12
March
2006
The four movies that I chose were THX1138, American Graffiti, Lentl, and Prince of Tides. THX1138 and American Graffiti were both written and directed by the one and only George Lucas. Prince of Tides and Lentl were written and directed by Barbra Streisand.
The first on that I watched was THX1138. This movie was set in the future, about a city underground that the people are controlled by some higher power that I could not quite figure out. The men and women of the city do not have normal names the have letters and numbers. For example the main character played by Robert Duvall name was THX1138. He worked on making robots that are used as police officers. The men and woman are not allowed to have any feelings. For example love, they are not to have any emotion what so ever. Everyone is self sedated because that is what this higher power wants. No one asked questions they just took the pills that were provided with there meals. Until THX’s roommate LUH stopped taking the pills and fell in love with THX. She then tricked THX into sobering up so that he would know what it is like to feel. He ends up falling in love which is not allowed. They talk about escaping to the upper world above ground. When they attempt this they are arrested and she is recycled. THX eventually escapes to the upper world where he sees sunlight for the first time, and that is where the movie ends. I found this movie a little weird and very boring. George Lucas has definitely come a long way.
The next movie I watched was American Graffiti. I really liked this movie. It was a wholesome, fun film. It was about a group of teenagers spending there last night together before a couple of them go off to college. They all eventually separate and do their own thing that night. One guy spends his whole night looking for a girl that he saw earlier crusin’ down the street. The couple of the group manage to break up and get back together all before the night is over. The “nerd” gets the girl and has a wild night. The guy who’s modo is “to cool for school” ends up crusin’ around all night with a thirteen year old girl(played by McKenzie Phillips)which I though did a great job, her character was hilarious. This movie is very similar to Happy Days, not only because it stared Ron Howard and Cindy Williams, but also because of the 50’s type setting. It is nice to watch a movie without having to see so much sex and violence. I think that George Lucas did a great job on this film, especially it only being his second film.
The third movie I watched was Prince of Tides. This movie was about a married man named Tom (Nick Nolte) that is trying to help his suicidal sister, Savannah through her problems. In the mean time he ends up finding out about some suppressed memories of his own. Which is basically the fault of his controlling, psychotic mother, made them all cover up the crime and never tell a sole.
He ends up falling in love with his sisters psychologists’ who helps him retrieve and deal with these painful memories. The psychologist, Dr. Susan Lowenstein (Barbra Streisand.) is also going through a hard time which he helps her through. In the end the sister and the brother are mentally healthier and happier. He goes home to his wife and works out their problems. I didn’t really like the movie; it was very hard to watch some parts of the movie, like where the men come in and rape the mother, daughter, and son. It is not a movie that I would ever want to see again. I think that I will stick to the “American Graffiti” type movies.
The fourth and final movie that I watched was Lentl. It is a movie about a Jewish women who father taught her a bout religion. This is set back in a time where women were severely suppressed and were not supposed to know certain things. After the passing of her father she decides to dress up as and to portray a man in order to join a school. She ends up having a sort of arranged marriage to a woman who obviously doesn’t know that she is a man. In the end she ends up telling the women and inspires the woman to learn more and discover who she really is. I liked this movie a lot better than Barbra’s other movie. I do think that she is a great actress and a wonderful director, writer, and producer. She can do it all.
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12
March
2006
I furled two websites about THX1138 and I have to say that they are as weird as the movie. It does give some info on the movie if you can figure out how to get to it. I would really like someone to go to these sites and tell me what you think of them. They are www.thx1138movie.com and thx-1138.org, no www.
The site that I furled for American Graffiti, is a great site there is a fun little trivia quiz you can take to test your knowledge on the movie. It has a lot of great pictures and clips. I also found out that the license plate on the Deuce Coupe was Thx138 (interesting).Here it is http://homevideo.universalstudios.com/americangraffiti/
I couldn’t really find a good site on Prince of Tides, so I furled www.imdb.com it gives a little info, like the plot summary for those of you who haven’t seen it can figure out if you want to.
For Yentl, I furled a really cool website it lists all of the events that Barbra went though to make the movie. From January 1968 when she was sent the short story “Yentl the Yeshiva Boy” all the way to December 1983. It is all listed in chronological order. The website is http://www.bjsmusic.com/Yentl15/chronology.html
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12
March
2006
The featured film maker was Godfrey Reggio, who was both writer and director of The Qatsi Trilogy. The first movie was Koyaanisqatsi, to me this film was about the way that we have destroyed our land. The beginning of the film was all shots of nature. There were mountains, shadows of clouds and water. I thought that this was the most peaceful part of the movie, the music was soft and pretty, and went well with what was on the screen. The next half of the film was harsher. The music was much louder and faster, which made sense with what was on the screen at that time. There were pictures of machinery such as a tractors and lots of cars. There were shots of people in the city and traffic on the highways moving in fast forward. There were also pictures of buildings being imploded in slow motion, the music would slow down during this. I think that Reggio was trying to make a statement with his music choice. When it was showing the busy streets of the city with all of the people and the shots of the traffic, the music is very fast and loud. When the music is like this it makes you feel anxious and annoyed, kind of like the way you feel when fighting a crowd or driving in traffic. I do think that the film felt a little long when he repeated many of the scenes. For example the buildings were shown over and over again along with the people and the traffic, and in the beginning with the mountains, and there was so much of the same scenery being shown. To be completely honest I couldn’t wait for it to end. I left the theatre exhausted, and was dreading coming to the next film the following night.
The second film was Powaqqatsi, I wasn’t looking forward to seeing this film, but was pleasantly surprised. This film was filmed in a number of different countries, capturing the beauty, the hard work, and the struggles in every one. The men, women and even children are such hard workers they work from dusk until dawn just to survive. They are all so different from the United States, from the housing structures to the clothing and the mannerisms of the people. I was so taken by what I was watching, I really don’t even remember what type of music was playing. I think that this film had more of a documentary feel to it. I really enjoyed this movie and it got my very excited about the last film.
The third and final film was Naqoyqatsi. I was and still am a little confused to what this was about. I believe it is about war and everyday struggles in life. I am confused because I feel that there were a few things that I didn’t feel belonged, if that were the point of the film. For example the part with all of the naked babies (creepy). There were a lot of different things to take in, like the different symbols and lots of numbers. One part had a lot of famous people in a wax museum, I though it to be entertaining to see if I knew who they were. There were a few parts in this particular film that made me very sad. One of them was a man being beaten while he just sat on the ground and did not fight back, not even when he was kicked in the head. This film also had more of a computer feel to it, there were a few parts with computer graphics and computer animation. If I had to pick a favorite of the three, I would pick Powaqqatsi, because I enjoy watching and learning about different cultures.
After all three of the films Godfrey Reggio took time to answer any questions about the movie. He had a lot of people who loved his films and took the few criticisms he had with stride. I think that he is a very interesting person who has seen a lot of amazing things in his life. After one of the films someone asked him if he had ever considered writing a book, he answered “no, but maybe I should.” I really hope that he does I would definitely buy it. I have never been to a film festival before, and after attending this one I don’t think that it will be my last. It was an interesting and great experience.
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26
February
2006
I really enjoy reading about what everyone thinks of the movies. In this module I think that everyone pretty much had the same views of these two movies. For the most part everyone seemed to like them. I also like to hear what everyone has to say about my posts (good or bad).
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24
February
2006
Here is the website I furled about casting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casting
Here is the website that I furled that has an article all about acting styles. http://www.jvaladez.com/mongol/drama6.html
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24
February
2006
I furled the lord of the rings web site it is awesome. It has a really cool photo gallery, among other things. http://www.lordoftherings.net/index.html
For Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon I furled a website that has some info on the movie and also has reviews, and ratings. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1800424121/info
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24
February
2006
I furled a website that has an article that gives a great example of the relationship between the USA, foreign countries and film making. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/101/hollywoodforeign.html
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24
February
2006
After reading chapter three I cam to the conclusion that the film industry is a very cut through industry, but I guess that we all knew that after reading the first two chapters of the book. As I was reading this chapter I thought that it was a little unfair how the United States uses other countries and movie stars from other countries to make money. For example the take over of the theaters that are not doing so well, so that they will get the money that the theatre brings in. They bring the foreign actors over here so that the foreign viewers will watch the American films with the foreign actors in them. They also provide funding for foreign films, so they can get a cut of the money. After reading the whole chapter and looking at it from the business aspect I think that the American film industry is doing exactly the right thing for the business.
I really enjoy watching all three of the Lord of the Ring movies. The fellowship of the ring is what got me hooked. I think that this was probably the most important of the tree, because it is the one that gets people hooked and leaves them wanting more. The makeup in this movie is done with perfection, and the special effects are amazing. For example when the hobbits are standing next to the average size characters they really look small, it almost makes you believe that they are real.
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was a pretty good movie. It is not something that I would normally go to the movies to see, but I was pleasantly surprised. I thought that the fight scenes were really cool even though it was a little far fetched. My favorite fight scene was the one done on the tree tops. The scenery was beautiful. I liked the love story twist, but who doesn’t like a good love story. Although I was a little confused by the ending, why does she jump of the mountain? What does she wish for? Does it come true? I guess this is what makes it a little more interesting when it keeps you guessing. I can defiantly see how the reading relates to these two movies. I can see now why these movies brought in so much at the box office both here and in other countries.
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10
February
2006
I furled www.paramount.com it is a cool website. On it you will find everything form up and coming attractions to the history of Paramount. If you go to the site, you have to check out the old pictures of Paramount studios, they are beautiful. To find the pictures you have scroll down to Paramount Film Preservation then once you’re in there you need to go to History, that’s where you will find the pictures. When you first get on the site it doesn’t look like much but if you take a minute to browse around you will see that it is a great website.
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10
February
2006
For Titanic, I furled an awesome website it is http://www.titanicmovie.com/menu.html. It has some great information about the Titanic. For example the actual size, the route that it took, how many people lived and how many died. It also has some cool info on the movie. You can look at interviews of James Cameron and the cast. There are so many cool features you’ll definitely have to take a look.
For Waterworld, I furled http://www.lariat.org/AtTheMovies/old/waterworld.html. I thought that it would be interesting to here a film critic’s point of view. His name is Robert Roten, not only did he give his point of view; he also had some info about the movie on there as well.
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