Rocky II (1979) Review

With the overwhelming success of the first Rocky film, the second was just as equally anticipated and it was as equally well received. In its own the right, the film is very good, but it does, however, have exactly the same plot structure as the first film, but with a slight variance in the ending. For example, Rocky is preparing for a rematch against Apollo Creed, who he fought in the first film, has a problem, overcomes this problem and faces Creed at the end of the film.

The acting is consistent throughout, particularly with Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed who does a great job of acting the 'tough guy' throughout the film. The film, however, is designed to make the audience root for Rocky as he progresses through the film, overcoming problems along the way. The filmmakers use the film to show the audience the brutality of life in the boxing industry and how anyone can achieve anything, no matter what their background is.

Hush (2008)- What makes it a British horror?

Hush is a British horror/thriller film first shown in the UK in 2008. Although the film flopped at the box office, it features an all-star British cast and the majority of the crew are also British. The director, Mark Tonderai, who, before Hush, had no experience in directing films and was commonly associated with BBC Radio 1 as he used to be a DJ on there. The film was both funded and produced by Warp X, the UK Film Council and Film4- three completely British organisations. Unusually, though, the film had its first showing at the Berlin Fantasy Filmfest, even though the film has no connections with the country at all.

The nationally famous motorway, the M1, also provided the main setting for the film. It was this stretch of road that caused the main characters to face a huge dilemma when they spotted what appeared to be a screaming, naked girl in the back of a lorry. Other settings for the film included a service motorway, situated alongside the motorway, a country farmhouse and a lorry park. All of these settings are commonly associated with Britain and can be recognised by anyone living in the UK or even, maybe, abroad.

The cash is also predominantly British and even includes British legend, Sheila Reid as Mrs. Coates. She stars alongside William Ash, Christine Bottomley and Claire Keelan. Andreas Wisniewski, who plays the Tarman, however, is a famous German stunt actor. It is also worth noting that William Ash, Sheila Reid and Shaun Dingwall have all starred in episodes of Doctor Who- a worldwide British phenomenon.

Although the film is classed as a horror, it is somewhat difficult to see why. The events have a huge psychological impact on the lead character Zakes, who goes to great lengths to save his girlfriend from the evil figure. The fact that we never learn the true identity of this figure also makes it a horror. The only truly gory moment we see in this film is when Thorpe stabs Chimbonda when he realises that he knows something is wrong.

Se7en (1995) ‘Setting the Example’ Scene- Mise-En-Scene Analysis

Se7en is a psychological thriller film made in 1995 directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey. In this particular scene, we see serial killer John Doe (portrayed by Kevin Spacey) leading the two detectives David and William (portrayed by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman respectively) to a far out place where he is going to show them something mysterious. To create a great deal of tension between the characters, the producers used lots of mise-en-scene features. Mise-en-scene is a set of features used by film producers in order to convey essential information to the audience by showing us, rather than telling us what is happening.

One element of mise-en-scene is setting. In this particular scene, David and William are in the two front seats of a police car, being lead to a mysterious place by John, who is sitting alone on the back seat. The car is travelling through a completely barren and isolated land, where absolutely no-one lives. This is showing the audience that John is quite a secretive and cunning character because he is leading them into a trap where no-one will see the events that are due to take place. There is a barrier separating John and the two detectives to make sure that John causes no harm to them. But this barrier is also deliberately placed by the director to show how isolated John is from the rest of humanity.

The second element of mise-en-scene is performance and movement. The two detectives in this scene are still quite clearly overwhelmed by John’s horrific antics. Brad Pitt as David uses sarcasm to ridicule his actions, “Wait a minute, I thought all you did was kill innocent people”, but, he is, however undermined by John’s response. During this statement by David, he also uses quite a subtle hand gesture, but this is used to emphasise the point he is trying to make. William, however, doesn’t speak at all during this scene. However, the camera does two close shots of him, showing his emotions towards the situation. The first of these close-ups shows William looking up at the car mirror to see John, and the inquisitive look on his face shows he is clearly intrigued by what is being said by him. The second close-up shows William staring into the space beyond the car, again, clearly thinking deep thoughts and serious consideration about what John is saying.

Kevin Spacey does an absolutely fantastic job of portraying John because he shows just how isolated a person he is compared to everyone else through what he says and how he says them. Throughout this scene, he speaks in quite a monotone voice, which is something not many people do because it gives the impression that they are boring, but Spacey does this to portray the ‘otherness’ of John’s character. It is also worth noting that his voice sounds quite robotic; everything he says is said with vast amounts of consideration and his wide range of vocabulary shows he is someone of quite high intellect despite being a savage serial killer. John also comes across as quite deluded because he tries to justify what he has done, despite the seriousness of his crimes. His calmness and sense of tranquillity sat on the back seat also suggests that he seems as though he hasn’t done anything wrong. There are also moments where he raises the tone of his voice to assert what he is saying when he tries to prove the two detectives wrong.

The final aspect of mise-en-scene is costume and props. Both detectives are seen wearing quite a similar costuming to represent the profession and the type of job they are working one. Their costume consists of a bulletproof vest, shirt and tie and a long coat. The bulletproof vests are worn, most probably as a police requirement, to protect them from any potential danger, due to them being in such close proximity to John Doe, a self-confessed serial killer. The shirt and tie, however, are worn so that they remain smart, despite them being close to death at some points, which shows these particular events haven’t had a huge effect on them; it’s just part of their job. The only noticeable variation in costume between these two characters in this scene is that William is wearing a black trilby, most likely worn to show his maturity, due to his age, over the other characters. This trilby hat also suggests connotations of wisdom that the other characters don’t have.

The clothes John is wearing, however, are completely different to that of the other characters. He is wearing a plain, red shirt with plain, red trousers, which were likely to be given to him during his time in prison, before leading them to this mysterious place. These clothes also convey negative connotations of blood and danger to the audience, two features that are highly associated with him throughout the film. He is also wearing chained handcuffs to prevent him from attacking the two detectives because they already know he has it in him to kill people. The chains also convey ideas of animalistic behaviour from John because chains are never associated with taming humans, but are normally associated with taming animals. There is also a complete contrast between what he is wearing and what David and William are wearing to show that they are completely different characters and that John has isolated himself from society.

To conclude, mise-en-scene features are used in this particular scene to create a serious amount of tension between the three characters and to isolate John from David and William, due to the events throughout the film. The isolated and barren setting, the abnormal acting from Kevin Spacey and the clothes worn by him, suggest that John is like no-one else and that he is a maniac. Despite all these, John still tries to justify his actions by undermining John as he leads them into a trap and, eventually, his intellectual superiority will lead him to his goal. 

Rocky (1976) Breakfast of Champions Scene- Costume and Props Analysis

When we see a tired Rocky wake up, we see a holy cross come into shot behind him. This is to represent what he strives for and the God he aims to be when in the boxing ring. Below the cross is an alarm clock which shows the time as 04:00am. This was deliberately used by the producers to show the audience how much effort Rocky is putting in to his training and what success means to him. The most significant part of the scene is where we see Rocky crack four eggs into a cup and drink them raw. He's clearly using the eggs as a health remedy and as part of his training régime, which shows just how serious he is about winning.

It's also worth noting that Rocky sleeps in his sports sweater which shows that he trains 24/7. This is confirmed when we don't see him change the sweater as he runs in it in the next scene. We also see him spill some of the egg down this top, but he doesn't seem to care at all because we never see him try to wipe it off or even affect him at all. His clothes also don't appear to cost much, which shows that he is just a normal citizen and the chance he has been given to fight Apollo Creed is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The scene can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snqs566G_Zg

10 Rillington Place (1971)- What makes it British?

There is no doubt that 1971 horror hit 10 Rillington Place is British. Although the director Richard Fleischer and one of the producers, Martin Ransohoff, were both American, the whole cast and other crew members were British. As the film is based on a true story which took place in Britian, they ensured that they cast British people so that the film kept its authenticity. The lead actor, Richard Attenborough who played John Christie, was born in Cambridge and went on to win four BAFTAs and Golden Globes throughout his career- one of Britian's most acclaimed actors. He is supported in 10 Rillington Place by Judy Geeson as Beryl Evans and John Hurt as Tim Evans. Both Judy and John are also British, with the latter going on to win a BAFTA for his supporting role in the film.

The main reason, however, as to why 10 Rillington Place is unquestionably British is the fact that it is based on a true story which took place in Britain. The film also makes constant references to events that took place during World War 2, which had a huge affect on Britian culturally. The film takes place in London where Notting Hill now exists, which is now a hugely popular area. This is important because the film-makers use it to inform the audience what the area looked like in the past. The film was also filmed in exactly the same place as it was set. Although the three families refused to move out of the exact house for filming, they used an empty house just three doors down. Classic themes of what it was like to be British at the time flow throughout the whole film and that's what makes it truly British.

Star Trek (2009) Kirk Meets Bones Scene- Performance and Movement Analysis

This scene begins with Bones, a newly introduced character, arguing with a female officer, by refusing to board the ship. They have full eye contact with each other, with not one daring to look away, which creates a tense moment between the two of them. However, the female officer, despite being far smaller then Bones, is able to take control of the situation by raising her voice and sitting him down, a move which is perfectly executed by the actress.

After making quite a noise by throwing himself down on the seat next to Kirk, Bones says "I may throw up on you", in quite a gritty voice used by actor Karl Urban. This is to show to Kirk that perhaps he doesn't care or that maybe he's got the situation in full control. Kirk, on the other hand, shows that he's very relaxed and he somewhat has experience in this field by saying, "I think these things are pretty safe". We can assume he says this so that he calms Bones done and, perhaps, can become friends with him.

After still trying to intimidate him, it seems Bones begins to like Kirk. This is shown through him sharing his alcoholic drink with him as they prepare for the journey ahead. The scene closes with the two characters properly introducing themselves to each other and this is the first time where we see their relationship begin to develop, something that will grow stronger throughout the film.

The scene can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlphfLO3MYA

Aladdin (1992) Review

Aladdin, directed, written and produced by Ron Clements, is the 31st animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and was released in 1992. Featuring the voice talents of Scott Weinger and the legendary Robin Williams, this film is what Disney is all about: producing a light-hearted film with a strong meaning behind it designed to educate and fascinate children.

As with most Disney films, Aladdin, begins in a situation where it seems that all is well and the main characters seem at ease. Typically, bright colours are used to depict both the protagonists and the setting, but Jafar, however, sports darker colours on his clothing, a stunt used by Disney to to make it clear to the audience that he is the main antagonist.

The preliminary setting of the film is a thriving city, which is located somewhere in Agrabah, a fictional sultanate of Arabia. The film replicates this setting very well because we are shown lots of sand and dust on the floor of the city and the buildings look accurate to the ones we see in the Middle East at the moment. We get a very good look at the market area of the city where we see lots of locals trying desperately to sell their products to make ends meet. The two other main settings in the film is the palace and the cave where the magic lamp is found. The colours used to depict the cave are chosen very carefully to suit the mood of the film at the time. The dark depths of the cave help the audience to experience the tense moments the characters are feeling, which is crucial to any good film.

The first problem we see to occur is that Princess Jasmine is not happy that her father is dictating who she marries; this is something she is not comfortable with this and seeks freedom in the nearby city. This is where she meets Aladdin. The title-character is acted brilliantly by Scott Weinger, whose voice talents are perfectly suited to the heroic character and complements Aladdin's sidekick monkey Abu. Although Aladdin is a scavenger, Weinger's voice shows a certain class about it, suggesting the fact that he may be the suitable husband for Jasmine. It is, however, Robin Williams as the Genie who steals the show in a performance that is both mystical and hysterically powerful. Regarded by some as one of Williams' finest performances, the purpose of the Genie is represented well and the character quickly becomes an integral part of the film's plot.

Of course, it wouldn't be a happy ending without the main antagonist being locked away forever and the main protagonist falling in love with a beautiful princess, but, nevertheless, Aladdin, is a spectacular piece of cinematography with a score and visuals to die for.