Jim Gunshan Film Analysis

In chapter two of The Cultures of American Film, the main focus is the establishment of studios. As demand for films rose in the early 1900’s, production companies needed to expand; this lead to the creation of large scale studios.

“Man From Reno”, a bewitching independent neo-noir film, may trap you in its mysteries and moods while transmits all the anxiety and uncertainty that its characters are subjected to. This is the second time (the first was “Daylight Savings” in 2012) that the screenwriters Joel Clark and Michael Lerman join efforts with the co-writer and director Dave Boyle. They were able to fabricate a wonderful story, set in San Francisco, and involving a popular Japanese writer from Tokyo, Aki (Ayako Fujitani), who in the face of a creative/identity crisis, decides to stop writing and vanish during her press tours in the city. After an unenthusiastic meeting with some old friends from college, she stealthily checks into a hotel, where she meets an astute,

They played a film called “3 ½ Minutes, 10 Bullets” which was about black teenager, named Jordan Davis, who was tragically shot and killed in a Florida gas station by a middle age white male named Michael Dunn. Davis and Dunn argued over the volume of the music in the boy's car. A gun entered the exchange, where Michael Dunn fired 10 bullets at the car full of unarmed teenagers and then fled. Three of those bullets hit 17-year-old Jordan Davis, who died at the scene. Arrested the next day, Michael Dunn claimed he shot in self-defense. The movie relives the night of the murder and revealed how hidden racial prejudice can result in

Newsies, a classic musical based on the late 1800’s is a very entertaining and family friendly musical-- except for the few profane words. On a cloudy, partially rainy saturday morning, I laid out on the couch and watched the movie from the comfort of my own home. I was hesitant to watch this movie because I am not much of a musical person. About midway through I found myself at the edge of my seat hypnotized by the movie. As the movie drew to an end, I was completely sucked in and waited for something more. The movie I so dreadfully did not want to watch became something I did not want to end.  In this movie the director and composer correlated their scenes and music perfectly together to touch the thoughts and emotions of the audience watching.

Lone star is a contemporary western set in Texas in the 90s. The film reflects themes of police corruption, immigration and the inter-cultural relations in a small border town. The film captures the backstories of different characters and intertwines them together through their interpretation of history and community.

Macario is a 1960 Mexican film. This film was based on the novel of the same name by B. Traven. This movie was directed by Roberto Gavaldon which was a very well recognized director in New Spain (modern-day Mexico). This ninety-minute film became so popular in Mexico. This Film was the first Mexican film to be nominated for an academy award! This film entered the Best Foreign Language Film. It became so popular that it won its entrance to the 1960 Cannes film Festival. Macario the films’ name, is also the main character in this film. Another main character that is seemed in the film is the death (la muerte). We also have our secondary characters such as Macario’s wife, God, the devil, and some members of the inquisition.

During the end of the 3rd Century, the Playwright Plautus wrote many of the first Roman comedies. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical comedy film adaptation of Plautus's comedies.Set in ancient Rome, many aspects of Roman theatre, including stock characters, were included in the film’s production. While the film is based off of multiple comedies, Plautus's Pseudolus character Calidorus is nearly identical to the film’s Hero. During the time Pseudolus was written, the Crisis of the Third Century led to up to 25% of Roman population being comprised of slaves(Southern). Of the many stock characters Platus included in his comedies, Calidorus/Hero, the son of Pseudolus’s owner and the stock character adulescens, best

Working out conflicts face to face can and cannot make a difference in resolving the problem.“These face-to-face interactions build trust, understanding, and a real sense of a shared mission, and this has made all the difference in the world.” This direct quote from Forbes.com explains how this specific way can improve how the world communicates to each other. Many people will disagree with the previous statement, but it is just one of the basic elements of the social system. Admittedly, not everyone believes in face to face interaction. People can choose whichever side they want to, but people can solve their problems by talking to somebody.

In the book Tom Brennan and the documentary The Wave, the role of insiders and outsiders in society is shown, also both the film and novel show how there are many individuals who are affected by being not accepted. There many examples in the novel Tom Brennan and the film The Wave that support this point. In Tom Brennan the major example of this is when there is a car accident caused by drink driving. As a result of the accident the Brennan family become outsiders and forced to move away from their town. To add to this, in The Wave the whole film is based around a ‘Hitler’ like group that are the ‘insiders’ and that anyone who are not a part of the group are losers and thus outsiders. Throughout the novel and the film the way individuals are affected by being excluded is

Doug Block is an independent filmmaker in New York City. He lives with his wife Marjorie A. Silver and has a daughter Lucy Block and stepson Joshua Silver. Doug Block is the son of Mike and Mina Block and grew up in Port Washington along with his two other sisters Ellen and Karen Block. Doug never attended film school instead he went to Cornell College and attended many of their “great exhibitions on film”; during his four years he attended these events constantly. He took jobs on movie sets and was able to lie to a producer saying he knew how to shoot. He was able to fake his way through because Block believes it was due to all thes movies he had seen and his jobs on set. Then in 1991, he directed his first documentary The Heck with Hollywood it’s about the marketing and distribution of an independent film. He has released four documentary featured films and one documentary short The Children Next Door. Apart form directing he has also produced several films and keeping his website up to date d-word.com, where documentaries go to discuss about their films or for advice.

Jarhead is a 2009 biographical war drama based on the military life of U.S. Marine Anthony Swofford. This war epic delivers a powerful look at the experiences of a Marine sniper during the Gulf War. In scoring the film, Thomas Newman made use of an array of ethnic instruments such as the bowed cumbus and the processed zaphoon as well as popular tunes to add to the realism. As the scene begins, the music alludes to the setting with the staccato plucking of the bowed cumbus layered over a repetitive sustaining of a single chord on strings. This increases the tension as instructions are being given on their mission. In the background, you can hear helicopters, and distant explosions. Low dissonent music played the zaphoon quietly begins the underscore

In “The Departed”, which takes place in South Boston, State Police are tasked with bringing an end to Irish American organized crime. One of the stars of the movie is the great actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays undercover cop Billy Costigan. The cast is packed with high demand actors; one of them being Irish mob boss, Jack Nicholson, playing Frank Costello. Costigans counterpart is Colin Sullivan, played by Matt Damon. Both men just-graduated from Massachusetts State Police Academy; Sullivan is on the side of the mob, and joined the police force to be an informer for the mob boss. There is a key interplay between each man, and the people they are trying to deceive. The stakes are high, as each operative becomes entrenched in their double life,

At the start of the film, Ashoke and Ashima leave India for America and their life together begins. The move from the big city of Calcutta to the big city of New York is much lonelier because they have no family nearby and the land is unfamiliar. The climate is also different, it is winter time and the weather is cold. Ashima is learning very quickly that the living conditions are different. Ashoke explains to her that they have gas twenty-four hours a day, and the difference between hot and cold water symbols. Also there was no need for her to boil the water for drinking; she could just drink straight from the tap. Life in America is different and at times lonely, however Ashoke believes it’s the land of opportunity.

Forrest Gump is the type of movie that everyone needs to see. The movie of Forrest Gump starts in 1981, when a stranger sits next to him at a bus stop. That is when Forrest (Tom Hanks) begins to tell his life story. It all starts in the 1950s when Forrest is a young boy. He lives in Greenbow, Alabama and on the first day of school he meets a girl names Jenny Curran (Robin Wright). He does not have many friends because he has to wear leg braces to correct his curved spine. He always has a learning disability. One day he is getting chased by bullies and he starts running and the leg braces fall off, revealing that Forrest is very fast. Later on, he receives a football scholarship to play at Alabama. In 1960, he becomes one of the top running

Forrest Gump is a movie that was released in the summer of 1994 and is based on a novel by the same name that was written by Winston Groom almost a decade earlier in 1986. The movie was directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Paramount Pictures. The film features Tom Hanks as the main character Forrest Gump who is a slow-witted character but also has a heart of gold and is extremely courageous. The supporting cast consists of Gary Sinise (Lt. Dan), Robin Wright (Forrest’s mother) , Sally Field(Jenny) , Mykelti Williamson (Bubba), among others. In this critique I will be summarizing the plot and analyzing what I liked and disliked about the movie and whether it stands the test of time.