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.

Something about Films

These past summers friend and I have rented low grade horor and comedy movies. We have rented movies such as The GingerDead Man and Teeth.

I also hope to learn alot more about the tecnques used in films.