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Godzilla

Rating: 5.5/10

Yes, this movie sucks visually. Yes, it’s one of the cheesiest movies I’ve ever seen to date. But come on! It’s from 1954! Not only has this movie inspired countless future films, but it was an immense breakthrough for the time. That being said, I can’t blame viewers for not enjoying it as much as they’d like to. The visuals are highly outdated and the acting is mediocre at best, with some of the characters proving to be annoying by the end of the film, including the main girl named Emiko Yamane. On the contrary, some things that the film did well was incorporate messages about World War II in it, especially in relations to nuclear weapons as well as firebombings. The whole idea of the Godzilla monster being triggered by atomic blasts and the fire that it breathed directly were such ideas. Furthermore, Godzilla quickly became a popular figure in Japanese culture and is still to this often associated with Japan. 

The film follows a monster-terrorised Japan where people are being killed and land is being destroyed. Nuclear testing woke up a should-be-extinct theropod dinosaur which sends him on a venture of massacring the masses out of vengeance. While the ongoings are occurring, a doctor in the background has developed a secret weapon which had the ability to cause great harm, which terminally ends up killing Godzilla, as well as said doctor.

Some symbolism can be clearly seen as it is presented in effective and direct ways. The biggest of the symbols, undoubtedly, is the nuclear bombing/testing. This movie came shortly after the end of World War 2 when Japan was still heavily demolished from the American nukes, and this movie was used as a clear message against the use of nuclear devices. This symbolism proves to be even more interesting when you consider some of the reactions and opinions that may have risen after its release, both from Japanese viewers, as well as the rest of the world. 

In terms of drawbacks, this movie had a lot of things wrong with it. The filming is highly outdated, but when you consider the fact that it came out in 1953 makes you just want to praise the film. It was a major milestone, but one that doesn’t have much to offer to the modern viewer. Additionally, some of the acting was just downright awful-especially the girl. Played by Momoko Kōchi, the girl seemed unrealistically dramatic and emotional quite often throughout the plot and makes some of the scenes seem cringingly cheesy. And since acting isn’t dependant on technology it’s impossible to disregard the cheesiness. 

Narrative elements were quite mediocre in the film, with dialogue being heavily ruined by poor acting and filming angles and techniques being strongly outdated. However, where the film truly stands out is the film music. Throughout the majority of the movie, there is an eerie, creepy string-heavy score which perfectly reflects the horror that the residents must have felt. So much so, that it almost seemed like it wasn’t film music at all, and more of something that genuinely would have been heard while Godzilla was tearing apart building and limbs from their hosts. In contrast, there was not a lot of impressive camera work, costumes did not stand out and the dialogue was fairly poor, as previously mentioned. Furthermore, the physical representation of Godzilla was not the greatest, as he looked more like a cute giant action figure of a vertical crocodile. There was barely any clarity about his full and true appearance which made connecting with the people in the fil significantly stronger since viewers have no idea what the film characters are really seeing and experiencing. Additionally, the special effects are highly outdated featuring cheesy fires and explosions.

The general mood of the film is one of depressing and fear-stricken tones. Viewers can doubtlessly feel a dark mysterious atmosphere which is aided strongly by the aforementioned genius use of film music. Additionally, the colour palette used throughout the movie is fairly dark in nature which exhibits appropriate feelings of gloom and doom. 

All in all, Godzilla, in my opinion, while being a majorly influential film for its time did not meet my expectations nor did it do a good job at entertaining me. That being said, there’s just no way that I could rule out its influence and its importance, which leads me to say that I would still highly recommend showing this film in any history class. It serves as an excellent showcase of the beginning of modern film and can be used in contrast to new movies to showcase just how far filmmaking has gone in all terms. Overall, after analyzing and weighing out all the positives and negatives as well as taking into account the cultural importance of it, I would give this film an average rating of 5.5 out of 10. 

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Dunkirk (mark)

Rating: 9/10

Based on the tragic world war II story by the same name, Dunkirk is an epic showcase of Christopher Nolan’s mastermind. It casts viewers right into the center of the gloomy and grey war at the northern French beach as its being advanced on by Germany. The despair of the soldiers involved is flawlessly portrayed. At times the film was a tad bit boring and uneventful, but the sheer beauty of the movie and its scenescape quickly drown out those feelings and replace them with genuine awe. At no point did the film lose its feelings of immense tension, which also helped keep viewers hostage for the entirety of the run-time. 

The film follows the happenings of the infamous Dunkirk tragedy, which happened during the Battle of France in 1940 when allied forces were forced to retreat into the beach of Dunkirk. The plot stays fairly uneventful in order to make it more realistic, as during the actual war the majority of the time was spent waiting in despair. In terms of what does actually happen, the movie begins with a scene of the beach where Tommy, the only survivor of a German ambush, finds the beach filled with thousands of troops waiting to be rescued. There’s a hospital ship at the dock getting ready to head out to deliver the injured to safety, and then starts the first moment of intense tension which sets the bar high for the rest of the film. After Tommy finds another soldier named Gibson burying a body, another soldier gets hit by a dive bomber and Tommy and Gibson are forced to rush him onto the shortly departing hospital ship. Once they got to the ship and got the soldier aboard, they’re hastily ordered off, and shortly after the ship departs, it is also bombarded by dive bombers and sinks. Following this, the plot changes perspective onto a French civilian named Dawson and his son Peter set up their ship to depart in hopes of saving more of the soldiers stuck on the beach. A friend of Peter’s named George joins the two of them without permission. As the three of them are in open sea, they spot a crashed ally plane with a single pilot on the sinking craft and rush to bring him aboard. The shivering soldier tells them of the horrors and the hopelessness of the war and ends up accidentally blinding and ultimately killing George to the dismay of Dawson and Peter. The third plotline involves Farrier, a skilled allied spitfire pilot played by Tom Hardy who begins in a group of three and quickly ends up alone when one is shot down and one ditched after being hit. With a shattered fuel gauge, he continues his pursuit for hunting German planes and ends up saving a minesweeper as well as many other people in danger. 

In terms of filming quality and elements of narrative, Dunkirk is an absolute gem which showcases the best of Christopher Nolan’s genius. The whole film seems incredibly realistic, which was the main focus in my opinion. He achieved this by using a colour palette that seemed extremely accurate to war-time as it was very much grey and grim. The camera work seemed very personal as the majority of the land shots were handheld and the light was mainly natural light which kept things highly natural. There was also very little talking which added to the feeling of loneliness which was known to soldiers all too well in the war. Additionally, Nolan decides to deviate from traditional linear story-lines by introducing three different storylines that all play out at once not directly relating to each other. This provided viewers with a feeling of how individual people didn’t really mean that much during the war and that everyone is vulnerable. It also lets viewers experience the plot from three different perspectives to have an all-encompassing understanding of what happened during the tragedy of Dunkirk. Furthermore, the use of film music was executed flawlessly, as does happen every time Nolan works with the mastermind that is Hans Zimmer. 

The tone and mood stayed fairly constant throughout the whole film, one of gloom and despair which perfectly matched the tone of the actual war. The tone was shaped using the aforementioned grey-focused colour palette and grim nature of the scenery. The film beautifully reflected the emotions likely felt by soldiers during the war including hopelessness and grief. Even at the end, when the two soldiers make it back home, the tone does not lighten up and it seems more like a failure than a success, which it arguably was. While this tone and mood played a massive role in the accuracy of the depiction of the infamous war story, it also is responsible for one of the only negative aspects of the film: it’s occasional boringness. It’s hard to say that Dunkirk was the most exciting movie I’ve ever seen simply due to how depressing and grim it stayed for the entirety of the film. Nonetheless, that does not take away from the general amazement that this piece of art provokes.

Overall, I very much enjoyed and valued this film and without doubt, I would recommend it for anyone to watch. History classes, as well as filming classes of any age and school,  would also find strong value in this film as it not only showcases superb filming quality but also a great deal of accuracy in terms of historical events. All in all, I confidentially give Dunkirk a rating of 9/10. The only factor keeping it from a perfect 10 is the previously mentioned boringness of some scenes. Besides that, it’s truly hard to not call this movie a masterpiece.

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Hotel Rwanda (mark)

Rating: 10/10

Before watching Hotel Rwanda, I had heard very little about the Rwandan Genocide other than the fact that it happened. This film caught me by surprise because I genuinely did not expect much of it, and wow was I wrong. Not many movies have had me as captivated as much as this one, nor was I ever as worried for a film character as much as I was for Paul Rusesabagina. There were so many great things about this film that it left me wondering why it isn’t more talked about. The performances, the cinematography, the violence, the drama-all of these things were executed with so much perfection that it’s a little hard to believe. Despite the film focusing on the personal endeavours of a Rwandan family, it still manages to paint a grim picture of the entire atrocity that was the Rwandan genocide. Every single feature and spec of this movie was truly enthralling and honestly has risen onto my personal list of favourite movies. 

Based on a true story, the film revolves around the family of one Paul Rusesabagina, a worker for a Belgian-run Rwandan hotel called the Hôtel des Mille Collines right as the Rwandan Genocide was starting to erupt. His life is shown as being peaceful and pure with him having a highly prestige job and having an amazing wife with kids, and then how the genocide nearly destroys everything. The genocide itself was one of the most horrific in all of human history. In Rwanda, there were two divisions of its residents: the Hutus and the Tutsis, which barely had any differences among them other than that the Belgians split them into the two groups when they ruled over the African nation. When the Belgians left, they gave power to the Hutus and created a strong sense of separation between the two divisions. Well, leading up to the genocide, the Hutu government basically decided that Tutsis are scum to the nation and that they should all be exterminated like rats, and that’s exactly what they tried to do. Paul himself was in a bit of a strange and unlikely situation because he himself was a Hutu so he was technically safe from the genocide, however his wife was a different story. His wife and kids whom he loved ever so dearly were Tutsis and therefore in extreme danger. Once the genocide began after the Hutu propaganda brainwashed all of its members, the slaughter commenced. What the Hutus did was simply unbelievably disgusting and makes one wonder how people could bring themselves to commit such horror. They killed every Tutsi they found, including helpless women and children. They thought of the children as future Tutsis and thought they deserved to die regardless. For obvious reasons, the UN was sent to Rwanda in order to keep peace, yet for no clear reason were not allowed to use armed force on the Hutu army unless fired upon. Paul, seeing all this awfulness, does the most heroic thing he can and turns his hotel into a refugee centre for all the hunted Tutsis. He ends up saving over a thousand Tutsis from the machetes and the guns of the Hutu armies while risking everything in the process. 

In terms of filming and visuals, Hotel Rwanda was truly stunning. There were no flaws that I could see other than the slight inaccuracy of the film which I will get into later, and I never once lost interest in the plot. The plot is extremely personal and is at times emotionally draining in a good, close-to-heart type of way. There are plenty of twists and turns which keep audiences on edge, with a finale that seems almost too good to be true. But that might be its one tiny little flaw: that it’s too good to be true. Paul’s story and the fact that he and his family lived unharmed was beyond rare and practically no one else was that lucky. It also focused only on his own personal experience, which was for the most part isolated in his hotel and away from the actual full extent of the genocide. This partly took away from the authenticity of the whole plot as it painted a picture that was dark, but not nearly dark enough. There was only around one seriously gruesome scene where a family was slaughtered, but in reality, those family were literally everywhere, and each execution was more disturbing and vile than the last. But for me personally, this was not nearly enough to take the beauty away from this film, I still found it not only to have an amazing plot, but I was also more than satisfied by the knowledge I learned about the genocide despite how seemingly sugarcoated it was. 

The mood and tone of the film were significantly dark as was the reality of the Rwandan genocide. It had a few bright moments in the beginning as well as at the very end where everything resolves for Paul and his family, but besides that, it was full of despair and apparent hopelessness, both from the general atrocities of the genocide, as well as personal tragedies and fears within Paul’s family. One moment that stood out to me in terms of sadness was when Paul was talking to his wife in a hotel room and he tells her that if the Hutu army ever broke into the hotel that he wanted her to gather all their children and collectively jump off the roof of the hotel. He realized that their death was likely imminent and that falling a couple of dozen feet off the roof was a better way to die than to be chopped up into pieces by the Hutus’ machetes. While this idea was very much justified, it was still extremely emotional to watch, especially if you put yourself into Paul’s shoes—just imagine telling your wife to jump to her death while holding your children in order to avoid a more painful death.

In regards to elements of narrative, this film was quite well shaped. The camera work was mostly handheld which gave the whole movie a really personal approach, which really suits the plot. Additionally, it was actually filmed mostly in Kigali, Rwanda which added to its authenticity. There wasn’t much important music in the movie, as the plot itself was deep enough to account for any emotion. The acting is what stood out the most to me, as Don Cheadle portrayed Paul Rusesabagina exceptionally well in my opinion. He brought in great depths of emotion and made everything feel as personal as it can. He fit the hero role really well as he truly seemed like a humble and kind-hearted family man, who literally sacrificed his entire life to help all of those poor Tutsis. 

Overall, Hotel Rwanda is truly a work of art which will forever haunt me. It gave me an amazing insight into the genocide while keeping the plot beautifully complex and intriguing. Everything considered, I loved this film and would without question recommend it to anyone—both for personal enjoyment, as well as for class analysis. 

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Shake Hands With The Devil

Rating: 8.5/10

Shake Hands With The Devil, directed by Roger Spottiswoode was the second film watched in class for the genocide unit, the counterpart to Hotel Rwanda. In contrast to Hotel Rwanda, this film’s focus was accuracy—and accurate it was. It depicted a truly shocking and detailed realistic view of the genocide in the most genuine way possible without holding back. It chose to stray away from the personal approach and decides to deal with the topic head-on. While this kind of accuracy and truth-telling was the primary goal and motive behind the way it was filmed, it also kind of ruined the plot. At times it seemed a little too dark and cold, which made it seem somewhat boring and miserable. Nonetheless, the film was incredible and provided knowledge of the genocide in a way that no other film could.  

Shake Hands With The Devil revolves around the service of Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire who was placed in Rwanda as a peacekeeper. It followed his struggles in trying to helplessly and relentlessly fix the situation as well as how his progressive decline in mental state as his feelings of failure escalate. He was deployed to aid the UN in keeping peace in Rwanda under the condition that they were not allowed to use armed force against the Hutus unless fired upon. As anyone can imagine, that’s not an easy thing to do—especially when there are literally children and families being slaughtered left right and centre. This experience is an unbelievable source of torment that no soul should have to undergo and as a result, Dallaire started to experience major mental draining and a huge sense of loathing and regret for not doing more. The main plot and title event is Dallaire making way to meet with the Interhamwe government in order to agree on a sort of peace deal in attempts of ending the genocide. The leader is the “devil” which the title speaks of, but the deal eventually carries out. Despite helping thousands of Tutsis survive and ultimately ending the genocide, Dallaire cannot help but hate himself for not doing more even though it was practically impossible. 

In terms of overall filming, this movie did exactly what it wanted to do. It was the grim and straight to the point, in-your-face type of film that it was meant to be that showed the world what the Rwandan genocide was like with no sugarcoating and no miracles. The plot was intriguing, but lost its touch with viewers numerously, simply because of how sometimes the grimness morphed into boredom. Besides that, there wasn’t much wrong with the film. The incredible realism of it makes viewers realize just how atrocious the situation was and how vile humanity is, which it achieves by using such a deeply positioned perspective. As mentioned before, it is very different than its Hotel Rwanda counterpart in the sense that it strayed far away from the personal experiences of a family and decided to tackle the situation with a more realistic approach, which may not be appealing to all audiences. 

The mood and tone of the entire movie, without exception, was extremely sad and depressing with genuinely no moments of hope or joy. That’s exactly the way it was meant to be, as it reflected the actual Rwandan Genocide perfectly. The visuals were often foul and filled with blood splattering everywhere from the slicing and dicing of the Hutus’ machetes. The despair felt from the film never let go and kept viewers in a cloud of doom which truly felt surreal, as it was likely almost identical to the experiences and the pain of the real Dallaire. Near the end of the film, there was a scene that was almost surreal, where Dallaire walked over a wooden bridge covering a short river, and after noticing that something was wrong about it, he discovered that it was situated right on top dozens of rotting corpses of the victims of the genocide. The expression of his face during this was absolutely gut-wrenching, as he seemed like he was so done with everything and in so much pain due to his sense of guilt and hopelessness that it was genuinely difficult to watch.

In terms of elements of narrative, Shake Hands With The Devil was well made. There weren’t any significant things about the actual filming that stood out that much, but it did what it was meant to. The camera work was raw and handheld, making everything feel even more personal as if you yourself were in Rwanda trying to end the killings. Music wasn’t too important in the film and did not play that big of a role in the progression of the plot nor for the emotions of the film. The acting, however, was quite good. Roy Dupuis did an awesome at portraying Dallaire and provided the role with great emotion and transferred his feelings of pain with fantastic effect onto the viewer. He presented the Lieutenant General in a kind of broken and emotionally scarred yet caring persona that truly made it seem like he would stop at nothing to stop the killings and to save as many people as he could. 

In conclusion, this film was an extremely revealing and straight to the point depiction of the Rwandan genocide that, while at times boring, managed to bring viewers to connect with Dallaire on a level that no other movie ever could. It brought a very detailed image of the tragic genocide which I believe everyone should learn about one way or another. That being said, maybe this movie isn’t right for those people that prefer watching films with more complex and personal plots, but I would still strongly recommend this film to anyone who really wants to learn about just how disgusting and foul humanity can become. For history classes, however, I think this film should be a priority for the topic of genocides. All things considered, I truly believe that an 8.5 out of 10 rating for this film is very appropriate because it was truly great and informative and quite possibly deserves a higher rating, but was just slightly too boring and depressing at times.  

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Lord Of War (mark)

Rating: 9/10

Based loosely on true events, Lord of War is a film that touches a topic which I hadn’t really put much thought into before: arms-dealing. Presenting the issue of the gun trade from the perspective of a dealer, this movie shines a revealing light on its intricacies and details. The movie overall, despite its relatively dark theme, was quite enjoyable to watch and I found it highly interesting and entertaining. It grazed many different topics, ranging from the concept of necessary evils to the idea of karma. 

The plot describes a young Ukrainian man named Yuri Orlov as he hurls into the gun-trade as a means of making it in life. He discovers over the course of his life that “evil prevails” and that people will continue harming and killing each other regardless of whether they have guns or not. But he also sees great opportunity in the conflicts found between humanity, that of providing firearms to those who desire them. He started small-scale by selling in small numbers but quickly rose in both reputation and profit tremendously as he moved onto bulk deals with more important people such as African leaders and by exploiting the fall of the Soviet Union. The film essentially follows Yuri’s rise and fall over the course of his life and how the gun-trade, while at one point making him rich and happy, eventually leads him to his downfall when his luck ultimately runs out. The trade ends up taking almost everything from him, including his dear brother, and nearly gets him in jail when the detective that has been following his track since his start catches him in customs after a bullet was found in Yuri's dead brother’s body. Then, one final strand of luck saves him from prison due to his own prediction and concept that the world truly needs his type of necessary evil, and a high ranking official comes and tells the detective to free him. Generally, the storyline was very thought-provoking and makes you wonder how much darkness is behind the wars and conflicts in our society.  

Filming wise, I found this movie to be pretty great. The acting truly stood out, especially by Nicholas Cage who played Yuri. Yeah, Cage gets a lot of hate for his movies, but this one really was amazing and his performance was more than convincing. He simply fits the role perfectly and carried out the role superbly, in my opinion. Jared Leto’s performance as Yuri's brother Vitaly was also exceptional and added a great deal of emotion and feeling to the storyline. The plot was incredibly interesting and also easy to follow while maintaining twists and surprises. The whole idea of the film following Yuri’s rise and fall somewhat reminded me of The Wolf Of Wall Street which had a fairly similar plotline except about the rise and fall of a stock scammer. 

The moods and tones of Lord Of War were a little scattered but overall stayed fairly gloomy, which reflects the themes and topics that it deals with. Since the story follows Yuri, most of the emotions experienced are those of his own, and his point of view was quite desensitized. By that, I mean it was at times rather emotionless and cold as was Yuri’s personality, in which he cared little about what goes on in the world and simply wants to earn his money and do what he’s good at. He let go of the feelings of remorse for the loss of peoples’ lives and even managed to look over the death of his brother in order to finalize a deal. These traits make the tone a little unnerving and make viewers see the world from that same desensitized perspective. 

The elements of narrative were fairly interesting in this film and are definitely worth mentioning. The first thing I want to mention is the unique use of camera work in the very start of the movie, where the life of a bullet is actually shown from its own perspective. It is seen being manufactured out of led, transported from place to place, and then sold to soldiers where it is finally used to shoot another person, which in itself, while just being a title sequence, is very thought-provoking. The dialogue was also quite good throughout the entirety of the film, mainly due to Nicholas Cage’s rather desensitized narration. From the deep quotes and analysis of the gun trade as well as the faults and flaws of human society to the actual film dialogue, this film truly makes viewers question society and social concepts and ideas. What the film maybe misses out on is the overall message that it leaves in the minds of its viewers, which are left questioning what’s right and what’s wrong, which may in rare instances spark negative ideas and feelings in certain peoples’ minds. The somewhat comedic feel of the movie at times seems to take the value of human life away and makes people see from Yuri’s soulless point of view a little too strongly. 

Overall, Lord Of War was an awesome showcase of how blindly evil people can become and how, oftentimes, evil cannot really be dealt with in society in any good way. It features great acting and thought-provoking dialogue and visuals and, needless to say, leaves a strong impression on audiences. All things considered, I think it is safe to give this film a rating of 9 out of 10, with the only issue being the lack of seriousness at times in regards to the topic of the value of human life. 

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The Dark Knight (mark)

Rating: 10/10

If I could give The Dark Knight a higher rating I would. Wow, what a movie. I have watched this film at least 10 times over and not once have I not been completely enthralled in its beauty. The acting, the darkness, the themes, the visuals, Heath Ledger: every single thing about this film is just perfect. While this movie is a superhero movie, it feels like so much more, and in my opinion, has something about it that literally any person can relate to and learn from. 

The Dark Knight is the second installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and is considered by most to be the best of the three films. It outlines the occurrences of Gotham city as the levels of crime continue to escalate and the vigilante by the name of Batman continues to do his part in cleansing it in such. The criminals of Gotham all shared one thing up to a point: their desire for money. Well, that’s where the Joker comes in. While the movie is a Batman movie, it really feels like the Joker takes the spotlight. Played flawlessly by Heath Ledger, the Joker is a psychotic murderer whose only goal is to watch the world burn. He doesn’t care about money nor self-gain, he just wants to cause harm to humanity. He tries his hardest to prove that evil is everywhere and that the innocent civilians of Gotham are no exception. He also attempts to push Christian Bale’s Batman past his moral boundaries. Batman, whose real name is Bruce Wayne, has an ultra-righteous sense of morality and absolutely refuses to kill another person no matter how evil they are, which is where the intrigue around him and the joker come in. The Joker will continue spreading evil all throughout the city of Gotham and the only way to stop him is to end his life, but Batman cannot do that as his morals stand in the way. Knowing this, the Joker toys with Batman throughout the storyline all while trying to break down the city to its supposed evil nature by creating situations including rigging two ferries with explosives and giving the trigger to the passengers of the other boat to see whether they would sacrifice the other boat to save themselves in selfishness, and also a situation where one politician was targeted for the residents of the city to kill him or else a hospital were to blow up. Additionally, the Joker successfully turns the city’s “white knight” heroic district attorney into a monster who goes on a murderous rampage. Miraculously, Batman still does not break his code and lets the Joker live even after all this and instead gets him arrested. 

There are so many amazing things about this film that it’s quite difficult to find where to start. In terms of filming, The Dark Knight is absolutely superb. The acting is ridiculously good, with the performance of Heath Ledger shining brightest of all. His depiction of the Joker was surreal and makes him seem genuinely psychotic, which reflects on his actual in real life experience with the role with his declined mental state as well as all of the awards he gained. To play the role more accurately, LEdger actually locked himself in a motel room for 43 days and did not come out at all, forcing himself to be secluded with nothing but his thoughts, which he correctly predicted would make him seem more psychotic for the role. He famously died shortly after the film was released but received a staggering 32 posthumous awards for his performance as was well deserved. In fact, his fantastic acting in this film is to this day worshipped by many and has set the bar extremely high for any future portrayals of the Joker. Camera use was nice and featured several really cool aerial shots including one in Hong Kong where Batman skydived into a skyscraper to confront a Chinese gang leader who was trying to pool the local Gotham mobs’ money reserves, as well as one during a car chase scene. Besides that, the film is mostly filmed from handheld perspectives which helps give it a really personal feel.

The whole movie had a really dark vibe, as the name may suggest and often swelled with a sinister tone. Whenever the Joker was on screen, there was a sense of both panic and mania that made viewers fall into a pit of both fear and hilarity, as despite being an evil wrongdoer, he is still a clown after all. There weren’t many bright moments to dilute the darkness and stayed fairly constant, sparking near depressive feelings that don’t really let go. 

For effective elements of narrative, there is truly lots to talk about. The dialogue in the film is stunning and at times even iconic, with many lines often recited and idolized. There is a significant level of depth to almost everything that the Joker says which he achieves by showcasing an extremely well-shaped knowledge of human psychology which he also uses to manipulate those around him. Furthermore, a key factor in keeping the mood of the film so dark and emotional is the music. Hans Zimmer was once again employed to take care of soundtracks for this Christopher Nolan film and as he always does, nailed it with perfection. The main theme showcases strings and ominous melodies putting viewers on the edge and promoting feelings of anxiety. Personally, I think this film has one of the best soundtracks and general film music in any movie. Additionally, costumes and makeup were also used with perfection, especially the Joker once again. Heath Ledger’s face paint and facial scars perfectly fit his maniacal character and provoke fear and feelings of unpredictability. Batman’s suit was also very well designed and intricate, straying away from previous depictions by making it seem more like a military suit than a fabric superhero costume. 

All things considered, this is one of my favourite movies of all time. The drama, the darkness, Heath Ledger’s Joker, Christian Bale’s Batman, all of those things create the perfect recipe for an absolutely jaw-dropping Batman movie and truly make it seem like something way more than a superhero film. That being said, I can safely say that this movie earns a perfect 10 out of 10 rating and I personally think everyone should experience it at least once. 

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Crash

Rating: 6.5/10 

Before watching this film, it was made very clear by the teacher of the history class that it wasn’t a very well acclaimed one and that nothing good should be expected of this movie. With that in mind, I watched the film and while I could see why most people hated it, I honestly still found a way to enjoy it through its flaws and appreciated it for what it tried to make of itself. Crash attempted to tackle on the topic of racism from a unique and scattered perspective, which is kind of where it all failed. It tried to do too much and fell apart when it got ahead of itself. Nonetheless, there were some pleasant features and overall messages that make the film worth watching.

Crash follows the seemingly unrelated yet still intertwined lives of at least 7 individuals who live their own lives but unknowingly affect the lives of each other. Each one of them is depicted as being racist in one way or another. The plot starts off with a scene of police officers and detectives examining a crime scene where apparently someone was killed. It then weirdly jumps to the first set of characters that are formally introduced, who are two young black men who rob a rich white couple’s car and kickstart a series of racist reactions. Afterwards, the plot sort of jumps around randomly between various characters and their stories, including the detectives from the starting scene, as well as a Persian store owner who gets his lock fixed by a Hispanic locksmith and then wrongly blames said locksmith for robbing his store the next night even though the locksmith literally told the store owner that his door was broken. The other stories and characters include the life of a black tv host whose wife gets sexually harassed by a white police officer in front of his eyes who later runs into the first two black men when they try to steal his car, as well as the life of the police officer himself and his partner. The officer has issues with his father while the partner has his own conflicts regarding the indecency of the senior partner and ends up leaving him. The wife of the tv host ends up getting into an accident and almost dies, only to be saved by the same officer that originally harassed her, which created a really odd and uncomfortable situation between them. The police officer that was disgusted by his partner harassing the black tv host’s wife ends up doing the tv host a favour by letting him go with a warning after a short car chase, but in the end, ends up shooting one of the first black men after he reached into his pocket for what he thought was a gun, when it was really just a Buddha statuette. That black guy was actually the victim shown in the very first scene where the detectives were examining a road at night. Overall, it seemed like the plotlines, although scattered, were trying to convey a general message that everyone, no matter how pure they seem, have at least a spec of racism in them that could spring up at any given moment. 

Generally, this film was not well-made in the least and felt extremely scattered and incoherent. In contrast, the acting didn’t really have any issues as the performances by the actors were quite well done. If the plots were more organized and didn’t jump around like they did, there may have been enough time for viewers to actually connect with some of the characters and build some kind of bond to them which would have added the much-needed depth to the film. But since that wasn’t a thing, viewers are left in significant disappointment and are left wanting more substance. Some parts and plotlines just seemed so forced and unnecessary that it was quite hard to watch at times, which is a shame because of how important and valuable the actual topic of racism is. In contrast, though, some of the ways that the characters’ lives intersected were quite intriguing at times and makes viewers ponder the idea of what a small world we live in and how many peoples’ lives we affect indirectly.  

In terms of mood and tone, there isn’t too much that stood out. In my opinion, there was simply not enough time in each plotline to create any sense of genuine feeling or connection making it kind of seem like a collage of cold people. There were some parts, however, that had some emotion. Some parts that stood out slightly include the scene where the “good officer” shoots the black man in his car because he wrongly assumed that he was reaching for a gun. This part was quite saddening because this officer was literally doing everything he could to prove that he wasn’t racist and to be a good person, and yet here we saw that he’s really no better than his senior ex-partner. The Buddha statuette falling out of the black man’s pocket makes it even sadder because it showed that he had completely pure intentions and just wanted to add to the conversation. The only other hard-hitting moment was when the officer saved the woman that he had harassed because of how uncomfortable it must have been for her. Other than that, there wasn’t much substance in terms of emotion and mood.

For elements of narrative, the same issues that were already mentioned are to blame for the lack of complexity and coherence. There were not many instances of valuable dialogue and surely nothing that stuck with viewers after watching. The camera use was very basic and featured almost solely handheld filming with no special camera work. 

In summary, this film truly had a good idea that it was trying to conceive, but the delivery of said idea just wasn’t good enough. There are so many holes in this film and scattered plotlines that it just isn’t coherent for long enough that it almost seems like multiple incomplete short films instead of an actual full-length film. That being said, I honestly still did find enjoyment in watching it, due mainly to the exceptional acting. Truthfully though, I cannot say that I would recommend this film to anyone. It’s simply just too confusing for most audiences and fails to deliver in far too many instances. Overall, I believe a 6.5 out of 10 rating is quite appropriate. 

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American History X (mark)

Rating: 10/10

American History X truly took me by surprise. Knowing that the film would be about neo-Nazis, I assumed that it would be filled with coldness and disgust, and while those things did exist, there was so much more. This film had one of the most beautiful depictions of character development that I’ve ever seen on screen and really did impact my views on the world. I would safely call this movie a masterpiece with no second thoughts. 

American History X follows the life of the Vinyard family through the eyes and storytelling of Danny Vinyard. Him and his brother Derrick, who is more so the main character than Danny, grow up in Venice Beach, California where gang violence, as well as alt-right groups, are stirring and growing in numbers and activity. After the father of the family dies due to being shot by a black man while stopping a fire, Derrick decides to become a neo-Nazi and dedicates his life to hate and prejudice towards all people that aren’t white protestant. Well one day after living some time in this lifestyle and effectively bringing power to whites in Venice Beach, two gangbangers try to carjack Derrick’s car. After Danny informs him of the carjacking, Derrick goes out and kills both of them and lands himself in jail for three years. Since the story is narrated from Danny’s perspective, the main plot starts back up after Derrick is released. The narration is actually supposed to be a report made by Danny that he has to write for a school project about the life of Derrick as a means of his teacher trying to prevent Danny from following his older brother’s footsteps. As Derrick returns, it is clear that something about him has changed and that he’s not the man he used to be before. He visibly tries to distance himself from all the alt-right community and propaganda and tries to lure Danny out of it. But when he visits his old friend, Cameron, who basically organized and brainwashed the whole movement as well as Derrick himself, he confronts him and tells him that he’s leaving and taking Danny with him. After Cameron freaks out, Derrick attacks him and leaves him unconscious on the ground, sending Derrick on a spree to escape with his brother before all of Cameron’s people take revenge. After the two of them escape, Derrick tells Danny exactly what happened and why it is that he changed. While Derrick was in jail, he witnessed the world from a whole new perspective. While at first, he made friends with the alt-right representatives of the prison, he eventually befriends a black guy and also gets raped by the other members of the alt-right in the showers. After this incident, his whole world flips upside down. He begins to fear the black prison mates since he is now vulnerable but is pleasantly surprised when nothing happens all the way until his release, which he realizes was courtesy of his black friend, who he thanks before leaving. Upon leaving, he basically vows to change his ways and to treat blacks with a lot more respect and dignity, since one of them just saved his life. Shortly after getting convinced against this alt-right lifestyle and taking down all neo-Nazi artwork and propaganda from their household, Danny actually gets gunned down in his school bathroom, and the film ends with Danny dying in a crying Derricks arms. 

From a filming stance, American History X showcased superb acting and a truly beautiful plotline which captivates viewers and drags them along through Derricks spectacular character development. Edward Norton’s performance as Derrick Vinyard was honestly incredible and featured a perfect balance of persona and emotion making him a really relatable character. Edward Furlong also delivered a great depiction of Danny Vinyard and fit naturally with Norton making a very emotionally relatable and compelling duo. The plot had twists and surprises that kept viewers in suspense and never really got boring.  

The tone and mood of the film were fairly constant and dark, mostly due to the fact that racism isn’t a humorous topic in the least. In short, the film was quite depressing and doesn’t really lighten up at any point, which I think was a good decision from a directing point of view, as it depicts the issue in a serious manner which makes it more likely to stick with audiences. Of all the emotional and sad moments the one that stood out the most, undoubtedly, was when Danny got shot in the bathroom. It hit hard because of how much of a surprise it was. Before he died, it was sort of implied that Derrick may be killed by the remaining members of the alt-right group, and then boom—Danny dies. The fact that Danny and Derrick just made up and grew further away from the hatred together made it even worse. 

In regards to elements of narrative, this film has many great things. The camera work was fairly simple. It was almost entirely handheld which gave the film a really up and close and personal approach making viewers feel like they’re in the film. The dialogue was really good which brought great depth to the film and brought strength to emotional ties between viewer and movie character. The tattoos on Derrick were also pretty important to the film, consisting of Neo-Nazi and alt-right symbolism. At first, they add to his hateful character but play a bigger role later in the film when he showers after his anti-alt-right talk with Danny and comes out seeing the tattoos in the mirror and his face of shame as he covers them with his hand. This symbolized how he was ashamed of his past and the covering it up was a way for him to say that he’s moving on and forgetting the past. 

All in all, American History X, in my opinion, is an absolute masterpiece and has hit me like no other movie. I would, without question, recommend this film to anyone, and history classes especially. In fact, I think I’m going to rewatch this film in the near future to appreciate it even further. Everything considered, I give this brilliant movie a rating of 10 out of 10 and will forever praise it as a work of art. 

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Forrest Gump

Rating: 10/10 The movie, Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis, delivers a flawless depiction of a simple man living a fascinating and complex life. The movie showcases excellent acting by all the actors, including Tom Hanks, who all undergo compelling character development which prompts the viewer to quickly grow attached to them and makes the viewer continuously root for them to succeed. The plot takes a genetically unintelligent man named Forrest Gump through a rollercoaster of historical events, social milestones, friendships and relationships. It takes a unique approach on historical moments in the sense that it puts Forrest right in the middle of them but as a bystander with absolutely no evident opinions about any of the topics. Though this feature was controversial at the time, as was reflected through initial critic reviews, it really just made the movie more relatable to the viewer. Furthermore, in a way that strays away from common film techniques and plotlines, the main character, Forrest, does not have any evident ambitions, but rather has everything happen to him without any personal input. Events simply fall onto him and his reactions to them lead him further and further down the rabbit hole that is his ridiculously enthralling life. The actions and growth of the characters cast a spell of causing viewers to develop deep emotional ties to Forrest as well as everyone else in the plot. Failures and death of the characters cause spirals of agony in the viewer's minds and hearts, such as those of Bubba and Forrest’s mother, due to how close Forrest’s relationships were with him. They were presented in the purest ways possible which simply added to the grief. Above all deaths and tragedies, the one that hit the hardest was undoubtedly the death of Jenny at the very end of the plot. Just when everything seemed to resolve in Forrest’s life, particularly with the long-awaited readdition and marriage of Jenny into his life, as well as the discovery of his young child also named Forrest, everything slightly falls apart. Jenny ends up dying of Hepatitis virus, leaving Forrest with a broken heart, a confused and overwhelmed mind, and a smart, growing child. The attachment to Forrest also grow on his own low IQ, which rids him of intelligence and gives way to pure emotion and intentions, making him seem like a vulnerable child in a man’s shoes, while still playing the role of Jenny’s guardian angel by appearing at the most random times to protect her from danger numerously, by means such as fighting an abusive boyfriend, and confronting objectifying audiences in a bar, and much more. Additionally, the musical aspects throughout the film brought it further drama and emotion by using melancholy vibes, especially during the saddest moments which effectively conveyed the slightly depressing nature of the film’s plot. Overall, the highlights of the movie, in my honest opinion, include the character development of Forrest and how the world around him changed him and his experiences, the musical theme behind the scenes, as well as the absolutely stunning acting which delivered incredible performances that can appeal to literally any audience through how simplistic everything is. All in all, Forrest Gump is a truly stunning piece of art that will forever remain a classic through its entrancing delivery, character attachment and its simplistic approach. As a personal rating, I would easily give this film a 10 out of 10 stars.

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Children Of Men (mark)

Rating: 10/10

To call this film amazing is an understatement. “Children Of Men” directed by Alfonso Cuarón is absolutely breathtaking in every single way and caught me by surprise. Just weeks before viewing this film, I personally was having discussions with both family and friends on the idea of humanity losing their fertility. I had the opinion that if humans would lose fertility for a period of time and then restarted when a sustainable society and population was attained would solve the majority of world issues such as overpopulation and hunger. Little did I know that this movie would entirely rip away that belief and replace it with an entirely new look at humanity. It opened my eyes on just how much society needs the laughter and joy of kids and how humanity would literally crumble with its lack. On the contrary, the film also shows some of the darkest sides of society, shining a light on issues such as refugee crises, assisted suicide and governments’ manipulation of the masses and media.

A depressing and grey world void of the smiles and giggling of children finds society falling to pieces as people grow desperate and hopeless. In such a world, Britain is the last place of refuge from catastrophe, and to call it an oasis is as fraudulent as can be. Refugees who are flowing in from all directions are treated like garbage, terrorist attacks are aplenty and diseases and death are bountiful. Just as the death of the youngest person alive spreads across the news, an apathetic politician named Theo sits in a bar and bears witness. Moments after he leaves in a spurt of sadness, the bar explodes in what seems like yet another terrorist attack, and Theo’s journey of saving the world begins. Soon after, Julian, who is Theo’s ex, catches up to him in what at first seems like a kidnapping and then tells him that she needs his help. Little did he know what a road waited ahead of him. A young woman names Kee is introduced, who at first is mysterious but soon is revealed to Theo as being pregnant—a pregnant woman in a world of infertility. Julian gives Theo the task of delivery Kee and her pending baby safely to a ship called the “Tomorrow” which would take them to safety where society can rebuild itself with the joy of the new baby. The journey proves to be mesmerizingly painful for everyone involved and is doused in blood, death and despair, but eventually concludes in success—at the expense of Theo’s life. Though his death is obviously tragic, it cannot be understated that it was necessary both for the ending, as well as for his own personal growth and achievement. It was a sacrifice. It concluded his feelings of self-hatred, guilt and longing for a role in society’s change.

Filming-wise, Children Of Men is absolutely stunning. The plot is genius and makes viewers emotions perfectly reflect those of the characters. The sense of doom and depression carries through seamlessly into the hearts of viewers and the idea of a world without kids infects their minds.  There are plenty of surprises waiting behind each corner to catch the viewer off guard just when everything seems to be going well. For example, when Julian, Theo, Kee, and some others are in their car driving on their way closer to the base of the organization called the Fishes for which Julian works, there is a moment of joy. Theo and Julian reminisce about their romantic past by reenacting an old ping pong game they used to do and everything seems to have taken a bright turn—then boom—all that is stripped away. The car gets attacked by a group of people and Julian is shot in the neck with her life floating away with each heartbeat. Similar unexpected twists are scattered all throughout the film and keep viewers from feeling any relief whatsoever.

In terms of overall mood and tone, the film is extremely depressing and grey. The scenery is heavily dominated by grey crime-torn landscapes and sad facial expressions. Clothing found in the film is equally grey and dirty for the most part as a result of the dust and grime in the rotting world. The number of deaths in the movie gives a sense of mercilessness—as people are just ripped out of the plot left, right and centre without warning as if everyone is expendable.

Upon examining the Elements of Narrative in the film, it becomes clear how even more incredible it really is. From the symbolism to the camera work, this film is a work of art in which every piece is carefully crafted to perfection. The camera work often contains shaky footage and angles that follow the action from uneasy angles making everything seem that much more realistic and personal. Almost always there is something going on in the background, be it crying refugees or desperate glances from passersby. The film music also features an eery score that adds feelings of uneasiness and despair that builds on the already depressing visuals and make for an all-around sorrowful atmosphere. In addition, the symbolism scattered throughout the film cannot be overstated. There are scenes that resemble religious moments which add copious amounts of dramatic effect. An example of this is when Kee and Theo are walking through the hallway of a ruined building near the end of the film while carrying the baby. All the people in the hallway see the act and scatter in unison to make way for them to safely pass and stretch their arms to seemingly bless the child and the mother. This is made to resemble the coming of Jesus in the bible in order to add emotional appeal and to make it seem like a huge moment.

All in all, Children Of Men is uncompromised perfection. Not only is it visually stunning and compelling, but the meaning behind it is also beautiful and pure which opens the viewers' eyes to the importance of children in the world. I personally believe everyone should see this film at least once, let alone all history through film classes. This movie deserves no less than 10 stars out of 10 and has won a spot in my heart for one of the best movies I have ever seen.

[gurinssilverscreensynopsis-blog]

V For Vendetta (mark)

Rating: 10/10

Most movies lose their appeal with each re-watch, and some don't deserve one at all: Not this movie. "V For Vendetta" is a timeless masterpiece that delivers not only stunning screenplay and visuals but a story-line worth being inspired by. I have seen this movie at least five times and I can confidently say that not once have I been bored nor dissatisfied by it. It takes viewers by surprise on a roller coaster of violence, love, poetry, vengeance, and music. V shows us the significance of living and dying for our ideas and the strength of said ideas. No movie has ever come this close to making me want to start a revolution than this one, and I am sure that I'm not the only one to say that. V For Vendetta reveals mercilessly the darkest sides of society and how to properly dispose of it.

A future dystopian England which holds its residents in chains of restriction and ignorance finds a valiant vigilante known only as "V" hiding behind a Guy Fawkes mask and plotting to destroy the Parliament Building as a sign to the government of a revolution. Guy Fawkes was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The mask worn by V resembles the face of Fawkes which reflects his ambitions to follow his lead and his views of him as a role model. The Gunpowder Plot was an attempt in 1605 to blow up the Parliament building in England, which ended in Guy Fawkes’s execution by hanging. V’s ambitions are driven by an intricate mixture of bloodthirsty vengeance as well as a genuine desire for freedom of the nation and positive change. But all of this changes when he meets Evey. Evey is a young girl victim to the horrendous state of society first-hand after both her parents and brother were slaughtered by its representatives. The two of them meet when two "fingermen", or secret police, attempt to sexually assault Evey, to which V arrives to save her in a violent array of karma. Soon after, V takes Evey under his wing and decides that she is to be with him as his plan to overthrow the government unveils, to which she originally disagrees but eventually sees as proper.

Though this film is comic-based which, at a first glance, makes it seem like it might be a bland display of violence and flashy effects, upon watching it clearly becomes evident that that is far from the case. The character development is intricate and well-thought-out; the acting is superb and prompts viewer-character attachment; the visuals are beautiful and filled with moments of art, fireworks, blood and gore; and the plot is truly enthralling. The storyline is intense enough to keep viewers at the edge of their seats for the entirety of the screen-time and makes viewers quickly grow attached to the protagonist and roots for not just him but everything that he stands for. The way that the government is presented provokes a certain disgust that, even after the film, can lead people to begin noticing faults in their own social systems and may even inspire them to do something about it, albeit in less extreme and violent methods. 

The overall mood and tone of the film is a solemn and somewhat fearful one. The visuals are often grey and are only coloured by either the reds of blood or the brightness of explosions. This is achieved by using an atmosphere shrouded in old fashion buildings and dark clothing on most people in the film. The mask that V wears also adds to the fear effect found in the movie because masks, in general, provoke feelings of unease and anxiety. This is due to the fact that they hide away any emotional expressions on one's face which goes against primitive human traits and expectations. The strongly grey colour scheme favours the feelings of hopelessness that the film attempts to invoke. 

In terms of narration and viewpoints, the point of view is of an unrelated and omniscient narrator who plays no role in the film. This allows the viewer to get a deep insight onto events occurring all over the movie and not just those directly revolving around the protagonists. As a result of this kind of narration, many movies fail to provide an adequate perception of the characters’ thoughts and feelings. To counter this, V is portrayed as highly poetic, and so naturally he often speaks his mind in intricate and fancy ways which not only add a sense of complexity to his character but also opens up his mind to the viewers. 

There are plenty of intricately designed elements of narratives found throughout the film, and among them, symbolism shines out brightly. The whole symbol with the mask provides a huge amount of not just mystery to V’s character but also meaning. It is the true face of V’s ideology. It also fits under the costume/makeup element. The mask allows V to carry out his ideology and his vendetta without anyone knowing who he is and without prosecution. Furthermore, the dialogue is beautifully thought out and crafted in a way that keeps viewers captivated all throughout. There is a sense of poetry through the entirety of V’s lines which make him seem as artistic as he is violent. Real music also fits its way into the film, as V’s artistic side extends to theatrical music compositions as well. When blowing up buildings, he likes to use classical orchestral pieces to enhance the experience for all those who stand as witnesses, providing just that much dramatic appeal for the viewer which elevates the film to the level of mastery that it is. 

All in all, I truly believe this film deserves a full 10 out of 10 rating. This movie never fails to amaze me in its complexity and beauty and always provokes a strong array of emotions in my mind ranging from disgust, social consciousness, anger and awe. In my personal opinion, this film has no flaws to speak of and absolutely everything in it was executed with perfection. While yes, not everyone enjoys watching violent, bloody and grey movies in their free time, I feel like this movie uses these features for the betterment of the film. I would doubtlessly recommend this film to anyone, both in school and out, as I believe this is one of the greatest movies ever made.