Bringing Up Baaaaaby!

Oh wow. What a screwball film. Bringing Up Baby was an insane, crazy, confusing movie. I liked it the best so far out of all the movies we've watched. The dialogue between Susan and David made me laugh. All the physical comedy was great too. The dialogue got a bit annoying but still had some really funny parts. The physical aspect was just stupid things like tripping but I still found that to be humorous. My favorite quote of the whole movie was, "Because I'm GAY all of a sudden!" I couldn't believe that for a movie that came out in 1938 actually got away with using the word "gay" in the context they used it in. Overall I thought it was a fun movie to watch. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to a real romantic comedy!

Finding Nemoooo

I watched the fantastic, Disney, smart adventure, Finding Nemo. Finding Nemo came out in 2003 and was directed and written by Andrew Stanton. I have seen this movie over 50 times and was excited to see it was on the list of options to watch for this assignment. I was super excited to have to watch this movie one more time.

I love all the characters and the storyline. The animation is amazing and I sort of forget I'm not actually under water with all of the characters. Thinking about the technical aspects of film making and watching this movie, I really noticed the script. I don't think you could change the script at all. The script was written by Andrew Stanton. Along with Finding Nemo, Stanton has a lot more great accomplishments: Toy Story 1 and 2 (1995, 1999), A Story (1987), Mighty Mouse, the New Adventures (1987), A Bug's Life (1998), Monsters, Inc. (2001)) What a fantastic list. Funny how most of them were Pixar films/animations. And one more thing, he has not only written these films but has also been the voices of a few characters in these movies. I couldn't find anything on how Staton got the idea to write the script but I found out that when he was writing this script he always pictured it to be animated. He pictured it to be animated because it took place underwater and you could really do a lot with animation for under the sea. Having all the corals, fish, sea creatures being animated could really help the film seem almost more real. This movie was not based on any literature. Staton had been writing the script since 1992. He refused to present it to anyone until he knew it was perfect. Producers loved it and helped make it into one of the best Disney/Pixar and biggest money making film in the world.

I recommend this movie to anyone who loves the sea or just loves a great story. This is the sort of entertainment that you can watch over and over again, hence I've seen it over "50" times. I think Andrew Staton did an awesome job at creating such a wonderful, fun, amazing adventure for all ages to love.

Once Upon a Time in the West

We watched Once Upon a Time in the West directed by Sergio Leone and let me tell you, I thought it was awesome. I have never really seen any westerns besides My Darling Clementine and Once Upon a Time in the West and between the both of them, I'd definitely have to say that I liked Once Upon a Time in the West a lot better. First of all, I thought the cast was great. From Henry Fonda to the amazing Charles Bronson who plays the main character "Harmonica." These men make this movie a fantastic western. Their acting was phenomenal and it made me want to actually watch the movie. Along with those two actors was Claudia Cardinale, who I thought was absolutely gorgeous. I also really liked the plot. One thing I noticed was the filming. I sort of liked the long close-ups. I only sort of liked them because I'm not used to that kind of filming. Overall I thought watching this movie was a great experience and I was actually excited that the film was over two hours long so there'd be more and more to watch.

Howdy Ya'll

The first Western we watched in our Western Unit was My Darling Clementine. This was a pretty good movie from what I've seen of it. I missed a few days while we were veiwing this and have yet to rent it and watch it. I found this movie to be boring and not as exciting as some other westerns I have had a glimpse at before.

In this movie I noticed that the director didn't use suspense that much. Before something sort of big would happen you had nothing leading up to it. I didn't like how this western was based more on Civilization vs. Wilderness either. I like when westerns are more good guys vs. bad guys. This movie appeared to me as boring and I've been sort of confused as to what the movie was actually about.

I plan on renting this and actually trying to understand this movie. We've started to watch Once Upon a Time in the West and I have started to enjoy this movie a lot more. Maybe because Once Upon a Time in the West is in color...

Citizen Kane Post

We watched the movie Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles. For a movie that came out over 60 years ago, I thought it was very well done. The camera angles, the lighting, the sounds/music, all made this movie one of the best films ever made. I'm going to talk about how mise-en-scene was used in the movie. I noticed this mostly used through lighting, and costume and make-up. I noticed it in lighting when they would use high and low-key lighting. One part I really noticed the low-key lighting was when Kane was signing the Principles Paper. He was really in the shadows while everyone else seemed to be normally lit. I think Welles used this technique to make it look dark that Kane was signing the Principles Papers as if he was going to break the rules later on. The costume and make-up aspects fit perfectly for this movie. They wore what they normally wore in the old days. Also I thought they used make-up pretty well towards the end of the movie when they made Kane and Susan look like they were older. Even though it was obvious he was wearing a mask, it still added the effect of age to his face. Overall this movie is a classic and portrays great film techniques. I enjoyed this movie, but wouldn't consider it myself one of the best films ever made.

Journal #2 YAY!

The movie I watched was the Spanish foreign film Pan's Labyrinth. Even though it is foreign to us, most would call it a fantasy film. I found it to be both. The fantasy in the story became so real that I ended up balling an hour after the movie had ended. The little girl who is 11 years old and also named Ofelia was such a great actress, and you found yourself falling in love with her. Pan's Labyrinth contains fauns and fairies in the meantime being about a war. The war that was in the film took place after the civil war in Spain at a camp. Ofelia had a pregnant mother that died and dispised her stepfather, the Falangist, Captain Vidal. He was a brutal man with no heart. He would hunt down rebels surrounding his camp and would have them killed in no time. When Ofelia arrives to the camp she finds a labyrinth, also known as a maze, and meets a faun. He gives her three tasks and she must complete them following certain rules. Facing the realities of the crappy situations Ofelia is put in, fantasizing about these mystical creatures helps her through her life. The movie starts at the end of her story and the film retells her story, sort of like a flashback. This foreign, moving, fantastic film is filled with interesting creatures and a story that makes you cry but smile. I'm the sort of person that loves romantic comedies. This movie is no where near the genre. This is a dramatic, fantasy film brings takes you on an adventure that ends sadly. Hence why I cried for an hour after it ended. I definately recommend it to someone who would like to see a very moving and serious film and wouldn't mind reading subtitles.