Tia Whitehead - BA (Hons) Computer Animation Arts

Figure 1. Movie poster Fantastic Mr. Fox  is a stop frame animation film created by Wes Anderson. It is a story about Mr. Fox's life with his wife, son and nephew as they try to escape the clutches of Bogis, Bunce and Bean, the evil farmers that are trying to kill Mr. Fox after he has been stealing all of their stock. Due to this, Mr. Fox, his family and their woodland friends lose their homes and have to fight back against Bogis, Bunce and Bean in order to get their homes back. Wes Anderson is well known, with some of his most famous films being The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and Isle of Dogs (2018). Anderson is also said to have a 'recognisable' style,  ' Anderson's films continually coincide with a very specific color pattern used throughout the film' .  (Clipd.com, n.d.) Figure 2.  Line of symmetry Another, lesser known trade mark of Anderson, is his attention to symmetry within his shots. Through Fantastic Mr. Fox symmetry is...

Figure 1. Movie poster Ethel and Ernest is film about a lady called Ethel and a man called Ernest who fall in love. The film starts showing Ethel working as a lady's maid who sees Ernest ride past on his bicycle everyday, each morning they start to wave to each other until one day Ernest knocks on the door and offers Ethel flowers, asking her whether she would go on a date with him to the cinema. The film then continues to show their life together and how they cope living throughout World War 2 in the United Kingdom. The film also shows the ups and downs in their life, from having a son to Ethel and Ernest eventually dying.  Figure 2. Ethel and Ernest's date The film had been created from one of Raymond Briggs' illustrative books which talks about the life of his Mother and Father and how he came to where he is today. Raymond Briggs is a popular illustrator who created the illustrations for The Snowman (1982) and Father Christmas (1973). Roger Mainwood took on...

Figure 1. Movie poster Belleville Rendez-Vous also known as The Triplets of Belleville is a silent French film about a young boy's dream to compete in the Tour de France. The film follows the boy as he grows to a man and shows him competing in the event although, while competing, he is taken by what turns out to be the French Mafia and is then used, along with other competitors, to be forced to cycle in a betting ring. In the film, the man's Grandmother is also shown. She is shown encouraging throughout his journey and supporting him while he was in the Tour de France. When she realises that her Grandson is missing, she and their dog Bruno go on a search to find him. When she follows the trail to Belleville she meets the triplets of Belleville who end up helping her retrieve her Grandson and defeat the Mafia. Figure 2. Ms Souza Although the film has hardly any narrative the noises of singing and music can be heard suggesting that the film is almost like a ...

Figure 1. Movie poster Waltz with Bashir is an animated film that documents what happened to a 19 year old solider and his friends during the Lebanon War in 1982 and how the solider witnessed the Sabra and Shatila massacre. The film shows the main character, Ari, in 2008 as he speaks to his friends that were there with him during the war to see whether he is able to remember the events that happened. Throughout the film scenes from current day (2008) and 1982 are shown.  'The animated feature is replete with phantasmagorical imagery and surreal dream sequences; the film opens with an unsettling depiction of his friend's canine nightmare. The movie's overall look and feel is dreamlike in its own right, thanks to a unique combination of conventional, Flash and CG animation together with a carefully chosen color palette and bold character design.'  (Strike, 2008) Figure 2. Citizens The director of the film is Ari Folman himself, showing throughout the mov...

Figure 1. Movie cover The film is about a little boy called Sosuke who finds a magical fish that he calls Ponyo. Ponyo's father then captures her and brings her back home. She then manages to turn human and escape, causing a tsunami while trying to find Sosuke again. Throughout the film Ponyo's father, Fujimoto, tries to find Ponyo and bring her home explaining that she is too powerful. After battling with the weather, Sosuke and Ponyo meet again, they wait for the storm to calm and then go to find Sosuke's mother after she had been working all night. This is where they meet Ponyo's mother and father who both explain that as she wants to remain human she will lose her powers but in order to remain human, Sosuke must lover her. Sosuke explains that he does and Ponyo agrees and then kisses Sosuke and the spell is then placed upon her.  As Ponyo is a Western inspired Japanese film it is sometimes harder for a Western audience to pick up on some of the referen...

Figure 1. Movie poster The film is about an 8 year old girl, living in Australia, and a 44 year old, living in New York, U.S.A, who become pen pals and start to write to each other about their day to day lives and experiences. The young girl is called Mary Daisy Dinkle and throughout the film is shown to be neglected by her parents. Her mother, Vera, is shown to be an alcoholic while her father, Noel, is always working or when he is home he is working on his taxidermy birds. The 44 year old man is called Max Horowitz and is shown to have been bullied as a child. Also, after his mother committing suicide when he was 6, he has also suffered with depression and other mental issues which has resulted in him having no friends, just like Mary.  The core themes shown throughout the film are suicide, anxiety, depression, mental illness, friendship, relationships. These themes are challenging due to some of the dark paths that can be taken. An example of this is when Mary tries to ...

Here is a list of the films that I have reviewed for Phil's perspectives film program: Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2001) Inception (2010)  Mulholland Drive (2001) Scream (1996) Moulin Rouge (2001) Funny Games US (2007) Dancer in the Dark (2000) The Truman Show (1998)

Figure 1. Movie poster Hyper-reality  - Throughout the film it is shown that Truman is living within hyper-reality itself. This is as he is born into a world where he has all of his life filmed, without him knowing. This is hyper-reality as this is very unlikely to happen in reality. Figure 2. The Truman Show behind the scenes Breaking the 4th wall - In the film Truman begins to realise that his life is not what he thinks, he realises that things start to happen when people know where he is and what he is likely  to do. After going against what he would normally do, Truman goes to a building and finds people eating lunch, having a drink and chatting 'behind the scenes', causing him to think even more about his life being a lie.  Nostalgia - Just like Celebration Town in Florida, Seahaven Island, where Truman lives, is shown to be an old fashioned, perfect American town from the past. Figure 3. Truman in The Truman Show Simulation  - The film n...

Figure 1. Movie poster Hand held cameras: Throughout the film hand held cameras are used to give the film a weird perspective. This makes it seem as though the camera man or woman is actually within the film and almost makes it seem like the film is a documentary documenting her life. Figure 2. Selma singing and dancing in the factory Camera location: When the camera is not being held it is usually placed in weird locations, such as behind objects or on the walls, as though we are watching what is unfolding through a security camera or like we are hidden away and should not be watching it. Reality vs Fantasy: Throughout the film scenes randomly change from what is happening in reality for Selma to what she is thinking is happening inside of her head. This causes the audience to not only become confused, but also question why she is thinking like she is. Figure 3. Selma singing in the courtroom Obscure timeline:  Throughout the film it is no...

Here is a list of the films that I have reviewed for Alan's Lecture and film programme: StarWars - The Empire Strikes Back A Knight's Tale - A Hero's Journey Spiderman Homecoming - Archetypes The Impossible - Three Act Structure Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind - Non-linear The Dark Knight - Character Review King Kong Vs Godzilla - B. Movie Film  Mad Max Fury Road - Exploitation

Figure 1. Movie poster Mad Max: Fury Road is a science fiction, fantasy film that was created in 2015 and directed by Australian director George Miller. In the film Max (Tom Hardy), a man who keeps having flash backs of his dead daughter, is held captive by a civilization who harvests his blood in order to feed their warriors. After a couple of attempts to break free Max is tied to a battle vehicle and is continued to be used as a blood bag while one of the civilians known as Nux (Nicholas Hoult) drives into battle, trying to stop Furiosa (Charlize Theron) from fleeing with the city's 'breeders'. One of the main types of exploitation shown in the film is Ozploitation. Ozploitation is the exploitation of Australian film and film making. " The main requirement for an Ozploitation film is that it simply be an Australian genre film."  (Grindhousedatabase.com, 2018) In the film sexploitation is also used in multiple ways. Sexploitation is "the commerci...