Christian- Fenwick, Phillpott, On The Run

Phillpott--Blade Runner and Replicants

The movie Blade Runner deals with the complex question of what make someone (or something) human? In Blade Runner, there are Replicants (humanoid robots) that live amongst the post-apocalyptic Los Angeles community. According to "A Film Pro Dissects Sci-Fi F/X Unsurpassed after 25 years," the Replicants are genetically engineered humanoids that do the hard work on off-world colonies. They were made by the Tyrell Corporation, but are difficult to distinguish from “real” humans. They have all the qualities of humans. They have emotions, and they are able to communicate and live amongst the “real” humans (those born “naturally) without giving their true identities away. They act like they are human, and in the case of Rachel, she doesn’t even know that she is a Replicant.

In Blade Runner, the Replicants are subjected to a “human” test to prove whether or not they are Replicants. In the movie, the androids are seen as being below humans socially. Yet, the irony is that the Replicants seem more human than the real humans. They only have a four year life-span so they live each moment to the fullest. They don’t hold back on their emotions like the humans in the movie do.

So, their behavior begs the question of what is human? Are you a human solely based on genetics, or can you be human if you were made by humans? Is being human defined by your actions in life, or by being born from a human mother? I think this movie does a great job with exploring this question. The idea of human should not be restricted to our limited understanding. Blade Runner truly proves that the Replicants are more human than humans.

Phillpott--Casablanca

The movie Casablanca does a great job in quietly pushing its political message. The movie opens with Rick being "neutral" in his view of the war. As the movie slowly progresses, he takes a more active role in the things going on around him. He chooses to help Victor and Ilsa escape from Casablanca to America. This shows a deliberate decision he has chosen about the war. Somewhere along the way, he decided that America and the allies were the "good guys" and that the Germans needed to be stopped. In fact, he has to shoot the German officer to stop him from catching the couple when they are making their escape. Rick makes the decision of letting the good of the world outnumber his own happiness. He would be happier running away with Ilsa, but he knows that Victor is very important to the war and Victor needs Ilsa.

I have chosen the scene where Rick helps them escape. The lighting in this scene is dull and the background is lost in the fog. The fog is used here to show that what happens in this particular scene will effect what happens in the world. The war will be influenced by whether or not Victor gets away from Casablanca. The characters in this scene are positioned in a very thoughtful way. Rick is situated in the middle of the frame because he is representative of America, and this film was trying to push that America had to take a stand against the Germans. Victor and Ilsa flank either side of Rick because they will be affected by what he does. Their characters represent the allies because they needed America's help. The space in the frame for the three characters is cut-off by the police chief and the airport employee. These two characters represent the enemy because they are the forces in the film that could stop the escape from happening.

Everything in this movie has been meticulously staged to push the political message to join the war. Casablanca does not use political expediency like most movies do. It does not remain neutral; in fact it promotes a direct political decision. I think this movie pushes its own agenda in an intelligent and affective way.

Phillpott--The Social Network

I thought the best feature from the movie The Social Network was the portrayal of Mark and Eduardo's friendship. The entire movie Mark is a bit of a jerk, but for some reason Eduardo is his friend (and basically his only "true" friend throughout the entire movie.) He supports Mark in anything Mark wants to do when it comes to Facebook. The movie unfolds their relationship in small increments. By flipping between the two lawsuits and what happened up to the lawsuits, the audience is allowed to see what truly happened. It is not from one perspective; the audience sees everything as it really occurred.

I thought the character development of Eduardo was the best in the entire film. He starts off as Mark's friend who puts up the money to start Facebook. Then, he becomes the CFO of Facebook. Eventually he is screwed over by Mark and loses almost everything he had as a shareholder of Facebook. In the end, we are presented with the summary that he and Mark settled on an undisclosed amount for the lawsuit. I found his character fascinating because even when Mark begins to push him aside for Sean Parker, Eduardo still is just being a good friend. Then to see him get so anger at Mark when he finds out what Mark has done to him was just brilliant. His reaction was exactly how you imagine someone who has been pushed over the edge would respond. Mark has lost the only person who really likes him for "him." Everyone else just wants to be his friend because he is rich and the inventor of Facebook. In my opinion, seeing them go from friendship to hatred was the strongest part in the entire movie. I really enjoyed seeing The Social Network because of this.

Phillpott- George of the Jungle

One of my favorite scenes from George of the Jungle is the dance scene with Ursula and George. It starts out a bit silly. George is moving his body around and beating on his chest, while Ursula looks on unsure of how to join in. George doesn't care what he looks like because he is just having fun and enjoying life. His movements seem rough when compared to the apes that are playing the music for them. The apes move smoothly like a band would move while playing music. George appears to have no rhythm; yet, in a weird way his movements are lyrical. Eventually, (but very slowly) Ursula joins in by mocking his movements. When they each begin to dance this very different type of dancing, the whole scene becomes very sweet and romantic. Their movements eventually become very fluid, and it doesn't matter that they are not dancing "traditionally." What first started as comic turns into a major part of their relationship development. Their "first" dance shows Ursula that George could be seen as a man. George also helps Ursula realized with this dance that sometimes you don't have to be embarrassed to have fun--sometimes it just doesn't matter. I think the movement in this scene is beautiful. Everything comes together and the audience can really begin to feel the love they have for one another as the characters experience it. Their dance together proves that you can be who you are without fearing what others will think. The movement in this scene helps covey the message of love despite one's quirkiness.

Phillpott--My Avatar

My avatar is a famous writer who publishes at least six books a year. They are all bestsellers, and she is very rich from them. Her books have been published in over seventy-four languages and one hundred and twenty countries. She has dedicated her life to charitable works, and because of her popularity she has raised a lot of money for those in need.

She graduated with a degree in English with a concentration in Writing from a great university where she also graduated with honors. She published her first book a week after she graduated college and has been writing ever since. All of her friends work for her so they have great pay and work light schedules.

She travels most of the year and has houses in many different cities around the world. She is fluent in twelve different languages. She has a pilot license, and is a skydiving enthusiast. She takes life as it comes, but enjoys every minute that she can.

People aspire to be like her. She is often asked to give motivational speeches, even though she used to be nervous about speaking in public. Now she is very confident in herself and everything she does. She has been on the cover of many magazines, and has several friends in the entertainment and fashion industries.

She is engaged to be married in six months. Her fiancé supports her in everything she does. He owns his own successful company and is able to travel with her all year long.

My avatar enjoys writing her books, and is just happy that she has been successful at what she loves to do. She never loses sight of reality and is still very down-to-earth.

Phillpott- Beowulf and the Sea Monsters

I chose the scene in Beowulf where he is fighting the Sea Monsters because I think it needed more enhancing. The blood on his chest is unrealistic as well as the ocean behind him. The Sea Monsters also look very tacky and not as scary as they should--I mean they are vicious sea creatures that will eat human flesh! The whole sequence could have done with some more special effects, but I chose this still picture to explain my choice.

The DOMINANT is Beowulf's bloodied body and triumphant face. The LIGHTING KEY in this particular shot is high key because the lightning is showing everything for the audience to see (everything is lit up.) The SHOT AND CAMERA PROXEMIC is slightly from above and personal because we see Beowulf from the waist up. The ANGLE is looking slightly down on Beowulf and we are allowed to see the ocean rocking behind him. The COLOR VALUE is mostly a yellow glow, but the red blood on his body seems to dominate the focus of the picture. The SUBSIDIARY CONTRASTS are the knife in his outstretched hand and then the choppy ocean behind him. The FORM is open because Beowulf is in the middle of the ocean which is natural and not stylized. The FRAMING is loose because nothing is restricting him from moving freely about the ocean. The CHARACTER PLACEMENT is in the center to put all the focus on him as the triumphant hero.

Despite the fact that the mise en scene conveys the message the director wanted to show, there is still more visual enhancing they could have done. Like I said before, the blood on his chest seems unnatural. Also, there is no blood on the knife he just used to kill the Sea Monsters. He has no blood on his face and there is little blood on his body. The Sea Monsters were huge, and a lot of blood came out of them. To make this scene more convincing, there should have been more blood on Beowulf's body. The ocean in the background also seems fake because there is no dimension to it. It is unnatural. If the makers of this movie had wanted to really make this a great film they should have done a lot more editing and enhancing.

Phillpott- The Wolf Man

It is evident from both Wolf Man movies that the times have changed in regards to movie graphics. In the 1941 version, the change from man to wolf man was strictly left up to the audience's imagination. The film did not have subordinate aesthetically pleasing technology. The movie showed Lon Chaney Jr.'s legs go from human to hairy "wolf" legs in gradual increments over a few seconds. Then, the film showed that Lawrence Talbot had suddenly had a complete transformation into a werewolf. The audience is forced to suspend their disbelief without help from believable makeup or costumes.

On the other hand, the 2010 version held nothing back. The audience simply had to sit back and relax. There was no action taking place in the dark. Everything was front and center for the audience to watch and comprehend. The new transformation was achieve through CGI. Although, some may think the CGI wasn't very believable it allowed the audience to see exactly what this monster entailed. You are allowed to see the bone structure change. You get to see his eyes become a wolf-like color and shape. The audience also is allowed to see his "attacks," blood and all. The transformation also shows how Lawrence Talbot's face grows a snout to become wolflike. The computer generated images in this version may not be the most believable so the audience might have to still use their imaginations in regards to this film. For both versions the audience has to suspend their disbelief, but you will always have to do that when watching a monster movie!

Phillpott- Inception

I have chosen a picture from the movie Inception because it is the last movie that I have seen. The dominant in this picture is Leonardo DiCaprio's character holding the gun. He is in the center of the frame, and your eye is drawn straight to his hand with the gun. The light seems to illuminate his face for the audience to see him better, and so they can see his intentions on his face. The lighting also helps to show that he is the important element in this scene. The camera procemic is social because we see the two characters from the waist up. The character procemic is personal because the two characters are close together. They are not touching, but they are only about a foot or so away from one another.

Mise en scene allows the audience to analyze this movie in depth. You not only have to see what the characters are saying, you must also see what the director is trying to convey. The message in this frame is that the two characters are bracing themselves. They are on edge looking to see if someone is following them. The gun being the dominant helps convey the message of strength and intensity. Mise en scene in this frame shows an emotion the director wanted the audience to feel: on edge.