Week 7 - Media Blog Project #2
Topic 4 - Media Product Review
I have always been fascinated by movies. It has always been so interesting to me how movies are made, how green screens are used and how special effects are incorporated to make it look as realistic as possible. In high school, I took some film classes to get a better understanding of movies and put into consideration everything that is done in a movie to make it perfect. From the actors chosen to the script and even to the music used in certain scenes, it takes a lot of time and effort to make a movie. I watch at least one movie every day, whether it be on Netflix or On Demand, but a certain movie I have seen in theaters recently is "The Spy Who Dumped Me".
The Spy Who Dumped Me Official Trailer (Link)
This movie was doing a lot of advertising in commercials and previews, so I was wanting to see it for a while. Since this was the most recent and current movie I had seen in theaters, I thought it would be the best pick for this project. When seeing the advertisement for this movie, it definitely stood out to me because of the humor. I laughed my butt off even in the previews which meant it would definitely be a funny movie to see in whole. The action in this movie was also very well played out and went well with the comedy aspect. I also enjoyed the storyline and a twist at the end of the movie.
This movie title and the actors in The Spy Who Dumped me have shown up in the news since the movie was released. Here is a link to one of the main actors, Mila Kunis, doing an interview with Today. (Link)
When it comes to the directing aspect of this movie, I believe it was directed pretty well - although I am not an expert. The director of this movie was Susanna Fogel. I did some research and found a website called Prettybird.co, which listed some information about Fogel. Fogel was originally from Providence, Rhode Island and started her career as early as 14, creating a short film. She is known for writing a number of projects for film and television. I was happy to see this movie was directed by a female since we learned, only 5% of directors are female. I was also happy to see two strong female leads in this movie, played by Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon. Surprisingly, I haven't heard of Fogel's other films she has directed. The four films listed under her name were For Real (1995), Life Partners (2004), and The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018). It is very impressive that she directed a movie as popular as The Spy Who Dumped Me (in the 3rd top spot for this weekend) when all her other films aren't as well known or talked about; at least that I know of. According to IMDb.com, she is also well known for writing and producing Joni and Susanna (2008) and Chasing Life (2014).
One of the two female leads in this film is played by Mila Kunis, who is a very well liked and popular actress. Mila Kunis has had many roles in many types of films, some being: Friends With Benefits (2011), Bad Moms (2016), Black Swan (2010), Ted (2012), and Oz the Great and Powerful (2013). She is one of my favorite actors so I was very happy to see her in this film as well. Being the amazing actress Mila is, she has also won a large amount of awards and nominations throughout her career such as: MTV Movie Award for Best Villain (Oz the Great and Powerful), Marcello Mastroianni Award (Black Swan), Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress (2011), Young Hollywood Award for 'One to Watch...), Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year and YoungStar Award Best Performance (That 70's Show).
Although I am not a movie critic, I think this movie definitely gets an A. The overall concept of the movie is about a spy who dumps his girlfriend, hence the title of the movie. The main plot is about a girlfriend who gets mad at her (now ex) boyfriend dumping her over email and not responding to any of her calls. She then finds out he is a spy and travels to a different part of the world to get a job done that he asked her to. She and her best friend get involved in some sticky situations that they are forced to try to get out of. "The Spy Who Dumped Me" is an action-packed, comical and overall great watch. As said earlier, this film is in the 3rd spot for the weekends most popular film in theaters right now, so it is doing very well.
After some research, this film is very different than most of Fogel's work, although the main similarity is a strong female lead, which Fogel shows a lot of in her work. For example, Life Partners also consists of two strong female leads as well. As for it being different, this is the first movie that hit charts and has gained a lot of popularity as fast as it did. Since not many movies were directed under her name, it is hard to compare and contrast differences and similarities. As for genre, most of her work is under the drama category. This movie does have a splash of drama incorporated, but for the main part, it is comedy and action.
I believe this film is important because of the major impact it has had on the film charts. It is a popular movie and its popularity grew fast. I think the advertising they used to had a big impact on peoples decision to go see this movie. They made the trailer very well and included many funny parts. I also believe it is an important film due to the two strong female leads. We don't see a lot of that in Hollywood, and in the Ted Talk we watched it was also stated that females are used to have a sex appeal on the film industry, which was definitely not used in this film. This matters because it is important that woman have the same opportunity as men do in the film industry. I personally think female leads are inspiring and need to be used more in filmmaking, especially if they are badasses like the characters in this movie. I don't believe strong woman leads are a trend in our culture but it is definitely started to becoming more popular which is very important and a sign of equalism.
I think when people see a strong female lead in a movie, they automatically think it is a "Chick Flick" and men don't want to see it. That is the case for some movies, but definitely not for this one. I believe the target audience is those over 17 since this movie is rated R, and both males and females can enjoy this movie. It is very funny and action-packed, which woman and men can both enjoy.
I think if anything, this movie goes against stereotypes, putting two women as the lead characters and doing things that are thought only men can do. There may be offensive messages to some such as some sexual scenes, use of drugs and alcohol as well as violence. For example, on commonsincemedia.org (link), parents and kids review the movie and let us know some offensive messages that can be portrayed. Of course, no matter the movie, at least one person is going to be offended by something. But overall they did a great job by appealing to the majority of people.
As for strengths, I believe this movie had a ton. Like I have explained before, the most valued strength this movie had is the two strong female leads. I also thought this movie was extremely funny and had a great way of including action and humor. Another strength would have to be the overall storyline and the twist incorporated into this film. For weaknesses, I can only come up with a few. One is the length of the movie. I definitely think they dragged it on a little bit towards the end and could've cut it a bit shorter. I also think it is appropriate for children, which makes it an adult only movie, therefore, slimming down their chances for a bigger audience. Overall I think this was a great movie especially for those with a sense of humor.
Since I have not seen or heard of Fogel's other films, I can confidently say this was her best work. I believe this is a film that will be well liked and watched for years on end and definitely don't think it will die down anytime soon.
Like I have said before, I am definitely not a critic and usually have a different opinion than critics do. Usually, when a movie has a high score on rotten tomatoes, I dislike the movie and when it has a lower score I love the movie. On Rotten Tomatoes (link)this movie earned a score of 44% from critics and 76% from audience. One of the critics, Katie Walsh, said: "Thank goodness for McKinnon, who launches this middling material to greater heights through her own sheer will. Now that's a superpower." Another critic, Kate Taylor, said: "The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy." I agree with this one. Like I said before I think they definitely dragged on this movie a little and could've cut it a bit shorter.
I was surprised to see that this movie got such a low rating on Rotten Tomatoes and don't think that should stop anyone from going to see it.
Since Susanna Fogel isn't a well-known director, she isn't very popular on social media either. Her follower count consists of 3,146 Twitter followers (with 559 tweets) and 1,993 Instagram followers (with 971 posts). On Twitter, I can see that she has been tweeting a lot about "The Spy Who Dumped Me" and have given us some updates on the film as well as tweeted about her feminine equality outlook on life. As for Instagram, she mainly just posts pictures of her everyday life, family, and friends which in a way allows her fans to be more connected and personal with her. She gets positive feedback and love on her social media platforms and doesn't express or receive hate.
Twitter: Link
Instagram: Link
I personally have never gone out and bought any of Fogel's work nor have looked any of her work up online other than information about her for this project since I have never heard about her work before. As for people I know seeing this film as well, I have not heard anything from friends. Although, I did go to the movie with my mom and she loved it just as much as I did. So, so far, I have only heard positive things.
Doing this critic, I learned that being a critic is hard and I couldn't imagine doing it as an actual profession. It is hard to pick out every little thing in a film and give your opinion on it, although it can be fun. In conclusion, I would highly recommend this movie. It is funny, action-packed and has a great message as well as a strong female lead, which is very important to help grow actresses careers in the film industry. If you want a good laugh, definitely go see this movie and let me know what you think!
I have always been fascinated by movies. It has always been so interesting to me how movies are made, how green screens are used and how special effects are incorporated to make it look as realistic as possible. In high school, I took some film classes to get a better understanding of movies and put into consideration everything that is done in a movie to make it perfect. From the actors chosen to the script and even to the music used in certain scenes, it takes a lot of time and effort to make a movie. I watch at least one movie every day, whether it be on Netflix or On Demand, but a certain movie I have seen in theaters recently is "The Spy Who Dumped Me".
The Spy Who Dumped Me Official Trailer (Link)
This movie was doing a lot of advertising in commercials and previews, so I was wanting to see it for a while. Since this was the most recent and current movie I had seen in theaters, I thought it would be the best pick for this project. When seeing the advertisement for this movie, it definitely stood out to me because of the humor. I laughed my butt off even in the previews which meant it would definitely be a funny movie to see in whole. The action in this movie was also very well played out and went well with the comedy aspect. I also enjoyed the storyline and a twist at the end of the movie.
This movie title and the actors in The Spy Who Dumped me have shown up in the news since the movie was released. Here is a link to one of the main actors, Mila Kunis, doing an interview with Today. (Link)
When it comes to the directing aspect of this movie, I believe it was directed pretty well - although I am not an expert. The director of this movie was Susanna Fogel. I did some research and found a website called Prettybird.co, which listed some information about Fogel. Fogel was originally from Providence, Rhode Island and started her career as early as 14, creating a short film. She is known for writing a number of projects for film and television. I was happy to see this movie was directed by a female since we learned, only 5% of directors are female. I was also happy to see two strong female leads in this movie, played by Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon. Surprisingly, I haven't heard of Fogel's other films she has directed. The four films listed under her name were For Real (1995), Life Partners (2004), and The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018). It is very impressive that she directed a movie as popular as The Spy Who Dumped Me (in the 3rd top spot for this weekend) when all her other films aren't as well known or talked about; at least that I know of. According to IMDb.com, she is also well known for writing and producing Joni and Susanna (2008) and Chasing Life (2014).
One of the two female leads in this film is played by Mila Kunis, who is a very well liked and popular actress. Mila Kunis has had many roles in many types of films, some being: Friends With Benefits (2011), Bad Moms (2016), Black Swan (2010), Ted (2012), and Oz the Great and Powerful (2013). She is one of my favorite actors so I was very happy to see her in this film as well. Being the amazing actress Mila is, she has also won a large amount of awards and nominations throughout her career such as: MTV Movie Award for Best Villain (Oz the Great and Powerful), Marcello Mastroianni Award (Black Swan), Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress (2011), Young Hollywood Award for 'One to Watch...), Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year and YoungStar Award Best Performance (That 70's Show).
Although I am not a movie critic, I think this movie definitely gets an A. The overall concept of the movie is about a spy who dumps his girlfriend, hence the title of the movie. The main plot is about a girlfriend who gets mad at her (now ex) boyfriend dumping her over email and not responding to any of her calls. She then finds out he is a spy and travels to a different part of the world to get a job done that he asked her to. She and her best friend get involved in some sticky situations that they are forced to try to get out of. "The Spy Who Dumped Me" is an action-packed, comical and overall great watch. As said earlier, this film is in the 3rd spot for the weekends most popular film in theaters right now, so it is doing very well.
After some research, this film is very different than most of Fogel's work, although the main similarity is a strong female lead, which Fogel shows a lot of in her work. For example, Life Partners also consists of two strong female leads as well. As for it being different, this is the first movie that hit charts and has gained a lot of popularity as fast as it did. Since not many movies were directed under her name, it is hard to compare and contrast differences and similarities. As for genre, most of her work is under the drama category. This movie does have a splash of drama incorporated, but for the main part, it is comedy and action.
I believe this film is important because of the major impact it has had on the film charts. It is a popular movie and its popularity grew fast. I think the advertising they used to had a big impact on peoples decision to go see this movie. They made the trailer very well and included many funny parts. I also believe it is an important film due to the two strong female leads. We don't see a lot of that in Hollywood, and in the Ted Talk we watched it was also stated that females are used to have a sex appeal on the film industry, which was definitely not used in this film. This matters because it is important that woman have the same opportunity as men do in the film industry. I personally think female leads are inspiring and need to be used more in filmmaking, especially if they are badasses like the characters in this movie. I don't believe strong woman leads are a trend in our culture but it is definitely started to becoming more popular which is very important and a sign of equalism.
I think when people see a strong female lead in a movie, they automatically think it is a "Chick Flick" and men don't want to see it. That is the case for some movies, but definitely not for this one. I believe the target audience is those over 17 since this movie is rated R, and both males and females can enjoy this movie. It is very funny and action-packed, which woman and men can both enjoy.
I think if anything, this movie goes against stereotypes, putting two women as the lead characters and doing things that are thought only men can do. There may be offensive messages to some such as some sexual scenes, use of drugs and alcohol as well as violence. For example, on commonsincemedia.org (link), parents and kids review the movie and let us know some offensive messages that can be portrayed. Of course, no matter the movie, at least one person is going to be offended by something. But overall they did a great job by appealing to the majority of people.
As for strengths, I believe this movie had a ton. Like I have explained before, the most valued strength this movie had is the two strong female leads. I also thought this movie was extremely funny and had a great way of including action and humor. Another strength would have to be the overall storyline and the twist incorporated into this film. For weaknesses, I can only come up with a few. One is the length of the movie. I definitely think they dragged it on a little bit towards the end and could've cut it a bit shorter. I also think it is appropriate for children, which makes it an adult only movie, therefore, slimming down their chances for a bigger audience. Overall I think this was a great movie especially for those with a sense of humor.
Since I have not seen or heard of Fogel's other films, I can confidently say this was her best work. I believe this is a film that will be well liked and watched for years on end and definitely don't think it will die down anytime soon.
Like I have said before, I am definitely not a critic and usually have a different opinion than critics do. Usually, when a movie has a high score on rotten tomatoes, I dislike the movie and when it has a lower score I love the movie. On Rotten Tomatoes (link)this movie earned a score of 44% from critics and 76% from audience. One of the critics, Katie Walsh, said: "Thank goodness for McKinnon, who launches this middling material to greater heights through her own sheer will. Now that's a superpower." Another critic, Kate Taylor, said: "The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy." I agree with this one. Like I said before I think they definitely dragged on this movie a little and could've cut it a bit shorter.
I was surprised to see that this movie got such a low rating on Rotten Tomatoes and don't think that should stop anyone from going to see it.
Since Susanna Fogel isn't a well-known director, she isn't very popular on social media either. Her follower count consists of 3,146 Twitter followers (with 559 tweets) and 1,993 Instagram followers (with 971 posts). On Twitter, I can see that she has been tweeting a lot about "The Spy Who Dumped Me" and have given us some updates on the film as well as tweeted about her feminine equality outlook on life. As for Instagram, she mainly just posts pictures of her everyday life, family, and friends which in a way allows her fans to be more connected and personal with her. She gets positive feedback and love on her social media platforms and doesn't express or receive hate.
Twitter: Link
Instagram: Link
I personally have never gone out and bought any of Fogel's work nor have looked any of her work up online other than information about her for this project since I have never heard about her work before. As for people I know seeing this film as well, I have not heard anything from friends. Although, I did go to the movie with my mom and she loved it just as much as I did. So, so far, I have only heard positive things.
Doing this critic, I learned that being a critic is hard and I couldn't imagine doing it as an actual profession. It is hard to pick out every little thing in a film and give your opinion on it, although it can be fun. In conclusion, I would highly recommend this movie. It is funny, action-packed and has a great message as well as a strong female lead, which is very important to help grow actresses careers in the film industry. If you want a good laugh, definitely go see this movie and let me know what you think!
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