Primal Fear

Edward Norton is an incredible actor. I really think RIchard Gere is overrated, and this was the first movie i've seen with edward norton in it, and he was GREAT. Terrifying, but great. I love law&order SVU, but i dont think i would have watched this movie unless Olivia demanded it as she did, but in the end, i'm glad this movie was picked to be viewed. Norton did a really good job of freaking me out. It's unfortunate that Frances McDormand's character sounded like she knew what she was talking about, so I trusted her professional opinon, but I really didn't expect for him to be as manipulative as he was. Who would expect this cute little stuttering southern boy to be insane, literally in more than one way, or in only one way...he's still freakinb me aout and cofusing me about it. That should serve as evidence enough of his great performance, I'm still flabbergasted by the duplicity in it. And in each scene, it was so natural for him to switch back and forth. It was great.

Easily My Favorite Movie.

Cinema Paradiso is great.

I'm a real sucker for beautiful stories. The kind that break your heart only to heal it with Toto and his life. Cinema Paradiso's storyline of a boy's love for film as a film is a)great for this class, and really really enjoy it and b)heartwarming and inspiring. Toto brought such life into the story, which begins ina post first world war setting, where the town's center of life is the film and the theater. People fall in love in Cinema Paradiso, they socialize, they cry, they learn, they play practical jokes, and they live. The priest watches all of the films to have the slightest bits of provocative behavior cut. Alfredo, the dear old projectionist initially sees Toto as a nuisance, but develops a really strong relationship with him as he realizes Toto's passion for films. Toto saves Alfredo from the fire, and takes Alfredo's place when he goes blind. As Toto grows up, he matures and grows with the town. He falls in love and spends time with the beautiful girl. Time takes them apart, and life goes on.

I love the manipulation of time in this film, also. The film starts with an older man getting into bed, withia message from the woman he's seeing that his mother called and a man named ALfredo had died. Knowing very little about the backstory, the audience wonders as this older man contemplates, and with the widnchime, flashes back to his chldhood and the Cinema paradiso. Alfredo's death causes this younger, man, who is Toto all grown up, to go back to his town after thirty years and see that the cinema has become run down, and that the town has changed drastically. As he returns home, he seesthe lives of the people who used to live in te htheater with him and how they've changed like his own. The beautiful thing abou tit all is that even with the extensive amount of time that has passed, none of them truly forgot how much they all loved film, and when the theater is demolished, it is like a part of the town died with them as well.

The most beautiful part of the film was the reel that Alfredo left Toto, as he promised, of the scraps of film that was edited out all of those years ago. It was one of thos emovies where the boy grows through film and his real life, and each serves as a kind of crutch for the other.

Side note: toto is actually the most adorable child in the entire world.

I loved love loved it. ALl of it.

The Searchers

Times have most certainly changed. I'd never actually seen a Western before this one, so it's good exposure, but I really couldn't take the acting. Everything was robotic and comical, even if it wasn't supposed to be. Marty's figity desire to constantly get up and go somewhere made him look ridiculous in my eyes. That's just an example. I'm sure that this was a quality film in it's time, but now, with it's "special" effects and dialogue, seems like it should be a parody. I'm kind of mean to films like this, and I want to be able to justify it by saying that but I'm not sure that i can. If I take into account that the 1950s had very differet acting styles,and that this genre became the most popular one for a long time, so creativity didn't come into play as much as modern day films do...wait...this really doesn't make sense. There is no real justification for not liking this film except for the fact that I thought it was boring. I guess because it wasn't fictional enough to be a real fantasy, but wasn't realistic enough for present day with the cowboys and indians, there was no relationship for me to have with the characters.

A Christmas Story

Sorry. I only saw the first day of the film. From what i did see, though, i thought it was silly. Cute, but silly. I did manage to catch my mom warning my younger sisters that they'd "poke their eye out" if they played with some sharp object in motion, and enjoyed the allusion, wh ether or not i actually made it up. It must be a real quality film, though, if TBS managed to play it 231654697896 times during Christmas. I guess I'll have to take their word for it.

Ruuuuun Lola Ruuuuuun!

That girl just kept running. Initially, I couldn't focus on the cinematic part of the film, just the fact that ALL this girl did was run in the same place. once I got over that part, though, i began to appreciate the film (sort of) for it's manipulation of space and time. I really couldn't stand her screaming or the animation that just felt too much like it was from a Lizzie McGuire episode. So i guess i couldn't focus on teh cinematic part of the film at all, then. There was just too much running. Although I thought theh concept was interesting, it lacked a certain lack-of-excessive-repetition for my liking.

Not all of it was terrible. I did love (when she wasn't running) when Lola and Manny are talking in bed about their lives or whatever it was they were discussing and how beautiful the lighting was. There was a romantic feeling about it all, and under the adventure of Lola's quest for all of the money was a romance. Interestingly enough, though, I found that the couple never trulye xpressed howo they felt openly in th elovey-dovey way Americans see in American movies. It's very blunt and subtle at the same time, and I enjoy it, because their love is understated verbally, but clearly emphasised in their actions, or Lola would never have helped manny the way that she did.

Also, I did like, in the manipulation of time, the snapshots of the people that Lola bumps into on her way down teh streets. They are bizarre and quick, but they say so much about the actual passage of time in each circumstance. I have never seen that in a film before, and thought it was really interesting to see such novel ways to depict life in film in modern times.

American Beauty

Before this class, I had heard so much about American Beauty. The thing about it is that until I actually saw the film, I had absolutely no clue about the actual plot or characters, just that there was something about roses. Turns out, I thought this film was really good. Kevin Spacey's portrayal of a man who narrates the last year of hisl ife with a neurotic real estate wife, daughter who hates him, a dead-end job, and seemingly nowhere to go. Rich, the new neighbor, creepily videotapes Thora Birch's character's every move. THere's something "beautiful" in everything that she does. THat relationship freaks me out initially, but there was something in their awkwardness that complimented the bizarreness of their relationship and almost forced the viewer to enjoy their work. The characterization of all of the characters, from the mother to the ex-Marine father (Rich's), complimented and contrasted with Spacey's character to create an opportunity for Spacey's character to split farther away from the unlikeable traits of the rest of the characters.
I think that the most powerful portrayal of any character in the film wasn't Spacey's with his newfound love of life and freespiritedness, but the Marine's revelation when he assumes the relationship between Spacey's character and Rich's. All of his hatred for gay people was really directed toward himself, and that moment was really a pivotal point in the film for all of the characters, and i loved the power in that. Next to the marine's character, Mena Suvari's role as the self-proclaimed slutty yet prude friend showed to be equally as twisted and away from teh truth.

Vacation Movies!

Over break I had the chance to see Sweeney Todd, Charlie Wilson's War, and Juno.
They were all great.

Sweeney Todd was completely in the style one would expect of Tim Burton, but it also seems that the concept of Sweeney Todd could have been directly from the mind of the director. I loved the lighting and the way Burton really played off of the characters through makeup and design. I was really surprised that Todd (Johnny Depp) can sing. His voice suited the film. It wasn't very powerful, but it was strong in the way that evoked emotion. TOBY WAS AMAZING. I've never heard a little boy sing so well. I was also amused that Alan Rickman and the guy who plays Wormtail in the Harry Potter movies were together in it. I really hate blood and gore, especially of the throat-cutting kind, but this movie was so well done and as dark was it was, there was such humor in it, especially in the way Mrs. Lovett (Burton's wife, whatever her name is) had quick, snide remarks that were there to contrast Todd's irrationality.

Charlie Wilson's War was also great. I love Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and I thougth that it was great to see Amy Adams shy away from a role like the one she played in Enchanted. I really didn't know much about Charlie Wilson, and though it was probably dramatized to the max, it was really enjoyable to see the versatility of the actors.

Juno was by far my favorite of the three, though. Ellen Page, although considerably older than the sixteen-year-old character she plays, beautifully portrays Juno, a quick witted, sarcastic,almost angsty and very pregnant teenager. She explains her name in the film as Zeus' wife, beautiful but mean. She is realistic and true to herself and her pregnancy almost serves as a backdrop to the rest of her coming-of-age story. The soundtrack was also INCREDIBLE.

rushmore!

Max Fisher (Jason Schwartzman) is the "king" of Rushmore Academy. He's the president of every club imaginable, he's a playwright, and he's failing out of school. After being given another chance by the headmaster (Brian Cox), he is expelled and sent to public school, where he begins his endeavors again. This time, his eye falls on Ms. Cross (Ollivia Williams), a widowed elementary schoo teacher, and he falls in love with her. Considering he is only fifteen years old, ms. Cross has to repeadely reject and remind Max that they will never be in a relationship, and that they are just friends. Blume (Bill Murray), is a bitter chainsmoking business man with two obnoxious sons who go to Rushmore with Max. Thestory continues as Blume begins a relationship with Cross, and Max does everything in his power to "get her back".
Max creates a string of lies and manipulations, from telling people his father is a neurosurgeon and not a barber, to not telling Dr. Guggenheim (Cox) that he has commissioned an aquarium to be built on cmpus. In the most bizarre and random events, Max's character shines thorugh with his awkwardness and his clear motivation by things other than academic pursuits. The plot really wasn't what makes teh movie, though.
Small, quick remarks made by characters were funny in a strange, dry way. Bizarre moments wehre children painting natuer outside exclaim "It's a...a jellyfish!" make you laugh, for whatever reason. Truthfully, what makes this movie get by is Max's awkwardness and almost fantasy-life that he lives, creating a whole world for himself within the world he really lives in. Without that detail of Max's character, the film would be lost.
there is compassion for the characters, from Max to Blume to Cross. max is struggling in adolescence, regardless of the facade he creates with his extracurricular success. He loves Cross, and doesn't know what to do with it, or how to act (or not act). Blume is clearly unhappy, clearly does not get alog with kids, and seeks friendship in people like max, who I think he uses to make himself feel better. Even with his superiority complex, Max is his competition for Cross' affections and time. Cross is a widow and it is only realized how unhappy she truly is when it is learned eh lives in her huband's old bedroom.
Director Anderson's slow motion creates a beautiful mood at the right times, and it is itersting in the way he uses the same effect to evoke different emotions. I had high expectations for this movie, and, frankly, it was not up to the standard I had envisioned. It was not the humor I expected. It was not the story I thought it would evolve into. It was, however, the characterization that created such humor. Because all of the characters have such stragne traits, and so many of the scenes have ridiculous and completelty unrealistic events, the only thing one can do is laugh. THe film was worth seeing, but at this point, I'm stil l trying to figure out for which particular reasons.

"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...