The Coen Bros

Well these 3 movies we watched were by far the best ones, in my opinion. I didn't even get to finish Raising Arizona but it was still better than a lot of the movies we have seen in AoF 1 and 2. Raising Arizona was the funniest one I have seen in that class but I heard that it changes later on. Fargo surprised me on the comedy in if because I was waiting for the gore that I was spoiled on from someone who shall remain nameless for now. The last movie we just finished up, No County for Old Men, I have seen before earlier this school year. I really liked it then but now it is so much better. How I looked at it this time made it more enjoyable and answered some questions I had in my first viewing.
So my top 5 movie seen in AoF as of now is
1) No Country for Old Men
2) The Long Goodbye
3) Fargo
4) Stagecoach
5) Raising Arizona

Altman's Good and Bads

The only Altman film we watched that I liked was “The Long Goodbye”. It was a good mix of suspense and sum what action. I liked how Philip Marlowe was a man from the past in the future. How he was the only one who smoked and how laid back he was until he was pushed to far.
The film I disliked the most was “Nashville”. I could not follow it very well because of all the characters and how talk over each other. I would not like to watch another movie like that. It felt like there was to much.

Se7en

Se7en is a crime/ detective story that follows a retiring detective, Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman), and his replacement, Detective Mills (Brad Pitt), together investigating a series of linked murders inspired by the seven deadly sins. Within the movie there is a strange similarity that I noticed between Detective Somerset and John Doe (Kevin Spacey).

John Doe's relationship with Detective Somerset's character shows a certain connection that causes us to question who John Doe really is and his role in this movie. Doe and Somerset are almost mirror images of views and traits. Both men are educated, and have an appreciation for libraries and great literature. Also the men have a similar hatred for the city where they both live. Both of them recognize the ugliness of their world, and both try to change it in their own way (Doe kills, Somerset solves crimes). Even the characters' dialogues are similar to each other's. The similarities between Doe and Somerset are numerous throughout the film, but these connections lead me to ask the question, “why?" Why would Fincher create a seemingly psychotic murderer that had the same views and traits as a likeable and important character? Why?

With Doe’s and Somerset’s connection it also made me see how John Doe and Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), from Fight Club, are also similar. They both see the wrong in things; Doe how much people sin and how much evil there is, and Tyler is all anti-consumerism. They both go forth and do their thing to fix the problem. Doe becomes a serial killer and links all his killings to the 7 deadly sins. Tyler starts a cult, “Fight Club”, and creates Project Mayhem, a plan to blows up all the major credit card companies in the city. Another thing is they both seem to be everywhere and nowhere throughout both movies. Last (SPOILER ALERT DO NOT READ IF YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED) they both get killed because of what they were both fighting for the whole movie.

Film Noir's

We just finished the Film Noir unit and I went into it not knowing what to expect. The first film we watched was Out of the Past and it was a little slow but I felt somewhat entertained. The main killer of the film for me was the ending, how Jeff died but all in all justice was served. The second was Kiss Me Deadly and it was pretty much the same turn out but not as slow.
This one also had a horrible ending but it was even worse. The third and final movie was Chinatown. I have only seen half of it (I was gone Monday and Tuesday before break) and so far I think it is good and interesting. In class though I have heard the ending has a twist so I guess I will be ready for that. As the whole Film Noir genera goes it is ok but a little weird. I would like to see some more films in this category and hopefully gain a liking to it because they seem like well done films.

Screwball Comedy/ Romantic Comedy

We just finished the Screwball Comedy/ Romantic Comedy unit. The first film we watched was His Girl Friday, the Screwball Comedy. This film really grinds my gears; it was so easy to predict what was going to happen. Having the film being so obvious and plain didn’t keep me entertained. The dialogue was fast and I also didn’t like that about it. His Girl Friday was by far my least favorite film we have watched.

On the other hand Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the Romantic Comedy, was so different than I thought that it caught me off guard and because of that it kept me engaged in the movie. Having us seeing the events not in chronological order was brilliant. After I started to catch on to the way thing were played I enjoyed it a lot more. It didn’t have a lot of humor, I thought it would have a lot more laughs being a Romantic Comedy and having Jim Carrey in it, but I didn’t. I was kind of glad it didn’t have a lot because it would have ruined the sadness and drama going on and ruin the movie in general.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has been the movie we have seen so far that has kept me most engaged.

Stagecoach and Unforgiven

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Last Unit we watched 2 Westerns, Stagecoach and Unforgiven. Not seeing very many Wetserns I was kind of excited to learn about them.

The first one we watched, Stagecoach, didn't have high standards in my mind; mostly because of it being black and white. After watching it I was shocked that it was that good. I didn't think that it  would be that in dept and such. The acting was good and it had a good story line (depth). It was definitely a Classical Western.

The second film we watched, Unforgiven, had high standards in my head because of it winning alot of Acadamy Awards. After watching I was kind of let down because I thought it was going to be different. The story and acting was well done but something just didn't get me to like it as much as I thought I would. I am not quite sure what it is; it could be the Revisionest factor or something else.

Thus far my favorite film we have seen, in Art of Film, has been Stagecoach.

Citizen Kane...

The film we all just watched, Citizen Kane, was said to be the greatest film ever made. This opinion I agree and disagree with. In ways I agree, that it was very well crafted and shot. The photography and Mise-en-Scene aspect made this film almost one of a kind. The shot type and lighting were the big part on the opinion of being the best. The way I disagree was the story and characters. The story did not do anything for me; nothing caught my interest. The characters were very boring and confusing/ vague. Having the story being not very interesting, I saw most of the craftiness and intelligence in the making of the film. The way no one could ever see the meaning of Rosebud, witch when we finally found out was not very spectacular, it was shocking that it was something that easy (unlike a secret wife or child) but not spectacular.