zaaaAP Lit SuperBlog

Lord of The Ring Fan Alert

The Lord of The Ring's trilogy are by far my favorite movies. I cannot choose one over the other, and I am aware that I chose the same idea for my book blog but it's the truth, I am a huge fan. Peter Jackson did an outstanding job depicting Tolkien's world from book to screen. I strongly believe that these films will be classics in film history. The movies's move me because the bonds of friendship are so strong it perfectly shows the value of family loyalty, love, bravery and hope. I'm not a fan of war scenes but I don't mind the war scense in these movies. Even the soundstrack of the film was well done because it connects with the characters emotions and the audiences. The music and sound in the film only makes these movies better. The shots of the scenery which is key to the movie are moving as well because the land the movies were shot in is absolutley beautiful; New Zealand. Each film technique, in my opinion, was executed perfectly! Then again I am being a very biased blogger right now.

Good Picks

I saw a lot of excellent movies people chose as their favorites and am happy to find I am not the only one who failed to come up with a top pick. If I had to pick a movie I really enjoy watching, however, it would be Misery with Kathy Bates and James Caan. For anyone who has seen this film, you probably think its really creepy to have that be a favorite but I'll defend my case. First, after reading a couple posts I noticed many people chose their favorite movies based on memorable characters that made the film. Sometimes these are characters that people can relate to, and other times they are just awesome for being so damn entertaining. Going to back to Misery, I doubt many people could name a more intense, dynamic, and entertaining character than the crazy Annie Wilks. Besides being a total creep, she has a really believable personality (an insane personality), which sets her above other inhuman villains. James Caan is nearly as convincing of a character trying to escape for his life from her imprisonment. In addition to the realistic characters, the constant suspense of the film keeps you absorbed in the story the entire length of the film. The combination of the frightening characters and eerie horror leave you haunted for days after viewing the film.

My Favorite Films

I have many favorite movies. I can't really pick one specific movie but I can break in down into categories. My favorite comedy Is pineapple express. It is the funniest movie I have ever seen. My favorite action movie is the blade series. It is hard to pick a favorite superhero movie but I have to. Choose xmen 1, 2, 3, or origins.

I Don't Have A Favorite

I don't have a favorite movie.   Ever since I was a kid I've been troubled by the infamous question, "What's your favorite movie?"  I don't exactly know the reason why, but I can't pick just one.  There are a ton of movies I can sit back and watch over and over again.  And there are a ton of movies out there, that might not be the best of all time, but for some reason appeal to me.

Some movies that I really enjoy, and can remember at such an early time, are, Finding Nemo, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Slumdog Millionaire, and this movie called the Perfect World. 

Just making that list of movies that I enjoyed was hard.  I honestly only added Slumdog Millionaire because I just saw it two days ago and I thought it was funny. 

No contest here...School of Rock!!!!

Okay, so it might not be the "best" movie out there, but it certainly is in the running for one of the funniest.  I love how Jack Black plays "Mr. S" in this movie.  He will definitely make you laugh....between the singing and just the way he teaches the kids, it's just hilarious.

Also, School of Rock kind of shows how society might act to something that they are not used to. ( For example, teaching ROCK BAND in school)  At first the parents reject the idea, but when they see in the end how talented their children are, the accept it.

There are some great dynamics between the principal (Ms. Mullins) and the other students.  When you first look at Ms. Mullins, you would not expect for her to be intimidating at all.  Unfortunately, she has to act uptight in order to run her school in a matter that please the parents.  Even then, that is a hard task to accomplish!

One more thing....one of my favorite parts of the movie is when "Mr. S" taught them "to stick it to the man".  Those insults were pretty impressive!

Movies are Made for the Masses

City of God.

This movie comes to mind, when i think of great movies because of its amazing (and true) story, beautiful cinematography and the most incredible editing.  The movie is set in the slums of Rio De Janero, and tells the story of a group of boys growing up.  It sounds pretty cliche, but the way the story twists time and seperate plot lines to eventually weave together is like nothing else.  The movie is in portuguese but it is so good that you dont mind reading subtitles.

I distinclty remember thinking "wow" when i finished watching it for the first time, the film left me feeling good, not warm fuzzy good, just good in the sense that i didn't waste my time.  I suppouse that is the only critera for a good film.  Afterall for the most part, movies are made to entertain and make money.  If a movie entertains you, then it is good. If it goes beyond that, planting a thought or inspiring even better.

Ocean's 11

Although it is extremely hard to choose my favorite movie, I would have to go with Ocean's 11. The Ocean series is a great mixture of action and strategy that really gets the audience involved with the movie and makes them think about the big plan to rob the casino. The dialogue and motion of the movie flwo very well. Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) rarely say something where the whole audience knows what they are talking about due to the way the speak and the secret language of criminals. After watching the movie countless times, I still pick up something new I hadn't seen before every time.

The motion of the camera gives an insider's perspective on what is going on with the plan, but at the same time leaves out enough information to leave the reader guessing and questioning each step taken. This is seen especially well in Ocean's 12, when the competition with the Frenchman takes a sudden twist (I won't ruin the movie, but I didn't see it coming at all).

Office Space

As I'm sure many of you did, I struggled to choose a definite favorite movie. However, the movie I keep coming back to is Office Space. I personally think it is one of the all time funniest movies ever made. Between, Peter, Milton, and Lumbergh, the movie is filled with hysterical characters who continually make fun of the stereotypical office cubical job. One specific film technique that I recall from Office Space is the use of sound. There are many scenes with little or no words and are filled with music to represent the mood. More or less, it is a classic.

Your tearing me Apart!

I am a big fan of classic movies, and one of my favorite movies by far, no matter how cliché it may seem, is Rebel Without a Cause. Even though it was made in the 50’s which may seem like a long time ago, the cinematography of the movie is absolutely breathe taking and the story most definitely travels over through each generation.

When broken down, the story is simple enough. Boy with a troubled past who doesn’t get along with his parents moves into a new town. Boy falls in love with a girl who has her own problems, and boy manages to get into trouble. However, despite this seemingly basic outline for a movie, the acting and it so amazing that the movie becomes something so much more.

And besides the acting, Nicholas Ray does such an amazing job directing. It makes simple scenes with rather simple composition seem extremely gritty and powerful.

I just simply love this film, and no matter how many times I watch it, it never gets old.

The Bourne Ultimatum

One of my favority movies is The Bourne Ultimatum.  I like the action of the movie and the fact that it is a thriller.  The movie always keeps you thinking, and there is never really a moment where you get bored or want to stop watching.  The plot is so clever and it links the previous movies together.  Jason Bourne always has a way to get away from the people going after him, and he finally learns who he really is.  There are also many cinematic techniques used in the film.  There are scenes where the POV and camera angle are really important, and the music in the background sets up the scene.  If you re-watch the movie, you can find that the compostion, lighting, and camera shot/angle all play an important part in the movie.  Each of the techquies are used in unique ways, and they are present throughout the whole movie.  I think The Bourne Ultimatum is the best movie in the Bourne trilogy, and everyone should see it.

In Bruges

In Bruges has become one of my favorite movies.  It is a great combination of comedy, thriller, and drama.  The movie is about two hit men, Ray and Ken, and their stay in Bruges, Belgium.  The duo is forced to hide there after Ray accidentally killed a young boy while on his first job.  While cooped up in the dull town, each finds their own way to entertain themselves.   Ken enjoys the old buildings an the culture, Ray has a fine time meeting a beautiful woman, and they both get high with their new midget friend.  Their boss Harry, however, does not find anything to smile about, and decides it's time he takes care of some business concerning Ray.
The movie has tons of halarious jokes and the ending is action packed and suspenceful (two things I enjoy in movies).  The camera work is great, the music is beautiful, and Bruges is also a beautiful place to film a movie.  I recomend you all see it. 

The Goonies

Two words:  The Goonies.  This movie is quit possibly one of the greatest films or in the running for the greatest movies of all time.  Not only this an adventure, drama, comedy and a little bit of teen romance moments, it is able to tie all these things together without even trying.  Because I don't like looking at movies through a critic eye, judging whether it fits certain guidelines or not but rather for the enjoyment of the film, I find The Goonies helps do that; you loose yourself.  Basically the film is based around a town group of teens called the Goonies.  They go on adventures and do things along those lines. Before they all move, by force from a real estate company, they go on once last adventure to find the missing treasure of One Eyed Willy.  While this sounds as corny as can be, you find yourself connecting with each character and laughing your face off on the way.  I recommend this movie to everyone. Has anyone else seen it?

An Erotic Fantasy...

After seventeen beautiful years of life, I have witnessed a plethora of film. Now the films have ranged from the dung of a blue whale, to the Holy Grail of movie literature. I can honestly say that I have enjoyed film thoroughly in such a way that it has become a part of me. It is thorough, Jeffrey, thorough. If my body was a pizza, the movie slice would be the one everyone would want. Each film makes impact upon my meaningless existence, in such a way I cannot forget. 

Now there is one film that has defined my generation. It is the Graduate. 

As an angsty teen, the abusive testosterone flows throughout me each day. In a way it almost controls me. It develops my aggression. It develops my need for education. Above all, it drives my sexual desires. 

After watching "The Graduate" with an adult mindset, I can now very well see myself as Benjamin Braddock in about 4 years.

Even now, my life seems somewhat superficial. I go to a high school, in which my goals are set by my parents, and the grades my community expects me to achieve. I hate it. I feel as if I am inside an aquarium, surrounded by murky waters, and human eyes, with fingers tapping on the glass expecting me to answer. I am sick.

The one desire that gets me through life, however, is the desire for lust. Now my Father works for an accounting firm, and he is a partner. Another man that works for him has a smoking hot wife. Man....

Now this may come across as slightly erotic, and or grotesquely disturbing, but I would literally give my heart to make it with her. Oh wow. Just thinking of her makes me want to have an affair in a remote hotel, in which I must change my name because I will eventually fall for her daughter.

Older women are so beautiful. I find happiness in their gorgeous wrinkles, and their flabby underarms. I especially love the depends.I am deeply attracted to older women. I hope that doesn't offend you.

If it does, frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

So yeah. The Graduate is my favorite movie. Well done Anne Ban(g)croft.

Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson.

Books Into Movies

Like a lot of other people, I struggled in finding one movie that I could call my absolute favorite. When I was starting to remember the movies I'd seen, I started thinking about movies that are made after books, such as the Harry Potter series and Lord of the Rings. Personally, I don't really like when books are made into movies. I think that the movies end up leaving out some important scenes, and the reader always seems to have a much better understanding of the story than someone who watches a movie. I'm mainly using Harry Potter as an example, but does anyone else not like it when books are turned into movies?

Hate To say it but....

I find it really hard to say, but I think that my favorite movie that I have ever seen might be the Dark Knight. I hate to say it because it seems like everyone after the movie came out, thought it was a great movie and that everyone liked it. But rewatching it right now almost a full year after it came out, I still find myself just as excited as i was before, sitting at midnight in the cold lake theatre as the movie began to roll. My heart skips beats and istill feel like a little kid. There is no way I can imagine a movie that will replace this at the top of my list.

Dunna... Dunna... Dunna Dunna Dunna, Airplane!

I cannot say that I have a favorite movie. Airplane!, however has consistently remained in my top 10 ever since I first saw it. From the moment the first scene opens up on a sea of clouds, a wing of an airplane just visible, moving among them while the jaws theme plays, it is evident that this film is comedic genius.

This movie which is a spoof of disaster films remains funny throughout. The interesting part about some of the comedy however is that it manipulates cinematic techniques to create the humor. As in the example of the first scene, the addition of the Jaws music (which from seeing Jaws the audience associates with sharks) seems ridiculous when paired with the plane. This manipulation of music, one of the cinematic techniques, adds comedy to the situation which otherwise wouldn't have been there. 

Book Made Visual

I don't care that it's black and white and almost 50 years old. To Kill A Mockingbird is my favorite movie. It is the one movie that really helped the book, instead of hurting it like I feel a lot of movies do. It really captured what the book was about, or at least what I thought the book was about: shedding light on the racism in our country and the innosense of childhood. The actress who played Scout and the actor who played Atticus embraced their characters rather than trying to make them their own. The music also won me over. It really set the tone of the whole movie. My only problem with it was the cheesy shot of Ewell's and Boo's hands in front of Scout during the scene in the woods. That was just corny, but it was only 5 seconds of the whole film. I wish I owned the movie, but sadly I do not. I also think it is a good thing that I don't because I would probably end up watching it over and over again.

Garden State: A Different Kind of Flower

    Zach Braff, the director and main character in Garden State, may have in fact proved that he is a genius with his movie.  Since his budget wasn't large, he had to use more basic filming techniques in order to create the movie the way he wanted to.
    Light and color are big indicators of the mood.  Most of the film is set in low-key lighting.  The more well-lit scenes are either really uncomfortable, or very significant. For example, when Braff's character, Andrew Largeman, visits his original home, it is all in white, neutral colors. This contrasts with his seemingly dark life.  Another well-lit scene involves an anticipated kissing scene between the characters Andrew Largeman and Samantha (Braff and Natalie Portman). The white sky illuminates the scene and therefore draws attention to it.
    Editing and composition is also very significant to the film.  There are many traveling scenes: when Largeman returns home, when he is motor cycling around town, and when he, Samantha, and Mark scavenge for his going away present.  These traveling scenes have many different shots and are compiled in many ways.  The variety contributes to the feeling of travel and searching for something, even though that something is unknown.
    This whole movie is about having dull, seemingly pointless lives, and its contrast to living each day to its fullest potential.  The film's meaning is created with the help of the techniques.

My Favorite Amazing Movie

Over the years, the movie at the very top of my favorite movies list has changed frequently.  (Actually, there was a time for many years some time ago when I had so many favorites that I didn’t have just one.)

 

Now, I would have to say that my favorite movie is Amazing Grace, and it truly is an amazing and inspirational movie.  I once showed it to a couple of my friends, and after it was over, one of them asked me why I like it.  I answered that I like the story, and the historical and spiritual context of it—the latter of which I can particularly relate to.

 

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, the movie basically tells the story of William Wilberforce’s campaign to have the British Parliament outlaw the slave trade.

 

The movie portrays Mr. Wilberforce as a great man.  He had so many struggles in life, especially when he was trying to decide whether to pursue a life in ministry or in politics.  After choosing politics, he determined to campaign for reforms in all aspects of society, particularly the slave trade in this movie.  And the movie makes clear how much Mr. Wilberforce had to fight to achieve this goal.  Most people of his time regarded the slave trade as being legitimate, and even necessary for economic survival.  Yet William Wilberforce knew the Truth, and knew it was wrong to treat human beings in this way.  And he let nothing deter him until the final moment when it was announced, “I declare the bill on the abolition of the slave trade to be passed.” 

 

This movie demonstrates that having a belief in the Gospel really does make an impact on a person’s life.  For it was a belief in the Gospel that drove William Wilberforce to campaign tirelessly to end the slave trade.  And I’m certain that it was only the Gospel that could ever inspire a person to such action, especially in his time.  This movie has, in part, inspired me to seek out ways to positively contribute to humanity in an active manner, and promote social justice in the world around me, though not for me, but for God.

Hitchcock: The King of Suspense

Okay, I hate when people ask me my favorite movie. I have either one these reactions: I either get really flustered trying to think of my favorite, then I blank and can't think of any movie, and it's just not a good time. Or I have all these movies come into my head, and I sit there listing my a hundred movies, and the person who asked me wants to shoot me.

Even though I hate this question, I have to say, I love movies. I love pretty much all genres. Of cours right now I'm blanking on some of my favorites, but I'll try to remember some. I love basically any movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock. I went through a phase where I watched as many of his movies as I could, and I have to say, if you like suspense, watch these movies. Some notable Hitchcock thrillers I'd recommend: Strangers on a Train, The Lady Vanishes, To Catch a Thief, North by Northwest, and of course you have to see The Birds and Psycho.

Hitchcock's films aren't necessarily scary, but the suspense is really what makes the film. The lighting and camera angles are crazy, too. The scripts are really enthralling, full of innuendos and double meanings. Also, if you watch a Hitchcock movie, look for a cameo of Alfred himself, generally in the first few moments of the film.

"Trust" Heidkamp that it is A Good Movie?

Today in class, for those that were there, we watched the first ten minutes of a quite interesting film. This film, "Trust", which follows the story of Maria Coughlin, a pregnant high school dropout, is supposed to relate to our recent studies with Camus' "The Stranger" according to Mr. Heidkamp.

My first opinion of this film is that it is completely awful. However, IMDB® reviewers rate the film as a  7.5 out of 10, which in comparison to most films, is quite good. Within the first ten minutes, there is a death, a teen pregnancy, a high school dropout, a failing family, a jobless computer geek, a selfish football player, and a jerk of a father. I did not quite know what to take from this rediculous set of events. To me, it was not evident that this film related to our recent studies.

After an incredibly character driven story with "The Stranger" we have jumped into a film that smells no better than a pair of dirty socks worn for a week straight. Maybe I shouldn't judge a film by its first ten minutes, but I am just not quite sure where this is going.

Does anybody else agree with me? Or do you find a connection so far? Although I always enjoy film, and so far I am enjoying this goofy one, I usually try to find the relevance of it. Why are we watching this, and what does it have to do with existentialism and "The Stranger"?

Absurdity Strikes Again

As we have already seen in The Stranger, noticing the absurd side of life should be an easy task. I could not help but notice that there were several blatantly, well, just plain absurd happenings in "Trust". I am not sure if anyone else has noticed this, but at the beginning for the story when Maria slaps her father in the face, this is usually where the father says something along the lines of "you are killing me" or "what are you doing to me." What is sick, absurd humor, however...is that she actually does kill him. Another time was how the woman at the bus stop just grabs the baby and vanishes. I thought this was highly unlikely and yes, absurd. Usually when people kidnap others right after sharing their love for a baby with a complete stranger is not the wisest of choices. Another absurd thing I noticed in "Trust" was how the mother of Maria claims to hate everyone she comes in contact with, but shortly thereafter offers them food or other types of hospitality. This just shows me that she is insecure about being alone, contrary to what she tells herself about hating marriage. The last funny and absurd thing I saw was how Matthew carries a grenade around with him for a better half of the whole movie. I mean, if you are as much as a sociopath as Matthew, maybe it actually does make sense, but funny nonetheless. Although, the true meaning of this was to connect it with how The Stranger is so absurd, and the connection was just too much to pass up.