Cinéma par Fleur

Alice in Wonderland

2012-01-17T11:54:00.000-09:00

Original Name: Alice in Wonderland

Country: United States

Direction: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson and Hamilton Luske

Script: Winston Hibler, Ted Sears, Bill Peet, Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Milt Banta, William Cottrell, Dick Kelsey, Joe Grant, Dick Huemer, Del Connell, Tom Oreb and John Walbridge (adapted from the books of Lewis Carroll)

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family

Length: 75 minutes

Year: 1951

The story is already known. A girl named Alice enters into an underground world full of wonders. The moral, simple and also known, shows that overstated curiosity usually brings too much trouble.

The sung parts of the dialogue and the other songs diminish the concern with the script. Another thing very interesting is that the script has an almost erudite language. Something that definitely we don't see in children's films of today.

In addition to this classic, Walt Disney also produced the first movies of "Pinocchio", "Cinderella", "Peter Pan" and so many others that help us to dream and sleep more easily at anytime of our day.

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The Film Producer - Part VII

2012-01-15T05:50:00.004-09:00

Today's topic: How to become a movie producer

Who says women do not get along
in film production? Nancy Meyers,
for example, only produces films
that we, girls, love. Among them
are "It's Complicated", "The Holiday"
"Something's Gotta Give", "What
Women Want" and "Father of the Bride"

Who wants to become a movie producer should be familiar with all aspects of filmmaking and be skilled in some of these aspects. Contacts - who you know - are also important.

To do so, enhance your knowledge about scripts, editing, photography, animation or other area of cinema. Make your own amateur movies. Produce something that showcases your skills and then find a job in the film industry.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of US describes the formal training as a great asset for anyone entering this business. Colleges, technical schools and independent centers, such as the American Film Institute, offer training programs for various areas of cinema. Some colleges and universities offer grades with an emphasis on production management.

That girl on the side of Stevie has produced over 70 films.
Among them are "Schindler's List" and the franchises
"Back to the Future" and "Jurassic Park".
Kathleen Kennedy, you're awesome!

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of US, the most important attributes that producers must have are talent, experience, business acumen and ability to deal with different people under stress.

I chose to be a journalist. But, to all that really want to pursue a career in film production, I wish, from the bottom of my heart, much success!!!

(To be continued)

Wings

2012-01-05T11:26:00.000-09:00

Original Name: Wings
Country: United States
Direction: William A. Wellman
Script: Hope Loring, Louis D. Lighton and John Monk Saunders (story)
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Length: 81 minutes
Year: 1927

Everyone should watch this movie. It is a piece of history. "Wings" depicts the early cinema, shows the advertising made in theaters to encourage military enlistment and it's the first feature film to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

It can be a bit long and the repetitive music can make the dialogue muted somewhat monotonous. But the comedy (like in the movies of Chaplin), the intelligent sequence of events, the script in popular language and the romance that fills the narrative are so well made that this movie puts many films we see today on shame.

As I said on Cinéma par Fleur's Twitter, from all movies I've seen, the best are still the oldest.

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The Film Producer - Part VI

2012-01-02T11:46:00.000-09:00

Today's topic: Salary

Every penny that the producer receives depends on the success of his movie. For this, each occupied seat at the theaters counts.

Walt Disney, great icon of
movie production

However, one must understand that the producer owns only a small part of the box office income. Exhibitors (movie theaters) gain 45% to 50% of box office income, except taxes. The distributors* receive 20% to 25% of box office revenues.

But, even with the smallest share of the profits, the producer has an average annual salary of more than 92 thousand dollars (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of US). Of course that this average doesn't work for producers like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Spike Lee and Jerry Bruckheimer, who receive millions in a single movie produced.

(Part VII : How to become a movie producer)

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*Movie distributors are responsible for: the preparation of rolls of film that theaters use, the translation of the title and content of the movie and the type of release - national (the film is released on the same day throughout the country), regional (release date is different from region to region of the country) or directly on DVD (not even is exhibited in theaters).

Elephant

2011-12-17T16:51:00.002-09:00

Original Name: Elephant
Country: United States
Direction: Gus Van Sant
Script: Gus Van Sant
Genre: Crime, Drama
Length: 81 minutes
Year: 2003

This movie is very interesting. First because it's based on real events. It portrays the tragedy that happened on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School. It's located in the city of Littleton, Colorado (United States). There, two seniors students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, were responsible for killing thirteen people - twelve students and one teacher.

Also worth watching the film because of the way it speaks of adolescence. Scenes that show the confusion of the youthful mind are merged with classical music. Sad moments are alternated with happy moments, making it almost impossible to know if young people shown on the screen are satisfied with their lives or completely unhappy.

The film shows almost the view that parents have of their children. It's like having an elephant sitting next to you on the dining table. You know how big the problem is, but you keep pretending that all is well, that there's nothing to worry about*.

"Elephant" was produced by Dany Wolf and is the first movie produced by HBO Films.

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* The movie title is inspired in a quote from the writer Bernard MacLaverty, that says: "problems with adolescents is like having an elephant in the dining room and pretend that it does not exist".

The Film Producer - Part V

2011-12-11T06:57:00.001-09:00

Today's topic: Types of producer

Darla K. Anderson, producer who
won the Producers Guild of America
Award for Outstanding Producer of
Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures
2011, with the movie Toy Story 3

The first to be highlighted is the chief producer, or just producer. He is the chief of all the other producers involved with the film and is responsible for fundraising, hiring key personnel and arranging with distributors.

He works in the four production stages: development, preproduction, production and post production & marketing. In the credits, it's his name that appears in front of all other types of producers (appears in the "Produced by").

Then we have:

Lesley Chilcott, winner of
the Producers Guild of
America Award for
Outstanding Producer of
Documentary Theatrical
Motion Pictures 2011, with
the movie Waiting for Superman

Executive Producer: It's him who deals with legal and business issues. To fit in this role, the producer has to make a significant contribution to the cinematographic work (no less than 25% of total funding and should also take care of the copyrights of the movie).

Associate Producer: Performs functions of production delegated to him by the chief producer, who supervises and controls him directly.

Co-Producer: With less responsibility than the chief producer, the co-producer performs a substantial part of production management functions. Note that if a project has more than one producer, this doesn't mean that these individuals are "co-producers" in the technical sense of the term.

Line Producer: He's responsible for managing employees and issues during the making of a film. Line Producers always work in a movie at a time.

Other professionals that also help in the production are: Unit Production Manager, Production Accountant, Production Assistant, Production Buyer, Production Designer, Production Illustrator, Production Manager, Production Sound Mixer, Story Producer, Production Coordinator, Assistant Production Manager, Production Secretary, Post-Production Co-ordinator and Post-Production Supervisor.

(Part VI : Salary)

The Reader

2011-12-09T12:54:00.001-09:00

Original Name: The Reader

Country: USA and Germany

Direction: Stephen Daldry

Script: David Hare (adapted from the book of Bernhard Schlink)

Genre: Drama, Romance

Length: 124 minutes

Year: 2008

Don't fool yourself. This is not a movie like "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" and "Eyes Wide Shut". Despite nudity, "The Reader" has a story much more interesting.

It's true that nakedness overshadows more important issues in the hottest scenes, but we can observe, at all times, the main topic of the film: the maturation of two people who... not really love each other.

The whole thing is just a passion, to be honest. The relationship between them is very superficial and just don't let the film on the verge of superficiality because it has great actors, a great script and producers to cause envy.

This, also, was the last film produced by Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack. Both died months before the release of the movie.

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The Film Producer - Part IV

2011-11-15T11:50:00.001-09:00

Today's topic: Academy Award for Best Picture

Third from left to right is Lucien Hubbard, producer of
"Wings" (1927), first film to win the Oscar for Best Picture

The Academy Award for Best Picture (formerly known as Academy Award for Best Production) is intended for producers.

Unlike other categories of Oscar, the Best Film category has existed since the first Academy Awards ceremony, held on May 16, 1929.

The winners of the Oscar for Best Picture of
this year with the movie "The King's Speech",
Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin

The Oscar of Best Picture is the only one in that all members of the Academy vote for the winner of the prize (as in all categories, except for documentaries, shorts foreigns) and also for the nominees (in other categories, votes for the nominees are exclusive to members of the respective occupational field (writers vote for the nominees for Best Original Screenplay and Adapted, directors vote for the nominees for Best Director, etc)).

Formerly, some movie buffs fought for the elimination of the role of producer and, therefore, for that the Oscar of Best Film was delivered to directors instead of being given to those who produced the movie. According to these moviegoers, this was the most effective way to make the film process more authorial.

However, I believe that producers deserve a place in the Academy. As we have seen in Cinéma par Fleur, they are not separated from the film process. They, more than many others, are crucial parts in the outcome of an audiovisual work.

(Part V : Types of producer)

The Culpepper Cattle Company

2011-09-19T11:50:00.002-08:00

Original Name: The Culpepper Cattle Company

Country: USA

Direction: Dick Richards

Script: Eric Bercovici and Gregory Prentiss (adapted from the story of Dick Richards)

Genre: Western

Length: 92 minutes

Year: 1972

Ben Mockridge (Gary Grimes) is a young man who dreams of becoming a cowboy. Although warned by several people about the true nature of the job he wants to have, Ben does not care about nothing but the accomplishment of his goal.

Over time, Mockridge naturally discovers that what he wanted was much worse than he thought. However, time also shows that becoming a cowboy was the necessary to turn him into an adult.

"The Culpepper Cattle Company" was the first feature of many professionals. As an actor, this was the first work by Charles Martin Smith, who plays Tim Slater.

Dick Richards also marks his debut in cinema with this film. This was his first film as director.

In production, who made his debut was Jerry Bruckheimer. This is the first of more than 50 films he has produced, in only 38 years of career as a producer.

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The Film Producer - Part III

2011-09-16T07:36:00.001-08:00

Today's topic: Historical contributions of the producer

Here are for you innovations and styles of producers that have shaped films we see today:

The Keystone Kops

Mack Sennett created the Keystone Kops (a comedy that revolves around a group of incompetent policemen) and slapstick comedy, both during the silent film era. Sennett was known for his photography tricks, comic timing, smart editing and satirical approach.

Cecil B. DeMille produced epics like "The Ten Commandments" (1923 and 1956), who were known for their spectacular scenery and crowd scenes.

Irving Thalberg helped MGM to build its reputation for high quality movies. Although he had produced 90 films, including Marx Brothers films, musicals and "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935), Irving was too modest to allow his name to be listed in the credits of movies.

David O. Selznick made films in the 40s and 50s that combined commercial success with the high artistic quality. Among them, it is worth quoting "Gone With the Wind" (1939), "Spellbound" (1945) and "The Third Man" (1949).

Walt Disney pioneered the animated movies, creating animated characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck and launching the first lenght cartoon, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937).

Hal Wallis was truly skilled in finding the right director and actors for a script. He had a part in the production of more than 400 films from 20s to 70s, including "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" (1957) and "Becket" (1964).

Spike Lee opened the doors for african-american experiences, often in controversial films like "School Daze" (1988) and "Jungle Fever" (1991), where he's the writer, director, producer and editor.

George Lucas combined adventure stories with science fiction, computerizing the special effects to create the movie series of "Star Wars". His production company, Lucasfilms, is known for special effects.

And, we could not forget Steven Spielberg, who created suspense films like "Jaws" (1975), "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) and "Jurassic Park" (1993). All them include a intense cinematography, soundtrack and special effects.

(Part IV : Academy Award for Best Picture)

The Last Air Bender

2011-09-13T13:22:00.002-08:00

Original Name: The Last Air Bender

Country: USA

Direction: M. Night Shyamalan

Script: M. Night Shyamalan

Genre: Action, Adventure, Family

Length: 103 minutes

Year: 2010

M. Night Shyamalan usually do "almost everything" in films in which he works. In "The Sixth Sense", besides writing the screenplay, he also signed the direction and acted as an extra.

In his later films, as "Signs", "The Village" and "The Happening", Shyamalan has extended his functions to get to work also in production. In fact, from all features he directed, the only one in that he was not involved in the production was "The Sixth Sense".

In "The Last Airbender", Shyamalan's most recent work, he also signed the script, direction and production. However, this movie didn't received an acceptance as good as the previous ones.

One of the things that compromise the performance of the film is the casting. It's obvious that M. Night wanted to attract a younger audience when he choose who would act in the movie. However, it didn't work out very well.

The result? A film that does not create an identification with the viewer with its not compelling actors, a story not very dramatic and lack of more time to develop the story more effectively.

Fortunately, for the consolation of Shyamalan (and also for ours), we will always have Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix.

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The Film Producer - Part II

2011-09-09T10:25:00.003-08:00

Today's Topic: History of film producer

Right from the beginning of movie history, filmmakers have guided films from start to finish.

Best known as a director, Stanley Kubrick also

produced classics like "A Clockwork Orange,"

"The Shining" and "2001: A Space Odyssey"

With the growth of casts, budgets and business, the producer's role has become more essential in bringing films to market.

In the early twentieth century, the film production has grown to become a big business. It was driven by studios, that controlled the making, promotion, distribution and exhibition of movies, that were displayed in theaters of their own property.

A movie producer usually worked within the studio, taking on projects as assigned. This total control of the studios in relation to motion pictures is also called as "studio system".

Funded by New York bankers, films were produced with similar efficiency to that of factories, with the work to be divided by departments (special effects, montage, wardrobe, etc). Meanwhile, the majority of directors, actors and writers worked as "mere" employees under contract and limited artistic creativity.

Although at the time there were some independent producers, major studios were responsible for about two-thirds of movies distributed in the end of the 30s.

However, in 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that studios should get rid of movie theaters owned. This ended the vertical monopoly that studios held on all phases of film production and distribution.

Alberto Grimaldi, the producer of "Fellini Satyricon"
and "Last Tango in Paris"

Today, most films are made by independent producers, either for direct distribution, either under contract for one of the six major studios remaining (also called Today's Big Six): Time Warner, Viacom, News Corporation, The Walt Disney Company, Sony Corporation of America and Comcast/ General Eletric.

(Part III : Historical contributions of film producer)

Poltergeist

2011-09-05T12:00:00.001-08:00

Original Name: Poltergeist

Country: USA

Direction: Tobe Hooper

Script: Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais and Mark Victor

Genre: Horror

Length: 114 minutes

Year: 1982

Spielberg, Craig Nelson and James Karen

Whether you're a movie buff or not, with certainty one of the movies produced by Spielberg pleases you. Just as a producer, he has participated in over 100 films, including classics such as "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial", "Back to the Future", "Schindler's List" and "Poltergeist".

In the latter, besides producing the film, Steven also wrote the screenplay and the story in wich the script was based. He is so involved with this movie that some people say that he is the real director of this feature, not Tobe Hooper.

Both have already given several interviews on the subject, always explaining that who really directed the film was Tobe. However, if you have the opportunity to see at least three Spielberg movies, and after a while, see "Poltergeist", you will realize that most of the scenes "scream" the name of Steven.

The major thing that shows this in the movie is the strong nationalism, always present in Spielberg films. The movie begins playing the anthem of the U.S., showing, in the remaining minutes, other things that resemble the country: the White House, the statue of Abraham Lincoln and the cover of a book, where there is the american flag and the name of Ronald Reagan, former actor and, in that time, president of the United States.

Paralel to that, we also can see the presence of some objects that are related to "Star Wars", such as Darth Vader's face on the shelf above the bed of Robbie Freeling (Oliver Robins) and the image of Chewbacca printed on the red jacket that Robbie uses to cover the clown who dreads.

For those unaware, Steven always wanted to direct Star Wars. "I've asked him [George Lucas]. He won't let me do one. But I understand why - Star Wars is George's baby ", says [1].

Note: Steven and George still are friends today and continue beautiful as ever.

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[1] Quoted from: http://www.starwarsfaq.com

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The Film Producer - Part I

2011-08-30T12:44:00.000-08:00

Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of the franchise
"Pirates of the Caribbean"

Leaving film reviews aside, Cinéma par Fleur will begin a series of articles explaining the role of each person in a movie set.

To start, let's talk about the film producer. In short, this professional handles the financial part of movies.

In the entire period, from pre to post-production, the producer takes care of:

- Acceptance or distribution of the film by a producer and / or studio (famous greenlight);

- Market research (target audience, acceptance, financial return expected);

- Funding for production;

- Agreements about commissions of the parties involved;

- Formatting the script to fit within the budget;

- Hiring of directors, screenwriters, actors, technicians and other team members;

- Wide view of locations, costumes, sets, etc;

- Organization of suppliers and services (food, accommodation, technical equipment, scene objects, sceneries, etc);

- Approval of schedule of pre-production, filming, editing, post production, etc;

- Conducting marketing agreements as the "product-placement";

- Targeting for marketing, promotion, advertising;

- Adjust the director's vision to the needs of the studio;

Peter Jackson, producer of the trilogy
"The Lord of the Rings"

With the exception of bureaucratic works, is the director who has the final answer about actors, production designers, cinematographers, script, editing and special effects, for example. It is as if the producer were the restaurant manager and the director were the head chef in kitchen.

Despite the market vision that the role of the producer takes us to see, it also brings us the idea that movies are processes, not just works of art or blockbusters.

The cinema is, actually, a creative, collective, collaborative and dynamic work. It is art, but also business.

Or, as the brazilian writer Millôr Fernandes said, "if the movie brings you money, then the cinema is an industry. If it makes you lose money, then it's an art..."

(Part II : History of film producer)

Hall Pass

2011-08-25T11:09:00.001-08:00

Original Name: Hall Pass

Country: USA

Direction: Bobby e Peter Farelly

Script: Pete Jones, Peter Farrelly, Kevin Barnett e Bobby Farrelly

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Romantic comedy

Length: 105 minutes

Year: 2011

Using the idea of reverse psychology, the movie talks about two friends, that after giving to their wives a piece of their minds, "force" their women to gift them with a "hall pass". This gives them the freedom to do anything they want for a week, including the possibility of betraying their spouses.

The film is not very funny, and though it tries to innovate with an unusual story, follows the same kind of humor of all movies of this genre, inserting nudity, sex, fights and betrayal.

However, if you adopt puritanism in your life and prefers a humor not very appealing, "Hall Pass" is a good thing. Lighter than "The Hangover", the film has its unique touch of romanticism, ethics and appreciation of the family institution.

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The Smurfs

2011-08-23T10:47:00.000-08:00

Original Name: The Smurfs

Country: USA

Direction: Raja Gosnell

Script: David N. Weiss, Jay Scherick and David Ronn

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Length: 103 minutes

Year: 2011

Another film 100% suitable for children, "The Smurfs" talks about the crazy adventure of Clumsy (with the voice of Anton Yelchin) and his friends, who, fleeing from the evil Gargamel (Hank Azaria), end up on the home of the young couple Grace (Jayma Mays) and Patrick Winslow (Neil Patrick Harris).

Although there are some technical errors, the script is very funny and the actors make the most of the essence of their characters

The film is not a masterpiece of world cinema, but serves to pass to infants noble values, such as the importance of family, friends and of defending your own opinion.

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Cowboys & Aliens

2011-08-17T10:34:00.002-08:00

Original Name: Cowboys & Aliens
Country: USA
Direction: Jon Favreau
Script: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Length: 86 minutes
Year: 2008

Despite being a very original idea of putting a group of cowboys who hate each other to fight against super-dangerous aliens, the film manages to be an unfunny version of Alien with a 007 devoid of glamor.

The movie begins with Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) alone, while trying to remember his identity. Throughout the story, he meets Alice (Abigail Spencer), a mysterious woman that will help him to uncover who he really is.

Craig's performance reminds us, in all things, James Bond. The way he walks, talks and the manner how he treats other characters makes him look like a 007 dressed in leather pants and cowboy hat.

But you can not say that Daniel Craig is a bad actor, or that often use features of his Bond character in every role he does. In his last films, as in Defiance (2008), The Invasion (2007) and The Golden Compass (2007), Craig does not look like an ultrasecret agent and acts well in each role.

An interesting scene that worth mentioning is when Jake Lonergan and Woodrow (Harrison Ford) are fleeing of an explosion. At one point, Jake's hat falls off and he quickly bends down to pick it up.

Who, in right mind, would bother with a cowboy hat while runs away from an explosion?

A cowboy, of course.

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CJ7

2011-08-14T14:41:00.002-08:00

Original Name: Cheung Gong 7 hou

Country: Hong Kong

Direction: Stephen Chow

Script: Stephen Chow, Vincent Kok, Kan-Cheung Tsang, Sandy Shaw, Chi Keung Fung and Fung Lam

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family

Length: 86 minutes

Year: 2008

I like the asian cinema. The cast generally acts well and the stories are always good and with a moral lesson at the end.

In this Stephen Chow's feature, Ti (Xu Jiao) is a poor boy whose greatest desire is to have the CJ1 toy, a robot dog of last generation. However, his father accidentally ends up giving him the CJ7, a type of alien dog he found in the trash.

The narrative, although not revolutionary or shocking, has good elements that can and should be passed to children. However, in a time when stories (for infants and adults) are so outrageous and innovative, you can even say that this film is something of a surprise.

Finally a movie 100% suitable for children.

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The Piano

2011-08-11T10:03:00.003-08:00

Original Name: The Piano

Country: USA

Direction: Aidan Gibbons

Script: n/a

Genre: Short, Drama

Length: 2:23 minutes

Year: 2005

To break with the paradigm that cinema is just what is done in Hollywood, I decided to include in Cinéma par Fleur's movie list "The Piano", by Aidan Gibbons.

The work is a short about two minutes, which, through music, tells the story of an old man.

The song calls "Comptine d'un autre été: l'après midi", and was composed by Yann Tiersen. In english, the title of the tune is "Rhyme of another summer: the afternoon" and, particularly, I believe that has everything to do with this movie's story.

Briefly, this short tells the power of music that, for example, can store many memories or make us forget them all.

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Mary Reilly

2011-08-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

Original Name: Mary Reilly

Country: USA

Direction: Stephen Frears

Script: Christopher Hampton (based on the novel of Valerie Martin)

Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller

Length: 108 minutes

Year: 1996

Early in the film is shown the grueling routine of Mary (Julia Roberts), one of the maids of physician Henry Jekyll (John Malkovich). She does the most varied tasks, such as using a piece of cloth as strainer and even have to watch a live eel being cooked.

Matter of fact, this is one of the highlights of the film. Watching an eel being prepared while still circulates life in its body defines the sadistic character of the movie.

Edward Hyde, also played by Malkovich, is the "other side" of Jekyll: a beautiful and seductive young man, with all the other characteristics that Jekyll, in his proximity to old age, no longer has. Among them all, that Jekyll admire most is the inconsequence.

Of all the actors, who most stands out is Malkovich. With all the cameras pointing at him, he performed wonderfully two antagonistic characters that, sometimes, confuse us and leave us without knowing if the speaker is really one or the other, and not a perverse mixture of both.

Presenting the question of whether evil is stronger than good, the ending leaves margins to interpretations. However, I like to believe that good has greater power over evil.

(But that's just an idea.)

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The Apartment

2011-08-02T11:14:00.003-08:00

Original Name: The Apartment

Country: USA

Direction: Billy Wilder

Script: Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama

Length: 125 minutes

Year: 1960

"The Apartment" talks about C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon), a lonely man, however popular in his company by "borrow" his apartment to co-workers, so they could meet women. However, everything changes when Baxter discovers that the woman he loves is the lover of his boss, that had just promoted him.

In this film, Billy Wilder shows his talent improved, at least compared to the movie "Sabrina" (click here to read Cinéma par Fleur's review about this feature), also directed and written by him.

In "The Apartment", the script is more intelligent and, when there are no words to express such a situation, the images speak for themselves.

It's that kind of audiovisual work that teaches us how to say certain things without the need of saying them aloud. More specifically, it teaches how to say "I love you" in simple acts, just as hiding razor blades, being afraid to open windows, or by saying "shut up and deal".

All the elements are great and in sync. The script, photography and cast could not be better. It is a beautiful and simple romantic comedy that runs from the obvious to make way to a fun, unique and modern story.

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The Miracle Worker

2011-07-28T15:52:00.000-08:00

Original Name: The Miracle Worker

Country: USA

Direction: Arthur Penn

Script: William Gibson

Genre: Drama

Length: 106 minutes

Year: 1962

This film is a good example of filmed theater. According to the film critic Eduardo Valente, from brazilian magazine "Cinética", "when using the term 'filmed theater', the common objective is, first of all, make a negative critic about the movie. More specifically, if you want to describe an aesthetic and dramatic situation that would involve a film centered on one (or few) environment, with few actors and camera movements, among other characteristics that would be easily attributed to the theater".

However, saying that "The Miracle Worker" is an example of filmed theater, I do not want to make a negative critic about it, but only show it as a film that has few environments and few actors in the narrative, among other features that resemble theater, as the lean script, the utilization of few camera movements and the little use of different plans for the same scene.

This "theater" fits in the visual language of cinema and ends up by building a beautiful, simple and moving film.

A show worthy of Broadway. A movie worthy of Hollywood.

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The Exorcist

2011-07-26T11:40:00.002-08:00

Original Name: The Exorcist

Country: USA

Direction: William Friedkin

Script: William Peter Blatty

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Length: 122 minutes

Year: 1973

"The Exorcist" talks about Regan (Linda Blair), a girl who, after spending her time using a Ouija board, finds her body possessed by a demonic entity, apparently the same who talked to her while she was playing with the board.

To resolve the situation, Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn), mother of the girl, seeks medical assistance, until a psychologist advises her to seek an exorcist.

The film is much more interesting than a simple story of exorcism, because it doesn't content to speak only of a girl who was possessed, but also shows the degradation of each character involved with the child.

Above all, "The Exorcist" doesn't favor the religious or scientific aspect of the situation, but balances both sides and shows the audience that, despite being quite different universes, in certain situations religion and science can help each other.

The resources that bring mystery to the story still work, but the horror scenes are not as surprising as in the time that the film was made. The young audience will probably laugh at scenes in which Regan says obscenities and when she turns her head at an angle of 360 degrees.

In fact, there are few horror classics that still can make the public feel the same fear and apprehension of the past. With so many remakes, prequels, spin-offs and reboots, it's hard to be surprised with classics in times when their stories have been used so many times on the big screen.

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Insidious

2011-07-21T09:30:00.000-08:00

Original Name: Insidious

Country: USA

Direction: James Wan

Script: Leigh Whannell

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Length: 103 minutes

Year: 2010

Despite working with a risky script, not so good actors and a very amateur photography, "Insidious" can stand out among the releases of 2011 when copying the successful formula of "Paranormal Activity" and inserting new elements that make the story original and attractive.

I remember I read a book by Syd Field where he said that a good script is one that draws you in the first ten minutes (pages) of the plot. In "Insidious", unfortunately it doesn't happen. The beginning of the movie is pretty boring and if you don't wait a little longer, you may leave the theater or turn off the television.

The film becomes good after about half an hour, when Plot Point 1 of the script appears and changes everything. Dalton (Ty Simpkins) is apparently in a coma, while his parents have a crisis in the relationship and his mother, Renai (Rose Byrne), begins to see unexplained things.

As we can see right from the first minutes of the work, it's not a high budget project, so it's logic that we can't expect much of the elements that compose the movie. The cast don't have a good performance and sometimes is even difficult to decide whether to be apprehensive or laugh of a scene that didn't seem real.

About the similarities to "Paranormal Activity", I was able to list six. While watching "Insidious", try to discover all.

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Green Lantern

2011-07-19T09:39:00.002-08:00

Original Name: Green Lantern
Country: United States
Direction: Martin Campbell
Script: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim and Michael Goldenberg
Genre: Action, Crime, Fantasy
Length: 114 minutes
Year: 2011

There are two things I didn't understand in this movie. The first is why, among all the cast, the worst actors represents the main characters; while the second thing is why, in a script written by so many people, the dialogues don't work.

In addition, the story lacks details and is full of cliches. This movie could have been divided into two, so the plot could develop itself more slowly and explain to viewers who is Hal Jordan (played by Ryan Reynolds) and the real reasons why he have been chosen to be the Green Lantern.

As Manohla Dargis said, "this movie is bad".

Not even Gollum would want this ring

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