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.

3:10 to Yuma critique review

I read three critiques of 3:1o to Yuma which in two of them their was not a bad thing to be said both say actors capture the essence of the wild west which is suspense, action,and the boost of adrenaline any good gun fight should give you. Neither man showboats here, and it’s a thrill to watch them work. In this movie these two big time actors both do not try to take over the movie which gives a perfect perspective from each of the charecters point of view. The distribution of their acting ability creates a believable vision of the Wild West as everyone has invisioned it before. The two main charecters of this movie are Dan Evans(Christian Bale) a man who lost a leg in the Civil War, has come to the Arizona territory to try his luck at ranching and Ben Wade(Russell Crowe) the leader of a lawless gang which sticks up stagecoaches, robs banks, casually murders people and outguns any opposition. Through a series of you could say unfortunate events Dan finds himself in the middle of transporting Ben Wade which he volunteers for so that his family has a real shot to make a good life for themselves. Both Dan and Ben have elements in their characters that come under test in this adventure. Dan wants to have one final heroic adventure in which he can finally feel as he accomplished something in his lifetime as where Ben Wade holds up stagecoaches and robs banks just so everyone knows he is the best and make sure that everyone fears Ben Wade and his gang of quick drawing bandits.Until then, ‘‘3:10 to Yuma’’ is a tonic: a throwback expertly retrofitted with new parts. I happen to believe that 3:10 to Yuma is th greatest Western I have ever seen with the sus pense that it draws from all sorts of different places such as throughout the movie Ben Wade's gang is in pursuit of them from the moment he is captured and countless decisions made which cause the transporters all sorts of problems. The other review said that the newer remake of the movie subtracted suspense from the original and added 24 minutes of filler. The blog that also thinks of 3:10 to Yuma as a crappy remake and embarresment to the whole western genre said, Oddly enough, a week after seeing the new movie in a theater on a giant screen and the old one on DVD, it's the old one that lingers in my mind. I thought this movie captured everything a western should with great directing and acting.