21 and over film response

21 and over is an american comedy about Jeff turning 21 and his 2 friends Casey and Miller surprising him for a night out, however he is a student ready for a important interview the next day but his mates aren't letting him not celebrate his birthday without just one drink
but one turn to many and many more, soon we see Jeff become so drunk that the friends have to keep finding him as he walks off and having to go through 'party obstacles' to be able to search floors on a university camp. They also come across some strange people but they finally find Jeff in hospital, although he isn't allowed out the friends have to take him home for his interview so his father doesn't find out what happened. He is finally home where he realises that he actually doesn't want to go to medical school or do anything he wants because of his father, where he confronts him with a not so nice response from his father, he feels free and we see all 3 friends at a concert happy and 2 in love.
This film has many comical scenes and is so strange it just makes you laugh, although it isn't very realistic is does have its funny parts which makes the film watch-able as there is more focus on the jokes than the story.
Overall I enjoyed the film as its not something you see everyday with the situations they're put with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc9vHeGNTY0 - Trailer.

Alfie film response

Alfie set in 1966 is a film with an overall story of what the 60's was like and how change was happening especially for woman. This film mostly focuses on woman and their way of living and showing how it changes

through out time and reflects the 60's for everyone and this film deals with its current political issues of abortion. It also looks at the role of the female under male submission.

Alfie is a young man who finds himself in many different situations that highlight the change throughout the 60's, such as cheating, abortions, womans job titles ect.
 At first Alfie is shown to get all of the woman he desires, whilst cheating on his pregnant wife she is shown to leave him after a while which is the first sign of woman becoming more independent and stronger. We dont see this become bigger until the middle/end of the film where his partners decide to leave themselfs with no word which shocks alfie and upsets him until he is with a woman and happy.

A big scene in this film is the abortion scene where lily found out she is pregnant and has to get an illegal abortion so no one would find out. This was performed by an unqualified doctor This displays the problems with protection in the 60's as legal abortion and protection for woman was not legal until 1967, a year after the film was released where the liberal David steel brought in the legalization and also the pill becoming available by the NHS which made it become frequently used.
Also, near the end of the film Alfie meets with a woman he used to see, however she shows a different side to him, telling him how she has a husband and she does not do what she use to do, looking down on the past suggesting how woman are becoming for independent and loyal to who they really love, unlike in the 1950's where woman would marry as soon as possible and become a mum within her early 20's.

At the end of the film we see alfie walk off over a bridge with a dog, showing that maybe he is finally free from cheating and everything he does and suggesting a new start for himself.

Now you see me film responce (a few spoilers)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzJNYYkkhzc
Now you see me is about 4 street magicians who were all brought together by an unknown man with a card. All 4 magicians meet and become a group called 'The four horseman' who do 3 big shows in front of a live audience and steal money.
 The 3 shows were planned by Dylan, the son of Lionel Shrike who was a magician and died drowning. He used the 4 magicians to seek revenge on the people and places.


 The first show involves a man stealing from a french back who teleports to inside the volt. He is placed into a 'teleporter' where he is then dropped into France, when in fact it was a fake room replicated exactly like the french bank, however the 4 horseman did in fact steal the money but by themselves and with no help from others.
The second show involves the 4 magicians stealing money from a rich business man and transferring it into the audiences banks. it seems crazy to the audience but they also stole the money and exchanged into different banks weeks or days before the performance.
The third show the four horseman steal roughly $140 million from Tressler's bank account and distribute it to the audience. This is when they also escape from the police and find the master card they were set out to get.
All 3 big shows that they do revolve around money, and every show has the four horseman having to distract the audience whilst the magic had already happened.
This film shows how much detail had gone into each show and that they all plan in advance. It uses restricted narration by also making the audience think just like the detectives who are figuring how they do all the shows and by the end of the film everything is explained to the main detective and to the audience.

Short film responces

Farewell Charlie Power: This is a short film about a boy with Autism who's father gets killed. The wife becomes extremely sad and the boy notices this and tries to make a change, however he digs his dead father and washes him and presents him to his mother. This story is overpowering for emotions showing what the mother goes through, and how she tries and tries again to put up with everything whilst remembering that it isn't her sons fault, he doesn't mean to do all the things he does. In the end, the mother is happy again and everyone is back to normal and her son visits the grave with flowers as he now realises what has happened.
The music and acting plays a big part within the emotional side, it makes the audience feel sorry and upset for the family and brings the true meaning to this film

Indecision: This short film is about a man and woman dating, however the man is indecisive about staying with his girlfriend. They go to the beach where he tells her everything and goes back to his car, but through the whole walk there he is wondering if it really was the right decision to. Then he places himself on a tree trunk and sits wondering, whilst the camera turns a full 360 between two scenes getting faster and faster which makes the title of the film interesting and understandable. This camera shot also highlights the whole film and makes it so individual.

The forgotten hit: This short film is about a man who is about to be assassinated because his wife payed someone to for cheating reasons, however the assassinator gets shot, and the man falls and hits his head forgetting everything that happend. He then awakens realising what had happend and thought he had done it himself, as he reaches into the dead man's pocket to find a name and an address of the man he was 'suppose to kill'. This film is very confusing and makes the audience watch and wait to see what happen's at the end using restricted narration. Finally the man goes to the house on the address and shoots the woman, after seeing a photo of them two she was holding he then realises what had happened and shows a final flash back for the audience to understand as well.

Se7en - narrative theory

Se7en: Directed by David Fincher - 1991 


Mise-en-scene of Se7en:

The setting throughout the film is mostly gloomy in the urban environment it is set in, as does the costume and make up and lighting to set the mood through the whole film with constant rain and low key lighting until the final scene where sun is shown in a bright and never ending field to suggest that they have finally gone through all 7 deadly sins and its the end of the case for good. 

The costume and make up for the detectives(somerset and mills) is very basic and old fashioned so they do not stand out and so the audience do not lose focus from the story as every little detail is vital. 

The main props that stand out to me are the guns and the box at the end. The guns used in the chase come close towards the camera and shock the audience when the quickly shoot from out of the blue. The box is also significant as it is the end of the scene and although we do not see what is in the box, we know who it is and the audience are put into the same situation as detective mills not knowing what she looks like but becoming emotionally hurt just by mills and his expression and confusion towards John Doe.

The figure expression throughout the film is very strong and confident, even when seeing all of the different dead and alive body's. apart from the chase and final scene where we see detective mills lose confidence and start to show a weakness of fear.

Cinematography, editing and sound: 

The camera shots used throughout the film varies depending on what is happening in the scenes. The main camera shot used is close up and medium shot when the characters discuss or think to themselves. There are many pan and tilt movements to make the audience feel like they're also in the film with them following around what happens to add emotion.

The editing style is quick and sharp especially in the chase scene and when characters discuss so that the audience can see the emotion given by the characters when given bad or good news. The type of editing is Hollywood as the film is set throughout 7 days with each day as a new murder and deadly sin put into a few hours.

There were both non-digetic and digetic sounds in the film. The non-digetic sounds such as the music and high pitches are used to scare the audience and make their heart race. Another non-digetic sound was the gun shots which were sharp and extremely purposely loud to jump scare the audience when they did not know it was going to happen. All of the digetic sounds such as the rain and busy people expands on the busy city setting and the gloom in the urban environment.

The narrative theory:
The equilibrium of the film is the first crime made by John Doe as it introduces to the audience and detectives what he is like, also what the newly transferred detective mills is like. The disruption of the film is, to me, is when the detectives find John Does flat and almost captures him, however in the chase detective mills get hit  and John doe was uncatchable. The resturation of the equilibrium is when John doe hands himself in, and the detective find out the final 2 deadly sins at the end involving mills wife and detective mills himself.

This film uses restricted narration as we do not know who the killer was until the detectives did and we did not know why or how he done them until clues were told and answers were given by the detectives. Using restricted narration helps this film become a psychological thriller and gives the whole film meaning and the emotion needed, because if the audience knew everything that was happening then no one would pay attention or become shocked when finding out at the same time as the detectives.Also to help the emotion in this film an enigma code is used with all 7 deadly sin murders and to keep the audience intrigued in what will happen next.
I believe the hero of this film is detective mills as he has the drive to do every murder scene and to find the killer, also because in the chase scene mills is the only detective to chase John doe and to even break into his house to try and find evidence. Detective somerset on the other hand is the helper to mills, as he provides all the information needed for them both to carry out the investigation. The villain is John Doe but he also does provide information for the detective with each crime with words and written letters with riddles on, however he is not a provider as he does not provide helpful information  for the detectives to find him.

28 days later

Realizing 28 days later is an early 2000 British film, the costume and make up stands out to me the most for this film. There is now blood that looks pink or too fake, the eyes are red and realistic and was a big highlight for the film to me. The story line was exactly like a zombie film, however these people aren't zombies but they're the infected which made the make up stand out even more and did give its own personal character instead of the usual half dead zombie look.
i enjoyed this film and the effect that had been done were not disappointing as they were the most realistic zombie effects i have seen yet. The way in which the infected act display how they are not a zombie, and to me they're make the audiences heart race more with their speed and anger.
The ending was a disappointment as it was the exact ending to many other zombie films i have seen, where a group of people become a family and live in a house far from the infected.

Se7en film responce

se7en - 1995

A retiring detective somerset and a newly transferred detective mills have a new murderer on their case. John doe, the murderer, uses the 7 deadly sins to kill his victims and has a clear and understanding explanation to why he killed them.
7 deadly sins;

• lust
• gluttony
• greed
• sloth
• wrath
• envy
• pride

For each murder john doe displays each crime with what deadly sin he has used, he gives clues and has planned everything for years for just the 7 days he has to do it. Although he is safe, at one point the detectives find his house which ruins his plans but only slightly as he had planned everything so well that no finger print or any evidence for the detective to discover.

I think the use of the deadly sins was used well throughout the film and the way each crime was different and original highlights that john doe put a lot of time and patience for each of his murderers, for example the man in a house that was kept tied up for year exactly on the day the detective found him and was somehow still alive.
the film clearly shows that john doe had planned these murders for years and has a simple answer for why he done it and took years of careful reading on the sins. It shows as by the end of the film, john doe reveals the final sin 'wrath' which was presented to detective mills as john was ready to get shot and he knew his whole plan would work out as detective mills is not a strong character as detective somerset realizes at the beginning of the film.
i think this film is a good psychological thriller as the crimes are unthinkable to myself and makes the audience wonder who and why john doe had done all these crimes and it keeps the audience interested in what happens next, will he be captured?
One scene that stands out to me is the chase between detective mills and john doe, the music and editing creates a scared emotion and the sharp gun shots out of the blue makes a jump scare and made me hope that he would of got caught. The final and big jump scare for me was when john doe jumped from the top of the van, although mills had looked under and around, john doe surprisingly hit him in the face which would shock the audience the most as the last thing i thought was that john doe would of been on the roof. A big part in the film is the music, it not only expands on the emotions made by the characters but it also creates the emotions too with its sharp sounds and slow to fast pacing music becoming louder and louder brings the film all together emotionally.

Overall the enjoyed the film a lot because of the unreal crimes that had been made and the way it had all been told in a few hours after a week of work. The characters attach to the audience quick and easily and emotionally hurts the audience at the end of the film after the big final shock.

Film essay choice

Film chosen: Django unchained
Film director: Quentin Tarantino
Year of production: 2012
Film trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUdM9vrCbow

Goodfellas - Screen shots

In this screenshot you seen Paulie. In this screenshot, Paulie is shown to not confront anyone around him, and does not have time for small talk. Whilst this scene is happening, Henry is a voice over, telling the viewers what Paulie does and how his life works out. The camera starts to zoom in near the end of Henry talking, enhancing how Paulie is the main character in the Mafia and the only important one to everyone else and stays focused on him until Henry has said everything he needed to about Paulie so that the viewer does not get distracted by anything in the background and understand everything about Paulie and what he does.



In this screenshot, Henry is shown when he was a child just starting his new job with the Mafia. It is the first glimpse that we get of Henry and his thoughts in the voice over he does. At the first the camera shot is extreme close up on henry's eyes staring, it slowly zooms out which introduces Henry to the viewers. Then the viewers and looking at what Henry is looking at, like we are his eyes, the camera uses a pan shot to give this effect and whilst this is happening Henry is commentating on how he wants to be in the Mafia life and it is what he wants to to. The camera finally comes to this screenshot showing Henry looking through the blinds. The blinds give off a sense of being trapped as the blinds look like bars in jail, this implies that Henry is trapped from doing his dream job and just watches hoping that one day that'll be him outside.


In this screenshot, Henry is showing his mother his new suit he got. The camera shot is mid-shot showing Henry's expression and the suit he is excited to show. The camera then switches to his mother showing shock and not saying a word and looking at him then down. The camera uses a tilt shot to enhance what his mother was seeing and how she looking down and stayed staring at his shoes which was the main part of Henry's outfit that he liked the most, but the complete opposite for his mother who then says "my god, you look like a gangster." She says this with shock and anger and how her son has suddenly changed from his job. Apart from the tilt shot, this screenshot uses mid-shot through out to show off both the characters facial and body expression which are completely opposite.


In this scene, Henry is hitting a man for 'touching his girl' he has great anger and implies this by beating him and with no fear of doing it as when he walks over he shows power and determination on his face, the camera shows this by slowly becoming closer and closer to henry like the viewer is at the scene just waiting for something to happen. While he beats the man the camera shot is a central long shot as it is showing lower than the waist line, by doing this the viewer gets to see how weak the man looks and how powerful Henry looks whilst the other men stand a watch knowing they cant do anything to help. When this finishes Henry gets closer to the camera making it a mid-shot whilst the camera is following him again and not looking back at the man displaying how powerful he is and that he is shown as the better man, because if the camera focused on the man on the floor the viewers would feel emotions about the man and get a instant dislike to Henry which is not what the film wants to show. 

Woman in black: Figure expression

Woman in black:
At the beginning of this film, Arthur (Daniel Radcliffe) Is shown to be very gloomy and does not show emotion as he has lost his wife and has never been the same ever since. You can see how upset he is as his does not show much emotion, only when he is with his son where he does smile as he feels safe with him and close to his wife.
Arthur has to go out of town to do some work at an abandoned house, there are many rumours about it but it does not phase him once as his facial expression stays the same. However, once in the house and experiencing different things, his perception starts to change the viewers can clearly see this through his figure expression. When first seeing the woman in black, he seems confused he stares and does not blink, then runs downstairs to check and look for her, he walks fast and his eyes shift around looking showing his first sign of fear.
Much emotion is shown through the people of the town if a child had died, their body would be closed up, wanting to be alone and they would clearly show emotion through tears, whereas Arthur would just stare and watch, with a straight face and not approaching anyone like he had been through that feeling and blocks it out as much as he can so he would not go through this again.
When reminiscing about his wife, you can see the despair he has in his facial expression, especially the eyes and eyebrows. Although he has no expression anywhere else in his face, you can see how heartbroken he is just through his eyes, he also looks away when talking about her to signify that when he thinks about her, he only focus's on her and nothing else.

Thelma and Louise film responce

Made in 1991, director Ridley Scott. Staring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis.

 This film represents freedom and adventure. The two girls, Thelma and Louise, escape from their normal and boring lives for a weekend trip away, they show up at a bar and Thelma meets a man, however he tries to rape her and louise shoots him in defence and anger.
This is how their real adventure starts. They travel America escaping from the police and meet a few more people on the way.
Once realising what they done, louise is very strong to thelma and has confidence through the begining of their adventure. Louise makes a plan to get money to help her and Thelma start a new life in mexico and she gets the money. Whilst in the hotel, Thelma meets a new friend called J.D who tells Thelma how he steals which helps her in the future. After an evening at the hotel, J.D had dissapeared when both the girls were in the bar area and so was the money that Louise needed. The loss of this money impacts her a lot and all her confidence she once had was gone and Thelma began to realise that she needs to start being in control as Louise can't handle the situation anymore.
After more travelling, the girls realise that they need money for gas and food. Louise decides to sell her jewellery whilst Thelma takes a different approach and takes on what J.D had told her and robbed a shop.
After all of this travelling the police finally catch them, but they both want to be this free forever an drive off a cliff. At the end the picture freezes with the car in mid air stating how theyre now free and can't be caught anymore.
Overall the adventures that happen show off their characters and even bring out a stronger character in Thelma after her husband had not been treating her well. They teach a few men lessons on the way about rape as they (maybe) both had bad experiences of it and have had enough of how they're treated and show a different side to what men would see in a women.
I think it is a good film about expressing and gaining new characteristics and confidence for both the characters.

Sweeney Todd - Props

Sweeney Todd – Props
In the musical, the main prop used are Sweeney’s razors. These are his only friends in the musical and enhance power. When the audience are first introduced to this significant prop they’re neatly placed in a box that was hidden showing how they’re so important to him as they had to be hidden from the world. The razors are clean signifying that they’re ready to be used, they also enhance power when Sweeney holds them as ignores everything around him. At the end of showing this prop it is held high with Sweeney looking out of the window and the scene finishing with the camera zooming out onto the whole town suggesting that the razor will destroy everyone one by one through the town which gives the audience that the razor has a significant meaning through out the film.

When Sweeney starts to use the razors he does not stop as he feels so in control with them. Another prop that makes him feel like this is the chair. It holds the subject making them feel safe, then when Sweeney pulls a leaver it drops the now dead man underground. The chair is an easy and quick way for Sweeney to destroy evidence which gives him more confidence when killing a man.

A final prop that stand out is the gun that Anthony have to save Johanna from the asylum she is trapped in. If shows great power as he has never had any before which he holds to save Joanna. Although he has the gun he does not use it signifying that although he has all the power in the world at that moment, he still can’t shoot a man. 

Inglourious bastards costume/make up.

Inglourious bastards (2009)

At the beginning of this film, shosanna's family(who are hiding under a house from nazi's as they're jewish) have been shot and she runs out in ragged clothes that look dirty enhancing the horrible environment she had to stay in when in hiding, you also see blood all over her face from her family showing suffer and fear of how the girl felt at the time. Also at this moment you meet the nazi general hanz landa of the ss. His costume is all black to show he is superior to everyone else and how he looks very determined about what he does and wearing all black could display mystery and there is no way of expressing his character through his clothes.
In chapter 2 of the film you also meet Aldo Raine who is a leader of a opposition group against the nazi's. He is a very calm American and his costume represents this as he wears hat, scarfs and coats, very casual wear which makes him feel more comfortable in his situation(of killing men).
His clothes are also dark colours to make sure he doesn't stand out and hides well when doing his job.
After shosanna escapes, she starts her life again running a movie theatre and makes a plan to kill all the nazi's generals attending her theatre. Throughout the film she wears comfortable and pale coloured clothes but on the night she wears a vibrant red dress and red lip stick displaying more courage in herself. She dresses up for the night to impress and by wearing red to stand out and give off a sexual look and also adds a red paint to her cheeks and rubs in. This makes all the nazi's not even think that she wouldn't be a jew as she looks healthy and rich in this scene.

Mise-en-scene for misery

Paul Sheldon:
Paul Sheldon's character is a very calm and keeps himself to himself, his costume represents this well as his clothes are very casual and normal, its like he doesn't try to stand out and this gives off a stereotype of normality. His figure expression Is also the same, very quiet and doesn't show much emotion, all of these features show through mise-en-scene.
At the beginning of the film there is a snow storm which creates everything that will happen in the film, it also foreshadows the danger ahead for Paul. After being in the car crash Paul does not have much choice of movement as his legs are broken and he is unable to move and after a while this creates a sense of no freedom. The setting of the cabin reflects the boring and dull feeling Paul probably feels within the cabin. It creates isolation and the low key lighting in his room also enhances this as his only light is from the outside where freedom is.
Many props that Paul uses throughout the film are significant. One main prop his Paul's satchel which holds his newly written book. Paul is very protective of this however lets Annie read it after all the help she had given, after reading Annie changes character which then makes Paul realize what she is like.
When Annie goes out, Paul uses a hair grip to unlock his door so he can go around the house, whilst doing this he knocks a penguin statue but catches this and places it back the wrong way, the camera stays put on looking at the statue to create the effect that something bad will happen because of the penguin. When he awakens he is strapped to the bed and Annie reveals how she noticed the penguin was facing the wrong way as usual.
Once Annie had dealt with this, she brought Paul a type writer and paper to write another book and to bring Misery alive again. When finishing Paul finally seeks his revenge, when hitting Annie with the type writer there is a low key lighting and fast music to signify the fear within Paul when the two fight and this stays throughout the whole scene until it shows Paul back in the city. The one final prop that stands out to me is the pig stand that holds doors open, Paul grabs this and kills of Annie by hitting her in the face with it, this stands out because it resembles her own pet pig called misery(named her the book character) and after Paul kills off misery, he also kills of Annie.

 Annie Wilkes:
Annie's character is very different compared to Paul, however her clothes are still similar giving off a dull and almost comfortable like feeling for other people. With her figure expression she tries to become very close to Paul and helps him giving a sense of trust for Paul, she also smiles a lot at first and try's to compliment him. When asking Paul to read the book there was high key lighting as Annie was happy and excited to do so, however when finishing the book and confronting Paul there is a massive change to low key lighting on Annie's face to enhance her anger and also the fear Paul has within.
The main prop to me for Annie is her gun that kills the sheriff which also kills off Paul's only hope of escaping. There are many other props like her cross necklace which is the opposite to what Annie is like and also her past. Annie's memory lane book is another key factor as it tells Paul what her past was like, what she has done and what she is capable of. He also uses works from what she had said in one of his books which helped the sheriff find him before being killed off. Annie's knowledge of nursing also links together to her past and this happens throughout the film.
However one use of low key lighting did not reflect anger or fear, in the scene where Annie and Paul have a dinner the low key lighting is to create a 'love' like mood for the two but it also can reflect Paul's try to over dose Annie.
Overall the lighting is key for both characters and reflects their moods very well throughout the film and the props for each character are similar and are made for them eg. the pig door step.

Misery - Film responce

Misery is a film about two main characters, Paul Sheldon and writer and Annie Wilkes his number one fan on his 'misery' books he writes.
Paul gets into a car crash in the winter but Annie rescued him from dying. He believes he is in safe hands with Annie as she used to be a medical nurse and gives him pills to stop the pain and bandages his legs.
Paul carries around a satchel with his newly written book inside, Annie see's this and asks if she could read it and he allows her to. However doing this was his worst mistake as in this written book he kills off misery and Annie shows her psychopathic side. She flips out at Paul and forces him to burn it because of the foul language. This was his first encounter of Annie's other side.
Upon all this, his new book got released, the final book of misery. Annie comes back with it excited to read it and goes ahead, later that night she finds out that the main character Misery died in the book, this brought out an even worse side and she started raging to Paul wanting him to re-write a new book bringing misery back to life and he does so. The lighting in this scene reflects Annie's emotion, shadows are created on her face and anger is shown not only through her acting but also the setting
At the end of the film Paul burns the book he read, Annie falls to the ground and Paul hits her with his type writer but she still lives, they both then go on and fight, he hits her and she falls to the floor, believing she is dead, Paul pulls himself away to the phone, however she isnt a suddenly jumps on him, finally he hits her in the face with her pig door stop, which is significant to her own pig misery, she finally dies and he escapes.
I think the film uses good lighting and music when dramatic scenes happen, it enhances Annie's anger and brings fear for not only Paul but the viewer too. I think the film is very good and different, even at the end she returns which startles the viewer and made we question why she was back but it was because he still sees her around which made a brilliant ending as the waitress even says "i'm your number one fan" just like Annie did.

Micro analysis - film choice

Film chosen: se7en
Film director:David Fincher
Year of production:22 september 1995
Film trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4YV2_TcCoE

Intro to film studies

Favourite film: Inglourious bastards
Favourite actors: Bratt Pitt and Leonardo Dicaprio
 Favourite British film: Harry Potter
Favourite directer: Christopher Nolan(batman and inception)
Why I chose film studies: I chose film studies because the way films are made interest me, like why certain lighting was used ect. And i enjoy generally watching films.