The Captivation of Film

Something that has been on my mind lately is how movies pull in the viewer. What is it about movies that pull you away from reality and into a world created by the minds of others? Don't get me wrong, I love watching movies as much as the next person, but what is it about them that gets viewers completely enthralled? In my opinion there are many factors that contribute to the total captivation of an audience. I think that story is a big part of it. Without a story all a movie is, is just a bunch of moving pictures with sound. An example of a good story would be in the movie The Princess Bride. It is a typical example of Hollywood cinema with a little twist. Girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets engaged to a snooty prince, boy gets taken by pirates, boy breaks free of the pirates and sets off to save girl who gets abducted by evil men. A few differences are that it is set up in the early renaissance, there is a fire swamp, a pit of torture, a giant, and a crazy little man who doesn't know the meaning of the word inconceivable. I'll bet you are intrigued already. The point is that the story is a huge part of what makes that movie amazing. That and the really good music that is put with it.
Another reason why people get so hooked on movies is because of a part of the brain. There is a part of the brain that is stimulated by going through a situation or by watching a similar situation take place. That is the reason why a lot of people cry during movies. The movie stimulates the same part of the brain that is stimulated by sadness thus causing you to cry. The theory is kind of like monkey see monkey do.
As I stated before it is really easy to get sucked into a movie. Everybody has their own reason for being glued onto the screen, but it is a fact nonetheless that movies can absorb your mind.

Critic Critique

For my first blog I read a review by James Berardinelli of REELVIEWS about the movie Waitress. When I saw the movie myself I was intrigued. The movie has sort of a dark humor about it, and that appeals to me quite a bit. The characters are also quite diverse.

When it comes to pies - sweet, savory, or in between - Jenna is a wizard. Her fellow waitresses, outgoing Becky (Cheryl Hines) and mousy Dawn (Adrienne Shelly), are in awe of her culinary expertise but less-than-impressed by her home life. She's married to a Neanderthal of a man, Earl (Jeremy Sisto), who uses fear and intimidation to keep his wife in line.

I would agree with Mr. Berardinelli with his opinions of the characters. The character of Becky is very outgoing and isn't afraid to tell people what she really feels. I also love how he calls her husband Earl a "Neanderthal of a man". It nails him right down to a T.
His review portrays this film as a comedy with good humor but also with some drama thrown in. There were some parts of the review that I didn't agree with though.

The low-key humor offers plenty of chuckles but few belly laughs.

When watching this movie I found myself laughing, not merely chuckling, all the way through. I can't really understand how you could not bust out laughing at this movie. I guess though differences in comedy tastes could be the reason.

There's a freshness to the way Jenna is written and acted that causes us to like her more every minute she's on screen. She charms us in much the same way that she charms crotchety Old Joe, played by Andy Griffith.

I also agree that Jenna is charming. She always has a sunny disposition and can find the silver lining around the edge of any cloud. Jenna's downer of a life often gets in the way of her perspective on things, but she makes use of her talent at pie making as a way to cope.
Her friends constantly tell her she deserves better, but she has somewhat of a low self esteem. One of the people she finds helpful is Joe. He is a very grumpy man but for some reason takes a shine on Jenna. He constantly tells her she deserves better and finally in the end she listens.
In my opinion the review is pretty good. Mr. Berardinelli seems to match my thoughts on the film. I like now he described the characters, and I liked how he described the maker of the film rather than just talking about the film itself. If I had not seen the movie previously reading this review would make me want to see it. Mr. Berardinelli makes it seem like a well rounded film that will easily be enjoyed by many.

End of Class

Hello. I'm Julie and school is almost over so this is my first post. I have no idea what to say and I really want to finish this before school is over so I'm going to quit typing now. Good bye!