'Culture' Blog

Quantum Of Solace

I have chosen as my film, a classic and well known film series 'James Bond'. In particular I have chosen the film 'Quantum Of Solace' due to the fact there are mixed reviews about this film. I have researched two critical opinions of the film, one saying the film is amazing and the other saying the film was not up to the usual standard.

One review I read was by 'Jeffery Lyes'. Link to the review 'http://lylesmoviefiles.com/2012/11/08/review-quantum-of-solace-2008/' In a nut shell Jeffery is suggesting to us that the action and all the spectacular bond scenes we expect are all in there and are fantastically, but there just wasn't the excitement and gadget filled 'Bond' goodness that was shown in 'Casino Royale' and the previous Bond films. In fact the film maybe even be worse than its previous success 'Casino Royale'

The Second review i read was by 'The movie report'. Link to the review 'http://themoviereport.com/movierpt08-11.html#quantum' This review is saying that the new Bond film fulfills all the things we expect from a Bond film. For example the story and fast paced action is all up to scratch and is what we usually expect from a bond film.

Personally, I didn't enjoy this film from the James Bond line up. The reason for this is that i just found it to be a very confusing story line. Yes i agree 100% that action was all what is expected of in a Bond film but it was just missing the magic that was scene in the last two success films such as 'Die another day and Casino Royale'. The film is worthy of to be classed as a classic but I just think it could of been a lot better and a lot more time could be spent on the storyline and adding in the classic Bond things we expect such as the gadgets.

Sub audiences that would enjoy this film would be,13-15, adults and generally men. This is because in the film we are bombarded with fast paced action, explosions and a exciting plot that men would love. In one scene Bond wrestles with the villain and falls through the the roof of a glass building. this scene alone is enough to make the hairs tingle on a teenage boy. Also men enjoy rivalry against other men and the fact that Bond and the villain 'Dominic Greene' have a keen rivalry excites men and they enjoy that sense of rivalry between the characters. 

Plot summary: James Bond descends into mystery as he tries to stop a mysterious organization from eliminating a country's most valuable resource. All the while, he still tries to seek revenge over the death of his love.

A Right Wing View Film: Taken 2

Taken 2 Trailer:

The film Taken 2 is about a former CIA agent Bryan Mills who in Taken 1 killed a mobster in order to rescue his daughter that the mobsters captured and now in this film the mobsters father is out to seek revenge for Bryan killing his son and decides to capture and try kill Bryan's wife and daughter.
I believe Taken 2 is a firm right wing view there is evidence in the trailer below to suggest it is because of the fact that the main character 'Bryan Mills' was a former CIA agent and is a firm believer that criminals should be punished for their actions. When his wife and daughter are captured he is willing to do anything to get them back and seek revenge on the way.

Also to be honest I don't see no examples of Taken 2 supporting a left wing view.

Here in this shot we can cleaely see that this is aimed at a right wing view due to the fact that former CIA agent Byran Mills is trying to seek revenge on the person who has captured his wife an daughter and believe anyone who breaks the law is bad and needs punishing. his form of punishment is by killing them.

In this shot of Bryan's daughter we know that right wing views believe that children are most vulnerable although she is not a child she is still a child to Bryan, because she is his child he should take ant action to protect her and by this shot we can see she is in danger.

Here we can see that Bryan is faced with defeating two men by himself, showing another prime example of right wing views in that the west and US are the most civilized and powerful nation and don't need as many men as others do.

This explosion is another prime example of a right wing view in that, the way to combat crime is literally to hunt down those responsible and 'eliminate' the threat. By looking at the explosion it is clear to see the threat is 'eliminated'.

In this shot we can see that right wing views believe that terrorists and criminals are just evil and they hate freedom and all who stands for it and are even willing to kill ( even family members) to get their way. here we can see the criminals have captured Byran's wife in order to get heir way.

Here again in this scene we can see Bryan is faced with to task to defeat 3 people on his own but from a right wing view we know that the US are the stronger and more powerful nation when in battle so this task is not hard for Bryan.

In this shot we see an example of when a criminal is not punished and when authorities aren't involved that they can be very nasty and can literally go to the extreme of killing family members and this is why Bryan goes to the lengths he does in order to get his revenge and to 'eliminate' further threats.

In the shot we can see Bryan shooting a criminal in order to rescue his wife and daughter. The fact that Bryan has no regret about what hes doing is that from a right wing view criminals make an individual decision to break the law and harm others so they should be held accountable for those decisions and should pay for them which is what Bryan is doing.

Horror movie conventions

Characters:

Female Victim• in horror movies female victims are often portrayed as being vulnerable and in need of protection. Usually young, blonde women are used which are often portrayed as being stupid and annoying and are usually killed off but aren’t the first to be killed. This character helps build up suspense to the audience, as her screams and behaviour often make the audience jump.

Hero• Mostly always a male character who is usually strong or well built. The hero is mainly brave and goes after the murderer, often never returning. This character shows little emotion to show that they are brave and to support the rest of group.

Evil character• Can take many forms such as a serial killer, ghost or monster. If human they will often wear a mask to disguise their identity. Wearing a mask can also play on the fear of the unknown. Ghosts and monster do not exist which play on the audiences more primal fears and the thought that they could actually be around. An example of films we see with this sort of convention is in Scream where the serial killer has a mask also in Saw and Chucky. 

 

Location:

Haunted Housež This is a common horror film location, normally Examples of films using featured at night time. It is haunted houses: usually an old, derelict or abandoned house.ž Conventional haunted houses mostly involve a tragic accident or brutal fatality to occur within the location, which causes it to be haunted.

Grave Yardž This is a common location to set parts of a conventional horror film.ž This location type works well because it has connotations of death, ghosts and loneliness.  

Suburban House An example of thisž This is more location is featured in: conventional in modern horror films.ž This is a good location for a horror film, as it is realistic to a modern audience and it makes the audience relate to the film more.

Many horror films are often set at night. This fits with Levi Strauss’ theory of binary opposition. This links to the idea of things going bump in the night or that monsters can hide in the darkness. This concept is derived from peoples’ childhood fears of monsters under the bed or in the cupboard. There are many examples of horror films that are set at night for example Paranormal Activity, Saw and The Grudge 3

Narrative:

Most commercial films have a conventional narrative of a beginning, middle and end. This is known as the three act structure. 

The set-up, this is normally the first 5 – 10 minutes of the film. It is here that all vital information is provided (main characters, basis of the storyline, location, and genre). This is the most important part of the film. During the set-up the following will occur: catalyst: the catalyst is what gets the story going. Usually an event. Central question: this is a problem, situation or issue that needs to be resolved by the end of the film.

After the set-up, key elements have been introduced it is important that the narrative moves quickly so that the audience’s interest is maintained. Turning points: are used to do this. These change the direction of the story and raise the stakes. There will be a turning point at the end of act one and act two. The moment the audience most want to see is the climax. This is the big finish of the film – where the good and bad guy meet. The resolution is the final part of the film where all loose ends are tied up.

 Sub Genres Within Horror:

Action horror is a sub-genre that combines the intrusion of evil, an event or the supernatural in horror films with the gun fights and frantic chases that are performed in action-genre themes and elements that are often prevalent in action-horror include most commonly zombies, along with demons, gore, vicious animals and vampires. Examples include, dawn of the dead, from dusk till dawn and blade this category also fuses the fantasy horror genre, for example resident evil, Ghost rider and planet terror.

Comedy horror combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. The horror genre almost always inevitably crosses over with black comedy. The film “the legend of the sleepy hollow” is cited to be the first and greatest comedy-horror genre. Examples include scary movie, slither, Shaun of the dead and gremlins.

Zombie films portray viral reliving corpses/ mindless humans that feed off of the living. Examples include, night of the living dead, dawn of the dead and I am legend.

Why do people like horror movies?:

People like to watch horror movies because they like the thrill and excitement that rushes through them when they get scared. Although people despise fear, they like it in a horror film due to the fact that it gives them an adrenalin rush which they enjoy yet they know nothing is going to happen to them as they know that majority of horror films are very farfetched so they know they are safe.

Typical fears Explored: 

I think that the most typical fear in a horror film is the element of surprise. The fact that the audience are always on the edge of their seats because they don’t know what’s going to happen next is the biggest fear in most horror movies. In Scream there is an scene where scream jumps out of nowhere, this is the element of surprise and scares people because they were not ready for what was about to happen.

 Most successful horror films in the past decade

Conventions

The conventions found in horrors are used to scare, thrill and entertain the audience. Horror films center around the dark side of life; the strange, forbidden and alarming events. Some of the typical conventions of horrors include:

• Revenge

• Haunting

• Demons and exorcisms

• Gore

• Serial Killers

• Zombies

Paranormal activity 4 As we can see from the trailer this straight away fulfills the convention of a horror film. We can see the conventions ‘haunting’ be portrayed throughout this trailer. It is clear when we see the girl talk to herself and almost connecting with spirits that we as the audience can’t see, making the audience get that sense of sacredness and making it a successful horror film.  The possession  From this trailer we can also see another horror convention fulfilled. This convention is demons that possess little children. We can see that in the trailer the little girl starts off normal and just like any girl however as she discovers the box we can tell that this box has had an effect on her and has possessed her in some way to start attacking the people she loves.     Grave encounters In this trailer we can see lots of conventions fulfilled to make this a very successful horror movie. We see lots of gore, possessed characters and haunting conventions going on. We see that on one of the ghost hunting team members, they have been cut and with the cuts a word has been made. Also we see a mysterious spirit and wondering around in the hospital that the team catch on camera and finally we see at the end the girl who is almost demon like and screams and attacks the ghost hunter.  The devil inside The devil inside is a film based on the convention of demonic possessions taking over peoples life’s. As we can see from the trailer the women’s mother was possessed by demons and made her act in a psychotic way and these possessions then spread to the doctors analysing her. This fulfills the typical horror convention making it a good example of a horror film. Some differences that we see in these films is that they don’t always include all the conventions. For example in all of the films I looked at they didn’t include the conventions such as serial killers or revenge. This shows that as time has gone on people prefer possessive spirits haunting people rather than serial killers slashing people to death. Most successful horror films (1960-2005) The exorcist (1973) In the trailer for The Exorcist we can see that it too like the newer films fulfils the convention of a good horror film because of the fact we see a girl get possessed by a demon of some sort and throughout the trailer we see the girl do unexpected action, inferring to us the demon must be controlling her. Dawn of the Dead (1978) In dawn of the dead the main story is about zombies that take over the town and try to infect people. This is a typical convention seen in a good horror film. It is clear to us that they are zombies as they are still humans but they are brought back from the dead and now want to eat other humans, as seen in the trailer when they all try to attack the unaffected humans. The Descent (2005) From this trailer we can see the convention of haunting demons fulfilled to make this a very good horror film. We can see that when the girls fall down they are surrounded by darkness and demons/creatures of some sort that are out to kills them fulfilling the typical conventions of a horror film. The difference between the horror films from now and a decade ago, is not very big. In fact the same conventions are used in the films of today but the way the films are shot are more sophisticated and made more realistic but the basic narratives and conventions are the same as back in the day.

  

Conspiracy Thriller Research:

 Why do people watch thrillers?

People watch thrillers most importantly to be entertained and thrilled - this relates to escapism, and emotional release because you get so into the film that you forget about your own problems in life and escape into it, feeling the emotions expressed within the story. Thrillers are not particularly relaxing films as they create a lot of suspense so people wouldn't watch in order to relax. Like all films, thrillers are sometimes watched to fill time.

People may watch a thriller film to gain an insight into others' circumstances and identify with others. Maybe someone they know is in a similar situation. Also social interaction and a basis for conversation. For example films are involved in social gatherings like trips to the cinema and film nights - this then creates a conversation.

A thriller film in particular can generate conversation because thrillers are not only action-packed but take a lot of thought to work out. The psychological aspect of a thriller film aids conversation because people like to boast about working out the ending before their friends.

Another reason why people watch thrillers is to find models of behaviour. This is because there is usually a clear difference between good and evil in this genre which could influence people to act heroically by identifying with that certain character. In addition, a person may be able to gain insight into themselves by seeing similarities between a character and themselves.

Lastly, people may want to watch a thriller for information purposes. There generally isn't a great deal a person can learn from a thriller but occasionally historical or social events are explored. Society around the world can be explored as thrillers can involve a lot of traveling, therefore seeing different parts of the world's differences.

Key: menace, crime (often murder), high level of tension and suspense.

Narrative: (story & plot) how it's told, complex paths, clues, resolutions, enigma, happy endings, extraordinary events.  The story is what the audience works out from watching it. The plot comes from the key events and what we actually see.

The Protagonist: (the hero) usually disempowered, becomes drawn into the 'web of intrigue' by...

The Antagonist: (the antihero/villain) they usually put the protagonist in peril.

  

 

The Da Vinci Code

As we can see from this trailer the plot of the film has lots of twists and a complex path to it. Also we can see  a man running in fear, one of the conventions of a conspiracy thriller is that there is suspense and tension on the films. Here is a prime example of tension and suspense as we can see the man running in fear and what don’t know what’s going to happen with him.

The November man 

In this film an ex-CIA operative is brought back in on a very personal mission and finds himself pitted against his former pupil in a deadly game involving high level CIA officials. This is a prime convention of a conspiracy thriller as the plot involves a very big twist and unusual storyline in that he is going against an agent he trained up.

 

  Paranormal activity 4

As we can see from the trailer this straight away fulfills the convention of a horror film. We can see the conventions ‘haunting’ be portrayed throughout this trailer. It is clear when we see the girl talk to herself and almost connecting with spirits that we as the audience can’t see, making the audience get that sense of sacredness and making it a successful horror film.

 The possession

 From this trailer we can also see another horror convention fulfilled. This convention is demons that possess little children. We can see that in the trailer the little girl starts off normal and just like any girl however as she discovers the box we can tell that this box has had an effect on her and has possessed her in some way to start attacking the people she loves. 

   Grave encounters

In this trailer we can see lots of conventions fulfilled to make this a very successful horror movie. We see lots of gore, possessed characters and haunting conventions going on. We see that on one of the ghost hunting team members, they have been cut and with the cuts a word has been made. Also we see a mysterious spirit and wondering around in the hospital that the team catch on camera and finally we see at the end the girl who is almost demon like and screams and attacks the ghost hunter.

 The devil inside

The devil inside is a film based on the convention of demonic possessions taking over peoples life’s. As we can see from the trailer the women’s mother was possessed by demons and made her act in a psychotic way and these possessions then spread to the doctors analysing her. This fulfills the typical horror convention making it a good example of a horror film.

Some differences that we see in these films is that they don’t always include all the conventions. For example in all of the films I looked at they didn’t include the conventions such as serial killers or revenge. This shows that as time has gone on people prefer possessive spirits haunting people rather than serial killers slashing people to death.

Most successful horror films (1960-2005)

The exorcist (1973)

In the trailer for The Exorcist we can see that it too like the newer films fulfils the convention of a good horror film because of the fact we see a girl get possessed by a demon of some sort and throughout the trailer we see the girl do unexpected action, inferring to us the demon must be controlling her.

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

In dawn of the dead the main story is about zombies that take over the town and try to infect people. This is a typical convention seen in a good horror film. It is clear to us that they are zombies as they are still humans but they are brought back from the dead and now want to eat other humans, as seen in the trailer when they all try to attack the unaffected humans.

The Descent (2005)

From this trailer we can see the convention of haunting demons fulfilled to make this a very good horror film. We can see that when the girls fall down they are surrounded by darkness and demons/creatures of some sort that are out to kills them fulfilling the typical conventions of a horror film.

The difference between the horror films from now and a decade ago, is not very big. In fact the same conventions are used in the films of today but the way the films are shot are more sophisticated and made more realistic but the basic narratives and conventions are the same as back in the day.