comd282-spring2020-egepeskircioglu

I’ve recently started watching the Amazon Prime show “Upload”. The series take place in the near future where a firm transfers the consciousness of people who are about to die, into a simulated environment. This simulation contains different levels and where the client will be transferred to depends on their financial status. Also, there are many services that require either premium accounts or extra payment for the client to use, such as food from the minibar or unlocking new outfits, similar to in-app purchases. The interesting thing is that, it’s not like they are actually dead because people in the real world use different equipment such as VR to experience the simulation and they are able to contact them. What attracted me the most is that, there are many bugs and glitches in this simulated environment; for instance, there is a lake but it is in gif form that is in a continuous loop and it feels unnatural because just like an actual gif, the flow of the lake cuts back to the starting point after a few seconds. In my opinion, the aim is to establish the sense of how digitalized the environment is, therefore, the shots are rather flat than cinematic and the lighting as well, since most of it is coming from a computer program. The scenes taking place in the real world, however, pay much more attention to these details to create a more realistic environment that we are already familiar with, based on our experience with our average mainstream films & TV shows. 

I’ve been planning on watching this motion picture for a long time, but recently found the time to do it and I must say, I absolutely loved it. Despite being famous for appearing in, mostly, comedy films, Will Ferrell’s portrayal of the main character Harold Crick is excellent. Though, I must say, the best acting in this film is most likely performed by Emma Thompson, whose character is the writer responsible for the events revolving around Harold. The structure / form of the film, the “fiction inside fiction” concept, is what got me interested in it, initially. The usage of “little did he know” by the author of the book and the way how Harold hears and responds to this is more than interesting, for my taste; it’s almost as if there is a film inside a film and the fourth wall is broken in the one that is in the inner circle (Harold’s Story). However, we, as the audience, are not directed towards becoming aware of the fact that we are watching a movie because the implementation of this technique is so professional that, as crazy as it seems, the events seem believable once the author and Harold’s paths cross. In other words, a non-diegetic sound (voice, to be exact) can be heard by a character who is in the frame and when he responds, what happens is that a diegetic sound responds to a non-diegetic one. 

I’ve recently viewed the action/war film Extraction, starring Chris Hemsworth, on Netflix. To be honest, I don’t consider myself as a fan of films that mainly classify as an “action”, despite being into hybrids like sci-fi action flicks or action dramas etc.. However, Extraction certainly makes you watch it without blinking. In terms of the story, it is okay, I guess. Regarding technicality, on the other hand, there are some of the best scenes that I’ve ever seen in an action film. Especially, there is this one take that follows our main characters throughout stairs, rooftops and falling from a building to the streets. Still, the camera continues to roll and captures one of the most well-choreographed fight sequences I’ve ever witnessed. Other than that, I noticed that they have chosen to go with the colour green, in terms of colour grading; there are two primary locations: one is the forest and the other is the city. In sequences involving natural elements, it turns into this saturated/bright green whereas in the city sequences, to convey the atmosphere of chaos/war, it is desaturated and looks something like a sewer-green tone.

During this unfortunate quarantine period, I’ve found the time to watch some considered-as-classic films, like I’d been planning to, for a long time. Monty Python and the Holy Grail was the first one in my list; considering the fact that it was released in 1975, I have to honor the makers of the motion picture with the word ‘visionary’. The extremely absurd events seen in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, in my opinion, makes this film timeless, instead of a mainstream comedy that is only decodable within the time of its production. The best thing about this humorous re-imagination of the King Arthur legend is that it is, in fact, made by a British comedy group which, I believe, makes it way more sincere. The way how the mise-en-scene is quite realistic and detailed helps us get into & follow the story with careful attention as well, even though there are multiple occurrences of breaking the fourth wall throughout the film. My viewing of the movie was a brand new experience & I’m looking forward to watch the other titles in the series.

Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” is a motion picture that somehow successfully manages to blend multiple genres, including mystery, comedy, thriller, drama (...) Throughout the film, the tone feels like it doesn’t take itself too seriously, either based on Daniel Craig’s representation of the unusual detective Benoit Blanc or the Thrombey Family's exaggerated efforts of claiming the deceased Harlan Thrombey’s heritage. Nevertheless, *SPOILER ALERT* scenes such as the one in which Harlan slits his own neck with a knife right in front of his dearly beloved Marta, changes the whole mood of the film in seconds. These clever switches in terms of genre, emotion and such, definitely contribute to the final, smooth flow of Knives Out which never allows the audience to check their watch and see what time it is. It is, indeed, both enjoyable and there is a lot to think about. For instance, the final scene where Marta, having received all the heritage, looks down to the Trombey family with a coffee cup in her hand is one of the strongest imagery I’ve seen in Hollywood lately. The situation, as well as the positioning of characters (Marta having the high ground -> leverage...etc.) is more than enough to convey that you can never know ‘who will be where’ and for the Thrombey family, the meaning is that one should never take their place for granted. Since, in that sequence, they are almost “thrown out” of the house that they were expecting to claim, in the beginning. 

Ever since it received multiple Academy Awards of major categories and received great feedback by both the critics & the audience, I’ve been looking forward to watch it, and I’ve finally found some time to attend to a viewing of Parasite, directed by Bong Joon Ho. I believe, in comparison to most films that received the award for the best picture category, the film was smoothly flowing and never got boring. The way how the film was as if it were divided into two parts; the first one leaning towards comedy and the second being more dramatic / thrilling, without losing the connection between both, was perhaps the thing that I liked the most about it. Secondly, I noticed that the script was almost flawless; there were many easter-egg-like details throughout the film that somehow ended up connecting to one or more events that happened later in the film. For instance, -SPOILER ALERT- way before the family took over the home, we saw the light at the entrance of the stairs leading to the basement blinking. It was implemented to the film in such a way that, based on the camera angle...etc., it made me think that it was going to be an important part of the plot, in some way. However, it was almost impossible for me - or anybody, most likely- to figure out that the blinking was generated by a man living in the underground bunker-like, hidden part of the house. Apart from that, the changes in colour grading when the “genre” of the film switches, in the second act, had great impact as well. To conclude, I believe it was an extremely well written, acted and shot film and definitely kept me thinking about it even days after I watched it.

Last weekend, I went to see Guy Ritchie’s “The Gentlemen”, a film I’ve been anticipated for ever since the beginning of production was announced. It turned out to be just what I expected, perhaps even better. To me, what makes it distinguishable is the editing and the use of timeline (the chronological order of events vs. the order that they are presented to us in). Similar to his other films, Guy Ritchie once more uses his signature, fast paced switches between sequences, which might initially confuse the audience but throughout the film, eliminates anything and everything that could’ve made it boring.

As far as I can tell, the film is divided into 3 interrelated acts that begin right after the opening titles. Even before that, there is a scene with the main protagonist getting killed -or at least that’s what most audiences would’ve thought- which is left open ended to raise eyebrows, creating a shocking effect only seconds into the film. Come the first scene after the opening titles; we see Charlie Hunnam’s character having a not-so-friendly conversation with Hugh Grant’s character. This conversation goes on for a long time, until the third act begins. The elements of the story is revealed one by one, within the subject of this conversation, complemented by visuals that cover most of the film. When the climactic third & final act begins, Ritchie somehow masterfully connects the conversation scene and the story revolving around McConaughey; from that point forward, the film begins to move in chronological order, both Grant and Hunnam (in the aftermath of their conversation) join McConaughey’s story until the conclusion. So, the film provides both a non-linear narrative and two linear ones that connect with each other, which made me admire Ritchie even more than I did.

I’ve recently had the chance to watch the latest Netflix crime, drama starring Adam Sandler: Uncut Gems. Right from the beginning, you can tell that the motion picture contains atypical elements; the opening sequence takes us on a trip through the inside of a precious stone which is made to resemble a galaxy/space-like atmosphere. In sync with the intro, a loud (but sort of calming in a strange way), slow and electronic piece of music begins to play. This particular song, however, continues to play for a long time despite several scenes/characters...etc. are revealed. About the film, which revolves around a New York City jeweller named “Howard” whose aim is to play big & win big, the most distinguishable element that I’ve observed is that we rarely get a regular conversation scene; the dialogue is either shouted with anger/panic or some characters never allow the others lines to finish before they start talking too. For starters, this constant state of chaotic shouting sets up the everyday life of Howard, which is definitely not an ordinary (or dull) one. In my opinion, this makes things more realistic since in real life, when there is a heated argument going on, we don’t expect one side to respectfully wait for the other to finish his/her sentence to refute. One other thing that contributes to the films’ overall chaotic/disturbing atmosphere is the usage of frames; we encounter many shots (of Adam Sandler’s character, especially) that fill a huge space in the frame which creates a somewhat sense of claustrophobia. It fits the film since Howard’s life is occasionally threatened by several people due to his risky business. 

Fatboy Slim - Praise You

The music video to Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You” is directed by the critically acclaimed Spike Jonze who is also well known for his feature length films in the industry. Right from the first image (the title), which resembles the classic intro to karaoke songs in bars and/or a cheap commercial for a small hotel, we are hinted that this is going to be different than the usual big budget music videos with detailed cinematography, editing, lighting...etc. The song -which made its way to become a hit-, however, is masterfully crafted in terms of production/arrangement, vocals, composition and such. So, once this homemade-looking video and the song is blended together, it is certain that the style of this music video is purely intentional and definitely not caused by a lack of skills of the production crew. I think that the word I am looking for is “sincerety”. The way how the choreography and the footage look awfully amateur but the dancers’ passion regarding their performance re-directs our attention and makes us forget about all that, instead, we focus on how beautifully these people celebrate freedom by doing whatever they want without worrying about what the bystanders think about them (as a matter of fact, they end up applauding them).