Film Review - Shallow Hal (Jack Black)

Shallow Hal

The camera shots i think are effective and really interesting would be: close ups of their faces to show emotion and detail of the face, medium shot - it shows the body language slightly and is effective as you can see more of their body, 2 shot - which shows 2 people that play a part in the movie that can sometimes occur as important, low angle shot which was used towards the beginning of the trailer on a landmark/building to show where they are and that would link further on to why they are there, Birdseye view is also used to show the scenery of the section of the movie that they are stuck in the lift and how much it was getting to them. Over the shoulder shot was also used when Jack Black was being spoken too, this shows how it feels to see things from someone else's perspective. The sound starts of with very cheerful music that is slightly romantic but as it goes on narration is included so people can understand more clearly what the movie is about. As the mood changes to dramatic the beats in the music/in the background pick up pace and seem very tense. The Pace of editing is not too fast but not too slow so it would be medium editing; it shows quite a few different scenes of the movie that are most effective and stand out the most. I think personally that they done the editing pace this fast as they don't want to give away too much of the movie as it would spoil it and people wouldn't see the point of going to see it or buying the DVD. The costumes used on the main characters are normal everyday casual wear. But for the main character Gwyneth Paltrow she had to go out of her comfort zone and wear a full on body suit that made her look larger that she is in reality. The suit made her look 300 pounds which people don't tend to think of "hot", make-up artists and all the on-set producers and helpers had to help make fake teeth, mould of her body, have people actually come in that were over 150 pounds so Gwyneth knew what size she wanted to be and then film more than 1 shot as they had to change her size and re-film when they were filming 2 point perspective. Jack Black went for the normal everyday casual wear and went out partying so wearing that type of clothing is effective as its not too fancy but not too shabby. Watching the 2 and 1/2 minute trailer gives off quite a bit about the story line; its shows Jack being hypnotized by someone of the TV that seems to be quite famous so that Jack can only see the inner beauty of women from that point on. When Jacks friend that he was with see's the women Jack is with he is shocked as Mr Black doesn't seem to go for the not so stunning one's and he goes for the perfect one's that are flawless and its like he was a different person. Seeing the inner beauty of women is more effective and special as the outside is just an appearance and when Jack looks for the outer beauty everyone thinks that he is wrong and shouldn't keep going for the similar type of women. Titles are used effectively in the trailer and come up towards the end when you expect them too, they say what you think they would say and the reason they aren't in between is because there is a narrator that speaks instead. Mise en scene is used very effectively in this movie; they use body suits to make people look larger along with fake teeth. These are all used because they need to make attractive women in reality look not as attractive and larger in size than usual. Jack Black is the actor most used with the unattractive women as he was hypnotized so that he can only see the inner beauty so when he gets approached or approaches women he can't see the outside appearance so he always ends up going out with the no so outside attractive women and he goes for inner beauty which not everyone see's.

Film Review - War Dogs (Jonah Hill)

War Dogs

The camera shots I thought were effective or interesting would be the establishing shot which shows some amazing scenery at the beginning of the trailer which the 2 main characters are based. Another shot i thought was effective was the 2 shot of two of the people based in the Pentagon asking Jonah Hill and Miles Teller questions about their work. Also, the medium shot of Jonah Hill when he was told something depressing was effective as you can see the anger and annoyance in his face. The sound used is effective in many ways, one of them being that at the start of the trailer its a very dramatic piece of music that draws you in with suspense and when the beat drops when something really important was said it makes you question what the film is about and how they got to that point. When "how did 2 twenty something young men land a $300,000,000 Pentagon contract?" was said the music picks up the pace and the music makes it seem unbelievable and its seems to be such an insane contract they have in their work. So that really important speech can be heard the music stops so that you can hear one of the buyers say to Jonah and Miles "you drove these?.... through the triangle of death?" after that was said music plays and it draws you in as an unbelievable situation that seems surreal. The pace of editing starts of slow so you can slightly get the hint of whats happening  but as it carries on the editing gets faster and you see more of the exciting parts of the movie which dramatically changes your mood; it makes you excited and it electrify's you and seems to give you energy. I think the reason for this is because its a crime/drama film and has a lot of action involved. The costumes used are mainly casual/lounge wear that they would feel comfortable in and gives them a homely feel. When they have a meeting or something really important to go to they go full out and wear a suit to make their business side seem really into work and that they are fully committed to their job. We find out a lot about the story line along with the main thought of what was going to happen. The 2 main characters Jonah and Miles give off the feeling that they start of with next to nothing then as they get to grips with the job they begin to make a lot of money and live in luxury. This suggests that they are rebellious and will do anything extreme to get to live life like a king; they travel the "triangle of death" just to deliver some guns and army weapons. Titles in this trailer were used effectively. They fell in time with the music and stand out/are eye catching to the audience as the writing is bold and in capitals. The color is dark on a light colored background so it stands out more. You can tell its  a film of the genre crime/drama; it consists of guns, shootings, car chases and it is all very dramatic and happens very quickly. Mise En Scene is used very effectively in this movie. The props used range from little things such as a hand gun to a larger object such as $300,000,000 all in one room. These types of products and objects are used to make the movie more realistic and makes it more truthful. If these objects weren't used the film wouldn't be as successful as they wouldn't have objects to back them up or make it realistic, the money and guns are also used to show that it is an action/crime film and these are some of the main props used in typical action or crime movies.

Conventions of a Rom/Com

This is my mind map of conventions of a romantic comedy. This shows all the main points that are effective and stand out in a romantic comedy film. An example of a rom/com is Bridget Jones's Diary. In this Rom/Con Bridget's father seems to be like a lost tourist and follows her around acting completely differently. He acts stupid, dopey and he feels helpless. Bridget's mother is protective and doesn't seem to leave her side, always walks in when Bridget is about to kiss someone as she doesn't want her daughter going out with someone that her mother feels isn't right for her.