Sunday, July 10, 2011

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows: Part 1(2010)

This movie was one of the many sequels to the famous book by J.K. Rowling. People always say that sequels are worse than the first one, even those these are based on a book series so it's not like someone tried to re-create them  but I believe that the movies got better as they went. The Harry Potter movies had four different directors dury the time of them being shot. David Yates was the director of this movie and also directed Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and is also directing the second part to this movie. The First two movies were directed by Chris Columbus and the next one was by Mike Newell, then the following by Alfonso Cuaron then David Yates took over.

In these series of movies we got to watch the kids grow up through out them. Harry, Weasley, and Hermione were the same actors the whole time. So they got better with age and with the different directors I think they learned something new more and more. That's why I would say that the sequels were better than the first movie and all of David Yates movies were awesome and by far are the best down of them all.

There were plenty of memorable moment in this movie such as when Harry gets face to face with Lord Voldermort. Also when Voldermort sends his goon squad after everyone who is protecting Harry. Harry leaves the school to take down him once and for all and Ron and Hermione are always there backing him along the way.

My overall analysis of this film is that  I realy liked it. it was really well done and put together well. It was my favorite one of them all and I thought did a good job of following the book. I've been a fan since I little and not i'm 22 and still watching so they gotta be doing something right in my opinion. I like how the director shows in the movies the characters growing up and acting more and more like adults and not children anymore.

The evaluation of the movie is that it was really well thought out and left a good cliff hanger for part 2 of the film which comes out this month. The lighting and special effects in the movie were awesome and if you go back and watch the first one it is crazy to see how far the industry has come. The movie seems more magical like it should now then it did during the first couple movies. I don't know if that is because of the different directors or just because there is more now that can be done with technology.

Interpretation of the film is that you should never run away from your fears. You should always stand up and take them head on. You don't wanna be living in fear your whole life, that would just be bad to be always looking out your window to see whats there.

This movie was very well done and I like many others enjoyed and I cannot wait to see the next one. Should be a good way to end it all. Crazy to think that all these movies started 10 years ago and its just now finishing. Also crazy what a persons imagination can do and create for other to enjoy and partake in.

Crash (2004)

  The movie "Crash" was directed by Paul Haggis who has also directed " The Next Three Days" and "In the Valley of Elah." Crash is one of the best movies I have ever seen. I love how it all ties together and how he and the actors did this movies. It was just amazing to see them bring this movie together. There were so many big name actors in this film such as Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Ludacris Bridges, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe, Larenz Tate, and Machael Pena. All of these actors are big named and all them are still making big time movies today. They all were so good in this movie, I really like to see movies like this that keep you thinking and also how the director can tie things back to one another.

    Some memorable moments in this film is when Thandie Newton gets felt up by Matt Dillon when he pulls them over and searches them for no reson, and then later on he responds to a call were a car is tip upside down and is on fire. It so happens to be Thandie Newton in the car and she is screaming and doesn't want him to come anywhere near her. But if she wants to live she will have to. Another moment in the movie is when Don Cheadle finds his dead brother at the end of the movie just laying in the ditch.

     I think some themes of this movie are forgiveness, strength, trust, and letting go. Overall I enjoyed this movie very much and it was so awesome to watch all the pieces come together in the end and how everyone connected to one another in some way. I thought that was crazy and it definately blew my mind when I watched. I also go from the film that we live in a small world and you never know who or what you may run  into again just around the corner. I really enjoyed how the director really put every piece in order before he connected all of them in the second half of the movie.

    My evaluation of this movie was that I really liked how he started the movie with the ending and then back tracked to show how they got to that point and then showed the rest of the ending and him finding his brother to be the one dead. I'm not usually a fan of that sort of stuff but the director did a really good job of everything so I enjoyed it very much. I also liked the speech that don cheadle gives during the beginning about how we are all just behind glass and metal all day long and we long for eachothers touch. We want it so bad that we will crash into one another just to get it. I believe that to be true in every sense of the way.

    The interpretation of the film is that it is telling us that not only to be not racist but to trust in one another and to stop being so ignorant. We live in a world were there is so much crime and murder that we are starting to not be human and starting to not trust the guy to our left or right. It is getting bad out there and I think that is what the director is trying to get out in this movie.

   
   

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Do the Right Thing (1989)

I have seen this movie before and I really like Spike Lee as a director. I think he does a great job in all of his movies. I really like He Got Game, i think that it is his best movie but that also could be the basketball fan coming out of me too.

Do the Right Thing was directed by Spike Lee who also directed Malcom X in 1992, Inside Man in 2006, and He Got Game in 1998. All of these movies i think were good and I really enjoyed this one too. Some of the key actors in this movie are Spike Lee himself Oscar Davis, Danny Aiello, John Turturro, Ruby Dee and Bill Nuh. The actors in this movie I thought did a pretty good job and I think they played thier roles very well.

Some of the memorable moments in "Do the Right Thing" were when the guy wants to boycott Sal's Pizzeria because there are no black pictures hanging up and also when Mookie throws the first Blow in the Riot. Some of the themes in this movie were Racism, Indifference, and Love.

The Analysis of this film is that is was good and I did enjoy it. I thought it a good job of showing the different racial discriminations that occur and I didn't think that this film would be so deep after watching it a again and also after reading the chapters in the book. I definately look at movies way different and i think that they make way more sense to me now that when I watch them. The one thing that I would knock is that this film kinda goes no where in a sense such as the first half of movie is the tension is so high you could cut it with a butter knife and the second is finally when it breaks and all hell breaks loose.

Overall evaluation of the film was that the acting was quite good and I enjoyed the actors in the movie. I think it is good to see diffent actors who don't see all the time in movies. I think it makes the movie more interesting to watch and see how they do at playing their roles. The setting of the movie was a good thing also due to the fact that it was in the inner city where there are a lot of different cultures mixed together and a ton of racism takes place there.

Some symbols that I noticed in the film were that the relationships between the characters and the racial differences and all the different ethnicities. Also it being the hottest day of the year thought it symbolizes how the tension was finally gonna break and explode into a huge thing.

Batman: Dark Knight (2008)

This has to be one of my favorite movies all time. I have seen all the batman movies including the ones from back in the day. There is no way that the Dark Night isn't the best one out of them all. The director Christopher Nolan who also directed "Batman Begins", "Momento", "Inception" and "The Prestige."Other than Momento I have seen them all and they are all amazing movies and would not dock any of them. Prestige is one of my top 5 movies of all time and i could watch it all the time.

The key actors in this film are Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart, the late Heath Ledger, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhal, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman. Nolan did a great job of picking his cast for this movie they are all great actors and Maggie Gyllenhal did a good job of replacing Katie Holmes. I think it would of been way better if Holmes was in the movie but Gyllenhal did a great job of replacing her.

Some themes I picked up in this movie were evil never prosper, corruption, love, and power. All of themes themes are consistant with all the batman movies. There were plenty of memorable moments in this movie and some are when Batman says "Gotham needs a hero", also when Dent tells everyone that he is actually Batman and is protecting Batman because he knows that Gotham needs him to protect the people and the city. Another memorable moment is when the 18 wheeler gets flipped over and also the chase seen with the 18 wheeler and the explosions and everything else.

My analysis of  The Dark Knight is that all the actors did a great job of playing their parts. If you don't mention Heath Ledger as the best actor of the movie then you have got to be out of your mind. I think that it is probably the best performance by any actor in the past 10 to 15 years. Might be a bold statement but he was absolutely amazing. It's sad what happened to him and they said that he took a lot of drugs to play the part like he did. He really got into his character and thats what made this movie great. If he hadn't been the joker who knows how this movie would of turned out and how big of impact it would of had if not for him.

The evaluation of the movie is that the storyline was so sweet and it really drew in the audience. Nolan did an amazing job of pulling the crowd in through out the whole movie. I don't think that it could of been done any better. It was fantastic and i have never heard some one say that it was a bad movie and that they didn't like it.

Some symbols in the movie were the same sided coin getting burned and that corresponding with Harvey Dent becoming Two Face. It also was a symbol for fate and decisions that Harvey makes. The bat signal on top of the building is a symbol for hope.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

"8 Mile" 2002

I was glad to see this movie at the end of this chapter because I am a big Eminem (Marshal Mathers) fan and I really enjoy watching this movie. I like the storyline of it and if you are an Eminem fan than I think it kind of gives you a feeling of where he is from. I also think it shows the tough skin you have to have to grow up on the other side of 8 mile. The director was Curtis Hanson who also directed "LA Confidential", "Wonder Boys" and "In Her Shoes." I have not seen any of the other movies that he has directed but I really enjoyed this movie.

Some of the key actors in this film were Eminem (Rabbit), Mekhi Phifer (Future), Brittany Murphy (Alex), Evan Jones (Cheddar Bob), and Kim Basinger ( Rabbit's Mom). I was really impressed with Eminem's acting I wasn't sure on how he would be as an actor but he did a really good job. The supporting cast was awesome as well and I think the director did a great job at picking the cast for this movie.

There were a few memorable moments in this movie and one that pops out right away is when Rabbit is on the stage in the shelter right at the beginning of the movie and he chokes and get boo'd off stage. Another moment in the movie that I remember is when Rabbit catches his supposed to be friend "Wink" having relations with Alex in the studio. This leads to Rabbit beating him up and then the gang Free World jumping him in the trailor court. The last real memorable moment in the movie is when at the end of the movie Rabbit wins the rap battle and mocks the Free World.

Themes for this movie would have to be perserverence over failure. Another theme is that no matter what you can achieve anything you want if you work hard enough for it and you don't give up on yourself.

I think that this was a really good movie and was directed well. This movie was made to show a little light on Eminem's up bringing and the things that he had to go through before he got famous. It's not said that this is a biography but Eminem had an interview and wanted people to know his past and what he had to go through to get to where he is now. I think this movie gives a lot of hope to those kids that are in the lower stage of poverty and want to prove people wrong that they can if they put ther heart into it.

My overall evaluation of this movie is that it was a great story and was really well written. I enjoyed everything about it and that it gets you down and you feel bad for Rabbit because of all the crap that he has to endure but it never stops and him and he fights and claws tell he is successful. I think it showed a great deal of what it is like to live in Detroit in the so called slums of poverty. It also I think showed the pride that Eminem has for Detroit and being from there and how it helped mold him into the guy that he is now.

There were some symbols in this movie for sure and one of them I thought was when Eminem had to take the bus to work and was looking out the window at all the broken down houses and building that were just left there to rot away. Lilly was a symbol to me and she represented Eminem's daughter in real life Haley. In the movie Eminem shows how much he cares about Lilly and cares about her well being. Critics at the time of this movie when it came out said that Eminem shouldn't have a kid that he was a bad parent. I think he wanted to show everyone that he really loves his daughter and cares for her very much no matter what his lifestyle is like.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Slumdog Millionaire was a great movie and always kept my attention. Just the characters drive through out the whole movie was amazing and all the different actors they used for each stage of their lives from a child to a young adult was well done. The director of this movie was Danny Boyle; Loveleen Tandon who also directed 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, two movies that I like very much and actually own all three of the movies.

The key actors were Dev Patel (Older Jamal), Freida Pinto (Older Latika) , Anil Kapoor (Prem), Irrfan Khan (Police inspector). To me these were the most important character through out the whole movie and also were the best played through out the movie. All of these actors did a great job in playing their roles in the movie.

Some of the most memorable moments would have to be when Jamal jumps into the poo just so he can meet his favorite actor and get his autograph. One other moment would have to be when his mom dies right in front of his brother. After that they end up having to make it on their own and from this they mold into the people they are later in the movie.

Definately one of the themes in this movie has to be love and that is through the whole movie that love is shown. Another theme is poverty and coming from nothing but not letting anything get you done and stop you from getting what you want in life. Also just the drive to be free in the movie by the actors is apparent that they want to get away from the poverty that they are living in.

This movie was so sweet, I really enjoyed the love story in it and how it shows that no matter what Jamal was going through he always put Latika first. He loved her so much and was willing to do anything for her to make her happy. There was a sign around every corner telling Jamal that he should just let her go and move on with his life but he wouldn't let that slow him down. He always fights for what he wants in the movie. Jamal has a really good heart and nothing ever seems to break his spirit and like that the director did that. I thought he picked some really good actors that no one has really even heard of. For beign a bunch of no namers they were phenominal and kudos to them.

I liked that the director showed what life is really like in India and how hard it is to do something with your life if you don't come from any money. The director did a great job on writing the story and making this film so that it was enjoyable and easy to watch. It always kept your attention and I liked how he did that. The part that was so cool was how he was getting all these questions that nobody should get right and he was because of all the different things that had happened to him in his life. The part of the movie I thought the director did a great job of doing.

There were plenty of symbols in this movie and one has to be the hundred dollar bill and how the blind kid knows exactly what he has in his possesion. It is not known around those parts of India and no many people even get to see one of those in their lifetime because of how poor they are down there.

Friday, June 17, 2011

"Amelie" 2001

So the reason for this movie was I talked with some other past classmates who have taken this class and they all said that "Amelie" was a good movie and it was a love movie. Since it is hard for me to watch tv or any time of movie on my own time I have to convince my fiance to watch it with me. I told her that this movie was a love movie and so she let me and I'd have to say it really wasn't that bad and I actually enjoyed it.

It was directed by a man named Jean-Pierre Jeunot who also direct, "Delicatessen" and "City of Lost Children." I can't say that I have ever even heard of this director or any of the other movies that he has directed and I thought I was up in my movie game but I guess i was wrong. Some of the key actors in this film are Audrey Tautou (Amelie), Mattieu Kussovitz (Nino Quicampoix), Serge Martin (Dufayel), Rufus (Raphael Poulain), and Lorella Casvotta (Amandine Poulain).

Some key moments in the movie where when she found a little tin box in her bathroom and then she swears that she will return to the original owner no matter what. I find it kind of cool that she seem to be the match maker for everyone but herself and she doesn't really seem to want anyone to know. Kind of like a little grade schooler when they first like someone and their shy about the whole situations is what she reminded me of.

The themes of this movie were simple love and romance and more love and romance. It was great movie for these themes because it wasn't like one that I have seen. I liked that it was different and that people recommended me to watch it.

The analysis of this movie is that it was done well, it's hard to argue when it us up for so many awards and I believe won a lot of them for this movie. The director did a good job with this movie and it is good to see a small name actor that you don't hear a lot about making a good film and getting some recognition for it. It got a little confusing at time but made more and more sense as the movie went along. Possibly it was a little confusing just so that the viewer would feel they way Amelie was feeling and also how Audrey was playing her role in this movie. I liked how the director did it though I like being a little confused during a movie that way it keeps my attention through out.

The acting was very good for being actors and actresses that I personally have not heard of and don't think that a lot of other people have either. I was impressed with how well done this movie was and I would be curious to see how his other movies are that he directed. It's a very simple movie when it's all said and done I think, it's just a girl who has an incredible personality and even bigger imagination and just like everyone else she wants to find that person that will love her. So I think the movie did a great job of hitting this key point.

I think some of the messages that the director is trying to get through are that with the right person and the right kind of love that true happiness can occur. That you never know when your gonna walk into that persons life that you love so much and not even know that you just did so. Another one that I think was being betrayed was that you should never be afraid to go after who/what you want no matter what!

Some symbolism in this movie would have to be I think the person drinking water was Amelie because after all she know who she was and was searching to find her self. And the painter never could figure it out until she met the one that she loved.