Foreign Film: Pan's Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth is a dark-fantasy written and directed by Spanish director Guillermo del Toro.




Plot summary: In the fascist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.

Production: $13, 500, 000

Box office: $37, 623, 143

Certificate: 15

2006 release January

Genre: Dark-fantasy
                                                    
             

American Independent Film: Donnie Darko (2001)

Donnie Darko deals with the controversial issue of mental illnesses. He suffers from schizophrenia and there is a deeper meaning to this as the schizophrenia is made apparent to the viewers in that the viewers are very involved in the multiple personality.
There are 4 production companies involved with this film- Pandora Cinema, Flower Films, Adam Fields Productions and Gaylord Films. All of these production companies have only produced independent films.

It had a budget of $6 million and had a box office of $1, 270, 522.
Director: Richard Kelly
Release Date: 26 October 2001 (Halloween time)
Certificate: 15

Awards:
Best film to not receive a proper release in Canada-Toronto Film Critics Association Awards
Best Feature- Sweden Fanatic Film Festival
Best Film- Catalonian International Film Festival
Best Screenplay- San Diego Film Critics Society Awards
Premiere Award- Geredmer Film Festival
Audience Awards- Cineygma Luxemburg International Film Festival
Best Screenplay
                                                  -Chlotrudis Awards
Best Actor (Jake Gyllenhaal)
Silver Screen Awards- Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival
Young Filmmaker's Showcase- Academy of Science Fiction etc


                                                       

UK Film - I Give It A Year

Plot Summary: I give it a year is a British Rom-Com which sells the whole idea of being British and has a very Bridget Jones feel to it. Having this, it appeals to those audiences of whom watched and liked Bridget Jones. Newlywed couple Nat and Josh are deliriously happy despite their differences, though friends and family aren't convinced that they can last. With their first anniversary approaching and attractive alternatives in the mix, can they last?

Release Date: It was released in February 2013 for the reason of that it's valentines day and many people would go to the cinema with their 'valentines' near to or on the day. It is key to cinema to have Rom-Coms released throughout February, especially British ones as the idea of 'British love' is sold greatly amongst other cultures.

Certificate: 15 There are strong sexual references and dialogue throughout. Having a Rom-Com certified at a 15 allows room for strong sexual references which relates to its audience on a higher scale and ultimately bringing in a larger audience.

Budget and Box Office: The actual budget price isn't available, however the director said it was a limited budget as he is a 'great believer in that great comedy doesn't need to cost a fortune'. It made a £32.5k at US box office over all. It was majorly successful in the US as British romance is desirable.

Reviews: It had mainly positive reviews with a trend of people saying it didn't focus as much on the romance as it did on the comedy which somewhat defeated the romance theme. Many also said that it would make Hugh Grant and his fans proud. On Rotten Tomato's 'Tomato-meter' it scored 55% and audience scored it as 43%.

Stars:It features 3 key actors who made their debut in TV shows. Stephen Merchant, Olivia Coleman and Alex Macqueen. It also features other actors popular in British Cinema such as Minnie Driver and Rafe Spall. Having TV stars feature in a film appeals to the audiences who watch the shows they're in which is cleverly done as that in this method it brings in male audiences as well as female.

Marketing: It was mainly advertised on Facebook as it's cheap and many people will see it as it's the largest social network site. Following the release of the film, a soundtrack was released which, obviously, features love songs. It has also been released on DVD.

Director: Dan Mazer

The Great Gatsby

Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of the famous novel 'The Great Gatsby' was a blockbuster of 2013 for a number of reasons. Generally when a film is made based on a book, it doesn't flop and is in fact majorly successful. Luhrmann cast Leonardo Di Caprio in his 1995 remake of Romeo + Juliet, this being a successful film ultimately created a definite success for The Great Gatsby prior to its release. It also stars Carey Mulligan who starred in the successful film, along with Ryan Gosling, 'Drive'. The Great Gatsby had a budget of $105 and produced $348.8 at box office.

It is classed as a Romantic Drama however it may also be classed as a Greek Tragedy due to the downfall of nobel characters regarding their harmatia of naive idealism.


It has been certified as a 12A, however Common Sense Media says it's suitable for 14+.

This film was marketed using different images from the film to show all the different angles of the story. The posters focussed on the lavish style of the film and the lifestyles the characters lead to create an image of the main setting of the film and to enforce this amongst the potential viewers. Being that this film is an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald, the trailer and posters do not stray away from this and have kept a similar feel about the visual story as opposed to the literature.

Prior to the film's release, the Brooks Brothers premiered the 'Gatsby Collection', which is a line of men's clothing "inspired by the costumes designed by Catherine Martin for Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby". Following this, Tiffany & Co unveiled windows at its Fifth Avenue flagship store "inspired by" Luhrmann's film and created in collaboration with Luhrmann and costumer Catherine Martin. The jewellery store also premiered "The Great Gatsby Collection" line of jewellery designed in anticipation of the film.

It was released May 10th 2013. As May is in summer time, and The Great Gatsby is set in the summer of 1922, this appeals to the audience as they would feel related to it being that they would currently be living in summer time and following the stereotypes of summer times which are highlighted in the film.

It received mainly positive reviews speaking about how Luhrmann portrayed it well whilst keeping the original literature apparent. Although this caused a backfire on some as they felt too much attention on keeping faithful to the novel, it lacked the faithfulness in theme, character and impact. Many did say that Leonardo DiCaprio was a poor choice to portray Jay Gatsby. Many commented on the colour and theme of the riches in the film and how the entire film focussed on the gold element which some appreciated but some surpassed as tacky and stereotypical.

The Counsellor

     



Production budget: $25million
Domestic total: $16,816,402

Total lifetime grosses:
   Domestic : $16,816,402     35.9%
    Foreign$30,000,000          64.1%

Domestic summary:
   Opening weekend: $7,842,930
     (No. 4 rank. 3044 cinemas, $2,577 average)
       percentage of total gross: 46.6%

Widest release: 3,044
In release 33 days/ 4.1 weeks



This film is sold to the audience on the idea of drugs and violence. In the running titles there are big named actors with their awards underneath their names. This lures the audience in to believe this will be a good film due to the actors cast. However, the reviews are seemingly negative and has had few positive reviews.

I will be producing a short film based on the Horror genre and I will be making this apparrent by using some of the main conventions of that genre.
I plan on using lots of jump cuts to keep the viewer on edge and create a sense of disjointedness within the main character. At this moment I have not made a clear decision on what the narrative will be, however I have a brief outline. It will follow the main stereotypes of the Horror genre but with some controversial changes.

• Target audience of 15-25 year olds, interested in the psychological area 
• Either a short film or a film trailer based on the Horror genre with psychological aspects
• Use and adapt existing themes and ideas from Horror films
• Use dutch and other such unconventional angles 
• Editing will be the main focus of the sequence and will play a big part in the feel of the clip

Film Noir

 In this short film we created a Film Noir themed setting by using the available architecture in and around college. Such objects as grave stones and spiral staircases are popular conventions within the Film Noir genre.
The film begins with a close up of a hand and the shot is held for 2 seconds and then zooms out to reveal it is a dead body. The two seconds in which the viewer is unaware of whose hand this is or anything to do with it, the viewer is anticipated as to what this hand will show. This is shot at a dutch angle to show the obscurity and unorthodoxness of the situation.
It then cuts to a female standing in the doorway and then stepping over the dead body.The viewers are unable to see her face so it creates mystery as we are not yet sure as to who this character is, what she represents and her involvement in the situation. After she steps over the body, the camera follows her as she walks past and down the stairs. Following this, it cuts to a slow motion shot of her continuing down the stairs, however the camera is now at the bottom of the stairs as opposed to the top which shows she now has dominance of the situation and ultimately the rest of the film.
The next scene is the female continuing to walk away from the camera, down a path, in a graveyard, towards the church. In this shot, she is in centre frame, which , again shows she has dominance over the situation and she is able to determine what happens next.
Following this, the female meets a male and they talk whilst holding each other. In this shot the viewers cannot see her face as it is filmed from behind her so the mystery of this character continues. The shot fades out and into the next one which shows the male and the female walking out of the grave yard and closing the gate. The viewers are still unable to see the female's face, they may feel confused as to what her motive is and why she has killed this man. It is implied that she has killed this man who is her husband/partner to be with this other man. Typically, in the Film Noir genre, the female is 'Femme Fatalle' and she performs the murder or wrong doing to be with somebody else.
The film ends with a tilt shot of the male and female walking towards the camera. The camera tilts only as far up at the female's neck and then cuts to a  close up of both male and female's feet. At this point the viewers are anticipated as the camera tracks upwards as it creates suspense as they believe they may be able to see her identity. However when it gets extremely close to showing her face, it cuts away.
We were aiming to achieve mystery and I feel we have achieved this effectively primarily with the use of keeping the female's identity concealed.