Alfred Hitchcock's North By North West, released in 1959 is a suspense-thriller film that I watched in my Film Studies class. Starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, it tells the story of a middle-aged man (Cary Grant) who is wrongfully accused of being a CIA agent by the name of George Caplin. The movie follows him as he flees from his kidnappers and falls in love with the young and beautiful Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) on the way. Although I did not absolutely love the film, it had solid acting and is one of MGM Picture's films that are worth seeing.
I was very impressed by the acting of all the leading roles in this film. Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint did spectacular jobs of holding the tension that makes the movie a thriller, as well as channelling their emotions clearly to the audience in order to move along the romantic elements of the plot. I found Alfred Hitchcock's classic brief cameo in the beginning of the film, in which he is seen boarding a bus, very amusing. A director who places special things in his films for the audience to notice provokes the viewer to be more attentive.
Although I sometimes found the plot confusing, the ending tied everything up nicely and left me satisfied. I was very intrigued by how the director so sneakily dropped a clue to how the main mystery of the story developed in the beginning of the film. I would recommend this film to anyone above the age of 12 who enjoys thrillers, romance, suspense or action.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Monday, 10 October 2011
"Plan 9 From Outer Space"/ "Ed Wood" Film Review
Released in 1959 by Reynolds Pictures , the notorious Plan 9 From Outer Space is both a waste of time and a must-see. All acting in the film, including that by Gregory Walcott and Mona Mckinnon who play the lead roles, is absolutely terrible. Half of the characters in the film do not even speak and just walk around poorly pretending to be dead. The alien characters are cheesy and unbelievable. They never let the viewer believe that they are anything more than regular people in smocks who do bizarre 'alien" handshakes. The set in this movie, which consists mostly of cardboard pieces and phony UFOs, is equally to blame for the film's lack of realism and credibility. Although it is a complete failure on director Ed Wood's part, I would highly recommend seeing it for two reasons: to get a good laugh at its pathetic attempts at movie making and to learn everything that you should NOT do when making a film.
In director and producer Tim Burton's 1994 film Ed Wood, Johnny Depp stars as the talentless director previously mentioned in the above paragraph. Unlike Ed Wood's actual films, this one had great acting. Johnny Depp played the failing director perfectly, mastering both his attractive naïveté and disturbing qualities. The film provided an easy to follow plot and realistic sets (also unlike Plan 9). As a viewer, I stayed entertained by the film because I wanted the character of Ed Wood to succeed in his film making, although I knew he would not. His determination and obliviousness to his own lack of talents makes him a likeable character. I would recommend this movie to anyone who wonders how and why Ed Wood's films were always so terrible or to anyone who enjoys Johnny Depp or Tim Burton films.
In director and producer Tim Burton's 1994 film Ed Wood, Johnny Depp stars as the talentless director previously mentioned in the above paragraph. Unlike Ed Wood's actual films, this one had great acting. Johnny Depp played the failing director perfectly, mastering both his attractive naïveté and disturbing qualities. The film provided an easy to follow plot and realistic sets (also unlike Plan 9). As a viewer, I stayed entertained by the film because I wanted the character of Ed Wood to succeed in his film making, although I knew he would not. His determination and obliviousness to his own lack of talents makes him a likeable character. I would recommend this movie to anyone who wonders how and why Ed Wood's films were always so terrible or to anyone who enjoys Johnny Depp or Tim Burton films.
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Film Review- "Citizen Kane"
Director and lead actor Orson Welles' 1941 classic Citizen Kane is considered by many to be the greatest film of all time, and although this may be true, I feel as if I am almost not mature enough to have completely appreciated all of the elements of the film. There were many parts in the movie where I couldn't concentrate and came close to boredom. However, there were still quite a few things in this RKO Pictures release that impressed me.
The acting by Orson Welles', who played Mr. Kane, and Dorothy Comingmore, who played Mr. Kane's second wife Susan, was superb. The actors did a phenomenal job at portraying their emotions; the camera could remain fixed on Welles' wordless face and the audience would know exactly how he was feeling. In the scene where Kane has a tantrum after Susan leaves him, i was very intrigued and sucked in to the idea that a man had actually just lost his wife.
As I previously stated, I sometimes drifted in and out of the plot or became confused, but I did enjoy the whole mysterious concept of "Rosebud". I thought the ending where the meaning of Rosebud was revealed was both satisfying and thought provoking. I would recommend watching this movie to anyone who appreciates an enticing plot, creative camera angles, and an ending that will stay in their mind for a long time after watching the film.
Film Review- "Bringing Up Baby"
Bringing Up Baby did nothing more than under-whelm it's audience when it was first released in 1938 by Warner Brothers, and I could see why when I watched it in Film Studies Class. The film revolves around a sensible paleontologist who makes the mistake of meeting an out-to-lunch woman and her leopard. The story follows them as they face countless unnecessary conflicts and wrap themselves up in more trouble than they need be in. Throughout the movie, I found myself constantly irritated by the "screwball" style that it followed and the frustrating plot line.
A major reason why I did not enjoy this movie was the acting. In particular, I found Katharine Hepburn's character, Susan, extremely irritating because she kept causing trouble with her air-headedness and clumsy behavior. I do not believe that it takes great skill as an actor to act annoying, so I was not impressed by Ms. Hepburn's performance. Cary Grant, who played Dr. David Huxley, was probably the best actor in the film because he was convincing as a somewhat shy, intelligent man of science who wanted nothing more than to rid Susan from his life.
I would not recommend that anyone watch this movie unless they are a fan of quick, somewhat comical banter between two helpless adults and easily avoidable situations in the plot that somehow always take place anyways. The only mildly impressive aspect of this film is how the director, Howard Hawks, was able to keep up he up-beat pace and mishaps throughout the story. This movie is not worth seeing on the big screen because it is simply a waste of money.
A major reason why I did not enjoy this movie was the acting. In particular, I found Katharine Hepburn's character, Susan, extremely irritating because she kept causing trouble with her air-headedness and clumsy behavior. I do not believe that it takes great skill as an actor to act annoying, so I was not impressed by Ms. Hepburn's performance. Cary Grant, who played Dr. David Huxley, was probably the best actor in the film because he was convincing as a somewhat shy, intelligent man of science who wanted nothing more than to rid Susan from his life.
I would not recommend that anyone watch this movie unless they are a fan of quick, somewhat comical banter between two helpless adults and easily avoidable situations in the plot that somehow always take place anyways. The only mildly impressive aspect of this film is how the director, Howard Hawks, was able to keep up he up-beat pace and mishaps throughout the story. This movie is not worth seeing on the big screen because it is simply a waste of money.
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Film Review- "Singing in the Rain"
Singing in the Rain, a classic film from 1952, stars Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor. It was directed by both Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen and was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. I was fortunate enough to watch this movie in film studies class in September of 2011.
In this timeless classic, Don Lockwood is a handsome and extremely famous silent film actor who co-stars frequently with the vain, selfish and often intolerable Lina Lamont. When Mr. Lockwood meets a stubborn yet kind dancer, Kathy Seldon, he falls in love with her. This angers the obsessed Lina Lamont (who is under the false impression that she and Don are in love), and so begins the fight for Mrs. Seldon's fame as an actress/dancer and Lina Lamont's battle to keep her rise to stardom and relationship with Don from happening. Also, Lina and Don's production company struggles to create the first film with sound. I enjoyed this plot because it made the viewer excited by the fact that the "humble, talented actress/dancer" has the possibility of defeating the snobby famous actress. It is amusing to get involved in the story and root for Don Lockwood and Kathy Seldon as they attempt to over-come their obstacles.
The actors in this movie were talented and dedicated to their roles. The characters of this story were often quite stereotypical, and in that situation it is extremely crucial for the actors to never break character or not go all-out for their parts. Each actor and actress portrayed their character strongly, but in my opinion, Jean Hagen (Lina Lamont) did the best job. Although she was probably the least liked character in the film, she was convincingly snobby and played her part well enough to make the viewer's dislike her. I thought that the weakest actor was Donald O'Connor, who played one of Mr. Lockwood's friends on the set. I enjoyed his character, but I believe it took the least amount of effort because he was extremely cheesy and didn't need to show much talent to be convincing as a, for lack of a better word, "goof ball". I would not have replaced any of the cast members for this film, as they all did a great job.
I would recommend this movie to people of all-ages. It would be amusing to a younger audience because of it's bright colours and musical numbers, but also for an older audience because of it's appreciable acting and storyline. It is worth seeing on the big screen. I believe that it would be especially fun considering the positive reactions that the dance numbers and jokes would get from a big audience. Given the fact that it is a musical, this movie would probably attract an audience who is more bubbly, interested in performing arts such as dance, and mostly women. I would go see this movie again because it is entertaining and light-hearted.
The positive aspects of this film include the strong cast, lively performances, and musical numbers. The light-hearted yet intriguing plot remains interesting throughout the film. The sets and costumes are elaborate and interesting. The only negative thing that I can think of is how the character of Lina Lamont is so well portrayed that she angers the audience. Over-all, it was a fantastic film and should be watched by anyone who enjoys anything from dancing to romance to the classic struggle of good vs. wicked.
In this timeless classic, Don Lockwood is a handsome and extremely famous silent film actor who co-stars frequently with the vain, selfish and often intolerable Lina Lamont. When Mr. Lockwood meets a stubborn yet kind dancer, Kathy Seldon, he falls in love with her. This angers the obsessed Lina Lamont (who is under the false impression that she and Don are in love), and so begins the fight for Mrs. Seldon's fame as an actress/dancer and Lina Lamont's battle to keep her rise to stardom and relationship with Don from happening. Also, Lina and Don's production company struggles to create the first film with sound. I enjoyed this plot because it made the viewer excited by the fact that the "humble, talented actress/dancer" has the possibility of defeating the snobby famous actress. It is amusing to get involved in the story and root for Don Lockwood and Kathy Seldon as they attempt to over-come their obstacles.
The actors in this movie were talented and dedicated to their roles. The characters of this story were often quite stereotypical, and in that situation it is extremely crucial for the actors to never break character or not go all-out for their parts. Each actor and actress portrayed their character strongly, but in my opinion, Jean Hagen (Lina Lamont) did the best job. Although she was probably the least liked character in the film, she was convincingly snobby and played her part well enough to make the viewer's dislike her. I thought that the weakest actor was Donald O'Connor, who played one of Mr. Lockwood's friends on the set. I enjoyed his character, but I believe it took the least amount of effort because he was extremely cheesy and didn't need to show much talent to be convincing as a, for lack of a better word, "goof ball". I would not have replaced any of the cast members for this film, as they all did a great job.
I would recommend this movie to people of all-ages. It would be amusing to a younger audience because of it's bright colours and musical numbers, but also for an older audience because of it's appreciable acting and storyline. It is worth seeing on the big screen. I believe that it would be especially fun considering the positive reactions that the dance numbers and jokes would get from a big audience. Given the fact that it is a musical, this movie would probably attract an audience who is more bubbly, interested in performing arts such as dance, and mostly women. I would go see this movie again because it is entertaining and light-hearted.
The positive aspects of this film include the strong cast, lively performances, and musical numbers. The light-hearted yet intriguing plot remains interesting throughout the film. The sets and costumes are elaborate and interesting. The only negative thing that I can think of is how the character of Lina Lamont is so well portrayed that she angers the audience. Over-all, it was a fantastic film and should be watched by anyone who enjoys anything from dancing to romance to the classic struggle of good vs. wicked.
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