My Movie Ratings

I rated the movies we watched this semester from my favorite (at number 1) to my least favorite (at number 12):


1. Moonrise Kingdom - I just love looking at anything directed by Wes Anderson, it's like entering a candy shop for your eyes.  Plus I love the cast of actors he always uses and this movie was on my top ten list at the beginning of the class.

2. O Brother, Where Art Thou? - The Coens' take on the Odyssey is really interesting and I love the layers of cultural references embedded into the film, each time I watch it I find one that I've never picked up on before.

3. Blancanieves - I thought this film was just gorgeous.  Plus I liked this darker take on the Snow White story.

4. The Vanishing - I thought the bad guy in this film was so interesting and so creepy and I thought including his process of getting to the kidnapping and murder was very interesting.

5. Sherlock Jr. - I liked the physical humor of this film and was really impressed by the effectiveness of the stunts.  I also liked the subtle political message of the film.

6. My Own Private Idaho - I thought this film was really unique and incorporated many elements I had not seen in film before.

7. Wendy & Lucy - I didn't mind the slow pace of the film and I appreciated the way the director approached trying to make a political movie without shoving the message down your throat.

8. Freaks - I thought this movie was interesting and I liked that it stared actual "freaks", but I thought the message got mixed up and wasn't clear.

9. Awara - This movie was good and I enjoyed the musical numbers and Indian culture but it was way too long.

10. Killer of Sheep - I appreciate what this movie is doing and the realism of it, but it's just not that enjoyable to watch so I wouldn't say that I loved it.  I am however glad that I saw it.

11. Detour - I didn't dislike this film, it's just not that memorable to me.

12. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - I'm just not much of a cowboy movie person so this film didn't resonate that much with me.

An Introduction to Carmencita

The scene opens with a medium close up shots focused on an energetic little girl dancing in a white dress. Her face is shrouded by a veil and she wears an unfinished sleeve on her arm. In the foreground we see a woman sitting below the girl looking up at her.

Then the scene cuts to a close up shot of the woman sitting in the chair. She gives the girl an annoyed look as she pins the girl’s dress. We recognize the woman as Carmen’s mother from the beginning of the film. 

Next the camera cuts to an extreme close up of the girl as she lifts her veil to reveal her exuberant face. We understand that the girl is the daughter of Carmen and Antonio Villalta. The presence of Grandma hints that she is now the girl’s primary caretaker. 

The next cut takes us to a bizarre close up of a chicken, and introduces us to Pepe who is the girl’s best friend. Pepe later plays an important role in the story when the stepmother uses him to teach Carmencita a lesson. 

The chicken is followed by a cut to a close up used to show the emotion on grandma’s face as she yells out in pain and pricks her finger. These extreme emotional close ups are used frequently throughout the movie as it is a silent film and can not rely on dialogue to help create this emotion. 

Finally we cut to a close up of the little girl, she looks at her grandma with a tender expression as sucks the blood from her grandma’s pricked finger. This scene introduces us to the character of Carmencita and shows us that she is an energetic and caring little girl with a lot of spirit. It also serves to show the close bond between Carmencita and her grandmother.

Visual Analyzation of Moonrise Kingdom

In this scene the focus is on Sam and Suzy dancing on a beach. The 2 characters stand in the center of the shot framed by the 2 land masses in the background. Their bodies occupy the space of the water so that only their heads appear to be above the water. Even though Sam and Suzy are in their underwear they are still represented by their signature colors, Suzy is wearing pink underwear with a touch of white in her bra and Sam is wearing his dark green beige colored Khaki scout shirt on top of his underwear.  

Although the 2 characters are the focus there are several items in the foreground closer to the camera. These items include Suzy’s shoes, binoculars and record player. They are placed directly in between Sam and Suzy occupying the exact center of the shot. The blue cover of the record player sits in the middle bringing in a pop of color and directing your attention towards the collection of items. On either side of the dancing characters sits an item near the edge of the frame. Beside Sam sits Suzy’s yellow suitcase and beside Suzy sits Sam’s khaki scout lamp. The coloring of these items matches more closely the color of the background so they fade away from the eye and are not as noticeable, but also help to frame the characters. They also help to represent the 2 characters. Suzy’s yellow suitcase is inappropriate for camping showing her naievity. Sam’s lantern is a little too practical for a child to bring and shows his lack of parental care throughout his childhood.

A Non Traditional Chick Flick

Wendy and Lucy is not the type of movie you think of right away when talking about chick flicks. It is a movie with serious political undertones about a woman, who is essentially homeless, travelling to Alaska on her own. When I think of a chick flick I usually think of a storyline that involves the main character (who is a female) trying to win over some guy, talking to her friends about said guy, crying over the guy, and finally earning the love of this oh so special man. The genre tends to be a little on the shallow end and the plots are largely driven by obtaining love. However movies of the chick flick genre also have a focus on friendship and are usually highly emotional.

In Wendy and Lucy, Wendy has no gal pals to gab with and she definitely has no love interest, instead she has a dog. I think that Wendy and Lucy fits the chick flick genre because the main character is a woman and the movie focuses on her friendship with her dog. Although the characters themselves don’t get overemotional the movie does cover topics that pull at the heartstrings such as homelessness, loosing a friend, being on one’s own, and chasing goals. Where Wendy and Lucy strays from the traditional chick flick is in its lack of a romantic storyline. This is very refreshing, because it shows a more realistic portrayal of a woman. According to most chick flicks women make all their decisions based on men, 80% of their conversations are about men, and the majority of their emotions are caused by men. This is simply not true. That is why it is great to see a movie that focuses on a woman’s trials, goals, friendships, and independence as separate entities unattached to her love life.

Comedy in O Brother Where Art Thou

The use of comedy in O Brother Where Art Thou is a large part of what makes the movie so successful. The camera, the script and the actors all help create the sort of scholarly slapstick comedy that is the movie’s signature. The scene where the congregation comes through the forest and Delmar and Pete get saved could be a very serious scene examining religion and its effects on he human spirit, and while it does dabble in those topics it does so with a comedic flare that adds to the entertainment of the scene.

The scene opens with Everett walking up to the camp where Pete and Delmar are sitting around a fire eating. Everett and Pete discuss how they are going to get to the treasure. There are a series of close up shots on Pete and Everett as they discuss transportation to the treasure, interrupted by close ups of Delmar as he offers Everett a gopher, saying “gopher Everett?”. Pete realizes that Everett has stolen from his cousin and as he realizes this the camera zooms into an even closer up shot of Pete who has narrowed his eyes to a slit in a look of hatred. The exaggeration of Pete’s expression combined with the dramatic zoom in on his face creates a comedic aura instead of one of drama. Once again Delmar offers the gopher to Everett. Music is brought in and the sound interrupts Pete and Everett’s argument. Faintly behind the close up of Pete and Everett you can see white robed figures. The camera then has movement for the first time in the scene and there is a tracking shot around the 3 men showing that they are surrounded by these people in white. Once again, Everett is offered some gopher by Delmar. 

The camera then cuts to the three men walking among the crowd and the music becomes much louder. The camera then zooms out to a bird’s eye view and we get a sense of how big the crowd is and we see that they are all getting baptized. Just as Everett starts talking about how silly the whole thing is the camera cuts to Delmar slopping exaggeratedly through the water towards the priest. Delmar then says he’s a new man and heaven everlasting is his reward and Everett responds with “we’ve got bigger fish to fry”. The scene ends with Pete shoving his hat to Everett and slopping through the water off screen on his way to be baptized as well.

New Images in My Own Private Idaho

I thought that from the beginning My Own Private Idaho created many new images. The opening scene was enticing and intrigued me to want to watch more of the film. It opens on a young man standing next to a road in the middle of nowhere. There are no other people and besides the road and a fence there are no signs of other people for miles. The image gives a very solitary feel and raises several questions about who the young man is, how he got there and what he’s doing there. 

Then the young man, who we later find out is the main character Mike, starts speaking, first just counting while he looks at his pocket watch and takes steps. Then he moves to the middle of the road and speaks about roads. The fact that he can stand in the middle of the road without any concern speaks to the remoteness of his location. The inserted shots of the landscape that break up the scene also show this vast remoteness. Mike’s monologue starts with “I always know where I am by the way the road looks.” Which seems like a silly statement given that there appears to be no landmarks of any kind on this particular road and it appears to be the same for miles in either direction. He goes on to describe the road as someone’s face, and this is referenced later in the film when Mike and Scott return to this road. 

The scene ends with Mike collapsing right in the middle of the road in a narcoleptic fit. He then has a dream sequence involving a woman (we assume is his mother) gently speaking words of comfort and running her hands through Mike’s hair. I thought that this was a very different but effective way to introduce a character and a film. I think it gives the viewer a good amount of information about Mike, his loneliness, his desire to be with his mother, and his vagabond ways. The unusual setting, odd monologue and short dream sequence all help to show the viewer who Mike is and it’s all done in a combination that I haven’t seen before.

Genre Analysis of The Vanishing

I would not consider The Vanishing to be a horror movie. To me the key element to a horror movie is a strong use of suspense. I do not argue that Raymond’s actions in The Vanishing are horrifying, I just believe that to truly be a horror movie there has to be a sense of suspense throughout the story. If the only qualification of the horror genre is that the subject matter of the film must be horrifying then any war movie or documentary on genocide would qualify as a horror movie. Like The Vanishing, these movies are missing the edge of your seat tension that marks most horror films. 

The scene where Saskia is drugged and abducted, for example exhibits little to no suspense. Prior to this scene the viewer has already been introduced to the fact that Saskia has indeed been abducted, we have seen Raymond practice his methods of abduction, and we know the time and location of the abduction. So by the time the film actually shows Saskia’s abduction the viewer already knows the who, what, when, where, and how. As a consequence there is very little, if any, surprise in the abduction scene. It is very hard to build suspense without the idea that something unexpected is about to happen and since the viewer already knows how the kidnapping scene is going to play out, there is no building of suspense. 

The setting for the abduction doesn’t help. It’s a very public place with children playing in the sun and people pumping gas. Nothing about it creates suspense. The scene also lacks traditional musical cues of suspense, there is no building musical theme to clue the viewer into what is about to happen. In fact there is no use of music at all, just the diegetic sounds of tiles clinking in a box and the distant sound of children playing, neither of which adds any tension to the scene.

Scene Analysis of Killer of Sheep

I chose to analyze a scene about two-thirds the way through the movie where Stan and his wife dance together to This Bitter Earth by Dinah Washington. The scene opens to a dark room with the only source of light coming from a window. Stan and his wife stand in front of the window the lighting making them little more than silhouettes. The darkness surrounding the couple makes the space seem tighter and more confined, much like many of the other scenes in the film. The camera stays in one position throughout the scene as the couple sways in front of the window.

When the scene opens Stan and his wife stand with a far amount of space in between each other. As the scene progresses Stan’s wife starts moving closer and closer to Stan and begins to kiss him, increasing their physical contact. Though their contact increases, their emotional distance never dissipates. Although Stan lets his wife hold and kiss him he does not reciprocate and in fact his wife adjusts his hold on her herself in her attempt to become more intimate with her husband. His expression during the whole scene is emotionless and distant, and he doesn’t look at his wife. Finally as Stan’s wife starts to desperately clutch at Stan in her attempt to elicit a connection with him, Stan recognizes her presence and actually looks at her only to throw her off of him and walk out of the scene. This leaves Stan’s wife crying by the window.

The scene helps to illustrate the disconnect Stan feels with not just his wife but also his whole family unit. Despite his wife’s attempts at intimacy, Stan is just incapable of having this kind of connection with her. This goes back to the overarching idea of the dehumanization of Stan at his job and how this spills over to his private life.

The Strong and Silent Clint Eastwood

In The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Clint Eastwood plays the character of Blondie, an outlaw in the Wild West. This character helps to set up what how Clint Eastwood is thought of as an actor for the rest of his career. The character of Blondie has very few lines throughout the film, especially in comparison to his comrade Tuco. In most scenes they have together Tuco does most if not all of the talking and Blondie will stand there strong and silent possibly adding a good one liner, but not chattering away the way Tuco does. In the film Tuco’s chattering is presented in a way that makes him appear weak or vulnerable while Blondie’s silence gives him an appearance of toughness.

Eastwood is also able to utilize his signature scowl in his portrayal of Blondie. In most shots Blondie isn’t talking and is instead scowling and whoever he is being spoken to by. The scowl shows that he’s listening, thinking, planning but it’s all going on in his head, he’s not expressing his thoughts out loud. The scowl also has a masculine strength to it and gives Eastwood an almost stoic appearance. Eastwood’s face shows little emotion beyond the scowl. He very rarely smiles in the film and of course he never cries. This lack of outward emotion again adds to the persona of Eastwood as the strong silent type.

Awara, The Musical

I would definitely describe Awara as a musical. The most important factor in a musical is, obviously, the involvement on music in the story. There are many scenes in Awara that involve characters singing about their situations or feelings. The songs also all appear to be diegetic with the characters participating in some way. For example there is a scene at the beginning of the film where the judge and Leela are on the boat heading to their home, there are many people around the boat singing an ominous song. Neither the judge nor Leela participate in the singing but Leela asks the judge a question about what they’re singing indicating that even when the characters are not themselves creating the music they are aware of its existence around them.

Another important part of musicals is the dancing, which Awara takes full advantage of. The dance scenes in Awara vary in intensity from scenes where Rita just sort wanders around the shot to scenes like the dream sequence which involve choreographed moves with many back up dancers. Either way dance plays a big role in Awara.

Costumes are also usually, although no always, a large of part of musical films. In Awara elaborate costuming is used occasionally in correlation with the character of Rita. The dream sequence involves the use of sparkles and a goddess like dress to help create Raj’s heaven fantasy. Rita also wears fancy flowing nightgowns to help amp up the drama in night scenes where she sings of her longing for Raj. The wind sweeps up her gown and elegantly blows it around her just as she hits the high note. The combination of song, dance, and costuming are markers of what makes a musical and Awara’s consistent exploitation of these techniques marks the film as a musical in its own right.

Women In Detour

The representation of the women in Detour is very interesting.  Both women appear to make their own decisions free from the influence of the male characters.  Sue makes the move from New York to LA on her own despite her boyfriend’s lack of support.  She appears to be an independent woman with dreams she is willing to sacrifice for.  Sue doesn’t give up on her dream or back down from her plan just because Al is dismissive of it, she breaks away and moves to LA.  However Sue’s role within the film really has nothing to do with this perceived independence.  She is portrayed as an unachievable symbol of Roberts’ desire for happiness.

Vera also seems to be an independent female character, however she is also manipulative, controlling and greedy.  When Vera recognizes Charles Haskell Jr’s car she schemes out a plan to take advantage of Al Roberts.  From there on out she controls every minute of their time together.  Unsatisfied with the money Roberts finds on Haskell, she first insists on selling the car and then insists that Roberts pretend to be Haskell so that they can inherit money from Haskell’s father.  Seeing a woman in control is refreshing, but she doesn’t seem to be in control of herself and at times she appears to be very vulnerable.  In the evenings she gets drunk and tries, unsuccessfully, to woo Roberts.  In these moments her power seems to shrink away until she is reduced to a lonely girl.  To me this gives her character some sympathy and realism.  No one can be so authoritative all the time, everyone has their softer side and I think representing that in the story makes it more powerful and relatable.  Although it may not be the most commanding representation of a woman I think it get closer to a more realistic representation than I’ve seen of other movies of the time.

The (Almost) Equality of Freaks

In my opinion although Freaks had the potential to break down fears and stereotypes of the general public towards people with physical differences the ending causes the movie to fall short of these goals.  Throughout the majority of the movie the circus "freaks" are shown to be just like you and me, they hang clothes up to dry, they enjoy the outdoors, they have friends and even interact normally with people of an average physical appearance.  Beyond that they're also shown having normal emotional experiences, they fall in love, they get jealous, they celebrate the birth of the bearded lady's baby.  By the end of the movie you almost stop seeing they're physical differences or at least they're not the first thing you think about when they come on screen.  The "freaks" also seem to be more moral than Cleo and Hercules, their average sized comrades.  Right up until the ending the film has the audience sympathizing with and even liking this band of circus "freaks".

In the last 5 minutes however, the tables turn and this band of likeable oddballs becomes a gang of monsters with revenge in their eyes.  The minute the audience looses their emotional connection with the "freaks", the physical differences that define them as such come front and center and we no longer see them as our equals.  All the sudden the audience sympathizes with Cleo, who up until this point has been strongly portrayed as the villain.  I think if the goal of the movie was to be more forward thinking towards those with physical differences than the ending was a mistake, because it portrays the "freaks" as villains and Cleo, who is clearly a terrible human being, as a victim of their crimes.  The ending of the film cements the connection in the audiences' minds between monsters and persons with physical abnormalities.

Physical Comedy in Sherlock Jr.

To me, the use of gags in Sherlock Jr. was a key part of what made the film so enjoyable to watch.  Since the movie is silent and there is no real dialogue much of the story must by communicated through physical means, including the comedic pieces.  I thought the gags were hysterical and well executed.  Before watching the film, I thought since it was an older movie the gags might be a little cheesey, but to my surprise most of them were pretty unexpected and funny.  The scene where Keaton jumps through the window and into the white case with the lady's clothes in it was my favorite.  I really had no idea what was going on with that white case in the window up until he jumped through it and was suddenly dressed as a woman.  To me, the most successful use of humor in movies is when it's totally unexpected.  I think things are funnier when you can't see them coming.  

Many movies today make use of slapstick humor much like Keaton did in Sherlock Jr.  Over winter break I watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and there are many similarities between the humor in that and Sherlock Jr.'s physical style of comedy.  For example when the Dad in Christmas Vacation is putting up Christmas lights he falls off the roof and onto the gutter then from the gutter into the bushes.  It reminds me some of the scene in Sherlock Jr. where Keaton falls from the train onto the water spout, gets drenched and then finally falls to the ground.  In both cases the character could have been hurt but instead his fall is broken a couple times on the way down and this helps to create a comedic, instead of tragic, scene.

Intro

Hi my name is Nora and I am a 4th year architecture student in DAAP.  I decided to take this course because I really enjoy watching movies and would like to know more about them.  After taking this class I hope I will be better able to critique and understand movies.  As far as my taste in film goes I like a little of everything from comedies to romances, I would never count out something just because it was a certain genre.  However my favorite types of movies are probably dramas.