Week 11: Revisions

Please complete the readings listed on the board Wednesday.  You will not have a discussion post until next week.

• We will spend the next two weeks working on revisions of Essay 1 and Essay 2.  Please print out both essays and bring them to class with you on Wednesday.  You will not receive class credit for the day if you do not bring these with you.

Criteria

     The criteria i chose for the Illusionist is i will evalute the lighting and sounds in the movie. This is very crucial to the movie because it is full of magic tricks and illusions which are very important to see every part of. The sounds and music are very important parts and need to be executed very well. Certain scenes need to be seen and heard well because it is important to understand and stay the story plot. I will also evaluate each magic trick displayed in the movie i believe this is important because they effect every aspect of what happens in the end. Once you watch what happens going back through the movie is completely different since you know exactly what is actually happening and can solve his illlusion before it actually happens.

Anecdote

      The anecdote i chose in the film "The Illusionist" is when Inspector Uhl finally pieces the entire illusion together and finds out the truth. After all the illusions in the movie, he finally puts all the tricks together to figure out what Eisenheim has done and realizes they have all been played and Sophie is still alive. I chose this scene because it is truly my favorite part and i could watch it over and over. It is so artistic the way they put this together and truly phenomenal the way the audience finds out the truth. This is what i will be evaluating to pick up on all the clues and pieces i missed before not realizing it was all an illusion or a trick. I will pick up the evidence to make the story make sense of how they pulled this off. It is such an amazing and mind-blowing piece of work and so many details to be evaluated. 

Criteria for Evaluation

Criteria for Evaluation

For the film I am reviewing, The Avengers, the two main criteria or elements I am going to be focusing on are acting and writing.  Why I chose acting is, or should be, pretty obvious.  Acting in a movie is extremely important, so important that bad actors can and will destroy a movie.  Some examples of the great acting in this movie are done by Agent Phil Coulson, who is played by Clark Gregg, in the scene where he gets into a fight with Loki and well dies (obviously).  Or when Nick Fury, who is played by none other than Samuel L. Jackson, uses Coulson's death to motivate the Avengers to work as a team.  The second criteria I am focusing on is the writing/script because the key to a good movie is a good script.  As for examples I do not have any ready at the moment as it is hard to find good examples of writing without giving away spoilers in the movie.  I am sure that there are some but I will have to watch the movie three to four times in a row in order to find them, probably any way.  

Week 10: DQ film anecdote

The movie that I decided to write about is The Blind Side.

Michael Oher, a young homeless boy, was shivering in the cold walking down the street. Soon after, the Tuohy family drove by and Leigh Anne Tuohy notices that a young boy was walking late at night. Leigh Anne told her husband Sean Tuohy to turn around so she can talk to him. She got out the car and learned that Michael was walking to the school gym because it was warmer there. She asked him if he had a place to sleep in and he told her no. Leigh Anne then invited him to stay with her and her family. Michael didn't realize how his life was going to turn completely around after the Tuohy family invited him into their house. The drama of the film The Blind Side will have viewers inspired to do things that will not only change their lives but the lives of others.

The reason why I chose this scene is because this is the beginning of all the great things the happened to Michael and the Tuohy family.

Criteria for Review: Borat

My formal analysis will have a lot to do with the not only the main character but also how successful they are on getting autghentic comedic reactions. Another I will analyze is the effective acting. Sacha Baron Cohen is completely convincing and fearless in his acting. He is not afraid to go too far in his role and many times get a hilarious reaction from this experiment.  Borat is a comedic social experiment that is meant to test risque and obscene humor on an unknowing population. The American stereotype of the middle east is a common subject of many jokes and criticisms. But what happens when somebody embodies all these stereotypes and one is faces with dealing with this person? This will be be the main factor of my analysis. 

plot summary

Money Train is about two foster brothers John and Charlie that are undercover police officers whose job is to bust subway robbers who targets drunks. John (Wesley Snipes) is the older brother who is seen as the responsible one while charlie (Woody Harrelson) is seen as The habitual gambler who always loose at everything.In the begining charlie walks around as if he is drunk and two young teenagers pursue him and take his watch, ring and necklace. Once they take all his jewelry the other officers come out and chase them and one of robbers run toward the money train and  get shot by the money train officers. John and Charlie get into a big dispute with the officers because they shot a kid that was'nt trying to rob the train. Then They get a new female partner Grace Santiago that they both have a crush on. But when things get hard on Charlie and his pocket gets picked for fifteen thousand dollars that john gave him, he loose the girl that he have a crush on to his brother and gets fired. He come up with a plan to hijack the money train. I choose to leave out certain details of the film beacause I'm still figuring out how and where should I put certain scenes in. But I'm still not finish so Im pretty sure it'll all ad up.

Plot summary of Borat.

Borat is about a news reporter from Kazakhstan who is sent to document The United states with his assistant and producer Azamat . Borat is ignorant, racist and sexist though he is also often kind and friendly. He fears the Jews, Gypsies and and has many other nonsensical beliefs and ideologies. He also is against women's rights. It is never mentioned in the film of what religion he practices. The film revolves around the many misadventures of the two. The main point of the film is as a social experiment. The basis for the film is how Americans would react to somebody who embodies many of the stereotypes we place on middle eastern culture that aren't true While some the scenes are staged like any other film, many of them are improvised. The film is found footage style, minus the horror. When news arrives that Borat's wife who he was unhappy with had died, he proceeds to track down and marry TV actress Pamela Anderson after seeing an episode of Baywatch. He takes this journey against the wishes of Azamat. Along the journey Borat and Azamat have a falling out and he looses his plane tickets back to Kazakhstan. He then hitchhikes with some party goers in their RV to California to a Meet and Greet for Pamela Anderson. Thinking that he would take Pamela Anderson's virginity he is heartbroken to find out he has been featured in many risque works. Despite this he goes to the Meet and Greet anyways. When he finally meets her he tries to sexually assault her and he is thrown out of the convention. The film ends with Borat and Azamat friends again and Borat with his new wife, a prostitute he met in America.

Adecdote

Two foster brothers, Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson are police officers posing as drunks in the New York subways to catch robbers. When they are on the job things get a little heavy when a robber try to set a female clerk at the subway on fire. When John (wesley snipes) chase the robber down to try and make an arrest it turn into a physical altercation and the robber end up getting set on fire by john. The movie is filled with action pack scenes directed by Joesph Ruebon. I choose this as my adecdote because it is a key part in the movie. It fits the criteria because most of the movie was filmed in the subways in new york And their jobs as police officers was being undercovers in the subways.

Anectode from Borat.

Borat is sent to America to make a documentary of American life and customs. The Film's first stop in America is in  New York where he first lands. Even when he first arrives its obvious that he is unaccustomed to many things modern, even items from around the world. He does not know what to do when faces with having to take a escalator to the baggage claim area of the airport. The zaniness continues as Borat proceeds to explore New York City. His actions are comedic, stupid and more times than not, very obscene.  The musical score accompanying the film is a 60's song that by the lyrics it can be told it is about not fitting in, such as "everybody's looking at me" and "I don't care about what they say". Borat acts in way that conveys "ignorance is bliss".

Film anecdote

For my anecdote, I have selected the scene where John Preston (Christian Bale) finds Partridge (Sean Bean) in a church reading Yeats. The scene opens with Partridge reading the poetry and Preston enters from the side. Sinister music begins to play as Preston approaches Partridge who continues reading. He says to Preston “You always knew,” and then begins to quote Yeats as he slowly puts the book down saying “But I being poor, have only my dreams, I have spread my dreams under your feet, tread softly because you tread on my dreams.” As he asks Preston if he dreams, Preston quickly changes the subject to tell Partridge he will try to have them go easy on him.  Both men know that they never go easy on sense offenders and that Partridge will never be seen of again. Preston coldly tells Partridge he is sorry, to which Partridge replies that he is not, “ You don’t even know the meaning of the word, It's just a vestigial word for a feeling you've never felt.” Preston attempts to justify the work that clerics do, saying that they have eliminated war and murder which Partridge believes is a heavy cost which he would glady pay to feel. The music speeds up and becomes louder as Preston raises his gun to Partridge, as Partridge turns the safety off on his own gun and raises the book to cover his face, Preston shoots him in the head. The light from the church windows shines behind Preston as the camera pans out and Brandt (Taye Diggs) greets him at the door.

I selected this part of the film because it is a major turning point in the film's plot. Preston sees his partner fall and while at the time he does not understand how someone could succumb to their emotions, this scene greatly foreshadows later parts of the movie.

Equilibrium plot summary.

Set in the near future in the city-state of Libria, 2002’s Equilibrium is a modern dystopian work. The film focuses on the story of the cleric John Preston (Christian Bale) as he enforces law within the city. The Tetragrammaton Council, lead by a man called Father, govern the city and citizens are required to take Prozium – an emotion suppressing drug. Any form of emotion or artistic expression is banned in Libria and clerics enforce these laws on the people.  Through the use of martial arts (known as gun kata), clerics raid the area outside of the city limits known as the Nether to stamp out the resistance that has formed. After his initial partner (Sean Bean) is emotionally compromised and he has to kill him, John Preston is set on a course which makes him question his own actions. After missing a dose of the emotionally suppressing drug, Preston begins to experience emotions. As the film progresses and he becomes more aware of his emotions and rediscovers life, Preston must work to hide his illicit activity from his new partner (Taye Diggs) and the authority.  By coming into contact with the resistance movement, it becomes clear to Preston that he is the key to overthrowing the people he once worked for.

I opted to include the main characters and a brief summary of the film which does not give away too many details to spoil the film.

summary

The Left Behind movie is about the Christian theology of the rapture and following tribulation period of time, believed to be a total of 7 years.  Presented is a present day view of events the bible says will take place all over the world. The movie begins with the the disappearance/rapture of a large number of adults and every child from every corner of the globe.  Portrayed is a current day look at what life will be like for those who are "left behind" and the trials they will face in the first half of tribulation period. The movie centers around an airplane pilot, his daughter, a christian minister and a newspaper reporter facing the Antichrist;  portrayed as a political leader with a one world mindset and agenda.
The reason I chose what I did say in my summary was because I didn't want to go in to much detail that would give things away. I told the main background of whats going on in the movie and who the main people in the movie are based on. There are love interests in the movies that I don't think should be added to my summary because its not one of the big facts in the first movie.  

the aspects of my movie

              The aspects that I review for my film are acting and special effects. Since my movie is a historical movie, it takes place in ancient Rome, the place that doesn’t exist anymore. As a result lots of scenes have made with CGI or computer special effects in order to create the cities, the place, and the people that do not exist anymore. Gladiator is a successful movie for illustrating and creating historical scene because it creates real scenes and makes audience to feel they are in the middle of ancient Rome. For example, the Great Arena or Coliseum in the movie was made half as a model with wood and polyester and half with CGI, and the result was completely satisfying for both audience and critics because the movie got the Academic Award for its special effects. The acting of the actresses is another factor which leads the movie to a great box office succession. The main characters like Maximus and Comodus ,with their strong performance, present characters with certain personalities. For example, audience can immediately understand that Maximus is a humble, family friendly and carrying person.

Plot Summary

The Avengers Plot Summary

Marvel Studios delivers the ultimate comic-book film, which ties together such characters as Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) for a big-screen franchise team-up like no other. Taking center stage this time is Nick Fury (played once again by the note-perfect Samuel L. Jackson), leader of the peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury, along with former Russian spy Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), recruits a super team to combat Thor's ever-deceptive brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) after he brainwashes ace archer Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) while stealing a cosmic cube from an underground base. Thus the heroes must learn to work together alongside outlaw scientist Bruce Banner (Ruffalo), who can track down the artifact's gamma signals when he's not hulking out into a giant green monster.  The Avengers, now brought together, argue and deliberate over how to approach Loki and the revelation that SHIELD plans to harness the Tesseract's power to develop weapons, a discovery made by Rogers.  The Avengers rally in defense of New York, but quickly come to the conclusion that they will be overwhelmed as wave after wave of Chitauri descend upon Earth.

               

                I simply included the main characters and the premise of the movie, which everyone should know, and I made sure not to include anything that was not in the trailers, although things that seemed obvious to me like the people arguing was not in the trailers but it should not surprise anyone that they would argue given who they are.

Film Anectode

        I am retelling one of the fight scene of the movie for my film anecdote because the scene it so entertaining and captures audience eyes. Scene is in the Great Arena or the Coliseum, a round place like a stadium  in the ancient Rome, where classical mythologies are recreated in order to entertain people and the emperor of Rome. This Time announcer announces the Battle between Carthage and Barbarians. Gladiators ,who are suppose to play Barbarians role in the battle, are standing behind the door of Great Arean  not knowing what is going to happen to them, but they sure about one thing, they are there to fight for their lives so they can be entertaining for mob. Gladiators enter the arena, looking up amazed at the overwhelming size of the arena and crowd. They are ordered to solute as “We who are about to die” only one gladiator refuses to make such a solute, Maximus, who has an unfinished business with the Caesar. From the other side of arena, Legionnaires barrel into the arena on their glorious chariot to battle the gladiators .Maximus (who once was the general of the Rom’s army, leads the gladiators and tells them: they have to stay together in order to survive. At first, it looks impossible for gladiators to win the battle; however, after four minutes of breath taking warfare between legionnaires with their golden chariots, bows, and arrows and gladiators who are well structured by Maximus’s orders, battle comes to the end by victory of gladiators with Maximus is seen magnificently atop of white horse. Fascinating heroic and historic story of the Gladiator with its believable performance of actress, electrified audience for 155 minutes and make the movie one of the most successful one in its own genre.

Anecdote

My film review is on The Notebook.

 

 

“So it's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be really hard. We're gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day. Will you do something for me, please? Just picture your life for me? 30 years from now, 40 years from now? What's it look like? If it's with him, go. Go! I lost you once, I think I can do it again” The words a young man in love says to the girl of his dreams, after he’s already lost her once and has her back again. He’s fighting for her with all he’s got, but loves her enough to let her go if that is what she really wants. The Notebook is not a suspense film, but it will keep you on the edge of your seat rooting for the young lovers to make it.

My anecdote for my review is on love and how it can last anything. I started out with a quote becauseI thought it would grab the reader's interest.

 

The Notebook is a movie that is about love, but not fake love. Its not one of those movies that

 

makes you smile and think to yourself “Oh, that’s cute.” Its a movie that will make you believe in love, believe that it exists and can last. That true love can stand the test of time, and gives you hope. This movie is a southern sweet heart kind of movie, from the southern draws to the innocence of summer love. All the scenes are either set in the bright sun, showing how beautiful summers can be. Or at night with the crickets chirping. It puts you right into the setting and you feel like you are living it with them, feeling their joys and pains.

The film focuses on two people, Noah and Allie, who are teenagers who meet in the summer of 1932 in North Carolina. Noah instantly falls in love with Allie, but she doesn’t feel the same way at first. After only one date they are inseparable the whole summer, by each other’s side every day. Allie’s family is very wealthy and disapproves of their romance. They move Allie away and they do not see or hear from each other for years. While they were together Noah had told Allie he would fix up an old house for her the way she wants, so that they can grow old together in it. He does this without her knowing, and she sees an article about it in the paper. This brings her back to Noah and from the first moment they see each other they know their feelings for each other are just as strong as ever. Allie is engaged to another man though, and he does not know that Allie has found Noah again. They spend time together, trying to be friends and trying to fight their feelings.

I chose to write that as my plot summery because I didn't want to give too much detail. I left out a lot about when they were dating because I wanted to focus more on later in their life.

Anecdote

The king and queen have no children yet one day in the winter the queen wanders upon a lonely rose blooming despite the snow and ice she is taken by its strength and makes a wish right then and there.  She wishes for a girl “with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, hair as black as a raven, and a spirit strong as a rose in winter”.  Shortly after the queen appears to have her wish granted and little snow white is born.

I choose to go with this anecdote because with out snow white there can be no snow white and the huntsman :).

But more importantly what she wishes for is the essence of what snow white not so much on the physical wishes but the wish for the spirit as strong as a rose in winter the idea of no matter the obsticles to keep fighting.

PlotSummary DQ

Normal happy life all the kingdom is thriving with the good king and his queen they have a child.  Unfortunate circumstances befall the queen and she passes away in a rough winter.  The loss of his wife opens an opportunity for the beautiful witch Ravenna.  She uses her magic to fool the king and usurps his kingdom locking away Snow White in the castle.  The reign of Ravenna is like a plague on the land and the people.  Opportunity arises for the fair Snow White on the day she finally becomes of age she gains her freedom now she just has to find out how to regain her kingdom.

I choose to go broad because i did not want to release any more information than nessisary about the movie most people know that basic story of Snow white each different movie or story has its own twists and turns that usually lead us to good prevailing over evil :)

anecdote

The anecdote that I plan to use for the movie Left Behind is one of the main events that is shown in the movie. The anecdote I chose is when a lot of the adults and all the children went missing all over the world. The people that were left behind have no clue what happened except a select few that think they know what happened and what is going to happen in the future. The reason I selected it was because it is one of the main events that leads to later events in the movie. It also leads to the main events in the other two movies that fallow the same book series . I sorta wished that I could do my review on all three movies but I chose the movie that started it all. I know these movie is religious based but after seeing the movies that I think that someone of any religion would like the story. The movie shows that people do care about other people no matter what their religion is. The movies make you wonder if these events could actually happen in real life. It might not be a good movie for everyone but I enjoyed it a lot.

Week 10: Writing About Film Continued

Practical Argument Readings:

• Chapter 9: "Summarizing, Paraphrasing, Quoting and Synthesizing Sources" (249-62)

Resources:

University of Chicago Lab:  How to Write a Movie Review
Dartmouth University Writing Program: "Writing About Film"

Discussion Questions:

(Please remember that these should be 200-300 words.  I have been seeing many very short posts recently.)

• Post the anecdote you plan to use from/about your film.  Explain why you selected it and how it fits your criteria for evaluation.
• Post the criteria for evaluation you have selected for your film.  Explain why you chose these criteria and explain some of the examples you will use to evaluate them.
• Post the plot summary of your film.  Explain how you selected what to include/leave out in your summary.

Assignment:

Essay 3: Film Review, due Friday, October 26.  Please see the assignment sheet and rubric posted to the Lessons page on Angel.

Aspects of Film

There are several aspects of film you might want to review.  I want to break them down into some categories for you to give you a clearer idea of where the properties you have chosen might best fit.

Acting:
Performance
Believability (of portrayal)
Characterization (how well the actor creates the character - mannerisms, habits, etc.)

Plot:
The events we see unfold onscreen.  This is different than story, which includes the events that take place both onscreen and off.  Plot is the "what happens" in the story - the actual events.  This is an important differentiation.

Theme:
What the story is about on a grander scale.  This is really the philosophical meaning of the film or its deeper implications.  To use an example - the plot of Mystic River is three childhood friends being brought back together when one of their daughters is killed.  The theme, however, is the lasting scar that a single event can have not just on a person but on an entire community.

Screenwriting:
Dialogue
Believability (of events)
Pacing
Story

Cinematography:
Camera angles
Camera placement/distance/movement
Lighting
Color (of lighting/lens filters)
Types of lenses and/or film used

Special Effects:
Realism
Animation
CGI
Effectiveness

Sound:
Atmosphere
Diegetic Sound (sound that takes place within the story being told on screen - footsteps, music that is being played in a club where the characters are, etc.)
Extradiegetic Sound (sound that is not part of the story - music that creates atmosphere or tension but is not part of the story, voice-over narration)

Editing:
Types of cuts
Effectiveness of cuts
Continuity
Pacing - editing can be very important in action films; for instance, the average length of scene in a film is 2-3 minutes. (The average television scene is 3 minutes.)  A slow-moving film or a period piece might have longer scenes (The Social Network opens with a 5 minute scene) while a film with a lot of action will have shorter scenes (often less than1 minute).  Shorter scenes make the film feel as if the action is moving faster; longer scenes do the opposite.

Setting:
Time period
Place
Situation
Props
Costumes
Set Design

There are many more obscure ones that I could add, but most of you are unlikely to be using them.  Also, I am sure there are some that I have not thought of here.  Please, if you have something you are not sure about, drop me a line for clarification.

Movie Review

The Illusionist







 
The film i chose is the Illusionist. This is by far my favorite movie ever. I will review the many illusions used throughout the movie. The constant mystery played in the movie and all the confusion from the characters. The movie is constantly confusing the mind and by the end everything is revealed. I will review each element of mystery and illusion.

Mystic River review

     I really enjoyed the mystic river film. I am a big fan of thriller murder movies.  The boy's friendship is ended after the childhood tragedy. Dave, the boy abducted, lives his life in fear and resentment to his friends that had not gotten in the car and experienced what he had. All their lives immediately changed after the abduction. Later, when jimmy's daughter is killed it is immediately implied that Dave is the one who killed her. Through the whole movie we fear Dave and believe he has committed the crime. Coincidentally the boys are all sadly reunited over this crime, and Sean is the detective solving the homicide. In the end we find out Dave is not the true killer, but he had killed a child molester. Something he has hated his whole life. But it is too late Jimmy has already killed Dave thinking he killed his daughter. It ends open Sean back together with his wife and child. Jimmy living with the guilt of killing an innocent friend and Dave's family living without him even after finding out it was the daughter's boyfriend's brother. The plot is mysterious and thrilling the entire time but an excellent movie.

Film Review: Equilibrium

For my film review, I’ve chosen to write about the 2002 film Equilibrium. I’ve always been a fan of dystopian stories (1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, etc) and this is one of my favorite films. The film utilizes a number of unusual techniques in its fight scenes. In particular, the use of lighting during the gun fight scenes is particularly unusual. I feel that this adds a certain charm to the style of fighting for this somewhat futuristic scenario. Additionally, I think I will go over the use of the anti-emotion drug throughout the film. It’s a central plot point and is persistent through the entire film. Another major theme would be the destruction of art and music. The main job of the main characters is to destroy these parts of society and they become an important theme in the later parts of the film.

Dont Talk About It

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJMC_S-DB2I
^^^^
Clip!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Post a clip from your selected film and analyze it using one of the techniques explained in the "Writing About Film" link.  Be sure to let us know which technique you are employing.
• there are an extraordinary amount of techniques used in this film, but i for enjoy the camera angle. Its not set in one direction, its more of a free angle capturing random shots and yet making them just pop out into your face.