MYST Post #3- The Social Network

This movie follows the story of Mark Zuckerburg and the birth of major social media and facebook. To me, the story is the most interesting aspect of this film is the story. It is thrilling and packed with information that I had never known about Mark and facebook. The cinematic elements of the film were nothing special to me, but the film did do a great job of telling the story. Justin Timberlake's performance as what is portrayed as the bad guy is well done. Overall, I give this movie 3 out of 5 stars.

To me the key scene that stuck out is when Eduardo has realized that his role in the company has vanished and he approaches Mark angry. In this scene the camera is placed behind a sitting Mark facing up looking at a standing Eduardo. Eduardo's body language is easily seen to show his frustration for choosing Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) over him. Mark does not seem very upset that he has lost one of his only friends however. That to me is the most interesting part.

This movie is set to be like a flashback as attorneys along with Eduardo and Mark are deliberating over a lawsuit. This in a way is similar to Citizen Kane, where all the scenes are flashbacks of what happened and then the plot build from there. Another film that this film is similar to is Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Both of these Films Have a business aspect to them which was interesting to me. Overall, I felt that there were strong performances all around in this movie.

MYST Post #2- Skyfall

This thrilling sequel to the James Bond series is interesting and entertaining. Daniel Craig plays bond brilliantly once again. This movie follows bond on a mission in the opening seem chasing what seems to be the main bad guy for the rest of the movie. However while in a scuffle on a train, his partner is forced to take a shot that puts Bond's life in jeopardy. Sure enough the bullet clips bond and sends him down a waterfall. Miraculously Bond lives. While the espionage world believes Bond is dead, Bond is secretly living on an island. Later, the federal building where Bond's agency's headquarters are is targeted by what is later found out to be a disgruntled former agent. This hits a nerve for Bond who returns to take down this former agent. Overall, this film was well done and my personal favorite of the twenty-three movies in the series. I give this film 4.5 out of 5 stars.

The use of color throughout this film is something that stuck out to me. In every scene, the color pattern seemed to fit well with the tone of the scene. This gives the viewer an ability to focus on the content of the scene and the action instead of noticing needless things happening in the background. Throughout the entire film, each shot is made to make the movie flow well. I did not notice a single shot that seemes to be choppy or odd. overall, a great job by the crew.

To me, this film is shot similarly to Quantum of Solace. The main difference to me comes in the content. Particular scenes like the scene where bond has been captured and forced to shoot a shot glass off the top of an innocent women's head, is very intense and unpredictable. Being the unstoppable force that Bond is, the viewer expects Bond to save the innocent woman, but he cannot. He does however manage to escape the grip of the disgruntled agent and bring him in soon after. This is what I find great about this movie. It takes many twists and turns that are unpredictable. Skyfall was the topic action movie that I have seen in the last two years. Overall, strong performances all around.

Wolfpacked Night Create a Movie Project

Wolfpacked night is a mix of both horror and mystery created by Warner Brothers in the 1930's. Our movie's plot follows a detective on the search for a serial killer on the loose one night in the city of Chicago. The twist however is that the wolf is also the detective's brother.
The director our group chose for this project is Michael Curtis. Curtis is a Warner Brothers director who has experience with mystery and horror films. This film is to be produced by Warner Brothers for various reasons. This film is going to be both horror and mystery, both specialties of Warner Brothers. This film's scale is also that of Warner Brother's specialties. It is going to be medium to large scale but not with a huge budget. This is because nearly all shots will be shot in familiar Chicago locations. The reason it is not completely inexpensive is because of the actors.
The main actor in this film will be Paul Moody. His familiarity with audiences will be from Scarface which should make him interesting in a detective role. The main actress will be Anne Dvorak from Scarface as well. Finally the wolf and supporting actor will be played by Boris Karloff from frankenstein. His experience with monster type films should make him perfect for this role. All three actors have experience working with Warner Brothers as well so there will be no trades for staff.
The aspect of the film that will be highlighted in this film will be cinematography. This is for various reasons. One is that the wolf will bever be seen, however implied through the use of shadows. Also, the twisting of camera during violent scenes to avoid gore in the film will be used. The film will also be produced in black and white.

The hays code will affect the making of this film. This film will not be able to use any profanity in the script. Firearms will have to be used sparingly throughout the film. Any type of theft or robbery will also have to be made to be seen as a bad thing. Lastly, Any type of sympathy for the murderer will not be allowed.

This movie is going to be produced for entertainment purposes only and will not have any true moral message behind it. The technology in this film will be common for 1930's film. it will however be a prerequisite for film noir. If I were completely in charge, I would have pushed the limit with the hays code more, using more violent approaches to the murder scenes. I also would have tried to use new technology to produce a wolf since this film is made for entertainment purposes and that could draw in larger crowds.

Formal Film Study: Scorsese

Scorsese is commonly referred to as one of the top directors of film ever. He has an impressive resume` and deserves the acclaim that he has gotten. He comes from an actor of a father and an actress of a mother, neither of whom were as highly acclaimed as Martin himself. His parents were both immigrants from Sicily who settled in New York City. The influence of his heritage is prevalent in many of his films including some of the best like Goodfellas and Casino. Scorsese was also raised a devout catholic and at one point considered giving up his love for cinema to become a preist. The films researched in this film study were Raging Bull, Gangs of New York, and Mean Streets.

The interesting part of studying these films was that each film was a different type of Scorsese film. There was a classic gang film and a film by each of Scorsese's go to actors, DeNiro and DiCaprio. One thing I noticed relative to the plot in many Scorsese films is that the main character who is meant to be portrayed as the tough guy is broken down and shown to be weak. This makes his "gangster" films unique in the fact that the gangster is not portrayed as invincible as in most gangster films. He goes inside the lives of the gangster versus just showing the actions and crime committed by the gangster. He also has a way in many of his films of making you love and hate the main character and different points in the movie. This is again unique becuase in many films in general it is usually one or the other but not both. 

Culture plays a major role in Scorsese's films as well. Scorsese seemed to have a skill of being able to tie in his background with some of the great films he has made. In both raging bull and Mean streets the Italian-American culture is portrayed in a positive light. Subtle messages about the culture itself are made in small scenes or in the background of bigger scenes. The message is sent by showing italian cooking, music, or the importance of family. Rarely have we seen this culture portrayed in a negative light. 

Scorsese also uses shot angles to help emphasize important scenes and important dialouge between characters. Things like using the camera to seem like the viewer is sitting at the table while a conversation are used often when dialogue between three or more characters is taking place. Shots like high angle shots and low angle shots are used in places like stairwells or from the ground to a balcony is used when there is dialogue between two characters taking place.
One main theme I saw prevalent throughout Scorsese's films is his use of dark colors. Many scenes both important and unimportant scenes have a dark color to them. Black background or darkened background is often used to help emphasize characters faces and actions. This is especially prevalent during moments of intense dialogue.

One minor theme I noticed throughout Scorsese's films, is that there often times tends to be moments of intense violence. This is not always unexpected but nevertheless present. I think that it adds to the film's realism and helps make the viewer feel more engaged.

MovieFone. "Martin Scorsese." AOL Moviefone. AOL, n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2013.
Links to Movie Reviews:
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/mean-streets/Film?oid=1057472
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,952867-1,00.html
http://observer.com/2003/01/gruesome-never-gratuitous-gangs-of-new-york-rings-true/