Interstellar

Interstellar was an incredibly ambitious and thrilling movie, which shines in certain areas, but falls short in many as well. The film was visually a masterpiece, and some of the new age digital  capabilities are absolutely astounding. Due to the films massive scope, which touches not only upon space travel but also multiple dimensions, there were certain acting roles as well as choices made by the producer that really rubbed me wrong. I will straight up say that the TARS robot which served as the artificial intelligence unit throughout the movie was the dumbest designed robot I think I have seen in any Sci-Fi film. The design just didn’t make sense to me, and their was also a few instances of comic relief supplied by TARS, and I didn’t find it funny. I kept finding myself comparing TARS with R2-D2 because he was actually helpful in Star Wars, and was a simple astro droid, not a goofy rectangle that can hold onto ledges and run/roll really fast. Besides that fact, and a few awkward and misplaced acting roles (Topher Grace specifically), the overall feel that the movie gave off was epic, and mind boggling. The introduction of multiple dimensions and abstract definitions of time and space made me truly puzzled all the way until the end, when a connection between past and present was made.

When I finished watching the film, I had slightly different expectations in my mind. I was hoping to have seen more planets with possible life on them, giving the people back on Earth an alternative for when the atmosphere becomes unlivable. Something to note is also the lack of change on Earth between the time Cooper had left and come back, given that his circumstances “forced” him to go on the expedition. Something to take out of the overall result of the film is that traveling to different galaxies will most likely not be available in my lifetime, as well as that we are quite possibly the only life out there in this vast galaxy.

Elephant

Elephant was a movie that loosely recreated the Columbine shooting that occurred April 20, 1999. The most striking thing about this movie was the cinematography. There were many blurry shots, still shots and plenty of long walks down empty school hallways. I found this pace of movie to be very distracting and almost boring, even though the entire time I was somewhat unnerved knowing what was to eventually come. An example of a still shot that did this was a scene on the school athletic field where it went on for like 2 minutes without moving the shot, making it look like a green screen almost. This was a representation of the low budget this film received. The long hallway walks took up the most amount of time in this movie and I found it very plain.

I found it interesting how the film portrayed many of the same scenes except from different students’ points of view. There were certain times where the background sound in certain shots were able to bring out emotion in certain characters, The scene where Alex, one of the shooters, was in the cafeteria, everything got loud and muddled, making me get the feeling of some sort of mental instability.

Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai

Ghost Dog Way of the Samurai surprised me in the way that it made me bored, but still interested and compelled by the plot. There was a very mysterious and cool vibe that Ghost Dog gave off, and the long drawn out scenes where he’s driving his car or walking down the street made me interested in the character. When I look back and analyze the plot of the movie, it is hilarious to me; a black samurai who contacts the Italian mobb through pigeon, and ends up killing everyone in the mobb. There never was a point when watching this movie that I became uninterested because of the subtle but recurrent symbols and themes. I was first interested in the purpose of pigeons and what they could possibly symbolize, and then I noticed the recurrence of cartoons with the mobb members and Mr. Vargo’s daughter. It was pretty absurd how utterly ignorant the mobb members were portrayed in some scenes, which included racist remarks towards African Americans and Native Americans.

The last theme that interested me the most was at the end when Ghost Dog tells louie to take the Roshoman book and “read it sometime, tell me what you think.” Louie then shoots him and performs the trinity as a sign of religious respect. This made me wonder how closely related ghost dog’s character is with Jesus, and spreading his samurai code through the literature.

Bamboozled

Playing into the stereotypes to conform to what people want to see on television was exactly what this film did to test the theory that by bringing forward all the stereotypes, their destructive influence would be broken. Bamboozled is a film that used many different comparison and contrasts to bring forward an overall message about stereotypes and racism. Some of the cinematography in the movie was peculiar, with some scenes being short and choppy, and other scenes being poorly and awkwardly filmed. This movie used the backwardness of stereotypes in certain characters to create a very uncomfortable, yet satirical and comical film. It started out very slow and did not make much sense, but as the plot unfolded and all the pieces were put together, the movie ended up being not that bad. I found the white guy on the CNS network hilarious in a very racist and almost awkward way.

In the show, “Mantan” and “Sleepineat” were given specific roles to fill certain stereotypical traits. In the reading, it delves deep into the historical context of blackface and its importance in paralelling what people stereotypically hold to be true creating a paradox or something along those lines. Anyways, the deep philosophical and moral discussion about blackface did not make much sense, other than that it challenged the belief. It was interesting how the movie compared the older TV show with white people going blackface to the newer minstrel show.

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day turned out to be one of the more enjoyable movies I have watched this semester because it is easy to follow the progression of each day that Phil has to endure. The change of Phil’s moral compass throughout the film was fun to watch and it kept me always wondering which alarm that went off would be the next day. At the start of the movie, Phil was pretty self centered and arrogant towards other people at the start of the movie, then transitioned to confusion, depression, and redemption. A thought I had during the movie was the irony that some people’s routines are literally the same every day, whether it be a job or just due to life circumstances.

An important relationship in the film was with that of Rita. She separates from other characters in the film because she eventually led to Phil’s salvation. She serves as a model of kindness and represents an ideal that Phil needed to achieve before he could escape the torturous repetition of living the same exact day. The reading brought up an interesting point which paralleled the repetition of Groundhog day with Purgatory. When Phil was in the depressed stage and trying to kill himself, it not only made you feel that he was reliving the same day, but that he was stuck in the same day, in a sort of state of limbo.

Just as a side note, I loved how he stepped in the same puddle every time. It seemed kind of random, but nonetheless funny.

Daughters of the Dust

Daughters of the Dust was a very interesting and unique cinematic experience, unlike anything I have really seen before. The film was surprisingly beautiful in many scenes, deeply contrasting the conditions of the Gullah people which came off as dire and nearly unlivable. It was interesting learning about each family member and how each of their particular practices and mannerisms. The grandmother of the Gullah people still practiced ritual voodoo magic and remains very spiritual, reflecting the family heritage, which is very important in characterizing and understanding the tribe from a modern day standpoint.

Much of the importance and creativity of this movie comes from the simplicity of observing everyday life actions to learn about each individuals stories, which was unclear from the start. This places an emphasis on culture and the unity of the Gullah people as a whole, making much of the surface conflicts irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. A big theme in this film is staying true to the origins and roots of the tribe’s West African ancestors.

The Thin Blue Line

This documentary is the first time I have learned about this particular legal case. It was an interesting combination of staged reenactment and actual detective and police work that really separated this documentary from others in my opinion. The significance and implications of this case stretched far beyond a simple homicide case, but also brought to interest the justice system and the possibility of error and corruption. It seemed that as soon as the case got out to the public, it got all muddled up, getting further and further away from the truth, even though it was in front of their eyes for upwards of 11 years. David Harris, who was only 16 when he killed the police officer, framed Randall Adams for the murder and was able to get away free of conviction even after confessing about being the killer. It is crazy to think about the circumstances where Harris was convicted of an unrelated murder later on in his life, and even though the ties to the initial murder of the police officer were so prevalent, the conviction of Adams was never revoked. It was interesting hearing the different stories from the witnesses because it kept changing up the story, making the truth very hard to find despite the fact being so superior. Some of the analysis on the psychology of Harris gave perspective into the troubled and misguided youth. Harris mentioned the traumatic experience of his 4 year old brother who drowned, and it makes me wonder if this is enough to justify his actions. Obviously no justification could be given for shooting an innocent police officer, but his age, as well as past, allowed him to slip through the justice system, creating an incredibly controversial and universal example of where the justice system failed to bring a killer into custody for the correct crime.

Alien

This was my first viewing of Alien on big screen, and from a sci-fi fan’s viewpoint, Alien is an inspiration for so many modern day science fiction horror films as well as video games. Everything about it was original for the era. From a science standpoint, I really enjoyed how the Aliens’ biology varied from that of real biology and anatomy. The fact that the first Alien encounter was a parasite was a genius take on what is known and unknown. A question I had on some of the filmography decisions was about how dark some of the scenes were. The darkness of the ship and planet really benefited the movie, creating a built up scare factor and anticipation, but I thought it also took away from some of the aesthetically pleasing elements that many movies have.

Alien really separated itself from other sci-fi movies of the 70’s because it really focused on the fears of national self doubt and paranoia. An important thing to note is that Alien not only gave rise to new horror films, as well as a renewed science fiction genre. Alien took some of people’s biggest fears, which is fear of the unknown, and used that to create a comprehensive film that not only makes the audience think about extraterrestrial life, but some of the political concerns enveloping 70’s life.

Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now was one of the first legitimate Vietnam War movies that I have watched, and it gave me a whole new perspective on the war that I had not know before. Through the cinematography, the film really grasped a lot of the more gruesome and ominous aspects of the war, really immersing the audience into the moment with Captain Willard and his crew going into the heart of Cambodia.

The scene I most wanted to discuss after viewing the film was when Willard finally reaches the encampment with Colonel Kurtz. Knowing the back story of Kurtz going rogue or insane, there was a lot of tension and built up anticipation of what the Colonel would look like. The mere presence of Kurtz, a man of huge and empowering stature, was interesting in the context of the whole situation. The people that followed him viewed him as a deity or god-like figure, and this was shown by the cross cutting of the stone idol face into important scenes. It almost seemed as if some sort of indoctrination had occurred, and Kurtz was able to present a type of otherworldly influence on these people. I wish that the film showed more about how Kurtz exactly got himself into that position of power and influence.

Another interesting point that was brought up in the reading that I look back on and agree with is the question about who was responsible, or who was in command. Since this was my first viewing of the film, I found myself at times questioning Captain Willard’s importance in the whole scheme, and whether his authority was merely speculation. This theme was also found in Cambodia when Kurtz was being compared to a stone idol. Was it possible that the people interpreted Kurtz as the reincarnation of a deity?

Nostalgia and Days of Heaven

The avant garde film nostalgia that we watched was a unique take on storytelling despite being somewhat misleading or unclear. The trick to the movie was that each narrative was describing the photo after the one being currently shown. This provided the viewer with an interesting experience where the narrative created imagery which then contrasts with what the photo actually looks like. According to the reading this creates an artistic “tension” due to the inconsistencies in the photo narratives.

The second film Days of Heaven was visually an absolutely astounding movie. The huge colorful backdrops on the farmland created some of the most stimulating and beautiful scenery even compared to modern day films with all the advanced technology and computer editing. What struck me the most was the clear symbolism of heaven and hell, portrayed by the bright yellows in the sky and wheat fields, and the burning fields and dark smokes given off by trains. In the scene where Bill and Abby are leaving the farm in the car, they pass through a scorched and falling down set of arches, which possibly represent leaving hell (the farm), and entering heaven (freedom). Another part worth mentioning was the scene that showed the burnt and devil red face of the farm supervisor, who eventually hunts down and has Bill killed.