My Favorites

Most of the films I really loved over the semester. I even went out and bought some of them because they were so great. Out of all the films, here's a list of them from least to most favorite.

10) 

Killer of Sheep -- I didn't see any appeal to this film and it didn't strike me as a revolutionary film.
9) 

Wendy and Lucy -- Again, it didn't strike me as anything special.
8) 

My Own Private Idaho -- I liked seeing Keanu Reeves in something other than the Matrix, but I didn't really like the over-the-top style through the film.
7) 

Awara -- I didn't hate it, but there wasn't anything great about it in my opinion. To be honest, I barely remembered this film.
6) 

The Good The Bad The Ugly -- Clint Eastwood is awesome, but I'm so burnt out on Westerns due to a previous class, plus I'm not a fan of Sergio Leone.
5) 

Detour -- I thought it was a good story and I loved the story, but it wasn't my favorite.
4) 

Moonrise Kingdom -- It had it's weird parts, but overall I liked it!
3) 

 

Blancanieves and Sherlock Jr (tie) -- Blancanieves was a very cool version of Snow White that pulled off the silent film. Sherlock Jr was very entertaining and I loved the classic film.
2) 

 

Freaks and The Vanishing (tie) -- Freaks was an amazing film that incorporated a very touching story with the strange of the disfigured. The Vanishing was a creepy film that had no gore at all and I love horror films that mess with your head like that one did.
1) 

O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? -- I loved this film so much I went out and bought it the next day! I love Greek Mythology and I love George Clooney. It was such an amazing film!

I loved this class and it opened my eyes to so many awesome films and different styles. Now, I have the desire to go watch O Brother! (:

Blancanieves

Very early in the film, I found a sequence that I really enjoyed. These short few pictures are right before a very tragic event and they are the best way to warn you about what is about to happen. We have the man, offering his love and devotion to his wife and unborn child. He tosses her the hat, which she misses and it lands on the ground. She is very uneasy about what he's trying to accomplish and clutches her locket in her hand. The last picture is a reflection of the bull charging at the man in the camera.

From this short sequence, we can all assume that something horrible is about to happen. The man shows very strong love by dedicating his strength to his family. When she misses the hat and it lands on the ground, it could be a warning that he too will fall. My favorite screenshot is of the woman clutching her locket. We see her wedding ring and inside the locket, a picture of her husband. It's a beautiful image because she doesn't want to let go of him and doesn't want anything bad to happen to him. The significance of her holding the locket is strong, but I believe it's stronger because of the wedding ring. Lastly, I chose not to show the last screenshot I took because it was the impact. I believe that camera is an amazing shot that we experience for only a split second (it took about six tries to pause it at that one second to get the shot). Not only is it an awesome close-up shot of the camera, but we see the reflection of the bull charging. We can see the trouble about to happen, but it's obstructed by the lens. I find it an amazing shot.

Besides the significance of the scene, it is extremely foreboding to a very serious event. The man obviously gets very badly injured and carries the story on.

Moonrise Kingdom

This scene struck me as quite interesting. The structure is used a few times throughout the film and I like the balance between the two locations. Captain Sharp sits opposite of Sam's foster father. They are sitting in the foreground and since there is some distance between the two men that ultimately take care of Sam, it shows that there is some distance between the two. It's a way of showing the audience that, not only are they not in the same place, but that they don't see eye to eye when it comes to Sam. In the midground, we have the operator on the left and Sam's foster mother on the right. Sam's foster mother casually does dishes in the background and the operator casually listens in the conversation. In the background, We have Scout Master Ward on the left and on the right, a closed door. To me, it's a way of saying that his foster parents are turning their backs on Sam and closing the door. They don't want him to come home and they are done with him whereas Scout Master Ward isn't giving up on Sam and will be his way out of the situation.