A Must Watch: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

A must watch for every writer or lover of books:

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

A very moving, fantastical short, that deserverdly won the Oscar 2012.

Sources: IMDb, Official Site

Hanna - Script to Movie - Part 2

Welcome back to Part 2 of my ‘Script to Movie’ Feature of Hanna.

In the first post, I analyzed the Black List Script of 2006. In today’s post I will analyze the structure of the movie and afterwards compare that to the script. Like in the first post I will use Black Snyder's Beat Sheet as described in Save the Cat!

First Image:

Hanna hunting a dear in the lonely nature of Sweden. Key dialogue: “I just missed your heart.”

Theme stated:

Min. 6

Eric: “We have all we need right here.”

Hanna: “It’s not enough. I’m ready.”

= Hanna wants more, although the world out there is out to get her

Set-Up:

Scenes in the cabin show us the ‘family life’ of Eric and Hanna. We see pictures of her mother Johanna. Then, next morning, fight training, memorizing information and shooting exercises. This set-up is very short, as we don't need very much information and more will be reveal

Catalyst:

Eric digs up a transmitter and gives Hanna the choice to activate it. Warning her if Marissa Wiegler ever found her, “she won’t stop until Hanna’s dead. Or she is.” = In this short sentence right at the beginning of the movie, the Goal was shown very clearly!

Read further after the break to see the changes made and read my verdict on the final movie!
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Hanna - Script to Movie - Part 1

 

Post based on the script ‘Hanna’ by Seth Lochhead.

Today I’ll be starting a new feature: In a first post I will read a script and analysis just as usual, but I’ll follow that up by a second post comparing the script to the final film. I’ll be writing about the structure (using Blake Synder's Beat Sheet) and discuss the changes made to the story

The Verdict:

I adore the clear and precise language, but the plot falls very flat, because the characters have no motivation or depth at all.

What’s it about:

A teenage girl, trained by her father to be the perfect killing machine, has to travel across Europe in order to make it home again.

First Image:

FADE IN:

EXT. FOREST - SWEDEN -- DAY

[...]

Hanna (14) glides through the trees, a bow strapped to her shoulders. Her camouflage causes her to fade in and out of the background. She floats through the trees as if she were a ghost.

[...]

Set-Up:

After the introduction to Hanna, the script cuts to Marissa, a stone cold secret service agent, who picks up a signal in Sweden and sends some men to capture Eric and Hanna. The next few scenes shows the “normal life” of Hanna: training, hunting, fighting until ---

Catalyst:

-- O'Reilly arrives at their cabin, capturing Eric and Hanna. Both escape from their confinement, but were hold in separate prisons. 


Read Act Two and Three after the break:

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'Priest' (2011) - Atmosphere

Today InSight: Movies takes a little break from reviewing scripts and brings you something different. In this short article I want to open up the discussion about 'Atmosphere' in movies.

'Priest' (2011) is a perfect example to illustrate this topic: I found the story and characterization really underwhelming, but nonetheless I was captivated by the movie. Why is that?

The production design and sets of 'Priest' were really impressive for the moderate budget, depicting the futuristic timeline in which the movie played. Shots of the urban landscape contrasted with the wide and barren desert. The capable actors (especially Paul Bettany & Maggie Q) were able to refrain from corny over-acting, which grounded the whole film in reality (as far as this is possible in this genre). 

To sum it up: the whole movie had atmosphere! But what is atmosphere?

It is the feeling of being drawn into the movie; when rich visuals and design create a world in front of the viewer's eyes. Atmosphere means a coherent world that might be different from ours, either in time or place. Actors can create atmosphere (and easily destroy it). Perhaps it is the essence of movie making. As you can see, I can't point out a single factor in creating something like atmosphere. It is the synergy of many people doing what they love and this shows on the screen. This explains why some films have it - and some don't. You can not calculate something like movie atmosphere.


'Priest' is by far not a great movie, but the atmosphere created in this dystopian movie makes up for the lack of plot and thus creates an enjoyable film.


What atmospheres in a movie suprised you? How, in your opinion, can atmosphere be created?



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