Final Movie Blog

12. Freaks: This film really aggravated me and it was rather hard to watch. However, Browning's ability to utilize real actors for a film like Freaks was impressive to me.
11.Killer of Sheep: This film was a bit too slow moving for my enjoyment, but I did respect the film for what it was. The historical context used was pretty fascinating.
10.Awara: This film was a bit too long for me and just wasn't my type of film. I did, however, enjoy the effect the music had on the plot.
9. Sherlock Jr.: I have not seen too many silent/ black and white films in my days, but this film really proved to me that through the use of slapstick humour and other cinematographic strategies a silent film can be just as entertaining, if not more, than contemporary films.
8. Detour: This was another black and white film that impressed me. The strong female characters kept this one entertaining for me.
7. Wendy and Lucy: Although this film was rather slow moving, I was impressed as to how much I enjoyed it. After discussion in class, I realized that this film actually is a chick-flick. After this realization, I appreciated the film more because of its non traditional take on the "chick-flick" genre.
6. My Own Private Idaho: This was no Brokeback Mountain in my opinion. Gus Van Sant's use of Shakespeare really intrigued me and I felt like this film incorporated some very realistic scenarios.
5. Vanishing: I thought the cinematography in this film was excellent. The final scene where Raymond watches his family go about doing their daily business right above the dead bodies was truly a fascinating piece of film.
4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: My grandfather and I used to always watch Western films when I was younger so I was pretty excited to see this film on the list. Although very long, I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and it is hard not to enjoy Clint Eastwood's presence.
3. Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?: Having seen this film once before, my appreciation for the Coen brother's grew even more. Music is a big part of my life so a film that is surrounded by good tunes always has a special place in my heart.
2. End of Watch: I thought David Ayer chose a very unique style of filmmaking in End of Watch. This film really gave me a different perspective on working in the police force. I also didn't feel like this movie was the typical buddy cop film.
1. Moonrise Kingdom: This was my favorite film we watched during this course. Wes Anderson continued his good rep with this one. The interesting and creative shots kept me entertained.

End of Watch

Here is a medium/ longshot that sets up the string of events that is about to take place. This shot is very symmetrical throughout the entire shot. From the doors to the back of the shot by the cross and ceiling this shot reveals symmetry. I thought this was one of the most interesting scenes in the film because there is only one casket. This medium longshot keeps the audience guessing as to who is in the casket.

A few seconds later, the next cut occurs and it is revealed to the audience that Zavala was killed. This is the first closeup that portrays someone who was heavily impacted by the loss of Zavala. This shot yells anger, disgust, and sadness. Because this is the first shot that lets the audience know Zavala was the one killed there is immediately a shock factor on the audience. I think this realization is what made the cut to this shot so powerful to me. 

This medium shot immediately follows the closeup of Taylor. I think this is important to understand because the director could have showed Gabby or the child first, but he chose not to. The next cuts continue to reveal close ups.

In this closeup, Janet is shown supporting Taylor. I still find it interesting that this closeup was shown before the closeups of the child and Gabby. The emotion that is portrayed through all of these closeups is what made me choose this sequence of cuts. 

Here is a closeup of Zavala's child. This continues to represent the impact Zavala's death will have on his family and friends. 

The final closeup I chose is of Gabby. All I could think of when this shot appeared was how Zavala told Taylor he would take a bullet for him and would always support Janet. I thought it was rather ironic that Zavala had these lines and not Taylor because Zavala was the one that ended up dying. Once again extreme sadness and distress is felt through this shot.

Moonrise Kingdom

Analysis

    After taking various screenshots throughout the film, this particular image stuck out to me the most.  In the front layer, Suzy and Sam are practically naked with their arms around one another wearing white clothing. In the next layer, Suzy’s father, Walt Bishop, appears to be the biggest figure on the screen with a yellow tent raised above his head. The half naked bodies of Suzy and Sam, Walt Bishop's large figure, and the tent above Walt's head really yelled out vulnerability to me. Behind Walt on the left is an officer and Suzy’s mother, both standing stern. Furthermore, on the right of Walt are four people dressed in all khaki and three shirtless boys sitting in a boat. Behind all of the characters and main action in this particular scene sits a boat in the middle of a cove that is surrounded by green hills and rocky cliffs. The image seems to have a strong contrast between the colors white and yellow. All eyes are on the half-naked, vulnerable, and guilty runaways.