Oscar Movies

            The Oscars, a television award show to nominate and declare what the movies of the year are.  The movies are nominated thanks to critiques reviews in the United States.  Most people wait until the Oscars in order to know what movies to see.  I find out for myself which movies are the best.  My three choices include The Social Network, Toy Story 3, and Inception.  All have different plots, characters, directors, and themes.  The lighting, angles, and shots add to the interesting aspects of the movies. 

            The Social Network by David Fincher was a movie of interest directed at teens all around the world.  It portrayed the story about how facebook, one of the number one social networking sites in the world, came to be.  Although I liked the idea for the movie I thought it was poorly put together, and therefore should have never been nominated for Best Picture.  Personally I couldn’t connect with Mark Zuckerberg because he was completely self centered and rude to everyone around him.  Plus he talked really fast and never showed any signs of emotion throughout the movie.  Mark Zuckerberg was a robot in a human body.

            The plot was obvious from the start, and that never leads to the suspense or action that I look for in a movie.  However there were some scenes that had some interesting character placement.  After Mark sets up his stock agreements, his friend Eduardo was cast out of his mind like a useless rock.  Eduardo has his stock cut down to a very small amount.  The character placement where he confronts Mark about it is just amazing.  A long shot is used in order to show that everyone in the office is listening.  Mark is sitting down and plugged into the computer, showing that he is unaware of what is happening around him.  He is sitting, which suggests that he doesn’t have power over what is happening, ironic considering he is the owner and founder of facebook. Eduardo has the power in this scene as shown that he is at the top of the frame. 

            Triangular composition is suddenly thrown into play.  In the beginning Mark starts up a website called facemash.com.  While he and his buddy are at the computer Eduardo is lying down on his bed in the background.  Clearly Mark has the power in this scene considering he is the dominant vocal point of the frame.  Eduardo and Mark’s friend don’t have very much say in the matter of facemash.com and are therefore in the background.

            Overall The Social Network didn’t excite me because it wasn’t based off of the real story of how facebook came to be, the plot was obvious, and I couldn’t connect with any of the characters.  Therefore it will not win Best Picture at the Oscars.

            Toy Story 3, is the conclusion of the now trilogy of animated movies about the adventures of Woody and Buzz. Now animation itself is truly a master work of art.  The amount of skill and time it takes in order to give a character emotions and movement.  This animation work on Toy Story 3 was fascinating.  The characters had real emotions that I could connect to and were enforced with low and high key lighting. 

            The low key lighting scenes were mostly when Lots-o was with his friends.  The low key lighting helped to emphasize the Lots-o was really evil.  He usually has a lot of shadows around him or on his face to show that he is devious.  This can especially be seen when he is in the vending machine with the other toys.  This lighting is also shown when Woody, Buzz, Lots-o, and Woody’s friends are being moved towards the furnace. Lots-o’s face has a shadow cast over it suggesting that he is an evil character.

            High key lighting is used in most of the shots in the movie because Woody and Buzz are the main characters.   Whenever Woody or Buzz is in the frame they don’t have shadows on their faces or bodies.  They are always outlined by the light which shows that they are the good toys in the movie. 

            Overall Toy Story 3 concluded the trilogy nicely, but it is in no shape to win Best Picture considering that no animated movie has ever beaten out real actors.  However, Toy Story 3 will definitely win best animated picture of the year. 

            This brings me to the final movie I have seen, Inception, by Christopher Nolan.  It has an interesting concept that you can enter other people’s dreams, control them, get the info you need, and plant seeds of ideas in their heads.  The movie had great special effects, an intriguing plot, and great use of lighting.

            Inception had a lot of special effects used in the beginning of the movie when Ariadne was learning how to be an architect of the dream world.  The effects are so well done that they allow you to feel like you are actually in movie itself.  The buildings appear real which helps to grab the audience.

            The plot was not like any that I have seen before.  The concept of entering someone else’s dream was innovative to say the least.  There was a lot of action and preparing in order to conclude the plot and get the character’s their information that they needed.  I thought the plot was good because it was basic but also very complex at the same time.  Some “missions” in the movie were simple while others needed preparation and therefore the plot was a spider web of one idea, which made it intriguing.  Besides the plot a lot of lighting was used to show the good and the bad times that Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

            It was clear that his good time were the first levels of his dream state because high key lighting was used and everything was bright and clear.  As we go further into his mind we discover Cobb has some nightmares.  The nightmares were shown in more low key lighting in order to express the darkness that his wife was going through.  The low key light also helps to emphasize his wife’s depression. 

            The movie Inception has the best chance of winning best picture because it was intriguing, with good effect, and lighting.  It also has characters that the audience could connect with, and to top it off a plot that is easily followed. 

            All of these movies have different aspects to them that make them appealing to certain people.  I personally judge my movies based on the plot and characters.  I hope Toy Story 3 wins best picture, but I know it doesn’t have a chance.  Out of the three movies that I have seen I think Inception has the best chance of winning and I hope it wins best picture of the year.

             

Apocalypto Movie Critique

            The movie of Apocalypto, by Mel Gibson, is a tale of Jaguar Paw’s journey to the end of his tribe’s existence.  The movie had a lot of movement, which helped to keep the viewer interested.  I was personally proud to have watched Apocalypto because I think it was filmed brilliantly with lots of action sequences, and overall lived up to my standards of a good movie.  Mel Gibson uses color techniques to their fullest in order to provide the viewer with a breath taking experience.  The colors also show a transformation in one of the main characters in the movie.  I thought Mel used color the best in the movie to signify a new sequence in the movie.  Like there will be a new experience for the viewer when the colors change.

            The movie Apocalypto is an inspiring story about Jaguar Paw overcoming his inner fear and trying to save his tribe’s ways.  He only overcomes his inner fear when he is taken from his village, faces the other tribes, and dangers on his own.  He is also trying to save his family so that his tribe may live on.  The film is focused on Jaguar Paw but it is also meant to be a history source.   It helps to describe what life was life in the days of the Mayans and Aztecs.  I found the movie very informative about the rituals of the Mayans and also daily life of Jaguar Paw’s tribe. 

            While I was watching this movie I thought of what I actually knew about the Aztecs and the Mayans.  Truthfully, I don’t know that much about either of them, but Apocalypto helped me learn how brutal the Mayans could be in order to please their gods.  The movie also made me think of another movie, National Treasure.  The chase scenes of both movies paralleled each other.  The main character is living a normal life.  Then he gets captured by the enemies, Jaguar Paw by the Mayans, and Ben Gates by the Police.  Eventually both characters escape their enemies and start a new life, while protecting the family that is important to them.

            Mel Gibson uses color in many of his scenes to emphasize what is happening on screen.  Color is an essential to all film today without color the film would seem like it was made in the nineteen eighties.  When Jaguar Paw is running from the Mayans through the jungle he finds himself neck deep in mud.  From this mud he rises and takes on the meaning of his name.  When he rises out of the mud he is black not green like the background of green trees and shrubs.  I think that the pure blackness of the mud on his skin shows that he is “gaining strength like a jaguar”.  The black color in front of the green background shows that Jaguar Paw has no more fear and is not afraid of being seen by his enemies. 

The color is also helpful when Jaguar Paw decides to jump off of the waterfall in order to escape the Mayans.  At first he is covered in the ceremonial royal blue paint, but after he has jumped into the water the paint is washed off of him.  He survives the hundred or so foot drop and looks back to see what the Mayans will do next.  The royal blue paint, according to me, signified his capturing by the Mayans.  But the waterfall acted like a barrier, for a little bit, between Jaguar Paw and the Mayans.  The blue paint washing off Jaguar Paw signifies his escape from being captured by the Mayans.  It is also showing that he is out of their territory and now in his region of dominance.  

            Overall I liked the film Apocalypto and found the significance of the color intriguing.  I wouldn’t recommend buying the film.  Instead rent it at your local library, or blockbuster, and watch for the scenes with color contrasts.