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.