Into the Dileep

I got to interview someone who was in Inception. INCEPTION! It’s like getting to interview someone from Brick but on a much more widely appreciated scale! Said person is Dileep Rao, also known as “that Indian guy” from Drag Me To Hell, Avatar and, yes, Inception. Coming from a theatre background originally, Rao has had incredible career. With only three movies under his belt, his box office average is over $363 million in the US and $1.2 billion worldwide, which is freakin’ insane and largely thanks to the huge success of his trio of features. Anywho, Rao is a clever and well-spoken lad and I had the chance to interview him last week ahead of his appearance at the Supernova Pop Culture Expo in Brisbane this weekend. Because it just wouldn’t be fair to give you interview snippets, here’s my full transcript with Rao where we discuss Inception, Nolan, Will Smith, Inception sequels, that ending, geeks, a possible role in The Dark Knight Rises and Inception. Movie Mazzupial: It’s lovely to talk to you Dileep, where are you talking to me from? Dileep Rao: I’m in California, based in Santa Monica there. MM: Now you’re coming to Australia for the Supernova Pop Culture Expo, is it your first visit here? DR: Yeah, it is. MM: Great, any touristy things you’re looking forward to doing? DR: I’m looking forward to doing the non-stereotypical touristy things. I want to see the town get lost a bit and see what I like. As soon as I find my hotel I like to go and get lost in the crowd of the city a bit. MM: Now, I’ve got to say, this is kind of surreal for me to interview someone from one of my favourite films of all time – Inception. But I suppose you get that a lot? DR: Thank you, that’s great to hear. It’s funny, out of all three of the films I’ve done I always get people coming up to me and saying Inception is one of their favourite films of all time, I’m honoured by that, it’s very moving. The boldness and intellect of Inception is great and people feel rewarded by that and have strong feelings about it. It’s nice and refreshing to see a movie that’s powerful and intellectually challenging within a blockbuster. MM: Definitely. Tell me about that experience, what was it like working with Chris (Nolan)? I mean, he’s kind of considered the new Stanley Kubrick right? DR: I’ve read that a lot and it’s not fair to put the burden of that on him. Stanley Kubrick has a whole career of films and has passed on, whereas Chris is still a young filmmaker. I’m the first person to champion and applaud Chris and there’s no doubt he’s one of the greatest filmmakers living. He’s one of the greatest living directors, I love working with him. He’s brilliant. It’s very unusual to have all these different movies from one person and in different genres. In that way he’s like Kurbrick. He had magic in The Prestige, then goes and does a comic book movie; he’s a masterful storyteller and a great writer. In fact, his writing is equal in quality to his filmmaking. MM: Yeah, that’s definitely one of the great things about him. Now, back to Inception, you got to slap Joseph Gordon Levitt! How awesome was that? DR: (Laughs) We had a lot of fun doing that scene because he had to just sit there, while Tom Hardy, who was in the background, and I would be just cracking up. Joseph couldn’t do anything, he just had to sit there and not react and we would be laughing like crazy. It was one of my favourite days on set. MM: Speaking of the set, it must have been an incredible experience working with such an incredibly talented cast and group of filmmakers. DR: It was like the 1927 New York Yankees but with the greatest actors in the world all in one room. Leonardo (DiCaprio) has been doing this for so long and is one of the greatest of our generation and Marion Cotillard is one of the greatest of our generation. I think that’s once of the greatest things about Chris is that the greatest - whether that’s cast or crew - want to work with him. I’m honoured to count myself as part of that. MM: Inception has had this kind of incredible response where it hasn’t even been out for a year yet and it’s already considered a modern classic. How does it feel to be a part of that? DR: It’s a tremendously amazing thing; I can’t take that lightly. I wouldn’t put it up against anything. I think its one of the coolest films ever. When we watched some for the cuts before it came I was like `I’m in it’ and I felt naked. It still blew my mind even then. I’m just so proud to be in it, its only been out 7 - 8 months now and people already consider it kind of one of the greatest films of the last decade, which is the same sort of things they were saying about Avatar.

MM: Now, I have to ask; what’s you opinion of the ending? I’m frankly against the whole “it’s a dream theory” but what’s your take?

DR: Well, I don’t think it helps to give an opinion about it because it ruins the wildly imaginative possibilities. But at the end in that lingering shot you hear the top start to wobble, which I think gives it away.

MM: Yes! Exactly!

DR: (Laughs).

MM: I swear this my last Inception question, but it’s been reported online in the past few days that Warner Bros are looking at Inception sequels, can you tell me anything about that?

DR: Can’t say anything on that. MM: Fair enough. I read that you were originally training to be a doctor before you started pursing acting and theatre. That must have been a huge life decision for you?

DR: It was. I wanted to be a doctor and I was studying to be one, but I changed my mind before it became too much of a reality. It was a hard decision and one that had to be made because I knew there was some part of me that would never be expressed in that profession.

MM: It’s turned out a pretty bloody good decision for you. I mean, out of the three feature films you’ve done it’s been Sam Raimi, James Cameron and Christopher Nolan. People spend their whole lives trying to work with directors and you’ve smashed them all back to back.

DR: I’m really lucky, you know? I think that when those things happen you’re pinching yourself all the time, but at the same time you have a job to do. You don’t have a lot of time to be standing around in awe. But they (the directors) all bring out the best in you. I’m very interested in them as artists, not just as a fan. I love all their movies, but I also understood you’re in a very important process with someone who needs to get done what they need to get done. These are only the first three films that I’ve made and it’s a crazy thing to realise who I’ve worked with. I was a stage actor for most of my life and maybe that’s why all of this came later.

MM: Do you understand how amazing that sounds? No wonder geeks worship you!

DR: Geeks are some of the best people around and those are my people, you know? I don’t look like this all the time; I’m a raging dork. I play board games and I love all that stuff too. I think part of that worship too is to do with James, Sam and Chris. They’re the kind of people who embrace their audience and their audience embraces them back. These particular films embrace the intellect and heart both. Raimi built films from hand, Cameron worked for Roger Corman and Chris, well, he makes them with such love. MM: Right. Well, I was doing some reading on you before this interview and read New York magazine called you the “Indian Will Smith”. How do you respond to something like that?

DR: That is absurd. It’s just not true. It’s flattering that anyone can put me in the same breath as Will Smith who has such an amazing career and has made so many movies. But I think I’m just me – I’m not anyone anyone. No one should be identified by their ethnicity, I’m proud to be Indian, but it’s like calling Tom Hanks the new Jimmy Stewart. Whereas it’s ridiculous to call me the new Will Smith because he’s been in so many movies and gigantic films. He’s one of THE only genuine movie stars in the world where he can open a movie everywhere and people will see it. I’m not that person.

MM: Now Chris Nolan has a tendency to work with actors again, please tell me he’s found a role for you in The Dark Knight Rises?

DR: I don’t know about that, but you never know what’s going to happen. I’ll leave that Chris, Chris knows best.

MM: So there won’t be any Indian chemists or psychics? Damn.

DR: (Laughs) Maybe, maybe not.

MM: Well, thanks so much for chatting with me. It’s been a real pleasure. And you know, I hope you enjoy Australia when you come here.

DR: Thanks a lot. Bye.

For dets on Supernova and to buy tickets to see Rao, click here.

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The gaylien invasion begins

Skyline is the latest in a string of alien invasion flicks that have been hitting our screens over the past few years and it brings nothing new to the genre. In fact, it almost makes a point to bring to nothing new and instead takes moments from the most iconic alien films instead. From Independence Day to District 9, and Alien to Cloverfield, Skyline is literally an hour and a half of watching those films be ripped off by new filmmakers.

A group of friends hung over in LA wake to see a bright light shining through their apartment window. Turns out, it's the glow of beams from an alien ship that is sucking humans up into the sky once they're transfixed on the light. Although they manage to avoid the initial onslaught, the next few days sees the group try and avoid the legion of alien creatures which roam the city searching for survivors with fresh brains.

Skyline is the directed by The Brothers Strause, who are the visual effects masters behind Avatar, The Day After Tomorrow, 300, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, 2012, Titanic and pretty much every other incredible effects-laden film of the past 15-years. So the effects in this are as impressive as you would expect; from the creatures to the alien ships, there's nothing to fault. The acting, however, is something else altogether. The only recognisable face is Donald Faison, who is famous for playing Turk on Scrubs. Buffy fanatics such as myself will recognsie Eric Balfour (above) as the ill-fated Jesse, but that's it. Everyone else comes from a supporting cast and minor role background, and it shows thanks to some seriously telemovie-grade acting. The characters themselves are also shallow, annoying and painfully stupid which doesn't help add to the film's suspense when the whole time you're hoping the tentacled creature will capture them and relive us of their presence.

Skyline sucks in every sense of the word, that is, right up until the surprising last five minutes. Without giving anything away, the filmmakers are obviously gearing up for a sequel. They have done so by recreating a plot point from anime film Appleseed which, if executed properly, could make Skyline 2 a much better film than this. Here's hoping.

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Exclusive: the grass is Greener

A comedian, director, testicular-cancer survivor, actor and Drew Barrymore's ex-husband, Tom Green is anything but ordinary. Which, you can kind of gather just by looking at him.

He is currently in Australia for the first time doing a bunch of stand-up shows and I caught up with him last week. Despite being as quirky and humorous as I had expected, he was also very anti-establishment…which was, er, intriguing. Here’s what he had to say on:

Australia –

"I’ve never been to Australia. I’m really excited to do sand-up comedy here. I know Australians always seem to be pretty fun and absurd, crazy people like myself so I'm excited to see how the jokes translate. I didn’t know what to expect when we initially booked this tour but after doing all these interviews, everyone seems really excited and the tickets are selling. Which is good, because I always like to have actual people at my shows.

I want to hug a duck-billed Platypus and I’m generally just really curious about everything. I'm looking forward to having some beers with the Freddy Got Fingered fans and generally having a good time. I'm excited to see my first Kangaroo in the wild, have my first beer in Adelaide, then my second, third, fourth, fifth, and watch the toilet flush in the opposite direction."

Freddy Got Fingered –

"Making Freddy Got Fingered was saying `look, we did everything wrong here, we smashed the mould and wanted to show you don’t have to everything by these conventional rules or make a cookie cutter comedy movie.’ I purposefully set out to make a movie that was the craziest, weirdest movie. I don’t know if people would say that about it or not.

Everything has got so mainstream and corporate and over-produced now, there’s not so many surprises in comedy as there used to be. It’s (my stuff) for people looking for something anti-establishment."

Stand-up comedy –

"I have always wanted to this in this in some sort of capacity and do it seriously. I did it for a few years as a teenager but I was too young, I was in high school. All those years in Hollywood, doing shows, I just wanted to go and do stand-up. It's the purest form of comedy, there's no teleprompter, no scripts, no boss coming in and telling you what you can and can't say. I got in to comedy so I didn’t have someone telling me what to do all day and then I have a TV show and people are telling me what to do all day."
Movies –

"It’s funny, I never really set out to do movies, it was never really my goal. I always liked television and was a huge fan on comedy on TV. I started my show in a completely independent way with no rules and on a community access station with no executives telling me what to do. After the show did well and got picked up on MTV I did Road Trip. I did a lot of improvising and tried to always do what would be the most ridiculous thing possible.

It depends what kind of movies you want to make, but I never want to be a serious actor. I wouldn’t have an insight to that. I spend a lot of my time studying great comedians from the 60s and 70s and getting inspiration from that."

Why the heck he has so many cameras with him –

"It’s for my show; you can watch all the shows online. It occurred to me about a year ago what better way to promote the show and build on my audience than with the stand-up comedy. My show is so international, with people calling in on Skype, and I thought it would be neat to get my camera and take it with me. I brought a small camera crew, myself and one other person, so we can document parts of my trip here."

His favourite movies –

"Growing up my favourite film was Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life. It didn’t have a solid plot throughout the whole thing, but a combination of the most outrageous skits you could ever see. As a kid growing up in Canada I thought `wow, you can vomit on TV and play with guts and have babies fall out of dresses?’ It was very exciting and inspirational to me. To a hyperactive 14-year-old it seemed like the dream. I also liked unconventional movies full of wacky skits and weird stuff like Aeroplane and Top Secret. They were always my favourites.

Recently…I liked Avatar a lot, I saw that. The Hangover was a hilarious movie, directed by my friend Todd Phillips who did Road Trip. I was just really happy for my friend Todd. He started out in a very independent way making documentaries and that kind of thing and has a very distinct point of view. As someone who writes and directs, I’m excited to see him keep making movies the way he wants to. It’s good to see a free-thinking person come from outside of that Hollywood, pre-packaged model.

I don’t see movies as often as I would like to, but when I do I pick something I think I’m going to like."



You can watch Tom Green's online show and find out all about his tour dates etc HERE.

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Sanctum wraps shooting in QLD

(Above) Alister Grierson and James Cameron on the set of Sanctum.

Underwater 3D epic Sanctum finished filming in Queensland today and I spoke to director Alister Grierson exclusively about it. The Gold Coast director and the stars are flying down to Mt Gambier on Monday to shoot the final underwater cave scenes.

Grierson says they have spent the last three days filming on Dunk Island in North Queensland and are now on the ``home stretch''.
``It's very exciting, but I've got more work to do supervising the shoot with the second unit in Mt Gambier," he says.
``It has been physically demanding for the actors and quite dangerous.
``It's always stressful when you have people in the water in these dangerous situations but they really stepped up to the challenge.
``They're relieved to finish in a way, but it's always sad when you finish a film because it's like a community and you form some really close bonds.''

Sanctum stars Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd and Australian actors Richard Roxburgh and Rhys Wakefield as three divers on a cave-diving expedition gone wrong. It is based on the real-life experience of the producer and writer Andrew Wight and is being executive produced by Titanic and Avatar director James Cameron (also known as God).
Majority of the film has been shot on the Gold Coast at Warner Roadshow Studios and Grierson says the post-production will be done in Melbourne.
``Heading into the editing room, adding the visual effects and all the sound, it's my favourite part of the filmmaking process,'' he says.

He says they will deliver the finished film to the studio in October, with a late 2010 theatrical release most likely.


Despite having a budget of only $30 million, James Cameron says he thought Sanctum would be able to utilise his 3D technology better than Avatar.
``Avatar is much more expansive, but the thing that most people don't understand with 3D is that it works best in a very claustrophobic environment,'' he said.
``With Sanctum you can really feel that those rock walls in the cave are only a few feet away.
``It works exceptionally well in creating a sense of claustrophobia.
``There will accelerated heart rates, tight breathing and white knuckles when they (audiences) go through a lot of the experiences in this film as a result of the 3D putting them right there in these constricted places.''

If you have been living underwater in a cave for the past few months, you can check out my previous Sanctum stories here, here and here.

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The James Cameron interview: Part 1...the final frontier

Hello readers!

I’m eternally sorry for the late posting of the James Cameron interview, but I caught rabies and have been bed-ridden for a few days. Okay, it wasn’t rabies, but that sounds way cooler than some pansy flu.

Anywho, you have probably read all the James Cameron related articles since then, including my own. However, it’s not everyday you get to meet Jim aka `the legend' so I’m going to do a series of posts utilising the material I got from the interview. Why? Because a transcript would take longer to read than a Lord Of The Rings marathon. Plus, in just under an hour Jim spoke about everything from space exploration and Avatar, to the evolution of 3D technology, deep sea expeditions and Sanctum.

Needless to say, I was your typical gushing fanboy when it came to interview time…except I’m not actually a boy, I think. And for those of you wondering, I was able to maintain my composure and not scream out “your movies shaped my childhood!”. Relief.

So, in the lead-up to the Oscars and forever after, I hope you find his responses as fascinating as I did, the man truly left me with the impression that he’s a genius-of-all trades.

The James Cameron interview: Part 1...the final frontier

Above: James Cameron on the set of Sanctum

James Cameron wants to make a film on another planet.

To fans of the legendary Hollywood filmmaker that might not seem so usual considering the alternate worlds he has created in films such as Aliens, Terminator and, most recently, Avatar. Yet this is not a fictional planet he has created, Cameron is talking about the red planet; Mars.
``We will literally be shooting the first movie on another planet,'' he says.
``It might be a very short movie, it might only be a minute long, but we will be shooting something.''

Three years ago the Canadian was sought out by NASA to invent a camera to record the discoveries of the NASA Mars rover which is scheduled to be launched in 2011. The rover will perform the first-ever precision landing on Mars and relay its findings back to the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) to determine the planet's habitability. Like one of his science-fiction fantasies brought to life, Cameron is on the NASA Advisory Council and a co-investigator on the team that will be the ``eyes of the Mars Science Laboratory.''

In a gross understatement, he sums up his involvement on what is one of the most important space missions for humankind as being ``involved in space stuff.''
``I'm on that team because they looked around and went `who knows motion-imaging in 3D? Oh, that guy,'' he says.
``There's a rover that will operate on the surface for years and make many, many important scientific discovers.
``We're building a stereoscopic motion camera to capture that.''

Few people in the world understand stereoscopic imaging, the technology used to create 3D, better than Cameron.

To bring Avatar and the world of Pandora to life, Cameron had to wait 12-years until the technology necessary was created. In the down time he invented the Cameron-Pace Fusion camera system that has revolutionised the way 3D can be filmed and is touted as the invention to bring 3D technology to the masses in the same way colour has altered the viewing experience.
``It's all happening at an exhilarated rate,'' he says.
``If you look at the history of colour it took a long time for colour to become the rule, first it was exception.
``It became the rule in movies only when the colour television set was introduced and it took another medium to shift cinema medium decisively towards colour.
``The number of (3D cinema) screens worldwide is probably going to double by in the next year.
``That's now going through a fairly seismic adjustment...and I think you'll see sports coming into the home in 3D within a year.
``Then that will allow us to have laptops, small portable devices, iPhones all in 3D as well. ``That's where it can make a significant difference.''

Above: (L-R) Sanctum director Alister Grierson, James Cameron and Andrew Wight

His technology is being utilised in the filming of 3D underwater action film Sanctum, on which Cameron serves as executive producer. On the Gold Coast recently to visit the set at Village Roadshow Studios, Cameron's next project is an extension of his deep sea expeditions conducted with Australian filmmaker and explorer Andrew Wight. After filming Titanic, the pair made landmark 3D underwater documentaries Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep which honed Cameron's 3D cameras and technology and allowed them to plan a big-screen adaptation of Wight's cave diving adventures in Sanctum.

From the undiscovered depths of the ocean to the endless void of space, Cameron is the infinite explorer and says his curiosity about the universe stems from his childhood.
``Since I was kid I was very curious about the world,'' he says.
``The projects that I'm attracted to, especially lately, are ones where I can learn.
``Let's say from Titanic on and all the expedition films, even Avatar, where we were in very unknown terrain...in how to execute the film, in terms of exploration and how to do CG characters.
``I'm just very curious, I love exploration.''


Note: if you intend to re-post this article on another site, please credit Movie Mazzupial.

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Exclusive interview with Mia Wasikowska

With Time Burton’s epic-looking version of Alice In Wonderland set to be released in less than a month, Movie Mazzupial had a chance to chat with Alice. Okay, not literally Alice because she’s a fictional character and that would mean I’m slightly crazy. Rather, the sweet Australian actress who plays her; Mia Wasikowska (above).

The 20-year-old actress first burst on the scene with a supporting role in the brilliant Aussie flick Suburban Mayhem in 2006. Her big break though came when she starred in the award-winning series In Treatment, which led to roles in larger Hollywood films like Defiance.

Yet nothing can compare to what is arguably the biggest role of her career as a grown-up Alice in Burton’s 3D version of the classic tale.

The trailers and stills from the movie have been going loco online, mainly because they look incredible. Personally, this is the film I’m looking to most in 2010 so you can understand my excitement when I got to chat with Wasikowska today about what it was like to be part of this exceptional film. A ridiculously sweet, polite and soft-spoken girl, she shared some interesting perspectives on the future of 3D, her favourite films and of course, what it’s like to work with some of the most powerful and respected people in the industry.

I hope you enjoy the interview transcript as much I did chatting to her, she’s truly lovely.

MM: Firstly, what was it like to film a movie like this? It looks like an amazing process to be a part of?
Mia: It was fantastic. Its been a really long process because we shot the movie in 2008, towards the end of the year and it’s almost been two years now. It has been a fantastic experience.

MM: From an acting perspective, what was that like? I mean, did you have to visualise a lot of what was going on given the use of a green screen?
Mia: Well, three months of it was green screen and there’s not a lot to draw from. You have to rely on concept art and the director telling you what you’re feeling. It’s strange. There were scenes when I had to interact with a tennis ball or sticky tape which was about 50 per cent of the movie.

MM: Have you read the book? Most people know the story from the Disney movie but the book is quite dark.
Mia: I have, I read it again before I started filming and as an adult saw a different side to it as kid. It’s such a unique story. I saw the observations, the darkness and the humour that I didn’t before. It’s such a beloved story by so many people and to be able to bring it to another generation is such a big honour.

MM: Did it seem surreal to you, coming from a background of lower budget Australian films or even gritty dramas like Defiance?
Mia: Not at all. Where I come from, especially living in Canberra in a completely different world, everyone was really great at making me feel very welcome and comfortable.
MM: And what was it like to work with Tim Burton?
Mia: Tim’s so great and such a wonderful person. He was so collaborative and open to my ideas, and he gives you so much trust from the beginning. He’s so clear with his vision and his direction. I really admire him.

MM: Could you see yourself working with him again in the future?
Mia: I’d love to work with him again as he’s an incredible artist and filmmaker. Being able to watch the whole process of him finding a project and bringing it to life was incredible to see. I learnt a lot and it was amazing to be a part of that.

MM: What was it like to work with such an amazing cast? It seems pretty much anyone who’s anyone is there like Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, you know what I mean.
Mia: It was great, it was similar in that they made me feel very comfortable. I grew up watching them and loving everything they were in so it was very surreal. It was almost like taking their careers as an example and I’m very inspired by the way they have navigated their way through life and their careers. That was very cool for me.

MM: So was it easier to interact with them as an actor once they were recreated into those amazing characters?
Mia: That was the best part. Seeing them in all their costumes and makeup gave me ideas and that’s a lot of how we had to get inspiration for the characters. The first time I saw Johnny is his full hair and make-up I didn’t even recognise him so it was very easy to believe him as that character.

MM: I bet, the images I’ve seen so far are incredible. What kind of research did you have to do for Alice?
Mia: I used the storybooks as the backbone of who she is and it was the framework for our Alice because in our story she’s 19 and older, a different person to who she is in the book. I drew experience from the process I’ve gone through as a teenager and seen my friends go through, that awkwardness and feeling that all these pressures are on you. It was about stripping away Alice the icon, the fairytale, and just finding the teenager.

MM: Given the success of Avatar and being part of Alice, which is no doubt going to be a huge 3D film, do you think that 3D is the future of filmmaking?
Mia: I’m not entirely sure it’s the future, it’s definitely going to be very popular and interesting to see how the technology evolves and when it’s used and how. I’m definitely still in love with film film’s though.
MM: What’s another fairytale you would like to see brought to life? I understand you passed up a Sleeping Beauty adaptation recently.
Mia: Yeah, um, I’m probably a little old but I always loved Hansel & Gretel.

MM: That would be great, I could definitely see Tim Burton doing a version of that given the darkness and gothic themes.
Mia: Yeah, totally. I think he already has done something like that.

MM: So what’s next for you? What’s the next project you have coming up?
Mia: I start Jane Eyre at the end of March so I’m looking forward to that. I love doing things that are different from anything I’ve done before. It keeps it interesting, doing different things in different ways. I look forward to finding lots of different characters that challenge me and to also give something back to the audience.

MM: This is a bit off topic from the Alice In Wonderland stuff, but what are some of your favourite films or films that inspired you to get in this industry?
I really loved A Woman Under The Influence and Blue, Red and White. I love Sophie’s Choice, The Piano, An Angel At The Table. Um, there’s so many.

MM: Yeah, I know, sorry. It’s a bit of an impossible question. What do you think it is about these films that you love so much? I mean, are there underlying themes or great performances that attract you?
Mia: The characters are very unique and you don’t see them anywhere else except in those films. There are wonderful actors that portray those parts, they’re beautiful stories, beautifully filmed and everything about those films is amazing.

MM: Okay, well, thanks so much for your time and I hope you have fun on the press tour and all the premieres and everything, it should be very exciting.

Mia: Yes and thank you, thanks for doing this. I hope you have a lovely day.

Alice In Wonderland is released in cinemas on March 4.

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Avatar: futuristic filmmaking

You will be hearing a lot about Avatar over the next few days and probably in a more insightful fashion than I, so I will try and keep this brief. I managed to get along to a critic's screening on Friday night and it was mind-blowing. And yes, I was one of those people who just wanted James Cameron to shut up about how this is going to be the best movie ever and revolutionise cinema blah blah blah.

But if I had a tail, it would be firmly between my legs right now because the technology, the concept, the package, the everything is going to shape the future of movie making. In the past year we have seen 3D movies popping up in cinemas with increasing frequency, most being animated flicks such as Up, Monsters Vs Aliens and Coraline or horror pics My Bloody Valentine and Final Destination. While the latter used 3D technology for cheap thrills like blood splatters and objects poking into the audience, Avatar’s use of 3D is seamless. It sucks you into the world of Pandora and before you know it, you’re amongst Cameron’s vision, watching the story happen around you instead of in front of you.

The story itself is practically identical to Pocahontas, just in a different setting, with the outsider scenario, inner-tribe hostilities and native people vs settlers conflict a doppelganger. But that doesn’t really take away from the spectacle, the plot does what it does and takes the backseat of this effects driven masterpiece. The detail is unfathomable, from the creation of the world as a whole down to the minuscule creatures within it, Cameron has thought of everything.

No doubt you will hear intakes of breath throughout the duration of the movie and you’ll see plenty of figures darting to the bathroom as three-hours is a looooong time to hold it in. There are some great themes amongst the visual splendour, including a few nods to the current environmental crisis, the race debate and the destructive nature of mankind. That’s not to mention Cameron’s tongue-in-cheek commentary on America’s war on terror with the powers-that-be frustratingly small minded and a George Bush-esque villain who proclaims he wants to fight “terror with terror”.

Essentially Avatar is an event movie and in 20-years time you’re gran kids will be asking you about what it was like to see in the cinemas for the first time.

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