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