MYST #3: Django Unchained

9-10 Thumbs up

Every Tarantino movie is gross, violent, and weird, but every Tarantino movie is an absolute hit. In regards to Django Unchained I thought it was his best movie to date. It came out right around the time the Academy Awards and that is when the hype began. It has been on my watch list for quite sometime and I am very glad i got around to watching it.

Quentin Tarantino finally did a western movie and from what I hear most of the actors and stuntmen said it was one of the most exciting sets they have ever been on. Thell Reed is a gun specialist that has taught all the great actors from John Wayne to Brad Pitt on how to use a gun. When Reed was in an interview for the movie he said that the cast was the hardest working and most fun cast he has taught. All the handwork paid off. The realistic gun tricks and gun work that these actors had in my opinion made the movie. To take something as simple as shooting a gun and make it into the master craft that Jamie Fox and Christoph Waltz had on this movie was so cool. The shooting and the violence looked so real that it made the movie easier to follow because you aren't worried about the unrealistic aspect of the movie.

The acting was also flat out outstanding. Three Oscar winning actors (Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Fox, Christoph Waltz) and an oscar nominee (Leonardo DiCaprio) are in this film and they are genius. Christoph Waltz is now my new favorite actor because like the last Tarantino film he was in, Inglorious Bastards, he plays a strange man perfectly. The little actions that he does like lighting a lamp or playing with his beard make you so interested in everything he does. Leonardo DiCaprio finally plays the bad guy in a film and does a rather outstanding job. Samuel L. Jackson plays an old free man and it almost seems like the part was mad for him. And finally the main character, Jaime Fox, is awesome. I couldn't see any other person to play Django and he really made me attached to the character.

The movie was mostly dark like most Tarantino films. My favorite scene is when there is a gang coming to attack Django at night. They have torches, masks and riding around on horses. The main light source is the torch and everything else is dark. I believe that darkness makes you focus on the actions more and that is exactly what you want to do in this type of film because that is what makes you interested in the movie. They do this also in the opening scene and many times during night discussions or raids.

I give this movie a 9-10 Thumbs up. I wasn't a huge fan of Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards and hearing that this movie was a lot similar it made me nervous. But I liked the plot a lot better in Django and the realistic actions and gun work. It made me focus on the acting in this movie and because the acting was so amazing it made it a very enjoyable film. It's a must see.

MYST #3: The Lincoln Lawyer

   7-10 Thumbs up

        I have heard great things about the Lincoln Lawyer and I have never found the time to watch it. After watching I'm glad I did. A movie about a defense attorney Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey) and his client Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe). As Phillippe want McConaughey to defend him in court for something he claims he has been framed for. Then old cases come up and shaky situations occur which put all the characters in rough situations.
       I thought the acting in this movie was good, awesome, and bad. The good actors were the supporting actors were Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, and Michael Pena. The only reason why I say that these actors were good is because they didn't have a big enough role to truly show their talent. The bad I would say was Ryan Phillippe. He played a bad guy in the movie who in my opinion wasn't really acting he was just reading the script. The amazing was Matthew McConaughey. He played a very good lawyer and he fit perfectly for the part.
       The scene that stood out to me the most was the flashback scene with McConaughey and Pena. Pena was accused of murder and the facts could do nothing that would help him out. As McConaughey being his lawyer he tries to get a deal so that Pena doesn't get the death penalty. Pena does a great job of acting in this scene and the conversation is deep. The color changes which i though was intersting but, it was so you could tell that it was a flashback so the color change was necessary.
        I also, really enjoyed the camera work in this movie. The camera seemed to always be panning in most scenes. When McConaughey was looking at old files from a case the camera panned up to show the big picture and what the room looked like. When Both attorneys gave their opening statements it did a circle pan while they were talking. Personally, I love this method of shooting. It was done in the Dark Night by Christopher Nolan and it was done in The Lincoln Lawyer by Brad Furman. The clips become easier to watch and the transitions just flow smoother in my opinion.
        I gave this movie a 7-10 thumbs up and i really enjoyed it. The only reason why i wouldn't rate this higher because I feel like the bad guy could have been a lot better. But it was a strong script and a good overall movie.

MYST #2: Blood Diamond

       10-10 thumbs up

           For my second Movie in Your Spare Time post I chose to watch the movie Blood Diamond. Blood (Leonardo DiCaprio), and a news reporter Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly). In south Africa the rebels are a small army that capture, kill, train, and slave other South African families. While the rebels attack Djimon Hounsou home the family escapes and Hounsou becomes a slave to look for diamonds. While he finds a huge diamond he escapes free and the hunt for his family starts. DiCaprio a South African smuggler decides to help Hounsou to find his family in exchange for the diamond to pay off his debts from promises he made before. While Connelly, a news reporter, is looking for a good story and gains close relationships with Hounsou and DiCaprio. 

          Hounsou is a loving family man and he wants desperatley wants to get his family back and after he found the biggest diamond the rebels have seen he now has a way out. This is a movie that will alwyas keep you guessing what is going to happen next and it is a very solid script.

         A scene that stood out to me the most was one of the final scenes when the air strike is sent to the mining ground. They did a great job of creating chaos in this scene. With very loud gunshots, water and mud flying everywhere, people getting shot, and people running everywhere. But, in the midst of all this chaos they were able to focus in on DiCaprio saving Hounsou's son and Hounsou getting revenege on the rebel that tortured him. You could always tell where both characters what they were doing. Also, their great acting made this scene so enjoyable to watch.

        The camera angles that I seem to have notice where always closeups pf the characters face and then a lot of dialogue in that scene. For example, when DiCaprio is talking to Connelly about how South Africa has become a hopeless place. With showing the back of the head of one character and a closeup of the other you can really see how they feel during these conversations. When it is night it is dark but the movie is mostly bright and being mostly outside the lights are mostly natural.

        I gave this movie a 10-10 because I love the genre this is and it is my new favorite movie. It's action packed and I suggest this movie to anyone. It is just an awesome film.

       

       

   

        

1935 film post

Joe Herr

Chasing Scarface is a summer blockbuster that everyone is going to love. It's has fast cars, hot girls and a lot of violence. Al Capone was a very notorious criminal during the late 20's early 30's and people will want to watch to see what he really is about. Personally, I would ignore the Hays Code. Films and movies that ignore the restrictions are the ones that get all the buzz and hype. People will be talking about this controversial epic bloodbath for many years to come and that is exactly what I want this film to do. I want to change the game and change the code for a better future. Everything else I would keep the same as we presented it. Warner bros was big in creating gangster films and they had the toughest actors. Edward Robinson was always a sneaky gangster in his films and that would be perfect Capone. Cagney would be the cop because he is forceful and awesome. Mervyn Leroy would direct because he owns this genre and he is a part of Warner Bros.

Formal Film Study: (Quentin Tarantino)

Joe Herr
Quentin Tarantino


Quentin Tarantino has two styles that are so unique and crazy that his movies cannot be mimicked. I believe that  his movies are usually a huge hit or a gigantic miss. I watched Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Inglorious Bastards. It seemed like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction took on his one style of American gangster films and Inglorious Bastards took on his other style of unrealistic human war movies. Personally I believe all of his unrealistic human war movies are terrible. I have seen Kill Bill Vol. 1 and i think that is to hard to follow and too gruesome. Inglorious Bastards, to me, lived up to my reputation of these films. I didn't like it one bit. It was over acting by most of the characters and the story line was very weird. But, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs are masterpieces. The scripts and the cast was just outstanding and they made great movies.

Tarantino loves violence and all of his movies are very violent, why not. People are paying a lot of money to watch these films. I enjoy very much Tarantino's violent American gangster style films and Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs are exactly that. In Pulp Fiction it is a classic love, drugs and money and in Reservoir Dogs it was blood and yelling. With a great script in both the actors in these films are pretty great. Samuel L Jackson, John Travolta, Steve Buscemi, and Tim Roth are great actors in all of their films and they were great in these two movies. They were at the peak of their careers and very popular so of course people are going to see a Quentin Tarantino movie with this all-star lineup.

"You shoot me in a dream you better wake up and apologize." (Harvey Kietel Reservoir Dogs) Each of Tarantino's movies always have one or two main characters that are the feared ones. You realize who they are because; He always has the camera pointed up at them to make them look huge, gives them the best quotes, or every where they go they are so demanding in the movie that the fear that the other characters have for them are so obvious. But, he never gives it away right off the batt. Tarantino starts off his movies with usually a conversation between people that isn't violent and then all of a sudden the script switches and violence, blood, and foul language starts and continues in plentiful.

The camera shots help a lot in Tarantino's movies. Looking up at the tough guys, down at the weak links, and almost always panning eye level shots when it is a big group of people. To me, the lighting didn't change dramatically. The difference that the lighting made didn't seem to matter. You watch the Kill Bills and its mostly dark and night. For the three movies that I watched the lighting was dark at night, bright during the day, and sometimes he throws a dark room in the movie so you really focus on the actions of the actors and on what is happening.

I'm excited to see other movies that he has created, but I'm nervous to come across one of his movies that could ruin my opinions towards him. His movies are so crazy that you never know what you are going to get. Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs were the movies that made myself love Tarantino. Inglorious Bastards... Not so much. But, Whatever he is doing he shouldn't change a thing. He wins Oscars, makes blockbusters, and is considered one of the best directors of all time. I wonder what he will come out with next?

Citizen Kane Response

The "American" dream is to come from rags to riches and that is exactly what Kane did. He went from being in an orphanage into being a very rich man. Although, Kane forgets about his childhood and forgets about having fun. My opinion is that Kane is so bought into that money buys you happiness and tries to get as much as he can like most Americans. When he loses everything but his money he realizes that the way he lived wasn't the right way and that the American way is not the way he should've lived.

MYST Post #1: Zero Dark Thirty

9-10 Thumbs up

Zero Dark Thirty is about the greatest man hunt in the entire wold. The USA finally killed Osama Bin Ladin and this movie gives you the details and the tactics on how they got him. This movie has been on my watch list the first I saw the trailer on IMDB. What guy wouldn't want to see a war movie that has been nominated for best picture in the oscars. But, when I think of war movies I think of trench warfare with explosions and constant battles. I saw Act of Valor a couple weeks ago and if you have seen that movie you would know that their is constant battle and explosions. But, just like Kathryn Bigelow's last film (The Hurt Locker) Zero Dark Thirty is more slow ad not as much action.

Kathryn Bigelow likes the "slow action" scripts. The scripts focus mainly on conspiracy and suspense. Rarely you see constant gun fire and fist fights in this type of movie. You need a strong story and a great lead role. Jessica Chastaine in Zero Dark Thirty plays a crazed CIA conspirator. Her acting catches you off guard. She is crazy good and she really takes on a character that needs and gets what she wants. She was talking on the phone with another CIA agent to get access to a terrorist phone number. Her actions, her voice, and her force made the CIA agent get the number. You could really see how intense she was about this acting part, and it payed off. Kathryn Bigelow's movies always have a strong main role that make the movie good or not. This main role takes away from the performances of the other actors/actresses though. Jason Clarke was just phenomenal in this movie. He play just this bad ass interrogator in the beginning of the film and he plays the character to perfection. I love his anger and quotes in the movie. He usually is a tough guy character in the movies he is in, just like his role as Howard Bondarant in the bootlicker film Lawless.

They had the right actors for the movie and they had a jackpot for a script. How they put it together in my mind was also genius. Starting the movie off with a powerful interrogation scene hooks you in the first five minutes. Like most movies the intensity dies down in the middle. With the shots being more up close then full body it really gets you thinking about the characters actions. It becomes darker and makes you focus on every little detail that is being shown or said. The final scene is a take down of Bin Ladin and that is when they start to show camera angles in first person. It gives you a feeling like you are at the house and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I think this movie has the perfect combination of cinematography, acting, script, and directing. To me, this movie is the best war movie I have ever seen. I was so into the movie that I kept hushing my friend when he was interrupting me to tell me what he thought was cool about the recent scene. It is just a powerhouse movie that everyone should go see. Zero Dark Thirty is a must see movie and an in my opinion an Oscar winning film. We will have to wait and see what the results are at the Academy Awards.