'Chances Are' - Weekly Film Analysis By: Unknown No comments

PRODUCED IN: 1989

RELEASED IN: 1989

TYPE: Feature film

GENRE: Romantic Comedy

CERTIFICATE: PG

RUNNING TIME: 108 minutes

FILMING LOCATION: California, USA

LANGUAGE: English (U.S.)

DIRECTED BY: Emile Ardolino

PRODUCED BY: Mike Lobell

WRITTEN BY: Perry Howze, Randy Howze

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Tri-Star pictures

CINEMATOGRAPHY: William A. Fraker

EDITING: Harry Keramidas

MUSIC BY: Maurice Jarre

KEY CAST MEMBERS: Cybill Shepherd, Ryan O’Neal, Robert Downey Jr.

BUDGET: $16,000,000

BOX OFFICE: $16,250,000

THEMES: Love, secrets, trust, betrayal, memory, death

NARRATIVE:

The story is told in a linear structure, however, where jumps in time take place, these are shown using title cards such as ‘One year later’ or ‘23 years later’. These appear rather often within this film as there are several changes in time.

Likewise, the film is divided into naturalistic and non naturalistic parts with the use of a fade to/from white which create dream/fantasy like sequences appropriate to the idea of the afterlife.

Furthermore, due to the first ten minutes being completely different to the whole rest of the film , which is completely unexpected, one could comment that this was an interesting use of narrative, as by introducing the audience to the characters just enough, SPOILER then killing one of, and then flashing forward 20 years, it confuses the audience and makes them want to know more and understand what else could possibly happen within this story.

Likewise, within this film two actors represent the same character which is unusual for most films. It also includes many elements of fantasy without losing the real depth of the romance or making it seem unrealistic.

KEY SCENES:

• The wedding
• The death scene
• The reincarnation scene
• When Alex/Louie and Corinne first meet
• When Alex/Louie tells Corinne who he is
• When Alex/Louie breaks up with Miranda
• When Corinne finally believes him
• When they go out together
• When Philip catches them
• When Phillip and Corinne sleep together
• When Alex/Louie gets hospitalised again
• When Alex/Louie finally gets the injection to clear his memory
• The final wedding scene

COMPARABLES:

In some ways this film could be compared to the romantic comedy Just Like Heaven (2005) starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo, as that film too is about someone hospitalised after a car crash and includes fantasy elements through which the ghost and the love interest all in love, just like in Chances Are where it is the reincarnation and the protagonist who fall in love.

Likewise, Heart and Souls (1993) is another romantic comedy fantasy starring Robert Downey Jr. which is about misplaced souls, though this time the souls are stuck with him after a traffic accident at the time of his birth.

OTHER:

Actor Robert Downey Jr. and actress Mary Stuart Masterson both later appeared in the documentary The Last Party (1993) around four years after this movie was made and released.

‘The Loft’ - Weekly Film Analysis By: Unknown No comments

PRODUCED IN: 2014

RELEASED IN: 2014

TYPE: Feature Film

GENRE: Thriller, Mystery, Romance

CERTIFICATE: 15

RUNNING TIME: 108 Minutes

FILMING LOCATION: Belgium

LANGUAGE: English (USA)

DIRECTED BY: Erik Van Looy

PRODUCED BY:  Hilde De Laere, Matt DeRoss, Paul Green, Adam Shulman

WRITTEN BY: Bart De Pauw

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Open Road Films, De Vivjer Media

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Nicolas Karakatsanis

EDITING: Eddie Hamilton

MUSIC BY: John Frizzell

KEY CAST MEMBERS: Karl Urban, James Marsden, Wentworth Miller, Eric Stonestreet, Matthias Schoenaerts

BUDGET: $14,000,000

BOX OFFICE: $48,000,000

THEMES: Secrets, lies, mystery, love, romance, betrayal

NARRATIVE:

Although the majority of the narrative is told in chronological, linear structure, the film does begins with a high speed montage of intriguing clips which immediately engage the audience and make them want to find out more. It then flashes back to explain the rest of the story and how we got to that point in time.

This technique of flashbacks is also used often in other places through the film in order to explain further depth into the lives of the characters or previous events which have lead up to a moment of importance, in most cases therefore they are used to give the audience more in depth information.

KEY SCENES:

Opening scene where we are introduced to the fact that there has been a gruesome murder for the first time.

The initial flashback where we are given our first introduction to our five protagonists.

The bar scene where their secret is nearly revealed to their wives.

The scene when the drugs vincent

The kitchen scene when we discover the second twist within the film.

The balcony scene where Luke commits suicide.

The interrogation scene where we think Vincent is going to jail.

The flash forward scene when we find out what happened to the characters in the future.

COMPARABLES:  

‘The Loft’ was a remake of a 2008 film ‘Loft’ that was an enormous hit in its native Belgium, which was also previously remade in the Netherlands in 2010 - Erik van Looy, the director, not only helmed the original but also worked on the Dutch version as well. ‘The Loft’ is also comparable with the 1960 film ‘The Apartment’.