Review: Hachi: A Dog's Tale

Hachi: A Dog's Tale is a Western remake of a Japanese film based on a true story that occurred in Shibuya, Japan.

This movie is difficult to describe without giving away major plot details that are best experienced through watching the movie if you are not already familiar with the story. The basic setup is that a man finds a puppy who has lost his way and decides to take him in.

The two of them bond and a deep friendship is born. The movie is emotional and heartwarming, and towards the end it becomes heavy. People who have a dog may be able to relate to what is happening a bit more than non-dog owners. Despite that, it can still leave an impact on any viewer.

It makes good use of music and uses a dog's view of the world which helps better demonstrate what Hachi the dog is feeling. It feels very humane with its lack of CGI or other obtrusive special effects. This movie uses very little in order to tell a whole lot.

Final Verdict: Red light, sit down to watch this and prepared to release your emotions.

Review: Boyz in the Hood

Life is depicted differently depending on the circumstances surrounding a person. For the hundreds of suburban so called everyman we see in movies, there's comes one that is not so lucky. Boyz in the Hood is about the life of a Southern California urban youth and his friends living the hard knock life.

This movie is a drama. Unlike many movies like this which uses humor with dramatic moments, the entire story has a serious tone. The story begins with the characters as boys. We are shown the unpleasant lives they must endure with things like dead bodies hanging around that no one bothers to report or clean up. The movie then flash forwards to the characters as adults. Life is still tough with like night time shootings and drug addicts harassing them.

The movie makes a point about how people who live in their situation are normally ignored or hoped to be rid of. They are trapped in a situation that seems impossible to escape, while the rest of the country turns their back on them. Without any help, very few are lucky enough to find a way out, and most end up like how many of the characters ended up in this movie.

This movie was fascinating and also made me think about how lucky I actually am, and how as a country we should show our gratefulness by pushing for trying to help those are are not so lucky. This is a fantastic movie, and a definite must watch.

Final Verdict: Red light. Stop, watch, and reflect on this great piece.

Real Life Experience

I was in a mechanic shop sitting in the waiting lounge. The head mechanic was at the front desk writing something. Through the wall I heard the sounds of metal clanking and power tools buzzing. Suddenly, a man bursts through the front door with blood streaming down his face. He starts yelling to call for help. About four seconds later two men come chasing after him. They try to corner the bleeding man against the wall. One of them grabs a hammer off the display and the other a shovel. They lean in close. Suddenly the head mechanic tells them both to get on the floor as he is pointing a handgun to the two attackers. I step out and call the police. The police arrive fifteen later. Someone could have been killed fifteen times over, that response time was unacceptable. The police asked some questions and made some arrests. After everything was over I payed what I owed, and left.

These types of real life experiences are what influences writers to branch out an entire storyline. Never take odd moments in life for granted.

Interview with a Local Director

Making movies is a team process, and the leader of the team is often attributed to the director. I managed to find a local director to ask him a few questions. Below is a short interview between the two of us which may offer insight to aspiring film students.

Q: Speak a little about yourself.
 A: My name is Nick Taylor, I'm a director who grew up in New Jersey.

Q: How long have you been doing this?
A: Nearly 20 years.

Q: Do you enjoy what you do?
A: I love it, absolutely.

Q: Who are some of your inspirations?
A:  Everyone has something to contribute.

Q: Favorite movies?
A: Mostly 70s works, I find they had a real-world charm.

Q: What are the most important elements for a story?
A: Characters.

Q: Anything you wish you could change in today's standards?
A: Less CGI.

Q: Is this line of work hard?
A: The hardest part is always getting started.

 Q: What advice would you give to newcomers?
A: Work on anything. Get experience and meet people.

Q: Anything else you would like to say?
A: Never give up, and keep trying.

Interesting things from someone in the industry. I would like to personally thank Mr. Nick Taylor for taking time to answer some questions. I agree, never give up. We all have aspirations, let's continue to work toward them.

Review: Crash

In 2001, a terrorist attack caused America to go into hysteria about the issue of who is a true American. The heated issue caused a rise in racism leading to different treatment certain people were getting and giving. This occurred for a few years until people decided we needed to unite once more and stop the hate. A by-product of these events was a movie which was meant to deal with and demonstrate "modern" America, Crash.

The movie has different races of people including White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, and Middle-Eastern all trying to make it in life being both surrounded by each other and hating each other. All the characters are nothing more than racist, that is the extent of any given dialogue they have. They cannot go a second sentence without blowing their top and going off on a racist rant, or hurting someone either physically or psychologically.

This movie beats you over the head with this message. It is so blatant, it feels like propaganda rather than a regular movie. There is no subtly like any good movie with a message should have. If the in your face message isn't enough, the overall tone and emotion in the movie is too over dramatic and Sandra Bullock's performance is the most ham filled of all. If you like people being held in each other's arms and crying, you're in luck as, this movie dedicates 10% of the total runtime to it.

Despite this movie's R-rating, at times it feels like a video shown to grade school students about the importance of accepting others. A movie considered good for its time, it is outdated unless you still feel post 9/11 sentiments. If you want a movie with a very similar theme but done better, watch Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing.

Final Verdict: Green light, speed away from this tripe.

Review: Network

Network is a movie about a newscaster who decides he has had enough with how terrible the world has gotten and uses his position to proclaim to the people watching him how bad things really are. He ends up being seen as a type of messiah and voice of the people. His popularity skyrockets and the TV station moves him from the news anchor position to have his own TV show where he can rant to the people's delight.

This movie is a comedy, first and foremost. However, the comedy is done in a way that it is incredibly subtle and is brilliant for doing so. There are no gags, pauses for laughter, or situational jokes. The comedy comes from the absurdity of real life which is being satirized throughout the movie. Much of what is happening really does mirror how real life works even if we have missed just how ridiculous it all is and this movie points it out.

The movie is a commentary on society, media, social construct, mob mentality, leadership, and position of power. It was made during a time America was transitioning from the so called perfect utopia in paintings to the more realistic setting we think of it today, filled with poverty, uncertainty, disloyalty to the government. America is going through another transition, as it is losing its status as the world power to one that might fall under foreign rule. this makes Network definitely relatable to current events.

Final Verdict: Red light, make sure to stop and see Network.

How-To Write a Script

Writing in script format is as easy as any other format. Following the steps below will create a proper way of telling a story for screen and can be as easily learned as writing a book report.

Scene Heading
Start by stating where the story takes place.

First whether it takes place inside or outside - Location - Time

Sample:

Ext. - School - Morning

Action

Not necessarily who's firing guns while driving 200 miles per hour, but what is taking place. Remember to be literal. A good trick is to imagine you are describing what you see on screen to a blind person.

Sample:

Students are all walking into their classrooms, talking in the hallway, and at their lockers. A young woman who is about 17 years old is reading a book while leaning against a wall. She has blonde hair in pigtails and an eyepatch over her right eye. Her right leg is a wooden peg and her right arm is a mechanical gold robot arm. She shuts her book as her phone rings and she answers.

Dialouge

 Now state what is being said. Remember too much dialogue is detrimental. Only have a character speak when they need to interact with someone.

Sample:

Rihanna

Hello, this is secret agent R speaking.

Mom, I told you never to call me at 

school.

That's it.
Script format really is that easy. Yes, there are some more ways to format certain aspects depending on what your doing, including things such as a voice-over, but this is the basic format. Go ahead and write up a scene to try it out.
 

Nightcrawler Thought

Nightcrawler is a new movie currently out in theaters. While the initial trailer did not inherently interest me, there seems to have been a buzz built up from the critic screenings. It seems reviews are incredibly favorable, and the movie has piqued my curiosity.

Reading the review by Matt Zoller Seitz from rogerebert.com,  I find the comparisons to other movies like Taxi Driver or Network help illustrate the overall tone and content of the movie. Reading the review, Nightcrawler comes off as a sort of dark comedy.

While I have not yet seen the movie, my own interpretation based on the review makes it seem as if it is a Coen Brothers type of movie. This comes from the mix of having a quirky and unstable minded character being surrounded by serious life and death events. I'm surprised the reviewer did not make this connection, though actually watching the movie might change my interpretation.

Wikipedia Contribution Seemingly Accepted

Previously, I made a post regarding a Wikipedia edit that I made. Nice to find one month later it is still up. (Follow the link above to read what the Wikipedia entry was, and the changes that were made!)