Bringing Up Baby!

I guess I don't really see why people dislike this movie so much, I found it to be much more entertaining than the westerns we had watched. I know that a common thought is that Susan is such an annoying character and her vioce and non stop jabbering was something to make you want to turn the movie off, but that was sort of the whole point. The movie would be boring without her non stop annoyance, and I think her role is really crutial to pointing out the "screwball romantic comedy". She drives us nuts, and she certainly drives David nuts as well. David's uptight nature and Susan's outrageous personality are what really clash, and this is what Howard Hawks wants the viewers to see. He wants us to feel like David, he wants us to half hate the woman and half love her, make you debate between the two.
Another aspect of the movie I enjoyed was the sheer comedy and ridiculousness of the adventures that took place. Who in their right mind would ever get a pet leopard, and then loose it, and then chase after it, and then make it all turn into a love story...it's just bizarre... and that's why I like it. Lastly, I just think it is interesting that this movie kind of paved the way for adding in sexual comedic slurs that you had to be very attentive to catch.

Overall, good movie :)

My really late Western Blog Post :)

Once Upon a Time in the West.
This movie though not my absolute favorite, was alot better than I had expected. I thought that Leone did a really outstanding job with the characters because each one was so different from the rest and it really set out to define the types of heros, villians, whores etc. of the western time period. From reading some reviews, most people view this film as EPIC and one of the best westerns ever made. I disagree. I thought there was an extreme lack of plot and the lack of dialogue really didn't help either. I think that this is the kind of movie that you need to watch a couple times, but that's not appealing to many considering it is a whopping two hours and forty-five minutes. I don't know if I'm just slow or dumb or something but I watched it for a second time at home and I had to try really hard to remember which character was which and who was good and who was bad, and it took alot of thinking to get the whole movie put together to make sense. If you're into sorting things out like that then this is a movie for you, but it's not something you can just sit back and enjoy because its just too confusing. I will admit though that at the end it was rewarding to understand everything that was going on. Overall I'd say this movie is a workout for the brain, but in the end what you get out of it is worth the sweat :)

Journal 3: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

this was a mistake

My Darling Clementine

So I'd have to admit, this movie is one of my least favorite out of any movie I have ever watched, but that would probably be due to my extreme dislike of westerns. So as to not focus on the plot line, I will discuss the characters and the acting that made these characters as fitting to their time period as they were. (Also the acting is one of the few parts of the film that I consider well done)

Henry Fonda, who played Wyatt Earp, did the best job out of all of them in my opinion, he really knew how to fulfill his role as a truely humble man, adding at times a rough edge, only to deal with the "bad". Victor Mature, who played Doc Holiday, did a really nice job of switching attitudes from being a complete downer (pessimist) to someone who lives for the moment. I think a really important character to point out is Old Man Clanton, played by Walter Brennan. This character really brought evil into a single human, and showed the viewers the truth of a real western bad man. Lastly, Clementine, played by Cathy Downs, was an excellent pick by Ford. She really knew how to protray herself as new to the town and everything about her (all mise-en-scene) fit the womanly role.

Overall, I guess by just writing about these characters and realizing the greatness of the acting, I have come one step closer to enjoying this movie. It's a great a cast, and Ford chose them all for the distinct reason of creating a realistic and successful western story.

Citizen Kane: Camera Angles

After viewing Citizen Kane, I found the most prominent element of film to be the various camera angles that Welles used. The most obvious angles were when Kane was speaking to other people. The camera would always be at a low angle to make Kane look authorative, and with alot of power. The person he would be talking to would always be filmed at a lower angle to make them look inferior to Kane. This High-Low camera angle tactic is what makes the viewer feel that Kane is so important. Though I don't know what this angle is called, when the camera tracks through the neon sign and then dranes down onto Susan, it makes susan look "doomed" and "helpless", which she was after the death of Kane. Overall camera angles in Citizen Kane are what really influences the viewer to see cerain characters certain ways.

Pan's Labyrinth Review

The movie I chose to watch is called Pan's Labyrinth directed by Guillermo del Toro. This is his 6th movie, and considered to be one of his most successful. The movie is set during 1944 post civil war Spain, in a countryside fort. It’s based on a 12-year old girl, Ofelia (played by Ivana Baquero), who is taken by her mother to her new stepfather's property. The young girl has a fascination with fairytales and refuses to let go of them even after her mother’s request. The movie focuses on Ofelia's constant struggle to deal with the reality of not conforming to her sadistic stepfather, and a fantasy world where she is trying to complete three risky tasks to be able to go back to being princess of the underworld. This obsession and insight into the fabled world is what makes not only Ofelia, but the viewer too, battle between seeing the movie as reality or fantasy. The overall tone of the movie is very dark and ominous, as you can see from the picture. Toro purposely never uses bright colors and all the lighting is very dark, creating a really sinister mood. The soundtrack, all made by Javier Navarrete, is also very gloomy and I don’t remember one upbeat tune.

Going into this movie, I thought it would be more like fantasy and Harry Potter-like, carrying out beautiful mythical creatures. I was sorely mistaken. Though mythical creatures are included, it is very dark and there is a lot of violence, which I felt was really unnecessary. There were a few scenes that left me closing my eyes, cringing at even the audio. This is not a movie I would ever recommend to children. Though it may appear children friendly, it is strictly meant for older teenagers and or adult minds.

Besides the violence, I thought Toro did a really nice job with creating a really solid cast. The acting was always so real, which you’d obviously expect, but each character really made sure that the sinister tone stayed in place. I thought Ofelia was by far the most outstanding considering she her age. The step father, Vidal (played by Sergi Lopez), was also a huge part of making the film so cruel-intentioned, but this was a good thing because it always kept the viewer’s awareness at a high level.

Overall, even though I had expected something much different, I really did enjoy this movie. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I truly would consider it to be one-of-a-kind. I thought it was thought-provoking and Toro really knew how to play with the viewer’s mind, constantly switching between fantasy and reality. Though not for the squeamish audience, it really captures and keeps the viewer’s attention through the full two hours. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who is open to seeing something new and different.