Friday, February 24, 2012

Judging By Your...

First impressions. What should we make of them?

Clearly, we have 'revolutionized'.

Death has befallen us. Hope leaves us. Rest assured though, for we often stick to our early-made conclusions. The tendency to 'stick to what we believe at first' is so great, oh so great.

But are we really talking about first impressions here? Are we really somewhat obliged to follow our instincts, for a lack of a better word? When we encounter something that is affecting us (be it morally, intellectually, emotionally), do we prevail? Or do we rely on our in-built thoughts about a specific subject?

No, alas, no. Our strength of mind does not actually do much to change our opinion of something. If we are fixed, well, that is just that. However, having said that, I strongly disagree with notion of excluding all other reasonable doubts concerning whether our mind is strong or weak enough to combat a certain change. A certain paradigm shift.

Ah, for our own sake, let us not delve into the unknown. But, again, intellectually, we are being pushed. Imagine if the kind of 'push' of thought is intensified (up to a out-of-comfort-zone point), how do we cope? Simple question, hence simple answers: Go on a holiday, man! Or, play some games! More crudely, get laid, dude!

Obviously, we can casually choose to do so. And we don't even have to think of the regrets. So, why not, right? Take a chance. But wait, this is almost precisely what the whole point is: we are going back to our basics modus operandi here. Instead of pressing deeper, we shift back to our comfort zone with equal 'push'. We do not want to move.


Overall, what do we choose to do? The thing is, we have already. We just have not been conscious of the thought yet. Well, that is in my opinion at least, which is flawed by basic animal-human instincts.
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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?