MYST Q2 #2: Oblivion

Oblivion is a great example of a good sci-fi. You have a great plot, an interesting cast and breathtaking enviroments.

In the movie Oblivion we're introduced to a world that's quite different from our own. Almost everyone on Earth has relocated to Saturn's moon Titan and we get to watch the lives of two people that are still on Earth. Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) and his lover Victoria Olsen (Andrea Riseborough. They are there to protect and monitor giant offshore fusion generators and once they stay their for a certain amount of time, they are allowed to go to Titan. This all changes when Jack detects a beacon signal coming from the Empire State Building.

The ship that Jack uses is one of the coolest looking I've seen in a sci-fi film lately and the weapons and other gadgets that are scattered and used, also capture the sci-fi feel of this film. The set pieces that Jack visits such as the decaying and worn down Empire State Building, the old baseball field, the desert, even a log cabin near a lake are all perfectly used and really give you a sense of what happened? Why is everything like this? Even the ending, which I won't spoil will have you scratching you're head and wondering did that really happen?
Oblivion is one of my favorite recent films and for that I'd give it a

  

MYST Q2 #1: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

 Writing this review is quite difficult for me because to be honest, I didn't really enjoy this film, looking back at it now I understand why.
Mockingjay in all entirety isn't a bad film, especially if your someone who hasn't read the books, the film is essentially just setting itself up for it's Part 2 big finale.

I'll just dive right into my gripes with the film and highlight what the good points at the end. My number one problem with this movie is its pacing, it's horrible, I read the books so I knew what was going to happen and before coming into the theater I really enjoyed the third installment. It was my second favorite(Catching Fire is the best imo) but leaving the theater afterwards I just had a bad taste in my mouth. In the previous films they mostly all consisted of battle royal theme where they had to fight, form alliances and hope they made it through a night in the arena alive. Thrilling right? In this film we are taken out of the arena and thrust into the open world of Panem, a bleak and apocalyptic world that is really just boring. In fact most of this film really lacked color. No more fancy suits for or bright lights it's war time so everything his either gray or black. I understand the need to show just how bad things have gotten, but even the capitol seems to have lost it's pizzazz in this film, what happened to all the fancy suits and dresses, the glitter, bright lights, neon colors? It's something that I passed over when I was reading the book but it just seems out of place in a world that had so much color at one point.

I also found it strange how long the film seemed to drag on, especially near the end. The overall message that we repeatedly got was to get Peeta back. Get him back, and I don't know about other's but reading and then watching the film , it seemed like they really made it longer then it should've been. I understand the need for this since it's a two part film although I wish they did something different with it. The film wasn't all bad however, i throughly enjoyed the actual moment of the Peeta being rescued and the whole scene that follows and I thought that the ending was the best of the film, hopefully the next one will really capture what made the first two amazing. Overall I'd give this film

Formal Film Studies: Found Footage Horror Films

I have always loved movies, the way they're made and the stories each one tells has always captivated me, horror films however are somewhat of a foggy point when it comes to my portfolio in film watching. That changed though, when I went to go see the movie Cloverfield, and I was introduced to a more real type of horror film, the found footage film.

The first film I decided to watch is actually a bit different from the other two in that isn't rated R, it's rated PG-13 and while this may not seem like it would make that much of a difference(I thought this as I started watching it.) It actually make it stand apart in its own way. Cloverfield is the story about a few friends in New York who were having a party when an apparent earthquake strikes the city, the friends leave the building to survey the damage when Hud(Camera Operator) zooms in and spots something monstrous a few blocks down. Now with all the three of the films I watched each one shared a few common traits, one of which being camera shake, this film probably containing the most, as explosions were constantly occurring  throughout the entirety of the film up until the last moments where there still was a bit of shaking going on. Another thing that all three of these films shared was their soundtrack..or lack thereof. This film had no real music through out it, the only sound being the constant screaming from the female of the group whenever something bad happened and the sirens that blared through the air as they made their way through New York. One other thing I happened to notice from this film and one other was the surprising durability of the camera's that they had with them, the only thing that really affected the camera's would be some dirt or muck from it falling or being knocked onto the ground.

REC was the second film I watched and apart from the two others this is a Spanish horror film so I had the subtitles on throughout the film, something that wasn't really a distraction but nonetheless is important if you have difficulty reading and watching something at the same time. REC is about a television reporter, Angela and her cameraman, Pablo who go to film a night shift at a Barcelona fire station. While they're filming, the station is called about an old woman who is trapped in her apartment, going with the fire apartment they break down the door to the apartment to discover something horrible. Once the film really starts moving you receive a sense of fear and chaos that doesn't leave you till the credits roll. The actors in the movie all played their parts extremely well, you get scared when they do and you hold your breath alongside them. Another thing they did well was make it seem like it was an actual recording by a news crew, and not some cut and dry little reel done by an inexperienced intern. The realistic lighting throughout the film also adds to the feeling of fear which is impressive considering the budget which was only $2 million dollars, compared to the $25 million Cloverfield and the $12 million Quarantine.

As I included at the end of my last paragraph Quarantine was the last movie I watched and rightfully so. I had actually seen this movie before so I was excited to revisit it. On paper, Quarantine is basically a worse, american version of REC, but after watching both I can say that while I believe REC to be better, Quarantine has it's own bits and pieces that help it stand out from the other two. One thing that I enjoyed was the sheer amount of people in this film, which coupled with the few gory moments really helped instill that sense of helplessness, because by the end the death toll was alot higher, and that was something that differentiated it from the tiny cast of REC. Something else I noticed was that the lighting for this film was a bit better, allowing us to see the scenes easier and didn't take away from the creepiness either. One part in this film however added a sense of "How does that work?" when the cameraman appears to beat a zombie to death with his camera and then goes on resuming, nothing at all wrong with his camera, as if he never had to beat a zombie to death.

All three of these films are great and each one should be seen because of what they bring to horror genre, the first person view you get in each one adds a sense of realness, as if you were actually there, and that for me, was the scariest part.

MYST #2: The Maze Runner

What an interesting movie The Maze Runner turned out to be. I don't want to lie and say that I instantly loved The Maze Runner when I read it, in face the first time I tried reading of it I got bored within the first few chapters and decided to drop the book then. Two years later I brought the book with me on a summer vacation and on my way home from the vacation, I read all three books in the main trilogy, having a better understanding and taking my time to appreciate what the books were, a great read.

Seeing the first trailer for the film got me very excited that one of my favorite series of books was coming to the big screen, and it looked great so I wasn't worrying that much that this would turn into a crappy adaptation of a great book, and for the most part I was satisfied. The premise for the film is rather interesting, a boy wakes up in an elevator with no recollection of anything about himself or how he ended up there. Soon he reaches his stop, and is greeted by a group of boys who he doesn't know. Quicker then he can remember his name he is integrated into their society, becoming a Glader. A member of the society that lives in The Glade, trapped inside the ever changing puzzle, The Maze.

 

While I thoroughly enjoyed the movie I had a few complaints with the pacing and the rather rushed ending, which were both problems that I encountered within the book. Also the movie did change a few things and left some stuff out from the book which I can understand due to time restraints. Overall I give The Maze Runner: 

4/5 Grievers 

MYST #1: The Perks Of Being a Wallflower

Back in freshman year we were told to choose two books to read for English 1. One of those books happened to be The Perks of Being a Wallflower and as I read through it I fell in love with the story of the shy, awkward boy whose name happened to be Charlie. After I finished reading the book I Wikipedia'd it and to my joy I saw that a film adaptation was being produced, so I waited, and waited for it to come out and then once it did, I didn't go see it, and alas I thought I would have to wait to catch it on TV at a later date but that would not be the case! On Christmas later that year I received a copy of Perks Of Being a Wallflower on DVD and immediately went to watch it in my room. Popping it into my DVD player I relaxed as I let the awesomeness start. Charlie is entering his first year of high school and with that, a problem arises for him, can he make friends with anyone other than his English teacher? Enter Sam (Played by Emma Watson) a beautiful, smart, and funny girl who instantly captivates Charlie and Patrick(Played by Ezra Miller) the flamboyant yet friendly brother of Sam. With these two new friends Charlie's life changes as new and old problems arise. Once I finished the movie the thought hit my head that this is a movie that every teenager should see, as it not only captivates that audience, it speaks to them.

I give this movie

5/5 Ezra Millers

Film Intro Survey

1. What is the first movie that really made a strong impression on you?
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower
2. What are 3-4 of your favorite genres
• Dark
• Sci-Fi
• Teen
• Fantasy
3. What are 3-4 of your least favorite genres?
• Romantic Comedy
• Silent
• Musical
• Historical
• Drama
4. What are your five favorite films?
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower
• End of Watch
• Spirited Away
• Super 8
5. List three characteristics of what you consider to be a good movie?
• Engaging/Relatable Characters
• Character Depth
• Originality 
6. What are some of your least favorite movies?
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• Salt
• Star Wars Episode I
7. List three characteristics of what you consider to be a bad movie?
• Boring characters
• Short 
• No character progression
8. Favorite directors?
9. Favorite actors/actresses?
• Logan Lerman
• Jesse Eisenberg
10. Three films that are important films for people to see
• Jaws
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower
• Spirited Away
11. What's your oldest favorite film?
• Jaws
12. What's the best movie you've seen that's been released in the past two years?
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower
13. What are the next five films on your "queue"?
• Horns
• Project Almanac 
• The Giver
• Fury
• Mortdecai