MYST 4 "Neighbors"

This past weekend I went to the movie theater and saw the movie Neighbors. Directed by Nicholas Stoller, Neighbors stars Seth Rogan and Zac Efron. It is about a young couple (Rogan)  raising a new family in the suburbs with a very young child, all seems well and quiet average until they notice the house next door has just been sold and the new neighbors is a college fraternity (Efron). The married couple goes over to introduce themselves to lay down some ground rules on noise but also tries to keep it "cool", the fraternity agrees but with one exception, go to them before calling the police. when a party gets out of hand and the couple tries several times to contact there neighbors to keep it down, they are given no choice but to call the police. When the frat finds out it was there "so called cool" neighbors who called the police all hell breaks loose. The frat throws bigger parties and plays pranks on the couple and terrorizes them. The couple is fed up with the shenanigans and and wants nothing to do with them and hatches a plot to get rid of the frat for good.

This movie was not just like any other college movie where its main plot was just solely about sex drugs and booze, this movie had a pretty decent plot and came full circle towards the end. It had a relativity dense plot. There were many scenes that were just pointless and thrown in for comic relief, or to just fabricate what the college life is about. One scene that stood out was when Teddy, the leader of the fraternity (efron), is at a job fair with the vice president of his frat. The VP (dave franco) is an architect major and is getting many applications handed out, but when teddy is asked about his gpa, he is shut down from a job at intel.He is standing there and has an epiphany about how she shouldve studied more and that college isnt just about drinking and girls and trying to be a frat legend. At the end of this film he later finds a job at abercrombie and fitch as one of those guys who just stands out there flexing with out a shirt wile attending night school.

The camera work was very jumping and fast to show intensity. But also many slow motion scenes during the parties to make it seem cooler. It kinda worked because everyone in the theater was loving it.

All around this was very good movie. Its a fun one to see if you have nothing else going on and you want a good laugh. Its much like any other college movie but also had a very good plot, it was excited and not to predictable. All around i give this movie a 7/10.

Formal Film Study: Wall Street

For my Formal Film study I studied movies that had to do with the lifestyle of working on wall street. I watched The Wolf of Wall street and that is what sparked my interest on this topic. The depiction of Jordan Belford's drug and sex crazed life intrigued me and i was curious as to whether this was a common occurrence that comes with the stock market and wall street life style. The films I watched were, again, The wolf of Wall(2013) street directed by Martin Scorsese, Wall street(1987) directed by Oliver Stone, and American Psycho(2000) directed by Marry Harron.

Wile all 3 films were different and had different plots from one another they were all very similar when touching on the life style of a stock broker on wall street. A little background knowledge on these films; The wolf of Wall street shows the life of Jordan Belford, a young thriving stock broker who starts his own firm on wall street that takes the market by storm and makes a name for himself and also shows his crazy and chaotic life that is filled with drugs and prostitutes and money. Wallstreet was a film that was about a young up and coming stock broker who desperately wants to move his way up the latter on wallstreet and make a name for himself and he feels the only way to do that is to impress his hero and legendary wall street player Gordon Gekko. American Psycho is quiet different from all 3, this film is a bout a young man on the sock market in wall street who also leads a double life as wealthy wall street banker by day and a crazed blood thirsty serial killer at night. All films were different yes, but when touching on the life style of wall street they were all very similar. In all 3 movies they show up and coming stock brokers and how they spend there time especially when trying to impress the top dogs. They all spend there time swearing, yelling, trying to make as much money as possible and being the best, having outrageous amounts of sex, and drugs: more specifically cocaine. All 3 movies had the main characters take part in all this. They were all dressed similar, the typical look was: a very expensive costom suit, usually a french collar shirt, nice tie, gelled back hair, and suspenders. This is the typical look for those in the movies. The interesting part was all films are based of different eras in time and yet they are all so similar. I guess things just never change.

All in all after watching all of these films it was an eye opener to see just exactly what it is like in the hectic life that is wall street. Its not just all numbers and money and people in pit sweating profusely throwing paper and yelling at people to buy and sell in there stock. No, it much more than that, behind the vail lies a much larger life style filled with sex, booze, drugs, illegal transactions, swiss bank accounts, and jail time. All were very good movies and it was very interesting to see how they all compare, im sure those on wall street would disagree and say that these are all fabricated and that its not all like this, but id like to believe otherwise and have some hope that out there right now some guys is living a crazed life style like that of a king.

MYST #3 Scarface

My latest MYST post is on an American classic, Scarface. Staring Al Pacino as Tony Montana, a Cuban immigrant who comes to America, specifically Florida, in a refugee camp. He and his best friend Manny (played by Steve Bauer) find a way out of the camp and a way to receive green cards. The two partners take on a hit to kill a local drug peddler for Frank Lopez. The job gets done and Lopez (big time cocaine dealer in the Miami area) is impressed and takes the two under his wing. They work together and make deals and carry on with business. Tony starts falling for the Franks wife and sees that he is next in line to be the biggest cocaine distributor in Miami. Tony stops at nothing to get there and reach his goals and go from being at the bottom of the totem pole as a lonely immigrant in a refugee camp, to a man with power, millions, and respect. As the story unfolds and the plot thickens Tony's world comes spiraling down just as quick as it was built up.

Scarface is the ultimate tale of the American dream. Here we have a man coming to a America and starting with nothing, pulling himself up by the boot straps and rising to the top and earning respect, wealth and power. This film could be compared to that of "Citizen Kane", take away the violence, excessive swearing, cocaine, and a thick and sweaty Cuban accent, they arent to different. In both films we have a man start with nothing and build up an empire to call his own. They both have a wife who is in love with them and there power but towards the end loses interest. Both main characters have a strong rise to power and plummeting decent back to reality, mainly resulting in depression and death. Now i know it is a stretch trying to compare to vastly different movies but with the fats and the plots they just seem to add up and go together. Both stories are great tributes the American dream, and both stories show the true cost of power and what it means to be the best.

Here we have a famous scene from the film. This is when Tony turns on his former boss Frank Lopez and you see the new structure of power and that Tony and Manny mean business and are taking over the game.
*WARNING: HARSH LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE* (sorry, you dont have to watch it..... its pretty sweet though.)

Here is another important scene, this scene illustrates the fall of Tony and shows his demise  and what he became. *LANGUAGE* (sorry, I guess cubans swear a lot, i dont know)

The editing of this film was very upbeat and fast. It had a nice pace and kept you wanting more and on the edge of your seat. With violence and action at every turn, and never knowing what Tony will do or say next this film always keeps you wanting more and eager to see what will unfold. Its exciting and that all stems from the editing and the up tempo of the shots and quick cuts.

Scarface is a a classic and there is a reason it has such a big praise a love for it, much like The Godfather. Its a great film that keeps you wanting more and more and excited to see what will become of Tony Montana and his empire. I would give this movie a rating of 8 Kilos of cocaine out of 10. its a good exciting film that keeps you hooked the whole way, but at some points you feel bad for the guy and you cant really understand him and the whole time you just wish you could pass him a glass of water and tell him to clear his throat or take out his retainer because Pacino takes on the voice of what sounds like a chain smoking lesbian with peanut butter on the roof of her mouth that gets caught in her mouth guard. All in a ll its a fun exciting film and i encourage everyone to see it, possibly with subtitles on.

1935 movie

Medal of Honor is the name of the movie we decided to make for our 1935 film project. The story is a bout a boy named Johnny Devarito who desperately wants to join the army and fight for his country during World War one but when he is drafted he is told that he not big enough and does not meet the qualifications of a "good soldier". He goes anyway and sneaks on to a ship, later Johnnys platoon is ambushed and taken hostage and it is up to him to save everyone. Little Johnny comes to the rescue and saves his platoon and proves that no matter how big or small you can still be a hero.

The genre is that of a feel good war movie that has the little guy come out on top. We feel this is appropriate because during this time America is in a depression and we believe that this movie can lift the spirits of everyone and show that the little people have a chance to make a difference.

The studio we chose was MGM because we believe we can make this film into a block buster. With MGM's funding and resources with actors and directors we can make this film into a huge hit. They have a big budget and we would be able to get everything we needed with them. And they seemed to be a powerhouse during that era.

Director: Louis Milestone ("All Quiet on the Western Front" director, experience with wartime movies/ previous WWl Experience)
Actors
a.       Lead Actor: Fred Astaire
b.      Supporting: Clark Gable (Fellow Soldiers)
c.       Gene Kelly (FS)
d.      Wallace Berry (General or platoon commander)
Focusing on  Make-up and Costumes:
a.       Focus on accurate war uniforms and well done blood and other war like effects
b.      Makeup: Monte Westmore (worked with MGM on "Gone with the Wind") and  Jack Dawn (head of make-up for MGM)
c.       Adrian Greenberg: MGM costume designer

We chose these actors because they were all very big during this time and contracted with MGM. Fred Astaire was a smaller guy and a dancer we think he fits the part of Johnny beautifully.  The rest of the cast are big names with MGM and are also strong men that would be believably seen as soldiers. They are all with MGM so it would work out just perfect. 

 Hays Code:
·         Cannot use vulgar language (god included)
·         Use of the flag
·         Use of firearms
·         International Relations
·         Brutality/Gruesome
·       Seduction of women

The techniques we used was technicolor 3 because that was released by MGM in 1934 so that would give it a very modern feel and theme and help by making it the blockbuster we want.

All of the ideas that we came up collectively make sense for this project and and I do not disagree with any of them. They are whats best for this film and all seem to be the best choices.

MYST #2

The second movie I chose for my MYST was "The Spectacular Now", yeah go ahead and laugh i'll give you a minute. I was scrolling through On Demand and couldn't really find anything that seemed appealing so I asked my 13 year old sister what I should watch, strike one. I had no prior knowledge of the film before I ordered so I didnt know what to expect or what was about to come. The plot is like that of any "boy meets girl" chick flick. Our main character Sutter Keely is a senior in high school who lives in the moment and has no plans for the future and just spend all of his time with a spiked drink in his hand no matter where he is goes out for a night on the town after his girlfriend broke up with him and is later woken up by Amy Finecky, a girl in Sutters grade who is under the radar and the typical "nice girl", does what shes told and has her whole life planned out. They, although opposites, are drawn to each other immediately. They start spending a lot of time with one another and you can see how the feelings progress through the film. Sutter helps her stand up to her mother to get her off of her back and let her live her own life, wile Amy helps Sutter stand up to his mom in hopes of reconnecting with his alcoholic father who he thought was asked to leave his family but then learns it was by choice. Through out the movie you see the two characters grow and mature and you can see there feeling grow and watch them fall in love. You also see, but it isnt made into a big deal, Amy turn into as much of an alcoholic as Sutter. They sort of just let that slide by like its no big deal which is somewhat funny when you watch it and start to catch on. The ending is shaky and is left of for interpretation on what you think the future hold for the two because it comes to a sudden stop and cliff hanger. Personally I thought it was cute movie. The plot, not like any other teen girl movie, was well done and seemed a little more realistic than the usual teen love movie. Going into this with no expectations and no prior knowledge of the film I enjoyed it. Yes its embarrassing and I hope it just stays between us classmates but yeah it was good movie and if you're into chick flicks about young love and finding "the one" then you should see this movie. I would give it about a 7/10. it never really dragged on, it seem more sped up in anything. The filming was well done, it had a very "indie" vibe to it. Especially with the lighting, it was more on the dark side which gave it its own feel.Its like every teen movie thrown into one and it just works, popular guy falls fr not so popular girl, they fall in love, both have parent issues, and theirs alcohol involved. If that doesn't have every element you could possibly want in a cheesy teen chick click then you just are in the wrong genre. All in all it was a very good movie and i enjoyed it even though it was very out of my element, which may in part be why i enjoyed it so much. It was a good film and if you have nothing going on one afternoon and you need something to watch, save yourself asking your younger sister and just watch this. Its what shes gonna say to watch anyway. Just do it like i did, in the comfort of your own room with the door shut so no one knows.

"MYST #1 Gravity"

   The movie I watched was the relatively new film "Gravity" starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.  For those who have yet to see it or do not know the plot of the movie its a little something like this; Sandra Bullocks character "Dr. Ryan Stone" is an amazing engineer for NASA who is on her first space mission for a completely routine walk with long time Veteran "Matt Kowalsky" (Clooney). All seems to be going well until they receive word that a Russian satellite has just exploded and they are about to be hit with shrapnel and debris that destroys there space station and kills off everyone in the crew but Dr. Stone and Kowalsky. It also cut off all incoming contact with Houston control leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone and stranded in space. The rest of the movie is the story of these two trying to get home safely. It is very similar to Apollo 13. The battle to get home safely from space.
   I give Gravity 3 stars. The plot was a good idea but it seemed to drag on and get boring. It was fun to look at though, the effects and cinematic elements were amazing. Even though the crew and actors never left a green screen room, you would have actually believed that Sandra Bullock actually was lost in space. It made it look so realistic and they used sound to there advantage as well, or lack of sound should i say because of how quiet it is in space. The editing and filming crew really made it look beautiful and realistic.
  One key scene that really stood out to me that made it all come together and realistic were the subtle things about the film. For instance, at the beginning wile Dr. Stone is working on the space ship there is a reflection off of her helmet of earth and the rest of the space. It is so realistic and makes it look as if she is actually out there repairing a space shuttle. Another great scene is when Dr. Stone is holding on to the rope that is attached to Kowalsky and she tries pulling him back in. This scene showed the desperation and fear in both of there eyes and then also the acceptance of what was about to happen next. The acting and the effects really made is real and you felt like you were right there with them.
  I'd say all around Gravity is a pretty decent movie. The story seems to drag on at some points and id lying if I said that I was wide awake for the whole thing. But it really is impressive and incredible to see how far we've come with film and editing and to see just what we can do with a camera and a green screen. You don't have to be a film buff to like this movie, I'm sure it would help, but everyone could like this movie. Its the most perfect movie and example of something you could just flip on one Sunday afternoon when you have nothing else going on. It does get somewhat boring and redundant but the effects and images are breathtaking so they cancel each other out.

 

"Casino" was the first movie that really made an impression on me. When the brothers are beaten and buried alive at the end of the movie will always be carved into my brain.

My favorite genres are Comedy, Indie, Action/Adventure, and Historical. 

My least favorite genres are Silent, Foreign, Horror, and Sci- Fi. 

Some of my favorite films are Casino, Billy Madison, Miracle, Shawshank Redemption, Indiana Jones: Raiders of the the lost arc, And Pulp Fiction. 

My least favorite movies are probably just any of the Fast and the furious's, any of the "Scary Movie",  and Back to the Future part 3.
A good movie is one that makes you think. It is relatable. It is also progressive and groundbreaking.
A bad movie is one where the plot seems pointless. It doesn't challenge your mind. It doesn't make an impact and it's just forgettable.
My favorite directors are Spike Jonze, Woody Allen, and Martin Scorsese.
My favorite actors are James Dean, Tom Hanks, and Joaquin Phoenix.
Some films that are important to see are Forrest Gump, Rear Window, Psyco, and Shawshank Redemption.
My favorite oldest movie would have to be Rebel Without a Cause.
The best movies that I've seen that have been released in the past 2 years would be Argo, Django Unchained,
Some films I would like to see are Her, Wolf of Wall-street, American Hustle, 12 years a slave, and Prisoners.