The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Including Life, the Universe and Everything

At some point in their life, every person has wondered what their purpose in life is. Questions involving why humans are on Earth, what they are supposed to do with their lives and whether there is more to life than what meets the eye have wandered through many minds without really producing a definitive answer. But it is likely that a definitive answer does not exist; or in fact, a definitive answer is not really needed to carry on with life. And that is the point made in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Arthur Dent rises one morning to a rude awakening that his house is to be demolished immediately to make way for a bypass. In denial but unable to do anything about the situation, Arthur is dragged off to a pub by his friend Ford Prefect under the pretext of having a pint of beer before the world comes to an end. Ford confesses to being an alien from a neighbouring planet and a journalist who is commissioned to complete writing The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Reluctant to believe him, Arthur gets dragged along and finds himself on an alien ship with planet Earth reduced to dust. An altercation with their host results in them being evacuated and picked up by the Heart of Gold, a ship stolen by the President of the Universe and Ford’s semi half-brother, Zaphod Beeblebrox. Also on board are Marvin the Paranoid Android and Tricia McMillian aka Trillian, a human who Arthur knew from his days back on Earth and who becomes his love interest. Together the collective travel the galaxy in search of the true question to life, the universe and everything that will be a suitable match for the answer 42.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was directed by Garth Jennings and released in 2005. It is adapted from a novel of the same name which was written by Douglas Adams, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film. The franchise includes the original novel, the film and several other spinoffs that arose after the original book was published. The film can be easily identified as science fiction with elements of fantasy spun into it, but the comedy in the film is a standout which cannot be ignored.

The actors have been cast excellently considering they fit perfectly into the style of their respective characters. The biggest challenge for the actors and the director in the film would have been to convey the deadpan style of humour which is unique to this franchise and incredibly difficult to recreate. As such, the film is a credit to the franchise and has been done well. The film does not attempt to raise questions and then solve them, it pokes fun at the idea of having an answer to everything we do in life and the constant need to rectify thoughts and actions with an ultimate purpose to one’s existence.

The tongue-in-cheek jokes that come up every now and then can be hilarious once understood in context. A constantly depressed robot saves the lives of a group of people by depressing their attackers, a Vogon’s preferred form of torture is to read poetry and a whale has just come into existence in free-fall unaware of what he is supposed to feel; certain moments such as these are truly hilarious and well done in the film. The superimposing of Arthur’s house being destroyed to make way for a national bypass and then his entire planet being destroyed to make way for a galactic bypass blends both tragedy and comedy, a rare occurrence in any film. Even the misfortune involving the President of the Galaxy ordering a planet to be destroyed when he thinks he is signing an autograph is a ridiculous moment which is then exaggerated because the same planet happens to be the most important in the galaxy that was created with a purpose of solving the ultimate question.

The film is mostly comedy mixed with science fiction. Few elements of romance crop up during the course of the film but it is overall a very good deadpan humour-based comedy film.

Chronicle: The human behind the super power

Although many people would love to have superpowers and would dream about it plenty of times, it is very difficult to predict exactly how most of us would behave if our wishes came true and we did attain some superhuman abilities. The answer of whether we would use them for the right reasons and help other people, as is shown with most popular superheroes, or if we would use it for our own selfish gain and eventually end up misusing those powers can only be answered if we are actually placed in such a hypothetical situation. But that seems to be what the 2012 action movie Chronicle has touched upon.

Andrew is a teenager with a creative mind and asocial tendencies. He is terribly introverted as he goes through his high school life with a camera by his side and no friends but his cousin to hang out with occasionally. His cousin Matt tries to convince him to get along with more people by taking him to a party at a barn and introducing him around. Eventually, Andrew, Matt and Matt’s friend Steve wind up in the middle of a field where they discover a hole leading to an underground cave. Andrew reluctantly agrees to follow Matt and Steve into the cave where they discover a glowing stone embedded into the ground. After an unfortunate mishap, the three friends narrowly manage to survive but later discover that they have received telekinetic powers. They agree to keep it a secret and use their powers sparingly but Andrews’s fragile self esteem and longing to make something of himself lead to rifts in their friendship and more problems than they can handle with their powers alone.

The feature film directorial debut of Josh Trank, Chronicle follows the unique style of a handheld camera that is a part of the storyline. By establishing that the protagonist carries around a camera at all times, the film was then told through the eyes of the camera that plays a part in the film. Although utilised previously in a few other films, this style still manages to strike a chord with its audience for being a more creative style of filmmaking.

Although the character of the introverted Andrew is the protagonist in the film, he is in fact an anti-hero. The film follows most of his perspective which makes him the protagonist, however the actions he takes leads to horrible outcomes for everyone around him which throws him into the negative light.

The film does employ a bit of a creative style, but it’s nothing extraordinary that hasn’t been seen before. The film tries to portray the human side of exceptional beings but ends up succumbing to the grotesque use of visual effects and action packed scenes which can be seen in any superhero movie. While certain scenes of the film do have a visual appeal, like when one of the characters splits a spider into pieces by pulling each of its legs apart at the same time or by crushing a car into a ball just by making a fist, it’s disappointing that the potential for a good script would be sacrificed just for a more appealing visual production. Maybe that is what Hollywood has come down to, but it’s quite disappointing.

In the end, it is a cool-looking movie, but that shouldn’t be the only reason to watch a film. It could have been something special but as it is, it is just another Hollywood action flick.

Iron Man 3: The man behind the suit

Action, adventure, thriller, sci-fi, explosions, visual effects, soundtracks, sound effects, cool dialogues and overall badass-ness is what has come to be expected of anything that has to do with the Iron Man franchise. This includes the Iron Man trilogies and other like projects which the superhero has been associated with over the last few years. The good news is that the third film in the Iron Man trilogy has kept up to the standards which it was expected to uphold.

Post his collaboration with The Avengers initiative and their final showdown in New York City, where Tony Stark almost lost his life in a battle with aliens, the man behind the suit is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder as a new villain arises to destroy the American dream and all that it is associated with. Mandarin has claimed responsibility for several bombings on American soil as he declares war on the United States and issues public threats to the President that his time and his country’s reign is coming to an end. Tony becomes increasingly aware that he may not always be around to protect the one he loves most, Pepper Potts, and so prepares himself through nights of insomnia for a war that may eventually be his last in some way or the other. As the number of incidents increase and Tony’s own friends are dragged into the battle, he makes his own public announcement vowing to put an end to Mandarin and all that he stands for.

While the previous films were directed by Jon Favreau, Iron Man has Shane Black credited 

for the role of director. Overall, the style of the film is maintained from the previous two films in the trilogy with similar visual and sound effects being employed as well as a similar tone of the film which banks between action and mild character humour. Robert Downey Jr. once again plays the role of Tony Stark/ Iron Man to his personal strengths as he portrays the badass, rebellious nature of the character with a playful sense of humour that it is known for. Gwyneth Paltrow deserves a special mention for her performance in this film as she plays Pepper Potts and holds her own as the female lead in a sultry avatar which is much sexier than was ever witnessed before.

Overall, this film shows Tony Stark in a more human light than the previous films. As he grapples with his previous near death experience, his dependence on his machinery and technology is evident as he begins to have panic attacks with every mention of his previous battles and how the presence of his Iron Man suit is essential to help him calm down. The character of Tony Stark, which is always portrayed as a confident and cocky playboy billionaire, is torn apart to show his natural instinct as he deals with his issues as any other person would and comes to terms with his fears to accept his own ingenuity and intelligence along with his instincts and desires.

The use of 3D doesn’t really do much for the film; and neither is it required for most other films honestly. But Iron Man 3 is a real treat to watch for a full blown Hollywood production that has managed to live up to its own standards as a top film in the genre of action.