sunset Boulevard

This movie was really fun to watch. I grew up in this area of Los Angeles so it was nostalgic to watch the characters driving through the streets of Hollywood and Bel Air. A lot of the faces that Norma Desmond makes remind me of my Dad and Grandma. They can both be very significant diva sometimes. It can be entertaining, now that I know who they are "channeling". The way the movie was set up made it fun to try and figure out. Some classmates and I were trying to predict the ending, we were pretty close. It makes me sad how hollywood can shut these stars out. It is so sad how someone can be so famous and have so much attention and then be completely forgotten about. It is interesting how this movie and Some Like it Hot have the same director. Billy Wilder has a neat way of concealing a taboo topic under a loud plot. In Some like It Hot, He conceals the topic of cross dressing behind the comedic dance of two men escaping the law. In this movie he talks about the topic of hollywood deserting the stars of yesterday. he conceals this touchy subject by introducing this awkward love story

The Maltese Falcon

I loved this movie!

Humphrey Bogart, or shall I say Sam Spade is so fantastic. The ending really did it for me. I was even on Brigid's side! I really thought he would have just blamed the murder on Wilmer and gone off with her. I think if the Falcon had even been worth anything he would have done the same. He was such a good cop, I love the scene where he tells her about what you are supposed to do when your partner dies. That was a great speech. I know that this is a cheesy comparison but I think that the Brady Bunch Movie took some plot line inspiration from this film. "Trying to get someone to fall in love with you so they help you find something and don't throw you in jail". Too bad that back fired in both movies. I loved the character of the Kasper Gutman and his whole obsession with the Maltese Falcon. he gets so excited when talking about it. Another character I really enjoyed was Cairo! Oh what a character, he was so interesting and always looked like he was on his way back from the opera. all in all I think that this was a great movie and defiantly inspired many movies after it.

The Hitch-Hiker

The beginning of this movie was great. it really reminded me of the beginning of Strangers on a Train directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The way that the camera followed the feet of the people in the movie for the first 15 or so minutes was great. I loved the scene of the hitchhiker killer killing the couple in the beginning of the movie. You hear a scream, and you see the purse fall then the wallet being picked up. When the police come you can tell the women is dead just by how her hand and foot are lying there. However i felt the rest of the movie carried on a little too long. I think that there were some scenes that could have been cut. I think that they could have camped out just once and not twice. I thought it was smart how the police decided to not put valid news of their investigation on the radio in fear that the killer would hear this and kill again. I love his reaction when he gets the gun pulled on him, especially because earlier in the film he says that that will never happen to him. he is almost in shot and you can really see how much of a sociopath he is.

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

LOved this Movie!It begins with a adventurous, scabbed knees, dirty finger nailed, little girl hiding in the rain with her cat. she is hiding from the life her Aunt wants her to have, from the life she is destined to have. She is trying to run away with her best friend, Sam Masterson. They are running away from her aunt that is as cruel as a witch, and has no intention of Martha having a playful childhood. Since her Aunt owns the town, , it is not long before they come busting in on the two of them. In this scene you see the two, and later on you see them again but very different. Sam doesn't change too much i feel, he still seem like a rebel, maybe a rebel who has seen a little more of the world, a little sadder. But Martha however changes so much. it is almost sad. She comes into the scene draped in jewels and fur. everything from the way she talks to the way she walks looks like her aunt, the one this that she has tried to avoid becoming. the movie turns into Martha turning against Sam, her one true friend, she accuses him of bribery and her husband, who was the one who told her aunt where they were hiding, ends up trying to kill him. it is a strange thing, jealousy and paranoia. how success and money can truly change people.

question of the week

The Maltese Falcon!

Soo good! i loved how this movie was filmed and directed. But i still dont get why Bridged shoots Sam's partner. and why does she ask for Sam's help to begin with? you would think that since she is dealing with an illegal situation that she would be trying to avoid the police.

question of the week

The Hitch-hiker

Why is this movie soooo long? i love the beginning, but this movie could have been a short, why do the threesome make so many stops. There was a scene in the film where the two men are going to mexico and Gilbert pretends to be asleep and looks at collins with the corner of his eye, it makes him almost seem suspicious. did that mean anything or am i just reading into things?

Question of the week

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

This was the movie of the week this week. I really liked the movie, i found it interesting how people can become so paranoid and greedy when they think they are being threatened. I wonder what type of underlying plots or messages are in this movie, or if there are none at all. This may be a silly question but is this what that horrible movie teaching Mrs. tingle is loosely based on? I found Walter's character so infuriating!!

Mystery and Suspense

These films are usually filled with plot lines of someone trying to uncover something else. in the process of this is being hunted, in trouble, or in danger. These types of films are usually fiction, however sometimes they are not. There is usually some type of plot twist as well. there are many types of myster suspense films, such types are Cozy myster, police procedural, and hardboiled. an example of hardboild would be Sam, Spade in The Maltese Falcon. The feeling of suspense is having the feeling of uncertanity, not knowing what will happen next, feel scared for each moment to come. This feeling is the type of feeling that gets me the most scared when watching a movie, i get so scared that somethhing is going to pop out of nowhere! The not knowing what will happen next mixed with the trying to solve some type of myster is what makes these types of films so hard to watch. In diabolique, both of these types of genres were relevant. There was a myster of them trying to figure out where her husband went, and also the suspense of knowing he could pop out at any moment. this stress is was ultimatley let to her demise.

QUESTION OF THE DAY! STRANGERS ON A TRAIN

This is probably a question no one can answer but i have been thinking about it since i watch the movie. In strangers on a train, when Bruno strangles that women at the party, why isn't he arrested? why are they no charges pressed! why is he sent up stairs to rest and then set free to wander? Is Guy worried that he will squeal to the police? but even if he did he would just look like some crazy person that strangled a lady. I wish his dad would just kill him or send him away.

SCIENCE FICTION!

Science fiction is "realistic speculation about possible future events based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method"( Robert A. Heinlein). This is the first definition I have heard of science fiction that I feel really captures the true meaning of genre.

The creepy thing about science fiction films is that the themes are usually presented in a way that the viewer actually believes that I could happen.

Like in the Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the film is set up in a way that makes it seem like seedpods could actually take over any town, even your town, and after you are done watching this film it probably will. The fact that science fiction films usually involve some sort of element that has either happened in history or is a current event usually give the film a relatable

Not all science fiction films are based in relatable settings, in fact a lot of them are based in the future, the past or even in space. Films usually involve a theme of the discovery of some new thing that contradicts the known way of reality. Like in Terminator II, they send a human like robot alien back in time. That is defying three major thinks that we have come to know as reality. the fact that there are aliens, time travel, and human like robots that can kill!

Science fiction has many sub genres, some of which are hard science fiction, time travel, super human, space opera, apocalyptic, cyber punk, soft and social science fiction, and military science fiction.
credibility and makes you think that it could happen. Like how in Invasion of the Body Snatchers is based in such a normal town, where everyone works jobs just like you and the underlying theme is communism, it just makes the film seem that much more real.

HORROR

Horror films have evolved so much throughout the years. Now when going to see a horror film I expect to basically see the movie SAW, Which I could never sit through. I think of gruesome killers, hot girls, fast cars, and the thought of human taxidermy. I think of movie makers trying to compile the most disgusting and bone chilling terrible things into an hour and a half. that does not sound pleasant to watch at all. I feel like horror films used to be about something. there would be an underlying message. there would be something to figure out, something to understand. not this over staurated Las Vegas billboard of disgusting crap. In the Night of the Living Dead there was suspense, human interaction, death and gore, but it was fun to watch. Especially in Susperia, there was actually things to think about, "what happened?", "Did she just die!?", "was that all just a dream??". I feel like film makers have less faith in their audiences now or maybe it is easier to make more money when your film just requires people to sit there and zone out.

Horror films are films that try to make people scared. There are usually deaths, screaming, suspense, supernatural characters, and there is always some sort of central villain. The villain does not always have to be one person, but a group of things as well. Like in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the villains are the seedpods,( communism).

Directors that made a huge impact on the genre of Horror would be Alfred Hitchhock, Roman Polaski, Stanley Kubrick, William Friedkin, and Frances Ford Coppola,. Movies such as Psycho, Rear Window, Vertigo, Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, Dracula, and the Exorcist have made horror films what they are today. Overall this genre study has really opened my eyes to horror films. I you would have asked me if I enjoyed watching horror films, my answer would have been NO. But now my answer has changed, and I genuinely enjoy watching older horror films.

DIABOLIQUE

I loved this film! I loved the was it was filmed, I loved the set design, I loved the setting, I loved the costumes, I loved the styling, I loved the plot, and most of all I loved the twist! This film is about a bitter wife and a scheming jealous mistress that ban together to kill their man. Throughout the film one is not perfectly sure of anything. You do not know who is on who's team, who is alive or dead, or who is telling the truth or lying. I loved the character of Nicole. She really stole the show for me. Her character was so tough and manipulative. I love movies that really trick the audience. Only a really great movie can fool an entire audience. Nicole's character played so many sides, vulnerable, murderous, angry, happy, concerned, and scared. I really believed she was scared when she left at the end. Poor Christina Delasalle! She gets taken for such a ride. Nicole even hints to her scheming in the scene when they are in the car, "Michel said that it shouldn't be hard with her heart condition." Implying that Michel and her had already plotted to kill Christina at one point, and planned to make it look like her heart gave out for pre-diagnosed reasons. During the movie I kept wanting the inspector to go away! I though he was trying to put Christina and Nicole in jail. When in the end he was just looking out for Christina!.

QUESTION OF THE DAY- SCIENCE FICTION?

I really like Rod Serling's definition of Science fiction. Science fiction is"fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science Fiction is the improbable made possible." I think i have a pretty strong grasp of what science fiction is and what horror is. but i feel like there is a very fine line between the two, are they even separate at all? there is so much cross over, how do you define something from horror or science fiction?

QUESTION OF THE DAY- HORROR FILMS?

I know that Horror films elicit the emotions of dear, horror and terror. Plots usually include themes of death, supernatural or mental illness. Most horror films usually include a central villain as well. But i am not sure exactly what science fiction is and its relation to horror films?

QUESTION OF THE DAY- Romatic comedy?

I have noticed that romantic comedy is n aspect in almost every type of genre film. Even screwball comedy parodies the tradition love story. Would romantic comedy actually be more of a sub genre rather that its own? or are all genres overlapping?

TERMINATOR II JUDGEMENT DAY!

Its interesting how in both this film and in Invasion of the Body Snatchers aliens take the form on human bodies and human faces. I find films that do this to be more successful. I find that it is really difficult to create an alien form that doesn't look cliche or silly. I think that district 9 is one of the only films that successfully captures this. This film is about the future when Los Angeles is a war ridden city and there are very few human life forms left. The company Skynet is determined to destroy the human resistance. They send a terminator back in time to kill the resistance leader when he was a kid. While the resistance sends a terminator back in time to protect the leader. Unlike Invasion of the Body Snatchers, this film was not low budget. In that movie it was all about the great plot and message. However in Terminator II, it is really all about the special effects and not so much about the story. I don't really even think that there is an underlying message, other than not to let technology take over the world. There is a lot of character development in Arnold Schwarzenegger's terminator. He becomes a softy and he connects with young Conner, other than that bit of humanism there is not much going on other than things blowing up and people and robots getting killed.

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS!

This movie was a horror/science fiction film. There was anticipation, anxiety, screaming, suspense, and supernatural alien like forms. This movie definitely embodied the definition of a horror/science fiction film. This movie was pretty low budget, yet still successfully depicted a very strong message. It is said that this movie is an analogy for the socially communism and McCarthy era. It is reminiscent of the blacklisting Hollywood era. " The spread an unknown malignancy or virulent germ( fear of annihilation by "nuclear war") or the numbing of our individuality and emotional psyches through conformity and group think"( filmsite.org). I thought it was clever how the sead pods represented communism. How they took over people who were full of life, in love, involved in their communities, and replaced them with emotionless bodies. I read that the character Miles represented McCarthy and how he tried to save people during this time. I liked how Miles almost narrated the whole film by talking to us about how he felt when this was all happening. How we as an audience see all the pieces slowly come together. The scene where he gets called into town early because everyone is freaking out and all of a sudden everyone is fine, was very interesting. At this point we begin to wonder if something bad is actually happening or if this town is full of hypochondriacs. When Miles says things like " at that point I should have known something was not right" leads the viewer to assume something bad is going to be revealed. i really enjoyed watching this film.