Analysis Of The Movie Zodiac

The title of the movie “signs” is significant because before you even watch the movie it implies there is some sort of foreshadowing. “What are the signs?” and “Where do they come from?” are question you can immediately ponder. Just from viewing the movie poster alone you can see what appears to be “Signs” from Extraterrestrials.

M. Night Shyamalan's film Signs is about a man whose faith is tested by an unforeseen tragedy. To get through this test Graham must keep his eyes open for the signs that God has planted throughout. He must understand that everything that is happening to him ,both the good and the bad, serves a greater purpose that will come to light when he finally is able to see. In the movie these hidden signs that are God’s way of both bringing Graham closer to Him and saving the Hess family.

The late 1960’s and early 1970’s were a time of great change in America. The Vietnam War, the civil rights movement and the sexual revolution were just some of the issues on the evening news in American households. For citizens of the San Francisco Bay area, as well as the rest of California, the late 60’s early 70’represented terror, fear and death. “The bizarre and theatrical and still unresolved serial murders by real-life ghoul who called himself Zodiac, who claimed in letters to have killed 37 people (though police have focused on five homicides and two attempted murders in the greater Bay Area in 1968 and 1969” (Booth,2) have intrigued people for nearly four decades. How has Zodiac remained so elusive? What

The director mainly used eye level shots, to leave it up to the audience to judge the two main characters of the movie, although certain power struggles in the film are shown from high angles to illustrate someone dominating a conversation or argument. Figgis also uses some point of view shots to show the imbalance during Ben’s drunken periods where the camera is placed at an oblique angle to show tension and approaching movements. The images in the film are in high contrast with streaks of blackness and harsh shafts of light to underline the dramatic events that occur.

As a group, we selected The Other Guys, a comedy movie taking place in the New York City police department. The story involves two mismatched detectives that attempt to seize an opportunity in the department. In the movie, The Other Guys, the department is run by Captain Gene Mauch. The atmosphere in the department runs in a way that focuses on two main detectives doing most of the action outside the office. These two-star detectives are Danson and Highsmith, who are played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson. However, a shootout with robbers results in the deaths of Danson and Highsmith, leaving a hole in the department. After mourning the death of the detectives, everyone in the office desires the opportunity to be the lead detectives of the department. The movie follows two of the detectives in the department as they attempt to fill the role of lead detectives. These characters are Allen Gamble, played by Will Ferrell, and Terry Hoitz, played by Mark Wahlberg. Both Allen and Terry have pasts that have been plagued by bad luck. Allen was once a pimp turned detective after being rushed to the hospital from poison ivy in his butt. Terry shot Derek Jeter during the Major League Baseball Playoffs. Even though Allen and Terry have been plagued by bad luck, they hope that making the arrest of all time would turn their life around.

In the late sixties and early seventies, California was haunted by dozens of unsolved murders. The offender remains unknown to this day. The murderer, who referred to himself as "the Zodiac," made contact with the police and area newspapers throughout his reign of terror through a series of menacing notes. Although the police were never able to apprehend Zodiac, they were able to gather information about him via the letters. Zodiac boasted of killing up to forty victims, however, police estimated he may have killed over 50.

The movie 28 Days stages an out of control alcoholic and drug addict Gwen Cummings. Sandra Bullock is the main character in this movie. Gwen is an alcoholic writer who lives with her boyfriend up north Manhattan. It starts one night when Gwen and her boyfriend is partying and causes her to oversleep and be late to her sister's wedding. She created a disaster in which ruined her sister’s wedding by getting to drunk and messed up the cake. Gwen then stole her sister's limo to look for another cake and drove it into someone's house due to her heavy intoxication that caused her to be sentenced in rehab or jail; she chose rehab for help. Gwen was so happy and high off life that she wasn't expecting to be forced to give it all up. She was determined to get through her 28 days of rehab so that she could get back to her partying ways. Once she entered rehab she wasn't quite interested in participating in any of her therapies or her group projects.

     Two days after Paul Stine's murder, Zodiac began a new era in his criminal career. For about 8 years, he would write to the San Francisco Chronicle-and occasionally others- off and on. From October 1969 until March 1971, the majority of Zodiac letters were filled with angry threats and bragging. At first he worked hard to prove his murders with information

Tombstone “Tombstone” the movie was based on the historical events that actually took place in Tombstone, Arizona. A ex sheriff, Wyatt Earp came into town to reunite with his two brothers and a old friend, Doc Holliday. They planned on getting rich and settling down in Tombstone, Arizona to retire. Their plans however were interfered with by a group of outlaws called the cowboys, who were causing problems for the people in Tombstone. The 3 brothers ended up becoming sheriffs and planned to deal with the cowboys once and for all, the cowboys having mutual feelings which lead to the battle at the O.K. corral.

The Civil War devastated families all across the United States. Hundreds of thousands of people died and for many years after, the nation was still divided and trying to figure out how to move forward. Irene Hunt learned of stories of the Civil War from her grandfather who served in the Civil War. Hunt’s book, Across Five Aprils, relates to her childhood because this novel is nothing but a story of the war from one family. This book hit home hard and revealed concepts of realism by examining the effects the war had on everyday life.

The lighting there is much darker than outside without any light. There is a medium shot from low angle facing the cellar door. Then, Lila opens the door and slowly walks down the stairs and proceeds to another basement room. The scene of walking steps from the door down into the room generates a mysterious mood and it symbolizes that Lila is going deeper into the hidden secrets. The shot then edited to another brighter room with lights on and a worn out setting continues with Lila opens the door producing a creaking noise. Then, it shows a medium shot of a back of a woman sitting on a chair with her hair-tied in a bun. Lila then walks closer to the woman and call Mrs. Bates. When she is walking, the camera is constantly stay and Lila is getting closer and the focus point changes from the hanging light bulb to her face. Her facial expression shows that she is curious about the appearance of Mrs. Bates in the cellar. She taps on the right shoulder of the woman and the body of the woman slowly jiggles back and turns over. There is still medium shot when she taps on her shoulder and audience can see the shadow of the woman reflected on the wall behind. Then, the shot is cut to a close-up shot with the skeletal of the woman’s corpse with empty eye

The Zodiac Killer was an infamous murderer who terrorized Northern California in the late 1960’s and 1970’s. He killed with zero remorse and even stated in one of his letters that “I like killing people because it’s so much fun” (“Zodiac Killer”). Between December 1968 and October 1969 had killed a total of five people and severely injured two others. He made his first appearance on December 20, 1968, when he shot and killed 17-year-old David Faraday and his 16-year-old girlfriend Betty Lou Jensen. The police were unable to determine the motive for the crime or a suspect. However, on August 1, 1969, the zodiac sent letters to the San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Chronicle, and Vallejo Times Herald. Each letter started the same “Dear Editor:

One such flashback begins at Thatcher’s building where the reporter Thompson enters an exaggeratedly large room and begins to read about Kane. This is one of the scenes in which cinematographer Greg Toland’s deep focus technique of filming and use of unique lighting, in which the only light source hits

Behind every great movie, comes a storyline that is derived from a book however, most of the books to the movies have a great number of deviations. The screenwriters and other staff members to include the director come up with these deviations to enhance the plot in the attempt to make it a more interesting film to which in turn can make a better profit. The majority of differences that is found in films main objective is to enhance the mind. For example, when a scene has the ability to get a particular feeling out of a viewer, it is imperative to be able to understand the reasons for those feelings. The dialog and the visual effects of a scene sets a tone that differs from that of the book that it was taken from. Also, screen writers and

Erving Goffman maintained that negative labels are often stigmatizing. He believed that stigmas result in a “spoiled identity.” Goffman coined the term stigma to describe the labels society uses to devalue members of certain social groups (pg. 107). He identified three categories or types of stigmas: abominations of the body, blemishes of individual character, and tribal. When a person became aware of a certain stigma they had been labeled to, Goffman noted three ways to manage it: hide the stigma, distance themselves from the stigma or try to correct it, and embrace or accept the stigma. The movie Dallas Buyers Club offers a chance to see several stigmas brought to light, and the way that each was handled. For instance there are examples of HIV/AIDS, homosexuality, feminism, and criminal activity that are prevalent and shape the way the movie is organized.