Film Noir

Out of all three of the movies we watched, i think that i liked Memento the best. It's probably the most 'recent' and modern movie we've seen in class which was really refreshing, however i probably wouldn't watch it on my own time. The story was really interesting though and how it brings up the idea that it is human nature to 'lie to ourselves' if we really don't want something to be true - and then we actually believe it. Also Guy Pearce is not bad looking either. I liked Double Indemnity though too - the story was good and i think it was well done. Kiss Me Deadly however i did not like at all because i hardly understood anything that was going on. It was really vague and i was just confused and got nothing out of it, and the acting was bad.
On a different note, i feel like there should be some kind of unit with movies that we've all actually heard of. I can think of lots of movies that could probably be considered to be some of the 'greatest movies of all time' - for example Sound of Music or Titanic. Don't get me wrong, i like the class!, but most of these movies are just so different from what i would normally watch. i get it though that this class is supposed to expand our horizons.. so i guess then it is doing its job!! Oh yeah and on the upper left there is a really good movie!

Romantic Comedies Unit

Recently, i saw the film The Changeling in theaters.. actually i saw it before it came out at a sneak preview so it was just that much more exciting. I was actually blown away - it one of the best movies i had ever seen! Honestly i was skeptical beforehand when i asked about the plot, and found out it was about a woman whose little boy goes missing - because that storyline is pretty typical and i was like, "this movie is just going to be like any other drama". It ended up being so much better than i'd expected, and i also found out later that it's a true story, which is amazing. Also i'm usually not a big fan of Angelina Jolie's movies, but i thought that she was fantastic in this one.
The movie started out introducting Angelina's character as a single mom in the '30's with a little boy, who one day went missing when she was at work. What happened became a national story, written about in all the newspapers, and the men working in the LAPD and the paper wanted to be nationally recognized as great, helpful people when they find her son.
Finally they thougtht they found her son and brought the mom and boy to reunite with press all around, but it ended up not being her son and she obviously knew that. The press and police just kept telling her that she was mistaken, that he'd probably changed a lot since he'd been gone. Since she was a woman in the '30's she couldn't do anything about it, she she took this strange boy home with her.
When she kept demanding for the police to look for her real son, the head honcho in the newspaper ordered for her to be taken to a mental institution for women - and again, she couldn't do anything about it.
She got out when finally a pastor from her church realized what they'd done to her and ended up freeing every woman in the instiution - who were all put away for the same reasons, because they questioned the law and it was easier to just 'put them away'.
Meanwhile a detective had discovered that a man had been killing boys down in a Texas ranch, and they found the man and brought him to court. Angelina's character said that if they'd not been so reluctant to listen to her, they might've found her son before he was killed at this ranch, along with many other young boys. The head police officer, the newspaper guy, and obviously the murderer, all went to court. The two men got fired from their jobs and the murderer was put on death row. It's an overwhelming sensation watching the court scene because i was like "yes, justice had been served" and i wanted to celebrate right along with the mom of the boy who was killed.
I definately want to buy this movie when it comes out because i learned so much from it and it made me realize how lucky i am to be living in the time period that i do. I highly recommend it! :)

The Western

I had a lot of different impressions of the movies My Darling Clementine and Once Upon a Time in the West.. one was that they are really well-done films obviously, that's how people still remember them after all this time. Clearly the camera work, lighting, costume, etc. are all really nicely done - but i'm not so convinced that the plots are all that interesting. All of the westerns portray Old Western America - basically our country's history, so it's probably a good thing for students to watch because it's educational. However - this is just my opinion - i feel like the plot lines are so dull. They're vague and it's hard to grasp the overal conflicts/concepts of the movie.
In My Darling Clementine and Once Upon a Time in the West, both, the theme is civiliztion vs. the old west. Both times i think civilization wins - and i think the directors are just trying to convey this theme with out making an intersting story line. Again, my opinion, but how many movies can you make with the exact same theme - civilization vs. wilderness? Sure, other genres have common themes - for example, romantic comedies generally try and reflect on the message that anyone can find love. The difference for me is that those movies usually have really interesting story lines, they're funny, and they keep a viewer laughing and interested throughout the whole thing. Westerns, on the other hand, can leave you very bored because there is not that much going on. So, in conclusion, i realize that westerns are important for our country's history and they are considered classics - but there is a reason why not so many of them are being made any more.
I would also just like to touch on the idea that contemporary (or revisionary) western films can be much more exciting. I wanted to point this out so you don't think i'm hating on all westerns - like for my western essay i watch The Outlaw Josey Wales, made in the '70's, and directed by Clint Eastwood. It had to be one of the most touching and exciting movies i had ever seen, and it was a real eye-opener because it was based during the civil war, and it really made me realize how awful and tragic war can be. So i guess i am a fan of the more contemporary westerns - but i didn't know until i watched this movie, so i'm glad that i did!

Citizen Kane

After watching Citizen Kane, it was clear why when it first came out in the box office in 1941 - it failed miserbaly, and then why today it is considered one of the greatest American films ever made. By just reading how different those two reviews are, it's hard to see that one movie can accomodate for both. I could tell that Citizen Kane coming out in theaters would not be that popular because if audiences watched it and just glazed over the surface of the film - wanting it to be entertaining but not appreciating little details - they would definately be dissapointed. However movie critics and filmmakers looking back on the film - by looking closely could notice the good use of symbols, themes, camera movements, lighting and characterization.
One thing i noticed after discussing the film was how Orson Welles used make-up, costume, and setting to personify certain ideas. For example the opera house and everything associated with it was so vibrant, intense, and unrealistically glamorous. The same was with the palace that Kane bought at the end of the movie - unrealistcally thrilling. The look of those two examples in the film can be correlated with the unrealistic aspect in the plot of the movie at those two parts - which i found interesting. Kane wanted the opera house and his wife to be a great success but in reality that would never happen. The palace is just an example of Kane and Susan living a lie because Susan wanted a divorce/wanted to move out of the house, and Kane was unhappy - life was weighing down on him. It's almost like Kane wanted so much for his life to be happy that he had to put on the act with the gigantic palace and everything. I just thought it was interesting how mise-en-scene (if you look closely) correlates with aspects of the plot. That, to me, is a sign of great filmmaking if looking closely like that at a film draws attention to new things. Movies where everything just lies out on the surface may be entertaining - but may not pass the test of time.

Art of Film I

Basically i love to watch movies, but the problem i have with movie-watching right now is that it's really easy for me to get distracted or get bored. Especially when i am in a movie theater, i more often then not lose interest in the movie and want to leave, honestly! On the other hand, when i do truly immerse myself in the movie i'm watching i get a lot out of it. So what i want to get out of this class is maybe how to appreciate simple things about movies that make them good - or how to notice little details that normally i wouldn't notice.