Kick - Ass

"Kick - Ass"
Director - Matthew Vaughn

From the director of "Stardust" and "The Layer Cake" who also produced iconic british films such as "Lock Stock" and "Snatch" comes the low budget picture - "kick Ass"


I first noticed Kick - Ass back last month when Emprie magazine ran a special article section dedicated to the film. The film at first glance looked average, it had a few recogniseable faces - these being Nicholas Cage, Mark Strong and Christopher Mintz - Plasse, but I must admit I just assumed the film was trying to be a funny version of Watchmen - and would most likely fail. After the first 15 minutes of the film however. I realised I was very wrong!

Friday morning I watched an interview with the Films director and writer Matthew Vaughn, where he explained the various elements of the film, and how the film was actually a low budget British film. With all the recent independent film research we have been doing in class. I thought "Kick Ass" would be well worth a watch.

Lucky enough we were able to grab some advanced screening tickets and on Friday 26th of March at 8:30 we were plunged into the world of "Kick - Ass"

The film started much as expected, the odd gag here and there, with a fimiliar British face around every corner. Infact the first 20minutes of the film was like watching a "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" reunion! The basis of the story was layed out and already it was clear the film had a lot of inspiration from comic books and graphic novels such as Batman and Watchmen.

Without giving to much away. It was about this point that the film could quite easily have become another low budget Superhero comedy destined for the 2010 Razzies. I mean the plot seems perfect for an awful film - Lonely Kid wants to become a super hero and fight crime, has no super powers but has the will to do so. I mean it hardly sounds like a thrilling ride.

What kick - Ass actually offered however was... just brilliance. All credit to the director and cast who turned the film into the best film experience ive seen in a very long time. Mark Strong who has been one of my favourite actors since RocknRolla continued his stretch of playing the baddy, this time playing the crime boss Frank D'Amico - a mix between Spiderman's King Pin and Brick Top played by Alan Ford in Guy Ritchie's "Snatch." Nicholas Cage as Big Daddy showed given the right script he is still able to play a pretty impressive supporting actor part and Chloe Moretz (Hit Girl) Aaron johnson (Kick - Ass) Christopher Mintz Plasse ( Red Mist ) all showed brilliant acting skill which stopped their characters becomming corny and boring.

The film itself featured some superb cinematography, one of the most noticeable scenes being a whole 5 minutes of complete darkness. The darkness only being broken by a comic book style flash everytime a gunshot went off. The scene was like watching a live Prodigy gig with all the strobe lighting but with the sound of gunshot fire entwined within. Furthermore the various comic book references - from Batman and the Joker - to Spiderman and Mary Jane suggested the film was also a homage to all the comic book greats of old and new.

Finaly when looking at the soundtrack used in the film, we can see how just about everything in "Kick - Ass" was brilliant. From the Prodigy - Omen that played during the early fight scenes to the classical soundtrack (which im sure i heared in "The Dark Knight") the music was perfect. It again made the film feel like a homage to other comic book movies while also keeping the film in a modern age - with the use of modern music.

All in all "Kick - Ass" was superb. A budget of only $28 million and a story line that should have been so corny, made "Kick - Ass" seem like it was destined for failure. However due to some superb acting, even better cinematography and brilliant directing "Kick - Ass" has to be one of my favourite films of the last few years. Lock Stock, Watchmen, Tarantino all rolled into one with a nice layer of british acting skill on top. there isnt really much more to say than...

GO SEE THIS FILM!

IMDB 8.7 / 10

Thriller Audience Research

Thriller Research - Narrative

For the third section of audience research I decided to find out how narrative structure effects the way people view a thriller film and how different directors use different narrative structures to ensure their films have a unique storyline, and to what effect this has on the paying audience.

Quentin Tarantino is just one director who does not always use the conventional continuous narrative structure in the films he directs. Films like Resovoir Dogs and Inglorious Bastards use flashbacks to tell a past story of events that are occuring on the screen. Inglorious Bastards often used flashbacks to promote individual character storylines. In fact the start of the film is all sent many years in the past, to establish the setting and theme of whats to come.

I decided to ask family members about how this kind of narrative structure effects how they view a film, and then possibly use the findings as a way to choose the narrative structure of my own film.

When showing people various clips from Inglorious Bastards they mostly agreed that the use of the past narrative in the opening of the film was key into understanding the following storyline. Infact both men and woman agreed that without this part of the film there would most likeley be no film at all due to the way it explains the drive of the characters invovled to hunt each other down. Furthermore both agreed that when a flashback was used to promote the past storyline of a character - such as the "bear jew" - it was relatively pleasing due to a bit of back story being added to the continuous narrative.

Although flashbacks were seen as being generally pleasing, there were some problems with narratives that werent continuous especially from the female viewers. Sometimes the use of to many flashbacks, or indeed a narrative that jumps from time period to time period could be confusing and unhelpful. This lead to a lot of people getting bored of such films due to them having to constantly work out what was happening and who the scene was invovling.

The Research itself was interesting, Inglorious Bastards used a continuous narrative mixed with flashbacks to support the plot and was easy to follow, other films however such as "Vantage Point" which played a repeated narrative in the viewpoint of several people over and over again got rather tedious and irritating. Therefore I believe that it would be best to ensure the thriller I create has a continuous narrative, which could include flashbacks - rather than a narrative that confuses and irritates the audience.

Thriller Audience Research

Thriller Research - Cinema Viewing of Thriller Films.

For my second piece of research I created a questionnaire to find out where people would expect to find thriller films being shown. For this I assembled a questionnaire of various Cinemas located inside Norwich and then asked people to tick which cinema would most be assosciated with which film and why.

The Thriller Films invovled in my questionnaire are as follows:

The Third Man
London To Brighton
Inside Man and Inside Man 2 (yet to be released)
Se7en

The Cinemas involved in my questionnaire are as follows:

Hollywood
Vue
Odeon
Cinema City

I myself would expect people to associate the bigger named thrillers in my list with mainstream cinemas and those that are either independent or seen as more cult films to be shown in independent cinemas.

The Results of the Questionnaire are as follows:

The Third Man and London To Brighton - Cinema City

Se7en and Inside Man - Vue, Odeon and Hollywood

As expected, most people agreed that those films that were either independent or that were released many years ago would only be shown in a cinema like Cinema City. This suggests that modern people associate "out dated" and low budget films with independent cinemas and that mainstream cinemas are just that. Mainstream. Furthermore most people agreed that a film like Se7en would of first have been shown in a mainstream theatre but due to it being "out dated" now it would most likely be shown again at a place like Cinema City due to its cult following.

Many people argued that Mainstream cinemas, being mainstream only show selected titles that are modern and expected to be a success. Independent films are slowly working there way into the odd showing at say Vue or Odeon but on the whole most people agreed that if a film like london To Brighton is shown it will only be avaliable at a cinema that is more driven by audience enjoyment than profit.

In my belief if my film was to be shown at a cinema it would be shown somewhere like Cinema City - an independent company that isnt afraid of showing something a bit edgy and out there. My film being low budget and featuring generic stereotypes fitting with independent thrillers would fit well with an audience that visited Cinema City but would probably not please those who visit a big name mainstream company such as Odeon or Vue.

Thriller Audience Research

Thriller Research - Role of Woman

For my second thriller research section I decided to host a screening for friends and family of the film "Panic Room" starring Jodie Foster. I decided on this film due to the fact it features strongly the role of two woman - Foster and her daughter - and this links in well with the use of woman in my own thriller production.

My own thriller production is a modern thriller that follows a generic mainstream thriller plotline and that features, much like panic room, a certain area that offers a lot of the action. This being the basement. For my research I decided to ask the people viewing the film a series of multiple choice questions.

These questions are as followed:

1) Does the role of woman effect how you view a film?

2) How does the character played by Jodie Foster contest with generic stereotypes?

3) Do you think mainstream films such as panic room dramatise the role of woman too much?

4) Does Jodie Foster's appearance in various thrillers such as Panic Room, Flightplan and Inside Man make draw you to her latest picture?

5) Do you think independent films push the boundaries in a far greater way than mainstream ones when it comes to the presentation of woman in film?

The Results are as follows:

1) Out of the ten people asked to view the film, eight people said that the role of a woman in a dominent roll makes them view a film differently. Most of these people said that due to it going against gender stereotyping it offers a greater element of suspense and thrill as the woman is less predicatable. Furthermore most of these people argued that a woman in a predatorial/dominent roll makes a film more engaging due to them generally being more emotional attached than a male would.

2) Most people agreed that due to Jodie Fosters character taking a dominent role over the male attackers the film was made more thrilling and exciting. The male robbers were portrayed as clumbsy and foolhardy, while foster was seen as playing the more dominating and clever role. The use of this generic stereotyping role reversal - much like the works of Tarantino's Jackie Brown - meant that the whole film was flipped into a world of unpredicatability and emotional attatchment. On the one hand we saw the cleverness of Fosters ability to stay hidden while deep down we knew at heart she was still a woman and lacked the physical strength to beat off her attackers - this could be seen strongly in the scene where she tries to retrieve her mobile phone - a suspense filled few minutes!

3) The gap between the Yes's and the No's was smaller this time, but it seemed that more people believed that the role of Foster's character had been dramatised too much. Whereas woman in films such as Jackie Brown and Physco were seen to be cunning yet ill-fated at times it seemed the role of Foster in Panic Room made her seem a rather alianted from the outside room, and often made her seem out of touch from reality. Films such as London To Brighton show woman to be devious and cunning but at the same time vulnerable, Panic Room didnt manage this kind of idea quite as well. This could be due to it being a more mainstream film.

4) It seemed that most people agreed a female actor such a Jodie Foster gains support due to her ability to produce various convincing dominent Female roles. This was as I expected, and it also seemed most people believed the characterisation of her roles goes towards making her so successful at what she does. This will be helpful when doing our own thriller as it will enable us to ensure our femmefatale fits the same kind of gender specifics that an actor like Foster does.



5) As expected most people agreed that independent films are far greater at pushing the boundaries in the way they present films. Films like London To Brighton promote woman to be far more real than mainstream films such as panic room. The scenes in London To brighton where prostitution was apparent are far less apparent in bigger budget films and even when they are shown are far less gritty. However people did agree that some films in the mainstream market do promote a breaching of gender boundaries. To go back to films like Jackie Brown and Physco we can see how some directors are willing to show their actors as very much capable of taking on a devious role or playing the predatorial character that would usualy be played by a male.

Overall the screening taught me much about peoples knowledge and understanding of the role of woman in films. Some ideas such as a strong charachter will help me in ensuring the Femmefatale in our film has a strong, powerful attitude about her. Whereas other revelations such as the mainstream / independent divide allowed me to see how farbehind most mainstream directors are in promoting so called taboo ideologies such as prostitution.

Costume

Thriller Film Costume

Due to the fact our thriller film is set during a modern environment we wanted to ensure our costume fit in with this time period. Therefore the costume of the assistant and the shop owner can be seen as being casual and modern while fitting in with the working environment.

The femmefatale however, who visits the shop to steal the money and who consequently murders the shop assistant we wanted to stand out from the rest of the cast yet keep her devious appeal. For this we dressed "Grace Jones" the femmefatale in black, while giving her noticeable bright coloured elements to ensure she stood out. For example we used red nail varnish to add a seductive and bold statement and used pink high heels to suggest she was trying to be innocent on the outside.

Youth In Revolt

"Youth in Revolt"
Director - Miguel Arteta


Those who are fimiliar with films such as "Superbad" and "Juno" will know of comic actor and performer Michael Cera. "Youth in Revolt" much like "Superbad" saw Cera playing a down and out teenager who lacked.. well any social ability.


The film begins with Nick Twsip (Michael Cera) living with his recently divorced mother and new boyfriend Jerry - (Played by "The Hangover" star Zach Galifianakis), Nick has to not only put up with Jerry, but his inability to interact with girls, his eccentric next door neighbour and his general life as a whole.

To cut a long story short, Nick ends up having to move to a trailer park where suddenly his life changes thanks to meeting the "love of his life" (Sheeni Saunders) but ofcourse things couldnt be as simple as falling in love. Oh no.. To get Sheeni Nick will have to prove to her he is the man she needs.


To do this Nick decides he must create an alter ego namingly Francois Dillinger. What results is a confusing role reversal where Nick suddenly finds himself destroying Cafe's, being chased by the police and breaking as many laws as he can.

"Youth in Revolt" is a film that does exactly what it says on the tin. Its a film about teenage life taken to the extreme mixed with the comic genious that is expected from an actor such as Michael Cera. The film may not be the greatest teen comedy of all time, but "Youth in Revolt" offers its audience a great laugh and a decent enough storyline at the same time.


IMDB Rating: 7.1 / 10

The Hurt Locker

"The Hurt Locker"
Director - Kathryn Bigelow

With filming almost over, I decided to create a new section of the blog where I review/analyse various films I have recently watched.

To kick things off I decided to finally go out and buy a film that seemed to spring up from nowhere and which recieved fantastic reviews across the board, while also propelling its leading actor to a "Best Actor" nomination at the Oscars.


Before watching "The Hurt Locker" I wasn't to sure what to expect. On the one hand I couldnt help feel it would be a pro-america, pro-war film aimed at supporting the troops out in the middle east, on the other hand through the trailers and clips I had viewed it seemed to resemble much that the 2007 film "The Kingdom" starring Jamie Foxx had offered. How wrong I was.

By the opening few chapters it had been established this was neither a pro-war film nor a glamorous take on the life of the average soldier. This was a gritty ,thought provoking drama about the current state of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. A film that told its audience war is unpredicatable, hateful and full of suprise.

The films itself was shot in a way that suggested you the viewer were viewing the action through the eyes of one of the american troopers. Ever vigilant for enemy activity the camera would often zoom to various locations along the deserted city to suggest the feeling of being watched. This was superb at building tension and suspense especially during the scenes that put the american soldiers out in the open.

The characterisation of the american G.I's was also superb, Jeremy Renner's performance as the socially isolated and emotially detatched bomb disposer was brilliant and well worth an oscar recognition, while the supporting cast were also great at presenting the constant feeling of suspense and tension. The conflcition between Renner and his squad mates built upon this idea of emotional detatchment and gave something extra to the whole film experience.

To sum up, "The Hurt Locker" offers the viewer a brilliant piece of modern war realism while also offering action lovers a film that doesnt dissapoint graphically. The cast of the film deserve massive congratulation for their performances as emotionaly stable yet constantly uneasy soldiers, and whereas other films of the war genre seem to go about a film all guns blazing, "The Hurt Locker" offered a superb tension thriller with brilliant action and storyline.

IMDB Rating: 8.0 / 10