Blade Runner

Fisher: Blade Runner

In this film we have a setting that takes place in the future after a nuclear apocalypse in a derelict Los Angeles in 2019.  The world now has a hierarchy within this dystopia, and as we see in the scene between Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) and his former supervisor Bryant (M. Emmet Walsh) when Deckard originally refuses the job to "retire" rogue androids but is forced to accept because if your not a cop, your a little person.  This reflects on the levels of hierarchy left in the world.  It is still based upon economics and status still but it has an extremely large gap between the rich (Tyrell Corporation), the cops, and those who speak "gutterspeak", the commoners. Below all of this we finally have the androids, made by the Tyrell Corporation.  These beings are considered the low of the low, not even human, even though they are techinically more than human or the epitome of human perfection.  In fact, they do not execute rogue androids, but rather have them retired in a somewhat violent fashion as we see in one of the better scene's from the film when Deckard chases down and retires Zhora (Joanna Cassidy), one of the androids illegally on earth.

So if all of this trouble is being cause by these androids, why do they make them? Why do they constantly improve them to be even more human?  Why are the laws not changed to accommodate these anomalies?  Why do we see that these androids have emotion and want to live?  It is possible to determine if someone is an android by using the Voight-Kampff test, which measures bodily functions such as breathing, blushing, heart rate and iris and pupil dilation in response to emotionally provocative questions which should not trigger a response in a android.  Which could lead us down another route in trying to determine what is human.  In Blade Runner apparently a human is determined by its emotional responses according to the V-K test.  However, we see Rachael (Sean Young) cry after we receive the knowledge that she is an android.  Also, do our memories make us human?  In Blade Runner, Rachel has memories that are apparently not her own and rather Tyrell's niece's, making her much less likely to be human.  Yet at the end of the film it is demonstrated that the androids have memories of there own, and despite having a four year lifespan, they desire to live longer.


Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer)

Casablanca

Casablanca
This lovely picture has survived decades of advancements in film and continues to live on as a timeless classic in American Cinema.  Much of the film's success has to do with when it came out in theaters and what was going on in the world at the time.  The film was based on a play called Everbody Comes to Rick's  that was read and bought by Warner Bros. (specifically producer Hal Wallis) in January of 1942.  This timing can honestly be seen as impeccable considering the tragedy of Pearl Harbor occurred just a month earlier on December 7, 1941.  This allowed for the movie to become the basis for justification by the American public for the United States entering the war.  That being said, after America entered the war on December 8 this movie was needed.  This time of propaganda, allows for the directors to play with the mise-en-scene in order to convey a political stance or message.  Usually, movies tend to try and stay politically objective in order to pull in the widest range of audience.
However, in Casablanca we see standpoint that was politically expedient to support the United States Armed forces entering the war after Pearl Harbor.  In fact they did not show the film in North Africa thinking it would upset the Vichy there. This standpoint is seen in the mise-en-scene of the scene between Rick (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) at the end of the movie.  In this scene Rick has just made known his ulterior motives to Ilsa, and he delivers the famous line, "We'll always have Paris."  I would put Rick as the dominan, meerly because he is facing more towards the camera in this frame  It can be argued that Ilsa is the dominant because she is more toward the center. Also her white collar adds contrast that draws the viewers attention.  But it is Rick (USA) that is making the sacrifices and letting the Ilsa leave with her husband.  It took a girl, and a major loss (love) for Rick to finally involve himself in the war.  The chief sees this and decides to follow him as a friend and sympathizer.  The camera proxemics are intimate because the camera is right up in the faces of these two actors. Trying to capture every emotion, expression, or moment of brilliance.  Also the character proxemics are intimate as they are face to face for the entire shot in attempt to convey the deep feelings they possess for one another.  The lighting in the frame looks to be high and coming from a little behind Rick, putting Ilsa more in the spotlight. There are some subsidiary contrasts in the picture.  The eye focuses on the faces first, then strays to Ilsa's white collar next and finally Rick's black tie. Their staging positions are face to face in the shot in attempt to convey the strong feelings and history these characters have between each other.  Finally the frame of the shot is tight and closed, almost could be considered a close-up if it did not have two actors in it.  This type of shot is to show the personal relationship between the characters and there emotions in regard to that relationship.


We'll Always Have Paris...

The Social Network

I had no intention of seeing this film in theaters and was expecting it to be a bust, simply because I was cynical of a movie whose main storyline is derived from Facebook; the ultimate societal conformist's internet outlet since it went public in March 2009.   I have confidence in David Fincher as a director; him being responsible for movies like Fight Club, Se7en, and Zodiac.  So I was expecting something stable in terms of plot, character, and story development.  I was not disappointed by the solid and comprehensive narrative arc presented by Fincher.  As for my expectations in terms of acting, the only recognizable names/faces too me were Jesse Eisenburg as Mark Zuckerburg and Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker.  I was skeptical of these actors performances due to their limited resumes and my unfamiliarity with their work.  However, I had seen Zombieland and Alpha Dog so my hopes for an adequate performance were not completely dashed.

This films best feature was the way the ties between the people were presented.  The entire picture focuses completely on the interpersonal relationships between the main and supporting characters.  All of the the shots in this film are close to medium range in order to emphasize the idea to focus on the characters and how they act and emote in each scene/situation. It is interesting to note that throughout the film, they make Mark out to not care for his friends and is simply focused on realizing his idea of Facebook.  While this may or may not be the truth of the endeavor, they choose to cast Zuckerberg in that light.  This dramatically alters the view of the those watching.  It causes them to sympathize more with the people that he had to step over and sheds light on their struggle that was overcast by the ingenuity of Zuckerberg.  In fact, I go could so far to say that this film is promoting that lying, cheating, and stealing; as long as you get to the top first, is favorable and is a strategy used by those with initiative.  We see this in the film as he takes the original idea from the "Winklevi" as Mark calls them, kicks his best friend and co-founder out of the company, and get away with it. America, F*** Yeah.

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Jesse Ventura

My avatar is an sports figure-turned politician.  After breaking records and winning championships in two major sports leagues at a young age, he decided to retire early and pursue other facets of life.  The next two years of his life are spent in Tibet with the Dali Lama.  Upon his return to society he announced his ideas for reform and his intentions of running for office.  The public was eager to see change and he won the ensuing election in a landslide.

During his years in office he solved major political disputes, brought democracy to six more countries, cured cancer (by allowing stem cell research), put out two platinum albums, and killed the devil.

Bill Clinton

However, we have to keep in mind that this is a sports figure/politician that does have his faults and three marriages, two mistresses, and one divorce. 

Tiger Woods

But the people love him for all of his faults and accomplishments.  And he returned their love by winning the first interstellar war as commander and chief of the earth's armed forces.  For this he was awarded the moon, which he turned into a luxury low-gravity resort and golf course.

In his later years he bought three teams from professional sports leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB) and moved them all to Las Vegas where he built his stadium/casino that could host all three teams at the same time in one night.  This is where he lived out the rest of his days attending luncheons, meetings and the occasional strip club.

Beowulf

Demons have heels?

 This entire movie could have been reedited in my opinion.  It was the first movie that I have seen strive for realism in their animation.  This film honestly looks like all of the budget went into the CGI and they had to rush to finish it, so they twisted the story, skipped a few years and made the dragon his son in order to create adequate enough ending to distract the viewer from the fact that they are watching another Hollywood botch of a literal "epic" tale, not just a classic.  However, the fact that this story was written so long ago allows the producers and directors to play with it and, to my dismay, add their own creative minds into the mix.  In my eyes, this was simply an attempt to make money by taking a timeless Old English epic, bastardize it, and lure in the viewers by tossing a few star names into the digital mix; lets not fail to mention the full digital frontal by the computerized Jolie... that will bring in a crowd of thousands on its own.

All of these were mashed into one movie to produce some form of "finished" product to be presented to the capricious audience that the majority of America is.  If I were forced to pick out one scene in this movie to completely reedit, it would be any scene that they deviated from the original tale, which occurs throughout the film.  However, a good scene to reedit would be the scene when Beowulf goes to kill the demon in the cave.  In the film, and in the book, he takes along his glowing dragon horn that he received from King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) and the sword Hrunting from Unferth (John Malkovich).  However, when he enters the cave is where the story completely changes.  In the film, Beowulf (Ray Winstone) succumbs to the seduction of the demon (Angelina Jolie) and bears her a child, resulting in the birth of the golden child/dragon and his ultimate demise. Instead of this happening, they could have stuck to the original tale where he slays the demon of the water with a giant sword forged by titans and returns to the mead hall with Grendel's (Crispin Glover) head.  Then, Beowulf later meets his fate after slaying a dragon that has no relation to him.  Instead, they introduced Beowulf to his "femme fatal" so to speak in the embodiment of a naked, golden Angleina Jolie-demon with some crazy rattail.

Wolfman del Toro

Despite having the same titles the 2010 and the original 1941 The Wolfman clash in many respects.  The story lines do not match up exactly and the technology used during the filming, editing, and production differs drastically between the The Wolfman films.  For and example, in the 1941 film there were no special effects used like in the 2010 version.  The make up used by the actors portraying the wolfman is different also.  The 1941 wolfman, Lon Chaney Jr. used animal hair and facial cosmetic glue to create the wolfman effect.  Benecio del Toro is subject to all that the make up and effects that the 2010 movie industry has to offer.  These movies in my opinion are in different categories in this day and age.  I would consider the 1941 movie a ambitious attempt to create magic in cinema for one of the first times in the film industry.  While the 2010 film is a suspense film using the storyline from a classic. Not much improvement in the acting department either.

Starship Troopers

Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dein)
Starship Troopers

Dominate: The dominate of the frame to me would be Johnny Rico. However, the bug taking up the entire center of the screen in the background does take much of the focus away from Rico.

Lighting: The lighting of the image is natural.  However, the fact that they are on another planet may change that perception but to me it looks like earth for the most part. In a high key setting with high contrast brings out the bright elements of both objects on the screen.

Character Proximics: The shot is close to Johnny Rico but has a massive bug in the background. This gives the viewer a chance to see the real size of the bug and the take in the full scope of the screen shot.  The proximics between Rico and the bug in this frame would be public.