Week 3 Discussion:
Pick a film or television series you've seen in the last year and write a short description for someone who's never seen it. (I'm cheating with an example from a year and a half ago.) This can be live-action or animation, and it can be something you've seen outside of class. Start with the title and director, mention some technical specs and the genre, and consider the author's intent, sound design, and historical significance, if any. Look at your "How To Discuss Films" handout. It's your friend.
No repeats, though. If someone has already blogged here about a work, you'll have to pick another.
"Fish Tank" is a '09 film about a girl who hates her mom. She dances and meets a guy, he's older, and another guy, who's about her age. It's like "Precious" because both are about girls who hate their moms. It's also got no jokes, it's just a serious movie. It's present-day, and the girl likes to dance, and wants to get a job.
"Fish Tank" is a British feature-length, color, narrative film directed by Andrea Arnold and released in 2009. With no father figure, and little hope in her poor neighborhood, 15-year old Mia constantly fights with her family while harboring a secret love of hip hop dancing. Along the way she meets a boy her age, notices a flyer for a dance audition, and becomes intrigued with the older man her mother is dating. This dramatic film features no traditional orchestral overscore (as in "Star Wars" or "Indiana Jones" films), but instead relies on long stretches of natural, on-location sound and the occasional hip hop song played through a stereo. "Fish Tank" draws some parallels to the 2009 Academy Award-nominee "Precious," another film about an oppressed young woman with only a small chance of bettering her life.
Remember, you only have to write one description. I wrote two to offer a contrast. Note that both of mine are only five sentences. Keep yours under seven sentences.
-Tim Finn
Endlessly imitated,"The Terminator" is the movie that made the reputation of Canadian cowriter/director James Cameron, and Austrian born Arnold Schwarzenegger solidified. Released in 1984, the movie begins in a post-apocalyptic 2029, when the city of Los Angeles has been reduced to rubble and under the control of Skynet and its machines. Michael Biehn plays Kyle Reese: a member of the human resistance who is sent back in time to the year 1984 to rescue Sarah Connor, (played by Linda Hamilton), before she can give birth. Sarah is the mother of the man who will lead the human resistance against the machines in the 21st century. Also thrust back in time to the year 1984 is the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who is a hulking, well-armed, virtually-indestructable and emotionless cyborg who has been programmed to eliminate Sarah Connor. The "Terminator" is a thrill ride and a glimpse into a future where technology overthrows its creator in the most violent and unthinkable way possible.
ReplyDelete-Danielle
The 'deathly' charming "Corpse Bride," directed by Tim Burton, was released in 2005 and tells the tale of a man who, while practicing his wedding vows in the middle of a dark forest, accidently marries a corpse who takes him back with her to the afterlife. This film was made using stop motion animation by way of armature puppets, not unlike "Nightmare Before Christmas," also by Tim Burton. "Corpse Bride" is set in gothic, victorian times and uses a highly contrasting color palette to separate the two worlds portrayed in the story (the afterlife world being the bright, colorful world, ironically). This film, as haunting as the description sounds, is an enchanting, "cute" story with a happy ending, intended to entertain audiences of all ages. "Corpse Bride" is a happy story, and uses catchy musical tunes to help move the story along in a friendly way. An original tale based off a poem by the director, Tim Burton, this comedic fantasy, music filled, charming narrative was very well made and is fun for all ages.
ReplyDeleteThe gritty and visually stunning HBO television series, ROME, was created by Bruno Heller, John MIlius and William J MacDonald. Debuting in the summer of 2005 it was a mesh of historical accuracy and fiction set during the 1st century BC, with the rise of Imperial Rome. It chronicled the lives and deeds of the rich, poor, fortunate and unfortunate alike. The main characters Lucius Vorenus, his garish friend Titus Pullo, rivaling noble families, and most importantly Julius Cesar are all interlaced and all vital to each others story. It was a rich and complex depiction of Rome, refraining from the usual Hollywood façade and giving the foreign and exotic of what Rome truly was. Winner of 4 Emmy Awards, the series captivated and bewitched its viewers into the maze like city of Rome and truly gave meaning to “when in Rome do as the Romans do.”
ReplyDeleteVincent Coviello
A heart stopping, edge of your seat film "The Book of Eli" directed by Albert and Allen Hughes will lead you on a journey of great proportions all from the comfort of your seat. released in 2010, this post-apocalyptic film is set in a desolate environment in the year 2043, where Americas people are overflowing with chaos, death, destruction, and one's dependance for a bright future is placed into the hands of one man Eli (Denzel Washington) who stars in Hughes film portraying a mysterious, yet lovable man. A caution mixture of violence and hope along with Eli's will for survival and his amiable performance will leave the viewer satisfied but eager for more.
ReplyDeleteElize McKelvey
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ReplyDeleteSet in a dystopian future, "Brazil" is an absurd, darkly humorous, fantasy feature film directed by Terry Gilliam in 1985. The protagonist is Sam Lowry, a man stuck in a monotonous government job who dreams of breaking free from the structured bureaucracy and shallow lifestyles of everyone around him. When an error at his job causes the wrong man to be executed, he meets the victim's grieving wife and sees a woman who has been appearing in his dreams. Her name is Jill, and she is considered a "terrorist" for trying to get justice for the victim's family and avoids Sam because of his occupation. Sam believes he is in love with Jill, so he uses his mother's connections to get promoted to a job that allows him to access her personal information, thus abusing his new power and becoming a "terrorist" as well. Similar to the characters in the film - such as Sam's mothers failed plastic surgery procedures - the ending suddenly deteriorates into disturbing remnants of Sam and Jill's failed life together. The music in the film mostly consists of variations of the song "Aquarela do Brasil" by Ary Barroso.
ReplyDelete- Rachel Meza
“Tangled” is an animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2010. The story is based off the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Rapunzel, where our heroine Rapunzel is locked away in a tower her whole life yearning to see the outside world. Flynn Rider, a runaway thief, shows up one day while trying to escape the law and the two strike a bargain that allows for Rapunzel to see the world. The film was made using CGI imagery and the artistic style of the movie was heavily based on paintings from the Rococo period. For this movie the animators tried very hard make the CGI look and feel like traditional animation. Since many of the techniques and tools to do this did not exist at the time Disney had to create them on their own.
ReplyDelete-Rachael Brennskag
“Dogma” is a 1999 American comedy, written and directed by Kevin Smith, who also co-stars as Silent Bob, This feature length, color film tells the story of Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) a divorced, mid-aged Catholic. While working at the abortion clinic, the Metatron, also known as the Voice of God, charges her to save the world. With the help of the thirtieth apostle, a muse and 2 prophets, Bethany races against time and demon hockey players, to stop two banished angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) from getting back into Heaven, proving God wrong and “thus negating all existence.” Bethany is not only fighting against to save the Universe but also is struggling with her new found identity and her lack of faith in her religion. With witty one-liners and lovable characters, “Dogma” shines an honest light on the hypocrites sand glitches of organized religion, while also discovering the power of faith.
ReplyDelete-Maura Karpenko
Ed, Edd, 'n Eddy (1999-2009) is a television series about three neighborhood boys who share the same first name but few other characteristics. Ed is a dull-witted but loyal movie fan, Edd is a smart, obsessive-compulsive inventor, and Eddy is an enterprising schemer. The series focusses on their comedic endeavors often spring-boarded by another of Eddy's plots to make money, usually from the neighborhood kids, who are an eclectic bunch of differing personalities. Nothing is taken seriously in the series, and oftentimes the ending of an episode becomes an unanswered cliffhanger for comedic purposes. It is a fun show filled with jokes and strange antics, with each eleven-minute episode a world of its own.
ReplyDelete-Meaghan
The Emmy Award winning TV-series 'How I met your Mother' is an American Sitcom which began in 2005. Essentially a love story in reverse, it takes place in the year 2030 with the main character ,Ted Mosby (narrated by Bob Saget), telling his children stories that lead up to how he met his wife. The main bulk of the episodes are actually a constant flash back for Ted, but are in present day. The series creators dubbed the plot as, "let's write about our friends and the stupid stuff we did in New York City". The series is currently in it's sixth season and the story still has not introduced his future wife.
ReplyDelete-Brianne
"Darker than Black: The Black Contractor" is a Japanese sci-fi neo-noir anime television series created, written, and direct by Tensai Okamura. This gloomy yet richly poetic animation - better known as simply "Darker than Black" - was awarded Best Original Anime of the Year by GoGoplex, a popular magazine for teens. Featuring the music of Yoko Kanno, "Darker than Black" is about how - in Tokyo - an impenetrable and abnormal territory known as "Hell's Gate" appeared ten years ago, upsetting the skies and unleashing havoc on the landscape. In the sky, the real stars disappear and are replaced by false stars. On, land, people possessing special abilities emerged, each capable of distinct supernatural achievements; they are known as Contractors. Each fake star has a corresponding Contractor, which reacts to the Contractor's activities. Contractors are kept secret from the public and are known for murdering in cold blood, smothering emotions with logic and rationale. Contractors are names after the involuntary compulsion to "pay the price" every time they use their powers, at the cost of their humanity. These compulsions can range from eating particular foods or completing meaningless tasks, to self-harm and having their bodies change in odd ways. The story revolves around Hei, a Chinese Contractor whom takes on various espionage and assassination missions for the Syndicate
ReplyDeleteBlack Swan is a 2010 American dramatic thriller directed by Darren Aronofsky and stars Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, and Vincent Cassel. The plot follows Nina's (Portman) journey in becoming the perfect black and white swam for the New York Ballet production of swan lake. Nina, who is a shy, pure, young woman (essentially the white swan), is rivaled by Lily (Kunis), who fits the sensual and selfish black swan's character. While struggling to fit into the black swan role, Nina's need for perfection as the Swan Queen leads her down to a dark path to become the black swan. The film uses music from the Swan Lake ballet to enhance climactic scenes, especially when Nina becomes the black swan.
ReplyDelete-Connie
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a reaction to the stereotypical role of the female in horror films as one who is helpless and in distress. Buffy is often put in several of the same situations as these damsels, but not only comes out on top and defeats the monsters and vampires but does it because she is female. The slayer is a mystical birthright that only is given to a woman. The series starts out as individual episodes consisting of "what monster will Buffy have to deal with today?" but then the plot grows so that each season there is an over all villain she and her friends would have to defeat. The over all show is about how she and her friends grow up, have relationships, deal with death, get jobs and live their lives with the constant threat and responsibility of having to save the world every other day.
ReplyDeleteMimi Alves
"The Fall" is a Fantasy Drama, directed by Tarsem Singh, first shown at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006 and two years later released to theatres.
ReplyDeleteThe framework plot takes place in a hospital in Los Angeles in 1920, where the stuntman Roy Walker meets Alexandria, a child who's been insured as well. On her request Roy begins to tell her a story and it comes to life in Alexandria's Imagination. For each of Roy's characters she places someone she knows, entangling the real world around her, with the fantasy world she makes up in her mind. The stunning colours and compositions of this world, turn the film into an Artwork, that is worth to watch just for the beauty of those. Sometimes though, you have to wonder, if a series of photographs would've been more compelling, as the story often lacks what the pictures have to offer - excitement.
Diana Storm
"Hard Candy," is an independently produced feature length, color psychological thriller, directed by David Slade and released in 2005. The film focuses almost solely on the interactions between Hayley, a disturbingly intelligent and conniving fourteen year old, and her target/subject, Jeff. Hayley follows Jeff on the internet and flirtatiously suggests that they meet in feel life, and end up back at Jeff's home. The rest of the film follows Hayley as she traps, and psychologically tortures Jeff about taking up offers from under aged girls. Little music is used throughout the film, allowing the tension to build as Hayley's interrogation and torment continues, and color plays a strong role in setting the mood for each scene.
ReplyDelete-Rue Hartsell