~Favourite Five Movies~

Alice in Wonderland directed by Tim Burton is certainly one of my favourite movies. It utilized something known as the Alice in Wonderland Syndrome which is a neurological distortion of image perception. The movie itself uses digital effects and design to portray this as is seen in the scene above where Alice walks through to talking roses that, in comparison to her, are much larger. I find this to be one of the coolest things of the movie because it makes the viewer feel almost as if they are in the scene with Alice. Being apart of the movie and connecting with the adventures of the characters has always been a must-have for me to enjoy a movie and this certainly makes that possible.

I'm a sucker for movies that show people dying, it sounds terrible, but I really love it when a movie kills off characters in unusual ways. So, it goes without saying that the Final Destination movies directed by various different people would have to be on here. Even though some of the deaths may be ridiculous or not exactly plausible, they still cause me to cringe and I find that those are the best parts. The small amount of supernatural undertone in the films is great. My favourite scene out of all these movies is how they show the X-Ray of the people dying by collision with the truck. Not only are the effects awesome but, the sound affects are absolutely disgusting. It's so cool. 

Okay, so I love adventure movies too. Pirates of the Carribean (honestly all of them) are films that I can watch anytime. I enjoy the aspect of pirate lore and all the special affects with the ships. The makeup and costume designs that are always achingly well done never seem like too much or too gaudy for such a movie, and overall, I just love Johnny Depp. Even outside the spectrum of all the effects and specialties, the plot and lore, I'd say what draws me to these films is Jack Sparrow. He's a manipulative, conceited, and narcissistic guy that just gives these movies a distinct air to them. I mean, he's even got a jar of dirt. Who doesn't want a jar of dirt?

Now I think every movie list should have some freaky, psychological thriller on it and my favourite is Hannibal directed by Ridley Scott. I really liked how Lecter doesn't stay simply in the United States for the film. My favourite scene that really sold the movie for me is the one when they are in Italy and he hangs the man in such a way that all the passerby's think it is in memory for the people who had been hanged there in the past. The way Lecter insinuates and manipulates his victim's minds was interesting to watch-Not to mention his odd relationship with Agent Clarice Starling. Its a movie that makes you question what makes killers the way they are and also gives a sense of how the concept of dichotomy is very much questionable.

Now, to conclude my favourites list, I've chosen Mean Girls directed by Mark Waters. The way its easy to connect with each character (at least once throughout the movie) is amusing and creates a familiar feel to the film that just sucks you into Cady's life. Its really funny and not in such a way where its simply ridiculous and...Well, who hasn't compared someone at school to an African animal prowling about before? I can think of several people now off the top of my head.

What Makes a Good Film

The aspects that make a good film include: Character development, entertaining plot twists, and several different settings to keep audience attention. The movie Karate Kid details on character development by displaying Dre Parker's reactions to his being bullied once moving to China. However, he soon becomes adamant on learning how to properly defend himself so he can be admirable and face up to his bullies. A creative plot twist was found in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when Harry's name is drawn from the goblet signifying that he is to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. Finally, World War Z utilized several different settings such as Israel, the vessels off of New York, and Nova Scotia. By applying these characteristics within films, I feel that it will keep audiences entertained for an entire viewing.