Cinema Studies Blog
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At Cinema @ UMB, we dedicate ourselves to increasing student rapport involving anything cinematic production, design, editing, film-making, and film viewing. Content on our blog comes from UMass students, working in collaboration with each other as well as film students from colleges and universities across Boston.
Cinema Studies Blog
1y ago
By Matthew Sprague
As someone who is thrilled by witnessing a new trailer at home or online for a horror film, this movie “A Cure for Wellness” did more than what was expected. This film presents itself as comfortable and relaxing seeing as we the audience are simply watching our main character travel to the Swiss Alps to retrieve his CEO. But once our main character Lockhart, played by the magnificent Dane DeHaan. We soon realize the uncomforting reality that is bestowed upon this establishment.
Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) is a Wall Street stockbroker who travels to retrieve his CEO due to his co ..read more
Cinema Studies Blog
1y ago
By Aashi Ashwin Mehta
The film “Notorious” by Alfred Hitchcock is a masterwork that displays the director’s talent for suspense and narrative. Ingrid Bergman plays Alicia Huberman in the 1946 movie, which tells the story of a lady who is hired by the American government to spy on a gang of Nazis who are hiding after World War II. The movie addresses themes of love, treachery, and sacrifice in a way that is both exciting and emotionally relevant alongside Cary Grant’s Devlin, a federal agent who develops a romantic relationship with Alicia. “Notorious” is a movie full of tension and unforgetta ..read more
Cinema Studies Blog
1y ago
By Joseph MacDonald
A film that depicts historical accuracies and simultaneously leaves the viewer with something to hold onto emotionally is not so simple to produce. Perhaps we think of a film such as Downfall, circa 2004, that left viewers with a mixed collection of feelings and provided insight into Nazi Germany’s last stand.
In 1999, Edward Zwick began writing the script for what he would later direct and release in 2008: Defiance. Defiance is a historical film centered around surviving Nazi Germany’s Einsatzgruppen forces as they take over Eastern Europe, specifically Belarus. Daniel Cr ..read more
Cinema Studies Blog
1y ago
By Maor Goihberg
Somehow, I have to unfortunately admit, I have never seen any of the John Wick movies. Despite quite a few plane flights boasting a content library that includes his tales of blood and tears, I have never made the push to enjoy the franchise and I am still wondering what I am missing out on. Nevertheless, I am no stranger to the attraction of Keanu Reeves, having watched the first two Matrix movies, as well as Speed (and Parenthood). He has a kind of charisma, somehow edgy and easygoing at the same time, that keeps us hooked, even amidst bewildering exposition of existential ..read more
Cinema Studies Blog
1y ago
By Hellora Silva
Despite award season being behind us now, there’s still a few things that I feel we should reflect on, not only for this past award season but also for future award seasons. Typically, award season should be about the awards, the films, and the team of people who come together to create them. And yet as the years go on, this year especially, it’s been proven that the only thing the runners of these awards shows want to display is the drama, the jokes, and the fashion. So if the shows have decided to put the awards on the back burner, where do we go to watch awards?   ..read more
Cinema Studies Blog
1y ago
By: Merchys Diaz
If I ever had the chance to meet Mindy Kaling in person, I would ask her how it feels knowing women everywhere want to be her best friend. This fandom not only comes from the characters she’s portrayed on TV or in her movies, but it’s also due to the work she’s done behind the screen and the candid memoirs she’s released about her life. Known for her iconic role as Kelly Kapoor in the American Sitcom The Office (2005-2013), Kaling has often talked about her experience as the first woman of color in the writer’s room for the show. Popular episodes written by Kaling such ..read more
Cinema Studies Blog
1y ago
By Maor Goihberg
In a recent interview with Indiewire, discussing his latest feature Bardo, Alejandro Iñárritu explained that “I will keep” editing the film “until it’s released to get the best film while I can. You never finish a film. The deadlines just ask you to deliver it.” This is a fascinating idea he brings up, that one can never really bring a film to completion, but you can only create a certain version that gets released. On account of this, some filmmakers have released different versions of the same film, such as ..read more
Cinema Studies Blog
1y ago
By Maor Goihberg
I used to go out to nature a lot more frequently. A weekend car trip to a national or state park was a highlight, packing some sandwiches and treats, traversing two or three trails and reading some plaques. Of course, I still go on such trips, but the thrill of driving across the highway to a reserve doesn’t do the trick as much; maybe it’s a stage of my life, or maybe it’s just my technology addiction.
I haven’t really thought as much about thi ..read more
Cinema Studies Blog
1y ago
By Maor Goihberg
The 1980’s was an interesting time in American film history. On the one hand, the New Hollywood has ended, and a new era of commercially driven movies replaced it. On the other hand, a burgeoning independent film movement emerged, with films like Chan is Missing offering a new kind of personally driven cinema.
But there has always been an avant-garde. In art spaces, away from the centers of filmmaking, experimental filmmakers have flourished since the twenties. One such filmmaker is the great Peggy Ahwesh, who ..read more
Cinema Studies Blog
1y ago
By Maor Goihberg
Hollywood is a system. That much is true today, and if in the past Hollywood has certain formulas for genre, these days they’ve created an even smoother assembly line for their franchises. While these franchises may vary in content, they almost all boast high-quality visual effects. Recently, more attention has been directed towards the near-impossible standards that effects artists have to meet, who often work day-in and day-out to produce them. But this is hardly a new phenomenon, as Hannah Hamalian’s short film The Golden Age, which I had the privilege of watching at our an ..read more