Die Hard or Go Home

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. 

Links: 

http://actionflickchick.com/superaction/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/die-hard-bruce-willis.jpg

Author: Jasmine Brown

Date: 13 November 2012

A New Antagonist

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.

Feedback of Wisdom

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.

Comments on a Blog

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.

http://gunsgirlaction.blogspot.com/2012/10/no-its-all-about-x-men-first-class.html?showComment=1352392387116#c6533898336307498604

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpYQQOZGgkw

Blog Wars

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

Author: Jasmine Brown

Date: 6 November 2012

Jackie Chan

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

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.