Study Like a Boss
Definitions of cult range from the innocent to the super extreme. From undying love to just a hobby on the weekends, Cult finds its way into the hearts of viewers in the most unexpected way possible. The film industry is a tough market to breakout into films are considered artwork and others often end up … Read more
French New Wave films can be seen as a contrast of Hollywood film which most of the elements apply in the film is opposite. However, some elements are still similar to Hollywood films, yet, has a different style as Hollywood films. Such mise-en-scene expression are most common style uses in both of the period. And … Read more
The Wolf of Wall Street is a shocking film that plunges viewers into a life of excess— full of drugs, sex, scandal, and money. This film has been controversial claiming the director, Martin Scorsese, is endorsing Jordan Belfort’s fraudster and immoral behavior; however, this film is actually a cautionary story on Capitalism. The film contrasts … Read more
It seems like every day that a movie is being remade for theaters again, but are they any better or have any different of an outcome than they had before. I look to find out the answer in this essay where I decided to watch all of the “Annie” movies that were created and decide … Read more
Dystopian films are famous for presenting outrageous, typically end-of-the-world or post/pre-apocalyptic scenarios. While many viewers look at these films and see them as fun, sometimes scary adventures with their exciting, fascinatingly dangerous ideas, a closer look at the issues in these films reveals something about the societies they were made in. As a whole, there … Read more
From an introverted child who likes to draw cartoons and watching old movies to becoming one of the most famous creative minds in the world has turned his passion and hobby into his career. Tim Burton is blessed with artistic abilities, a passion for movies, and a wild imagination. He is a film director, producer, … Read more
Guillermo Del Toro’s 2001 film, El Espinazo del Diablo translated to The Devil’s Backbone, is a chilling ghost story set in Spain in the middle of their civil war. A young boy named Carlos arrives at an orphanage that is haunted by a ghost. The ghost isn’t the only looming presence, as there is a … Read more
I was in eighth grade the first time I watched The Breakfast Club. My cousins and I had gone to our local video store and were trying to pick something out. I was looking at Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, anything that had strong special effects and a huge plot. My cousins on the … Read more
Interpersonal growth is influenced by a combination of internal and external factors. An individual’s transition from childhood to adulthood (bildungsroman) is influenced by family and community but also by internal values and ideas. Often, these external factors influence the internal factors. In House on Mango Street, Cisneros highlights how Esperanza’s coming-ofage is influenced by her … Read more
“To restore morality, we must first recognize the source from which all morality springs,” (Roy Moore). To Alfred Hitchcock, the restoration of morality is everything. Morality comes from biological sources such as survival instincts, as well as society and human interaction. Morality plays the starring role in everyone’s life and is an important detail in … Read more
Synopsis In the movie Selma directed by (name), tells the story about Martin Luther King Jr and the journey from conflicts of interest to boycotts leading to the violent walk to Montgomery. Risking lives and freedom just for the ability for people of color to vote. Keep in mind that voting for everyone is the … Read more
The United States Civil War was fought between the states remaining loyal to the Union (predominately states from the North) and those wishing to secede, forming a separate nation, the Confederate States of America (made up of the southern states). One of the deadliest battles of the war was the Battle of Gettysburg. The battle … Read more
There are movies that make you laugh, and there are movies that make you cry. Either you come out of the theater happy or come out sad. But once in a while you end up seeing a film which makes you think as you come out of the theater. You have a feeling of happiness … Read more
The Journey of August King (Ehle, 1996), takes place in 1815, the stories backdrop is North Carolina, the lead role August King, a country farmer, is on his way home after taking this route to sell his produce and he has purchased needed goods for the farm, a cow a pig some geese and other … Read more
Good morning/afternoon/evening/day to you all, I am honoured to be here in front of all of you today, at the Australian Film Institute, in front of many respected and hard-working English teachers. I appreciate the effort for all of you to come here and for us to discuss distinctive voices in the film that I … Read more
When looking at families, whether in stories or films, one can spot the person within the family that is the outcast. Lars from Lars and the Real Girl and Maggie from “Everyday Use” both share the role of being an outcast, and it is evident by the way they are treated within their respective family. … Read more
The over whelming theme throughout Ender’s Game is empathy. Ender uses this great ability of empathy to eventually become the leader he is destined to be. Starting at a young age, seen through his first incident at school with Stilson, Ender follows a philosophy of winning for all time. Winning just that single battle is … Read more
At first sight Salt of the Earth and On the Waterfront seem two structurally independent and unrelated movies that only share some basic theme elements in their plot. However, analyzing both, side by side and frame by frame, can give us a more profound understanding of the American film industry, Hollywood in particular, and its … Read more
The story of Bamboozled revolves around a Black studio executive and his attempt to create a successful show for the major network where he is employed. Instantly, Spike Lee’s film becomes a format for political discussion, as he highlights the state of the media industry and the difficulties minorities face within it. Pierre Delacroix, the … Read more
Addiction is an issue that many families find themselves struggling with. The film, Addiction: The family in crisis, discusses many of the issues surrounding addiction and alcoholism in the family. Addiction was described in the film as a “family disease”, meaning not only does addiction and alcoholism effect everyone in the family, everyone also has … Read more
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape: The Reality of Happiness In 1993 the film “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” was released by Paramount Pictures. The movie was directed by Lasse Hallstrom, and starred actors such as Leonardo Dicaprio, Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, John C. Reilly, and many more. This was an award winning film that showed life from … Read more
In the film ‘Pan’s Labyrinth,” the director Guillermo del Toro juxtaposes the real and imaginary worlds during the time of the Spanish Civil War. The protagonist of this film is a 11-year-old girl named Ofelia who reads fairy tales and believes that everything she reads is real. The film focuses on Ofelia’s struggle to live … Read more
The Big Lebowski, as a classified as comedy and noir, is a film about a sloppy slacker that likes to call himself”The Dude” who eventually gets into a messy situation involving a kidnapping. The Dude is an Absurd hero who lives his life the way he wants to and doesn’t try to make more interesting … Read more
Clueless was directed by Amy Heckerling and released in 1995. 2. The main character in Clueless is a blonde haired, blue eyed girl named Cher Horowitz. Cher’s father is a litigator, which is “the scariest kind of lawyer,” according to Cher. Judging by her father’s job and her brand new white jeep with “four-wheel drive, … Read more
Clueless was an iconic release, written and directed by Amy Heckerling that dramatized the life and struggles of Cher Horowitz; your typical, American rich girl. Cher comes from an wealthy home, her story is set in Beverly Hills, CA where she lives and attends high school. Her mother passed away early in her life and … Read more
The film start with the new viceroy and the new archbishopric talking about how to govern New Spain (Mexico), that they should try to work together unlike in Spain. They also say that it’s their duty to make sure New Spain is saved. However plans never really go as planned specially in this film. Then … Read more
I watched the movie Selma for my movie review. I had never watched the movie before and had wanting to watch it for some time now. The movie was very sad but now after watching it I feel encouraged to fight for my rights and others. The movie Selma is the heart-breaking truth about how … Read more
The career of Tim Burton has spanned over the last 34 years and still continues today. He has developed a fair amount of films that fall under a range of genres that have been perceived well by his audience. However, all his work seems to contain common themes and aspects, that are clearly of interest … Read more
Kazan’s A Streetcar Named Desire: A Key to Confusion? Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire and Elia Kazan’s film version of the play share the same characters and the same story. Except for the opening scene, Kazan doesn’t change the plot at all. To emphasize the meanings of death and desire, the movie shows Blanche … Read more
Gattaca (1997) is a film directed by Andrew Niccol that is based on the Science of Genetic discrimination. A world in which scientific proof becomes the complete basis for discrimination. While society holds it as a truth, genes are a primary factor that determine the success of an individual. The film revolves around the Protagonist … Read more
The ingenuity of Kreuzpaintner in Krabat (Question 1) The movie Krabat, directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner, addresses the adventure of a young orphan named Krabat who learns black magic from an evil sorcerer in a satanic mill. Krabat goes through several struggles that help him develop into this heroic character and ends up fighting for his … Read more
The power of music can connect and represent the words that cannot be spoken. Music unites people, nature, or even beliefs. Don’t you desire to reach people using the universal language – music? Film music is without a doubt about touching audience’s minds and evoke people in a certain way. It certainly isn’t around the … Read more
In the movie “ Cool Runnings”, the director mixes all different emotions with a storyline proving you can do anything that you put your mind to. The movie begins with Olympic hopeful Derice, running across Jamaica. He is doing this because he is training for the 1988 Olympic Games, and hopes to be a gold-medal … Read more
A Close-up on Burton’s Style Tim Burton is a well renowned director, who has been contributing to the movie-making world since the 1980s. As a director, Tim Burton uses his twisted and creative mind to create these fantastical worlds with unique, larger-than-life characters that in a way reflect reality. Throughout his films, Tim Burton uses … Read more
Throughout the history, in times of crisis, collapse of an empire, people tend to see only from one prospective. People read about history of Scotland, about how people suffered British imperialism and civil war that took place in XIII century, but a person cannot feel, or truly see what was really happening from Scottish prospective. … Read more
Road to Perdition is a crime drama released in July 2002 following the life of a father and son during the winter of 1931. The movie begins with Michael Sullivan Jr. witnessing his father, Michael Sullivan, commit murder as an enforcer while working under the mob boss John Rooney. Connor Rooney, son of John Rooney, … Read more
As the author Dr. Robert C. Thomas writes, Fear Eats the Soul “is a film of stairs and stares. Stares, because the entire film is made up of a series of looks: gazes that objectify, and trap, both the-one-being-looked-at and the one looking. These gazes are of such duration that they disturb and implicate the … Read more
When a different rendition of a story or play is made many times the characters and plot are slightly changed because of the directors take on the story. In the movie She’s The Man the director, Andy Fickman, creates a modern version of the Shakespearean play 12th Night. The main character is Viola who takes … Read more
Everyone has an origins that has impacted them in either a positive or negative way or sometimes even both. The 2009 film Amreeka is directed by Cherien Dabis, and tells us about a remarkable journey between a mother and son in order to find a better life. The film begins with the mother Muna (Nisreen … Read more
The debut film of Francois Truffaut, The 400 Blows is worldrenowned for being the epitome of the French New Wave movement. Following the award for best director at the 1959 Cannes festival, Truffaut’s The 400 Blows entered theatres of all nations ranging from its domestic French theatres to the foreign theatres such as in the … Read more
In one of the rare instances that Sean Penn directs a film, he sets out to deliver a view-changing experience and does just that. The philosophical views and the conflict of moral fibres between the protagonist and his family and friends, are the basis of Into the Wild – a recount of the true story … Read more
At the beginning of the allegory, the “theory of forms” is also introduced. This theory states that the “existence of a level of reality inhabited by ideal “forms of all things and concepts”(Plato pg1) indicating that there is a form to any object, Adding as well that all forms will be eternal and unchanging but … Read more
If someone asked a stranger on the street to name their all-time favorite Christmas movie, there are many that would come to mind. The list would possibly include “Frosty the Snowman”, “The Grinch”, “Rudolph”, and more than likely “White Christmas”. Although it is actually considered a musical because of the songs and dance that help … Read more
“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” is a heartwarming film that uniquely explores the struggles of children in unfortunate circumstances, offering a deeper explanation as to why so many young adults struggle to achieve a higher education, or to even graduate from high school. After the death of his father seven years prior, Gilbert became the sole … Read more
The film “There Will Be Blood: is a movie about Daniel Plainview and his struggle to become a self-proclaimed oilman. In the film, Daniel is at war with mother earth in the fight for black gold. Throughout the movie, his ongoing battle alters his life in countless ways. It changes his family, friends and his … Read more
The Breakfast Club is a simple but beautiful 1980’s movie about a group of teenagers that end up realizing they are all going through some tough situations. While The Breakfast Club was made for entertainment purposes, it can be a great learning tool. Just from studying the movie, a student can realize they should not … Read more
The film, The Truman Show, outlines the encounters associated with morality, immorality and amorality that is highlighted in today’s society. The theme of immorality is portrayed throughout the lives of the two main characters; Truman’s wife, Meryl and the show’s director and God-like character, Christof. Meryl, Christof, Sylvia and the viewers of the television show … Read more
The dark fantasy film Pan’s Labyrinth is a fascinating example of creative story-telling. This film focuses on so many aspects between Ofelia’s imaginary world and the real world, including her stepfather fighting for the Francoist regime. This little girl is uprooted to a military outpost in Fascist-ruled Spain commanded by her new stepfather, the Captain. … Read more
The first scene of Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011), has the audience following the main character on a fast paced, high suspense getaway scene. This first scene introduces the main character and his job as a getaway driver and creates a suspenseful hook to bring the audience into the film’s world. The scene starts out … Read more
Remember the titans Why do you think we watched the movie? Personally, I believe the reason as to why we watched the movie ‘Remember the Titans’, which is based on a true story, is because this movie is one that clearly speaks volumes on a very important issue that is, against racism. The movie contains … Read more
