Film Review #36

Today in chemistry, our class watched the movie Good Burger. Watching the movie was very nostalgic because it is an old nickelodeon movie from the nineties and I am preparing for my last year in high school. The movie brought me back to my childhood and that was nice. Good Burger is a pretty funny movie, partially because one of the main characters is ridiculously "stupid" and partially because that is just the archetype nickelodeon movies follow. The movie itself isn't all that great. There isn't to much that is special about it, however it holds a lot of memories so I am biased. I would recommend watching it to anyone in need of a good laugh.

Film Review #35

There's an interesting video floating around facebook (where I found it) and gaining tons of views on youtube called Look Up. It is a social commentary on society's "technology takeover" and consists of a guy delivering a poem (or speach?) expressing his views on the issue along with a visual story of the effects of the technology take over. It is a pretty interesting, yet ironic PSA, and I liked it. It had all of the usual pretty and crisp shots and attractive colors. The video makes me question my contributions to the problem as well as my behavior and I like that even more. This should definitely be watched.


Watch it Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dLU6fk9QY&feature=kp

Film Review #34

Today I watched a hyperlapse video called Berlin Hyperlapse (super creative). The video was a compilation of hyperapses the filmmaker shot over 6 days on his trip to Berlin. I'm pretty captivated with hyperlapses already, but the video is so overly enticing. All of the shots are amazing and some of them defy the laws of physics. There were a lot of wild camera movements that I think may have been configured in post, but they all added a cool quality to the film. The music suited the film perfectly and I loved it all.

Watch it Here:
https://vimeo.com/50238512

Film Review #33

I watched Trapped, a short film directed two friends of mine. The film is a social commentary on the treatment of citizens in Egypt during its civil war. The film depicts a man witnessing his son's imprisonment on the news for being accused of terrorism. The man reaches to the television to figuratively be with his son. The man is then sucked into the television and becomes imprisoned with his son. The commentary is on the way all citizens speaking against the war as well as war sympathizers were imprisoned and accused of terrorism. Trapped is a very metaphorical film and was executed pretty well. I really liked the concept and I'm glad the filmmakers are making this statement.

Film Stuff

I don't have a have concise plot for my film, but I'm 90% sure it will be called The Stranger. I haven't given much thought to this project, because academics are taking over right now and they deserve more attention.

Title: The Stranger
My Main Characters: Jace, Blaize, Embre, Riley
Genre: Mystery
Plot: Embre is living her regular life in the suburbs, at a nice school, in a nice house, with a wonderful family. She never expected to befriend the new bad boy at school named Jace. Especially when he moves next door.
Weird things start happening to Embre, starting with a weird love letter at her door step. Come on the journey with Jace and Embre to discover what this letter means and why Embre keeps receiving weird photos of herself in the mail.
Who is this Stranger?

Jace

Jace's Mysterious Older Brother, Blaize

Embree

Embree's BFFL Riley

Film Review #32

When I was at NFFTY a saw a the same Volvo commercial a million times a day, as it was a new commercial directed by the founder of NFFTY. The commercial showed the transition of children viewing the world in reverse from the backseat of Volvo's to adults (driving age people) viewing the world as it moves forward from behind the wheel. The cinematography is pretty nice although that is typical in commercials. Many car commercials are beginning to relay how long cars of their respective companies stay in people's families and travels through generations and are using that as an advertising mechanism. I liked the concept behind this commercial because although it depicted the sustainability of Volvo's through different generations of people, it personalized the car to the protagonist of the commercial. The commercial was narrated by her and focused mainly on her experience with "moving forward" with Volvo's. It was pretty cool and I now know the commercial verbatim.

Film Review #31

Over spring break I went to the movies with a friend and saw Oculus. It is an independent thriller/horror film with an interesting plot. This is a synopsis I found online:

"Two siblings haunted by a childhood tragedy learn that the source of their horror is a mysterious mirror with a dark history. Tim and Kaylie were merely teenagers when both of their parents were brutally butchered. Convicted of the killings and sentenced to protective custody, Tim serves his time while Kaylie drifts into a deep despair. Years later, a newly free Tim does his best to lay the past to rest. Meanwhile, Kaylie is certain that her brother was innocent all along, and that the antique mirror their parents used to own holds the answer to her darkest questions. Upon locating the long-lost looking glass, Kaylie's deepest fears are confirmed -- a menacing force inhabits that mirror, and it has plagued every owner who has come into possession of it. Now, as curious Kaylie reacquires the mirror, the nightmarish cycle of horror returns with a vengeance."

Initially, when I saw the trailer for Oculus I thought the concept of playing with perception was really cool for a horror film, but when I got into the theater I realized it was more of a psychological thriller than a horror film. The concept was still cool, but the film itself was a bit confusing. Throughout the film, the time constantly switches from past to present so it was sometimes really hard to figure out what was actually happening. Although that was distracting from the plot, it may have been intentional. In the film, the characters struggle to decipher what is reality and what is not, so perhaps the filmmakers wanted the audience to feel just as confused as the characters did. Overall, it was a pretty interesting movie and I'd recommend it.

Film Review #30

A few days(ish)a go, I re-watched Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. The film is a modern retelling of the tale Hansel and Gretel, however the film focuses on their (adult) life after their interaction with the witch and the candy house. Although the film is based around a children's tale, it is pretty bold, violent, and gory. That element works for the film though, because it helps to carry the intensity of the action. Throughout the film Hansel and Gretel fight off and capture many witches, ogres, and other mystical creatures deemed to be dangerous. The film is a bit reminiscent of the Crucible, because speculation of a witch in the film was very similar to the speculation of a witch during the Salem witch trials. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is a pretty cool action movie and I'd totally recommend it.

Film Review #29

Today I saw a commercial for Nippon Paint called Piece of Cake. The commercial featured a young couple waking up from bed, getting dressed, and performing a task stereotyped for a sex different than their own. Initially the woman walks out of the bathroom dressed in a pretty blouse with an apron and the guy walks into the bedroom wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans. They then grab each others hand and do a fancy spin, causing them to switch places in the frame as well as switch clothing. At this point the guy is now dressed nicely with the apron, while the woman is dressed uber casually. The guy goes on to ice and decorate a cake and the woman goes on to paint and decorate a wall. Throughout the activity, both of them are performing the same actions but in a way that corresponds with what their doing (while the guy is stirring the icing, the woman is stirring the paint). What makes the commercial really cool is that the entire thing is split screen. Viewers are able to see how perfectly synced the two of them are, especially when their actions bleed through to the other side of the screen. Overall, this was a super cute and fun commercial.

Watch it Here:
https://vimeo.com/90936968

Film Review #28

Today I watched a short film called Chef's Special. The film is about a guy that has a strange disease that allows him to "excrete" food the same way it enters his body, so he can essentially poop out a perfect plate of pasta. I'm not sure if this is the most disgusting or the coolest set of circumstances for a character, but it was pretty interesting. The film had good number of smooth continuous shots which made the film feel very fluid as well as a lot of look at's which symbolized/contributed to the nervousness of the protagonist. Surprisingly, the film only gets stranger as it continues however, the quirky character and the unusual plot make for a pretty unique and fun film. I totally recommend this weird chunk of footage.

Watch it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0VfU5StDRU

Protest Art

It's not so much a social justice issue as it is an internal/mental problem, however I've chosen to write about artists that protest Anorexia and pro-ana tendencies. This is an important topic to me for a number of reasons, the first being the everlasting effect it can have on someone's body. Anorexia is a eating disorder and mental illness that affects many people around the world, especially young and young adult females. When these girls starve themselves they destroy their bodies both externally and internally. Externally, their skin begins to thin and become discolored, they age at an execrated rate, and they grow wrinkles, dark eye bags, and dry, rough patches. Internally, their organs deteriorate, their heart beats begin to slow dramatically, and their immunes systems are weakened. It is really heartbreaking to know that these girls are literally killing themselves to try and conform to societies standards of beauty, another reason why this topic is important to me. These girls are starving themselves to "become" beautiful because they don't know that they already are. I have a personal issue with how many people walk this earth not knowing how valuable and beautiful they are, so when people go to extreme measures to fix something that isn't broken I'm extremely bothered.

This is an anti Anorexia (and Bulimia) photograph taken by Lottie Lou. The photo features Barbie, an iconic symbol for beauty and perfection to young girls, forcing herself to purge. The photo portrays the attainability of  society's image of beauty and forces girls to step back and take a look at what they're doing to themselves.

This is an anti Anorexia photo taken by Israel Cohen as a part of the "Set Them Free" campaign. The photo is of a female holding a knife and fork in the same fashion that a prisoner holds the bars of a prison cell. This photo is symbolic of the obsessive behaviors Anorexics have with food and how those food obsessions overtake their lives and "trap" them. The idea behind the "Set Them Free" campaign in this instance is to set girls with Anorexia free from the illness.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/isabelle-caro-anorexia-sufferer-who-appeared-in-a-global-campaign-against-the-disorder-2185196.html

Film Review #27

Today I watched a short film called He Said. She Said. The film is about two female friends that tell each other about their dates on the previous night. The guys that ladies went out with are also friends and are doing the same. The film is comedic, as each member of the "couple" had completely opposite opinions on the success of the date. One of the ladies had high remarks about her date, but the guy she went on the date with thought lowly of it and vice versa for the other couple. The story is one that has been told lots of times, however it was still entertaining. The film was aesthetically pleasing, but the opening shot was a little nauseating. The shot was a tracking shot of the two female friends jogging, however the camera appeared to be hand held because the shot was really bouncy and shaky (luckily it did not last that long). The film featured a few nice pans that made up for it "eh" opening. Overall it was a pretty entertaining piece.

Film Review #26

Today I watched a short film called Plastic. In the film, a lady is getting ready for a date with a guy she really likes. In the beginning she struggles to fit into some of her clothes and after a phone call from her date confirming the details of the night, she notices a pimple on her nose. The lady is pretty self conscious of her appearance and tries to remove the pimple from her face but ends up leaving fingerprints in her skin. After removing those, she discovers that she can alter the appearance of herself by literally sculpting her body with her hands. She sees a magazine with a model on the cover and molds herself to fit the stereotypical confinements of what society considers beauty. After she is done, her date arrives at her home and rings the door bell. She stares at her appearance for a moment before going to answer the door. When she does, the camera focuses on her dates expression and he looks very pleased. It is then revealed that the lady changed her appearance back to the way it originally was. Her date tells her that she looks really nice, without knowing that she initially planned to alter her appearance for the date. I really like the message of this film and it seems to tie into the conversation we had in class on Monday about altering certain things/features in editing programs. I'm glad that the lady was able to come around and feel comfortable in her own skin. Especially because she looked awful after she morphed herself. This film was a wonderful example of the way people should feel about themselves; the end anyway. I thought this was a really awesome film for both entertainment and "educational" purposes so I recommend it to every living vessel.

Watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpJFE8UcFcU

Film Planning

Character:
The protagonist of the film is a teenage girl named Aisa Presley. She is 16 years old, however there is a short clip of her at age 7 in the beginning of the film. Aisa is a troubled teen. She grew up in a happy home with both of her parents on her side, however after a few ill-behaved decisions she and her parents have not had the most pleasant interactions. Aisa is remorseful of her actions and is trying to turn her life around however, she does not understand the process of doing so. Instead of reconciling her past she literally runs away from it. She believes that escaping the ghosts of her past will not only "fix" herself, but mend the relationship between her and her parents.

Location and Timeline:
The events depicted in the film take place over the course of an hour or two, however there is a shot of a flashback. The flashback is of an event that took place 9 years ago. The flashback and the beginning of the film take place inside of Aisa's home. There are scenes inside Aisa's bedroom, her parents' bedroom, the bathroom and the kitchen. The second half of the film takes place outside, in the neighborhood in which Aisa lives and a nearby forest trail.

The indoor scenes will be shot in Redwood Parkway of Vallejo, Ca at my grandma's home using artificial lighting. The outdoor scenes will be shot in that area as well, but further into the abyss of trees using streetlights and natural moonlight (if possible).

Story Arc:
The film is inspired by and is intended to be paired with Czelena's song The New Life. The story arc is as follows:
~Exposition: Aisa has a dream remembering her 7th birthday where she and her family are gathered at the kitchen table. Aisa is opening presents, one of which is a small music box. Those were happy times.

~Rising Action: Aisa wakes from the dream and feels pretty emotional. She goes to the bathroom, showers, and throws on dark clothing. She grabs her school bag, empties it replaces her school items with an extra hoodie and her music box. She goes down to the kitchen and grabs a few granola bars and water bottles to put in her bag.

~Climax: Aisa sneaks out of her home - her parents asleep - and begins to literally run away from her home. She runs for hours, periodically taking breaks to catch her breath and drink water. After a few hours she falls while running and stays on the ground, thinking of her past.

~Falling Action: Aisa reaches in her bag to get another bottle of water but instead grab her music box. She takes it out of her bag and plays a song. She has a flashback/thoughts of her 7th birthday when she received the music box. The music box is reminiscent of the happy memories Aisa had with her family.

~Resolution: Aisa decides to face her past head on and goes back home. Its early morning when she returns home and her parents sit at the kitchen table in a panic. Aisa sits and talks to them about how to "properly" deal with her demons.

The New Life Project

As cliché as it sounds, for The New Life Project I'm thinking of making a short film about a girl stepping into her "new life." The film will feature a girl with a sketchy path that physically tries to run away from her intangible problems. In the beginning of the film the character will awaken late night and take a shower. The shower will symbolize her attempt at cleansing herself. Following that, the character will dress in dark clothing and leave her home. She is a teenager so she sneaks out of her home. The majority of the film depicts her physically running away and battling the ghosts of her past. She runs through cities, forests, and other various locations. In the end of the film, she runs into a large body of water and is able to meditate and escape the ghosts of her past.


Video References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xLpaQFjSio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJyaAP8Psno

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYX6XlX14B0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdsPLbtQETk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIDcyI11Ux8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep5uWoJeet

Film Review #25

Today I watched a short film called Elefante. The film, in essence, seems to be about love and the boundaries in penetrates. In Elefante, a man is diagnosed with a rare disease in which he turns into an elephant. As his transformation becomes more apparent, he begins to be rejected by society and his family. However the youngest of his two children, his (maybe 5ish year old) son continuously loves him and sees him as his father rather than an elephant. I do not want to spoil the film, but the relationship between the protagonist and his son was very sentimental, especially towards the end of the film. Their relationship seems to represent the purity of true love. Technically speaking, the creation of the elephant was generally well done. It looked as if the head piece of the elephant costume was made from latex and it was very convincing. The body of the elephant costume, on the other hand, appeared rushed and unrealistic. It did not compare to the precise detail work put incorporated into the headpiece. Overall, Elephante was a really touching film and I recommend it to every living vessel.

Watch it Here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRxf9HmSo4k

Film Review #24

Today I saw a trailer for a upcoming short film called A Day In The Life Of A Bathroom Mirror. The trailer was about half a minute, but it definitely did its job of interesting me in the film. The film is about a bathroom mirror that is in love with the girl who's bathroom he lives in. The story seems really interesting and I'm excited to see the full film. One of the things I really liked about the trailer were all of the mirror shots. The filmmakers were able to get shots of the bathroom mirror in varying angles and conditions which displays their skill while connecting the audience to what I presume is the protagonist. The audio in the trailer was nice and smooth which is great considering all or most of the mirror's thoughts and words will be narrated. I think this is a really cool concept for a film and I'm curious about the story. 

Watch it here: 

https://vimeo.com/groups/shortfilms/videos/87882523

Film Review #23

Last week I watched a film called Pathology. I hadn't realized it prior to my choosing to watch the film, but this was the second time I had seen it. Pathology is about a group of pathologists that create an underground club. In the club, the participating pathologists play a continuous game to see which one of them can commit the perfect murder. Each night, they rotate who's turn it is to commit the murder. After the murder is committed, the corpse is brought in for diagnosis/examination. If the other pathologists are able to figure out how the victim was murdered, the pathologist that committed the murder loses. The game ends when someone is able to win by committing the perfect murder. The beginning of this film is absolutely disgusting, maybe to symbolize the disgusting nature of the players' minds. Majority, if not all of the shots in this film are either very dark or desaturated. However, the desaturated shots are less desaturated and more so just display the shot's color drowned out by the florescent lights used in the hospital. The character development is rather shallow, but the plot contains interesting elements. I think the filmmakers were headed in the right direction with this one, but they could have expanded on the story and spent a few more hours in the editing process to really take Pathology to the next level. Overall, its was an alright film and I'd recommend it to anyone with a strong stomach.

Film Review #22

Today I watched an adorable, somewhat romantic (because it's valentines day) short film called The Chicken or the Egg. It's an animated short about a pig that has an unhealthy obsession with eggs--eating them, decorating his house with them, you name it. One day in a diner while devouring over 20 plates of eggs, a sexy chicken lady walks in and catches the pigs attention. He tries to flirt with her, but she sees that he's ordered eggs and is turned off. The pig gives her a flower and they hit it off. Out of sensitivity for his "lady friend" the pig stops eating eggs and starts going crazy. More stuff happens, but there is no point to life if films are spoiled. It was a weirdly cute short film and it seemed to contain a few social taboos and that was pretty cool to see in an animated short that was unaffiliated with Seth McFarlane. I would reccomend checking it out.

Film Review #21

This week I watched a short film on vimeo called Blinky. The film is set in a world wear robotics are completely normal and owning a service robot is pretty standard. It is a short film about a 13ish year old boy that sees a commercial for a friendly service robot on TV called Blinky. The boy asks his parents to buy Blinky for Christmas and they do. Blinky is a really cool short film and its plot shall not be spoiled so I recommend watching it. Blinky, the robot, was CG and done really well. There were a few scenes where he stood outside in the rain and both he and the CG water looked very smooth and natural. The poster of the film wrote in the bio that he'd spent 9 months working on the film's visual effects and it was well worth it because they are amazing. I totally recommend watching Blinky because it is 13 minutes of awesomeness.


Watch  it here:
https://vimeo.com/21216091

Film Review #20

Today I watched a short film called Drink.  This short film is about a man confronting his addiction to coffee. The film begins with the protagonist having a conversation with a cup of joe, explaining to the coffee why he can't drink it as the coffee attempts to convince him to drink it anyway. Its then revealed that the conversation was just a dream and the protagonist wakes up, gets out of bed, and goes to make coffee. This was a very interesting film, although I'm not sure its story was executed in the clearest way. The lighting used in the dream sequence was very nice, as it was very reminiscent of a dream like state. 

Grabby Stuff

Students in arts/academic classrooms

Cool student artwork 

Students performing on stage

Pretty color schemes 

Insperational Stuff

Film Review #19

I recently watched a short film on vimeo called The Potato Killer. It is a stop motion animation about a potato that is chased by a potato peeler before being stabbed with a knife. The film was very cute and funny, although it was pretty short. The way the potato peeler chased the potato kind of reminded me of the Scooby Doo chases which was nostalgic.

Film Review #18

I just saw Ride Along and it was absolutely awful. I actually got a headache from that movie. The editing was awful and the special effects used in the beginning of the film were unnecessary and annoying. The dialogue was generic, the plot was one of the most overused and predictable of the police movie world, and Kevin Hart's character Ben quickly became extremely annoying. There were a few moments of the film that were sincerely funny, but it was easy to spot the parts of the film where the actors were playing for laughs and that was dissapointing. 

Film Review #17

This week I watched a short film called Skwerl. The film is a about a couple that has dinner together when the girlfriend character realizes her partner has forgotten her birthday. The best part about this short film is that it is not in real English. I think the intent of this short film was to demonstrate the way English speakers sound to those who speak English. Although the plot was crap, I think the concept is really cool and creative. In the begging of the film there are a few lovely close ups of the dinner being prepared. The lighting really helped create the illusion of a romantic dinner and the music faintly playing on the record in the background follows the intensity of the plot and helps viewers understand how to feel. I really liked the intent behind the short film and I think it cures a bit of wonder that ever English speaker has. I would totally recommend watching it.


Watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt4Dfa4fOEY