Interstellar is a shinning example of a large budget movie that evokes the imagination through the movies elaborate folds. Directed by the exuberant Christopher Nolan who also co-wrote the script, tells the story of a dying humane race whose only option for survival is elsewhere in the vast cosmic space of the universe. The films budget is aproximately $165,000,000 which is an enormous budget, but the budget was so well used, and is evident throughout films story. The films use of breathtaking cinematic views, the presence of actors such as Matthew McConaughey who give the film such convincing performances, and the films overall intricacies puts its large budget to good use. Interstellar protrudes what is is to be a Hollywood spectacle. Although the budget isn’t on par with the top contenders of the Hollywood big budgets, it does stand far above most film budgets. I chose this film because of the absolute breath taking images presented, the well founded science that backs up most of the movie’s premise, and its overall ability to immerse myself into another world. This film was also able to achieve large box office figures without being a rehashed film based on previous films or based on other media. Interstellar is an original film and was able to stand along side other big budget movie with less originality, although aspects of the film due hold a close resemblance to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 a space odyssey.
Category Archives: Student Posts
Homework #4 – 5 Centimeters Per Second
Out of all the movies i have seen i believe that 5 Centimeters Per Second is of the best ones. This animated movie is directed by Makoto Shinkai who also wrote the script too. Even though the movie is animated it still cost around 25 Million Yen to make which is only about 270K in US. It may not cost a lot in USD but 25M Yen is also not a small amount for a animated film being made in Japan. The reason i picked this movie is because at first you look at the movie and a lot of people would pass by it because it is animated but when u see the movie this movie created a master piece with a small budget compare to movies made with actors. The movie draws the viewers in with a simple yet touching story that is told in three different parts but not only is the story really good the art work they used in the background which is based off places that can be found in Japan is beautiful to look at. The backgrounds used were so good that it has been found that another animation company has said to plagiarized them in their own animated movies. To inspire those who have not watch this movie or any of Makoto Shinkai movies i will leave a picture a background used in the movie.
SELMA Homework #3
The absolutely phenomenal, but controversial, film “Selma” was directed by Ava DuVernay. The film debuted during a tumultuous time in the country when race and equality were coming to light . For instance, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, etc. It basically depicted something that happened 50 years ago and made people realize that it is still happening now. Then the film was snubbed by the Oscars and not one person of color was nominated from the movie. That alone sparked protest. It was mostly an all black cast which is rare in a movie of its scale. And on that note, the all black cast was not nominated for best picture when countless other award shows nominated them. Instead, the media chose to focus more on American Sniper than a black film that was more prominent. But hey, let’s all care more about a guy that killed countless people in the Middle East and said he’d kill more. Plus, the American sniper was a movie that didn’t even depict the real life of a soldier and he also refers to Iraqis and as ” savages” and this is what people chose to nominate instead of a film about Martin Luther King Jr. and the whole movement that’s still going  on today.
The Passion of the Christ (Hearts) – Homework #3
I’ve never watched this film before and I’m not a religious person, Â but I remember all the controversy that was talked about for this movie at the time of its release. It was highly criticized for its extreme and detailed violence, for not being nearly historically accurate and allegations of antisemitism. The film was so violent that critics cautioned parents to not bring their kids to see the movie due to the extreme scenes of violence throughout the movie. Some scholars defended the film saying it wasn’t meant to be historically accurate. The director, Mel Gibson, has said, “I think that my first duty is to be as faithful as possible in telling the story so that it doesn’t contradict the Scriptures. Now, so long as it didn’t do that, I felt that I had a pretty wide berth for artistic interpretation, and to fill in some of the spaces with logic, with imagination, with various other readings.” There were criticisms of prominent antisemitism content in the film before releasing, that the New York Assemblyman at the time told companies to not distribute the film because its “unhealthy to Jews all over the world”, according to Dov Hikind. Gibson was asked by Bill O’Reilly if his movie would upset Jews, he said, “It’s not meant to. I think it’s meant to just tell the truth. I want to be as truthful as possible.” I hope some day I can see for myself how extreme the violence is in this movie but it seems like this movie is type 5 of the most controversial movies of all time.
“Cannibal Holocaust” (1980)- Homerwork #3
âCannibal Holocaustâ was one movie of many that caused controversy worldwide. Â In this movie, a group of Americans traveled to the Amazon rainforest in order to film a documentary about cannibal tribes. The group went missing, causing Professor Monroe, from New York, to lead a rescue a rescue team, to hopefully find the group alive. The rescue team came across a tribe, and a few of the women took Monroe to a shrine in their village, where he finds the remains of the group, and reels of their film. The reels were taken back to New York, where Monroe wanted to watch the raw footage. While watching, Monroe discovered gruesome events which happened during filming. Events including the group forcing a tribe into a hut, which they burned down, a young tribe girl being gang-raped, and in the end, each team member who were still alive, were captured and killed.
This movie was highly unpleasant due to the excessive graphic content, which includes genocide, sexual violence, and also cruelty to animals. During filming, a handful of animals were actually killed, which sparked controversy among animal activists. It was also labeled as a snuff film. A snuff film is a film where the death of actors arenât killed, there are actually killed on screen. This violent movie was banned in many countries, but as the years progressed, many countries began to lift the bans.
HOMEWORK #2 â OPENING SCENE:The Lord of the Rings-The Return of the King (Spades)
This scene is definitely one of my  favorite scenes of all time simply for the back story and the set up also. Throughout the Lord of the Rings series a creature named Gollum has been in pursuit of The One Ring being carried by Frodo and is always shown being obsessive and protective of it. However, one thing that was not shown up until the third and last movie was how Gollum turned in to this nasty looking creature. While fishing with his friend they both come across the infamous One Ring and the ring causes the both of them to fight over it with Gollum winning said fight and actually killing his friend for it.  One thing that gets me is how Gollum (known as Smeagol before turning in to the creature) is shown as a really friendly person up until he finds the ring. Once he finds it nothing else in the world matters to him and slowly but surely he transforms in to the creature he is now. I feel like this scene set up the last movie great as well because it shows just how evil and powerful the ring truly is and why it must be destroyed at all costs.
Homework #2 – Opening Scene: Apocalypse Now (Clubs)
The opening scene of Apocalypse Now can certainly be described as âintenseâ. The scene opens with an aerial view of a forest of Palm trees. Simultaneously, you can hear the chopping sound of a helicopter propeller cutting into the wind â and in the background, the start of the song âThis is the Endâ by the Doors. As the introduction to the song progresses, elements in the film change and smoke enters the scene amongst the palm trees. It isnât until the very start of the first set of lyrics to the song that the forest completely incinerates into flames. The lyrics begin with the sentence âthis is the endâŠâ Then, the scene begins to fade and, therein, introduces a cross-cut scene including a very young Martin Sheen.
The premise of the film is based on the Vietnam War (1955-1975). In my interpretation of the movie, the opening scene was the precursor for the way chaos and war was going to be depicted in the film; the viewers are immediately introduced to aspects of war, such as chaos and catastrophic events â circumstances very real in a war setting, at the start of the movie. Bits of information would reveal itself throughout the opening scene. On a night stand are formal documents fanned out and a vintage photograph of a female; additionally, the viewer is shown a bottle of cognac, a lit cigarette in the characterâs hand, and a gun resting just below his pillow.
The camera primarily focuses the viewerâs attention onto the characters forehead and eyes, while simultaneously showing the previous scene of the trees caught on fire and helicopters. Perhaps, insinuating the character’s involvement in the catastrophic event. From the viewerâs perspective, itâs easy to infer that the film takes place during a time of chaos. Likewise, chaos becomes a continuous aspect presented throughout the entire film.
Movie Link:
Fight Club Opening Scene
Other than the fact that it’s my favorite movie, I chose fight club for this assignment because the movie starts with one of the last scenes of the movie which I think is genius because the viewer is automatically questioning everything- especially in fight club because the whole movie just messes with your head. The scene begins with the narrator saying “everybody is always asking me if I know Tyler Durden” then skips to him with a gun in his mouth, being asked if he would like to say a few words to mark the occasion. He then goes on talking about how the surrounding blocks will all be turned to dust in a matter of minutes and says “I know this because Tyler knows this”. This is one of the most important lines in the movie and personally, the first time I watched it I didn’t think twice about it but after watching it more I’ve noticed that he is constantly making slight hints to the crazy plot twist of the film. I recommend everybody watch this movie if you haven’t already.
Hw#2
The movie divergent and that starts of with a good opening scene is divergent where it starts of with the main character talking about how society has been broken up in to 5 sections and each one has a differnt interest. Not only that but the shoot of each scene makes each branch unique with the type of image each friction is shown as. The thing about this is that they don’t meantion divergent as part of the branches that society has. This is what interested me because the movie title is based on divergents and she does not meantion it. The movie comes out with an understanding of how society is  and what each friction is. 
Homework #2 – Pulp Fiction opening scene
First off, Pulp Fiction has got to be one of my favorite movies of all time and Quentin Tarantino definitely deserves all the credit. In this opening scene, actors Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer open the movie by discussing their strategy for robbing places as a resort to get money. If you’ve seen this movie, you’ll know that this scene only appears at the beginning and at the end of the movie, which is what makes it so good. Throughout the rest of the movie, Jules ( Samuel Jackson) and Vince (John Travolta) go through a series of life changing events in which at the end, they end up at the same diner that actor Tim Roth is about to rob. What makes this movie so enjoyable to watch is the comedy involved but also the action and storyline along with it. Samuel Jackson also plays an incredible character in this movie. I loved this movie because it was breathtaking to see how the plot of the movie develops and everything in this movie connects to each other. It just all makes sense in the end and was truly a genius piece of work by Quentin. This movie is truly a classic.
