It Comes at Night - Review - 7.7/10 *SPOILERS*

I managed to watch It Comes at Night last night when I should have been sleeping (school's rough). I thoroughly enjoyed it, as it was highly praised by classmates of mine. It was my understanding that most people who saw it last year had a lot of negative reactions to it, so I didn't really bother. However, after seeing it on Netflix, I can honestly say, it did not deserve the hate that it received. The problem that led to it's generally negative response was the marketing. It was marketed as a generic horror movie, when in reality it is a psychological thriller with a few elements of horror. It takes place in a world where an unknown illness that has been implied to have wiped out much of the human race. That isn't the point though, the sickness isn't the focus of the story. It is a smaller and well contained story surrounding two families that end up having to share a house and work together to make a life in this new world. Travis, played by Kelvin Harrison Jr., is the 17 year old who is arguably the main protagonist of the film. He's plagued by nightmares that form metaphors for events going on in the real world, and these visions he has help to progress the story by giving a sneak peak into upcoming events. The movie has an excellent story, a solid cast, and really cool ideas presented to the thriller genre, but ultimately, it's downfall came from the false marketing of what the movie was, subverting audiences expectations for what kind of film they were going to see. I give the movie a 7.7, a win in my books.

Merely a Setback...

Lots has been going on in the last couple months, in both my personal life and professional life. I know I'm always saying I'll update this blog more often and I don't, but I MEAN IT this time. School, for the most part, is going well. I failed my camera practical exam, but as Kael'thas Sunstrider once said, "It is merely a setback." I continue to work on my writing, editing, and camera work in the hopes that one of those avenues will turn into a potential career for me. The dream is, and always will be, to make movies. That is my ultimate goal, and which form that takes is still up in the air. I will post videos, scripts, and edits that I create on this blog, so for those who peruse this page, you have much to look forward to.

Regards,
Conner.

Week Two

Successfully finished my first two weeks at BCIT. So far, I've learned how to operate a $12,000 camera, and also somehow managed to hit my head on a different $12,000 camera. Other than that, I'd say things are going good, classmates are all cool people, and I'm really looking to spending the next two years filming videos and suffering through editing with them. Things are looking good for the future and I'm really happy about it.

School

Well, I'm down to the final days before I head off to school. I'm nervous and excited at the same time, it's awful. For real this time, I'm going to keep this blog as up to date as possible and share some of my projects on here. I might be helping start up and run a comedy YouTube channel just for fun, so that's something. Anyway, just updating this so it looks like I still use it.

Have a great week of work/school everybody, and God bless.

Video Production

So I thought before I start school in September, I'd try my hand at amateur film making in the meantime. Hoping to put out some cool vlogs and other videos of that nature from my adventures this summer. If I can get my screenplay finished once and for all, I 'd also like to see if I can make that happen.

Anyway, here's the link to my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIbFqIIq_5wa9XTm1VACe3Q

I'll try to keep this blog as up to date as possible, but you can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram to keep updated on anything I create and post: @connerm96

The future looks bright, and I hope you'll join me and be a part of it.

Review - Arrival 4.5/5 *SPOILERS*

               Arrival is far from your average science fiction alien movie. This is a film that calls into question how we as a race deal with potential threats, and how we would and should react in the event of an extraterrestrial threat. It bears witness to stellar performances by Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker. All I can say is that I believe this movie landed a spot in my top 30 movies of all time for sure. It was the best movie of the year so far, in my opinion. I have yet to see Hacksaw Ridge, but I think Arrival definitely takes the cake.
               What I really liked about this movie, was how simple it was kept. If you're looking for an action-packed, high octane war movie about an alien invasion, look elsewhere. This is an alien movie for scholarly folk. The aliens are referred to as "Heptapods" due to their seven legs. twelve ships manned by these tentacled creatures show up as different places around the world. Nothing is known about them at first, they simply float in the skies above the countries they decided to reside over. A global investigation ensues to figure out what these ships are, how they got there, but most importantly, what is their purpose on Earth.
                Amy Adams plays the linguistics professor, Dr. Louise Banks. She was brought in by the U.S. Government to attempt communication with the aliens by boarding a ship every 18 hours through a hole that opened up. She is joined by Jeremy Renner's Ian Donnelly, a mathematician who will try and figure out technicalities of the alien ship and learn more about their technology. They form a close friendship over the course of the film.
                The cinematography and score of this movie is truly spectacular. Some of the best shots in an alien invasion film I have ever seen were done for this. This movie moved me emotionally. The music and feelings are felt by Louise, as most of the film is from her perspective and her motivations drive the plot. This movie managed to entertain and hold my attention, as well as be a beautiful peace of art, which is rare for me. I get bored easy.
                Director, Denis Villeneuve outdid himself with this. Another piece of his work is Prisoners, another favourite of mine, and you can really feel the same emotions in both films. It was scored by Jóhann Jóhannsson and he did a truly outstanding job. Absolutely the movie of the year.
                So did this movie fit my two most important categories? In both writing, adapted from Story of your Life by Eric Heisserer, and entertainment viability, this movie earns two thumbs up from me. Sci-fi fans and average movie goers alike NEED to see this film.

Arrival - 4.5/5
             

BCIT Acceptance

So I was recently accepted into the Television and Video Production program at BCIT. Finally deciding what I wanted to do with my life and taking this first step gave me the most freeing feeling. Being able to walk onto a film set knowing the basics of every role will be an excellent skill to have. Starting small obviously, but the dream is showrunning my own Netflix science fiction anthology series. If I can get there, that would be simply incredible. I'm feeling truly supported by friends and family and I have a great feeling about this next chapter in my life. Screenwriter and director is my dream job, and I pray to God I get there someday.