At first I was absolutely dreading watching this movie. I thought "oh god, this is going to be another horrible old black and white movie." And holy shit, I was so wrong. I not only laughed my ass off, I cried my eyes out. I never realized how truly talented Marilyn Monroe was until I saw this movie.
(1) The plot is interesting. It takes place during the bootlegging time. Two musicians work in an illegal club and accidentally witness a murder. The two of them disguise themselves as girls and travel to Florida so they don't get whacked. While they are there one of them falls in love with Marilyn Monroe and their secret is out. The ending is actually ambiguous now that I think about it.
(2) Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe. Shall I say more? First let's start with Tony Curtis-- his brilliant portrayal of three characters one so different than the next. Jack Lemmon is the most believable woman I have ever witnessed. And Marilyn Monroe's sincerity is amazing to see.
(3) Originally this movie was going to be in color. But the make up for the drag scenes was too harsh for colored film stock and they decided to shoot the movie in black and white. I actually like this about the movie. The black and white makes it feel more like a gangsta movie in the beginning and sets the stage for the rest of the film. I'm trying to think of anything else that made the movie stand out. But the film is a typical Classical Hollywood Film.
(4) Overall-- I never laughed so hard in my life. Jack Lemmon is the most hilarious comedian ever. And if you have not seen this movie, then I suggest you rent it and give it a fair chance. I too was dreading it at first but I overall enjoyed it. It's definitely in my top ten all time favorite movies!!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Contemporart Movie #2: Alice in Wonderland Tim Burton
I love Tim Burton and I was uber excited to be seeing this in 3D IMAX. I never really enjoyed the story of Alice in Wonderland but I was more excited to watch it for it's aesthetic value and use of German Expressionism that Burton is so famous for.
(1) Alice returns to Underworld and thinks she is dreaming. She doesn't accept the fact that she has been returned to fight the jabberwocky. She comes around realizes shes not dreaming and kills the jabberwocky. She then goes home--- there's a lot more too it but this will do. What bothered me the most was that unless you knew the "first" Alice in Wonderland then you would be lost and I was mostly lost.
(2) Alice the main character was so unlikeable. I wanted her to die the entire movie. She was boring, stiff, annoying, stupid and just boring. Helena Bonham Carter was amazing though. She really knows how to act. She was suppose to be the villian and she was the most likeable character. I don't know if that was a script problem or just that she's so talented. Even Anne Hathaway was bad in this movie. She was so stagnant.
(3) As always Tim Burton's mise-en-scene was beautiful. The white queen was certainly white and the red queen was certainly red. And the heart shapes that followed the red queen were really well done too. I loved the modernization of everything and the gothic undertones that Tim Burton brings to his films. But I did find the 3D graphics a little distracting.
(4) Overall I was majorly disappointed in this movie. I thought it could be so much better and I was expecting so much better. I give it a 2 out of 5. It looses points because the characters were unrelatable and unlikeable. It was too dark and just not what I was expecting. Out of all the movies I've reviewed so far this one I hate the most.
(1) Alice returns to Underworld and thinks she is dreaming. She doesn't accept the fact that she has been returned to fight the jabberwocky. She comes around realizes shes not dreaming and kills the jabberwocky. She then goes home--- there's a lot more too it but this will do. What bothered me the most was that unless you knew the "first" Alice in Wonderland then you would be lost and I was mostly lost.
(2) Alice the main character was so unlikeable. I wanted her to die the entire movie. She was boring, stiff, annoying, stupid and just boring. Helena Bonham Carter was amazing though. She really knows how to act. She was suppose to be the villian and she was the most likeable character. I don't know if that was a script problem or just that she's so talented. Even Anne Hathaway was bad in this movie. She was so stagnant.
(3) As always Tim Burton's mise-en-scene was beautiful. The white queen was certainly white and the red queen was certainly red. And the heart shapes that followed the red queen were really well done too. I loved the modernization of everything and the gothic undertones that Tim Burton brings to his films. But I did find the 3D graphics a little distracting.
(4) Overall I was majorly disappointed in this movie. I thought it could be so much better and I was expecting so much better. I give it a 2 out of 5. It looses points because the characters were unrelatable and unlikeable. It was too dark and just not what I was expecting. Out of all the movies I've reviewed so far this one I hate the most.
Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Quit Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
First and foremost I would like to apologize for my very long hiatus. Life happens and a lot of changes have taken place in mine. But I am back and determined more than ever to review "classic" movies. I will also be trying to review a contemporary movie once a week as well.
To those who are new here is how I critque movies: (1) plot, a simple description of the plot plus an alaysis of the narrative structure, themes and overall writing. (2) characters and acting, if the actors were believable, moving or just plain awful. (3) mise-en-scene, a fancy word for all artistic flourishes within the film such as lighting, costume, scenery, editting- any thing that enhances the story that is not directly said and last but certainly not least (4) overall rating, where I determine if this movie is good, ok, bad or just the worst movie I've ever seen.
I am going to also make these sound more scholary (and no more cursing-- even if it is horrible).
So to kick off my comeback I would like to talk about one of my favorite movies of all time (number 2 behind The Godfather) Dr Strange Love.
(1) Taking place post world war 2 during the height of the cold war -- A crazy general Jack. D. Ripper is paranoid of communism. He ceases all radio communication between him and the rest of the USA army and orders wing attack R. Wing attack R is to drop h-bombs into the USSR. after the army catches wind of what is going on the President teams up with the USSR and fight off the planes. One plane goes rogue and drops the bomb causing the USSR's doomsday device to go off which launches every nuclear missile in the world thus ending the world--- and hilarity ensues!!
(2) Acting is this movie. Petter Sellers plays three distinct and very different characters each funnier than the rest. His sane British officer, his mid western president and of course the stereotypical crazy German-- each one is better than the next. George C. Scott has one of his best performances as Turgidson and is so over the top and crazy that you can't help but laugh. Their believablity and over the topness is what makes this satire work.
(3) Kubrick is known for his creative use of mise-en-scene being considered a perfectionist. Although he had the genius idea of creating a "warroom" there is nothing else that noteworthy. Instead of focusing on mise-en-scene Kubrick paid more attention to character which is something uncharacteristic of Kubrick. For example, if you think of 2001: Space Odyssey or A Clockwork Orange you can visualize the 1960s "mod" style but this is lacking in Dr. Strangelove *well it does take place in the 50s* but even so-- there's no real stylization. Also interesting to note that this film was his last black and white film.
(4) As states earlier this is one of my all time favorite movies. The reason I love it so much is that it's hysterically funny yet very poignant. It truly does make you think of the capacity of such people to make decisions that can alter our lives. Although we live in a democracy and we elect our leaders it's still interesting to see what can happen if a crazy person rises up the ranks.
I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in a good laugh. I rate it a 5 out of 5. All though its ridiculous and over the top it's strangely realistic at the same time and I am just a die hard Kubrick fan.
To those who are new here is how I critque movies: (1) plot, a simple description of the plot plus an alaysis of the narrative structure, themes and overall writing. (2) characters and acting, if the actors were believable, moving or just plain awful. (3) mise-en-scene, a fancy word for all artistic flourishes within the film such as lighting, costume, scenery, editting- any thing that enhances the story that is not directly said and last but certainly not least (4) overall rating, where I determine if this movie is good, ok, bad or just the worst movie I've ever seen.
I am going to also make these sound more scholary (and no more cursing-- even if it is horrible).
So to kick off my comeback I would like to talk about one of my favorite movies of all time (number 2 behind The Godfather) Dr Strange Love.
(1) Taking place post world war 2 during the height of the cold war -- A crazy general Jack. D. Ripper is paranoid of communism. He ceases all radio communication between him and the rest of the USA army and orders wing attack R. Wing attack R is to drop h-bombs into the USSR. after the army catches wind of what is going on the President teams up with the USSR and fight off the planes. One plane goes rogue and drops the bomb causing the USSR's doomsday device to go off which launches every nuclear missile in the world thus ending the world--- and hilarity ensues!!
(2) Acting is this movie. Petter Sellers plays three distinct and very different characters each funnier than the rest. His sane British officer, his mid western president and of course the stereotypical crazy German-- each one is better than the next. George C. Scott has one of his best performances as Turgidson and is so over the top and crazy that you can't help but laugh. Their believablity and over the topness is what makes this satire work.
(3) Kubrick is known for his creative use of mise-en-scene being considered a perfectionist. Although he had the genius idea of creating a "warroom" there is nothing else that noteworthy. Instead of focusing on mise-en-scene Kubrick paid more attention to character which is something uncharacteristic of Kubrick. For example, if you think of 2001: Space Odyssey or A Clockwork Orange you can visualize the 1960s "mod" style but this is lacking in Dr. Strangelove *well it does take place in the 50s* but even so-- there's no real stylization. Also interesting to note that this film was his last black and white film.
(4) As states earlier this is one of my all time favorite movies. The reason I love it so much is that it's hysterically funny yet very poignant. It truly does make you think of the capacity of such people to make decisions that can alter our lives. Although we live in a democracy and we elect our leaders it's still interesting to see what can happen if a crazy person rises up the ranks.
I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in a good laugh. I rate it a 5 out of 5. All though its ridiculous and over the top it's strangely realistic at the same time and I am just a die hard Kubrick fan.
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