The Reel World

Donnie Darko (2001)

2010-05-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

I'm only partly though but I already really like this movie. They talk alot about The Destructors by Graham Greene. I read that short story in AP Lit this year when we started discussing deconstructionism. It was the first thing we did in the class. They also allude to Back To The Future with Donnie's comment about the Delorean.

It is a perfect resemblence to life as a teenager. Donnie is pessemistic and unhappy and doesn't want to be alone.

"let me just lay out what i believe is happening here, Donnie's aggressive behavior, his increased detachment from reality, seem to stem from his inability to cope with the forces in the world he percieves to be threatening."

"intruments of fear = alchohol, drugs, and pre marrital sex"

fear+love=life?

cellar door

"If the sky were to open up there would be no law, there would be no rule, there would only be you and your memories."

It's just another movie I can add to my list that seem to have deeply impacted me but I don't know how.

Movies I saw today

2010-01-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

Frankenstein (1931)

2010-01-04T08:06:00.000-08:00

Here i am about to post my notes and observations on the 1931 version of Boris Karloff's Frankenstein. We read the book in AP Lit and in order to earn extra credit, i am going to do what i do best and watch/analyze a movie!

Intro: "word of warning"

frankenstein = "man of science, sought to create without reckoning upon god"

2 great mysteries of creation: life and death

shows the style of film making in the period because the man who is doing the introducing isn't breaking the fourth wall and looking straight at the camera, he is looking over the camera. in teh 21st century he would look straight at the camera.

colin clive is frankenstein

opens to a funeral. camera pans around to all the people in mourning

man buries casket

two men unbury casket

"he's just resting, waiting for a new life to come."

of the two men, one is the inventor, one a hunchbacked henchman of the inventor

hunchback named fritz

Goldstadt medical college

criminals brain: "scarcity of convolusions on the frontal lobe"

henchman drops normal brain so he takes the criminals brain instead

"at night the winds howl in the mountains, there is noone here, prying eyes cant pere into my secrets. " -letter to elizabeth from henry

victor's last name Morris?!

victor is not elizabeth's love, henry is! henry frankenstein

henry is the inventor

"on the day elizabeth met the inventor he told her he did experiments"

so they didnt grow up together in this one

elizabeth demands to come with victor

henry frankenstein changed by result of his work

ambition to create life

only interested in human life: "first to destroy it then to create it"

uses electricity to bring monster to life

"this storm will be magnificent. all the electrical secrets of heaven"

"brain of a dead man waiting to live again in a body i made with my own hands" - henry frankenstein

both henry frankenstein and victor love elizabeth

ultraviolet ray isnt highest color in the spectrum

"the great ray" will bring light into the world

the family has virtually no part in the movie except for Herr Baron the father.

the father believes its "another woman" that keeps Henry Frankenstein from marrying Elizabeth

"you have created a monster and it will destroy you"

monster put in complete darkness, "wait until [henry frankenstein] puts him out into the light"

monster is big and bulky, square head with bolts in neck. eyes slightly rolled back into head

H. Frank. is not afraid of the monster. he commands it to do a simple demand and it does it, just like a dog.

monster raises up his arms as if to catch the light when he is first exposed to it.

fritz brings around a torch with fire and the monster reacts scared of the fire

fritz whips monster

"come away fritz, leave it alone. leave it alone." - H.F.

fritz terrorizes the monster some more with a torch of fire

doctor and HF give the monster a tranquilizer

monster and HF scuffle

baron frankenstein

Apocalypse Now (1979)

2010-01-03T20:53:00.000-08:00

Notes 12/12/09

Martin Sheen
Marlon Brando
slow side pans
"this is my friend the end my friend."
helicopter - fan reference
saigon
voice over narrative
"i hardly said a word to my wife until she asked for a divorce"
fire/napalm imagery
a mission - willard wants a mission
"i was going to the worst place in the world and i didnt even know it yet"
following a river that snaked through the wilderness like a circut that plugged straight into kurtz
walter E. kurtz
"i watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. thats my dream, thats my nightmare."
"we must kill them we must incinerate them"
in the background is a ceramic elephant when willard is given the job to find kurtz
"out there with these natives... theres a conflict with the human heart... and sometimes theres a dark side"
"terminate the colonel" " terminate with extreme prejudice"
"you understand captain that this mission doesnt exist not it will ever exist"
willard very conscience about killing but feels uncomfortable about killing "an american and an officer."
crew:
- "rock n rollers with one foot in their graves"
- chief phillips
- lance johnson - surfer
- snake tattoo on chef

camera crew there " dont look at the camera, just keep going." - shows the media's affect on the war
captain kilgore throws playing cards on vietnamese cadavers
kilgore talks about surfing with lance all non chalance while warfare goes on in the background
air lifts cow into the helicopter - same cow as the one sacrificed later?
"the more they tried to make it just like home the more they missed it."
robert duvall - lt. colonel bill kilgore
6 ft peak for surfing - "pretty hairy" "charlie don't surf"
flight of the valkaries - helicopters approach
vaugner
nazi's liked vaugner
"scares the hell out of the ___, my boys love it" - kilgore
men sit on helmets in the helicopter " not to get their balls blown off"
surfboards attached to the helicopter where the missles should be
kilgore wears a yellow ascot
woman carries grenade to a helicopter that carries wounded to safety - helicopter blows up
helicopter has two crossed swordsemblem and says "creature from above" or something like that
"surf or fight"
"if i say its safe to surf this beach its safe to search this beach"
"do you smell that? do you smell that? nothing else in the world smells like that... smells like.... victory" "some day this war's gonna end"
"i began to wonder what they really had against kurtz." more then just insanity and murder
chef wants to get some mangoes- specializes in sauces
chef and sheen find a tiger
crew gets hysterical about the tiger, confusing it with charlie
sheen is always dripping with sweat
"could have gone for general but went for himself instead"
kurtz only 39
operation archangel, no clearence
"bullshit in vietnam piled up so fast, you needed wings to stay above it"
Hau Phat
sheen freaks out on a supply man
playboy bunnies dance to susie q
dance with guns
all americans get to watch while vietnamese watch through a chain link fence - caged
"He had only 2 ways home: death or victory" - talking about charlie
circus imagery
complete demoralization of women.
one boat has nude playboy poster on side of the boat
takes place in 1968
kurtz orders assassination of 3 men and one woman
VC scared of kurtz
kurtz has son and wife
trash and napalm along coast of river
dead men in trees
routine check of local boat
local boat protects little puppy
end of act 1

charlie: "cut em in half and give them bandaid"
"you're in the asshole of the world captain"
eerie carnival music and lots of strings of white lights
lance carries puppy in jacket - wears camo makeup
hendrix esque guitar riffs play in background
no commanding officer
"like this bridge, we build it every night so charlie can plow it right back up again"
"never coming back"
^captain richard colby works with kurtz
crew talks about disneyland, purple haze, etc.
under gun it says canned heat
boat under attack
clean is hit, dog goes missing
clean's mom's tape play ironically as clean dies.
travel through mist and fog
its almost as if kurtz leaves a trail of death in his wake
"a spear" man in charge of crew that takes sheen to kurtz is killed
he tries to kill/suffocate sheen
sheen kills him back first
lance gives the captain of crew a proper water burial, sheen tells crew the reason why they are taking him to find kurtz
"part of me was afraid of what i would find and what i would do when i got there"
"desire to confront him" (kurtz)
sheen puts all of kurtz's files into the river
bass line heart beat
met in river by locals painted in white
all silence except for bassline heartbeat
man covered in cameras - american civilian, american journalist
all natives are colonel kurtz's "children"
"mans enlarged mind"
"do you know that if is the middle word in life?"
finds colby
keats severs heads
keats "forgets himself with his people"
"pagan idolitry" says chef about kurtz
"it smelled like slow death in there. malaria, nightmares. this is the end of the river all right"
kurtz asks sheen how far he is from the river - ohio river
kurtz washes blad head with water -cover of the dvd
kurtz's bald head glistens with water just like sheen sweats
(method unsound - goes totally insane)
^what the army says about kurtz
"not assassin, not soldier, but errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect the bill" kurtz says to willard
more purple haze
"weak, clear in his mind.... soul is mad" photo journalist says of kurtz
"he dies when it dies, it dies when he dies" photojournalist of kurtz
chef might have bird or penguin tattoo
after 8 hours chef calls in on radio
"all mighty, all might"
kurtz approaches willard w/ lance esque camo makeup. says nothing but hands him chefs head - severed
kurtz keeps willard in captivity - weakens him
lots of 3/4 silloetes profiles lightening
"we are the hollow men..." monologue
kurtz reads from book
"this is the way the fucking world ends" said by photojournalist
"i'd never seen a man so broken up" willard of kurtz
you have no right to judge me kill me - kurtz
"What horror, horror horror has a face (of the fates), and you must make a friend of horror, horror and moral terror, are your friends, if they are not then they are enemies to be feared, they are truly enemies"

pile of little arms of inoculated polio children
kurtz cried "like some grandmother"
"like i was shot by a diamond, shot by a diamond bullet right through my forehead"

not monsters-but men

"you have to have men who are moral and at the same time have the ability to kill with primotial instincts
judgement defeats
kill claf ceremonially
"even the jungle wanted him dead, thats who he really took his orders from anyway"

no writing fuck on the airplane its obscene
kill calf kill kurtz
hack away
"The horror the horror"
native girl witnesses willard killing kurtz
kneals down in mourning in the doorway
"drop the bomb, exterminate them all" written in manuscript
natives bow to willard - he replaces brando as god
starts to rain as lance and willard leave
quote t.s. elliott

The Pillowman (a play by Martin McDonagh)

2009-11-01T19:59:00.001-08:00

9/29/09

Playwriting

McBurney 1º

The Pillowman

Martin McDonagh

The Pillowman is not a story for the weak hearted or minded. It is also a story unmistakably written by the great Irish playwright, Martin McDonagh. He doesn’t shirk away from violence or uncomfortable relationships, pain, or death. The Pillowman is no exception.

McDonagh starts The Pillowman with three men in an interrogation room. One man sits at the table while the other two ask him questions. The man at the desk is Katurian Katurian, a writer. The two other men are Ariel and Tupolski. They question Katurian about his stories. Katurian has written many stories; only one that has been published. The beginning of the play is very confusing. All the reader knows is that the writer is being questioned for a crime he doesn’t seem to know about. Katurian is very innocent. He answers the officers as politely and completely as possible. Ariel and Tupolski reply to Katurian’s words with harsh cut voices. They seem convinced that Katurian is guilty of the unsaid crime. Katurian thinks he’s in trouble because of making political statements in his works. Finally the plot thickens when the officers tell Katurian they have his brother looked up in the next room over. He begs the men to not harm his brother Michal; he’s a little slow. Ariel, the more malicious of the two goes next door and screams start to filter through to Katurian and Tupolski. Tupolski shuffles through Katurian’s stories and asks him about a few. The Little Apple Men is a tale about a girl with an abusive father who carves little apple men and gives them to her father. She tells him not to eat them. The father does and dies because apple men have a razor blade buried securely into their cores. Another story, The Tale of the Town on the River, is about a rider who finds a young boy on the side of the road and chops off his toes. Town on the River is supposed to be a prelude to the well-known story of the Pied Piper. Each of Katurian’s tales a more gruesome then the next. Tupolski also shows him an article in the local newspaper about a missing girl and asks him if he knows anything about it. Ariel walks back into the room and both man force Katurian down the hall to his brother’s room after they beat him up a bit.

Katurian is flung at into the room and lands at his unharmed brother’s feet. The two are reacquainted and Katurian inquires to Michal what went on when Ariel came to see him. Michal tells Katurian that Ariel commanded him to say he had murdered the missing children and if he did he wouldn’t get hurt. Katurian curses Michal for not denying the crimes.

The scene changes and Katurian breaks the fourth wall. He tells the audience his only autobiographical story, The Writer and the Writer’s Brother. Two loving parents who give him love and support raise Katurian. They urge him to be as artistic as possible. He decides to pursue writing. When he turns seven he starts to hear screaming from the locked room next door. When young Katurian inquires to his parents about the noise they tell him it’s his active imagination. As the screams continue, Katurian’s stories get darker and better. Seven years later a note comes out from the locked room. It says that Katurian’s brother (the one he didn’t know he had) was being tortured in that room every night for seven years. It was all a sick artistic experiment conducted by Michal and Katurian’s parents. Katurian forces open the door to find his supposed dead brother holding a story written better then anything Katurian could have written. He burns the manuscript. While the present day Katurian tells this story to Michal in the holding cell he tells Michal the tortured brother was the true writer. Katurian smothered both his parents with a pillow after he found Michal half dead in the room.

Katurian tells Michal three more stories, the one of The Little Jesus, The Little Green Pig and The Pillowman. Michal then tells Katurian he really did kill the kids. He used Katurian’s story lines as instructions in how to mutilate each child. Michal told him that the latest missing girl was deaf and was killed the same way as Jesus just like in Katurian’s The Little Jesus. Michal falls asleep in Katurian’s arms. Katurian takes a nearby pillow and smothers Michal.

Ariel and Tupolski bring Katurian out of Michal’s room and back into the first interrogation room. Katurian confesses to all three of Michal’s crimes and the murder of Michal and his parents. Tupolski is surprised by the sudden change in Katurian. They start to explain the steps to killing a murderer. They review the way Katurian “killed” the three kids. The reader finds out that Ariel had an abusive father. Since the little deaf girl’s body wasn’t found yet, Katurian explained, “where he buried her” and the officers have people go find the little girl. It turns out Michal lied to Katurian. He told him that he had acted out The Little Jesus story when in reality he had acted out The Little Green Pig story. The girl came to the interrogation room unharmed, covered in green paint, with two piglets under each arm. Tupolski realizes Katurian lied about murdering the children but still has to kill Katurian because he murdered his family. All Katurian wants is for Tupolski to count to ten in between putting the death hood on Katurian and shooting Katurian, and he wants the officers to preserve his stories by putting them in the case file. Tupolski shoots Katurian after seven seconds but Ariel convinces him to save the stories.

Martin McDonagh was born in Camberwell, London, England on March 26^th 1970. When Martin was 16 his parents left England for Ireland; leaving Martin and his brother. He started collecting unemployment benefits at age sixteen. In 1996 McDonagh wrote The Beauty Queen of Leenane. He finished the trilogy a year later. The Leenane trilogy also includes The Skull of Connemara (1997), and The Lonesome West (1997). Both Beauty Queen and Connemara were nominated for a Tony Award in the category of Best Play. His second trilogy was made up of The Cripple of Inishmaan (1997), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2001), and The Banshee of Inisheer. The Banshee was not satisfactory for McDonagh so he never had it published. In 2003 The Pillowman was premiered. It was his first non-Irish play. He’s also written two radio-plays. Lately McDonagh has pursued a career in film writing. He wrote the screenplay for Six Shooter (2006) and In Bruges (2008). McDonagh plans to premiere his newest play, A Behanding in Spokane, in 2009.

McDonagh was nominated for a Tony Award in the category of Best play for

The Beauty Queen of Leenane in 1998, The Lonesome West in 1999, The Lieutenant of Inishmore in 2006, and The Pillowman in 2005. In Bruges was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, a British Independent Film Award for Best Screenplay in 2008, an Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild Award for Best Film Script in 2009 and a BAFTA in Best Original Screenplay in 2009. The Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards called McDonagh Most Promising Playwright for The Beauty Queen in 1996. The Pillowman won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2004.

My favorite scene in the play is when McDonagh has Katurian tell The Story of the Writer and the Writer’s Brother. Not only does it show McDonagh’s talent for storytelling but also it had clear and concise directions for the actors and directors on how he wanted the scene portrayed. Not unlike the interrogation room and Michal’s holding room, The Story of the Writer and the Writer’s Brother has two rooms right next to each other. While the present day Katurian stands forward and narrates, a young Katurian acts out the scene. I believe it’s a great portrayal of McDonagh’s talent as a playwright.

Quotes from Broadway Review:

“One electric shock of a moment in the first act jolts comfort-food-fed Broadway audiences the way the shower scene in ‘Psycho’ must have slapped moviegoers four decades ago.”

“What ‘The Pillowman’ is about, above all, is storytelling and the thrilling narrative potential of theater itself. Let's make one thing clear: Mr. McDonagh is not preaching the power of stories to redeem or cleanse or to find a core of solid truth hidden among life's illusions.”

“The relationship between narrator and listener has its sadomasochistic aspects. And on one level "The Pillowman" recalls what the French director Henri-Georges Clouzot said about his 1955 cinematic chiller, “Diabolique”: “I sought only to amuse myself and the little child who sleeps in all our hearts - the child who hides her head under the bedcovers and begs, ‘Daddy, Daddy, frighten me.’ “

“To pursue these lines of thought is to fall into the very traps Mr. McDonagh has set to mock such analysis. Asked by Tupolski to explain symbols and subtext in one of his stories, Katurian answers, "It's a puzzle without a solution." Which is pretty much Mr. McDonagh's credo. But, oh, how he enjoys his puzzles.”

Movies this week: 11/1/09

2009-11-01T19:55:00.000-08:00

Casablanca (1941)

2009-11-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

3.24.09

History Through Film

Mr. Glasier

Casablanca

“Probably on more lists of the greatest films of all time than any other single title, including Citizen Kane’, because of its wider appeal; while Citizen Kane is ‘greater’, Casablanca is more loved.” - Roger Ebert

Casablanca is the world’s most popular romantic movie about World War II. It has an award winning cast including Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Like most movies made in the 1940’s it has a theme relating to the war. In fact, Casablanca was one of the first movies to deal with war. The story is a bout a couple that runs into each other in Casablanca, Morocco. Ilsa, Bergman’s character, escapes to Casablanca with her husband, Victor Lazlo. Lazlo is wanted by the Germans because of his role in the resistance. At a Rick’s American Café Ilsa finds Sam, an old friend of hers from Paris. She asks to hear “As time goes by,” the theme of the award winning soundtrack.

“You must remember this, a kiss is just a kiss,

A sigh is just a sigh.  The fundamental things apply  

As time goes by. And when two lovers woo

They still say, "I love you."  On that you can rely  

No matter what the future brings, as time goes by.

Moonlight and love songs, never out of date.

Hearts full of passion  jealousy and hate, Woman needs man  

And man must have his mate  That no one can deny.”

The song is the story of Ilsa and her lover, Rick. They love each other but ironically, “no matter what the future brings” doesn’t work for the couple because World War II enters France. They are forced to split paths. America is using the movie to show how willing the people are, that they loose love in order to escape war. From seeing this, the viewer sympathizes with the couple. It makes them gain a grudge against war just like the Americans stayed out of the war until they couldn’t any longer.

Rick’s Café is the most Comforting place among the more native locations in Casablanca. Rick’s is a venue with drinking, dancing, and gambling, yet another place where people can escape the terrors of war. Rick is caught in between his love for Ilsa and his duty to his country. Just like before, Rick, the American, has to choose to get involved in war for the first time. His competitor, Lazlo, is a hard person to dislike. Rick is aware that he is a good man so he doesn’t want to take Ilsa away from him. Lazlo always wears white clothing, signifying his angelic nature.

Unlike Lazlo, Major Strasser, the German leader, always wears black. His gruff manor is unlikable. In one scene the Germans are playing the German national anthem and then the French start singing their national anthem over the Germans. It shows the popularity of the French (as American allies) in Casablanca. Captain Renault: “Carl, see that Major Strasser gets a good table, one close to the ladies. “ Carl: “I have already given him the best, knowing he is German and would take it anyway.” This quote shows how the filmmakers were unafraid to make a statement about Germans stealing what is best. This also might be related to the Germans only taking the highest level of human, the Aryan race.

All in all, Casablanca is a pro-American, propaganda, film. In the last scene the cinematographer artfully shows the visual of Rick talking to Ilsa and telling her what’s best for them. He then becomes a patriot as he lets his “most prized possession” leave with Lazlo. Because Louis doesn’t turn in Rick for shooting the German leader, it signifies the good relationship between France and America. Casablanca uses its romantic finesse and shadowy lighting to smoothly suggest America is the “good guy”. They hope for the movie to make the viewers nationalist in order to help the war effort.

Paper Heart (2009)

2009-08-31T21:01:00.000-07:00

We Are Wizards (2008)

2009-08-30T21:22:00.002-07:00

Taking Woodstock (2009)

2009-08-30T21:22:00.001-07:00

Ghost World (2001)

2009-08-30T21:20:00.000-07:00

Life Before Her Eyes (2008)

2009-08-27T13:15:00.001-07:00

wow,

the colors were so beautiful.

there were many scenes shot in macro, gorgeous closeups of flowers.

there were two other important symbols.

a cougar and water (rain, pool water etc.)

im confused what happened with Maureen.

i assume that Diane lived because her heart was fixed because its the strongest muscle in the body.

plus, did she have an abortion?

but despite that,

beautiful cinematography and art design.

(500) Days Of Summer (2009)

2009-08-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

for some reason i keep forgetting to blog about movies i've seen in the theatres,

anyways.

i dunno.

i dunno how i feel about this movie even though i saw it weeks ago.

i love zooey deschanel, (as you should know by now.) and Joseph gordon-levitt (we are soulmates because we have the same favorite director, Georges Méliès)

but i just hate how it was all leading up to the break up.

it's not a happy approach to a relationship.

plus i feel like i already knew the whole plot from the trailer.

however, i loved the soundtrack and the art design.

Gigantic (2008)

2009-08-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

i liked this movie well enough. first of all it stars Zooey Deschanel & Paul Dano from Little Miss Sunshine (2006). it also star's Ed Asner, the voice of the main character in Up (2009), and John Goodman.

the plot is a little weird. even though i have been watching diligently i feel like i'm missing something. and the pacing gives off the same feeling, lots of akward moments.

some scenes have really interesting angles.

i guess it's a movie that's supposed to make you think?

not really important but i love love love zooey deschanel's wardrobe in it.

okay, so up to this point i was blogging while watching.

i just stopped and finished it.

and i still have no idea whats going on,

but i love the ending!

Mrs. Weathersby: He's been sweet his whole life, but he never had the family the other kids did. Everyone thought that we were his grandparents. He told his teacher once that his real parents died in a car crash and his grandparents took him on.
Happy: He did?
Mrs. Weathersby: Well he was confused, I guess. I don't blame him. It wasn't disloyal, it was, he was just trying to make everything seem normal I suppose. But, nothing's normal.
Happy: You guys seem pretty normal.
Mrs. Weathersby: We're not. You have a right to be worried and afraid.
Happy: I'm just afraid that I've fucked everything up beyond repair.
Mrs. Weathersby: Nothing's fucked up, nothing's beyond repair.
Happy: Thank you.

and then they smack a pinata around and an animal collective song comes on.

now i think that is a good movie

Perfume (2006)

2009-08-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

quite a surprising movie. it was better then i thought i would be. and i liked how (as it's been coined, )"the story of a murderer", but it wasn't really scary.

it makes you think about how Jean-Baptiste was so intune to his ability to smell that he didn't even seem to notice that murder was bad. he was hardly tempted sexually by any of the women. the whole thing made him ethereal.

by the end he seems to come back from his unearthly ways and gains a conscience. he wants to be loved, remembered.

The Virgin Suicides (1999)

2009-08-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

i just finished watching this movie.

well, i just have to say it was powerful.

if you don't know, literally is the story of a family with 5 sisters. they all commit suicide. it was amazing how this movie probably could have turned out alot more depressing then it was. i don't know if that makes sense.

one reason i like this movie is because it takes place in the 70's. i have found that time period flicks are always better. since the people who make the film always have to go through alot of trouble to make all the sets true to the era and it's so expensive, they make sure they have something important to say. the lessons are always thought provoking.

one part i loved was how they incorporated all the stuff about the trees dying. it reminded me of this time at my school when a man came and talked about how lawns represent this whole sort of suburban conformity. i didn't go to the talk but the idea has always stuck with me. that's why whenever i cut the lawn i tend to do it in a spiral. from an airplane i think the spiral would look like a fingerprint whorl. as if i'm creating my own identity within a mere social requirement. anyways, in the movie all the tree's are slowly cut down because they are "sick." and the community treats the girls the same way. they were sick. now they are gone. and the city never plants a new tree in the dead tree's stead. they just leave the stumps there. a street where all the tree lawns have a piece of dead nature.

no one ever took the time to look into the girl's live either. except for the couple boys across the street who worshipped them.

the movie also takes a stand on the v-chip and control of what parents allow offspring to do/see.

the way they treat the suicides reminds me of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975) too.

i bet something happened in the 70's involving suicide rates. or maybe just depression.

last but not least it was nice to know i have finally seen a film by Sofia Coppola, daughter of Francis Ford Coppola.

Babel (2006)

2009-08-17T13:31:00.001-07:00

Babel

8/17/09

Today I woke up to my phone ringing. “Hey!” my friend said, she wanted to know if I could join her at a concert tonight. I knew the name of the performer but didn’t like his music. “You know, I’d like to but I just don’t think I have 57 dollars for it.”

“Okay that’s fine, it was late notice anyways.” Cecilia replied.

I looked at the time trying to think who would have a concert on a Monday night.

12:43 my phone read.

“Oh shoot! I just slept through work. I have to go CC, I have to clean up a mess.”

“See you soon!”

I felt horrible. This plain and simple guilt weighed down on me, hard like iron. The stress mounting already, I went downstairs and grabbed a movie. I wasn’t ready to think about the predicament I just got myself in. The other day at the library, my work and the place I had just blown off for sleep, I had checked out Babel (2006) from the audio/visual section. The back description didn’t really tell me the plot. I took it out knowing it was supposed to be good. Still feeling like a waste, I watched the movie.

In Morocco, America, Mexico, and Japan people were linked by the purchase of one gun. A mother commits suicide, two brothers kill a tourist, a wife is shot on her vacation meant to rekindle her relationship with her husband, a child watches a chicken be killed, a mother watches her son get married, a babysitter and her charges are chased by the border police, two children are left in the desert, a deaf girl battles with the death of her mother and resorts to mind numbing drugs and alcohol, a brother dies.

As I watch this movie I can’t get over it. I am torn apart by missing work. I feel irresponsible. I need to go to work to get money, to buy a video camera, to become a cinematographer so I can let people feel what I feel now, this deep sensation. I wish I cared less about missing, when there are people all over the world going through problems much more trivial. Now I can feel the weight of both missing work and the horrors of the world. It’s sort of hard to breathe. I know I have to go to work tomorrow and face my boss. I don’t want to make an excuse because there is no excuse to make. What I did was something I can’t reproach.

The Tower Of Babel, I learned about the story in Hebrew school. In a town way back before Judaism was even a religion, there was a town called Babel that wanted to build a tower that reached the heavens. The people of Babel wanted some kind of grasp on their own fates. God lived in heaven. If they reached heaven they would have some sort of equivalence to him. The fable tells that God was so disturbed by the city’s means that he mixed up their languages so no one could understand each other. The confusion meant no work could be done. God left the town babbling.

I wish I could blame my missing work on babbling, on miscommunication. I know it’s not true. I can see why this movie influenced me so much. Nothing can be done when people don’t talk and more importantly, understand. Tomorrow I will walk into work, apologize for my misconduct, and work as diligently as I can. And the day after that I will do the same thing. Hopefully someday I can inspire someone else to learn a lesson like I did with Babel. I want to show people my visions through film. I want to make documentaries, to make people aware. Awareness is one more step in stopping the babble.

I know this isn't as much about the movie as it is about my life but it feels relevant to this blog.

update

2009-08-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

been vacationing,

saw alot of stupid movies like:

house bunny

baby mama

big rock candy mountain

dan in real life

my best friend is a vampire

wedding weekend

the babysitters club

you don't mess with zohan

saw some classics like:

chitty chitty bang bang

america's sweathearts (john Cusack)

one crazy summer (John Cucask)

will resume to watching good movies in good time, don't worry.

Chaplin (1992)

2009-07-29T20:57:00.000-07:00

i recently saw Fur (2006) with Downey Jr. and now i had the pleasure of watching Chaplin.

wow

wow, wow, wow.

i really like this actor.

at first i couldn't imagine Robert as the famous Charlie.

i saw his dark, deep set eyes and couldn't imagine them used to be such a funny character.

i liked the movie alot.

i'm not the biggest fan of those films where they start it off in the future right before the character is about to die and he remorses on his life. reminds me to much of the notebook. (i HATE that movie)

but i love charlie chaplin and i think Robert Downey Jr. did a great job playing him.

i couldn't even begin to understand the amount of training he must have underwent to do all those physical stunts chaplin did.

i've only seen parts of Making a Living (1914), the knockout (1914), the Tramp (1915), the kid (1921), city lights (1931), and limelight (1952).

by the end there is a little montage as chaplin is about to recieve his academy award.

watching it made me starry eyed.

what a wonderful man.

Coraline (2009)

2009-07-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

i have very mixed feelings about this movie.

the DVD offers it in 3D and 2D

"i believe 3D is just a gimick," i told my friend, "dating back to the 40's and 50's right next to smell-o-vision and cinemascope."

but all that set aside,

its impressive.

i love how Neil Gaiman benifits from the movie.

if you don't know already, he's the author of the book, Coraline, and the author of the prestigious graphic novel, Sandman.

i love stop motion.

did you know that the snow in the movie was made from superglue and baking soda?

crazy, right?

i've seen the movie 1 1/2 times. both in 3D. i know i will like it better in 2D where i can appreciate it better.

i think my favorite part is the very beginning where the Coraline doll is being sewn.

i also like how Coraline is so unappreciated.

its a feeling alot of kids know too well.

everyone keeps calling her Caroline.

she corrects them yet they don't seem to hear her.

Bottle Rocket (1996)

2009-07-28T06:54:00.000-07:00

there is something so incredible about the Wilson brothers together.

this movie is not exception.

Owen Wilson co-wrote this movie with director, Wes Anderson.

Anderson is incredible all on his own. He's done alot of work with the wilsons,

1. Bottle Rocket

2. The Royal Tenenbaums

3. The Darjeeling Limited

those are the only three i've seen. but they all mount well as my favorites or very close to being my favorites.

here's the IMDB plot line for Bottle Rocket

"Upon his release from a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, the directionless Anthony joins his friend Dignan, who seems far less sane than the former. Dignan has hatched a hair-brained scheme for an as-yet-unspecified crime spree that somehow involves his former boss, the (supposedly) legendary Mr. Henry. With the help of their pathetic neighbor and pal Bob, Anthony and Dignan pull a job and hit the road, where Anthony finds love with motel maid Inez. When our boys finally hook up with Mr. Henry, the ensuing escapade turns out to be far from what anyone expected."

i love how when i opened the DVD box i found the pamphlet had Dignan's life plan outline in it.

very clever.

Away We Go (2009)

2009-07-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

Verona: "I can't believe you told your mother about my tilted uterus!"
Bart: "I didn't know your tilted uterus was a secret."
Verona: "Yes, my tilted uterus is a secret!"
Bart: "Your tilted uterus is a secret. Your fucking uterus is a fucking secret!"

This movie was very funny and well made.

not being a huge fan of the office, i got to see John Krasinski just as Bart. I really liked the concept - finding yourself by visiting your friends and relatives. Every place they visited provided another example for a family. Verona and Bart saw all the different ways of life and it was almost like they thought they would be surrounded by that enviorment their friends kept if they moved there.

through this journey they found themselves. (and realized they are not "fuck ups")

i can't recall all the moments now, but this movie really made me laugh. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays LN (pronounced "ellen") She's a huge new age hippee who has an unusual outlook on raising her kids.

LN: "They bought us a stroller."

Burt: "What's wrong with a stroller?"

LN: "I LOVE my babies. Why would I want to PUSH them away from me?"

All in all, a very enjoyable flick.

i was looking up the director, Sam Mendes, and after seeing his filmography i shouldn't have been surprised the movie was so good. He has also directed, Cabaret (1993) and American Beauty (1999)

Garden State (2004)

2009-07-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

i like this movie.

brings zach braff to a whole new level.

its great that he wrote it too.

it really shows someone is passionate about something when they direct/act/write one production.

and natalie portman is genius too.

my favorite part is where natalie portman tells zach, if you ever feel unhappy. do something completely original.

then she manages to make some weird noise and do a little dance.

she tells zach, that moment, the dance combined with the song all in that place, will never, NEVER happen again.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

2009-07-22T23:04:00.000-07:00

i love this movie.

i showed it to some of my closest friends tonight,

its just so, stylish!

the art direction is superb.

i dislike how many people won't rent it because they think its animated because of the DVD cover.

they give me a hesitated, "is the movie like this too? are there real people in it?"

the cast makes me so starry eyed.

gene hackman, anjelica huston, ben stiller, luke wilson, owen wilson, bill murray, danny glover, alec baldwin, gwyneth paltrow.

my favorite charater has to be mordecai the hawk and buckley the dog.

my favorite shot is where luke wilson slits his wrists. i know that sounds horrible, but its an aerial shot of a sink cover in hair with two arms coming from the bottom of the screen. slowly red blood travels down the arms like little rivers.

if you like movies with symmetry this is the movie for you!

its insane how matchy matchy it is.

i also noticed how the horizon line is very low in every single shot. it brings an original mood to the film.

the cinematographer wasnt afraid to cut up an object.

multiple times there were shots where one can see the flag but not the flag pole.

i even found a goof!

when owen wilson is chased over the brick wall by ben stiller he jumps into the neighbors yard to the right.

when Royal and Henry go to collect the boys they go to the neighbor's house on the left!

Airy Pottah

2009-07-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

i have made the ultimate decision.

HP4 is my all time favorite.

minus every boy in that movie needing a haircut it is fan freakin tastic.

i love how its the perfect mix of all the important things and then all the silly things,

like the yule ball.

today i saw the part where Snape hits Ron & Harry!

perfect.

the twins,

how they ask the girl to the dance,

how snape pulls up his sleeves,

how ron and hermione are in hatelove with eachother.

it just makes me laugh

i like HP4 because you always have a firm grasp of the plot but you never loose the classic feeling of Hogwarts.

i love love love the bridges.

they show a new side of Hogwarts

they are beautiful, and rustic, and contribute alot to the story.

cedric is sooo hot.

(cedric mind you, NOT whatshisfacestupidvampirepeiceofshitdude)

even David Tennant is in it!

the nerd quotient raises ten bars right there

on a side note,

yes, i saw HP6,

i don't know how i feel about it yet.

i must see it again to get a firm grasp.

Better Off Dead (1985)

2009-07-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

John Cusack.

i do like him on a train.

i do like him in a plane

i do like him in a car.

i do like him from afar.

i do like him with green eggs and ham.

anything.

ANYTHING

he does is incredible.

better off dead is in no way a great, no, good movie.

its bad.

but dude, i love john.

okay, i'm sorry.

didnt expect this whole blog to be about how much i love John Cusack.

but hey.

its the truth.

better off dead has alot of akward silent moments.

the plot is horrible.

sometimes i dont even understand whats happening at all.

cusack is a goose. hense the picture above.

there is some cool rotoscoping and stop motion and claymation clips in the movie.

British Humor

2009-07-11T05:49:00.000-07:00

america stinks.

great britain is trained to enjoy good comedy.

they dont need hollywood lighting to have a good time.

WE DO!

so i've been trying to ween myself on to the funnier stuff.

i watched shaun of the dead (2004) and hot fuzz (2007)

and have concluded that i LOVE simon pegg.

he is pure, undiluted, genius.

him with Nick frost is amazing.

but now i want more.

i want to be knowledgeable if someone were to ask me about british humor.

yesterday i saw two episodes of Extras (2005-2007)

a tv show sort of like SNL where (as my british friend described it) "they [meaning celebrities] take the piss out of themselves.

it was one a.m. when we started so i fell asleep through part of it but what i did see i enjoyed.

the two episodes we watched had daniel radcliffe as a boyscout and he wanted to prove to Ashley Jensen (better known as Christina McKinney on Ugly Betty) that he was adult so he kept talking about sex and smoking etc.etc.

the other episode spotlighted orlando bloom. he also was trying to "seduce" Ashley Jensen. Jensen didn't seem impressed by Bloom so (since he is "such a prat") bloom tries to get her to like him.

i especially enjoyed the parts where he talked about johnny depp being so ugly

(i for one love johnny depp)

i hope to watch more of Extras.

then there is Stephen Fry.

apparently (according to my Brits) he is brilliant.

i was reading his twitters and i think i'm starting to believe my friends!

after some research i realized i knew him from V for Vendetta (2005), Harry Potter (he's the narrator), and Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy (2005).

He is the cheshire cat in the upcoming Alice in Wonderland (2010) and i CAN'T WAIT.

Fry is also in MirrorMask (2005)

i think i'll like mirrormask because i have heard its sort of like Labyrinth (1986).

Fry & Laurie

do not watch

HOUSE.

so, i'm a bit in the dark about Hugh Laurie.

i now realize i need to do my research on him too.

The brits showed me a clip of Fry & Laurie together and it was genius.

if anyone knows, its the skit where Laurie's name is *insert the sound of a peice of wood dropping*

and Fry, a police officer can't understand his name.

*insert the sound of a peeice of wood dropping* is spelled like: N I P P / E

so Fry thinks its spelled nipple.

Top Gear:

oh my god.

no wonder america has such a bad reputation.

i saw part of an episode where the top gear people go to alabama and have to drive all the way through the state with very harsh statements written on their cars.

one car says "hillary for president"

one car says "country western music is rubbish"

and the last says "man love rules, ok?"

click here to watch, it is too funny!

i have already started to watch doctor who.

i really like it.

i started with the Christopher Eccleston stuff.

im still on the first season.

but i hear David Tennant is great.

i plan to check out spaced too.

but yeah.

thats my goal.

become well adept with british humor.

its not just monty python anymore kids,

this shit just gets better and better.

Public Enemies (2009)

2009-07-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

john

depp/dillinger

saw michael mann's creation the other day.

didn't luuurrrve it but thought it was very well made.

i was most intriuged by his choice in shooting.

alot of the movie wasnt done with a tripod or boom thingy, or tracking or anything like that.

it was hand held.

you DID feel like you were part of the action.

learned alot about infamous john dillinger.

loved christian bale.

havent seen him in a movie since velvet goldmine (1998) so that was a bit of a trippy change.

loved/adored//fangirled Marion Cotillard.

she is GORGUS.

last time i saw her was in La Mome aka La Vie En Rose (2007)

over all a good experience.

got me very excited to see depp in Alice in Wonderland (2010).

because i am lazy, i still havent watched the public enemy (1931)

but some day soon,

i will.

thought it was cool because the next day i re watched high fidelity (2000) for the billionth time.

in between quoting every other word i noticed john cusack alludes to john dillinger.

something along the lines of:

"see that theatre?"

"thats where john dillinger was murdered."

"who tipped him off?"

"his FUCKING GIRLFRIEND!"

hahahhaha

love cusack.

Lost vs. Set Sjunde Inseglet (1957)

2009-06-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

So it's the summer. Television thinks thats the perfect time to stop putting out new episodes of all the good shows. A friend told me I should start watching Lost. Well i watched the 1st part of the pilot and i liked it enough so i started the 2nd part.

There is this one dude. My friend told me he's sorta like a seer.

I liked him the first time i saw him because he was eating an orange and he put the whole thing in his mouth and smiled.

It made him into a kind being despite his large scary eye scar. (eye scars are always bad. Look at Scar from the lion king!)

Anyways.

The first time you see him in the 2nd part of the pilot, he is sitting in the sand with a backgammon set.

A little boy walks over and asks him about it.

"What is it, like checkers?" he asks,

"Not really, it's a better game then checkers." the orange dude responds.

Orange dude gives me another reason to like him. As the youth asks him about the game he never turns around. These days we are all so accustomed to needing to know who we are talking to. Orange dude talks to the youth confidentily, either

A. he really is some sort os seer and he already has some notion of who he's talking too

B. he doesn't need to know. he places confidence in this perfect stranger.

I love that.

people are so critical and private.

more people need to be like Orange Seer Dude.

The youth tells Orange Seer Dude that his mother died a couple weeks ago.

OSD does not give his a "i'm sorry" look

he just says.

"your having a bad month"

(with the whole mother dying and plane crashing and being trapped on a deserted island and all)

Then orange seer dude goes on to explain how backgammon is the oldest game ever because it was played in messopotamia.

"older then jesus christ"

but that is not the point!

he starts to explain how to play the game.

"two players. two sides. one is light. one is dark."

NOW TO GET TO MY POINT!

THE

SEVENTH

SEAL.

(a.k.a. Set Sjunde Inseglet)

made by the famous Ingmar Bergman.

In the Seventh Seal, Death sits on the beach and challanges Jons (a squire) to a game.

If Jons wins, he keeps his life.

Seventh Seal is such a widely known peice of filmiture. Everyone knows about all the light and dark symbolism.

well, when i saw Orange Seer Dude on the Lost beach with the dark and light backgammon peices thats what i saw. Ingmar Bergman folded into american T.V.

If you haven't seen The Seventh Seal i persuade you to watch it!

i love how all this assuming is coming from someone who has only seen 1 1/2 episodes total of lost.

as i keep watching, if i see any more seventh seal i will report.

over and out-

allie

The Puppet Films of Jiri Trnka (1951)

2009-06-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

Basically:

Jiri Trnka was this bitchin Czech dude who put on puppet shows.

He lived from 1912 to 1969. So long gone now. His name is pronounced "Trinka"

Trnka made stop motion puppet animation shorts. He became quite famous from it too. The most populr short was called The Hand . It's my favorite too. We watched it in my Advanced Placement Euro class this past year. I encourage you to watch The Hand at least. I have to admit. These shorts are no 21st century flick. It takes patience to view them and admire the work that went into them.I myself have worked with stop motion and i can't believe how intricate Trnka's shots are. (i would love to tell you i watched all of The Puppet Films Of Jiri Trnka, but alas i did not. i got bored.) The hand is the story of a puppet who leads a simple life. He wakes up in the morning, looks out the window, and takes care of his beloved plants. Then a hand (literally) comes through his door and starts harassing him. Part way through my Euro class realized the symbolism in The Hand. It was banned by the Czech goverment during WWII. One website called The Hand a " parable about the cruelty of totalitarian government."

The hand pinches and prods at the puppet, causing his pots to brake. He has to repot his plants. The hand makes the puppet use a telephone, a TV, and a newspaper. Reminicent of the WWII propoganda.

Throughout the 18 minute short the puppet escapes the hand but then it returns with a vengeance.

A must watch to any history lovers out there. The actual movie, The Puppet Films of Jiri Trnka include

- The Story of the Bass Cello (1949)

- The Song of the Prairie (1949)

Trnka's view of America's wild west

- The Merry Circus (1951)

This one is cool because it's stop motion of paper cut outs.

- A Drop Too Much (1954)

- The Hand (1965)

- Jiri Trnka: Puppet Animation Master

- The Emperor's Nightingale

His first feature length film

I like Trnka because he gave the world another option other then Disney.

Jerry Maguire (1996)

2009-06-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

i know earlier on i was talking about how i hate tom cruise but for some reason i kept on going and viewed the 90's sports classic, Jerry Maguire.

The story of a sports agent who gets unlucky in the dog eat dog world of sports managment because at 2am on morning he gathered a conscience.

On memo, oops, i mean "mission statement" turned his world upside down.

Renee Zellweger and Cuba Gooding Jr. co-star in the flick too.

even though i have had time to absorb the movie i still don't know how i feel about it. i'm not into that sort of movie anyways, but still. i cant seem to figure out where it ranks in the sports movie spectrum.

another example of a film that hardly has a reason to be rated R.

Satisfaction (1988)

2009-06-25T20:52:00.000-07:00

got me some bad 80's flick watchin

i love how julia roberts is on the movie poster when she's not the second most important character. (dont get me wrong, i love julia.)

its your average juvenile delinquent rock band summer beach life club playing movie.

not complete without stealing vans, druggie-slut-bassist, main singer falling in love with significantl-older-producer, nerd and badass falling in like, almost marrying your high school boyfriend, touring through europe, plaid pantsed rich trust fund kids, oh, and big hair. BIG hair.

it was entertaining though.

my favorite part was the relationship between the druggie-slut-bassist and the significantly-older-producer's dog. had the whole Cerberus to Orpheus slash Fluffy to Harry, Hermione & Ron thing going.

(taming the beast and all...)

(run on sentences for the win)

It Happened One Night (1934)

2009-06-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

Talk about witty banter..

I really enjoyed this early thirties flick.

It's the story of a rich heiress, Ellie Andrews who runs away because she stubbornly tells her father she will marry whoever she likes. On her way back to New York she encounters cheeky journalist, Peter Warne. (Clark Gable)

The two fight about class. Warne thinks Ellie Andrews is brat who wasn't raised right and has to much pride to ask for help.

They fight about money, pride, manners.

well Gable and Colbert expressed the kind of hate that seems certain but in the end its the kind of two people in love. (in the twenty first century we call it sexual tension?!)

My favorite part is the whole "wall of Jericho" theme. It shows their respect for each other despite their feuds.

Peter Warne: "You know, I had you pegged right from the jump. Just a spoiled brat of a rich father. The only way you get anything is to buy it, isn't it? You're in a jam and all you can think of is your money. It never fails, does it? Ever hear of the word humility? No, you wouldn't. I guess it would never occur to you to just say, 'Please mister, I'm in trouble, will you help me?' No, that would bring you down off your high horse for a minute. Well, let me tell you something, maybe it will take a load off your mind. You don't have to worry about me. I'm not interested in your money or your problem. You, King Westley, your father. You're all a lot of hooey to me! "

Ellie Andrews: "You think I'm a fool and a spoiled brat. Well, perhaps I am, although I don't see how I can be. People who are spoiled are accustomed to having their own way. I never have. On the contrary - I've always been told what to do, how to do it, and when, and with whom. Would you believe it? This is the first time I've ever been alone with a man! It's a wonder I'm not panic-stricken."

In the end i still couldn't figure out which one wore the pants.

Risky Business (1983) vs. Girl Next Store (2004)

2009-06-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

SAME MOVIE.
1. prostitutes/porn stars
2. suburbia
3. young boy
4. "parents are away. its time to play"
5. run away from business man/pimp

p.s. i dont get whats so great about tom cruise, he used to be the top payed actor in the 90's. i dont even think he's cute let alone talented.

p.p.s. it is currently 11:52 p.m. on the night before my birthday. eight minutes! YAY.

Blowdry (2001)

2009-06-21T20:42:00.002-07:00

it pisses me off when movies change one thing in it to make it more racy. Blowdry is one example of my vague complaint. it is rated R. for nudity, and language and such. but it is deff. a PG-13 flick. stupd people: only trying to target an older audience. Alan Rickman is ace despite this V-chip misshap. Plus the leading lady was totally in the lindsey lohan version of parent trap.

Bomb It (2007)

2009-06-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

I was SO excited to finally get a hold of this movie! It played in my city's film festival from two years ago. It was one of the last shows playing and it showed on a sunday morning or some stupid time like that.

Bomb It is a documentary about graffiti from all over the world. It starts out with New York City, and goes into Philidelphia where graffiti was created by a guy named Cornbread.

The film goes on to explore the cultural differences in graffiti from Tokyo, France, Barcelona etc. My favorite location was Sao Paulo, Brasil. They discussed how the lettering in Sao Paulo was reminiscent of the architecture in the city. The letters are spaced out more then in any other city. Most of the flourishes added to the letters are at the top of the letter, just like the sky scrapers differ at the top. I also liked the Sao Paulo graffiti best because i felt like it was alot more artistic then some of the other cities. In L.A. the graffiti artists were all about representing their gang. As much as I respect those people for their beliefs and how they chose to represent them I could relate better to the Brasilian artists. For example, the image above is of the side of a bridge in Sao Paulo. Everything is so colorful.

I learned alot about the style as well. The title, "Bomb It" comes from war. Graffiti artists are at war with the law. they are considered delinquents for their work. How do they respond? They bomb it. They keep attacking the city with their tag. A "tag" is a mark, a signature, a label.

The image to the left might look familiar. It's similar to work done by the now popular Shepard Fairey. He made this poster to help promote it. Fairey is a widely respected for his work on the Obama Presidential Campaign. Before presidential artist he makes Graffiti. Fairey is one of the many interviewed for the documentary.

Overall, a very interesting representation of an intricate, urban artform. A must see.

The Brothers Bloom (2008)

2009-06-15T20:16:00.000-07:00

I originally wanted to see this movie when it was the finishing flick at my local film festival. Every person who has seen Adrien Brody should have a soft spot for the guy after The Pianist (2002). As soon as i saw his name in the credits I knew I needed to see it. I was even more convinced after I read the description. I recently saw him in The Darjeeling Limited (2007) with Owen Wilson. Every movie Brody does is incredible, even King Kong (2005).

His somber face is so endearing! It's why I love him.

The two brothers Bloom and Stephen, played by Brody and Mark Ruffalo, are con men. The pair were orphans, traveling from house to house as foster children. Nobody kept them for long because of their constant pranks. They grew up trusting nobody but each other. That explains why they have no problem knocking off a young, beautiful, eccentric billionaire named Penelope (Rachel Weisz).

Bloom is sick of the con life. His brother is the mastermind, thinking up "master plans" for Bloom and him to complete. Somehow, every plan ends with Stephen gaining money and Bloom "getting the girl". He wants an Unwritten Life.

With the help of Penelope, Bloom, Stephen, and their friend Bang Bang travel all over the world. Stephen for money, Bang Bang for adventure, Penelope to become "Penelope the Smuggler" and Bloom. An Unwritten Life.

Paris je t'aime (2006)

2009-06-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed this movie. It wasn't just some director making another romance. It was a collaboration.

20 Filmmakers.

5 Minutes Each.

incredible.

There were many fabulous actors and directors featured. Most famous are Gus Van Sant, Elijah Wood, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Natalie Portman.

My favorite was the short with Natalie Portman, one called Faubourg Saint-Denis. People say I look like her even though I can't see the resemblance. It starts with a blind man reading. he gets a phone call from a woman. She commands, "just listen," and goes on about how their love has died as summer turns to fall. Most of the five minutes of the short contain a fast paced montage showing the young couple. They sum up their full relationship in a series of clips, stop motion, and sped up footage.

This short was not the only good one. Some are sad, some are mean. They all revolve around love. Not just the kind between a man and a woman.

It's really an entertaining flick. perfect to see with a loved one or by yourself. All revolving around the city of love.

Escapism Through Film

2009-06-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

"I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables—slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war . . . our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off." –Fight Club (1999) From the end of the 20’s into the early 40’s depression stirred up America. Everything was displaced, as wealth was lost, slowly regained, then redistributed. In 1933, twenty-five percent of America was unemployed. Every business, household, and organization was failing, except for Hollywood. When every component of ones life is crumbling all the people could do was dream. Movies delivered them to dreamland. They could sit in a cool theatre settled in comfortable seats, eating salty and sweet snacks as Shirley Temple and Fred Astaire took them to the American Dream located conveniently on the other side of Dorothy’s rainbow. It was the first Golden Age.

Since movies were in high demand, Hollywood went through extra lengths to come up with original films. Action movies became popular. In 1933 the first King Kong came out. It combined imagination and green screen to create a larger then life Gorilla and some dinosaurs to be Kong’s enemy. . On secret islands there were no tax collectors of stock markets. These unrealistic characters mixed with brand new technology created a real dreamlike escape. The next year, Tarzan and his Mate came out. The movie had a primal feel to it. Tarzan was the epitome of masculinity. Jane was the hardly dressed, damsel in distress. Tarzan and his Mate is the first of a five part series on Tarzan. As the Hayes Production Code got strict, the movies were banned because of Jane’s wardrobe, or lack there of. At one point Holt asks Jane, “Don’t you miss it, Jane? Things like this?... But Jane, you can’t spend the rest of your life camping out. Don’t you ever want to come back?” “No, Harry” Jane replies. This same question could easily be proposed to someone who faced the choice of the American Depression or the American Dream. Other such movies came out around the same time. Dracula (1932) was an instant hit. Unlike Tarzan and King Kong, it was more horror then action. It scared the viewers. Escape was easy because forgetting the real world is quite simple if one is startled. The director, Tod Browning, went on to create Freaks in 1932. He chose to go into the grotesque and bizarre. In 1931 Frankenstein came to the big screen. Universal Studios and MGM were responsible for most of these films. Except for Tarzan, all of these movies came out in the beginning of the 1930’s with surreal, monster protagonists. These characters excited their audiences

Gangster and action moves helped America overcome the Great Depression. In these films people fell in love despite the size of their bank account. Villains led glamorous lives stealing from the rich. Curtiz’s Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) was one such film. The two main characters, James Cagney and Pat O’Brien are street-smart kids. It takes place in the slums of New York City. Each kid is on the opposite side of the law, a theme common in 1930’s. O’Brien, a priest, tries to convince the criminal Cagney to go back to following the law. This storyline is one not so different from On the Waterfront. The movies attempts to make Cagney realize the importance of loyalty to one’s society and one’s country. Nationalism was a key step in reforming after the Great Depression. A lot of movies were reminiscent of the First World War along with the Great Depression. I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) is a reflection of post WWI America form the very height of the Depression. It told the story of how the Great Depression affected a WWI veteran. “Six sticks of dynamite that blasted his way to freedom...and awoke America's conscience!" The war taught him how to keep a clear mind. So by the time the depression is in full swing the Vet still can’t swing his way out of the hole. Unlike many films of the time, it took pace in the south.

Not all Great Depression movies were so downhearted. Actors like Charlie Chaplin, Mae West, Judy Garland, Shirley Temple, and The Marx Brothers tried to lighten the mood. After all, in the direst of situations, sometimes the most logical thing to do is laugh. Duck Soup and City Lights were profitably entertaining films that also held a lot of social commentary. City Lights is about a poor man who gets picked on a lot. He falls in love with a blind flower seller. This story teaches the viewers that love is more important then money. While the men added a comedic approach, the women lent their sexuality. Mae West is famous for being a vulgar, overdressed, funny, and sexual actress. She used Burlesque to entertain her audiences. Some of the movies she starred in were She Done Him Wrong (1993), I’m No Angel (1933), and Every day’s a Holiday (1937). Shirley Temple was America’s sweetheart. She sang and danced using her paten leather shoes and her high angelic voice. Some of her most important films were Curly Top (1935), Dimples (1936), and Heidi (1937). Last but not least, one cannot approach Hollywood and Escapism without touching upon The Wizard Of Oz (1939). Judy Garland stars as Dorothy. It was the first movie ever to be in color. That in itself taught the viewer how exciting it was to dream. The characters in Oz mirror the Dorothy’s family, teaching the viewer how to turn real life into a dream. The twister represents the stock market crashing and the wizard represents Roosevelt and the New Deal.

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” –Fitzgerald The American Dream was all about individualism, classlessness, and progress. Using horror, adventure, gangster, violence, comedy, and musicals Hollywood restored the country’s hope. They could once again find Gatsby’s green light.

Vietnam Through Film

2009-05-31T19:44:00.000-07:00

"Vietnam at the time was no bigger than a man's fist on the horizon. We hardly discussed it because it was not worth discussing." –Jack Valenti

Valenti was the President of the Motion Picture Association of America. He worked closely with President Lyndon B. Johnson. At first, the war wasn’t a priority to Johnson. It didn’t fit in with his “Great Society”. Despite this, things didn’t stay that way. When one thinks of the 70’s, it cannot go without saying that the Vietnam war if the biggest event of the whole decade for America.

The War ended in 1975. It was America’s healing abrasion, years after we still weren’t fully recovered. 1.1 million died and 600,000 were wounded. The film industry tread unlevel ground making movies about it. So it wasn’t until the late seventies that movies started to come out. One of the first films was The Deer Hunter (1978). It featured Robert De Niro, John Savage, and Christopher Walken. It explained the trials the three small town steel workers went through during the war and how it affected them when they came home. The movie is known for comparing the war to “home life”. The title comes from the three’s favorite hobby, hunting. They always make analogies in the war to shooting deer. Nick says,

“I don't think about that much with one shot anymore, Mike.“ Michael replies,

“You have to think about one shot. One shot is what it's all about. A deer's gotta be taken with one shot.” The most famous scene is one where “Charlie” catches the three. They are forced to play Russian roulette with each other. They outwit the enemy and escape.

In the next year Apocalypse Now (1979) is created. After some conversation, Francis Ford Coppola is chosen to direct the film. Originally he was to be the assistant director and George Lucas was going to direct it but he couldn’t because he was busy with Star Wars (1977). It is based off of Joseph Conrad’s, Heart Of Darkness. Conrad depicted war as primal madness. Like Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now relates to the home front. After bombing a small Vietnam village with napalm, some of the men end the day surfing along the coast. They specifically bombed the village to get to a good surf spot. Robert Duvall plays the controversial, crazed, Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore. After the battle Kilgore orders his men to surf. Willard asks,

“Are you crazy God dammit? Don't you think it’s a little risky for some R&R? “ Kilgore replies,

“If I say it’s safe to surf this beach Captain, then its safe to surf this beach. I mean I'm not afraid to surf this place, I'll surf this whole fucking place!“ A couple minutes later Kilgore states,

“Smell that? You smell that?”

“What?” Lance answers,

“Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like victory. Someday this war's gonna end... “

In the 80’s more films followed. Two well-known ones are Platoon (1986), and Full Metal Jacket (1987). Platoon is Oliver Stone’s “brutally realistic” outlook on a soldiers experience in ‘Nam. Charlie Sheen plays a college student who enters the war. Sheen is part of a racially divided platoon. It teaches him about other races and teaches him about the kind of people who entered the war, those who were poor and uneducated. They had nothing at home to loose so the entered to go across the world and kill. Stanley Kubrick directed Full Metal Jacket. Like Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket is based off of a book, Gustav Hasford’s The Short Timers. On the cover of the movie is an army helmet depicting a peace sign next to the words, “born to kill.” It deals with Marine volunteers. Half of the story just takes place at the training camp under the harsh view of Sgt. Hartman.

All of the movies have in common the connection between life at war and life at home. It was America’s first “television war”. Everyone wanted to know what was happening and that was hard just because there was so much propaganda going around that no one could tell what was true. It was also a war that focused on the mental after affects the soldiers experienced. People who hadn’t been overseas themselves relied on the likes of Cimino, Coppola, Stone and Kubrick to show them the horrifying event.

Pierrot Le Fou (1965)

2009-05-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

Jean Luc Godard is possibly my favorite filmmaker ever. He just has this style to his movies that is so original. Godard is a french director most famous for Breathless (also known as À bout de souffle.) Jean-Paul Belmondo stars in both. Breathless was made five years earlier. I think most people would characterize Godard as artsy. Too artsy for most people. He implements alot of color and repitition. His use of metaphors sometimes confuse from the plot but if you can understand the plot it is easy to see the depth in Godard's films. Pierrot Le Fou is about Ferdinand, a man in an unhappy marrige. He searches for meaning in his life and can't find any. One night he goes out with his wife and their friends. talking to them and the other people at the party they go to exhausts him. He returns home to find the babysitter, a woman he has had a past relationship with. The babysitter is played by Anna Karina. Her character, Marianna Renoir, and Ferdinand run off together.Throughout the movie Marianna calls Ferdinand Pete. He keeps reminding her yet she persists that is his name. Hence the title, Pierrot Le Fou, which means Crazy Pete. They run off, steal cars, and kill people in order to have enough money to live off of. The plot is similar to that of Bonnie and Clyde, (1967) in fact, Godard alsmot directed Bonnie and Clyde. Both films have a "heroic villain" theme. The protagonists are lovable people so the audience learns to love them except they do horrible and disturbing crimes. Another theme I have seen in a two of Godard's movies is a close up shot but full bleed. You can only see the sheet of paper someone is writting on, not the majority of the hand that is writting or the edges of the paper. It is shown in Pierrot as Ferdinand writes in his journal and in Tout Va Bien (1972) where the characters are talking and writing on sheets of paper talking about what it takes to make a movie. Godard also favors off camera voice shots. where you see a scene but the voice talking doesn't show up on the screen. I'm going to refrain from writing more because I can go on about Jean Luc Godard forever.

Pride & Prejudice (2005)

2009-05-05T19:07:00.001-07:00

This next film represents me more then my belief in its cinematic value, the perfect movie for a hopeless romantic. It is beautifully made including lots of symmetry and parallel shots. I liked how much the movie was consistent with the novel, a crime committed regularly now a days. Joe Wright, the director, did a beautiful job showing Austen's witty banter. I also agree with his casting decisions. Kiera Knightly does a great job playing Elizabeth. Rosamund Pike, Jane, was a graceful choice also. Judi Dench was perfect for the role of Lady Catherine. Last but not least, the soundtrack. Incredible, impeccable in every way. The piece they chose works seamlessly with the story line. It can easily be played in variations to show the mood of the movie. My favorite part if the setting. In the end of the movie when Lizzy confesses her love for Mr. Darcy they are walking in a field in the early morning. Film makers call this time "the golden hour." The sun is dazzling, shedding an ethereal light on everything it touches.

Mio fratello è figlio unico "My Brother is an Only Child" (2007)

2009-05-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

It irks me how people shy away from foreign films. I believe they are better then native ones. I watched My Brother is an Only Child last night. It was an interesting movie that reflected Italian life in the 60's and 70's. The Main character is name Accio, which translates as "bully". The most intricate relationship is that of Accio and his brother and sister. Both of his older siblings are communists while Accio is a Fascist. It gave me perspective into the politics in Italy in the 60's and 70's. My criticism is that the movie lacked plot. i don't know if this is understandable but it was one of the ones where you watch a person live his/her life of a period of time. But don't get me wrong, it was still entertaining to watch. My favorite scene was where Accio went to a communist rally where his sister (who plays cello) performed Beethoven in an orchestra. The rally leaders changed the words to make them communist. This including adding alot of names of communist leaders like Stalin. In another scene Accio is talking to his good friend and mentor. This friend preaches about America being nothing, "All they do is build skyscrapers." His friend also says that the Italians go with whoever is winning. This quote reflects Italy's doings in the second world war.

Yojimbo (1961)

2009-05-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

Yojimbo is one of the best movies i have ever seen.It was made by the great director Akira Kurosawa in 1961. It takes place in a small town in Japan. The conflict is that there is grudge between two different gangs. The violence is so harsh that everyone leaves except for the innkeeper, the town gossip, the prostitutes, and the coffin maker (who is the only one doing well in business) Kurosawa chose a soundtrack filled with harsh percussion. the simplistic music adds a cocky, sassy feel to the film. the story is about a traveling warrior, a Ronin. In ancient Japan Ronin were samurais who would travel looking for work. (the olden days rent-a-cop) This man's name is never revealed. He shows his skill but promptly cutting off a mans arm with one slash of his sword. then he settles down in the town inn, waiting as the two fighting houses bid for his services. The mystery samurai ends up with the best profit of everyone. It was such a well made movie that American film makers decided to bring it to the western world. Kurosawa gave permission to remake it as an adult wester called Fistful Of Dollars starring Clint Eastwood.

Rear Window (1954)

2009-04-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year i saw Rear Window. It was made by the Master Of Suspence, Alfred Hitchcock. Many people don't know this but Disturbia (2007), yes the one with Shia LeBouf, was a remake of it. Rear Window features James Stewart and Grace Kelly. When i started watching i thought it would be like any other 50's movie but i was happily wrong. Stewart's character, Jefferies, is a photojournalist who is bedridden after an accident on the job. He is unable to leave his appartment so he seeks entertainment outside his window. The photographer owns an apartment that looks out on a New York City courtyard, a small alley gives Jefferies a glimse of the street beyond the building. His window frames every shot as Jefferies describes all his diverse neighbors. The cinematography is impeccable. it really is a must see. the character development is so interesting to watch. i comment Hitchcock on his creativity, just think, making a movie taking place in one room of an apartment and the view from outside. It runs a total 112 minutes of pure entertainment. A must-add to anyone's must-see list.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956)

2009-04-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

This is an essay I wrote for history through film class.

“Look! You fools! You’re in danger! Can’t you see? They’re after you! They’re after all of us! Our wives…our children…they’re here already! You’re next!” -Dr. Miles Bennell

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers was made in 1956, the center of the decade. America was in the midst of trouble. There was the Suez Crisis, Civil Rights Activists, but most importantly. The Soviet Union’s international relations with the U.S. had grown tense. America wanted to do everything it could to keep communism from leaking into the country. In 1954, Joseph McCarthy sparked mass hysteria by announcing he had a “list of names” of communists. Everyone was paranoid of his or her neighbors and friends. No one was safe. Don Siegel, Director of Body Snatchers, decided to make a movie responding to America’s moment of terror. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers was a direct link to the paranoid style of the 1950’s and a classic example of a low budget, 1950’s, science fiction, B-movie.

The story begins with Miles Bennell, a well-liked doctor, in hysterics at a hospital trying to explain the invasion. Miles is a member of the town of Santa Mira. He begins to receive patients who claim to be in great agony but as he sees them around town they are perfectly fine. He also hears of people who say their relatives are missing. When Miles and his girlfriend visit one such patient, they find everything to be normal and all the family members counted for. “There's no emotion.” the patient says, “None. Just the pretense of it. The words, the gesture, the tone of voice, everything else is the same, but not the feeling” (Body Snatchers).

Not only was America facing danger because of McCarthy, but also the film industry was about to face its own epidemic. HUAC (House of Un-American Activities Committee was created. It was set up by the House of Representatives to keep a close eye on the content of America’s films. In the 1950’s the television was created. People who sought entertainment could find it on the “magic movie box” in their living rooms. In desperation, the film industry tried to pull in younger audiences. The B-movie was created. A movie that had a low budget and a lesser all over quality to it. The directors could turn the movies out fast and keep America’s youth entertained.

The most popular films were horror and science fiction. Both were relevant to the time period. The idea of mutant creatures stemmed from the reaction of radiation from nuclear bombing experimentation.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers was made with about $420,000. It is one of the most successful B-movies of all time. Using a slow building tension, Siegel brings the viewer in with suspense. Body Snatchers is an original science fiction flick in that it doesn’t have any monsters, only huge indestructible pods. It uses hardly any special effects. Unlike many other movies it had no violence or death.

“An allegory for Communism and McCarthyism; the traits of being "one of them" is being cold, unable to express emotion or closeness. This original film would become more and more revered and distinctive as time passed” (Filmsite). The alien people replacers represent the communists. They conform into a robot that goes about its day with out feelings or expression. Miles and Becky seem to be the only two left who weren’t taken over. “This is the oddest thing I've ever heard of. Let's hope we don't catch it. I'd hate to wake up some morning and find out that you weren't you.“ Miles tell his girlfriend.

“I'm not the high school kid you use to romance, so how can you tell?” Becky responds.

“You really want to know?“

“Mmm-hmm.“

Miles kisses Becky, “Mmmm, you're Becky Driscoll, all right!” (Body Snatchers).

The couple was overcome with paranoia. They couldn’t trust anyone but themselves. Soon they learn that sleep spurs the transition from person to body snatcher. In one scene Miles leaves Becky to follow the sound of a woman singing, hoping for a human. The song comes from the car radio that a body snatcher is driving. He comes back, kisses the exhausted Becky again, and finds her asleep for a moment. She had changed. Miles narrates, “I never knew fear until I kissed Becky.”

Becky once said, “I don't want to live in a world without love or grief or beauty, I'd rather die.” That same message is the one Siegel wants the viewers to know. Communism only promised a loss of feelings to those that embraced it. Looking back on Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, it is one of the greatest films the 1950’s ever produced.

The Basic Idea

2009-04-28T19:01:00.002-07:00

Hi everyone! My name is Allie. I am a highschool student but i hope to start a career in the film industry. My dream job is to become a cinematographer. I am an avid viewer of movies. I think it is vital to make good movies by looking at what's been done in the past. using this blog I hope to keep track of the movies I watch and my reactions to them. I want to use a variation of school essays, simple notes while watching the movie, analytical thoughts, and relations to other films. please enjoy! I would love feedback.