Collateral

The video clip that I am linking is a collage of the various clips in Collateral. The reason I chose this movie is because it contains many elements of formalism that add to its genre. The genre can be thought of action, violence, good vs. evil, and so on. I believe that there are many clips of formalism in this movie that accurately portrays the genre. One bit of evidence would be the appearance of the contract killer, Tom Cruise. He is portrayed to be savvy, cool, calculating, and well-dressed; all of which depict a typical assassin. The fact that the entire film is shot during the night adds to the fact that there is little to no hope for anyone who comes across Cruise. One more bit of formalism would be the music in the movie. The music makes the movie fast-paced, just the way an assassin acts. This is one of the few good movies Tom Cruise has made. Clicking on the link above should take you to the video.

Review for Hero

The article that I am linking to is a critical review of Hero. The article, written by Jurgen Fauth, criticizes Hero by calling the fight scenes "more ... [like] ballet than traditional chop socky." The author also gives the movie a historical approach by comparing it to other previous movies of its kind. In a paragraph, Fauth summarizes the movie so that anyone who was confused throughout the film could understand it. The reviewer praises the mise-en-scene of the movie but also states that this gets old after a while and the boring plot does not helps its cause. Because of the redundant fight scenes and the lack of interest in the film, Fauth gives the movie 3 out of 5 stars. Clicking on the link above should take you to the article.

Review of Three Kings

The review entitled "Three Kings (film)" was found on an online encyclopedia website. The review goes over the entire movie and explains what was going on throughout the film. For those who found the film a bit confusing, this article should be helpful in understanding the plot and knowing what the characters were actually doing throughout the film. The review also explains why the actors were doing all those things. In addition, there is some gossip at the bottom of the page talking about the altercation between George Clooney and David O. Russell. Clicking on the link above should take you to the article.

David O. Russell's I Heart Huckabees

The clip I am linking to is the trailer to David O. Russell's I Heart Huckabees. I provided this video to demonstrate how their is a comedic approach to Russell's movie even when they are serious, as evident through Three Kings. The style of acting makes the movie the type to laugh at while there is still a good story behind it. The movie also has Mark Wahlberg starring in it. Clicking on the link above should take you to it.

Interview of Robert Benigni

The article I am linking to is an interview of Roberto Benigni by Adrian Wootton. Like any interview, Wootton asks Benigni a few questions about his childhood, first performance, other influences in life and so on. The reason I chose this article is because the story of Life is Beautiful parallels Roberto Benigni's life. Benigni "grew up in Tuscany in a very poor family... but [his] childhood was very good... because it was full of gladness and good humanity." The characters in Life is Beautiful are relatively lower class but that does not stop them from enjoying life and being happy for what they have. This interview makes the viewer understand why Benigni makes the types of films that deal with real life issues but with a twist of comedy. Clicking on the link above should take you to the reading.

Life is Beautiful portrays history?

The article, "Not Up To The Task", written by David Walsh, criticizes Life is Beautiful for not accurately portraying the Holocaust. The article begins by summing up the entire movie and giving background information on each character. As the article continues, Walsh starts to get more into his argument and explains why this movie is not a true depiction of the Holocaust. He believes that "while [the movie] may not be offensive, it does tend to trivialize the experience. The gap between the reality of concentration camp life and its portrayal in the film is alarmingly large." Walsh believes that Roberto Benigni, the director of Life is Beautiful, does not show how the Holocaust really was. He makes convincing arguments about how there are certain characters who "despite conditions of near starvation, [remain] happy and healthy." This article is a good read because it compares how the Holocaust really was to how Roberto Benigni misinterprets the historical event in his movie. Clicking on the link above should take you to the article.

An Ideological Approach to The Simpsons

The article King-Size Homer, written by Barry Hodge, talks about a single episode of The Simpsons and portrays all the ideological approaches to it. The episode is when Homer decides to gain weight and so he can become physically handicapped. By doing so, he would be able to work from home and not have to deal with a typical working environment. The article goes through the episode thoroughly and gives ideological explanations for each of the characters involved. Towards the end of the article, there is a separate part entitled "Ideological Codes" which gives numerous examples of how The Simpsons contains all sorts of subliminal messages pertaining to the real world. For example "one character, Milhouse (sic), bares [Richard Nixon's] middle name (and one can only ascertain from his un-dominant ideological background – bespectacled, constantly bullied, hated – [that he is] a... true Nixon)." This article provides us with an ideological perspective of The Simpsons. Clicking on the link above should take you there.

Formalism in films

This article that I am linking to is a good reference that talks about what a formalist approach to a movie is. It also gives some definitions that describes different types of formalism. The article describes it as "a theory of film study that is focused on the formal, or technical, elements of a film: i.e., the lighting, scoring, sound and set design, use of colour, shot composition, and editing." The article gives a summary of formalism and talks about how it is used in films. I think this would be a good article to look at for anyone who still finds trouble understanding formalism. Clicking on the link above should take you to the article.

Life is Beautiful- A comedy?

The article on www.findarticles.com entitled "Nothing to Laugh About-Movie on Holocaust entitled 'Life is Beautiful'" written by Richard Alleva primarily focuses on the issue of why Life is Beautiful should not be a comedy. The author points out the reasons why the Holocaust is not to be something thought of as a joke as it took the lives of many innocent people. His main question is "does it deal with the Holocaust... [and] to be precise, is there a valid depiction of the Holocaust in this film?" Alleva gives many examples of why this topic should not be thought of lightly. He talks about Hitler and all the evil things done by him to explain the fact of how brutal and torturous concentration camps were. This article takes a critical approach to explain why the Holocaust is not accurately shown in Life is Beautiful and why this event in history cannot be taken with ease. Clicking on the title or quote above should take you to the article.

Criticizing Forrest Gump

The author of this article talks about Forrest Gump in a critical way. The reviewer claims that there are many contradictions in the movie. One major contradiction the author questions is "how does you make your own destiny, Forrest' reconcile with the serendipitous nature of 'Life is like a box of chocolates'?" She also argues that the movie does not accurately portray the value of a school education. Zinsser "[sees] the characters as stereotypes playing out a simplistic, anti-intellectual fantasy that mocks our educational, political and enterpreneurial processes and institutions." She believes that the audience is oblivious to what the movie is actual showing and that there is more to this heart-warming story. Clicking the link above should take you to the essay.

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.

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.