1) Describe the Film
The film is about a genius who had an unfortunate life as a child, living in a poor and abusive household after being orphaned. His genius is discovered by accident at MIT when he solves an equation intended for math students( he is just a janitor). Even though he is extremely smart, he has a lot of issues and his professor endeavors to "fix him" and finds an old friend to be his psychologist. 2) What did you notice about the writing in the film.
The dialogue is very honest and fresh. There's a lot of comic relief to balance out the heavy mood of the film 3) What was a favorite line from the film?  Why? It wasn't a line, but the scene where Robin Williams does a monologue by the lake. It was beautiful and true. Every word he said. 
4) This film won an Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay).  Do you think it deserved this award? Why or Why not? I definitely think so. I actually never knew that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon wrote it, I never paid attention. The dialogue is so masterful. Even though the situation is somewhat fantastical it seems so real. 

Contemporary Silent Films

1) What differences do you see in traditional silent films and films of today? The surroundings are different, there's more technology, and the music isn't as happy.
2) Which do you prefer? 
I liked the last two the best.
3) How will you use these differences in your own work?
I think I'm going to play with the slow motion effect and have some of my movie take place on my street with all the modern cars and buildings and such. 

Artist Review

1) Describe the film.


The film was about a prominent silent movie actor who became irrelevant once "talkies" came out. He had fallen in love with one of the extras in his movie, but when talkies became popular, so did she. Now he was the underdog and she was the star, and that hurt his pride. In the end they work it out and perform dancing duets together.
2) How is the story driven?  By the characters or plot?


The story is driven by both equally I think. The plot just shows how important the advent of talkies really was, but you end up falling in love with the main character. He is humbled greatly by the end of the movie, and the love story is adorable.
3) Talk about the cinematography.  How was the use of lighting, acting, camera angles scene development used to help enhance the film?


I loved that it was a silent movie. And I absolutely love how it was black and white. It made it classic. The acting was great. I usually rely on dialogue a lot when I watch movies, but the silence forced me to pay attention to the facial expressions. The shots were really varied, but they had to focus on the face a lot, since there was no sound.
4) What was you favorite scene from the film?  Why? Describe the scene as well as how it was shot.


My favorite scene was when the main character was about to shoot himself, and then "bang" comes up on the screen, but then it turns out it was just a crash and he's alive. I had been crying and I was very relieved.
5) What is the experience of watching a silent film like? How does it relate to watching a "talkie"?


I payed much more attention to the music and facial expressions. 

6) Would you encourage others to view the film?  Why or why not?
I definitely would. One of my favorites of the year. First time I cried during a movie in a while. 

Manhattan Review

I chose the film Manhattan directed by Woody Allen. I love his work so I thought I'd enjoy this film ( I did). It was definitely his style. It's one of the older ones so he played the main character. The film takes place in Manhattan (obviously) and he made an artistic decision for it to be black and white. It's about a T.V. show writer who is dating a 17 year old girl, but ends up falling in love with the woman his best friend is having an affair with, only to find out at the end of the movie that he is still in love with the now 18 year old girl. Even though the plot is perplexing, I found the character development to be more important. The thing is, that Woody Allen plays very similar characters in every single one of his movies, and he is always the main one. Sometimes it gets annoying, but in the end I end up really connecting to him. He's this intellectual, somewhat narcissistic, Jewish, neurotic writer who's very afraid of death and cynical about life. For me that always hits close to home. I think in Manhattan he was more lovable than say, in Annie Hall. The voiceovers and the moral lectures to other characters really got us deep into this character's brain (let's be honest it's Woody Allen's brain). I think the black and white really added a classic feel to the film, especially since it was shot in such a classic city like Manhattan. My favorite part of the film is that he had a lot of shots where it was just silhouettes of the characters with the background behind them still visible. You could hear them talking but you either couldn't see their faces, or you could only see part of them. Woody Allen is a brilliant director and I love him. And now I feel like I haven't let my people down, having watched every single Woody Allen and Mel Brooks film. I don't think anything could have been done differently to make it better. The Actors were brilliant, the black and white, the city, the writing, and obviously the director were flawless. If you don't get tired of the neurotic-ness, this man's movies are always a delight. I recommend this film wholeheartedly. It's one of the best that I've seen in a while. But honestly, Annie Hall is so overrated. If you want to see a good Woody Allen film, watch Manhattan, Bananas, or Crimes and Misdemeanors. Matchpoint and Vicky Christina Barcelona are of course marvelous, even Midnight in Paris is, but the old ones where Woody Allen is his own neurotic self are priceless. 

Melies

1) What did you notice/learn about Melies' style?
He is very comical and imaginative. In his movies everything looks like a bizarre dream. There are a lot of props that are used to drive the story.
2) Were there consistent elements in his films? What were they? There is always an element of magic in his movies, and there are always actors being filmed.
3) Did you enjoy his films? Which ones? Why? I really liked them actually! I think my favorite was The Triple Conjurer and the Living Head. I felt like I was watching a fantastical magic show. It left me wondering how he pulled it off and showed off his imagination.
4) What will you take away with you from watching these films? 
Movies can capture our dreams just as well as they capture reality. It really shows the endless possibilities of experimentation with film. 

Self Assessment/Video

1) Describe your film
My film is about a girl who doesn't know what to write, and only in the end inspiration strikes.
2) What was the mood you were going for?
I was going for frustration and writer's block.
3) Do you think you were effective in representing the mood? Why/How?
I think so. Melissa was a great actress and very believable. I think the black and white with the quick color change and the music really added to the frustrated feeling.
4) How did the use of sound or music influence the film?
I tried to match up the clips with the downbeats so that there was a more dramatic feel. Plus I thought the song fit the overall mood.
5) Would you do anything different?
I think if I had more time I would get shots in different settings.
6) What are you most proud of?
I'm really proud of the trash can shot I think it turned out cool. 

"Speak" Review

1)   I watched the movie Speak with Kristen Stewart over the weekend. I have to say that although it was extremely sad, I enjoyed it thoroughly. She may have even redeemed herself from her agonizingly long fling with a sparkly vampire. She was pretty good in the Runaways too, I have to admit. In this movie she played someone who I thought I could relate to much more, that is a very angsty girl in high school. I soon realized that aside from our artistic inclination; me and this chick didn’t have a whole lot in common. This film follows the main character Melinda Sordino, played by Stewart, as she struggles through her first year of high school after being raped by a senior student. She finds solace in art with the help of a charismatic teacher, but for most of the movie she doesn’t really talk much, hence the title. She is experiencing an inner battle with herself to finally tell someone what happened to her and the movie closes with her revealing the tale to her concerned mother. The plot itself wasn’t extremely interesting. It followed a thirteen year old girl as she went to school and was made fun of, but everyone has seen that. The character development was important. We see her break free. She finally rises from the ashes of this trauma in the end after being in a state of mind where she felt completely alone.

2)   The film had a lot of close ups of the characters face. It panned into her sad expressions constantly. I feel like it was shot directly facing her all the time, they could have at least gotten some different angles in there. The dark lighting definitely added to the melancholy feel of the film. I especially liked the flashbacks to the night where she was violated, and how we only saw snippets of it at first and then it all came together. I especially liked this one scene where a super bubbly girl sits next to her and won’t shut up and she’s wearing these sparkly pink shoes. Stewart is silent and then finally says, “nice shoes” and there’s a camera shot of Stewart’s black converse and these ridiculously sparkly pink sandals.

3)   I liked it. I guess you have to be in the right mood to watch it since it’s really sad and intense. It was definitely moving, I was choking back tears at the end.