My passion, second only to writing, is film. I am a person that thrives on storytelling and, in these modern times, film is the ultimate form of a story. It allows you to take a 2D piece of paper and thrust into a three dimensional world for mass consumption. As of right now, my post highschool education will focus on this field. There are a number of things that contribute to a good film and I, in my opinion, have harsh standards.
- Cinematography: The way the camera moves and interacts with the scene along with the set detail, the angles etc... I am a sucker for a film with fantastic cinematography, even if it has none of the other facets. For instance, Ultraviolet is a horrible excuse for a film in my opinion, when the characters open their mouthes, it makes want to throw up, but the cinematography in that movie is fantastic, some of the coolest ever.
- Plot: Of course this a huge part of film for me, being an aspiring writer. For a movie to be on my top 10 list, it must be an exampole of plot. I like plot's that are in-depth and psychological, even if the film isn't psychological at all. Originality is key because what is a film without some facet of "newness". A great example of this is the movie Primer (on my top 10) which explores the depths of time travel in an incredibly gritty manner and twists the plot of the story so many times that I had to watch it 3 times in order to understand it. The positive aspect is that I still enjoyed watching it the third time.
- Music: Music adds to the persona of the movie, the overall feel of the movie. 90% of the tension you feel when watching a suspense film comes from the soundtrack that you don't even notice in the background and that is incredibly important. In my opinion, a film needs an ingenius and inventive soundtrack that breaks boundaries but still serves its purpose to the utmost extent. An excellent example of this can be found in The Chronicles of Narnie (the recent version) which has one of the best soundtracks of any movie that I have ever seen, combining the epic-ness needed with the mysterious undertones.
Sinjin's Top 10 (no order):
- What the Bleep Do We Know- This is a film exploring quantum physics. The only documentary on my list. It is fantasticalyl well made and has a message that EVERYONE should listen to. It is revolutionary in a sense because it combines a documentary with dramatic film in a very successful manner.
- Domino- Cinematography. This film has the second best cinematography I have ever seen. Expertly tells the story of Domino Harvey, a bounty hunter. The acting is top notch, headed by Kiera Knightley, and this big budget film is presented in a gritty, almost sick manner, adding to the effect.
- The Fountain- Love stories don't usually get my attention too much because of cliche's but this is a fantastic representation of one. It is part of a new genre of film, adult fantasy (meaning fantasy films aimed at a mature audience). The story spans 1500 years and tells of the ultimate love and the search for eternal live. The film is fantastically made, however, it didn't do so great in the box office which is a shame.
- Primer- Mentioned above. This independent film explores the ins and outs of what issues a time machine would inevitably create. For the budget, this film is amazing, and adds an entirely new view of science fiction to my vision. It is a fantastic film that everyone should see.
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind- If Domino has the second best cinematography, this film has the best. Jim Carrey's fantastic sashe into the dramatic side of acting is, without a doubt, a success. It tells of a guy that finds out that his ex girlfriend whom he was madly in love with has had her memory of him erased by a company. Out of anger, and heartbreak (they were madly in love), he seeks to do the same but realizes, during the process, that he doesn't want to go through with it. The movie is a touching story delving through his memory as he tries desperately to save them. Absolutely amazing film.
- Finding Neverland- Telling the story of J. M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan, this film explores the inspiration of Barrie through the eyes of Johnny Depp. Fantastic everything and one of the best and saddest love stories that I have ever seen
- Big Fish- A movie from my absolute favorite directoer ever, Tim Burton. This film chronicles the story of a man attempting to find something. The overally aura of this film is what attracts me to it. It does a fantastic job of thrusting you into this would where everything is a little off.
- Pi: Faith in Chaos- This movie is shown entirely in grayscale and tells the story of someone who has used pi to come upon a code in the Bible. This film is relatively short but tells a fantastic story and it is really ethereal in depiction.
- Brick- My favorite movie of all time, this film is a modern take of 1950's film noir. It tells the story of a boy looking for a girl who has disappeared and died. This movie is also some of the inspiration of my one-act Limit.
- Unbreakable- In my opinion, M. Night Shyamalan's absolute best. It presents the story of a superhero but in a most unconventional manner. His directing and cinematography are always amazing and this story stands out because of that along with an amazing story.
I haven't done too much application with actual film but I have written a number of short flims and am working on screenplays for full length stuff as well. Below are excerpts from two of my projects:
SILVER CORD:
A DEVIL WITHIN:
