Two Takes

Everything can become fascinating when you have all of the time of eternity. But when does that fascination lead to other things? Such as thoughts of one's own lost mortality, morality and that certain fragile beauty of being a human? It seems we all want things we cannot have; whether that be to join with the ones you love, in this life or the next; to enjoy a moment in history forevermore; to wo...

**REMASTERED** Analysing the first Avenger, Steve Rogers, Captain America. How a man 'outside of time' gets to grip with the changing of the seasons, but still keeps his morals.  Captain America has perhaps become the most symbolic character of standing one's ground and to follow the righteous path of truth and honour. And, for the overall character arc, that might be true. But what about the...

Analysing the romance drama film Far From The Madding Crowd (2015), exploring the different suitors and their own interpretations of love in the realms of Bathsheba Everdene.   We follow various stories, a heiress of a farm, an ex-farmer, the neighbour, the sergeant, all in search for some sort of peace and prosperity. Their stories tell us of the beauty and the burden of love. How conve...

There can be blurred lines between a villain, hero and someone in between. Blurred even to the point where they all look the same. Even so, these differing paths seem to be lonely ones, pursuing what they deem to be important; for the betterment of themselves through the usual revenge arc or for others by saving their lives. Either way, an outcast on a mission is born. Self-worth on these paths se...

Was a battle of the sexes always inevitable? Or did we create a rift ourselves through all the things said and done between us? Perhaps it doesn't matter about your gender, but your words, your impact on those around you, even to the point of when you are gone. The trauma can do so much when all of the remembered acts and hurtful words against you seem to start looking the same... Copyright to Two...

Whisper of the Heart, Kiki's Delivery Service, The Cat Returns and, for purposes of this episode, A Whisker Away all have the same sort of fantasy-like theme centring on many things, including cats. Whether cats have a small or larger part to play, there are present for the reason that is ironically explained in a small sentence from 2005's film Constantine: "Cats are good. Half in, half out anywa...

It's astounding that chaos can ensure after one incident, how one day can have the impact of an earthquake to some, and a minor breeze to others. For Sam, it's the given time before she falls. The time to observe, to reflect, to learn. The time to realise that living each day like it is your last has consequences not just to herself, but to every person around her. Copyright to Two Takes

Being stuck in a small bubble of one's own making, it can seem that anything outside can disrupt the world one has built for themselves. Outside interventions can prevent this idyllic way of living, this living in a fairy tale, into a labyrinth of human emotion. Passageways containing complications, with curve balls that test your resolve. Is this a way of navigating life? Yes. Because we all know...

It's pretty hard to come to terms with realising you have a problem, let alone many of them. The kids in Dan's class are exploring the Civil Rights Movement in conjunction with opposing forces that have different beliefs, fighting for what they believe is right, and not seeing eye to eye. This aspect of teaching can be presented in Dan and Drey's life. They are both trying to find some sort of bal...

Emotions are a tricky thing, and some people are better at hiding it than others. We cannot possibly know what is going on in someone's head all of the time. But place that aspect of the unknown with drugs, and you have a mixture of abandonment of walls holding you in, but also the abandonment of the choice of free will letting you out. Copyright to Two Takes

Influence and balance play a complicated dance within the realms of Heaven and Hell, with us, the human realm, being in the middle. We have whispers in our ears, seeds of thoughts placed in our heads, love or hate bubbling in our bellies, placed there by others. But surely its our choice to act on them? Is there a true form of free will, or are we all simply waiting to be tipped on whether to act...

There's an admiration to doing something or becoming someone beyond where you came from. There are people who are their job, their reputation, the rumours that circle them...But for many, they walk their own path, making it their own. To discover new beginnings, new friends, enemies, excitement and adventure. There is a beauty in knowing that you can follow your heart whilst your head marks the wa...

It's interesting to see the best of someone, their journey and their decisions that counteract what is going on around them. We love to see them rise above what is holding them down. And for some, that is enough. But for others, they always find themselves attracted to the downfall as well as the triumph. The journey that might not show a happy ending, but a realisation, a connection, from the cha...

Within many film concepts straying into horror, or perhaps more precisely body horror, we question what would happen if we were stripped of the thing or multiple things that make us different from any other animal. Of course, we think we are the most powerful creature on our world, and whether or not that is truth, it doesn't matter. We reflect upon ourselves and this is just one avenue of explora...

It can be understood that there is always a monster within us, whether we let it loose or keep it hidden. We cannot hide from ourselves, what with the chaos around us, but we can choose what to do with what we realise. The externalisation of the monster is perhaps part of a survivalism play. And here, with Teddy and Chuck, the lines between man and monster seem to blur. Copyright to Two Takes Podc...

We follow Louise, we follow the visions, and we realise her journey of her future whilst she is in her present. The child she sees is her own, and she sees her daughter be born, live a life and die in the same breath. We see her discover and learn a unique alien language, presented as a tool, a gift, for the more-than-zero sum gain that the aliens will surely need many many years after Louise's de...

We can only imagine that it can 'feel' like, what it can be imagined like, to see yourself as something real, when really you are not. A replicant is created by man to essentially pick up after us. We improve them and make them better, placing the underlining code of created memories to perhaps keep them docile. But again, their intelligence over steps that mark; they know their memories are fake....

The connection actually stems from the secondary, or even minor characters, depending on how you see it. However, like all characters that we thought might not have that much importance, it turns out they change the whole plot on its head, and we see ourselves whisked away on some kind of adventure, mostly on the self-realisation side. And I don't aim to disappoint. Copyright to Two Takes Podcast

Spider-Man, since the very beginning, has been a superhero that has been described by Stan Lee to be an 'everyday' hero; because of his costume completely covering his identity, this can inspire anyone to be a hero. The beauty of this realisation has us getting inspired to be the best that we can be. Whilst understanding the struggles and burdens of growing up and figuring things out, much like Pe...

We all understand that Barton was an agent of SHIELD, introduced to us in Thor, but even then, we could tell that Barton was more than just his job. And when his family was introduced in Age of Ultron, everyone looked confused...except for Nat. Perhaps the most secretive Avenger (tying with Nat), presents the idea of protection, because overall, Clint had his reasons. In his rare moments, we find...

It is perhaps with luck on my part and the incredible thoughtfulness of the MCU writers and directors that they have introduced a solo film dedicated to Natasha Romanoff that has us here, right at this moment. Bearing witness to what Natasha has gone through, all comes to fruition once we get to know her and for me, this is beautiful. Once a hardened, intelligent and brilliant spy working for the...

We could all comment on how Bruce Banner and Hulk have been through a-lot when it comes to the entirety of their time spent with the Avengers. Bruce had this own troubles to deal with when it came down to his haunting past and personal retribution; and let's get this straight from the beginning, Banner never wanted to be an Avenger. He was brought in to research the Tesseract because of its emitta...

The last two episodes of the Avengers Series concentrated on men who were given the chance to be more, a chance to learn the concepts of heroism in different ways; to rise up to the challenge in their own personal story arcs, facing it head on with their wits, their sense of belief and their intellect. This third instalment concentrates on a god, that is  following a very 'down to earth' huma...

Tony Stark, known as Iron Man throughout the world, is a man who revels in his achievements and the adoring fans that follow. But we all know is that when this attention is firmly fixed on someone who proclaims themselves a hero, there is more than just the good times that present a man who is faltering and fixing who he is and those around him. A mechanic can only do so much, but for Tony, he wen...

Captain America has perhaps become the most symbolic character of standing one's ground and to follow the righteous path of truth and honour. And, for the overall character arc, that might be true. But what about the man underneath the American banner? Copyright to Two Takes Podcast