Film Critique : What Makes A Good Mystery?

Suspense is when the author makes the reader, or audience excited or scared for what might happen in the story, or even what will happen to the character next in the story. Suspense might even be something you see or hear that will make you have questions about what will happen next. If there is a cliffhanger at the end of a story, it will leave you with questions wondering what will happen to the characters next. The mood, tone, setting, emotions of character, sound and sight might affect how the story is suspenseful. We all enjoy watching suspenseful movies and reading stories, because they are exciting. It leaves us with questions that the author won't have the answers to in the end, so the author gives us as the audience, the chance to make up their own ending to the story or movie. The author will give you clues throughout the story, to help you fill in questions you might have in the end. This makes it more exciting for the reader and the audience because we get to engage with the characters in the book or movie. The tv series, Stranger Things, is about 4 kids who have to fight off monsters in a little town in Indiana. This TV show is a great example of suspense, and it shows it effectively because, of Foreshadowing, Dilemma, and Dramatic Irony presented throughout the show. With just using those four examples, Stranger Things is a great example of suspense.

Aestheticism was a popular dogma in the late 1800s that centered on the belief that art should exist for beauty alone. This doctrine is defined as an “exaggerated devotion to art, music, or poetry, with indifference to practical matters” and “the acceptance of artistic beauty and taste as a fundamental standard, ethical and other standards being secondary” (“Aestheticism,” def. 1 and 2). In Oscar Wilde’s sole novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, aestheticism is a fashionable belief accepted by society at the time. Oscar Wilde uses the moral deterioration and ultimate destruction of Dorian Gray in The Picture of Dorian Gray to emphasize the negative effects of society’s preoccupation with aesthetics and offer a moral for the reader.

Film Noir was extremely trendy during the 1940’s. People were captivated by the way it expresses a mood of disillusionment and indistinctness between good and evil. Film Noir have key elements; crime, mystery, an anti-hero, femme fatale, and chiaroscuro lighting and camera angles. The Maltese Falcon is an example of film noir because of the usage of camera angles, lighting and ominous settings, as well as sinister characters as Samuel Spade, the anti-hero on a quest for meaning, who encounters the death of his partner but does not show any signs of remorse but instead for his greed for riches.

The common thought that people have about Disney is happiness and merriment. Ridley Pearson provides an opposing view in the book “Kingdom Keepers II” by showing the darkest parts of what we thought we all knew. Pearson allows this to occur by taking the reader through the lives of kids who work as DHIs(Disney Host Interactions) that become holographic people that fight the villains. Pearson not only does this to show his opinion, but he uses it to intrigue the reader enough to want to keep reading. This fictional fantasy about Disney and Disney parks are incomprehensible and allows an appeal to readers. There is a recurring theme of Mystery, created by Pearson, by using literary devices. The literary devices of Person vs. Self, Person vs.

Suspense is a crucial ingredient in the making of horror and thriller films. The significance of suspense in horror films is to bring out the “twist or unexpected moment of realization that makes someone scream and one's heart race. In the film industry, there are various types of genre, but as different as films may seem, they all have one element that links them all together. That element is known as Mise-en-scene. Mise-en-scene is a French phrase that means “putting into the scene.” Mise-en-scene includes elements such as setting, lighting, costume, and figure movement and expression (acting).

For example, when Angela Wexler a perfect child who would not do anything harmful bombed her own face only to get caught by her mother, who cares so much about her. In the story it states that “ Angela glanced at her watch and reached for the tall, thin carton wrapped in gold foil.”this quote shows us that Angela knows when and where (it was in the parcel) the bomb in the Wexlers apartment will explode (Raskin 112). The reason why this part of the story shows suspense is because we don’t know the intentions of Angela, until the clues we find later in the story shows us Angela’s actual intention was to get caught by her mother and be an actual normal being. Another example of suspense is the cliffhangers. The reason why cliffhangers are suspenseful because they leave the reader dangling with questions, and want to read on to know more. A good example of a cliffhanger is after Turtle finds the answer to the game, we think Angela and Dr Deere are getting married, but it is actually Crow and Otis Amber’s wedding, which is very awkward moreover, we never knew what happened between them, like you don’t know what is happening when you are absent (Raskin 207). All of these are good examples of suspense which a good mystery novel

The setting of a film can play a huge part of adding suspense or creating a mood for the film right off the bat. When The Silence of the Lambs first started Clarice Starling was running through the woods in the early morning and it was foggy outside. Also, she was alone and suddenly an officer came out of the woods. That alone can add suspense because we had no idea was she was running from or for and then someone shows up. This film was mainly shot in Virginia, but since they are FBI agents they were traveling all over the place. The most suspenseful place in the story I believe was Bill’s house.

Not a commercial success but a cult classic that gained popularity after its release. This was the same year that Back to the Future had come out starring Christopher Lloyd who plays an intellectual Professor Plum in the movie. Critically or commercially the movie did not make box office success, but - it has received mixed reviews from audiences. Six guests are invited for dinner to a mysterious mansion and over the evening there are a sequence of events that are funny and murders that take place. Their task is now to find out who is responsible for the murders before time runs out and

‘Jaws’ is a 1975 American horror thriller film, directed by Steven Spielberg and based on a best-selling novel by Peter Benchley. ‘Jaws’ is set at Amity Island of USA. The film is about a police chief Martin Brody of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town; Brody just like other police chief’s tries to protect his people and tourists from a giant white shark by closing the beach although he is overruled by the town council who want the beach to remain open, so that the town can make profit from tourists during the summer season. The reason for this is that on the 4th July 1776, the declaration on independents of America was approved by the Contental Congress. So therefore Americans use this day to celebrate and people go on holidays

If you have ever seen a horror movie, then you will know what I am talking about when I say that the suspense is a key thing. It can’t be a horror movie without that gripping sensation of something bad is going to happen. In two of the most memorable stories, The Monkey’s Paw, and The Tell-Tale Heart, suspense is a key thing. The key to any good movie or book is suspense, because it's the one thing that actually binds the whole plot together.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Age, Americans have idealized the journey towards economic success. One thing people do not realize, however, is that that journey is not the same for every individual. For Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles), the main character of Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, the path towards riches and a fulfilled life is being well liked. He serves to please others. He strives for that attention. This view cost him his happiness in the end. In this man’s rise and fall through prosperity, Welles shows the futility of striving solely for likeability.

Superbly acted, The Usual Suspects jerks the viewer back and forth between various theories throughout the movie. This group of then-unknown actors delivers in many ways, and the viewer is glued to his seat right up until the thrilling conclusion. If you have already had the pleasure of viewing this movie, see it again. If not, be sure to give this modern classic a chance. These five suspects are anything but, and this movie is

Directed by Anthony Minghella (English Patient) in 1999 and a cast consisting of Matt Damon (Tom Ripley), Jude Law (Dickie Greenleaf) and Gwyneth Paltrow (Marge Sherwood), this film provides a suspenseful and thrilling adaptation of the classic murder mystery published by Patricia Highsmith in 1955.

Mystery and suspense is conveyed by never giving the reader an entire answer, which causes the reader to read on.

Life consists of constant cycles of spontaneous outbursts of joy and unexpected disappointments; there is an upside to this repetitive tug of war. On this rock we call home, we are surrounded by the most gorgeous creations, structures, and landscapes that add a touch of serenity to our miserable existences called aesthetics. Aesthetics as an adjective is defined as concern with beauty of the appreciation of beauty. As a noun it means a set of principles underlying and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement. The surrounding beauty that we take for continuous granted is significant towards our existence. In everyday interaction, we straddle the line between aesthetic judgement, where we appreciate any object, instead