http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njeofv4dr9Q
Monster mainpage
http://www.monstersthemovi.com/
“Monsters” is a Hollywood movie. This story happened in 2009, the NASA found another life form in space. And send a spaceshipto studyabout it. However the spaceship broke, while it was returning to earth. That unknown life form stayed the Middle American, and instead of other original life forms in Mexico. Half of the Mexico was occupied by this unknown life form. Also, Mexico became a locked and separated infected area. This infectedarea was guarded by the US and Mexican army, to prevent these monsters go to America. An American photographer, begrudgingly agrees to take photoin infected area and find his boss' daughter, a shaken American tourist escort her through the infected zone to the safety of the America.
A famous movie website, Ain’t It Cool News, comment “Monters” is the best catastrophe movie in these few years. And in 2010 SXSW movie exhibition, also labelled “Monster” is good as another catastrophe movie, “District 9”. Moreover, the “Monster” won Best British Independent Film Best Technical Achievement and so on. The movie poster was same as normal monsters’ movie. Like this first one, the main actor and actress stand inthe middle. The background is a boring city and forest. Just like another monster movie, “I am Legend”. The actor is also standing in the middle of poster. Or another poster of warning, warn people do not entrythe infected area. It is similar with the “District 9”, also a warning of aliens. As a result, Monster was label as a a monster movie similar with “I am Legend” and “District 9”, just like its name, it seems it is related to monsters. Many people though this is a movie related to monsters.
Movie posters
Others monsters’ posters (I am Legend and District 9)
However, it is not. Many of film critics criticized it is the worst movie they have seen. Many of them regretted they have watched this movie. First of all, the movie producers named a wrong name on “Monsters”. In Hong Kong, “Monsters” named “異獸圍城”, that mean monsters envelop the city. As a result, people decided it is a kind of catastrophe movie. Moreover, there is another monster and war film, name “Battle: Los Angeles”. In Chinese, it is “異形侵略戰”. In this way, people though this two movies is in the same genre. But actually, the “Monsters” is different with “Battle: Los Angeles”. In the movie, there are only many beautiful frames in Mexico, but no monsters, no action scenes.
Comments on Yahoo
In fact, “Monsters” is a love film, but not monster film. “Monsters” is a low cost love story. The story of “Monsters” uses monsters as a reason, to make an escape for the actor and actress. Inside the escape, the actor and actress fall in love. Because of the name “Monsters”, people though it is a genre of monster. The name of “Monsters” was recalling the similar history of other monsters movies. As a result, it attracted wrong audiences to watch this film. But it cannot satisfy the audiences’ expectations competency. As a result, “Monsters” had many and many bad comments, because it did not in the right genre.
Kenji, Leung Kinnam 10461362
You have adopted a rather fresh approach in writing a film review, which is to highlight the discrepancies between the “promised genre” (which organizes audiences’ expectation) and the “real genre” of the story (with a brief textual analysis). Plenty of supporting materials (such as the comments of audiences, film critique) is used to triangulate your arguments.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that the naming strategy really made people associate it with some previous films of a particular genre, I have hesitation in defining “Monster” as a “love film”exclusively. It seems to embody important elements of a few leading genres, such as science fiction and mystery film. In fact, many films are of “hybridized genre”, a kind of marketing strategy to attract the greatest number of audience and to maximum profit. Don't you agree?