Posted in
Music | July 30th, 2010
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was the first movie in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, based on the popular fantasy books written by J.R. R. Tolkein. The movie was a blockbuster hit at both the box office and at the Oscars. The story, in and of itself, is creative, captivating and magical. But even a wonderful story can flop when put onto the big screen. Cinematography, special effects, visual effects and the quality of acting all play an important part in making a story “live” for an audience. Music also plays a vital part in making a movie successful. Music can make us feel that we are in another place and time. It captures our emotions by creating an ambiance of happiness, sadness, tension, fear or excitement. Music helps suspend our disbelief about the fantasy of the story. It helps us identify with distinct characters, places and cultures. The music of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, does all of these things. Through music, composer Howard Shore successfully takes us to Middle Earth.
This is a preview of
The Music of Middle Earth – an Analysis on the Use of Music in the Film: “the Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring”
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Tags: cinema icon, dissonance, dissonant, elf queen, essence, happiness sadness, lord of the rings trilogy, moment, mystical music, new line cinema, ring, score, screen fades, story, suspension of disbelief, time, woodwind instruments, Wraiths
Posted in
Movie | April 27th, 2010
The most powerful superheroes must balance their weaknesses against their amazing powers to add up to a net gain. Considering that every superhero is a flawed human (excluding Superman, of course), this is not a simple equation. Strength, intelligence, resourcefulness, and ability to manipulate the environment around them are all important features of power, but they must be examined against their vulnerabilities, their character flaws and their willingness to exploit their powers. Given those criteria, let’s look at my personal list of the top ten most powerful superheroes.
10. The Green Lantern. The Green Lantern gets his powers from a magic ring. Okay, later it’s a technological invention, but let’s not quibble. The Green Lantern’s powers are almost limitless. He can do anything he wants with that stupid ring. Fly at the speed of light, emit kryptonite radiation, time travel, punch, cut, shield. But he has a few weaknesses. First, the ring only operates if the user has the right kind of will-power. It’s also vulnerable to the color yellow. The reason I put GL so low on this list, considering how powerful he is, is that his powers come from a single object. Take the ring away, and he’s nothing.
Tags: Batman, Billy Batson, brain power, Captain Marvel, character flaws, Clark, Dr. X. The, Flash, green lantern, Hulk, hulk smash, infinite power, Jimmy, kryptonite, lack of intelligence, Lois, magic ring, paraplegic, Power, ring, Strength, superhero, Superman, technological invention, Thor, Wally West