Movies have, to put it mildly, always been an integral part of my existence. To me, they're more than just entertainment. Truth be told, most of what I am, has been put together by picking out bits I like out of characters from my favorite movies. And boy, am I proud of my work. "Donkey's praise" aside, I'm a firm believer of the fact that MOST movies have in them some lesson, be it good or bad, that we can take back from them. The following is my attempt to highlight what I think the makers were trying to tell us:
Jaws: Steven Spielberg's thriller, which made an entire generation scared to go out to the beach, drunk or otherwise, not only was a true masterclass when it came to making a blood-thirsty predator likable and its hunt poetically beautiful, but was also a true fable in itself. A story of a poor, lonely, hungry fish who happened to eat the wrong people at the wrong time.
Our protagonist, the fishie, who later came to be known by the title of the film itself (imagine that...being christened Jaws for all his troubles), let his hunger get the best of him, only to have everything he's ever eaten (along with the rest of him) blown to smithereens by a really pissed off police sheriff. Which only goes to show that gluttony never goes unpunished at vacation spots.
Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Widely regarded as "one of the most epic mot*********g cinematic experiences of all time", LOTR paved the way for all grand scale movie productions to come. It was filled with moments that made one realize how inconsequential and pathetically boring one's life really is, for nothing serves up an epiphany the way disgusting, steroid filled Orcs struggling to make coherent sentences, gigantic Oliphants trampling over anything and everything in its path, a flaming eye that "talks", a wizard who proved age is no barrier but size does matter and a ring that's so powerful that Hitler would consider it the only thing in the universe worth engaging in coitus with.
The obvious triumph of good over evil aside, LOTR taught us that the thin line between bro and homo may be subject to fading under adverse circumstances.
Saw: Not many movies justify unjustifiable violence and gore the way Saw does and therein lies its beauty. The story of a dying man taking out his chemo pains on a bunch of dead-beats, cheats, liars, con-men and other decent, hardworking folk is truly heart wrenching to say the least.
Moral of the story? Taking away peoples' body parts is really fun if you're dying of cancer AND smoking a ton of medical green.
Avatar: It is said that James Cameron was in a coma, induced by an overdose of Psilocybin...for a long time and when he woke up, he brought back from the darkest corners of his mind, an idea for a movie which would go on to become the cinematic equivalent of (a 12 piece chicken bucket, large coleslaw, large fries and a 2 litre Pepsi) raised to the power of 3D! A movie so grand that it was pulled out of cinemas earlier than the scheduled date due to concerns from the scientific community that it would alter the very fragment of reality as we know it.
Avatar proved that tree hugging can be cool, as long as the said tree isn't sitting on top of a large reserve of a precious natural resource. It also cemented facts such as bows and arrows are useless against aircraft armed with heat seeking missiles, connectivity is key, sleep is for sissies and there's no bird that can't be tamed (men to take note).
Die Hard Series: In this action masterpiece, Bruce Willis showed us how to tackle hostage situations and unforeseen EXTREME scenarios. The franchise has produced some of the most memorable baddies in the last two decades and arguably THE most bad-ass catch phrase in movie history. John Mcclane, the man who carved a niche for himself when it came to "wrong place, wrong time" was largely responsible for bringing inner-wear to the forefront of fashion, for in his "baniyan", he really looked like a man one does not mess with and not some overgrown onion, fit into a brazier. Personally, Die Hard introduced me to the truly amazing world of action movies and left a lasting impression as to how action should be captured on film.
The series taught us that karma can be a real bitch and no matter how sophisticated your weapon of choice, no matter how old our hero gets, getting a clean shot at John Mcclane is harder that getting a clean shot at John Mcclane with his shirt on. Yippi-ka-yay, mo*********r!
The Twilight "Saga": Abs don't always help and a woman's menstrual cycle can sometimes get indefinitely paused at the wrong time. Period (pun intended).
To be continued....
Jaws: Steven Spielberg's thriller, which made an entire generation scared to go out to the beach, drunk or otherwise, not only was a true masterclass when it came to making a blood-thirsty predator likable and its hunt poetically beautiful, but was also a true fable in itself. A story of a poor, lonely, hungry fish who happened to eat the wrong people at the wrong time.
Our protagonist, the fishie, who later came to be known by the title of the film itself (imagine that...being christened Jaws for all his troubles), let his hunger get the best of him, only to have everything he's ever eaten (along with the rest of him) blown to smithereens by a really pissed off police sheriff. Which only goes to show that gluttony never goes unpunished at vacation spots.
Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Widely regarded as "one of the most epic mot*********g cinematic experiences of all time", LOTR paved the way for all grand scale movie productions to come. It was filled with moments that made one realize how inconsequential and pathetically boring one's life really is, for nothing serves up an epiphany the way disgusting, steroid filled Orcs struggling to make coherent sentences, gigantic Oliphants trampling over anything and everything in its path, a flaming eye that "talks", a wizard who proved age is no barrier but size does matter and a ring that's so powerful that Hitler would consider it the only thing in the universe worth engaging in coitus with.
The obvious triumph of good over evil aside, LOTR taught us that the thin line between bro and homo may be subject to fading under adverse circumstances.
Saw: Not many movies justify unjustifiable violence and gore the way Saw does and therein lies its beauty. The story of a dying man taking out his chemo pains on a bunch of dead-beats, cheats, liars, con-men and other decent, hardworking folk is truly heart wrenching to say the least.
Moral of the story? Taking away peoples' body parts is really fun if you're dying of cancer AND smoking a ton of medical green.
Avatar: It is said that James Cameron was in a coma, induced by an overdose of Psilocybin...for a long time and when he woke up, he brought back from the darkest corners of his mind, an idea for a movie which would go on to become the cinematic equivalent of (a 12 piece chicken bucket, large coleslaw, large fries and a 2 litre Pepsi) raised to the power of 3D! A movie so grand that it was pulled out of cinemas earlier than the scheduled date due to concerns from the scientific community that it would alter the very fragment of reality as we know it.
Avatar proved that tree hugging can be cool, as long as the said tree isn't sitting on top of a large reserve of a precious natural resource. It also cemented facts such as bows and arrows are useless against aircraft armed with heat seeking missiles, connectivity is key, sleep is for sissies and there's no bird that can't be tamed (men to take note).
Die Hard Series: In this action masterpiece, Bruce Willis showed us how to tackle hostage situations and unforeseen EXTREME scenarios. The franchise has produced some of the most memorable baddies in the last two decades and arguably THE most bad-ass catch phrase in movie history. John Mcclane, the man who carved a niche for himself when it came to "wrong place, wrong time" was largely responsible for bringing inner-wear to the forefront of fashion, for in his "baniyan", he really looked like a man one does not mess with and not some overgrown onion, fit into a brazier. Personally, Die Hard introduced me to the truly amazing world of action movies and left a lasting impression as to how action should be captured on film.
The series taught us that karma can be a real bitch and no matter how sophisticated your weapon of choice, no matter how old our hero gets, getting a clean shot at John Mcclane is harder that getting a clean shot at John Mcclane with his shirt on. Yippi-ka-yay, mo*********r!
The Twilight "Saga": Abs don't always help and a woman's menstrual cycle can sometimes get indefinitely paused at the wrong time. Period (pun intended).
To be continued....
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