memento

With all our discussions in class about if Teddy was telling a lie or the truth in the last scene i was almost leaning towards changing my point of view but i think i will stand my ground. I believe that Teddy was in fact telling a lie. There is lots of evidence that he was telling the truth but i think the facts that say he is lying are the most important ones. First i think he is lying because this is the only time he has ever said anything about this story and second Lenny remembers everything about his wife and i don't think he taught himself to forget that she had diabetes.
I feel like if Teddy was telling the truth about Lenny killing someone a year ago he would have said something about it earlier in the movie. Seeing the last scene was really the first scene i think Teddy would have kept telling Lenny that he needed to stop the investigation rather than encouraging finding a new John G.
I also feel like Teddy is lying because Lenny has not yet in the movie taught himself to remember certain things. So him training his memory to forget this wife had diabetes just doesn't seem logical to me. I think what Lenny remembers of his wife are the memories he wants to hold on to forever so he would not alter them in anyway. I know i was only a few of many that leaned towards this side and i m sticking to it.

missed a few days last week so heres kiss me deadly

One thing i thought was very clever about Kiss Me Deadly was the relationship between Mike and Velda. In the beginning it looked like a one sided relationship, leaning towards Velda loving Mike and him not caring back. We see this in Mike's apartment and Velda throws herself at him yet he pushed her away and focus's on Christina's case. Throughout the film Mike meets many promiscuous women that throw themselves at him and he embraces it.

We can see that Velda is frustrated all the time with Mike's reactions towards her. Over and over she tries to be noticed my Mike and his studlyness but fails each time. That is, until the end. When Velda is in danger and being held by the men who killed Cristina. The burning box of hell has been opened by the crazy girl Gabrielle Mike searches for Velda as quick as possible. As he hears her cries he worries more and more and when they met they embrace. I think it was a wonderful ending to an intense movie. The two of them grasping each other on the beach while watching the burning house. It should to us that even though Mike pushed her away many a times he still loved her and they were meant for each other.

DI

I cant quite tell my feelings towards Double Indemnity. It was a interesting, dark movie, and also my first of the noir gene re but it pushed me away kind of. It was not what i was expecting after reading the plot summary and seeing the film we watched in class the day before. It just struck me as dirty and evil you could say.
From the beginning there was no hope for the characters, i think that is why i didn't like it so much. I like a good movie where the characters struggle for freedom or survival is tossed in the air every minute. But with this film they just seemed doomed to me from the start.
I think that if i had seen a different Noir film first it may have started me off better. Not for sure if this is the whole truth but the characters just turned me off in this one. I m not about to become close minded about all noirs though so i m very interested at what Kiss Me Deadly has in store for us this up coming week.

The G-hog

I really enjoyed watching Groundhog Day in class this last week or so. I enjoyed it for two reasons, it was different from the other films we have watched in class and it made me take something meaningful away from it.
I know not just me but the class as a whole liked a change up in style of movie we watched. Not that i don't like the other films it was just good to have some laughs. And not just laughs at bad acting or horrible special effects but laughing at good humor. In away you could say that this movie made the class appreciate Art of Film 1 just a little bit more.
The second reason i liked this film was becuase after we had finished it i felt like i could look at my life and make sure i wasnt being that grumpy mean person that Phil didnt even realize he was until he relived the same day over and over. It makes you wonder what other people think of you and how you could change those bad things into good just to make someone smile when they see you. This thought should make the world ponder as they go about their days.
Overall Groundhog Day used to be at the bottom of my list from back in the day but it has made a quick jump to the quality movies i have seen.

Journal #3 (a few points is better than none!)

Singin' In The Rain is an all time favorite to me because it was one of those childhood movies i grew up watching. Looking at the movie in detail now that i m older helps me to appreciate all the critical aspects that were made into it. For this journal i chose to focus on the music in this film.
Of course music plays a large role in this movie because it is a classic musical. Knowing this the music and musical numbers done had to be above and beyond any other films. To gain this above and beyond feeling Gene Kelly perfected all the musical numbers making sure the stage was set to wow the audience.

The musical scoring being one of its own is now know around the world because the musical was such a big hit. Just consider what song pops into your head when you are wondering around in the rain all alone, and you begin to hum, "I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain, what a glorious feeling I'm happy again..." People who have not even viewed the film could tell you those few lines from the classic good feeling song. Dave Kehr says, "One of the shining glories of the American musical" A comment like that should draw a person towards watching this movie.

Arthur Freed, Nacio Herb Brown, and Screenwritters Betty Comden and Adolph Green contributed to the making of the big hit titles used in Singin' in the Rain. Adding and removing lyrics and pieces from other MGM created songs played a big role in piecing together this musical. The directors only wanting to bring in what would be considered "big hits" made it difficult in choosing.

Especially when on set, at Monumental Pictures, in the film the music was very dramatic and soothing in order to fit with the movies they were creating all throughout the picture. Before the talking pictures were introduced the music was the most important aspect because of having no lines in the silent pictures. The music had to create the atmosphere so the viewers could take the emotions from the scenes. Differing from when on set, the big numbers where completely opposite musical choices. They were up beat, happy rhythms and very full of life and dancing. The drastic change in music from scene to scene helped the views to differentiate between the live music being sung and the music that was there for us to interpret. Also without the drastic differences the Diegetic and nondiegetic sounds would be almost the same. The Directors Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly knew this was an important to the viewer to be able to realize these so it was added in very well to the making of Singin' in the Rain.

In conclusion Singin' in the Rain is greatly influenced by music not only because it is a musical but because the musical aspects that Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly brought life and entertainment to the big screen. It was a new version for film that people loved to watch over and over until the lyrics where fried in their brains. In my opinion Singin' in the Rain is the greatest musical every made.