Taken with Action

The writer is giving an analysis on the movie Taken. The writer is writing the review for people curious as to whether or not they would like to see the movie. He seems to write with little bias. He fairly analyzes the good and bad points of the movie. He begins with a brief synopsis of the movie and quickly moves into his analysis. The writer is trying to make the point that Taken is just a mindless action movie using a script that has been used by other producers in the past. He asserts that The main actor Liam Neeson does a very good job of portraying his role in the movie. So if all you are looking for are some good fight scenes and a lot of action this would be a great movie for you to see.

Taken: great fun

I read a read a review for the movie Taken. The writer of the review was basically trying to get the point across that this was a very well made movie with a somewhat predictable plot. He used a lot of really good analogies. For instance, he mentioned how when he was 6, he and his friends thought that Batman comics were serious business. Then at age 7 they realized that it was kind of silly. But the older they grew, they gained a deeper appreciation for how ridiculous they were, because they were meant to be that way. He then related this to how we should perceive this movie. It requires that "higher level of appreciation." It took some serious critical thinking and analyzing to come up with an analogy like that.
The other thing that I noticed that this author did was how he analyzed the process it took to make this movie. He said, "It's as if the filmmakers, at every turn of the script, said, 'OK, this is how it's usually done. Let's come up with a way that's better. Then let's throw that out and come up with something that's even better than that.' There are different kinds of creativity. 'Taken' evinces the creativity of expert craftsmanship." This is an analysis of "how it works" according to rhetorical terms.

Eisley Analysis

I found an analysis written on one of my favorite albums, Room Noises by a band called Eisley. The author of the analysis goes through the trouble of actually writing it so that people interested in purchasing the album can see someone else’s opinion on it. The author starts his analysis by first introducing the band and describing a little bit about them. Then he goes on saying what aspects of this album are unique and why it is good. He also talks about how the album might be lacking in certain aspects. The author ends his analysis with his thesis, which basically states that even though the album may take some listeners some time to fully appreciate and love, it is still a great album.

The analysis I used was written by David Sprague from this website:
http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?WRK=9318204

Religion, Obama, and Discrimination

The article I chose to follow up on its analysis was one on how government spending shouldn’t be used by churches that discriminate when hiring against homosexuals and others whose life style is contrary to that of the church. The article mentioned that there needs to be a decision made when discussing this topic on whether or not the government will allow for this to continue. The analysis that was given to this article was that of a very bias opinion. A man by the name of Paul stated very strongly that the President Obama should make a stand and stop funding, and by extension, endorsing churches that discriminate when hiring. He mentioned that this should be a non-issue “for a man of color”. It was apparent that this man’s purpose for commenting on the subject was to convince others of the truthfulness of his opinion. He would have had more success if he would have taken a more understanding approach rather than that of a closed mind.

Amazing Grace

I read a review of the movie Amazing Grace. I think the author wrote this review to try to convince others to go and see this movie despite some of its flaws. This article is relatively formal because it was written in a newspaper. The author used a lot of space to summarize the movie instead of using a few sentences. I think she does this because the story behind this movie is relatively unknown, so by describing it more fully the author can convince more people to go and see this movie.

It is apparent that this author definitely liked this movie a lot; one of the the only problems she found with it is the fact that, because it has to be movie length, a lot of the details are given in "awkward exposition." She also complains that one of the most intriguing characters is given very little screen time, and that on occasion the music "[overcomes] the subtlety of the actors' work." So she points out very few problems and instead spends most of her time and space praising this movie.

The idea is that basically this is a very good movie, "but the problem here is in whittling an epic tale down to less than two hours." The thesis is that "Despite its flaws, "Amazing Grace" works admirably as a history lesson, and audience members will surely leave wishing to know more about Wilberforce's life and times." Overall this is a good review of this movie. I agree with her review, those who have not seen this movie definitely should.

Families

I thought this editorial was very interesting.  It talks about how children used to be the solution to a struggling relationship, but how now in these days it makes the problem worse.  Once a child is factored into a relationship it makes things harder.  I thought the article was good.  It wasn't very long which was nice and it had some good supporting evidence from qualified professionals.  I really like stats and any facts that are legitimate.  It really helps convince me.

Wicked

Growing up, my parents loved getting my siblings and I involved in cultural events and activities. One of these activities included going to musicals and this past year I had the opportunity to go to "Wicked." I found a review of "Wicked" online which was done by a reporter for the New York Times. The style of this review is very formal, which is appropriate for where it was published. The artist did a good job of summarizing the details of how they felt when they watched it. However, the amount of details they use may also lose the reader's interest and the review may not affect them. Overall though, the author did a good job of showing the readers the essence of the musical, and their opinion of the show.

Grey's Anatomy

I found a review of the TV show Grey's Anatomy. The review gives the main outline of the show and explains how great it is. To analyze the show, the writer uses her own emotions. She tells of how she finds herself either laughing or wanting to cry and how she loves following the stories between the characters. The analysis is very imformal with spelling errors and comments that make the writer seem to know the characters in the show (using nicknames). Because the review is just on a website, I think it is okay that she is informal and I think it would appeal to a young audience that is interested in the show. However, I do think the writer should have fixed her grammar and sentence structures before posting the review. Overall the analysis did convey how great Grey's Anatomy is.

Zero to Hero

 One of my favorite animated movies is Kung Fu Panda, and I figured it would be really cool to see what other people had to say about it.  After searching I found a good article that analyzed the movie. The author analizes the film to help us as an audience to know what makes this movie good from the different type of animation the producers used and the use of the common zero to hero plot that is present in many movies. I think it could have been better if he would have established some ethos. For all we know it could be a teenager who really knows how to do research. Other than that I feel like he did a good job. 

Here is a link to the article.  http://animatedfilms.suite101.com/article.cfm/movie_review_kung_fu_panda

Under the Blacklight

I found a small analysis of the Rilo Kiley album "Under the Blacklight" on Amazon.com written by Scott Holter. The analysis gives a brief overview of the band Rilo Kiley and how the lead singer, Jenny Lewis, broke away to do her own thing for awhile but came back for this album. The writer goes on to highlight a few favorite songs and shows the diversity of the band from "dancefloor power pop" to "dusty springfield soul" to "meltaway folk". The thesis of the analysis is that perhaps Jenny Lewis leaving for awhile was the best thing for the band; that the break allowed them to produce one of their best albums yet. The writer is writing this analysis to try and give buyers a general idea of what to expect from the CD. It is also probably incredibly biased since it is trying to convince people to purchase (however, I still love Rilo Kiley and the CD actually is amazing).

Anaylzing the Lakers Analysis

The analysis written was about the Los Angeles Lakers shot production. I first read the article looking for the facts that the writer could give to support his claim of why the Lakers are successful right now in the NBA. The same wasn’t the same for the writer. They looked up and mapped out the games to help support his claim before he began writing his analysis.

Thesis: The writer in the analysis shows the effectiveness of the Lakers shooting within the paint during game. First, the writer brings statistics of where the shots were being taken when the Lakers were losing. Then he compares those to where the shots were taken now that the Lakers are winning. His idea is to bring the reader to the realization of the efficiency of shooting the basketball within the paint.

I believe that if the writer had gone on and in depth explained the types of rhetoric terms we use in class he might have been able to come across more personable then just giving facts and expecting individuals to believe the numbers he is giving. In closure, this analysis was written to add up the figures of the Lakers performance and write on paper a reason for their success.

Benjamin Button???

I am analyzing an analysis of the movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This writer is doing this analysis to help people decide if they should go see the movie. He uses lots of exciting and colorful words to show how amazing this movie really is. He talk about how much technology was used in making this movie and also how hard it was to market this type of movie even though the cast had some big names in it. The overall feel however is that he is just trying to make it sound like it is a great movie. I watched it myself and didn't like it. I think that if he wouldn't have sounded so exuberant about the whole thing than his ethos would have been better. If he would have done so than people would probably except his analysis as being credible. But he was probably paid off to say such a wonderful review so it is no wonder why he sounded the way he did. DON'T GO SEE THE MOVIE!!
The thesis of this analysis is that Benjamin Button is a great exciting movie, with great special effects and that the plot is very intriguing and awe-inspiring. His thesis makes the movie sounds interesting however it really is a boring movie to watch.

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117939098.html?categoryid=2880&cs=1

Co & Ca

This is a review of the Coheed and Cambria album "No World for Tomorrow". I looked at several reviews for this album, some praising it and others dissapointed, but chose this one because it reflected the major and most common things said by all. The author of the review gives his honest opinion about their latest work, mostly positive things about how the group has progressed and helped bring their now 4 part sci-fi rock opera to a close. Thesis: No World for Tomorrow is the conclusion of the story that began with Second Stage Turbine Blade, and it is a fitting conclusion to the saga indeed. This review/analysis might not mean much to people who aren't fans of the band or into the genre of music, but for those who are, it is nice to see what others feel about the direction taken and songwriting of the new album. This was written in a rather informal manner and with no real focus other than that of stating their opinion. That said it would be drastically different had it been written using the rhetorical things we are learning in class but would have also taken away from the loose almost conversational feel of the review.

Analysis of the Dark Knight

This is an analysis of the movie, The Dark Knight. I think the author took the time to analyze this movie because he wanted to share his opinion on the true principles behind the story of Batman. He fails to consider anyone else’s opinion and only exhibits his own ideas and observations. For example, I personally thought that both Katie Holmes and Maggie Gyllenhaal were terrible actresses for the role of Rachel Daws, and think that this role could have been performed much better by a different actress.
Thesis: The Dark Knight is different from all other comic book films because it allows the audience to see the difference of right and wrong and how people become lost and isolated individuals.
This article would look a lot different if it used the rhetorical terms used in class. I believe if he had included some of these terms it would have enhanced his paper rhetorically, but would have taken away from the emotion he expressed to convey his true feelings.

I personally agree with the author’s opinion, however, I find that his arguments are biased because he does not consider what anyone else may think.

"Super" Bowl Commercials

The article I looked at was an analysis of the 2009 Super Bowl advertisements. These ads are historically the funniest of the year and more often than not they come through and deliver. Unfortunately, Dan Hope seems to disagree with this year's ads. He analyzed the ads as a whole and then pointed to a few specific examples. His conclusion? The Super Bowl ads this year were quite the bore. He said that many of them "reflect...a recession-induced lack of money" and that many just simply weren't that funny. Despite his overall dislike for the ads, he did applaud Hulu for its ad. Hulu is a company that wants you to use them to watch online media. Dan Hope commented it is then somewhat ironic that they would advertise on a television medium. However, an there is an even deeper meaning of to the ad. Hope pointed out that CBS has "significant stake" in Hulu and as such, they stand to make money whether people use Hulu or simply continue watching CBS. Therefore, this was a very clever little ploy overall. Hope also approved of Doritos commercials. While they still had to pay for an ad spot on TV, they didn't have to pay to produce the ad because they used customer produced ads that were actually funnier than professionally done ones. Pretty much, Hope just expressed how humor was seriously lacking in this set of Super Bowl ads. I don't know if hope is writing this for any other reason than to simply let us know what he thinks. Despite the lack of humor, Hope was impressed with the way in which some agencies went about creating their ads.