"And Then I Woke Up"

A scene that really stood out to me from the three Coen Brothers films we watched was in No Country for Old Men. It was the "And then I woke up" scene. Sheriff Bell recalls two dreams that he just had had that were both about his dad. The viewer can sense that deep down Bell cannot let go of his dad. The significant part of this scene, however, is the last five words Bell says. "And then I woke up" is an important line because Bell realizes that he needs to let the past go and his dad is just a symbol in this instance. It is also relevant because Bell just went through that whole case and it was draining to him and he knows that he just needs to move on. He went through a lot and was probably very emotionally affected, but the story ends on somewhat of a happy note, showing the viewers that Bell will be okay. 

I think that this can relate to the real world because sometimes we get wrapped up in things and we just need to let it go and move on. We shouldn't loll in the past, but rather move on and anticipate the future.

Edward Scissorhands!!

Edward Scissorhands is very similar to Tim Burton's other works. The themes, style and music seem to be similar in many of his movies. Burton seems to use gloominess in a lot of his movies to depict the character's feelings. When Peg Boggs, the Avon representative, goes up to his house, she notices the eerie and gloomy feelings that is displayed through the dead trees and overgrown bushes. I think that that represents Edward's emotions. He was created by an inventor who cared for him until he died and left Edward alone in that big, abandoned mansion. He became lonely and dissociated from the real world. 

I think that a re-occuring  theme in all of Burton's works is imagination. This movie takes place in a 1960 suburban neighborhood which to most, would not seem like an imaginative place. And yes, it wasn't very imaginative, but it was Edward that made it become that way. He brought a new way of thinking to everyone who lived there though his creative hedge trimming and the interesting hair styles he gave people.  

At first I thought I wouldn't like Edward's character. He was creepy and barely said a word. But after I got into the movie, I fell in love with his character! He was so cute and harmless and all he wanted was for someone to love him. I think that is another re-occuring trait of Burton's movies. The characters look depressed and scary, but you grow to like them and you see them as they really are. 

Film Noir

This last unit on film noir wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. My Dad would always watch these kinds of movies and I really hated them, so I went into this unit with a more negative attitude. I still think that they are pretty cheesy, but the overall plots are good. I like Double Indemnity because it was interesting and I could keep up with the story. However, in Kiss Me Deadly, the story was fast paced and I did not completely understand it. I didn't like the movie very much, and I still don't understand the difference between the regular ending and the alternate. 

        The final movie that we watched for this unit was my favorite. Memento was really interesting and it was probably one of the only movies that we have watched so far that made me excited to come to class and watch more the following day. It was funny but also kept me on the edge of my seat. The only thing I was confused about with this movie was if Teddy was the man who killed Leonard's wife, or if he was actually telling the truth about being a cop. I kinda think that maybe he did kill her, because he's really shady and he knows that Lenny forgets things, so maybe he just told him a bunch of lies to make him look innocent. But then again, Lenny could actually have made all of those things up to keep him sane and to feel better about avenging his wife. I guess that is the only thing that bothered me about the movie.  

Overall, I liked this unit and learned a lot about this type of film.  I liked how they were mysteries but really didn't like how most of them were extremely cheesy.                                                                                               

Groundhog Day

Finally, we got to watch something made within the last 20 years. No offense to older films, but it's easier for me to enjoy/relate to a film that is more current. I would first like to say that overall, this movie was really good. I thought it was funny, and the story had a good moral. I thought that it was funny how Phil had to keep re-trying when it came to getting Nancy to like him. He would learn what she liked or didn't like one day, then incorporate it into the next day. Another thing I liked in this movie was Ned Ryerson. Phhhiiiiiillllll?!!! At first I thought that was the most annoying thing ever, but then it became funnier as the days wore on. 

I guess there aren't many bad things I have to say about the movie. But one thing is that the repetition got annoying. I know that's what the whole story is about, but after a while, it was too much. "I've Got You Babe" started to agitate me after so long. Those two are really the only things that I didn't like about the movie. 

I think people can learn a lot from this movie. It teaches us that being nice to people and respecting others will help us out in the long run. It's a lot like karma, what goes around comes around. Phil was not the nicest person, and in turn, did not have many people that liked him. Once he started respecting others and caring for them, everyone liked him.

Bringing Up Baby

When I found out that this unit was going to be about Romatic Comadies, I was surprised that we were going to be watching a film from the 50's. I did not think that it would actually be that funny. Bringing Up Baby is a comedy about all that can go wrong, will. I think that Susan is a very funny character, but Katharine Hepburn kind of over does it. After the first half hour, I got a little annoyed by her obliviousness. I also got annoyed with the length of the movie. Although it was not overly long, the jail house scene was too crazy and never ending. The character's constant yelling got old quickly. I think that although the director may have thought that everything in the scene would add to the crazyness and humor, a lot of things could be left out. Overall, I did like the movie and was pleased with the humor.

Here is a link to the movie's trailor. You will see what I mean by the crazyness.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9uUJQRzh4k

Citizen Kane Thoughts

I had really mixed feelings about Citizen Kane. I am not a huge fan of old movies, so I my initial thoughts towards this movie were a little negative. But I kept an open mind, and i ended up liking it more than not. There are some things I didn't like about it. For instance, I have a short attention span and I really like action-y movies, so this movie to me seemed to go on and on. But it wasn't that bad. I thought the acting was pretty good, and I thought Orsen Welles did a good job directing, producing and acting. I also liked how at the end, the viewer gets to know what Rosebud was, but the characters never find out. I guess after watching Citizen Kane, I am more open to watching older movies and like them more than I thought I would.

Something Related to Film

I decided to take art of film because I love watching movies. I want to learn more about what goes into making a scene and how filmmakers portray thoughts, symbols, etc. I want to learn how to analyze scenes in movies because you can learn more about the movie's meaning. I'm excited to watch alot of movies in this class and hopefully learn alot.