"Brick" Film Review

A brooding Heath Ledger look-alike roams around town, interrogating various colourful identities to find information on the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend. That's the plot of the film 'Brick' in a nutshell. That synopsis wasn't very good, but neither is the movie. What is supposed to be a modern noir who-dunnit movie quickly dissolves into an indecipherable mess.

'Brick', at first glance, appears to be an intriguing high school who-dunnit, but after about 20 minutes you may start to grow restless. This is thanks to the entire absence of any engaging events. It's not helped by monotone dialogue, bland scenery and one-dimensional characters. The lead character Brendan 9played by a depressing Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is hard to like, and the ex-girlfriend that he was trying to find received no sympathy from me. The other characters aren't worth mentioning, apart from underground players 'The Pin' and 'Tugger'. They provide some minor entertainment to an otherwise boring feature, with the heavily-built Tugger finding any excuse to beat the crap out of anything that moves. Unfortunately, this is the only redeeming quality for this disappointing film.

Moving on to the structure of the film, my mood towards 'Brick' lightens. Mixtures of various camera angles help create the depressing atmosphere that runs throughout the whole film. Foreshortening and wide establishing shots also create a sense of wide open space. That means more space for Brendan to stroll around in with his hands in his jacket pockets. In some scenes, atmospheric lighting is used to set the mood for a conversation, but unfortunately, the actual conversations will bore you into a coma, so you may not have the chance to notice the lighting or the effective camera angles.

Now its crunch time. I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone who doesn't want an hour and a half of sleep. Deadpan acting, confusing storyline and un-interesting characters make this a film to avoid, or better yet, roll over with a truck and incinerate the remains in a furnace. But that's just my opinion.

GLORY

GLORY

Please Note: This is not a script this is a narrative.


Scene one: Two boys living in a small country town.

Scene two: Sharing the same dream of becoming an elite AFL player.

Scene three: Draft Camp – the two boys are put through their paces as they prepare to go through a gruelling fitness program
• Fitness Assessment (Height/weight, skin folds, arm length, hand span)
• Psychomotor Tests (Reaction time, decision making, peripheral awareness)
• Sprint, agility, vertical jump testing
• Shuttle Run (the infamous beep test)
• 3km Time-trail
• General skills test
• As well as interviews conducted by interested clubs.

Scene four: Draft Day November 17th 2009. The two boys along with the other 72 best and youngest players from across Australia nervously wait to find out which team they will play for the following year.

Scene five: Pre-Season training camp.

Scene six: Media battle.

Scene seven: The two blitz through the year taking out their respective individual awards. (GET TUESDAY THE 8TH OF SEPTEMBER HERALD SUN AND AGE)

Scene eight: The two successfully finish first and second respectively and prepare for September action in the 2009 AFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON FINALS.

Scene nine: Both make the grand final and play on one another.

What I've learned in Media

-I have learned about the various camera angles/shots that film directors might use to create different effects or moods.

-I have learned more about other film genres, thanks to my classmates and my own research.

-I have learned how to correctly and effectively prepare a movie preview, and how to pitch an idea to a 'movie executive' successfully.

Movie Review: “The Shawshank Redemption”

“The Shawshank Redemption” is one of the greatest movies of all time. It has great acting, great dialogue and great drama. Although adapted from a novel by Steven King, “The Shawshank Redemption” contains no cheesy horror or crazy plot twists. Instead, this movie is one of great emotion and quality.

The story begins when the main character Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is ordered to serve two life sentences for the murders of his wife and her pro golfer lover. Andy is sent to Shawshank Prison, where he meets Ellis Boyd Redding (Morgan Freeman), or “Red” for short. The two men start a friendship that lasts their time in Shawshank. Both men face the harsh realities of living in a prison, but both come out the other side a better man.

There is so much to like about this movie. The actors play their characters with real emotion, and the events that Andy and his fellow prisoners endure really cut to the viewer's core. Most of the movie has a blue/grey tinge to it, creating a moody, depressing atmosphere which really adds to the viewing experience.

“The Shawshank Redemption” is a great movie, but it isn't flawless. Some of the prison guards are portrayed stereotypically, which cheapens the scenes they're in just a little. Another problem is the fact that the main characters don't seem to age very much, even though the movie follows the prisoners over a time period spanning about 30 to 40 years.

Overall, “The Shawshank Redemption” is a timeless classic; a near perfect film filled with drama, laughter and top-notch performances. This film will stay in the minds of the viewers long after they have watched it.