Film Review #16

A few days ago a found a hidden treasure on Netflix, The Exam. The Exam is about eight candidates competing for one high paying position at a high tech company. The film is a psychological thriller (one of my favorite genres of film) so it is definitely not that simple. Similar to Old Boy, the plot is a little complicated for me to explain without spoiling it. However, I've found a  synopsis that gets the job done...enough.

            "The film is set in present-time United Kingdom in an alternate history. Eight candidates dress for what appears to be an employment assessment exam. They enter a room and sit down at individual desks. Each desk contains a paper with the word "candidate", followed by a number, from one to eight. The Invigilator, a representative of the company named DATAPREV, explains that the exam takes 80 minutes and consists of one question only, and that there are three rules: do not talk to the Invigilator or the armed guard at the door, do not spoil the paper, and do not leave the room. Not obeying the rules will result in disqualification.

          After the clock starts, it turns out that the question papers are blank. [...]. The candidates use the lights,bodily fluids, and fire sprinklers to try to reveal a hidden question on the paper, with no luck. Later in the film it's revealed that the company in question is responsible for a miracle drug which a large part of the population are dependent upon after a viral pandemic..." 

As the eight candidates try to discover the hidden question, they find loop holes to the rules that they think will help them out. When the true identity of the company is revealed, the stakes are raised and stuff gets real. This film is very interesting, and I'm going to be completely biased in my preference for psychological thrillers and say that words do not do this film justice.

The cinematography is gorgeous. There are points in the film where the characters mess with the lighting in the room they are in and the way that is captured on screen is lovely. The colors are rich, however they are slightly desaturated as to coincide with the tone of the film. Towards the middle and end of the film the majority of the shots are medium close ups and closeups and that makes the viewer feel a bit claustrophobic, just as I imagine the characters would feel after being in that room for so long. The film is really awesome and I give it 9/10 foxes. Everyone should totally watch it.

Film Review #15

I have spent the past few days hiding in a small cave with my laptop, watching Breaking Bad on Netflix. I had gotten so many positive reviews about the show that I had decided to give it a try. So far, it is a very interesting and engaging show. In a few short days, I have managed to get a few episodes into season 3. Breaking Bad is a pretty well written show, however I think one off the biggest reasons why the show is so well received are the visuals. One of the best things about the show are the time lapses. The show almost always uses a time lapse of the sky, highway, (etc.) and they are gorgeous. Another visually interesting thing about the show is the perspective used. Often times in the show, if a character is interacting with a container of some sort (a bathtub, a pan, a box) the camera will be placed within that container. It is very cool to get that perspective, especially because it is not used that often in other shows. Overall, I think Braking Bad is an excellent show and I would recommend it to all.

Oh My Gosh! It's a Turtle: No Not Really

Film Review #13

I just returned home from watching The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and I'm pretty happy with the film. I have to preface my review by saying that I have read the books of the Hunger Games Trilogy. That being said, I can not comment on the clarity of the film's story, because I had a complete understanding it before the film even started. The film takes place in a post-apocalyptic North America where each year 24 young adults, two from each of the twelve districts, compete in the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games consists of those 24 tributes being placed in an artificial environment and are told to survive through various obstacles they may encounter. The tributes are expected to kill one another until there is only one victor.  Catching Fire is the second installment of the trilogy and in my opinion, serves as more of a connecting piece between the first and third installments rather than as a stand alone film.
As a result of the content, the film had a very poignant and somewhat fearful tone. The editors did a very swell job creating this mood within the film. Most of the footage had very cool colored tints, many of them being blue. One thing that I was not so crazy about was the lighting. Most of what takes place in Catching Fire takes place after the sun has gone down, so many of the scenes were dark. This would not have been a problem if it didn't prevent some of the action from being seen. There were a few scenes that were so dark, it felt as if there was no staged lighting at all and therefore I felt like I didn't get to see as much of what was happening as I would have liked. Overall I think the film was a success and I'm super excited to see Mockingjay, the final installment of the trilogy. I would totally recommend seeing this film.

San Francisco

Film Review #12

I've recently re-watched a film called ABC's of Death. Although the film is categorised as horror, I found it to be a mix of comedic and disturbing. The premise of the film is that 26 directors from various parts if the world were given a letter of the alphabet and a word that began with that letter. The words themselves were not horrific, however the directors were instructed to create a short horror film relating to the word. When watching the film, a letter is displayed and the short film of that letter is screened. When the respected short film has ended, the word assigned to that  short film is revealed. The set up of the overall film creates a very fun experience for the viewers. For me, it was very interesting to see how each director tackled the project. It was also very fun to try and guess what word the film was based on. Although a lot of the short films were disturbingly creepy, the overal film was super awesome. I'd reccommend it to anyone with a strong stomach. 

Film Review #11

This week I watched a short film called The Desk. The film is about a socially rejected teenage boy that meets a new girl that he befriends. In the beginning of the film, the boy is lonely and when he goes to one of his classes, he writes "hi" on his desk. The next day when he goes to that class, he realizes that someone has responded to his greeting by writing another "hi" on the desk. Throughout the film, the boy is shown with a pep in his step as he and the other person writing on the desk become closer friends. There is then a minor plot twist in the film that I'm compelled to leave as a mystery. Overall I think the film was very intersting. There were a lot of really nice POV shots that helped convey the character's emotions and also allowed the viewers to follow what was happening in the story.  I think the film had a very indie flair to it. I really enjoyed the film and I would totally reccomend others watch it.

Cinematic Shots

Dirty Two Shot

1. 

Wide Shot

Medium Shot

Close Up

Film Review #9

This week I watched a short film called "The Most Beautiful Thing." The film is about a socially rejected high school boy with no friends and his discovery of a girl he develops feelings for that he wants to ask to prom. The beginning of the film shows the boy going through his day alone and sad. The next day while waiting at the train stop, the boy sees a girl that he finds attractive and says hello. The girl doesn't respond to his greeting, so he says hello again. The girl then realizes he is talking to her and scrambles to find a piece of paper in her bag, before writing on it that she is deaf. The next few scenes in the film show those two becoming very good friends. You are also able to see the boy developing feelings for her. After the montage of happiness, the boy is prepared to ask his new friend to prom, but sees what he believes is another guy kissing her, and backs out. This happens twice before the boy begins to avoid the girl. At the end of the film, the two run into each other in the hallway and it is revealed that the girl didn't actually kiss anyone else. The boy then asks her to prom is in sign language... I thought this short film was very true to its title. The story was very beautiful. It appeared to be filmed on a handheld camera the entire time, which gave the film an intimate quality. I really liked this film and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet short film that might make them tear up.


Watch it Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP8psM4LWXk

Shutter Speed and Aperture

5 Shot Story: An Eggstremely Horrifying Breakfast

The End

Film Review #8

This week I watched a comedic music video by The Lonely Island entitled, "Threw It On The Ground." The song is a narrative about a man that goes through his day throwing things on the ground out suspicion that everyone he encounters is trying to invite to be a part of "the system." The song wasn't intended to be very serious, which allowed for a very fun music video to accompany it. With the song being written in the form of a narration, the video was made as a visual to what was being said, meaning everything that happens in the song is depicted in  the video, verbatim  That might normally cause a video to be pretty boring, however in "Threw It On The Ground" every time the protagonist threw something on the ground, there was a close up of it hitting the ground in slow motion. That made the music video a bit more dramatic and a lot more interesting to watch rather than if it was all shot in real time. When something was thrown on the ground in the chorus, the pace and rhythm changed in a way that flowed with the slow motion footage better than the original music would have. This drew more attention to the objects being thrown while simultaneously highlighting the drama and comedy in the music video. I'm a fan of The Lonely Island and I like this music video just as much as I like their others. It is very funny and it doesn't make too much sense. I wouldn't recommend this music video to anyone with a short tolerance for silliness, but everyone else should totally watch it. 

Film Review #7

Today I re watched an animated short film called "Twisted".This film is about a guy that tries to straighten out his dog's curly tail several different ways. Although he tries many tactics, his dog's tail curls right back up. At the end of the film the guy gets a second dog in the mail with an even curlier tail. The animation used in the film is very stylized and clay like, but it works with the simplicity of the short film. The camera movements are very fluid and the music matches the film's content and pace very well. It is a very cute and silly short film and I would totally recommend it to anyone. 

The Auguste and Louis Lumière Brothers

Auguste and Louis Lumière were two French brothers that were very influential in the development in film and photography. Their father owned a buisines that sold and munufactored photography equipment, so they were raised in a technological environment which aided their interest in such subjects. The Lumière brothers created many short films in their time and are even credited with the first public film screening in 1895.

In order to screen their films, the Lumière brothers invented a machine called the Cinematograph. This device was developed based off of the principles of the kinetoscope, however the Lumière brothers strived to create a device without the flaws of the kinetoscope and with better resolution images. The Cinematograph became very popular across the world, because it was very light (it weighed only 16 LBS) and doubled as a motion camera and film projector. It was a very efficient invention.

Film Review #6

Today I watched the music video to the hit YouTube song, The Fox (What Does the Fox Say) for the millionth time this week. The song is very upbeat, fun and catchy, so it needed a music video to match its energy. The music video definitely fulfills its duties. The video begins at a house party where all of the guests are dressed in various animal costumes. The guests are dancing to the music, drinking their drinks, and socializing. When the chorus begins one of the group's singers changes into a fox costume as he acts out the sounds he thinks a fox makes. The environment also changes from the house party to the middle of the forest where dancers are partially dressed as foxes as well. During the second verse, the group's second singer appears at the house party, drinking his champagne. During the repeat of the chorus the second singer appears in the forest in a fox costume with his partner. The rest of the video alternates between clips of the two singers in the forest, dressed as foxes with background dancers, POV shots of the forest (fox's POV), the guests dressed as animals at the house party, a grandfather "reading" a bedtime story to his grandson in the forest, and closeups of a CG fox. The music video is very entertaining and I would totally recommend watching it. 


Watch it Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jofNR_WkoCE

Film Review #5

Last week I watched an animated short film called Alarm. This film depicts the morning of a tired man as he struggles to get out of bed and awaken himself. The animation used in the film is very fluid. The CG background art used in the film is very realistic with its use of perspective, proportion, shadow and highlight. In contrast, the character in the film has a bit more of a stylistically cartoony flare, however he blends with his environment very well. The animators did a very nice job at creating realistic weight and tension in this film. The idea of the story and the way it is carried out is very simple, but very funny. The character in the film fully opens his eyes only once, when he is frightened awake by the sound of the television, exaggerating the extent to which he is tired. Following this, most of the film's comedy stems from the fact the character does not want to wake up, but alarms on multiple devices (and other noises) continue to disturb his sleep. He even goes so far as to shoot his alarm clock which only adds to the humor of the film. Overall I think it was very well executed in terms of both story and animation and I would definitely recommend it to friends.

Watch it Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc-vINJmhNk

Crit Sheet

Film Review #4

I finished watching We're the Millers less than thirty minutes ago and I must say, it was quite the film. The film was about an amateur pot dealer that travels to Mexico to unknowingly steal an unnaturally large amount of marijuana in order to repay his debt to a drug lord after being robbed. In order to successfully smuggle the drugs over the boarder, he hires a few "acquaintances" to pose as family members joining him on a "good ole' family vacation." I went to see the movie because the advertisements for the film were hilarious and the plot seemed very interesting. However, the film's plot was not as developed as I expected it to be. The creators of the film seemed to put more emphasis on the comedy and less on the story line. I feel the countless amount of jokes and sexual innuendos were used as a distraction from the film's lack of a progressive plot. I also think there were a few scenes of the film that felt very unoriginal. However, I still enjoyed the film. I would not recommend it to someone in search of a good movie, but rather someone in search of a good laugh. 

Human Rights Articles

These are the articles I will be basing my posters on

Article 19:

• "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

• This article is allows freedom of speech and freedom to protest

• Pictures:

Article 13:

• "Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state."

• "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country."

• This article enables people to travel to freely travel to any countries or states that they wish

• Pictures:
  

Film Review #3

Last night while browsing Netflix, I came across a documentary called Craigslist Joe. The Film was centered around a guy named Joseph Garner that set out to spend 31 days living purely off of craigslist ads and the people that post them. His mission was to test the kindness and humanity of our society while also searching for the extent that technology influences our lives. I thought that was an interesting experiment, so I watched the documentary and it was pretty cool. One of the things I really liked about the film was the decision for there to be only one cameraman present, and for that cameraman to be participating in the experiment. That made the film feel more sincere than it would have if there was an entire film crew walking around. That would have made the film feel very manufactured and staged. One of the things I didn't like about the film was the speed in which it progressed. I felt as if we (the audience) were rushed through the 31 days without sufficient time to absorb the sentiment of the actions of those helping Joe. This detracted from the emotional value of the documentary. I  recognized the reputable behavior of those people, but the way it was presented in the documentary could have been more effective. Overall, I thought the documentary was pretty cool in its nature and would probably recommend it to someone looking for something interesting to watch.

Watch it Here:
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Craigslist_Joe/70243234?sod=search-autocomplete