Introduction to Film

Deconstructing an Identity

2005-05-02T15:18:00.000-04:00

A question that has peaked my interest on a number of occasions (first in viewing Citizen Kane, and then through several other works that dealt with a similar subject) is that of how well we can truly understand the real man behind a public persona that the media (whether through film, television, or the press) presents to us. I would assume that Orson Welles would agree, through the story of Charles F. Kane, that such depictions can never truly capture the essence of a man in its entirety.
I recently watched filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering Kofman’s documentary Derrida, a film which is the end result of the five years worth of footage they collected interviewing and accompanying Jacques Derrida, the late 20th. century French intellectual who, by his death last October had become one of the most highly praised and notoriously difficult philosophers of the 20th. Century. Having recently been exposed to several of his later works, I approached this film wondering what kind of insight a 90 minute film could possibly offer into a life devoted to complex philosophical inquiries that inherently defy easy summary.
Derrida is celebrated as the father of deconstruction, a method of critical inquiry that was centered on the belief that all writing was full of confusion and contradiction, “and that the author’s intent could not overcome the inherent contradictions of language itself, robbing texts – whether literature, history or philosophy – of truthfulness, absolute meaning and permanence. The concept was eventually applied to the whole gamut of arts and social sciences, including linguistics, anthropology, political science, even architecture.” Rather than attempting to undertake the futile effort of presenting a watered-down attempt at paraphrasing Derrida’s life and work, the film embraces its limitations, often poking fun at the filmmakers’ task by reminding us that their documentary can’t really do anything beyond supplying us with a fragment of momentary truth. Both they, and Jacque constantly remind us of the certain degree of superficiality that is present at all times during the filming process. He notes several times that he becomes a different person once the camera is on; they remind us with amusing moments in which the crew experiences various technical difficulties that repeatedly interrupt his efforts to properly explain anything in detail. Throughout the film, Derrida becomes a part of its deconstructionist subject’s purview by observing its shortcomings as both a form and a forum. “Generalities,” Jacque offers “are all the filmmaker can be concerned with.”

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

2005-05-02T11:33:00.000-04:00

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (starring Mos Def and Warwick Davis) is a goofy, fun movie detailing the mishaps of Fred (Mos Def), and Marvin (Warwick Davis) as they travel the galaxy in search of the one Question. This movie is definitly fit for all ages, and though a little too goofy for my taste at times, overall, the movie was a winner. The actors are mildly shallow, as with most movies fit for children, but they fit the theme and so it is not too large a detriment to the story.

The Special effects of this movie were superb, at times breathtaking scenery of our own earth, at other times highly complex world of the unknown. One particular scene which stuck in my memory is that of the planetary building grounds, where you could see parts of many different planets being assembled in a variety of shapes. The editing is lacking in some spots, some scenes are obviously unnecessary, such as the scene of trillian after she steps out of the shower after Marvin has left. The acting of the movie was altogether non-remarkable, though the special effects and the general theme of the movie make up for this as to not affect the movie too greatly. I would recommend this movie to anyone who needs a few moments of stress relief and a generally light-hearted time.

Troy (Blog Entry 2)

2005-05-01T14:25:00.000-04:00

This was an excellent movie. I enjoy movies from the medival times, so I am a little biased towards movies like this. This movie was directed by Wolfgan Petersen. This movie was full of great shots and graphics. The way the director portrayed and shot the fighting during the war taking place in the movie was very good. There was obviously a lot of casting done for this film and it showed how well they chose everyone.

I thought the cinematography of this film was extraordinary. The way they were able to make all these overhead shots to show what is going on really caught my attention. The cinematography of this film showed the tension between the two nations. It was able to capture the feelings of the leaders and their feelings toward one another.

The director also did a great job just simply shooting this film. The editing really contributed to how great the movie turned out. The director chose great shots to include in the fighting scenes. Every fight meant something and you were able to recognize who was fighting, and the importance of the character's involvement in the fight. Not one shot went by without the audience being "into it".

The story was not entirely accurate, but that is entertainment. The movie is supposed to entertain us as well as tell us a story. Movies based on medival times seem to get better and better in my opinion. Probably becuase of the different technologies coming out, and the better shots they are able to take. Overall, I really enjoyed this film and I would recommend it to anyone.

Kill Bill Volume 1 (2nd Blog Entry)

2005-04-28T16:15:00.000-04:00

"Kill Bill" was an awesome movie! This film should have warned everone about the action and blood, but if you know Tarantino's style, you would have already known. It was beautiful to watch, full of color and imagery. Quentin Tarantino (director) has put together a masterful presentation that invokes shock and awe.

It has created a stylish environment that is as artistic as it is violent. It is a highly stylized display that pays homage to the genre of martial arts, yet simultaneously transforms what we know to a higher art form. Here, Tarantino presents film in a multitude of artistic forms. There is the use of slo-mo, animation, silhouettes, and more.

The background of this story is about revenge. Black Mamba (Uma Thurman) was shot and left for dead on her wedding day by a squad of killers. She miraculously recovers from a 4-year coma, and her will, her drive, and her seething hatred takes her fearlessly around the world so that she can dispense her own brand of justice. Her ultimate goal is to finally kill Bill (David Carradine), and in this first installment, she hunts down assassin-turned-suburban mom Vernita (Vivica A. Fox) and Japanese crime lord O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu).

Kill Bill, brings us into the frenzied, violent and sexual world of anime. The film is all about the setup and the settings. There isn't a whole lot of dialogue. There's just enough exposition to lead us into the next scene, give us some basic background information, and slightly expound upon a character's motivations. It's emotionally powerful

Number 2-The Notebook

2005-04-28T15:04:00.000-04:00

The Notebook is a timeless love story based on the novel written by Nicholas Sparks about two teenagers, Allie and Noah. Their relationship began with a very innocent connection and grew into deep love and intimacy. The relationship that they had was soon seperated by Allie's parents who thought that Noah was too "low class" and not fit for Allie. Many years went by without seeing or hearing from eachother. Meanwhile, Allie was engaged to another man and Noah went to off to fight in the war. Noah wrote Allie everyday for a year but she never got any of the letters; her mom stashed them away so she couldn't read or see them. When Noah and Allie met again they found that their love for eachother still remained. This forced her to choose between her fiance and Noah.

Throughout the movie, this story was read to Allie by Noah. At this point in her life, Allie was in a nursing home suffering from alzheimer and only remembered who Noah was one time each day and only after Noah read her the story did she realize it was actually about them and their own love tale. This movie tells a beautiful story of what love really is and the true meaning of romance.

I thought The Notebook was one of the best love stories i have seen in a long time. Everyone in the movie stayed true to their character which let the audience experience empathy toward them and their situation they encountered. The characters all showed emotion very well which let us believe we were actually there and part of this compassionate love story.

The plot of the movie was very touching to me and it stayed very consistant throughout the entire film. The character development was excellent and it was easy to understand how these young teenagers grew to fall in love with eachother in a few monthes.

All the scenes in the movie were very colorful, making the movie more dramatic and cheerful when needed. Many of the scenes were shot outdoors which made them romantic and emotionally moving.

The Notebook

2005-04-28T06:55:00.000-04:00

The Notebook is the best selling novel by Nicholas Sparks and directed by Nick Cassavetes. Gena Raowlands plays this older woman named Allie Hamilton, she is in a nursing home, she has alzheimer. There is a gentleman in the nursing home, Duke (James Garner), who reads her this story everyday called The Notebook.As the film goes on you slowly realize the story that Duke is telling Allie is about how they fell in love. During the film as Duke is telling the story they show the two of them younger, Allie is played by Rachel McAdams and Noah Calhoun(Duke) is played by Ryan Gosling. Through the film Duke tells this story about two young people falling in love but her parents are trying to stop it. Her parents take her away, noah writes her everyday for a year. Then he goes off to war, when he gets back he buys the house he always wanted. He then fixes up the house and his picture in front of the house is put in the paper. Allie sees the picture in the paper and leaves her fiance to go see noah. They talk and realize they are still in love.

This film was so touching, to see how alzheimer's really does to a person, how they forget there one true love. I couldn't believe how Duke stayed there everyday, for that one split second that she would remember him. The end of this movie was so touching, Duke went into Allie's room, he layed next to her they held hands and they died together.

This film touched me so much because I work with alzheimers and dementia people, I see this everyday. I see families coming in hoping that today will be the day there relatives would remember them. It is very heartbreaking.

The way this film was shot with the scale,angles, and lighting it basically told the audience the story. The director did a great job with the camera movement also, just told these two peoples life story so well. The actors capture Allie and Noah so well. They made you know who these two people were and why they were so much in love.

I know this sounds really girlie but I never cried so hard at a film in a very long time. The Notebook was a moving, sweet, and loving film that I have seen in a very long time. This film made me at the same time not want to get older and forget the one person that I love with all my heart. It was a sad but happy film at the same time.

The Graduate (2nd blog entry)

2005-04-27T23:17:00.000-04:00

The Graduate (1967) is one of my favorite films. It's about a young man named Ben (Dustin Hoffman), who graduates from college and isn't sure about his future. At the party Bens parents throw for him for graduating, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), the wife of one of his father's business partners, asks him to drive her home, he does so reluctantly. She tries to seduce him , although he resists, he calls her a few days later, moslty out of boredom, and the two begin a disturbing affair, given the age difference.
The cinematography in The Graduate leans heavily toward point of view shots, a style shown by a scene in which Bens parents and the Robinsons are staring down at him while he is drifting in the pool. Audiences see from Bens perspective as these four adult figures loom overhead, sun shining in the camera and blurring their faces and obstructing their expressions. This style of cinimatography can be very effective in films that focus primarily on a single character and his actions, life, and feelings, which is why it worked so well in The Graduate.

"The Last Samurai"

2005-04-27T22:12:00.000-04:00

"The Last Samurai" (2003) is an overall excellent film. Every formal element that we have studied in this course is used in a spectacular way throughout this film. Tom Cruise plays a Civil War Captain who journeys to Japan to teach the imperialist army modern-day warfare to conquer the native Samurai tribes. In a horrific battle Algen (Tom Cruise) gets captured by the Samurai and is thrown into a harsh territory. Through deep soul searching and the great appreciation of the Samurai culture, Algen finds himself supporting his once enemy... The Samurai.
I don't want to get too deep into the summary of the film, for I don't want to ruin it to any students who have not seen this film. (I highly recommend it.) The mise-en-scene is out standing in the film and could have never been possible if not filmed in Japan. The wardrobes wore by the characters were highly detailed and strongly enhanced the traits of Japanese in the earlier days. The Japanese setting like I mentioned earlier was awesome because the film became more realist and authentic

Last Life in the Universe (2nd Blog)

2005-04-27T21:16:00.000-04:00

Last Life in the Universe, is a film so finely woven with details that it often forces viewers to pause and take a breath. For instance, the shot of the sliver of cigarette smoke lingering in air is so artfully framed that it seems more like a moving painting then a shot from a movie. Last Life in the Universe was directed by Thai filmmaker Pen-ek Ratanaruang, who is most notably known for his films Fun Bar Karaoke (1997) and Monrak Transistor (2001).

Japanese film star Asano Tadanobu (Zatoichi, Ichi the Killer) is the heart of this movie, skillfully portraying Kenji, a suicidal librarian whose only ambition is to end his life--but somehow can't seem to carry out the final deed. His counterpart is played by the less famously known Thai film actress Sinitta Boonyasak who plays Noi, a young Thai woman that Kenji meets by chance and who eventually changes Kenji's outlook on life.

The general pacing of the movie is rather slow, but picks up with small action sequences that are interspersed throughout the movie. The action sequences almost seem out-of-place in this relatively quiet film, but without it the film would have lost the audience's attention and interest. Regardless of pacing, Last Life is still a film worth seeing if for its delicate details, which comes at you in a serene way. There is an art to Last Life that makes you look beyond story plot and sensibility and urges you to take more pleasure in its visual nuances. Overall, it was a beautifully crafted movie.

The Son

2005-04-27T20:58:00.000-04:00

The Son, directed by Jean and Luc Dardenne is a movie that follows Olivier, a carpentry teacher in a trade school for boys coming out of juenile detention. The film opens up with Olivier denying a boy entry to his class and then running around the school trying to catch a glimpse of him as he is put into another class. Olivier then accepts him into his class and developes a close relationship with the boy while trying to maintain a professional distance. We learn that Olivier Had a wife and a son at one point but they divorced after thier son was murdered. We learn that the boy that Olivier is befriending actually killed his son. The movie ends in an emotionally charged confrontation between Olivier and his son's murderer. This movie had a Dogme 95ish quality to it. There was no music in the film and it was all shot with a hand held camera. This film had a power to it that is rarely captured on film. The simplicity in the story and the acting gives it a realistic feeling. The story seems farfetched, why would this man befriend his son's killer? But as the film moves on we understand that he is still in mourning and this is giving him closure no matter how painful it may be for him. The final scene leaves us with a moral lesson somewhere between walking a mile in someone elses shoes and two wrongs dont make a right. A must see for all movie fans or those simply interested in the human condition.

2005-04-27T13:02:00.000-04:00

To keep with the theme of the class, memory, I chose 50 First Dates, starring Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, to do my second blog entry on. This is a light-hearted romance movie with Adam Sandler humor. This movie shows the life after short-term memory loss. The story takes place in Hawaii, where the two fall in love and meet again everyday, because Lucy's, Barrymore's character, memory gets erased in her sleep everynight. Her family decides to hide this horrible truth from her and let her think that everyday is the same day, Sunday, October 13. When Henry Roth, Sandler's character, comes along and challenges her family to tell Lucy everyday about what happened to her. So, she can live her life with some meaning for the rest of the day. I thought this movie was a cute story about two people falling in love through many obstacles. However, after seeing Memento and remembering what I learned in Cognitive Psychology, the representation of the short-term memory loss was not accurate in 50 First Dates. In Memento, the main character could only remember something if it occupied his mind, but if his attention was brought to something else he would forget the prior thing. This is a much more accurate illustration of short-term memory loss.
However, Drew Barrymore's performance was outstanding. She always makes acting look so easy. To play a girl who loses her memory in a romantic comedy has to take talent and skill. She definitely pulls it off. This is her second movie with Adam Sandler. The first was the Wedding Singer, which was just a good. However, in most of Adam Sandler's romantic comedies he plays kinda of the same character. His character is usually a guy who has some weird extreme characteristic, which in this movie was his addiction to one-night stands, but he is still an overall nice guy. In one way that is good because you always know what to expect for him in his films, but people may also get bored of the same kind of character in his movies.
Additionally, the beautiful mise-en-scene of the film, set in Hawaii, adds to the light-hearted film. Palm trees, bright green grass, and the crystal blue water complimented Barrymore's character. Her being a smart, funny, and caring woman went well with the bright and sunny scenery of the island. The mise-en-scene also went along with Sandler's carefree character who before meeting Lucy jumped from one woman to the next, like the wind blowing the leaves of the palm branches.
Overall, the movie is definitely a date or couple movie filled with fun and heart warming laughter.

Reservoir Dogs

2005-04-26T20:46:00.000-04:00

Director Quentin Tarantino is well known for his witty dialogue, obscene language, and graphic violence. Reservoir Dogs is a film about a group of men who are working together on a jewel heist. The movie takes place after the botched robbery occurred. Three of the men, Mr. White, Mr. Orange, and Mr. Pink (Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, and Steve Buscemi, respectively) Are waiting in the meeting place that all of the men were supposed to go after the heist. The movie is mostly flashbacks that explain the members of the heist's pasts. None of the member's names are known, as they are given aliases based on colors. All together there are six members not including the boss, Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney), and his son, Nice Guy Eddie (Chris Penn). The plot of the movie is that one of the members of the group is a cop, and the "rat" has to be found.
The actors in this movie are amazing. Tarantino always manages to find top notch actors for his films. Tim Roth portrays the undercover cop well. He has the innocent look of a cop, with a gritty attitude that shows the killer in him. Harvey Keitel uses his stage presence to portray the leader towards the beginning of the film, and he gains respect by his honorable actions and concern for his injured friend. Steve Buscemi has had lots of practice portraying the paranoid bad guy, and this performance matched the other great ones he's had in Fargo, and Con Air.
The scenery in Reservoir Dogs is mostly the inside of a warehouse, but that's all the movie needs, since most of the movie's plot is spread through dialogue and not action. The film's story was intriguing and a deep look into the life of a criminal. The vicious characters, and the dishonesty that the members of the heist go through create a set of characters that the audience loves to hate.
Reservoir Dogs has the violence, wit, and subject matter that was ahead of its time when Tarantino directed the movie. Now the film has become a classic, and is mentioned on most of the top film lists. If you need to brush up on your pop culture this is a must see.

The Score

2005-04-26T19:05:00.000-04:00

With Director Frank Oz putting together Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando, and Edward Norton, it's very difficult not to produce a great movie. That's exactly what The Score is. This clever film tells the story of Nick Wells, played by Robert DeNiro, who’s a master thief also doubling as a jazz club owner (now you know how he got the money to own it). When a friend, Max, played by Marlon Brando, tells him about a priceless antique scepter contained in a Montreal customs building, and what a pay-off this heist will bring, Nick decides against his golden rule, not to not rob his own hometown, Montreal, and go for the job. To pull off the heist, Nick needs to work together with a smooth conman named Jack, played by Edward Norton, who also doubles as something else. He’s the janitor at the Customs building, named Brian, who presents himself to us as mental handicap , who knows every inch of the Customs Building. Together, these two plot and scheme to steal the scepter.
The Score is one sophisticated, complex heist story. The detailed lead in to the climax, although somewhat slow, allows for total character and plot development. Every single word uttered and movement performed is calculated to the inch, each one being an important piece of the big puzzle. So you have to pay attention or you're sure to miss something! As for the acting. I can’t say anything short of wow. It's pretty damn good. How can you expect anything less though with this lineup?? You forget that the actors are mere actors, because they play their parts so well. If you're in the mood for a clever, intricate plot mingled with double dealing, and a bit of humor, this movie is for you. It really goes to show you that you don't need much booty shaking, gun firing, and blood shed to make an excellent movie! Not to say that The Score doesn't have its share of juicy stuff, it's just a different kind of juicy. Like "Wow, that's smart!" kind of juicy. We’ll, you'll see what we mean when you see this amazing heist unfold!

Blog #2 Donnie Darko

2005-04-26T17:04:00.000-04:00

nnie Darko (Richard Kelly 2001) is a eye opening psychological thriller that will really make you stop and think. Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) is your average teenager who goes to a private school and has emotional problems. These emotional problems eventually lead him to his death. This film is truly a mind boggling experience. Kelly indulges us with amazing camera angles which pan left and right and everywhere in between all while being choreographed to the soundtrack, which is also amazing. The best scene is when Donnie Darko walks through the school after he sees his future. We see a upward angle shot of Donnie getting off the back of the buss and then hi enters the school and the music starts playing, from here on every change of the camera is influenced by the music, we speed up slow down and zoom in on every character in the movie. The only thing I do not like about the film is the plot. Being a longer film with a twisted plot, it gets hard to follow towards the end and you find yourself asking what just happened.
The film is basically about Donnie being able to see and communicate with the future and finds out that his life is going to end in 28 days 6 hours 42 minutes and 12 seconds. We then head through an adventurous ride of the events that follow. In the end, even though he knows he is going to die if he stays in his room, he stays and laughs in his last seconds as an airplane engine falls through his roof and onto his bed. Really weird, but the film sound lighting and camera angles will make you want to watch it over and over again.

Rear Window

2005-04-26T16:56:00.000-04:00

Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window does an excellent job portraying a movie with complex mise-en-scene, an interesting plot and superb acting all taking place within the confines of an apartment and the view of the backyard from the "Rear Window". With James Stewart playing L. B. 'Jeff' Jefferies, an injured-in-action photographer keen on traveling the world, and Grace Kelly playing Lisa Carol Fremont, an extremely successful and well established woman in the big city, with plan to marry Mr. Jeffries. The plot opens into the relatively ennuie life of Mr. Jeffries; used to traveling to world, cooped up in his apartment with a broken leg. One aspect of this movie which i really enjoyed, especially being that the movie is over 50 years old is the incredibly complex mise-en-scene, more importantly, it was complex while still being viewed from through the window.

Another Aspect of this movie which i personally enjoyed being a person who does not watch many old movies, was the glimpse or manners and customs fifty years ago. Having only seen Vertigo of the Alfred Hitchcock movie collection, i find seeing Rear Window to be a rewarding experience and look forward to seeing other Alfred Hitchcock movies.

The conveyance of themes through music was a critical part of this movie. The apartment in which the musician lived was the staging ground for all aspects of music, making the movie completely diogetic.

2nd Blog - Fever Pitch

2005-04-26T11:44:00.000-04:00

I didn't know quite what to think as I sat down to watch the Farrelly Bros.' new film, Fever Pitch. Was it going to be a slap-stick, gross-out humor, laugh fest like There's Something About Mary or was it going to be more like the Nick Hornby novel it's adapted from? Fortunately for me, it fell somewhere in between. Based, loosely, on a novel by the author of High Fidelity and About a Boy, it tells the story of a woman who falls in love with a man who is obsessed with a perpetually losing sports team (in the novel, as well as the British version of the film, it is a soccer, or football, team; here it is the Boston Red Sox) and the compromises the two of them must make to make their relationship work. Starring the perpetually perky Drew Barrymore and the (so-far) unlucky in film Jimmy Fallon, the acting seem forced at times but luckily for them, the story is cute and winning enough to make this an enjoyable experience.

Like most romantic comedies, there is nothing particularly remarkable about the editing, the sound (the entire soundtrack is baseball/sports songs), or the cinematography until they get toward the end of the film. Lucky for the Farrelly Bros they were able to send their stars and a skeleton crew to the actual Red Sox games and the footage of Drew Barrymore running barefoot across a baseball diamond is classic. The realism adds a bit of interest in something other than the story. Yet, because they were actually AT the games, they were able to witness the Red Sox actually defeating the curse, thus making them not exactly the best team to use in this love triangle. After a hefty amount of rewrites, the film came out as a sweet, cute, enjoyable film complete with the traditional tropes of the rom-com, pregnancy scare, break-up, and even though you probably have all figured out how it ends, I won't ruin it for those who would want to go see it.

Meet The Fockers

2005-04-22T19:52:00.000-04:00

“Meet the Fockers” which was directed by Jay Roach is a very funny movie and full of adventures. It is the second part of the movie “Meet the parents” which was out in 2000. In the first part, Greg (Ben Stiller) wanted to propose to Pamela (Teri Polo) but first he had to meet her parents in order for them to get to know him but the weekend did not end up being enjoyable as Pamela’s father put Greg in many embarrassing tests. However, Four years later, the Greg and Pamela arranged for Pamela’s family to meet Greg’s family over for the weekend in order for the two families to get to know each other. However, it was more embarrassment and humiliations as the Byren’s meet the Fockers.
The two families are totally different from each other and that’s what created all the excitement about this movie. For example Pamela’s fathers Jack (Robert De niro) is a former CIA agent that wanted to know everything about Greg as he made his phone calls and search the CIA data base to see if Greg hiding anything. Pamela’s family is very classic and strict about what they say and do and take life very seriously. On the other hand, Greg’s dad was a former lawyer and his mother Rozi (Barbra Streisand) is a sex therapist for the elderly and they are very open minded and talk about sex very openly and they are the type of people that wants to have fun and enjoy life. As those families meet, the adventure begins.
Most of the movie takes place in the Focker’s house, either inside or outside. The editors used a lot of the natural light in this movie even inside because in some shots you feel like they needed more lighting for instance, when they were looking at the wall with all the trophies and the stuff that belongs to Greg, it was kind of hard to see some of them and what’s written on them. The editor also tried to focus on showing the audience how crazy of a family Greg has and the editor tried to emphasis on it in different ways in the movie. For example Greg tried to hide from Pamela’s parents that his mom is a sex therapist because he was very embarrassed and as she talks about lit freely when he knows how Pamela’s parent are. Another example is how the directress set up the house full of naked statues of the human body and how Greg tried to collect all of them and hide them away from the Byners but he sill missed some that was caught by Pamela’s dad. This was a way to show and emphasis of the audience what kind of an open family the Fockers are and this actually truly reflects their personality.
Another point that made this movie so much fun to watch is the cast and the acting. This movie had a great cast of actress and actresses that mad the movie so live. Starring with Robert De Niro, to me just by looking at him and at his face impressions he makes me laugh. He did his part very beautifully especially when he talks to Greg and tries to look in his eyes to see if he is lying to him. Barbra on the other hand did a great job pulling this crazy, wild character and brought it alive. On the other hand, Dustin Hoffman is a great actor and him being with De Niro was the best idea as you can see the chemistry between these two characters come alive especially is some scene when Hoffman tries being himself as a touchy person with De Niro and you see De Niro’s face expressions. In general, the cast played a big role in the success of this movie and you get to see how the cast was actually enjoying themselves as they were working and that’s what brought this film to life.
Finally, I want to say that this was a great movie; it was a combination of love, comedy and family relationships all in one. It was a picture of any couples process of getting married as the families has to get together to meet and know each other, but these two families are totally the opposite and that’s what made it very funny to watch. However at the end you see how love is stronger than anything as Greg and Pamela get married around their families and how the families get along and enjoy their time.

Rear Window

2005-04-22T13:02:00.000-04:00

This film really surprised me. In the beginning it seemed to drag and it did not hold to much attention. Once the film picked up and it was clear what was going on a new light shined and the enjoyment began.
Rear Window is a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and it stars James Stewart who plays L.B. 'Jeff' Jeffries a temporarily crippled man who sits helpless in his apartment as he recovers. With nothing but time on his hands he sits in the rear window of his apratment and observes the neighborhood activity night and day. Though his observation he discovers what he believes to be suspicious activity by one of his neighbors, Lars Thorwald, played by Raymon Burr. He tries to explain his suspicion to his detective freind Lt. Thomas J. "Tom Doyle", played by Wendell Corey, but he is percieved as paranoid. Eventually his suspicions are shared with his lady friend Lisa Carl Fremont, played by Grace Kelly and together they go on a super snopp investigation that helps to uncover a shocking truth in a quiet urban setting.
This was an outstanding movie. The mis-en-scene and use of lighting helped to take the auidence to a different existence. The set design was amazing. The entire movie took place in one courtyard but through great editing and a good storyboard it felt like the camera traveled miles from one window to the next.
The diegetic sound really helped to set a mood in the film.
Every camera angle and shot helped to draw the audience in closer to the characters.
This is definately on the top ten list of must see films. This is a classic that could be watched at least two more times without getting bored.

Final Cut: 2004

2005-04-22T12:18:00.000-04:00

What if every waking moment of your life was recorded? What if when a person died his or her entire life, every embarassing and humiliating detail, was captured or filmed. Better yet, what if people knew that every moment of their life was being filmed? Would it change the human character, or create a superficial society that alters peoples natural actions or instinctive behaviors that they would be suseptable to performing if a digital recorder was not present. This is the plot behind Final Cut, directed by Omar Naim. In this film Robin Williams palys Alan W. Hakman, a professional "cutter" who's profession requires him to view footage taken out of the deceased's memory chip which is embedded in their brains at birth. With the extracted footage he creates a "rememory" which is similar to a wake or a funeral. The friends and loved ones of the deceased view this footage in an attempt to try and remember the dead in the most positive manner. Alan's job becomes more and more difficult as he finds immoral and many times illegal occurrances in the memories, and he must delete them and pretend they never happened.
Alan finds that with being so intimate with the lives of other people his own life is being affected. His girlfriend Delila, played by Mira Sorvino begins to feel neglected and in competition with his work.
This movie raises a reoccuring question. What are the boundaries that should not be crossed by man? Is it immoral to look in on the life of a man or is that for God alone to do. In the film there are protesters and rebels to oppose the memeory chip. Some people go as far as to get tatoos on their faces that are laced with electromanetic ink which prevents the implant from recording. This movie also explores memory. What is memeory and are memories only what we want them to be. The past always seems brighter than the present...why is that? The old days are always the good old days. What color was the shirt you wore to your 8th grade dance, was it blue or green, or was it blue green?
This movie was a little slower than expected. It had the potential to be a very good film. Based on the topic and the plot it would seem like this film would be an intensed experience. It was a little disappointing. Even with the dissapointment it is still an interesting Sci-Fi "what if"type of film. What for it to come on the Sci-fi channel it's not worth your $3.00 at Blockbuster.

2nd Blog- "BLOW"

2005-04-21T12:13:00.000-04:00

"Blow", directed by Ted Demme, is an emotionally lifting and depressing drama based on a true story, the life of George Jung (played by Johnny Depp). The film takes us on the wild ride that was George Jung's life, a child from a small humble family who quickly turns to the life of marijuana smuggling. But Jung's real passion arouse during his first conviction sentence, where he meets Diego Delgado (Jordi Molla) and splashes into the world of cocaine smuggling to become the pioneer of the cocaine market in the 70's.
The movie introduces different stylistic elements that accent Jung's emotions and thoughts, sidestepping the action filled scenes of the drug-fueled lifestyle. The editing was important throughout the movie to capturing the different dimensions of Jung's character. As Jung first starts scoring big with his secret connection, Derek Foreal (Paul Reubens or Pee-Wee Herman), the editing takes a fast pace as we go through fast cuts of different drug-fueled events. The editing takes dives into the dangerous and exciting aspects and also pulls back to harsh reality to give us a different feel and interpretation on things. As Jung is on his upward spiral the editing moves through fast cuts and then slows down at crucial moments, like the meeting with Pablo Escobar. Here the camera starts of focusing on Diego and George and then shifts to Escobar. Escobar's first introduction is filled with cinematography to imprint danger in our minds. The Columbian grounds themselves give off a strong sense of desertedness and an overall feeling of danger. The camera starts off with a very long shot of Escobar talking to a man in the middle of a group, we don't hear what is being said. As Escobar walks away his men gather around and shoot a single bullet into the man's forhead and watch him drop to the ground lifeless. At this point the cinematography shifts to slow motion and stays dead on, in front of Escobar as he swiftly takes off his sunglasses and approaches George and Diego. When the decision is made, they are going into business togethor, the danger dissapears and is replaced with excitement, glamour, fun. An old pop song plays, very reminiscent of the cocaine era, as the diting jumbles through various stills of all the good times. The cars, the girls, the celebrities, the drinks, the parties, and very quickly jumbles through all the glamours involved in the business. Symbolizing the hectic times and how fast it came and dissapeared.
Blow takes an interesting approach to a movie about a drug smuggler. The film aims to build the character of George Jung and expose his human side. His relationship with his parents that slowly deteroriates to almost nothing. His loves, his passions, his ambitions. The relationship of Jung and his daughter that seems to be the only thing keeping him sane. The movie Blow does a great job of personalizing the audience with George Jung and also exciting the senses with action to portray the extremes of the drug business, danger and glamour. Johnny Depp's acting carries the character perfectly throughout the movie, an outstanding performance.

CLOSER

2005-04-20T15:32:00.000-04:00

Closer, directed by Mike Nichols, is a provocative and realistic story about falling in love with someone you hardly know. The four main characters, Alice, Dan, Anna, and Larry, live in London and seek the one person to call their own but end up finding everything in between love and hate. Their relationships with each other are raw and so unlikable.

One of the taglines for the film was: If you believe in love at first sight, you never stop looking. In this film, those words seem to be the 5th character. We first meet Alice, a free spirit from America and looking for someone to love and someone to love her back. She’s walking down the street with no particular expression until she catches the eye of a young, handsome man walking the opposite direction. Their eyes meet and a loving gaze is exchanged. As the music plays louder and louder, their gaze becomes more intense and their smiles even wider. They might not be in love yet, but they have a bit of an interest. Then as they’re about to cross the street and each other’s paths, Alice is suddenly hit by a taxi. He runs to her side and she turns up to him, a complete stranger and says, “Hello stranger!” Then, using a jump cut, we’re shown a hospital scene with Alice and her strange rescuer. Their conversation in the hospital waiting room is just a classic Hollywood banter between two complete strangers who are attracted to each other. Once they leave the hospital, they ride a bus to his job and exchange more clever talk with each other. They walk into a park where plaques are mounted on the wall showing the names of people who died saving the lives of others. The music plays again; this time a bit more depressing. The nondiegetic sounds just give the audience a feel for the mood in the film between the two characters. We find out that Alice was a stripper in New York and left a boyfriend she “stopped” loving. Once they part ways, we jump to another scene. This time a camera snapping a shot of someone we don’t see yet. We meet Anna ( Julia Roberts), a cold but beautiful photographer taking pictures of Dan, the good Samaritan from earlier. They have a conversation about borrowing and stealing the lives of people they write about and photograph. She tries not to open up herself to him and he tries to pry into her and the camera keeps snapping away. Soft, classical music plays in the background on her radio. He’s falling in love with her beauty, her charisma, and her coldness. They share an intense but sweet kiss. The classical music keeps playing and you can also hear children playing loudly outside her window. But somehow we don’t seem to pay attention to all that; the kiss is shown in an extreme close-up showing from their shoulders up.

Alice shows up at the studio and asks Anna to take her picture. Alice knows and sees the fire between Anna and Dan. She is hurt but continues to love him.

Then we meet Larry in a sex chat room talking to Dan but he thinks he’s talking to Anna. Larry is a doctor, a perverted one at that. As the conversation becomes graphic, he shuts the door and the classical music becomes more intense as well. They agree to meet for a rendezvous to play out Larry’s fantasy at the aquarium. Larry goes to the aquarium and sees Anna. They meet but Chat room Anna isn’t the Anna we already know. Surprise Surprise. They share the day together and find out that they might actually have something in common. We jump to Alice and Dan getting ready for a night out. They’re going to an exhibit that Anna is having. As Anna and Dan have their conversation, Alice meets Larry. We knew Anna and Dan were attracted to each other. But Larry and Alice seem to have a bit in common too. They can’t seem to get 100 percent out of their lovers. We jump to another point in the future. Dan comes home and tells Alice that he is in love with Anna and has been sleeping with her for a year. Anna and Larry have married. Larry comes home from a trip and tells his wife he cheated on her while away and she ends up confessing her infidelity to Larry. An argument ensues of course.

Dan and Anna begin seeing each other exclusively. Larry goes to the strip club to get over his breakup and runs into Alice. He requests a dance and we don’t see it but we can just assume they sleep together. They both do it to redeem themselves. Their former lovers are in love with each other and have left them.

Dan and Anna meet at the opera house. She has just finished meeting Larry for lunch and a divorce. When Dan gets up to use the bathroom, we’re shown a scene with Anna and Larry. Larry begs her to come back and she begs him to sign divorce papers. He agrees on one condition: to share one more sexual adventure. Anna agrees and we’re then shown them getting dressed and Dan coming back from the bathroom to confront her.

I don’t want to give the ending away but it is funny how adults today seem to fall in love with the idea of falling in love. Closer brings the audience into the raw reality we call relationships. Relationships today seem to be more superficial than ever. What does love mean? They say they love each other but Alice tells Dan that she doesn’t see or touch or feel the “love.” The song “Blower’s Daughter”, the first song we hear, says “So it is, just like you said it would be, life goes easy on me most of the time…” These words play into the fact that you can screw each other over but the ones that are meant to come together in the end will do so. The ending was satisfying even though you almost wish you could see more of what each of them is doing. The song says “I can’t take my eyes off of you” and Dan and other men can’t seem to take their eyes off of Alice. It was so good and I was so happy about the ending I almost cried. The music makes the film more emotional and heart wrenching. The use of jump cuts throughout the entire movie to show different moments in time wasn’t confusing at all even though the film takes place over a period of 3 years or so. I loved it. Go see it or rent it. Great performances.

Note: it’s funny this movie was mentioned in class this week and I was gonna write about it in my blog entry….

Blog # 2 - Body Double (1984)

2005-04-19T23:15:00.000-04:00

The first time I watched Body Double, I made the mistake of taking the film too lightly. I was young, and provocative nudity in the third scene made me forget the genre – mystery-suspense. As a result, the plot seemed disconnected and illogical. The film left such a horrible impression on me I decided to see it again out of spite. Having now seen it at least seven times, I can look back and appreciate the film as a true masterpiece. The simple truth is that during my first frustrating and confusing viewing, I was assailed by DePalma’s genius.
Body Double (1984), written and directed by Brian De Palma, offers up an extremely implausible yet highly entertaining tale of suspense and mystery. The main character is struggling actor Jake Scully (Craig Wasson), a Californian man who comes home from the set early one day to find his girlfriend in bed with another man. In this scene, a musical motif is used to aid the mood of happiness and preceding anger. This motif is non-diagetic, and appears throughout the film in different forms.
The event prompts Scully to find a new home, and he does so by befriending the charismatic Sam Bouchard (Gregg Henry), also an actor, who offers Scully the opportunity to house sit for him. Sam’s house is very elegant, and lighting for the interior shots is soft to increase the sense of opulence in the home. Bouchard shows Scully around, pointing out a telescope near a window that allows a view into the home of a very attractive woman named Gloria Revel. The motif plays again here, as the audience is looking through the telescope (an inverted iris is used).
Eventually, Jake Scully becomes obsessed with the woman on the other end of the telescope, and begins following her. Jake also notices an ugly man (who he later describes as simply "the indian") following the woman. One night Jake is looking through the telescope, and watches in horror as "the indian" uses a large drill to kill Gloria Revel. Jake fails to stop the murder, and detective Mclean (Guy Boyd) doesn’t believe Scully’s story of "the indian" intruder. The incident prompts Jake to solve the murder himself, and leads him into the porn industry, where he stars in an adult film and meets porn star Holly Body (Melanie Griffith). Finally, Jake solves the murder, and discovers that Sam Bouchard is actually Alexander Revel (Gloria’s husband) and "the indian" (thanks to a mask). The end sees Alexander Revel meet his maker, and Jake Scully lives happily ever after with Gloria Revel.
The film’s climactic finale is ripe with continuity errors. In the beginning, the scene is saturated with rain. By the end things are dry. Also, it is in this scene where a dog pounds his head through the window of an SUV that was already broken. I still laugh when I see it, because it’s simply illogical.
Body Double deals with themes of voyeurism and mistaken identity. It is Jake Scully’s belief in "the indian" and Sam Bouchard that give the film it’s narrative drive, and lead to an eventual triumph of good over evil.
Overall, DePalma’s fine story and screenplay evolve into a movie plot that is so rich that full appreciation doesn’t set in until the second viewing of the film. I would recommend this film to anyone – especially fellow Film Class students looking for a challenging and provocative film to discuss.

Film discussion #2 - Body Double

2005-04-19T23:13:00.000-04:00

The first time I watched Body Double, I made the mistake of taking the film too lightly. I was young, and provocative nudity in the third scene made me forget the genre – mystery-suspense. As a result, the plot seemed disconnected and illogical. The film left such a horrible impression on me I decided to see it again out of spite. Having now seen it at least seven times, I can look back and appreciate the film as a true masterpiece. The simple truth is that during my first frustrating and confusing viewing, I was assailed by DePalma’s genius.
Body Double (1984), written and directed by Brian De Palma, offers up an extremely implausible yet highly entertaining tale of suspense and mystery. The main character is struggling actor Jake Scully (Craig Wasson), a Californian man who comes home from the set early one day to find his girlfriend in bed with another man. In this scene, a musical motif is used to aid the mood of happiness and preceding anger. This motif is non-diagetic, and appears throughout the film in different forms.
The event prompts Scully to find a new home, and he does so by befriending the charismatic Sam Bouchard (Gregg Henry), also an actor, who offers Scully the opportunity to house sit for him. Sam’s house is very elegant, and lighting for the interior shots is soft to increase the sense of opulence in the home. Bouchard shows Scully around, pointing out a telescope near a window that allows a view into the home of a very attractive woman named Gloria Revel. The motif plays again here, as the audience is looking through the telescope (an inverted iris is used).
Eventually, Jake Scully becomes obsessed with the woman on the other end of the telescope, and begins following her. Jake also notices an ugly man (who he later describes as simply “the indian”) following the woman. One night Jake is looking through the telescope, and watches in horror as “the indian” uses a large drill to kill Gloria Revel. Jake fails to stop the murder, and detective Mclean (Guy Boyd) doesn’t believe Scully’s story of “the indian” intruder. The incident prompts Jake to solve the murder himself, and leads him into the porn industry, where he stars in an adult film and meets porn star Holly Body (Melanie Griffith). Finally, Jake solves the murder, and discovers that Sam Bouchard is actually Alexander Revel (Gloria’s husband) and “the indian” (thanks to a mask). The end sees Alexander Revel meet his maker, and Jake Scully lives happily ever after with Gloria Revel.
The film’s climactic finale is ripe with continuity errors. In the beginning, the scene is saturated with rain. By the end things are dry. Also, it is in this scene where a dog pounds his head through the window of an SUV that was already broken. I still laugh when I see it, because it’s simply illogical.
Body Double deals with themes of voyeurism and mistaken identity. It is Jake Scully’s belief in “the indian” and Sam Bouchard that give the film it’s narrative drive, and lead to an eventual triumph of good over evil.
Overall, DePalma’s fine story and screenplay evolve into a movie plot that is so rich that full appreciation doesn’t set in until the second viewing of the film. I would recommend this film to anyone – especially fellow Film Class students looking for a challenging and provocative film to discuss.

Introduction to Film

2005-04-19T23:12:00.000-04:00

Introduction to Film

The Seven Samurai

2005-04-18T18:08:00.000-04:00

Akira Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai" (1954) is no doubt one of the finest movies made. It's suggested that this was the first movie in which a team was assembled to carry out a mission. Where the team was more important that the individual. It also, created a genre that would be copied by Hollywood. The direct remake "The Magnificent Seven", as well as "The Guns of Navarone,""TheDirty Dozen" are only a few which incorporate the same principal. "Yojimbo" (1960) was remade as a "Fist Full Of Dollars" and for all purposes gave birth to the spaghetti Western. Kurosawa's movies inspired directors such as George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola. If it wasn't for "The Hidden Fortress" George Lucas may not have made the "Star Wars" series.
"The Seven Samurai" is a movie that depicts life in Japan during the Sixteenth Century when war lords fought for control. The Samurai were hired as skilled warriors. Displaced samurai, ronin would travel from town in search of work.
"The Seven Samurai" is about a small farm village that is periodically raided by bandits for its crops. It's after learning that the bandits have decided to wait for the crops to ripen before they conduct their next raid, the villagers decide to hire a samurai to protect them. Their search appears to be unsuccessful until they find a samurai that believes in their cause. Kambei (Takashi Shimura) decides that a total of seven samurai's would be needed to protect the village from the forty bandits. The search ends with five samurai's, one wishing to become disciple of Kambei, and one that that has no name or credentials, played by Toshiro Mifune. Kambei along with the other samurai's, prepare the village and the villagers for the ensuing raid. It's Kambeis leadership and superior defenses that allow the villagers to wipe out the bandits and save the village.
Kurosawa dose a masterful job creating characters that leave no questions as to their rank and position in the movie. The cinematography with its use of deep focus, editing that uses wipes to create ellipsis, and Kurosawa's attention to detail that creates a mise-en-scene which allows the viewer to do more than watch as the scenes unfolds.
Kurosawa's movies are like fine works of art that need to be seen to be appreciated.

Blog Entry #2 Million Dollar Baby

2005-04-18T16:41:00.000-04:00

Million Dollar Baby directed by Clint Eastwood starring Morgan Freeman, Hilary Swank, and Clint Eastwood, was a truly amazing film. Once again Clint Eastwood is playing his usual character, as a tough guy loner, which he has become a expert at playing. Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) is a boxing manager and trainer who runs a small gym outside of Los Angles. His lifelong friend and former boxer Scrap (Morgan Freeman) helps run the gym. Freeman also narrates the entire film, just like he did in past movies like Sawshank Redemption. Freeman was an excellent choice for this role because he has that unique voice, where it's very flat and natural, he has the ability to make you feel that your right there with characters. Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) a determined boxer walks through the doors of the gym, hoping that Dunn will notice and eventually train her. Reluctant at first, Dunn gives in. Overall, the film is not about the development of a boxer or trainer, but the development of three individuals and the growing importance of their relationship.
The film noir of the movie for the most is a dark picture. Cinematographer (Tom Stern) uses many night scenes and a lot of shadow shots. Such scenes include, Maggie training alone in the dark inside the gym, her driving with Frankie during the night, and her being filmed inside her apartment. Director Clint Eastwood does a great job, without the use special affects or explicit sexuality, creating a film that viewers today will watch and actually enjoy.

Ong-Bak - Thai Warrior

2005-04-18T11:46:00.001-04:00

Directed by Prachya Pinkaew, This is a movie showing the next Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Lee marvel. The name is Tony Jaa, and his is from Thailand. The movie is with subtitles spoken in the Thai language. Ting (Tony Jaa) is living in an native town in Thailand who has just gotten their God's statue stolen from their little town. All the natives worry because without their statue, they believe their crops well not grow meaning the town will suffer and could die. Ting is told to go to Bankok , the capital of Thailand to find who stole the statue and get it back. The plot seems pretty bad, and to some extent it is, but that isn't the point of the movie.
Jaa uses a type of Thai fighting called Muay Thai which focuses on the limbs of your body like the elbows and knees. This type of fighting is pretty new to the film world and quite amazing. The fight scenes are out of this world. The best thing about it is that Jaa uses no stunt doubles and no special effects. All the stunts are real and no additions just to make it more effective. The only thing they did use was the camera angles to make it look and little more exciting. This movie will blow you away with the awesome moves Jaa uses.
Although the movie might seem pretty lame, it makes up for it for all the fight scenes. It is all about the action and most times in action movie, their are not the best plots. Some of the acting is not too hot either, but that is not what matters. If you loved watching Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee movies, this is a movie to see.

Blog Entry #2 - The Bourne Supremacy

2005-04-17T23:20:00.000-04:00

The Bourne Supremacy

The Bourne Supremacy is the sequel to the box office hit Bourne Identity. This film starts 2 years after the last film as Jason Bourne, played by Matt Damon tries to reclaim his life and reclaim his memory. The Bourne films are the most recent addition to the secret agent action genre. It is a packed genre, especially since it includes the Bond series starting production on its 20th film and the newer series like XXX and Mission:Impossible. The Bourne films hold up very well to the aforementioned films. The Bourne series has more depth, realism, and intelligent writing than either of the other series. The hero actual gets hurt if he is shot or hit, there are no agents free climbing a cliff and making unbelievable leaps, or incredible stupid one liners delivered by actors as convincing as Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The action is frantic in the Bourne Supremacy as the setting takes place in 7 distant locations around the world. Early in the movie there is a surprising twist to the film that leads Jason Bourne on a chase around the world to punish those who have hurt him. Just a frantic as the action is so is the camera. The cinematography uses quit a but of bouncing camera to imitate the fast past action on screen. I found this a bit annoying at times because it made it really hard to determine what was going on. In one scene Jason is fighting someone and every time Jason gets hit the camera mimics what is happening to him. It is an interesting idea, but it does not play out well on screen. There is a few other times where it is quite annoying also. I thought it was effectively used in a car chase later in the movie, but it was not necessary in all the action scenes. The uses a lot of medium close-up shots that work well for this film, because we are able to see the characters reactions and anything entering or leaving the screen which may give us a visual clue about what is going to happen next. There where a few minor complaints about the cinematography, namely the director did not really think about the Rule of Thirds. The director constantly had the camera moving with Jason Bourne. In this way, there are a lot of shots that have a lack of depth or interest besides the character in the scene. On the other hand, the pacing of the shots and the transition affects matched the film very well.
Many of the settings in the film take place outside, which keeps the film pretty bright. There is not a lot of sneaking around in the dark like many of the other films.
While the film was still believable on a large scale; I wonder why a character who was on the run constantly, was out in the open during the daylight, especially with no disguise.
As I said earlier I was very impressed with the story. The film is cohesive enough to keep the audience interested, yet has enough plot twist to keep them guessing. I think this is where this series really advances the genre. Where the other series have the hero doing so many outrageous stunts and saving the world 3 times in one film, this movie tries to at least keep the sensationalism to a minimum. At the end of the film you are left with a great feeling of satisfaction about the story. So many of the other films try to have the great chase scene or action sequence but they forget it makes the audience feel like the movie they are watching is a complete joke.
The story keeps the viewer interested in the movie by revealing little bits at a time. The cool things is that those tidbits also effect explain events about the previous film and answer some questions about Jason Bourne’s identity. Where the other films in the genre barely if ever make a reference to events in previous movies, this one does so willing and makes great use of it.
I have to give a lot of praise to the music director. There were several spots in the movie action on screen goes extremely well with the music. There is a chase scene where the music continues to pick up and the drums get louder and louder as the scene gets more intense. There is even a music dissolve into a sound effect if you will; a song ends with a buzzing sound and a new scene starts with the buzzing were of a motorcycle speeding away.
I think the film sets precedence for this genre. It emphatically states that the words exciting and believable can both exist when you are talking about the secret agent action thriller genre. Bond, Mission:Impossible, and XXX have a lot to live up to, but I seriously doubt they will.

Dony

Indecent Proposal/Blog Entry #2

2005-04-17T13:20:00.000-04:00

Indecent Proposal was a movie that got two-thumbs up from me. The movie was about two individual taking a dangerous change, to get out of a desperate situation. A brief summary of the movie, a billionare gives 1 million dollars to a woman for one night of sexual pleasure, who which happens to be marry. With an perfect ending having Demi Moore, run to her one and only love, her husband. First, I did not have a problem with the movie at all. I believe it was well cast, the storyline was excellent, the lighting, and music selection was perfect . The director made you wonder at the end of the movie, how many couple would accept an offer like that? Who wouldn't consider a million dollars in their bank accounts? But, on the other hand, would that person be selling their soul to the devil or would they be setting their relationship up for a terrible ending. The movie illustrates the power of love.

Sin City

2005-04-17T11:47:00.000-04:00

Sin City, directed by Robert Rodriquez with Frank Miller, is a film noir based on the comic series Sin City written by Frank Miller. Quentin Tarantino is credited as a guest director and you can definitely see his influence in the film.

From a narrative standpoint, what makes this film interesting is the fact that there are multiple story lines. The stories are independent, yet they are intertwined as well. The film takes place in Sin city, a run down, crime infested, corrupt hole that makes Detroit’s Cass Corridor of the 60’s look like Beverly Hills. One of the stories involves Marv, who is on a quest for revenge for the murder of Goldie, a prostitute as it turns out, who showed him the ultimate kindness by sleeping with him. The next story revolves around Dwight, who falls in league with a band of gun wielding prostitutes after they kill a corrupt cop. The third story is centered on a beat up cop, framed for a crime he didn’t commit, named Hartigan whose nemesis is a pedophile who happens to be the son of a very powerful, corrupt government official.

The film is shot almost entirely in black and white with certain things being shown in color. Some of these things include: Yellow Bastard being yellow, a woman wearing a dress that is red, a pair of red lips, a flash of mesmerizing green eyes, and a woman’s golden blonde hair (yes this would be Goldie). It might sound strange, but it works in the film and adds to the overall comic book feel of the film.

The action sequences are definitely comic book style. Cars fly through the air in chase or pursuit of one another, people crash through windows but never fall to their deaths as they should. Heroes take a multitude of bullets but, like the Energizer Bunny, keep going and going.

As for the acting, all I can say is was that it was very over the top and cheesy, which is the way it was meant to be. There are some big names in this film but you don’t respond as much to the individual actor as you do to characters they play and represent. They are a complete merger of comic book villains and heroes with film noire types.

From the cheesy characters to the insanely unrealistic action sequences, this film reeks, in a good way, of being a comic book story. I think the directors accomplished what they set out to do, which was bring a comic book to life.

Lost In Translation

2005-04-17T11:07:00.000-04:00

Lost in Translation which was directed by Sofia Coppola is not a typical American movie where sex and infidelity has to be involved for the movie to get the attention. This movie was about a pure friendship between two people trying to find themselves and where they stand in their marriages.
Bill Murray as Bob Harris, a famous 70's action hero whos now making his money by doing whiskey commercials in Tokyo is unhappy in his marriage as his wife stated to negligent him for the kids. He is also unhappy with his carrier especially when he has to deal with people that he cant communicate with (like the Japanese) as we saw is some scenes how he was not really enjoying his shootings for the commercials. On the other hands; Scarlett Johannsen as Charlotte, the young wife of a photographer (Giovanni Ribisi) who is in Japan on assignment spending most of her time traveling the streets and stores of Japan looking for things to do while her husband works. Charlotte was also wondering about her marriage and how her husband negligent her for his works and not spends enough time with her. Eventually her travels and wonders around Tokyo brings her to a bar located in her hotel building where she and Bob first meet who is also a resident of the same hotel. As Bob and Charlotte become friends, it seems that the two of them have finally found what they've been searching for which is a person to talk to, to share things with and to enjoy time with. The obvious affection the two have for each other is beautiful and rather breathtaking. The way Bob gently cuddle Charlotte's foot, the way she looks at him when Bob is singing Karaoke and how he took her to the hospital to have her toe checked out is all so touching.
This movie has a lot of great features staring with sound. The sound in this movie was really great especially in loud scenes when they were playing karaoke as the sound came out beautify. Also the pictures of all the scenes looked clear especially when natural lighting was used, for instance in the bedroom shots as the outside light reflects inside the room especially in the scenes when Charlotte was spending most of her time reading or listing to her CDs . Also, in Tokyos streets with all the lighting on the buildings and even though it was not sunny, the pictures and the colors were clear and balanced for each scene. This movie also had a great cinematography and editing techniques that made the movie very connected.
Finally I would like to say that "Lost in Translation" is a lovely little movie or a journey of two total strangers, full of pain and sadness, as well as some beauty, warmth and humor. It was all about pure friendship and finding your own soul. Both of these characters were confused about their relationships with their spouses as each one of them had their own story to tell and had their own wishes for a better relationship. Even though they were both in a totally different culture, they found ways to have fun and enjoy each others company and learn about each other. However; with all the time they spent together, they started to fall for each other and as if they did not want to leave each other at the end, but there is nothing they could have done but to leave with a great memory in their hearts. It was my first time seeing this movie and in the beginning I thought that it was going to be a boring movie because it started off with Bob a sad depressed person doing his shooting without enjoying them as if someone was pointing a gun to his head. Where on the other hand; we see Charlotte sitting in her room crying because she feels home sick and lonely as her husband ignored her for his assignment. All these sense gave me the impression of a boring and depressing movie. However, as these two meet, you get to see the other side of them as a happy, fun and adventuress people as they toured Tokyo and did everything regardless of the age difference.
Even though it was a short movie, but it was full of life.

Lost in Translation

2005-04-16T13:01:00.000-04:00

Lost in Translation directed by Sofia Coppola featuring Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray is not your typical Hollywood love story. The story takes place in Japan, where the film was entirely shot. One of the main characters is Bob Harris (Bill Murray) an aging American film star who is reduced to endorsing a brand of whiskey in Japan. Without the use of much dialogue and to the credit of sofia's use of cinematography, you can tell that Bob is clearly unhappy with his job, his present surroundings, and his family life back home. All this is captured through Murray's facial expressions, resigned demeanor, and the manner in which he was being filmed. Bob who is unable to sleep meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) a fellow American inside the hotel they where staying at. Charlotte who is a young college graduate, like Bob, she shares similar moods and outlook's. They are both bored, unfulfilled, and unhappy staying in Japan.
Sofia Coppola who is also the writer of the film uses a collection of scenes that revolve around either character and even sometimes simultaneously. A good example of this is when Charlotte is having her toe examined and she is unable to understand the Japanese doctor. At the same time, Bob is in the waiting room experiencing the same problem, understanding the old man he is sitting next to. There where many scenes were either character was shot by themselves. For example, Bob playing golf alone or sitting in the bar alone. Charlotte was continuously filmed alone in her hotel room. There is so much emotions and feelings inside Bob and Charlotte, that it is sometimes hard to express. This is a film where there is some much to be said but little is spoken. This is perfectly manifested in the end of the movie where Bob whispers to Charlotte, and the viewer is unable to hear what is said. What makes this movie so interesting and different from the genre of Hollywood love stories is that, it is up to the viewer to interpret the relationship between the two characters. Instead of having everything handed to the viewer, it's up to them to use their imagination and draw to the conclusions of the film.

"Bamboozled"

2005-04-10T17:09:00.000-04:00

"Bamboozled" (2001), written and directed by Spike Lee, is an edgy and some what controversial film. "Bamboozled" was not a Block-Buster hit, but after viewing it for the third time, I am really intrigued by it. This film is classified as an African American comedy, but may not be funny to many of its viewers. Lee combines many elements into to this film, which makes it very complex. The main elements are tied into Afrian American racial stereotypes that existed over 40 years ago and stereotypes that are pertinent in today's society. Lee's attempt to reveal how the media can manipulate these racial stereotypes was very successful.
The use of high angle shots and low angle shots during the office scenes with Pieerre and his obnotious boss Dunwitty (Michael Rapaport) showed much meaning planned by Lee. Like I stated earlier, Lee combined many elements into this film, but all were tied into racial ideas. When Pieere was sitting in Dunwitty's office discussing possible tv ideas air, the use of angled shots gave the scene a powerful sense of emotion and supior demeanor. During the conversation of this scene the director used close up shots that were angled. When Dundee was speaking to Pierre the close up shot was at a high angle, which was an downward-angle shot. This shot implied that Dunwitty was not only his boss, but it also implied that he was utimatley supior to Pieere based on his white Caucasian skin. During this same scene Pieeree's close up shot was at a low angle shot, where the camera was at a upward-angle. The low-angle shot places the observer in the position of feeling hopeless and intimidated. The combination of these shots in the office scene expresses the inferiority of Pieerre and the superity of Dunwitty. Lee intentionally uses this technique to show that African Americans are still today not created as equal in all ways to the white.
It was refreshing to see Damon Wayans (Pieerre Delacroix) acting in a serious role in "Bamboozled" opposed every other goofy role he has had in the past. The choice for Wayans as the main character Pieerre, a Harvard educated writer, was risky due to his past acting roles. Wayans made a great connection with the character and I believe this role showed movie viewers all over the world that he is a versatile actor.
Overall the complexity of this film is almost overwhelming due to the many ideas touched on throughout out the film. I feel if Lee had focused one of the ten ideas used, the film would have tied together better overall. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the film but, his ideas where a bit much for the point he wanted to get across to his audience.

Waking Life

2005-04-05T16:22:00.000-04:00

Waking Life is not a movie that you can view in the traditional sense. Once you sit back and press play you must relinquish all control to this film as it takes on a surrealistic ride through the mind of Wiley Wiggins. Waking Life is a movie about a boy traveling through his dreams in a lucid state, having numerous conversations about life, death, and religion as he is taken from philosopher, to scientist, to lunatic. The director Richard Linklater takes us on this roller coaster ride, asking all these existential questions, yet gives us no real answers. I feel that this is because the purpose of this film is to show people that these questions are there in the first place. The majority of people who see this film have never heard of lucid dreaming before as well as many of the other ideas presented in this film. Linklater also used a technique to animate this movie that essentially made an unfilmable concept into a spectacular movie. This entire movie was filmed and editedbefore the animation begun. Linklater then gave each sequence to a different artist who illustrated them with a computer program called Rotoscoping. This gave the movie a wavy, surrealistic effect that made the viewer feel like he was in the dream with Wiley.
This movie presents questions that cannot really be answered and we must passively wade through them to enjoy this movie. Waking Life is not a movie that we experience, it is a movie that experiences us.

Mifune

2005-04-04T14:22:00.000-04:00

When we talked, and then read, about Dogma 95 films, I thought we were going to be watching a particularly bad movie. I figured the movie would be set up like a home video being shaky, and that the plot and characters would be very sophomoric compared to the large budget full feature films that are shown in mainstream theaters. Upon watching “Mifune” I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. For starters, the film didn’t look like a home video and other then some of the darker scenes; you couldn’t tell the cameras were hand held. Compared to “Walking Life” and rotoscoping, the movie did not appear shaky at all. I thought that the plot was interesting and the characters were exceptional. The character development was the bright spot of the movie. It kept the momentum and made the movie half way decent. The characters mostly acted as normal humans except in a few situations, which Maikue already pointed out in his entry.
The characters all had misfortune and shame in there lives. Kersten was a simple man from the country trying to act like a big shot from the city, being forced to deal with his mentally challenged brother, Rud as well as his dead father. Liva is a prostitute who tries to justify her actions by paying for her brother Bjarke’s education, who gets kicked out of school. During the development of each of the characters, they realize what things in life are important and what things are not. They become more true to themselves and care about eachother. Even though many people have not gone through these specific situations, they were all easy situations to feel empathy for, which made it easy for me to connect with the charcaters. I normally do not like the simpler movies and find them slow but in “Mifune” the characters made me enjoy the movie.

OPEN WATER

2005-04-03T13:32:00.001-04:00

Open Water (2003), written and directed by Chris Kentis, was one the scariest and most intense non-horror films that I've ever seen. It's the story of an overworked and strssed out couple, Daniel (Daniel Travis) and Susan (Blanchard Ryan), who drop everything to rush off on a much needed exotic vacation. Being that they are both certified in scuba diving, they make the life altering decision to go on a scuba excursion their second day of vacationing. Apparently however, their master scuba guide Davis (Michael E. Williams), and his crew aren't quite as accurate as we'd hoped at counting heads and Daniel and Susan get left behind. Over the course of almost twenty-four hours, this film takes us through almost every possible scenerio of someone being stranded in the middle of the ocean from sheer panic, to hunger and fatigue, and even shark attacks.

The cinematography and use of sound on this film were two of it's greatest attributes. One of the commonly used shot techniques was to have the camera halfway in the water and halfway out, so we could see things that characters sometimes could not, helping to bulid up suspense. Also, the underwater shots gave the film an incredible sense of realism because of that certain sound that being underwater gives evertything, like it's hollowed out or something. I also really enjoyed the non-diegetic music that was chosen for the film because it almost put me in the mind frame of old negro spirituals being sung as someone was going to meet their destinies.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film and thought that it had an incredible sense of realism about it. This situation could so easily happen to anyone and has happened more often than you'd think, that it's scary. It makes you ask yourself, if you were in that situation would you have the will and strength to survive or would just think it was hopeless and give up? Hopefully none of us will ever know the answer and will definately think twice before venturing off into the habitat of another as if it were simply our playground.

OPEN WATER

2005-04-03T13:32:00.000-04:00

Mifune (Sidste Sang)

2005-04-03T03:47:00.000-04:00

Movies that usually top the box-office charts these days normally involve films with under-developed characters and storylines that are overshadowed with lots of action and high-tech visual effects. "Sin City," for instance, topped this weekend's charts. A Boston Globe critic has claimed "Sin City" as a movie full of "...cheaps thrills polished to the level of high art," and generally gave the film a high rating. The recent success of such films as "Sin City" gives proof to the Dogme 95 accusation that today's films are films of "illusion" that do not honestly reflect reality. Dogme 95, in rebellion to the onslaught of, what they term as "superficial" movies, is trying to create more simplistic films without the high-stylized action and visual effects. "Mifune," being a Dogme 95 film, is about simplistic as you can get--at least in terms of visual effects and audio style . But the character development of "Mifune" was rich in detail. Character development was the backbone of "Mifune" and is probably what kept the attention of most viewers. "Mifune" was, at first, slow to start focusing heavily on the character of the young yuppie Kresten. But as the movie progressed the characters deepend and became more alive, allowing viewers to get an intimate perspective.

The main intent of Dogme 95 films is to create pieces of cinema that are realistic. "Mifune" was realistic in the way it revealed each characters individual plight. For instance, Kersten's inability to come-to-terms with his past and his roots; Liva's search for comfort through sex; and Bjarke's confliction over his sister being a prostitute in order to pay for his education. These were all aspects that made the characters of "Mifune" relateable, likeable and thus believeable. But there was an aspect to the film that was too sunshiney and cheery. "Mifune" wasn't wholly credible in its storyline and in its portrayal of how the characters reacted to certain events. Rud's reaction to Kresten's return home, for example, fell flat in the way that it lacked any resentment towards Kresten even though Kresten had, in a sense, abadoned Rud. Granted, Rud was a mentally-challenged character, but it shouldn't have meant that he was entirely oblivious to his feelings of abadonment. Another example of the incredibility of "Mifune" is seen through the way Kresten reacted to the divorce from his wife, Claire. It would seem that losing a wife and a career would have a more powerful impact than it seemed to have on Kersten. Overall, the character development of "Mifune" closely followed the Dogme 95 mantra of reflecting what is real. But the storyline and the way the characters reacted to events was artificial and closely resembled the standard "Hollywood happy-ending."

Blackhawk Down (film analysis-outside of class)

2005-03-28T23:05:00.000-05:00

Blackhawk down is a War movie that leaves the viewer with a greater realistic view of modern urban warfare.
Ridley Scott the director leads us down the road to what actually occured (hollywood version of course) that left 18 US soldiers dead 70 wounded and hundreds of Somalians dead. Ridley Scott answers the questions of "what went wrong" with the relief mission that was supposed to help the impoverished Somailians and outgunned soldiers helping them.
The movie has a good soundtrack and some key hits that play at strategic times.
"We're caught in a trap, I can't walk out......." bellows out as the Helicopter lifts off the ground and you're looking at the faces of clean shaved military cut young men between 19-35. Very innnocent looking this scene sets the stage and creates a dramatic marker to measure against when the shooting starts. Very powerful imagery.
Before "Irene" is about to be executed there's a scene where the leader of Chaulk4 is writing a letter in the hangar. It's very obvious he's nervous and serious. In the background one of the rangers dribbles around shooting baskets. This scene clearly shows me the director is telling the viewer, "Here are the kids that are going out to play today". "But, the game is much more dangerous than shooting hoops, some are not going to return, some will be killed as kids.
Another scene I want to comment on is the scene of preparation prior to the execution of "Irene". The Rangers are getting prepared, and one of them spot a Delta Force soldier getting ready, he's taping his bloodtype on a piece of tape around his boot. The man looks to be in his 30s and the younger Ranger maybe a mid 20. He comments to another Ranger what he's doing and the other Ranger replies it's bad luck. This contrast of age and movements is the directors choice of marking the differences in the 2 types of American soldiers that will be fighting. Though both are elite units, the Delta Force soldiers come across as being more experienced and wiser. This is important as the battle takes place after the move to take the warlord leaders hostage.
The special effects are good. Though gory in some aspects the viewer is plunged into the battle and given a front row seat to the men fighting and dying.
I think the movie is excellent though not one that I would call a typical John Wayner.
The realism is astounding and historically somewhat accurate though of course chewed up and spit out by "hollywood".

Hero

2005-03-28T12:55:00.000-05:00

Hero, directed by Zhang Yimou (2002) is a film set in pre-unified China that shows that "in every war, there are heroes on both sides." A warrior named Nameless (Jet Li) is honored for killing 3 assassins (Sky, Broken Sword, and Flying Snow) of the emperor. As he and the emperor discuss his accomplishment, we see the real story of a vengeful warrior and a surprising conspiracy to rid of the emperor that has destroyed many lives in his quest for unifying China.
Color is used frequently as a theme in the film. Deep, vivid, emotional colors paint each scene and used to convey characters' feelings and depth. There are many battles throuhgout the fim, each picturesque in scene with poetic martial arts. Earthly elements is another theme used frequently in this film. Each of the battle scenes ulitilizes different elements. I only want to mention a few of the scenes so to avoid overkill. The first we see is between Nameless (Li) and Sky (Donnie Yen). Darker in light than most of the film, rain is used beautifully. Nameless breaks through the raindrops to get within fighting distance of Sky. Another battle we see is between Flying Snow(Maggie Cheung and Moon (Ziyi Zhang), a servant of Broken Sword's. The two women are in a forest of Autumn changed trees. Leaves cover the ground. The women fight but look more like two birds in flight. Wind is used as a weapon in this battle by Flying Snow. Beautifully colored and the martial arts to match, this scene is very emotional as well as exciting. When the loser of this battle dies, the color of the scene changes from a gold gradually to a deep red. A very symbolic and thoughtful move by the director. The last battle I want to discuss is one between Nameless and Broken Sword(Tony Leung Chiu Wai). It takes place on a still lake that looks like a mirror. Mountains are in the background and start off a deep, lush green but by the end are white as snow. The two men are on the lake figting each other. Many of the earthly elements are used, and the vision of the scene is unbelievable.
Contrast these scenes to those that portray the Chinese army. When we see the army in battle, the massive group is out in the dry, hot, desolate desert. Everything is covered in the beige sand with the uniforms in black and red (the two worst colors to wear in heat). They battle with bows and arrows. The scene that we get to see them in action portrays great power and astonishing size. The sky fills with flying arrows to the point of almost complete blackness. It is a very powerful scene.
Color not only plays a big part in the settings but also in costumes. As the emperor and Nameless talk, many versions of Nameless' story are told. The costumes change color for each version. This can help in differentiating between versions, give insight to the opinions of the person who is giving their version of the story, give the characters depth and their actions more meaning, but mostly, evoking emotion.
This film is the perfect example of the effect that mise-en-scene and cinemetography can have on a film. Many emotions and character traits can be presented with this technique and something as simple as a change in color can have drastic effects on the way the audience feels, understands, and reacts to different characters and plot changes.
All of these aspects, along with the complex, interesting plot line, give more depth and feeling to this film than almost any other I have seen. The intertwining of the characters' stories and subplots all come together to give even more emphasis to the film's message. Many universal themes present themsleves: love, war, heroism, pride, and beauty. They all come together to give birth to a new theme in the end: nationalism. Each character, subplot, scene, and conflict give more meaning to the explicit message of, "Our Land."

Waking Life

2005-03-27T07:29:00.000-05:00

The beginning of the film starts off with two children, a boy and a girl, playing with a Cootie Catcher (An origami fortune teller). As the boy picks the numbers and colors, his destiny is revealed with the phrase, "dream is destiny." This opening scene sets the premise for the film and starts our unnamed protagonist(Wiley Wiggins) and us the viewer on our journey. As we follow Wiley from conversation to conversation listening to the assorted theories and ranting of street philosophers, scientists, and activists. We come to the realization that Wiley is coughed in a lucid dream that he cant wake up from.
Lucid dream is a term first named by the Dutch novelist, poet, and physician, Frederic van Eeden. He defined a lucid dream as the kind of dream in which you know that you are dreaming. It is often noticed during the dream by something that seems unusual. The floating numerals on the alarm clock and the the lights that won't turn on or off, are Linklater's way to remind Wiley of his dream state. Another important part of lucid dreams is that the dreamer has access to all his mental functions and memories, but is unable to make choices.
It is this frame work ( mise-en-scene) that Linklater chose to answer his own question " how do you make a film about something that most likely happens in the mind?" Armed with an idea, pages of notes and a working method he used the writings of thinkers and philosophers make up the script for the film. He used a digital camera to film the narrations. The completed film was then turned over to the animators. Using a software program (Rotoscoping) the film was animated to give it a surreal feel.
I believe the best was to enjoy Waking Life is to just experience the film and not get cought up in trying to answer the questions put fourth.

Apocalypse Now

2005-03-26T17:26:00.000-05:00

Apocalypse Now has a remarkable view to what the mentality of war veteran or war experience. The beginning of the film starts off with Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) laying down in his bedroom with the narration of his talking about the experiences of what duty he has to fulfill as a soldier in the army. The music works good were in the film it shows him punching a mirror and drinking liquor with slow motion of pain and agony on his face. The scenes later shows the close ups of his superiors (G.D. Spraldin and Harrison Ford) who give him the ultimate assignment to go to the Phillipines to execute and terminate Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando). He is given a team Chef (Frederic Forrest), Mr Clean (Laurence Fishburne), Surfman Lance (Sam Bottoms), and Chief (Albert Hall). As they continue there journey, the willards voice narration continues to explain what is taken place as he his men continue on there mission. As they make a stop, they run into Lieutenant Bill Kilgore (played well by Robert Duvall) who feels that after his mission is completed that he wants to retire to the beach. As they go through many enemy battles and many lives lost, they finally reach there destination with alot of disturbing scenes of dead bodies hanging from trees and decapitated heads placed up like watch lights. Willard meets up with a photojournalist (played with perfection by Dennis Hopper) who tells him what takes place there before meets with Col. Kurtz who later has him imprisoned.

The film has some disturbing scenes that gives a point of view to what a soldier/prisoner has face. For example, when the prisoner is held captive, Kurtz sits the head of Chef in his lap as sits helpless to the grotesque view that it frightens him. Another scene is when they chopped up an aminal (which is a real) during a sacrifice. Francis Ford Coppola has not lost his touch with this film and I find it very spectacualrly good with alot of great settings and realism. The late Marlon Brando is scary as the disturb Kurtz. Martin Sheen gives a moderate performance as the deep thoughted Willard. This is number on my list for war films. A+

Cursed

2005-03-26T17:08:00.000-05:00

Wes Craven whose films Nightmare on Elm Street, The Hills Have Eyes and The Last House on the Left has brought out a generated masterpiece in "Cursed". The film starts off when two girls Becky (Shannon Elizabeth) and Jenny (R&B artist Mya) are at a carnival having fun before they meet a gypsy (Portia De Rossi) who tells them that there lives are in danger. The film cuts to a young man Jimmy (Jesse Eisneberg) who is being bullied by Bo (Milo Ventimiglia) after he thinks that he is trying to take his girlfriend from him. Later on, we see Ellie (Christina Ricci) just getting off work to go see her boyfriend Jake (Joshua Jackson) who feels that things with him have been busy since he owns a club. Another part of the film takes place when Ellie and Jimmy run into "something" before accidentally running into Becky whose car crashes off the road. They later come across a werewolf who kills Becky and wounds both Ellie and Jimmy who are now cursed with the bite. There is also a an appearance by Scott Baio of "Happy Days" and "Charles in Charge" who plays himself as one the guest stars for the Craig Kilborn show. The film is some what predicatable and also has a genuine piece special effects of the werewolves that give me the jitters. I give this film B-.

Saw

2005-03-26T16:15:00.000-05:00

This film has grisly concept to get into your head when a psycopath puts the lives of people in jeopardy. Saw has what I call brain pounding but nerve jumping sequence that occurs in the film altogether. The starts with two men(Cary Elwes and Leigh Whannell) who are chained in a lair with a dead body beside them whose fell victim to the psychopaths mind twisting game. Neither remembers how they got there, but a killer named Jigsaw that has puppet designed to speak to his prisoners on the options. In order to survive they both either have to use a key to unlock themselves from their shackles or use their saws to saw "through" themsevles in order to escape. There is also a flashback were a detective (Danny Glover) is working with his partner (Ken Leung) on the Jigsaw mystery after discovering two victims. As the film plays, I feel that it's giving my mind a painful thought to what can happen in a situation when one a life and others are in danger. Saw is "Silence of The Lambs" meets "Seven". This film to me is a future classic with a remarkable plot twist.

Be Cool

2005-03-26T15:49:00.000-05:00

F. Gary Gray has really made a true with "Be Cool" with a cast so dominating it marks the spot on performances. This sequel to "Get Shorty" has really made a path to show how much effort the director puts in his films. F. Gary Gray has directed music videos for T.L.C. for which he won an MTV award. He later on went to direct his first film Friday with Ice Cube and Chris Tucker which became a number box-office hit. To add to his credits he directed "Set it Off" "The Negotiator" "The Italian Job" and now recently shooting the sequel to the Italian Job which is announced to be in production. The film starts off with a when Chili Plamer (John Travolta) witnesses the killing of his best friend Tommy Athens (James Woods) by a russian mafia. Throughout the film, Chili decides to quit the movie business and get involved the music business were meets Linda Moon (Christine Milian) whose manager Raji who is white but thinks he's black (played humorosly by Vince Vaughn) is not taking her career serious. Not only does Chili have to deal with Raji, but he has to bump heads with record mogul Nick Carr (Harvey Keitel) and their gay-bodyguard-struggling actor Elliott (played laughingly by professional wrestler "The Rock"). As he tries to get Linda's career on track he runs into a gangster music mogul Sin LaSelle (Cedric the Entertainer) with his doofus sidekick (Andre'3000 of Outkast). Carr later on feels that Palmer is becoming problem so he hires a hitman Joe Loop played by Robert Pastorelli of "Murphy Brown" who died while completing the film. This film has what is known to me as politics in both the film and music business were the top dogs are in battle of who gets what and how its done. F. Gary Gray has made a splendid masterpiece with great actors and cameos by Steven Tyler of "Aerosmith" Fred Durst, Wyclef Jam and other stars that make the film worth seeing. I give this film an A+.

Waking Life

2005-03-25T12:52:00.000-05:00

Waking Life is like "Sienfeld;" it's a show about nothing, however, in the case of Waking Life , it's a movie about the deepest and most philisophical nothing. Director and writer Richard Linklater creates a eye-popping world that leaves the audience with some heavy thinking. Wiley Wiggins (Dazed and Confused)plays the nameless main character in this film who is expiriencing a lucid dream, one where he is aware that he is dreaming. Throughout his dream, he encounters numerous people who give him their thoughts on existential ideas that people often think about such as religion, life, death and dreaming. The conflict occurs when the main character has trouble distinguishing between what is a dream and what is reality, only to find that he is has not yet woken from his dream and can't seem to do so no matter what he tries to do. As one man said, "They say that dreams are only real as long as they last. Couldn't you say the same thing about life?"
This movie is a great conversation piece. At first, it sounds like it's not going to be that exciting because there is no action, it's all dialogue, but the same could be said about Reservior Dogs, which is a totally exciting and edgy film. The purpose of this film is to entertain your brain and not just your eyes. It's deffinately a thinking person's movie; I know there were a lot of conversations that I had no clue what they were talking about. But what I really liked about this film was first of all, the cinematography. The rotscoping thing was really cool. I don't think the movie would have the same effect if it had only been shown in live-action. I also like how the film ends, leaving the viewers to interpret their own versions of the ending. The second thing I really enjoyed was the writing. Richard Linklater's mind is brilliant to create dialogue so deep and engaging; so many scenes are quotable. Unlike many movies that leave the audience without any thoughts or caring about what they have seen, this movie does a great job of not just entertaining but also enlightening the viewers. "Super perfundo on the early eve of your day."

Constantine

2005-03-21T13:32:00.000-05:00

As popular music video director Francis Lawrence's first major movie, Constantine is a twisted story dealing with the strict rules surrounding Catholicism and the barrier between earth and Hell. Taken from the comic book Hellblazer written by Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello, John Constantine, played by Keanu Reeves, is a man who hunts demons living among humans and performs exorcisms. Born with the ability to recognize demons from real people as a child, Constantine, unable to understand his power as a gift, kills himself and goes to Hell for two munites and then comes back. According to Catholic law, suicide is a sin and automatically condems a person to Hell, so, realizing that he will go to Hell no matter what because he killed himself once, the chain-smoking Constantine devotes his life to finding demons and sending them back to Hell where they belong. Along with his taxi driver/sidekick Chas (Shia LeBeouf), he decides to investigate a series of suicides involving deeply religious people including female cop Angela Dodson's twin sister (both played by Rachel Weisz)and Constantine's informant, the alcoholic priest Father Hennessy, played by Pruitt Taylor Vince. His investigation reveals that the demon Balthazar (Gavin Rossdale) is toying with these victims' minds and driving them to suicide. But once Constantine defeats Balthazar, he realizes that a higher power is behind the deaths.
This was the first movie that I actually read the critic's reviews before seeing, and loved it, despite the bad reviews. I never read reviews before anyway, because I tend to disagree, and this movie just backed up my thinking. I don't read comics, but I love comic book movies. I think the stories are absolutely brilliant. And the graphics in these movies are always fantastic. I particularly enjoyed the graphics in Constantine during the scenes where Constantine is in Hell and Hell looks like a baren wasteland that once was Los Angeles. The color of each scene is cool the way lighter situations are in lighter settings and dangerous situations are in darkness.
I enjoyed almost everything about this movie, from the story to the graphics to the action. My only personal criticism is that Keanu Reeves CAN NOT act-cough. He is supposed to have cancer or something and his character coughs a lot, and Keanu can't pretend to cough to save his life. That was really distracting. But aside from the coughing, Constantine is a great film.

Be Cool

2005-03-18T22:45:00.000-05:00

Be Cool, Directed by F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job, A Man Apart, Friday), stars: John traveled (Chilli Palmer), Uma Thurman (Edie Athens), Harvey Keitel (Nick Carr), Vince Vaugn(Raji), The Rock, Cedric the Entertainer, Christina Milian (Linda Moon) amongst other big name supporting actors. Gray 1st worked at B.E.T. and and made music videos for groups such as TLC- which gives him a kind of insight into the mixed genre's of this movie. Be Cool is one part Comedy, one part Gangster movie. It is a movie about movies, the movie industry in particular and a movie about the music industry & the gangster "politics" involved. This is based on a novel written by Elmore Leonard. He also wrote Get Shorty (the Novel, not movie). Rumor is that after the success of Get Shorty (Movie) he decided to write Be Cool and have it adapted. A few other "fun facts": Lenoards books apparently already read like screen plays. He (Leonard) also wrote the part that The Rock plays, his name in the movie escapes me right now, with The Rock in mind and some consider this the first novel inspired by a movie (the success of Get Shorty).
So, the story goes: Chili is a former Shylock turned movie producer who is bored and wants to get into the music industry. His long time friend Tommy Athens (James Woods) and ultimate connection, along with his wife Edie, into the music industry, is killed by the Russian mob while he and Chilli are having lunch. Before Tommy is gunned down, he tells Chilli about this great singer Linda Woods. Long story short: Linda makes it big after singing a duet with Aerosmith. Sure there are some other things that happen in the middle of it all, but a lot of you probably haven't seen it yet and it gets too involved to synapse fully.
The only close to great aspects of the movie, in my opinion, were John and Uma (nowhere coming close to Pulp Fiction, but considering...), the monologue that Cedric the Entertainer gracefully delivers after one of the Russian gangsters uses the N-word (which gives the overall theme of the movie in about a minute) and The Rock's charter- with the exception of the overuse of the eyebrow raise. The Rock played a homosexual man who is trying to get into movies. His character is suttley humorous and developes fully throughout the movie, while I feel the other actors weren't at all or developed overly to the point of annoyance . Don't get me wrong, I don't think the other actors weren't good or the movie didn't have funny parts to it. The roles were executed well but, I just think that the mesh of all of the great actors didn't work. This movie was too busy (like a overly colorful sweater) and tried too hard. It had it's moments but, wasn't great and boderline good.

Apocalypse Now

2005-03-13T15:45:00.000-05:00

Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is a very dark look at the emotions and mentality of the Vietnam War. It takes us on a symbolic trip deeper into the casualty and horror faced by the war. The story is of Captain Willard, played by a young Martin Sheen, who has unexpectedly received orders to track down and eliminate one of his own, a Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), who has turned psychotic and established himself as God up river in Cambodia among a tribe who follow his outrageous orders. During his mission up river to find Kurtz, Willard travels deeper into Kurtz’s past and into his mind through the various information he receives.
The beginning scene introduces us to the eerie and melancholy tone of the film. The zooming out from a close up shot of palm trees to the music of The Doors’ “The End”, in a very non-diegetic form. Suddenly the trees are bombed by military helicopters and the entire forest is aflame. All we hear is “This is the end, my only friend…”, while the explosions are mute. From the very beginning I was hooked by the overall dark feel of the film.
The cinematography captured me in every scene. Along the journey of Willard and his boat crew they come across a Colonel Kilgore (Robert Duvall). Kilgore, an egotistic and fearless individual, escorts the crew by providing helicopters. We see a long shot of 5 or 6 helicopters, approaching a beach, flying dead on towards the camera. The gloomy darkness of the sky illuminates the screen with a dark-orange dawn color and blurs the choppers along with the fast winds from the propellers as they approach. The scene sets up the further shootings and deaths witnessed right after.
The camera takes us into the helicopter of Kilgore as he plays an enthusiastic war song while preparing for landing. The diegetic war song transfers the inspirational music from the audience to the characters, and accents Kilgore’s passion for what he does.
The use of shadows was also apparent throughout the film. Our first encounter of Kurtz’s kingdom is almost nothing but darkness. Kurtz’s jungle is filled with cinematography to help us feel the insanity, danger, and eeriness of the situation. Kurtz’s first appearance draws shadows over his entire body, forbidding the audience to see any detail except the back or top of his bald head. As he acknowledges Willard his face is covered in shadows, which brings out the insanity and darkness in his voice even more. Not until well after 5 minutes of our first meeting with Kurtz is his face exposed.
Apocalypse Now was filled with symbolism of the insanity and horror of the Vietnam War. One scene in particular that stands out for me was when the boat crew encounters a family of Vietnamese on a boat selling goods. Suspiciously the boat captain heads over for a routine check, which turns into the murder of the entire family as the mother dashes for her puppy. The further the director took us into the mind’s of the characters the more I sensed an insanity and paranoia growing in each of them.
I enjoyed the film very much, it was an emotionally thrilling journey and closed with the perfect ending. The idea of having no credits and leaving us with “The horror, the horror…”, simply brilliant.

Apocalypse Now

2005-03-12T23:51:00.000-05:00

Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is considered by many as one of the greatest movies about war ever made. This film is not about the Vietnam War so much as it’s about the horrors of war and what they can do to a man’s soul.

The film takes place during the height of the Vietnam War. Captain Willard is sent on a mission to “terminate” the command of Colonial Kurtz who the upper brass has deemed insane. During most of the film, we follow Willard on his search to find Captain Kurtz. As the journey progresses, Willard not only starts to question the decisions of his commanders and the war in general, but he also starts to question himself.

The opening scene, cinematically, is incredible. The opening montage is played in slow motion. The film opens with a fade-in view to a seemingly peaceful jungle. We then hear the whoop-whoop-whoop of a helicopter, which is the only diegetic sound at the beginning of the opening sequence. This is followed by Jim Morrison singing The End. Within a matter of a few seconds, the peaceful jungle is transformed into a hellish scene of fire and smoke. The next few minutes are a surreal scene of superimposed close-ups of Willard lying in his hotel room in Saigon, in an almost dream-like state, and the burning jungle. This scene ends and the new scene begins with Willard looking out the window of his hotel room and uttering the words: “Saigon. Shit.” These first few minutes of film not only establish the setting, they also set the mood of the entire film and give us insight into Willard’s state of mind and most likely the state of mind of many of the soldiers fighting in the war. Every scene is shot with this intensity. The soundtrack fits beautifully into the film. Every song, every musical score adds to the overall feeling and intensity of the film. It’s obvious that everything has a specific purpose and is meant to illicit a desired response from us. I think the director accomplished his goal.

As we follow Willard up the river, the “horrors” of war are revealed to us on various levels. We see more of the horrors and more of the insanity associated with war as we get closer to the final destination. The imagery gets more graphic as we get farther along the river. By the end of the journey there is no doubt as to how horrible, how mindless, and how insane war can be.
I think this film raises a lot of questions about war and morality. Besides the obvious political statements about the war in Vietnam, I think this film tries to make us look deeper into ourselves. It strives to make us ask who we are and make us question what we are capable of doing. Coppola definitely had an agenda with this film. For the most part, I think he accomplished what he set out to do.

Fog of War

2005-03-06T15:44:00.000-05:00

Errol Morris's 2003 documentary, Fog of War, takes the audience on a trip back in history and allows them to see it all unfold again but through the eyes of a very public and, at times, controversial figure: Robert McNamara. Intensely personal and highly educational, Morris's film is an experience.

Broken into eleven "lessons" McNamara's stories are gathered together to present cohesive units that fall into his own moral of the story - "try to learn a lesson." We as audience members learn about the business of war from the man who ran the company during one of its most highly criticized eras - the Vietnam War. One of the most effective tools Morris uses is his main character. Now as an elderly man looking back on his life McNamara's tears and quavering voice firmly and effectively pull the heartstrings. The scene where he describes the events of John F. Kennedy's death and his tearful description of walking Arlington National Cemetary scouting a gravesite. As this allows the audience to buy into the former Secretary of Defense as a sympathetic character, the director is free to take on sensitive subjects without fear of alienating them.

However, almost everything Morris does is done with the purpose of making a connection with those viewing his film. McNamara's position onscreen is an example of the director's strategic methods. One never sees the old man in a full body shot, he is always shown in a close-up or medium shot, usually from about the elbows up. Not only that, but McNamara speaks directly to the camera, making the whole experience incredibly personal. The voice of Morris coming from behind the camera serves multiple purposes. First, it is a way of giving the audience a voice, letting them feel like their questions are being asked. Secondly, it gives an impression of validity - we are watching it all happen. If one is a carefully observant audience member, he or she will notice that McNamara is shown outside of that interview room only twice, once walking down the street and again driving a car (a Ford of course). This furthers how sympathetic McNamara becomes, placing him in the real world makes him become all the more real and all the more intriguing.

Intense music (talk about your driving strings!) with choreographed quick-cut montages help to keep the pace and the intensity peaked throughout the film. Disturbing visuals of smashing skulls and official war photographs. Dominos leading the audience easily in transition from the end of the second World War in Japan to the beginning of the uprisings in Vietnam are not only original but effective.

The timeliness of the film is what makes this documentary important now. With references to the Vietnam soldier's trying to win the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people and the portrayal of Lyndon B. Johnson as a stubborn Southerner determined not to look weak during war-time brings to mind certain current events and world leaders. While these make the film important to today's audiences, the history that is explored in the course of it is what will make it a lasting piece of cinema.

Fog of War

2005-03-05T10:52:00.000-05:00

The Fog of War: 11 lesson's of Robert McNamara
Genre: Documentary
The movie takes us back in history and gives us historical and political perspective on the involvement of the US in WWII, The Cuban missle crisis and Vietnam. McNamara's 11 lessons derived from reviewing past events and afterwards working on an alternate solution to see if War could have been avoided. In other words playing armchair quaterback. He also admits that Commanders make mistakes but he never remarks upon which one's he's made. I found this interesting because in the end because it brings home Lesson #11 You can't change human nature. We all feel the need to "understand" and know why so many soldiers and civilians perished in War but McNamara knows by admitting his mistakes would lead to greater questioning by the public.
The movie's clips from the different Wars were powerful and interesting. The dominoes falling in different direction were symbolic of the political strife during vietnam. The numbers falling and disappearing were a represetation of the number of lives lost. The close-up shots of McNamara during his recalling of the fire bombing of Japan were very dramtic and you could tell he was almost grief stricken. To see the actual wreckage and carnage from the fire bombing was very moving to me. I had no idea that so many civilians were killed prior to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This movie gives us a greater vantage point and takes the viewer back in time sucessfully
During the Cuban missle crisis most people were no yet old enough to remember just how close the US came to an all out exchange of nuclear weapons. The movie and McNamara make a point of letting the viewer know that there is no "curve for learning" in a Nuclear exchange. In WWII there was an opportunity to change tactics but if the US had gone to war over the warheads placed in Cuba there would be no chance to learn anything. Our country would have faced annihilation.
Lesson #7: Belief and seeing are both often wrong. If I remember the part of the movie correctly this Lesson McNamara highlights the start of the Vietnam War in 1964. North Vietnamese patrol boats fire on a US destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin triggering start of US bombing raids on North Vietnam. This event occured well before any of us were born. What made it real for me was the taped phone calls to and from Washington to the actual ships. I think at this point in history though the US was already commited to supporting the South with military support. I think McNamara didn't point this out and failed to mention that the first attack was possibly in responce to US covert attacks in the North.
The movie is excellent in retelling historical events. I believe McNamara is sincere in his almost apologizing rhetoric. I don't believe his involvement in all the affairs he presented was truelly representative. I feel things were witheld that he deemed controversial. I went away with more questions, but maybe that was the intention of the movie.

Casablanca

2005-02-27T21:24:00.000-05:00

The first time I saw Casablanca, I recall thinking how modern the film seemed. The theme of valor, sacrifice, and heroism still ring true. The dialogue has lost none of its wit or cleverness. The atmosphere (enhanced by the black and white cinematography), that of encroaching doom, is as clear as ever. And the characters remain as perfectly acted and three dimensional as they were over fifty years ago.
The movie takes place about a year after the Germans invaded France. Ilsa(Ingrid Bergman) and her husband, Czech freedom fighter Victor Laszlo (Paul Hemreid) wander into Ricks Cafe in Casablanca. The two are on the run from the Nazis, and have come to the American owned nightspot to hideout. But the German controlled local government, headed by Captain Louis renault(Claude Rains), is on the move, and Laszlo has to act quckly to get the letters of transit he came for, then escape. Little does Ilsa know that the cafe is run by Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), the one true love her her life. When the two see each other, sparks fly, and memories of an enchanted time in Paris come flooding back. Rick quickly finds himself caught up in a chain of intertwined personal and political events that force him to make some fateful decisions, leading to an unforgettable ending.
Bogart and Birgman. When anyone mentions Casablanca, these are the names that come to mind. The actors are so perfectly cast, and create such an unbelievable level of romantic tension. Bogart is at his very best here as a tough cynic who hides a broken heart beneath a fractured layer of sarcasm. Ilsa's arrival in Casablanca rips open the cracks in Rick's shield, revealing a complex personality that demands Bogarts full range of acting.
This movie had many of the elements from the coinciding chapter. Right from the start the dissolve tecnique is used while the credits are rolling. The 180 degree rule was used throughout most of this film and the scenes are very well established by the use of long shots, followed by close ups or zoom ins. Establishing the scene was one of the most important elements of this film, in that most of the movie takes place in one place(Ricks Cafe). I feel the film did a great job of this.
This movie shows how dramatically films have changed in the past five decades. The reason I love older movies so much is that they rely so much on just pure acting ability. Compare this movie with one of your favorites from the present day and you will understand this. Also this movie established some of the greatest lines of all time. "I stick my neck out for nobody", "Here's looking at you kid", and of course the perefct line to end a perfect movie, "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship".

Casablanca

2005-02-26T15:15:00.000-05:00

I remember as a young kid watching some black and white movies on American Movie Classics (AMC) with my family. I always enjoyed watching those films and after seeing Casablanca I remember why. Older films seemed to put a lot of emphasis on the story, the acting, and the cinematography; something that Casablanca embodies completely. The story for the film is quickly laid out with a set of shots that show an escape route that Europeans are taking to flee from the Nazis during World War II. The intro involves an image of a map that shows the escape route drawn with dashes, in a treasure map kind of fashion; the dashes go through Europe, across the sea to Africa, and eventually to Casablanca, the last leg of the journey before escaping to America. As the story develops we learn that Rick Blaine, played by Humphrey Bogart has opened up a popular nightclub in Casablanca where people come to pass away the nights before they can take their flight to America. Getting a flight to American is a big deal, because to board a plane in Casablanca you must have a "letter of transit." These letters are expensive and not easy to come by. One of Rick's patrons, Guillermo Ugarte. has 2 of these letters and asks Rick to hold onto them, because he fears he will be detained by the Germans. Not soon after Rick comes into possession of the tickets, freedom fighter, Victor Laszlo(Paul Henreid) and his wife, Ilsa Lund Laszlo(Ingrid Bergman) arrive in Casablanca. Rick and Ilsa had a short, passionate relationship in the past that ended on a sour note. The remainder of the movie deals with whether Rick will give the tickets to Victor and Isla. The story is excellent, because it has all the characteristics of a romantic drama, but is unique its setting and circumstances. I was very happy with the ending of the movie, because it strays away from the typical outcome in this genre, which makes it seem more realistic.

Director Michael Curtiz, who had directed over a 100 films, when he made Casablanca, certainly used his experience to deliver such an excellent film. The casting included two of the biggest stars during their day, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Both deliver exceptional performances, along with the rest of the cast. The director uses a large amount of close-up shots in the many of the scenes, especially between Humphrey and Ingrid. The lighting in the movie very often conveys Rick's mood; whenever Rick is upset with Ingrid the lighting is dark and gloomy and when he is happy with her it is bright.

One of the only things I was disappointed about was that I do not think the setting was that convincing. Casablanca is located on the East African coast, yet I see very little in the film to convince the audience of this. Early on in the movie we see a few natives and one of the shop owners seems to be native to Casablanca, but the main setting, the night club, has an overly American/European feel. A little more native theme and more native cast members may have convinced me more that this was actually a place in Africa.

Casablanca’s main setting, the nightclub has an added advantage in that it lets piano player and singer, Sam (Dooley Wilson) sing a number of songs. The singing lifts the spirits of the patrons and never seems out of place, as someone singing so often does in many movies. In fact, part of the story revolves around the memories that, "As Time Goes By" conjures up in Rick and Ilsa. Not only does "As Time Goes By" have a part in the story, but it is one of those rare songs that instantly make us think of the film it was in. Along with that, the film also has some of the most famous lines in cinematography, including "Here's looking at you kid," "I couldn't give a hill of beans," and "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Casablanca is an exceptional movie and it is easy to see why it is considered a great classic. Everything that makes a movie a "classic" is here, a great story, excellent acting and amazing cinematography. It is considered by many to be in the top 5 greatest films of all-time (Imdb.com, click here for more interesting trivia about the film) and I think it deserves this spot considering how well it succeeds in so many areas

Memento

2005-02-22T14:50:00.000-05:00

Memento, directed by Christopher Nolan, in my opinion was a great film. I have seen this film before and watching it a second time made me appreciate it even more. This is a movie that starts at the end and works its way to the beginning. You might almost say that the film moves backwards. It is about a man who lost his short term memory. He takes pictures of everything he thinks he should remember. He is driven by the fact that he wants to find his wife's killer. He has devoted his whole life to this. It is the only reason he exists in his mind. The problem is he never knows who he can trust, and with good reason. He really is never sure who his friends are.

I thought the movie was directed great. It always kept you in his mind and his view. Basically you felt what he felt. When he felt confused and didn't know what was going on, you almost could relate with him. The director would begin shots already in progresse giving you the impression that Leonard, played by Guy Pearson, doesn't know where he is before you figure it out. The flashbacks were precise, right at the correct moment. The director never allowed you to get to far but always kept you in the movie. His use of lighting was also excellent, such as in the flashbacks when you seen them in black and white. He played the ones in black and white when he as telling a story that never happened. You knew that he was going to continue the story everytime the flashback was in black and white.

Guy Pearson, Leanord Shelby, also played a very convincing role. The way the camera moved when Leonard would wake up or hear a loud sound like a door slamming letting you know at this point he forgot what had happened. Then the camera would give you medium shot of Leonard looking around trying to figure where he was and what was going on. Eventually the director brings you closer to the "beginning" and you find out that Natalie was never his friend, but only taking advantage of his condition, which he reminds you of in every other scene. Then you find out that Leonard already found John G. and he had forgotten about it. He creates a new John G. and that really what the movie was about. He never was looking for his wife's killer, but looking for something he created that he forgot about. He needed a reason to live. John G. gave him that reason, and if he found John G. and killed him, he no longer had that reason. So he kept creating John G., giving him that reason. That is who man works, we all need a reason to exist. Without a reason to exist, why exist at all? People might think that this movie was about a man that lost his memory, and is memory really reliable. It could be about that, but I think it is a bit more. It is about a man living out his reason to exist, in which all man does. If we had no goal in our life, would we not create one?

Memento

2005-02-21T23:43:00.000-05:00

Christopher Nolan's Memento is one of those rare films that most have to see at least twice to appreciate. It's a film that challenges the viewers own understanding and recollection of memory and causes us to examine the reliability of our own memories. The film stars Guy Pearce, as Leonard Shelby. Leonard has lost his short term memory, as a result of an accident involving the murder of his wife. Determined to function with only the memories of life before the accident, Leonard pursues any and every "reliable" lead he has. Through Polaroid photographs, tattoos, and any little note scratched on paper, Leonard believes he has found his wife's killer.

The first shot of the film shows us what will inevitably be the end. A bloody Polaroid is the first sign of what is to come, or what has already been. The first scene tells us, whether we know it or not, that this films plotline is very different. This unique style is what draws in the audience. Not only are we given a standard chronological plotline, but at the same time, the writers have interspersed a sort of reverse plotline. Every scene ends where the previous one began. A sort of mind game if you will, which leaves the audience questioning the dependability of their own memories. Having to piece together these scenes brings you into the mind of Leonard Shelby. Christopher and Jonathan Nolan (director/screenwriters) took somewhat of a risk challenging their audience to unscramble such a unique plotline. The risk was well worth it, because if not for that peculiar plotline, the film's appeal would not have been the same.

The film helps us to understand Leonard and get us inside his head with black and white photography, all taking place in his hotel room. Voiceovers and mysterious telephone calls help to explain who Leonard is and what he is looking to find. Interspersed between the black and white scenes are color that help us to distinguish what is really happening in the movie itself. The color scenes are a sort of live action, that explain the end result of everything Leonard explains in his hotel room. The most interesting part of this film is its open ended conclusion. We are left to decide what really happened. Is Leonard simply crazy, will he remember that he found the killer, will that feeling of redemption ever be permanent or will his mission be an endless cycle. It is all up to the audience. Can we depend solely on what we think we remember when it comes to something as important as life??

Memento

2005-02-21T15:22:00.000-05:00

Directed by Christopher Nolan, who has also directed Insomnia, and soon to come Batman Begins, Memento is a uncommon type of film which is shown backwards, in which it starts at the end and vis versa. It is a thriller, dramatic, and mysterious type of genre that makes you get involved with the main character Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce). More known as Lenny in the film is a man who lost his short term memory after in an inncident where he was trying to save his wife from getting murdered. He killed one of the muderers but the other one smashed his head into the mirror which caused his memory loss. He wants revenge on the other killer so ht emovie focus' on him tracking clues on what the murderer is like and other facts about him.
Nolan, the director, does a great job in showing flashbacks of Lenny's life that he racalls after losing his short term memory. One interesting twist to the flashbacks is his use of light and color in the flashbacks by presenting some in color, and others in black and white. Some viewer's believe the director did this to portray the ones that were reality and the others that were make believe in Lenny's mind.
Another great editing job that Nolan does is using the fade-in and fade-out. Everytime Lenny wakes up or starts has a relapse, their is a fade-in or fade-out that occurs. For example, when Natalie ( Carrie-Anne Moss) enters her house in which Lenny is, she yells at him accusing him of how stupid he is on how he won't remember this conversation when it ends, and she took all the pens from the room so that he can't write what he is hearing. Then he punches her in the face, and she leaves. Then the scene fades out and fades back in showing that she is coming out of her car, and coming inside and Lenny asked what happened since he just forgot that he hit her, and she lies to him telling him that is was her boyfriend.
This film makes the viewer have to think about every scene and in the end have to put the pieces together like in a puzzle to figure out the ending. Although at the end of the movie (which is actually the beginning), the director adds a pretty interesting twist to it. When Teddy Gammell (Joe Pantoliano) tells Lenny in the house supposedly the truth about Lenny in which saying that they already killed the real "John G"( which are the name and initials of the other killer), and that he just keeps going to little towns to find another John G. character to kill since Lenny can never remeber that he kills him, and that he always wants revenge. After this Lenny goes into the car and writes to never believe Teddy so that he doesn't want to think that he already killed the killer. Another thought could be that Lenny could have killed his own wife and replaced the story of Sammy Jenkins as his own.
I did enjoy the movie very much and i guess it is left to the viewer to believe what the real story is and that just shows how good of a movie it is to keep you thinking even when the movie is over and to make you really want to see it again just to make sure that what you believe is the true tale.

Memento

2005-02-20T18:23:00.000-05:00

Memento, directed Christopher Nolan, is told in a sort of reverse-timeline format that creates suspense. Leonard (Guy Pearce) is our main character and the story is told in his point of view. Leonard has sustained head trauma after trying to prevent his wife from being killed. This incident causes a break in his memory. He seeks vengeance for his wife's murder but because of his unreliable memory he finds it is harder and more frustrating to do so. He tattoos his own arm notes and takes pictures of various things to ease the difficulties he faces because of his memory loss. He lives in a cheap motel room but on the outside, he goes along with a facade of a flashy businessman driving a nice car and wearing sleek suits. Leoard talks to an unknown listener on the motel's phone telling him about

We eventually meet his only "friends" Natalie and Teddy (Carrie Ann Moss and Joe Pantoliano respectively). Natalie vows she'll help him in his agonizing quest but Teddy is a little harder to trust.

Nolan uses flashbacks to show the murder of Leonard's wife throughout the movie. Leonard barely has any recollection of his past, so in turn Nolan provides the audience with "memories" of his near future. Leonard's meetings with Natalie and Teddy make an otherwise simple plot complex and confusing.

Unlike other films about amnesia, Leonard remembers his old self up until the murder, can't seem to build a new reality or an identity for himself. Nolan bears the characteristics of a traditional film noir like obsession, alienation, and trust (more so mistrust).

In the end, Memento doesn't leave much of an impression. Guy Pearce gives a "good" performance but the film lacks a plot that's structured and comprehendable. The film's ending slips away just like one of Leonard's memories.

Bad Education

2005-02-16T14:21:00.000-05:00

Pedro Almodóvar's new film, Bad Education mixes genres in delighfully subversive ways, adopting the conventions of the traditional film noir, but replacing the femme fatale with a mysterious gay actor who re-enters the life of his first love, now a director. Or so that's how it seems. The film starts with Enrique (Fele Martínez), the film director, trying to find an idea for a new movie, when in walks Ignacio (Gael García Bernal), his first "love," who now wants to be called "Angel," with a screenplay about their youth. The film then recedes into a series of flashbacks about the boys' experiences in a Christian school, where Ignacio is molested by the head priest, the two boys find and explore each other, and Enrique gets sent away. The plot takes so many twists and turns, role-reversals, assumed identities and double-crosses as it spans the late 70s and early 80s, and their childhood early 60s that a plot synopsis would be utterly unhelpful and beside the point.

The film gets divided between childhood flashbacks, a chance meeting later, and, we come to find out later, the film of the experience, which culminates in a fantasy of revenge thwarted by instutitional power and ruthlessness. When the film-inside-the-film concludes, another phase opens when the priest comes back to confront Angel, who plays the main lead in the film. The genius of this is the self-reflective quality of the overly dramatic acting and clichéd plot of the interior film, contrasted against the dark background of the events to follow. Almodovar plays with the film noir genre in the tortuous plotline and the seemingly never-ending shifts in identity, but in case the viewer doesn't get it, the two antagonists, in flashback, go to a theater showing a "film noir week," complete with posters of Double Idemnity and other films noirs, after which they walk into a dark, rainy street.

The film works, I think, as much as any of Almodóvar's films, due to an apt eye for style combined with a tragic tenderness on the part of the characters, especially Enrique, who seems to be the only one moving on in his life in anything approaching a healthy way. The self-reflexivity and genre bending work to complicate a story that is ultimately about passion, forbidden or otherwise, and the pain of remembering lost love. From Enrique's initially unrequited love, to the priest's seemingly uncontrollable passion, to Angel's manipulative sexual endeavors, passion becomes an unfulfillable desire, and, ultimately a tool of penance, rage and desperate grasping. That all of the main characters are men is important, but seems inconsequential in the end. This is not about homosexuality so much as loneliness, revenge, and remembering the past, true themes of film noir, no matter the sexuality.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

2005-02-13T19:21:00.000-05:00

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a movie that addresses very complex questions. In this film, we are taken on a journey of one man, Joel Barish (played by Jim Carrey), searching for the one true love of his life. In his quest, we meet Clementine (played by Kate Winslet), a girl that is searching for her identity. This film had a complex storyline in that it was not chronological, which we do not figure out until almost the end. In the beginning, we see the two main characters meet on a train. In what we assume is a flash forward, we see that the two have broken up and that Clementine has undergone an unusual brain surgery to have her memories of Joel erased. A distraut Joel goes to the clinic, Lacuna, to find out if the surgery is a hoax and finally agrees to do the same to his memories of Clementine. We get to travel with Joel through his memories as Clementine is being erased. As we venture from the last bitter memories to the beginning of their relationship, we can see Joel realizing that he does not want to go throught with the rest of the procedure and his fight to prevent further erasing. We are taken on an emotional ride from extremely disliking Clementine, as I'm sure he did when he decided to have the surgery, to liking her. It's a deep look at relationships and how they can go from good to bad in a short amount of time. It makes one think about the important relationships in one's own life and think about what could have been and what could have prevented them from ending. In his fight to keep Clementine, we see the traumatic things that happened to Joel when he was young and in doing so, get insight into why he is the person he is as an adult. One example of this is in the beginning, Joel asks himself, "Why do I fall in love with any woman that will look at me?" In one of the deeply repressed memories we are taken to, we see Joel as a 4 year old, desperately trying to get his mother to pay attention to him, to look at him. It's a deeply psychological movie that addresses the questions that we have all asked ourselves at one time or another. In the end of the erasing procedure, he fails to hold on to the memories of Clementine, which is tragic because he (and we) then realize that he erased the one thing he wanted most of all, the one that he has been looking for. The cinematography was especially successful in not only maintaining the feeling of the characters but giving us a real feeling of what this would be like for us. The camera movements made it feel more natural, more like how we view the world. In the memory erasing sequences, the rhythm, speed, and timing gave us an anxious, rushed feeling as Joel tried to escape the lasers(?) and keep Clemetine. The use of the spotlight let us know that the technician had found the memory we were experiencing and we knew that it was about to be erased. Lighting played an intrical part in this movie, playing with our feelings and clueing us in to what was going to happen. Jim Carrey's performance was exceptional, especially considering the serious, natural role he was playing, which went against his usual typcast roles as a comedian. He did not succeed in his attempt at this in The Majestic, but he definitely did in this film. He was right on with the appropriateness, emotionality, expressive coherence, and wholeness in this performance. We could really relate with this character and drawn into the movie fully. Kate Winslet also had a fine performance in capturing the quirkiness and oddness that went along with her character. All in all, this film really makes us realize that everything in our lives happens for a reason. It made me wonder if we could erase memories would we even be the same people? And even if we could erase the painful memories, this film makes us wonder if it would really be worth it to rid ourselves of not only the bad but the good that went along with it.

EternAL SunsHine oF thE sPotlEss MIND

2005-02-13T14:56:00.000-05:00

Eternal Sunshine of the SPOTLESS MIND was an unusual romance story presented in an exaggerated, wild, and inventive way I’ve never seen a movie told. The plot was a really complex one which was easier explained through the dialect of the film than through words, but I’ll give my short try at it. Joel Barish, played by a serious Jim Carrey, undergoes a clinical procedure to erase memories of ex-girlfriend Clementine, played by a hyper Kate Winslet, who has coincedently decided to undergo the procedure herself before him. GO JOEL! Well…too slow, and she won’t care no mo’. While Joel undergoes the procedure unconsciously, we take a journey through his memories, reliving his moments with Clementine, in fear of losing her forever and all while parts of his memories are erasing away as they occur.
As I watched ETERNAL SUNSHINE of the spotless mind for the first time, it became quite obvious why it was a great example of cinematography. As we strolled along Joel’s memories, as a viewer I could almost live and feel what he was going through because of the Director of Photography’s great job. His style definitely fit the plot by interpreting Joel’s confusion through camera movement. The DP gave important close ups of Barish’s reactions within the frame which was consistent with what was seen behind his surroundings. This was achieved mostly through great use of film plane composition (rule of thirds) and having pitchblack backrounds with spontaneously appearing and disappearing character’s from Joel’s memories. Along with out of focus blurriness, most likely a result of a good focus puller, and out of sequence sound and action, I felt like I was on a rollercoaster-like ride like Joel! In some of the most climactic moments of the film, like the beachhouse scene with Clementine and Joel, I couldn’t get over the scene mimicking ‘Blair Witch-esque’ realism. This artificial backlight is shining up in Jim Carrey’s face while he’s running around the beachouse, so close to finding Clementine and the house begins breaking apart like sand! Another shot that still seems rings Eternal Sunshine-like to me is the amazing high angle shot of Joel and Clementine in the middle of the lake enjoying the stars. With all of these cinematographic properties in place, I felt the composition of scenes altogether kept a continuity of shots, making this movie the best I’ve ever seen using this unusual style.

Mental Rollercoaster

2005-02-13T10:16:00.000-05:00

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a great look into the "what ifs" of life. Jim Carrey, even in a serious role captured humor by portraying "Joel Barish", an uptight man who met this spontaneous, whimsical, and alcoholic Kate Winslet, "Clementine" who totally changed his way of thinking as we saw at the end of the film. The film had the same theme as Dark City. Even though you can change or erase memories people are still who they are, just as the main character in Dark City still loved his wife after his memory was changed, Joel still fell in love with Clementine after both of their memories were erased. The actors truly became the characters in every way. Jim Carrey, who is usually typed cast for the physical humor/outrageous parts, brought the inner turmoil within Joel Barish to life. Kate Winslet showed the flighty and haphazard behavior of Clementine perfectly. Even the secondary characters fulfilled their purpose. When first viewing Kristen Dunst, I thought she was just a shallow character, but as the movie went along, she added must depth to her character. When she found out that her memory was erased, because she had an affair with Dr.Mierzwiak, her facial expressions and emotion showed her shock, anger, and confusion. Also Elijah Wood, showed his desperation for Clementine so that you believed how much he wanted her to love him. The cinematography also added depth to the film. The different camera angles let the audience view events through Joel's eyes. I am glad that I had a chance to see this movie and would recommend it to anyone wanted a break from reality.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

2005-02-09T17:38:00.000-05:00

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is Directed by Michael Gondry and stars Jim Carey (Joel) and Kate Winslet (Clementine).

Joel is an introverted paranoid (whose character is far from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective or the role that he played in The Mask). Clem is Joel's spontaneous, impulsive, extroverted ex-girlfriend. They first meet at a beach party given by mutual friends. The relationship comes to an end and Clem decides to permanently erase Joel from her memory. Joel finds this out and goes to Dr. Mierzwaik at Lacuna, Inc. (where Clem had her procedure done) to do the same. This procedure uses items that are most associated to the relationship and maps out the areas of the brain tied to these items. After which, the tech's go in and erase (along with drink beers, smoke pot and fornicate-amongst themselves, not with Joel) the memories of the one you once loved. Viola! Your heart is mended and you can go on never even knowing this person existed in your life- much less ruined it. Joel, mid-procedure (and after he can hear Patrick's rantings about stealing her undies), realizes that holding on to the good memories is worth the bad memories you have to keep and tries to stop the erasing by hiding Clem in parts of his memory she doesn't belong. He ultimately fails and she is erased. In the end, they meet each other again, only to eventually understand what happened with/to both of them and part ways- but this time with some sort of closure.

The brief summary above seems simple and straight to the point. This movie was anything but. The beginning starts off (which should technically be the start of the third act) when Joel skips work and gets on the other train and "first" meets Clementine, which was quite confusing when we see the memory he has of actually meeting Clem for the first time and it is at the beach party. Throughout the maze of Joel's memories, the moving forward and backward in time, the events that take place in the real world and the fact that they eventually find each other again in the end, is a unique twist to a otherwise basic love story. I don't think the movie would have been as good if it was in total sequence and kept the same story line.

This movie has a lot of great qualities: The spot light on the both of them running, as Joel tries to keep her from being erased, along with the disappearing Clementine/inaniment objects as the erasing is happening. I also noticed that most of the good memories are bright and vivid and the bad are at night or dark and dreary. This movie also seems to address the question of fate: Clem gets weirded out by Patrick's statement on the frozen lake and when he calls her Tangerine, even though she has no memory of hearing these things being said to her before; and Joel, after having erased Clem out of his memory, impulsively (totally out of his character) skips his train to work and heads to Montauk- though we aren't sure why he get's on the other train until towards the end of the film (this scene is, again, at the beginning of the movie).

I think that the actors played a huge part in my enjoyment of the film. I couldn't get Kate Winslet (Clem) out of my mind as "the chick from the Titanic" for about the first 5-10 minutes of the film. I've seen The Truman Show, so Jim Carey (Joel) playing a serious role was a little easier for me to imagine and hang on to. Also, you don't think of Kirsten Dunst as the type to get stoned, even if she was just acting. The three of them were out of their usual acting element and played good roles well. At first, the whole weird girl/quiet guy connection between Joel and Clem was hard for me to grasp. What made Clem and Joel work together, as a couple in this movie, despite their evident differences in character, was the scene (Joel's 1st memory) where Clem and Joel officially break up. It was a relatable fight: Girl comes home late, boy accuse her of cheating, girl is offended/hurt and walks out, boy says he didn't mean it and he's sorry. It made the two more believable as a former lovers.

I thought this movie was good and well done; a bit confusing, yes, but it all came together in the end.

Chungking Express

2005-02-06T19:03:00.000-05:00

Chungking Express, directed by Wong Kar-Wai, is not your typical movie. It is actually very different. The most noticeable contrast to more popular films is a complete linear narrative. It is as if Chungking Express were split into two different segments, along with a different genre. The first part of this movie involved Cop 223, who had just recently split up with his long time girlfriend. He is heartbroken and wants to move on with his life, but he just can’t get over May, his ex-girlfriend. No matter what he does he just can’t seem to get over her. His relationship with May is borderline obsession, as he collects cans of pineapple (May’s favorite fruit) that expires on May 1 (223’s birthday). After multiple attempts to get over May, and eating all the caned pineapple he had, 223 realizes that he won’t get May off his mind for a long time.
The next segment changed characters through a clever lead in. It starts with a young woman, confusingly named May as well as the woman in the previous story, working at a small restaurant. She is always listening to California Dreaming on the radio when she‘s working, and I mean always, then Cop 663 comes into the shop as a customer as he does every day. One day Cop 663’s girlfriend gives May a letter to give to him, and upon reading the letter, May learns that she had broken up with Cop 663, and the key to his apartment was in the letter. May tells him about the letter, but Cop 663 tells her to hold on to it, so she ends up falling in love with him, and using the key to go into his apartment and redecorate it. It’s hard to believe he doesn’t notice this, but he doesn’t, and eventually he finds out, and learning that she has been going to his apartment attracts Cop 663 to her.
This was not the greatest movie I’ve seen, but it was interesting the way it was made. It didn’t have as much of a story or an ending that I could appreciate, but it kept my attention and I could relate to the main characters. The stories, although short, were well written. One of the best aspects of this film were the characters. After watching the film you feel as if you know the characters personally. The director did a great job showing how they felt at every second. The entire picture was based around their innermost thoughts, and how they expressed them. Chungking Express was an original take on some over used genres.

Dark city

2005-02-04T08:50:00.000-05:00

Kevan V was having trouble posting to the blog, so he posted this in comments. I have pasted it here, so it can be on the front page. -erik

Dark City (1998), under the direction of Alex Proyas, was a film that sought to question the legitimacy of memory and our relationship to the past. Progression is slow in the beginning, but speeds up later. This is because it takes a while to establish the setting. The plot begins with a monologue by Dr. Schreber, wherein all we learn is that he is a sort of slave, forced to betray his fellow man working for beings who have control over all matter.

The story begins with a man who wakes up in a bathtub with no memory of who he is or why he is there. He soon learns several things: His name is John Murdoch, he is married, Dr. Schreber wants to see him, detective Bumstead is chasing him down for several murders, and bald men in trenchcoats (strangers) are hunting him down. These elements create a dynamic mystery that the audience is invited to solve with John Murdoch, as he tries to find out what is going on. Eventually Murdoch pieces together a theory– that there is only night, no sunlight, and every twelve hours is a new day, wherein each new day brings new memories and identities for all. Everyone he meets is somewhat confused, and has no solid recollection if the distant past (Schreber later explains the city is a zoo the strangers are using to find the human soul). Murdoch eventually befriends Bumstead and the two enlist the help of Dr. Daniel Shreber to lead them out of the city. The three break down a wall, and learn there is nothing outside of the city but empty space. Strangers appear, Bumstead falls out into outer space, and Murdoch gives himself to the Strangers to save his purported wife, Emma. In a pivotal scene shortly thereafter, Murdoch is strapped to a table as a prisoner of the strangers, who instruct Dr. Schreber to inject a lethal coctail into John’s head. At the last moment Schreber switches syringes and gives Murdoch the tools he needs to defeat the strangers and bring order to Dark City.
Dark City can be said to mix two genres.

The first is film noir, keeping with such elements as the darkness that enveloped the world of the movie and the cynicism exhibited especially by detective Bumstead. This film also has a foot in the genre of science fiction for its inclusion of telepathy, aliens, memory injections, and the setting within a huge spacecraft made to look like a city.

The narrative leads us to certain expectations early in the film, and with each new revelation one is forced time and again to recalculate these expectations. Light and time were two elements for which manipulation was utilized the most. The entire film, minus the last 5 minutes, is shot entirely in the dark. This creates a dirty city atmosphere very common in film noir. Time is manipulated in a way that makes it a wholly arbitrary factor. Because it is always night, and midnight is the only time any true change takes place, the clock becomes a signaler that foreshadows the next change.
Over all elements of the film are well balanced, and culminate into a product that is both fun to watch and thought provoking.

CHUNGKING EXPRESS

2005-02-02T19:58:00.000-05:00

Chungking Express (1994), written and directed by Kar Wai Wong, is a film that puts a strange twist on the classic love story genre. Unlike most love stories, this film examines the perspective of a broken heart from a man's point of view. The story takes place in a busy city in Hong Kong where we meet our first love-sick man, He Zhiwu (Takeshi Kaneshiro). Zhiwu is a youg detective who recently broke up with "the love of his life". After one month of the classic break up story( him talking to himself, constantly checking his messages, eating so much of her favorite food that he gets physically sick, and forcing himself to be in constant contact with anything that even remotely reminds himself of her) he finally allows himself to fall for another, but only by chance. Ironically, however, this mystery woman (Brigitte Lin), who wears dark sunglasses, a trench coat, and a blonde wig, happens to be a drug smuggling murderer. Of course, him being a detective and her a criminal we know that this relationship would've never worked out. Fortunately, we are lead to believe that they never saw each other again after their one night stand, sparing Zhiwu another heartbreak.

Next we cross paths with Officer 663 (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), who takes a ride on the exact same emotional roller coaster. In this story, it comes to pass that the true love of his life had been staring him in his face for several months before he even took time to notice. After he got over his big break up and came back into reality, he realized that May (Liang Zhen), a waitress at the local snack bar, had fallen for him and become somewhat obsessed- going into his apartment everyday to dust, clean, and even redecorate.

The setting in this film was perfect for the story line- you never know who you'll meet or run into in a big city or how that person will affect the rest of your life. The director also made good use of mise-en-scene because the film really made me think that I was there and actually knew the characters. Also, the use of colors, lighting, and blurs of people, for example when the mystery woman was running from the drug dealers, really intensified the emotions that the characters were feeling. The director also used stretch time to in a couple of scenes to intensify and deepen the pain that the two men were feeling while they were mending their broken hearts. He did this by fastforwarding people and scenery around them while they were drinking or gazing out of a window, showing us that life around us goes on but when you have a broken heart, a second fells like an eternity.

I didn't care too much for the first story but it did toss around a couple of good themes: "be careful who you fall in love with" and "do we really know what love is". The second story, however, I thought was really cute and strangely romantic. What I took form that one was that "there is thin line between love and obsession" and "sometimes if we wait long enough or want it bad enough dreams can come true". After all, aren't we all suckers for happy endings?

Dark City

2005-01-30T12:19:00.000-05:00

(“Dark City”) 1998 is a great combination of a thriller, sci-fi, and film-noir, all at once. Alex Proyas who also directed (The Crow) has an amazing dark vision which made the film so suspenseful and on the edge of your seat.

John Murdoch walks around the city lost and confused. He lost his memories and slowly everything is coming back to him but none of it makes sense. He continues to walk about the gloomy city looking for some answers but soon realizes that there are people after him. Not only is the detective after him because of his alleged murders, but his wife is looking for him because he left her, and if that wasn’t enough the beings with telekinetic powers are after him. The movie goes on and John realizes that he has some of their power and with the help of his wife, Emma, the detective, Frank, and the doctor, Dr. Schreber, he is able to defeat the Strangers and shine some light on the city and make it a happier place to live.

Right from the beginning Alex Proyas pulls us right in. As John Murdoch wakes up in a bathtub, you can see blood dripping down his forehead. The red blood stands out from the poorly lit gloomy bathroom. Waking up franticly we get the suspicion as if something horrible has happened to him and we know nothing about it because John has no memories, as if someone took his kidney out and left him in a bathtub of ice.

I really enjoyed the use of lighting in this movie especially when we are first introduced to Emma and we see her singing in the ballroom you see the camera close in on her and her face just lit up and bright, vivid, and lively. She is the center of attention not just on stage but in the whole ballroom, everything around her is dark and gloomy even her band have shadows cast all over them. I found this to really foreshadow that she is going to be an important character in the movie.

One thing I did not quite understand is why Proyas included Mr. Sleep the little Stranger and what was the significance of him.

Darkcity

2005-01-28T17:48:00.000-05:00

The science fiction film, Darkcity, directed by Alex Proyas, made in 1998 was an interesting film. It was about this man John Murdock that was being convicted of murders but he didn't even know who he was or what he was being accused of doing. These men were after him, they were all dressed in black and called themselves strangers. As the film progresses, the strangers show what they are doing to this city. They are stopping time at twelve, all the people fall asleep, and the strangers along with Dr. Schreber are injecting new memories into these citizens. While they were doing this to John Murdock he woke up in the middle of it. So when that happened he must of gotten some of the powers that the strangers controlled. Throughout the movie John Murdock and the Detective realize that something is wrong with the city and that John really had no recollection of killing any of those women. John realized that he doesn't remember his childhood let alone that the sun never shines, there is no daylight in the city.

In Darkcity the plot moves smoothly, keeping us interested into the film. The movie was very dark the whole time, hence the title of the movie. Also the strangers costumes were long black coats and they were bald too. The strangers flew above the city, this is how they got from place to place without being seen, hence the dark clothing in a dark city. The design of the movie set was really good. They made the buildings move up and down, wide and narrow, when they stopped the time of the city. John Murdock, the detective, and Dr. Schreber were the protagonists were as the strangers were the antagonists.

I found the movie to be really strange and a little confusing at times. As the movie progressed towards the end I was understanding that the strangers were trying to take over the city. At the end John Murdock stopped the strangers by using their powers.Then John Murdock recreated Shell City were he grew up as a child in his memories. He reunited with his wife, who was now Ann instead of Emma. At the end of the movie my decision had changed a little bit. I think the movie is a little different but it wasn't to bad to watch. So John got his sheel city, sunlight, and his wife.

Chinatown

2005-01-23T09:05:00.000-05:00

Chinatown, directed by Roman Polanski, is the feature movie that shows a private detective investigating an adultery case; however in the midst he was tangled up in a trail of murder and deceit. P.I. Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) was hired by a Mrs. Evelyn Mulwray to investigate her husband whom she was accusing of adultery. The lady that initially hired him was Ida Sessions, Evelyn’s daughter and sister. Hollis Mulwray, Evelyn’s husband, is a chief engineer of the water department. Gittes and his team follow Hollis, spot him with a lady and take pictures. Hollis then turns up murdered, which Gittes decides to investigate. The real Mrs. Mulwray shows up at Gittes' office threatening to sue him for his involvement. He then realizes that he was set up, possibly by the Mulwray’s. He discovers a plot to buy cheap, unwatered land for low prices, water the land, and sell it for millions of dollars. Gittes also discovers that Noah Cross, Mrs. Mulwray’s father has an eerie but unexplained presence in this event. The plot is masterminded by Noah Cross, who is also Hollis' one-time business partner. Gittes’ investigation leads him to an affair with Evelyn and a discussion with Noah Cross, both of whom seem curiously interested in the girl Hollis was seen with.

Chinatown manages to build the plot without losing the audience, which is the most important thing. It starts with a simple story and continually builds its complexity more as it goes. I found the narrative and its progression easy to follow. It also helped that the atmosphere was real and there was an acknowledgement of time and place. In the sense of form and expectations, after Mr. Mulwray was murdered, I expected Jake Gittes to continue his investigation, merely out of curiosity. The first meeting of 'the' Mrs. Mulwray and Jakes prompted an expectation of adultery. Later meetings between the two of them, and their attitudes showed that this expectation was going to be met; it just became a matter of when.

This was the first time I had seen Chinatown. I had the expectation of the plot taking place in a city or section of a city dubbed “Chinatown.” I spent most of the movie analyzing the patterns and exhausting every possibility to connect this with its title. My first connection with the theme was the appearance of Lt. Escobar and his reference to “Chinatown.” My impression was that while P. I. Jake Gittes was on the Police force, he encountered an event or case such as this one and it either got him into trouble, or caused him a lot of grief.

In moving from scene to scene things appear to be dark. It also appears that Gittes is miserable, or at least I would be if were constantly threatened and beat up. This also heightened the plot. It was easy for me to make a connection at the end, when Mrs. Mulwray and her daughter/sister were in the car attempting to runaway and were killed. Gittes was in disbelief and the Lieutenant told him to go home for his own good. So, for Jakes, there was something traumatic always happening in Chinatown.

Citizen Kane

2005-01-14T11:13:00.000-05:00

Directed by Orson Welles,Citizen Kane is seen by many as a masterpiece. In many ways, the movie defies genre. It most closely resembles a biopic, but of a fictional character. While it is generally accepted that Charles Foster Kane is a satire of William Randolph Hearst the film itself is clearly presented as fiction. The beauty of the film lies both in its visual representation and its narrative structure. Orson Welles, along with cinematographer Gregg Toland, stretched many of the prevalent rules in Hollywood by using extreme low-angles, deep-focus photography and other cinematic elements for creative purposes. In some cases, they cut trenches into the floors to get the extreme low angles. The aesthetic quality of the film makes it a treat to watch, almost making the viewer forget about the mystery behind the term "Rosebud."

As Thompson, the newspaper reporter, travels around trying to find out the meaning "Rosebud," the last word of famous newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane, he gets several detailed accounts of various parts of Kane's life, but never finds out the meaning behind the term. This matters little to the viewer, in part because the story is so masterfully shown, and in part because the meaning is revealed in the end (I won't give it away if you still haven't seen this 63 year old film). The overlapping narration of various people in Kane's life, along with the newsreel at the beginning of the film, serve to show him from many points of view, trying to get at the depths of his personality. The fact that the film holds the viewer's attention for 2 hours even though Kane's entire life story is revealed in the first 15 minutes via the newsreel is a testament to the powerful visual style of Welles and Toland.

This film raises questions about the impossibility of ever really knowing anyone through outward appearances. Although Thompson asks many people close to Kane about what made him tick, none had a real answer, and each had his or her own spin on his life. Interestingly, the only parts of the film that are not mediated by a newsreel or interview are the beginning, where we hear him say "rosebud," and the end, where its meaning is revealed. This privelege gives the viewer some insight into Kane that the previous narrators didn't have, but it also underscores the futility of trying to round up someone's life by answering one question, relying on one word, or looking from one angle.

Welcome

2005-01-12T20:05:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the blog for Erik Marshall's Introduction to Film class.