War of the Worlds (1953)

War of the Worlds

Plot:

War of the world is based around a global alien invasion from mars. The aliens land  near a small Californian town in what first appear to be meteorites, however they soon emerge from their shells and come out to attack the local authorities, citizens and the military. As the film progresses we find out that this has been happening all over the world and the aliens have landed outside of London and also places in India, Spain, France, Italy, China and Russia. The military eventually try to nuke the invaders however it has no effect due to the force fields that the aliens use to protect themselves. Later on the aliens finally arrive at LA which has been evacuated they continue to blast it to pieces until suddenly they all start to die. We are then told by the narrator that the aliens were killed by diseases/bacteria that they’re bodies could not handle.

Characters:

Dr. Clayton Forrester is the protagonist of the film, he working with the military to discover what the aliens are and how they can destroy them.

Sylvia Van Buren: 

Maj. Gen. Mann is the man in charge of the military operations in California

Filming styles:

Classic Hollywood

War of the Worlds (2005)

War of the Worlds (2005)

Plot:

War of the worlds follows the story of Ray Ferrier, his son Robbie and daughter Rachael. It all starts with a visit from his children after they’re dropped off by his ex-wife and her husband. Shortly afterwards strange storms start to occur shooting bolts of lighting at the ground deploying the invaders into their crafts. The storm causes an EMP affect and all electronics are broken including cars causing panic around the city. Ray goes to investigate where the lighting struck which turns out to be a big mistake. Slowly the alien crafts rise from the ground after a few brief moments they open fire killing as many people as possible. Ray escapes the attack and returns home, he packs some bags, takes a car and escapes New Jersey with Robbie and Rachael. Ray plans on taking them to Boston to meet their mother.

Character sketch:

- Ray Ferrier is an irresponsible, childish man who has no commitments whatsoever yet he has the responsibility of a teenage son and a young daughter. He doesn't know alot about his children as he doesn't seem very engaged in their lives.

- Rachel Ferrier is the young daughter of Ray Ferrier and Mary Ann. She is an intelligent girl. When we are first introduced to Rachel she shows her independence to do things on her own however as the plot continues she breaks down as she experiences whats happening around her. She is claustrophobic and often needs Robbie to calm her down

-Robbie is the teenage son of Ray Ferrier and Mary Ann. He is quite arrogant and often argues with his father. Robbie is also a bit of a rebel yet he means well and throughout the film he puts himself in danger out of patriotism.

Filming Style:

The Cold War:

The Cold War was caused through suspicion and mistrust between the U.S and the Soviet union. It is uncertain to when it really kicked off but tensions grew throughout the Second World War but it is thought to of lasted from 1945-1991. During this time both Nations had control over nuclear weapons which caused great uncertainty on both sides. One of the main disagreements throughout the cold war was what was to become of Germany. While Stalin wanted to communize Germany and create other pro-soviet governments in Eastern Europe President Truman wanted to clean up the post war mess by doing this he created the UN, the IMF and put $10 billion dollars into the rebuilding of Germany. One of the main conflicts of the Cold war was the Korean war with the U.S supporting the South and the Communist North being supplied by the Soviet Union.

Super 8

Super 8

Plot:

Super 8 is set in the summer of 1979, The film is about 6 young filmmakers who are making a zombie movie over the holidays. While filming a scene at the local railway depot, they see one of their teachers, Dr. Woodward, drive his truck onto the track and drive into an approaching train which causes it to derail. As they continue trying to make their film, they later realise that an alien was being carried on the train and that it had escaped the wreck and gotten into the community.

Characters:

Joe: is the central character of Super 8, he’s a good-natured 14-year-old who wants to help his friend finish his zombie film, and is at odds with his recently widowed father, who is also a local lawman.

Alice is new to the group but she still steals her father’s car to drive the boys to the remote, abandoned train station to shoot a scene for their little movie. Joe also has a little crush on her.

Charles is the kid who leads the group, he’s a pushy, large kid with big dreams and even bigger expectations for how his friends can help them come true. All that Charles cares about is his movie and that his movie has a better story and better production values.

Carey likes to set things ablaze and is the go-to guy for special effects and fireworks. When the massive train crash almost kills all of them, he’s the only one who thinks it was cool.

Filming Styles: