Holiday Break Movie

Alright, the film I'd like to see is The Artist. Go to Rotten Tomatoes and check it out. It's probably the best reviewed movie of the awards season and will hopefully appeal to the film brain we've developed in class because it's also silent and in b/w (this will weed out all the Lit thru Film posers).

It's playing at the Plaza Frontenac so I'm thinking Friday (12/30) at 1:00pm would be a good time. Please respond to this post with a message that says if your in/out or come up with a better idea (it better be good).

Mr. Walker

2011-2012 First Semester Film Reviews

Put your optional film reviews here.

• 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!

2010-2011 Second Semester Film Reviews

Put your optional film reviews here.

• 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!

2010-11 Optional Film Reviews

Put your optional film reviews here.

• 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!

Optional Film reviews

Students from the Literature through Film class can put a brief review in the comments for optional film credit. Make sure to mention title and director, discuss the main plot/chracters/conflict, and discuss what you liked or didn't like about the film. Make sure to give it a rating!

Great Film Trailers

Film trailers (or previews) are usually interesting. Generally you can tell if you want to see a film or not based on a 30/60 sec tease. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes you get burned. What got me thinking about trailers was a visceral experience a had watching the preview for "Where the Wild things Are." Somehow the music, the editing and the visuals hit me on an emotional level I wasn't prepared for and made me long to be ten-year-old again. It was powerful enough that I was still thinking about it long after the feature (Harry Potter 6). Directed by Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich & Adaptation) the film promises to be interesting to saw the least. The question seems to be whether a short children's book can be made into a feature-length film.

see the trailer here

This also had me trying to remember the best trailers I'd ever seen, ones that really grabbed my attention and said to me, "You cannot miss this film for any reason. You have to make sure you don't die in the next three months so your life's journey will be complete upon seeing this movie."

My favorite has to be the trailer I saw before "Footloose" in the early spring of 1984. It starred actors who were in some of my favorite movies and from Saturday Night Live. The trailer promised cool effects, a catchy tune and some hilarious lines. Best of all it was about a bunch of guys fighting ghosts. I'm sure I wore out my friend's ears talking about what I saw repeatedly on the playground for the rest of the school year. Of course that summer it all paid off when "Ghostbusters" came out.

See the original trailer for "Ghostbusters" here.

Can you recall the trailers that grabbed your attention and made you want to see the film at any cost?

Dvd pick of the week-out April 20

Crazy Heart


It isn't perfect and it isn't wholly original in terms of narrative, but the film has a warm heart and a performance by, in an Oscar-winning turn, Jeff Bridges that makes it deserving of recommendation. Maggie Gyllenhaal is reliable as always as a single mother who has made poor choices in men and now finds herself falling for an aging country singer named Bad.