Ghosts of Rwanda

    Ghost of Rwanda marked the 10th anniversary of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. This documentary is filled with interviews from many different influencial people whom either were involved in the genocide, watched as it happened and did nothing or those who did all they could with what they were given.

    Throughout the documentary the audience is given a look of the genocide through many different eyes, allowing a much larger understanding of many different point of views. The information was not fabricated making it completely unbiased. The speakers in this film were mainly directly involved in the genocide in one way or another. It was very powerful being able to hear their stories and learn from their words. It was a very effective way of getting a point across. Although not fully inticed enticed by the film I did learn much from it I may not have otherwise had the opportunity to achieve.

     Although I find learning about the genocide very interesting I was not fully captured by this film. I prefer dramatized movies rather then a documentary. Though its possible I gained the most information from this film rather then movies like Hotel Rwanda and Shake Hands with the Devil.

I give this film a 6.5 out of 10.

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight, officially my favourite movie watched in class was the perfect example for the topic crime and insanity. Batman,the crime fighter and The Joker ultimate insane criminal are playing an extremely violent game of cat and mouse with all of Gotham city's pedestrians as chew toys. The combination of acting skills, costume's,  make up and music make an The Dark Knight incredibly effective film.

One of the factors which made this film so eddective eas the acting skills of it's stars. Christian Bale, playing Batman, and Heath Ledger, playing The Joker, are the stars of this film. Bale's performance was amazingly, although nothing beats the acting performance by Ledger. Each dialogue and motion executed by Ledger is so fluent it is hard to believe he himself is not the criminal mastermind. One aspect of the film that, in my opinion, truly makes The Joker's character is the constant changing of the story about how he received his facial scars. Each story is more believable than the last, especially because Ledger uses many mannerisms to make The Joker more human; the most common mannerism used throughout the film is the licking of the lips during speech. To prepare for this film, Ledger locked himself in a hotel room for a month to create the Joker character. It is romoured that Ledger died because The Joker character was haunting his thoughts, unable to leave his brain, although this has not been proved, it is easy to see the dedication that Ledger put into this film, it is shown in every scene in which he is involved. Another effective tool used in The Dark Knight was Costume and Make-up, without it the film would not fit together.

The Joker's make-up, Batman’s costume, clown masks and police uniforms are all forms of costume and make-up used in The Dark Knight. Without the use of costume and make-up nothing in this film would have made sense. Batman would be an average Joe who could not survive the situations he puts himself in. There would be no mystery to The Joker; he would have a history, a known story. The Dark knight depends on costumes and make-up to make it as entertaining and enticing as possible. The scene in which The Joker is disguised as a nurse in the hospital is a great example of how costume is used in this film, at first look there was no way to tell the nurse would be The Joker making the revelation much more pleasurable for the audience to watch as the face is revealed. Another effective use of make-up was the face of Harvey Dent as he turned into 'Two Face'. The first shot we see of Two Face is in the hospital scene. I found myself shocked about Harvey's transformation, but also intrigued by how well the make-up artists had made the side of his face appear. Music in any film intensifies the viewing experience and catches audience attention; this is apparent in The Dark Knight. 

Music in any film can transform any scene. The Dark Knight uses a variety of different music and beats to capture audience attention. ‘Why So Serious?’ is a piece written by Hans Zimmer, and plays every time The Joker appeares on screen. This was a great way to help the audience identify the killer and anticipate something big to occur. 

This film portrays the good, the bad and the ugly and is a great example of Crime and Insanity. Through the use of acting, costume/ make-up and music it creates a great movie that audiences will love to watch. I give this movie a 9 out of 10!

From Hell

   Johnny Depp stars in the historically inaccurate From Hell, based on the infamous Jack the Ripper killings. The film takes place in Victorian Era London follows the life of Inspector Fredrick Abberline (Depp) as he investigates the murders of Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, Marry Anne Nichols and Ada. Through the use of costume/make-up, acting and setting this film was very effective.
  
   Costume and Make-up were particularly important in this film. The movie filmed in 2001 did an excellent job dressing the cast members. It was very important in the film that the different classes were evident. In order to further the plot. Throughout the murder investigation there was a between the classes, many were ruling out the possibilty that a man of higher class could be the murderer. The atrocities also took place in a low-class neighborhood this meant the victims and the community had to look the part. This is evident in the scene in which Abberline takes Mary Kelly a local prostitute to see paintings in a gallery. The visual difference between Mary and the other, higher-class gallery viewers offer a very effective use of imagery. The use of make-up was also incredibly important when viewing the victims before and after the deaths. This made the killings much more realistic to the audience.

   While the film is set in Victorian London, many of the actors in this film are American, meaning the accents are fake, although you would never tell. Each actor did a superb job of becoming his/her character, Johnny Depp more than the rest. I have never seen a film where I didn't believe every word that comes out of Depp's mouth. Depp's performance os particularly riveting in the scene when he is talking to Sir William Gull, the Queen's doctor, about the Doctor being the murderer.

   Setting was a key aspect in this movie because it was based on true events. Although this film is not historically accurate, the setting is very realistic. The neighborhood was dirty and grimmy, visibly lower class as exemplified by the graffiti written on the walls at the scene of the murder. It read "The Juews are the men that will not be blamed for nothing", displaying the low education level and lack of respect people had for their community and peers.

   Although the film was a good one I couldn't get past the fact that it names the killer when in reality, the killer was never found, and that From Hell is mainly based on a love story. I give the movie an 7.5 out of 10.

Born on the Fourth of July

"And behind closed eyes I cannot make them go away
'cause you were born on the 4th of July (freedom ring)". These lyrics from the Jason Mraz song, The Remedy are exactly how I feel about the film Born on the Fourth of July; I cannot get the images out of my head. The true story of Ron Kovic mainly focus on the after effects of the Vietnam war. The begins in his childhood and follows him through his tour of duty in the war and ends in his adult life. The audience watchs as Kovics character, played by Tom Cruise, changes and develops.

Kovic, a young boy at the beginning of the film, watches as war veterans walk in the Fourth of July parade in his town. These are the men that he grows to idolize. Joining the marines in his mid teens, he is congratulated by his many peers, each proud of his devotion to his country. During Ron’s tour in Vietnam, he is involved in many traumatic experiences; such as witnessing a village of innocents being killed, shooting an American soldier in the midst of chaos, and being shot himself.

                Setting was very important in this film. Ron comes from a very suburban, middle-class neighborhood filled with many war veterans. This neighborhood is where he is recruited to be a soldier in the war. Soldiers giving a presentation in the school gym was very common during the time period and including this made the film that very realistic. The scenes in Vietnam were very effective portraying acts of war that were very realistic. For example, many soldiers were killed by men from their own side, this was called friendly fire. During a shootout it became very confusing and sides became unclear. I also found the hospital scene to be very effective, it shows the disturbing events that made many men mentally unstable after the war.

                The film was very gory which made it hard to watch. This was due to the effectivness of the costumes and make-up. These elements were effective in showing the change in Kovic’s character. In the beginning of his army life he was very well put together. Gradually throughout the film he becomes less and less attractive completely letting himself go. Kovic's hair, as well as facial hair, is not cut. Costume and make-up was also very effective in the scene in which Ron brakes his leg and the bone pops out. Although I couldn’t stand to watch the scene, the make-up was incredible and amazingly realistic.

                The movie was too gory for my eyes, but was a pretty good depiction of the after-effects of the Vietnam War. I give the movie and overall 7 out of 10.

Apocalypse Now

This Vietnam War film starring Martin Sheen has been known as “the” war film. The film goes back and forth on it's pro war/ anti-war stance, making it a slightly confusing film to watch. Although I can see how this would be considered such a fantastic film, I found myself somewhat let down. Captain Benjamin L. Willard (Sheen) was sent on a mission to kill Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, a soldier who was assumed to have gone somewhat crazy on his tour in Vietnam. Throughout the film the audience watches as Willard learns more about Kurtz and reveals his relation to the character.

I found that Willard was not a character I particularly enjoyed watching, he was cruel and not relatable. In one scene the men aboard the boat, Willard is traveling on kill a family on a boat leaving just one women alive. Instead of taking her to a hospital Willard shoots and kills her for the sake of his mission. This action made me truly hate Willard. As a soldier, without the war Willard was lost not knowing what he should do with his life.  

There were a variety of different of characters in this film who contributed to the plot of the film. Aboard the boat Willard was travelling on there were four other men: Lance B. Johnson, Jay ‘Chef” Hicks, Tyrone ‘Clean’ Miller and Chief Phillips. Lance was the crowd favourite, bringing an uncanny humour to the film. Lance is constantly doing the wrong thing and is high on some type of drug, making him unusually laid back and happy during his tour.

Special effects play an essential role in the effectiveness of this film. There is constantly explosions, shootings and aircraft in flight. The special effects not only make this film much more visually appealing to watch but it makes for the movie a feel much more realistic; I felt as if I was there. I found the scene in which Lance and Willard approach a group of men defending a bridge a very effective scene involving special effects. Lance, being high on acid, madkes a comment about the explosions being beautiful, but of course the audience knows it is anything but. I found this to be very effective because it is illustrates an important issue relating to the Vietnam War, the effects of drug use by the soldiers.

While this movie was a great portrayal of the Vietnam War, I could not sympathize with or relates to the characters. The only scenes I liked werethe ones involving Lance and his humour. I give the movie a 5.5 out of 10