Establishing the Framework

 

The Science Fiction genre in film has been around practically as long as film itself. A Trip to the Moon, directed by George Meiles and released in 1902 is widely considered to be the first science fiction film. Inspired by the work of Jules Verne, it features a group of astronomers that construct a spacecraft and launch themselves via cannon to the moon. Shortly after their arrival, a reptilian race of moon men appear and conflict ensues. Fast forward over one hundred years later, and the genre has evolved into a sprawling collection of concepts and thematic elements. Science fiction cinema is most notably recognized for its use of advanced technology and out of this world ideas. If you see a cyborg, or a laser pistol, or a menacing alien monster in a movie trailer, your brain will automatically tell you that it is a sci fi movie. That’s because over the years, as the genre has been shaped and molded by film after film, we as an audience have come to subconsciously understand and acce...

It’s not often that a film grows with each generation, but sometimes a film is made just right that no matter how old you get, the story sticks with you. The story was inspired by Steven Spielberg’s real-life because around a young age, when his parents were going through a divorce, Spielberg filled the emptiness with an imaginary alien friend. E.T The Extra-Terrestrial follows Elliot caring for an alien while trying to get him back home. I think the story resonates with audiences of all ages because both Elliot and the alien are longing for that care and compassion you usually receive from the love and security of your family. However, both characters have lost that security but eventually find it within each other and their friendship. Henry Thomas plays ten-year-old suburban boy Elliot Thompson, the son of a single mother, Mary Thompson. Elliot, who feels alone, meets an alien, who he eventually names E.T. Elliot and E.T form this connection which allows Elliot to feel what E.T is ...

‘In the Mood for Love’ takes place in the turbulent 1960s in Hong Kong. Hong Kong in that unique period was the perfect vessel for ‘In the Mood for Love’. What would happen if the story took place in 2021 Hong Kong, and how would the characteristics of location as a vessel change? In the 1960s, Hong Kong was in a long period of instability. The drought caused continuous water production in Hong Kong, and the Revolution in mainland China caused the June 7 riots in Hong Kong, which resulted in severe injuries and deaths. Still, the Hong Kong economy grew steadily despite the instability. This story, full of contradictions, is carried in an urbanized environment. Most of Wong Kar-wai’s films shot in Hong Kong, a crowded and busy city. Hong Kong has completed its urbanization, a state where people can live without “community,” which means they barely need to deal with their neighbors to live. In the Mood for Love has more of a community sense than other films. Such a story does not seem to...

Film adaptations of theatre plays are about as old as Hollywood cinema. With literally hundreds of stage-to-screen films made over the years, these movies present their own challenges. Examples of these challenges include limited settings and long-winded dialogue. But when done well, can be a masterful blend of two primary art forms. Some of Hollywood’s favorite films are based upon plays, like Casablanca and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (which was a novel turned play turned film). The average moviegoer might think these types of adaptations are thinning out. With today’s films featuring less and less original screenplays, whether they be remakes or comic book adaptations, theatre adaptations are still alive and well. This year’s Academy Awards was a fine example of such. Both Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and One Night in Miami are play adaptations that were nominated for multiple Oscars this past April. Film’s today have been more geared toward stories that are meant to in...

Almost everyone can remember the first time they saw Star Wars or the first Twilight movie, but I believe everyone remembers the first time they saw the movie Jaws. Some movies will have your heart race in excitement or have you rolling on the floor with laughter, Jaws was the movie that had you afraid of the water, and not just the oceans, the pools too. Every aspect of this film has a redeemable quality about it. From the actual way the movie is shot and made, to the characters and their stories that they live and tell. This movie is near flawless and it’s helped by having a hero everyone can relate to, and having a villain everyone is deathly afraid of. This movie is a masterpiece, and no other movie has the perfect villains or the perfect hero like the movie Jaws does. When the film starts, we are introduced to the villains first, not the hero. The villains, and yes, I count two in this film, are the music and the shark. We don’t get to see the shark until an hour in the film, yet ...

As Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) of Sunset Blvd. visits her old set one of the workers cries out, “You’re Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big.” The metaphorical dying star replies, “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.” With this swiping response the audience of the film is shown the weight of the industry upon the workers within such. Sunset Blvd. provides a glimpse of this calloused cinematic world through the lens of the dead silent pictures of old. In similar way, the modern Mank does something akin to such as a film on film by showing the ruthless inner world that somehow, despite all odds, produces the masterpiece script for Citizen Kane by Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman). Both films contemplate the wondrous magic that is produced by a cruel and unforgiving industry that is motivated and moved by the dollar. Seeing Mank in light of Sunset Blvd. provides a running commentary on the nature of the American film industry through t...