Character Movie Reviews Samples For Students

Plot and Story

Plot and story appear in different dimensions in narratives. In narrative films, story refers to the account that film narrates. It also refers to events that the audience infers and assumes to have taken place in the film. In narratives, the story appears in chronological order with a duration and frequency. The Story differs from the plot because the plot presents specific events in a narrative. The plot appears as the imaginary construction by the viewer regarding the events in the film. The Plot also involves a chronological order and duration.
The narrative’s plot presents Richard Hannay as Continue reading...

J.J. Abrams’ serialized television drama LOST follows the stories of a group of survivors of a violent airplane crash on a deserted island, stuck without any hope of rescue and beholden to the mysterious forces that govern their new home. In its pilot episode, the filmmakers of LOST firmly establish the recurring theme of good vs. evil that establishes the characters’ journeys in their island setting. This is done through a combination of visual motifs, symbolism, and character moments juxtaposed through flashbacks and editing. Throughout the course of the pilot, the flaws, alignments and attitudes of the characters are Continue reading...

2013 was the year that saw F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, “The Great Gatsby”, brought into cinema, for the second time. Whenever a great novel is adapted for the screen, many pedants will try to scrutinize the film to see if there is any nonconformity to the original. The book is often regarded and sacred as consequently; many films often fail to reach the pedestal set by the book. If the audience deems the film to be an effective adaption of the book, the movie will more often than not be successful. The Great Gatsby (2013) is the Continue reading...

Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of “The Great Gatsby” is the archetype and represents the tragic hero. This archetype is the one the audience sympathizes with and whose luck changes throughout the story from best to worst. In most cases the tragic hero dies and it happens because there is a flaw in his character. Jay Gatsby is fortunate at the beginning of the film when he meets Daisy and falls in love with her. However, his poverty prevents him from marrying her, so he goes away and returns as a wealthy man, but only to see the love of Continue reading...

Movie Review of Erin Brockovich

Introduction
“It only takes a single act of kindness to turn the world around and put yourself at the center of it.” If there is one statement that could describe the plot of the film Erin Brockovich, the beginning statement captures everything. Erin Crockovich is a true story of a woman who fought the ill practice of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). Released in 2000, the film that stars Julia Robert was a biographical sketch of how a single mother has been able to overcome the challenges presented her coming from an accident and an unsuccessful lawsuit. While Continue reading...

Movie review: I'm in love with a church girl

I’m in love with a church girl is a 2013 drama film with a Christian theme. Steve Race directed the film that stars Adrienne Bailon (Vanessa Leon) and Jeff “Ja Rule” Atkins (Miles Montego). The film involves a love story between Miles, formerly a drug dealer and Vanessa, a church girl. The following is an analysis of the film.

The film has some contradicting or controversial biographies and promotes a controversial culture. Since it is an interracial film, there is the likelihood that viewers can take the use of Miles to play a drug dealing character as an Continue reading...

Chinese cinema has always been at the forefront of international cinema. Despite it being only the 4th largest industry in the world, it has still managed to create an impact on American and European audiences. The story coupled with martial arts and action created crossover appeal with American audiences as early as the 1960s. Characteristics of Hong Kong cinema gave rise to anti-heroes whom went against type but were heroes at the end of the day. Drunken Master (1978), Hard Boiled (1992) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) are 3 films which speak to the evolution of Chinese cinema in Continue reading...

Black Swan is a melodrama movie in which shows a passionate intensity, darkly and gloriously bizarre. There are a many things that I like in this movie. However, there are also parts of the movie that I consider as an opportunity to its creator. Primarily, the movie casts are the actors whom I really idolize when it comes to portraying their roles. I like Natalie Portman’s way of representing her character. The reason I like her portrayal in the movie is that she did it in an exceptional way. It could be hard for other actors to portray Continue reading...

Breaking Bad is a crime drama that aired from 2008 to 2013 and received a lot of controversial feedback from the publicity. While the audience considered the show to be one of the greatest shows that ever aired on TV, the story is far beyond simple TV drama. The protagonist of the series is a middle-aged chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with lung cancer. Not only that, but Walter White suffers from other circumstances that he does not know how to deal with: unemployed pregnant wife, terminally ill child and huge debts for cancer treatment. As a result of Continue reading...

Richard III written by William Shakespeare was a play based on the historical English king named Richard, the Third. Although the film was given with a modern twist by setting the plot in the 1930 post-war Britain. Richard Loncraine’s film was a daring attempt and inventive; instead of creating a story wherein all the characters moves in a medieval setting, the film was placed in a modernized era. Fancy cars, beautiful costumes depicting the 1930’s fashion, historical places and excellent acting made by the actors are the few reasons for the films excellent remark. Set in an Continue reading...

Holes, an American comedy-drama is the Walt Disney production released in the year 2003. The movie is based on a book published in 1998 by Louis Sachar with the same name. The novel has won the National Book Award and a Newbery Medal. The story of the movie is adventurous which has the touch of fantasy. The movie is centered on a young boy Stanley Yelnats IV, who believes that all men in his family are cursed. The boy was sent to the correctional facility of Camp Green Lake in the middle of the dessert. The charge against him Continue reading...

Invincible

Invincible is a reflection of a true story of Vince Papale who is a 30-year-old part-time bartender and a substitute teacher who signed to play for the Philadelphia eagles when they were in a poor run of form in the 1976. Papale is a better player than most of his neighborhood players. Whenever Papale participates in the matches in a dirty lot that he and his friends consider their field, the team always win but the rest of Papale’s and his buddies lives is a dilapidated. Papale experiences a life characterized with hardships and relationship disappointments and at Continue reading...

In the play, Twelfth Night, by the stalwart playwright, William Shakespeare, the avid audience comes across the character of Viola who stands out from the rest with her actions, conviction and commitment. She never shows herself to be lovesick and is rather in true love and longs to be with the person whom she has lost her heart for. She faces the brunt of emotions as she falls in love with Orsino. Viola’s character with its depth strikes a chord with the audience.
Viola is a character who dwells in the dichotomy of identity and her journey in Continue reading...

The Personals

The movie was shot in 1998 by Chen Kou-Fu. The next year the movie was presented at the Cannes Festival. The story described in the movie, in my opinion, is rather banal. There is a woman who is rather busy and does not have time for her personal life. However, she is at that very age when everybody around her has a family. She decided to solve the problem with a partner by simply posting an ad in a newspaper. Soon she gets more than a hundred calls. The “potential” partners are rather strange: beginning with a restaurant manager Continue reading...

Baz Luhrman directed drama The Great Gatsby in 2013. Stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan took part in the film and played the main characters. The film was anticipated in 2013 and its screening became the great event. IN turn, High Fidelity is a comedy-drama movie starring John Cusack and it was screened 13 years before the Great Gatsby. Despite it received many positive reviews screening of that Nick Hornby’s novel was not as anticipated as the F. Scott Fitzgerald’s adaptation. These films are very different in style, in directing, in soundtracks. Yet they Continue reading...

The lone gunslinger cowboy is one of the most iconic figures in American history – roguish and tough, with a pistol on his thigh and a checkered past, many Western films of the 50s and 60s feature such a character and their struggles with the chaotic and dangerous world of the Old West. In the case of the 1953 film Shane and the 1956 John Ford film The Searchers, their protagonists couldn’t be more alike while also taking somewhat different paths. Alan Ladd’s Shane and John Wayne’s Ethan Edwards are both mysterious figures who ride into the Continue reading...

Context of the Scene

The scene is more of a situation in which Terry faces his conscience. Terry has mixed feelings about doing the right thing because of a past attachment to Johnny Friendly. Furthermore, he feels that telling Edie the truth might affect the social connection that they have established as he cares for her deeply.

Textual Details

Based on the script it is evident that the location of the conversation is somewhere private. The choices of words by Father Barry need to be observed carefully as they seem to send a specific message across. In certain statements, tone variation is required to provide Continue reading...

Sophie’s Choice (1982) - Best Actress, Meryl Streep
Sophie Zawistowski, played by Meryl Streep in the film, is a Polish Catholic who survives the German camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. She lives with Nathan Landau, played by Kevin Kline, a New York man who had saved her from anemia. The movie is set in the context of the summer of 1947 and is largely about the interactions between this couple and a southerner named Stingo.
The performance is largely commendable. This especially apparent on the scene when she is ordered to choose the child to keep between her son and Continue reading...

Introduction

The film “crash” is directed by Paul Haggis. He brings out the issue of divergence in characters and race. It illustrates the level by which characters crash. The movie implicates knit stories based on whites, blacks, Koreans, Iranians, the rich and the poor, cops and criminals. Many of the actors found in the film “crash” performed racist action. The actors’ personality, background and skill let to a completely believable impression.
The movie shows difference in racial characteristics in clear dimensions. The white characters portray possession of comfortable positions. The blacks, including the television director play a cold role. The Continue reading...

Ancient Rome has often been depicted in film through sprawling epics, mining historical accounts and Biblical scripture for sweeping stories of love, governments, religion and war. As the environment they depict is one of slaves, imperialism and hedonism, many of these stories fall into the traditional historical epic of a slave freeing themselves (and others) from tyranny. The 1960 film Spartacus is most certainly one of those films, a powerful and expansive work by Stanley Kubrick, depicting the slave Spartacus' rebellion against the Roman aristocracy who enslaved them. However, this same self-serious scope can often be mined for comedy, Continue reading...

In the 2005 film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, directed by Tim Burton, and starring Johnny Depp as the character of Willy Wonka, presents an interesting psychiatric profile. This movie is a film adaptation of the popular children’s book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Ronald Dahl.
The main character, Willy Wonka, shows signs of social anxiety disorder. The character has not left his factory in decades and is noticeably uncomfortable in the company of others. He appears very nervous and panicked at the thought of interacting with the outside world. This was emphasized in the film, by Continue reading...

Introduction:

Film noir can be seen from several aspects principally a portrayal of a certain aspect as well as a creation of a particular atmosphere. The Dark Night is perhaps no more film noire than other more descriptive films but it certainly has elements which are typical film noire. The argument that a woman has to be present to make a film noire has already been argued extensively before especially in the appraisal of ‘The Maltese Falcon’ which has been described as being a precursor of the genre but not the actual genre. The Dark Night contains several aspects which Continue reading...

Charlie Chaplin's 1936 silent comedy Modern Times has the classic tramp navigating an increasingly complex and frightening modern world of industrialization. There are many messages and things that a 21st century audience can take from this film; despite the fact that technology has increased much more than in the 1930s, the same themes resonate. Audiences in the 21st century can often feel like Chaplin's Little Tramp character, constantly trapped and threatened by these cogs and large buildings. In one particular scene, Chaplin is conveyed along a series of gears, his body swimming through the twists and turns of the Continue reading...

English 225 Introduction To Film

The film “The Elephant Man” is an iconic and powerful humanistic filmmaking endeavor. Released in 1980, the film relates the story of Joseph Carey Merrick, the real-life figure who was born with a horrible deformity and had to deal with issues of humanity and discrimination in 19th century London. Through the use of compelling performances, assured and minimalistic direction, and a stark, Victorian Gothic aesthetic, director David Lynch forces the horrors and sadness of deformity onto the audience in a way that leaves the viewer tear choked with sadness and sympathy. Most people who watch the film are touched Continue reading...

The main characters in this movie are Paul Walker, Eva Mendes, Cole Hauser, James Remar, Tyrese and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges. It was directed by John Singleton. He acted as a link between production, technical and creative teams. He was responsible for carrying the vision for the film and seeing it through. He made most of the crucial decisions such as choosing the cast, location and crew for the film. He also directed the acting and worked closely with the editors to produce the final product. The production designer was Keith Brian Burns. He was responsible for the overall look Continue reading...

Robert Zemeckis' 1994 dramatic epic Forrest Gump tells the tale of the eponymous character, a mentally challenged man who recounts his life experiencing some of the most interesting times in American history - the Vietnam war, the Red Scare, the hippie movement, Reagan-era America - blithely unaware of the importance of the events that he experienced. In this way, Forrest's lack of awareness or incuriousness is reflected in the attitudes of the film; in many ways, Forrest Gump feels like a pastiche of the 'greatest hits' in American history, without really exploring them in depth. In this way, Forrest Continue reading...

This paper intends to discus two movies, ‘Shutter Island’ and ‘Black Swan’. Both the movies are successful films and gained wide acclamations. Martin Scorsese has directed ‘Shutter Island’ while ‘Black Swan’ is a Darren Aronofsky directed movie. The paper further talks about similarities as well differences between these two movies and several related aspects of these movies.
Insanity is a common issue in both the movies and has been portrayed by the directors in their movies in different forms. Characters of both movies, Shutter Island as well as Black Swan, depicts the evolution of insanity in their behavior. The Continue reading...

Current scriptwriters and movie producers go through an intense production processes that determine the quality of their respective movies. The content in their movies explains the messages that they wish to pass. Citizen Kane tells a moving story of a past legend whose life had several complications. It also implies that the media can have negative impacts on the lives of people who focus on it excessively.
I agree that “Citizen Kane” is the best of movie of all time. The movie cannot be compared to other movies because of the awards it has won from its production. This Continue reading...

In the recent film Won't Back Down (2012), Jamie Fitzpatrick (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a single mother and bartender who gradually embarks on a social justice campaign to take over her local public school, which is failing miserably. Along with teacher Nona (Viola Davis), she must navigate the bureaucracy of the school system, represented by the teacher's union president (Holly Hunter) and the principal of the school (Bill Nunn), to find a better way to teach their children. The film grossed approximately $2.6 million in its opening weekend, and has an overall gross so far of approximately $4.5 million - Continue reading...

Marie DiBattista voices her concern about the character of women in contemporary movies. In her article that discusses and draws a sharp distinction between women in the films made in the 1940s and 1930s, Marie DiBattista shows a woman figure of them being charming, outgoing, determined, devoted and widely admirable. It is this type of woman that DiBattista wanted to become. She is concerned that the contemporary films portray a woman who lacks the ability to enunciate, full of blundering, lacks coherence and is insecure.
However, this is not the case. Selene (Kate Beckinsale), a woman character in the Continue reading...

The Film: The Proposal (Lieberman et al., 2009)

The Proposal is a 2009 romantic comedy directed by Anne Fletcher for the California-based film production and distribution house, Touchstone Pictures. The story revolves around a talented book publisher, named Margaret Tate (portrayed by Sandra Bullock), who heads the fictional publishing firm Ruick & Hunt. Margaret is depicted as an emotionally distant person from the start. Around five minutes into the movie, for instance, employees at Ruick & Hunt are seen running frantically around the offices as soon as one of them sends an internal message stating, “It is here.” This clearly shows just how much she is both feared and Continue reading...

The novel and the film Fight club are prominent artistic achievements both in their own field of art. When we bring these two pieces of art together we get an excellent psychological and visual critique of capitalistic society, material world and mediocrity. However, there are some differences between the film and the novel opening different perspectives. In this paper I will try to analyze both Palahniuk's and Fincher's beginnings and endings and compare their perspectives on the story.
The novel and the movie begin with an intense situation where Tyler Durden holds a gun in the mouth of the Continue reading...

Introduction

A great script full with twists and unpredictability influences the success of a film to a great extent. The 2003 award-winning film adaptation, a comedy drama written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze exemplifies creativity in filmmaking. It is wickedly playful in construction and records the torments of a screenwriter who is not adept at writing a movie about orchids. Ironically, the film manages to have the story effectively told in a captivating and exceptionally creative manner by incorporating two lines of stories into one. The film narrates the true story of Charlie Kaufman and his struggles Continue reading...

Analysis: “Out of the Past”

Out of the Past is one of the classics of the American film noir genre, staring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas in one of the classic twisted plots that is a hallmark of this milieu. Joe Stephanos is searching for Jeff Bailey, who has enamored local girl Ann Miller, but who has also attracted the suspicions of the law – and of Ann’s father. Stephanos finds Bailey and takes him to see Whit Sterling, who has been hunting for him, over a matter of $40,000. Bailey and one of his former loves had swindled Sterling out Continue reading...

Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway tells the tale of an aspiring playwright (John Cusack) who quickly discovers he has no talent, even as he schemes with the mob to finance his first play. Eventually, he soon falls into adultery and plagiarism, along with all the typical jabs at the moviemaking business typical of a Woody Allen picture on the subject. However, at the same time, it also discusses ideas of how to find one's calling in life, and how our passions may not necessarily be our strengths. In that sense, it touches on ideas of eudaimonia - the enlightenment Continue reading...

I watched a clip called “Is there a Bomb?” from the film Man on a Ledge. The director is Asger Leth. The production designer is Alec Hammond. The art director is David Swayze.

Directors turn the script into the action on screen (“Film Director”). Directors are responsible for “casting, script editing, shot composition, shot selection, and editing” (“Film Director”). Directors must have creative vision regarding bringing the story to life. Casting the right actors to bring characters to life is crucial. Actors must be believable in their role. Editing the script to make the story flow better helps audiences Continue reading...

The 2005 film, Constantine explores the ideas of heaven and hell and their impact on the day to day lives of the people on Earth. In terms of its success, the film was, financially, a big one and took a total of $230,884,728 at the box office. However, it was greeted by a mixed reaction from critics and audiences alike – this was largely due to the film being based on a popular comic book series entitled Hellblazer. The film tells the story of John Constantine, a man Continue reading...

The tragic story of Hamlet

Hamlet is one of the most popular yet defining plays written by Shakespeare. This masterpiece is a tragedy that makes the human mind contemplate about the problems life throws at us .Hamlet makes one question the nature of man and the good versus evil. (Willbern 8)The play focuses of how the characters deal with different dilemmas that they are faced with; it reveals the various character traits of the human nature. These traits bring out different emotions such love hatred, anger grief and despair.

Continue reading...

Both Hamlet and King Arthur represents strong and determined personalities of their era. These personalities are well defined as heroes as they led their people towards greatest achievements. King Arthur marked the victory in sixth century of Britain against Saxons and has been looked upon as best leaders in history. Arthur has been a visionary and the changes introduced by him during his rule set the theme for the novel. As a child also, Arthur was honest, determined, modest and good at heart. Arthur has displayed a fair sense of judgment in his decisions and is contrary to the Continue reading...

Introduction

Movie is a form of art just like literature, music and paintings but movie is much beyond that. Movie is a pictorial representation of a story one reads in a book. Movie is an expression of life in motion as one sees in paintings. Movie is a medley of colors and sound which provide a gateway to its audience from all the worries of life for a short while. Movie is a means of escape from the reality of life to find solace in something more cheerful. During Great Depression when people were bogged down with the distressing economic Continue reading...