"Excuse me miss, do you like pineapple?"

My initial general impression of Wong Kar-Wai's "Chungking Express" was that it was mediocre, and I had no idea why Quentin Tarantino thought so highly of it. It seemed slow and boring and did not genuinely affect me the way some films do. However, once it was established that Cop 223's pining and obsession was in a way cute, and that he was hopelessly lovesick and meaningful, the film started to grow on me. It is a romantic tribute to people's lives and how they change with time and experience hidden under the craziness of an action movie (provided by the blonde lady).

My favorite part of the film was the way teh second cop told his soap, his dishrag, and his teddy bear to get over it, and to start takign care of themselves. It was so lighthearted and fun I couldn't help but smile. I also loved the impressionistic aspect of the film that we discussed in class. Once i realized how connected the art movement was with the way the film was made, the real purpose of the film comes through. It is blurry and fast paced and so full of life because the characters are changing and experiencing.

Elephant

I have to start off saying that this is by far one of the best films I've ever seen. Yeah, people can huff and puff about how ridiculous it is to follow someone's back for thirty seconds or more, but it was so great. I absolutely loved how the director took the lives of these high school kids and made such poignant remarks on their lives and violence in such an understated way that spoke so loudly. The way that all of the senses and time were distorted, often to the extent where I questioned reality. The way that the breathing was so loud, yet the gunshots in a closed room seemed muted, and the way that the camera was so focused on the individuals, yet the world around them was a blur and unimportant. (that part, i think, can be translated into the universality of the possibility of the situation). The constant juxtaposition of the film made it really interesting. The way that everyone's lives were situated on their own track and how truly interconnected they really were kept me thinking, and it reminded me very much of the way "Crash" worked.
The social aspects of the film were just as intriguing to me as the visual ones. The way that John cared for his drunk father and warned the people not to go into the school afters seeing the boys walk in with the duffels made him a hero in my eyes. Elias captured people, and was generally well-liked. The girl with the sweatpants was a loner, but was just as much a victim as anyone else. The principal was a figure of authority but became a victim as well. No matter the position or standing of a person, no matter the way that the characters interacted with their surroundings, they were all subject and victim to the actions of others.
The violence was so random and so brutal that, even though I knew what was coming, there was really no way i could have been prepared to visualize it. The question that is constantly asked is "well, what was the root of this violence?". Clearly one of the boys was bullied, but what realy put them over the edge? What kind of hate made them buy guns and use them to "pick off" people, like some sort of game? Was it a social thing or was it within themselves, two people who are naturally drawn to violence, who,when given the opportunity, will act? None of it made sense.
I think that this is my longest post so far, and I think that says a lotabout the impact a movie can have on a person. It has been over two weeks since the film, and I'm still thinking about it. I look at school differently. I look at people differently. It's amazing.

Groundhog Day

Just putting this out there: I LOVE feel-good movies. Even though Groundhog Day was pretty dark , the big picture was boy likes girl, boy can't get girl, boy realizes his faults to become a better person and get the girl (yay). It was little details to the film (like Ned Ryerson) that made the movie fun. Once I realized the repetition necesary in a movie like this, I was unsure about how good a movie could be if it was the same day over and over again. The way it was done was so funny, though. I can imagine that for someone like Phil, Punxawtawney is the worst place in the world to get stuck in, and it was a great setup for a movie like this. My favorite part of the movie was the way he had the entire scheduleof the town memorized and was able to steal the money. He realization that his days had absolutely no consequence made us think "what if we had no consequences?" or "what if there is no tomorrow?" It's a bizarre concept, and I know I've had days that i want to "last forever", but PHil had a day that he genuinely hated. Growing to love and accept the situation he was placed in is a huge character development and it was great to see such a bitter and arrogant character shed that meanness and grow into a romantic and spirited person without losing his humor that was funny and biting all along.

He Loves Gooooooooold!

This was the first Bond movie I have seen (yes, ever) and, although it wasn't really my favorite, there is no doubt that it was entertaining. Whether we were snickering at Pussy Galore or the technology of the 1960s or just enjoying the film, it was good. Bond's hyper-misogynistic approach to everything he does is annoying and frustrating, but it's all about creating the persona of an international spy out to save the world from a strangem gold-obsessed German man's atomic bomb, right?
Side note: I learned that Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond books, also wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Its kind of neat that soemone could write books like that. They're completely different stories and completely different characters. That's no mean feat considering that so many authors just recycle characters and settings and plots.
And the gadget car was great. I was kind of jealous.

Please, whatever you do, do NOT spend your money on "30 Days of Night". Please.

Double Indemnity

I really enjoyed the film. Stanwyck's character was incredibly unfeeling and manipulative the whole time, and I think that, without her, the film would have lost a certain mystery and uncomfortableness that came exclusively out of her eyes. That to me was the most striking part of the entire film, the way that Phyllis looked at the camera and other people, as if she was possessed or something awful. The murder scene and the way PHyllis looks at Neff in the grocery store in her sunglasses were particularly jarring to me.
As a general form of entertainment, i thought the dialogue was a little bit too fast, and that "baby" is far too overused. It probably sounded really really super cool back then, but it kind of dates teh film.
The lighting was also amazing, and it makes me wonder how much time actually was put into making everything so dark. I also wonder about the initial response of the audience when the film screened for the first time, espeically with the whole Hays Code business.....
Aaaaand I think a lot more thought went into old movies than they do today, and it makes me a little sad. It's really hard to compare Double Indemnity to something from today and not feel bad.

Spirited Away

It was just so pretty. I've never really gotten into the Anime genre, nor have I watched a non-Disney animated film before, so it was really a treat to see so much creativity and AMAAAAAZING animation in one film. It wasn't so much the plot that intrigued me, it was much more the visual aspect of the film, and the concept that all of these characters and images and ideas were from Miyazaki. One of the more interesting things about the film was the behind the scenes and the sheer number of drawings made for a movie.
I though tthe most beautiful scene was when Haku was walking Chichiro through the flowers, adn it seemed that the scenery was completely engulfing the audience.

Fight the Power! (And Do The Right Thing)

I thought the film was kind of slow at first, and that characters like Radio Raheem were petty and unneccessary. Little did I know that characters like Raheem would make the film for me and I would love it as much as I did. Lee's awareness of social situations and racism and community enhance the film to make it extraordinary. It was a great compilation of characters that embodied different kinds of people.
My favorite concept of the movie was the prejudices present in the Korean man, the Italian family, and the African-American people. Everyone had their own biases and grudges against the other groups, and I think it was well done in a way that forces every community to look at the way they view others.
The most striking scene is (unsurprisingly?) that of Radio Raheem's brutal murder and the riot that ensues. As Raheem was slowly strangled, the reality of the undertones of racism came at me full swing, and the riot brought the chaos that quickly erupted over the music in Sal's pizzeria. To think that all that Buggin' Out wanted from Sal was a picture of a black person on the wall....and that so much destruction came out of something so seemingly petty. Smiley put a different twist on the whole film for me as well. The whole time, he is trying to get people to buy pictures of MLK and Malcom X, and he is the person who sets the store on fire and puts up the picture of the black men. Does his speech impediment mean anything? I think that Spike Lee put him in the film to show the ideals of the two men , which is echoed int he final words just before the closing credits.

"M"

I really dislike scary movies. Really. Once I heard that "M" was about a serial killer, I was unenthused. When I heard that it was a German film, I was even more negative about it. I thought, if the murderer aspect of the film didn't get to me, the language might. I was pretty surprised, though, because I really enjoyed the film. You know that a film is well done when you can't tell the difference between good and bad, and there is sympathy for a seemingly terrible character. One of the most striking moments of the film is when Peter Lorre's character gives his monologue about his burning need to kill (to stop the voices in his head). Although I knew the significant pain and anguish he caused others, my heart really went out to him. I thought that portraying Lorre's character as a victim made the movie really special. It was creeeeeeeepy, though. Especially the whole Hitler liking Fritz Lang's films and modeling the SS wardrobe after the bad guy. Creeeeeeepy.

The Good, The Bad, and The Amish

Witness proved to be quiet the film, with an interesting cross-cultural storyline and some painfully awkward interactions. The cheesy factor is almost (but not quite) acceptable, given the 1985 release date, and the "good cop/bad cop" conflicts are pretty unoriginal. There were some good things about the film, though. The Amish/English contrasts really brought out the characteristics of each group, and I think that from the opposing ways of life, lessons were learned on both sides. Rachel Lapp almost gave up "her ways" for John, and in the profoundly creepy watch-her-through-the-door scene, John realizes that had they slept together, either he would have had to stay or she to leave. I won't even get started on the vicious face attack that some may call a kiss, it was just ridiculous.
This is a little random, but hey, it's my blog: once it was announced that the man who plays Daniel is a famous Russian ballet dancer, I was waiting for him to burst into pirouettes and leaps throughout the film, so I guess that may have diverted my attention from parts of the film.
There was one particular scene where Rachel was in the barn and the light was perfectly behind her, clouding her in a silhouette, and all I could think about during the part was how beautiful of a photograph that frame would be. It's neat to think that everything has a meaning and a purpose in a film, whether they be aesthetic or symbolic. Hm...