Formal Film Study: David O Russell

                      

David O Russell is not a well known director and he has not directed many films. But, three of David O Russell's films are huge successes. He has been nominated for three oscars two of which are for directing the movies Silver Linings Playbook and The Fighter and one of the oscar nomination is for the screenplay in Silver Linings Playbook. To me it seems like Russell Focuses on three key components in his movies: Culture, Style, and Industry.

Starting off with culture, David o Russell's three films are mainly about relationships. Relationships between your friends, family, work colleagues, and many more. The Fighter is mainly about family with two brother fighters one being a drug addict and their fight on winning a world championship in boxing. Silver Linings Playbook is a relationship between two people with bipolarity and how they are searching for their silver lining. Three Kings is about four soldiers that are stealing gold from
 Kuwait and come into run-ins with people that need their help. The culture in these movies is mixed i with a big story. Whether it was the fight, the dance, or the war the relationships are a small part in the movie but plays the biggest role in the movies. It changes everyones actions and gives it a unique flare to the movies. The drama is so intense and the emotions are so high that it makes the films very very good.

His style filming I believe enhances the film because he using the filming and editing to the mood of the film. With very emotional films you want to get the emotion in the peoples faces and he does just that with a ton of closeups. The camera also sways a lot during the movies into extreme closeups to really sow the emotions of the people. Mixed in with outstanding acting this style of filming is amazing and thats exactly what Silver Linings and The Fighter were. For me the script for Three Kings seemed bad but that leads me to my next point and talking about the industry. Each time period that these films were shot that is exactly what the country was watching. in the late 90's people loved explosions and gun fights and that is what Russell gave them with Three Kings. I wasn't a fan of that movie because of I thought the actors didn't fit in their roles but, it was a big hit in their time. When the Fighter came out that was a time of loving action with a little backstory and when Silver Linings came out it is a time of cute and well acted films. All of the movies are very relevant in the times they were made and they paid of with the success that they have had.

Although David O Russell is not well known and has not directed a lot of films I still believe that he is the main reason for the success of some of the more popular films in film history. He had a perfect mixture of drama and action that the movies were very enjoyable to watch. I want him to come out with another film soon because with his last to I think he is on a hot streak and should keep it going. I recommend all three of these movie to everyone.

MYST #3: Django Unchained

9-10 Thumbs up

Every Tarantino movie is gross, violent, and weird, but every Tarantino movie is an absolute hit. In regards to Django Unchained I thought it was his best movie to date. It came out right around the time the Academy Awards and that is when the hype began. It has been on my watch list for quite sometime and I am very glad i got around to watching it.

Quentin Tarantino finally did a western movie and from what I hear most of the actors and stuntmen said it was one of the most exciting sets they have ever been on. Thell Reed is a gun specialist that has taught all the great actors from John Wayne to Brad Pitt on how to use a gun. When Reed was in an interview for the movie he said that the cast was the hardest working and most fun cast he has taught. All the handwork paid off. The realistic gun tricks and gun work that these actors had in my opinion made the movie. To take something as simple as shooting a gun and make it into the master craft that Jamie Fox and Christoph Waltz had on this movie was so cool. The shooting and the violence looked so real that it made the movie easier to follow because you aren't worried about the unrealistic aspect of the movie.

The acting was also flat out outstanding. Three Oscar winning actors (Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Fox, Christoph Waltz) and an oscar nominee (Leonardo DiCaprio) are in this film and they are genius. Christoph Waltz is now my new favorite actor because like the last Tarantino film he was in, Inglorious Bastards, he plays a strange man perfectly. The little actions that he does like lighting a lamp or playing with his beard make you so interested in everything he does. Leonardo DiCaprio finally plays the bad guy in a film and does a rather outstanding job. Samuel L. Jackson plays an old free man and it almost seems like the part was mad for him. And finally the main character, Jaime Fox, is awesome. I couldn't see any other person to play Django and he really made me attached to the character.

The movie was mostly dark like most Tarantino films. My favorite scene is when there is a gang coming to attack Django at night. They have torches, masks and riding around on horses. The main light source is the torch and everything else is dark. I believe that darkness makes you focus on the actions more and that is exactly what you want to do in this type of film because that is what makes you interested in the movie. They do this also in the opening scene and many times during night discussions or raids.

I give this movie a 9-10 Thumbs up. I wasn't a huge fan of Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards and hearing that this movie was a lot similar it made me nervous. But I liked the plot a lot better in Django and the realistic actions and gun work. It made me focus on the acting in this movie and because the acting was so amazing it made it a very enjoyable film. It's a must see.