Movie Review: Pacific Rim

Here is my review of Pacific Rim from GetGlue, redefined: 

When news of this film began circulating, I immediately wanted to see it. Not only is it right up my alley (as the novels I'm writing involve robots among other things) but Guillermo del Toro was behind it. When the trailer hit, I was sold. It looked so epic, & it didn't even try to hide the fact that they were trying to be epic, with the trailer's tagline "Go big or go extinct." - They definitely went big with this movie, & I'm sure its effects will not go extinct any time soon.

This movie is essentially "Godzilla" meets "Power Rangers" but 100 times more epic than both of them put together. The graphics are top of the line, delivering spectacular eye candy that you can't help but marvel at, & the score (composed by Ramin Djawadi) creates a beautifully heroic backdrop for the story & the events that unfold. I also loved how the song in the end credits (written for the film & titled "Drift") goes perfectly with the film score. It's this kind of attention to detail I love about films such as After Earth & Sucker Punch, & I feel like this movie is in the same elite category. Parents should know that the human violence in this movie is very minimal & there is absolutely no sexual content, making it a great movie for the whole family.

There is one image from this film that sticks out more than anything to me, of a little girl walking alone through a decimated city. It's such an iconic image of the destruction & chaos we sometimes find ourselves in, & what happens afterwards is a symbol of hope. It says to the viewer that no matter how dark things may seem, there is always hope. Lots of little messages like that run through this movie's veins, but I think the main message is unity. 

The Jaegers need 2 people to operate them, & in order to do this, they have to be completely in sync. I think the song in the end credits says it best when it says "United we can never fall." - It's the oldest trick in the book (united we stand, divided we fall), but somewhere along the way, humanity has begun to lose its grasp of the concept of unity. We can accomplish so much more together than we can apart. We can defeat greater challenges together than we can alone. I think that's what this movie tries to communicate, & it pulls it off well. & did I mention beautifully? See it on the big screen. You will not regret it. 

If you haven't seen the trailer, marvel here: 

Leader Of The Pack

I was talking about wolves with my husband Eric & my mother in law Rachel, & how humans are similar to them. In a wolf pack, you have the Alpha wolf, who rules the pack with power & authority, & needs followers to function. Then you have the Beta wolves, who follow the Alpha without question. They require a leader to function. Then there's the Omega wolf, who desires to be the Alpha, & is eventually exiled from the pack because of it. Humans are the same way. Our personalities reveal whether we are an Alpha (leader), a Beta (follower), or an Omega (rebel/outcast). 

As Eric says, most humans are Betas. They need a leader. This doesn't make them inferior, just typical. There are a few Alphas, who lead others. A great example of this is apparent in disaster scenarios. Most people run around panicking, trying to find someone calm to lead them. These are Beta people. Then there are the few who remain calm enough to think & act responsibly in times of stress. They are Alphas, and they tend to lead & advise the others. According to this, Eric & I are both Alphas. We both remain calm & focused when disaster strikes. But in our marriage, things work a bit differently. 

When I met Eric, I had never been in a relationship with an Alpha before. In most aspects of my life I had been an Omega (an outcast) but  in my past relationships, I had always been the Alpha, and had been drawn to Beta's, probably out of a subconscious desire for control, in order to make up for certain times I'd been severely controlled & taken advantage of in the past. So here were 2 Alphas, both trying to rule the relationship. I have finally given Eric his rightful place as Alpha in the relationship. Not just because he's the male, but because, let's face it, he is just smarter than me. :p & I think that although I was drawn to Betas in the past, what I really needed was an Alpha to put me in my place. Not that he hits me or anything (if he ever did I'd leave him & he knows that) but I look to him for advice on every single decision I make, just like a Beta with an Alpha. 

Anyway, what I'm saying is that I've now become more of a Beta than an Alpha. People can change from one to the other, depending on their life phases & relationships. 

Then there are the Omegas, who are constantly challenging authority & most times have been outcast from the pack because of it. Every family &/or social circle has at least one of these. They are not necessarily bad people, but are usually misunderstood. 

Anyway, I think this is a cool way to categorize personalities & relationships. So which are you? Alpha, Beta, or Omega?