Do The Right Thing

In Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, he successfully brought to life an issue that forever more will affect us as human beings. Though many believe the conflict of racism is no longer an issue faced by all of us, in reality it does. Racism and discrimination are both conflicts that everyone suffers from and has to deal with. Whether they are the discriminate or the discriminator, it’s safe to say most people face both sides of the issue at one point in time.

While discussing this film in class, I was appalled to hear certain people make a claim that the issue of racism is no longer an issue, or at least in our little Edina bubble. Not only is this a really upsetting statement, but it also reveals a lot about our community. Do The Right Thing takes place in Brooklyn, New York, within a neighborhood depicted as lower class and it mostly consists of African Americans. Certain people in my class, and maybe others, would say that that is still a place today that consists of much discrimination and racism. In reality, let’s not kid ourselves; there is still just as much racism and discrimination in our small little suburb of Edina. Because our community is made up of 93.6% Caucasians, when a minority is introduced to our neighborhood, school, business, etc., much of the time the reactions are confusing. We have been shadowed and sheltered from outside cultures much of our lives, at least if one has grown up here. It’s a very sad truth that us as kids have a hard time realizing and recognizing others outside of what Edina would call the “norm”. Though not everyone is sheltered and chooses to not recognize current day issues, it is what many people do, not all. Though Spike Lee’s film is an extreme view of racism, I do think it really makes a good point of recognizing racism from all races towards every other race.

After viewing this film and discussing it, it really made me think about the community I live in. Even though some ignore the issues of racism and discrimination, I’m really glad to see clubs like the multi-cultural club and the gay-straight alliance being formed within Edina High School. Spike Lee may or may not have done the right thing in the end by having his character start a riot, but the issues revealed in the film speak to the audience as a whole, showing us real issues of this world. How you choose to react to these conflicts of racism and discrimination, that’s your choice.

The Battle Of Algiers

While reading Peter Rainer's review of Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers, it seemed to be more of a informational piece rather than a commenting review. Though he does make a point of admitting he thinks it's "the most electrifyingly timely movie playing in New York", he only goes on to describe the actors involved in making the film and Pontecorvo himself.

I hoped to hear more of what he really liked about the film, and what techniques he enjoyed most. Though he describes techniques used he doesn't reflect on them. Even though I don't really believe this was a review per say, I learned alot from it. I didn't know that Pontecorvo was involved in the Milan resistance. I believe this is what helped this film become so successful, along with the fact it does a wonderful job at depicting realistic events that occured in the FLN resistance against the French. I also had no idea that actor Jean Martin had been blacklisted from France for signing a manifesto against the Algerian war. To me that is ironic he plays the French commander of war.

Overall Peter Rainer should have been published this not as a review but as an article. He does a wonderful job of describing what this film has been used for in the past and the people that were involved in the making of the film, but does poorly on commenting the stylistic details used, like many reviews do.

"Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown."

Throughout the film noir "genre", if it is a genre, I found myself getting lost alot of the time throughout the viewings. It seems that film noir tends to throw in random characters and scenes that later on have no point to the film leaving you to believe you missed something. Roman Polanski's 1974 film Chinatown is a much more entertaining than the other film noirs we've watched in class. It keeps the mystery going but adds the psychological drama to the plot. Though the other films were mysterious, they were extremely overdone in the dramatic factor, pulling away from that feeling. I also didn't necessarily think they threw anything in that didn't make sense.

One thing I really enjoyed about this film was the idea it was in color. Although black and white can show a certain mood and portray a certain feeling I still think much of that can be accomplished even when a movie is shot in color. The contrast between colors can really distinquish the mood rather than having a drab mood the entire film. The mood is also portrayed through the difference in high key versus low key lighting too.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this film is the revisionized femme-fatal. In the end Evelyn Mulray is the good character while her father is a traitor to her family. As his abusive past is revealed we as an audience start to sypathize for her. The hard-boiled detective, J.J. Jake Gittes isn't as violent as portrayed in other film noirs. I think the lack of violence, too, made this film more enjoyable.

Overall, this more contemporary film was much more enjoyable than the old classic film noirs we watched. The colors and the revisionized themes of this film noir made my viewing experience much more enjoyable.

Kiss Me Deadly

More like bore me to death. Robert Aldrich’s film Kiss Me Deadly not only was an incredibly horrible plot, it also was not that grabbing overall in the suspense factor. The way they portrayed suspense in the film was rather humorous and the ending, well that’s just self explanatory if you’ve seen the film.

Whenever Mike Hammer wanted information, the person would resist for about 30 seconds and then bam, Mike Hammer would smack them. I’m sorry, but when I see someone get smacked in the face, it’s more funny than suspenseful. Even if that suspense was built up, it is demolished by the sudden blows across people’s faces. If the movements weren’t so sudden and the sound effects weren’t so exaggerated, I think the suspense would have been more effective in this film.

The other thing that took away from the film was the plot, therefore making this movie, in my mind, just bad. Even at the end I still don’t understand the point of the girl in the beginning? Why was she at the beach home, and what did she know? That opening scene made me believe there was some torture house down the road or something, but in the end it was all about the nuclear bomb? I guess it just seems funny now because it isn’t a new thing to this world anymore. We know that nuclear energy can’t just be stored in a box. How did Christine Bailey ever get herself involved and why did she have the key? These are little things that just help with not enjoying the movie.

Overall I think most in the class can agree with me, the plot is just stupid. I don’t like sci-fi but even if I did, I don’t think this would pass as one of the greatest films of the past!

I have to say Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is now one of my favorite movies. This movie has the ability to draw in an audience by twisting the plot, so much that you may have to watch the film numerous timses to fully understand it. While some people may think that that aspect could take away from the movie, when they finally watch the film I think that they will find the plot is so enjoyable the confusion doesn't hit them as much. It is more a film where you catch new things each time you watch the film. Without Mr. Klobachar's assistance while viewing the film, I think I would be out renting this film just to reanalyze certain parts to see if I can set things straight.

One of the aspects of this film that sets that confusion is the ordering of flashbacks versus what is actually happening. Are these flashbacks really flashbacks? Or is Joel reliving the events of his life in his head. Sometimes it seems it is a memory, but other times Joel is actually changing his past which leads to the question of flashback or not? Some flashbacks are more obvious than others. The obvious ones include dissolves, blurred faces, muffled sound, and crumbling setting. When these things aren't being shown is when the question comes about.

Without the somewhat confusing, but not overly-distracting, plot line, I don't think this movie wouldn't have grabbed me so much. Because it draws me in and leaves me wanting more, I strongly believe this movie could keep me entertained everytime I watch it.

Long Duration, Too Long..

While watching Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966), I noticed there were many stylistic details that could have been done differently to make the viewing even better. One of the elements that took away from my experience watching the film was the long duration of shots. This coming from my personal view and not an audience as a whole, obviously there are some people who enjoyed the film as is.

In this film, when a scene was intended to portray suspense or anticipation, the duration of shots seemed to be carried out for too long. The very first scene of the movie shows Angel Eyes and a man staring at each other. This seemed to go on for at least 5 minutes if not longer. To me, I would understand there is a conflict whether they show people staring at each other for 1 minute rather than 5. Another time they do the same thing is when Tuco is looking for the grave. They film him running in circles and they show this for about 7 minutes straight. I don’t know about everyone else, but watching someone run in circles isn’t very enjoyable. It makes me dizzy and annoyed.

Though I know many viewed this film as a “masterpiece” and one of the greatest films, I really don’t think any film, no matter how good it is, needs to be nearly 3 hours long. No doubt I love The Pirates of the Caribbean movies and the Harry Potter movies, but I still don’t watch them a lot because of there length. If only the director cut out some of the extremely long and unnecessary shots, I think I would enjoy this film a lot more.

Requiem for a Western?

First off, opening with a repsonse to Mr. Klobachar's comment on "people being locked into a superhero world", I really feel they aren't necessarily locked into a superhero world, but more locked into a new genre era that they are unable to stray away from. New-age cinema progresses each year at finding a new way to impress their audiences, so films are not as much like the "classics" anymore. Though Clint Eastwood's film, Unforgiven, is not as much a classic, I still don't think it can be considered one of thoughs highly developed new-age cinema movies. Though being from a different genre than today's world, I still think it is comparible to confilcts found in today's society.

Thoughout Unforgiven, there is a constant self-conflict of William Munny and himself. He is fixed on the idea he is a reformed man all thanks to his diceased wife. Even though he does seem to be a better man now, and a loving and devoted father, you can tell when the Schofield Kid arrives that there is some thought into his past. As the film continues on after he accepts the job, he seems to constantly have to remind himself why he is the way he is now, becuase of his wife. After a constant internal struggle, he breaks down in the end, killing a massive amount of people, most in which haven't done anything, and drinking. Both things he "wasn't anymore".

In our society this happens everyday, the amounts of people "relapsing" back into a treatment center for addiction, or making it back into prison after already serving a sentence in jail. People these days try and convince themselves they can move on in life and leave certain traits and problems behind, but once something is established in your personality, it is pretty hard to just pick up and move on, leaving that certain thing behind. This same theme can be found in movies such as Requiem For a Dream, Blow, and other more contemporary films. Some of the classics and revisionist films aren't necesarily close to being like any new, contemporary films, but many of the overlying themes are the same.