China Town!

I liked this film, I thought it was probably the best film noir out of the the three films that we had watched in class. The fact that this film was more recent than the other two probably had a lot to do with my choice. I didn't really like the character the main character, J.J "Jake" Giddies played by Jack Nicholson. Especially in at the beginning of the film, he just seemed like he was profiting off of other people's problems. But as the film went on, I think he was starting to show a more human and compassionate side of him. By the end of the film, he failed but tried the best he could to do the right thing and that is what counts. The type of ending of the film was definitely not the typical happy ending. It was a dark ending that actually reminded me of some of the foreign films I have watched in the past. It leaves a bit of mystery unsolved, what is going to happen after this? Will the water tycoon problem be solved? It just doesn't give a definite answer, and leaves people wondering. Overall I thought this was a good film, and would definitely recommend it.

Kiss Me Deadly...

I thought this was pretty bland as well, though it was funny watching the main character slap people for information. The whole mysterious detective that the story follows in film noirs are getting annoying. Every single one has pretty much the same characteristics except a different background story and mystery to solve. There is a question that I wanted answers to, why didn't he go and close the box? I mean if it was going to cause the end of the world, he could have just closed it, he even opened and closed it earlier in the movie. The sound made by the box was pretty annoying, why did they have to make things sound like that in the old movies? It apparently it gets louder when there is a person screaming or a sound effect. This was a "B" movie, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Overall I thought the movie was alright, it would have said I didn't like the film if the main character didn't go around slapping people though.

Out of the Past...

I didn't really like this movie, this style of film isn't very interesting to me. I didn't even finish part of the movie because I was gone on Friday, oops. But from what I have seen, there isn't very much to it. It was probably very original when it was first created, dark and mysterious, but now it just seems used up now. All the detectives in these films seem pretty much the same, always smooth with the ladies, and is invincible throughout the movie, until the end. Overall I just didn't really like the style of the film, the whole film noir style is not very appealing to me. The mystery in these films aren't really that mysterious, there is no excitement, no suspense. The withheld information just annoys me, there is no point when the information is revealed, it just fills in the holes of the plot that they withheld from the viewers in the beginning. It is supposed to surprise the viewers when it is finally revealed, but the plots of these films really wasn't too exciting to me. The films are not bad, but they are just not my cup of tea, they are just dull in my opinion.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind!

The film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind directed by Michel Gondry is a pretty fun film to watch. I think it is the best film we have seen so far, I really liked it. It was a nice mix between sci-fi and reality, science and love. My favorite scene in the film is probably at the end of the film where Joel Barish, played by Jim Carrey, tells Clementine, played by Kate Winslet, that he didn't care if things were going to repeat. I think this is a good ending because humans know how to learn from their mistakes, and if they don't then they would just repeat them. That is why we study history and keep records of the past. If they know that the other doesn't like some of the things that they do, then they will probably try to change and not do those things for each other. Then there was also the fact that it wasn't exactly over when Clementine had Joel erased from her memory. Joel bought a gift for her and wanted to get back together, a question arises. What would have happened if Clementine didn't spontaneously get her memory erased and Joel gave her the gift? It might have been a happy ending right then and there, but then there wouldn't be much of a story. Maybe everything that happened to them will happen again, but now without the memory erasing, Joel may be able to have a chance to give Clementine his gift and get back together. Overall I really liked this film, and highly recommend it.

His Girl Friday...

This film was alright in my opinion, it was not great or bad. I just thought too many things happened at one time, one after another. There was that one scene where a convict is hidden inside a desk and then a woman jumps out of a window. Things are happening so fast, and nothing seems to be important. Hildy Johnson seemed weak at the end, when she was asking Walter Burns where they would be going for a honeymoon. She seemed like a giddy school girl for a slight moment, nothing like the powerful woman she was at the beginning of the film. I did not understand what the point of this part of the film was meant to do, was it meant to show that Walter and Hildy would be together again, or was it supposed to show that all women want to have one of those fairytale lives and that they only act tough. I think it could be interpreted either way, but I hope the second option is not what it is supposed to be. I find it impressive that all of these things could happen when there were only five different settings in the entire movie, Walter's newspaper, the restaurant, the news reporter office, the jail cell, and the street. Overall this movie was entertaining, but I think it was just too many things happening at the same time and many of the things having no purpose. I would recommend watching this movie, but prepare to be focused on the film the entire time, or you might miss something important to the plot, especially when Hildy and Walter start to talk.