Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice!

 

(

Starring:

Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice

Geena Davis as Barbara Maitland

Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz

Alec Baldwin as Adam Maitland

Beetlejuice Trailer (1988)

Michael Keaton is a wild card actor. He can play a wide variety of characters without becoming typecast (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). The character Beetlejuice is described as “a rowdy, hyper-active and heavily decomposed live wire, who thinks of himself as the guy who left behind a beautiful corpse, he is a one man show (Youssef, 2011). Michael Keaton’s character Beetlejuice, is a form of stylized acting, when actors and directors want to call attention to the fact they are acting (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). When Beetlejuice is advertising his services as a bio-exorcist, he is on television really laying it on thick as an actor and selling his point to the Maitland’s. I would definitely put Michael Keaton as a wild card actor, he has played Beetlejuice, Mr. Mom, Batman, Birdman: or the unexpected value of ignorance, and a cop. This proves he is not set for just one type of genre or personality.

 

Winona Ryder is a character actor. She can fit invisibly into a character to meet the needs of the script and director (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). She has played a droid in Aliens, in Reality Bites, she plays a young woman looking for direction in her life, and she played a nun in Lost Souls. Winona Ryder’s character, Lydia is a form of realism acting. She gives the impression of genuine human action and reaction in Beetlejuice. Lydia is a misunderstood teenager who doesn’t have any friends until she meets the Maitlands. She is upset when Beetlejuice tries to hurt her and her family. I would definitely say Winona Ryder is a character actor, she can blend in very easily to the cast. It has also taken her a long time to build her reputation as a great actor.

Alec Baldwin is a personality actor. He brings his own stamp to every character he plays.

Bender, M.(Producer), & Burton, T.(Director). (1988). [Video File]. Retrieved from:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094721/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Goodykoontz, B. & Jacobs, C. P. (2014) Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Retrieved from: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1360441113/

The Sounds of the Wizard of Oz

Starring:

Judy Garland as Dorothy

Frank Morgan as The Wizard of Oz / Professor Marvel / The Gatekeeper / The Carriage Driver / The Guard

Directed by: Victor Fleming

The dialogue or “spoken words by two or more characters in a scene” is a must to understand what is happened and what is taking place throughout the film (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). Without the dialogue, you would not be able to process the entire film. With the dialogue and the music that is being performed by the characters is called diegetic (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). This also helps to create the musical scenes in which Dorothy is singing with a number of characters throughout the film. The sound effects are natural sources that match the sources on the set.

In the movie clip “We’re not in Kansas anymore”, you can hear birds chirping which represents diegetic, because it is natural sources that match the sources on the set. Dorothy can hear the birds chirping. However, the musical accompaniment is not something that Dorothy can hear (represents non-diegetic) as it starts to build with excitement that her and Toto are not in Kansas anymore, but somewhere over the rainbow. The scene also makes Munchin land very spring like with flowers growing, birds chirping, and beautiful. When Glenda comes in on her bubble, the sounds from the musical accompaniment, grows louder and louder and from mysterious to excitable as she emerges from her bubble. This also infers to the fantasy genre as people normally do not come in on a bubble. With the birds chirping, that is a more realistic sound that people associate with spring. If the more realistic sounds were taken away such as birds chirping it would take away the spring like feel of this scene.

Goodykoontz, B. & Jacobs, C. P. (2014) Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

(n.d.).(1939). [Movie Poster]. Retrieved on April 30, 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Movieclips.(1939). “The Wizard of Oz: We’re not in Kansas anymore” [VIDEO FILE].

Retrieved from You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQLNS3HWfCM

 

 

 

Maleficent-Lighting Blog Week 2

(Disney, 2014).

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3227044352/tt1587310?ref_=ttmi_mi_all_sf_26

 

Starring:

Angelina Jolie as Maleficent

Elle Fanning as Aurora

The fantasy action movie Maleficent utilizes several types of lighting throughout the movie. In the beginning when Maleficent was a little girl, she was carefree and loved by all. The scenes are shown in a high key lighting to help give the audience how happy full of light Maleficent is at this young age.

(Disney, 2014)

Once Maleficent’s wings are stolen from her, she becomes cold, and grows darker much more serious and evil. The lighting mirrors this, by using low key “underlighting to create an unsettling mood for viewers and the cool bluish look becomes the film as the rest of the colors are desaturated” (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). This technique emphasizes the control Maleficent has over the two realms at this point. It also emphasizes her turning evil especially as she curses Aurora.

(Disney, 2014)

As Princess Aurora grows, Maleficent begins to grow fond of the little girl and the lighting becomes brighter. You start to see several scenes with three point lighting. Maleficent and Aurora become the focal point as the background is faded. Maleficent begins to help feed the baby as the fairies are clueless to how to take care of a baby. Maleficent also saves her life when the little girl ran off of a cliff. When the little girl was about four years old she asked Maleficent to hold her, the scene was saturated with colors as you could tell Maleficent’s heart was giving in to this sweet beautiful child.

(Disney, 2014)

The lighting technique suited to fantasy genre because there were so many emotions throughout the movie, all lighting techniques were employed. In the beginning and end there was high key lighting to indicate fullness of life and happiness. As Maleficent grew darker, low key lighting was utilized to give that “scary indimating” feel. Once Maleficent began to love the child, the three point lighting was employed to focus on the main characters.

If only one choice of lighting was made, the entire storyline would have had to be rewritten. You can’t have high key lighting if you are trying to demonstrate and portray an evil sorceress who wants revenge. Or if you wanted to show Maleficent in the beginning with the carefree and happiness about her, you would not use low key lighting.

 

References:

Disney Movie Trailer. (2014). Disney’s Maleficent –“Dream” Trailer. [Video File].

Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pgmFAOgm5E

Disney. (2014). Stills of Angelina Jolie in Maleficent.

Retrieved from: http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3227044352/tt1587310?ref_=ttmi_mi_all_sf_26

Goodykoontz, B. & Jacobs, C. P. (2014) Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

 

 

 

 

Week 1 Blog: The Incredibles

Title: The Incredibles

Writer: Brad Bird

Director: Brad Bird

Year: 2004

Actors: Craig T. Nelson (as the voice of Bob Parr / Mr. Incredible) and Jason Lee (as the voice of Buddy Pine / Syndrome)

Story: The Incredibles is a 2004 film about a super hero Mr. Incredible, who, after the public turns against him goes into hiding and becomes Bob Parr. Along the way, he grows bored with normal society and puts his family in jeopardy.

Plot: The film starts off in the glory days of where super heroes were numerous and living among common citizens. Mr. Incredible was a superhero with incredible human strength. He was a super hero everyone loved and idolized. After he helps an elderly woman remove her cat from a tree and uses the tree to stop a police car chase; a local fan of Mr. Incredible’s gets into his car. His name was Buddy Pine. Buddy desperately wants to tag along on the next rescue mission, but Mr. Incredible will not have it. At this point he saves a man from suicide by jumping from one big building to the next and goes through a window of the building next door. Mr. Incredible hears something ticking and the bomb blows the wall up. Bomb Voyage comes into the scene as Mr. Incredible tries to arrest him. Buddy shows up and Mr. Incredible tells him to fly home, he works alone and distracts Mr. Incredible, to which Bomb Voyage uses to his advantage and plants a bomb onto Buddy’s cape. Mr. Incredible tries to stop Buddy whom was leaving at this time. The bomb is pulled off of Buddy and it lands on a train track. Mr. Incredible stops the train but with such force it causes many injuries to the passengers. This is the turning point where citizens of the train wreck sue Mr. Incredible and opens the door for many other super hero’s being sued that the government steps in to offer relocation and new identities to all the super hero’s.

He marries his sweet heart Elastagirl aka Helen Parr and after years of trying to fit in to “normal society”, and many failed attempts, he is asked by a government contractor to come to their island and rescue them from a weapon they created. He is so excited because he has been miserable for so many years. He lies to his family and says he is going on a “work conference”. Mr. Incredible is fooled and captured by the actual creator of the weapon, Syndrome; whom years before Mr. Incredible had disrespected and treated badly. Mr. Incredible’s family finds him and rescues him. But again Syndrome captures all the Incredible’s makes them watch video footage of letting the weapon loose in the city as he disarms it and becomes the “hero”. But the weapon outsmarted Syndrome and knocks him out and begins to take over the city. The Incredible’s escape the island and work together as a family to stop and disable the weapon. The city rejoices and asks to bring all the super heroes back. Syndrome is arrested and sent to prison.

The family in the end is leaving a track meet to celebrate their son, Dash’s win. Another villain, the molenator, in his super drilling machine comes up out the ground and announces he will destroy the city. The Incredible Family put on their masks, smiles at each other, and reveals their super suits to rid the city of the evil villain.

 

Chronology: The film was told in chronological order. This helped develop Bob Parr aka Mr. Incredible, because throughout the film you see him working by himself and getting into trouble by himself. When he lets his family in and realizes he is only better when they work as a team, he finds true happiness.

Had the movie been presented non-linearly, you would not grow with the development of Mr. Incredible’s character to understand where he came from and how he really became Mr. Incredible in the end.

Resources:

2-minute theatrical trailer. (2007, March 9). The Incredible-Unreleased Trailer. [Video File]. Bird. B.(Director). (2004). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LASc8ewLaw

The Incredible’s.(2004). The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317705/

The Incredible’s.(2004). The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2529860889/