TellaTori

     This week our discussion centers around the beautiful movie, "Life of Pi". Based off the novel, "Life of Pi" tells the story of a young boy who survives a ship wreck and is stranded at sea for a very long time with a Bengal tiger, Richard Parker. This film is well known for its gorgeous visuals and stunning effects. Let's take a deeper look into how they brought this treasure to life.     Most of this movie takes place on the ocean. To replicate this, they utilized a massive, self-generating wave tank, the largest of its kind! They even made sure to film at sunset everyday and built a door allowing this to happen. The team also built two steel lifeboats with a 1940's design and five fiberglass versions to use as backup.      A visually astounding piece of production is the "Piscene Molitor". This was the hotel swimming pool that the main character was named for. A replica of the swimming pool was built, including dressing rooms and decks. The...

 This week, we are discussing one of my absolute favorite movies, Jurassic Park. The movie tells the story of John Hammond, a wealthy businessman, opening up a theme park of dinosaurs. He populates the park with cloned dinosaurs and chaos ensues when the power goes out and they escape. This film is well known for its special effects.     The animatronics in the movie really brought the dinosaurs to life! They made life sized dinosaurs that were handled by puppeteers. They were incredibly detailed, even went as far as labored breathing, small movements, and realistic skin textures. The huge T-rex was one that was hard to forget, as well as the Triceratops. The best example I can give of this is the velociraptor hatching scene. Incredible!     Although Jurassic Park is known for its CGI, there's actually not a lot of it in the film. The CGI was used minimally and strategically. It was mainly used in wide shots and when the dinosaurs were moving very fast. The blen...

      The movie Whiplash is a great but emotional one. Andrew Neiman is a very ambitious jazz drummer studying at a school for the arts. Terrence Fletcher is a genius instructor that takes Andrew under his wing. What ensues is a shocking and emotional relationship between the two that on both ends demands perfection. Let's look closer at some of the scenes to get a good grasp on the film...     The lighting is what struck me most. Most of the time both Andrew and Terrence are in a light orange type of light that intensifies when Andrew is playing and Terrence is screaming at him. It's as if in some of the scenes the light turns brighter and makes you feel the heat. I imagine this is a subtle nod to the hell Andrew is in. Or it could represent warm and fuzzy feelings because that is what Andrew loves, to play. In other situations surrounding his life, the lighting is darker, more blue and grayish. Possibly to show that Andrew doesn't have the same interest in eve...

      The films I'd like to talk about this week are "1917" and  "Children of Men". Both of these films were profound and at times deeply unsettling. They are each, respectively, a journey through time. Let's get into what makes these films so unique.      First, World War One like we haven't seen it before with the film "1917". The plot is intense as we travel along with two British soldiers on the Western Front who have been given a seemingly impossible task. They are racing against time to stop 1,600 men from walking into a deadly trap. They have to go through enemy territory and cannot waste a moment even though the road is filled with danger.      Second, the futuristic "Children of Men", set in 2027. Infertility has threatened mankind with extinction and the film opens with the last child born on earth violently killed. Our protagonist, a former activist, agrees to help bring a pregnant woman to safety. Their journey to escape t...

      This week the topic is : Documentary. There are many types of documentaries and a really good example of this genre is the film "Blackfish". "Blackfish" is a documentary about Seaworld and its history with killer whales. Throughout this movie, experts and enthusiasts show both amazing feats and devastating tragedies.      One of the debates present the duration of the film is whether or not the whales do better in captivity or the wild.  To me this is easy, of course they would do better in the wild. That's where they are from and where they belong, right? The scientists in the film make it clear several times that the orcas have a way longer life span in the wild compared to captivity.      SeaWorld and "Blackfish" have opposing view points on one of their most famous orcas ever; Tillikum. Tillikum was an orca who spent most of his life in captivity, primarily residing at Seaworld: Orlando. Not only is he a star at Seaworld: Orlan...