Film Critique Apollo 13

Apollo 13 was a captivating and moving film. Seeing how the film was based on real events it creates a whole new level of excitement. I think the acting was really convincing and made me connect with emotion that the astronauts must have been feeling. I was both hopeful for the mission, and fearful that they would not be able to return home. As soon as the first warning light started to blink I was on the edge of my seat. Tom hanks played a really different character than he usually does in movies and I really enjoyed it. The the first oxygen tank exploded I thought that this movie would for sure have a bad ending, and could not peel my eyes from the screen... To say the least this movie was intense!!
When the men look at each other and say" If this doesn't work we won't have enough power to get home" I could only fear and imagine how they must have felt. They are literally out in space, looking down on the earth with the possibility that they would die out there. That obviously would be a terrible and unthinkable situation. The scientists back on earth have to get to work in order to find a way to make a filter air air back in the space center. Other problems start to arise as the air gets colder and the power supply gets lower and lower. I wonder how I would feel if I knew there was a possibility that I would never see my family again or even step on earth one more time. After things start going bad the men start to fight and realize they may never get home. As the CO2 levels rise and hope is slowly dwindles. Then just in time the scientists make a quick filter and save the men from CO2 poisoning.
Power is still low and the men are coming down with high fevers. Jim rips off his bio-med sensors because he is tired of "the western world worrying about his kidneys"... After many struggles and a lot of emotions... the crew powers up and re-enters the atmosphere. Eventually they are able to land back on earth with a splash in the Pacific Ocean.
It is so sad that people didn't care enough when everything was okay and they were heading off to the moon, but as soon as something goes wrong every station wants to be a part of history.

Smoke Signals is a story about the father-son relationship.  Two Indians travel to collect the ashes of a run away father. One Indian, Thomas, had no father, but looks up to him as his dad, and the other, Victor, was the biological son.  The father was unable to cope with his actions and fled, but in doing so abandoned his family.  This puts a tremendous strain on the family, and Victor becomes angry and callous towards life in general, but especially towards his dad.  After a harrowing journey across state lines to collect the ashes, Thomas and an attractive Indian lady (a friend of the father) force Victor to confront his fathers decisions and consider things from his dad's perspective.  After doing so, Victor is able to release his anger, and becomes a much happier human being.

This is a no nonsense film with the clear objective of detailing the father-son relationship.  There isn't any beating around the bush, and every scene contributed to the main idea. The film is well put together with decent acting, good cinematography, and a decent soundtrack.  Very enjoyable :)

#1 Independent film critique (Anchorman)

In Anchorman, Ron Burgundy and his Channel 4 news team were the top of all the news channels. Ron Burgundy was a legend when it came to reading the news. Veronica Corningstone also reads the news, but only for cooking, fashion shows, and any other “female” interests. When Veronica refuses to keep reading news of no interest, she decides she wants to become an anchorman (or woman) like Ron Burgundy. The only down side was that only men were allowed to read the news during that time. She is given the perfect opportunity to do just that when Ron shows up late to work (because his dog was kicked off the bridge). Instead of getting a compliment from Ron for reading the news perfectly, Ron is offended and turns the situation into a battle between the two of them. Ron and his team try everything possible to get Veronica to lose focus or read the news wrong. After Veronica decides she can’t take anymore, she changes the teleprompter to make Ron read something bad. Ron ends up getting fired, but in the end Veronica needs his help which ultimately leads to Ron getting back his job.

I thought this was a good film because it was a comedy that took a serious event (Such as women not being able to read the news) and turned it into a funny story line. A lot of the things in the film were over exaggerated, but that’s what kept things interesting.

The Princess Bride

In the Princess Bride, a guy named Westley meets a girl named Buttercup. They instantly fall in love, and Westley is constantly meeting Buttercups needs by responding “As you wish!’ One day when Westley has to leave, he promises Buttercup of his return. She later finds out that he was kidnaped and killed by pirates because they took no prisoners. After a lot of mourning, she ends up finding herself married to the prince (whom she doesn’t love at all). Once she is taken, Westley (who happens to still be alive and has been waiting his whole life to return to Buttercup) goes after her and attempts to save her. First, he has to fight his way past Inigo Montoya, then he has to beat the giant, and lastly he plays a game with poison to win back the princess Buttercup. When he wins, Buttercup doesn’t recognize him at first because he was wearing a mask. But once she heard the good old “As you wish!” she instantly knew it was him. The only downside, the prince and his men had also been searching for Buttercup. They were catching up behind them, so Buttercup and Westley decided to go into the fire swamp. They had heard before that no one has made it out alive of the swamp, but there only chance was to go in anyway. I was gone when we finished the film, but i’m sure the ending was pretty interesting. :)

Added Note:

Overall I liked the princess bride because even though it was an older film, it wasn’t boring or filmed weird (like an opera). I was expecting the language of the characters to sound odd (Like Yoda where their speech is somewhat hard to understand) but it made perfect sense and there was a hint of sarcasm in the show that kept it entertaining as well. I would recommend this show to anyone over the age of 12 because it’s it has monsters, hero’s, princesses, and more, but it’s still serious enough for an adult to enjoy.

Smoke Signals

This was one the first time I'd ever seen an independent film from start to finish, and it left a powerful impression on me. Not just the way the movie was filmed or the techniques used, but the message that the plot projected to the viewer.

Smoke Signals follows the story of two native american men; Victor and Thomas. Saved from the same fire by the same man (Victor's father), they've grown up on the reservation together their whole lives, Thomas becoming an intelligent but extremely eccentric character, and Victor a hard, untrusting young man. Together, these two embark on a journey that gives both (especially Victor) a new perspective on what it means to be a father, a son, a friend, a human being and a native american.

The film specifically focuses on the issues of learning to forgive and forget what has happened in the past, that a families love knows no boundaries, and that we must accept and live with what we were given , even if we don't like it.

The film was pretty emotionally charged, but there were definitely light hearted jokes thrown around, and that made the movie all the more enjoyable. I would certainly watch this again.

smoke signals

I only say the second half of the movie but it was a really good independent film. There was a lot of raw emotions, I really liked Thomas he was a fun creature. I think the hole movie was about the son trying to forgive his dad for what he did to him.

Smoke Signals

Smoke Signals is a film with a very powerful message, a message that drags the viewer in and keeps them interested until the very end, that message is no other than the act of forgiving and excepting what has happened. Victor, the main character, had a tough childhood, due to his father being a drunk and leaving his mother and him near the beginning of the film. Throughout Smoke Signals, Victor bears a grudge against his father only to realize that his father regrets all the bad things he did, he realizes that no matter where is dad was, all he thought about his ‘home’ and returning to the reservation. Not only does this film have a strong message, it also shows us the real character and spirt of a Native American, poking fun of the stereotypes that have been given to them by whites. It shows us the true feelings of a Native American, how they feel towards whites, towards the stereotypes they are giving, and most importantly the pride they have in being a Native American. Smoke Signals is an amazing film with an amazing story and message. 

hpfan-atic.deviantart.com

To the first I didn't understood the film "Smoke Signals" and it was a little bit boring, because nothing 

real excited happened. 

But then I understood that the film acts about forgiving. And that it took Victor a

long time to forgive his father. And it's getting more interesting.

I like the end scene  the most because it's impressive with the waterfall, the sunlight behind victor, the music and the words that Thomas said. The end scene is the best part of the film to think about the subtext.

MANACE II SOCIETY

"Menace II Society" is my new favorite movie, its all about whats real. It isn't a movie making life in the ghetto look better than it is and it isn't a movie making life in the ghetto look worse than it is. This movie follows the life of Caine, a kid who's had a hard life and is just trying to make it out of the ghetto.
  The start of the movie was the darkest scene, Caine's dad was a big time drug dealer and within the first 5 minutes of the movie he had already shot and killed one of his friends who just got out of jail because he told him he would pay him back for his herion when he felt like it. Not long after, his mom was high on herion and his dad had died making a drug deal. This really gave you an idea of how the movie would turn out.
       It really gives you a perspective of living in the ghetto. There are shootings throughout the whole movie, and when the movie ends you realize the meaning of "live by the gun die by the gun." The ending of the movie could not have been better.

Smoke Signals

The movie Smoke signals is a very different creative movie. The movie has two young boys going on a journey to find ones father. Victors Father left home when he was younger because he felt like he wasn't wanted. He Abused the mother and Victor and was a very bad alcoholic. When the boys arrive to where victors father died they meet a woman who took care of his father. That night they get into telling stories about one another. Thomas Loves telling stories he twists them and gets into extreme depths trying to paint an image in your mind. Story telling is how Thomas communicates with people.

I thought the movie was different and hid much anger from Victor While Thomas tried to be the lighter side of the indian. I would recommend this book from 16 years old and up because the underlying subtext might not be understood by younger viewers.

Ey Victor

As I was watching Smoke Signals, I thought about what the director wanted to make the viewer feel.  The way he shows us Victors father and they way Jonathan talks to Victor about his father are somewhat different.  I think the director wanted us to see both sides of Victors dad through Victors eyes leading up to the end when Victor releases his ashes and either forgives him or doesn't forgive him for what he did.  I think that the line about his dad running back in the house to save Victor really sticks with the audience and with Victor as he is throwing the ashes into the river.  I felt like Jonathans character was almost the voice for the audience, he tells Victor stories about his dad that give the viewers an insight into Victors backstory as they go on their adventure.

I would recommend this movie to a very wide audience because I think almost anyone can benefit from it.  It has a lot of meaning about family, friendship, culture, and forgiveness.  Any group of people can learn from this movie and it is a very powerful message.

The Power of Film

I was really surprised by how powerful and full of raw emotion this low-budget independent film was! I don't have a huge background with movies or books about the Indian culture, but this film captured a whole new side to the stories we all think we know. In history class we learned how the white people put up both real and symbolic walls around the indians and called them reservations. This is a look into the next generations of indians and how these events still impacted them in a modern setting. It also tells a unique story of culture and moving past emotional obstacles in your life, which we can all relate in some way. This movie didn't have expensive effects and well-known actors but it felt like it was real.  There were many interesting backstories to the main characters, Victor's past with his dad and Thomas's own struggle mentally and trying to fit in with people. To me Thomas represents everything good in life: generosity, curiosity, kindness, and the ability to forgive. I am so pleased that I got to experience this film and expand my knowledge.

Smoke Signals

I thought this movie has a lot of hidden meaning in parts of the movie witch i looked because you could keep looking for stuff throughout the movie. I also enjoyed the format of the movie and the way they shot wide shots of the sense like the open fields and the beautiful mountains it really captures what it would be like in a indian reservation. The characters were extremely interment to the movie i felt really close to them throughout the movie like i knew there life's.

Smoke Signals

     Smoke Signals was a very great film in my opinion. It was about a young man named Victor, that had troubles with his dad all throughout his life and he never really felt accepted by him. He has a friend named Thomas and they were close. They have been friends all their lives and they did most things together. Thomas was always a very positive guy but Victor would just think bad about everything and Thomas didn't really like that, he wanted Victor to be happy. Victor's dad left him when he was young, he had moved to Arizona and lived in a trailer with no communication with his family. One day, Victor's mom got a phone call being informed that his dad had passed away. Victor was very hurt by this event so him and Thomas left the Rez for Arizona. They got there and met a young female and then collected his dad's ashes. At the end of the film, Victor threw his dad's ashes into a river, and that symbolized his forgiveness for everything that his dad had done to him, at least that's what I thought about it.

Smoke Signals

     Smoke signals tells the story of a young indian(Victor) and what his life is like.  From him growing up on the reservation to his father running away his life is constantly in motion.  Victors' father has been an alcoholic from an early age, even when Victor was older he still hated the very thought of his dad.  There are moments throughout this movie where you think Victor loves his father, but it is not until the very end that you realize Victor truly loves his father for saving him from the fire.  The subtext in one of the last scenes was Victor running to the nearest town to get help for a car wreck he was in.   Victor remembered his dad on that run, and it was almost as if his dad was running right next to him.  This movie is very spiritual, and i'm sure hits home to a lot of indians.  Very good, and it is a definite suggestion for all that enjoy movies to watch.

Smoke Signals

               Smoke Signals was a really enjoyable film with lots of sub-text.  It was one of those movies that made you have mixed feelings about the main character until the very end when it leaves you with closure, or a good feeling.  It was interesting how the last camera shot was chosen by the director with the sun right behind Victor.  With many of the angles and shots in this movie, there was a lot of sub-text.  Overall, I think that it was filmed well, the actor who played Victor did a great job, and the story was great.

Terminate this!

The terminator was a great action/adventure movie from the 80's.  For being 30 years old, the sci-fi effects were all done well, with the support of great acting from Arnold Schwarzenegger.  The other roles of this film were also played decently.  This movie keeps your heart pumping as the machine got closer and closer to Sara Connor, with eventually, Kyle Reese saving the day.  This violent action movie has great twists and turns throughout it, which keeps the viewer motivated during the 100 minutes that you're watching it.  Overall, I thought that it could use slight improvement, but is overall a good movie.

V

     V for Vendetta is a Robin hood of our time.  In this thrilling action packed flick friends are made, trust is broken, and trust is gained.  The main character V plays a role of a protector of the poor, or middle man.  V despises the wealthy.
     Throughout the entirety of this film the watcher is actively engaged.  There are no boring transitional themes, or characters that don't catch ones attention.  Whether it be humor, or ravage violence the viewer is always left in awe.  It is due to this films constant ability to draw me in that I give it a 9 out of 10 eggs in a saddle.

Just You Wait, Henry Higgins...

My Fair Lady. Once again, a renowned classic adapted from Broadway. The movie is about a young, poor lady selling flowers on the street, Eliza Doolittle, who gets plucked out of her horrid situation by Henry Higgins, a speech therapist. He corrects her thick accent and passes her off as a beautiful debutante, but not before falling in love with her. This is my all-time favorite Audrey Hepburn film, purely because when I watch it with my sisters, they get very annoyed with Eliza's (Audrey Hepburn) sandpaper-esque Cockney drawl.

 West Side Story. Les Miserables. Phantom of the Opera. Chicago. The list goes on. All of these movies were adapted from Broadway musicals, and they were all very, very successful. I wonder why this is. Is it because theatre viewers are in love with the shows so much that they support them in the box offices? Or is it because deep down, everybody loves a good song-and-dance? I cannot be sure, but I sure do love them.

It also works inversely. Quite successful movies and books, when turned into Broadway shows, are also very successful. Legally Blonde, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid and Spiderman are among many who've transitioned from the silver screen to the live stage. I personally am not a huge fan of these because I think they're overhyped and attract a crowd that don't necessarily know show etiquette, like in the case of Legally Blonde. What was a pretty good show turned into somewhat of a loud mess because the audience (consisting of teenage girls) didn't act appropriately for the setting, taking away from the overall experience.

INCONCEIVABLE!

5 Fun Facts About The Princess Bride

1. Andre the Giant (plays Fezzik) had undergone back surgery before shooting this movie. In all of the scenes where he's carrying a person, they are actually being supported by a series of ramps and pulleys.

2. The giant rodents in the Fire Swamp were actually little people in costumes.

3. When Buttercup roll down the hill after Westley, it's actually a male stunt double rolling down the hill. The hill was really that steep.

4. All of the fencing scenes between Inigo Montoya and Westley were the real actors. They studied fencing for months to prepare for it.

5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Arnold Schwarzenegger were both considered to play the role of Fezzik.



The Princess Bride is truly one of my favorite films of all time. It has a very complex and witty script, balanced by a relatively simple idea and plot. For example, although the movie is simply about a kidnapped princess trying to be saved by her true love, the writers worked in jokes like "MLT: mutton, lettuce, and tomato", keeping the movie light in an otherwise very dramatic storyline.

What I don't like about the film is that it's very male dominated. There are only three women in the film that have lines, and two of them are old hags. There isn't a single conversation between two women in the entire movie. All Buttercup does is get kidnapped; she doesn't have any skills besides looking pretty, and when put into a dire situation, she sits and pouts, waiting for men to do everything for her. The most drastic thing she does is threaten suicide, and even then, it's not very effective, since they want her dead anyway.

For example, when Buttercup and Westley are in the Fire Swamp and Westley is being attacked by the Rodent of Unusual Size. I was sitting and waiting for her to run around them, grab Westley's sword, and slay the beast, but no, she just stood there, wondering how he'll get himself out of this. When she finally does do something proactive for the conflict, picking up the stick, she sits there and pokes the rat. POKES IT. How could you possibly think that would be effective? One good swing at the thing and it's down for the count, and she decides to poke it. Really? Be effective. Stand up for yourself. Come on.

Watching this extraordinary film Avatar I enter a separate and whole new world accompanied by an experience that I don’t get from most movies.  Clear cut James Cameron knows how to use $300 Million dollars well, and it is his skill with large amounts of money that makes him such a successful and widely known producer. Avatar is not just a good movie, it has a purpose and message that it wants to send to people and that is an anti-war, save the environment, kind of message which perfect for Avatar, no movie to date could make a more profound case to this argument and plead. This film displays war and the environment in the most vivid and decorated way possible which is the catalyst to its point. This movie, on a technical standpoint, made a breakthrough on the limitations of what computers can do and how well you can change the character that, in this case, James Cameron was trying to make 

Set in the year 2154, the story takes off with a shuttle of men sent by the U.S. Military to this new world called pandora, which is rich in resources very valuable back at earth.  The display of the world as you press into the movie is one of the more creative things I have seen in film, in my opinion.  It displays the plants and animals in a very prismatic and Devine sense which helps tie in the way it is all connected as you find out early in the movie and when it is explained later on.  While watching this film it profoundly reminded me of Dances with Wolves, Indians having what the white supremacist wanted and one supremacist getting to know the Indians and the ultimate attempt to defend them. Avatar was a perfect example of the perfect movie including suspense, sadness, depression, happiness, and ultimate inspiration.

Dodgeball Movie Critique

Dodgeball is a movie about a local gym that is struggling to compete with the larger gym company.  When they are threatened by the possibility of being bought out they enter the Las Vegas dodgeball tournament to raise the money.  This movie doesn't take itself seriously and thats what is so good about it.  It makes characters very dramatic and funny such as the man who thinks he's a pirate and takes himself very seriously.  This movie has multiple main characters and each of them has a small story that they go through.  Overall, I would recommend this movie to people who like to laugh but don't expect much more than a mindless comedy movie.

The Princess Bride is a classic love and adventure story told by a grandfather to his grandson.  I think this adds to the humor of the story with the interruptions before they continue reading.  The characters in the story are very funny and classic.  My favorite character is Inigo Mantoya.  I find it funny that he asks every person he meets if they have six fingers on their right hand while looking for the man who killed his father.  I think that the way the story is told makes us appreciate the story more because at first the kid listening doesn't have any interest in it but as it goes on he doesn't want his grandpa to stop reading it and he becomes deeply invested in it.  This creates more interest in the story itself and makes the characters more humorous.  The down side of this movie to me is that the story is very predictable towards the end.  Overall I enjoyed this movie but felt it didn't add much new to the adventure formula.

Little Miss Sunshine Film Critique

The film Little Miss Sunshine is the one I chose for our Independent Film Project. The story follows the Hoovers, a dysfunctional family residing in Albuquerque, NM. The family consists of dad Richard Hoover, an aspiring but failing motivational speaker; stressed, over worked, and "pro honesty" mother Sheryl Hoover; Sheryl's brother Frank, a gay scholar of the French author Marcel Proust; and  Richard's obscene, foul mouthed father Edwin. Additionally, the unhappy and silent seventeen-year-old Dwayne who has taken a vow of silence until he successfully makes his way into the Air Force Academy; and last but not least, adorable little seven-year-old Olive Hoover, a beauty queen wannabe and the main focus of the film.

In the film, the Hoovers struggle to enter Olive in the annual Little Miss Sunshine Beauty Pageant, so being on a tight budget, they all pile into the family's bright yellow VW T2 Microbus and head for their destination, with a two day dead line. The journey takes each character through a drastic emotional change as well his or her own epiphany of sorts.

The movie isn't related through a certain character's perspective, but rather from the perspective of an outside observer. There aren't any particularly unusual filming techniques, or any unique ways the movie was filmed that stood out to me. What did stand out the most to me was the development of each character emotionally as well as spiritually. The characters all have individualized epiphanies, specifically targeting the issues of inner beauty, as well as society's ideal image, and the the concept that the ideal image may not be someone else's ideal image. Other key focus points for the film were accepting the failures life throws at us, and understanding that no matter how many losses we may face, that doesn't make us failures or "losers".  The film challenges the viewer to see that the road to finding the inner self is a long, often painful journey, but is many times worth it in the end.  And also that some may never find their place in this world, and although this is a hard fact to face, we must learn to receive this with dignity and humility.

I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good laugh, and who may be willing to see the meaningful life lesson written between the lines. However, there is quite a bit of foul language and sexual innuendo incorporated into the film, which isn't particularly suitable for younger viewers. Little Miss Sunshine is a film that anyone could learn something from and enjoy watching at the same time.

Super Troopers

Super Troopers

The film Super Troopers is about a group of hooligan cops doing their everyday job and trying to save their station. The names of the cops working at the Spurbury station is Rabbit, Thorny, Mac, Farva, and Foster. The cops may mess up on the job from time to time due to the fact that they play games, like trying to beat each other in saying meow the ,ost. Their Police station is going to be shut down due to lack of money and budget cuts. The Highway cops are going to take it over and run the whole place. The rivalry between the two captains urge the local police to shape up so they have a chance at saving it. But when the local cops get a drug bust and a women with a Monkey tattoo appear things start looking up for them. 

I would recommend this movie to whoever likes to see some funny stuff but is old enough to see it because there is some sexual and bad humor in it. Overall this is a great movie and got a good rating for it.

Red Riding Hood

Putting a haunting and horror feel to the classic Little Red Riding Hood story sounds like an amazing idea, and it is, but sadly this film failed to do so. Although, it does have a slight haunting feel to it, you can't help but think "Twilight" throughout the whole movie, and the reason for that is because Catherine Hardwicke, director of Twilight, was the person who directed this film. Also, the storyline was messy and doesn't keep the audience's interest, and the romance side of the story is far too overpowering, causing you to almost forget the whole werewolf attacking the town part. Though I will admit, the soundtrack to this film is amazing and really captures the horror aspect. No matter how much I really want to say this was a great film, due to the fact that turning Little Red Riding Hood into a horror and giving it that haunted feel would be so perfect, I can't because this movie just didn't do that. 

http://mmmasters.blogspot.com/2011_05_01_archive.html

1st Film Critique- Oz the Great and Powerful

For my "adventure" selection of the independent film critique I chose to view the movie "Oz the Great and Powerful" by disney.  I had not seen this film until this weekend and thought it was a perfect adventure movie to critique. Previous to now I only knew of the basic story of the Wizard of Oz and didn't know there were so many backstories to the main characters. Before Dorothy and Toto get swept up in a tornado so does a man named Oscar. Oscar is a simple magician for a traveling fair. He has no real talent to magic and relies mostly on tricks and illusions to fool the audience out of a few coins. One night a terrible storm hits the fair grounds and Oscar is whisked away in a hot air balloon. He comes to the magical land of oz where all the people are awaiting the prophecy of a great and powerful wizard. This Wizard is told to fall from the sky and as Theodora sees Oscar's balloon drifting from the clouds she thinks they finally found their Wizard. Theodora is beautiful and innocent, and Oscar doesn't want to disappoint her so her tells he that he is indeed the wizard they are looking for. Theodora has a sister named Evanora who is actually evil and wants the kingdom to herself. As Theodora falls in love with Oscar, Evanora tricks her into thinking that Oscar loves Glinda the white witch instead. Theodora is terribly sad and Evanora offers her an apple with magical powers to heal her aching heart. This apple is cruised and turned sweet Theodora into a cold-hearted green witch. Evanorna had also banished Glinda the good to the dark forest and tells Oscar that she is in fact the evil one. This is a classic story or good and bad but also depicts some complicated characters. Theodora was once a kind and loving girl but is crushed by a broken heart and tricked into becoming the most evil of all. Evanora is jealous of Glinda and is willing to harm her sister to get what she wants. Oscar is somewhat of a selfish flirt and womanizer at the beginning but learns to protect his friends and put others before him by the end of his journey. This movie is a great adventure because Oscar not only changes his physical surroundings but also goes on a journey to become a better person. In the end Oscar defeats the green witch and Evanora and decides to stay on as the Wizard to protect his friends. I really enjoyed this movie and was glad to see non-tradtional actors playing the parts. James Franco was a good wizard but I really thought that Michele Williams as Glinda was a perfect casting.

Princess Bride offers nothing new to the adventure genre in terms of storyline or set or setting, but has enjoyable and funny characters (including Andre the Giant!), plus over sized rodents, in order to gain the affection of the tough 1987 audience and ages to come.  The movie is presented as the imagination of a young bratty boy as his grandfather reads from a book, which was actually pulled off very well, and adds to the magical/medieval vibe of the movie.   The film has a brilliant pace, and has an all encompassing feel, with so much land being covered and the broad range of emotions displayed from the characters (e.g. fear, hate, jealousy, longing, satisfaction, uncertainty, over zealous confidence, and true love of course).  Even the young recipient of the story seems to have aged by the end!  Good movie, I'd say 7/10

guy in black

This movie is a classic love story. It starts out with two lovers seperated in the beginning and one dying without cause. He secretly is still alive and when he hears that the love of his life is marrying a prince he comes back to get her. He has to first save her from a plot that will start a war between to countries if she is killed by her kidnappers. He then has to escort her through the fire swamp where many dangerous things live. When exiting the fire swamp they are captured by the prince and Buttercup is brought back to the castle by the prince Humperdink. Wes the man who loves princess Buttercup is brought to a torture chamber and is pronounced almost dead. When rescued him and two others storm the castle trying to stop the wedding.  After getting revenge ant taking the princess back they ride off into the sunset on 4 white horses. THE END... I like the idea of having the book read to the child it was a very original idea that I thought was awesome.

The Princess Bride

The first time I watched this film I fell in love with it and I still do to this day. The Princess bride is what you would call a classic, with humor that keeps a smile on your face and the slight adventure of Westley (Cary Elwes) trying to return Buttercup (Robin Wright) to his side. From Andre the Giant as Fezzik to Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride has the prefect cast for the prefect film. As you know, all classics have that one line that everybody knows by heart and in this film that line is no other than Inigo Montoya's, "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father...prepare to die."( I know that I for one must say this line every single it is said throughout the film.) The Princess Bride is a great and funny film that everybody could enjoy and find a place for in their hearts. 

http://randommization.com/2012/10/17/the-princess-bride-themed-posters/

The Princess Bride displayed a wonderful sequence of love, horror, adventure, and action in an appropriate/fun way.  This film uses these characteristics in the most fluent of ways which draws the viewer in and keeps him/her interested throughout the movie. This movie is not like a lot of adventure movies where it focuses strictly on adventure, in the beginning and then begins to lean toward love and action at the end, doing it seamlessly and perfectly.  One could say that this acts like a cliche, but in-fact this movie is what movies are derived from.

PB

princess bride was a great movie with the perfect characters, everything from their name to the actor they chose was perfect. You got a backstory on all the main characters, which really made you get attached to them.
    There was a perfect combination of humor, action and adventure. It was a different perspective on an adventure than the goonies, this was a perspective of a prince from far away instead of what could hapen to you.

I liked the film "Princess Bride" more than "The Goonies" , because you didn't know what happens next. I liked also that the film switch between the real life, where the grandfather read to the grandchild and  the story of the book.  The chief characters were good and I think an adventure film is better with  adults as characters.

As You Wish

Recently in film studies, we had the pleasure of watching The Princess Bride. This is a movie that I've grown up with, and it was and still remains one of my child hood favorites. I hadn't seen the movie for a few years before this, and seeing it again was a little different than when I've usually watched it. I found myself saying the characters lines in my head (yes, I've seen it that many times) and also remember certain parts of the movie that I had forgotten about.

The story line is that of which makes the perfect mix for an adventure. Usually adventure films are a little on the cheesy side, and at times this movie definitely is, but at the same time the traits of the movie balance each other out, to make the movie memorable and good enough to watch over and over again. The book and the move are a quite a bit different (if anyone you have read the book, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about) but I noticed the author had a part in writing the screenplay for the movie, and that made me wonder. Did he have his way with the characters that would be put into the movie? Or with the script? Or did he purposefully want the movie to be different from the book...hmmm


-Sophie

Princes Bride

The Prinses bride in my prospective is a extremely good adventure film, it had all types of categories in this movie and such, comedy, adventure, horror and many more. I thought this film was great i absolutely love the plot and the unique story, it had such a great way of the telling the story, the way the grandpa was reading a story to his grand son and having it transition to book and then the film. I would defiantly recommend the film to someone who likes adventure films.

Princess Bride Critique

I have such a new perspective on this movie. I briefly talked about this with Mr. Miller about how I was literally terrified of this movie when I was  a kid. I remember crying and telling my mom that the princess bride was too scary and she was so surprised. Now I understand why she liked this movie so much. It is not only an action adventure movie but also a comedy and romance story. I loved how the movie was being narrated by the kid's grandfather and we got to pull away from the film and see deeper into that side story. This movie was made in 1987 and some of the scenery and film quality dated it but other than that it's really a timeless family fun adventure. I am glad I got to give this movie another chance, because I would have spent the rest of my life with a bad opinion of it, without this class. A funny connection I had while watching was that the actor playing Westly also plays a character on Psych and plays the evil king in Ella Enchanted. He has a really distinct voice and I automatically recognized him. The Princess Bride is such a funny film and the actors have perfect timing. Sometimes we are quick to judge films and label them and "old" or for "kids" and you forget to give them a chance. I also feel the same way about "classics" I don't think that a person should force them selves to watch a movie or read a book because it is known as a classic. If you don't really appreciate a work of art then faking admiration for it is stupid.

Princess Bride

     The Princess Bride is a thrilling adventure, in which the main characters overcome their difficulties to once again love one another.  This movie is a classic love story/adventure movie.  Within the movie the characters find them selves stuck on opposite realms.  One is a princess who is about to marry, while the other is simply a pirate.  The love for each other so strongly bonds them together that they overcome various obstacles to get back together and end in true love. I give this movie 7 glass shoes out of 10.

The Princess Bride was a good movie that fit into the adventure genre well.  The princess is taken, then taken again, and she falls in love with the man in the mask.  They run for some time, but eventually the prince found them.  The man she loves ended up saving the day.  The movie was shot well, with different, good angles.  The actors seemed to do a good job, and the old effects were enjoyable.  Overall, it's a good movie.

    My opinion is that The Princess Bride fit into the category very well. The guy in the mask went on an adventure to look for the love of his life and he had to sword fight and also fight a giant just to get to her. He died later in the movie and immediately was brought back to life by blowing air into him, and then asking him a question. I like The Goonies more as a film because I found it more interesting and attention grabbing, but his film was also very good.

About the Goonies

I liked the Goonies because for one I had never seen it before, and it was more entertaining because the main characters were kids instead of adults. In the beginning, a group of friends living in the Goon Docks face foreclosure and don’t have the money to fix it. When they find a spanish map, the kids decide to go on an adventure for money to help their parents pay for their house. Mikey became the leader for the group, and he was determined to find One-Eyed Willie. The large underground cave seemed to go on forever, there were booby traps, hidden tunnels, and even a large ship under ground. This kept the movie interesting because there was never a dull moment in the show. My favorite part was when Chuck got caught and started confessing all the bad things he had done since he was little. The short names and nick-names of all the characters made it easier for me to keep track of who was who because some of their names kind of described them. I would watch this again. :)

The Goonies

The goonies, a story that follows a group of children  throughout an adventure for One Eyed Willies hidden treasure. From booby traps to ice cream freezers, these children have seen and done it all. The story starts when the children start talking about their homes being foreclosed on. Soon after, they find a treasure map in the attic and the adventure begins. I really enjoyed this movie not only because it is a classic but because of the characters, the story line. Everything about the movie screams adventure.

I think this movie is very exciting. These kid found a old map and decide to find the gold. First, his brother disagree about this, but he have to follow his brother. there are 3 bad man here. The mom and her 2 kids. She has 3 kids last one maybe got ill, he has the bad looking. first time the kid meet the men ,they were afraid about the men. but after that Chunk make a friend with the ugly men. And the Chunk is a funny boy. when the bad guys ask Chunk where were your friend he aways think some idea to stall  for time, get more time for his friends. Finally they found the gold and diamond . but they meet the bad guys buy the ugly men help them run away.

About the Goonies

I liked the Goonies because for one I had never seen it before, and it was more entertaining because the main characters were kids instead of adults. In the beginning, a group of friends living in the Goon Docks face foreclosure and don’t have the money to fix it. When they find a spanish map, the kids decide to go on an adventure for money to help their parents pay for their house. Mikey became the leader for the group, and he was determined to find One-Eyed Willie. The large underground cave seemed to go on forever, there were booby traps, hidden tunnels, and even a large ship under ground. This kept the movie interesting because there was never a dull moment in the show. My favorite part was when Chuck got caught and started confessing all the bad things he had done since he was little. The short names and nick-names of all the characters made it easier for me to keep track of who was who because some of their names kind of described them. I would watch this again. :)

The Goonies Movie Critique

The Goonies is an adventure story about a group of kids who call themselves "The Goonies".  They call themselves this because they all live in the same neighborhood.  The beginning of the movie starts out with the antagonists, the Fratellis, escaping from jail and fleeing from the police.  They pass by every main character on the police chase and this introduces the characters.  Each of the Goonies has a nickname that is only one word long.  I think this shows how they are all friends and it makes it easier to identify the characters than if they had normal full names.

The first problem for the Goonies is that the houses they live in are being bought by a rich kids dad who wants to make them into a country club.  They would all have to move somewhere else if this happened and they wouldn't be the Goonies.  Their parents don't have the money to pay to not have the country club built so they are trying to think of ways to save their neighborhood.  The kids are exploring in the attic when they find a map that leads to a pirates treasure.  They think that if they can find this they will have enough money to save their home and now have to move so they decide to look for it, this leads them to the Fratellis, who hide out in a restaurant above the treasure.  The Goonies go down under the restaurant and start to follow the path to the treasure. The Fratellis follow them down leaving one of the Goonies, "Chunk" alone with a disfigured man they keep chained up name "Sloth".

One of the most important scenes was when they find the wishing well underground and have the option to go back up with Troy.  They are about to go up when Mikey gives a speech about how if they go back up they'll have to move away and this is basically their last chance to do something together and possibly save their home.  They all decide to stay with Mikey and keep searching for the treasure.  Later on, the Fratellis catch up to the Goonies and chase them onto the pirate ship.  The Goonies have the gold and can use it to save their home but the Fratellis make them put it back.  They are about to have to walk the plank when Sloth and Chunk show up and save them.  The Goonies escape the ship but the cave starts to collapse because the Fratellis take some of "One Eyed Willie's" gold that Mikey suggested they leave for him.  This causes the cave to fall down and they have to abandon the treasure.  Once outside the Fratellis are arrested and The Goonies are almost forced to sign over their home when Mikey's marble bag, shown at the beginning of the film, is opened and it still has some valuable gems inside.  This saves them and they are able to keep their home.

I believe that having the characters in this story be mostly kids made for a better story because adults would have been more experienced and serious.  The kids were funny and made for a lot of entertaining situations.

Goonies

The Goonies is a classic movie that everyone with an imagination must love! Like every movie, especially older movies, there are good and bad things about it. Being a movie from the 80's it is cheesy, but in a good way. To someone who never lived in the 80's it could be unpleasant or it could be fascinating. The story line is awesome, it is the perfect adventure any kid dreams of. The movie is well done, from the very fitting names for each of the characters to the way they all speak. Every characters personality is perfect for the story line and is played well.

Do the Truffle Shuffle

What I'm knitting: Red Heart Seaside Waves Afghan in Leaf Green

The Goonies. A classic, yet before a couple days ago, I had never seen it. I'd heard plenty about it (it's my mother's favorite movie).

A key part of the story is the relationship between Brandon and Mikey. In the beginning, it seemed as if Brandon found Mikey annoying in the way, but throughout the movie they gradually grew closer and closer as brothers. When Mikey and the other Goonies tie up Brandon in one of the first scenes in the movie, Brandon comes off as the arrogant older brother whose sole purpose in life is to oppress his little sibling. Later in the movie, when Brandon is in the "restaurant" with everybody, he holds himself equal to the rest of the boys and works cooperatively with them. The most pivotal point in the story for this relationship was when he found out that Mikey had kissed Andy, but he didn't punish him in any way for it. This shows that not only does he respect Mikey but that he easily forgives him, making Mikey and Brandon get along very nicely.

On a different note, I have a couple issues with movies from the eighties in general, including this one. The main one is that there are several scenes where all of the characters are talking at once.

Not acceptable.

Scenario: you're sitting, watching a great movie, chowing on some Mike-and-Ikes, feeling pretty good, when someone walks in and takes a seat next to you. This isn't a problem, you're a friendly person, but then they say something along the lines of:

"Oh my God! I love this movie! The first time I saw it, I was...."

...and they're talking over dialogue in the movie. NO. WRONG. YOU ARE RUINING MY MOVIE EXPERIENCE. These are the sorts of people I avoid at all costs. How am I supposed to follow a storyline when I just missed a super dramatic plot twist that changes the rest of the movie? I can't imagine there is a single person out there that actually likes when this happens. I am the sort of person that while watching TV tells you to hush before the commercials end. I want to glean every mumble and stutter from characters that I physically can.

Here's my predicament: what am I supposed to do when the movie starts talking over itself? I can kick people out of the room, but how am I supposed to kick out characters? I'm missing stuff! While it may not be plot twisting dialogue, it's still words! I want to hear them!

I don't know what to do about it.

While I stew about my problems, here's something to make your day that much better:

Goonies Film Critique

After seeing this movie for a second time, my outlook changed on it completely  When I first viewed it, I actually despised the film and didn't find anything entertaining about it, which was probably due to the fact that I was only six and found most of the the humor rather unhumorous and thought some scenes were pretty scary. But seeing it again at the age of fifteen was much more enjoyable for me. Not only was the humor funny, but I understood a lot of the hidden meanings that the director incorporated into the film that I had not seen when I was younger. The story line a was a bit more relatable for me as well. 

The story line of the Goonies is that of which is highly entertaining and also relatable to kids and adults. The director Steven Spielberg created an atmosphere of adventure, danger, mystery, witty humor, and true moral values such as friendship, family comes first, and finding your identity (weather it's with a group, or just your own personal identity). The story line was told from the perspective of children, and this added a sense of innocence as well as a bit more of a fun and was more connectable to audiences, as appose to using adults for the main characters. 

Overall, the movie is one I would highly recommend and would gladly watch again. 

The Goonies

The Goonies, a film labeled as an adventure and comedy, follows a group of kids trying to find One-eyed Willy's hidden treasure in an attempt to save their house from going under foreclosure. I for one, believe The Goonies is a classic and will remain one for a long time, due to the fact that sayings like "Goonies never say die" and the "truffle shuffle", are very well known and still appear in conversations today. This film has pretty much everything you could possibly ask for, thrills, pirates, booty, freaks, and of course bad guys. Not to mention this film had a very clever way of introducing the main characters by starting with a jail break that lead to the Fratellis, or the bad guys, speeding by every member of the Goonies, giving us an idea of how their personalities were by how they reacted to the chase. In conclusion, The Goonies is an amazing and memorable film that leaves you with the strong desire to be a Goonie yourself.

The Goonies is an adventure film about boys and girls going on a treasure hunt trying to find gold and or riches. They are trying to do this so they can help their families because a man has bought their property for a golf course. There then is that problem on every treasure hunt for example in the "Gooneys" they are being followed by the Fertellies. The Fertellies are murdering thieves and also become interested in the treasure. I believe that they used one name because it seams like they are closer friends if they all have nicknames for each other. each one had their own reason, Mouth because he talked a lot, Chunk because he was fat, Data because he made things, and I don't know what Mikey's nickname was. The story ends with The goonies getting out of the cave and having the ship float away. They pay for the house with diamonds that Mickey had taken from the ship.

I think the film "Goonies" is partly unrealistic. Why for example does the ship comes out of the cave suddenly? Some parts are foreseeable. There were some frightening moments which are supported by the music. So without the music it wouldn't be so frightening. This frightening and sometimes exciting moments make this film an adventure film.
 There were some funny moments, which is also good.
I would say, it's good to have seen this film, but I wouldn't see him again.

The Goonies portrayed a fun and adventurous feel to it, hence it being in the genre of adventure. This movie used effective techniques throughout the movie such as: making the names of the kids short and descriptive, using kids as opposed to adults, and always having a sense of comedy accompanied by suspense, as for the names and why they made them like that, in my opinion, was to have an easy to say and understandable state of identification.  Every name in the film more or less described the person such as mouth and data, which helped make the characters throughout the movie. The directors build a good sense of the characters by building on what they do and who they are. The film uses kid to add a fun/humorous sense to the story and to intrigue young viewers and nostalgic adults, a movie for everyone.

The Goonies is a coming of age story about a group of preteen boys becoming 13-ish and a few teenagers.   The kids face scary skeletons and ancient pirate imagery all while being chased by ugly Italians in order to obtain treasure and adult hood.   This movie appeals to (a mostly very young) audience via the thrill of adventure and the spooky pirate booby traps.  Not to say that an adult wouldn't like it.  I didn't, but you might.  I guess it was kinda fun, just not my thing.  Cliche ending; the kids find the treasure, and get to keep the house; a few people find love.   5/10 stars.

Film Critique- The Goonies

The Goonies was such a fun and lovable movie.  Mikey, Mouth, Data, Brand, Chunk, Andy, Stef, and Sloth go on a crazy adventure to find pirate treasure to pay off debts to "suits" that are planning to turn Mikey's house (and other's) into a golf course.  They run into some mean italian counter fitters and face some scary adventures but they never turn their backs on one another. It was so heart warming how a bunch of kids would risk so much to help there parents and be able to stay together. So many new relationships are formed throughout the movie. Chunk ends up befriending the odd looking, Sloth and decides to keep him. Brand and Andy spark a teen romance and Stef and Mikey become better friends too. This movie is a perfect example of friendship and how tenacity can be very rewarding. Even up to the last minute when they think the treasure is lost and there is no hope left, the friends stick together. This movie is a little bit unrealistic and silly but very entertaining and fun to watch for any age. Even though this movie is about kids, you never feel like its too immature for you. I had never seen the Goonies before and I am so glad I did! In other aspects the filming technique was very eye-level like things were being seen from a kids perspective and there were some interesting special effects. I liked the whole experience of watching this movie.

The Goonies

     The Goonies is a very action packed adventure.  The introductory to this movie is very substantial.  This is when you learn essentially the characteristics to the goonies.  Each character has a very descriptive name, however the names are only one word.  For example Mouth loves to talk all the time, and Chub is well a little overweight.
     The introductory portion of this movie was done extremely well.  It allowed me to get to know the characters and then through out the rest of the movie build a sort of relationship with them as if they were friends i've known my whole life.  Building this connection between viewer and character is extremely important to succeeding well in movies.  The more text to life connections a viewer can make while watching the movie will make the movies popularity grow.
     The Goonies was a very well scripted movie.  I was actively engaged throughout the whole movie.  Whether I was thinking about pretend adventures I went on as a kid, or thinking about how cool it would be if one of my "play" adventures became a reality.  This active engagement sparked my intrest in everything happening in the movie and made it far more enjoyable than just staring at a screen.  The way The Goonies was filmed allowed me to connect with each character one on one and compare them to someone I know in my life.  I give this movie 9 dominos pizzas for chub out of 10!

The Goonies, a fun taste of the adventure film genre.  I think all the actors played their separate and unique parts very well.  I think each actor that was chosen fit each of their roles very well.  The plot was very interesting with the kids all working together to find One Eyed Willy's treasure.  There were nice twists and bends throughout the story that added to the fun and suspense of this adventure movie.  Having a few antagonists with their own little story only added to the story, which was achieved easily.  It's always nice to see one of the antagonists treated bad enough that he helps the protagonists.  This helps the overall "good feeling" of the film.  I also think that the movie was filmed well.  There always seemed to be good lighting and camera angles.  Overall, The Goonies is a fantastic film.

The goonies

The Goonies in my prospective is a great action adventure film and i really enjoyed watching it. I thought the film was very detailed and carefully put together, even though i counted some holes in the story, i was asking some questions to myself during the movie, the story doesn't say how the fetlties found out about the treasure and it also didn't explain the how the IT (fettlies brother) got the way he looked. But other than that i loved how the film had a good vibe to the story and a uplifting plot.

In my opinion, The Goonies was a really great movie. All of the actors did a good job as their character and it was a very well developed film. I think that it's an adventure film because The Goonies went on an adventure while trying to look for the treasure that 'One-Eyed Willy' left behind. They started out at an abandoned restaurant, went underground, set off booby traps, went through caves, slid down a water slide and somehow made it to the pirate ship while the 'Fratellis' were right behind them all along. I really enjoyed this movie and I hope that we watch some similar films throughout the adventure genre.

Hey hey, this is Isaac.  I love film and am looking forward to this class so I can learn more about them!  I think our upcoming movie, The Goonies, will be a light adventure movie with some good laughs.  And maybe a little corny cuz its from the eighties.  But fun nonetheless.

Hi.

Hi. Accompanying each critique will be a link to what I'm knitting while watching the film. Occasionally, I will be including what I'm watching on Netflix, Hulu, and other video streaming websites.

Hey Everyone!

Hey guys! I am looking forward to this up and coming year. As a big fan of all different genres, I am really excited for all the movies and films we have planned for this year.

First blog post

My name is Molly Davis and I am so excited to be a part of this film studies class my senior year. I took an intro to film studies class when I was in middle school and it was one of my favorite classes. When I was this class as an option this year I knew I wanted to take it! I love to watch movies and know more about them so I think I will really enjoy learning about the film selection for this year.

Hello I am Erik, i'm very interested in learning about films and looking deeper into how there made. I look forward to seeing all the films throughout the year and learning about them.

Hello people, this should be fun. I can't wait to start watching films. To watch new movies and explore the different kind of movies.

First Blog Post

This adventure genre is going to be fun to start with because I haven't seen all of these movies, so it will be nice to watch something new! I have never critiqued a movie before so it will be interesting to compare with the class our input of the movies we will be watching.

1st Blog Post

Hello I am natalie and I am really excited about the adventure genre we are going to start watching in class. The Goonies, Dumb and Dumber, all of the movies that we are going to watch in this genre are some of the best movies of all time. From little children adventures to a road trips, this genre covers everything. I love about every kind of genre so I am excited to see what is put into this category.

Hello Everyone,
     I'm Andy Rivera and I'm happy to be in this class. Everyone in here seems pretty cool and I'm excited to be in here all year. I'm stoked for the action film unit because that's one of my favorite movie genres.

Yo,
 Im Grant and I'm excited to start watching movies.  These movies are going to be very good.  It's going to be very fun to post blogs here.

First blog post

     I'm very excited to start watching adventure films.  I'm curious as to the difference between watching and critiquing a movie.  This should be a fun experiecne that I will enjoy.  The last time I watched an adventure movie I was left with a bad taste in my mouth.  Hopefully this will turn around my whole look on adventure movies.

First Blog Post



As we enter this unit, I'm definitely excited to be gaining a new perspective on not only film, but the adventure genre. I grew up with adventure movies, and have practically memorized a select few.

I think this unit will introduce me to some new films, but also bring back memories of ones already seen. I hope everyone else is looking forward to this unit as much as I am.

-Sophie

Hey everybody, 

       I'm John.  I am very excited to start the adventure film unit.  It seems like we'll be watching some good movies.