Just Another Girl on the I.R.T – Personal Reflection

Chantel Mitchell was determined to not be like every other girl on the I.R.T. But it turns out that she is. I think that the people you surround yourself with is a reflection of who you are as well. One of her friends already had a child to take care of and the other one was just wild. They would go out to parties looking for “love.” Chantel’s mother did not want her going out because she knows what it’s like but Chantel would lie to stay out all night. Chantel was smart and could have turned things around for herself, but her bad attitude would not get her very far. Watching the film made me angry at the fact that she had school going for her and she ruined it with her poor attitude and behavior. Teen pregnancy is common and I am not against it, but the fact that she pretended throughout the whole film like she was not pregnant and nothing was wrong, proved that she was not fit to be a mother. Her boyfriend gave her options and tried to be there for her. He gave her $600 that she could decide to get an abortion or not with. Instead of returning the money, she took her and her friend on a shopping spree. She was immature about the situation when now was the time she needed to step up and figure out her life. But she was too determined to be like every other girl on the i.r.t. The scene that enraged me the most was towards the end when she was ready to have the baby. She refused to get help and go to the hospital. Then, she tells Ty to just throw the baby away. Her not caring for an innocent child that is her own was outrageous. Although in the end she ends up going to college and taking care of her baby responsible, I was still angry with her character.

Outside Providence – Relating Setting to the Narrative

I had never seen or heard of the film Outside Providence before this class. I’m really glad I had the opportunity to watch it and I’d like to take a minute to comment on what we talked about in class: the setting. It’s not very often that I watch a film that uses locations that I know like the back of my hand. It was quite interesting being able to see different parts of the University and thinking in my head “Oh, I know that place!”. It almost gave me a sense of pride viewing it all.

I’d like to raise this question though, do you think that seeing all these locations that you are familiar with takes away from narrative and story of the film? I do. When I was watching I noticed the film staged the URI campus to be Cornwall Academy in Connecticut. Knowing that URI is obviously not in CT sort of woke me out of the transient state you fall into when you get lost in a film. I couldn’t help but be reminded that the story isn’t true and that I’m actually watching a film. 

I notice this a lot too with almost all the student films that I watch. Being an upperclassman film major, my colleagues and I create a lot of films. Since we’re only students, we have to be very resourceful so more times than not we use local places paired with friends and family (as our acting talent) to bring our films to life. On the other hand, however, there are usually a couple students who fundraise and use the money to hire actors and use locations that are more unfamiliar to the class. I personally feel like these films are much easier to get lost in and I enjoy them more. But that’s just me, professional actors take on many roles in all sorts of different films yet we are able to get lost in their stories every time. It could potentially be a skill and an experience thing at that level, who knows.

Everyone knows a Mix Fischer

In 1998, director Wes Anderson made his second full-length film, Rushmore, with the help of frequent collaborator and former classmate, actor/writer Owen Wilson. Rushmore is about an ashamed poor 15 year old boy who goes to the prestigious prep school Rushmore Academy. Max Fischer goes to Rushmore on scholarship, but is doing poorly in school despite being part of many clubs at the school. Some of the thing Max enjoys are; writing, acting and directing theater productions, hanging out with self made millionaires and hitting on the first grade teacher Rosemary Cross. Along the way, Max’s rich friend Herman Blume (played by Bill Murray) starts falling for Rosemary, starting a feud between Max and Herman. By the end of the film, Max begins to feel bad for the damage he caused to Herman during their fight and was guilty for pushing Rosemary and Herman apart. He writes a play as a mission to win back Rosemary for Herman which ultimately works. After the show, Max is no longer ashamed of his father being a barber and finally matures into someone he himself is proud of.

Being one of Wes Anderson’s first films, it is the one that sets the bar for what we will be seeing in the future. While Rushmore is still shot very much like a Wes Anderson film, the set designs of the film were not as apparent and important as The Royal Tenenbaums or The Grand Budapest Hotel. This film is much more central to its plot and didn’t rely as much on the heavy artistic qualities it could have presented if it were made later in Wes Anderson’s life. As for the film itself, it was quite enjoyable. Bill Murray, who worked for a fraction of his normal price in order for this film to get launched, gave a brilliant performance to help make this movie better. He played a typical Murray character that was awkward and out of his luck and played it just as well as he always has. Blume is a much more dark character at this point in his life has nothing else to look forward to because his best days are behind him, and he is slowly losing everything all at the same time. It would have been a bit more interesting of a story if more of the focus was put on Blume, rather then Fischer.

 

Wes Anderson set design– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Eg6yIwP2vs

 

 

A Personal Reflection on Edward Scissorhands

Before this class, I had never seen Edward Scissorhands in its entirety. I knew that it was a famous Tim Burton film, one that really exemplified his zany style. What I didn’t realize until about midway through the picture, however, was the fact that this film is itself a metaphor for the life and career of Tim Burton himself. In various interviews, Burton describes this movie as being a true labor of love, and that it was the film he felt closest to in his career. After watching the whole thing, it truly hit me as to how powerful one’s inner manifestations can show themselves through their art.

For those unfamiliar with Burton’s career, he was a self-described “weird kid” with few friends. He was an artist who surrounded himself by his own crazy sculptures and drawings. His first short caught the eyes of the executives over at Disney and he was hired as an animator. The early 1980’s were a tumultuous time in Disney’s history. In the wake of the death of their founder, the men now in charge had lost the creative spark and were desperate to fill the void with new, young voices. The veterans thought they were being pushed out, and as such morale and creative output hit a new low. Burton was caught up in the middle of all this as he directed a film called “Vincent”  which was an homage to his childhood idol, the horror master villain Vincent Price. Two years later he developed a film called “Frankenweenie” a stop-motion film that was so strange the executives at Disney were ashamed to show it and it was locked in the vault. Due to his apparent “lack of creativity,” Burton was unceremoniously shown the door. But this ended up being the greatest thing to happen to Burton, as it led to his career as a big budget director.

If you look at all that, it’s easy to see Edward as Tim. He is the person who creates these wondrous works of art with his hands, something many would ordinarily find to be grotesque. He goes from being unaccepted to being accepted, as Burton was when he went to Disney. Just as quickly he loses this acceptance and becomes an outcast. But this is where the metaphor heightens. Just as the ending of Edward Scissorhands is interpreted often as being “bleak,” it’s actually hopeful. It shows that Edward’s (and Tim’s) best works are actually ahead of him, and the joy he brings to millions will continue on. This really resonated with me, and I feel like this interpretation of the film gives it a richer and deeper meaning.

“Timothy Walter Burton.” 2014. The Biography.com website. Apr 25 2014http://www.biography.com/people/tim-burton-9542431.

Good Will Hunting: Personal Reflection

“A man can spend his entire life studying to be a mathematician–and yet watch helplessly while a high school dropout, a janitor, scribbles down the answers to questions the professor is baffled by” (Ebert).  Good Will Hunting is a story of a young mans drift toward self destruction and the various people in his life that try to help him attain happiness. For me the film demonstrates the power of happiness and what it means to people. The film that shows the struggles of emotional and inner happiness. The character is a blue collar janitor who does not have much of a life other than working and drinking with his few friends, but this does not take away from his will to be happy on a day-day basis. As the film progresses, Will becomes more aware of important life issues he is facing such as a job, a future, love, and ultimately his destiny. Much of the film is his struggle through these feelings and I found them very relatable, especially for many people our age. I think making life decisions is a big struggle for many people and viewers can relate to Will in the decisions he makes. When Will makes the decision to ultimately leave Boston in search and chase of his dreams and hopes it stood out to me because many of us can relate to learning to chase after the things you want in life. Overall the emotional conflicts and stories in Good Will Hunting really stood out to me in a way not many films do.

Ebert, Roger. “Good Will Hunting Movie Review (1997) | Roger Ebert.” All Content. N.p., 25 Dec. 1997. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

 

The Basketball Diaries Personal Reflection

I loved everything about this movie.  While taking a look at IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, however, it occurred that not everyone else did.  The Basketball Dairies got a mediocre rating on both movie sites, and a variety of negative reviews.

I have never seen a movie quite like this before.  I thought the Catholic school setting + teenage delinquency + the mean streets of New York City were an awesome combination.  This movie resonated with me because I went to Catholic school from 3rd grade until I graduated high school, and even though I was not taught by priests and they did not paddle us, it was still easy to get in trouble; and like Jim, I got in trouble.  I also understand his struggles with the Catholic Church and God, something that I also went through.  (Unlike Jim’s school though, mine had girls.)

Overall, I thought the acting, cinematography, and story were brilliant. I was engaged with the film the entire time and did not get bored. Maybe it is because I have an affinity for dark, crime, and drug themed movies, but I would now consider this one of my favorites movies I have ever seen.

Probably my favorite scene in the movie is when Jim first shoots up heroin.  This scene totally surprised me, as I did not see it coming after the basketball scene in the rain.  The way Jim narrated the scene along with the juxtaposition of the filthy junky basement next to him running shirtless through the flowers after doing the drug was what made it memorable.  I thought that was a brilliant choice by the director, along with the funky/wavy movement of the camera and music choice as he collapses into the flowers.

I really liked this movie, but I can see why others would find it uncomfortable.  Nonetheless, I give this movie a 9/10.

Personal Reflection- What’s Eating Gilbert Grape

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is about the Grape family and the main character is Gilbert Grape and also the narrator. He seemed to be the reserved and very observant in the family. He takes care of his mentally challenged brother Ernie the most and was very protective of his brother. Bonnie is Gilbert’s mother and she’s morbidly obese, weighing over 500 lbs.

I found I can relate to Gilbert Grape as someone who takes care of his family and chooses family all the time even though he seemed like he wanted more. It’s hard to balance your own social life and taking care of disabled family members. Gilbert Grape did look and show he cared for his family very much but two scenes I thought would really make people dislike Gilbert. There’s a scene in the beginning of the movie where these kids were outside in front of Gilbert’s house and were curious to see Bonnie. Gilbert and his friend were right there and while his friend was working and talking not aware of his surroundings, Gilbert helped the boy peak through the window to see Bonnie sitting on the couch. Gilbert’s friend notices and tells the kid to go away and was disappointed at Gilbert for doing something like that to his mother. I thought that was really rude to do, his mother isn’t an art work on display for people see, that’s his mother. There’s another scene where Gilbert got really mad at Ernie refusing to take a bath, he lost control of his anger and hit Ernie not once or twice but multiple times, this scene angered me because it seemed like he took his frustrations out on Ernie and took out on someone who is innocent. It seemed Gilbert Grape was character everyone would like more but with those two scenes made him almost not a likeable character.

Personal Reflection: Welcome to the Dollhouse

While watching Welcome to the Dollhouse, I felt very conflicted about what I’m supposed to be feeling for the main character, Dawn. Early on, I definitely felt for her, especially during the opening scene where she was trying to find a seat in the cafeteria to eat her lunch. She’s just a nerdy girl at school who can’t really fit in with anyone in the whole school. I can relate. But, as the movie goes on, I find more and more reasons to question how crazy Dawn is for everything that she’s doing.

She’s mean to her sister. This is probably just her channeling out her aggression from school onto her, but it’s still something of note. The BIG thing for me is how she treats her bully, Brandon. He continuously berates her; he even threatens to rape her. He even gives her a specific time and place, because that’s obviously something you want to tell your potential victim. What does she do? She GOES to that exact spot. She doesn’t even make an attempt to avoid that specific location. She doesn’t fight at all. It’s things like that I don’t get about this movie. Dawn isn’t even trying; it seems very self-destructive. I know that Brandon ends up not raping her, and Dawn eventually considers him as a potential boyfriend, but it’s the whole setup for it that irks me.

Don’t get me wrong. I still enjoyed this movie a lot, but some parts of the movie, like the examples above, are just weird to me.

http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/MRobinson/clips/welcome-to-the-dollhouse-dawns-family-dinner.wmv/view

Personal Reflection on Lolita (1997)

The film Lolita (1997) was directed by Adrian Lyne and is based off of Vladimir Nabokov’s novel. The film follows a forty year old man named Humbert who falls in love with a fourteen year old girl named Lolita. The film is portrayed entirely through Humbert’s eyes and thus we are made to sympathize with his pedophilia. We are told that Humbert once fell in love and had his first sexual encounter with a French girl named Annabel and “what happens to a boy during the summer when he is fourteen can mark him for life.”

I personally felt disturbed by this movie, despite all of its efforts to make the viewer sympathize with Humbert. I also thought that the movie was too inappropriate due to the numerous sex scenes, especially considering Lolita’s tender age. We are made to believe that Humbert’s psychological issues stemming from his first love are an excuse for him to prey on little girls, but realistically, no matter which way you look at the film there is still always going to be a legal concern of statutory rape. This film essentially sends a message saying that it is okay for a forty year old man to take advantage of a girl who has barely hit puberty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tone Interrupted? Personal Reflection on Girl Interrupted

The movie Girl, Interrupted was actually something that I watched back in high school, and I was 100% not ready for all the elements that came with it. The themes in this movie are extreme, and often uncomfortable, ranging from mental disorder to incest to suicide. Once the initial shock was over, I was able to go back and watch it again for this class and was less shocked, giving me a chance to really absorb the movie. That being said, after watching the trailer, I am completely shocked by how inaccurately they portrayed the movie in the preview. Girl, Interrupted has some “funny” scenes, but the film is a drama and the trailer showed the movie as more of a comedy. There is little to no mention of the serious mental illness that almost all the characters suffer, and all the serious effects that are shown as serious within the movie are shown in a comedic manner in the trailer. Personally, I was really confused while watching the trailer, it made me question if I was even watching the right movie. It also made me wonder if the director of the film even watched the railer or had a part in making the trailer before it was released. People who saw the trailer and then went to the movie were in for a bit of a nasty shock if they were expecting a comedy. Another reason I really loved Girl, Interrupted was because of the deep, meaningful characters. Lisa is definitely one of those characters, and her actions in the film were what shocked me most of all. She was unafraid to push everyone to their limit, and had no remorse for when she pushed people past the breaking point. I think the scene that hits the hardest and has the most shock value is the one that I have attached. Lisa is essentially the most damaged girl in the film, however, she does not push to her breaking point until this scene, although she has pushed many others to their breaking points. In this scene she starts to crack, and I think when she began to fall apart at the scene is where the movie really comes around to prove that point that no matter how you act on the outside, you can’t change the fact that you’re a damaged person. Overall the film had so much shock value to it and even though it was not assigned to be watched in full for this class, I would highly recommend it. 

(Scene Starts at 4:45)