Doing the Right Thing (Even Though It's Late)

Do The Right Thing, a film by Spike Lee, is a superb film that covers a very touchy subject. Many films, when they try to tackle the subject of racism, come off as preachy and pretentious. Lee's film strays from its peers due to its unique style. Lee's version of New York exists in a heightened reality, the colors are vibrant, the characters are larger than life (though not caricatures), and the camera portrays them in unique ways. Had this film been made in a more straightforward fashion, it would've come across as yet another film that tries to take on a difficult subject and fails. The abstract nature of Lee's film, while straying from what is thought of as 'real life', draws attention to the all the important issues of a neighborhood such as Bed-Suy, while not being preachy.

The Battle of Algiers

While watching The Battle of Algiers in class, I was both moved by the message of the film and deeply saddened by the class's reaction to it. Seeing the Algerian people's struggle for freedom really struck a chord for me. All I could think about while watching the film was the war in Iraq, in my mind we were no better than the French. It is my humble opinion that every American citizen should see this film and then reevaluate their feelings about our quagmire (my favorite word for it is definitely not school appropriate) in Iraq. Since this film resonated so strongly with me, it really pissed me off to see the class react so vehemently against it. Who gives a damn if the film is in black and white??? Does it really change anything about this film??? And so what if it has subtitles??? How can you people expect the rest of the world to speak English??? You're all a bunch of metathesiophobes! Pardon my French, but... A mon avis, vous etes tous des salles idiots qui ne pourrait pas reconnetre la culture meme si c'était devant tes yeux!! Vos idées d'une bonne filme sont a peu près égal au merde!

I Have This Condition...

First off, I'd just like to say that I LOVED the movie Memento. I'm a huge fan of director Christopher Nolan's work, particularly his latest film, The Prestige. I've always wanted to see Memento, but never got my act together to watch it. So, when I saw that we were going to be watching it in class, I was happy. Too many movies nowadays are made with the average culture less brain dead American citizen in mind. It seems like most of the films coming out of Hollywood are so dumbed down that it's painful; luckily, Memento doesn't stoop to that level. I enjoyed having to think while watching the movie. Making the audience work to figure out Leonard's story is an ingenious tool to keep viewers engaged in the film. I admit that without the mixed up chronology, the film would have no substance, as the plot is that of a garden-variety thriller. Even so, the film manages to be extremely captivating, and if that's accomplished only by cinematic tricks, that's fine by me.

The Kiss of Death

Often it is possible for a film to be made on a small budget and turn out very well. Take Clerks, or even the first Star Wars as examples. Most of the time, though, the film reeks of its low budget. Kiss Me Deadly is one such example. Kiss Me Deadly is a classic example of film noire, the movie was filmed in a month on a very low budget, with fairly unknown actors. Sure, the effects were cheesy and some of the set pieces were questionable, but all in all this just added to it effect. In my mind, none of these things detracted from the quality of the film. The one thing that I disliked in the film was nothing inconsequential, I hated the script. It seemed to me that the film was completely mindless (and not in a good way). Mike Hammer was a self-absorbed sadist and didn't really do any thinking in the entire movie. Everything happened to fall into his hands while he was trying to figure the mystery. The only real thinking he did was horribly contrived: somehow looking at the first lines of a poem helped put everything into place. As much as I love a mindless film every once and a while, Kiss Me Deadly just plain bugged me. I can't help but notice all the logical fallacies in films like this, and eventually I just start to focus on the loopholes, which tarnishes my memory of the film.

Shut Up, Baby

I have to say that I was a little surprised when we were watching Double Indemnity in class. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting from the film, because I'm not very well-versed in film noir. When I first saw that we were to watch a film noir, I had low expectations; I anticipated watching a B-movie with low production values. When I read about the film and found out that it was highly acclaimed, and was nominated for seven Oscars, my expectations went up considerably. After having seen the film, I feel that it fits somewhere in the between. It is a very well made movie, but I can't see how it could be in the running for Academy Awards. That being said, this film shows off all the hallmarks of film noir. The film uses visual tricks such as low-key lighting and shadows from venetian blinds to make it appealing to the eyes. The storyline is also classic noir. From the beginning of the film, it's obvious how the story will end. Neff is doomed. Period. With that piece of plot out of the way, the focus is shifted to how the events unfolded, not the endgame. This, along with the voice-over narration, make this film a compelling example of film noir.

Suicide Montage? Classic.

When I heard that we were watching Groundhog Day in class, I have to say that I wasn't all that thrilled. I had seen the film a couple of years ago, and remembered it as being overrated and too repetitious. I bears mentioning that I was pleasantly surprised when we actually got to watching the film in class.

Even though the film is exceedingly repetitious, I discovered that this only enhanced the film. The point of the movie is to show the repetition as Bill Murray's character, Phil, lives through Groundhog Day over and over again. The similar camera angles and movements used subconsciously let the audience know that the day is repeating itself. After learning about the back story of the film, and learning about its adoption by different religions, I found the film to be much more interesting.

Knowing about the religious undertones gives a better understanding of the film. While looking at the film with this knowledge, its easy to see the positive messages about how to live fully. Though I am not a subscriber to organized religion, I found many good ideas about Karma and about being a good person.

I Wish I Had A Leopard

In my opinion, Bringing Up Baby is getting a bad rap from the students in my Art of Film Class. I'm probably biased because that film happens to be one of my dad's favorites. I've seen the film at the very least 4 times, and have it on DVD. But still...
Observing the class's reaction to the film was both disconcerting and saddening. Mr. Klobuchar, you were sure right when you said that they don't make films like this anymore. What is wrong with our society when such a simple film like Bringing Up Baby can't be appreciated. Sure, I find some aspects of the film irritating (who doesn't want to kill that stupid dog?), but overall, I still enjoy the film.
What saddened me even more than the reaction to the movie (hey, everyone's entitled to their own opinion), was the suggestions that some of my fellow students made as to other films to watch in class. Face it, people, neither 'Blue Streak' nor 'Billy Madison' are quality films, sure they may be funny, but they have no brain. I mean... I'm partial to a good mindless comedy, but when I watch one, I pick something like 'Blazing Saddles'. It has both a brain and good laughs. How diluted is our culture when we can't appreciate something simple, without gross-out laughs or nudity?
Bringing Up Baby is a perfect example of a good, wholesome film. It has a genuine heart without pulling any stunts. I know its pretty much impossible for a film like this to be made nowadays, which works only to fuel my pessimism about today's society. But we can still appreciate those simpler films, with the hope that our culture doesn't go farther down the metaphorical toilet.