our-gloriousangelstudent-lo-blog

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Shaw-shank redemption

“Shaw-shank redemption” is directed by Frank Darabont. The audience follows a, possibly, wrongly convicted bank manager throughout his escape from prison. The camerawork is exceptional throughout the film, which is down to the DOP: Roger Deakins. His ability to convey the emotion from the generally blank-faced protagonist is powerful and is clear to the audience. The plot of this film follows this protagonist and a fellow convict living a life sentence in prison and become friends. The narrator that follows Andy throughout his stay at Shaw-shank prison is voiced by Morgan Freeman. Morgan Freeman plays Red (who in the book is, a red-head, Irish Caucasian man.); the casting for this role is obviously used against the stories original appearance of this character as Morgan Freeman is an African-American man. While this goes against the original character’s appearance, he suits the role perfectly.

The partnership between the characters played by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman is crucial to the way the story unfolds. This is not a "prison drama" in any conventional sense of the word. It is not about violence, riots or melodrama. The word "redemption" is in the title for a reason. The movie is based on a story, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, by Stephen King, which is quite unlike most of King's work. The horror here is not of the supernatural kind, but of the sort that flows from the realization that 10, 20, 30 years of a man's life have unreeled in the same unchanging daily prison routine.

Andy, as played by Robbins, keeps his thoughts to himself. Red, as Freeman plays him, is, therefore, a crucial element in the story: His close observation of this man, down through the years, provides the way we monitor changes and track the measure of his influence on those around him. And all the time there is something else happening, hidden and secret, which is revealed only at the end.

"The Shawshank Redemption" is not a depressing story, although I may have made it sound that way. There is a lot of life and humour in it, and warmth in the friendship that builds up between Andy and Red. There is even excitement and suspense, although not when we expect it. But mostly the film is an allegory about holding onto a sense of personal worth, despite everything. If the film is perhaps a little slow in its middle passages, maybe that is part of the idea, too, to give us a sense of the leaden passage of time, before the glory of the final redemption.

I would rate this at 4 out of 5 stars…

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Pulp Fiction film review

Pulp fiction is a detailed film with many layers and many talented actors to help put Tarantino’s vision into action. Some of the stands out characters are John Travolta (as Vincent Vegan), Uma Thurman (as Mia Wallace) and Samuel L. Jackson (as Jules Winnfield). Uma Thurman has acted in many of Tarantino’s films, such as Kill Bill. Her acting style within his films ranges from raging psycho killer to a drug abusing housewife. This is not only down to her skill but also Tarantino’s directing ability. We follow two Hitmen, John Travolta and Samual L. Jackson, through one job that leads into a thwarted robbery and Vincent Vegan’s demise.

Throughout this film, the audience follows these two characters and how their stories develop over time. In addition to their stories, other characters such as Bruce Willis’ character: Butch Coolidge. As he finds himself running from a crime lord after thwarting a fixed boxing match by killing the other opponent, he is left running with his loyal, but rather ditsy, wife. All of these characters end up meeting in one way or another but one interaction leaves Vince Vegan dead. It really is a clear example of the butterfly effect, which Tarantino uses in many of his films and is generally quite well-known for.

Tarantino is very good at showing clear changes in time and place with different lighting and the use of the dialogue within the film. Each script suites each character very well, which could be down to the acting or Tarantino’s choice of actors. The audience is forced to pay close attention and are dragged into the film through the intricate directing and filmmaking. Throughout the film, characters build and break bonds that affect the fate of each one. There are many minutes of silence and areas without dialogue which does not seem unnatural within the film.

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“O brother where art’ thou?”

First of all, this is one of my favourite movies. It leaves the audience unsure and surprised by the extremely clever humour through the acting but most importantly the amazing script writing. This was done by Joel and Ethan Coen. These two brothers have formed a base for what film is today. With their vast selection of impeccable movies with each one being different in its own way. I am truly looking forward to their new film: “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”. I suspect it will be another truly amazing piece of filmmaking.

In this film, we follow the journey of three convicts on their escape from a chain gang which is now illegal in Europe, while this film is based in the USA, Mississippi. "O Brother" follows its three heroes on an odyssey during which they intersect with a political campaign, become radio stars by accident, stumble upon a Klan meeting and deal with McGill's wife, Penny (Holly Hunter), who is about to pack up with their seven daughters and marry a man who won't always be getting himself thrown into jail. Not only does this Not only are the audience met by a quirky group of people but develops into a large base of strange accomplices to the trio. The three men: Everett McGill (George Clooney), Pete (John Turturro) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) work their characters off of each other and build a fascinating love-hate relationship between each other. This movie is built off of the Coen brother’s clear and common use of satire comedy through the portrayal of the quirky characters.

“O, Brother”, a truly impressive film with many twists and turns that leaves the audience only wanting to watch it again. While it does have all of these qualities, some backstories are lacking such as Tim Blake Nelson’s character Delmar. While this does mean that he seems to have no belonging and leaves him in the confused state he always seems to be in. It does seem as though his character could have been built upon more. One thing I could leave out is the songwriter of “Down to the river to pray”, Alison Krauss. Not only does the song reflect their new found freedom but is also well placed within the film by the Coen brothers. In addition to the absolute banger: “I Am am A of Constant Sorrow” by the Soggy Bottom Boys.

I would have to give this a solid 4.5/5 due to it lacking some clarification throughout the film but a really impressive and true reflection of the Coen brother’s skill.

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Inglorious Basterds

Inglorious Basterds

Inglorious Basterds was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It was released in 2009 and made $321.4 million in one year. Actors such as Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger and Eli Roth stared in this movie. During the movie, the audience follows a select group from the US, with the aim to kill, enters the German-occupied areas in WWII. As we follow them we see the massacres of German troops. This group is made up of Jews that had fled from Germany to the US with the want for revenge against those who made them suffer. The main antagonist is Standartenführer Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), a true bad guy.

As we follow the group as they build their group the audience gets an idea of their merciless killing style. An extremely ruthless scene that built tension through its dark base lighting leading into the tunnel of the “Bear Jew”. Not only this build tension by itself but the slow banging of a baseball bat against the walls leaves the audience in the shoes of the, soon to be late, German commander. Through this movie, Quentin Tarantino uses quick cuts before death to leave gory images in the audience’s minds. Not only does this follow his common theme of leaving the reader to their own imagination but his ability to use it so effectively is clear in this movie. Quentin uses this in many of his movies such as “Kill Bill” and “Hateful Eight”.

Personally, I feel as though Quentin’s directing style and his choices when selecting his cast so that they work well together and are able to complement their skills in acting. A great example of this is Christoph Walz. He is able to create an extremely uncomfortable scene for those in it and more-so the audience. In a scene when Eli Roth meets him for the second time, after seeing him kill her whole family. Her nervousness and hate for him seep into the audience through his disgusting character. One of the first scenes, as Hans Landa enters a suspect house that could contain Jews, Christoph Waltz asks for a glass of milk (generally associated with innocence and purity). This instantly leaves the audience in unease and uncomfortable as he slowly questions Denis Ménochet.

I find this film intriguing and fascinating as I notice all of the small but purposeful acts that Quentin Tarantino, and his cast, do so well. I would give this film 4/5 stars as it does lack some context to some of the scenes and can lead to the audience becoming lost.

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Blade runner

During the film ”Blade Runner” we follow the main antagonist: Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford). Harrison Ford, now living on an overpopulated Earth (set in the future), he is faced with the task of finding and retiring “replicants”. There is a group of replicants that have wavered from their code and are on Earth. This forces a police investigation. Blade Runner was one of Harrison Ford’s big-name films after Star Wars. This then led to him staring in many movies leading into the 21st century. The director, Ridley Scott, also directed movies such as Alien but is most well known for “Blade Runner”.

In this movie, we are exposed to a scarily possible future which puts the audience in an uncomfortable position as they see such common landmarks being broken and graffitied on. Harrison Ford meets a replicant that imitates humans extremely well and results in him falling for her; This replicant is named: Rachael. As Harrison Ford comes across and “retires” the majority of the replicants on Earth he is forced to battle it out with the ringleader: Roy Batty. Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) is seen struggling with a malfunctioning hand throughout the movie. After a long fight scene, the audience is left with tears of joy and sorrow for one of the characters must die.

Overall, it is an extremely good movie that uses superimposition to create many of its backdrops. This creates a huge space for the film to take place in and gives the audience a good understanding of how poor the socioeconomic state Earth is in. In addition to great acting, the building of the characters through the script is outstanding. A movie I highly recommend.

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I’ve found that Canada has an amazing scene and many opportunities for up-and-coming film directors.