Monday, December 16, 2013
Formal Film Studies- Tarintino Films
Six criminals, who are strangers to each other, are hired by a crime boss, Joe Cabot, to carry out a diamond robbery. Right at the outset, they are given false names with the intention that they won't get too close and will concentrate on the job instead. They are completely sure that the robbery is going to be a success. But, when the police show up right at the time and the site of the robbery, panic spreads amongst the group members, and one of them is killed in the subsequent shootout, along with a few policemen and civilians. When the remaining people assemble at the premeditated rendezvous point (a warehouse), they begin to suspect that one of them is an undercover cop.
Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega are two hitmen who are out to retrieve a suitcase stolen from their employer, mob boss Marsellus Wallace. Wallace has also asked Vincent to take his wife Mia out a few days later when Wallace himself will be out of town. Butch Coolidge is an aging boxer who is paid by Wallace to lose his next fight. The lives of these seemingly unrelated people are woven together comprising of a series of funny, bizarre and uncalled-for incidents.
In 1858, a bounty hunter named Schultz seeks out a slave named Django and buys him because he needs him to find some men he is looking for. After finding them, Django wants to find his wife, Broomhilda who along with him were sold separately by his former owner for trying to escape. Schultz offers to help him if he chooses to stay with him and be his partner. Eventually they learn that she was sold to a plantation in Mississipi. Knowing they can't just go in and say they want her, they come up with a plan so that the owner will welcome them into his home and they can find a way.
Style
Tarintino is most well known for his film Pulp Fiction, in which multiple stories are told out of order and blended into one film. This was not the first movie of his to be done in that sort of style. His first movie, Reservoir Dogs, was the first to introduce this new style however, other elements are added to make his movies stand out more among the rest. Most of his movies contain drugs, violence, torchure, and a conversation heavy focus between characters. His movies also try to have characters present themself in a cool manner such as what they wear and how they act. The unnconventional style of story telling Tarintino uses is from French New Wave. Tarintino makes direct references towards French New Wave in the film Pulp Fiction. In the movie, two characters dance in a 1950's themed cafe, while in a french film, Bande à part, the characters do the same. Tarintino's production company, a Band Apart, is named directly from the the french film.
The use of music in his films also plays a major part within his movies. From a slow mellow rap while riding on horse back to Stuck in the Middle with You as background for a torchure scene. The music plays an role within each movie setting a tone and often having a type of irony towards the scenes. Many of his earlier works consisted of music that was not composed directly for the movie.
A couple things i found interesting was the dialogue between Tarintino's characters. In some situations the conversation had set tension to the film while others were original and interesting. Another would have to be the jump between scenes which in my opinion helps get the audience involved with the movie as they piece together the story in its correct form. Tarintino has a great way of getting audiences emotionally involved whether it be the content in its movies or jump between different times in his story telling.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
MYST
For my MYST i choose to do Jarhead starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx. The story starts off with the main character, Anthony "Swoff" Swofford, played by Jake Gyllenhaal who last minute signs up for the military.The movie is based on a true story about his time during boot camp all the way through the end of Desert Storm. There is no action, no laughs, and nothing but dirt. Anthony and his squad members tackle situations such as being alone, bored, and thinking about whether or not their loved ones have gone unfaithful to them yet. His squad consists of a bunch of rejects and psychos including Anthony himself. There are some dramatic scenes that will keep you on edge but the rest of the movie consists of portraying the daily life of the soldiers.
One notable scene was when Anthony pulls a gun on his squad mate after getting demoted from an accident triggered by his squad mate. He not only threatens to shoot his squad mate but threatens to have his squad mate shoot him. The scene reminds me of the movie Full Metal Jacket where a soldier gets pushed over the edge and shoots his drill instructor and himself. In both scenes it shows how soldiers are pushed to the edge and at any moment can break. In Jarhead, Anthony is a trained killer who is stationed to protect oil fields where there is no sign of life or fighting. The movie does a great job of showing how soldiers live and react during long periods of time. Instead of showing long fight scenes, the movie consists of alot of talking and does a good job at keeping the audience interested.
I found some of the scenes to be very uncomfortable to watch. For example, a group of soldiers gather around to watch a video from someones wife. The soldier is very excited to hear from her but the video seems to backfire on him. The video shows his wife cheating on the husband and the husband walks out crying while the rest continue to want to watch. While uncomfortable to watch, it helps show that many or even all the soldiers are left hopeless in a war not worth fighting for.
I really enjoyed the movie and I think this is a good movie for war movie lovers and people who like dramas.
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