Western Comparisons

Stage Coach vs True Grit
Although Many may say that Stagecoach and True Grit follow a completely different storyline, really the basic themes and "drive" in the story are quite similar. Both revolve around revenge and how it drives people to do things. In True Grit, Mattie wanted revenge on Tom, the man who killed her dad. In True Grit it was Ringo wanting revenge on the ones who killed his family members. A similarity I can see is how both films are for the majority of the time slow moving as the plot evolves over time, with a few fast paced action scenes. Another, smaller detail is how both are lit; very bright, direct light. This gives off a feeling like you are really with them out in the beating sun of the desert.

Unforgiven vs True Grit
These two stories also revolve around revenge; Will going back to kill Little Bill over Ned's death, and Mattie over her father's. Both films have strong revisionist characteristics. Some of the characters such as Mattie, being a young girl, and English Bob being, well, English. These were not typically seen in what you would call a "Classic Western". Unforgiven's lighting techniques broke away form the classic, as many shots were very dark and back-lighting techniques were used often, as opposed to the much brighter shots used in True Grit.

In my eyes, True Grit seemed to have more traits of a revisionist western than that of a classic. As I pointed out earlier, a young girl as the main role was pretty uncommon for the classic style. Women in classic westerns did not typically have as much of a "backbone". In the classic western the plot and outcome seemed to entail a much more "romantic" ending, everything going well and justice met. In True Grit the outcome is much more realistic; everything does not go as planned and Mattie ends up getting her arm cut off and never being able to see Rooster again due to his death. This is not the typical "Classic" ending.

Language of film

clip a:
What stuck out to me the most in this clip was the editing. there was a certian point where a guy took a sip of a drink, and with a direct cut he finished drinking in a new location. i thought that was a really cool effect. Nice, flowing editing was used during the cards scene where the camera was panning around the table and smooth tranistions were made, with a varity of angles; high, low, and eyeline match with the cards/chips in the middle. Also, during the cards scene the 180 rule was used to match charaters and their position around the table.

Clip c:

The main aspect that this scene displayed was parallel action. There would be a clip of the police men charging the house, and then cut back to the woman asking the man for information. In otherwords, multiple things going on at once. nice framing and composition was used. The rule of 3rds was present in many shots, one being the man waiting by the truck. This gives a nice balance to the shot and a real cinematic feel. Negative space was used with the doorbell; since you expect him to ring it there is open space left next to the bell where his hand then appears, to put the balance back in place.

Clip D:
this clip, from Mangolia, is actually just a single shot. There was no editing done to break up any part of the scene(minus the first couple seconds). It begins with a father and son walking in from the rain, and contiunes on to follow various characters around trhe building. It starts out by following the boy and dad, then a few other people, before you see the boy again. The camera keeps moving the whole time, as the charaters keep walking. this makes you feel how busy they must be, and how much walking they do. the camera remains as a mid-shot for the majority of the time, with a close up used once or twice. it remains steady as well, so a dolly or stedicam was most likely utilized for this. its a cool shot.

Clip F:
the two most prominent aspects of this clip are the the sounds and camera work. It is all diegetic, eerie, repetitive sounds; such as the clock and the dog barking. this provides a sense of spacious and calmness, which is contradictory to the situation at hand. The long, single shot keeps you wondering what is behind the next corner it is about to turn, and the slow, steady movements of the camera correspond to the slow steady audio. the sound of the fire is present before you actually see the house in flames, so you know that something is coming; as the camera moves outside it unveils the main subject of the clip; the burning house and the residents watching helplessly.

Oscar Rank

1 A SOCIAL NETWORK -best acting: Jessie eisenberg -great story -keeps attention -funny -cool -great cinematography -just an awesome film 2 TRUE GRIT -great story -best acting: jeff bridges -funny parts -character development -wide/open scapes 3 WINTERS BONE -best acting: Jennifer Lawrence -a part of the world not typically seen in movies -mellow/cold tone -strong characters 4 INCEPTION -best acting: Cillian Murphy -interesting/makes you think -not as complex as I would have liked -main “goal” was kind of silly -lots of things left unclear 5 TS3 -great ending to the trilogy -surpassed hopes/expectations -tim allen and tom hanks still got it -sociopolitical symbolism? 6 THE KINGS SPEECH -best acting: Geoffrey Rush -boring -complacent/ warm feeling -much bigger conflicts in the world than that guy’s speech problem

1. The social network
This film, "the social network", was the film I have been waiting for. Not literally waiting for it to be released, but when I first saw it I was amazed by how incredible it was; it was the kind of movie I have been waiting to be made. It hit every aspect of what I declare to be a good movie to a “T”. The plot alone was fantastic, along with the writing and dialogue really gave off a strong sense of character. The editing was spectacular, switching between past and present seamlessly, in a way that kept attention and suspense through the entire movie. I was funny, suspenseful, awesome, and like I said, just the movie iv ben waiting for.

2. True Grit
True Grit, in my eyes, was a very close second; there were aspects I could say I liked even more. First and foremost, the dialogue. Rooster was probably one of the coolest main characters iv ever watched. Everything he said was either funny or badass. The movie was shot with many of the same aspects as westerns are known for; the wide open, on location landscapes added much to the overall tone and feel of the film. The story, to me, wasn’t really all that great. I feel like it was nothing really new, but the great acting, cinematography, and Rooster’s overall awesomeness are what made it for me.

3. Winter’s Bone
A world not typically portrayed in film, Winter’s Bone opens up viewer’s eyes to a life you try to forget about. Everything about the film is grim; the story line, the season, the colors, and even the characters. Aside from pleasant cinematography and characters you grow to like, something really stuck out as a “yes” for me. I suppose that I liked it because it was really something new, not another trite comedy or action with the same old plot, this was something special and something I really enjoyed. I think I put it before the last three for this reason.


4. Toy Story 3
I hope you didn’t forget about Toy Story, didn’t think they would just leave you at number 2. Toy Story 3 was released this year in full swing and the classic story finally got its conclusion, and what a great one. TS3 completely surpassed any and all expectations for what I hoped would be the dramatic wrap up for the fantastic series. Really Pixar’s best work. The story is set as Andy is heading off to college and the Toys are stuck in a situation as always. A dramatic ending which takes long to achieve as the movie doesn’t drag, but presses on for a semi-suspenseful crowd pleaser. It was perfect in most ways, other than I felt some humor was really aimed at a younger audience, then again it is a kids movie, ha ha.

5. Inception
I’ll start off with the negative. It is not what I expected. Seeing the previews and hearing people talk really got me excited for this film, although it wasn’t bad, it didn’t meet expectations. I had pictured some really cool, mind warping, getting you to think kind of movie. It wasn’t really like that, once you found out “how” the dreams worked, it was really just your average action film. It was creative, ill give them that, but not as in depth as I would have liked. Overall there were some cool effects and a creative plot along with some fairly decent acting, but it really wasn’t what I had expected. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if it hadn’t got so much hype.

6. The King’s Speech
This film did little to nothing for me. The little it did was condensed in Geoffrey Rush’s acting and a couple of cool cinematographic shots. Short and simply I say it was bleak. Dry. Boring. With 90% of the movie shot indoors; a cozy little house it really did not breech much of any emotion or strong sense of conflict. There is really not a lot I can say. Award-seeking. Bland. Geoffrey Rush was good. That is all.

My First Movie Review

BRAINSTORMING - gran torino

mellow

low amount of diolauge

clint eastwood was really good

the original story was set in n. minneapolis

spacious

slow but steady pace with a couple dramtic scenes

Gran Torino is the model of the car Clint owned

hmong gangs

stubborn

lo fi feeling

urban living in a tough city

getting involved with bad people

present time

real life issues

relateable

ironic ending

REVIEW of Gran Torino

Gran Torino is a story based on true elements of the author's expericances while in minnesota. It was released a few years back, and was the first film Clint Eastwood had starred in for some years. The plot is based around Clint's experiance living in N. mpls as he is becoming older. You can tell his family cares about him, although they are caught up in the typical modern day famliy life style, one which Walt(Clint) rejects. He is a man of the military, and seeing his grandchildern act so disrespectful is something that he just doesnt want to deal with. The area in which Walt is living is slowly starting to be overrun by Hmong families, you can see his resentment towards that, holding some rascism due to the generation he was rasied. One of the young boys of these families gets mixed up with the wrong people; and was caught trying to steal Walt's Gran Torino. The family of Thao is so embarassed that they basically beg Walt to let the boy do work for him. Clint eventually befriends Thao, and the irony is at the end he actually gives his Gran Torino to him. I personally enjoyed the movie, however many people I have talked to felt like it didn't have enough "action" and was just plain boring. It does move at a slow pace for main part, but thats something I don't really mind. Overall I would give it an 8/10.