The Hudsucker Proxy Review

Joel and Ethan Coen are very talented contemporary film-makers. They are responsible for Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Blood Simple, and Raising Arizona. That is probably why it makes it hard to accept this movie. I know they can do better than this. This film is disappointing and subtanceless.
Pros:
-Imaginative sets and art direction
-Over the top acting
-Great style
Cons:
-Characters are not fleshed out at all
-Jennifer Jason Leigh's voice is just annoying
-No substance
-The ending is just too ridiculous
-Cliched themes
Overall: Average film by excellent film-makers
** out of ****

Pauline at the Beach Review

Eric Rohmer was a part of a film movement called the French New Wave or Nouvelle Vague. The movement created new aesthetics and narrative structure to cinema. The most famous directors that came out of the French New Wave are Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffant, Jacques Rivette, Claude Chabrol, and Eric Rohmer. This film was simple in aesthetics and story unlike a film by Jean-Luc Godard. It was a breath of fresh air.
Pros:
-It displays loves in an irrational and unexpected fashion
-Remains interesting all the way through
-Characters have suprisely amount of depth
-Story is presented simple, but is rather complex
-Misunderstanding in the film is displayed in a very realistic manner
Cons:
-The whole is based on love and that might seem boring to some people
-Might have too much talking and not enough action for some
-Don't know much about the characters
-Some might find some of the relationships to happen too fast and might find them implausible
Overall: Great film that asks the question what is true love?
**** out of ****

Pickpocket Review

Pickpocket is directed by Robert Bresson. Bresson would force his actors to show no emotion at all and speak in a monotone. He did this as a form of rebellion to mainstream and theatre. This allows an original experience for his audiences and maybe off-putting for some.
Pros:
-Elliptic narrative
-Short running time (75 minutes)
-Educates viewers on how to pickpocket
-No overblown Hollywood acting
-Some of the actions performed by the actors actually feel spontaneous
-Ending tries to give the audience what they usually get from normal cinema
Cons:
-Unsympathetic characters
-Not much story
-Off-putting acting
-Disappointing
-Ending does not really work that well
-No scene really hits the spot
Overall: Disappointing, but interesting
*** out of ****

Robocop Review

RoboCop is a great action movie in the sense it doesn't take itself too seriously. The acting is overblown to the point where it is almost cartoon like. The violence is so over the top that it isn't disgusting. Most action movies should be like that. It is directed by Paul Verhoeven. He directed Basic Instinct, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers.
Pros:
-Comic-book feel
-Over the top violence
-Doesn't take it self that seriously
-Great ending
-Great last half hour
Cons:
-Relationship between female partner seems forced
-Only good before the last half hour
-Some of the violence might be off-putting for some individuals
Overall: Kick ass
**** out of ****

Terminator Review

This movie was only made for $10 million so don't expect a big spectacle like Terminator 2. I am going to use a pro-con system from now on. It gives it more detail and more structure.
Pros:
-Low budget
-Arnold is more badass in this one
-Linda Hamilton is much more suited for her role in this
-Good gritty atmosphere
-Police station scene kicks ass
Cons:
-Low budget
-Action sequences don't reach the level the sequel sets
-Story and mythology is less fleshed out than the sequel
-Arnold doesn't have that much screen-time
-Some effects look cheesy
-Ending with Arnold with no flesh seems to drag on and on
Overall good action movie.
*** out of ****

Film Reviews

System for my reviews:
*-Bad **-Average ***-Good ****-Great
No zero or half star ratings.
No plot synopsises.
Just a star rating and maybe a sentence of what I liked about it.

Nashville(dir. Robert Altman)
****
Fascinating satire of our celebrity-obsessed culture. Ending redeemed itself from a ***.

Decalogue I(dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski)
****
Emotional devastating.

Decalogue II(dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski)
***
Not as good as I, but poses questions about abortion and infidelity.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day(dir. James Cameron)
****
Eddie Furlong is annoying, Linda Hamilton is over the top, and Arnold Schwareznegger is badass. An actual though-provoking action movie. Kicks ass.

Desert Lives

Desert Life #1 was lost in a forest fire or my room.

Desert Life #2: Desert Life or Death

The town coroner came for career day. Career day was radical. This day was radical. A bunch of radicals hijacked the school bus and took us to Sea World. The torture of Sea World was so radical that some people dived into the shark tank. Later on during the day, the radicals took us back and we learned radicals in math. It sure was radical.

Desert Life #3: Deserted Life

The town DJ came for career day. DJ Connor. Me and TJ were chillin then he was like “Hi,” and I went “Hi.” TJ went “Huh?” and I went “Yah.” DJ was like “BRB.” I was like “Lol.” Then I accidentally closed the text box and the conversation ended, lmao.

Desert Life #4: Dessert Life

The town baker came to career day. Now, that’s a career. You deal with sweetz. Everybody lovez sweetz. If they don’t like sweetz then they’re weird. The baker was Yaki Tonison. He was a retired hit-man from Reno. He makes a mean pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie. That’s a word that you don’t hear everyday. Pumpkin pie should be required vocabulary daily. Conversations would happen. Make pie, not war. Good words from Yaki Tonison. Yaki was somewhat strange. He curled his hair. That is usually the sign of passion for the art of cake making. Cake makers and hit-men. Two peas in an Ipod. My Ipod has thirty two songs. Songs of romance. Songs of songs. Songs of thugz. Thugz are scary. Yaki Tonison is scary. Then the Shadow Lord came. The Shadow Lord spoke. He said, “The gems are hidden on the island.” I spoke. I said, “K gee.” Damn that baker makes a mean pumpkin pie.

Desert Life #5: Desert Lives

The town soap star came for career day. I hate soap operas. They usually have fat women. Fat women are usually on soap operas. Soap operas are fat women. This kid came into our class, his name was Jimmy Chung. He kept talking about the Shadow Lord. I was like, “I met him.” And he was “Mmk.” Two peas in an Ipod.

Desert Life #6: Deserter Life

The town deserter came for career day. What a hero. He deserted the frontline during the Ecuadorian civil war. His name was Paco Rancheros. He was the quarter-brother of the famous lover, Alberto Rancheros. Love is a magical thing. Disneyland is a magical thing. Your mother is a magical thing. Magical things will soon happen. A fortune cookie read that. Jimmy Chunk has a lifetime supply of fortune cookies. What a fortune.

Engagement vs. Entertainment in Film

After watching Andrei Rublev, it made me ponder whether films have to be entertaining? I feel Andrei Rublev was not an entertaining experience, but more of a rewarding one. This leads to me a new film theory I have come up with to approach films. There are films that do the work for you, entertainment, and there are films that makes you do the work, engagement. Entertainment can be good for an imaginative escapist experience while engagement can be intellectually stimulating and rewarding. Is one better than the other? In my book, I feel engagement is better. I might prefer engagement, but I feel most films have both philosophies in them. The best films are both engaging and entertaining. This leads to my conlusion, that every film has engagement and entertainment. If one film is mostly entertainment and barely any engagement, the film is bad. If a film is visa versa, it might be a different story. I feel engagement can be better than entertainment because it can lead to a better understading of human nature. I will approach new films with this philosophy in mind.
NEED TO EDIT

Andrei Rublev

Recently I watched a film called Andrei Rublev directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. Andrei Tarkovsky is a Soviet filmmaker known for films that are intensely spiritual and very slow and meticulous. His films can either be enjoyable or boring as hell. This is one of the most unique experiences with a film I have ever had. At the beginning, I felt bored and basically restless. I turned the movie off about an hour into it and decided to watch it the next day. The next day I turned it on and I was still bored. After maybe twenty minutes, I turned it off again. I tried again the same day and it basically clicked. I felt like I engaged myself into the story. I began to enjoy it more and it felt really rewarding. I probably did not get the full experience the film can provide, but it challenged me as a film viewer. I want to see more Andrei Tarkovsky films in the near future. I strongly recommend viewing Andrei Rublev. The film will not tell the story for you, you must think and analyze while viewing this film. Most movies these days are like books on tape and this film would be considered a written novel. It supplies the words, but you have to read them yourself.

Top Five Stuff and Junk

Top Five Movies
1. Battle of Algiers(dir. Gillo Pontecorvo)
2. Raging Bull(dir. Martin Scorsese)
3. Ashes and Diamonds(dir. Andrzej Wajda)
4. 8 1/2 or La Dolce Vita(dir. Federico Fellini)
5. A Woman Under the Influence(dir. John Cassavetes)

Top Five Movies I Want to See
1. Killer of Sheep(dir. Charles Burnett)
2. Los Olivdados(dir. Luis Bunuel)
3. Murmur of the Heart(dir. Louise Malle)
4. Last Year at Marienbad(dir. Alain Resnais)
5. Werkmeister Harmony(dir. Bela Tarr)

Top Five Directors
1. Martin Scorsese
2. Robert Altman
3. John Cassavetes
4. Stanley Kubrick
5. Federico Fellini

Top Five TV Shows
1. Seinfeld
2. Curb Your Enthusiasm
3. SpongeBob SquarePants
4. Roseanne
5. The Office

Top Five Bands
1. Massive Attack
2. Public Enemy
3. Death
4. Fugazi
5. My Bloody Valentine

Top Five Albums
1. Blue Lines - Massive Attack
2. Fear of a Black Planet - Public Enemy
3. Human - Death
4. 13 Songs - Fugazi
5. Loveless - My Bloody Valentine

Top Five Books
1. Slaughterhouse-Five
2. Catch-22
3. A Clockwork Orange
4. Lord of the Flies
5. The Hobbit