Post by Underlord Hades on Sept 25, 2012 21:34:20 GMT -5
Heaven Higdon
Eng Comp. 110
Dr. Sullivan
24 Sept. 2012
The worlds in which organ donations come at a hefty price there are two movies that depict this story in two ways, slightly similar but yet have different ways of telling it. Repo Men (2010) is not great when compared to its fan-perceived predecessor Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008). Repo!’s engaging plot, great character interactions and development, and beautiful soundtrack really make this otherwise low budget movie really shine.
Repo Men’s plot is that a man working for a company that produces artificial organs bought by those in need of a transplant with credits. The man, Remy, works as the company’s repossessing man, taking back the parts from those who fall overdue on their bills. During one of his jobs, he gets in an accident with one of his tools, causing him to need a heart transplant. Now knowing how it feels to be in fear of this, he loses his job, and falls behind in his dues, causing his once friend to come after him. Now he, and a woman he has met with various artificial organs, must find a way to get away from the world he once was part of. An interesting concept, though it’s been done often, a guy whose life was perfect is torn from what he knows into a world out to get him. There’s a couple spy movies like that, take out the organ donations and you have another generic action movie. While it’s okay for those who like that sort of thing, it seems kind of cookie cutter.
Unlike Repo Men, Repo! The Genetic Opera has a different spin on the life of a repo man. Meet Nathan, the widower of a once great opera singer, the father of an ill sixteen year old daughter, Shiloh, and the dreaded Repo Man. In a dystopian world where what was once used for survival is now seen as fashionable, Nathan keeps his daughter locked away as to shield her from the horrors of the Repo Man, whom she is unwittingly living with. This story has more emotion to it, as it is about love for your children and wanting to save them from the evils of the world, how resent for such actions can grow, and how love conquers all. This uses a much darker tone for the plot, heck unlike Repo Men you’re introduced to the dark aspects of the world first thing. You even get the explanation from one of the most interesting characters I have seen yet in a movie.
Characters, one basis for a good movie is it's characters. A movie should have characters you learn to like or hate, but ultimately feel them and understand them. Unfortunately, the copy paste story of Repo Men doesn't offer up characters too worth while. There's Remy, a family man working a job he hates and pressured by his wife to transfer to something more morally preferred. His friend Jake, the friend turned enemy is the kinda guy who will do anything for the money, same with their boss, Frank. There's the love interest, Beth, and other than give you her "sad" back story she doesn't have much to her. There is character conflict and what seems like growth, but with how little character development in the beginning there is, one can't really tell how much story there is. The actors don't do much to make the characters believable either, which is sad because the actors are big names in many good movies.
Repo!'s characters were played mostly by friends of the crew, and in some cases were the crew themselves, there were some big name actors but unlike Repo Men, they are well suited to their roles.The main characters are Nathan, a widowed father, and Shiloh, his ill daughter. Shiloh is a rebellious young girl who wants to be her own person, not compared to her late mother. Nathan is an overprotective father, he's locked Shiloh away as so she is not hurt by the cruel and corrupt world that lies beyond her window. Nathan is employed by the "Great" Rotti Largo, founder of Geneco, and his children, Luigi-a sociopathic murderer-, Pavi - a narcissistic pervert-, and Amber Sweet,the drug and surgery addicted diva. Shiloh meets up with interesting people as well, one being her God Mother, the famous opera singer, Blind Mag, the other is our narrator, The Graverobber, a drug dealer who introduces Shiloh to the reality she had been deprived of so long. The characters of this story have such complex stories, and most of them are introduced in the first couple of minutes of the movie, whether you realize it or not. You really get the sense of Nathan's love for Shiloh in how he speaks to her, the disgust Rotti has for his children, the lust Amber shows for Graverobber, and how Graverobber just doesn't seem to give a damn but still seems to intrigue the audience. The cast plays off each other so well, it's like they really are the characters. The Graverobber for instance, is actually one of the directors of the film; he not only directs, he becomes part of his own story he helped create, the man had so many things on his plate, he even had quite a few songs he had to sing as well.
The soundtrack is often not as riveting as it used to be, an orchestra playing a calm tune, a rise at an action packed part, a sad refrain now and then. Some don't even notice the music, which is a horrible thing to believe. People were trying their hardest to make something that was supposed to help drive the feelings in the movie home. Yet they're ignored. Repo Men suffers from this, it's soundtrack just isn't that interesting, I don't even think it had an official sound track cd released. Even the ending credit music wasn't to die for, it just sounded like the same thing every action movie ends with now. Music has to be inspired, that keeps an audience interested just as much as everything else, it even draws people in who aren't watching the movie.
And that is what Repo! did, the first two seconds of the movie gets your attention, sirens, eerie voices, then BAM! Cue the thumping bass! In walks the Graverobber, and what does he do? He sings. He sings to the audience, he tells them in poetic lyrics what this world is about, what our story is about, and what the world of Repo! fears most of all. And that's just the first scene! The movie is a musical, a rock opera even! Every character in the movie gets their own song, just to help you understand what they are about. And it makes you feel the emotions they are feeling. I can't for the life of me remember a track of Repo Men to compare it, but the song "Chromaggia", sung by Blind Mag, is an aria that is from a real opera, in it you can feel her sadness, but also her acceptance of her fate. It's quiet melody and haunting tone of Mag's voice will be stuck in your mind, remembered well for it's impact on the story. The music is placed at the forefront of the story, but does not overshadow the story itself.
Not all movies have to be big budget films to leave an impact on an audience. Repo! The Genetic Opera shows that. It's beautiful plot, it's well written characters, and it's emotional soundtrack makes it stand out from it's later "re-imagining". It's not that Repo Men is a bad movie, it's good for what it is, and many people are entitled to dislike Repo! because of it being a low budget musical. But it's recommended to watch Repo! first, then Repo Men, to see the great contrast between the two and appreciate how more money in the production of a movie, does not always equal a superior film.
Eng Comp. 110
Dr. Sullivan
24 Sept. 2012
The worlds in which organ donations come at a hefty price there are two movies that depict this story in two ways, slightly similar but yet have different ways of telling it. Repo Men (2010) is not great when compared to its fan-perceived predecessor Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008). Repo!’s engaging plot, great character interactions and development, and beautiful soundtrack really make this otherwise low budget movie really shine.
Repo Men’s plot is that a man working for a company that produces artificial organs bought by those in need of a transplant with credits. The man, Remy, works as the company’s repossessing man, taking back the parts from those who fall overdue on their bills. During one of his jobs, he gets in an accident with one of his tools, causing him to need a heart transplant. Now knowing how it feels to be in fear of this, he loses his job, and falls behind in his dues, causing his once friend to come after him. Now he, and a woman he has met with various artificial organs, must find a way to get away from the world he once was part of. An interesting concept, though it’s been done often, a guy whose life was perfect is torn from what he knows into a world out to get him. There’s a couple spy movies like that, take out the organ donations and you have another generic action movie. While it’s okay for those who like that sort of thing, it seems kind of cookie cutter.
Unlike Repo Men, Repo! The Genetic Opera has a different spin on the life of a repo man. Meet Nathan, the widower of a once great opera singer, the father of an ill sixteen year old daughter, Shiloh, and the dreaded Repo Man. In a dystopian world where what was once used for survival is now seen as fashionable, Nathan keeps his daughter locked away as to shield her from the horrors of the Repo Man, whom she is unwittingly living with. This story has more emotion to it, as it is about love for your children and wanting to save them from the evils of the world, how resent for such actions can grow, and how love conquers all. This uses a much darker tone for the plot, heck unlike Repo Men you’re introduced to the dark aspects of the world first thing. You even get the explanation from one of the most interesting characters I have seen yet in a movie.
Characters, one basis for a good movie is it's characters. A movie should have characters you learn to like or hate, but ultimately feel them and understand them. Unfortunately, the copy paste story of Repo Men doesn't offer up characters too worth while. There's Remy, a family man working a job he hates and pressured by his wife to transfer to something more morally preferred. His friend Jake, the friend turned enemy is the kinda guy who will do anything for the money, same with their boss, Frank. There's the love interest, Beth, and other than give you her "sad" back story she doesn't have much to her. There is character conflict and what seems like growth, but with how little character development in the beginning there is, one can't really tell how much story there is. The actors don't do much to make the characters believable either, which is sad because the actors are big names in many good movies.
Repo!'s characters were played mostly by friends of the crew, and in some cases were the crew themselves, there were some big name actors but unlike Repo Men, they are well suited to their roles.The main characters are Nathan, a widowed father, and Shiloh, his ill daughter. Shiloh is a rebellious young girl who wants to be her own person, not compared to her late mother. Nathan is an overprotective father, he's locked Shiloh away as so she is not hurt by the cruel and corrupt world that lies beyond her window. Nathan is employed by the "Great" Rotti Largo, founder of Geneco, and his children, Luigi-a sociopathic murderer-, Pavi - a narcissistic pervert-, and Amber Sweet,the drug and surgery addicted diva. Shiloh meets up with interesting people as well, one being her God Mother, the famous opera singer, Blind Mag, the other is our narrator, The Graverobber, a drug dealer who introduces Shiloh to the reality she had been deprived of so long. The characters of this story have such complex stories, and most of them are introduced in the first couple of minutes of the movie, whether you realize it or not. You really get the sense of Nathan's love for Shiloh in how he speaks to her, the disgust Rotti has for his children, the lust Amber shows for Graverobber, and how Graverobber just doesn't seem to give a damn but still seems to intrigue the audience. The cast plays off each other so well, it's like they really are the characters. The Graverobber for instance, is actually one of the directors of the film; he not only directs, he becomes part of his own story he helped create, the man had so many things on his plate, he even had quite a few songs he had to sing as well.
The soundtrack is often not as riveting as it used to be, an orchestra playing a calm tune, a rise at an action packed part, a sad refrain now and then. Some don't even notice the music, which is a horrible thing to believe. People were trying their hardest to make something that was supposed to help drive the feelings in the movie home. Yet they're ignored. Repo Men suffers from this, it's soundtrack just isn't that interesting, I don't even think it had an official sound track cd released. Even the ending credit music wasn't to die for, it just sounded like the same thing every action movie ends with now. Music has to be inspired, that keeps an audience interested just as much as everything else, it even draws people in who aren't watching the movie.
And that is what Repo! did, the first two seconds of the movie gets your attention, sirens, eerie voices, then BAM! Cue the thumping bass! In walks the Graverobber, and what does he do? He sings. He sings to the audience, he tells them in poetic lyrics what this world is about, what our story is about, and what the world of Repo! fears most of all. And that's just the first scene! The movie is a musical, a rock opera even! Every character in the movie gets their own song, just to help you understand what they are about. And it makes you feel the emotions they are feeling. I can't for the life of me remember a track of Repo Men to compare it, but the song "Chromaggia", sung by Blind Mag, is an aria that is from a real opera, in it you can feel her sadness, but also her acceptance of her fate. It's quiet melody and haunting tone of Mag's voice will be stuck in your mind, remembered well for it's impact on the story. The music is placed at the forefront of the story, but does not overshadow the story itself.
Not all movies have to be big budget films to leave an impact on an audience. Repo! The Genetic Opera shows that. It's beautiful plot, it's well written characters, and it's emotional soundtrack makes it stand out from it's later "re-imagining". It's not that Repo Men is a bad movie, it's good for what it is, and many people are entitled to dislike Repo! because of it being a low budget musical. But it's recommended to watch Repo! first, then Repo Men, to see the great contrast between the two and appreciate how more money in the production of a movie, does not always equal a superior film.