Formal Review of "The African Queen"

                The African Queen is the kind of movie I remember watching with my grandmother when I was a little girl. It is based off of a novel by the same name, which was written by C.S. Forester. The film begins in a missionary church in Africa with our female lead, Rose Sayer, playing the organ during a service. The service finally ends when our male lead, Charlie Allnut, interrupts the service with a mail delivery. However, when German troupes destroy the village and capture the natives, causing Rose’s brother to have a mental breakdown and pass away, Charlie takes Rose off on his boat, The African Queen, to hide out until the trouble has passed. Unsurprisingly, things don’t stay calm for very long as Rose comes up with the mad idea to use The African Queen and some homemade torpedoes to destroy The Queen Louisa, a German gunboat, in the name of Brittan. As Charlie and Rose travel down an extremely dangerous portion of the river, the two slowly begin to fall in love with each other, despite being polar opposites. When the pair finally make it to their destination, they are caught by the Germans before they are able to carry out their plan. In the grand finale the lovers ask to be married before being hung, however, they are rescued just before their execution when the remnants of The African Queen, fit with torpedoes rigged up by Charlie, hitting the side of the very ship they are on. Charlie and Rose escape unscathed and swim to shore to begin their new life together. The African Queen is an old fashioned romance about two very different people, but its graphics definitely show its age.

                The African Queen isn’t quite Hallmark levels of sweetness in its portrayal of romance, but its close…and that isn’t a bad thing. It was made back when people thought a little bit differently about love. Despite Charlie’s crass nature, he still treats Rose like a lady from the very beginning. He brings the mail to Rose and her brother whenever it comes in, helps Rose burry her brother after he passes, and even lets Rose sleep under roofed part of the boat, which has been sectioned off for decency’s sake, at night. It is during this first night of sectioned off sleeping quarters that the two begin to open up to one another. When it begins pouring down rain, Charlie tries his hardest to sleep through it, but eventually gives in and sneaks under the roof where Rose is sleeping, scaring her witless. After initially kicking him out, Rose takes pity on the sopping wet Charlie and, after making herself decent, allows him to come inside and sleep on top of a wide shelf under the roof. When he is still getting wet from being so close to the edge of the boat, Rose gives Charlie her umbrella to help keep him dry. As the film continues it becomes apparent that the term, “opposites attract” is anything but a new subject when it comes to romance on the silver screen. At the beginning of the film, Rose seems to be an uptight, ladylike, conservative woman with very little tolerance for men like Charlie. However, as the film continues she surprises both Charlie and the viewer by revealing that she may, indeed, be a touch insane. It is Rose’s idea to rig up homemade torpedoes to The African Queen and hurtle it toward the German gunship in the name of Brittan. It is Rose who insists on traveling down the most dangerous part of the river, then gets an adrenaline rush from steering the boat over the rapids. In part, it may be this wilder side of Rose that attracts Charlie initially. However, Rose’s willingness to get her hands dirty and work hard to accomplish her goals may also be a feature Charlie finds attractive. Although Charlie’s character does not change very much throughout the film, he does become much gentler toward Rose and even, eventually, wants to see her accomplish her goal even though he finds it completely ridiculous. He makes Rose tea when she finds his combination of alcohol and river water unappealing, is fairly understanding when she dumps said alcohol over the side of the boat and into the river, and is even the one to suggest that they get married before they are hung to death by the Germans. Rose and Charlie’s romance is very innocent and very sweet, never going beyond more than a kiss. Despite its relatively simple appearance, I believe that Rose and Charlie’s romance is one of the better relationships to appear on screen.

                Despite its wonderfully constructed romance, The African Queen does have its flaws. First, being an older film, its special effects do not hold up especially well today. They are by no means terrible, but they do not hold up the same illusion of reality as I imagine they once did. There were several instances where it was very obvious that the projections behind the actors where just that: projections. There was also one very immersion breaking scene where Rose and Charlie are suddenly swarmed by insects. However, these insects were nothing more than a series of blotches flashing across the screen. It was difficult to take the scene seriously as, with the film’s improved clarity on DVD, these blotches did not resemble flying insects in the slightest. Something else I noticed about the film was that its moments of purposeful suspense were not all that suspenseful, while other scenes that may not have been intended to be suspenseful built tension perfectly. For instance, not once did I find myself worried or concerned for Charlie and Rose while they went over the rapids, while they were being shot at by soldiers, or when they were about to be hung. Instead, I felt the most concern during the film’s quieter scenes. When The African Queen became stuck in the mud and Rose and Charlie were working to get it unstuck I felt genuine concern for both of them. There was no music and there was hardly any dialogue at all during this scene. This scene transitioned perfectly into the next with Rose getting on her knees and praying to the Lord, not to be saved from the perilous situation she finds herself in, but that she and Charlie would be welcomed into His kingdom should they die. This was the only scene in the entire movie that made me truly fear that the two of them would not make it out alive.

                Despite its very few flaws, The African Queen was an absolutely charming and family friendly film. While I doubt that many members of my generation will choose to watch this delightful movie, I think that those who do stand a very good chance of enjoying it at least a little bit. This film had so much heart, good will, and downright fun in it that I look forward to sharing it with my own family someday. While the film’s slower pace, older graphics, and old fashioned romance may not be exactly what viewers are asking for today, I think we all could stand to watch more films like The African Queen. 

Informal Review of "Howl's Moving Castle"

                Studio Ghibli’s Howl’s Moving Castle, directed by Hayao Miyazaki and based on the novel by Wynne Jones, is by far one of my favorite films that the company has produced thus far. When mild-mannered Sophie is turned into an old woman by The Witch of the Waste, she sets out to find a way to break the curse. However, seeking help proves to be difficult as the curse prevents her from telling anyone about it. After leaving home and meeting Turnip Head, so named because he is a scarecrow whose head is made from a turnip, he leads her to the infamous moving castle that belongs to the equally as infamous wizard, Howl. Here Sophie meets not only Howl, but a fire demon, named Calcifer, and Markl, Howl’s apprentice. Now, Sophie must not only break her own curse but Howl’s as well, all while avoiding partaking in a war between two kingdoms over a missing prince. Howl’s Moving Castle showcases what Studio Ghibli does best (aside from storytelling, which I will not address as this was not one of their original stories): compose amazing musical scores and produce amazingly detailed animation.

                The musical score of Howl’s Moving Castle is by far my favorite out of all the Studio Ghibli films I have seen, and I actually own the film’s main theme, “The Merry-go-round of Life.” Every scene is accompanied by a song that perfectly suits the mood of the scene. These moods range from comical, to sad, to intense, and anything in-between. Even the ending them, “Sekai No Yakusoku” helps the film to close on the perfect note.

                Perhaps the most fantastic element of any Studio Ghibli film is the amount of the detail added to the animation, and Howl’s Moving Castle is no exception. First, we have the film’s backgrounds. Normally, backgrounds have just enough detail that you can tell what they are meant to represent. In Howl’s Moving Castle, however, there are quite a few backgrounds that encompass an impressive amount of detail. For instance, during the dream sequence in which Sophie wanders through a series of tunnels to find a transformed and suffering Howl, various toys and trinkets can be seen sticking out of the walls (many of which were seen in Howl’s room, yet another incredibly detailed background). Not only that, but we see the light of Sophie’s candle reflect not only off of the walls as she moves, but also off of every single item in said walls. This brings me to the detail of the animation itself. For example, while Sophie is cleaning we see her attack various areas of the castle with a broom. Whenever she pulls the broom back, various pieces of junk can be seen moving around. During these sequences we also get close ups of various bugs creeping along as trash and dirt tumble around them. These little details make not only the world of Howl’s Moving Castle feel alive, but also those of every world Ghibli chooses to bring to life.

                Perhaps I’m biased because I love both Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki, but I really can find very few flaws in this film. The one flaw I may point out is one I have noticed in other adaptations the company has done, which is that they often don’t give enough exposition for the audience to truly understand the story being presented. I understand a fair amount of the story after watching the film so many times, despite not having read the book myself. However, I can see how others would be confused by this film or even find it a little too bizarre due to its strange story and sometimes odd visuals. Regardless, I will always love this film and others made by Studio Ghibli for their ability to bring various stories and worlds to life through the use of music and animation.

Formal Review of "The Producers"

                Mel Brooks’ classic film The Producers is a grand look at various stereotypes with a comedic flair. When washed up Broadway star, Max Bialypstock, meets Leo Bloom, an extremely nervous accountant, the two work together to swindle money from innocent old women by having them invest money in a sure-fire flop play. They choose to produce a guaranteed failure of a play titled, “Springtime for Hitler: a Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden,” which was written by Franz Liebkind, an undercover Nazi, to extol the virtues of Hitler. To further guarantee that the play is a failure, Max also employs the worst director he can find, an eccentric man of questionable sexual orientation named Roger De Bris. The group thinks they have a sure-fire flop on their hands when they hire a local hippy, LSD, to play the main role of Hitler. However, things go awry when LSD’s performance turns the play from an uncomfortable praise of Hitler to a successful spoof of all things German. In one last, mad attempt to save themselves from prison, Max and Leo team up with Franz, who is extremely upset with the mockery made of his play, to blow up the theater that is hosting their play. In the end, all three of them end up in court. By far, the most enjoyable part of The Producers is Mel Brooks’ take on several classic stereotypes. Three of the most masterful of these stereotypical characters are Max, Franz, and LSD.

                Max Bialystock, played by Zero Mostel, is your stereotypical sleeze-ball, complete with New York accent, rumpled clothing, greasy hair, and questionable hygiene skills. Not only does he look like a greasy con-man, he acts like one as well by lying, manipulating, scheming, and being a general cheapskate. From the very beginning of the film we see Max lie to and manipulate other people. He has sex with little old ladies so that they will give him money to produce terrible plays, but lies to them about both the plays and his intentions toward them. Max even goes so far as to hide and switch out photographs of the old women, depending which one is coming over next. Later, Max manipulates Leo into helping him carry out the money-swindling scheme that Leo accidentally came up with. Max tells Leo how easy it would be to get away with, makes him think he’s on the bottom and deserves to be treated better, and that the two of them are friends. Throughout the film, Max also demonstrates just how cheap he is. He lives in a rundown apartment, which he avoids paying for, wears a cardboards belt, buys the cheapest food possible when he takes Leo out to lunch, and is even willing to destroy public property and kill innocent people in order to avoid paying money. It is quite likely that Max Bialypstock is the finest example of human scum to ever grace the film industry.

Franz Liebkin, played by Kenneth Mars, is the poster child for the German Nazi stereotype. One of Franz’s most notable features, besides his outrageous German accent, is his helmet. Regardless of the situation or the attire required, Franz keeps his military helmet firmly atop his head at all times. In addition to his war-time head gear, Franz remains ready for war by caring for messenger pigeons, which he uses to send messages back to his home country. Despite his clearly Germanic allegiance, Franz does his best to seem like an America-loving citizen. Any momentary slip-ups that may reveal his true allegiance are quickly smothered out by Franz’s recitation of notably “American” pieces such as The Pledge of Allegiance and Yankee Doodle Dandy. If all of this didn’t put the icing on the proverbial German chocolate cake, even Franz’s play is full to the brim with even more German Nazi stereotypes. In the show’s opening number we see men wearing lederhosen and women wearing milk maid costumes; scantily clad women sporting symbols such as beer, pretzels, medals, and ravens; mentions of the “master race,” and Düsseldorf; men and women in Nazi uniforms saluting Hitler, dodging pretend bullets, listening for bombs, and forming a giant swastika together; and to end the number a giant picture of Hitler is lowered, Nazi party flags are brought on stage, and fake cannons are shot. Absolutely everything about Franz Liebkin screams Nazi Germany and it is absolutely wonderful.

Lastly, we have my favorite character in the film: Lorenzo St. DuBois, better known as LSD, played by Dick Shawn. LSD is the film’s token hippy stereotype. With The Producers being released in the late sixties, it’s no wonder that this particular stereotype found its way into the film. Just as he did with his role as Sylvester Marcus in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Dick Shawn does a wonderful job portraying a smooth, sixties beatnik. Even if LSD never said a word throughout the entire film, you would still be able to tell that he is a hippy. Everything about his appearance screams “flower child” from his outfit, which consists of a black shirt, a pair of striped pants, and thigh-high boots, to the Campbell’s Soup can he has strung around his neck, and to the bouquet daisies he carries into his audition. Fortunately for the audience, LSD has plenty to say… Once he is able to remember his name that is. From here LSD not only spouts plenty of sixties lingo in an incredibly laid back manner, but he actually sings a song for his audition entitled, “Love Power,” in which he states that, “Love power will rule the earth and there will be a great rebirth,” and that, “If everybody in the world today had a flower instead of a gun, there would be no wars.” Throughout his audition he shows off some strange interpretative dancing and throws flowers at the director, his assistant, and the producers. After he is hired to play the role of Hitler in “Springtime for Hitler,” LSD singlehandedly ensures that the play is a success as his “groovy” tendencies cause him to portray Hitler, the ruthless dictator that he was, as a silly, incompetent fool. For his downright silliness and his cleverly given acronym, LSD, Lorenzo St. Dubois is one of the best stereotypes present in The Producers and my favorite character in the entire film.

Although there were definitely things about The Producers that I didn’t enjoy such as an overabundance of sexual innuendos, I found most of the film (especially the second half) to be thoroughly enjoyable. As usual, Mel Brook’s humor is genius, the performances of actors such as Dick Shawn and Gene Wilder (though I did not talk about his character in this review) were wonderful, the original songs were extremely well written, and, of course, Mel Brook’s ability to poke fun at different stereotypes is fantastic. While it wasn’t one of my favorite films, I would definitely recommend The Producers to anyone who enjoys great humor and doesn’t mind a little crude humor. Personally, if I were to watch it again I would likely skip to a point further into the movie after most of the crude humor is done with.

Informal Review of "The Breakfast Club"

                The Breakfast Club is not only a classic part of film history, but also an insight into the idea that, at the base of it all, we are all the same. When five seemingly different teenagers are stuck in detention together under the watch of a vicious assistant principle, the tension within the group quickly comes to a boil. Spurred on by local bad boy and trouble maker, John Bender, the group sways between constant bickering and goofing off together. Eventually, the group comes to understand that, despite the differences in their social circles and socioeconomic statuses, they aren’t so different from each other after all. While the outer layer of The Breakfast Club (and the source of most of the movie’s fun) is simply a bunch of bored teenagers doing bored teenager things, at its core the movie is about the realization that all people can relate to one another in some way and that social status and images should not really matter.

                If The Breakfast Club simply blasted its message at every possible moment, it would have been far less effective as a film. Comedy was essential in keeping the film from getting too heavy. This light heartedness is also what gave us some of the film’s most iconic scenes and lines. “Did I stutter?” Most importantly, however, these scenes made the characters more relatable. The members of the club acted like teenagers, making it easier for teenaged viewers to empathize with them. The fact that, even today, most young people can still relate to these characters shows the effectiveness of the The Breakfast Club’s writing. By making the characters so relatable, the audience actually cares about what each member is going through. Each teen’s struggle and how each member of the group relates and interacts with the others is the main crux of the film. All of them have their own problems, usually stemming from their parents. Looking deeper into the film, it may not be too far-fetched to say that the main theme of the film (aside from judging people based on stereotypes) is the group’s shared fear of becoming like their parents or other adults in general. At the end of the film, the group seems to have come to terms with each other and have decided to be friends, despite not being from the same social circles. It’s possible that they may have even decided to be different than the majority of the adults they knew. This is further substantiated by the nastiness displayed by assistant principle Vernon throughout the film. Later in the film, Vernon has the following conversation with the school janitor, the only adult not portrayed as completely venomous during the course of the film:

Vernon: You think about this: when you get old, these kids- when I get old- they’re going to be running the country.

Janitor: Yeah.

Vernon: Now this is the thought that wakes me up in the middle of the night. That when I get older, these kids are going to take care of me.

Janitor: I wouldn’t count on it.

The members of The Breakfast Club had never been given any reason to see adults as people who had a positive influence on their lives. Perhaps, in the end, The Breakfast Club was about a film not only about forgoing social norms, but about the characters deciding not to make the same mistakes as their parents.

                Our class viewing of The Breakfast Club was not my first viewing of the film, but it was the first time I actually paid attention to the unedited version. Although I was aware of the amount of language and some of the innuendo in the film, I never paid enough attention to the unedited version before to notice some of the more distasteful scenes. Frankly, the film could have held its own just as well without a panty shot of Molly Ringwald. However, despite its more disgusting downfalls, The Breakfast Club was a groundbreaking film and I would highly recommend the TV edit to audience members old enough to handle it.

Formal Review of "How to Train Your Dragon 2"

                How to Train Your Dragon 2 picks up five years after the events of the first film. Hiccup and the gang are now in their early twenties, the cohabitation between dragons and the Vikings of Berk is flourishing, and Stoic has named Hiccup his official heir. However, things go awry when the gang stumbles across a group of dragon catchers who say they are helping a man called Drago Bludvist, who is building an army of dragons. Things get even more interesting when Hiccup finds his long lost mother, Valka, who rejoins her family in order to thwart Drago and save the dragons.

How to Train Your Dragon 2, much like many of Dreamworks’ better films, does a fantastic job of creating and maintaining a world and telling a story about the strength of a family.

                The world and characters that were presented in How to Train Your Dragon have not only been preserved, but expanded upon. The village of Berk has been modified to accommodate the dragons by installing perches for the dragons to land on, strategically placed pipes and water buckets to put out accidental fires, the conversion of the forge into a saddle making shop, and even the introduction of a new sport called dragon racing. After the world is reestablished, it is revealed that not only has Hiccup continued to invent dragon inspired creations, such as a flight suit and a flame sword, but he has been exploring the areas surrounding Berk in search of new islands and different dragons to study. Not only that, but it is also revealed that both Drago and Valka train dragons using techniques similar to those used by Hiccup, and that Valka has discovered even more about dragons than Hiccup has. How to Train Your Dragon 2 makes more use of Norse traditions than the first film did; the most notable of which was Stoic’s burial at sea. After Stoic is accidentally killed by Toothless, his body is set placed in a boat, which is then pushed out to sea and set on fire

                Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, The Croods, and the first How to Train Your Dragon, are all films that showcase what Dreamworks does best: telling stories about strong familial bonds and friendships. In How to Train Your Dragon 2 we see two very strong families: the Isle of Berk, led by Hiccup’s father, Stoic, and the dragons’ nest, which is watched over by Valka. Both leaders have a strong sense of preservation and are willing to take care of the ones they love at any cost. This resolve only grows stronger when the two finally reunite. In fact, the relationship between Hiccup’s parents may have been the best part of the film. When Stoic first approaches Valka after twenty years she expects him to yell and be angry with her for letting him think she was dead all that time. However, instead of chastising her, Stoic gently embraces her and gives her a kiss. After he woos her by singing their song, which was an extremely fun and touching scene, Valka agrees to rejoin Stoic and Hiccup and be a family again. Soon after they wage war against Drago in order to protect both the dragons and the inhabitants of Berk. Even after Stoic’s death Valka continues to encourage and guide Hiccup. She is able not only to help Hiccup overcome Drago and his alpha dragon, but to help Hiccup forgive Toothess for killing Stoic against his will. The first How to Train Your Dragon Film focused on the forming of the bond between Hiccup and Toothless, but How to Train Your Dragon 2 shows us how that friendship has grown and how it is being maintained against all odds.

                Although I was initially concerned that How to Train Your Dragon 2 would suffer the same fate as most sequels, I am overjoyed to report that it did not. Instead of trying to give fans more of the first film by telling the same story, the creators of the film told a different story about the same characters in the same setting with the same lore. This film expanded on what we already knew form the first film and took it to new and exciting places. It didn’t hesitate to pull out all the stops by expanding its lore, creating new dynamics between characters, killing off some old ones, and upping the stakes for our heroes and their home. How to Train Your Dragon 2 simultaneously shares enough differences from and similarities to the film that came before it, making it a much more powerful film than your average sequel. I highly recommend How to Train Your Dragon 2, especially if you loved the original How to Train Your Dragon movie.

Informal Review of "Interstellar"

                Interstellar documents the journey of the crew of the Lazarus as they journey through space to find a habitable planet for the human race to live on. After various diseases began destroying crops all over the world, the Earth was in need of a much larger supply of farmers, leading men like Cooper, a former astronaut and our main character, to leave their former professions in order take up farming and increase the food supply. It is also revealed that, due to some unexplained series of events, the public opinion of space travel has decreased so immensely that schools have begun to teach children that the landing of the Apollo 13 was nothing but propaganda meant to bankrupt Russia. When Cooper’s daughter Murph, named after Murphy’s Law, discovers an anomaly in her bedroom that provides Cooper with a set of coordinates, the two end up following them and finding NASA, which went underground and is continuing its research in secret. From here, Cooper is chosen to lead a team into space and through a wormhole to another galaxy in search of a new home for the human race in order to save them from extinction.

Not only was Interstellar’s use of story, special effects, and sound dynamic, but it was also an homage to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: a Space Odyssey.

                Interstellar did everything right in terms of dynamics. Not only was the plot a fresh take on the “find a new home for the humans” scenario, but it used plot twists and emotionally charged scenes to its full advantage. This film takes every possible chance to rip out your heart strings and dance on them in the most satisfying way possible. There isn’t much to say about the film’s special effects as they are very much the same quality as the numerous other films out right now. However, that doesn't make them any less special. The special effects were most impressive when they were used to create the extremely believable worlds that the crew visited, when they traveled through the wormhole, and during other key moments in the film, which I won’t spoil for those reading this post from my blog who may not have seen the film yet. Lastly, the film is accompanied by an absolutely gorgeous score, which accents the mood of the film beautifully. In addition to its stunning musical score, Interstellar makes great use of non-digetic sounds. The best example being the use of rhythmic, clock-like tones to subtly remind viewers that Cooper’s crew have only so much time to spare in any given situation.

                Interstellar very clearly took inspiration from 2001: a Space Odyssey. First, the film made direct nods to Kubrick’s work by using slow build ups, shots showcasing the various pieces of spacecraft floating through space (though without the classical music), and even going so far as to reference the plot of 2001 itself when one of the ship’s robots, TARS, jokes about killing off the crew, a nod to HAL’s actions in 2001. Second, it also took techniques that were used in 2001 and used them much more effectively thank Kubrick did. It used the same slow buildups, but it spread them out evenly throughout the film as opposed to using them for 90% of it as 2001 did. More importantly, it did so without the use of the vomit-inducing, seizure-causing flashes of color and light that accompanied many of the scenes in 2001. While Kubrick’s long, silent montages are enough to drive one to complete and utter boredom, Interstellar spaces these moments out perfectly so that you have time to digest the plot and appreciate the moment that the slower scenes were building up to.

                While I suspect Interstellar will be met in much the same way as 2001: a Space Odyssey was, with some believing it to be a modern classic and with others dismissing it for its admitted strangeness, I firmly believe that Interstellar will be one of the films my generation will be remembered for. Personally, I loved this film and would highly recommend it not only to sci-fi fans, but to movie lovers in general.

Informal Review of "The Son's Room" ("la stanza del figlio")

                The Son’s Room is an Italian film that, if it is not already a realist piece reminiscent of Italian Neorealism, contains many elements of realism. The film focuses on the Sermonti family, which consists of Giovanni, a psychiatrist, Irene, his wife, and their teenaged children Paola and Andrea. When Andrea dies in a tragic scuba diving accident, the remaining family members are devastated. Each family member grieves in their own way, often causing tension within the family. However, some amount relief is given to the Sermontis when Arianna, Andrea’s secret girlfriend who had been corresponding with him through letters, visits the family, bringing with her some pictures Andrea had taken of himself in his room and sent to her. Being a more realistic film, The Son’s Room portrays grief in a very accurate way, leaving the film with an ending that is not necessarily happy, but one that is more true to real life experiences.

                The Son’s Room shows us how different people react to grief by focusing on the reactions of the different members of the Sermonti family. Paola spends most of her time out of the house after the accident, says that she feels distant from her parents, and even breaks up with her boyfriend, who she had seemed perfectly happy to be with before Andrea’s death. Irene spends most of her time crying or lying silently in bed, which she seems unwilling to share with her husband as he appears to be sleeping on the couch, she is upset with how Giovanni is handling his grief, and she seems to stake most of her personal recovery on meeting Arianna. However, it is Giovanni’s reaction that is the most intense. He blames himself for Andrea’s death and we see him go through most of the five stages of grief. First, he denies that the accident was Andrea’s fault and, instead, researches air tanks and insists that Andrea’s must have been defective. He also tries to continue life as normal immediately after his son’s funeral by going to a carnival, a place that is usually fun and exciting, but he is unable to experience any emotion even there. Giovanni even returns to his work only a day or two after Andrea’s funeral, which his wife tells him was too soon. Next, we see Giovanni experience anger. He becomes intolerant and snippy toward his patients and family, and even yells and breaks things around his house because a sermon he heard at church had upset him. We also see what may be a form of bargaining throughout the film as Giovanni imagines what would have happened if he had kept his son from going out with his friends on the day that he died. Finally, we see Giovanni become depressed. He spends much of his time sadly wandering around on his own, trying to feel better. Eventually, he even dismisses all of his patients indefinitely because he can no longer handle their emotions in addition to his. It is unclear whether or not Giovanni ever experiences acceptance during the course of the film, but it is possible that Arianna’s visit and their subsequent road trip provided the whole family with some sense of relief.

                While walking to my car last night, I heard several of my classmates complaining that there was no closure and that not enough was explained in The Son’s Room. Please understand that I am in no way putting them down for seeing the film in a different light than I did, but that I, instead, only want to share what I took from the film as it contrasts to their views. Most movies do end with some sort of closure, but, as this film focused on realism, it had little to no closure because closure does not always happen in real life. Most of the time, the pain of grief simply dulls over time and you return to normalcy without even realizing that you are feeling better. There is no immediate ending to grief in real life. While a sudden answer, complete with closure, makes for an entertaining film, it just isn’t realistic. I believe that this film was giving us a realistic view of grief and how it affects people. The Son’s Room is, in my opinion, the kind of film that you really have to think about in order to gain its full meaning and that you will probably get more out of it if you have experienced a type of loss that is similar to that of the Sermontis’.

                While The Son’s Room is not the happiest, most exciting, or easiest film to watch, it is a very powerful one. If you enjoy dramatic films or trying to understand how people think, then you may be interested in this film. Although it was extremely sad, I still highly recommend this film.

Informal Review of Tim Burton's "The Corpse Bride" [animation]

                Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride tells the story of an awkward young man, named Victor, who is about to enter into an arranged marriage with a young woman, named Victoria, from a (supposedly) well off family. Things go awry, however, when Victor, unable to successfully say his wedding vows, runs out of on the wedding rehearsal. He flees to the woods where he practices his wedding vows and finishes by accidentally placing Victoria’s wedding ring onto the bony hand of Emily, a young bride who was killed just before her wedding. With Emily thinking he has married her, Victor must choose between escaping from the land of the dead and going back to Victoria or staying below with the very sweet, but very dead, Emily. Meanwhile, with Victor missing, Victoria parents enter her into another arranged marriage to a seemingly wealthy stranger, who wants nothing more than to take advantage of her supposed wealth.

The Corpse Bride not only tells a wonderful story using incredibly stylistic visuals, but with an impressive use of stop motion animation reminiscent of many of the films I used to watch as a child.

Growing up I was naturally drawn to stop motion animation. Every Christmas I looked forward to discovering and watching new Rankin Bass Christmas specials, and today I own almost the entire collection. I also have several fond memories of watching James and the Giant Peach and a few slightly disturbing memories of some Gumby movie that was made in the sixties. During my early teens I discovered more of Tim Burton’s films and, once I got used to his darker style, his animated films became some of my favorites. Needless to say, out in-class viewing of The Corpse Bride was not my first. It was, however, my first time viewing it specifically to study its animation. Compared to the old Rankin Bass films and even compared to the old Rankin Bass films and even compared to Burton’s earlier film The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Corpse Bride has come leaps and bounds in terms of animation. Every model moved fluidly, without any notable breaks and every character had their own specific way of moving. However, no medium is without flaws and stop motion animation is no exception. Much like very early stop motion, there are certain elements that will continue to look and move as if they are “heavy” because of the material used to make them. This is most notable in objects such liquids, hair, and some fabrics. One of the most obvious examples of an unnaturally heavy object seen in the film was Emily’s wedding veil. While it has proper physics most of the time, there are instances when it doesn’t move quite as it should.

                Regardless of its very few and minor flaws in animation, I found Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride to be a wonderfully creative with a unique story, memorable songs, and stunning visuals. It is one of my favorite Tim Burton films to date and I am sorry that I don’t get more opportunities to watch it than I do. I would highly recommend this film to any lovers of Tim Burton or Tim Burton-esque films, stop motion animation, or untraditional musicals.

"Bringing up Baby" Review

                Charming. That’s the word that comes to mind when I think of Bring up Baby. This classic film was released in 1938 and stars Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. While playing golf with the lawyer of a potential patron who is considering donating one million dollars to the museum where he works, David Huxley (Grant), an uptight paleontologist, encounters an exceedingly odd woman named Susan Vance (Hepburn). From this point on, Susan causes David trouble by dragging him into various situations that he just doesn’t know how to handle. When Susan reveals that her aunt, Elizabeth Random, is the would-be patron of the museum, David allows Susan, who has begun to develop feelings for him, to try to patch things up between him and the lawyer, Mr. Peabody (or as Susan calls him, “Boopy”). However, when Susan accidentally hits Mr. Peabody in the face with a handful of rocks while trying to wake him up by pelting pebbles at his bedroom window late at night, David parts company with Susan, stating that he never wants to see her again. Not one to give up, Susan calls David the very next day to ask him to help her move her newly acquired pet Leopard, named Baby, to her farm in Connecticut. As Susan tries to keep David near her and away from his fiancé in new York she draws him into another series of sticky situations including chasing after Susan’s dog, George, who has stolen David’s rare dinosaur bone, hunting for the escaped Baby, and ending up in jail, masquerading as a convicted gang and coming toe to toe with another Leopard that has escaped from a nearby circus. However, all ends as it should with Susan giving the museum the one-million dollars and with Susan and David finally ending up together. The delightful combination of what would now be considered a “family friendly” film and Katharine Hepburn’s joyful portrayal of Susan is what brings Bringing up Baby its charm.

                Bringing up Baby has everything I think of when I think of older classic films: it’s in black and white, the credits are at the beginning, it relies a lot on visual gags and simple humor, it’s exceedingly clean, and everyone has that certain, indescribable way of talking that was very much present in the 20s and 30s. At its release, Bringing up Baby was a film that anyone would willingly go see, it was the norm, and many adult viewers still enjoy this classic film today. However, were the film released today with no changes it would likely have been marketed to a very different group: children. What was once considered the norm of entertainment for both young and old has now been downgraded to the term, “family friendly” because it is considered to be relatively “clean.” In fact, the most “risqué” scene in Bringing up Baby was a bit between David and Susan where he accidentally rips her dress in the back, revealing her slip. Thinking further on the subject of the film’s “cleanliness,” I can’t even remember there being any foul language or sexual insinuations used. Bringing up Baby and films like it were (and are) enjoyable for people of all ages, so it is a complete shame that similar films being made today are seen as childish, in part, because they are “clean.”

                The other aspect that gave a sense of charm to Bringing up Baby was Katharine Hepburn’s portrayal of the whimsical and ever absent-minded Susan. Indeed, most of the film’s comedy is a direct or indirect result of Susan’s actions. Directly, we have the character of Susan herself. She is driven, often acts before she thinks, is easily distracted, and has her own, odd way of doing things. For instance, when Susan’s heel breaks while searching for Baby she is instantly distracted by the way the absence of one heel makes her walk. Susan then begins marching back and forth, pretending to be a solider, and repeating the line, “I was born on a hill.” Indirectly, Susan’s attempts to keep David nearby by saying whatever pops into her head often leads to comical moments for others. For example, when David accidentally meets Aunt Elizabeth while wearing a frilly bathrobe, Susan creates a cover story for David (without telling him its exact details), leading Aunt Elizabeth to believe that David’s name is Mr. Bone, that he is suffering from a nervous breakdown, and that he is a big game hunter. Not only does this series of lies result in many comical moments between David and the other characters, it also drives much of the plot forward. Along with displaying fantastic comedic timing, Hepburn also displays a wonderful array of emotions from a dreamy-eyed, love struck Susan, who is playing “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not” with her toes, to a completely distraught Susan, who is bawling her eyes out because she thinks David doesn’t want her around anymore. While the film’s story, dialogue, and cast were all grand, it was Hepburn’s performance that shone the most in Bringing up Baby.

                Bringing up Baby is an absolutely delightful film and I wish I had discovered it sooner. I found its clean story and comedy, which appeals to both young and old alike, to be refreshing and extremely appealing. However, Katharine Hepburn’s charming performance as Susan proved to be the icing on the cake, turning a good movie into a great one. I strongly recommend this film to lovers of old classics, good clean humor, or traditionally “family friendly” films.

"Waking Sleeping Beauty" Informal Review

                Waking Sleeping Beauty documents the history of Disney animation from the failure of The Black Cauldron through the success of The Lion King. It gives history about the company including power struggles, the rise of big names like Tim Burton and John Lasseter, the Disney Renaissance, and the advances in technology that led to the hand-drawn animation we have today. It met all my expectations of what a documentary should be and, thankfully, the subject was extremely interesting and there were no controversial topics to get me riled up.

                Waking Sleeping Beauty not only presented facts about Disney’s animation history, but it did so in an interesting way. The film began with its ending, the prerecorded speeches given at the staff premiere of The Lion King, at which point the narrator, a Disney animator who was present for the events covered in this documentary, takes things back to when he first started working for the company. While all of the normal documentary-esque elements such as interviews, photos, and news clips were present, it also kept things interesting by showing home videos, clips from Disney films, and caricatures of various members of the Disney team, presumably drawn by the animators themselves. There were several different narrators throughout the film, all of which were part of the team as well. There were very few instances throughout Waking Sleeping Beauty where I lost interest and I really enjoyed learning more about my favorite kind of Disney film.

                As usual, where Disney is involved there is magic and Waking Sleeping Beauty is no exception. Although the story was far less glamorous than the fairytales Disney is so well known for telling, it was no less engaging. I would highly recommend this film to any Disney fan or animation enthusiast.

Informal Review of "Gattaca" (Commercial and Industrial Contex)

                The indie film Gattaca takes place in a future where society is obsessed with obtaining genetic perfection. Most children are conceived via consulting with geneticists in order to customize gender, hair color, and eye color, and to ensure that they will be as healthy as possible. The better an individual’s genes, the more likely they are to succeed in the world. The main character of Gattaca, Vincent Freeman, was conceived through natural means and was predicted to have both a high possibility of developing a heart condition and a life expectancy of thirty-two years. Although Vincent never actually displayed any signs of illness, he was discriminated against and labelled an in-valid, meaning that he will never be allowed to follow his dream of traveling into space. Unwilling to give up his dream, Vincent makes a contract to take on the identity of Jerome Morrow, a former Olympic swimmer who can no longer use his legs. Vincent begins work at Gattaca Aerospace Corporation and is scheduled to travel into space, but things go awry when a murder takes place in the office and Vincent’s DNA is found at the scene of the crime.

For an independent film, Gattaca still manages to tell a complex story with decent graphics despite its potentially low production budget.

                All that I knew about Gattaca before watching it was that it was an independent film that was about genetic perfection. As I went into things completely blind, I had no expectations to shape my reaction to the film. I also know nothing about Gattaca’s distribution or exhibition, but I could definitely tell a difference in production value. Although the overall story was incredibly unique and compelling, there were times when the certain scenes or specific lines of dialogue were awkward or made no sense. There were also times when the visuals, especially some of the special effects, seemed cheaper as well. There were not very many different sets and, although this may have been an aesthetic choice, many of the scenes were very, very dark.

                Although it is hard to pinpoint the exact reasons, Gattaca had the feel of a made-for-TV movie. However, to me what matters most about a film is its story and, in my opinion, Gattaca’s story was top notch. I would definitely watch this film again and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys films that incorporate a slightly dystopian society.

Informal Review of "The King's Speech" (Character Motivations and Their Effects on Plot)

                The King’s Speech is a historical drama about King George VI’s struggle with a life-long speech impediment. At the beginning of the film our main character, referred to by his speech therapist as, “Bertie,” is not the king of England, but the Duke of York and the second in line for the throne. After countless tries with other therapists, Bertie’s wife, Elizabeth, finds Doctor Lionel Logue, who is the first therapist to have any kind of success with Bertie. Eventually, Lionel and Bertie become good friends and Lionel helps Bertie to overcome more than just his speech impediment. This friendship is especially important when Bertie’s brother, David, steps down from his position as king to marry his mistress, who is not deemed suitable for marriage by the Catholic Church because she has been divorced in the past. Lionel helps Bertie prepare for his coronation, his first official speech as king, and is present for every other speech he would go on to give in the future. One of the most prevalent features of The King’s Speech is its characters and its use of character motives to further the plot.

                There are four main characters in The King’s Speech that have clear motives: Bertie, Lionel, David, and Elizabeth. In the beginning, Bertie’s motivation is to learn to speak better so as not to embarrass himself and to please his father, who is still the king at the beginning of the film. However, after Bertie replaces David as king after their father dies, Bertie’s need to overcome his speech impediment grows from simply avoiding embarrassment to needing to speak effectively in order to be a good leader. Both forms of Bertie’s motivation move the plot forward because overcoming his speech impediment is the central conflict of the entire movie.

Lionel’s motive remains mostly the same throughout the film. Throughout the film Lionel’s motivation is to help Bertie overcome his speech impediment first as a teacher helping a pupil, then, later, as a friend who wants to see another friend rise to their full potential. Lionel’s motivation is responsible for furthering the plot in that he is the only one who can help Bertie overcome his speech impediment, which is the central conflict.

Next, we have David, whose only true motivation is to please himself no matter the cost. This selfishness moves the plot along by adding higher stakes to the central conflict when David abdicates the throne, making it more important than ever for Bertie to overcome his speech impediment.

Lastly, we have Elizabeth, played by Helena Bonham Carter. Although I did not know much about her life at the time I first watched The King’s Speech, I have seen Carter in other films. Even though it was strange to see her acting outside of her usual typecast of deranged lunatic with extremely curly hair (such as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeny Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Bellatrix Lestrange in several of the Harry Potter films), it was refreshing to see her in a different role and it did not affect my view of the film in the least. Her motivation in the role as Elizabeth in The King’s Speech is solely to be supportive of her husband and to encourage him to do his best. While her motive seems to have nothing to do with the plot, without it there would be no plot. It was her finding Doctor Lionel without her husband’s knowledge or permission that kicked the plot into motion and allowed the two friends to meet, thus ensuring Bertie’s eventual success in beating his speech impediment and learning to speak publicly.

                Not only is The King’s Speech’s use of plot and genre amazing, its use of character motive to further the plot is even more impressive. All of the characters mesh incredibly well together and even the ones with very little screen time still have a fair amount of influence over the plot. For all the reasons listed above and more, I highly recommend this film.

"2001: a Space Odyssey" Review

                Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: a Space Odyssey is a film that makes more sense if you have read the book… Or at least that’s what I’m assuming since I have not read the book and did not understand this movie. That isn’t to say it’s a bad movie, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good movie either. Honestly I have a love/hate relationship with this particular film. In terms of keeping me entertained, it wasn’t very good, but in terms of lulling me into a false sense of security then surprising me witless it is a master.

The plot of 2001: a Space Odyssey is more than a little difficult to explain. The film begins at the dawn of man with a group of apes slowly evolving. Suddenly, a large, black rectangle, later called a monolith, appears in front of the apes’ cave. The apes gather around it in curiosity and begin touching it. Soon we cut to several thousand years into the future. The monolith has been discovered buried on the moon, which has now been colonized by the human race. Here we find Doctor Floyd, the chairman of the National Counsel of Astronautics, on his way to study the monolith. We are given a bit of exposition about how the story of the monolith is being covered up by a story of an epidemic because the government does not think the public is ready to know about extraterrestrial life. Later, Doctor Floyd goes with a team to investigate the monolith. However, as the group gathers in front of the strange structure for a group picture, a high pitched sound emanated from the monolith, causing everyone to clutch their heads before we cut once again, this time to eighteen months later. An expedition of five men and one artificially intelligent computer, called HAL, are headed on a mission to Jupiter. However, when the only two crew members on the ship who are not in hibernation, David and Frank, become concerned about HAL’s behavior and consider disconnecting him, HAL goes berserk and kills all of the crew members except for David, who eventually succeeds in disconnecting HAL. Once HAL has been disconnected, David is shown a prerecorded video stating the true purpose of the mission: the monolith has been sending a signal to Jupiter and the crew was being sent to investigate it. Finally, David reaches Jupiter where he finds another monolith orbiting the planet. He gets into his pod to investigate, but is pulled into a trippy montage for several minutes until his pod finally lands in a fancy room where David sees an older version of himself watching himself. That David sees an older version of himself eating dinner. That David sees another, older David lying in bed. The monolith appears in the center of the room and the David lying on the bed reaches his hand out toward it. Suddenly, David has been turned into a giant fetus. Fetus-David then floats alongside the Earth, seemingly gazing at it for the rest of eternity.

While completely confusing plot-wise and a bit slow paced, this movie does a lot of fantastic things including its interesting camera angles and its use of sound and pacing to build up the film’s most important moments.

                One of the most interesting choices that Kubrick made in regard to 2001: a Space Odyssey was his use of odd angles to showcase the film’s actions. With the majority of the film taking place in outer space, there are ample opportunities for things to be shown at odd angles and still have it fit within the context of the story. During Doctor Floyd’s first scene we see a flight attendant wearing special shoes that allow her to walk along the floor of the ship, despite there being no gravity. It is later revealed that this same technology can allow one to walk on any surface when we see another flight attendant deliver a tray of sip-able food to the pilots of the ship by first walking up the side of the wall, across the ceiling, then down the opposite wall to enter the pilots cabin upside down (or potentially right side up depending on how you look at it). Between the use of these shoes and the lack of the use of said shoes, we are able to witness some rather intriguing shots. Suddenly, shots at completely askew angles are commonplace and upside downs shots are not out of the ordinary. In my opinion, the scene in which this technique is best used takes place on the spaceship bound for Jupiter. At a long shot we see one of the members of the crew jogging along the side of the walls of a circular room. The camera then moves behind him for a tracking shot. The man is now right side up and, as he runs, we watch the room move around him. The best description I can give of this scene would be a first person view of running behind someone on a giant hamster that has cryogenic sleep chambers and computer terminals along the sides of it.

The next interesting use of camera angles was the various point-of-view shots that were used. The most interesting use of these shots is when we see the world through HAL’s eye (he only has one). HAL sees David and Frank through a round, distorted lens and usually from a slightly low angle shot. By the time we see things from HAL’s point of view, it has already been communicated that he may possess both the abilities to think and to feel. Perhaps HAL’s distorted view represents his distorted view of humanity.

                While 2001: a Space Odyssey’s camera angles are rather impressive, it is its ability to build up to important moments in the film that truly shines. When I stated earlier that this film is slow, I wasn’t exaggerating. This film is slow from beginning to end. In fact, when I first started the movie, I was treated to nothing but a black screen and music for several straight minutes. I actually began to worry that my PS2 turned DVD player was broken, so I hit the fast forward button until I finally saw the logo of the film’s production company. Finally, we come to the film’s title screen, accompanied by 2001’s most iconic score from its soundtrack. With each crash of the cymbals another element of the opening credits appears as the music builds up to the title screen. Once the title screen has faded, we are treated to the completely digetic sounds of the aforementioned Dawn of Man. From here we are introduced to the next technique used for build up: pacing. The number one technique accredited to 2001’s painfully slow pacing is the montage. Throughout the film there are countless montages and music is used very sparsely. While annoying at times, used together these two elements are used to invoke surprise in the viewer. For instance, Frank going out to replace part of the ship to test HAL’s prediction that it would fail in seventy-two hours is shown via an incredibly slow montage, during which the only sound that can be heard is the sound of Frank’s breathing. This scene goes on for several minutes, making the viewer think that it will be exactly the same as all of the other montages up to this point. Then, out of the blue, everything goes completely silent, grabbing the audience’s attention as we are shown a series of shots with the camera getting closer and closer to HAL before we see him sever Frank’s oxygen cord then cast him off into space to die. Throughout 2001: a Space Odyssey these slow, silent moments build up to all the most important parts of the film.

                Although 2001: a Space Odyssey is an extremely confusing and tedious film, it did employ some incredibly unique techniques that were enjoyable to watch. While your mind may be spinning, your eyes will be pleased a vast majority of the time by the diverse and unusual camera angles used and you will be caught off guard several times due to the constant build up caused by a combination of pacing through the use of montages and through the use of sound. I can’t recommend this film from an entertainment standpoint as I was bored a majority of the time I watched it, but I do highly recommend it if you enjoy thinking about how a film was made and why the director chose to employ certain techniques.

Informal Review of "Jurassic Park" (Sound)

                Jurassic Park is a film that needs no introduction, and, thus, no plot summary. This modern classic has thrilled and enchanted audiences since its release in 1993. Aside from winning an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, Jurassic Park won Academy Awards for both Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing in 1994. The film’s skillfully employed use of sound is especially evident in its musical score and in its use of sound effects.

                First, not only is the score of Jurassic Park stunning, the tone of the music always matches the feel of whatever is going on onscreen and the volume is always at an appropriate level. It softens whenever dialogue is being spoken and it swells and becomes more dynamic to add to any scene it is present in. Second, Jurassic Park uses its sound effects to its full advantage through simultaneous sounds, off screen sounds, and sound editing. Obviously, without simultaneous sounds, the film would be awkwardly silent. After all, a car falling through a tree and plummeting to the ground generally makes at least a little sound. However, it uses even this simple concept to its advantage. For instance, whenever the loud booming of the ever iconic T Rex’s footsteps is heard, something vibrates, whether it be water rippling in a cup or a giant dinosaur footprint, or Jello jiggling on a spoon being held by a terrified child. This could also be seen as a sound cue for the T Rex. Jurassic Park also utilizes off screen sounds. Before any dinosaurs are ever seen, they are first heard off screen through stomps, roars, and other dinosaur-like sounds, building a sense of urgency and suspense. This brings me to sound editing. Of course there is all of the usual sound editing, but where the film really shines is in its dinosaur sounds. Because dinosaurs no longer roam the earth, they are not available for recording sessions. As such, dinosaur sounds such as grunts, screeches, growls, and roars had to be made through editing, manipulating, and mixing sounds together. Although no one knows what dinosaurs sounded like, the sounds of Jurassic Park have thrust audiences into the Jurassic Period for over twenty years now.

                Though often taken for granted, sound is a very important element to film that we did not always have. Though silent films were decent, the addition of sound was revolutionary. Modern film would not be the same without it and Jurassic Park is no exception. While well executed sound did not make the movie, it was certainly part of its success. As to be expected, I highly recommend this film.

Review of "Slumdog Millionaire" (Editing)

                Slumdog Millionaire follows the story of Jamal, a former urchin from the slums of India, who has managed to become a contestant on the TV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and has made it to the final question. However, Jamal is accused of cheating in order to win and is taken in for questioning. As Jamal is asked how he managed to answer all of the questions correctly, we are shown a series of flashbacks that both show what led him to know the answers and provides valuable backstory for Jamal. Through these flashbacks we learn that Jamal’s reason for becoming a contestant on the show was in the hope that Latika, a childhood friend he had spent most of his life looking for, would be watching and would see him. While rather unnoticeable unless you are paying attention, which is, of course, a good thing, the editing used to present Slumdog Millionaire is fantastic. While the film does employ the more common editing techniques of montages, reaction shots, shot/reverse shots, the 180 degree rule, and transitions between shots, it is the use of establishing shots, TV style editing, and overlapping editing that makes the film truly shine.

                Barring a few instances when Slumdog Millionaire is purposefully confusing the viewer by providing little to no context to what is going on onscreen, it is very good about using establishing shots to clearly define where the current action is taking place. Throughout the film we catch glimpses of what Jamal is currently going through as well as flashbacks to his childhood and flashbacks to the time he has already spent participating in the game show, establishing the story piece by piece. As such, there are a great number of different locations shown onscreen. In the present, Jamal is in a local police station, in the recent past Jamal is, of course, on the set of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and during his childhood and early adolescent years Jamal travels all over India. Once the viewer has figured out the relationship between the flashbacks, the establishing shot becomes a key element in keeping the audience from getting confused, especially during the childhood flashbacks. Through his childhood alone, Jamal travels from the slums, to a camp of children being forced to beg on the streets, to spending life on a train, to the Tajma Hall, to several locations in Mumbai, and so on. Each of these areas is first accompanied by a series of establishing shots, without which keeping up with where the characters are at any given time would be nearly impossible.

During the game show flashbacks and, later, the final night of Jamal’s run on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, TV style editing is used. The viewer feels as though they are actually watching a game show as opposed to a scene in a movie. Throughout these scenes the camera swivels around to show either or both Jamal and the host, the questions and answer choices are constantly present onscreen, and the audience and their reactions are shown occasionally.

Finally, the film employs the use of overlapping editing. As the beginning credits roll, we see a top-down view of someone filling a bathtub with money. This scene seems strange and out of place until it appears later, near the end of the film. As it turns out, this scene is part of the film’s climax. Salim has locked himself in a bathroom with the money in order to distract his boss, the leader of a vicious gang, so that Latika, who had been being held against her will, can escape. Another reoccurring scene that appears throughout the movie from the beginning to almost the very end is that of a woman standing next to a moving train. At first, the viewer does not know who she is or what she has to do with the current situation. However, it is later revealed that this woman is, in fact, Latika and that she is the driving force behind the entire plot. Without the audience even knowing, they have just been shown the answer as to why Jamal was able to correctly answer the questions posed to him during the game show. It was the journey leading up to this scene that taught Jamal everything he needed to know.

                If Slumdog Millionaire had not been edited the way it was, the story would not have unfolded in such an impactful way. The editing allowed the audience to know only as much of the story at a time as the director wanted them to. For its clever combination of plot and editing, I highly recommend Slumdog Millionaire.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Shot Analysis)

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Lincoln Memorial Sequence

Overview: In this sequence, Mr. Smith has just finished touring Washington DC and is at his last stop of the day, the Lincoln Memorial. The scene begins with Mr. Smith walking up to the building and looking up at it in awe. As he walks through the memorial, sees the statue of Lincoln, and reads the words eternalized in the monument, Smith emanates a sense of respect and reverence. Patriotic yet peaceful music plays throughout the scene.

Shot #1: Medium shot of Smith walking toward the camera. Tourists roam and the Washington Monument is standing tall in the background.

Shot #2: The camera pans across the top of the Lincoln Memorial.

Shot #3: Full body shot of Smith as he ascends the stairs. He takes off his hat.

Shot #4: Side shot. Smith and other tourists enter the monument. Smith slowly walks forward.

Shot #5:  As Smith walks, the camera pans to the statue of Lincoln. Music transitions to “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah.”

Shot #6: Still shot of Lincoln’s head and the words above it: “IN THIS TEMPLE AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN IS ENSHRINED FOREVER.” The shot then tilts down to look at the rest of the statue. Music returns to normal.

Shot #7: Medium shot of Smith, turned a quarter away from the camera, looking back. A wall filled with the quotes of Lincoln is in the background. Smith looks back at the wall.

Shot #8: Cut to the wall. The phrase “WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE WITH CHARITY FOR ALL WITH FIRMNESS IN THE RIGHT AS GOD GIVES US TO SEE THE RIGHT LET US STRIVE ON TO FINISH THE WORK WE ARE IN” is highlighted.

Shot #9: Close up of the back of Smith’s head. He turns back to look at Lincoln’s statue.

Shot #10: A side view of the statue.

Shot #11: Medium shot of Smith turning and walking.

Shot #12: A shot of the words on the opposite wall. The camera tilts down and the shot fades into the next.

Shot #13: The shot fades in on the wall. The wall holds Lincoln’s speech that begins, “FOUR SCOUR AND SEVEN YEARS AGO…” The shot fades into the next.

Shot #14: The shot fades in. A full body shot of Smith, a child, and the child’s grandfather with their backs to the camera. They are looking up at the wall. The child is reading, “...that from these honored dead…”

Shot #15: The child continues to read, “…we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave…” A medium close up of Smith looking up while walking forward. He then looks down.

Shot #16: A high angle shot of the boy continuing to read next to his grandfather, who he is holding hands with, “…the last full measure of devotion.”

Shot #17: The boy continues to read, “That we here highly…” When the boy stumbles on a word, his grandfather chimes in to help him, “Resolve.” We see a medium shot from the side of an elderly black man entering. He removes his and places it above his heart.

Shot #18: The boy continues to read, “…resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.” We see a close up of Smith as he looks over at the grandfather.

Shot #19: A close up from the side of the grandfather looking up and smiling at the wall of words. The boy continues, “That this nation, under God…”

Shot #20: A close up of the boy at eye level. He continues to read, “…shall have a new birth of…” He pauses for another word he does not know.

Shot #21: An eye level shot of the grandfather as he says, “Freedom.”

Shot #22: A close up of the black man looking up at the wall as the boy says, “…freedom.”

Shot #23: We see a close up of Smith as he looks back, then up. The boy continues, “…and that government of the people…”

Shot #24: A close up of Lincoln’s face. The boy continues, “…by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” The scene fades into the next.

Shot #25: The scene transitions into the ringing of the Liberty Bell, then fades to black.

            This sequence of shots was set up to show the quiet respect that Mr. Smith holds for America’s history and those who sacrificed their lives for it. If the music had been too loud or if the shots had progressed too quickly, the scene wouldn’t have had the same effect.

Informal Review of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (Mise-en-scene)

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, is based off the classic book by Roald Dahl entitled, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When Wonka issues a contest allowing people to tour his factory if they are lucky enough to find one of five golden tickets hidden inside Wonka Bars, the world goes wild searching for them. These tickets are found by five lucky children, including Charlie Bucket, a young boy from an impoverished family. When the children and their guardians arrive at the factory, they find that all is not as it seems when they are confronted with both the eccentric Willy Wonka, his small army of Oompa Loompas, and his odd candy making contraptions. When four out of the five children meet with tragedy because they refused to listen to Mr. Willy Wonka’s lackluster warnings, Charlie becomes the heir to Wonka’s factory because he was the only one not willing to sell out Willy Wonka’s candy making secrets. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’s mise-en-scene is incredibly vast, but the main elements that I am going to focus on are theme, setting, and the visual and blocking clues of several main characters.

A film like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory has so much mise-en-scene that it’s hard to know where to begin. For starters, I’ll mention the main theme of the film, which should not be confused with the lesson it is trying to teach. The theme of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is one of hope. Throughout the earlier sections of the film we see Charlie working hard, pushing forward and waiting for better times to come along. The feel of the film is also set by the three types of lives we see. First, we see Charlie’s bleak yet hopeful life. He lives in a cramped, dingy shack that is far too small and cluttered to properly accommodate the number of people living there. Charlie’s mother, messy and worn out in appearance, works washing laundry to support her son, her parents, and, presumably, her in-laws. Charlie also does his best to support his family, who seems to make sacrifices to give him the best life they can provide, by working as a paper boy. In contrast to Charlie’s difficult life, we see the average lives of those around him. Homes and clothing are nicer and cleaner, children are given enough pocket money to buy extra amounts of sweets from the candy store, and everyone seems to take things for granted. In even more contrast we see the magical factory of the whimsical Willy Wonka. The factory is the type of life that many would dream of, but could never have. Inside we see bright colorful candy in contrast with metal contraptions and brick walls.

While those three types of lives present the setting, it is the characters that present the film’s lesson. Thinking back on the book upon which the film is based, it is obvious that the story is, in part, a commentary on the effects of poor parenting decisions on children. The mise-en-scene of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory helps to establish these characters before they even have a chance to open their mouths. Since I’ve already mentioned Charlie and his family to an extent, I will focus on the other children and their parents. Let’s go in order of appearance. First, we see Augustus Gloop. Our first glimpse of the Gloop family is in a restaurant where they sit at a table, surrounded by plates of food. The whole family is rather plump and are wearing stereotypically German clothing. In fact, the very first time we hear Augustus speak he has his mouth full of food. Even without hearing about Augustus’ eating habits, we can already tell that he is a glutton.

 Next, we have the Salt family. Mr. Salt is fat, balding and frantic. Mrs. Salt is stiff, formal, and seems content to stay out of any spats between her husband and daughter. Veruca, besides being very well dressed, shows just how spoiled she is through her unspoken agitation by wildly spinning back and forth in her father’s chair. Her hair is also wild and raggedy, suggesting that perhaps she had refused to have it brushed.

Then we have the Beauregardes, the rude and overly talkative family. Mr. Beauregarde, a car salesman, wears his greasy hair slicked back and wears a stereotypical sleazebag salesman plaid jacket. Even before she speaks, we can tell that Violet, his daughter, likes to gab just as much as her father does. Her jaw gets a constant workout from her non-stop gum chewing, showing that she likes to run her mouth in more ways than one. In fact, both she and her father continue to display this trait as the both vie for the attention of the camera, constantly interrupting each other.

Finally, we come to Mike Teevee, who is so wrapped up in watching TV that, not only does he almost completely ignore the reporters, he basically tells his mother to shut-up. He is so obsessed with his television program that he dresses up like the cowboys he is watching. In fact, he is wearing the exact same costume when he arrives at the factory days later, suggesting that he does not get up from the TV very often. Further suggesting this is the setup of the Teevee family living room. The coffee table in front of the couch is full to bursting from clutter. An ash tray completely full of used cigarettes further proves that the family does not leave the couch very often. I could go on to talk about Mr. Wonka himself, but that could be a novel in and of itself. For its wonderful story, message, and visuals I highly recommend this classic film.

"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"- A Film For All Generations

“Did you ever have so much to say, you don’t know how to say it?” uttered Jefferson Smith to his secretary as he paced about his office, trying to formulate his very first bill to present to the Senate. That very sentence popped into my head the moment I sat down to write this review. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington holds so many powerful aspects that choosing which to write about was an extremely daunting task. Eventually, I was able to dig into what I believe to be the heart of the film, and that is what I present you with today.

Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), starring Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, and Edward Arnold, is a timeless example of American patriotism. When the senator of an unnamed state dies suddenly, a replacement must be found. Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold), the leader of a political machine, and Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains) want to choose someone whose vote they can easily manipulate. Taylor and Paine, along with several other corrupt politicians have cooked up a plan to make money off of the upcoming construction of a dam. When the most unlikely of candidates, the leader of The Boy Rangers named Jefferson Smith (Jimmy Stewart), is chosen, Taylor and Paine believe they have found the easily manipulated man they are looking for. However, Smith proves to be no simpleton when he presents a bill suggesting that a boys’ camp be built in the very area that Taylor and his cohorts have chosen for their dam. When Smith refuses to back down, Taylor and Paine frame him, accusing him of the very crime they themselves were about to commit. The Senate calls for the removal of Smith, but, before he can be removed, Smith creates a filibuster in order to get the truth out to his state and raise the public’s opinion of him. After nearly 24 hours of standing and speaking non-stop Smith passes out. In what can only be described as a miracle, Senator Paine, driven mad, confesses everything and Smith’s name is cleared. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a movie that emphasizes its message above all else. As such, it draws careful attention to its dialogue and uses music only to invoke emotion and a sense of patriotism.

                The area where Mr. Smith Goes to Washington truly shines is in the message it presents. To take full advantage of this strength, music is very rarely used. Naturally, music is present for both the opening and closing credits. In the opening credits, songs such as Yankee Doodle and My country Tis of Thee are used to set the patriotic feel of the film. In the ending credits, it uses the same types of songs to emphasize Smith’s triumph. Other than a few other patriotic or emotional scenes, music is mainly used in scenes where little to no dialogue is present. For instance, when Mr. Smith visits several monuments in Washington loud, upbeat patriotic music plays throughout the montage until Smith finally arrives at the Lincoln Memorial. Upon his arrival, the music lowers and becomes more reverent. Because the music is down-played in this scene we can turn our attention to reading the recorded words of Abraham Lincoln as well as listening to those same words being read by a child, looking up in awe at the words laid out before him.

                Without the constant distraction of music and other non-diegetic sounds we are able to focus not only on the words being spoken, but also on the meaning behind those words. Shortly after Smith is appointed Senator we witness a conversation between Mr. Smith and Senator Paine about Smith’s father. Upon seeing Smith wearing his hat, Paine makes the remark that Smith is just like his late father. He goes on to say that Smith’s father always kept his hat on so that he could jump into action whenever a lost cause came his way. Even after being murdered for not backing down on a case he believed in, Smith’s father still wore his hat. Despite the fact that Smith’s father and Senator Paine had been called the “Champions of Lost Causes” back in their day, the Senator expresses his current lack of faith in fighting for those causes. It is here that Smith makes the statement that will carry the entire film, “Dad always said the only causes worth fighting for were the lost causes.”

Throughout the film we see the influence that Smith’s father had on his son’s life. Not only does Mr. Smith display an impressive amount of knowledge and passion for American history, but he does his best to extend that passion to the next generation. While trying to write a bill to present to the Senate about his boys’ camp, Smith describes to his secretary, Saunders (played by Jean Arthur) the purpose behind his camp:

You see, boys forget what it really means, just reading about the land of the free in history books. Then they get to be men and forget even more. Liberty’s too precious a thing to get to be buried in books, Miss Saunders. Men should hold it up in front of them every single day of their lives and say, “I’m free to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn’t, I can, and my children will.” Boys oughta grow up remembering that.

Mr. Smith believes so strongly in these principles and those like them that he risks absolutely everything to fight for what’s right. In a rousing speech, which he gives right before fainting at the end of the film, Mr. Smith croaks out these last words, which are the final message of the film:

I guess this is just another lost cause, Mr. Paine. All you people don’t know about lost causes. Mr. Pain does. He said once they were the only causes worth fighting for, and he fought for them once; for the only reason any man fights for them, because of one plain, simple rule: love thy neighbor. And in this world today full of hatred, a man who knows that one rule has a great trust. You know that rule, Mr. Paine, and I love you for it just as my father did. And you know that you fight for the lost causes harder than any others. Yes, you even die for them, like a man we both knew, Mr. Paine. You think I’m licked! You all think I’m licked! Well I’m not licked, and I’m gonna stay right here and fight for this lost cause! Even if this room gets filled with lies like these, and the Taylors and all their armies come marching into this place! Somebody’ll listen to me.

Mr. Smith fought until the end for what he believed was right, for American ideals and for justice. No matter the time and no matter the problems we as a country face, we need more people like Jefferson Smith. We need people who will teach and prepare the next generation. We need people who will ensure that our government continues to run by the standards set by our forefathers. We need good, honest folk, who will fight against corruption. I wholeheartedly believe that the purpose of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is to inspire people to love and fight for their country again in a way that will remain applicable throughout the generations. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington has both inspired me and become one of my favorite movies of all time. I highly recommend this film not only to Americans, but to everyone, because everyone could learn a thing or two from the ideals presented in this film.

                                

Informal Review of "Dead Poets Society" (With an emphasis on camera angles.)

                Dead Poets Society is, perhaps, one of the most influential films I have ever seen. When the oppressed boys of Welton Academy get a new and rather unconventional English teacher their way of thinking is forever changed. The new English teacher, John Keating, was once a student at Welton himself, and had also been a member of a secret group of poets and free thinkers called The Dead Poets Society. Following Keating’s example, the boys reinstate the society and even begin pursuing goals they had feared to before. However, when one student commits suicide because of his over-controlling father, Keating is blamed for the event and is fired from his position at the academy, despite his complete innocence in the event. While the plot and ideals presented by the film would have been amazing on their own, they were given even greater power by the camera angles used to present them.

                The shots and angles used in Dead Poets Society had two main effects: making the viewer feel as though they were present for the actions taking place in the film and to add greater emotional impact to those scenes. The former was shown mostly through eye-level shots. In almost any conversation that took place, I felt as though I was there, standing with the boys as they joked, fought, and conducted their secret meetings. As a result I became more invested in and was able to more easily empathize with the characters. The film used other tools to cause this kind of immersion as well. One of these methods was disorientation. For instance, when Knox got drunk at Chris’ party the camera blurred and sped up the action taking place, mimicking his intoxication. In another example, as Todd was being spun around by Keating in order to inspire boldness as well as some impromptu poetry, the camera spun along with him. As it spun, I felt Todd’s nervousness and confusion, and when the camera stopped I felt his joy and surprise at his success.

The latter, shots that cause greater emotional impact, is caused by dynamic or otherwise unusual shots. For example, some of the scenes before and after Neil committed suicide used a series of dynamic shots. Rather than seeing Neil remove his shirt directly, I watched his shadow, cast on the wall behind him, perform the action instead. I felt the impact of his lost ambitions as I looked up at him from a low angle shot through the open, snowy window as he put on the crown he wore as Puck in the school play. After being awakened by the shot of the gun that Neil used to take his own life, Neil’s father started investigating the house and, upon finding him missing from his room, began searching for his son. Right before he entered the office in which Neil shot himself, Neil’s father is seen through the cracked door of the office. When he first entered the office, Neil’s body was not visible until the camera panned over to a shot of his hand, on the floor, peeking out from behind the desk.

Another instance where dynamic shots were implemented was in the ending scene where the students who had been most impacted by Keating stood up on their desks, reciting the lines “Oh, Captain, my captain” to show him their continued support in the only way they could. Not only did this scene use low angle shots to show the boys through Keating’s eyes, but it also used a particularly dynamic angle for the closing shot. In the final shot, Todd, standing on his desk, is seen through the legs of another student, who is also standing on his own desk. Not only did I see Todd as Keating saw him, but the cone-like shape that allowed the audience to see Todd also created an almost spotlight like effect as the scene faded to black.

                Without both its compelling story and its clever use of camera angles, Dead Poets Society would not have had as much power as a film. It could have had one without the other, but, in this case, neither would have had as much of an impact without the other. However, because it does have both, Dead Poets Society is an amazing film and I regret not watching it sooner. I highly recommend this film.