Do the Right Thing (Ending)

Although I've already created an overall post for Do the Right Thing, the topic of the ending is enough to create another.

Spike Lee questions people's prejudice by questioning which topic abnormal atrocity lingered more on our minds. He believed that the large amount of discussion about Mookie's decision shows racism because people cared more about a broken window then the death of a man.

I do believe that the reviews Spike Lee read were quite racist. The suggestion that the movie would spark riots amongst black communities was outrageous. However, I disagree with the idea that if Mookies wrong is more prominent in one's mind than the wrong of the policeman, that person is racist.

Mookie is a main character. We see most of the movie through his eyes. We have a deep understanding of his relationship with Sal. We only see the policemen once before the riot, and we have no insight into their relationship with Radio Raheem. While the policemen's actions were disgusting and Radio's death left me speechless, the emotion caused by Radio's death was quickly replaced by confusion. Mookie completely goes against any relationship that had been established in prior scenes. A conundrum like this tends to linger a bit more. Furthermore, the destruction of Sal's pizzeria lasted much longer than Radio's death scene and came after Radio's death scene. It is not surprising to me that people tended to remember that part better than the part of Radio's death. In addition, the destruction of a window is much more pleasant than the death of a human, so it is natural that a viewer will try to shut the death out of their mind.

Do the Right Thing

In away Do the Right Thing was a lot like Elephant. This is because the characters were developed extensively and for a long time before the plot escalated. I enjoyed this film more than Elephant because it had a goal. To me the goal was to show racism that existed in a poor town and how in poorer towns racism can get out of hand. Truthfully its goal is more profound than that, but attempting to lay my finger on its exact lesson would not do it justice. I can only guess that Spike Lee wanted to show how everyone is a little bit racist and even if you think you aren't pressure situations can push people over the edge.

For me, Do the Right Thing was a window into a life that I have never and can never know. One film aspect I noticed was how canted angle was used. It was used for almost every time we saw Radio Raheem especially when his music came into contact with Sal. Canted angles were used for pretty much every situation of conflict. It was used when Da Mayor was talking to Mother Sister, but once they had reconciled with each other, it stopped being used.

Another thing I noticed was that whenver someone was being racist or directly insulting another person, they did so directly into the camera. It seems to me that this was Spike Lee's attempt at forcing you into the shoes of a victim of race. The comments were directed at the viewer. I think this attempt failed.

Final Rating: 4.0 (maybe even a little lower)

Stranger than Fiction

We all know what type of films Will Ferrel normally does. Films like Anchorman, Step Brothers, Blades of Glory, and ect. His most well known and common character is ridiculous and unrealistic. Clearly it should stay in comedies.

However, easy as it may be to act in those type of comedies, that does not make Will Ferrell a bad actor. I recently stumbled across Stranger than Fiction. After a few minutes of watching I completely forgot that the actor was Will Ferrell.

His wonderful performance in this movie shows a diversity that I was previously unaware of. Stranger than Fiction is a hybrid comedy/drama. Much like pursuit of happiness - another movie a enjoyed - it takes you through a roller coaster ride of emotion. Specifically from sadness and pending tragedy to that happily ever after ending that we have become so used to in our childhood.

This movie utilized a powerful situation that surprisingly enough is akin to one used in the 7th book of the Harry Potter series. First it establishes a connection with the character and enables the viewer to feel what the character (Harold Crick in this case) feels. Then it presents the character with knowledge of his upcoming death, and has the character figure out how to accept his fate. The emotions associated with this situation are extremely powerful, and Stranger than Fiction allows the viewer to feel this same emotion.

Stranger than Fiction has deep story lines that revolve around an abstract situation. It allows you to feel the beauty of a tragedy, yet still leaves you feeling warm inside. Overall i give it a 4.5.

Hot Fuzz

Today I saw Hot Fuzz, with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. To me, Hot Fuzz is half action, half comedy, half dark comedy/thriller. I stumbled upon it while flipping through the channels. I had no previous knowledge about it. In fact the main reason i became engrossed by it was because Simon Pegg looked exactly like a friend of mine.

Hot Fuzz was extremely entertaining. It started off as a normal cop movie in which the new cop is on to a murder, but the veterans are ignorantly skeptical. It then, however, takes a big twist into one mans quest to end a psychotic plot to rid a town of all imperfections. Hot fuzz is a clever movie that i recommend. On a 5 point scale: 4.2.

Perfume

I recently saw this movie and enjoyed it immensely. In part of Spirited Away the cartoonist manage to show smell. We discussed how difficult it is to show smell in a movie. Now imagine a movie in which the entire plot line is based off of smell, and imagine this done magnificently. You now have a toe in the water of understanding how wonderful Perfume is.

Some of Perfume's supporting actors are particularly famous. Dustin Hoffman plays Giuseppe Baldini, a washed up perfumer whose discovery of Jean-Babtiste Grenoulle (Ben Whishaw) revitalizes his career. Alan Rickman plays Richis, the father of Laura (Rachel Hurd-Wood). More about these two characters might give away too much about the movie.

To complete this wonderful cast, Tom Tykwer choose someone unexpected. Instead of choosing actors like Brad Pitt or Leornardo Dicaprio, who both wanted to be the star of this film, Tykwer choose Ben Whishaw. Although Whishaw hasn't been in many other movies and hasn't made that big a name for himself, he played Jean-Babtiste Grenoulle perfectly. His acting made the movie great.

Perfume is set in 18th century France. It is centered around the life of Jean-Babtiste Grenoulle, the man with the best sense of smell that has ever existed. Grenoulle is quite eccentric and his smell becomes his life.

Perfume combines violence and nudity, two aspects of the movie that are necessary to the plot. It is rated R for "Aberrant behavior involving nudity, violence, sexuality, and disturbing images." I was fine with the extremely long length of the movie because I enjoyed it so much that I didn't want it to end. On a 5 point scale I rate this movie close to the top. I place it somewhere between a 4.8 and a 4.9. The only reasons it lost any points was because there were minute ridiculosities and at times it seemed a little contrived. However, I am quite a structured thinker so its slightly contrived nature didn't bother me.

I am not sure what genre to place Perfume in. You might call it a drama; you might call it a thriller. You might call it dark comedy; you might even call it a tragedy. I prefer to just call it amazing.

*SPOILER ALERT*


V FOR VENDETTA

































PLEASE DONT READ THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT THE MOVIE SPOILED FOR YOU





I have seen V for Vendetta a number of times. It is one of my favorite movies, but even after seeing it so many times, I still find and notice new things that I have over looked in prior viewings. Amongst them is the speech given at the beginning of the movie. It is talking about America's downfall and collapse.

The main thing that I have noticed during this particular viewing is the amount of foreshadowing. There are two cases that I can think of so far. The first is seen when EV and V finish watching the Count of Monte Cristo. EV turns to V and says that she feels horrible for the girl because the Count cared more about obtaining his revenge than he did about her. This foreshadows the dilemma that V is placed in a the end of the movie. Should he die carrying out his plan (which is a plan for revenge just as much as it is a plan for revolution), or should he run away with EV.
The second time foreshadowing is seen is when Deitrich is telling EV about how he is gay. He says, "You wear a mask so long, you forget who you are underneath it." This foreshadows and represents how V has completely lost touch with his past. He is barely human, and for a while one is not sure if he is human or super-human. This correlation is highlighted by Deitrich suggestion that he is actually V.
At the end of the movie V ends up neglecting who he is on the inside, and the fact that his inner person loves EV, he also chooses to die for his cause instead of staying with EV.

Burn after reading:

I went into this movie not knowing that it was a farce.

I also did not know it was a dark comedy. Therefore i was very surprised at a number of things. The farce was done so well that i didn't notice it was farce. I spent the first have of the movie subconsciously thinking, "this is the most unrealistic movie ever."

Only after I realized that it was not only farce, but dark comedy, did i come to appreciate it. Never the less i was still ignorant during a turning point of the movie. I was completely shocked at Brad Pitt's death. The cohen brothers brilliantly archetected that pivotol turning point. The created a complete shift in the movie. By switching abruptly from a situation that was all fun and games, to the gruesome and graphic death of a main character, the Cohen brothers shocked the audience; provoking emotion, and setting the tone for the rest of the movie.