(500) Days of Summer (2009)

(500) Days of Summer (2009)

"This is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know upfront, this is not a love story"

**Thank you narrator for telling me upfront that this is not a love story. It really did not change the fact that I still believed it was a love story throughout the entity of the film. But you were only just warning my feelings.....

(500) Days of Summer, a film directed by Marc Webb (Yes the one that did the new controversial Spiderman film), is a wonderful film that brings out every emotion you can possibly have. Im serious. 

(500) Days of Summer  is about a young beautiful man, Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who meets the also beautiful and most quirky Summer (Zooey Deschanel). And from what you can guess in the title, (500) Days of Summer, this film is about Tom and the 500 days he spends with Summer. 

The night my teacher decided to screen this film we were learning about editing. (500) Days of Summer, was the perfect example. Of course 3/4ths of the class saw the film and left before the screening. But unlike everyone else, I love this film (I own it on DVD) and did not mind staying to see it once again. Part of the reason I did want to say to view this film again, is because (500) Days of Summer is just one of those re-watchable movies that never gets old, sort of like Mean Girls (2004).

Besides the the awesome editing techniques used to make this film great, (500) Days of Summer has other amazing qualities that make this film what it is today. First, the dialogue is genius, and Levitt and Deschanel portray their character so well, it seems they (as actors) are the characters. 

I cannot possibly encourage you more to watch this film. All you need to know is that its perfect, in plot, characters, and of course messing with your emotions. 

Batman Returns (1992)

Batman Returns (1992)

**First-things-first, before I get started, I need to admit that this was my first time screening Batman Returns. I know I am a little bit on the late side, but either way, I am very happy with the outcome of seeing this film.

Batman Returns (1992) is the sequel to Batman (1989), which I have not seen either! The story is yet again about the amazing Batman, but now in the sequel, his enemies are both Penguin and Cat Woman. Tim Burton takes his audience on another adventure through Gotham City. As an audience, you experience fear, love, and rage for everything that occurs in the film.

This week in class we discussed production design, and I believe this was a great film to follow the discussion. Tim Burton executes amazing and exact sets, costumes, and makeup. The movie had the iconic "Tim Burton look" with the plot of the notable Batman.

 This film had great characters, whom had such unique qualities to them. This film, starred Danny DeVito, Michael Keaton, and Michelle Pfeiffer whom are amazing actors and actresses, and portrayed their characters phenomenally. 

This film had all the qualities to be called a classic. Batman Returns IS one of the classics. If you have not seen this film before, I highly encourage you to take the time to watch it ASAP. Remember, this was my first time seeing Batman Returns, but it definitely will not be the last. 

Session 9 (2001)

Session 9 (2001)

This week in class, our subject of discussion was genre. Now, everyone has a favorite genere, but when I found out that the horror genere was my professor's favorite, I almost cried. I LOVE HORROR. So I instantly knew that we would be watching a horror film in class. 

Session 9 (2001) is a film directed by Brad Anderson. This film is more of a psychological-horror film, than just labeled as horror. The story follows a group of guys who are apart freelance hazmat company. These group of guys get hired to work on removing asbestos at an old mental hospital. Scary right?.......

.......That would be an incorrect statement. At first I was really excited to see this film, but as the film began, my high expectations were soon crumpled upon. 5 minutes in, I was still curious. 30 minutes in, I believed it could still get better. 45 minutes in, I have never been so confused in my life. 

I know it was not just me, but other students as well, who were very confused by the story line of this film. But even with all this confusion, I still decided to stay and keep watching. In the end, I still was more confused than ever. I do not believe the characters were developed very well, especially the main character, Gordon. 

The setting, in a mental hospital, was definitely a great choice, and the dark, abandonment definitely set a great mood for this horror film. I was able to conclude that much. What I wasn't able to conclude was the theme. Because of the whole storyline and plot being twisted in my head, even if I did come up with a theme it could be terribly wrong and mislead other people. 

Now, i'm not saying that this film was horrible, it was just incredibly confusing. I do know though, that I WILL see this film again, because I believe it needs a second chance. 

The Princess Bride (1987)

The Princess Bride (1987)

I first saw this film in my 9th grade english class, and I remembered that I really enjoyed the film. The only difference is that when I screened this film for my first time in high school, I was only viewing the film for pleasure. So this time, when my professor reveled that we would be screening The Princess Bride for class, I was extremely excited to view this film again, 6 years later, and with a different outlook.

The Princess Bride (1987), a film directed by Rob Reiner, includes fantasy, adventure, romance, and drama elements all in one 98 minute film. The film is a story, within a story, and begins with a grandfather reading a book to his sick grandson. The story, within the story begins with a farm boy, Westley, and a beautiful girl, Buttercup, who fall in love. The farm boy, goes to venture out to find wealth for his lover and himself, but news is brought back to Buttercup, that Westley's ship was attack and he is now dead. The film cuts to 5 years in the future, where Buttercup is soon-to-be married to the Prince. The marriage is for publicity only, and Buttercup is soon kidnapped the night before her wedding. This film, based on the 1973 novel, written by William Goldman, is a classic story that follows the heroes journey.

I really enjoyed this film, both times, and my attention was kept in tact both times, for the entire time. The week we viewed this film in class, the subject of the night's discussion was "Screenplay." I would say that this film is a perfect example of an outcome of a great screenplay. All of the characters were fully developed and had great structure to them. Also the screenplay did a perfect job of following the heros journey, and the actors, and actresses portrayed the characters amazingly. 

I only have great things to say about this film. It is after all, a classic film from the 80's. I recommend seeing this film at least once in your life, so you too, can experience the imaginary world of princessess fighting to be with there love ones, and bad guys with comedic relief. But overall I recommend viewing this film to experience a care free film that you will walk out of happy, and feeling like a child again.