Joe Leggett's Film Blog

How useful has an  ideological critical approach  been in understanding the  binary oppositions  of  your key texts ( Trainspotting  + ? )  How useful has an  ideological critical approach  been in understanding the  narrative resolutions  of  your key texts  (Trainspotting +? )  Binary oppositions Life-Nothingness Rock-Dance Heroin-Ecstacy Society-Individual Friendship-Family/selfishness Scotland-London Thatcherism New Labour/Blairism

One Week (1920) One Week was the first film that Buster Keaton released by himself. Keaton plays the everyman and the clown (the groom) in the film. Sybil Seely plays the bride. The film is based around Keaton and Seely trying to build a house from scratch. The film largely references the cubist movement of the early 20th century with the recurring gag of the spinning house. It was encouraged in the 20s to build your own home which is referenced throughout the course of the film. The camera work in One Week should also be highlighted. The High Sign (1921) The Scarecrow (1921) Cops (1922)

The genre of my film is a dramatic boxing film. A boy named Antony aspires to be a boxer and his dream quickly turns into a reality when he meets Mickie Walker, a boxing trainer. He begins to train him and before he knows it, Antony is 7-0 in the ring, knocking out everyone in his path. Eventually, the nerves kick in and Antony meets his match and gets knocked out. From there, it is Antony's path to redemption where he vows to win the welterweight championship of the world. I focused on the use of camera angles in this movie to illustrate certain impressions for different shots. For example, I use close ups in scenes which are emotional. I use a fair amount of dialogue (specifically in three out of ten scenes) but only when necessary because I believe that the mis en scene is more important for telling the story. I took inspiration from 'connect'. The film utilises camera angles well and does not rely on dialogue to tell the story. The mis en scene is very well thought of...

Ideas for film and poster 1 Plot-Boxing/mma movie. Teenager begins to train mma and gets good at it. He has some issues to do with depression but overcomes it and wins a boxing title at the climax of the movie.  Cast-Antony(boxer), me(opponents), mum(boxer's mum), ben(ref), nik(trainer), izzie, tyler Names: (Antony)Boxer-Antony 'razor' Blades (Mum)Boxer's mum-Lucy Blades (Ben)-'Ref' (Nik)-Steve Miller (Joe)-'opponents' (Grandad)-Antony’s grandfather (tyler)-background character (robbie)-supporting artist Locations-Boxing gym(rent), garden w heavy bag, woods Genre-Drama, sport Beginning-Boxer goes for a jog with music playing in the background and over lay of narration saying about how he will become the greatest boxer. Starts to have boxing fights and wins by knockout every time Middle-Tragic news, a death in the family, he begins to take drugs and then gets knocked out and fails a drug test. He becomes dep...

Timbuktu's representation of females can be perceived in different ways. The film directed by  Abderrahmane Sissako in 2014 deals with social issues in middle-eastern countries. The movie can be seen as in support for women as it is arguably raising awareness about the in-just that we see in the movie. That is definitely the consensus view. There are some very strong leading female characters in the movie. Kidane's daughter, Toya, is one of the most important characters in the movie. Women do not have many rights in Mali, but as a child she is probably exempt to these. She talks to the boy that she is not supposed to talk to, she shows no fear, and she is an icon for freedom. This is shown in the last scene as she runs away into the unknown. Out of all of the intimidating characters in the movie, it is still the little girl who runs away from it all and arguably wins at the end. Also, the crazy lady who is in a few scenes is a strong representation of women. She is very b...

Pan's Labyrinth, a film made in 2006 and directed by Guillermo Del Toro, explores many themes during it's story development. One of which is gender. The captain is the most stereotypical 'manly' man that you could create. He is arrogant, powerful, intimidating and brave. On multiple occasions, he shoots and kills people, some of which are not even his enemies. However, the film explores gender in a good way, as Pan is not a stereotypical female. She is strong-minded, witty and brave. This is shown numerous times throughout the movie. At the end of the movie, she sacrifices her own life to save her brother's. There are links between the patriarchal system and the way Spain's society was under the fascist government. This links to the theme of rules or rewards. The movie's plot arguably uses political influence in the form of the underworld. In the real world, Ofelia sees that things are unjust and horrible. However, in the underworld, there is a fair system i...

Character Krist Erwin is 23 year old guy who was born, raised and is living in Aberdeen, Washington. He has always been lazy and a bit of a douche. Despite his laid back attitude, he is nervous and very introverted, this shows when he is around people he is not familiar with. His family have disliked him from a young age, since he is rebellious and does not live by their 'standards'. His parents are annoyed at the fact that he drinks and experiments with marijuana to help combat his anxiety. He is skinny; scruffy; has un-ironed clothes; his hair is unwashed and a light brown colour, to the medium length; has a stubble; and has very bad posture. When his parents used to constantly kick him out, he used to go and stay with his uncle or aunt, or any friends or even random people he came across. He does not work because he gets fired from every job he tries to do. He enjoys sitting by his window playing guitar and listens to the popular grunge bands of the time (1993), such as Ni...

Name-Krist Erwin Gender-Man Age-23 Family/background-Mum and dad reject him because he is rebellious. Working class. Appearance-Skinny, scruffy, un-ironed, cheap clothes, unwashed messy brown hair, stubble bad, bad posture. Reside-Aberdeen, Washington Pastimes-Homeless, living from house to house because he got kicked out by his parents Job-None Ability-Can sing/play music Weakness-Depression Motivation-His carelessness Goal-Originally none but changes to focus on a girl since she is helping him overcome his depression Antagonist-The girl's father (and his depression) Set in-1993

Under the Skin is a movie released in 2013, starring Scarlett Johansson. It is directed by Jonathan Glazer and fits under the drama genre. The movie had a budget of 13 million dollars and produced a box office of 7.2 million dollars. There are many talking points surrounding the movie, including the question 'what does it mean to be human?'. There are dark themes in the movie surrounding murder and sexual violence. These link to predators and victims. In the latter stages of the movie, the protagonist character who is played by Scarlett Johansson begins to show human traits and finally show signs of human life. She runs through the woods to escape a man she earlier met, only to be forced into a sexual assault scenario. As an alien, the situation confuses her, so it is interesting that the character still instinctively struggles and tries to escape the situation despite having little experience of knowledge around this. We also learn about empathy and kindness from the movie...

We need to talk about Kevin is a film released in 2011. It was directed by Lynne Ramsay who had previously made the short film, 'Gasman'. The film was released under BBC films with a budget of 7 million dollars. The film profited with a box office of 10.8 million dollars. The film can fit under both the thriller genre and the drama genre. With themes of betrayal, jealousy, relationships, love, violence, mental health, parenting and isolation, the film is rather dark and goes into a few topics which others would not go into. The film is about a woman named Eva (played by Tilda Swinton), who seems to have an enjoyable, active life. This changes when she is pregnant and starts to evidently become depressed. The situation grows worse when the baby is born, and shows clear signs of evilness from then on. The opening scene of the movie shows Eva enjoying herself in some kind of tomato festival. It is here that we start to see the importance of the use of colour throughout the mo...

Brazil is a film made in 1985, directed by Terry Gilliam. It is of the dystopian genre and is set in a future which ironically turned out to be rather inaccurate. The plot is very unclear throughout the whole movie, but this is done with clear purpose. Although the plot is hard to follow and often leaves the viewer wondering why they are watching Brazil, it is very thought-provoking and interesting to watch, which is why the film is so watchable. The plot was not believable at all but this was all part of the genre. The central goal of the movie was probably to express the opinions and views of the people who made the film, more so than to deliver a message or entertain the viewer in a certain way. A lot of symbolism was used in the film and there are many theories as to what the symbolism actually represents. An example of this is the flying scenes and especially when the ground begins to rise into the skies. The characters were complex and hard to break down. The acting was ...

I Origins, released in 2014, is a drama-romance movie based around a man named Dr.Ian Gray. Ian Gray is a scientist who specialises around eyes and the scientology behind them. However, his life is changed when his lover dies tragically. From there onwards, the movie explores the possibility of an afterlife and the links that has to eyes, while linking to themes of spirituality, conspiracy and afterlife. Despite the plot being out of the ordinary, it feels strangely realistic and it definitely believable. It is likely to leave the viewer contemplating whether or not something like this could actually be real. The film develops at a good pace and doesn't have any plot holes in it. The central goal of the movie was likely to just make people more open-minded about potential possibilities like this. Many people are very ignorant to believing anything that they can't see, and this movie highlights that through Ian Gray. The movie make a strong impression on the viewer in a sens...

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/harvey-weinstein-allegations-scott-rosenberg-hollywood-who-knew-film-industry-sexual-assault-latest-a8004291.html As the Harvey Weinstein story continues to develop and grow, more and more new information is being brought into the media. Recently, actor Scott Rosenberg has admitted that he was aware of the situation involving Weinstein and has apologised to the victims that he did not admit what he knew sooner. The article says that  one of the most frequently-heard comments is: “I had no idea. No one knew. We would have done something.” This statement has plenty of truth to it because despite the fact that everything is now out in the open. There are still plenty of celebrities and icons who look as though they are just denying what they know so they are not involved in the situation which is the wrong thing to do. Also, the article state that former 'Hole' front-woman  and murderer Courtney Love has had ...

(Film analysis twice in a row because Oscars are Sunday) Feed is a movie that was recently released in July last year. It is directed by Tommy Bertelsen who previously directed Ed Wood and 7th Heaven. The drama has an incredible plot that is not only very good cinematically and thought-provokingly, but also raises issues about mental health. The film follows a girl named Olivia, in her late teens, who has a very close bond with her brother, Matt. During an argument in the car between the two, they crash and Matt dies. However, Olivia continues to see and hear Matt at times that are important to her. This turns horrible as Matt causes her to have an eating disorder and fall behind in life. The central goal of the movie was to raise awareness about what it is like to live with a form of anxiety in an eating disorder. It is extremely relatable for viewers who are going through, or have previously gone through a form of anxiety or depression. In addition to that, it turned out to be...

Attitude Era is an hour long documentary made by WWE Studios which looks back at the highlights and developments of the WWF/WWE during a time period in the late 90s known as 'the attitude era'. The documentary was probably made due to high fan demand and to compare the era to the modern era of WWE which is much more family friendly and different. The documentary definitely gives off that impression. Directed by WWE creative head Kevin Dunn, the film pushes its boundaries as to what it can show and in some cases it is rather surprising that the company would present this to its current audience. The narration is done very well as it is mainly done by wrestlers that wrestled in that time period, so it is an exclusive view inside what it was like to be a part of the events that were occurring on the screen. The documentary almost provides a nostalgic viewpoint and it represents all parties and all manners in a fair and just way. The content of the documentary is extremely e...

The Condemned is a movie directed by Scott Wiper and was released in 2007. It was released by WWE movies and Lionsgate. The movie fits into the action genre. It could also be considered part of the crime genre too. The plot follows the protagonist character, Jack Conrad as he is placed in a game with around a dozen criminals on death row to fight to the death, with the winner gaining freedom. The plot is not overly thought-provoking and it is a film that is easy to watch. The goal of the movie was probably to show people that chasing money for the wrong reasons (like the people who created and streamed the game did) is usually a bad thing and you will face consequences for it. Generally though, the movie was made to simply be an action-packed feature film. The film has themes of violence, survival, nature and battle royale. The main star of the film was Jack Conrad who was portrayed by 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, former WWE professional wrestler. The character suits the ...

Fish Tank is a British movie that was released in 2009. Written and directed by Andrea Arnold, the film fits into the drama genre, but has themes of poverty, isolation and pedophilia. The plot insists of a teenage girl named Mia who lives in East London with her mother and younger sister. Her life changes when her mum starts a relationship with a man who does is not like the family in any way. The plot is very thought provoking at times and it is very realistic in a sense that scenarios like this could (and might have) easily happen in real life. The setting of the film greatly affected the story as the whole area was poverty-filled and poor. The goal of the movie could have potentially been to raise awareness about child pedophilia or getting too close to people who you aren't familiar with. The characters felt very real and gave off the impression of people that you would meet in your every day life, which makes the aftermath of the film seem even more shocking. The main actor...

Opening scene The opening scene of Trainspotting is widely regarded to be one of the most iconic scenes in British movie history. It does a great job of showing you what to expect for the rest of the movie, jumping straight into explicit scenes. The music that plays throughout it while Renton reels off all of the things to 'choose' sets the fast pace and adds an action-based effect to the scene. We get to see all of the main characters here and one of the sub-plots of the movie (Renton trying to get off of heroin) is set. Most of the camera shots are close ups or mid shots in this scene as it is still trying to develop the characters and introduce them to the viewer. The lighting in the house is very dark and miserable. This directly contradicts the light from the previous scene of being outside, and it also contradicts the music which is still playing in the background. This creates a strange effect on the audience which makes them not too disturbed or sad by the scene, d...

The Strange Ones is a movie that was released in January 2018. It was directed by Christopher Radcliffe and Lauren Wolkstein. The movie doesn't have a clear genre but it is best described as a drama or a thriller. The themes in the movie include suspense, abduction and it is generally a messed up film. The movie was a typical critic's pick movie and had a lot of realism to it. At the same time, a lot of the film was very hard to tell between what was real and what could have been some kind of hallucination. Generally, the plot was very strong and brave in terms of the fact that not many other films would have been brave enough to explore the themes that this film does. Although there was not a clear message in the film, it definitely aims to trigger the emotional side of the audience and make them think. The acting from the two protagonist characters, Alex Pettyfer(Nick) and James Freedson-Jackson(Sam) were very good. They perfectly nailed the type of character that they ne...

Jigsaw is a movie that was released on 26th October 2017. It is a continuation of the 'Saw' franchise that recently came to an end after the seventh movie. Directed by Michael and Peter Spierig (who previously made movies such as Daybreakers and Undead), this movie falls into the Crime and Horror genres. It is a very violent movie and undoubtably has themes of gore, deranged and generally messed up. However, in correlation with this, parts of the movie focus more on the crime side. In comparison with a show like C.S.I. or N.C.I.S., there is hardly any difference between what the audience is getting at times. While trying to maintain their previous audience from Saw, the movie is clearly trying to broaden its marketing to reach some newer faces as the film looks to have been modernised a bit and puts emphasis on using a diverse range of actors from different backgrounds.  The plot has some major twists in it and is well-thought of, but the main focus on the film is the game...