Iron Man:

     Iron Man, directed by Jon Favreau and released in 2008, successfully combines cinematic storytelling, cultural relevance, and brilliant cinematography. The film follows the story of Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.), a billionaire weapons manufacturer who is taken captive by terrorists and forced to build a weapon for them. Instead, he builds a powerful armored suit that allows him to escape and becomes the superhero, Iron Man.

    One of the most notable aspects of Iron Man is its cinematography, which captures the high-tech world of the film in stunning detail. The camera work and visual effects are top-notch, creating a convincing and immersive experience for the audience. The action sequences are particularly well-executed, making great use of slow-motion and dynamic camera angles to showcase Iron Man's incredible abilities.

    However, the film's strengths go beyond its impressive technical achievements. Iron Man also tells a compelling story that explores complex themes of power, responsibility, and redemption. Tony Stark's journey from a selfish, morally questionable character to a heroic figure who uses his wealth and intelligence to help others is engaging and relatable. The film's exploration of the impact of war and the military-industrial complex on society is also culturally relevant, particularly given the film's release during a time of ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Avatar The Way of Water

     Avatar is once again exploring the world of Pandora and its inhabitants. One major focus of the movie is Na'vi's relationship with the planet's natural resources, particularly its water, which is said to play a significant role in the story.

    In terms of storytelling, James Cameron is known for his ability to create compelling characters and immersive worlds. Avatar: Way of Water continues in that tradition. The movie is also expected to incorporate cutting-edge visual effects and cinematography to bring the world of Pandora to life.

    In terms of cultural relevance, "Avatar" has been praised for its themes of environmentalism and the importance of respecting indigenous cultures. With "Avatar: Way of Water," it seems that James Cameron is continuing to explore these themes and shed light on the importance of preserving the natural world.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie:

      My team and I had a lot of time to kill in Washington so our coaches took us to the movies to watch Mario. I was excited to watch it because I grew up playing video games like Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Super Mario Bros. 

    The plot of the film is based on the well-known Super Mario Bros. series, and it follows the brave plumber Mario and his brother Luigi as they make their way across the Mushroom Kingdom to save Princess Peach from the grasp of the evil Bowser.

    The cinematography uses digital animation techniques to create its visuals and aesthetics

since the movie is animated. The filmmakers created a unique visual style that pays homage to the iconic look of the video game while also incorporating new elements that make the movie stand out.

 

Everything Everywhere All At Once:

 

    Everything everywhere all at once is a film I think everyone should see at least once in their lives. This film has a great message with so many plots delivered in the weirdest way possible. The message I got from the film was that, even if nothing matters, enjoy every part of life and that there is always something to enjoy in life, even in a universe where everyone has sausage fingers.

    The cinematography in this film was unlike any other. Throughout the film, the characters have to jump between universes, and the cinematographer does a great job of capturing this. A specific scene that stuck out to me for its cinematography was when Joy locked hands with her mother and then unlocked hands, but the space in between their hands opened the universe with the everything bagel, shown below. I found this scene super fascinating and thought the cinematographer was super creative.

    

    This film also had so many plots. The relationship between Evelyn and her daughter was the main relationship in the film. Although Evelyn can be rude to her daughter, she loves her. She realizes throughout the film how to enjoy every part of life, and that is why we live. She helps her daughter realize this as well and stops her from going into the bagel (killing herself). The message is profound, but it is presented in an unusual and humorous manner. 

    Everything, everywhere, all at once, was one of the best films I have ever seen. The relationship between characters, the humor, the cinematography, etc. It is just an amazing film. I think I enjoyed the film the most because I agree with the message so much. Enjoying life no matter what situation you are in. Life is better when you enjoy it, even if there is no "end".

Swiss Army Man:

 

    I was excited to watch this film because I have seen the director's work before. I loved Everything Everywhere All at Once, a film that the same directors created that I had previously seen. I thought I was prepared because I had seen a film from them before, but I was very wrong. This film caught me very off guard. The film makes me personally feel uncomfortable while watching, which was a first for me in any film that was interesting. But I definitely would not want to feel that ever again. The dead corpse character, Manny, in general was off-putting. I did not like any part of the character, from the way he looked to the way he spoke. And then he had magical power, and these were the most bizarre things. I also didn't connect well with the main character at all either. He seemed deceitful and sneaky. And in the end, we find out he was a stalker, which makes something in the film finally make sense. But then it makes it bizarre again. When Manny, the corpse, actually comes back to life by farting of all things. Which made sense for the film but still did not feel right.

    Overall, I could see how many might enjoy the film because it's so widely available. But I don't think I would recommend this film to anyone I know. It made me feel very uncomfortable throughout the film. But the one good thing about this film was that, even though I didn't like it, it was so bizarre that I want to see more of the director's films. I like that they are different, although I didn't like this, at least it was something I had never seen before.

"Her" - A Short Film by Isabella Ruiz (and Amani Jones)

    I devised the idea for “Her” by seeing this shock advertisement  in which a dress was on a punching bag. I thought it was so shocking and the image so disturbing that I wanted to put that photo into a video format for the short film. My boyfriend Ben (the individual in the short film) works at a sports equipment store called “Play It Again Sports.” Obviously, they had punching bags available, so at 8 am on a Saturday, Ben and I walked into a Target, bought a dress, and then went into Play it Again before opening hours to get the shots I wanted. The first shot I wanted was a low-angle shot. I liked the audience to see his face and movement but not anything else around him. The following scene is filmed with a medium close-up shot. Similar to the effect of the first take, I wanted the audience to see Ben’s face, understand what he was doing, and keep the object that he was punching out of frame. The last shot, which was a medium shot, was meant to make the person watching feel like a “fly on a wall” rather than being told to look in a particular direction. This take was done to make the film feel less like someone was holding a camera to the subject, but instead, we were watching as if we were a random object in the room. I also ensured with this shot that I wanted to minimize any movement or shaking in the camera, as again, I avoided giving the audience the sense that someone was filming this segment. The last take inside the building was done for dramatic effect and to end the scene quickly without making it so abrupt that it seemed unnatural. This is the last time that we see him punching something. It is also the last time we get these weird angles and perspectives that don’t allow the audience to see what he was beating. There is then a film roll transition into the film’s last scene, where we see Ben walking away, and it’s revealed that the punching bag he was hitting had a dress on it this whole time, implying that it was a woman he was beating that entire time. We also watch the punching bag swing back and forth for an extra second, hopefully adding a feeling of discomfort and unease as the audience begins to understand what just happened. The film transition was not my favorite, but it was a decent way to change locations without being painfully obvious or blatant. In case it wasn’t obvious,  the punching bag was never in the frame until the film’s last scene. This was done intentionally. The audience assumes he’s punching a punching bag, but they don’t expect a dress to be on it, which symbolizes domestic violence against women. 

    I had a lot of fun editing the footage to put this together. One of the issues I had with filming was that we could only get in the store very early in the morning, which had bright light, contradicting the scene’s dark undertone. In editing, I attempted to make the atmosphere as dark as possible while still being able to visualize the surrounding and not squinting or order to try and see things. While editing, I noticed that the footage had an almost purple tint due to my adjustments and the lighting. While that wasn’t what I intended, purple is the color for domestic violence awareness, so I think it worked out in my favor. The next thing I edited was the sound. No one other than me would know this, but the sound is canned. Meaning, I edited the sound to make the room sound smaller and more narrow to create a feeling of closeness and discomfort. While extraordinarily subtle, I’d like to think it changed the feel and vibe of the film. The text sprawling across the screen wasn’t challenging to do. I added my text, timed out the effect, and put a black background behind it. After that, I had my short film. 

    The name “Her” is not written anywhere in the film, but I created this name because it’s short and straightforward and talks about the film’s contents but doesn’t give it away.

    This project was enjoyable for me as I used to be very into filming and editing (I posted this on my old Youtube channel), and I forgot how fun it was to take clips and make them tangible. I don’t expect my short film to change the world or make any difference, but I will say it was a fun project I truly enjoyed. 

Get Out:

 Storytelling:

    

    The story of Get Out centers on Chris Washington, a young African American man who meets Rose Armitage, a white woman, and discovers some dark and unsettling secrets. As Chris and Rose meet each other's parents, they mark a significant turning point in their relationship. Chris discovers various sinister secrets throughout the course of the weekend and learns that Rose's claim that he was her first black boyfriend is untrue. It is revealed that Rose's family implants their brains into other people's bodies to give them desired physical qualities and a perverted version of immortality after Rose's hypnotherapy mother hypnotizes him and knocks him out. Missy then performs hypnosis on Chris, but he blocks the hypnosis by plugging his ears with cotton stuffing and goes on a bloody rampage to escape from the house.

Cinematography:

     

    The cinematography was amazing in this film. Because they enable the audience to see what Chris is seeing, point-of-view shots, or POV views, are crucial in this movie. Thanks to computer graphics, Chris is made to appear to be floating in the dark, with only a little screen showing him what is happening in reality. Close-up views are also crucial, like when Chris turns to face the camera and notices a tiny figure in the distance or the close-up pictures of Chris' face while he is being hypnotized. Another key close-up shot is of the objects. For example, as Chris was being hypnotized, they got a close-up shot of his nails digging into the chair and a close-up of his face with tears pouring down and his eyes being bloodshot. These close-ups allowed the audience to experience the scene further.

Cultural Relevance:

    The center of this film revolves around race, so there is a lot of cultural relevance. I like how the film did its research and used that in the film. For example, in the hypothesizing scene when Missy uses the teacup to hypnotize him, back when there were still slaves, the wives would use a spoon and teacup to call in the slaves. I also liked how the interior design reflected that southern look from the past. This film catches you off guard; it is very abstract but discusses an important topic.

Marie Antoinette:

    

 Storytelling:

The youngest child of Empress Maria-Theresa of Austria, Maria Antonia, is sent by her mother to wed Louis-Auguste, the Dauphin of France, in order to forge a union between the two warring nations. Marie-Antoinette finds life at the palace of Versailles to be oppressive, as do her attempts to marry her husband. Marie-Thérèse is born, her daughter. They spend a lot of time in the Petit Trianon. She loses the support of the public as the financial crisis in France worsens; there are more riots and food shortages, and she gains the nickname "Madame Deficit" for her extravagant lifestyle and seeming indifference to the difficulties of the French people. During the French Revolution, rioting Parisians forced the royal family to depart Versailles for Paris.

Cinematography:

    You can see a wide variety of color schemes used throughout the film to fit the scenes. For instance, to complement the joyful tone of the shopping scene, there are many bright colors present, from clothing to food. Throughout the entire film, the music is a perfect complement to the scenes. The song "I want candy" was featured in the same scene with vibrant colors, and the two seamlessly blended. The camera work was yet another important aspect of the film. They frequently use close-ups and overhead shots throughout the entire film. The champagne tower and the gambling were shot close-up, which really brought out how luxurious this "shopping spree" was. The overhead shots showed the detail and were a cool way to show the food and shoes—fast and effective. 

Cultural Relevance:

    The film did a good job of fitting the time period of the movie in which the original story took place. They did this with the clothing, architecture, and mannerisms throughout the film. The film is also based on a true historical event that took place, which could be seen as more challenging, but I think the director did a great job capturing the story while also making it interesting.

MOONLIGHT | BLUE:

    A fantastic illustration of how directors employ composition is Moonlight. Chapter 2 stated, “One of the most important ways a filmmaker uses composition to tell their story is through repetition, a pattern of recurring images that echoes a similar framing and connects to a central idea.”The filmmakers of Moonlight do a fantastic job at this. The film's vibrantly saturated color palette is one of the most immediately noticeable optical aspects. Blue is definitely the hue that is most frequently used throughout the film.

    The blues were purposely made more intense during editing, nearly to the point of shining, by the application of a number of filters. The use of blue tones in the movie has two purposes. Naturally, the amplitude of these colors also serves to contrast the skin tones of the characters in the film. The intensity of blue imagery highlights the existence of the black characters in the movie's setting because blue is brown's complementary color. 
       You can observe the patterns of color throughout the entire film. The directors are ingenious in doing this since it links you to the movie's main premise without your realizing it.

    

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari:

                         The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Study Questions

1. What is the essential story?

Dr. Caligari is visited by Francis and his friend Alan. The men witness Caligari showing Cesare, who has been hypnotized and who the doctor claims have the ability to predict the future. Suddenly, Cesare makes a terrifying prediction about Alan's death, and by morning, it has come true, making Cesare the main suspect.

2. How does the film tell its story?

It tells its story through the viewpoint of a man in an insane asylum but the viewer doesn't find this out until the end.  

3. What conventions of cinematic storytelling does it use?

The storytelling techniques used by the filmmakers included flashbacks, points of view, and a plot twist.

4. Explain the final "plot twist." 

The plot twist was that the story was a delusion from a man in an insane asylum. This reminded me of the commonly used trope that “it was all a dream”, but it was the original.

5. How does the final plot twist comment upon cinematic storytelling?

The final plot twist comments upon cinematic storytelling because it alters how the audience views the film.

6. What do the set designs say about early filmmaking?

The sets in the movie had a lot of similarities to set designs you would see in a play. Something interesting that stood out is how they painted the shadows because they didn't have the special effect technology we have now. 

7. What do the set designs imply about stories and storytelling?

The set design implies that the story and storytelling have a “goth” mood they do this by using shadows and jazz music.

8. How do the answers to questions 6 and 7 move us to contemplate the cultural relevance of this film? 

Thinking about the set designs of the film helps us realize what time this took place. We can tell by the lack of technology that the film came before a lot of new technology. I also found that it was a German film after World War I and at this time they only allowed domestic films. So a lot of the directors focused their films on mental Health. 

9. If you had to think about a more modern, 20th-century film with traces of Caligari, what would they be? Why?

I think Tim Burton was inspired by Caligari because his films are very gothlike. For example, the Corpse Bride, dark shadows, and Edward Scissorhands all kind of have a similar mood to Caligari.

10. How do questions about the reliability of a narrator suggest meanings, cultural relevance, and the nature of the film?

I believe that questions about the reliability of the narrator make the audience think more about the film on a deeper level. An interesting topic that we talked about in class, is the plot twist that makes us not want to trust the narrator which is similar to how the Germans feel about trusting their government at this time.

A trip to the moon:

  

    The film that I was most interested in was A Trip to the Moon. I loved how creative the film was and the special effects involved.

    The film tells the story of a trip to the moon, which involves figuring out how to get there, building a rocket, taking off, landing, encountering aliens, and returning back to earth. This film was way ahead of its time and took a lot of creativity, especially because these things had not been done before. For example, this film came out in 1902, and the first rocket launch was in 1926, meaning that no one had ever seen a rocket launch, so everything they did they made up. This also shows when they land on the moon and meet the aliens. I enjoyed seeing how playful he made the film.

    I really enjoyed how there was a story to follow in the film as well. They also added so many comedic scenes, which I really enjoyed, like when the women all pushed the rocket with the men in it when realistically it would weigh tons or when the spaceship was shot into space like a cannon. But my overall favorite part of the film was the special effects, especially for the time it was made. The rocket landing and the explosion were so far ahead of their time, as was the camera work during the moon scene. 

    A Trip to the Moon was a trailblazer in the film industry because of the special effects and outlandish ideas and still has an effect in the film industry today. 

   

Intro Post:

    Hello everyone! My name is Amani Jones, and I am a sophomore at North Central College. My major is currently marketing, but I've changed it three times so far, so we will see how long this lasts. I am also on the women's wrestling team at North Central, where we have over 40 girls on our team, and we just finished second at the nationals in duals this past year. I grew up in McDonough, Georgia, about 30 minutes from Atlanta. 

    In my free time, I like to try new foods, travel, and hang out with my friends and siblings. So far I have been to 9 countries and hope to add a few this year. I have two brothers who are 21 and 18, and a sister who is 2. 

    I chose to take this course because I enjoy films of all genres. I really like that watching films that can make you feel things like sadness, fear, or anger. In class, when asked the question, "What is your favorite movie?" I answered X-men First Class. This is the prequel to the X-Men series. I chose this movie because I watched it very young with my dad. It has always been a comfort movie for me and reminds me of my dad.

     I also enjoy seeing the beginning of the characters' story to help explain why the characters are the way that they are. I tend to like TV shows and movie series more because I get to understand the characters better. I also like movies where the characters have powers. I am excited to learn more about what happens behind the camera in this class and how a film comes together.