Genre Defense

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
10 December 2015

Genre Defense

 

1. Film genres are important because they help group movies into categorizes based on the content, acting, stories, and production of the film.
2. Genres are bound to certain cultures because depending on the environment you grow up in, you will relate to and be entertained by different things, and certain genres run strong in certain cultures.
3. Genre can use prototypes and troupes to classify something into it, and place a subject or theme with others like it, to use as a comparison.
4. I analyzed the crime movie genre. Crime movies almost always feature hooligans, rivals, working class criminals, and some kind of protagonist. There's often graffiti, guns, weapons, drugs, alcohol, and poor living conditions. I applied this to the movie "Pulp Fiction". Pulp Fiction has hooligans, criminals, guns, weapons, drugs, alcohol, and many themes that point directly to crime films.

Fight Club

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
10 December 2015

Fight Club

Fight Club is an action movie created in 1999 starring  Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter, directed by David Fincher. Fight Club is about an insomniac office worker, looking for a way to change his life, crossing paths with a devil-may-care soap maker, as they form an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more. The writing is solid, as is the acting, but the cinematography really puts it over the top. The shot here focuses on the main characters beautifully, and the lighting portrays a great atmosphere.

The Shawshank Redemption

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
10 December 2015

The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption is an action drama starring Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, and  Bob Gunton, directed by Frank Darabont that was released in 1994. The Shawshank Redemption is probably the best film ever made, and I'm sure it's debatable, but I have to lean towards agreeing with that sentiment. Everything about this movie is perfect, and it's one of the most satisfying movies of all time. Morgan Freeman is absolutely incredible, the writing and plot are great, and the cinematography is fantastic. It's really difficult to describe this movie, and I don't have the vocabulary to do it justice, other than saying it is basically perfect. This shot shows beautiful lighting, and it really shows the overall setting and feeling of the movie.

                                

Pulp Fiction

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
10 December 2015

Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction is a crime drama action film released in 1994, starring John Travolta, Uma Thurman, and Samuel L. Jackson, directed by Quentin Tarantino. Pulp Fiction is largely regarding as one of the best films of all time and I really can't disagree. It's the gritty story of the lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits that intertwine as four tales of redemption. Everything about this movie is fantastic, the writing, plot, acting, cinematography, everything. Travolta and Jackson are both fantastic and the dark humor in the back through the movie is fantastic. Tarantino is one of my favorite directors and this is one of his best movies. The cinematography is one of the best parts of the movie, and the shot I picked really tells a story in itself. If you've ever seen anything about this movie, it's this picture. Everything about this shot is perfect, the lighting, outfits, perspective, lighting, everything. If you've never seen this movie, which I'm sure is not the case, go watch it, it's fantastic.

Time Lapse

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
10 December 2015

Time Lapse

Time Lapse is an action thriller made in 2014 starring  Danielle Panabaker, Matt O'Leary, and  George Finn, directed by Bradley King. Time lapse is about three friends and roommates discovering a camera developed by their now dead neighbor that can take a picture one day in the future. Naturally, Japser (George Finn), the drugie troublemaker, uses it to bet on horse races, but as his bookie catches on, the friends become far too intertwined with this machine, and are forced to do unthinkable things to protect their secret. Personally, I loved Time Lapse, but it's not for everyone, it was slow building, dark, and frustrating, but it was incredibly suspenseful and thrilling to watch. The characters were likeable and the performances by each was very believable and well done. The cinematography wasn't great, but a few shots really stood put to me. This shot shows the bookie first seeing this machine, and the look on his face is really telling of the emotions in the movie. It's a dark shot, as is the whole movie, with an artificial light from the machine. The whole movie was a lot like this and definitely did its job as a thrilling horror. 

 

Spirited Away

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
12 November 2015

Spirited Away

Spirited Away is a hand animated film created by Hayao Miyazaki in 2001. It's about a little girl who discovers a magical world in order to try and save her family from a curse, and the girl ends up making many friends and overcoming challenges beyond her years. I thought Spirited Away was very good, I loved the story, the characters were very likable, but the animation was easily the best part. Scenes were consistently beautiful and very well thought out, the textures were pleasant, and overall it was a very, very good movie. I would say they used hand drawn animation to make the movie feel more personal, to make you real invest in the characters and become immersed in the story. 

This shot really tells a lot of things about this film. First off, the drawings are beautiful, it's very colorful and detailed. Secondly, it shows all the friends that she made along the way, and really tells a story in itself. Everything about this movie was very pleasant and happy, and it was overall just a very good movie, one of Miyazaki's best, though I still prefer My Neighbor Totoro

Tucker and Dale vs Evil

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
5 November 2015

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is a comedy horror making fun of slashers about two friends going to their vacation home in the woods. They have the look of serial killers, but are actually sweet normal people just trying to fix up their house. College students are camping in the woods at the same time, and the two guys ultimately end up accidentally kidnapping one of them, leading the college kids to thinking they are serial killers. After a series of unfortunate events involving a woodchipper, spear, nail, and gun, most of the students are dead, Tucker and Dale are completely confused, and Dale is fully in love with the girl they're helping. The lead college kid catches on fire and tries to kill them, fails, and Dale and the girl begin dating, because of course the do. The movie is hilarious, the acting is good, as is the writing. It's very clever and very good.

Futurama ep. 1

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
5 November 2015

Futurama: Space Pilot 3000

I'll preface this by saying that Futurama is one of my favorite television shows ever, and I love every episode equally. Futurama is one of those shows that doesn't really have to reach for ideas, everything feels natural, the characters are likeable, and the writing is excellent. Episode one is as good of a place to review as any, even the pilot is great. The show starts with "Fry" in a pizza restaurant working as a delivery boy, he goes to make a delivery on new years eve, 1999. He arrives, it was a prank, and obviously he becomes frozen for a thousand years. He wakes up in 3000, goes on a large adventure through "New New York" trying to escape from a purple haired Cyclops with his new robot friend, "Bender",  bending robot. They eventually all meet up, and become the new delivery crew for Fry's elderly nephew. The episode is hilarious, the jokes are quick, the characters develop as the episode goes on, and it introduces you to the premise of the show very well. 

Satan's Little Helper

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
5 November 2015

Satan's Little Helper

This may be the worst "horror" movie of all time, and that's what makes it so wonderful. The premise is incredibly stupid, a small child is obsessed with a video game about being a helper to Satan, and when a serial killer dressed up as Satan walks through his neighborhood on Halloween, the small child knows what he must do, befriend this man, obviously. The kid is completely oblivious to this man obviously not being Satan, and also obviously actually a serial killer committing crimes, and the kid is just going along with it, in complete blissful ignorance. It takes the serial trying to kill his entire family and causing "entrails"(large gummy worms) to fall out of his father before the kid finally discovers the truth, and also apparently how to act as well, the kid actually acting might be there scariest part of the movie because it's so surprising. The camera work is weird, the acting is non existent, and the entire movie feels like a surreal fever dream more than a movie. It's the funniest thing I've watched, and I attached a clip that I think sums it up perfectly. 

The "star" of the "film"

Survive and Advance

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
5 November 2015

Survive and Advance

For the last few years, ESPN has run a series of documentaries about different things in sports, each done by different directors, about widely different topics. They span all sports and cover many different topics, each with different underlying tones and themes. Almost all of them are fantastic, and Survive and Advance (2013) is no different. Survive and Advance tells the story of Jim Valvano and the 1983 NC State Wolfpack defying all odds to win the championship over powerhouse Houston. I once wrote almost 2000 words on Jim Valvano and this story, so I'm very farmiliar with this documentary and this story, and this documentary is probably the best source there is to learn more about Jim. The cinematography is great, the music fits perfectly, interviews are well timed and meaningful, and the classical clips perfectly progress the story and by the end you're completely invested in the story. It honors Jim perfectly and is 100% worth watching.





Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Ferris Bueller's Day Off(1986), is a comedy directed by John Hughes, starring Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck and Mia Sara.The movie is about "High school student Ferris Bueller wants a day off from school and he's developed an incredibly sophisticated plan to pull it off. He talks his friend Cameron into taking his father's prized Ferrari and with his girlfriend Sloane head into Chicago for the day. While they are taking in what the city has to offer school principal Ed Rooney is convinced that Ferris is, not for the first time, playing hooky for the day and is hell bent to catch him out. Ferris has anticipated that, much to Rooney's chagrin"(Imdb). It's absolutely one of the funniest movies ever made, and has many classical and very recognizable scenes. It's silly and really gets you invested in the characters.

The Sacrament

The Sacrament(2013), is an indie horror film, directed by my favorite horror director, T.I West, starring Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen and Kentucker Audley . It's about 3 filmmakers that go to a remote islander where one of the three's sister is living with a cult she was taken in by. Everything starts well, but soon they realize the people are being forced to stay, even though some are very unhappy. Tensions rise as "the father" appears to be a very Jim Jones-esque leader, and as more people try to escape the camp, he reverts to very drastic measures. It's an edge of your seat thriller with average acting but a good story and great cinematography. It's not critically acclaimed, more of a "cult"classic(oh man what a pun), but I love it, and certainly recommend it to someone looking for a creepy movie.

The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride(1987), was an adventure comedy directed by Rob Reiner, starring Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin and Robin Wright. "A kindly grandfather sits down with his ill grandson and reads him a story. The story is one that has been passed down from father to son for generations. As the grandfather reads the story, the action comes alive. The story is a classic tale of love and adventure as the beautiful Buttercup, engaged to the odious Prince Humperdinck, is kidnapped and held against her will in order to start a war, It is up to Westley (her childhood beau, now returned as the Dread Pirate Roberts) to save her. On the way he meets a thief and his hired helpers, an accomplished swordsman and a huge, super strong giant, both of whom become Westley's companions in his quest"(Imdb). It's a wonderful and beautiful comedy, it's witty and truly hilarious, while simultaneously being this stunning, beautiful action film, though it's designed to spoof movies like Zorro, the hyper intense action films. It was wildly popular at the time of it's release, and it actually inspired the creation of the original Kings Quest video game, one of the first from Sierra Games. It ultimately grossed 30 million on a 16 million budget, and it widely considered one of the greatest comedies ever made. Frankly, not liking this movie is inconceivable.

Film Production Blog

Film Production Blog Post

I learned quite a bit about film production from Day for Night and as well as from a documentary about Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I learned about cross cutting, false balconies, problems with animal actors, production relationships, and about movies being shot from cranes, pan shots, multiple filming locations, and restrictions certain actors have.Film makers are problem solvers, they could shape the script around problems, write it on the fly, adjust, and just in general keeping fighting through to get things done. Film Making is so demanding because you're working with people, and people naturally will cause complications, because they won't always do what you want, but when you get everything right, you can end up with the beautiful piece of art that this huge group of people made.

Narcos Ep.1 Review

Narcos, the newest Netflix original series, released recently and I decided I'd give it a try because I needed a new show to watch. I wasn't sure what to expect, but upon starting the first episode, I was greeted with a message (shown below) stating that this show is a work of realistic fiction. I knew this
meant I would research the characters afterwards to get a better idea of the real life inspiration. The next screen is a night background with a quote defining magical realism, the text at the end states, too strange to believe, in a red font, implying this story contains elements of that. The first shot is very wide, showing the whole city, with an airplane flying in, and a man talking over it. Less than a minute into the episode, the

 director has already established the genre, setting, and likely a main character, I really enjoy this deliberate approach to the introduction, it really adds a layer of immersion. The man talking then introduces the premise, he talks about only the rich having phones, as a camera cuts to a large amount of money, as well as a man talking on the phone next to a stack of drugs, as the narrator mentions narcos having phones, leading me to believe that a narco is a drug dealer, and showing me that the story revolves around these men. He then mentions the U.S government tracking these phones, and he says "helping us track them", which leads me to believe the man talking likely works for the DEA. Some plot is mentioned as it cuts to a man holding a baby, he introduces himself as Steve Murphy, he was the man talking over the first minute or so, he is almost certainly a main character. Jumping ahead aways, the police are called, and a shootout ensues at a local bar, resulting in several dead "dealers". This leads into the opening credits as the show is officially introduced. to avoid any spoilers, I'll keep this relatively concise, basically, cockroach is introduced, along with Pablo Escobar and a few others, the main plot is revealed, and the episode ends with a cliff hanger. I really enjoyed this first episode, it caught me off guard, but the excellent writing and strong acting really immersed me in the story, I will definitely watch more. The direction of the episode was geared towards storytelling, with lots of character introduction, but really, this episode was very plot heavy, and meant to make the viewer watch more. The show was rather dark and the lighting really showed that, with excellent indoor scenes such as the one below where the shadows are very prominent, and the framing showcases the main characters. I would give this pilot episode an 8 out of ten for the excellent writing, acting, camera work, and story telling. There is definitely room for improvement, but Narcos has a great base, and a very bright future.