When The Avengers, issue #1, was first published in September 1963, a creation of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, it had a somewhat different cast then the movie version released on May 4, 2012. After the group’s classic battle cry, “Avengers Assemble,” an odd blend of Marvel’s most popular characters put aside their personal differences, but not without difficulty, to save Earth from global peril. In the comic book version they included Iron Man, Ant Man, Wasp, Thor, The Hulk and later, Captain America. Over time other members joined as some of the original members left.

Many of Marvels heroes had imperfections that tended to make them social outcasts, competitive and antagonistic towards each other and unable to combine their powers to unite as a group. Much of the 2012 film adaptation is spent on this same struggle, overcoming their ego’s to find common ground and save the planet. Picking Joss Whedon to write and direct the film was a brilliant choice as it brings him back to his creative roots.

Whedon is best known for his highly successful creation of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, another super hero trying to fit in and have a normal life as the chosen one with a destiny to rid the Hellmouth of demons. Buffy ran for seven seasons and became a cult classic. So Whedon brought a unique understanding of the misunderstood hero with a dark side trying to find a place in the world while carrying a burden. This is also one of the main themes of The Avengers movie, and it is reflected in a witty script with the right amount of humor and drama that is just as endearing as it was in the Buffy universe.

The Avengers movie is by far the most energetic of the Marvel films with outstanding special effects, but what makes it stand apart is that it is a fast moving action film with numerous character conflicts that make it more than just another summer blockbuster and proves that you can have both a high budget action film, ($220 million dollars), while bringing something new to the development of each character.

The ensemble cast includes some of the actors who already played their characters in a starring role in other films. Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Chris Evans as Captain America. Mark Ruffalo takes over as The Hulk, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D and finally Scarlett Johansson who plays Black Widow with Kung Fu moves that resonates with some of the moves that Buffy used.

As he did as the villain of The Avengers, issue #1, Loki, the north god of illusion and mischief,  tries to reign supreme on Earth by causing mayhem between the heroes and stealing The Tesserat ( a fouth dimension analog of a cube with unlimited power), using it as a bargaining chip to bring an alien race from outer space to conquer Earth. Loki, portrayed by Tom Hiddleston plays the role with relish and a devilish grin that brings to mind Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight. If he cant rule Asgard, then Earth will be his domain and humans will bow to him as the god he claims he is.

Once the ego’s of the Marvel heroes are put aside and saving the planet becomes the common goal, the action and special effects intensify with the alien attack directly over Stark Enterprises in Manhattan. The film is well acted as the ensemble cast first struggles to take the threat seriously. Iron Man plays it rogue up until the final battle begins. Dr. Banner is calm and tempered as he tries to control his transformation into The Hulk. Thor doesn’t seem particularly interested in working with mortals to defeat his half – brother, and Captain America is still trying to figure out his life in the twenty-first century after being frozen in suspended animation for sixty years.

What is so unusual is that rarely do we have a film with a complex combination of personality conflicts played out in the main characters with blockbuster action and special effects. This is largely due to Whedon who deserves much of the credit for the film’s success, as his ability to combine all of the elements in a solid script filled with just the right amount of humor makes it all work. The Avengers is highly recommended in 2D, 3D, or perhaps 4D when the technology becomes available.

For a complete list of characters and credits for choreography, score and special effects, click on the IMDb link. It has a running time of 2 hours and 22 minutes and is rated PG-13.

Why The Incredible Hulk is Green

As the release of The Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn, Part 1 continues to dominate box office receipts, it has earned over 250 million in the first seventeen days since its premier on November 18th, 2011. Its difficult to assess which of the four installments, based on Stephanie Meyer’s love story between Bella, a teenage mortal and Edward, an immortal vampire, is best. I suppose it depends on which part of the story resonates most with the person reading the book; beginning, middle or the end.

My preference still remains the second book, New Moon. In this part of the story Edward decides on his own that it is best for Bella that he remove himself from her life. Rather then treating her as an adult and letting her participate in the decision, he disappears for the rest of the book then re-emerges at the very end. Although this suggests they had a co-dependent relationship, it merely implies that vampires can be as insensitive as mortals.

Bella’s depression, crushed from his rejection is visceral to anyone who has had a similar experience; withdrawing from life unable to utter his name and flirting with danger in the hope of somehow capturing his attention. A vulnerable place to form a close friendship with Jacob, two years her junior, another kind of immortal being, a Native American who can change into a wolf, and has the ability to pull her back from isolation by mending the broken pieces of her heart, then falling in love with her. Its the suffering that is so identifiable that makes the reader care for Bella and the way she grapples with her pain.

All the important arcs in the novel develop from this place, where her despair emanates and hope seems lost until Edward, thinking that Bella has committed suicide, decides to end his own existence, later proclaiming, “I couldn’t live in a world without you.” Bella puts the rejection aside an flies to Italy, in a plane,  to save him from suicide and confronts the gods that rule the underworld, the Volturi offering her life in exchange for his. Only when it is agreed that Bella will become a vampire, does she escape death.

Rising Dawn captures the last stage of Bella’s transformation into an immortal. The film, directed by Bill Condon and screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg chronicles her marriage, honeymoon and unexpected pregnancy. Although vampires have sex, and enjoy it, they have not been known to breed. It sympathizes, as does the book, with the issues surrounding a mothers right to make the choice to continue a pregnancy even at risk of her own life; everyone else seems to know whats best for Bella and treats her like a child so much so that she needs a bodyguard, Rosalie, to protect her decision.

Although it only lasts for three weeks, its a difficult pregnancy characterized by severe malnutrition, broken bones and an irregular heart beat. Only then, Edward is forced to change her into a vampire. After a bloody Cesarean section he injects a syringe of his venom directly into her heart and proceeds to encircle her lifeless body, biting her arms legs and neck.

Bella lies motionless as the venom heals her body, changing her into a new born immortal; a life she felt she belonged to throughout the three previous books. Memories pass in reverse using flashbacks from the previous movies as her      heart slows, then stops. Surrounded by the Cullen clan, her eyes open and they are now red. This is where the movie, Breaking Dawn, Part 1 ends.

How will Bella adjust to immortality? The fans will have to wait until December 2012 to find out. Already filmed, it wont be released until then. But, If anything can be said about the last installment using the book as the basis, it will most certainly include all the events that will happen from now before the words, …”and she lives happily ever after,” are uttered.

The film has a running time of 117 minutes and is rated PG-13 and although it remains faithful to the novel, it was not my favorite part of the story.

As November 18th, 2011 approaches and the premier of Twilight, Breaking Dawn, part 1, draws near, the excitement of Bella’s marriage to Edward Cullen is intensifying as she approaches her  destiny, fated in Stephanie Meyer’s four part novel, The Twilight Saga. As with the Harry Potter series, the fulfillment will not be in discovering what will happen, as the outcomes have already been revealed in the Novel; but how well the film adaptation visually portrays memorable events from the book. With that in mind, I have decided to re-post an essay I wrote after reading all four installments, seeing the first three films but before the release of the last two. I am not a fan of Stephanie Meyer’s style of writing, since I found The Twilight Saga written like a romance novel  encountered on the supermarket check out counter next to The National Enquirer. Never the less I did notice similarities to several ancient myths which made up for any of the story’s shortcomings.

Elements Of Mythology And Bella’s Journey

When Twilight, the four part novel written by Stephanie Meyer first appeared as a book in 2005, then in film in 2008, similarities between this story and other legends and myths were evoked. One tale that comes to mind is of the young maiden Persephone, kidnapped by Hades and brought to the underworld to be his consort and queen.
The legend has always had the appeal of an epic conflict that proliferates over her abduction. Demeter, her mother, goddess of fertility, is so overcome by emotion, she becomes vengeful, refusing to let anything live or grow. Begrudgingly, Hades agrees to let Persephone go but not before she tastes Pomegranate, the fruit that will forever bind her to the underworld forcing her to return for part of the year, delineating the four seasons.

Another tale describes a king with three beautiful daughters. The most attractive was the youngest, Psyche, who was so dazzling that people began to neglect the worship of Venus, goddess of love and beauty. Venus, a jealous god, asked her son Eros to make Psyche fall in love with an ugly creature. When he saw her beauty, Eros dropped the arrow meant for her and pricked himself instead, falling in love with her, marking the beginning of her long journey of trust, betrayal, sacrifice, redemption, transcendence and rebirth, told from her perspective.

In Twilight, Bella travels a similar path to Psyche as she describes in narrative her experience of herself as flawed, idolizing Edward but wondering why “a perfect god” would be so drawn to her. When he abandons her in New Moon, using a pretty flimsy excuse, she  articulates in vivid detail her feelings of isolation and the depths of profound depression. So severe is her pain that she flirts with danger and death to evoke Edwards presence even though she finds it difficult to utter his name, a common reaction when one is faced with unexpected rejection.  Finally, after finding redemption by offering to sacrifice her life to save Edward, traveling underground to face the gods of the undead, the Volturi,  she still experiences severe trials of strength and character as Bella and Edward marry and her transformation into an immortal begins when she discovers she is pregnant.

Bella’s unnaturally rapid pregnancy brings her close to death in the last novel, Breaking Dawn, and Edward is forced to change her after she gives birth to a beautiful, angelic and gifted child they name, Renesemee. A central theme of the last part of her journey, told in diary narrative, chronicles her rebirth as a vampire who is in total control of her blood lust, contrary to the behavior expected from “newbies,” suggesting that the Cullen’s, who carry the burden of being “damned,” are by their actions not. They have chosen out of free will not to feed on humans. This conscious choice and love made it possible for Edward, a vampire, to produce a child of beauty and warmth, and contrary to what is believed, redemption is possible even for vampires who exhibit compassion and prove by how they live their lives that they are not without souls.

Breaking Dawn will be filmed in two parts and is currently in production. The journey of Kristen Stewart, the actress who portrays Bella in all five films is how she will emote her narration in her performance in the last two films so that the audience can identify what it might feel like to be immortal. Rarely in literature is the opportunity presented to covey the evolution of both perspectives, before and after, from an autobiographical point of view.

Unrequited Love And The Twilight Saga

The recent execution of Troy Davis, convicted of murder twenty-two years ago in Georgia has  reawakened the issue of the death penalty and brought it to public consciousness. Does termination of life constitute a rational way of averting murder, a form of retribution felt to be based more on revenge than justice.

Many who support the death penalty are also pro-life when it comes to abortion. Mr. Spock would submit that this is illogical. Life is life, whether it’s a sinned life or an innocent one. Kirk might respond, “But life is not logical, Mr. Spock, the truth lies somewhere between instinct and unknowable forces that come to play when conditions are right.”

Scotty would say in a heavy Scottish accent, “Aye, but ya gotta look at this as a mechanical problem. Society is like a star ship floating around with all the  gravitational forces pulling the hull in all sorts of directions. If one system in the ship fails to work the way its supposed to, then it can run adrift and get caught up in unidentified cosmic things like a wormhole, losing control of navigation, pulled into that black demon and spit out in an alternate reality where people are put to death because of overpopulation. How do you choose who lives and who dies?”

Gandalf might say, “Many that live deserve to die. Some that die deserve life, can you give it to them Frodo? Do not be so eager to deal out death and judgement. Even the very wise cannot see all ends.”

The Bible says in Matthew 5:38-40 “You have heard that it was said, ‘eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.”

If a child asks , “But suppose the person who was struck on the right cheek hit someone else first, where does it begin and where does it end?  Society might say, “Listen to the sermon and when you grow up, you can be the one to decide what is the truth and what is not.” On the other hand a wise person might add in a calm reassuring tone, “But keep all hailing frequencies open.”

Putting aside the criminal justice system and its flaws, many would agree, if not swayed by prejudice or anger, and in the privacy of their own thoughts,  that putting someone on trial for murder with the death penalty as an option for the jurors to choose isn’t the best way insure that justice is served. The only thing worse is executing someone without a fair trial even if they are innocent. “Someone has to pay for this.” In this instance, guilt or innocence becomes less important than the process of putting the whole thing to rest until another compelling case again reawakens the issue once again.

In the film, BUtterfield 8 (1960), there is a tense moment when Elizabeth Taylor who portrays Gloria Wandrous shouts in a confrontational outburst with her mother. “Mama, face it, I’m the slut of all time.” A moment of clarity from a woman who was judged “loose,” or perhaps it reflected one persons attempt to live a passionate life without the constraints of guilt.

Many scientists question whether the guarantee of confidentiality and anonymity are enough to get people to answer inquiries about sex, honestly. Usually, the most  unconventional of fantasies, the thoughts that flirt with danger and border on the taboo, urges played out in mental privacy, are the ones that are most exhilarating although not for public scrutiny, let alone personal acknowledgement.

Looking at sexual behavior candidly becomes difficult when one is caught in the theologically defined battleground of good and evil, provoking a tendency to view oneself with the noblest of motives and thus compromising objectivity especially when compartmentalizing sexual events becomes a basis for privacy..

Scientific surveys may not be reliable measure of the way fantasies translate from scenario into behavior because they are frequently influenced not only by how moral boundaries are defined and socially appraised but also applied differently for each sex.

Men and women are not treated equally when it comes to morality, and exploring these differences has been the subject of great literature, cinema and controversy. Women who express their sexuality openly are viewed as sluts while men under the same circumstances are portrayed as sowing their oats, unless they are gay. Imagine how Elizabeth Taylor as Gloria Wandrous would have been treated if she were a man.

Redemption has always been the subject of great controversy. In Theology, it refers to the ability to recognize and overcome one’s weaknesses by finding a resolution using religious doctrine when faced with a moral dilemma created by personal choice.

Different religions associate a variety of meanings defining the path needed to achieve it. Catholicism for example entails receiving absolution from sin from an ordained hierarchy that maintains a philosophy equating redemption with eternal life, bestowed as a reward often involving personal sacrifice as a component.

In Buddhism, redemption is about surrendering attachments to desires in a larger sense, and in so doing rising above any temptation. Specifics are individual, and relates to the conditions of one’s evolution, and a reflection of the faith one has in the process. Relying on the guidance of those who have traveled a similar path, and who have faced the same struggles best affirms their course by example, having attained a degree of enlightenment. These are the teachers, and their help in the search is invaluable. However learning something from anyone qualifies them as your teacher, even if the lesson was unintentionally observed.  When this is realized, compassion for everyone develops because all have the capacity to teach, according to their experiences.

For redemption to have any meaning, compassion must saturate  awareness, allowing emotional turmoil to be  transformed  into solemnity as thoughts change from anger and retribution to understanding and forgiveness, otherwise anger will overwhelm and influence  any higher goals .

Forgiveness isn’t about letting someone elude judgement for their acts, but a recognition that cosmic justice will play its role in balancing the scales, as much as magnetic energy attracts or repels elements from each other. This is why so many people are against the death penalty.

One does not need to be present to see justice play out, as trust in the higher forces instills the knowledge of its inevitability allowing resentment towards someone for their actions to be released. It is also a lesson for everyone to realize that the same laws apply to all.

Redemption begins by accepting responsibility for thoughts and actions and acknowledging that the process begins by learning to forgive ourselves, then surrendering to redemption becomes part of the course of evolution and the awakening enlightenment of the soul.

When the Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences honored Sophia Loren on May 4th, 2011 with a special night devoted to her life and career, it was the third recognition by the Academy of her talent and legend. It has been fifty years since her 1961 Oscar winning performance in Two Women and she continues to be an important figure in the golden age of both Hollywood and Italian Cinema.

As she approaches her seventy seventh birthday on September 20th, this was the perfect time to honor the actress once more, not with another statuette, none are necessary; her stature has gone beyond myth and legend. Sofia’s life has been nothing less then a fairy tale come true and celebrating it is not just about her beauty and talent, its also about the way she explains her views on life that elevates her to a philosopher. Her ideas are simple: live with passion, honesty, humility and a sense of humor.

Her first Oscar in 1961 was for Best Actress for a stunning performance in La Ciociara. The cinematic adaptation was directed by Victorio di Sica and based on the the book written by Alberto Moravia (1907 -1990). His novels explored social alienation, contemporary sexual values and existentialism. The production was filmed in Italian and subtitled in other languages. It centers on a woman in her early fifties who struggles to protect her daughter from the horrors of war. Sofia was twenty five at the time and lacked confidence she could portray a women twice her age, but di Sica  believed she could do it and convinced her to trust him and play Cesira, a middle aged woman with a teenage daughter.

Her experiences in Italy during World War ll and her relationship with di Sica who she described as a great teacher motivated her to try. “He gave me roles that were appropriate to my temperament  and brought things out I never knew I had. He would just look at me and I knew what he wanted.”

Her spellbinding portrayal in Two Women was hailed as one of best performances captured on film and established her as a dramatic actress with great authenticity. The brutality of war was never more clear then when both mother and daughter were raped by Mussolini’s soldiers. Its unfortunate that most copies of La Ciociara are so faded with a warped score, that the Academy would do well to restore the film and preserve it for future generations.

Her second Oscar was an honorary award bestowed to her by the Academy and presented by Gregory Peck in 1991 for being one of the treasures of world cinema. Not only were her Italian films  being honored but  her American pictures as well. Some of them featured many of Hollywood’s  most prominent leading men and directors.

Her philosophy shines not only in many of her roles, but also the interviews she has given over the years. They are incredibly witty and cover a wide range of subjects that reveal the simplicity of an old soul with much to teach.

In 1999 Sofia  was asked about aging. Her response was,  “ What can you do, time goes by for everyone, You are who you are,  and  you have to look the best you can , if you can, and then go on with life “

On love and  her relationship with Cary Grant, she said, “I was twenty two, and to see Cary Grant attracted to me the way he was, I fell a little bit for it, just a little, but it was worth it.”

When asked about her career, she responded, “ My career has been everything I was dreaming of and so much more, and probably much more then I deserved. i have no regrets about things I wished for but didn’t get, it would be a mortal sin, such a small thing, it would not be worth mentioning. My life has been like a fairy tale, really.”

The public has no misconceptions about Sofia because her candidness and  insights ring with clarity.  She has a rare gift  to convey her philosophy of life, reflecting what she has learned on her journey, both good and difficult. This is a legacy worth celebrating and a footnote in the life of one of the most fascinating women of the Twentieth Century.

Sophia Loren Quotes

When Elizabeth Taylor died on March 23, 2011 from congestive heart failure, the pulse of the world quivered as the last living touchstone of the golden age of Hollywood passed from contemporary history. None of the actors who remain from that era have the glitz and glitter she had, first as a child star who made the successful transition to a consummate adult screen actress and goddess, but also as a savvy business woman who used her fame to draw attention to many humanitarian causes when it was politically inconvenient.

Critics were rarely kind when reviewing her performances; they were often influenced by the tabloid fascination with her failed marriages, public scandals and health scares. But through all the turbulence, Taylor always retained public sympathy and remained a magnet for attention. She was ranked as seventh on the AFI’s list of the 50 top screen legends of all time. Only three of the twenty five women on the list remain: Shirley Temple, Lauren Bacall and Sophia Loren.

Some of her best work, on film,  included Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958) with Paul Newman, and a strong performance opposite Katherine Hepburn in Suddenly Last Summer (1959). Both were film adaptations of plays written by Tennessee Williams. But, it wasn’t until 1961 and after her fourth nomination did she win her first Best Actress Oscar for BUtterfield 8 (1960), a film she openly detested because she played an out of control nymphomaniac call girl with the line, “Mama, face it, I was the slut of all time.” She always felt the Academy voted her the Oscar out of sympathy for almost dying of pneumonia a few weeks earlier. Another reason was that her co star was Eddie Fisher, who she considered her biggest mistake.

Her second Oscar was in 1966 for Who Is Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, which remains the best of the nine films she made with her fifth husband, Richard Burton who she married and divorced twice. The film, directed by Mike Nichols, seemed to be art imitating life as her vitriolic Martha reflected her marriage to Burton, a volcanic relationship characterized by public spats and alcohol abuse. She received the prestigious Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1992 for her groundbreaking work for creating and raising money for AIDS foundations

My personal favorite of all the fifty films she made is a little known gem called Elephant Walk (1954). It starred Peter Finch and Dana Andrews and was based on the novel by Digby George Gerahty and directed by William Dieterle from a screenplay by John Lee Mahin. It’s an epic story about a colonial plantation owner who cultivates Tea in Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka. On a trip to England, Finch meets and marries Ruth played by Taylor who becomes the mistress of the large manor in what would turn out to be a precursor for her roles in Giant, and then as Cleopatra. The lavish luxury and wealth also served as a reminder of Taylor’s lifelong love affair with diamonds.

A major plot element of the film is that the plantation’s large house was intentionally built in the middle of the migrating path of Indian Elephants. A tense drama, a love triangle and the exciting climax as an epic elephant stampede threatens to stomp Taylor in a heart pumping scene as she tries to escape up a long staircase to avoid being trampled by the large herd of angry elephants with a grudge. Elephant Walk was originally set to star Laurence Olivier and Vivian Leigh who had to back out of the project due to bi polar disease. Taylor and Finch were last minute replacements.

Dame Elizabeth Taylor Hilton Wilder Todd Fisher Burton Burton Warner Fortensky was born on February 27, 1932 in Great Britain to American parents. She became a major star for MGM, popular not only for her films but for her glamorous lifestyle, beauty, public scandals and those violet eyes. Her first real screen success was in 1944 when she made National Velvet as a child star and then matured as Spencer Tracy’s daughter in Father Of The Bride in 1950. In 1963, her much publicised scandal on the set of Cleopatra with Richard Burton sealed her fate as “the other woman.”  Her life has often been compared to a soap opera and Giant (1956) which starred Rock Hudson and James Dean may have been the basis for Dallas, the prime time  soap that dominated television for years.

Taylor, who remained popular throughout her life was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2000. She leaves four children, ten grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Although her glimmer as one of Hollywood’s greatest stars will remain bright, her most important footnote will be the way she used her fame to draw attention to the humanitarian causes that motivated the final chapter of her life. Elizabeth Taylor was seventy nine.