Films Rating

1.Wall-E

2.Gone with the Wind

3.The Great Debaters

4.Psycho

5.The Graduate

6.Cinema Paridiso

7.Ben Hur

8.Citizen Kane

9.V for Vendetta

10.Donnie Darko

Mainstream Films vs. Independent Films

Theres many differences in Mainstream films and Independent films. The movies that we watched in class to see the differences were Shawshank Redemption and Donnie Darko. The Mainstream was film was Shawshank Redemption, i loved this movie in many ways. It had an amazing plot and kept me interested the whole time. You could tell that it was a mainstream film because it had a lot of money put into it. You could tell this movie was planned out more and was looking for a big audience, because they used a plot and it was hard to understand, they had a good and a bad guy so to speak to keep you interested.

The Independent film that we watched in class was Donnie Darko. It was in my eyes the worst movie ever made. I would never watch the movie again and i would never recommend it to anyone either. The differences that i saw with this movie and the mainstream movie was that Donnie Darko had a lot of music in there movie. I believe they used so much music so that you would think about the previous scene and what was happening in the movie. I also noticed that this movie didn't exactly have a plot it was also very random. I hated that you had to really think about what was going on. To me a movie means a time to relax and enjoy something while taking a break on thinking and such and this movie was horrible for that.

I give Donnie Darko a 0 out of 5 and Shawshank Redemption a 4.5 out of 5. I would definitely like to watch more independent movies to see more differences in mainstream and independent. I don't think Donnie Darko was a good representation of an independent film. I feel like it was put together poorly and puts a bad name on independent films.

Wall-E

"I didn't know we had a pool" Mary says this when her screen gets broken and she sees the space ship that they are traveling on. I gave Wall-E a 5 out of % because i thought the movie was absolutely adorable. The movie was hilarious especially the part where Wall-E finds a spork in the trash and he doesn't know whether to put it in the spoons or the forks. There was never a time in the movie that it was boring, it kept me watching the whole time. In half of the movie they barely said any words but the sound effects and the motions of the chracters helped you figure out there emotions and what was going on.

The movie was about how the earth gets over run by grbage and before you know it theres so much garbage that people can't live there anymore. Earth is taken over by BNL and it creates lots of pollution to the world so everyone on the planet gets in a BNL space ship and figures they can go back when the earth gets cleaned up. I thought this movie was funny because they made fun of people and how they are getting lazy. After a while of living in space people don't know how to walk and they only eat all the time. Overall i loved this movie because of Wall-E, he is extremely adorable and loves Eve!

V for Vendetta

"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."V said this in the movie. This quote is pretty important in the movie because the movie has a lot to do with government. I rated this movie a 1 out of 5. I really disliked the movie because it was boring and slow. I don't like watching movie about government unless they are funny. This movie wasn't funny at all. At times it was even cruel which turned me off from the movie too. I also didn't like this movie because it was complicated and i don't to think about the movie and have to figure out something when im watching it i want to be able to know whats going on.

Natalie Portman portrays Evey Hammond when she is caught out after curfew is rescued by V who's played by Hugo Weaving. V is a vigilante that is not satisfied with the British government. Evey witnesses V blow up a government building. After this stunt V takes over the British Television Network, and broadcasts that urging people to go against the government on the fifth of November. V keeps her in his lair because she has been identified at the seen when V blows up the government building. She eventually leaves and tells V she would be back before November 5th. On November 4th Evey returns to V and he shows her the train packed with explosives to destroy parliament. V meets Creedy and Creedy brings him the chancellor to try and get V to surrender, V doesn't surrender so Creedy kills the Chancellor in front of V. V ends up killing Creedy and his man and gets severely wounded. When he returns to Evey he dies and she places him in the train with the explosives. She sends the train off and parliament blows up while the londaners watch with the masks on.

I didn't like this movie at all. I thought it was horrible i wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I would only recommend it to someone who would like to watch a horribly boring movie that makes no sense, unless you love the government. I wish the film had more of romance in it. I hope i never have to watch this movie again.

The Graduate

"Mrs. Robinson, your trying to seduce me" This quote is the biggest quote in the movie and is a really well known quote, even if you haven't watch the movie you have probably heard of it. I rate this movie a 3.5 out of 5. I really liked this movie because of the humor and the love affair. I think that all the actors did an amazing job in the film, especially Anne Bancroft who played Mrs. Robinson. She played a hard role because she had to have an affair with a man that was half her age.

The movie starts out with a young man Ben who is played by Dustin Hoffman that is a college graduate, that comes home. His parents really go out of there way to show him off because hes a track star. Mrs. Robinson becomes interested in Ben at the party his parents throw for him when he gets home. Ben is very confused and doesn't know where he wants to go with his life yet. He soon sorta becomes a victim of Mrs.Robinson and they begin there affair. Later on in the movie he falls in love with her daughter and the daughter finds out that he had an affair with her mother. In the end the daughter doesn't care about the affair because she loves Ben. Ben finds her in a church about to get married off in an arranged wedding from her parents. Ben and Elaine (daughter) end up running off and thats the end of the movie.

I liked the movie quite a bit and if i could change one thing i would change the ending. The ending was not what i expected it would be. I hoped they would pursue Ben and Elaine's relationship a little more. After Ben stole Elaine away from her wedding it only shows them on the bus. It doesn't show if they got caught and got in trouble or if they lived happily ever after or if there parents were happy for them or not.

The Simpson's Movie

The Picture above is one of the advertisements for The Simpsons Movie. I believe the advertisement helps you imagine what the movie will be like. I gave this movie a 4 out of 5, because it was hilarious. I think the reason why the movie was so funny is because the director made it all about current issues in America. He made fun of these issues but kept it so that it wouldn't have offended anyone.

The main thing the movie made fun of was global warming. Not only did they make fun of global warning but they made fun of family's, races, and the government. One of my favorite quotes in the movie is when Homer says "We have a great life here in Alaska, and we're never going back to America again!" I thought this was hilarious because Homer is making fun of Alaska and how he thinks its a great place but i think he is trying to say its not connected to America so its not considered a state, that is just one of the things that Homer makes fun of in the movie. I really loved this movie because of all the humor and would love to watch it again.

The Great Debaters

http://www.box.net/shared/28dpri4ae8

http://www.box.net/shared/h5gpe2ua95

http://www.box.net/shared/me25qkqujk

http://www.box.net/shared/oqby29cxuq

Psycho

"A boys best friend is his mother." Norman bates says this about his relationship with his mother. I find this quote to be one of the best ones and most ironic in the film. He uses it when we still believe his mother is alive, so you decide that he must have a strong relationship with his mother. (of course you don't know that his mother has been dead for years at this point) I gave this movie a 3 out of 5. It had a lot of good parts but it seemed kind of slow pace for my taste. Granted it is an older film so you need to keep that in mind when you are watching it. I liked that it was suspenseful at the right times and the music picked up when you knew that the scary or good parts were coming.

Psycho is a 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film, based on a novel written by Robert Bloch. The book was inspired by a Wisconsin serial killer by the name of Ed Gein. The movie is about a secretary at a real estate office that steals money from her employer Mr.Lowery. After stealing this money from her employer she runs off to pursue her relationship with Sam, who she wants to marry. She ends up stopping to rest at the Bates Motel because its storming out. She meets the Motel owner Norman Bates and starts a conversation with him later after getting settled into her room. From this conversation she learns that Norman lives with his mother in the house on the hill. She soon decides to go to her room and take and shower and rest because she has a long drive in the morning. When in the shower she is murdered by someone who looks like a lady. Her sister soon becomes worried after hearing she ran off to be with Sam, so she goes to find Sam and they set out looking for Marion after discovering she never showed up at Sams. They get the police involved but there no real help, so they take it into there own hands and go to the motel themselves. When they go there they discover a skeleton int eh basement thats supposedly Normans mother and they end up catching Norman when he catches them in the basement. At the end of the movie you find out that Norman has been dressing up as his mother to and killing people.

I believe that Psycho was the start of the scary movie genre. Because Alfred Hitchcock really set the standards high for anyone that came after him and wanted to make a scary film. "Mother, uh-uh Mother, what is the Phrase? She isn't quite herself today." This quote is my second favorite quote in the movie, because it is a great for shadower and really helps you to try and figure out the movie and put the clues together.

My Top 10

1.Twilight
2.Top Gun
3.Hope Floats
4.Talladega Nights:Ballad of Ricky Bobby
5.Step Brothers
6.Dark Knight
7.Forrest Gump
8.Hannah Montana Movie
9.Gran Torino
10.Coyote Ugly

Ben Hur Podcast

http://www.box.net/shared/lm3pg11yd4
http://www.box.net/shared/x17y7bgx78

Citizen Kane

"I don't think any word can explain a man's life. No, I guess Rosebud is just a... piece in a jigsaw puzzle... a missing piece." Thompson the reporter said this when asked if he could know what rosebud meant. I rate this movie a 2 out of 5, because the ending wasnt very clear and i didnt understand exactly what the movie was about.

I believe what Thompson said was right because Rosebud really didnt explain Charles Kanes life, it was just a artifact in his life. Kanes last word was Rosebud(his sled)and by saying that, i believe he was remembering when he was young and didnt have a care. He could be free from the stress of having money. It brought back memories of his parents and how they gave him up so he could hopefully have a better life.

Orson Welles portrays Charles Foster Kane, He did a pretty great job at playing him, but i dont think he was the right actor maybe to play him, because he was kinda scary. After his second marriage with Susan Alexander played by Dorothy Comingore failed, he did sorta a downward spiral. I believe it was because of the money that was brought into his life. Money only brings trouble is what i believe. So by saying Rosebud on his death bed he was wishing for the times when he didnt have to depend on his money and when he could be free.

So to conclude i only gave Citizen Kane a 2 out of 5 because i didnt like the ending, and how it didnt tell me what happens to Susan. I also didnt like how it didnt explain the significance of Rosebud, and why Charles said it on his deathbed.

"It will come to you, this love of the land. There's no gettin' away from it if you're Irish." This quote is said by Gerald O'Hara to Scarlett. If you catch this quote at the beginning of the movie, you will understand the end of the movie. This movie is highly complicated, has lots of foreshadowing, and you need to pay attention to every detail in the movie, else nothing will be clear in the end.

This Movie is set in 1939, during the Civil War and Reconstruction period. Brilliantly Directed by Victor Fleming, this movie is romance and drama.Gone with the Wind portrays the Trials and tribulations of Scarlett O'Hara played by Vivien Leigh. Scarlett is a strong young lady trying to win the love of Ashley Wilkes played by Leslie Howard, she doesnt get to far in her quest for the his love because hes already in love with Melanie his cousin. Her attempt eventually fails to win over Ashley, but she wins the love of 3 other men along the way Charles Hamilton, Frank Kennedy, and Rhett Butler. She ends up marrying all 3 men, mostly because she needed money or wanted to make Ashley jealous.

I loved the movie for all of its drama and the crazy love triangle. I also liked the forshadowing, so you always knew when to sit on the edge of your seat and wait for something bad or good to happen. I liked the acting at the time, because it wasnt great and you couldn't blue screen anything or cover up mistakes. So everything was real and raw. I did not like the ending of the movie, i understood it. I just wish it would have gone into more depth into what happens and how everything turns out.

All in all i loved the movie. I liked the love triangle and the drama. This movie stood out to me because it is a classic and you can learn so much about history and about film in the movie. I just believe that you have to put all of your focus into the movie and make sure you pay full attention, else you will not get the movie and you will not enjoy it.