Faith through Film and Fiction

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005)

Well I didn't expect this to be a musical.  Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is a tale about a lanky stop motion animation character who attempts to get married but dies and marries someone else.  On it's surface the movie is creeepy, and this is exactly why I didn't watch it as a child.  Regardless of the grey-blue setting in a dreary town filled with dead people, the characters are all designed with such dramatic proportions they all might as well be dead.  Though this turned me off from the movie at first, ending makes a beautiful and light-hearted come back that seems to brighten the entire outlook of the movie.  So the setting is convincing, okay, but what about the characters!  Despite the plot being unbelievably unrealistic, the characters reactions and feelings all seem so genuine that I'm intrigued the entire way.  I care for the undead bride, I care that she's constantly unliving an unfulfilled proposal and drowning in her misery.  She's so miserable she wants to marry the boring protagonist!!  This film has interesting and catchy music numbers that seem to be the only light in the dark setting.  All in all, Corpse Bride would be a very good children's movie to challenge their perspectives, and I had a good time watching it.

7/10

          Ed Wood (1994) is a Tim Burton film that I had not heard of before this week. I picked it because it had one of the higher ratings for a Tim Burton movie on IMDb, and it looked interesting. It is a black and white biopic about Edward Wood Jr., a director who is known as the "worst director of all time." To start, this film surprised me. I have never been a fan of Tim Burton films, and coming into this week, I was not excited to watch one. However, this film was one I would certainly watch again.
          To start, the acting in this film is terrific. Martin Landau won on Oscar for "Best male in a supporting role" for his performance in this film and I see why. His character is among my favorite that I have ever encountered in film. He plays the role of Bela Lugosi, who was a real actor most famous for his role as Dracula in Dracula (1930). After reading a short bio on Bela Lugosi, I got an idea of what I thought Bela Lugosi might be like, and Landau captured this perfectly. He did an incredible job in creating a lovable, unstable, and dynamic character. He connects well with Johnny Depp on screen. Depp also is portrayed in a way that makes you believe he could have been the worst director ever. He is far too optimistic for his work and blind to see how bad it is. One scene that makes this clear is when he is shooting "Plan 9 from Outer Space" (1959), and he is told that a cardboard gravestone falls over, but he does not care. This movie tells the story so well, that even with the cheap, unawareness present in Wood's films, you cannot help but root for him. It is interesting to see the contrast between his films and the films of Orson Welles-- his idol for the entire film. To further elaborate on acting, Sarah Jessica Parker and Patricia Arquette both do great jobs of capturing women who are unfit and fit for Wood, respectively. Bill Murray's character of Bunny Breckenridge was one of my favorites in this film, and I found myself ready to laugh every time he appeared. In all, Depp does a superb job in creating a picture of a blissfully unaware director whose life we should probably should not celebrate, but find ourselves doing by the end of the film anyways.

Edit: Oh, and I forgot to add that this film initially shocked me when its theme of cross-dressing was introduced. When Wood first tells the film company he is perfect to produce a film about a sex change because he is a cross-dresser, I thought it was a joke, much like the film studios in later parts of the movie do. However, when I realized this was a reality in Wood's life, I began to understand a bit more. It is clear that Wood has a bizarre way of living life through this and his work, however, even with this taboo way of living, he is a hard character to dislike.
I would give this movie a 9.5/10 and I would definitely recommend that all see it. A pleasant surprise, and a new favorite.

Tim Burton Film: Edward Scissorhands

The idea of someone living with scissors as hands inspires a creepy, disturbing perspective. In Tim Burton's movie "Edward Scissorhands", he makes this idea come to life in a twisted love story. Before watching the movie, I expected the movie to be another one of Hollywood's twisted love stories where everything somehow ends up working out in the end, despite the fact that the main character is a monster with literal scissors for hands. While part of this could be found in "Edward Scissorhands", it also showed itself to be more than a love story. The movie starts out in black in white, soon telling the tale of an inventor who died before he could finish his finally project. This soon takes a turn, as viewers are shown a neighborhood with houses of bright color where it looks like everything is perfect. It becomes clear, however that everything is not perfect, as Peg has doors closed on her rudely by multiple neighbors while she tries to sell makeup. Tim Burton creates a juxtaposition between the bright colored, happy houses full of rude neighbors to the dark, grotesque mansion full of a beautiful garden and kind hearted monster. This juxtaposition continues throughout the movie, as the neighbors are shown as even more selfish and drama-oriented, creating problems for Edward, who is too kind to stand up to them. This eventually leads to Edward being driven back to his house, isolated from the rest of the world as everyone believes (and wants) him to be dead. This movie mixed just enough humor with a creepy love story to make it an entertaining story. It was interesting to watch the character development of Kim as she was able to see past Edwards looks and into his heart, while all the other characters (mainly the neighbors) remained mostly the same, selfish people from beginning to end. All of this came together with the juxtaposition created by Tim Burton to show the theme that everything is not always how it seems, and it is on the inside that countsI enjoyed how the movie did not give you all the information about Edward right off the bat. Instead the movie showed parts of Edwards creation in life in small snapshots throughout the movie, explaining things that had happened earlier in the movie. I did not expect the ending of the movie to be as sad as it was, as I assumed it would end in a happily ever after, classic Hollywood, love story ending. While part of me wishes the movie would have ended like that, for closure, I do like how Tim Burton strayed from the path and made up his own ending that still allowed for a little imagination on the viewers part. Overall, I would give the movie a 7 out of 10.

For my movie I watched Big Fish, and for about the first hour and a half or so of the movie, I honestly could not tell where on earth the movie was going or what exactly the central plot was. It seemed to me like it was some kind of mixture of a father son relationship story occasionally interrupted by Ewan McGregor wandering through a five year old's fever dream. I was enjoying the parts where they were telling the stories of Edward's life, but I wasn't finding much interest in the scenes of the present between Edward and Will, which I thought to be the central purpose of the whole thing. So I was sitting 90 minutes into the movie, as Will is driving to Jenny's house, reasonably entertained but completely baffled, figuring I would write a few lines, give it a five out of ten, and never so much as think about this movie ever again, and then I watched 30 of the best minutes of a movie that I have ever seen. The tone completely shifts from a more light and funny adventure story to this beautiful, deep conclusion, and it is done so masterfully. The ending could not have been written more perfectly, as Will gradually comes to the realization that many of his father's stories are actually true, and through the story Jenny tells he realizes just how good of a man his father is, and has always been. The tension builds up beautifully as Will learns of his father's stroke, and continues to build until reaching what has to be one of the better endings to a movie ever written. Billy Crudup in particular, who had been dependably good the whole movie but never anything special, delivers nothing short of a phenomenal performance in Edward's death scene, and I would be genuinely stunned if anybody got through that scene without tearing up. As the realist son tells the tall tale to his father for the first and last time, the tale he never knew, the two finally come to an understanding, and it is a perfectly poetic end to the movie. And as I looked back on the movie, I realized how what had at first seemed like a bunch of garbled nonsense had perfectly strung together to set up the climax of the film. The moment is a long time coming, but it was more than worth the wait.
9 out of 10 would watch again

JP Pancioli

I watched Big Fish as my movie review for Tim Burton. This movie made me cry. Alot. Big Fish is about Edward Bloom's life told through his stories as an old man, and the struggle that his son Will experiences while attempting to discover what is real. I really enjoyed the framework story of Edward Bloom, while Will attempts to uncover the truth behind his stories. It is a common setup for film, in fact Citizen Kane is set up the same way, there is a story that is unclear, which is framed inside of a story that attempts to make it clear. I will try not to spoil the movie since rumor has it we are watching it in class, (woops), but I greatly enjoyed the ending, as the story finally comes full circle. It was a very resolved ending. Edward's life becomes clear, Will gains an understanding of his father's stories, and then begins passing on the stories to his own children. It would be a great family film, but also contains many technical elements of film that make it appealing. This film portrayed a feeling of love and meaning, and inspires me to live a life that makes an effect on people. Edward Bloom was remembered and loved by those he met, and someday I hope I am remembered too.

10/10. Would watch again.

Its a Wonderful life is one of my favorite movies of all time, me and my family watch in every Christmas eve. it has a beautiful and timeless script. its very dramatic but also has good comedic relief through out certain characters. it is full of many different characters s its almost imporssible not to relate to one of them. my favorite scene is at the high school dance when the floor opens up int the pool. i know this is a odd pick considering the whole movie is filled with "better" and more meaningful parts. but i think i like it so much because its a high school dance and ive been to those and ive always had a good experience at them so i immediatley get so happy when i watch it. anyways, this movie also has amazing themes and makes you feel really good when your done watching it. the movie title is very fitting. this movie is an 8.5 out of 10 the only flaw it has is how flipping long it is. it is way to long but its necessary but my ADD cannot deal with how long it is. it needs an intermission or something.

Lauren Slouffman

For my movie I watched Forrest Gump. I have always heard form many people about how amazing the movie is and how it is almost universally beloved, and now I finally understand why. The movie is a true classic. At first it was difficult to determine what exactly the tone of the movie was. At some moments it was upbeat and comedic, making light with even some of the most serious topics. But at others the mood became deep and very very serious. Most films could not do this without it becoming confusing, but in this movie it is done perfectly. The character of Forrest, played masterfully by Tom Hanks, makes this particularly possible, as his world view puts things that we all know to be very serious and grim events in a different light. The characters in general are all beautifully constructed and perfectly executed, and they all play off one another to give this amazing depiction of the world and of life. In particular I found Gary Sinise as Lieutenant Dan to be particularly amazing. While many of the characters, including Forrest himself, remained mostly static throughout the movie, Lieutenant Dan provided an incredible dynamic character as he goes through despair and grief at being wounded yet alive, and in this despair he feels contempt for God and also at Forrest for a time. In this despair he provides a perfect foil to Forrest as the two interact, and at many times, he treats Forrest with scorn and contempt, but ultimately he stands up for him with the girls. He follows through on his mocking promise to be Forrest's first mate, and in the end, he quite literally becomes whole again, he gets new legs and, as Forrest says, he makes his peace with God, and winds up happy in spite of everything that happened to him, largely because of Forrest. He goes through the ups and downs of life just like most of us do, albeit to the extremes. While in many movies the protagonist is the person who grows and changes as the movie goes on, in this case Forrest remains more or less static throughout the film, and it is beautiful. Forrest faces the worst the world has to offer, and he encounters darkness and despair in situations and in people. But whether it's in Vietnam or with Lieutenant Dan or Jenny, Forrest remains exactly the same, a good, happy, loving person. And that is the thing that I think makes this movie so incredibly powerful. This "idiot" who seems like he would just be destroyed by the world, faces the darkness, the sadness, and the suffering in the world, and he beats it. He overcomes his own limitations, as well as some of the worst situations possible and prospers. Not only that, but he saves the people around him from lives of pain and despair, such as Jenny and Lieutenant Dan. In this story, the nice guy finishes first, and I think that's something everyone wants to see. This is easily one of the best movies I've ever seen, I would give it a 10 out of 10 and will definitely watch it again.          

I am very glad I watched this musical because I thought it was a similar story to Chicago, but it was completely different. I expected it to just be about people dancing in a night club, but it actually had a very interesting plot. I am also a huge fan of Bob Fosse so obviously I loved his choreography. I thought it was cool how the vulgar choreography and Cabaret itself almost mirrored the German Nazi society. One of my favorite parts of the movie was the scene during "Willkommen."Its probably one of the longer dance scenes and it is very funny. Another part I thought was very good was "Mein Herr." I have heard this song many times and seen many dances done to it because I am a dancer, so it was fun for me to see the actual choreography. I would definitely recommend this movie to others, especially if they know anything about Fosse.  I rate this movie an 8/10.

Caroline Beverly

I decided to watch #94 on the AFI top 100 movie list, "Pulp Fiction". This film is organized chaos, split up into five chapters, tied together by cigarettes and a briefcase. The first sequence shows a couple discussing the complexities of robbery as they decide that an unsuspecting restaurant is the best place to become rich. This then begins the credits, where an impressive cast list is shown including but not limited to: John Travolta, Uma Therman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, and even the director himself, Quentin Tarantino. Thus begins the out-of-order story of some gangsters, a few boxers, and a couple of small criminals that we call, "Pulp  Fiction".
Part of the reason I love this movie is because of the unexpected humor that comes with it. Most movies give no background to the antagonists, and if they do, it shows them as cruel, horrible people. What is great about this movie is the villains are humanized in a way. Tarantino's brilliant script includes casual conversation that audiences can relate to, even though the conversation is morbid and sometimes shocking.
During Mia and Vince's date in the 50's themed restaurant, I really was hoping for Travolta to break out into a chorus of "Grease Lightning". Sadly this did not happen, maybe next time.
I like the Prelude's that set up each section of the movie, like with the watch telling story. This is really when Butch (Willis) comes into the story as his own. I find it clever, or just funny, how the small occurrences are the things causing life or death situations. Example: the watch. I understand how much the watch means to him, but if gangsters are looking for you, do not go back for the watch. The ironic part is that he ends up killing Vincent, simply because Vega took the wrong time to go the bathroom. There was not an over-dramatized fight scene that ended with the righteous protagonist winning. A guy simply picked up a gun and killed a man who was sent there to kill him. It's hilarious.
 I do not watch a lot of his movies so I do not know if he does a lot of cameos, but was very surprised when I saw Tarantino. After cleaning up brains and skull, Vince and Jules decide to go get breakfast where the opening scene is occurring at the same time, hence the out-of-order sequencing. When seeing a film this can be confusing, but is obviously done for a reason, and once pieced together at the end is a creative way to organize a film. Jules puts Pumpkin in his place and walks out, unharmed, briefcase in hand.
My takeaways: We never find out is in the briefcase, and I want to know as it opens and closes the movie. I love Travolta and Jackson together. I love Samuel L. Jackson. If there is anything I don't like it is the fade outs from scene to scene. This made me feel like I was watching a show on TV. I would watch this film again for sure and give it an overall 9 out of 10.

I have heard about Rocky from friends and other people all the time but have not had the opportunity to watch it until now. I really enjoyed watching this movie. Rocky is the story of a club fighter from the slums of Philadelphia. He works as an enforcer during the day and works out at Mickey's gym and does club fighting in his free time. He gets a chance to fight Apollo Creed at the championship. This story while somewhat cliched is very good. The characters in the story seem much more realistic and accessible than actors in other movies, along with the apartments. They don't feel fake or set up. The love line in Rocky is much more interesting, I think, than many other fighting type movies. I though the movie was great although the ending with him calling out for Adrian was not the best to me, but other wise I have little to no other things I didn't like about the movie. I think it is interesting that Stallone wrote the movie and had to spend years trying to find someone who would produce it with him starring instead of some other famous actor. I would give the movie a 8.5-9/10.

Even though I have heard about Jaws from many people, I was very excited to get the opportunity to finally watch it. Everyone always talked about how great the special effects were in that movie during that time. I was expecting it to be extremely realistic, but I did not consider the fact that it was made in the 70's so I was a little bit thrown. These days the special effects in all these movies are just ridiculous, that makes all these fictional films come to life. All this being said, I still did enjoy the movie. I did get pretty into the movie after a while and felt a good amount suspense throughout. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who does enjoy suspenseful movies and some "stellar" special effects. I would absolutely watch this movie again.

Over this weekend I watched the movie In The Heat of The Night. The movie starts off as a murder mystery in the south during the 1950s of an important man who was going to build a factory and employ African Americans. The police officer Sam Wood, who found the body, went around town to look for possible spots where the murderer could be at. At the train station was a black man at 4:00 am in the morning with lots of money in his wallet and Sam Wood assumed, since he is a racist, that this man had to do the murder. This man was named Virgil Tibbs. He was then brought into the police station by Sam and confronted and asked to confess to the murder. Virgil was being disrespected by the police chief obviously because he was African American. He then cleared his name by admitted that he was a police officer. This movie starts off about how the police was very racist and prejudice towards African Americans and Virgil becomes a helper to the investigation and proves all the white people wrong and makes them all look stupid. He basically finds the murderer himself and stops the incompetent police force from putting innocent people to prison. Through all of this, he becomes friendly with each member of the police force and the police chief defended him after he was slapped, and then slapped back a high standing member of the community. This shows how the police chief and police force went from being a black racist, to actually start treating African Americans with respect. Virgil wanted to leave the town and go back home, but the police chief convinced him that they needed him. By the end of the movie there was a small bit of tension between Virgil and the chief which was broken by the police chief saying "Take care Virgil", and Virgil left with a smile back to him and with racism partly fixed within that small police force. I watched this movie because I wanted to watch a movie with my family and this was one of the few that my Mom haven't seen. Although my Dad have seen it, he enjoyed it enough to watch it again. I would give this movie a 8.5 out of 10 and it was definitely worth my time. It was very cool to see how Virgil became respected and treated like a person, especially after he made everyone look like an idiot and I am glad that I did watch it.

Joshua Debo
Rev. Salkil
24 January, 2016
Faith Through Film

                                                                       The Godfather

          The Godfather is widely regarded by many to be the greatest film of all time for its ability to capture audiences (even to this day), its impeccable acting, and its significance for the world of films. I now understand why this film is so highly regarded. Of course, the story in this film draws you in and is iconic, but besides just the plot, this movie reigns supreme in so many other categories.
          To start off, the acting in this film is some of the best I've ever witnessed. Marlon Brando captures the essence of a Mafia boss perfectly. His mannerisms and the way he delivers his lines help to create a memorable character within the first few minutes of screen time. Al Pacino and James Caan also do superb work as the sons of the Godfather. They each make sure the audience recognizes their growth and transitions throughout the film.
          Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo do a fantastic job with all of the story elements in this film. Everything in this film represents what make a film great. The story is intriguing and original. The characters in this movie are some of the best in all of cinema. Don Vito Corleone is likely the most recognizable crime bosses in all works of fiction. Clemenza, Tom, and Luca are all characters that one has a hard time disliking, no matter what they do. Kay is an interesting character to examine, as she deals with Michael and takes him back even after he has been gone for years. Michael and Sonny are both characters that need to be examined in order to truly appreciate the greatness of this film. Sonny spends much of his screen time as a somewhat unpleasant character. However, by the time his death comes, audiences will find themselves mourning his death as much as any other character, especially thanks to his defense of his sister. Michael's character development is flawlessly drawn out by Coppola. He starts as an innocent man avoiding the crime life, and somehow winds up as a ruthless, power-hungry crime lord who can lie to his wife and execute nearly a dozen murders with a straight face. This transition reminded me a bit of the transition seen in Walter White from the beginning of Breaking Bad to the end. The scene where the other families' heads are killed while Michael is at the baptism is one that must be seen to appreciate its beautiful contrast. The progression of these characters was perhaps my favorite aspect of the film.
          Among my other favorite aspects of the film was the way that the film seemed to reach its climax several times, yet this was just because every part was so good. The music and the setting of the film also improved it for me, as the mid-1900s are always a good place to set a movie in my view. Also, I liked the little things that Coppola placed in the film for fun such as the oranges being placed in or before scenes where something very bad happens. I, of course, saw this online beforehand, as only very attentive viewers could notice such intricacies.
          In all, due to the reasons above and the piece this role plays in cinematic history, this film is an absolute must-see for all people. I would rate this film 10/10. This film is the pinnacle of story-telling, character use, and many other aspects of film, and is one of my favorite movies I have ever seen.

Tootsie (AFI Top 100)
As I scanned the list of the AFI Top 100 films and my eyes glazed over Tootsie I knew I had to watch it. On top of hearing about it as a great comedy and observing that it was one of the only comedies on the list, I had just heard it mentioned on a Parks and Rec episode that I watched so I figured it had to be a pretty good movie. I was not sure what to expect from the movie other than that it was a comedy, but I was pleasantly surprised as the movie was able to hold my attention from start to finish. The storyline of the movie itself was hilarious, and Dustin Hoffmans acting as Dorothy Michaels was outstanding, I have no idea how he and everyone else in the movie managed to get through every scene without cracking up. Aside from Tootsie being hilarious, I was surprised to find that it actually did give off a message, unlike most of todays comedies. A strong female character was portrayed by Dustin Hoffman, and despite the irony of him actually being a man, he was able to teach females in the movie to stand up for themselves and stop letting men walk all over them. This movie came out in 1982, a time where many people still thought of women as weak and less important than men. Since this movie is a comedy, one might not expect it to actually have a message, but it did, and the way the it was delivered in such a funny way helped me to enjoy the movie without feeling like the message was being crammed down my throat. I really enjoyed this movie, not only for the great plot, the hilarious irony and the fantastic acting, but also because it is a comedy that showed the idea that women do not have to let themselves be treated awful by men simply because they are supposed to be quiet and 'weak'. Overall I would give this movie an 8.5 out of 10.

At first I was not really sure what movie I wanted to watch off the list. Then I saw that West Side Story was an option and was really excited because I had seen the musical two different times and it is one of my favorites. I wanted to be able to compare the film version to the musical version, and I am very glad I chose to do so. The first thing I noticed in the film was that the beginning started off with very few words, it was all mostly music and dancing. Music is what makes West Side Story a great film. Throughout the whole film it is as if the music (along with dialogue between characters) narrates what is going on. A person could not look at the screen and tell the mood of the film/what may be happening whether it is sad, scary, or happy just by hearing the music in the background. I think that the actors in this play did a great job of playing their roles very convincingly. I normally am not a fan of old movies but this one I loved and would recommend to anyone, 8/10.

Pulp Fiction:

Before I saw this movie, I had heard amazing things about it but never knew the plot line at all.  I was planning on watching Schindler's List but it was $7 on Amazon. I'm very glad I ended up watching Pulp Fiction because it was the perfect type of movie for me.

After watching the first scene of the robbers in the diner, you expect them to be the two main characters. But really, there are no "main characters" in this film.  The scenes are all over the place but work perfectly together. There were points in the movie where I was very confused and has to re watch different parts over again, but after awhile you get the feel of the movie and start to understand it better.  I was so intrigued by the interesting story telling they showed.  I enjoyed the different timelines in the movie and how they didn't show you main parts of the story untill the ending.  I love when movies have exciting & interesting endings. The intersections of the story were really cool to watch and understand.

I love this movie because the dialogue is perfect.  I felt like I could listen to Vince (John Travolta)  talk about The Royale with cheese for hours upon hours. In my opinion, the script is what makes this movie a top 100 film.  The dialogue makes it realistic and made me feel like I could relate to some of the characters.

The music in this movie went along so well with the plot line. I think this film had one of the best albums that I've ever really seen.  To me, great music is very important in a film. It creates a certain type of character and tone/mood of the film, actors, and plot.

I really thought the acting in Pulp Fiction was amazing.  In my opinion, this may have been one of Samuel L Jackson's best performances.  John Travolta had an amazing performance as well.  I am very happy that I watched this film.