In a way, this post is basically the movie version of shower thoughts. Bear with me. After Twitter user @jazz_inmypants asked people to share bothering movie details that aren't common knowledge, his thread received quite a few interesting insights. For example, Grease (1978) might be described as a story that teaches you to change yourself until other people like you. And Belle's (Beuty and the Beast (1991)) neighbors are probably doing something shady if the village can support such an extensive bookstore when she's the only reader and doesn't even pay. The tweet by @jazz_inmypants has already received over 30K likes and 1K comments, many of which filmmaking students could definitely rework into term papers.
Image credits: jazz_inmypants
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OMG This is so mine.... and the fact that Charlie PREFERRED to take Grandpa Joe rather than his Mum whose life was a depressing painful prison.... It just made me want to smack that kid.
Altogether, a film can seem incredibly complicated, but the reasoning behind every decision nearly always comes down to how it is working with the story and how it is affecting the viewer. With that in mind, the New York Film Academy has prepared some tips for reviewing a film and coming up with your own insights.
Watch it. "Once is necessary twice is preferable," the academy wrote. "Taking notes is also a good idea and will help the writing process by making it easy to refer to your in-the-moment thoughts and reactions."
Because he wanted to look deferent than his foster apes. He shave his beard with his deceased father's knife every day.
Express your initial thoughts and support your criticism. "Professional reviewers do not shy away from telling their readers whether they thought the movie was good bad or indifferent, and in fact readers come to rely on those reviewers whose tastes reflect their own when deciding whether or not to spend their time and money. Professional reviewers also have watched a lot of movies and can express why and how they came to their criticism. Be sure to back up your thoughts with specifics–a disappointing performance, a ridiculous plot, beautiful cinematography, difficult material that leaves you thinking, and so on."
Evaluate the acting. "Many casual filmgoers will be inspired to see a movie if a favorite actor is in it, so you should probably spend a little space talking about the performances: seasoned actor in a new kind of role, brilliant performance from a rising star, excellence despite a lackluster script, dynamics in an ensemble, and so much more can be said about the actors in any given film."
Directing, cinematography, special effects... This is where your inner film geek can really shine. Consider the highlights or missteps of directors, cinematographers, costume designers and CGI magicians. What worked, what surprised, what fell short of expectations, are all great questions to address.
It's also important to look at a film’s story from a structural viewpoint. Try to to keep in mind that the vast majority of films fall into the three-act structure: a beginning, middle, and end. It's not because the screenwriters are lazy, but because the formula simply works. In screenplays, the first thing you should look out for is the inciting incident. Generally, about 10 minutes into the film, there will be a moment that forces the protagonist to exit their comfort zone and start their journey towards a new goal. Around the thirty-minute mark, there is usually a major turning point. At this moment, the hero can't go back, that signals the beginning of the second act where the majority of the film will take place. Finally, around the ninety-minute mark, the second turning point will signal the film’s drive towards both its conclusion and resolution.
Of course, some films don’t fit perfectly into the three-act structure, but the vast majority of films do and you can start to get a sense of when important moments or changes will occur when you know the general format.
Did you know that this movie is based on the German book "Das doppelte Lottchen" from Erich Kästner? The girls are Luise and Lotte from Vienna and Munich respectively. The book was written around 1945 so the story makes much more sense regarding the timeframe. Today its stupid of course but back then it wasn't that easy to keep in contact when miles apart.
They also don't tell you that Hera drove Hercules insane so that he kills his wife Megara and his 5 children
Yeah, but he is supposed to be only 18 I think. Swayze is not 18, but neither is Jennifer Gray. 18 and 16 is not too bad.
And no one ever has a password on their phone. Anyone can just pick it up and see what they've been texting.
To be fair, the size of houses in most American movies and TV series' is ridiculous. A teacher and a nurse living in a massive house? No wonder immigrants think it's the place to be.
Well everyone knows men can't be raped... Yes, that is sarcasm...
It was to keep his mind relaxed and clear so he wouldn’t be in a panic when they arrived and instead could go full send on the booby traps
Jenny was broken from childhood. This may bother you but it happens a lot in real life so it's not unrealistic.
Disagree. The point of the whole movie was Bueller getting Frye to live beyond his fears.
I still can't handle how so many of the retired Bella's could afford to just jet off to Denmark
It bothers me that we don't have a grasp on the fact that flawed characters are what make good fiction......or that human beings ARE "problematic" sometimes.....or that we are now expecting fictional characters to only represent the best, most 100% socially acceptable versions of mankind to the point where it borders on limiting creative freedom because we have a meltdown when someone makes a deeply flawed character.....or that we are living in a society where we are no longer able to appreciate true depth of character because we have drawn such hard lines of social acceptability......
This is a good point. On the other hand, writers slot charts with hyper-annoying traits to satisfy formulae. Consider Matt Groenig whose formula requires a Bender. Outrageous and in your face, doing outrageous and implausible things just to satisfy plot points and comedy beats... and nobody would tolerate his presence if it were real. One could make the argument you just made about soap opera characters too. But I knew a couple of girls who were soap opera addicts, and they acted exactly like the characters on TV, neither better nor worse, and in real life no one could stand being around them.
Load More Replies...In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - The Wizarding Community were absolutely fine with sending Newt and Tina to their deaths for almost outing them, but when they catch Grindelwald whose sole purpose was to expose the wizards and witches they just send him back to Azkaban?!
Well, it was Grindelwald (pretending to be Percival Graves) who ordered them to be killed...
Load More Replies...How about 'Revenge of the nerds' where a guy pretends to be someone else to have sex with a girl (rape), or even 'Sixteen candles' where Jake "gives away" his almost-passed-out-drunk girlfriend to another guy, who then sleeps with her. Really. The 80's were awful.
What is wrong with sleeping with someone? It's the sexual intercourse that can be problematic.
Load More Replies...It bothers me that we don't have a grasp on the fact that flawed characters are what make good fiction......or that human beings ARE "problematic" sometimes.....or that we are now expecting fictional characters to only represent the best, most 100% socially acceptable versions of mankind to the point where it borders on limiting creative freedom because we have a meltdown when someone makes a deeply flawed character.....or that we are living in a society where we are no longer able to appreciate true depth of character because we have drawn such hard lines of social acceptability......
This is a good point. On the other hand, writers slot charts with hyper-annoying traits to satisfy formulae. Consider Matt Groenig whose formula requires a Bender. Outrageous and in your face, doing outrageous and implausible things just to satisfy plot points and comedy beats... and nobody would tolerate his presence if it were real. One could make the argument you just made about soap opera characters too. But I knew a couple of girls who were soap opera addicts, and they acted exactly like the characters on TV, neither better nor worse, and in real life no one could stand being around them.
Load More Replies...In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - The Wizarding Community were absolutely fine with sending Newt and Tina to their deaths for almost outing them, but when they catch Grindelwald whose sole purpose was to expose the wizards and witches they just send him back to Azkaban?!
Well, it was Grindelwald (pretending to be Percival Graves) who ordered them to be killed...
Load More Replies...How about 'Revenge of the nerds' where a guy pretends to be someone else to have sex with a girl (rape), or even 'Sixteen candles' where Jake "gives away" his almost-passed-out-drunk girlfriend to another guy, who then sleeps with her. Really. The 80's were awful.
What is wrong with sleeping with someone? It's the sexual intercourse that can be problematic.
Load More Replies...