Sarah L's Film Studies Blog 2020

1.  PLOT:  As I was reminded this time I watched it, the movie's plot is pretty sprawling and confounding.  In a word, it's about water.  But, let's get into some questions to ensure you have a firm grasp of what actually happened: a.  Just briefly explain who the following people were: Hollis Mulwray -- head engineer of the Department of Water and Power, married to Evelyn Mulwray but having an affair, used to work with Evelyn's father Noah Cross, murdered by Cross Evelyn Mulwray -- wife of Hollis Mulwray, mother/sister of Katherine Noah Cross -- father of Evelyn, father of Katherine, big water works tycoon who worked alongside Hollis for a time before killing him Lt. Escobar -- used to work alongside Gittes, arrests him in the end and doesn't believe the extent of what Gittes is uncovering about the Mulwray/Cross family and murder Katherine -- daughter/sister of Evelyn, having affair with Hollis b.  Did you understand the setting?  What y...

1.  When did the "New Hollywood" start?  What are some of the first famous films that embraced this "New Wave" in America? "New Hollywood" began in the mid-1960s and continued through the 70s when the baby boom generation was growing up and going to movies on their own.  Some of the first films to define the "New Hollywood" are Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, Night of the Living Dead, The Wild Bunch, and Easy Rider.  2.  WHY did this American New Wave occur?  Why at this time?  What was going on that spurred it on?  This American New Wave occurred because studios saw that, as their traditionally older and main film-going audience was losing interest in favor of television, the baby boomers were growing up, getting a college education, and seeing movies, taking interest in the European "art films" from Italy and France. These movies were becoming very popular in their own countries as well as in the US. To try and capture the a...

Formal Film Study: Focus and Films The topic I'm going to pursue for my Formal Film Study project is the "Three Highest Rated Films Directed by Wes Anderson on Rotten Tomatoes (That I Haven't Seen)." These include  The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) (91%),  Isle of Dogs (2018) (90%), and  Bottle Rocket (1996) (85%). I picked these movies because Wes Anderson has been one of my favorite directors for a few years. His movie from 1998, Rushmore , is one of my favorite movies and the one I recommended that the class watch for extra credit.  I narrowed the topic like this because I have seen several of his films already, including the aforementioned Rushmore , Fantastic Mr. Fox , Moonrise Kingdom , and The Royal Tenenbaums, and want to get an idea of what other people find great in his other movies. I really enjoy his use of color and symmetry, and the dry wit and whimsy that can be expected of pretty much any of his films, stop-motion or otherwise. I already...

Cool Runnings SOME INITIAL THOUGHTS I think this might be one of the least PG of the PG Disney movies -- which almost all of them are. From one teammate calling another an "a**hole" (is it silly to censor myself when Disney didn't?) to a "bad mother--," I was pretty surprised! This movie (mostly) tells the true story of the first Jamaican bobsled team to compete in the Olympics in the '80s (the movie was made in the '93). Quite the odd tagline, but it makes for a really inspirational, feel-good story of camaraderie, teamwork, and persistence. I'm not a huge Disney fan, but I'd rather watch this than Frozen 2  any day. The movie illustrates how each of the athletes, new to bobsled racing, found each other and their coach (John Candy) and form a kind of rag-tag group of characters. The movie takes us through their training, conflicts with their family and community as they make their way to the Olympics, and the racism they face at the han...