Walk the Line

            Walk the Line is an exceptional movie. Based on the book written by Johnny Cash, the movie follows his life with great detail. The music is of the utmost importance. Johnny touched the lives of many people with his music and the movie does a good job of portraying it. Sounds are used to enhance the movie and accompany the music. The two main actors are Joaquin Pheonix and Reese Witherspoon. They both employ different but effective methods to portray their characters.

Music

            Since Walk the Line is about a musician, music is a very important function. We hear Johnny change his tone and words throughout the film. The start of the film shows Johnny’s music reaching a wide audience; even in prison he is famous. The repeating sounds of the song in the beginning built a sense of the drama that is to come. The film uses music to characterize the actors. When Johnny starts looking for the record label, he is playing mostly religious music. He learns soon that it won’t work. With the movement trough the movie, the music evolves with the character. The relationship between him and June is shown to mean more when they start duets. Music was an important part of the movie that leads the characters trough their lives and the film.

Actors

            The two main actors in this film are Joaquin Pheonix and Reese Witherspoon. Joaquin was known to be a natural. In an interview with Reese, she said that he just came out and sang. This leads me to believe that he was more of an inside actor. He became the person and was able to just be him and act like the real Johnny without acting. Reese was the opposite. She had to take time to learn the songs and practice. She worked from the outside and analyzed the part to learn it. This movie made both the actors practice dramatic acting. The movie centers of the relationships between Johnny and June. Joaquin is also more of an impersonator in his acting. He takes on the role and becomes completely submerged, making it seem natural. Reese on the other hand is more of a personality actor and you can see some of her other roles in her part as June

Sounds

            The sounds in Walk the Line often are overlooked by the music. Sounds of the guitar were used to transition between scenes. A good example of this was between the motel and the stage they use a guitar to transition between the scenes. The sound of Johnny’s thumb on the saw in the beginning of the show takes us back to a different place. The ringing of Johnny’s ears when he goes down from an overdose makes us feel his pain. After Johnny is clean, we are treated to the nature sounds. This helps us see he is clean and in a more natural state. The sounds used in the film heighten the experience, especially when accompanied by the powerful musical score.

            Walk the Line is an excellent film. It is told in the words of the man himself since it is a direct interpretation of the book penned by himself. The music in the movie was one of the most powerful parts. It is the movement and evolution of the music that takes us on the journey. The music is accompanied by the different sounds. Sound is used to transition us from scene to scene and also highlight parts of the movie. The actors Joaquin and Reese do a good job of portraying the characters. Even with the different methods the actors use to portray their characters, we find ourselves entertained and involved in their story.

The Dark Knight

            The Dark Knight is the newest installment to the Batman franchise. It follows Batman Begins and show a distinctly different feeling. The use of color through the movie shows the difference between the two movies. We are treated to the new look of a clean and vibrant city. Of course, the Joker gives us a splash of color that entertains. Music is treated with respect and given a large role. It is used to accentuate the different parts of the movie. I am going to discuss the different parts of the movie while focusing of the director, music, and color.

Music

The Dark Knight utilizes music to influence the emotions of the moviegoer. At the end of the movie the music takes a dramatic change. After talking with Gordon, the music makes me feel like Batman is becoming better. He takes on the risk of being blamed for death and destruction. The music starts out slow and builds into a full-blown melody with hard hitting drums. It heightens the sense of sacrifice. This is a stark contrast to the beginning of the film. The music here is simple and clean, this directs the viewer to follow what is happening between the different robbers. When the scenes change, there is a high note that gives us a sense of movement in the film. There is a constant ticking noise in the background that also gives us a feeling of movement. Whenever there is talking between the robbers, the music dies down so we can continue to watch the interactions.

Director

            Chris Nolan directed both the Dark Knight and Batman Begins. He is known for his fast-paced and exciting films. But, I also find that he develops the characters throughout. He is actually very new director. He has been credited with 10 films, two of which were on your list for this week, Memento was the other film. He is known to do things like show parts from the ending of his films and introduce characters with their hands. Nolan seems to direct films that grey the line between good and evil. With the Dark Knight we have a vigilante that is waging war against the mob. Batman is doing good deeds, but he is also breaking the law constantly. In Memento, the main actor is unable to remember what has happened, so he is unable to approach situations with full knowledge and therefore cannot be held to a normal good and evil standard. Nolan is known for his inventive and complicated films. He has also revived a dead franchise with the Batman movies and is going after Superman next.

Color

            The Dark Knight is known to be a dark movie. There are lots of dark scenes in the movie. The Joker however, brings a splash of color to the movie. With the green hair, white and red face, and the purple suit he is always in color. Even the string he uses in the beginning of the film is multi-colored. The dress of the Joker shows his disdain for the normal and is even offensive to most of the other characters. But, it also shows that he acts and thinks different and that is a key part of his character. Even the city is shown to be different. Batman Begins shows us a dark and sinister city. It mirrors the feeling of corruption. In the Dark Knight there is a more colorful and vibrant city. There are more shots in the full-on daylight. This displays that the city is becoming more clean and under law and order.

            The Dark Knight is one of my favorite films. It follows the feeling and tone established by Batman Begins. This is a new and fresh outlook on the series, and is long overdue. The director is known for his exciting and interesting films. He uses the characters to show that there is a grey line between good and evil. Sound and music give the movie a dramatic tone that amplifies the viewer’s experience. The splashes of color throughout the film highlight the Joker and the city. I believe the Dark Knight is Chris Nolan’s greatest achievement so far. I am looking forward to what he is going to do with the Superman revival.

Sin City

            Sin City is a film that stood out to me. It’s primarily three different people’s stories and they all end up connected. It is based on a graphic comic written by Frank Miller. It is shot primarily in black and white while utilizing color for certain effects. The film uses several different camera angles along with different effects.

Film Choice

            Sin City is shot almost entirely in black and white. The movie also uses smooth-grain film to give it a very sharp picture. I thought it was interesting because you would think of black and white to be grainier. Certain parts of the movie contain color. Blood is shown as bright red. One of the characters is shown in a puke yellow color. The eyes of certain characters are shown in their color to heighten the effect. The film used color to give more dramatic effect to certain times. When one of the characters is chopping up another, blood is being thrown around and is a stark difference to the black and white film. Even the use of white is seen when one of the characters is covered in bandages after a fight with the police.

Camera Angles

            This film, like others, uses different camera angles. In the end of the movie, you are looking down on the mobsters from the roof tops. This shows us that the mobsters are smaller than the women on the roofs and are likely to be the victims.  There are a few examples of low angle shots through the film to give us a sense of a dominating presence in the room. Jessica Alba’s character is shown from the perspective of the audience when she starts her dance on the stage. 

Effects

            Sin City is full of different effects. There is a scene where you are focused on a character’s face and then the focus of the camera changes to a person in the background. When one character jumps out of a window we are caught looking up at him with a sense of movement due only to the building in the background rushing past. Movement is also achieved by the fixed placement of a camera on a car and the outside world rushing past. You know that it is not real, but I believe that was the point of the scene. A character whose ambitions and motives are evil is portrayed in darkness with only half of his face illuminated.

            This movie is a good example of several different types of effects. The lighting, focus, and feeling of movement is exemplary. With being shot in black and white with a smooth-grain film, it gives us a feeling of being in a different world and time. The splashes of color that make it onto the screen that draws our attention to certain objects, characters, or events. Sin City was a great film that was able to maintain its ties to the graphic novel.

Slumdog Millionaire

            Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a man who goes onto the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The main actor uses the show to try and contact his long-lost love. He ends up doing better on the show than anyone expects, and wins a million dollars. The authorities arrest him for cheating until he tells them his story and why he knew the answers. Throughout the movie, the director utilizes different points of view, different film stock, and lighting effects to achieve dramatic effects.

Points of View

            Most directors utilize several points of view in their films. In Slumdog Millionaire, there are several good examples of different types. The most common is the objective point of view. This is when you are seeing things like through a window. The scenes of the main character sitting in the chair of the game show and you are able to see the other person and some of the audience is a good example. The movie contains chase scenes where we are looking over the backs of children that are running. This exemplifies the subjective point of view. Indirect subjective points of view are also used when the children are running when we are looking up at them in the slow motion sequences.

Film Stock

            Slumdog Millionaire utilizes both types of film stock. There is the normal or smooth-grain stock. This would be when we see the characters sitting in the chairs of the game show. Another example would be when the character is waiting at the train terminal and sees his love in the crowd. She turns and looks up at him and her face and clothes are extremely sharp and detailed. My wife even made the comment that she looked, “extremely pretty right then!” The films chase scenes utilize the rough-grain film stock. The shots are grainier and less clear. This was used to heighten the sense of drama and also the carefreeness of the boys. 

Lighting Effects

            One of the most notable scenes with lighting effects in on the game show. The whole audience is lit up and then the music and lights change to draw up to only the main character and the host. In the end, the main character is lit up when answering the last question he is also filmed in smooth-grain stock. The scene is switched to his brother who is dark and filmed in rough-grain stock. This gives us a distinct feeling of hope for the main character and the end of his time for his brother. The last scene I am going to talk about is the train station again. When he spots his love in the crowd, the lighting on her is extremely bright and natural when she looks up and smiles. This gave me the impression that all was going to be ok.

            Slumdog Millionaire, like many movies, uses many different techniques to achieve dramatic effect. With changes in lighting and film stock, the audience feels hope or despair. Utilizing several different points of view highlights the affects that the director was trying to achieve. The movie is quite good at displaying the happiness of the boys in stark contrast with their living conditions.

Batman Begins

            Batman Begins is the story of the origin of Batman. This movie is a radical departure from the previous movies and has a different feel and tone. The purpose was to give a new fresh look at a series that had become stale and cheesy. In this blog, I am going to address character conflict, the title, and irony.

Character Conflict

            The early part of the movie, Bruce Wayne is portrayed as a whiny teen. He develops an internal conflict with his early sense of revenge for his parents. They also show that there is conflict between Bruce and the rest of the world. The directors morph this into a further conflict between Bruce and the underground of Gotham. Later in the movie we learn that the people currently responsible for the destruction of Gotham are led by the same people who trained him. The major conflict can be categorized as verses himself in the beginning to external conflict against the underground.

Title

            With the changing of the Batman series, Batman Begins is a good title. It gives clear meaning to what the audience is to expect. We can gather from the title that this is to a new beginning to the series. Watching the film, the title does it justice. We learn the origins of the characters and go through the beginning of the creation of Batman. There is also a set of the new Gotham and addressing of characters. In all, the title is a perfect one for the movie.

Irony

            Batman is not a movie that you would expect to be ironic, but there are good examples. In no way does the movie center around it though. One of the most significant types of irony is when Bruce saves Raz al Goul from the temple. Later in the film Raz leaves him to die, even though he saved him earlier. Another good source is the end scenes with Bruce and the head manager of Wayne Corp. The manager told him earlier that his company was bought by many different charities and groups. At the end, Bruce tells him the same exact lines to the manager in how he purchased back his company. It was also ironic how the directors had the main love interest tell Bruce that the good people do nothing, when in fact he was out fighting crime.

            Batman Begins is an aptly named movie that does just more to entertain. With the use of characterization, irony, and an appropriate title we are introduced to a new series. The director made an entirely new world for us to visit and become a part of. The entertainment factor of the movie is high with gripping visuals, but more importantly, there is a story and characters that we can really buy into. The film establishes a different world from our own where crime is rampant and heroes are needed. There is little problem with the audience buying into the reality that has been created.