Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Contagion - The Real Test of Humanity?

Watched the movie 'Contagion'.  Even if you haven't seen the movie, you would've probably guessed that its about a contagious disease, an epidemic to be more exact.  We have seen movies like this before, '28 Days Later', 'Resident Evil' etc.  But this movie, is much more realistic.  Its not an action packed adventure like Resident Evil or a thrilling apocalypse like 28 Days Later.  This is more of a drama that tries to portray how people in general react to this danger and what actions individuals take.

It reminded me of something Joker said in 'The Dark Knight', "their morals, their code...it's a bad joke.  Dropped at the first sign of trouble.  When the chips are down, these civilized people, they'll eat each other."  That sounds a little extreme but its not too far from the truth.  When our life is at stake or even in an increased level of risk, we drop our ethics.  Worse than that, we start to doubt our fellow men.  Our fears move us to survival mode and we start suspecting everyone and everything.

Its easy to be law abiding and decent when its all good.  We think that we are the good guys just because we give lift to someone on our way to work.  We think we are civilized just because we gave some money to charity last year or because we paid taxes this year.  But how ethical will our actions be when we are put in tough situations?  What if, one day our financial system completely collapses and we enter an age with no rules, no order?  Will we still be kind and gentle in a chaotic world?

There is no single answer to that question.  Some people will still do their best to be humane and be helpful.  Some, will just switch to survival mode and act as if its 'every man for himself'.  We get a sense of this, in the movie.  We see how some people get scared and turn violent while a few risk more than we ever would to help others.  Those selfless acts are the reason we humans even have a civilization today.  And those individuals who went into survival mode, they are probably today's terrorists and extremists.

So, what will you be, when the chips are down?!!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The Dark Knight truly Rises

Finally, the trailer for the movie The Dark Knight Rises is here.  Lets get straight into it



I still remember what made me go crazy about The Dark Knight.  It was Joker's laugh at the end of the trailer for TDK.  It was epic, just perfect!  This trailer for TDKR reminds of that feeling.

For me, the best part of this one is definitely the music.  The trailer starts with the soft and humble voice of a kid.  Then the music disappears into the background with a tinge of suspense in it.  In typical Hans Zimmer style, it keeps raising slowly, with the kid's voice still in the background.  Then, the chanting starts and it gets aggressive.  Finally, it comes alive at the 1 minute 45 second mark, by which time, I can't stop myself from jumping from my seat & shouting it out loud!  At the end, we hear the music from the climax of TDK which has probably become synonymous with the Batman logo.

The only thing that I'm not very comfortable with is the clarity of the voice.  Even though Joker's voice was weird, it was still crystal clear.  Oh well!  Considering that I'm going to see this movie repeatedly, I guess I needn't care.  I went to imdb to find out what was being said in the trailer and I happened to glance at the Trivia section where I saw this.

Eva GreenAngelina Jolie Blake LivelyRhona MitraCharlize TheronAbbie CornishVera FarmigaJessica BielNatalie PortmanGemma ArtertonKate MaraCharlotte RileyEmily Blunt and Keira Knightley all auditioned for the role of Selina Kyle. After the initial audition process, Biel and Mara all screen tested. Ultimately, Anne Hathaway won the role. 


That is a huge list of cast being auditioned for one role and not to mention that most of them are top actresses.  This shows us the level of sincerity with which the director is approaching the character instead of just casting some big name.  The same goes for most of the characters in the movie with names like Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet being considered.  Yes, I know, the film studio and the movie's casting directors were probably the main force behind this, but the fact that so many talented actors were auditioning for roles that weren't number one, simply adds credibility to the director's abilities.

I just can't wait to watch this movie in the theater!  I'll probably go to the theater every weekend simply to catch this trailer.. :P

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Rant of the Day!

I'm warning you straight away that this post is a rant.  So, if you are in a good mood, stop reading right now so that I don't spoil it.  For those who are still reading, well, lets continue..  I'm sure you've faced this situation too => you are in a good mood and looking forward to the rest of your day but suddenly someone does something that just puts you off.  All of a sudden you just wish that the day comes to an end soon so that you can begin afresh tomorrow.  Well, that's exactly how I felt and to get over it, I decided to write this post.

I strongly believe that feelings spread; from one person to another, from one person to an entire group; its just contagious.  Say for example, there are three of you sitting together but minding your own business.  A fourth guy comes along and is in a grumpy mood.  Now, if you three were already in a fun mood, then, his grumpiness won't affect the other three too much.  On the contrary, he/she might get cheered up thanks to you guys.  But if the mood is already mundane or just normal, then the grumpiness starts spreading.  This is why I always try to hide my bad mood when in company of others.  But some people, just don't give a damn..

Some people just complain for everything.  This is like this, that's like that, oh why me, why is everyone like this, bla bla..  But most of all, I get really annoyed when people complain about helping someone.  I don't care if you help others or not, but don't complain about it if you do.  If you don't wanna help, just tell them so & leave it at that.  Its pointless to decide to help someone and then complain about it.

I ain't Mahatma Gandhi; I'm just a selfish little human being like most people.  But even my tiny brain/conscience understands that we help others to feel good.  When we help others, we get a sense of satisfaction, a good feeling and at the same time, we have improved someone else's life.  But if you are going to complain about it, then you aren't going to feel good.  And to make it worse, you'll probably spoil the mood of someone else who happens to hear you complain.  And to make it even worse, the next time you have an argument with the person you helped, this feeling will come to your mind and you will get even more angry.

This just seems counter-intuitive to me.  My point is simple, don't force yourself to do something and then complain about it.  Of course, we all do things that we don't really want to, like for example, go to work.  But there is a difference between accepting our decision and complaining about it.  Learn to accept it; if you can't, then don't do it.

P.S.  To my friends, this is not directed against any of you; the person I'm ranting about will never, ever, read my blog..  :D  Ah!!  It feels good to let it all out!