They both reached for the gun

In the beginning of the film Chicago, Roxie is seen as a nobody. She wants to become famous by puting on her own show. Things turn out a little differently though. Roxie becomes famous because she murders a man. From this point forward, undesirable actions seemed to be one of the most prominent themes in the film. In my opinion, I thought it was fine that the undesirable actions were glamorized. First of all, it's a musical, and in musicals things are mostly over the top. It wasn't like the movie was very graphic or anything. It's more of a creative technique than anything else. A great example of this is the scene where the cast performs the song "Cell Block Tango." Instead of real blood gushing all over the place, red tissues were used. That's basically harmless. It also made the film more interesting. If these actions weren't glamorized, there woudn't have been much of a story.

When you look at the film Chicago, the unacceptable actions displayed in the film was the thing that made it exciting to watch. It's different from what we usually see in the average musical, which is why it was so great.

Jazz Hands

Back when musicals were first produced, they seemed like a pretty big deal. Musicals were very popular when they first started. The people used in musicals were seen as very talented individuals in more than one aspect. They were usually able to not just sing and dance, but to act as well. The main reason that I believe that this genre has declined in popularity is because of the lack of talent. As soon as technology came into the picture, everything changed. Let's use High School musical as an example. In this film you've got the pretty boy ..... and not much else. Technology is used to try and make his voice sound decent, but honestly, the bad dancing and acting just cancels that out. When Musicals first started, it seemed like their was more effort put into them than their is now. They don't seem as exciting and important as they used to be.

I believe that the use of technology is something that brought back the musical as a popular genre. When Musicals were first brought to film, you couldn't just cut a clip on a computer, it was a little bit more complicated than that. The use of different film techniques nowadays can help make the musicals more appealing to viewers. Their are also cases where many popular actors are used in musicals. They may not have much experience in musicals, but because their well known everyone still goes to see the movie. Although their have been some dissapointing musicals within the past few years, their were also great ones that will never be forgotten.

American teen

The film American teen follows a group of teenagers during their senior year of high school. This specific group seems to contain all of the teenage stereotypes. You've got the Jock, the nerd.... well I think you get the point. Colin Clemens, who is seen as the "Jock" in this movie, is someone who is well liked by almost everybody. At first glance, it doesn't seem like he has many problems, but as the movie progresses, you can clearly see that he has some important issues to deal with. Colin's main focus during this film is athletics. He wants to do well in basketball so that he can impress college scouts and get a scholarship. Colin's father is also putting a lot of pressure on him. During the movie, he repeats several times that he cannot afford to pay for Colin's college tuition. If Colin doesn't get the scholarship, he doesn't go to college. So, I guess you can see how it might seem like the end of the world for him not to get this scholarship.

I believe that these issues are applicable to most teens. Teens often find themselves under pressure. Some teenagers believe that success is the only option, and they don't want to fail. Some find it hard to cope with failure, and don't realize that it can happen to everyone. Their are cases where people try their best, but it seems that their best isn't enough. It's amazing how many different issues teens face today, whether it be athletics, or even impressing your parents.

That's a bear in a bee's costume!

If you've never seen a real Dog Show before, than the film Best in Show is a great place to start. Best In show is a Mockumentary that follows several different characters as they prepare for an important Dog Show. It's created in such a way that resembles an actual documentary. One element that proves this are the characters. In Best In Show, their is a wide assortment of different characters, from the neurotics to the average couple. These characters are a parody of what you might actually discover at a real Dog Show and is an evident element of a Mockumentary. They are even interviewed in such a way that is very natural, and it almost makes you believe that what you're watching is real. Another thing I noticed was the way that the camera was used during the duration of the film. It was the exact filming technique that you'd find in an actual documentary, and seemed very realistic.

Cha cha cha

When I first found out that Mad Hot Ballroom was about kids learning to dance, it brought me back in time a bit. In junior high phys ed., basically every year, dancing was a part of the curriculum. We did a variety of dances like the salsa, and that stupid YMCA routine. Honestly, I hated it. I thought it was boring and pointless. For this reason, I wasn't too thrilled to find out that we were watching a movie about kids dancing. I thought I was going to hate it, but I actually thought that it was a great movie. One of the reasons I liked it was because it showed kids from a variety of different schools and backgrounds. It was interesting to see the different situations that the kids were in. Some of them were high-risk students, and some didn't have many problems. It was great how you got to know all the groups of students. It made it hard to pick favourites when it came to the finals. Something else I enjoyed was how the kids were interviewed at certain points in the film. They shared their opinions on different things like dating, dancing, and so much more. It was quite funny and entertaining.

Extra- curricular activities have proven to offer many benefits to children. There a few possible reasons why I believe that the schools featured in this film chose ballroom dancing as an activity for the kids. First of all, it seems like a pretty fresh idea. Let's face it, you don't see many kids who actually do Ballroom Dancing in their spare time. It's great to be exposed to new activities. It's also something that can teach kids discipline. Ballroom dancing requires hard work and concentration, and shows how it can be important to stay devoted. Although some may not agree, Ballroom dancing can be a lot of fun. These schools wanted to teach the students an activity that would let them experience just that and more. They also probably wanted to get through to these kids that it's not only winning that counts, but the work you put in along the way.

Reality Bites

When I'm watching Reality t.v., I'm mostly thinking, why I'm I wasting my time? For some reason though, I just can't get enough of it. There's just such a variety of realty t.v. shows out there. People love these shows for a number of reasons. I mean, most people don't get to experience the situations that are presented in shows. They would rather see people suffering on Fear Factor, eating a cockroach, then have to do it themselves. Individuals love to see people suffer on reality t.v.

Something that is also quite obvious is that some are in it for the money, and some are in it for themselves. One example of this is Survivor. Survivor is a test of endurance, where contestants live in the wild, with almost nothing. The last one standing is the winner, and they get about a million dollars. There are obviously not a lot of people out there who would go through a show like survivor without getting any cash. On the other hand, their are shows like The Biggest Loser, where most contestants just want to change their lives for the better.

Their are a few reality shows that, at times, can set a bad example. A good example of this is The Bachelor. This show can actually cause people to believe that they can find true love in a matter of weeks. Come on, let's be realistic, that just doesn't happen.

It's obvious that realty t.v. can have a great influence on individuals. It's something that will probably be loved for years to come.

Mean Girls

12 Yankee Dollars

We all know that everyone experiences fear at one point or another. In Westerns, we see a whole variety of characters: the hero, the wife, the bad guy, and it's mostly quite evident when it comes to what they are all afraid of. In these films, the hero is usually the one who holds the most courage. When fear comes their way, let's just say they have their own way of dealing with it.

Let's start this off with a John Wayne classic, The Searchers. In this film we meet Ethan. He's a rugged man, who is not the most pleasant person to be around. One day, out of the blue, Ethan decides to visit his brother's family in Texas. Unfortunately, one night, his brother's home is attacked by a tribe of Comanche Indians. The only survivors are Ethan's nieces Debbie and Lucy. The problem is, they have been captured by the Comanches. For this reason, Ethan and his nephew Martin start to embark on a five year journey so that they can find the girls. At first glance, this makes Ethan look like a very courageous person, but as the story goes on, I found that he was also carrying fears of his own. In the film, it's obvious that most of the characters are afraid of the Comanche Indians. Everyone turns to Ethan. They believe that he knows what to do. They think he is a man with little fear. The reality is, that his fear is causing him to make irrational decisions. As time goes on, Ethan is afraid that the girls might have changed because of the time that they had spent with the Comanches. When he finds the girls, he plans to kill them because of this. This proves that the other characters were not the only ones afraid of the Comanches. Although it wasn't as obvious, Ethan also demonstrated fear.

The film High Noon is set in a small town where there seems to be no trouble. The Marshall (Kane) is getting married, and he is planning on retiring so that he can live a relaxing life with his wife. Everything is perfect, and then a second later, it all changes. Kane receives the news that a prisoner he arrested is being released from prison. This prisoner is looking for revenge on Kane. When everyone gets a hold of the news, they all tell the Marshall to get out of town. At first he listens to the townspeople, and leaves. Kane is obviously afraid of this prisoner. He initially decides to run away from his fears. Soon enough though, he decides to return to town and face this man. The Marshall was courageous enough to say to himself that he could not run away anymore. He knew that if he did, the problem would just come back to get him. Not many people understood why he came back. He was trying his best to do the right thing, which in Westerns, is a significant trait to have as a Hero.

Western movies taught me that the Heros of the story can also have their flaws. We all have had fear present in our lives. It's just that in some people, it's not as easy to see.

Batman Begins

Batman Begins is a film with many creative techniques. The symbolism used in this movie was a great contribution to the film. It helped the audience further comprehend the film in general, and it's characters.

A symbol that is frequently used in Batman Begins is masks. In the film, Dr.Crane has a mask that is quite frightening. When he wears this mask he becomes "the scarecrow", and his mask releases some sort of gas that causes others to have terrifying hallucinations. This symbolizes that every individual experiences fear to a certain degree. These hallucinations dug deep down into peoples souls to expose what they were honestly afraid of. In the same way, when Bruce Wayne becomes Batman his mask is a symbol of what he truly fears, which is bats. He decides to embrace what he is afraid of and attempts to help the world around him, instead of hurting others the way that Dr.Crane is.

The Wayne mansion is one of the only physical things left that remind Bruce of his parents. This makes the mansion an obvious symbol of the Wayne family. For this reason, Bruce does not necessarily enjoy the mansion. When it burns down, this symbolizes a new start for Bruce. Instead of being surrounded by his past, in a way he can put parts of it behind him. When he decides to rebuild the mansion, he's remembering his family and all that they stand for, but he's also adding some of his own personal touches so that he can grow has a person.

The arrowhead in Batman Begins is mainly a symbol of the relationship between Bruce and Rachel, and all they had gone through together. In the beginning of the film, Bruce steals the arrowhead from Rachel and he falls into a well, where he discovers an area that is full of bats. This also makes the arrowhead a symbol of the beginning of Bruce's main fear. When Rachel returns the arrowhead to Bruce on his 30th birthday, he had already embraced his fear, and had learned to accept it as a part of his life.

Shown at some points in the film is a clip of Bruce as a child with his father. Bruce's father is using a stethoscope on Bruce, and it is a very quiet scene. The stethoscope is a symbol of how similar Bruce and his father are. Bruce's father is a man who helps others, and when Bruce is older he tries his best to protect the people of Gotham. By physically using the stethoscope on Bruce, this signifies how close Bruce and his father were. It shows that they are basically connected and share the same common intentions.

After watching Batman Begins, I realized just how significant some of the symbols turned out to be in the film. They not only helped the story along, but also made it easier to understand the reasons behind the behaviour of certain characters. The use of symbolism gave more depth to each character, and made the story more interesting.

Misery scene analysis

In this scene, there were many techniques used that contributed to the feeling of suspense in the film. A few of the close-ups were effectively used towards the creation of suspense. When Paul gets out of his room for the first time, he wanders into a sitting room where everything is neat, and everything has a place. Moments later, there's an extreme close-up shot of a penguin that he nearly knocks over. This creates a feeling of relief and uneasiness, because if anything is out of order, it's obvious that Annie will get suspicious and do something extreme, based on what is already known about her. Another very shocking close-up is when Annie returns to the house. The close-up is used on Paul's face, and he looks very afraid. You're hoping that Paul will make it back to his room, but you have no idea if he'll make it on time. The moment makes you excited and afraid at the same time. At several points in this scene there are ground angles used on Annie. One being when she is trudging through the snow on the way to her house. She's coming closer and closer, and you're hoping that this will give enough time for Paul to pretend like nothing has happened. It's almost as if she were a monster. It emphasizes the fact that this is what Paul is scared of, this human beast. The canted angles in this scene proved to very useful in the creation of suspense. One example is when Paul finally abandons his wheelchair so that he can get into the kitchen. The canted angle shows how helpless he is. He can barely crawl on the floor. It makes you wonder if he'll even make it out alive.

It's no secret that Paul is a prisonner in Annie's home, and the mise en scène in this scene captures that. In one still, Paul is just sitting in Annie's house, in the wheelchair, without hope. He is framed by a window, which happens to have bars. It's almost as if Annie prepared her home for Paul's arrival. At another point, Paul discovers a shrine of himself in Annie's house. It looks very organized, and contains all of the misery books. There is even a framed picture of Paul that's signed best wishes. The picture proves to be a very clever technique, because it's wishing Annie all the best, but all Annie has done for Paul is make him completly miserable. When Paul is in the kitchen, he tries to find any weapon he can use against Annie. His eyes fall on a collection of knives. The knives are shiny and delicate, like it's almost too easy. Next to the knives, is a stork holding a baby. It's scary because it looks very unreal. It's as if Annie lives in a fictional world.

This scene played an important part in the film Misery. It demonstrated how certain techniques can really help to develop suspense. It gives the audience a better understanding about just how trapped Paul really was. It's as if you were in his situation yourself.

Jaws

Before I saw the movie Jaws, I was under the impression that it was just one of those scary movies that are really lame. I thought that it was just a movie about some shark that was constantly killing people all the time. That it was one big blood bath with no suspense. I also believed that since it was made in the mid seventies, the shark would probably look like a cardboard figurine, and that the blood would just look like cherry jello. I had so many ideas about the movie but... oh boy was I ever wrong.

In my opinion, the movie Jaws had a beginning that is stereotypical to most horror films. A girl goes swimming, it's dark, the water is clear and everything is just too quite. You know right then and there, as she goes for her little midnight dip, that something is definitely off. There are some techniques used to emphasize the fact that this girl is dead meat. When she is in the water, you see the girl from the shark's point of view. This works well in the film because you can see just how helpless this poor girl is. I found this scene to be quite frightening because you can't see the shark. It is very suspenseful because you know the shark is heading towards the girl but you have no idea when he might decide to attack her. I almost felt like saying out loud, "get out of the water stupid! You're going to be eaten in like 2 seconds!!!!!"

There is no way I can imagine this movie without it's music. In Jaws, whenever the shark goes ahead and decides to gobble up another innocent victim, the music is always right there along with him. It's amazing how scared you can get from two simple notes. The music in this film was very well chosen because of the fact that whenever I heard it, I knew that the soulless shark was after yet another victim, and it really caught my attention. You just know when you hear that music that's he's creeping up on someone new. It's very fast and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

In Jaws, you could say that Chief Brody is a real killjoy when it comes to having fun at the beach. He hates the water, but he lives on an island... yeah that really makes sense. He is constantly looking out for that shark. Honestly, Brody should have just stayed in New York. Anyways, at one point in the film, he's just sitting on his bench, alone, and there are people just walking in front of him when he is trying to look out at the water. When these people walk in front of Chief Brody, it's an example of a wipe. It's a good wipe because it shows that Chief Brody seems to be the only one concerned about the shark. Everyone else seems to be ignoring the warning signals.

Ahhh.. the famous Zolly, there is no way I would have gotten through this blog without talking about that little number. When Chief Brody is sitting on the beach checking to see if Jaws is out there, after a few moments, a Zolly is used on his face. The Zolly is used because Chief Brody notices that the shark is eating another person, in this case a little boy. When it happens, you can just feel what Chief Brody is feeling. The shot captures all of the emotions on his face in a split second, and to me, it was very shocking.

Jump cuts are used to create uneasiness and can make you afraid, which is exactly what they do in Jaws. When the kids are playing in the water at the beach, there are constant jump cuts. You just know that something is going to happen. The kids are so helpless, their just splashing around, and they have no idea what could happen to them. Their are also jump cuts during a part in the film when there is a "false alarm". People think that there is a shark, so they run out of the water. There is cuts from kids to adults, and it's just plain chaos. Old people are falling over, little kids are screeching loudly..... well I think you get the picture. It's so hectic that you'd think, well there must be a shark in the water!

Well, what can I say, I enjoyed Jaws after all. Before viewing this film, I would never have believed that some seventies-ish horror movie could be so great. It truly exceeded my expectations.