Monday, January 25, 2010

Meliorism vs Apologism

January 10, 2010
Composed on a sleepless night torn between thoughts of the American Surge in Afghanistan, Eigendecomposition, the new Indian missile submarine, and recurrent themes for introspection.

Were it naught but hate I had sown
alas there is nothing left to do
but to replant the harvest
and pray it never rains

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Reflections on Avatar

Been to see that movie three times now, and each time I've left the theater there's the regret that I cannot realistically watch it in IMAX 3D.

Why three times? Because the movie is a non-stop climactic rollercoaster, each scene and each action sequence is loaded with breathtaking landscapes, incredible creatures and the kind of choreography that could make three separate movies a success.(Granted, of course, that none of these make a lot of sense scientifically; I keep stifling the engineer inside me to keep from ruining the fun).

More and more movies of late have of course been moving towards this non-stop-climactic-rollercoaster pattern. The kind of flicks that build up a nuanced narrative while continually pacing the story-telling against the attention-grabbing are on the wane (2009's notable exception was Das Weisse Band, great movie if you're cool with subtitles and black & white); but while I do decry the slow, sorry demise of story-telling, there's certainly a lot to be said for the kind of action Avatar presents so well.

Next movie I'm watching multiple times at the theater: Legendary Pictures' remake of Clash of the Titans.