the big escapades: Hey Michael Fassbender!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls...

Finally, another chance to post something on my blog!

First of all, are you all familiar with this guy?

If not, then meet Michael Fassbender!

I've been watching his movies lately, just because his acting can be mindblowing. It's always interesting to see him on screen tackling many various roles. On the other side, I think he's quite attractive too. There's something about his eyes that just...how do say it...captivate the audience's attention. No kidding!

Fassbender has actually been in so many movies since 2007, but you might be familiar with his latest work Prometheus (2012) and the blockbuster movie, X-men: The First Class (2011). Well, blockbuster movies always inevitably become signature movies for actors. As for Fassbender, he's also acknowledged for his other works that aren't really blockbuster, but still beloved by the audience. Say, Shame, a movie considered much as independent but Oscar-worthy at the same time.

Before I started breaking down about his roles, here's a little bit about him:

Birth Date: April 02, 1977

Birth Place: Heidelberg, Germany

Height: 6'

Nationality: German

Hair Color: Light Brown

Eye Color: Blue

Education: Attended St. Brendan's, Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland Attended Drama Centre London, Clerkenwell, London

From: Aceshowbiz.com

Wow, he's German *astonished*

So I mentioned that he's been in so many movies right? Interestingly, all the movies that he's been involved in vary in terms of genre, so we get to see him in many different personas. Kind of like Johnny Depp except Fassbender is not that eccentric in his roles.

Most of his roles tend to be serious, cold characters. However, I lately bumped into a clip where he danced in a scene in Wedding Belles movie. If you've seen him in so many serious acts and suddenly see a playful side of him, which is dancing, it's quite amusing. His character is Prometheus can also be considered as...less serious.

Well, his roles definitely vary, from a kind-hearted robot in Prometheus to even the world-acknowledged super villain, Magneto.

IN PROMETHEUS (2012)
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In Prometheus, Fassbender played as a curious android, David, who acted much as a butler on the spaceship named before the movie itself. This is the first time I noticed him on the screen. At first, I wasn't aware that the actor who played this role was Fassbender. It wasn't Fassbender himself who attracted him in the first place, but it was his characterization on David. Briefly about the movie, Prometheus follows a journey of a group of scientists to a distant planet to find out about the roots of humanity. What they encounter was beyond what they expected, where chaos started to ensue.

Actually, Fassbender's character, David, stood out among the other characters - scientists - in the movie. The scientists were depicted to be somewhat assholes - that's how I dubbed them - as they kept on being so skeptical about their origins. Clearly the notion about men are created by God is quickly dismissed as the scientists succeeded to prove that humans originated from the distant planet they bumped into. They pretty much played God, aside from the leading character, Elizabeth Shaw, and the ever so innocent David. He's pretty much likeable. As an android, his duty was merely to assist the crew during the exploration; from a duty as simple as getting a towel for Charlize Theron's character, to proving himself useful when he could decode the planet's native language to unlock the mystery.

At one point, David was engaged in a conversation with Holloway, Shaw's boyfriend:

Charlie Holloway: What we hoped to achieve was to meet our makers, to get answers why they made us in the first place.
David: Why do you think your people made me?
Charlie Holloway: We made ya 'cause we could.
David: Can you imagine how disappointing it would be for you to hear the same thing from your creator?

David has a typical curiosity as what robots are supposed to have, but he's also intelligent to be able to relate his situation with the humans. The conversation also showed us how God-playing the scientists really are, indicated from Holloway's statement.

Anyway, I got instantly interested in David's character that I even found out about the actor. I do admire how convincing Fassbender delivered the characterization. It's not like David doesn't know anything at all. He does know what he's put his foot on. It's just the way he captures the situation around him can be perceived as quite innocent and childlike, and I'm very much into that kind of characteristics.

IN SHAME (2011)

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Okay, we're moving away from the core topic. Another notable Fassbender's role is the one in the movie Shame. The movie followed the life of a New Yorker named Brandon, played by Fassbender, who was a sex addict. The story chronicled on how his surroundings viewed him and interacted with him, yet they were unaware of Brandon's true nature. When his sister came to tag along with him, Brandon felt disturbed and worried that his nature would gradually come to his sister's knowledge.
Despite the explicit content of the movie, I actually really like Fassbender's acting here. There are many emotional scenes, where we can see that Brandon is a vulnerable and sensitive person, yet he was very controlling and powerful in his sex life.

He knew he has gone the wrong way but he simply couldn't stop his overwhelming nature. You can see many shots of him doing his usual habit, where most of the time he fulfilled himself and achieved satisfaction out of it, but on the other side, his expression showed very much that he was struggling to get out of it, like he was tortured by his innermost desires that kept on dominating his life. The mixture of guilt and him trying to show his strength in sex is vivid in most of the scenes. As for how he ended up with, you just need to see the movie yourself :)

I'm surprised Fassbender didn't even get an Oscar nomination for this role. He truly deserved it.

IN DANGEROUS METHOD (2011)
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2011 must be a really busy year for Fassbender. Another movie that he's involved in is Dangerous Method, where he played along with Keira Knightley and Viggo Mortensen. His acting doesn't really stand out here compared to his other works but there are a few scenes where I extremely adore his strong upbringing as Carl Jung, for example when he confronted Knightley's character - Sabrina Spielrein - that he couldn't forego with their relationship. No aggressive emotion is vividly seen here. Whenever in an argument, a guy would be usually depicted yelling or throwing tantrums, but Jung, as played by Fassbender, remained calm yet his facial expression was enough to tell that he was torn and confused. All in all, although this particular role doesn't make him stand out, Fassbender is pretty successful in bringing the psychology icon back to life through his portrayal.

IN X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (2011)
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Dang, he played Magneto in Xmen: First Class alongside Jennifer Lawrence and my other favorite actor, James McAvoy. Call me biased, but I like it when my favorite character plays an iconic superhero...err...okay even better, a supervillain. Superhero characters might be too overrated, that's why I personally adore supervillains more. Anyway, this Magneto role might be one of those born-to-play roles for Fassbender. I can totally see him as this character with upbringing. The highlight of Magneto character would be when he gradually yet progressively transitioned into what was once using his powers for good, to misusing them for revenge. Magneto, or also known Erik Lensherr in his early life, had a rough start from the beginning and he was already a natural rebel. When the friendly Charles Xavier offered him to form a community of mutants, Lensherr had a hard time to adjust. Although he tried, in the end, he refused to form his own community of mutants much to the disagreement of Xavier.

So many emotions are thrown into this Magneto character, as this character pretty much was engulfed in a dark past (young Lensherr witnessed his mother being killed right before him). The climax would be when Magneto met face to face with the unmerciful guy who killed his own mother. His mutant abilities takes over and overpowers him combined with his deepest desire to kill and torture that man.

Another successful acting delivered by Fassbender, and I heard a sequel to Xmen: First Class is in the making and Fassbender is tapped to the role. Two words: CAN'T WAIT!

IN JANE EYRE (2011)
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I honestly didn't read Jane Eyre, but I kind of know the main idea of the story. I personally am not familiar with the character of Edward Rochester as in the book. His role in this movie is darker than any other that I've ever seen, but charming at the same time. From the beginning, I always thought Rochester was a guy who naturally concealed himself from the world, and that was depicted by how dark the overall atmosphere of the movie is, as well as his own house. Again, Fassbender delivered another emotional and convincing acting. The climax and ending really got me.