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Day 1 Assignment
Reply to post your assignment.
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34 Replies
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“What I learned doing this assignment is…?”
How to identify the differences between mystery, intrigue, and suspense in a film.
How to watch for twists that further the suspense or mystery – vs – things that just confuse.
PIG – Thriller Conventions (The genre said thriller but I realized while watching that though it was mysterious, intriguing, and suspenseful, it did not necessarily have life and death situations – more, an authentic life – vs – metaphorical death of the soul situations. I will repeat the assignment with more of an action thriller tomorrow?
– Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Robin Feld, a once successful Chef traumatized by the death of his wife Laurie and the realization that his “success” amounts to nothing more than a meaningless lie, now lives with a truffle pig at an isolated camp outside of Portland.
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– Dangerous Villain: A restaurant owner/competitive father who hires men to steal the truffle pig. (metaphorically – a Capitalistic society incapable of empathy)
– High stakes: Will Robin get the only thing he cares about in life back, his pet pig.
– Life and death situations: While looking for the pig, Robin and the sidekick enter some dangerous situations and the pig is ultimately killed.
– This movie is thrilling because? You don’t know what will happen next or what has happened in before (in the past of the character)
3. What is the BIG Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense of this story?
Big Mystery: Who bashed Robin over the head and stole his truffle pig? </div><div>
Big Intrigue: What happened to this man in the past to make him live like this?
Big Suspense: Will Robin find his pig and be rejoined with the only thing he loves?
4. Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great thriller?
Suspense is heightened by what is left out instead of what is explained as in a Harold Pinter play.
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What seems like a Winnie the Pooh story goes dark!
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This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by Michael Williamsen.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by Michael Williamsen.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by
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HELD Thriller Conventions
What I learned doing this assignment is setting up the MIS is probably one of the first steps after an intriguing title and engaging logline.
• Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: A couple takes a weekend vacation to recharge their 9-year marriage. The wife arrives before her husband, enjoys the house, swims, drinks wine, gets in tune for an exciting weekend. The husband arrives later, slightly stiff, relaxes with his wife at the poolside, but she’s not in the mode and he retreats to the bedroom, just like at home. Once, trapped, the wife attempts an unsuccessful escape through a crawl space. She fakes sedation to find out who is holding them hostage. When she finds that her husband ordered the reconditioning, she further fakes sedation to escape. She successfully kills the villain, takes his frequency device, and fights her husband, until finally injecting him with the high frequency implant and turns up the frequency.
• Dangerous Villain: An Eden Group representative who directs the couple to obey commands through the audio system inside a locked house. He sedates the unsuspecting couple with spiked alcohol and enters the house when they are asleep. He tricks them into thinking there is an external intruder.
• High stakes: The guy the wife cheated with is sedated and held hostage, tied to a chair. The wife is ordered by the villain through the house speaker to kill him. Will she? The husband turns mental, angry that his wife cheated and wants his marriage back to normal and he’ll do anything to achieve that goal.
• Life and death situations: The couple must obey the commands, if not, they are subject to a piercing, high-frequency device implant behind their ear. The higher the frequency, the more painful, which can kill.
• This movie is thrilling because? We are under the impression that the couple is being trapped by an outside force, but the intruder is in a secret, locked room, and her husband is participating in the reconditioning scheme.
• Big Mystery: Why did the villain trap the couple in the house?
• Big Intrigue: Eden Group is offering a service to recondition couples to live a traditional, loving marriage typically seen 50 years ago.
• Big Suspense: Will the trapped couple find a way to get out of the locked house.
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“What I learned doing this assignment is…?” The French film “Tell No one” (2007). I’ve seen this a lot of times. I watched it again last night. I caught the Big mystery and after that I found 3 more mysteries. Wow!
Synopsis: A doctor’s wife was murdered 8 years before. That is until he receives a camera video showing him that she’s alive.
Mystery: The Doctor’s wife was not murdered. Where is she? Why is she still alive?
Intrigue: The Doctor had been a suspect in his wife’s death. There was no proof. He is then framed for murder connected to his wife.
Suspense: The Doctor goes on the run from the police and several henchmen who follow him. He also tries to meet up with his wife who is alive somewhere. He might be killed himself.
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Thanks for this, Roscoe! I’m going to watch this.
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Hey Heidi – If you can get it on BluRay. Do so. It was made in French language with English subtitles. Kristin-Scott Thomas is in it. Hollywood was supposed to do a remake, but nothing has evolved. Enjoy. RP
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This looks like a 2nd honeymoon to hell.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by Michael Williamsen.
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Hey Michael – Hah… It could be. I don’t want to give anything away. Check it out on BluRay. It is an excellent thriller. RP
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This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by
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The Long Goodbye – Thriller Conventions
What I learned from analyzing this Robert Altman film is that a little mystery and a bunch of unanswered questions can go a long way toward providing a thrilling ride for an audience even in the absence of very high stakes and tension-filled life & death situations.
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Philip Marlowe
Dangerous Villain: On the surface, Marty Augustine, a gangster, who exhibits the most violence but actually has little to do with the central mystery. The real villain is Terry Lennox, who we think has committed suicide early on and is absent for most of the film.
High Stakes: Initially, Marlowe is arrested as a possible accessory to murder after the fact for driving his friend Terry Lennox to the US/Mexico border while knowing very little of why he needs to flee the country. After a few days in jail, once it becomes known that Lennox seems to have committed suicide, Marlowe is released from custody without having any charges hanging over him. Once Marty Augustine enters the story, the stakes become Marlowe being held responsible for recovering $355K in cash that Lennox “stole” from Augustine.
Life & Death Situations: There’s an implicit threat to Marlowe’s life if he can’t recover the stolen money for Augustine, but that’s not what motivates Marlowe’s actions. He really wants to find out what happened to his fiend (he doesn’t believe he committed suicide) and exonerate him for his wife’s murder, which Marlowe doesn’t believe Lennox committed.
The movie is thrilling in 3 ways: (1) because of the intertwining character relationships that Marlowe uncovers while looking for Lennox, making audience realize there a deeper layers t the story than we first thought; (2) because of some character’s surprising behavior, which keeps shifting the power relationships among them; and (3) because of what may be the ultimate fish-out-of-water conceit — Marlowe being reconceived as a Rip Van Marlowe, a man out of time, with 1940s values and matching approach to his job who’s forced to navigate through the unfamiliar society of the early 1970s.
The big mystery: What happened to Terry Lennox after Marlowe dropped him off at Tijuana border and who killed Lennox’s wife?
The big intrigue: What do Eileen Wade, who’s hired Marlowe to find her missing husband, and Roger Wade have to do with Lennox and how might they be connected to his wife’s murder?
The big suspense: Will Marlowe find Lennox and uncover his wife’s killer?
Another element that makes The Long Goodbye a great thriller is what Marlowe chooses to do once he catches up with Lennox. It’s a complete surprise but totally logical given the care taken to establish Marlowe’s moral code and “old-fashioned” values regarding friendship.
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Subject line: Thriller Conventions Movie title: Gone
Plot summary:
When her sister (Molly) disappears, Jill is convinced the serial killer who kidnapped her two years ago has returned, and she sets out to face her abductor believing he has taken Molly. Her past mental illness history works against her as she had been on a suicide watch and, later, involuntarily placed in a mental hospital after she was enraged when police did not believe her kidnapping story due to lack of evidence. From the police perspective there was no abductor.
What I learned doing this assignment is:
1) During the introductory part of the film you should include most of the elements which will come into play and have importance later on.
For example, the protagonist of the story:
□ is prominently seen driving a distinctive blue Saab which is later sought after by the police
□ is taking a self-defence lesson which helps her defeat the villain
□ works as a waitress at the Lucky Star restaurant where she unwittingly encounters the stalking villain and where her friendship with another waitress helps out with a phone number to contact the villain and provides her with a new vehicle to avert police
□ is seen taking pills which turn out to be mild tranquilizers which later indicate she has mental stability issues
2) Using flashbacks can used to provide details of the backstory. In this movie, key moments and items that Jill comes across causes flashbacks of her captivity at the bottom of a well. This reveals the truth of her abduction and that there have been other victims.
3) Using dialogue to provide backstory details. A policeman tells another of Jill’s past problems.
4) Misdirection is used throughout to keep the movie suspenseful. When Molly is noted to be missing, people come up with plausible explanations for her disappearance – other than being abducted. Later Jill’s therapist tries to convince there is no abductor, that she is recreating the past due to her sister’s absence. And so on.
5) Sprinkle clues along the way to keep the story moving forward. For example, Jill progressively gets more details about her past abductor which help her to track him down.
6) The villain is not actually revealed until the end of the movie, but the flashbacks give the audience an idea of his evil ways and the potential trouble Jill’s sister is in (which is the motive that propels the protagonist).
7) Heightening emotional drama. Jill is persistently having to avoid the police, including a car chase.
What is the BIG Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense of this story?
Big Mystery: What has happened to Jill’s sister and can she save her in time?
Big Intrigue: The evil plan of the abductor is to lure Jill out so he can finish her off.
Big Suspense: The main danger will be in the eventual confrontation of the villain. The audience knows that in chasing after the villain Jill puts herself in harm’s way.
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Thriller Conventions, Collateral by David Hare, Analysis by C A Holmes
What I learned doing the assignment is how to create ‘a systems’ Thriller, Systems (police, MI5, the military, refugee processing, even family systems) can create a sense of mystery, intrigue, suspense. Since this is the area I want to write about, it’s very helpful to analyze this step by step.
COLLATERAL BY DAVID HARE matches the model of A THRILLER because
it creates the “thrilling” experience of pitting our Heroine, a 6 month pregnant Detective Investigator against an ever widening web of lies and intrigue. She must solve the MYSTERY of the murder of a refugee pizza delivery man. It does not make sense. He is taken out by a very high level controlled hit.
She does not know, and can only guess at who would, or could do this, and unwittingly ends up revealing full MI5 involvement. She is resourceful enough to take on not just refugee issues going on in Britain right now, but also the involvement of the biggest and most secret of all of the security agencies.
Our heroine is pitted against a very dangerous villain: a Vet with PTSD who is hired by MI5 and committed to destroy anyone who gets in her way. The Vet has seen her best friend in war blown to bits in front of their face, and is being sexually preyed upon by her commanding officer. She fakes out her psychologist, and is abandoned by her narcissistic wasp mother. She wants to kill a ‘real’ terrorist as payback for this world gone topsy- turvy. Which in the end turns out to be an innocent refugee who just happens to know too much.
The plot brings the entire social web of modern Brexit Britain into play, the military, (suspense) the church, (mystery) government refugee agencies and their MP in charge of Labor Party (intrigue,) spies watching the border pretending to help refugees when their real job is to stop them, (betrayal.)
There is another murder, so different from the first, it can not be the same person, (twists.) The (tension) between the Heroine and policeman partner reveal his jealousy at her education, which stupidly has him leak info which gets to the press as fake news, creating a coverup, (increasing thrill state.)
The most thrilling scenes are Heroine working to extricate the refugees from the clutches of MI5, making promises she has no power to enact, then using the web of the entire system to crack the case. She makes an impossible exchange. At the very least she saves a few innocent people who literally would lose their lives if sent back to their country. (Life or death situation.)
Their country was destroyed by the false war the Vet was sent to win. This brings everything full circle, and takes it all the way to the closing scene, where the Vet is driven to suicide because she finds out she did not kill a terrorist (just a refugee pizza guy.) She can not live a life where there is no honor, (High stakes.) The Heroine tries to bring her in but can not, and the Vet shoots herself. The denouement is not worth a fig. The rest as they say… is history. The movie is thrilling because it shows the Heroine, Sherlock like, resisting obvious answers and digging deeper and deeper against all odds.
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The Postman Always Rings Twice, a psychological thriller from 1946
“What I learned doing this assignment is that subtext, twists and turns, and life and death situations will keep audiences on the edge of their seats.
Logline: An attractive married woman (Cora) and a con man drifter (Frank) fall in love, then plot to murder her kind older husband (Nick).
The audience must solve many mysteries: Will Cora leave Nick? Will Nick find Cora’s note? Will Cora and Frank kill Nick? After Frank leaves, will he return? Is Frank alive after the car plunges down the cliff? And will Nick die? Will they get away with killing Nick? Will a gangster who has a copy of her confession get money from Cora? After Cora confesses, will she be convicted? And more.
1. The Postman Always Rings Twice, a psychological thriller.
2. Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: The first shot is of Cora’s legs then the audience sees her in short shorts, applying lipstick, a provocative pose. She reapplies lipstick throughout the film. Cora is married to Nick, a man she doesn’t love. She married him for his money so she would have a secure business. She meets Frank and falls in love.
Cora and Frank hatch a plot to get rid of Nick. Their plan fails, and Frank takes off — only to return again. After her husband tells her he’s going to sell the diner, at minute 53, Cora is desperate.
Dangerous Villain: I think Frank is the hidden villain. Frank steals Cora from Nick but Cora and Nick are not perfect. Cora marries Nick for his money. Nick threatens to sell the diner, which is Cora’s security blanket.
High stakes: Nick and Cora are arrested for the murder of Nick. She signs a confession but the twist is that the confession went to the lawyer’s office, not the judge. They are not convicted.
Life and death situations: First try fails. Will Cora and Frank kill Nick? Yes, they do on the second try.
3. What is the BIG Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense of this story?
Big Mystery: Will Cora leave Nick? She tells Frank, “Darling, can’t you see how happy you and I would be together here…without him?”, so they plot to kill Nick. There is a back and forth on this until Nick dies.
Big Intrigue: In court her lawyer says the DA forced the pair into a confession. Both are charged with murder but the lawyer gets probation for Cora. (a twist) They get married. After Cora leaves on a trip, Nick meets a lady with a new car. He says, “My feet are itching to leave.” She says, “I hate hamburger.“ ( SUBTEXT: The diner sells burgers.) When Cora returns, Frank has a new car. Did he kill the lady he just met?
Big Suspense: Will they kill Nick? is the question until they succeed. The first attempt at minute 33 is foiled after the lights go out. Nick is hurt but not killed. Frank hits Nick with a bottle and pushes the car over a cliff at minute 66. Frank survives and Nick dies.
4. Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great thriller? In this steamy 1946 collaboration between John Garfield and Lana Turner, Garfield plays a young, aimless vagabond who arrives at a small diner and enters the life of the gorgeous young woman (Turner) and her older husband who own the place. “I disturbed her and she hated me for it,” is one great line that Frank says. Their desire to be together leads to a story of murder, deceit, violence, and betrayal. The Postman Always Rings Twice surprised me with twists, turns, and shifts in tone. The beginning, middle, and end of the movie are all quite different, and the characters go through some radical changes.
Even the ending has several twists: Cora is pregnant. She goes swimming, the only time she doesn’t wear a bathing cap ( subtext: she’s free at last) but soon dies in a car wreck. Frank is innocent but he’s charged with her death. All his guilt comes back to haunt him in the end: what goes around comes around. The postman always rings twice.
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No Country For Old Men – Thriller Conventions
I learned that thrillers are stronger when mystery, suspense and intrigue are BIGGER. I was going to analyze Dial M for Murder (1954) but quickly realized it is weak in some conventions, making it less thrilling by today’s conventions.
Hero: Bell, a retiring sheriff who fails at his final tasks before retirement.
Neutral: Moss, stumbles upon $2 million and takes it, putting his family in danger.
Villain: Chigurh, a hitman with an arbitrary outlook on others’ lives and a seemingly predetermined outlook of his own success.
High stakes: $2 million, life/death coin toss, Moss endangers his family, Chigurh will kill anyone.
Life and death situations: many death scenes using a variety of guns and strangulation. Car crash nearly kills the villain.
Thrilling because: concerned and worried for Moss and his family, Bell, and anyone who encounters Chigurh.
Big Mystery: Chigurh… Who is he? Where did he come from? Why does he use a bolt gun? Why is life a coin toss? Will anybody be able to stop him?
Big Intrigue: Fate and randomness in life and death.
Big Suspense: Can Bell stop Chigurh before he kills again?
Themes: morality and religion, greed, hunter/hunted, choice vs self-determination, and changing times.
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Melanie Forchetti
What I learned: thrillers are complex and constantly shifting stories. Pacing is very important as well as planting red herrings to keep the audience’s attention.
Thriller I watched: “The Woman in the Window”
A. Unwitting/Resourceful Hero: Dr. Anna Fox. She’s a former child psychologist who is agoraphobic (fear of going outside) after a family tragedy and lives in a brownstone in NY, drinking and taking medication to treat her depression.
B. Dangerous Villain: Ethan Russell. He’s a seemingly innocent 15yo and lives across the street from Anna. In reality, though, he’s an angry teen who can switch personalities and cunningly plays right into Anna’s desire to help him.
C. High Stakes: Anna sees the murder of Ethan’s mom (“Jane Russell”) across the street but can’t leave her house to help. She calls the cops and accuses the Mr. Russell and her basement tenant (who she finds out is on parole) of being possible suspects. They all have motive and seem dangerous.
D. The movie is thrilling because Anna seems so helplessly alone and drunk, stuck in her house unable to leave while possible suspects come in and out of her house. Once she starts accusing people, though, you know that the murderer will stop at nothing to kill her too.
Big Mystery: Who killed Jane Russell (the neighbor)? And then, who is Jane Russell?
Big Intrigue: Ethan, the boy, stalks her throughout the film (we find this out at the end) and actually is staying in her apartment as he plans to kill her. In a drunk stupor, she is unaware that he is even there.
Big Suspense: Trapped in her apartment due to her phobia, she has to confront the killer alone.
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I starting watching this movie a month ago and tried again last night. Boring voice-over and crappy cliche dialogue. So slow. I couldn’t get past 11 minutes.
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Lethal Weapon 1987 ACTION THRILLER CONVENTIONS
Doing this assignment I learned how the unwittingness of Riggs grips my heart and keeps me worried for him for the entire movie.
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Riggs is a cop, suicidal and grieving over his wife’s death. He is taking huge risks on the job with dangerous criminals. In his past he has been a Green Beret Special Forces war veteran and weapons expert. Now he is just a sad but lucky mess.
Dangerous Villain: After the war ex-CIA agents, mercenaries, and soldiers involved reformed Shadow Company and began shipping large quantities of heroin from Asia to the United States, under the leadership of retired General Peter McAllister and his right-hand man Jack Joshua.
High stakes: Bad guys torture and kill anyone in their way.
Life and death situations: These are trained hardened killers with sophisticated techniques for killing and interrogation.
This movie is thrilling because? There are many big escalation as to how many and how bad the bad guys are. And because you really like those being threatened.
Big Mystery: Why was Amanda murdered? Who will be next?
Why are intelligence specialists involved? Can Riggs get his old functioning self back?
Big Intrigue: Our trained protectors are up to no good.
Big Suspense: How can two cops bring down SHADOW COMPANY, a fully manned and equipped intelligence operation trained through years of war and now turned to crime.
Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great thriller? Riggs is so very endearing, emotional, off his rocker brave, and good while in the face of torture, murder, and mayhem. He oscillates between suicidal out of his mind grief and willing to die for anything that looks like good or justice.
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Aliens – Thriller Conventions
What I learned: There is a formula. Even though I picked a movie with a high body count, it isn’t essential to the thriller genre. In fact, the first death we see is at the halfway point. Before that it is a psychological thriller building anticipation as we gather clues about the mystery of what happened to the colonists.
Unwitting but resourceful Hero: Ripley, who is the sole survivor of an Alien encounter, is considered hysterical until others are forced to face the truth of the danger. Hicks gives her a crash course in weapons but she is pushed to the extreme as she faces alien and human enemies.
Dangerous Villain: The aliens and especially the queen are ruthless and cunning with acid for blood and a dagger tail. Burke and Weyland-Yutani Corp are determined to get an alien back to earth and will kill Ripley, Newt and the entire military team to do it.
High stakes: Almost 200 creatures determined to implant the new arrivals. A child survivor must be protected. Everyone’s life is in danger.
Life and death situations: Ammunition might ignite the thermo-nuclear reactor so the soldiers cannot use their weapons. Cocooned colonist is found but dies when alien baby emerges. Aliens come out of the walls to attack the retreating soldiers. Creatures attack the transport. Ripley, driving the transport, is attacked through the window. The shuttle is taken out when a creature kills the pilot. The disabled shuttle is on a collision course for the rescue team. Bishop must go outside to signal the ship to send a second shuttle. They fortify their hold. Burke releases two egg creatures to implant sleeping Ripley and Newt then turns off the surveillance cameras. The creatures overtake their hold and they must fight their way out. Burke, on his own, comes face-to-face with creature. Soldiers valiantly fight, kill, die. Newt is taken. Ripley goes after Newt but the tracker fell off her wrist. Ripley rescues Newt and faces down the Queen. The Queen pursues Ripley and Newt. The Queen stowed away on the shuttle and makes it to the ship. Queen halves Bishop and pursues Newt. Ripley faces off with Queen.
This movie is thrilling because?: We remember what one creature did to Ripley’s crew and now there are so many that the numbers are overwhelming.
Big Mystery: What happened to the colonists? Will the same thing happen to the rescue team?
Big Intrigue: Burke, ever the company man, is determined to get the creature to Earth. Bishop is fascinated by the creatures and may turn on them as Ripley’s previous android did.
Big Suspense: Will anyone make it off the planet alive?
Anything else: This script deftly blends humor and thrills creating a brilliant ride. The aliens don’t even come on screen until halfway through the movie.
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I learned to take notice of how important the first mystery is and how it becomes reality when it seems to be covered up. Chinatown is one of the best examples of this.
MOVIE TO WATCH AND CRITIQUE: “THE GAME”
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Lonely, serious and boring, ultra rich Executive, thinks people are out to get him.
Dangerous Villain: CRS – the organization which sells THE GAME.
High stakes: Loss of $600 Million; shot at, almost drowned,
Life and death situations: Shot at, locked in a taxi as it sinks in SF Bay, Shot at while driving, Shot at by Guards,
This movie is thrilling because? Information is stolen to steal everything one owns at which point they are disposable. Chase scenes, love interest, betrayal, his own Brother in life-threatening trouble then turns on him, innocent man running for his very life,
What is the BIG Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense of this story?
Big Mystery: Who is CRS and is The Game a a big con or not.
Big Intrigue: Who and What are real, and, who and what is not?
Big Suspense: Can he trust anyone at all as his insulated world crumbles all around him leaving him exposed and hunted to kill.
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The Fugitive
What I learned doing this assignment is why this movie is so thrilling. See below.
Unwitting but resourceful hero: Dr Richard Kimble who has no idea he is subject to a setup
Dangerous villain: Kimbles friend/colleague who wants to make money from the new drug, and the one armed man the main villain hires to kill Kimbles wife
High stakes: Kimble is innocently sentenced to death penalty/life time prison for killing his wife.
Life and death situations: sentenced, bus crash, waterfall jump, Gerard shoots at Kimble, train fight with one armed killer, climax fight with main villain
This movie is thrilling because the protagonist is an innocent subject to a setup and he tries to escape the police chasing him constantly and thoroughly at the same time he is trying to solve who set him up and why.
Mystery: Who set Kimble up and why?
Intrigue: Kimble must disappear so he can’t stop the new drug the villain will make big money from.
Suspense: Will Kimble be free and find his wifes killer?
Both Kimble and Gerard are very good at their job, both very determined to win the battle, prepared to do anything (Gerard shooting, Kimble jumping waterfall). We like both of them, so we do not want anyone of them to die/lose, even if we don’t want Gerrard to catch Kimble. Also very efficient pacing with cutting between Kimble’s and Gerard’s scenes with no actual subplot.
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WIL: keep escalating
Unhinged – starring Russel Crowe as the villain.
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: A trodden down single mother is forced to rise up against all odds.
Dangerous Villain: Attorney Bob. Narcissist/psychopath
and mastermind of the kidnapping ring.Hero/Villain: Ex-husband, ruthless killer goes over the edge with road rage
High stakes: hero’s friends are murdered, then family, then he goes after hero’s son.
This story is thrilling because?
Big Mystery: Will the villain ever stop his road rage?<div>
Intrigue: cat and mouse movie – how does he keep finding her?
Big Suspense: villain escalates his killing every time and then goes after her son,
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This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by Michael Williamsen.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by Michael Williamsen.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by Michael Williamsen.
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Michael, you’ve mistakenly posted Day 2’s assignment in Day 1. Yes?
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This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by
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Subject line: A Good Marriage Thriller Conventions
“What I learned doing this assignment is…?”
Every scene, every detail, including reflections (of action and dialogue in later action and dialogue) and contrasts (with normalcy, like the final kiss), works together to create constant tension and irony throughout this gem-like film.
“What are the BIG Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense of this story?”
B.M.: Is her husband killing these women? (Answered fairly soon)
B.I.: He’s still looking for victims; which will he kill?(Non-stop)
B.S.: Will he realize she knows he’s the serial killer, and if so, will he kill her? Or will she kill him? (That’s the major issue all along.)
“What else made this movie a great thriller?”
The contrasts between normal life and the horror of being married to a murderer, e.g., when they hold hands going into the wedding reception, when she knows and he knows she knows..
The annoying cliches that later have ironic meanings in this context e.g., “He covers his tracks!”She certainly covers hers.
The rare, double-strike penny motif, a metaphor for dual personality, not as rare as the penny, unfortunately.
The many questions raised:
Will he find out she knows?
Will he kill another woman?
Will he kill her?
Will she kick the car off the jack with him under it? (Everybody is thinking, “Kick it! Kick it!” but she mustn’t. Tantalizing!)
When almost dead, will he rise up. like the Model 101 in Terminator, and kill her?
Will she laugh hysterically at the funeral? Or will she just tease us?
Who is the mysterious “BD” lurker? Is he another rude nutter?
Will the lurker kill her? Or will he turn her in?
Will she give herself away to the lurker (ex-cop)?
Will she be charged with murder?
Will she kill the ex-cop/lurker?
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Thriller Conventions: Wander
What I learned: thrillers are quite structured – as is any movie – and there are specific conventions we must follow.
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Arthur Bretnik who in his search for a conspiracy is duped into doing the villains bidding, driving himself crazy in the process.<div>
Dangerous Villain: Canton and Jimmy Kleats
High stakes: Arthur risks death, but is driven crazy and ultimately kills himself
Life and death situations: Arthur believes he’s been implanted and that he will die. All around him are being killed by…?
This movie is thrilling because we never know whether the conspiracy is real or the delusions of a madman. Everyone keeps dying.
What is the BIG Mystery: Who is implanting aliens?
Intrigue: Is this a conspiracy or an evil among individuals?
Suspense: Will Aurthur discover the plot, or will he go mad?
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Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great thriller: In a lot of ways the movie was confusingly plotted and overly complicated, hard to follow. But the down ending was an interesting twist.
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SELF-LESS Thriller Conventions
I learned how powerful it was to completely hide the villain’s plan until the midpoint.
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Damian (Ben Kingsley) is a NY tycoon dying of cancer and agrees to have his consciousness put it a body made in a lab. The body (Ryan Reynolds) was in the army and has excellent shooting/fighting skills, and Damian is sharp and will be manipulated by no one.
Dangerous Villain: The Doctor who engineered this whole thing to keep geniuses from dying.
High stakes: Damian’s life, Mark (the body)’s life, the lives of the little girl and woman Mark was married to, the life of the body the little boy of his friend took, the lives of future innocent people who will be murdered, the lives of the doctor’s staff and the life of the doctor.
Life and death situations: SOOO MANY! Damian agreeing to the procedure, the life of Mark (who’s body he’s in) the house on fire scene in St Louis, the confrontation scene in the Doctor’s old New Orlean’s house, car chase to his friend’s house, escaping his friend’s house, kidnapping in the woods, the final lab transfer, rescuing the girl and wife from storage, trapped in the control room, lighting the doctor on fire.
This movie is thrilling because? The villain’s plan is so vial, and the victim’s of it are everywhere–the hero himself isn’t the main concern, but the innocent lives he is fighting to save are tear jerking.
3. What is the BIG Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense of this story?
Big Mystery: Where do the bodies come from for these procedures?
Big Intrigue: The Doctor is murdering healthy, young people to put rich intelligent, dying people into their bodies.
Big Suspense: Can Damian beat the doctor and choose to do the right thing and let himself die so that this amazing woman and her daughter can have their husband and father back?
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Ed Brown Sum of all fears Thriller conventions
1. matches our model, more suspense, but mystery of connections
2. unwilling Jack Ryan goes to Moscow, goes to Ukraine, goes into danger, resourceful in finding the how the who the why
· dangerous villain, buys bomb, hires techies kills techs, delivers bomb,
· life and death: of Baltimore, POTUS, Cabot, Ukraine, USA, Russia, girl friend, coworkers
· thrilling because things consecutively go wrong getting worse worse then better but will it work?
3. Big Mystery who is inside back channel
Big Intrigue is villains’ plot unwinding
BIG Suspense is can war be stopped?
4. thriller because reality based of fears and could happen, not fantasy
5. multiple players interwoven with increasing danger AND urgent URGENT NEEDED SOLUTION!
Set ups made for payoffs and created more credible actions outcomes
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Subject line: Day #1 Stephen Maynard: The Conventions of Thrillers
What I learned doing this assignment is…?” Crafty screenwriting can lay in all the elements necessary to create a great THRILLER.
The movie I comment on is, Se7en.
Unwitting
but Resourceful Hero: Detectives Somerset & Mills
pool their unique skills and approaches as they go in pursuit of the
Villain.Dangerous Villain: John
Doe, the mysterious serial killer taunts the
police with staged ritualistic murders and a string of clues that reveal
his utter contempt for a society in decay.High stakes: Who will
die next?
Life
and death situations: People are being killed and the cops know more will die if they can’t solve the riddle.This
movie is thrilling because? The cops know more people will die, but the clever killer renders them helpless, frustrated, and impotent.Big Mystery: Who is doing this and what does it portend?
Big Intrigue: We know
that all this killing means something but what? We recognize the utter moral depravity and treachery but what does it signify?Big Suspense:
Will the detectives be able to outsmart the killer and find him before he kills again and shows us the fate of the seventh sinner. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death…” -
The Angel (Netflix) Convention
1-The unwilling and resourceful hero is Ashraf Marwan , son in law of the late President Nasser of Egypt. Ashraf Marwan is an Egyptian man who makes contact with Israel in 1970 to spy on the Egyptians. This is a shock considering he is the president’s son in law studying in London He ends up giving information to the President of Egypt about the corrupt politicians who were arrested. His marriage is frowned upon and disapproved of by his father in law, but he has peace in his heart regardless of his loyalty/disloyalty to Egypt and Israel.<div>
</div><div>2-The dangerous villain is Sami. He is the central villain eager to advance his own initiatives and will do anything to prove Marwan wrong. He is trying to elevate his position and credibility within the Egyptian government. He is vulnerable but also wants to be right . He eventually realizes that the person who he is trying to do in is also becomes a most trusted ally in the end. He develops a great amount of respect for Marwan who was once a foe. </div><div>
</div><div>3-The high stakes are that he will be discovered as a double agent and face the ultimate consequences and probably public execution. He has to support his family. Ashraf Marwan gets a job in the Egyptian government but he receives a call from the Israeli Embassy about them accepting his offer to become a spy. The other challenge is getting the Israeli to trust him., he could start a war which would kill people, and that he could lose his family.</div><div>
</div><div>4-Life and death situations are Ashraf informing the Israeli about the attack on time and him not getting caught. Each time the opposite side gets pictorial evidence about who he is with, they immediately think they are being betrayed and doubt his trust . He is able to explain his way out of why he was with that person. Other situations include when he was followed, kidnapped and thrown into the trunk and when he provided the false firing weapons that saved plenty of lives and risked being caught in the set up . Another life and death situations was when his family was physically and he used his resources and inside knowledge to save himself and everyone else.
5- The mystery – Why is he really wanting to broker peace? What is his motive? Seems like that was a little unclear. Why did Ashraf contact the Israeli government?
6- Was he doing it for the money or there were other intentions? The intrigue is the way that he seemingly seamlessly crosses the dangerous governmental lines and manipulates the heads of states to achieve his mission.
7- The suspense is why is he considered an angel? And, the closer that he gets to his goal, the closer he gets to getting caught. More importantly it’s constantly a cat and mouse chase whether or not he is going to get caught and exposed. Are they going to kill his family or not? Will they be disgraced? Is he going to win?
Its a great thriller because we are always wondering if Ashraf is going to be found out , by the Egyptians , that he is working for the Israelis. Every scene pushed the story forward. The contrast is dark and light heightened the intensity.
I learned how to spot these elements in the film and verified how important the 3 elements are in creating an experience that doesn’t leave you disappointed. Will start looking for these elements more consciously and attempt to understand how they affect me personally as a viewer.
</div>
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The Woman in the Window Thriller Conventions
Big Mystery:
Big Intrigue: The villian is making it seem that Anna Fox has big mental problems/issues and all she sees are hallucinations.
Big Suspense: Anna keeps hearing noises of someone else in her home besides her renter. Then she receives an image of her sleeping. Will she be killed by the villian.
The movie had me engaged from the beginning. I thought I knew who the killer was or should I say lead to believe who it was. That was until Alistar Russell said something to the affect of “you don’t understand what’s going on. I realized that it wasn’t him, but his son. But realizing that, still didn’t spoil it for me. I wanted to see how the film would end.
Normally, I get so engulfed in the movie not realizing who the murderer is til the end of the film. This made me more keenly aware of the surroundings in the dialogue.
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Yes. I am ready to post my assignment
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Thriller Conventions Annina Lavee
In the analysis of the Interpreter I learned how to identify the 3 layers and watched them unfold.
This movie has all the conventions of a thriller, killing at the opening, etc.
This movie is thrilling because the audience wants to know who will attempt to kill the president of Matobo when he comes to give a speech at the UN General Assembly. and has all the conventions of a thriller. As an audience member I identify with Sylvia, the interpreter, and I worry about her safety.
Who whispered the plan, that was overheard by Sylvia, to kill President Zumani of Matobo in Africa, when he comes to give a speech at the General Assembly in the UN?
Who was killed in the soccer stadium at the beginning? Who is the teacher?
Will Sylvia survive or be killed since she was seen by the whisperers discussing the plan? Is Sylvia lying or telling the truth about what she overheard?
The connection between Sylvia and Keller, the secret service officer, who is assigned to protect Zumani, with the loss of loved ones both have experienced and the discussion about forgiveness vs. revenge and the unfairness of life.
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SECRET OBSESSION Thriller Conventions
What I learned doing this assignment is…All thrillers work if they have a big mystery, big intrigue and lots of suspense. Also, for a thriller to grab an audience, we have to care about the hero and despise the villain. The villain has to be pure evil!
2. Watch the movie and as you do, note the conventions of THIS story.
Unwitting
but Resourceful Hero: Yes, the
hero, Jennifer has amnesia from an accident, and is kidnapped by an evil
villain, Russell, who is obsessed with her, but she keeps trying to get away from him and she never gives up.
Dangerous
Villain: Russell is pure evil. He is
obsessed with Jennifer and has killed her parents and husband and another
guy, just so he can have her all to himself, and he’s going to kill her and Detective Page.
High
stakes: Russell has proven he’s a
killer and when Jennifer starts to resist him and try to flee, he’s
threatened to harm her and then killer her.
Life
and death situations: Jennifer is
chased by a guy with a knife (Russell) in the opening scene, then
accidentally hit by a car, where she’s injured and has amnesia. Russell, the villain, kills another man who is investigating Jennifer’s accident and tries to kill Detective Page. When Jennifer starts to regain her memory and catches on to his scheme, Russell threatens to kill her and in the final scene, he holds a gun to her, but she fights back and saves herself and the Detective page and
kills Russell.
This
movie is thrilling because?
It has nonstop action and we care about Jennifer and hope she’ll be OK, as
she faces ever-increasing obstacles and threats from Russell, up to the
final scene.3. What is the BIG Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense of this story?
Big
Mystery: Can Jennifer remember who she
is? Who is Russell? Is he really her husband?
Big
Intrigue: After Jennifer ends up with amnesia from a car accident, Russell poses as Jennifer’s husband and moves with her into her house. To eliminate her past life, Russell kills her husband and parents, so they can
start fresh as newlyweds. He isolates her in their house, which is in a remote area and takes her cell phone. He evades the nurse who is trying to get in touch with Jennifer to go to rehab and he evades Detective Page, who is on to him.
Big
Suspense: Once Jennifer figures out that
Russell is not her husband, she is under constant threat from him, from
assault to murder. Will she and Detective Page be able to kill Russell
before he kills them both?4. Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great thriller? The acting was great and the story had nonstop action. The hero faced many challenging and dangerous situations but she never gave up and kept fighting to get away from Russell and in the end, she killed Russell with his own gun and saved herself and Detective Page. Also, most of the action took place in a remote, isolated house in Northern California, which made the story even more suspenseful.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by Leona Heraty.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by
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“The Net” — Thriller Conventions ..
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Angela, a computer
programmer/beta tester.
Dangerous Villain: Jack, charming, handsome and
ruthless assassin trying to recover a computer disk in Angela’s
possession.High stakes: Angela’s identity has been stolen. her
life is threatened and her mother’s safety is jeopardized.Life and death situations: people start dying
immediately. The Defense Secretary mysteriously commits suicide. Angele’s
colleague dies in a plane crash. Jack befriends Angela, lures her away to
kill her but is distracted by her and seduces her. She narrowly escapes the
murder attempt but is injured in a boating accident and wakes up to find
her identity stolen. The computer disk has been destroyed. She returns
home to find her house is up for sale and narrowly escapes Jack again. She
gets help from an ex-lover. When he is killed, she flees but is eventually
captured as a car thief. Eventually she gets to her employer’s
headquarters and retrieves the disk she needs and sends the info to the
authorities. She manages to cause Jack’s death and is able to return to a
better version of her life.This movie is thrilling because every time Angela
escapes death, she lands in more peril. Because she is able to think on
her feet, she stays a step ahead of the villain until she figures out how
to defeat him and take back her life.What is the BIG Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense of this
story?Big Mystery: What is on that computer disk?
Big Intrigue: Who are the Praetorians and what is their
agenda?Big Suspense: How will Angela save herself?
Another element contributing to this thriller is the isolation of the heroine: She works remotely as a computer geek, She does not interact with neighbors and her mother is an Alzheimer’s patient who is hospitalized and no longer recognizes her. Angela has few options for help because of her self-imposed isolation.
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NONSTOP Thriller Conventions
What I learned is to dissect the terms, mystery, intrigue and suspense to get full understanding of each so this will translate to story and make it richer.
The movie I watched was NONSTOP. What made it a thriller was being in constant concern and worry for main character and others on plane.
Big mystery was who was man behind the threats of main character and all of his texts.
Big intrigue was villan’s threats and his twisted non stop harassment.
Big suspense was plane being in flight while threats and people being killed. Worried it would all go down.
It was a thriller because of its nonstop action from scene to scene.
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