Amongst the Halloween horror films coming out this month, the biographical drama “Only the Brave” details a real-life tragedy of losing everything to the wrath of Mother Nature. “Only the Brave” tells the story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of elite firefighters who lost their lives in the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, who previously directed sci-fi flicks such as “Tron Legacy”, the film illustrates the lives of the heroes amidst the fires and the personal trials they face along the way. Starring Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Taylor Kitsch, Jeff Bridges, and Jennifer Connelly, the cast gives realistic and gritty portrayals of the real-life Arizonians. The story of tragedy, courage, and fear is inspiring and relevant amongst the recent fires in California and parts of the Pacific Northwest. The film opens with the startling image of a forest in flames and quickly changes the scene to Eric "Supe" Marsh, played by Brolin, who is woken up by a phone call. After he is called in for another day of work, he prepares for his day by setting out his gear. One might associate firefighters with red trucks, loud sirens, and attire consisting of heavy coats and pants. However, Marsh sits in front of a different set of equipment: chainsaws, hand tools, ignition devices, and water delivery equipment. Before …show more content…
The film tackles characters’ experiences with drug abuse, addiction, the negligence and loneliness of their wives at home, and struggles to have connections with their children. When the group of men prepares to go out into the wildness, they almost seem like brothers in a fraternity: detailing mishaps of sexual hookups from the night before, playing practical jokes, and yelling profanities at each other. The film shines a light on their humanity and the beauty that comes from forming friendships while fighting the battles of
The main protagonist of the film, Scotty Smalls, is introduced as a straight-A, friendless young boy who has just moved into a new neighborhood in new state. While
In an interview with Sherman Alexie, Alexie states that, "The smoke that originates from the first fire in the movie is what causes these events, and the smoke from the second fire brings about the beginning of resolution." The first fire is the tragic house fire and the second fire is a fire that the healing figure of the movie starts in order to burn down the trailer Arnold Joseph lived in. The trailer's fire symbolizes letting go of all the pain Arnold Joseph caused in the world. It helps show that Victor is slowly letting go of the pain his father caused which in turn means the fire that burns within him is starting to smolder as
Travelling from Sydney, the three main characters played by Hugo Weaving, Guy Peirce and Terrance Stamp travel to Alice Springs for a cabaret show hosted by Mitzi’s wife. The audience is positioned to sympathise with the main characters during their hardships, and good times. The movie confronts different types of masculinity in an extreme environment
... the Dude, to Los Angeles for no particular reason, along the way symbolically transitioning from the freedom of the Wild West to the structure of modern times. The tumbleweed transforms into a bowling ball rolling down a lane, symbolizing the confinement posed by gender norms. The previously free tumbleweed is now locked into a tight, narrow, path; should it stray from its course, it will wind up in the gutter instead of merely blowing a different direction. As it follows the forced path, the bowling ball approaches a collection of phalluses, the bowling pins, and proceeds to demolish them. This scene visually depicts how confining oneself to the strict rules of culturally accepted masculinity is, paradoxically, the surest way to destroy ones own masculinity. Instead, let us take comfort and example in the Dude, who’s “out there takin’ her easy for all us sinners.”
The film chronicles the histories of three fathers, and manages to relates and link their events and situations. First is Mitchell Stephens and his relationship with his drug-addict daughter. Second is Sam, and the secret affair he is having with his young daughter Nicole. He is somewhat of a narcissistic character because of his preoccupation with himself and pleasing himself, and his lack of empathy throughout the film for the others in the town. Third is Billy, who loves his two children so much that he follows behind the school bus every day waving at them. Billy is also having an affair with a married woman who owns the town’s only motel. On the exterior the town is an average place with good people just living their lives. But, beneath all the small town simplicity is a web of lies and secrets, some which must be dealt with in the face of this tragedy.
An exceptional film revolving around Dalton Trumbo and many other Hollywood artists. In 1947, Dalton Trumbo and many Hollywood figures were blacklisted for their political beliefs. This film depicts the effects that the blacklist and those who enforced it had on the lives of the communist in America; particularly those in Hollywood. Trumbo gathers his fellow Hollywood writers and tries to prove to said enforcers that their beliefs are theirs alone and does not affect their ability to produce great films. This film does exactly what its set out to do; it brings you to the time when amazing writers were blacklisted for believing in something other than the norm, and fighting for their right to believe in whatever they choose.
The movie “Breaking Away” presents the story of a young man from working class origins who seeks to better himself by creating a persona through which he almost, but not quite, wins the girl. The rivalry between the townies and the college students sets the scene for the story of four friends who learn to accept themselves as they "break away" from childhood and from their underdog self-images.
The production focuses on a set of teenagers who are friends with Allison, who surreptitiously convinces her friends to share their secrets, thus developing her loyalty to them. Once Allison disappeared, she left a mystery of who was responsible for her disappearance, dragging her friends into her dark secrets. Her body is later found, and the girls, who drifted apart after Allison went missing, start to reconnect, but their troubles are only beginning. After the funeral, all four of the girls receive messages from a stoker who calls himself or herself 'A'. ‘A' exposes many of the girl's dark secrets that only Allison knew of, leading the girls to wonder if Allison might be alive after all. ‘A' causes trouble for the girls and intervenes in their life, threatening not only their lives, but also the lives of those around them. On the road to discovering who ‘A' is, the girls come across numerous clues that incriminate people that they trust and love. Many citizens of the town seem involved in the mystery of their friend's death, making the entire town seem like a place of danger and discomfort.
The film stays in line with classic noir in many ways. The usage of dark sets and high contrast lighting, which creates heavy shadows on the actors faces, makes the movie feel like it all happens at night and in dark alley ways. The story focuses on the inhumane parts of human nature. Each of the main characters experiences some kind of tragedy. For Vargas his tragedy was in dealing with Quinlin who has set out to frame him and his wife. For Quinlin his entire life represented a man consumed with darkness who lives his life with a “Touch of Evil.” Menzies was a hopeful man who looked up to Quinlin but was let down. For the viewer, film noir represents truth, even if it is not a truth that all people would like to hear.
... One of the women offers them drug but they reject it which they would accept the invitation before all of the incident. When the women says that the narrator and his two friends seem “ pretty bad characters”, the narrator just wants to cry. They finally get the acceptance into the world of being “bad guys” however, they want to run away from it. Boyle also tells the story in such transitional form, from night to day, from water to land to express the change of the three teenage characters which is from naive to mature.
The film is portrayed in the past and present scenario setting. It is based on a young couple’s love and passion for one another, but are unexpectedly separated due to the disapproval of the teen girl parents and the social differences in their life. At the start of the movie, it displays a nursing home style setting with an elderly man named Duke (James Garner), reading to an elderly woman named Mrs. Hamilton (Gena Rowlands), whose memory is inevitably deteriorating. The story he reads to her is a love story about two teenagers named Allie (Rachel McAdams) and Noah (Ryan Gosling), that met in the 1940’s at a carnival in Seabrook Island, South Carolina. The two teens are from different cultural lifestyles,
From well-respected Director Craig Ross, the film Blue Hill Avenue is a story about four tight knit friends living in the streets of rough a 1980’s Boston. The main characters of the film are Tristan, E Bone, Simon, and Money, these four characters grow up together hustling the streets. After finding a way to make money the four characters go from small time hustlers to big time dope dealers under the guidance of their supplier, Benny who is the main villain of the film. Through the adventure of the storyline, these four friends highlight the characteristics of what it is to embrace traditional masculinity and what it is to be a man.
“The story employs a dramatic point of view that emphasizes the fragility of human relationships. It shows understanding and agreemen...
It is evident the amount of work director David Fincher put into the creation of this masterpiece of a film, from the cast who seemed to almost be born for their roles to a brilliantly written screenplay and very fitting music. From the very beginning, the film is one which is easy to become completely enthralled in, exposing the numerous fallacies of modern day society. It is clear that the fundamental point of the film is to illustrate that consumerism is running rampant in our own society. Thus, this pernicious way of life has transformed masculinity into a brand and turned self-worth into a commodity which people believe can be strengthened through the acquisition of goods. Though much of this movie discusses the detriments of society, the film offers tangible ways to combat these incessant problems.
The movie takes a small look at a few individuals and takes a more personal but also satirical look at the old west. The film shows the truth of the old west, that it was a place where violent, uncomplicated men were the ones who built the culture and towns. The director just likes his main hero also took a morally grey approach to creating his movie. Where he emphasis how war and violence created some of the cultures of the American West. The movie really goes deep into the lifestyle of cowboys focusing on the greed and violence that can sometimes accompany such a lifestyle while also using the Civil War as a backdrop. Although panned by critics during its initial release today the films remain universally loved and is considered one of the greatest western movies of all time. I think this is because it takes a realistic and satirical approach to both cowboys and the western Civil War time period. Despite its shortcomings during its release and the limitation due to the technology of the time. The film over the years has managed to become a western classic that is surprisingly smart and witty, while also managing to keep its message