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.