Flash of Genius

Throughout history, inventors have rarely had an easygoing life. They’ve seldom had any capitol needed to develop their ideas, few saw their ideas be part of common use in their lifetime and regrettably those who did often had them stolen.

Like many inventors, Robert Kearns was a dreamer.

The other night we watched this fantastic inspiring true story (Flash of Genius) film starring Greg Kinnear about a college professor in Detroit (Robert Kearns) who invented and fought for years against major automaker Ford for infringing upon his intermittent windshield wiper system that you now see in every car in the world.

Back then, car wipers were either on or off; they couldn’t be metered to swipe periodically.

There’s a scene in court where Kearns represents himself and he’s being criticized for not inventing anything because technically all the parts he used to create this system already existed and could be found in any catalog. There is some validity in what was being said against Kearns but his rebuttal is what stood out for me.

His son hands him a book by Charles Dickens (Tale of Two Cities), he reads the first couple of lines and asked the witness if he thinks that Dickens invented any of the words he recited. The witness reluctantly responds “No”.

Kearns says -

“I haven’t checked but I’m pretty sure there’s not a single word in this book that is new and they can all be found in a dictionary. All Dickens did was arrange them into a pattern. He created something new by using words, perhaps the only tools that were available to him just as almost all inventors have had to do in history.”

Kearn’s analogy was nothing different from what he had accomplished. He took basic electrical components, arranged them into a specific pattern and achieved an ambition that every car company in the world was struggling to invent but Kearns was not being given credit for it.

The outcome I’ll leave for you to explore on your own but this scene got me thinking that what we become as individuals or company depends fundamentally not just on our ideas but on our ability to achieve them and execute them amazingly well and they’re rarely found by thinking but by doing.

You don’t have to be part of a major corporation for your ideas to be heard. Any group of passionate, ambitious people could technically put a company out of business with a brilliant idea or strike it rich by selling it to them.

2 years ago  /  2 notes

Inglourious Basterds ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

Last night we saw Quentin Tarantino’s newest creation Inglourious Basterds. The film was outrageous. It completely rewrites history in this incredible freaky vision of how so many wished things had happen in WWII. It’s very difficult to admit that the bloodshed and cruelty against the Nazis was unusually amusing but the cheering and rooting of the audience took away any guiltiness I had.

I loved every single minute of the film. The considerable degree of detail was gorgeous that you couldn’t resist looking pass the acting at times and just admire the pieces that garnished a scene. Even the carefully crafted camera movements was as vital and noticeable. I’m generally not an admirer of subtitles but you get so captivated by the story that you find it remorseful not to follow along, so you’ll get over that.

Some performances were great but one that stood above the rest for me was the most menacing character represented by Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa aka “The Jew Hunter” who I’m sure will pick up a Best Supporting Actor nomination.

The most obvious answers to the question of what makes a great film star is talent and even that sounds somewhat vague because it’s not the only variable to consider. I’m not a cinema critic but from my perspective, the best form to judge a performance is to analyze if the actor convinced you that the part they portrayed was meant for them and absolutely no one else.

Christoph did just that and his stunning ability to wipe out his own identity and exchange it for the one given was remarkable. His acting was very reminiscent of Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. It was that good.

Both were highly observant of human behavior with deep understanding of it and could recreate it in front of any audience. You grow to hate them both but still hold respect for their characters because of their dedication to their work regardless of how inhuman it may have been. Stop reading now and getting discouraged by what critics say and go see the movie.

2 years ago  /  Notes

District 9 ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

Generally when studios release very cryptic trailers to an upcoming film, a spectatorship amounts in trying to interpret the vague parts to something that we know little about but seems jaw-dropping enough to consider despite a prevalent plot. We all love alien films.

Alien invasion motif is nothing new but District 9 fully changed my perspective of what one typically expect from such films and it brought it down to a more understanding level. Rather than humans being the overpowered victims, it’s quite the opposite where the aliens are the non-aggresive refugees and they are being marginalized in Johannesburg, South Africa.

I love that the film doesn’t bore you with the conventional first encounter or arrival of aliens to earth but instead picks up on that “what if” thought that I’ve had in knowing what cultural impact aliens would have if they lived here.

The apartheid metaphor is more than obvious and in the middle of all the guns and explosions, there’s quite some sentimental moments that have you rooting for the other species. Twenty years the aliens have been on earth and what’s interesting is in how humans have already adapted to their complex language, culture and now just look to exploit their weapon technology.

The pseudo documentary style that characterized Cloverfield makes the film so authentic in combination with news footage and security cameras that blend in quite nicely. I really enjoyed District 9 and I anticipate in seeing more of this form of mockumentary in Hollywood.

2 years ago  /  Notes

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

I’ve never been one to pay attention to movie critics. Yes, they get paid the big bucks, are more involved in the industry so they can perhaps provide a more cogent review of a film but the actual value of it relies entirely on the influence and impression it leaves on me as the audience regardless of anything else.

So despite the negative reviews that one of the most anticipated Blockbuster of 2009 may have received, I’ll be the supportive movie goer in telling you that Transformers 2 was completely exquisite.

There’s no question that Bay’s calling card in filmmaking is blowing things up, which is fine because in the mix of everything, he takes us places we’ve never been and it all just works.

The film is absolutely bigger and badder with its stunning CG effects, perfect combative scenes, sufficient amount of comedic relief and Michael Bay’s unparalleled access to military kit which adds startling realism to the film.

As an added bonus, it was amusing to hear the crowd clamor (mostly the guys) during Megan Fox’s first scene appearance. You’ll see what I’m talking about. Her sexy appeal in combination with the snazzy car models that the Autobots convert to is jaw-dropping. Can’t wait to get my hands on a Blu-Ray copy to scope the extra footage that is equally engaging and compulsive to watch.

2 years ago  /  Notes