Do the Wrong Thing

I don't think Mookie did the right thing. I felt horribly for Radio Raheem and the cop that killed him in no way had to do that. On the other hand Radio was fighting the power of the cops and some force was necessary. After the death of Radio Raheem Mookie threw a trash can through Sals window. Why did he do this? This was right after Sal called him a son. What Mookie did was reckless. This act of rebelion sparked a total uproar and in the end ruined Sals store. I wouldn't say that white property is more important than black life but in this situation white property was very unnecessarily ruined were as Radio Raheem was boarderline needed to be stoped and killing him might have been the answer.

Drum Line of Algiers

After viewing the Film, Battle of Algiers, I have seen the least entertaning film of common recolection. The film was a lost cause when it came at me with black and white and subtitles. Besides the dead technology it just wasn't a fun picture. I can't understand why it got such reviews as "Best Movie I saw All year," and "Astonishing," heres my responce to those reviews. They have only seen one movie that year. In no way could this movie be an all timer or even a good movie you forget about. This movie was unbearable to watch. I did find one review I thought suited well however. "Pulses with energy, as urgent, intense, precient as ever." I'll give the movie the pulse. In no way is it due to any other reason than the simple drum line in between important events. It seems like this class' theme is sweet non diagetic music in movies. Starting with OUTTW when the Harmonica kept playing and now the drumline in BoA.

Memento

I found Momento to be an excelent film. I thought the way it was pieced together was brilliant. I really liked this aspect because we kind of think how he thinks. He lives in the now and leaves clues for the past. everytime he finds one of his clues we learn more into the past. Had the movie ended with Teddy getting shot it would've been a terrible movie. If that were to happen we would know he killed the wrong guy and it would frustrate me. I think Teddy was suprisingly the good guy in this movie. Although he is a drug dealer and a crooked cop, he truely is doing this whole thing for Lenny and not himself. Teddy just wants to see Lenny happy, so he conceals the truth from him until the end. I was shocked when I found out Teddy did nothing wrong. The entire movie I just waited until we found him out. I think this gives the movie a lot less closure, but an opening for a sequel. 7 years later might be a little late for Momentwo, but I'd be down for seeing it.

Kiss Me Deadly

After seeing Kiss Me Deadly I take back all prior comments on liking Film Noir. This movie was a disgrace to the topic that is Noir. I have a really hard time getting to enjoy any characters. VaVaVoom was the only person that I felt a remote attachment to. In Mike Hammer's defence, he does have the best name I've ever heard of. That's about all he had going for him in this picture. He was nowhere near as like able as Neff, primarily because of his lame way of lighting a match. There's something about the one handed flick that I could watch for hours. This film didn't only disappoint me in character likability, but also plot. I really don't know where the flaming box came into play. It seemed like one minute Hammer was hunting down a murderer and the next minute he was burning his hand on some type of Sci-Fi madness. The high quality special effects however rivaled Jurassic park I'd say. The flames that might have been made of paper really looked lifelike. I honestly think I could have made a more convincing scene of incarceration. I was not impressed by this film in the least. (Like my last blog I had computer troubles. It was suppost to be fixed this weekend but I just got it back today.)

Double Indemnity

I thought that this was one of the better movies that we have watched so far. I found Neff to be a classic Film Noir male. He was a malicious murderer, yet I found myself on his side. I don't know why I routed for him but he was very charming in that way. Phylis was also a textbook fem fetal. She was also a murderer but I didn't seem attached to her. Some classic Noir elements that I noticed were the Venetian blinds. These were used in Keye's office to show that Neff wasn't exactly squeaky clean. It kind of puts people in the gray area. I thoung the plot was very clever. I really enjoyed the mystery aspect even though we knew that he got shot and would be found out. This movie opened a knew scope of films that I think I enjoy. (Mr. Klob I showed you my written blog, my computer got fixed today.)

Dali Lama

Groundhog Day

After reading the New York Times article on Klob's blog I can totally see some of the spiritual messages in this film. As a christian I really saw the born again life of Bill Murrays character.

''You do, however, very clearly see the deadness of his life at the beginning of
the movie.'' After the self dies, he added, ''what is reborn is this new person
resurrected from his comatose way of looking at the world.''

This quote is basicaly what I saw in the movie. In the article it says that christians see the groundhog as Jesus. I didn't see this at all when I watched it. We celebrate easter as the rising of jesus each year, not groundhog day. Christianity isn't the only religion that I saw in the movie. I didn't know a lot about buddhist beliefs but after reading about them I can really see them.

That is why you have bodhisattvas, who reach the brink of nirvana, and stop and
come back and save the rest of us. Bill Murray is the bodhisattva. He is not
going to abandon the world. On the contrary, he is released back into the world
to save it

After continuing to read Bill Murray is compared to the doli lama because he is the only bodhisattvas. Bill Murray might be the Doli in Groundhog Day, but he still stiffed him after he caddied for him.

Bringing up Baby

After watching Bringing up Baby I officially watched the worst movie of all time. It is labeled in the genre of screwball comedy, this couldn't be more misleading. Not one part in that movie made me do as much as a smirk. Katherine Hepburn might have played the most annoying women I have ever seen or watched. George barking every second he was on screen was influence enough for me to punt a baby. David was the biggest push over I've ever seen and is a a disgrace to manhood. Not only were the characters unbearable, the plot was very dumb too. The entire ending came right out of left field. Never were we given any hint that David had any other feeling but hatred towards Susan. Then all of a sudden he is no longer engaged and now head over heals in love with her. She ruins his whole life's work and he doesn't even acknowledge it. Nothing about this film would ever make me watch it again or recommend it to my worst of enemies.

Classic vs. Revisionist

After viewing both My Darling Clementine and Once Upon a Time in the West I have gotten a chance to compare both a classic and a revisionist western respectively. I have decided to compare the lead women in both films. in the classic Clementine is an inncoent women who gets walked all over by Doc and Wyatt is there for the rebound. In the revisionist western Jill is a prostitute from New Orleans. She is not afraid to use her body to get what she wants. To the extreme she, to stay alive was dang near raped by frank. In both westerns The girl is fallen, this is constent throughout all westerns. They are both falling for the lead male hero and finally they are both attractive. Lets be honest Jills Legit. I like the revisionist western better because its more eventful and longer

Stagecoach (1939)

I watched the movie Stagecoach for this journal and decided to talk about the acting involved in making this a great movie. Before I talk about the acting I will give a brief plot summary of the film. Everyone boards a stagecoach , among them are Dallas (Claire Trevor), the town whore, and Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell), an alcoholic. Both of them are being driven out of town by a morality group. shortly after the journey starts they come across The Ringo Kid (John Wayne), a young rancher who has broken out of jail. He was in jail for a murder that he didn't do it was actually the Plummer brothers. He is out for revenge on Luke Plummer even though they are friends. They run into an Apache tribe that Ringo helps fight and Dallas has a baby.

I didn't choose acting because I thought it was all that great, but because John Wayne was in it. Without watching any movies with Wayne in it I still knew about him because of all his movies has done. He has been apart of two hundred and forty films. He had a lead role in a record holding one hundred forty two.

In Stagecoach Wayne plays the Ringo Kid (not to be confused with the old comic book character, they actually have no relation.) In Stagecoach John Wayne had his break through role after making seventy low budget westerns and adventures. A funny story about how Wayne got his break in the film industry all started when he went to USC on a football scholarship. He had a friend get him a job as a prop guy in exchange for tickets. He then met John Ford the director of Stagecoach and the man that made him famous. Wayne has been type casted as a western actor for his entire career. His trade marks are hid very deep voice and slow talking. Though John Wayne is the most well known actor in Stagecoach, his performance was trumped by supporting actor Thomas Mitchell

Mitchell played Doc Boone, a Drunk man who needs to sober up in order to birth Dallas' child. Mitchell's acting of a drunken doctor breaks away from his normally cocky and self assured roles of his past. The change payed off in the end because Mitchell brought home an Oscar as best supporting actor. Mitchell was accustomed to acceptance speeches by the end of his career with the triple crown of acting. A Tony, Oscar, and an Emmy. Individual accolades aren't the only awards Mitchell's films collect. In 1939 alone three of ten films nominated for Best film, he stared in.

Claire Trevor played Dallas, a prostitute that falls in love with Ringo. The fact that Dallas was a prostitute wasn't a new thing among western films. Of the three I've scene the leading actress has been one. Trevor has been type casted as a floozy and a broad in almost all the movies she is in, mostly because they've primarily been westerns.

As an on going theme I noticed in my research on the actors in Stagecoach its that type casting is a commonly used technique. John Wayne and Claire Trevor both pump out more westerns than Edina pumps out W's. I would think that this would lead to very good performances because they've essentially been doing the same thing for they're entire careers.

(all additional information comes from wikipedia and IMBD.com)

My Darling Clementine

I found an important scene from this movie was the one were Wyatt kicked the drunk Indian out of town. This scene was so very important because it made Earp the hero since the second he came to tombstone. The scene starts when Wyatt is getting a shave when bullets start flying aimlessly. Earp tells the current marshal to do something about it, and he cowards off. Earp takes thing into his own hands and disarmed the Indian. The town cheered for him and he kicked the Indian on his way out.
This point in the movie made him well known in town and gave him the job of marshal. This put fear in the eyes of town criminals when they heard that famous law enforcer Wyatt Earp will be on their tails. This set the tone for the heroics that He would do later in the film.

Family Guy Citizen Kane Reference

Citizen Kane - You buy a Bag of Peanuts in this Town...

In the movie Citizen Kane there is a song that seems to recur several times throughout the movie. This song comes to be at the party after Kane takes over the Enquirer (as can be seen and heard above). Kane kind of shrugs this grand song off and says "you buy a bag of peanuts in this town and you get a song writen about you." This is almost false humbleness because later in the movie it comes up again. When he is running for governor its his campaign tune. The instruments, pitches and pace of the song are identical to that of the song at the party. The third time we hear this song is when Kane has been caught with his love affair and loses the election. When the premature celebratory balloons and streamers are being cleaned up. This time when we hear it the rhythm is slower, the instruments are softer, and the all together feel is much sadder. I think this reoccurring song is there to symbolize Kane's undying love for himself that he just needs to hear a song about him. The song is parallel to Kane's mood. When the song is raging and loud he is in a great mood. When it is slow and drab, he is sad and depressed. This is a great use of sound and very clever of the Cinematographer.

Toy Story

intro to toy story, music by Randy Newman


Toy Story, directed by John Lasseter was the first of Disney Pixar’s animated masterpieces. The main characters were rather big name actors at the time. Tom Hanks, voice of Woody and Tim Allen, voice Buzz Lightyear really take stage with their voices instead of there motions. Before these guys, big name actors didn’t work behind glass, they were on stage.

This story takes place primarily in Andy’s room. Andy is a young boy who really loves playing with his toys, especially Woody (Tom Hanks), a worn out cowboy who has a knack for saving the day. When the hot new toy comes out Andy gets it for his birthday. Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) is an oblivious space ranger who doesn’t realize he is a toy. When Buzz comes Woody is put on the shelf and loses his spot as the top toy. When Woody’s plan to get rid of Buzz goes awry, He finds himself in a great deal of trouble and stuck in the house of the toy killing menace, Sid Philips.

This story is highly unbelievable because of the talking toy aspect of it. A very corny idea in itself really makes for a great movie. This film is targeted towards a younger audience however when watching it for my millionth time I picked up on clever jokes aimed at a must older audience. Woody purposely mistook Buzz’s last name with “Lightbeer” and “Lightsnack.” I also got a kick out of Sid’s terminology of a “Triple by-pass brain transplant on a toy.” These clever little jokes can be credited primarily to the director himself because he was also the head writer on the project.

Lasseter’s use of animation earned him the 1996 Oscar, special achievement award, for the first feature length computer animated film. The animation is truly exquisite in the way that everything is so life- like (as you can see in the clip above.) One example of this technology being almost scary good is the glare given off of buzz’s helmet. I appreciate this so much more now that I have aged enough to realize how easy that would be to look over. The life-like drawings are in part because of Bob Pauley. He is the head illustrator and also one of the drawers. Rich Quade and Ashe Braunon, the directors of animation, could be the most important part in the success of this movie, and movies as we know them today.

The cinematography of the film was obviously superb because of this new animation that had never been scene before. Outside of animation there were several types of camera angles used without any cameras. When Buzz first lands on Andy’s bed the shot start at a low angle shot and tilts up to close up of his face. This shows extreme dominance of the lens and power from beginning.

Music also played an important role in this picture. In the Opening credits as shown in the clip above, Randy Newman is singing his academy award nominated “You Got a Friend in Me.” It was nominated for best original music and song. His lyrics are talking about the over all theme of the movie, friendship. As Woody starts out jealous of Buzz, He grows to respect him and love him. The friendship of Andy and Woody at the beginning of the movie is a relationship all people should emulate.

I give this movie two thumbs up because it is genius in its new age technology and its great central theme is very heart warming. This is a great movie for the whole family to watch because its target audience is very braud and its down right funny.

I haven't gone out to a movie in quite a while. Superbad was the last one I got out to, mostly because of lack of money. I think that $8.50 to go to a movie is bush league. What ever happened to the good old dollar theater in Hopkins, I think they're still showing Shrek III. When I was younger that place was sweet and they were the first place to have a mini arcade. Now that they stopped playing present movies your only option is to break the bank. Could a 2 hour movie really be worth 15 bucks after nachos and a slushie? Granted that the ICEE slushies are baller, I would have to say no. If I really want to see a movie and get cheep about it I'll go with my brother and have my mom pay for it. The rule of keeping the change is key. During baseball season I make $15 a night from pocketing the change from my mom. This trade of mine is well known in my family and often is used in a joking manner, but my mom still dishes out the dough. It's almost like my mom pays me to show up and my younger brothers game for an hour. This past summer however I didn't make it to nearly any games because of my own. I guess if I'm going to go to more movies I'm going to have to sit through more matinee T-ball games.

"Supergood?"

I will be critiquing a review of a movie i have recently seen, superbad. this review comes from James Berardinelli, a cream of the crop critic on Rotten Tomatoes. When I saw Superbad I found it to be the funniest movie of my era. The high school comedy hit all aspects of boys trying to get some. The repulsive dialogue combined with real life aspect had me roaring in my seat.

Teen comedies have always found it more interesting to focus on social outsiders than members of the in-crowd, and Superbad is not an exception. While Evan, Seth, and Fogell are cut from the whole cloth of types, they achieve a level of individuality that is, while not unprecedented, at least unusual. The filmmakers avoid the seductive pull of reducing their protagonists to caricatures - a move that has killed many a similar film. Part of this is due to the deceptive smartness of the screenplay, but a lion's share of the credit must go to the actors. Michael Cera and Jonah Hill exhibit an infectious like ability while newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse uses his exuberant obnoxiousness to steal scenes. This is also a largely parent-free zone. Other than Stacy Edwards as Evan's mother, who is on camera exclusively for her cleavage, mature adults are in short supply

This excerpt of Berardinelli's review hits Superbad right on the head. I loved the fact that the only parent in the entire movie is only in it to be made fun of for her large breasts. This goes back to how life like this film is. The guy with the cute mom needs to get made fun of, it's a man law. Although Superbad doesn't break out of the mold of teen comedies being about the nerdy kid, they made clever spins on it. unlike Revenge of the Nerds, Superbad shows the nerds making a climb up the popularity latter. I agree that a lot of the credit should be given to the actors. Although the writers came up with the jokes, the actors (who are ranging in age from fresh out of college to actually in high school) made the characters relatable.

There's Evan (Michael Cera), who's close to an "average guy" - shy around girls but open with his friends.Seth (Jonah Hill) is overweight and pugnacious, and aware that his appearance doesn't make him a babe-magnet. Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is the uber-nerd whose social inadequacies and lack of emotional maturity allow him to think that the single moniker of "McLuvin" is a good name on a fake I.D.

These characters that Berardinelli describes are so uniquely funny and he is mostly correct is his descriptions. Seth, being the token chubby kid is always going to be very funny. Evan is the uncomfortable kid that makes you cringe he's so awkward, and in no way is he "average" as Berardinelli depicts him to be. Finally Fogel is, exactly as Berardinelli puts it, an "uber-nerd."

The prime requisite of any comedy - that it generate laughs - is amply met. Superbad is chock full of R-rated glee. Although there are instances of physical humor (some of which pays homage, either intentionally or unintentionally, to The Three Stooges) and sex-related jokes (including penis drawings), most of the comedy is in the dialogue. There are some hilarious one-liners, including one remark about health class that no one leaving the theater will forget. Through all of the mayhem, however, director Mottola never loses sight of his characters, and that's a key point to remember. While we laugh both with and at the protagonists, we also care about them.

Not only did it meet the request of generating laughs, It generated coughs, sighs, tears, and aches by pure comical genius. The non-stop sex related jokes in no way got tiring. Laughing with and at the protaganist is especially true with Seth because he is the slapstick humor type. He also plays the role of the chubby kid, you can't help but laugh at. Berardinelli and I agree on many things but the biggest point is that Superbad is supergood.

Art of Film I

Hi, im paddy, this is my first blog