Donnie Darko
Director: Richard Kelly Writer: Richard Kelly Produced by: Pandora Cinema (in association with) (as Pandora), Flower Films (II) (as A Flower Films Production). Release Date: 26 October 2001 Budget: $6 million Opening Weekend Box Office: $110,494 Domestic Lifetime Gross: $1,478,493 Synopsis: 'During the presidential election of 1988, a teenager named Donnie Darko sleepwalks out of his house one night and sees a giant, demonic-looking rabbit named Frank, who tells him the world will end in 28 days. When Donnie returns home, he finds that a jet engine has crashed into his bedroom. Is Donnie living in a parallel universe, is he suffering from mental illness - or will the world really end?' - Google. Relevance: I watched this movie as part of my research as the main character intrigued me as he was more strange than most other coming of age main characters. When I watched the movie, I was initially confused but after reading several theories and explanation I have come up with what I think happened as the Richard Kelly left it rather unclear. I really liked how peculiar the story was, I find characters like Donnie Darko very interesting and they make the story so much more intriguing. I also liked how it left the audience thinking about the possibilities of the plot they just watched. It is very unique but still follows a lot of the conventions of a coming of age movie. I like how it has a strong dark twist, I want to incorporate that perhaps, but maybe not to the level that Richard Kelly did. However, I would like to possibly have a more intense atmosphere like that of this movie. The cinematography in the opening scene is smooth and calming creating a peaceful atmosphere to open up the movie, we also get introduced to Donnie Darko, the main character, he seems strange and his location lying on the road gives the audience a reason to be intrigued with what is going to happen. Stand By Me
Director: Rob Reiner Writers: Stephen King (novel), Raynold Gideon (screenplay) Produced by: Columbia Pictures Corporation, Act III Release Date: 16 November 1986 Budget: $8,000,000 (estimated) Opening Weekend USA: $242,795 Gross USA: $52,287,414 Synopsis: 'After learning that a stranger has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four Oregon boys decide to go see the body. On the way, Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton), Vern Tessio (Jerry O'Connell), Chris Chambers (River Phoenix) and Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman) encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, as they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys' adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives'. - Google Relevance: This movie focuses on much younger kids to the regular coming of age movies, it brings more of an innocence and alternate viewpoint to the older teenagers. The opening scene is again slow and peaceful, the main characters are introduced and we get a sense of the small town they live in. The use of mise en scene of the kids playing cards and smoking cigarettes makes them seem like they are pretending to be adults. There is the use of narration to give context to the movie, as though they are letting us in to secrets about the characters, it makes the audience feel more involved personally and allows us to connect with the characters more. Looking back I wish I had drawn from this as an inspiration more as I think it was very effective. |
Perks of being a wallflower
Director: Stephen Chbosky Writer: Stephen Chbosky Produced By: Summit Entertainment, Mr. Mudd Release Date: 12 October 2012 Budget: $13,000,000 (estimated) Opening Weekend Box Office: $228,359 Gross USA: $17,738,570, 3 February 2013 Synopsis: Socially awkward teen Charlie (Logan Lerman) is a wallflower, always watching life from the sidelines, until two charismatic students become his mentors. Free-spirited Sam (Emma Watson) and her stepbrother Patrick (Ezra Miller) help Charlie discover the joys of friendship, first love, music and more, while a teacher sparks Charlie's dreams of becoming a writer. However, as his new friends prepare to leave for college, Charlie's inner sadness threatens to shatter his newfound confidence. Relevance: All these movies seem to have a calm opening, which I like as I feel like it gives a sense of a calm before the storm. I like the use of The Samples song, it sets the scene and time of the movie and the style of music is carried on throughout. We get all the production titles here, with an aesthetic typewrite font with the sound of the clicking typewrite which agains fits with the movie as a reoccurring prop is the typewrite the main character uses to write letters to someone we never find out about. The letters are used to keep us up to date on his life but not give to much away so the audience is kept still guessing. We hear the non-diegetic sound of the narration at the start of the action, the narration is him reading out his letter in his head. We meet a lot of the supporting characters and get to know the main character well, his traits and personality and most of all how he is an outsider. I most of all like the story of this one, therefore that would be what I would want to take from this the most. I also think Ezra Miller is a brilliant actor and someone that everyone in the audience immediately likes when he appears, just like how Charlie immediately likes him as well. My Girl
Director: Howard Zieff Writer: Laurice Elehwany Produced by: Columbia Pictures Corporation, Imagine Entertainment. Release Date: 27 November 1991 Budget: $17,000,000 (estimated) Opening Weekend Box Office: $12,391,783 Gross USA: $59,847,242 Synopsis: Tomboy Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) has good reason to be morbid: her mother died giving birth to her, and her father (Dan Aykroyd) operates a funeral service out of their home. The other kids think she's a freak, and it certainly doesn't help that her best friend, Thomas J. Sennett (Macaulay Culkin), is a boy. To make matters worse, Vada is desperately in love with her English teacher, Mr. Bixler (Griffin Dunne). What's an 11-year-old girl to do? Relevance: Also focused on younger children and it is clear again that there is a heightened innocence because of that. It is innocent and playful until the death of her best friend which is a real emotional twist. The young girl has to deal with lots of adult issues like death and being in love with her teacher, therefore it creates a warm hearted, sentimental piece which plays with the emotions. |