Write no more than two pages in which you discuss at least 2 movies you really like and 2 movies you really don’t like, and specifically, from a screenwriting perspective, why you either like or don’t like them. The more specific you are about the particular reasons why you like or don’t like these films (i.e, character development, theme, pace, conflict, acting, structure), the better your grade will be. Emotional reasons: made me feel, emotional resonate & why. NOT just cry! Could be positive or negative.
One movie that I really like is Brokeback Mountain directed by Ang Lee. This movie had an emotional effect on me and I thought that the score added the correct atmosphere. I could almost smell the fresh mountain air and feel the wind blow through my hair whenever I heard the lovely music. From a screenwriting perspective, I think that the specific word choice makes a huge emotional impact. For example, after Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) kisses Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) Jack comforts Ennis when he whispers, “I’m sorry,” repeatedly to him and then says “It’s alright.” This shows that Jack has to coax Ennis into the romance to make the affair happen. Another example is after Ennis and Jack share a laugh and Jack dismally declares to Ennis that, “the truth is…sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it.” The way that he pauses for a good while before he says the line makes me think that he wants Ennis to know how painful it is for Jack to be away from his lover. I also think that he says this line right after the shared laugh because of how he will miss the good times he’s had with Ennis.
Another movie that I really like is Her directed by Spike Jonze. I thought that the concept was fascinating and the cinematography was amazing to see. From a screenwriting perspective, the theme of the movie is presented in the line: “We ask you a simple question. Who are you?” Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) hears this from an advert for the Operating System that he falls in love with and connects with the theme of identity. The character development of Theodore starts with him being in a state of conflict because of the looming divorce. He’s stuck in the past and is emotionally distant, not only from others, but also himself.
One movie that I really don’t like is Sausage Party directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan. From a screenwriting viewpoint, the humor of the movie depends excessively on offensive stereotypes that are not funny and terrible. For example, in the opening song the fruits are outdated stereotypes of gay men and the sauerkraut are Nazis who want to exterminate the juice. The theme of the movie is religion and the “gods” of the story are a metaphor for the Judeo-Christian God. Also, Brenda’s (Kristen Wiig) fear that "touching tips" with Frank (Seth Rogen) has made her impure and now being punished by the gods reflects the belief of girls who feel that they are supposed to remain virgins until marriage. This ridicules religious people and makes it seem like there is no divine entity.
Another movie that I really don’t like is Happy Death Day directed by Christopher Landon. From a screenwriting perspective, some moments in the film make no sense. For example, there is a scene in which the killer stabs Tree (Jessica Rothe), a blocked door to her right, and the next shot is of the knife going through the door. Tree’s daily routine contains no variation whatsoever. Events occur in an exact sequence no matter how long the preceding events take in each of her run-throughs. Also, there are several points in the film, for example, where the concept of rape is delivered for laughs. The film believes that, because the punchline of the humour is meant to be directed at “rape culture” itself, this makes them “the good kind of rape jokes.”
Professor Greg Bernstein
FMP 261
18 January 2019
Assignment 1
No comments:
Post a Comment