Coen Bros

I believe the Coen brothers are shaping modern day film for a bright future. In our current day and age i believe they are the pinnacle of perfection when it comes to the film industry. everything they touch seems to turn to gold and that may be because of their unbelievable ability to grab the viewer and jerk them in any which way they would like the film to go. The beauty of this is the viewer never leaves mad they just see it as an unexpected twist which leaves them wanting more. I also believe how they give you the feeling of hopelessness in every film that theres a unstoppable evil coming and its just a matter of time until it gets you. Most of the time the charecter must face this evil and from there the hooks are in and you are not getting free. They also do a terrific job of blending comedy into their films in some cases like burn after reading a mystery type information perceived wrong with a very dark side with a couple murders to a laughable side which lightens the mood. they are directors who will truly stand the test of time because they throw you around like no other director ever has they have an inate ability to keep you on the edge of your seat which is what modern day america loves. So in a nutshell the Coen brothers are standing strong and will continue to until they choose to retire from their profession which we all hope is no time soon.

Gran Turino

Gran Turino was a fantastic piece of modern day film which will continue its success for many decades to come. I feel the final scene is the most important and influential scene of the movie just the power of a man standing against many to defend the only people who he truly cares about to give them a shot at a normal life and not having to live in fear. The scene is vintage Eastwood just the grief that hits you so deep leaving you speechless. One man who you've grown close to through out the film giving his life in order to give a new life to his loved ones gives a great sadness but it is accompinied by a gret happiness to think of a stunt as heroic as this following Eastwoods style of even with great grief there is still some good. The film uses lighthearted racism with allows the viewer to feel attached a classic style of Eastwood bringing the viewer closer to the main charecter. One more style he uses which is evident is the darkness you feel whenever the gangs come around it is that sinking feeling that you know something terrible is going to happen which is like the build up in million dollar baby. Eastwoods character is another vintage move by him in putting himself as a real hardass who is softened as the film goes on. The film starts as him expressionless having nothing left to live just waiting out the time he has left. He then realizes as he meets the neighbors that he needs interaction with people and color race religion doesnt matter to him just an envioronment which he can help in as shown by how he mentors his supporting actor Tao in the film. The most important aspect of the cinematic style is the lighting in my opinion is the lighting, it is used greatly when shadowing Eastwoods face the first half of the movie showing a sterness of his charecter and an inner wall to keep people out. Then the lighting goes purely light everything is illuminated when he starts letting people in but in the finale the lighting changes back for the tradgedy to come. When thinking of this film i have to say the greatest theme is purely life sucks at times but things do move on and things happen for a reason and life isnt always fair not everyone will be ok so be thankful for what and who you have in your life instead of dreading the sadness.

Film Noir

The film noir genre was a very entertaining genre for our class. It was a nice change because of the sense of danger and hopelessness everywhere. The most influential film we watched was chinatown in my opinion because it is so real and it is something that many people fear. Chinatown was important because it showed a vulnerable main charecter which is not common in film noir like kiss me deadly and out of the past. The sense of fear, darkness, and the feeling that no one is safe drives a strong thriller plot which gives everyone an uneasy feeling at the end of the film. film noir is most important though because of the amazing use of black and white photography which allows a darker feeling on everything especially when shadows play such a major role in the genre.

Screwball/RomCom

This genre of film was one that I would tend to stay away from before and after this unit my opinion has not changed I still believe this is not an entertaining genre and their is nothing funny about these films. These films always focus on the depression of the main charecter andI dont see what is so funny about it. In addition to that Romantic comedies slow to such a slow pace at the end to make you wonder if they are going to get together but the suspense is not exciting it is just dull and boring. The screwball comedy is very similar but a little better than the romantic comedy which isn't saying much. The screwball is more entertaining than the Rom Com because it does not slow to a turtle pace but as we saw in My Girl Friday the films end quite abruptly not answering any questions which leaves you to infer the thousands of possible outcomes. In my opinion this genre is one just to fill empty space and nothing more. It is a film genre that causes people to think it might be good but makes them feel like shit as they watch and gives a little lift at the end which could never bring your spirits back up to what they were before you saw the film

The Western

Both of the westerns we viewed in our class were amazing with the high paced adventure of Stagecoach and the suspenseful Unforgiven.
Stagecoach showed in many ways that civilation was not civilized itself. Many of the charecters in the film went through a role reversal like Dallas going from a town prostitute to a very helpful and nice person and in the opposite the banker starts off seeming as a civilized man but then all he does is steal and complain of his problems which reveals him to be very selfish. The quote which Doc Boone says at the end of the movie brings the overall message "look's like their saved from the blessings of civilization.
Unforgiven is a movie which show no matter what you have become you are always the person you used to be. At the beggining Will Munny has problems with riding a horse, catching a pig, or shooting a gun straight. By the end of the movie He regains his ability to be what he once was whenNed is beat to death and Will Munny must avenge Ned who was prosecuted for a crime he did not commit. Unforgiven gives a constant reminder of what never changes in people because certain people cant drop things.

GROUNDHOG DAY

Groundhog day is a very well pieced together movie with it's light hearted comedy with a touch of romance. Ground hogs day was wonderfully directed by Harold Ramis with flawless editing and use of suprise rather than in the last movie I watched Psycho which was all about suspense. Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is a weatherman who is is so egotistical that nothing else matters but himself and his image on T.V. As the movie rolls on for Phil Connors he continues to pine after his producer Rita (Andie MacDowell) who is not into the nonsense that Phil has been dishing out from the moment they meet. As some kind of cruel joke played by eternity Phil Connors lives groundhogs day over and over again in a never ending loop. Phil starts off paranoid at first because of what is happening but then he realizes that he can get away with anything he wants because of the time loop. Eventually the time comes where Phil has done absolutely everything and can not stand the constant cycle anymore so a montage was created of the ways he kills himself which is a very funny montage and captures that he will do anything to get out of this cycle. Phil eventually just gives in and does everything nice and nothing he does is selfish because he doesn't care about himself anymore. I will not reveal the ending but I think that everybody already knows. The whole movie setting is set up by all long shots like at the beggining shows the city skyscrapers which shows a crowded rich look and when Phil wakes up in Punxsutawney and there is a long shot out his window to the street on groundhogs day morning which shows a quiet and peaceful town that loves groundhogs day. The editing is also flawless but not amazing like there is not really anything put in except for sound. Speaking of sound, the sound is perfect for the movie because every action has a sound to match it perfectly so every sound and song is perfect. This movie was good but not great because it keeps your attention for the first hour because it is a new spin by having a continuous time loop but it gets old by the end of the movie you are sick of what is happening and it just runs on to long for someone like me.

PSYCHO

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is a suspenseful murder mystery in which every aspect is almost perfect. From the editing to the plot line Alfred Hitchcock does a perfect job at making a regularly uneventful scare a thing that will make you jump out of your seat with his amazing use of suspense. The movie Psycho is all about a mystery killer whose "identity" is revealed at the beginning of the action in the movie so you know whats coming and you just feel like shouting get out of there but he uses unrestricted narration so he can use suspense for a greater surprise effect. he uses alot of midshots in the movie so you can know whats going on in the full shot rather than just looking at facial expressions. The plot is set up by the beautiful deceiving main charecter who steals a sum of money and is on the run to her boyfriends house but she must stop at a rest stop for a night before she finishes the journey. As she talks to the owner of the hotel for a while she begins to seem a little bit sane but the hotel owner soon becomes insane with the mention of his mother saying that no one should insult such a woman and thats when you know things are going to go down. the use of low key lighting to shadow the killers face allows a window for the very shocking ending in which you will find yourself saying what in the hell just happened. the killer is usually shot with a low angle shot for them to show a certain power that they have over the victim. Hitch's use of the long take also allows a great amount of suspense to unfold as you are just at the edge of your seat until the shot is finished. The sound of the film always goes back to the opening score when ever something bad is about to happen so he hints at what is going on with making you guess when it is going to happen. The editing of the movie is flawless in every aspect, the camera never crosses the 180 degree axis line the shots are all similar in length and eye line matches are evident in important situations. The most important part in photography of the movie is always having a long shot of the hotel owners house which gives it a creepy feeling and makes you wonder what is in the house that is so important. In conclusion Psycho is an almost flawless movie and anyone who has seen it would agree that it was one of the greatest movies of all time because of the way it keeps you on the edge of your seat with the greatest suspense that I have ever seen in a movie and the plot line is amazing because it seems so real and it feels like something that twisted could actually happen.