Movie Analysis : Million Dollar Baby

“Steel Magnolias” is a story about the close-knit relationships between six eccentric Southern women living in a small town in Louisiana. The film has a home spun, unpretentious feel to it. The plot alternates between humorous, everyday events with good-natured quips and the seriousness and heartaches to life’s unexpected crises. Through the laughs and tears, the six women learn to endure hard times and emerge from the struggles with grace and dignity. The film is set in the 1980’s with a tight knit homespun atmosphere. The Southern belles who are goofy on the outside but strong enough inside to survive any challenge that life deals them. Friendships help with a

The vision Christopher Nolan had for The Prestige (2006) was to add to the outbreak of street magician film, whilst playing a large dramatic subplot equal in grandeur to the magical performances within the film. In the final sequence of the film, I will analyse how the cinematography and sound resolves the plot so that it summarises the themes present in the film, whilst also invoking a response from the audience. Nolan predominantly uses close up shots, non-diegetic sound (music) and dialogue collaboratively to convey the dramatic, personal subplot of the characters and their relationships, whilst appealing to the audience bringing forth an emotional response from the audience. The heavy, slow, dramatic atmosphere of the ending sequence uses various techniques to summarise and uncover the underlying mysteries of the events throughout the film and consolidate themes introduced during the exposition.

The movie Parenthood (1989) revolves around the psychological stresses that are faced by families. From the name of the movie, the main theme is coined, involving the issues that are faced by parents while raising up their children. The movie is centered in the family of Gil and Karen, and their extended family. Set in a middle-class white society, the anxieties and pains of raising children are presented in the movie. Gil Buckman is a parent and businessman. His wife, Karen, comes out as a nearly perfect parent, and always stays at home. Gil and Karen have three children. The oldest child is Kevin, a nine-year old boy with emotional problems. The emotional problems that are experienced by Kevin form a very significant aspect of the movie,

The movie Parenthood cover’s many of the topics we have discussed this semester in class. But it obviously focused very strongly on parenting and marriage. During the course of the movie we see the four Buckman children’s very different style of parenting. Although all four were raised by the same parents the culture of their individual families are all look very different. Gil Buckman felt abandoned and ignored by his father and therefore responded, with his wife Karen, by being a very active and attentive parent. Gil and Karen are on the authoritative end of the parenting spectrum, and their families’ culture revolves around activities such as baseball games, Kevin’s baseball game, Birthday parties, school plays and basically having fun together (Lecture, 4/22). On the opposite end of the parenting spectrum are Nathan and Susan. They are very authoritarian and reminded me of the “tiger Mom’s” of China. The culture of their family means that they don’t have their daughter in preschool, they are waiting a prescribed amount of time to have a second child and Nathan is continuously drilling facts into their daughter. Susan feels like she should be playing with children her own age but Nathan’s feelings have taken over their family’s culture.

In the film Babies, 4 infants are being observed for the first two years of their lives. Each babies comes from different culture, which shows how the various customs can impact the child’s development. Ponijao is the youngest one in his family and lives in a village in Opuwo Namibia. Bayar lives in Bayanchandmachi, Mongolia. Mari is the first child of a couple who lives in Tokyo Japan, and Hattie lives in Sans Francisco California. The film shows the babies develop cognitively, physically and socially-emotionally, during the infancy and toddler years. The Infancy and toddlerhood period is from birth to 2 years. “This period brings dramatic changes in the body and brain that support the emergence of a wide array of motor, perceptual, and intellectual capacities” (Berk & Meyers, 2016, p.6).

In the film Babies Thomas Balmès elegantly and wordlessly captures the first year of life through the eyes of four unique cultures. This film follows four babies Panijao from Namibia, Mari from Japan, Hattie from the United States, and Bayarjargal from Mongolia. The main purpose of the film is to show how the four cultures differ in their behaviors with infants. One of the striking differences is the role the parents play in the documentary and how they interact with their newborn infants. In contrast, the film also shows the similarities in infancy even in vastly different environments and cultures.

Million Dollar Baby, released in 20014, is a film directed by Clint Eastwood. He also stars as one of the main characters by the name of Frankie Dunn. The film also stars Hillary Swank as Maggie and Morgan Freeman as Eddie Dupris. This film is categorized as a sports drama and explores a variety of issues. However, one of the moral dilemmas that come up strongly in this film is euthanasia. Although it comes up towards the end of the film, it has a huge impact on how one perceives the whole film. Euthanasia continues to be a moral dilemma for many people, especially Christians. This is because it covers the very important issue of life and death. Though legal in some countries and several states in the United States, it is still a hot topic

had personal needs due to the lack of familial love so personal fulfillments developed to

The film Baby Driver overtly displays the practicing of sinful behavior that never ends up paying off for any character. Although the majority of the movie takes place in this sinful environment, certain individuals still exhibit morality and ethical actions in some prominent scenes. In the same way that all humans are incapable of not sinning, this vague concept of sin plagues the lives of every character in the movie. As the movie proves though, just because someone sins does not necessarily mean he or she is a bad person. Although this movie takes place in the complete absence of God, it is important to note that God plays the most important role in our real lives when it comes to sin. While Baby Driver shows how some really

Fight Club: every white man’s favorite movie and my worst nightmare turned reality. Much of the novel version of Fight Club struggles with this issues of toxic masculinity, feminization, and emotional constipation. No character addresses these topics better than Robert Paulson, better known as Big Bob; it is his character that serves as a catalyst for both The Narrator, and Project Mayhem.

“Everybody loves babies”, a trademark quote from the documentary movie “Babies” features an insight on the many reasons babies are loved. Although many documentaries are narrated, director Thomas Balmès uses a different approach by eliminating a voiceover. By manifesting this film without narration, he focuses on a learning technique all babies go through in their early stages of life. Aiming for viewers to learn from observation, as babies do, we are left to focus on the babies, their environment and interactions. Through subtitles, this film reveals the different locations the footage of the four newborns are from. By viewing the babies different upbringings from different cultures, we learn how the various lifestyles of each culture impacts a child’s development. The babies are Hattie from California, Mari from Japan, Bayar from Mongolia, and Ponijao from Namibia.The film shows the infancy and toddlerhood period of the babies as well as their development physically, cognitively, and socially.

There is nothing ordinary in Frankie’s world, now inhabited by Eddie and Maggie. Frankie has lost his daughter’s respect and is trying to get it back. Eddie, an ex-boxing champion who has lost his eye in his final match, is now living in the gym. Maggie is maniacally obsessed with becoming a boxing champion. In a way, these diverse and complex characters are made for each other. Frankie and Maggie need one another. She seeks a mentor and trainer and he needs a person to care for in order to overcome the loss of his daughter. Eddie is there to balance the fragile relationship between Maggie and Frankie. These intricate relationships allow Clint Eastwood to treat matters of love, respect, and success insightfully and thoroughly. The main subject of the movie is the relationship between Frankie and Maggie and the tough decisions, which Frankie makes so that Maggie can fulfill her dream. As the audience sees it, it is not always easy to make the right decision. Sometimes they are so obscure and controversial that one really can’t decide what to do and which way is right. And, it becomes even more complicated when one’s decision affects not only him or her, but also a person he or she loves and cares for. In this sense, Million Dollar Baby is really about the sacrifices that people sometimes make in order to achieve success, fulfill their dreams, or care for their loved ones.

When it comes to the film industry, entertainment is the tool used to acquire what is desired, money. The main goal for filmmakers when they create a film is to attain money in addition to the money spent to make the movie. Therefore, in some films that they like to base off of true accounts, it is somewhat necessary to dramatize or embellish the story to really tug at the heartstrings of the films audience. They achieve this goal by the use of dramatic music, ambient lighting, and a small amount of tweaked diction. The Fighter is an excellent example of this dramatization in action because throughout the film the characters are faced with a multitude of decisions that must be made. The choices they make require the characters to choose

“The Godfather Part II” is the second movie in the Godfather trilogy, and mentioned as one of the best movies of all time. Is this a fair criticism of the movie? Well, the only way to find out is to dissect a movie and what makes it great. A movie can be critiqued in a variety of ways, but one of the main criticisms is how the visuals explain the story, and bring it to life. The story of a movie, and how it flows, is the pivotal component that draws viewers in and keeps their interest. With movies, one effective way to critique a movie is to observe the believability, and impact of the acting. Film is a visual media, this is a known fact, however, fitting music can contribute to setting the mood, and tone of a movie. What most makes a movie worth watching is the story, and how it is laid out throughout.

The movie “Moneyball”, released in 2011, contains several negotiations that exhibit techniques we discussed and practiced in class. To provide brief context, the movie is based on the Oakland Athletics baseball team. The film begins by showing a 2001 Playoff Series featuring the Athletics playing the Yankees, and highlights the difference between the salaries each team has. The Yankees boast a salary of $114 million, whereas the Athletics salary is $39 million. Despite the efforts of the Athletics, they eventually lose the series. This foreshadows the movie’s main plotline – that the Athletics suffer from a lack of funds, making it difficult for them to compete professionally.