The coNE bros

Coming into this unit i had never seen a Coen Brothers film, hard to believe yes but it was in fact the truth. Just by seeing their photos in our directer bio with Klobs i could tell right from the start that they were creative people. Just by looking at this picture to the right you it kind of looks like they are always thinking, at least i think so. The first time my theory of this creative came through was in Raising Arizona when i first laid eyes on the main character H.I. he is crazy looking fellow. The story line in all three films we watched were all very unique and special in there own ways. my favorite and most entertaining was Fargo, i think i enjoyed this one the most because it making fun of where we live and it was very funny to laugh at. Although this was pretty funny on our side the plot was very depressing when it came to all the death and violence that happened for no reason. It was just different to see after watching RA. The order we watched the films seemed to be just right as we started with sweet and innocent crimes and progressed to murder and than to mass killing in No Country for all men. this was a fabulous unit and i really enjoyed watching films from a director i had never seen before.

Thank goodness for Excuse absences!! YEAH ALTMAN

I don't really know what to say about this whole unit. Lets just say Robert Altman was a very creative person. Creative does not mean good and it also does not mean bad, just different. This creativity comes out in Nashville the most but we see it in both The Long Goodbye and The Player with the not so normal story lines and surprise endings. The most creative aspect that i liked was in The Long Goodbye, I enjoyed the ending so much. It was so different and thrill seeking than anyother old story line that we see in the movies now days. The way it twisted and no one say it coming is the creativity that im talking about with Altman, the other time he pulled a move like this that i enjoyed was in The Player, at the end when normaly everything turns out to be just dandy and everyone is happy we end with Griffin being a jerk who only seems to care about himself. These small yet different things are what lead me to enjoy the Altman unit.

it is bigger than it looks

In James Cameron's Titanic the story line and theatrical elements are a perfect combination to make one of the worlds greatest tragic love stories. My favorite character of Cameron's in this film is Jack Dawson by far. Not only because of his good looks but the way he treats and comes off to Rose is so compelling. And trust me im not one for sappy movies, so this is a big step for me to admit i truely liked the love aspect better than the rest of the film.

I believe the low key lighting mixed with the emotions on the casts faces at times in the movie are what draw me in. When a low key lit room is present it just gives a sort of calming feeling until the light is changed, therefore the light can change the feeling of the film in a split second. For example at the end of the film the lighting switches and we are placed at night time with the characters wet and cold. The light put just on the faces of Jake and Rose at the end are what make this film a true tear jerker. Titanic being one of Cameron's step out of the box films was at first protyaed as over the top and sappy but little did peolpe realize that this film would come to be one of the best tragitis ever.

Claps to that! (#3)

Having the opposite view as Jaclyn i very much enjoyed The Terminator, but i do have many wonders on how a director can go from a beautiful piece such as Titanic to a twisted thriller such as this film.

Even through the shock i find myself leaning towards the Term side. Just has that more manly adventure feel to it, which is much much more my style. A strong and noticeable different of the two films was the style of the camera movements and shots. Term was very dark and with lots of tracking where as Titanic had more pans and where at times it was dark it still had a lighter feel to the whole thing. In both these films you could pick out the small things that Cameron incorporated in both like the story of people in distress of the goal of a character to be survival but all in all two completely different movies that if you were not smart and didn't know the directors you would not be able to guess that they had the same director.

Kurosawa, what a guy

Ran being my favorite out of the three Kurosawa films we watched was tragic but thrilling all in one. The thing that i liked the most about this depressing movie was the character Lady Kaede. The way she had power and control over everyone in the castle made me laugh at the distressed men she over ruled. Just like the other woman roles in Kurosawa films she is low key at first and then she appears quite strong and we come to see that she has control over the situation at stake.

My favorite scene involving Lady Kaede was when she used many different techniques to over power Jiro after his brother has been killed. She threatens him with death, love and tears. All which he falls for. Having all these ruling powers is something that i admire. Even though it is kinda creepy, actually she herself is really creepy but she defiantly knows how to handle herself. And at the end we see that her manipulations are effective at the end of Ran when the families estates fall apart because of her doings. Hopefully she know longer cries herself to sleep knowing she has destroyed what once destroyed her family.

hitchcock!

I m very happy that was started off the Art of Film II season with Hitchcock. very very very. Alfred Hitchcock has been my favorite since i was little, believe it or not but its the truth. my dad started making me watch them when i was young and it just stuck. The thing i love the most about his films is no matter how serious it could get he always troughs a little but of humor into the mix. My favorite example of this is in Rear Window when Jeff goes back and forth with Lisa on what a real photographer does and eats and wears, and she keeps fighting and fighting and you hear him multiple time say "o just shut up would you." Shows us views that Hitchcock wasn't scared to maybe step over the line a bit when it came to his characters treating each other. I know you can find bits and pieces of this kind of stuff in all his films. You just have to stay alert and focused, which isn't hard to do with his films because you never know what is going to happen next. Which leads me to the second reason i love Hitchcock films. Every movie is full of suspense to the max! its not like when you go to the movie theaters today and you see a movie and you are like ummmm i have seen this movie before i think. Hitchcock films are the originals of all those films that we see today. The way he keeps the viewer on the edge of their seats is amazing to me. This unit proved to me that Hitchcock is and will always be my favorite. And now that we have started our next unit i m missing Hitchcock very very very very badly!

did he "Do the Right Thing"

My favorite scene in Do the Right Thing is at the very end when Mookie and Sal were having a heated argument over Mookie getting paid and what he is going to do with his life. I thought there was an especially cool shoot when it was showing Mookie on one side and Sal on the other directly in front of the burnt down pizza place. It made us choose which side we were on in the situation. It also made us the viewers upset because we realize that they wont have peace it the struggle between races will always be there.

When i saw the shot with Mookie and Sal in front of the disaster i could not choose who to side with, i think this is what Lee wants us to feel. He wants the viewers to see that both sides can be wrong. It is not at the fault of anyone that people get let down. Someone that i do view in this film that i could picture standing right in the middle on that shoot is the Love doctor. I feel like throughout the film he never took sides and he was trying to stop the hate and add love to the lives of the people he was watching out his radio station window. I think he is a perfect example of how everyone should be. Race, background, religion, interests. none of these things should matter when trying to live and work as one community. I feel that it was smart for Sal to walk away like he did and hopefully he put some words in Mookie's mind that shows him that he needs to start being the bigger person. Overall good movie and i liked how it made me love and hate both sides and made me think about how i handle things myself.

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.

Bringing Up Baby

Bringing Up Baby was a very interesting movie to me. i enjoyed it for two reasons, it was two of my favorite actors and it was different from what i watch today. Katharine Hepburn and Cary grant are two very classic actors that i think had very well done films in there careers. Katharine's character Susan was a strong role in the film because she brought all the life and action to the film. In a way she brought the character or David, Cary Grant, to life. My favorite seance that showed Susan having control or David was when George the dog took the dino bone and David was told to get down on all fours and dig, and of course did exactly what he was told.

The second reason Bringing Up Baby was a quality film to me was it was completely different from what is around now days. To see the woman in control is not see very much today and it was fun to see how the roles are switched. More of these movies would be nice to see in our theaters today. Maybe the fad of Screwball comedies will return.

Journal #2

For my movie review i watched my all time favorite movie Star Wars: A New Hope. This has always been my favorite movie since i was really little so when i saw it on the list it was my first pick to watch.


My first reaction to seeing this movie for the first time in a while was how much creativity that was needed to come up with all the story lines and characters in this movie. George Lucas, director of Star Wars knew exactly how he wanted to picture to look.


He Starts off the film with Luke Skywalker as a young confused teenage that is searching for his past. He lives with his Aunt and Uncle who have raised him to be the strong adventurous boy that he is. Luke's home planet was invaded and destroyed leaving behind his aunt and uncle dead.

Luke sets out on his quest to find out why this is all happening to him as the past unfolds into his hands. He meets his first Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi who goes on to explain to him that he is the future of destroying Darth Vader.


Luke's adventures lead him to meeting Princess Leia, driven, caring and courageous Leia continues on with Luke as he reveals more of the past. The strong character Hon Solo played by Harrison Ford is much like Luke's protected and travel guide as they travel from planet to planet.

Through Luke Skywalker's journey his trusty companions R2D2 and C3PO are there to sever their master Luke at anytime. To Luke at first they are just bothersome droids that follow him everywhere but when encountered with lock or a computer the droids are right now it.

The music in all of the Star Wars films written by John Williams is the most important thing to the story. Music Motif is used repeatedly as we see Luke and Princess Leia finding more and more connections into the Galaxy world. Williams brings back the same music, almost one of the main theme songs for Star Wars, yet he plays it in different styles, different speeds and different cords. The song let us know as views when a main goal or sight has been set upon the characters.

In 1977 when the first Star Wars was made it was one of its own kind and to this day it is still an orig anal. George Lucas with the help of many more talented screen writers and producers created a masterpiece that can never be exceeded in our lifetime.

Journal #1

Michael Booth of the Denver Post wrote an upset review to the well liked summer movie Spiderman 3. His harsh tone and dislike for the third of the Spiderman series would turn almost anyone away from seeing it. Booth speaks to his audience as if he had seen a movie written by a child. His view from the first and second movies were completely turned around when he saw the confusing jam-packed third Spiderman his arguments of to many subplots and cheesy story lines can easily be considered action-packed touching.

The first reason Booth's feelings towards Spiderman 3 plummeted was because of what he says is a lose storyline.


The loosely woven plot of "Spider-Man 3" has more flyaway strands than Donald Trump's comb- over. With at least six major subplots tied randomly into a cloying,patternless weave.

I strongly disagree with this statement made. Yes Booth tells
the details of all the subplots later on in the review, but these subplots are what makes the film so suspenseful and interesting to watch. It does not becoming boring at any point because you are trying to figure out all the possible solutions for all the characters and their own situations. For example you look at all the possible outcomes that Peter Parker (Toby Maguire) can choose to do with his Spidy life. He can continue to be the dark Spidy that is selfish of he can go back to his old ways of the Spidy that saves the day just out of satisfaction that he is helping his city. With all of these outcomes in your head for each character the film does not ever become a bore to sit through so i don't know what this crazy Booth man is talking
about.

The second point that Booth makes to why he disliked the film Spiderman
3 so much was the overload of expensiveness to the movie. He feels that it was unnecessary to the film and felt as if it just made it seems as if it were a joke instead of intense fighting and suspenseful emotions.

Even the fight scenes are nauseating but unremarkable, for all their expense.
(Hollywood word has it that "Spider-Man 3" is the most expensive movie ever made, at between $270 million and $350 million -not counting another $100 million in marketing.)

Yes this is statement is true Spiderman 3 cost that much which is a fairly large amount for a blockbuster hit, but i believe it just added to the overall quality of the movie. I felt the opposite of Booth in that it gave the film a spark of energy that some films seem to lack. The big sets and upbeat fights where very well thought out by the director with the bright colors and expensive techniques used. Just Because they may have gone a little overboard with money does not mean it is viewed as a bad movie by the public.

Overall Michael Booth's review was a disappointment to me and i know to many others who enjoyed Spiderman 3 very much. It was a strong movie that helped wrap up many untied ends from movies one and two. I would recommend every to see it especially if they liked Spiderman 1 and 2.

yeah

Yeah Art of Film!