Eagle Vs Shark

I saw this film a few months ago on the recommendation of a few people at work. It would not have been a film I would have gone to see and I was quite surprised that I enjoyed it. I still couldn't tell you what it is that makes it so compelling to watch but I would recommend it for those who haven't experienced it. There are some fantastic scenes and some are fantastically directed. Here below is the trailer, enjoy!

Burn After Reading Trailer

The new Coen Brothers film trailer was shown when I last went to the cinema. I loved the trailer but strangely not so much for the film content but the use of the bold typeface in it. The version above is the International Trailer which I saw and uses the very bold typeface. Below is an American version of the trailer I found on youtube that uses a completely different approach. I thought this was strange to market a film trailer in two different ways. If I'm honest I prefer the International one with strong copy, white on black that just says all it needs to say, the actor's surnames, directors and the title.

If anything this style means you can watch the clips of the films but all the information in the bold type really sticks in your head. I just wonder whether it will be a hit or whether the hype of such a strong cast will drag it down.

Family Guy presents Blue Harvest

Last week I saw the latest Family Guy movie 'Blue Harvest' which is basically Family Guy Does Star Wars. It's a very funny film but did lead me to judge just how far can people go when making spoof movies. The storyline was so similar, even scenes were done with so much attention to detail in terms of the original and I just wondered what the law is on things like this. Would the makers of Family Guy had to have paid for the rights or can they get away with it? It's not too dissimilar to spoof movies like 'Scary Movie' or 'Disaster Movie'. Does anyone know the law on this type of thing?

RocknRolla

As mentioned last night I went to see Guy Richie's gangster offering RocknRolla. A fantastic film in my opinion and one I'd recommend you see. It's a typical Richie offering off the back of Lock Stock and Snatch and revolves around a similar concept of many people who all become involved with each others business, coming together at the end with a fitting twist.

The film is cast as a British gangster film should be, full of cockney hard men and with one man in control but Richie has managed to write a script that is serious but has the odd line of comic genius. A real must see for all Lock Stock fans out there.

Here's the trailer for a sneak peak of what to expect. (Note the similarity in graphic approach to the opening credits)

RocknRolla Opening Credits

Last night I went to see Guy Richie's new offering RocknRolla. I was blown away by the opening credits which I thought were brilliantly done. A really strong graphic style that runs through the trailer, credits and the movie merchandise (posters etc).

Schindler's List

I was told that when my Dad and brother went to see Schindler's List when it first came out in the cinema they drove all the way home and did not say a word to each other, after watching it this weekend I can see why.

I am by no means an avid film goer and in no way would I call myself a film lover. But recently I have tried to make myself watch more and more films and in particular watch those movies that have always been recommended to me. Schindler's List lived up to all the hype.

The use of Black and White film was a fantastic choice by Spielberg, immediately tapping into not only the era but giving the movie a strange quality that made you feel as if everyone was equal, the same. There were no overpowering uniforms or the like, everyone was the same, although of course they weren't. Following on from that choice was of course the powerful image of the one girl in red whose very presence seems to change Schindler's outlook on everything and leads him to save the very people he was exploiting. Her death seems to spark Schindler's conscience and it is this single element of the film that for me makes it stunningly breathtaking.

It is not a movie I would watch again in a hurry though. The powerful and graphic nature of it for me makes it unique but it is this that makes it so hard to watch it. It's a struggle but if you've never seen it believe the hype, it is a well deserved Oscar winner.

SE7EN Opening Credits

By Kyle Cooper, Jennifer Shainin. 1996. Nominated for D&AD.

"Cooper's celebrated opening titles for David Finsher's SE7EN set the dark mood of the film with their jumpy, out-of-register graphics superimposed on fetishistic shots of a serial murderer's grubby paraphernalia. The normal practise of using a pin-register camera to prevent titles from 'weaving' against the background plates was deliberately avoided in order to exaggerate the out-of-kilter sense of menace." Rewind. Forty Years of Design & Advertising." D&AD (2002) p.316

The title sequence to this film reminded me of Alan's lecture on the use of semiotics. Each piece of imagery in this title sequence relates to a specific moment in the movie as well as setting up the "dark mood". A great start to a truly fantastic film.