genre post - action - John Wick 2

Genre post on action 

The film I will be reviewing is "John Wick 2"

Trailer:

- Genre = action
- Released in 2017
- Studio is Summit Entertainment
- Written by Derek Kolstad
- Directed by Chad Stahelski
- Star cast are Keanu Reeves, Riccardo Scamarcio and Ian McShane

The opening scene

Narrative 

From the opening title sequence at the start we see a mob member walking into the mob boss's office and telling him that they are nearly all loaded. The mob workers ask why they are moving to be told that John Wick's car is in their possession. As he says "John Wick's car" the shot changes to who we assume is John Wick entering the building. The shot cuts back to the mob boss and member. The mob member asks “why don't we just give it back". In response the mob boss say "He killed by nephew". As he says that the shot cuts back to John Wick who we can assume is killing the nephew.

It can be suggested as being a flashback. After that it cuts to the mob boss saying "my brother" and the shot cuts to John Wick killing another person who we can expect to be the brother. The shot keeps cutting from the mob boss and member talk to John Wick killing people. It keeps switching until the phone starts ringing and John Wick says to the mob boss "you have my machine" in Italian and then it cuts away to John Wick unveiling his car from the line of stolen cars.

He quietly gets in the car and starts it. The loud engine alerts the mob and they start trying to follow him. There is a long fight/ car chase around the mobs building and a lot of people are killed by John Wick. The scene ends with John Wick coming up to the mob boss's office and taking a drink with him. He says "peace" and in response the mob boss says "can a man like you know peace". This encounter is said in Italian.

It can be assumed that John Wick is going to be the main character in the narrative. We can also assume that the narrative will have lots of fight scenes and other cool action scenes. We can guess that the movie will be about how John Wick wants to get revenge for what had been taken away from him. We could guess that someone might try to take something else from him and the narrative will be him going to get that thing/ taking revenge on the person/ people who did it.

Target audience 

As this movie is in the genre of action we can expect the movie to be targeted towards people who enjoy watching action movies. John Wick is targeted towards an audience of 15 years old and above. We know this due to the rating the movie has of a 15. We can see that the rating fits what is going on in the scene. The scene has violent content in it but no sexual content. The opening scene also has swearing in it. These points allow the movie to be marketed as a 15. The movie is targeted towards 15+ year old action movie enthusiasts. We can see that it is an action movie from the amount of action that we are given in the opening scene. The scene was also long which allowed more action to be fit into it.

Characters

In the scene there are only two main characters. The first is John Wick and the other is the mob boss.

John Wick

We can assume that he will be the main character in the narrative. This can be guessed due to the movie title being his name as well as the mob boss talking about him as we watch John kill people. We can guess that John Wick is a very dark man who will do anything to get what he wants. This can be suggested from his costume and his hair. He wears a full black suit and has black hair. Black is a colour which connotes power, death and evilness. This can suggest that John has a lot of power and has evilness in his heart which means he will do anything, even kill tonnes of people just for what he wants.

The mob boss

As the boss of the mob it can be assumed that he is very evil but his costume helps to emphasise his evilness and power. He wears black clothing. Black is a colour which connotes evilness, power and death. This suggests that he has obscene amounts of power and is extremely evil. The tattoos can connote more of a ruthless nature as tattoos can connote ruthlessness and overall used to show villains in movies.

Genre and tone 

The genre of action and tones of excitement, thrill and badassery are explored in the opening scene. The conventions of fights, weapons, vehicles and crashes are seen in the opening scene. The convention of fights is when john wick is fighting and killing all the people with no emotion on his face. This can suggest he is ruthless. The crashes of all the cars during the car chase shots bring real elements of action into the scene and show that John Wick is highly skilled. The gun and other weaponry add to the fighting and makes it more action packed. The badassery tone is shown by how good of a killer and driver and everything else that John Wick is.

Camera use

The use of the camera being out of focus has no depth of field. The whole screen is blurry. This makes the character a mystery to the audience. This can connote the character as being a mysterious character. The use of John being in the centre of the shots shows how he is the main character. Being in the centre of a shot connotes importance and authority. This can suggest that John is important to the narrative which connote him being the main character.

The use of the close-up shot used on John Wick presents the character to us but focuses more on his facial expressions rather than body language. This shows his emotions. The use of the Pan in the car chase scene matches the slide of the car. It is like the camera is fixed to the car and follows its moves. This makes the action scene smoother and makes them cooler.

Sound use 

The use of the pleonastic diegetic sound effects of the killing of the mob boss' brother and nephew adds importance. Making a sound pleonastic makes the audience focus on the sound. It also connotes importance in a scene. This makes the killings more meaningful in the scene. Added with the fact that it was over "A car and a puppy" connotes John Wick being a ruthless man.

Mise-en-scene use

The use of the props of the cars being new york taxis helps to establish the setting that the movie is set in. The setting mixed with the setting of New York helps the audience to establish what mafia it is. This can make the audience be able to assume how the mobsters will act in the movie and what they will do.

Editing use

The use of the short shot durations is one of the conventions of an action movie. It makes the shots better and the action looks better and better in the cinematic experience. The shot durations are used to improve the action in the scene.

Conclusion

I believe that the scene was successful in engaging the audience and bringing the right tones and conventions into the scene to make it enjoyable for the action movie enthusiast. The scene was very good at telling a story without spoiling the narrative of the rest of the movie. The tones used emphasised the action and emotions in the scene.

genre post - drama - Bohemian Rhapsody

Genre post on drama

The film I will be reviewing is "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Trailer:

- Genre = drama

- Released in 2018

- Studio is Queen Films

- Written by both Anthony McCarten and Peter Morgan

- Directed by Bryan Singer

- Star cast are Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton and Gwilym Lee 

Narrative 

From the opening scene which is also a title sequence we see and hear that the 20th century fox logo music has been changed to be played by rock music instruments. It then fades to black and the Regency logo has added sound effects of the crowd from an audience and the musical saying "hey hey hey". In the next shot we see a man waking up and getting ready for the day. As he is doing that we are switched to seeing people lining up outside Wembley stadium and introducing the prince and princess of Wales. The shot cuts back to the man getting ready and this happens a few more times. This implies it's happening at the same time. The shots show different musical instruments.

We then see the man walking out of his trailer and heading towards a stage. It ends with him coming onto stage and all the cameras and people looking at him. Throughout the whole scene a piece of music is being played. It can be guessed that he will be the main character of the narrative. We can guess that the narrative will be about the person and his band. We can assume this due to the musical equipment that we see in the opening scene. We can assume that the next scene will be him playing a song for the crowd he has waiting on him, containing the prince and princess of wales.

Target audience

As the movie is in the genre of drama we can expect the movie to be targeted towards people who enjoy watching drama movies. Bohemian Rhapsody is targeted towards an audience of 12 years of age and above. We know this due to the rating the movie has of a 12 A. This allows the studio to allow a wider audience range. This allows for a higher possible revenue to be achieved from the screening of the movie at the cinema. The target audience are 12+ year old drama movie enthusiasts. How we know this movie is allowed to be rated as a 12 in the opening scene is due to there being no gore, swearing or sexual nature. How we know it's a drama movie from the opening scene is due to how we are following the life of a person with no tones of suspense or action.

Characters

In this scene we are following one man and we do not meet any other people who we would assume to be main characters in the narrative. The man is the only main character in the opening scene.

The man

We can guess from the opening scene that the man will be the main character of the narrative. We can also assume the movie will be following the life of the main character and seeing all his defeats and successes. We can guess that the man is strong minded and never gives up. This can be assumed due to his costume. He is wearing a brown leather jacket. Brown is a colour which connotes resilience, dependability and safety. This suggests that he never gives and works on something until it's perfect and he succeeds. We can also assume that he is a good person and hasn't done anything wrong. This can be suggested by the use of his costume being white. He wears a white tank top. White is a colour which connotes goodness and purity. This can suggest the man as being a good person who sticks to the rules and doesn't try to harm anyone.

Genre and tone

The genre of drama and tones of excitement and happiness are explored in the opening scene. The conventions of lyrical music is used in the movie by having the scene have a piece of music layered over it. The tone of excitement is shown when the first cut of the scene is seen. The cut shows thousands of people queuing outside of a stadium. This connotes excitement to see whatever is being shown inside the stadium. excitement is also shown when there is cheering when the man walks on stage. A tone of happiness is shown by the use of the music. The music makes the people listening feel happy which puts an overall happy tone on the scene.

Camera use

The use of the extreme close-up of the man cutting/ styling his moustache. This can suggest that the moustache is a key feature of his character. It can also suggest to the audience that he likes to look nice and respectable for whatever he does in his day to day life. The use of the tilt/ tracking shot from his hand to his face is used like a drum roll to relieve the character.

As the character is an iconic character it is used to relieve the character to the audience watching. The use of the man being in the centre of the shot suggests that he is the main character. Being in the centre of a shot connotes authority and importance. The use of this makes the audience assume him as being the main character.

Sound use

The use of the pleonastic diegetic sound effect of the cough when the man wakes up can suggest that the man could have an illness. The illness could be explored in the film and the man will have to deal with that illness making the narrative become sad in some places. It would also play into the genre of drama as this genre is meant to bring out strong emotions in the audience.

Mise-en-scene

The use of the Rolls Royce symbol/ the Rolls Royce car used in the opening scene shows wealth. Rolls Royce is an expensive car and you have to be very wealthy/ successful to buy the car. The use of this connotes the man as being a successful musician. We can assume that we might see the man dealing with fame and how he reacts to it. We will see his daily life in the film.

Editing use

The use of the cutting between two different scenes at the beginning of the scene shows that the shots are happening at the same time. This shows how the musical isn't there when everyone arrives. This can suggest he is unorganised and can be late. We might see in the narrative the man missing important events due to being unorganised.

Conclusion

I believe that the scene was successful in engaging the audience and bringing the right conventions of the genre of drama into the scene. The scene gave enough info to make the opening scene make sense and make it enjoyable but not enough info to spoil the rest of the narrative. The tones of happiness and excitement make the scene that much more engaging and enjoyable and the music brought happiness to the audience watching it.

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the opening scene

genre post - war - war horse

Genre post on war

The film I will be reviewing is "war horse"

Trailer:

- Genre = War

- Released in 2011

- Studio is Dream Works Pictures

- Written by Lee Hall, Richard Curtis and Micheal Morpurgo

- Directed by Steven Speilberg

- star cast are Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson and David Thewlis

The opening scene 

Narrative 

In the opening scene we see a mare and her foul in a field running around. As they are running we see a young man looking at them. It then cuts to another shot of him closer to the horses, leaning on a fence. We can see that the foul has interest in the young man and the young man has interest in the foul. The mother protects the baby and makes it back away from the man. In the next shot we see the young man running up the hill and he runs up to the foul that we can see has grown up. The young man tries to feed the horse an apple and as the horse is about to get the apple the mare starts stomping its foot which makes the foul come back to it. The young man stands there in fascination. We can guess that the narrative will be about the young man trying to tame the foul and the story of the young man making the foul a really good horse. We could believe that due to the title it could be about the young man and the horse going to war and being the people who help the English with something that they do together. We can guess that the movie is set in the times of World War 1 and we can guess that it is set around south western England due to the accent from the young man.

Target audience 

As this movie is in the genre of War we can expect the movie to be targeted towards people who enjoy watching War movies. War horse is targeted to an audience of 12 years old and above. We can see this due to the rating of the movie as 12A. The target audience is 12+ year old War movie enthusiasts. The movie is rated as a 12 as there is no swearing in the opening title and also not expected in the rest of the movie. There also isn't any gore or violent behaviour. We can see that the target audience would be war enthusiasts due to the title. The title of "War Horse" suggests that the movie will contain and be about war. The opening scene doesn't suggest anything about war apart from the costume is of the period in which the first world war was.

Characters

There is only one character in the opening scene which is the young man. If you count the horses in the opening scene them there are 3 characters: the young man, the foul and the mare. The main 2 characters we can guess from this opening scene will be the foul and the young man.

The young man

We can guess that the young man will be seen as one of the good guys as this is an English movie and so it will be shown in the perspective that the English are the good guys and the Germans are the bad guys. We can suggest that the young man has no strong political view and wants life to be good and not affected by war. This can be assumed due to his costume. He is wearing a light grey shirt. Grey is a colour which connotes neutrality and balance. This suggests that he wants everyone to be equal and for there to be no war. He just wants to live his life being happy. He is also in his costume wearing a brown waistcoat. Brown is a colour which connotes safety and security. This suggests that if you stay with the boy and be his friend he will keep you safe and protect you. You will be secure.

The foul

We can guess that the foul will be a good friend to the young man and they will have many adventures together and maybe even fight in the war together as well. We can gain a sense that the horse will keep the young man safe and secure when they have each other. We can guess this from the foul's hair. The horse has brown hair. Brown is a colour which connotes security and safety. This can suggest that the horse will keep the young man safe and secure when riding and going on adventures and even in war. The foul can be assumed as being innocent and a good being due to its hair. The foul has white patches of hair on its face and feet. White is a colour which connotes innocence, purity and goodness. This suggest that the horse will be a good companion and is innocent and doesn't try to do anything mean/ hurt someone.

Genre and tone

The genre of War and tones of happiness, interest and excitement are explored in the opening scene. The conventions of the genre of war are shown in the opening scene due to the costume of the young man. The young man is wearing the clothing that a person would wear in the early 1910 and that was the same time period as World War 1. Also the name of the movie also shown that it has a genre of war as war is in the title of the movie. There is also the "young hot shot" (the horse) in need of a mentor (the young man). Tones of excitement are shown when the young man is running up the hill all excited to try and give the foul and apple in a feet to gain its trust and be that one step closer to taming and riding it. Tones of interest are shown by how the young man looks at the foul. He looked interested in the foul. He wants to tame the foul.

Camera use

The use of the close-up shot on the horse connotes its importance in the movie. when a person or object is by itself in a close up it means that its something of significance. The use of the close up shot shows that the foul will be significant in the narrative of the movie. The use of the tracking shot on the horses at the start of the scene can act like the boy following them/ watching them run around.

A tracking shot can be used in movies to show authority and importance. Using this suggests that the horses will have importance to the story. The use of the foul being in the centre of the shot shows its importance to the story. Being in the centre of a shot connotes importance. The use of this shows how in the story the horse will have importance in someway.

Sound use

The use of the pleonastic diegetic sound effect of the foul’s feet hitting the floor are used to symbolise the steps to gaining the horses trust. The physical steps can be a metaphor for the steps that the young man is taking to gain the foul's trust. A pleonastic sound is used to make the audience focus on that sound. It shows that the sound made/ the object that made the sound is important. This gets the audience to realise that the young man is starting to gain the foul's trust.

Mise-en-scene use

The use of the apple in the scene was an object used to suggest to the audience that the young man will gain the horse's trust and the movie will be the adventures and training of the horse and the young man and them maybe fighting in the war together. The apple was a symbol for the trust that the two have for each other at that point.

Editing use

The use of the longer shot duration used on the horses and the young man builds suspense. The longer shots build suspense as the audience is thinking if the young man is going to gain the horse's trust or not. Long shot durations also get the audience more immersed into the narrative.

Conclusion

I believe that the opening scene was successful in engaging the audience and bringing the right conventions into the scene to create the right genre for the movie of war. The scene created lovely tones which got the audience gripped to the story and wanting to watch more of the movie to see if the young man earns the young horse’s trust and see if they have any exciting adventures together.

genre post - sci-fi - star trek (2009)

Genre post on sci-fi

The film I will be reviewing is "star trek"

Trailer:

- Genre = sci-fi

- Released in 2009

- Studio is Paramount Pictures

- Written by J. J. Abrams

- Directed by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Gene Roddenberry

- Star cast are Chris Pine, Simon Pegg, Zachary Quinto

The opening scene 

Narrative

From the opening scene we can see two ships shooting at each other. The larger of the ships got a shot on the smaller ship which ended up damaging it heavily. The commander of the larger ship's assistant came on and said they wanted to meet the commander of the smaller ship. The commander then started heading towards a ship to go to the larger ship. The title of commander was then given to Kirk and so he became commander Kirk. His wife started going into labour and they were meant to evacuate the ship and put the ship into auto pilot to crash the ship into the other. Something bad happened which meant the autopilot couldn't work so he had to send his wife away and crash the ship with him inside.

He talked over the intercom to his wife as he had the baby. They named the baby Jim and as they did that Kirk crashed the ship and the scene ended. The assumed narrative could be following the life of Jim (Kirk's son). We can guess this as the baby was the focal point of the ending of the scene and we can guess that Kirk's legacy needs to live on with Jim. We can guess that the wife won't be the main character as she wasn't as much of a focal point as the baby.

Target audience

As this movie is in the genre of sci-fi we can expect the movie to be targeted to an audience that enjoys watching sci-fi movies. Star Trek is targeted to an audience of 12 year old and above. We can see this due to the lack of violence of swearing. This allows the movie to be marketed as a 12 and allow the studio to have a wider audience range meaning more profit can be earnt. The movie is targeted at 12+ year old sci-fi movie enthusiasts. We can see that the movie is targeted at sci-fi enthusiasts as the setting of the film is in space and has many features of the movie that aren't possible to have on earth at this point. This makes the movie a sci-fi movie which is what sci-fi enthusiasts would want to watch and it would be best to target them.

Characters

There are 4 main characters in this opening scene: Kirk, the wife, the original commander and the baby (Jim).

Kirk

We can guess that Kirk won't be in the movie physically as he has died from crashing the ship. We can assume that he may come back in flashback and memories from the wife and other people who knew kirk. we can assume that Kirk and the rest of the ship are the good guys in the narrative. We can see that he is trustworthy and has authority by his costume. Blue is a colour which connotes responsibility, authority and loyalty. His costume suggests that he is trustworthy and is able to have authority. We can see that as he was given the title of commander meaning the old commander thought he would have authority and would be responsible in leading the ship.

Old commander

We can guess that the old commander won't appear on screen physically again. We can guess as he was not as significant in the opening scene he is less likely to be on scene again in flashback or maybe not even on screen at all. We can see from the old commander's costume that he was also trustworthy and authoritarian. We can see this from the blue costume he wears. Blue is a colour which connotes authority, loyalty and responsibility. These are attributes of a good leader so it is no surprise why he was the leader of the ship.

The wife

We can guess that we will see the wife physically in the movie as we know she was alive at the end of the scene. We can see the love they (her and Kirk) had for each other by her emotions when she sees the ship blow up and she knows that Kirk is gone. We can see how she is a good person and has no evil inside her from her clothing. She is wearing white costume. White is a colour which connotes purity, innocence and goodness. Her wearing white connotes her being a good person who doesn't deserve to lose her husband so horrifically.

Jim (the baby)

We can guess that Jim will be the main character of the narrative as he is the focal point at the end of the scene. We can see that Jim is innocent and pure. This can be brought to when we next meet Jim. We can get this impression due to his costume. His cloth he is wrapped in is white. White is a colour which connotes innocence and purity as well as goodness. This can connote Jim will be a good person who is innocent and is like his dad.

Genre and tone

The genre of sci-fi and tones of sadness, power and sacrifice are explored in the opening scene to the movie. The conventions of the genre of sci-fi are shown in the opening scene. The convention of not being able to be done in the present day on earth is used as the whole scene is impossible in real life. This adds an element of excitement as the viewers get to go into an imaginary land where they don't have to worry about real world problems. Another convention of having futuristic props and beings. The alien who delivered Jim is a convention of sci-fi as aliens aren't real/ if they are then we haven't met them yet. The tone of sadness is shown by the fact that both the wife and Kirk are visibly sad by not being able to see each other again. When the ship blows up the wife is visibly super sad. The tone of sacrifice is shown as Kirk sacrifices himself for the greater good of the rest of the crew on the ship.

Camera use

The use of the close-up shot on the wife's face as the ship explodes shows her true feelings for Kirk. The close-up shot of the wife's face is of her with tears rolling down her face and a distraught look on her face. This connotes her having strong feelings towards Kirk and that she truly loved him.

The use of the tracking shot on the old commander walking down the halls can connote his importance and authority. The tracking shot is like someone is following the commander like his own "servant". This emphasises his authority and importance.

The use of the composition of Kirk in the ship connotes his importance and authority as the new commander. He is in the middle of the shots. This composition connotes importance and authority. Using this it shows Kirk has importance and authority.

Sound use 

The use of the pleonastic diegetic sound effect of the baby crying adds a bit of happiness and hope to this situation. The baby crying gives hope as it allows for Kirk's legacy to be carried on by Jim. Bringing life into this world is also a very happy moment and brings joy to the people around. Babies also make everyone happy. In the sad situation some happiness needed to be brought in.

Mise-en-scene use

The use of the setting of a spaceship inside space creates the right genre needed to make this a film loved by sci-fi fans. Space and spaceships are conventions of the genre of sci-fi and adding them to a movie makes the genre of the movie be sci-fi. This makes the audience range be people who like sci-fi movies and some other people.

Editing used

The use of the quick cuts from the wife to Kirk to the dashboard repeatedly builds up suspense and tension. Quick cuts in movies are used to build tension in the scene. Using the quick cuts creates tension in the scene. It makes the audience be on the edge of their seat waiting to see when Kirk will die and what will be said. The added timer on the dashboard help[s to emphasise the tensions by saying how long until the ship will hit and blow up.

Conclusion 

I believe that the opening scene was successful in engaging the audience by adding the right conventions and a gripping story. The opening scene did well in telling the story but not spoiling the whole narrative of the rest of the film. The use of the different tones got the audience feeling lots of different emotions and making them want to carry on watching the rest of the movie.