Catch Me If You Can

Movie: Catch Me If You Can

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Written by: Stan Redding, Frank Abagnale Jr. , Jeff Nathanson

Year: 2002

Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen ,Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams, James Brolin, Brain Howe, Frank John Hughes, Steve Eastin, Chris Ellis, John Finn, Jennifer Garner, Nancy Lenehan, Ellen Pompeo, Elizabeth Banks,  Guy Thauvette, Candice Azzara, Matthew Kimbrough, Joshua Boyd, Kaitlin Doubleday, Kelly McNair, Jonathan Dankner, Maggie Mellin, Thomas Kopache, Margaret Travolta, Jimmie F. Shaggs, Lilyan  Chauvin, Robert  Ruth,  Alex Hyde White, Eugene Fleming, Jennifer  Manley,  James Morrison, Robert Symonds, Jennifer Kan, Robert Curtis Brown, Kelly Hutchinson, Wendy Worthington, Jane Bodle, J. Patrick McCormack, Brain Goodman, Ray Proscia, Sarah Lancaster, Jill Matson-Sachoff, Mike Baldbridge, Joel Ewing, Ritchie Montgomery, Jim Antonio, Kyle Davis, Dave Hager, Jane Edith Wilson, Morgan Rusler, Andrew Meeks, Shane Edelman, Benita Krista Nall, Jonathan Brent, Angela  Sorensen, Patrick Thomas O’Brien, Jaime Ray Newman

Storyline: A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. worked as a doctor, a lawyer and as a co-pilot for a  major airline company all before his 18th birthday. A master of deception he was also a brilliant forger, whose skills gave him his first real claim to fame. At the age of 17  Frank Abagnale Jr.  became the most successful bank robber in the history of the U.S. FBI Agent Carl Hanratty makes it his  prime mission to capture Frank  and bring him to justice , but Frank is always one step ahead of him.

There are five different types of actors impersonator, interpreter, personality, wild card, and character  and in the movie Catch Me If You Can. I will show you three  out of the five types of actors.

In this clip Frank Abagnale Jr.(Leonardo DiCaprio) is  impersonating  a co pilot for Pan American Airline. He would fit in the impersonator type. In the text is states ” impersonator considered somewhat demeaning in the acting world, suggesting that the  actor has simply coped the manner, dialect and behavior of a character , instead of creating the character.” ( Goodykoontz & Jacobs,2014).  There are some good actor that can fit in this same category , Philip Seymour Hoffman, Helen Mirren, David Strathairn, Meryl Streep “character roles of fictional characters besides impersonating real people, and might fit into almost any of the following actor types” ( Goodykoontz & Jacobs,2014).

In this clip  FBI Agent  Carl Hanratty ( Tom Hanks) is talking to  Frank Abagnale  Jr.  He is portraying the actor type of interpreter. Interpreter is”  actor who take material and put their own stamp on it” ( Goodykoontz & Jacobs,2014). These are  some actors that fit in this category to Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Branagh, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Alec Guinness, Forest Whitaker.

In this clip  Dinner with Brenda’s family  Frank Abagnale Jr. ( Leonardo DiCaprio) is meeting his girlfriend Brenda Strong ( Amy Adams) family for the first time. Her father  Roger Strong ( Martin Sheen) and her mother Carol Strong ( Nancy Lenehan). Roger Strong fix in the type of personality actor.” Personality actors are, at some level, playing themselves (or at least that is the perception). Films with strong personality actors can make it difficult for audiences to differentiate between the actor and the character”( Goodykoontz & Jacobs,2014). Here are some actors that  in the same category  Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, John Wayne, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Jack Nicholson, Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise, Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington, Jennifer Lopez.

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The one  character in the movie I’m going to focus on is  Tom Hanks. Tom Hanks is a wild card type of actor. A wild card actor is “an actor who is difficult to classify as one certain type, often because he or she can play a wide variety of characters equally well without becoming typecast. He has proven to be an extremely versatile actor by taking on a wide variety of roles across a variety of genres.

Captain Phillips( Taking Over)

Hanks adds another terrific performance in his already illustrious filmography with his turn in Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillip. Based on the true story of the 2009 Somali pirate hijacking.

Big (play piano scene)

In the late ’80s, one of the more popular film trends was the body switch comedy. Which starred Hanks as Josh Basin a teenager who wishes to be ” big” get more than he bargained for when he wakes up in the body of a 30 year old man.

Cast Away ( Willson!!!!!!)

In lesser hands, this film could have been a disaster, but Hanks was up for the test. Using his natural everyman qualities and likability, he was able to give viewers a character who was easy to root for as well as pose some serious “what would you do?” questions. Despite acting against a volleyball for most of the running time, Hanks’ performance is so strong.

Forest Gump  (3 Clips that takes you on the journey with Forest Gump)

Peas and Carrots

Bubba On Shrimp

The end scene

The script calls for Forrest to be in essentially every scene, and Hanks’ innocence and charm prevents the character from becoming an annoyance. Instead, the part allows him to show off his impressive acting range while giving viewers a different viewpoint of the States in the 20th century. Crafting one of the most memorable film characters ever, Hanks makes Gump an endearing and inspirational figure, showing that even a simple man can accomplish extraordinary things. As you can see from every movie clip I chosen  the range of Tom Hanks acting ability from comedy to dramatic is simple  without question one of the finest acting talents of his  or any  generation._P

Reference Page

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264464/?ref_=nv_sr_1

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The Lion King

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Movie: The Lion King

Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff

Writers: Irene Mecchi,  Johnathan Roberts

Year: 1994

Actors: Johnathan Taylor Thomas ( voice) Young Simba, Mathew Broderick ( voice) Adult Simba,  Rowan Atkinson ( voice) Zazu, Robert Guillaume ( voice) Rafik, James Earl Jones ( voice) Mufasa, Jeremy Irons ( voice ) Scar, Moira Kelly ( voice) Adult Nala, Niketa Calame ( voice) Young Nala, Ernie Sabella ( voice) Pumbaa, Nathan Lane ( voice) Timon, Cheech Marin ( voice) Banzai, Whoopi Goldberg (voice) Shenzi, Medge Sonclair ( voice) Sarabi

Plot: The king of all lions, Mufasa has a baby called Simba. This greatly angers Mufasa’s brother Scar, who would have been next in line to the throne. Scar plots to kill Simba and Mufasa, and leads them to a gorge. There Mufasa is killed by a herd of Wildebeest, and Simba is led to believe by Scar that he is responsible for his death. Simba then runs away, and Scar becomes king of the pridelands. After several years, in which time Simba has grown up, he returns with the help of some new friends to the pridelands, where he has a final battle with Scar and wins back the pridelands.

The Three Basic Categories of Film ( Dialogue, Sound Effects, and Music)

Dialogue: Characters talking to one another in films , known as dialogue, is now so much a part of the movie experience that audiences take it for granted. But creating scenes in which characters talk to one another as they do in real life is no easy task. In film, there are three basic reason to use dialogue:

  1. to further the development of the plot
  2. to enhance characterizations
  3. to establish very quickly important information the audience needs to know to understand  the action( e.g., names, locations, dates, motivations. back story).

In this clip it is just Simba , Timon and Pumbaa  having a conversation after having dinner. Just friends talking about life and what they believe.

Sound Effect: The sound that is made in the background or a sound that the character makes to get the attention of someone or something.

In this clip Nala and Simba is exploring the outskirts of the pridelands in what is called the elephant graveyard. And Mufasa comes and save them from danger with his loud roar. All the sound that are going own in the graveyard.

Music: Music has been a crucial part of the movie going experience since before the advent of recorded sound in films.After the conversion to talkies, music became a basic element of constructing a movie, as essential an element as lights and cameras.

In this clip you will see how the music is playing softly in the background and then became part of the dialogue.

 

Reference Page

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110357/?ref_=nv_sr_1

 

 

 

 

 

Beyond the Lights

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Movie: Beyond the Lights

Writer: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Director: Gina Prince- Bythewood

Year: 2014

Actors:  Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver, Machine Gun Kelly, Danny Glover, Darryl Stephens, Elaine Tan, Isaac Keys, Tyler Christopher, Bentio Martinez, India Jean-Jacques, Deidrie Henry, Estelle, Malieek Straughter

Storyline: Noni Jean  is a hot new artist who has just won a Billboard Music Award without having releases an album and is primed for super- stardom , but the pressure of success compel het to end it all by trying to end her life. She is saved by a young police officer , Kaz Nicol, who has political ambitions . Drawn to each other, Noni and Kaz fall fast and hard , despite the  protest of those around them who urge them to put their career’s ambitions ahead of their romance. But it is ultimately the love Kaz’s  gives to Noni that  courage to find her own voice and became the artist that was always inside of her.

Lighting of the Film

The lighting in this clip is low key lighting. Low key lighting is a lighting style marked by low levels of light, high contrast, and  very deep shadows.  As Noni get ready to go on stage you can see that the lighting is dark  in the whole shot to the stage. It is focusing on Noni and her journey with the makeup artist to get to the final place on stage.

The clip uses the three point lighting. Three point lighting is a  lighting style based upon three primary sources of light, a bright key light and slightly dimmer fill light to the upper right and left sides of the camera, aiming at the subject to create a three-dimensional appearance with soft shadows, and a back light placed behind the subject and aimed at its back to create a rim of light that separates it from the background.  Noni is at a photo shoot in this scene and their is a lot going on in this shot to get the right kind of picture. She stands out in all that is going on around her.

Reference page

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3125324/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2 kmL8Wr4Ko

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5qa3zzbQgl

 

 

Get On Up!!!

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Movie: Get On Up

Writer: Jez Butterworth, Steven Baigelman,

John-Henry Butterworth

Director: Tate Taylor

Year: 2014

Actors:  Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Aykroyd, Viola Davis,Lennie James, Viola Davis,Fred Melamed,Craig Robinson,Jill Scott,Octavia Spencer,Josh Hopkins, Brandon Mychal Smith,Tika Sumpter, Aunjanue Ellis,Tariq Trottter, Aloe  Blacc, Keith Robinson, Nick Eversman, J.D.Evermore, Carol Lee,Cleta Elaine Ellington,Jim Gleason, Ahna O’Rilly, Antonius Charles, Donald Watkins,Danzel Reed,Corey Srenson, Phyllis Montana LeBlanc,Hunter Burke, Julius Tennon, James Dumont, Jamarion Scott, Jordan Scott, Stacey Scowley,Rena DeAngelo, Liz Mikel, Aakomon Jones,George Quinones, Aaron Jay Rome, Atkins Estimond, Clyde Jones, Michael Papajohn, Matt Thompson, Elliott June Rogers, Adrien Scott Robinson, Alvin Edney II, Randy Smith, Joe T. Blankenship,Mario J. Radford, Sheldon Frett, Sandra DeNise, Jacinte Blankenship, Cariella Smith, Kirk  Bovill, Taura Cherne, Dominic Thigpen, Billy Slaughter, Justin Hall, David Carzell, Jason Davis, Jamell Richardson, Allison Janney, John Benjamin Hickey

Story: A record of James Brown’s rise from serious lack to became one of the most dominant famous musicians in history. The history of the love, abuse, and the music that change a world.

Plot:  A  man is walking down a dark hall to the stage. From the hallway he can hear the  audience is calling  his name really, really  loudly. As he keeps on to the stage, he hears voices of people he knew throughout his life. This man is James Brown played by  (Chadwick Boseman). He tells the story from his point of view from what he can remember from a childhood to adulthood.

Chronology:  The film is in no chronology order. It jumps from one year to the other. It start out in the early 90’s and go to his childhood, then to the 70’s the movie covers many years of James Brown life in the order his remember them in. It follows no 123 sequence but the movie make much sense. All the scene come together to give you a whole picture of a life well lived.

Reference Page

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2473602/