Blackfish

Blackfish is an American documentary that tells the story of SeaWorld‘s performing bull Orca, ‘Tilikum‘. Within the documentary, director-producer Gabriela Cowperthwaite also uncovers the shocking truth of the theme parks that house these killer whales and the controversy that they have caused.

Blackfish poster-Credit to unleashed.org.au

I remember watching Blackfish for the very first time at home. There wasn’t much on TV and I was bored out of my mind. I was flicking through the channels when I saw the name ‘Blackfish’ pop up as the next entertainment to start. At first I presumed it would be a film, some kind of horror even. I left the channel on as it seemed like the only interesting choice of things to watch. Interesting it was, and I kept watching.

The documentary starts in quite an upbeat and positive mentality. I actually remember feeling so happy and in awe of SeaWorld for ‘saving’ these creatures and giving them a ‘second chance at life’. I was so largely mistaken.

Sea~World trainer with Tilikum-Credit to foryourconsiderationfilmblog.wordpress.com

Each interviewee discussed their experiences at SeaWorld or, if they were ex-trainers, their experiences behind the scenes and how they treated the animals. The documentary, by this point, seemed to have taken a darker turn, exposing truths and revealing unseen footage of the whales in captivity.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite has said that the influence behind the making of Blackfish came from an article written in 2010 about the death of Dawn Brancheau. You can read the article here.

One incident that caught my eye in this documentary was that of Ken Peters and performing killer whale Kasatka. Blackfish shows the clips of Kasatka taking Peters by the foot with her mouth and holding him underwater at the bottom of her tank for several minutes at a time. He did not thrash and he did not panic – he seemed to remain completely calm and understanding of the situation that was taking place. In between pulling him down under the water, Kasatka would take Peters back to the surface, where he would stroke her head and speak to her, as if her were communicating with the huge killer whale.

You can watch the fifteen minute clip of this incident here:

The thought process that entered my mind as I was watching this was incredible. My first thought was that this Orca was trying to kill her trainer in an outburst of emotion. However, I noticed that Kasatka’s intentions didn’t seem to be life-threatening, considering the fact that she was allowing Peters back up to breathe. Maybe this was her way of showing her frustration of being in such an enclosed space; her way of telling her trainer, or even her ‘friend’, that she is suffocating in these conditions and needs to be set free – much like how Ken Peters felt whilst being pulled to the bottom of the tank.

That thought came into my mind after learning that Orcas actually have a part of their brain that has evolved over time. This section holds emotions and their thought processes, showing that Orcas could actually have more of an emotional depth in their mind than humans do. If this is the case, then I solely believe that these whales in captivity are not killing for the fun of it or just out of anger – they are killing to prove a point and to help us to understand how they are feeling. You can read about the neuroscientist (from Blackfish) Lori Marino’s  theories on Orca brains here.

Mother Orca and baby calf swim together in a SeaWorld tank-Credit to examiner.com

Blackfish completely opened up my mind to the selfishness of the human race and how money can control the mind and soul of a person. The lack of respect for these beautiful animals and the carelessness of the business prove that the barbaric nature of this form of entertainment is past its time and should have been put to an end long ago.

If you’re going to watch this documentary, I’d strongly recommend a large box of tissues beside you. It’s a heart-wrenchingly sad story and one that must be put right in the coming years and looked back on in sheer horror.

Here is the trailer for Blackfish that was released in 2013:

 

Fantasia-November 13, 1940

A Disney classic that did not quite reach the top. It is rather unfortunate that a film of such imagination and intricate animation has not made it to the list of well recognised and infamous names of films that Walt Disney created.

Fantasia has been my favourite children’s film ever since I was little. I can’t remember the age I was when I was first introduced to the movie, however I have loved it ever since. I’m surprised I wasn’t actually scarred for life after watching the film so young, with characters such as Satan appearing in certain scenes.

Satan in ‘Night On Bald Mountain’ in Fantasia-Credit to hubpages.com

It is far from the typical idea of a children’s film, with no moral to it and no subliminal messages. It does not expose a sad tale and it does not rejoice with a happy ending. It is made purely from the imagination of Walt Disney himself, as if the film were a window into his mind.

Being Disney’s third animated film, it was a bold step for him to release something that had no storyline. It is simply animations moving across the screen to different classic orchestral pieces, described in the synopsis as a ‘musical masterpiece’.

Greek mythology animations coupled with Beethoven’s ‘6th ‘Pastoral’ Symphony’-Credit to disneytoonland.tumblr.com

There is no form of dialogue in the animations. The only speech given comes from the narrator of the film, Deems Taylor. He describes each set of animations before they are shown as well as giving insight into the titles of each musical set along with a brief background of their origins.

The whole film will most definitely seem like utter nonsense to those who need a storyline to follow within a film. In my opinion, Fantasia was created to transform the opinion of what music really is. Watching the animations move in perfect synchronization to the music seems to help distract one’s mind from any stress felt beforehand. As well as this, it has encouraged me to completely respect Disney’s craft and talent whilst also coming to love the orchestral pieces that were provided.

Walt Disney-Credit to http://www.tes.com

Not only this, but the instruments used for each piece are exquisitely matched to each animated character or object shown. The techniques used by the musicians really provide the imagination with a step to truly understand each small story. Even flowers and leaves come to life in this movie.

It is almost as if the music tells the story and the animations help to show it. Each piece fits perfectly with each image, and it fascinates me as to how Walt Disney managed to successfully create this film in an era of more limited means than what we have today.

I struggled to decide on a scene that accurately portrays what this blog post is describing, mainly because there are so many that I could have used. Here is one that beautifully demonstrates the skill of both Walt Disney and the Philadelphia Orchestra: The Rite of Spring, by Igor Stravinsky. 

 

Begin Again

I am not one for musicals or any kind of sing-song within films, however, when I saw the trailer released for ‘Begin Again’ in 2013, I was quite curious. Obviously it had nothing to with the fact that Adam Levine was starring in the film. Obviously.

Keira Knightley and Adam Levine in their character roles in Begin Again  (Photo by Aby Baker/Getty Images)

I never actually ended up going to see the movie in the cinema though. I wasn’t really that keen, as the trailer didn’t give much of the storyline away, and I couldn’t quite understand the whole point of the film. I knew that Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley and James Cordon were all part of the cast, as well as having CeeLo Green popping in for a scene or two. But still, nothing really persuaded me to go out and spend money just to watch this film.

Despite this, Netflix won me over after suggesting the film to my account. I gave in and watched it, purely to put off doing my revision.

Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo star in Begin Again-Recording in the streets of New York (credit to fwweekly.com)

I ended up being sucked into the musical side of things and found myself thoroughly enjoying the storyline. The plot is based around Gretta (Knightley) moving to New York with her boyfriend Dave (Levine) who is a rising star in the charts and wants to fulfill his dreams of becoming a music artist. Gretta accompanies Dave with both heart and soul and spurs him on to chase what he wishes for. After going away for a week in Los Angeles with his record label, he comes back and tells Gretta that he had cheated on her with one of the media team while away. Forced to leave, Gretta seeks out her friend Steve (Corden) who is also in the city, busking on the streets. She joins him in a small pub and ends up being dragged onto the stage to perform a song. This is when Dan (Ruffalo) steps in and offers to sign her onto his record label. One thing leads to another and before she realises, she’s recording her own album in the streets of New York.

Although the film is centred around the heartbreak of Gretta, it is actually quite a ‘feel good film’, if you will. The only real downside for me was that I came to dislike Adam Levine’s character an awful lot after his little slip up in L.A. Also, who knew Kiera Knightley could sing?

Poster for Begin Again (2014) (credit to privatenameserver.net)

It’s definitely something to watch if you need your mood lifting, and the music isn’t even that bad.

I struggled to pick a suitable trailer for this one, and so I went with the online trailer for the film. Short, sweet, and a good summary of the story, here is ‘Begin Again’:

Fifty Shades of Grey-The Emotion Behind the Erotica

So, ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’. The trilogy of books sold 100 million copies, according to an article published by The Guardian back in 2014. The film was released in 2015 and became a worldwide phenomena, with many fans of the books eagerly awaiting to see the visual of Mr. Christian Grey. However, both the books and the film actually received negative stigma from many people, seeing the storyline as being totally focused on sex scenes and hardcore bondage. But in my opinion, there’s a deeper meaning to the film as a whole.

The book cover for Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

I didn’t get chance to read the trilogy of books by E. L. James, because at the time I was ‘too young’, in the words of my mum. Rightly so, being fifteen and unaware of what was actually within the pages. But I remember feeling so left out, as all of my friends were reading the books and talking about how gripping the storyline was. The film was then released in 2015, and I was still just a year too young to go and watch it. That’s when Putlocker came in handy.

So I settled myself down and got ready to watch it. Alone, obviously – terrified of what the hysteria was all about. But to my surprise, I actually connected more with the film than I thought I would.

So the storyline is simple. Anastasia Steele, English Lit college student, accidentally ends up landing an interview with Christian Grey, young and successful businessman, after her flatmate (the journalist) is unwell and can’t ask the questions herself. Ana has no idea how attractive and charming Mr. Grey is, and they quickly become more than strangers to one another.

Ana and Christian before they ‘blossomed’

That’s one thing that did destroy the film a little bit for me. The whole movement of the two characters becoming closer just seemed to occur far too fast for my liking. Of course, it’s a film, and the running time was limited to an extent, but it all happened too quickly in my opinion.

Despite this, I noticed that the film had deeper meaning to it than I had expected. Throughout the film I noticed that the character of Christian Grey was almost animalistic; not much emotion shown, very instinctual and a straight view on life. However, the more that Ana seemed to appear in his life, questioning his view on things, the more Christian lost a piece of his symbolic wall that he had built up for himself.

Ana and Christian falling for one another

As well as this, we find out at the end of the film that Christian’s mother was a cocaine addict and committed suicide when he was four years old. After being adopted and finding work as a fifteen year old, he met a woman named Elena, who had seduced him and sexually abused him in many ways, teaching him about BDSM and allowing him to lose his virginity to her. Although this was all illegal, Christian credits Elena for teaching him how to control his emotions and ‘channel his anger into positive outlets’. All of this compensates for the first impression we are given of him; powerful, intimidating, and charming. Similar to the idea of how a psychopath may act.

Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey

So Christian’s mind was moulded and changed at an age where he was easily influenced, and it stuck with him. During the film, Ana is unaware of this, and is desperately trying to have just a normal, happy relationship with him, but is torn by the thought of being his ‘submissive’. Christian is also torn between holding onto a life of non-emotion and self control, or a life with Ana, a girl he’s fallen for without meaning to. This proved to me that although the film is heavily based around sensuality and sex, it is also the tale of a helpless love story, whereby both characters are falling for one another despite all of their differences and the block between them that is Christian’s past traumas.

Ana left Christian at the end of Fifty Shades of Grey, which has left me patiently waiting for Fifty Shades Darker to hit my local cinema screens so that I can see the development of their relationship, if there even is one.

Overall, this film taught me that the idea of ‘love’ is different to many and that relationships are often shadowed by past events and relationships, which can sometimes make it difficult to find ‘love’ again.

Here are two trailers for the film that show both sides of the storyline. One is slightly more erotic, with the infamous twist of Beyoncé’s ‘Crazy In Love’ song, and the other romanticises the film a little bit more. Have a watch and see which one you prefer.

 

The Wolf of Wall Street

According to The Telegraph, Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ has been his best film in 20 years.

The film was released back in 2013, based on the memoir of New York stockbroker Jordan Belfort who made it big with his company Stratton Oakmont.

The real Jordan Belfort

Despite the positive reviews the film received around the performance of Leonardo DiCaprio (as Belfort), it has been deemed as controversial by some viewers who struggled to see the humorous side of things.

DiCaprio’s performance was hailed as a masterpiece, demonstrating the transition from an innocent young worker wanting a comfortable wage income to a scandalous, motivational and unstoppable God-like figure.

Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street

Belfort has become largely famous for his inspirational speeches – alongside his creativity within the drugs network. A known favourite of Belfort’s addiction were Quaaludes. Popular within the 70’s and 80’s, the drug was manufactured as a sleeping pill, but was soon discovered to give those who took it an incredible high, classed as a ‘Euphoria’ by The Independent. Belfort admits to taking 10-20 ‘ludes a day – enough to kill a baby elephant.

The Quaalude-Belfort’s treasured drug

The intensity of Belfort’s drug addiction was well portrayed by DiCaprio. However, his performance at the Country Club in the film has received negative feedback from certain audiences, mainly those who have knowledge on the drug itself and quite a few female viewers, calling the film ‘immature’ and ‘small minded’.

Although this film is not particularly liked by many, it has been handed several awards, as listed on IMDb‘s site. It did not win Leondardo his Oscar award, but it did include him in the nominations, much like many of his other roles.

To truly understand the ludicrous and overwhelming effect this film can have on a person, have a click on the trailer below.

 

Astonishing, isn’t it?

‘Coraline’, not ‘Caroline’

Released in 2009, the animated film Coraline became a phenomena amongst a young audience and those who were original fans of the book. But is it really just your typical children’s film?

I remember having Coraline read to me and my friends in my old primary school during my last year there. Our teacher was a fantastic story-teller and could lure us all into a book – despite being made to sit on a hard floor with just a carton of milk to keep us happy. Each day he would read a chapter at a time to us, and we would all sit there in complete silence, idolising his impersonations of each character.

Image of the front cover of Coraline in book form. Notice the illustrations and what they symbolise.

Then came the day where the film was advertised on TV. Obviously I was ecstatic and practically dragged my mum along to watch it with me, as well as my sister and her friend who had to leave halfway through because she started crying due to an intense fear of the whole film, basically.

But, as I’ve grown older, I’ve come to realise that this film is not all that it may seem.

I’ve only really watched it two or three times since, however education can be a wonderful thing, as well as having a severely over-analytical mind, in my case.

The film hides many subliminal messages, similar to most children’s films. In the case of Coraline, it is all based around the idea of manipulation and mind control symbolism. Some have even argued so far as to say that the film actually represents the ‘All Seeing Eye’ after a poster was released featuring the eye within the shape of a triangle inside the letter ‘A’.

Coraline poster featuring an ‘All Seeing Eye’ inside the ‘A’

The protagonist of the film is, of course, Coraline; curious, fearless, and unafraid to speak her mind. This is similar to many other female protagonists in other films, such as The Wizard of Oz, and Alice in Wonderland. The manipulator seeking to control Coraline, is her ‘Other Mother’; the warmer, happier, and more loving parent that Coraline was unaware of having. This ‘Other Mother’ is also referred to as ‘The Beldam’ in the film, something most children would be oblivious to the meaning of. I researched this and came across many definitions, most summing up that a Beldam is a malicious and twisted older woman, but among these explanations, I also found the word ‘witchcraft’ appearing several times. The Beldam only appears in the film after Coraline begins to question this alternate world and refuses to obey her ‘Other Mother’.

The ‘Beldam’ of Coraline

In the film, there are actually subliminal symbolisations of witchcraft and other forms of mind control slavery. One example is during the scene whereby Coraline is offered the chance to stay in her magical world with her ‘Other Parents’ on the condition that she must allow her ‘Other Mother’ to sew buttons in her eyes. The mind control here is clear. The Beldam calls Coraline ‘our little doll’, which symbolises the nature of her manipulation and ownership over Coraline. Coraline has not yet realised that her ‘Other Mother’ is not all that she seems to be, and so she ignores the use of the name ‘doll’ towards her and accepts the gift placed in front of her, unbeknown to what it could be. Once opened, she finds two buttons, a needle and a thread inside. The next comment from her ‘Other Mother’ is ‘soon you will see things our way’. However, this is not all that is strange about this scene. There are also two horned heads upon the wall behind the Beldam, decorations that are not featured in the reality of Coraline’s life. These are prominently lit to represent the black magic/occult transformation of the mind control process in the alternate world that Coraline has ‘stumbled’ upon. By allowing the Beldam to sew buttons into her eyes, Coraline would be accepting the position of becoming the handler’s puppet forever. The film also states that the Beldam would ‘devour her soul’, leaving our young protagonist empty inside and under the influence of her ‘Other Mother’.

Screenshot of scene where Coraline is offered the choice to stay, but only with buttons for eyes

There are many more hidden images and subliminal messages within the film as a whole. I never truly realised the depth of this film until I grew old enough to understand it, and now that I do, I may not be able to watch it again with the same innocence I had before.

Watch the trailer below to see how this symbolic film was made to appear completely innocent in the hope that children would fall in love with it.

Black Mass – The Performance of Johnny Depp

James ‘Whitey’ Bulger. One of the world’s most notorious gangsters in the U.S. A prominent figure in Boston during the 70’s. Second to Osama Bin Laden on the ‘Most Wanted’ list in America after he fled during the 90’s.  But just how well did Johnny Depp portray an accurate representation of the man himself?

James ‘Whitey’ Bulger-mugshot

As you might expect, I was overjoyed when I saw this trailer released in the dawn of 2015’s winter. Everything about it was clean-cut and thrilling. So I set a date, bought a ticket, and went to watch the film, unsure of what to expect and highly doubting that the film would be of any major influence to me.

I was largely mistaken.

Scott Cooper‘s Black Mass is a cocktail of hard emotions and gruesome murders, showing the alliance between James Bulger and the FBI. The film overall is set during the time in which Bulger was leader of the Winter Hill Gang from 1979 onwards.

Made up of sick humour and twisted morals, Johnny Depp adopts the character of ‘Whitey’ Bulger as fantastically as he has done with several other characters he’s been handed in the past. Charming yet morbid and wrong, Depp manages to convey the psychopathic nature of Bulger in a way that somehow draws the audience in to appreciate every aspect of him – despite the fact that this man was sentenced to two life sentences plus five years for conspiracy, extortion, 11 murders and federal racketeering.

Johnny Depp as James Bulger in Scott Cooper’s Black Mass

It has been said that Depp actually tried to arrange a meeting with James Bulger (who is currently behind bars in a federal prison in Florida), only to have Bulger ‘respectfully’ decline the offer. Depp made clear from the start that he felt a responsibility to show that he was not playing a character throughout Black Mass; he was re-enacting the reality that was Bulger’s life, hence why he was eager to meet the criminal to create an accurate representation.

I feel as though this attitude towards the ‘character’ that Johnny Depp played in the film helped the audience to understand the depiction of James Bulger that Cooper wanted to portray.  Cooper even chose to include scenes in the film that gave Bulger pure and honest human emotions, such as how he reacted to the deaths of his two most treasured relatives: his son and his mother.

If you believe you have the stomach to watch cold murder scenes and grisly events that took place in the real world, then Black Mass is for you.

If you want a taste of the tension and fear that Johnny Depp delivers so well in the film as James Bulger himself, look no further than the trailer.

It’s enough to show why the film was named ‘Black Mass.’ Enjoy.

 

 

The Revenant: 2016

It was during the sad winter of 2015 that our TV screens were blessed with the hugely anticipated trailer of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Revenant, which is based on the tale of Hugh Glass– American frontiersman, fur trapper, hunter and explorer.

The trailer alone was enough to give me goosebumps all over, which resulted in a mad run around my house just to show it to my dad in the hope of leaving him speechless for a few minutes.

However, the result was actually far from what I had expected. Instead, he paused the trailer on my phone, and handed it back. Of course, I was practically broken inside by this; the trailer had excited me so much, and he didn’t seem bothered about it in the slightest. Upon seeing my face, he turned and told me he had seen ‘too many films like it’.

I was in such disbelief, and totally taken aback by his opinion. I assumed he would share the exact same excitement that I had felt when I first watched the trailer for this wonderful film. Clearly I was wrong, and so I went back to my bedroom to sit and watch different trailers for the same film about seven or eight times.

And then came the night when I was actually on my way to go and watch this film. At the time, it didn’t feel like such a big deal, as I had missed the first showing and had to wait an hour for the next one-just like you would if it was any other film. I even allowed myself to go and have a drink at Cineworld‘s hidden bar before proceeding to the screening.

Inside, it was packed. And I mean, seriously crowded – almost every seat taken. That’s when it really did hit me that I was about to watch one of 2016’s biggest films to be released in cinemas all over the world.

The film itself, in my opinion, was truly breathtaking. From special effects to character personalities, make-up to scenery- it was a true spectacle. It even managed to draw out some pretty deep emotions from myself, despite the fact that I do tend to cry a lot during most films.

Although the film only really seemed to have a basic plot (Glass trying to get a painful revenge on John Fitzgerald for murdering his half-native son, Hawk) and many would be confused as to ‘what the big deal was about’, it must be understood that this film was inspired by true events. You need to place yourself in the film to feel the pain, bitterness and anger that Glass felt during this awful time in his life, otherwise there really isn’t much point in watching it.

It got to a point during the film where I literally couldn’t stop myself from crying. But in my opinion, this isn’t a negative. The film actually made me feel something, and I could understand the perspective of each and every character within the plot. It was hauntingly mesmerising, yet also hugely inspirational. Have you ever had cold shivers whilst watching a film, just because your adrenaline is running that high from watching a single scene?

On my second viewing of this masterpiece, I took my dad with me to watch it. Obviously he wasn’t best pleased about going, but once the film had finished, he understood why I was so obsessed with it. He came out completely speechless – the reaction I had wanted from him all along.

I’m currently still waiting for an apology from him, which I’ll never get.

All I can really say about this movie is that it is worth every single penny of your ticket, and if you don’t believe me, check out the awards it’s picked up in the past couple of months.

It’s worth your time.

Contact Details

ELLIE NICHOLSON

ENICHO200@caledonian.ac.uk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ellienicholsonb

Extra Information

Here are extra pieces of information about the films I have discussed in my posts.

About This Site

Here on this site you will be introduced to many different film reports from the perspective of a multimedia journalism student from Glasgow. Through critique, opinion and a keen eye for creativity, I will share with you my ideas and opinions on films: their themes, characters, and plots, with the only hope that you will enjoy it.