Wanted 

Written by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas while directed by Timur Bekmambetov, Wanted was released in 2008. The production companies involved with Wanted was Top Cow Productions, Relativity Media, Spyglass Entertainment and Universal Studios.

Key cast for this film includes actors of the likes of Morgan Freeman and James McAvoy, with Angeline Jolie being our main actress. Wanted is an action thriller based on the comic 'The Gunsmith'. This film has a key theme of deception but is also a coming of age film that involves friendship.

Wanted had a massive budget of $75,000,000 and received £3,814,055 during its opening weekend in the UK alone.

It went on to win 2 major awards; an Empire award for best superhero, played by James McAvoy, and a CinEuphoria award for best actress which was Angeline Jolie.

It's about a young man who finds out his long lost father is an assassin. When his father is murdered, the son is recruited into his father's old organization and trained by a man named Sloan to follow in his dad's footsteps. He is trained to assassinate the man that killed his father, but there is a twist.

The trailer for this film is below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9Mr-iYZRZk

 

Goal

Goal was released in 2005 and was written by Mike Jefferies, while Danny Cannon was the director. Touchstone Pictures were the production company, and the key star in this film was Kuno Becker he played our protagonist Santiago Munez. Being a sporting drama, Goal received an estimated $10,000,000 as its budget and accumulated £857,253 during its opening weekend in the UK.
   Goal only went onto win one award and that was due to Kuno Becker getting an Imagen award for best actor.

Many themes are included in this film such as; coming of age, love, fulfilling dreams and friendship.

Goal is simply about a young man (Santiago Munez) who is a talented footballer and has been spotted during one of his matches in America. His family own a gardening business and his Dad hopes that Santiago will takeover from him, but that isn't Santiago's dream. So after being spotted for being a special player, he trials for Newcastle United and overcomes various hurdles to play for the first time.

The trailer for the film is below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--qOSiMyD84

'71

'71 was released in 2014, and was written by Gregory Burke, directed by Yann Demange. While Robin Gutch and Angus Lamont were the producers. Yann Demange won the British Independent Film Award for Best Director by directing this film. A budget of £8.1 million allowed the producers and directors to provide everything the film needed.

Based on the violence in Belfast that took part during 1971, hence the title ' '71' , we witness the events that one soldier (played by Jack O'Connell) goes through as he's accidentally abandoned by his unit as he chases a boy who had stolen a rifle.

This film fits perfectly with the theme 'living with crime,' as this is during the troublesome events of the Catholic Nationalists versus the Protestant Loyalists. Where everything and anything is happening from riots to explosions, the law is non existence at this point. Based on real events this social realism film has multi-protagonists as there is no real knowing of who are the 'good guys' in the Irish war, each protagonist have their own goals and objectives.

Mise en scene is a big factor in this film, everything you see has to relate to Belfast in 1971, and it is related very well. Although it was filmed in Northern England, it was manipulated so well to look like Belfast. The costumes was a big factor as it would've been very weird if someone was to wearing modern fashion compared to 1971 it would look totally out of place. Also costume allows the audience to determine who is part of the Protestant Loyalists and who's the Catholic Nationalists.

The sound is purely non diegetic, completely relying on dialogue and war zone sounds. Although there is very little dialogue this makes the performance of actors even more important to portray their emotions without dialogue.

The camera work during this film is very important. The use of hand held is very frequent and provides the realism of the events of the film. We see this especially when Hook is being chased through the alleyways and he has bullets being shot either side of him, this provides the intensity that the scene needs. Also using a variety of shots through out the film gave the film diversity.

Compared to my other case studies like Fish Tank (2009) and The Selfish Giant (2013), which are also social realism films, this film looks at a different aspect of 'living with crime'. This is because in the other films the main characters are dependant on their parents or others. Where as in '71 they are dependent on themselves, even the children. We see this with Sean, who has taken it into his own initiative to become part of the violence. Again with Sean, he is a perfect metaphor that shows that some people don't know what they are fighting over, therefor they don't know why they are living in this crime unlike my other case studies. Sean shows this not once but twice when he hesitates to kill Hook even when Quinn is pressuring him to do it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-BaKfl1Ms4

Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction is an action comedy released in 1994 with an A-list cast, such as John Travolta, Samuel L Jackson, Bruce Willis and Uma Thurman. It was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced  by Lawrence Bender and companies such as Miramax, A Band APart and Jersey Films produce it, this film had a budget of $8,000,000. During its opening weekend alone it made half that back by earning $4,243,233.

Pulp Fiction brought in a number of awards, and when I say a number there is a long list;

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay,
Palme d'Or,
MTV Movie Award for Best Movie,
Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture,
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role,
MTV Movie Award for Best Dance Sequence,
David di Donatello for Best Foreign Film,
National Board of Review Award for Best Film,
BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay,
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film,
Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature,
Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead,
Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay,
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay,
Independent Spirit Award for Best Director,
Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay,
David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor,
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director,
National Board of Review Award for Best Director,
London Film Critics' Circle Award for Actor of the Year,
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor,
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director,
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Director,
NME Award for Best Film,
Bronze Horse,
London Film Critics Circle Award for Screenwriter of the Year,
Society of Texas Film Critics Award for Best Actor,
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Film

In the most basic way possible Pulp Fiction is about how two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangsters wife and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in multiple tales of violence and redemption.

The trailer for this film is below;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7EdQ4FqbhY

The Selfish Giant

The Selfish Giant was released 25th October 2013 which had a budget of £1.4 million, it did make a profit but unfortunately I am able to specify that number. The production companies were the British Film Institute, Film 4 and Moonspun Films.

The writers were Clio Barnard and Oscar Wilde, Clio Barnard went on to direct this film as well, while Tracy O'Riordan was the producer of this film. Clio Barnard based the two main characters, Arbor and Swifty, on two young lads she met who were working as scrappers while she was filming The Arbor which was released 3 years before The Selfish Giant.

This film went on to win the British Independent Film Award for Best Technical Achievement.

This film is about two young lads , Arbor (played by Conor Chapman) and Swifty (played by Shaun Thomas), these two young lads are troublesome in school and decide that a way to earn money is by being scrappers for a man called Kitten (played Sean Gilder). How these two go about their work causes friction between the two and eventually causes a dramatic end.

Truly is a great drama film, down below is the link to The Selfish Giant ;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPLRZrMflG4

Fish Tank

Fish Tank was a British film released 11th September 2009, it was written and directed by Andrea Arnold. This film was produced by Kees Kassander and Fish Tank had the backing of BBC Films and UK Film Council as its production companies. It received a budget of £103,180 and had a Gross of $373, 060 in the US alone by May 2010. It won the Cannes Jury prize, Bafta award for best British film, British independent film for best director and most promising newcomer.

Fish Tank comes under the Drama genre and by the nature of the film it is completely understandable. Fish Tank has a variety of themes, one being violence, another being sex, a third is coming of age and others such as deception and dedication.

It is simply about a troubled, aggressive young girl called Mia whom is our protagonist(played by Katie Jarvis) who is living in the suburbs of Essex, she had been kicked out of school and was spending her days aimlessly as she awaited an admission response from a referrals unit, but her life was to change when her Mum, Joanne (played by Kierston wareing whom is well known for her soap career in Eastenders) brings home a new boyfriend called Conor (played by Michael Fassbender who's been in the likes of the prequels to Xmen, and Inglorious Basterds) Mia becomes attached to Conor as they develop a bond as he encourages her to pursue dance which is her one true interest. As their bond becomes stronger it exceeds the expectations of a mothers boyfriend and her daughter but something more emotional and sexual. This leads to some drastic, reckless and quite frankly ridiculous decision making played by both characters, which leads us to find that Conor has been hiding something all this time while everyone was oblivious to whom he really is.

Here below is a link to the trailer of Fish Tank:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg1yMOdjyp0

Coach carter analysis for BTEC

‘Coach Carter’

Introduction:
I will be analysing the film 'Coach Carter'. Was filmed in Richmond, CA, USA.
‘Coach Carter,’ which was released in 2005 (it just happens to be one of my all time favourite films as well). It received the Black Reel Award for best director and Black Movie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Directing. This film was directed by Thomas Carter (Thomas Carter is the son of the Coach Carter that this film is based on) and had two writers, who were Mark Schwahn and John Gatins. The people to produce this film was Brian Robbins, Michael Tollin and David Gale, while the producing companies were co-produced by MTV Films and Paramount Pictures. The most renown actor to be in this film was Samuel L Jackson, but also had the likes of Channing Tatum, Rick Gonzalez, Antwon Tanner and Rob Brown. This film had a budget of $30,000,000 which it nearly made back in its first day of airing at $29,168,180 in USA alone. The movie certificate was a 12A as it did involve occasional violence but overall was able to view to a wide audience.

Plot Synopsis:

In 1999, Ken Carter, a successful sporting goods store owner, accepts the job of basketball coach for his old high school in a poor area of Richmond, CA, where he was a champion athlete. As much dismayed by the poor attitudes of his players as well as their dismal play performance, Carter sets about to change both. He immediately imposes a strict regime typified in written contracts that include stipulations for respectful behavior, a dress code and good grades as requisites to being allowed to participate. The initial resistance from the boys is soon dispelled as the team under Carter's tutelage becomes a undefeated competitor in the games. However, when the overconfident team's behavior begins to stray and Carter learns that too many players are doing poorly in class, he takes immediate action. To the outrage of the team, the school and the community, Carter cancels all team activities and locks the court until the team shows acceptable academic improvement. In the ensuing debate, ...


General Analysis:
Coach Carter is a sporting drama focusing on the lives of underprivileged kids from Richmond High School, especially in the basketball team, who are destined or expected to do nothing with their lives. The film does diversify to romance showing young love and the use of gang violence which is very common in the Richmond area.


narrative Analysis:
Coach Carter has a linear structure as it follows a chronological order of events through out the film. It does not have the use of voice over trying to tell the story as the characters discreetly do it for us by the way they talk , this is a good technique that filmmakers have used.


This film is based in Richmond portraying coming of age as a young group of lads were able to beat people's opinion, which was they're no good and were not going to succeed, they became a well respected basketball team but through basketball Coach Carter was able to teach them life lessons and also through basketball to get their grades up so they would have a chance to go to college and get decent jobs.


At the end of the film it unfortunately doesn't have it's Hollywood ending as they didn't win their big game of the season but during the end credits it show's where the characters in real life went and what they did, like some went to college and became successful at what they studied.


There were multiple messages within this film, one is that a team is bigger than an individual and this applies to a character called Timo Cruz more than the others. Another message was that basketball or other sports can allow you to go onto better things if you try hard, and that it can lead to greener pastures like college or university.

Scene Analysis:

The scene From ‘Coach Carter,’ that I’ll be writing about, I personally call it the ‘I did that,’ scene because of rememberable it is when Coach Carter says ‘I did that, all by myself’. It is during the team’s training session after being on their unbeaten streak, they start to become show offs and have arrogant behaviour which Coach Carter disagrees with and decides to make an example of them. He does this by saying ‘I did that, all by myself,’ when taking a shot or by doing his shoe lace.

       

The two micro features that I feel compliment the scene the most is mise en scene and cinematography. I have this opinion because in this scene editing is limited only to a low frequency of cuts as the shot duration is long and the sound is only diegetic due to the dialogue from Coach Carter and his players but also from the sound of the basketball bouncing and squeaking of the players trainers on the basketball court.

My first micro feature is cinematography. Cinematography provides the camera work and what lighting is used. This scene starts with a tracking shot showing the boys training and undergoing a basketball drill but once Coach Carter starts talking, that all changes. They use a high angle to shower the power and authority he has over his players involved in this scene, and the importance of what he is trying to teach them, it is also in constant deep focus highlighting the significance of this scene and the seriousness of the lesson that is being taught. The view is usually a front view so it’s like the viewer can experience Coach Carter speaking to you and have an idea of what the atmosphere is like but they can also feel like they are there and listening to Coach Carter. When the camera is at a back view this is to show how each player has given Coach Carter their full attention and taking on board everything he is telling them.  So other than a tracking shot being used at the start of the scene. During Coach Carter showing off his shoe lace there is a long shot to show his whole body which then allows viewers to see him point and see the focal point which at that point is his shoe lace. Once he has finished imitating and humiliating them he begins his speech. Which is when he tells them why they need to act like ‘men’. When the camera is focused on him at this point a medium shot is being used. By having the camera slightly zoomed in on Coach Carter, you’re able to see his facial expression which gives the viewer a feel of Coach Carter’s feelings about what he is talking about, and feel like Coach Carter is speaking to them, so then the viewer will feel a part of this film allowing them to experience the atmosphere. Also a shot reverse shot is being used all throughout Coach Carter’s speech which is adequate to present his players body language and response to everything he says but again the lesson behind what Coach Carter is trying to teach them. The final camera shot to be used in this scene is a Pan Shot, this camera shot pans across the basketball players which again will be presenting their body language and how they respond to Coach Carter’s speech.

So my second micro feature is mise en scene. Which provides many different aspects to this scene such as, performance, location, props, body language, finally costumes and make-up. This scene is located in the school’s gymnasium as this takes place during one of their training sessions. There are very little props used, just basketballs and if it counts then the basketball court with the basketball hoops. As the players are undergoing a training so their costumes would be their clothes that are suitable to play basketball, but Coach Carter is once again seen smartly dressed in one of his suits. It’s hard to say whether any make-up is used because this scene is during a High School basketball training session, the only thing that can maybe be established as make-up in this scene is fake sweat that the players are wearing. There is a few different things to write about during this scene when it comes to body language, Coach Carter is seen at first as smiling, laughing and relaxed during the stage that humiliates his players. But after he’s tense and very firm due to his anger and disappointment with how the players have acted. Once more Coach Carter’s players start with different body language to how they finish, they all start by either joking around and joining in with Coach Carter during his humiliation of some players whereas the rest ,whom are being humiliated, are showing embarrassment. But to end they all have complete focus, every single player is listening to Coach Carter and acknowledging what he has to say but not just acknowledging it they put it into action after he has finished his speech. This shows that in the film Coach Carter has claimed the respect of all of his players and how they respect everything he says to them. The performance of Samuel L Jackson is significant in this scene, as I have said before Coach Carter was trying to make an example of them and teach them a lesson by imitating how they show off. By humiliating them they were able to feel what it was like for them to humiliate others, embarrassment. Coach Carter wanted them to show ‘class,’ and to ‘act like champs,’ rather than being show offs who humiliated others. Coach Carter’s performance in this scene is very short and concise, he gets straight to the point about what is needed from them and what is not needed.

Conclusion: