This is a short paper I wrote for Film Analysis class. Nothing great.

By the 1970s, American films had overall become faster in pace and contain more action. Such can be found in two hit films: The French Connection and the first Star Wars.

In The French Connection, most scenes do not stretch for too long. The protagonist finds himself in the thick of one situation after another as he tirelessly hunts down a foreign drugdealer. hough the film was adapted from a non-fictional book, The French Connection narrates the events of the story through the actions of the protagonist. Dialogue is not abundant in this movie; there is more emphasis on driving the plot forward than the thoughts and feelings of the characters. This is notable in the scene where the protagonist almost catches the mastermind at the subway station. The actions of the main character speaks for itself, it is his undying resolve that brings him ever closer to his goal. His resolve resonates with the audience in the prominent train-car chase scene, the protagonist pressing on where the average person would have easily given up. Though the film is almost devoid of rapid, engaging music, the fast pace is enough to keep audiences at their seats. The movie climaxes just about where it ends: when the protagonist comes extremely close to finally catching the drugdealer honcho. That scene ends with a distant gunshot, leaving the startled audiences wondering what had happened. With that, the element of suspense carries itself all the way to the end.

The Star Wars movies have distinct evidence of the action-oriented nature of films of the decade. In fact, the very first two scenes of Star Wars: A New Hope contained battles between good and evil. Jumping right into physical conflict, the film opens on a high note and consistently delivers action scenes through the end. Most of the action scenes are the manifestations of hi-tech special effects at the time. The first shots of the film are of spaceships flying across space, giving a hint to the audience that they are in for a visual spectacle. This follows with a futuristic gunfight which results in casualties, though negligible. Adding to the grandeur of the opening sequence, the villain openly steps into the scene, revealing his place as the antagonist of the story. As the film unfolds the origins of the protagonist, every other scene contains some amount of action: from discovering his would-be mentor to getting off his home planet. To make things even more exciting, our hero and his companions find themselves in the very heart of enemy territory when they expected the safety of a friendly planet. While fighting to survive, the hero’s party undertakes a more dangerous challenge by choosing to rescue an imprisoned damsel in distress. Before escaping, the inevitable involvement of the main antagonist results in the loss of the hero’s mentor. This series of events is a one the plain displays of the fast-paced story inherent of Star Wars.

To many viewers, an action-packed film may usually be shallow in terms of plot and character development. Much of its screen time is filled with physical encounters, battles between the good and the bad, and explosions and wreckage along the way. That often means less time devoted to revealing the thoughts and feelings of the characters, and sometimes the protagonists remain same individuals from beginning to end. They learn little or nothing from their experiences as portrayed on screen, or even have no influence on anybody at all, except perhaps saving many innocent lives or putting criminals behind bars. This can be the case in the French Connection, where the plot is mainly concerned with the pursuing of the foreign drug dealers.

As for Star Wars, there is some amount of character development within the protagonists, but in the most part stretched across the two sequels. Aside from the main hero who, by the end of the movie, manages to implement what his mentor have been teaching him, the most notable character development is found in Han Solo. While being the hero’s companion, he, at one point, did not concern himself with the plight to destroy the said enemy territory. However, at the very climax of the elaborate space battle sequence at the end of the movie, Han Solo shows up and sees the battle through.

In a nutshell, having many action scenes and fast pace can mean less dialogue, a simple plot, and an easily understood storyline. Thought the French Connection and Star Wars are two different movies in their own right, they do share similar characteristics and mainly it strives to keep the audiences glued to their seats.

In every generation, there have been those who exceed their peers in their craft. They are capable of conceiving and implementing their work with incomparable integrity in its time. In 2008, the creators and stars of The Dark Knight has triumphed in the craft of story telling.

I endured the bad commercials as I awaited the movie to start, I have seen every teaser and trailer the studios dished out. It is one thing to watch a movie you know will be good, it is another when it tops your expectations. By the time the ending credits roll in, my view of superhero movies has seen the dawn.

One CGI-riddled flick after another, Hollywood has churned out a generous array of comic book (graphic novels, if you will) and video game adaptations. But most of them can only evoke so much as a few thrills and some laughs from fans and critics alike. The Dark Knight explores the “what-if” of life and human nature, the mind of a fictional psychopath, and the definition of a hero.

The Joker embodies a twisted outlook on humanity, how insane a thoughtful man can be. Aesthetics aside, he can really put together an organized plot to wreak some true havoc. With the more than remarkable performance of the late Heath Ledger, the Joker of the Dark Knight is one of the more frightening villains to grace the silver screen. Rest in peace, Mr. Ledger, you shall be honored as long as time will allow.

The very talented writers have brought us what being a hero is really about. Is it the abilities that one possesses? Is it the number of lives one can save? Or is it about the number of criminals put to justice? After the Dark Knight, I have set a rule of thumb, a measuring rod, a benchmark to determine the worth of what passes as superhero movies. How much is the so-called hero willing to sacrifice?

Other movies of its kind claim to tell stories of heroes. But most of them risk only their health or their costumes in order to win at the end. Batman has sacrificed something an ordinary man would not, resulting in an effect only some one of his unbreakable sense of justice would deem as victory. With this, most his fellow superheroes of both Marvel and DC fall to shame.

I can only hope that this movie will leave audiences asking themselves the things that matter. What would I have done in his stead? Could mankind stoop so low as to weigh the value of lives? Will I always be a bystander?

I can only hope.

From the very moment I heard that a second Hulk movie was going to be made, I was excited. Not because I read comic books (I don’t), not because I like large green men (don’t even try), but because of Edward Norton. Not only did he play Bruce Banner, but he played a significant role in completing the script. Norton’s resume includes a white supremacist, a schizophrenic loser, a magician, a children’s show host and now a Marvel hero. Too bad the studios were being bitchy with him.

I can see that the Incredible Hulk has accumulated some very positive feedback already. But I feel that it is my duty as a blogger to highlight its hits and misses.

The Hits:

1. It wasted no time. The plot progressed at a good pace, it did not dwell excessively on any monologues or inner conflicts or anything. It presented the point well enough to keep audiences glued.

2. It kicked ass. I was blown away by the action scenes in this movie. It wasn’t just mindless smashing, it took the opportunity to show the world a fight that was previously impossible to film. The climactic clash between the Hulk and the Abomination is a battle to remember. After all, superhero movies must always have supervillains.

3. It was emotional. But not too much. Bruce Banner had to deal with a problem that no other superhero had to face: himself. The Hulk isn’t out to save the world and get the girl. He had to be man enough to persevere, and make difficult choices.

And now for the misses:

1. It is not stand-alone. The way the movie begins and ends made it too dependent on the prequel (or existing knowledge on the audience’s part) and the obvious sequel(s). The lack of origins explanations may leave some newbies confused. And the ending did not *spoiler alert?* bring his conflicts to a real close.

2. Too much in trailers. The trailers revealed too many snippets of the movie, some of which were important. I especially felt that the Tony Stark cameo should have not been ‘leaked’. I do not want to watch a movie and have ‘I saw that coming’ moments.

3. It felt shallow. The movie did only so much to tell the story. It was almost as if its just another episode of a series (like how I would describe Ocean’s Thirteen and Jumper). I want movies to be whole in itself, seeing the hero experience a transformation (no pun intended) that would make a different but better person altogether.

All in all I give it 4 stars, mostly for the intensity of the action scenes. Or maybe the speakers were too loud.

I hate law. But I put a lot of effort into this position paper for my Electronic Media Law & Regulation class. So here it is.

The advent of the internet allows people to globally “communicate with one another effectively and inexpensively” (Internet, 2007). Being a medium that is growing rapidly as a vast plethora of information, it is inevitable that a government would attempt to regulate its content. In 1996, the United States Congress passed the Communications Decency Act (CDA), which is Section 502(1) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 in Title V, intending to control pornographic content on the internet (McMurdo, 1997). Section 502(2) criminalizes the use of “interactive computer service” to “send” or “display in a manner available” to a person under age 18, any material that “in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs”. This was the first attempt to regulate the internet by a government.
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