Memento

        Even though I was absent for two days and didn't see the first half of the movie, thanks to the chronological order of scenes in this movie, it wasn't really necessary. Thankfully, I was still able to watch Lenny's confrontation with both Natalie and Teddy so I knew that one of them was at the root of all of Lenny's problems. However, due to the ending of the film, where Lenny writes himself "don't believe his lies", I started thinking that Lenny himself created this murderous self to prevent himself from feeling guilt over the death of his wife. I still don't understand how his wife died, whether it was from the killers or Lenny killed her with the insulin. Also, is Sammy a real character or just a persona created by Lenny, as Teddy has explained? These questions remain unanswered after the ending of the film, which definitely makes this film as one of those movies you would love to go back and watch again to get some answers.

        The order of the scenes is very interesting as they go from the last thing that happened to Lenny to the way it all started. I think this technique keeps the viewer interested and makes him want to find the answers to all of Lenny's problems. This movie was sort of a suspenseful detective movie where you have to look for clues and solve the puzzle yourself as the movie will not answer it. I have deeply enjoyed seeing this film because it really captivated my interest till the very end and I will definitely re-watch it so I can see all the things I missed the first time. 

Dark City

This movie was definitely one of the most captivating and thrilling movies we've seen so far. The director was able to make a modernized sort of sci-fi movie with the same Film Noir styles. Most of the movie is shown in darkness, just like The Asphalt Jungle, to create a Film Noir type of setting. The theme of the movie would be that we have no control over our lives and can't change that. Everyone in this movie, even the powerful aliens, are powerless against fate and have their own problems to solve. John Murdoch can't remember who he is and tries to solve the mystery of his reputation as a murderer. His wife is trying to get John to come back to her. The doctor is trying to teach John the truth about the aliens and the world they live in while he is being controlled by the aliens to do their dirty work. However, even the aliens are facing a problem of extinction, which is why they started this project to learn about the humans. Also, the maze where the mice is trying to find its way out in the doctor's lab represents how all the characters are, in a way, that mice and are trying to find the answers to their lives. When we learn that the whole city is a spaceship, it shows the whole city as a sort of labyrinth with no escape, which is the feeling we get from the characters' dilemmas.

The Asphalt Jungle

This movie is one of my favorites we've seen so far, as the action and the plot develop more and more every minute. The "gangster" genre that this film is portrayed in adds character to the film. The characters are developed phenomenally as they are these bad gangsters with flaws that every person has. This makes the viewer feel as though they can connect to the characters. Emmerich's vice is women, while Cubby's vice is alcohol. Also, money is one of the most important vices these characters have. Handley's friend (Eddie i believe) gives Handley money while he himself has debts, so I'm curious to know what makes him so close to Handley. Because of the theme of movies shot during the time period this movie was made in, it's obvious that all of the main characters involved in the crime will come to a bad end one way or the other, as we have already seen with many of the characters.

Unforgiven

     Unforgiven was one of my favorite films we watched so far. It's definitely not the typical western, seeing as it points out and criticizes some of the parts of westerns we all know and anticipate. In this film, they focus on how the gun battles found in most westerns are poorly made and that it is usually the second person who shoots and takes his time that gets the kill, not the one blazing away. Also, they keep track of the amount of bullets each character has during these battles, while in other films we're supposed to consider the fact that they reloaded while the camera wasn't on them. Also, there were no swinging doors in this film as you can find in every pub in the classic westerns. The whores that are also sometimes found in most westerns are depicted as worthless animals. For example, Little Bill decides to negotiate with the two men over the whore's cut-up face by getting horses from each one of them as payment. "Property for property" depicts his view of these whores. 
    As the movie went on, I found it hard to determine who the real bad guy in this film was. Even though Will  is expected to be the bad guy because of his dark past, throughout the film he shows that he is a better person now and stopped drinking and killing for no reason. The only reason he went back to killing is to avenge his best friend Ned and get money to support his kids. I have a feeling that once he gets home, he won't be killing anyone anytime soon. Little Bill, on the other hand, is depicted as the good guy in the film. However, his actions make me think otherwise as he keeps on beating up and bullying newcomers in his town. Even though he believes that he is protecting his town and serving justice on those who deserve it, his means of doing it aren't exactly humane. Schofield Kid is a wanna-be killer that lies to Will and Ned at first about how many people he's killed, but after his first kill, he breaks down and confesses that it was his first kill and that it is an amazing thing that those guys will never breathe again because of a pull of a trigger. In the end, he tells Will that he is nothing like him and to take his gun, as he won't be doing any more killing.

Seventh Seal Ending

This week we finished watching the seventh seal, one of the most philosophical films we have seen so far. The ending was somewhat expected, as this film was obviously going to portray the theme that no one can escape death. However, I was surprised to find that Jof and his family escaped death in the end and observed their friends headed to their end from the side. Antonius Block and Jons are two of the main characters in this film representing the different beliefs in God. When in the end of the movie death comes for Block and his friends, Block starts praying and asking god to save him, to which Jons, the existentialist, responds that praying is not going to save his life. This film showed us the different beliefs of God and taught us that death is inevitable and the best you can do is delay your time, but in the end everyone dies.

Seventh Seal

So far I haven't been interested in this film as I've been for Runaway Train, but Mr Bennett said the first few days might be dry so i look forward to seeing how the movie gets better. The different language certainly makes it harder to focus on the movie and the scenes as you have to constantly read the subtitles. Now, I've been focusing on figuring out how the three main characters are different views of God. So far, it's pretty obvious that Antonius Block's squire Jon is an existentialist as he laughs at the matter of God and shows indifference to the events in his life, as though they don't even matter. I find the concept of playing chess with death interesting, as many films include the concept of the main character trying to cheat death but the lesson is that you can't run away from death. It's interesting to see how this chess match will turn out. Even though I'm hoping for something unique and unexpected to happen, like a stalemate, I feel like in the end, all his efforts will be in vain and death will take what's his. The scene with the prayers and the villagers dressed in black marching through the field is very interesting because after the villagers leave, the camera lingers on an empty field with no sound effects, as if depicting that their act of coming and going signifies that life goes on and their action is meaningless. It's interesting to see how a scene can have such a profound effect of horror and stunning at one time and then switch to represent that it was meaningless.

Runaway Train

When we finished watching Runaway Train, I was blown away. This film had one of the best endings I've ever seen in a film. It showed that even though Americans stereotype criminals as being monsters while the rest of us are humans, deep down we're all animals and can make the same mistake they have in their lives. Ranken and Manny's relationship towards each other and Ranken's treatment of the prisoners is what depicts him as the animal he blames Manny to be. However, because of his high position in life,Ranken believes he's above the "scum" of the prison. What stood out for me is that Ranken is always shown on the helicopter, high above Manny on the train, which shows his high class authority and reputation. But at the end of the film, the message of the film comes out and Ranken and Manny are together on the train, showing that they are truly on the same level-human. Even though this ending might be viewed as sad and tragic, I think that this was one of the best ways the movie could have ended. Manny was finally free from his criminal life that pitted the world again him, but he was still an outlaw and therefore could never be free to live a happy life. Also, the scene where Manny, Buck, and Sara are huddled together represents the message of the film. Who would ever think a woman would be huddled with a rapist and a criminal and seek comfort from them and to comfort them? But deep inside, we're all the same and feel the same emotions, which makes this scene very humanitarian. This is definitely one of the best films I've ever seen.

Citizen Kane

While watching Citizen Kane, I have noticed how the acting in this movie is much better than All Quiet on the Western Front as the characters react to each other's lines and cut off one another at the perfect timing. The whole news reel at the beginning of the film adds mystery and suspense to the film as it foreshadows the future events in the film. The suspense for finding out what rosebud is keeps me interested in the movie and looking for possible clues in every scene. The main themes of materialism and theme are starting to show in the movie as Kane starts to lose both his wealth and power after the scandal with the "singer". I look forward to more suspenseful scenes in the movie.

Germans in All Quiet on the Western Front

The director's choice of filming this movie with Germans instead of Americans during WW! and WW2 is very interesting, since the majority of the audience who saw this film were Americans who were prejudiced against Germans. Even though it seems that an American audience wouldn't sympathize with German soldiers and their problems, in this movie any viewer of any nationality will not be able to not feel pity and sorrow for the hardships of these soldiers. I think the director used German soldiers on purpose to demonstrate that in the end, we're all humans with the same emotions and dreams. In one scene, the German soldiers were sitting around trying to understand who wanted this war, showing that they didn't want this war anymore than the Americans. This film uses ultra humanization to show how close the soldiers got with each other through the experience of war, which erases some of the hatred towards Germans and makes the viewers understand both sides of the story.

New Concepts of Film Class

Thanks to this class, i'm learning new things that allow me to analyze films and understand the director's message better. For example, I've noticed how the position of the camera portrays the mood the director is trying to portray. Also, there are little hints left throughout the movie that foreshadow what will happen next, like Kemmerich's boots capturing more interest from the soldiers than Kemmerich himself and how now that he's dead, all they care about is the boots.