At first glance, one person may just think this is just another foreign flick. I did. I expected to fall asleep. And I did. But it was because I already woke up early for work and it was a long day to watch in the evening. I only fell asleep for (I think) 15 minutes. But watching the whole film, I recommend watching it more than once to understand the story. It is a great film with great cinematography and a great story.
8½ is directed by Federico Fellini and was released in the U.S. in 1963. I'll only review two things about the movie. One negative and one positive.
First, let's do the positive. The story. It is fantastic. However, you will not get it the first time through. The film goes through flashbacks, reality, fantasies, and the actual film scenes of the movie being filmed in it. Confusing, huh? Yeah. I didn't get it for the first 30 minutes and then it slowly dimmed brighter in my head what was going on. Normally, this would be a negative point for me but Fellini does it in such a genius way that you want to find out and keep peeling the layers of the main character and see who he truly is. The opening sequence is quite odd and I had a confused WTF look as I was watching it. But as it progressed, Guido (the main character) relates to the film student audience as a lot of people want stuff from him and keep nagging at him as a director and a person. Several scenes show this brilliantly and I applaud it.
The negative? It's too long. As so, I fell asleep at some time during it. And so being a complex film and needing to watch it several times is also a negative.
My verdict? Watch it. Again. And again. It's that good.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Passion of Anna Review
Let me just start by saying this is one of the most bizarre and depressing movies I have had the chance to watch. Now that I've said that, I will not watch this again. I could not find the trailer so I have put the ending scene in it. Don't worry, it's not much of a spoiler unless you watch the whole movie.
We watched Passion of Anna in class a couple of weeks ago. There were a few things that stood out to me as I watched it. First, the location and scenery is very dreary and dull, very much relating to the story.
Another aspect of the film that I would like to point out are the interviews with the actors and their view on their characters. These just occur in random times as if these were DVD extras. I did not like it as it threw off my attention and broke the storyline.
I did not like Anna's character as she is very needy and also has much mental problems that it's difficult to relate to her and feel sorry for her. She is just so bizarre.
My recommendation is watch this once and that's it. This is not in any of my top favorite lists. Far from it. Watch it and see if you feel the same or not.
In the word that finishes the film, I end this review.
SLUT
We watched Passion of Anna in class a couple of weeks ago. There were a few things that stood out to me as I watched it. First, the location and scenery is very dreary and dull, very much relating to the story.
Another aspect of the film that I would like to point out are the interviews with the actors and their view on their characters. These just occur in random times as if these were DVD extras. I did not like it as it threw off my attention and broke the storyline.
I did not like Anna's character as she is very needy and also has much mental problems that it's difficult to relate to her and feel sorry for her. She is just so bizarre.
My recommendation is watch this once and that's it. This is not in any of my top favorite lists. Far from it. Watch it and see if you feel the same or not.
In the word that finishes the film, I end this review.
SLUT
Dial M for Murder Review
Keeping up with these blogs is proving quite a challenge for me as it has been over a month. I'll now be updating what I missed.
Next movie is Dial M for Murder, a classic by mastermind Alfred Hitchcock. Being a classic, it has its moments and the story keeps you sucked in. However, for me, I would rather watch something else. I suggest you watch it and make your own choice.
Dial M for Murder is an Alfred Hitchcock film so you already know there will be mystery involved and twisted scenes in the movie.
One such scene is the famous murder scene where Margot (Grace Kelly) is almost murdered by Captain Lesgate (Anthony Dawson) as her husband Tony (Ray Willand) hears the attempted murder going on over the phone and does nothing. Why nothing? Well, he set the whole thing up. The lighting for the the scene was great. It was dark but enough light to see the actors but without over doing it. The angle of the camera and also of Lesgate before and after he gets stabbed by Margot is well accomplished as it realistically looks as if he was stabbed. I had to see it a few times as I was awed for those few seconds. Genius.
One part of that scene bothers me as to why she stays on the phone for over 30 seconds saying "hello? hello?" and pushes the lever to hang up multiple times but still there is a connection. Oh well. Maybe it's just me.
One scene does not make the movie though. I enjoyed this scene as well a a few others but that's it. I could see how many consider this a classic and why it was assigned for viewing and blog review but for me, it's just another "old film classic."
Next movie is Dial M for Murder, a classic by mastermind Alfred Hitchcock. Being a classic, it has its moments and the story keeps you sucked in. However, for me, I would rather watch something else. I suggest you watch it and make your own choice.
Dial M for Murder is an Alfred Hitchcock film so you already know there will be mystery involved and twisted scenes in the movie.
One such scene is the famous murder scene where Margot (Grace Kelly) is almost murdered by Captain Lesgate (Anthony Dawson) as her husband Tony (Ray Willand) hears the attempted murder going on over the phone and does nothing. Why nothing? Well, he set the whole thing up. The lighting for the the scene was great. It was dark but enough light to see the actors but without over doing it. The angle of the camera and also of Lesgate before and after he gets stabbed by Margot is well accomplished as it realistically looks as if he was stabbed. I had to see it a few times as I was awed for those few seconds. Genius.
One part of that scene bothers me as to why she stays on the phone for over 30 seconds saying "hello? hello?" and pushes the lever to hang up multiple times but still there is a connection. Oh well. Maybe it's just me.
One scene does not make the movie though. I enjoyed this scene as well a a few others but that's it. I could see how many consider this a classic and why it was assigned for viewing and blog review but for me, it's just another "old film classic."
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