Raff's Blog

Movie – Review: Jaws I

raffaellaszilagyi — Mon, 31 May 2010 01:15:14 +0000

Identify the 5 turning points:
1- A teenage girl is killed by an unknown attack.
2- Brody, Hooper and a boat captain go after the shark.
3- Quint harpoons the shark to track it but it disappears.
4- The shark attacks the boat, causing it to damage and begin to sink.
5- Brody kills the shark by puncturing an air tank that was in his mouth.

What are the conventions of this genre?
Jaws is a thriller genre. The movie’s job was to frighten us and put into suspense. Thriller movies consist of a hero and a villian. The hero has to “kill” the villian for everything to go peaceful once again.

3- How did this movie meet or contradict the conventions?
Bordy, is the officer at the beach and goes to kill the shark. Thrillers have many cliffhangers and action sequencing and Jaws met those standards very well. Bordy has to always try to kill the shark before the final shot of the air tank.

4-Write a review of the movie:
The story:
Jaws was based on a novel and like every movie-adaptations, there has to be some changes. The story wasn’t that cliche and it kept me and the class interested, even if most of us saw it many times.

The directing:
The movie was made in the 70s, so, special effects weren’t that advanced. Angles changed quickly to give us the nervous, frightened effect through the eyes of the characters in the movie.
The acting:
There was nothing wrong with the acting, except, some of the minor characters gave off this unrealistic tone to their lines.
4- Who would you recommend this to and why?
I would recommend this movie if someone wants to see a thriller movie with a good plot and wants to spear with most of today’s gore and serial killers.

Movie Review – Batman – The Dark Knight

raffaellaszilagyi — Wed, 19 May 2010 02:30:47 +0000

Identify the 5 turning points:
1- Joker takes over the Mafia
2- Jokes demands he reveals himself to the world.
3- Harvey and Rachel are kidnapped by the Joker but Rachel dies.
4- Joker threatens to blow up the ferries.
5- Harvey gets killed and Batman is wanted as a bad guy.

What are the conventions of this genre?
The Dark Knight was a superhero movie. A superhero movie is simply about a superhero and how he saves the world and deals with villians and catches criminals, usually portraying their roles in comic books.

3- How did this movie meet or contradict the conventions?
It met this conventions really well, there was the Superhero, aka, Batman and there was his arch nemesis: The Joker. The Joker’s goal is to get rid of Batman and jeopardizes all that he cares for so he can surrender.

4-Write a review of the movie:
The story:
The story was a teensy bit confusing to me a bit complicated to follow. I personally got a bit lost during the movie but soon got back on track. The movie kept on the cliche superhero plot but made it interesting by adding kinda like, a second villain and many plot twists.
The directing:

One thing that got on my nerves during the movie was that many of the scenes were too dark. I understand the dramatic effect but sometimes, I couldn’t see what was going on.
The acting:
HEATH LEDGER. His character was beyond amazing and I couldn’t think of a better person to play the part of the Joker. All the characters did fantastically well and I can see why this movie won so many awards.
4- Who would you recommend this to and why?
I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see a GOOD Heath Ledger movie. Playing the Joker was one of his best roles every. I would also recommend the movie to those who want a bit of suspense and to be at the edge of their seat while watching the movie.

Review – Office Space

raffaellaszilagyi — Fri, 07 May 2010 22:47:41 +0000

Identify the 5 turning points:
1- Peter hates his job including his two friends.
2- He goes see a hypnotherapist to “like” his job but never gets out of his relaxed state.
3- Samir, Peter and Michael implant a virus into the system.
4- The virus is doing TOO well. Peter wants to confess to his boss about the virus.
5- Milton burns down the building and erases all the evidence. Peter gets a new job in construction.

What are the conventions of this genre?
This is a comedy movie. Very little romance but it’s a centric comedy. A comedy is made to make us laugh. In this movie, there was serious humour as none of the characters had to trip, fall or get pied to the face to make us laugh. No, it was with their reactions and actions that made us laugh.

3- How did this movie meet or contradict the conventions?
The movie did meet the conventions of a comedy because it simply had it’s funny dialogue, moments and plot.

4-Write a review of the movie:
The story:
I found the story very unique. It took a simple, ordinary job and put some twists and surprises into it. I enjoyed it very much. The story didn’t drag on at all. It might seem a bit bland, but, there are enough surprises to keep us wanting more.
The directing:
Nothing over the top with the directing. It captured the plot well and it gave it a more modern feel. I didn’t know it was made in 1999, felt like it was made later than that. Could’ve been made to stay up-to-date no matter what era we’re in?

The acting:
The acting was well done too. For Peter to stay in that stance during the entirety of the movie must’ve been difficult or even for Milton to keep stuttering. The characters were each funny in their own way.
4- Who would you recommend this to and why?
I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to watch a serious humour comedy. No stupidity in it. I’m usually not a big fan of comedies but this one made my list and therefore, I would tell people about it.

Review – Point Break

raffaellaszilagyi — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 23:37:29 +0000

Identify the 5 turning points:
1- When Keanu Reeves is asked to work on a bank robbing case.
2- Keanu goes under cover as a surfer and meets Tyler.
3- He soon figures out that Bodhi does the robberies.
4- Keanu is forced into taking part in a robbery.
5- Keanu finds Bodhi in Australia during the 50 year storm.

What are the conventions of this genre?
As an action movie, there has to be the hero and the villains. The hero has to stop the villains, catch them, learn their motive, put them in jail and all is good. Put this concept in a dramatic movie with losts of fast moving shots and there’s your action movie. Action moves are meant to keep their audience at the edge of their seat and just add in loads of shootings, things blowing up to amaze us.

3- How did this movie meet or contradict the conventions?
It meet the conventions really well, as Keanu Reeves as our superhero and Bodhi as our villain and Tyler as the girl that the superhero gets at the end. The life of an FBI agent is constant running, shootings and fight scenes. But, in this movie, Keanu ended befriending Bodhi before he found out it was him who did the robberies which can contradict the regular conventions of an action movie.

4-Write a review of the movie:
The story:
An action movie with a GOOD plot! We don’t have those much anymore these days. I enjoyed the plot of the movie and it always kept me at the edge of my seat. The story wasn’t confusing and it was really easy to follow. Nothing was too exaggerated.
The directing:
It was overall, amazing directing. If I had to take a scene that truly captivated the fear was when he almost got his face pushed into a running lawnmower. There was some point of view shots that expressed him getting closer and closer to the blades. The directors could’ve just shown different angles of the scene but they chose to put us into the eyes of the scene, to simply scare us.

The acting:
Keanu Reeves, what will be of action movies without you barking out your lines? Or getting too emotional at the really cheesy ones? I simply loved his acting, his constant barking and slyness gave the movie character and one to remember for a long time.
4- Who would you recommend this to and why?
I would recommend this movie who wants an action movie that isn’t all about blowing stuff up and doesn’t have obvious special effects. The movie isn’t all that new but for those who don’t care when it was made, this would be perfect.

The Program – Review

raffaellaszilagyi — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 02:19:32 +0000

Identify the 5 turning points:
1- When they lose the season
2- Jefferson joins the team as the freshman running back
3- Kane goes into rehab.
4- Mack breaks his leg and cannot play anymore.
5- Kane comes back and helps win the major cup.

What are the conventions of this genre?
For a sports movie, it centres around one particular sport and one or more main player in the movie. The main character has a goal to reach in this sport. To either become the best, going pro, or just to make himself a better person. Keeping him from his goal would be school, a girl, stress, family life and you follow how he/she conquers those obstacles and still finish in first.

3- How did this movie meet or contradict the conventions?
This movie had more than one main character, each with their own back stories and struggles. Other than that, it meet the conventions quite clearly as a sports movie.

4-Write a review of the movie:
The story:
Meh, I’m neutral about the story. It was alright. Sports movies tend to be very bland for me. The story itself was good in a sense that I enjoyed seeing more than one point of view and how every character ended up.
The directing:
The directing was fine actually. The movie was made in 1993, not the same HD we have today but the scenes created the right mood and captured each emotion clearly. You could always see the character’s face when they speak and sometimes, text was needed to portray what was going on.
The acting:
The acting wasn’t all that bad, but as pointed out, it was truly stereotypical. The acting was believable and none of the characters seemed too bland or out of character. Some parts though, I find were a bit over dramatic, like when coach just flips the table.
4- Who would you recommend this to and why?
I recommend this movie to football fans in general because it has all the joy and determination of football with some drama and some laughs. It’s a movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat and has many surprises along the way that keep up focused.

Along Came Polly – Review

raffaellaszilagyi — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:04:16 +0000

Identify the 5 turning points:
1- Reuben’s wife is caught cheating on him
2- Reuben reunites with Polly and dates her.
3- Lisa wants Reuben to forgive her.
4- Polly finds information on his laptop that upsets her.
5- Reuben decides that he doesn’t want Lisa, and runs after Polly.

What are the conventions of this genre?
For a romantic comedy, we expect a cheesy movie full of jokes and funny moments with a mixture of a romantic relationship between two people. For a movie to be romance, we have to have the man or the woman having feelings or attractions for someone they just met, someone they’ve been friends with for a while, or a complete stranger. Then, they try to make advances onto this person and in the end, the two fall in love with each other and they live happily ever after. For it to be a comedy, there has to be a good amount of humour in it that makes the audience laugh.

3- How did this movie meet or contradict the conventions?
It met these conventions clearly with the storyline of am opposites attract romance between Reuben and Polly and how Reuben is attracted to her and brings her out and tries to impress her. Sandy was one of the main characters for most of the humour as he tended to make crude comments and moves.

4-Write a review of the movie:
The story:
As I’m not a big fan of romantic comedies too much, I only liked Along Came Polly to a certain extent. The story wasn’t VERY original with the opposites attract part. The story itself felt dull to me and could’ve gone a bit deeper for the relationship.
The directing:
I found the directing well done actually. It often showed both sides of the conversation and captured all the emotions clearly. I can’t really say any cons about it because I didn’t see anything wrong with it.
The acting:
Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston were a great duo in the movie, both having a good amount of experience in the romantic comedy genre. The rest of the actors did their part well, they weren’t AMAZING but, they did what they were supposed to portray.
4- Who would you recommend this to and why?
This movie wasn’t amazing enough to be remembered for a while but, I recommend it to anyone who likes the romantic comedy genre and doesn’t mind a bit if cheesy-ness in it. Though, I recommend this movie to be more of a rental kind than worth seeing it in theatres.

Term 4: Movie Reviews – Logorama

raffaellaszilagyi — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 00:40:07 +0000

Logorama was a short animation film that we’ve watched on the first class. The setting and characters were all done using corporate logos that we see in our daily lives either on TV or an industry name. The Villian in the movie is Ronald McDonald, the mascot for the McDonald Fast Food chain. At the end of the movie, L.A. has a massive earthquake (can be put as an economical apocalypse) and oil drowns the city (symbolizing that the oil company will conquer all) as the Esso Girl is still alive at the end (a gas company). Ronald McDonald in the end, is stopped by Weight Watchers, a dieting group and the planet, Jupiter is seen as the Pepsi logo with many of it’s own products surrounding it.

It was a very interesting video as many of us caught a few ironies and symbolisms in the movie that explain the industries and what conquers the economy. I enjoyed it very much as in a very short time, it explains many metaphors. I’m still re watching the movie to see more metaphors that I didn’t see the first time.

Evaluation

raffaellaszilagyi — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:57:37 +0000

Criteria A – Investigation
Level Given: 4
I give myself only a level 4 on investigation because I didn’t go into dept into information and sources like I should’ve. I only looked into certain topics and what not. For the investigation stage, I clearly looked into what my PSA needs to present and what is our goal to show to the audience.

Critera B – Design
Level: 4
I’ve given myself a four because my design blogs are awfully short. There wasn’t much to design I believe since I just had to follow a t-script right away without doing much.

Criterion C – Plan
Level 4
My planning I find, was terrible for this project as I always had to change dates and have cancellations and problems. I changed my planning in the middle of making the creation which got me really behind on my filming.

Criterion D- Create
Level 5
Even with the tight deadline, I was able to get some good shots and scenes. I did bend the script to what I thought was right though. In the end, I think I should’ve had more patience with the filming and taken more takes before I thought it was just good.

Criterion E – Evaluation
Level 5
Evaluation, I went through my footage with the editor and my actors and asked them if they thought the footage is alright or they did something weird and wanted me to retake it. I later went through my footage with the editor and what thoughts they had to fix and cut.

Criterion F – Attitudes in Technology
Level 5
Technology was what I was always working with. I’m not perfect with a video camera but with a really quick tutorial, I was able to do the basics and a little more with it. While using the camera I made little discoveries here and there about the device and used them to my advantage.

Creation: Day 5 FINAL.

raffaellaszilagyi — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:33:31 +0000

Today was my final day to film and it took a bit longer than planned as there was more scenes to do and we had to retake a lot of scenes. These scenes were somewhat less awkward as my actresses were good friends and were more or less comfortable doing the scenes. I was given a tripod but, I didn’t really use it since it was chunky and I couldn’t adjust it to the exact angles I wanted.

Now, all the scenes are done c:

Creation: Day 4

raffaellaszilagyi — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:18:07 +0000

Today, I filmed all the scenes between the girl and the guy couple in my PSA. This was some what difficult than I imagined. The girl and boy had no attractiveness to each other whatsoever so it was very awkward between them.

There was also some scenes on the script that seemed quite impossible without only one camera as they were simply asking for different angles of the same scene. It frustrated me so I ended up just mixing two scenes together to make one full one. In the end, all went well.