"James Bond back in action!" Goldfinger was in theaters during the year 1964 and was the third of the Bond saga. This advertisement says much about what the movie had to offer. Let's analyze according to advertisement's main ideas. An advertisement can be broken down when discussed, providing for seven specific ideas. First, the banner has a direct objective - go see this movie! There is no doubt this was the goal of the author of this banner. The audience targeted consisted both of Bond fans from the previous films, and of film lovers. During the sixties, action film had not yet based itself as a genre, however the James Bond films began to do so. This ad has been formatted to fit any still visual form of advertisement: banner, poster, newspaper, magazine, etc. The focus of the spectator goes directly to Mr. Bond and his mistress, however follows by the appalling "lifeless golden woman" that these characters are projected in. This concept implies that there is more than meets the eye in this episode of the Bond saga, and leaves the spectator with just a glimpse of what is to come. To the right of the golden woman, the headline, the catch phrase, and the information that the advertising designer want the spectator to know about before seeing the movie. The catch phrase is the header for this section, implying that the designer wanted this to be remembered by spectators and provide excitement and anticipation for the film. Followed by the catch phrase is the credit of the producers/writers, posted in smaller print, thus attracting less attention than the surrounding writing. Below the two credits is the name of the star of the film - Sean Connery. The name of the actor, if he or she is well-known and respected, can raise gross income of a feature film because the audience anticipates a better movie with that actor/actress. Connery, in this case, is the original James Bond, and is considered by many the best actor for the protagonist that is Bond. Under Connery's introduction as "James Bond 007" is Ian Fleming's name - the creator of the James Bond character. Centered within the text in white and different font is the movie title "Goldfinger," clearly projecting that this is the title of the film. This is the most important part of the advertisement because it holds the text that needs to be remembered by viewers - the viewer needs to know the title of the film he must see. Proceeding the title shows a few more names to be remembered and to accredit the main cast. Also provided are a few more credits, including companies, that provided a main piece to the building of the film. The advertising design depicted in this banner wants to project as many reasons as possible for the spectator to go see the film: the mystique, the curiosity, the cast, and more. The Bond series has been known to revolutionize the genre of action, and it seems it has even done so through advertisement.
In this 2010
television commercial advertising the new and sleek car, the Audi R8 V10
Spyder, the Iron Man 2 film is used to grab its viewer’s attention. The
advertising car company based its product off of the high percentage of
interest towards superhero films from viewers everywhere, which can get them
more purchases overall. Most commercials are targeted to persuade the viewer to
want something whether or not they considered it before and when the
advertisers want to really sell a product, they use something or someone
relatable and well known to most of their viewers. The tagline of this
commercial is, “It’s awe-inspiring, it has unbridled power, and it can also get
the girl.” The marketers used this to show that the car is like Iron man in the
way his suit is sleek, powerful and how he always manages to get the girl. This
marketing idea is trying to make the car seem new and improved by using Iron
Man as a comparison because they want people to buy this “amazing” vehicle and
they realize that most superheroes always own cool products which makes the
viewers want to have the same items. This advertisement does a good job
incorporated and reconciling naughty in the way of using the film, Iron Man, as
a marketing method because ideally, this commercial does not prove that this
car is even a good product in the first place. Are you willing to base the
consistency of a product off of the use of a good film in an advertisement?
Here is a still from one of my favorite classic actions movies, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade was the third installment of the Indiana Jones chronicles. In this picture we have Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) being wedge between a tank and mountain side wall. In an effort to get aboard this tank he jump on to it from a high ledge. He safely made the jump but was confronted by the general who gave him a good punches to knock him out the tank. He barely caught on to the side of it and is trying to get back on it. Analyzing this picture shows the tight spot he was in. All the light source seemed to be pointed at Indy to show his facial reaction and his body language. This part of the whole scene was a major turning point. Indy is stuck between to hard objects and was slowly being squeeze, so it would look like he was about to die. By luck though, his father who was inside the tank shot the driver and manage to save Indy. Indy then got back up to fight and defeat the general while saving his father and friend.
This is a picture of Bruce Willis in the original 1988 classic
action film, Die Hard, directed by
John McTiernan. In this photo, Bruce Willis is slouched in a very intimidating
position with his right arm slung in the window of a red car with a scolded
look on his tattered face and a loaded gun underneath his skull tattooed left
arm. The layout of this photo demonstrates how Bruce Willis plays a pivotal role
within this film; his gun holder and tags around his neck show that he isn’t
just any regular guy that just happens to own a gun but someone of the police
force who was trained to carry and handle a weapon. His face serves as the lightest
part of the picture along with parts of his arm and lower neck, meanwhile the
darkest fragments of this picture if the background somewhat expresses an intriguing
mystery of the situation the character is in at the moment; it is very hard to
tell what part of the movie this picture resides. His tattoo exhibits a smiling
skull with a top hat and a bow tie, which makes it seem that the character
finds the subject of death as a laughable matter but in the way that makes him
seem that he is not afraid of dying as long as he puts up a fight. His worn out
clothing with burn and dirt marks and his scratched up face and arms merely
illustrates what type of situations he is placed in and how he must be trying
to defeat or had defeated the villain of this film by the structure of this photo.
The overall photo confirms that the character is confident of his disposition and
his lethal intentions will therefore lead him to his success.
Darth Vader is one of the most feared enemies of action film to date. In this screenshot from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, he is the main figure. Dressed in a black suit, slightly in shadow due to the backlight, he is no less than intimidating. His surroundings only support this idea, with bodies all over the floor, a storm trooper who's body language projects fear, and an empty feeling that is projected out of the walls. The light in the background, however is the most significant. It seems as if Darth Vader is blocking the full capacity of the light, and is blocking anyone from reaching that positive projection of fluorescent shine. Ironically, it seems as if all hope lay behind Darth Vader, and there is no way through.
I commented lately on a couple of blog posts - one from Guns, Girls, Action! written by one of my peers - http://gunsgirlaction.blogspot.com/2012/10/avengers-assemble.html?showComment=1352528054875#c7684158629712106378 And another post from a blog called The Film Thugs - http://thefilmthugs.com/2012/01/12/jim-reviews-the-devils-double/ The first post introduces a picture from The Avengers, a hero action film that stars some of the most iconic super heroes of the comic book world. I liked "Smasher's" commentary on the topic because he analyzed the space surrounding the super heroes and how that reflects on emotion - specifically hope. Though ironic, the heroes stand in way of danger in order to protect the innocent, even when hope is hanging on by just a thread. The second post is a review of The Devil's Double, a film based on a true story. the post argues that the climax "falls apart" just because the audience knows what will happen. I argued that it is not necessarily what happens that makes the plot ideal, but also how the protagonist gets there.
Under are two links I commented too. The first one is a comment on my fellow blogger, Jasmine. She analyzed a picture taken from the movie "X-men First Class". She analyzed a picture where Magneto was trying to lift up a submarine out of the waters. Behind Magneto is his friend Professor X who watches him do this incredible feat. This was a defying moment in the movie and I would not have recognize it if it were not for Jasmine who saw the significance of this moment. The other link is a youtube video and below you will see my comment. This video was a great review of the movie "Skyfall". The analyst showed a great knowledge of James Bond movie. He gave me a good understanding on what to expect from the movie but without spoilers. I recommend that you take a look at these links and leave a comment to let them know what you think.
Our Blog: This is my comment on Asher's blogpost that he posted on October 16th 2012 called the Dark Knight recipe. I commented on how much I was interested in this post because of how he took two different movies from separate ideas and related them very well to create his version of Batman. I talked about the great connections he made within his blog post and noted his creativity in which I personally found intriguing because most blogposts aren't as creative and well thought through. I also mentioned the idea of what makes the ideal "hero" in a action movie where there is a vast amount of crime and violence in each scene and how a character can prevail in the end. I, personally, think he did a great job in this post. Link: http://gunsgirlaction.blogspot.com/2012/10/dark-knight-recipe.html?showComment=1352192670695#c3727013440764988354 Other Blog: This is my comment on a movie review website I found fairly interesting. I wrote about how I felt about the blog and how it gave good reviews without exposing too much and still keeping the reader interested. I picked the review of the film The Dark Knight Rises because it was the last action film I had seen in the movie theatre and that the author of the review article practically took the words out of my mouth in how I felt about the film itself. Link: http://www.filmjabber.com/movie-reviews/batman-3.html
From his early work as a stuntman with Bruce Lee to his own starring movies, Jackie Chan has played an important role to the globalization and popularity of action movies. After Bruce Lee died at an early age Jackie Chan would be next in line to bring the culture of martial arts to America. His strong resemblance to Bruce and at times his knack of comedic relief brought a different taste for the audience. Some of his early works are Drunken Master and New Fist of Fury but we all best know him from the dynamic duo of Carter and Lee in Rush Hour. Combining action and comedy has always been the cornerstone of his work and what has grabs the attention of many viewers. This blend of genre has helped the popularity of action movies over the years. With action packed scenes and comedic relief by being clumsy or a little bit uncoordinated, Jackie Chan gave the audience the right balance of both genres. Lately he has stopped doing action and has got in to more dramatic movies but his imprint in the action world is forever seen. A martial artist, stunt director, stunt performer and action choreographer, there is nothing in Jackie Chans' resume that would have kept him from being one of the best action movie stars out there.
The soldier on the hill represents more than we can initially anticipate. The picture on the left is the cover photo for Saving Private Ryan, a war film set to take place during World War 2. To the right - me. It seemed as if, though unintentionally, I recreated a symbol of heroism. There is much to be said about this pose - the conquering of the hill, the horizon providing an emotional setting, and the gear used by the soldier that places the picture in an ironic state. This recreation of Saving Private Ryan's cover photo was not intentional, though I did find it surprising that I was not the only one posing on the hill. As the reader, I want you to look deeply into the background of each picture, and tell yourself what you feel. From there, add the soldier and all his gear. Your feelings and mood will change after analyzing these pictures, for they show the bravery of a soldier defending his ground - and conquering it.
"The Losers" directed by Sylvain White is about a black ops team that was set up to kill a drug lord. Everything was going to plan when children was involved and a mysterious voice was jamming their radar. They went in to save the children and deliver them to the chopper. The mysterious voice in their radar then executed and order to shoot down the chopper, killing 25 innocent children. Knowing they were the ones suppose to be killed, they faked their deaths and went into hiding in Bolivia, carefully planning their way back to the states.
Pros of this movie
Some action scene were good. The shooting and fight scene were well executed and very realistic.
Cons of this movie
I believe that this movie had all the right piece and the right idea to base it off. Although it was not well put together. The story of this movie was not bad, I get it! It is how they told the story that bothers me. Most of it has to do with the script. There are part in the movie were the lines did not flow and was not erecting the right emotion. The story felt choppy the way lines were said. The conversation between Max (the villain) and Wade (the henchman) were just awkward.
There are parts of this movie that was bad. In the beginning scene they had 25 kids in a half size school bus. No seat belts and everyone was on top of each other. They even hit a bump that made them glide 5 feet of the ground. Through out all that no one got hurt? Also two people were shot in this movie. One was shot in the shoulder. A day later he was able to climb and scale walls. The other was shot in both legs and was able to support his weight standing up! I have never been shot but I know he wouldn't be able to stand.
The 2010 film Inception, written and directed by Christopher Nolan is an
exceptional movie to say the least. This thrilling movie is about a thief who
gets a last chance at redemption by receiving a job of mastering the art of
inception--- being able to go deeper into dreams. In order to see his family
again he has to complete this difficult task for a powerful man named Saito and
for his own freedom. But to his surprise, he has something holding him back in
his dreams--- his dead wife. In the last
five minutes of the film Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Cobb, awakes from the
dream on a plane along with his team of specialists who just conquered their
mission of receiving information through the use of inception on Robert Fischer.
Not only did he get his freedom back but also, he was able to see his family
again. While his children run up to him with glee and climb into his arms, his totem
keeps spinning, which is used to decipher reality from a dream. But what if the
ending wasn’t quite as it seemed…
Cobb awakes
on the plane, with his totem clutched in his left hand and crumbs on his suit
pants from the peanuts he snacked on before the plane departed. He looks around
the plane to realize his team of specialists is slowly awaking from their sleep
of a perfect heist. Arthur, his right hand man in the mission, smiles sharply,
gives him a nod of endorsement and takes another sip of his Gin and tonic that
was a bit watery because he asked for ice hours before. He saves another quick
glance for Cobb when they both find themselves gazing out the slightly dirty
window on the left side of a plane as they hover over Los Angeles. Saito looks
over at Cobb after instructing the airline attendant to fetch him a hot towel,
he looks her up and down as if weary of her actions. He blinks a few times,
checks his pockets to make sure all of his important items were still in their
original places and adjusts his stripped tie around his neck. Cobb eyes Saito’s
phone in his pocket initializing the fact that they held a deal: if Cobb
completed the mission, Saito would grant him his freedom back through a promised
phone call. Saito never touches his phone.
The plane safely lands on the
speedway and everyone in first class stands up rubbing the sleep out of their
eyes, seizes their personal items and promptly walks off as if they did not
know each other from the very beginning. The mission was completed and it was
time for everyone to go about their lives; there is no more association. Cobb
reaches the airport, picks up his luggage and looks around the crowded airport
to see that his specialists were disappearing amongst the frequent flyers and
vacationers. Cobb gets a hold of Saito who was standing by a group of men in matching
gray suits frequently tapping on their phones and shaking hands. Saito turns
around, looks at Cobb’s hand on his shoulder and brushes him away. Cobb asks
sternly about the deal they made earlier, rephrasing how he was supposed to be
a free man once he touched American soil. Saito, embarrassed at this
interruption, excuses himself from the other men with hesitance and apology.
Saito looks at his watch eyeing the time that creeps up on five o’clock. He had
made dinner plans, in advance, with some old colleagues of his tonight at eight
and his car was arriving soon to pick him up and drive him to Malibu. He
quietly says, “How do you know me?”
Cobb looks around the airport, furrowing his eyebrows and
recollecting his thoughts at once. “Did you forget everything Saito? We made a
deal, I helped you and now it’s your turn to help me!”
“How do you know my name?” he looks around the airport with
distress. He eyes the men who seem to keep a close eye on him and nod with
disapproval. He lowers his head, fixes his suit and straightens his posture. “I
don’t know you.”
Cobb laughs with agitation. “Are you senile? We made a
deal!”
“I suggest you turn around and walk away from me! I know a
lot of powerful people who could have you gone in a blink of an eye. This deal you
speak of doesn’t exist, I do not know you!” Saito checks his watch once again
as Cobb taps his foot and tried to conceive everything that happened in the
past ten hours. Why did everything seem so wrong all of the sudden? Cobb’s
heart started to beat faster and faster as panic took over him, attacking his
arms first and then his legs. He fell back into a seat and rubbed his temples. “What
about Robert Fisher and Arthur? What about me?”
Saito then picks up his phone and
dials a number. He looks at Cobb as he puts the phone up to his hear and
listens impatiently at each ring. All he says into the phone was the words
“yes” and “thank you” and within two minutes, the airport police walk up to
Cobb and ask him quietly, to not make a scene, to accompany them in the back.
Cobb looks at Saito and then at the men in grey suits before standing up and
following the officers. Once they walk into the back room, they cuff his arms
behind his back and sat him down next to another man.
Cobb tried to feel for his pockets hoping to find his totem
somewhere hidden beneath his wallet but the cuffs were too tight. Cobb catches
an officer who walks by and informs him that he was innocent and had kids at
home that he was going to see, a son and a daughter.
The police officer laughed and patted his pocket. “Cobb, you
say this every time! We find you here almost every month saying the same old
things about children, totems, bad deals and some guy named Robert Fisher. I’m
surprised that they ever let you out of that Looney bin!”
“What?” Cobb grimaced as if he had a bad taste in his mouth.
“I’m telling the truth. Ask my friend Arthur, he’ll tell you everything. ”
“No you’re a schizophrenic Cobb. You were at the psychiatric
ward for five years after suffering a mental break down when your wife killed
herself. And you keep coming to the airport and bothering strangers and this
time we have consent to file a restraining order against you.”
Cobb looks around the room in shock. He takes a few short
breaths, winces at the white wall and closes his eyes. This must be a dream, he
thought and he wanted to wake up now. He then opens his eyes and waits a few
seconds for everything to come back to him. After his pupils adjusted
themselves to the intense lighting, he realized the man sitting next to him was
indeed Robert Fischer. He opens his mouth to tell the officer that the guys was
sitting next to him but before he could let the words dance upon his tongue,
the man he knew as Robert Fisher transformed into his wife Mal. He utters her
name but she only replies back with a smile. In the softest whisper she informs
him that everything would be fine. Suddenly, she disappears leaving Cobb
completely distraught.
