As movie-goers, we all have seen films advertised with the “based on the book” tag line. Unfortunately, after watching these films there are always viewers that bring up the fidelity of the film to the original piece. Artistically, this raises the question of to what extent do we define originality. Robert Stam, the author of … Read more
Judging by the trailers for the film, as well as the huge disappointment left by its 1995 predecessor, I wouldn’t blame you if you simply dismissed the newest iteration of Judge Dredd as a forgettable, generic action feature, or simply a disposable reboot. When hearing about this movie, after being informed of the atrocity that … Read more
One month ago, Mack Beggs, a high school senior, earned the Texas girls’ state championship and completed a perfect season. Mack Beggs is a transgender boy. The state of Texas refused to allow Breggs to wrestle with the boys because their laws state that high school athletes must compete by the gender listed on their … Read more
The average citizen would be surprised how often he/she looks at any media related things, such as newspapers, television, books, even the internet, that are censored. Think about it. Have you ever watched a movie like 21 Jump Street on TV, and during a conversation, a character’s dialogue goes silent? The character’s lips seem to … Read more
Advertisement, Blank Slates and Sexual Pursuance If, theoretically of course, and alien came to our planet earth, just how easy would it be for them to blend, to become invisible? Jonathan Glazer’s “Under the Skin” explores the seemingly small mission of an alien, disguised as a beautiful woman, who’s mission it is to eliminate men … Read more
Donnie Darko (2001) is a surrealist, mystery, sci-fi film set in suburban America, which follows the disenchanted and troubled teenager, Donnie Darko. The film follows the teen as he begins to explore what it means to be alive and believes to uncover secrets of the universe that gives him, what he believes to be a … Read more
How does Romanek illustrate his views on Mortality in “Never Let me Go? ” Mark Romanek’s film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go depicts a world that we are unfamiliar with. With major scientific advancements relating to DNA, the artificial creation of organs is now possible through the cloning of humans. While normal … Read more
The 1966’s avant-garde film, Come Drink with Me moved towards Director King Hu’s contemporary aesthetic style, when paralleled to Wuxia Pans in that time. Hu was recognized to start a revolution with Come Drink with Me, establishing the “New School” aesthetics for Kung Fu. However dated special effects and editing would appear, to current viewers, … Read more
The Lady From Shanghai is one of the great classical film noir, which was directed by Orson Welles in 1948 and he adapted it from the novel called If I Die Before I Wake by Sherwood King in 1938. The theme of this movie is about conspiracy and murder, it tells a story of the … Read more
The Second World War was an international war that took place from 1939 to 1945, a lot of countries participated in the war (including the great powers) and formed two alliances: the Axis (Germany, Italy and Japan) and the Allies (the “Big Three Leaders” were the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the … Read more
Based on the novel by the same name, the film Rosemary’s Baby follows the life of a submissive housewife named Rosemary who becomes unknowingly impregnated by the devil after her husband joins the witch coven from their new apartment building. She gives birth to a son but is horrified to see how inhuman he looks. … Read more
Not Just Black and White From Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 film The Great Dictator satirizing World War II to Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film Jurassic Park addressing the unchecked progression of science, film showcases topics being discussed in America. These topics range, but one trait is similar between them all. The characters are played by white actors … Read more
A patient arrives in your chair, and tells you that his lower left molar has been keeping him up at night, hurting. However, he does not want a “x-ray” because his finances are scarce. It is important to let your patient know that the dentist, under the guidance from the Oregon Board of Dentistry, cannot … Read more
The Court Jester: Aesthetic Analysis Of A Film “Tails of lizards, ears of swine, chicken gizzards soaked in brine, now thine eyes and mine entwine, thy will is broken, thou art MINE! ” ((Melvin Frank, Norman Panama The Court jester) Now you will give me an A on the paper and all the rest of … Read more
What is the value of the 2011 film 50/50? Despite leading a profoundly healthy lifestyle, which includes no smoking, no drinking, no drugs and not even possessing a driver’s license to partake in what he considers the associated perilous activity, twenty-seven-year-old Seattle Public Radio journalist Adam Lerner, in the 2011 film, 50/50, is diagnosed with … Read more
The film “Working Girl” illustrates the feminist fight and struggles of women in the work force in the 1980s to the present, every contradiction relates to the main problems that women face. The two main women characters in ‘Working Girl” represent the two types of stereotypes of women that establish themselves in the corporate world, … Read more
130 minutes is all it takes for one person to become engrossed in a tale, to travel through the trials and tribulations, and to be able to walk away with something to talk about. Movies have always been an escape for humans to travel and walk through someone else’s eyes. Some movies are better at … Read more
In his film, Traffic (2000), Steven Soderbergh provides a detailed critique of the US Government’s method in the war on drugs of stopping the supplier. In doing so, Soderbergh highlights the US Government’s lack of concern with providing treatment for drug addicts. He allows the life of the new leader of the war on drugs, … Read more
In perspective, every action has an equally strong reaction. An individual assists another individual, who then aids and influences another person, thus creating a chain reaction. Without doubt, everyone would like to see the butterfly effect play out in society; however, not many individuals are up for the challenge. Not a lot of people think … Read more
The director of the film Out For Vengeance–he’s the writer and the director–his name is Salar Zarza. Two things that struck him. First, this is shooting overseas. So one thing that struck his interest was my special skills in my resume, and that was martial arts. Because this is an action film, and if you … Read more
The film also depicts the victims of war as the viewer witnesses drafted civilians fighting in place of dead German soldiers and are introduced to the perspective of children fighting under the Hitler’s Youth regime. There is a scene that truly captures the victims of war element as a father with only one arm goes … Read more
Expressionism and Realism Mixture in The Last Laugh and Citizen Kane One of the greatest expressionism and realism film- The Last Laugh- directed by German Director F. W Murnau, was released in December 1924. The exaggerated camera shots in this film give the audience a strong sense of anger, disappointment, and compassion of the Hotelportier. … Read more
The Help directed by Tate Taylor, based on the award winning book by Kathryn Stockett. The movie received Grammy nominations for showing a fictional take of real life events that occurred in the 1960’s in Jackson Mississippi. Aibileen (Viola Davis) and Eugenia (Emma Stone) or Skeeter collaborated together to make sure that African American maids … Read more
Cinderella is an American fantasy film that was released in spring of 2015 and directed by Kenneth Branagh. The film was set in the 18th century era in Europe. The story was based on the journey of Ella (Lily James) and how each person that she met throughout the film made an influence on her … Read more
This is England’: The Frailty of Fatherhood Introduction The 2006 British film, This is England, directed by Shane Meadows, is a story about a young boy named Shaun Fields that looses his father through war. In the film, Shaun journey through dealing with the grief of his father’s death and being a victim of bullying … Read more
The term film noir can be defined as a style of film which was marked by a period of pessimism, self doubt and fatalism. The term was applied by French critics in the 1946 to a group of US films that were made during the war and that were released in quick succession after 1945. … Read more
Quentin Tarantino is a very controversial director and receives a lot of criticism due to his directing style and directing techniques such as the gore he includes in his films. Tarantino uses a directing style known as the auteur theory, which showcases a director’s personal and usually creative views on the films they direct. Tarantino … Read more
Trecently hit 100 views today (yey for me). So I decided to look at my tags to see what my most popular was and it was horror. The ranking for the Wrong Turn films did pretty well (you can find it here if you have not seen it) and I enjoyed writing it. Sol decided … Read more
In the 2010 movie “Insidious”, the Lambert family experiences paranormal activities in which they believe the house is haunted until they come to the realization that it is their son who has been possessed by a demon and has traveled to another realm. In hopes of saving their son the family explores the paranormal, from … Read more
Film has influenced the lives of many people throughout their lives. New movies come out all the time, and old movies still captivate new viewers to this day. Many people who watch a lot of movies can sometimes point out similarities between two or three completely different movies. Some of the most popular movies have … Read more
When looking back at my childhood, I would say that I watched around two to three hours of cartoon daily and at times up to four hours, especially on the weekend. Yet, I haven’t once taken the time to wonder if there was an impact of cartoons on my growth or how much of an … Read more
In the movie It Should Happen To You, Gladys is a model of successful transition from an anonymous figure to a famous person. She not only brings herself enormous satisfaction, but also has profound influence on the society by taking commercial advertisements. According to Roland Barthes’ theory of myth, there is a special relationship between … Read more
The movie Room is about a young boy, Jack, who is raised in a shed for the first five years of his life. His mother, Ma, does her best to provide for him the best she can while being confined to the shed. Throughout the movie, we see how Jack develops in his early years … Read more
To begin, one of the common themes that both films center around is that of good vs. evil, yet by reimagining this theme, which is often an integral part of conventional war films, the foreign films are able to set themselves apart. In The Cranes are Flying, Kalatozov breaks from the traditional representation of this … Read more
The definition of meta, is something that is reflected in itself, or self-referencing of itself in something. It also has to deal with something that is aware of itself. Meta-horror is a horror that self-references itself in the movie, or a horror book. Another concept of meta-horror, is that the characters are going to know … Read more
Within the Hero’s journey, characters show the story and use emotions through, the journey, symbol’s enhance the stories’ or movies’ meaning. In this instance archetypes are used, archetypes are a recurring of characters and symbols in a study. A movie that consists a hero’s journey within the plot is Avatar written and directed by James … Read more
The coming of sound was an innovation to cinema that forever changed the way films were produced, viewed and performed. Sound plays many roles in the way a film is narrated and perceived by the audience. Sound, as defined in the Oxford Dictionary of Film Studies, ‘is central to the way in which a film … Read more
For years, pink has always been for girls and blue has always been for boys. Parents and family members never really gave their kids a choice in what was given to them. Whether it be color wise or toy wise. Girls grew up receiving frilly, pink dolls and pretend cleaning sets. Boys, on the other … Read more
“How about I believe in the unlucky ones? ” this could arguably be the most important line in the entire film, October Sky. This teacher, Miss Riley, recognizes the potential in every student, not only the ones with visible ability. This should be the goal of every teacher. Miss Riley not only provides the boys … Read more
In the film Night of the Hunter, young John and Pearl are trying to escape from a preacher named Harry who wants the money that their father stole for them when they were young. In this specific scene, the audience see them floating down the river coming to shore where there appears to be a … Read more
American Sniper: America’s Most Deadliest and Ethnocentric Sniper “American Sniper” (directed by Clint Eastwood) is a film autobiography about Chris Kyle (played by Bradley Cooper), the deadliest sniper in American history. Several characters are introduced such as Chris’s wife, Taya Renae Kyle (played by Sienna Miller), his brother Colton Kyle (played by Max Charles), his … Read more
Pan’s Labyrinth is as much of a fantastic fairy tale as it is a story about how fairy tales clash with fascism of the post-Civil War Spain. It is seemingly far too often that fantastic films are a disappointment, by patronizing the viewer, making no statement about the real world and is merely a form … Read more
I watched Eve’s Bayou, it was the only movie I could get my hands on since I am not in the United States. I’ve watched it before but it was different watching it with a purpose and a structured thought process. What type of dramatic structure does the film have – linear, episodic or thematic? … Read more
In the movie Signs, directed by Manoj Night Shyamalan, Shyamalan’s message from the film is that it covers faith, kinship, and extraterrestrials. In addition, there’s a reason for everything, whether it’s good or bad, God has a plan for everything In the movie we’re presented to a family of four called the Hess family. The … Read more
In the movie The Breakfast Club, five students are to spend the entire day together in detention. These five teenagers all come from extremely different backgrounds and social groups within their school. As the movie progresses they learn more about one another. This bond comes about due to the students trying to have fun while … Read more
The movie Gattaca starts with the birth of Vincent Anton Freeman whose genetics show him to be prone to many disorders. He is given an estimated life span of just above thirty years to live. Vincent’s parents then decide to use genetic selection to give birth to another child whom they name Anton. As boys, … Read more
Dear White People Movie is about the very important point of view of the modern era. Justin Simian illustrated the main point of view that it is very difficult for the black students to study into the white campus. They face many problems such as if they are involved in the political party then they … Read more
The film Remember the Titans, directed by Boaz Yakin, set in 1971, is about a high school football team who are forced to integrate and overcome their racial prejudice. An important character is Gary Bertier as throughout the film he changes and strays away from his prejudice manner and becomes a fair and promising leader … Read more
Movies are a special tool that can keep one company when they are in a moody situation. It is a contrivance that is being used almost all over the world by different types of people for a particular purpose. There are diverse film genres like comedy, action, family, musical, and romance that are being produced … Read more
Edgar Wright made short films as a young teenager and directed a no-budget feature film t the age of 20 years old. He continued to work in tv from there mainly in Britain where he directed an array of comedy shows including Merry-Go-Round, Is it Bill Bailey, Mash and Peas, Murder Most Horrid, Sir Bernard’s … Read more
Totally Fetch “On Wednesdays we wear pink. ” Most teenage girls would catch this popular Mean Girls reference. This pretty pink picture features the four main characters from the Paramount movie Mean Girls. The image focuses on Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan). Her three friends, Regina George, Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith, are surrounding her fixing … Read more
Fernando Meirelles is incontestably the face of modern Brazilian cinema. Not only has he been successful in bringing mass international recognition to the long neglected favelas of Rio de Janeiro through his directing of movies such as City of God (2003), but he has also asserted a solid position within the North American film industry … Read more
“It would be comforting to have something to look up to. Instead, the walls are bare. They have been freshly painted pale blue. An anxious color. Anxiety is blue; failure, grey. He knows those shades. ” This short phrase describes the anxiety level Conrad Jarrett has towards his self being. Throughout the novel there are … Read more
‘Warm bodies’ is a zombie movie based on Isaac Marion’s novel. This particular zombie movie that was themed ‘black romance’ is really unique. In the post-apocalyptic universe, the surviving humans have isolated themselves in a safe place in the city, but outside there are many mumbling and shuffling zombies that are still in the human … Read more
There are few moments in life that society will get excited for. One of these events is the much anticipated movie premiere. The announcement of one of your favorite superheroes being made into a movie is very exciting and questions about what the movie will look like, run ramped through everyone’s mind. Serval months before … Read more
The Barbarians (1987) – Dirtmaster – Twin barbarians plan to take revenge on the warlord who murdered their tribe and places them in captivity as children. The Dirtmaster, portrayed as Michael Berryman, forces the twins into slavery, where they train to fight as gladiators. Saturday the 14th Strikes Back (1988) – The Mummy – In … Read more
A composer masterfully constructs aspects of power that is offered through the textual integrity of poem and film. The satirical dramatic monologue of Weapon’s training by Bruce Dawe and Father and child by Gwen Harwood, both demonstrate the power of death that enhances one’s present perception. In cohesion with Dawe’s poem, Zhang Yimou’s film Flowers … Read more
Prepare your senses for tingling Statement of intent: The purpose of this piece of writing was to show the reader that Guillermo del Toro’s film, Pan’s labyrinth is a fantastic film well worth watching. Guillermo del Toro’s film, Pan’s labyrinth it stays strong to the horror/ magical realism genre. As a first time magical realism … Read more
One car rear ending another begins a storyline set over thirty-six hours that reveals how utterly connected a group of people’s lives are, even though they all seem to be extremely diverse. The movie Crash emphasizes the interconnectedness of these people that originally appear very different from one another. Preconceived notions of stereotypes prevent the … Read more
What one can say about Casablanca other than a wonderful classic film? An inspirational, great love story, which can appeal to both men and women, was directed by Michael Curtiz. It is a multi-genre film based on Murray Burnett and Joan Alison’s unproduced play, “Everybody comes to Rick’s”. It is filmed in the French Colony … Read more
Influences, regardless of its negativity or positivity, have an effect on life. The amount of effect is determined by resulting consequences, past and present situation, mood of individuals, physiological comprehension, human nature, ones possibilities, pressure of all kinds (peer, family, self), social differentiation, discriminatory behavior, and wisdom. In the movie, Max’s father murdered his mother … Read more
The movie Contact, based on the novel by Carl Sagan, is a fascinating journey through the human mind that attempts to answer the questions that humans have been asking since the dawn of time, ‘Are we alone in the Universe? ‘; Ellie Arroway (portrayed by Jodie Foster), the main character of the movie refers to … Read more
The theme of this paper is to dissect the first fight scene; in the movie Bull Durham, between Crash Davis; who is played by Kevin Costner; and “Nuke” LaLoosh; who is played by Tim Robbins. The fight takes place in a bar scene between these two men who have never met before. The reason for … Read more
The Boondock Saints movie exhibits and demonstrates many possible causes and reasons for social deviance. One example of this is shown in the Subjective view of deviance through a Constructionist Theory. The Subjectivist believes that a deviant person is a conscious, feeling, thinking subject and that one should understand the experience of that person. From … Read more
Children are protected from the evil in the world from their parents, especially their mothers. An excerpt written by Kahilil Girbran, The Prophet, explains one view of the parent/child relationship. “And a women who held a baby against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children. And he said: Your children are not your children. … Read more
The story Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton takes place on a small island near Costa Rica, it’s about a park full of dinosaurs created by Dr. Hammond. The dinosaurs are locked in large cages with electric fences. But as the mathematician Ian Malcolm predicted, nature cannot be controlled. They find this out when the security … Read more
In the movie, What Dreams May Come, Doctor Chris Nielson meets his true soulmate Annie, marries her and has two children. Each would risk their own lives to be with the other, they would go to any costs to be with the other. Either dead or alive, the two of them saw the same thing … Read more
Not often today does a movie survive at the box office without computer generated landscapes or dozens of special effects. Recently, a movie broke that barrier and set a few records of its own. Good Will Hunting not only survived, it prospered at the box office this season. Doing so well at the box office … Read more
For the most part, the majority of people respect those who are different either in color, race, and/or heritage; however, there are those few that hold bigoted views towards people who are different than they are. The movie American History X by Tony Kaye displays an example of people who hold bigoted views. Derek, a … Read more
The Blues Brothers is a movie with hilarious comedy and nonstop action. The two main characters are Jake and Elwood Blues. These brothers have consistently been in trouble with the law but find themselves searching for redemption. The quest begins when the Blues brothers set out to find and re-enlist the members of their old … Read more
The Scarlet Letter is a movie that has changed many times and in this summary I will try to stick to this one movie, even though I may compare it to the novel. As you already know, The Scarlet Letter was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne dealing with the times of the Salem witch trials and … Read more
American History X Movie Review American History X is a powerful movie about racism in today’s society. It follows the life of a troubled teenager Danny Vinyard played by Edward Furlong, who looks up to his neo-Nazi brother Derek. Derek, played by Edward Norton is the leader of the local skinhead gang in Venice Beach, … Read more
American History X This is my favorite movie. One would think that America as a more modern society is moving forward with affirmative action, equal rights, and government laws. Differences in skin color and cultural beliefs are the visual characteristics that have caused various hate crimes. Laws that give non-white ethnic groups the rights to … Read more
A Fantastic Must-See Movie Released in 1 988 by Directory Tony Kaye, American History X is a powerful view of the destructive fascination of racism and hatred. Lead by some impressive performances, this movie paints a vivid picture of how mindless hatred can tear society as well as an individual family apart. Derek Vinyard (Edward … Read more
When Charlie Chaplin was a little boy, a sheep escaped on its way to a slaughterhouse near where he lived. Charlie and other youngsters chased the sheep around, laughing and having fun. But when it was taken away, Charlie realized the sad finality of death and cried to his mother. That incident paved the way … Read more
