Avatar, the biggest film ever

Into the blue … Chinese moviegoers watch Avatar in a cinema in Hefei, in Anhui province. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images


In the end, the only man capable of defeating James Cameron was James Cameron. Titanic, the film-maker's epic 1997 romance set on the doomed ocean liner, yesterday lost its crown as the top grossing movie of all time to Avatar, an epic 3D romance set on an Earth-like moon orbiting a distant star.



The science-fiction saga almost overtook its predecessor's record of $1.843bn at the weekend, after six weeks topping box-office charts around the globe. Twentieth Century Fox confirmed yesterday that the record had finally been broken.

Many pundits had predicted Titanic's record would never be beaten. Yet, early in Avatar's run it was clear it was repeating the pattern of multiple repeat viewings that had been the making of Cameron's previous film. Avatar also benefited from the higher price of tickets for 3D screenings, which have accounted for more than 80% of US earnings and 65% of those elsewhere. The film was so successfully hyped as the first must-see stereoscopic experience that few wanted to compromise with a 2D viewing. In addition, its record-breaking success in China and Russia, markets harder to crack back in 1997, certainly helped to lift its bottom line.

Avatar's box-office victory was, however, won without adjustment for inflation. Figures that do so show how far it's eclipsed by the likes of 1939's Gone With the Wind – that film grossed $400m worldwide, which equates to at least $6bn in today's money, more than three times Avatar's figure.

# Production year: 2009
# Country: USA
# Cert (UK): 12A
# Runtime: 161 mins
# Directors: James Cameron
# Cast: CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Zoe Saldana

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Sherlock Holmes Big Fun at the Movies

It was McManus from The Usual Suspects who said, "There is nothing that can't be done," and thus there's no reason stodgy old Sherlock Holmes can't come off as a vibrant and rollicking good time at the theater. Which it does. It reminds me of the solid parts of a Tim Burton film, the muted palette, the delving into the macabre -- but it avoids the Burton pitfalls, too (lack of story cohesion, a fascination with style). Sherlock Holmes feels like the start of a mega-franchise, a Pirates of the Caribbean-level foundation for Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law to build upon. Essentially, I dug it. If you get nothing else from this review then please get that.

It's the Victorian Age in England, and we can deduce it's the year 1887 based upon the character's mythology. Holmes and Watson are sharing a London apartment. Sherlock is the crackerjack sage, able to detect more than any other mortal using sight, sound, touch, smell, and his prodigious intellect. Watson is the ever-present sidekick; he's more socially capable and straightforward in speech and deed. The mystery of the film is launched immediately, no beginning credits, and Guy Ritchie's directorial touch can be felt right off the bat. Ritchie has always been the best "fight scene" guy in the business, and he adds a modern "tough fella" element to the foppish Holmes character. Oh, and Rachel McAdams! She's good here, and it's nice to see this side of her. She's devilish and resourceful as Irene Adler, the romantic interest and potential downfall of Sherlock.

The villain? Mark Strong as Lord Blackwood. He's a conjurer of expensive tricks, and he's out for blood after Sherlock and Watson foil one of his early plans. The film fluidly transitions from comedy to quasi-suspense (we're not talking Rear Window here) and moves quickly save for about 45 minutes in. Yes, the one flaw I can point to is that by starting quickly the film feels longish in the middle. It's the same phenomenon you feel when you're going 70 miles per hour in heavy traffic: you're moving at a nice clip, but you can't tell because you've been going that speed for too long.

Overall though, this is a nice win for Guy Ritchie and company. It's very fun, but not in the sanctimonious manner of the "this is all very important!" Avatar. It's just pure entertainment, something that's been sorely missing this year. I would heartily recommend this to people who like smart films, to audiences looking to get away, to folks who enjoy snappy dialogue and dynamic pacing. There's a scene early on where slo-mo is intermingled with voice-over, a method that would seem cheap and contrived if not for the prodigious talent involved. By putting you inside the head of Holmes, the film allows you to connect with the character early and often. That's the trick of Sherlock Holmes, taking older source material and infusing it with new life. You've got to sit back and enjoy a film that takes you away, to another era, while utilizing the best of modern techniques to stay relevant. Some will dismiss this as a "popcorn film" -- but I deem it a blessed escape. Enjoy Downey and Watson's interplay, the action, the comedy that unfurls in every scene. Why not? You've earned it. You've survived another year at the movies! So, what's stopping you? Buy a ticket. Let the good times roll. [source: www.film.com]

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Top Ten Movies of 2009

Il Divo, Sept. 5, 2008.* It was on my inaugural trip to the Toronto International Film Festival that I first saw this stylish Italian tragicomic political biography. Despite knowing nothing about Italian politics -- I barely know how American politics work -- I was riveted by Paolo Sorrentino's super-cool direction and Toni Servillo's grimly amusing central performance.

Humpday, Jan. 16. Sundance audiences were drawn in by the eyebrow-raising premise -- two straight male friends decide to make a sex tape -- but were won over by how plausible the outrageous scenario winds up being. That's because the writer/director, Lynn Shelton, and her actors, Joshua Leonard and Mark Duplass, play everything naturally. The result is a surprisingly insightful and funny look at male friendship, platonic love, and society's concept of masculinity.



Precious, Jan. 17. It was still called Push at Sundance -- that's the title of the novel it's based on -- and people were already making jokes about it getting mixed up with the other Push scheduled for 2009, starring Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning as ordinary people with superpowers. Distributors wisely changed this one's title to Precious, but the movie stayed the same: a stark, terrifying portrait of a Harlem girl in awful circumstances, bolstered in the end by a rush of hope and decency. Alarming but never exploitative, this is one of the most emotionally powerful films of the year.

500 Days of Summer500 Days of Summer, Jan. 18. Three days in a row of Sundance premieres that would eventually make the top 10 list! It was a good year for the festival. Check out the diversity, too: While Precious was harrowing, 500 Days of Summer was breezy, hilarious, and resonant, a near-perfect depiction of a failed romance that manages to be realistic (you'll see yourself in one or both of the main characters) as well as inventive and loopy.

Drag Me to HellDrag Me to Hell, March 15. Sam Raimi's return to his horror roots is the fun kind of scary, like a roller coaster or haunted house, not the kind that gives you nightmares afterward. That's my favorite kind of scary, and seeing it at midnight with an enthusiastic South by Southwest audience -- introduced in person by Raimi! -- was a memorable experience. I saw it again later in a more conventional setting and was just as delighted by its twisted imagination, macabre humor, and good old-fashioned thrills.

Star TrekStar Trek, May 2. A lucky audience in Austin got to see this well ahead of schedule when an Alamo Drafthouse screening of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was altered by two things: Leonard Nimoy made a surprise appearance, and he asked if everyone wouldn't rather watch the new film instead. (Those intent on seeing Wrath of Khan were, I guess, disappointed.) The place went nuts, and everyone loved the film. I was skeptical, though -- not because I had any reason to believe J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot might be lousy, but because it's hard to trust responses from a crazy premiere like that. You think you're seeing something else and get the brand-new Star Trek instead? A month early? Introduced by Spock himself?? The stunt was designed to produce giddy enthusiasm, so it was no surprise that giddy enthusiasm was the result. It was a relief, then, to see the film a few weeks later, at a regular ol' press screening, and find myself almost as wowed as that Austin audience had been. There had been no need to stack the deck to get a gracious response. Something this energetically funny, smart, and exciting was going to earn praise no matter where it was shown.

UpUp, May 26. This makes three summers in a row that Pixar has released an animated film that eventually made its way to my top 10. Every year I look forward to the studio's latest invention, and almost every year I am astonished at how they have managed to surprise me yet again. The dialogue-free segment near the beginning, showing Carl and Ellie's life together, is one of the most beautiful sequences of the year, not to mention one of the most concise, expressive, and well executed. What other cartoon would even dare to address the issue of Carl and Ellie's inability to have a baby, let alone pull it off so sublimely?

In the LoopIn the Loop, June 11. After hearing raves about this British political comedy at Sundance (where I missed it), I was eager to see it at CineVegas. Then I had to see it again six weeks later, at a local screening, to catch the lines I'd missed the first time because I was laughing (or because their British accents are sometimes a little indecipherable). Imagine a world where everyone speaks in a nonstop barrage of withering sarcasm and profane insults. To live there would be hell, but to view it from a safe distance, as in this film, is comedic bliss.

Serious ManA Serious Man, Sept. 21. Joel and Ethan Coen's films tend to be among my favorites, and this darkly funny story about a man seeking answers from the Almighty is right up there. It's a tough movie, though, one that required a lot of thought and scrutiny before I really "got" it. But once I got it, I got it good. Just like Pixar, the Coens always make whatever movie they want, no matter how bizarre or unorthodox, and they nearly always succeed.

Fantastic Mr. FoxFantastic Mr. Fox, Nov. 9. Just before Christmas, when I was re-watching this with a friend who had not seen it before, he said, about 10 minutes into it, "I can't believe how Wes Anderson-y this is." And that's part of its delight: It's a typical Wes Anderson movie (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums), only enacted by woodland creatures. This makes it funnier, of course; the fact that they come to life through stop-motion animation gives the film an extra boost of quaint whimsy. The film also teaches us that moles are good at seeing in the dark, rabbits are fast runners, and badgers are demolition experts. Good to know.

[fil.com]

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Avatar The Most Popular Movie

More than a decade in the making, James Cameron's 3-D fantasy about a colony of human astronauts hoping to plunder an alien rainforest represents a quantum leap in movie magic; watching it, I began to understand how people in 1933 must have felt when they saw King Kong. Motion-capture animation, which transposes actors’ physical movements and facial expressions to digital characters onscreen, has never been executed with such accuracy and delicacy, and the planet's strange, colorful landscape is so minutely realized, with such careful study of botany and biology, that the movie's standard eco-parable feels effortlessly sincere. None of this would matter, though, if not for Cameron's perfectly arcing story line, in which a paraplegic military man (Sam Worthington) gets a chance to inhabit an ambulatory alien body and ultimately must choose between his own people and the tribal community they're about to attack. With Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Giovanni Ribisi. PG-13, 162 min.

Avatar showtimes: Tuesday, December 22
Official Site: www.avatarmovie.com
Director: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron
Producer: James Cameron and Jon Landau
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi, CCH Pounder, Joel Moore, Laz Alonso and Wes Studi

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Avatar Movie Guide

Running Time: 160 min.
Release Date: December 18, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking

Starring:
Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi
Directed by:
James Cameron

Synopsis

In a distant future society, former Marine Jake Sully has lost the use of his legs, and is invited to take advantage of a project taking place on a distant moon called Pandora. This "Avatar" program will allow him to transfer his consciousness into a new body and walk once again. The catch? Jake must use his new body to scout out the beautiful jungles of Pandora and find ways to defeat their native people, the Na'vi, so that the humans can exploit their resources. As he comes to love the Na'vi woman named Neytiri, Jake must turn against his own people to save a civilization.



3 reasons to watch this movie
1 James Cameron is back! Twelve years after "Titanic," he's returned to the director's chair, and he's brought along his "Aliens" leading lady, Sigourney Weaver.
2 You've never seen anything quite like the Na'vi: digitally-created, nine-foot tall blue-skinned aliens who possess feline grace, savagery, and beauty.
3 The performance-capture technology used in the film is unprecedented, but if the film is a success, Cameron will be making it into a trilogy! So if you like what you see, go again and bring three friends!

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Cameron's 'Avatar' takes off with $27 million

James Cameron's space fantasy "Avatar" has launched with a solid $27 million opening day at the box office.

Storms in the East likely will hurt the movie's prospects to approach the December opening weekend record of $77.2 million set by Will Smith's "I Am Legend."

"Avatar" did almost as much business Friday as Cameron's last narrative film, 1997's "Titanic," over its entire opening weekend. "Titanic" had a $28.6 million debut weekend, but remained afloat for months at the top of the box office as it took in a record $600 million domestically.

Set in the 22nd century, "Avatar" stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana in a story of a human-alien conflict on a distant moon. [AP]

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Just Host UK Webhosting

For people in the UK sometimes it is important to search for UK based web hosting and with offices in the UK, US & Australia Just Host is the perfect match for thousands of UK businesses and UK individuals worldwide.

Most webmasters do not pay much attention in to where their site is hosted, whether it's in the US or EU people pay little interest in the physical location of a server and focus more on the price. The issue here occurs when you run into difficulties and your site goes down.

You may be left feeling miles away from help when your host is US based and closed for the weekend! The US web hosting marker is huge and it's always a good idea to help companies in your own country first especially in times of an economic crisis.

Very nice price and a very good package. I really enjoy Just host, even if my site was down for couple of hours. Therefore i recommend this website. I really recommend Just Hostuk web hosting for your choice..

Just Host were able to perform 10 simultaneous FTP transfers, which makes upload very fast.

* Control panel: cPanel 11 - Up to date
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JustHost's admin interface has a few promotional items that can be disturbing at first but they do not really get in the way once you get used to their control panel.
Support

JustHost offers toll-free phone support as well as 24/7 free e-mail and live chat support in order to get you answers in a matter of minutes. They also maintain a comprehensive knowledge

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Inspiring Quotes From "The Secret"

The following quotations are selected from the best selling new DVD and book by Rhonda Byrne "The Secret". It is about The Law of Attraction and how to use it to bring whatever you desire into your life. The author says this law explains what you you have now, and it can be used to change what you have now, or attract more things you desire. These quotations may or may not be representative of the book, and you may have selected different ones. These should, however, give you an idea of something about The Secret as to whether you would like to read further into the book or watch the feature length DVD itself.

1. We all work with one infinite power.

2. The Secret is the Law of Attraction (LOA).

3. Whatever is going on in your mind is what you are attracting.

4. We are like magnets - like attract like. You become AND attract what you think.

5. Every thought has a frequency. Thoughts send out a magnetic energy.

6. People think about what they don't want and attract more of the same.

7. Thought = creation. If these thoughts are attached to powerful emotions (good or bad) that speeds the creation.

8. You attract your dominant thoughts.

9. Those who speak most of illness have illness, those who speak most of prosperity have it..etc..

10. It's not "wishful" thinking.

11. You can't have a universe without the mind entering into it.

12. Choose your thoughts carefully .. you are a masterpiece of your life.

13. It's OK that thoughts don't manifest into reality immediately (if we saw a picture of an elephant and it instantly appeared, that would be too soon).

14. EVERYTHING in your life you have attracted .. accept that fact .. it's true.

15. Your thoughts cause your feelings.

16. We don't need to complicate all the "reasons" behind our emotions. It's much simpler than that. Two categories .. good feelings, bad feelings.

17. Thoughts that bring about good feelings mean you are on the right track. Thoughts that bring about bad feelings means you are not on the right track.

18. Whatever it is you are feeling is a perfect reflection of what is in the process of becoming.

19. You get exactly what you are FEELING

20. Happy feelings will attract more happy circumstances.

21. You can begin feeling whatever you want (even if it's not there).. the universe will correspond to the nature of your song.

22. What you focus on with your thought and feeling is what you attract into your experience.

23. What you think and what you feel and what actually manifests is ALWAYS a match - no exception.

24. Shift your awareness.

25. "You create your own universe as you go along" Winston Churchill.

26. It's important to feel good ( ( ( (((good))) ) ) ).

27. You can change your emotion immediately .. by thinking of something joyful, or singing a song, or remembering a happy experience.

28. When you get the hang of this, before you know it you will KNOW you are the creator.

29. Life can and should be phenomenal .. and it will be when you consciously apply the Law of Attraction.

30. Universe will re-arrange itself accordingly.

31. Start by using this sentence for all of your wants: "I'm so happy and grateful now that.... "

32. You don't need to know HOW the universe is going to rearrange itself.

33. LOA is simply figuring out for yourself what will generate the positive feelings of having it NOW.

34. You might get an inspired thought or idea to help you move towards what you want faster.

35. The universe likes SPEED. Don't delay, don't second-guess, don't doubt.

36. When the opportunity or impulse is there .. ACT.

37. You will attract everything you require - money, people, connections.. PAY ATTENTION to what's being set in front of you.

38. You can start with nothing .. and out of nothing or no way - a WAY will be provided.

39. HOW LONG??? No rules on time .. the more aligned you are with positive feelings the quicker things happen.

40. Size is nothing to the universe (unlimited abundance if that's what you wish) We make the rules on size and time.

41. No rules according to the universe .. you provide the feelings of having it now and the universe will respond.

42. Most people offer the majority of their thought in response to what they are observing (bills in the mail, being late, having bad luck...etc..)

43. You have to find a different approach to what is through a different vantage point.

44. "All that we are is a result of what we have thought" - Buddha

45. What can you do right now to turn your life around?? Gratitude

46. Gratitude will bring more into our lives immediately.

47. What we think about and THANK about is what we bring about.

48. What are the things you are grateful for?? Feel the gratitude.. focus on what you have right now that you are grateful for.

49. Play the picture in your mind - focus on the end result.

50. VISUALIZE!!! Rehearse your future.

51. VISUALIZE!!! See it, feel it! This is where action begins.

52. Feel the joy .. feel the happiness :o)

53. An affirmative thought is 100 times more powerful than a negative one.

54. "What this power is, I cannot say. All I know is that it exists." Alexander Graham Bell

55. Our job is not to worry about the "How". The "How" will show up out of the commitment and belief in the "what".

56. The Hows are the domain of the universe. It always knows the quickest, fastest, most harmonious way between you and your dream.

57. If you turn it over to the universe, you will be surprised and dazzled by what is delivered .. this is where magic and miracles happen.

58. Turn it over to the universe daily.. but it should never be a chore.

59. Feel exhilarated by the whole process .. high, happy, in tune.

60. The only difference between people who are really living this way is they have habituated ways of being.

61. They remember to do it all the time.

62. Create a Vision Board .. pictures of what you want to attract .. every day look at it and get into the feeling state of already having acquired these wants.

63. "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." Albert Einstein

64. Decide what you want .. believe you can have it, believe you deserve it, believe it's possible for you.

65. Close your eyes and visualize having what you already want - and the feeling of having it already.

66. Focus on being grateful for what you have already .. enjoy it!! Then release into the universe. The universe will manifest it.

67. "Whatever the mind of man can conceive, it can achieve" W. Clement Stone

68. Set a goal so big that if you achieved it, it would blow your mind.

69. When you have an inspired thought, you must trust it and act on it.

70. How can you become more prosperous?? INTEND IT!!

71. 'Checks are coming in the mail regularly'... or change your bank statement to whatever balance you want in there... and get behind the feeling of having it.

72. Life is meant to be abundant in ALL areas...

73. Go for the sense of inner joy and peace then all outside things appear.

74. We are the creators of our universe.

75. Relationships: Treat yourself the way you want to be treated by others .. love yourself and you will be loved.

76. Healthy respect for yourself.

77. For those you work with or interact with regularly .. get a notebook and write down positive aspects of each of those people.

78. Write down the things you like most about them (don't expect change from them). Law of attraction will not put you in the same space together if you frequencies don't match.

79. When you realize your potential to feel good, you will ask no one to be different in order for you to feel good.

80. You will free yourself from the cumbersome impossibilities of needing to control the world, your friends, your mate, your children....

81. You are the only one that creates your reality.

82. No one else can think or feel for you .. its YOU .. ONLY YOU.

83. Health: thank the universe for your own healing. Laugh, stress free happiness will keep you healthy.

84. Immune system will heal itself.

85. Parts of our bodies are replace every day, every week..etc... Within a few years we have a brand new body.

86. See yourself living in a new body. Hopeful = recovery. Happy = happier biochemistry. Stress degrades the bod.

87. Remove stress from the body and the body regenerates itself. You can heal yourself.

88. Learn to become still .. and take your attention away from what you don't want, and place your attention on what you wish to experience.

89. When the voice and vision on the inside become more profound and clear than the opinions on the outside, then you have mastered your life.

90. You are not here to try to get the world to be just as you want it. You are here to create the world around you that you choose.

91. And allow the world as others choose to see it, exist as well.

92. People think that if everyone knows the power of the LOA there won't be enough to go around .. This is a lie that's been ingrained in us and makes so many greedy.

93. The truth is there is more than enough love, creative ideas, power, joy, happiness to go around.

94. All of this abundance begins to shine through a mind that is aware of it's own infinite nature. There's enough for everyone. See it. Believe it. it will show up for you.

95. So let the variety of your reality thrill you as you choose all the things you want.. get behind the good feelings of all your wants.

96. Write your script. When you see things you don't want, don't think about them, write about them, talk about them, push against them, or join groups that focus on the don't wants... remove your attention from don't wants.. and place them on do wants.

97. We are mass energy. Everything is energy. EVERYTHING.

98. Don't define yourself by your body .. it's the infinite being that's connected to everything in the universe.

99. One energy field. Our bodies have distracted us from our energy. We are the infinite field of unfolding possibilities. The creative force.

100. Are your thoughts worthy of you? If not - NOW is the time to change them. You can begin right were you are right now. Nothing matters but this moment and what you are focusing your attention on.


source: http://hubpages.com/hub/100_Quotations_from_THE_SECRET__

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Sparkling Red Star (2007)

Sparkling Red Star originated from the same titled novel written by a famous Chinese writer Li Xintian. The novel was remade into a film in the 1970s and has become one of the classic all-time hit in China’s film industry. The story is set in 1937 against the background of the Red Army's Long March. In Liuxi Village in Jiangxi, an innocent and cheerful child, Pan Dongzi, spent his carefree childhood. But after reaching 10 years of age, he began to experience the sorrows and joys of life's partings and reunions.

Subtitle: Chinese trad./English
duration: 81 min | XVid 592x320 | 384 kbps 5.1AC3 | 23 fps |
size: 700 mb
Genre : Animation/Drama

http://rapidshare.com/files/205601624/cowry-srs-sample.avi

trailer
http://anonym.to/?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN2L1yXZN88

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Kayhan Kalhor and Brooklyn Rider Silent City

Kayhan Kalhor has performed and recorded with Iran's greatest singers and instrumentalists and toured the world as a soloist. He co-founded the Dastan, Ghazal and Masters of Persian Music ensembles and has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de Lyon, and others. In addition to his work as a performer, Kalhor's compositions have been used for various television and film projects. He is also is an original member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project and his works are heard on all of the Ensemble's albums. Three of his recordings, including his two previous World Village releases, Faryad and Without You, were nominated for Grammy® Awards. The innovative, genre-bending string quartet Brooklyn Rider (Johnny Gandelsman and Colin Jacobsen, violins, Nicholas Cords, viola and Eric Jacobsen, cello), is named for the members' beloved New York borough and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) — a German expressionist movement that flourished during the early twentieth century. The quartet has been challenging and delighting audiences ever since its inception by dividing its time between exploring traditional classical repertoire, new music and fervently adventurous intercultural explorations. Aside from their affiliation with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project, Brooklyn Rider has worked with composers such as Chen Yi and Kayhan Kalhor and performers such as violinist Jenny Scheinman and visual artist Kevork Mourad.

Download From Rapidshare:
http://rapidshare.com/files/205551720/Kayhan_Kalhor_And_Brooklyn_Rider_-_Silent_City.rar

Tracklist:
01. Ascending Bird
02. Silent City
03. Parvaz
04. Beloved Don't Let Me Be Discouraged
05. Keyhan Kalhors Interview

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