Hutchinson- Minority Report

Minority Report’s whole plot is centered around one highly controversial issue: pre-crime. With the development of pre-crime, Washington D.C. has been able to boast that they have been crime free for six years. However, there’s one blatant problem with pre-crime: the criminals being arrested haven’t committed the crime for which they are being persecuted yet. These “criminals” can’t even be truly categorized as such, for the majority of them have never committed a crime. But as Anderton points out, the pre-cogs know what’s coming, and just because you stop something from happening doesn’t negate the fact that it would have happened without your interference. The pre-crime industry argues that not only have they stopped crime from taking place in these instances, but they have curtailed any future crime, because people are terrified of what would happen should they even try. These poor “criminals” get “haloed” as soon as they are arrested. They are sentenced, without a trial might I add, to a life of watching non-stop the crime they may have committed. They are kept alive with the biological necessities in a tubular cell, but are essentially in a reverse coma – their brains work fine, but their bodies are completely devoid of movement. It is almost as if they are “body-dead” instead of brain dead. Pre-crime has made an example of these so-called “criminals.” People are absolutely petrified of what might become of them, should they decide to delve into a life, or even a minute, of crime. The citizens of Washington, D.C. have given up many of their civil liberties to ensure pre-crimes success, but it all is for “the greater good.” In exchange for peace and safety, citizens’ privacy is almost non-existent: the spiders come into their homes to scan their retinal IDs; they are scanned whenever they enter a store, or board a train; even their minds have the potential of being invaded. Spielberg made a comment after his movie came out, not long after 9/11, “Right now, people are willing to give away a lot of their freedom in order to feel safe…Where do you draw the line? How much freedom are you willing to give up?” It seems as if the citizens in Minority Report have given up almost all of their freedom in order to be safe. They don’t even have the freedom to choose anymore. Agatha points out to Anderton that he has a choice, that there is always a choice. Apparently not, because pre-crime doesn’t give you that option. The potential criminals didn’t have a choice when they were aggressively detained and carted away. They are the outcasts, the scum of the earth, all for possibly committing a crime in the future. Maybe.

Hutchinson - Casablanca

It could be said that it is hard to relate to Casablanca, because it takes place overseas in a country unknown to many Americans. However, given the time Casablanca premiered, and the nature of the film itself, it was not hard for many Americans to fully appreciate what it had to offer. It is true that the film takes place in this exotic country in unoccupied France during WWII, but that was not so far fetched for Americans of the time, because America had just entered the war. Throughout the movie, audiences really only see Americans portrayed by the characters of Sam and Rick, both politically uninvolved in struggles and undergrounds of Casablanca. These Americans symbolize an attitude that America itself had possessed only a year earlier – it’s not our war, we’re going to stay out of it. But like the American attitude so drastically shifted after the attack on Pearl Harbor, so did the attitude of Rick change after he was reunited with his long lost love, Ilsa, and no American can resist a good love story. Not only was the movie made with one of Hollywood’s leading men as its star, but it had a distinctly American feel, even in the midst of a French country. Rick’s Café is that element of comfort needed for American audiences. Even when Victor leads the French National Anthem "La Marseillaise," audiences want to stand up and cheer and sing with them. Patriotism is a concept well known and embraced by Americans, especially patriotism for the underdog good guys. In that scene, Victor starts as the central character, being the rebellious hero, leading the people in their national anthem. However, as the shots go back and forth between the Germans and Victor, Victor becomes less central, surrounded by the French citizens joining him. He blends into them, still clearly the leader, but counted among them. The lighting is almost evenly divided over every one in the scene, bringing home that concept of unity. The only people really in shadow or darkness are the band, making the audience focus on the people singing. The shot itself is public, once again adding to the theme of unity. Anyone could picture his or herself just right in there, singing along with his or her fellow citizens, representing the country they love.

Hutchinson - The Social Network

The Social Network: such a simple, yet brilliant, concept for a movie. Facebook: the website that has become as vital as oxygen to millions worldwide. The makers of The Social Network have used their common sense to make a movie that will attract millions of people to the box office; they have made a movie about the creation of the phenomenon that has become part of our everyday routines. That being said, I found Social Network to be a great movie. It was refreshing to see Jesse Eisenberg play a complete asshole, instead of the fun, loveable dork. It was even more refreshing, not to mention downright pleasing, to see him play his part so convincingly. There were times when his delivery of lines were just so perfect, so on point, that I wanted to delete my facebook account from my phone, because I believed Mark Zuckerburg to be such a pompous prick. Whether that portrayal of his character is completely factual or not is irrelevant to me; Eisenberg’s performance simply shined through the dull, dark lighting of the film. That being said, the rest of the cast – while not completely up to Eisenberg’s performance in my opinion – was still superb. The movie itself was a combination of brilliant acting, directing, cinematography, and even wardrobe. I was afraid for a while that it would look just like a movie made about the early 2000’s in the late 2000’s. I was glad to be proven wrong. It was somewhat nostalgic to see the years of my youth come alive on the big screen. The sequencing of shots was an “A+” decision as well. They take you to the past, and the present, and then the past again, but even further back this time, but then to the past, just a little later. It wasn’t in chronological order, which I believe made it that much better. It was a risky move to take, with so many people being confused by movies that don’t follow a chronological linear patter, but it worked. It made the movie. Was the film completely accurate? I’m not sure, but most movies are biased anyway. Its accuracy was not the deciding factor; how the movie was done was the deciding factor, and the movie was done very well. There was no “over the top” Hollywood feel to it. It was simple, yet not. I’d suggest to all that it is worth seeing at least once.

Hutchinson-Avatar

My Avatar is the main character from a 90's cartoon show, Sailor Moon. I used to come home from school every day and watch this show; it was literally the highlight of my life. I blame Serena, her name when not the ass-kicking super hero, for most of my personality today: good and bad. She was my idol growing up; I wanted to be just like her. I’m still not entirely sure why. Serena was always sleeping, often having to run out of her house with a piece of toast hanging from her mouth because she slept through her alarm. She was whiney, and needy, and dreadfully annoying, but for some reason I idolized her. In fact, I still do. I’m really proud to say that I am still exactly like Serena, minus the really cool ability to turn into super hero, and I’m not some secret moon princess. I’m always asleep, always. I even slept through my 8^th grade celebration of my football team winning the city championship. Ask any of my friends, it’s impossible to hang with me half the time, because if I’m not at work, I’m at home sleeping. More often than not I sleep through my alarm and run out of my house without any breakfast. I’m extremely whiney and needy to my friends, not to the extent of Serena, but I think she made me believe it was ok to be that annoying. I used to have long blonde hair, which I wore in pigtails almost every day (I never could perfect her “meatball head.”) Though she is a bit of a brat, she cares about her friends and would really do anything for them, often sacrificing herself to save them. I’m happy that I learned that from her, not that I’ve actually had to give up my life for my friends, but still, I believe I would. I picked up on her loyalty. That’s what the show was about, the bond and love among friends, and she was its center. There is nothing more important to me than my friends, just like Serena. She’s a giant dork, just like me, not to mention clumsy and spastic. I’m also going to blame my tendency to date older guys on her, because her boyfriend on the show was about 10 years older than her, though I never go that much older. That’s just gross.

Hutchinson- I AM BEOWULF

It is hard to pinpoint just one scene in Beowulf that needs to be reedited, because I personally find the entire movie a giant cinematic failure. That being said, the scene, or sequence of scenes, that seem to need more editing and enhancing are the fight scenes between Beowulf and the dragon. In particular, the scene where Beowulf is dangling perilously from the dragon’s back begs further examination and enhancement. It would appear that the animators were so concerned with getting the dragon realistic and lifelike, that they completely forgot about the surrounding images in the scene. Beowulf, though small, and therefore more difficult to portray realistically, still looks like a limp, outdated Sims character. The smoke from the fire, while creating the ominous feeling of increasing danger, simply covers up most of the background, thus creating less work for the animators. I understand that it takes a lot of time and money to create images digitally, but that is no excuse for slacking. The dragon completely dominates the scene, making its presence known in more ways than one. It is completely overpowering, so A+ to the animators for a job well done in that aspect, and perhaps to many, the ferocity of the dragon was enough to ignore the rest of the scene. However, my attention tended to stray to the video game-like appearance of the castle and its hero. In some ways, it looks like the dragon is superimposed onto a green-screen. While the camera angled up towards the underbelly of the dragon does aid in the fear of the moment, perhaps a different angle would have been more helpful to the animators. I just firmly believe that had the animators spent more time on the details of the background and surroundings, the movie would not have been as hopelessly tragic.

Hutchinson - The Hairy Beast

The advancements of digital technology have brought the visual ferocity and intimidation of movie monsters to life for modern moviegoers. Now, monsters are truly the stuff of nightmares. When the audience is first introduced to the werewolf in the 1940's version of "Wolfman," all that is clearly discernible is a dog-like animal, possibly a common wolf. While possibly a normal worry for someone camping in the woods, a dog-like wolf is hardly something that you fear will go "bump" in the night. Comparatively, the first time the "wolfman" is introduced in the 2010 remake, all you can see is a quick moving, vicious, snarling animal -- just enough left to the imagination to instill instant terror. When the wolfman actually transforms in the 1940's edition, the scenes seem to kind of pulsate as the change occurs, making it appear choppy and clearly fake. In the 2010 edition, thanks to digital mastering and special effects, the audience can actually watch the change perform, which brings a more life-like reality to it. Today, it is just easier to be frightened by monsters in the movies. They are so much more real. They no longer look like actors in make up; they look like honest to God creatures of nightmare, of myth and legend. There was a point in the 1940's version when the wolfman got caught in a bear trap. As the camera zoomed in, you could see the wolfman whimpering, a very human emotion. Today's movie monsters would not let a little trap on their foot hurt them, they'd pull it off and keep going. Digital media has made monsters much more monstrous, the way they're supposed to be. Monsters don't whimper and cry; they scream, howl, and roar as they rip apart people and buildings. They aren't really the joke they seemed back then.

Hutchinson Ocean's Eleven

The dominant in this scene is George Clooney. Because of the white of his shirt, starkly contrasted against the black of Brad Pitt's shirt and the darkness of the background, your eye is directly drawn to him. He is at the forefront of the image, even in front of Brad Pitt. The lighting is coming from the top right, shining mainly on George Clooney and Brad Pitt, making them the focal points, and casting the background characters in semi-shadow. Brad Pitt and George Clooney are in personal proxemics to each other, while the rest of the characters seem to lie in social proxemics. The camera as well seems to be in a personal proxemic with Brad Pitt and George Clooney, but more social with the background characters. All of these elements suggest that George Clooney and Brad Pitt are in charge of this scene. The characters in the background are more blurred and out of focus. True you can see them, but they are not immediately what your eye is drawn to. They are there as the support, as the team Clooney and Pitt have assembled. Clooney is the first, the dominant, the boss. However, Pitt is the second part of the image the eye is drawn to, asserting that he is second in command. This scene lays out the power dynamic of the whole movie. The characters in the background, looking waiting for Clooney and Pitt. Even Matt Damon has his face covered in the background, making him appear slightly hidden, lowly. After all, his character was the last one added to Danny Ocean's team of theives. All of the lighting and focus clearly paints Clooney as the main, head hancho.