Saving Private Ryan Movie Review

1) Provide a description of the film. Discuss the plot and characters and how they influenced the film. Was the plot line or character development more important? Why?
2) Think critically about how the film was shot, directed, use of lighting, etc. What do you think was effective in the making of the film? What took away or could have been done differently to enhance the film?
3) What is you overall opinion of the film? Would you recommend it? Why/why not?


1. This film was about a group of soldiers in WWII who are sent to go retrieve Private Ryan because the mother of Ryan has already lost her other sons in the war and she wants at least one son. The plot was more important to the film because the development of the plot was what the entire film was emphasized around.
2. The film was shot in several scenes that were destroyed or falling apart and it gave the movie an overall since of despair. Most of the movie is dark except for one scene where they go to bury a lost soldier and the sun is setting in the background. The film didn't necessarily have as many visually unattractive scenes, but it added to the sadness of the film.
3. The movie was very well made and it clearly created the feeling of sadness. The way the movie ended with one of the main characters dying also contributed to a mixed emotion at the end of both joy for private Ryan and sadness for Captain John H. Miller. I recommend this film if you are looking for a movie that gives a realistic take on World War II or just a good war movie in general.

Silent Film Questions

1) Describe one of Chaplin's films.
2) What do you notice about the style or directing of the film?
3) How do you think these traits relate to the silent film era?
4) What similar characteristics are you seeing in the silent films we have seen so far (Lumiere Brothers, Melies, Chaplin, Keaton)?


1. In the film called "Making a Living", it shows "The Tramp" trying to get money in numerous ways such as begging and getting into the newspaper. He continues to run into this man who he does not get along with and is constantly fighting with him.
2. The film has some funny elements in it and the character is a very likable person. The camera is always still because they had to crank it in order for it to actually record and film. There is also light-hearted music for the sound.
3. I think that these traits give a film the feeling of a silent film and should be used in my silent film.
4. They all have music in the background and they are all in black and white. They are all sped up and are made to seem that the people are moving fast and choppy.

Meiles Film Questions

1) What did you notice/learn about Melies' style?
2) Were there consistent elements in his films? What were they?
3) Did you enjoy his films? Which ones? Why?
4) What will you take away with you from watching these films?

1. Melies uses many magical concepts and uses many start and stop scenes.

2. He consistently used magic to make the films very impressive for the time.

3. The films were interesting, and for the time it was amazing that he was able to these effects with the limited technology he had at his disposal.

4. These films gave me the idea of using more magic effects or other kinds of tricks in my movie-making.

Boredom Video

1. My film shows some activities that a person might do when he/she is bored.
2. Boredom
3. I did a decent job of representing the mood because the events are easily relatable.
4. I did not do anything special for the sound but the quietness and dullness of the sound helps portray the feeling of boredom.
5. I could have spent less time on walking around.
6. I think that some of the scenes have some comical elements.

Iron Man Movie Review

        Over the weekend, I saw Iron Man for another time and decided that it was an interesting film to write a review on. This movie is about a man named Tony Stark who is the CEO of a weapons manufacturing company that dominates in the advancement of weaponization. Tony is captured by a group of terrorists and is forced to create a "Jericho missile" which is one of the most recent and potent creations of Stark Industry. He secretly builds a suit of armor that he uses to break out of the terrorist encampment and make it back to his house. He then begins to develop the iron man suit and enhance its original design. News of the suit reaches one of his associates Obadiah Stane who wishes to take over the company. It turns out that Obadiah was the person who hired the terrorists to capture and kill Tony Stark and goes on to create a copy  of his original suit and battles Tony in his Iron Man suit at the very end. Tony comes away victorious and announces to the media that he is Iron Man.
        The plot line provides a very unique sequence of events but is only slightly more important than the character development. The character of Tony Stark and the life he leads are very interesting and provide almost as much importance as the story line. The story being about high-tech weapons and electronics added to make it a memorable film. The variety of far shots and close shots caused the film to feel more real and made the viewer feel immersed in the movie. The one scene where Pepper Potts and some others go to arrest Obadiah presents the feeling of being scared by providing a dark atmosphere that allows Obadiah to scare the audience by appearing out of the darkness. Overall, I feel that the film was incredibly well created and there is nothing to large that took away from the experience.

"Tokyo/Glow" Review

1. This short film showing the streets of tokyo and takes the sped up world and combines it with a glowing man who is slowed down into regular speed. There is no real plot line but it just shows the rushing lights combined with this man walking around Tokyo.
2. Since there was no real plot line, the character of the glowing man was more significant because of how different he was compared to the others surrounding him as he made his way through the city.
3. The two speeds of the movie, the normal-paced man and the sped up city, gave the short film an interesting way of viewing a film.

"Mr. Stache" Review

1. This short film was about a man who decided to grow a mustache and the result of him growing it. The film is narrated by a woman's voice. The movie ends with the man meeting a woman who grew her own mustache and ended up having a child.
2. The plot was more memorable in this short film because the characters didn't actually talk in their own voices and the plot was very laughable and not serious.
3. I took away that when a movie is narrated by one person it is actually pretty enjoyable and more clear.