Post 6: Film of the week (WARNING CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Just a quick note, due to computer problems I have been unable to post the weekly film review, so I will now do 3 at once followed by the overall film of the month all in one go, and then hopefull I will get back into the routine of weekly posts...

Star Wars: Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith,
Widely acclaimed to be Episode 2's greatest rival, George Lucas created the prequel trilogy in order to both expand the ground breaking sage and the lining of his pocket, unfortunately however, the first 2 films are known to be among the biggest anti-climaxes in film history, in both films (Episodes 1-2), the acting was amateurish, the storyline were weak, and nothing really happened, Lucas apparently hoped to make up for this with the CGI, which was also a disappointment to the once vast fan base. Episode 3 however broke away from the saga's new dead beat image, bouncing back with stunning effects, a strong storyline, and improved performances from the cast...

The running theme through out the film is the slow yet inevitable rise of the Sith empire to power. The short sighted Jedi are more intent on meditating and acting upon what they believe to be best for the republic. This angers young wayward Jedi Aniken Skywalker who seeks the council of the wise supreme chancellor Palaptine (who is later revealed to be the hiding Sith lord who has orchestrated all of the previous and coming events), Skywalker gradually grows apart from his old master Obi wan until he consumed by the dark side and becomes the infamous Darth Vader.

The final few scenes are a masterpeice of film making, (and for many they were a real 'lump in throat' moment), through a series of slow motion clips with a huge orchestral soundtrack in the back ground, the viewers witness the macabre destruction of the Jedi by their former allies, followed by the epic culmination of the 3 films; dubbed, 'The duel of fates', former master and padwan (now sith lord), come together to fight it out on the boiling lava world of Mustafar, after a slightly over timed fight scene, Vader is mortally wounded and Obi wan leaves the planet. Aniken is found by the Sith emperor (Palpatine) and is almost completely reconstructed, thus giving birth to the iconic and feared masked villain of Darth Vader

The film on the whole was actually very good, this surprised me after the veritable farce of its two predecessors, both through storyline and the stunning CGI that really enhanced the final battle scene (featuring shooting plumes of lava and boiling pits of liquid fire). On the other hand however, it takes a while for the story to find its feet and it can be painfully slow when re-watching it. But to conclude, in comparison to the other prequels, this is a must see, the only downside of this being that a minimal amount of it will makes sense if the other two have not already been endured.

Post 5: Film of the week (WARNING: contains spoilers)

Right, it’s finally here, the first edition of film of the week:


This week’s film is the recent sensation that is Cameron's Avatar, critically to be a marvel beyond its time, and it has become the highest grossing film of all time (making $2.605 billion within 41 days). It has been declared as the Star wars of its generation and has captivated audience’s world wide...

The plot: the film is set in the early 22nd century on the rich, Earth like moon of Pandora, in the process of a mining operation, the colonial humans come across an indigenous humanoid species (the Na'vi), who just so happen to be located upon the richest deposit of the priority mineral. In a bid to relocate them diplomatically a program is set up that allows humans to take control of Na'vi bodies and join the people and convince them to leave. This plan is not welcomed by the sadistic head of security, Col.Quaritch, who is seemingly hell bent obliterating the Na'vi completely.

While on the Avatar program, Jake Sully (our main protagonist), becomes so connected with the Na'vi that he begins to prefer his new life and eventually decides to stop Quaritch himself before it is too late. After diplomatic strategies fail, Quaritch rolls in a huge fleet of gunships to destroy the population, but what he has not counted on the deity of the Na'vi being all too real. Jake, with the help of Eywa (the deity), amasses a huge force consisting of the almost all of the moons life forms and the outcome is a spectacular action scene. After a good old fashioned one-on-one between Quaritch (in a combat suit) and Sully (as a Na'vi), the Col. is killed and the humans are shipped off from Pandora and back to Earth.

Views: The film its self is very long, personally I prefer this as it gives the audience a more realistic feel of this new world as it is not cut off after one and a half hours. The CGI in this film is simply spectacular there are no two ways about it; Cameron's attention to detail has proved that there are still some people in the world that know how to spend $200million effectively. One the other hand, it suffers from a very weak plot line of Jake falling in love and changing sides etc... A story we have seen in many other productions in the past (E.G: Lion King 2, Stardust (to a point)). But Cameron has managed to compensate for the lack of depth with the stunning visual effects and even a new language. It may well be possible to relate to the characters and become almost emotionally attached to some of them despite the story as some of them are quite literally put through hell, but personally I did not get this effect.

To conclude, Avatar is a visually stunning film though it lacks in the plot department, though i feel this can be forgiven when looking at the film's other good points, which are abundant in number

(Main Task) Post 4; Part 2: 10/04/10/ Casting

When it came to choosing a cast for our production, we thought of a number of candidates from our school/ social groups/ parents etc... however, due to the nature of our storyline, a large cast of extras was not required. We therefore decided to use ourselves with the exeption of the pub scene, in which external cast members will be required

(Main Task) Post 4, Part 1: 04/04/10/ The technical stuff... (locations)

The filming for the main task takes place in a variety of locations, as well as this, there is a wide range of shots and other technical aspects to consider:

-The locations are from all around the county. The flashbacks have been filmed in the village of Stratton Audley at the house of Elm farm. We chose this location because of its dated appearence and wide range of environments. Some footage has also been shot at the Marlborough school in the drama studio, this was for a scene that takes place in a poilce interview room, and we were forced to compromise when the local police branch refused us filming rights on their premises. The drama studio provided possibly a better atmoshphere than the police station could have, with dimmed lighting and black walls, the scene takes on an intense feel which compliments the dramatic content.
There is also a major part of this production to be filmed in a public house, but due to organisational difficulties there will be another post on this at a later date once the filming has been completed at a confirmed venue.

(Main Task) Post 3: 04/04/10/ The Main Task

This is the major task of the AS media studies course, it comprises of a 2 minute film in the stly of a thriller opening:

Our film centeres around an ex-officer who has recently left the force and unknowingly suffers from multiple personalties, and once his sister disappears without warning, he begins to loose the plot. After a few months the case has been dropped due to a lack of leads, his sends our character of the rails and he hits the bottle and spends all of his time in pubs drowning his sorrows. Once he begins to see vivid flashbacks of happier times, he begins to piece his past together through his visions and eventually believes that he has discovered a crucial lead in the cold case of his sister's disappearence.

Upon following this up, he comes across harrowing clues about his sister and believes he can finally solve the case, this is until his alter ego makes and appearence and turns the tables....

Post 2: 04/03/10/ Back again

Ok, apologies for the gargantuan length of time between posts, this has been due to a regretable issue with personal organisation that has caused a few problems to say the least, but, hopefuly, that is now all sorted out and i can get back to regular blog posts to keep you updated with the progress of the AS media studies main task...