<p>Most of my teenage years were spent devouring Agatha Christie's murder mysteries. I read my favourite ones again and again, discovering new details and hints at the identity of the murder. Due to Christie's presence being ubiquitous in mystery and detective fiction, it has been emulated more than one can count. So most of her whodunits do&nbsp;not have nearly the same impact now. Trust writer-director Rian Johnson to recreate that old magic — for this scribe anyway. His 2019 Christie pastiche 'Knives Out' was both a homage to the Dame and an update. Christie and her work are products of their time. Politically and socially, she was a staunch conservative as apparent in her writings.&nbsp;</p>

<p>At the end of the story, her characters like Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot caught the killer(s) and restored order, and the said order was a clearly-defined class system that underpinned British society. Johnson, through Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc, does not just solve the crime and catches the murderer. He disrupts the societal order. In both the first film and the sequel, we do not just find the identity of the one who committed the violent crime, but also their motivations. It's not just a whodunit, it is simultaneously a whydunit as well. There is also — &nbsp;and this is unique to Johnson — an interplay between characters with and without privilege and that affects the plot.</p>

<p>'Glass Onion', deriving its name from The Beatles song in which John Lennon intentionally wanted to confuse fans who read too much into the songs of the band. The onion, and here I am just theorising, has layers, and if one were to keep peeling it, there would be nothing at the centre at all. The solution to this particular case might be too obvious for even Blanc, who is good with metaphors, to solve.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-xR_lBtEvSc" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>Blanc is invited by an eccentric tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton), along with an eclectic group of people (played by an all-star cast) to stay with him on a beautiful, isolated Greek island and solve his own impending murder.&nbsp;</p>

<p>There is Kathryn Hahn's Claire Debella, Connecticut Governor and aspiring senator, Kate Hudson's Birdie Jay, a big-name fashion designer, her assistant Peg (Jessica Henwick), Dave Bautista's Twitch streamer and men's rights campaigner Duke Cody, and his girlfriend Whiskey (Madelyn Cline). The co-founder of Bron's company and former partner Andi Brand (Janelle Monáe) also turns up, something the tech magnate did not see coming for the invitation was just a formality.</p>

<p>True to the title, Johnson builds an intricately structured and engaging mystery peppered with clues and misdirections and clues that are actually misdirections. Johnson also plays with audience expectations, and smartly subverts them at every turn.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="glass onion" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d4dc0bd0-d855-46da-af73-e8903e5bc4ad" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/glass-onion%20%281%29.png" /></p>

<p>The story slyly comments on things like know-it-all tech bro billionaires (similar to a certain someone who recently bought a social media site on a whim) and their unholy connections with politicians, online, misinformed influencers giving all the wrong ideas to the young ones, and son.</p>

<p>But even if one were uninterested in the underlying themes, the story offers a lot of the 'meat' that's present in such mystery stories. Nothing is what it seems. There are layers and layers to these characters and their motivations. Each character, as was true in most Christie&nbsp;stories, has at least one solid motive for the murder.</p>

<p>And among them all, Blanc, with Craig having refurbished the thick, funky Southern accent, observes everyone closely, staying several steps ahead of everyone, including the audience. But as mentioned, there is something so obvious, so profoundly stupid, about this case, similar to just the online murder mystery games a bored, in-between-cases, Blanc plays in the bath and loses every single time.</p>

<p>Unlike their miserable characters, the actors are clearly having a hell of a time playing such rich, vapid characters. The performances, particularly from Norton and Monáe, are unaffected and natural. Johnson is so good at squeezing a lot of drama, tension, and humour from his actors that one gets an idea that casting was very specific and careful, instead of netting the biggest stars the studio could afford as earlier seemed. Craig's Blanc should not work. The accent is badly done, the character is comical, too extra, and to somebody who does not know him, he is the opposite of a cool-minded, brilliant detective. And yet, the actor is an absolute delight to watch.</p>

<p>'Glass Onion' is a delicious murder mystery in which Johnson once again gives that cosy feeling of Christie's tales, and at the same time gives his own subversive touch.</p>

<p><strong>Watch WION live here:</strong></p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></p>


Most of my teenage years were spent devouring Agatha Christie's murder mysteries. I read my favourite ones again and again, discovering new details and hints at the identity of the murder.

Most of my teenage years were spent devouring Agatha Christie's murder mysteries. I read my favourite ones again and again, discovering new details and hints at the identity of the murder. Due to Christie's presence being ubiquitous in mystery and detective fiction, it has been emulated more than one can count. So most of her whodunits do not have nearly the same impact now. Trust writer-director Rian Johnson to recreate that old magic — for this scribe anyway. His 2019 Christie pastiche 'Knives Out' was both a homage to the Dame and an update. Christie and her work are products of their time. Politically and socially, she was a staunch conservative as apparent in her writings. At the end of the story, her characters like Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot caught the killer(s) and restored order, and the said order was a clearly-defined class system that underpinned British society. Johnson, through Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc, does not just solve the crime and catches the murderer. He disrupts the societal order. In both the first film and the sequel, we do not just find the identity of the one who committed the violent crime, but also their motivations. It's not just a whodunit, it is simultaneously a whydunit as well. There is also — and this is unique to Johnson — an interplay between characters with and without privilege and that affects the plot. 'Glass Onion', deriving its name from The Beatles song in which John Lennon intentionally wanted to confuse fans who read too much into the songs of the band. The onion, and here I am just theorising, has layers, and if one were to keep peeling it, there would be nothing at the centre at all. The solution to this particular case might be too obvious for even Blanc, who is good with metaphors, to solve. Blanc is invited by an eccentric tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton), along with an eclectic group of people (played by an all-star cast) to stay with him on a beautiful, isolated Greek island and solve his own impending murder. There is Kathryn Hahn's Claire Debella, Connecticut Governor and aspiring senator, Kate Hudson's Birdie Jay, a big-name fashion designer, her assistant Peg (Jessica Henwick), Dave Bautista's Twitch streamer and men's rights campaigner Duke Cody, and his girlfriend Whiskey (Madelyn Cline). The co-founder of Bron's company and former partner Andi Brand (Janelle Monáe) also turns up, something the tech magnate did not see coming for the invitation was just a formality. True to the title, Johnson builds an intricately structured and engaging mystery peppered with clues and misdirections and clues that are actually misdirections. Johnson also plays with audience expectations, and smartly subverts them at every turn. The story slyly comments on things like know-it-all tech bro billionaires (similar to a certain someone who recently bought a social media site on a whim) and their unholy connections with politicians, online, misinformed influencers giving all the wrong ideas to the young ones, and son. But even if one were uninterested in the underlying themes, the story offers a lot of the 'meat' that's present in such mystery stories. Nothing is what it seems. There are layers and layers to these characters and their motivations. Each character, as was true in most Christie stories, has at least one solid motive for the murder. And among them all, Blanc, with Craig having refurbished the thick, funky Southern accent, observes everyone closely, staying several steps ahead of everyone, including the audience. But as mentioned, there is something so obvious, so profoundly stupid, about this case, similar to just the online murder mystery games a bored, in-between-cases, Blanc plays in the bath and loses every single time. Unlike their miserable characters, the actors are clearly having a hell of a time playing such rich, vapid characters. The performances, particularly from Norton and Monáe, are unaffected and natural. Johnson is so good at squeezing a lot of drama, tension, and humour from his actors that one gets an idea that casting was very specific and careful, instead of netting the biggest stars the studio could afford as earlier seemed. Craig's Blanc should not work. The accent is badly done, the character is comical, too extra, and to somebody who does not know him, he is the opposite of a cool-minded, brilliant detective. And yet, the actor is an absolute delight to watch. 'Glass Onion' is a delicious murder mystery in which Johnson once again gives that cosy feeling of Christie's tales, and at the same time gives his own subversive touch. Watch WION live here:

'Glass Onion' movie review: 'Knives Out' sequel is a delicious, wickedly funny whodunit

Top 10 horror movies of 2022: 'Barbarian', 'The Black Phone', 'Nope', and others

<p>James Cameron's science-fiction action-adventure epic <strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-avatar-the-way-of-water-movie-review-visually-gorgeous-james-camerons-film-repeats-originals-mistakes-543654">'Avatar: The Way of Water' </a></strong>is by far the biggest film in the world right now. It has in less than a week's time surpassed the $500 million mark, an impressive sum for a sequel to a film that came out 13 years ago. Well, that is Cameron's magic. The filmmaker is not just the best crafter of spectacle in the business, he is also a canny marketer, spouting deliberately controversial statements to keep himself and his projects in online and media discourse. However, the film, much like the original, has attracted criticism from Native Americans, the Maori, other indigenous peoples around the world, and social activists. They — among other things — accuse Cameron of the 'White Saviour Complex'.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/critically-speaking-is-avatar-the-way-of-water-worth-the-hype-543816/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<h2>What is 'Avatar' all about?</h2>

<p>'Avatar' and its recently released sequel, are science-fiction films with adventure and fantasy elements. It's 2154. The story is set on Pandora, a habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system. The lush, verdant world is home to the Na'vi, a blue-hued, tall, and lithe people who have an intimate connection with the natural world. Even their deity — Eywa — is a personification of nature. A powerful organisation called the Resources Development Administration with a monopoly on resources on Pandora runs things on the world, with permission from the &nbsp;Interplanetary Commerce Administration in perpetuity.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Also Read:&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-avatar-2-box-office-james-cameron-film-helps-disney-gross-4-billion-in-2022-545224">'Avatar 2' box office: James Cameron film helps Disney cross $4 billion in 2022</a></strong></p>

<p>Chief among the said resources is a mineral called Unobtanium, a transparent name as Pandora is its only known source. Unobtanium helps run the rapid transit system developed by RDA that spans the whole globe back on earth. The trouble is, vast deposits of Unobtanium lie beneath the Home Tree, a skyscraper-sized tree whose huge branches are home to the Omaticaya clan, for whom it is also sacred.</p>

<p>Our hero is Sam Worthington's paraplegic marine Jake Sully who is invited by the RDA to replace his twin brother as an Avatar. Avatars are specially built bodies made to resemble the Na'vi. They can be remotely controlled by a human and are supposed to help the RDA infiltrate the Omaticaya clan and somehow urge them to move from the Home Tree. The other option is an all-out assault from RDA's private military.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o5F8MOz_IDw" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>Sully, initially doing whatever he is told, falls in love with the Omaticaya chief's daughter Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and then the simple, peace-loving ways of the Na'vi. He and other sympathetic humans side with the Na'vi in the final battle against the RDA, who are defeated and sent back to earth.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In the sequel, the humans, including old foes in new skins, are back with a vengeance, and Jake and Neytiri, who have children to take care of now, flee and find shelter with the Reef People, who unlike the Omaticaya have amphibious qualities. Eventually, Avatars, inhabited by soldiers in employ of the RDa, attack and the Na'vi win again.</p>

<p>Is 'Avatar' franchise just tells a story or is there a deeper meaning?</p>

<p>No. If it isn't obvious until now... 'Avatar' movies and by extension the franchise as a whole are meant to be a thinly-veiled metaphor for the genocide and repression Europeans inflicted on Native Americans as well as indigenous populations in Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere. It isn't even subtle. Like the Na'vi, many of these tribes practiced Animism and held nature in particular reverence. They use bows and arrows, wear feathers in their hair, and war paint on their faces.</p>

<p>Eywa is nothing other than the spiritual power that animates animals, trees, and every living thing worshipped by many native peoples around the world.</p>

<p>Cameron has not been shy about what he's saying through these movies. In 2021, he admitted the unsubtlety of the metaphor underpinning this story. As per Business Insider, he said back in 2012, "Avatar is a science fiction retelling of the history of North and South America in the early colonial period. Avatar very pointedly made reference to the colonial period in the Americas, with all its conflict and bloodshed between the military aggressors from Europe and the indigenous peoples. Europe equals Earth. The native Americans are the Na’vi. It’s not meant to be subtle.”</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/avatar-the-way-of-the-water-screens-in-seoul-team-walks-red-carpet-541914/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<h2>So why is so much criticism levelled at Cameron?</h2>

<p>Highlighting injustices done to the indigenous peoples by the hands of Europeans in a blockbuster cinema has to be a good thing, right? Right? Well, yes and no. But it's all too simplistic and sweeping. The films' main message appears to be something like "racism and greed are bad. Stay close to nature. Oh, and beware of the perils of technology". And? Yes, the natural world should be preserved, or we are doomed. Yes, the rights of the indigenous should never have been infringed. Their land should never have been stolen. But we all knew that already, didn't we?</p>

<p>Beyond that, there is something worse. The phrase 'white guilt' is frequently used in connection with 'Avatar', and for good reason. It is like Cameron regrets what people of European origin did to the natives, and wishes to project his guilt onto the world through half-billion-dollar movies. The film did not need Jake at all. A native Na'vi could have been made the hero of the rebellion against the humans, and that would not have changed the main story at all. But of course, a white guy had to be inserted to serve as a "perspective" and it is ultimately he who leads the battle — despite being one among the Na'vi for only a few months. This, critics allege, white guilt fantasy.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d9MyW72ELq0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>Both films have also been accused of cultural appropriation, considering the cultural features the Na'vi and Native Americans share. In 'The Way of Water', it was even more blatant, with the culture of the Metkayina Clan closely resembling the Maori, the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand.</p>

<p>If all that was not enough, in 2010 Cameron said something that did not exactly help his cause. He had been protesting against the building of the giant Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in the Amazon. The dam's construction threatened the way of life of the Brazilian Xingu people. While speaking to The Guardian, he said, “A real-life Avatar confrontation is in progress. I felt like I was 130 years back in time watching what the Lakota Sioux might have been saying at a point when they were being pushed and they were being killed and they were being asked to displace and they were being given some form of compensation. This was a driving force for me in the writing of Avatar – I couldn’t help but think that if they [the Lakota Sioux] had had a time-window and they could see the future… and they could see their kids committing suicide at the highest suicide rates in the nation… because they were hopeless and they were a dead-end society – which is what is happening now – they would have fought a lot harder.”</p>

<p>Many took that to mean that he was suggesting that the Lakota should have their colonisers harder. Ouch.</p>

<h2>What exactly are the critics saying?</h2>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Do NOT watch Avatar: The Way of Water<br />
<br />
Join Natives &amp; other Indigenous groups around the world in boycotting this horrible &amp; racist film. Our cultures were appropriated in a harmful manner to satisfy some 🏳 man's savior complex.<br />
No more Blueface!<br />
Lakota people are powerful! <a href="https://t.co/NmHVU565u3">pic.twitter.com/NmHVU565u3</a></p>
— 🌽Asdzáá Tłʼéé honaaʼéí🌽(She/Her)🌽 (@asdza_tlehonaei) <a href="https://twitter.com/asdza_tlehonaei/status/1604571538409525249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>Yuè Begay, a Navajo artist, has taken Cameron to task recently, and she has been most eloquent with respect to the sequel. She called for a boycott against 'The Way of Water', accusing Cameron of 'blueface'. On Twitter, she wrote, "Do NOT watch Avatar: The Way of Water. Join Natives &amp; other Indigenous groups around the world in boycotting this horrible &amp; racist film. Our cultures were appropriated in a harmful manner to satisfy some 🏳 man's savior complex. No more Blueface! Lakota people are powerful!"</p>

<p>In an open letter, she wrote, "This is unacceptable! Black and Indigenous people are more than enough to play aliens based on us. We should’ve been the ones whose faces and voices appeared on the screen. We are the experts in portraying our hurt, suffering, and more importantly, our resilience.</p>

<p>My Lakota relatives were one of the most powerful people the United States came across. They did fight. They won. Their ancestors would be proud of their descendants for thriving, living, and just existing with their culture intact. But you do not show that in your films. Instead, you choose to show or glorify colonialism. White people being aliens based on actual Indigenous people. That’s colonialism. That’s colonization.</p>

<p>Make it right. Hire us! Hire our experts in your writing rooms, as your consultants, as your talent, and as your leaders. Stop trying to lead. You are NOT our leader. You are an outsider. A guest to our lands and culture. Act like it.”<br />
&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Watch WION live here:</strong></p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></p>


James Cameron's science-fiction action-adventure epic 'Avatar: The Way of Water' is by far the biggest film in the world right now. It has in less than a week's time surpassed the $500 million mark, an impressive sum for a sequel to a film that came out 13 years ago.

James Cameron's science-fiction action-adventure epic 'Avatar: The Way of Water' is by far the biggest film in the world right now. It has in less than a week's time surpassed the $500 million mark, an impressive sum for a sequel to a film that came out 13 years ago. Well, that is Cameron's magic. The filmmaker is not just the best crafter of spectacle in the business, he is also a canny marketer, spouting deliberately controversial statements to keep himself and his projects in online and media discourse. However, the film, much like the original, has attracted criticism from Native Americans, the Maori, other indigenous peoples around the world, and social activists. They — among other things — accuse Cameron of the 'White Saviour Complex'. What is 'Avatar' all about? 'Avatar' and its recently released sequel, are science-fiction films with adventure and fantasy elements. It's 2154. The story is set on Pandora, a habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system. The lush, verdant world is home to the Na'vi, a blue-hued, tall, and lithe people who have an intimate connection with the natural world. Even their deity — Eywa — is a personification of nature. A powerful organisation called the Resources Development Administration with a monopoly on resources on Pandora runs things on the world, with permission from the Interplanetary Commerce Administration in perpetuity. Also Read: 'Avatar 2' box office: James Cameron film helps Disney cross $4 billion in 2022 Chief among the said resources is a mineral called Unobtanium, a transparent name as Pandora is its only known source. Unobtanium helps run the rapid transit system developed by RDA that spans the whole globe back on earth. The trouble is, vast deposits of Unobtanium lie beneath the Home Tree, a skyscraper-sized tree whose huge branches are home to the Omaticaya clan, for whom it is also sacred. Our hero is Sam Worthington's paraplegic marine Jake Sully who is invited by the RDA to replace his twin brother as an Avatar. Avatars are specially built bodies made to resemble the Na'vi. They can be remotely controlled by a human and are supposed to help the RDA infiltrate the Omaticaya clan and somehow urge them to move from the Home Tree. The other option is an all-out assault from RDA's private military. Sully, initially doing whatever he is told, falls in love with the Omaticaya chief's daughter Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and then the simple, peace-loving ways of the Na'vi. He and other sympathetic humans side with the Na'vi in the final battle against the RDA, who are defeated and sent back to earth. In the sequel, the humans, including old foes in new skins, are back with a vengeance, and Jake and Neytiri, who have children to take care of now, flee and find shelter with the Reef People, who unlike the Omaticaya have amphibious qualities. Eventually, Avatars, inhabited by soldiers in employ of the RDa, attack and the Na'vi win again. Is 'Avatar' franchise just tells a story or is there a deeper meaning? No. If it isn't obvious until now... 'Avatar' movies and by extension the franchise as a whole are meant to be a thinly-veiled metaphor for the genocide and repression Europeans inflicted on Native Americans as well as indigenous populations in Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere. It isn't even subtle. Like the Na'vi, many of these tribes practiced Animism and held nature in particular reverence. They use bows and arrows, wear feathers in their hair, and war paint on their faces. Eywa is nothing other than the spiritual power that animates animals, trees, and every living thing worshipped by many native peoples around the world. Cameron has not been shy about what he's saying through these movies. In 2021, he admitted the unsubtlety of the metaphor underpinning this story. As per Business Insider, he said back in 2012, "Avatar is a science fiction retelling of the history of North and South America in the early colonial period. Avatar very pointedly made reference to the colonial period in the Americas, with all its conflict and bloodshed between the military aggressors from Europe and the indigenous peoples. Europe equals Earth. The native Americans are the Na’vi. It’s not meant to be subtle.” So why is so much criticism levelled at Cameron? Highlighting injustices done to the indigenous peoples by the hands of Europeans in a blockbuster cinema has to be a good thing, right? Right? Well, yes and no. But it's all too simplistic and sweeping. The films' main message appears to be something like "racism and greed are bad. Stay close to nature. Oh, and beware of the perils of technology". And? Yes, the natural world should be preserved, or we are doomed. Yes, the rights of the indigenous should never have been infringed. Their land should never have been stolen. But we all knew that already, didn't we? Beyond that, there is something worse. The phrase 'white guilt' is frequently used in connection with 'Avatar', and for good reason. It is like Cameron regrets what people of European origin did to the natives, and wishes to project his guilt onto the world through half-billion-dollar movies. The film did not need Jake at all. A native Na'vi could have been made the hero of the rebellion against the humans, and that would not have changed the main story at all. But of course, a white guy had to be inserted to serve as a "perspective" and it is ultimately he who leads the battle — despite being one among the Na'vi for only a few months. This, critics allege, white guilt fantasy. Both films have also been accused of cultural appropriation, considering the cultural features the Na'vi and Native Americans share. In 'The Way of Water', it was even more blatant, with the culture of the Metkayina Clan closely resembling the Maori, the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand. If all that was not enough, in 2010 Cameron said something that did not exactly help his cause. He had been protesting against the building of the giant Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in the Amazon. The dam's construction threatened the way of life of the Brazilian Xingu people. While speaking to The Guardian, he said, “A real-life Avatar confrontation is in progress. I felt like I was 130 years back in time watching what the Lakota Sioux might have been saying at a point when they were being pushed and they were being killed and they were being asked to displace and they were being given some form of compensation. This was a driving force for me in the writing of Avatar – I couldn’t help but think that if they [the Lakota Sioux] had had a time-window and they could see the future… and they could see their kids committing suicide at the highest suicide rates in the nation… because they were hopeless and they were a dead-end society – which is what is happening now – they would have fought a lot harder.” Many took that to mean that he was suggesting that the Lakota should have their colonisers harder. Ouch. What exactly are the critics saying? Do NOT watch Avatar: The Way of Water Join Natives & other Indigenous groups around the world in boycotting this horrible & racist film. Our cultures were appropriated in a harmful manner to satisfy some 🏳 man's savior complex. No more Blueface! Lakota people are powerful! pic.twitter.com/NmHVU565u3 — 🌽Asdzáá Tłʼéé honaaʼéí🌽(She/Her)🌽 (@asdza_tlehonaei) December 18, 2022 × Yuè Begay, a Navajo artist, has taken Cameron to task recently, and she has been most eloquent with respect to the sequel. She called for a boycott against 'The Way of Water', accusing Cameron of 'blueface'. On Twitter, she wrote, "Do NOT watch Avatar: The Way of Water. Join Natives & other Indigenous groups around the world in boycotting this horrible & racist film. Our cultures were appropriated in a harmful manner to satisfy some 🏳 man's savior complex. No more Blueface! Lakota people are powerful!" In an open letter, she wrote, "This is unacceptable! Black and Indigenous people are more than enough to play aliens based on us. We should’ve been the ones whose faces and voices appeared on the screen. We are the experts in portraying our hurt, suffering, and more importantly, our resilience. My Lakota relatives were one of the most powerful people the United States came across. They did fight. They won. Their ancestors would be proud of their descendants for thriving, living, and just existing with their culture intact. But you do not show that in your films. Instead, you choose to show or glorify colonialism. White people being aliens based on actual Indigenous people. That’s colonialism. That’s colonization. Make it right. Hire us! Hire our experts in your writing rooms, as your consultants, as your talent, and as your leaders. Stop trying to lead. You are NOT our leader. You are an outsider. A guest to our lands and culture. Act like it.” Watch WION live here:

Explained: Native Americans boycott James Cameron's 'horrible & racist' 'Avatar The Way of Water'

Recently, Anushka Sharma shared a social media post by the India arm of the popular German sportswear brand as an Instagram story. The post showed the actress posing for a photo, in which she was wearing a yellow Puma sports bra and navy blue leggings.

Recently, Anushka Sharma shared a social media post by the India arm of the popular German sportswear brand as an Instagram story. The post showed the actress posing for a photo, in which she was wearing a yellow Puma sports bra and navy blue leggings. The logo was prominently visible on her chest. In the story, Anushka appeared to express outrage over the company using her photo for promoting its products without her permission. “Hey, Puma India? I’m sure you know that you have to take permission before you can use my imagery for publicity since I’m not your ambassador. Please take it down!" she wrote. Virat Kohli, India's star cricketer and Anushka's husband who is already Puma India's brand ambassador, shared the story. Also Read: Just a publicity stunt! Netizens furious over Anushka Sharma's marketing gimmick with Puma So what was that Puma-Anushka Sharma fuss all about? View this post on Instagram A post shared by PUMA India (@pumaindia) Many thought all this hullabaloo smacked of a poorly-conceived marketing gimmick, while Anushka's fans conveyed anger at Puma. Of course, the former set of people was proven right. It had to be a gimmick. It was ludicrously obvious. And indeed the next day, Puma shared a photo depicting what appeared to be a contract between the actress and the company with its contents blurred and a CONFIDENTIAL written in big, red letters. Anushka shared the post in another one of her stories, writing, "I'll sleep on it." Now, the rest of those who still thought this was a booboo on part of Puma also realised what was happening. It was not actually subtle, mind you. And no, Puma didn't quickly draw up a contract to save face. The company had already signed Anushka and this was done to garner headlines, increase brand recall, and do what every marketing campaign is supposed to do: sell more products. View this post on Instagram A post shared by AnushkaSharma1588 (@anushkasharma) Was it an effective strategy? That is something only Puma knows or will know in the future. Having a recognised name, particularly a big celebrity like Anushka, always helps, so long as the product roughly coincides with the image of the said celebrity. And the actress is quite well-known for her fitness. And many brands have made judicious and innovative use of social media to increase awareness about their products in the recent past. So yes, at one level, it may indeed be effective. Again, it's too early to say but a cursory perusal of tweets and comments indicates that a goodly number of people are impressed by whoever cooked up the campaign. Yesterday, Anushka and Virat displayed anger on Instagram, blaming Puma for using her pictures. Today, Puma signs Anushka Sharma as her brand ambassador. I don't know if these events were genuine, but it definitely becomes a topic of discussion. Should I say, Puma 💯? pic.twitter.com/KxkpsDtu5v — Huzefa (フゼファ) (@huzefamotiwala) December 21, 2022 × And even if many are slamming the company and the actor, a popular saying will have it that any sort of publicity is good publicity. This is something most marketing experts will agree with. It is better to be notorious than unknown. The trouble is, these sorts of strategies do tend to backfire. Social media is a hard nut to crack for even veteran marketing and advertising professionals. On social media, people do not see the entire thing straight away, they are usually too busy scrolling to see the next piece of content. It is entirely possible that many saw Anushka's initial story slamming Puma, got busy with professional endeavours, and missed the rest of the drama. Those may not even be aware that it was a joke. For them, Puma is now a company that is guilty of using a celeb's image to promote its products without actually paying them. Have social media ad campaigns backfired before? Also Read: UK's Burger King under fire for 'Women belong in kitchen' tweet More than one can count. Particularly those that intend to hoodwink potential customers in some way. One famous example is Burger King, a popular fast food chain that appears to be going from one marketing fiasco to another in the last couple of decades. On 2021's International Women's Day, Burger King UK shared an advertisement in newspapers that highlighted the lack of female chefs in its restaurants. The ad began with the text "Women belong in the kitchen" before adding that the company was sponsoring a scholarship programme for women who wish to “pursue their culinary dreams” and highlighted the skewed employee sex ratio in restaurants in the UK and the US. The Burger King Foundation promised $25,000 grants to chosen female aspiring cooks/chefs under the H.E.R. (Helping Equalize Restaurants) scholarships. Remember when Burger King UK tweeted this on International Women’s Day? 💀 pic.twitter.com/3hRGYSRCnk — Jam 👊🏻 (@TheJamOfSteel) August 8, 2022 × All well and good. But the social media team of Burger King, to reproduce the campaign on that most unsubtle of social networks — Twitter — began with a tweet reading "Women belong in the kitchen" and let it all simmer for a while. While in the print, the context was hard to miss, on Twitter? Not so. Of course, it went haywire, with tweeple, even after learning what the brand had intended, excoriating the company for using a lame, old sexist joke to promote what was, essentially, a good cause. And since the tweet could stand on its own, it was shared widely without context and the company had to withdraw the tweet and issue an apology. We hear you. We got our initial tweet wrong and we’re sorry. Our aim was to draw attention to the fact that only 20% of professional chefs in UK kitchens are women and to help change that by awarding culinary scholarships. We will do better next time. — Burger King (@BurgerKingUK) March 8, 2021 × "We hear you. We got our initial tweet wrong and we’re sorry. Our aim was to draw attention to the fact that only 20% of professional chefs in UK kitchens are women and to help change that by awarding culinary scholarships. We will do better next time," said Burger King. A lesson to be learned here. Watch WION live here:

Anushka Sharma, Puma marketing ploy: Effective strategy or a failed publicity stunt?

'Titanic' at 25: Eight facts you didn't know about James Cameron's watery epic

<p>People love to have contrary opinions, particularly in regard to pop culture. Saying something not in line with what is called "popular opinion" inevitably invites debate, or outrage. To paraphrase a crude saying, opinions are like a certain body orifice, everybody's got one. So yes, people love to spout opinions about things they think they know something about, and in the age of social media, there is a veritable cacophony of differing perspectives. Everybody is certainly entitled to whatever view they hold. The thing I take exception to is when there are hordes of people disliking something simply because it is too popular.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/wion-fineprint-the-cast-of-titanic-how-did-it-happen-536910/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>We all have met such people, haven't we? Those hipsters. They just don't sport big, shaggy beards, and wear trendy clothes. They hate popular stuff, and mostly for the very reason that too many people are aware of that popualr stuff. Consider 'Harry Potter', or any of the Marvel or DC superhero movies. They would rather casually slip the names of ridiculously obscure movies/shows/and novels in conversation, usually along the lines of "Oh you like this? Really? It's just okay/it sucks. Have you heard of *insert title*. You should watch/read thatinstead."</p>

<p>James Cameron's romance-disaster epic 'Titanic', this scribe feels, has been one movie that has long been a victim of this trend. When it released in 1997, it absolutely demolished the box office and made every other film that had come out that year insignificant by the amount of the pre and after-release discourse — positive or negative — it was surrounded by. To make matters worse — for the hipsters, I mean — it swept the Academy Awards with a record-breaking 11 wins (it is currently tied with 'Ben-Hur' and 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' for most Oscars per ceremony).</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8MDPeL8lpzo" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>The film dramatised the 1912 sinking of the HMS Titanic. The passenger liner, the largest afloat ship at the time and said to be unsinkable, collided with an iceberg in North Atlantic Ocean during its maiden voyage from UK's Southampton to New York, and sank. Somewhere between 1400 to 1600 people lost their lives.</p>

<p>For many Indians, at least those I know of, 'Titanic' was the first "English" (an Indianism, meaning a movie in the English language, not one that was produced in Old Blighty) movie they saw.&nbsp;</p>

<p>And now, it has seemingly become too popular to love.</p>

<p>The truth is, 'Titanic' rules. Even after a quarter of a century, unbelievably, it still boasts of a scale that was unrivalled then, and still impresses now. The visual effects and special effects fused seamlessly with practical effects. Cameron, ever an obsessive perfectionist, meticulously and painstakingly recreated the interior and exterior of the doomed HMS Titanic right down to individual wallpaper. Fresh of the success of 'True Lies' and known to be the director of two 'Terminator' movies, Cameron was in demand, to say the least, and the executives at 20th Century Fox concurred.&nbsp;</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ItjXTieWKyI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>The attention to detail was, and remains, exquisite. The visuals have not only stood the test of time, but actually feel something out of the 2010s. (I am saying all that as somebody who saw the movie a couple of days ago, so I feel my opinion is not coloured by nostalgia.)</p>

<p>Cameron has many faults, two of them being simplistic storylines and surface-level characterisations, but no filmmaker can rival him when it comes to pure spectacle.</p>

<p>However, it is the central love story between Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) that makes me return to this movie again and again. Cameron saw the relationship as the heart, the crux of the movie, that will help the audience relate to the century-old tragedy. Otherwise, who cares about the deaths of 1500-odd people a hundred or so years ago? The framing technique had an old Rose recounting the events leading up to the sinking of the ship. This helped give a sense of poignancy and longing to the intervening years after the sinking, and how she first really fell in love.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ur9JHXirUBs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>Betrothed to Billy Zane's Caledon Hockley, a snobbish heir to a steel fortune, Kate yearns for freedom from the stifling mores of the high classes in the early 20th century. Her mother Ruth DeWitt Bukater (Frances Fisher) believes that is best for her daughter, considering how little money her father left them. On Titanic, the greatest of ships, Kate finds not only the true love of her life, a young, poor free-spirited artist who won the ticket to New York in gambling but also her freedom. Of course, the story ends in a tragedy. Cameron, after all, had pitched the movie as "Romeo and Juliet on the Titanic."&nbsp;</p>

<p>There are moments in 'Titanic' that have likely never will lose their impact. Bernard Hill's stoic Captain Edward John Smith, choosing to disappear beneath the waves with his ship rather than face ignominy and failure. A band of musicians joyously book-ending the sinking with a performance of "Nearer, My God, to Thee". Rose casually stripping herself nude before Jack so he could draw a sketch of her, her first taste of sexual freedom. Jack shouting "I'm the king of the world!" at the top of his lungs. And not to mention the scene that launched a thousand pre-wedding shoots, the ‘I’m flying!’ scene in which Jack and Rose share their first kiss.</p>

<p>So hipsters? Lay down your cynicism, please. And actually watch the film. 'Titanic' is still a majestically mounted, romantic, grandiose epic.</p>

<p>Watch WION live here:</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></p>


People love to have contrary opinions, particularly in regard to pop culture. Saying something not in line with what is called "popular opinion" inevitably invites debate, or outrage.

People love to have contrary opinions, particularly in regard to pop culture. Saying something not in line with what is called "popular opinion" inevitably invites debate, or outrage. To paraphrase a crude saying, opinions are like a certain body orifice, everybody's got one. So yes, people love to spout opinions about things they think they know something about, and in the age of social media, there is a veritable cacophony of differing perspectives. Everybody is certainly entitled to whatever view they hold. The thing I take exception to is when there are hordes of people disliking something simply because it is too popular. We all have met such people, haven't we? Those hipsters. They just don't sport big, shaggy beards, and wear trendy clothes. They hate popular stuff, and mostly for the very reason that too many people are aware of that popualr stuff. Consider 'Harry Potter', or any of the Marvel or DC superhero movies. They would rather casually slip the names of ridiculously obscure movies/shows/and novels in conversation, usually along the lines of "Oh you like this? Really? It's just okay/it sucks. Have you heard of *insert title*. You should watch/read thatinstead." James Cameron's romance-disaster epic 'Titanic', this scribe feels, has been one movie that has long been a victim of this trend. When it released in 1997, it absolutely demolished the box office and made every other film that had come out that year insignificant by the amount of the pre and after-release discourse — positive or negative — it was surrounded by. To make matters worse — for the hipsters, I mean — it swept the Academy Awards with a record-breaking 11 wins (it is currently tied with 'Ben-Hur' and 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' for most Oscars per ceremony). The film dramatised the 1912 sinking of the HMS Titanic. The passenger liner, the largest afloat ship at the time and said to be unsinkable, collided with an iceberg in North Atlantic Ocean during its maiden voyage from UK's Southampton to New York, and sank. Somewhere between 1400 to 1600 people lost their lives. For many Indians, at least those I know of, 'Titanic' was the first "English" (an Indianism, meaning a movie in the English language, not one that was produced in Old Blighty) movie they saw. And now, it has seemingly become too popular to love. The truth is, 'Titanic' rules. Even after a quarter of a century, unbelievably, it still boasts of a scale that was unrivalled then, and still impresses now. The visual effects and special effects fused seamlessly with practical effects. Cameron, ever an obsessive perfectionist, meticulously and painstakingly recreated the interior and exterior of the doomed HMS Titanic right down to individual wallpaper. Fresh of the success of 'True Lies' and known to be the director of two 'Terminator' movies, Cameron was in demand, to say the least, and the executives at 20th Century Fox concurred. The attention to detail was, and remains, exquisite. The visuals have not only stood the test of time, but actually feel something out of the 2010s. (I am saying all that as somebody who saw the movie a couple of days ago, so I feel my opinion is not coloured by nostalgia.) Cameron has many faults, two of them being simplistic storylines and surface-level characterisations, but no filmmaker can rival him when it comes to pure spectacle. However, it is the central love story between Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) that makes me return to this movie again and again. Cameron saw the relationship as the heart, the crux of the movie, that will help the audience relate to the century-old tragedy. Otherwise, who cares about the deaths of 1500-odd people a hundred or so years ago? The framing technique had an old Rose recounting the events leading up to the sinking of the ship. This helped give a sense of poignancy and longing to the intervening years after the sinking, and how she first really fell in love. Betrothed to Billy Zane's Caledon Hockley, a snobbish heir to a steel fortune, Kate yearns for freedom from the stifling mores of the high classes in the early 20th century. Her mother Ruth DeWitt Bukater (Frances Fisher) believes that is best for her daughter, considering how little money her father left them. On Titanic, the greatest of ships, Kate finds not only the true love of her life, a young, poor free-spirited artist who won the ticket to New York in gambling but also her freedom. Of course, the story ends in a tragedy. Cameron, after all, had pitched the movie as "Romeo and Juliet on the Titanic." There are moments in 'Titanic' that have likely never will lose their impact. Bernard Hill's stoic Captain Edward John Smith, choosing to disappear beneath the waves with his ship rather than face ignominy and failure. A band of musicians joyously book-ending the sinking with a performance of "Nearer, My God, to Thee". Rose casually stripping herself nude before Jack so he could draw a sketch of her, her first taste of sexual freedom. Jack shouting "I'm the king of the world!" at the top of his lungs. And not to mention the scene that launched a thousand pre-wedding shoots, the ‘I’m flying!’ scene in which Jack and Rose share their first kiss. So hipsters? Lay down your cynicism, please. And actually watch the film. 'Titanic' is still a majestically mounted, romantic, grandiose epic. Watch WION live here:

'Titanic' at 25: You're wrong, hipsters. James Cameron's romance disaster epic still rules

<p>The first reviews of James Cameron's 'Avatar: The Way of Water' are here. For the most part, the critical reception to the film is highly positive, with particular praise going towards the visuals and action scenes. The screenplay and the long runtime, however, has been criticised. The production of the film, even more than the original, was on an absolute gargantuan scale. Whole new cameras and technologies had to be developed to film the underwater scenes (most of the film is set underwater). Cameron is not an impeccable filmmaker, but his ambition when it comes to films knows no bounds. And he usually has a strong vision to back up that ambition.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/critically-speaking-is-avatar-the-way-of-water-worth-the-hype-543816/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Dileep Rao, and Matt Gerald reprise their roles from the original film, and Sigourney Weaver returns in a different role. Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, and Brendan Cowell join the franchise with this film.</p>

<p>Ahead of the film's release, WION spoke to young actors Jack Champion and Trinity Bliss who are joining the franchise with this film. While Champion essays the role of Mile Socorror, a human teenager born at Hell's Gate, the human base on Pandora in the original film, Bliss portrays Tuktirey, the eight-year-old Na'vi daughter of Jake Sully and Neytiri.</p>

<p>Also Read:&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-before-avatar-the-way-of-water-revisiting-james-camerons-original-a-visual-marvel-yet-to-be-equalled-542586">Before 'Avatar The Way of Water', revisiting James Cameron's original, a visual marvel yet to be equalled</a></strong></p>

<p>When asked how it felt joining this exciting cinematic universe with none other than Cameron, Trinity told WION, "As a young actor, just being on that set... my favourite part of the filming was filming. Just being on that set with that incredible cast and crew, the 'Avatar family'. They were the best days of my life."</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o5F8MOz_IDw" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>"We were most excited about meeting Jim and knowing obviously that it was an Avatar movie. I just couldn't wait to be one of the Na'vi," added Campion. His character is adopted by Jake and Neytiri as a baby and they nurture him alongside their Na'vi children (one of them Trinity's Tuktirey).</p>

<p>"Oh, also," chimed in Trinity, "before I even watched Avatar, I was already a huge fan of Jim's record-breaking Mariana Trench dive! And that was something I was thinking when I met Jim."</p>

<p>Also Read:<strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-avatar-the-way-of-water-everything-to-know-about-james-camerons-sci-fi-epic-541907">&nbsp;'Avatar The Way of Water': Everything to know about James Cameron's sci-fi epic</a></strong></p>

<p>Cameron has a reputation of being something of a brusque, but it comes out undeserved. Every single actor who has worked with him and spoken about it says he can indeed be passionate about getting what he wants and even a bit of a perfectionist, he always tries to be patient.</p>

<p>Campion said he was "very gentle and very caring" to them and "helped us understand where that character were, and why were they feeling this way."</p>

<p>Also Read:&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/ahead-of-avatar-2-release-heres-a-ranking-of-all-james-cameron-movies-titanic-avatar-the-terminator-541836">Ahead of 'Avatar 2' release here's a ranking of all James Cameron movies: 'Titanic', Avatar', The Terminator'</a></strong></p>

<p>Trinity agreed, adding, "Especially when there were intense scenes some days, he would help us get into that zone, making sure we were feeling calm and ready. Jim is not just an outstanding director, but also an outstanding person."</p>

<p>'Avatar: The Way of Water' releases on December 16.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></p>


The first reviews of James Cameron's 'Avatar: The Way of Water' are here. For the most part, the critical reception to the film is highly positive, with particular praise going towards the visuals and action scenes.

The first reviews of James Cameron's 'Avatar: The Way of Water' are here. For the most part, the critical reception to the film is highly positive, with particular praise going towards the visuals and action scenes. The screenplay and the long runtime, however, has been criticised. The production of the film, even more than the original, was on an absolute gargantuan scale. Whole new cameras and technologies had to be developed to film the underwater scenes (most of the film is set underwater). Cameron is not an impeccable filmmaker, but his ambition when it comes to films knows no bounds. And he usually has a strong vision to back up that ambition. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Dileep Rao, and Matt Gerald reprise their roles from the original film, and Sigourney Weaver returns in a different role. Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, and Brendan Cowell join the franchise with this film. Ahead of the film's release, WION spoke to young actors Jack Champion and Trinity Bliss who are joining the franchise with this film. While Champion essays the role of Mile Socorror, a human teenager born at Hell's Gate, the human base on Pandora in the original film, Bliss portrays Tuktirey, the eight-year-old Na'vi daughter of Jake Sully and Neytiri. Also Read: Before 'Avatar The Way of Water', revisiting James Cameron's original, a visual marvel yet to be equalled When asked how it felt joining this exciting cinematic universe with none other than Cameron, Trinity told WION, "As a young actor, just being on that set... my favourite part of the filming was filming. Just being on that set with that incredible cast and crew, the 'Avatar family'. They were the best days of my life." "We were most excited about meeting Jim and knowing obviously that it was an Avatar movie. I just couldn't wait to be one of the Na'vi," added Campion. His character is adopted by Jake and Neytiri as a baby and they nurture him alongside their Na'vi children (one of them Trinity's Tuktirey). "Oh, also," chimed in Trinity, "before I even watched Avatar, I was already a huge fan of Jim's record-breaking Mariana Trench dive! And that was something I was thinking when I met Jim." Also Read: 'Avatar The Way of Water': Everything to know about James Cameron's sci-fi epic Cameron has a reputation of being something of a brusque, but it comes out undeserved. Every single actor who has worked with him and spoken about it says he can indeed be passionate about getting what he wants and even a bit of a perfectionist, he always tries to be patient. Campion said he was "very gentle and very caring" to them and "helped us understand where that character were, and why were they feeling this way." Also Read: Ahead of 'Avatar 2' release here's a ranking of all James Cameron movies: 'Titanic', Avatar', The Terminator' Trinity agreed, adding, "Especially when there were intense scenes some days, he would help us get into that zone, making sure we were feeling calm and ready. Jim is not just an outstanding director, but also an outstanding person." 'Avatar: The Way of Water' releases on December 16.

'Avatar: The Way of Water' interview | Jack Campion, Trinity Bliss heap praise on 'outstanding' James Cameron

<p><strong>Avatar The Way of Water movie review:</strong> A man of gargantuan ambitions, James Cameron never settles. His visions are often not possible to attain, so he gets new filmmaking technologies developed to realise them. This guy would rather wait for decades for the technology to catch up to his vision than create something half-baked. And he can do that because he has clout like no other filmmaker working today, born out of a decades-long, immensely successful career.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/critically-speaking-is-avatar-the-way-of-water-worth-the-hype-543816/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>13 years after demolishing the global box office with ‘Avatar’, Cameron is back with the first of many sequels. Titled <strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-avatar-the-way-of-water-tracking-for-a--525-million-worldwide-opening-542886">'Avatar: The Way of Water’</a></strong>, the second film features fresh adventures for Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) a paraplegic marine who sided with the Na’vi in the conflict against humans in the original and became one of the tall, lithe, and blue-hued natives himself. He and his native wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) have children now: three of theirs and two adopted. The stakes are higher than ever before.</p>

<p>Also Read:&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-avatar-the-way-of-water-interview--jack-campion-trinity-bliss-heap-praise-on-outstanding-james-cameron-543243">'Avatar: The Way of Water' interview | Jack Campion, Trinity Bliss heap praise on 'outstanding' James Cameron</a></strong></p>

<p>As the old foes at the RDA return to complete what they started in the first film with a renewed sense of vengeance, Jake and Neytiri flee their homeland with their children to protect the Omaticaya clan.</p>

<p>They find themselves among the Metkayina, a water-loving Na’vi clan with a paler blue skin colour to mirror the sea. They live around a reef and have amphibious qualities, allowing them to inhabit both worlds. Initially unwilling and hostile, the leaders of the clan, Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and Ronal (Kate Winslet) eventually take the fugitives in and teach them their aquatic ways. Unbeknown to them, the Sullys have brought the war right to their shores.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d9MyW72ELq0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<h2>The visuals are breathtaking</h2>

<p>Let’s get this out of the way: ‘The Way of Water’ is an astoundingly good-looking movie. That shouldn’t be a surprise considering how pretty the original was. It is gorgeous in a cinematic, dynamic way. The new, amazingly detailed locales will take your breath away. It sounds weird when I say this, but despite being so beautiful, the film manages to be subtle. The visual elements seamlessly blend into one other, and the film encourages one to forget everything you are looking at was created in computers. In a few shots, particularly in the water, I am certain Cameron was showing off. And indeed my jaw was hanging slack, wondering how in the world he did it.</p>

<p>3D here is very simple and yet very, very effective. I’m not a fan, per se, of the technology as it mostly comes off more as a distracting gimmick than anything that genuinely enhances the viewing experience. Except, that is, when Cameron does it. I am a grown man, and no longer get impressed by raindrops that seem to fall in your eyes or birds that appear to flutter right before your face. I, in fact, avoid 3D in movies like the plague. But thanks to sparing but clever 3D elements in ‘The Way of Water’, I found myself trying to protect my face from being scratched by a stray branch. And judging the the "oohs!" in the theatre, I wasn’t the only one.</p>

<p>There is no filmmaker&nbsp;that can come even close to Cameron when it comes to making technologically groundbreaking cinema.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CuyHogczkvw" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<h2>Is the story worth getting invested in?</h2>

<p>If visual beauty is all you believe makes movies worth watching, then ‘The Way of Water’ will automatically become one of your favourite films this decade, maybe even the century. But I am not one of those, and I found a lot to criticise in 'The Way of Water'.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Basically, I have the same complaints with ‘The Way of Water’ that I had with the original ‘Avatar’. No one in their right mind would take exception to his vision, but beneath all that eye-candy, the film has a painfully conventional story involving conventional characters told in a traditional Cameron way. The director&nbsp;has never been an&nbsp;impressive deviser of complex, gripping plots and characters beyond surface level. He does have the uncanny ability to build exciting narratives around action set pieces, and 'The Way of Water' is no exception. 'The Way of Water' is, in effect, a typical Cameron movie with all its glories and downfalls.&nbsp;</p>

<p>While still surface-level and written to service the plot, there is more depth to Sully, Neytiri and the rest of the family. Sigourney Weaver is back but since Grace Augustine died, she plays the role of her teenage daughter, now adopted by Jake and Neytiri. It is constantly immersion-breaking to hear a 73-year-old woman giving voice to a teenager. The film tries to create drama out of the kids this time, particularly how they interact with the children of Tonowari and Ronal. The hostility, bullying, and acceptance. There is also trouble between Jake the father and his younger son Lo'ak (Brian Dalton). But sadly, it all comes across as something we have seen before, and done much better.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o5F8MOz_IDw" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<h2>Same-old themes</h2>

<p>Even the themes are pretty much the same, as sweeping and simplistic as before. Just like 'Avatar', none too delicately, hammered home the point that we should protect our forests, 'The Way of Water' brings our attention to the oceans. New creatures in the film include over-friendly whale-like mammals called tulkun, and naturally there are whalers extracting from their blubber the Pandora equivalent of whale oil, Amrita. Similar to the nectar in Hindu mythology that is supposed to make its consumer immortal, Amrita stops aging.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Yes, the natural world and the equilibrium in fragile ecosystems is worth preserving. And yes, many indigenous populations have a strong connection to the flora and fauna in the regions they inhabit. Oh, and technology can often be dangerous. But natives have also made many animals of yore extinct by systematically hunting them until not one member of the species is left. This is why we do not have mammoths roaming around. And technology has lifted millions out of poverty, made our lives easier, and can ultimately lead us away from fossil fuels. So, Mr Cameron, it's not all straightforward.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Add to all that, the film's runtime is punishing. Despite a blistering, action-packed third-act, 'The Way of Water' takes forever to end.</p>


Avatar The Way of Water movie review: A man of gargantuan ambitions, James Cameron never settles. His visions are often not possible to attain, so he gets new filmmaking technologies developed to realise them.

Avatar The Way of Water movie review: A man of gargantuan ambitions, James Cameron never settles. His visions are often not possible to attain, so he gets new filmmaking technologies developed to realise them. This guy would rather wait for decades for the technology to catch up to his vision than create something half-baked. And he can do that because he has clout like no other filmmaker working today, born out of a decades-long, immensely successful career. 13 years after demolishing the global box office with ‘Avatar’, Cameron is back with the first of many sequels. Titled 'Avatar: The Way of Water’, the second film features fresh adventures for Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) a paraplegic marine who sided with the Na’vi in the conflict against humans in the original and became one of the tall, lithe, and blue-hued natives himself. He and his native wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) have children now: three of theirs and two adopted. The stakes are higher than ever before. Also Read: 'Avatar: The Way of Water' interview | Jack Campion, Trinity Bliss heap praise on 'outstanding' James Cameron As the old foes at the RDA return to complete what they started in the first film with a renewed sense of vengeance, Jake and Neytiri flee their homeland with their children to protect the Omaticaya clan. They find themselves among the Metkayina, a water-loving Na’vi clan with a paler blue skin colour to mirror the sea. They live around a reef and have amphibious qualities, allowing them to inhabit both worlds. Initially unwilling and hostile, the leaders of the clan, Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and Ronal (Kate Winslet) eventually take the fugitives in and teach them their aquatic ways. Unbeknown to them, the Sullys have brought the war right to their shores. The visuals are breathtaking Let’s get this out of the way: ‘The Way of Water’ is an astoundingly good-looking movie. That shouldn’t be a surprise considering how pretty the original was. It is gorgeous in a cinematic, dynamic way. The new, amazingly detailed locales will take your breath away. It sounds weird when I say this, but despite being so beautiful, the film manages to be subtle. The visual elements seamlessly blend into one other, and the film encourages one to forget everything you are looking at was created in computers. In a few shots, particularly in the water, I am certain Cameron was showing off. And indeed my jaw was hanging slack, wondering how in the world he did it. 3D here is very simple and yet very, very effective. I’m not a fan, per se, of the technology as it mostly comes off more as a distracting gimmick than anything that genuinely enhances the viewing experience. Except, that is, when Cameron does it. I am a grown man, and no longer get impressed by raindrops that seem to fall in your eyes or birds that appear to flutter right before your face. I, in fact, avoid 3D in movies like the plague. But thanks to sparing but clever 3D elements in ‘The Way of Water’, I found myself trying to protect my face from being scratched by a stray branch. And judging the the "oohs!" in the theatre, I wasn’t the only one. There is no filmmaker that can come even close to Cameron when it comes to making technologically groundbreaking cinema. Is the story worth getting invested in? If visual beauty is all you believe makes movies worth watching, then ‘The Way of Water’ will automatically become one of your favourite films this decade, maybe even the century. But I am not one of those, and I found a lot to criticise in 'The Way of Water'. Basically, I have the same complaints with ‘The Way of Water’ that I had with the original ‘Avatar’. No one in their right mind would take exception to his vision, but beneath all that eye-candy, the film has a painfully conventional story involving conventional characters told in a traditional Cameron way. The director has never been an impressive deviser of complex, gripping plots and characters beyond surface level. He does have the uncanny ability to build exciting narratives around action set pieces, and 'The Way of Water' is no exception. 'The Way of Water' is, in effect, a typical Cameron movie with all its glories and downfalls. While still surface-level and written to service the plot, there is more depth to Sully, Neytiri and the rest of the family. Sigourney Weaver is back but since Grace Augustine died, she plays the role of her teenage daughter, now adopted by Jake and Neytiri. It is constantly immersion-breaking to hear a 73-year-old woman giving voice to a teenager. The film tries to create drama out of the kids this time, particularly how they interact with the children of Tonowari and Ronal. The hostility, bullying, and acceptance. There is also trouble between Jake the father and his younger son Lo'ak (Brian Dalton). But sadly, it all comes across as something we have seen before, and done much better. Same-old themes Even the themes are pretty much the same, as sweeping and simplistic as before. Just like 'Avatar', none too delicately, hammered home the point that we should protect our forests, 'The Way of Water' brings our attention to the oceans. New creatures in the film include over-friendly whale-like mammals called tulkun, and naturally there are whalers extracting from their blubber the Pandora equivalent of whale oil, Amrita. Similar to the nectar in Hindu mythology that is supposed to make its consumer immortal, Amrita stops aging. Yes, the natural world and the equilibrium in fragile ecosystems is worth preserving. And yes, many indigenous populations have a strong connection to the flora and fauna in the regions they inhabit. Oh, and technology can often be dangerous. But natives have also made many animals of yore extinct by systematically hunting them until not one member of the species is left. This is why we do not have mammoths roaming around. And technology has lifted millions out of poverty, made our lives easier, and can ultimately lead us away from fossil fuels. So, Mr Cameron, it's not all straightforward. Add to all that, the film's runtime is punishing. Despite a blistering, action-packed third-act, 'The Way of Water' takes forever to end.

'Avatar The Way of Water' movie review: Visually gorgeous, James Cameron's film repeats original's mistakes

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<p>Despite the repeated and passionate assertions by some on social media of late, not to mention in the good old media, James Cameron's magnum opus 'Avatar' is, indeed, still culturally relevant. Very much so. This is, honestly, not a new debate. Many have been suggesting for years that while the science-fiction epic might have been a box office monster, it was actually overhyped and all that eye-candy did not justify the simplistic plot and long runtime. Me? I do believe the film was not without a few flaws. But it was—and is—a visual marvel that is yet to be equalled. And while the story was not as strong and barring the main two, the characters were perhaps not as substantial, but the film is as effective a cinematic experience that it was all those years ago.</p>

<p>Also Read:<strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-avatar-the-way-of-water-everything-to-know-about-james-camerons-sci-fi-epic-541907">&nbsp;'Avatar The Way of Water': Everything to know about James Cameron's sci-fi epic</a></strong></p>

<p>I'd know. I watched the original version (there is a version with enhanced visuals) on a TV not long ago. It was a fairly large TV but nothing compared to a cinema hall. The experience, both visual and aural, was still astounding. It brought me back to 2009, when I queued up to get inside a dingy, crowded theatre to watch what was promised to be THE film of that year. Mind you, I did not understand the underlying themes. But the vivid production of Pandora with ultra-realistic flora and fauna as well as the look of the Na'vi, the native nature-loving people, the setting of the movie, and finally Cameron's preternaturally perfect sense of&nbsp;action was enough to left me awed.</p>

<h2>What was 'Avatar' actually about?</h2>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5PSNL1qE6VY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>The movie reversed the alien-invasion genre. Instead of the aliens, it was us humans invading another planet (more accurately a moon) for material gain in 2154. On Pandora were reserves of Unobtanium and in the way stood the Na'vi, a tall, blue-hued, and lithe people with feline features who were connected to nature in a way humans had been once upon a time.</p>

<p>Also Read:&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/ahead-of-avatar-2-release-heres-a-ranking-of-all-james-cameron-movies-titanic-avatar-the-terminator-541836">Ahead of 'Avatar 2' release here's a ranking of all James Cameron movies: 'Titanic', Avatar', The Terminator'</a></strong></p>

<p>But the Resources Development Administration, an East India Company-style entity that is more powerful than world governments, and is backed by military, warplanes, and artillery, attacked the Na'vi and destroyed their home—a not so subtle parallel to what many western powers, particularly the United States and Britain, have done with indigenous cultures in the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Africa over the last few centuries.</p>

<p>Sam Worthington essays the role of Jake Sully, a disabled war veteran, who is brought to Pandora to replace his identical twin brother. The said brother was a scientist involved in the Avatar Program, in which scientists and engineers temporarily transfer the consciousness of the participants to an 'avatar' a Na'vi body so that they would be able to commingle with the natives and basically infiltrate them from the inside.</p>

<h2>What happens in the movie?</h2>

<p>Also Read:<strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-avatar-the-way-of-water-how-james-cameron-invented-a-whole-new-visual-language-for-the-sequel-541363">&nbsp;'Avatar: The Way of Water': How James Cameron invented a whole new visual language for the sequel</a></strong></p>

<p>Jake finds much to like in his Avatar body, since as a Na'vi, he has legs that work and the body is far more agile than a human's. He is stranded near the Hometree, a humongous tree which is both the home and spiritually important location for the Omaticaya clan of the Na'vi. Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a fierce and brave female Na'vi and the daughter of Omaticaya clan's chief, saves him from the Pandora equivalent of hyenas, viperwolves. Slowly and gradually, Jake blends into the Na'vi, learning their ways, language, and culture. He falls in love with Neytiri.</p>

<p>However, he is reminded by Stephen Lang's crotchety, old-school soldier Colonel Miles Quaritch of his job. Torn between love and his job, he and others in the Avatar Program take the side of the Na'vi in the battle against the humans at the end. The losing Na'vi are saved by the Na'vi goddess Eywa, who sends Pandoran wildlife to aid them. The humans are eventually defeated and the survivors are sent back to earth in ignonimy.</p>

<p>The story explored themes of racism, imperialism, colonialism, and exploitation. Now, these themes, in a more politically aware climate, have become more relevant than ever before.</p>

<p>'Avatar: The Way of Water' releases on December 16, 2022.</p>


Despite the repeated and passionate assertions by some on social media of late, not to mention in the good old media, James Cameron's magnum opus 'Avatar' is, indeed, still culturally relevant.

Despite the repeated and passionate assertions by some on social media of late, not to mention in the good old media, James Cameron's magnum opus 'Avatar' is, indeed, still culturally relevant. Very much so. This is, honestly, not a new debate. Many have been suggesting for years that while the science-fiction epic might have been a box office monster, it was actually overhyped and all that eye-candy did not justify the simplistic plot and long runtime. Me? I do believe the film was not without a few flaws. But it was—and is—a visual marvel that is yet to be equalled. And while the story was not as strong and barring the main two, the characters were perhaps not as substantial, but the film is as effective a cinematic experience that it was all those years ago. Also Read: 'Avatar The Way of Water': Everything to know about James Cameron's sci-fi epic I'd know. I watched the original version (there is a version with enhanced visuals) on a TV not long ago. It was a fairly large TV but nothing compared to a cinema hall. The experience, both visual and aural, was still astounding. It brought me back to 2009, when I queued up to get inside a dingy, crowded theatre to watch what was promised to be THE film of that year. Mind you, I did not understand the underlying themes. But the vivid production of Pandora with ultra-realistic flora and fauna as well as the look of the Na'vi, the native nature-loving people, the setting of the movie, and finally Cameron's preternaturally perfect sense of action was enough to left me awed. What was 'Avatar' actually about? The movie reversed the alien-invasion genre. Instead of the aliens, it was us humans invading another planet (more accurately a moon) for material gain in 2154. On Pandora were reserves of Unobtanium and in the way stood the Na'vi, a tall, blue-hued, and lithe people with feline features who were connected to nature in a way humans had been once upon a time. Also Read: Ahead of 'Avatar 2' release here's a ranking of all James Cameron movies: 'Titanic', Avatar', The Terminator' But the Resources Development Administration, an East India Company-style entity that is more powerful than world governments, and is backed by military, warplanes, and artillery, attacked the Na'vi and destroyed their home—a not so subtle parallel to what many western powers, particularly the United States and Britain, have done with indigenous cultures in the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Africa over the last few centuries. Sam Worthington essays the role of Jake Sully, a disabled war veteran, who is brought to Pandora to replace his identical twin brother. The said brother was a scientist involved in the Avatar Program, in which scientists and engineers temporarily transfer the consciousness of the participants to an 'avatar' a Na'vi body so that they would be able to commingle with the natives and basically infiltrate them from the inside. What happens in the movie? Also Read: 'Avatar: The Way of Water': How James Cameron invented a whole new visual language for the sequel Jake finds much to like in his Avatar body, since as a Na'vi, he has legs that work and the body is far more agile than a human's. He is stranded near the Hometree, a humongous tree which is both the home and spiritually important location for the Omaticaya clan of the Na'vi. Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a fierce and brave female Na'vi and the daughter of Omaticaya clan's chief, saves him from the Pandora equivalent of hyenas, viperwolves. Slowly and gradually, Jake blends into the Na'vi, learning their ways, language, and culture. He falls in love with Neytiri. However, he is reminded by Stephen Lang's crotchety, old-school soldier Colonel Miles Quaritch of his job. Torn between love and his job, he and others in the Avatar Program take the side of the Na'vi in the battle against the humans at the end. The losing Na'vi are saved by the Na'vi goddess Eywa, who sends Pandoran wildlife to aid them. The humans are eventually defeated and the survivors are sent back to earth in ignonimy. The story explored themes of racism, imperialism, colonialism, and exploitation. Now, these themes, in a more politically aware climate, have become more relevant than ever before. 'Avatar: The Way of Water' releases on December 16, 2022.

Before 'Avatar The Way of Water', revisiting James Cameron's original, a visual marvel yet to be equalled

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