The Departed

The Departed (2006)

Director: Martin Scorcese

Actors: Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Matt Damon

The film directed by Martin Scorcese is a remarkable film.  Not only because of the plot and storyline, but also because the flawless execution from the actors.  Any person can take words from a script and put them into action, but a good actor relies on his skill set to make the words and actions truly alive. "Memorizing lines and repeating them in a believable fashion is the essence of acting; however, actors use different methods in their performances. Whichmethod they use often depends upon the film, or the role itself" (Goodykoontz & 2014).

The Departed stars Jack Nicholson, the leader of an Irish thug gang, Matt Damon, Nicholson's apprentice and cop, and Leonardo DiCaprio, an undercover cop infiltrating the gang.  Jack Nicholson's uses a naturalistic performance to play the vicious criminal leader, Frank Costello.  He portrays Costello as a business-loving, fun-having criminal with a way of staying out of hand cuffs.  His wittiness can only be learned by life on the streets.  Matt Damon, Colin Sullivan, meets Costello as a boy as is instantly fascinated and eager to work for the gangster.  As he grows, he learns more about the "family business" and they set a plan to have Sullivan become a state trooper.  Damon also uses realism type of acting to play a naive kid to a conieving adult.

Billy Costigan, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is a complex character.  He is willing to do anything to be a police officer, including playing a double agent and infiltrating a dangerous gang that will later take his life.  The toll of playing two different people day in and day out begins to wear him thin.  His constant paranoia and insomnia drive him to beg a psychiatrist for drugs.  The intense scene is one of Leonardo's best scene in the film.  His desperation is evident.  DiCaprio's use of method acting made his need and desperation believable.  The audience begins to empathize with him, as well as his stubborn psychiatrist. 

Resources:

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.

Grant, B. K. (Ed.). (2012). Film genre reader IV [Electronic version]. Retrieved from the eBrary database.

Dumb 'n' Dumber

Movie: Dumb 'n' Dumber (1994)

Director: Bobby & Peter Farrelly

Starring: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, & Lauren Holly

Genre: Comedy

Sound is crucial to todays moviegoer's experience.  It is hard to believe that not too long ago, sound was considered unimportant to the audiences watching a film.  Technology has directors utilizing state of the art Dolby Surround Sound (DSS) enhancing their pictures.  There are three basic categories of sound filmmakers incorporate to their motion pictures: dialogue, music, and sound effects.  Dialogue is the conversation held between characters or narration and is classified as diegetic (meaning it is a part of the film's story).  Music, also known as a score, is put in post-production and is heard only by the audience, making it classified as a non-diegtic (an outside part of the film's story).  Sound effects are created by the characters in the film; the main purpose of sound effects is to enhance the action and interest of the audience (Goodykoonts & Jacobs, 2014).

Sound is used to thrill the audience and enhance the storyline. An example of dialogue in Dumb 'n' Dumber that really gauges the comedic impact of this film would be the scene when Lloyd (Carrey) comes home to Harry (Daniels) discovering his pet parakeet's head fell off.  Lloyd takes this moment to persuade Harry to go on s road trip to deliver a lost suitcase to a beautiful woman he met the day before.

Dumb 'n' Dumber's background music has comedic timing.  The music is just as goofy as the characters in the movie.  In this scene, Lloyd made the wrong turn into Colorado instead of Aspen.  On a tight budget, they realize they don't have enough money to fill ip their tank to reroute them in the right direction.  A very frustrated Harry walks away from a remorseful Lloyd. A silly tune plays in the background.  The music lightens the mood to keep the film from being too dramatic.  It is a comedy after all.

Sound effects enhance the scene. In this particular scene in Dumb 'n' Dumber, Lloyd and Harry finally track down the beautiful woman Floyd fell in love with, Mary Swanson, at a fundraiser for Snow Owls.  Harry tells Lloyd a lie about Mary wanting to meet him for a date the next day.  In a fit of excitement, Lloyd pops a champagne bottle to celebrate his victory.  The cork pops, the champagne fizzes, and an owl is shot down from it's cage.  Without the victim of the cork shooting making a timely "hoo" before death or the pop of the cork from the bottle, the scene would not have been so funny.

Resources:

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Youtube.com

Beetlejuice

The proper lighting in any movie matches the stage and dialog for the storyline and it's characters.  Lighting enhances the tone and mood the director and cinematographer is attempting to convey to the audience.  The three types of lighting used in movies are high-key lighting, low-key lighting, and three-point lighting.  High-key lighting is used to limit contrasts and shadows; a very bright light is used over all.   Low-key lighting looks dark overall; everything seems to have a limited source of light.  Three-point lighting has good contrast, but not overwhelming in shadows, three lights are used in various angles.

Beetlejuice  is a great example of low-key lighting.  There is no great contrast in any of the scenes.  even the clothing the characters wear seems to have a monotone or drab look to them.  The low-lighting in this particular film creates a darker tone without a scary or uncomfortable feeling.  If Tim Burton used high-key lighting in this film, it would have had an award contradictory tone to it.  The ghosts are meant to be portrayed as uncomfortable, unsure, and most of all, dead.  Lydia is portrayed as depressed, lost, and also unsure.  Seeing these characters in bright lights, limited shadows, or brighter tones, it would have been contradictory to their truth and also the storyline.




Resources:
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Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.

Week 1 Blog

Title: Pee Wee's Big Adventure
Writer: Phil Hartman, Paul Reubens, and Michael Vorhol.
Director: Tim Burton
Year: 1985
Actors: Paul Ruebens, Elizabeth Daily, and Mark Holten

Story:  Pee Wee's Big Adventure is a spin off of Pee Wee's Playhouse.  It shares the story of child-like, adventurous, and bike-obsessed Pee Wee Herman losing his treasured bike.  He goes on a wild goose chase in search of his bike.  Pee Wee finds himself in multiple sticky situations along the way.

Plot:  The film begins with Pee Wee Herman's quirky morning routine of breakfast, bike riding, and errand running.  With his bike tightly locked up in front of the bike shop, he goes inside to check out new gadgets for his beloved red bike.  After saying goodbye to the shop owner and friend, Dottie, he cheerfully leaves only to discover his bike had been stolen.
   
         Pee Wee frantically calls police to report stolen bicycle and is told there is nothing they can do.  The loss of his bike sends him into grief ridden downward spiral, until he spots Madam Ruby, a fortune teller to help.  She is a phony and only desires his money so she makes up a story how his beauty is in the basement of the Alamo in Texas.

        He immediately takes off on the road hitch hiking his way to Texas.  An escaped convict picks him up and quickly drops him off abandoned in the middle of nowhere.  Pee Wee then is rescued by a semi truck and is dropped off at a local diner by Large Marge, who is later revealed to be a ghost. He is forced to clean dishes after ordering a meal without having any money to pay for it.  A sweet waitress with a boyfriend with a mean temper, Simone, asks Pee Wee to watch the sun rise before he takes off to find his bike.  He obliges and quickly regrets it as her mean boyfriend discovers them and attempts to kill Pee Wee.  Pee Wee barely escapes by jumping onto a cargo train that he eventually jumps out of and lands in Texas.

         He quickly locates the Alamo and joins the group of tourists with a guide walking them through the Alamo.  Pee Wee is told by the tour guide there is no basement in the Alamo and his heart sinks as he nearly gives up his search.  He then calls Dottie to wire him a bus ticket back home, but then he spots Simone catching a bus to her life long dream of Paris then her boyfriend spies Pee Wee and the chase begins again.  Pee Wee escapes again to use the phone in a biker dive bear where he finds himself in an altercation with mean bikers.  He wins their favor by dancing on top of the bar in platform shoes he borrows from the bar chef.  The bikers give him a bike and he crashes, landing him in the hospital.

         Pee Wee awakes in the hospital and he sees his bike on the news.  A child actor in LA is donating to an orphanage. The trip to Warner Bros studios in Los Angeles immediately ensues. Pee Wee Herman breaks into the studios, locates his bike, and steals it back.  The lot security chases him and eventually gets him.  He explains the story to the Warner Bros CEO and the CEO is fascinated with his story and wants to make it into a feature film.  The movie is made about Pee Wee's adventure to get his bike and Pee Wee Herman is just happy to have his bike back.

Chronology:  This film was told in chronological order.  Without this order, Pee Wee's crazy encounters would not have made any sense.

 The weird people and circumstances he finds himself in make this story a complete adventure.  If it had not been linearly, the impact of these people and locations would not have led him to his beloved red bike.

Resources:

www.imbd.com - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089791/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_wr#writers

Pee Wee's Big Adventure full trailer retrieved from YouTube.com - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX9OCvQEQ30