Overtime, representations have changed due to technology, for example Alice in Wonderland. It has been remade many times and has changed as technology has become more advanced. The film that is easily comparable by technology is the famous love tragedy play, ‘Romeo and Juliet’.  Hollywood had recreated the masterpiece on screen twice (up to date) being: Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 ‘William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet’.

Zeffirelli’s film is highly traditional and periodic compared to Luhurmann’s where he captures the essence of Shakespeare for the present day viewer. The 1996 version has wild yet graceful camera angles to keep the younger audience attracted while the 1968 version is quite limited.

The films are also different with:
props: 1968 uses swords while 1996 uses guns
prologue: 1968 uses lengthy and dull conversations while 1996 uses a news broadcast over the television
setting: 1968 is set in ancient Italy while 1996 is set in Verona Beach present day.
balcony scene: 1968 is more traditional, extravagant and revolutionary while 1996 is intense and is skilfully interchanged with a pool

Luhurmann’s “Romeo and Juliet’ transforms Shakespeare’s writings into a contemporary location with modern concepts yet keeps the Shakespearean language alive. Both films are highly entertaining but its best to know a bit about the play before watching it (but who doesn’t know about the story of R+J anyway?)

Baz Luhurmann once quoted about the film:
“The idea behind the ‘created world’ was that it was made up of 20th century icons, and these images are there to clarify what’s being said, because once the viewer understands it, the power and beauty of the language (work) is magic.”

Austrian actor Christoph Waltz won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor who played a creepy yet charming Nazi who loved to torment Jews in Inglourious Basterds while Mo’Nique won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the bad mother in Precious. Stanley Tucci was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a serial killer in The Lovely Bones.

Villains often rule at the Oscars and here are the other talented actors and actresses that have won an Academy Award for their bad-ass role:
BEST ACTRESS:

• Charlize Theron: Prostitute serial killer, Aileen Wuornos in Monster
• Kate Winslet: Last year’s winner for her role as Hanna Schmitx, a former Nazi concentration camp guard in The Reader

BEST ACTOR:

• Anthony Hopkins:  Creepy  killer Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

• Javie Bardem: Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men
• Heath Ledger: Psychopath clown ‘The Joker’ in The Dark Knight

Personally, I believe that only some actors and actresses that portray a villain deserve an oscar because they make the character so in depth and charismatic, who are so bad that you are completely charmed by them.

While watching the boring yet classic film Dr Strangelove, I had to try and understand the representations throughout the film; but it was so unbelieveable hard to notice who is representing who when you cannot understand much of the film! So I watched my all time favourite film, The Great Race, as the film is easier to watch, understand and is bursting with representations.

The Great Race (1965) is about a car race from New York to Paris with the main characters being, the Great Leslie (Tony Curtis), Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon), Max (Peter Falk) and Maggie Dubois (Natalie Wood). These characters represent the good guy who always gets the girl, the mad scientist, the second banana sidekick and the independent woman.

Leslie is a wealthy daredevil and showman who is known for breaking world speed records and performing the most unthinkable stunts; representation of a hero of sorts. He is a complete gentleman; his hair is always combed, clean shaven, speaks highly, his car is always clean and seems to love white as he wears it all the time (being a symbol of his pure heart); when he smiles his teeth sparkles which comes to show how exaggerated the character is portrayed as the guy with power. Leslie is also a ladies man and this is emphasised throughout the film with many women falling head over heels for him (most notably Maggie but denies it).

Professor Fate is Leslie’s evil nemesis. He himself is a daredevil but always results in failure or embarrassment. He holds an eternal grudge against Leslie as he is more popular than Fate and always attempts to sabotage his stunts along with his sidekick Max which also ends in failure; most notably when Fate tries to drop a bomb on Leslie’s car,while on a pedal-powered flying machine. Unfortunately, the bomb falls on his wheel and he endures the explosion instead and pedals off in defeat. Compared to Leslie, he always wears black, a top hat and has a very distinct moustache who is always scowling and angry; his most repeated line in the film is “Push the button Max”

Max is Fate’s sidekick and the second banana. He is very faithful to Professor Fate even if the instructions given were completely idiotic. In ways, he is smarter than Fate but is always put down as he is just ‘the sidekick’.

Maggie is a young photojournalist for ‘The Sentinel’ and suffragette. She is an independent woman who fails to gain entry into the race because she is a female, but this does not stop her; she makes a deal with the editor of ”The Sentinel’ to keep track of the race and enters her own car by using her sexuality (shows her legs and speaks in a confronting yet flirtatious tone). Throughout the film, she has many costume changes with the main colour being pink. By entering the race, she aims to win the race to strike a blow for feminism; the roles between men and women is one of the film’s main themes.

Besides all the representations stuff, the film is completely hilarious from a bar room brawl to an epic sword fight to a melting iceberg to a memorable pie fight. Everything about this film is great; the contrast between Leslie and Fate, the chemistry between the characters, the dialogue, the sets, the slapstick comedy and even the music; everytime the goofy music for Fate is on I crack myself up. It’s a film that you can watch every now and again and find a joke that you haven’t noticed before. Anyway, above is a scene from the film which is one of my favourites; THE PIE FIGHT. This was the longest pie fight ever filmed in movie history and has a long running joke, notice how Leslie never gets hit. Just giving a quick rundown of the scene, Fate has impersonated a prince which looks exactly like him (which is also played by Jack Lemmon) and has ran away to get back into the race. If you ever have a chance to see the film, grab it and enjoy it.

GOOD MAN #1 *drum rolls*: WALT DISNEY

“You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world, bit it requires people to make the dream a reality” -Walt Disney
Walt Disney is my idol on many levels; he was a kid at heart. He created Mickey Mouse, produced the first ever full-length animated film (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) and built a theme park where dreams can come true. Imagine a world without the works of Walt Disney; result..pretty dull. Walt brought to the world joy and happiness for all ages and affected the ways we all live, think and dream.

GOOD MAN #2 *drum rolls*: GEORGE CLOONEY

“You have only a short period of time in you life to make your mark, I’m there now” -George Clooney
Besides being an actor/producer/screenwriter/director (and being unbelievably gorgeous lol), he is the Hollywood do-gooder. By using his star power, not only did Clooney organize the ‘Telethon Hope For Haiti Now’ to raise funds for the Haiti earthquake victims but donated $1 million as well.

Achieving a comeback in the world of celebrities is one of the most daunting yet superior things that you could do. As I read the newspaper today, I could not help but notice how many positive reviews and critics acclaim there was on both Robert Downey Jr’s and Mickey Rourke’s performances in their most recent films. If I had a thinking bubble over my head while I read the paper it would say, “How the hell did they do it?”

10. Edward and Bella: If you are currently thinking “OMG ARE YOU SERIOUS?” then you are thinking exactly like what are other people are thinking. Yes, the Romeo and Juliet of the millennium have shaken up a stir and an entire legion of fans. The lustful relationship between drop-dead gorgeous vampire Edward Cullen and his human lover Bella Swan have caused an impact with Twi-hard fans with its top-selling books (written by Stephanie Meyer) and current two films with another being released mid next year.

9. The Bride: The role that gave Uma Thurman a household name. The courageous swordswoman who donned a black and yellow leather suit set the world on fire and tongues wagging as she desired for revenge in Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2.

8. Andy Stizler: If this name does not ring a bell then this might… the 40 year old virgin. Andy who was played by funnyman Steve Carrell in the 2005 comedy of the same name, was a hit at the box office and gave the green light for more hit comedies from Judd Apatow; including Knocked Up, Superbad, Pineapple Express and Funny People.

7. WALL-E: The cute little robot who was designed to clean up an abandoned earth had stolen the hearts of children and adults alike worldwide. Pixar studios has had a great decade with a string of hits including Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatoillue and most recently Up. Even though Finding Nemo was the most successful, Wall-E is the most memorable for his down-right cuteness and stunning visual effects; earning the film an Oscar for the ‘Best Animated Feature’ for 2009.

6. Gollum: The mental and ring-obsessed hobbit from the Lord of the Rings trilogy was the most creepy and groundbreaking character portrayed on-screen throughout this decade. Peter Jackson (the mastermind behind the LOTR films) brought to life a twisted nut-case through CGI animation and proved to critics that technology has become advanced and creating Gollum was filmable. Andy Serkis voiced Gollum as well as portraying him physically through motion capture technology. As memorable as the character may be, Gollum’s sadistic quote will be forever etched in our minds; “My precious!”

5. Juno: The sarcastic teen (played by the cute as a button Ellen Page) who got pregnant and offered to give her child for adoption was a major hit with critics and went on to win the Oscar for Best ‘Original Screenplay’ of 2008. Her laid-back attitude and smart ass words had made her a character to be most remembered for the decade; oh yeah.. she will also be remembered for causing the “JUNO EFFECT” in which there was an increase of teen pregnancies in the US.

4. Jason Bourne: Beginning in 2002 with The Bourne Identity, Matt Damon starred as Jason Bourne (aka the James Bond of the noughties) an amnesiac assassin who had no motives and went on a mission to find the truth. The Bourne films (3 so far) will also be noted for bringing action to a new perspective on-screen with getting the audience involved through the use of hand-held cameras.

3. Jack Sparrow: The masterful and completely hot Captain Jack Sparrow had girls swooning for the Pirates of the Caribbean character. The Curse of the Black Pearl was a hit in 2003 and was a major surprise as the movie is based on a pirate ride at Disneyland. The film also had two sequels (but apparently they are making a fourth…YAY!). Jack Sparrow was played by two-time sexiest man alive winner Johnny Depp (which I agree *faints*) and will be forever remembered for his bad boy attitude and boyish charms as well as his down right funny moments; “Why is the rum always gone? (stands up and staggers drunkenly) Oh that’s why!”

2. The Joker: “Why so serious?” The quote that sent chills down your spine as it was said by none other than the psychopathic clown, The Joker. Following in the footsteps of Jack Nicholson who had played the Joker in 1989′s Batman, Heath Ledger took control as the loopy and mad comic book character that has become known as the best villain of the decade. Appearing in The Dark Knight, Ledger scared audiences with his edgy make-up, flickering tongue and brash tones which earned him the Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ only after his death.

1. Harry Potter: This was kind of obvious! The boy-who-lived first won over its fans through J.K. Rowling’s spell-binding books which has sold by the millions and then by the billions from its films. The six Harry Potter films to date have been highly successful and is the highest grossing movie franchise of all time. The boy wizard is sent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn magic and is already famous in the wizarding world as his fate is tied with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (aka Lord Voldemort LOL), the feared dark wizard who murdered his parents. The franchise brought to the screen stunning visuals and endearing characters brought to life from the books. As well as the magical talents of three young actors that have matured within the public eye throughout the films; Emma Watson as the smart Hermione Granger, Rupert Grint as the clumsy Ron Weasley and last but not least, Daniel Radcliffe as the famous Harry Potter.