This movie was excellent. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid is an epic western. These two badass train/bank thieves strive to disappear from the face of the law, but the law won't let them. This movie was a beautiful work of art. So intelligently made. The movie had excellent cinematography, and the gratuitous violence was so loose, so flexible it had "New Hollywood" written all over it. The movies shot compositions were very creatively explored throughout the film. One of the best scenes is when Butch and Sundance Kid encounter Bolivian Indians who are trying to steal their money, the shootout is epic. Overall I really enjoyed this movie, I also loved the scene where Butch and Sundance's girl ride bikes together with the music playing in the background. It was intimate and so creative. I loved this movie.
Reviews
29 Reviews
The Naked Kiss
(1964)
movie review
13 May 2011
This is a good movie. Not one of my favorites, but a respectable film Noir. The Naked Kiss is both eerie, mysterious and intense. Reality in the wrong is how this movie darkly progresses. The movie had pretty good cinematography, excellent lighting and great shots. The actors played extremely difficult roles and played them very well. It's always difficult playing an unimpressionable film noir character. The movie's suspenseful background soundtrack really helps captivate audiences and really adds to the overall mood of the movie. The movie also had lots of very dark emotional feel to it. Through the lighting, the black and white film stock and the suspenseful acting and storyline.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
(1967)
Movie review
11 May 2011
This is an excellent Film. A movie about an interracial couple who seek acceptance into each others families. This New Hollywood film shows us the fundamentals of racism. The movie was very well shot. It's obvious it used newer camera's and lenses to make it because the movie was very precise, more clear and colorful than older films of that time. The movie also had exceptional shots and cinematography. The acting was also very well done. The movie was very simplistically played out, primarily taking place within a home the entire time, but the arguments, discussions and ideas between both sides were so intense that the movie was naturally very entertaining.
Do the Right Thing
(1989)
movie review
4 May 2011
Do the Right Thing is a Spike Lee classic film. This movie was so artistically done from the extremely fascinating cinematography to the dramatic disturbances of racism and story. This movie is really interesting to try and analyze, primarily because were not sure exactly what message Spike Lee is trying to Convey. The movie being in a black neighborhood during the late 80's early 90's you'd think the movie would be all about black racism. However I found Spike Lee to be psychologically reversing it. Instead I as the audience, a white male, felt for the movie. I felt that Lee was conveying an over powering black world that is unwelcoming to any opposite races. Instead of blacks being discriminated against, whites and other ethnicities were. It was a total reverse effect. They wanted "brothers" on the wall in Sal's pizza joint, but didn't really approve of Sal and his Italian son's, because they weren't black. The emotion and anger I felt during the denouement of the movie was as if I was suffering from living in a racist community. This to me was so interesting to feel, the simple fact that black people were sort of the discriminators is such an interesting approach for a movie I thought it was great. I also loved the movie's cinematography. lot's of awesome angles and lot's of interesting subjective shots some that definitely broke the invisibility barrier.
Annie Hall
(1977)
movie review
29 April 2011
This was a great movie. This was a Woody Allen Classic. Annie Hall was so unconventionally entertaining and humorous, like most of Allen's films Annie Hall combined screwball humor with romantic sexual jokes. This movie was amazing. The movie also had a very high end Manhattan artsy like feel to it. The shot composition was very independent like and the acting and overall mood of the movie had Manhattan all over it. It's always funny how an artsy New York Movie can look so different in terms of style compared to a higher budget box office hit, usually shot in California. This movie also had Allen's style written all over it. Classic lack of invisibility. Allen loves to play it out as if he's aware of the camera the entire time, sometimes even narrating to it randomly. In Annie Hall you'll see some examples of this, their is no real definitive line between the films diegesis, in some scenes. He also played out Annie Hall as if he plays himself and his everyday life and a camera is documenting him and his relationship with Annie. It's fascinating actually how unconventional Woody Allen's style is, but it always works. Not to mention the movie had very artsy photography and hilariously absurd humor, like usual I'd expect nothing less coming from Woody Allen. Genius.
Bonnie and Clyde
(1967)
Movie review
25 April 2011
This was a good movie. Bonnie and Clyde is a combination of an intense melodrama, romance drama and gratuitously violent psychological thriller. But being made around a basic melodramatic storyline of good vs. evil, the movie is made through the perspective of the evil, Bonnie and Clyde. The dark part is that the way the movie is played out, we start to relate to Bonnie and Clyde and develop emotional feelings towards them. This is a very dark thing to do, because Bonnie and Clyde were essentially outlaws to society. One thing that really struck me as classic "New Hollywood" was how violent the shoot out scenes were, how visually omniscient and graphic it was to see. This is all something that you could never see during the hays code. I think this movie was really deriving around exploring the mind of Clyde, how messed up he was. He was normal on the outside, but his methods and beliefs were nothing more than abnormal on the inside. Then through his looks and talk he manages to win over a pretty young lady named "Bonnie." After that he assembles his own crew of criminals. This was a very fascinating movie to watch because it was one of the first gritty crime films ever made, where the filmmakers had complete freedom to show it as gratuitous as they wanted.
The Grapes of Wrath
(1940)
movie review
17 April 2011
Great Movie. "The Grapes Of Wrath" was known to be an outstanding novel. John Ford brings us his adaptation of it. This movie was so well done. One technical aspect was how great the photography looked, by cinematographer Gregg Toland, one of the best in the industry at that time period. John Ford gave this movie excellent direction, he conveyed good character development and the movie had movement and progression, both in the storyline, the core meaning and the character relationships. It's a sad movie made in 1940, but taking place in the 30's during the dust bowl, families are forced to migrate west to California in hopes of finding work. With thousands of families migrating, few can be accommodated. For the family of Tom Joad luck was rare. The emotions, mood and feeling that come from the very roundness and progressiveness is what makes this movie so desirable. Also the shot composition and lighting really helped me feel the mood of the story. "The Grapes of Wrath" is a very realistic and sad story of man vs. law and man vs. society. It shows us how the best thing to do is to stick together with your loved ones and you'll get by. This was such and inspiring influential movie.
Easy Rider
(1969)
movie review
14 April 2011
Easy Rider is AMAZING. Starring Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, featuring Jack Nicholson. This movie is incredible. Two free spirited hippies from the 60's voyage across the country on motorcycles. They score drugs, girls, booze and money. You can see how this movie could only be made after the hays code. Lazlo Kovacs the cinematographer gave it exceptionally astonishing visual photography. The shots, angles and composition look incredible. Especially in the scenes when Hopper and Fonda are followed as they ride their motorcycles off into the sunset somewhere in the country. This movie alone has some of the greatest cinematography in the history of film. Also during the scene when Hopper and Fonda drop LSD, the camera subjectively introduces us to a crazy acid trip. This movie also had an amazing soundtrack, Jimi Hendrix and many other bands. In the New Hollywood, they were able to start incorporating contemporary music into movies and with a movie about motorcycling badass hippies, of course the entire movie is going to have such a good soundtrack, especially for that time. But even today as well this music is still well appreciated. But regardless it helps create the mood and feeling of where and what is going on in the picture, Easy Rider.
movie review
14 April 2011
This was a crazy movie. Jack Nicholson plays the protagonist, a man who ends up in a mental health facility. They believe he's not crazy at all, that he's just doing all this to get out of working a job. But only watching the movie can tell you what happens. All I can say is that it was crazy. As far as technical work goes, the movie had very omniscient and interesting photography. The movie also had a few good subjective shots. But what really made this movie was how round Jack Nicholson's character was. This movie was a combination of a psychological thriller and a horror movie combined. The story progression on top of Nicholson's character just made a crazy dramatic thriller. Also every nurse in the movie was so cold and eerie, especially nurse Ratchet, she was so cold and had such an eerie personality, it just helped build the overall uneasiness of the movie. This was a good movie.
The Graduate
(1967)
movie review
13 April 2011
This was a great movie. Ben Braddock played by Dustin Hoffman is a college graduate who ends up getting into a sexual relationship with his mother's friend Mrs. Robinson. This movie was made right after the Hays Code era and for good reason. This movie added to the definition of "New Hollywood" Sexually suggestive themes, partial nudity, swearing and overall morals that said go against the system. The music also had an awesome soundtrack, primarily Simon and Garfunkel. The movie was so well done. The movie was technicolor, shot in 35mm panavision. The cinematography was amazing. The movie had incredibly unconventional angles and even some shots were the camera would remain stationary and people would walk off and all you can notice is people talking out of the shot. I think after the code, it was a breath of fresh air for collaborating filmmakers, because so many films were made that would have never been approved anywhere before 1967.
Sucker Punch
(2011)
horrible movie
10 April 2011
HORRIBLE HORRIBLE MOVIE!!! Absolutely awful. One of the worst movies I've ever seen. Zach Snyder is a fantastic director and I'm a fan of his previous work, but this movie was terrible. Their was no character development. Every character was flat. The story line made no sense and the general sense of realism and verisimilitude was non existent. People think that because special effects look cool, that it's a good movie. The ridiculous special effects and pointless action was almost unwatchable. I guess if you like dumb movies where you can leave your brain at the door and sit around like a brainwashed robot and look at visuals for 2 hours then this is your movie. If your actually into "real" intelligent movies that actually convey story, mood and emotion, then don't see this movie because it lacks all that. The only thing this movie had was cool visual effects, but even the effects didn't fit with the wildly incoherent storyline. This movie along with other recent contemporary movies have really made me questionable as to where the future of the film industry is headed? Movies seem to get dumber and dumber as the years go by, it's a shame.
The Killing
(1956)
movie review
7 April 2011
Awesome Movie. Stanley Kubrick's film Noir "The Killing" is an excellent movie. It's very dark and very moody. Low lighting, lot's of shadows and the way Kubrick directs the actors is very cold and strange. Kubrick is known for directing his actors in a very unrelating way. The characters were very dark and eerie, it was interesting to see how well they worked with the darkness of the film. It almost reminded me of Oceans 11 or The Italian Job, a group of guys work together to knock over a gambling bar and track, but it wasn't funny it was very moody and cold. One other thing that was cool was the narrator. Lot's of people don't like it but I thought it was cool, because it was so unique. A narrator kept the story on track, telling a non diegetic narration in like every CUT to a new scene, pretty cool. I was also very surprised by the end of the movie, didn't expect what happened. This movie also had some really cool camera techniques, lots of dolly shots and smooth artistic pans and tilts. Very smooth and not forced. Great stability and equal composition. Also Kubrick and the DP had some very unconventional type shots during intense scenes. Very unequal and compositionally stressed, made us as the audience feel very uneasy at times, it worked so well. Kubrick is known for that, an innovator with camera flexibility.
His Girl Friday
(1940)
movie review
4 April 2011
This was an amazing movie! What a trip. Carey Grant and Rosalind Russell are so good together. Howard Hawks is also an outstanding director. This screwball comedy was so much fun to watch for the story and the acting. The movie had great direction and meaning and teaches us all that love overcomes everything! Classic screwball style comedy. Excellent photography, lighting was good and also the story was a lot of fun. Carey Grant really made the picture, his arrogant and confident personality made him the hero of the entire movie. Ralph Bellamy playing a gullible unaware nice guy was absolutely hilarious. I think the romance in this movie was so well done, because the couple tried everything they could to let it all go. The movie had some really cool props in it as well, really helped establish being in that certain time period.
Psycho
(1960)
Movie review
4 April 2011
One of the most influential and innovative horror films ever made!! Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho shows us all just how great of a filmmaker he really was. Strictly one of his best. This movie goes beyond conventional styles of horror films and brings us into the mind of Hitchcock himself. The movie has an exceptional storyline. The movie also does something exceptional that most horror films seem to always lack, CHARACTER RELATIONSHIP! The movie conveys an excellent stylistic form of really working on the characters. Working on them in such a way that we as the audience can actually grow attached to them. So if something happens to a character in Psycho we as the audience actually feel emotion towards these characters and can really relate to it all. This sense of attachment to the characters and our relationships to them is what draws us that much closer to the movie. That's why Psycho is so scary! Most horror movies show us characters in which we don't know so when something scary and bad happens to them, we could care less. In fact we usually just say "wow, that guy was so stupid for going off alone." We don't say that in Psycho. This movie actually scares us, we don't feel that the characters are dumb at all. I really found this style so fascinating. Also this movie had one of the most classic horror shower scenes of all time! One other thing I noted when watching this movie was how well Hitchcock developed the core of the entire story. The movie had an excellent core meaning to it and also showed development, progression and movement. Excellent movie. Hitchcock is a legend and so is this movie.
Singin' in the Rain
(1952)
movie review
30 March 2011
great movie. Fabulous. A visual sensation. This movie was made in 1952 but takes place around 1927 in the film industry. This movie is both educational about films at that time and also intriguing with an excellent storyline. The movie is so visually mesmerizing, outstanding mise- en-scene along with superb choreography and singing. A true musical sensation. Also the visual illusions of the movie are not only imaginative but also very creative. The film also had an excellent sound track to mix with the singing of the film. By far the best musical ever made because it's more than just a musical, it's a story as well. This film combines excellent direction and story progression along with astonishing camera and lighting techniques, great acting and dancing, choreography and music to combine and create an outstanding musical film.
Citizen Kane
(1941)
The Movie
30 March 2011
Incredible. Citizen Kane is a true visual treat. Orson Wells is one of the greatest film directors of all time, you can see his intelligence just from watching Citizen Kane. And I have to say, the man is one hell of an actor as well! This is by far one of the greatest movies ever made. One outstanding feature to Citizen Kane is the astonishing cinematography. Gergg Toland the DP of this movie is truly the best. Not only does he bring outstanding lighting to the film but the shot composition is remarkable. The composition brings excellent stability along with depth and illusion. The Rule Of Thirds is used so incredibly. You'll see how they have shots where they line an actor on the left in the fore ground, another actor on the right of the screen in the middle ground and another actor all the way in the background. This easily conveys depth to the movie. Orson Wells has always been considered a very stylistic director both in film and theatrical plays. Many think Wells is all about style and not story, think what you want. In Citizen Kane, I don't think any other director could have done it other than Orson Wells. He not only brings his own style of filmmaking but tells an incredibly compelling story.
The Big Heat
(1953)
movie review
21 March 2011
AWESOME. Best film Noir I've ever seen. Classic storyline where the main action occurs right in the opening scene and the movie works backwards to the end to reveal what actually happened. Glenn Ford who plays detective Dave Bannion is excellent. His character is a true badass. Takes no junk from nobody and does what needs to be done in order to get answers. His character Bannion is sort of an original version of Dirty Harry. Works for law enforcement, but goes against laws to get answers from underground crime. Of course the police department doesn't take kindly to it. Not only was the acting very well done but I also enjoyed the costume design for some reason, I thought it was very creative. One of the coolest scenes in this movie was when Bannion busts into a criminals hotel room with a classic top hat and overcoat on. He fights the guy to the ground and whips out his six shooter through his overcoat and threatens the guy. This was just excellent. Reminded me of classic older gritty crime films. I also thought the film being shot in black and white was absolutely necessary.
Casablanca
(1942)
movie review
21 March 2011
Great film. Humphrey Bogart really makes it. This movie is so exceptionally well done. The storyline in so complex but is conveyed in such a simple form. Bogarts character is so round that his emotions and character development is what makes this movie so complex but exhilarating. He starts off being carefree, doesn't care for anyone, Shows no concern towards death or the war and hates just about everyone. He's a true gambler. He's just a bar owner who only cares for himself. But then when he finds his true love the story twists to an entire new perspective and Bogart develops character, just something you have to see. Another exceptional feature to this film is the lighting, some of the darkest scenes are lit so appropriately. I also really enjoyed the mood that was conveyed in Casablanca, it was really fun to watch. Good photography, exceptional acting and a very developed story with twists and turns all over. Very good movie.
Stagecoach
(1939)
movie review
20 March 2011
Excellent Excellent film. Superb, pure and original. John Ford brings us Stagecoach with a whole new look about western films. Location shooting, sound. This movie is considered the first A movie western and for good reason. The cinematography in this movie is so intelligently shot. Outstandingly flexible camera angles, good low light composition and incredible cuts. One of the most interesting shots in this movie is during the battle between the native Americans, An extremely low angle shot, shot subjectively on the ground as we see a horse and Indian ride right over the camera. It was single hand-idly one of the coolest looking shots I've ever seen in film! This movie was amazing to watch from start to finish John Wayne is a classic western character and Stagecoach is a classic film. It's a must see.
My Man Godfrey
(1936)
movie review
16 March 2011
Gregory La Cava has made a classic movie, that will forever be considered one of the greatest screwball comedies of all time. Such a simple, unconventional story, with well complimented plot points, but so interesting and enjoyable to watch. The movie had so much to it's advantage, sophisticated mise-en-scene, outstanding camera angles. Also a well thought out story that is so simplistic, but so unique. This movie tells a story of unconventional humor and Godfrey's determination to live up to be more then he was before, it also tells a back story of love and romance that help the narrative story progress in such a natural way. But at the end the romance ends up dominating the entire film, interesting. The camera as a narrator to us remains very omniscient in what emotions are being conveyed; however, in contrast Godfrey the butler is such a restricted character. I think because he's an "inferior" person working as a butler to a family who is considered of noble superiority, Godfrey keeps most of his emotions to himself. That being said as an audience we don't really feel all of his true emotions until the end of the movie when he realizes he loves Irene. Which essentially makes William Powell's character Godfrey quite round in terms of development and change. Another interesting thing to add is that although for most of the movie Godfrey is such a restricted major character, we feel emotions and mood from almost every other character in the movie, even the female maid has emotions that we perceive. But we can't get to Godfrey until later. I found that very intriguing. So all in all this was an excellent movie another one of my favorites.
The Circus
(1928)
Review film
16 March 2011
Very interesting movie. Charlie Chaplin is obviously, along with D.W. Griffith probably one of the greatest film innovators of the silent film era. I don't think this movie is necessarily one of his best. This movie was all about Chaplin playing a character who's natural humor is his only style of being funny. He's funny when he's not trying. His clumsiness and goofy attitude is what makes him funny. He get's hired on a circus team with a cruel owner. Personally I feel this movie lacked a lot of Chaplin's simple humor, you'd find in a lot of his other masterpiece's. It was a very interesting story, but the film lacked the simple humor. I think it focused a little to much on story and not humor. Their were funny parts, but not as many as in his others. Also some of the cuts in the movie didn't flow very well. I also had a hard time finding my place in the invisibility of the film, so in other words it really didn't entertain me enough personally to get into the story and forget I'm watching a movie.
Film Review
16 March 2011
I LOVED THIS MOVIE!!!! ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! It is incredibly well done. Probably going down in one of my favorite movies of all time. The story behind it is so captivating, compelling, luring and emotional that I completely forgot I was watching a movie. The acting was so intense and emotional that it really complimented the story and content of the film. Mervyn LeRoy is a genius. Paul Muni who plays convicted fugitive James Allen played his part so well that I think I actually grew too attached to his character? The film also had incredible photography, very interesting lighting and excellent camera movement. I feel the movie conveyed so much emotion I actually felt horrible during some parts of the movie, but in a good way. I felt for Mr. Allen and the other fugitives who were being brutally mistreated by their own state laws. This movie is outstanding, it is so well done. The story is just conveyed in such a luring way, I think it's impossible to hate it. Their is so much to learn from this movie, about how so many good people who are put in wrong situations suffer unnecessary negative consequences. It's sad to think it's based on a true story, but the movie itself was excellent.
Where the Sidewalk Ends
(1950)
Film look
16 March 2011
Outstanding movie. A classic film Noir from it's time period. A metropolitan police officer, detective Dixon is trying to blame an accidental murder on another person, without falling into his own trap. He's a very vicious cop. The movie was incredible, a classic film Noir where the storyline starts at the end and works it's way back to the beginning. Genius. Also shot in black and white has excellent contrast between lights and darks and ultimately sets the mood for the film. The movie also had some very unique camera angles and methods for portraying the mood of the story. The methods were more unique in an overall movie sense, but very conventional towards it's genre of being a dark mysterious Film Noir. but it seemed to work towards the movies advantage. If you like dark moody films then "Where the Sidewalk Ends" is the perfect movie for you. Overall this picture was very well done.
Movie
15 March 2011
D.W. Griffith is a genius. A clear innovator to the art of motion photography. D.W. Griffith is probably one of the most important filmmakers in the history of film and this astonishing silent, Broken Blossoms is a clear indication of why. The style of acting portrays the young stages of conveying emotion and mood through a camera narrator. This film is by far one of Griffith's finest. The decor looks incredible, the costumes are superb and the mise-en-scene is very sophisticated, especially for it's time. This film really demonstrates the beginning of cinematography as well. Every shot from this wonderful picture if paused would look like a conventional photograph from that time period. But being played out as a film makes it that much more intriguing. This silent masterpiece was incredible to watch.
Mrs. Miniver
(1942)
Why It's such a great movie
9 March 2011
This movie was outstanding. Absolutely touching and compelling. A pure work of genius. Mrs. Miniver is by far one of the most emotional and tragic war movies I've ever experienced. It's very unconventional in the sense that it's portrayed in the home life of WWII as oppose to the normal combat war movies. This heart stopping tragic movie gives us all a very accurate feel of what it must have been like living during this war. The sadness of feeling so "unsafe" in our own villages, and even in our own homes. Why hundreds of good people, women and children were all brutally murdered in their own homes! One of the greatest things about this movie is not just it's unconventional form, but also it's extremely simplistic storyline. It's incredible how a movie with such simplicity is so heart stopping and so emotional. That is pure talent, you don't see that much anymore in contemporary movies. Contemporary movies are so much more structured and complex, but Mrs. Miniver had no complexity, it was so simple, but so good. You'll just have to see for yourself, and experience the war as if it's really existing before you. Great Movie.
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