While James Cameron has mentioned in the past that he plans to take his sequel to Avatar to the seas of Pandora, it appears that the visionary science fiction director is planning to go a step furhter with his plans.

According to The Daily Mail, Cameron plans to shoot portions of the science fiction in the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench in the Philippines, the deepest known place in the world's oceans. Not only would this be the first film to shoot at such a depth, but Cameron's crew will be the first people to visit the area since it was first visited in 1960. Accoring to the paper Cameron has purchased "has commissioned a bespoke submarine, built of high-tech, man-made composite materials and powered by electric motors, which will be capable of surviving the tremendous pressures at a depth of seven miles, from which he will shoot 3D footage that may be incorporated in Avatar's sequel."

When it comes to classic horror H.P. Lovecraft rules supreme. Tales of maddening confusion, unimaginable horror, and disturbing imagery, whether you love him or hate him there are very little storytellers like Lovecraft. However, it is not surprising that there has yet to be a Lovecraftian film adaptation.


However, it appears that this may well change in coming years. Deadline reports today that veteran fantasy horror director Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) plans to adapt Lovecraft's most famous tale At the Mountains of Madness. Oscar winning director James Cameron will also assist in providing technical support, and apparently 3D effects. Del Toro will also write the script along with Matthew Robbins (Mimic). Even though Del Toro is incredibly excited for the film, and is passionate about the project, he still expresses concern for how the film will perform: "It's R-rated and it's expensive and it doesn't have a happy ending."

Wait....there's a movie about killer fish... that is not made by the SyFy Channel? Apparently this August we will be greeted to a killer swarm of CGI fish in 3D!?! Made as a slighlty tongue in cheek tribute to 3D monster films of the 60's and 70's, Piranha 3D is in fact based off of James Cameron's first movie Pirahna 2. Despite the intentional corniness the film features an all star cast of well known actors including: Elisabeth Shue, Richard Dreyfuss, Jerry O'Connell, Christopher Lloyd, Ving Rhames, Dina Meyer, Ricardo Chavira, and Eli Roth.

As Avatar has now reached the fourth highest grossing movie domestically (behind only Star Wars, The Dark Knight, and Titanic) and the second highest grossing internationally (behind only Titanic) it is only natural that there is sequel buzz in the air. James Cameron has gone on record saying that there may be two more Avatar films, which may or may not take place on Pandora. "I've had a storyline in mind from the start - there are even scenes in 'Avatar' that I kept in because they lead to the sequel," Cameron said. "It just makes sense to think of it as a two or three film arc, in terms of the business plan. The CG plants and trees and creatures and the musculo-skeletal rigging of the main characters — that all takes an enormous amount of time to create. It'd be a waste not to use it again." So whether you liked, loved, or hated James Cameron's Avatar, looks like we'll be seeing alot more of it.

James Cameron has been hailed as the king of the world when it comes to filmmaking. With films like Terminator, Titanic, and Aliens under his built, he has become something of a legend. However, he took a twelve year break to create the gigantic science fiction epic known as Avatar.

Praised as a revolution to filmmaking Avatar, has been coined everything from the next Star Wars to a colossal flop? Where does the film fall, and are its special effects really so spectacular?

Avatar follows the story of a paraplegic marine, named Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who is sent to the planet Pandora after his scientist brother is murdered. Jake Sully is drafted into the Avatar program, a scientific initiative which has genetically created alien-human hybrid bodies through which the characters would live vicariously. Jake is met with a wide host of characters in the human encampment stationed in Pandora. On one side is the group of corporate heavy weights such as Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribsi) and the extremist military commander Colonel Quatritch (Stephen Lang), the other is the scientific program lead by the botanist Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and nerdy scientist Norm Spellman (Joel Moore). As Jake progresses through the new world he is met with new beauty in the biology of the world and the natives, particularly the princess Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). As Jake becomes more and more enchanted with the new world which has given him acceptance a conflict boils around him between the increasing greedy and powerful human encampment and the Na’vi natives.

Avatar is one of those films you want to see succeed, and when it slams a hit it hits out of the park, but then will strike out for two consecutive innings. The special effects truly are revolutionary and offer more beauty and spectacle in a film then ever seen before in the history of film. The sheer emotion shown by the Na’vi and Avatars character models are fantastic. Cameron has truly perfected the art of motion capture meshing human performance and special effects to a new high. If there is anything Cameron has truly exceeded at it is building a believable and breathtaking world. Everything about the world of Pandora looks and feels organic and true. Scenes where Jake flies through the world of Pandora on the back of a dragon like beast are surprisingly poignant and beautiful and are a true spectacle. Cameron excels at drawing you into a world filled with unsurpassed beauty and spectacle. Perhaps never since Oz has a film opened and audiences’ eyes and made their jaws drop in true visual astonishment. The creatures in the film are perhaps the most realistically designed aliens ever created, outside of the overly human Na’vi. They feel like animals that would actually evolve on a world like Pandora’s, and they are real treat to watch on screen, especially the flying Banshees.

Perhaps the area of the film that is called most into scrutiny is its similarity to Native American epics such as Pocahontas and Dances with Wolves. However, this story is a powerful and moving one and has never been told with such vigor and creativity as in Avatar. The one area where the film truly starts to falter is in character. Neytiri and Jake Sully are wonderfully indepth and drawn out characters with numerous moments that make them shine. The acting in this film is for the most part well done and fleshed out. The motion capture performances delivered by Worthington, Weaver, and Saldana are spectacular and perhaps more emotional and heart given the majority of the live action actors. Worthington is surprisingly flat as Jake outside his Avatar, and the contrast between the two is sometimes jarring. Stephen Lang is another actor who stands out in the film for negative reasons. His character of Col. Quatrich is perhaps one of the most interesting in the film, but he is hampered by the awful and cliché military dialogue written for him. The dialogue as a whole feels surprisingly flat and hollow compared to the indepth world in which it takes place. Surprisingly the only lines that truly feel deep are spoken by the Na’vi, who barely speaks English to begin with.

James Cameron’s direction is what saves this potentially fatal flaw to the film. Cameron directs each scene of the film with such vigor, excitement, and visual astonishment that the problems with the script literally melt away around you. Every time you begin to question a character or plot point Cameron fixes it with a new sequence of visual and emotional resonance that few other directors have yet to achieve. His direction saves the clichéd plot and makes it exciting, and it even saves some of the poorly written conversations of the film, but they still stand out like a sore thumb.

James Horner’s score is also a standout. Combining sweeping epic battle hymns, tribal chants, and one of the most memorable film themes I’ve seen in years, it works seamlessly with Cameron’s direction providing powerful and moving moments.
Avatar shines best when you are forced to take a step back and realize its epic scope and scale. The battle scene in the final act is impressive, ground breaking, thrilling, and occasionally emotional. Scenes involving the plight of the Na’vi tribes are also wrenching and breathtaking in scale.

Perhaps comparisons made to films such King Kong, Star Wars, and The Wizard of Oz are correct. Avatar is a film that thrives off of a visual uniqueness and power, epic scale, and smart direction and manages to sweep you along with it despite its flaws. When the original Star Wars premiered over thirty years ago it was a film very similar to Cameron’s labor of love. An expensive and ambitious movie, that relied on effects and scope to draw viewers into a deceptively thin storyline and characters. Although rarely done today, if one were to view Star Wars as a standalone film, people would realize its surprisingly simple plot and 2D characters. The same goes for King Kong. King Kong was a spectacle that unleashed a towering stop motion gorilla upon the streets of New York. Once again a familiar plot filled with simple character archetypes, yet these films became classics for their technological innovation and their ability to capture an audience, which Avatar succeeds in almost every form.

Although falling short of my highest mark, it is hard for me not to appreciate the work that James Cameron has done on what is sure to be on the most remembered films of our time.

Score: A

James Cameron's new science fiction epic premiered this week to critics throughout the world, and so far they are loving it. Gaining a 91% on the review site Rotten Tomatoes, Avatar seems to be gaining steam as one of the years best. Roger Ebert gave the film 4 out of 4 claiming that "[James Cameron] is one of the few people left in Holywood who can use $300 million dollars effectively." The film is is also being a true technical evolution on all accounts. The only true debate comes down to the films familiar story. Some love it, while others find it tired. Avatar is due for release December 18th.

Holy sh*t! The newest trailer for James Cameron's Avatar has premiered, and for once it delivers. Having seen the underwhelming Avatar Day preview and the confusing, and somewhat boring teaser trailer, my faith in Cameron's newest sci-fi epic has been restored.