Find a Review for a Film, Preferably One That You Have Seen Essay

According to the distinctions made in Chapter Ten, how is the reviewer approaching the film. Joe Morgenstern presents his review in a formalist manner. A formalist film analysis is concerned with elements such as plot structure, mise en scene, camera techniques, editing, and sound. A formalist film analysis that is strictly concerned with narrative elements, however, might ignore most or all of its cinematic techniques to focus on characters, plot development, story structure, motifs, foreshadowing, motivation, and the like (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). Morgenstern opens his analysis with a description of the opening scene in this film. He compares the thunderous action of the first scene to the thunderous action that is a hallmark of the producing franchise, and furthers that thought by explaining that the director J. J. Abrams, puts â€Å"explosive charges in our heads and then sets them off† (Morgenstern, 2006, para. 1). He further explains that there is nothing really new to the audience in the presentation of the action film. He explores the attempt of the story to present the main character and hero, Ethan Hunt, as having human side. He describes this attempt as somewhat of a failure. He is quoted as saying â€Å"Ethan has no human side. Ethan has a shooting side, a climbing-and leaping side and a swinging-and-dangling side. And a running side† (Morgenster, 2006, para. 2). Morgenstern explains the character and the action of the film with these quotes. He explains the plot. â€Å"It’s about blowing things up. It’s also an action-thriller variant of dentistry — extracting an IMF agent from a torture chamber in Berlin, extracting the villain from a fancy function at the Vatican, and finally extracting Ethan Hunt from the Chinese lair of his tormentors in order to make sure that the villain can’t blow everything up† (Morganstern, 2006, para. 5). Most of his review is a description of the characters and mise en scene of the film. To what degree does the review acknowledge the public perception of the film? Morgenstern explains the film as delivering the summer escapism that the general public desires. He describes the film by saying, â€Å"the summer’s first action epic does exactly what it’s supposed to do, more clearly than â€Å"M:i:I,† and more likeably than â€Å"M:i:II† (Morganstern, 2006, para. 4) What evidence does each review provide to illustrate main points and claims? Morgenstern reviews actual action scenes from the movie and offers them up to the reader as evidence of the action in the film. He even clearly defines how the scenes with Julia, Ethan’s wife, are shot like, â€Å"super graphics,† and fail the feeling desired. Do any words or phrases capture the essence of the reviewer’s attitude toward the film? I think the quote mentioned above where he describes the film as delivering what it is supposed to deliver says it all. He remains uncommitted as to what his personal preference would be, but goes to great lengths to describe the action scenes in the movie in a favorable way. Additionally, please share with the class exactly which sources you rely on, as a member of the general audience, to evaluate whether or not you will see a movie. I follow the previews of movies. If the preview catches my interest, I am usually a ticket buyer. I do sometimes get disappointed when the preview encapsulates the entire movie. The only exception would be the horror genre. I like to be scared at the movies and view macabre and disturbing content. I might attempt that type of movie without having seen a preview. I also follow the actors in a movie. I have never seen a bad movie with Morgan Freeman as the main character, so sometimes I follow the â€Å"stars. †