Super Hero Movies

OK, before I even get started on writing about Superhero movies if you're a person who doesn't watch action movies or doesn't like/follow superhero fiction, this article isn't for you. Buzz off.

Alright now that's that. So to all of you who watch action films and follow superhero comics/cartoons/story-lines etc. Why does everyone suddenly want to watch a "meaningful" movie? Whats this nonsense about the movie having too much action or that it looks like a VFX showcase... Five years ago you hypocrites were cribbing about how action movies try too hard to put in different angles and that they should stick to what they're supposed to do. Now that Superhero movies are doing just that, everyone's suddenly like "oh no, why so much destruction... its a bit over the top" NO ITS NOT. OK!!?? This isn't some nonsensical love story about fate and how you feel about looooovvvveeeee (ewww cooties). These movies are action flicks. If you want to watch something with more "acting" and "drama" please watch movies that are meant for that. That's great cinema too, but in an entirely different genre. And as VFX grows so will its uses. I mean Benjamin Button, what a brilliant movie in which VFX was use through the entire film.. and drama... but since its not action its mean to have drama and love and acting. If you expect drama in a transformers or a Superman flick, you're gonna have a bad time.

And just so that you know, the action is for all those lil kids who come to the theater to watch the bad guys get their ass beat. By giving these films bad reviews you will never let another child have the joy of watching Superman beat someone through buildings or watch Wolverine claw his way through a hundred men. Very selfish I tell you... to say you are hypocrites is to say 5 year olds are mature.

A rambling monday

The loss of power in any situation creates frustration. The ability to make changes has left us. We are a humble people. A people who strive to survive. The entire Indian race exists within the bounds of society. Some philosophers say that it is because the aggression and battle-hunger was extinguished with the Mahabharata and Ramayana. But is it true? Have we as Indians lost our ability to stand for ourselves? The last battle we fought as a united nation was against the British... and even that we fought non-violently. Now the country is being eaten from the inside out. Not just by corrupt government officials but by the people themselves. The patriotism for India is almost non-existent. Well unless you talk about India in reference to Pakistan, then maybe you can shake this sleeping giant to twitch a little. But that's all you get, a little. There is no pride in being Indian. I mean look at the amount of people who are NRI's and are proud about it. There is absolutely no patriotic behavior left in any educated Indian. All they talk about is how clean places are abroad and how the climate is so much better. Ask an Indian about the best country in the world and they might say America or the UK or some other country but ask an American the same question and within a split second, without any hesitation the answer is USA. And I believe the same goes for any other nation... except us. Why has this happened?

I have been led to the conclusion that Indians are frustrated with the loss of power and are now living in a nation that they don't want. This isn't the India the freedom fighters foresaw and fought for. This isn't the India that Mahatma Gandhi starved for days for. This isn't the India countless people died for. Yet here we are... a powerless people that helplessly get bullied by cops and politicians. And if not the government then the thugs, the dons, the local 'mawalis'. Every Indian needs to stand up. No one is going to do your fighting for you. You have to take things into your own hands. Almost every movie in the 90's was depicting a fight against  the rich, the powerful and the wicked. And now we've moved away from even telling stories that inspire people to fight for themselves.

All the Indian society is worried about is what will the neighbors think or say. What will happen to my children if I don't earn enough money for their life. I mean you live your life earning for your children, they in turn spend their lives earning for their children. Where and when do you live for yourself? Doing what you love? And if you have a breakdown here itself, how can you think about your country when you don't have the time to think for yourself.

So I urge everyone who is stuck in an office... sitting at a desk reading this or hiding from your boss and reading this on a smartphone in a toilet because you don't get time to sit on the net in office. Go do what you dream of doing... Cook, travel, take photos, make movies, music, write a book, invent something, discover life. Don't get stuck trying to fatten your bank account. Because when you find what you love to do, money and success will always follow. And even if it doesn't, at least you're having fun doing what you're doing!

Superman Re-booted.

A world in shreds, tearing itself apart. Civil war and unrest as well as geological destruction taking place. Planet Krypton is about to be destroyed and the characters of Jor-El (Superman's biological father) & General Zod are set in a blink of an eye. The Man of Steel begins with the origins of 'Superman' or 'Clark Kent' or 'Kal-El' and almost instantly goes from how he was born to who he is today. The non-linear story-line combined with Nolan's typically characterized complex narrative structure of film-making makes the 'Man of Steel' an interesting watch by keeping you on the edge as you keep discovering new aspects of Clark Kent.

Christopher Nolan's morally ambiguous characterization comes into play with General Zod played by Michael Shannon, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Revolutionary Road and is also part of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. But not necessarily with Clark Kent aka Superman who epitomizes goodness.

Superman is rebooted with this film in a more modern context. Although the Superman costume does look a little different sans the red underwear on the outside its more than just a costume. Most of all the 'S' for superman symbolizes hope and is the symbol of the house of 'El' (Superman's family). It's actually just shy of genius how David S. Goyer (the writer) has successfully melded modern mentality and the archaic design style of Superman into a cohesive thought. Everything that is has a reason and there are almost no flaws left in the plot.

Zach Snyder definitely proves that he has an innate aptitude for dealing with superheroes as real people with real problems as shown in the Watchmen. In the Man of Steel, Superman actually earns the name of SUPER - MAN. Because in the end even if you are of alien origin, its your beliefs that make you the man that you are.

Bo : Bounce

Bo, that's what my neighbors called me. My favorite toy as a child was the "ball". I was so fascinated with the shape that everything round was perfect. Peas, the Sun, the full Moon, eyes, roundness... So much so that even the letter "O" was a favorite letter, I spelled ball as BOLL since its round and should have the letter!

And so I grew up with that pet name, Bo. I took on some properties of the ball, to Bounce.

bounce  
Verb
Move quickly away from a surface after hitting it; rebound: "the ball bounced off the wall".

And so I learned to bounce... from fights, from terrible accidents, from disasters...
There comes a time in everyone's life when they are changed. The following changed mine...

On a sunny winter day in a small cafe in the financial district of San Francisco; (San Francisco is a very beautiful place in the winter with the cool weather and bright sun shining.) There sat a young man who must have just stepped out of his teens. Spare facial hair growth, tall and well built. As he sat there in his brown overcoat, eating frozen yogurt that the waitress at the 'Working Girls Cafe" winked at him. He smiled and looked out to the street. "Today is a good day" thought the young man as he relaxed into the steel and wood chair placed on the sidewalk. After a few moments he dialed to call a friend and see if he was free to come join for a cup of coffee. As the friend declined, he placed the phone on the table so that in-case his friend called he'd not miss the call. As the young man sat eating the iced yogurt looking at the people hustling by on the sidewalk, a black boy not much older than the frozen yogurt eating boy stopped by the table. The black boy picked up the phone and said "Nice phone." and proceeded to walk away with the phone. Our young man at the table wasn't one to go down quietly so he chases the thief who has his phone. After a two minute chase, the boy catches the thief and beats him. During this process he is surrounded by a gang of thugs. Now each of them is about six to six and a half feet tall. After the young boy got up to fight off these new attackers he fell to the barrage of fists and feet. After a rather valiant effort to fight for himself, the boy was felled by a set of brass knuckles that hit him in the face below his right eye three times in quick succession. At this point the gang proceeded to leave with their wounded. The young man got up to see himself surrounded by people of all ages just watching. No one had dialed "911", no one to help him, no one to even attempt to save him. With his broken face of which as he found out later required reconstructive surgery which consisted of  a new eye socket a new zygomatic arch and upper cheek bone all crafted out of Titanium so it would be permanent. 

No one will help you get out of your troubles. No one will ever help you when you are down and out. No one will do anything for you. You have to 'bounce' back yourself. 

That boy was me. The year 2006. I'd turned twenty just three months before the incident. 

I bounced from that. It physically hurt me for months. It mentally hurt me for years. But I bounced. 
I went through everything after that with a smile on my face. Nothing fazed me. No problem was too big to handle. After this incident I had the courage to take on the world. The whole process of recovering from this made me a tough nut to crack, never ever after that has anything hurt me that badly again... Until a week ago... I cracked open, shattered once more.

I lost the woman I loved a few years ago and I still hoped somewhere that I'd get once more chance with her and prove it to her that we were meant to be together, it was something that I could fix, or so I thought. I waited and waited, and finally the day came when she was single once again. She initiated contact from her end. It was like the fates had finally smiled upon me. The clouds were breaking, the storm was ending. I could see happiness on the other side. She wanted to meet me! I was ecstatic and apprehensive about it all. When I opened up to her finally she told me she wanted me only as a friend and that she was going to get married, it was a scary decision and she needed me as a friend. I thought she was history and I was strong enough to forget after this... But every time I think of her, it all comes rushing back like it was only yesterday. And the fact that it will never be possible for me to hold her like she was mine or look upon her to know she was only mine that we were beautiful and happy together. Its over. It will never happen, I will never be able to fix us. We are really over. It has finally hit me after all these years. I lost you. Forever. I know you might not forgive me for not taking the right steps at the right time. I have no one to blame. I feel like I was back in 2006, hurt on the street, fallen in blood, gasping for air. With everyone looking upon me from afar... leaving me alone, stranded, suffocated, suffering. The damage done to my face doesn't even feel like a fraction of the damage that my heart has suffered this week. I feel as though a truckload of Titanium bolts won't be enough to fix this fracture. If this feeling could be represented in terms of physical pain, try to imagine your heart in a blender while its still attached to your body, and every time I think about her being married to someone else its like the blender has started moving and chopping my heart into tiny bits. 

But...

I will love again. I might be in the depths of the darkest hell, but I will come back from this. Those seven black thugs couldn't kill my spirit. No one can. I might get beaten to a pulp but I will rise up again. Beat me up and I will heal and come back for more. I will love again with just as much passion and energy. I might get hurt once again but at least I'm ready for it this time. I will bounce back. Again and again. From this as well as many more things that life will throw at me.

A true life story.