Kapò

I spend a lot of time at the library browsing through the movies.  This film from 1959 caught my eye.


 Mirror of Society.............................. 3/5
Moral............................................... 3/5
Plot and Script.................................. 5/5
Director........................................... 4/5
Casting and Characters...................... 5/5
Costume and Design.......................... 3/5
Cinematography.................................4/5
Good Use of Special Effects................3/5
Musical Score....................................5/5
Editing...............................................2/5

Total 37/50=74%

An Outstanding film

Mirror of Society
Kapò reflects on the issues of the Holocaust very well. It mirrors the actions people still take even today when they chose to stay alive. However, I feel it doesn't reflect society as a whole. 3/5

Moral
Obviously there has to be a moral in a film about the holocaust. It is prominent throughout the film with several little ones playing out. But the whole idea and setting of the story makes one feel terrible to be alive at times. 3/5

Plot and Script

The plot is easy to follow being similar to that of all holocaust stories.  The Script is very well written. One does not need to learn Italian or even read subtitles to deeply feel and comprehend what is happening.  This was an excellently scripted film.  5/5

Director
Gillo Pontecorvo has long been held to be one of Italy's greatest directors of his time.  Being that this was the first of his films that I have viewed, I cannot compare this with his other works to accurately point his style of storytelling.  But even so, this story was told in a heart-throbbing manner that I think could not be told in any other way than how he has done so in this film. 4/5

Casting and Characters
One can truly see and feel that the characters are sincere in their roles.  As I said in the plot section, you can understand the feeling and the situation perfectly without understanding the words. 5/5

Costume and Design
It's a concentration camp.  There is nothing interesting or even pleasing about it.  It does have some merit thou for making it appear real almost like in the old news reels.  3/5

Cinematography
I really like how they made the film appear like an old film reel.  However, that limited a lot of what he could have done to make a more interesting plot. 4/5

Good Use of Special Effects
I really thought the story was given a lot more credibility by making the end scene a copy of an old newsreel.  They then cut from the film to the newsreel and back several times.  It was quite a neat and interesting technique.  However, I feel that they could have done some other things similar to that in turn enhancing the story. 3/5

Musical Score
I don't know what it was, but it seemed to be a classical harpsichord composition that was used throughout. The drama that the score produces at times is amazing.  5/5

Editing
I don't know whether this was from the fact that the film was old or simply an editing fail.  There were times when the scene would would cut from subjective point of view to indirect and you could see like these film glitches.  It only occurred a few times but it really detracted from the moments. 2/5

Overall
I'm glad I pulled this off the shelf
Rotten tomatoes doesn't have a score but 84% of the audience liked it.
IMDb gives it a rating of 7.6

Frankenweenie

I saw Frankenweeine today at the cinema.  Here are the scores:

Mirror of Society.............................. 3/5
Moral............................................... 5/5
Plot and Script.................................. 4/5
Director........................................... 4/5
Casting and Characters...................... 5/5
Costume and Design.......................... 2/5
Cinematography.................................5/5
Good Use of Special Effects................5/5
Musical Score....................................3/5
Editing.............................................. 2/5

Total 38/50= 76%

Just barely made it into the OA.

Mirror of Society
What I think really mirrors society in this film is the way that everyone is afraid at first and then warms up to Sparky. Also, the heavy competition among the characters. Otherwise this film doesn't really mirror society 3/5

Moral
This film has a very strong moral. Both in what Victor's parents say as well as Mr. Rzykruski. It has a very touching and inspiring air throughout. 5/5

Plot and Script
The plot follows a very logical format; you won't get lost.  The Script, however, left the story slow paced at times. I personally felt bored watching for five minute.  4/5

Director
Tim Burton keeps a great reputation in my book.  As always he can tell a heartwarming story while making it both creepy and weird.  However, I felt this film lacked a little bit of his creative genius.  So he gets 4/5

Casting and Characters
The cast of this film feels great in their roles.  There is no doubt about it.  The characters are great and well developed.  You could literally taste each characters unique individual personality.  5/5

Costume and Design
The Costumes and Design were great as always with Burton.  Nevertheless,  I felt that there was a severe lack of creativity.  It felt like I was watching an alternate reality of Edward Scissorhands combined with Corpse Bride looking characters.  2/5

Cinematography
I must say Peter Sorg did a great job in this film.  I can't complain about anything. 5/5

Good Use of Special Effects
This film's special effects are great.  I love the stop-motion animation.  Also, the story is told in black and white making very good use of the medium, I don't think the film would be presented better in color. 5/5

Musical Score
Although I really enjoy Danny Elfman's music, the soundtrack on this film really didn't do anything for me.  I was just some typical creepy Elfman stuff playing to some creepy Burton images.

Editing
Okay, I know every film can't be perfect.  But I feel that you rushed and left a few glaring mistakes that could have been easily taken care of. 2/5

Overall 38/50
Another great film by Tim Burton.
Rotten Tomatoes rates this film 88% Certified Fresh
IMDb rates this film 7.6

Introduction

Hello Everyone,

I decided to create this blog in order to share my knowledge and love of cinematic movies of all kind.  However, I always felt that the way films are reviewed is inefficient; so I created my own way of doing it.

Movies and Films are for enjoyment, but there are things not often thought of that make them enjoyable.  I have chosen ten categories that I feel are important for an enjoyable movie.  Each of these categories are rated on a 0 to 5 scale for a total of 50 accumulative points.  Then the movie gets one of four grades based on the percentage it receives out its 50 points.

The Categories

Mirror of Society 5/5
Moral 5/5
Plot and Script 5/5
Director 5/5
Casting and Characters 5/5
Costumes and Design 5/5
Cinematography 5/5
Use of Special Effects 5/5
Musical Score 5/5
Editing 5/5

Mirror of Society 
This Category is very important.  Movies are a reflection of society and also one of its driving forces.  As Society Changes so does the relevance of a movie, but, to use a Lewis Carol metaphor, they can take us through to the times in which it was relevant.  This category basically measures the movies impact on society.

Moral
Every good story has a moral of some kind.  Movies are no exception.  However, this category also is used to measure the emotional impact of the movie; how it makes one feel and why etc. This category measures whether the story has a clear moral and whether it is portrayed in a complementary way.

Plot and Script
For a story to be memorable it has to have a certain logical form; this is the plot.  The Plot is then complemented by the language, movement, action, and expression that is called for in the script.  Good Script plus logical plot equals great movie.

Director 
In essence, the Director of a film is the storyteller.  He controls how everything is told, and can tell the story in a creative and memorable stage.  That is his job.  This category is basically rate the efficiency of the storyteller in this particular story.

Casting and Characters
The storyteller/director tells us the story using characters.  The characters are important to telling the story.  If the storyteller wants to connect with the characters he needs to show them to us in a way that can be understood and clear.  This is where the casting comes in.  Casting is important because it gives visual personality to the characters.  This category is about whether the characters are correctly developed to tell story efficiently, and where the actors portraying the characters are efficient in their roles.

Costume and Design
The costumes and design of the movie help tell the story.  It is important especially in period pieces to do this  correctly.  The costumes and designs make the story more believable.  Right Costumes plus Right Design equal aesthetically pleasing movie.

Cinematography
When telling a story in images it is important to photograph it in the most effective way.  This is the cinematographer's job, he makes sure to get the right angle every time.  This category determines whether the photography of the film the best that it can be to creatively tell the story.

Use of Special Effects
Special effects are great.  They can sometimes make or break a film by leaving the audiences awestruck at their brilliance and creativity.  However, special effects are sometimes so overused that we end up watching them instead of the story.  Here we determine whether the special effects were efficient in the story or overbearing.

Musical Score
Music is a very powerful tool in storytelling.  It can be the difference in feeling scared or happy.  The film requires different music at different times.  Here we evaluate whether the film's score helps tell the story better or not.

Editing
Tied very closely to the cinematography of the film, editing can make a film feel natural or very unnatural.  Making sure that everything is correct and how it should be according to the director, this is usually the final stage of the movie before it is released.  Here the editing of the film is compared to all other aspects of the film to make sure that the story fits together.

Total Score 
Finally, all the numbers are tallied up, and the film receives a score out of 50.  We calculate the percent, and then place the movie in one of four categories based on its percentage.

0-25% is an Okay movie (there is no such thing as a bad film)
25-50% is an Optimistic movie
50-75% is an Outstanding movie
75-100% is and OA movie (Outrageously Awesome)

I shall try to post regularly.