He Got Game
Directed by Spike Lee
1998
Denzel Washington lead who returned to work with Spike Lee in his later film Inside Man as the lead once again.
Performance: The writing seemed very clunky at parts. A lot of the ways certain performers voiced certain lines just seemed unnatural and could sometimes ruin the flow of the scene. For example when the protagonist Jake was questioning Lala about where his son Jesus was, he became angered for next to no reason and punched her brother/escort. Not to mention that was a plot hole considering the policemen who were assigned with watching him would've seen and/or heard that through his wire and he would've been arrested once more.
Cinematography: No shots struck me as particularly terrific, beautiful or effective at creating too much meaning. However, I wouldn't have necessarily changed any shots. No real mistakes. Close ups to show emotion, wide shots to give information, mid shots to do a blend of both. There was some missed opportunities though. For example when Jake punched Lala's brother and he went down, a shot from the brother's point of view lying on the floor looking up at Jake would have created a lot of meaning. Jake would've looked big, powerful, intimidating in that shot. Considering this was a turning point for Jake to going back to his thuggish ways, this shot was a perfect opportunity that Spike Lee sadly missed.
1998
Denzel Washington lead who returned to work with Spike Lee in his later film Inside Man as the lead once again.
Performance: The writing seemed very clunky at parts. A lot of the ways certain performers voiced certain lines just seemed unnatural and could sometimes ruin the flow of the scene. For example when the protagonist Jake was questioning Lala about where his son Jesus was, he became angered for next to no reason and punched her brother/escort. Not to mention that was a plot hole considering the policemen who were assigned with watching him would've seen and/or heard that through his wire and he would've been arrested once more.
Cinematography: No shots struck me as particularly terrific, beautiful or effective at creating too much meaning. However, I wouldn't have necessarily changed any shots. No real mistakes. Close ups to show emotion, wide shots to give information, mid shots to do a blend of both. There was some missed opportunities though. For example when Jake punched Lala's brother and he went down, a shot from the brother's point of view lying on the floor looking up at Jake would have created a lot of meaning. Jake would've looked big, powerful, intimidating in that shot. Considering this was a turning point for Jake to going back to his thuggish ways, this shot was a perfect opportunity that Spike Lee sadly missed.
Adam although you raise some pertinent points the object of the exercise is to analyse not critique Spike Lees work, you should be looking for elements that bond, themes that are reoccurring, you point out the use of Denzel Washington, but was this the only times that they worked together? More depth is required, remember this is to help you through your exam and should form a strong basis for your revision.
ReplyDeleteWhere are the pictures, to help evidence what you are saying?
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