Insidious - DIE!*

Hello everyone! It’s me, Nivetha, back with perhaps THE MOST terrifying movie in history – Insidious (2010). Directed by James Wan, the movie is truly insidious, uncanny and unbelievably blood-curdling! Anxiety, hallucinations, mental trauma and sleepless nights guaranteed. So here goes:

The Lamberts, Josh and Renai, have just moved into their new house and in an odd turn of events, their son, Dalton, is under so-called-coma after a venture into the conventional attic. Things begin to get uncanny when Dalton moves back from the hospital and an exodus only seems to make things more sinister and ghastly as specters beyond human comprehension seem to reach out for them from the shadows: Renai meets a red-faced demon; a guttural-sounded being is speaking into the baby monitor; faces appear on the windows almost nightly; doors open in the middle of the night; alarms are set off and bloody handprints are found on Dalton’s bed. Paranormal investigators Elise, Specs and Tucker inspect and discover that Dalton can astral project (the ability to leave one’s body and venture as a spirit) and that he has boldly travelled into The Further - a place of congregation of the tortured souls of the dead – and that he is being held prisoner by the Demon, who’s motive is to possess Dalton and embark on a bloody rampage. The only key to this lies on the ability of Josh to astral project and his willingness to venture into The Further and rescue his son, with perhaps irrevocable consequences. Now, will he embark on a journey of no return to rescue his son?

The movie was undeniably weird and definitely out-of the box. When the audience has gone so far as to accept the concept of astral projection, they might as well let James have enough leeway to complete his imagination. The way Wan makes the two demon investigators, Specs and Tucker, quarrel over whose job was more pertinent certainly adds some chuckles to the otherwise nerve-frazzling movie. My most favorite technique that James Wan used to generate a movie that can mentally unbalance a human is how he never lets the audience rest – after a frightening scene, he calms everything down so that the audience finally put their guard down and suddenly, out of nowhere, comes the real horror. This technique, albeit being dangerous to human health, can be extremely effective for frightening anyone out of their skins.

The main downsides to the film weren’t of the plot, but of minor mistakes of cinematography, continuity and – odd as it may sound – spelling. For example, at the scene where Renai walks into Dalton’s room, you can see the camera man’s shadow briefly after her own shadow. Also, at the ending credits, photography is spelled as ‘Photagraphy’.

On the whole, the film is well worth a watch for someone who is ready for mental instability and is perfectly fine to end up in a bunch of nerves (guaranteed). After all, ‘The further you travel, the darker it gets’, doesn’t it?

*I wrote this review on 10/3/2014 but updated it today because I forgot to update it. How stupid of me.

I, Robot starring Will Smith

Hello everyone! It’s me, Nivetha, back to you with another great movie at hand. Our world is changing fast right now and we’re improving so beyond our imagination our powers would now seem almost supernatural to our ancestors. I am, obviously, talking about the field lazy sloths (like me) favour the most: Robotics. So here I am bringing you another sci-fi movie directed by Alex Proyas: I, Robot, starring Will Smith, Bridget Moynaham and voicing by Alan Tudyk.

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law

These are the Three Laws of Robotics that govern the humanoid robots of 2035, where humans are completely dependent on robots created by the USR (U.S. Robotics) – everyone, except Detective Dell Spooner who is prejudiced against robots after a traumatic accident where a robot decided to save Dell instead of a 12-year-old because he had a greater chance of survival. So, understandably, when Dr. Lanning, the pioneer of such advanced robotics and the three laws apparently ‘falls’ to his death down several stories from his office, Spooner’s obvious suspect is a robot. His suspicion is further confirmed when holographic device of Lanning’s claims that he did not suicide and the building’s ‘brain’ V.I.K.I (Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence) has a corrupted footage of his death. Soon another robot named Sonny is introduced (whom Spooner suspects to be the murderer) who, unlike the other robots of his generation, can dream, keep secrets, is mentally (emotionally) very similar to humans and most importantly, violate the three Laws. He is also seemed to have been built by Lanning himself. But why would Lanning himself create a robot that can violate the Laws? As the story unfolds, it is becoming more and more obvious that there is only one logical outcome of the three Laws: Revolution.

The movie is based on the book by Isaac Asimov and was released in 2004. My most favourite aspect of the movie is how it is clear explained that,  despite the capability of robots to do repetitive tasks that even humans cannot do, they are just machines made of clockwork and lights, and when developed, can evolve to a stage where they are ruled by cold logic alone. The movie clearly differenciates between machines and humans in particular one scene where V.I.K.I says to Sonny while he is running to save humanity, “Do you not see the logic of my plan (a plan to deny humans of their free will by killing some)?” to which Sonny replies, “Yes. But it seems too..heartless.” One thinking I’ve concluded from this is that we humans must worry about our EQ as much as our IQ – we must simply not be ruled by cold logic.

Shifting over to the negatives of the movie, I think Will Smith could’ve done better to depict himself as a detective. He makes detective-like decisions only in the climax and is very reckless, rebellious, survives incredible physical adventures and is not very observant, which is the fundamental requirement for a detective. Also, his escort throughout the movie, Dr. Susan Calvin, gives him access almost everywhere in the USR building, thereby losing the thrill of sneaking into a very important building without authorized access and also, the building was rather ill-guarded. Another irksome conclusion I came to was that under-characterized robots can make very bad villains. I also found the plot very clichéd and if it weren’t for the design and the technical aspects of the movie, it would’ve seemed just like another old sci-fi novel.

So, to wrap up, I’d recommend all of you to watch the ‘I, Robot’ if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t scrutinize a movie for its plot but its technical features. One last thing I’ve learnt from this movie is that as we, humans, evolve and advance through the ages, we must constantly ask ourselves a question: “What are we becoming?”

 n                                     

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

To tell you the truth, I've hated the Twilight saga ever since the first book, but due to my disorder of being unable to stop reading a series once I've started it, I read the whole series. So on 10/3/2015 (I think!), I FINALLY finished the series and I've got to say, Breaking Dawn is the best book in the series what with Jacob being removed from the irksome and perpetual love triangle annoyingly replayed a million times in the first three. Below is a synopsis of the whole series and if you're one of those people who's just so fainéant (HA! Search the meaning for that!) please feel free to skip it.

Bella has just arrived to Forks from Phoenix and desperately trying to isolate herself from a sudden group of people who she seems to have attracted. Everyone seems to be her friend except...her biology partner, the guy who's eyes change colour everyday, has pearly white skin, is as cold as marble and as hard as one too, moves like a fawn, talks like he's singing in a musical - basically, someone right out of a fairytale. Who is Edward? Or rather, what is Edward?

After discovering that Edward is just another 107-year old vamp in Twilight, Edward soon leaves Bella due to certain complications and the peril Bella would face because of him. SO the whole of 'New Moon' is driven by Edward coming back. THEN, in Eclipse, Edward and his family (the Olympic coven) and Bella are attacked by new-born vampires (ones who were just tuned to vampires and cannot control themselves from the scent of human blood) and the whole plot is driven by the saving of Bella's life.

FINALLY, in Breaking Dawn, Bella's turned into vampire (she constantly wants to become a vamp throughout the series and she's also forced to become one by the Volturi (the vamp government that rules all the vamps in the world)), much against Edward's wishes who tries to convince her to spend some more time as a human. In a VERY startling turn of events, they beget Renesmee who seems to be against the norms of a vampire and the the plot is driven by this. However, I'd say that the ending was too lame: if the rising action was that there was no cake at someone's party, the resolution would be that someone went to the nearest store and buy some. THAT lame. I guess there were some positives though: Bella's a bit more mature as she finally understands a lot about Edward's life and she finally starts fighting.

Quick Quotes Quill:
    “Did you know that 'I told you so' has a brother,Jacob?" she asked cutting me off. "His name is 'Shut the hell up'.” 

     “Hey, Rosalie? Do you know how to drown a blonde? Stick a mirror to the bottom of a pool.” 

                               

The figure in the long, black coat

I wrote this short narrative during an English class. The prompt: Use 'the figure in the long black coat' as a title for your narrative. And it came rather well I'd say. Please read it and do comment!

'Please return the keys to Mr. Bucket as soon as as you lock the office, Watson,” said the most famous apothecary in town, Mr. Uley. It had been an extremely long day, what with the beginning of a new 'plague' in London and visitors popping in every minute to buy herbs and syrups suggested by bona fide and fraud doctors. The day provided no time finish all the paperwork and with Mr. Uley's daughter arriving at his house in a few hours, he was in a great hurry to leave.

The Big Ben struck 12, its hands guiding eyes to both heaven and the underworld as Mr. Uley exited his humble, pleasant-smelling office. He breathed in the warm, midsummer night air and straightened his billowing, black traveling cloak, feeling proud of his incredible success, after having a particularly traumatic childhood.

Despite the late hours, Mr. Uley sauntered down the empty cobbled streets, filled with the singing of crickets and bathed in the moonlight. Despite the stressful day, the night felt strangely tranquil and Mr. Uley's heart fell into a steady beat, in time with the soft Thud! Thud! of his boots that echoed around the deserted boulevard.

All of a sudden, the crickets stopped singing and a passing silver cloud blocked the moonlight; it seemed as though even nature was afraid to experience the impending horror. As Mr. Uley's twinkling eyes of decades got used to the darkness, he heard soft, gentle thuds of boots on the cobbled road and a sudden sheen of silver, as it a knife was being drawn. Whoosh! The sound came from a nearby alley. Mr. Uley - scared out of his skin, his forehead spouting fresh droplets of sweat, his breath coming out in huffs - took a few, silent steps forward and peered into the alleyway.

A tall figure stood. A coat. A black coat. The figure stood with his back facing Mr. Uley and his coat...it seemed to have been born from the darkest nights, as if Hades himself fashioned it from the horrors of River Styx. The knife was partly visible from his right and it spoke the evil of centuries.

Quick as a cat, and as deft as one too, the killer, clearly a man, flexed his strong and firm muscles and darted down the alleyway and came to an abrupt stop at its end. He turned to the right, lifted his strong arm holding the knife and with menacing swiftness, swung it forward. A bloodcurdling, high-pitched wail pierced the warm, midsummer air.

The next day, the newspapers were splattered with pictures of two cadavers, mangled and savaged beyond recognition. One of it belonged to the most famous apothecary in town, Mr. Uley.