Emma Upton

Me and My Movies

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

The fourth installment of the Harry Potter fantasy film franchise, stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint along with many more famous movie stars. It was directed by Mike Newell, produced by David Heyman, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and was released on the 18th

November 2005. The film’s budget was around $150 Million, however received $896.9 million at the box office.

Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts is about to start and he is enjoying the summer vacation with his friends. They get the tickets to The Quidditch World Cup Final but after the match is over, people dressed like Lord Voldemort's 'Death Eaters' set a fire to all the visitors' tents, coupled with the appearance of Voldemort's symbol, the 'Dark Mark' in the sky, which causes a frenzy across the magical community. That same year, Hogwarts is hosting 'The Triwizard Tournament', a magical tournament between three well-known schools of magic: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. The contestants have to be above the age of 17, and are chosen by a magical object called Goblet of Fire. On the night of selection, however, the Goblet spews out four names instead of the usual three, with Harry unwittingly being selected as the Fourth Champion. Since the magic cannot be reversed, Harry is forced to go with it and brave three exceedingly difficult tasks

Emma Upton

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is the third and final installment of the epic fantasy adventure film saga, which is based on the novel The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. The trilogy is a prequel for the famous The Lord of the Rings films. The film features well-known movie stars such as Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage and Orlando Bloom along with many others. It was directed by Peter Jackson, who directed the entire Lord of the Rings films along with The Hobbit trilogy. Produced by Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner, Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson. It was distributed by Warner Bros and released on the 1st December 2014. The budget for the film was around $250 Million, however received a huge $955.1 Million at the box office.

As Smaug breathes fire and destruction onto Laketown, another sort of dragon-danger threatens Thorin Oakenshield - the gold madness that seized his Grandsire Thror, King Under the Mountain of old. The people of Laketown flee to the ruins of Dale, in the shadow of the Lonely Mountain; only to be greeted by an army of Elves led by Thranduil, marching there too. Asking Thorin for their own fair share of the gold, Men and Elves are answered by Dwarvish defiance. Thorin seems overmatched until an army led by Dwarf-Lord Dain, Thorin's kinsman, approaches from the Iron Hills to the northeast. Meantime, Gandalf, imprisoned in the ruins of Dol Guldûr, seems about to be finished off by the Nine Ring Wraiths, led by the deadliest of their lot, Witch King of the ancient, evil realm of Angmar. And what on Middle Earth will happen when an enormous army of Orcs and Wargs suddenly pours out of tunnels under the earth, surrounding and threatening doom to all the other armies gathered at the Lonely Mountain? Orcs and their Fell Beasts, Elves, Dwarves, Men - Five Armies join battle, and the result will determine the fate of the North in the gathering War of the Ring.

Emma Upton

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

This fantasy action film was the first installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise stars some very famous faces such as, Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. It was directed by Gore Verbinski, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was released on the 9th July 2003, the film had a budget of $140 Million and received a huge profit on $654.3 Million at the box office.

Pirates of the Caribbean is a sweeping action-adventure story set in an era when villainous pirates scavenged the Caribbean seas. This roller coaster tale teams a young man, Will Turner, with an unlikely ally in rogue pirate Jack Sparrow. Together, they must battle a band of the world's most treacherous pirates, led by the cursed Captain Barbossa, in order to save Elizabeth, the love of Will's life, as well as recover the lost treasure that Jack seeks. Against improbable odds, they race towards a climactic confrontation on the mysterious Isla de Muerta. Clashing their swords in fierce mortal combat, Will and Jack attempt to recapture The Black Pearl ship, save the British navy, and relinquish a fortune in forbidden treasure thereby lifting the curse of the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Emma Upton

Fantasy Films

Fantasy has been my favourite genre of film since I began appreciating films at a young age. One of the main factors behind my love of fantasy films is how unrealistic they are, they take you away from every day life for a few hours and transport you to a whole new world or realm. The three films I have chosen are all fantasy action films, which means while they are very unrealistic, the action within the films keeps you on the edge of your seat. I also love that a lot of fantasy films have very in depth story lines, some people find that hard to follow or confusing, however I think that’s what makes films like the above amazing. The intricate storylines, the plot and in depth the character development are what set fantasy films apart from the rest. Different actors are used in different fantasy films, however if the films are a saga or a trilogy they will usually stick to the same actors throughout the franchise. For example, Sir Ian McKellen has been used in each and every Lord of the Rings’ films along with each of the Hobbit films, his role as Gandalf is iconic to the Fantasy genre. When The Hobbit (prequel) was released fans were extremely happy that some of the same actors and characters would appear and therefore attracted the audience to watch The Hobbit.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Trailer

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Trailer

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

The first film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a fantasy action teen film set in a boarding school that teaches witchcraft and wizardry called Hogwarts. Fantasy films can generally be set anywhere including imaginary places or even different worlds, due to the genre having that flexibility. However this film does surround the typical teenage high school life and therefore fits the ‘teen’ genre, but because that high school surrounds magic and witchcraft in a school that no ‘muggle’ (regular person with no witchcraft powers) could ever find, the setting also perfectly fits the fantasy genre.

In fantasy films a common code/convention are the characters involved, there is usually a group of protagonists that help the main protagonist of the film who is usually seen as an underdog or an unlikely hero, and also a group on antagonists that fight against the protagonists. The three main characters and protagonists of the film Harry, Ron and Hermione are all very different however best friends, throughout these films they can be seen as the ‘outcasts’ at school. This fits the fantasy genre perfectly, as it is always the unlikely character(s) that turn out to be the hero, so this follows the codes and conventions of a fantasy film. This film follows the usual three act linear structure to portray the storyline, with an inciting incident, a rising action, climax, falling action and finally the denouement, this is also a code and convention of fantasy films which this film has followed with.

Emma Upton

Iconography is very difficult in fantasy films, as they are all so different and generally depend on the plot of that one particular fantasy film. For example, the ‘One Ring’ is iconography for the fantasy genre, because it’s so widely known for the Lord of the Rings films, which is one of the most popular fantasy film sagas to date, however wouldn’t be used in a Harry Potter film. However iconography used in fantasy films is very common, it is usually the things that aren’t real, mythical or magic. For example, wands and broomsticks in Harry Potter would definitely be iconography.

I usually find out about new upcoming films through both the Internet and social media, (e.g.: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter) or through trailers before films at the cinema. Usually though I find out from advertisements online or the trailer being showed online. Because, the Internet is used on a daily, or even hourly basis for some people, advertising online is very helpful and will be seen by millions of people. Our generation and society thrive through the Internet and being online, so for companies or producers to be ‘media literate’ is very important and now key for attracting an audience. Being media literate means you understand how the media industry works and knowing the true deeper message behind certain forms of media. Learning more about the process, codes and conventions of media definitely helped me become more media literate, I now look far more deeply into media products that I would have previously.

The way people react to media products, specifically films, is usually based on our age, gender, ethnicity, social class, culture, personal history and even your personal outlook/opinion. For example, my favourite genre of film is Fantasy, this is due to many different factors, my family has always loved fantasy films and I was brought up watching Star Trek, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Another factor is I have a huge imagination, I’m also an only child and a very common personality trait of an only child is having a huge very vivid imagination from playing alone as a child. I also love gaming, and a lot of games I play are very fantasy based (E.g.: The Fallout Franchise, Skyrim, Halo Franchise, etc..) so I’ve surrounded most of my entertainment with the fantasy genre.

The fantasy genre is known for its fandoms. Conventions are a huge part of the fantasy fandoms, there are so many different conventions however a universally well known convention would be ‘Comic Con’, this may have started with just comics however have grown to appreciate all fractions of the fantasy genre, for example the cast of The Hobbit films did a panel at the biggest Comic Con to talk about the films. A lot of fantasy film fans take part in what is called ‘Cosplaying’ this means dressing up as your favourite (usually fantasy) film or game star. Lord of the Rings or Hobbit characters are very popular cosplay outfits. There are also very specific fandoms, for example there was recently a huge convention dedicated to the fantasy films Star Wars where many huge dedicated Star Wars fans went too and tickets for the convention sold out quickly. There is a huge sense of community throughout the fandoms of the fantasy genre, the community is very welcoming and that is why the fantasy film genre is known for its huge followings and fandoms.

Emma Upton

http://www.mcmcomiccon.com/manchester

http://www.starwarscelebration.com/

http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/