Film

Rope by. Alfred Hitchcock

2006-12-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

Rope is a movie totally filmed in a tracking shot with only three cuts in the whole film. In order tog et away with this they had to zoom into someone's shirt back in order to change film in the camera. Also the entire movie is filmed in this apartment where the murder took place. The tracking shot aspect truly brought you into the film making you feel as if you were one of the party guests in the room with the two murders, sneaking around and discovering what they did. This was truly the effect Hitchcock wanted the audience to feel.

Testament of Dr. Mabuse by. Fritz Lang

2006-12-14T14:56:00.000-08:00

Testament of Dr. Mabuse is a true German Expressionism film where a mad criminal, Mabuse, controls a whole organized crime industry through hypnosis in a insane asylum. This movie truly has ties to showing how Hitler controlled the German people through manipulation. Mabuse is just like Hitler in every aspect in the fact that he easily manipulates the henchmen in order to carry out his psychcoatic plans. Just like Hitler did with the Nazi regime during WWII and the holocaust.

Shadow of the Vampire

2006-12-11T20:20:00.000-08:00

In Shadow of the Vampire we see the true and ficticous side of max Schreck. See this movie delivers truly two points of views. In the beginning it is Murnao's point of view in what he needs to do to keep the movie alive so his art can be known. Next is Max Schreck's point of view where you see the truly demented mind that he had. See in the movie we see him in two ways in his eyes and everyone else's. In his we see him as truly being a vampire feasting on the crew and trying to get his hands on Greta. Then in everyone else's wee see him as an actor who gets way too much into his role.

Nosferatu

2006-12-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

Nosferatu was truly the first Dracula movie ever created. It is also plays a major role in German Expressionism, displaying the world as a, or Germany, as a Vampire feeding off of the people, or citizens. It is also a great movie with a great story behind. See Max Schrek, who played Count Orlock, would get so into character that he would truly think he is a Vampire. Which is very unusual, but very good that the actor has enough care to get so into character like that. It was also seen as an art form amongst his fellow co-workers. Also in the movie the director uses a lot of dark lighting to give a sense of fear and terror to the audience.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

2006-11-12T20:26:00.000-08:00

In Dr. Claigari Robert Wiene uses the settings and characters to express his views. See in the movie basically every house and place is crocked and oddly shaped delivering and Eire and dream like affect to the viewer. He also used the way the characters looked and acted to deliver this affect also. Another thing about this movie was it was a point of view from a man telling a story to another man in this yard, to find out later they are in a insane asylum and it is left up to you to figure out if his story is true or not.

Don't Look Now

2006-11-06T17:59:00.000-08:00

Don't Look Now is a pcyological thriller that uses film technique beyond greatness. For example in the picture above it symbolizes the daughters drowning, and then the smudge moves to the right which symbolizes the foreshadowing of the fathers death at the end of the movie. As you can see this movie is chalk full of all kind of film goodies. Another great technique that is used to throw you off is when John Baxter is in Venice and constantly sees this girl run around the streets of Venice dressed in a red rain coat like his daughter. Then at the end he follows this girl to find out it is this evil dwarf, who is a murder, who turns around and kills him ending the movie with his funeral.

Night of the Living Dead

2006-11-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

In Night of the living dead we see the zombies as devours, killing the new to preserve the old. This movie was also one of the first movies to feature a black hero, and also this movie came out right after the assaination of Martin Luther king Jr. Another thing with this movie is that it cuts directly into the story and does not dilly dally around setting it up, and then the ending is very shocking and abrupt.

Bubba Ho-Tep

2006-10-29T19:25:00.000-08:00

Look, man, do I look like an icky-ologist to you? Big damn bugs, all right? The size of my fist. The size of a peanut butter and banana sandwich.

In a Bubba Ho-Tep we see a great American icon, Elivs, on his last leg and giving up, but when a muumy starts sucking the souls out of his fellow retires rears he takes care of bussiness and gains his strength back.

I truly found this movie to be one of Bruce Campbells funiest works yet, but I would not go as far as saying it is better than the Evil Dead triology. See the Evil Dead triology truly delivers that horror element with a touch of humor hear and there making it completly nuts. Where as in Bubba Ho-Tep, its constan comedy and slap-stick humor. It also plays off as one of those great stupid movie just do to the fact of a mummy sucking the souls of old people in a reatirement home out of their butts comes off as being extermly dumb and great at the same time. It also gave Elvis and JFK another image as being zombie hunting mummy killers which is pretty cool in all context just do to the fact you have Elvis who has played every kind of hero their is in a movie and was a major rock idol, and then you have an assainated president. I mean who could ever think of making a movie with these two people doing what they did is interresting by itself.

So just remember " Ask not what your rest home can do for you. Ask what you can do for your rest home."

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

2006-10-17T22:32:00.000-07:00

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

2006-10-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

Can We Sympathize with a Cannibal Family?

In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, we see a cannibalistic family ravageing group of kids for no reason what so ever, but is it possible to have any feelings toward a family that does something so hellish? The answer is yes. See once you take a much closer look at the family you see that the two brothers are mentaly ill or handicaped and the Uncle is trying to raise two boys, whith no wife, while taking care of an elderly father. See the one brother, Leather Face, is mentally handicap, so in the truth of it he does not truly now that what he is doing is wrong. Actualy when he kills the kids he is truly just defending himself, and also he appears to be scared like if someone was attacking him. Then with the other brother, the hitch hiker, constantly entices and causes troubel, now he can be seen as evil in this movie. Now the Uncle, even though he takes part in the canibalistic activities, can be seen as a good and evil. For example, in the dinner scene he entices the the brothers to scare the girl but when it gets out of hand he tries to stop the brothers because he feels sorry for the girl. Finaly, we see the grandfather who can be seen as the starter of this evil, but is sorry for what he has started.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and brekfast club

2006-10-17T19:19:00.000-07:00

This is for my film teacher, according to him he claims that the Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2's poster is the same as the Breakfast Club poster, and he is right look.

Rear Window

2006-10-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

In Rear Window, Alfred Hitchcock uses different windows that displays other's lives that have very similar comparisons to Jefferies life. When Mr. Jefferies starts to view other's windows, he does not see the lives of others but instead the reflection of his own life and emotions. The people that compare to him are: Miss. Lonely Heart, The Newly Weds, The Dancer, The Artist, and The Bachelor.

Miss. Lonely Heart's window: when he views this window he sees his own loneliness and his heed for attention, and that the only thing has to keep him self occupied is viewing out of his window into other's lives, but this loneliness is only temporary do to a broken leg. Also he has a girlfriend unlike Miss. Lonely Heart.

The Newly Weds: When Jefferies looks into The Newly Wed's window he sees what he has trouble in committing to, and that is marriage. When he looks in their window he sees what can come out of marriage both the happiness and sadness, and this is something he longs for but knows he can't have do to his trouble with commitment. So instead of getting married he watches. Also this is the least viewed window because he does not want to be reminded of the subject matter.

The Dancer: When viewing the dancer's window he does not see his own emotions but his girlfriends. See he views his girlfriend's risk filled and fun and fancy free life by looking into this window. See he constantly contradicts her, but when his girlfriend views it she supports the dancer's ways .

The Artist: The Artist displays Jefferies career as photogragher as being an art form. It also displays his artistic side.

The Bachelor: This displays Jefferies own life as a bachelor, but at the end The Bachelor hooks up with Miss. Lonely Heart. Justs as Jefferies becomes closer to his girlfriend.

Psycho

2006-09-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

In Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, we take a look at disturbed man who has a split personality of his and his mother. Alfred Hitchcock uses great cinemattography to display this characters illness. Also Norman Bates is not even seen as the main character until the middle of the movie. Janet Leigh is seen as the main character until Norman Bates's other side takes over and murders Janet, creating the most infamous movie scene in history. See the shower scene truly captures many emotions of Janet. See after her change of heart, the shower signifies her rebirth, but then there is terror and death in this rebirth created by Norman. This is truthfully just another one of Alfred Hitchcock's little mind tricks. See unlike other horror movies Psycho is a psychological horror movie. It digs deep into the dark coroners of your mind and makes you think, " wow I could have some one like that living in my neighborhood". This may also make you sympathize with the villain because they are human just like you.

Also some other techniques to meet the eye are: The parlor scene with the use of birds to display emotion, The interrogation scene with the use of a lay over of Norman Bates and the face of his mother's corpse, and the broken picture in the shower scene to show a harmless person was killed.

Frenzy by. Alfred Hitchcock

2006-09-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

This is one of Alfred Hitchcock's last movies he created, and he kept his well known way of using his skills to the end.

Plot and stand outs: The story takes place in England and begins with a dead girl with a neck tie around her neck washing up on a shore near a museum. Then cuts directly to were we meet the main character, Richard, where the story leads right off into a conflict. This conflict is the fact that Richard is an alcoholic working in a pub, after learning this we find out that his boss has accused him of stealing liquor and has fired him. After taking a small stop at a friend's fruit stand and getting a few grapes and horse betting tips. He then makes his way to his ex- wife's office building to discuss his problem, and winds up having diner with her. After diner he spends the night in a poor house where a bum tries to steal some money off of him that he did not know he had. The next morning he discovers he is wanted for murder as the neck tie killer for killing his wife, because he is seen last at his wife's office. So Richard hooks up with his girlfriend, running and hiding through the streets of England. Richard then tells his girlfriend to get her stuff packed because they could go to France to hide, but on her return to retrieve her stuff she is greeted by the true neck tie killer and brought to his apartment where she too is raped and murdered. The next day Richard discovers that he is wanted for another murder that he did not do. After this he tries to escape what he has not done yet again, but is shortly apprehended at his friend's house. So I leave you there does he receive his revenge or does he die in jail. Now I believe Alfred Hitchcock truly went down in a blaze of bullets with this movie, but I felt it had a very weak ending for being a Hitchcock and that really upset me. See the movie ends with the killer walking in on the inspector and Robert and ends right there. I truly felt this ending really did not bring any justice to the movies. One way it could have brought justice is by adding a fight scene with the murder and Robert, or a chase scene through the streets ending with the murder being shot or struck by a vehicle. Now what would have really brought some justice is some how the murder is too strangled by a neck tie mysteriously, this would've added a twist to the ending.

Gardenstate by. Zach Braff

2006-09-10T20:10:00.000-07:00

Gardenstate is a movie basically about this guy who suffers from extreme depression, and finds a light, which is unfoturnantely his mother's death, that brings him home where he meets his savior.

I believe Zach Braff did very well for his first movie acting, and directing in. He used lots of symbolism to display the character's emotions. Like for example: in the party scene, to display his numb feelings for everything, they show the character sitting on the sofa, motionless, while everyone else is in fastforward having fun. This also is displayed at the end when he is on the plane leaving, but this technique is used to show that something is missing in his life. Another scene that uses a good technique is at the beginning when awakes form his dream, the room is completely white including his pajamas, this scene, due to the color, delivers a sense purity of the character and enlightenment. It also tries to show that he is free of all evil. This also transfers to his father in a similar scene.

The Verdict: This was a great movie an d it only gets better every time I watch it.

Buffalo '66

2006-08-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

All I can say is great, great, great. Out of all the movies I had ever seen, I had never seen so much emphasis put into the visual techniques of the film. I was also very surprised to find out this was Vincent Gallo's first time directing a film. I mean this guy directed this movie as if it was his 100th movie he had made. He could also act very well also, by that I mean he truly fit his part. He seemed to be almost like a modern day Orsen Welles, and this made the movie very entertaining. The movie was also made to look old, and pieced together with a blan sense in mind. I feel Vincent did this to show the main character's feelings, and to show time and, or, the past. That truly headed a sort of artistic feel to the movie. I also noticed three scenes where the movie would cut off randomly into a song or dance number. At first it seemed a little weird, but it added sort of a day dreamy affect to the movie that I thought pulled the viewer in just to see if something more weird or interesting is going to happen.

The Verdict: All in all this was a very great movie, and it is definently worth watching over and over again.

Leon the Professional

2006-08-29T18:21:00.000-07:00

a must see movie about love in other ways

The Warriors by. Walter Hill

2006-08-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

"Can You Dig It" are the main words form this modren day gangster movie. Out of a lot of the comic book movies I have seen this one had to be the coolest, and for one reason. The whole movie played as if you were reading it in the comic, and that just added to the suspense of the movie. For those who never seen it here is a quick lay out. It is 1970's New York City, and the whole city is over ran with different gangs that are constantly at war. Though there is a savior, a major gang boos, Sirus, in Brooklyn who wants to unite the gangs of New York to over throw the police, but he is shot by a local gang who blames it on there rival gang the Warriors. So Sirus's gang puts a bounty upon the Warriors to be captured, and it becomes a struggle to make it back to Coney Island alive, and to expose the true killer. Can the Warriors make it, can they beat the other gangs, can they run fast enough, go find out in the Warriors.

The Verdict: Awesome just pure anarchy at it's finest. O' yeah " Can You Dig It".

Natural Born Killers by. Oliver Stone

2006-08-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

Two demented souls of traumatized childhoods become lovers and serial killers glorify by the mass media, in this Bonnie and Clyde eschew movie. In other words this movie can be summed as kill, kill, kill. Let me just say this, Oliver Stone truly knew what he was doing when he created this movie. In whole movie collection not one of my movies features acts of violence and murder. See I believe when Oliver Stone created this movie he wanted to show the world that the American people find more interest in killing then there own family. The way he basically showed this was through the news crew that followed the killers around, and by the people who glorified the killers. See this movie was suppose to be a slap in the face, but it was seen as just another awesome mass murder movie.

The Verdict: One of the greatest love stories ever created, and one of the greatest murder movies of all time. It can basically get no better than this.

Aliens

2006-08-28T19:53:00.000-07:00

I Find aliens to be one of of the greatest Sci-fi movies ever created. It has the key essentials a great sci-fi movie, like for one an monster, a chase sequence, the hero well herion, the backup that gets kill, and that one survivour that gets rescued. See it is these key essentials that set up the plot for a Sci-fi movie. Also the Alien series ,in general, are just a great set of movies to watch in general. This "series" also set the bar for the Predator movies, and just other space? alien thriller sci-fi movies out there. I deafently give the whole series a ten and two thumbs up. I mean who wouldn't.

Citizen Kane: by. Orsen Welles. Drama/Mystery

2006-08-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

The criticism:
I consider Citizen Kane to be a movie work of genius. When Orsen Welles created this movie he truly set a bar, or criteria, for how movies should be made. Orsen Welles also used a lot of great film techniques that no one has never really used before in cinematogoraphy. Such as in the beginning of the movie when starts off in a gloomy looking swamping estate, called Xanadu, where it cuts to a man laying in bed dyeing with his lasts words being rose bud. Now just that one scene pulls the viewer in so close just do to the techniques Orsen Welles used. This was called "universal focus", thanks to imdb.com, Orsen Welles used this technique during the speech sequences of the movie. Another great scene that stuck out in the movie was the news reel, when they basically showed Charles Foster Kanes whole life in a few minutes, which basically gave you a heads up of the movie.

The Plot:
After the death of great and powerful man, Charles Foster Kane, a news group sets forth to discover what his lasts words, rosebud, meant. Through the movie they interview the people that were closest to Mr. Kane, but at the end they truly never discover who are what rosebud is. Then there is a twist you the viewer discovers that rosebud is only a sled he had owned as a child. So basically the news group a this elaborate story about this great and power hungry man, but all they want to know is what his last words meant.

Orsen Welles:
Orsen Welles: I thought that this was very interresting due to the fact he sort of did a little of everything in the making of this movie. See besides directing this movie he also starred in it as Citizen Kane even though he was not so much a great actor as he was such a great director. Another thing that I thought was very interesting about this movie was the fact that this was the only movie he had final cut in.