Chicken vs Fox

In class today while discussing who are the chickens and who are the foxes, I have come up with my own opinion. Personally I feel that Hanks wife, Sarah, is the ultimate fox in this movie and everyone else are her chickens. Although she has a minor role in the film, everything happens more or less because of her. Hank brings her into the situation just as much as he is in it right from the get co, and to his stupidity listens to her every word. Once maybe twice he contradicts her plan, but after some arguing he ultimately winds up doing her plan. Now Jacob, Lou, and even Carl are the smaller chickens in the picture because they listen to Hanks every word (which in actuality is Sarah's). My favorite part in the film is when Sarah and Hank are arguing in their bedroom and she says something along the lines of "Just a few days ago no one would have thought you would be cab able of doing the things you have done" I find this statement so ironic and funny it really sums up her character. Good film choice, not one of my particular favorites, but it did keep me guessing until the end. Also I feel Billy Bob Thorton once again stole the film with his acting.

Confused from Momento?

Hmm what just happened? After leaving class today, I tried explaining to Lindsay what happened in the film, and found myself just as confused. I understand the point that he has been living a whole lie, by his doing, and knowing what the facts were, but that he didn't want to face the truth. What I don't understand is what is the truth behind Sammy Jenkins? They mentioned his story was made up and that he was a fraud, but was Lenny just confusing Sam's story with his own? Also I thought that his wife was raped than murdered, but I don't know maybe I am imagining this I could of sworn I heard Teddy say she survived the assault. I am confused if you haven't noticed lol ...but on the lighter side of things-Excellent film. I really enjoyed it and thought the scenario was genius.

Dark City on a whole..

Hey guys..I'm back =) i know you all missed me ha ha ...let's just say I'm an idiot i couldn't remember my password & therefore it wouldn't allow me on but alas i have fixed the problem and here i am! .....

Anyway now that's all cleared up, i would like to comment on our newest film Dark City. WOW! Talk about strange, this film clearly defines it. However, as strange as it is, I am in love with it! Rufus Sewell has always been one of my favorite actors and to see him play this role really excites me. It shows he isn't limited to one genre and is one of the truly talented actors in Hollywood nowadays. When Mr. Bennett made the comment in class today about Kiefer Sutherland's character, it stuck with me watching the film. I am a fan of Kiefer but I honestly am not a fan of him in this particular film. I feel he makes his character rather annoying with his speech problem and you are more drawn into how he speaks than what his character is all about. Now with these alien people I love Mr. Sleep, I have a feeling he is going to be a big part of the film with his sneaky ways. LOVE LOVE LOVE the film, excellent choice, and cannot wait to continue watching. =)

Unforgiven!!

I'm going to keep this post extremely short... So I have already seen unforgiven about 4-5 times, my dad is like a crazy obsessed western kinda guy, so I have it on DVD. I just want to say without giving anything away, that this movie simply ROCKS! Clint Eastwood is just such a good director/actor it really amazes me. Seeing the movie again, and looking at it in a different perspective, I have already noticed many things I haven't noticed in the previous times. Now is when the movie really picks up, all the bad guys are coming into town to take down these 2 "notorious" cowboys. AHH can't wait...=)

Top Hat?

Uhhh so I don't know if I'm feeling this movie. I know it was made back in the 1930's and was filmed in black and white, but something about it had me falling asleep in class today. It is funny with the pun intended throughout the scenes, but I feel the acting is either off key or just plain bad. It also is an obvious scenario, I can already tell what is going to happen beforehand. Who knows maybe I'm just being a Debbie downer on Top Hat because I'm more of a action/drama kind of girl. That's probably why I'm not really giving this a chance. I really need to broaden my horizons to new genres. Who knows, maybe it will turn out to be good in the end.

My thoughts on Seventh Seal...

OK-there's a lot to talk about with this one, so where to begin. First off let me just say this was a very very interesting movie, not only for it being in Swedish with English subtitles, but because it was an original work. Nowadays, this movie would not receive much attention, be considered boring, but really it is a beautiful movie with such moving scenes and symbols in it that people who see it tend to take it for granted. Next I want to touch upon what we were talking about in class today. Irina was right but she was also wrong. Death is in fact in the background during the scene (I went home and watched it on YouTube) but the commentator says he is kneeling, but that is the monk. So kudos to Irina for pointing out death, but kudos to Mr.Bennett for always being "right" ha ha ...but anyway back to the analysis of the film. When we were discussing in class today what our favorite scenes were, I realized I couldn't choose because each scene was so different yet so intriguing it was hard to pick one that really stood out. However, the scene with the flagellants really shocked me. I remember sitting in class and going what the hell is this! I was so freaked out by the scene, honestly maybe even a little frightened, but at the same time I was so interested in it I became wrapped up in the scene. All of the scenes in the movie seemed to have a lasting affect on you one way or another. I also like how the director has many references to God but then at the same time completely shuts them down. For instance one of the last scenes is when they are having "the last supper" before death comes for them. Also the Book of Revelation is used both at the very start of the film, and again towards the end, another indication of Religion but then you have the squire saying cynical and atheistic remarks about death and even death himself saying he knows nothing about the other side. The movie really leaves it to your digression of how you want to view it, because for me I saw a religious aspect but for others just the opposite is true.

Existentialism looked at through my perspective.

Today was a rather interesting discussion. When reviewing what the basis of existentialism was, it made me think a lot about religion. I agreed with some of the points, such as we are all free and should live in the present, but then I disagreed with some points also, such as the one Mr. Bennett pointed out #6...

To refresh your memories, #6 said that existence is essentially absurd. There is no purpose to our presence in the universe. We simply find ourselves here; we do not know and will never find out why. And death, which irrevocably terminates our existence, testifies to the ultimate absurdity of life. Compared with the eternity of time that preceded our birth and will follow our death, the short duration of our existence seems trivial.

Now, I'm not trying to bring up an argument of people's religious beliefs, but I feel this argument is very weak. To say, there is no purpose to our presence in the universe. We simply find ourselves here; we do not know and will never find out why..that to me has no substance. Many things are unexplainable, and one thing is how we were created. How could you say we mean nothing, yet here we are. If we were placed here just for the hell of it, there had to be some form of a meaning behind it. But alas, that is just my opinion...Also another topic that sparked my interest in class today as well, was when Mr. Bennett was explaining his religious belief. When he explained vaguely why he turned atheist I wanted to counterattack an argument but decided to leave it for a posting. =) When he said something along the lines of, if God could let you suffer so much then he must be a monster. How could he let the world be the way it is. To disagree with this point I immediately thought of something that existentialist believe in; that you are free. If God stopped you from doing all of the horrible things people do in this world, wouldn't you be losing your free will? God would be able to influence you, control you, and basically over mind you, that is too say if there even is a God. By not stopping all of the suffering in the world, God let's you continue to have your free will and freedom to do as you please. Just a thought that popped up maybe you agree or disagree with me.

Wow Australia was AMAZING!

So I just finished watching a movie that I have been wanting to see for awhile & was never able to see it in the movies. All that I can say right now is WOW! If any of you have seen this film, I hope that you agree with me because it was awesome!! For all those who haven't seen it, I suggest that you go out rent it and watch it! Australia was not what I expected at all. Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman were simply brilliant. I don't know the actors name for the little kid in the movie, but he was just as amazing as the other two. I don't want to give any of the plot away or any of the storyline, all that I'm going to say is this movie left me feeling happy, sad, nervous, anxious, angry, & frustrated. It had all of the different genres involved as well. It was a love story, then a war film, then drama, then funny at time, it simply left me taken back. It was very different and defiently a unique film. After seeing it just once, I claim this film in my top 5 movies of all time! Go watch it ahhh!! =))

Paper Clip Scene in Runaway Train...

In class today, when we were reviewing Runaway Train, something Mr. Bennett said caught my special attention. When we were talking about the paper clip scene, I have to disagree with the comment that no words should have been spoken and just let the scene play out. Even with the commentary many of the people in class, had no idea what the significance of the scene meant. When he says "some things just can't be explained & etc.." you kind of get a better understanding. Even though I still don't completely understand the significance of the scene, without that commentary, I feel people who see the movie will just forget the scene, even though it is an important one. On the hole though Runaway Train was a very entertaining and unique film. My favorite character is definitely Buck, he was the comic relief and I feel the actor really played his character well. Manny to really impressed me. Seeing him go from Joe Buck the stud in Midnight Cowboy to this physcopathic killer in Runaway Train he is really able to develop into his characters roles. This goes on my list of movies so far as number two, just behind Citizen Kane =)

How I felt after watching Midnight Cowboy today...

I still haven't decided if i like this movie or not. It's a very different film and gives me all different kind of emotions while watching it. In particular, while watching Midnight Cowboy today I felt very weirded out. Yesterday, I felt sorry for Joe Buck, he kind of realizes that he isn't what he originally thought he was and kept having no luck, especially after being cheated out by Ratso. I hated Ratso because he scammed him, yet today i completely changed my mind. I felt bad for Ratso even more than Joe Buck. You get a more in depth analysis of what his life is like, how he got there, and what his dreams are. That is the part that weirded me out. I came to the conclusion that he's gay, he wants Joe Buck secretly that is obviously revealed to us in the fantasy of them running on the beach. However, another part of that fantasy that caught my attention was when it showed him outrunning Joe. This left me feeling sorry for Ratso because he has a bum leg. As you can see, this film leaves me very confused and my emotions are all over the place with which characters to like and which characters to dislike. I hope the remainder of the film will sum it all up.

Slumdog Millionaire

Over the weekend I went to go see Slumdog Millionaire. Everyone lately has been talking about how amazing this movie is, so i figured what the hell I might as well see it if it's REALLY that good. Oh boy were they wrong. I thought the movie was actually absolutely terrible. Yes it was different, yes it made you feel bad for the underdog, and yes it kept you on the edge of your seat. However, at the same time I felt the actors were terrible, the soundtrack did not fit the setting, and the storyline just didn't add up at times, it was a little too far-fetched. If I were to describe the movie in one word it would be insipid. At one point, I actually laughed out loud because I thought of something Mr. Bennett said during class one day. He was talking about (I forgot which movie) how you knew everything that happened to the character, yet, as you were watching the movie you sat there on the tip of your seat all nervous and waiting for the outcome, but you knew it already! The same exact thing happened to me watching this film, and I felt like such an idiot because you already know that he wins the money. But anyway back to talking about the film, I just did not feel anything spectacular was produced. I personally don't think it should have won Best Picture at the Oscars, but what can you do I'm not the judge.

First thoughts of the class...

When I first heard of the film class being offered this term, I thought immediately to myself that I was going to sign up. I love all kinds of movies and I love to analyze them so this class seemed perfect for me. However, when I sat down on the first day of class and Mr. Bennett went rambling on about all movies I had never heard of, I thought to myself- OMG what have I signed up for! I thought it was going to be the most dragged on, lifeless, and boring class that I have ever "volunteered" to be in. But, to my surprise I was completely wrong. After watching our first movie, All Quiet on the Western Front, I fell in love with the class. Not to mention how entertaining Mr. Bennett is to watch when he acts out a favorite scene. I'm looking forward now to going to 7th period everyday and learn some new and interesting things. Can't wait for the next movie I'm sure its going to be just as good! =)