There are many things these movies have in common and that is they both flat out sucked ass. Don’t get me wrong, really don’t, they suck ass. In this paper I will merely try to fine positive pieces from these films and make a conclusion to witch sucked the biggest ass.
In the movie the Departed the story was told from the cops POV and the mobs, but the way the movie is poorly filmed you are made to be on the police side of the confliction. The most interesting part of the story is that there is a mole working for the mob, disguise as an FBI agent and a mole working for the police and infiltrating the mob for info. The story doesn’t sound that bad on paper, but due to bad directing and further writing the story is told letting the audience know from the start, the ID of both moles, destroying any chance at suspense. The movie was lame because the viewer is watching an hour and a half film about a bunch of stupid people trying to find out who the mole is and that annoying fat guy in the back of the theater is left pointing and saying in a board tone, “There he is right there, there’s your mole”. The film had not one thing going for it not to mention there is next to know action in the entire movie. And just when I thought the movie couldn’t get any worse the director rewards me with the most awful ending that I have ever seen…EVER! In the end of the Departed all of the main characters die form the most repetitive deaths I have ever witness…EVER! Every character (Except for the girl) is simply shot in the head with a pistol. Shoot in the head. Shout in the head. Shot in the head. And shot in the head. The conclusion to the film is so horrible it makes me clench in fear of the most repetitively suck-ish ending in the history of the film industry.
As for the Godfather. It’s a classic and has a high repatriation for some of its most famous lines, but I quit honestly feel this movie is too out dated for younger generations to enjoy. Again there is next to no action in this mobster film. At least the deaths in this film are much cleverer and less repetitive. In the movie the Godfather the story is told and unfolds with a fresh new feel of making a powerful mob family the main characters to support in the film. The family is large and is hard too tell who’s-who with all the characters looking the same as this generations grandfathers once looked. I did like how it was partly a mystery on which family member the story would end on focusing its most attention towards. I was surprised to find that the clean-cut guy (Mike) back from the military would end up taking control of the family’s busies after his dad desist. The movie ends with the power going to Mike’s head as he is the new Don who kills his brother-in-law who had beaten his wife and then killed one of Mike’s brothers (Sunny). The last see is Mike lying to his wife about the murder and then a group of men come into the room kissing his hand with a sign of respect to there new leader and a guard of Mike’s closes a door in his wife’s face. This leaves the fat annoying guy in the back of the theater with more of a shock look and saying, “Wow I guess he was more involved in the mob then I thought. This is a petty good movie!”
Over all I like The Godfather much better then The Departed although I don’t like mobster movies in general.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Cool Hand Luke Movie Review
Cool Hand Luke was a very popular movie in its release in 1967. People still quote the memorable scenes to this day. But why is Cool Hand Luke so cool? Mostly this is due to its excellent cast and sharp filming skills all adding to make this one of the greatest films of all time.
The story Cool Hand Luke starts off with are main character Luke (Actor Paul Newman) drunk and unscrewing the heads of a parking meter. Luke smiles at the approaching police officers as the screen freezes and the title is shown. Luke is then thrown into a prison where he slowly begins to gain the respect of his fellow inmates. After learning about the death of his mother Luke then tries many cleaver escapes, all ending in being recaptured. Many of the shots of Luke’s adversaries were shot with a low camera view between their legs which would give a great angle of Luke looking up from the dirt to the one with the higher power. One of the main warden’s at the prison who wore sunglasses over his eyes was not given a name because this would add fear and mystery to this character. The movie also had many hidden religious twists fused into it. For example, when Luke sat down at the table on one occasion, The Last Supper was recreated. When the warden was fed-up with Luke he said his most famous line, “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” The warden has Luke dig and refill the same hole repeatedly, in an attempt to break this troubled inmate. The hole that Luke dug was to represent his grave. Luke then appears to have given up living all together. However, later the next day Luke steals the guard’s truck and gets away with his friend and inmate, Dragline. After hiding the truck, Luke enters a church to speak with God. Many of the camera angles in this scene were shot with a high angle looking down on Luke. This is to show God’s view looking down on Luke. All higher powers look down on Luke in this movie. Luke then asks God for a sign and that’s when Dragline enters the room. Dragline tells Luke that he is surrounded and that he will not be harmed if he surrenders peacefully. Luke then walks up to the window and mocks to the crowd, “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate”. This is when Luke is shot through the chest. The camera then does a close up view of the boss with the sunglasses as he reloads his rifle. This gives us a view of Luke’s killer. The camera then moves back inside the church to show Dragline helping Luke walk outside. After Dragline gives Luke to the other guards he then attacks the guard will the sunglasses and begins choking him. The other guards capture Dragline and throw him into a car. The boss with no name then struggles to get up out of the mud and the camera then does a close up of his sunglasses being run over by a car, which shows us that his power has been defeated. The camera then shows a close up view of Luke through the back window. Luke is smiling that same smirk from the beginning of the film. The car Luke is in approaches a green light that suddenly turns red to symbolize Luke’s death.
I chose to do a scene review on Luke’s death because I thought it was the best filmed and written scene in the whole movie. The scene tells people never to give up in what you believe in even if it will result in death, because it is better to die smiling then to die miserable. For this very reason this is why Cool Hand Luke was such a good movie with a fantastic moral story that will be relevant for generations to come.
The story Cool Hand Luke starts off with are main character Luke (Actor Paul Newman) drunk and unscrewing the heads of a parking meter. Luke smiles at the approaching police officers as the screen freezes and the title is shown. Luke is then thrown into a prison where he slowly begins to gain the respect of his fellow inmates. After learning about the death of his mother Luke then tries many cleaver escapes, all ending in being recaptured. Many of the shots of Luke’s adversaries were shot with a low camera view between their legs which would give a great angle of Luke looking up from the dirt to the one with the higher power. One of the main warden’s at the prison who wore sunglasses over his eyes was not given a name because this would add fear and mystery to this character. The movie also had many hidden religious twists fused into it. For example, when Luke sat down at the table on one occasion, The Last Supper was recreated. When the warden was fed-up with Luke he said his most famous line, “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” The warden has Luke dig and refill the same hole repeatedly, in an attempt to break this troubled inmate. The hole that Luke dug was to represent his grave. Luke then appears to have given up living all together. However, later the next day Luke steals the guard’s truck and gets away with his friend and inmate, Dragline. After hiding the truck, Luke enters a church to speak with God. Many of the camera angles in this scene were shot with a high angle looking down on Luke. This is to show God’s view looking down on Luke. All higher powers look down on Luke in this movie. Luke then asks God for a sign and that’s when Dragline enters the room. Dragline tells Luke that he is surrounded and that he will not be harmed if he surrenders peacefully. Luke then walks up to the window and mocks to the crowd, “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate”. This is when Luke is shot through the chest. The camera then does a close up view of the boss with the sunglasses as he reloads his rifle. This gives us a view of Luke’s killer. The camera then moves back inside the church to show Dragline helping Luke walk outside. After Dragline gives Luke to the other guards he then attacks the guard will the sunglasses and begins choking him. The other guards capture Dragline and throw him into a car. The boss with no name then struggles to get up out of the mud and the camera then does a close up of his sunglasses being run over by a car, which shows us that his power has been defeated. The camera then shows a close up view of Luke through the back window. Luke is smiling that same smirk from the beginning of the film. The car Luke is in approaches a green light that suddenly turns red to symbolize Luke’s death.
I chose to do a scene review on Luke’s death because I thought it was the best filmed and written scene in the whole movie. The scene tells people never to give up in what you believe in even if it will result in death, because it is better to die smiling then to die miserable. For this very reason this is why Cool Hand Luke was such a good movie with a fantastic moral story that will be relevant for generations to come.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Psycho
Psycho, a 1960 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based off a novel by the same name, is considered to be the greatest horror ever made for its heavy suspense, symbolic memorable scenes, and great acting.
The suspense starts when main character, Marion Crane, steals $40,000 from her work. She attempts to take the money to her boyfriend in the hope that he will leave is wife for her with the newly acquired money. On the long journey she stops at a hotel where she meets the owner Norman Bates. Norman is friendly at first but sends off a bad vive when he talks about his taxidermy bird collection which is creepy considering Marion’s last name is Crane. Whenever Norman discuses his mother he also sends of a strange vive. “A boys best friend is his mother,” Norman bates says to Miss. Crane. The most famous and talk about scene in the movie is the shower sequence, where Marion is brutally murdered in the shower. This is cleaver writing in a horror film because you believe she is the only main character and yet she is killed halfway in the movie. The music is a large part of Psycho rapidly screeching with each stab of the knife that Marion was killed with. Also sense the film as no color, which was a choice the director did because he was afraid it would be too gory, all parts that present blood is in fact chocolate syrup. When Marion is dead the camera fallows her eye sight to the stolen money on the dresser. Later in the movie Marion’s sister Lila and her boyfriend Sam investigate the motel to find Marion who has been missing for a few days. They both suspect Norman as being a murder but they don’t know for sure. So Sam distracts Norman as Lila looks in his home and finds Normans mother. So smart and scary special effects take place her making you thing that the mother is turning the chair around to look at Lila but she is in fact dead and decaying. Lila throws her arms up with the shocking surprise. Her arm hits the one and only lit bulb casing it to swing wildly around the room. This makes everything disorienting and dramatic. Just then loud foot steps come running down the stairs giving audiences fear of what is approaching. Norman steps into the light with a knife and wearing a dress like his mother. This is a big plot twist because the characters believe Norman is the killer and the audience is made to believe it is Norman’s mother. The end of the movie as Norman locked in a cell taking to himself, but in his mother’s voice. It is clear he is a true psycho.
I mostly chose to discuss all scenes because I cannot pick just one. But my favorite and most details sequence is The Revealing of Normans mother. I think the scene is shot beautifully at just the right speed making it scary and differently the best written scene in its writing department with an amazing plot twist. I would highly recommended with movie to anyone that as every enjoyed horror as an art from.
The suspense starts when main character, Marion Crane, steals $40,000 from her work. She attempts to take the money to her boyfriend in the hope that he will leave is wife for her with the newly acquired money. On the long journey she stops at a hotel where she meets the owner Norman Bates. Norman is friendly at first but sends off a bad vive when he talks about his taxidermy bird collection which is creepy considering Marion’s last name is Crane. Whenever Norman discuses his mother he also sends of a strange vive. “A boys best friend is his mother,” Norman bates says to Miss. Crane. The most famous and talk about scene in the movie is the shower sequence, where Marion is brutally murdered in the shower. This is cleaver writing in a horror film because you believe she is the only main character and yet she is killed halfway in the movie. The music is a large part of Psycho rapidly screeching with each stab of the knife that Marion was killed with. Also sense the film as no color, which was a choice the director did because he was afraid it would be too gory, all parts that present blood is in fact chocolate syrup. When Marion is dead the camera fallows her eye sight to the stolen money on the dresser. Later in the movie Marion’s sister Lila and her boyfriend Sam investigate the motel to find Marion who has been missing for a few days. They both suspect Norman as being a murder but they don’t know for sure. So Sam distracts Norman as Lila looks in his home and finds Normans mother. So smart and scary special effects take place her making you thing that the mother is turning the chair around to look at Lila but she is in fact dead and decaying. Lila throws her arms up with the shocking surprise. Her arm hits the one and only lit bulb casing it to swing wildly around the room. This makes everything disorienting and dramatic. Just then loud foot steps come running down the stairs giving audiences fear of what is approaching. Norman steps into the light with a knife and wearing a dress like his mother. This is a big plot twist because the characters believe Norman is the killer and the audience is made to believe it is Norman’s mother. The end of the movie as Norman locked in a cell taking to himself, but in his mother’s voice. It is clear he is a true psycho.
I mostly chose to discuss all scenes because I cannot pick just one. But my favorite and most details sequence is The Revealing of Normans mother. I think the scene is shot beautifully at just the right speed making it scary and differently the best written scene in its writing department with an amazing plot twist. I would highly recommended with movie to anyone that as every enjoyed horror as an art from.
Sound of horror
As someone who enjoys not only the entertainment of horror but is a horror writer himself, I very much found of the very thought of writing this paper. For starters sound is 50% of all visuals images seen on screen. Without sound you cannot have fear or suspense. For example I was playing a horror game called Dead Space. I was walking about an empty corridor with the only sound being my boots hitting the metal floor. I then came to a door at the end of the hall that swung open with a loud creaky “Smash!” The loud volume echoing through my surround sound system filled my once silent room with horror. I was scared shitless and “This is only a door,” I said. This is when I first realized how much sound as an impacted on horror. I played the same scene again years later but this time I turned the volume off. The sound was no longer scary and it was just a simple door on a spaceship filled with brain eating mutants. For the movie Psycho in its famous shower scene I believe this same theory applies. With the women scramming so loud in agony you just wishing it to stop and the sound of the knife meeting her flesh. The music ramping up and suddenly dissipating as the women’s heart stops dead in its tracks.
Casablanca
Casablanca, a film made and set in 1942 directed by Michael Curtiz, is one of the most famous and greatest films in the American film industry. Its sharp writing and talented actors and actresses made this possible in this epic co-classic.
The plot is set in Europe during the time France was being occupied by the Germans. The two main characters Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund are a madly in love couple that is torn apart by this war. Rick is at the train station in Europe when a letter arrives from Ilsa, saying she can’t go. Without a proper reason Rick is forced to leave aboard the train. Two years later we find that Rick is living in Casablanca, a city in Africa, where he owns a club called “Rick’s Café Américain”. Casablanca is a very important place because it is the only place that offers air travel to America, if one has possession of the right letters of transit. My people would risk their life just for the letters of transit, and many did. Rick is a bitter man with much anger from past events that come to bite him in the ass. One such event is when his ex- love Ilsa walks through his doors, with her husband. Victor Laszlo, Ilsa’s husband, needs Ricks help getting out of the country to America because he holds valuable info to winning the war and it just so happens that Rick is the only one who sells the letters of transit. Rick simply tells it is later revealed that she was still married to Victor Laszlo and she in fact cheated on her husband with Rick. Ilsa thought her husband, who is the lender of the Resistance, was dead at the time she was seeing Rick. After Rick learns the truth he helps Victor and his ex-lover escape to America. As the Nazi catch wind of the Resistance leader planning to get away Rick helps them get to the airport fast. The airport is one of the most famous scenes in movie history. The whole airport was a small set at Warner Brothers Studios. A small cut out model airplane was used and to make it appear bigger dwarfs were used in the scenes with the plane. During the scenes with dialogue the camera was in close to the characters to capture the tension. It becomes apparent that there is a love triangle when all three characters are in the same shot. Rick tells Ilsa she must go to America or she’ll “regret it, maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow but, soon and for the rest of her life.” Rick watches as Ilsa and Victor walk to the plane holding hands. Just then the head Nazi appears and tries to interfere and stop the Resistance leader from taking off, when Rick shoots and kills him. The plane then takes off as Rick and one of the French police officers that has always been Ricks rival throughout the movie. The officer does not arrest Rick for killing the Nazi as he is also glad that he is dead. Rick and the officer are walking down the runway into the fog as Rick says one of the most famous lines in movie history, “This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
I really like this movie I thought it had the best acting I’ve ever seen in my life and I thought the romance was very fresh and original. It’s not an action film it’s a drama so I didn’t walk into this one with high expectations but, I was amazed at the action that was present in this film. I give this classic my most elite honor and would recommend it to anyone looking for a memorable love story.
The plot is set in Europe during the time France was being occupied by the Germans. The two main characters Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund are a madly in love couple that is torn apart by this war. Rick is at the train station in Europe when a letter arrives from Ilsa, saying she can’t go. Without a proper reason Rick is forced to leave aboard the train. Two years later we find that Rick is living in Casablanca, a city in Africa, where he owns a club called “Rick’s Café Américain”. Casablanca is a very important place because it is the only place that offers air travel to America, if one has possession of the right letters of transit. My people would risk their life just for the letters of transit, and many did. Rick is a bitter man with much anger from past events that come to bite him in the ass. One such event is when his ex- love Ilsa walks through his doors, with her husband. Victor Laszlo, Ilsa’s husband, needs Ricks help getting out of the country to America because he holds valuable info to winning the war and it just so happens that Rick is the only one who sells the letters of transit. Rick simply tells it is later revealed that she was still married to Victor Laszlo and she in fact cheated on her husband with Rick. Ilsa thought her husband, who is the lender of the Resistance, was dead at the time she was seeing Rick. After Rick learns the truth he helps Victor and his ex-lover escape to America. As the Nazi catch wind of the Resistance leader planning to get away Rick helps them get to the airport fast. The airport is one of the most famous scenes in movie history. The whole airport was a small set at Warner Brothers Studios. A small cut out model airplane was used and to make it appear bigger dwarfs were used in the scenes with the plane. During the scenes with dialogue the camera was in close to the characters to capture the tension. It becomes apparent that there is a love triangle when all three characters are in the same shot. Rick tells Ilsa she must go to America or she’ll “regret it, maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow but, soon and for the rest of her life.” Rick watches as Ilsa and Victor walk to the plane holding hands. Just then the head Nazi appears and tries to interfere and stop the Resistance leader from taking off, when Rick shoots and kills him. The plane then takes off as Rick and one of the French police officers that has always been Ricks rival throughout the movie. The officer does not arrest Rick for killing the Nazi as he is also glad that he is dead. Rick and the officer are walking down the runway into the fog as Rick says one of the most famous lines in movie history, “This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
I really like this movie I thought it had the best acting I’ve ever seen in my life and I thought the romance was very fresh and original. It’s not an action film it’s a drama so I didn’t walk into this one with high expectations but, I was amazed at the action that was present in this film. I give this classic my most elite honor and would recommend it to anyone looking for a memorable love story.
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