MYST POST #6:  BATTLE OF THE YEAR

                                                                                            
This past weekend, I watched the movie Battle of the Year with my family.  I was expecting it to be just another dance movie.  However, after watching it I realized how unique and amazing the movie really was.  The movie, directed by Benson Lee, is about an ultimate break dancing competition.  In order to finally compare to the rest of the world and their talent, America puts together a dream team of the best break dancers across the country to compete.  The movie consisted of a compelling story about friendship, teamwork, and self discovery.  Also, all of the dancing throughout the movie was awesome to watch.  I could tell that the actors had to work really hard to nail all of the choreography.  I would give this movie a 3.5 out of 5 stars.  The acting in general wasn't the best.  However, the messages were inspiring, which made the movie a lot better.

One key scene that stood out to me was when the dream team was in France for the national competition.  After training and practicing for hours, the team was given one night to go out and enjoy themselves.  The boys went to a bar and unfortunately ended up getting in a fight with some other contestants.  The coach of the dream team (played by Josh Holloway) was furious that the team had been involved in a fight.  While the coach was going off on the team, all of the boys were sticking up for each other.  They each gave heartfelt speeches about how much they had grown as a team and how much they had changed since that first day of practice.  This scene was really important because it showed major character development and provided a lot of pathos.  Seeing all of the characters and teammates unify and come together was a definitely a changing point in the movie.

The movie had a wide variety of interesting camera work and techniques.  For example, during the scenes in France, the camera shot each teammate walking through the city and made it look as if the teammates themselves had shot the footage.  It had a casual look to it and the scenes consisted of different snapshots and "selfies".  It was an effective way to shoot the scenes because it allowed the audience to feel as if they were right there with the team touring the city.  Another technique that was used was slow motion.  During the major dance battles and competitions, slow motion was used to emphasize and capture the different positions and moves that the dancers hit.  This made it easier for the audience to really visualize each aspect of the performances.  Because break dancers are moving so fast, no one would know what was going on without the slow motion technique.  It created style and really added to each dance scene in the movie.

Overall, I feel that Battle of the Year was so much more than just a movie about dance.  The themes and underlying messages helped show the audience what it means to be on a team.  I'm sure many people could relate to the problems that took place throughout the movie, such as the struggles of working with an enemy, poverty, etc.  This movie reminded me of Remember the Titans.  It was directed by Boaz Yakin and had similar messages about teamwork.  Even though this movie was about dancing and Remember the Titans was about football, both movies greatly displayed how teams can overcome differences and fight together.  Battle of the Year is a movie for all ages and genders.  If interested at all, check out the movie trailer below...

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1532958/

MYST POST #5:  UP

This past weekend, I watched the movie Up with my little sister.  As cheesy as animated movies can be, I actually really enjoy watching this movie.  It is about an old man named Carl who lives by himself and appears to be bitter to the majority of his neighbors.  Carl lives a normal, yet slow life of sitting around his house and watching his society become more and more advanced and modern.  Then one day a little boy named Russell knocks on his door and ultimately changes his life.  Russell, a young boy scout, has many annoying habits that Carl hates, but by the end of the movie the two develop a loving friendship.  Up contains many adventurous scenes and has cute, heartfelt messages.  Even though the audience is aimed at children, I believe that anyone would enjoy this movie.  I would give Up a five out of five stars for its creativity and unique plot line.

There was a lot of interesting camerawork throughout this movie.  For example, the director used a lot of extreme long shots in order to show the setting.  Carl and Russell are trying to go to Paradise Falls in the movie, but it is taking them a while to get there seeing that they have to overcome many obstacles.  When the two finally reach their tropical destination, the camera pans out and shows the tiny house perched on the edge of the waterfall and canyons.  It was a cool shot because it showed the houses size and relation to the rest of the scenery.  Also, I think that this shot symbolized Carl's role in his life and how he feels like he is small and insignificant compared to the rest of the big world outside his house.  There was a lot of color used in this movie as well.  Each new scene consisted of bright blues and greens for their tropical setting and location.  The balloons were a key symbol in the movie, and each balloon brought a variety of color.

One scene that really stuck out to me was the ending scene.  Carl and Russell were finally back home from their journey and were getting ice cream at a local ice cream place.  Earlier in the movie, Russell brought up this ice cream place to Carl and stated that his dad used to take him to the place, where they would spend quality time together.  Since Russell's father left him though, the two hadn't done that in a while.  The end scene shows Carl and Russell at the same ice cream place, sitting on the side of the road.  They are playing games, talking, and sharing each other's company whilst enjoying an ice cream cone.  This was a really important scene because it showed Carl's more sensitive side.  It provided pathos also since the scene represented the fact that Carl had sort of taken over the fatherly role in Russell's life. 

Up reminds me of the movie Shrek.  Just like Up, Shrek goes on a long journey with Donkey.  Donkey relates to Russell because both talk a lot, portray kid-like attention spans, and most of all annoy their companions Shrek and Carl.  However, Shrek ends up caring a lot for Donkey in the end, just as Carl cared for Russell.  Shrek was directed by Andrew Adamson though, while Up was directed by Pete Doctor and Bob Peterson.  Still, the two movies have very similar plots, themes, and messages.  Overall, Up is a really touching movie and appropriate for all ages.  If interested at all, check out the trailer below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkqzFUhGPJg

FORMAL FILM STUDY:  Michael Bay

           

For my formal film study, I reviewed the director Michael Bay.  The three films I chose by him are Transformers, I Am Number Four, and Pain and Gain.  All of these movies are action films, which Michael Bay is known for.  He is the type of director that enjoys making big production movies.  “A lot of directors don’t want the pressure of a movie the size of Pearl Harbor.  But I love it.  I thrive on it,” says Michael Bay (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/michael_bay.html#MhmzOxCGFqV6w30o.99).  The three movies have many similarities but also many differences.  For them all to be from the same genre, Michael Bay does a good job of creating different experiences for each movie.  In each movie, the style is very colorful and has a lot of special effects.  Transformers and I Am Number Four both have elements in the movie that are unrealistic.  For example, there are talking robots in Transformers and alien creatures in I Am Number Four.  In the movie Pain and Gain, there really isn’t any sort of Sci-Fi feature.  However, Bay does use color to make the movie have more special effects and style.

            The cinematography and technology in all three movies is very impressive.  After reviewing how movies were back in the day, I can really tell the technology in movies has come a long way.  In Transformers, the talking/transforming robots were obviously a big aspect in the film.  Throughout the entire movie, the robots were present.  There was also this big fight scene in the end where the robots were fighting, but real people were also fighting along-side them.  The technology and special effects really enhanced the film and made the fighting more realistic.  In Pain and Gain, there was a lot of guns and violence used.  It kind of surprised me because it was definitely more graphic than the other two movies.  The technology and cinematography with the guns added to the film also.  Audience members actually got to see people getting shot.  In I Am Number Four, there were a lot of explosions and fire bursts.  To film this, I know that the director had to use advanced technology.  It seems that in a lot of action movies nowadays, they can’t really be made without using high technology because otherwise the action wouldn’t seem interesting or believable. 

            The culture element in each movie was different.  In Pain and Gain, there was an antihero as the main character.  He was actually the bad guy in the situation, which was cool to watch because it gave a whole new perspective on the plot.  What the movie was trying to say though was that Americans are huge social climbers, and how sometimes in life, we all do what we need to do in order to achieve wants and desires.  For Transformers and I Am Number Four, the messages were somewhat related.  Both movies had hero-like main characters that saved the world.  In one the hero was working along-side robots, where in the other the hero had special abilities.  Both movies had humans working with aliens.  Because of this, it displayed the message of different people coming together for a good cause.  

            There was a lot of cool camera work in all three movies.  In all of the movies, there were many long shots taken where you saw the main character fighting or running from something/someone.  For example, in both Pain and Gain and Transformers, the main characters had a long, drawn-out scene of running in slow motion.  It provided a different feel during intense battle or fight parts of the movie.  Also, there were many times in the movies where the camera would follow someone who was in action.  For example, there was this scene in Transformers where a soldier had to shoot up at a robot from the ground.  As the soldier slid on the ground shooting up, the camera panned out on the shot and followed the movement of the soldier.  It was a useful technique.

            One main discovery I found with all of the movies was that Michael Bay really incorporated and emphasized the use of narration.  Each movie began with some sort of monologue or narration from a main character.  The narration sort of set the scene for the movie and gave an introduction to the plot.  I thought this was great because it added style to the film, while also explaining details to the audience.  Each movie had a complex storyline, therefore it was a good idea to include the narrations to simplify and explain what was to happen.  Then also at the end, a speech in the form of a voice over/narration was given.  This was effective because it acted as a conclusion for the movie but left the audience hanging for a sequel.  The narration aspect in each movie allowed for the audience to get the feel that the story was being told from the main character’s perspective.  Instead of being a bystander in the story, the narration let the audience become part of the film.  I think more films should include the element of narration.

            Other small discoveries I made dealt with jump cutting.  Director Michael Bay used jump cuts during the major fight scenes.  His reasoning for using this technique was to show what the main character was doing during the big battles.  For example, in Transformers, the major fight scene in the end would jump from showing the soldiers fighting the robots to the main character (Sam) running with a very important object known as the cube.  The jump cuts were effective because it allowed for the audience to gain some perspective on where everything was.  There was clearly a lot going on in every fight/action scene, and so the audience was able to see each thing that was happening.  All in all, I really enjoyed each of the three films I watched.  They were all unique in their own way.  Michael Bay, in my opinion, is a good director when it comes to action films.  His story lines are complex but interesting.  They always keep the audience intrigued.  Below are some trailers of the three films I watched.  Check them out if you are interested at all!

Pain and Gain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEQ8jyvmYtw 

Transformers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAjgXlvVexI

I Am Number Four

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5djHG3hPu0