Showing posts with label Fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fantasy. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

The Twilight Saga Eclipse

Synopsis and Movies The Twilight Saga Eclipse : Eclipse opens at nighttime where Riley Biers (Xavier Samuel) is exiting a store on his way home. A driving rainstorm begins as he walks on his way. Without warning, he is knocked down. Looking around, startled, he cannot see anyone– the street he is walking down appears completely deserted. Getting scared, he pulls his coat closer and picks up his pace. Just as suddenly he is hurled through the air and against a wall– and still there is nobody and nothing in side. Riley starts to yell for help and breaks into a run. He gets too close to a pier on a marina and almost falls into the water. Terrified, he screams out to his unseen assailant what he wants. There is a blur as something rushes past far too quickly to be seen, and Riley’s hand is wounded. He screams in agony and falls to the ground– and the wound on his hand strongly resembles some kind of bite wound.

Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) are in a meadow where she is reading from “Fire & Ice” in preparation for an English final. Edward again asks Bella to marry him, and runs into the old impasse– he asks her, “marry me,” and Bella responds with, “change me.” Finally Edward offers a compromise where he will change her when they’re married. Bella kisses him but then says it’s more like coercion. Their views om marriage differ and she teases him about the divorce rate. Edward assures her that the “vampire-human divorce rate” is lower. They kiss more and Bella says she’s due back home at four. Edward just smiles as she gathers up her things and starts on her way home.

Charlie (Billy Burke) is reading the newspaper headline that discusses a rash of murders in Seattle. Bella arrives home exactly at four like Charlie wanted. There is a bit of brief debate about her being grounded “for life” (as in New Moon) and Charlie admits that he would like to see a bit of separation between Bella and Edward, even though he expects her answer that Edwart is part of her life. So Charlie offers her a deal. He’ll end her punishment if she agrees to see some of her other friends as well, and suggests she see Jacob, as Billy has told Charlie that Jacob is going through a very rough time lately, and just a short time ago, when Bella was in that position, Jake was there for her when she needed him. Bella calls Jacob but gets his voice-mail and chooses not to leave a message. A voiceover from Bella explains that Jacob hasn’t spoken to her in weeks, and she’s been hoping to set things right. She pulls a handwritten letter out of her dresser drawer and looks at it briefly.

Bella gets into her truck to drive to the reservation, but it won’t start. Suddenly Edward is in the passenger seat. He knows she was heading to the reservation, and Bella realizes that Alice saw it, and that Edward rigged her truck to not be able to start, in order to prevent her from driving there. They argue about her seeing Jacob. She is adamant that she has until graduation but Edward is obsessed with her safety and is convinced she won’t have any among the Quileutes.

The next day at school, during lunch, Edward joins Bella at her main table with Mike (Michael Welch), Eric (Justin Chon), Jessica (Anna Kendrick) and Angela (Christian Serratos). Jessica is the class valedictorian and Mike and Eric are helping her prepare her speech. Alice (Ashley Greene) and Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) join them all as well, and Alice stuns them all with an announcement that she is going to host a graduation party– at the Cullen home. Jessica and Angela are pleasantly shocked, as nobody has ever been to the Cullen home before (except Bella of course). Suddenly Alice sits back with a worried look on her face, and Bella quickly realizes she’s having a vision of something. But neither she, Jasper nor Edward will discuss it with her.

Edward drives Bella to the police station where Charlie is on duty. They see him with Riley Biers’ parents discussing his ‘missing persons’ case– Riley has been missing for a year now. Bella realizes Edward knows something about it, and he tells her that the Cullens have been paying very close attention to the rise of murders and disappearances in Seattle. They suspect vampires and believe that if the crime wave escalates, the Voluri will take action. Bella is worried that the Volturi will then make their way to Forks and see that she is still human, but Edward assures her it won’t come to that. The Cullens are prepared to go to Seattle if need be to try and get to the bottom of things themselves.

As Riley’s parents exit the station, Charlie comes out as well. Edward tells Charlie that Carlisle and Esme have bought a plane ticket for Bella to fly down to Jacksonville for a few days to visit her mother Renee. Charlie is surprised but agrees to the visit. Bella is reluctant until it is revealed that Edward will be going with her. This Charlie doesn’t like so much but he still consents to the trip.

Bella is in Jacksonville laying in the sun with her mother Renee (Sarah Clarke). They are talking about her college plans. Renee hopes Bella will consider a college in Florida, both because it will let her see her daughter more, and because Bella was always a sun-lover. Bella is planning to attend college in Alaska, saying they have a good science program, but Renee knows better– she knows Bella is in love with Edward and wants to follow him. Finally Renee gives Bella her graduation present– she collected college T-shirts from every state and sewn them together into a quilt for Bella. Bella is touched and hugs Renee gratefully.

Back in Forks, it is nighttime and the Cullens are standing watch in the forest. Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) asks Alice if she’s certain this is the spot in her vision. Alice is certain, and they keep watch. Suddenly Alice alerts them to look to their left. The Cullens all take off in pursuit, and it is seen they are chasing Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard); Alice had foreseen her return to Forks. Emmett (Kellan Lutz) nearly catches Victoria but she wriggles free and keeps running with the Cullens in hot pursuit. Finally Victoria leaps across a stream– into Quileute territory, where the Cullens are under treaty not to venture. Victoria and the Cullens continue running down opposite sides of the stream when the Quileute wolf pack, having smelled Victoria’s presence, emerges from the trees in pursuit of Victoria. Looking to pit one side against the other, Victoria cleverly leaps back and forth from one bank of the stream to the other. Both sides narrowly miss catching her. Finally Emmett loses his patience and jumps after her onto the Quileute lands. Victoria’s plan pays off as Paul (Alex Meraz) moves to block Emmett from crossing into Quileute territory. So intent is Paul on not letting Emmett pass that Victoria escapes from both sides in the confusion.

Edward and Bella have returned to Forks and are driving to school. Jacob (Taylor Lautner) is there waiting. He confronts Edward about the Cullens trespassing on Quileute territory. Naturally Bella wants to know what Jacob is talking about, and Edward evasively says that Emmett and Paul had a misunderstanding. Jacob is amused despite his anger and finally helps Bella put two and two together– Alice’s vision in the lunchroom was Victoria’s return to Forks, and Carlisle and Esme bought her the plane ticket to Florida to get her out of town so she would be safe from Victoria. Bella is furious at Edward’s lie, but also confronts Jacob on not caling her. He says he had nothing to say, and Bella says she has plenty. She climbs on Jacob’s motorcycle behind him despite Edward’s protest and rides with him to the reservation.

Some of the wolf pack members are there to greet them on their arrival, teasing Jacob about his continuous thoughts about whether Bella would call him, and whether or not he should call her. Bella then meets Leah Clearwater (Julia Jones), Harry Clearwater’s daughter. On Leah’s shoulder is both the mark of a Quileute wolf-pack member… and a chip larger than Bella’s truck.

Sam Uley (Chaske Spencer), the leader of the wolf-pack, and his fiance Emily (Tinsel Korey) emerge from the house. Emily goes to hug Bella as Sam and Jacob talk about Victoria’s return. Sam assures Jacob that Victoria won’t get through their line again. As they enter the house, Bella glances over her shoulder to see Leah assume wolf form and practice the cliff-dive.

Bella and Jacob are talking later. Jacob explains how Leah and her younger brother Seth gained the gift of the ‘spirit warrior’ (ability to assume wolf form) after Harry died. Jacob also explains that Leah was once in love with Sam, and he loved her in return, until Emily came into the tribe’s life. Jacob explains to Bella, the Quileute wolf-pack’s process of ‘imprinting’ on someone– an event that bonds a male and female as complete soulmates. The imprinting process is often very sudden, spontaneous, and beyond the control of the wolf-pack member doing the imprinting. As all the wolf-pack members can always hear each other’s thoughts, they always have to live with the pain Leah feels about losing Sam, and Sam’s guilt over imprinting on someone else after he and Leah had grown so close. Bella begins to suspect that Jacob has imprinted on her, but Jacob says that if he’d imprinted on anyone, Bella would know it for certain. He’s still him, and as he says, Bella is still Bella. But when Bella says, ‘until graduation,’ Jacob realizes that Bella intends to go through with becoming a vampire, which sickens him beyond belief. In a fit of disgust he voices a preference for Bella to die rather than let her become something that is unnatural and neither dead nor alive. Quickly he curses himself for going too far, looking painfully stricken at Bella’s expression of indignant anger.

At the Swan house, Riley is in Bella’s room. He fingers the dreamcatcher on her bed and steals one of her red blouses, sniffing it closely. Stealthily descending the stairs, he passes Charlie asleep on the couch and bends over him as if to feed on him.

The door opens and Bella enters… and Charlie comes up to her, revealing it is some time later and Riley left Charlie undisturbed. Charlie is pleased when Bella tells him she was with Jacob and not Edward. But suddenly there is a knock at the door and both of them realize it’s Edward. Bella steps outside to greet him, but he is deeply concerned. He almost broke the treaty to make sure she was okay. Suddenly he smells something and rushes up to her room. Fingering her dreamcatcher, he tells her that someone’s been in her room.

Edward brings Bella back to his house. Edward didn’t recognize the scent of whoever entered Bella’s room. The Cullens have scouted around the area and determined that the scent vanished five miles south of Bella’s house. They suspect a nomad vampire might be involved, as Alice would have seen a vision of Victoria. They suspect the Volturi might be involved, but Alice disagrees, saying she’s also been watching Aro, the Volturi ruler, through her visions.

The Cullens are discussing another round of protection vigils over Bella’s house (to the displeasure of Rosalie (Nikki Reed)). Bella knows that the Cullens cannot keep watch over her and Charlie, and still search for both Victoria and the mysterious intruder, all while keeping themselves fed.

It is dayime and Bella has brought Jacob to her house so he can get the scent of the intruder. Outside Jacob tells Edward that he will know the scent if he crosses it again. Edward refuses to trust Jacob and Bella has to force herself between them to break them apart. A voiceover from Bella explains the extremely uneasy partnership between the Cullens and the Quileute wolf-pack, as they guard the house in shifts– the wolves relieving the Cullens at intervals so they can hunt for animal blood to feed on (two wolves are seen relieving Alice and Emmett as Bella watches).

Edward and Bella go to meet Jacob on the shoulder of a road through the woods. Edward is dropping Bella off to spend some time on the Quileute reservation. Despite the partnership, the antipathy between Edward and Jacob drips out of the very air between them whenever they are face to face. Edward passionately kisses Bella goodbye in front of Jacob, and Jacob in turns gives Bella an affectionate hug before Edward drives off.

Jacob brings Bella to attend a meeting of the Quileute tribal council. Some of the younger pack members are attending, including Seth (BooBoo Stewart), who Bella meets for the first time. Seth’s mother, Sue Clearwater, is on the council now after the death of her husband Harry. Bella is to attend the gathering as the first person not of the tribe to hear the tribe’s histories.

Billy Black (Gil Birmingham) recites a story of the Quileute tribe as spirit warriors; shapeshifters; able to assume the form of a powerful wolf. He tells of the tribe’s first encounter with one of the Cold Ones. Two soirit warriors vanquished one of them after it had fed on some of the tribe. But the Cold One vanquished had a mate (like Victoria was the mate of James) and she attacked the village in vengeance. The Tribal Elder, Taha Aki, engaged her in combat. The vampiress was winning the battle and seemed poised to kill him, when Taha Aki’s third wife, who had no powers and could not join the battle, stabbed herself with a knife so the vampiress would smell the blood and be distracted, allowing Taha Aki to recover and slay the vampiress. Taha Aki’s third wife is celebrated as a heroine of the tribe for her selfless courage; her sacrifice of herself saved the village and the people. The Cold Ones are the only remaining enemy of the Quileute people. The magic in the tribe’s blood awakens when they are near. Billy warns that conflict is near… and the tribe must be ready to face it.

In Seattle, Riley is watching over a small scene of violence and Mayhem. He bends over a teenage girl, Bree (Jodelle Ferland), who we see has just been changed into a vampire. Bree is confused and terrified over her new state, and Riley only tells her he’ll “find her someone to drink” and suggests she “try not to get killed.”

Back at the Cullen home, Edward is arriving with Bella. They find Carlisle, Jasper and Emmett watching a news report about the escalating violence in Seattle; the rise in killings and disappearances. Jasper knows that no one vampire could cause such destruction. The Cullens realize that the culprits are “newborns,” which they explain to Bella is the state when a human is first transformed into a vampire; their first few months as one. This is when a vampire is at their most vicious, uncontrolled state, overwhelmed with a wild thirst for blood. The newborns are completely undisciplined. Jasper and Carlisle deduce that someone is creating a small army of them. This means they must go to Seattle to try and stop it. The newborns are being created to destroy someone or something– the Cullens are the only vampire family close enough to be targets. Carlisle knows that if the Cullens don’t stop the newborns, the Volturi will arrive to do so– he’s surprised they haven’t stepped in yet. Edward theorizes that the Volturi are actually behind the uprising; he knows that Aro and Marcus dearly want for both himself and Alice to join them, and if the rest of the Cullen family were slain, they would have nobody else to go to.

Bella is arriving home to find her father looking at a missing persons poster for Riley, made by his parents when he first vanished. Charlie notes that they are still desperate to find their son even after a year. Bella wonders why they keep looking, and Charlie answers that he would do so in their place, if it were Bella that was missing.

At night, Bella is lying beside Edward in her bed. Despite her determination to become a vampire, she is coming to terms with knowing she can never see her family or the rest of her friends again, as her body will never age and she will appear 18 years old even when she’s supposed to be 40. Edward uses this as more ammo in the argument not to change her. He warns her that he’s been through the consequences she will face for undergoing the change. She believes that Edward has a soul, but he doesn’t, and he cannot bear the thought of taking her soul away just so she wouldn’t grow old and die as his mortal wife. Even though he’d eventually lose her, he feels that taking her soul away would be the most selfish act he could do.

The next day Bella is on the reservation with Jacob, admiring the beauty of the land. She invites him to the graduation party, though she is not surprised at his lack of an answer; going to the Cullen home is the last thing on his ‘to-do’ list. Bella notes there’s something on his mind. Jacob says he didn’t want to be so forward, but there’s no time left; she needs to hear the truth. Jacob confides that he is in love with Bella, and he is fighting for her heart; he desperately hopes she will choose him over Edward. He puts her hand on his chest so she can feel his heart beating and that he is a living being of warm flesh and blood. With him, Bella would never need to change; she would never need to give up being human or say goodbye to her family. Bella tries to explain that she doesn’t feel that way for him, but Jacob doesn’t buy it; he is convinced she just doesn’t want to admit it to herself. He intends to fight for her until her heart stops beating, and is visibly pained at her response that he wouldn’t be waiting for long. Jacob says that unlike Edward, he can kiss her without fear of hurting her. But Jacob goes too far when he grabs Bella and passionately kisses her to demonstrate his point; kissing her without her consent. Bella blazes with anger and she slams her fist into his face. Jacob doesn’t flinch; he barely feels the punch… but Bella does, and her hand is broken. When Jacob drives her home, Edward is there, ready to start an altercation with Jacob for hurting Bella– he read Jacob’s thoughts. He demands that Jacob wait next time for Bella to ask for him to kiss her, and Jacob vows that one day, she will.

Charlie has to separate Edward and Jacob, and he is amused at Jacob’s explanation that Bella broke her hand hitting him in the face. Bella’s insufferable clumsiness and tendency to be accident-prone makes the explanation completely plausible to Charlie.

Edward brings Bella to his house where Carlisle bandages her hand and determines that it is not actually broken, but merely sprained. Emmett is amused at Bella’s bravado in hitting Jacob and there is a brief exchange of teasing words between them about her becoming a newborn. Rosalie hears, gets very annoyed, and she curtly leaves the room. Bella follows her, determined to finally get an explanation of why Rosalie hates Bella so much. Rosalie smiles sardonically and even a little sadly as she says she doesn’t hate Bella… in fact she envies her, because unlike Rosalie herself or any of the Cullens, Bella has a choice, and Rosalie is the most adamant that she is choosing wrong.

Rosalie finally opens her heart to Bella and tells her about herself as a human in the early 20th century. She was engaged to the town’s most eligible bachelor, a man named Royce, even though she didn’t know him that well. She was young and a romantic, in love with the idea of being in love. But one fateful night she happened across him on a street corner where he was with some of his friends, and all of them were drunk. He tried to come on to her, and she pushed him away, seeing he was drunk. In response Royce grabbed her and brutally raped her, and then beat her within an inch of her life, all while his friends watched, and they left her in the street to die– and as Rosalie tells Bella, she dearly wanted to have died. But Carlisle happened across her, and changed her in order to save her, though to Rosalie, he wasn’t actually helping her at all. The two things in her vampire existence that brought her true happiness and pleasure, were exacting a brutal vengeance on Royce (we see a flashback of her smashing into his apartment wearing a wedding dress and smiling wickedly), and finding and falling in love with Emmett. But even her relationship as Emmett’s mate, to her, is incomplete. She is young and beautiful, but she would give it up in a moment to be able to bear Emmett’s children. She and Emmett are frozen in time, and she does not fear or worry that she would grow old as a human– she would do it in a minute if both she and Emmett could become human again and raise their own family. Bella sympathizes with Rosalie but insists that Edward is the one thing she wants more than anything else in life. But Rosalie knows better. She knows that once Bella is a ‘newborn,’ there is one thing she will want more; one thing she will crave so desperately she will kill in order to get it… blood.

On the streets of Seattle, the newborns are causing more havoc and violence. Riley furiously reins them in, reprimanding them about the need to keep a low profile. He tells them something big is coming on the horizon, and they can’t gain control of themselves, then they’ll all soon die, including himself. He looks out to the sky, seemingly worried about something.

High on a rooftop, watching, is the source of Riley’s worry, even if he doesn’t know it– Jane (Dakota Fanning) is watching the scene unfold, along with Felix (Daniel Cudmore), Alec (Cameron Bright) and Demitri (Charlie Bewley). Jane has, in fact, been keeping close tabs on the newborn uprising, and the Volturi are concerned. Felix believes that the amount of attention the newborn uprising has drawn, will cause other vampires to question the effectiveness of the Volturi, and that the four of them should consult Aro. Jane silences Felix with her power to cause intense pain, and says she knows that Aro’s decisions are being watched, which is why the four of them were sent here; they must decide themselves. Jane is deep in thought over whether to terminate the newborns immediately, or to first let them do what they were created for– she knows they were created for a reason.

Graduation Day arrives at Forks High School. Jessica’s valedictorian speech centers around what kids want to be when they grow up, and this time in all their lives being about making mistakes, changing their minds, and this being what enables them to finally know what their future will be. Bella is thoughtful as she listens; knowing that it applies to her and her desire to join Edward.

The senior class is enjoying a lively party at the Cullen home. Bella congratulates Jessica on her speech. Bella is surprised when Jacob shows up at the party, even though she invited him. He gives her a hand-made bracelet as a graduation present; a bracelet with a small wooden carving of a wolf.

Alice comes down the stairs, and stops in her tracks, a look of worry on her face. Both Bella and Jacob know she is seeing another vision. Alice grimly tells them that the Cullens aren’t going to need to go to Seattle– “they are coming here.”

The Cullens and the three Quileutes convene with Bella in the den. Carlisle explains to Jacob about the newborn army– newly changed vampires. Having read Alice’s mind, Edward has seen her vision and has determined that the missing teenager, Riley Biers, is among them; possibly even a leader in the army, though he is not their creator… Carlisle realizes that whoever is behind the uprising knows of Alice’s power and is exploiting the ‘blind spots’ in her visions to stay under the radar. The worst part, though, is that Alice saw Riley passing around the red blouse he stole from Bella’s room so all the newborns could get her scent. The newborns are coming to Forks and will arrive in four days… and their mission is to kill Bella.

Carlisle tells Jacob that this means the Cullens have to face the newborns in what is sure to be a terrible and ugly fight. He knows lives will be lost. Jacob looks at his tribemates and answers that the Quileutes are in; they will fight alongside the Cullens to destroy the newborns. Carlisle says that Jasper has extensive knowledge of newborns, including how to battle and defeat them. He asks Jacob to see if Sam will agree to the wolf-pack meeting with the Cullens so they can all train in these combat methods. Jasper is satisfied that the newborns will have no knowledge of the Quileute wolf-pack, thus giving them and the Cullens an edge, in addition to sufficient numbers. Bella is against Jacob fighting, but he waves her off, reminding her that battling and killing vampires is the wolf-pack’s job; the reason they have their powers. He also reminds Bella that she has long desperately wanted to see the Quileute wolf-pack and the Cullens set aside their differences and work together.

The next day the Quileutes meet with the Cullens in the woods. They are in wolf-form, still not trusting the Cullens enough to take human form when they will be more vulnerable. Edward, who can read their minds, volunteers to ‘translate’ for them. Edward says that the Quileutes are asking how newborns differ from other vampires. Carlistle explains that the newborn stage is when a vampire possesses the greatest degree of physical strength and power, because their own human blood still lingers in their bodies. Jasper has the experience they will all need to learn to fight and defeat them.

Jasper explains what he knows of a newborn’s immense power and how they fight. He admonishes everyone that a newborn will often try to move behind an enemy and get their arms around them, which will allow them to crush their enemy in their grasp instantly. Jasper warns everyone that they must never go for an obvious kill, because a newborn will know to watch for it… and they will turn the tables. Jasper puts his family members through a training session practicing combat tactics and moves to use against the newborns. Jasper himself is the best fighter in the family; the only one who can even match him is Alice, who can not only foresee his actions, but as his mate, she knows him better than anyone else.

After the training is done for the day, Bella asks Jasper if there’s any way she can contribute to the battle. Jasper answers that her scent will distract the newborns and divert their attention; their hunting drive and bloodthirst will take over and make them vulnerable. Bella is curious about Jasper’s knowledge and experience with newborns. Jasper simply smiles and doffs his sweater, showing battle-scars on his arms. He regales Bella with stories of his human life as a major in the Texas army, fighting for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Near Galveston he met a woman named Maria who was a vampire; looking to change others so they would be able to destroy Union soldiers in battle. Maria was dangerously clever and cautious. She made use of Jasper’s power to control the emotions of others, and had him destroy the newborns before they had been a vampire for one year, in order to cover her tracks. But Jasper could feel all the emotions of every newborn he killed and realized that Maria didn’t love him, but rather controlled him like a puppet. Finding Alice was what helped him escape and become free. She had seen a vision of him and gone to meet with him. Alice finds her way to them and she shares a passionate kiss with Jasper, and Bella smiles and politely turns her head away.

Later that night Bella has a dream of Maria whispering something into Jasper’s ear, gently coaxing him into killing someone. She sees this as if she were the one Maria was directing Jasper to kill. Awakening in her room, in Edward’s arms, Bella says that the dream has given her the final piece of the puzzle. She realizes that Victoria is the ultimate mastermind behind the newborn army, and she is using a second-in-command to do all the dirty work, in order to evade being seen in Alice’s visions.

As if in answer, we see Riley in Seattle delivering another hapless recruit to Victoria.

In the morning, outside the house, Edward is telling Bella that he will taking her to a hidden spot away from the battlefield. With the Quileute wolf pack fighting beside them, the Cullens will be able to handle the newborns, but Bella, as a human, will be too vulnerable. In the chaos of the battle, it would be too much risk of a newborn slipping past the defenders and reaching her. Bella argues that if she and Edward are too far apart, they will both be too worried about each other and both of them will be vulnerable. For once, Edward assets and agrees– but instead of bringing her to the battlefield, he will go with her to stand guard over her at her hiding place.

The two of them meet Jacob and Jasper on a field in a woodland clearing. Jasper has chosen this site for the battle to take place, believing it will provide them with a tactical advantage. Bella’s scent must end at this field– the newborns must be able to track her to it, but not past it. This means she must be carried to the campsite where Edward will be guarding her– and Edward cannot carry her there because the newborns will still be able to pick up Bella’s own scent. But Jacob, as a werewolf, has a scent that vampires find so repellent that it will mask Bella’s trail effectively. The newborns won’t smell Bella past the battlefield, only the smell of werewolf which they won’t be able to stand. Edward doesn’t like the idea but he won’t question Jasper’s knowledge on what will give them every edge they can get in the battle. Too much rides on it.

Jacob and Bella talk as he carries her through the woods. Despite the tactical reasons for it, he’s sardonic about Edward not being in the battle, but Bella won’t try to talk Jacob into not being part of it. Bella knows Jacob would refuse to honor her wishes. Jacob mentions that as Billy’s son he had the right to be the alpha wolf of the spirit warriors, but as he originally didn’t even want to be one of the wolf-pack at all, he yielded the alpha position to Sam, and Sam feels Jacob will be needed on the battlefield. When Jacob remarks that every choice has its consequences, Bella knows he’s referring to her becoming a vampire and asks him to let it rest– everyone makes their decisions and she’s made hers. Jake says he knows that Bella feels something for him; he can sense it about her… and that the Sam-Leah-Emily triangle is proof that she can love more than one person. Bella thinks Jacob is about to try and kiss her again. He just smiles and says he promised not to until she asked. Bella thinks he will have to wait a long time for that, but he thinks she’s wrong.

Back on the field, Edward is waiting. Jasper has followed Jacob and Bella partway to make sure the plan is working. Jasper tells Edward that he could only smell wolf, meaning Bella’s trail has ended on the field as planned. Despite Jasper’s assurances that the plan is working, Edward’s reaction shows how much effort he has to exert to follow the plan. The thought of Jacob carrying Bella is too harsh for him.

Bella is driving home. She finds Alice leaving her house, chatting pleasantly with Charlie– she’s charmed her way into his good graces. Out of Charlie’s earshot, Alice tells Bella she’s arranged a cover story; that the Cullens are going on a camping trip and Charlie has agreed to Bella having a sleepover with Alice so that Alice will have some company. In fact it is Edward who will be at the Cullen house with her, while Alice goes with the Cullens into the woods to hunt for animal blood so they will be ready for battle. Charlie is going fishing so Bella won’t have to worry about him being concerned for her.

Inside the house, Charlie confirms that unlike Edward, Alice meets with his approval. Bella asks her father why he never remarried after the divorce with Renee. She’s looking to get his viewpoints on marriage to help with her own decision whether to marry Edward, although of course she doesn’t tell him that. Charlie says he never really met the right woman for him after the divorce, but he sees value in marriage, pointing to Renee’s happy marriage to Phil. He does, however, mention that it tends to work out better, later in life, not earlier as a result of ‘not being careful.’ This leads to a rather awkward chat about premarital sex (and whether Bella is still a virgin) that leaves both Charlie and Bella rather embarrassed.

Bella arrives at the Cullen house for the ‘sleepover.’ Edward adds a small diamond to Bella’s charm bracelet. Going up to his room, Bella sees he has brought a bed in for her to sleep on. Bringing up Edward’s desire to marry her as a condition for changing her, Bella says she wants to negotiate her own condition, and gets Edward to promise her anything she desires. But then Bella starts to come on to him and he backs off, afraid of hurting her. Bella begs him to ‘try,’ because she wants him while she’s still human. They start to kiss and make out, but when Bella starts to undress herself, and he sees that she wants to have sex, Edward again backs off. His “old school” values that Bella had assured Charlie that Edward has, start to assert themselves and he says that back during his days as a living mortal, he would have done things different, including a full courtship, and asking her father for her hand, before proposing. But as he speaks, he takes one knee and presents Bella with an engagement ring that belonged to his mother. He restates his request for Bella to marry him. Bella’s heart is finally touched the right way and she says yes.

On a secluded rooftop in the darkness over Seattle, another conversation, much more sinister, is taking place. Victoria is gently admonishing Riley not to underestimate the Cullens. Her “dead friend” is a testament to their powers– he learned about them and they killed him. Victoria sweetly tells Riley that this is the Cullen family’s hunting grounds, and she is afraid of them retaliating against her for trying to slake her own thirst. Riley assures her he’ll make the city safe for her, and they begin to kiss. Riley has fallen in love with Victoria and has bought her lies hook, line, and sinker. He clearly has no idea what her true motives are… he’s become the Jasper to Victoria’s Maria.

The next day Bella and Edward are walking through the woods so she can ‘mark’ a trail leading to the field. Bella’s pricked her finger so she can leave a drop of blood at intervals. She finds that Edward has gained the ability to resist the lure of her blood completely, brought about by when he thought Bella had died (back in New Moon). He notes she’s not wearing the engagement ring and Bella says she doesn’t want to lose it, but Edward knows she also doesn’t want Jacob to see it. Bella gives in and says she feels they should wait to tell him. She wants his mind to be focused on the battle. Jacob arrives at that moment– he’ll be carrying Bella the rest of the way. Edward says that Alice has seen a storm coming, and Jacob says he can feel its approach.

As Jacob carries Bella, a storm of a different kind also begins moving toward Forks; Riley is leading the newborn army through the woods and across a lake. Clearly he knows the land and how to get where the army needs to go.

Jacob arrives with Bella at a small secluded plateau among the mountains, well defensible. Edward has a tent set up. Jacob reveals he will be staying at the campsite as well, so that Edward and Bella can stay apprised of the battle through his telepathic link to the pack. Seth wants in on the battle very badly, and it will keep him out of trouble. Seth will take Jacob’s place on the battlefield.

Nighttime comes, the storm blows across the mountains and the temperature drops dangerously low. The tent, the sleeping bag and Bella’s own winter clothing all prove inadequate, and she is shivering miserably with cold. Jacob enters the tent, having heard Bella’s soft moans of discomfort. Edward realizes that Jacob intends to use his own 109-degree body heat to keep Bella warm, and is dead set against it. Jacob warns Edward that Bella is in danger of getting frostbitten. Edward’s distrust for, and rivalry with, Jacob is so intense that it takes every iota of his will to assent to Jacob holding Bella, even for the purpose of keeping her warm.

Edward and Jacob finally manage to speak civilly while Bella is asleep. They discuss their respective feelings for Bella. Jacob asks if Edward ever considered that Bella might love him as well, even if she wouldn’t admit it to herself, and if Jacob could provide a good life for her. Edward insists he has tried to stop Bella from making him change her, and admits that he understands that Jacob can protect her as well as Edward can, and that Jacob can give Bella a human life. Jacob asks Edward how he coped with the belief that Bella had died and he’d lost her. Edward says he wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Bella’s greatest wish comes true as Edward finally admits he’s glad Jacob is here. Edward and Jacob finally have found some measure of common ground.

Morning comes. Seth arrives at the campsite so that Edward will know that Jacob has gone scouting and will return soon. As Seth leaves, Edward and Bella talk about the nighttime experience. Bella knows how hard it was for Edward to let Jacob do what he had to do. She’s amused that Edward has a ‘list’ of his favorite evenings… at the top of the list, is, naturally, her accepting his proposal. He jokingly calls her Mrs. Cullen and she jokes back that in the 21st century, she has the right to choose whether to change her name.

But it is no longer a joking matter when she finds that Jacob has returned and overheard that Bella is planning to marry Edward. She turns toward Edward, furiously angry when she realizes that Edward knew he was standing there. Edward simply said that Jacob deserved to know the truth. Jacob storms off and Bella starts to follow. Edward tribes to grab her arm but she sternly warns him off.

Bella rushes after Jacob, pleading to him as he curtly says he’s off to kill some vampires– and maybe let one of them kill him in turn. She begs him not to be reckless, and when he won’t listen to her reason, she asks him to kiss her. This he does, and they share a long, passionate kiss. Jacob says he has to go to the battlefield but he’ll return. Bella realizes Edward knew what was going on– he says Jacob’s thoughts were very loud. Edward understands that Bella loves Jacob, but takes comfort in her assurance that she loves him more.

Seth returns to the campsite, taking Jacob’s place there so his telepathic link to the pack will keep Edward up to date on the battle.

The Cullens stand on the battlefield, waiting as the newborn army rushes forward. On Jasper’s signal, the Cullens rush forth into battle, luring the newborns to the rock outcropping behind which the Quileutes await. Led by Jasper, the Cullens and the Quileutes fight together with expert teamwork, allowing them to overwhelm the newborns who, despite greater numbers, fight blindly and recklessly. Victoria is seen observing the battle briefly before rushing off.

Bree is the one newborn who is afraid and deeply uncertain about what she’s been ordered to do. Seeing the newborns being decimated, she starts to run, only to be cornered by Carlisle and Esme (Elizabeth Reaser). The two look at each other, sensing Bree’s terror and uncertainty.

Back at the mountain camp, Edward realizes Victoria is near– he can hear her thoughts. She had noticed Edward was not on the battlefield, and also knew that he wouldn’t leave Bella’s side, meaning once she found him, she’d find Bella. She’s managed to track Edward to the campsite. Edward realizes Victoria is close, and not alone. He urges Seth to hide for ambush.

Riley slowly walks out of the trees to confront Edward. Edward tries to reason with Riley, appealing to his logic, explaining Victoria’s intent on avenging James and caring for nothing else, and she chose Riley to be her second in the newborn army only because Riley is a Forks native and knows the town and area well. Victoria arrives on the scene and pleads gently to Riley about her love for him and her warnings about Edward’s mind tricks.

Riley’s desire for Victoria ultimately wins out over his logic.and he rushes to attack. Seth intercepts him and tears off his hand. Seeing the odds start to turn against her, Victoria begins to flee. Needing to keep her from escaping again, Edward calls out to her and taunts her about his killing James. She turns and glares as Edward goads her about her need to hurt him because of how he killed her lover and mate. Victoria is quickly goaded into a rage and she leaps at Edward in fury. They fight and Edward throws her into a tree, which she begins to climb. Getting Bella to one side, Edward pushes the tree down and leaps at Victoria.

Seth is distracted by the sound, and Riley kicks him viciously in the snout, knocking him unconscious. He joins the battle and turns the tide. Seeing Riley and Victoria working together and poised to kill Edward, Bella scrabbles desperately in the snow. She finds a rock with a sharp edge and, taking a page from Taha Aki’s hird wife, Bella lacerates her arm, letting her blood flow freely. Both vampires quickly smell her blood and are struck with blood frenzy, breaking their concentration and allowing Edward to turn the tide of the battle again. Seth recovers and seizes Riley, dragging him away. He cries desperately to Victoria, but she finally reveals her true nature and abandons him to try and feed on Bella, who stands before her unflinching. Edward intercepts Victoria and grapples with her. Outmaneuvering her, he rips her head off and kills her.

Seth growls urgently and Edward notes that Alice needs them all on the battlefield. He burns Victoria’s body and they rush to regroup with the Cullens and the Quileutes.

Alice has seen the approach of Jane. As Edward, Bella and Seth arrive, Carlise urges the Quileutes to hurry away, because he knows the Volturi will not honor a truce with them.

One newborn has survived and is lurking in ambush. Leah leaps on him, but this last newborn is tougher than his brethren. He is about to overpower Leah when Jacob joins the battle, but even then the newborn is able to maneuver around and grab Jacob from behind in a crushing bear hug that shatters the right side of his rib cage. The Quileutes finally finish the newborn off, but Jacob is badly injured, Leah cursing him for risking his life. The pack rushes to his side. Carlisle determines the extent of Jacob’s injuries. He tells them that Jacob’s wolf powers will allow his body to heal very rapidly, but because he cannot go with them immediately, this will cause his bones to begin to mend out of proper alignment– this means when he arrives to treat Jacob, he must re-break them in order to set them properly. He promises to meet the pack at Billy’s home as soon as possible. Quickly Jacob’s tribe mates, all in human form now, gently lift him and carry him away.

The Volturi arrive and survey the battlefield. Jane is only mildly impressed that the Cullens survived and that she and her underlings were not needed. She then notices Bree cowering behind the Cullens. Carlisle and Esme say they offered Bree asylum in exchange for her surrender, but Jane coldly states the Cullens had no asylum to offer. She torments Bree with terrible pain, interrogating her to learn about her creation. But Bree doesn’t know who the leader of the newborn army was– Riley trusted none of them with the knowledge. Edward slyly suggests that the Volturi knew about Victoria, but Carlisle insists that if they had known, they would have acted early and stopped her themselves. Carlisle and Esme vow to take responsibility for Bree, but Jane says the Volturi don’t offer second chances– the Cullens will be in enough trouble when Caius learns that Bella is still human. Bella quickly says, “a date has been set.” Jane backs off from Bella but orders Felix to destroy Bree. Knowing that trying to protect Bree will bring the full wrath of the Volturi upon them, they resignedly step out of Felix’s way, leaving the terrified Bree to her fate.

Bella arrives at Billy Black’s home to hear Jacob screaming in pain, which makes Billy shudder. Carlisle emerges from the house and says that Jacob is out of danger and will start to recover, and he’ll return as necessary to help. A grateful Billy shakes Carlisle’s hand as he would a friend’s. Carlisle tells Bella that Jacob was asking for her.

She goes into his room and they talk. Jacob knows that Bella has made her choice and he can no longer fight it. He is still struggling to accept the truth, and desperately wishes he could still change things, but he knows that he has lost the battle for Bella’s heart. She asks if she can return to see him again. He says he will need time, but will wait for her– even after her heart has stopped beating.

Bella and Edward are in a meadow talking about the wedding. Edward is amused that Bella is letting Alice plan the whole affair out. He again questions her about her desire, and she explains that as much hardship as she’s endured in Edward’s world, she’s never felt “normal” as other people define it, and only by making the world of the Cullens into her own world as well, has she felt a true sense of completeness. She jokingly tells Edward there is one more dangerous task ahead of them– they have to tell Charlie about the wedding. Edward puts the engagement ring on her finger and they kiss passionately as the screen fades to black.

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Despicable Me

Synopsis and movies Despicable Me : In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon. (Yes, the moon!) Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad. The world’s greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes.

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Alice in Wonderland

Synopsis and Movies Alice in Wonderland : Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) is the daughter of Charles Kingsleigh (Marton Csokas), a wealthy man who planned to find profitable shipping routes through the world in the 19th century. When she tells him of her adventures in Wonderland (later to be revealed as ‘Underland’), he declares her mad, but that all the best people are. However, many years afterward, Charles has passed away, and Alice misses his playful attitude.
Now feeling trapped in a world of proper etiquette for one such as herself, Alice is taken to a garden party, where it is hoped that she will accept a marriage proposal from Hamish (Leo Bill), the son of one of her father’s business partners. However, Alice soon grows distracted seeing a rabbit with a waistcoat nearby, and rushes after the strange creature.

Following it, she finds her way to the trunk of an old tree some ways off, and falls down a hole. The hole leads her to a strange room, of which she finds a key, as well as a drink that makes her smaller, and a cake that increases her size. After getting the key and shrinking down to use a small door, she soon finds herself in an enormous garden area.

Soon after, she comes across the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen), as well as the Dormouse (Barbara Windsor), a Dodo bird (Michael Gough), and the Tweedles (Matt Lucas). The White Rabbit explains that is sure he has found the right Alice this time, while the Dormouse believes he is mistaken. Alice explains that her name is Alice, but feels they are looking for another “Alice.” They take her to Abosolom the Caterpillar (Alan Rickman), who consults a scroll, which contains details regarding the history of Wonderland, from it’s birth onward. The scroll claims that on the Frabjous Day, Alice will return to slay the Jabberwocky. Alice sees this, and adamants that she is not the person in the scroll, when a commotion breaks out, and the Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover) appears, along with some red-carded soldiers and a creature called a Bandersnatch. Everyone scatters, as the Knave takes the scroll, and captures the Dodo bird. Alice, when confronted with the Bandersnatch, stands her ground, convinced that it is just a dream. However, the creature scratches her, and Alice takes off running, but not before the Dormouse plucks out one of the creature’s eyes.

Some ways off, Alice encounters the Tweedles again, who attempt to help her, but are soon captured by a giant bird that takes them to the Red Queen’s castle. At the castle, the Knave of Hearts informs the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) about the scroll, and the prophecy of Alice killing the Jabberwocky (of which she possesses). The Red Queen orders Alice to be found, and the Knave utilizes a bloodhound named Bayard (Timothy Spall) to track her down, promising freedom for Bayard’s wife and pups (a lie, meant as a way to get the dog to help the Red Queen).

Meanwhile, Alice encounters the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), who leads her to the Mad Hatter’s place, where she encounters the Dormouse again, as well as the March Hare (Paul Whitehouse). The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) is pleased to see Alice, and is in rapture over the coming Frabjous day in which she will slay the Jabberwocky. Alice again insists she is not ‘that Alice,’ when the Knave of Hearts and Bayard close in. The Hatter stuffs Alice into a teapot, to hide her from the Knave. In secret, the Dormouse scolds the dog for bringing the Knave there, but Bayard explains why he came. He then attempts to lead the Knave off in a different direction.

After they have left, the Hatter walks Alice through the nearby woods, where they come across the burned ruins of a small village. The Hatter then explains to Alice about how in the time she was gone, the Red Queen has taken over Wonderland, banishing the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) to her own domain, and taking her vorpal sword.

As they talk, the Knave again approaches, and the Hatter places Alice on his hat, and flings it across a river, giving himself up to the Knave, who takes him to the Red Queen. Later on, Bayard finds the hat and Alice. Alice manages to convince Bayard to take her to the Red Queen’s castle, to rescue the Hatter. Along with the hat, they find their way there, where Alice encounters the White Rabbit assisting with a game of croquet with the Red Queen. Alice requests to be made larger (she is still the size of a gerbil), and the rabbit gives her a cake. However, she eats too much and ends up almost 10 feet tall, disrupting the croquet game. The Queen does not recognize Alice, who says she is ‘Um’ from Umbridge, and wishes to help the Queen. The Queen, impressed by the size of Alice’s head, declares her to be made part of her royal court.

The Hatter is brought before the Queen and Alice, and is at first intended to be beheaded. However, the Hatter manages to stall for time, by requesting that he make the Queen a hat for her enormous head. Flattered by the attention, she gives into this request. Alice soon after finds out that the vorpal sword is on the grounds of the castle, but is locked away in a chest in the quarters of the Bandersnatch. After procuring the plucked eye from the Dormouse (who has broken into the castle to free the Hatter), Alice manages to return the eye to the creature. This allows her to gain access to the sword. Alice goes to the Hatter’s room, and finds the Dormouse there. However, the Knave of Hearts shows up shortly, and when the Dormouse lets slip Alice’s true name, he attempts to kill her. Alice manages to escape into the courtyard, where the Bandersnatch helps her escape from the castle. Bayard also accompanies her, as they head for the White Queen’s castle.

The Red Queen then orders that the Hatter and the Dormouse be executed the next day. However, the Cheshire Cat uses his trickery to take on the guise of the Hatter, and allows the Hatter, Dormouse, the White Rabbit, the Tweedles, and Bayard’s family to escape. They all soon meet up at the White Queen’s castle, where the Queen has used her potions knowledge to shrink Alice to normal size.

The next day then dawns…the Frabjous day. Almost everyone is willing to take up arms for the White Queen. However, she hopes that Alice will fulfill the prophecy, but Alice rushes off to the Queen’s garden, still upset over everyone pushing her into this task. It is there she encounters Absolom, cocooning himself. It is here that Absolom explains to Alice how she had been to Wonderland before, and suddenly, it all comes back to her, that what she thought originally was a dream was real. After her revelation, Alice dons the armor prepared for her by the White Queen, and takes up the vorpal sword.

Both the White Queen and the Red Queen meet on a checkerboard field. Both Queens meet first, with the White Queen asking her sister to not do battle, but the Red Queen refuses to give into the pacification of her sister’s plea. The White Queen brings forth Alice as their ‘champion,’ as the Red Queen’ summons the Jabberwocky. As Alice faces off with the creature, the rest of the armies go to war. Alice plays a mind-game with herself, talking of 6 impossible things, as it is claimed her father would do before breakfast. In her mind-game, she manages to find the strength to slay the Jabberwocky. The Red Queen demands that her subjects kill Alice, but as the White Queen’s champion has slayed that of the Red Queen, the Red Queen’s subjects will no longer follow her commands.

The White Queen orders the Red Queen banished to the Outlands, for the crimes that she has committed (due to a the White Queen’s vow not to harm a living creature, she will not kill her sister), with noone to offer her sympathy. The Knave of Hearts is also chained to her, as punishment as well. However, the thought of being alone with the Queen causes him to try to kill her, before his dagger is taken from him by the Hatter.

After the Red Queen and the Knave are taken away, the White Queen’s army rejoices, with the Hatter doing a Fudderwupping dance, much to the delight of everyone. The White Queen then collects some of the Jabberwocky’s blood, and gives it to Alice. The blood of the Jabberwocky allows Alice to return to her world, and she returns to the Garden Party.

Alice then explains to Hamish that she cannot accept his proposal, as well as speaks her mind to a number of different relatives and acquaintances. Her forthright attitude catches the eye of Hamish’s father, and soon, the two discuss plans to expand the shipping routes to China, a land that has not yet been opened to the west.

Alice is then made an apprentice to the company, and sets off with a crew to open the shipping route to China, aboard a ship titled “Wonder”. The last thing shown is a bright blue butterfly, none other than Abosolom.

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Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Synopsis and Movies Percy Jackson & the Olympians : When his lightning bolt is stolen, Zeus accuses Poseidon’s son Percy Jackson and gives ten days to Poseidon to return his lightning bolt, otherwise he would initiate a war against his brother. Meanwhile the dyslexic and with ADHD teenager Percy is visiting The Museum of Metropolitan of Art and is attacked by a Fury disguised in his teacher. His crippled best friend Grover reveals that Percy is a demigod and he is his protector and his teacher Mr. Brunner gives a pen to him telling that it is a powerful weapon. They go to Percy’s house and together with his mother Sally, they drive to the Camp Half-Blood. However Sally is attacked by a Minotaur and vanishes before Percy can help her. In the camp, Percy befriends the gorgeous Annabeth; when they are attacked by Hades that wants the lighting bolt for him, Percy discovers that his mother is in hell with Hades. Percy decides to travel in a dangerous quest to retrieve the lightning bolt and save his mother. However, Grover and Annabeth join him and Luke gives a powerful shield of his own to protect Percy
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Friday, June 25, 2010

Toy Story 3

Synopsis and Movies Toy Story 3 : Andy Davis (John Morris) is now 17 years old, and is heading off to college in a few days. However, the fact that Andy has grown from a young boy to a teenager has not been lost on a select few: his toys. Several of them hold out hope that Andy will play with them at least once before he leaves, but those hopes are soon dashed. As the toys take stock of how many are left, and those that they have lost over the years, their attention is drawn to the last of the Army Men: Sarge(R Lee Ermey), and two paratroopers. Fearful of being thrown away, they leap out the window into the world beyond, their parachutes taking them who knows where.

This idea soon fills the heads of the remaining toys: -Woody -Buzz Lightyear -Jessie -Bullseye -Mr Potato Head -Mrs Potato Head -3 alien squeak toys from Pizza Planet -Slinky Dog -Rex -Hamm the Piggy Bank
Several are of the persuasion that Sarge is right, and they’ll be tossed out soon, but Woody (Tom Hanks) believes that Andy wouldn’t do this, and figures he’ll store them in the attic…maybe one day to be played with again when Andy has kids of his own.

The toys’ ‘staff meeting’ is cut short when Andy returns to his room with his Mom (Laurie Metcalf) in tow. With only a few days left until he leaves, Andy has not cleaned up his room. His Mom is also having Molly (Beatrice Miller) clean her room as well, and tells the two to throw out what they don’t want, store extra items in the attic, or donate items to Sunnyside Daycare. From Andy’s room, the toys watch as Molly throws her Barbie doll (Jodi Benson) in the donations box, along with some other toys.

Andy finally takes out a black trash bag, and begins to put his old toys into it. When he finally gets to Woody and Buzz (Tim Allen), he hesitates, before putting Woody in a box marked ‘College,’ and tossing Buzz in the black trash bag. Inside, the toys think they are going to be thrown away, and Woody watches as Andy leaves the room. His panic turns to relief as he sees Andy open the attic door. However, before Andy can go up, he helps Molly move the donations box downstairs. The lapse causes the attic door to close, and Andy’s Mom soon after finds the trash bag with the toys. Thinking Andy just left ‘trash’ laying around, she takes it with another bag to the curb.

Woody looks down the street in horror as the garbage truck slowly makes it’s way to the curb. Woody jumps out the window, and slides down a pipe to the front lawn…only to see the trash bags thrown into the garbage truck and crushed! Shortly thereafter, Woody notices a recycling bin walking towards the garage. Following it, he is relieved to see that his friends escaped. However, they are now all convinced that Andy meant to throw them away.

Woody tries to explain what really happened, but most of them just feel that he is in denial. Jessie (Joan Cusack) soon notices the box of donations to Sunnyside Daycare, and proposes that they all go there. Everyone eagerly jumps in, except for Woody, who demands that they all return to Andy’s room right away. Before he can say anymore, the trunk to the family mini-van closes, and Andy’s Mom takes the box to Sunnyside. Inside, the other toys find Barbie, distraught and heart-broken that Molly threw her away.

After arriving at Sunnyside, Andy’s Mom brings the toys in to the front desk. A family friend is working the desk, with her little daughter Bonnie (Emily Hahn) close by. The toys are then taken to ‘The Butterfly Room.’ Looking through the handle-hole in the box, the toys are excited to see a group of children happily playing with the toys in the room.

After the recess bell sounds and the kids leave the room, the toys eagerly escape from the box, only to meet a very friendly group of toys, excited to see them. The group is soon joined by a strawberry-scented bear named Lotso (Ned Beatty), who soon calls his associate Ken (Michael Keaton) to escort the group around, showing them what Sunnyside has to offer. However, during the course of their tour, Ken soon becomes smitten with Barbie…who soon finds herself drawn to him as well.

Lotso explains that the toys are taken care of, and that due to a neverending supply of kids coming and going, the toys will never be without someone to play with them. Andy’s toys eagerly accompany Lotso over to “The Caterpillar Room,” where he then leaves them to experience their first playtime at Sunnyside. However, Ken and Barbie appear to have gotten along quite well, and Barbie (at the insistence from the group upon seeing her so happy) eagerly goes back with Ken and Lotso to “The Butterfly Room.”

Woody explains that while Sunnyside does seem great, he strongly believes they should go back to Andy. Woody asks Buzz to come back, but Buzz refuses, saying they should stick together. Realizing that the others won’t accompany him, Woody sneaks out of Sunnyside, but not before accidentally losing his hat. In the process, the little girl named Bonnie finds him, and takes him home with her.

Back in “The Caterpillar Room,” recess ends, and the toys get their first playtime…only to find the room filled with noisy screaming toddlers, each of them rambunctious and not as ‘delicate’ as Andy was. Once the daycare closes, the toys feel there has been some mistake, and that they should be in “The Butterfly Room” instead. Buzz manages to get out of the room, intending to talk to Lotso. However, once outside, his attention is drawn to Ken and several other toys going inside a vending machine.

Buzz follows them, but is caught by a sleepy-eyed doll named Big Baby. Ken and the others take Buzz to the daycare’s library and tie him up. Suddenly, Lotso comes across the other toys, and demands that they let Buzz go. Buzz thanks Lotso for helping him out, and makes his request for himself and the other toys to be transferred. Lotso admires Buzz’s initiative, but is only willing to consider to have him join “The Butterfly Room” inhabitants. When Buzz refuses, Lotso orders Buzz held down, and manages to procure a Buzz Lightyear instruction manual from the library. Using it, the group of toys sets Buzz to “demo” mode, putting him back in his ‘deluded’ space-ranger mode.

Lotso, his compatriots, and Buzz return to “The Caterpillar Room,” where Buzz subdues his friends, and places them in prison-like storage cages. Lotso then explains how the Daycare is run: all newcomers start in “The Caterpillar Room.” If they survive, they move up to “The Butterfly Room.”

To set an example about what happens to troublemakers, Lotso has Big Baby take Mr Potato Head out to the playground, and stuff him in “The Box” (aka a sandbox). Also as ‘a warning,’ Lotso produces Woody’s hat, though doesn’t explain what happened to the toys’ friend. Barbie finds out about this shortly, and angrily rebukes Ken. Refusing to be a part of Lotso’s plan, she is ‘imprisoned’ as well.

During the toys’ day at Sunnyside, Woody has been in Bonnie’s house, being used as part of her imaginative fun and games. During her playtime, Woody grows excited to be part of a real playtime again, but longs to get back to Andy.

Once the household is asleep, Bonnie’s toys help Woody access the family computer. Woody is relieved when it seems that Andy’s house is very close. He thanks the toys, and tells them that if Bonnie ever outgrows them, they should go to Sunnyside. However, the name causes the toys to look on in fear. The toys explain that Lotso is responsible, and one of Bonnie’s toys named Chuckles (Bud Luckey), begins to tell a story.

Lotso, Chuckles, and Big Baby were once owned by a little girl named Daisy. Of the three, she loved Lotso the most. However, one day at a rest stop, the three toys were accidentally left behind. The three eventually made it back to Daisy’s house. Lotso and Chuckles managed to look in her window…only to see that Lotso had been replaced. Upon seeing this, something changed inside Lotso, and he declared they had all been replaced (even though there was only proof that he had been replaced). Big Baby wanted to still go back, but Lotso just yelled “She doesn’t love you no more,” and tore off a necklace around Baby’s neck: a plastic heart that said “I belong to Daisy.” Secretly, Chuckles kept it.

The three toys went from place-to-place, until finally finding Sunnyside. Lotso took over, and set up his system by which almost any new toy would not survive under the strenuous conditions of the toddlers. Chuckles explains that he eventually was broken at Sunnyside, and Bonnie took him in and repaired him. Realizing the danger his friends are in, Woody decides to break back into the daycare and rescue them.

The next day, Woody manages to sneak into the daycare, and move through the ceiling tiles. Finding his way into a hidden area of “The Caterpillar Room,” he chances upon a Fisher-Price Chatter Telephone (Teddy Newton). The telephone tells Woody that he should have stayed gone, and that there’s no way that he and his friends can get out. Woody thanks him for the concern, but says they have to try. The Chatter Telephone then explains what Woody and his friends will be up against:

-Lotso’s minions manning search lights on the playground. -Trucks patrolling the halls and the playground. -An 8-ft high cinderblock wall. -A cymbal-clanging monkey that monitors the security cameras in the building.

The telephone tells Woody, that the only other way out is through a garbage chute across the playground.

Once the toddlers have gone to recess, Woody joins his friends, who tell him about Buzz having been ‘reset,’ and how they want to get back to Andy. Woody then sets his plan into action. Later that evening, the group springs into action:

-Mr Potato Head creates a scene to get put in the box again…this time as a way to get outside and report for the group.

-Barbie pleads with Ken that she can’t take being imprisoned, and Ken lets her out. He takes her back to his dreamhouse, where Barbie quickly subdues him, and using one of his outfits as a disguise, manages to infiltrate the daycare library to find the instruction manual for Buzz.

-Woody and Slinky Dog manage to infiltrate the main security room, and take down the cymbal-clanging monkey.

-Rex and Hamm start a fight to distract Buzz, allowing Jessie to escape, and trap Buzz under a plastic tub.

The toys then regroup, and set about trying to get Buzz back to normal. However, a mistake in resetting Buzz sets him to speak and act in Spanish. With little time left, the group decides to worry about fixing him later, and quickly set out to get to the garbage chute.

The gang gets to the end of the chute before plummeting into the dumpster…only to find Lotso, Ken, and his associates waiting (along with the chatter telephone, now broken by the bad toys). Lotso offers the toys a choice: either end up in the dumpster, or return to the daycare. Jessie and Barbie both decry what Lotso has done to the daycare, and even Ken soon turns against Lotso.

The eagerness of the group and Woody to return to Andy incites Lotso to declare that love doesn’t exist. It is then that Woody mentions Daisy, and produces the tag that Chuckles had kept. Big Baby sees the tag, and Lotso declares that she didn’t love them and replaced them. Woody reminds Lotso that it was only him she replaced. This revelation causes Big Baby to reach for the tag, before Lotso destroys, it, yelling at Big Baby for being stupid and believing that Daisy loved him. Big Baby, feeling betrayed, then throws Lotso in the dumpster, slamming the lid and blowing a raspberry at him.

The other toys begin to run across the lid, before one of the Pizza Planet aliens’ feet gets stuck in the lid. Woody goes to help him, only to have Lotso grab his hand. The others rush to help Woody, but just then, a dump truck pulls up, and dumps the contents (including Andy’s Toys) into the collecting bin in the back. Barbie and Ken, who were not on the dumpster’s lid, can only watch as their friends are taken from them.

Inside the dumpster, more trash is emptied onto the group, before a TV set falls on Buzz…which manages to set him back to his proper self. However, before the toys can rejoice, the truck arrives at the Tri-County landfill. As the gang moves about, they are shocked when a bulldozer scoops up the three Pizza Planet aliens, carrying them away! The remaining toys are then shovelled by another machine onto a moving conveyor belt, headed towards a large shredding machine. The toys manage to stave off being shredded, by grabbing onto metal objects that are being magnetized to an overhead track. Woody and Buzz even manage to save Lotso, who thanks them.

Once they make it through, they find themselves on another conveyor belt, heading towards daylight. However, as they draw closer, they soon realize it’s a large pit, that empties into a fiery incinerator! They toys begin to try to outrun their fiery fate, when Lotso notices an emergency stop switch. He motions for the others to help him, and they help hoist him up to stop the machine. However, once reaching the button, Lotso just smirks at Woody, muttering “Where’s your boy now, Sheriff?’ and running off.

The toys are soon unable to keep running, and tumble into the pit. They attempt to try and climb out, but there appears to be no escape. With no hope left, the toys all join hands, willing to stay together to the very end.

Suddenly, a blue light appears overhead, and a giant claw falls down, scooping up the group. As they wonder how their rescue was possible, the enormous claw swings by the glass case of the machine, where the three Pizza Planet aliens are!

Once the group gets out, they thank their saviors, and wonder what became of Lotso.

Unknown to them, Lotso is found by another garbageman at the dump. Remembering having a Lots-a-Huggin Bear as a kid, he then ties Lotso to the grille of his dumptruck as he heads off for duty.

Andy’s Toys manage to find the dump truck that services Andy’s neighborhood, and manage to get back in time before Andy leaves for college. After cleaning themselves up, they sneak back into the house, finding Andy’s room cleaned out, except for some minimal items, and two boxes. One marked ‘College,’ the other ‘Attic.’

Woody’s friends pile into the ‘Attic’ box, and say their goodbyes, safe in the fact that they’ll be safe. Hearing Andy and his Mom approaching, Woody hops in the ‘College’ box. As they enter Andy’s room, his Mother is hit with the sad reality that her son is going away. Andy tells her that even though he’ll be gone, he’ll still care about her.

Hearing this, Woody realizes that Andy can still care for him and the other toys: an example of ‘true love,’ in that you never forget those you really love. As Andy is distracted by his sister Molly and his dog Buster, Woody quickly grabs a Post-It note and a marker, writing down Bonnie’s street address, before hopping in the ‘Attic’ box.

Andy returns to the room, and sees the note on the ‘Attic’ box, thinking that his Mom wrote it. Andy takes the box to the address, but is unsure just where he is. It is only when he sees Bonnie playing in her family’s front yard with the same quirky imagination that he had, does he relax.

Andy then gets out of the car with his box. As Bonnie sees him approach, she stops her game and calls for her Mom. Bonnie’s Mom recognizes Andy, who then explains that he has some toys for Bonnie. Andy then introduces each of his toys, telling Bonnie a little bit about each of them:

- Jessie loves little critters. – Bullseye is her favorite ‘critter.’ – Mr and Mrs Potato Head are madly in love – The three green aliens come from a strange place called Pizza Planet. – Hamm will save your money, but is also ‘The Evil Dr Porkchop.’ – Rex is a fearsome predator. – Slinky is as loyal as they come for a dog. – Buzz Lightyear is a cool space ranger who flies, shoots lasers, and protects the galaxy from the Evil Emperor Zurg.

With each toy revealed, Bonnie gets more and more brave, until after Buzz, she peeks into the box and sees Woody. Andy has no knowledge of how Woody got in there, but is surprised when Bonnie says ‘My Cowboy Doll,’ and one of Woody’s lines: “There’s a snake in my boot!”

Andy sees Bonnie looking at Woody, and explains to her how important Woody is to him: how long he’s had him, and how brave Woody can be. However, he explains to Bonnie that she can have Woody, if she promises to take good care of him, and the other toys. When she quietly nods an affirmative, Andy suddenly begins to pretend-play with her, and the two are having an imaginative time interacting with their toys. Secretly, Andy’s toys are overjoyed at their last playtime with him.

Finally, Andy gets into his car, as Bonnie gathers her old and new toys on the porch. As she holds Woody and Buzz in her little arms, she makes Woody ‘wave’ goodbye. This causes Andy to give a sad but calming smile. “Thanks, guys,” he whispers, as he drives off.

After Andy leaves, Bonnie’s Mom takes her inside for lunch, leaving the toys on the porch, watching Andy’s car fade into the distance down the street. “So long, partner,” says Woody.

Woody smiles at the other toys, reaffirming that Andy did care for them, and care for them enough to leave them with another child who will take care of them and give them many playtimes to come. Woody then begins to introduce his friends to Bonnie’s other toys.

Some time afterward, the toys find a note in Bonnie’s backpack, from Ken. In the time since Lotso has been gone, Ken and Barbie have worked to abolish the unfair system that ran Sunnyside, and now the toys have an equal opportunity to move between the caterpillar and butterfly rooms. The toys at Sunnyside now enjoy there time there, and soon after, Sarge and his two paratroopers arrive, with both Ken and Barbie welcoming them.



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Tooth Fairy

Synopsis and Movies Tooth Fairy : Derek Thompson is ‘The Tooth Fairy,’ a hard-charging minor league hockey player whose nickname comes from his habit of separating opposing players from their bicuspids. When Derek discourages a youngster’s hopes, he’s sentenced to one week’s hard labor as a real tooth fairy, complete with the requisite tutu, wings and magic wand. At first, Derek “can’t handle the tooth” – bumbling and stumbling as he tries to furtively wing his way through strangers’ homes…doing what tooth fairies do. But as Derek slowly adapts to his new position, he begins to rediscover his own forgotten dreams

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Legion

Synopsis and Movies Legion : God loses faith in mankind and orders Angel Michael in addition to a legion of other angels to bring the Apocalypse to Earth and exterminate the human race. However, Michael rebels against the order and decides to help the humans. Meanwhile in a diner in the middle of nowhere, Bob Hanson, runs the place with his son Jeep, a pregnant waitress, Charlie, and his friend Percy Walker. Their customers, the Anderson family, are stranded until Jeep can fix their BMW and lonely Kyle Williams who is lost

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The Lovely Bones

Synopsis and Movies The Lovely Bones : centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family and her killer from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal. Oscar® nominee Mark Wahlberg and Oscar® winners Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon star along with Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli and Oscar® nominee Saoirse Ronan.Susie Salmon, a young girl who has been murdered, watches over her family — and her killer — from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.

Based on the critically acclaimed best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and directed by Oscar® winner Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Jackson & Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens, The Lovely Bones centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family and her killer from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal. Oscar® nominee Mark Wahlberg and Oscar® winners Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon star along with Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli and Oscar® nominee Saoirse Ronan.

On December 6, 1973 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, Susie Salmon takes a shortcut home from school. She is approached by a neighbor, George Harvey, a man in his mid-30s who lives alone and builds dollhouses for a living. He persuades her to enter an underground den he has recently built nearby. Once she enters, he rapes her, stabs her to death, then dismembers her body. An elbow, the only part of Susie ever to be found, falls out of his bag as he returns home, disposing of the remaining parts of the body by putting them in a safe and dropping it into a sinkhole. Meanwhile, Susie’s spirit flees toward her personal heaven.

The Salmon family is at first reluctant to accept that Susie has been killed, but then accedes when Susie’s hat and elbow are found. The police who talk to Harvey find him odd but see no reason to suspect him. Jack, Susie’s father, becomes suspicious and later begins to harass the police about Harvey. Susie’s sister Lindsey comes to share these suspicions. Jack, consumed with guilt over not having been able to protect his daughter, remains on extended leave from work and increasingly isolates himself at home. Buckley, the youngest child in the family of three, tries to make sense of all this as he starts school.

One day late in the summer a detective named Len Fenerman comes to tell the Salmons that the police have exhausted all leads and are dropping the investigation. That night in his study, Jack looks out the window and sees a flashlight in the cornfield. Believing it to be Harvey returning to destroy evidence, he runs out to confront him with a baseball bat. It turns out to be Susie’s best friend, Clarissa, and her boyfriend Brian looking for a place to make out. Brian and Jack struggle and Jack is struck with the bat. As a result he has to have knee replacement surgery. In the wake of this, his wife Abigail begins having an affair with Fenerman, who is a widower.

Still suspicious, Lindsey sneaks into Harvey’s house and finds a drawing of the pit, but is forced to leave when Harvey returns prematurely. Sensing danger, Harvey leaves Norristown as soon as possible and becomes a drifter. A year later the police bulldoze the cornfield and turn up a soda bottle from the night of the murder with Harvey’s and Susie’s fingerprints, finally making him an official suspect. However, he remains at large. That fall, a hunter in Connecticut discovers the body of another one of Harvey’s victims, and one of Susie’s charms nearby. In 1981, a detective in Connecticut links the charm to Susie’s murder and calls Fenerman. As they uncover further evidence, the police realize that Harvey is a serial killer. At about the same time, Susie sees into Harvey’s traumatic childhood, and develops a grudging pity for her killer.

The following summer Abigail leaves her husband, going to her father’s old cabin in New Hampshire and then moving to California, taking a job at a winery. As a result, her mother, Grandma Lynn, moves into the Salmons’ home to help her son-in-law care for Buckley and Lindsey.

Lindsey and her boyfriend Samuel Heckler become engaged, find an old house in the woods owned by a classmate’s father, and decide to fix it up and live there. Sometime after the celebration, while arguing with his son, Jack suffers from a heart attack. The emergency prompts Abigail to return from California, but the reunion is tempered by Buckley’s lingering bitterness at her for having abandoned him and his father.

Meanwhile, Harvey returns to Norristown, which has become more developed. He explores his old neighborhood and notices the school is being expanded into the cornfield where he murdered Susie. He drives by the sinkhole where Susie’s body rests, and where Ruth Connors and Ray Singh are standing. Ruth, an old classmate of Susie’s who had felt Susie’s spirit go past her after her murder, senses the women Harvey has killed and is overcome. Susie, watching from heaven, is also overwhelmed with emotion and the two girls exchange positions. Susie, her spirit now in Ruth’s body, kisses Ray, who had a crush on Susie in school, and they go to the back room in Hal Heckler’s (the older brother of Lindsey’s boyfriend Samuel) bike shop to make love. Afterwards, Susie returns to heaven.

She moves on into the larger heaven, still watching earthbound events from time to time. She sees her sister’s newborn baby girl, who is named Abigail Suzanne. One day she spies Harvey getting off a Greyhound bus at a diner in New Hampshire in early spring. Behind the diner he sees a young woman and attempts to speak to her, but she rebuffs him. Susie notices some large icicles hanging from the roof, and after the woman leaves, one falls and hits Harvey on the head, knocking him into a nearby ravine and ultimately killing him.

The novel ends with Susie showing us Lindsey’s newborn daughter, then tracking away to a newer house where a man has finally found Susie’s old charm bracelet. “This little girl’s grown up by now,” his wife says. “Almost. Not quite,” Susie’s narrative voice rejoins. “I wish you all a long and happy life.



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Thursday, June 24, 2010

Daybreakers

Synopsis and Movies Daybreakers : In a world 10 years into the future, vampires make up the vast majority of the population with only 5% of the human race remaining. This presents particular challenges as the vampires’ food supply – human blood – is dwindling and rationing is now the norm. There is growing evidence that vampires deprived of an adequate blood supply are themselves evolving into wild, vile creatures that attack anyone and anything in order to survive. Dr. Edward Dalton, a vampire and hematologist who works for a pharmaceutical firm, has been working on finding an artificial blood supply that will meet the vampire society’s needs. He is sympathetic to humans and sees his work as a way of alleviating their suffering but his views on finding a solution change considerably when he meets someone who found a way to transform himself from being a vampire to again take human form

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Avatar

Synopsis and Movvie Avatar : Intercut is a sequence of images of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) waking up in a VA hospital, where he is one of a seemingly endless number of wounded war veterans. Jake awakens inside a pod-like apparatus, where he’s comforted by hospital staff. Then, through voiceover and dialogue with both hospital and military officials, we learn that Jake has a recently deceased twin brother — Tom, a scientist — who was to be part of a highest-level program overseen by corporate and military strategists. Because Jake and his brother are genetic matches, he’s presented with a unique opportunity: take over his brother’s contract with with corporate-military entity and travel light years away to an outpost on the previously glimpsed world, Pandora.

Acknowledging the notions of “being free” and having a “fresh start”, Jake agrees to the deal as his brother’s body is cremated.Now aboard a human transporter spacecraft, Jake is one of many soldiers and personnel about to touch down on Pandora, actually a moon of the planet of Polyphemus, some 4.3 light years from Earth. We catch views of the base and its construction as Jake ponders his new role. Then, as the other passengers disembark and take their first steps onto the base, we see Jake make his first pushes into this world, for Jake is in a wheelchair. Jake acknowledges through voiceover that he lost the use of his legs during one of his tours of duty on Earth, and while a spine can be fixed, that “takes money,” and that is tough to come by in the present economy. To add insult to the situation, Jake is referred to as “Meals on Wheels” by a few of his fellow travelers who are about to begin their careers as for-hire workers on Pandora.

Cut to a military briefing room, where Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) is addressing the assembled soldiers, including Jake. Referencing the fact that they’re “not in Kansas anymore,” Col. Quaritch educates the soldiers on Pandora’s indigenous population, the Na’vi. Quaritch lets it be known that the Na’vi want to kill and, while it’s his job to keep soldiers alive, he will not succeed in this task — “not with all of you,” he declares.

Jake is now in a science lab where he meets biologist Norm Spellman (Joel Moore) and Dr. Max Patel (Dileep Rao), two members of the Avatar Program. As Jake gets his first look at his own Avatar, we learn about the program itself.

Humans are unable to breathe Pandora’s air, but the Avatar Program enables people to link with their own Avatar, a genetically-bred human-Navi hybrid. Through his Avatar body, Jake will be able to walk again. While Jake says his Avatar “looks like Tom,” Norm replies that the being “looks like you”.

We learn more about the program as Jake records his experiences onto his videolog (the first of many). During this, Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), the program’s science lead, awakens. We learn that she likes “plants better than people,” and after speaking in Na’vi with Norm, she informs the assembled group of people that she needs Tom, a Phd.D who trained 3 years for the Pandora mission, and that she has no use for Jake.

Grace is next seen in the base’s control room with Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi), representative for the Resources Development Administration, an organization that oversees all military and other personnel on the colony. Grace tells Parker she needs a researcher and not a “jarhead dropout” when told that Jake will serve as a security escort on her team while they’re on the planet’s surface. Grace is doubtful that Jake possesses the skills to meet one of her objectives: to bond with the Na’vi and discern the factors for the breakdown in Na’vi/human relations. Parker has a different goal. After discussing Pandora’s much-desired natural resource, the mineral Unobtanium, which can save Earth from its present energy crisis. Parker wants Grace simply to “use what you got and get me some results.”

Back in the lab, Jake and Norm are linked to their Avatars for the first time. It’s noted that Jake’s brain is “gorgeous”. Jake, in his Avatar, wakes up in a different room with other Avatars and staff. Within a few moments, Jake is making his handlers nervous because he is moving too quickly and trying to walk. His long tail is knocking over instruments. A staff member informs him that his behavior is dangerous, to which Jake replies, “This is great”.

Jake busts out of the recovery room and into the daylight. He finds himself in a recreation area where other Avatars are playing sports and staff, in their protective gear, are performing various duties. Norm is in pursuit of Jake. When Avatar Jake dips his toes into the dirt, we’re shown how the feeling registers on the face of human Jake.

In the garden area, Jake meets Grace’s Avatar, who, with a slightly more cheery demeanor, accompanies Jake to the barracks where he is eventually encouraged to rest. The link is broken, and human Jake awakens.

Jake next meets Trudy Chacon (Michelle Rodriguez), a retired Marine pilot with whom he’ll spent several weeks getting used to his Avatar and exploring Pandora. Jake will also serve as the door gun on her crew.

Jake reunites with Col. Quaritch, who is lifting weights. The Col. Tells Jake about some of his tours, including one in Venezuela, and other aspects of his military history. The Col. re-warns Jake about the dangerous awaiting him on Pandora. His also exerts his belief that the Avatar Program is a joke and that it actually represents an opportunity for a unique reconnaissance mission: Jake can amass knowledge of the “hostiles” and “savages” as a covert military operative. At the end of this scene, the Col. climbs into an AMP Suit — a bipedal exoskeleton used for missions on Pandora — and informs Jake that he will help get his real legs back.

Relinked with his Avatar, Jake is flying over Pandora’s surface with Trudy, Grace, Norm, and others. The team lands in a forest setting, where Grace and Norm begin to take different samples. Jake is distracted by his surroundings and making Grace nervous. He wanders into a field of Helicoradian flowers, which are quite tall and shrink at Jake’s touch. Trouble arrives when a Titanotheres — a dinosaur-like creature — confronts Jake. Grace orders him to stand his ground and not shoot, or else the animal will charge. Jake successfully holds his ground, but only because a larger creature, a Thanator, has approached him from behind. Grace tells Jake to run — definitely run — and he’s pursued by the Thanator in a chase that separates Jake from his crew. Initially, Jake eludes the beast; even when he’s lost his gun and then downed by the animal, he releases his pack to escape. Ultimately, the chase leads to waterfalls, where Jake jumps to his safety, leaving the Thanator alone above him.

Now on dry ground, Jake is fashioning a spear and then a torch as we notice he’s been watched above, this time from a different being … a Na’vi? It has to be. The being draws an arrow to a bow and is about to shoot, only to be surprised as seeds (we’ll come to know them as the “seeds of Eyra”) land on the bow and arrow. The being retreats.

Meanwhile, as Jake’s crew searches for him, Trudy says they’ll have to return to base since night ops are not allowed. It’s acknowledged that Jake likely will not survive until the morning.

As Jake fashions a torch, he’s surrounded by a pack of Viperwolfs, who encircle Jake with their teeth bared, jaws gnashing. As their battle begins, the being who was observing Jake joins him in the battle, where she kills many of the animals and causes the rest to flee. Now alone, Jake follows his rescuer to an illuminated pond, where prayers are said for the animals that were killed. Spent arrows are then collected. Jake says thanks for killing those “things” which earns an agitated response from his rescuer, who hits Jake with the arrows and declares that the animals did not need to die. Jake is then told the incident is his fault because he is “like a baby” yet he’s also told the reason he was saved was due to his strong heart and lack of fear.

Though no introduction has been made yet, Jake follows his rescuer up into a tree, though he’s warned that he, like the other “sky people”, should not be on Pandora. Just then, the seeds of Eyra reappear and we learn they are seeds of a sacred tree — “very pure spirits” — and Jake is covered by them. “Come,” he is told.

In this next scene, we learn the name of Jake’s rescuer: Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), who is young Na’vi female. Netyiri presents Jake to her people, the Omaticaya, though he is surrounded by Omaticayan warriors and felled by them. Leading this group of men is Tsu’Tey (Laz Alonso), Neytiri’s brother and next in line to the throne. Neytiri lets them know that “there has been a sign” and that he should be brought to “tashik” (father, approximate spelling) and “eyra” (mother).

Jake is presented to Neytiri’s parents, Eytukan (Wes Studi) and Mo’at (CCH Pounder), who are the king and queen of the tribe, respectively. Jake tells the elders that he is a warrior — a “dreamwalker” — and his intention is to learn from the,. Eytukan tastes Jake’s blood from a wound on his forehead and decrees it is the will of Eyra for him to live with the Omaticayan, and for Neytiri, however reluctantly, to be his teacher in their ways and customs. After a ritual gathering, Jake is brought to his bed, a leaf high up in the “Hometree” that encircles him like a cocoon. As he falls asleep, human Jake is revived.

At morning chow, all the scientists, including Grace, are focused on every one of Jake’s words. Even the military and corporate reps have warmed to him. He lets them know the Hometree rests on Pandora’s biggest deposit of Unobtanium. He’s informed that he has three months to achieve his objective.

The next series of scenes revolve around Avatar Jake’s training with Neytiri and human Jake’s reported findings. He bonds with his Direhorse, arguably the most important animal to the Na’vi since Jake must learn to must mount the animal and connect his neural queue to its antennae. Human Jake continues to report on the Hometree’s infrastructure and other Na’vi details.

Jake takes his first trip to the Hallelujah Mountains — a system of remote, floating islands that are sacred to the Na’vi and are also rich in Unobtanium. It’s here that Grace’s camp is to be set up, away from the RDA officials and military officers alike.

In his next videolog, Jake discusses his language lessons and says his time with the Na’vi is like “field-stripping a weapon”. This is intercut with scenes of his continued training with Neytiri, who teaches him about the Na’vi-forest connection. She tells Jake that all energy is borrowed and one day we have to give it back. Jake seems to comprehend this, and as he says a prayer for an animal he successfully hunted, Neytiri says that he is “ready”.

We discover that Jake is ready for a Na’vi rite of passage: to connect with a Mountain Banshee, a flying creature, in the same manner he bonded with the Direhorse. Several factors (the height, the ferociousness of the untamed banshees) make this a dangerous lesson, but Jake’s lack of fear and successful bond with his Banshee impress the Na’vi warriors present, including Tsu’Tey. Jake, Neytiri, and the others ride together to the Tree of Souls, the most sacred place to the Na’vi.

Human Jake is revived, and Grace calls him a “lucky swine”.

Jake next is on an aerial hunting mission. Pursued by a creature known to the Na’vi as Toruk, which is larger than his Banshee. Neytiri says one name the beast has earned is “last shadow” and that her grandfather once rode on of the animals to unite the 5 Na’vi tribes.

When Jake comes back to, it’s clear he’s been changed by this latest experience, for he says, “out there is the real world … in here is the dream”. He’s then confronted by the Colonel to say he’s to take a shuttle to get his legs back, but Jake asks to delay the trip, since this evening there is to be a ceremony where he will become a true Na’vi man. The Col. acquiesces when Jake says this will be the perfect opportunity to negotiate the relocation of the Omaticaya so RDA can claim the Unobtanium.

Cut to the ceremony, where Jake learns the Na’vi believe that every person can be born twice. Neytiri leads Jake to a place of prayer, the “tree of voices” where they bond with the tree. Neytiri tells Jake he can made a bow from the tree … and that he can choose a woman.

Jake says, “she must also choose me”.

Neytiri indicates, “she already has”.

In the morning, Neytiri awakens to falling tress, then the presence of bulldozers. She cannot wake Jake (back on the base, Jake is having breakfast and is clearly in a clear rush to return to Neytiri). Soldiers are advancing, the forest is falling around Neytiri, who is dragging and carrying Jake to safety. When he finally revives, Jake climbs onto one of the flying craft and tries to stop it, eventually blinding their camera system and initiating some gunfire. Other Na’vi warriors arrive, while the assembled military personnel recognize Jake in his Avatar form as the person who tried to stop their mission.

At Hometree, the Na’vi want war. Grace and Jake say no. There’s an intense debate. Tsu’Tey tries to kill Jake. Jake declares he is a Na’vi and deserves the right to speak. Then, suddenly, both Grace and Jake’s Avatars are downed.

Grace and Jake face off with RDA and military brass. It’s revealed that Pandora has a “network of trees” and that the Omaticaya will never leave Hometree. Parker and the Col. discuss options. Gas out the Na’vi … turn gunships on Hometree … Jake lobbies to return to the Omaticaya and negotiate, and he’s granted one hour to achieve the objective.

Jake and Grace are not welcomed back. Neytiri rejects Jake. Both are bound and left behind by the Omaticaya, who are preparing to fight against the humans.

Gas canisters are launched into Hometree and the surrounding area. Rockets are fired. The military is advancing on the ground and in the air. As the battle escalates, most of the weaponry is focused on Hometree, which is downed by a series of explosions and heavy artillery. Many Omaticaya are killed. Moat frees Jake and Grace and asks them to save the tribe. We watch a dying Eytukan tell Neytiri to take his bow and protect their people. Jake then arrives and is rejected again by Neytiri when he tries to console her.

The destruction seems endless, and, suddenly, Jake and Grace return to their human bodies and promptly placed under arrest for treason. Norm is also arrested for trying to prevent soldiers from disabling their Avatar forms.

Some time has passed, and the Na’vi exodus continues.

Trudy arrives at the cell which holds Jake, Grace, and Norm. She dupes their guard by saying she wants nothing to do with them, only to knock out the guard an instant later. In the attempt to flee the base in Trudy’s ship, Dr. Patel remains behind while Grace is shot by the Colonel, who braves Pandora’s atmosphere without protection, hell bent on recapturing Jake and the others. The team flies to the Tree of Souls, where the Omaticaya have relocated.

The hopeful reunion with the Omaticaya is not to be, initially. Jake is outcast, an alien. He does, however, convince Mo’at to try and help a dying Grace. Mo’at agrees and begins the preparations, mostly which involve getting Grace in place at the Tree of Souls.

Ever more determined to make amends with the Omaticaya, Jake arrives from the sky on the back of a Toruk in front of the Tree of Souls. The stunned Omaticaya feel Jake’s dedication to them; in an exchange with Neytiri, she says “I see you”. Tsu’Tey, who is now king, and Jake also make amends.

Back to Grace’s ritual. The attempt is to try and have Grace’s consciousness permanently transferred to her Avatar self. We see both human Grace and her Avatar. Mo’at lets it be known that Grace must pass through the eye of Eyra, and that the great mother might choose to let her pass through to her Avatar self, or she might opt to have Grace remain with her. The ritual is not successful, though before she dies, Grace tells Jake that she has seen Eyra. Jake is next seen addressing his chosen people. He says it’s time to bring war to the sky people, and to do so, the other Na’vi clans must be brought together to fight as one.

The military, who are about to launch their attack, are focusing most of their efforts on turning a single craft into a massive bomb. Their target is, of course, now the Tree of Souls, and the attack is planned for 0600 the next day.

Jake is busy rallying the Omaticaya. At the Tree of Souls, he looks into Grace’s memories, realizing that humankind killed their mother (Earth), the entity that protects the balance of life.

The story quickly jumps to the day of the final battle. The military forces are close and the bombship is hovering toward the Tree of Souls. Because of Pandora’s magnetic currents, however, human-made instruments are failing. The united Na’vi force begins to arrive from the sky and on the ground. On his Toruk, Jake, Tsu’Tey, and other warriors engage in battle with the military craft, mainly Scorpion and Dragon assault ships. Casualties are mounting on both sides.

A flurry of main-character action: Jakes locks onto Colonel Quaritch; Trudy arrives and opens fire; Neytiri is separated from her Banshee; Norm’s Avatar is mortally wounded and he jumps back to his human form; Tsu’Tey takes on the bombship and is killed in the attempt; Trudy’s ship is blown up and she is killed in the process.

On the ground, Neytiri watches this action transpire. Jake attempts to contact Tsu-Tey and is unsuccessful, as is his attempt to reach Neytiri. The bombship closes in on the Tree of Souls.

A reunited Jake and Neytiri opt to stand their ground against the humans but to no longer display aggression. Suddenly, through what’s left of the surrounding forest, a battalion of Pandora’s animal races arrive. Neytiri tells Jake, who called out to Eyra for help earlier, has been heard as the various animals engage in combat with the humans.

Jake and his Toruk take to the sky to confront the bombship as the military’s ground forces begin to scatter. Jake grenades the bombship and it catches fire.

Colonel Quaritch mans an AMP Suit in preparation for battle on the ground. He makes his way to the temporary camp set up by Grace and the others when they escaped from military incarceration. Human Jake, of course, is inside the camp and linked to his Avatar self. Quaritch is set on killing Jake, and Neytiri arrives with seconds to spare and saves Jake, though her Thanator is killed and she is trapped underneath it.

Avatar Jake arrives and engages Colonel Quaritch in a fight, and the Col. is quickly injured, but Jake is caught in the grip of the AMP Suit. Meanwhile, Neytiri has almost freed herself. Out of his AMP Suit, the Colonel dons a breathing device and insults Jake, asking him how it feels to have betrayed his race. The Col. races to the camp and is surprised when he doesn’t find Jake in the first pod. Human Jake is starting to unlink with his Avatar self.

With human Jake in the Col.’s clutches, Neytiri draws an arrow and downs her enemy. A second arrow brings him to the ground. However, much damage has been done to the camp, which is leaking oxygen. Human Jake is awake but having difficulty both breathing and trying to get a mask on. Fully in danger, Neytiri arrives to help Jake with his mask. Neytiri, cradling Jake, says, “I see you”.

Cut to the former military base, which is now under Na’vi control. Most of the remaining humans are being rounded up to be shipped back to Earth; however, some of the more harmonious people are invited to stay on Pandora. Norm is one of the humans who will remain.

Jake signs off in his final videolog, where we learn that he has chosen to transfer his consciousness to his Avatar self. In a ceremony similar to Grace’s, Jake passes through the eye of Eyra … and wakes up in his Avatar self with Neytiri watching over him.



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