Lessons from Movies - 3: Iron Man (2008)

This is a really terrific movie that I liked, and so I ended up buying a DVD after watching it a few more times! And in the spirit of the movies chosen for this series, it has quite a few lessons for us.

Lesson 1: A person who's leading an irresponsible life (whether in your opinion or the prevalent public opinion) may not continue to do so all his / her life.

Lesson 2: Genius is not always evil. Benevolent geniuses are always around, doing incredible things for the common good.

Lesson 3: If you have a serious and fundamental disagreement with one of your good friends, then maybe it's time to reevaluate the friendship and part ways before either of you can do the other a lot of damage.

Lesson 4: Anything is possible if you set your mind to it.

Lesson 5: If you realise that you have spent your whole life in pursuit of something that's not worth your time anymore, stop doing it and start doing something else. Just make sure that you don't repeat your mistake.

Lesson 6: Help can sometimes come from unexpected quarters. Be prepared to accept it.

Lesson 7: Comics sell! ;-)

Fun lesson: when you are going to the top, it can get very lonely. And cold ;-)

Iron Man

Lessons from movies - 2: Inside Man (2006)

This is a movie about a bank robbery. But wait, it's not any ordinary burglary, but a grand, superbly orchestrated one. In fact, it's so perfectly done that the police and the authorities think that nothing has even been taken. What can we learn from this movie? Many things.

Lesson 1: Whenever you set out to do something, think about it. Real hard. And then think some more. If you do this, and plan for eventualities as well as you can, then you're likely to succeed fantastically.

Lesson 2: Not everyone who appears to be innocent is innocent; not everyone who appears guilty is guilty. Sometimes, it's impossible to distinguish between the two.

Lesson 3: People sometimes do things just because they can. So, don't go looking for reasons all the time, because there may be none.

Inside Man

Lessons from movies - 1: Twelve Monkeys (1995)

I was watching a movie recently, and it struck me that movies can teach us some very good lessons in life. You know, the kind of lessons that make us wonder why we can't change the way we look at / do things. So, I'm going to post my take on what lessons I find in movies that I watch from now on, or have watched in the past. Okay, here goes...

Lesson 1: We can't take our life on this planet for granted. The movie is about how a deadly strain of a killer virus decimates human population, so much so that they have to scamper under the earth's surface to survive.

Lesson 2: Not everything that sounds crazy or preposterous is really so. Sometimes, it may just be the truth that we're not yet ready to accept. In the movie, Bruce Willis travels to 1990 from the future, but nobody takes him seriously; they confine him to a mental institution instead. It's only when the statements that he utters casually come true that someone starts believing him.

Investigators into paranormal phenomena sometimes, just sometimes, stumble upon the truth. So while it's good to maintain a healthy level of skepticism about findings that are dramatic in nature, it's also a good idea to keep an open mind, even if only to ask the question, "What if?"

Twelve Monkeys