I will now focus and get on with the main point of this blog, to talk about films.
This weeks screening with Andy consisted of watching the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption. After hearing many positive reviews about this film and being told that it was "A classic that you just have to watch" I was really looking forward to getting the opportunity to finally see this film. However after watching the first 5 minutes of this film I realised that I had, despite my previous thoughts, already seen this movie on television a few years prior to this screening at the academy and really liked it.
Overall i have to say that i have to say that i really enjoyed watching the Shawshank Redemption. I felt as though the characters were well constructed and thought that the voiceover running throughout the film added a further sense of depth and emotion to the story, as well as serving it's purpose of informing the audience and moving the plot along. Alongside this i also felt that the non-diegetic sound also helped to enhance the film by tapping in to the audiences emotions.
One of the reasons why i liked this film is because it portrayed a slightly different view of life inside a prison. When watching other films set in a jail or similar location you do not get an accurate sense of how the prisoners have been institutionalised. Within the Shawshank Redemption the audience can really see how the prison has become a home for the in-mates. Within this film you can see that the prisoners have been in jail for such a long time that they literally don't know how to function in a world outside the prison. In a world where they are able to make their own decisions and be independent thinkers, when watching the film you get a real sense that many of the characters have forgotten how to be in control of their own lives, when the pressure gets to much they can be seen to either commit or contemplate suicide.
I have to say that i enjoyed watching this film. I feel that some of the messages and themes portrayed are quite realistic as it reflects what is taken away from a person when they recieve a prison sentence. Not just a persons freedom , but in the long run it can change the way a person functions and lives their life once they are released, and this change may not always be a positive one.
On a lighter note, I also got the chance to watch the remake of the movie Fame this week. Although I am not a die hard fan of musicals I went into the cinema wanting to be entertained by the singing and dancing at the very least. I realise that musicals are not particularly well known for their amazingly deep and intricate plots but whilst watching Fame I didn't feel emotionally invested in the characters and found myself not really caring if they succeeded at the academy or not. I felt that too much time passed to quickly within the film, obviously they were trying to reflect the characters journey throughout their time at the school, but I felt that as soon as i was becoming interested in what was going on with a particular character the storyline moved to a different year and different group of characters.
I also felt that there was a distinct lack of good quality songs within the film. Although I have never seen the original version of the film I was still aware of the Fame song, "Im gonna live forever. Im gonna learn how to fly-high!" etcetera etcetera. Therefore I was slightly disappointed when this song did not even appear within the film, only in the credits, instead the film was filled with unmemorable songs that left no impression on me after leaving the cinema. Im not sure if the film was lacking in quality due to the fact that they had tried too hard to modernise the movie to make it stand out from the first version, whatever the explanation I dont think that the risk payed off. I also didn't appreciate the negative representation of the one film maker within the movie. This character was represented as geeky, klutzy and a bit of an idiot. Overall not a fair and accurate representation of film students, if i do say so myself! When looking at the movie generally I think that the film served it's purpose of providing a light form of entertainment, but it was not suited to my particular taste.
Moving on, one film that I did enjoy this week was Toystory 3D. As a child Toystory was always one of my favourite films, and i remember distinctly it being the first animated film i ever watched. One thing i love about Toystory is that it taps into a child's imagination, I remember wishing that my toys would come to life and start to talk. The characters within the film have strong personalities and some of the jokes may go over a child's head, yet appeal to adults and parents watching the movie. After re-watching Toystory I was suprisingly not disappointed as I have been when re-watching so many films I enjoyed as a child. I love the world that is created within the film, its a place that is slightly comforting to me and one which even as a child I always wanted to be part of. Even when I was very little I remember pretending to be characters within the film normally Little bo peep, Jessie from Toystory two and occasionally Woody, my little brother always played the part of Buzz Lightyear. However, like Buzz my brother also believed that he could fly. The games eventually came to an end when my brother jumped off the bed and broke his elbow whilst trying to fly like Buzz. The point is that this film had an impact on many young members of the audience and influences their games and life choices, I feel that this has to be the sign of a good children's film. One of the only negatives I have to say about this film is that even though it was shown in 3D I do not think that they fully maximized it's potential throughout the film. This may be because they had to adapt a film that was not previously in 3D. However i did feel that the snow during the credits was very effective. All in all I enjoyed the film, and I hope that it is just as well recieved in 2009 as it was when i watched the film as a child.
Ok so it turns out that I have more to say about the many, many, many, films i have watched this week so i may have to put them into two blogs. I will finish off this post my talking about just one more film. You've Got Mail. Not to play up to the stereotype of a typical teenage girl but i have to say that I have always really liked romantic comedies. They are an easy watch, a form of light entertainment. They are a sociable film, not only to drag your boyfriend along to, but also to watch with your friends. Granted they are predictable, you know from the start that the guy and the girl that both pretend to hate each other, but have such strong chemistry and good looks are going to end up together. But that doesn't make the journey any less enjoyable. For me romantic comedies tap into a fantasy of how you want your life to work out. I understand that this is not always a positive thing. These romantic films leave young women with unrealistic expectations about love, men and life in general. However after watching a film within this genre, like most women I cant help feeling hopeful, that maybe my life will turn out just like Meg Ryan's character. Hey our names our the same so my theory is quite possible. Any day now I will be whisked off to New York City, be transported to my wonderful new job, live in my expensive apartment and meet the a man just like the leading guy out of every romantic film you have ever watched. Okay, so Im not actually that deluded but still, I always leave the cinema feeling happy and hopeful, which really is the reason why this genre is so popular. You've Got Mail, follows the typical formula of most rom-coms, it manages to fulfill the expectations of the audience thus making it a successful and popular film. Worth a watch if you need cheering up, or want to watch what happens when the man of Kathleen Kelly's dreams and the man who is in her reality collide together and become the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with. Aww.
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