Keri's+Film+Responses

Shawshank Redemption:

Previous to this class I had never seen Shawshank Redemption and was skeptical about most of the movies on the film list, this included. After watching one periods' worth of it I was riveted, waiting for more, wanting to go home and rent it, but not wanting to ruin the suspense formed by 40 minute periods. The prison setting is a familiar and favorable setting to me, a huge fan of Prison Break. Even the old time setting didnt take away from this movie. I usually dislike movies set back in old times, but in this one it fit perfectly. The deal breaker for me was Morgan Freeman. He is my all time favorite actor. He is amazing in everything he plays and seems to mold to the character while keeping his Morgan Freemanness and charm. Haywood and Brooks were my other two favorite characters. Haywood reminded me of t-bag, ( Robert Knepper) from Prison Break and was fabulous. Haywood is one of my favorite stereotypical characters and his presence made the movie even better. I've always had a soft spot for sweet old men, and Brooks played right into that. His personality and appearence (same goes for the rest of them) makes you forget that they are all crooks in prison. I feel that the reviews were a bit harsh and quick to judge about this movie. My opinion anyway was that Shawshank Redemption definately has classic potential.

robert knepperwilliam sadler

 Casablanca: Casablanca has been established as a classic almost since its release. Our class's unified definition of classic is that of a work of literature (in our case a movie) that even if you dont love it, you must say you do. A classic is a movie that stands the test of time, and that when you watch it the third or fourth or fifteenth time you still enjoy it and can interpret new meanings. Casablanca was the second movie we watched in Reading Literature and Media class. Most of the students had already seen it with a few exceptions, me included. I guess I was right to have been skeptical because though Shawshank Redemption turned out to top my list of favorite-recently-seen movies, Casablanca did not. By far. Having never seen this movie but hearing everyone's rave reviews I figured it couldnt be that bad. I was wrong. I did not like Casablanca. at all. It was a decent movie, the plot and characters ok, but for me, just that. ok. Personally I dont like black and white films so immediately it took away from the overall ...ness for me. The only positive thing for me now having seen this movie is that I now understand all the Bogart/Henried references. If this movie were to be advertised in theaters today no way would I would not spend 6.50 to see it, but seeing as its labeled 'Classic' im to say that I love it, so: I loved it =).

 On the Waterfront This movie was very good. It was another 'personality' not really comparable to Shawshank Redemption or Casablanca. It was an older movie but still relatable to life today. The situations in this movie were real, and pulled on the audiences heartstrings. Terry Malloy, played by the fabulous Marlon Brando was an amazing protaganist. Your rooting for him from the start and follow his emotions from him flirting with Edie in the famous un-scripted Glove scene, to his conversation with Charley in the cab, with his mourning over his part in Joey's death, to his increduality when he finds all his pidgeons dead. I enjoyed it very much, and once again bolted from french to see what would happen next.

The Graduate The graduate. Another fabulous movie. Quite funny, extremely entertaining and a very good conversation starter. I really liked the movie and its soundtrack. It played the same song three times, but I liked it the more I heard it, it wasn't at all redundent. The conversation between the characters was very amusing, in its awkwardness. The blunt attitude of the characters was also very entertaining. Overall I think this was a very good choice. Having already seen many remakes and other movies with references to this one, I was happy to have seen it again, the inspiration for all these remakes. Family name on the line, and ringtone at the ready (for when my mother, Mrs. Robinson, of course) calls, I sat down in our makeshift theater, feet up and goldfish ready. Time for the Graduate.

 The Maltese Falcon So its been awhile since our last movie in class, and this one was a nice reprieve from Arthurian Legend. I did enjoy this movie though it was not my favorite. I think part of my disdain for this film was my lack of understanding. The film was quick paced and at some points hard to keep up. Sam Spade, played by Humphrey Bogart was a story teller, spinning tales to keep up with everyones perception. As I watched and tried to distinguish the "stories" from the truth the easy flow of relaxed movies. I did enjoy the plot, though we've already established theres no love lost between me and film of this age. There were also a few one-liners delivered throughout that added a little spice. Overall the film was good, and a entertaining use of a week of class.

 Chinatown So I've noticed the farther you scroll down my film review list the shorter the reviews are..hmm.. Let's see what I can do about that. I really enjoyed Chinatown. I thought it was a very well thought out movie, where in the end, as mr. masson introduced, all the loose ends were tied up. I like the fact that someone somewhere went back and noticed the details, and made sure it was aligned thoughout. Since this was my first viewing of the movie I watched for plot and content, not with a keen eye for cinematography and mechanics, even so their were no major continuity flaws that stood out. Each character had a beginning middle and end, which makes for a complete movie. Even the small parts were significant if you paid attention. This is one of those movies that for me, I'd need to watch another time or so to really catch all the one-liners and scene switches. I like that because generally speaking I dont like watching movies repeatedly because they tend to get boring once you know the ending. Well, I know the ending, but theres still haze in the how-to parts. I understood the movie, (partly with help from class discussions) so it held my attention. The actors and actrices were successful in completeing their parts, but I feel a few of them were miscast. It didnt take away much from the whole effect but it could have gone differently. It seemed to me that though the movie starts out about the water scandel that wasnt what the movie was about at all. When I think of Chinatown I think of Noah Cross, Eveyln and Kathryn and the power money can hold. The water seemed almost like an opener. Thats what got J.G. Gitties involved and how he discovered what Noah had really done. Throughout the film it seems Gitties was the main character but in my opinion, after the closing scene, your not really thinking of him at all.

Do The Right Thing: This movie...wow. So, after all our class discussions...Amber Raya and I had left and had our own. Our opinions differed drastically from the rest of the class. I believe the ending was appropriate, and I think it ended on a positive note. There seemed to be some confusion as to what Mr. Masson considered the 'end'. Referring to the brawl, sure that was obviously a big deal, and very chaotic and malignant. The aftermath however, I thought was pretty good, because the way it showed Mookie and Sal just standing amidst the rubble, talking to each other had great symbolism. Their conversation consisted of speaking, yelling then speaking again. Though they raised their voices and threw the money, it was a controlled aggression. I liked how they were talking about the weather and Mookies kid. It showed how after all of the chaos, they were just people. No different, showing concern for the other. The characters as a group, I liked because they were so blunt. Im not sure if it was the situation they were thrust in, the time period or the location, but I liked how when someone had something to say, they said it. Nowadays that doesn't happen as consistently. It is much more sneaky and behind the back. People dont confront, they take it and let the anger simmer. It worked though, because friends amongst friends, were able to say what they thought and wouldnt get reproached for it. The other person was either not offended by it, or dished it right back. Overall, I did enjoy this film very much.

<span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest this film..was quite..not so good..alot. For the first couple of days of the movie I sat there impatient and confused as to what the point was. It slowly began to attract my attention and I began to like it, but only after the first half. I really enjoyed Chief, and what he represented. To the credit of Ken Kesy, the author of the book, it was originally written in Chief's perspective. I really did not like Nurse Ratchett, even though that was the point of her character. The ending redeemed itself for me; I was happy that McMurphy died, instead of being forced to live as a vegetable. It was bittersweet that Chief waited up for McMurphy to come back and was ready to escape together, instead finding him labotomized. Although he did die, I was happy Chief had done it. The closing scene was memorable, as Chief, a HUGE man, PRANCED down a hill. At the end of the day, I've decided One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was an alright movie. I would not rent it, or watch it on tv, and if it was I would probably leave, but I admit I was glad to see it once.

<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Cinema Paradiso I have done a thorough analysis of this movie as part of my final project, so if your interested check Keri's Final Project Part.1 located on my front page. <span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-family: Georgia,serif;"> But for here, I'm going to keep it short. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, though my classmates seemed not to. I enjoyed how relatable, and how stereotypical the relationships of the characters were. Because they characters were so common and normal, their relationships and problems were easily applicable to real life. This was the last film we watched in class for the year, because Mr. Masson insisted it tugged on the heartstrings of the graduating seniors. As I am only a junior, I have another year here at lil 'ol highland I still felt like I understood it. As Salvatore grew up and changed, he hardened a bit as well, but when he came home for Alfredo's funeral he began to re-recogonize what he left behind, and the part of him that used to thrive there, among all the people who loved him. 2 thumbs up from me =) <span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">