Casablanca

Film Noir is a movie that is marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, menace, and cynical characters.

Chinatown directed in the 74’s is about a detective Jake Gittes is hired by a woman who claimed to be Mrs. Mulwray to spy on her husband. Shortly after he is hired the real Mrs. Mulwray appears in his office threatening to sue if he does not drop the case. He pursues it anyway slowly uncovering a vast conspiracy centering on water management and other corruption.

Casablanca directed in 1942 is about a a Czech resistance leader Victor whose only hope to escape is Rick Blaine. Laszlo wife is Rick’s ex-lover who broke his heart. Rick sought refuge in Morocco where he ran a seedy night club. Iisa begs Rick for help to transport her husband. She offers herself in exchange for Laszlo.

The difference between the two movies is that Casablanca is more about the love story than Chinatown. Both films had completely different plots. Chinatown is more of a mystery, while Casablanca deals with the time period and what was going on then. 

Wild Wild West

Stagecoach was more of a love story. It really justified what I stereotyped the era. It was about Gordon and West who meet Rita and both plan to propose marriage. She of course disappointed both of them by announcing she was married to Professor Escobar. It ends with a typical scene of both Gordon and West ride away into the sunset.

In Wild Wild West Dr. Loveless plans to rekindle the Civil War by assassinating President Grant. Only two men can stop him James West and Gordon. The beautiful Rita distracted them.

Wild Wild West seems to be a spin off of Stagecoach. There are many similarities as they both involve a woman that keeps them distracted. Wild Wild West tries to incorporate all the Westerns into one. The newer Westerns have high tech fight scenes and there are more explosions. In both movies they are also on a trip. In Stagecoach they are traveling by stagecoach while in Wild Wild West they are traveling by train. In the end, in both movies we get to see the beautiful sunset of the West. 

City Lights

Charlie Chaplin is by a greater talent than anyone I have seen on screen today. His use of physcial comedy is just something that I have never seen. It is crazy to me how he tells a story through his body language. I think that his movies are easy to watch and you never get lost and not know what is going on. I watched City Lights and thought it was an amazing movie. I think it told the story beautifully and enjoyed the concept of him going after the blind girl. The direction was simple shots and there is not much to the plot. It is straightfoward and there is nothing fancy in the movie. Comedies have  gone a long way  and I think this movie proves that you don’t need dialogue to be funny. These days dialogue makes the movie funny and not physcial comedy. I feel like movies today should take more from silent movies.

 

Sunshine :)

Little Miss Sunshine certainly did bring some sunshine to my viewing pleasure. I am a huge Steve Carell fan, so of course I went out to see this film. Steve certainly did not disappoint, even though this performance is different then his usual roles. By far the best part of the movie was the pageant. I think I was crying laughing during the scene. Abigail Breslin was perfect for the role because she has the whole awkward thing going for her. While doing some research I read that it took her two weeks to prepare for the dance, which I think makes it even funnier. I can’t believe that dance to “Super Freak” took so long to learn. I have been watching beauty pageant shows and seriously Little Miss Sunshine only proves how foolish they really are. They make these little girls look like twenty-year old women. They should just leave them natural and kids. The script was heartfelt and at the end I cried like the sap I am. The movie was touching and the characters really drew you in. 

Titanic

When you think of Blockbuster one movie comes to mind: Titanic. The movie opened December 19,1997. The film opened with $8,658,814 on its opening day, and made $28,638,131 over the opening weekend from 2,675 theaters making it the weekends top seller. The movie stayed #1 for for fifteen consecutive weeks. The film stayed in theater until October 1, 1998. The movie grossed about $600,788,188 in the United states and made about $1,248,025,607. The movie is the highest grossing movie in history. On the other hand, the movie took about $200 million dollars to make. I remember going to the movies twice to see it because I couldn't get enough of Leonardo DiCaprio. I remember being sold are posters and the Celine Dion CD. I most admit I still can’t turn it off when it is on television. 

Volver

I think foreign films always have an obscure plot such as in the movie Volver.  In the movie the main character Paula’s father tries to molest her and she stabs him to death.  They girls try finding a way to get rid of the corpse. I think in most foreign films there is someone trying to get rid of dead body and it never goes smoothly. There is also always cheesy music playing in the background when this is going on. I don’t know why they always play this music. I think in US films the music isn’t usually this bad. Also, in foreign films they always find a way to show some nudity, somehow some way you always see some breasts. I can’t really explain the difference between the two, just that European story-telling is simply different. I think their sense of humor is different and the way they shot their scenes is too.  I also believe foreign films battle different topics and do not have to worry about censoring themselves as much and being politically correct. In this movie they battle death and ghosts and everything comes full circle in the end. Furthermore, Penelope Cruz and the rest of the cast gave a phenomenal performance which shows that foreign actors can act are just as well as Americans.

Citizen Kane

I was blown away by Citizen Kane. I can honestly say it is probably one of my new favorite movie. Citizen Kane was like reading a good novel where you watch the character unfold little by little. Citizen Kane was a lot like reading The Kite Runner, which I know is an unusual comparison. The character of Charles was a person you loved and hated, just like the main character in The Kite Runner. The movie had depth to it and was woven together beautifully. The plot was well developed and you learned more about the character through each interview just like Roger Ebert stated. I really didn’t expect a movie like this to be made so long ago. All the different camera angles and shots further helped tell the story. I think it was a huge achievement for its time. I was happy to find out that Rosebud was the name of his sled. I had a feeling that it had to do something with his childhood, but I didn’t know what exactly. Overall, I give Orson Wells credit for both directing and staring in the movie. It was a sound performance and the directing was even better. I would recommend Citizen Kane to anyone who enjoys a good drama! 

Summer Movies

      I saw Star Trek twice already this spring. I saw it the Thrusday it came out, but I fell asleep during the first half hour. Afterwards, I was completely mad at myself because the movie was AMAZING. I thought everything was perfect because it was funny and action packed. I LOVE action movies and this one kept me at the edge of my seat. I use to watch Star Trek when I was younger because I was obsessed with outerspace. The movie gave the television show a modern twist and opened doors for new young fans. I think the movie was well cast and each actor brought flare to each of the characters. The technical work in the movie is immpecable and everything seemed so real. The music also suited the movie and it kept the excitement up. After my first viewing I went to see it again, so I can catch the beginning because I was stupid enough to fall asleep during the previews. I most say it was better the second time. Lastly, the Star Trek fans made me laugh because they clapped throughout the movie like with the orginial Spok was on screen

   I really wanted to see The Hangover. I think I’ve seen the preview about five times going to other movies and I’m excited about it. It seems as though it would be a good laugh and there hasn’t been a good comedy out in awhile. Can’t wait to see if the movie lives up to the hype. 

Natural Born Killers

   I’ve decided to do my paper on Natural Born Killers. It was a controversial movie at the time and I think it will call for a good topic. Also, the different angles and music in the movie are very unique and everything has a double meaning. The film has a psychedelic style because it uses animation, color schemes, and black and white shots. Likewise, there are are a lot of camera work effects. If you listen to the Oliver Stones commentary on the DVD you learn why everything was shot the way it was. I think it’s interesting that everything has a meaning. I also think the overall moral of the story is interesting in the way Oliver Stone decided to present it. The influence of the media really does have an effect on our lives whether we realize it or not. Overall, choosing Natural Born Killers is a good choice because it will be an entertaining paper to write. I can’t wait to learn more about the movie!  

Singing in the Rain

       I’ve been on the edge about how I feel about the musical Singing in the Rain. I went into the movie thinking that the plot was a love story. In this case it was only a piece of the movie. I thought it was rather fun to watch and wish we had more physical comedy in movies today. I think Gene Kelly was remarkable though. I was in shock by his dancing abilities, probably because the tap dancing was amazing. Also, I give him more credit when I read he was the cherographer. It’s rare to see this type of talent today. I seriously cannot name an actor or actress to match him talent. Donald O’Conner’s character was by far my favorite. He was just one big goof and an outstanding story teller. Donald was the comic relief in the movie and the scene where he is doing all the gags in unbelievable. The way he moved around stage seemed effortless and his facial expressions were priceless.

       I have respect for the content of the film though. For a musical from 1952 I was expecting it to be cookie-cutter movie. It was far from that and it showed the harsh realities of show business. If your voice wasn’t up to par then you were out of a job. I almost felt bad for Lina, but her character just made you feel like she deserved it. It also showed the change from silent to vocal movies. You were able to see the difficulties that the actors had to face. It gave me new found respect for the actors and stage crew. All in all I enjoyed the movie, but Grease is still my favorite musical!

Memory Post: This one time at band camp

It was a hot Saturday in July, so we decided to go to the movies. I was with my four cousins and my sister, so we decided to make the three block walk to the movie theater. We stopped at the corner store to pick up snacks, so we didn’t have to pay the theater prices our usual routine. We got to the ticket window and figured we might as well try to get into American Pie. It was a rated R movie, but the Roselle Park theater was known for letting “underage” kids in. So we all got in at eleven years old, expect for my sister Ana. She was only nine at the time, so we starting complaining and fighting with the attendant. With no luck, I decided to walk her home with my cousin Sara. Thankfully, we saw my mom walking to the bank and dropped her off.

After finally getting into the movies, we could not stop laughing at what had just happened. I was excited about seeing the movie because all my friends had said it was ridiculously funny. Boy, were they right! I never laughed so much at a movie in my life. It was just non-stop and it was the first crude movie I’d seen. The plot was realistic and relatable to teenagers. Even though I doubt I fully understood all the sexual content in the movie, I still enjoyed myself. What I remember most is my cousin laughing throughout the movie. He probably has the loudest laugh and it’s so addictive that we all couldn’t stop laughing with him. I think he might off nearly fell off seat laughing. This was probably the most fun I’ve had at a movie theater. To this day it is probably in my top five favorite movies just because of the experience I had seeing it. The drama in the beginning with my sister and the non-stop laughter will always make me remember the movie with delight.