Tag: HAR: Military

Children of Men. Dir. Alfonso Cuarón. Universal Pictures. 2006.

Children of Men is a 2006 film directed by Alfonso Cuarón set in Britain in which the people have become infertile. This infertility has caused the collapse of most countries apart from Britain, which has embraced far-right ideology. The chosen scene, from early on in the film, shows Theo (Clive Owen) on his way to the…

6th January 2022
Turner and Hooch. Dir. Roger Spottiswoode. Touchstone Pictures. 1989.

Charles Darwin once stated ‘It is scarcely possible to doubt that the love of man has become instinctive in the dog’. [1] In the case of Turner and Hooch (1989), Hooch’s love for Turner and vice versa takes its time and only arises onside the development of a perfect police office-police dog understanding and partnership.…

29th January 2021
Babar, King of the Elephants. Dir. Raymond Jafelice, Alliance Communications. 1999.

Babar: King of the Elephants (1999) is an animated film adaptation of Jean de Brunhoff’s popular children’s books. Written and directed by Raymond Jafelice the story tells the tale of Babar who witnesses his mother killed by poachers. Babar manages to escape and leaves the jungle (an unnamed fictitious South African jungle) , visits the…

4th June 2020
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…

29th May 2020
Jojo Rabbit. Dir. Taika Waititi. Fox Searchlight Pictures. 2019.

Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi, 2019) follows a young German boy growing up during World War Two. During a sequence depicting Jojo’s education, a rabbit is used as a symbol of morality to train a group of Hitler Youth. The children unanimously agree that they would kill for Germany – this is then put to the…

28th May 2020
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Dir. Peter Jackson. New Line Cinema. 2003.

In this scene, we see a last gasp attack from the human riders against a far larger force of evil orcs. The horses the men ride reflect the heroic values of their riders whilst also encompassing the bestial nature of conflict. Jackson uses a wide shot, with the golden sun shining on the riders, to…

26th May 2020
Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Dir. Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones. EMI Films. 1975.

In the opening scene of Monty Python and the Holy Grail [1], a grassy hill is shown with the sound of horse’s hooves—only for a skipping King Arthur, and coconut-clomping servant to appear, sans horse. This sets the scene for the finest ever cinematic use of imaginary horses.

28th January 2019
D-War : Dragon Wars. Dir. Hyung-rae Shim. Freestyle Releasing, Showbox. 2007.

The movie, D-War : Dragon Wars, begins with introducing the Korean legend of the ascension of Imoogi, a gigantic pre-dragon stage serpent. Every 500 years, one good Imoogi was rewarded with a chance to become a dragon, and it had to receive the gift of the Yuh-yi-joo, a magical pearl from heaven, to become a dragon.…

15th January 2019
King Kong. Dir. Peter Jackson. Universal Pictures. 2005.

King Kong is the modern remake of the 1933 classic, which follows Carl Denham (Jack Black) in his attempts to film a movie by coercing his cast and crew into following him on his voyage. His voyage is an attempt to find the mysterious Skull Island where he hopes to film the ‘last blank space on…

15th January 2019
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Dir. Matt Reeves. 20th Century Fox. 2014.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Dir. Matt Reeves. 20thCentury Fox. 2014 ‘Now, they may have got their hands on some of our guns. But that does not make them men. They are animals!’ – Dreyfus Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) is the second film in the 20thCentury Fox reboot of…

15th January 2019