**Types of actors in the Film, “Die Hard” (1995).

Director: John McTiernan

Producers: Andrew Vajna, Michael Tadross, Joh McTiernan

Writers: Roderick Thorp, Jeb Stuart, Steven E. de Souza

Stars: Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson

 

The film, “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” has two of America’s well known personality actors, Bruce Willis and Samul L. Jackson. A personality actor is where the, “actors are, at some level, playing themselves [or at least that is the perception], (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs, 2014).  In this movie, Simon Gruber (Jeremy Irons) plots to destroy McClain while simultaneously robbing New York of its Federal Reserve gold. It turns out that Simon is the older brother of the Hans Gruber the villain killed by John McClain (Willis) during the first Die Hard movie. During the first puppeteer like mission that Simon sends him on, John meets a shop owner in Harlem, Zeus Carver. Zeus is reluctantly pulled into continuing the scavenger hunt with John in order to find a bomb hidden within the city.

Bruce Willis is known for his tough-guy action-hero personality, which he ultimately saves the day in many of his movies. One thing I have noticed is that most action packed Bruce Willis movies; he is wearing a white tee-shirt. The tee-shirt could be a symbol of his strength and is ability to get down and dirty in order to be victorious, as it demonstrates in the “Die Hard” movie francize and many other movies. In many of his movie’s Willis generally plays the hero that cannot be beat, with that catch phrase that is forever connected to the film and the actor.  Samul L. Jackson can also be considered a personality actor based on many of his bad boy/forget-the-police attitude that is needed in many of his roles. Movies like the remake of “Shaft (2000)” and his smaller role as the criminal robber in, “Coming to America” with Eddie Murphy.  Jackson is typically cast as the angry black man that does not take any grief from anybody.

I believe that Jeremy Irons is known for his roles as the villain, though I would not consider him a personality actor, he is very good at depicting the bad guy. He is also the voice of Scare, in Disney’s “The Lion King (1994),” the evil brother of Mufasa, the king. Iron’s personality is not quite the same given that “The Lion King” is a children’s movie, which demonstrates that evil can have many different personalities.

**Disclaimer: All claims and options made on this blog site is purely that of an Ashford University Student and are not to be deemed as a specialist on this issue. All claims an options are in relation to ENG225: Introduction to film course taken by the student.**

 

References:

 

DontHateOnJord (Uploaded Aug 9, 2010) Coming To America – Samuel L. Jackson Scene in HD [Video Clip] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m61eBU61Y1c

Giggedy4goo. Uploaded Jun 19, 2010. Die Hard with a Vengeance [Video Clip]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwpfSkB8nls

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.

MoviemanTrailers. Uploaded Aug 26, 2011. Die Hard with a Vengeance Trailer [Video Clip] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE6XrgzGRT4

 

 

Different Types of Sound at Work in Film “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (2010)

Ashford University Student’s Review

 

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Director: Samuel Bayer

Writers: Wesley Strick, Eric Heisserer, Wes Craven

Stars: Jackie Earle Haley, Rooney Mara, Kyle Gallner

Dialogue in a film, play or book is the conversations between two or more characters. The sound effects are what the action of the movie is supposed to sound like while the music sets the mood or tone of the story. The film, “A Nightmare on Elm Street” is a remake of the classic 1984 “Nightmare on Elm Street.” This movie is a horror genre and the sound effects and music really has an impact on the intensity of the film. The music is what creates the suspense and the fear that a horror film wants to convey. In the grocery store scene the female character finds herself in the wake of Freddy as he creates enormous fear with the sound of his sharp claws scraping across the pipes. The sound effects of this film I believe to be as close to the real thing as possible. The sound his claw makes as he swings it through the air, this could be made by possibly swinging a pole or any other object though the air. Some of the sounds are exaggerated to create the intensity of the scene. For example, while in the grocery store, the sounds of the bottles hitting the floor may not be exactly as you would expect. Though when paired with the visual of the bottles dropping the audience thinks of the sound as being accurate. If the movie would change any few key sounds in the movie, I believe that it would not create the fearfulness that you would expect in a horror film. Similar to if you went to a haunted house during Halloween. You know that the props in the house are not real, but the sound of a distant chainsaw getting closer to you is what creates that fear. It is the combination of the dialog, sound effects and the music that makes a great horror film scary.

MOVIECLIPS (Uploaded on May 31, 2011). A Nightmare on Elm Street #3 Movie CLIP – Grocery Store Nightmare (2010) HD [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMt6zz_dYWI

Robert Shaye (Producer), Samuel Bayer. (Director). (2010). A Nightmare on Elm Street. [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Studios

Identifying the Type of Lighting in “The Wood” (1999)

Ashford University Student’s Review

 

Title: The Wood

Writers: Todd Boyd (story), Rick Famuyiwa (screenplay & story)

Director: Rick Famuyiwa

Producers: Ron Yerxa, David Gale, Van Toffler, Albert Berger

Year: 1999

Actors: Taye Diggs, Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones

 

The 1999 coming of age comedy “The Wood” uses the three-point lighting and high-key lighting style during many of the scenes of this movie. High-key lighting is typically used with, “comedies, happy scenes, institutional and office scenes, and the like” according to our course book, Film: From Watching to Seeing (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs, 2014). In one particular scene; Mike is convinced to place a bet of one dollar that will determine whether or not Mike can grab the buttocks of the unsuspecting Alicia, Mike’s new found crush. The use of high-key lighting in this film is meant to bring the audience to really see the world through the eyes of the narrator (Mike) and his memoires of his childhood. One can really see how Mike is emphasized by the “rim of light” (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs, 2014), as he gets geared up to fulfill his bet with his friends. Check out clip here.

The lighting gets a bit darker in a scene with Mike, Alicia and Alicia’s brother Stacy, by eliminating the light from behind the actor. This creates a intense dramatic moment when Stacy confronts Mike about grabbing his little sisters butt. Using less light could represent a kind of scary and intimidating moment during Mike’s first day at his new school. Check out clip here.

The lighting technique suited the genre of the film by really emphasizing the characters. Since the story is ultimately about the character’s lives, the lighting helps the audience focus on the specific characters during certain scenes. The romantic drama of Mike and Alicia is really brought out by the surrounding light during many of their intimate encounters. If the movie was shot with a different “look” or degree of lighting, it may not have been as effective to give the audience the feel of a romantic comedy but rather that of a serious melodrama or even a horror film.

 

**Disclaimer: All claims and options made on this blog site is purely that of an Ashford University Student and are not to be deemed as a specialist on this issue. All claims an options are in relation to ENG225: Introduction to film course taken by the student.**

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.

MOVIECLIPS (Published on May 17, 2012). The Wood (1/9) Movie CLIP – The Bet (1999) HD. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBU5Yu6RFBY

MOVIECLIPS (Published on May 17, 2012). The Wood (2/9) Movie CLIP – This is My Fight (1999) HD [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzWronMcXR8

Yerxa, Gale, Toffler, Berger (Producers), Famuyiwa, R. (Director). (2002). The Wood. [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Studios

Chronologically or Non-linearly Review on “Brown Sugar” (2002)

Ashford University Student’s Review of: “Brown Sugar” 2002

Title: Brown Sugar

Writers: Michael Elliot (story, screenplay), Rick Famuyiwa (screenplay)

Director: Rick Famuyiwa

Year: 2002

Actors: Taye Diggs, Sanaa Lathan, Mos Def, Nicole Ari Parker, Boris Kodjoe, Queen Latifah

Story: Brown Sugar is a 2002 romantic comedy about two longtime friends who grew up to be an A&R executive Dre (Diggs) and a hip-hot label magazine editor Sidney (Lathan) who discover that their childhood friendship has grew into more than just friends. The issue complicates things for the engaged Dre and the romantic interaction between Sidney and a handsome NBA player (Kodjoe).

Plot:  Sidney, a successful writer leaves her advanced position at her L.A. Times music review profession to accept a position as editor and chief of  New York’s hip-hop magazine, XXL. While Dre is an executive at a multi-million dollar label hip-hop record company which is based in New York. Dre and Sidney have known each other since they both heard hip-hope for the first time back when they were children. They reunite in New York many years later though they never lost touch with each other. The everyone knows they are a perfect match for each other, accept themselves or at least as much as they are willing to admit out loud. However, the very night Dre and Sidney reunite, Dre proposes to another woman. Dre’s anxiety over his company’s focus on its profit in the music industry, which lands him a deal with a gimmicky duo “Ren and Ten” while having to ignore the real talent of Chris (Mos Def).

Chronologically or Non-linearly: This film follows a small non-linearly order before returning to a chronological timeline. It starts the scene in the present day then briefly switches to a past memory before returning back to the present day for the continuation of the movie. By not only telling the story of Dre and Sidney’s beginning, allows for the viewers to understand how deep their relationship between them goes. The movie begins when Sidney is packing up her office in L.A. to move to New York for her new gig. Then a scene of an interview that Sidney does with many of the well-known people in the hip-hop industry during that time. Then it cuts to the scene where Sidney and Dre first met while being narrated by Sidney, describing when she “first fell in love with hip-hop.” During Sidney’s narration throughout movie you discover that Sidney was describing her feelings for Dre when referring to him as “hip-hop.”  Had the movie been completely chronological, the audience may not have understood the significance of Sidney and Dre’s love and hip-hop.

 

**Disclaimer: All claims and options made on this blog site is purely that of an Ashford University Student and are not to be deemed as a specialist on this issue. All claims an options are in relation to ENG225: Introduction to film course taken by the student.**

Resources:

souljah309. (Uploaded on Jan 16, 2009). Brown Sugar Movie Trailer. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cMkcfL8w5k

Heller, P. (Producer), Famuyiwa, R. (Director). (2002). Brown Sugar. [Motion picture]. United States: Fox Searchlight Studios.