Anton Chigurh... unwrapped??

Anton Chigurh, played by a very innocent-looking Javier Bardem, is possibly one of the darkest, most mysterious characters I've ever seen. This post might not even come to much of a conclusion, he's so mysterious. To start of with, he's a murderer. That is to say the least. Why does he kill? And what explains the apparent absense of emotion he has, even when killing people? There's one scene in the movie in which he kills a man, answers the phone, sits in a chair, and simply puts his feet up when he notices blood is about to get on his boots. That sums up his reaction to his other victims' deaths. It doesn't phase him. But, there's one scene in the movie (No Country for Old Men) in which he smiles, otherwise he has a pretty blank expression. So why? The coin Chigurh uses to predict many people's fates in the movie may indicate his dependence on destiny. Perhaps his mind is wired so that he naturally believes he will make up people's fates because he wants to. He always wants to kill (for some unknown reason... this will be the unfinished part of the post), so he does, and because he can. I kind of wonder if Anton's character is supposed to remind the audience of a pessimistic portrayal of God. Many believe that God is the ultimate judge and that he sends people to Heaven or Hell depending on what he believes they are worthy of. It is a mystery if God sends more people to Heaven or Hell. Many also believe that God is very unforgiving, thus thinking that God sends everyone to Hell. So, like God, Anton Chigurh kills everyone instead of giving them what they want, life on earth. Those are my thoughts. There is no telling behind the character of Anton Chigurh.

Altman and Naivety

A topic important to all of Altman's films we watched in class is naivety. In Nashville Sueleen Gay and Linnea Reese are very naive. Sueleen thinks she is going to be the next huge country singer, along with many other characters. In reality, she's awful. Most of the other characters going for the same goal as Sueleen are just as awful. What's a downfall for Sueleen is that she's willing to give up some of her innocence in order to "achieve" her goal. What's more is that people make her believe she's going to become a singer someday. She's not. Not even close. In the end she realizes it's not going to happen, and is left in the dust. Thus, a major theme of Nashville has to deal with checking oneself with reality from time to time in order to stay loyal to oneself and not get caught off-guard when things don't go as planned. Also, in The Player the main character Griffin Mill gets so caught up in the mystery of the "I will kill you" postcards and notices that he fails to see the long-term effects of his actions. He stalks the guy who is supposedly sending him the messages and murders him on a whim. He then proceeds to make love to this guy's old girlfriend and lose his name in Hollywood, including breaking his current girlfriend's heart. It's not a good situation, and all a result of being too concerned with a silly message (which perhaps also got out of hand) and ultimately being too naive to see the outcome of his actions. Then again, this part of the story was in a movie, so I'm not exactly sure if it happened and if we're supposed to learn from it... Oh well. Good movies.

Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas

Though directed by Henry Selick, Tim Burton is usually accredited for the haunting film The Nightmare Before Christmas. This is no surprise. The Nightmare Before Christmas has everything typical of Burton’s stop-animation style. The scary and demented characters though the film is aimed at a younger audience, the out-of-the-ordinary world, Burton’s style only starts with this film.
The story opens on Halloween Town, a town that has lived up to its name all these years by… celebrating Halloween. While wandering in the woods the main character, Jack Skellington (Danny Elfman and Chris Sarandon), comes across a portal to Christmas Town. Jack loves Christmas Town and the feeling of Christmas so much that he tries every measure to bring Christmas to Halloween Town. His attempts to kidnap Santa from Christmas Town fail and only end up putting characters in danger. Jack never actually brings Christmas to Halloween Town, but dazzles Halloween Town with some things he could take from Christmas Town—like snow. Everything is set right in the end and Jack ends up with Sally (Catherine O’Hara), a girl he has fallen in love with while trying to bring Christmas spirit to Halloween Town.
A big theme of this movie has to deal with wanting something to be what it is not. Halloween Town is, clearly, meant for Halloween and not Christmas. Though Christmas Town may be happy and wonderful, and Halloween Town dark and evil, Halloween Town cannot just switch to Christmas. This is obviously made apparent when Jack fails to bring Christmas to Halloween Town. But Jack is able to improve Halloween Town’s spirits by bringing certain aspects of Christmas Town to it, which means that something may be improved not by transforming it completely but by giving it new features so to speak.
This song shows Jack’s desire for something new and better. Though he is the Pumpkin King, he desires something he has not yet known.

TWILIGHT!!!!

Best book ever! The movie's amazing! I don't care what people say about the effects or the acting or anything... it was amazing. But I completely understand why people would think it's an awful movie. The effects were sometimes not the best and the acting got a bit cheesy at points, but not enough to ruin the movie. Plus, just the story is enough to make it fantastic no matter how bad any aspect of the film is. I admit that might be a bit of an overexaggeration, but it gets my point across. However, this could just be the femenine part of me who longs for a man like Edward. Sorry, that was awkward. But really, it's a known fact! Edward has been ripping at the heart threads of girls across America for a while now, and now that he can be seen in human (I mean, vampire) form it's no wonder girls are going crazy. If you have any objection to or would like to argue a point in comparison to mine, feel free. Just click the comment button!

Pixar

Pixar is amazing. Period. I can’t think of a single movie of theirs that I don’t like. And I have never encountered anyone who can say something bad about any of Pixar’s movies. Toy Story, The Incredibles, A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., what quality. How does Pixar do it?
Pixar has an amazing team of artists who know their stuff and know how to use their stuff. John Lasseter, Brad Bird, and Andrew Stanton make up the so-called “Brain Trust” and along with them are directors Lee Unkrich, Brenda Chapman, Pete Docter, Gary Rydstrom, Michael Arndt and others who mold and create these amazing stories. Not only does Pixar have professionals on the team; everyone who works in the facility is encouraged to contribute. Each employee member is urged to take a filmmaking class and make a short film. This idea came to Ed Catmull, the president of Pixar, as a part of his strong belief in “lifelong learning.”
Audiences can see this belief in “lifelong learning” showing through in every Pixar movie ever made. Each film is tweaked to perfection, artistically and content-wise. Every movie is rated either PG or, as most are, G. There is little violence and trashy language; every film ends with a great satisfying fuzzy feeling. I don’t know about you, but I usually leave the movie theater feeling inspired. Whether it’s the good feeling knowing that there are still people in the world who believe in wholesome morals, or the quality of the visuals in the movie, or the great story line…
This inspiration makes me want to perhaps work for Pixar someday. If not, that’s ok. Pixar rocks.

Source: TIME Magazine: June 18, 2007

Westerns and... American culture...

I have never been a very big, die-hard fan of Westerns as some people have. I just don't understand their mentality about the movies. Each Western follows practically the same pattern, involves a bunch of guys wearing silly pants shooting each other without mercy, and has some form of sex- and alcohol-drive aspect to the plot. These aren't the most upstanding morals, I think many people can agree. So then why are they such a big part of American culture? Sure, pretty much all Westerns have been made by Americans, but why would Americans want to label themselves with that kind of name?

This is something I ask because I don't understand it. Apparently movies about guys acting like unforgiving, disrespectful dim-wits (to put it in a less politically-correct way) are enjoyable to watch? Help me understand.

First film blog!

Citizen Kane is a very impressive movie. The plot is a little lacking, personally, but the thought put into every aspect of the film is just amazing. For example, when we see Kane as a young boy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX-EJ8BCCTU&feature=related

This part of the film employs tracking, a relatively new tactic for filming at the moment. Also, placement and actions of young Kane while arguments are going on inside is key in Kane's character. We see that he is oblivious of his mother's plan to send him away from her guard. It turns out she doesn't love him as much as he hopes. Towards the end of the clip we see Kane's evil glare. This is a major turning point in the film, even early on. Kane's childlike happiness change into adultlike greed and a hunger for power. The scene closes on Kane's beloved sled being covered with inches of snow. His childhood is definitely being left behind.

I hope someday to be a film director; hopefully as influential and revolutionary as John Ford, the director of Citizen Kane.