- Make sure you film was O.K.ed by Mr. Walker.
- Write the equivalent of about a full-page word document.
- Include a brief summary of the plot (main characters, setting, conflicts).
- Mention the director and if you noticed anything remarkable he/she did with the film.
- Discuss your opinion of the film, and make sure you support your opinion with "evidence" from the film.
- Remember, you need to watch and review four films before the end of the semester for full credit!
Friday, September 24, 2010
2010-11 Optional Film Reviews
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Goodfellas is a 1990 American gangster film directed by Martin Scorsese. The film is a true story about a young man, Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) who grows up in New York and is exposed to gang violence at a young age. As a child, Henry works for a man named Paul “Paulie” Cicero (Paul Sorvino), where he learns how to steal and make fast money. Paulie is the man in charge of a "gang" of Italians, and makes them steal from people, and kill anyone who disrespects them. As Henry grows up, he gets married to a woman named Karen (Lorraine Bracco), and continues to participate in gang violence. Henry works with two men by the names of Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro), and Tommy Devito (Joe Pesci). Jimmy is the brains of the three, Tommy is a man who will shoot you even if you just say shut up to him, and Henry would be considered the good one. Although Henry is part of a gang, he still manages to keep a family of two kids and Karen, but later cheats on her. All three of the men get busted when they try to feed a man to the lions at the zoo, and they go to jail for about four years. When Henry gets out, he no longer wants to steal but gets into the business of moving and selling cocaine. When Henry starts to sell all of this, his business grows so big that he asks all of the Italian gangsters to join in, except for Paulie. Here is where Henry makes the most money in his life. Henry moves his cocaine through another woman, Janice Rossi (Gina Mastrogiacomo) that he meets and whom he pretends to love. Eventually one of Henry's main partners in crime, Tommy, makes it big and after killing so many people, he himself is actually wacked (killed). Henry also gets caught with cocaine and his family becomes poor again. After this, Paulie finds out about what Henry has been selling, gives him money, and tells Henry to never see him again. Karen also borrows money from Jimmy. The couple and their children enlist in the witness protection program for the rest of their lives, and are never involved in the gang scene again.
ReplyDeleteMartin Scorsese has a couple unique ways he filmed this movie. During important scenes, Scorsese uses freeze frames to capture the image while there is a narrator advancing the story. Scorsese also uses a narration technique where only Henry, and Karen narrate throughout the movie. The significance of the two narrating is to show what was going on in their minds at the time, and to explain something that the audience might not understand. I personally really enjoyed Goodfellas. The film never got boring to me, and I felt like I was living in the time where there was such bad gang violence. It kept me in suspense as to who was going to be shot next, or if the three men were ever going to get caught for killing someone. One of my favorite scenes was when Karen was thrown out of the car by her neighbor and she called Henry to tell him. The movie makes Henry seem like he doesn't really care about much, but when he gets the phone call, he walks over to her neighbor's house and beats the crap out of the man. I like this scene because it showed that Henry wasn't some heartless gangster who treated women badly, but respected them. I would love for a boyfriend of mine to do that for me. Overall, I would recommend Goodfellas to anyone, it will teach you a lot about life.
Shutter Island, released in 2009, is a physiological thriller directed by Martin Scorsese. A few of the main characters were Edward "Teddy" Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio), Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) and Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley). Around the time period of after World War II, U.S Marshall Edward "Teddy" Daniels and his partner Chuck Aule set out to Ashecliff Hospital on Shutter Island just off the coast of Boston for the criminal insane in order to solve a case for a missing person named Rachel Solando. Rachel Salondo was sent to the Ashecliff for murdering her 3 children, and has mysteriously escaped from her cell during the night. Teddy was called from Boston and his partner Chuck was called in from Portland to team up and solve the case. The two men had never met before let alone worked together. During the search for Rachel Solando, Teddy and Chuck do there best to find the missing woman, but feel almost fought the whole way through, being denied permission to look through files. After finally getting to question the staff, they soon realize Solando's doctor had been let on vacation the morning of her disappearance. That night, Teddy has a dream of his former wife, Dolores Chanal, whom died in a fire two years prior, and tells him that Rachel Solando is alive. The next morning, Teddy is eager to find the woman and interviews patients individually. Given a mysterious message from one of the patients, Teddy is suspicious as ever about the isolated island. Teddy keeps having dreams of Dolores telling him secrets that help him uncover the mystery of Rachel Solando, and a mystery of his own. Teddy and Chuck go on a wild ride through the deep mysteries of Ashecliff uncovering secrets that have been buried for years keeping you literally on the edge of your seat with an ending you will never see coming.
ReplyDeleteMartin Scorsese did a wonderful job at keeping the films setting consistent. It was always dark and damp looking, much like the tone of the movie. The film is meant to be a mysterious and dangerous thriller and the setting really keep that feeling alive throughout the entire film. Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance was also perfect. Martin Scorsese couldn’t have selected a better actor to play the role. He was always over the top and very believable. My favorite scene would have to be the ending when the whole story comes together. It was so completely beyond my imagination that I enjoy it every time I watch it. When I first saw this film, I was literally in shock, but had to watch it again. The ending was so far from what I expected that I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I even researched the film a bit to get more background knowledge on it. If you like an old fashioned mystery with some thrilling scenes I would definitely say this movie is for you.
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ReplyDeleteThe Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick.Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) arrives at the Overlook Hotel to interview for an open position of a winter caretaker. Jack enjoyed writing, and was looking forward to using the hotel as a place to work. The Manager of the hotel, Stuart Ullman (Barry Nelson), warns Jack about the hotels history. It was built on Indian burial ground, and the hotel becomes surrounded in snow during the winter season. The previous care taker got so called “cabin fever”, which caused him to kill himself and his family. Jack’s son, Danny (Danny Llyod) has ESP and gets horrifying visions about the hotel. The family, including Jack’s wife Wendy (Shelly Duvall) arrive at the hotel to get a tour from Dick Halloran(Scatman Crothers). Danny was surprised when Dick speaks to him telepathically, offering him ice cream. Dick explains to Danny that his grandmother shared the very same powers, and he refers to it as “shining”. Halloran also informs Danny that the hotel itself has a “shine” to it along with many memories, many of which aren’t good, especially in room 237. As the family’s stay in the hotel grows longer, many strange events begin to occur. Danny has more and more frightening visions. Jack starts acting very strange and frustrated. Danny’s curiosity about the room 237 gets the better of him when he shows up injured and traumatized. Wendy blames Jack for the appearance of Danny, and the relationship between the married couple deteriorates and soon becomes violent. REDRUM is written in various places, which is murder spelled backwards. It seems that this hotel is driving everyone crazy. I don’t want to give away too much, you’ll have to watch and see how it ends. The director, Stanely Kubrick did an awesome job making this film. He gives time periods for the scenes such as a week later, a month later, Monday, Tuesday, etc. It gave me insight on how long each event occurred and made me understand parts better. I also liked the way he showed characters expressions. Whenever Danny was scared or thinking about something he zoomed for a close up, or even an extreme close up. I pictured myself in the movie and feeling the way the character did. Wendy, Jacks wife isn’t exactly an attractive actress. These days every actress I see is near flawless. It makes the movie more realistic. The lighting Kubrick put it in the hotel set a mysterious, scary mood which added to the plot. I think Kubrick nailed the directing in this film. The Shining is probably one of my favorite movies. It was spine chilling. I kept wondering what would happen next. I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a physiological thrill.
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ReplyDeleteTo Kill A Mockingbird was produced and directed by Robert Mulligan. This film takes place in a southern town, Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. It starrs a widowed father/lawyer, Gregory Peck, as Atticus Finch living with his two children, Scout (Mary Badham) and Jim (Philip Alford). Badham and Alford enjoy their young days as children playing with each other and spying on Radley’s house. During the summer, they meet a new friend named Charles (John Megna). Together, the 3 of them are inseparable. During the 3 year period the film takes place, Atticus takes upon the task to defend a black man, Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), who was accused of raping a white girl. It is obvious Tom Robinson is innocent for the rape and assault of the white woman for he cannot move his left hand because of muscle and nerve damage from a cotton gin accident when he was a boy. Atticus receives hatred and loses many friendships over this trial. The conclusion of the trial is Robinson is convicted guilty and heads for sentencing. We find out later, Robinson was ‘accidently shot and killed’ when he tried to ‘escape’. Months later as the town finally moves on, a school holiday play and Scout was performing in it. After the play when Scout and Jim walk home, they are attacked in the woods. A man out of nowhere saves the children and carries Jim home, for he was knocked out with a broken arm. The sheriff and Atticus discover them man who attacked the children was stabbed to death and happened to be the same man who raped and attacked the white girl. They also discover the man who saved the children was Boo Radley, the crazy man living in the Radley house. They are no longer frightened of Boo Radley. I enjoyed this film very much so. I think some things could be changed to make the movie stronger and more interesting like who was the killer, more information about the Radleys, what happened with Boo after Jim healed up, did Atticus receive respect from the town, etc. Overall, I would watch this movie again and recommend it.
ReplyDeleteThe film Seven, directed by David Fincher, is a classic good against evil film with physiological turns and twists throughout the plot. When young, cocky detective David Mills (Brad Pitt) is forced to work with veteran cop William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), both of their worlds are turned upside down. Somerset is soon to be retiring as soon as Mills is just being introduced to the city. The two are then thrown upon a case bigger than they imagined when shown a crime scene of an obese dead man (who had obviously been tortured) and the word “gluttony” written on the wall. Along the way of their investigation, they soon realize the killings are done by the influence of the seven deadly sins and each murder is the theme of one sin. As the story unfolds, John Doe (Kevin Spacey), the mastermind behind the mystery, makes each crime scene even more gruesome than the last, making the detectives work even harder to solve the puzzle. Of course, as we expect from Fincher, we are given a completely unexpected ending making us sit through the credits wondering how to deal with it.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I’ve seen so far of David Fincher’s work, he uses similar techniques in his films. They each have a dim, thrilling setting with a plot so twisted it keeps you thinking about it for days to come. Scenes from Seven, for example, it is almost always constantly raining. If the film were set in a gorgeous town, the mood would not be the same, and would have the same effect on the audience. Also, all the characters clothing and props are dark colors, such as blue, black, grey, brown or white.
This film has now become one of my new favorite films. The way Fincher showed the aftermath of the crimes rather than the actual crime taking place was very interesting. It also made the movie more enjoyable to me, and made me focus more on the mysterious aspect of the plot, rather than the torture of the characters taking place. Fincher made a smart move in not showing the crimes in order to keep his audience’s main focus on what was important. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman were an odd pair at first, but throughout the movie they worked extremely well together and had great chemistry. They really brought this film to life and I could honestly believe their characters were real people. My favorite scene the two were in would be were the two are in the café waiting on the answers from a secret source. The way the two played off each other in the scene was humorous, yet serious, and gave me entertainment while getting necessary information.
When I saw the first scene of the movies, I thought to myself “this is going to be so gory and nasty I’m going to end up turning it off”. But to my surprise, the only things that were revolting were the actual crime scenes themselves, yet you rarely saw 5 minutes of it. That whole aspect of the movie really impressed me, and made me love the movie even more because of it. As the credits rolled, I had to stop and think of what I had just seen. Literally, the last 20 minutes were something so beyond my expectation that it stuck with me for quite some time. I was asking everyone if they had seen the movie, trying to get someone to talk with me about it. The message was very clear and made me have a new prospective. The fact that Mills ended up shooting John Doe was disappointing because it showed that Mills was no better than Doe and he had won, which is what Doe had wanted all along. Although, I would have to say this film was brilliantly done and I would highly recommend it.
Se7en is a 1995 psychological thriller directed by David Fincher, starring Morgan Freeman as veteran detective William Somerset and Brad Pitt as rookie detective David Mills. Somerset is 7 days away from retirement when he is assigned a new partner, Mills. Together they work a mind-blowing case involving horrific murders based of the 7 deadly sins. The first murder is of an obese man who ate himself to death. He represents Gluttony. As they discover clues, they learn they have a serial killer on their hands and that means 6 more deaths will occur. The second murder is of a rich attorney who represents Greed. The third murder is of a decaying man who represents Sloth. It turns out the man is not dead. He has been kept alive for 1 year exactly and the detectives agree the murderer has been planning these murders for over a year. Searching for records of anyone checking out books about the 7 deadly sins, they track down a man, John Doe, played by Kevin Spacey. He is the mastermind behind all the gruesome murders. As the story goes on, a fourth murder happens. It is the rape and murder of a prostitute who represents Lust. The fifth murder is of a model with a mutilated face, representing Pride. As the story unfolds, John Doe appears at the police station to turn himself in. He states he will confess and show him where the last two murders will take place. With a twisting ending, one that you won’t believe and will have you on your toes, you’ll just have to watch for yourself to see what happens.
ReplyDeleteDavid Fincher has many themes throughout this movie. For one, he always has the setting dark and rainy. There is never a sunny day throughout the film and all of the characters are wearing bland colors such as brown, white, dark blue, black, grey, dark red and dark green. The murder scenes are even blander. He has each murder gruesome and disturbing. Secondly, he never showed how the murders happened, just the aftermath which was nice because I think it would have made the movie too disturbing and realistic to watch. My favorite scene of the film was when Mills was chasing Doe throughout his apartment. It was nice to finally watch some action and not just looking at murder scenes and the detectives trying to solve the case.
This movie surprised me. I did not think I would enjoy this film at all. I’m happy that I gave it a chance, because in the end I would definitely watch it again. I loved trying to solve the case along with Mills and Somerset. Movies like this make it so much more fun. The fact that there’s a twisting ending makes it even 100 xs better. I can’t say I didn’t like anything about the movie. I recommend this film to anyone who enjoys thrillers and is into murder/detective movies.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
ReplyDeleteDirected by: Frank Capra
We all wish that politics today would be passionate about doing what is right for our state and for our country, even if they end up talking without taking a break for 23 hours. After a sudden death of a senator, Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington becomes appointed by the helpless Governor Hopper (Guy Kibbee). Smith also reunites with his state’s senior senator, and his childhood hero, Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains). However, Jefferson learns a hard truth in Washington which leads to a conflict with the state’s political boss, Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold). After realizing that Smith is not like the other politics that back down, Taylor tries to damage Smith’s reputation and career, and later Taylor tries to put Smith through a scandal.
Frank Capra brings the passion all politics should have alive in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Capra also puts Washington in a new light that people might be use to seeing. During the montage of Jefferson’s personal tour of Washington D.C., all of the tourist sites are seen through the passionate eyes of Jefferson Smith. Everything from the capitol dome to the Lincoln Memorial is not seen as parts of history, but as part of who Americans were, are, and can become. Capra even helps show the true emotions of characters, such as Senator Paine. As Taylor’s scandal to ruin Smith climaxes, there is one time where we see how Paine truly feels about the scandal and his involvement in it. After Jefferson storms out of a trial, there is a close up of Joseph Paine hiding his face is guilt and shame. Capra made this movie for viewers that do not enjoy watching political movies or any movie that has characters who are politics.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a movie that everyone should see, and it should be shown in history classes. Mr. Smith is filled with passion, humor, romance, history, and courage. One of the most moving scenes in this movie is when a child reads the last part of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address aloud with his father in the Lincoln Memorial. It is difficult to explain why this scene is moving, but there is passion in the scene that is unexplainable. There are a few good pieces of dialogue, such as “This is Daniel Webster’s desk, you know.” “Yes. He wouldn’t mind.” However there is one quote that truly sticks out in the movie; “Liberty is too precious to be buried in books.” No matter how a person interprets that quote, it is true. Liberty is a wonderful gift we Americans-at times- take for granted and Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington does an outstanding job of stating that message.
Cabaret (1972)
ReplyDeleteDirected by: Bob Fosse
“Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome…im Cabaret, au Cabaret, to Cabaret. Leave your troubles outside.” The year is 1931 in Berlin, Germany. Cabaret is first opened with these lines from the Master of Ceremonies (Joel Grey), who runs the Kit-Kat Klub in which is where Sally Bowles works. Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) is a singer-dancer at the Kit-Kat Klub; but she dreams of becoming a famous “film star”. One day she meets Brian Roberts (Michael York) when he comes to rent a room in the same flat she lives in. As the movie continues, it becomes clear that Brian and Sally like each other, but Sally is not in love with Brian. It becomes clear where Sally’s heart truly lies when she meets Maximilian van Heune (Helmut Griem), a wealthy man. After meeting Maximilian, Brain and Sally’s relationship becomes weaker and weaker. As Brain and Sally’s relationship is becoming weaker, it is becoming obvious that the influence of Nazism is taking its toll on Germany. Both struggles become stronger, but one ends more peaceful than the other.
Bob Fosse made Cabaret a movie that was watchable, but not entertaining. Fosse uses a few good techniques in this movie. One in particular is when Sally Bowles is done singing “Maybe This Time”, she is backlit and appears to be a shadow. Fosse uses this to tell viewers that Sally has a dark side just like Germany does. The only thing that Fosse does well is continuously compare Brian and Sally’s struggling relationship with the struggle of Germany and Nazism.
Cabaret is not the best musical to watch if you are in the mood for a musical. If you are a Liza Minnelli fan, this movie might be for you. Either this movie should not have been made, or the person in charge should have casted a different Sally Bowles. There is a tender moment in the movie when a young Nazi soldier sings “Tomorrow Belongs to Me”; it may even strike a nerve or two. Some of the other songs are catchy, such as “Money Makes the World Go Around”. However, some of the songs seemed to be like a short intermission from the movie, in other words some of the songs were expressional songs. Over all, Cabaret is not a movie to be seen by any musical lovers and perhaps not even by Liza Minnelli fans.
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ReplyDeleteMulholland Drive Review
ReplyDeleteMulholland Drive is an unusual and mystifying drama directed by David Lynch. The film takes place on the dangerous streets of Hollywood and winds through Los Angeles as well. Mulholland Drive follows two characters named Rita and Betty and ends in the audience wondering if they are even different characters.
Rita (Laura Elena Harring) is a well-dressed brunette who is being chauffeured down Mulholland Drive when her driver pulls over and during the attempted murder of Rita, the car is plowed into by another fast approaching vehicle. She then stumbles out of the car and down a hill into a Hollywood neighborhood. Rita finds safe haven in bushes on an apartment complexes’ property and falls asleep there, only to be awoken by a tenant, Ruth Elms (Maya Bond), leaving with packed suitcases. As Rita makes her way into Ruths’ apartment and gets in the shower, Ruths’ niece Betty (Naomi Watts) arrives to stay in her aunts apartment while she is away. As Betty realizes quickly that Rita remembers absolutely nothing, not even her name, she decides to help her find out who she really is. The so-called “storyline” follows these characters on their quest and takes many twists and turns along the way, which introduce other wild characters who do not fit into whatever “plot” one could attempt to establish with this film.
As the film follows these two characters, Betty and Rita, all of the sudden it jumps to a scene in a diner. There are two men sitting in a booth across from each other in a Winkie’s Diner on Sunset Boulevard. Dan (Patrick Fischler) tells Herb (Michael Cooke) about a terrifying dream he had that takes place in that exact diner. As Dan begins to describe this mystical and senseless dream, you can feel the tension rising as Lynch purposely uses vague dialogue in order to confuse the viewer and suck them even more into the scene. Lynch uses many reverses shots and close ups in order to convey the fear that Dan is feeling, and the confusion that Herb is feeling.
The Rule of Thirds is disobeyed slightly on Dan so that the viewer may wonder what it is that Dan is thinking. As the scene progresses, reality becomes blended with dream and things begin happening as they did in Dans dream. The suspense rises as the camera follows both men out behind the diner to confront Dan’s biggest fear. Lynch uses subjective point of view shots and close ups on Dan to show his angst and fear of what’s to come. As a disgusting creature with diseased skin appears from behind the diner, Dan goes into shock and collapses and the sound becomes muffled in an attempt to establish the state that Dan is in. This scene stood out the most and certainly adds to the mystifying nature of this film.
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing Mulholland Drive, I was pleased, stunned, and completely confused and in awe of what I had just witnessed. It is a film where the less sense it makes the more it pulls you in. With Lynches’ wonderful directorial techniques, his odd storytelling abilities and the fantastic performances of the actors and actresses, and in particular, Naomi Watts, a truly remarkable and landmark film was delivered. It was the kind of movie that haunts you and leaves you thinking about it for days or even weeks to come. It provides a wonderful thrill and mystery, if you can even call it a mystery. Mulholland Drive is not a movie for those who prefer logic, as there is no way to make its’ content logical. It simply works on the viewers’ emotions and plays with blending dreams with reality.
Good review, Conner. Mulholland Drive is certainly a challenging film. Glad you were up to it.
ReplyDeleteMemento is a 2000 American psychological thriller, written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It is about a man, Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), who has a short-term memory problem. Leonard, also known as Lenny, can only remember things for a couple minutes until his mind is wiped and he can’t remember a person he had been holding a conversation with. The way Lenny remembers important information is by tattooing himself, taking pictures of people, and writing down things about them. The plot has two stories being told at one time. One story is in black and white, which is in chronological order, and the other story is in color that is in reverse chronological order. At the end the two stories meet. As the film plays out backwards, we learn about Lenny’s past, and how he became the way he was. The whole movie, he is looking for a man named John G., who raped and killed his wife. The only things he can remember from his life are the events that happened up until his wife’s death. Lenny kills a man named Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) in the beginning, and takes a picture. As we move backwards, we find out how Teddy was actually his friend, and that his real name is John Gammell, a.k.a “John G”. Teddy tries to help Lenny find the man who killed his wife, but every time they meet again, Lenny forgets who he is. Lenny meets a woman named Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss), who also tries to help him because she lost her boyfriend as well, Jimmy Grants (Larry Holden). As the story unfolds backwards, we find out that Natalie takes advantage of Lenny’s condition and actually made him kill Teddy. In the chronological part of the film, we see Lenny talking on the phone to someone, and tattooing himself. After minutes, Lenny looks at his arm and sees a tattoo that says, “Don’t answer the phone”, and he realizes he has no idea who he is talking to. It turns out to be Teddy, who is actually a cop. When Lenny sees Teddy, and even anyone he tells this story of a man named Sammy Jankis (Stephen Toblowsky), who also had a problem with his short-term memory, and his wife died because he gave her too much insulin. Teddy always asks Lenny who he is, but in reality Lenny has no idea how he got such a nice car and such a nice suit. As the film nears the end, both story sequences run together, and we find out that Lenny killed Natalie’s boyfriend because he was a “John G”. Lenny takes the man’s clothes off and wears them, also stealing his car. Teddy finds Lenny and explains to him that he is the cop that took care of his wife’s case, and that his wife survived the attack. Lenny’s wife was actually diabetic and the story of Sammy Jankis was fake because Sammy was a con-artist. Teddy tells Lenny that they killed the real John G. a year before, and that John G. is a common name. The whole time Lenny was creating a puzzle that he could never solve, so he tattooed Teddy’s license plate on himself and set him up to be the John G. he wanted to kill.
ReplyDeleteMemento is a film that will mess with your head. It is really hard to explain to someone what happens unless you watch it. I feel like Nolan intended on this to make his audience feel like they were Leonard Shelby, and that they also had memory loss. A good scene from Memento was when Natalie walked in her house with a bloody nose, and told Lenny that a man named Dodd beat her up. Lenny then goes and finds Dodd to kill him. When the film goes backwards some more, we find out that it was Lenny who hit her. Natalie was making fun of Lenny and how she can tell him anything, and she calls his wife a whore, and he hits her across the face. Natalie leaves the house, while Lenny frantically tries to find a pen to write everything down. He can’t find one and minutes later Natalie walks in the house, and Lenny has forgotten what happened, this is when she makes up the story of some man beating her up. Memento is a good movie to watch only if you pay really close attention, otherwise the film will make no sense.
Psycho is a 1960 movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is a story about a woman who steals money from her boss, and runs with it, however her fate is completely different than she had expected. The film starts off with a woman by the name of Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), who is in a relationship with Sam Loomis (John Gavin),whom she also wants to marry. At Crane’s job, she is presented with $40,000 by her employer and is told to keep it in a safe place. Crane secretly runs of with this cash, to get married to her boyfriend. Along the way she buys a new car from a man who finds her very suspicious, and she then finds a motel to sleep at. The motel is ran by a man named Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), and also his very ill mother who lives in the house next to the motel. Bates is a very nice man, and assists Crane to her room, giving her room 1 because he says the motel is always vacant. Bates even offers Crane dinner, and when he brings it to her we finally get a clue as to how his ill mother acts. She is very protective of Norman, and doesn’t want him associating with Marion Crane. After Crane goes into her room, she counts the money she still has left, and takes a shower to unwind. After a few minutes in the shower, Crane is brutally stabbed to death by an unknown killer. After days of wondering where Marion Crane had disappeared to, her sister Lila (Vera Miles), and detective Milton Arbogast (Martin Balsam) start to search for her. Arbogast was hired by Crane’s employer to hire the money, and he goes to the motel to see if anyone had seen her. Bates lies to the detective and tells him that she left quickly. Soon enough the detective is murdered too, inside Bates’ house on the hill. After hearing no information from the detective, Lila and Loomis go to the motel to find out what really happened to Crane, and also the detective. The two devise a plan to get inside the house without Bates knowing. Lila gets inside the house, and just when she thinks she has successfully found the murderer of her sister, a twist in the story unfolds. In the end, the money is never recovered because Bates sunk Marion Crane’s car in a swamp, along with the money in the trunk.
ReplyDeleteThe famous scene that should be noted from Psycho is the shower scene. Up until the shower scene, the whole plot is based upon this woman fleeing with $40,000. When she is stabbed in the shower, the viewer is then lost with who the main character is. Hitchcock’s technique of showing a naked woman being stabbed was graphic for films in that time by means of being gory, but never actually showed Janet Leigh’s naked body. By using quick cuts in this scene, Hitchcock was successful in showing the viewer that this woman was being stabbed numerous amounts of times all over her body, but never showing naughty bits.
In the beginning of Psycho, I thought it was going to be very dull since it was in black and white. By the end, I would consider it one of my favorites. The film wasn’t necessarily “filmed” well as far as angles and lighting goes, but the story itself was really good. Throughout the whole movie, I was under the impression that the mother was killing everyone, and her son was sticking up for her. When I found out that the mother was actually a dead corpse, I was shocked to find that Norman himself did everything. But how so? Who was that voice of an old woman? Finding out that Norman acted as himself and his mother made me say, “Wow, this guy is psycho”. I think Hitchcock named this film very well. The unexpected twists are what I love to watch, and I would recommend this movie to anyone. I also would have to award Anthony Perkins for having such great talent in acting. He made this movie all too believable. The scene where he carries his mother down the stairs, you hear him yelling at his mother and her yelling back. When you find out it was him the whole time, it is actually kind of humorous that he makes the same voice at his mother and talks with it. I give Psycho five stars.
It’s a Wonderful Life is a 1946 film directed by Frank Capra. The film tells the story of George Bailey (played by James Stewart). The beginning reveals that George is having problems and is even considering ending his life. To help him, it is decided that the angel, Clarence (Henry Travers), is sent down to him. Before Clarence can find George and get his wings, which are acquired by helping those who need it, he is shown significant times in George’s life. Following George’s life to the present, Clarence then tries to help George by opening his eyes to how important of a person really is.
ReplyDeleteOne of the beginning scenes first introduces the audience, as well as Clarence, to George Bailey, only it is a memory of when he was a kid. A directorial technique Capra used is focus. When Clarence is being shown George, he cannot really see what is happening. The screen is out of focus. As Clarence is finally able to see George, the film gets more and more focused. This scene is important to the plot of the movie. For one, the audience establishes how this scene leaves him slightly disabled throughout the film. The issues in this scene are addressed here and there throughout It’s a Wonderful Life, and even towards the end, this scene is very important towards the plot and ideas.
I really liked the film. The story provided likeable characters, who keep both the plot interesting and moving forward. The audience is drawn to George Bailey and his story. He is a guy with big dreams and plans of his own, but is still so caring and selfless, willing to give up what he believes needs to be given up, to continue through life and help the people around him. People feel sorry for him, but at the same time, like how far the character is willing to go. The film also provides an idea that many can even relate to. Everyone has moments when they doubt themselves and their own importance. Following George around we see that everyone has those moments. The people who seem most deserving of whatever life has to offer, can still have troubles and sufferings just like anyone else. Like Clarence tries to show George, even when things seem like they cannot get any worse, we are still who we are and somehow we have made a difference in the world around us.
Ragging Bull starts out with Jake La Matta boxing some black guy and he loses to the black guy due to decision because the bell rang right before the 10 count bell rang. After Jake La Matta loses that fight a big brawl between the fans breaks out. Jake goes home to his current girlfriend to tell her about the fight and they end up getting into a huge argument and they break up. Jakes brother, Joey introduces Jake to a blonde girl by the name of Vicky. Joey says that Jake isn’t going to be able to get Vicky because she is the relationship type but Jake still manages to get intimate with her regardless on if she was the relationship type.
ReplyDeleteJake La Matta defeats Sugar Ray Robinson in the first fight and then in the second fight he loses to Sugar Ray Robinson which causes him to lose his title and awesome record. A couple years after that fight Jake La Matta and Vicky get married even after his brother Joey told him that he couldn’t chain up with Vicky ever. Jake La Matta drops to 155 pounds for the big fight against Ginero which everyone is betting on. Joey wins a dangerous fight that he got into with Tommy Como and Salvy because Vicky was drinking with them and Joey knew that Jake La Matta didn’t approve of that, but soon after they shake hands and say that they won’t hold grudges against each other because of the fight.
Jake La Matta continues his career by winning a few more fights but then after an intense fight he gets into an argument with his wife Becky. Jake La Matta then wins the middle weight belt and afterwards confronts Vicky about sleeping with Joey, Tommy, and Salvy and she admits too doing it. Jake La Matta was extremely angry after hearing that so he decides to beat the hell out of his brother and Becky. Jake La Matta loses his middle weight belt to Sugar Ray Robinson and then soon after moves to Miami with his family after he realizes his boxing career is over. Vicky then divorces Jake La Matta in Miami and he ends up going to jail for introducing under-age girls to men. Jake La Matta goes crazy in jail and then after he gets out he goes to New York to apologize to Joey. After apologizing to Joey, Jake starts to chant “I’m the boss” and then the movie ends with a meaningful Bible quote basically summarizing the movie.
The directional techniques that were noticeable are when Joey gets into the fight with Tommy and Salvy because the camera pans over the top of the fight and follows the whole fight scene outside while maintaining to do it in minimum shots. This movie overall was very intense and kept me interested at all times. My favorite thing about the movie was how crazy Jake La Matta was inside the ring and outside the ring because he would win nearly every fight and then afterwards still have so much anger to take out on other people such as his wife and his brother. The most suspenseful part in the movie was when Jake La Matta lost his title to Sugar Ray Robinson and then soon after that his whole life fell apart. The message of the movie was very plain and simple because it was about a boxer trying to achieve all his boxing goals while maintaining a life outside of boxing such as his wife and his close family.
A 2003 film Big Fish was produced and directed by Tim Burton. Ed Bloom, played by Ewan McGregor-young and Albert Finney-old, was the main character along with his son Will Bloom, played by Billy Crudup. Ed was seen in his child’s eye, when he was young, as a hero whose stories came to life right before his eyes. But as Will grew up he started to believe that his father was nothing but a fake. Ed’s wife Sandra Bloom, played by Jessica Lange-senior and Alison Lohman-young, knew his stories were facts. Will’s wife Josephine, played by Marion Cotillard, slightly believed the stories from Ed.
ReplyDeleteTim Burton’s Big Fish is a movie that takes time to understand. If you put your mind, as though a child would, then you would understand the wonders of the stories told in the movie. As an adult, you tell stories that are slightly true but have a twist in it. As in the movie Ed said he tried catching the big fish that was not able to be caught. That big fish was a metaphor for his wife, and the only way to catch her was with gold. But understanding in a child’s mind you would see a big fish turn into a woman, caught by a gold ring meaning marriage.
I personally love this movie Big Fish. I loved every part of it; I understood the story behind it and everything. Burton uses the child’s point of view of seeing stories and shows us how it is. And how creative everyone’s imagination is, not everyone see’s the same thing but they are similar. My favorite scene out of the movie was when it was close to the end of the movie; Will understands that his dad was telling the truth the whole time. Will was a child when his dad told the stories and yet he still was. So I liked the realization of his father and everyone that shows up to Will is true and it was never was a lie, just twisted that a child would be interested in the stories more. I personally recommend that everyone sees this movie. If you are a child at heart or you have children that like to listen to stories then sit down with them and enjoy family get together. Also enjoy the past of how your parents told you stories. This film is child life all wrapped with stories.
Heathers is a 1989 black comedy directed by Michael Lehmann. Veronica Sawyer (played by Winona Ryder) is the fourth member of the popular clique at Westerberg High School called the Heathers, where everyone but her bears the name themselves. Though in this group, she longs for a time when she wasn’t friends with the Heathers and wishes to go back to her life before them. After their brief meeting in the cafeteria, the new kid in school, Jason Dean or J.D.(Christian Slater), shoots the school jocks with blanks, and Veronica finds herself even more attracted to him than she originally was. When the head Heather, Heather Chandler(Kim Walker), mistreats Veronica one night at a party, Veronica and J.D. decide to get revenge by inducing her to vomit. The plan goes wrong when Veronica accidentally gives Heather a cup a of liquid drain cleaner, without any warning from J.D.. After choking out her last words, Heather falls through a glass table and to her death. After forging a suicide note to avoid suspicion, Veronica finds the whole school mesmerized by Heather Chandler’s apparent suicide. The once apprehensive Heather Duke(Shannon Doherty) soon steps up and replaces Chandler’s role, though Heather Duke ends up being even worse than she was. With attempted suicides throughout the student body and even by Heather McNamara(Lisanne Falk),there are even more deaths caused by J.D. and Veronica. Veronica starts to question J.D. and eventually breaks it off with him, and their murderous streak all together. When Heather learns of the mass murder J.D. plans to commit, in another look-a-like suicide, she must find away to overcome it and stop J.D. and end the Heathers’ reign over the school all together.
ReplyDeleteIn Heathers, certain characters have specific colors to portray their personality. The opening scene begins with the Heathers enjoying a game of croquet, and sets up a motif of colors. Heather Chandler begins the film wearing a red jacket, and her red scrunchie, and plays the game with a red ball. The red is seen to show her power and reign over Westerberg High. Heather McNamara plays with a yellow croquet ball and matches with her dress and tights. Though yellow is usually seen as a happy and optimistic color, in this instance it used to portray her cowardice. Heather Duke’s croquet ball is green, as is her dress. The green represents her envy and jealous nature. Though not noticed in this scene, Veronica’s ball and outfit consists of the color blue, to represent her sadness. Throughout the film, as power is transferred from one to another the color red is transferred as well. When Heather Duke takes over, she sheds her green persona and takes on the color red, and Heather Chandler’s red scrunchie.
Overall, Heathers was a good film. It definitely was different than I expected it to be, and pretty different than something I might usually watch. But it did hold my attention throughout the film. Like a black comedy should, despite the dark themes going on, it still is able to provoke laughter, even in the deaths and funerals. Though sometimes the humor did seem a little too over-the-top. But the over-the-top humor is what makes the movie and its messages effective. The humor gives us a reason to look at “what’s the damage” in society. As J.D. put it, “The school is society”. No matter where you are, there is always going to be a social structure. And though a whole possible suicide escapade could be debatable, the lengths people go to break that social barrier can be extreme, and in the end, even futile.
Talk To Her Review
ReplyDeleteTalk To Her is a 2002 film directed by Pedro Almodovar. This film shows how deep someone’s emotions can be for another person. Benigno (Javier Camara) is in love with Alicia (Leonor Watling) but she has been in a coma for four years from a tragic accident. Marco (Dario Grandinetti) becomes good friends with Benigno while he is at the hospital. Marco’s girlfriend, Lydia (Rosario Flores) is a famous matador but is also in a coma after being gored by a bull. These two men help each other through this tough time. They have opposite views on what to do with the women. Benigno takes care of Alicia, talks to her, and acts like she is a normal human being. Marco is more realistic and knows the seriousness of the conditions of both of the women. In this film, you will see a beautiful tale about obsession, love and friendship. This film may not be for everyone because it covers such a strange topic and some might not be able to understand the uniqueness of it.
Part of the film where the director did a cool effect is the film within a film. Benigno had just gone to see a black and white silent film at the theater and he is telling Alicia about it. As he is describing it, the film is being shown to us. The beginning of the silent film is entertaining and romantic because it is about a young couple who are very much in love. The man wants to lose some weight and drinks a potion, but the effect is that he won’t stop shrinking. After this part the silent film gets a little bizarre and somewhat awkward. This seems like a silent film that would be uncommon.
This film was captivating but yet in a way that might be awkward to watch with your family. I enjoyed how this film showed what a man will do in the name of love. I liked how Marco tried to bring Benigno back to reality, but no one could. In this film, you feel sorry for Benigno because at the beginning of the film you fall in love with his character because he is a lonely man who has found what he believes to be his soul mate. I did enjoy this film, but I do think it is not for everyone. I think only certain people will appreciate this film’s oddity. This film left me wondering if such events happen in real life and I am leaning towards they do. The message of this film seemed to be that you can not get in the way of how someone feels for a person
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ReplyDeleteSunshine is a science fiction movie directed by British director Danny Boyle. The main characters of Sunshine are Capa (Cillian Murphy) the physicist who knows how to detenate the bomb, Mace (Chris Evans) the engineer, Cassie (Rose Byrne) the pilot of Icarus 2, Corazon (Michelle Yeoh) the biologist who tends to the oxygen garden, Searle (Cliff Curtis) the doctor and on board psychologist, Harvey(Troy Garity) the communications officer and second in command, Kaneda(Hiroyuki Sanada) the captain of the ship, and Trey(Benedict Wong) the navigator. Sunshine is a film that takes place in the year 2057 about the crew of the spacecraft Icarus 2, which carries a massive payload of explosives on a mission to save mankind by brightening the sun which is slowly burning out. On the way Icarus 2 gets a distress signal from Icarus 1, a ship on a similar mission that went missing for 7 years having failed its mission. When they change directions of the ship to go back to Icarus 1 Trey forgets to change the direction of the heat shields, which causes damage to the ship and a fire in the oxygen garden, which provides the crew with renewable oxygen. The crew repairs the shields and goes back to see if there are any survivors and to obtain the payload from Icarus 1 so they would have two chances to hit the sun. Once they arrive on Icarus 1 they see that the payload cant be used and the crew is all dead, but they discover a video from the badly burned captain Pinbacker(Mark Strong), who purposely stopped the mission of Icarus 1 because he said it is gods will for humanity to die. While the crew thinks he is dead, Pinbacker sneaks on board and seeks to kill the remaining crew of Icarus 2 in order to stop the mission from continuing. In a battle for survival, with no source of oxygen and the threat of being murdered by Pinbacker the crew struggles to continue on their mission to save the sun.
ReplyDeleteIn the movie Boyle used a lot of long shots and and full shots in order to show the details of the different settings that the crew are in. Such as when Capa and Kaneda go on a spacewalk to repair the heat shields. We see a long shot of the men leaving the ship, a long shot of the repairs to show that the ship looks like and what the damage to the shield is, and at the end of the scene there is a long shot of Kaneda being burned to death by the sun.
I liked this movie because I am a fan of movies that deal with the future and space. I thought the people who worked on the movie did a good job with showing futuristic technology in detail, such as the solar model, the oxygen garden where the ship uses plants to recycle their source of oxygen, and the "Earth room" which is a room that can "take you" to any place on earth virtually, while looking realistic. Another thing I liked about the movie is the suspense which is created when Pinbacker sneaks on board the ship and tries to stop the mission from being carried out by hunting the crew members. This suspense is also created by the lack of oxygen remaining in the ship and Capa's struggle to survive long enough to detonate the bomb that will save the sun.
A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick. This film takes place in the future in Britain. The movie starts off with four guys in a milkbar and they are all wearing white, surrounded by white naked mannequins of women. The main character is Alex (Malcolm McDowell) and he is the leader of his group of three friends. The group was about to go out and do their usual activities which involve breaking into houses and raping women. When Alex broke into this one ladies house, he knocked her out and heard police sirens so he was trying to get escape. His friends were waiting outside for them, but they turned on him and hit him in the face with a milk bottle and his “friends” leave him there. He has no time to escape now and the police arrive and take him to jail. In jail, there is this treatment that ‘changes’ you and you are able to be released from jail and will not be a nuisance to society. This treatment is a way of training an individual’s response to violence. This is done by creating a sickening effect while introducing images of violence. The desired outcome of this treatment is to train the individual to fear violence. When he is released into society he lives a horrible life because no one likes him for all the crimes he had committed. For the ending of the movie, you would have to watch it to find out what happens to Alex, that is, if you want to.
ReplyDeleteThe director does a few interesting things in this film. Alex narrates at certain times throughout the film. This is neat because if you are having trouble understanding some of the characters because they do have a Dutch accent. He also gives insight to what he is thinking. Another thing the director does is a fast forward scene where everything happens super fast. I will not go into detail with what this scene is about because it is inappropriate. A somewhat cool shot is when Alex is on the floor and the man has his foot right in Alex’s face and you get a point of view shot and can only see out of his right eye because the shoe is blocking the rest of the frame.
This film is not one of my favorites but I thought I would see it because I usually like weird films. I would consider this film grotesque, but not only because of the killing but all of the raping, brutal acts and unusual medical methods as well. I would not recommend this film because I know it is not a film everyone would enjoy. It is interesting to see how society reacts to Alex after he has changed because they do not accept him for everything he has done previous the treatment.
Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 film directed by Danny Boyle. This film is about Jamal Malik (Dev Patel, Tannay Chheda and Ayush Mahesh Khedekar) explaining how he knows the answers for India’s version of the game show “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire.” Throughout the movie, Jamal explains to the investigator interrogating him how he knows the answers by going through a series of flashbacks in his life in which the “answers” come across by chance. During his stories and flashbacks he tells of his adventures with his brother and along the way they meet a girl named Latika (Freida Pinto, Rubina Ali and Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar) who joins the two on their journey for a bit.
ReplyDeleteHer presence contributes to the main story line of the film which can be devised into parts. His interrogation, the game show and his flashbacks which all come together to form the directive he has; the reuniting of Latika and himself.
In the film, it is obvious that the director uses the use of these flash backs chronologically in turn with the questions that are asked of Jamal. For example the first question that is asked of Jamal reminds him of a memory during his childhood that explains the answer he gives. Throughout the movie scenes move back and forth between the present day and flashbacks of the games show Jamal is on and his memories in which the answers for the questions he is asked are held.
I found this film to be very enjoyable and it is a movie that you can watch numerous times and not get bored of. One thing that keeps the film entertaining is the music. All of the music is Bollywood/pop and is very catchy. I found myself wanting the music on my ipod. I believe that the music helps the film build up in certain scenes. For example, when Jamal and Salim were being chased by airport security the music was upbeat and somewhat playful but then intensified when the boys ran into their mother. Something else I liked is when the director was showing us what the slums looked like up close and then zoomed out to an extreme long shot which makes you realize how big of an area the slums take up. I think the name of the film is Slumdog Millionaire because Jamal is someone from the slums, so he is like an underdog and he wins 20 million rupees. Most people would expect this from a doctor or a lawyer, someone who is thought to be way more intelligent than someone who lives in the slums. Overall I loved this film and would not mind to see it again. I believe this film is for anyone and they might find it interesting as well.
In the 1980 film The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick, Jack Nicholson plays a character named Jack Torrance, a writer trying to work on a new book. Jack is given a job taking care of a hotel while it is closed during the winter and disregards the fact that the last care taker went insane and murdered his family while in the hotel. He brings along his wife Wendy (Shelly Duvall) and his son Danny (Danny Lloyd). Danny telepathically sees disturbing images before and during his stay at the hotel. Dick Hallorann (Scatman Crothers), the head chef at the hotel, describes Danny’s gift as “The Shining” and reveals that he too, possesses the gift. When the hotel gets snowed in, and all the phone lines are down, Danny needs to find a way to use his gift to save him and his mother from Jack, who becomes more and more insane from the constant prodding of ghosts as time passes in the seemingly empty hotel
ReplyDeleteIn the scene where Jack is talking to Wendy from inside the food pantry, which she had previously locked him in, Kubrick has the camera angled up at Jack’s face with his head and hands on the door while he talks. Jack changes his emotion from angry to hurt and pleading to try and trick Wendy into letting him out of the pantry. Kubrick probably wanted to make Jack look very menacing and he was as powerful as could be. There was no doubt that his pleading emotions were faked.
I enjoyed this movie. It was extremely thrilling if not frightening. I liked the scenes with Danny riding his tricycle around the hotel because I wondered how they followed him so closely and smoothly without making and other sound. My favorite character was Jack Torrance. Jack Nicholson does a very good job at going insane. His facial expressions were very intense. In the scene where Jack is following Wendy up the stairs trying to take the bat from her, the tension was building. You wonder if she is going to hit him, or he will get her first. The part that scared me the most was the twin girls at the end of the hallway and there are flashes of them murdered. I was a little confused at the end though, when Jack is in the picture. Does this mean that he is now trapped in the hotel as a ghost?
Fight Club is a 1999 film directed by David Fincher. The film is about a corporate office worker (Edward Norton) and a soap maker (Brad Pitt). The film begins by following the narration of Edward Norton as the main character of the story. It starts with a climactic yet random scene that he then goes into flashbacks about explaining the events that lead up to it. In his self narrated journey, the main character explains his situation and problems that he faces and how he deals with them through going to support groups for problems that he doesn’t have so that he can feel better about himself to solve his dilemma. During his time spent in these groups he meets this girl who is also a faker and cannot cope with the fact that she is a faker even though he is one. Her name is Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) which he finds out when he goes to talk to her to tell her to not go to the groups when he is there. Sometime later in the film we find the main character on a plane coming back from a business trip and on the plane he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) who introduces himself as a soap salesman. When returning home from the airport the main character finds his condo has been blown up and needs a place to stay. Knowing no one else to call, he calls Tyler Durden. The rest of the film from that point on tells the rest of the events that lead up to the climactic ending scene that was shown at the beginning of the film and at the very end of the film an unexpected event happens in which left me laughing.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I loved that the director did is that whenever the main character was imagining something, he would actually be able to see what it is. For example, when he was at a support group, the leader told everyone to go into their cave. So the main character started to meditate and went inside his “cave.” His cave was an underground ice cave and there was a penguin there that him to him “just slide.” Later on when Marla starts going to these groups, the leader tells them again to go to their caves. His cave was the same except for this time, instead of a penguin, Marla was there and she told him exactly what the penguin did, to “just slide.” Having Marla in his thoughts when he is supposed to be meditating shows that her being there is disrupting him. Another place we get to see the man character’s imagination is when he is on the airplane. He says that he wishes the plane would crash and we get to see what it would be like if that actually happened.
I thought this was an excellent film. I think this is a film that you have to pay attention to or else you will not know what is going on because it can be confusing at times. At the end of the film, if you have any questions about what is going on they will be answered. I thought it was neat that you got to see what it actually looked like when Tyler was fighting with himself. I believe this film had a very good point. Tyler Durden was always asking why people have the materials that they do; it is not like anyone needs a TV, but it is something that people want. I loved the ending of the film when Tyler and Marla were holding hands in the building and they seemed very content while they looked out the windows at something disastrous going on. I would definitely recommend this film and I think it is even better the second time you see it.
Alfred Hitchcock directed the 1954 movie Rear Window. In this movie, L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries (played by James Stewart) is a professional photographer. After breaking his leg on the job, he is stuck sitting in a wheelchair in his apartment in New York City. He passes the time by watching his neighbors through the rear window of his apartment. One of the neighbors, Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr), catches Jeff’s attention after some suspicious events regarding the neighbor and his wife. Jeff believes that the man murdered his wife and hid the body. Jeff’s nurse, Stella (Thelma Ritter), and his girlfriend, Lisa Fremont (played by Grace Kelly), advise him to stop spying on his neighbors and that it will only get him into trouble. But, soon they get pulled into the excitement of the situation too. After Jeff’s friend, Detective Thomas Doyle, refuses to investigate, Jeff, Lisa, and Stella decide to take matters into their own hands and won’t rest until they solve the mystery of what happened to Mrs. Thorwald.
ReplyDeleteHitchcock is fantastic at building suspense in his movies. In the scene were Stella and Lisa go over to Thorwald’s apartment and break in to look for evidence, we can see Thorwald in the alleyway on his way home and in a window right outside his apartment door. We can also see what is happening on the other side of the door in his apartment. Lisa is scrambling to find a place to hide. We don’t know if she will get caught, or what Thorwald would do if he catches her. This whole scene is filmed from the perspective of looking out of Jeff’s window.
I loved this movie. There were parts of it that were very humorous but there was also a lot of suspense. One of the things I enjoyed the most was that almost the entire movie was filmed from the perspective of Jeff’s window. I liked how Jeff could look into the lives of other people, and the names that he gave them, like Miss Lonleyhearts and Miss Torso. James Stewart is now one of my favorite actors, but I think that Stella was my favorite character because she was always very sarcastic but she cared about Jeff. I also liked Lisa because even though she was high class she tried to prove to Jeff that she could live an average lifestyle for him. Overall, I thought this was a very good movie.
Fight Club is about a young man who has insomnia and can’t ever sleep. He goes to the doctor and the doctor refuses to give him any medicine and suggests he try a support group for testicular cancer. Once he attends one meeting, he gets out all of his emotions and is able to sleep again. The character becomes addicted to these groups and starts attending all sorts of them even though he has none of these problems. He attends blood parasites, becoming aware with death, alcoholics anonymous, and many more. After making this a habit, he is finally able to sleep. One day in his testicular cancer group, a woman named Marla Singer walks in. These are the end of his sleeping days. She starts appearing at every group meeting just like he does. They both know neither of them have these particular problems and finally confront each other. They decide to split the groups and never see each other again. Marla slowly becomes a bigger and bigger character throughout the plot.
ReplyDeleteSince the narrator can no longer sleep, he does crazy things he doesn’t realize he is doing. He traveled a lot for work and met a guy named Tyler Durden on the airplane. Tyler had the same suitcase as the narrator and mistakenly got his. That night the narrator comes home and his apartment is on fire. He has nowhere to turn to so he calls Tyler. The two start living together in an abandoned house.
The two men go to a bar one night and start fighting each other for fun. This becomes a daily routine for the two men. Other men start to see what is happening and not only want to watch, but also want to join in. Tyler and the narrator then start a club called “Fight Club”. The two men get into crazy situations and life becomes out of control and is focused on the insomniac’s life.
The director David Fincher incorporates many hidden meanings behind the film. One idea behind this film was the popular “Illuminati”. It is a group of six of the most powerful and successful men in America, and this movie depicts aspects of that. The first rule of fight club is you don’t talk about fight club, the first rule of Illuminati is you don’t talk about Illuminati. The director also uses flash forwards to foreshadow the future, and to show the narrator's second personality.
As for my opinion of the film, I loved it. My favorite part would have to be the irony of the main character Tyler. Tyler Durden is a man who is recognizes imperfections of others, and is psychotic. Brad Pitt was casted as the role of Tyler Durden. Brad Pitt is the closest thing to perfection as an actor but was casted as a psychotic person. In the movie, he quotes “The world tells us we’ll all be movie gods and rock stars… but we wont. And were slowly realizing that fact, and we are very, very pissed off”. This is ironic because Brad Pitt is one of the most successful men in America today.
I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone, but you may need to watch it a few times to understand everything behind the film.
Slumdog Millionaire is about a young teen boy named Jamal who lives In Mumbai India. He is one of the lucky contestants on India’s version of who wants to be a millionaire. He makes it all the way to the last question and the show runs out of time so he has to return the next day. As he’s leaving the studio someone kidnaps him and questions, abuses, and accuses him of cheating. As a child growing up in India him and his brother had to fight to survive. The only way he knows the answers to these questions is from childhood memories. It’s like he has a photographic memory. There was one question though that Jamal did not know the answer to. For this question he uses one of his lifeline’s and eliminates two of the answers. They go on a commercial break and him and the host of the show go into the restroom. The host puts an answer on the mirror in the bathroom and tells Jamal that is the correct answer. Jamal just randomly guesses the other letter and is correct so this leads to suspicion that he is in fact cheating. In the mean time, Jamal has a criminal brother out to ruin his life. His brother’s name is Salim. They were best friends as kids but then got separated and Salim started working for some bad people. Jamal fell in love with Latika while they were kids and Salim uses her for prostitution. Salim and Jamal run into each other and he also accuses his brother of cheating. After a few years, Jamal continued to search for Latika. He finally found her with his brother and his brother actually lets her go with his cell phone. Back in the studio, Jamal is on his final question and isn’t sure of the answer. He uses his lifeline to call someone and it’s his brothers cell phone. That is the only number he knows. To his surprise, Latika answers the phone. He asks if she knows the answer and she replies with “God will help you” and Jamal no longer cares about the game since he has found his love. The call is dropped and he must submit an answer. He guesses and chooses A. After a long pause, turns out A is the correct answer, and Jamal is the winner of who wants to be a millionaire. He reunites with Latika after the show ends as well.
ReplyDeleteThe director Danny Boyle uses flashbacks in this film to show how Jamal recalls the answers to each question. I like this movie for many reasons. It shows the struggles of children in other countries, such as going blind to beg for money, or being a prostitute at the age of 14. I also like how Jamal is so independent at such a young age. I would recommend this movie for sure.
(Lindsey Puff)
ReplyDeleteThe Sound of Music Film Review
I have to begin by saying that this musical was one of my dad’s favorite films when he was growing up. I have always enjoyed watching musicals, especially this one because we always watched it as a family.
The film is based on the story of a young woman, Maria, who is studying to become a nun. The sister is in charge of the convent, Mother Superior questions Maria’s devotion to God, and the church. Mother Superior arranges for Maria to leave the convent and become governess to a widowed, naval captain, Baron Von Trapp and his seven children. Their names were Leisel, Louisa, Fredrich, Kurt, Brigitta, Marta, and Gretl. Captain Von Trapp had not allowed music in his home ever since his wife died. Maria eventually brings music and love into the home, despite many obstacles that get in her way. At first, the children test her and then the captain’s fiancée tries to get in the way. Eventually the children fall in love with Maria and she in turn brings joy, music, and love back into their lives. They also include a romance between the captain and Maria. They try to pretend they do not like each other but they end up falling in love…
While all this is happening, World War II is also going on. The Captain and Maria end up having to choose which side of the war they support. They do end up deciding to leave their homeland to escape the Nazis. The nuns from the beginning of the film end up helping the family escape to freedom. This is my favorite part of the movie, when the nuns mess with the Nazi’s cars so they cannot follow the family and capture them.
The director, Richard Rodgers, likes to use many outdoor scenes. All large part of the film takes place in the mountain, the tree lined streets, backyard by the lake, the gazebo, even the stage they sing on. There was a scene where the captain and Maria were outside in the yard at night. Even though it was dark outside, he had light shining on just their eyes, to show their love for each other.
The music, written by Oscar Hammerstein, was definitely the best part of the film. The music alone would make a person happy, sad, or both. Many people remember the songs more than the movie itself.
Like I said in the beginning, this was my dad’s favorite film and I believe it was mine also when I was young. My parents took my brother and I to see the Broadway musical at the Fox Theatre. I was too young to remember the whole night but my mom and dad said they enjoyed it as much, or even more than I did.
(Lindsey Puff)
ReplyDeleteThe Sound of Music Film Review-I have to begin by saying that this musical was one of my dad’s favorite films when he was growing up. I have always enjoyed watching musicals, especially this one because we always watched it as a family.The film is based on the story of a young woman, Maria, who is studying to become a nun. The sister is in charge of the convent, Mother Superior questions Maria’s devotion to God, and the church. Mother Superior arranges for Maria to leave the convent and become governess to a widowed, naval captain, Baron Von Trapp and his seven children. Their names were Leisel, Louisa, Fredrich, Kurt, Brigitta, Marta, and Gretl. Captain Von Trapp had not allowed music in his home ever since his wife died. Maria eventually brings music and love into the home, despite many obstacles that get in her way. At first, the children test her and then the captain’s fiancée tries to get in the way. Eventually the children fall in love with Maria and she in turn brings joy, music, and love back into their lives. They also include a romance between the captain and Maria. They try to pretend they do not like each other but they end up falling in love…While all this is happening, World War II is also going on. The Captain and Maria end up having to choose which side of the war they support. They do end up deciding to leave their homeland to escape the Nazis. The nuns from the beginning of the film end up helping the family escape to freedom. This is my favorite part of the movie, when the nuns mess with the Nazi’s cars so they cannot follow the family and capture them.The director, Richard Rodgers, likes to use many outdoor scenes. All large part of the film takes place in the mountain, the tree lined streets, backyard by the lake, the gazebo, even the stage they sing on. There was a scene where the captain and Maria were outside in the yard at night. Even though it was dark outside, he had light shining on just their eyes, to show their love for each other.The music, written by Oscar Hammerstein, was definitely the best part of the film. The music alone would make a person happy, sad, or both. Many people remember the songs more than the movie itself. Like I said in the beginning, this was my dad’s favorite film and I believe it was mine also when I was young. My parents took my brother and I to see the Broadway musical at the Fox Theatre. I was too young to remember the whole night but my mom and dad said they enjoyed it as much, or even more than I did.
Cyrus is a quirky comedy directed by Jay Duplass. Shot in a mumblecore style of film, Cyrus tells the story of a lonely man who meets the woman of his dreams at a party and soon after finds out she has a 21 year old son who still lives with her. This causes an awkward battle between the son and the new man, which will leave you feeling uncomfortable. All in all, Cyrus is an extremely gratifying and funny film.
ReplyDeleteJohn (John C. Reilly) was “recently” divorced, seven years ago, and is still not over his ex-wife, Jamie (Catherin Keener). But when his ex-wife reveals to him that she is getting married, he sets out on a quest to find himself a new girl. While at a party, John has a bit too much too drink, and begins to urinate in bushes a this house. He is caught by a girl named Molly (Marissa Tomei), and in a drunken frenzy, John sprints inside to sing and dance to a song he likes. Molly joins him in song and dance and they hit it off perfectly. After the party, they go back to John’s house and sleep together. John wakes up to a note telling him to call her. Not long after, John goes to her house only to discover that she has a 21-year-old son, Cyrus. Cyrus invites John in and seems to be rather friendly and interested in getting to know John. Cyrus explains how he is an aspiring musician and then performs some of his work for John. While Cyrus is performing, Molly comes home and unaware of John begins to dance to Cyrus’s music. She turns around and is startled to discover that John is there watching. As John and Molly become closer and feel more and more affection for each other, Cyrus attempts to do everything in his power to destroy their relationship. But when Cyrus succeeds, Molly and John are destroyed and are both lonely. Cyrus realizes his mother is unhappy and goes to John’s house in order to entice him to come back. When John does, not knowing that Molly is home, he runs into her, and the movie ends with John walking inside Molly’s house.
When John first meets Cyrus, they sit down on the couch while Cyrus brings John a glass of water. They start to get to know each other and Cyrus reveals that he is a musician. When Cyrus starts performing, the Duplass brothers really take advantage of the mumblecore movement. Cyrus has a blank stare on his face that really makes the viewer feel uncomfortable. The mumblecore comes in and the camera zooms in on Cyrus’s face and shows his blank expression. When John tells Cyrus that his music sounds like Steve Miller, Cyrus flatly responds, “No it doesn’t.” The camera zooms in of Cyrus as a pulsing techno beat plays in the background and Cyrus begins to dance to the beat up and down. The directors use these techniques in order to make Cyrus stand out as a unique character, as usually films do not shoot with this style. When Molly arrives the camera gets right in her face while she dances towards it. Through the whole movie the camera is shaky and has a lot of zooming. This is definitely a different style of film that I think can be more entertaining if it is done right.
All in all, Cyrus is a absolutely hilarious film, even though it lightly makes fun of some touchy subjects such as incest. The relationship between Cyrus and Molly is almost incest-like, where Cyrus believes that nobody can love Molly like he does. Cyrus even calls his mom Molly that adds to his creepy character. Jonah Hill adds a phenomenal performance to this artsy film and makes it all the more better. It keeps your attention through the entire film and the directors did a fabulous job of bringing together the mumblecore movement.
In the movie Fargo, I would say that there is three different stories going on at one time during the film. All of these films are pertaining to the main plot of the story however. All are happening separately and eventually they all come together at the end.
ReplyDeleteThe movie starts off as Jerry meets up with Carl and Gaear. Jerry is in debt and needs money bad so he plans to hire these two criminals, Carl and Gaear, to kidnap his wife so that he can get money from his wife’s wealthy father Wade.
After Gaear and Carl kidnap Jean, everything was going fine, until they get pulled over by the cops for not having there tags up. Carl is a horrible liar and so they end up killing the cops and some suspects. From here is where everything starts to go downhill. The operation becomes a killing spree as they kill one person after another, killing whoever gets in their way.
In the meanwhile Jean, the pregnant chief of police is given the job of investigating the homicides. So now Jerry has to figure a way to still keep this a legit looking secret so he doesn’t get involved with the cops and needs to get the money from Wade because he is badly in debt. This goes wrong because when Carl went to meet up with Jerry for the exchange Wade goes to meet Carl. Carl has no idea this was supposed to happen and Wade pulls out a pistol and shoots Carl in the mouth so Carl draws his weapon and kills Wade.
Carl heads back to the house where he gets into an argument with his partner Gaear. Gaear runs outside and kills Carl with an ax. While this is all going on, Jean was cracking down on the case. She had already gotten to Jerry, who had fled, and then she came by the car of Carl and Gaear parked at the house. She carefully goes up to the house and searches around finding Gaear shredding the bodies in a wood chipper. Gaear runs and Jeans shoots him in the leg. Soon after this they find Jerry and arrest him.
I was shocked to actually believe that this was all based on a true story and someone could actually go as far as too put their own wife at risk and have her kidnapped to get money in return. I like the film very much and it defiantly had an impact on me. It was one of the more disturbing films I’ve seen but I enjoyed all the twist and different story lines going on throughout the film and how they all came back together so well at the end. It kept me in suspense and got my adrenaline pumping to guess what was going to happen and I couldn’t help but wonder if they were going to get caught.
In 1994 a great movie came out. This movie included drugs, guns, and gangsters. Quentin Tarantino directed this movie known as Pulp Fiction.
ReplyDeletePulp fiction starts off as a very interesting scene with a couple in a restaurant. This couple, though, are planning on robbing the restaurant as they eat. They scene cuts and we then meet our two gangsters. Throughout the film we follow these two gangsters in many events. The first seen we see these two gangsters in, they are walking in a hotel and going to some apartment carrying guns, they walk in the room and start talking to the three guys living there about some briefcase. One of the gangsters starts to threaten one of the guys. During this time the director is switching back and forth using low and high angles to show who the weaker and stronger man in the situation is. They shoot the man and leave.
There are many different thrilling events throughout the film. At one time the gangster’s boss wants him to take his wife out and do whatever she desires. His boss is a very powerful man and apparently killed a man for massaging his wife’s feet. The gangster, Vincent, and his boss’s wife, Yolanda, go out to eat at a restaurant. They both are consuming drugs for a fun night. But Yolanda finds Vincent’s cocaine and snorts it. She begins to overdose and Vincent takes her to his drug dealers house where he injects her with adrenaline and saves her life.
Another man appeared in this film and I really didn’t know where he came from or what happens to him. This man, Butch, is apparently trying to leave town. His girl, Fabienne, is waiting for him and has all his stuff packed except his watch which was very valuable to him, he runs back to find a gangster looking for him and he runs into the gangsters boss and the both end up running into a man’s store where he knocks them out and ties them up. He brings his buddy over and they take the boss into the room and begin to rape him while Butch escapes and come back to save the Marcellus, the boss. He gets away and leaves and we never see him again. At the end of the film we go back to the restaurant robbery where are gangsters are now brought into notice in the restaurant. When the man robbing the place tries to take the wallet Jules, the other boss, takes him in hostage and under control. After Jules near death experience he decides he no longer wants to be a gangster. He lets the robbing couple leave and right after the gangsters leave the restaurant.
Pulp fiction is a great movie. It is a Drama/action movie. There is a lot of adult material but in all the movie is very thrilling and there is very many events that happen throughout the film. The gangsters are also bada**. While the movie is very dramatic and action filled, it has comedy added along with it to lighten up the tenseness at points. I would suggest checking this movie out.
The film adaptation starts out with a man named Charlie Kaufman, played by Nicholas Cage. Charlie is a screenwriter in Hollywood and has just finished writing the script for the film “Being John Malkovich.” He is handed the assignment of adapting the book “The Orchard Thief” written by Susan Orlean, played by Meryl Streep, into a movie. The book was all about this man named John Laroche, played by Chris Cooper, an exotic plant collector and his journey to find the mysterious ghost orchid. Charlie is consumed with doing justice with this script and keeping the messages the author wants to convey. Charlie lives with his twin brother Donald Kaufman, also played by Nicholas Cage, who has no really job and is looking for his calling in life. Donald decides to try out screenwriting like his brother. While Charlie struggles with his new assignment, his brother starts his own script and finishes it with ease. As Charlie struggles to find a way to finish his script he and his brother go to meet the author and from there trouble blooms as they find out her secret life.
ReplyDeleteThe director, Spike Jonze, uses many editorial and filming techniques to display a sort of unspoken message in the film adaptation. In the scene when Charlie attends the screenwriting seminar in New York given by Robert Mckee, played by Brian Cox, Jonze uses a set of directorial techniques to show how Mckee’s influence has an effect on Charlie and then the entire audience. Jonze first shows a long shot of the entire audience and there is a spotlight placed on Charlie to let the viewer know to focus there. At first there is a deep focus to allow the viewer to see all the faces, but when Charlie raises his hand to ask a question and the shot cuts to a mid shot of just Charlie, the focus is changed to a shallow focus just to allow us to see Charlie. The shot is cut to a full shot of Mckee and has a low angle perspective to show how in this situation Mckee has the power. Mckee rants on about Charlie’s question and then the shot is cut back to a full of Charlie again with deep focus to show the reaction of not only Charlie, but all of the audience to McKee’s response.
I personally like the movie. “Adaptation” gave a new way to look at movies because it made you think about what was going on and how it was affecting the story. It made it more intellectual and compelling to get into the story so you could keep the events in order. I think Nicholas cage did a very good job in displaying to very different roles in the film, one a cynical screenwriter who talks to himself and doesn’t know what he’s doing and the other laid back and enjoying his life.
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ReplyDeleteLet the Right One In
ReplyDeleteLet the Right One In is a dark and grim Swedish vampire film. It tells the twisted tale of a young boy who is bullied in school, but then a new girl his age moves in the apartment next door. He soon befriends he but little does he know she is actually a vampire. Her guardian goes out and kills people and brings her their blood so that she does not have to risk her life. Let the Right One In is a satisfying yet creepy thriller that leaves you wanting more.
Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) is a twelve year old boy who is picked on by a few of his classmates. His parents are divorced, and he is seemingly depressed. He will go outside in the snow and pretend the tree is a person and then stab it with a knife. But late one night while outside at the tree, a little girl his age appears on the jungle gym. They begin to talk and she tells him they cannot be friends. Each night after that, Oskar and Eli (Lina Leandersson) meet at the jungle gym and begin to get closer and closer. Soon they become friends and she tells him to fight back against the bullies. But Eli's guardian isn't happy with the boy. While he prepares to go out and retrieve blood for Eli, he tells her not to see Oskar that night. While attempting to kill a teenager, the guardian is discovered and forced to pour acid on his face to protect eli. From then on, Eli is alone and spends more time with Oskar, eventually, she begins to protect him from the bullies but gets sloppy, and it ends up in a bloodbath at the school. As their relationship advances, soon it is brought down when Oskar is forced to leave after the massacre at school.
This film and the director, Tomas Alfredson, use the light and the dark very well in this film. When Eli is forced to go out and look for blood on her own, the show her hidden in the dark under a bridge. Reverse shots allow the viewer to see her prey separating from his friends and approaching the bridge slowly. While he begins to walk under the bridge you can see Eli's silhouette sitting against the wall of the bridge. In the background up on a balcony a neighbor watches closely. When the man walks into the darkness he hears Eli call for help. The man approaches her and asks if she is alright. When he picks Eli up, she wraps her legs around him and begins to suck his blood while he screams for help. This film uses sound effects very well for the sound of her sucking their blood. By the time Eli had finished her victim, they had stumbled out from underneath of the bridge and the man on the balcony had witnessed the crime. It switches from a full shot to a close up on Eli as she looks back on what she just did.
Let the Right One In is a remarkable film if you can get past the foreign language, which I had no problem. It has a great story and provides wonderful performances from both Kare Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson, both young actors. It is deep into the grim setting of a vampires nature and takes a different turn than the normal vampire movies, which I believe is what makes it stand out. Tomas Alfredson makes good use of light and dark and special effects in this film that bring it all the more to life.
The film “Thumbsucker” by Mike Mills is about a teenage boy named Justin. Justin has a problem with an oral fixation on sucking his thumb. Justin’s mother also has a problem, she has a crush on an actor and only Justin see’s it. Justin’s father tries to help Justin with his problem but can only give him advice that doesn’t work. At school Justin is enrolled in a debate class in which he can’t stay focused because of a girl and his thumb. His problem with his thumb causes his grades to slip and his social life to fall. Justin’s orthodontist is a man of natural healing and alternative medicines and convinces Justin to let him try hypnosis to help him with his thumb. The hypnosis works buts leaves Justin lost. His parents finally take him to see a doctor after a suggestion from a teacher and he is diagnosed with ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder, and is prescribed medicine to level him out. At first the meds start to help him, he does better in class and he becomes the leader in the debate team. But, after an opponent tells him his meds are like speed he decides to reject them and goes back to his normal thumb sucking self. His mother gets a new job in the meantime as a nurse at a celebrity addition clinic and makes friends with the actor Justin suspects her of having an affair with. Confused he gets into other drugs like marijuana and goes back to a state where he doesn’t have to suck his thumb but ends when he finds out the girl he loved was using him to experiment.
ReplyDeleteIn “Thumbsucker” there is a montage when Justin is reading Moby Dick. The montage is a scene in the film when many cuts happen to show the passage of time and/or the accomplishment of something. The montage is composed of a flash of a picture from the novel followed by a passage that is scrolled over and a shallow focus cut of Justin reading the book. The montage was put here to show the use of the meds Justin is on and their effects. The shallow focus is symbolic to Justin’s focus on the book and only the book.
I recommend “Thumbsucker” because it was a film with an original story line of a kid who has a problem and tries to find ways to overcome it. The story is also recognizable with students in high school today. Many students will have a similar story maybe with love, drugs, or family.
The Graduate is about Ben Braddock which is a 21 year old who has graduated from college and doesn’t have any idea what he would like to do with his life. Ben ends up getting into an affair with Mrs. Robinson which is the wife of Ben’s father’s business partner. Even though Ben is attempting to have an affair with Mrs. Robinson he ends up falling for Mrs. Robinson’s daughter, Elaine. Elaine eventually finds out about the affair and doesn’t want to speak to Ben but he still attempts to try and talk to her and get her back. Ben feels like he is away from everybody else and he doesn’t know what to do with his affair problem or his problem of not knowing what to do with his life. Mrs. Robinson and Ben do a lot of talking and he ends up finding out what he wants to do with his life. While watching the movie my favorite scene was when Ben is in his scuba suit underneath the water and the only sound you can hear is him breathing into the air tank. Him breathing into the air tank is a metaphor for how he really feels with his life, which is that he doesn't know what to do with his life. I chose to watch this movie because a friend told me it was a good movie and I ended up loving it! I never really heard of the director, Mike Nichols until this film but by watching the film it makes me want to see what other kinds of films he has out.
ReplyDeleteThe movie bottle rocket was a film directed by Wes Anderson in 1996. The movie is about three guys who are trying to pull off a robbery. But these aren’t your average robbers. These three guys, Anthony, Dignan, and Grace, you would never think of becoming robbers considering they have jobs and a normal life.
ReplyDeleteDignan came to see his friend Anthony after getting fired from his job. He doesn’t tell Anthony anything about that though. Dignan comes up with the idea to go become robbers and run away. This brings along Bob. Bob has a car so Dignan goes and recruits him.
So off they go after they have their crew. Dignan is the main leader of the crew but is easily upset and Bob is just the shy guy with the car. Anthony is more of the normal guy who tries to keep things under control.
Dignan came up with some very thought out robberies. But you wouldn’t see these guys robbing any banks. They went for book stores and fireworks stands. After these two “big” robberies the guys were laying low out somewhere at a hotel. While at the hotel Anthony sees the maid going throughout her shift. He waves at her but she doesn’t give much care. One day he starts to follow her. He helps Inez with her room service and becomes very close to Inez and they fall in love.
On the downside Bob has a relative in jail because of the marijuana he had growing in his backyard so he left without telling Dignan but Anthony understands and lets him go. Anthony and Dignan stay at the hotel a little longer but then leave each other and the hotel.
Later they rejoin as friends and go on a robbery for the last time. As the robbery goes on everything starts to fail and one man ends up shot and the police come. Anthony and Bob get away but Dignan goes after his downed friend and gets caught by the police and ends up in jail.
The movie bottle rocket is a hilarious film. This movie made me laugh but also made feel somewhat sorry for the guys and it seemed like they were somewhat pathetic in their ways. Besides that the director does a great job of showing how idiotic and inexperienced they are at their goal of being the best robbers.
The film “Bottle Rocket” by Wes Anderson starts out with the main character Anthony, played by Luke Wilson, being released from a mental hospital. Anthony had checked himself into the hospital due to exhaustion. Afterwards he quickly meets up with his old friend Dignan, played by Owen Wilson, who has set out a plan for the both of them to go on a crime spree and hide out. They are to supposedly join up with Dignan’s former employer, Mr. Henry, and become part of his gang. Once they get back to their home town they meet up with their partner Bob and pull a heist and leave town. As they leave town they hide away in a motel in the middle of nowhere, where Anthony meets a maid named Inez. Anthony an Inez hit it off and begins to fall in love. Meanwhile Dignan’s plans fall threw when bob’s brother is arrested for growing marijuana. To keep on track with their plan they must leave and keep on the road. After making so far down the road Dignan and Anthony get into an argument and split ways. Anthony goes back home and continues to live his life in a good way with three jobs and even hobbies. Anthony seems to be happy at home until Dignan comes back to town and talks him into another job with Mr. Henry where things go not so according to plan.
ReplyDeleteIn “Bottle Rocket” there is a montage of Anthony, Dignan, and Bob doing some target practice and making a gun purchase. The montage is a sequence of each person shooting three rounds and then switching the person in the frame but keeping the same place as before. It then cuts to a scene of all of the men shooing at the same time. After the quick cut of all the men it cuts to a close up of a hand fire a different gun in four consecutive cuts. The montage was meant to show a connection between the three men and show them as a team working together. It was also to show the passage of time and show how they acquired a gun.
“Bottle Rocket” as a great movie with some intense scenes and also comical ones. The essence of Dignan’s persistence got the entire crew moving even though the plan didn’t work out in the end. Owen Wilson did a great job performing his character and keeping up with his attitude and style. I’d recommend this film because it is a comedy that isn’t full of fluff.
Paul Thomas Anderson directed this more recent film, Punch Drunk Love, starring Adam Sandler released in 2002. In this film Berry Egan is a very emotional and strange man. He seems to be having some mental issues which no one around him can understand. Berry works in his own company, couldn’t tell if it was automotive or plunger. He seems very lonely because you never see anyone around him and it’s always dark. At work there was a car crash and then some van dropped off a instrument in the middle of the road. Eventually Berry brings this back into his work.
ReplyDeleteBerry has 7 sisters all of which any the crap out of him and want him to go to their parties and call all day to make sure he does. At the party, Berry goes crazy and breaks the glass doors in front of everybody. He talks with one of his sisters husbands who is a dentist about getting help and tells him about how he’s depressed and cries randomly but his secret gets let out to people but it doesn’t seem to me that no one takes much care.
As Berry was cutting out his coupons one day he stumbled across a sex talk hotline. He gives it a shot and releases all his information to this girl. She calls the next morning and asks to borrow money which he denies and she tells him she has Berry’s credit card and information so Berry cancels his card. The girl then becomes angrier and has her friends get him and give her $500.
In the middle of everything, Berry meets his sister’s friend Lena. She purposely has been trying to talk to Berry with the abandoned instrument and leaving her car in his possession to fix. First he reluctant but Lena puts a move on him and takes him to dinner. As Berry and Lena start to fall in love Berry starts to overcome his depression and weakness. He gains up enough strength to call the hotline girl again and tell him to give his money back or the cops will be informed.
The hotline girl sends her friends again to take care of him and they ram his car when he gets home. This time however Berry takes on the guys and sticks up for himself and Lena. While Lena is in the hospital he confronts the manager of the whole operation and takes control of his life. Berry then meets up with Lena and they live happily ever after.
Some directorial techniques I noticed are the use of focus to show Berry’s misjudgment of things and his confusing from being depressed. He also uses camera moving and spinning to show his confusion.
What I also thought about when I noticed it so much was the blue suit that Berry wore every day. I think it stands for him being blue or depressed. He also used the blue in the background sometimes along with the blue jacket.
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ReplyDeleteA 1988 film, Eight Men Out was written and directed by John Sayles. The movie was based on the book which was written by Eliot Asinof. Eight Men Out is a movie where a major league team named Chicago White Sox works their way up to the World Series also the down fall of throwing the World Series. Some of the main characters were Buck Weaver, 3rd basemen, played by John Cusack, who was the only man out of the plan to throw the series in the get go. Claude “Lefty” Williams, back-up pitcher, played by James Read, one of the eight that wanted to throw the series. “Shoeless” Joe Jefferson Jackson, outfielder, the greatest hitter/thrower on the team, played by D.B. Sweeney. Chick Gandil was the mastermind behind throwing the series for big cash, played by Michael Booker.
ReplyDeleteJohn Sayles directed the film and used many great techniques. He uses close ups to show us the conflict between characters and their conflicts, dealing with the fix of the World Series.
The main conflict of the film is about the White Socks throwing the series and receiving money every time they lost a game. The conflict was resolved by the Socks losing on accident and banned from playing in the World Series again. My favorite part of the film was when Hap, played by Charlie Sheen, caught the ball and ran face first into the wall...such a great play, funny and awesome. At the court trial it was funny because there was a lot of laughs and a little comedy in it. I would recommend this film because it gives an insight of baseball players and their life struggles over greed and common sense.
Rebecca (1940)
ReplyDeleteDirected by: Alfred Hitchcock
In Hitchcock’s Rebecca, a shy, young lady staying at the Monte Carlo meets a wealthy man, Maxim de Winter. Max and her spend almost everyday together and fall in love. They soon marry and she moves back with him to his large country estate, Manderlay. While living at Manderlay, all of the servants, especially Mrs. Danvers –the head maid-, continuously compare the new Mrs. de Winter to Rebecca, Maxim’s first wife who died just the year before. As time goes on, the new Mrs. de Winter becomes more and more troubled over trying to overcome the memory of Rebecca. Through out the movie, Maxim seems preoccupied with the memory of Rebecca; he even seems to be obsessed with her, but in the way that his new wife believes. It is also learned that Mrs. Danvers is the only person who remembers Rebecca fondly and knew almost everything about Rebecca. Although, when the new Mrs. de Winter learns certain knowledge about her husband and Rebecca’s death, she begins to take control of Manderlay. With each twist and turn, true love still finds a way to triumph over the fiends that haunt all those who loved or who hated Rebecca.
Hitchcock did a wonderful job directing Rebecca. There were not many profile shots like in other Hitchcock movies. One technique that Hitchcock uses in the movie is high contrast. He uses high contrast when Mrs. Danvers enters Rebecca’s room to talk to the new Mrs. de Winter. It is perhaps to show that Mrs. Danvers, like Rebecca, is dark and mysterious. Hitchcock uses high contrast on Maxim de Winter when he is talking to his wife. One side of Maxim’s face is lit while the other side is hidden in the dark. Hitchcock possibly uses this to show that Maxim is hiding something from not only his new bride, but also from the viewer.
Rebecca is a great movie to watch anytime. It is a wonderful thriller full of suspense, twists, turns, mystery, and romance. Although characters said that Mrs. Danvers “adored Rebecca”, I believe that Mrs. Danvers was rather obsessed with Rebecca. It is one thing for a person to wish another person ill, but it takes a truly obsessed, mad person to burn a mansion down so that the other person and her spouse do not have a happy marriage. I personally liked the opening scene with Mrs. de Winter narrating about how she visits Manderlay in her dreams. It more or less prepares you for the ending, but makes you wonder why it was burned down. The scene also builds the suspense and makes the viewer hope that that scene is only a dream and not actually how that movie will end. Overall, Rebecca is a great movie for Hitchcock fans or for just movie fans in general.
Life Aquatic
ReplyDeleteLife Aquatic was a very strange movie but in a good way. This movie is lined with great actors and actresses like Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Anjelica Huston. Bill Murray plays the leaders of the group. He is the captain of the ship and he is an actual actor in this movie. Owen Wilson (Ned Plimpton) is a pilot who is the son of Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) and helps out to find the Jaguar shark that killed Steve Zissou best friend while making a documentary on the ocean. As Steve heads on his second voyage in search of the Jaguar shark he is hit with a reporter who is going to write a story about him in her newspaper but has big trouble written all over her. This is where we meet Jane Winslett-Richardson (Cate Blanchett) who is five months pregnant and is without a dad for it. As they go on and do their thing they are hit with a huge obstacle because they went into unprotected water. All the funding for the ship fuel and the making of the movie are stolen by pirates. In return they go find these pirates and kill some of them off but also blow up all their ships. Then tragic strikes again Ned dies from a plane crash in search of the Jaguar Shark. After everything they finally find the mystical creature. He is glorious in every way and for that they decide not to kill it.
Wes Anderson has a weird way of doing some shots. Every time he introduced a new creature he would show them through a window of glass screen and on the other side it would be just a corny and kind of Busch league image, but that is part of what made the movie so funny. It also helped that Bill Murray was in it. He has this way of always being sarcastic and always keeping a straight face and it just shocks the audience when we see him being a hero and saving lives and doing all this courageous stuff like fighting pirates.
I liked this movie a lot. It was really funny at moments. It did suck that the end got really sad and everything but that just made this movie have more characteristics to it. The story plot was descent. Not realistic but I just is another reason why this is a funny movie.
ONCE
ReplyDeleteThe movie once is no ordinary fairy tale love story. Director John Carney used his brilliants and created a romance/modern musical genre. A man who makes a living by fixing vacuums by day and playing his guitar by night hopes to one day be a famous singer and song writer in London and get his wife back who left him by doing that. One day he stumbles on this lad who sees his talent and becomes interested because she is also a musician. She plays the piano and wanted to show him her talent by taking him to a music store where she played piano because she could afford one. As he was dazzled by her skills he decided to teach her a song that he wrote and they made perfect harmony singing “falling slowly”. The man wrote most of his songs about his ex- wife but while spending more and more time with her, he falls in love with her and she fell in love with him. Instead of telling the other that they love each other, they did it the only way they know. Which was in song and this made the atmosphere of the movie go from depressed to romantic. Then the twist happened, after leading him on this whole time she finally told him that she was married and could not get together. Being a gentleman about it, he knew what was best for him and continued his career of trying to make it big. As they used the songs they sang to one another to show the scouter what he has got, they finally record the songs and there time become shorter. As he leaves for London he goes to see her one last time to find out she is not home so he leaves without saying goodbye but he does give her a little surprise. He buys her a piano. If you’re thinking that the perfect fairy tale is ruined, you’re wrong. Even though they didn’t get together and live happily ever after. They became better people in the end and they are both happy.
John Carney really didn’t have much acting talent to use in his movie but he did have two great singers that can light up a stage and in once he takes full advantage of that. Usually when they sing he uses a close-up to show all the emotion that goes into every note. For dialogue he makes the guy actor say the fuck a lot to show the audience how really depressed he is. Then when he falls in love with the actress he is limited to cussing and all the bad mouth. Of course all the cussing is in a Irish accent makes it that much better to listen to.
12 Angry Men
ReplyDeleteThis movie is also made by, Director Sidney Lumet. 12 Angry men was made in 1957. At the time it had so many famous actors but no actresses. The jury consist of Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Lee Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Edward Binns, Jack Warden, Henry Fonda, Joseph Sweeney, Ed Bigley, George Voskovic, and Robert Webber. All of those guys are trying to discuss whether a 18 year old kid should be guilty of killing his father and executed. The jury needed 12 out of 12 votes for the kid to be executed and the jury took their first vote which was 11 in favor of execution and 1 in favor of letting him go. That one man was a very wise man who made a big impact in the thoughts of the case to the other jury members. He proves that the man who saw the kid running down the stairs after the killing was obviously lying because he had no time to run down the hall and catch a glance at the kid. Another thing he proves was the person who heard the “I am going to kill you” threat that the boy made to his father could not have happened because of a train that would have been in the way of the sound. Another thing that the kid that nobody believed was the boy who is being accused didn’t remember the movies he saw that night when the killing took place. He called out one of the jury members and asked he about his week which consisted of going to the movies but he could not remember the names of the movie or the actors just like a accuser couldn’t. as they constantly argued throughout the whole movie in a extremely hot room they were making some progress and in a very entertaining way might I add.
For the most part Sidney used medium shots and full shots. He would use a medium shot when he wanted one man opinion made and full shots when he wanted us to see the others reactions to the comment. Also he had a lot of high angel shots when the men were standing to make it look like they had the control over the others. I scene that stuck in my head is a scene with just Henry Fonda and the knife that he bought that looked just like the one the kid supposedly used to kill his father. It was a full shot that showed the other jury members reactions when he stabbed the knife in the table. Needless to say the other members were shocked to see the exact same knife.
Almost Famous
ReplyDeleteAlmost Famous is a music drama about a young boy who starts from writing in a small underground newspaper and makes his way to Rolling Stone at only fifteen. Of course the editors of Rolling Stone are unknowingly paying this fifteen year old. This film is a semi-autobiographical view at it's own director, Cameron Crowe.
William Miller (Patrick Fugit) is an eleven year old boy who's mother blocks everything from him. When she reveals to him that he has skipped several grades, he begins to grow up mentally much faster than usual. At the age of fifteen he meets a famous editor from Creem magazine and allows him to begins writing for him. After his hard work pays off, Rolling Stone calls him and assigns him to write a story on the band Stillwater and to follow them on tour across the country. Stillwater is a midlevel band who cannot even control their own band. After a short hiatus, Stillwater continues their tour. The film follows William while on his journey with the band and the writing he does for Rolling Stone. It is a coming of age film while the tough realities of life are thrown at William.
When the band is in Cleveland and they first meet Dennis Hope, the director uses many group shots and close ups to show the expressions on the characters faces. When Dennis Hope is trying to convince the band to hire him, the camera pans around the room following the members of the bands. Cameron Crowe uses light to make each area actually look like it is a natural setting. Also during the concert scenes in Cleveland add to the reality of the setting of the film. The scenes in this film use music as a motif in order to express the mood of that scene and or add to what is happening at that time.
Almost Famous is an awesome, accurate, and entertaining rendition of Cameron Crowes early life when he would submit his articles about music to Rolling Stone. The film has an amazing soundtrack and the songs are realistic and all came out before this movie takes place. Patrick Fugit who plays William Miller gives us a great performance at a young age of 18. This movie brings back how the band life during the 70s actually was.
Carousel (1956)
ReplyDeleteDirected by: Harry King
If you were given the chance to go back for one day after you had passed on, what would you do? Billy Bigelow was given that chance in order for him to make amends for the mistakes he had made in his life. Billy was a carousel barker for Ms. Mullin. One evening while at work, he met Julie. Out of jealousy, Ms. Mullin fired Billy that night, and Billy and Julie eventually got married. Billy began to develop bad habits since he and Julie were both out of a job and living with Julie’s cousin, Nettie. However, after finding out that he is going to be a father, Billy tries to make things right in order to support his family. As he looks over his options, the only option he seems to think is right is the one option in which has him falling back into crimes with his old friend, Jigger.
Harry King did wonderful directing Carousel. He almost never uses close ups of any sort. King uses a certain technique with the main two couples in Carousel. When Mr. Snow and Carrie are in the frame, it is clear that they love each other, but there is some distance between them. When we see Billy and Julie, they both are afraid of being in love and are physically far apart, but Harry King makes them appear as if they are only a few inches away from each other.
Carousel is a brilliant musical. Filled with romance, music, and lots of drama, Carousel is one musical that will never get old and can be watched again and again. There many beautiful scenes, but there is one that I thought was a little awkward. In the scene with Billy’s daughter imagining about her father and what he must have been like, there is an awkward ballet between her and her imaginary father. The scene seems to be a bit romantic and most likely would not have hurt if it was edited down or taken out. Carousel is great to see if you are a musical fan, romance fan, or a drama fan.
Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, made in 1976, is a very unique film that portrays the elements of loneliness and pure insanity. The film is set in the streets of New York City in the 70’s. We first met our main character, Travis Bickle, a young Vietnam veteran (Robert de Niro), applying for the job as a taxi driver in order to fulfill his insomnia and boredom. Along the way, Travis meets a beautiful young campaign worker at the headquarters for Senator Palantine, named Betsy (Cybill Shepheard). After taking her on date to pornographic film, she asks to never see him again, which sends him raging. He then becomes obsessive and angry, and starts focusing his attention on a 14 year hooker named Iris (Jodie Foster), in his attempt to save her from her destructive life. On the side, Travis invests in numerous amounts of guns in order to assassinate the Senator. As Travis struggles with extreme loneliness and confusion of the meaning of his life, the audience struggles with the same question: is Travis a hero or a monster?
ReplyDeleteMartin Scorsese did an excellent job of using the city of New York to play a big part in the film. He almost made it seem as though the city were a character itself. It was very detailed and kept the theme of the film in tact. It finally showed that New York City isn’t all about sky scrapers and flashy lights, but showed the reality of it. Scorsese also did well at keeping the characters all have a bit of a dark side to them, to set the mood of the film. Robert de Niro couldn’t have done a better job at acting. He did a phenomenal job, and I was impressed to learn he actually got a job as a taxi driver and drove it around in order to really know the streets and get the feel of the character. If I had to choose a favorite scene, I would say it would be the restaurant scene with Iris and Travis. The scene showed a lot about the two characters and how they interact with each other.
Taxi Driver was definitely a very dark film and one you really have to pay attention to. As expected from a Martin Scorsese film, it leaves you wondering. The film defiantly leaves you with a lot of question, but doesn’t look sight in the theme or idea of the plot.
Memento, directed by Christopher Nolan in 2000, had to be one of the most confusing and frustrating films I have ever watched, yet I absolutely loved it. To start off, the film is shown completely backwards, making the first scene actually be the last, and the last scene being the first. Our main character, Leonard Shelby, known as Lenny, suffers from short term memory loss caused by an accident in an attempt to rescue his wife from being raped in their home late one night. Leonard can remember everything up until the accident, but cannot receive any new information, but it determined to find and kill his wife’s murderer. In order to keep things straight, he makes little notes, takes Polaroid’s, and even tattoos himself with information he can never forget. During the film, we are given clues little by little, as though the director wants us to figure out the film for ourselves. Leonard has little flashbacks, which are in chronological order, in order to help the audience. By the end of the film, you think you have gotten the plot when really you have no clue, and the end just blows you away.
ReplyDeleteI can honestly say I have never watched a film like this one. Nolan has definitely brought a new way of storytelling to everyone. It was very inventive, and had me looking up articles to just get a sense of what had really gone on. I loved the story itself, but also how the film was backwards. I would have to say Christopher Nolan did this in order to sort of make you feel as the main character does the whole film, lost and confused. I also liked how the film was simple, yet very effective. It was shot in a small town, with minimal outfits or looks for each character. I can honestly say I didn’t have a favorite scene because the entire movie was just that good. It’s one I’m going to have to watch again to fully understand it at all. When someone asks you to explain it, you literally have no words because it’s just very complicated, and messes with your head. So, if you’re not into being on the edge of your seat, watching every move and listening to every word that goes on in a film, I would not recommend this film for you. On the other hand, if you enjoy a good physiological thriller, I would say this is the best you can get.
Space Odyssey Review
ReplyDeleteToo start off, 2001 a Space Odyssey is a very long movie, with very little speaking. Out of 2 and half hours of film, there is only 45 minutes of spoken dialogue, so this movie definitely not for everyone.
The film starts off in ancient Africa where a group of monkeys finds a great monolith (Which according to film analysis is symbolic of a movie screen) This monolith for whatever mysterious reason leads the monkeys to learn to use crude weapons to kill their leadership, and then evolve into what we assume are modern day humans. After a long interlude the movie jumps to the year 2001 where we meet our astronauts, and where most of the movies spoken dialogue takes place. They are called onto a planet to uncover a monolith identical to the one seen at the beginning of the film, they are called together to take a group picture with the monolith when a very loud radio signal comes from it.
The film then cuts forward another 18 months, where they are on another mysterious mission, this is also where one of the films most interesting characters, the ships A.I. HAL is introduced. HAL is an Artificial Intelligence that appears to display human emotions such as jealousy, and anger. The astronauts become nervous about Hal, and decide that he must be terminated. HAL sees what they’re saying by reading their lips. Hal kills Poole while he’s out on a space walk, and then turns off the rest of the crews life support as Bowman goes out in an attempt to rescue the dying Poole. HAL attempts to lock Bowman out, but Bowman find a way in, and proceeds to dismantle the now pleading HAL. This is one of the most memorable scenes from the movie as the A.I. begins to state that he can feel his mind slipping, and that he can feel pain, even beginning to sing the song Daisy Bell all in a monotone voice, as he’s slowly taken apart. This next part is where the movie becomes really weird, and will probably turn most sober people away from the movie. Bowman gets in his ship and travels to another dimension, in a trippy lightshow that seems to go on forever. Eventually he finds himself in a bedroom. Where he’s still wearing his space outfit, and begins to see himself in different stages of age all through weird angles, then as an old man a monolith appears, and he turns into a space fetus.
All in all Space Odyssey’s a very good movie if you know what you’re getting into before you watch it, I also hear that the movies even more interesting for those who are in are under the influence.
The Player, directed by Robert Altman, was a sensational, hollywood satirical film. The main character, Griffin Miller, listens to pitches all day for movies and chooses a couple a year to actually be produced. His job requires him to be a jerk and shut people down. One day he gets a death postcard from a writer he turned down. More and More postcards kept being sent to where Miller turned into a paranoid mess. Miller asked his girlfriend, another employee of the studio, how long she thought a rejected writer would wait until he tried doing something. She said around five months, so Miller looked back around then and found a particular writer that he thought was sending the death mail. He went to find this writer, but in the process he encountered the writers girlfriend, June. In a struggle, Griffin kills the writer, but the death postcards still continue. Numerous times the blackmailer tries to kill Griffin. Griffin becomes extremely guilty and paranoid. In the process somehow, he falls in love with June. He realizes this when a rattlesnake is left in his car to kill him. Near death, all he could think about was June. Eventually he became a suspect for the writer's murder. Avoiding the cops as much as possible, Miller's career was also in jeopardy. Miller concocted a plan to ruin his co-worker and give him tons of credit. The co-worker screws up and gets fired. Miller keeps seeing June and he eventually tells her he killed her boyfriend. Neither care and determined he was worthless and had no talent. Once the cops could do nothing to him, he had no more guilt. All worked out happily ever after for Miller.
ReplyDeleteThis film is an extreme satire of Hollywood. It shows that if you're in Hollywood, you can get away with anything including murder. Also, it shows how this industry will do anything to create a good film. In there eyes, murder or adultery is not a huge sin, but creating a bad sin is the worst sin that could ever be committed. Not only do people in Hollywood get away with these things, their morals are questioned in this movie. Is it okay to kill if the person does nothing for society?
In the end the good get punished – Bonny – and the bad get the happy ending. The film is both an archetype and not an archetype. Usually in films, the audience likes to see the good people win and get the happy ending and the bad people suffer, but in this film it's quite the opposite. Then, when Griffin falls in love there is an obstacle he has to overcome before attaining her, but he eventually gets her. That's the classic boy chases girl, boy gets girl archetype.
The first shot lasted around seven minutes and did not cut once. This film was great and really made the audience consider what kind of industry they were supporting. Even though the film did not intensely stab at Hollywood, it still made the audience reconsider what is actual moral and immoral.
The Player, directed by Robert Altman, was a sensational, hollywood satirical film. The main character, Griffin Miller, listens to pitches all day for movies and chooses a couple a year to actually be produced. His job requires him to be a jerk and shut people down. One day he gets a death postcard from a writer he turned down. More and More postcards kept being sent to where Miller turned into a paranoid mess. Miller asked his girlfriend, another employee of the studio, how long she thought a rejected writer would wait until he tried doing something. She said around five months, so Miller looked back around then and found a particular writer that he thought was sending the death mail. He went to find this writer, but in the process he encountered the writers girlfriend, June. In a struggle, Griffin kills the writer, but the death postcards still continue. Numerous times the blackmailer tries to kill Griffin. Griffin becomes extremely guilty and paranoid. In the process somehow, he falls in love with June. He realizes this when a rattlesnake is left in his car to kill him. Near death, all he could think about was June. Eventually he became a suspect for the writer's murder. Avoiding the cops as much as possible, Miller's career was also in jeopardy. Miller concocted a plan to ruin his co-worker and give him tons of credit. The co-worker screws up and gets fired. Miller keeps seeing June and he eventually tells her he killed her boyfriend. Neither care and determined he was worthless and had no talent. Once the cops could do nothing to him, he had no more guilt. All worked out happily ever after for Miller.
ReplyDeleteThis film is an extreme satire of Hollywood. It shows that if you're in Hollywood, you can get away with anything including murder. Also, it shows how this industry will do anything to create a good film. In there eyes, murder or adultery is not a huge sin, but creating a bad sin is the worst sin that could ever be committed. Not only do people in Hollywood get away with these things, their morals are questioned in this movie. Is it okay to kill if the person does nothing for society?
In the end the good get punished – Bonny – and the bad get the happy ending. The film is both an archetype and not an archetype. Usually in films, the audience likes to see the good people win and get the happy ending and the bad people suffer, but in this film it's quite the opposite. Then, when Griffin falls in love there is an obstacle he has to overcome before attaining her, but he eventually gets her. That's the classic boy chases girl, boy gets girl archetype.
The first shot lasted around seven minutes and did not cut once. This film was great and really made the audience consider what kind of industry they were supporting. Even though the film did not intensely stab at Hollywood, it still made the audience reconsider what is actual moral and immoral.
The Player, directed by Robert Altman, was a sensational, hollywood satirical film. The main character, Griffin Miller, listens to pitches all day for movies and chooses a couple a year to actually be produced. His job requires him to be a jerk and shut people down. One day he gets a death postcard from a writer he turned down. More and More postcards kept being sent to where Miller turned into a paranoid mess. Miller asked his girlfriend, another employee of the studio, how long she thought a rejected writer would wait until he tried doing something. She said around five months, so Miller looked back around then and found a particular writer that he thought was sending the death mail. He went to find this writer, but in the process he encountered the writers girlfriend, June. In a struggle, Griffin kills the writer, but the death postcards still continue. Numerous times the blackmailer tries to kill Griffin. Griffin becomes extremely guilty and paranoid. In the process somehow, he falls in love with June. He realizes this when a rattlesnake is left in his car to kill him. Near death, all he could think about was June. Eventually he became a suspect for the writer's murder. Avoiding the cops as much as possible, Miller's career was also in jeopardy. Miller concocted a plan to ruin his co-worker and give him tons of credit. The co-worker screws up and gets fired. Miller keeps seeing June and he eventually tells her he killed her boyfriend. Neither care and determined he was worthless and had no talent. Once the cops could do nothing to him, he had no more guilt. All worked out happily ever after for Miller.
ReplyDeleteThis film is an extreme satire of Hollywood. It shows that if you're in Hollywood, you can get away with anything including murder. Also, it shows how this industry will do anything to create a good film. In there eyes, murder or adultery is not a huge sin, but creating a bad sin is the worst sin that could ever be committed. Not only do people in Hollywood get away with these things, their morals are questioned in this movie. Is it okay to kill if the person does nothing for society?
In the end the good get punished – Bonny – and the bad get the happy ending. The film is both an archetype and not an archetype. Usually in films, the audience likes to see the good people win and get the happy ending and the bad people suffer, but in this film it's quite the opposite. Then, when Griffin falls in love there is an obstacle he has to overcome before attaining her, but he eventually gets her. That's the classic boy chases girl, boy gets girl archetype.
ReplyDeleteThe first shot lasted around seven minutes and did not cut once. This film was great and really made the audience consider what kind of industry they were supporting. Even though the film did not intensely stab at Hollywood, it still made the audience reconsider what is actual moral and immoral.
Let the Right One In
ReplyDeleteLet me start off by saying don't let the that this movie's about vampires or that it's in Swedish turn you off. Let the Right One In is a really good movie that I almost didn't watch because I hate reading subtitles almost as much as I hate vampires, needless to say I was very pleasantly surprised when it ended up being one of the most entertaining, and one of the most disturbing films that I've ever seen. This movie has great characters that you'll grow to like, or hate if intended too by the director.
The film is about a 12 year old boy named Oskar who is tormented by bullies at his school. Oskar is often seen throughout the beginning of the film fantasizing about murdering his bullies, and practicing killing them with his pocket knife. Oskar's parents are divorced and he lives in an apartment with his mother. Oskar often plays out by the jungle gym where he meets a little girl his age named Eli, Eli tells him that they cannot be friends and he leaves. Eli lives in the room next to Oskars with a man who goes out and kills people and collects their blood so that he can feed Eli, he is seen doing this a few times throughout the movie, but he's always sloppy with his kills, forcing Eli to go out and get the blood herself. As time goes on and Oskar keeps going out to the jungle gym to see Eli they begin to become close to eachother. Oskar begins to confide in Eli sharing secrets with her and telling her about his bullies, Eli tells Oskar that he needs to fight back, which then later on leads to Oskar hitting a bully in the head with a pole and making him go deaf in one ear. This incident leads to the films big finally which I don't want to ruin for those who haven't seen it. Throughout the movie Oskar and Eli start to get close to each other intimately, which leads to some rather disturbing scenes later on in the movie. To sum up my review Let the Right One In by Tomas Alfredson is a fantastic film that should be seen by all who can stomache the gore, and rather awkward sexual situations between children.
The Virgin Suicides is about five sisters- Lux, Mary, Cecilia, Therese, and Bonnie Libson- that live in an overprotective household, that when given the opportunity to act out-they take it. Because of their bad behavior, mainly Lux for breaking curfew, the girls are taken out of school and forbidden from the outside world. There are a group of boys that become obsessed with the lives of these girls and want to know everything about them and their whereabouts. Due to some unfortunate events, the story is told from the perspective of one of the boys.
ReplyDeleteOne memorable scene that stuck with me that was psychologically disturbing was when the sister committed suicides and the group of boys discover the bodies. The director had me thinking that the boys were truly just going to help the girls run away from home, however the fact that the director choose to have the oldest sister Lux in the doorway smoking a cigarette and not being overcautious as to whether her parents will hear her or not, kind of made me suspicious of the whole plan. Through the whole scene I was wondering where all the sisters were and how come they weren't with Lux? Once interesting thing was that all the lights in the house were out, but Lux told the boys to go inside and call the girls, while she waited for them in the car. This was the part where I thought Lux was going to trick us and drive off without all of them, however the director-Sophia Coppola, had another twist. The boys nonchalantly walk inside the house and down into the basement and find a body hung from the ceiling, and in the process of running out, trip on two more bodies only to discover the body of Lux in the car. It was truly a scene well directed and one that stuck out from all the rest.
Even though I'm used to the more modern movies and a better picture quality, overall I really enjoyed the movie. I liked how it kept me guessing the whole movie through and didn't have your typical “romance” or “teen-drama” that we seen in most of today's movies. For example, when Trip came to watch television with the sisters and the parents, and Lux walked him to the door without a hug or kiss goodbye; I expected it to go into daylight and progress the movie to another day, however Sophia puts a spin on it and next thing you know, Lux is in the car with Trip and they are kissing passionately. It is scenes and moments like these that kept me engaged in the movie. I think the message of this film is more directed towards the parents than anything. The message I believe is that the more strict and closed minded the parents are, they worse the kids will turn out. The Libson's put restrictions and limits to everything their daughters did and didn't really want to hear what they had to say, so eventually the girls reached their breaking point and committed suicide.
The movie, Devil, came out in 2010 and it was directed by John Erick Dowdle. It takes place at an expensive firm-mostly in an elevator. Five strangers all happen to be on a single elevator that ends up being stuck. While the firm’s maintenance team is trying to fix the elevator, the light inside the elevator flickers and when it comes back on, one of the five people is dead. The whole movie is about the lights flickering and each time a person dies, until in the end there are two left and inevitably they start blaming each other for the killings.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of blood in this movie, however once scene that sticks out more than the rest is whenever the devil reincarnates itself into an old lady’s body and is about to take his last victim. It is different how the director used score and lighting in this movie to portray when the killer was coming. It is also interesting to see how the five people in the elevator are connected with each other, and also the police officers that were trying to help solve this situation.
I expected this movie to go one of two ways, either an extremely good, and scary, or terribly uninteresting and a fail attempt at a scary movie. Even though it wasn’t necessarily the scariest movie I have seen, it is one of the better. The plot is very twisted and the movie was shot very well. The use of lighting and music was exceptional because it made the movie that much more suspenseful and mysterious. It had me guessing of whom the killer was throughout the whole movie, and the ending was truly and unexpected surprise.
Before Sunrise is a 1994 film directed by Richard Linklater. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is on a train going to Vienna to catch a plane back to the United States. Céline is on the train returning to Paris from visiting her grandmother. The two meet on the train and strike up a conversation. When they reach Vienna and it is time for Jesse to leave, he presents the idea of her getting off with him. She eventually agrees and they get off the train. Jesse does not have enough money to rent a room for the night, so he and Céline roam around Vienna during their time there. While at a Ferris wheel, Jesse implies that Céline wants to kiss her, she so does. They continue to roam around the city, and since they know they will not meet again, are pretty open with each other and talk on a variety of subjects. As the night continues they both reveal more personal details, from the problems in their love life to how Céline had decided she wanted to get off the train with Jesse before he convinced her. As they lay in the grass, they both admit to how they feel about the night and each other. The next day at the train station, as Céline is about to board before Jesse leaves for the airport, they know they want to see each other again, so they quickly agree to meet at the same place in six months.
ReplyDeleteThe film itself does not have much action, being based around the conversation and relationship being developed between the two characters. Linklater used many establishing shots to show where Jesse and Céline were. He also used many shots such as close-ups and mid-shots, since the characters were always into a conversation.
I liked Before Sunrise. It was definitely not a typical, cliché romantic movie. The characters may have only known each other for a day, but they spend that day talking. Nothing really happens other than walking and talking, but the film is able to focus on what really builds a relationship; getting to know each other. At the end, you really hope the two do meet again and continue with this relationship. After seeing this film, I now want to go watch its sequel Before Sunset to see for myself what happens between Jesse and Céline.
A 1987 film Raising Arizona was directed by Joel Coen. H.I. McDunnough, who was played by Nicolas Cage, was a felon who always seemed to get in trouble over the same things. Everytime he got out of prison for robbing a grocery store he’d end back up in jail again and again. While getting his mug shots taken he met a police department photographer named Edwina, also known as Ed, which was played by Holly Hunter. H.I. started to fall for Ed and she started to fall for him so as soon as he got out of jail he proposed to her and they got married.
ReplyDeleteJoel Coen directed Raising Arizona and his brother Ethan Coen produced the play. Raising Arizona is a crazy love story of two opposite people coming together and gets married. It also has wild chases and unexpected plot twists with pyrotechnics. A comedy that is beyond belief.
I personally like Raising Arizona I personally liked. One of the things I liked about it was that the film had slap-stick comedy. It felt like I had a birds-eye view in the minds of each character and all the thoughts and actions they have. My favorite scene was when the bank was robbed and the robbers got into the car. And as soon as they got into the car and counted their money an ink bomb exploded and blinded them and the whole car turned blue.
Raising Arizona is a 1987 Comedy film directed by Ethan and Joel Cohen. The film follows the life of criminal Herbert I. "Hi" McDunnough (Nicholas Cage) and ex-policewoman Edwina "Ed" McDunnough (Holly Hunter). Hi meets Ed when she is taking mugshots of him at the jail, and after hearing that her fiance left her Hi decides to persue her. After his release from prison Hi marries Ed and the two decide that they desperately want to have a baby and start a family. After they discover that Hi is infertile Hi and Ed hear news of the birth of the "Arizona Quints", children of a locally famous furniture store owner Nathan Arizona (Trey Wilson). Desperate to start a family Ed and hi kidnap one of the Arizona Quints whom they think is Nathan Jr. Soon after they kidnap the baby Hi's recently escaped prison buddies Gale (John Goodman) and Evelle (William Forsythe) come to stay with them. After being visited by Hi's superviser Glen (Sam McMurray) Hi decides to steal a pack of diapers from a convenience store and rob it for all of the cash they have at gunpoint. Ed disagrees with his decision so she deserts him at the store leaving him to be chased by gunned store owners, the police, and a pack of dogs. until Ed finally gives in and picks him up. Nathan Arizona Sr. is approached by bounty hunter Leonard Smalls(Randall "Tex" Cobb) who offers to help find Nathan's son, but when nathan refuses he suspects Smalls' as the childs kidnapper, and Smalls says he will sell his son on the blackmarket. Glen tells Hi that he knows that the baby is Nathan Jr, so he decides to blackmail him. After hearing this Gale and Evelle decide to take the baby leaving Hi tied up. In the end Ed and Hi return the baby and after they tell Nathan about their situation he lets them off of the hook.
ReplyDeleteOverall I thought Raising Arizona was a good movie. I liked how they added in some action scenes with a comical aspect to fit with the film being a comedy. The scene I liked the most was the scene where Hi robs the convenience store and is being chased around town by a pack of dogs, armed store owners, and the police. I thought the ending of the film was nice but it wasn't exactly realistic, in reality if you stole a baby even if you gave it back you would not get off the hook like the characters in the movie. I would definitely recommend this movie.
The movie Undertaker was released in 1988 and directed by Franco Steffanino. It started stars like Joe Spinell, Rebeca Yaron, and Patrick Askin. It is a horror film about a man who is has a strong liking for a guy-Roscoe, who seeks out and kills young women. He then takes these various people he killed into a funeral home and acts like they are his friends. Some critics say that this movie has some striking similarities to Lustig’s movie “Maniac”.
ReplyDeleteThis would be when I tell you about my favorite scene and some directorial techniques that I liked however with this film it is a little different. It was a low-budget horrible film that had way too much nudity in it. Same shots of Joe Spinell were used throughout the movie just to try and keep him as in many shots as possible. The editing of the film was terrible and the shots that the director did seem to get made no sense. The film didn’t really have a developing plot and was completely uninteresting to me. If I had to recommend one film NOT to watch, it would have to be The Undertaker. It was a waste of my time and believes that the critics should have been a lot harsher on the reviews then they were. No wonder it is called “the lost and forgotten” film.
Christy Mizerny
ReplyDeleteSilence of the Lambs film review
The Silence of the Lambs, directed by Johnathan Demme, is an intellectual thriller about a young FBI trainee named Clarice Starling (Jody Foster) trying to catch a serial killer. Buffalo Bill, played by Ted Levine, is a mentally unstable transvestite who is so uncomfortable in his own skin that he decides to kidnap large women, starve them, and skin them to create a full-woman body suit that he can slip into it order to feel better about his sexuality. To catch this crazy killer, Clarice talks with one of the worlds most famous murderers who is held in a maximum security prison for the protection of the people. This man was convicted of killing countless people and eating them. He is a cannibal. His name is Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). Dr Lecter is a witty older man who takes an interest in Clarice that most would consider frightening. Although he is an intimidating criminal, he is a big help in the catching of Buffalo Bill and Clarice probably would not have been able to make the arrest if it weren't for Lecter.
The reason why I enjoyed this film so much is because of the interesting storyline. It was suspenseful and frightening but it was also somewhat humorous and alluring. Dr. Hannibal Lecter may be one of the greatest characters I have ever witnessed on film. Although his role was a villain, he was so helpful to Clarice that you almost liked him. He was creepy but also caring. You felt like you could trust him but then remembered the terrible things he was capable of. Buffalo Bill was an interesting character because although he was a ruthless killer, you almost felt bad for him because he was so alone and so unhappy with his sexuality and body. In fact, his only friend was his dog precious. Clarice was an awesome heroine in the film because she was just so fearless and determined to do what needs to be done and prove to the FBI that she has what it takes to be a great asset to the bureau.
Some directional techniques that Demme employed in the film were high and low angle shots, close ups, and music. The low angle shots used on Buffalo Bill when he is in his basement show how much power he has down there because he is in complete control of his victims who he keeps underground in a hole. When the shot is on the victim in the bottom of the hole, a high angle shot is used to symbolize how helpless and desperate she is to escape. There is nothing she can do and nowhere she can escape to and the shots make this even more obvious. Demme used close ups on Lecter with him usually in the center of the shot to display the intimidation that he gives off and the intellectual dominance that he has over whoever he is conversing with. For example, when Lecter is talking with Clarice, she is shown as more of a full to mid shot and off center because she is not at the level that he is. The music in Silence of the Lambs is a great cue to when something important is about to happen, like when Lecter is being held in the cage and manages to swipe a pen that he can break out of his handcuffs with. The pen in his hand is shown with a close up along with suspenseful music right before he makes his great escape. The coolest scene in the movie for me was by far when Clarice enters Buffalo Bill's house, finds his lair in the basement, and has to try to find Buffalo Bill in the pitch black in a place that she is unfamiliar with and without knowing that he has on night vision goggles. It is such a cool scene because all you hear is Clarice's breathing and all you see is what Bill sees through his night vision goggles.
All in all this was a completely awesome film, I have never watched a movie where I was literally rooting for the “bad gay” (Lecter) to escape and be free to do whatever he wants, even though he eats people! He is just so well developed and so believable and interesting that you cant help but love him and want him to be happy.
Christy Mizerny
ReplyDeleteSilence of the Lambs film review
The Silence of the Lambs, directed by Johnathan Demme, is an intellectual thriller about a young FBI trainee named Clarice Starling (Jody Foster) trying to catch a serial killer. Buffalo Bill, played by Ted Levine, is a mentally unstable transvestite who is so uncomfortable in his own skin that he decides to kidnap large women, starve them, and skin them to create a full-woman body suit that he can slip into it order to feel better about his sexuality. To catch this crazy killer, Clarice talks with one of the worlds most famous murderers who is held in a maximum security prison for the protection of the people. This man was convicted of killing countless people and eating them. He is a cannibal. His name is Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). Dr Lecter is a witty older man who takes an interest in Clarice that most would consider frightening. Although he is an intimidating criminal, he is a big help in the catching of Buffalo Bill and Clarice probably would not have been able to make the arrest if it weren't for Lecter.
The reason why I enjoyed this film so much is because of the interesting storyline. It was suspenseful and frightening but it was also somewhat humorous and alluring. Dr. Hannibal Lecter may be one of the greatest characters I have ever witnessed on film. Although his role was a villain, he was so helpful to Clarice that you almost liked him. He was creepy but also caring. You felt like you could trust him but then remembered the terrible things he was capable of. Buffalo Bill was an interesting character because although he was a ruthless killer, you almost felt bad for him because he was so alone and so unhappy with his sexuality and body. In fact, his only friend was his dog precious. Clarice was an awesome heroine in the film because she was just so fearless and determined to do what needs to be done and prove to the FBI that she has what it takes to be a great asset to the bureau.
Some directional techniques that Demme employed in the film were high and low angle shots, close ups, and music. The low angle shots used on Buffalo Bill when he is in his basement show how much power he has down there because he is in complete control of his victims who he keeps underground in a hole. When the shot is on the victim in the bottom of the hole, a high angle shot is used to symbolize how helpless and desperate she is to escape. There is nothing she can do and nowhere she can escape to and the shots make this even more obvious. Demme used close ups on Lecter with him usually in the center of the shot to display the intimidation that he gives off and the intellectual dominance that he has over whoever he is conversing with. For example, when Lecter is talking with Clarice, she is shown as more of a full to mid shot and off center because she is not at the level that he is. The music in Silence of the Lambs is a great cue to when something important is about to happen, like when Lecter is being held in the cage and manages to swipe a pen that he can break out of his handcuffs with. The pen in his hand is shown with a close up along with suspenseful music right before he makes his great escape. The coolest scene in the movie for me was by far when Clarice enters Buffalo Bill's house, finds his lair in the basement, and has to try to find Buffalo Bill in the pitch black in a place that she is unfamiliar with and without knowing that he has on night vision goggles. It is such a cool scene because all you hear is Clarice's breathing and all you see is what Bill sees through his night vision goggles.
Christy Mizerny
ReplyDeleteSilence of the Lambs film review
The Silence of the Lambs, directed by Johnathan Demme, is an intellectual thriller about a young FBI trainee named Clarice Starling (Jody Foster) trying to catch a serial killer. Buffalo Bill, played by Ted Levine, is a mentally unstable transvestite who is so uncomfortable in his own skin that he decides to kidnap large women, starve them, and skin them to create a full-woman body suit that he can slip into it order to feel better about his sexuality. To catch this crazy killer, Clarice talks with one of the worlds most famous murderers who is held in a maximum security prison for the protection of the people. This man was convicted of killing countless people and eating them. He is a cannibal. His name is Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). Dr Lecter is a witty older man who takes an interest in Clarice that most would consider frightening. Although he is an intimidating criminal, he is a big help in the catching of Buffalo Bill and Clarice probably would not have been able to make the arrest if it weren't for Lecter.
The reason why I enjoyed this film so much is because of the interesting storyline. It was suspenseful and frightening but it was also somewhat humorous and alluring. Dr. Hannibal Lecter may be one of the greatest characters I have ever witnessed on film. Although his role was a villain, he was so helpful to Clarice that you almost liked him. He was creepy but also caring. You felt like you could trust him but then remembered the terrible things he was capable of. Buffalo Bill was an interesting character because although he was a ruthless killer, you almost felt bad for him because he was so alone and so unhappy with his sexuality and body. In fact, his only friend was his dog precious. Clarice was an awesome heroine in the film because she was just so fearless and determined to do what needs to be done and prove to the FBI that she has what it takes to be a great asset to the bureau.
Some directional techniques that Demme employed in the film were high and low angle shots, close ups, and music. The low angle shots used on Buffalo Bill when he is in his basement show how much power he has down there because he is in complete control of his victims who he keeps underground in a hole. When the shot is on the victim in the bottom of the hole, a high angle shot is used to symbolize how helpless and desperate she is to escape. There is nothing she can do and nowhere she can escape to and the shots make this even more obvious. Demme used close ups on Lecter with him usually in the center of the shot to display the intimidation that he gives off and the intellectual dominance that he has over whoever he is conversing with. For example, when Lecter is talking with Clarice, she is shown as more of a full to mid shot and off center because she is not at the level that he is. The music in Silence of the Lambs is a great cue to when something important is about to happen, like when Lecter is being held in the cage and manages to swipe a pen that he can break out of his handcuffs with. The pen in his hand is shown with a close up along with suspenseful music right before he makes his great escape.
The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror movie directed by Stanley Kubrick. The film follows Jack Torrance(Jack nicholson) who is the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, a hotel built on an indian burial ground, with the thought that in the solitude of the hotel he can write a novel. Danny(Danny Lloyd), Jack's son has a bad feeling about the hotel from the start, which he shares with his mom, Wendy(Shelley Duvall) and his imaginary friend Tony. Once the family arrives at the hotel Danny speaks telepathically with the chef Dick Hallorann(Scatman Crothers) which he calls "shining". During there conversation he tells Danny to stay out of room 237. As time goes on Danny has more visually disturbing visions at the hotel, especially in room 237 which leads to arguments between Wendy and Jack over whether or not Danny should be taken out of the hotel. When Jack inspects room 237 he sees the ghost of the "crazy woman" that Danny saw but tells Wendy that he saw nothing. In the Gold Room Jack talks to the ghost of the former caretaker Grady(Philip Stone) who tells him that he must correct his wife and son, causing Jack to sabotage the Hotel's communication to the outside. Dick Hallorann comes back to the hotel to investigate because he has a feeling that something is wrong in the hotel. Jack goes crazy and tries to kill his wife and son with an axe following them throughout the hotel. When Dick arrives jack kills him with the axe before he can help Wendy and Danny. Danny and Wendy escape into the hedge maze being followed by Jack. Danny and Wendy escape in Dick's snowcat while Jack is left outside in the cold to freeze to death.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the shining is a really good psychological film. It may not scare you but at times it will definetly freak you out, especially the scenes with Danny's visions of the dead girls and when Jack goes to inspect room 237. I think Kubrick did a great job making this film, because it definetly earns the title of psychological thriller by messing with your head. I would recommend this film to anyone who likes psychological thrillers/horror films.
All in all this was a completely awesome film, I have never watched a movie where I was literally rooting for the “bad gay” (Lecter) to escape and be free to do whatever he wants, even though he eats people! He is just so well developed and so believable and interesting that you cant help but love him and want him to be happy.
ReplyDeleteChristy Mizerny
ReplyDeleteThe Godfather Film Review
The Godfather, directed by Francis Coppola in 1972, is a violent but likeable film that portrays the struggles of an Italian-American family and their mafia operation from 1945-1955. The man of the family, the head of the operation, or the “Godfather” as most call him, is Don Corleone (Marlin Brando). He is a reliable mob boss who does 'favors' for his 'friends' just as long as they are forever loyal to him and will do a favor for him if he ever calls upon them. His right hand men include his adopted son Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), his eldest son Sonny (James Caan), and Fredo (John Cazale). His youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino) is not involved in the family business because he believes it is wrong what they are doing and Don doesn't want his youngest son to have that kind of life. However, after an assassination attempt on the Don and he is too weak to run the operation, a new Corleone must step up and fill the position. The obvious choice for this position would be Sonny but after he is killed and Michael shows his father unwavering loyalty while he is at the hospital, it is evident that Michael just may be the perfect man for the job.
Coppola uses many directorial techniques in this classic film. Some of which include close ups on the Don to show his power at the beginning of the film and then on Michael at the end of the film when he is in charge of the operation. He also uses symbols such as the ring to symbolizes who is holding the power. At the beginning of the film, guests upon seeing the Godfather would kiss his ring as a sign of respect, but after he is shot, guests start kissing Michaels ring instead. The Don is called the godfather because he was made the godfather of a young man who grew to be a famous singer. Then when Michael becomes the head of the operation he is also named godfather of a family child. This was a great movie in my opinion because it showcased the family in a good light and you wanted them to be successful even if it meant them killing the members of the other five prominent Italian rival families. My favorite scene was when Michael finally proves his loyalty to the family by killing Sollozzo in the restaurant because it was when the whole movie turned around. Even though it is wrong to kill people, you want Michael to succeed and in order to do that he must carry on the family business and do what needs to be done, just like his father did.
Christy Mizerny
ReplyDeleteThe Godfather Film Review
The Godfather, directed by Francis Coppola in 1972, is a violent but likeable film that portrays the struggles of an Italian-American family and their mafia operation from 1945-1955. The man of the family, the head of the operation, or the “Godfather” as most call him, is Don Corleone (Marlin Brando). He is a reliable mob boss who does 'favors' for his 'friends' just as long as they are forever loyal to him and will do a favor for him if he ever calls upon them. His right hand men include his adopted son Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), his eldest son Sonny (James Caan), and Fredo (John Cazale). His youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino) is not involved in the family business because he believes it is wrong what they are doing and Don doesn't want his youngest son to have that kind of life. However, after an assassination attempt on the Don and he is too weak to run the operation, a new Corleone must step up and fill the position. The obvious choice for this position would be Sonny but after he is killed and Michael shows his father unwavering loyalty while he is at the hospital, it is evident that Michael just may be the perfect man for the job.
Coppola uses many directorial techniques in this classic film. Some of which include close ups on the Don to show his power at the beginning of the film and then on Michael at the end of the film when he is in charge of the operation. He also uses symbols such as the ring to symbolizes who is holding the power. At the beginning of the film, guests upon seeing the Godfather would kiss his ring as a sign of respect, but after he is shot, guests start kissing Michaels ring instead. The Don is called the godfather because he was made the godfather of a young man who grew to be a famous singer. Then when Michael becomes the head of the operation he is also named godfather of a family child. This was a great movie in my opinion because it showcased the family in a good light and you wanted them to be successful even if it meant them killing the members of the other five prominent Italian rival families. My favorite scene was when Michael finally proves his loyalty to the family by killing Sollozzo in the restaurant because it was when the whole movie turned around. Even though it is wrong to kill people, you want Michael to succeed and in order to do that he must carry on the family business and do what needs to be done, just like his father did.
ReplyDeleteChristy Mizerny
ReplyDeleteMomento – Film Review
Momento, written and directed by Christopher Nolan is an intellectual thriller about Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) a man who has almost no memory whatsoever. He used to be a normal American man with a beautiful wife whom he was deeply in love with, until one fateful night when a man broke into their home. After taking his wife down the hall to the bathroom, the intruder proceeded to rape and murder her. When a strange noise awoke Leonard from his slumber and he made his way to the bathroom to see what was going on, his life changed forever. When he opened the door to see what was going on, he was knocked in the head by the unknown attacker and was unable to help his dying wife. When revived by the police he became aware of the act that his memory was now terriblt crippled. He could remember everything that happened before the accident clearly, but every event since he would soon forget. In order to remember what is going on in his present day life, he must write himslef notes or even get tattoos of the information he decides is most important. He only has one goal: to find his wife's rapist and murderer, and to kill him.
The movie jumps around from past events to present events and although it is somewhat hard to keep track of what is old and what is new, this techniques employed by Nolan is certainly interesting to watch and try to keep track of. This is not a movie you can simply watch for fun, you must really concentrate on what is happening and think hard about what is real and what he is filling in the blanks of his memory with. The scenes that are set in past tense are black and white and the ones from the present are in color. The director does a fantastic job of contantly changing the viewers image of Leonard and all of the people he encounters. It is hard to tell who has his best intrests at heart, who cares about him, who wants to help, him who wants to use him, who is teling him the truth, and who is lying to him. My favorite scene is wen you finally get to see what happened to him and his wife the night the intruder broke into his house because although it is terrible, it really helps motivate the viewer to support Leonard on his quest to kill. I really enjoyed this film because it did not only hold my attention, but it made me think about what life would be like if you could not remember anything and how hard it would be to stay focused on one main goal.
Christy Mizerny
ReplyDeleteMomento – Film Review
Momento, written and directed by Christopher Nolan is an intellectual thriller about Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) a man who has almost no memory whatsoever. He used to be a normal American man with a beautiful wife whom he was deeply in love with, until one fateful night when a man broke into their home. After taking his wife down the hall to the bathroom, the intruder proceeded to rape and murder her. When a strange noise awoke Leonard from his slumber and he made his way to the bathroom to see what was going on, his life changed forever. When he opened the door to see what was going on, he was knocked in the head by the unknown attacker and was unable to help his dying wife. When revived by the police he became aware of the act that his memory was now terriblt crippled. He could remember everything that happened before the accident clearly, but every event since he would soon forget. In order to remember what is going on in his present day life, he must write himslef notes or even get tattoos of the information he decides is most important. He only has one goal: to find his wife's rapist and murderer, and to kill him.
The movie jumps around from past events to present events and although it is somewhat hard to keep track of what is old and what is new, this techniques employed by Nolan is certainly interesting to watch and try to keep track of. This is not a movie you can simply watch for fun, you must really concentrate on what is happening and think hard about what is real and what he is filling in the blanks of his memory with. The scenes that are set in past tense are black and white and the ones from the present are in color. The director does a fantastic job of contantly changing the viewers image of Leonard and all of the people he encounters. It is hard to tell who has his best intrests at heart, who cares about him, who wants to help, him who wants to use him, who is teling him the truth, and who is lying to him. My favorite scene is wen you finally get to see what happened to him and his wife the night the intruder broke into his house because although it is terrible, it really helps motivate the viewer to support Leonard on his quest to kill. I really enjoyed this film because it did not only hold my attention, but it made me think about what life would be like if you could not remember anything and how hard it would be to stay focused on one main goal.
ReplyDeleteThe movie, Rosemary’s Baby is a movie directed by Roman Polanski, starring Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Maurice Evans, Sidney Blackmer, and Charles Grodin, that was made in 1968 after a 1967 novel written by Ira Levin. In this movie a young woman suspects her husband of making a deal with a cult to advance his acting career and in exchange he is to give them a son. She eventually gets pregnant but has some complications. She loses an excessive amount of weight and craves raw meat and chicken liver. Once her friend sees her sickly appearance, he does some research and finds out about the cult and plans to tell Rosemary, however he falls into a coma and never has the chance to explain the strange happenings to her. Although he personally couldn’t get to her, he left a book with cryptic messages in it for her, and she was eventually able to realize what her husband has done. Inevitably she has her baby on July 28, 1996 (6/66), but passes out soon after she gives birth. When she awakes, her husband tells her that the baby died, but she suddenly hears baby cries and doesn’t believe him. Later in the hall closet she discovers a secret door and finds the cult gathered around her son-with disturbing deformities, and is told that her husband is not the father of her child, that her son is a spawn of Satan. However she is urged to become the mother to her son, and she does just that.
ReplyDeleteThis movie was so graphic and horrific that I can’t say that I have a favorite scene. Although I guess the most disturbing scene that made me unable to sleep at night was when Mia passes out after eating the chocolate mousse that her neighbor made her and she has a very unsettling dream. She has this dream where a group of naked old people are chanting around her while she is being tied down to the bed and has sex with a Satan-looking figure. Once she realizes that she isn’t dreaming and this is really happening to her, an old lady places a black blanket over her face and puts her to sleep again. The director did used a lot of directorial techniques such as fade in/out, lighting, and scores, to heighten the suspense and make the movie have an eerie feel to it.
Overall this movie was definitely one of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen. Even though I know that none of this could happen and all of it was made up, the fact that the director was able to pull me in and place me right alongside of each and every character is what made me believe this was based on a true story. The music would build up the scene so much and have me guessing as to what was going to happen next, and then the complete opposite would happen. I guess this is what I liked the most about the movie that it kept me guessing and in suspense the whole time. Even though it wasn’t the best picture quality, the storyline and events in the film made me overall like the film.
Pulp Fiction, directed by Quentin Tarantino, is a film about gangsters going through extremely weird events. The film starts with the two characters Ringo and Yolanda eating breakfast at a restaurant. Throughout their conversation we learn that the two are criminals. Ringo and Yolanda decide to rob the restaurant. They get out their guns and threaten the people in the restaurant. After this, the scene immediately switches and we do not see these two characters until the very end. Next, we are introduced to Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield. We quickly learn that the two are gangsters. They break into an apartment and shoot the three men in the apartment. We learn that Vincent and Jules work for a man named Marsellus Wallace. The scene switches again and we are introduced to Butch who is receiving money from Marsellus. Marsellus asks Vincent to keep his wife, Mia, company while he is out of town. Vincent goes to buy drugs at his drug dealers house. Then, Vincent takes Mia out to dinner. Mia and Vincent become close and Vincent becomes scared that he will break his loyalty to Marsellus. Once arriving back at Mia's house, Vincent uses the bathroom. While he is using the bathroom, Mia finds Vincent's drugs and takes them. She starts to overdose and Vincent comes out of the bathroom finding Mia on the floor unconscious. Vincent takes her to his drug dealer and they put a shot in her. She almost dies, but fortunately she pulls through. We then switch to Butch who is in a boxing match and kills his opponent. He then escapes to his motel room with his girlfriend, Fabienne. The two are trying to escape to Tennessee before Marcellus gets ahold of them. Butch has to go back to his apartment to find his dead father's watch. While at his apartment, he realizes one of Marcellus' men is there. Vincent was at Butch's apartment to kill him, but when Butch arrived Vincent was using the bathroom. Butch found Vincent's gun on the counter and when Vincent came out of the bathroom, Butch killed him. Butch then left his apartment and cam to a red light at a stop light. Ironically enough, Marcellus was crossing the street at that stop light. Butch tried running him over, but just crashed. The two got into a quarrel and ended up in a shop. The shop owner kidnapped the two and tried killing them. Butch escapes and saves Marcellus. Marcellus decides to leave Butch alone. Butch and his girlfriend take the train to Tennessee and we never see them again throughout the film. Then, it switches back to the scene with Vincent and Jules in the apartment. The two almost get killed, but the bullets missed them. Jules saw this as a divine intervention and decided to retire from his gangster career because it is morally wrong. Vincent and Jules go to eat at a restaurant and we see the Yolanda and Ringo from the beginning. Yolanda and Ringo start to rob the restaurant and Vincent and Jules stop it.
ReplyDeleteThis film really shows violence. Nothing is hidden. When someone gets shot and dies, everything is shown. There is a lot of blood and a lot of death. It portrays the life of gangsters perfectly. All they care about is their gain and they have no sympathy what so ever towards those that they are killing. Tarantino uses the confusing timeline to get his violence point across. We start out with the middle, then go to the beginning, then go to the ending, and then finally end with the middle again. Throughout the whole film, not much is really clarified. The audience will walk away a little confused, but they will also walk away with a new perception of murder and the value of a human life. This film shows how some just do not value the life they have been giving and they inconsiderately take the valuable lives of others. Pulp fiction is a great film with tons of twists.
Pulp Fiction, directed by Quentin Tarantino, is a film about gangsters going through extremely weird events. The film starts with the two characters Ringo and Yolanda eating breakfast at a restaurant. Throughout their conversation we learn that the two are criminals. Ringo and Yolanda decide to rob the restaurant. They get out their guns and threaten the people in the restaurant. After this, the scene immediately switches and we do not see these two characters until the very end. Next, we are introduced to Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield. We quickly learn that the two are gangsters. They break into an apartment and shoot the three men in the apartment. We learn that Vincent and Jules work for a man named Marsellus Wallace. The scene switches again and we are introduced to Butch who is receiving money from Marsellus. Marsellus asks Vincent to keep his wife, Mia, company while he is out of town. Vincent goes to buy drugs at his drug dealers house. Then, Vincent takes Mia out to dinner. Mia and Vincent become close and Vincent becomes scared that he will break his loyalty to Marsellus. Once arriving back at Mia's house, Vincent uses the bathroom. While he is using the bathroom, Mia finds Vincent's drugs and takes them. She starts to overdose and Vincent comes out of the bathroom finding Mia on the floor unconscious. Vincent takes her to his drug dealer and they put a shot in her. She almost dies, but fortunately she pulls through. We then switch to Butch who is in a boxing match and kills his opponent. He then escapes to his motel room with his girlfriend, Fabienne. The two are trying to escape to Tennessee before Marcellus gets ahold of them. Butch has to go back to his apartment to find his dead father's watch. While at his apartment, he realizes one of Marcellus' men is there. Vincent was at Butch's apartment to kill him, but when Butch arrived Vincent was using the bathroom. Butch found Vincent's gun on the counter and when Vincent came out of the bathroom, Butch killed him. Butch then left his apartment and cam to a red light at a stop light. Ironically enough, Marcellus was crossing the street at that stop light. Butch tried running him over, but just crashed. The two got into a quarrel and ended up in a shop. The shop owner kidnapped the two and tried killing them. Butch escapes and saves Marcellus. Marcellus decides to leave Butch alone. Butch and his girlfriend take the train to Tennessee and we never see them again throughout the film. Then, it switches back to the scene with Vincent and Jules in the apartment. The two almost get killed, but the bullets missed them. Jules saw this as a divine intervention and decided to retire from his gangster career because it is morally wrong. Vincent and Jules go to eat at a restaurant and we see the Yolanda and Ringo from the beginning. Yolanda and Ringo start to rob the restaurant and Vincent and Jules stop it.
ReplyDeleteFight Club, directed by David Fincher, was a great film full of twists. We are introduced to the main character, but we do not know his name. We see how he has a very boring life. He works, he lives alone, he is obsessed with organizing his apartment, and he travels. We also learn that he has insomnia and cannot sleep. His insomnia worsens and he goes to the doctor for treatment. The doctor cannot do anything, so to cure his sleeping problem he goes to different support groups to make him feel wanted. He believes they are the only people that will sit there and listen to you. A girl, Marla, finds the same comfort in support groups. The main character gets mad and forces her to split the support groups because she blocks his comfort. After one of his work trips, he goes back to his apartment to find that it had been blown up. Not thinking, he calls the man he just met on his flight, Tyler Durden. He meets Tyler at a bar. Tyler and him end up wrestling each other to let out anger. The main character moves in with Tyler. To release anger, Tyler and the main character fight each other. This eventually leads into a group joining their fighting club which eventually leads into a whole cult. Throughout this time, Tyler is hooking up with Marla. The main character despises her. Tyler than comes up with this master plan. He starts training men to be heartless and to do whatever he says. Eventually, different fight clubs and trainings were set up all over the United States. Tyler went missing, so our main character searched for him all over the United States. The different fight clubs all over the United States did disastrous things. They caused mass destruction in all their cities. One of the men closed to the main character got shot by a cop in one of the missions. He died and that is when the main character snapped. He searched for Tyler again, but then realized on his trip that he is Tyler. He went so crazy that he made an alter ego of the things he wished he could do. He created Tyler. He realized everything that has been happening he created and he has made a master plan to cause mass destruction. Too late to stop the destruction, the main character has to shoot himself in the mouth to kill Tyler. After that he realizes that he has been the one hooking up with Marla and that he wants to be with her. In the end, the mass destruction plan goes through and the main character ends up with Marla.
ReplyDeleteThis film is full of mind blowing twists. Tyler was all imaginary and the audience believed the main character was the good guy. We root for the main character throughout the whole film, but then we realize he is the one creating the destruction. We as the audience, get to see the main character's change once he joins fight club. Fincher shows how people will snapped when overwhelmed by our consumer and workaholic society. Our main character goes into an awful mental state which ends in aggression towards society. His rebellion shows the motivation behind crime today. Fight Club is a fantastic film with tons of twists that has the viewer walking away in awe.
Fight Club, directed by David Fincher, was a great film full of twists. We are introduced to the main character, but we do not know his name. We see how he has a very boring life. He works, he lives alone, he is obsessed with organizing his apartment, and he travels. We also learn that he has insomnia and cannot sleep. His insomnia worsens and he goes to the doctor for treatment. The doctor cannot do anything, so to cure his sleeping problem he goes to different support groups to make him feel wanted. He believes they are the only people that will sit there and listen to you. A girl, Marla, finds the same comfort in support groups. The main character gets mad and forces her to split the support groups because she blocks his comfort. After one of his work trips, he goes back to his apartment to find that it had been blown up. Not thinking, he calls the man he just met on his flight, Tyler Durden. He meets Tyler at a bar. Tyler and him end up wrestling each other to let out anger. The main character moves in with Tyler. To release anger, Tyler and the main character fight each other. This eventually leads into a group joining their fighting club which eventually leads into a whole cult. Throughout this time, Tyler is hooking up with Marla. The main character despises her. Tyler than comes up with this master plan. He starts training men to be heartless and to do whatever he says. Eventually, different fight clubs and trainings were set up all over the United States. Tyler went missing, so our main character searched for him all over the United States. The different fight clubs all over the United States did disastrous things. They caused mass destruction in all their cities. One of the men closed to the main character got shot by a cop in one of the missions. He died and that is when the main character snapped. He searched for Tyler again, but then realized on his trip that he is Tyler. He went so crazy that he made an alter ego of the things he wished he could do. He created Tyler. He realized everything that has been happening he created and he has made a master plan to cause mass destruction. Too late to stop the destruction, the main character has to shoot himself in the mouth to kill Tyler. After that he realizes that he has been the one hooking up with Marla and that he wants to be with her. In the end, the mass destruction plan goes through and the main character ends up with Marla.
ReplyDeleteThe Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 science fiction film directed by Robert Wise. When an alien saucer lands in Washington D.C. the ships commander Klaatu(Michael Rennie) announces that the ship has come from outerspace on a mission of goodwill. When klaatu is in harm a huge robot named Gort comes out of the ship and destroys the weapons of the soldiers. Klaatu tells the soldiers that he must meet with the president, but instead meets with Harley(Frank Conroy), the president's secretary, whom he tells that he has a message for the whole world to hear. Klaatu beings living under an alias as Mr. carpenter at a boarding house where he meets Helen Benson(Patricia Neal), and her son bobby (Billy Gray). Klaatu tells professor Jacob Barnhardt(Sam Jaffe) that people of other planets are concerned for their safety now that humans have atomic power and that if his message is rejected by the people of earth, "Planet Earth will be eliminated". Klaatu prooves his power to Barnhardt by making the world "stand still" for half an hour by neutralizing electric power everywhere. Knowing that the government is after him Klaatu tells Helen that if anything should ever happen to him she should go to Gort and say "Klaatu barada nikto". After Klaatu is shot Gort wakes up and begins killing guards before Helen can reach the ship and give the code. Klaatu is revived by Gort when Helen gives him the code. Klaatu tells the scientists of the world about the concern of the people from other worlds of humanities violence, so they have created a race of robot enforcers like Gort to protect them from harm. He also tells them that if their violence runs into space the robot enforcers will destroy Earth. Overall I thought it was a pretty good movie, with a good message to try and get people to be peaceful. I have seen the remake also and in my opinion the newer version is much better. I would recommend this movie to people who like science fiction films.
ReplyDeleteThe Graduate, directed by Mike Nichols, was a love story with a twist. Ben, the main character, just graduated from college and has no idea what he wants to do next. To fill this empty space, he ends up having an affair with his father's business partner's wife, Mrs. Robinson. The affair was meaningless to each party, they were both in it for the sex. Ben goes throughout his days accomplishing absolutely nothing. He is completely confused and has no idea where he wants to go from here. There is an empty hole and he is begging for something to fill it. His parents notice his lack of ambition, so to jump start him, they set him up on a date with Mrs. Robinson's daughter. Mrs. Robinson becomes enraged and demands Ben to not touch her on her date and to never date her again. Ben first takes Elaine, Mrs. Robinson's daughter, to a strip club to seem like a jerk, but Ben actually starts to like her. He leaves the strip club and takes her to an actual restaurant. Ben really starts to like Elaine during their dinner. After their first date, Ben continued to ask her out. They went on multiple dates and Mrs. Robinson became very angry. She threatened Ben to leave her daughter alone, but instead Ben goes and tells Elaine that he had been having an affair with her mother. Elaine becomes furious and demands to never see Ben again. The affair with Ben and Mrs. Robinson was completely over. Elaine goes away to school and finds another guy. While Ben is at home, he realizes he is in love with Elaine. Ben goes to where she goes to school and confesses her love. Elaine shuts him down and decides to marry the other guy she is with. The wedding begins, but Ben crashes it. He makes a grand crashing entrance, steals Elaine, and they run away together.
ReplyDeleteThis film really explicates the helplessness of a person. Ben has no idea what he wants to do with his life. He feels this big empty hole inside him, so naturally he tries to fill it. He starts an affair with Mrs. Robinson, because he believed it would fill his hole. After realizing it would not fill his hole, he searched for me. He could not find it until he fell in love. He risks everything to be with the one he loves, but she fills his hole and makes him happy. Nichols using great techniques to show Ben's emptiness. He uses the materials Ben gets, his boring useless days, and Mrs. Robinson to show Ben does not care about anything. The Graduate is a wonderful film portraying a love story with an interesting twist.
Jacobs Ladder
ReplyDeleteJacobs Ladder is a film by Adrian Lyne.
I'm not really sure where to start with this one, this is a weird movie that makes little to no sense at most times. To be completely honest I'm sure most people will hate this movie, although I really enjoyed it myself.
The film is about a man named Jacob who has been traumatized by his time spent in Vietnam, the film actually starts out in Vietnam where we see him and squad of men go into some sort of weird fit and start killing each other, later on we find out it was a chemical put in their rations. The movie then jumps to him in present time where it then jumps in and out of different experiences he's had, and back and forth from present to Vietnam. Watching this film made me feel very tense as you never know what's real and what's fake, and you never know whether or not he's having a flashback or if this is actually happening to him. One of the most interesting aspects of the movie is that he is prone to having terrible demonic hallucinations leading to some really interesting scenes, such as him almost being ran down by a car of people with skin to small for their bodies, being attacked by creatures in the subway, and seeing his dead son.
This movie is really tough to give a review on because of how little it makes sense, I thought it was a really good movie, so if what i wrote above sounds interesting to you I'd say give it a shot.
As With All of Tim Burton’s films I have seen this one revolves around a theme of at least motif of death or morbid figures. It opens on a man and woman in a house alone who are happy yet want to be left alone. He is into model building as a hobby and they take a trip to the store to buy more parts to build with. On the way home they swerve to avoid hitting a dog and end up going over a bridge and dying. The next thing they know is they are home but don’t remember how they got there at all. They don’t feel pain and have no reflection in the mirror. They transport to a sort of office that helps the dead. The rest of this very unique but addicting film deals with the couple trying to get rid of the new home owners by scaring them out. However it’s easier said than done because their hauntings are taken as a show instead of threatening. This is until they summon help from Beetlejuice to get rid of the family. Beetlejuice ends up helping himself only as he was said to do by the office for dead people. There are a few small twists and it never gets dull.
ReplyDeleteTim Burton does an outstanding job with Beetlejuice by covering every aspect from placement of actors to the costumes and special effects. Parts such as the scene when Jane and Ernie distort their faces to look horrifying to scare the new residents. Burton creates majority of this shot in a smooth take and it blends in with the computer editing flawlessly. Throughout the film, there are multiple scenes that use scale to the point that one character (smaller size than in real life) is literally picked up by another without it looking unrealistic to the viewer. Techniques such as these help hold the viewers attention and make the work look much more sophisticated.
My views on this film are very high. At first it seemed like any ordinary family movie, but when the two main characters were killed in the car accident the film took a few twists that make it stand out from any thing I have ever watched before. The costumes are very realistic looking and eye catching at the same time. The props and backgrounds stick to your memory because they are so unique and unusual. After I completed the film I strongly wanted to go back and re-watch the entire movie. I noticed some new fine details that I believe Burton added to enhance that depth of the film for those who notice. I found some foreshadowing as well. I strongly recommend watching this film because I believe it will intrigue your imagination if nothing else.
Fargo is a rare film which allows the audience to experience multiple action scenes without the feeling of jumping out of your seat every few minutes. It opens with a man named Jerry sitting at a bar talking to two unusual men about the planned kidnapping of his wife for forty-thousand dollars and a new car. We find out that Jerry is a car salesman which gives him the opportunity to supply the car by stealing it at no cost to him. However, this deed may catch up to him later in the plot by adding to further complications of the kidnapping deal. Jerry, his wife, their child, and the wife’s father live together. The kidnapping takes place and Jerry calls his wife’s father and fakes being upset while knowing fully what is taking place. As she is being transported to a safe house, the car is pulled over and the less tolerant kidnapper murders the police officer. While trying to hide the body another car then drives by and sees the situation. They are chased down and “taken care of” in what is one of the most suspenseful scenes of the entire film. Jean’s father tries to intervene and pay off the kidnappers to have his daughter back but is too aggressive and winds up being shot to death. When the police finally catch up with the criminals at a safe house where the wife is being kept something unexpected happens which I believe is the most dramatic part of the film.
ReplyDeleteDirector Joel Coen delivers a very intriguing film that is completely based off of a real event as shown at the beginning of the film. One thing that some viewers may have noticed is that while the title of the film is Fargo, only one scene takes place in Fargo. This is the beginning scene at the bar. Something else interesting is the use of dialect that seems to be unique to this film. Even though characters are from different places, they use some of the same expressions. There is not much use of score throughout the film; however the acting alone shows the audience when a suspenseful event is going to take place.
When I first began to watch Fargo it got off to a somewhat of a slow start. There was some action but there were not many heart pumping or edge of your seat moments. Without these, I found it easier to keep track of the story and the characters contribution to the plot. Realizing the significance of each and every character in the film helps to answer any questions the audience would have had at the end of a more suspenseful film.
The film Thumbsuckers sends a great message to the viewers of the lives of those who are seen as anything different than normal, especially for Justin, a young man suffering from an undiagnosed case of Attention Deficit Hypertension Disorder, more commonly known as ADHD. The film opens by introducing the viewers to the main character, Justin, and his problem of sucking his thumb to compensate for coping with tough decisions or fears. He is a bad student having problems focusing on work and needs a way to escape his disorder of sucking his thumb. He visits his dentist who tries hypnotizing Justin to have bad tastes when he sucks his thumb. It is successful however posed the problem of finding another outlet for his energy. He soon turns to drugs and sex to fulfill his needs. After finally being diagnosed with ADHD, he finds an amazing ability to comprehend class work and finds a new hobby, the debate team. He becomes very good very quick and goes onto state with his school team. He doesn’t receive the congratulations from his family that he wanted and becomes upset enough to take himself off the medicine. The plot takes a turn for the worse when Justin thinks his mother is cheating on his father. He takes it upon himself to research the truth. Some of the things I noticed during the film were Justin’s change of appearance and personality throughout the film and the use of dreams. Before he is put on the medicine he is nervous and can’t settle down. He dresses sloppy and doesn’t seem to care about his presentation. While on the medication, his hair is combed or slicked back and he dresses more grown up and professional. His thoughts are more connected and there is an obvious difference in character. Dreams are also used in this film to give us a very good description of Justin’s feelings. It shows us his problem with his thumb in the opening scene and also tells us he wants to be back on the medicine after he throws it away. I liked this film for the fact that it takes a more serious spin than initially thought, It shows the complications faced in everyday life for people with this disorder. It also delivers a good moral to the audience which is not as commonly found with other current films.
ReplyDeleteWar Games, by John Badham, stole my attention from the first scene. It opened up on a mysterious road and the look of it gave off a heavy feeling but kept my curiosity by introducing the two way mirror scene and slowing showing off the secrete missile base. We are introduced to the main character, David, as a young man who makes trouble in class but with a good reason which the audience doesn’t know at first. His hobby is hacking computers and software. While trying to unlock a few brand new computer games from a website, David accidentally gets into a top secret military site. Having access to it, he innocently plays a war game, however some very important people don’t know it’s just a game and this is where the action, suspense, and cunning ideas come into play. The FBI sneaks up on David and arrests him. He is transported to the military base with the computer he hacked. Since David is the only one that knows the computer is just simulating a game, the military believes they are under a foreign attack and prepare to return fire with real bombs. The remainder of the film deals with David trying to convince the army that the eminent enemy attacks is nothing but a game.
ReplyDeleteBadham does an outstanding job with directing this film. The entire first half is set up so it resembles any normal American family life back in the 1980s. Realities become a little stretched when David singlehandedly hacks one of the governments most secure sites. The purpose of this film is for entertainment as are most films. However the underlying message could be to not be so quick to judge others and to make sure you have the whole story and the correct one before passing judgment.
I would recommend this film to anyone because it is fun to watch and is not loaded down with unnecessary amounts of heart pounding moments or twists. It’s a film to just enjoy and appreciate a job well done by director John Badham.
Chicago
ReplyDeleteChicago was directed by Rob Marshall. This was one of the many musicals i would actually buy. It is about two different women both fighting for their freedom and fame but there is only enough room for one in the spotlight. First there is Thelma Kelly she murdered her sister and boyfriend because she walked in and they were sleeping together. Then there is sweet Roxie Heart who want to be a star so she sleeps with a guy who tells her she could be a star but after he gets what he wants the truth comes out so she kills him. Now their both on dealth row fighting to see who will be the bigger star.
My favorite scene in the movie was the part when the they tell their story of who they killed and why. I like the dancing and the singing. A the song in the movie are very different with different beats and dances with makes the movie more interesing. As Roxie gets more fame she starts to take the spotlight because she starts to sing more. In the beginng Thelma was singing and roxie was admiring her. Then when they are in jail Roxie really looks up to her but she see's she isn't so nice so when Roxie is the one in the spotlight Thelma tries to suck up to her but Roxies see's past it. Something that bothered me about the film is i didn't like the way Roxie treated her husband, Amos, he really loved her and no matter how she treated him he was there for her. You would have thought that she would appreciate him more because she was the reason she wasnt getting hanged. She didn't have 5 grand to pay Billy Flynn.
Some director techniques i liked was the lighting when they were singing they usualy where wearing bright color in a very dark room are they were props that stood out like the red scarf the women used when they showed how they killed the men. Or really bright lights like at the end it said Roxie and thelma in red. Red was one of the colors used to show boldness and beauty.
Hannibal
ReplyDeleteHannibal is directed by Ridley Scott. If you like crime and thriller movies this is the one for you. When I first saw it I didn't really understand some of things he was talking about until i saw the first movie Silence of the Lamb, directed by Jonathan demme, Then I understood the bond he had with Clarice. This is a very interesting movie and you can't look away fofr a second or you might miss something. I would recommend this movie to people because it was filled with mystery and twist that you didn't know what to expect.
There where so many good scenes in this movie that it was hard to pick just one. Well the funniest scene was when Buffalo Bill was dancing around in his "women suit" that he had created him self by cutting up women and sewing them together. One of the more suprising scenes was when hannibal is held in a room and they bring second dinner now he has stolen Chilton, the warren, pen and unlocked his shakles only to kill the two officers and impersonate him. So all along he was in the room with they thought he was on the elevator. He cut off the dudes face and put it on his. I found that very clever.
In this movie I really enjoy Anthony Hopkins, hannibal, performace. He played the part well as he does in all his movies. Ridley Scott did a great job of casting and makes you want to watch the movie over and over again.
ZombieLand
ReplyDeleteZombieland was directed by Ruben Fleischer. I was very funny but didn't make you think much. It is about a Texas college student, Columbus, who has zombies taking over America by 30 rules he has, a cowboy,Tallahassee, who will do anything for a twinky who come together to travel to florida to see if Columbus family is still alive. They come across to clever sister, Witchita and Little Rock, trying to find a way to LA amusment park anyway that can.
One of my favorite scenes in the movie was at the end when they were at the LA amusement park and Columbus is trying to save Witchita and Little Rock and he has get pass a zombie clown two things that are on his list to avoid, but he overcomes it because he really like Witchita. I found that very cute. Along with the fact that all of there names are capitals of states.
I dont like the director very much he has produced or directed anything worth watching. So I can't say any techniques he has or styles because he manly directs tv shows like Rob & Big (which sucks). So he has only one good movie this isn't one of those movies that make you think its only here to make you laugh and make fun of other zombie movies.
Zombieland
ReplyDeleteIts the early twenty-first century and zombies have completly taken over America. We are introduced to Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) and we believe he is the only survivor. He has lasted so long by living by certain rules such as:
• Cardio
-You have to be able to run away from the flesh-eating zombies
• Double Shot
-A second bullet to the head won't hurt
• No Bathrooms
-Zombies will try to get you at your most vulnerable times
• Wear your Seat belts
-Maybe the most important rule; things get dangerous
• Enjoy the little things
-They're the most important
Columbus eventually teams up with Tallahassee (Woody Harelson). Tallahassee hides his pain of loosing his son with violence; which comes in handy in zombie-killing. The two men then team up with these two manacle sisters Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). They were all planning on going their separate ways but throughout their adventure they begin to get closer to each other.
This was a pretty good movie. It had its funny moments but at times seemed like it was trying to hard. One of my favorite parts of the film was in the beginning when Columbus was telling the audience the 4 basic rules. It was funny because for some reason i couldn't take him serious and it just seemed like a huge joke. Another one of my favorite scenes was at the end when Columbus and Tallahassee think the two sisters were going to leave them. It just showed how much their trust has grown since the beginning.
The director of this movie is Ruben Fleischer. A technique he used is every time a rule was used, the text was displayed on the screen to highlight its importance.
On the Outs
ReplyDeleteOn the Outs (2004), directed by Lori Silverbush and Michael Skolnik, is a heart-hitting film based on three emotionally lost young women in Jersey City. One of the three young women is Marisol (Paola Mendoza). She is a crack addict with a 2 year old daughter. In the film, it is clear that Marisol wants to be a good mother however, her addiction leads her in the wrong path. Eventually, Marisols daughter is taken away from her by the foster home/adaptoion agency. We as the audience feel a since of sympathy for Marisol but we also are very skeptical becuase it seems as if she will do anything for a "hit" of the drug that has completley taken over her life. Another of the three young women is Suzette (Anny Mariano). She is a 15 year old girl who is the definition of naive. She gets pregnant with the neighborhood drug dealer and even though she had a good life at home, she decides to follow him whereever he goes; even on the streets. Suzette is oblivious to life and she can't seem to look at reality. We have no choice but to feel sorry for her because she grew up better than most people in the film but is still drawn in into the drama. Ultimatley, she is caught holding a gun for her boyfriend and is sent to juvilnile. The last of the three young women is Oz (Judy Marte). Oz is maybe the smartest of the three girls. She knows better than to do drugs but she feels like her only way to survive is to sell them. When we are introduced to Oz, she is getting released from juvinile and immeditaly she starts back up her drug game. We watch her as she goes to the store and in the item she buys is a bag of crack, then we watch her make the drug and witness the entire process. Oz has always tried to forget about her mother since she was a crack addict, but when Oz realizes that her mother is doing better she learns to give her a little more respect. Oz also looks after her brother, Chewy, who was bored a crack baby and has extremly bad asthma. All three girls are faced with different dilimas and they cope with their problems in different ways.
I think this was a very good movie. It was realistic and honest. One of the movies strengths is that it doesn't try to look past the truth. It shows you exactly what the causes where and what the effects where. One of my favorite scenes is when Oz gets realesed from prision and she is talking to her brother Chewy. In that scene you see that Oz is a good person and she cares deelply about her family. Another scene in which you see how much of a good peson a character is, is when Marisol was playing at the park with her daughter. In that scene, you wouldn't even know they had any problem in the world. However, a scene that contrast the happiness mentioned in the previous scene was when Marisol gave her daughters last bit of food up for some drugs. I love how no feelings were hidden in the movie.
I really didn't notice any directorial techniques in this film. The film was shot in the "rougher" part of Jersey City, almost all of the actors are unknown however the film did a great job of displaying the truths in their environment.
The Last King of Scotland
ReplyDeleteNicholas Garigan (James McAvoy) is a new physician in Ugandi. There is a new president who overthrew the old government, Idi Armin (Forest Whitaker). The President soon gives Nicholas the Senior position in the National Health Department and he also make Nicholas one of his top advisors. As the years past Nicholas notices that Pres. Idi is going killing crazy. Nicholas tries to go home but was forced to stay. Nicholas becomes the doctor of Armins third wifes son. His third wifes name is Kay (Kerry Washington) and the more time Nicholas spends with her, the more he falls for her. They eventually start an intimate relationship. Nicholas tries to leave but rdmin replaces his passport with a Ugandi passport. He then tries to cont the British Foriegn Office for help but in order to leave Ugandi, Nicholas must assassinate the President. To make matters worst Kay is pregnant with Nicholas's baby which leads to her death. Nicholas is punished for his actions but in the end comes through.
I like this film because it was based on a true story. It didnt sray from the truth and I liked how it showed a real picture of the real Armin at the end. The director, Kevin McDonald keeps the movie true to its story and it also has an amazing cast that portrayed every aspect of this infamous event as realistic as possible.
The Graduate
ReplyDeleteThe film, The Graduate, is about the recent college graduate Benjamin Braddock. He gets involved in an affair with his father’s business partner’s wife, Mrs. Robinson. Even though he is having an affair with Mrs. Robinson, he ends up falling in love with her daughter, Elaine. Elaine soon learns that Benjamin and her mother were having an affair and she told him she never wanted to see him again. Benjamin decided he couldn’t stay away from her and instead wanted to marry her. He went to Berkley, where Elaine was, and tried to win her back. Ben finds out it’s too late and that she is already getting married to Carl. Ben does everything he can to find Elaine and stop the wedding from happening, but he ends up being too late. As he is standing in the church he screams out Elaine’s name. Elaine’s parents try to stop him and make him leave. Elaine shouts out to Benjamin and calls out his name back. She runs towards the door of the church and they take off on a bus together.
One of the scenes from the movie that I really enjoyed was the montage of Benjamin going back and forth from his bedroom to the hotel room. The director used close ups on Benjamin and changed the background while in a close up to make the montage flow effortlessly. Another scene that I enjoyed was the very last part of the movie when Elaine and Benjamin run away from the church. As soon as they get on the bus they both have this “now what do we do” expression on their faces and the viewer is left hanging to make up what happens.
I really enjoyed watching The Graduate. The film contained adult humor which is always funny. The part of the movie where Mrs. Robinson is naked and Benjamin is telling her to stop but instead of turning his head, he just stares was very entertaining because many teenage boys in that situation probably would have reacted the same way. I would recommend this film to anyone to watch.
Swing Blade was directed by Billy Bob Thornton. Special cast in this film was Billy Bob Thornton himself, Dwight Yoakam, and J.T. Walsh. Swing Blade is about Karl who is from a mental hospital because he killed his mom and another person. Karl fixes motors now that he is out of the hospital. He stays at his friend Frank’s house where Frank’s mom’s boyfriend is abusive and mean. I thought the ending of the film was kind of messed up when Karl splits Doyle’s head with the lawnmower. But with the use of the blade I guess that’s where they get the title “Swing Blade”, which adds effect to the video. I liked this film because it was funny but also very sad and messed up. I liked how the character Karl ate mustard and biscuits; it was a weird and gross trait but funny too. This film had and showed a lot of different emotions. The cast in this movie played the roles well which kept the movie entertaining. I liked the scene where Karl gives Frank the bookmark that says “you will be happy” and Frank is confused by it, but it build up suspense as to what Karl is talking about. I thought this was a pretty good movie I rate it 4****’s.
ReplyDeleteKatie Foster
ReplyDeleteKill bill vol 2, directed by quentin tarantino is the continuation of kill bill vol.1. Vol 2 starts off where vol 1 ended, or left off. Uma Thurman, "the bride", is still on a killing spree and is now looking for her last and final one to kill bill. Vol 1 does not really give us background information about a lot of the characters but in vol 2 it fills a lot of those gaps. We learn where the bride came from and how she has mastered such amazing sword skills. In vol 2 there is not as much action as vol 1, in place of it there is infomational dialogue. In vol 1 we see bill as a heartless person, more just like a small character. But as the story progresses we realize, he did once have a heart and he is just mad because he lost the women he loved. We also learn a few more secrets in vol 2, i guess to keep suspense so were not to bored with all the talking and little action. All in all i thought this was a good film, not as great as the first, but only because i loved all the sword fighting and black and white shots. I recomend this film to anyone that likes multiple versions of an action packed film(s)
4/5 stars
Grave of the Fireflies
ReplyDeleteDirected by Isao Takahata
Grave of the Fireflies in a Japanese animated film made in 1988.
The story is set in Japan during World War II, we follow a young boy, Seita and his little sister Setsuko as we see their journey and struggle to survive during these hard times. In the beginning of the film we see Seita at a train station and one of the first things he says is this is the day i die, which first off puts us in a mood that this is not a normal animated film. It is realistic and shows us how both sides during the war were effected. Later on in the film we get told that Seita and Setsuko's father is off fighting towards the war effort. Within 10 minutes of the film we come to find out that during an air raid their mother has been injured, badly burned. She passes leaving her two children to live with their greedy aunt. After weeks-months of living with their greedy aunt Seita and Setsuko move to an old abandoned bomb shelter where they make the best of things and live on their own. One of the moments that I found intresting in this film was the use of the little things, how for light Seita and Setsuko use fireflies for not only fun and games but to eascape the reality that they are in.
At first everything seems to be doing well but then they start running low on food. Not only this by Setsuko has gotten very ill with a red rash on her back and also has gotten very skinny. While in town to withdraw money toawrds food and medicine for his sister Seita over hears that Japan has lost the war and that all fleet ships have been sunk. Realizing that his father has now passed as well. When seita reterns home his sister is barely alive and is delusional, thinking dirt are rice balls. This is one of the few times that we see Seita break down and cry for they fact that he knows his little sister has very little time left. She later passes that night.
We then go to a scene of Seita and Setsuko together watching a carnival..parade together and fireflies come out of the darkness.
Very touching film that makes my eyes water everytime i see it. I reccommend this film to anyone who likes movies that are realisic and truthful.
5/5 stars
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
ReplyDeleteThis film is about a middle aged couple, George and Martha, who have a verbally abusive relationship due to the massive amounts of alcohol they each consume. The film takes place through the course of one day. George and Martha had just returned home from a party where they met a younger couple, Nick and Honey. Martha told George that they were coming over, which is where the story all went downhill. George and Martha are both drunk and when Nick and Honey came over, they got them drunk. Throughout the course of the night George and Martha took out their anger on each other. While all this is going on, Nick and Honey were caught up in the middle of their “game” of breaking each other down and causing the other one pain. They play these “games” multiple times during the night and the whole situation gets very uncomfortable. This goes on for the whole movie until Martha and George finally “snap”. Nick and Honey are sent home and they movie ends with Martha and George holding hands.
One of my favorite scenes is when George grabs hold of Honey’s hands and starts singing, “who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf…..” and Honey chimes in with him. Meanwhile, Martha is getting frustrated with George and wants him to stop. George and Honey are spinning and singing until Honey gets sick and starts throwing up. The camera flashes from George and Honey to Martha to show the reaction she has to what George and Martha are doing.
I did not like this movie. The constant yelling was very annoying and the storyline was a little confusing and hard to understand. I wasn’t really sure exactly why at the end Martha said she was afraid of Virginia Woolf because I have no idea who that is. I also couldn’t figure out if George and Martha had a son or not.
Dances with wolves.
ReplyDeleteThis film is about an American soilder that goes to a post by himself and waits for his former troops to meet up wiht him there. He sees a wolf that seems to like being around him so he feeds it and takes care of it and one day a couple of Indians came along and try to make the American soildermleave the grounds but instead he tries to reason with the Indians by trading stuff to them. He begins to come close with the Indians and they start to call him Dances With Wolves. While he is in the tribe he learns to talk like them, hunt like them, and to be one of them. He then begins to fall in love with a women named Fist in Mouth. They get married but he tells the tribe there are more Americans are going to come soon so they have to move sights. But he hs to go back and grab the journal that he was posting his days inso the Americans can't find out what he has been doing. The Americans capture him and take him away but the Indians Find him and save him and Dances with Wolves and Fist in Mouth live happily ever after.
The angles the director used were very intresting to me and brought more emotion to me as well. When he shows Dances with Wolf in a long shot and , he was looking at the buffalo to kill it because it was trying to attack the little Indian kid, I thought that shot was very intresting and brought an intense momment to the video. I love the way he distributed all sorts of angles in the film, that is what made it so exciting.
All in all I thought this movie was great. I highly recommend this movie to anyone. The plot was fantastic and the usage of the angles and shots made the movie ten times better. Another great thing about this movie is that it had a lot of action which makes it more exciting to us because it bring endrinaline to us.
Shawshank Redemtion.
ReplyDeleteThis film is about a man named Andy and he goes to jail because he was framed of killing his wife and child. When he gets in the prison he meets a guy named Red and he can get anything he wants within reason. He gets Andy a pix axe so he can dig a tunnel throughthe wall and it was behind a poster. He eventually gets out and he tells Red when he gets out there will be something waiting for him. Red gets out and he goes to where Andy told him to go and finds a whole bunch of cash and then he finally meets up with Andy.
The director of this movie was very creative with his shots and used unique shot such as when the warden knew he was in a jam so the camera zoomed into the warden very slowly and then stopped in fron of him before he kills himself. I feel like this shot brought a lot of tension and vibe to the movie.
I would recommend this movie to anyone. The shots that the director used made this movie ten times better and brought understanding to the audience. This movie is one of my favorite of all time.
Nicole Aronoff
ReplyDeleteONCE
Once by John Carney was a romantic true story that was made into a movie. Based on a man who makes a living by fixing vacuums and playing his guitar at night Glen hoped to one day be a famous singer and song writer in London and hopefully win his wife back who left him. Glen then found a young girl who was drawn to him by listening to his great music she was naturally drawn to him because she also was a musician. She played the piano and really wanted him to see what she could do but she had to go to a music store because she couldn’t afford to buy her own. The best song of the movie was “Falling Slowly” because they played it together and were in perfect tune and harmony. Soon after that they fell in love with each other and started to spend a lot of time together. Instead of just saying “I love you” they would sing it to each other which was actually a really great song that made the mood of the movie completely change from sad and lonely to happy and romantic. But, then the plot complete changed and twisted on us after all this time of the two musicians loving each other she told Glen that she was married and that they could no longer be together. Glen was heartbroken and depressed but he kept on following he is dream and he continued his career of trying to make it big. It was hard for him though because he used the songs that they sang together but the record studio loved it and his time of waiting was over. Before he left for London he went to see her one last time to say goodbye she wasn’t home so he had to leave without saying anything to her which was the hardest thing he had ever done. But, Glen got her a wonderful gift to inspire her to follow her dreams and see where her heart takes her Glen got her a piano that was completely her own. Even though they didn’t end up together like the perfect romantic story it was still a great movie because it showed reality and how things can completely change in a second and how you just have to go on with life and make it the best you can.
John Carney didn’t have professional actors he used musicians as the leads and he used them to there full potential. Usually when they sing he uses a close-up to show all the emotion that goes into every note. For dialogue he makes it really depressed and sad to show how miserable Glen actually is. Then when he falls in love with the actress he is limited to cussing and all the bad mouth.
I personally thought this was a great movie not the best I’ve ever seen because, I like endings where the guy gets the girl and in Once that wasn’t the case. But Carney did a really great job with the Irish accents and the music choice in this film it made it hear felt and sentimental.
Black Swan directed by Darren Aronoffsky was a very different type of film. It was based on a young ballerina trying to get the lead in “Swan Lake”. Nina was doing anything to get this lead; she was the type that was at the studio till they kicked her out. Nina was tormented though she was awarded the part of both the white swan and the black swan. Nina was known as the nice girl she had to find the demon in here and she found her dark side but it took over her peace of mind. Nina was pulled in all direction by her mother, dance instructor and her dark side she truly lost herself. The dark side of her conscious started to destroy Nina mentally peace by peace she thought everyone was out to ruin her chance to become the star of the dance company she was so determined to prove everyone wrong that she became evil. On opening night Nina was the most graceful white swan ever and the meanest and fiercest black swan she truly did her job but she was messed up her mind was messing with her and she busted a mirror and stabbed herself in the stomach with glass and started to gush blood but still went back onto stage to do her finishing number as the white swan and she was jumping off stage the and fell to her death as rehearsed but, Nina really killed herself and the black swan won because it ruined Ninas life and ultimately killed her.
ReplyDeleteAronoffsky directorial techniques made this movie what it is. With all the high angle shots and extreme close ups Aronoffsky made this movie dramatic and fierce just like it should be.
I personally loved this movie the dramatic twist’s and special affects completely had me drawn in. It was a weird movie but sometimes those are the best.
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 film, directed by Steven Spielberg with an all star cast. It takes place in Normandy during WWII. Then opening of the film is intense. It begins with an elderly WWII veteran and his family at te Normandy American Cemetary and Memorial. There is then a quick cut. Where the director then depicts the Omaha Beachhead Assualt. It then proceeds with Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks) and seven men as they begin their search for a paratrooper private first clas Ryan (Matt Damon), who is the last surving brother of three, who have died. They go on without a clue as to Private Ryan's whereabouts. They set search in Nueville, where they run into a platoon from the 101st. Caparzo (Vin Diesel) is then shot by a sniper in the chest, and proceeds to bleed to death. After he is already dead, Jackson (Barry Pepper) is able to eliminate the sniper. They are able to locate Private Ryan from Minnesota, but realize that his dropzone was actually at Vierville and that Baker and Charlie Companies have the same rally point. Capt. Miller then locate's Ryan's best friend who tell him that Ryan is defending a bridge in Ramelle. Capt. Miller then decided to nuetralize a German machine gun postion close to now abandoned rador station, on they're way to Ramelle, depsite the Men's disagreement. By then end of that, Wade (Giovanni Ribisi) is fatally wounded and dies. The last surviving German, known only as "Steamboat Willie", incurs the wrath of all the squad members except Upham, who protests to Miller about letting the squad shoot the German solider. The German pleads for his life and Miller decides to let him walk away, blindfolded, and surrender himself to the next Allied patrol. Viewing Miller's decision as letting the enemy go free, and no longer confident in Miller's leadership, Reiben declares his intention to desert the squad and the mission, prompting a confrontation with Horvath. The argument heats up, until Miller defuses the situation by revealing his pre-war occupation as an English teacher, a question upon which the squad had set up a betting pool. Reiben then reluctantly decides to stay. When the squad finally arrives in Ramelle, they come across three paratroops, one of which is Ryan, who are ambushing a German half-track. Ryan is then told about his brothers death and their mission to bring him home and that two soliders on their platoon died trying to find him. He is sad about the loss of his brothers but decided to stay despite his mother's wishes, while looking at the some group that are still trying to defent the bridge. Capt. Miller takes command and defends the bridge, although he has very littel resources and men. Then, the germans arrive with more than 50 men supported by amor, While at an attempt to destroy the bridge Capt. Miller is fatally shot and killed. Then bridge then gets blown up as more American infantry comes to their aid, with tanks. Upham, who was cut off from the Americans and hid in a ditch positioned next to German soldiers, executes "Steamboat Willie" upon finding him with a group of surrendering Germans and after witnessing him being the one who shot Miller.The only battle surviors are Ryan, Reiben and Upham. Miller exchanges his last words with Ryan. It is then revealed that Ryan is the veteran from the opening scene and he is visiting Miller's grave.
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