Forrest Gump Legitimate Review

Once again, Roger Ebert and me have very similar thoughts on movies. Below is his review of Forrest Gump and much of it matches up with my thoughts of the movie. He mentions the special effects that I thought were very realistic and cool, as well as the true magic of the story. Ebert also does an excellent job of summarizing the whole of the movie, a task that I cannot do without spoiling the whole thing.

Forrest Gump

BY ROGER EBERT / July 6, 1994

I've never met anyone like Forrest Gump in a movie before, and for that matter I've never seen a movie quite like "Forrest Gump." Any attempt to describe him will risk making the movie seem more conventional than it is, but let me try. It's a comedy, I guess. Or maybe a drama. Or a dream.

 The screenplay by Eric Roth has the complexity of modern fiction, not the formulas of modern movies. Its hero, played by Tom Hanks, is a thoroughly decent man with an IQ of 75, who manages between the 1950s and the 1980s to become involved in every major event in American history. And he survives them all with only honesty and niceness as his shields.

And yet this is not a heartwarming story about a mentally retarded man. That cubbyhole is much too small and limiting for Forrest Gump. The movie is more of a meditation on our times, as seen through the eyes of a man who lacks cynicism and takes things for exactly what they are. Watch him carefully and you will understand why some people are criticized for being "too clever by half." Forrest is clever by just exactly enough.

Tom Hanks may be the only actor who could have played the role.

I can't think of anyone else as Gump, after seeing how Hanks makes him into a person so dignified, so straight-ahead. The performance is a breathtaking balancing act between comedy and sadness, in a story rich in big laughs and quiet truths.

Forrest is born to an Alabama boardinghouse owner (Sally Field) who tries to correct his posture by making him wear braces, but who never criticizes his mind. When Forrest is called "stupid," his mother tells him, "Stupid is as stupid does," and Forrest turns out to be incapable of doing anything less than profound. Also, when the braces finally fall from his legs, it turns out he can run like the wind.

That's how he gets a college football scholarship, in a life story that eventually becomes a running gag about his good luck. Gump the football hero becomes Gump the Medal of Honor winner in Vietnam, and then Gump the Ping-Pong champion, Gump the shrimp boat captain, Gump the millionaire stockholder (he gets shares in a new "fruit company" named Apple Computer), and Gump the man who runs across America and then retraces his steps.

It could be argued that with his IQ of 75 Forrest does not quite understand everything that happens to him. Not so. He understands everything he needs to know, and the rest, the movie suggests, is just surplus. He even understands everything that's important about love, although Jenny, the girl he falls in love with in grade school and never falls out of love with, tells him, "Forrest, you don't know what love is." She is a stripper by that time.

The movie is ingenious in taking Forrest on his tour of recent American history. The director, Robert Zemeckis, is experienced with the magic that special effects can do (his credits include the "Back to the Future" movies and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"), and here he uses computerized visual legerdemain to place Gump in historic situations with actual people.

Forrest stands next to the schoolhouse door with George Wallace, he teaches Elvis how to swivel his hips, he visits the White House three times, he's on the Dick Cavett show with John Lennon, and in a sequence that will have you rubbing your eyes with its realism, he addresses a Vietnam-era peace rally on the Mall in Washington. Special effects are also used in creating the character of Forrest's Vietnam friend Lt. Dan (Gary Sinise), a Ron Kovic type who quite convincingly loses his legs.

Using carefully selected TV clips and dubbed voices, Zemeckis is able to create some hilarious moments, as when LBJ examines the wound in what Forrest describes as "my butt-ox." And the biggest laugh in the movie comes after Nixon inquires where Forrest is staying in Washington, and then recommends the Watergate. (That's not the laugh, just the setup.) As Forrest's life becomes a guided tour of straight-arrow America, Jenny (played by Robin Wright) goes on a parallel tour of the counterculture. She goes to California, of course, and drops out, tunes in, and turns on. She's into psychedelics and flower power, antiwar rallies and love-ins, drugs and needles. Eventually it becomes clear that between them Forrest and Jenny have covered all of the landmarks of our recent cultural history, and the accommodation they arrive at in the end is like a dream of reconciliation for our society. What a magical movie.

Here's the link to the review above:

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19940706/REVIEWS/407060301/1023

Life of Pi Legitimate Review

As a part of this project I am going to include an actual movie review for each movie that I watch and critique. Below I included the Life of Pi review written by Roger Ebert. His review gives an excellent summary of the movie without ruining any of it as well as further illustrating my praise of the film's beauty. Our opinions are very similar, once again giving me hope that I am doing pretty well with this whole movie reviewing thing. Feel free to compare our reviews and enjoy!

LIFE OF PI
By: Roger Ebert

Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" is a miraculous achievement of storytelling and a landmark of visual mastery. Inspired by a worldwide best-seller that many readers must have assumed was unfilmable, it is a triumph over its difficulties. It is also a moving spiritual achievement, a movie whose title could have been shortened to "life."

The story involves the 227 days that its teenage hero spends drifting across the Pacific in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. They find themselves in the same boat after an amusing and colorful prologue, which in itself could have been enlarged into an exciting family film. Then it expands into a parable of survival, acceptance and adaptation. I imagine even Yann Martel, the novel's French-Canadian author, must be delighted to see how the usual kind of Hollywood manhandling has been sidestepped by Lee's poetic idealism.



The story begins in a small family zoo in Pondichery, India, where the boy christened Piscine is raised. Piscine translates from French to English as "swimming pool," but in an India where many more speak English than French, his playmates of course nickname him "pee." Determined to put an end to this, he adopts the name "Pi," demonstrating an uncanny ability to write down that mathematical constant that begins with 3.14 and never ends. If Pi is a limitless number, that is the perfect name for a boy who seems to accept no limitations.



The zoo goes broke, and Pi's father puts his family and a few valuable animals on a ship bound for Canada. In a bruising series of falls, a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and the tiger tumble into the boat with the boy, and are swept away by high seas. His family is never seen again, and the last we see of the ship is its lights disappearing into the deep — a haunting shot that reminds me of the sinking train in Bill Forsyth's "Housekeeping" (1987).



This is a hazardous situation for the boy (Suraj Sharma), because the film steadfastly refuses to sentimentalize the tiger (fancifully named "Richard Parker"). A crucial early scene at the zoo shows that wild animals are indeed wild and indeed animals, and it serves as a caution for children in the audience, who must not make the mistake of thinking this is a Disney tiger.



The heart of the film focuses on the sea journey, during which the human demonstrates that he can think with great ingenuity and the tiger shows that it can learn. I won't spoil for you how those things happen. The possibilities are surprising.



What astonishes me is how much I love the use of 3-D in "Life of Pi." I've never seen the medium better employed, not even in "Avatar," and although I continue to have doubts about it in general, Lee never uses it for surprises or sensations, but only to deepen the film's sense of places and events.



Let me try to describe one point of view. The camera is placed in the sea, looking up at the lifeboat and beyond it. The surface of the sea is like the enchanted membrane upon which it floats. There is nothing in particular to define it; it is just … there. This is not a shot of a boat floating in the ocean. It is a shot of ocean, boat and sky as one glorious place.



Still trying not to spoil: Pi and the tiger Richard Parker share the same possible places in and near the boat. Although this point is not specifically made, Pi's ability to expand the use of space in the boat and nearby helps reinforce the tiger's respect for him. The tiger is accustomed to believing it can rule all space near him, and the human requires the animal to rethink that assumption. 



Most of the footage of the tiger is of course CGI, although I learn that four real tigers are seen in some shots. The young actor Suraj Sharma contributes a remarkable performance, shot largely in sequence as his skin color deepens, his weight falls and deepness and wisdom grow in his eyes.



The writer W.G. Sebold once wrote, "Men and animals regard each other across a gulf of mutual incomprehension." This is the case here, but during the course of 227 days, they come to a form of recognition. The tiger, in particular, becomes aware that he sees the boy not merely as victim or prey, or even as master, but as another being.



The movie quietly combines various religious traditions to enfold its story in the wonder of life. How remarkable that these two mammals, and the fish beneath them and birds above them, are all here. And when they come to a floating island populated by countless meerkats, what an incredible sequence Lee creates there.



The island raises another question: Is it real? Is this whole story real? I refuse to ask that question. "Life of Pi" is all real, second by second and minute by minute, and what it finally amounts to is left for every viewer to decide. I have decided it is one of the best films of the year.

Here is the link to the above review found on Roger Ebert's site: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121120/REVIEWS/121129995

Life of Pi **SPOILER ALERT**

I watched Life of Pi last night because I thought it would be a good choice for my next review since it won an Oscar for Best Cinematography. WOW. That's all I have to say about the movie. The story was intriguing and magical while the visuals were just breathtaking. I have never before seen a movie so beautiful in every possible way. For this review, I thought the aspects I should put the most focus on are the colors and the lighting. By doing this I won't ruin the story for anyone, because it truly was one of the best movies I have ever seen.

From the very first scene, I knew this was going to be a stunning movie. The colors of everything in the  scene were so vibrant and bright and crisp. It looked like a painting of paradise. From then on, I tried to pay extra close attention to the colors in each scene as well as the lighting and how that enhanced each story. During several scenes throughout the movie, the colors seemed to dull a bit and this change added to the mood that was to be associated with what was going on. For example, when Pi is on the boat on his way to North America, leaving his home for good, the colors of the room and his clothes are very dull and melancholy to further illustrate his sadness and longing for home. Multiple times throughout the movie Pi experiences a storm while at sea and suddenly it seems as though all the lights were shut off on the movie set. Obviously this is done to make the storm seem as realistic as possible, but it also creates a very gloomy and miserable mood. Each night while Pi is in his lifeboat, the stars and moon reflect beautifully in the vast ocean and serve as the only source of light for that scene. They are so bright and warm that they give the audience hope that Pi will eventually be saved. On the first morning after the ship Pi was on with his family sunk, and after he got into a lifeboat by himself, the sun rises and the scene might have been the most stunning and hope-filled in the entire movie. The sun, clouds, and water are all in warm shades of gold and combined they really light up the entire scene. The sun reflects off of everything in the boat, including Pi, and create such a warm feeling. It would take me hours to give every example of how gorgeous each scene was or how the colors were the sharpest I have ever seen, so instead I am going to try to include as many pictures as I can in the rest of this post so you can all appreciate the pure beauty that was in the film.

I want to focus this post mainly on the color and beauty of the film, but it is also important to mention the camera angles used. There were shots taken from under water, from the sky, from the water level, and everything in between. The angles were very original to me as I rarely see such daring shots in movies. Since most of the movie was about a boy being shipwrecked, many of the angles in the movie were taken below or at sea level. Obviously I have seen movies that use these techniques but not to the extreme where it looks like a character is swimming across the sky, as it did in Life of Pi. Another interesting angle that was used very often was that of an aerial shot of Pi's life boat, surrounded by endless miles of open ocean. This angle really illustrated to the audience the solidarity of Pi, and how big the ocean is compared to a young teenager. The last shot that really struck me as being significant was when Pi is looking up into the sky during one of the storms he endures while on the lifeboat, and basically says to God that he is ready to die and that he completely surrenders. The camera is below Pi's  head, facing up and you can see the pain in Pi's eyes as he looks hopelessly into the heavens.

Pi is on an island and at night the whole island glows in a turquoise shade. 

 

On his lifeboat, Pi can see the glowing jellyfish and sea creatures swimming at night.

The sunrise on the first morning after Pi's ship sank was truly the most beautiful I have ever seen.

The tiger that accompanies Pi on his journey is very near death and his bright orange fur begins to fade.

Pi dreams about his mother while at sea and her face is made up of stars reflecting in the ocean.

Aerial shots are used quite frequently to show the sea life swimming just underneath Pi's lifeboat.

The storms Pi endures transform the entire scene into a blend of blues, grays, and blacks.

The tiger that accompanies Pi is a bright orange color that is contrasted by the deep blue of the ocean.

Forrest Gump *SPOILER ALERT*

I've decided to switch up the style of my movie reviews, for the time being at least. I honestly thought my review of Braveheart was a bit on the boring side and that's not exactly what I'm aiming for with these reviews. For this review on Forrest Gump, I'm thinking of just talking about the most important aspects of the movie as a whole, rather than individual scenes. The main subjects I will focus on are symbolism, color techniques and special effects. Overall, the movie was AMAZING. Tom Hanks is a phenomenal actor and the plot of the movie is extremely relatable and moved me to tears.

The two most significant symbols in the movie, as far as I could see, where a pair of shoes and a feather. As the opening credits appear on the screen, the camera is shown following a white feather as it drifts down from the sky and lands next to Forrest's shoe. He then bends down to pick up the feather and saves it in a Curious George book. This same feather is shown in the end scene of the movie when Forrest is watching his son, Forrest Jr., get on the bus for his first day of school. The feather is resting against Forrest's shoe once again and then shown blowing away on the breeze. The significance of this feather is kind of what the whole movie is about, fate and destiny. The feather could have landed anywhere, but it landed on Forrest's shoe randomly, just as your destiny is handed to you randomly. Another significant symbol in the movie are Forrest's shoes. Similar to the feather, Forrest's shoes represent his destiny and his believe that he can achieve greatness. Everyone can fulfill their dreams as long as they believe in them. For Forrest, his shoes gave him confidence that he would be lead in the right direction his entire life.

The entire movie stretches the length of Forrest's adult life and therefore goes through many different styles of clothes and significant time periods in history. The costume designer and set designer of the movie manage to capture the fashion style and whole essence of each decade the movie progresses through. The color palette used in each scene as Forrest grows up perfectly illustrates that decade and the types of clothing that were worn at that time. In addition, the color of the clothing worn always seems to correlate with the current weather, coincidence or not, it added to the mood of the movie.

Special effects are used most noticeably used when Forrest is shown in old, famous television footage whether he was shaking JFK's hand for receiving the medal of honor or seeing Nixon in the Watergate Hotel before his scandal was exposed. The makers of the movie found a way to manipulate Forrest's face into the footage and this effect added to the authenticity of the movie. Another special effect used was while Forrest was in the Vietnam War and body parts were shown blown off of soldiers' body's, as well as Forrest's general shown laying in a hospital bed with no legs. The effects were handled very skillfully and appeared as a realistic war scene. 

Visions of Light

This past weekend I watched the documentary Visions of Light about cinematography. To be honest it was a bit on the boring side compared to the kinds of movies I enjoy watching, but it was very informational to say the least. The majority of the movie consisted of different directors and cinematographers talking about their experiences making films as well as clips from different movies. The first part of the movie talked about cinematographers and their true role in movies. I did not know very much about what a cinematographer adds to a film and learned very much.

A cinematographer must first understand the plot of the movie and where the director is going before he starts filming. Once the film is understood, he must then find a way to create visual images to tell the story. A cinematographer does not mirror exactly what the director envisions when he creates the movie, but must come to the film with a different view and add energy to every scene. The goal of a good cinematographer is to portray the entire movie just through images, so if someone were to turn off the soundtrack, a viewer could still enjoy and understand the movie just based on what is shown. By creating a story through images, a cinematography must be daring to experiment with techniques to express a desired emotion or concept. They cannot be scared by trying something new, but see it as an opportunity to succeed. Many of the widely used techniques in movies today are based off of those created decades ago that have proven as successful. Cinematographers, like other professionals, learn from others and they often copy ideas to a certain extent. Several of the techniques used in movies were a mistake by one cinematographer and then turned out to create a positive effect on the film. The goal of a cinematographer is to incorporate new techniques and those used before to create a picture that viewers will remember not just for the plot, but for the emotion they felt when they physically saw the story come alive before them.

As a cinematographer, one must decipher what emotion the director is trying to create and use a variety of effects to help portray that emotion. Effects such as sharp contrast are used to create mood in the image and often times the most important aspect of a scene is the lights you don't turn on. A cinematographer's best friend is light. They have the ability to shift the focus of a scene or illustrate an important detail just by adjusting a few lights. Contrast was especially used in movies of the Film Noir era that were shot in shades of black and created mood in the film. A particular example is that of Marlon Brando's eyes, or the lack thereof, in The Godfather. The audience never really sees his eyes, but rather two shadowed holes and this decision by the cinematographer adds of mystery to his character. The last aspect of a film that is most important when regarding a cinematographer's role is the camera angle at which the scene is shot. Intimate shots when the camera is in a room with the actor creates a certain effect that a bird's eye view does not. The invention of helicopter and crane shots as well as panoramic shots added a whole new aspect to the film industry as the viewer could finally relate more to the scene in a movie.

Dissappointing...

Well, clearly I have not been able to watch movies and post about my thoughts towards them as often as I previously planned on. I know there's nothing to be gained from me complaining about things, but sometimes I feel as though that's the only way I can express my feelings toward school. Anyway, I really haven't had time to sit down and watch a movie without distractions in several weeks. I've had ten tests the past week and the amount of homework I have received is overwhelming to say the least. My point being that since next week is spring break, I plan on watching two movies at least and posting my thoughts. I also have two other posts to finish regarding a documentary on cinematography, and on Forrest Gump! So sorry for the delay but I just wanted to post and let you know where I'm at right now and where I plan to go from here. 

Update

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been reading The Silver Linings Playbook (it's a good book), which has been difficult because I've reading a ton of books for my individual blog, not to mention the loads of homework that's been  given to me. I'm almost done, and then I'll watch the movie, and then I shall post what I think of it. Bye!