Tag: Action
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The Mask. Dir. Charles Russell. New Line Cinema. 1994.
This scene in the film The Mask shows the protagonist Stanley in prison after being caught by police when in his Mask character. This short clip from the film allows us to truly see first-hand the love that Milo has for his owner, as well as the intelligence that he has. The pet- relationship that…
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Rango. Dir. Gore Verbinski. Paramount Pictures. 2011.
“Rango’s” animated Western storyline is narrated by an owl mariachi band with thick Spanish accents who tell the story of a nameless pet chameleon. The anthropomorphic chameleon sees himself as an exceptionally gifted actor in his terrarium with a wind-up goldfish and a damaged Barbie doll as his characters in his plays. After an accident,…
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Crocodile Dundee. Dir. Peter Faiman. Paramount Pictures. 1986
“A city girl like you? You wouldn’t last five minutes, love. This is a man’s country out here.” – Mick Dundee (Paul Hogan) Crocodile Dundee is a 1986 action/comedy film, following the character of Mick Dundee (Paul Hogan), nicknamed “Crocodile” after being mauled by a crocodile, an Australian bushman, as he meets his eventual love…
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How to Train Your Dragon. Dir. Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders. Paramount Pictures. 2010.
Despite the movie’s title, How to Train Your Dragon does not present ‘trained’ dragons. The title insinuates the shift from foe to friend is a means of ‘training’ a dragon, when this is actually achieved through the development of a mutual understanding of the other. The film’s false equation of this mutual agreement reduces the…
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The Shallows. Dir. Jaume Collet-Serra. Columbia Pictures. 2016.
The Shallows uses the tale of Nancy (Blake Lively), a surfer alone and vulnerable in the picturesque coasts of Mexico only to be aggressively hunted by a great white shark with a taste for skinny blonde models (shock). Since Jaws, sharks have become a symbol of fear – an immediate indication of danger within the cinematic…
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The Watchmen. Dir. Zach Snyder. Warner Bros. 2009.
What can dogs tell us about criminality? With regards to Zach Snyder’s Watchmen, the answer is ‘quite a lot.’ Dogs are used within the film to align the binaries of legality and criminality with humanity and animality. There is a particular focus on the possibilities of transgression, as both the anti-hero and the villain commit…
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Guardians of the Galaxy. Dir. James Gunn. Marvel Studios. 2014.
Set in a parallel science- fiction universe, Guardians of the Galaxy[1] parodies Marvel’s usual ‘superhero’ film, by casting five criminal anti- heroes as the protagonists. The film follows five intergalactic – outlaw – anti- heroes as they are brought together by being arrested, over a bounty hunt on a mysterious orb. Previously individuals just working…
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Waltz with Bashir. Dir. Ari Folman, Sony Pictures Classics. 2008.
Anonymous soldier: What to do? What to do? Why don’t you tell us what to do? Ari Folman: Shoot. Anonymous soldier: On who? Ari Folman: How should I know on who? Just shoot. Anonymous soldier: Isn’t it better to pray? Ari Folman: Pray and shoot. [1] In 2008 a new style of documentary filmmaking was…
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True Grit. Dir. Ethan Coen and Joel Coen. Paramount Pictures. 2010.
Although the tone of True Grit (2010) is primarily light-hearted and comedic, the narrative explores dark themes of grief and revenge. After her father is murdered, fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) embarks on a journey to ensure her father’s killer is hanged for his crime, enlisting the help of infamously violent and self-serving U.S. Marshal…
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Okja. Dir. Bong Joon-ho. Netflix. 2017.
Okja[1] is a South-Korean/American film about a girl called Mija and her best friend, a ‘super pig’ called Okja. When Okja gets taken by the company who made her, the Mirando corporation, Mija leaves her idyllic mountain-top home and goes on a dark adventure, determined to find Okja and bring her back home. At the…