The Graduate

For my second movie I decided to go back to the 1960's and watch the classic that I've heard so much about, The Graduate. The Graduate is quirky to say the least, but it was relatively enjoyable to watch.

The plot was strange enough without the odd array of characters, settings, and experimental filming that goes along with it. Dustin Hoffman plays Ben Braddock, a twenty-year-old that just graduated from college. His social awkwardness is strangely charming. This awkward trait certainly attracts the old cougar Anne Bancroft (Mrs. Robinson), and well as the daughter played by Katharine Ross.

The soundtrack for the movie is done by Simon and Garfunkel, which means the music automatically has this charming brilliance to it, however the music is sporatic, only ever used for transitionary circumstances, and rarely matched the mood that was going on. There were only two scenes I can think of where the music truly fit, and it definitely could have been cut better to emphasize what was going on. Beyond that, this movie helps us to see exactly how far we've come in terms of sound mixing and technologies. One scene in particular positions Ben inside the house, with the camera focused on his father who is waiting for him to come outside. In it, Ben tries to convince his dad to give him another minute or two, but instead from his voice coming from the distance, it's bluntly overlayed over the rest of the sound in the scene.

This movie also contains one of the earliest use of jump cuts that I've come across. While it was used well in the context of the scene, it wasn't used again after that point. There were also some attempts at dramatic lighting that frequently resulted in odd shadows across the character's faces. Perhaps I'm being picky, but after watching some movies that revolved around their brilliant lighting, this one fell a bit short.

The transitions in the movie went back and forth between being really well shot and mildly shoddy. One transition had Ben diving off a diving board and landing on top of Mrs. Robinson in a seamless transition, while another had an overview of an empty Berkeley campus transitioning to a campus filled with students that was shaky at best.

Overall I did really enjoy the movie. It was entertaining and worth the watch. The story was eclectic and funky. It was all but impossible to figure out how the movie would end. The movie showed attempts at new stylistic approaches to filming that would be explored by directors in the future. It might not be my favorite movie ever, but it's definitely on the list of must-watch movies.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I started off with this movie for a few reasons: My class started talking about it the other day, and everyone who'd seen it (most of the class) oved it, it was on netflix so it was easy to get a hold of, and I wanted something that had the potential of making me think. It's safe to say, I did think about it afterward. I was going to write the review right after I had watched it so everything was fresh in my mind, but I couldn't even get close to forming coherent thoughts. I needed time to process.

First off, I want to say that I am not Jim Carrey's (Joel Barish) biggest fan. His humor generally annoys me more than anything else. That being said, I absolutely loved him in this movie. The more serious role suited him well. In my mind, it made him much more likeable and less grating, and when the movie called for him to be funny, especially in the flashbacks of him as a child, he was absolutely hilarious. Carrey and Kate Winslet (Clementine Kruczynski) were a great pair. Neither of them overshadowed the other, which can happen when you have two demanding actors side by side. The rest of the characters portrayed by Mark Ruffalo (Stan), Kirsten Dunst (Mary), Elijah Wood (Patrick), and Tom Wilkonson (Dr. Mierzwiak) interlaced perfectly and held their own against the two title actors.

Aside from the acting I really enjoyed several other aspects of the movie. I liked the attention to colour sceme and the correlation of the scheme to the mood. At the beginning, the blue tones in the introduction created this feeling of barrenness. As Clementine was introduced, the tones became warmer, and I liked how, even when there was conflict between Clementine and Joel, there was still a brightness associated with her.

The shot style was very interesting. Odd jump cuts in the time sequence played with the changing timeline in the movie, and instead of making the movie seem oddly jumpy, helped to bring fluidity. Not to mention, it helped cover up any of the distracting mistakes many movies have between shots with hair not being in the same place, or characters not being in the same position. Every camera movement was thought about and calculated. If it didn't need to move to convey the story, it didn't. This especially came through in the transitions from scene to scene when characters frequently walked through a doorway and into the next setting.


The lighting and effects were beautiful. And while the effects were overtly cheesy in some places, you didn't get the feeling that it was because the crew couldn't have had better effects. The effects were cheesy because they wanted them to be.

This movie also played a lot with the idea that we are who we are because of the memories we have and the people we meet along the way. While we might want to erase painful parts of our past, often the better memories make it all worth it, as Joel clearly learns while his memory is being erased. What if people could have certain parts of their memory erased? Would we begin to lose our humanity over time? In many ways, I think the bad parts of our relationships is what gives us our empathy. Without that, would we eventually devolve into emotionless beings?

In the end I have to give this movie a high rating. There's really nothing I could find to critique. Everything was so well thought out and planned, down to the last detail. If you haven't seen this movie, you definitely should. And if nothing else, it will leave you speechless at the end.

Between The Folds

So before I start talking about this little documentary, I want to preface this by saying it's actually something I've seen already. I was going through the list of movies my professor gave us and realized I have watched this little gem before, and I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about it.

Between the Folds is a fifty-five minute documentary about the art of origami. I watched it a few years ago around one or two in the morning, so my brain is a little fuzzy on details, but what I do remember is a really amazing look into an art form that everyone knows of, but doesn't necessarily know of the amazing things origami can create.

All you need for origami is a piece of paper. Most experts would scoff if you tried using tape, paper, glue, etc... because if done correctly, the paper will hold it's own shape. Some of the things these artists create is inspirational.

While I have tried my hand at the art form a few times, I can say my talent does not extend to the polar bears and dragons featured in the documentary. Mine doesn't even extend beyond dollar bill rings and jumping frogs and cups you can actually boil in water, but there is something to be said for the inspiration that can come from creating something beautiful from a piece of paper that you have been working with over the course of minutes, hours, and even days.

Mission: Watch Movies

For one of my classes this semester I have to post at least once a week in a class blog that the professor started for his Fiction Field classes in the past, and now has kept going for my class. The thought was a little daunting. What would I write to begin with? I've never really blogged before, and the few posts I have done barely count.

During our first class my professor showed us a list of movies that he made of movies that he thinks (and the mysterious "they" think) everyone should see. Going through said list I realized I haven't seen a single one, which is how I got my idea for my first blog post on the class blog. (Here's the post in case you're interested.) In the post, I mention how I'm going to keep a journal on the movies I watch. The only problem is, I don't have an extra notebook, and I can't be bothered to spend two hours on the bus to go buy one, or pay the overpriced charges at the bookstore.

So alas, I've decided this blog will be my journal. Ready to embark on my journey with me? It's probably going to be stressful. I have no time as it is, and finding the time will be tough. But I'm determined. And hey! I can right it off as school work right?

So here's to Mission: Watch Movies!