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.

Unforgiven

I don't really know what to say about this movie, it had an interesting storyline and had Clint Eastwood which added intensity into the scenes he was in. This is by far the most interesting film we have watched in Art of Film in my opinion, probably since it was in color. But this film is important because it revises of the stereotypical western films of the past. A revisionist point of view tries to correct the errors of stereotypes in films. In this film the hero, Will Munny isn't shown as the expert marksman in the beginning of the film, but an old pig farmer and former murderer with two kids. He can't even shoot a can with all six bullets from his revolver, this scene was created to show how he isn't the stereotypical cowboy from the western films of the past. I find it interesting how he turns into that stereotypical cowboy close to the end of the film. He walks straight into the lion's den, the brothel where the sheriff and a whole platoon of armed men were having a meeting. Munny is able to kill the sheriff, the person who owns the brothel, and several other men while able to avoid being shot by another handful of men. This scene is incorporated into the film because it allowed the viewers to compare the two heroes. Munny in the beginning and Munny at the end, two very different people. One being the washed up murderer that can't shoot a can, while the other is fed off of revenge, fearless, and maser marksman. This comparison of the two heroes was my favorite part of the film overall.

Bibliography:
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/34/003_UNFORGIARP~Unforgiven-Posters.jpg

Tonari no Totoro

Director Hayao Miyazaki is my favorite director of all time. Along with a company called Studio Ghibli which he co-founded, Miyazaki created many memorable animated films. One of which is Tonari no Totoro or My Neighbor Totoro in English. One of my favorite films of all time and the first film by Miyazaki I watched. It was completely different from the films I had seen in the past when I first watched it. It was fun to watch, soothing to hear, an interesting story, and was still able to promote the themes that Miyazaki lives by. This film won the Animage Anime Grand Prix, an award given out by the Animage magazine. It is a well known award when it comes to Japanese anime, and is a pretty important award in the anime world Miyazaki played a huge role in creating this film, mainly because he wrote it. In this film, Miyazaki incorporates Japanese culture, as well as his own beliefs and ideas. A lot of people think Totoro is supposed to be a kami spirit of the Shinto religion, a kami spirit supposedly looks after nature. Causes of thunder, wind, the sun and other natural occurrences. In this film and many other films that were directed by Miyazaki have themes that tie it to nature. As well as how humans interact with nature and technology, how these three things come in contact with one another. In this particular film the technology isn't as apparent as some of his other films, such as Princess Mononoke or Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Another one of his themes that he uses quiet often is how hard it is to become and stay a pacifist, the difficulties of avoiding violence. There are two more things that many of his films have in common. One are the antagonists, they are usually strong headed individuals that follow their own beliefs even though it might seem different from the protagonist. They usually aren't entirely evil, they tend to change through the movie and redeem themselves. Then there are the protagonists of Miyazaki's films. They tend to be young females that are innocent and just seem like a normal person, but they demonstrate their bravery and strength when it is needed in the films. This film demonstrates more of the strong young female protagonist and the connection of humans with nature. Those two things are most common in his films that I have seen. But the films by Miyazaki appeal to me not only because of the themes, but his ability to entertain the people that watch his films. People young and old are able to watch these films and become entertained, even a child that doesn't understand a thing about humans and their connection with nature will find his films entertaining. Without analyzing a anything in his films, I found enjoyment just watching the films. Miyazaki's creativeness and original ideas really make his films fun to watch. Even while making these films extremely entertaining, he is still able to create these interesting worlds in the films based on his themes. I personally love the music created by Joe Hisaishi as well, this music really helps make Miyazaki's films a lot more enjoyable in my opinion. Hayao Miyazaki is definately my favorite director and deeply involved in all of his films. I still don't really know which film is my favorite of his films, but Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind are two films that I highly recommend. I just wish I knew when his next film is finished.

Two Songs from My Neighbor Totoro:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pWwOVkfv_FU


http://youtube.com/watch?v=BpUHQjO-smU

Bibliography:
http://www.math.sc.edu/~griggs/Family/totoro.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki