Friday, September 24, 2010

Caught Up.. Again?

I said before that we all need to get out of our comfort zone. That we must explore our minds, and put ourselves in a difficult situation for our own good. But what happens after we do that?



Do we just let go? Surely we take steps to continue doing something that keeps us away from our comfort zone. Which is only normal. But say, we start taking it for granted. Say, for instance, we suddenly just.. lose track of what we really want. And get caught up with everything else and, out of the blue, we 'stop' our 'staying-out-of-our-comfort-zone' thing. What happens?



Yes, I admit that I have not pushed myself to the fullest, out of my own comfort zone. And yes, I have come out with my own lame excuses. And YES, I do know that there must be others like me. And self-obsessed as I am. But, what really matters is of course redeeming ourselves. Simply by correcting our mistakes. Get back to getting out of our comfort zone. If we hate public speaking, and we do something about it, that's good. But if we don't continue our efforts to like public speaking, then we'll just be the same ol' person who was just too much of a chicken to speak in front of everyone.



Whatever happens, it always does come down to what we do that matters. We might talk and think about it. Or we might just pretend to be out of our comfort zone. It'll all be useless if we don't put our best efforts in it.





Get the drift? Get out of your shell again! Share your thoughts at adler_ng@hotmail.com.

Review of The Week!

Movie : The Avengers (2012)

Awe-inducing, funny and action-packed, this could be the superhero movie of the year (not that there are many).



It is unusual for directors to modify the genre of superhero movies. To be precise, if we are looking for some popcorn entertainment, Joss Whedon could have easily turned this into a full-blown alien-versus-superhero affair (that actually would not be too bad). Interestingly to note however, he does not. With an affinity to blend action scenes with tongue-in-cheek humor, he balances the tone of the movie to be both rewarding and most definitely, superhero-themed.

There are plenty of noteworthy things you can brag about this movie. The cinematography, the script, the visuals, the cast, the production design. Surely though, there would be one or two flaws, but they are not really meant to be called 'flaws' per se. Bending the laws of physics, 'saving the world' is saving the US and how Hulk manages to comply to orders are just some of the minor 'flaws'. These are probably things that you would just like to ignore for the sake of giving the director the benefit of the doubt.

It is quite evident that Whedon has made this film his own. He incorporates humor into almost every scene, as if things are not to be taken too seriously in the world of The Avengers. And it should be like that. Again, the emphasis on superhero movies usually lie on destruction, life-saving and personalization of characters. But here, there is some of that, but not completely. No chessy lines. No rushed pacing. No cliche-ridden narrative. (Just Loki speaking in a not-so-sharp English accent.)

The movie can also be likened to last year's Deathly Hallows (Part 2); a lot of hype, and duly delivered. At least we could expect how the last Harry Potter movie was meant to be : an emotional, epic battle. The Avengers did deliver but there is something different to the whole theme that somehow manages to change our view on how superhero movies should be in the future. Is it Robert Downey Junior's Shakespearean jab at Thor? Or is the excellent cinematography of sticking to single shots instead of quick-fire editing? Heck, it could even be Scarlett Johansson's semi-obscene display of bust. Anyhow the movie is a success, most definitely.


Unprecedented, now that is one word to decribe Joss Whedon's take on a superhero movie.


Personally*... Stay in your seats till the end; there are rumors that an extra scene is added to the US version of The Avengers, for compensation of the late release.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/user/894039/reviews/

Spark of inspiration?