Formal Film Studies

Movies From 1975

         The movies I watched from 1975 were One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Jaws.  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a movie starring Jack Nicholson.  Nicholson played Mcmurphy, who was sent to a mental institution, although he seemed very normal.  Mcmurphy then grows fond of the other Patients.  He befriensds them and just wants them to have a better time.  Mcmurphy realizes that the system at the institution is unfair.  Later in the film Mcmurphy gets some type of brain surgery.  Another mentally ill patient puts a pillow over Mcmurphy's face and sufficates him to death just to keep him out of his misery. 
         Meanwhile, the plot in Jaws was about a group of fisherman who try and catch this dangerous shark of the coast in California.  In the process many of the fisherman get killed by the shark.  They finally get the shark and kill it because the shark accidentally got an oxygen tank in its mouth.  The fisherman then shoot the oxygen tank with a harpoon, and the tank and shark blow up. 
         Both movies reasemble the 1970's very well.  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest resembles the 1970's mainly due to Jack Nicholson.  He was one of the biggest actors in that time period, and this may be his best movie of the 1970's.  Jaws on the other hand resembles the 1970's because of the suspensefulness of the film.  Suspenseful movies first became popular in the 1970's and Jaws was a big trend setter.  The suspense is greaty in the film mainly because of the cinametography, and the music that was played during the suspenseful scenes.
          I would not recommend seeing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest unless you are 17 or older.  Not only is it inappropriet at times, but the concept of dealing with the mental ill is fragile and takes maturity.  As for Jaws, I know it seems very scary, but I think it is a fun film for all teens to watch at one point or another.  These are two of the greatest movies of all time, so if you haven't seen them, go check them out.            

Movies In Your Spare Time #2

Old School

4.8 Stars

         Old School is a comedy with actors Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, and Luke Wilson.  The film was created in 2003, and directed by Todd Phillips.  The film was about three friends who decide to try and run a faturnity together.  In the process, many bad things come such as Will Ferrell losing his wife.  

         I thought the cinametography in this film clearly wasn;t a large key in portrayinmg a film like this.  Music selection was mainly hip hop from the early 2000's, in scenes where they are partying at the frat house.  I thought the actors did a real good job getting into their roles.  Will Ferrell was more of a stupid funny guy as usual.  Vince Vaughn portrayed the imature family man that didn't really know what he was doing with his life.  And Luke Wilson was the guy that had more common sense and was more mature than the others.  Luke Wilson seemed to be roped into what ever crazy ideas Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell had up their sleeves.          

         I would say this movie is slightly inapropriet so I wouldn't recommend viewing this film if you are age 14 or below.  But if you love comedy, this movie features three of the best comedy actors in the bussiness.             

1975 FILM

         My group and I created a movie called Mischief in Manhattan.  The movie is about three brothers (Dustin Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Robert De Niro) who are all very close friends as well.  The youngest brother (Dustin Hoffman) has some bad ties with the mob, and it got the sister (Lynda Carter) killed.  As a result, Christopher Walken and Robert De Neiro help Dustin Hoffman retaliate the mob.       

         The rating we gave this movie was rated R.  We thought this was appropriate because there is some nudity, and curse words.  We tried suiting it for an R rating, because an X rating would attract a smaller audience. 

         Gordon Willis was the cinematographer we chose for Mischief in Manhattan.  The reason why we chose Gordon Willis was because of the fact that he did  The Godfather a few years earlier, and we wanted to use a similar style as The Godfather. 

         The reason we chose Martin Scorsese for this film was because he was one of the biggest directors of the 1970's, and also had good work with Mean Street along with Robert Di Nero.  Mischief in Manhattan is very similar to Mean Street due to plot and style.  Christopher Walken and Dustin Hoffman were big actors at the time that fit thier roles perfectly.  As for Lynda Carter, she was very unkown, but we wanted her to give us a more down to earth appeal. 

         This is a great moviue to watch for people who are in their teens and up. 

Movie In Your Spare Time

Lincoln

4.7 Stars     

           Over Thanksgiving break, I went with my family to watch Lincoln.  I found it all very interesting, despite little action or drama in the beiginning. History has always been one of my strong suites in school mainly because I have always found it interesting.  I feel that you need to have an interest in history to enjoy this film, and it is for more of a mature audiemce.  I wouldn't recommend seeing this film if you are in 8th grade or younger.  

         The movie was about Abraham Lincoln and how much of a challenge it was for him to pass the 13th amendment.  Even the people working for him were very doubtful and didn't seem too supportive of Lincoln.   

         Eventually Lincoln got people to realize how important equality is for our nation, even with many personal issues going on in Lincoln's life.  The amendment would eventually pass.      

          Steven Spielberg did an extremely good job directing this film.  I thought he did a great job getting the message across of how much different times were back then.  Spielberg did a good job portraying his characters, especially with Mrs. Lincoln.  She is historically known as crazy, and Spielberg did a great job making a little crazy, but at the same time not over doing her crazy.  I also thought he did a good job portraying the battles back then.  When Lincoln would go visit the battle sites, there would aways be a far shot of all the dead bodies, and the whether was always gloomy.  

         The biggest shock to me was how well Daniel Day-Lewis played Abraham Lincoln.  Daniel Day-Lewis had some pretty funny scenes playing Lincoln, but also a few very intense scenes that gave me goose bumps.  My mother and I both agree that he deserved an Oscar for that performance.   

Movies in Your Spare Time #3

Friends with Benefits

4.5 Stars

         Friends with Benefits is a great romantic comedy for any age group with star actor Justin Timberlake, and star actress Mila Kunis.  When I first saw previews for this film I thought it was just copying "No Strings Attatched", with actor Ashton Kutcher.  That film came out a couple years before Friends with Benefits.  In my opinion, I thought Friends with Benefits was done much better.  The acting from Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis was better, and although similar endings, the plot seemed to be much more creative in Friends with Benefits, particulalry the ending.   

         I thought the technique used in this film was very well done.  The transitions between scenes really popped out at me with long range shots of New York City and Los Angeles from above.  I thought the dialogue was very fast paced.  When the dialogue is up beat like that it shows the viewer that the boy and girl do have a connection with each other. 

         I thought this film was enjoyable from start to finish.  A 4.5 out of 5 is a huge honnor to the film, especially coming from myself.  I would reccomend seeing this film.  The intended audience is mainly teens but I could really see anyone watching this film, including my mom who seems to be watching it everytime I enter the room. 

Movies in Your Spare Time #2

That's My Boy

4.3 Stars

         That's My Boy is in my opinion the funniest comedy of the year.  This screwball comedy had a star cast featuring Adam Sandler, Andy Sandburg, and directed by Sean Anders.  Sean Anders is famous for his comedy movies such as "Sex Drive".  The small plot in this movie was Adam Sandler trying to make ammends with his distant son. 

         The techniques used with the camera angles varied a lot.  For all of the conversations between Adam and Andy that were funny, there were many quick close in camera angles between the characters and the style was very upbeat.  The conversations seemed to be rapid with several subtle funny remarks.  I thought that the director didn't have too much of a mesage as there was no real closure in the end of the movie to anything.  But throughout the movie there were some serious moments about their relationship and how it changed over time.  So a small message I took from this film was don't take anything for granite, especially friends and family.
          

As you can see I found this film hilarious.  This is the first film Andy Sandburg and Adam Sandler have been in together and I thought they were a great duo.  I gave this movie a 4.3 out of 5 stars because of the originality.  I felt like this movie was different with plot than any other comedy before.  Sean Anders also brought in New York Jet head football coach Rex Ryan for a couple scenes which adds another element of comedy. 

Trading Bases

         For our 1935 Movie my group created a movie called Trading Bases.  The plot of our movie starts with our main character (Tyrone Power), proposing to his girlfriend, (Janet Gaynor).  But in the next couple days after, Tyrone is drafted to the war as a pilot.
         He leaves without telling Janet because he is scared to tell her.  When Janet finds out she realizes she can't live without Tyrone, and heads off to France to go see him.  Meanwhile Tyrone realizes he also can't live without Janet.  So Tyrone fakes his own death and flies back home to see her.  This is where the title Trading Places comes from.
         Janet heads to France and is then under the impression Tyrone is dead.  But when she comes home she is in for a pleasant surprise as Tyrone and Janet are reunited.
         This war drama is good for a 1935 audience, so the audience can feflect back on World War I and realize how many families the war effected.  The reason it is a war drama is because it is about war and the drama caused by war particularly with romance.  There is not much of a message in Trading Bases because it is a big time Hollywood film, and we were just trying to entertain an audience.   
         The reason we picked these characters is because they were all employed by 20th Century Fox in 1935.  20th Century Fox was a good studio choice because they had a lot of money.  They also had no real war movies before this and 20th Century Fox wants to keep up with RKO.  We also had a supporting actor, (Raymond Griffith).  He plays Tyrone's general at war, and he is very hard on his solders.
         One of the biggest factors on why we picked this cast was because of age.  Tyrone Power was around 20 in 1935, which makes him perfect for being drafted to World War I.  Janet Gaynor was also around the same age which makes the film more credible.  As or Raymond Griffith, he was in his late 30's.  Typically in leadership roles, age and experience is vital, so that is why we thought Raymond Griffith would be perfect for the role of a general.
          Our directer is John Ford, who was a very famous director in the 1930's for 20th Century Fox.  John Ford is most famous for western movies, so we all figured that a war movie could be right up John Ford's ally.  We chose cinametographer James Howe.  He was a great choice because of his expertise in long focus.  James Howe was also very sought out by nearly every company.
         Theres not much I would do differently from what my group and I decided on.  I probably would have choosen a different company just because 20th Century Fox did not have the top actors and actresses.  Plus the were very unfamiliar with war movies.