12 Merry Monkeys

Tonic Pop

12 Monkeys

Rating: R (for violence and language.)

Genre: Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Terry Gilliam

Written By: David Webb Peoples who wrote co-wrote Blade Runner & Unforgiven, he was joined on this writing project by his wife Janet Peoples – what a team! What great peoples.

In Theaters: Dec 27, 1995

On Disc/Streaming: Mar 31, 1998

Runtime: 130 minutes

Studio: Universal Pictures
From a budget of 29.5 million it grossed 168 million. Well done Terry.

This time-travel film is intense and intriguing and was one that showcased in my opinion some of Bruce Willis’s finer work acting-wise. Both Jeff Bridges and then Nick Nolte were originally slated for the part but due to unavailability Bruce was locked in. Any one of them could have pulled this off I reckon but Bruce sinks into the role beautifully. As mentioned The sci-fi was directed by Terry Gilliam, who by virtue of being a member of Monty Python receives legend status no matter what. His radical spin at directing solidifies it. Admittedly he’s had a few misses but I think the balance of crazily brilliant films are is in his favour. Time Bandits, Brazil, Fisher King…
Bruce Willis plays James Cole, a prisoner of the state in the year 2035. He makes a parole earning deal to travel back in time and thwart a devastating plague that wipes out a large percentage of the earth’s population. At least that’s what he believes he is doing initially. Makes you wonder – is there a James Cole wandering around earth right now?
If you’ve seen it – I need to say no more – if you haven’t – I need to say no more. Plot-wise that is.

Brad Pitt shakes off his pretty boy image to boldly grab his role as a paranoid rambling, twitchy skin bag of fleas on speed by the proverbial horns. He does it in a way that you want to pick through his monologues and make sense of them because you get the feeling there is sense to be found. With that said, in a new interview with the New York Times Magazine, he confesses his own feelings on the role.

Quote - “I nailed the first half of 12 Monkeys,” “I got the second half all wrong. – end quote
Have you seen it? What are your thoughts on Brad’s turn? Go to the Tonic Pop Podcast Facebook page to leave a comment.

12 Monkeys also co-stars the ageless and underrated Madeline Stowe playing Dr. Kathryn Railly
Christopher Plummer also pops up

Deal with the gloom of foreordained disaster is a main theme “Suck it up”

“Are you going to save us Mr. Cole?” the doctor asks “How can I save you?” says James Cole asks, “This already happened. I can’t save you. Nobody can.”

That thought makes the moment from the film that I want to draw our lesson from oddly special. It’s the scene where Cole hears Fats Domino’s ‘classic ‘Blueberry Hill’ come over the car stereo. The joy of music prompts him to stick his head out of the window of the travelling vehicle like an excitable canine and proclaim “I love the music of the 20th century!” “I love this air! Love to breathe this air!”
This bewilders the good Dr who is driving. Someone who is, like many of us are, desensitised to the small pleasures that are far from abnormal to our existence.
This is such a cool teaching moment – a lesson that prompts us to consider pausing every so often and allowing ourselves to relish fleeting pleasures, moments of joy. We watch Cole transition from an acutely focused need to fulfill his mission – rampaging through the time he has been allotted to finding time to enjoy the world’s final moments.

It’s ruinous for the soul to be anxious about the future and miserable in advance of misery, engulfed by anxiety that the things it desires might remain its own until the very end. For such a soul will never be at rest — by longing for things to come it will lose the ability to enjoy present things. — Stoic philosopher Seneca, wrote in his Moral Letters,

How often do we let the good moments pass without allowing a brief pause to celebrate? I don’t mean streamers and a cake every time joy blows a kiss but taking a moment to enjoy life’s gems with a nod and a tip of the hat. A moment of

· honor

· lauding

· observation

. a touch of veneration.

Maybe your child welcomes you home – stop and soak that in – they may not always do that

Maybe you get a thank you from a colleague,

Maybe the sky gifts you a rainbow.

Maybe someone lets you in at a busy intersection.

Little moments – they will likely give you a little boost to your soul without having to think about it but why now hold on to it for a touch longer than normal? Why not allow these multiple moments to create a greater collective experience by savouring each?

Imagine you sit down to the most expensive meal you’ve ever had before you. Let’s say you sat down in a Wolfgang Puck restaurant and had a plate of scallops before you (I love seafood so that’s where I’m going but choose your own adventure) – throw that scallop down your gullet if you like – let it barely touch your tastebuds – what was the point of that? You just wanted sustenance? You may as well have saved a lot of money and scoffed down a filet o fish.

Savour the moments?

Feel, enjoy, and extend our positive ‘in the now’ experiences.

Here are 5 things that we can do to enable positive moments to have a greater effect:

1. Pause and pay attention when something positive, no matter how big or small, comes your way.

2. Practise gratitude – be grateful for whatever caused the positive emotion

3. Capitalize on the moment. Extend the moment by putting your joy on display, speaking about it, sharing it – just as Cole did with his head out of the window.

4. Avoid the trap of becoming preoccupied with planning for grand positive events while multiple positive moments pass you by. “Daddy can I show you a dance I made up?” “Maybe later sweetheart I’m planning our trip to family togetherness park.”

5. Practise being more alert to moments. Don’t just look up – look around. When I used to work as a lifeguard we were taught to be constantly scanning our area of purview. To focus on only 1 spot could cause you to not only zone out but to miss out on concerns in the periphery.

Here’s the thing – we have little to no control over many of the impromptu moments that can put a smile in your file, a ding to your wing, a flame to your brain so when they come be prepared to grab them. And if you’re not getting enough of these - create your own. Pat your cat (not a euphemism) – watch the sun set, have a bubble bath, be playful, have a little dance when ‘The Safety Dance’ comes on over the radio – if it ever does anymore – does it?. Collect these experiences whether unexpected or planned and don’t hold off until that island vacation to refill your happiness bottle.