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Full Metal Jacket (Military Film)

Sunday, February 07, 2016 |

As I searched for a military film to watch, I was hoping to find one that I thought would remind me of Black Hawk Down (2001), which is perhaps my favorite war film. I originally settled on watching Apocalypse Now (1979), but after finding Full Metal Jacket (1987) on Netflix, I decided that this was easier to watch.

            I overall enjoyed this film. The film starts off in Marine boot camp, where soldiers are training to be shipped off. This sequence takes up at least 1/3 of the movie, if not ½. This sequence is one of the most heralded parts of the film. R. Lee Ermey, who was a real drill instructor, plays this role in the film as well. He delivers one of the most convincing, terrifying, respect-earning drill sergeants I have ever seen. I felt like I was really at boot camp the whole time, and this film helped me to understand some of the horrors of war outside of the actual battles. Vincent D’Onofrio plays Pvt. Pyle and is the main subject to focus on in the first part of the movie as he constantly drags everyone else down with his lack of fitness for the war. The structure of this film is a bit weird, and I felt like I was watching two movies back-to-back that were only somewhat related. One could see the second half of the movie without seeing the first half and probably still understand most of it. This odd structure was one of the things I did not like about this film. The second half of the film does a great job showing the horrors of war on the battlefield, and I enjoyed most of it, even the extremely intense parts. The camera angles in this film were masterfully done by Kubrick. When one of the characters (“Hand Job”) is killed, the other soldiers circle around his body, and the camera does a sort of reverse arc shot and shows each soldier surrounding his body. Each gives a short phrase about the death that does a great job revealing their character traits. This camera angle ties this in well. Also, the opening shot of Parris Island was impressive. I noticed many pop culture references that I still hear today in this film. In all, I would recommend that you see this film for its cultural impact, and I would rate it an 8/10.

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Posted by Unknown
Wednesday, February 03, 2016 |

Lauren Slouffman

Batman: Tim Burton 1989

As I scrolled through the list of conceptually disturbing Tim Burton movies, I realized I had already seen a great amount.  So, my selection was narrowed down to Corpse Bride, Beetle Juice, (Big Fish), and Batman.  I chose Batman because I felt left out for never having seen any version before.  Although at first I was slightly confused, the bits and pieces of Batman knowledge I had picked up on throughout my lifetime started to fit together as the movie progressed.  I think I actually enjoyed it overall. 

Burton uses a series of parallel events that reflect vital aspects of Batman's life.  The movie opens with a young boy and his parents finding their way through the crime-filled streets of Gotham City.  When they find themselves in a dark alley, the boy's father is beaten by some thieves who then steal his money as they hold the boy's mother at gunpoint. This scene represents the Joker murdering Batman's parents in the old hotel when he was a boy.  This complete connection takes the duration of nearly the entire film to make. After the scene with the boy, Batman visits the hotel and places two roses on the ground in honor of his parents, and even later the Joker states that he killed Batman's parents.  

Another visual tool that Burton uses to portray the story in a deeply critical way is the use of color and lighting.  Almost every scene, character, and location throughout the movie are darkly colored or darkly lit.  This reflects off of all of the crime and sin that fills Gotham city.  The film's only pop of color is the green and purple clothing of the Joker.  Although I was extremely creeped out, Nicholson does an excellent job at portraying the Joker's truly intense character.

Now I feel that it is necessary for me to find time to watch the other Batman movies to really see which one is best. I enjoyed this version of Batman...but then again I have nothing to compare it to. I give it a 7/10.  

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Posted by Unknown
Wednesday, February 03, 2016 |

Movie: Sleepy Hollow
rating: 4/10 

Overall I'd give this a solid 4 of 10. Starring Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane, although interesting it seemed like his performance was one that he had to do, but not a role that he thrived in. He did what was needed and that was it. Perhaps it lends to the simplicity of the plot and the effects of a dreary setting, but I don’t think the role was well cast. The movie’s rating  was R, which was appropriate given various dark violent scenes. The setting seemed appropriate and typical of what I’d expect out of a Tim Burton Film; dreary ominous, and bloody As things progressed the movie got better, however towards the end it seemed like it was trying to wrap up ends as quickly as possible and somehow still end on a happy note. The ending scene itself didn't seem characteristic of the movie, not lending to any earlier plot, and furthermore doesn't wrap up his first dilemma that sent him to Sleepy Hollow. In short, only watch this movie if you enjoy the overall aesthetic of Tim Burton films and are in it for that particular style.

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Posted by Unknown

Frankenweenie

Tuesday, February 02, 2016 |

Frankenweenie was an emotional roller coaster made possible by the superb voice acting and animation (I would love to see a behind the scenes to see how some of these scenes were made in a stop motion) brought together under its director Tim Burton. The acting really helped make the movie for me. With animation it's so easy to have bad acting and turn a great movie into a meme. The animation was phenomenal and I was focused on how impressive and impossible some of the shots appeared especially the scenes with sparks and fire such as the final scene in the windmill where undead dog fights half undead cat-bat. This film primarily was film about the morality and immorality of science a refreshing new take on the original Frankenstein story. In this story however there was no intrinsic evil in science shown by sparky's revival being ultimately a respected and good event.

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Posted by Unknown

Edward Scissorhands

Tuesday, February 02, 2016 |


Before I start my review I have to say two things, one being that I do not believe I have ever seen a Tim Burton movie before this one. Two, the only thing I knew about Edward Scissorhands was the title of the movie and that a guy had scissors for hands. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this movie because I have heard that Tim Burton movies are different and creepy. However, I came into watching the film with an open mind allowing myself not to expect anything. And boy did I like this film. This story is so much more than a man with scissors for hands. From start to end I had a feeling of sorrow for Edward he is such a likeable character in this film. He is very different and that is what attracts everyone to him but also what drives them all away. The one thing I noticed throughout the film was the way that the camera would focus on Edward’s face with such importance. Anyone watching this film can see Edward means NO harm and only loves, but the characters in the film do not see this. I think this is what bothered me the most was when Edward did things out of kindness and they were received in the wrong way such as scary. Tim Burton did a very good job of making this film creepy yet meaningful. I did not find myself uninterested once. I give this film nine scissor fingers out of ten.

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Posted by Unknown

Batman (Tim Burton)

Monday, February 01, 2016 |

I enjoyed Tim Burton's Batman more than I thought I would. I really like the Dark Knight so I was interested to see how this one compared. I liked that their was a bit more of the history of Jack/ the Joker told in this Batman. Burton is great a making creepy movies and I think that the Joker was much more creepy in this movie than in the Dark Knight. The Joker's laughter in this movie really emphasized the crazy creepiness he had. I enjoyed seeing Bruce's character more in this one than the amount of him we see in the Dark Knight. I didn't think the love story was too much or overly romantic in this, although a bit cheesy and with maybe a little too much screen time. This had some characters in it we don't see in the Dark Knight and I liked that, as I had expected the two movies to be much more similar for some reason. This one stays more true to the comic which I think is a good idea. I still like he Dark Knight better but this was better than I was expecting. 7/10

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Posted by Unknown

Batman (Tim Burton)

Monday, February 01, 2016 |

          Opening the movie, we see a lot of different characters in a very short amount of time. I like how this movie does stay more true to the comic itself, but it is also a tad confusing trying to keep everyone straight. A mobster who goes by the named Napier (Nicholson), is playing with a deck of cards. At first this didn't hit me, but when I saw him playing with them again, the metaphor became quite clear that if things played out right, he would be our joker. I'm torn because one half of me likes that the joker comes from a mobster and is humanized quite like Bruce, but on the other hand I like the mystery and randomness of the joker appearing out of no where just to put harm into people's lives instead of getting revenge. Also Commissioner Gordon's character was cast well in my opinion, it matches up to the cartoon and comic well.

          I really hate forced love stories that take up a great deal of the movie. Little ones, that's good, that's great, but when the same exact thing happens in every movie, and this is done in this movie.In this version, Bruce is set up as a kind, caring man, rather than a dark, cynical one. The whole movie is pretty cheesy with awkward close-ups and special effects. I do have to say though, I really like the way the Joker is portrayed in this movie. Nicholson really brings out how insane he is, and the way the Joker kills people is sincere to the cartoon. He also has a killer laugh, pun kind of intended. Let's be completely honest though, no one can beat Heath Ledger. This movie goes back and forth between dark and light material to keep things exciting.
There is a nice use of color throughout this entire movie. Most of the lighting and background is very monochromatic in grays, blacks, and tans. This makes Napier's bright purple suit really stand out, and later Joker, and Joker's car stand out even more. This was a nice set up and underlying theme for the entire movie.
          At the end of the movie, I am once again torn. Half of me likes the fact that the Joker was the one who killed his parents, making things come round in full circle. The other part of me just thinks it is too planned out. What are the chances of the same lone mugger that murdered his parents, would be the same person he ends up fighting in the end. Part of Batman's story is that as hard as he tries, he can never get the closure that he wants no matter how many bad guys he puts away.
Overall I enjoyed the movie. It was a bit slow at times, but there was solid casting, directing, and of course you really cannot go wrong with Batman. I thoroughly enjoyed how the Joker was portrayed.

The Nolan trilogy still stands as my favorite, and I think we can also all agree that no one can beat Michael Cane playing Alfred I mean come on he's the best. 6.5/10

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Posted by Caroline Beverly
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