HEAT

Heat

Heat was directed by Michael Mann in 1995. This movie stars Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Val Kilmer. This movie is an action drama.

This movie is about a group of gangsters who are facing difficulties within their lives but their jobs as gangsters is going pretty good. When the gangsters are on one of their robberies a cop named Lt. Vincent Hanna who is played by Al Pacino spots them out. The police start looking for this specific group of gangsters. Robert De Niro’s character always told the rest of the guys that when you can sense the heat around the corner, then you should be prepared to leave behind whatever necessary. Later on in the movie Robert De Nero is not capable of following his own orders and gets into a pickle.

I think the best aspect of this movie was the dramatic aspect. Firstly, the acting in this movie was phenomenal. My favorite character was Robert De Niro’s character Neil McCauley. The reason I loved this character was because Robert De Niro played the part so well. Every moment of Robert’s acting was truly wonderful and very believable. Another good thing about this movie was the use of props. In one scene where the gang had just robbed a bank and they are fleeing the crime scene all the props were great. The most detailed prop was the police car with gun shots in it. Lastly, I think that the costume f this movie was great. Each gangster had his own style. Even the cops when they weren't in uniform had a costume on that was very detailed and also suited their personality.

This movie is wonderful for anytime you wish to flee your life. To watch this movie is to put yourself in a cop and a gangster’s life. A movie like Heat is magnificent to watch with your family and friends. 

Al Pacino's and De Niro's costumes suit there personalitiesa in the film.

The Count Of Monte Cristo

                                              One in the Same

        A descriptive novel written by a stupendous author named Alexandre Dumas, was called The Count of Monte Cristo. This book is an action drama story. In 1934 a movie was made in regards of this book. The movie of The Count of Monte Cristo was directed by Rowland V. Lee. The main stars of this movie were Robert Donat and Elissa Landi.

The story of The Count of Monte Cristo focuses on the life of a young sailor who goes by the name of Edmond Dantes (Robert Donat­). Edmond had just returned from sea and wanted to marry his sweet love Mercedes (Elissa Landi). While Edmond was at sea he was assigned to deliver a letter to someone who he did not know of. Oblivious Edmond didn’t know the letter was regarding spy territory. Fowl and rambunctious men found out that Edmond was carrying this letter and they threw him in prison. Now this wasn’t any ordinary prison it was Le Chateau D’if. This prison was to make people disappear from their social lives. Edmond spent about 20 years in this jail. He found a wise elder man who was trying to escape. Edmond helped him and in return he gained lots of knowledge. After Edmond escaped the prison he became The Count of Monte Cristo, and took revenge on those who wronged him.

                Years later in 2002 another version of the book was released with the same title. The story was still the same but some aspects were different. This movie was directed by Kevin Reynolds. The stars of this movie were Jim Caviezel and Guy Pearce. This version had quite a few different parts and aspects to the film.

Firstly the 2002 version of the film was way shorter compared to the 1934 version. Some parts in the 2002 version were altered and shortened. For example the part where Edmond is in the prison was stretched out in the 1934 film. This made the friendship of Edmond and Abbe’ Faria more tight. Also the character of Abbe’ Faria began to be more likable to the viewers and when he died more pain was felt. The concept of Edmond gaining knowledge was quite lengthy in 1934 movie. In the 2002 version of the film the character of Jacopo was more relevant in the film. IN the 1934 film Edmond seemed more independent and in the 2002 movie Jacopo was always there to help Edmond. Edmonds arch nemesis and best friend Fernand Mondego was more interpreted in the 2002 film. Portraying more of Mondego made it easier to persuade the audience that Fernand’s character was bad and evil. To me the biggest difference in the two movies was the ending. In the 1934 film Edmond takes Fernand to court and gets him punished. On the other hand in the 2002 film Edmond kills Mondego with his own hands. I felt that the 2002 film had the more dramatic ending because the hatred for Modego’s character was built up so immensely that I wanted to see him die. Also it brought the more action side of the movie.

            Both of these movies were fascinating. In my opinion I felt that the 2002 movie was a bit better because of the aspects of action it brought out.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHqb_Ijqrdg
This is the ending to the 2002 movie.

2002

1934

 Night of the Living Dead-1968

George A. Romero

George A. Romero directs this thrilling horror classic. This movie stars Duane Jones as Ben, Judith O'Dea as Barbra along with the rest of the cast and crew.

As the un-buried dead comes into contact with radiation from another space life form, thus the zombie apocalypse begins. Ben, Barbra and more innocent beings all think alike as they hide in the same house from the zombies outside. Many stations have been set up by the government for the protection of the unharmed humans. Ben try’s to keep everyone safe within the perimeter of the house but eventually the zombies spread. All the non-zombies make it to the safe stations… that is if they survive!

Night of the living dead is a very low budgeted movie due to the production value within the movie. First, the acting of the actors in this movie was too overdone. For example in the scene where Ben is arguing with Barbra, Ben looks like he doesn’t mean it anf that just ruined the scene. Second, the amount of actors in this movie was very low. There were basically 5 main characters and the rest were zombies. Third, the set of this movie was just an old rickety house. This movie had a very low budget and this is what made the movie very bad judging from watching the movie in the 2000’s.

These days we find zombie movies very amusing and extremely good. We have movies like 28 Days Later and Abraham Lincoln VS. Zombies, but if it wasn’t for Night of the Living Dead there wouldn’t even be superb zombie films. Night of the Living Dead was the very first zombie movie made. It may have had the worst production ever but in fact it was a classic story that would be remembered everywhere.

Stand By Me- Literary

Stand By Me- Literary

Rob Reiner directs this very unique adventure and dramatic film. This movie stars Wil Wheaton as Gordie LaChance, River Phoenix as Christopher Chambers. Also starring Corey Feldman as Teddy Duchamp, Jerry O'Connell as Vern Tessio. Stand by Me is and adventure of four mischievous children that are experiencing a change of life when they transfer from grade school to junior high. They are all terrified that they would lose touch with one and other when this transformation occurs. They grow much closer together when they go on the hunt for a dead body of a young boy just like them, that was hit by a train. The reward for this body is a lot of fame and fortune. This film is very good and reminds the viewers of what the true meaning of friendship is. Many parts of this movie were very literary. The literary aspect is what makes this movie interesting.
The main character in this film is Gordie LaChance. Gordie LaChance is a young boy with the big hopes and dreams of becoming a writer in the future. In one scene the boys are sitting by the fire and listening to Gordie LaChance’s story. Literature within this story is very exquisite. The story is about a boy named Lardass who is very fat and un-liked. When Gordie LaChance describes Lardass’s physical features and his personality, he uses extremely great wording and vocabulary. This is just one of many examples of Gordie LaChance’s marvelous literature.         
Gordie LaChance  eventually ends up becoming a writer and the way he writes is very much upgraded from the way he wrote when he was a kid. The last scene where he is typing on his computer, the few sentences read are very informative. The first sentence he types on his computer was, “He was stabbed in the throat. He died almost instantly.” This sentence was being typed on Gordie LaChnace’s computer while it was being narrated. This is a great example of the literacy in this movie.
The whole movie had acting as well as narration. The dialogue in the narration was very knowledgeable and good. The narration was done in first person speech by Gordie LaChance. This means whatever was being narrated was being portrayed in Gordie LaChance’s point of view. The literature within the narration was very unique and descriptive. The narration usually occurred when none of the actors were speaking and it was quite. Narration really benefits in this film because it occurred a lot and if a bit of narration was missed then the whole movie falls out of context. The narration of this film is one of the greatest aspects of the literary effect in this film.

The boy in the red is Gordie LaChance who uses great literature.

Stand by Me is a type of film that deserves a lot of attention towards the literary part of the film. The writers of this movie did a stupendous job in writing the script for Gordie LaChance’s scenes. In this movie, if you even miss a bit of the great literature you lose track of what’s going on. This is why Stand by Me fits under the title of a movie with a great literary aspect.

The Goonies- Cinematic

      The Goonies-Cinematic

            This 1985 adventure comedy is a movie that is well known for its cinematic aspect. This movie is directed by Richard Donner and written by Steven Spielberg. It stars Sean Astin as Mikey. Also Josh Brolin as Mikey’s Brother Brad, Jeff Cohen as Chunk, Corey Feldman as Mouth and, Jonathan Ke Quan as Data. Mikey, Chunk, Data, Mouth and the rest of the Goonies set out on an adventure that changes their lives. On this remarkable expedition to fine One Eyed Willy Mikey and the gang encounter many challenges and risks. They sounder on to find the loot of One Eyed Willy and escape the evil enemies also known as the Fertellies. This whole film has a great concept but the main factor to focus on is the cinematic effect.

            One aspect of the cinematic part of this movie is the camera work. The Cinematographer of this film was Nick McLean who did a splendid job on this film. The camera angles in this movie were magnificent. If a movie is shot from just one angle the movie would be excruciatingly boring. In The Goonies almost every angle was shot. For example when Chunk and Sloth had conversations the camera shot viewed them both together then each one of them separate. The close up shots in this film were very unique due to the fact that when the close up shot was shown the characters expression was addressed to the audience very well. Even though this movie is quite old the camera shots were magnificent.

        The lighting in this movie varied between the moods of the scenes. If the mood was suspenseful then the lighting made it look suspenseful and vise versa for the rest of the shots. For example when all the Goonies are hiding in the basement of the Fertelliess restaurant and they are listening in to the footsteps coming from upstairs then the lighting is portrayed as though something is going to happen. All the lighting in the movie brings out the feeling of the scene. Like when the Goonies are in the basement there is hardly any light, but when they are outside then it is very bright because they have escaped and they are very happy. When Mikey and Andy have their first kiss, the room is very light and all you can see is their shadows, this is yet another usage of light in this movie. Using lights counts as a cinematic effect because it is what makes the movie interesting.

        Camera work and lighting are one of the two major aspects of this film. These two things are what make the film intriguing and likable. The Goonies had many people working on light and camera, these people made a drastic change in this movie because they all contributed a lot to the cinematic compartment of this film. The cinematic effect of this film is what the viewers want to see. Lights, camera action, this is the slogan that suits The Goonies.

The lighting when The Goonies are underground. Very dark and suspenseful.

Super 8-Dramatic

 Super 8- Dramatic

            A movie of high quality and great standards to fit every aspect of the film. Super 8 is one of the best movies due to its dramatic aspect. This sci-fi thriller was released in 2011 by a genius director also known as J.J. Abrams. This movie stars Elle Fanning who plays Alice and Joel Courtney who plays Joe Lamb. Along with some other cast and crew members this movie turned out fantastic. This film is about a young boy who is helping in the production of a short film. During this experience Joe and his friends face many adventures and turns in life. This movie was a great block buster but the one aspect of the film that was remarkable, was the dramatic aspect of this film.

                Acting is a major part of drama, and Super 8 portrayed a handful of magnificent acting. The character of Alice Dainard is played tremendously by the gifted actress, Ellie Fanning. It’s hard to seek out good child actors in the movie business but Ellie Fanning is an exception. Ellie play the character of Alice very well. In every scene she is very emotional and stuck to her character like glue. The scene before the train crash the whole filming crew is practicing the scene they are about to film. Alice is playing a wife and when she starts her scene everybody else can’t take their eyes of her. Her acting was soo explicit that everyone thought instead of acting for the camera everyone thinks she is talking directly to them. One of the reasons to watch this movie is to view and live through the acting of Ellie Fanning.

                Another aspect of the dramatic effect is setting. The setting in this movie was in a small town called Lillin. The era of the setting is somewhere within in the 1970’s. Every aspect of the movie leads to the setting of the 1970’s. Every house and building is old and looks like it would be suitable for this time frame. Joe’s friend Charles uses cameras and films that are old and would be used in the 70’s. If Charles used a modern 21^st centaury camera then the whole text would be out of sorts, it wouldn’t make sense. Every character was to fit the context. For example Alice’s dad and Donny from the convenient store both had 70’s getup .Alice’s dad had long hair and sideburns and one of the boys from the convenient store had a walkman which would have been new back in the day. Even the small things like the school and the cars at the dealership are all old and made to fit the settings of the 70’s. Everything in Super 8 is made to fit the time frame and that’s what makes the movie unique and extinguishing.

                Props and makeup are both a part of the dramatic concept of a movie. In this film the usage of props is very good. The equipment which is used to make Charles’s film are all very high tech and fit the scene, the same goes for all the equipment the Air Force uses for example the guns and weaponry. The vehicles in this film are very good like Alice’s dads car is very nice and slick as well as the police cars. Makeup in this movie was very detailed and relevant to the scene. Alice’s zombie makeup for Charles movie is very in-depth and actually makes her look like a zombie. After the train collision is extremely detailed because it makes every character look dirty, sweaty and tired. A great example of the use of makeup is blood used on Dr.Woodward and Alice’s dad when they each encounter a car crash. This whole movie is very good in the use of props and makeup.

                Judging by the great aspect of acting, props, makeup, and setting this movie is diffidently under the title of a great dramatic movie. There may have been some other aspects in this movie but dramatic stood out the most. In conclusion Super 8 will go down in history as being a great dramatic film.

Zombie Makeup on Alice

True Grit

    True Grit

               This is a western genre movie. True Grit was made in 2010 and directed by Ethan and Joel Coen. These two directors do a marvelous job of directing this movie which brings tears and courage in the viewer’s eyes. This film stars Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn, Matt Damon as Sherriff LaBoeuf and Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross.

               True Grit is an inspirational tale of young fourteen year old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) who teams up with an old frustrated U.S Marshall named Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges). Mattie’s father is murdered by Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) a criminal cowboy who travels all across the Wild Wild West. As Coguburn and Mattie go on a hunt to find Chaney they encounter many challenges and adventures during this ravishing journey. Rooster and Mattie are also accompanied by professional marksman Sherriff LaBoeuf (Matt Damon). Cogburn, Mattie, and LaBoeuf all grow much closer and share many stories and survival skills with one and other. This one simple journey of their life’s, makes a huge impact on their past present and future.

               There weren’t many effects in this movie; rather there were many magnificent props and sets used in this movie. The usage of props was a massive part of the making of this movie. For example when the Marshall and Tom and his posy have a showdown, they are all on horses and are all shooting with revolvers. These revolvers are very high tech and put into good use. Another great aspect of this movie was he costume and makeup. Each character was in excruciating costume, but the one costume that stood out the most was Mattie Ross’s outfit. Mattie’s costume was very detailed and worked out because for a cowboy all that is required is a hat and a horse. Mattie’s outfit needed more work and time to make due to the fact that she was a cowgirl. The acting in this movie was not that great but it was average. These days it is really hard to find actors who would be suitable to play a western character.

               This family movie is great for an audience that enjoys a good story and a good time to remember what the true meaning of freedom is. Also if the great use showdowns and horses pleases you than this movie is perfect for you. All in all this movie is for anyone who is in the mood for a taste of the western style.

North By Northwest

 Included in genres this thriller is a very high class beneficial movie. In 1959 Alferd Hitchcock created a very stupendous movie called North By Northwest. This movie was starring Cary Grant. Cary grant plays a man named Rger O. Thornhill.

Roger is a normal ordinary man living an ordinary life. But one day his life takes a turn on adventure, when he is mistaken for a super goverment agent who is then kidnapped by spies. Roger falls in love with one of the spies who sets him up for disaster. Roger panics and tries to explain who he actually is but fails due to the love he's grown for one of the foriegn spies. Roger overcomes many fears and gains responsibility during his duties of being a "spy".

The stunuts in this movie were stupendous and remarkably great. There was one scene where Roger is being chased by a plane and back in the day movie industries didn't have special effects to make the plane even more exotic then it already was. In this scene Roger is facing many difficulties with the plane and the plane tries to kill Roger. Cary Grant portrayed these stunts greatly which leads me to the next topic...acting! All the actors in this movie were marvelous. Each character takes thier role very seriously. Alferd Hitchcock did a splendous job of directing this movie. The use of lines to create tension in the movie is a Hitchcock tradition. The one scene where Roger is in the woods with his love, the trees are the usage of lines. The trees are perfectly spread apart and they are all straight and create space between the two characters. This builds up suspence without the viewer even knowing about the lines.

This thriller is a great family night film. I would suggest this film for a range of audiences from the age of 10-30, because this age group would be the age group of getting that tension built up with in them and actually enjoying it. A mind with many doors to open is the typr of mind that would enjoy this movie. All in all North By Northwest is a very interestin thriller which suits the Alferd Hitchcock style.

Bringing Up Baby

This film was a comedy, but not just any comedy, it was a screwball comedy. Screwball movies usually consist of back and forth conversation  at a really fast past. This 1938 movie was directed by howard Hawks a very famous and proper director. The stars of this movie are Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Charels Ruggels.

A anxious paleontologist named David, (Cary Grant) who is about to complete one of his most prized museum exhibits, runs into a peppy fireball that goes by the name of Susan, (Katherine Hepburn). Susan distorts Davids life from boring and concentratded to fun and frustrating. With the help of her leapord "Baby" Susan and David face many exotic and facinating adventures. See what happens when Baby dissapears and when David and Susan adapt feelings for each other.

Many aspects of this movie are great for example the stunts portrayed by every actor when they had a scene with the leapord.From my point of view this was the only good thing about the movie. After watching this movie my head was hearting due to all the back and forth ranting. The thing with screball comedies is that you either like them a lot or you desperatley hate them. I'm one of the people who hates them soo much. The screwball comedy basically messed up everyones acting and sometime the dialouge was difficult to understand. Like in the part when everyone is confused on the point of who David is and why he is wearing girls clothing. In this scene everyone is talking like they would in screwball movies and the dog is barking so its really loud and very confusing to understand whats really going on.

This movie is a movie to watch with the family. I wouldnt recomend this for a younger audience due to the fact that some scenes are very annoying and the movie could be misunderstood.If you are person who can undestand anything no matter how loud it gets the this movei is for you. Otherwise just use subtitles because that is what i would'v done.

Singing In The Rain

   

       

Singing in the Rain                       

Singing in the Rain is a musical comedy about the transformation of silent films to talkies. This movie was directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. It stars Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds.

 Gene Kelly plays Don Lockwood a famous silent film actor who is proud of his profession. Kathy Selden who is played by Debbie Reynolds is Don Lockwood’s true love who questions his occupation. When Don has to star in a movie with dialogue, he faces many failures as well as successes when his idea of musical movies comes up. This movie is not as good as other musicals I have seen, such as musicals on Broadway. I am huge fan of anything musical for example Glee, Wicked, The Lion King, etc. I’ve watched almost every Musical on the Broadway streets of New York, and Singing in The Rain doesn’t compare. Some of the songs in this movie were uncalled for, such as “Make Em Laugh.” This song was sung for no exact reason and was irrelevant to the concept which was being discussed.

The production of this movie wasn’t the best I have seen. I feel that very little money was spent on the production of this movie. The costumes were exceptional but the sets were weak and cheap. The acting in this movie was brilliant. I personally adored the character Lina Lamont who’s played by Jean Hagen. Lina is a very annoying yet funny character which Jean Hagen plays very well. She fit the character perfectly.

Singing in the rain is a very poorly played out musical. I suggest if you are open minded and open to any thoughts, this is the movie for you. On the other hand if you are critical like me and only like the best of the best this movie isn’t the greatest recommendation. This movie ranges for every age that has a large imagination and likes anything they see.

Lina Lamont

The General

                                        The General

   The General directed by Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton, is a classic silent comedy. This movie stars Buster Keaton himself also co-starring Marion Mack, and Glen Cavender. This movie was originally made in 1926 but I viewed it on September 12, 2012.

    
   Johnny Gray who is played by Buster Keaton, is a young train engineer. Seeing as he is very intelligent yet weak Johnny is unable to enlist for the war, but when the love of his life Annabelle Lee is kidnapped by union spies, Johnny shows his strength by rescuing her. From showing his skills in his mission he is apppreciated by many folks of his town. Johnny faces many frustrating and exciting adventures in this film.

    
    The acting in this movie was exceptional. Buster Keaton took his role as Johnny very seriously. Buster did a great job of acting as well as directing and writing the movie. other characters did a good job as well. Instead of casting Marion Mack as Annabelle Lee i would have cast Louise Brooks because she would have done a better acting job. On the other hand everyone else acted like profesionals.

   
     This General is a remarkable comedy that is amusing to see.The audience should be ready for a good laugh. If someone doesn't have a sense of humor, don't watch the film. This is a great family movie, kids will love this silent film. Overall the General is a great comedy to watch,  it will bring the funny back in to your life.
    

I love films and commenting on them :-)