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Showing posts from September, 2016

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Film Review

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I open at the close: The beginning of the end... Over the course of cinema history, particularly in recent years and in this modern day-and-age, there is a tendency for films to be split into multiple parts; whether it's for creative purposes or for financial gain. Of course, with this film 'trend' of splitting successful books into multiple sections, there have been criticisms of this approach. While it's understandable to recognise that this splitting manoeuvre 'cheaply' maximises box-office returns for the blockbuster franchises, it's also comprehensible to understand that this method diminishes the chance of producing lengthy films that would negate the viewing quality for the cinema-goer. This practise of a singular story branching off into multiple features, is now something that we do see within book-influenced adaptations. The first of many novel-based films to do this was David Yates'  The Deathly Hallows Part 1 . the beginning of the end

Best Film I watched at College and Uni...

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Films that defined my college and Uni yea rs?! Hey everyone and welcome to a rather special Blog Post for this week. Instead of simply just doing another Film Review, like I have been putting out for the past weeks now, I wanted to change things up a bit by doing another one of my film/T.V. centric lists. However, this isn't just any simple list, as this is a record that will go through the many best films that I had to watch through the time I spent learning about Film at college and at Salford University. For sure, there have been many eccentric and unique films that I've encountered in recent years when studying a subject like Film that is ever expansive and as interesting compared to other entertainment mediums. So, selecting the best that I've had to watch, discuss and write about in the many essays and exams that I did, will involve some films being left-out. Although, I have no worries that I have selected well and will be list filled with films that you will

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Film Review

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Getting back on track? Indeed, the way's in which events unfolded in the last tale of The Order of the Phoenix , was possibly the worst in this lauded film series. It was a shame to witness a film that didn't bring over tropes from previous films, and instead, relied on approaches that rushed and scattered a story that couldn't quite make up its mind in being either a light-relief adventure flick, or a much darker representation that explored the contradictions and developments of the main characters. What a surprise it was then, to watch David Yates, who is at the directorial helm once again, to improve on the mistakes that were ever-present in the last instalment, and to make The Half-Blood Prince  that was dark, thrilling and occasionally quite funny. With it's main attention of being a mysterious and dark film that neatly threads and finalises the romantic elements in a balanced manner, The Half Blood Prince marks the return of catalytical camera and visual w

Wolf Children Film Review

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Ghibli in disguise? A fairy-tale abound with realism and cinematic meaning... Shinchiro Watanabe, Mamoru Oshii, Osumu Tezuka, Satoshi Kon, Makoto Shinkai, Isao Takahata and of course, Hayao Miyazaki. These are the many different Japanese animation directors that have each laid the ground-work for what Japanese animation represents in the West and how much they've all changed the way we view animation, through their own stylisation and stories they present to us. What they all have in common with one another is, essentially, a shared interest and implementation of drawn/2-D animation. Refuting the idea of relying upon the power of a 3D format, these animators, along with their own unique drawn styles, share the same aim in delivering charm and clinical cinematic approaches to the curious audiences. With director Mamoru Hosoda, a Japanese animation director that has brought us well-known shows, such as Samurai Champloo , and films in the forms of The Girl who Leapt Through Tim

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Film Review

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Riddikulus: The 'Middle-Movie' Syndrome... For sure, the events that were fleshed out in the previous film of The Goblet of Fire planted Harry, his friends and other significant characters into a new and dark scenario; a scenario which see's Lord Voldemort fully return to take plight onto the wizarding world and Harry, along with his friends, to try and stop this evil threat whilst learning new and secretive about his past along the way. The Order of the Phoenix is the catalyst of this; a film that subtly details Harry's unusual connection with Voldemort and expands it's own universe even further with new characters, new locations and events that will shape the fate of Harry. However, as intriguing, dark and serious as this may sound and appear, with loose exposition and lackadaisical tonal and contextual focus, this 5th Potter film outing is inconsistent and confusing to say the least being that the previous rendition foreshadowed the circumstances in an int