Stagecoach-True Grit-Unforgiven

Stagecoach and True Grit

True Grit has many classic western elements that are also exemplified in the movie Stagecoach which is considered by many to be a classic western. Both the main male characters in the movies have strong personalities and also give viewers the illusion that they are invincible. They are also classic in how they show no regret for killing people. In both there is also a scare or fear of Indians which don't play major character roles in the movie and making them seem savage unlike real life. The setting and weather in both movies is also very similar in that it never really rains in either movie and it is almost always sunny when its shot in the day time. Its also apparent that many of the shots in each movie show the huge wilderness in the background.

True Grit and Unforgiven

Both of these movies are revisionist in that they have strong women characters in them not just the women who need protection from trouble, but who are able to fend for themselves. They are also both revisionist in that one of the heroes in each is sort of flawed in some way, the Schofield Kid in Unforgiven and "LaBeef" in True Grit. The music of each also is revisionist in that they have sort of a sad ring to it not always upbeat and happy as in Stagecoach. The way each of the main characters is portrayed in their shots with the darker lighting when they are introduced giving them a mysterious figure.

Overall

I would have to say that True Grit is more of a revisionist western, mostly because of the difference in plot points. Some of these include the portrayal of a strong woman character who is able to hold her own throughout the movie as well as a hero with a few flaws that can be seen. Cogburn is old and out of shape while LaBeef is clumsy and not always ready for battle.

It can also be considered revisionist in the different camera angles and some of the indoor lighting. In both True Grit and Unforgiven there is light shining through the windows making the rest of the inside look dark although this happens mostly in the beginning of the movie in True Grit. Also some of the music doesn't sound the same as some of the classic western pieces.

Clip Analysis

C: Silence of the Lambs:

Much of the scenes in this short clip were examples of cross-cutting. At this point in the movie, the police think they have found the kidnapper and are approaching what looks like an ordinary house on the outside. In the cross cut scenes, the action often overlaps and in this particular clip the director uses this to mislead the viewer. The cross-cutting then comes to a climax where with short paced scenes reveal that the police are at the wrong house. The director also uses the element of surprise through restricted narration in the way that we only know what each of the characters know. The director also uses extreme close ups on the kidnapper along with a handheld camera angle to build suspense and show emotional anger. Inside the house, low key lighting is used to sort of show how hidden the girl is from society while the rest of the house uses more fill lighting. The scene also seems to expand time in that it makes something that would only take 30 seconds or so a couple of minutes in the film.

E: Amadeus:

In this clip, the director plays with the mental subjectivity of the old man at the piano who in this scene is seems just be asking a young man about his piano playing skills. We can see into the mind of the older man while he imagines hes the conductor of a symphony. We can still hear the non-diegetic sound while the old man is sitting at the bench, but it suddenly turns to diegetic sound once the other setting is displayed. This could also be considered a fade in where the sound from the other scene is heard before the visual part of the scene is shown. Eye-line matches and the 180 degree rule are also used to show the conversation between the older man and the young man.

Best Picture Nominees

The Social Network:

-Very College like scenery.

-Finds a way to make a ordinary story interesting.

-Characters seem round and lifelike

Inception:

-Amazing effects

-A little hard to follow at the end

-Music builds suspense very well

The Kings Speech:

-Does a good job of adding humor to the king's journey.

-Odd camera angles give the off-tilted effect.

-Dazzling special effects

Winter's Bone:

-Lighting and Weather set good mood.

-Ree is a stong main character.

-Liked the message of good family values.

True Grit:

-Strong woman character even though there isn't really meant to be

-Good scenery/setting for a western

-Good depiction of characters especially Cogburn

Toy Story 3:

-Good screenwriting

-Voiceovers are prime

-Good message to stick with your friends

1.The Social Network: Although the special effects don't really measure up to those of Inception, the roundness of each of the characters presented by each of the actors are genuilly fantastic. The college atmosphere presented in the movie was very lifelike, from the dark indoor lighting to the background music. The actor that portrayed Mark Zuckerberg also did a very good job at seeming arrogant and very controlling as I assume the character was supposed to be. The story also flowed very well, as a viewer I was never left behind or questioning what the characters were doing even though I understand nothing about computer coding or much about technology. In this way the writers make the story easy to follow for us non-computer geeks out there.

2. Inception: The special effects in this movie are amazing most notably when the character Ariadne is creating her first dream and bends the ground in half over itself. Again, a good job is done at explaining a world of complicated fake rules that exists within the movie although some parts did leave me puzzled for a little bit. Some of the inventive backgrounds of scenes especially of the scenes of "limbo" are very intriguing to the eye. They look normal unless you take a second look and realize something is just a little bit off. Although the acting is not quite as fufilling as in The Social Network, I believe this along with the creative scenery is what puts it above The Kings Speech. Leonardo DiCaprio does a fine job as a creative criminal mastermind and I think he should try more roles like this one and the one he did in Shutter Island.

3. The Kings Speech: Prince Albert played by Colin Firth is fantastically presented with his fear that he will let down the people of England solely because of his speech impediment. He bravely takes on his problems for this reason only because he believes the people of England deserve a better speaker than him. While the doctor, Lionel Louge, realizes that to help the prince with his problem he must also become his friend. This is a warm tale of how friends can support each other with their problems and how even though royalty may seem perfect they are not always as they seem.

4. Winter's Bone: Although this movie seems very depressing and rationalistic, the mood fits it very well with the often dark and serious indoor lighting along with the nighttime scenes with the police officer. This tells the story of how a young woman has to take control of her families well being. The message is probably better than that of True Grit in how a woman can take control of her life and overcome her own problems as well as the problems of the ones around her.

5. True Grit: Although it had its funny moments, I felt that the movie sort of swayed from the original plot line a little too far at times and too many unnecessary things happened because of the lack of storyline. Its message is much the same as Winter's Bone in that it is a story of accomplishments by young women overcoming their problems. The lighting didn't give the actors as serious of a look as they probably should have had. This along with the joking nature of Rooster Cogburn really detracted from the serious nature of the film.

6. Toy Story 3: Woody exemplifies a true hero in this movie never willing to leave his friend behind. This tells a story we've all known as kids about how we have to give up our toys once we don't need them anymore. This brings into question how the toys would feel if they could in fact feel. I was very surprised in the way that the stuffed bear Lotso had the chance to renew himself and save the day for all the toys in the trash compactor but he still remained an antagonist. This really seemed off-tilt seeing as this is supposed to be a children's movie. The story line seemed very predictable otherwise with everyone saved at the end and the bad guy getting what he deserves. The voice overs were also very child like so that it is easy for people under 7 years old to understand also making the story move along slowly.

My First Movie Review

Movie: Up
BRAINSTORMING:

• Dug the dog uses his robotic voice to create humor.
• There are as many sad points as happy parts in the movie.
• The sad parts of the movie make the happy ones feel more intense or better than they would normally.
• Fantastic story line-very unusual
• Energizing
• Good range of character personalities
• All characters seem round as opposed to flat.
• Unexpected when the childhood hero (Charles Munson) appears in the story line.
• Use of animals add to humor.
• Much like a roller coaster ride, happy then sad
• Good ideas as to what animals could say if they could talk.
• Great ending.
• Shows troubles in characters lives not just one side of them.
• Good message of following your dreams.
• Also says to not be selfish.

REVIEW OF UP:

The movie Up was a great movie because of the way the story line jumps up and down from happy to sad.  One second something funny will be happening with Dug, the hilarious talking dog, and then next moment you will feel remorse for each of the characters problems in the movie.  The characters also seem very real and life like because of the way they not only have good expireiences in the movie but bad ones too, which is not always apparent in a childerns movie.  Although some parts may be sad, the movie has two great messages, that kids should follow their dreams and that being selfish will only make you feel bad about yourself later, both that are great messages to send to kids.