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War films are a dime a dozen, so much so that even individual wars are now their own genre of film. There is a distinction between World War II films, Vietnam Films, the wars of old, and even fictional conflict. As a history major I am required to write a long essay for my degree and give a presentation, and mine will involve Vietnam films – I might dedicate a whole entry to that later. I am a big fan of the war genre, and could probably turn this entry into a top ten list if I really wanted to. My favorites are the ones with the best photography of the wars – All Quiet on the Western Front, Paths of Glory, and The Thin Red Line. These films instill the fear and despair in the audience that is felt by the soldiers during battle. As a student of history, I am also a big fan of war films that recount stories, such as Joyeaux Noel, Downfall, and Gallipoli. Although dramatized, they offer a bit of insight into the events in a way that differs from a primary source. Thirdly, I love war f...

There is a lot of symbolism in film that people tend to overlook, the most obvious example being rain. Rain scenes are a pain in the ass to film; it doesn’t show up unless properly colored or backlit, it can be costly depending on the severity, it requires extra resources, can be noisy, and, obviously, makes the actors wet. Yet, several famous and beloved films go through the hassle of creating rain scenes. Spiderman, Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption, Seven Samurai, Minority Report, Blade Runner, The Matrix, Raising Arizona, Millers Crossing, Platoon, Inception, and, most famously, Singing in the Rain, all have well known rain scenes in them. Hell, David Fincher even uses rain as a supporting character in most of his films. So, what’s the point, you might ask, if it is such a problem creating rain sequences? Why should directors bother? Well, different films use weather differently, so here are a few examples and how the effect works in each. So far in this blog I have been over...