A Little Insight on Twilight!

After the release of the first book of its series, the film based on the first book is now released! The Twilight  series has been popular ever since the first book came out! Now, due to its popularity, Twilight, the film, has been released and so much of the readers and fans of the series are excited! Does the film perfect the beauty of the book itself?

Although I’m not a fan of the Twilight series, I enjoyed the film itself even if the plot, the whole story, seemed predictable. I watched this film for my best friend’s birthday and it seemed most of the female companions I watched the film with seemed to love the series, the movie and of course, Edward Cullen and Robert Pattinson who plays Edward Cullen in the movie.

Twilight, the movie!

If you ever read the book, then you probably don’t have to read what I have to write about this film. This film and book is about a seventeen year old girl named Bella Swan, played by Kristen Stewart, who moves in with her father to avoid moving around with her mother and her second husband. While attending her new school, she bumps into a group of welcoming students and a classmate who seems to be moody in her presence, Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson.
Days pass by as her friendship with Edward develops and a string of deaths follow, seemingly caused by animals. A dark secret is unravels and she discovers Edward is not only one hundred and eight years old but a vampire who appears seventeen and feeds upon the blood of animals to resist the blood of humans. 
Unfazed by the secret, Bella yearns for this friendship and the pair conspires a love for one another, one that can endanger Bella. It is not long before a group of dangerous vampires are introduced who are willing to fight and even kill for the taste of Bella’s blood.

Characters

Developing Characters

• Bella Swan; a seventeen year old who, at first, seems to dislike Edward Cullen and maintains an awkward relationship with her father, unable to seem comfortable in his presence. Later on, she is begins to develop a small liking to Edward and discovers a happiness within herself to maintain a good relationship with her father.
• Edward Cullen; a one hundred and eight year old vampire who appears seventeen. At first, he dislikes Bella’s presence due to how much he feels to drink her blood whenever she is around him and with such powers, being a vampire, he has the ability to read minds except Bella’s, making him feel slightly insecure. He begins to develop into a brighter and happier character, a romantic towards Bella who he feels like he can share his secret with.

  Static Character

Note: There are multiple minor characters. I will mention the antagonist, Edward’s parents and three of Bella’s companions.

• James; the leader of his group of vampires consisting only three including himself. He hunts down certain humans and kills them after drinking their blood. He is the cause of the string of deaths in the town. Throughout the film, he carries the love of bloodshed and the blood of humans and discovers an unusual need to drink Bella’s blood despite the trouble he has to go through to drink her blood.
• Carlisle Cullen; a handsome blond vampire who appears to be around his twenties and works as a physician. He is the one who turned Edward into a vampire and took care of Edward and four other vampires appearing as teenagers along with his wife. Compassionate and warm, he is quite welcoming to Bella and feels that she is apart of the family despite being human.
• Esme Cullen; Carlisle’s wife and a vampire. At first, she was a human before Carlisle bit her after she became his wife and apparently came down with a sickness. She is the most composed person throughout the film and appears as a motherly figure, not only to the five vampires she sees as her children but to Bella who Esme seems to like and welcomes Bella into the family.
• Mike Newton; a jock in the school and one of the first male classmates Bella befriends. He met Bella after she accidentally hit a volleyball against his head. While Bella and Edward develops their friendship throughout the film, Mike develops a liking to Bella and asks her to the prom before he turns to ask one of Bella’s female friends, rejected by Bella.
• Tyler Crowley; one of Bella’s friends and a male classmate of Bella who happens to flirt with her constantly and even kisses her on the cheek teasingly. Despite developing a liking to Bella, he does not show much of the liking except when he nearly crushed her with his van and continuously apologized.
• Eric Yorkie; a Chinese friend of Bella who attempted to ask her to the prom before he was interrupted by Mike. After being rejected, he asks one of Bella’s other female companion but continues to maintain a liking towards Bella. He is the first one who befriends Bella and takes her around the school, touring her when she first arrives to the school.

Cinematography

• Handheld Camera was used in a few scenes. The camera was shaking so it seemed to create a humanly affect to the scene and created an increasing anxiety within the scene. One scene which included the use of Handheld Camera was when Bella and Edward were talking to one another after Edward confessed of his secret.
• Uses of Fast Motion was used throughout the film to add realism to the scenes when Edward happens to be running at an amazing speed, one of his powers as a vampire. One of the scenes is when Edward and the Cullens decided to play baseball and Edward decided to chase after a ball.
• Uses of Slow Motion was used but rare. It was to create a melancholic and intense feel to the scenes and to create a somewhat unrealistic but mysterious vibe to the scenes. One of the scenes included when Edward and Bella were speaking to one another of what occurred before Edward was turned into a vampire before he jumped down the edge of a cliff.
• Uses of Subjecte Point of View Shots. Some scenes included the uses of the shots but were carried out by the uses of Handheld Cameras. One of the scenes included when Bella dropped the apple and Edward caught it by rolling it up his feet though seen through Bella’s perspective.
• Uses of Special Affects seemed relevant throughout the film since most of the vampires had used powers of their own and these scenes where the vampires used their powers were important to create a realism and magical feel to the movie. One of the scenes included when Edward was rapidly running up the mountain, his figure seemingly vast as he ran up.

Genre

• Romance
• Fantasy

Lighting and Color

• The lighting was often soft and diffused to create a calming effect in most of the scenes.
• The lighting was natural since most of the scenes included daylight and somtimes, if not daylight, then late afternoon. A feeling of realism and naturality was carried out throughout the film with the use of natural light.
• The color often included a light blue. It created a melancholic effect to the film and even intensified the intensity in the romance of the film. It also somehow gave a feeling of softness and coldness through out the film, supporting the theme of vampires and the dreary feeling through the film.
• The color supported the weather which was often rainy, windy and cold during most of the film and rarely any sun was shown from what I remember.

Narrative Structure

• Linear Structure
  -One event after another was carried out without any flashbacks to interrupt the story.
• Exposition
  -The narrator, Bella Swan, introduces herself and moves to a new town and a new school where she is seated beside Edward Cullen in her Biology class and seem uneasy in his presence but develops a friendship with him gradaully.
• Complication
  -When Bella suspects Edward of being more than a simple human and begins to research deeply.
  -When Edward confesses of what he is after Bella tells Edward of her suspicions.
  -When Edward hesitates to maintain a relationship with Bella but nevertheless, accepts her feelings and his own.
  -When James attempts to kill Bella for her blood and begins to hunt her down continuously.
• Climax
  -A little troubling and unsettling, somewhat questionable but without a doubt, it is something that I’m sure fans of the Twilight series would understand.

In my opinion, I believe the plot and the story of the film and the series seem a little too predictable to me because the theme of Romeo and Juliet and the forbidden affair is overused a lot nowadays that it’s becoming an old trend. Although, I feel the movie was quite amazing itself for how it carried out the plot. The music was quite perfect for most of the scenes and at the perfect moments too! I do believe that what I enjoyed most of all was how the romance of the movie was carried out perfectly. The romantic theme of the movie seemed quite heartbreaking and almost melancholic that it squeezed the screams out of the girls that I even seemed a little amused by the romance of the movie.
Overall, the movie was good and I expect a better film of the sequel of Twilight for the second book of the Twilight series, New Moon.

Trying watching the movie yourself! See the trailer:

Passengers! Small Review!

A movie called Passengers starring Anne Hathaway revolves around the stories of four remaining passengers and a therapist after a plane crash as they unravel the story and truth upon the accident. Gradually, one by one, the survivors disappear and the therapist is desperate for the truth and the story behind the accident but to only stumble upon a shocking secret.

Characters

     Developing Characters

• Claire Summers; she is one of the main characters of the film. She is a therapist who begins to hold group therapy sessions for the ffour survivors of the crash. At first, she is unaffected by the actions of one of her patients. It is at one point of the story, she accepts the series of odd behavior of her patient and somehow becomes infatuated with him.
• Eric; he is one of the main characters of the film. He is one of the five patients who survived the crash and at first, he appears completely fine, somewhat undisturbed by the event. He is a charming character who often attempts to woo Claire and feels a deep connection to her, feeling drawn and intrigued by her. It is later on, he discovers a disturbing secret and becomes perturbed and isolated from her to only accept the secret.

     Static Characters

• Dean; one of the four patients. He is the first to disappear during the film.
• Shannon; she is one of the four patients who is the fourth to disappear and the last. It is known that her parents died when she was young and the event impacted her negatively and deeply.
• Norman; he is one of the four patients who disappears after Dean. He is the one who introduces a theory upon the truth behind the accident.
• Perry; he is Claire’s boss in her job. He appears as a fatherly figure throughout the film.
• Toni; she is a woman living in the same apartment building as Claire. She shows a liking towards Claire. It seems to run beyond a friendly liking and a motherly liking but it doesn’t cross the line of a liking involving love.

Cinematography

• Multiple uses of Subject Point of View shots such as when Claire’s sister was looking at a note and then, the scene cut to show what was said on the note.
• Uses of Slow Motion such as when there is a flashback of the crash, everything begins to slow down to add a dramatic and emotional affect.

Genre

• Thriller
• Horror
• Romance
• Drama

Lighting and Color

• Multiple uses of Low Key Lighting.
• The lighting is rarely soft and diffused to add a soft emotional affect to the characters such as when Eric was looking outside the window and staring at a dog on the sidewalk.
• The lighting most of the time was harsh which added a dramatic affect in the intense scenes when Claire began to scream for Eric, thinking he drowned when he jumped into the water for a swim.
• The color tended to be blue which gave off a melancholic aura, adding emotional affect.
• The weather was often rainy and cold and somewhat dark which added to the affect of the color.

Narrative Structure

• Linear, Chronological
       -The story is not constanly switching back and forth in flashbacks. It does not start in the middle of a plot. It is organized.
• Exposition
       -Claire is introduced, waking up to a call.
       -The four survivors are introduced, one by one, as Claire stumbles into their rooms in the hospital.
• Complication
       -When Eric stumbles onto a secret and isolates himself away from Claire
       -When Claire begins to conflict against Arkin, the owner of the airline with the airplane that exploded
• Climax
       -This is something you REALLY need to find out on your own. Just like the previous review.

This film was absolutely amazing. It was somewhat confusing because characters just randomly popped in and out and you, as apart of the audience, would have no idea what happened or why. But events unraveled gradually and the thing about how the director wanted to unravel the events was interesting because it was unique in it’s own way. The film revolved around a small hint of horror but most of it seemed to consist of romance and drama and thriller, especially. With each event unraveling, a small truth was revealed and with each piece of the truth revealed, a bigger truth was waiting behind the wall.
As those pieces built up, the thrill of discovering the secret and the truth behind the accident and the disappearing survivors just keep you waiting. Along that thrill, you discover romance during the film which is a good thing from my perspective because it seemed that the film lacked a certain shock to it so involving romance really filled the empty space where the shock was supposed to be. But the director slipped the romance in the film quite well and in the end of the film, when the truth just comes together, the romance and the thrill just fits perfectly together.
The romance was quite enjoyable because the scenes were quite romantic and cute since Claire and Eric showed an interest in one another but Claire maintained that infatuation for her work so she often rejected him in multiple comedic ways. Overall, this film was a great thing to watch and I personally liked it although there were a lot of scenes which showed some errors in editing. One scene, a character would have her arm raised then when the angle was shot, her arm was no longer raised so the editing had mistakes.

Watch the trailer. What do you think?

IentheKorean? Ien, the Korean!

Ien, a student from Seoul Foreign School in South Korea, is a student who has been working on many film projects which he posted up on YouTube under the name of IentheKorean. One of the projects he has posted was used as an introduction to our Autobiography Video project.

I stumbled across his video and immediately left a message on his profile and began looking through most of his posted videos. One of them was the Who Am I? video which completely sparked an inspiration in me and one of his projects was called Infinity which I found the best video so far. It is his third project and his editing skills are absolutely amazing and beyond comprehension.

If you have a YouTube account yourself, please, drop a comment. He is surely someone you would want to talk to if you ever want to major in Film in the future because he has done so many amazing projects which completely inspire you and spark an interest in Film in many students.

Here’s the Infinity video:

Here’s a second video I found interesting:

It’s about his younger brother.

Dancing at Lughnasa Film Analysis

Dancing at Lughnasa Film Analysis

 

 

Stephanie Choi

Block C

This film basically revolves around the unfolding lives of five sisters who share one home and a strengthening relationship with one another until the peacefulness of the home is eventually threatened by the appearances of those around them.

Characterisation

Static characters

• Father Jack Mundy, the older brother of the five sisters who is slightly mentally unstable after returning from Africa
• Danny Bradley, a man famed for his three children and wife who left him, also supposedly interested or in love with one of the five sisters.
• Michael Mundy, the narrator of the story and the son of one of the five sisters.

Developing Characters

• Kate Mundy, the oldest sister who is known to be conservative—eventually is affected by the events to distress instead of holding in her emotions.
• Christina Mundy, the romantic sister who is unmarried but has a son and known to be motherly yet bright and youthful—eventually is affected by the appearance of her supposed husband to lose the boldness in her personality and the brightness.
• Margaret Mundy, the amusing sister who tends to smoke and joke around—eventually affected by the leaving of her two sisters to gradually become emotionless.
• Rose Mundy, the simpleminded sister who is childlike and happy—eventually is affected by the event with Danny Bradley to begin doing what she wants without the opinions of her sisters to disturb her wishes—basically making her own choices.
• Agnes Mundy, the mature sister and caretaker of the sisters—eventually is affected by the rising conflict with Kate Mundy to leave the house and to even doubt the relationships of her sisters, wishes to at least enjoy what she wants like a child.

Cinematography

• Multiple Subject POV shots—such as when Kate Mundy was looking outside the window to see Christina Mundy and her husband dancing together.

Genre

• Drama

Lighting and Color

• Multiple uses of high key lighting
• Throughout the film, the lighting is often soft and diffused
• The lighting is natural
• If the lighting is harsh and hard, it tends to be in scenes which involve intensity—such as when Rose Mundy was in the dance with Danny Bradley in his drunken state
• The colour tends to be mostly brown’s, giving off a warm aura.
• With the support of the natural weather and the bright sunlight through the film, the use of the colour tends to give off a somewhat bright and relaxed feeling.

Narrative Structure

• Linear, chronological
  • Narrator tells the story of the past but no constant flashbacks.
• Exposition
  • Introduced each of the five sisters properly with the narrator describing the traits of each sister.
• Complication
  • When one sister begins to doubt the other
  • When one sister begins to take actions against the other
• Climax
  • You’ll have to find out.