Thanks Simmons

I just wanted to say that I thought the speaker the other day was very informative, and she obviously enjoyed gossiping in a room full of girls, which was expected. It gave me some insight into the whole world on the film set and behind the scenes of how things really go down. It made me actually think twice about going into a career in film making, not all necessarily in a bad way. I think it would be interesting if we had a chance to hear from more people in different aspects of the job to get their take on the process.

~Jess

"I crossed an IMAGINARY line with a bunch of PLANTS..."

Hello my special people! A couple weeks ago I watched what is, in my opinion, one of the best, most intriguing dramas ever-- Blow, directed in 2001 by Ted Demme. Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman), and Jordi Della star in this film (based on a true story) as George Jung, Mirtha Jung, Derek Foreal, and Diego Delgado. George, with the help of Derek, Diego, and a few others, was basically responsible for establishing the cocaine market in the US during the 1970s. In fact, if you used coke in the US during their time, there is an 85% chance that it came from these guys. The film opens with a bit of background on George's childhood. His parents greatly struggle to make ends meet and eventually file for bankruptcy. George decides at a young age to prevent this repetition of history during his own adulthood. Upon moving to California at approximately 18, George begins to deal pot and becomes so immensely successful with his dealing that his influence reaches the east coast. When caught and arrested, George is thrown into prison where his cellmate introduces him to the incredibly profitable cocaine business. George says, "Danbury wasn't a prison; it was a crime school. I went in with a Bachelors of marijuana, and came out with a Doctorate of cocaine." Once he is out of prison, the cocaine market booms and George makes more money than he could have ever imagined-- I'm talking millions upon millions. While the film does chronicle the amazing successes George experiences, it also does an excellent job of illustrating the real price of his crimes. The choices George makes greatly impact not only him but also his family and friends. By the end of the film, George has answered the question, "Was it all worth it?"

The film surprised me in that it wasn't just a "drug movie"-- it is also a very interesting tale of betrayal, greed, relationships, and the effects of one's actions, both good and bad. It certainly shows both the highs and the lows that come with such an extreme involvement with drugs. I also enjoyed the bits of humor randomly inserted throughout the film, such as the title of my post, which comes from a scene in which George tries to justify smuggling 660 lbs. of herb across the border between Mexico and the US. Johnny Depp, already one of my favorite actors, really impressed me with this film. To prepare for his role, Depp actually interviewed the real George Jung in prison, and I could definitely tell. He embodied George Jung very well and acted just the way I imagined the real George would act.

I hope I've motivated some of you to see it if you haven't yet! It is intense, insightful, funny at times, and very moving. Please do yourself a favor and rent it! Or buy it!

Morgan :)

I made burgers that time you had pneumonia.

Last week a friend and I decided to watch The Squid and the Whale. I knew basically nothing about the movie, but the title sounded familiar so I decided to rent it. Noah Baumbach was the writer and director of this film. He also co-wrote The Life Aquatic with Wes Anderson.

Noah Baumbach, the writer and director of this film, took an experience from his adolescence and brought it back to life through this film. The plot is pretty simple. It takes place in the 1980’s in a Brooklyn neighborhood. Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels play two parents who are going through marital difficulties. Linney plays Joan Berkman, the guilty and confused mother who has been unfaithful to her husband. Her guilt for these actions is noticeable and it seems to affect the way she raises her children. Daniels plays Bernard Berkman, a very shameless writer who is just one of those people who lets everyone know he thinks he’s smarter than them. He plays an exceedingly dislikable character, while Linney plays a character that viewers are able to feel more sympathy for. Her character seems to be happier and more wholehearted, whereas her husband remains drearily affected by his failure. Not too long after the movie begins, they decide to get a divorce.

The effects on their two sons are immediately recognizable. The eldest son, Walt, becomes an ally with his father. He mimics many of his father’s qualities, including the incredibly annoying trait of acting like a know-it-all. He also seems to use his father’s opinions on many subjects. This is also annoying because viewers are able to see his father say something and then, lo and behold, a few scenes later Walt recites his fathers words verbatim. Walt portrayed an adolescent Noah Baumbach. The effects on the youngest son, Frank, are very awkward. I had a hard time understanding what drove him to do the gross/weird things he did. He developed cursing problem, discovers alcohol, and develops a pretty odd habit which I don’t think I can talk about on this blog. Keep in mind he’s no older than twelve.

I thought this was a very interesting movie. The acting was awesome, especially for the kids. Linney and Daniels did really well too. Baumbach made sure to add in random little quirks and seemingly unimportant things his parents did. I felt that this made the movie more believable and life-like. Oh yes, also… I really liked how he tied the title into the movie. All in all, it was great. Check it out.

Liz

This one's for you J. Simmons

Fast, Cheap, and out of Control was an extraordinary work of cinematography and creativity. It seems like all of the works we have touched on in film class this year have challenged us to think of the deeper meaning in the message and apply that to our lives. Every film we have watched touches on an important issue in our society, even though it may be made more than 20 years ago. Once again, Mr. Fleig presented us with yet another brilliant work that presents human nature in a somewhat strange way. The film highlights four people with bizarre, unique, and different jobs and somehow manages to tie their lives together. I think the music and cinematography was amazing because it is really unlike anything I have ever seen. Although I was skeptical throughout the film, after much thought I realized how much you could learn in 80 minutes. I have to agree with Christy—George was my favorite because he put so much passion into something as simple as being a topiary gardener. It was his life, and the camera angles and his dialogue really helped you connect with him. My least favorite was Dave, the wild animal trainer, firstly because I have an extreme dislike of circuses, and two I found him uninteresting. I just think he was trying to make a point throughout the film but never really got there. My favorite quote from the documentary was from Rodney Brooks (the robot man). He said “If you analyze it too much, life becomes almost meaningless.” Although he may have not meant it to be, I find it very profound and meaningful. It’s true that over-analyzing things causes you to forget what you were doing in the first place. That can be applied to every day life—when you are trying to figure out the little things that don’t matter you lose sight of the big picture. To sum it up…I really enjoyed it and found it very informative.

Candice

1-800-JUICE!

Friday night my BOYfriend (happy, Morgan?) and I decided to take it easy and watch a movie that I’ve been wanting to watch for quite some time: Requiem for a Dream. Darren Arnofsky, who also directed the movie Pi, did an amazing job in making viewers feel exactly what the character was going through. I was very impressed with the acting, the dialogue, and the creativity of the director.

Requiem for a Dream is a film that tracks four addicts who are connected through family, friendship, and love. Harry (Jared Leto) plays the central character. His mother (Ellen Burstyn), his dealer friend (Marlon Wayans) and his girlfriend (Jennifer Conelly) are connected through him. Each character is addicted to various drugs. These drugs completely consume their lives, ultimately causing failure and despair for each character. Each characters’ quest for satisfaction in life becomes surpassed by their reliance on the drug that ensures them that they’ll “get there”.

My favorite character out of the four was Sara, Harry’s mother. Ellen Burstyn flawlessly played a character driven mad by her growing loneliness and tedious obsessions. After finding out that she has won a spot on the television show she is obsessed with, she makes it her goal to fit into her prized red dress and look just like she did the night of Harry’s graduation. To reach her goal, she becomes dependant on four daily diet pills which give her an antsy and cheerful feeling. Burstyn’s acting skills were showcased as you could tell she really had to step out of her comfort zone to play this character that makes viewers so uncomfortable.

This movie was in no way an easy movie to watch. Arnofsky makes sure viewers feel just an uncomfortable as the characters do. The montages that appear when there is drug use let the viewers know what is going on without having to make it so drawn out. In many scenes, there are flickering lights in the background which seem to get across the feeling of instability and the distorted camera angles are used especially in the scenes where Sara is growing extremely insane. There are just a few of the techniques the director uses to make the audience really feel for the characters.

If you haven't seen it already you definitely should. The entire movie is filmed in a very interesting way. It's a very sever movie that really shows drugs in an extremely unglamourous light, as opposed to many other films.

Liz

Liz

1. Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control- I really think that I just haven't been in the mood to watch it. I think it's a very interesting idea, overlapping the totally different lives of these men and weaving them together to get across the message. I think, for a documentary, it was done in a very interesting way. The lively shots kept you watching, even if you didn't find the subject matter to be appealing. Like Christy, I liked George. He's a cool little man and he seemed (to me) to be the one with the most passion for his job. I mean... how else could you cut bushes for a living and seem to LOVE it? The man who worked with the robots (Rodney) kind of bored me but I can see why he was a vital part. I guess I just wanted to see more of George and the lion tamer because they interested me more. This caused me to become a bit bored with the other two men. It was nice though.

2. And favorite cinematic moment was probably Chinatown or that montage that started with an N.

Favorite Cinematic Moment!

My favorite cinematic moment was Seven Up! The three boys sitting on the couch discussing the Financial Times...classic.
Love, Christy

Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control....Robots?

I'm sure everyone picked up on the line in the documentary where the title came from. The robot builder was speaking of the way they build robots-- they build them quickly, they build them to be cost efficient, and sometimes they are out of control. One would assume, before seeing this part of the film, that the title had some grander, more metaphorical meaning referring to life or some major aspect of it-- this not being robots. While I think the drudgery of the last weeks of school got in the way of my enjoyment of this film, in retrospect, it is a remarkable work of art. The cinematography is not like any I've ever seen--so beautifully done that it invokes emotion and deep thought. Along with the music and the editing--it tells its story extremely well. But what story are they really trying to tell? They can't really be trying to show you the glamorous life of a topiary gardner or the extravagant, out of control ways of a naked mole rat specialist....of course not! I think they are trying personalize the issue of the human condition---trying to bring it down to a very real level by introducing these 4 average joe characters with really personable jobs. I think, if that was their intention, then they met their goal successfully.
I'm done rambling.....hope it makes sense.....
Puckett

George

Overall, I'm not a very big fan of Fast, Cheap and Out of Control. I guess what put me off about it was some of the subject matter. I don't like the circus and I especially don't like seeing wild animals in places they're neither supposed to be at, nor do they want to be at. That probably seems silly to not like a documentary just because of that, but it just bothered me to see the people training the wild tigers and lions with guns and whips and such. Anyway, what I did like about the documentary was George, the topiary gardener. What a cool guy. I really loved to watch him take care of his creations and hear him talk about them. I also thought the cinematography was amazing...my favorite shot was close to the end of George trimming one of his animals and everything was blacked out but him, the ladder, and the animal.
Yay for George!

Love, Christy

Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control

When watching Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control, I found that I was not so much bored with the documentary, rather just dazed and lost in the tinkering music and changing visualization. I admired the passion that these people have for their jobs, and the determination to instill that love in others. I would have to say I did enjoy the composition of the piece and how each career perfectly intertwined with the other, and blurred the lines to give the viewer a basic idea to follow. I have enjoyed this section on some very interesting documentaries and hope to see more soon.

~Jess A.~
p.s. That butterfly bowtie is pretty stellar.

From Chopped Liver

Ladies of the film class: I'm hopeful that these two (2) requests may elicit a more forthcoming response than did my clearly inane question about nature/nurture for Mad Hot Ballroom/Seven Up. What I was expecting was some discussion about the clearly delineated classes in Seven Up in contrast to the inner city public school groups in NYC. Also the idea about the effect of experience/expectation as a counter to prophecy fulfillment. And did it matter that the teachers of the dance teams were so invested with their students? Alas, more comments from you needed. In the meantime, here are two ideas I would like for you to respond to:
[1] Your assessment of Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control; and a comment or two on the cinematography.
[2] An ongoing post from now until you finish at the Stress Factory:
Explain your favorite cinematic moment from the film class this year..... Yours in being the shadowy assistant, Simmons