Friday, April 6, 2012

Paranoia - We Want It As Much As We Need It



Detrimental as it is, we should admit : It does make us feel safe, secure and anxious. Wait, anxious? Is that good?


To hell with it. Anxious or not, it is a cliche. Something that binds to our thoughts all the time. As little as we like it, we must, must see the benefits. Our minds have deceived us into all this foul play.

Backtrack a little,eh? Alright. Anxiety and paranoia. Why? Because humans, like all living beings, want to live, as we already realized as life and death instincts. But are we bound by those instincts? 

Still, we should not shy away from the topic at hand. How are our instincts born? Is it natural? Yes. Is it meant to be controlled? Most certainly... not. Is it considered repression? Maybe. So would we turn into silent 'alter-egos' deep within? Wait, wait, let us not get into partial meta-psychology.

But what is real? Our anxiety is real? So says Lacan. Our humanistic realism is what keeps us alive? Saying it with uncertainty is not going to help is it? We should strike while the iron is hot, and just believe... until of course, objective flaws bring us back down to Earth.


Still, it does not matter. Our mind readjusts itself, not before doing itself some damage, of course.
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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?