Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy), an ex-U.S. Marine, returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh where he asks his father, on-the-wagon alcoholic and former boxer Paddy Conlon (Nick Nolte), to train him for competition in a high-stakes MMA tournament. Meanwhile, Tommy's older brother, Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton), a high school physics teacher and a former UFC fighter, facing the prospect of foreclosure of his home, signs up for the same competition. Because of family history, Tommy harbours deep resentment towards Brendan. At the tournament, things come to a head.
This movie, which came out in 2011, is deep. There are three ways to go about taking it in: literally, metaphorically, and spiritually.
On a literal level, it's a sports drama; on a metaphorical level, it tells about a family facing and working out their demons. But on a spiritual level, it's about the human condition (the mind), it's about consciousness-fracture ("hell") transforming into unity-consciousness ("heaven").
Spiritually, Brendan represents our subconscious (the female aspect), Tommy represents our waking conscious and ego (the male aspect), and Paddy represents our conscious outlook or state of being (i.e. either earthly paradise or hellish nightmare).
Paddy is a barometer of our state of being, a reflection of how well or badly Brendan and Tommy are doing individually and in relation to each other. At the start of the movie, when Brendan and Tommy are separated (fractured), he is shown as anxious and is suffering (i.e. in a state of "hell"). At one point, following a particular emotional confrontation with Tommy, he even falls off the wagon.
During the tournament, both Brendan and Tommy defeat all their opponents, which represent our negative thoughts and emotions. Eventually, when Brendan has overcome Tommy in the tournament's final round and they leave the octagon literally as one with Brendan supporting an injured Tommy with his arm (symbolizing unity), Paddy cracks a crooked smile. He's finally at peace.
Tommy, Brendan, and Paddy are what are going on inside your head.
SORQ score: 4
(Runtime: 140 minutes)
Showing posts with label Tom Hardy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tom Hardy. Show all posts
Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Review: The Dark Knight Rises
It has been eight years since the Joker (Heath Ledger) took Gotham City by storm and Bruce Wayne/ the Batman (Christian Bale) has yet to come to terms with the aftermath. Wrapping up Christopher Nolan's Batman saga, Rises continues from and tops The Dark Knight (2008).
Wayne has become a recluse and languishes inside his rebuilt mansion, which is a personification of himself: imposing on the outside, empty on the inside. His deliverance, however, arrives in the form of Selina (Anne Hathaway), a jewellery thief, even as his doom, Bane (Tom Hardy), is making camp in Gotham's bowels.
In the movie, Bane claims to wanting to return the power to the people, even when he is planning for carnage. Online sources have pointed out that he – part supervillain, part superhooligan, on the whole intimidating as fu*k – was in fact scripted to demonize potential leaders of the 99 percent, the common people. The reasoning behind this is that the story for Rises was co-written by David S. Goyer, who happens to have collaborated on the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops II game which has the leader of the 99 percent as its main villain. I wouldn't have called it myself, but I second.
"We are the 99%" is the slogan that's been made popular by the Occupy movement, i.e. the international protest against social and economic inequality which started in May 2011 in Spain and took inspiration from the Arab Spring that began in December 2010. So, who are the 1 percent? To answer that we need to go down the rabbit hole.
The 1 percent, the ruling class, seek to dominate society by targeting finances, law, government, education, and media. They own, for example, Time Warner, one of the world's largest media and entertainment conglomerate (the studio behind Rises, Warner Bros., is a subsidiary). They're part of secret societies bent on world domination, creating a New World Order, the Fourth Reich. They're Luciferians, occultists. They are the Order of Illuminati, though I believe that is only one name they go by and that it's only a part of a larger structure. They can be thwarted if the 99 percent rises up.
This takes the movie into the world of reality. Because what's happening here is part of an insidious effort to plant specific ideas in the mind of the viewer: proponents of uprisings are terrorists, heavy police force presence is good and normal. The Colorado shooting: did it take place to grease the wheels for gun control in the US and undermine the 99 percent? Was the shooter subject to ritual abuse/ mind control?
On to the Quadrant.
(Runtime: 164 minutes)
Wayne has become a recluse and languishes inside his rebuilt mansion, which is a personification of himself: imposing on the outside, empty on the inside. His deliverance, however, arrives in the form of Selina (Anne Hathaway), a jewellery thief, even as his doom, Bane (Tom Hardy), is making camp in Gotham's bowels.
In the movie, Bane claims to wanting to return the power to the people, even when he is planning for carnage. Online sources have pointed out that he – part supervillain, part superhooligan, on the whole intimidating as fu*k – was in fact scripted to demonize potential leaders of the 99 percent, the common people. The reasoning behind this is that the story for Rises was co-written by David S. Goyer, who happens to have collaborated on the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops II game which has the leader of the 99 percent as its main villain. I wouldn't have called it myself, but I second.
"We are the 99%" is the slogan that's been made popular by the Occupy movement, i.e. the international protest against social and economic inequality which started in May 2011 in Spain and took inspiration from the Arab Spring that began in December 2010. So, who are the 1 percent? To answer that we need to go down the rabbit hole.
The 1 percent, the ruling class, seek to dominate society by targeting finances, law, government, education, and media. They own, for example, Time Warner, one of the world's largest media and entertainment conglomerate (the studio behind Rises, Warner Bros., is a subsidiary). They're part of secret societies bent on world domination, creating a New World Order, the Fourth Reich. They're Luciferians, occultists. They are the Order of Illuminati, though I believe that is only one name they go by and that it's only a part of a larger structure. They can be thwarted if the 99 percent rises up.
This takes the movie into the world of reality. Because what's happening here is part of an insidious effort to plant specific ideas in the mind of the viewer: proponents of uprisings are terrorists, heavy police force presence is good and normal. The Colorado shooting: did it take place to grease the wheels for gun control in the US and undermine the 99 percent? Was the shooter subject to ritual abuse/ mind control?
On to the Quadrant.
- [subjective] Story: The Colorado shooting overshadowed the excitement surrounding the movie, but not for long. Rises delivers, sent my pulse racing at times, and despite the hidden message(s), despite its grimness, it came over as a positive experience. (rating = 1)
- [subjective] Characters: The Batman has been turned into something where widescreen adaptations of Superman have failed: a savior. The tone of the movie is such that while watching I expected the Batman to make the ultimate sacrifice. (rating = 1)
- [objective] Characters: Characters have been fleshed out into persons. Bane is intimidating in a very real way. (rating = 1)
- [objective] Story: Again, the tone of the movie is such that I expected Nolan to defy convention and allow Gotham to burn. It would somehow fit our times. (rating = 1)
(Runtime: 164 minutes)
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