The First Movies Post

Fred Ott's Sneeze.  

I am assuming that this isn't supposed to be a comedy or anything.  Seems like it was just a test of one of the first films.  I had to watch it a few times to see when he actually sneezes.  It was hard to tell when exactly he sneezed since there is no sound.  

Arrival of a Train and Exiting the Factory

Both of these films were there most boring 40 seconds of my life.  I couldn't imagine how anybody would ever want to pay to see these films.  But I guess back in the 1890's when this was a new technology people wanted to see it.  I could not believe people fled the cafe where they were viewing the film fearing that a train was coming at them.  In the film the train is not even coming straight on towards the camera  so why were they fearing anything?   

Blockbuster Film Post

The Dark Night was released July 18, 2008 and opened on over 9,200 screens.  The film had a lifetime gross domestically of $533,345,358 and a foreign gross of $468,576,467  and worldwide $1,001,921,82.   On it's opening weekend it made $158,411,483 at the box office at 4,366 theaters.  I believe part of the reason for the success of this movie was Heath Ledgers performance.   He won best performance by an actor in a supporting role.  It's sad to say but his passing away boosted publicity for the film at the time.  I also think that the director Chris Nolan had some part in the success with the way he gave new life to the Batman and Joker story.  

Independent Film

I chose to watch the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner in 2005  Why We Fight.  After reading what it was about I thought to myself this seems interesting.  It is basically an anti-Bush documentary and since I was anti-Bush thought it'd be enjoyable to watch.  The movie bashes the American government for sending us to war and lying to us about the reasons for why we are really at war.  It is basically saying that war is profitable so obviously there is going to be more of it.  There were several interviews of with politicians and other people and to be honest at some point I had no idea what they were talking about.  I know nothing about politics so it was mostly just mumbo-jumbo to me.  However I liked watching all the achieved war footage they showed and some of the stories told by war vets.  From what I was able to take from this movie, I learned that the American government  keeps one to many secrets from the public and when it comes down to it, all the government wants is money no matter who is killed or what need to be done.

Foreign Film Post

I watched Amelia, a 2001 French/German film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet starting Audrey Tautou.  In my opinion the movie was phenomenal.  The plot had everything from humor, some mystery, a little bit of tragedy, to love and romance.  I think one thing a lot of foreign films always have is some sort of chase scene.  Of all the foreign films I've ever watched, they have all had some sort of chase.  In foreign films the background music is always different.  Obviously since this was a French film there was an accordion in pretty much every song.  I've seen only two to French films in my life and both were love stories which leads me to believe that French film makers tend to favor Romance over any type of genre.  I think American films are usually high action flims with people dying and blowing up and hold a high level of intensity.  

Movie Paper Paragraph

I'm choosing to write about A Clockwork Orange because I have never seen it all the way through and writing about it would make me have to watch the whole thing.  I know it won many BAFTA awards as well as was nominated for several academy awards.  I was always interested in finishing the film and now I will have a chance to.

My Thoughts on Citizen Kane

Before watching Citizen Kane, I had seen a few scenes from the movie in other classes.  Such as the opening and closing scene and the one where he is standing over telling her she has to sing.  The specific scenes were shown to me in other classes because they were supposed demonstrate good editing and camera angles.  From what I got out of only seeing that little bit of the movie I  thought it was that it was going to be a boring difficult movie to understand.  I was wrong though.  The movie turned out to be really good and enjoyable just as all the reviews said.  I came across this one website that points out all the key editing scenes http://www.tc.umn.edu/~ryahnke/filmteach/x-kane1.htm .  I've always seen the movie at the top of the AFI 100 movies list and wondered why it was always ranked first.  After viewing it, I sort of understand why.  I am amazed at how Wells produced, directed, and starred in the film.   Then when I read on to find out he won best actor, best director,  best original screenplay, and best picture, it hit me that this man was a genius.  If asked today, I would say this is one of the historic films in film making and one of  my favorites.  

Reaction to Singing in the Rain

I personally hate any kind of musical with a passion.  But somehow and for some reason I liked Singing in the Rain.  If it were on Broadway, I'd probably go see it.  I like how they incorperated a lot of songs that weren't written for the film into it.  I think only one of the songs was actually written for the film.  I enjoyed the story behind it and it kept my attention through the movies entirety.  I think the Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Renyolds must have practiced their dances for months.  Everything was so in sync  and so perfect that it must have taken multiple takes for every dance scene.  The "make em laugh" number was the most memorable part of the movie for me.  That had to be so well thought out and planned to make that as perfect as they did.   I think a lot of this movie is so corny, such as the little love part to it, that it makes it such a great film.  

Favorite Version of Dracula

I like Bram Stoker's Dracula from 1992.  I saw it back in middle school so I don't remember to much about it.  But I know it is my favorite version because I did not like all the others that I have seen.  The story didn't make much sense to me then and I doubt it would even today.

This is my favorite scene, which is also the final scene.   Best part is when she cuts his head off. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugbOR40eoCw

  

 And because I think it is so funny here is the dracula musical from forgetting sarah marshall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5ZtwbzUFZE

Summer Movie I'm Waiting For

This summer I am looking forward to the release of Halloween which is scheduled to be released August 28, 2009.  I saw the previous Halloween twice but it was not by choice.  I went with two different groups of friends.  The Halloween that was released it 2007 had me on me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire film.  I never was able to figure out who Michael Myers was going to kill next because he was killing his own family and those who were trying to be his friends.  The trailer for the 2009 Halloween 2 looks just as scary as last Halloween.  I'm glad it's staring some of the same actors such as Tyler Mane, Scout Taylor-Compton, and Danielle Harris.  I hate sequels that don't have the same actors as before.  

Western Comparison

     When I think of a Western Film, what comes to mind is black and white, guns, saloons, whiskey, shoot outs, and those sort of things.  The film Stage Coach has all of the qualities and more.  One thing Stage Coach did was kick off John Waynes acting career.  From the time this film came out in 1939 until now many things have and haven’t changed about Westerns.

     The film Open Range staring Kevin Costner, came out in 2003 and is more of a modern Western.  Like Stage Coach it has the same type of western setting in the open country.  This film is in color, which takes away a bit from the classic Western feel.  The props, costumes, and settings all are similar.  However, the camera angles in open range are a little more modern.  There are more close ups, smoother pans, and zooms.  A crane is used for several shots and every so often there would be a pull focus between characters.  In Open Range, there is a lot more dialogue.  The language they use isn’t quite the same as in Stage Coach.  They seem to talk a little more modern and not so much with Western accents.  The music played in the background is definitely different.  For emphasis on sad parts, the music does its part.  Stage Coach and Open Range definitely have much in common.  But they are still very different.  It's obvious that movie making technology has grown over sixty-four years. 

Movie Memory Post

      My first and most memorable movie going experience was when I was eight years old.  I was with my family and we went to go see Titanic on the opening day at the Perth Amboy cinema.  As I walked through the entrance the aroma of popcorn that seemed to be everywhere immediately overwhelmed me.  After waiting on line for what seemed to be forever, we finally got the tickets and entered the theater.  The room was packed from wall to wall of people making it almost impossible to find four seats that were together.  When the lights dimmed the room was quiet and previews began.  I was amazed at how big the screen was because I’ve never viewed anything on a screen that large.  With a tub popcorn in one hand and a slushy in the other, I was in for a treat.

     After a few minutes of previews the movie started.  I remember the walls and the floor shaking every time there was a loud part in the movie.  This was my first time experiencing surround sound.  It amazed me at how with a giant screen and surround sound it could make me feel as if I was on the set. 

     When the scene was coming up where Kate Winslet (Rose) was about to take off her clothes, I remember my mother covering my eyes.  Then later in the movie when the ship was starting to sink was the first time I realized the power of the movies.  All of a sudden my heart was pounding, my pulse was racing, almost as if I was on the ship desperately trying to get off.   I found myself covering my own eyes and looking away when people were falling off the ship hitting and hitting the side railings.  I’m overly squeamish so even little things like that make me queasy.    I kept trying to tell myself, it’s not real, this didn’t really happen, but it didn’t work.  At the end of the movie when Rose let Jack fall into the sea I wanted to cry.  And when Rose almost didn’t get rescued, I was saying to myself, if only she could scream louder.  I was asking myself “why doesn’t she do this, instead of that” getting mad that she wouldn’t do certain things. 

      The movie completely took over my attention and emotions for three and a half hours I was in the theater.  It made me laugh, cry, excited, and scared.  I never knew that just watching a movie could control my emotions.  From that day forward, every single movie has had an effect on me in one way or another. Whether it was controlling my emotions or changing my views on a specific subject, the movies are always an entertaining memorable experience for me.