Ziad Shihab

Showing all posts tagged "Cinesemiotics"

Lorelei And The Laser Eyes - a Puzzle Game

Puzzles are a kind of analog telepathy. The puzzle designer conceives of an idea, and then attempts, through the expression of their work—a maze, a cipher, an encoded message or cleverly hidden clue—to export that idea to someone else’s head, in as clean a fashion as possible. It’s the same process that happens in nearly any artistic endeavor, really, except made more direct and pure: Puzzles, unlike stories, have solutions, essentially demanding that you follow the designer’s intent all the ...

Genre - Definition and Examples from Film

Skip to content What is Genre? Definition and Examples from Film. Published: May 2, 2024 Updated: May 3, 2024 DISCLOSURE: AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE I EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES. READ THE FULL DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO. ALL AFFILIATE LINKS ARE MARKED #adDefinition: Genre functions as a categorization system that helps creators and audiences ...

Marooned

Regarding the film Marooned In "Marooned," there is a subplot involving the astronauts’ communication with their families from space. The astronauts are allowed to have brief communication sessions with their wives via a video link, which becomes a source of emotional support and comfort for both the astronauts and their loved ones during the crisis. However, there is some obfuscation surrounding the communication link due to the severity of the situation and the desire to minimize public pan...

Maze Runner - The - Ending Explained

"The Maze Runner" can be perceived as Hollywood’s apology for the capitalist system that’s destroying the world as we know it. It’s a post-apocalyptic, end-of-the-world, survivalist narrative where a few teenagers take on a corporation and try to save themselves and the world. Science has made ungodly progress, and as paradoxical as the sentence sounds, belief becomes the center through which we justify our actions. Science is also driven by the belief that there is a silver lining at the end...

Cop Hater - 1958

From Dr of DoomCop Hater is a 1958 American crime B-movie based on one of Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct novels. Since it’s a crime movie shot in black-and-white a lot of people have succumbed to the temptation to assume it’s film noir. It isn’t. Not even close. It’s a tough police procedural, just as the Ed McBain novels are police procedurals. It’s a hot day in the city. Apparently all it takes is a hot day and everyone goes crazy and starts killing people. A cop named Reardon gets gunned down i...

Hackers

On this week’s episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle, John and special guest Laura Hudson (formerly of Wired and The Verge) watched the 1995 cyber-thriller "Hackers," directed by Ian Softley and starring Jonny Lee Miller, Angelina Jolie, Fisher Stevens and Lorraine Bracco, with supporting roles for Matthew Lillard, Penn Jillette, Wendell Pierce, Marc Anthony and Felicity Huffman."Hackers" centers on Dade Murphy, alias "Zero Cool," who made hacking history 7 years before the events of...

PITFALL - 1962

Otoshiana366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.DIRECTED BY: Hiroshi TeshigaharaFEATURING: Hisashi Igawa, Sumie Sasaki, Kunie TanakaPLOT:A miner in search for work is led to a ghost town where he’ll become embroiled in a plot involving manipulation, trade unions, and doppelgangers.COMMENTS: Pitfall was the first of a series of collaborations between Hiroshi Teshigahara (director), author Kobo Abe (screenwriter), and Toru Takemitsu (composer); the trio ...

Revenge Films - perspective from Denmark

From: 16-9.dk Apr 25, 2024 by Joachim Smed-Petersen, Josefine Bjerre Lyndgaard & Karen Marie The female avenger exists in countless forms, universes and genres and has been a rapidly developing character especially since the 1970s. We see her as the femme fatale in film noir, we get to know her through the rape revenge genre, and we fall in love with her when, in the 1990s and 2000s, she becomes a celebrated and more common female figure on film. But where is the female avenger today, and ho...

Election - film by Alexander Payne now Relevant as Ever

From Roger Ebert dot com:There’s an ongoing theme in Alexander Payne’s films -- the people we think are the antagonists aren’t actually bad people; we simply force ourselves into the corner of seeing them that way. From the simple-minded and unfortunately coiffed future in-laws in "About Schmidt" to the adulterous characters in "Sideways" and "The Descendants," to the animosity of the student-teacher relationship at the heart of "The Holdovers," these films all feature cases of the protagonis...

Starship Troopers - Heinlein and Realism

Robert Heinlein was one of the "big three" science fiction writers of his era.  Along with Arthur C. Clark and Isaac Asimov, his prize-winning stories were hailed, and his critique of conventional norms, such as nonviolence and pacifism, captivated his audience.  In particular, the 1959 book Starship Troopers illustrated political and religious issues that continue to engage Christian Realists today.  The book takes brutal aim at pacifism, and thirty-eight years later it was made into the pop...

TO DIE FOR Review - This Film Kills

For most of its residents, the frigid burgh of Little Hope, New Hampshire can’t help but live up to its town’s moniker.  A perpetually blah place with an unromantic blue collar frozen-in-time and also freezing quality, its denizens have been long resigned not to ask too much of life. Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this.But not for Suzanne Stone-Maretto.  For this young, recently wed career-minded woman, her frigidity comes from within.  Portrayed with an exacting edge by Nicol...

Aftersun and the reflective property of memory

Chama Al Houari (f. 2002) is an aspiring filmmaker from Morocco. She is currently studying at NSKI in Oslo, and is passionate about film history and how movies reflects the world.*I walk into the theater not knowing what to expect, something about a father and a daughter. Something about a critically acclaimed directorial debut. Aftersun. The film starts, and I brace myself for another conventionally unconventional A24 flick. But before I know it, without warning, I’m looking at the broken pi...

Somebody’s Always Listening

Paramount Pictures/Ringer illustration            As the release of Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded, $100 million extravaganza ‘Megalopolis’ nears, it’s worth revisiting ‘The Conversation’ from 50 years ago as a reminder of what it looks (and sounds) like when a master is at work"At my age, I can afford for film to be a passion and not a business." That’s what Francis Ford Coppola told me 15 years ago during an interview about his 2009 film, Tetro, a glossy, quasi-autobiographical melodram...

Text of Light - Staying Vertical

Text of Light No. 3Staying Vertical by Jordan Cronk Last month I visited the Academy Museum’s exhibition "Shifting Perspectives: Celebrating Vertical Cinema," for which a trio of Southern Californian artists were commissioned to make short works to be projected onto a 20-foot-tall screen in the 9:16 aspect ratio—essentially a lengthwise inversion of the standard widescreen frame. Inspired by a concept by Sonic Acts, an interdisciplinary arts organization in Amsterdam that’s been presenting pr...

Teaching Media Archives

We welcome submissions from all graduate students and faculty or independent scholars Apologies for cross-posting Synoptique is soliciting proposals for book reviews for our upcoming issue 11.1, which is a special issue with the topic "Teaching Media Archives." We invite reviewers to propose reviews for both the themed and general review sections. If you are interested in writing a review for this issue, please contact book.reviews@synoptique.ca with a short proposal (maximum 250 words) outl...

Spoof Films - Parodying Genres with a Wink and a Nod

A spoof film is a movie genre that pokes fun at other films or genres by mimicking their style in a comedic way.These parodies cleverly exaggerate tropes, clichés, and common elements found in serious works to elicit laughter and entertain audiences.By understanding the mechanics of what they’re mocking, spoof movies offer an irreverent take on well-known cinematic conventions.They often require a balance of wit and slapstick humor to successfully land their jokes without coming across as ove...

Foreshadowing Shapes Cinema and Storytelling

Across the vast field of storytelling history, foreshadowing is a plot device and a tool that successfully shapes the audience’s engagement. Delicate, but strategically placed hints, can add plot twists to any story. From ancient tales to modern blockbusters, foreshadowing has been present in narratives for centuries. Read on to learn more about how it helps shape different films and stories. The Art of Foreshadowing in Cinematic Storytelling        Storytelling image. Source: Faculty Focus ...

Brawniest Remake of 2024 is of worst Hollywood trend

— Prime Video It’s uncertain whether or not a remake of Road House was necessary, but Doug Liman’s retelling of the 1989 Patrick Swayze cult classic is surprisingly instructive. It captures, for better and worse, everything about the current era of Hollywood filmmaking, resulting in a movie that’s often riotously funny, but ends up lacking in every way that the original succeeded — including being a completed production ready for release.The 2024 Road House follows Jake Gyllenhaal’s Elwood Da...

Banel and Adama – cinema as fairytale

Banel (Khady Mane) and Adama (Mamadou Diallo) are a beautiful couple, introduced on the arid plains of Senegal, clad in yellow and red respectively. They float through their day’s work of cow-herding in a harmonious, almost dreamlike state. Banel closes her eyes against the blistering sun, hiding from reality by finding meaning in the flashing lights, or phosphenes, left behind in her vision. In this opening sequence, the pair exist in a montage of almost stock videos, in primary colours and ...

Wonka Is Wonderful But Part of His Backstory Makes Absolutely No Sense

Although conversation may have momentarily shifted away from Paul King’s wonderful musical Wonka and over to the short-lived waking nightmare that was Glasgow’s Willy Wonka Experience, this prequel to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory has now come to streaming, so we can enjoy the taste all over again. As we mentioned at the time in our review, and our chats with director Paul King and producer David Heyman, it’s a good hearted, funny, and joyful romp. Timothée Chalamet is charming and ...

Spaceman - 2024 movie analysis

Netflix’s new sci-fi film "Spaceman," starring Adam Sandler, follows the story of an astronaut on a solitary research voyage to outer space. However, during his solo mission, he encounters an alien creature that leads him to a somber realization: his self-absorbed world is the cause of his estranged relationship with his wife. Is it too late for him to set things right?This article contain spoilers; readers discretion advised.Spaceman (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:Commander Jakub P...

Anatomy of a Fall

TIFF 2023 | Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet, France) — Special Presentations By Aurélie Godet. Published in Cinema Scope #95 (Summer 2023). Have you ever sat in front of a large poster depicting the human body without its skin? One muscle gets entangled into another, the precision and complexity of their web apparent in the areas that are most crucial for movement, but with the face on top of this transparent carcass looking very much alive. One can imagine that Justine...