Media Studies Blog

                                                                                                                                                         Aliens (1986) Review:   James Cameron's Aliens follows up from the original sci-fi instalment, as Ripley wakes up from hyper-sleep having discovered that over 50 years has passed, after waking up on a colony spaceship. Soon she realises that there are many more of the aliens she originally thought,so  attempts to find and destroy them with the help of the marines, however when reaching the planet the aliens are based on they discover that they ar...

Saving Private Ryan Review Saving Private Ryan is a harsh document of reality, presenting the emotional turmoil and extreme violence of WW2. The very second scene of the film takes place on a beach in France, as American soldiers are forced to push back German soldiers from the beach while being shot at from all angles.  What shines through in the film is the great script and sound design, as such important elements help to immerse an audience in a tense and action-packed environment. The three-hour-long film follows a captain and his team as they have to roam the French countryside in search of a Private Ryan, after receiving orders to bring him back home. Yet a seemingly simple premise snowballs into a battle for harsh survival as the soldiers are attacked by hundreds of German soliders, leaving them to hold them off for as long as they can. The film is particularly unforgiving in its killing off of characters, a sad reality of such a harsh war, the film ends with both a sad...

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Review       George Lucas' vision of Star Wars is arguably one of the most influential elements of pop culture, as the original Star Wars trilogy released to instant acclaim while holding up strongly today. The 3rd installment of this franchise is clearly the best, as the budget, script, effects, and stakes all substantially heighten. Essentially it is bigger and better. Taking place on multiple different planets the original trilogy releases its climax as the clash between the Empire and The Rebel Alliance reaches full swing. The story is tense, as Emperor Palpatine attempts to manipulate Luke into becoming his new apprentice, and all the while the rebels begin to launch their plan to destroy the death star, thus ending the Empire's oppressive reign of terror. Lucas clearly parallels the story of the sith with that of the Nazi's, as their power rose to extreme heights yet only to be destroyed by the more morally motivated allied fo...

Seven Review: David Fincher's crime thriller classic has aged incredibly well, as its gritty portrayal of a criminal New York stays fresh to this day. It could be argued that Fincher's film borders on horror as he refuses to hold back on the violence and gore. The film takes place with a partnership between a cynical detective (Morgan Freeman) and a fresher detective with a considerably brighter outlook (Brad Pitt), as they find themselves on the tail of a disturbed serial killer. The interesting element of the film is the nature of the killer, as his moves are extremely methodical, to the point where he tortures a man for a year keeping him bedridden just to make a point. The killer makes his purpose clear, as he orchestrates clever murders on seven victims in order to make an even larger point on the sickness of humanity, fuelled by his obsession with religious literature. The film manages to stay steadily tense throughout as the murders become increasingly ...

Bram Stokers Dracula Review The film version of Bram Stokers Dracula is strange yet iconic. Such a horror masterpiece is hard to translate onto screen, often with books, key details and interesting characters are too often overlooked in the film adaptation. However one of these films main strengths has to be the triumph of an accurate translation, while some details and scenes are missed out, the important essence is still there. The film adds more to the book, giving characters an iconic face and an interesting look into Dracula's twisted love story, the purest thing about him. The special effects are also another great triumph, considering it was the 90's the use of VFX is wonderful the makeup of Dracula in his different forms and even just the use of blood was refreshing making it no surprise that it won an oscar of its visual effects ( ignoring the terrible blue flame at the start). The tone is often spot on, coupled with tense music and shots the theme of horror is gre...

The Joker Review                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         ...

The Dark Knight Review:  Released in 2008 the Dark Knight was a smash hit with comic fans and average moviegoers alike, and today 11 years later it still manages to hold up fantastically. The films great mix of well written and iconic characters mixed in with great storylines and actions managed to win Christopher Nolan's superb creation over 20 awards. The story takes place in a crime-ridden Gotham ruled by a circle of vicious gang kingpins, however, due to the good work of  Harvey Dent and Batman countless of these criminals are crushed and imprisoned. Despite this, the streets of Gotham aren't safe for long as the infamous Joker makes his first big-screen appearance in decades. Joker then decides to proposition these gangsters, for much of their money he will kill the Batman, after this the Joker begins his own crime spree around Gotham vowing to kill more and more people each day until the Batman turns himself in. Now although the film appears simplistic in natur...