What a bizarre movie. It's considered a screwball comedy which was very popular during this time period along with the other genre called Film Noir.
(1) This is a long and confusing plot explanation so good luck: A rich man is in Soutyh America studying snakes. He goes aboard a cruise ship to get back home to America. On board are two card sharks (a father and a daughter) who try to swindle rich people out of their money. Accidentally the daughter falls in love with the rich man after they try to pull a fast one of him. The rich man has a bodyguard who finds out the truth about the daughter and they subsequently break up. Both are devastated. Having unfinished business with the rich man, the daughter "disguises" her self as a royal princess and goes to visit her uncle who lives next door to the rich man. All she does is change her accent. Although the rich man realizes they look very similar he is thrown off because the rich man believes if she was going to disguise herself they would dye their hair, or something but since she didn't it possibly can't be the girl from the boat (riiiight)-- SOOO they end up falling in love but to get revenge on him the daughter now princess tells the rich man about all the people shes had sex with which makes the rich guy really upset because he's a virgin so they get divorced. After finalizing the divorce she feels bad realizing she really did love him and her revenge backfired on her. She soon finds out that he is going back on the cruise to South America to study snakes agani. Determine to win him back for a third time unbeknownst to him she goes back as the original card shark girl and they fall in love all over again.
Yep, thats the entire story.
(2) Barbra Stanwick was really great though. Her ability to play a low class card shark and an upscale princess was quite intriguing. She pulled off each of them flawlessly. The guy that played the rich man was hilarious with his slapstick comedy. He was so believable. Despite the story being extremely unrealistic they both execute what is expected of them therefore the audience ignore this unbelievability because we want them to be together.
(3) This was made in the Hollywood Classical Film era where it was natural bright lighthing, realistic costumes and continuity editting. Nothing really mise-en-scene worthy that enhances the story.
(4) The premise was so bizarre but I did laugh a lot. Overall I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars. They loose a star for being so unrealistic.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Birds
I am deeply and utterly petrified of birds. I do not know when this phobia started exactly, but this movie does not help.
(1) The plot begins like any other cheesy romance story. Melanie Daniels is a pracitcal joker and tries to play a joke on Mitch Brenner. Things go horribly wrong when she gets attacked by a seagull, therefore she is forced to stay in the small town of Bodega Bay where Mitch lives. While she is there the birds decide to go crazy, attack the village and take over the entire town.
(2) Surprisingly I had no real issues with acting in this film. Tippi Hendren I know had to suffer a lot emotionally and physically for this movie and she did a brilliant job. I really did enjoy watching her. The only annoying actress was the little girl who played Katy. But Suzanne Planchett was also a brilliant actress. It's very hard to be scared convincingly and everyone did a great job at it.
(3) I guess the actual Birds count as scenery. I mean, they were very fake looking in some scenes but very realistic in others. It was more of the sound of the birds chirping and pecking and the ruffling of feathers, that was scary to me. I feel bad that Tippi Hendren had to wear the same outfit the entire movie. I feel like Bodega Bay should have had one dress shop where she could have bought a new outfit, I mean she was abke to buy pajamas. The use of the color green is interesting to note too. The lovebirds and Tippi Hendren's dress were both green indicating that maybe this was the cause of what was happening in Bodega Bay.
(4) It's considered to be a classic Hitchcock film and I know why. It's not that movie is scary but it is suspenseful. The romantic love story is subdued and is just a plot device. I would give the movie a 3 out of 5. They loose points on unrealistic looking birds and not giving us a clear reason as to why the birds went crazy.
(1) The plot begins like any other cheesy romance story. Melanie Daniels is a pracitcal joker and tries to play a joke on Mitch Brenner. Things go horribly wrong when she gets attacked by a seagull, therefore she is forced to stay in the small town of Bodega Bay where Mitch lives. While she is there the birds decide to go crazy, attack the village and take over the entire town.
(2) Surprisingly I had no real issues with acting in this film. Tippi Hendren I know had to suffer a lot emotionally and physically for this movie and she did a brilliant job. I really did enjoy watching her. The only annoying actress was the little girl who played Katy. But Suzanne Planchett was also a brilliant actress. It's very hard to be scared convincingly and everyone did a great job at it.
(3) I guess the actual Birds count as scenery. I mean, they were very fake looking in some scenes but very realistic in others. It was more of the sound of the birds chirping and pecking and the ruffling of feathers, that was scary to me. I feel bad that Tippi Hendren had to wear the same outfit the entire movie. I feel like Bodega Bay should have had one dress shop where she could have bought a new outfit, I mean she was abke to buy pajamas. The use of the color green is interesting to note too. The lovebirds and Tippi Hendren's dress were both green indicating that maybe this was the cause of what was happening in Bodega Bay.
(4) It's considered to be a classic Hitchcock film and I know why. It's not that movie is scary but it is suspenseful. The romantic love story is subdued and is just a plot device. I would give the movie a 3 out of 5. They loose points on unrealistic looking birds and not giving us a clear reason as to why the birds went crazy.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Contemporary Movie #1: Twilight
I have been waiting for this movie since the summer where I read all four books in less than two weeks (I'm a loser-- I know). I even bought the T shirt for the movie when I bought the fourth book. Needless to say I was beyond excited. And although many people adored the movie, it's nowhere near as good as the book (is it ever?)
(1) The storyline is simple. Vampire falls in love with non-vampire-- what do they do? They fall in love anyway and live happily ever after and fight other vampires. Unfortunately like most novel to movie scripts, a lot of background is cut out. You didn't really truly understand Bella in this movie where in the book you know her so well you are practically her. You breathe, sleep and cry with her. In the movie she was just some character. Unlike the book though, the movie really portrayed her friends at the school brilliantly. I had a deeper apprecaition for the characters now.
(2) Robert Pattinson was amazing no doubt. Gorgeous, perfect, simply just magical. I get chills when I think about it-- probably because he's so handsome but this acting-- well-- he's much better than Kristen Stewart who was dull. Anyone could have played that part. And she did not do Bella justice, you didn't feel her pain, or sorrow. She brought no emotions to the screen. In the book you cry your eyes off and in this movie you just want to her die. Sadly, I did not like the girl who played Alice either. And Alice is my favorite character in the novels, she just didn't have the bubbliness of Alice. She was just too-- nonhyper.
(3) The movie itself was quite dark which I can't decide if I liked or didn't like. I must say, I was highly disappointed with the meadow scene. That is the dream that Stephanie Meyer had that embarked her into writing these novels and they just failed to deliver. There was no magic at all. When you saw him in the sun, it didn't even look that different. I wanted a body like a diamond like Emma Frost from X-men. SOMETHING. Not specks of light. I think they did a good job though making Forks out to be the gloomiest place on earth though. Overall- the mise-en-scene isn't that noteworthy.
(4) If I hadn't of read the books, I would have been lost at certain points. My mother was confused a lot and I had to keep telling her things from the novel to get her to understand. As usual the book is better than the movie and I recommend people reading the series and then seeing the movies.
I guess I would rate is a 3 out of 5. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't amazing. And Robert Pattinson is just gorgeous.
(1) The storyline is simple. Vampire falls in love with non-vampire-- what do they do? They fall in love anyway and live happily ever after and fight other vampires. Unfortunately like most novel to movie scripts, a lot of background is cut out. You didn't really truly understand Bella in this movie where in the book you know her so well you are practically her. You breathe, sleep and cry with her. In the movie she was just some character. Unlike the book though, the movie really portrayed her friends at the school brilliantly. I had a deeper apprecaition for the characters now.
(2) Robert Pattinson was amazing no doubt. Gorgeous, perfect, simply just magical. I get chills when I think about it-- probably because he's so handsome but this acting-- well-- he's much better than Kristen Stewart who was dull. Anyone could have played that part. And she did not do Bella justice, you didn't feel her pain, or sorrow. She brought no emotions to the screen. In the book you cry your eyes off and in this movie you just want to her die. Sadly, I did not like the girl who played Alice either. And Alice is my favorite character in the novels, she just didn't have the bubbliness of Alice. She was just too-- nonhyper.
(3) The movie itself was quite dark which I can't decide if I liked or didn't like. I must say, I was highly disappointed with the meadow scene. That is the dream that Stephanie Meyer had that embarked her into writing these novels and they just failed to deliver. There was no magic at all. When you saw him in the sun, it didn't even look that different. I wanted a body like a diamond like Emma Frost from X-men. SOMETHING. Not specks of light. I think they did a good job though making Forks out to be the gloomiest place on earth though. Overall- the mise-en-scene isn't that noteworthy.
(4) If I hadn't of read the books, I would have been lost at certain points. My mother was confused a lot and I had to keep telling her things from the novel to get her to understand. As usual the book is better than the movie and I recommend people reading the series and then seeing the movies.
I guess I would rate is a 3 out of 5. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't amazing. And Robert Pattinson is just gorgeous.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
I didn't have many expectations going into this movie. I didn't know what it was about just that Brad Pitt's character was born old and dies young. I was pleasantly surprised of the use of technology and how realistic it looked. It didn't have that CGI "this is blatantly fake" effect. Despite its long run time-- I was totally engrossed into the storyline.
I will rate the following movies in four sections: (1) plot line (2) acting (3) mise en scene and (4) finals thoughts
(1) The short story was written F. Scott Fitzgerald. The same person who wrote the worst story that I was forced to read The Great Gatsby--but unlike Gatsby, this story was extremely well written. The only issue I had was the narrative bookend structure of the mother and the daughter. The fact that it was set during Hurricaine Katrina takes us away from the magical realism that this story conveys. The relationship between the mother and daugther was not explained well, they didn't seem that they were close and they didn't seem like they hated each other, it was just an undefined back story. Instead of appreciating the death of the old woman at the end, and her saying good night to Ben, I wondered if the daughter was going to survive Hurricaine Katrina-- that's not what I should be thinking when I walked out of the theatre.
(2) I have never been a huge Brad Pitt fan. Fight Club is arguably an amazing movie, but he isn't known for his amazing acting in that movie more for his insanely hott body. But I will say that Mr. Pitt blew me away. His accent was spot on and did not falter once. He was extremely beleivable. His face, his eyes clearly expressed his emotions and it was beautiful to see.
Cate Blanchette was also phenomenal. She reminded me of a young Barbara Streisand believe it or not. She wasn't beautiful but she wasn't ugly-- she was real. She wanted him and yet didn't want him. And you can see in her body language the internal struggle she had when Ben visited him in New York. Her dancing was beautiful. I was very impressed.
(3) The lighting didn't plan anything significant to the movie but one scene where lighting stands out in my mine-- when they were in the park. Cate Blanchette was dancing on the Gazebo. The light was coming from behind and she was a black silhouette. It was just amazing to see, her slow movements and dance represented how she felt toward's Benjamin. All of her emotions just seeped through the screen.
and (4) final thoughts:
I cried very much during this movie. So if you plan on seeing it, then you should definitely bring tissues. Anything that has to do with true love, always breaks me down. Therefore I give it a 4.5 out of 5. It looses points because it was a little long and redundant. Plus the Hurricaine Katrina aspect was...stupid.
I will rate the following movies in four sections: (1) plot line (2) acting (3) mise en scene and (4) finals thoughts
(1) The short story was written F. Scott Fitzgerald. The same person who wrote the worst story that I was forced to read The Great Gatsby--but unlike Gatsby, this story was extremely well written. The only issue I had was the narrative bookend structure of the mother and the daughter. The fact that it was set during Hurricaine Katrina takes us away from the magical realism that this story conveys. The relationship between the mother and daugther was not explained well, they didn't seem that they were close and they didn't seem like they hated each other, it was just an undefined back story. Instead of appreciating the death of the old woman at the end, and her saying good night to Ben, I wondered if the daughter was going to survive Hurricaine Katrina-- that's not what I should be thinking when I walked out of the theatre.
(2) I have never been a huge Brad Pitt fan. Fight Club is arguably an amazing movie, but he isn't known for his amazing acting in that movie more for his insanely hott body. But I will say that Mr. Pitt blew me away. His accent was spot on and did not falter once. He was extremely beleivable. His face, his eyes clearly expressed his emotions and it was beautiful to see.
Cate Blanchette was also phenomenal. She reminded me of a young Barbara Streisand believe it or not. She wasn't beautiful but she wasn't ugly-- she was real. She wanted him and yet didn't want him. And you can see in her body language the internal struggle she had when Ben visited him in New York. Her dancing was beautiful. I was very impressed.
(3) The lighting didn't plan anything significant to the movie but one scene where lighting stands out in my mine-- when they were in the park. Cate Blanchette was dancing on the Gazebo. The light was coming from behind and she was a black silhouette. It was just amazing to see, her slow movements and dance represented how she felt toward's Benjamin. All of her emotions just seeped through the screen.
and (4) final thoughts:
I cried very much during this movie. So if you plan on seeing it, then you should definitely bring tissues. Anything that has to do with true love, always breaks me down. Therefore I give it a 4.5 out of 5. It looses points because it was a little long and redundant. Plus the Hurricaine Katrina aspect was...stupid.
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