HELP! Review

"Jeweler, you've failed!" John Lennon announced when the elderly jeweler couldn't remove the gaudy red ring from Ringo Star's finger. This was just one of the hilarious quotes in The Beatles movie Help! I expected the movie to be similar in nature to The Who's Tommy. But I was pleasantly surprised. Throughout the movie The Beatles and other actors in the film cracked funny little jokes and did ridiculous things. It was nothing like Tommy, which was a more serious film. Help! had a silly and fun vibe that just flowed throughout the entire film. All of The Beatles had clever lines and they all seemed to enjoy what they were doing in the movie.
I enjoyed the plot of Help! quite a bit as well. Ringo is constantly being chased because of his ring. There are several different groups trying to acquire the ring. One is a group of tribal leaders that needs the ring for sacrifices. The other is a scientist and his assistance that wants the ring for power. There are dozens of attempts to take the ring, some even threatening Ringo's life. John, Paul, and George help Ringo throughout the film, though at one point they suggest that he cut his finger off. The best part of the film to me was the music video style songs that played every 10 or 15 minutes of the movie. They were set up very nicely and weren't just thrown in. There was even an intermission in Help! Every part of this movie made me feel good. I laughed throughout and got caught up in what would happen to Ringo. I give The Beatles' Help! a 9/10 for having such a happy mood. There is no reason not to watch this film, it will leave you in a good mood and happy that you watched.

-Nicholas

The Lost Boys Review

The Lost Boys, directed by Joel Schumacher is a wonderful mixture of comedy and horror. The film is not too funny, an its not very scary either. But the too together work well and make this movie quite enjoyable. Schumacher did an excellent job choosing the setting for this film. The contained the perfect amount of exciting youthful energy as well as dark and scary mystery. I think that the comedic side of The Lost Boys was necessary to ensure a positive reaction from viewers. Vampire movies in the 1980's were more of bash fest, twisting vampire lure into comedies. Schumacher did this, but only half way, he incorporated enough comedy into his film that the audience accepted the movie as one of many in the time period. But what Schumacher did differently from other vampire films of the 80's was that he added a sinister plot line into the movie. The story was about killer vampires, but it was interwoven with comedy. That's what mad the difference, the spit of these two genres is what brought The Lost Boys to the next level. Without the comedy, the movie would have simply been a vampire film with killings, and blood. This still would have been an okay movie. The same goes for the comedy side, if the story was simply filled with comedy and not enough vampires then it still would have been a funny okay movie. It would have in no way been as good as it is with the two genres mixed so well.

The story follows Michael, played by Jason Patric, as he is lured by vampires, to drink blood, which turns him into a vampire himself. I liked Michael very much, he behaved exactly how I think a normal teenager would react to becoming a vampire. He was freaking out and had no idea what to do. After discovering that he has become a vampire, Michael and his brother Sam, played by Corey Haim, try to change him back. Sam's two friends Edgar and Alan Frog, played by Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander, assist them, since they are apparently the city's vampire hunters. These three roles always provided comedic relief of sorts. Whenever I saw Sam, or either of the Frog brothers on screen I knew there was a good chance they'd make me chuckle. David, played by Kiefer Sutherland, was the main vampire in the teenage gang. He was the one who convinced Michael to drink the blood, which turned him into a vampire. I thought that seeing Kiefer Sutherland play the role of a teenage vampire was very interesting. When you look at the actor today, he just doesn't seem like someone who would have played a part like this, but he did have to start somewhere. The Lost Boys was defiantly not a bad choice. The final character I'd like to mention was Max, played by Edward Herrmann. Max was the head vampire, which really surprised when it was first revealed. Max didn't seem like he could have possibly been a vampire. The way that the boys doing vampire tests on Max tricked the audience into believing that Max was just an ordinary guy was brilliant. All of the characters worked well together and made the telling of the story just that much more interesting.

The Lost Boys was worth the watch. I got a lot out of this movie, I didn't know exactly what to expect. That said, I don't think I would care too much to watch it again. It was great, but I'm not going to go out and buy the movie. What worked well in this movie worked very well because in a small way the movie was just designed that way. I give The Lost Boys a 7/10.

The Lost Boys Beat Sheet
Opening Image: The sign that says Santa Carla the home of happiness and on the back of the sign is written the murder capital of the United States.
Theme Stated: When they show the city and how many missing persons signs are around town.

Set-Up: Michael and Sam decide to go around town at night and have fun while there mother looks at the shops.
Catalyst: When Michael sees Star at the concert he begins to become fascinated with her and follows her until he sees David and his group of vampires.

Debate: After Michael has a race with David he takes him to there hang out which is an old hotel and tells him to drink a mysterious liquid.

Break Into Two: Michael does not want to let go of a bar that was keeping him from falling down and dying but when he does he wakes up in his bed alive and perfectly fine.

B Story: Sam had been having a suspicion that Santa Carla was a place that seemed to nice to be perfectly normal but he revisits the comic book story he is told the truth. So Sam learns more about the vampires and finds out that his brother Michael is a vampire.

Fun and Games: As Sam and the Vampire hunters try to find who the head vampire is they attempt to confront Max, Sam’s mothers boyfriend.

Midpoint: After a failed attempt to determine the identity of the head vampire they decide to ask Michael if he has any idea who the head vampire is and he says that David probably was.

Bad Guys Close In: Following the arrival at the vampire’s hideout the vampire hunters, Sam, and Michael go into the depths and kill one of the four vampires but don’t kill the presumed head vampire.

All Is Lost: They failed to kill the head vampire but night would soon fall and the vampires would arrive to kill Michael, Sam, and Vampire hunters.

Dark Night Of The Soul: The group has to kill the vampires as they come in and attempt to kill them.

Break Into Three: David is killed but the curse of the vampire on Michael is not broken which leads Sam to rethink who the head vampire was.

Finale: Max tells them that he was the head vampire and try’s to turn Lucy into a vampire but is ultimately killed by Sam’s Grandfather who drives into the house and kills max.

Final Image: Grandpa had known that the vampires had been living in Santa Carla the whole time.

-Nicholas

The Lost Boys Review

The Lost Boys is a quintessential 80’s film in all regards and shows that in the style of music and clothing that the characters where. It can be said that this film made vampires cool again in pop culture but also showed that vampires could be more than just creepy they could be hip. David the leader of the gang of vampires played by Kiefer Sutherland is a prime example of how a young vampire would be a radical and extreme dare devil. The special effects for the time were very good and showed off the innovation of film making at the time around the end of the 80's. The fangs of the vampires and the effects of making there eyes appear cat like was done beautifully showing off the ferocity in there faces. On a side note this was the first film I saw that had a child as a vampire and it was kind of creep it made me want to laugh and at the same time made me want to run away from it.

However the film does have more than just characters that are vampires it also has the hero's such as Michael the older brother played by Jason Patric, Sam the younger brother played by Corey Haim, and the Frog brothers played by Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander. Michael shows the deep termoail that teens of his age go through with hormone changes. This is later amplified by his transformation into a vampire and his mother Lucy's attempt to understand what he is going through. The Lost Boys is defenatle a film that has to be watched with popcorn on hand because it is a summer film that has a small cheese factor in that you can take some of it seriously but other parts are just silly.

The story of the film is quite odd in that the family moves to the area because of the grandfather but he does nothing to tell them that Santa Carla is infested with vampires. It is no suprise at the end that he already knew about the vampires and that is why he had built his home on a hill with dozens of stake like objects around his home and in it. Humor is an underlying factor in this film making less horrifying as it could have been but that's not a bad thing because it makes the movie feel like a horror comedy. Dated clothing gives the movie a nostalgic feel to those who went to see the film originally and if you are seeing it for the first time you will be sure to notice that it is entertaining. Final rating on this movie is a 9/10 because even though I've seen this film only twice I can still remember enough of it to know that it was a good movie. If you like vampires and 80's movies than this movie is the marriage made just for you.

Opening Image: The sign that says Santa Carla the home of happiness and on the back of the sign is written the murder capital of the United States.
Theme Stated: When they show the city and how many missing persons signs are around town.
Set-Up: Michael and Sam decide to go around town at night and have fun while there mother looks at the shops.
Catalyst: When Michael sees Star at the concert he begins to become fascinated with her and follows her until he sees David and his group of vampires.
Debate: After Michael has a race with David he takes him to there hang out which is an old hotel and tells him to drink a mysterious liquid.
Break Into Two: Michael does not want to let go of a bar that was keeping him from falling down and dying but when he does he wakes up in his bed alive and perfectly fine.
B Story: Sam had been having a suspicion that Santa Carla was a place that seemed to nice to be perfectly normal but he revisits the comic book story he is told the truth. So Sam learns more about the vampires and finds out that his brother Michael is a vampire.
Fun and Games: As Sam and the Vampire hunters try to find who the head vampire is they attempt to confront Max, Sam’s mothers boyfriend.
Midpoint: After a failed attempt to determine the identity of the head vampire they decide to ask Michael if he has any idea who the head vampire is and he says that David probably was.
Bad Guys Close In: Following the arrival at the vampire’s hideout the vampire hunters, Sam, and Michael go into the depths and kill one of the four vampires but don’t kill the presumed head vampire.
All Is Lost: They failed to kill the head vampire but night would soon fall and the vampires would arrive to kill Michael, Sam, and Vampire hunters.
Dark Night Of The Soul: The group has to kill the vampires as they come in and attempt to kill them.
Break Into Three: David is killed but the curse of the vampire on Michael is not broken which leads Sam to rethink who the head vampire was.
Finale: Max tells them that he was the head vampire and try’s to turn Lucy into a vampire but is ultimately killed by Sam’s Grandfather who drives into the house and kills max.
Final Image: Grandpa had known that the vampires had been living in Santa Carla the whole time.

-Ryan

The Texas Renaissance Festival- Ryan

The Texas Renaissance Festival is an annual event in Houston Texas that happens every October through November in which hundreds of people dress and act as people did during the time period of the renaissance. It is an interesting experience to walk around and see all of the shops that line the paths and what each has to sell and hear people speaking in old English. To get to the festival we first had to leave our school at 8:45am to arrive with enough time to do as we pleased. The bus ride was enjoyable other than the fact that the seats were somewhat cramped and as with most bus rides was filled with mindless chatter that was blocked out with my own conversation. It was around noon when we had finally arrived and much to the relief of my backside that had been killing me from sitting in a cramped bus seat. For my self personally this was my third year in a row attending the Texas Renaissance Festival and the first thing that has to be said is that upon arriving in a woodland area you feel transported into a different dimension. The simplicity in the appeal of the festival is of a nostalgic feeling as if at some point in a past life you yourself had walked down this path. Only negative thing about being outside is that the previous night it had rained and the walkways were very mudded and it was hard to keep my shoes from becoming distastefully brown. Also as I had said previously it was hard to keep from getting sweaty in the damp humid air that surrounded the entire festival.

Walking through the gates of the festival is always interesting because you can never anticipate what will be there to greet you on the other side. Usually someone walks up trying to sell you some kind of souvenir that you don’t need but you humor the salesman by acting intrigued in what the have to offer. As I walked around the Festival the first thing I realized was that some of the shops that had been opened last year had been closed down for some unknown reason and second was that I was thirsty. At the start of the day the soda shops had every kind of soda but by the end of it all there was nothing but Pepsi left. I like attending the festival the only draw back is the distances that have to be walked because the grounds are very large but having attended it previously I had some general idea of where the shops were. For most of the day I walked around and window-shopped with my girlfriend who wanted to look at all of the shops that had anything that caught her eye. Myself on the other hand only wanted to walk around and hang out with my friends and mess with random people, which was the norm. After spending time with her I left to find my friends and we went into the Maze, which had become a tradition. This aspect that made going into the maze so entertaining was that with a group of people you could mess with people and make them go the wrong way and then when they found the way out they would be angry.

One of my friends was dressed as a Ninja and all of us had made a bet on how many people would say “Hey look a ninja”. This also made the maze more entertaining because we would tell people to follow the ninja and people would and then he would disappear leaving them lost and confused. Considering that this would be my last year going to the festival I figured I would buy any souvenir that I had wanted from the previous years. This included a pentagram necklace and an ocarina. The prices on most of the food was somewhat outrages and made the money I had brought not last as long as I had previously thought. With 3000 some odd people walking around with cash in their pockets it was easy to say that the festival made a good amount of money out of the student day. We left the renaissance festival at 3:30 and shipped off for home tired and with empty wallets. The bus ride home was not as noise due to the fact that almost no one had the energy left to talk. If I had to give the trip a ratting I would say it was a 5/5 because it was my last year going.

-Ryan

Texas Renaissance Festival

Manor New Tech High's third annual trip to the Texas Renaissance Festival was a relaxing getaway from school. We left around 8:45 and arrived at the festival around noon. We began by making our way to the nearest food shop. I purchased a very delicious 'sausage on a stick' for $4. All of the meals were $4, which I though was a little high, but I suppose that's what you have to expect at a place like Ren Fest. We then began a quite extensive search for an ice cream shop. After passing several 'Frozen Drink' shops and one 'Pudding' shop we finally stumbled upon an ice cream vendor. We had to eat our ice cream pretty fast though, because it was already one 'o clock and getting quite hot out. We sat with our melting ice creams and watched the jousting death match. The match was between England and Spain. The match was very entertaining, even though poorly acted out at some points. I was cheering for Spain, who lost in the end, which kind of sucked.

Being full of food and a little exhausted from the combination of humidity and walking so much, i decided to sit and watch a play. I left after about three minutes though. I had no idea what was happening on stage, and one of the actors was extremely obnoxious. I made my way to the rock wall, where anybody could pay $10 to climb the 'challenge wall'. If they made it to the top they won $20. I watched three of my friends make no progress up the wall, I felt horrible for them for losing 30 bucks for nothing. The wall itself looked nearly impossible to climb. After that disappointing endeavor we walked over to the 'sphere play' lessons, which were free! We learned some pretty cool stuff that can be done with spheres. My friend Mason bought one, even though he wasn't very good at it.

Finally we walked over to the Globe Theater where we signed in so that our teachers would know we were there and not off lost in the maze or something. After everyone was accounted for we loaded up the buses and began our drive back to Manor. The bus ride home seemed faster than the ride there, but we were all extremely thirsty. It was very hot and there was very little room in those little bus seats. It was defiantly not a comfy ride. But the trip as a whole was pretty fun i suppose. Minus the fact that there is little to do without having to overpay for everything, I had an okay time. I'll just say that its been fun going there these three years, but I am somewhat glad that I won't have to go there again, I think I've had enough of the renaissance for quite a while.

-Nick

Psycho

Psycho is the movie that created the slasher genre. No movie before Psycho had ever ventured into such a gruesome realm, at least not in the mainstream American media. Alfred Hitchcock created this movie in as creepy a manner as the story projects on screen. He took extreme measures to make sure no one knew what the movie was about. He kept everything very secretive during production. Hitchcock produced Psycho under a fake production name. He made sure there was a seat on set for the actor playing 'mother', even though there was none. He even paid Marion Crane the salary of a leading role, even though her character dies fairly early in the film. Hitchcock did all of this to keep the plot of the story secret. Like other Hitchcock films, Psycho astonished its audience by crossing boundaries and taking the audience where they never thought they'd go.

Psycho begins with who seems to be the main character Marion Crane, played by Janet Leigh, running out of town with $40,000. She stops to stay the night at a small motel when the rain gets too dangerous to drive in. This is when the audience first meets the story's actual focal point, Norman Bates, played by Anthony Perkins. Marion is then murdered in the shower, naked, which was pushing the envelope back in 1960. Marion's boyfriend Sam and her sister Lila hire a private investigator, who is also murdered during his search for Marion. Once Sam and Lila decide to search the motel for themselves the film gets very intense and the twists towards the end are incredible.

The acting in Psycho was great, all of the people searching for Marion really had no idea what was going on. Norman was by far the best played character. Anthony Perkins did an incredible job making this character seem as odd and strange as possible. It is said that Perkins was very good about staying in character. One of the things I liked most about Psycho was how familiar the audience felt with the motel by the end of the film. It gave me the feeling that I knew where everything was, I knew where Norman's house was, where Marion was murdered, and where the office was. I suppose that the motel was the 'confined space' of the horror film formula. I think Hitchcock did a fabulous job with the presentation of the motel in the film. The other pieces of the horror film formula include a monster and a sin that people are being punished for. The monster in psycho was obviously the deranged Norman Bates, and the sin could be either greed for money, or adultery. These pieces of the formula were perfect in my mind. Another piece of the film I'd like to mention was the lighting, the lighting was always perfectly suited for the mood of the scene. Psycho was incredibly entertaining for me. I can only imagine what it would have been like to live in 1960 and see this film. Everything about this film simply worked, so I give it a 9/10.


Beat Sheet for Psycho
Opening Image: The film starts off with Marion Crane and her lover Sam Loomis making out on a bed

Theme Stated: Tom Cassidy arrives at Marion Cranes boss’s office and says “Just…buying off unhappiness.”

Set-Up: Marion is asked to take the money to the bank for her boss.

Catalyst: She is given the 40,000 dollars in cash to take to the bank but she’s not sure what to do with it.

Debate: She makes up her mind to go live with Sam Loomis in California.

Break into Two: Marion leaves her town to go be with Sam and get away with the money.

B Story: After driving all day and night for 2 days she stops at a Motel that Norman Bates owns and runs to stay the night.

Fun and Games: Norman seems to have social problems and is obedient of his mother. Ultimately this leads to Normans mother killing Marion.

Midpoint: Norman discovers Marion dead on the ground and cleans up the mess and dispossess of the evidence.

Bad Guys Close In: After finding out that her sister has been missing Lila and Sam are confronted by a private investigator that is trying to find Marion. His search takes him to Norman’s hotel and leaves unsatisfied but returns only to die.

All Is Lost: Sam and Lila are distressed that the detective did not come back with news.

Dark Night Of The Soul: They talk to the sheriff of the town and learn that Norman Bates mother has been dead for 10 years.

Break into three: They decide to go investigate the hotel for themselves.

Finale: They find Norman mothers corpse and Lila is attacked in the cellar by Norman in a wig. Sam saves her though and they take Norman to the sheriff.

Final Image: In order for Norman to live the lie that his mother had not died by his hand he put on the illusion that she was never dead in his mind and became a psycho. Norman could not buy off happiness without losing his mind in the process.

-Nicholas

Psycho Review

Psycho was very graphic for the time period and made a formula for modern horror films to follow. 1960 was the start of the loss of many norms and moral beliefs that had been passed down by there parents. This films influence has been evident in many horror films through out the modern horror world. The infamous shower scene in which a woman is taking a shower and is killed by a person walking in with a knife. Audiences around the world who watched this film must have been shocked when the Marion Crane played by Janet Leigh was killed halfway into the film and the main character is changed to Norman Bates played by Anthony Perkins. Anthony Perkins performance was very effective in showing off the films title. In 1957 Anthony Perkins won the Golden Globe award for most promising newcomer and with how he performance in this feature it is clear to see because he is very genuinely creepy. The other primary character's are Vera Miles as Lila Crane, John Gavin as Sam Loomis, and Martin Balsam as Milton Arbogast. Each of them has there own unique persona in this film but all of them share an interest in what really happened to Marion Crane and what Norman Bates is hiding deep inside of his mind and in reality. After all is said and done the ending is something more than just a shock it is a complete mind warp moment that words cannot describe how confusing the reasoning is as to the motive for the killing. This movie is ideal for those who like there horror movies to have a strong story and a definite climax and ending that keep the viewer on the edge of there seat waiting to see what happens next.

The director of Psycho is Alfred Hitchcook is known as being one of the best directors of all time for is style of film making and his story telling abilities. It was an adaptation of a novel by Robert Bloch but when it was transferred to screen is when film making became darker. Psycho is not a mindless slasher flick that has killing and gore for no reason its quite the opposite in most ways. Hitchcook was already a veteran director when he made this film being his 59th film and showing that he was still not done with his work. Visually the filming style and the building of suspense is perfect, which fits the tone of the film without becoming predictable. An excellent example is when the cop is following Marion along the interstate and the music emphasizes her paranoia. The musical score has been sampled in many different horror movies almost like recycling gold over and over again but its easily recognizable and timeless. I do not wish to put to many spoilers in this review but other than the ones that I already have placed so its still fun to watch the film for a first screening. When it comes to a basic rating I would have to give this film a 9/10 because the ending even through me off and made me say “What The..” and I'm sure most felt the same way after watching it for the first time.

Beat Sheet for Psycho
Opening Image: The film starts off with Marion Crane and her lover Sam Loomis making out on a bed

Theme Stated: Tom Cassidy arrives at Marion Cranes boss’s office and says “Just…buying off unhappiness.”

Set-Up: Marion is asked to take the money to the bank for her boss.

Catalyst: She is given the 40,000 dollars in cash to take to the bank but she’s not sure what to do with it.

Debate: She makes up her mind to go live with Sam Loomis in California.

Break into Two: Marion leaves her town to go be with Sam and get away with the money.

B Story: After driving all day and night for 2 days she stops at a Motel that Norman Bates owns and runs to stay the night.

Fun and Games: Norman seems to have social problems and is obedient of his mother. Ultimately this leads to Normans mother killing Marion.

Midpoint: Norman discovers Marion dead on the ground and cleans up the mess and dispossess of the evidence.

Bad Guys Close In: After finding out that her sister has been missing Lila and Sam are confronted by a private investigator that is trying to find Marion. His search takes him to Norman’s hotel and leaves unsatisfied but returns only to die.

All Is Lost: Sam and Lila are distressed that the detective did not come back with news.

Dark Night Of The Soul: They talk to the sheriff of the town and learn that Norman Bates mother has been dead for 10 years.

Break into three: They decide to go investigate the hotel for themselves.

Finale: They find Norman mothers corpse and Lila is attacked in the cellar by Norman in a wig. Sam saves her though and they take Norman to the sheriff.

Final Image: In order for Norman to live the lie that his mother had not died by his hand he put on the illusion that she was never dead in his mind and became a psycho. Norman could not buy off happiness without losing his mind in the process.

-Ryan

Buffy the Vampire Slayer "Hush"

“Hush” the episode that changed the people’s perception of why Buffy the Vampire Slayer was such a deep show. “Everyone loves Buffy because of the characters dialogue. “ so what does creator Joss Whedon do? He makes 2/3 of an episode into a creep silent film with villains right out of a nightmare. The episode was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award in 2000 how ever did not when but it was still visually stunning and horrific because no one could speak. Humans depend so much on communication and most individual’s nightmares are of the inability to speak when being tormented by a demonic figure.

We think that this episode was very unique because of its partially silent nature. There were several humorous parts of this episode that could not have been incorporated if not for the characters losing their voices. We also noticed that there was a perfect amount of action to story building ratio. The final fight at the end was very satisfying because the Gentlemen’s heads exploded. The most impressive part of this episode was the way that Joss Whedon told a complete story, and created an incredible plot without the use of dialogue throughout most of the epidsode.

At the start of the “Hush” everyone can talk but no one is able to get their points across so in an ironic twist everyone in Sunnydale loses the ability to talk and more is said through their actions. More specifically, Buffy and Riley finally communicate their feelings towards one another during the mute epidemic. This episode is complete able to stand with most movies and be of higher quality than most. The rating that this episode shall receive from the both of us is a 4/5. It had been so long since watching the series so it was refreshing to watch an old episode again.

1. Opening Image: Buffy is in class spacing out while the teacher is instructing.
2. Theme Stated: After the classroom goes dark Buffy and Riley leave the room to investigate a creep girl singing in the hallway. Then Riley turns into a Gentleman and there is a scream so she wakes up.
3. Set-Up: Buffy is just going through the motions trying not to reveal her secret to Riley that she is a Slayer.
4. Catalyst: Everyone in Sunnydale including Buffy loses his or her voice to the Gentleman.
5. Debate: As a result Buffy has to find a way to get everyone’s voices back.
6. Break Into Two: She goes into the town and people are looting because no one can say anything to stop them.
7. B- Story: Riley as a character is given more back-story so that he can be developed as a person and show that he is not the different from Buffy.
8. Fun And Games: The Gentlemen begin to go around town and take peoples hearts.
9. Midpoint: The newspapers begin to publish stories about the mysterious killings in Sunnydale and the epidemic of laryngitis.
10. Bad Guys Close: The Gentlemen begin to chase Buffy in town while chasing Willow at the College dorms.
11. All Is Lost: Willow and a girl from her Wicca group are trapped in a room with no way out.
12. Dark Night Of The Soul: Buffy is held down by the Gentleman’s assistants.
13. Break Into Three: She sees the box that holds the voices of the town’s people and signals for Riley to break it.
14. Finale: They break the box and Buffy screams killing to Gentleman’s because they cannot stand the voice of Humans without their heads exploding.
15. Final Image: Buffy and Riley finally can talk but they have nothing to say which is ironic.

-Nick & Ryan

Buffy "Halloween" Review

The show the changed the standard for TV shows and is still acclaimed to this day despite having ended 6 years ago. It blew peoples mind with its use of special effects and elaborate story interwoven into a relatable world. The hidden metaphor in the episode is that perhaps how you appear on the outside is not what you are on the inside. Even if someone becomes what he or she is dressed as they are still not that person. Underneath their exterior is someone who is completely different than their exterior. Joss Whendon created Buffy the Vampire Slayer but I do not believe he could of anticipated how much people were going to get addicted to it. Joss is also known for his work on Toy Story among other things. After her work this the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series Sarah Michelle Gellar became a household name and everyone wanted her to do more acting.

Most importantly this episode sheds more light on the other characters of the series primarily Willow who has to take the role as the lead female for a good party of the episode. Over all an entertaining and quite interesting episode that made the series seem more appealing to more than just the cult followers of the series but those who would watch the show casually. Never a dull moment to be said about this because of the time from that the episode is with only being 44 minutes Joss had to pack everything he could into it. Final rating is a 4/5 that's not saying that it is something to be overlooked if anything it should be studied and digested a little bit more than we gave it but this was the common consensus.

Opening Image: Buffy is fighting with a vampire while being watched by Spike who wants to find her weakness.

Theme Stated: Angel tells Buffy that he wants a date with her not some other girl.
Set-Up: Buffy returns to school the following morning and is forced into volunteering to take children trick or treating at on Halloween.

Catalyst: While looking for a costume to wear at a newly opened shop Ethan's, Buffy stumbles upon a Victorian era outfit and is given it by the owner free of charge for an unexplained reason.

Debate: Buffy has to deiced if she really is going to wear the outfit and try to impress Angel by looking like someone from his records.

Break Into Two: Everyone in Sunnydale who got there costume at Ethan's shop is transformed into what they were dressed as.

B Story: Willow is forced to take the role of the main heroine and keep Xander and Buffy from hurting themselves or others around them being that she is the only person in Sunnydale having taken on the form of what the were wearing and retained her memory.

Fun and Games: Xander begins to shoot at demonic creations who chase Buffy, Willow, and Xander to Buffy's home.

Midpoint: Angel arrives at Buffy's home only to realize that she has no idea who she is and has to protect everyone from the other transformed people.

Bad Guys Close In: Buffy sees Angel transform into a vampire and runs off and ends up in an ally being chased by a person who has changed into a pirate.

All is lost: Buffy is caught by Spikes group of thugs.

Dark Night Of The Soul: Willow go to Giles who tells her how they can break the curse.

Break Into Three: Giles goes to the shop to find that is was Ethan who had cursed the articles of clothing.

Finale: Giles destroys the statue that keeps the curse in place and the people of Sunnydale return to themselves only to the dismay of Spike who is beaten by Buffy,

Final Image: Buffy comes clean to Angel to why she was dressed the way she was.

-Nick & Ryan

Nosferatu

Nosferatu Review

Nosferatu was a very creepy adaptation of the novel Dracula. The director had to change some of the names because of copyright laws. This silent film had a musical score that would be played by an organist while the film ran live. This would add to the films dark atmosphere. Even without the music though, Nosferatu is still a powerful film. Bram Stokers the author of Dracula would have presumably been upset by this supposed plagiarism, so his wife sued the production company. The company lost everything and went bankrupt. This did not stop the film from becoming a classic that is still revered today. The use of special effects such as stop motion to have Nosferatu rise up out of a hatch on a ship was quite revolutionary at the time. Most of the lighting in the movie dramatically added to the sense of imminent death and an intense sense of unease. For example, when Nosferatu is creeping up the stairs to find Nina, he casts a long shadow on the wall that gives the audience chills. The only special effects problems we saw in this film were when Nosferatu was outside and we could clearly see casted shadows made by the sun. Nosferatu is not supposed to be able to be in the sun, yet it seems to be day when he is outside. The fact that the movie was filmed in black and white and that camera technology was not as advanced as modern day may have forced the director to film only in the daylight. The lighting confusion is a minor issue though, and does not take away from the major influence that the movie has had over nearly nine generations.

The vampire Nosferatu had a creepy aura when on screen. Max Schreck is the actor who portrays Count Orlok (Nosferatu) both on screen and off. He took his role to an extreme and dark place that most others would not have. Attacking cast members and people who lived near him, he truly lived the part. There currently is a film called “Shadow of the Vampire” in production that is going to shed light on the on set antics of Max Schreck. Gustav Von Wangenheim played Jonathan, a part that did not do too terribly much. The role of Jonathan does not seem to be hero figure as most leading roles are, but instead the role gives the audience a sort of perspective to the story as it unfolded. Nina played by Greta Schroder was Jonathan's wife, who became entranced or possessed by Nosferatu once her husband had spent the night in the demon-infested lands of Transylvania.

Overall, we enjoyed Nosferatu, the plot, the characters, as well as the stories behind the scenes. The filming of Nosferatu was very interesting and actually added to the creepiness of Nosferatu in the movie. We also enjoyed seeing the special effects that were used back in 1922. Its always interesting to learn about old techniques and how they differ from modern day filming techniques. The actual story is what intrigued us the most. The fact that Nosferatu was a silent film meant that there was not a lot of information about the plot like in regular movies where the characters are able to speak and clarify the plot. With the viewer relying on the physical movements of the actors to tell the story there was room for interpretation. One audience member might have thought that the movie was conveying one message, while another audience member might have a slightly different theory. We liked that Nosferatu could have multiple interpretations depending on how you thought about what was happening on screen. All things considered, we give Nosferatu a 9/10. It would have gotten ten out of ten if not for the shadows during night issue, and the fact that Count Orlok was more silly than scary some of the time.


The Blake Snyder Beat Sheet for Nosferatu

1. Opening Image: It was Jonathan looking at himself in the mirror.

2. Theme Stated: Jonathan is told not to worry about the stories of the vampires of Transylvania.

3. Set-Up: We meet Jonathan’s wife Nina and hear of Nosferatu and how he wants to get to a building in their neighborhood.

4. Catalyst: He wakes up in that inn and starts to read the book about the vampires.

5. Debate: Whether or not he should continue on to Transylvania.


6. Break Into Two: He decides to keep going and arrives in Transylvania.

7. B Story: He meets Nosferatu and finds that he is a strange individual who has odd habits.

8. Fun and Games: Jonathan has to escape from Nosferatu while has to be at his home in Transylvania.

9. Midpoint: Nosferatu gets on the boat leaving for London to arrive in the abode near Nina.

10. Bad Guys Close In: The police stumble upon the dead bodies of the crew of the boat as it arrives in the harbor.

11. All is lost: Nosferatu moves into the building and begins killing individuals in the area near his new abode.

12. Dark Knight of the Soul: The plague is spead so Nosferatus killings go somewhat unnoticed.

13. Break into Three: Nina has to make the choice to sacrifice herself to save everyone else in the town.

14. Finale: Nina makes the choice to let Nosferatu drink her blood until morning in order to kill him when day breaks.

15. Final Image: Seeing Jonathan holding Nina, as she lies there dead.