The Holy Girl

The movie, The Holy Girl, or as it is called in Spanish, "La Nina Santa," (I know there is no accent over the second "n" in Nina because I have no clue how to do it) was very boring. I know that this is not about our opinion, but it was just boring to me. Anyways, on to the prompt of this movie blog. I believe that the reason why this movie was important was because of the theme of sexuality and the coinciding of their spiritual life. That is what I believe is the biggest motive of importance of the movie. I think it is important because we all have sexual impulse, let's be honest here. Most of us actually believe in something as well, which is the spirituality part. It is kind of the saying of "You can't have your cake and eat it too." It also shows how people can use sex as a sort of weapon or use it as sort of a justifying force, depending on whose hands it is in. I just read that and it could be misconstrued as a pun, so pun definitely NOT intended. In this case, the main character of the movie, Amalia, was being hit on by one of the doctors at her mom's (who is pretty good looking) hotel. She thinks that she needs to save the doctor from the inappropriate behavior he portrayed towards her. She kind of got over it and fell in love with him and desires to be married to him. Oh yeah, and she also starts stalking him. This movie felt sort of like some significant book or play made in the 1800's or something. I can't pinpoint it, but it sort of feels like that, much like the 1983 movie Scarface wort of reminded me of Macbeth (actually it was the other way around because I saw Scarface first.) The reason why I believe the movie was selected is beyond me. If I had to guess, it was because it was a very significant movie that has a very significant message about sexuality. That is just a guess, though because I really don't know.

The Babadook

First off, all I have to say is wow. This movie was great! Not my favorite movie ever, but it was pretty good. It sort of started out slow but then got suspenseful real fast. Honestly, this movie is the best movie that we've watched in this class so far (at least from my perspective.) You kind of felt for the mom, since she was a single mother with an annoying son that got into a bunch if mischief at school. I kind of related her sort of like Jack Torrance from The Shining because of the hysteria she was in when the Babadook possessed her breaking down doors and trying to kill her son, like Jack Torrance tried to do in The Shining and whatnot. There were plenty of differences within the two movies, but it could be closely compared to The Shining, which I thoroughly enjoyed throughout the movie. Anyways, on to the topic of gender and the horror genre. Most of the time in horror movies, the villain is a man, but we really don't know if the Babadook is a man or a woman. I personally wouldn't give it a gender, it was just sort of a beast. Women in horror movies are also stereotyped and are the victims (in this case it was true to an extent,) but Amelia was the victim AND the hero because she tamed the Babadook and sort of made it her bitch, with a little bit of help from Sam, her son. The gender roles were sort of reversed in this movie, which definitely intrigued me since Amelia wasn't like the typical woman in the horror movies. To conclude, I believe that this movie was really well put together and lived up to the label of "psychological thriller."

Dogtooth

Alright. I thought that this movie would have been much more...dark. It wasn't really dark, it was just weird. The movie was a lot like Eraserhead. It is probably a good movie, but it just gets weirder and weirder as the movie progresses. There was no real shock value, at least to me, because if I'm going to be shocked, I have to be psychologically. Now I know when the older daughter knocks her right "dogtooth" out it was supposed to be very thrilling, but it didn't do anything for me. Overall I didn't mind it, but it wasn't the best. I know that for a fact that they definitely made it weird for the Greek Weird Wave, but it just got progressively weirder throughout the movie having me question why they were doing stuff, like when they were doing the, I guess, scavenger hunt? Can you call it that? Anyways, the part where the kids are blindfolded and are walking around in the yard to the wooden platform where their mother was. Anyways, the scene that I was going to analyze was the ending five minutes or so. The oldest daughter went to the bathroom and then knocked her right canine out and then hid in her father's Mercedes Benz's trunk. The youngest daughter went to the father's room and started licking him, to what I assume is to wake him up. He got up and started searching for the oldest daughter outside of the boundaries of their house. The kids and the mom started barking like dogs and the youngest daughter also called out Bruce, since the oldest daughter said that she would respond if the youngest daughter called the older one Bruce. They couldn't find her, so they stopped looking. Later, the dad and mom were at their table and he told her to drink the orange juice, for some reason. As an aside, I don't know what it is about the recurring theme of the orange juice, but whatever. Anyways, the dad went to his job and the camera shot to the trunk and just ended with that. It was not really the ending that I thought, but it is what Lanthimos wanted. I was expecting the ending to be the oldest daughter getting out of the trunk and running away Rocky style and whatnot, since she watched Rocky when the girl that was banging the son gave her the VHS tape for *ahem* service downstairs (if you know what I mean.) I wanted it to be really stereotypical modern movies where the main character gets away free and clear. It of course didn't happen like that. The movie also lived up to the hype of being "weird," so Lanthimos should be proud of that. The younger daughter was also pretty good looking, which was pretty nice.

Proof

First off, I did a little bit of research on this movie. I googled "Proof" and I saw a movie with Gwyneth Paltrow, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Sir Anthony Hopkins and I just let out a huge groan. But then I looked at the year it was made, and it wasn't even in the 90's. So I felt extremely stupid, to say the least. I then actually looked at the 1991 movie Proof, and it seemed pretty good. I did a little research and saw that Maximus from Galdiator and the Agent Smith from the Matrix series were in it, and I knew that it was going to be good. Now, I know Russell Crowe and Hugo Weaving were nothing like the characters that I just mentioned, but they actually acted pretty well in this movie. Anyways, I should probably get down to brass tacks and analyze a scene. The scene that I enjoyed because it kept me on my seat and had me laughing at the end of it was when Russell Crowe, or Andy, took Hugo Weaving, or Martin, to the drive-in. Russell Crowe was describing the slasher flick that they drove in to see to Hugo Weaving, you know, since he is blind and all. Andy then went to go get some food for the two to eat while watching, what I assuming was a cookie cutter slasher film with a bunch of blood and gore that was described by Andy. Anyways, Andy went to get food, and the people parked next to them saw Martin touching everything in Andy's car and then staring into their car. They didn't really take to kindly to that, and then called Martin a "faggot" and stuff(not knowing that he was blind or anything) and then vandalizing Andy's car. This part made me think of the Wolf of Wall Street when Brad knocked Donnie's block off saying "Who's the faggot now, faggot?" I don't know why, but it definitely reminded me of that. Andy then got back and tried to beat the asses of the posers that were vandalizing his car. He fended them away for the most part, got into his car, and then peeled out. Martin was also in the driver's seat, so you can see how hard that would have been, you know, with a blind man driving. The cops then saw them driving out of the drive in, speeding out and went to pull them over. They did that, but then Martin accidentally put his foot on the gas and hit the back of the police car. But that isn't the funny part. When Martin pretended that he went blind because of it was. He acted his ass off, in my opinion. Andy thought it was sly, you could definitely see it in his eyes. Anyways, this was a pretty good movie.

When Harry Met Sally

First off, I believe that this movie is just, meh. I'm not really trying to detract from it or anything. I know that this movie (and Sleepless in Seattle) are the pioneers to modern movies, but this is just not my wheelhouse. I mean I've seen it before and thought it wasn't anything spectacular and I have said it once, now I am going to say it again. All romantic comedies are the same in one way or another. Anyways, off of my soap box and on to the prompt. The other movie that I will compare this movie is the 40 Year Old Virgin. I know that this is sort of a stretch, but they are sort of similar. The two scenes that I will compare and contrast is the scenes in the 40 Year Old Virgin where Andy thinks that he is over Trish and goes to the club and tries to have sex with Beth from the Barnes and Noble but realizes that he really does love Trish and they get married and when Harry and Sally get married. They are similar because they believe that they really don't love the other character but in fact that they actually do love each other and end up getting married (and consummating their marriage in terms of the 40 Year Old Virgin.) One main difference is that in When Harry Met Sally, Sally is at a New Years eve party when Harry shows up and professes his love for her, while in the 40 Year Old Virgin, Andy, again, was going to have sex with Beth and felt bad because he really didn't love her and chases after Trish and tells her that he is not a sexual deviant and they profess their love for each other and get married. Another two scenes that I can compare and contrast to each movie was when each of the lovers fell in love. In the 40 Year Old Virgin, it was love at first sight and it took time in When Harry Met Sally. That was the contrast, but the compare is that in the end they both get married and are actually in love. I know that this is really unrelated to anything, but the 40 Year Old Virgin has one of my favorite lines that makes me laugh every time, when the guys pay a transgender prostitute to have sex with Andy and Andy says that she "had an Adam's Apple as big as her balls!" I don't know why, but it gets me every time. I am literally laughing at it as I am typing this!

Annie Hall

First off, I thought that the movie was pretty good. I mean, I really haven't seen a lot of Woody Allen movies, but I've heard mostly good things about his movies. Anyways, getting to the question of if Allen's comedic style is successful, and in my eyes, I think it is successful. The movie is sort of Seinfeld-esque, with Woody Allen being kind of like George mixed in with a little bit of Jerry, I think that it made a pretty good romantic comedy. If some parts of the movie are some of the motives for Seinfeld, it would not surprise me because it is sort of dry humor and sort of observational humor, which I enjoy. So overall, since it is like Seinfeld (which is one of my favorite shows) I enjoyed it and think that Woody Allen's approach to his comedy in Annie Hall was terrific, but not the type of humor that I am into. If it was a lot more slapstick and a lot more crude (yes I know that is a little weird because this is pretty crude) I would probably enjoy it more. I do kind of like the asides that are used to talk to the camera and the sort of flashbacks that were used to see Annie's past boyfriends. Overall, this movie was pretty good, but I was not in love with it, but I respect it.

Night of the Living Dead

George Romero's Night of the Living Dead was extremely ground breaking AND pretty good for a 1960s thriller movie. If we still had the other movie in Psycho, I would still probably watch this, because I have already seen Psycho, and it is just...meh, for an Alfred Hitchcock movie. What I am trying to say is that I am glad we watched this movie, since I have heard so much about the movie, and we got to watch this movie. Again, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Anyways, on to the prompt for the blog post. There were plenty of things that could be many political implications in the film, but the one that I am assuming of right now is that the political implication is the use of an African American for the main character in the movie who is the hero and has normal hero qualities. He can also be compared to many ground breaking people throughout history, but the one that people most compare Ben to is Martin Luther King, Jr. because he was an African American leader that was killed by a bunch of rednecks (or in Martin Luther King, Jr's case one redneck,) and was the leader of many people. You could actually compare Ben to any leader that had been assassinated. All in all, I loved this movie because it was campy, and I like some movies that are pretty campy.

Bigger Than Life...It's Breaking Bad before Breaking Bad

First off, I'm going to say, I liked this movie. Why? Probably because I enjoyed Breaking Bad and this movie is so much like it. I'm going to go off on a tangent, but did you see Better Call Saul? It's not that bad of a spin-off, in my own opinion. And Tuco is back? That is my favorite character in the series! Anyways, back to the prompt. There are a lot of similarities between Bigger Than Life and Breaking Bad. First off, they are both teachers, just Walter White was a chemistry teacher and Ed Avery is a history teacher. Both of them have side jobs, White with the carwash and Avery with the taxi cab company. And the thing that is pretty much the biggest kicker: there is a "miracle drug" that is enacted that saves their life and then turns them into monsters in their own kind. With Walter White, it was hysteria and being power-hungry with the meth that turns him into a monster that is a threat to his family and himself, but with Ed Avery, it was the hysteria (again) and the addiction of the drug with the addiction to the cortisone that (much like Heisenberg) makes him a threat to his family and himself. There was also a masculine uncle that makes the lead character look much less masculine. The only thing that was different was that there was no Jesse Pinkman that was yelling "bitch" every few minutes. I kind of wanted to see that in Bigger Than Life, but it is what it is.

Screwball Comedy

His Girl Friday was a pretty funny movie for a movie in the '40s, which I really didn't think I would enjoy, but it was pretty damn funny. Anyways, on to the blog theme. There are many subtle differences between slapstick comedies and screwball comedies, but the main difference is that women are the lead roles and they engage in the battle of the sexes, in this case it was Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant. Funny stuff. I also watched this movie right after watching Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, so I guess I will compare it to that in terms of comedic content. After watching Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, it definitely made me turn my brain on and was pretty witty in comedic relief. Getting back to the differences between the slapstick and screwball comedies, slapstick is just for comedic entertainment and screwball is to show equality towards the sexes and is a battle of the sexes comedy. What I really liked about this is that they did not use a bunch of special effects and used a lot of comedic timing to get the point across and it wasn't in-your-face comedy, it was kind of intellectual to an extent. Overall, I liked His Girl Friday because it wasn't like your typical everyday comedy where there are effects used and uses comedic timing to get its point across.

Freaks Blog

While some critics see the film Freaks as a defense of equality while other critics believe that it is just shuns people that are "different" than  the people classified as "normal." Both of these arguments could be upheld from either perspective, especially in the movie, but I think that it is a defense of equality. There were the ones that would be considered "normal" were the ones that demonized the "freaks," but for the most part of the movie most of the people were accepting of the people that were not as normal as the others. The ones that were accepting of the "freaks" were also normal people that were more down to earth and accepted them as who they were. I think that it showed throughout the movie that there are people that will shun others and make fun of others differences, for the most part, people are more accepting of small differences and quirks. I believe that the movie is like a reality check for people, since there are a bunch of people out there that have differences (subtle or not) and that we should be accepting. Oh yeah, and I believe that it in the end, people that you make fun of and take advantage of will have their revenge, just like Hans and the other freaks tarring and feathering Cleopatra.

January 22nd Class

The type of comedy that Buster Keaton is a mix of slapstick comedy and extremely witty comedy. To be honest, I went in without any intentions of it being funny, and it was extremely funny, even compared to modern comedies. At the beginning, you thought that he had that mustache then just took it off? That is funny! When he followed the guy closely because number 5 on the guide was to "shadow your man closely" and when he smoked the cigarette when the guy threw it back to shadow him? That was also really funny! It kind of made you think at times and it wasn't crude. It was good, old fashioned funny. In terms of newer comedies, I believe that this is more complex and stays to the story line without going off on tangents (in most cases of comedies with some exceptions.) I also believe that this movie was also way ahead of its time in terms of its humor and effects.  The best use of this was when he was working at the movie theater and had the out of body experience, was in the films going from the steps, to the stool, to the road. It was pretty good for special effects.

--S

Bio of Seth Steele

First off, welcome to my blog! My name is Seth Steele and I am a third year Economics major here at the University of Cincinnati. The real question is why am I even taking this class? The reason is I love movies! One of the things on my bucket list is to at least try and direct a movie or even try to act in a movie. I love watching any type of movies, comedies, dramas, documentaries, or crime dramas. The engagement that I have with cinema is that I truly enjoy cinema. I can't wait to get more in depth with this class and hope it will be an enjoyable experience!