the departed

The Departed has to be one of my favorite films of all time. it jam packed with an all-star cast of actors including, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, martin Sheen, and Alec Baldwin, to just name a few. Every actor really gets into character and brings their A game.
The Departed is set in chaotic Boston, where the mob seems to rule the streets. Damon and DiCaprio, give a commanding performance of complex emotions. Nicholson is a cocaine and hooker loving Irish mob kingpin, who runs all the operations in the city. He is a very influential figure to Damon as a child growing up in the rough part of town. Damon later grows up to be a detective in the police force but is vicariously still tied to the mob. He acts as an informant for Nicholson and his explosive antics in the inner city. DiCaprio, rejected by the force decides to become a toady for Nicholson. Unknown to Nicholson he is working undercover for the FBI. The process of gaining trust within the mob really brings out DiCaprio’s acting capabilities. Damon still tied to his childhood roll model informs all the actions of the FBI, to keep Nicholson always one step ahead of the feds. All of these conflicting factors result in absolutely edge of your seat ride through this movie.
Twist and turns accompanied by complex story structure, make this one of the greatest movies of all time. The Departed will keep you thinking and constantly thinking because, you never know what could around the corner. I’m not going to ruin the movie but, the unexpected ending is entirely unexpected and leaves you with your jaw on the floor. I recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a great an inspiring film.

300!

300 is one of my all time favorite movies. I absolutely love history the story of the brave 300 that stood against 300,000 is right up my alley. This film is a gory pool of testosterone that seems to do just the trick. It’s a story of a young Spartan that grows up to become one of the greatest kings Greece has ever seen, but when faced against the Persians thinks aren’t looking so good for King Leonidas. To make matters even worse, the all knowing Oracle announces Sparta will fall. The King being the stubborn yet brave sole that he is assembles a team of soldiers. Only the finest will do for this job. At first they seem to tackle the impossible, defeating everything the Persians can throw at them. Eventually through sheer number they seem to break down the methodical madness of the Spartans fighting style.
The filming techniques and CG animation in this film are amazing. They only had around 16 Spartans that they somehow transformed into an army of 300. The actors would walk out of camera view and run back around into line to make it seem like line continued forever. Also, in one scene in particular, they used three different cameras to film one sequence. Leonidas is working his way through enemy warriors and the camera goes from slow motion to a speeded up filming to normal speed. The transitions between cameras are smooth and it gives the scene a great look. Over all the film was an intense and very satisfying. A must see.

shell/ferrari

AARON PETROSKI – 24 Sept 2009 9:00 AM
AARON PETROSKI, 24 September 2009 (created 24 September 2009)

This is a great commercial catching the attention of multiple senses. Of course sight, but also a great deal on sound. Not only do you see the models of the car change, you can actually hear the models change in the tone of the engine. And if you have a good surround sound you can feel the rumble of the engine. They also use great background imagery. First he is in Roma passing the coliseum, then into Times Square flying past taxis and skyscrapers, he zooms passed shops in China, and even Brazil. This use of scenery is used for more than just something pretty to look at. It shows us how Ferrari and Shell are globalized companies, flourishing in many different countries. Ferrari also tries to catch the eye of the viewer by always using that vibrant candy Ferrari red for each vehicle in the commercial.
An array of excellent camera angles are used as well. Obviously they use the standard stationary camera watching the car pass, but they venture way beyond that. One sequence that particularly caught my eye was where the camera went from over the front tire looking towards the rear, to on the engines hood looking forward. You can hear the car accelerating and the rpm’s rising when all of a sudden the camera goes to the floor board showing the driver push in the clutch and then to the shifter knob as the driver changes gears. This gives you a sense of feel, like you are actually driving the car. Near the end the car pulls into a Shell gasoline station and the narrator speaks for the first time in the commercial. The theme is shell produces racing grade and tested gasoline that is the same as the gas that comes out of the pump at your local gas station.