MYST POST # 3: The Fault in Our Stars

I recently watched the film The Fault in Our Stars, and I am not a fan of it. Not to get too much into the plot, but I found it to be very predictable. Once you found out the movie pertained to cancer, you could infer that somebody was going to die, and once the main characters were introduced, you could infer who was going to die. The film was very depressing, and even though I saw it coming, it still ruined any chance for me to be in a good mood for the remainder of the day.

Although I did not enjoy the plot of the movie I do have to admit it was very well directed. The cast was great, with it starring  Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, and Willem Dafoe. The cast had a difficult task in this film due to all of the emotions that had to be present for the characters in the story. Nat Wolff had to play a character who was blind, which must have taken a lot of work to perfect, and he did a stellar job a doing so. Ansel Elgort had to play a character that had his leg amputated, therefore even when he was just walking around, he had to be conscious of his characters limitations.

The editing in this film was very interesting. There was a lot of dialogue in the film that took place over text, and email when the characters were not together. Text and email bubbles, would appear as the characters conversed which I cannot recall being done in others films. The camera shots in this film helped set the scene and give off moods the audience is supposed to pick up from the characters. Anytime that Elgort and Woodley would be on camera together they always stood very close to each other, which informed the audience of their affection even before the dialogue would make it obvious.

This film had a very talented director, and actors who helped make the film such a success. Even though I did not like how the story went, or the mood it gave off, I have to admit it is a good movie. I would recommend it solely based off of the directing and acting because I believe that it is that good. I rate this film a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Trailer

MYST Post # 2: The Matrix

The Latest film I have watched was The Matrix starring Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano. This film had the most interesting camera angles and shots out of any other movie that I have seen. With Sci-Fi movies, the special effects can make or break the film, and in this movie it definitely made it. Also the actors did an excellent job making the special effects appear to be real.

The cinematography in this film was excellent. One element of cinematography that was used well was slow motion, which was used in many of the fighting scenes. Characters would have gunshots being fired at them, and the camera would showcase the entire path of the bullet. This showed how close these characters were to being hit, and when they were hit, it would show just how close that was to being a lethal shot. After slowing down the action, the camera would then switch to regular, in which you could see just how incredibly fast these characters were moving to dodge the shots.

Another great element of cinematography displayed in this film was how all action could pause and just focus on a couple characters. In the training demo for the Matrix, Morpheus could have everything be moving at regular speed, then pause the program, so he could give Neo some pointers. Also in these training demos, Morpheus would show Neo how he can go faster and break earth’s rules once inside the matrix. The camera would have certain movements sped up and others moving at regular speeds which was very interesting.

This movie also kept you thinking for the entire film. The movie carried this out by constantly changing the point of view of the characters. The director didn't let you figure who you were supposed to be rooting for and against for a while. Also since the setting was constantly changing you could never get comfortable with the surroundings. Furthermore, there was the large theme of real and fake in this film, and the director kept you guessing throughout its entirety.

In all, this film was very interesting and action packed. I enjoyed it and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys Action or Sci-Fi themed films. The acting is excellent and so is the plot. I would rate this film 5/5 stars. If you have not seen it, go and do so.

Trailer

Formal Film Study: Quentin Tarantino

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Quentin Tarantino has a very interesting style of movie directing.  I viewed 3 films from different time periods in his career, and they all have very similar styles.  The movies I watched were Pulp Fiction from the early stages of his career, Kill Bill vol. 1 in the middle of his career, and Inglorious Basterds from his more recent films. I noticed a lot of trends in the way he directs his films. These trends being, he almost always separates his movies into chapters, he usually starts each movie with violence and explains why this is happening later, and mid-career he decided to start using foreign language.

In Pulp Fiction he started the movie with 2 of the characters executing a man for their boss, then he ended that chapter, and created different chapters for the later developments in the story. Pulp Fiction had excellent actors who played their roles perfectly. In addition to that, this movie had excellent editing , which is another one of the many talents Quentin Tarantino has to offer Hollywood.

In Kill Bill, he started the movie with the main character showing up at someone’s house and having her kill the resident, and then ended the chapter. Later, he explained why the main character was knocking on people’s doors and murdering them. Tarantino started using foreign languages in this film. Instead of having characters only speaking English, he had some of his characters speaking Japanese as well. Since this movie had a high frequency of action, the shots used were very short, due to the camera having to change angles every time a character does a ninja flip or falls off a balcony.

In Inglorious Basterds, the movie began with the execution of Jews hiding in the floorboards of a home in France. The chapter then ended, and later in the movie he connected how this event was significant to the plot of the story. Foreign language was a huge theme in this movie. It had characters that spoke French, German, and English. This film had a lot of dialogue leading up to the scenes with the most action. It would really do an excellent job setting the scene, and letting the viewer get a better understanding of the characters before any significant action would occur.

Another popular theme in Tarantino’s movies is revenge fantasies. Tarantino makes films about some of societal’s most infamous events taking place against races or other groups, and he allows these people to be able to see ultimate revenge against their perpetrators. In the movie Kill Bill vol. 1, he allowed the main character to get revenge against the people who killed her unborn child, and tried to kill her. In his film, Inglorious Basterds, Tarantino allowed Jewish people to see revenge against the Nazi’s, by having a group of Jews invade Nazi Germany, and beat, mark, and kill Nazis.

Tarantino has had a great effect on Hollywood with his films. His films use special effects to the best of their abilities with all the violence that takes place in the films. But, knowing how to use special effects is a great talent and it is what separates directors like Tarantino from directors like Michael Bay.

Tarantino has won many awards throughout his long career. He has won 2 Academy Awards, 2 Golden Globes, 2 BAFTA awards, a Palme d’OR, and he has been nominated for an Emmy, and a Grammy. Quentin Tarantino has accrued 608 million throughout his career at the box office, and averages about 70 million per film.

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