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.