Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Friday, January 13, 2012
Sunday, November 29, 2009
New Moon
Well, I just watched the film "New Moon," and have some very mixed feelings about it, so I'm gonna write a review here. For those who don't know, New Moon just came out in theaters as the sequel to Twilight and the prequel to Eclipse. The film stars the incredibly attractive Kristen Stewart, the incredibly muscular Taylor Lautner, and the incredibly handsome Robert Pattinson, and is the sixth directoral project of fashion designer and novelist John Weitz' son, Chris Weitz. It tells the story of Bella, the resident of Forks, WA who is in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen. After an unspecified amount of time being in a relationship with Bella, Edward is forced to move away from Forks when his brother attempts to eat Bella's blood as a result of her getting a paper cut while opening a gift from the Cullen family on her birthday.
It's very difficult to not give spoilers, but I'll try. The reason for my difficulty assessing New Moon is that its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: New Moon is vampire film. The vampire theme resonates strongly (but not too strongly) throughout this film - the mark of an intelligent and tasteful vampire-film-maker. However, the plot delves into the same questions that were asked by the vampire films of old (Twilight included), but does not shed any new light on where we have progressed since then. The beginning and end of the film are masterfully crafted; the story subtly creates the tension of true love (thanks largely to the unbelievable job that Robert Pattinson does in this film, I never knew he could act so well) and is intriguing. However, once the cat is out of the bag and the big "twist" is revealed, the film just trudges along in a predictable path to its conclusion. The film does feature a different take on the interaction between man and vampire within the film; I think this is one of the few times in vampire film history that the vampire isn't the bad guy. The cinematography is gorgeous and the music is by Thom Yorke (Twilight, Radiohead).
So, do I recommend the film? Absolutely. I'm definitely too picky about my vampire flicks, but at the same time the conclusion of the film felt very empty. The questions that the film raises are not only left unanswered, they are unacknowledged. This could be due, in part, to the fact that the film has a sequel and the saga has yet to be concluded! I don't mind when a film raises questions and in the end they can't be answered, but New Moon's plot diverges from those issues and does not address them (I see vampires and humans as a metaphor for broader race relations in our society, but the film doesn't explicitly acknowledge this). The deeper issues are lost; at the conclusion the plot controls the film rather than the themes, and this diverged from the feel of the beginning and the middle. All in all, 4 out of 5 stars, and I'm looking forward to Eclipse, the final film in the Twilight Saga.
It's very difficult to not give spoilers, but I'll try. The reason for my difficulty assessing New Moon is that its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: New Moon is vampire film. The vampire theme resonates strongly (but not too strongly) throughout this film - the mark of an intelligent and tasteful vampire-film-maker. However, the plot delves into the same questions that were asked by the vampire films of old (Twilight included), but does not shed any new light on where we have progressed since then. The beginning and end of the film are masterfully crafted; the story subtly creates the tension of true love (thanks largely to the unbelievable job that Robert Pattinson does in this film, I never knew he could act so well) and is intriguing. However, once the cat is out of the bag and the big "twist" is revealed, the film just trudges along in a predictable path to its conclusion. The film does feature a different take on the interaction between man and vampire within the film; I think this is one of the few times in vampire film history that the vampire isn't the bad guy. The cinematography is gorgeous and the music is by Thom Yorke (Twilight, Radiohead).
So, do I recommend the film? Absolutely. I'm definitely too picky about my vampire flicks, but at the same time the conclusion of the film felt very empty. The questions that the film raises are not only left unanswered, they are unacknowledged. This could be due, in part, to the fact that the film has a sequel and the saga has yet to be concluded! I don't mind when a film raises questions and in the end they can't be answered, but New Moon's plot diverges from those issues and does not address them (I see vampires and humans as a metaphor for broader race relations in our society, but the film doesn't explicitly acknowledge this). The deeper issues are lost; at the conclusion the plot controls the film rather than the themes, and this diverged from the feel of the beginning and the middle. All in all, 4 out of 5 stars, and I'm looking forward to Eclipse, the final film in the Twilight Saga.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
What Exactly I'm Up To.
Hey there everyone,
So I have been off the radar for a couple weeks on the blog, so I figured I would write a post. I promise that I am going to post another video soon. The reason it has been so long is one of my hard-drives crashed and I lost my project, and the second reason is I had get my 16mm film project digitized. Anyway, you should see something this week.
Right now I am currently waiting for my over 80 gigs of football footage from the weekend to convert on the computer....super fun. Although what is cool is that all that footage is stored on a small SD card. No more tapes, no more film (A big debate here at school)
My guess is a lot of you are wondering: "Hey, how come you get a masters degree for watching and making movies?" Sometimes I wonder the same thing; but as of late, I can better understand and appreciate the amount of time and craft that goes into making your favorite movies
Over the past couple of months I have learned just how much film and television blends art and craft into one cohesive process. There are so many different factors when shooting a movie both from a technical point of view, as well as an artistic one. What lights to choose, what type of film (super 16, super 35, digital, 1080i 1080p...etc). Who to cast, how they should act, where there eyes are, making sure you are moving the correct direction in the frame..blah blah blah
Anyway things are really busy but really interesting. Like I said earlier I will post a project or two this week.
On a quick side note I played a zombie in one of my friends films. I'll see if I can get the footage to post up here.
So I have been off the radar for a couple weeks on the blog, so I figured I would write a post. I promise that I am going to post another video soon. The reason it has been so long is one of my hard-drives crashed and I lost my project, and the second reason is I had get my 16mm film project digitized. Anyway, you should see something this week.
Right now I am currently waiting for my over 80 gigs of football footage from the weekend to convert on the computer....super fun. Although what is cool is that all that footage is stored on a small SD card. No more tapes, no more film (A big debate here at school)
My guess is a lot of you are wondering: "Hey, how come you get a masters degree for watching and making movies?" Sometimes I wonder the same thing; but as of late, I can better understand and appreciate the amount of time and craft that goes into making your favorite movies
Over the past couple of months I have learned just how much film and television blends art and craft into one cohesive process. There are so many different factors when shooting a movie both from a technical point of view, as well as an artistic one. What lights to choose, what type of film (super 16, super 35, digital, 1080i 1080p...etc). Who to cast, how they should act, where there eyes are, making sure you are moving the correct direction in the frame..blah blah blah
Anyway things are really busy but really interesting. Like I said earlier I will post a project or two this week.
On a quick side note I played a zombie in one of my friends films. I'll see if I can get the footage to post up here.
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