My Top 5 Films

(in order of longest title to shortest)

Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is an amazing film by Steven Spielberg and what captures me the most in this movie is its amazing cinematography. From the start, Spielberg pulls you into the midst of a raging battlefield, on the beach of Normandy, France. Although i'm not a big fan of gore, the gory scenes are bearable for me because I became so attached to each of the characters that their death scenes seemed more so emotional rather than violent.















Spirited Away
Miyazaki is the god of directing animated films. Spirited Away has a story line with an interesting characteristics. It's practically a coming of age film with fantastical creatures and spirits, guiding a young girl on learning to become responsible and make mature decisions. What was more surprising was the social commentary around this film. After some research I discovered this film was actually based off of the controversy among children in prostitution in Japan.













Ip Man
Ip Man is an amazing Chinese kung-fu film centered around one of the world's renowned kung-fu teachers. I'm a sucker for underdog-esque kind of films. In this film, Ip Man was a wealthy kung-fu teacher who was moved to poverty after the Japanese invaded their hometown. He was summoned to fight against a Japanese commander who was a big fan of fighting styles. After Ip Man's friend was beaten to death by this commander, Ip Man is enfuriated and rises up to defeat the commander, in honor of his friends and hometown. The fighting choreography and cinematography grasped the sheer beauty of Ip Man's style of Wing Chun, and kept you rooting for him through the whole film.











Chaos
I saw this film with my dad on an airplane a few weeks ago, so I may be a bit biased when I placed this here, but it has every aspect of my "What makes a Great Film" post. The story revolves around a rookie detective partnering up with an ex-cop to track down an accomplished bank robber. The film's full of twists and so much action that every scene feels like the climactic point in the film. The sound design was great, every chase scene full of upbeat, intense music. The sound effects made every scene memorable. The tragic bullet that pierced Wesley Snipes echoed through the scene longer than it normally would. This prolonged sound marked the end of a villain's path of destruction. And the lighting, damn it was amazing. There was an entire scene shot in night, in a cabin in the middle of the woods. We had Statham and Snipes walking in and out of shadows, maintaining an eerie mood throughout the scene, keeping me on my toes. Overall, the movie was great and i'm still getting over such a twist ending.

Old Boy
Old Boy is full of twists and shifts that made me sit and wonder about the film for a good 10 minutes after the end. After building a sympathetic connection with a man who sat in a room alone for most of his life, and suddenly released into the world, I found myself turning on him in the end as we see him paying for his actions that he didn't even knew he committed. The antagonist and protagonist is potentially switched by the end of the movie and I didn't know what to think of after. The narrative was so well thought out, I was struck in awe by the end of it. I could watch that movie 3 times over and would notice a new detail or aspect every time.

What makes a great film?

Lord Flores' List of Great Movie Qualities

1. Narrative

Well I know i'm a sucker for those kind of movies with the plot line that just makes you go "woaaaaah" the minute something so intricate clicks in your brain. I mean the 5-act structure makes for a good movie, but a great one can manipulate that structure in a way, revealing things at the right moment to make your brain explode in the best way possible. Even a simple twist at the very end that makes you rethink the entire movie is what gets me going. I know I've seen this like 5 times already and we went over this in class, but The Piano Tuner is a perfect example of a well-thought narrative, as the beginning creates a multitude of questions that get answered in the end.

2. Sound Design

Now sound design can refer to both sound effects and soundtrack, and if a film nails both of them, then it's definitely a great film in my book. With creating a soundtrack, the sound designer has to establish a certain mood for the scene being shown. And with sound effects, they would have to be convincing or realistic, and have an impact each time it's heard, like an echoing gunshot, or a knockout blow. I find myself to be bit of an audiophile, and if i'm in the theater and my heart's pounding due to some good sound design, I'd be a big fan. Great example: Django Unchained. I was at the edge of my seat, waiting for each gunshot, all while some classic renegade western music is playing in the background, it really immersed me into the film and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

3. Lighting

I wouldn't say that lighting necessarily makes or breaks a film, but when it's incorporated correctly and well-executed, it adds just enough to make me really notice the beauty of a shot. However incorrect lighting such as overexposure and unintentional silhouetting pretty much kills it for me. The educated film student in me is forced to comment on each shot that is just butchered by horrible lighting. Not to self-advertise here, but my last short film "Truth Be Told" had one of its primary focuses on lighting and shadows to establish a mysterious, serious tone. True, it does have its "unglorious" moments when it comes to lighting, but then again we had practically one light to work with, so I would say we did pretty well given our restrictions.