Stream of the Week- Emma

There is nothing I love more than a Jane Austen film adaptation. The always exciting and deep female leads of her novels make for great films, at least in my opinion.

Emma is the story of a lovely girl named Emma Woodhouse, who proclaims herself a matchmaker among her friends. Her endeavors for some couples prove to be successful, but in the case of her best friend, Harriet Smith, Emma proves to be completely unaware of the emotions of other. Emma attempts and fails several times to find Harriet a husband, and in the process finds herself emotionally confused as well regarding one of her oldest friendships.

Emma Woodhouse is played by Gwyneth Paltrow, who portrays her as a kindhearted girl with the most sincere of intentions. I love to listen to Emma's logic as she goes through the mental process of matching her friends. She seems to miss things that appear so obvious to the audience, and makes such a production out of her opinions. Paltrow carries this film and raises the level of the cast around her.

Harriet Smith is a rather simple girl played by Toni Collette. Her character is one that an audience pities as she falls in love with three completely different people throughout the film, eventually ending up with the right one.

The real attraction to this film, at least for me, is the knowledge that it will all work out. Some films you watch with no idea of how they will end, but because this film is an Austen tale, a viewer can watch from the beginning knowing full well that everyone will end up with the right person. I have always been fond of these kinds of films, probably because I was raised on Pride and Prejudice and have a fondness for Downton Abbey. They may be classified as romantic movies or films directed towards women, but I believe if you like a good story, and see the value in witty characters, then you can never go wrong with an Austen adaptation. Emma is no exception. I love this film and I think that if you are in the need of a happily ending story, then you should give it a watch.

Fun Fact- The musicians in this dance sequence, though real players, are not actually playing the tune which is playing on the soundtrack. Watch the bows and you'll see the movements don't match up.

What the heck is a gaffer?

While watching the credits at the end of a movie, one can come across quite a few strange job titles. Everyone in a movie should get credit for what they do, so here is a quick little list that should help you decode the cryptic language of movie credits.

The Gaffer- A Gaffer is a person responsible for the electrical planning and production of lighting on set. They wire the lights and sometimes design the lights on set. They are called the Gaffer because originally their job description required them to control and move overhead lights using a "gaff"(a large hook attached to a long pole). Gaffers are managers of their department and in charge of large amounts of people that all run lighting on set. The Gaffer's assistant is known as the Best Boy.

The Best Boy- Best Boys are assistants to their department leaders, acting as foremen for their bosses. Best Boy grips work for the Key Grip. They handle the transport and upkeep of equipment on set as well as coordinating the lighting and photography departments. Best Boy electric's work for the Gaffer on lighting and the setting of equipment. Best Boys are responsible for hiring and scheduling workers as well as managing equipment and day to day operations.

Craft Services- Craft Services, believe it or not, is in charge of snacks. (yay!) They provide buffet style snack settings as well as sometimes provide security for certain departments depending on the set. They are not caterers because catering refers to sit-down style dinners provided by a different group of people. You need coffee? Craft services. You need Twinkies? Craft services.

Foley Artist- When making a film, there are little things that you don't even realize are there until you watch the raw footage. When recording, voices are recorded, but sounds like footsteps and closing doors and those sorts of things are lost. A Foley Artist is the person who goes back in a recreates those sounds in a studio full of props. They watch the film on screen while making and recording real-time sounds to match the action on screen. You get swords clinking, punch and fight sounds, footsteps, clothes swishing, and general movement sounds from Foley Artists.

Focus Puller- I hate films that have shots that go out of focus. To me, it seems like they aren't trying or paying attention which is why a Focus Puller is really important to the outcome look of a film. A Focus Puller is on a team of camera operators and is in charge of keeping every shot in focus. Sometimes they have equipment to focus for them and other times they have to physically rotate the rings on the lenses of the cameras. This job is very important to keep the overall quality of the film.

Stream of the Week- Cheerful Weather for a Wedding

Is it tragically romantic or a romantic tragedy? Perhaps you are not supposed to know. Either way this film is utterly beautiful. Between the period clothing, the cinematography and the wonderful performance of the entire cast the film Cheerful Weather for a Wedding is worth the try, even if only to look at.

The second I switched it on I saw characters from Northanger Abbey and Pirates of the Caribbean. There were Downton Abbey cast members and even one from Selfridges. The leading lad was a character I recognized from my favorite film- Attack the Block. Everywhere I looked I saw familiar people acting together as one collective cast. It was believable that all these people I knew as different characters all together would somehow be related. It truly felt as though before the film even started you had missed an entire past which linked them all together wrapped up with a 1932 date setting.

The most important thing to remember with this film is that it is not intended to tell a huge story. It is more of a depiction of real life. Characters are flawed, our heroes being the most, and the good guy doesn't win. People are unhappy and everyone has an agenda. That's life, and perhaps that's why this film exists. But maybe this movie has some deep meaning and message beneath it. There are certain points in which major statements are suggested. Imagery is used throughout to convey to the audience an almost political point.You can see that in all the shots that contain one form or another of animals.

Cinematography wise, the contrast between the gorgeous grays of the present and the saturated colors of the flashbacks show how intertwined the past is with the moments of the relative present. I know you think I am acting far too dramatic over the beauty of this film, but really it is shot in a way which feels like it could be real if only you weren't so sure you were dreaming it.

Observe-

This is a shot from the present of the action in the film (the day of the wedding). The grays are enhanced, and the yellows are highly desaturated. This makes everyone look so pale and character's costumes almost blend together.

This scene is part of a flashback, in which the Dolly is truly happy. The sunlight is shown with a yellow hue. You can see depth of color, with darker shadows and brighter highlights. Nothing blends in together.

The ending is the twist that audiences want and it makes up for the lack of action in the film in general. This is not a "here is the meaning of it all" kind of film. It doesn't scream it's intentions at you, and if you blink you just might miss the point of it all, but I believe that if you listen and you watch, you will learn something from the story. You know that before you came into the story to watch there were events occurring and histories made, and as you leave you know that they will keep going on. Perhaps not a satisfying ending if you are looking for the answers, but if you see it as just a snippet of a lifetime you won't be so disappointed with what you get.

"Fond is a word we use for someone we cannot love"

Elizabethtown Red Theory

If you haven't watched Elizabethtown yet, then this won't make any sense (ps why are you still here if you haven't seen it?). I think an important thing to note when watching a film is that there are always intentional details placed on screen for you to observe without you really thinking about it. Let me show you what I mean.

When we first really get to know more about Claire, she is on the phone with Drew. She's just hanging out walking around her normal life, right? Wrong. It's more than that. She is being imprinted on us through a common color that is then used throughout the film- red.

Red shirt= Claire. Now wait for it cause it's going to come up again. Ready?

 

Bam! Red sheets. Claire= Red. This color association is important for the plot of the film, but the viewer doesn't know that yet. Subconsciously, they are associating Claire with red because we always see her with red.

 

Drew and Claire meet up again after the phone conversation and surprise surprise, guess what color Claire is wearing. Red.

 

Here it is again. This time it's more muted and not so much in your face, but the red is still there.

 

The next big occurrence of Claire red is at the end. "Look for the girl in the red hat." Much easier said than done, because the director uses red again to draw our eye through the scene.

 

Okay he's looking around, and he doesn't see Claire. Nope. But there is a lot of red drawing our eye back through the frame as we look for her too.

 

Ok, maybe she's not here. Red is starting to go in the opposite direction of his gaze.

Red begins to make our eyes come to the front of the frame- jumping from that red balloon in the back to the hat and then to the shirt of the lady in front.

Omg- it's Claire. Red Hat!

Eye is drawn forward to her. Nice hint of roses in the back as well adding to the red and to the ambience.

Final kiss and Claire is the only red in the shot. This helps us identify her as Claire, the love interest and we are drawn to her because of the red.

 

So that is how red is used in Elizabethtown. You may not have realized it, and to be honest with you I didn't either until I saw it a second time. Now maybe you will start to see patterns like this in other films. There is a lot that goes on in movies that we aren't aware of up front. Just Watch. Learn. and Love.

 



Stream of the Week- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

 

 

I didn't know anything about this movie, but when I saw it today I had to try it. I can honestly say I have never seen anything quite like it. The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is kind of like someone said "What if you could erase all the memories you had of a person." The idea behind it seemed so crazy and out there, but because the characters are written so realistically it works.

 

The main character is Joel played by Jim Carry. He is this "stick to the rule book" kind of guy who never seems to do anything impulsively. In contrast in Clementine, who is played brilliantly by Kate Winslet. She has a personality that makes her magnetic. You are drawn to her and her craziness. She changes her hair color to the brightest colors and does things that bring Joel out of his comfort zone.

 

Often I find movies to have a technical aspect for me to comment on, but  I think you should see this movie purely to be immersed in the storyline. It brings to light many questions like - Are people who are right for each other destined to be together? and Should someone have the power to remove others from their lives entirely? Maybe they shouldn't.

 

Kirsten Dunst is also in this movie playing the character Mary. She may be just a side character, but she has the most insightful line of the entire movie. She quotes Alexander Pope and says- "How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray’r accepted, and each wish resign’d". The meaning is something that can be determined by each as something different, but how ever you chose to make sense of it, this film is something to be thought about, watched, learned from, and loved.

 



I couldn't help but make the connection between this and Elizabethtown.



If you want something extra to look for while watching this film, then try this. All the books in the Barnes and Noble where Clem works are turned around. The titles are missing and maybe this is a stylistic choice showing how Joel couldn't remember them or showing the emptiness behind it all or maybe it can just be taken as a copyright kind of thing. Either way it's a cool thing to notice in the film.

Thor- The Dark World

I just saw Thor- The Dark World, and I was impressed. Often I find that "superhero" movies are a basic plot of establish hero, establish bad guy, put girlfriend in peril, put the world in danger, beat bad guy, save girlfriend, end happy. Don't get me wrong- Thor was totally that simple, but it's the details that made it feel like it was more than that.

From a script standpoint, the action was well broken up with dialogue sequences and comedy for the most part. In the middle, the action did come on a little too heavy leading to almost a lost of audience investment in the action, but it was soon ended with a dramatic scene (which I will not spoil, because that would be mean). The "one-liners" were for the most part tolerable and well placed making them feel less cheesy. Most of these comedic lines, of course, came from Darcy, Jane's friend.

Visually, almost all of the settings in the film were computer generated. But with a story like that of Thor's, I believe it was almost necessary. If you watch closely, you will see images that are reminiscent of other films. For example, there is a funeral scene (for who, I will not tell) in which the deceased is pushed off in a boat over a waterfall. This looks really similar to Lord of the Rings and the "burial" of Boromir. At this ceremony, the inhabitants of Asgard released lanterns into the sky- very much like Tangled. The antagonists ship looks like the tower which holds the eye in Lord of the Rings and there was even a line in the very beginning spoken by the "bad guys" that I swear contained the word "nazgul". I found it entertaining to see all of these similarities. Be on the lookout because I am sure there are more.

The acting, as always, I thought was really well done. Every character was well cast and I believe as a collective they presented a film which audiences could feel invested in. Loki became a character that I think audiences will begin to root for, in a small way at least, and I think that Jane Foster was stronger than the typical superguy's girl. (Thor of course was great, because how could he not be.)

Overall I think that this movie is well worth your time. I hope it does well, because it is obvious a lot of time, energy, and work went into it. If you have time this weekend, go check it out. And for those with the patience, there are two extra scenes at the end. One is way after the credits, but if you like happy endings I think you will want to stick around for it. The last words on the screen, of course, read "Thor will return." I hope it is as good as Thor- The Dark World.

Stream of the Week- Elizabethtown

There are some films that make life seem perfect even though it's screwed up. Even though you messed up something huge, even though your life is altered by how unfair everything is and even though you don't think you can ever get up again- life is still perfect. If it were any other way than what it is now, you wouldn't be yourself and the world would be a worse place off without you. This film is one of those films. It shows you how much there is to live for even when you don't believe you want to know anymore. Elizabethtown is not a love story. It's not a tale about people finding themselves. It's not sad. It's not happy. It is all of the above.

Elizabethtown starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst was released in 2005. If you read the IMDb page, you'll hear something about an outrageous memorial for Bloom's dad and an "unexpected romance" between Bloom and Dunst along the way. The film though is not as simple as that. Bloom has lost everything. There is no point lower than what he has hit yet somehow this crazy positive, life-loving flight attendant refuses to let him spoil his life for himself. Everyone needs that kind of person.

Kirsten Dunst is Claire. She can tell you all about a person from their name. She knows how to get you where you are going without you knowing it and she is insistent on you finding exit 60B. She can light up a room with nothing to hold her back. Claires, though, are always substitutes.

Orlando Bloom is Drew. Normal, by most standards except for his own successful and a man who has lost his passion. Little did he know he was a flight to Louisville away from being the happiest man on earth. Drews are also substitutes, but two substitutes together seem to be the right answer.

Do not despair, dear viewer, I know the first few minutes of this film seem slow and uninteresting, but trust me it gets better. I promise you; it is worth every magical second. Few movies leave you with the feeling that it's okay for the movie to be over. You don't need to see more than what they give you, because you know now that it'll be happy whatever their future may bring.

As this comes to a close let me leave you with a last look. Drew is great at collecting last looks-

 

(Plus Paula Deen is in this film. How could you not love it?)

Throw on your Tie-Dye- It's my list of 80's loves!

There is something different about 80s films. Their plots often have a different depth to them than that found in modern movies. The dialogue seems to have interludes of comedy, and the music is always right on. Check out a few of my favorite films from this very culture rich decade.

Footloose 1984-
I love this movie. I want to just learn how to dance and make it my life's mission to learn how to dance awesome sequences in warehouses. Kevin Bacon makes this movie magic, and that is definitely proven by how sad the newer version of Footloose turned out to be. Classic. Must Watch. Totally worth the big hair and crazy outfits that you might have to endure venturing into the 80s.

Clue 1985-
If there is one thing I love it's a well written comedy. Clue not only brings out the big names, but it also brings together a dry, sarcastic type of humor that I identify with and a recognizable subject- The Game of Clue. Who doesn't love a good murder mystery with a twisted plot? My suggestion watch all three endings (yes there are three possible endings). It makes the whole experience even more wonderful.

Spaceballs 1987-
As aforementioned, I will always love a good laugh, and I sort of have a soft spot for John Candy so this one is a no-brainer. This parody is funny without being too gross and it has makes fun of itself, which in my opinion is very loveable in a screwball comedy.

The Breakfast Club 1985-
This is one of those movies that is a classic, but I couldn't tell you why. There is nothing about it, to me at least, that screams "I will change the way you live!" That being said, I still think it is a must if you are having a throwback day. It is a defining moment and not just a film to be referenced by the cast of Pitch Perfect.

Say Anything 1989-
You have seen the picture before- John Cusack holding up the boom box with that expression of "I love you come back" on his face. If you didn't know where that came from then you have not enjoyed the finer bits of the 80s yet.

Heathers 1988-
It's an ending I didn't see coming and a movie that will keep you on your toes the entire time. I will always love movies about rebellious teens and high school drama (um I'm currently in high school, films are much more entertaining than what really happens on in the halls), but this one has a totally different vibe. Would you like a plot twist? If the answer is yes then watch this film.

This is just a quick list and maybe you don't want to know what was going on in the 80s film wise, but hey if you're curious then give some of these movies a try. Who knows, you just might like them.

Forrest Gump- A tale of textiles

In case you missed it on my other blog-

I love the story of Forrest Gump. I love the characters, I love the history, I love Tom Hanks, I will forever consider Forrest Gump my hero. I re-watched the film today with my dad and I came across something that I hadn't really observed before.

The first time we see Forrest is on his famous bench in the iconic blue plaid shirt and khaki suit.

As Gump's story evolves we see the reoccurrence of the blue plaid signifying different important events throughout his life.

I'm serious. Some people spend their entire lives looking for things like these in all kinds of movies.

Observe.

When we see Forrest as a young kid the pattern of Forrest's plaid is small. He is innocent and young. He has much to learn.

This first plaid, as observed in the first picture of Forrest as a kid, is the pattern associated with Gump's "Magic Shoes" and his first understanding of the world around him. He is sheltered and unsure of what is out there, and thus his knowledge, like the size of the print, is small and limited.

The next version of this pattern is the shirt that we see Forrest wearing on his first day of school. The pattern is altered now- having more than just the blue that we have seen him in so far. Gump is adding new elements into his life- Jenny, school, the appearance of exclusion in his life- and because of that his pattern of plaid is more diverse because he is taking this all in.

 

This next same pattern is used when Forrest loses his braces and first becomes aware of his speed. This point in the film is very important to the story line because throughout the rest of the film Forrest uses his running as a transition from one phase of his life to the next.  

The next blue plaid is larger- showing the passage of time. Forrest is grown up and knows much more about the world then he did, but he is still subject to the same kind of ridicule as before which is why the pattern is echoed from previous shots in this scene. This blue is where Forrest is introduced to football, removing him from the environment which he has become comfortable with on the winding road leading to his house which he has been chased down for many years.

For a while there is no plaid because Forrest is in the army. That entire sequence is signified by the constant uniform worn by Gump. The next blue plaid is introduced during Gump's shrimping days. It's a relaxed blue plaid and with the rolled up cuffs it shows that Forrest is hard at work and fitting into this new part of his existence.

The next most prominent plaid is when Forrest begins his run across the states. It's similar to the varieties of blue that he wears when he is with Jenny, but the big difference, at least to my eyes, is the pattern of the pockets creating a visual opposition to the rest of the pattern. They cross differently showing Forrest's internal confusion. He's thinking about Jenny- same pattern- but he is lost on what to do next, so he just starts running. This allows for the next transition in his life.
 The next appearance of the blue is when Forrest is telling his story on the bench and he learns of his son, Lil' Forrest (cutest thing ever). To me though the entire sequence of plaid ends when Forrest is sitting with Forrest at the bus stop and he is wearing the iconic plaid blue (of course the red hat is added, sort of like Gump's BubbaGump red hat as seen in previous picture). It shows the full circle of the Gump legacy.

Of course there are more plaids in the film used to highlight important events, but the point I wanted to make was there is a lot more going into the thought of an overall picture then we are aware. We are hit with our main character wearing blue plaid in the first shot, if we don't have the continuation of that pattern throughout the tale then we might not associate that first shot of Forrest as the "iconic" Forrest Gump shot.

Now that you have endured my rambling on about plaid, you may continue your life as before.
Enjoy!

 As a bonus........

Observe the similar striped pattern on Lil' Forrest and Papa Gump.

It's a connection you may not have made unless you thought about it, but

their outfits were planned so that you would make the connection between the

two of them- both Forrest but just a little bit different.