David Nerlich and Andrew Traucki's 'Black water' (2008)

Unlike other animal attack movies like 'Open Water', 'Lake Placid' and 'Alligator' we are actually more involved with the three main characters and care what happens too them rather then just watching for the gore value. The plot may be predictable with the crocodile being shot with the gun and the 3 little monkey song referring to who dies next as well as the star trek Red shirt fiasco it is still an interesting thriller to watch. This is because it keeps up with the thriller features. Obviously there are cheap thrills like the ear floating amongst the leaves but it still has interesting thriller elements. The action shots when the crocodile attacks are hand held camera movements and fast paced editing, cutting between new and exiting camera angles which is what the audience needs to see. Shots like the under water view help show the crocodiles point of view and give the viewer a thrill on weather the crocodile will attack or not. Coupled with this is the traditional thriller sound track ever reminiscent of the two note sound track in Jaws. Here the Cello and voice overs in the night scenes helps create a deep and foreboding track that adds to the suspense, coupled with growl and chewing noises from the crocodile it creates a hell of a tension build up as the screen flashes as the crocodile approaches and eats its prey.

David O Russell's 'Three kings' (1999)

This was one action movie that I really liked, mainly because it had a lot of action and suspense. Don't get me wrong i still like films like 12 Angry men where all they do is talk, but this film entertained me much more than films like persona. This film mainly interested me I suppose mainly for its relevance in todays society even though the film is set in the first 'invasion' of Iran. Although on another side note this is a predictable Hollywood happy ending movie, and the ending where it recaps over what the solders are up to once they are released from the army is quite stupid and quite frankly did not need to be stated, i mean i did not need to know that Archie Gates became a weapons trainer for Hollywood movies. The thing i liked about this the most is that they help people more than they help themselves. Film wise the shots where alright but nothing really spectacular, same goes with the stunts once you have seen a helicopter shot down in flames you basically have seen them all unless they find a new camera angle in this case it did not. Design wise i think it was all pretty accurate and dressed reasonably well, but what was with the cow explosion and the bell noise when it clearly did not have a bell on??. as well as the weight of the gold, because if you know anything gold is extremely heavy, much heavier than what they make it out to be.

Louise Alston's 'All my friends are leaving Brisbane' (2007)

This film was alright for an Australian drama although thats pretty much all i can say for it. I mean its not the type of film i would go out and watch, there are a couple of things that i liked about the film though. I did like the scrolling names of friends Althea and Michel have been introduced and had a relationship or date with. The beginning of the film i thought has been done many times before with happy snaps of people and friends although i did like the way they got the grainy shots of Brisbane by filming it with a SD camera then projecting it onto a screen and filming it in 16mm and then adjusting the contrast and colour levels later in post because some of the colour information has been lost. The script was mildly entertaining but is still reminiscent of many Australian films. I think that the industry has to start getting more genres out there other than just drama, although i have heard of Black Water and i am wondering if it will live up to expectations. For a low budget film, ( i mean really thats all Australian films are) it was perfect, i mean a bit more money could have been used here and there in the design phase as well as lighting but still the rest of it worked out pretty well, especially since it was filmed on 16mm. As a last dich attempt please can we get some more action packed and non dramatic and high budget movies coming into Australia like the Matrix, Star wars and babe that have been here.

Steven Speilberg's 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' (2008)

Because im male and youngish i liked this movie allot, not for its stupid plot line but more for the digital cinematography and the fact that you pretty much belive almost anything they put up on the screen. I mean magnetic crystals that magnetize non ferrous metals and being able to survive a nuclear explosion by being in a lead lined fridge and land on the enemies car is just impossible, not to mention the aliens because that itself is unlikely. The best shot i think in the entire movie is Indiana Jones standing on an embankment and to his left stirs a great big orange mushroom cloud. The little chipmunk things at the beginning of the movie i didn't get but i did get the reference to Indiana Jones and The raiders of the lost ark. I liked the fact that Harrison Ford did all his own stunts as this added to the movie greatly, it would have been worse off if he did not do them at all.

Arthur Penn's 'Bonnie & Clyde' (1967)

I liked 'Bonnie and Clyde' because many opposing moods or tonal shifts, one minute they would be all serious and the next it would be quite comical. Because this was a biopic film it has a linear narrative, this means that it dramatizes the biography of a real person or persons and thus is usually in a cause and effect narrative form making it linear. Like Clyde tries to steal Bonnie's mums car and the effect of this is that they meet. An example of the dramatization that the writers use is in the ages of Bonnie and Clyde, in the film Bonnie is 23 not 19 while Clyde is 25 not 21 and they where armed and ready for the ambush when they where killed. I also liked the way that they use family or friend snaps that play on the background during the films opening. Bonnie and Clyde's blurry, noisy and un-enchanting sepia snapshots of the Barlow and Parker family's play to help create a happy and wholesome mood, that there is no danger, that this is a brief glimpse into their lives before they got involved in the bank robbing industry and pretty much sets the tone for the beginning of the film. The lyrical or dream like sequence thats accompanied by a camera or post effect is also interesting. Its amusing how the homecoming scene is filmed with a red filter to create a misty, soft focused and hazy like appearance that has sort of a faded and haunted look as Bonnie catches up with her family for what will be her last time before she dies as well as gets covered in red blood. I liked the deaths of Bonnie and Clyde because unlike many of the deaths you now see in movies that are usually quite gruesome and chaotic, Bonnie and Clyde's death was cinematically inspiring and abstract, to help highlight their romance and the myths and legendsthat where created around them.

Jasmine Yuen Carrucan's 'Cactus' (2008)

I really enjoyed cactus and its landscapes and cinematography. This film was really beautify shot in the surrounding landscape. The best moment in this film for me was when the sheriff Rosco shoots John in the shoulder then in the chest to replicate the death of Thommo. I did think Thommo's death scene could have been done a bit better as the actor Shane Jacobson kept moving his eyelids and this really did not convince me that he was dead, and i was wondering for the rest of the film if he was not actually dead. The ending was for this film good i loved the way the money was given to the family and we get to see how nice the Eli character was in repaying his debuts, as well as not really finding out who Eli is being sent to and where he is getting dropped off. I also liked the high powered rife as well as the overall use of props and design characteristics. I loved the fact that Eli tried to use what was around him to escape like the bolt in the door and the can lid. As well as this the continuity was excellent sure there will be a couple of errors here and there but for me the roll up on the windscreen clinched it, though it may have moved slightly. As well as this the millage clock was an interesting shot, i got what it was therefore and how it tied into the movie but i was still left wondering what was the point of it. I mean the Km he has to travel is also listed on the map so isn't it a bit of overkill?. As for locations this movie was excellent in portraying the Australian outback and the remoteness of it all.

Ingmar Bergman's 'Persona' (1966)

The film starts off with random close ups and images of a film in a projector as well as random graphic and differing scenes and objects like spiders, needles, a giant face, a lighting system and so on and so fourth. The main idea behind this i think is to make the audience aware that they are watching a film so it is introduced at both ends of the film to reinforce the fact that this is not real. I loved the way that we thought that we where in a morgue to begin with before we realize we are in a hospital of some kind, with shots of bodies under thin sheets of fabric and a hand laying over the side of the bed in a death like pose. I liked how they used the projected image of a face and the little boy to show that we are influenced by the media and that it can be like a mother to us sometimes, just take a look at Bart and Lisa Simpson for example. The lighting in this was pretty well done, in one scene we have a bedside lamp that is lit while it is in fact on a profile light is being spotted from the side off set to an angle to create an interesting oval shape on the wall above the lamp. I also liked the way that they used backlight and side lighting in a scene as well as key lighting for close up shots and mid shots, hilighting the dark recesses and the brighter areas of the human face. When we first see the hospital room it is very cold and lit from a source of light in the ceiling, but this can change for shots when she is on the bed or when she is watching the graphic images on Tv as the light flickers on and off creating an interesting and slightly freakish atmosphere as it is the only source of light. One thing i also liked is when they do a close up shot of the eyes and you can see the light on top of the camera on the pupil to help reenforce that this is a film not life. I don't like the way though at the beach house for interior sences how they use the projected image and large painted scenes to represent the outside, it would have made it much more realistic but more expensive if they actually created the house in the location they filmed the outdoor scenes instead of making the house in a studio environment like you see on Neighbors and Home and Away.