True Grit

This is my favorite western film by far. I watched a lot of them growing up with my grandfather, and I remember going to the theater to see True Grit the day it came out.  Hailee Steinfeld did a phenomenal job, especially considering her age.  The end of the movie though, in my honest opinion, was terrible.  However, I suppose it was realistic, and very much in characteristic of western movie endings.  I at least hoped that the girl would stay with the men. I noticed a lot of close ups and extreme long shots throughout the film.  The editors definitely used angles and lighting to visually portray the emotions of the characters.  I thought the coloring was beautiful.   Aside from the sad ending, this was a great movie.

True Grit

True Grit was one of the only western movies I actually enjoyed.  The charaters were strongly developed.  I enjoyed watching the relationships form between the young girl and the two men she travelled with.  They were all three very stubborn characters and argued often throughout the journey to find her father's murderer.  I found myself even getting excited during the scene where Rooster charges the 4 men with a gun in each of his hands towards the end.  This movie was very well-made which grabbed my attention. My favorite part of the movie was at the end when Rooster and LaBoeuf form an unexpected alliance, working together to save the girl and finally catch Chaney. I was actually somewhat sad at the end when Mattie did not get a chance to say goodbye to either Rooster or Chaney after the journey. Besides the plot, I did notice many shots and lighting techniques that we have learned from class.  For example: when they are riding the horse at the end to find a doctor for Mattie.  They show the silhouette of the horse running along the open dessert.  This was extreme long shot with a backlight and wide frame.  I also noticed the many close ups and angles from below looking up. This is not a movie I would have chosen to watch on my own time so I am glad it was assigned.  It allowed me to explore a new genre of movies that I normally wouldnt venture to try.
Below I have attached some pictures of scenes in the movie where I noticed terms we learned in class:

The Greet Dictator Speech

Came across this great clip on YouTube.com from the movie The Great Dictator (1940) staring Charlie Chapman. The clip has been chopped and edited with modern clips but the speech is all Charlie. I've looked for the movie but haven't found it yet. Reviews of the film state that the movie is a comedy but this clip seems to me to have a real serious meaning. The movie was created in the WWI era, but I feel the clip has prevalence today. Awesome clip!

Some films I watched this past weekend

I spent the weekend with my best friend and we decided to rent some movies that looked funny and not to serious. The first one was I Don't Know How She Does It which stars Sarah Jessica Parker. It was about a Mother who as the title suggests "does it all". She has a demanding career and a family and has to figure out how to balance both. She has a nanny unlike many of us and I thought this film was very predictable and kind of boring. Greg Kinear must have had nothing else going on to take this part because I usually find his films and his roles interesting but since Pierce Bronson was also in it I should have known better.

The next film was The Five Year Engagement starring Jason Segal and Emily Blunt. This film was funnier but also predictable. I did like how it poked fun of Michigan and the acting was not bad either. I found myself laughing at many scenes even if they were not realistic but what movie of this type is?

The third movie was called Darling Companion and I was looking forward to seeing this because of all the good actors that were in it and because the story line involves a dog. I was highly disappointed. The plot of the movie involved a family coming together over searching for the main character's lost dog. This could have been a much better film. It seemed that they just took a bunch of good actors and rushed through the production or the writing was lacking..something was missing. They also had a very annoying character that took away from the film instead of the intended purpose which was to bring the family together.

V for Vendetta

This was my favorite movie that we watched in class this term. I had never seen it before and did not have much interest in it although I really like Natalie Portman. The film kept me interested from start to finish and I think it addressed issues that many people think about, but don’t always know how to articulate these thoughts. I will definitely watch this one again.

Duck Soup

Duck Soup was funny, but I’m not a big fan of this type of “slap stick” comedy. I was never a fan of “The Three Stooges” and have actually never seen an entire episode. My mom actually did not allow me to watch it as a child because my sisters and I beat up on each other enough and did not need outside influence. I am not a fan of the singing in this movie either. I do think the mustache is hilarious. Over all, this is probably my least favorite of all of the films we watched in and out of class.

V

I loved this film. The acting was superb, the cinematography was stunning and the story and theme kept me at the edge of my seat through the entire movie and left me wanting more. The film had so many themes and metaphors that you could analyze it for hours yet it was not difficult to understand. I do not know how I missed this movie but I am so glad we got to see it it in class and I will watch it again. I think Natalie Portman did an excellent job and was very believable in this role. In fact all the actors drew me in. I tend to be drawn to films such as these because I believe strongly that people should not just follow someone that they perceive to be powerful either in government or in their own life. This film depicted many events in history that have happened and I found it extremely powerful.