Five Things on Thursday

My awesome friend, Tarek Es-bear, has adopted and adapted a new trend from the ever evolving digital hipster scene in the UK and introduced us to 'Five Things on Thursday.' Not unlike the roundups I've done in the past (like here, here and here), five things is meant to highlight the best of the best of your internet week.

So, I'm jumping on the numerical bandwagon (for this week at least) and recounting the top five videos/articles/one man Lord of the Rings shows, for your viewing pleasure:

 

1. Although I saw this a couple of weeks ago, and it is fairly old in internet terms, this short is pretty much one of the coolest, gutsiest and best made films I have seen thus far in 2012. Treading ever so lightly on a semi-apocalytpic, drug-induced mutation of a public announcement, check out 'The Gate' (dir. Matt Westrup).

2. You know those women, who are all (apparantly) about feminism, and girl power, not having kids and 'sticking it to the man'? Listen, I'm a Jordanian woman - if there ever was someone who was pro feminism, it would be me. But all this "marriage is crap" bullshit is ridiculous. Love is good, and personally, I'm a sucker for a good love story. Enter Jess & Russ and the latest example in this new, revamped online wedding invitation craze. It is LOVELY.

3. Film is what you make of it. Personal interpretation and value-systems dictate the success of a feature - alongside production prowess, budgets and execution, of course. In the past year, I've been exposed to some B-movies I would have never touched had I not made the friends I have. Although many of these are (putting it lightly) not my cup of tea (enter 'Green Slime'),  I have always respected the love some have for the genre. Although I could easily label some as sweaty jockstraps of an excuse for film, I don't, because a) that's mean, and b) I'm on this new zen diet where I try not to get worked up. Long story short, I know not everyone loved 'The Avengers', but I did and it is a wonderful two hours of escapism, alongside everything else (almost) that Marvel Comics have ever done. So here are a bunch of awesome geeks (including me - plug *cough* plug) talking about their favourite Marvel characters, embarassing photos included.

4. I love Guillermo del Toro. SO MUCH. So this week, I found i) a faun... having lunch... and, ii) Hellboy looking sad. Also, although James Cameron is meant to be producing, it appears 'At the Mountains of Madness' has been put on hold (thanks 'Prometheus'). Save it by joining the petition, here.
Note: Cameron lost one of the 'Pan's Labyrinth' notebooks that del Toro gifted him. Nice going, Jimmy.

Lunching faun

 

Image courtesy of Pacman on DeviantArt

5. The final link for this, my inaugural 'Five Things on Thursday' post, is courtesy of my 'Daddy Cross' friends who show us how NOT to do a crowdfunding video call-out. And Evrim Ersoy should reconsider a career in comedy.

My Thor

“How do you make someone stronger than the strongest person? It finally came to me: Don't make him human — make him a god.” Stan Lee, Creator of ‘Thor’, Former President and Chairman of Marvel Comics.

This is where the evolution of Thor as one of Marvel comics’ most loved characters began. For the generic film-goer or the average blockbuster lover, 2011’s ‘Thor’ was a delicious treat, whetting appetites in anticipation of what has become one of this year’s most successful films and the third highest grossing in the history of cinema, ‘The Avengers.’ For devourers of the glorious ancient mythologies of Scandinavia and the world at large, ‘Thor’ was a taste of the grandeur, nobility and sheer utopia of a world and people so unlike our own.

The storyline is classic in its depiction of power and bashfulness combined to create a force that is both feared and desired in turn. In fact, Marvel’s character biography for Thor is one which is uncannily reminiscent of an on screen symbol that transcends all modern interpretations of metahuman aptitude – enter DC Comics’ Superman.

An alien, God-like being, sent to earth, taught to live with humility and for the love and protection of humanity, Thor and Superman share personable similarities which have made the latter an icon for the last eight decades, and the former, a younger but worthy heir to the sub-human throne. The son of Odin, ruler of the capital of the Nine Worlds in Norse mythology, Asgard, Thor symbolizes much more than the flowing golden locks and shining armour of the Norse Gods. Thor stands as an emblem of hope for those with their hearts and minds firmly planted in the worlds of fantasy and mythology; an unashamed form of escapism to a story that continues to plant seeds of faith in a goodness beyond human capacity or understanding.

That is my Thor.

Note: Read the full article on the best of Marvel at the Doha Film Institute website, here.