This Is England Opening Analysis ☮ ☮ ☮

"This Is England" (2006) is a drama based on the life of a typical "Skinhead" in the 80's, when they were most popular. The story follows a young boy called "Shaun", who is recruited by a group of skinheads, who is then introduced and brainwashed by a hardcore skinhead called "Combo".

The film opens with a montage of historic events from the 1980's in England, This involves, political,media and public events. Instead of reenacting these events, We are shown the original footage that was used in the 80's,to (for some of the audience) refresh their memory of what was seen as popular culture and what was going on with our country at that time, and to give an insight to the rest of the audience of what life was like in England in the 80's. Using the exact footage also has the definition of the 80's, immediately showing the audience that due to the quality of the clips that what is occurring in them is set at a past time.This also involves the audio we hear which is the song "54-46 Was My Number" by the "Toots And The Maytals", which fits in the genre of reggae, which was also very popular in the 1980's, showing the audience what people were interested in which illustrated what scene they were in.



The first thing the audience sees, is a medium shot of the popular children's show puppet, "Roland Rat" doing a radio broadcast. This immediately gives the impression that we are going to be seeing what was favoured by the majority of England (working class). We then see Margaret Thatcher, England's then prime minister, in some sort of building equipment, dressed in what would be perceived as fancy clothing (in royal blue her party's colour), and matching pearl earrings and necklace on. This gives off two impressions, that she is trying to work with the people, but also, some would view,as ridiculous she would arrive to do "manual labour" in formal expensive clothing. Involving Margaret Thatcher in the montage multiple times is effective as it shows the audience how impacting she was on the country whether people thought of her in a positive way or not, which shows her controversiality.

We then move on to topics like gangs, Mainly skinhead activity. We then see a track shot of a graffitied wall, of gang or individuals names on. With the shot and the long length of the damaged wall, presents the effect of an ongoing rivalry/war between members of the British public and with the government. We then see a high angled shot of a Large group of suited "Skin heads",walking up a staircase towards the camera, giving the impression that the skin heads were serious due to their attire and showed that they truly cared about their views getting heard and enforced.

The royal wedding of the Duchess of wales, Diana Spencer, and the Prince of Wales, Charles George. Which is seen as a very historic and important event to many patriots in England due to the fact that they produced the heir to the British throne. We also see many supporters waving British flags due to the special occasion, showing both the British and foreign audience, how important the monarchy were/are, whilst also setting the mood as a country proud community.

We also see a long shot of rioters,
desperately trying to knock down a metal fence blocking off the mines, This is also to do with Margaret Thatcher due to her doing of closing the mines, putting many people out of jobs, which angered many people, This is clearly represented here, where thousands of people protest and riot, giving off the impression that the characters who the film centres, aren't a fan of her policies as they clearly outline one very controversial acts she made, in the process setting a controversial tone on the movie.

After we then see the stage of technology England was at, as we see a young boy playing what would seem to the younger generation of today as a poor graphic game, on a small television screen. We also see the development/making of CD's, which were just being introduced as a replacement to the video tape. Showing the audience that this won't be a film with high tech references in it due to the low electronic households compared to today.


A lot more riot and protest shots are then seen of men pushing against police officers, running away from them and fighting each other, Which gives off the impression that it is down to the law system or an act that has been made by the government that they do not agree with, this also could be down to political views when it comes to the men fighting each other. Parades of soldiers and the public raising english and British flags past the house of commons, also lets the audience know that a vast majority intensely disliked/hated the way the government was acting.




We then see a medium shot of a car with its front window smashed through, cutting to a foreign family with their front window of their house smashed, illustrating to the audience that there is discrimination against foreign people in England, which sets a dark tone on the storyline. There is also numerous other pub brawls shown as well, suggesting a violent theme towards the audience



The montage draws to a close with a group of soldiers sitting on top of a large number of injured and dead soldiers on the back of a truck from the falklands war, which was a very controversial topic also. Leaving us with this clip shows that this event has a huge impact in the plot and possibly characters in the story. The dark lighting and colours that are left with us from the montage also suggest dark tones and themes throughout the film, showing the audience this is not a film for young children due to it's suggested violence, discriminating views and heavy political subjects.

Trailer Analysis Guidance

Consider the following key questions about mise-en-scene and camera composition to analyse film openings: What costume do characters wear and what are the key connotations? What body language is used by characters and to what effect? What are we shown by proxemics (how far apart characters are) and what is communicated to the audience? How is lighting used and what effect does it have? What settings are there and how are they established? What is said and how does it make the audience think or feel? What key shots are used and to what effect? Aim to analyse three film openings using key terms and concepts learned in your G321 and G322 studies.

Films Not Worth Your Time ☮ ☮ ☮

Ever wonder after watching a film why you wasted your time persevering through it's torture?Well I'm going to try and save you from some of that brain pain with a few films, I believed just weren't worth the hype nor the time of many of the people involved.

1.                                              
A Million Ways To Die In The West(2014)                                  

Vast majority of Seth Macfarlane fans were waiting in anticipation for his 2014 release of "A Million Ways To Die In The West", With the success which came from the Ted franchise he created, being praised and so popular for it's laugh out loud comedy, big things were expected for his next creation. But... Nope. With a star studded cast, with the likes of Liam Neeson and Charlize Theron they had the first impressions down completely. But the storyline was just empty, with jokes I could half laugh at and somewhat offensive punch lines I was left unimpressed and disappointed.





2.
That Awkward Moment(2014)
It seems to be a pattern, as another 2014 dismal movie experience, which is in the form of the "That Awkward Moment", With the storyline following a predictable path, and trying to recover with a cliffhanger to try and make you insinuate what you know would have happened if the film had of continued, the same old same old "happily ever after".With what was the most entertaining role which was played by Miles teller who played the typical funny wild friend but yet with a somewhat ditzy personality to him, There were some small laughs. But overall the film was just another hyped up chick flick due to its well known dreamy lead, that attracted young girls to waste their money on watching.

3.
The Host(2013)
If you are wanting to see a rundown mixture of the films "Divergent" and "The Hunger Games" in one sitting, Then this might be the film for you! Although this definitely was not the film for me. The film set in a post apocalyptic world were alien like robots have taken control of all humans in sight. With a minority of humans living in hiding,our antagonist "Melanie" seems to lead her and her brother to a safe place where they can obtain from being caught by the robots. I could barely hang on to the last 10 minutes of this film due to its souless characters, the so called romance in the film seemed almost non existent, there was shown to be no emotion at all, and her "family" that she found, wasn't at all compassionate with each other, which you would be in this time of crisis. The Host is just a film created to conform to the movies that are attracting a large crowd gaining a lot of success, but are just failing in the process.


Well I could go on for about 50 pages about time wasting films but, These were a few that I watched fairly recently that have stuck in my mind about what I could have done with those 354 minutes of my life that I will never get back.

Legend Review ☮ ☮ ☮

The Kray twins, infamous gangsters of east end London in the 60's, were men that I had known the name of since a young age, my family had lived in the east end for years and had stories of their own about them that I can't even describe the evil and horror of. So when I found out that a film was due to release about them I couldn't wait to watch it ! crime is my favourite genre of film, but I was especially enthralled to hear about a true crime story from my country in my city.

With Tom Hardy starring as both Reginald ''Reggie" and Ronald "Ronnie" Kray, He did not disappoint. The fraternal compassion he showed as each brother was unbelievable. Though definitely the most volatile out of the two brothers, Ronnie's character had both edge and humour, With his openness about his sexuality (which you did not get in that generation) and his love for violence he openly admitted his love for the gangster lifestyle. Ronnie's character presented not just the gangster lifestyle but one of a paranoid schizophrenic, which you gather is incredibly dangerous for others around him, His outbursts would have lead to many more deaths if it wasn't for his brother. Reggie, who was presented to be the most intelligent and business wise, was seen to have fallen in love with a women named Frances. The audience saw there loves high and lows and tragic end, Though disturbing towards the end of their relationship you see Reggie in a drunken state, mock Frances and leads to an insinuated abusive scene, which illustrated how he could even turn on the ones he loved.

Though with Frances's character I was confused with the narrative method , although I could see why they had used her as the narrator, to present the tale through innocent eyes and not either of the twins as it could have possibly come across as if they were justifying the actions that they made in their life of crime, when really the film is made to illustrate the terrible things they had done. But once Frances passes away, her narrative almost becomes irrelevant and should have maybe been taken over by Reggie or Ron for the remainder of the film just to have given you a taste of their perspective of their downfall.

Though the film does show a fair amount of the crime lords shady dealings, The film very much focuses on Reggie and Frances's relationship, fitting this film into a new genre of dark romance which I liked however I did expect to see more of Reggie and Ronnie, Whereas instead I saw a lot more of Reggie with Frances and Ronnie with his henchmen. With Reggie constantly promising Frances ''to go straight'', He can't seem to help himself and he is always seeming to be drawn back to his brother and their nasty ways, even so this doesn't keep Frances away although she is shown to spiral out of control with worry and fear of being without him whether it be through her leaving him, Reggie going to prison, or Reggie dying through his thug and rivalry antics. Though when Frances did come to her tragic death, we did see Reggie's downfall which showed a vulnerable side to him and made the audience realise he was truly in love with her and her death killed him on the inside.

 Ronnie on the other hand, as before mentioned, an open homosexual, you see his henchman as his lovers also, it was insinuated that Ron took many lovers due to his love of parties and wild social life. We even see a scandal that broke out about his relationship with a political representative, although was classed as something that he had done to get what he wanted, not because he was interested in the political figure.


It's 18 certificate rating gave me the impression that I would be seeing some dark incredibly graphic gory scenes, but only two scenes stood out to give this rating any backing, and that was a medium shot of a man getting shot in the head, where you can clearly see blood spraying the wall behind him, and also towards the end of the film where a man gets stabbed repeatedly in a wide shot for what goes on for a good 30-40 seconds. Though this film did have some dark scenes I believe that it was balanced by humour, Both twins brought comedic entertainment throughout the film, showing the audience what real cockney humour is about, particularly with Ron Kray.

The CGI used in this film was excellent as well, the shots that were used were flawless, making even small details like their shadows line up to where they should be. The fight scene between the two was a very personal scene, which had a close eye on detail. This was the scene that impressed me the most ,as I presume it was a scene that had to be worked on a long due to hardy playing both roles, and a fighting scene would be both extremely difficult and impressive if they could pull it off with precision and detail, which they did exceptionally. In this scene you really gather the brothers compassion for each other, as Reggie knows Ron gets out of control, So instead of going crazy and fighting in a way that could really hurt him, he tries to snap him out of this outburst, although he does have to smash a bottle over his head to get him to stop, But almost straight after the brothers apologise and show love towards each other, which showed how close they were to make up after such a heated fight.

The twins as a package were an outstanding performance by Tom hardy, who's portrayal of the brothers relationship showed such a complex perspective that I didn't expect to be as good as it was. The brothers seemed to quarrel often, though they always were shown as a team, always looking out for one another (more on Reggie's part) , and showed that family came before everything and which ultimately lead to their collapse. Though the last words spoken between the twins were perceived as negative I still saw some compassion with it as well "because I can't kill you!",  I view it as a positive as although his twin has caused him grief and even landed him in prison at some stages he can't bring himself to do to him what he would do to anyone else if they had done this, But because Ron's his brother and is one of the few people that were left that he could actually rely on and trust, Reggie wouldn't harm him. Though I would say there seemed to be a part of hatred in the statement but a hate that he could still love him.

                                                                        Legend Trailer

My Favourite Film Genre : Crime ☮ ☮ ☮

*WARNING:SPOILERS

As you would think crime films involve the obvious themes like action and thriller but also other themes are presented such as romance, drama and even comedy. I do chose crime for more than just its wide range of themes, but because i'm fascinated by the strategies that are made and the skilful ways that the characters carry them out. For example The Shawshank Redemption(1994),easily my favourite film, The plot twist towards the end of the film,when you discover that the innocent convict,Andy Dufresne, had made a cunning escape from the exploiting Shawshank prison, you forget how throughout the film your emotions were running high and low in such a short amount of time. The audience finally got to the feel good factor when Andy reunites with his best friend,Red, from his torturous past at the ill-treating prison, and see him filling out his dream as he always wanted to. Leaving the audience content that we see the mistreated Andy Dufresne, be remediated.

A new form of crime being presented in Now You See Me (2013), where an accomplished set of magicians use there skills of illusion to drain the bank accounts of the deceitful and profane, to bestow upon the audience of their shows. Going by the name of the four horseman, I was reminded of a robin hood figure but in this case figures, Where they take from the undeserving rich and give to the people who are in need of the money truly. This is again a captivating performance as we witness mesmerising illusions by the conjurors that enthral the audience not just in the movie,but to the audience watching the motion picture. I relish in plot twists, I love having to think back and study the film to make sure everything adds up. So with this film's plot twist I was astonished when I discovered that the head detective of the investigation against the horsemen, turned out to be the secret boss of their organisation, but a exceptional twist at that. Leaving the audience joyous that the foursome had got away with their generous,commending but illegal act, without having to deal with any consequence.

Iron Man 3:Shot Types: First Two Minutes ☮ ☮ ☮

The scene opens from a faded black to a low angle of three of iron mans suits , each exploding from right to left in slow motion, with the glass and fire covering the camera, Giving the effect of mystery to why and who is causing the destruction of the superhero's suits, and giving off the impression of what the film is, which is action filled. The screen then fades to black

We then see a wide shot of a large mansion like building, Flashing us back to 1999 in Bern, Switzerland on new years eve, letting the audience know that this is going to either be a memorable event to consider in the film which can contribute to the plot or will lead to an important event later on in the film.

The camera films a high angled shot of a party that was insinuated to be held in the building we saw in the previous shot, which gives the impression that it is a posh/fancy event being held with a purpose that we are unknown of. The camera then cuts to a close up of a woman with a party blower which she blows into Tony's face (who we see the back of the side of his head whilst it occurs),This shows that party is quite relaxed, The camera then cuts to a close up of him (Tony Stark),who is the star of the movie (Iron man), showing that there is no crisis yet as he seems to be enjoying himself.


As the conversation continues between Tony and the woman, close up shots are shown of each of their faces as they speak in turn, so that we can emphasise the emotion they are both giving off facially. When someone else joins the conversation we see a high angles shot in the direction to which Tony is looking, and this shows that he is the main character and that he is the source of the movies plot, as what he is looking at and the conversations he's being involved in are important.

When they walk out of the room, the camera jump cuts to a high angle shot of a hill way of crowded people and paparazzi with flashing cameras at Tony, showing that he is famous for being something other than iron man and makes us think of what profession.

Iron man 3 was a exceptional film and was definitely a huge improvement from iron man 2, the writers and director brought their A-game this time around, and with an excellent performance from Robert Downey Jr. also.

Christopher Nolan ☮ ☮ ☮

Christopher Nolan is a well known directer,writer and producer. Known best for the blockbuster smashes such as the batman trilogy ( With The Dark knight getting astounding reviews), Inception (2010) and more recently Interstellar (2014).With both writing and directing all these box office successes, Nolan even had time to write the plot for the Batman Begins (2005) video game.

Being nominated for three oscars, and winning 140 other awards, Nolan continues to write and direct sensational films, And for my sake I hope he never stops doing so, I thought I would review my favourite Christopher Nolan films which are both incredible success and cinematic wise.

My favourite film that he has created is The Dark Knight (2008) .  due to how well the characters had been portrayed, yes heath ledger (the joker) presented the character in a way that was so unique and chaotic that it was definetly the best revamped character I have ever seen, but it was also due to Nolan making the character have such a psychological impact on the audience, and also due to the petrifying antics and habits the joker had. The plot was intelligent and individual, not only did it have the explosions, fighting and amazing camera angles, and shot types used perfectly to emphasize with the characters but had the fitting storyline to make it a piece of art. Truly one of the best cinematic experiences I've had.

Another great film created and directed by Nolan was Inception (2010). Not only did its star studded cast attract me to watch this film but also the graphics on this was out of this world (literally). The concept of the film was a team of bandits that help to plant an idea into their paid employers target's mind, crazy i know but interesting definitely! Complicated as it may seem the film goes into detail on how dreams function, and with Leonardo Di Caprio playing the ring leader I was captivated to the screen, but not just because of the charismatic actor but because it was like nothing I had seen before, the realism in the "dream world" was exceptional even though it was alien to me. Though this action packed sci-fi is not just about the graphics but is actually weighted with some heavy emotional content, but the actors carry it brilliantly, especially Di caprio who leads the group through their mission. Again a truly excellent piece and the directing and screenplay was outstanding through Nolan's part.

Genre , Conventions, Film Titles ☮ ☮ ☮

Genre	Conventions	Film Titles
Comedy - Crime - Horror- Action- Drama:	- often uses a "stupid" character for humour.  - teen comedies use the typical nerd trying to find his/her place at cool table  - mockumentary comedies , using a unsteady camera shot to show a realistic effect.  - high budget films use plans that go wrong (explosions etc)for comedic effect.  - often uses stereotypes of peoples culture for humour.  -often uses revenge as a source for plot. - gang films usually use a rivalry against two gangs, competing for the same thing such as power or money. -often in robbery films, a larger group of characters are used to show how different characters bring different ideas and personality's to the table. -often set in modern time in a cursed house from past years. -usually centred around young adults/teens. -often filmed in a documentary style (paranormal activity) -usually the "villain" is in the ghost area or possessed. -often uses explosives and prop guns to show more excitement and drama. -usually has the hero saving the day on his own starting off stubborn and ending with him/her being in love or making new friends. -usually you believe that the hero has died at some point but shortly after emerges from the disaster point. -often has a bad event in the characters life lead to a downfall, which leads them to become a better person. -shows the tough and difficult time the character has to go through. -sometimes has a tearjerking effect on the audience,which shows a realistic effect from the film where people can relate or understand.	- Anchor-man , the interview, super bad, dodge ball, Talladega nights, scary movie franchise, the hangover, hot fuzz, forgetting Sarah Marshall, jackass franchise. - Scarface, Legend, The godfather franchise, Batman franchise (Christopher Nolan),goodfellas, snatch, gangster squad. - Sinister, saw franchise, annabelle, the ring, the poltergeist,the conjuring, final destination, scream, the exorcist. - Die hard , fast and furious franchise, hunger games franchise, mad max:fury road,bat man franchise (Christopher nolan), The matrix. fight club, x-men franchise, the expendables -the titanic, the descendants, shawshank redemption, green mile,fish tank, forrest gump,12 years a slave, saving private ryan, Django unchained,the social network.

The Journey Begins...

Congratulations on starting your journey towards becoming a creative and reflective film producer! Start your journey by commenting on your favourite genres and your reasons for being a fan - aim to explore conventions of genre and profile a notable director!