Friday, January 30, 2009

The Simpsons

The lovable yellow family is up to their old shenanigans again, in their first full length movie. The whole movie is about how The Simpsons try to save their town form utter destruction. But there are a few good twist and turns. Great satirical work by the writers and the movie is just plain funny.
The movie starts out with the family watching an Itchy and Scratchy movie, which involves Scratchy get left on the moon while Itchy returns as a hero. Itchy becomes president and has to face a JFK-like Crisis with Scratchy returns from the dead. Icthy firs a bunch of nukes at the moon and blows up Scratchy, and while that sequence is going on Homer yells out "Boring" and gets yelled at and then turns towards us, the real audience, and says were suckers for paying movie to watch something we get for free on the TV. The first of many good lines and satire. I laughed though the beginning part of the movie, because it was hilarious.
As I said before the movie plot is how The Simpsons, Homer and his new love a pig, destroy Springfield's environment, and EPA has to come in and clean up his mess. They do that by putting a dome over the town. The residents soon find out that Homer is the culprit and try to kill him and the family, but they escape though a sinkhole. Homer knows that he has screwed up and knows of a way to get them out of it, by going to Alaska, where they can create a new life. His plan goes array when Marge and the kids find out that Springfield will be blow up to create a new Grand Canyon. Homer soon find himself alone while his family tries to go save their real home. Homer, heart-broken, doesn't know what to do and go off to kill himself, but an old inuit women saves him and shows him the light. Homer, with a new found purpose, goes to save Springfield.
The movie is full of laughs and satire of American politics and current events. the movie is just plain funny, I'd give it an 8 out 10.

Friday, January 23, 2009

The Graduate

Starting with the hopeless future of recent graduate Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman in his first star role), The Graduate follows the life defining moments in the man's summer and follows his escapades. The movie starts out with Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" which plays beautifully with the picture director Mike Nichols wanted us to see. A young man who is lost in the real world and trying to find his way.
Upon arriving home, his parents throw him a huge party where Ben feels uncomfortable and is soon discovered by Mrs. Robinson (Ann Bancroft) the very attractive wive of his father's business partner. Mrs. Robinson lures Ben away from the party by asking him for a lift home. She uses her powers to lure young and ignorant Ben into her house and then asks Ben if he wants a drink, She talks about her life's problems and Ben stupidly asks, "Mrs. Robinson are you trying to seduce me?" She laughs at such a question and Ben feels very awkward and tries to leave but Mrs. Robinson is trying to seduce him, and tells Ben that anytime that he feels the "urge" to see her that he can call. This whole encounter becomes very funny and extremely awkward.
Ben does soon feel the urge and calls Mrs. Robinson, and Ben her that he is at the Taft Hotel. She responds by saying she'll be there in a n hour. Ben Not really knowing how these things work tries to talk to the clerk at the front desk, the first thing Ben hears is "Are you here for an Affair", a very good play on words, Ben is surprise but then finds out that there is a ball going on. He wants at the bar and meets up with Mrs. Robinson. He tries to get a room and stumbles through it all and it is very funny. He gets the room calls Her from a telephone booth that is only 20 feet away. He goes up to the room and tries to prepare it. Mrs.Robinson shows up and the whole scene is awkward and hilarious. They get "down to business".
Ben is soon caught between his affair and the girl who he wants, Elaine Robinson(Katerine Ross) the daughter of Mrs. Robinson so yeah it gets pretty messed up. The rest of the movie is for anyone who reads this to find out. It has been paradied many times over by ever genre and generation after the movie was made. It is that good, Simon and Garfunkel got a boost by the movie because it was their soundtrack that palyed thoughout the movie, and the most famous of their songs, "Mrs. Robinson" shot up the charts after the movie was released. It is filled with laughs, good music, and cultural reflections of the sixties. I would give it a 9/10 on my rating scale.

Friday, January 16, 2009

PSYCHO REVIEW

Alfred Hitchcock creates another masterpiece of horror with his 1960 movie Psycho. Which has become a classic in American Cinema and a cult classic for those who are mentally disturbed, like myself. The twist and turns do manipulate the mind into believing one thing, then WHAM! something else comes up and one changes the perspective of the movie. The neat thing is is that the movie is based off a book which in turn is based on true events that happened in Plainview, Wisconsin. The book is based on the murderous escapades of Ed Gein, a very disturbed man, who killed most of his women neighbors,skinned them, and wore their skins. Truly a disturbed man. But Alfred doesn't really dabble into the blood and gore of the events of the book, he manipulates it to hide the true killer in a very sophisticated way. A quote that he used was "Evil should look and act mundane" and that is beautifully portaried in the character of Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) , a lonely motel manager with a sick mother.
The first victim of "psycho" is Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), who is running away from her job where she stole $40,000 and wants to go and give it to her lover Sam Loomis (John Gavin), the first plot. She stops in at the Bates Hotel, where her and Norman have a great conversation on how we are have problems and are stuck in our own personal traps and can't escape them. Marion soon realize that she will always be stuck in her trap that we created for herself and decides to return home and return the money. But that night while taking a shower to cleanse herself from the guilt but is stabbed to death by an unknown killer. The rest of the movie focuses on the finding this killer and the following the twist and curveballs that Hitchcock throws the audience's way.
I would give it a 9/10 on my scale of movie ratings. It has the best of Alfred Hitchcock taste, the twists and turns, suspense and the cinematography is absolutely stunning, it's as if one was there and living the nightmare, and the music is simply unforgettable. So the next time one takes a shower, just don't listen to High-pitched, short, suspense music and lock your door, cause one doesn't know when Psycho will come.

Ben-Hur Review

To listen to the greatness of Film Studies Class, then click on the link below, download, and sit back and enjoy

http://www.box.net/shared/ie1rc51lg0

Friday, January 9, 2009

My Top Ten Movies

MY TOP TEN MOVIES OF ALL TIME

10. Schindler's List

9. Sin City

8. No Country for Old Men

7. V for Vendetta

6. The Big Lebowski

5. Little Miss Sunshine

4. Forrest Gump

3. The Dark Knight

2. Saving Private Ryan

1. Shawshank Redemption

I have many more but at this time in my life I feel that these are my favorite movies.