Looking Forward to 2017

Here are six movies which I am looking forward to watch in the year 2017. Even though it is overrated just because Deepika Padukone is acting in it, xXx: Return of Xander Cage was not a movie that I was looking forward to watch – such hyped movies and overrated actresses don’t make one interested, as far as I am concerned. I have to say the same about The Lego Batman Movie, as this kind of animation is not favoured at all. I have also included only the Hollywood movies in this list.

1. Split :: After coming back to form with the interesting flick which was The Visit, Manoj Night Shyamalan brings another psychological horror movie here. With a gifted actress like Anya Taylor-Joy who has already proved herself with The Witch and Morgan, and also with James McAvoy as the main character, there will be something about this flick, that is for sure. I see that this one has already released in the United States and a number of other territories, but here it was late on February 24th, but I was busy for that weekend. Who doesn’t want a psychological horror thriller at a time when life needs a boost?

2. Alien: Covenant :: I have always been fascinated with this idea which has been going on since the first movie from Ridley Scott had my attention. The second movie of the Alien prequel series and the sequel to Prometheus is certain to have our attention like the many other movies of the same franchise. Michael Fassbender is still there in this franchise, and it will carry on with the story from where it stopped in the previous movie – well, the predecessor is one of my favourite movies in outer space, and I am sure that this one will get somewhere there too. I am cent percent sure about this movie’s effectiveness.

3. Justice League :: Well, this one was always coming and we only needed to wait for the same, as DC needed to give the reply to Marvel’s Avengers, and we will see all of them together here – Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg – they are all here, and let us see how much of a grand effect they create here compared to the team lead by Captain America and Iron Man – also we can see how much of a destruction they are going to create as the threat from Steppenwolf and the Parademons are what will come upon the world in this flick.

4. Thor: Ragnarok :: There is no ending for the need of more superhero movies from Marvel, especially when it is about someone who is part of the Avengers. Ragnarok is a concept which is very interesting too, and with the god with the hammer having to battle the Incredible Hulk, and with the need to stop this event from happening, there is the certainty of something huge coming on the big screen. So, let’s be ready for this, and have the superhero in us prepared to take the tickets early. We are not really that far from the Norse gods these days, are we?

5. Wonder Woman :: She is the one lady superhero that we all want to watch again and again. The truth is that most of us never really had that much of a life full of DC or Marvel Comics here, and so she didn’t come to the main scene much. It was all Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, He Man – at those times. But with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, things have changed, and we are once again looking forward to seeing her on the big screen, and Gal Gadot is one actress who can certainly make this thing work. It is a world of superheroes, and let this one to the whole big list nicely.

6. Spider-Man: Homecoming :: Well, the Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War was a very much irritating one, and I surely miss The Amazing Spider-Man which was a nice franchise with two very good movies. But as they have decided to come up with a second reboot, a very much unnecessary one, I would surely need to watch this one and see how this one goes. I am sure that a movie about Spider-Man will have something for all of us, as it was how things have been working so far. Lets give a chance to Marvel to work on the upcoming plans for Avengers then. After all, Spidey is a favourite in India compared to everyone else.

***The images used in this blog post are from the official Facebook Pages of the movies mentioned here.

TeNy

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Checking Event Horizon

In November 2014, most of us were busy watching Interstellar, and showering praises on the movie like no other. Yes, I have given the movie a very positive opinion too, but what that it brought me was a return to the past, to another movie which I watched years ago. It was not Pandorum, even though it had the protagonists going to populate another planet a long way away from Earth. It was Event Horizon, one of my favourite science fiction horror movies of all times, and undoubtedly the best of space horror.

Released in 1997, I would like to believe that this movie was far ahead of the audience (and also the confused critics) of that time, and that should be the major reason why it wasn’t a hit or could go on to become a much talked about movie at that time despite its interesting ideas. It is in my long list of favourite space movies along with Pandorum which I mentioned earlier. This movie is also supposed to have inspired the video game series Dead Space, up-to an extent, and that is one of the most impressive scary atmospheres ever in a video game based on space.

Event Horizon: There is more to the spaceship that you can find with your naked eyes.

With the last game of that franchise released in 2013 as Dead Space 3, what we should have is a sequel to Event Horizon. Why I am highly in support of the same is because of its idea – it is the story of a spaceship known as Event Horizon which possessed a special, experimental gravity drive in its core. The special ability was that it could generate an artificial black hole and use its extreme gravitational power to bring two points in space-time together, highly decreasing the time taken for the ship to travel through great distances.

The result of the journey of this ship is that it doesn’t just go where it was intended to go. It travels to more than just one star. It travels to another dimension, something of pure, unadulterated chaos belonging to spiritual and physical annihilation of the worst kind. There is the message given “liberate tuteme ex inferis” (save yourself from hell), but this journey to another dimension which can be equated with inferno or hell means only one thing – death and destruction; that brings another Faustian situation here – something not limited to personal devastation.

Pandorum is not far behind in this idea and the horror of deep space. As I had watched Event Horizon as well as Pandorum, Interstellar had a much lesser effect on me. A number of ideas were already there with me, along with the different worlds of the game, Mass Effect. The existence of the humanoids go back to my thoughts about Prometheus, and for me, Interstellar was more of a combination of all these movies and games with the addition of a few unnecessary things, but still enjoyable as the space movie.

Pandorum: As Earth finishes its time, you have to travel to another planet, but how easy is it?

The idea of how wormholes work, the existence of other advanced humanoids in the outer space, the exploration of other worlds, the astronaut who lose the mind after staying alone in hostile atmosphere for too long, the arriving end of our planet, the properties of another planet or world – none of this is new to me, and therefore considering Interstellar as one of its kind (as I have found on some forums) is lame. Interstellar has something or the other common with the lesser successful movies and video games, and therefore the innovation needed was so less.

As Event Horizon is a masterpiece in space horror, Interstellar has managed to be the same in something else; it is like a pure science lesson which is less applicable to everyone – the skill is in adding a lot of unnecessary science classes to the work and making it less interesting for the common man. Before you watch Interstellar, you need to watch Event Horizon, Pandorum and Prometheus, plus play the two video games, Mass Effect and Dead Space. Thus you can have some Interstellar before having that flick, or rather end up watching a highly indirect prequel to it.

***The images used on this blog post are screenshots from the movies Event Horizon and Pandorum.

TeNy

Where Jupiter Can Go

Jupiter Ascending is the latest addition to the long list of science fiction movies in space as it follows the path of Guardians of the Galaxy. It is clear that the critics are biased on this one if we compare the ratings given to this one and a number of similar movies. May be they completely failed to get the point. Unfortunately, the 18+ rating mostly slams the door for it here too, when it could have been a big thing here otherwise with nobody knowing or caring about The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.

They should have thought more about it – this might be one of the biggest mistakes that they have made with a movie which has kept the fans waiting for so long. They should have known the kind of audience to target – those who go for Captain America, Spider-Man, Iron Man, , Hulk, Thor, Superman and such audience. It might be a box-office flop because of the prejudice and the failure of people to catch on to ideas, but there are a few paths which this movie can follow with the story for a sequel.

1. The war between the successors: We are left with members of alien royalty not really able to stand each other as they hope for more conquests. Along with battling for the same worlds, there can also be war for acquiring those planets far away in other galaxies, and with our heroine basically against the idea of harvest, sparks should fly with this one, and the visuals should get the best boost. The action sequences can also be nicely packed with the visuals here. Mila Kunis will have a bigger and a stronger role to play in this one as the Queen of Earth and the rest of her share.

2. The defence against other royalty: Another possibility is the war against a better equipped alien race which can claim for the divided thrones, and in this case, even with hatred against each other, the members of the royal house can unite, but not without leaving chances for some treachery. The common enemy can be ruthless, but the differences remain, testing one’s allegience. Our hero would have a bigger role to play in this one, making those decisions which are beyond the direct control of royalty. There will be huge and better designed space ships, aliens and gadgets with a nice race of royalty entering the action.

3. The return of the master villain [spoilers here]: We know what happened by the end of the movie, and you better don’t read this paragraph if you don’t want to know before watching the flick. But otherwise, there was the supposed end of the biggest antagonist and the owner of Earth who hoped to harvest the planet for the serum that would give him eternal youth. Well, we can’t be sure that he was dead there, and in a movie like this, there is very low chance of people remaining dead. Ask Groot of Guardians of the Galaxy. Even Interstellar had our protagonist not dying even after going through the black hole. Megatron of the Transformers franchise know the best about how to keep coming alive. So, we can have him better here.

4. A background story of royalty: This one can go on without having to go forward with the tale. A prequel telling the original story of the royalty can do this movie a lot good as long as the plot is solid. Mila Kunis can keep her role, this time as the mother, and this origin of the harvest in Earth can have a better and clear explanation. Everybody needs an origin story, and what we have here only works as an origin tale for Jupiter Jones. A lot more goes back in the past, and that can be nicely explored to give this movie more power. It will also be a work of immense beauty on the screen.

Jupiter Ascending could have had better business here with another certificate and more shows. Its sequel or prequel should do better than this one for sure. This was kind of a perfect week for its release considering the fact that there are no big challenges for its genre this time, and most of the theatres choosing The Boy Next Door instead of this is a big shame. People only need movies which brings things too direct like Guardians of the Galaxy or be the pseudo-intellectual like Interstellar, I guess. But if you haven’t watched the visuals of Jupiter Ascending in 3D, you have seen nothing. Check for my review on the same: (https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2015/02/06/jupiter-ascending)

***All the images used in this blog post are from the official Facebook Page of the movie.

TeNy

The Effect of Mass Effect

There are times when you remember those lessons from teachers, and among them, there were games, about which I had written earlier. Along with Age of Empires‘ lessons in history, Age of Mythology‘s myth related classes and Tomb Raider‘s attempt to improve my puzzle solving skills to which Prince of Persia also contributed, there was always Unreal Tournament and Quake 3 Arena to teach how to control anger by helping us blow a computer bot’s head off and shout “Head Shot”. But among these games, what Mass Effect taught was more of an endless collection of things. Here are a few.

Spare some time to look at the beautiful world of Mass Effect – gaming can wait 😀

1. It is a big, strange world, and there is the need for tolerance: You take control of SSV Normandy, a powerful spaceship as Commander Shepard, with missions and a chance to meet different species of aliens along with completing the objectives. It is not so different from being in our own world except for the appearances of the aliens and all the shooting that can happen at anytime. We are all aliens on Earth as these people are when travelling through different parts of the galaxy. Every species is different, but we can get along with most of them with some tolerance.

Isn’t this the best time to travel to Mercury? Or should we wait for Santa Claus? 😀

2. Exploration is a must and without it, there is a void: The game’s vast universe is something to be explored. There are some strange planets, and we don’t know what awaits us there. The only thing that we can confirm is about the nature of the elements there. After we get there, there is the chance to get lost in the beauty of the detail there. There are times when creatures come out of nowhere, and the sand serpent kind of things might be common. We face the dangers of the world there as we struggle with the competition in the society in the world outside gaming. It is only then that we get better.

Here is another planet to explore, and a vehicle which suits the terrains of these worlds.

3. Choices make big impact, not just for you, but for many others: There are many choices that we have to make in this game. Not only our actions, but also our words make a difference. It can make a hostile drop his gun, one of our allies turn against us or a friend shoot us. It can lead to the death of one of our soldiers, and there are times when we have to choose a life over the other, or the life of someone over the mission. The game is full of choices, and I had never played a game which had made me choose so much and also suffer the consequences in a few more minutes of play. Not so different from real life, is it?

Make the choice. Meanwhile, note the point from Ashley Williams who speaks the truth 😀

4. There is always something more than what meets the eye: Mass Effect does have a twisted story, and a lot of effort has been put in there to make sure that it doesn’t end up as just another shooter with guns and blood making the rules. Even as things would eventually lead to an alien race called The Reapers who would come and harvest the developed life as they always did, there are lots of twists concerning the same, and our protagonist has to fight more than just the harbingers or the final agents of Armageddon.

An ancient civilization devastated. But it should still have a few surprises for our captain.

5. Settle your differences before it is too late: Mass Effect is a game that thrives on relationships. There is friendship as well as the romantic relationship that blossoms for the protagonist, and displeasure is another side of the same. Just like in the game, we are aware of a possible end of the world considering the recent terrorist attacks and acts of hatred – so it becomes our duty to be tolerant of others, and hope for a better future. There was something more about this, but by memory is a little faded.

You are already in the middle of a big battle. Better before death than later in afterlife.

I have never played another game like Mass Effect. Most of you have watched Interstellar, but this game which came in 2007 had a lot of space exploration elements. It is one of those rare games that give so much choice. There is the movie on the same, which is a work in progress – it is going to be huge. There is already an animated movie Mass Effect: Paragon Lost, and two sequels to the game. Do you know that Mass Effect 2 is considered one of the greatest games of all time? I have a lot less idea about Mass Effect 3, but all three games were received with a lot of acclaim.

Oh no! This is not that area of the galaxy where I parked my fantastic spaceship, or is it? 😀

*All images used in this blog post are the screenshots of my game-play from Mass Effect.

TeNy

Let the Predator Hunt

In 1987, Major Alan Schaefer a.k.a. Dutch killed someone wearing highly advanced weapons, and whom they called the Predator. It is not something for which we can conduct an anniversary gathering every year, but Arnold Schwarzenegger needed to kill that one, because otherwise the movie would not have gone on to become a huge hit and later come in the all-time favourite list of many movie fans. Predator is one of the best movies of Arnold, no doubt about that, but the question is about the predicament of the Predator, the name that was so ruthlessly presented by the movie makers.

Predators are known for hunting of other species and collecting their heads as trophies. But in that case, they are not so different from the humans who collect animal heads after hunting them. It is only normal to feel that the Predators see humans as the mankind sees the other species. After all, Predators belong to an advanced species with better scientific equipments and a superior technology. As the name suggests in another way, a Predator predates, and thus there is another reason to assert its superiority as what came and thrived before humans.

You can’t escape the eyes of the Predator (pic from Predator FB page)

Unlike the Predators, the humans are even interesting in hurting their own kind and enjoy a lot from their suffering. If it was just another sport for the Predators, it becomes a case of sadomasochism for the humans who love each and every moment of inclicting pain upon their own kind, both physical and psychological. It is a certain kind of personal pleasure and happiness which they take out of it. Meanwhile, Predators only attack when the enemy is good enough for them, usually as part of a bigger cause. They follow a honorable path, and never see the need to deviate from the same.

There are not many people in the world who can prove to be better than Predators in quality. The hunt for fame and money becomes a man a Predator sooner or later. In this never-ending hunt for more, as they are never satisfied, means that the world has its own Predators already. Predators had honour in their dealings. Do humans have any? As they keep on trying to take others down along with going up the ladder, there is no doubt about the fact that humans can thrive well in another planet which has an alien species exhibiting goodness, on which they can feed and spread hatred.

If you have watched The Cabin in the Woods, you will know that the end of the movie was about total extinction, which is not really a bad thing, and the end of one species will only make way for another, and it could possibly be a better one as it might have known about the mistakes created by the former. The Predators could have actually brought that, restricting humans to their world of challenges and adventurous entertainment. But they decided to choose the higher path and rise above the humans, and for that, there is the need to be thankful to them.

Keep Calm & support the Predator (pic from AVP: Evolution FB page)

Meanwhile, the miserable humans will continue to fight each other over small things which are not of importance. There are many things that they can do, but they would choose to hold on to the so called ambition and push the other down, and ridicule those who haven’t reached close to their achievements. Humanity doesn’t love its own people, and co-existence is difficult, or rather one of the most impossible things in the history of the planet. There will always be many reasons to hate each other. There will also be new reasons coming up. They conduct rallies and demonstration for ridiculous reasons, and for the real needs, there is none.

People blame religion, but no, the mankind will always find some new reason to kill one other. Blaming religion is the dumbest thing that one can do, as there will be a new ideology coming up every time to replace religion and spread hatred. There will be politics, race, caste, death of some so called important person, cricket matches, football rivalry and finally more reasons which has no meaning. Now, can we blame Predator if he is killing a few people on the screen. No, he is not even scary compared to the humans. I would say we welcome him to our world. If we can kill each other, why not let the Predator do his job in a decent way? May be he will keep our heads as trophies, and we will be popular among aliens.

TeNy