This summer I was able to watch many films, some of which have been out for awhile and some that are fairly recent. One film that I had a particular interest in was Christopher Nolan's Memento. This is a very strange film that is filmed in a very unique style.
This film has been out since the year 2000 and I still think that it have more character and style than most recent films that I see. The plot is not told in a chronological order and the audience has to wait until the very end of the film in order to figure out what is actually going on.
The main character in the movie has short term memory loss and the way the plot is communicated in equally as hard to follow as the main character. He is always saying the same thing from scene to scene over and over and while this might sound redundant and boring it actually is quite entertaining and interesting to watch.
If you have not seen this film I would recommend you check it out. It is a bit of a chore, however if you can make it all the way to the end them it is worth it.
There's begun to be a trend in big Hollywood blockbusters where a film will decide to kill off one it's most beloved characters, only to resurrect them before the credits role. The biggest offenders, obviously, have been super hero movies, and the list of characters who have been brought back to life is actually getting a little out of hand. If you don't want minor spoilers for both old and newer movies, stop now.
Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy. Loki in Thor 2. Pepper Potts in Iron Man 3. Agent Coulson in the Avengers (who was technically brought back in the TV shows Agents of Shield). Baymax in Big Hero 6. Batman, kind of, in the Dark Knight Rises. Captain Kirk in Star Trek 2. I could go on.
There's a good article about the whole issue by Kyle Buchanan at Vulture that highlights a few of the problems that this trend creates. A lot of these movies are based off of comic books, he points out, and characters dying and inevitably getting brought back to life are a common occurrence. Killing Superman would be a huge, dramatic event, but no writer is actually going to get rid of such an iconic character forever. Still, the impact of such a death would have a more lasting effect on a reader, since they would most likely have months to think it over before any form of the character could be brought back to life.
Movies, on the other hand, are getting overly manipulative with audience members emotions. Once or twice is ok - I obviously didn't expect a kids movie like Big Hero 6 to kill off the funniest/most interesting/most action-figure makable character, and I didn't really want them to - but it's become something of a trope. Killing off a character at the end of the second act is fine; it's a good "dark moment" for the hero/rest of the characters and can vault a film into it's third act. Bringing them back 15 minutes later, however, is just toying with emotions. It's not enough time to fully reflect on the implications of a death. Even waiting for a sequel to bring back a character would be better than the immediacy that Hollywood has been banking on. It really tends to feel like a cop out. If I get all sad over a character dying, part of me wants that sadness to be justified by actually having that character stay dead.
I'm not sure if these writers and studio executives think that audiences won't be able to handle the implications of a beloved character staying dead or if they think they're just being clever. I, for one, want to see more Dumbledores; big, meaningful characters dying for good and seriously effecting the rest of the characters. If one of the Avengers dies? Really, truly, dies? Yeah, that's a movie I want to see. I think it's only a matter of time before the trend starts dissipate, and I can't wait to see who the writer or director is that has the balls to actually make death meaningful.
With Gravity cleaning up at the Oscars last year, Guardians of the Galaxy dominating the box office this Summer, and a new Star Wars film right around the corner, sci-fi is suddenly... kind of cool. Leave it to Christopher Nolan, however, to make it even cooler.
Interstellar, Nolan's follow-up to 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, is set to be one of the biggest films of the year - in terms of subject matter and, presumably, revenue - bar none. With a joint script - co-authored by Christopher's brother Jonathan - that's been in development since 2007 and a cast that just won't quit, here's my personal top five reasons why Interstellar just might be the best movie of the year.
Just in case you've literally been living under a rock for the past year, sci-fi isn't the only thing that's cool again: so is Matthew McConaughey. With an almost perfect triad of movies under his belt from 2013 - Mud, The Wolf of Wall Street, and his Oscar-winning performance in Dallas Buyer's Club - not to mention 2014's near perfect HBO series True Detective, McConaughey has the chance to blow us all out of the water once again. From the extremely limited amount that we know about the film, McConaughey will be playing Cooper, an astronaut/father who is forced to leave Earth in search of a new home for his kids/the rest of humanity. As Detective Rust Cohle would say: alright alright alright. Wait. No. Wrong character.
2. This is some of the promotional art for the film:
It's beautiful and subtle and everything you would expect to see from a film about the endless possibilities of space. And it basically taps into that unrefined subconscious area of anybody who dreamed of being an astronaut when they were a kid (which was pretty much everyone, right?) I couldn't find who designed the posters, but it's better than about 95% of what studios think are smart ideas for posters these days, including this little gem.
3. The Script is Super Secretive (and Hans Zimmer is composing)
Alright so that's technically two reasons. Nolan, already notorious for keeping his scripts under wraps, has been more tight-lipped than ever before about the Interstellar script. So tight-lipped, in fact, that he wouldn't even give the script to his long time collaborator, Hans Zimmer. According to Variety, Nolan gave Zimmer a one page sheet of text - that gave no hints about the film whatsoever - and told him to base the score off of that. Zimmer said that "the page had more to do with my story than the plot of the film. He knows how to get under my skin." The score will also be a step in a new direction for the duo, who have reportedly decided to scrap their loud, stringy, booming bass noises for something a little more different.
4. The Film will Actually be Shown on Film
For it's limited release in North America (in approximately 240 theaters) Interstellar will be projected in 70mm and 35mm formats, alongside the 70mm imax projections in at least 40 locations. The film is an exception to Paramount Studios initiative to stop releasing movies on traditional film stock as opposed to digitally. Filmmakers like Nolan, J.J. Abrams, and Quentin Tarantino have all stepped forward in defense of classic film stock, even though it's becoming less and less common - and practical - for theaters.
5. This is the full cast list:
Right here. Enjoy. Not to mention the actual plot, which has something to do with black holes and Matty McCons saving the world/ looking great in a
space suit. I've heard rumors - TOTAL RUMOR RIGHT HERE, TAKE IT WITH THE BIGGEST GRAIN OF SALT YOU CAN FIND - that the trailers don't even show footage from the second half of the movie, which, by the way has an incredibly long and exciting running time of 169 minutes. Yes, your butt will be sore, but so will your brain. In a good way. Hopefully. Here's a trailer if you're so inclined.
Christopher Nolan achieves an
interweaving film adaptation from his brother, Jonathan Nolan’s, short story,
Memento Mori. The main narrative of
Memento is shown in color and this narrative goes in reverse chronological
order. The black and white narrative is
then told in chronological order. These
two narratives are a sujet narrative consideration and each one helps the
audience receive a new piece of information about the task at hand. This allows Nolan to play with our
perceptions of the characters. At the beginning their motivations seem very
clear, but at the end we just can not be sure.Christopher Nolan does an excellent
job of taking material directly from his brother’s short story and implementing
the imagery in his film. He takes the
images of staircases, needles, and in many cases, what’s going on in Lenny’s
head from the short story and recreates the vision through specific scenes in
Memento.
Murders
The short story is full of subtle clues hinting that Earl is
on a murder spree. The vague, subtle hints in the short story are translated
into dialogue and narration in the film, making the premise of the story
clearer – that he has been manipulated into murdering many men under the
impression that they are his wife’s killer. Through dialogue and Christopher’s
addition of the character Teddy, it is explained to us that Lenny is a serial
killer, even though he doesn’t know he is. In both works, Earl/Lenny
manipulates himself through the use of notes and tattoos. Since he cannot
remember what he’s doing most of the time, his notes tell him he is on a
mission to kill a man. Throughout the short story, there are many subtle
indications that Earl has killed before, and what his motives are in doing so.
Since time does not pass for him, neither does his grief and anger for his
wife’s death. This never-ending feeling of the same emotions urge him to avenge
his wife’s killer. And so this becomes his purpose in his new life. Without
someone to find and kill, he has no purpose. And so he continues to find and
kill men in a continuous cycle that he cannot remember. The short story
discretely conveys this, while the film makes it more obvious.
Tattoos
In the short story, Earl uses tattoos as permanent reminders
to himself about his mission. His tattoos serve as lists of his accomplishments
regarding his investigation and things he still has left to do. They include
facts about the man he is searching for. This is true for both the short story
and the film. In the film, we are given a visual of his tattooed body and can
read the tattoos for ourselves as Lenny reads them. The film uses the tattoos
as a strong method of manipulation into searching for a murderer. Lenny
believes anything that is written on his body. It is the easiest way for him to
lie to himself. The film adds some tattoos not mentioned in the short story,
once again clearing up some indirect things that raise questions in the short
story. Not only does Lenny permanently mark himself with lethal lies, he also
displays one indicator of his lies on his bicep. “Memory is treachery.” This
tattoo is not part of the literary work, but it is a direct reference to the
theme of the story – memory is untrustworthy.
In the spirit of all this trailer creating process! (and because I'm happy this project is over) I decided to dedicate my last post to some of my favorite trailers!
My first favorite trailer is for David Fincher's Social Network:
I have to be honest, when I first heard that a movie about Facebook was coming out, I wasn't that excited. What made me go see this movie was the trailer. First of all, it uses a cover of Creep by Radiohead, as their score. Not Radiohead's best song, but it fits the concept and creates the perfect mood to catch the audience's attention (given that most of us have heard this song before). I also loved that they used a choral version of the song instead of the original one. Second, this trailer does a pretty good job introducing the conflict of the movie without giving away the whole plot. Finally, the shots and lighting are both interesting and as dramatic as they need to be.
Yes, I know this trailer is in french..... But I still love it. I first saw this because I had to watch a list of trailers in french for one of my classes. Believe me, I don't understand most of the stuff these people are saying, but it is awesome that a trailer you can't understand the words of can be so captivating. The music for this trailer is excellent. The switch in tempo and melody really gives you a taste of the different moods of this movie. It also does a great job connecting you with the characters. Every time I watch this trailer I feel compelled to watch the movie again! I also decided to upload this version, because I think the american version of the trailer is not as exciting as this one.
I remember when I first saw this, I thought "This movie is going to be epic!" I have no idea how many times I've watched this trailer, but I still get excited every time I watch this. The editing for this is excellent. I love how at the beginning they fade in and out different shots. This technique gave a certain rhythm that totally changes as you move on, especially at the end where all the cuts are fast. The editing, along with the music and voice overs work really well together. The only word to describe this trailer is epic!
Finally, the Inception movie trailer. I like this because it's pretty similar to the Batman trailer in technique (of course both movies are from the one and only Christopher Nolan). This trailer not only gives you whole picture of the movie, but also focuses in the main conflicts of the characters (especially Leonardo Dicaprio's character). I think the Batman trailer also does this. The Inception trailer also does a great job introducing the audience to the world of the movie, in order to hook them and make them go see it.
These are only a few of my favorite trailers! I also want to take this opportunity to express that it was a great semester. And that I enjoyed working with such a talented class! Hopefully I'll see you guys next semester, and if I don't I wish you the best luck!!!!
Even though I believe I only very briefly mentioned this film before in a much earlier post, after recent discussions in my psychology class I realized how much this creative and crazy film deserves a full post. Memento is a film written and directed by Christopher Nolan and it showcases Guy Pearce playing Leonard Shelby, a man who has no short-term memory. Even though he says in the film it is not amnesia, as I learned in my psychology class, Shelby actually has anterograde amnesia. Throughout the film Leonard tries to seek vengeance for the rape and murder of his wife by finding a “John G.” This process of detective work is hard for Shelby because of his anterograde amnesia, which makes him unable to remember new facts and memories.
The film does a wide variety of things to help accurately convey Shelby’s condition to the audience. Shelby can remember the events leading up to his wife’s murder but is unable to make new memories. To combat this he writes notes, tattoos his body, and takes Polaroid pictures so he can remember this information and find the mysterious “John G.” figure. It is still tough for Shelby especially since characters like Teddy and Natalie are telling me contrasting stories and information. These notes and reminders give Shelby help in “remembering” where he is in the case.
Another interesting thing the film does is present the story in two different sequences. One sequence is in color and is shown in reverse and the other sequence is in black and white and is shown in chronological order. These two sequences then converge at the end of the film and thus create one full story. This is done to put the audience in the main character’s shoes. By not being able to recall the events in the color sequence (since the audience does not what happened before them during their first viewing) they are experiencing short-term memory loss and Shelby’s inability to remember what happened after his wife’s death. To help further understand this “sujet” or presentation of the film Andy Klein for Salon magazine numbered the black and white timeline with the numbers 1-22 and the lettered the color timeline with the letters A-V. After the opening credits the sequence starts at 1 and is followed by V, 2, U, 3, T, 4, S and so on until finally 22/A and the end credits.
Two of my favorite moments from the film are when an event in Shelby’s life runs too long and he forgets where he is and what he is doing during it. For example he finds a wounded and injured man in his hotel room and asks him who did this to him only for the guy to respond, “you did!” Another great moment is when he is running through a trailer park and wonders what he is doing there. He sees a guy running on the other side of some trailers and thinks he must be pursuing that guy. He begins to chase him only to realize he is actually running away from him!
Memento is a crazy thrill ride directed by Christopher Nolan and a great film not only for a film or psychology student like I am but also for anyone in general. The film does a good job (especially for most Hollywood films) portraying psychological conditions like anterograde amnesia. While I could go on all day about unique and creative this film is many of you will probably forget about this post. But please do not forget to check out Memento when you have a chance over the holiday break. Believe me it will be a movie you will never forget!
After talking about the spinning hallway in Inception during class it got me thinking about this complex and intriguing movie. Underneath the effects there are many other great things this movie has including its music and story.
First for those who have not seen the film, Inception is a 2010 film written, directed and co-produced by Christopher Nolan one of my favorite directors who has done movies like The Dark Knight and Memento. It was also nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Leonardo DiCaprio stars and plays Dom Cobb, a specialized thief. Instead of robbing, banks he steals ideas from the unconscious minds while they are asleep and dreaming. This is called extraction. Cobb has been on the run and unable to go home to America to visit his children because he is wanted for his wife's murder. Cobb is offered a chance to go home and have his old life back if he could perform the impossible task of inception; the planting of an idea into someone's subconscious. That is Inception in a nutshell. It is a lot more complex and a definite watch for anyone who loves science fiction, action or heist movies.The music from Inception is just beyond epic. Hans Zimmer, who has worked on movies like The Lion King, The Dark Knight, and Rango, completed the score. Now the score is described as a very electronic score but the coolest part about Zimmer's Academy Award nominated score involves Charles Dumont's 1956 song "Non, je ne regrette rien." In the movie this song is used as a "kick" to wake up them up. To know they are running out of time in the dream the song softly starts as headphones are placed on the dreamer's ears. The music builds and then they are awakened.
Now as explained in the film, time moves differently when people are dreaming or when they are dreaming within a dream. ("It's a week the first level down. Six months the second level…"). Zimmer used this information and incorporated this into his soundtrack. Listen carefully to "Non, je ne regrette rien" and then to Zimmer's "Half-Remembered Dream" from the soundtrack. Do you see what he did there? When slowed down the song, like it would be in the dream world for the characters. Check out this video for an audio comparison. Another user also did the opposite and sped up "Half-Remembered Dream" to have it sound like Dumont's song!
Two final points, one small and one large, I want to bring up involve the story and the script, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Let's start small first. Nolan was so detailed when writing the script that some of the character names are allusions. Ellen Page's character Ariadne is an "architect" who creates the various dreamscapes, which are designed like mazes. The name alludes to a princess in a Greek myth who aided by the hero Theseus by giving him a sword and a ball of string to help him navigate the labyrinth, which imprisoned the Minotaur. Ariadne in the movie aids the hero Cobb and the rest of the characters on how to navigate the dream mazes.
The other point I must bring up when talking about Inception is the ending. The ambiguous and controversial ending involves a spinning top wobbling. For the characters in the movie they each have a totem that allows them to find out if they are dreaming or in the real world. For Cobb if the top stays spinning he is dreaming but the ending fails to show if the top falls or not because of the abrupt cut. In other words the audience is unsure if the final sequence of the film is reality or just another dream. While many of speculated and even came up with theories involving Cobb only wears his wedding ring during dreams and that is your clue to look for, Nolan has denied this. When I first saw the movie I was a little confused and looked for clues to find out what happened but after my second viewing I realized how it doesn't matter what happened. Whether he is dreaming or not, Cobb is not looking at the top for the answer but is looking at his kids. If he doesn't care, neither should we. Nolan has backed this in interviews but the audience is free to believe whatever they want. Maybe they should sleep on it and dream their own ending to this wild movie.
First for those who have not seen the film, 
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