Crash

"Crash" is maybe one of the movies with the most themes worth to be talked about, but the main and the most obvious of all is the theme of rasicm which is a leading reason for everything that happens in the movie. Check this link out and see what David Edelstein has to say about it.

Requiem For A Dream

This film is directed by Darren Aronofsky and is a vivid and at times disturbing look into the life of "junkies" and the drug world. This review provides a gripping detail of the themes protryed within this film. I like how the writer of this review identifies the irony of the main characters, Harry and Marion. "At first, Harry and Marion inhabit a conventionally pleasant outdoors -- they stroll on the boardwalk, they smile in the sunshine. As their habit gets the better of them, they slip into dark interiors, unable to reach one another." Clearly one of the themes represented in this film is irony. "Business is good, and soon, the box is stuffed full (cash), allowing the three young friends a moment of satisfaction and sense of well-being in the world that almost matches what they feel when they're high." Another theme identified is this feeling of emptiness and false satisfactions and plays a prominent role within the entire movie. The review discusses the film in short summary, but touches mainly on the feelings and lives of the main characters. As well as describing reoccuring themes that are present throughout the film. The following link is the analysis/review of the film.

Laughing at the Holocaust?

Author Yazmin Ghonaim describes how director Roberto Benigni is able to transform "a dramatic subject into comedy" in his film: Life is beautiful. One would not expect to laugh at a film about the most tragic times in human history, but Yazmin's review explains how this tragic comedy "re-creates the atmosphere of the Holocaust in a much 'romanticized' way." Life is beautiful has been criticized for its " lightness"on the Holocaust, but this film does not mock the Holocaust; it portrays the life a simple comical man who relies on humor to shield his son from the horrors of the Holocaust. This heartfelt tale with surrounded with debate and critique.

Do the Right Thing

This film is directed by Spike Lee. The link includes a brief overview of the movie and the main theme of the movie. This review is very helpful in understanding the plot, characters, setting, and how it ties in with the theme of race and stereotypes. In the review Rumsey Taylor says, "Spike Lee emerged as one of the most important contemporary filmmakers with this film..." he continues and says, "Lee is, however, clearly battling a stereotype and his means is justifiably injected with anger. " This review gives a clear reason why he thinks this way and gives good examples from specific scenes.

"The Butterflies"

The page to this link gives a good summary of the story and also provides backround information on the movie, In The Time of the Butterflies. It does a good job of telling what went out during that time in the Dominican Republic, and talks about who and what the Mirabal sisters represented. It also tell about the author, Julia Alvarez, who first wrote the book. I think that the book and the movie turned out so well because alvarez also knew the revolution personally. Her parents too, were involved in the revolution and also had to flee the country. It's a great story, and i think it is a movie that people should watch because, many stories like theirs are not always told.

she stresses the need to remember the past

Dead Presidents

The critical essay of the Hughes Brothers' 1995 film that is linked focuses on the broad theme of the movie which is the changes returning veterans experience. There are many underlying themes such as drug addiction, violence, and the struggle to support a family.

"It's better to check out then go home fucked up."

The Goonies!!! 80's Style

This is a more casual review for The Goonies. It includes interesting facts about the characters outside of film, as well as a brief summary of the adventures that the children in the film go on. The bottom portion includes people's opinions of the film, which looks similar to a blog site. Gooooo Goooonies!!!

Moulin Rouge-The Modern Musical

This site includes a critic, Craig Armstrong's opinion on the new version of Moulin Rouge. He describes what parts worked well with the film, and which ones didn't. The point of the essay seems to encourage the new version, however he does critique the quick, flashy scenes that are displayed throughout the entire movie. Enjoy!!

Schindler's List Movie Review

So I found a great review of some of the theme's in Schindlers List. However he does talk about a few other things like the technical aspects and what not.

Shawshank Redemption

The focus of this review of the film "The Shawshank Redemption" is about the "innocent man in prison" theme. However, this film takes it in a different direction. While most prison films are centered around the yearning to escape from behind bars, this film shows many inmates adapting and accepting their place in prison. There are also example s of the inability of those same inmates to adapt back to the cutoms of society after being in prison for so long. Tragically one man is unable to cope and ends up committing suicide. This "innocent man in prison" theme takes a turn when Andy Dufresne, helps all of the guilty men to better themselves while in prison. He never gives up hope that his innocence will be proven. The presentation of this theme makes the movie one of the best prison movies that I have ever seen.

Letters from Iwo Jima: Nationalism and Corruption

Wither Letters from Iwo Jima is a historically-correct Japanese film or not, Clint Eastwood's themes is still clearly seen.

Attached is a link to Roger Ebert's film article, which touches the themes of Nationalism and Corruption. Ebert writes about how Letters from Iwo Jima is like it's brother film, Flags of Our Fathers, but instead in the Japanese perspective. He points out that not only was pride for the country was strong on both American and Japanese sides, but the propaganda in each nation as well.

"This is the hole that we will fight and die in." (Nationalism)

"The Imperial Headquarters is deceiving not just the people but us as well." (Corruption)

Crash: Racism theme

Crash, the Oscar-winning film clearly depicts racism through its many characters and the events they encounter on a daily basis. "Racism, the viewer learns, is not a historical phenomenon but an existential one—a more "fundamental" crisis caused by a division within the self" (DeFazio). The article that I am linking to explains that racism is something we don't just learn about but also something we view everyday whether we notice it or not. The author of the article does not just summarize the film but rather explains the theme, racism. DeFazio begins the article by giving background information about racism in the world and then brings in the movie Crash to explain the theme in everyday life. This article is a good example of a critical essay because it goes far beyond a movie review and digs deep into the theme of racism.

Matrix

Matrix website contains very cool trailers. They are over 6 trailers, action shots and pictures about the film. There are funny news about the matrix and other movies. Rec: I am not responsible for any funny news that seems inappropriate to you. Finally, you can make your own Matrix character through this website. Overall this website is filled with very good things about the film that you will be thrilled to watch multiple times.

Mummy Returns

Mummy Return website contains trailer about the movies. This website is filled with fun thing about the film that could attract you very fast such as games, DVD bonus feature, chat room with the Rock and cartoons. There are some information about the film and ancient Egyptians as well. I recommend you that if you scared of watching scary scenes or trailers, do not go to this website.

Quotes:

Ancient Egypt is recognized as an incredibly advanced society for its time despite a rigid class system. As an ancient Egyptian, you held the same job your entire life. That job is determined your social and economic status and was usually inherited from your parents

What Dreams May Come (1998)

One of my favorite movies is What Dreams May Come directed by Vincent Ward in 1998. It stars Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr, Annabella Sciorra, Max von Sydow amongst others. Basically the story goes that Chris and Annie lose their children in a car accident. Four years after their death Chris dies as well leaving his wife all alone. While in heaven Chris finds out that his wife commits suicide and he will no longer see her ever again. He then spends the rest of the movie determined to save her from hell and bring her back to his heaven.

I love this movie because it has excellent shots of heaven and hell. The colors that they use in the movie is amazing and I think that the director nailed it. He shows the brightness of heaven and how beautiful we all imagine it to be. Once he shows hell it gets to these dark colors and fire and shows it exactly how I imagine hell to be. The link below goes to a trailer of the movie. I suggest watching it. It's a great film.

Black Hawk Down

Black Hawk Down, Directed by Ridley Scott, is a movie that is based on a real event that happened on October 3, 1993. It toook place in Mogadisu, Samalia. Delta Force, U.S. Army Rangers, and the 160th SOAR went on a capture mission to capture two of the warlords Aidid advisors who were meeting on the 3rd. It was suppose to be a 30 minute but it wasnt. The enemy was able to shoot down two black bird helicopter and extend the mission to lead in to the next day killing 19 solders. They were able to make it out with out more deaths because of their loyalty and team work.

Blood Diamond

A movie that I am thinking about writing about this semester is Edward Zwick's thrilling film, Blood Diamond. Set during a civil war in Sierra Leone, Africa in the 1990's, Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), a South African mercenary, and Soloman Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), a Mende fisherman, join through fate in a quest to find a rare pink diamond.
Archer learns, while in prison, that Soloman was taken from his family by a rebel group named the RUF (Revolutionary United Front) to work in the diamond fields for "blood diamonds," which are diamonds used to finance their military. He learns that Soloman found and hid this rare pink diamond. With the help of an American journalist (Jennifer Connelly), the two men embark on a journey through rebel territory to find this diamond in hopes of finding Soloman's family, and gaining an opportunity for a second chance for Archer. This film was nominated for 5 academy awards: Best Actor In A Leading Role - Leonardo DiCaprio, Best Actor In A Supporting Role - Djimon Hounsou, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Film Editing.

Trailer--
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/blooddiamond/

Fight Club

I am considering writing my paper on the movie, Fight Club. This movie challenges our common ways of thinking and allows us to notice the more important things in life. Edward Norton plays a depressed businessman who doesn't like his job and tries to organize his life through a series of events. He slowly starts to feel alienated from the world and does whatever he can to relate to other people and try to pull his life back together. Soon, Norton becomes friends with Tyler Durden, an average citizen who sells soap for a living and doesn't put any value on materialistic items. Tyler introduces Norton to a physical alternative for relieving the stress that he has been keeping inside for so long. Soon, more men join the two friends in their informal meetings to fight. "Fight Club" becomes a secret underground club where various men who are sworn to secret meet to let our their internal anger as they learn more about the values of life.

The website that I have included is a basic summary of what the film is about. It is a short video that allows individuals to realize that life is not just about money and valued possessions. After watching it, you may wonder a little bit more about the purpose of life.

Darren Aronofsky

Darren Aronofsky has not made a mistake in his career as a director/screenwriter. His unique filming style has made his movies very powerful and captivating. His work includes: π, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain. All three movies have some similarities and all of them will make you think. He is well known for using: the snorricam, exaggerated sound and sounds effects, and "hip hop montage" which is a sequence of jump cut images. I think we should expect a lot from Aronofsky in his upcoming films. It has been announced that his next film might be "Black Swan."

The Big Sleep (1946)

As we continue to read through Corrigan's A Short Guide to Writing About Film, we notice that the example essays and excerpts presented may be about films we are unfamiliar with. I noticed an interesting title, The Big Sleep, and decided to browse the Internet for a summary about how this film can be a possible candidate for the major project. The Big Sleep tells the story of Phillip Marlowe visiting Geiger, a bookseller, to clear his daughter, Carmen's, gambling debts. Yet, upon Marlowe's return home, he discovers that Geiger has been shot. Marlowe finds Carmen high on drugs, and she immediately becomes the sucked into the mystery surrounding Geiger's murderer. As the film progresses, the audience becomes in tune to the numerous other mysterious disappearances and murders that occur. The Big Sleep is a possible candidate for the major project because it is indirectly suspends the censorship laws of the time by incorporating modern ideas including, homosexuality. Furthermore, this movie is an interesting choice to research more in depth with the major project because it can be examined from a grander perspective through a historical approach; the film is set in the 1940s during the war and illustrates some aspects of society at the time. The link I included provides a summary of the film, important quotes, and an "imdb profile" featuring quick facts about The Big Sleep.

American Beauty (1999)

American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes, is centered around the suburban life of Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) who is going through a mid-life crisis that not only affects him but his family and neighbors as well. He begins fantasizing about one of his daughters high school friends and can't keep his mind off her. His psychotic wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) is too obsessed with her job as a real-estate agent to care about her husband's problems and starts having an affair with one of her own rivals. Lester's daughter Jane, who hates her father, becomes friends with Ricky Fitts, her new and quite strange next door neighbor who starts selling pot to Lester. Ricky's father, Col. Frank Fitts, is a homophobic ex U.S. Marine who abuses Ricky and mistakes one of Ricky's drug transactions to Lester as a sexual act. American Beauty is a very smart and funny look at mid-life crisis', family, and life in the suburbs.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=6Q3ltyPJJMQ
http://www.dreamworks.com/ab/

Saving Private Ryan

There are many great movies that I could choose to work with this semester; however, I am choosing to work with Saving Privater Ryan. Saving Private Ryan is an ingenious film by Steven Spielberg. Spielberg, who has worked on such films as Jurassic Park, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Back to the Future, has added an element of first-person perspective to classic war genre films. Saving Private Ryan stayed true to the typical ideology of war-genre movies, but with the interesting cameras angles and perspectives, Spielberg was able to capture the soldiers views and thoughts as well as place the audience into the 'shoes', per se, of the soldiers. It is a great movie, and I suggest that everyone watch it if they already haven't.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120815/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bIFH7c9yQM

Kingdom of Heaven

This movie was about a central character bailian (played by Orlando Bloom), who was a small blacksmith and worked to become a knight after his father took him to Jerusalem. He became a hero to the christians as saladin's army was marching on to jerusalem. He lost the ultimate battle but was able to win the hearts of his fellow citizens in Jerusalem.

I think the following quote best summarizes the character of Bailian;
"As he did in GLADIATOR, Scott explores the theme of a man who chooses his fate, instead of accepting the fate given to him at birth."
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809719782/details

I think this is a good movie as we can analyze the movie using at least three of the corrigan's six approaches to film. The first approach I can take is historical. as the plot of the movie revolving around the Crusades has been written about in the western and middle eastern societies. There can be a debate here because the movie shows more of a european thinking of the crusades. The formalist approach will be good as well because not many can argue that the movie does have very good battle scenes. The director, Ridley Scott, lives up to his acclaim to deliver a good movie. You can get a glimpse of it in the trailer of the movie. We can also do a genre analysis and see how this movie fits into the genre of epic action movies.

The Last Samurai

The Last Samurai is an awesome pick to analyze the movie through historical lens. The movie is about a samurai who rebels against his own people trying to keep the traditions of ancient Japan to live on while the country moves into the industrial age.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

A Beautiful Mind

A Beautiful mind is a very good movie. It's a story about John Nash who is brilliant mathematician, but suffers from mental illness called schizophrenia.

http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=5681&reviewer=128
A critic in the above link writes, " A Beautiful Mind all the more fantastic. Howard’s 15th directorial effort easily (and surprisingly) ranks among his best films, and it may prove to be the one “grown-up” film he’s best remembered for."

V for Vendetta

Freedom! Forever! As the man only known as "V" tries to reveal the truth about the totalitarian regime that controls Great Britain in the near 2038, chaos grows with in the nation. "V" tries to take revenge on the political party known as Norsfire for he knows the truth about the bio-terrorism events that killed a catastrophic 80,000 people 14 years earlier! Also angered about his time as a human test subject at the Larkhill Detention Center, "V" avenges those who died and takes revenge on the people that disfigured him. After blowing up the Old Bailey and taking hostage of the British Television Network "V" asks the citizens of Britain to join him next November and fight against the unjust government and blow up the Houses of Parliament! He asks them to " . . . remember, remember the fifth of November." I feel as though that this film will be a perfect candidate for the final project and is a perfect example of an extraordinary film!

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Jerry Bruckheimer and Gore Verbinski team up once again to create the second installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Jack Sparrow, the clumsy, self-absorbed pirates is back again in a new adventure entitled “Dead Man’s Chest.”This time, he must find the chest of Davy Jones in order to avoid an eternity of misery in the depths of the ocean. Jacks unpaid blood debt doesn’t go over too well with the tortured soul of Davy Jones. So, once again Will and Elizabeth must come to the aid of Jack, which as they are about to find out, isn’t worth it. The link provided has the trailer: enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30HjlNwYZFc

Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump is a a wonderfully made movie, following the life of a man with a somewhat low IQ, but very ambitious yet oblivious man. He experience huge events during the 50's 60's and 70's including, Elvis, Richard Nixon and especially Vietnam. He makes a lot of friends along the way, and they befriend him eventually yet a little reluctant because of his low IQ. This includes an unhealthy obssesion with his true love Jenny. It is a heartfelt and informative movie epitimizing the 50's through 70's life, and life really is like a box of chocolates.

Amelie-A Feel Good Movie

If you enjoy foreign or independant films, this movie might interest you. A story about a girl who tries to brighten people's lives by secretly setting up props that remind the characters of past memories. Audrey Tautou's performance is gracefully presented. Any audience can enjoy this film.

One of the Greatest Movies EVER!!!

The movie American History X is a great movie and why I chose as a candidate. Its about a former neo-nazi that gets out of jail only to see that his brother has the same hatred for Blacks as he once did.

Check out this link for more info...http://imdb.com/title/tt0120586/

Never seen the movie before check out this scene of the movie...beware this scene is kind of disturbing http://youtube.com/watch?v=a08PnAc76CI

Almost Famous Says It All

If you enjoy old rock music, like The Doors, Led Zeppelin, and The Who, then you'll want to live the life of one of the characters in Almost Famous. Cameron Crowe spills his guts in this movie, partially inspired by his life as a teenage writer for Rolling Stone Magazine. By incorporating the lives of the rock stars, the rock writer, and the "band-aids," Crowe leaves a personality for everyone to connect with. If you've dreamed about what it's like to have connections with a rock band, then live out your dream with Almost Famous. Almost Famous gives an in depth look to the 70's , where life seemed safe and carefree. We are not only left with great performances by Frances McDormand and Billy Crudup, but topped off with a Golden Globe winning performance by Kate Hudson. And if you enjoy the movie, you'll love the soundtrack! Check out the trailer for Almost Famous, along with a review from the magazine the movie revolves around, Rolling Stone.
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/5947895/review/5947896/almost_famous

Kingdom of Heaven

I am seriously considering on writing the final project on Kingdom of Heaven. The film is set during the Crusades in Jerusalem. The main character is a blacksmith named Bailin, played by Orlando Bloom, travels to the Holy Land, and ends up leading the citizens of Jerusalem to defend themselves against Saladdin and his army. Throughout the movie, Bailin finds his father Godfrey a knight who has fought in previous Holy Wars. His father teaches his son what it means to be a knight and a leader. The final battle is very similar to that of the battle for Minis Tirith in the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. I think this is a great movie, for its genre, history, formalism, and idealogy of the Middle Ages.

Kingdom of Heaven

I am seriously considering on writing the final project on Kingdom of Heaven. The film is set during the Crusades in Jerusalem. The main character is a blacksmith named Bailin, played by Orlando Bloom, travels to the Holy Land, and ends up leading the citizens of Jerusalem to defend themselves against Saladdin and his army. Throughout the movie, Bailin finds his father Godfrey a knight who has fought in previous Holy Wars. His father teaches his son what it means to be a knight and a leader. The final battle is very similar to that of the battle for Minis Tirith in the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. I think this is a great movie, for its genre, history, formalism, and idealogy of the Middle Ages.

South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut

The South Park movie is an animated joyride about four 10 year old kids from a small town in Colorado. From beginning to end the film is jam-packed with toilet humor. Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park creators) make a valiant effort to poke fun at American pop-culture including shots at Christianity, God, censorship, war, racism, rural towns, parental neglect of children, Bill Gates, the Baldwin brothers, and Winona Ryder.
The mayhem begins when the boys sneak into an rated R Canadian film called Terrance and Phillip: Asses of Fire. The idiotic movie teaches the boys to combine curse words in creative ways. When they get sent to the school counselor for using the F-word in front of their 3rd grade school teacher Kyle's mother blames the nation of Canada for her son's foul mouth since the movie's creators were Canadian. She forms a group called MAC (Mothers Against Canada) that goes on to wage war against Canada and have Terrance and Phillip hanged. The fate of the planet lies on the kids' shoulders because they are the only ones who know that if MAC succeeds the entire world would become ruled by Satan and his gay lover, Saddam Hussein.

Life is Beautiful

Life is Beautiful is a movie about a young couple and their son during the Holocaust. They get sent to a concentration camp and are seperated. This movie is different from any other Holocaust movie becuase although it is sad, it is about hope and love. These people were going through the wsome of the worst experiences that could ever happen to anyone, but they kept their hope alive, and tried to keep each other happy.
I am thinking about using this movie for my major project because it touches many topics and consists of many ideas that i think would be good to write about. It is by far one of my favorite movies and i think that it is a film that many others will also enjoy.

Mean Girls

This movie is probably one of the funniest of our time. It's really well written(Tina Fey) and produced(Lorne Michaels), not to mention it's one that most guys are reluctant to watch even though it isn't just a chick flick! My boyfriend had a few laughs throughout it, and trust me if he can anyone will. If you don't get a good laugh from the movie at least it has a couple of hot girls in it! I really recommend this movie, because it does provide current insight into teen life through the ridiculous rules brought on by the Plastics. I've been considering using this movie as an option for the final paper. There is a lot of material, as well as situations that could be used as reflections of American culture. For example, Regina George's mom is so desperate to be the "cool mom", instead of the more traditional role of a responsible parent.

Badlands

The example of the film Badlands was present a lot in the text we are currently reading for the class. I was interested to see what it is about. I found a trailer for the film that helps describe more information on Badlands.

Crash

Crash is the film that I am considering to work with this semester. I first saw this film a couple months ago and really had an impact on me. Crash helps the audience be exposed to pretty much all forms of racism that are present in the world. Not only does this film expose these various types of racism, but makes the audience sympathize and really understand what it is like to live in that character's shoes. One of the most important points of the film is that everyone at some point in their lives will feel stereotyped against. Check out this link that shows clips from the movie, which exposes all the different characters in the film.

"Bend It Like Beckham," a unforgettable comedy.

"Bend It Like Beckham," is Gurinder Chadha's second film and actress Parminder Nagra's first film. The film is set in a town called Southall, in south-east of England. Its main focus is on Jasminer, a young Indian girl who has a passion for football but due to the demands of her culture and her parents, playing football proves to be difficult. However, this does not stop her. Instead, she secretly joins a girls football team and tells her parents that she has a summer job. As the film continues, we watch Jasminder go to any lengths to play football including lieing to her family, travelling to Germany and even missing a part of her sisters' wedding, all of which is done with a humorous tone. At the same time, Gurinder Chadha manages to carefully intertwine key concepts such as racism, homosexuality, gender and marriage and produces a unforgettable comedy. It has become a film that I can watch over and over again and still laugh every time.

I have chosen this film as a possible candidate for our final project because it's a film that has a lot to offer. Although its a "feel good," film, it has become a landmark amongst the British Indian culture. It can be analyzed with almost all of Corrigans' methods, particularly national, ideological, historical and genre. For those of you who want to find out more, I have provided a link from the BBC which provides a more detailed review about the film.

My House in Umbria

"My House in Umbria" is an excellent film to write our final project on because it has most of Corrigan's six methods, plus it's just an excellent movie to watch! After being a victim of a terrorist attack aboard a train, romance writer Mrs. Delahunty invites the survivors from her train compartment to come and recover at her beautiful mansion in the countryside of Umbria. Just as these four strangers start to become close and develop relationships with one another, the uncle of Aimee (who's parents were both killed in the attack), sends word that he is coming to get her. After meeting Aimee's uncle, Mrs. Delahunty does not think that living with him is the ideal situation for Aimee. From there, the story unfolds into Mrs. Delahunty trying to figure out more about this mysterious uncle of Aimee, how to persuade him to let her keep Aimee, and how to continue growing and developing her relationships with the other victims as well. Overall this is simply an excellent film and just as the tagline says: When you open your door to strangers, you never know who might come in.

Fight Club

I selected Fight Club as a possible candidate for my project. It the story of Tyler Durden and his new friend Jack. They are both bored with their everyday lives and one begin to fight and let their agressions loose. They enjoy it so much that they create a Fight Club and begin to recruit men from all over the world. Once they get a decent amount of men to follow them they then engage in terrorist activity. The blend of terrorism and schizophrenia is wonderful becuase it shows the human need to survive in the way that one will do what one must in order to survive

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

First of all, as previously mentioned, Crash is definitely a great candidate that should be worth thinking about. My choice is Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. This English film brings together the genres of crime and comedy. This film is a must-see in my eyes. The cast is includes a great mixture of talents unseen to the U.S. market. Any fans of Reservoir Dogs will love this film.

Here is the trailer: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Crash : Best Picture, Best Editing, and Best Original Screenplay

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808631706/critic

Crash was an amazing film. How could it not be? It won three Academy Awards. Even just looking for information for this film was wonderful. The first link I provided was a link to the home page of the Crash movie website. The home page offers a picture that is a phenomenal shot with loads of emotion (whats great though is the same picture doesn't appear each time) and the quote directly under the movie title "Moving at the speed of life, we are bound to collide with each another" is an excellent analysis of everyday real life situation we endure just being human. The first link is an interactive site so it offers great links to information about the film such as cast, filmmakers, and a photo gallery.
In addition, the second link provides various critic reviews from magazines, newspapers, and journals who have assessed the film according to their personal standards. Crash is in fact a film of great magnitude. Corrigan uses Crash as an example along with other well-known movies which are definitely worth checking out.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Although this movie is still in theaters, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a good candidate for the final project. It will probably come out on DVD too late to use it for the final, but it is still a good film to watch, especially on the big screen.

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille was born with the most phenomenal sense of smell. He was born in the wrong time though, because 18th century France had a putrid smell to it. Jean-Baptiste nose leads him to become one of the greatest perfumers in France, but that is not enough for his greedy nose. He takes a dark turn as he tries to preserve "beautiful" scents, and create the ultimate perfume.

Perfume seemed to have somewhat a comical idea (super-nose powers), but the movie is so much more. Go to the theaters and watch this movie!

The link attached is the official trailer.

A Masterpiece in Every Respect

The film I most consider for this project is the film by the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, Ran. The movie is an epic masterpiece, it could be examined from any of the perspectives we discussed in class quite easily. The title can be translated as Chaos. It is a beautiful adaptation of a true story of a real Japanese warlord (the movie's Hidetora) and his sons, changed and fit to Kurosawa's adaptation of the great Shakespeare play King Lear. Formally, the film is beautiful, if at times disturbing in its images, a work of art throughout. The film has historical significance, as it is from Japanese history. The story and dialogue is rich with ideas and concepts, a script worthy of any adaptation of Shakespeare with subtleties and masterful use of language.

The story is that of Hidetora Ichimonji's abdication to all three of his sons equally, rather than to one of them, as would be customary. He dismisses the warning of one of his sons, banishing him and leaving the power to the two of them. Betrayal ensues, and soon it is an all out war, struggle for power and series of treacheries and lust. The warlord soon finds himself running alone in his own lands, fearing his sons troops, and confronting his past of the horrors he once caused. Deluded that he is trapped in hell and being led by the fool whom he banished, Hidetora views from afar the chaos and terror that befell his once strong kingdom. The fool is just as terrified, if slightly more sane, and struggle continues across the lands.

One Useful fFilm for Major Writing Project

In this website you are able to find information about the actual history of Rosewood and the events that took place. Interviews of the actual characters of this movie are available on this website. Also information on the director John Singleton is available on this website. These and many other sources of information are available on this movie website.

Badlands

Hey you guys, this is one of the movies mentioned in the our book. The link is to imb reviews.

Badlands is a fictional movie that was inspired by the true killing spree of Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate in 1958. The movie is about a young couple named Kit and Holly; Kit is an outgoing, young man while Holly is a shy, little girl. The story follows the young couple as they fall in love and eventually kills Holly's father, who forbade their relationship. The couple becomes fugitives and kills many more as they run through the Midwest.

Psycho By Alfred Hitchcock

I've noticed someone else was considering Psycho. Psycho, actually was my first choice on this project. Hitchcock is a genius and a pioneer in the film industry. So using the auteur theory is excellent for this project. You can also use the formalistic theory in many of the shots and music he integrates throughout the film. Hitchcock is known for not using many dialogue, but shows what he wants to say through the shot angle, lighting, and facial expressions of the actors and actresses. The link I posted up talks more about Psycho and Hitchcock.

Insight into Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Psycho, is a great movie to keep in mind when choosing a film for the final project. Hitchcock is recognized as an auteur because in Psycho, Hitchcock introduces various film techniques that greatly heighten the feeling of terror and reflect the society and culture of the 1960s. For instance, Hitchcock introduced the idea of voyeurism from the point-of-view of Norman Bates with the roaming camera to spy on Marion Crane as she undresses, making the audience drawn into the suspense of the film. In relation to the links and the auteur theory, Psycho combines elements from Hitchcock’s previous films such as, the emphasis on the rooms and setting to suggest the somewhat “psychotic” condition of human nature. Psycho is a highly recommended film to be further explored with the major project because it can be examined in terms of a formalistic approach through the musical score played and the close-ups. Also, a nationalistic approach is witnessed because Hitchcock directed the film to reflect what he believed would accommodate the changing audience through a modernized style where,

"Rather than blatantly displaying nudity and violence, Hitchcock had hinted subtly at their presence.”

In analyzing the genre, Hitchcock used traditional elements of horror film and incorporated his own. Finally, the auteur theory can be discovered and how it influenced Hitchcock to direct Psycho in black-and-white to help grasp the depths of the unconscious human mind.
Analysis of the rooms (Bates Motel), characters (Norman Bates and Marion Crane), and plot.

Young Frankenstein: The Comedy Classic

This post is for the fans of comedy...great comedy! Young Frankenstein is still as funny today as it was 30 years ago. Starring Peter Boyle and Gene Wilder, the film is able to combine comedy with a decent storyline. It was directed by Mel Brooks which you may remember as the creator of other great comedies such as Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. While I'm well aware that most people would rather choose an action or drama movie over a comedy, I believe that Young Frankenstein would be a perfect candidate for the research project. If one wanted to talk about the film in a "historical" sense, they could mention movies that inspired this film such as Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. If you wanted to talk about the film in a "formalist" approach, you could mention the nice long shot that was used of the hermit's cabin. You could also point out that Mel Brooks shot the film in black & white, despite the fact that he shot Blazing Saddles in color several years before he directed Young Frankenstein. If a person wanted to mention the film in terms of "auteur", they could speak of Mel Brooks previous films and discuss how farce was used in each one.

The link that I'm providing leads to a detailed page about the film and the other is biographical information on Mel Brooks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Brooks

This clip is one of the most memorable from the film and features a cameo from the great Gene Hackman.

Donnie Darko: "Why Are You Wearing That Stupid Man Suit?"

Donnie Darko, directed by Richard Kelly, was not a success at the box office when it was first released in the beginning of 2001, however today it is widely accept as an American cult classic. The story follows Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) a confused teenager in 1988 who becomes a victim of his own destiny after a mysterious airplane engine crashes into his room. Donnie is also haunted by a strange, six-foot tall bunny, Frank, who tells him that the world will end in "28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds."

The movie is a very complex and hard to understand. There exist many websites and blogs on the internet that attempt to explain and theorize what every aspect means though I have included the Wikipedia article, which also includes Kelly's own interpretation.

Every living creature on this earth dies alone.

Schindler's List

I believe the film Schindler's List is a film that is capable of successfully completing the major film project with any of four of the six methods. Major film producer and director, Steven Spielberg, produced a true story film about a man named Oskar Schindler and his heroic capabilities of saving over 1,000 Jews during the tragic time of the Holocaust. He resisted the Jews being sent to concentration camps by hiring them to work in his factory. I recommend this film to anyone interested in history and the Holocaust. The Wikipedia website not only includes a brief analysis about the film, but also, an extended plot, the cast, production information, the many awards received, the differences between the movie and book, external links, and more.

Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire. The List is Life.

The Patroit

The Patriot, starring Mel Gibson, is one of my all time favorite movies. It is set in the time of the American Revolution and focuses mainly on one man, Benjamin Martin, and his family. Martin leads the militia against the British troops. The film takes you through the struggles and the hard ships that fall upon all the American people during this war. This movie is full of action and love. I believe that it is a good candidate for this project because it follows 5 out of the 6 methods. It is a great movie and also a great film to watch. I recomend it to anyone that like war films.

"I have long feared that my sins would return to visit me and the cost is more than I can bear."
- Benjamin Martin

Collateral Trailer

Collateral, starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx, is a film depicting murder and blood money. Vincent, played by Cruise, is a slick contract killer who has 5 hits in one night. His transportation is Max, played by Foxx, who is an aspiring entrepreneur and has nothing to show for it but his cab. Cruise is determined to make all his hits on time and leave the city without a trace. However, neither man will ever be the same after this night. This movie would be a good candidate to work with this semester because it fits under the Auteur category. Director Michael Mann is known for making movies that deal with murder and violence (Miami Vice, Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel). The film also falls under the category of National because Max is an aspirer who wants to make it big though he has little to show for it. He wants to live the "American Dream". This film would be great to work with not just because of Auteur and National but also because it has many camera shots that would be interesting to discuss. Just click the title and you should be able to watch the film on youtube.com.

crash

Most of you have probably seen " Crash" but for those of you who haven't seen it yet, here are two links through which you can check it out.
Rasism, Hate, Friendship, Love, Fear, Respect, Power, Anger, Unjustice, Pride, Dignity crash in this spectacular movie directed by Paul Haggis. The life different people is brought together trough series of events which will make you hold your breath during the whole movie.

James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgement Day

The movie I would like to work with this semester is Terminator 2. This movie is a sci-fi/action that will keep you entertained for over two hours. This is a sequel to The Terminator, obviously. I just think that this is better, although the continued storyline from the first one I think is amazing. Not only is it my favorite movie of all time, but it does include some of the six methods of film. This film is important to film history in the sense that it was a breakthrough for special effects in film for generations to come (keep in mind that this movie was made in 1991). The special effects seen in this movie had not yet been witnessed in any other previous films. It also won oscars in sound effects editing, visual effects, makeup, and sound.
The link provides a bit of a storyline and some past reviews about the movie.

Соля́рис, What if Your Every Desire was Real

The 1972 film Solaris (Соля́рис) is a Russian film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and is considered by most to be an outstanding work of art. Tarkovsky viewed this film as one of his only failures. The aim of the film was to take a science novel and direct a film that was genre-less. The film opens with Kris Kelvin who is sent to a mysterious planet where three scientists have been studying the new world. Kris is sent to replace one of the scientists who is mysteriously deceased. Once he arrives he finds the laboratory to be desolate, unkept, and the scientists (Snaut and Sartorious) distant and confusing.

Dr. Sartorius: "Man was created by Nature in order to explore it. As he approaches Truth he is fated to Knowledge. All the rest is bullshit."

Kris begins to discover that the planet Solaris is alive and is materializing the thoughts and fears of his mind... even bringing his deceased wife back to his side.

The Birth of a Nation

This controversial film was directed by D.W.Griffth in 1915. It was the first American movie to be longer than one hour in length and it also introduced new techniques like deep focus and facial close- ups. The movie circles around two families- the Stonemans from the North and the Camerons from the South- and their experiences during the American Civil War.

Blade Runner: Are you a replicant?

Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982) is the story of Detective Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) who is on the hunt for escaped super human robots called replicants. As he searches for them in 2019 LA he falls in love with a replicant named Rachael, hindering his ability to "retire" the vengeful replican convicts.

Scott's earlier films Alien, Legend, Blade Runner all present the same type of feel. There is almost a sense of unity among the stories even though they all apply to different genres. The special effects in Blade Runner are fantastic and exciting and help to only back up the meaningful plot and impressive acting.

The clip I've included gives a representation of the amazing special effects in this film.

Coppola's Apocalypse Now

Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_Now

Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film rendition of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness alternates the novel's original Congo setting to modern Vietnam. Although Coppola was never able to fully capture Conrad's extremely subjective and ambiguous language, he does, however, manage to create what many critics claim to be one of the greatest movies of all times. The plot is essentially about a Captain who is sent on a mission to assassinate a former Colonel, Kurtz. The reason behind this mission is that Kurtz has gone mad, and was undoubtedly practicing "unsound methods." Methods which the United States Army wanted silenced. Apocalypse Now beautifully manipulates camera technology. Coppola utilizes shooting techniques such as superimposition, dolly shots, voice-over narration, and much more. Superimposition and voice-over narration play an amazing role in the first few minutes of the film. Check out my link to see what I mean. I must warn you, however that this is a pretty disturbing film. What else can you say about a movie that tries to depict Conrad's theme of "“We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness.”

Vocabulary : Voice-over narration: Voice speaking throughout film
Superimposition: shots laying over shots
dolly shots: shooting with camera placed on platform with wheels.

Dune: The Sleeper Must Awaken

Dune, directed by David Lynch (1984) is the retelling of the novel written by Frank Herbert. The opening sequence begins with the tale of the film: Princess Irulan: A beginning is a very delicate time. Know then, that is is the year 10191. The known universe is ruled by the Padishah Emperor Shaddam the Fourth, my father. In this time, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The Spacing Guild and its navigators, who the spice has mutated over 4000 years, use the orange spice gas, which gives them the ability to fold space. That is, travel to any part of the universe without moving. Oh, yes. I forgot to tell you. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe. A desolate, dry planet with vast deserts. Hidden away within the rocks of these deserts are a people known as the Fremen, who have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah, who would lead them to true freedom. The planet is Arrakis, also known as Dune.

L'Avventura: A Movie of Love, Loss, and Adventure (What else were you expecting?)

L'Avventura was directed by Michelangel Antonioni and is mentioned in Corrigan's Short Guide to Writing About Film. Seeing as this film was made in the early 1960's, some of us may be unfamiliar with it. In brief, the movie is about a girl who goes missing. Her boyfriend and close friend begin to look for her, but eventually fall for each other. The film has some interesting elements, including some angles that were not used at-large in that era. Despite the movie being old and odd in some ways, it could also be used as a candidate for our final project in class. Almost all six approaches could be applied to the movie. As we can see in Corrigan's book, a person could write a lengthy essay on just one scene alone.

The link that I am providing includes an analytical piece written by Gregory Solman, a film scholar. The other link that I'm including has some quick facts about the film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053619/

I'll be honest, this trailer really doesn't explain what the movie is all about. Yet, it does have a catchy tune and shows a good amount of the scenes. Pick up the volume and nod your heads to this one!

Jackie Brown: A Tarantino Masterpiece

Jackie Brown was directed by Quentin Tarantino and features a star-studded cast. While it's probably Tarantino's most underrated film, I feel that Jackie Brown is a great movie and it's my personal favorite. Considering that this is a Tarantino film, most would probably say that it's a good candidate. If a person wanted to write in the "formalist" style, they could talk about the cool and unique shots that were used throughout the movie. As with all Tarantino movies, the soundtrack would definitely be a key part in an approach of that style. The "auteur" approach would be great because the writer could cite such movies as Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Kill Bill.

The link that I have included gives some interesting facts about the movie and provides some cool pictures. The other link that I am providing gives some more information on the legend that is Quentin Tarantino. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quentin_Tarantino

This is my favorite scene from the movie, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Here we can see Tarantino's ability to combine comedy with seriousness.

Once Upon a Time...

"Once Upon a Time in Mexico" is not only one of my favorite movies, but also a great candidate for our research project. This star studded film contains most, if not all, of the 6 methods for writing about a film. This is a link from IMDb.com that contains photos, the cast, a brief summary of the film and much more. I encourage you to take a look and enjoy!

Desperado: Robert Rodriguez' Epic

Desperado is an amazing movie that was directed by Robert Rodriguez and features a great cast. It is the epitome of what an action movie should be and it has some great comedy too. I think it is a great candidate because it can be approached in several different styles of writing. One could take the "formalist" approach and speak about the amazing camera angles that are used throughout the movie and the brilliant use of colors. The writer could also mention the great soundtrack that is fueled by the tunes of Los Lobos and Tito & Tarantula. One could also take the "auteur" approach and write about Robert Rodriguez' style of directing. They could also compare Desperado to other films directed by Robert Rodriguez such as Once Upon A Time In Mexico and From Dusk Till Dawn. The link that I'm providing gives some more information about the film including quick facts and trivia. Also, the video is a clip from the movie and it's one of my favorite scenes of the whole film.

Crash

Corrigan uses the recent hit film Crash as a reference in his book. I for one had seen the film, but for those who haven't, here is some background information.
Crash is a great film, in my opinion. The way that the different parts of the film are brought together was great. Throughout the film, different forms of racism take place. It didn't matter what race, ethnicity, or even social class the character came from. At one time or another, each character has to come to recognize their racist beliefs, and they have to face those problems head on. I for one was impressed with the way the film turned out.
The link that I have posted leads to a brief overview of the film and its plotline according to www.imdb.com. There are also links to a trailer as well as trivia about the film.

Dazed and Confused

The film that I chose to find information about was Richard Linklater's cult classic, Dazed and Confused. There are two storylines central to the film. One involves the hazing of incoming freshman by the new seniors at the high school, and the way that one young man, Mitch Kramer deals with it and the unexpected popularity that he achieves because of it. The other deals with star quarterback, Randall "Pink" Floyd, and his decision on whether to give into his coaches and sign a pledge saying that he won't do anything illegal over the summer. He feels that he is being treate wrongly and tries to figure out what he wants to do as the day progresses. The two main characters in the movie share some aspects in common.They were both hazed after playing baseball, both were viciously hazed by the top seniors, and both have major problems to deal with during the course of the film.

I have provided a link to the film information on www.imdb.com, but I also wanted to provide another link which I found very informative, information pertaining to specific details about many of the characters in this film. Here is the second link
http://www.dazed-and-confused.net/

Canidate for Film Project

This clip is from the movie Schindler's List. This film I Believe fits all six categories, in this clip you see the little girl wearing the red coat (the red however is kind of hard to see though!) and how Speilberg makes such and impact by making her coat red when the whole film is in black and white.

Badlands by Terrence Malick

"He was 25 years old. He combed his hair like James Dean. She was 15. She took music lessons and could twirl a baton. For a while they lived together in a tree house. In 1959, she watched while he killed a lot of people."

Loosely based on the Starkweather-Fugate killing spree during 1958, Badlands is a film about a "innocent" teenage girl, Holly, and her older boyfriend, Kit. Holly's father strongly forbids their relationship, so Kit kills him. This event began their killing spree adventure to the Badlands of Montana.

The link attached is a trailer of this 1973 Thriller/Drama/Romance.

American History X Movie Review

This is a movie review for American History X by one of the most known film critics, Roger Ebert. American History X can be evaluated by most of Corrigan's methods and is an unforgettable film. This is an ideal movie for the major paper in English 161, and an interesting movie that you will want to watch over and over again, if you can stomach it.

Casablanca

Casablanca, a great film produced in the 1940s about unrequited love, and war.
It is an old film, but with major classical moments.
"here lookin at you, kid"

Ronald Reagan was supposed to be Rick?!

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