As I am thinking back on film class I realize how most of the films have focused on the human experience and how it is mostly out of our control. The films show us how everything is beyond our control and while we think we can outsmart life and death and create out own destiny, we in fact are mistaken and in the end everything will come out as it was meant to be. I have also gained a new appreciation for all different genres of film,I know that without the class I would not have seen the films we saw. Im glad I got to see them and understand their meaning and through that appreciate the types of films I would not watch. I am  also interested to see what will the be final films that we will see for the remainder of the term.

It snowed !

So todays blizzard reminded me of the movie we just watched, The Simple Plan. The psychological  triller, played with the idea of how our conscious is the main thing that will lead us to doom, in the situation presented in the film. It was scary to see how a person who may seem completely normal and incapable of doing anything bad was able to kill 6 people without a blink of an eye such as the main character of the film was able to do. Overall it was an ok film, just as you said, while it did not match up to the other films we've watched in class in terms of cinematography, it was still enjoyable to watch and analyze.  It was in a sense frustrating to see someone throw everything away for money, which in the end showed itself not to be anything more but mer paper. The film put that into good perspective, how we all put such emphasis on this material thing that we are ready to give up everything we have for it, yet in the end the things we give up are so  much more valuable then money. 

Memento

One of the greatest realizations that came out of this film is that memories are flawed. If we think about it our memories are just thousands of fragments and ever time we try to recollect a memory were just putting those fragments together. Ever time they are a little different and a certain piece is changed from what it really was to what we remembered it as. We start to remember what we want to remember and not what actually happened. But then again our memories are our greatest treasures, they are what allows us to piece puzzles of our lives together and to learn from the past.

Dark City

 We have just started the film Dark City in class. I am incredibly impressed with the cinematography of the film, the first thing I thought of when the film started is how much the cinematography reminds me of Watchmen. The scenes are so intensely filmed where everything has some kind of meaning. The setting is so cynical  and dark and the plot line is so intriguing. Yet certain parts of the film are so disturbing, such as when they show the men being hung or when his head gets chopped off. I also really liked how they contrasted how the man is a killer yet he stops to save a goldfish. Could that say something about humanity? That were not purely good or bad but that in the best of people there could be a bad trait and in the worst of people the best one.

We just started a new film today in class, one image that struck me as being interesting at once was when  the man was talking on the phone and the something casted a shadow over his face that looked as if he was in a jail cell. The image of men being in a prison of their own actions is so true. I feel that each one of our actions plays a role in what we will become and then because of our decisions we become trapped in the reality we have created for ourselves. I find that to be such an interesting concept

Unforgiven

I think one of the best aspects of this new film is how it depicts its characters, we see all the characters as being dynamic. For example the main character, the inner struggle with his past is relevant and seen throughout the whole film. The viewer can see how much he has changed from the "killer" he once was and how much he struggling not to go back to that. I also feel like the scene where we are shown that  the "Schofield kid"  had horrible vision is a metaphor for what he is as a person and how he is very nearsighted in his decisions as well as his views  on life. I have grown to really like the main character because I feel like beneath his hard exterior hes a really good guy. I also enjoy how the director contrasted the "Schofield kid" from the main character in their level of maturity. We see that the "Schofield Kid" who probably hasn't killed anyone is bragging and making himself out to be bigger than he is, he also sees his actions as somewhat heroic and reward worthy yet the main character who has actually killed a few man in his life sees the sadness in his actions and how their are something to be ashamed of not rewarded. He also dose not make himself out to be more than he is but rather is very modest about himself. Because of that we see that he dose not seek the approval of anyone but is the only one who judges himself.

Forgive and Forget

I found the scene that we watched today very interesting and amusing. My favorite part was when the guy who's wife has ran away with the actor encounters his wife and the man , I felt like the director did a fantastic job of portraying the predictability  of human actions. I feel like he was trying to tell the audience how foolish we are for love and how blinded we are to peoples actions. I feel like thats a great portrayal of what life really is, when you are in the situation the people around you see all the stupid mistakes you are making but you don't see them yourself. I also liked how he showed that you cant escape death. No matter how much you think you have fooled it  , you are under a misconception.

Playing chess with death

We have just started a new film and I really like one of the concepts it presents. The concept of playing chess with death. Its interesting to see all of life as a simple game, when in a sense it is. You have to pick all the right movies at the right time to get what you want , or "win". Every move effects  all the others as in life where everything we do has an effect on our current situation. But in life were playing against ourselves and the decisions we choose. You can see from the start that the film is going to be based on religion and the struggle within to find what path is right. I feel like the film is going to present a lot to think about which I am quite excited about. I dont like that its not in English because reading subtitles really does take away from the film or in a sense from the experience of watching the film but non the less Im excited to see whats gonna happen next.

Runaway Train

I think one of the most important aspects of why Runaway Train was such a trilling movie was because of the music in the background. The music in a movie always plays a great role in making the film successful and conveying the mood the director wants the viewers to feel, but this was especially true in Runaway Train .  Whenever the scene came on where the camera just focused on the train , I felt my heart racing, not because of anything I was seeing but because the music combined with the image created such a feeling of fear that my mind naturally reacted to feeling fear for the lives of the characters. Another aspect of the film that I found especially successful was that no character was bad or good. Everyone of them had aspects of good and bad within them. With that we saw Manny and Sara - two completely diverse characters but yet neither one of them was one sided. Manny was selfish and cruel yet in the end he saved them and Sara who was good and innocent was in a sense selfish and cruel as well. It created the perfect representation of people , who are never all good or all bad.

In class we are watching "Runaway Train". The title of the film comes as a representation of one of the main characters and the traits that dominate his personality. Today was one of the scenes that really outlined that comparison. The main character has just broken out of a high security prison after being in maximum security for 3 years. He is a regular in the jail , which is located in the middle of Alaska. As he is escaping from the jail he comes into a railroad and picks a train to get on. The train is bold, big and while its not the newest it looks like the strongest.The characters personality mimics those traits, he is raw with his emotions to the point hes not afraid to say what he thinks, he is strong both physically and mentally, and while he is not the biggest guy or the youngest you can sense the power and authority he has. Another scene that showed that comparison was when the train rammed into the other train, it completely crushes it. This shows that the train, like the main character, is unstoppable and will take out any obstacle in its way.

Fridays class we talked about Existentialism, a topic I was never familiar with. Since then there has been a constant monologue picking it apart in my head. I dont know if that even makes sense but its true. I have thought about how much easier life would be if that was what we lived by and yet how much harder it would become. I feel like people dont really live the lives they want but rather the lives they need. We study not because we want to gain a greater grasp of knowledge but rather to get into a good college which would insure a greater chance of getting a job that pays more. I think thats completely wrong to do, in a sense your robbing yourself. One should want to learn in order to expand our horizons, to see differently, to grow, to travel, to understand and to create. We should pick a study that doesn't become a job for money but rather a career or quest of finding or becoming what we want. I feel like the attitude that non of this really matters would make people loosen up and finally do things that they have always dreamed of but never had the guts to do. It would allow them to live to their fullest and not worry about that if they dont make the right decision everything will fall apart. But on the other hand it would create complete chaos  and disorder. Nothing would get done for the benefit of the whole society but would only be done for the individual. Maybe what is needed is a society and a life that balances the two, that enforces moral codes and the need for an orderly society but also allows the freedom that everyone needs.  But I guess that doesn't lie in the society but rather in the individual. One must decided for themselves how to live their lives so that they can gain as much from this experience as they can, not because it matters to some sort of afterlife but rather because it matters now. One thing that I greatly disagree with the Existentialism theory  is that we do not matter, that after we die nothing from us will remain. I believe that each us effect everything. The people we meet, the places we go, the things we do, the actions we make  and the words we say never truly go away. They create ripples, effecting the places, the people and in the end the events of the world. Were all tied together in one way or another and the footsteps we make never truly go away.

" Our fingerprints never fade from the lives we touch."

I guess Existentialism is just another theory that shows us how no matter how hard we try to figure life out, it always has a way of surprising us and showing us that we are wrong  and that theirs more to it than we originally thought.

Today in class we re -watched certain scenes from the film and talked about them. I found this extremely helpful in seeing different parts of the film in a whole new way. For example the scene where the sled is being covered by snow. I knew immediately would serve some significants due to the fact that the camera lingered on the shot for quite some time, yet I was unsure of what the importance was. After watching the end and learning what Rosebud was I was able to see the scene in a whole new light. I felt that it was the best portrayal of  the loss of innocence, it was a gradually fading image of the sled, as our lives are a gradual loss of the innocence we once had. Another scene that really struck me was the one where Kane is having a tantrum , he looks like a caged animal. As if he's given all the wonders of the world yet they like the room dont fit just right.

Rosebud

I never expected the end of the movie to turn out as it had, but in the end it truly summed up the film in a very nice way. The theme of losing ones innocents was portrayed in a way where in was given to the viewers in parts so that they could feel as if they too were experiencing the same things as Kane. I feel like the comparison of people to flowers was one that greatly embodied that. Another strong theme in the movie was the human need for compassion. Kane's need for affection is one that makes the viewer see him as a child rather than a grown man and allows the viewer to feel a greater compassion for him. This was definitely one of the more memorable movies I have seen thus far not only because of its dynamic filming but for its strong message.

Citizen Kane has proven itself to be so much more than what I initially thought it would be as a film. I must say that I am pleasantly surprised. I feel like it has just a deep grasp on the psychology of different people. Kane is by far one of the most interesting characters, there a certain carefree attitude about him that I really like. I love the fact that he does everything he does for the pleasure of it not for the gain.  The movie is filmed so precisely where each scene is planned out to the exact time needed to convey the message. The movie is very memorable, one of those films that you cant shake off.

Post number 2

I cant seem to shake of the scene where the sniper kills the man , for me that moment was so tragic because it meant absolutely nothing to the person who killed him. Meanwhile that person probably had a whole life , family and history behind him. I feel like this applies to so much, we are all somewhat alone in this world because in a sense nobody really understands our feeling or feels our pains or joys in the same way we do. I find that so tragic, the fact that to this person the man wasn't a person  but rather a target in a game.

All Quiet on the Western Front

I can truly say that this movie has been a pleasant surprise, even though it is a movie based on a time of war , its  message is much deeper than just battle. The movie deals with issues of the human phychology that take watcher out of their comfort zone and bring them to the harsh reality that people who have experienced war face. Amongst the well developed characters is also a story line worth following. Many of the most important realizations of the film are hidden and one must look between the lines of text to find them.