Friday, December 30, 2011

Destroying Your Work


All it takes is a dash of destruction.


How do we measure our work? Wait, why do we care to take a closer look at our work in the first place? NO wait, what is our work?

That we are almost oblivious to what we have done in our entire lives is not oblivious to us. We know that we actually do not have a clue what we have been doing all this while. Have we been climbing the mountains? Have we been braving the hurricanes? Have we been murdering people, physically and emotionally? If we have, do we really know?

Maybe we don't know. No, say, we choose to ignore the fact that we know that we don't know anything. Is it daft? It is, most definitely. How do we ignore something? We say we want to ignore our consciousness, but we indirectly choose to connect with it so as to ignore it. Hmm, food for thought?
So now that we know we are mostly oblivious to the "We do not know anything", how do we combat that? Do we continue living in the unknown and become more aware by the day? Well, or do we change?


The point is we can never ever realize the enormity of our actions (i.e. thinking, doing). Are we then subjected to destroying the beliefs and norms which we have relied on for so long? No, we do not need to do that. We just go with it, adopting ignorance with pure ignorance.
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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?