Dom's Film Blog

For my English 200 class, I was tasked with watching the film M. Butterfly and compare it to the written play that we had previously read. While I was skeptical about the low scores on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes for the film, I assumed I'd find some more enjoyment from the story, seeing it adapted in a different way. Right away, I noticed key similarities and key differences. The way the two characters met, was word for word the same dialogue sequence that it was in the play, however there were a lot of things that the writer changed for the on screen adaptation. Which was strange, because the original writer, Henry Hwang, also wrote the adapted screenplay. The most notable difference is the narrative style change, in which the movie has a linear passage of time. The heart and soul of the play is the 4th wall breaking segments that take place at different times of the events of the story. It provides a light hearted lens in which the characters can express their thoughts and feelings...

 This passed week I sat down to watch a peculiar movie from one of the most famous directors of all time, which wasn't exactly the same style of his other films. Martin Scorsese's After Hours is a fever dream if I've ever seen one, but it was a lot to sit with just because it was such a different narrative when compared to Scorsese's usual crime-thrillers. The plot follows a simple man named Paul, who is a word processor. Truly the most boring job was found to encapsulate the life of a working class American. I immediately felt the unfulfilled personality of the protagonist through two distinct moments in the first couple minutes of the film. The first was a shot in which he walks out the gate of his work building, just before two men close it shut. The shot is symmetrical and pleasant to look at, but it also just fits the existential dilemma of having an unfulfilling life with a repetitive job. The second, is the scene that kicks off the bulk of the plot, where he sits...

This past week we talked about a really interesting topic regarding the side of cinema regarding gender, and I had to talk more about it because I feel like I've gained a lot of insight from it. This topic is the Female Gaze, and it's a concept that counters the idea of the more well known Male Gaze. The main idea of the Female Gaze, as we learned in class, is that instead of viewing a character focusing on objectifying their body, the emphasis should instead be on the emotion behind the look. A simple way to put it, the female gaze focuses on the facial features rather than commonly sexualized body parts. However, the biggest focus of the female gaze is empathy. The video we watched in class from the youtube channel 'The Take' ( https://youtu.be/eCPD7Mi9504 ), gave a lot of new insight on this topic for me. I love how they classified the slow motion and shots and the jib shots that isolate particular body parts and hide the face from the frame. These are shots that as ...

*Light spoilers ahead, not for the end of the movie, but a couple twists in the middle* The other day I decided to show my suite mates a movie that I hadn't seen in a while, this being David Fincher's 2014 thriller, 'Gone Girl'. To give my prior opinions regarding the film, I always really liked it. I thought it was compelling and did a good job of sticking with the viewer after the screen goes black, however, I feel like I didn't like it as much as a lot of Fincher fans do. I particularly like 'The Social Network' the best, with 'Se7en' and 'Fight Club' also being up there. This film is close to those in comparison  though, with the suspense and thriller aspects of his early work and his token sleek and sophisticated directing style that is associated with his later works.  Both Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike have great, yet twisted performances, with a surprisingly compelling performance from Carrie Coon as the protagonist, Nick Dunne’s, sis...

This weekend I decided to see the next installment of the Zombieland series, Zombieland Double Tap. Since it's nearing the spooky season, and my roommates often need a break from good movies after I show them one that blows their mind, I thought this one was a good idea. When it comes to my expectations going into the film, I wouldn't say I had very high expectations, but the first Zombieland movie is a guilty pleasure of mine and I love the laughs and the cast. It was just immediately one of those fan favorites of mine, where I could just turn off my brain and have a good time. I remember seeing the trailer a few years back and right away just noticing the title and how it connects to the first movie, because the main characters 2nd rule of surviving in the post apocalyptic world is to make sure that the zombies are for sure dead by attacking them twice. I wanted to see it when it was in theaters, but just remember not getting around to it. I had just seen the original movie a...