Thursday, October 24, 2013

DO THE RIGHT THING (1989)


Do The Right Thing is a film in the streets of Brooklyn following a string of different characters all reacting to the heat of the sun. All of the characters have some sort of conflict with at least one other character in the film. Ranging from just messing around, to a legitimate hatred. It is apparent throughout the film that morality is a major theme. Constantly forcing the audience to decide what they consider "the right thing", as most of these conflicts have moral weight on both sides. Leaving the "true" answer ambiguous.
    This whole philosophy is summed up in the last seconds of the movie, when contradictory quotes from Malcolm X and MLK scroll on the screen. Concerning the application of violence. However, I do believe certain characters in this film TRY to do the right thing. And that character is Mookie, who is give that advice by Da Mayor very early on in the film. Although his final act is questionable, Mookie has always remained calm and rational, trying to make peace for any situation.
    As a conclusion, I do not believe there is one "right thing", only the "better of 2 evils" to any given situation. Mookie did the right thing at the end because he knew the place was insured and I believe he wanted to rioters to take out their agression on the establishment instead of hurting any more people. 4.5/5 film. Great directing, acting, and cinematography overall.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

EL TOPO (1970)


This is a screenshot from the first few moments of the film. You can see El Topo nonchalantly walking through a river of blood, implying that he has dealt with violence of this magnitude before. This shot is a long shot intentionally to show just how horrible this massacre was. You can see the entire length of the shot littered with dead bodies and a blood "river" flowing down the middle of the street. However, the shot serves not only to shock and appall, but is also intended to be artistic and appealing to our eyes, ironically. This is a very common theme throughout the film. In this shot, all the dead bodies are wearing the same white clothes and there is blood not only splattered all over every white wall, but also in the streets in a way that resembles a river. The intention was artistically inclined as opposed to making the massacre look realistic.

I thought this film was very interesting. Cool shots like above and interesting philosophical themes are what kept it going for me. Some parts of the movie dragged on a little too long in my opinion. But if you're looking for a unique film that's not like anything else, El Topo is what you want. 3.5/5

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

SECONDS (1966)


The scene i will be analyzing from this movie is the drug scene that the company uses to blackmail Arthur. The first thing you see is him getting very sweaty and passing out. There are multiple cuts as he passes out, all from different angles while skipping a few seconds of time. The different shots are about the same distance from his face however - a close up. He is then walking through a hallway with a tracking close up on his face. It quickly cuts to the shot of him sleeping and then back, to insinuate this is some sort of dream sequence. You see footage of a women lying in bed, screaming as he approaches. However all sounds are inaudible in this scene including the screams. The only sound is a very creepy, droning song. This really adds to the effect of a scary dream sequence. You can see the room he is walking through, which has a very unnatural curve to the floor, walls, and objects. Alice-in-Wonderland esque. The cuts are also chaotic. Switching from him near the woman screaming to the tracking shot to a shot of him entering the room where the woman is still sleeping in bed to an identical tracking shot except the lights around him are switched off etc etc.

I really liked this scene. The chaotic cuts and camera angles really emphasize the dreamy atmosphere of the event. This movie overall was very interesting. I enjoyed it, 4/5