Category: Short Essays

The Truman Show is rich in camera language and profound in its philosophy. It is a film with flexible lens language. The film has done a very good job in the topic selection, narrative technique and the choice of actors. At the same time, it also makes use of small means such as plot contrast and music foil to make the film seem absurd and funny, which adds a lot to the film. 

Director Peter Weir purposely creates an atmosphere of mystery, and at first things go wrong in The Truman Show. Truman finds clues step by step and gives hints, which attracts the audience to keep curious and adventurous with him. With the solution of the riddle solved, the audience escapes from the false world together with Truman, who discovers the truth, and regains freedom. 

In addition, director Peter Weir uses dramatic narrative mode to make the film develop step by step. From the beginning, Truman wants to go to Fiji most, to his fear of the sea after the death of his “father”, to his discovery of the truth, flashbacks and other techniques to make the plot clear and smooth, and to reach the climax step by step: The sharp conflict between Truman and the “world”, the tense avoidance of thousands of cameras, overcome the fear of the sea, overcome the man-made wind and waves, finally towards freedom and truth. “A masterfully executed cautionary tale” (Michael R from the Rotten Potatoes.) The style of the movie is so unique that it really touches the audiences’ heart.

There are a variety of shots in the film. There are one after another shots in front and back of the film shot from above, even though the center of the shot has always been Truman, the leading role. Different shooting angles correspond to the plot, which enriches the connotation. Such as Truman open his secret box shot taken from behind, filming Truman’s back and his hand movements, items, and the audience can more deeply feel the space is narrow, the environment of darkness, to understand the Truman show was found from the camera, don’t want to things, because can’t see the door of the expression, also can feel a kind of mystery, When Truman was spotted piecing together the face of his first love Sylvia, it touched viewers’ hearts. Another example is that every time Truman talks with his friend Marlon，it is always at dusk or at night, and the middle scene in the back of the scene is more lonely with the background of the surrounding darkness. Truman expresses his confusion, but Marlon is guided by the director Christof on how to dispel Truman’s concerns. Therefore, in such a quiet atmosphere, it seems that they have a heart to heart. In fact, Truman was the only one who felt the irony of being confused and helpless.

There are several scenes in which TV director Christof  touches Truman’s face on the screen. Finally, when Truman is about to leave, his retention of Truman can also show that he loves Truman. He claims to be “the person who knows Truman the best in the world”, and what the director represents is the role of parents. Even though he never appeared in front of him, he created this world for Truman without his consent, and all the perfect things he thought he gave came at the cost of Truman’s freedom. Even the parents who give life should understand that everyone is independent and has the right to choose their own life and pursue the life they really want. Love is not the reason for binding, let alone selfish love. He is a True man who lives for himself. “The answers provided by the movie show that The Truman Show is a radical critique of commonly held assumptions about God.” ( Robert S. Gall journal) 

I have never thought about the influence of a script on a play. In many cases, I pay more attention to the director’s shooting techniques and the actors’ interpretation. But this film is an exception, I can feel the powerful thought of a screenwriter, his exploration of humanity and life. While everyone was praising Truman, who starred Jim Carrey, for his admirable performance, in my mind, the structure of the script is significantly outstanding.

Seaheaven Island is absurd, but all of the logic of The Truman Show is real. This film highlights the core of “the pursuit of truth and freedom requires great faith and courage”. To some extent, its core is similar to the core of Shawshank Redemption for the pursuit of hope and freedom. Different from the latter, The Truman Show has a novel theme and fantastic story, but it can highlight the core in this unrestrained narrative, which makes it a good work.

“The Truman Show is a “science fiction” in the most artsy way, bland and full of twists and turns, meaningful but not boring at all, and so bizarre an imagination that it often feels unreal. But the Truman Show, with its superb actors, complete timeline, powerful detail and near-perfect logic, tells us to be ourselves and not to be chained.

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Both the Arrival and The Truman Show have similar box offices and budgets when compared to each other. Arrival had a budget of 47 million dollars and made a total of 203 million dollars which made 4.37 times in budget. The Truman Show had a budget of 60 million dollars and made a total of 264 million dollars which made 4.4 times its budget in profit. The Truman Show, starring Jim Carrey, was always supposed to star Jum Carrey. Robin Williams was initially considered for the role of Truman Burbank. But the director went with Carrey because he reminded him of Charlie Chaplin. 

The production of The Truman Show was riddled with delays and problems. The original draft of the movie, written by Andrew Niccol and called The Malcolm Show at the time, was more of a science-fiction thriller set in New York City. Producer Scott Rudin purchased the film and set Peter Weir and director. The original script was dark and depressing, so Weir wanted to make it funnier and lighter, which is probably why Jim Carrey and Robin Williams were both considered for the main role, as they were both amazing comedians. Jim Carrey was also filming two other films, The Cable Guy and Liar Liar when asked for The Truman Show so Weir would have to recast Jim or wait a year and wait a year he did.

Arrival is a science fiction film with a super-focused plot of language between different species. This aspect of science fiction is usually glossed over or ignored, using deus ex machina technology like universal translators and the like. Arrival is often compared to Interstellar which also focuses on a singular aspect of science fiction. The Truman Show is a unique take on the meta-commentary on the TV industry but is similar to movies like Pleasantville from 1998 and Stranger Than Fiction from 2006. How the Truman show differs from these films is that the fact that Truman is in a sitcom is kept a secret from the audience for most of the film. This allows second and even third viewings of the film to be a different experience.  

The performances from Arrival’s and The Truman Show’s stars, Amy Adams and Jim Carrey respectfully, have been praised by reviewers. Amy Adams’ performance in Arrival is praised for its accuracy in the language process.  Jim Carrey’s performance in The Truman Show was a statement that Jim wanted to make. He wanted to show that he can do a drama role, rather than only comedic roles. He even took less pay than usual for him. He was paid 12 million dollars rather than the 20 million he was used to for other films he starred in at the time.

Someone about the performances by Jim Carrey and Laura Linney give such a horrific tone to this movie. Jim Carrey is always someone to over-act and be nearly filled with manic energy. But in this film he’s not like then till the illusion of his life falls to pieces. While this film is labeled as a comedy, it’s very tragic when you think about it. We all can laugh at Jim Carrey’ wacky performance, but it’s a man on the brink of insanity just slingshotting in the other direction of his environment. 

If the Truman show is measured in terms of literary genre, then I think it belongs to the absurd novel. The essence of the Absurd novel is that it constructs the absurd social order, and the core that the author wants to highlight is what still maintains the normal social logic at this time. The Truman world doesn’t exist in real life yet (and it may someday, thanks to technology), but the life in and out of the “paradise” depicted in the film is downright realistic. Truman’s desire for the outside world, his friends’ deception for profit, the director’s desire for control, and the voyeuristic desire of the people outside the “paradise” all make The Truman Show seem so real.

The main plot of the film is clearly Truman himself. His father’s resurrection and being kidnapped make Truman begin to doubt the reality of the world he lives in. The attitude of his family and friends makes Truman begin to doubt whether the people around him are also actors. Later, various travel plans are obstructed and his life is manipulated, which makes Truman finally decide to leave Paradise Island and pursue the real world. In addition to Truman, several supporting performances are the icing on the cake. Malone’s good guidance, from the actor’s role of incompetent friend to Truman disappeared in the scene of the general control of the role switch; Christopher’s mastery of everything, from Truman’s birth to his final admonitions about his imminent departure from Peach Land, makes sense in this absurd atmosphere.

Truman each role in everyday life and missing or anxious or frustrated when the image contrast is very interesting, from the fact revealed they don not Truman’s friend, Truman himself everyday sweet and kind and worthless in their eyes, and he disappeared will make these supporting relentlessly lambasting him as a bastard.

The film has done a very good job in the topic selection, narrative technique and the choice of actors. At the same time, it also makes use of small means such as plot contrast and music foil to make the film seem absurd and funny, which adds a lot to the film.

Nowadays,the TV screen is full of reality shows, but I feel deeply helpless and sad. Because we suddenly realized that in fact, each of us is Truman, or even less than Truman. We spend our whole life wandering in a “set” world, but unable to get out of our “Truman’s world”. Perhaps Jim Carrey felt the same deep sense of powerlessness in The Truman Show, when, shortly after the film’s release, he fell into a severe depression. Can you imagine that? He used the world’s most funny performance, amused hundreds of millions of audience, but his heart, is dark and painful.

Jim Carrey and the film achieved each other, although it did not win the Oscar awards, but judging from the people’s comments, this is a great film, can make the audience resonate and reflect. Time will tell, as The Truman Show is still a super classic and worth watching multiple times.

The Truman show is a movie with a meta-commentary on sit-com shows made in 2002. It asks the question, “Are we stars in a sitcom and just don’t know it?” That is the world and question that is posed to Truman, played by Jim Carrey. The reception of the show was quite high. Most of the common reception of the show is that it changed and/or made them question their surroundings and reality. One analysis of the film says that knowing the secret of the film, that one being that Truman is in a sitcom before the film starts, completely changes how you watch the film on further watch thoughts. The Truman show was written with inspiration from an episode of the Twilight Zone “Special Service”

When I was at work, one of my co-workers said that The Truman show made him rethink his surroundings for a month after seeing it. This comment was unprompted, I didn’t ask him for his opinion, and that just shows the influence this movie has. The Truman Show can and has been used as an analyzed piece for theses on Christianity, simulated reality, surveillance, metaphilosophy, existentialism, privacy, and reality television.

Arrival is a science fiction drama made in 2016. It was based on a short story “Story of Your Life” from 1998. The central plot revolves around a linguist, played by Amy Adams attempting to learn how to communicate with aliens before it leads to war. The film was praised for Amy Adam’s performance and its thought-provoking showcasing of communication with aliens. The film had to make its own unique language for the aliens to speak in the film. They called in 3 linguists from The McGill University for them to make the language. 

Arrival made around 200 million dollars, which when compared to its production budget, made 4 times its budget in profits. Most of the critical responses to Arrival gave great praise for the performance from Amy Adams and called it “existentially inclined” The very few mixed reviews claimed it was too close to Interstellar and criticizing the dialogue, calling it “clunky”. The Arrival received numerous nominations and won around 27 awards, ranging from Sound Editing, to Best Actress, to even Best Sci-Fi/Horror Film.

Arrival was made with a lot of focus on the language of the aliens. The process of Amy Adams trying to communicate to the alien was so accurate that many Linguistic professors, one of which worked on the film, say that it gets nearly everything right about the linguist process. David Adger, a linguist professor, from the Queen Mary University of London, said that the process of “trying different hypotheses about the language, coming up with generalization, and test them was spot on”  Betty Birner, a professor at Northern Illinois University, had a different opinion, saying that the movie’s usage of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis is unbelievable and that the film skips over important parts of the language process. Betty specifically said that Amy Adam’s character going from basic vocabulary to abstract concepts such as what is a “weapon” is oversimplified

By Exploring the surface part of the movie, how much did it cost to finish this movie. How was the selling. By researching critics and comments in order to get a general idea about the movie. The movie received really really good audience and ratings. IMDB rating of 8.3 tells that it is, actually a good movie. Beyond that, got a 100% on the Rotten Tomatoes. Those are definitely positive ratings toward the movie. I think that way too. The movie is exciting not only because the competition between those two legendaries, but off court as well.

Then we explore more about the movie by selecting specific elements or characteristics of the movie. For instance, the red color in Ford v Ferrari performs in many functions. Also look deeper into the criticisms into the movie in order to have a more solid understanding.

The critics all have one thing in common, They are all admiring the portrayal of the two legendary drivers in this movie and presenting the audience with two flesh-and-blood characters.

Starting to look into the style of the movie and the genre of it, what particular elements have made this movie unique and make the movie stands out. Ford v Ferrari is special is because it is a commercial biopic movie. Since this is a racing biographical film that takes into account both commercial and plot, the film naturally put a lot of effort into the script. The first is the biography of the award season.

Analyzing the movie by particular scenes and different segmentations. The different scenes compose to a sequence. All these sequences compose to a great commercial biopic racing movie which is the Ford v Ferrari. The film is more traditional, it is a commercial biopic, it expresses as much as it can to the audience what it wants to see, because the film exists to let the audience understand what happened between Ford and Ferrari in 1960. The result was clear, with Ford working day and night, regardless of the cost, to beat Ferrari. There were conflicts, doubts and disappointments between the roles, but in the end it all seemed less important when Ford finished on the podium.

The star performance element in that movie is given by Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio. Two huge stars from Hollywood and show outstanding performances in this movie. Bale as Ken Miles and DiCaprio as Shelby, as two most important roles in that movie, leading characters as well.

Editing refers literally to how shots are put together to make up a film. Traditionally a film is made up of sequences. In this film, the difficulty of editing is how to show the tension during the competition and make the audience feel excited. When not playing, use smooth transitions to introduce the audience to the information they need to know.

the Twentieth Century Fox did not make tons of profit on this movie, though it’s excellently in my view. The budget of the movie was $97600000, it’s a ton of money to put on a movie, although, the domestic sale of the movie is about $99304000, and $86847000 internationally. The totally releases worldwide was about $186000000. In conclusion, the film itself was generally good, but not as good on its business perspective. The 20th Century Fox did not get a good sale on this big project.

The movie is biopic, but the theme was racing and business competition between two legendary automakers. Though it tries to stay as close as how the reality was at that time. The 20th Century Fox did a good job by making it less boring but more commercial and fun instead.

Pans Labyrinth can be viewed as a major success in terms of the amount it cost to earned ratio. I believe the driving factor to its success was one its originality but even more importantly its inclusivity. The ability to reach other audiences with choosing Spanish allowed for Pans Labyrinth to have high international numbers at the box office. While the budget was small the film was supported by amazing performances by Ivana Baquero in her leading role of Ophelia. We are also drawn to the relationship that develops between Ophelia and Mercedes (Maribel Verdú). Pans presents us with literally two separate worlds both very representative of the reality it is intended to portray. Ophelias real world dirty, cold and unforgiving. Even the comforts of her mother’s warming personality fading as the movie carries on. Pale or dark colors in film reflect what it is like for a child growing up in this time. Largely forgotten an after thought of joy.

 

The next world. A world of wonder and questions. While not every question is met with an answer we enjoy the opportunity for exploration and the ever present reminder the pure at heart are those who deserve to be virtuous in life. Films also have meaning in which are to make different impacts on what is trying to be presented Pan presents us with a story of good vs evil while giving us a unique ending as compared to some other films.  Pans Labyrinth holds information from us the viewer that surprises us later on. When first presenting tasks the Fauno does not tell us all of the details that are needed to unlock the kingdoms portal. When we are finally let in on the last task we are surprised at the task and taken back as we now see the Fauno in a new light possibly not as trusting as once thought. This trust is build up by the Frauno  not presenting us with the 3 tasks as soon as we were told of the task at hand.

 

Guillermo Navarro not to be confused with del Toros presents us with a hauntingly beautiful cinematography experience as we are introduced to a world that is both mystical while not fully comfortable to the eye almost a warning to not fully embrace the landscapes scenery.. The performance by Doug Jones as Fauno is what is the true trick as we are so captivated by his movements it adds to the overall distrust and question of the true intentions. Every actor bringing their own element to this movie truly made it the symphony that it is.  With my focus on music I have learned is music is able to escalate or deteriorate a movie. Even in Pans Labyrinth less is more where our film only has but one song which is a lullaby revisited throughout the film. This somber hum really sets the tone and let’s us know right away we will need to be comforted. The way in which monsters are lurking in the distance also offered a chilling experience

 

When viewing Crimson Peak you are transported back into the world of the early 1900 the costumes all worn by the men and women both gothic by color, Victorian in style sporting beautifully made hats and dresses. Sound effects plays an important part delivering on the eerie creaking of old wooden floors. Production team presenting us with a time period so far from our present day while making the props still look new for the time frame is a uniqueness not lost on the viewer. The Lighting for the scene in which the waltz takes place is where we first are presented with the feelings of romance. The films monsters while being a new form of evil or spirits brought to us by the director Guillermo del Toro the movements of the spirits drew a very strong performance connection to the ways the Faun in Pans Labyrinth jerks in motions. Another connection was the ways in which the spirits hands move quite wistfully like the frighteningly disgusting  Pale Man.  Probably due to Doug Jones who is know for his unique portrayal of beast or scary other worldly beings in del Toros Films. I feel the world del Toro creates to fill the scenery is visually appealing and makes me enjoy his films more. From the Moths , butterflies and ants to Pan’s fairies.

The Movie Crimson Peak boasts a much more robust budget as compared to Del Toros 2006 film Pans Labyrinth (55 million as compared to 19 million). Also in comparison Crimson Peak boast a number of popular star from other notable films for the time period. Leading man Tom Hiddleston know for reprising the role as Loki in Disney’s Marvel Films and Leading woman Mia Wasikowska know for her own Disney role as Alice in Alice and Wonderland. These two are hardly the only stars Crimson Peak offers us which brings the discussion how and why Crimson Peak was not as successful in terms of the way in which the film was received as well as the way it failed to match past success like Pans Labyrinth.

One quote that resonates with me is from Entertainment columnist Chris Nashawaty,” as sumptuous as Crimson Peak looks and as sinister as Hiddleston and Chastain are, you never get transported to the bone-chilling places that a great ghost story should take you.” As you are watching this film you become enamored but the scenery and yet the film does tend to drag and fails to provide the shock fear that comes with most ghost movies. The way in which the ghost are seen moving throughout the hallways is a technique that I have enjoyed from more recently produced ghost projects, The show that comes to mind when describing ghost floating throughout a hall would be A Haunting of Bly Manor. What I did enjoy was the way the film was so much more than just a horror ghost movie the was emotion a unique storyline. What I would mention as the films major downfall would be its lack of actual fear. I was never left with a memory that will be imbedded in my brain out of fright ultimately leading me to judge the film while possibly harshly as forgettable.

 

Something that I have alluded to is that I found Joker 2019 to be a vastly different movie from other DC films. Joker 2019 is such a vastly different movie in both form and function compared to other DC and even Marvel films. While the rest of DC and Marvel’s catalog are action films with no real message to take from them, Joker has a clear message to tell its audience. Joker is about the cruel world around Arthur that would soon convert him into the Joker. The movie is so different from other films in its genre that there was conflict from within Warner Brothers studios. The actor that played Joker in a different movie, Jared Leto, was very upset that someone else was playing the Joker. Jared Leto tried to get his music manager to stop the Joker movie from coming out. He said he felt alienated and blind-sighted from a standalone movie being made without his talent.   

The film was also being targeted by almost every media outlet. TV, newspapers, and talk shows all wanted to film to fail. They claimed it was because the violence that the film would show would cause riots to form, but that never happened.  The true reasoning behind their hatred of Joker is still under speculation. But the more popular theory is that they want the movie to fail because it calls out the exact kind of things they do. When looking at the talk show scene in Joker, no wonder talk shows didn’t want people to see it.

The film begins to move in two directions. First up are the official introduction of the two main characters, Matt Damon’s legendary former motorcyclist turned carmaker Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale’s character driver Ken Myers. Shelby is responsible for building cars on behalf of Ford and liaising with headquarters. Miles was responsible for testing the car and participating in various races. Moreover, the editing of this film is also very wonderful, with all kinds of smooth transitions, without making the audience feel unnatural. That’s the advantage of Continuity Editing, clear narrative, making the movie a better story teller. In this film, the difficulty of editing is how to show the tension during the competition and make the audience feel excited. When not playing, use smooth transitions to introduce the audience to the information they need to know.

The movie is in a pattern that it has tons of outstanding transitioning skills when editing the movie. For instance, a lot of car elements were introduced into the scenes when they are almost finished. Two times that the movie uses Ken’s child’s toy cars to end the scenes and go on to the next shots. It helps the movie to stick to its theme when it’s not even talking about racing but introducing movie characters.

At last year’s Oscars, “Ford v Ferrari” won two awards for best film editing and best sound editing for its breathless graphics. With its excellent audio-visual effects, the film has captivated audiences and critics around the world since its debut at the beginning of awards season. The Hollywood Reporter called it “a racing saga with strong dramatic and historical roots.” Challenging the new racing and biographical genre, the film minimizes CG effects and uses a lot of live action to restore the most intense and exciting racing scenes. In the movie, the cars roar past, and the audience can feel the vibration of the car, the friction of the tires and the roar of the engine. The sense is so real because the group insists not to use special sound effect to “make the sound” but to record it. It makes the whole movie more credible.