Futuristic, packing so much aesthetic beauty... A.I. Artificial Intelligence takes place in a world, more post-disaster with less people in the world. Robots are designed in these times that reflect remarkable human emotion to keep people company. A mother and father with a sick child kept frozen until a cure could be found for his disease adopt one of these models, David, a little boy made to show the love of a child to it's owners. After owning David and activating his human emotions, the couple gets to take their real child home. Their child messes with David, causing him to get into situations that make him seem dangerous. The mother decides to abandon him and drops him off in the woods. From that point on, he embarks in a dangerous journey to get back to his mother, meeting many other people, robots, and aliens.
A.I. is the type of film that can't be put into a paragraph. It is one of my absolute favorite Steven Spielberg films, a meticulous director, as discussed in class. Every element of this film was taken into consideration and flourished.
Visually, A.I. has a lot of appeal. Spielberg had a perfect vision of what the future could look and actually be like without exceeding reality with exaggeration(when the film still has humans around.) There is nothing better to me than believable fiction, so the production design was pretty damn good. The screenplay/script was on point along with the acting. It had to be dissected and executed just right, or it could have been a flop. Spielberg's directing kept you in the story for the plot and how he moved it along, and emotionally because of the delivery of the actors. Once again, John Williams being the composer only did it good.
Steven Spielberg did an excellent job as a director (as he does in most of his films.) I feel like the personal appeal this film has and the emotional ties makes me completely biased and hinders my ability to type a good review, because all I want to talk about is moments versus something more critical. I suppose that drawing a person/audience in like that is the main objective of many people when they create and/or direct a film.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko takes place in Middlesex, Virginia. It's about a high school boy, Donnie Darko, and his mental struggles that I'm not personally sure were reality, or solely his reality. Donnie keeps going into trances, and when he does, he gets visits from a man in a bunny suit named Frank. When Donnie first meets him, Frank tells him the world is going to end, and while so, Donnie avoids his death via a plane disaster that crashes into his room. Between then and "the end," Donnie participates and witnesses unfortunate events before realizing his fate of dying how he was supposed to originally which undoes all the tragedies that happened because of him being alive. The plane wreckage gets sucked through a worm hole, and Donnie stays in bed, laughing at what I'd assume was his own epiphany and coming to terms with what should be.
I believe this film was directed beautifully. Richard Kelly, basing off of this film, seems to be a visionary and writer/director. The film is rejoiced often for it's more popular, thought-provoking lines and it's visuals.
Donnie: Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit?
I believe this film was directed beautifully. Richard Kelly, basing off of this film, seems to be a visionary and writer/director. The film is rejoiced often for it's more popular, thought-provoking lines and it's visuals.
Donnie: Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit?
Frank: Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?
The film delivers a great sense of wonder, even to the self. A lot of the lines, as such, are direct but they also keep an open-endedness that stir curiosity about Donnie, or a deeper meaning outside of the film. On top of the great script, the visuals are essential. The feel of the scenes when Donnie is either in a trance or something bad is going to happen somehow always keeps an eerie air to it with it's sound and color, even if it's bright and sunny outside, or aesthetically pleasing. The soundtrack was essential. The tones of some of the songs composed were very whimsical and light, almost happy sounding, and it does deliver that feeling, but it doesn't make you stray from the dark factor of the film.
Richard Kelly did an excellent job utilizing these things in the film. It is one of my absolute favorite films. I've seen it numerous times, but it makes me feel like I'm not thinking outside of the box because I can't exactly pinpoint a meaning surpassing the actual film. It just seems impossible that there isn't.
The film delivers a great sense of wonder, even to the self. A lot of the lines, as such, are direct but they also keep an open-endedness that stir curiosity about Donnie, or a deeper meaning outside of the film. On top of the great script, the visuals are essential. The feel of the scenes when Donnie is either in a trance or something bad is going to happen somehow always keeps an eerie air to it with it's sound and color, even if it's bright and sunny outside, or aesthetically pleasing. The soundtrack was essential. The tones of some of the songs composed were very whimsical and light, almost happy sounding, and it does deliver that feeling, but it doesn't make you stray from the dark factor of the film.
Richard Kelly did an excellent job utilizing these things in the film. It is one of my absolute favorite films. I've seen it numerous times, but it makes me feel like I'm not thinking outside of the box because I can't exactly pinpoint a meaning surpassing the actual film. It just seems impossible that there isn't.
Jaws
First and foremost, Jaws is the "classic" film about a shark running amok and snagging people for snacks in Amity. This stirs an officials, scientist's, and a fisherman's attention and they try to take matters into their hands to stop the shark.
I understand that this film is a classic because it is considered a blockbuster, something new and never seen before at the time it came out, but I just can never find myself to be kept awake during the entirety of the film. Maybe I'm just desensitized... or it just isn't my cup of tea. (Steven Spielberg is an excellent director, though. Nothing against him.) However, I did enjoy the incorporation of being in the point of view as the shark. Ironically, a lot of those shots were because of the mechanical shark malfunctioning, but I think it did the film good. John Williams can't go without being mentioned...
Spielberg, in the end, did a good job directing the film, considering the success. He was able to instill a more subtle fear with his filming style and John William's choice of composing for the film was the icing on the cake. I have no personal enthusiasm for the film, but credit should be given where credit is due.
I understand that this film is a classic because it is considered a blockbuster, something new and never seen before at the time it came out, but I just can never find myself to be kept awake during the entirety of the film. Maybe I'm just desensitized... or it just isn't my cup of tea. (Steven Spielberg is an excellent director, though. Nothing against him.) However, I did enjoy the incorporation of being in the point of view as the shark. Ironically, a lot of those shots were because of the mechanical shark malfunctioning, but I think it did the film good. John Williams can't go without being mentioned...
Spielberg, in the end, did a good job directing the film, considering the success. He was able to instill a more subtle fear with his filming style and John William's choice of composing for the film was the icing on the cake. I have no personal enthusiasm for the film, but credit should be given where credit is due.
500 Days of Summer
500 Days of Summer is a film based mainly upon a young gentleman, Tom Hanson (played by Joseph Gordon Levitt) and the 500 days spent in his "relationship" with Summer Finn (played by Zooey Deschanel). It cuts back and forth in time and moments, showing comparisons from when things were going well, and when Tom's life was essentially going to shit because of Summer ending what they had. It ends with Tom being bitter, but going on with his life and pursuing his dream of being an architect. In the very last scene, he asks a girl out, and coincidentally, her name is Autumn. (Ooo, irony!)
To start off, 500 Days of Summer is a romantic-comedy, but not a stereotypical one that would soccer moms and their teen/college daughters by the masses. This film has things to observe and enjoy. When watching this particular film, I felt there was a music video feel to it. One could take a few of the scenes and they each would deliver a sense of knowing what is going on without the whole film (much like a music video that runs around 3:00-4:00.) The way smash cuts were used, cutting from Tom being happy to his misery plus a couple of cutaway scenes (like when Tom and a few of his friends were talking about love as though being interviewed) delivered that feel to me personally. Not to mention, the excellent soundtrack that accompanied the film.
The director utilized these elements (and then some) very well. I want to say he was going for a film that can be enjoyed by a fair amount of people, but still keeping an indie perspective to be appreciated. The style of cuts aren't something you'll find in your everyday rom-com, plus the more witty humor and choice of soundtrack. You won't always hear The Smiths vs... I don't know. A song by Pink?
To start off, 500 Days of Summer is a romantic-comedy, but not a stereotypical one that would soccer moms and their teen/college daughters by the masses. This film has things to observe and enjoy. When watching this particular film, I felt there was a music video feel to it. One could take a few of the scenes and they each would deliver a sense of knowing what is going on without the whole film (much like a music video that runs around 3:00-4:00.) The way smash cuts were used, cutting from Tom being happy to his misery plus a couple of cutaway scenes (like when Tom and a few of his friends were talking about love as though being interviewed) delivered that feel to me personally. Not to mention, the excellent soundtrack that accompanied the film.
The director utilized these elements (and then some) very well. I want to say he was going for a film that can be enjoyed by a fair amount of people, but still keeping an indie perspective to be appreciated. The style of cuts aren't something you'll find in your everyday rom-com, plus the more witty humor and choice of soundtrack. You won't always hear The Smiths vs... I don't know. A song by Pink?
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