Latest Avatar trailer is now online, check it out

The latest official trailer of James Cameron's latest sci-fi magnum opus is now online( the director of Titanic, Terminator 2: Judgment Day etc). I have received this message on my twitter RSS feed but unfortunately I am unable to watch it at the moment because when ever I trie to watch it on yahoo movies it says "this video is not available for your location now, try sometime later". But if you are in the United States of America, Canada you can watch is at Yahoo Movies. They should not do such thing, not atleast online for god's sake. I thought internet would be a platform for every person on earth to take privilege of what's going on all across the globe instantly but now I am feeling really backward an as if I am living in a third world country. Grow up humanity, India now isn't that third world. Well Keep in touch.

James Cameron's interview with LA Times

James Cameron on 'Avatar': Like 'Matrix,' 'This movie is a doorway'

This is the exact reproduction of James Cameron's interview given to Los Angeles times. In this interview Cameron for the first time discloses so much about his much anticipated film Avatar. According to Cameron like 'The Matrix' in the year 1999 created a breakthrough in the history of cinema, his Avatar too is going to be a groundbreaking success that will be remembered for years to come. Let us hope that whatever he says should come true because all these years we too are bored from all those Hollywood's regular summer blockbusters. We really need a refreshing eye candy. Ain't we?

EXCLUSIVE: PART 1 of the HERO COMPLEX interview

“Go ahead, fire away, I’m your guy.” That’s the first thing James Cameron said to me, and I had to smile – I certainly had plenty to ask him about. I had just sat down and watched about 35 minutes of footage from “Avatar” and, to put it bluntly, I was dazzled. I saw more footage than fans at Comic-Con International (I saw, for instance, a tense scene toward the end of the film as Sam Worthington’s character, Jake Sully, is made a prisoner on the alien world of Pandora) and even found out how the film ends (don’t worry, no spoilers here). But let's get to it -- this is Part 1 of the Hero Complex interview with Oscar-winner Cameron, the 54-year-old Canadian filmmaker whose 20th Century Fox sci-fi epic "Avatar" reaches theaters on Dec. 18.

GB: Jim, congratulations on the film, it’s very, very compelling. I'm excited to see it in its entirety and even more excited to talk to you about it.

JC: Well, thanks; I’m really glad you liked it. And that’s what we were hoping for. We’ve been working like crazy on this for a long time. And what we want is for people to like it, so that’s nice to hear.

GB: I have to say it was refreshing to see a big, special effects film that was not based on a bestselling novel, a comic book, toy, old television show. That’s rare these days, and it’s a treat to go in, sit down and have no idea where the plot and the characters were going to go.

JC: It’s simultaneously one of the great strengths and one of the potential weaknesses. We have no brand value. We have to create that brand value. “Avatar” means something to that group of fans that know this film is coming, but to the other 99% of the public it’s a nonsense word and we have to hope we can educate them. Well, I shouldn’t say a nonsense word – it doesn’t mean anything specific in terms of a brand association. And in fact there may be even a slight negative one because more people know about the Saturday morning cartoon, the anime, than about this particular film. We’ve got to create that [brand] from scratch. On the other hand, ultimately, it is probably the film’s greatest strength in the long run. We’ve had these big, money-making franchise films for a long time, “Star Trek” and “Star Wars,” you know, “Harry Potter,” and there’s a certain sort of comfort factor in that; you know what you’re going to get. But there’s no kind of shock of the new that’s possible with that. It’s been a while since something that took us on a journey, something that grabbed us by the lapels and dragged us out the door and took us on a journey of surprise.

GB: “The Matrix” immediately springs to mind…

JC: Yes, yes, that’s a very, very good example. That’s something where we had no real way of knowing what that film was going to be about and it really just took us on a great ride.

GB: And like “The Matrix,” this movie presents this immersive experience. The alien world and the technology you’re using to tell the story, it’s a big movie .

JC: The story is told very much from character. You go on Jake’s journey with him. It actually starts quite small. It starts close to him, in his apartment with him, and it just expands and expands in scope as it goes along.

GB: I smiled at the “You’re not in Kansas anymore" line when the main character reaches the alien world. There really is this “Wizard of Oz” sense of transportation when the story reaches the planet of Pandora.

JC: Yeah. It’s my favorite movie; I had to get it in there somewhere. The production designer was Rick Carter, who actually played that out. He thought how it was, in some ways, likeDorothy’s journey. I didn’t quite get as much of that [when I first wrote it]. You do things sometimes as a writer subconsciously, things you’re not even aware of. I’m always comfortable doing things instinctively because I see it as taping into this vein of archetype that works for a broader audience base. I don’t question what I’m doing if it feels right. There might be some other references there I might not be aware of.

GB: You wrote the first script for this film almost 15 years ago. While you were waiting for technology to reach the point where it could be made, I’m curious how much of that very earliest story remained intact.

JC: I had to rework to make it possible. My treatment was so expansive and novelistic that it needed to be necked down just to make it something that could be done on the screen. This film is done on an epic scale, but it's done within the parameters of a Hollywood movie. What I found is that instead a script I had written the outline of a novel, and it was just too much story, too much back story, too many secondary characters … but look, sometimes lightning just strikes; you have write everything down, get it done. Better to weed it out later and not miss an idea. It was essentially the longest script, in terms of the amount of time it took me to get a workable draft. The first time I tried, it ended up being more than 200 pages, so I had to go back and throw out big chunks, a lot of ideas went out. But I have to say the essence of all the big ideas stayed and I felt pretty good about that.

GB: The heritage of the project and the mystery of it, since it’s not an adaptation, have created this fairly intense interest among the fanboy sector. That was obvious with the interest leading up to Comic-Con International. Do you feel you have to win fans over now to create the sort of success you want for this movie?

JC: I think there are no real negatives because we aren’t going to get prejudged like “Watchmen” or even a Batman or Spider-Man movie because you don’t have all that history and that huge, brand-based mythology that you have to live up to. We aren’t going to piss anybody off because they don’t know what this thing is. Nobody read the novel, nobody read the graphic novel, we’re not going to be playing against expectation. They aren’t going to be viewing us as a disappointment or letdown before the movie even starts. This is a doorway and they don’t know what’s on the other side. We’re going to open it for them.

There are a lot of fans of this kind of science fiction and fantasy film, and I think it's pretty fertile soil for us. I don’t want to sound like, you know, ‘Pride goeth before the fall,” or too much hubris, but I think we get those fans to support this. I think our greater challenge is the wider public, which isn’t as predisposed to embrace the movie like those fantasy and sci-fi fans. We need to talk to that audience and make them believe that this is a must-see even if they aren’t sci-fi fans. And I’m not putting down Comic-Con fans. When I go down there I’m among my peeps. It’s a great place to unveil “Avatar.”

-- Geoff Boucher

AVATAR: Seemingly Precocious Sci-Fi Breakthrough from the Director of Terminator 2,Titanic

James Cameron (the director of The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies and TITANIC) is all set to bring forth his latest sci-fi 3D extravaganza called 'AVATAR'.
Cameron's last theatrical movie was Titanic which was released 12 years back in 1997. Titanic needs no introduction to any one. the Leonardo di caprio & Kate Winslet starrer Titanic(which was produced at then highest budget of $ 200 million) became the highest grossing film of all time making the record amount of more than $ 1.8 Billion i.e about 8500 Crores of Rupees. My God that's more than the net income that NTPC India's leading power generation Public Sector Undertaking(PSU) earned in the year 2008. Adjusting for inflation during all these years the gross of Titanic can ever cross the magic figure of $ 2 Billion or accordingly 10000 Crore Rupees!


Well as they say success speaks for itself that's why Cameron is all set to release Avatar on December 18, 2009 all across the globe simultaneously. The budget of this movie is reportedly $ 300 million. The official figure is not yet released but as claimed on some websites that the budget may have exceeded far away from $ 300 million figure making it the most expensive movie of all time. The reason behind this humongous budget of Avatar is that it is the result of James Cameron's scientific tryst of successfully experimenting a latest technique of filming in 3D (three dimension). Plus the movie is only around 30% live action and the rest is composed of totally convincing 3D visual effects provided by Weta Digital, the four time oscar winning New Zealand based special effects company which produded visual effects for the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong( the company is owned by Peter Jackson, the director of these films). You can see it yourself by watching the trailer -

I am eagerly awaiting for the December 18, 2009 when Avatar will be released in India too (worldwide release). Lets see whether its released in IMAX theatre of Pacific Mall Delhi. James Cameron claims that he will change the way people perceive watching a movie in the theatre. Well expectations are really high but Cameron really does what he says. Keep in touch with this blog for further updates.

Collector's Choice - Top 10 DVDs you must collect

You don't buy a DVD to just watch a particular movie on saturday evening or when you have no other better things to do. If you are a person belonging to such category then you better prefer to watch a movie on cable(if you are able to find time from daily soaps and cricket matches).But here I am talking about us people who buy a particular movie when we visit a DVD Shop or parlour, check about the special features coming with it, see how many discs are coming with it (usually 1,2 or 3) and finally we check whether it suits our budget or not. Many of us buy DVDs to relish and share the moments of experiencing good cinema at home. Us collectors even go further a step forward to preserve those precious moments and feel pride in the ownership of those DVDs which embellish the shelves of our living room. Its sheer delight to admire and be admired because of your DVD collection that only a DVD collector is able to experience.

Throughout the listing, I have tried to rank DVDs based on the following criteria-
Decising Aspect Weightage
Video Quality 40%
Audio Quality 20%
Movie Rating 20%
Bonus Features 20%

10. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (The Braveheart will take the Bride), 1995

Actors: Shahrukh Khan, Amrish Puri, Kajol

Director: Aaditya Chopra

Language: Hindi

Imdb Rating: 7.9

About the movie:
This was the top Bollywood film of the 90s and after seeing it I really can't think of one that was better. There are some that are just as good but I can't recall seeing one that's better. The story's pretty routine: boy meets girl in Europe, they fall in love, girl is engaged to some other idiot, and the rest writes itself... Sound familiar? Well it wasn't back in '95 (or even if it was it wasn't done as well) and Aditya Chopra's treatment of the story was a big reason for it's success. In every other movie the couple first wants to kill each other before falling in love. But in this movie it's slightly different and more plausible. Shahrukh doesn't want to kill Kajol - I mean Kajol - and she doesn't really hate him either, she just (like the rest of us) is annoyed by the guy. Their situations aren't that far-fetched and their Europe storyline is played out quite realistically (of course the piano scene is an exception). This was the beginning of the "Shahrukh plays Shahrukh era" and, for what it's worth, he hasn't made a better movie or given a better performance since. Sure there are places where he overacts but there are just as many places where he's able to hit all his cues. His comic timing was never better and there was still some sincerity in his eyes, a reminder of the fact that he was still an actor, which has since been replaced by the cockiness of a megastar. This is the movie that shot him to superstardom and put him alongside Aamir and Salman. Kajol is just as good (if not better), and I think after their next movie they'll win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The supporting cast is fine although no one really stands out. There are many moments in the film, most notably in the script, where you might feel a sense of deja vu. But keep in mind that this was the original, it's everything else that's a rehash. Bollywood headed straight for the sewer after this movie with almost all films, many of them starring Shahrukh, copying the same formula. Even at its 3 hour length the movie never drags till after the two-hour mark. I also want to comment on the film's Art Direction because it warrants a mention. Whether it's in Europe, England, or India, the movie has a very natural look to it. Unlike today's big films like Dil To Pagal Hai, or K3G, this movie looks good without trying to look good and I think that's a quality that's been lost on today's films. Too much attention is spent on the look at the expense of the story (if there is one!). The soundtrack of course is a classic, truly one of the all-time bests, with almost every song being a hit. The film won an unprecedented number of awards while breaking many records. There was a feeling that Aditya would follow in his father Yash's footsteps but regrettably the pressure got to him. He followed this up with the dreadful Mohabbatein which was slammed by audiences and critics alike. But so what. His first film was good, and with the current state of Bollywood movies - Devdas anyone? - you really can't get better than this.

About the DVD:

VIDEO

It is very unusual for me to rate a DVD as "good" when it comes in a single disc edition without any special features or bonus footage but DDLJ DVD has its own surprises in its basket. First and the most important reason is that the movie is exceptionally good. A true collector ought to possess it his caboodle. Secondly, the print of the movie furnished is in its true anamorphic wide-screen format which is not very customary for bollywood movies of its age. Usually the Indian movies are presented in non-anamorphic form which has often manipulated aspect ratio. Cropping from both left and right portion of the screen used to be a norm. But the latest trends are inclining to the opposite. So is this DVD. The print as described "anamorphic wide-screen" means it is reproduced on the DVD exactly the same way the director of this movie filmed it. In fact it would be precise to say that exactly the same way the director intended to film it in his camera. Thus the aspect ratio of the print is 2.35:1. That is if the horizontal dimension of print is divided by the vertical dimension, then the result would be 2.35 which is just the same as the dimension of standard film-frame (celluloid frame) of this movie. This inclination towards technicalities of the film and thus film may seem out of place but it is necessary for those who are new to this pleasure and delectation of watching movies and DVD collection. Later on as you proceed forward these technical details will become more objective.

AUDIO

The music of this film is exceptionally good. All the tracks of film were chartbusters and even now they are as good. because the good music of a bollywood film never dies rather it becomes more valuable as the time passes. So to catch up with such a good music, Yash Raj has presented in both stereo dolby digital and 5.1 channel sound. Whenever songs play, output from central woofer is not observed because these songs don't need bass. For rest of the movie we do get some eventual output from it. All five satellites of sound system work fine.

Video Quality 9/10
Audio Quality 9/10
Movie Rating 10/10
Bonus Features 0/10

Overall: 7.4/10

m.

Bal Ganesh 2 - Seriously yaar! When will Indian Animation Industry Grow up?

Movie: Bal Ganesh 2 (Animation)
Direction: Pankaj Sharma
Duration: 1 hour 35 minutes
Imdb rating: Not rated yet
My rating: **/***** (2/5)
Gannu(Bal Ganesh) is back, but is he really geared to take your breath away? Are his capers and pranks going to attract even the 'too young to be juvenile'population of India? Well my answer is not sure. His antics, like the animation, falls flat and the film fails to establish itself as entertainment ammunition for newage kids.

Bollywood rarely produces mythological movies. But movies like Hanuman and Bal Ganesh do encourage film-makers to present stories from mythology in an animation format. Bal Ganesh 2, directed by Pankaj Sharma, encompasses three different stories, all pertaining to Lord Ganesha, in one film and the outcome is gratifying.

So much so, the film maker too realises he's gone too heavy and asks the youngsters to take a break with an out-of-sync break dance performed by a bunch of shabby rats. They are the narrators of the story which tries to throw light on the bond between Ganesh and his carrier rat, who happens to be a tamed rakshas.

The mythological largely works in episodic form, showcasing Ganesh's skills at penning down the lengthy Mahabharata with his tusk and then single-handedly taming the rakshas who threatened mayhem in deity land. Really, the narrative is too heavy-handed to strike a chord with PSP kids nor does the animation promise to find favour with the playstation generation.

Adults, are you going to be game for Gannu's antics? Not unless you don't have anything better to do. Seriously, when will Indian animation truly come of age!

Download this movie



Screenshots:










Bal Ganesh 2 showtimes in Delhi


‎Animation‎‎ - Hindi ‎
Pvr Saket - Delhi
Delhi
10:35am 4:20pm Dt Star Cinemas: Vasant Kunj
Delhi
10:35am 12:40 3:50 7:00pm
Dt Star Cinemas: Saket
Delhi
11:15am 2:50 6:25pm Pvr Select Citywalk - Primere
Delhi
1:05pm
Satyam Cineplex Patel Ngr
402, 4Th Flr Satyam Cinema Bldng, Patel Nagar, Delhi
1:10pm Satyam Cineplex Nehru Place
45, District Centre, Nehru Place, Delhi
4:55 6:40pm
Spice Cinemas: Noida
Noida
10:45am 12:30 3:50 7:10pm Wave: Noida
Centre Stage Mall, Noida
1:30 5:30 9:15pm
Satyam Cineplex Janak Puri
Janak Puri, Delhi
10:30am Inox Faridabad
Faridabad
11:00am 1:00 3:00 5:00pm
Pvr Ambience - Premiere
Gurgaon
10:00am 2:00 6:00pm Pvr Cinema Europa - Gurgaon
Gurgaon
10:20am 2:10 6:00 9:50pm

Welcome to One Spot DVD reviews of Bollywood and Hollywood films from a Indian perspective considering Global Audience

Films (or movies) play a very important part in modern day lifestyle. Not only they provide us generic entertainment but also grant us opportunities to look into events and things that are larger than life. The world of movies, though derived from our real world, is quite a different entity in itself. It brings us a lot other set of things that are simply not possible in our regular world. They have the capability to romanticize, to

But unfortunately or fortunately for most of us not all movies are alike. Movies just like any other thing in the world are classified as either good or bad or ugly.
i.e

Good = Pretty watchable and thoroughly entertaining

Bad = As the name suggests, bad

Ugly = You can surely understand!

But that's neither our point nor it is our cup of tea. Here we will not talk of the movies themselves. Leave it to a film critic. But here we will talk about the DVDs of movies. Just like a bibliophile collects good books and cares about their binding, casing, printing, font face etc. we will too also engage in

DVD Review

DEV.D

About the film:

Imdb rating : 8.3/10

Cast

Abhay Deol Dev

Mahie Gill Paro

Kalki Koechlin Chanda

Parakh Madan Rasika

Dibyendu Bhattacharya Chunni

Director

Anurag Kashyap

Music

Amit Trivedi

Brief Synopsis

Dev.D as said by the director Anurag Kashyap himself, is the modern day transformation of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhaya’s classic Bengali novel DEVDAS.