Films

Most of these films were really good. However; I believe that some of these films are too hold and need to be replaced with more current movies. The first movie that should be on the playlist should be The Help. This movie was directed by Tate Taylor and came out tin 2011. This was such a great film because it was made in 2011 and they made it seem like it was from the 1960’s. The setting, costume, and lighting was perfect. It made it seem so easy to convey the message of the film which was how bad racism was and how far we have come. This movie made me cries, laugh, smile, and feel so many other emotions.

 

The second movie that I believe should be added to this list is, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.   This movie was directed by Rupert Wyatt in 2011. The reason why I believe we should view this film is because it is totally different from any other movies on this list. This movie shows how greedy mankind can be. We have been trying to control a lot of aspects of life that maybe we shouldn’t and this movie shows what something like that can lead up to. There is nothing like this film on the movie playlist for this class and that way I believe that this movie should be watched.

The Third movie that should be added to the Movie Playlist should be 127 Hours. This movie was directed by Danny Boyle. This film came out in 2010. I chose this movie not only because it was recent but because I believe that there are a lot of different elements that can be learned from it.  The lighting, plot and the simplicity of this film would make it a good film to be watched. This movie is inspirational and it is also based on a true story. These movies are my favorites. 

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly directed by Julian Schnabel in 2007, was by far my favorite movie of the semester. Like I mentioned above I like stories and films that are based on true stories. This movie was so inspirational and it made me not only to appreciate life but know that no matter what happens life goes on. I liked the message. It was also one of the movies that I believed really helped with not only the camera angles but with the lighting.

American Beauty was another movie that I really enjoyed.  The reason why I enjoyed this movie was because it did not sugar code the life of an American. A lot of people who do not live in America believe that this country is all peaches and cream when it’s really not.  So I like the way they put this into perspective. Another reason why I really like this film is because my favorite actor is the main character (Kevin Spacey) and he does a great job in his role.

Pulp Fiction is one of my favorite movies of all time. It was produced by Quentin Tarantino in 1994.  I have watched this movie a lot of times. It has great music, actors, and it’s a fun movie over all. There is really no moral to this story besides it being a fun movie. The era in what they tried to make it was fun.

“Steven Andrew Soderbergh Interviewed on The Treatment”

Magic Mike

Steven Andrew Soderbergh is a film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. He is best known for movies like Haywire, Ocean’s Eleven, The Girlfriend Experience, Magic Mike among many others. Wednesday, August first Soderbergh was on KCRW, The Treatment talking about his more recent film Magic Mike.

My first impression of Soderbergh was that he was extremely smart. With that said once I went online to learn a little more about him I found that indeed he is extremely smart. Soderbergh has been working in the film industry for a while. His first work was in 1989 where he was a screenwriter for a movie called, Sex, Lies and Videotapes. It is very impressing that with his first film work he was nominated for an Oscar for Original Screenplay.  He likes to be original as he was a good sense for what will catch people’s attention. Doing a movie like Magic Mike in my opinion is very risky. This film if it was not done properly could have been hurtful to his career. He even mention in this interview that the Imagery, music, activity and sex is not something that as a society we always accept or at least it was something that we are not used to.

Channing Tatum had come to Soderbergh to let him know about a film that he was interested on creating. When it was time to start making the film Soderbergh was on board. He said that, “It seemed better than a magazine article, documentary or TV show”. There is a lot more to this movie than just trippers. In a way I understand why he said that. Nobody had ever gone that far. There has never been a film that is for a females and gay men like this. They took it to the next level. As woman we are a little more reserved about our sexual fantasies. Soderbergh feel like once a woman leaves a strip club we stop thinking about it. We stop fantasizing about that stripper. On the other hand men do not. They want to take things to the next level and keep fantasizing about that stripper. Soderbergh new that woman needed this that it was going to be better than a magazine, article, documentary or any TV show.  

“I’m not really interested on things being perfect I’m interested on them feeling real” (Steven A. Soderbergh).  I believe that because things have to be portrayed as real instead of things being perfect is the reason why Soderbergh is so successful.  He understands filmmaking in a different way and understands what will show on screen. He is not only a director but has worked in many different jobs in the industry that makes him understand and see thing differently. This is when experience comes to play. Thousands of people want the opportunity to work in this industry and it is so competitive that it is amazing that he has been working in the industry for over two decades.

So what’s to come from Soberbergh? He says, “I’m not coming back unless I can come back as a different filmmaker”. He believes that in order for a good film it must have some authenticity. For him it is more about what we can make original. He does not want to come back to making films about the same things. He likes showing the actors that something’s getting out of their comfort zones or out of playing the same characters is a good thing. He likes giving characters roles that they can talk; roles where people can show more versatility.

This interview showed me a different side of film. A side that I do not think a lot of people even think about or give much credit to. That is the person or people behind the scenes. Soberbergh is someone who is really respected in the industry. He gives us originality in a lot of his work.  In Magic Mike he did just that. For someone who is planning on leaving the industry for at least a few years is leaving on the right foot. I am glad that I listen to this interview. I have been wanting to watch this film and now I kind of have the background to the story and I want to watch it even more.  

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Directed by Julian Schnabel

OVERALL LOOK

There are many qualities in the film through the light, framing, angles, camera movement and long takes. It really made us feel the pain and at times the joy that Jean went through. If made is SEE. It made us see through his point of view. See eye through and different life and a different angle. All of this was done through following Jeans perspective of life.

IMAGES

the images in this film are very important. The reason is that we are looking at images that are convening information that is important to the character without using him in the shot. The reason why is because we are seeing things through his eyes. There is a lot of meaning of the information that is being shown in the shot.

SHOT LENGTHS

 In the film there are two types of shots, either long or shot. They both portray something totally different. In the short shots they want to show a lot of information so they go through it fast so that they get to show more things. They also show these short shots because it is something not as important. Then the long shots are used for more important shots, to view the world from Jeans eye.

SHOT TYPES

In The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Directed by Julian Schnabel they use a lot of extreme close-ups and extreme close-ups. They do this because they are trying to show that they are talking to the character (Jean-Dominique Bauby). Since he is sitting or lying down they come to him. They try to get his attention by getting close to him. These shots are very significant because it is showing how Jean sees the people that are talking to him. They also use a lot of these close-up shots to convey the characters state of mind. Although they do not shot him crying in some scenes you know he is because the lenses gets blurry and the other characters says “please don’t cry”. If those shots were taken from afar we as the audience would not get the full impact or the drama from the shot. They also do this to show the emotion of the person talking to Jean. Showing the expression they are making to get the way they are feeling. These scenes can be really dramatic.

CAMERA ANGLES

Most of the angles in this film are either high or low angles. The reason why they use high angle shots is that they are showing either a person in the position of power, heroic or someone superior. The reason why they show low angle shots is it shows someone weak or vulnerable in this case it would be Jean.

COMPOSITION

The composition on this film is a little different. The reason for that is that in some instances they do not use the rule of thirds. The reason is that they are portraying a lot of shots through Jeans eye. The film is about seeing so it is seeing something that is there and something that is not there. A lot of the shots in this film were taken in angles that were either high or low.

CAMERA MOVEMENT

The camera movement for this film is different from others. The reason for that is that we view most of the movie from Jeans eye. We see most of what he is looking at and how he looks at it. It’s almost like the camera is behind him and we are looking at everything from his point of view. So if they zoom in on someone that means that the subject or character is getting closer to him. We see most of the movie through him.

CINEMATOGRAPHY STYLE

They made the cinematography so obvious in this film, however; it was no mistake. They did this because they are doing these shots through Jeans point of view. Sometimes he blinks his eye and it could be a totally different image, picture, lighting that he sees. It might be from a different angle. That is why the cinematography on this film is more noticeable.

Seeing the world through a different eye...

Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity by: Billy Wilder

What is Film Noir? The literal meaning is dark film. It is said to be a dark film because it is about sex, money and or murder. These Films are always seductive, raw, and the only thing you hold on to is fate. This type of film started around the 40’s at the end of the War. These films were different because at the end of the movie the murders were not brought to justice. They told stories about bad cops, life in the streets, twisted love, shady characters, murder, and other things that were real but, people were afraid to talk about.

One of the quotes I decided to talk about is by director Martin Scorsese who said, “As I grew up these films were part of my life date by date. I did not analyze them, I was affected by them”. Before this people were afraid to say it how it was. Martin Scorsese lived where there was nightlife and gambling. I believe that this is one of the reasons why he started directing; because he wanted to produce movies that he related to. He related to them emotionally.

How to spot a femme fatale? It is actually not that hard. In Double Indemnity (directed by Billy Wilder) Phyllis character portrays this very well. She is a strong, beautiful, seductive, manipulative woman. They make this woman not be so dainty. They usually make her smoke to create dominance. She knows how to use her sex appeal to get her way. The actor (Walter Neff) at one point goes on to say, “how could I have known that sometimes murder smells like honey”? She did this so that she would help him get out of that mess so that they would not “hang her” as she would say. He was doing it so that the cops did not go after her. He was willing to risk his life for her. This character is now very common. They used the classic triangle for Double Indemnity where the man falls in love with his friends’ wife and they end up killing the husband.

Janey Place a Scholar went on to say “Men have always been endangered by strong sexual females”. It sometimes scared males that maybe we are more independent, work, or even perhaps have had an affair. These are roles that usually men play. Men are used as tools. They do not want the man they usually want to get something from them. These women usually wear tight clothes, have long nails, and hair but most important are very sexual.  There is a male fantasy to these types of women.

Lighting

John Bailey (cinematographer) explains how they use the lighting. The way they use light against dark which portrays good against evil. The dark shadows they use for a more dramatic scene. You pick what you want from the scenes with the little bit of light that you have. This became a signature for Film Noir.

Above are the Trailers to The Dark Knight directed by Christopher Nolan and  Precious Directed by Lee Daniels.

The Dark Knight

Precious

               What makes a film compelling, noteworthy, or deserving of an award? When you are in a movie theater and you cannot keep your eyes away from the screen. When you need to use the restroom or need a refill on your sodea to finish your popcorn but instead you wait until the end of the movie. When an action movie is believable even though you know there is no way something like that can happen in real life. I will use a couple of examples on the next few paragraphs.

               The Dark Knight (Directed by: Christopher Nolan in 2008) as an example, is one of my favorite movies because; this movie has action from beginning to end. When the Joker and Batman get into a fight in the middle of the road or when they are chasing each other to kill one another. All the pictures and movements are so real that they make you believe this is actually happening when you know this is not possible. That is why this film is rated four in a half stars out of five.

              My second favorite movie is Precious (Directed by: Lee Daniels in 2009) the reason why I love this movie is totally different from the reason I like The Dark Knight however, just like The Dark Knight I was not able to use the restroom or refill my drink. This was a movie where I got so many different emotions that I did not know if I wanted to cry or laugh. I believe that in one occasions I did both. In this Film although it was such a sad case they made life of it. There were scenes like that dealt with sexual abuse and/or physical abuse and they manage to make us believe that all of these horrific things were actually happening to that actress (Gabourey Sidibe). The location where these scenes were filmed was very believable. These films keep you interested on the next scenes to come. That is why this movies won many, many awards and is also rated four in a half stars out five.

             The videos that we were assigned to watch this week were Le voyage dans la lune (Directed by: Georges Lelies) and The Great Train Robbery (Directed by Edwin S. Porter), these films were both silent. It was very interesting how they told a whole story without words. Well actually in Le voyage dans la lune there was a narrator that explained what was happening throughout the movie. This movie was interesting because it made me wonder how much money was put into making a film back in the 1900’s compared to now. I am sure they did not spend what they do now. They were good movies over all considering there was no sound. Of the two videos that were assigned to watch I preferred The Great Train Robbery even though it was completely silent without a narrator it was very easy to follow. It was almost like watching a classic Western movie. Maybe I liked it more because it was easy to follow.