Allusions and Why They're Used 10.31.19

We started off today by posting our halloween costumes that we’ve worn over the years on google classroom. After doing some math, we calculated that just over half of all our costumes have been allusions to pop culture. This means that they have been a direct reference to either a book, movie, show or other forms of popular culture. An allusion is a reference to events and things in the past. We allude to events and things that matter to what we are trying to say. Don’t get this mixed up with an illusion, which is just a trick or play on the eye. Allusions help make a connection to the audience outside of the text which makes the text much more engaging. Mr. Rivers explained the two types of allusions that can be used. The first is a critical allusion which is used for satire and criticizing what is being alluded to. For example, in the Simpsons, Bart wore mouse ears and stated, “Hey look, I’m the head of an evil corporation.” This is critical allusion because he is alluding to Disney and claiming that it is an evil corporation. On the other hand, a positive allusion, also known as an homage, is used to show respect to what is being alluded to. Mr. Rivers showed us a video of different allusions in Stranger Things to movies from the 80’s and 90’s. This helped us to understand what an allusion is and how it is used in movies and shows we watch. We started reading Ready Player One in class today. We got up to page 4 and have to finish Level 1 by Monday Nov. 11 which ends around page 168. When we come to school Nov. 11 we should have specific allusions we found in the book.

October 31 Class Blog

Today we began class by responding to the question on classroom: how many of your Halloween costumes do you remember? Then in our groups we calculated the fraction of how many of the costumes were allusions to the media such as Batman, Spider-man, etc… In total, 54% of the costumes were allusions to the media. We then began notes by defining illusion and allusion

• Illusion- usually a magical trick, played on the eye
• Allusion- making a reference to things that matter: historical or literary

As a class, we looked at a screenshot of Bart Simpson wearing a bra to resemble Mickey Mouse saying, “I am the mascot of an evil corporation”. This allusion towards Disney is explicitly negative by saying the words “evil corporation”. We then talked more about allusions being positive and negative:

• Critical allusions work well for satire
• Positive allusions are called homage

After we watched a short clip of a video showing the allusions to famous movies in the 70’s and 80’s in the first season if Stranger Things. These were positive references, honoring the audience in a way for understanding the allusions. We ended off class by starting to read the first chapter of Ready Player One. The first chapter is due by November 11th. We have to come to class with specific details about:

• Allusions- (what they say about the characters and what they say about the source material)
• Assembly-(and how the story is put together  to make something GG, BB, or something in between)

Oct. 29, 2019 Class Blog

Today in class Mr. Rivers had us start on a new assignment that requires us to film a short little movie that includes five editing challenges you have to use while editing. We are using WeVideo since it is fully free for every student, but if you want to use another editing software or website, you could use that as well. The five editing challenges include:

1. Fading in/out with video and audio- Can be a cross-fade (shot → shot) or a fade to/from black (shot → black or black → shot).

2. Add non-diegetic music to enhance a shot- Use sample iMovie audio or download an audio track from youtube using PickVideo. Consider what you are enhancing (probably a specific MOOD).

3. J-Cut and L-Cut- Can be in any order, but consider how they can build continuity in a conversation that cuts back and forth from speaker to speaker.

4. Imply non-literal passage of time-  A visual artist has many ways to show passage of time beyond Spongebob’s “ONE DAY LATER” text/narration. What tricks can filmmakers use? Your passage of time should be SUGGESTED and not just literal.

5. Eyeline match- Think Hitchcock: shot of someone looking, cutaway shot, original shot framing but with reaction.

You also have to include a title card with the challenge number before each sequence (indicated in BLUE). Include a TITLE CARD at the beginning with your name(s) on it.

We then got into our groups and started filming. Rivers wanted us to get our clips today and edit them the next day.

October 29, 2019 class lesson

In class today Mr. Rivers introduced us to a new assignment we would be doing for the next few days. The assignment is that we have to use different elements of film in a short video we have to make with 1 or 2 other people. Mr. Rivers had us read aloud what the document says and then after reading each thing aloud he described what each part meant. In the document the description is matched with however many stars are next to the word and description ("*" goes with "*" and"**" goes with "**" etc.). After that we chose our groups and began working on the project, starting with coming up with an idea about what we wanted to do then actually starting to film. Mr. Rivers said he wanted us to film today and edit tomorrow but it's okay if we film both days.

October 28, 2019 Lesson

In today's class of Film as Literature Mr. Rivers lead us on a journey to learn about editing strategies in the world of film. The specific objective we set at the beginning of class was: IWBAT analyze how CHOICES in cuts and assembly contribute to the narrative, thematic, and practical elements of film. I believe by the end of class we were effectively able to reach this goal through today's lesson.

We focused on cuts and transitions specifically for the majority of the class as we watched an instructional video about the different types of cuts and transitions which can be used in film craft. The video showed demonstrations of each cut and transition as the instructor spoke about them. The cuts we learned about included:

Cutting on action (cutting while there is movement on-screen)

Cutaway (cutting to an insert shot and then back)

Cross-cutting (back and forth between locations, ex: phone call)

Jump cuts (disjointed edits in the same shot or action)

Match cut (cut from one shot to a similar shot by either matching the action or composition)

Transitions we learned about included:

Fade in/out (to/from black)

Dissolve (blend shots)

Smash cut (abrupt transition)

Iris (old-fashioned; circle that opens and closes in camera)

Wipes (screen wipes from one side to the other)

Invisible cuts (impression of a single take)

L-cut (audio transition)

J-cut (audio of the next scene starts before you get to it)

After the video we talked as a class about all these different cuts and transitions we learned about, and analyzed their effects in film craft. Mr. Rivers told us that as we get into our film editing projects we will learn how to use many of these various types of cuts and transitions in our very own craft.

At the end of class, Mr. Rivers informed us of an upcoming project we have in the class where we will be demonstrating our ability to use a few different cut and transition techniques in a video. For this project we will be able to work alone or with one or two other classmates. As well as that, we were reminded to submit our links of our WeVideo tutorial assignment to classroom.

Overall, I would say it was a successful class day in Film as Literature where we effectively learned all about choices in cuts and transitions and how they impact film craft.

Today's lesson 10/25 Filmislit

Hello fellow Seniors, in today's class we continued with figuring out how to do editing in Wevideo.com. Taking turns editing and reading the directions from the tutorial we all learned as a group to edit. Remember to share your edited video with your group and Mr.Rivers. There's nothing more to remind you guys about but be prepared to edit a lot of videos moving forward. Have a nice weekend everyone.

Oct. 24, 2019 Class Blog

Today we started the class by discussing the different times everyone submitted their essay from last night. Majority of the class submitted theirs at the range from 9:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. Mr Rivers continues to preach the value of SLEEP. He reminds us that sleep is very important, especially at our age and he hopes that this teaches us to not wait till the last minute to write it because it can really be stressful trying to write a whole essay the night it is due.'

Our lesson was on Google Classroom. Mr. Rivers posted a tutorial to WeVideo, a movie editing service that our school recently bought for us so that every student in the school can use it and all of its features. What we had to do was to get into groups of 2-3 and work on recreating the video the tutorial showed us. One person reads the steps while the other edits the video. There was a timer set for every four minutes to switch so that everyone in the groups gets a chance to learn how to edit in preparation for mini films we will create sometime soon. And that is it. We did this for the rest of the class and will continue to finish the next day.

Essay is due tonight by 12:00 a.m!

Today is paper day! Mr. Rivers asked everyone for their last questions about the synthesis essay. Mr. Rivers went over the MLA citation. We do not need an MLA heading, we don’t have to summarize the story of the book or movie. Mr. Rivers mentioned how we have to be considerate of our audience when deciding if we want to summarize or paraphrase for context. We must have evidence for each paragraph. We must be as specific as possible to give the reader a better understanding of what point you are trying to make. We should have evidence from both texts in every paragraph, even your theme paragraph. Write this in first person. When citing a movie, put blu-ray or DVD in the container part depending on how you watched it. 

We went over the INTERTEXTUALITY ESSAY document on google classroom. Watch out for the opening phrase on the conclusion. Avoid words like, “In conclusion”, “To conclude”. Talk about the MES of different shots in the movie to give your reader a better understanding of your argument. All of our papers will be going through turnitin.com to check for plagiarizing. Cassius asked if Mr. Rivers could revise his essay but didn’t realize that we are actually learning more about editing today, oof. 

We talked more about editing, specifically the editing choices made by Hitchcock in the shower scene from Psycho (1960). We went over the effects that the editing choices have on the practical, thematic, and narrative aspects of the scene. For example, the multiple shots of the woman in the shower established the setting (narrative aspect). We talked about the editing choice during the eye-drain scene. The fade from the drain to the eye symbolizes that her life is slowly draining away from her.

October 22, 2019

         Mr.Rivers was not in class today, so the class worked independently to finish the Summer Reading Essay. Which will be due tomorrow, Wednesday the 23rd, at 11:59 pm. Some thing to note is that the essay is to be 1,000 to 1,2000 words long. It all has to be in MLA format, with a citation page in the end.  For your book citation remember to use (Author.Title source.Title of container, other contributors, version, number publisher) as the format. Then (Dir. First name Last name. Film Title. Container. Distribute, Year of Release.) or (Film Title. Director. First Name Last name. Container, Distributor, Year Of Release.) for the film. When citing a quote from the film, the citation you use to cite the movie dictates how you cite the quote. Another option is to paraphrase, where you shorten and put the quote in your own words.

       If you are stuck writing the essay, here are some questions to ask?

1. Is there a significant difference in objective quality across the two texts?
2. What narrative examples from the film/novel are best for comparative analysis?
3. How can you shape these observations into clear claims?
4. How can you unify these claims under a logical thesis statement?

             There are more questions and other tools to use for the essay on the Adaptation: An Exploration/Argument doc. You can go check there to make sure your essay follows what is asked. Make sure to submit the essay on time so it doesn't come as a zero. As they are not accepting late work.

Birthday

Jillian,
I truly appriceiate the birthday message. It was very generous of you.
Hope your essay is coming well.

Class catch up 10/15

Today in class we thought outside the realm of traditional Paragraph structures. When we write we are the artist. Think more of cause and effect rather than INTRO→ 3 BODY→ CONCLUSION. We are smarter than that!

CLAIM CLAIM CLAIM. Introduce THE EVIDENCE. ANALYZE by connecting Evidence to the claim. Transition introducing other evidence. ANALYZE by connecting the evidence to the claim. Transition out of this paragraph and into the next one. 

Then we talked about quote integration and MLA format

Dir. First name Last name. Film 

Title. Container. Distribute, Year of 

Release. 

Or 

Film Title. Director. First Name Last 

name. Container, Distributor, Year

Of Release.

Evidence - Quoted or Paraphrased 

cite the BEST (ie. most specific/useful) evidence, not your analysis

Integrate: “You can’t even hear the quotation marks”

Pineapple Penguin Taeah,
I am sorry this is about 7 hours and 37 minutes too late but happy day of birthing! I hope you enjoyed the celebratory birth ceremony of eating potatoes and pine needles.
Fare thee well.
Jillian

Class Catch-Up 10/18

Hello, sorry for the late update everyone, but rest easy all, for the class news prevails! On this last Friday (10/18) our class discussed the practice of assembly in Film. Assembly, referring to the assortment of clips of the film to create narrative, mood, and or character. If confusing, don't worry, we have testimony from one of the greatest minds of film. Alfred Hitchcock, the same dude who made Physco, (the one where the son has an "I'll kill anyone for you" -  type crush for his mother) Birds (yes, the one with armies of birds that attack people), Vertigo (the one with the same guy in that really awesome Christmas movie It's a wonderful life), and probably a good amount of other Films that I don't know. Point is, this guy knows his stuff. So you can trust him when shows us mastermind editing theory. Basically, take a clip of a woman with her kids, and let's imagine it's a real film reel. So you have a strip of film with a clip of a mother holding her child in the grass on a blanket....oh you know what...watch it for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruoPT9JeYHA.
So, now with newfound knowledge, Mr. Rivers gave the class the task to give our own various examples of this practice, by splicing together a clip of Hitchcock smiling, with an image we chose based on the goal that the whatever the image must be, it must at least contribute to construction of the character and or narrative. I personally, chose gold, and (to use my sentence): "He likes gold. AKA, material wealth gets his gears turning." Sadly, my image was colored which was unlike the Alfred Clip, hence broking the continuity. But if anything, a super bright color, such as yellow, only applying to one object, emphasizes absolute importance. It's the only colored object. Much like the importance of the girl in the red jacket in Schindler's list. So I stick by my guns and rest my case.
So personally speaking, I'd say that Friday was a pretty productive day.... besides the fact I...didn't...do this blog.
But scratch that.
I hope everyone has a great rest of your Sunday!

Thursday, October 17 - Classwork

Today in class, we continued discussing quoting and citation in writing, began discussing introduction and concluding paragraphs, and finished off the class by working on our summer reading essays.

We started off class by discussing dialogue options, including:

• Paraphrasing: to shorten, USING your own words
• We can do this in our writing by knowing the context and picking the parts of the sentence/phrase that help support the context.
• Block Quotes (not ideal...but an option)
• Block quotes still include citations at the, but are full chunks of conversation that are inserted in our writing, rather than integrated into our writing in pieces. 

Next, we discussed some other essay necessities, including:

• Introductory paragraph - Paragraph that INTRODUCES, or presents through background. Your intro paragraph should always include:
• Opening line (academically introduces the point of the paper)
• Necessary nouns (what the reader needs to know, based on what you will reveal in the essay)
• Thesis statement (what are you trying to prove and how)
• Conclusion Paragraph - Paragraph that CONCLUDES, or ties a bow on it. Your conclusion paragraph should always include:
• Reinforcing relationships between points
• Justifying the experience by connecting to PURPOSE
• Purpose, or SO WHAT???

And finally, after obtaining all of this valuable information, we were able to put it to use by getting independent work time to work on our summer essays. Thanks Mr. Rivers!

home slice madame Jillian,
I must agree with your statement. Jess is extremely rude for intruding into our conversation then ignoring our questions we so generously made to include her.
Oh my! A duel would be just lovely. Ms D's room sounds good but may we move it to thursday? I am feeling quite drained today.
Im doing good with my essay actually. I am currently half way through my movie.
I have dignity
- Taeah

Taeah,
maybe we should have a duel over our differences. If you go bald maybe Anton would have been nice enough to donate some of his luscious hair to you but thou are a hater. My essay is a work in progress as I am a quite slow reader. How are you doing goof fellow comrade?

10:32 duel- Ms D's room- be there or you will have no dignity
Jillian

why has Jess not responded. Honestly really rude.😓😓😓

The Joker- Be Real Blog

Arthur Fleck is seen laughing uncontrollably at inappropriate times throughout the movie. At first it brings in an almost comedic yet uncomfortable feeling to the viewers. But as it goes on this disorder (pseudobulbar affect) goes on to show true discomfort and pain to Arthur. Which makes us sympathetic to this character though we know he is the bad guy as he is a villain that is Batman’s greatest enemy. But the film goes on to use a dark pathos approach. An example of this is when Arthur finds goes out to find out the truth about his family and childhood. Being thrown in one direction to the next. When finally coming to the conclusion he really only has himself, he is alone and lost his identity. Being not a Wayne or a Fleck. Just an orphaned man. The only identity left is ...you guessed it ... the Joker. Which was what he was called by his long time hero comedian Murray Franklin. Being scene as the joker (clown killer at the time) was the only way he felt noticed and empowered. Though it was power through fear, it was still power.


This movie was set up in a domino effect, where everything intertwined and come together beautifully. All the different parts caused a change in the plot. Arthur got beaten up so he got a gun. The gun caused him to lose his job. Losing his job lead him to his first kills. His mother's letter was found, so he confronted Thomas Wayne. What he was told led him to find the truth on his childhood. From this he did the only thing that would make the situation better, he killed his mother. Killing her led to him taking up the name. Which led to the show, which led to him now. It’s all crafted into an interwoven plot.





Personally, I loved the movie, and Marc Maron portrayed the Joker perfectly. The jokers killings brought in people that idolized him, though they mostly saw him as a political statement. He still brought on and embodied what the joker really was...chaos. But what I really liked about this movie was the confusion/questions it brought with it. The main one being, What was truly ‘real’ in this movie and what was just a fantasy Arthur came up with. There were multiple show points of his fantasy’s integrating with his reality. For example, at the beginning of the movie he envisions himself on his idols show (Murray Franklin) where he is singled out and asked to tell his story. But what is strange is that his laughter and behavior wasn’t affected or acknowledged by anyone. The audience remained neutral. The same thing happened when he envisioned himself watching another comedians stand up. He laughed his way after the jokes, at inappropriate times and yet no one acted affected. But the best example of his fantasy’s was a major turning point in the movie that made all of us watching being to question if anything in the rest of the movie was real or just imagined. A girl he likes (and stalked) named Sophia and him had a first awkward encounter where he later was inappropriate when talking to her. But from then on it's like his personality flipped, they went on dates, all awkwardness went away. I was confused, and personally thought the writers just got lazy and was going to have a Moulin Rouge approach with this movie. Till he went into her unlocked apartment for comfort only to find out she didn’t know him at all other then him being the guy down the hall. The film showed she was never truly there. If this was fake and he just imagined it, what else was actually real in this movie. All I know is, I’m going back to watch it another time.

Stote,
I am most certainly not jealous of a murderous cow. I admitted his hair was quite impressive, though I now do feel a hit to my confidence after that message. 💔😓
I might just go bald in the future. I am not yet sure. I am deciding to look pasted out differences and continue our exchanges. How is your summer reading essay coming along dear fellow? What book did you read?
Farewell for now, be sure to bundle up as the leaves are changing...
Taeah

Good morrow Taeah,
Quite brisk weather we have been given today. Sorry I have not gotten back to you within a convenient period of time as my typing device was deceased the entire weekend. Anton must be doing a deep conditioning treatment. His locks are more than luscious. Maybe he does a blood face mask every now and then as he has such nice tight skin on his face it almost compares to an infants arse. I believe hate is a strong and antagonizing word. Maybe you are just jealous of Anton's luscious hair. Don't hate the player, thou shall hate the game. Envy is a disease while love is a healthy condition. Maybe therapy will help you to come to terms with Anton having more luscious hair then you.
tah tah for now, Jillian
☝👊❤✌👭👽💅💖😈😂💆👌👪

Joker Recommendations: What ELSE is out there?

If you liked _______, then you should check out ______.

Joaquin Phoenix as lonely/abandoned by society	Her.
Joaquin Phoenix as insane/abused	The Master
Zazie Beetz	Atlanta
Frances Conroy	Six Feet Under
Anti-hero in a dirty city	Taxi Driver or Blade Runner
Protagonist in a morally complicated situation	The Sopranos or Breaking Bad
Robert DeNiro playing the Arthur character	King of Comedy
Great dancing	La La Land or Singin’ in the Rain
Crime movies with twists	Se7en, Fight Club, The Usual Suspects
Acting roles with intense physical demands/commitment	Christian Bale in Vice, Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man, Robert DeNiro in Raging Bull
Lighting/shadows	Blood Simple, Lincoln

Oct 10, 2019

In today's class we discussed how important it was to expand our themes. We revised a lot of different themes using Step 2.

Step 2: Revise for content. Basically this means is you can answer the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the theme. This will help Connect to the story presenting the theme in the first place.

Themes we have worked on:

Greedy people are willing to do anything for large amounts of money including murder.

When large amounts of money are at stake, violence and death follow the innocent and guilty as a consequence of greed.

Where money is being fought over the impetus of violence and death is revealed within a person because the money has no ownership

If you forget to do your blog post, you must feel really bad about yourself. I mean, come on, who would ever forget their blog post. PFFT! As if.

If evil is trying to hurt someone else it might end up getting hurt in the end because karma can retaliate.

October 11th, 2019

           Mr Rivers began class by letting everyone know  that when you watch a movie, you should create your own opinion of it and not let others sway yours. He encourages the class to continue watching a lot of movies because the more we watch, the better we watch. He also told us he is excited to read our Be Reel blogs, so hopefully you did yours or he’ll definitely be sad.

          He then gave us a refresher on the difference between topic and theme. Topic is one point one idea statement while a theme is an argument under that topic. When constructing a theme you should go through this process: Topic> theme> specific theme (details)> Clear Theme (reducing theme) here is an example Mr Rivers did:
- First draft: Power does not determine outcome
- Specific draft: Police power does not determine outcome, especially when dealing with criminals because police rules don't apply to the truly evil people.
-Clear draft: Authority does not determine outcome when dealing with criminals; laws don't apply to evil people

               He then introduced step four in the theme writing: revise for style. You can use syntax to rearrange the order of words in your sentence to add variety to what you’re writing. He said it is not that you’re saying something different than someone else, it is that you’re saying it differently. Another part of this is using literary techniques like parallel structure and antithesis. Finally, he said use active verbs NOT passive verbs, (am, is, are, was, were, had, been) he absolutely does not like that. Here is an example:
-Mr Rivers punches JJ. Someone asks what happens he says: “JJ was punched” which is passive and not “I punched JJ.”
It doesn’t matter what the length of any sentence is, what matters is the purpose behind it is. That should decide the length.

             We ended class by reading a fellow class member’s Be Reel blog post and then writing a comment about if we agreed or disagreed with it.

My dearest Jill.

JESS!
Typically it would in fact bother me you intruded into me and Jillian's midday powwow, but since it is Friday... I will chose to forgive you. No country for old men did not make me want to barf, maybe try a tums? Anyways, have you finished your fall reading book yet?

Jill,
Today was yet an even brisker 'noon. I hope you wore a covering device. I must agree that Anton's hair was dashing and ahead of his time. With all that killing and still time to have such silky hair? I actually hated him though. I liked Carson the best personally, thank you for asking. I have no reason to like him, just that he actually talked during the movie and didn't just stare off at things and dramatically grunt.

Farewell for now, but i will write again if I get the pleasure of receiving a response,
Taeah. 

Hereditary- The disruptive nature of Tragedy

Hereditary is an unsettling film about a family that has recently experienced a death of a close family member, the grandmother. This death, at first, doesn't seem too tragic until details about the grandmother's private life begin to unfold before this family in the most sadistic and disturbing way possible where they have no control over anything that happens. That is about all I will give away in terms of plot. Ari Aster, the director, shows his incredible skills and knowledge in his work through this film. The cinematography alone is one reason to watch this film. Each shot has a purpose in some aspect of the movie whether it be character development, plot, or establishing setting. The opening shot is this beautiful sequence that goes from wide shot to mid shot to close up, only to reveal that the close up shot is actually another wide shot. This abstract shot zooms into a room of a doll house, where the family "lives", suggesting that the family is just "dolls" that have no control over what is happening to them. The cinematography plays perfectly into the horror aspect of the movie. There are multiple shots where there's something lurking in the corner but it isn't the focus of the shot. This is what makes it so chilling; the shot doesn't acknowledge what's in the corner but when you do, you feel like it's going to jump out. However, this is not your generic cheap, jump scare filled horror flick. There are barely any jump scares which cleverly builds upon the increasing tension throughout the film. Toni Collette, the mother, gives a brilliant performance that embodies a physiological breakdown. She hits her breaking point by the end of the first act and for the rest of the movie, we are all on edge with her. Collette finds that perfect balance between coming just short and going over the top to show the raw form of fear and agony. The score for this movie is perfectly unsettling and perfectly incorporated at just the right scenes. In the final scene (no spoilers), the score includes high chimes which contradicts what we are seeing on the screen. This mismatched score and scenery is the perfect recipe for an unsettling and disturbing ending that leaves the audience paralyzed.

From beginning to end, this movie floored me. It is unlike any other horror film I have ever seen and my favorite one. While there is a supernatural aspect to this film, the biggest fear from this movie is what can actually happen. The thought of a tragedy happening to you and your family is provoked many times throughout this movie. This thought is provoked so effectively to the audience through the direction of Ari Aster and the performances of Toni Collette and Alex Wolff, the son. Their performances capture the raw reactions to such freak accidents and tragedies that occurs throughout the film. As mentioned earlier, the different shots that include shadows and unsettling figures in the background sent shivers down my spine. There is one shot towards the end where Peter, the son, wakes up in the middle of the night. The scene cuts to a wide of him getting up and you can sort of see something in the corner of the ceiling. The shot goes on for what feels like forever and the longer the shot goes on, the more chills you get. You start to shape out what exactly is lurking in that corner and once you figure out what it is, you can't help but to hide behind the covers just waiting for it to jump out. These are the types of the shots that make this movie such an unsettling experience. The tension is masterly built up throughout the movie and the audience is not allowed any breathing time after the first act. This is not a movie. This is not a film. This is a nightmare, a nightmare that sends the audience through a riveting, unsettling, and raw experience.

I'm Not Clowning Around, the JOKER is a GOOD GOOD Movie

The all new adaptation of the Joker by Todd Phillips presents a whole new aspect to the Joker story line that has never been seen before. This aspect of the Joker story gives a tasteful new version of one the most popular villains of all time for fans to enjoy. The film overall exhibits many strengths which make it a successful film. The film provides a complex backstory which allows the viewers to gain insight on what events in Arthur's life lead to him losing his mind and converting into the Joker. The film zooms in on various events in Arthur's life such as him being beat up on the street, lied to by his mother his whole life, and fired from his job to show how hardships corrupted his life. Arthur was seen as a joke and a freak by others in society, as he was constantly tormented and abused when he did nothing to deserve it. The constant abuse took a toll on him and when he finally snapped and shot the men in the subway who beat him up this signifies a big turning point in his life because he finally loses it and stands up for himself. When he finds out his mother lied to him all his life about Thomas Wayne being his father and how irresponsible she was raising him, it shows why Arthur was messed up in the head from his childhood. When he says to her "...I was never happy a day in my life" this dialogue which acts as diegetic audio shows his anger that has built up inside him throughout his life, while also getting viewers to sympathize with him. When Arthur kills his own mother this is another huge turning point in the story line because it shows how much he grew to hate his mother while also how he was ready to be on his own without her holding him back anymore. When Arthur gets fired from his job, he is devastated because he loses everything while his co-worker Randall screws him over. The viewers see Arthur get his revenge when he brutally murders Randall in his room as payback. In this scene the blood acts as a dominant color, which attracts the attention to how violent Arthur has become. These events help develop Arthur's backstory and fuel his transition into the Joker. The strong backstory of the film is key to character development, which overall helps the audience understand the Joker. It is ironic in a way because the audience sees why Arthur turns out the way he does, while in the film nobody can understand him because nobody takes the time too. As the Joker goes on with the killing of people who have wronged him in the past he becomes crazier and crazier, his message to the public gets stronger and he gains followers which sets up a perfect conflict in Gotham. The film sets up the conflict of Thomas Wayne and his supporters vs. Joker and his supporters. By the end of the film, people begin to understand the Joker for the first time ever in his life and he rises to the top. When the Joker rises up on the police car, the film focuses on him as a dominant feature as the people of Gotham worship him which symbolizes how he has gone from a nobody in society to a godly figure to his supporters which surround the car. Overall, the film is successful in big key areas, making it appealing to the audience. The strong backstory leads to strong character development which leads to a a strong conflict and that leads to an overall strong story.

I personally was a huge fan of the new adaptation of the Joker. It was no doubt one of the best story lines I have seen developed in a film. I loved the complexity that was put into the Joker's character in the film because that made him an even more intriguing character than he already was. The whole film I was kept entertained by the craziness of the Joker, which has a large part to do with the phenomenal acting of Joaquin Phoenix throughout the film. His laugh was one of a kind and it had me laughing every time he laughed in the film. On top of that, I thought the film had the perfect mix of emotions put into it as there were funny parts, sad parts, strange parts, angry/violent parts, and triumphant parts of the film. The Joker takes everyone on this wild roller coaster of emotions and it makes the film unique in that way. I also loved how the film makes room for the audience to pick a side throughout the film. It is designed to get the audience to sympathize with Arthur and see how many people would stay by his side throughout his killing and rise to the top. I was also a big fan of the ending of the film when Arthur stands on top of the cop car as the people worship him. I believed it was a great way to symbolize how powerful his character had become. With all these different aspects in mind when rating the Joker, I give this movie a Good Good.

Anne with an E: 

Everyone knows the heartwarming original movies and books which is the foundation of the classic “Anne of Green Gable”. This touching story of an adventurous young lady who is lost in her own imagination. There has been several remakes that tried and somewhat succeeded in comparing with this favorite tale of mine. However this Netflix series has by no means come close to the OG “Anne of Green Gables” masterpiece. In fact with the 2019 modern elements they added has taken this touching, oldfastioned story and ruined it. 

Cinematically it’s not a bad show. The sets and the costumes have been selected well enough to please this nostalgic viewer. It’s really how the writers decided to make this simple plotline and modernize it and give the characters real world issues. Hey this is a bold statement and a brave one, but if I am able to equally comepair Anne and her school friends with characters from degrassi and 90210 then it’s way too much modernization. The writers took these great novels and classic movies and turned them into a 2000 high school coming of age flik. So this has to go in the Bad Good category. Great foundation, but poor effect. 

A movie that will make you scream (of joy)

I recently re-watched the 1996 film, “Scream” created by Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson. Although some parts of the movie were a bit cheesy, the points at which the director/writer chose to put them feels intentional to go along with the “horror movie tropes” theme throughout the movie. Examples of this are times like when the serial killer boyfriend calls after Sydney while he fake dies and when Cassie is stabbed in slow motion by Ghost face in the opening scene. An interesting choice made for this movie was that almost the entire film was shot with high key lighting. Instead of using the low key lighting to add suspense to the shot, the director chose to do this with the camera angles. During scenes like when Sydney is jumping out the window trying to get away from ghost face, you can only see the outside of the house with her climbing out, and not how close the killer is to catching her. Another aspect to this film that was significant would the costume choices. For example, the killer is always seen wearing a Ghostface costume of all black when killing people which is a color that signifies death.

I personally really enjoyed watching this movie. I chose it because it is one of my favorite horror movies to watch and I thought it’d be nice to watch something spooky for Halloween. I specifically really enjoy the opening scene with Drew Barrymore. I think it is the creepiest in the entire movie, has cool references to other films and that Drew Barrymore’s acting in it really makes it seem realistic. I also like how in this movie they took a more realistic approach and actually had the characters put up solid fights. It was satisfying to actually see someone down the killer in self defense rather than just run upstairs; also, it was just pretty entertaining watch. I also feel it was a good choice to throw people off by having two killers instead of one because that makes narrowing it down even more difficult for the watcher which makes it more fun.

Overall, I really enjoy this movie and I would give it a Be Reel Scale rating of: Good Good

Best. Movie. Ever.

This Wednesday, I had a new found favorite film. No. Not the Joker, but rather a film directed by Sergeo Leone called The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Released in 1966, the film has since soared to legendary status not only as a western, but as a cinematic masterpiece altogether. A particular fassit of this film that stands to be phenomenal would be the film’s iconic intros for the three protagonists. Specifically, the Bad: Within six minutes and forty seconds of the film, we see a boy riding a mule while operating a mill. A few sways around the machine until something catches his eye...a figure out in the distance. Ennio Marcconi’s beautiful score kicks in with a serene guitar, sounding as graceful as the wind. The boy gets off the mule and runs inside his nearby home. When the stranger approaches the home, he gets off his horse. Suddenly, the guitar turns violent, deep and sporadic, almost like an alarm. The stranger ties up his horse and walks straight to the camera, his face consumes the whole frame, from his mustache to his black hat. After the stranger steps inside, perches in the doorway, and sees an older man accompany what we guess is his on, all characters act cautiously, the camera takes in every character and their reaction to situation that is. No one says a single thing. This silence builds tension. We know that something is wrong, and or, is about to go wrong. And that is the beauty of this intro, Sergeo Leone makes the audience interpret everything. For example The stranger approaches, both the stranger and old man sit down and eat. What follows is a long stare down, with both men not taking an eye off each other while the wolf down the soup before them. Still no dialog. The first one to break the tension is the old man who asks: “You’re...from Baker?” The stranger devilishly grins. We learn that this man, was sent here. And for whatever reason, it’s not for good. The old man goes off, yelling and telling the stranger leave him alone and tell baker he doesn’t know where the gold is. The stranger straightens his head and widens his eyes. Leone did it again! Now we know that this has caught the strangers attention, meaning that he probably did not know about this before, which quest the audience to then listen up. Within 4 minutes and 55 seconds, we know that the stranger is dangerous, that he was sent here from a man named Baker, and that there is a large sum of cash involved, and finally, that the treasure most definitely interests him. As any great director would, Leone makes the viewer work for information, and it’s awesome.

After viewing this three hour heavyweight on my parents large flat screen tv, I, hands down, agree with all the acclaim. When describing this movie, and my thoughts about it to my mother, I told her that the movie made me feel like a kid. Not necessarily because it was a cowboy’s adventure, but rather because, for the first time in a while, I felt this movie’s magic. I got the same feeling watching this film as I did when I was a kid watching E.T., or Toy Story, Pirates of the Caribbean, or Jaws. This film breathed. I was brought on an amazing adventure through a Civil War-torn Southern America, accompanied with three lawless, greedy protagonists who are on a quest for gold. The acting, score, cinematography, and story swept brought me on a magic carpet ride through the wild west. It was a truly spectacle. The twists and turns of the story, along with the writing, action, and new characters with rich backgrounds, never left me bored. Truly a masterpiece.