Best Film Studies Films

Best to Worst Films in Films Studies

1. Donnie Darko
2. Shawshank Redemption
3. The Great Debators
4. Wall-E
5. Cinema Paradiso
6. V for Vendetta
7. Psycho
8. Ben-Hur
9. Gone with the Wind
10. The Simpson's Movie
11. Citizen Kane
12. The Graduate

*one note when looking at the ranking. The top half films are pretty equal and interchangable.

Shawshank Redemption / Donnie Darko

Shawshank Redemption got a 4.5 out of 5 stars. The film was very well made. It had great acting and storyline. The movie really makes you have sympathy for criminals, especially those that change in prison but still live out their sentence. It also shows the reality that some people are sentenced and they are actually innocent. Friendship, hope, freedom and life are all the main themes in this movie. It shows that even when life may seem like a living hell, some people can still live and also have hope for a better future.

Donnie Darko really blew me away. I give the show a 5 out of 5 stars. Everything about the movie was so perfectly laid out, yet it was incredibly confusing. The stellar cast and crazy symbolism sucked you in to the point where you couldn't stop watching. I still do not fully understand the whole point of the movie, but I did catch some of the themes. Even though a lot of the movie has some atheist ideas, and me being christian, you would think that I would hate it, but I was actually very intrigued by it. The movie's cast was incredible. The actors, especially Jake Gyllenhaal, did an amazing job at pulling you in and both loving and hating his character. Sound and picture in this movie is very interesting too. It pulls you in with the psychedelic images and also the image of Frank. The giant demon bunny really freaked me out but at the same time helped to sell the movie. The idea that life and everything in it isn't what we believe is a very risky thing to make people think about. Donnie Darko brings daring ideas to peoples minds through the amazing cast, dreamy images and mind-blowing theories.

Both movies were great to watch. Independent films and Mainstream films have many differences that can be seen easily. Mainstream usually has a more well known cast as well as a more publicized movie because of the budget of the movie. The storyline of a lot of mainstream films is also more simple than those of the independent films. Independent are more complex and really provoke your thought. Independent films also usually have a purpose or idea they try to get out. Surprisingly, after this independent film, I am much more impressed by it than by a lot of mainstream films. Donnie Darko wins in my book.

Great Quotes from Donnie Darko:

Donnie- "Why do you wear that stupid bunny suit?"

Frank- "Why do you wear that stupid man suit?"

Roberta Sparrow-"Every living creature on earth dies alone."

WALL-E

At first sight I thought this movie looked really good! I wanted to see it but I never got a chance to. When I heard about the movie being a big environmental movie I didn't feel like watching it. I just didn't want to hear more talk about being green. Surprisingly though, it shed some light for me. I always believed that environment is important but just not to the extent that some people do. This movie really showed me how important it all is.


It showed me this in a very cute kidish kind of way. I loved the movie. The way it was animated with the thousands of camera angles really made you enjoy every second. The sounds also played a huge role in sucking you completely into the movie. I gave the movie a 4.5 out of 5.


Another way that it made you realize the environment was how it made you sympathize that those people were consumed by technology. It was sad and you felt grateful for the human race and of how far we've come. By being oblivious to it all, we could cause everything we know and love to be lost or damaged.

It had a great way of pulling in all ages too. The young and the old alike were targeted in this film. Romance, action, suspense and symbolism all spiced up the movie making it a great treat.

The movie was very good at how it pulled you in and fell in love with Wall-E. Great sound effects and camera angles. Also a very good plot line. 4.5 out of 5 stars. After this film I realize 2 things that we all need to do; work to help keep our planet clean and keep excercising to prevent obesity disaster.

The Great Debaters Podcast

http://www.box.net/shared/28dpri4ae8
http://www.box.net/shared/h5gpe2ua95
http://www.box.net/shared/me25qkqujk
http://www.box.net/shared/oqby29cxuq

V for Vendetta

In every country's history there are uprisings; revolutions or ideas that change the country and its people forever. Whether it sparks war or just changes the views of people, ideas make countries develop and sometimes deteriorate. These ideas can only make an affect when people join together. V for Vendetta was a great film that showed this revolution. I give the movie a 4 out of 5.

The film's connection with the actual story that the film is based off of about the 5th of november is very well shown. The movie gives you a feeling like it is actual history and could be. It is also a very thought provoking movie that makes you really think about your own country's government and the structure of the country. It also makes you want to join together with other people to stop unjustice and to rise for the common good.

One big thing that really seemed important and symbolic to me was the mask. The face showed that daring smile and kinda sneaky look. It's amazing to think of what those masks did for those people. It makes you wonder if they still would've joined together without it. A thought that we all can think of for ourselves. How courageous are we against that tyranny? Do we need a mask to hide behind? I don't know, but it is very interesting to ponder. It was a great movie though and made me think a lot. 4 out of 5 stars. This movie had great storyline, actors and symbolism. After this film I will always remember the 5th of november.

Natalie Portman................Evey

Hugo Weaving...................V

Stephen Rea......................Inspector Finch

Stephen Fry......................Deitrich

John Hurt..........................Adam Sutler

Tim Pigott-Smith.............Creedy

Rupert Graves.................Dominic

Roger Allam......................Lewis Prothero

Ben Miles...........................Dascomb

Sinéad Cusack...................Delia Surridge

Natasha Wightman..........Valerie

John Standing...................Lilliman

Eddie Marsan...................Etheridge

Clive Ashborn...................Guy Fawkes

Simpsons

I gave the simpsons movie 4 out of 5 stars. I thought that the film was very well made. The director did a very good job of showing the american culture and the topics and events of our time. It's interesting to watch a movie that you would think is mainly about the humor when in fact it was largely about showing the directors opinions and views. It touched on some great topics like family, government, religion and the environment.

My favorite topic that he really based the movie on I believe was family. I think the movie really tried to show the importance of family and that there are many dysfuntional families. It made me realize how bad our country has gotten with family and media. The media today is horrible and it really affects the way people act and see things. This also affects family and almost makes families worse. The movie showed people that family is still important and that it needs to be held to a higher regard. Overall it was a very good movie. Funny and political. The director did a great job of really expressing what he thought was important. 4 out of 5.

The Graduate

Love and Peace. The 60's were the years of change in America, the people and their views. Everything took a turn; traditions and the way people lived were re-sculpted. This time of change and rebellion is very well depicted in the book and movie, the graduate. I give the show 3 out of 5 stars. I just thought that it was very random and "out there".

I do believe that it portrayed the time period perfectly by showing the change in the views of americans. People became more rebellious and traditions were challenged. Morals and values seemed to be re-thought as well. The movie, The Graduate, shows that rebellious sauciness of the time. Things were more acceptable and people began to think outside of their churches and traditions.

The acting in this movie was good, but nothing to brag about. I thought it was good enough, but nothing about their acting really stuck out in my mind.

I also didn't like the movie for the fact that it just gave you a disgusting feeling. The whole movie is based on this kid and a woman having an affair with him and then that kid hooking up with her daughter. I think it's a gross story that just makes you dislike Dustin Hoffman's character, Ben Braddock.

The only reason it gets a three and not a 1 is because it has some interesting symbolism. For example, when ben wields that golden cross and blocks the door of the church, it shows that he is changing tradition or God is helping him. It also had some good filming and gave a look into the time period of the 60's.

Great Quotes

Benjamin- "Where did you do it?"

Mrs. Robinson- "In his car."

Benjamin- "What kind of car was it?"

Mrs. Robinson- "Come on now."

Benjamin- "No, I really want to know."

Mrs. Robinson- "A Ford."

Benjamin- "Goddamn, that's great. So old Elaine Robinson got started in a Ford."

Mr. Braddock- "Don't you think that idea is a little half-baked?"

Benjamin- "Oh no, Dad, it's completely baked."

Cast

Anne Bancroft.............. Mrs. Robinson

Dustin Hoffman............Ben Braddock

Katharine Ross............. Elaine Robinson

William Daniels............ Mr. Braddock

Murray Hamilton........ Mr. Robinson

Elizabeth Wilson...........Mrs. Braddock

Buck Henry...................Room Clerk

Brian Avery..................Carl Smith

Walter Brooke..............Mr. McGuire

Norman Fell..................Mr. McCleery

Alice Ghostley...............Mrs. Singleman

Marion Lorne................Miss DeWitte

PHS Paradiso (feat. Whitney Delaney)

"Progress always comes too late." -Alfredo

Scene where the flowers are in the seat after the guy had a heart attack. The car hit her and just parked...Life goes on.

"I choose my friends for their looks, my enemies for their intelligience." - Alfredo

"Life isn't like it is in the movies, life is much harder." - Alfredo

My Top10

My top eleven favorite movies:

1. Stand By Me
2. Sound of Music
3. August Rush
4. The Lion King
5. The Notebook
6. Moulin Rouge
7. The Green Mile
8. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
9. The Dark Knight
10. Fame
11. Strangers With Candy

Citizen Kane

Nominated for nine Academy Awards in nine categories, one Best Original Screenplay award, and AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies list. It was also the first feature film directed by Orson Welles. He also was the main character. Citizen Kane...voted by some critics as the best film of all time. I say not quite. Citizen Kane showed great acting, interesting but strange plot and great symbolism. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Citizen Kane is an American Drama film about a young man who got into the publishing business with good intentions and slowly developed into, what some would say, a monster. The deterioration first starts as he gets power hungry and controls his newspaper to work things his way. Partly into the movie, he also cheats on his first wife, Mary Kane (Agnes Moorehead). The girl he cheats with seems to very nice and innocent. Susan Alexander marries him and she mentions how she wanted to be an Opra singer. With good intentions, Kane wanted to make her happy but tried to do it buy buying her happiness. Slowly it became an obsession in which he would manipulate the papers and force her into something she didn't desire. This begins to destroy yet another relationship and pushes more people away. It gets to the point where he has no life and he stays with susan in their giant castle. Eventually she leaves at which point he loses it and his last word is "rosebud".

All of this is pieced together through flashbacks from the present in which a reporter by the name of Jerry Thompson, William Alland, tries to find the missing pieces to the puzzle of Kanes life. The idea of the flashback was one reason i believe that people thought it was so good. It was something new and very interesting. The film truly felt like a puzzle you had to piece together.

Looking back to the acting, i would say the acting in this film was very good. Orson Welles starred as Charles Foster Kane in this American Drama in which a man with a career in the publishing world goes from idealistic views to being power hungry. He truly put all he had in it. This could be seen because he showed ruthless power and a sort of evil. Towards the end of the movie, his desperation with the second wife (Susan Alexander Kane) leaving him was very good. It really made you creeped out by his need for her like he would die without her. It was also incredibly sad to think that his life had slowly deteriorated like it did.

Another great performance was held by Dorothy Comingore who played as Susan Alexander Kane. Throughout the movie she showed the slow change from a nice young woman into a bitter alcoholic. A very sad transition it was but shown extremely well. She showed a lot of passion and hate towards the end of the film.

Another reason for it being so successful i believe was because of the symbolism and filming techniques. Welles used some harsh sounds and strange things that seemed out of place, but they actually set the tone for some scenes making it a better effect. The word "rosebud" also really made you think and even when you found the answer to what it meant, you thought more about Kane's life. The little moments he wanted and didnt have really puts things into perspective and the story seemed more sad than anything else.

Overall, it is a good film. It tied together nicely with the great acting, symbolism and plot. Not a movie I would watch regularly but still very interesting. Four out of Five is what i give it. The acting and the meaning behind it really stuck out the most. It was sad and really made me think.

Favorite Quotes:

"You know, Mr. Bernstein, if I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man." ~Charles Foster Kane

"I'm Charles Foster Kane! I'm no cheap, crooked politician" ~Charles Foster Kane

Ben Hur Podcast

I gave Ben-Hur 4.5 out of 5 stars.

http://www.box.net/shared/lm3pg11yd4

http://www.box.net/shared/x17y7bgx78

~*Psycho*~

Loony, nuts, mad, insane, crazed, maniacal, deranged, disturbed....PSYCHO. One of the first horror films and also one of the first films to really expose psychotic behaviors. The psychopathic life has always been a mystery to us. The topic seems to invoke fear in people. The 1960's film was based on the book Psycho, written by Robert Bloch. The book was inspired by the crimes of Ed Gein, a serial killer from Wisconsin. Because of this, audiences were even more frightened. It wasn't just a movie, but almost a reality. Alfred Hitchcock directed the film and explored the realm of psychotic behaviors. Psycho defined film through, what appeared to be vulgarity at the time. It was a great film full of symbolism, anticipation, twists and excellent acting. Therefore, I give it 5 out of 5 stars. It was excellent and almost flawless.

First of all, the symbolism in this movie was very intersting. Throughout the movie there are little things that foreshadow and make the show twist into a different direction. The movie starts out with Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) talking with her boyfriend, about their future and how they could make things work to be together. Marion then ends up going to work and gets $10,000 put in her hand to deposit for her business. She gets an idea and moves quickly. She swiftly packed her things and headed out of town in hopes of using the money to have a life with her boyfriend. She encounters troubles when it starts to storm so she conveniently finds the Bates Motel. Up until this point, Alfred Hitchcock really made you feel rushed and scared in anticipation because of the music and the screen shots. You felt like she was always going to get caught, even when she was just driving down the road. This makes you think that the story is all about her and the stolen money, but the movie quickly twists and you realize that the Bates Motel and the owner have a much more important role. You first meet Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), a bachelor who lives with his mother and owns a run down hotel. That night after Marion talked to Norman, he left and she was murdered in her shower. The rest of the movie you try and figure out who killed her and if Normans mother is the killer or even exists.

The acting in this film was very impressive. Anthony Perkins really brought out the creeper psycho feeling of the film. He captured that akward, creepy feeling, that set off the horror of the film. Marion crane (Janet Leigh) was also a great actor in the film. She could bring out the antsy hurried feeling and you just seemed to like her from the beginning.

The infamous shower scene was also very intense. It left you with an unsafe akward feeling. Still, you were left with a sense of awe. The way it was played and the sudden nature of it really captivated you. Every second and movement was perfectly filmed and the whole scene was loaded with symbolism.

Overall, it was a great film. It had amazing acting. The actors totally gave it their all and really showed the personalities and feelings of each character. Psycho kept you on your seat with the anticipation, convincing actors, great storyline and twists. 5 out of 5, this movie was very well done.

Cast
Anthony Perkins...............Norman Bates

Vera Miles........................Lila Crane

John Gavin......................Sam Loomis

Martin Balsam..............Milton Arbogast

John McIntire................Deputy Sheriff Al Chambers

Simon Oakland...............Dr. Fred Richmond

Vaughn Taylor...................George Lowery

Frank Albertson................Tom Cassidy

Lurene Tuttle................Mrs. Chambers

Patricia Hitchcock..............Caroline (as Pat Hitchcock)

John Anderson....................California Charlie

Mort Mills........................Highway Patrol Officer

Janet Leigh......................Marion Crane

=Gone With The Wind=

Released in 1941, Gone With The Wind was a highly anticipated romantic drama. Directed by Victor Fleming, Gone With The Wind was one of the first technicolor films. With vibrant reds and greens, it was a huge hit. I was equally captivated by the film. The storyline, acting, symbolism and screenshots in Gone With the Wind really captivated every emotion and defined the movie bringing you back to that time period. I would give it 4.5 stars.

The story is set in the south during the 18th century, a time when slavery was a common thing. The film follows Scarlett O'Hara, the daughter of a plantation owner, through her life during the Civil War. Vivien Leigh plays as Scarlett. The performance by Vivien Leigh is stellar. With a dramatic and snotty attitude, Vivien Leigh becomes a very interesting character that everyone either hates or loves. Her performance was very good and she really knew how to portray the dramatic and attitude filled Scarlett.

Another character who seems to never give up on having Scarlett as his own was Rhet Butler, played by Clark Gable. Gable portrayed a smooth talking gentleman. A great job was done by Gable in this film. With his constant attempts to sweep off Scarlett off her feet and force her to love him, the part was casted very well.

Throughout the movie, Scarlett goes through a few husbands even though she loves someone she cannot have. This forbidden lover, Ashley Wilkes becomes an obsession. Leslie Howard plays Ashley. His performance was more subtle. Compared to the performances of Leigh and Gable, it was not nearly as captivating. Ashley's wife Melanie Wilkes was a very caring character. Olivia de Havilland brought out the true compassion and kindness in Melanie. You learn to love her character and from the first time she enters the scene everyone likes her.

The movie dealt with a lot of doom and gloom. During a horrible war in which the characters were on the losing side, there was death and lack of food. At one point Scarlett is forced to travel for days in pouring rain with pregnant melanie back to their town tara. Without any food and no home this seems to be the worst it would get, but Scarlett pulls it together and manages to get her own business started. During this time Rhet comes in and out of the picture in an attempt to win over scarlett. The whole time she keeps trying to get Ashley but she fails. As the war continues it reaches her business and everything seems to fall apart again. Luckily, during all of this depressing events, there is comic relief. Mammy (Hattie McDaniel) and Prissy (Butterfly McQueen) bring some humor to the bleak picture with their funny comments and personality.

Finally after his persistence, Rhet gets Scarlett to marry him. They have a rough marriage and a few falls but end up having a kid. Right when the movie seems to be getting more happy the kid dies. The climax comes at this point with Rhet and Scarlett both torn emotionally and to add to this melanie is pregnant and she is going to die. Scarlett, at this point, finally realizes the love she has for Rhet but too late. He gives up and leaves. The ending of the film shows her saying that she will be with him no matter what and that tommorrow is another day.


Overall, the acting was extremely well done. Each character, especially the main characters were perfectly portrayed. The story is really sad but very intricate. It makes you think in the last scene. They make you think on your own to what will happen. Great movie, great acting, great storyline. The only down side to the film was how depressing it was and the ending with Rhet giving up when she finally came running to him. Great film~4 stars.

Favorite Quotes:
"Quite frankly my dear...i don't give a damn." --Rhet
"If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again." --Scarlett

Rating Scale

My rating scale is out of 5 stars...
-1 star- Quality is very poor. Horrible filming, acting, and storyline.
-2 star- Quality is better but still needs a lot of work.
-3 star- Good movie. Recommend watching. Still could be better
-4 star- Very good movie. Good acting, storyline and filming.
-5 star- Amazing in every aspect of film. Great storyline, acting and film technique