Heathers

After watching Pretty in Pink about a week ago, I was all ready to come into this movie thinking how it's going to be the sterotypical teenangers learning a lesson at the end of the movie and everything works out in the end. Not. I did really like this movie but it wasn't at all what I had expected. From the beginning I thought we would be thrown into the happy materialistic 80's. The first few scenes were thrown back to the 80's; big hair, huge scunchies, shoulder pads, the whole works. Very quickly however, this movie is going to turn to the dark side.

At first, I loved JD's character. He was the cute 'dark horse' in the high school. From the beginning I was routing for JD to be the 'hero' in some way and save Veronica from the Heathers or do something right by the end of the movie. As he starts to get weirder and weirder throughout the movie, I was still routing for him and was a little disappointed at the end of the movie when it didn't work out right. JD ended up being this creepy character to me who was basically just psycho. I mean, who really does stuff like him? The relationship he had with his father was just as creepy and disturbing. In the one scene where they are talking about his dad blowing up his mom they make it seem like any normal conversation that would happen to pop up at the dinner table. It's creepy.

I thought it was interesting too how when Veronica was around JD she couldn't control herself and would basically do whatever he told her to do up until the end of the movie. I'm not sure why she just let all this happen for so long. If anyone throughout the movie could be defined as the hero I think it would be Veronica, but that would be a long shot. I wanted the hero to be JD but that was an epic fail on his part. Veronica didn't really do anything I would have found heroic per say, but I liked how she caught the one girl just before she committed suicide and stoped her. I also liked how at the end she talks to the girl in the wheelchair and they go off together. But, is it relly that Veronica wants to be her friend or more that the only was to be popular is by being friends with Veronica like someone said in class.

I liked our conversation on basically stupid and pointless objects being turned into something there not at all, a.k.a. the scrunchy. Also, after yesterday's class discussion I have a much better idea of what post-modernism is. I think it's interesting how at one point in time everything stood for something much larger with a bigger message and now theres really no point behind a lot of things anymore.

Shaft

Shaft was by far not one of my favorite movies in the class so far however, there were still a lot of interesting things going on throughout the movie. I did feel like I was thrown right into the seventies though which was kind of cool.

I thought it was interesting how we talked in class about masculinity and how it has changed between the seventies and now. I thought Shaft was a sterotypical movie guy. He drank, thought he was the coolest thing ever, got laid (or at least talked about getting laid), and didn't let anyone intimidate him. The interaction he had with the other men in the movie was interesting. He never let anyone intimidate him at all. First, there were the "black panthers" gang where he basically walked in (more like kicked down the door) and just took over. After this scene Ben followed him around like a little puppy. Ben never showed up late or questioned Shafts authority. Second, the other guy who was associated with the mafia was pretty scary (except for when he would start crying). He was a bigger guy who you could tell had some power behind him. He had his own 'men' who would search people and do all of his work for him. None of these people however even came close to Shaft. Even with guns in his face and being threatened he never backs down or shows even a little bit that he may be scared.

I love the language in the movie too. It was funny hearing him call people a 'cat' and even funnier listening to him call his boss baby. One thing I found interesting was that there wasn't as much bad language as I would have expected in the movie. Now a days, it seems that if a person gets a paper cut in a movie they're dropping the f-bomb however, I dont remember many scenes when there was a ton of bad language.

I also thought it was interesting the comparison between male characters from the seventies to now. Shaft is pretty skinny and it seems he's pretty smart too. Now, I feel like the men can't possibly get any bigger, and any more stupid. It seems that in all the action movies now it's a lot more violent with a lot more swearing. Its like a person could drop the f-bomb a hundred times, and blow up a car, all because they got that stupid paper cut.

Vanishing Point

I found this movie to be interesting in numerous different ways. One of these ways would be that there isn't a whole lot to analyze to the movie; basically he just wants to go fast for not really any other reason then its fun. I like this plot because it's simple and to the point and because I did not buy my car I drive because it goes slow.

I was surprised that he had a moral as much as he did. Maybe it's because i'm used to other movies/games (like Grand Theft Auto) where people are much more corrupt. I thought the main character in this movie would have stolen a vehicle, killed a few people, and been so high on drugs he couldn't see straight however, it was almost the complete opposite. He instead never killed anyone, checked to see if some people were ok, helped people where he could, and didn't even steal the car. I liked to see that he was more of a good guy (his background made him especially seem like a great guy) but there was also that little part of me that had hoped he was going to be more of a rebel and do more things wrong then just speed.

Even though for the most part I liked the movie, the movie seemed really long to me because I got confused on the concept of time. I know he made the bet to be there in only like three days but those days kinda ran into each other and I kept losing track of what day it was. Also, there were very little night shots, so it seemed like the days dragged on.

I thought it was interesting how we talked in class about him driving for some sort of freedom. That his driving fast would make him feel like he was almost free. Except for the fact that they kept showing shots of speed limit signs or stop signs that show that no matter what he really isn't free.

All I have to say about Super Soul is that he's funny; crazy, but funny.

As for the ending I was a little disappointed it ended that way. Like someone said in class, it wouldn't have been right or interesting if he just would have showed up then have been arrested. What would have been the fun in that? Although, I found myself routing for him and wish it would have ended differentely. I kept thinking that even though the car crashed, that he would have like jumped out before the car hit and you would see him running through the field or something. It seemed he was almost giving up somehow and throughout the whole movie all he tried to do was get there and go fast doing it.

Dr. Strangelove

So this movie was by far my favorite so far. Not only was I excited to get back to a movie with a plot, but I found the movie to be interesting and very funny too. I really liked how they decided to make the movie black and white. Even though the movie had a lot of satire in it, the actuall situation was not funny at all and the black and white seemed to make the situation more intense. I was really surprised that people actually accepted this movie. During this time period people were actually really worried about the situation and no one really knew what was going to happen. Then, for a movie like this to come out just seems like there would have been more problems with it then there was.

Throughout the movie I kept thinking that they made it out to seem like nuclear war isn't that bad. It's like "eh, so what if we destroy the world? No big deal." The way the men on the B-52 were talking about how they were basically going to come home as these "all American hero's" was funny because they wouldn't be hero's, they would be dead. They seemed very calm about the situations in the plane. When they couldn't get the bomb door to open I kept thinking well what happens if the bomb explodes right there? I honestly don't think the men even thought about that. They were too wrapped up in their survival kit - condoms, enough gum for thirty people, stockings and god only knows what else. Everything that would make for a great weekend in Vegas; and of course would not help at all in any real situation. Also, I loved how the pilot wore a cowboy hat with a thick southern accent. That was just hysterical. The best part of that was when he went to go try to be the hero and open the bomb door and basically rode the bomb to his death all while yelling and waving his hat around.

Another part that was interesting was when the president was on the phone with the Russian guy ( I don't remember any names, but they were all weird with sexual underlines.) They talked to each other like five year olds. Not only that but the world could end that moment and all they care about is if each other can hear the other one and who is more sorry. You would think their tone would be a little more intense and serious because of the situation.

I also thought that the guy who went crazy and committed suicide, along with many other characters in the movie, were complete idiots. I would hope that today we have people who might be just a little brighter in those positions. I really just don't understand how its possible for one guy to screw things up so badly for everyone else. Not only could no one reach him, but there were so many codes and everything else that it seemed super ridiculous and complicated. I couldn't believe when the one guy was trying to make a phone call to the president and had to have the guy shoot the machine for coins.

I really liked this movie however, I feel that if I was living through this time I would have had a completely different view on it. I think it's funny now many years later, but if I actually had to deal with the thought of the world ending at any given moment I think I would be a nervous wreck and not found the movie very funny.

Films From Last Week.

Well I'm not even sure where to start about last week. The first films we watched that were black and white and silent made me want to rip out my hair. I've never actually seen a silent film and it was very frustrating for me to try and pay attention without being able to hear anything. I thought how they shot some of the scenes were interesting, like when she was climbing up on the beach then it goes to her climbing on the table with all the people sitting around there. I also liked the stair scene even though it completely confused me. I had no idea where she was in the house or if she was on the floor or ceiling or wherever. It was also interesting how they shot the guy who was running after her in all those different poses and would freeze him in time. Overall the camera angles made for some interesting and different shots and the sense of no real time in the film.

Then we move to the baby movie. Even though i'm a girl, this movie pretty much horrified me and i'm not having kids anytime soon. I'm not even sure why, but for some reason this film just bothered me. I did like the beginning though with all the cool lighting effects from the window. I thought they did a good job with that and that it was pretty. It showed how much the guy and girl cared for each other which was also nice. After this though it all went down hill for me, and it doesn't help I don't do well with blood. I'm not sure why this film was such a shock to me. It's something that happens in most people's lives, and it's not like it's something that isn't well known about. I know that I'm a very shy person so being in a room with a bunch of other people and having to watch this film just made it awkward for me. I feel that having a baby should be something that is private and not shown to everyone.

The short film with the wings was very cool. I liked how it probably took him a long time to piece each one of those shots together but then they going flying through the shots. My mind was going crazy trying to concentrate on the actually wings but it was hard when everything was moving so fast. It's interesting how someone can take something as small as wings and make them into a film like that.

The film with the trees was interesting too. I never thought that you could actually paint like that and make it work. It was interesting how different things look just when you change the lighting like dimming it or making it brighter.

As for not being a film student and never taking a class like this before, these movies jsut start to confuse me more and more. Hopefully i'll have something better to say later on in the next movies.

As for the readings, those also confused me. They made a little more sense after we talked about them in class and I liked how they talked about photograhps and how they can be used at metaphores. I love photography and love the fact that you can take a picture and it's literally a moment in time that has been frozen forever.

La Dolce Vita

So, I'm not blogging this week. My mind is on spring break and it's just not happening. I didn't really like the movie though either. There was just something that irritated me about the entire movie. I think it had something to do with Marcello and the way he treated his many, many women. Also, I have no idea what a statue, over sized fish, and a blonde girl waving could possibly have in common so i'll wait and see what other people thought of the movie.

Have a nice spring break =]

Last Year in Marienbad

I have to say that this movie compeltely confused me. I'm a huge plot person and it's hard for me not to focus on that. However, I thought the movie was very interesting seeing that I've never watched anything like this before. I did some research first and found out that the movie was filmed in Munich at the Nymphenburg Palace. It was a great place for the movie especially because of the gardens and all the geometric shapes.

I'm one of the people who believe that this was all in his head. I feel that something in the past possibly didn't go well and now he is replaying it over and over and almost becoming obsessed with it. The phrases that get repeated over and over throughout the movie explain part of the fact he keeps replaying this in his head. Because of this situation only being made up I feel that the movie is very dream like. Most of the people move and talk slowly, if and when they do move and talk.

I thought the hotel was very pretty. The mirrors, the lighting, the gardens and so much more. While I was watching the movie, it reminded me a lot of the Palace of Versailles. When I visited there, I remember the awesome lighting, the long corridors and the Hall of Mirrors. I also remember the huge gardens with the almost creepy geometric shapes and how perfectly everything was placed and taken care of. Which brings me to how I thought that the hotel seemed very claustrophobic. Even though it was so pretty, I felt I couldn't get out of there or the gardens and I think that means that he is stuck there too. He wants to escape but cant because of her.

I also thought that she reminded me somewhat of Laura. They both seemed to be in their own little world and she ( M, X, A... i dont remember who is who) would talk to him or he would talk to her, and they wouldn't even look at each other or notice the other one is there.

I still don't understand when she got shot. I thought maybe it was because he just thought of the worst possible case? Or maybe he just keeps thinking about how badly it went and its like she is dead? Or better yet, maybe her possible husband caught her with him? I have no idea. I jsut remember thinking ok... she's dead. Then a minute later her talking to him again and being completly confused.

Orpheus

Orpheus to me was one of those movies where at the end I just kind of sat back and was like, what the hell just happened. I had heard the story of Orpheus before, but only briefly in another class. However, I found it interesting and liked learning more about it before we watched the movie. It seemed to me that the story we talked about in class and the one we actually watched in the movie were only slightly related. I found a lot of differences and wasn't sure what to think about them.

From what I got from the story Orpheus is madly in love with his wife, which is not really what I got out of the movie. She seemed to almost fling herself at him while for the most part, he was rude and ignored her half the time. From the story, it seems that Orpheus would do anything for his wife and is in love with her and only her. However, I then got confused when he was in love with Death too. It irritated me that he was telling Death he loved her when he was supposed to be so in love with his wife. Also, there were times when he was working in the car and she would try to come help him and all he would do is blow her off or yell at her. He seemed very self centered too, like when the driver tried to tell him his wife was in danger and he just blew it off like nothing. Also, what was with them sleeping in two seperate beds? If there was a deeper meaning to this I definitly did not understand it.

However, with the many camera tricks in the movie it made it very interesting. I liked how they used the mirror as the like portal to the other world. I also liked the gloves just flying on Opheus's hands, and the driver like gliding in the other world. I thought the other world was interesting (and sort of creepy) how it reflected the devistation from WWII. It seemed like every shot had something that was run down or falling apart. I also noticed how when they took you to the underworld everything was darker, with a much more sad mood. However, when your in with the living everything was very bright and had a much more upbeat tone for the most part.

Vertigo

I enjoyed watching the movie Vertigo probably more then the rest of the movies so far in class. As a huge fan of horror movies, I usually can figure out what is going to happen next in the plot and this movie threw me for a loop. I like movies that keep me guessing and there were numerous times that I didn't see what was coming next. I also liked the fact that it really was a mystery movie and it had you guessing right up until the end unlike Laura where when she comes into the picture the movie changes directions.

First, I thought that Scottie was defined by only two things: his acrophobia and the fact that throughout the movie he becomes more and more obsessed with Madeline. Scottie also reminds me a lot of McPherson. Both of them I wanted to be able to identify with. I wanted them to be the hero's in the end and neither one of them were. Also, they both became obsessed with a portrait more then the actual person and they went from being the good guys to just weird. Scottie was this good guy and friend in the beginning trying to help his friend and by then end of the movie he became way to obsessed. He was obsessed with turning Judy into Madeline and thats all he was worried about.

Obviously like everyone else I had a problem with the portrait of Midge as Carlotta. Im pretty sure when I saw the portrait I jumped out of my seat. I never saw that coming and was freaked out by it. To me, Midge was like the girl next door. She was plain, down to earth, a good friend, and just very normal. She also seemed like the mother figure asking if he wants dinner and caring about him a lot. However, the portrait then threw me off because I never saw her character doing something like that. Her reaction afterwards didn't really bother me though. The fact that she painted it did but if the guy I liked just left I might do something like she did and play with my hair or whatever. After they showed the painting I had thought that she did go off the deep end and I honestly thought that her reaction was going to be worse then it actually was.

Another thing that really bothered me was when Judy had her hair done but it wasn't put up like Madeline's. Im not sure why this bothered me so much but I really wanted to jump through the screen and grab a brush to do her hair like Madeline's. I feel that as an audience Hitchcock wanted us to really get into Scottie's mindset and I feel I became almost obsessed with Judy's look almost as much as he did. Even when Judy was trying on all the different outfits I found myself saying no, wrong, try again. At last, when she finally steps out with the right outfit and her hair done I felt it was finally right.

I also thought there was a lot more interesting things done with the camera in this movie. I really did feel like that in certain parts the camera almost played more as a character. There were a lot more up close shots like in the beginning with just showing the person's eye. I also thought there were more jarring shots like when she just got up and left after Scottie came out of his bedroom. The music I thought also played a big part because it was creepy music and it would get louder and louder (like when they drove out to the woods) and I really thought that she was going to have jumped off something but instead it just gets you wondering what was going to happen next.

Laura

As much as I liked Laura, I couldn't help but be weirded out after watching the movie. There was a lot about this movie that I just didn't understand and just shook my head at. I couldn't really relate to any of the characters because I felt they all had some weird issues going on with them.

First there was Lydecker. I dont even know where to start with him, except to tell him to put some clothes on. To me, he was the creepy older guy and I felt that all he wanted was Laura as more of an object then a person. I think that if he could have made her into a doll size he would put her on one of his shelves as a valuable. Their relationship was weird, and i'm not sure if either one of them really liked each other.

Next there was Carpenter. I don't know what Laura ever saw in him. He is the scumbag with two other girls on the side - which have some pretty different age ranges - and I feel that he almost wanted to get caught. He was at Laura's house with both of them and the one came to her party where Laura was just feet away. He has no money, no job, and basically thinks he can get by with his looks; which aren't even that great.

Then there was McPherson. I really wanted him to be the good looking muscular police officer to come in and save the day, but boy was I wrong. I think he had more issues then the other two guys. He became infatuated with a portrait of a "dead" girl. Also, even if I was dead I dont think I would appreciate some guy I didn't know going through drawrs, smelling perfume, and drinking alcohol was ok when you don't even know the girl. Also, I noticed that we see him mostly in Laura's hosue, and the portrait of her is in the background behind him almost the whole time.

I had numerous problems with Laura. First, she couldn't make up her mind to save her life. I was constantly wondering what guy she was with and what she would do next. However, what killed me was when she walked into her apartment after the murder, she acted like o.k. with everything. I would have been freaking out, wondering who was murderd and how I got involved but no, Laura's like oh, ok. Furthermore, it seemed that the murder just got lost in the story. The whole movie she had no personality, and I still am not sure who she really is. However, I also feel like I wasn't supossed to know who she is.

All in all with Laura's lack of personality, lack of decsion making skills and everything else she has going on I feel that maybe all these guys are infatuated with the type of girl she is rather then her herself. These guys wanted that skinny pretty girl who is wealthy, and they all see that in her.

The Third Man

While watching The Third Man, I definitly noticed an eerie feeling about the movie. However, I never really put together how this movie could be related to Dracula. But, after thinking it over I realized that Harry Lime and Dracula have more in common then I thought.

Even though I haven't seen Dracula in years, I remember that Dracula had no scense of right and wrong, and neither did Harry. There were numerous things Lime did that I found questionable. However, I found the talk Lime had on the ferris wheel with Holly Martin very disturbing in so many ways. When Lime was talking about the "dots" down below as people and when Martin brings up all the people that Lime has harmed, not only does he not show any remorse but wears a smirk on his face the whole time. I also remember thinking that when Lime opens the door to the ferris wheel, I was not completly sure he wasn't going to shove Martin right out the door to his death. Any of this could only be done by someone who has no sence of right or wrong.


I found the film location very interesting too. I thought the old, rundown, brick setting made it eerie and gave them a lot of options for shadows and camera options. However, my favorite parts would be when Lime is being chased throughout the sewers. This location to me was interesting because not only are sewers creepy and eerie to begin with, but it gives a lot of options for shadow effects and makes for an awesome setting.

Also, I thought the sewers were an interesting part of the Dracula theory. It's said that vampires are damned to hell, and I think that it's ironic that Lime's final minutes are underground in a sewer. It's almost like he tried to escape but ultimately Lime was going to be damned to hell in the underworld for what he had done.

I thought this movie was good but I'm still confused as to who I think the hero and anti-hero are. I'm still not even sure who I want to sympathize with throughout the movie. However, I do know realize that there are more similarities between Lime and Dracula then I had thought.

Citizen Kane

After watching the movie Citizen Kane, there was basically one main theme that I couldn't stop thinking about; Rosebud. I was bothered by the fact that throughout the whole movie, the reporter is trying to figure out who or what Rosebud is. However, the reporter or anyone else in my opinion shouldn't even be trying to figure this out since no one actually heard Kane say this.

Going along with this, I also understand what the reporter says at the end of the movie; that Rosebud is just one piece of Kane's puzzle and that nobody can be described with only one word. However, I feel that the sled plays a more important role. If there can be a whole movie based on a word technically no one heard, then it must be important. I think that the sled represents the childhood he never had, and that childhood would haunt him the rest of his life. Throughout the movies there are camera angles and eerie music that would support this. I thought that in the beginning of the movie when the nurse comes in after Kane dies, the camera shows the nurse coming in through the snow globe that he dropped on the floor. This to me gave it a much "creepier" feel. Also, when the reporter interviews Kane's second wife, the camera moves in from the model roof. Of course it is also raining outside, which gives it an even more haunting feel.

By the end of the movie when you finally find out that Rosebud is the sled which you see burning, I feel that nothing was accomplished. I thought that by the end of the movie there would be some closure to Kane's haunting childhood, and life. However, there was nothing. I felt it was one big circle that brought me right back to where we started. I didn't entirely hate the movie, and was actually excited at the end when we find out what Rosebud is. After finding out though, I was disappointed that it ended the way it did. I was hoping for more closure to Kane's life, which never happened.