The Meg

Posted on August 24, 2018 by C966939529

A Meg-nificant Movie Mistake

This film plays on one of the most well known fears throughout the world…How do you really know what is lurking beneath you in the ocean?

So far scientists have only explored around 20% of the world’s oceans which means we know so little about the environment, the climates, and the species that dwell below in the deep., and back in 1975 Jaws brought this fear to the forefront of peoples minds and although many years have passed, can you tell me when you go in the water you don’t still hear the chilling theme tune?

Besides have you seen Shark Week?!?! They are discovering the bigger sharks are dwelling at deeper depths and aren’t normally seen at the surface, so what else is hiding down there?

Since Jaws is one of my favourite films and got me looking at films from numerous aesthetic angles I can’t review a shark film without discussing them both!

Just like Jaws, The Meg is based on a book and is based around the deep sea research from an ocean based marine biology centre. Oh wait does this sound familiar? You bet! From 1975 lets time travel to 1999 and Deep Blue Sea. Marine Biologists are researching on a floating rig in the middle of the Ocean. I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this already aren’t you?

So lets cut to the chase and look at our big bad sharks:

Jaws:

Great White Shark

Carcharodon carcharias

25ft or 7.5ms

Man- eater

Attacks from below

The Meg:

Megalodon

Carcharocles megalodon

68-88ft or 21-27ms

Top predadtor of the oceans

Extinct 2 million years

We have learnt in recent years that giant Great White Sharks called mega-sharks do exist.

I would like to introduce you to Deep Blue, a 20 ft female Great White Shark found in the Guadalupe Islands off of Mexico. She is believed to be one of the biggest White Sharks discovered, but she is still growing. She is believed to be around 50 years old and she is still growing. She is only 5ft off the shark in Jaws, so who else is hiding down there?

“You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat”

But I digress!

The Meg has tried to learn a lot from its predecessor shark films such as:

Using music to build tension
Not showing the shark straight away and playing on the audiences’ own fears
Using Point of View shots from both the characters and the sharks

But it differs on the way it has been filmed.

To get the best shots of the actors in the water they wanted to be able to control the environment so instead of shooting in the ocean they shot in a tan. I can completely understand the reasoning behind it but it is soo obvious! You know it isn’t the ocean, purely because there isn’t anything disturbing the shots and to me it is going to scare me of the ocean because it clearly isn’t the ocean!

In Jaws they filmed in the ocean and tied ropes on to the actors and pulled them around giving the authentic feel, admittedly the shark is nothing by todays standards it gave a focal point for the actors. This is the problem with CGI because the actors are trying to act with a tennis ball on a stick for reference. I don’t care if you were the world’s greatest actor, you are not going to get believable reactions. I really believed that with clever angles and a smaller realistic model this would have been a much better film.

In my opinion, this film is style over substance and is weakened by bad aesthetic choices – CGI can only take you so far. I know it was never going to be a master piece, but I really had higher expectations, a few funny moments can’t save it.

2/5

Director: Jon Turtletaub

Cast: Jason Statham, Ruby Rose, Rainn Wilson, Li Bingbing,

Crew: Harry Gregson-Williams (Music), Tom Stern (Cinematographer)

Genre: Science Fiction Thriller (apparently???)

Rating: 12A

The Shallows

Posted on August 26, 2016 by C966939529

Jaws on Acid

The first film I ever saw that really stuck with me was 1975’s “Jaws”, I think because of the atmosphere that Spielberg created with John William’s music. The iconic Jaws theme is always singing in my head whenever I am in water, be it the sea, swimming pool or even in the bathtub!

Since this I have developed a love around shark films so I was really excited to see this one. My worry about this film was the fact that there is one main actor. Isolation films are a really interesting concept and can go either really well or really bad. Examples of this are one of my favourite film “Cast Away”, I love it was really well done but in comparison to “Gravity”, that as a different story. Gravity was visually spectacular and I love Sandra Bullock but I was so bored. So I had my reservations about The Shallows too, but they were not needed.

I loved the Jaws throwbacks. There was a lot of similarities between the first shark attack in Jaws and Lively’s attack in The Shallows.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the use of comedy and thriller at the same time. The use of the language barrier was really funny. It is a very fine line between bringing comedy and thrillers together.

One of my other worries about this film was of course the shark. Need I remind you of the shark from Jaws 3?

CGI can be either good or bad….like Sharknado being the bad kind.

The Shallows wasn’t too bad. I think they get away with it because they rely on the viewers imagination reacting to shadows and Lively’s reaction.

Another good point was the use of the surfers Go-Pro cameras and the point of view shots they gave. Used in a similar way to “Hardcore Henry” but less of a main film point. It was used as a good way to connect the few secondary characters together.

I love this film and find it really enjoyable. Blake Lively gives a really good performance and they don’t just rely on her being pretty and thin. Some films like this just rely on bikini clad girls (Piranha comes to mind) but through most of the movie Lively is wearing a wetsuit top and her attire slowly changes by ripping pieces off the suit to cover her wounds. A very good use of wardrobe.

Love love love!

Works Cited

Jaws (1975)

Sharknado (2013)

Jaws 3 (1983)

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Cast: Blake Lively

Crew: Anthony Jaswinski

Genre: Survival Thriller

Rating: 15

Lights Out

Posted on August 22, 2016 by C966939529

“Takes your childhood memories and makes you think…what if?”

This is my kind of film! Horror is one of my favourite genres IF its done right, and this is a great example of it. I have seen other horror films this year but none that really caught me and left a lasting impression. This one did.

I think as a child everyone is scared of the dark and this film really plays on this fear of the unknown. I think at some point everyone thinks they have seen something moving in the shadows and this films makes you think what if it’s not my imagination?

This film is based off a 2013 short film also called “Lights Out”. (Sandburg, 2013)

This is David F Sandberg’s first major film and what a starting point. I really loved the homage to the original short film. The first film starred Sandberg’s wife Lotta Losten so of course he had to include her in the film and even in the same sequence of events turning the lights on and off repeatedly.

(Butler, 2016) (Goethe, 2015)

There was one major difference that he wanted to make with the full feature film. He said

“Early on I felt it was important that we have these rules that we stick to. When we made the short, we just had fun with it, so she turns up in the light and we didn’t really care. It felt like to really have this movie work we need to have these rules and stick to them, which made lighting the movie very difficult. You have someone you can’t light, and I didn’t want to cheat and have rim lights or stuff like that. I wanted her to be a true silhouette.” (Giroux, 2016)

I think doing this took the horror to another level. I loved the use of light and dark and the different types of light. There was a use of candlelight, regular light, and black light. One scene sticks out in my mind of watching Martin the young boy packing his bag. You can see him through his door with the light and the next door is in the dark and you can see his reaction to the dark. Its very pleasing aesthetically.

I have to admit that Diana scared the shit out of me. As a child being scared of the dark was my thing. I had a secret door behind my wallpaper which we never opened. I always used to think I saw a women in the shadows so when I saw the trailer it brought back all those emotions and I knew I had to see it! Fred Topel from Nerd Report gave it high praise calling it “The most inventive horror movie of the year”. (Topel, 2016)

Another reason I was really looking forward to this film was the involvement of producer James Wan. Wan is famous for his horror films, including The Conjuring, Insidious and of course Saw. I love these films and his style. He is influenced by his Japanese heritage and has said,

“Being born in an Asian country and growing up hearing Asian ghost stories and superstitious tales – I think in some ways, without realising it, it affects the way I make my movies. It has a big effect on the way I design my spectral entities, my ghosts, and stuff like that.” (Dawson, 2016)

In this film I noticed a big similarity with the Japanese urban legend of Teke Teke. Teke Teke is about a young girl or women who falls on to the train tracks and get cut in half. She hides at night (in the dark) and she is named Teke Teke as that is the sound that she makes running to catch her victim.

(Teke Teke, 2014) (Warner Brothers, 2016)

As well as the shadowy silhouette similarities I noticed the tapping noise as the vengeful spirit Diana attacks her victims.

The film leaves a lasting impression on you and during the film I kept searching in the dark corners and even around the cinema. I kept looking at the empty seat next to me and wondering if I was safe! I actually waited until the lights came up fully before I left my seat, and I am not ashamed to admit it. This film made me shrink into my chair, jump out of it, let out a yelp and cover my eyes. I did guess the ending but it was kind of inevitable with horror.

I am not looking forward going to bed tonight…might need to keep the light on.

4/5

Works Cited

Butler, M. (2016, April 4). How I turned my short horror film into a major movie. Retrieved from WOW 24/7: http://www.wow247.co.uk/2016/04/04/lights-out-david-f-sandberg-how-i-turned-my-short-horror-film-into-a-major-movie/

Dawson, A. (2016, August 13). Malaysian director James Wan: billion-dollar filmmaker and laksa lover. Retrieved from SouthEast Asia Globe : https://sea-globe.com/james-wan-malaysian-director/

Giroux, J. (2016, July 26). Interview: ‘Lights Out’ Director David F. Sandberg on Subverting Expectations and Not Overstaying Your Welcome. Retrieved from Slashfilm: http://www.slashfilm.com/lights-out-david-f-sandberg-interview/2/

Goethe, K. A. (2015, October 8). 31 Days of Horror Part II: Day 8 – Lights Out (2013). Retrieved from Almighty Goatman: https://almightygoatman.wordpress.com/2015/10/08/31-days-of-horror-part-ii-day-8-lights-out-2013/

Sandberg, D. F. (Director). (2013). Lights Out [Motion Picture].

Teke Teke. (2014, November 24). Retrieved from Scary For Kids: http://www.scaryforkids.com/teke-teke/

Topel, F. (2016, June 9). LAFF Review: Lights Out – Ambitious Horror. Retrieved from Nerd Report: http://www.nerdreport.com/2016/06/09/laff-review-lights/

Warner Brothers. (2016). Retrieved from Lights Out: https://www.warnerbros.co.uk/movies/lights-out

Director: David F Sandberg

Cast: Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, Lotta Losten, Billy Burke, Maria Bello

Crew: James Wan (Producer)

Genre: Supernatural Horror

Rating: 15

Nerve

Posted on August 20, 2016 by C966939529

“Neon Nerve-wrecking Fun”

I was really looking forward to seeing this film as technology is always evolving so it is a topic that is developing in films. Just look at “Hardcore Henry” and the use of Go-Pro cameras, totally new idea that is starting to be seen elsewhere. The idea of this film is about almost Truth or Dare but just the dares for money. The characters are all teenagers about to go to University so this is almost the next step up from playing dares in the playground as kids. Except this is the next level, playing for money and the fear of failing.

I discovered that Director Ariel Shulman (Yes, from Catfish), said about his own experiences “I can’t turn down a dare. I’m incorrigible. I’m the kid who did dumb shit in high school because people dared me to do it, and I wanted the attention.” (Bell, 2016) So I am quite impressed I understood the idea behind it and also shows that the storytelling is great in the movie to be able to pick up this kind of content.

Stylistically I love this movie! The use of neon lighting in all scenes really brings out the almost seediness and darkness in the film. I was very impressed with the lights being used as a tracking device. In a few of the scenes it is a wide shot of a bridge. You could easily lose sight of the characters but you can easily spot the motorbike. It really draws your eye.

I mentioned the darkness of the film and to me this is due to the technology aspect of the dares. When Vee (Emma Roberts) first signs up to play all of her details on the internet are automatically connected to her player profile. What was most creepy of all was that her password was her fingerprint. It shows that no matter what, everything is on the internet if you are not careful. I also enjoyed the use of phones being used to film your dares as proof and the player interaction with the phone being on the screen, almost as if the app was watching you.

(White, 2016)

The one thing that bugged me about the film was the relationship between Vee and Sydney. The social construct of their friendship reminded me a lot of “Jennifer’s Body” between Jennifer and Needy. Vee is the meek nerdy friend whereas Sydney is the popular fearless cheerleader who doesn’t like it when Vee starts to find herself e.g. playing Nerve. This just seems a bit over played in films lately but for only one bad aspect, I can’t complain that much!

I really enjoyed the cast and think Dave Franco and Emma Roberts really shine. I would highly recommend this to everyone. The dares themselves are clever as you start off with an easy one then they get more and more risky.

Go see it…if you’ve got the nerve. 4/5

Works Cited

Bell, C. (2016, June 29). NERVE DIRECTORS REVEAL THE VOYEURISTIC DARE THAT WAS TOO ‘GROSS’ FOR PG-13. Retrieved from MTV: http://www.mtv.com/news/2899509/nerve-directors-dare-too-gross/

Kusama, K. (Director). (2009). Jennifer’s Body [Motion Picture].

White, J. (2016, July 27). Broomstick Comics. Retrieved from Film Review: Nerve: http://boomstickcomics.com/2016/07/film-review-nerve/

Director: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman

Cast: Emma Roberts, Dave Franco and Juliette Lewis

Crew: Michael Simmonds, Rob Simonsen

Genre: Techno-Thriller Adventure

Rating: 15

Suicide Squad 3D

Posted on August 10, 2016 by C966939529

“Storyless Shit”

I was really looking forward to seeing this film from the trailers. After Batman v Superman I was worried with DC so I was looking forward to it with trepidation. Looking at the cast they got very lucky, Jared Leto as the Joke, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Jay Hernandez as Diablo = amazing! But there was also some very bad decisions.

The character of Enchantress and Dr June Moone I was expecting a really Jekyll and Hyde idea really separating the two sides of the individuals. Cara Delevingne was one toned and I saw no acting skills at all. In interviews apparently director David Ayre asked Delevingne to walk around in the mud and woods naked to get into character. I would never have guessed she made such an effort. (Shepherd, 2016)

I loved Jared Leto as the Joker. He brought a completely different interpretation of the character compared to Heath Ledger.(RIP)

(Katz, 2016) (Browne, 2014)

Ledger brought the real manic mastermind side of the Joker to the story but Leto brought the real crazy psychopath. Even his eyes were crazy! But that means nothing because his not in the damn movie!! From the trailer I thought he was a part of the SKWAD but it was just a hyped up cameo. Considering how long Leto spent in Make up for the tattoos seems like a waste of time. Leto even commented “Were there any that didn’t get cut? I’m asking you, were there any that didn’t get cut? There were so many scenes that got cut from the movie, I couldn’t even start. I think that the Joker… we did a lot of experimentation on the set, we explored a lot. There’s so much that we shot that’s not in the film.” (Placido, 2016)I just think they brought him into the film to say the Joker is a part of it, even though Leto gave a great performance.

Speaking of the Joker, another standout character was Harley Quinn. As Griggs says “That is just a whole lot of pretty and a whole lot of crazy.” Margot Robbie completely nails this. We see a few flashbacks of Harley and the Joker and unlike Enchantress we see the two sides of her. We see Dr Harleen Quinzel before she makes her transformation to Harley Quinn. I think it is a good metaphor that love can make you crazy.

“Harley Quinn: You ever been in love?

Deadshot: No. Never.

Harley Quinn: Bullshit.

Deadshot: You don’t kill as many people as I’ve killed and still sleep like a kitten, but feel shit like love.

Harley Quinn: Another textbook sociopath.”

I wish I could talk about every character in the film but there are too many! There are a lot of pointless characters such as Slipknot, who suddenly appears and then disappears in a few scenes but this isn’t the worst crime this film commits.

The main problem for me is the lack of storyline. It starts off after the death of Superman from Batman v Superman and Waller is suddenly creating this “task force of the most dangerous people on the planet” but for no real reason! Also once they have assembled their team the story just drops off. I found myself very bored for the second half of the film and no film viewer wants to be paying to be bored.

Another thing that bugs me is the sexist remarks towards the female characters. Examples include “Stay evil doll face…” and “Listen, you are my gift to this handsome honka honka! You belong to him now.” Women should not be referred to as “hoes” or an object. I think they focussed on this a bit too much. I can understand that the characters are that way inclined but it was too much of a focus for me and took me out of the film.

I wanted so much for this to be DCs comeback but it has just not happened. I don’t have a lot of faith in the upcoming Wonder Woman or Justice League films.

As this was slightly better than Batman v Superman I wish I could give more but I can only give 2.5 out of 5.

Director: David Ayer

Cast: Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Cara Delevingne, Viola Davis

Crew: Roman Vasyanov (Cinematographer)

Genre: Superheroes

Rating: 15

Works Cited

Browne, K. S. (2014, Dec 10). There’s a Secret Hidden Behind Heath Ledger’s Joker. Retrieved from Movie Pilot: http://moviepilot.com/posts/2494166

Katz, J. (2016, May 25). ‘Suicide Squad’ Director Says ‘The Crew Stops Working’ When Jared Leto Does The Joker. Retrieved from Billboard: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7280199/suicide-squad-jared-leto-joker-crew-stops-working

Placido, D. D. (2016, August 6). Jared Leto Is Just As Disappointed With ‘Suicide Squad’ As The Rest Of Us. Retrieved from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2016/08/06/jared-leto-is-just-as-disappointed-with-suicide-squad-as-the-rest-of-us/#5e85db1d4ff0

Shepherd, J. (2016, May 19). Suicide Squad: Cara Delevingne auditioned by ‘getting naked in the woods’ and ‘howling like a wolf’. Retrieved from Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/suicide-squad-cara-delevingne-auditioned-by-getting-naked-in-the-woods-and-howling-like-a-wolf-a7037481.html

Finding Dory 3D

Posted on August 3, 2016 by C966939529

“Cleverly Connected”

I am so super excited for Finding Dory you have no idea. As I am sitting in the cinema I can’t tell who is more excited, the kids or us 90s kids. My parents were disappointed that I saw it without! Me and my Dad (who I know is reading this – Hi Big Nose!) still quote the original film to this day. “Lucky fin” and “Grab shell dude”.

I admit I was slightly worried about the 13 year gap since Finding Nemo is 2003. The actor who played Nemo originally, Alexander Gould, was 9 when he first recorded the voice. 13 years later a boys voice is going to change dramatically! For Finding Dory Gould was replaced by Hayden Rolence a 12 year old actor. Due to the film being set one year after Finding Nemo, I think it had to be done.

But before I go into the full film I have to mention the amazing short “Piper” which is at the beginning of the film. This adorable little film is about a baby Sandpiper who is learning how to catch its food. This no voice film is not only aesthetically pleasing but also takes a real life situation and brings real humour to it. It brings together the “tough love” idea with nature. The parent is refusing to feed Piper so that she has too find her own food. This little fluff ball has to fight her fear of the big waves coming over her and her food source. It was a really nice lead into the film.

So back to the main feature. As I said Finding Dory is set a year after the events of Finding Nemo. The premise is all about Dory trying to find her parents and introduces us to a baby Dory. The thing I love about the “Finding” films is the detail. When we see baby Dory her eyes are the same size as adult Dory. This is what happens in real life as the eyes do not grow in proportion to the rest of the body. These are the sort of details I really like as it shows attention to detail. Visually the film is in the same style as “Finding Nemo” and I particularly like how the light streams through the water.

The story itself if pretty much the same as “Nemo” but I didn’t expect it to be very different considering the target audience is children. But I was really impressed with how it linked in to the previous film. The first scene is a scene from Finding Nemo but from Dory’s point of view. It links to her background and why she is the way she is. (Stanton, 2003)

This is one of the reasons that Andrew Stanton decided to do the sequel. In an interview Stanton said “when I even wrote her originally to bump into Marlin in the first movie — I knew that she had wandered the ocean for years with no memory of where and that she had this sense of abandonment, and that that was the reason she was so friendly and so helpful, because she kind of swam around with this fear of being ditched all the time. And so she wanted to ensure that maybe, if I’m really helpful and really friendly and really optimistic, you might stick around with me. So I always knew there was that sort of tragic element to her under the hood in the first movie.” (Kaye, 2016)

I loved the new characters they introduced including Destiny the Whale Shark, Bailey the Beluga and Hank the Octopus. Hank being my spirit animal “I just want to live in a glass box alone. That’s all I want”.

Of course I have to mention Charlie and Jenny, Dory’s parents. I love the characterisation of them especially with Charlie clearly having a receding hair line being represented in the black markings.

I also liked how they brought back previous characters. For all the people yet to see the film. STAY FOR AFTER THE CREDITS! You will have a lovely little throwback to the original.

Overall although this was the same storyline as the previous it still made me laugh my socks off. As with every Disney Pixar production there are jokes for the kids and jokes for the adults. “Holy Carp!” being one of my personal favourites. Great fun for all ages!

4 out of 5!

Director: Andrew Stanton

Cast: Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Hayden Rolence, Ed O’Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Ty Burrell, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy

Crew: Jeremy Lasky (cinematographer)

Genre: Animated Comedy Drama

Rating: U

Works Cited

Kaye, D. (2016, 06 06). Andrew Stanton On Why The Time Was Right For Finding Dory. Retrieved from Screen Rant: http://screenrant.com/finding-dory-interview-lindsey-collins-andrew-stanton/

Stanton, A. (Director). (2003). Finding Nemo [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k78-_N-OxrA

Stanton, A. (Director). (2016). Finding Dory [Motion Picture].

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