After hearing so much about this film but never having the opportunity to watch it, I deliberately set out to borrow it from the library and watch it - And jeezzz did I not regret it!
I didn't really know that much about the film other then James Corden was in it, however in the opening credits i saw that it was written by Alan Bennett and i was immediately excited to watch it. I've been a big Alan Bennett fan since i stared to have an obsession with English and writing, he is a personal favourite.
The film took a really strange approach to the relationships between a pupil and it's student, particularly Hector's feelings towards pupils and at no point was he demonized because of it, one of the only films that as taken that approach to it. Also, a very casual approach to homosexuality in all-boy grammar schools.
The writing was sensational, very typical Alan Bennett in style and was 100% compelling throughout. The way he uses words and foundations of linguistics to create themes and an educated patwar between the students was simply fantastic. One of my favourite moments was when Hector and Posner are in the classroom talking about poems and there's almost a mirror line between the both of them, as if they're both reflecting eachother's feelings and how a poem is way of voicing that. About how it's humbling to know when a writer feels exactly the way that you do and how that connects all of the 'History Boys' together, even though they seem very disconnected. However, my absolute favourite moment in the film was after Hectors funeral when each student was talking about what they'd become and how each career perfectly reflected their personality. The incredibly emotional moment as you realize why Lockwood is sat there silently and doesn't say a word and Posner's almost soliloque about how Hector has effected him.
This has easily become one of my favourite films - absolutely fantastic. 9.5/10
Friday 29 November 2013
Wednesday 20 November 2013
Film Synopsis - Short Film
Genre: Social Realist film
Story: An unnamed musician makes his way to a music venue and throughout the journey goes through the stages of life, from baby to adult. Eventually he gets to the venue and is greeted by an empty stage. He then has the opportunity and experience his dream. As the camera focuses on his eyes, the story will focus back to past events and how far he's come, but as the music cuts out, it shows his real life as a poor busker on the street; showing the characters life in the world, how society treated him (as he's nameless throughout and how that relates to society) and how throughout everything, he does everything possible to keep his dream alive.
Narrative: A restrictive narrative and moves in chronological order. The story will take place in the protagonists' mind so the camera will move on the journey with him.
Characters: Protagonist - unnamed boy.
Conflict: A conflict in the protagonists' mind about where he wants to be and where he actually is. How his progression through life was completely ignored by society but how his dream will never be silenced in his head.
Story: An unnamed musician makes his way to a music venue and throughout the journey goes through the stages of life, from baby to adult. Eventually he gets to the venue and is greeted by an empty stage. He then has the opportunity and experience his dream. As the camera focuses on his eyes, the story will focus back to past events and how far he's come, but as the music cuts out, it shows his real life as a poor busker on the street; showing the characters life in the world, how society treated him (as he's nameless throughout and how that relates to society) and how throughout everything, he does everything possible to keep his dream alive.
Narrative: A restrictive narrative and moves in chronological order. The story will take place in the protagonists' mind so the camera will move on the journey with him.
Characters: Protagonist - unnamed boy.
Conflict: A conflict in the protagonists' mind about where he wants to be and where he actually is. How his progression through life was completely ignored by society but how his dream will never be silenced in his head.
Monday 18 November 2013
Short Film Responses
The Forgotten Hit
The Forgotten is a short film from an undergraduate students from the Leeds film school. I thought the film was quite compelling although i felt the sound track could of been a bit more exciting. With the lack of dialog, the film heavily relied upon the soundtrack and i thought it was bland, although, the use of an effects bass-drum to replicate the sound of a heart beat was quite effective.
6/10
Indecision
I really liked the camera effects this film and the pure question of how they done it still baffles me. The effect done very well to capture the Topsy-turby feeling of being indecisive - something that i personally can relate to. I thought the use of setting how the man was in the woods and the woman was on the beach, and the contrast between those two places was very effective. The pure look of the film and the classy style was also something that was really appealing to watch.
7/10
Farewell to Charlie Power
Out of all the short films I've watched today, this one was definitely my favourite. Despite the quite sad and upsetting story line, there was something very charming about the setting in the village; also some lovely characters, i particularly enjoyed the character of the police woman. The film raised some quite serious issues about mental health and also how people react to it with some jokey and playful undertones to ease the serious and difficult issue - all of which was approached very well.
9/10
The Forgotten is a short film from an undergraduate students from the Leeds film school. I thought the film was quite compelling although i felt the sound track could of been a bit more exciting. With the lack of dialog, the film heavily relied upon the soundtrack and i thought it was bland, although, the use of an effects bass-drum to replicate the sound of a heart beat was quite effective.
6/10
Indecision
I really liked the camera effects this film and the pure question of how they done it still baffles me. The effect done very well to capture the Topsy-turby feeling of being indecisive - something that i personally can relate to. I thought the use of setting how the man was in the woods and the woman was on the beach, and the contrast between those two places was very effective. The pure look of the film and the classy style was also something that was really appealing to watch.
7/10
Farewell to Charlie Power
Out of all the short films I've watched today, this one was definitely my favourite. Despite the quite sad and upsetting story line, there was something very charming about the setting in the village; also some lovely characters, i particularly enjoyed the character of the police woman. The film raised some quite serious issues about mental health and also how people react to it with some jokey and playful undertones to ease the serious and difficult issue - all of which was approached very well.
9/10
Sunday 17 November 2013
Se7en (1995) Narrative Theory
The structure of the narrative was the basic equilibrium, the disruption and then the restoration of the equilibrium. The narration was restricted narration and throughout the story, we knew as much as the protagonists.
Protagonist(s) - Mills and Somerset
Antagonist - John Doe
Enigma codes - Who is the killer? Why did Mills decide to get transferred? Why didn't Tracy want to tell Mills about the baby?
Action codes - Seeing a gun and as a viewer, knowing it would be used to kill.
Hero - Somerset
Helper - Mills (also can be regarded as the hero)
Villian - John Doe
Dispatcher - The duty of being in the police force, Somerset and Mills own curostiy to finish the case and moral push to stop the killer.
Donor - The police badge and name, gives them the power to work on the case.
Princess - The satisfaction of stopping the killer.
Protagonist(s) - Mills and Somerset
Antagonist - John Doe
Enigma codes - Who is the killer? Why did Mills decide to get transferred? Why didn't Tracy want to tell Mills about the baby?
Action codes - Seeing a gun and as a viewer, knowing it would be used to kill.
Hero - Somerset
Helper - Mills (also can be regarded as the hero)
Villian - John Doe
Dispatcher - The duty of being in the police force, Somerset and Mills own curostiy to finish the case and moral push to stop the killer.
Donor - The police badge and name, gives them the power to work on the case.
Princess - The satisfaction of stopping the killer.
Monday 11 November 2013
Se7en (1995) Film Response
Seven is a complex and layered plot about the seven deadly sins; Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Pride, Envy and Wrath when they over run a person's mind and drives him to kill. It's set in a grim and desolate city where "sins take place on every street corner" and it constantly raises a clever issue of how society reacts to the sins, and in particular, how the police react to it. The police force throughout the film mention about how disturbed and insane the killer, played by Kevin Spacey, is, However when the police discover the victim of 'Sloth', a drug dealer and known child molester, the polices' reaction was "he got what he deserved". That hypocrisy of the police is something that John Doe played upon, ending the film with his own death after the wrath of David Mills. Although I enjoyed the ending, due to the clear hypocrisy of the police, i spent the entire film expecting that someone within the police force was the killer, and was rather disappointed when i was wrong. The tense music that was always played around Mills and Somerset didn't help my suspicion either. However, by not making it as i expected, the ending did shock me at the fact that it was so simple.
The whole film done exactly as it described and was indeed a psychological thriller. It made the audience guess constantly about the killer and the plot ending. It was thought provoking on how society reacts to it's other members. With fantastic acting from Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey, I really enjoyed it. Highly recommended! 8/10
Sunday 10 November 2013
A Rant About 3D And A Review On Gravity (2013)
Despite my best attempts to enjoy 3D films... I've always hated them. I've always felt like they were a silly after thought after making a film, and a "decent" excuse for my local cinema to charge £10.20 to watch a load of pop-up book style rubbish in which invariable gives me headache... And I thought this about every film... Until Gravity (2013).
Yesterday, I made the brave jump into the land of 3D and watched Gravity, after hearing Mark Kermode's opinion, who is a 3D hater like me, of it the previous Friday; and long story short, it was brilliant and genuinely stunning. Every shot in the entire film looked incredibly realistic and the way that they used long-shot to close up shot to evoke emotion was sublime.
It opened with the title 'Gravity' on the screen and a huge crescendo of sound and almost white noise that built up louder, and louder, to an almost unbearable decibel and then quickly cut to deafening silence. Throughout the film, the simple use of sound was probably the best I've ever heard and a true pioneering example of most musician's moto... The rest and silence has to be louder then the note.
There was an incredibly interesting theme of 're-birth' and the protagonist, Ryan Stone, played by Sandra Bullock, being re-born in space and how the space shuttle became so much of a sign of saftey that it became a womb-like place. It also showed the very clever progression of Ryan Stone as a character, from a panicing child/baby into a confident woman that looked as if she could conquer the world with some cleverly used low-angle shots.
Despite a predicable plot, kudos to George Clooney, who's performance was fantastic, as always. I must admit, i've never been a big Sandra Bullock fan and never really regarded her as a proper actress, however, after this performance and fully watching and noticing her acting... She was incredible, absolutely incredible.
Fantastic film that i would highly recommend to anyone, especially film studies students. I wouldn't say it's completely changed my view on 3D, however, I think that this is the first that has ever used it to it's true potenial, and more impotantly, made a visual pleasure, instead of a 3D indused headache.
Gravity (2013) 9/10 - Brilliant!
Yesterday, I made the brave jump into the land of 3D and watched Gravity, after hearing Mark Kermode's opinion, who is a 3D hater like me, of it the previous Friday; and long story short, it was brilliant and genuinely stunning. Every shot in the entire film looked incredibly realistic and the way that they used long-shot to close up shot to evoke emotion was sublime.
It opened with the title 'Gravity' on the screen and a huge crescendo of sound and almost white noise that built up louder, and louder, to an almost unbearable decibel and then quickly cut to deafening silence. Throughout the film, the simple use of sound was probably the best I've ever heard and a true pioneering example of most musician's moto... The rest and silence has to be louder then the note.
There was an incredibly interesting theme of 're-birth' and the protagonist, Ryan Stone, played by Sandra Bullock, being re-born in space and how the space shuttle became so much of a sign of saftey that it became a womb-like place. It also showed the very clever progression of Ryan Stone as a character, from a panicing child/baby into a confident woman that looked as if she could conquer the world with some cleverly used low-angle shots.
Despite a predicable plot, kudos to George Clooney, who's performance was fantastic, as always. I must admit, i've never been a big Sandra Bullock fan and never really regarded her as a proper actress, however, after this performance and fully watching and noticing her acting... She was incredible, absolutely incredible.
Fantastic film that i would highly recommend to anyone, especially film studies students. I wouldn't say it's completely changed my view on 3D, however, I think that this is the first that has ever used it to it's true potenial, and more impotantly, made a visual pleasure, instead of a 3D indused headache.
Gravity (2013) 9/10 - Brilliant!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)