I watched a programme over Christmas, a nice cheery thing that makes you wonder about people's mental condition, morals and....Americans.
Obviously not all Americans, cause we do have some very nice ones here in Scotland, but the people in this show did actually blow my mind.
The show was a count down of the most shocking massacres in the past...what?....twenty odd years...something like that, I'm no good at history. All, but one took place in America. The other was the Massacre of Dunblane.
I didn't catch it from the beginning, but got most of it.
I felt very morbid watching it, but it was really interesting and quite weird watching CCTV footage of some of the incidents.
What really made me think was the fact that a lot of the people who killed in these massacres had no logical reason to do so, there was no notes or explanations, or even hints in their behaviour.
Apart from this it also showed how incredibly easy it was for them to get guns in the first place, a lot of them were owned by parents and weren't locked up.
What shocked me the most, (pun intended), was one of the survivors of the McDonald's massacre, who, at the time, illegally had a concealed weapon in the car and lost both of her parents to the shooter, then went on and made it legal for people to carry concealed weapons thinking that the number of massacres would go down, when, realistically, it just makes it easier for people to get guns and use them In a massacre. I just think that she really is thick, it's a bit of a strong judgement, which is against my character but really? She really frustrated me.
It's a lot like how people think you shouldn't be allowed to have a toothpick on a plane. This is a stupid rule, cause, unless your MaGyver, what could you possibly do to seriously endanger the plane with a toothpick!?
Anyway,... it really made me think and it is quite terrifying what some people do. It was a factual piece of film making but done in a VISUAL and interesting way that kept your attention, it was not a traditional piece, as you would guess from the 'count-down'- so technically I done some work for our Contextual Studies class over the holidays. Yeah me!!
hehe
xxx
Saturday, 24 January 2009
Friday, 16 January 2009
Christmas Catch- up
Hello Again.
Now for the catch-up of my filming holidays! Below are the list of films that will be discussed in this post so that you may skip to the bits you like- Always thinking of other people, I am.
I am not going to summarise any storylines-ever, cause if you want to know that then you should just watch the film- it's much more interesting.
DVDs I got for Christmas were; 'Ironman', 'The Golden Compass', 'Disney's Peter Pan', 'Mulan', 'Mulan 2', 'The Neverending Story', 'Next' and the first series of 'Heroes'.
I also watched; 'Romeo and Juliet', '15 most shocking acts of violence', 'The Chronicles of Narnia; Prince Caspian', 'Oklahoma' and 'Calamity Jane'.
First; Ironman I have mentioned in a previous post, so, briefly- I enjoy watching the film because it really is just amazing for the senses, it's visually stunning, plus I will admit I am a bit of a superhero geek and love most hero films, so I was bound to like this one, mostly just cause Ironman is quite cool in his own right!
'The Golden Compass' I do still enjoy even though I had previously read the books, which are out of this world. I remember reading the books and at parts wanting them to make them into films cause I wanted to see them for myself, but I also realise that nothing would be able to compare to the books so I hoped they wouldn't. I do still enjoy this film cause I think it captures the characters and Lyra's world really well, also the amount of detail they put in really helps. I was worried however when they said they were taking religion out of it cause you can't capture the story without it, they got away with it in this one, but they couldn't have done so for the next two books. I enjoyed watching the special feature more, which either shows that the film is bad, (which I don't think it is-it could have been a lot worse), or how....enthusiastic I am about the filming process :)
'Peter Pan', I still enjoy it although the live action one I love more- I don't think I should say more about Peter Pan, I have a whole post on it already!
'Mulan' is one of my favorite Disney films, I think partly cause the music and the humour that runs through the film, plus it is about woman empowerment- so maybe on a subconscious level I connected with that. 'Mulan 2' I didn't ask for, it came as a pack, and is OK, but doesn't work as well as the original- Disney trying to make money, (roll of the eyes).
'The Neverending Story' truly is magnificent, I think, I cannot praise it enough, it really is a film that you must see no matter what, at least once. It's effects were really good for it's time and the characterisation is so good it could make you cry! This is one of those rare times where I will shut up and just say 'SEE IT!!!'
'Next' is really well done as it has some unexpected twists and amazing action sequences, as well as a love story giving it some sort of emotional storyline, rather than just action. I watch it and see some sequences and always just say to myself, 'That is so cool!!'
'Heroes' I have mentioned before also. I really enjoy the show but watching the first series again made me remember how good that series actually was, I liked the 2nd and 3rd series but the 1st is definitely the best so far, it is a show you should watch as it shows how our race could possibly turn out in the future cause it makes logical sense.
'Romeo and Juliet made me think, however as this post is getting increasingly longer I shall discuss my revelations at a later date.
'15...violence', I think deserves more time also, so, later.
'Prince Caspian' was not what I expected, I have never read the books and so don't know much about the series. I did enjoy the film, it was better this time round in the sense that the acting is much better from the leads, they were good previously but they have learned and improved. I like the story of the installment- it has the 'what if' question, (what if they went back to a Narnia that was no longer like the one they remember?), and this, I think, really drives the story because it gets the characters emotionally connected again. I think I may have enjoyed this one more than the first as, even though I love the story in 'the lion....wardrobe', this film definitely appears to have more substance than the first.
'Oklahoma' and 'Calamity Jane' are a couple of my favorite musicals. I forgot how much I loved musicals, they really left me feeling happy and uplifted, as well as singing a mix of the songs. I couldn't help but think that it must have been fun to work on a musical- maybe not as a dancer on a Gene Kelly film, but it looked like the actors were enjoying themselves. I also noticed that the shots were very clever and well done also, as it is hard to adapt the stage to screen, at times it did look like a stage performance but with a mix of the screen, e.g. the dream sequence in 'Oklahoma' could be performed on stage exactly as it is in the film, only all done in the one place, in the film it is staged this way but manages to have linking shots to change the location, it sounds kind of complicated but if you watch it you will see what I mean.
'Calamity Jane' also made me think about love/hate relationships and the whole 'opposites attract' thing and I noticed this used to be done so much more, nowadays its always about a 'secret love' but the person is too afraid to act on it, in this they don't realise they love each other, and it makes it really interesting and more dynamic, I also thought about how such a situation relates to real life. Do such things happen? and work? It is a strange subject that may pop up in the future, now, however, I will leave you with that thought.
xxx
Now for the catch-up of my filming holidays! Below are the list of films that will be discussed in this post so that you may skip to the bits you like- Always thinking of other people, I am.
I am not going to summarise any storylines-ever, cause if you want to know that then you should just watch the film- it's much more interesting.
DVDs I got for Christmas were; 'Ironman', 'The Golden Compass', 'Disney's Peter Pan', 'Mulan', 'Mulan 2', 'The Neverending Story', 'Next' and the first series of 'Heroes'.
I also watched; 'Romeo and Juliet', '15 most shocking acts of violence', 'The Chronicles of Narnia; Prince Caspian', 'Oklahoma' and 'Calamity Jane'.
First; Ironman I have mentioned in a previous post, so, briefly- I enjoy watching the film because it really is just amazing for the senses, it's visually stunning, plus I will admit I am a bit of a superhero geek and love most hero films, so I was bound to like this one, mostly just cause Ironman is quite cool in his own right!
'The Golden Compass' I do still enjoy even though I had previously read the books, which are out of this world. I remember reading the books and at parts wanting them to make them into films cause I wanted to see them for myself, but I also realise that nothing would be able to compare to the books so I hoped they wouldn't. I do still enjoy this film cause I think it captures the characters and Lyra's world really well, also the amount of detail they put in really helps. I was worried however when they said they were taking religion out of it cause you can't capture the story without it, they got away with it in this one, but they couldn't have done so for the next two books. I enjoyed watching the special feature more, which either shows that the film is bad, (which I don't think it is-it could have been a lot worse), or how....enthusiastic I am about the filming process :)
'Peter Pan', I still enjoy it although the live action one I love more- I don't think I should say more about Peter Pan, I have a whole post on it already!
'Mulan' is one of my favorite Disney films, I think partly cause the music and the humour that runs through the film, plus it is about woman empowerment- so maybe on a subconscious level I connected with that. 'Mulan 2' I didn't ask for, it came as a pack, and is OK, but doesn't work as well as the original- Disney trying to make money, (roll of the eyes).
'The Neverending Story' truly is magnificent, I think, I cannot praise it enough, it really is a film that you must see no matter what, at least once. It's effects were really good for it's time and the characterisation is so good it could make you cry! This is one of those rare times where I will shut up and just say 'SEE IT!!!'
'Next' is really well done as it has some unexpected twists and amazing action sequences, as well as a love story giving it some sort of emotional storyline, rather than just action. I watch it and see some sequences and always just say to myself, 'That is so cool!!'
'Heroes' I have mentioned before also. I really enjoy the show but watching the first series again made me remember how good that series actually was, I liked the 2nd and 3rd series but the 1st is definitely the best so far, it is a show you should watch as it shows how our race could possibly turn out in the future cause it makes logical sense.
'Romeo and Juliet made me think, however as this post is getting increasingly longer I shall discuss my revelations at a later date.
'15...violence', I think deserves more time also, so, later.
'Prince Caspian' was not what I expected, I have never read the books and so don't know much about the series. I did enjoy the film, it was better this time round in the sense that the acting is much better from the leads, they were good previously but they have learned and improved. I like the story of the installment- it has the 'what if' question, (what if they went back to a Narnia that was no longer like the one they remember?), and this, I think, really drives the story because it gets the characters emotionally connected again. I think I may have enjoyed this one more than the first as, even though I love the story in 'the lion....wardrobe', this film definitely appears to have more substance than the first.
'Oklahoma' and 'Calamity Jane' are a couple of my favorite musicals. I forgot how much I loved musicals, they really left me feeling happy and uplifted, as well as singing a mix of the songs. I couldn't help but think that it must have been fun to work on a musical- maybe not as a dancer on a Gene Kelly film, but it looked like the actors were enjoying themselves. I also noticed that the shots were very clever and well done also, as it is hard to adapt the stage to screen, at times it did look like a stage performance but with a mix of the screen, e.g. the dream sequence in 'Oklahoma' could be performed on stage exactly as it is in the film, only all done in the one place, in the film it is staged this way but manages to have linking shots to change the location, it sounds kind of complicated but if you watch it you will see what I mean.
'Calamity Jane' also made me think about love/hate relationships and the whole 'opposites attract' thing and I noticed this used to be done so much more, nowadays its always about a 'secret love' but the person is too afraid to act on it, in this they don't realise they love each other, and it makes it really interesting and more dynamic, I also thought about how such a situation relates to real life. Do such things happen? and work? It is a strange subject that may pop up in the future, now, however, I will leave you with that thought.
xxx
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