Fin / The End

This would be my concluding paragraphs of the MovieFreak.blogspot.com.

The idea of film reviewing came to me in 2010.

This includes a sketched document being digitized into the blog for finalising this series of my final words on the love of films.

This was written in 29th September, 2010.

Short Critique

Recent movies I watched.

Atonement - 8/10 [Execution/Substance/Cinematography]
Boondock Saints - 7/10 [Execution]
Boondock Saints 2 : All Saint's Day - 6.5/10 [Execution]
American History X
Constant Gardner

I have this psycho mentality which makes me fantasising the things I recently do good. And I do it over and over again. (I mean fantasising.) Same with movies. Because that's the only thing I do good. It makes me loose focus of ordinary life. So I thought of writing a small review on every movie I watch. So this "dreaming" will be at least be recorded in some place more effectively.

American History X - 8.5/10

A movie of a great emotional level. Powerful acting performances and very honestly revealing the truth to it's audience, this movie kept me grabbed from beginning to the end. Edward Norton was unforgettable. Amazing cinematography, true environment of the middle class families which reminds us where the true humanity should lie and focused.

Constant Gardner - 7/10

Powerful theme and a very effective in showing it. Unforgettable film making. Amazing camera work, perfect execution by the filmmaker. But as the theme which has being highly talked among filmmakers makes this a bit common. Some characters of the movie should have been adjusted. Like "Sandy".

References

Images

· Fin (2017). Format: (Jpg.). Available at : https://i.pinimg.com/236x/81/9f/11/819f1147f46453fb240fbfa2ef5b2e83--friday-film-movie-titles.jpg (Accessed date : 9/23/2017)

· The End (2017). Format: (Jpg.). Available at : http://idsgn.org/images/now-and-then-how-film-titles-have-evolved/end__full.jpg (Accessed date : 9/23/2017)

The Imaginarium of Mr. Tim Burton

Timothy Walter Burton (born in 1958) or Mr. Tim Burton is an American film director, producer, artist, writer and animator.

He is famous for his dark, gothic, eccentric, quirky, animated musical, biographical, horror fantasy, blockbuster, fantasy drama, Sci-fi and superhero films.

Burton has worked repeatedly with Johnny Depp, with musician Danny Elfman, Actress Helena Bonham Carter in many films.

The title of this article, "The Imaginarium of Mr. Tim Burton" has a unique word.

The word imaginarium refers to a place devoted to the imagination. There are various types of imaginaria, centers largely devoted to stimulating and cultivating the imagination, towards scientific, artistic, commercial, recreational or spiritual ends.

The word was exposed to me from the film maker Mr. Terry Gilliam (born in 1940), American-born british screenwriter, film director, animator, actor, comedian and member of the monty python comedy troupe.

Gilliam has directed 12 feature films.

He directed "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)".

He started his career as an animator and strip cartoonist. He joined Monty Python as the animator of their works, but eventually became a full member and was given acting roles. He became a feature film director in the 1970's. Most of his films explore the theme of imagination and it's importance to life, express his opposition to bureaucracy and authoritarianism, and feature characters facing dark or paranoid situations.

Both filmmakers share unique traits.

The title will reflect on the both director's devotion in embracing imagination and creativity.

But in this article Tim Burton and his film career will be discussed.

Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) was released as his first feature film. Since that film Mr. Tim Burton maintained his unique artistic approach in conveying imagination based on his tradition. Beetlejuice (1988) also maintained his artistic style and witty humour.

Batman (1989) was his breakthrough superhero adaptation enabling him to penetrate blockbuster films. When the film opened in June 1989, it was backed by the biggest marketing and merchandising campaign in film history at the time, and became one of the biggest box office hits of all time, grossing well over US$ 250 million in the US alone and US$400 million worldwide.

Edward Scissorhands (1990) considered the most renowned and powerful reflections of his filmmaking talent fused with humanity which many critics claim it to be his best film.

Batman Returns (1992) sequel to Batman (1988) was also a financial success and also created a polarized fan base on love / hate movie following for the Tim Burton's 2nd superhero film.

Ed Wood (1994) is one of my personal favourite films as well as his greatest depictions on biographical filmmaking.

Later with his creativity fused in his artistic traits Tim Burton made Mars Attacks!(1996), Sleepy Hollow(1999), Planet of the Apes(2001), Big Fish(2003), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory(2005), Corpse Bride(2005), Sweeney Todd : The Demon Barber of the Fleet Street (2007), Alice in Wonderland(2010), Dark Shadows(2012), Frankenweenie (2012), Big eyes(2014) and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016) in his three decade long film making career.

Like many of my articles related to film making and film directors, they reflect upon Hollywood filmmakers who did not win academy awards for best director or any other category in there career. But that have not made these filmmakers to change there artistic style of film making.

Mr. Tim Burton is also in the same category.

One of my personal observations as a film fan is, Mr. Tim Burton's reflection of afterlife in his films. Beetlejuice (1988), Sleepy hollow (1999), Big fish(2003), Corpse Bride(2005), Dark Shadows(2012) and Frankenweenie (2012) have reflected afterlife in a very artistic and philosophical manner.

So finally this article is paying my personal tribute as a film fan to a filmmaker in taking the risk of innovation and imagination over the market or the audience's requirement to reflect on cinema and film as a personal statement.





References

Images

· Tim Burton: Big Fish (2003). Format: (Jpg.). Available at : http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000318/mediaviewer/rm190748928 (Accessed date : 9/17/2017)

Websites



· Wikipedia.com, Article title – Imaginarium [Online]. Available at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginarium (Accessed date : 2017/09/17)

· Wikipedia.com, Article title – Tim burton [Online]. Available at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Burton (Accessed date : 2017/09/17)

· BIOGRAPHY.com, Article title – Tim Burton [Online]. Available at : https://www.biography.com/people/tim-burton-9542431 (Accessed date : 2017/09/17)

· Wikipedia.com, Article title – Terry Gilliam [Online]. Available at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Gilliam (Accessed date : 2017/09/17)

· IMDB.com, Article title – The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) [Online]. Available at : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1054606/ (Accessed date : 2017/09/17)

Marvel V DC

Marvel and DC are two of the most famous global comic book brands and they have now extended their entertainment into films.

My discussion in this article is on the impact of Marvel and DC to the global and local contexts into many various micro and macro level areas.

Many of Sri Lankan fans like myself have not exposed to the comic books but I can guarantee are big fans of the films.

Recently since 2016 and 2017 Comic-con event has been organised in Sri Lanka, exposing fans into many dimensions like reading comic books, cosplaying, buying merchandise and showing homage through art or other medias.

DC Comics is owned by Warner Bros. It was founded in 1934. It's headquarters is located in Burbank, California, United States.

Marvel Comics is owned by Marvel Entertainment, LLC. It was founded on 1939. It's headquarters is located in New York, United States.

DC Comics and it's major, longtime competitor Marvel comics (acquired in 2009 by the Walt Disney company, Time Warner's [ Warner Bros.] main competitor) together shared 70% of the american comic book market in 2016.

In August 2016, Marvel held a 30.78% share of the comics market, compared to it's competitor DC Comics 39.27% share.

Since like many Sri Lankans, I prefer to discuss the cinematic universe because like many I've always been a cinephile.

The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are american media franchises used centered on superheroes and comic books published by there name.

MCU is a shared universe that is centered on a series of superhero films, independently produced by Marvel studios and based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. DCEU is also a shared universe that is centered on a series of superhero films, distributed by Warner bros. pictures, based on characters that appear in publications by DC Comics.

After the release of The Avengers in May 2012, Tom Russo of Boston.com noted that aside from the occasional "novelty" such as Aliens vs. Predator (2004), the idea of a shared universe was virtually unheard of in Hollywood. Since that time, the shared universe model created by Marvel Studios has begun to be replicated by other film studios that held rights to other comic book characters. In April 2014, Tuna Amobi, a media analyst for Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services, stated that in the previous three to five years, Hollywood studios began planning "mega franchises" for years to come, opposed to working one blockbuster at a time. Amobi added, "A lot of these superhero characters were just being left there to gather dust. Disney has proved that this [approach and genre] can be a gold mine." However, with additional studios now "playing the mega franchise game", Doug Creutz, media analyst for Cowen and Company, feels the allure will eventually die for audiences: "If Marvel's going to make two or three films a year, and Warner Brothers is going to do at least a film every year, and Sony's going to do a film every year, and Fox [is] going to do a film every year, can everyone do well in that scenario? I'm not sure they can.

The above is a market and economic perception of the relevant Marvel and DC film's impact to the film industry.

Culturally and socially there is a strong fan following globally for both franchises and I believe it can be evident in Sri Lanka due to the love for these films in the local context. And even independent global filmmakers also attempt to penetrate the film through superhero genre's. Even bollywood and russian films have extended into this genre.

Overall this two battle among the franchises have been able to transform an industry impacting globally changing economic, social and cultural paradigms.

References

Images

·         Marvel Comics (2017). Format: (Jpg.). Available at : https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/MarvelLogo.svg (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)

·         DC Comics (2017). Format: (Jpg.). Available at : https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/DC_Comics_logo.svg (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)

·         DC Films (2017). Format: (Jpg.). Available at : https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a3/DC_Films_logo.jpg (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)

·         Marvel Cinematic Universe (2017). Format: (Jpg.). Available at : https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0c/Marvel_Cinematic_Universe_logo.png     (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)

Websites

·         Wikipedia.com, Article title - Marvel Comics. [Online] Available at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Comics#Market_share (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)

·         Wikipedia.com, Article title - DC Comics. [Online] Available at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Comics  (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)

·         Wikipedia.com, Article title - DC Films. [Online] Available at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Extended_Universe  (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)

·         Marvel Cinematic Universe (2017). [Online] Available at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Cinematic_Universe#Cultural_impact (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)