Review content analysis (Ghost Rider)

Paragraph one: Berardinelli is talking about comic books and how it can become a film like Ghost rider. And he also says that the comic books of Ghost rider was popular because of the cool images presented by the tittle character.


Paragraph 2: In this paragraph Berardinelli says comic books and theology shouldn't mix, Where as in Ghost rider it has mixed. Therefore at this point he suggests that they have done something wrong with in the structure of the film, and he also thinks that the devil isn't as bad as his son therefore makes the story abit weird.

Paragraph 3 and 4: On the third paragraph he gives us a summary of what actually happens in the film, this is done so that people who haven't watched the film yet would have an idea on what it is about therefore could make their mind up if it's worth going to and watching it. The 4th paragraph he gives his opinion of the film. Which he finds the film 'too silly to be taken seriously', he thinks that is is nowhere near spider-man, The X-man, Superman or Batman (Films from the same genre). Therefore this shows the readers that he totally dislikes the film and even finds it silly, and because he is a known person people will consider what he says and might decide not to go and watch the film or have a negative idea about it already without even going yet.

Paragraph 5 and 6: On the 5^th paragraph he talks about the characters, eg. Eva Mendes not acting that well and the two main characters not looking good together on screen. And he also talks about how bad Peter Funda’s makeup and voice was really bad. And compares the film to other films from the same Genre.On the 6^th paragraph he talks about the directors pervious film and it being better than Ghost rider with fewer effects because he thinks Ghost rider was a ‘mess’.

Poster Analysis (Ghost Rider)

The tagline of poster gives us a clue on  the narrative is, this also applies in this poster because 'long ago, he made a devil to save someone he loved' tells us exactly what happened in few words, therefore by the audience reading this, they have will already have a rough idea about the film and what to expect. Also the image of the main character is big because they are well known stars therefore people would be more likely to want to go and watch the film, so that is the USP of the film Ghost Rider because seeing people like Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes's name and picture being there shows their the main characters, therefore the audience would know that their previous films were successful and would assume due to their others films being successful, this film would also do good.

The image underneaf the characters connotes danger, because of the fire coming the man therefore this shows danger and fear and this is also a representation of the genre, this is because fire coming out someone and them not actually burning will only happen in fantasy films, and due to it being fantasy and fire coming out a man's head would make the target audience around 15 and over and another reason for this because for people younger it may not be very good for them due to a lot of violence and fire being involved in the film. Also, in the picture you can see a the man holding a girl, and it makes the audience feel mysterious about it because you can't tell if his actually saying her or harming her and the bike is on fire too, and putting the bike on the main poster makes the audience realise that there is a lot of action in the film aswell and there is fire coming out the bike too so again it is genre is showed from one of the mise-en-scene tools such as the bike.

When it comes to the title and the bottom of the poster, it is in bold and fire is coming out of the letters, this shows that there is going to be a lot of fire involved in the film so it gets the audience ready for what's coming. Also, at the very bottom you can clearly see the release date, which is February 16th,  so after the audience checks the poster, at the bottom then can see when it's coming out and they could consider going to it if they liked what they saw from the poster.

And lastly they have only used the colours black and red and white in only the title, this is usually done in serious or dangerous posters, pages etc, so already the audience has a clue on what's it like and if they like that type of genre there is a good chance of them actually wanting to watch the film so the poster gives them a direct idea that it's a fantasy film with a lot of fire involved

Out of the Blue film

Final Film Main Poster and Character Posters

Having received feedback on the Out of the Blue film posters, we decided to create a new main poster and character posters applying the feedback we'd received and new ideas. 

Some weakness received for the main poster were that the title wasn't clear, the font used wasn't appealing and that the shades of blue weren't nice. So to improve the title the same font and colours of the title which appears in our short film has been used. This was also done to create synergy. The focus of the photograph used on the main poster was described to be not focused, therefore all photographs for all the posters were taken again and this time we made sure all of which were in focus.

It was also stated that our production company logo was missing and so we used the company logo that appears in the start of the film and placed this at the bottom of all the posters; making them all more of copyright to our production company. Another weakness was the billing block, which was said to be too small and so the size of the billing block has been increased in the final main poster. We also decided to incorporate the watch in the background with a ripple effect, linking to the narrative of Out of the Blue, as there is always a ripple effect when the main character Kate time travels.

Through the character posters there is more synergy as the titles font and colour are exactly the same on all of the posters, as well as the Tag line, release date, blue and white background with the rippling watch and the production company logo which appears on all posters. All of the photographs of the characters were taken in relation to their part in the film and the narrative of the film. Caroline is clicking, which she does in the film when doing magic, Kate is turning the watch, which she does on several occasions in the film and Lily is neutral and looks on, as though at another person whom she may be concerned for, relating to her selflessness in the film towards character Kitty.

Final Film Review Page

Empire Review Annotation of Source Code

By Kim Newman

'Groundhog Day. With explosions'- Empire have opened with a brief round up of their opinion of this film so the audience will have an idea of the content of this review. Relating Source Code to another film with a similar plot; readers who have seen this film will be likely to relate to this and have their own opinion of this.

Rating -This film has been awarded four stars on the webpage it's displayed that this means it's excellent.

 Plot -  Brief summary of the films plot, reminding the audience of what the film is about.

Photograph - A screen shot from the film has been placed in the review  as the fire is about to engulf the train.

Review:

Paragraph one - The Science - Fiction genre of the film is discussed, as it is implied that big studios don't actually make science - fiction film, but actually recreate other film genres with their conventional narratives and themes and then add a twist to make it seem as though of the science - fiction film genre, such as robots or advanced technology. There's reference to directors Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas who have all made their own science - fiction films as directors who are unintrested in the genre. James Cameron is also mentioned, director of Avatar wit his of the Science Fiction film genre also.  Science Fiction film fans will be able to understand and relate well to this.

Paragraphy Two - The director of the film Ducan Jones is prasied for his representations of the science - fiction film genre, he's previous film 'Moon' which is also of the science - fiction film genre is mentioned. Jones is prasied for creating films that are distincly of the sciene - fiction film genre alone. The script writer Ben Ripley is also mentioned ans he's previous science - fiction works. Some insight is given into very important member of the crew, as they are the foundation of the film idea and production.

Paragraph Three- The films construction is prasied for its variation of a repetive sequence. Informal language is used, for example 'time-hopper' refering to Colter as he repeatively goes back eight minutes through out the film.

Paragraph Four-  The response that Source code envolkes from the audience is looks at in this paragraph. It is also discussed how the actresses of the film help to portray their characters giving them depth; Farmiga being under orders but still having her opinions and emothiona to battle with and Monaghan coming across as a character who's every easy for Colter or anyone in his postion to fall in love with.

Paragraphy Five- The focus has now turned to the most important member of the cast Jake Gyllenhaal who plays the main character of the film. There is reference a previous film of his 'Donnie Darko' which too is of the sceince - fiction film genre; fans of this film genre will be like to know and have seen the film 'Donie Darko'. Gyllenhaal recieves praise for his performance in the film as the review goes on to look at the importance of his role in the films narrative. His previous film, Prince of Persia. is mentioned too.

Paragraph Six - Selected elements of the film are briefy focused on in the last paragraph and previous statments reinforced, for example the female actresses giving their characters the depth to give the film heart, emotion.

The Verdict - Source code recieves praised and the review is concluded.

Empire Magazine review of Source Code: http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=137124

The Village Voice Source Code Review Analysis

 

By Aaron Hills

'Going in Search of Tossed Time in Source Code' – The title gives the reader an idea of Source code’s genre Science-fiction and more specifically Time-travel.

Paragraph one - There's reference to Moon, a previous film of Source Code director Duncan Jones. Readers who have seen the film Moon are informed that the director of that film is the same director of Source Code. Philip K. Dick is then referred to and 'The Adjustment Bureau' a film created based on Philip K. Dick's short novel 'Adjustment Team'. Readers who have read Philip K. Dick's works or seen the film will be able to relate to and understand what is meant by 'Philip K. Dick-like', as they will already know his style of work or have an idea of it and so will also be able to have an opinion as of whether Aaron Hills stating that Source Code is like Philip's style of work is true or not. The term 'high-concept' is used, this is appropriate for readers who have some knowledge of film the industry and not just film as entertainment.

Paragraph two - Begins with a summary of the plot of the film; mentioning actors who played key characters in the film also. This reminds the reader of what happened in the film and informs them of who the actors are. The word “Hitchcockian,” is stated in this paragraph; people who have in depth film knowledge will be familiar with this word and it’s relation to Hitchcock and his creation of suspense in films. These people are of a niche audience and so the review is aimed at a niece audience.

Paragraph three - The screenwriter of Source Code is mentioned, Ben Ripley; those who know of his works will be able to link similarities in Source Code to his previous works and would probably have already known that he was the screenwriter for Source Code; this making the review more suitable for a niche audience, who are interested in film. There is reference to the two films 'Groundhog Day' and '12 Monkeys', which both have similar plots to that of Source Code. Readers who have seen these films will be able to have an opinion on this statement as of whether they agree or not. Hills has picked up on the intertextuality of Source code’s Narrative and that of the films Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993) and 12 Monkeys (Terry Gilliam, 1995).

The language in this film review is informal, as it has been written as though directed at the reader in a friendly manner, for example “…so let’s try suspending our disbelief…” this is in 1^st person and so is more personal to the reviewer as well relating to the reader, as it comes across as though they are speaking to the reader, instead of the reader reading some text.

There is a small screenshot from the film and caption, “Train in vain: Gyllenhaal boards the unknown.” A clever and quick explanation of the screenshot, as the words “Train” and “vain” rhyme and it’s made clear that the actor Jake Gyllenhaal’s character in on a train he knows nothing about. Details come under this, informing the reader who the director is, the production company of the film and the film’s release date.

Paragraph four – Hills concludes the Source Code film review stating that there is a hidden part of the film’s narrative; Gyllenhaal shows compassion to the other train passengers. The reviewer then goes on to state that he “channels his inner Bill Murray,” the actor who played the main character in the film Groundhog Day and again referencing the intertextuality of the film in Source Code.

The Village voice review of the film Source Code: http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-03-30/film/going-in-search-of-tossed-time-in-source-code/