I was amazed at how emotionally invested I could be in a film in such a short amount of time. The film was short and sweet. It had more value than 90% of all full length films. It took hold of a controversial topic and turned it into its most fundamental emotional roots. The characters were all well developed. Some were even better developed than character in full length movies. Thembile only had to say two sentences to completely establish the nature of his character. I enjoyed watching this film just as much as Good Will Hunting.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Final Awards
I was amazed at how emotionally invested I could be in a film in such a short amount of time. The film was short and sweet. It had more value than 90% of all full length films. It took hold of a controversial topic and turned it into its most fundamental emotional roots. The characters were all well developed. Some were even better developed than character in full length movies. Thembile only had to say two sentences to completely establish the nature of his character. I enjoyed watching this film just as much as Good Will Hunting.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Cinema Paradiso
Friday, January 30, 2009
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a classic that won seven oscars. I can definately see how it would be considered one of the best films of its time. As a film lover, I appreciated it. It is an extremely detailed epic. For todays standards, it was too detailed. Some of the facts were unnecessary and presented in a boring way. But during its time period, it was probably considered fairly fast paced. The technology available at the time would be considered ancient today, so it is impressive how many special effects the movie was able to put in.
The character work was pretty good. The viewer sympathizes with hero, enemy, boss, and soldier. The begining centers around a battle of wits between Major Warden and Col. Saito. British wit naturally wins, but it only leads to a collaboration of efforts. The bridge is built soundly and sturdily, but at the last minute the Major Warden realizes he has been helping the enemy. With his dying breath he falls on the the dynamite trigger and blows the bridge to bits.
This movie was a little too boring. The characters were entertaining and relatable, but there was too much dead space. However, if translated into a movie of our time period, it would have been done extremely well.
Final rating: 3.5
Charlie's Angels
Its hard not to love strong intelligent women. Especially when they are given such eclectic backgrounds. From Charlie's Angels I learned how much a strong background can do for a character, and for the audience. Acting teachers are always telling actors to come up with an entire life line for their characters. Originally I thought it was so that the actors could relate to their characters better. From this I learned that its more important in the audiences ability to relate to the characters. I appreciated and understood Cameron Diaz's character much better because I knew she used to have braces and was a stunt driver.
Cameron Diaz is ditsi, Drew Barrymore is hardcore, and Luci Lui is Luci Lui. Together they form an elite crime fighting trio. While there are some cheesy moments, and the plot twist is somewhat predictable, it still made for interesting moments and relationships. Eric Knox hires the girls to steal control of his competitors software, so that he could locate and kill the Angel's anonymous boss.
By its nature, Charlie's Angels combines sex and action. Action because its a 3 person crime fighting team, and sex because they are women. They use their womenly features to their advantage, for trickery and deception. With one of the coolest opening scenes that sets the tone for the entire film, Charlies Angels could be considered my guilty pleasure, but maybe i shouldn't feel guilty.
Final rating: 4.3
Run Lola Run
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Inja (Dog)
The Best Scene of the Year
And the nominees for Best Scene of the Year are:
Good Will Hunting (Break Through):
This is the climax of the movie. Will finally comes to terms with what has been stifling him his entire life. It is an important scene that is beautifully put together. Robin Williams and Matt Daemon both act superbly. When deciding which scene to use from Good Will Hunting, I was torn between this one and Robin Williams monologue on the park bench, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFof9AD2YlE, but in the end this scene was too important to leave out. Even though I might like the other scene better.
Shawshank Redemption (Escape):
The most enjoyable part of the movie. Whatever wonderful events, stories, and relationships earlier in the movie were all leading up to this scene. Andy's escape connects back to almost every experience he had. The book, the hammer, the posters, the stock, it all culminates in an ending that will make any man smile. The injustice of Andy's imprisonment is finally righted.
V for Vendetta (Fight Scene):
V's last battle. The climax of the movie. This scene is great because of the action. It has everything you could want: guns, knives, and blood. A great scene for our lovers of impossible and awesome fights.
Charlie's Angels (Opening Plane scene):
The first and best scene in the movie. It sets the tone for the entire film. Its high paced, intense, and shocking. The music is perfect. It results in a cool scene that makes you feel as if you have just plummeted 30,000 ft and landed safely on a boat with 3 beautiful women. The key feature is spectacle.
Perfume (The Perfume's Affect):
SPOILER ALERT* The climax of the movie. If you haven't seen it, you might not have any idea what is going on. Basically the man accused of murdering 13 women has just finished his most perfect perfume. The scene is the perfumes release and the people's reactions. This is a great movie and the scene might not work as a stand alone, but together it is a satisfying conclusion to the "Hero/Murderer's" adventure. By the way, Alan Rickman is the father of the last woman Jean-Baptiste murdered.
And the winner is:
Post your own votes in the comments section.