Citizen Kane is supposedly the greatest film ever made. More people are probably aware of this fact than have actually sat down to watch it. My dad is one of those people who likes to watch a good movie. Mention No Country for Old Men or The Straight Story and he’ll start chatting excitedly about why he loves those films. He decided to sit down and watch Citizen Kane and it didn’t really do anything for him. Some might say …

Read on »

The Hurt Locker is a war movie, but not in the same way that Saving Private Ryan is a war movie. This film has an episodic structure rather than a large overarching plot, which places the emphasis on character. This is a very good thing. This isn’t to say that you won’t be left gripping your seat, because you will. The moments of heart stopping tension just pass by more quickly and come more frequently than in your typical war …

Read on »

In a recent interview concerning his upcoming documentary (Meeting Andrei Tarkovsky), Dmitry Trakovsky (not related) talks about the difference in approaches between contemporary films and the films of Tarkovsky. One of the most defining characteristic of a Tarkovsky film is its use of extended shots, which places an emphasis on the moment. In his interview Dmitry speaks of how he feels that many of today’s contemporary films force the viewer to only be concerned with what happens next.
While Rachel Getting …

Read on »

I saw this based on the recommendation of my favorite movie critic, James Berardinelli, over at his reelviews site. This is listed as his number one favorite film. Since he and I have similar tastes, I thought I’d give the film a chance. The film was well received when it came out. It won seven Academy Awards in 1970, including best picture.
While I can perhaps understand why the film is so well loved by people like Berardinelli, I feel that …

Read on »

This is a film I did Junior year of high school. My dad’s been hounding me to get him a copy of it, so here it is. I really enjoyed making it.

Read on »

“Bringing Up Baby” is a screwball comedy that features Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. Screwball comedies thrive on situational and physical comedy, a quality which has endeared me to the genre since I first came into contact with it. Mistaken identities, ridiculous chase scenes, and outrageous characters are all a staple.
That’s no less the case here. Cary Grant plays a timid and nerdy scientist, David, who has spent the last four years working on the reconstruction of a brontosaurus skeleton …

Read on »

I just finished watching Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Rebecca. It was a great film. I was somewhat skeptical at the beginning as it seemed to be your typical romance movie with all the cheese that entails. However the movie soon moved past this toward more meaty dramatic material that seemed to me like watching a trainwreck and a 40 car pile up all thrown together into a big pot with just a dash of intrigue thrown in for flavor.
In typical Hitchcockian …

Read on »

This past Sunday I was eating lunch with some friends from church and the topic of Disney movies came up. I think it branched off from your typical gender superiority discussion (you know, who’s the better sex). Anyways, the conversation inevitably ended up with three women trying to psychoanalyze Disney movies. They talked about the tendency for Disney protagonists to have no mother. Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Snow White, Cinderalla, Lilo, etc.

My favorite Disney fairytale is probably Beauty in the Beast. It’s a really great movie, the only animated film to be nominated for a best picture Academy Award. Everything about the film is top notch; the voice acting, the animation, the pacing, and the musical numbers. It also has the most interesting premise of all the Disney fairy tales, the idea that love transcends beauty. Ancient philosophers used to believe that outward beauty was a sign of inner beauty. This is our natural inclination as well. Studies have shown that physically attractive people are paid more, get more breaks, and have more successful partners (that one specifically is kind of a no brainer).

Read on »

The Academy Awards were this past Sunday. I never watch the proceedings. I find the broadcasts long and boring. However, as a cinephile (lover of movies) I am fairly interested in what films win the awards.
I wasn’t surprised that Heath Ledger won his posthumous award, though I feel like the award would have been better spent on boosting the ego of someone who’s still alive. I didn’t think his performance was all that special (I also felt like the Dark …

Read on »