Film Appreciation

  Hailey Spencer   Film Appreciation  FILM 115-IN1 Professor Trevor  November 24th, 2025     Before taking this class, I knew very little about Christian Bale. I was aware he played Batman films like  Batman Begins and The Dark Knight,  but I wasn't as familiar with him as I am with actors like Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart. I recently re-watched the Marvel film Thor: Love and Thunder, a movie I saw in theaters with my dad a few years ago. Despite not enjoying the film and finding it to be the weakest of the Thor movies, there was one character whose performance I thought was fantastic: Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher. His performance made him appear not only as a menacing villain but a sympathetic character who felt betrayed by the very gods he was told would help him in return for his devotion and worship.       Bale truly went above and beyond while playing Gorr. He lost a significant amount of weigh...

 Hailey Spencer   Film Appreciation  FILM 115-IN1 Professor Trevor  November 10th, 2025       When I was in the 8th grade, I read the book Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I remember being absolutely obsessed with it, taking every opportunity I had to read more. This was a book I struggled to put down, and I have nothing but fond memories of reading it. There were even times I got emotional after reading certain chapters, especially after Pi's family drowned on the sinking ship. Not long after finishing the book, I immediately rented the film and watched it with my family. After watching it, I was beyond impressed. It managed to bring the book to life in a way I never could have imagined. In addition to the story and special effects, the production design itself was nothing short of incredible.      One example of the amazing production design utilized in this film was the creation of the massive, custom-built wave tank. After w...