi; the dystopian space worlds of the Aliens series that Cameron helped to create; the internal narrative intimacy of films such as Apocalypse Now and Dances with Wolves, where the narrator is a lonely soldier far from home. If Cameron were more prepared to challenge our expectations, Avatar might have been what he intended. Instead, it's a beautiful folly, a technical wonder that represents a failure of nerve.

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Family movie review - The Princess and the Frog

Took the kids to see Disney’s latest release, "The Princess and the Frog," this weekend and all of us — Dad, Mom, the kindergartner and the toddler — gave it two webbed thumbs up.

The story, of course, is a retelling of the fairy tale in which a prince is turned into a frog and can’t be released from the enchantment until he is kissed by a princess. Disney cranks up the fun factor by setting the story in 1920s New Orleans watch for references to Packard cars, flapper fashion, Art Deco and, of course, to jazz. (Randy Newman composed the music.)

While the prince is genuine, our heroine, Tiana — who makes history as Disney’s first black princess — is not royalty at all but the daughter of a laborer and a seamstress. She grows into a waitress who cheerfully takes on two jobs to save money toward her dream of opening a restaurant. At a costume ball, she’s mistaken for a princess, a plot twist that becomes key to the ending.

Here’s how our family rated the film: Dad: He joked afterward, “Is Disney doing what FEMA couldn’t?” At times, the film could be an ad for the New Orleans visitors bureau. My husband particularly enjoyed the voodoo subplot. But he noted that Disney just seems unable to wean itself completely off cultural stereotypes the caricaturing was especially notable in the Cajun bayou characters.

Mom: I was thrilled to see that, unlike so many other Disney moms, Tiana’s mother not only survives the plot but also gets to savor her daughter’s happy ending. (To which my husband countered, “Yeah, they killed off the dad instead.”)

There’s some violent slapstick involving the Cajun bayou characters, but it’s over pretty quickly. The film’s probably a bit young for anyone who’s already a fan of Hannah Montana or “High School Musical.” Kindergartner: He's sensitive to scary scenes and characters, but he loved the voodoo doctor known as Shadow Man and the sinister spirit sidekicks. He laughed out loud at the Cajuns’ slapstick.

Toddler: He got restless in the last 10 minutes the film runs 97 minutes but otherwise sat raptly. When asked what his favorite part was, he replied, “The pirates,” meaning the Cajuns.
If you’ve seen “The Princess and the Frog,” what did your family think?

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Best classic Christmas movies ever!

Much like my update on best Christmas albums and songs, here's a revamp of my annual take on the best classic Christmas movies. I say "classic" Christmas movies because there's no "Elf" on there and no "Polar Express" or tons of other more modern entries that might, in time, make this list.

I'm not really concerned about them since the primary function of this list is nostalgia. Say what you will, but most people who love Christmas are trying to re-enact or reconnect with a feeling they had at some time in their life about Christmas. People with kids are often trying to start new traditions - particularly if they didn't have them when they were younger or if those, uh, "traditions" were lame or painful.

There's nothing wrong with seeking happiness in the holidays. Here's hoping you find it. And here's the revamped post: I'm a sucker for Christmas. And not a Cranky Christmas, either, though I do love Grinch as much as Rudolph. Christmas is my favorite holiday. I have no interest whatsoever in anyone's rant about the merchandising of Christmas or the War on Christmas or who's birthday it is or how expensive the trees are, the greed, the loneliness, the religion or the sorrowful parts of it. Not interested.

Those are your issues. If it makes you feel any better (and I live on the Berkeley border, so I know this all too well), then yes, there is charitable giving involved. Sometimes even candle lighting and chats with The God (or Eastern Religious Figure) Of My Choice regarding the less fortunate. But I grew up with a crappy fake Christmas tree with not a whole lot under it so you'll just have to get off the cross (we need the wood) over the fact that I like 9-foot Christmas trees and an unholy amount of presents. Beyond all of that, it wouldn't be Christmas in my house without watching, almost endlessly, a ton of Christmas movies and specials (on DVD of course - who wants to watch commercials about what to buy for Christmas? As a consumer, I have an updated list of Things I Want on my iPhone at all times. I don't need ads to guide me.) Those DVDs get watched and rewatched right up until Christmas Day, then they are restocked on the shelf, never to be seen again until Dec. 1.

Hit the link for more::

1. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." It's what I loved as a kid. It's always the leadoff hitter for me come December. Once you get past the nostalgia, however, there's some pretty funny elements. Like the fact that Santa and Donner are total jerks. And every time Santa talks, he sounds - to my mind - like Bill Walton. Still, there's more than enough here to enthrall, from Yukon Cornelius to Hermey and the Abominable Snowman's crazy eyes.

2. "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas." Brilliant. You've got the Boris Karloff element, the great songs, the weirdly enchanting Dr. Suess rhymes - the roast beast. And unlike "Rudolph" it comes in a tidy half hour package that promotes repeated viewings.

3. "It's A Wonderful Life." Yeah, I know. And I don't care. It's a killer for me. Even though the emotional manipulation is transparent, it fells me every time. That said, one of my favorite parts is when George loses his mind with anger. The house, the kids, the incessant piano playing. Too funny.

4. "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Note perfect. Charles Schulz sold the country some real melancholia here. And it's delicious. Charlie Brown being bummed about the commercialization of Christmas. Linus understanding the real meaning. Snoopy going insane with the lights and glitter. Sally's classic letter to Santa that includes the line "just send tens and twenties...All I want is what I have coming to me. All I want is my fair share." Add in the Vince Guaraldi soundtrack and this is a gem never to be topped.

5. "The Year Without A Santa Claus." Heat Miser. That's all you need to know. Snow Miser, too. Oh, and a bunch of other weird Rankin/Bass stuff.

6. "A Christmas Story." It's so hard to make a modern classic - it needs to stand up through time and overcome our youthful memories to even secure a place. This 1983 film did just that. Jean Shepherd knew how to place modern snark and the onrush of oddball families and their failures (hey, Christmas is hard) against hope, joy and true belief. Break out the Red Ryder and take a shot at happiness.

7. "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town." One word: Sombertown. OK, two words: "Burgermeister Meisterburger." Let's burn some toys in Sombertown!

8. "Olive, the Other Reindeer." Huge fan of San Francisco's own J. Otto Siebold. And when this came out in 1999, it had a twisted sense of humor to back up the cool graphics and more than enough sweetness (via Drew Barrymore - making up for the meanness of Old Man Potter, no doubt) to make it Christmasy. Gotta like a character named Martini, too. (Martini: "How'd you get away?" Olive: "It's kind of hard to explain. Have you heard of deus ex machina?")

9. "Robbie the Reindeer" (Hooves of Fire/Legend of the Lost Tribe). Deliciously weird and modern. Along with "Olive, the Other Reindeer" it contends as a contemporary classic (emphasis on strange, of course).

I'm going to leave the 10th spot open so I can change my mind, make additions, etc. I will say that I'm quite fond of the Penguins from "Madagascar" and their little Christmas ditty that comes with the movie. Same goes for the brilliant "Creature Comforts: Merry Christmas, Everybody" from Nick Park and Aardman studios. (Love how "The Great British Public" is listed as the stars...).

The rest? Well, let's just say that Rankin/Bass never let an opportunity to cash in on the next potential "classic" evade them and there's a lot of dreck out there. I know my daughter once liked "Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey" but it never gets me. And I loathe the stupidity (but admire the kitchen-sink greed) of "Rudolph's Shiny New Year," which may be the single worst Christmastime movie ever.

I'm told that at some point I may have liked "Frosty the Snowman," but no more (I prefer the stop-motion animation), and certainly not "Frosty Returns." I keep avoiding "The Little Drummer Boy" though it's on the DVDs I've got. What I've learned from sorting through the dreck is that classics are still classic and spin-offs, revisions, updates and sequels of any kind are woeful. Having said that, I can't remember much about "It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown," so I'll have to pop that in for an update.

And yes I love the cable marathon of "A Christmas Story" and the legacy of the televised yule log. Any number (or all) of these will guide me into the New Year.

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G-Force DVD Review

Versatility and originality are two things with which Jerry Bruckheimer isn't often credited. The mega-producer's filmography is heavy on sequels and derivative works, especially in the past 15 years he's spent almost exclusively at the Walt Disney Company.

But, in 2009, as franchises continued to dominate the box office, Bruckheimer actually released two very different non-sequels, neither of which comfortably fit into the high-octane spectacle genre he usually calls home. First came Confessions of a Shopaholic, a small chick-lit-adapted Touchstone chick flick that garnered little notice. Then summer brought G-Force, a bigger film with some of the year's smallest stars.

G-Force centers on a team of four highly-trained, high-tech commandoes working for the United States government. There is Darwin the brave leader (Sam Rockwell), Blaster the wisecracking goofball (Tracy Morgan), Juarez the feisty Latina (Penelope Cruz), and goggled tech guy Speckles (Nicolas Cage). Oh, did I mention that they're guinea pigs? They all are, except for Speckles, who's a mole! The talking critters are part of an experimental animal communication unit headed by a nice scientist named Ben Kendall (Zach Galifianakis).

When the film opens, the rodents, mammal, and their ally Mooch the fly (Dee Bradley Baker) are hard and stealthily at work to uncover the secret plans of rich, influential entrepreneur Leonard Saber (Bill Nighy). To an excited audience, Saber announces that all of the company's existing household appliances have been covertly fitted with computer chips. When activated, the devices will be able to connect, communicate, and revolutionize the way we live.

Casually adopting the name G-Force, the tiny spies try to steal Saber's encrypted data and assess the true threat of the unmanned weapons initiative that's apparently only posing as a commercial enterprise. Doing so without a warrant and proper authorization, however, the guinea pigs invite heat on Ben's department from the FBI, particularly skeptical special agent Kip Killian (Will Arnett).

On the run from the law, the fearless foursome winds up in a Los Angeles pet shop. There, they encounter boorish guinea pig Hurley (Jon Favreau), who haphazardly becomes a part of the mission. The gang is divided when Blaster and Juarez are purchased by a couple of unthoughtful kids. Can they reunite, ward off the feds, and prevent the impending Clusterstorm launch that just might bring global extermination? For the answers to these questions, you'll have to see this movie.

Though marketed partly as a comedy, G-Force is as packed with action as just about any Jerry Bruckheimer film. Chases, gadgetry, and explosions are all supplied in abundance. In assuming the perspective of computer-animated rodents, the humor skews younger, the action tamer, and the colors more natural. But this isn't otherwise a far cry from the Bruckheimer oeuvre, delivering fast pacing, visceral emphasis, and snuck-in character development. Were our leads humans instead of animals, this may have qualified as competent popcorn entertainment. That they're not applies a thick coat of stupidity to the proceedings, one that teens and adults are much more likely to mind than the kids primarily targeted.

The movie plays out fairly seriously, finding more time for peril and suspense than lingering on the goofy driving conceit. One obvious drawback lays in the design; as commercials enforced, G-Force was tailor-made for 3-D theatrical exhibition, Disney/Bruckheimer's amusing first live-actionish selection for such treatment. Watching it on DVD, viewers will notice the ongoing obsession with objects moving towards them. However, with no 3-D option offered, they'll miss the payoff, which must have been significant (at least in theory) based on the way the film serves up such illusions with nearly the regularity of gimmick-based theme park attractions like Honey, I Shrunk the Audience and Muppet*Vision 3D. That technique will limit the movie's value long after the industry's current 3-D fascination wears off, even if TV technology can recreate the polarized theatrical experience and consumers genuinely care.

Beyond that, G-Force plays out about as predictably and comfortably as any big commercial family film. There are a slew of one-liners for kids ("Poop in his hand! Poop in his hand!") and adults ("Yippie-ki-yay, coffeemaker!") alike. There are brief snippets of songs in today's pop electronic hip-hop stylings clearly selected for the mutually beneficial exposure of music videos (surprisingly, a soundtrack wasn't even made to download).

The live actors -- hip comedians like Galifianakis, Arnett, Nighy, and Loudon Wainwright III -- are merely there to attract fans who would otherwise stay far away. It may be excessive to consider such performers neutered here, but they aren't even asked to be funny. Galifianakis, the most entertaining thing about one of the year's most entertaining movies (The Hangover), manages to mildly amuse in one throwaway gag. He's more readily utilized to elicit sympathy and decency as the chubby hero who believes in the chatty creatures.

G-Force marks the feature directorial debut of veteran visual effects artist Hoyt H. Yeatman, Jr., who also receives story credit with fellow effects man David P.I. James. (Husband-wife National Treasure scribes Cormac and Marianne Wibberley are billed for the screenplay.) It's an inauspicious first for Yeatman, who won an Oscar for his work on James Cameron's The Abyss and has supervised VFX on a number of Bruckheimer's adult-oriented action flicks. Disney fans might be interested to know that the company bought Yeatman's effects house Dream Quest in the mid-1990s and turned it into The Secret Lab, the ambitious unit that worked on Dinosaur and was closed two years later. With the dream of a Disney visual effects company never again realized, the fine character animation on G-Force is the work of Sony Pictures Imageworks.

With a domestic gross of nearly $120 million and an over-$200 M worldwide tally, G-Force would appear to be one of Disney's bigger hits of all-time. In fact, though, those numbers only narrowly cleared the film's $150 M production budget and no doubt kept the film in deficit when the hefty marketing costs are considered. (By comparison, Alvin and the Chipmunks cost less than half and earned nearly double.) Based on those results, I would guess there is as much chance of a G-Force sequel as there is of Touchstone making more Shopaholic movies.

But don't worry about Bruckheimer or Disney's faith in him. There's sequel potential in each of next summer's live-action tentpoles (especially Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time), a third National Treasure and fourth Pirates of the Caribbean adventure are planned for 2011, and beyond that, there is The Lone Ranger to star Johnny Depp as Tonto.

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Opening Pandora's box

Eleven years ago James Cameron's Titanic premiered in China and was the country's highest-grossing film, until Transformers 2 this summer. Now, a month before his 3-D extravaganza Avatar debuts in theaters here, the director is talking up his latest creation.

"The Chinese economy is growing so rapidly (and) is beginning to face the same problems that we've had in America and Europe, such as the degradation of our natural environment and resources," says Cameron in a telephone interview.

"I think that for anybody that loves nature, for anybody that feels that their life is being changed by living in a technological society or civilization, Avatar has something to say. "The theme is going to have relevance for Chinese people the same way it has in all the places that is dealing with this issue about industrialization."

In the $230 million fantasy film, Cameron creates a new alien world named Pandora, where Avatars, or hybrid creatures that are a mix of the DNA of humans and the local species Na'vi, fight with pure Na'vi - tall, blue aliens - for a precious mineral on the planet.

Cameron's other smash hit, The Terminator, is widely known as being inspired by a feverish dream in 1981, in which he saw a chrome, metallic and skeletal robot came out of a fire. Avatar, he says, was inspired by all his dreams. "I call it my dream project, or pinch-me project. It pinches me and lets me know I am actually awake now," he says.

Cameron, whose parents were an electrical engineer and an artist, was keen on futurology even as a kid. He read science fiction during the day and painted the subjects at night. The University of Toronto dropout did various jobs, such as truck driver and machinist, while writing and illustrating science fiction stories. In 1977 he decided to start his film career after seeing Star Wars, which stunned him and made him obsessed about how George Lucas had done it.

"For me, Avatar is the opportunity to do the kind of movie I've always dreamed of making, in which you create an environment, plants, landscapes and creatures," he says. "I guess I've been working toward it for all this time."To make the flick, which according to Wired Magazine could change the way people watch films, Cameron has worked hard in the 12 years since making Titanic, even though he directed no feature films.

He partnered underwater camera specialist Vincent Pace and deep-sea explorer Andrew Wight to make four documentaries on the deep ocean, two in 3-D, while perfecting what he visions as "the holy grail of cameras" - a high-definition rig that is maneuverable, digital, high-resolution, 3-D and will not give viewers a headache.

He let other directors, such as Robert Rodriguez, test his system to demonstrate demand for more 3-D movies, while talking directly to theater owners to persuade them digital 3-D is the new trend in cinema and they should invest in new-generation projection systems right away.

In 2002, when Peter Jackson's Weta Digital in New Zealand created the stunningly believable computer-generated character Gollum in The Lord of the Rings films, Cameron found the special effects technology was ready, too.

After four years of production, Avatar turned from being an idea in his mind for 15 years to be the first action movie shot entirely in digital 3-D. The characters and objects appear to leap from the screen. Around two-thirds of the film is computer-generated, one-third real. Cameron deliberately blurs the distinction between the two so it is hard to tell where reality ends and fantasy begins. The film features more than 3,000 effects shots, and Cameron has redone many of them up to 20 times.

"We have accomplished a lot," he says. "We figured out how to create a photo-realistic world, plants and characters. But what we didn't figure out is how to do it faster, so my next goal is to figure out how to do a film like Avatar, maybe in two years instead of four." Known as a genius for the way he seamlessly combines technology and storyline, Cameron is alert to the epic's emotional appeal.

The hero Jake Sully, an Avatar played by Sam Worthington, falls in love with Neytiri, a Na'vi princess played by Zoe Saldana. Their emotional bond, as Cameron elaborates, is at the center of the film. "I learned the lesson on The Terminator 2 that if a movie doesn't have heart, doesn't make you feel the emotion, it has no purpose," he says.

"The film is a little bit overwhelming from a technical stand point, but I think the audience cares more about what they see on the screen, they care about the people, the relationship." In Titanic, Cameron found the balance between technology and emotion was one of the biggest challenges for a filmmaker. Fortunately he made it, by putting the visual effects, giant sets and thousands of actors, in balance with small intimate moments, to make the film really resonate for the audience.

"You will see the same balance and blend in Avatar," he promises. "It costs a million dollars a minute to do computer-generated characters in Avatar, so it's a very difficult thing to stop for those extra few seconds, the extra bit of time to let the characters have an intimate moment together, maybe just a look, a glimpse, or just a line of dialogue, but you have to do it, that's really critical."

In a time when blockbusters need to be "pre-sold", by comic books (Batman), bestsellers (Harry Potter) or toys (Transformers), Avatar does not have these advantages and is a brand new thing to audiences, globally and in China alike. Yet Cameron, who proclaimed, "I am the king of the world", at the 1998 Academy Award ceremony, which he swept with 11 wins, sees it as a legitimate concern.

"It is not a limitation that I ever believed in because Titanic was not pre-sold, True Lies was not pre-sold, and when I made the first Terminator film, nobody ever heard of that," he says. "I don't think Hollywood should accept that limitation, Hollywood should have the courage to make films. I am sure in the Chinese film industry you have the same issue. People need to have the courage to make new things, even at a blockbuster level of budget."

Blockbusters with a mega budget have become a norm for Cameron. The 55-year-old earned a record $1.8 billion globally for Titanic, which cost $200 million, at the time the most expensive film ever made. When he made The Abyss in 1989, it was also dubbed the most expensive movie ever made, though that was not true. The Terminator 2 was also the most expensive movie made, at the time.

"I do like to make big, expensive and visually spectacular films," he says. "I think the way people should look at this is, you spend the same amount for a ticket, no matter what the movie costs. So if a film costs more and brings more pleasure, more visual enjoyment, more spectacle, that's the best entertainment bargain you can get. As long as my films make money, people should feel good about what they cost." The film is expected for a theatrical release on Dec 18 in North America and around Jan 2 in China, in both 2-D and 3-D.

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Movie Review - Old Dogs

Millions of years from now, when humans have left this planet for a better one and left nothing behind but our garbage, one imagines that our great works of art will be taken with us. Films like “Old Dogs” will stay behind, rotting in the massive landfill. Aliens will come to our former residence, exploring and poking through our remains, trying to figure out the type of society we were.

They will bring the DVD to their spaceship and watch with perplexed expressions as John Travolta and Robin Williams fight for camera time and race to see who can lose their dignity the fastest. When it’s all over, there will be silence and then, one little alien will mutter, “Let’s just go home.”

Simply put, there just aren’t enough negative adjectives available when it comes to describing “Old Dogs” — not enough suitable to print, anyway. The film’s concept is the typical dime-a-dozen concept: Hot-shot executives thrown into caring for children they didn’t know existed, and supposed hilarity ensues as poop jokes abound and lessons about the importance of family are learned. The plot is threadbare, and director Walt Becker seems to have no idea what he’s doing.

The movie doesn’t just lack comedic timing; it lacks a sense of simple cinematic pacing. The movie stumbles all over the place, with no beginning, middle or end to most scenes. Just as something starts going, the film cuts to another establishing shot marking a new scene. It’s as if the editor got drunk the night before and accidentally trashed a third of the dailies, forcing him to work with the remains.

The “comedy” at hand is a failure across the board, often going for cheap gags like nut-shots, fart jokes and obvious, easy punch lines. The saying goes, “It’s funny because it’s true,” and there isn’t a single moment of truth here. These characters and situations are absurd. These characters do and say things that don’t make sense. At times I wondered if a twist was coming and the “old dogs” would be revealed as clinically insane.

“Lighten up,” you may say. “It’s just a harmless family comedy.” Well, imaginary disgruntled reader, I argue it isn’t harmless. The film’s message is that the worst thing you can possibly do is to strive for something. Instead of working for a living, earning money and contributing to society, you should stay home and play with your kids. With your kid’s love and a pocket full of dreams, everything you ever hoped for will fall into your lap. I have news for you

As wonderful as that would be, it isn’t how it really is. Dreams should be followed through with work, and a joy earned is much more powerful than a joy stumbled upon. Any film proposing the opposite is harmful to the impressionable minds watching.

“Old Dogs” is inept in every possible way; a movie that makes me wish there was a grade lower than an F to give it. But that would require some creativity, and I’d rather not waste another moment thinking about this pathetic excuse for a movie.

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Star of Where The Wild Things Are braves rain at London premiere

The 12-year-old , who plays mischievous young Max in the film, said: ''London seems pretty great, honestly. It's so rainy, it's awesome. I live in Portland, Oregon, and it's like this a lot.'' However, fans both young and old braved the winter weather on Wednesday to see the star and director of the feature length adaptation of Maurice Sendak's much-loved children's book.

Looking comfortable in the limelight, the young actor even stopped to sign autographs for some of his equally young fans. He responded to a journalist's question about what it was like acting alongside monsters with: ''Pretty much like working with a guy wearing a monster suit.''

Spike Jonze, the film's director, explained the London premiere was something of a home coming for many of the team who worked on the film. He said: ''We were doing visual effects here for the last year, so we've been here so much and every day on the way to work we'd walk through Leicester Square and see a premiere here, so it's exciting that we're actually able to come to our premiere here.''

The show's producer Vince Landay confessed the biggest problem they faced making the film was turning a handful of short sentences of prose into a one-and-a-half hour long feature.

Landay also paid tribute to his young star's efforts during the filming.

''He worked harder than any other actor we've ever worked with,'' he said. ''Really, he's in every scene of the movie.''

Max replied: ''I didn't realise how hard I was working... I was too busy falling asleep to do that. The only time I ever had to think about it was when I was at home, and when I was at home I was sleeping.''

Landay joked: ''Shhh! Don't tell the child labour laws about that.''

Kate Nash, the singer, Miquita Oliver, the television presenter, and the model Daisy Lowe - carrying two stuffed wild tigers - arrived at the premiere in London's Leicester Square. Where The Wild Things Are is released in UK cinemas on December 11.

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Movie review- Brothers

There's no shortage of film talent on hand in the new war-themed Brothers. The film stars Spider-Man himself, Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Natalie Portman, is written by acclaimed screenwriter David Benioff (25th Hour, The Kite Runner), and is directed by Jim Sheridan, who's earned Oscar nominations for his work on such films as My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, and In America.

Given the strength of the material (the film is based on the Swedish film Brødre, which garnered a slew of awards/nominations in 2004/2005), it's no wonder so many big people jumped on board. Maguire plays Capt. Sam Cahill, an Army officer sent to Afghanistan for another tour of duty.

His being shipped overseas just so happens to coincide with his brother, Tommy (Gyllenhaal), being released from prison. The lives of the two couldn't be any different, with Sam, married with two kids to the beautiful Grace (Portman), viewed as the clean-cut hero and Tommy seen as the no-account screw-up, especially by their father (Sam Shepard).

Things start to shift dramatically when Sam is reported dead after a helicopter crash. Tommy begins to feel protective of Grace and her daughters, taking time to visit with them every day and offer his services as a contractor to fix up their kitchen. Meanwhile, Sam is actually alive (why would the Army tell his family he was dead if they had no proof?), suffering unspeakable torture at the hands of his Afghan captors.

Brothers has many of the right elements in it for it to succeed – the story is set up to be gut-wrenching, it has tons of talent (heck, even U2 contributed a new song for the soundtrack) – but for some reason, all of that is not able to add up to a great film. Part of that is the feeling of inevitability over much of the story. Many of the plot turns are preordained, so there are no real surprises in store. And what surprises there are seem blunted by poor choices.

For one, Maguire and Portman are much too young-looking to convincingly pull off their roles. Sam is supposed to be Tommy's older brother, and while Maguire does have five years on Gyllenhaal in real life, the opposite appears to be true when looking at them. While Portman has played a mother before, she falters when it comes time to show off her maternal skills here (strange, since she handles the other aspects of the role just fine).

But the biggest misstep is the acting of Maguire. Whether it's his boyish face, his semi-squeaky voice, or something ineffable, he was entirely the wrong choice to portray the anguished Army captain (it also doesn't help that Gyllenhaal played a similar role much better in Jarhead).

Not enough background is provided for his character to be trusted as a military higher-up. Also, he is given multiple opportunities to scream in torment (mental and/or physical), but his pain is never truly believable. He feels more like a kid acting out than someone who has experienced things no one should ever have to go through.

Brothers fits all the right criteria for an end-of-the-year, Oscar-baiting war/family drama, but it never fully lives up to that promise. There's a good movie in there somewhere, but it's obscured by a rote plot and some uninspired acting.

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Carol re-telling takes a darker spin

Disney’s 3D retelling of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” focuses more on social commentary than on pure holiday movie fun, highlighting disparities in wealth and good fortune among social classes. The movie is a dark one, both visually and in tone, in order to express the difficulty of Victorian life and the darkness of Ebenezer Scrooge’s hardened attitude and outlook. Some scenes were so eerie and surreal yet magical that one might think Tim Burton had directed the film.

Indeed, the movie is not well-suited for young children, as one screaming child in the theater found the scene in which the ghost of Scrooge’s business partner Jacob Marley appears particularly frightful. That said, the three-dimensional animation of this classic movie remake delights and amazes. Director Robert Zemeckis and his several hundred person staff clearly devoted huge amounts of time and effort to the production of the movie. The artfully crafted characters seem part human, part doll.

This characterization expressed the childlike, pure nature of many of the characters, particularly Bob Cratchit (Gary Oldman), while also conveying in them an almost cartoonish exhaustion from the difficulties of everyday life in the Victorian era.

Playing a multitude of roles, Jim Carrey is the star of the show. Playing Scrooge at five different times of his life as well as the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, Carrey, in his ghostly roles, coaxes Scrooge out of his “bah-humbug” attitude and into a full appreciation of the people around him and the holiday season.

Some deviations from Dickens’ book are made during the ghost of Christmas future portion of the movie, but through this artistic license, Carrey conveys a nearly universal fear of death and regret for past actions. As always, the moral of the classic tale is to appreciate relationships with others and to share good fortune and a joyful attitude with all humankind.

Robin Penn Wright, who plays Belle, Scrooge’s former love, described the realism of the creative technique used for the film.

“It’s like watching a 2D performance, but you feel like you can reach out and grab Jim’s hand and feel the snow falling at the same time,” she told Rick DeMott in his Nov. 6 article for Animation World Network. “You’re actually in the environment. That’s what’s so incredible about it.”

With such realistic 3D effects, one might wonder how the film was created. According to the movie’s official Web site, “The film is the first film developed by ImageMovers Digital, which was created by Robert Semeckis, Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke to develop 3D performance capture films exclusively for The Walt Disney Studios.”

So, what exactly is the creative process for making performance capture films?

“In performance capture technology, sensors attached to an actor’s body digitally capture their performance and create a life-based animated character in the computer,” Duane Dudek, Journal Sentinel film critic, wrote in his Nov. 15 2007 blog entry.

“A Christmas Carol” is not the first performance capture film, but it is Disney’s first. Zemeckis used the technique in “Beowulf,” and “Sony Pictures Imageworks pioneered the technique with ‘The Polar Express’ and ‘Monster House,’” according to a July 26, 2007 article in Variety.

“A Christmas Carol,” a delightful yet dark holiday classic, pleases audiences with amazing 3D effects and fantastic performances by Jim Carrey. It also foretells the future of Disney movies — a bright and interesting future indeed. Four of five stars.

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'Old Dogs' definitely not best of show

If you take the kids to only one Disney movie this holiday season, make it "A Christmas Carol" and avoid "Old Dogs."

The ploy of pairing John Travolta and Robin Williams, whose salaries probably represented most of the budget, is the only pedigree "Old Dogs" has going for it.

Unfortunately, the forced nature of all their mugging and slapstick is just as bad as the cheap sentimentality that "Old Dogs" milks with saccharine excess in its exploitation of emotion and glamour.

The 50-something movie stars play best friends and business partners of a boutique sports-marketing agency in New York. Charlie (Travolta) has never married and remains a dedicated skirt chaser; Dan (Williams) is twice-divorced and still mooning over the sudden gain and loss of No. 2 seven years ago.

As the Disney publicity synopsis states so succinctly, "the pair have their lives turned upside down when they're unexpectedly charged with the care of 7-year-old twins while on the verge of the biggest business deal of their lives."

Since Disney has made such a lazy movie, I'll follow the cue and continue the quote: "The not-so-savvy bachelors stumble in their efforts to take care of the twins (newcomers Ella Bleu Travolta and Conner Rayburn), leading to one debacle after another, and perhaps to a newfound understanding of what's really important in life." Couldn't have said it better myself. The only thing I'll add is the twins belong to Dan, from his one-night second marriage, and they need their daddy because mommy's going to jail for two weeks.

She's still a good mommy, though, because her crime was environmental civil disobedience. The debacles pile on top of one another with a string of celebrity cameos popping up (including the late Bernie Mac in an inauspicious final performance). It's all in service to a script, constructed almost entirely out of implausibilities and leaps of acceptance, just begging to be put out of its misery.

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Disney Studios drama might alter the industry

If you thought President Obama moved quickly, that's nothing compared with the first 50 days of the Ross administration. In less than eight weeks, Rich Ross has swiftly stamped his imprimatur on Walt Disney Studios. The novice movie chairman and his boss, Walt Disney Co.

Chief Executive Bob Iger, want to create a new business model for Hollywood to address the sweeping changes that are roiling the entertainment industry, including slumping DVD sales and the growing role the Internet plays in movie marketing.

Seeking to recast the studio for the digital era, Ross and Iger have set in motion a plan to dramatically challenge entrenched practices, potentially pitting Disney against theater owners, retailers and other business partners. The gambit, if it works, could be emulated by other studios.

If it backfires, it could undermine what has historically been the creative heart of Disney.

In meetings with producers, filmmakers and agents, Ross attacked the industry custom of spending $40 million on a TV advertising blitz two weeks before a film's opening, rather than enlisting more targeted campaigns that harness social networks and the broader Web. And he's raised again the touchy subject advanced by Iger that consumers are demanding that movies become available for home viewing sooner after release in theaters than has traditionally been the case.

Hollywood might finally be absorbing the message.

"Any of us that are sitting around protecting old business models unfortunately are destined to have a hard time succeeding in the coming years," said Sam Gores, chairman of talent agency Paradigm. "We have to maximize our existing models and, more importantly, build new ones."

It's too soon to know whether Ross, a seasoned TV executive, can pull off his ambitious plan as well as successfully transition to the movie side of the business -- the track record in Hollywood is mixed. Ross declined to be interviewed.

In September, Iger stunned the industry when he ousted Disney's movie Chairman Dick Cook, a 38-year veteran who began as a Monorail operator at Disneyland. By installing Ross, who built the Disney Channel into a global juggernaut, Iger gains more control over a key division he believed had long operated too independently.

Since Ross took over in early October, he has dismissed several top executives and begun restructuring operations. In the process, some say, the hyperkinetic executive displays flashes of brusqueness and impatience. The upheaval has created anxiety for employees and even at times disrupted business dealings. An important meeting with director Tim Burton and producer Joe Roth, who once ran Disney's studio, to discuss marketing plans for the upcoming release of their film "Alice in Wonderland," for example, was abruptly canceled pending an executive shake-up, leaving the filmmakers flummoxed.

Since then, Disney watchers have needed a score card to track all the comings and goings.

Last month, Ross flew to New York to fire Daniel Battsek, the head of Disney's struggling specialty movie label, who, despite the unit's recent poor track record, was caught off guard. A week later, he pushed out another company veteran, Mark Zoradi, who was president of Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, in a prelude to an overhaul of the marketing and distribution operations that he oversaw. Ross next let go marketing President Jim Gallagher and elevated former home video chief Bob Chapek to an expanded role that encompasses all aspects of film distribution from movie theaters to home and digital delivery, breaking with the conventional role of solely booking movies into theaters.

In the coming weeks, Ross plans to hire a new marketing chief -- Disney has retained an executive search firm to find candidates outside and inside the movie business -- who will have an equally broad mandate to handle the promotion of films from multiplexes to living rooms.

Beyond organizational changes, Ross' vision for the types of movies that will ultimately define Disney is beginning to emerge. His main focus will be developing family-friendly movies under the Disney label. Iger's overarching strategy is to amass a stable of recognizable entertainment brands -- Pixar Animation Studios and the pending acquisition of Marvel Entertainment Inc. -- and exploit the films across its TV, theme parks, consumer products and game divisions.

"It's brand over everything else," said Roth, referring to movies that come with built-in, pre-sold concepts, such as sequels. It's a strategy, he notes, that although designed to reduce risk is not without a downside. "What may get lost in the shuffle are non-branded original ideas that have no pre-awareness."

One of the challenges Ross faces is how to navigate the release dates for Disney's event movies, including those from high-powered producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Bob Zemeckis. "It's very difficult because there are only X-number of really key release dates and a lot of filmmakers who make big movies," said Bruckheimer, responsible for Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise.

Ross, to a great degree, is doing what every new studio chief does: comb through the list of existing projects to decide those that live and those that die. Last week, he torpedoed director McG's planned $150-million production of "Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," which had been envisioned as a new franchise.

One of the things he's told agents is that he's looking to make more movies that appeal to women. In meetings, Ross cited the studio's upcoming release "Old Dogs," a comedy starring Robin Williams and John Travolta, as a missed opportunity to further develop the female characters that would widen the movie's appeal.

"He seems to be open to broadening what it means to be a Disney movie," said United Talent Agency partner Jeremy Zimmer, "and to have more diversity and stronger execution of movies."

The new direction shouldn't come as a surprise: The studio has suffered two consecutive quarters of operating losses, and Iger this year took the unusual step of publicly criticizing the movie choices. Trying to cultivate relationships with talent that has close ties to Disney, Ross has been making the rounds in Hollywood.

Shortly after he took over, he went to DreamWorks' headquarters to meet with Steven Spielberg and his partner, Stacey Snider, who were enticed into a distribution deal by Cook and were distraught over his ouster. Snider said that Ross assured them that DreamWorks was an "important partner" and "was not going to let any balls fall." She and Spielberg in turn said to Ross, "We were sad that Dick was no longer there but that we're completely on board with him."

Ross also paid a visit to Bruckheimer at his Santa Monica office to see 40 minutes of his action film "Sorcerer's Apprentice," and attended a preview of his video game-inspired "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" -- both big upcoming summer releases for Disney. "He's off to a fast start," said Bruckheimer, referring to his industry networking and studio realignment. Equally important, he said, is that Ross "keep up the morale, which is important when you've lost a lot of leaders." A few weeks ago, Ross and Iger visited director Burton and Roth, who showed them a 10-minute 3-D clip of "Alice in Wonderland."Ross, who at Disney Channel was known for nurturing talent, apparently hit it off with the eccentric Burton."Rich was very good with Tim, really enthusiastic," Roth said

Now, Ross will have to work his magic on the studio's biggest star, Johnny Depp, who plays the Mad Hatter in "Alice in Wonderland" and Jack Sparrow in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series. Depp was shaken over the abrupt dismissal of Cook and said at the time that the former studio chief embodied the quality he valued most.

"You generally don't meet people at the studios you trust," Depp said.

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New Disney boss sinks McG's Captain Nemo

Moviemaker McG's underwater adventure Captain Nemo has been sunk by Disney's new boss Rich Ross. The studio is being revamped under Ross, the former president of Disney Channels Worldwide, and he has decided the planned big budget adaptation of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea will not float.

Reports suggest Will Smith turned the Nemo role down. No casting decisions had been made, but McG's Terminator: Salvation star Sam Worthington made it clear he'd like to be considered for the role. He recently told MovieHole.net, "McG and I haven't discussed it seriously. I wrote him an email and he wrote back saying, 'I don't think you have these qualities, blah, blah...' and I wrote back saying, 'It's your job as a director to bring it out of me.'"

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Twilight carries an abusive message

Popular entertainment has always been blamed for corrupting children, sometimes warranted sometimes not. The “Twilight” books, because of their positive description of abusive relationships, their success despite horrible writing and mediocrity are extremely dangerous to children.

The books run the risk of desensitizing a generation of readers to abuse. Bella, the book’s heroine, is subjected to a litany of abuses and not only accepts it, but finds it romantic. Her love interest, Edward, stalks her, watches her sleep and controls every moment of her life.

This might not seem that dangerous, but evidence suggests otherwise. People are able to buy shower curtains with Robert Pattinson’s face on them (as Edward). This way, Edward’s rapist’s eyes will always be there, after a long shower. Watching.

The age of the characters makes their relationship unsettling as well. The vampire mythos according to the author, Stephanie Meyer, is that once a person becomes a vampire, they do not age biologically, just chronologically. In the fourth book, Bella becomes a vampire at nineteen, while Edward is biologically 17 and chronologically 104.

There are three problems with this. One, Bella is forever married to a male under the age of consent. The second is that she’s nineteen, while he’s 104, meaning, while they’re legal, it’s still extremely unsettling. The third, and most popular is “I’m not listening. I can’t hear you. Leave Bella alone!”

Love is confusing, especially when mythical beasts are thrown into the mix, but even by those standards their relationship is perturbing. Edward likes Bella because of the way her blood smells. Bella obsesses over him because he’s pretty.

In the second book her life’s goal is revealed: become a vampire and stay with Edward for eternity, presumably barefoot and pregnant. She doesn’t have any outside interests, no friends, no family, nothing, just Edward encompassing her entire life until the end of time.

Furthermore, Bella doesn’t actually do anything. She’s on the periphery of the entire story, even though it’s a first person narrative. She watches Edward play vampire baseball (yes, I’m 100 percent serious, vampire baseball) follows her friends shopping, has her father/friends/the world do things for her.

This is dangerous because the entire book is designed to be a indulgent fantasy. The characters are neither well developed nor well written. This is intentional so that Bella can serve as a simulacrum for the readers. It creates the illusion that acting like Bella will get you the man of your dreams.

This is completely contrary to real life because of Bella’s characteristics. She is neither smart, nor strong, creative, passionate, interesting or even nice. Her only talents are whining, complaining and forgetting people’s names. This is not the kind of person who gets boyfriends or, for that matter, friends.

The book sends the message that showing up and doing nothing leads to success. The book’s commercial success reinforces this message. This is a book with paragraphs that begin with the word “but,” needlessly cluttered prose, poorly written characters and conflicting mythology, yet it has made Meyer millions of dollars.

The success of such a bad product not only shakes the core beliefs of capitalism, but it furthers the idea that no real effort or talent is needed. Readers infer that they don’t need to work hard, or develop personalities. All they need to do is show up and find a hot, controlling man to take care of them. This is a dangerous message because everything about “Twilight,” seems realistic at first. The realism stops once you delve a little deeper.

Bella ignores Edward’s abusive personality because he’s just too perfect. Every touch ignites a fire within, every kiss sends shivers down her spine and can even force her heart to skip a beat (seriously). Such a person does not exist and if this is a girl’s first introduction to relationships, it will lead to disappointment.

Every generation of parents finds boogeymen in their kid’s pop culture and this generation is no different. Usually their fears are blown out of proportion and this may be the case with Twilight as well. Still it’s hard to see how a book that preaches the virtues of abusive relationships, mediocrity and terrible writing can be a good thing.

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2012 and how good viral marketing can go bad

When Columbia Pictures launched a marketing campaign for 2012 – the latest disaster movie from serial Earth molester Roland Emmerich, where the planet, played by America, is set for impending doom – they didn't do it by halves.

First, there was a teaser trailer showing a tsunami crashing over the Himalayas. The Earth was going to end in 2012, it said, and the world's governments aren't doing enough to prepare us. Search "2012", it said, for "the truth" (the "truth" turned out to be over 1,000 real websites and 175 real books obsessed with 2012 as the end of time).

Then, there was a fake website – the "Institute for Human Continuity" – which consisted of a screen stating that for 25 years they'd been assessing threats to the continuation of mankind, and the results were in.

The "odds of global destruction" in 2012 had been confirmed at 94% (goodbye mortgage) and "to ensure your chance of survival, register for the lottery". In other words, it was a web campaign that seemed to say: "Look, the end of time might actually be coming, so enjoy a film about it why you still can, yeah?"

Many didn't get the joke. Tens of thousands from all over the world panicked, called Nasa, wrote letters – couldn't they do some saving of people too?

"I think people are really, really worried about the world coming to an end," said David Morrison of Nasa. "Kids are contemplating suicide. Adults tell me they can't sleep and can't stop crying."

Indeed, Nasa got so many queries, they set up a specific site to deal with them. Yet perhaps even more worryingly, 2012 is not alone. Following the success of Blair Witch, nearly every film worth its celluloid now has its own teaser campaign, web mystery, and viral marketing push, and even the simplest promotional campaign can have unexpected consequences.

For the independently made 2008 animated fantasy Delgo – featuring the voices of Freddie Prinze Jr and Jennifer Love Hewitt – they hit upon the idea of launching "Digital Dailies", where a crack team of animators would whet the public appetite by posting their handiwork as they went. It seemed to work: the videos were getting up to half a million hits a month. Yet, sadly, it seemed most of those were in the industry; they liked what they saw, and began poaching the film's best talent. The director, Marc F Adler, was forced to resort to hiding their identities with aliases.

"It was brilliant as viral marketing," says Adler, "but terrible for making a film."

The "brilliance" of the viral marketing also proved questionable. On a reported budget of $40m, the film's box-office taking was one the worst ever for widely released film (it opened on 2,160 screens), taking just $694,782. According to Yahoo Movies, that works out as roughly two viewers for every screening.

To be fair, their teaser trailer – "From a Studio Nowhere Near Hollywood … From People You've Never Heard of … Comes a Myth for the New Millennium … Delgo" – probably didn't help either.

Yet if that was unexpected, some campaigns just cry out for trouble. Take the case of 2008 indie horror film A Beautiful Day. Set for its debut at an independent film festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma, the makers posted a teaser on YouTube, which featured a sinister synthesized voice saying: "People of Muskogee. Open your eyes. April 25th is a day you'll come to remember", including the message "the end is coming". But 25 April was also the prom night for the local high school. The scared students called the Muskogee police, who assumed it was a terrorist threat, and called in the FBI. Outcome: their film was swiftly booted out of the festival.

And in the world of suspect virals and dodgy publicity stunts, it seems terror threats can come from anywhere. The Cartoon Network's guerilla marketing for cartoon Aqua Teen Hunger Force saw them install LED displays depicting the show's "Moonieites" – 2D aliens from the moon – in 10 major cities across America. In Boston, however, they didn't get the gimmick. Authorities considered the Moonieites suspect devices, which sparked a major bomb scare, caused the closure of roads and posed the question: would al-Qaida really plant bombs that glowed in the dark?

"It had a very sinister appearance," said Attorney General Martha Coakley, adding "It had a battery behind it and wires."
Of course, ill-judged glowing figurines are one thing.

But even ill-thought-out poster campaigns can wreak havok. To promote Forgetting Sarah Marshall, unbranded posters were put up all over the US, saying things like "You suck, Sarah Marshall", and "My mother always hated you, Sarah Marshall". Which sounds like great fun – unless your name is Sarah Marshall of course, many of whom assumed they were the victim of a hate campaign.

As student Sarah Marshall, of Fort Worth, Texas, told the LA Times: "I got a lot of emails and phone calls asking if my boyfriend and I were OK." Some Sarah Marshalls even struck back with posters of their own: "You suck, Judd Apatow," they responded, citing the film's producer.

Even the obviously fanciful bus-station posters for recent sci-fi hit District 9 – featuring a crossed-out alien, text saying "Bench for humans only", and a request for alien sightings – saw the marketing team get more that they bargained for. Tens of thousands called the hotline with sightings, assuming it was a real request.

"There are always going to be problems with unbranded campaigns," says Dan Koelsch, managing editor of MovieViral.com, "because people may not get the connection to the film, and people fear the unknown."

Yet with studios looking at ever more innovative ways to market films, it inevitably leads to more innovative ways to cock up.

"Sometimes studios try too hard, to the point where people can smell the desperation," says Sean Dwyer, editor of filmjunk.com. "That's when it doesn't really work."

The desperation ponged when 20th Century Fox, looking for a way to market this year's rom-com I Love You, Beth Cooper, paid a high school student, Kenya Mejia, $1,800 to profess a secret passion for a classmate during her graduation address (which she did, bellowing: "I cannot let this opportunity just pass by. I love you, Jake Minor!").

The idea was that Fox would video the moment – which recreates a key scene in the film – post it on YouTube, and create viral buzz that the movie was inspiring copycats. It didn't work due to a) Mejia blabbing to the Wall Street Journal, b) Her already having a boyfriend, who wasn't Jake Minor, and c) The film hadn't even been released when she was supposed to have copied it. The film bombed, and a month after the video was posted, it had attracted less than 2,000 views.

If that was treading on suspect moral ground, it didn't come close to New Line's marketing push for 2006 adult crime drama Running Scared starring Paul Walker – a tale of the Russian mafia, bent cops, paedophiles, hookers and men being chased around with really big machetes. What did they do? Made a promotional online game from it, of course, in which players re-enacted not just the film's main action scenes ("A man points a .38 revolver at another man's crotch and fires it, blowing his crotch apart," notes the Parent's Guide section of IMDb of said action, in a list that goes on for six pages) but the more intimate moments too, including Walker's character performing oral sex.

Needless to say, conservative America wasn't too happy when they realised little Timmy was performing online cunnilingus, and pressure from the National Institute on Media and the Family saw the site swiftly shut down.

Still, a really good teaser campaign, well judged, and executed, should work wonders, right? Not always. The campaign behind Mike Myers comedy The Love Guru was brilliant, spot-on, did everything right.

"It was a fully fledged effort to position Myers's character as a real guy, or at least flesh out his backstory," explains Chris Thilk, editor of MovieMarketingMadness.com. "But it wound up being funnier than the movie."

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The Making of Up with the Filmmakers

FLYING HIGH!
Step behind the scenes as I bring you the lowdown on Disney Pixar’s dynamite DVD, Up. I’ve got a backstage pass to the making of the awesome animation – and you’re invited!

UP, UP AND AWAY…
What’s the new Blu-ray about? “The story centers around a grumpy old man called Carl Fredricksen and an 8-year-old wilderness explorer called Russell,” explains the movie’s director, Pete Docter. “The pair fly off to South America for a wild adventure on a floating house suspended from helium balloons!”
BRIGHT SPARK!

“The original idea for the movie came from a drawing by Pete Docter,” explains producer, Jonas Rivera. “It was a simple drawing of a house being lifted up by hundreds of balloons and there was something wonderful about it. We decided we needed to create a story to go with the picture.”

WATER WORKS!
The head of Pixar Animation – John Lassetter – was moved to tears by the original pitch of the movie. “It’s true,” continues Rivera. “John Lassetter cried when the idea was pitched to him. He was giving us feedback with tears in his eyes!”

BE PREPARED…
A team of Pixar workers – including Pete Docter – took a trip to South America to research the movie and its stunning locations. “Pete bought just about every gadget he could find for the journey,” reveals the film’s character designer, Daniel Lopez. “The team got to experience what it truly felt like to be in the mountains for several days. They got dirty and muddy – and it was a great experience to inspire them.POP THE QUESTION!
“When we started work on the movie, we didn’t have the technology to animate more than 50 balloons at a time,” admits supervising technical director, Steve May. “Our goal was to animate 50,000 balloons to lift up Carl’s home in the movie, so we had to severely upgrade our technology.” How did the upgrade go? “Eventually we were able to animate 130,000 balloons,” chuckles May.

GOLDEN OLDIE!
The lead character in the movie is a cranky 78-year-old man called Carl – and a lot of time went into creating his animated appearance. “When we started animating Carl, we looked at a lot of older people for inspiration,” reveals character designer, Daniel Lopez. “We drew inspiration from actors from the past like Walter Matthau, or we looked at people we knew, like our grandparents and parents. We also looked at Spencer Tracey, who is a well-known actor from a great era. He’s a loveable guy who you want to hug – and that’s exactly what Carl is like.”

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MOVIE REVIEW - Old "Astro Boy" cartoons mix with modern imagery

"Astro Boy" is a standard, straightforward kids' movie. Sure, it's formulaic, but the formulas exist because they work. Even this hardened movie reviewer was a bit touched by its tale of a boy trying to find his place in the world. It's hard not to resonate with a character who works his way from being rejected because of what he is to being the hero who finds his destiny and saves the day.

"Astro Boy" takes place in the futuristic, robot-maintained Metro City, built on a mountain that floats above the polluted, junk-ridden earth's surface. When genius scientist Dr. Tenma (voiced by Nicholas Cage) loses his son Toby (voiced by Freddie Highmore) in a scientific demonstration that goes horribly wrong, the scientist goes a little mad, and creates a robot copy of Toby equipped with all the defensive technology he can possibly cram into it. But he learns the hard way that a duplicate of something isn't the real thing.

The little robot boy doesn't fit in anywhere, really. His father doesn't want him. Metro City is a hostile environment once the power-mad President Stone (voiced by Donald Sutherland) learns of Astro's existence. The surface of earth seems like a sanctuary for a while Astro falls in with a collective of orphans and is able to pass for human. But once they find out who he is, he's not welcome there, either. Soon he's back in Metro City, up trying to save it from President Stone's enormous, rampaging Peacekeeper robot. Even though the city rejected him, he

still does the right thing and struggles to save it.
Astro is a fantastic hero for a kids' film: he's stronger, faster, smarter, and braver than the adults around him, and has a great destiny if he can only figure out what it is. Finding your place in the world is a vital component to growing up, and "Astro Boy" doesn't make it out to be easy. Adults will likely enjoy the references to other films tucked here and there amid the shining computer animation, but kids are the real audience for this picture.

The art design is a mix of the old "Astro Boy" cartoons and modern computer imagery, and it works well. Likewise, most of the voice acting is either solid or rather good. Nicholas Cage and Sutherland both sink into tepid line-reading at times, but Freddie Highmore shines as Toby/Astro and Nathan Lane's turn as a surface-dwelling robot mechanic is marvelous.

"Astro Boy" isn't a great or particularly original picture, but it is charming and a fun ride. The animation is well done and the plot moves smartly along from one point to the next without a lot of unnecessary detours. There are changes from the source material, but Astro's story has been told so many times that it's hardly surprising. This is a fun film for those looking for kid-friendly entertainment, but if you're looking for something off the standard, formulaic path, go elsewhere.

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Movie Review - Aladin (2009)

The story is set in a fictitious town called Khwaish. Aladin (Ritesh) is a shy college going bloke who is forever bullied by his college mates lead by big bully Kasim (Sahil Khan). They always force him to rub lamps to get a Genie out of it only because his name is Aladin.

He instantly falls in love at first sight when he sees Jasmine (Jacqueline) the new girl in his college. But then again Kasim always succeeds in keeping him away from her. But one fine day he luckily chances upon a lamp that actually brings out a genie called Genius (Amitabh). Genius offers him three wishes so that after they are fulfilled he can retire.

At first Aladin doesn’t believe that Genius is actually a genie but after he is convinced the first two wishes he wastes on getting Jasmine. Meanwhile Ringmaster (Sanjay Dutt) is hot on trail of the magic lamp is an ex-genie who wants to kill Aladin and get hold of the magic lamp so that he can be come the genie and use the powers to further his own evil interests. In his team are a fire-spitting lady, a clown, a knife thrower and other circus renegades.

On interacting with Ringmaster, Aladin learns of a sec ret Genius had not revealed to him and he is heartbroken. Anyway, to become a genie once again, Ringmaster has to catch a comet that comes once in a million years. The comet can only be caught with the help of a magic lamp. What happens when Ring master confronts Genius and Aladin and who wins the battle for supre macy is revealed in the climax.

Its commendable that Sujoy has picked up the much heard famous fairy tale and attempted to give it a modern day twist with some amazing never seen before special effects. However, he along with his co-writers have failed to make Aladin a fun filled entertainer. Even if we take into consideration that the film is only aimed at the kids, then too its a challenge for the kids to enjoy it as most of the proceedings are wasted in Aladin wooing Jasmine.

The emotional quotient of the romantic story is zero. The script is completely dry and drab. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that just one dialogue stands out because it unwittingly expresses the feelings of the audience watching this film in the cinemas. The dialogue, mouthed by Genius, goes somewhat like this: “Abbe, yaar, bore mat karo!” Indeed, that’s the dialogue the viewer keeps muttering to himself while watching the film.

Amitabh brings Genius to life with his excellent act even though it appears over the top at times. Ritesh is perfectly fit for his role and does an endearing act. Sanjay Dutt though saddled with a half baked role is in great form. You can make out he is having a ball playing the fantasy villain. Newcomer Jacqueline has superb screen presence and not only is she very attractive but is very expressive too. Sahil Khan is well casted and his scenes with Ritesh are hilarious.

Vishal-Shekhar’s tunes offer nothing new but gel with the film. Editing could have been better but camerawork by Sirsha Ray and set design by Sabu Cyril is top notch. Even the sound design is of international standards.

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Princess Tiana Attraction Opens at Disney

Characters from the upcoming animated feature film "The Princess and the Frog" are already greeting guests at Florida's Magic Kingdom.

The Walt Disney Co. says. Princess Tiana, Prince Naveen and other characters from the film will also star in "Tiana's Showboat Jubilee," described.

As a "rousing, colorful procession with a jazz-filled Mardi Gras theme," Disney World said in a news release Monday.

"The good times will roll as festively dressed, bead-tossing revelers lead Magic Kingdom guests to the Liberty Belle Riverboat dock," the company said. "The party moves onboard and the Liberty Belle paddlewheels her way along the river with singing and dancing to the sounds of a six-member jazz band. Nearly two dozen Disney dancers join 30 randomly chosen park guests to be part of each show. Original songs composed by Randy Newman for the film energize the production, which will be performed three times daily."

The show, which also features daytime pyrotechnics, is set to run through Jan. 3, 2010. "Tiana's Showboat Jubilee" will also be performed at Disneyland Park in California Nov. 6 through Jan. 3, the company said. "The Princess and the Frog" will open in limited release in New York and Los Angeles Nov. 25 before expanding nationwide Dec. 11.

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Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure Blu-ray and DVD Review

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has come out with a fantastic release for fans of Tinker Bell with Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure.

This latest release is a Blu-ray and DVD combo pack that includes the film on Blu-ray, the film on DVD, and much more,

This direct-to-video release is the second feature animation of its kind to feature none other than Tinker Bell in Pixie Hollow, in the same universe known for Peter Pan.

Tinker Bell is voiced here by Mae Whitman and the entire film is a lot of fun, with plenty of magic to go around for the younger fans.

This is a kids movie through and through and one that is going to really appeal to those who are aged 10-and-under.

Do not expect a great family film, but as a kids movie, it is quite strong.

The audio and video quality here are very strong, but to be honest, with this being an all-out-kids-movie, they wouldn’t care even if it did not look that impressive.

Still, as stated, this is great stuff in terms of the clarity of the video transfer and audio mix.

The extras here are a mixed bag, with many of them coming across as more of tack-ons than anything else.

Still, the music video by Demi Lovato, as well as the deleted scenes are sure to please fans.

On top of that, there are a few other featurettes that are on the shorter side and focus on Pixie Hollow. Tinker Bell and the Lost Treature is a very well-done kids movie, and as stated, girls under the age of 10 are going to love it. Anyone who doesn’t fit into that demographic though I would definitely say stay away.

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'Astro Boy' takes on too much

For an animated kid's movie "Astro Boy" sure is deep. The story of the pointy-headed, short pants-wearing boy robot takes on tolerance, environmentalism, love and corruption. Of course, in truth, the movie is another one of those kid's movies that really isn't for kids, at least not young ones. Still, even this grown-up, while appreciating the film's scope and aesthetic, found "Astro Boy" a little tedious.

The story takes place in Metro City, which floats above an abandoned Earth. Metro City's humans are served by robots created by Dr. Tenma (voiced by Nicolas Cage); Earth is a dumping ground for old robots.

Tenma has a son whose genius he nurtures. Unfortunately, that's all Tenma nurtures; robots show more softness than the doctor.

One tragic day, the boy's curiosity gets him killed when he's accidentally locked in a room where Dr Tenma's and Dr. Elefun's (Bill Nighy) experiments (a good blue power source and a bad red power source) are being corrupted by the sinister president of Metro City (Donald Sutherland).

Distraught and guilt-ridden, Tenma uses a strand of his son's hair and the blue power source to re-create the boy as a robot. The robot (Freddie Highmore) looks like his son, even has his memories. But Tenma soon comes to believe his act was foolish. He rejects the robot, casting him out and setting him on his journey to become a robot hero.

Astro ends up on the abandoned planet where he befriends other outcasts he thinks are human and gains a father figure in Hamegg (Nathan Lane); the evil president, consumed with being re-elected, wants to hunt down Astro.

Although the violence isn't explicit, there are scenes where the villains are trying to kill Astro Boy (and they go all out), and the son does die at the beginning. Even with scenes of levity, "Astro Boy" can be kind of dark. And, too, because it's a bit talky and complex, I wouldn't recommend it for younger kids.

Even in two dimensions the manga-style Metro City was nicely rendered. It had a cool retro feel, the future as imagined in the 1950s. "Astro Boy" has a lot on its mind and, in the end, is successful in sharing its thoughts. But a little editing would have helped.

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A Look At That WALMART Exclusive TRANSFORMERS: ROTF Blu-Ray & DVD With The IMAX Cut.

Who could have guessed Michael Bay would make what is perhaps the most controversial film of the year? Even though the 'Transformers' sequel is one of the highest grossing films in history, I really thought the general consensus was that most audiences hated it.

Boy was I wrong. Now I have nothing against anyone liking or disliking any film, that's their prerogative. But the vicious disagreements concerning this film have got way out of hand.

At the end of the day it is just a movie about giant robots fighting each other, I mean c'mon guys. Despite the fact that a small number of elements did work for me, as a fan of the franchise since childhood, I was personally disappointed in both films.

But I didn't lose any sleep over it and put it behind me as soon as I walked out the theater. Movies, good and bad can be so powerful that just about anyone can find themselves getting fanatical so I guess we can chalk it up to human nature.

At the time this film was released, I blamed acclaimed screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci for it's rather lacking story, till I realized they were probably following Michael Bay's lead (even though rumor has it Bay wrote most of the story himself due to last year's writer's strike). Shia LaBeouf is a talented actor who has been able to hold his own with the likes of Harrison Ford, Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Voight (who wisely opted out for this one), but at times his performances can be erratic.

He was rather terrible in the first film, because he took the term “hormonal teenager” to the extreme. The film made the mistake of devoting screen time to him rather than focusing on the Transformers, who became guest stars in their own movie. His performance this time 'round is a lot worse along with Meagan Fox, who has become a teen idol merely by showing her cleavage and wearing lip gloss.

For a kids cartoon, there was actually a bit of depth and humanity within the original animated series and you forgot these characters were fictional robots. This is a kids movie and its been dumbed down to the extreme. Much of this sequel is a chase film. The Decepticons chase Sam and the Autobots protect and defend him. He runs from college to New York, New Jersey, the Smithsonian and finally the pyramids in Egypt. Sounds like a smooth scenic trip when in actuality its a bumpy ride. It's like run, run, run, explosion followed by run, run, run, explosion, with boring exposition in between.

A lot of work went into the design of the robots, their photo-realism as well as the personalities given to them by the animators and voice actors. At times my heart warmed to the thoughts of seeing different versions of beloved characters from my childhood and at others, I sat there wondering what the f**k is this? Just when there's something to appreciate or dare I say, “awe inspiring” within this film, either something really dumb happens or things get blown up. You could almost set your watch to it or make a drinking game out of it. Apparently the dumber the better. Fight sequences you thought looked cool in the trailer turn out not to be as epic as you hoped and are rather brief.



Only two battle scenes are presented in the high resolution IMAX format and they are choreographed and edited badly. Christopher Nolan proved he is a greater master of the medium with 'The Dark Knight' last year, because those IMAX sequences looked intricately planned and served as a storytelling device. Bay's work in the format feels like a last minute afterthought (which it was) and brings out the flaws in the CGI animation. I will admit, that certain elements made me smile, such as voice actor Peter Cullen's iconic characterization of my childhood hero Optimus Prime, as well as his and Bumblebee's heroism and ability to kick some serious ass. I wanted to see giant robots beat the crap out of each other and there's more of that here than in the first film. But all of it feels like nothing without some substance to back it up.

This film made a killing at the box office and will no doubt make a killing on home video. It's biggest draw are no doubt adolescents and even though some haters of this film may think parents who buy the video for their kids are irresponsible or insane, it's rather harmless entertainment. Several of the big chains like Best Buy and Target have their own exclusive versions of the video release, which entail some form of special collectable packaging. Walmart went one further and paid Paramount to give them the exclusive rights to sell Bay's IMAX cut of the film on DVD and blu-ray. Most audiences didn't see this version because not every city has IMAX theaters. You would think that after Paramount and Bay took a note from director Chris Nolan and partially shot 'Transformers' in IMAX they would make that version easily available on blu-ray just as Warner Bros. did for 'The Dark Knight'. It's a scam, a gimmick – they want fans to buy every special packaging or version of the film available and may actually get their way. What's funny is that even though the IMAX version is 60 seconds longer and features sequences that fill the entire 16:9 HDTV frame, it's still the same damn movie.



IMAX and I'm talking the real IMAX, is presented in a 1.44 to 1 aspect ratio. 'The Dark Knight' had plenty of sequences where the aspect ratio would shift from 2.40 to 1 scope to IMAX full frame. There's also IMAX Digital, which involves digital projectors using a standard 1.85 screen in a regular ole' theater. This is the version Walmart's got. Just like 'The Dark Knight', a 1.44 to 1 image would not make an impact in the HDTV ratio because it would be pillar-boxed with black bars on the sides. Then when the film would shift to standard lettter-box with bars on the top and bottom it would really be distracting, so the original IMAX image has been cropped a bit. The problem is that 'The Dark Knight' has about six major sequences shot in IMAX where as 'Transformers' has two and they don't last that long. The Optimus Prime brawl is perhaps the most exciting action sequence in the film and watching the scene shift from scope to IMAX or 16:9 is slightly dramatic. The only other time we see this are shots of the colossal Decepticon Devastator and we know just how controversial that character and his steel “scrotum” was. Well maybe not as controversial as those Autobot twins a buddy of mine called “Sambots” but you get the idea. I can really say what the sixty second difference is between both the standard cut and this one, but I imagine it consists of additional shots instead of more plot. (As if this movie had a real plot.)



The thing is, if you want the blu-ray, Walmart did something smart. They're selling it this week for only 13 bucks. Not $13.99, 13 bucks even. Forget Best Buy's doorbuster deal of 21 dollars or any other sale price Target is promoting, I can't think of any major blu-ray release of a new film hitting stores for that cheap. I mean it's cheaper than any of the DVD versions. (Update: I've been told that this low price is an unadvertised special availale in only some Walmart locations. Most stores are selling it for $19.96 which is still pretty low, but you might get lucky.) Now I'm sure some of you are already saying “I don't care, I'll never buy that crappy movie” (I didn't either, I got mine for free from a friend) but there are many that wish to purchase 'Transformers' and I have to admit Walmart has the best deal. The thing is, everyone doesn't have a Walmart in their area (including me) so some can either get a friend who does to pick one up or just cut their losses. It is 'Transformers' afterall, not 'The Godfather'.



I have to say the presentation on this IMAX or “Big Screen” edition as they are calling it is superb. You can notice the image quality slightly improve during the shift to the IMAX scenes even though there are barely any. The DTS HD Master Audio track is also outstanding and will probably be a popular demo in homes during the years to come.



If you pick up the standard blu-ray, all of the extras and A/V quality are the same. It's just that the IMAX shots are cropped to 2.40 to 1 as they were for 35mm showings in theaters. I know that there's an equal number of supporters of this film as there are haters and wanted just to inform the fans that there are additional options. And no, Walmart didn't pay me to write this article (though with my salary, I could use the money). For those who haven't upgraded to blu-ray, the “Big Screen” version is available as a Special Edition DVD at Walmart as well.

Extras: The Human Factor: Exacting 'Revenge of the Fallen' (HD, 2:14:31), a seven-part making-of documentary: Seeds of Vengeance (30:03 mins), Domestic Destruction (24:27 mins), Joint Operations (9:59), Wonders of the World (13:19 mins), Start Making Sense (9:24),Under the Gun (29:00 mins) and Running the Gauntlet (16:36 mins).

A Day with Bay: Tokyo (HD, 13:23 mins) Bay prepares for the stressful Tokyo film premiere. Big deal! 25 Years of Transformers (HD, 10:44), NEST: Transformer Data-Hub (HD), The Allspark Experiment: gives you the option to customize a selection of vehicles

Deconstructing Visual Bayhem (HD, 22:46 mins) 15 pre-visualization available by themselves or side-by-side with the finished product. Deleted and alternate scenes: Sam and Alice at the Dorms (HD, 2:10 mins), The Witwickys in Paris (HD, 2:54 mins), and Leo Refuses to Go to Egypt (HD, 0:56 secs). Giant Effing Movie (HD, 24:03 mins) a montage of moments from the set. Linkin Park - New Divide (HD, 4:40 mins) your basic music video. The Matrix of Marketing features two theatrical trailers (HD, 2:18 & 2:32), six TV spots (HD, 2:12mins total), and still galleries, one each for theatrical posters and promo/marketing. I tried the "unlock an exclusive augmented reality experience" by placing the Blu-ray packaging in front of my webcam but couldn't get it to work so if you do, let me know how it is.

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