Django Unchained

The previews for Django Unchained are misleading because they do this masterpiece no justice. This movie is truly spectacular in nearly every aspect. The dialogue is fantastically written as its both very witty and humorous. Even though comedy isn't on the genre list, there's a lot of comedy, mainly dark, in this - which becomes beneficial for comic relief purposes because the movie has many intense scenes and the movie is pretty long. The acting was superb. Almost everyone gave a strong performance. Samuel L Jackson played the old, bitter man to perfection. Jamie Foxx showcased that he could play a multidimensional character that expressed many different emotions. While I'm not fond of DiCaprio, I must admit his first performance as an antagonist was well-done and really blended into the the character he was portraying. And Christoph Waltz truly deserves an award for his performance. Everything about it was brilliant. The timing, mannerisms, facial expressions, body language, believably, you name it. The only performance I didn't care for was Kerry Washington's.


Her performance was lacking emotional investment. In other words, I didn't fall in love with her character. But still, her character didn't overshadow the movie's brilliance or even stand out like a sore thumb. It was just mediocre. Like many Tarantino movies, this had a lot of blood, violence, gore, and all that good stuff. That said, the movie isn't for people who have a weak stomach, but it is indeed for anyone who's a sucker for realistic blood and gore. In fact, it will make blood seekers go berserk. After all, let's just say it will make many of his films look peaceful in comparison. The plot and narrating were both crafted well, too. They both keep you guessing what direction the movie is going. An the directing, of course, is just superb. The camera shots, the timing, the choice (plus timing) for the music, the envision of how scenes should look like....... everything was choreograph extremely well. Ultimately, Django Chain is a front runner for movie of the year and in my eyes has surpassed everything that's happened this year by a mile

The Wrestler

At first, I thought this video would be a joke, just like Ready To Rumble was. Once I saw the preview though, I was looking forward to this film. And the anticipation for the film was defiantly worth the wait. The movie might be a little perplexed in the wrestling oriented parts for a causal or non-wrestling fan, but for the most part, they explain the "inside" terms quite rationally. If you do not get what they mean when they say "work over the arm", well you should stick to generic movies.


The movie was not just about wrestling. It also had a superb, dramatic relationship between Randy and his daughter, and his off-and-on relationship with the stripper. Every character is well-defined and well-distinguished in their role; everything fit together in telling the story, nothing came off as filler; and the movie did ABOVE my expectation in showing how grueling and tough it can be to be in a "fake" sport. Aside from their could have been a tad more "wrestling" parts in the movie, it was a great movie for sure.An amazing movie for any "smart" wrestling fan, and even a great movie for a person who does not understand wrestling or like it.

Argo

This supposedly movie of the year wind up being a lackluster cinematic bust. It may intrigue a certain type of audience, but it's not exactly a well-rounded movie that everyone could enjoy. The thing is even if it was a factual story, the structure and directing made it feel too homogeneous. The movie also lacked suspense until the end, and to do so they had to even exaggerate the scene, because, in reality, they got out easily. The character development, especially those who were rescued, was weak. There wasn't a genuine reason that made a viewer completely want to see them be rescued other than..well, they were captured. If they were going to exaggerate something, it should have been where they were had to stay. Seriously, it didn't even look where they were living was that terrible. At least do something that makes them appear they're in serious peril.

After Ben Affleck's greatly crafted movie, The "Town", and after the well-received praised this movie was getting (higher than the Town as a matter of fact), the expectations perhaps were too high. Even if they were, this movie was nothing more than a mediocre capture and rescue true story, though. The problem with true stories is people tend to proceed they are automatically better than fiction stories a lot of times. Well, I went to school yesterday and then watched basketball. That's a true story, but it doesn't mean it's intriguing enough to make it a film about it.

Kill Bill

Kill Bill is another prime example of Tarantino's creative writing. Sure, parts are a little contrived-looking and far-fetched, but with that aside, this is one action thriller. The plot is straightforward, but the action, delivery, and the vintage Tarantino's writing, with things out of place, makes up for the basic plot.If you like kung-fu movies, with a spice of creative action scenes, this movie is certainly for you. In addition to that, the movie also sets up the next Kill Bill, and it does not give you everything at once. In result, you can see this - and want to watch the next one, and you won't get repetitive stuff in the 2nd one since the first one have purposely missing holes in the story. Great writing, great acting, and great action...

Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction is my favorite movie of all time. It is produced and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is about these two hit men Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega , who want to retrieve a suitcase stolen from their boss Marsellus Wallace. It is also about Butch Coolidgon, aging boxer, who is paid by Wallace to lose his next fight. The lives of these unrelated people are stringed together comprising of a series of funny, awkward and intense scenes.It is a series of related but separated short stories of crime and comedy that each result into an unexpected ending including unexpected deaths, sudden twists, black comedy events and horrific conclusions of crime and its following consequences. It is a movie for everyone. It has everything in it. It has action, comedy, drama, horror, etc.

Sacrifice Review

I watched this yesterday. Surely, it was a very long movie, and it's not for those with low intention span, but it was a very well-made movie. At parts, it does drag. However, any four hour movie in my opinion is going to drag. Arguably, the greatest American movie of all time -- the Godfather -- had its slow parts.

It has been said that the director, Tarkovsky, was about to die. Therefore, he didn't make this movie for the fans. He didn't make this movie for anyone. He just made it for himself. He wanted to do everything he wanted to do in it, so he could make his magnum opus.

Some say he accomplished that, some say he didn't. It depends on your mileage. Personally, I enjoyed the film. It was something different and unique. With all honesty, though, I wouldn't watch it again, although that's mostly because of the length.

Tarkovsky

As I was reading chapter 12, I read about Tarkovsky. In the USSR, he seems like he was the Martin Scorsese of film making. In other words, he was the best in the business there. I'm in the middle of viewing Sacrifice, and I must say, I like it so far. I'm am just a little deary about its length.

 However, on Rotten Tomatoes, the Sacrifice is actually his lowest rated movie. Some say it was a lazy effort by him and that he cut corners. Most actually say Solrias is his best movie. Which means, if Sacrifice, a movie that has been good so far, is his worst film.....I am curious to see his best.

From reading about him, though, he truly seems like he was a master and a genius at directing -- making the long-shot a famous shot.

Propaganda in Soviet Union

Their films functioned in a way to influence and regulate the public opinion. The Soviet Union altered their cinema and used it as a way to spray propaganda. The Cold War films tried addressing different facades of the battle, and they tried to influence the domestic and foreign opinion. However, the USA had an immense benefit over the Soviet Union. After all, America was very prepared to use their filmmaking attainments as a device to influence the public opinion in a way the Soviet Union simply could not.

The Soviet Union’s film industry performed as a device for propaganda. It was embracive for the major cultural values of the Stalinist era; for example, hierarchy, monumentalize, and cults of heroes that triumphed over the limits of practical human reason and built socialism. Hagiographic biographies were about the heroes of Soviet, and its royal history overwhelmed the filmmaking’s yield. This movement happened especially after World War II. 

My experience so far

So after being done with chapter 10, I decided to write about my experience so far. While I am not going into filmmaking, it is something that I have considered to do possibly down the line. This class has helped me learn a lot about films.

Even though I've kind of quit reviewing movies, as college is enough stress for me to handle, when I decide to redo it, I believe this class will help me improve on doing it. I mean, it has showed and taught me different ways to look at a film. For example, how to really see if the movie is well directed or not, just by the use of camera. It's amazing to me how much camera work can make a film better, using the right shots, etc.

So, yeah, I have liked this class a lot. If I had to do it all over again, though, I think I would take it in class. I believe I could have learned more, and the discussions in class would have helped me learn more.

Propaganda in Films

I've realized that there was a lot of propaganda in all sorts of films around the word. I find this interesting because I have always been interested in how the media sways and influences the masses. It seems like a lot of the propaganda occurred close or during wars. Of course, films want people to be pro-war and make it look like they'e the good people and the people they're at war with are bad people.

It's also funny how these movies make people can shift people's feelings. I've seen people get so mad and angry while watching films that involve war in America. People will say stuff like these people are horrible and I hope we kill them all. It's funny that a fake movie can make people so emotional and passionate towards something.

Jaws Review

This week has been a fun week talking about films. Don't get me wrong: I did like watching the other films and seeing the developments film made in such a short amount of time. That said, some of my favorite movies have come from around this era. They are movies that still hold up today, and aside from production values and effects, are more superior than most - if not all - of the movies that come out today.

Jaws is another one of my favorites. It's such a simple plot, yet it horrified and scared plenty of people, even to this day. It's without a doubt an outstanding movie - with great effects (for the time), great acting, with great build and suspense.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW23RsUTb2Y

I love this scene in particular. Mike, who doesn't believe anyone about what they've been telling him, finally realizes that there is, indeed, a big problem in the water. The zoomed close up is a major story-arc of his scared and sweating face. After that, everything from there goes downhill.

Just a great scene and an awesome movie.

Alfred Hitchcock

Many see horror movies as lowbrow, low-intelligent films. And while most horror movies are terrible, there are some that are really well done and are a work-of-art. It is a genre that can be dire when done wrong yet magnificent when done right.

The problems with most horror movies is they rely heavily on those cheap tactics like pop-outs to get a quick scare out of people.That is not what makes a horror movie great. While people are jumping out of their seat scare, they aren't emotionally invested into the movie. What mainly makes a horror movie great is dread. The best horror movies make its watchers anticipate something bad to happen.

Alfred Hitchcock was amazing at doing this. His movies made people scare and feel like there's no way out, yet make the movie so suspenseful and so engaging that they don't even consider shutting it off. Many are lucky to make one good horror film. Hitchock made a handful of them. He was the master of horror movies and really paved the way for the more famous ones to come along.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Growing up, I was a huge Disney fan. I watched all the movies. Every...single...one. My grandmother worked at CVS and she would get all the VHS movies for me at a discounted price. Although Snow White is not my favorite - that would go to the Lion King - it is without question one of my favorites.

I actually watched this movie a little while ago with my little cousin, and I was amazed how well made it was. The picture quality was amazing, considering how old the movie was. It's an awesome movie with a lot of underlying messages...especially one that tells kids not to trust strangers, which, of course, is a great message for all kids.

While Walt Disney wasn't the first person to create cartoon movies, he was the first person to really make them wrong. He was the brains behind some really great movies, arguably more than any other producer in the history of movie making.

Citizen Kane Review

Citizen Kane is one of my favorite movies of all time. It is one of those highly-acclaimed movies that I never wanted to watch but was glad I did. Of course, it's not really appealing to people my age. 22 year old generally dislike any movie in black and white. Hell, we don't even like videos anymore not in HD. But when you put all that aside, usually, older movies are much better written.

Citizen Kane is a deep film about a group of reporters that try to figure out the Charles Foster Kane last said word: Rosebud. It stars with a reel that details Kane's life and flashbacks of his life. Eventually, there is a see a highlight reel of a rich, complex man's rise to glory and downfall. 

While I cannot call it my favorite movie, I can call it one of the most influential. It integrated the film language until 1941 as well as broke innovative places in focus, sound and storytelling.

Boyhood is a must-see film

We live in a society of people who hate having to think or concentrate, and this has unfortunately had a major impact on the film industry. In order to cater to the majority, producers simplify movies to make them intelligently undemanding. This has created a win-win situation for Hollywood, since they are profiting billions of dollars off substandard movies — and anything that exceeds an audience's lowered expectations they hail it as a triumph. Fortunately, there remain some individuals in the business who are unwilling to sell themselves out for money because of the amount of pride they take in their work. With Boyhood, Richard Linklater solidified himself as being one of those people.

Linklater filmed Boyhood for over 12 years and used the same exact cast. The movie is a compelling story of growing up. The movie is seen through the eyes of an adolescent named Mason (Ellar Coltrane), who literally grows up on the screen. Both Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette play Mason's parents and Lorelei Linklater stars as his sister Samantha.

Without spoiling it, I will just say: you need to see this movie. It is an impeccable specimen that demonstrates how to develop characters, how to tell a compelling story, and how to flat out direct a movie. Boyhood is a compelling magnus opus, for sure. 

 

Black-ish pilot is a promising start

The previews did this show no justice. It looked like it was going to be very clichéd and stereotypical. While some parts were stereotypical, other parts were genuinely funny. The writing could be better, though. Although the pilot's writing was rather all over- the-place, Anthony Anderson carried it, as he embraced and fit into his character impeccably.

Dre Johnson (Anthony Anderson) is an upper class African American. Despite his success, people are still disrespectful towards him. Due to his kids go to a primary white school, he is seeing his kids become less black. He consequently tries to do certain things to "keep it real". In essence, he does not want his family to turn into a white family or "sellout".

The story and characters' motives, as stated above, were a little vague; however, the acting is very good and the characters are likable. They would be better off allowing the characters to bring the laugh, because the laughter from the writing fell short. The "them vs. us" scene, for example, was unrealistic, prejudice and flat out cringe worthy.

This show is worth giving a shot. It has promise and it is something different. Although the pilot was not great start, it has promise and it will be interesting to see

My Experience Researching

I'm sure similar to many others, I had a problem finding 100 year old newspapers and/or magazines online. So, I emailed our professor and he told me that everything is not on the Internet. Sometimes, you have to look other places. Consequently, I decided to go to the Taunton Public Library last week to find some old newspapers and magazines. I asked the librarian where I could possibly find them. She directed me and also helped me find everything I needed. She was very helpful and it seemed as if other people had to do similar assignments akin to this one.To be honest, this was my first time at an actual Library in, at least, a decade. Every time I had to do research for a paper, I found it online.

Overall, it was a different experience. Like I said before, I haven't been to a library in over a decade. The place looked extremely different than before. As expected, though, I was the only one there. Which begs a question: how long will Libraries be around? With everything going digital, Libraries are becoming a dinosaur. 

Chapter 3 Summary

Today, I didn't know what to write about, so I decided to summarize chapter three, "A Short Guide to Writing About Film", which was a very interesting chapter. The author writes about the analytic phraseology of visual arts and literary The author says that the visual arts are the characters, the plot and the point of view. On the other hand, the three literary critic's assessments. The author explores these three elements, deciding how properly they are. Critics have their personal judgment on what they think or feel about a said film, and they will also have their own point-of-view on the film prior to watching it.

Indisputably, it is a poor idea to originate viewpoints on a movie prior to watching it. Sometimes, there have been movies that did not look good because of its preview. We have all learned before that we shall not judge a book by its cover. Thus, it's illogical why a critic would judge a movie based off its trailer.

Boardwalk Empire Review (First Two Seasons so far)

Boardwalk Empire debuted in the fall of 2010. It received a ton of publicity and was being pumped up to be the best crime drama on HBO since the Sopranos. The buildup it was receiving was understandable, because the legend Martin Scorsese was named director for the pilot, the  mastermind behind the Sopranos, Terrence Winter, was named the chief writer, and the main character was said to be Steve Buscemi, who is an incredibly underrated actor.  If none of that was enough, the show set the record for most money spent for a TV pilot ever. So, given all that information, one would have just assumed that this show would be producing some of most top of the line television ever seen

Sadly, that has not been the case so far.

But before we nosedive into why its been underwhelming, let's start off by naming some of the good traits the show has. For starters, the acting has been about as top-notch as you are going to get for a TV series, as everyone portrays their character exquisitely. Moreover, the clothing, setting, music, weapons, and the dialog are precisely similar to the 20s-esque lifestyle. And, the directing has been just flat out superb. The directors have done an incredible job of making scenes exceptionally intense and vivid, picking the most suitable camera angles, and really getting the best out of cast.

So, what seems to be the problem then? Well, that would be the writing. 

Originally, Terrence Winter’s strategy seemed a good idea. He slowly articulated the story and was very anal about not leaving out any critical details. He wanted it to be as clean and unadulterated as possible.  He tediously kept building and building storylines up to the point of where everyone was anticipating a massive eruption. And there is nothing wrong with all of that. However, there aren't many eruptions at all. Because just when Winter would foreshadow something massive to happen, the story ends up spinning into a completely different direction. Throughout most of Boardwalk’s existence, Winter became excessively fixated on preserving storylines and has done this by putting them on the shelf and relaunching them at a seemingly later time. Those actions have frustratingly resulted in a handful of caution-free episodes where the fans were left with feeling of emptiness. 

At the end of the season two finale, Winter finally wanted to payoff something he wrote in a newsworthy fashion, as in a shocking twist of events, Nucky Thompson murdered his once protégé Jimmy Darmody. It was admirable that Winter finally wanted to do something would spark emotions out of its audience, but it was unfortunately a poor choice. The reason it was a poor choice goes farther than them killing off one of the most interesting and beloved characters in the series. The real reason it was a poor choice was that it made Nucky Thomas invincible as possible heading towards the next season. Nobody stood as even a minuscule threat towards Nucky, which is, for a lack of a better term, boring.

This is far from a terrible show. As stated previously, the acting, directing, and the setting are magnificent. The writing, however, is holding this back from developing into a great show. As a result, Boardwalk Empire is nothing more than an average show that is failing to come anywhere close to meeting its expectations. To be quite honest, it would have been better suited fulfilling a 30-minute commercial free show, or by simply doing fewer shows, because of handful of lifeless and aimless scenes that serve no purpose other than being filler that stretches the show out far enough to meet its time duration.

What Makes a Movie Good?

Although the criterion is mostly subjective, there are certain things a movie should have in order to be qualified as a good movie. 

The first thing a movie must have is a good idea. Now, what is a good idea? Well, a good idea is something that someone can relate to or believe. Theoretically, a movie is a piece of entertainment that allows people to escape from reality. People want to pretend to live out an interesting lifestyle without any consequences. For example, tons of people who would love to be Batman, but they do not want to put their life constantly in jeopardy. The Batman movies allow them to pretend to be their hero without any consequences.   

This brings me to my next point: characters. A character needs to be believable and have a defined role. Are we supposed to like them or hate them? Are we supposed to want to see them get their comeuppance or are we supposed to sympathize for them? Is the character a stereotypical character or is it multifaceted? A movie needs to create believable well-defined characters, with a clear motive and purpose. 

In order to have good characters, a movie must have good actor to fill the roles. Now, this does not mean a movie should just go and get a bunch of A-list actors because that (a) costs a lot of money and (b) sometimes does not work. The best thing for a producer to do is get the best actors for the role. In the past, there have been great actors who bombed in their roles. The reason they bombed was that they did not fit the role. Actors, even the best ones, have certain strengths and weaknesses. A movie must accentuate the actors/actresses' strengths and hide their weaknesses. 

The movie, also, needs good dialogue. Dialogue and actors both complement each other. They depend on each other and need the other. Without good dialogue, an actor's lines are not going to be that good. And without a good actor, the dialogue will not sound that good. 

Lastly, the movie needs good director. A director is the person who puts the idea movie together. He/she brings the script to life by envisioning it out in his mind and then structuring it.He is in control, and the movie's success mostly depends on him. 

When a movie has most of these things, it is a good movie. When it has all of these things, it becomes a classic. 

I could have gone more in-depth about this. Maybe someday I will. However, I did not want to make it too wordy. So instead of going in-depth, I was rather vague. 

The Devil's Advocate Deeper Meaning

So, I examined the Devil's Advocate last night, eyeing for the deeper meaning behind the film. I have seen this movie a number of times, although the last time I watched was a while ago. Because I viewed this movie with a different point of view, I enjoyed this more than before. 

The Devil's Advocate is not a perfect movie by any means. Critics have scolded it due to its tediousness, miscast main character and cop-out ending. I vehemently concur with all of those assessments. The movie does take a long time to shift into a more enthralling gear. Keanu Reeves has the charisma and believability of a block of wood – and the ending does render the moot as well as causes everything that happened before to become essentially meaningless. 

Despite its imperfections, there are lots of things to like about this movie. Al Pacino, who is disputably the greatest actor ever, does a compelling job in his antagonist role as the supernatural pioneer of the purity of evil, and the movie does an adequate job expressing its message.

Kevin Lomax, played by Keanu Reeves, is one of the best attorneys in the world. He manages to find a way to make his clients innocent in the court of law, no matter how guilty they are. Lomax is a deceitful and unlawful person, but he claims that his dishonesties are a part of his occupational description. It is transparent that he is subconscious about his decisions. However, the more he lies, the more money he receives and the more famous he becomes – and that causes his vanity and self-worth to become more important to him than his morality.

His life vicissitudes when he meets his new boss John Milton (Al Pacino). Lomax’s mother encourages him to leave New York City, because she believes NYC is the dwelling place of demons. Milton urges Lomax to stay and causes him by making him an offer he cannot refuse. It is discovered later on that Milton is more than just an evil person. He is Santon, the epitome of all evil, and is trying to use Lomax, his bastard child, to mate with his half-sister to create a demon baby.

Before I spoil anything else or become too wordy, I will cut to the chase. The movie's theme is about temptation and vanity. All Lomax’s clients are the scum of the earth, which means nobody with a conscious mind would ever defend these sadistic people. Conversely, they would likely want to see them receive the comeuppance that they deserve. However, power, fame and money have the power to persuade nearly anyone into making decisions that they know are erroneous and deceitful. 

Vanity and temptation have motivated people to do unethical things to gain power and control and to protect their reputation and self-worth, regardless of how sadistic or wrongdoing it was. Many politicians, actors and other celebrities’ actions are solely done for their image. Most of them have also sold their souls to the Devil (per se) to gain money, fame and power by taking an easy, albeit unethical, passageway.

 In essence, the Devil's Advocate exhibits how far one man will go to become rich, famous and powerful.  

Deeper Meanings

As the book alludes, there are deeper meanings to movies than perceived. In order to find those deeper meanings, though, one must pay attention carefully. As a casual movie critic myself, I am always searching for deeper meanings, because (a) I like to write about them and (b) sometimes it is fun to dissect a movie.

Before I watched the Lego's movie a few days ago, I had no intentions of writing about this movie whatsoever. In fact, I was rather skeptical about watching it in the first place. Sometimes, kids movies have the tendency to insult my intelligence, although Lego Movie did not end up insulting my intelligence and it didn't even come close of doing so.

Inside and out, the Lego Movie was a beautiful picture. The animations and effects were incredible, as it was one of the most surreal visuals ever designed, in addition to being funny, loving and endearing. Most of all, though, it had a compelling plot. Even though the majority will simply comprehend this movie as an enthralling and happy-go-lucky movie, wherein good triumphed over evil, it actually has a more elaborate and deeper meaning and story than one would believe.

The plot is mainly about a president (whose name is Business, ironically) who relishes power and will obtain that power by any means necessary. In fact, he is so narcissistic that he wants to rule the world, and to do this, he builds an army and uses brainwashing and propaganda tactics to convince the majority that he is an ethical and good-willed person, so the nation will not see it coming in advance.

Long story short, before I give away the entire movie, Lego Movie's purpose was to convey to people that leaders and businesses are not always who they say they are, and what they say is not always true. It is up to the people of the nation to formulate their own opinions and think for themselves, in contrast to believing everything the government tells them to believe. It also showed the evil side of business and showed that the average man or woman can still build things just as good as machines can, if not better.