Kes (1969)
Directed By: Ken Loach
Starring: David Bradley, Freddie Fletcher, Brian Glover
Plot: A socially awkward boy, Billy (David Bradley), who does poorly in school and has an abusive brother (Freddie Fletcher) discovers a kestrel/hawk in the woods, and decides to take it home and train it. After some particularly bad days at school, one of Billy's teachers has him talk about his bird, named Kes, to his class. Afterwards, Billy allows the teacher to watch him fly it, after training Kes for a few days. Unfortunately, Billy's abusive brother discovers the bird, and kills it.
Review: This movie is shot very, very conventially. There are very few moments when camera movement is used during shots, however, there are impressive moments e.g. Billy gives his monologue to the class about Kes - one of the shots lasts close to 2 minutes, if not, a little over that. The editing is quite typical of a movie this old- the way a shot may fade to black, or to another scene, which is used very little today. There are very few musical cues, usually just during dramatic or exciting scenes e.g. when Billy flies Kes for his teacher.
Friday, 30 March 2012
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Juno (2007)
Juno (2007)
Directed By: Jason Reitman
Starring: Michael Crea, Ellen Page, J.K. Simmons
Viewed: 29/3/2012
Plot: A young girl (Ellen Page) named Juno is impregnated after a night with her boyfriend (Michael Cera). Feeling she is "ill-equipped" to take care of it, being in high school, she decides to hand her baby over to a married couple hoping to adopt. Juno breaks up with her boyfriend after a misunderstanding, but soon afterwards, the husband of the married couple moves away, feeling he is unready. After many doubts, Juno reunites with her boyfriend, and lets the wife take her baby, and become a single mother.
Review: For a drama about pregnancy, this is a very colourful movie, even in quite dark rooms, and even when something quite dramatic is happening. Apart from that, this is shot and edited quite conventionally, with few tricks involved. Its scored with a lot of modern-sounding acoustic guitar music, with singers slurring their lyrics and very loudly breathing in between sentences. It quite defies conventions, too, there are plently of naturalistic strong female characters, whilst the males seem very downplayed and unhelpful/incompentent. Generally, this is a well-made and sensible movie.
Directed By: Jason Reitman
Starring: Michael Crea, Ellen Page, J.K. Simmons
Viewed: 29/3/2012
Plot: A young girl (Ellen Page) named Juno is impregnated after a night with her boyfriend (Michael Cera). Feeling she is "ill-equipped" to take care of it, being in high school, she decides to hand her baby over to a married couple hoping to adopt. Juno breaks up with her boyfriend after a misunderstanding, but soon afterwards, the husband of the married couple moves away, feeling he is unready. After many doubts, Juno reunites with her boyfriend, and lets the wife take her baby, and become a single mother.
Review: For a drama about pregnancy, this is a very colourful movie, even in quite dark rooms, and even when something quite dramatic is happening. Apart from that, this is shot and edited quite conventionally, with few tricks involved. Its scored with a lot of modern-sounding acoustic guitar music, with singers slurring their lyrics and very loudly breathing in between sentences. It quite defies conventions, too, there are plently of naturalistic strong female characters, whilst the males seem very downplayed and unhelpful/incompentent. Generally, this is a well-made and sensible movie.
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