“The Conjuring” creeps nightmarishly, “Fast and Furious” fares recklessly. No overhyped nor forcibly pretentious as such , “La La Land” by Damien Chazelle is still hailed as a blockbuster although it starts with a rock-bottom budget and the plot mainly revolves around two sheer lives of two young people. Initially, I believed the reasons for that predestined success lay in the pageant of the film, which was brilliantly represented through colorful sequences, be it the part on a gridlocked freeway in which Angelenos pouring out of their cars twirling and dancing or possibly scenes in which two protagonists holding hands to cover Los Angeles with their bittersweet courtship. I also fell headlong for brilliant snatches of music by Justin Hurwitz …show more content…
He is obsessed with classic jazz. In his approach to work, he is a proud idealist in that he aspires to play free jazz and holds a grudge against modernized one, however, he continuously feels oppressed and affronted by the prospect of compromise. To make ends meet, his high ideals of being a free jazz artist have to pave the way. At the first scenes, movie-goers observe Sebastian depicting a kind of precarious living in which he is stuck with playing piano in a restaurant where he is ordered by the boss to play the set list of Christmas tunes when what he wants to play is his own style of music. The more he plays, the more he launches into a sense of dissatisfaction, which in turn spurs his tunes into a bombastic snatch of music, serenading audiences into the free-style song of his own. Having broken the order, he pays the price by being fired from the current job, which, albeit bitter, justifies his love and enthusiasm for free jazz. Chazelle, with the same way as he does to Mia, sets out the story regarding Sebastian by subjecting him to a period of misfortune in which he has hardly any money left, however, at the same time, provides him with a sudden windfall : an offer from Keith, his old friend, the guitarist, singer, and leader of a successful jazz-pop band called the Messengers. Keith invites Seb to play keyboards with them, suggesting the prospect of them going on a world tour, having record deals for major labels, plus some juicy extras. This storyline has reached its crucial juncture, making Sebastian torn between having no money but capable of pursuing his dream and swallowing his pride to bend himself to giving up on his pure acoustic, bop-centered jazz. It seems to be evident that Seb would choose to pursue his burning ambition, nevertheless, Chazelle puts a plot twist in the storyline which dictates Sebastian’s only position to
Chicanos and Chicanas are often stereotyped by people based on crude and unfair assumptions but at the same time, these stereotypes are often based on the truth. Movie directors are no exception as they attempt to understand and give representation to entire Chicano/a and Latino/a culture in society. The trailer of the film, La Mission, Che seems to be happy with his life until he realizes his son, Jes, is gay. Che then finds himself in a struggle to accept the homosexuality of his son while at the same time, Jes is struggling to find his own identity and to fit into society. The trailer has distinct ways in how it represents and shows the intersection and issues of gender and sexuality, race and ethics, as well as class. The trailer represents
ii.Sonny was so serious about being a jazz musician that he stayed at the piano day and night at Isabel’s house when he moved in with her. “At first, Isabel would write me, saying how nice it was that Sonny was so serious about his music and how, as soon as he came in from school, or wherever he had been when he was suppose to be at school, he went straight to that piano and stayed there until suppertime. And, after supper, he went back to that piano and stayed there until everybody went to bed.” (Baldwin,
The noir style is showcased in Sunset Boulevard with its use of visually dark and uncomfortable settings and camera work, as well as its use of the traditional film noir characters. In addition, the overall tone and themes expressed in it tightly correspond to what many film noirs addressed. What made this film unique was its harsh criticism of the film industry itself, which some of Wilder’s peers saw as biting the hand that fed him. There is frequent commentary on the superficial state of Hollywood and its indifference to suffering, which is still a topic avoided by many in the film business today. However, Sunset Blvd. set a precedent for future film noirs, and is an inspiration for those who do not quite believe what they are being shown by Hollywood.
The film Sunset Boulevard, presented in 1950 is a black and white film. The film is about Norma Desmond an old actress, who has issues accepting that she is becoming old. The main actor in the film is Gloria Swanson, who plays Norma Desmond, an older woman who believes she is still young. Desmond is not content with the fact that Hollywood has replaced her with younger actresses. The next actor Nancy Olson, plays Betty Schaffer who falls in love with Gillis despite being engaged to his friend. The third actor is William Holden who plays as Joe Gillis, who has financial problems and decides to turn himself into a gigolo to earn money. The dilemma with Joe is he does not want Betty to know about his job because he knows he might lose Betty as
Besides an initial voiceover narration introducing Ray Kinsella (Kevin Cosner), his beloved wife Annie (Amy Madigan), and their young daughter Karin, this is the first scene in Field of Dreams, released in 1989 and directed by Phil Alden. The voice-over establishes the expectation of the film as being a sensible story about a loving couple trying to run a family farm in Iowa, and the subsequent scene (pictured above) quickly deconstructs that expectation. While working in his field one night, Ray hears a voice whispering “If you build it, he will come.” From then on, there are no more misconceptions about Field of Dreams being anything but an unapologetic fantasy in which an Iowa farmer mows down his fields to build a baseball diamond where
Gran Torino is an interesting portrayal of communication dilemmas, spread out across several characters and in particular that of main character Walt Kowalski. After the death of his wife, Walt is bombarded with unwanted attention from several angles and attempts to “deal” with the attention to the best of his ability. There are many examples of communication struggles in the film, but they all seem to follow a similar pattern, and that is distance in time and culture. I’d like to focus on some of these communication barriers between his family, neighbors and priest and see how some of these walls got broken down, or could have been removed more easily.
Music is something that allows people to express feelings and emotions that can’t be easily said out loud. Sonny in James Baldwin’s “SB” turns to music as a temporary getaway from his family conflicts and drug addiction. He said “it's the only thing I want to do” for the rest of his life, and it’s the only positive thing in his life (Baldwin 32). Though his brother sees jazz as a connection to Sonny’s drugs and detrimental to his life, Sonny
Film Analysis of Life Is Beautiful “La vita e Bella” is an Italian film; Roberto Benigni starred as the main character, Guido Orefice, and also directed it. The film was contentious because of the way Benigni presented its content of the Holocaust with an unlikely comic slant. Some people thought that it showed a misrepresentation of the concentration camp, whilst other thought it showed the triumph. However, in March 1999 it was nominated. for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.
Sunset Boulevard is a hollywood classic film that digs into the aftermath of the sound era caused. Sunset blvd came out on August 10, 1950. The film was directed by Billy Wilder, produced by Charles Brackett, and starred William Holden and Gloria Swanson. Sunset blvd shows us the aftermath of Norma Desmond and how she is stuck in the past of silent hollywood. The darkness and bitterness that many silent movie experienced after they were kicked to the curb once sound came. The film is has a classic dark drama/comedy that is one of the most acclaimed films in film noir history. The film touches on the loneliness and narcissism that silent legends were enduring. The mood of the film is immediately established as decadent and decaying by the narrator of a dead man floating face down in a swimming pool in Beverly Hills.
“There once was a time in this business when I had the eyes of the whole world! But that wasn't good enough for them, oh no! They had to have the ears of the whole world too. So they opened their big mouths and out came talk. Talk! TALK!” (Sunset Boulevard). The film Sunset Boulevard directed by Billy Wilder focuses on a struggling screen writer who is hired to rewrite a silent film star’s script leading to a dysfunctional and fatal relationship. Sunset Boulevard is heavily influenced by the history of cinema starting from the 1930s to 1950 when the film was released.
The first moment music is introduced in the story is while the narrator is teaching at school. He has just learned of his brother arrest. He overhears a schoolboy whistling and it drowns out the “mocking and insular laughter of the other boys” (44). The narrator listens and is, for a moment, reminded of the fate that could meet his students; the same fate that met Sonny. He describes the whistling as “pouring out of him as though he were a bird” (44). It is innocent, pure, and drowns out the bitterness of his peers. It is reminiscent of a much younger Sonny. A Sonny that is still hopeful and still believes he can escape the demons that lurk in Harlem. The young schoolboy is creating this music to avoid and protect him from the dangers of his life, much like the way Sonny did in his younger years when he was playing for his life on Isabel’s piano.
The story “Sonny’s Blues” By James Baldwin is about a jazz musician and his brother in 1950’s Harlem. The story centers on Sonny who uses jazz music as an escape from his depression. James Baldwin captures the art of jazz during this time period. The themes in this short story are perhaps varied, but all of them revolve around some form of suffering. One theme shows how music can promote change and understanding within relationships. A second theme reveals suffering caused by guilt. Yet another theme references the results of suffering brought about by searching for ones’ identity and how that leads to misunderstanding. There are also subthemes concerning racism and poverty.
The director Antoine Fuqua vision for this film was to bring that intense love-hate relationship onto the big screen and showcase it for the world to see. To ensure a convincing film setting, Fuqua shot on location in some of the most hardcore neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Fuqua also wanted to show the daily struggles of officers tasked to work in the rougher neighborhoods of cities and how easy it can be to get caught up in a street life filled with killers and drug dealers. Overall the film displayed the city of Los Angeles in a different perspective. One which m...
12 ANGRY MEN, is basically a story play written for broadcast on CBS in 1954 by an American playwright Reginald Rose. In 1957, Rose finished the screenplay for the movie version, which was co-produced by him and Henry Fonda (Juror#8). The movie was directed by Sydney Lumet. This movie was nominated for many awards like Academy awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best writing, Screenplay based on Material from another Medium, and an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay from Mystery Writers of America.
The film, Fruitvale Station, is based upon a true story of a young, unarmed African American male, Oscar, who was shot by a Caucasian BART police officer. The film displays the final twenty-fours of Oscar Grant’s lives going through his struggles, triumphs, and eager search to change his life around. There will be an analysis of the sociological aspects displayed throughout the movie that show racism, prejudice, and discrimination.