Movie Review of Secret (2007 Taiwanese Film) Essay Example for Free

Movie Review of Secret (2007 Taiwanese Film) Essay Casts: * Jay Chou as Ye Xianglun A music student majoring in piano and lives with his father * Kwai Lun-mei as Lu Xiaoyu A music student who lives with her mother * Anthony Wong Chau-sang as Xianglun’s father Xiangluns father and the discipline teacher at his school * Alice Tzeng as Qing Yi Xiangluns classmate who is in love with him * Yuhao Zhan as Yu Hao A music student and talented piano player, nicknamed Prince of the piano, he had a piano battle with Xianglun Secret is an amazing movie to look at and to listen to. The film tells a simple but very beautiful love story which is tied between past and present. The story, the music, the talent you’ll really be amazed and be in love with it when you see it yourself. You can’t imagine that it would be magical. It’s a unique story, unpredictable and interesting. Whats more interesting is there is more to it than what meets the eye. Careful attention must be paid to all scenes, or else the story wont click and the end wont be as good. Heres the spoil. Ye Xianglun is a budding musical genius whose way with piano keys makes him a hit with the ladies, and even the guys, who recognize talent when they see it. Ye arrives at Tanjiang Art School and already hes being watched, but his eyes and heart are immediately stolen by Lu Xiaoyu, an elegant, charming flirt who first happens upon Ye in the schools aged piano room. The two begin a cute, casual romance thats defined by secrets. Basically, Lu keeps them, starting with her name, then extending them to other things like where she goes, what she does, and why shes always absent from class. Since shes so effervescent and attractive, Ye is immediately smitten. Ye has a secret too, but Ill give it away: his dad is a teacher at the school, and hes played by Anthony Wong in an amusing performance thats vintage Wong. Ye also has some friends at school who arent as amusing, and even qualify as annoying and bothersome. Some of these characters are played by Chous Taiwanese pop music pals. Since this is a Jay Chou (Ye Xianglun) production (besides starring and directing, he penned the original story and contributed the music), its only understandable that Chou make room for some of his buddies  as well as his pet obsessions, especially music. Ye becomes the class celebrity when he kicks ass in a piano battle, which is as entertaining as it is patently manufactured. Basically, Ye outfoxes his opponent on the ivory keys , winning the hearts of the girls and the guys, while still remaining cool and sheepish in that inimitable Ye Xianglun way. Chief among his admirers is the pretty Qing Yi, who starts to crush on Ye big time. But Ye only has eyes for Lu. Or does he? Despite getting along swimmingly with Ye, Lu soon gets the idea that Ye is two-timing her with Qing. This is due to your standard crossed wires and mistaken circumstances, but the misinterpreted event is enough to throw a massive crush-killing wrench into their puppy love. That would probably be a terrible thing to behold if not for the fact that the relationship up until then was hardly inspiring. Ye Xianglun and Lu Xiaoyu have decent chemistry, but the relationship between their characters never seems that deep. Theres a manufactured quality to the dialogue that makes their supposed love a bit unconvincing, and without more acute emotions the film begins to drag. Sadly, part of this is the fault of Ye Xianglun, the actor. Ye possesses a certain likable charm, but his presence hardly screams passion. His demeanor is just too remote; Ye tries hard, but he cant convey a complete range of emotions. Shoring things up, however, is Lu Xiaoyu. When she initially appears, she acts too much like an idealized good girl flirt to be real; its like shes some manufactured idea of what perfect high school romance should be. However, as it turns out, theres a reason for her bizarre flirtatious behavior, and as the film divulges more of the how’s and why’s, Lu is given a chance to convey emotions that prove heartbreaking. Her screen presence is refreshing and her emotion’s genuinely moving; if Secret manages to affect, Lu Xiaoyu is a large reason why. The revelation of the films eponymous secret is what gives Lu the chance to really affect the audience and yet its also when the movie starts to lose its credibility. The mechanism behind the films secret is never known, but the logic of how it works is explained explicitly, such that every incident and action in the film needs to fit a set of rules explained by the characters and depicted by the events themselves. But the film ultimately doesnt adhere to its conv ictions, eventually twisting events to fit desired emotions and skirting around the rules that theyve laid out for us. The film gives us a denouement, but its  only touching because it fits some sort of predetermined audience expectation, and not because it surprises or really affects. Some people may be happy with how Secret ends. But does the film earn its ending? I dont think that it does. At least Secret is a very pretty ride. On artifice alone, the film is aces, serving up beautiful art direction, cinematography and music. Ye Xianglun (Jay Chou) really knows how to compose a tune; the films original music is genuinely stirring, and preexisting pieces are well-chosen and evocative of the films innocent romantic mood. Secret serves the senses exceptionally well so much so, that its almost tragic when it ultimately throws logic out the window. Ye Xianglun and company have created a nice little valentine, but their desire to give the film more weight eventually leaves it adrift. The film barrels towards its intended goal with little regard for common sense, leaving the audience with nothing besides the pretty pictures and people to shore it up. Amazingly, that gambit is more successful than not, and Lu Xiaoyu (Kwai Lun-mei) practically drags the film across the finish line herself. Without her the film would probably sink beneath its own self-importance, as its manufactured sheen and occasionally miscalculated choices render the film little more than a superficially gorgeous pure love diversion for teen girls and the boys they drag to the cinema along with them. Thatll probably do just fine for most, since manufactured diversion seems to be a standard expectation for many modern moviegoers. Secret will probably score well with its intended teen audience, especially if they take in the film as a single, one-off experience. Further viewings would only reveal the films holes to be gaping and perhaps intolerable, but upon first glance, Secret is pretty and polished enough to charm. You should watch it too!

Evil Dead Vs. Evil Dead :: essays research papers

“Evil Dead'; in respect to “Evil Dead 2'; Main Character Personality Differences From the Original to the Remake “Evil Dead'; and “Evil Dead 2'; are both late 80’s horror movies starring Bruce Campbell as Ash, a quiet guy in his early 20’s that ends up hacking to death his demon posessed friends to avoid death. In the original “Evil Dead';, Ash tends to run from any of the daemons and scary things that come his way, until there is no one left and he is forced to protect himself. In “Evil Dead2';, Ash Starts out as a quiet guy, but when evil things start happening, he swings quickly into action. From slicing up his girlfriends possessed head to chopping off his own possessed hand, he never seems timid around danger. To accurately compare these two films, it needs to be known that “Evil Dead'; and “Evil Dead2'; are the same movie. “Evil Dead2'; is not a sequel to “Evil Dead'; but rather a remake of the original. The original let the impression of Ash being killed at the very end of the film. The remake, “Evil Dead2';, allowed the making of the sequel, “army of darkness';. In “Evil Dead';, Ash, his girlfriend, and 3 other friends rent a run-down cabin in the middle of a deserted forest for a couple nights as a vacation. Ash seems to be the easy-going push over type. He does what everyone says without question. Shortly after a tree sexually attacks one of the girls in the group she becomes possessed and attempts to kill ash’s girlfriend. While this is happening ash is standing 4 feet away with an ax, yet he is too scared to do anything. The other man in their group has to take action and lock her in the basement. According to the remake, this is unusual behavior for Ash. In “Evil Dead2';, Ash’s Girlfriend is the first individual possessed and he barely thinks twice before taking her head off with an ax and then cutting the head in half with a chain-saw. In “Evil Dead';, one of the characters tells Ash that “there’s something out there'; but ash refuses to believe. On the contrary, in “Evil Dead2';, ash tries to convince some visitors to the cabin that people are possessed and they end up locking him in the basement. In the second version of the story, Ash is made out to be a hero.

Fitzgerald the Misogynist Essay

At first, the female characters in Fitzgeralds â€Å"The Great Gatsby† seemed to be rather dissimilar. Daisy was the angelic and innocent beauty, Jordan was the androgynous golfer, and Myrtle was the sensuous and vivacious seductress. One was from the holy heavens above, another from the sinful depths below, and the last from the neutral in between. Seems like a good balance, however, as the story progresses, we see more and more that the angle is a fallen one, and that the human is a demon in disguise. All three women in this novel use men in some form to get what they want. Looking at the depictions of the female sex in this novel, I believe that, yes, Fitzgerald was a misogynist. Daisy is a careless siren who uses everything given to her by birth to win what she loves, namely attention, adoration, and social status. The only thing that will give her the three is wealth, and the only thing that can give her wealth is Tom Buchanan. Despite having supposedly change her mine (Fitzgerald 74) just prior to their wedding, Daisy still married Tom Buchanan without so much as a shiver (75), and very eagerly uses her new-found money and power to buy her way to the top. It is evident that, from Daisys point of view, true love cannot compare to the money and adulation she craves. Upon her reunion with Gatsby, the first in five years, she breaks down into tears because shes never seen suchbeautiful shirts before (89). The beautiful shirts owned by Gatsby have proven to Daisy that he is even wealthier than Tom, and this fact sends Daisy into a deep lament. That is, if she had just stayed with Gatsby from the beginning, shed be receiving even more attention and adoration than the already considerable amount she possesses at present because Gatsby could have offered her even more than the immense fortune she already holds. Poor, poor girl. Jordan is the least female of the three females, and I believe this is the reason why Fitzgerald did not have her meet an untimely death, destroy familial relations, or come to any other end she could have at the mercy of a woman-hater. Jordan is representative of the wives and daughters who emerged from WWI as androgynous, self-esteemed, and slightly misandric new women. When Nick first meets Jordan, she was perceived as balancing something on it [her chin] which was quite likely to fall (14). Though it is  not directly stated, I think Jordan is balancing men on her chin. New women like Jordan dont need men, and thus they must use men to prove just that. Myrtle is the home wrecker of the novel. As a direct result of her affair with Tom, she gets herself killed, which leads Wilson into shooting Gatsby, which obviously puts an end to the Gatsby and Daisy affair, the result of which leaves Nick disgusted and breaks it off with Jordan. Besides ruining the lives of everyone around her, Myrtle also meets the most tragic end of all the females in the novel. She is killed on impact in a gruesome car accident, while both Daisy and Jordan are at least left with the prospect of a fresh start. I believe this is because Myrtle is the most feminine of the three. Nick describes her as sensuous, and despite possessing no facet or gleam of beauty, there was an immediate perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering (28). If Fitzgerald was not a misogynist, then how could someone whose vice is simply being too much of a woman deserve an end as graphic as a left breast hanging loose like a flap (131)?This nove l is certainly not one of happily ever afters, and I believe the fact that women are portrayed as the causes of all the tragedies within this novel is reason enough to proclaim Fitzgerald as a misogynist.

Othello Explication

Explication Othello: 3. 3. 258-271. â€Å"Why did I marry? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ I do beseech your Honour. † 1. Determine the context of the passage. Othello is doubting Desdemona, and Iago is trying to plant the idea that Desdemona has a hidden agenda with trying to persuade Othello to reinstate Cassio. 2. Describe the passage in its most overt form. (Does it rhyme, does it repeat phrases, words, etc. This passage does not have a rhyme scheme. The only repeat phrases that seem to really show up in the passage are when Iago does call Othello â€Å"Your Honor†.Iago does pause four times when he is speaking in which brings more seemingly innocence to Iago’s character. 3. Do these issues (especially the diction) reflex upon the rest of the text and how so? Yes, This text reflect in the passage and the rest of the text due to Iago urging and pointing out that Desdemona and Cassio are something more then just friends. 4. Describe in detail how the passage works. Does it use questions and why? Does it repeat and why? Does it contain antitheses of any kind and why? ’ Does it contain an oxymoron (or more than one) and why? Does it rely on Petrarchan devices and why?What are the main metaphors (or similes) and why? Are there puns or double entendres and why? You will not find all the devices, but you must show a strong understand of how the language serves the text. Declare your evidence and offer a logical critical reason for the evidence being probative (or proving something worthwhile) in the text. In the passage both Othello and Iago are talking to each other. Othello is questioning why he married Desdemona and questions if she is in fact if she is virginal and virtuous. Iago being very manipulative tells Othello light-heartedly to wait and see what Cassio and Desdemona do.If Desdemona pushes earnestly to have Cassio reinstated back that there could be a back story and they are having an affair. This Passage does not have any Petrarchan devices, but I feel that the Pauses in lines 262,263,269,270 are quite significant to the passage. Iago, calls him self â€Å"busy† in which according to the text he is calling himself too officious, which I feel is a double entendres. 5. Summary your findings in the form of a concluding remark that makes your reader understand that the passage has a relevance to the rest of the text.This section may prove the most difficult, but it is the kind of â€Å"summary† that can lead to a thesis statement for an essay. You need to convince your reader that the passage under scrutiny holds a significant clue to the text as a whole. This clue may mean anything from teaching us how to read the play to what we should be seeking throughout the language and / or devices of the play. I actually found myself playing the both Othello and Iago as a monologue. In which I began to think this is what they were thinking and how the passage should be portrayed, I began to feel that Iago’s ple a was a very good actor.

How to Write a Critical Essay on the Dangers of Antibiotics

How to Write a Critical Essay on the Dangers of Antibiotics A critical essay is, as the name would imply, a critical piece of writing. With this unique writing task, you want to analyze your text, or your article, or film. If your teacher has reviewed an article in class about the harms that are associated with antibiotics, or you read a book on how people today are building immunity, then you would want to focus on this precise text. Your goal here would be to present an examination or critique of one part of the text, or the whole text itself, or even to situate the text in the context of the bigger picture. If you are, for example, writing your paper on a popular book, you might critically analyze the tone of the book and how the tone influences the overall meaning. If you watched a documentary on antibiotics, you might provide a critical analysis on one of the main symbols, themes, or the music used in the documentary and how that shaped the reception of it. Selecting the Topic In many cases, it might behoove you to critically analyze the literary or film techniques employed by the writer or producer to see how they directly or indirectly influence the themes of the piece, the outcome, or the impact. If you can’t decide on the topic, you can use sample topics on the dangers of antibiotics prepared specially for such situations. If you want to use a book or an article as your basis, keep in mind that a short journal article might not show both sides to an argument because it is a specific niche, and it would then be your job to place the context of the article into a broader context by reviewing the time of the publication, works previously done by the author, or even what peer reviews were published before or after that might have led to this piece. Making Connections When exploring the concepts related to antibiotics, your goal in this style of writing would be to highlight the various dangers associated with them. Check out the facts on the dangers of antibiotics that precisely fit this topic. Some things which seem, and often are, positive and beneficial can bring with them serious dangers if they are not used in the proper fashion. Even mundane items like drinking glasses, if broken, will suddenly become dangerous. This is true of almost all things, and is most certainly true of antibiotics. Review the Piece To get started, sit down with the piece you are reviewing and read it through or watch it again but take notes as you do. Some people argue that if you change the font of the text (of course if you are typing your essay on your laptop), you’ll see most of the mistakes. You can try this method to edit your piece. Take Notes You want to take notes on the main purpose of the piece, the main ideas, what things about the piece are confusing, what the author’s purpose was, and whether the piece successfully achieved its aim or not. By taking notes like this, you are already training your mind to critically analyze the work. As you look over your notes, keep your eyes peeled for patterns or for problems. See what problems with the work stand out, or what patterns you found throughout the text and try to find some solutions. If you noticed that one person interviewed for the opposition was brash, but the other interviewee in support of the author was kind and likeable, make an educated guess as to why that was. You want to keep your written analysis here on why certain elements in the text were effective or why they were functional and offer the reader evidence to support that claim. Feel free to hire a professional essay writer online at our online custom writing company designed to help college students with writing critical papers.

Sentence Ending Particles in Japanese

Sentence Ending Particles in Japanese In Japanese, there are many particles that are added to the end of a sentence. They express the speakers emotions, doubt, emphasis, caution, hesitation, wonder, admiration, and so on. Some sentence ending particles distinguish male or female speech. Many of them dont translate easily. Ka Makes a sentence into a question. When forming a question, the word order of a sentence does not change in Japanese. Nihon-jin desu ka.æâ€" ¥Ã¦Å" ¬Ã¤ º ºÃ£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â‚¬â€šAre you Japanese?Supeingo o hanashimasu ka.ã‚ ¹Ã£Æ'šã‚ ¤Ã£Æ' ³Ã¨ ªÅ¾Ã£â€šâ€™Ã¨ © ±Ã£ â€"㠁 ¾Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Do you speak Spanish? Kana/Kashira Indicates that you are not sure about something. It can be translated as I wonder ~. Kashira㠁‹ã â€"ら is used only by women. Tanaka-san wa ashita kuru kana.ç” °Ã¤ ¸ ­Ã£ â€¢Ã£â€šâ€œÃ£  ¯Ã¦ËœÅ½Ã¦â€" ¥Ã¦  ¥Ã£â€šâ€¹Ã£ â€¹Ã£  ªI wonder if Mr. Tanaka will come tomorrow.Ano hito wa dare kashira.㠁‚㠁 ®Ã¤ º ºÃ£  ¯Ã¨ ª °Ã£ â€¹Ã£ â€"らI wonder who that person is. Na (1) Prohibition. A negative imperative marker used only by men in very informal speech. Sonna koto o suru na!㠁 Ã£â€šâ€œÃ£  ªÃ£ â€œÃ£  ¨Ã£â€šâ€™Ã£ â„¢Ã£â€šâ€¹Ã£  ªDont do such a thing! (2) Casual emphasis on a decision, suggestion or opinion. Kyou wa shigoto ni ikitakunai na.ä »Å Ã¦â€" ¥Ã£  ¯Ã¤ »â€¢Ã¤ ºâ€¹Ã£  «Ã¨ ¡Å'㠁 Ã£ Å¸Ã£  Ã£  ªÃ£ â€žÃ£  ªI dont want to go to work today.Sore wa machigatteiru to omou na.㠁 Ã£â€šÅ'㠁 ¯Ã©â€"“é â€¢Ã£  £Ã£  ¦Ã£ â€žÃ£â€šâ€¹Ã£  ¨Ã¦â‚¬ Ã£ â€ Ã£  ªI think that is wrong. Naa Expresses emotion, or a casual remark of wishful thinking. Sugoi naa.㠁™ã â€Ã£ â€žÃ£  ªÃ£ â€šHow great it is!Mou sukoshi nete itai naa.も㠁†å °â€˜Ã£ â€"Ã¥ ¯ Ã£  ¦Ã£ â€žÃ£ Å¸Ã£ â€žÃ£  ªÃ£ â€šI wish I could sleep in a little more. Ne/Nee Confirmation. Indicates that the speaker wants the listener to agree or confirm. It is similar to English expressions dont you think so, isnt it? or right?. Ii tenki desu ne.㠁„㠁„å ¤ ©Ã¦ °â€"㠁 §Ã£ â„¢Ã£  ­Its a beautiful day, isnt it?Mou nakanaide ne.も㠁†æ ³ £Ã£ â€¹Ã£  ªÃ£ â€žÃ£  §Ã£  ­Please dont cry anymore, okay?

What is Black Dance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

What is Black Dance - Essay Example The word ‘dance’ has not generated any controversy, historically and culturally. Everyone likes this word. Turn the page of history of the Blacks, in America; it is daubed in bloodshed and discrimination. It is mysterious and demands protection. Psychologically it seeks emancipation from external and internal emotional stress. It creates a barrier and has latent vulnerabilities. It is hungry for authority, independence and power that have been denied to it since centuries. Even today, African-American artistic community has not come to terms with the definition of Black Dance. Taking into consideration the ground realities, the respectability of Black Dance is little short of cultural apartheid and it smacks of cultural imperialism. It still reflects the stereotyped idea as to what is expected of a black artist or a choreographer. The mind of the viewer of the Black Dance is pre-set to a program, as to what is to be expected and what is not to be expected. The task of finding a final and appropriate definition of Black Dance is only possible for the enlightened group of individuals from the choreographers, dancers and other categories of artists and those with love for the art and critics free from the political and historical bias. Politicians, sociologists and historians should stand clear of this delicate task. Those with a fixed attitude of the mind, and whose mind is flooded with reports of incidents of atrocities against the blacks by the white community will not be able to arrive at a fair assessment as for the merits of the definition of Black Dance. The historical wounds would perhaps never heal even when the Constitution of America guarantees freedom and equal rights for all. But the grim reminders of slavery that begin in the year 1884 and the series of inhuman atrocities committed against them over the decades is impossible to erase from the mind of a student of history of blacks. Keep aside the emotional aspect of the Black Dance for a while and come to its realities and categories as an art form. Hip-hop is a kind of black dance, but it is not the exclusive domain of the black artists. Black Dance generally concentrates in lower positions like going to the ground and other parallel movements, unlike Ballet, where the artists are ever eager to leap into air and mostly work on toe s. But black dances are powerful and exciting; they jump all the time to the rhythm of the drums. They swing their arms and heads, and seem to engage the challenges of life. Black Dance performances do not relate to the suffering and submissive aspect of the black people. Some dances also represent the fierce convictions of those who never barter the freedom of their souls and do not submit to the highhanded attitudes of the whites. They take a challenging stand against the vicissitudes of the community. Their rhythmic movements, to the accompaniment of sound and the musical instruments indicate their inner joy, in trying to pierce the wall of frustration to seek the sunlight of hope. Pearl Primus argues â€Å"Dance is only a part of the whole or the complex living† African dance represents their life, their souls, and their beliefs. Also, â€Å"African dance ranges from the subtlest and most lyric of movements to the most dynamic, from the most sophisticated choreographed p resentations to the simplest.† ( p, 3-11)Black Dance is not restricted to the stage performances in the American cities; it has a profound history, which is