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Welcome to Film, Fiction & Criticism Summer 2010
This is a non-chronological, discussion-based class that examines the relationship between literature and film. We’ll explore the aesthetic make-up of masterworks of literature chosen from the novel, the short story and the play, and will focus on the structure and meaning of these literary works. This blog is your place to play with the ideas discussed in class. Enjoy!
I guess I'll be the first! My favorite movie is Repo! the Genetic Opera. I love it because it's a musical, and being a theatre geek it's my passion, but also because of the depth of the characters. Nathan's secret insanity, Shilo's need to experience the world, Rotti's nostalgia of his darker past. I also love how each character is tied to each other in ways you wouldn't expect and how their past is shown in a unique way. Its a movie that makes you use your brain, as opposed to something like Superbad where you just leave thinking "Dude, McLovin is my hero, bro."
ReplyDeleteHey, I'm Danielle Dye :)Without question, my favorite book is Joan Didion's "Year of Magical Thinking." Not only is her writing style wonderful-creative, intelligent, stimulating-but her content is impressively real and eye opening. The book is essentially about the year after her husband died and how she coped. Her description of death made so much more sense to me than anything I'd heard on the subject before. Even the picture on the back cover makes me happy!
ReplyDeleteHi, my name is Aaron, its hard for me to pick just one movie to be my favorite, usually i have one movie that i really love for a little while until another one takes that spot. Right now i would have to say my favorite movie is "Gone baby gone," its an extremely interesting plot that has twist after twist, the camera angles used make you feel like you are right with the main charachters as they are working their way through a line of suspects in order to find a missing girl. the movie features intense complex themes of right and wrong and good and evil, and the final twist at the end leaves you to decide for yourself what is right. which i normaly don't always like to do, because i usually feel like it is too easy of a way to end a movie by the writers, but i really enjoyed it in this movie.
ReplyDeleteHi!!! My name is Kee Ana and my favorite book is Don Quixote. I love this book because it is very funny and I love how the main character, an old man, wants to be a knight. He uses his imagination to create his own world and does not care how others perceive him. Although many would think he was just a crazy old man, once you look deeper it makes you appreciate imagination. There are also beuatiful short stores within his adventures that make the book even better.
ReplyDeleteHello I am Aden. I do not have a specific favorite movie but one of they movies that I enjoy is Blood Diamond. The reason why I like this movie is because it takes us to a place where a sort of slavery is happenng for these diamonds. I think that this movie helped open people's eyes on what kind of diamonds they are buying. What made it a good movie was it characters, writing, the different angles, and I would have to say that lighting was also good. This movie was able to inform you on things that occur in other places.
ReplyDeleteHi!!! My name is Kee Ana and my favorite book is Don Quixote. I love this book because it is very funny and I love how the main character, an old man, wants to be a knight. He uses his imagination to create his own world and does not care how others perceive him. Although many would think he was just a crazy old man, once you look deeper it makes you appreciate imagination. There are also beuatiful short stores within his adventures that make the book even better.
ReplyDeleteHi my name is Alicia. My favorite movie changes often but currently its Taken. I like this movie because it keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. I also thought that Liam Neeson was badass. He played his character, a dad looking for his kidnapped daughter, very well. It is a bit cheesy but the ending makes you feel good too.
ReplyDeleteHey, I'm Robert. My favourite movie is The Matrix. I watched it the other day and it was still as good as it was in 1999. I find that when I watch movies from over a decade ago, or even a few years ago, visual effects that I once found stunning look cheesy or fake. I remember watching Spider-man 2 and thinking "Man that looks just like a real guy swinging through New York," but 3 years later it looked computer generated. The only thing that seemed dated in The Matrix were the massive cell phones.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoy The Matrix because of "Bullet Time". Bullet Time now comes up in all kinds of movies, but I loved the experience of seeing it for the first time. I was in awe and had seen nothing like it before. Now I also get to experience a younger generation telling me it's nothing special. I imagine that's how some parents feel when they tell their kids about Star Wars or the first time they saw a movie in color or something.
Hi, my name is Joey and i have the unusual opinion that books are more engaging than movies, so if i had to choose a favorite book...i'd cop out and choose an entire series : The Codex Alera by Jim Butcher. Every book in the series kept me thoroughly entertained and i really enjoy the authors sarcastic, cynical, and humorous writing style. And unlike most epic fantasy series it doesn't keep going on forever stealing your money; it actually ends at book six. Oh, and it's essentially the awesome might of the Roman Empire with magic.
ReplyDeleteHello my name Is Shelia and I would have to say that one of my favorite flicks and the one I'm going to write for this blog is "Click". The first reason why it's one of my favorite movies is because the star actor is Adam Sandler. I've always found him as my favorite actor, he's so funny in every movie I've seen and every stand up I've seen him do. On top of him being a funny comedian he's also I wonderful actor. I believe he plays all of his roles very well. However in "Click" was his best performance I've ever seen him do. He took that part to heart and did a wonderful job at making this movie a hit. Another reason why "Click" is one of my favorites because the director did a fantastic job in everything, lighting, camera positions, and it had great structure. The director also put in close up in the appropriate times. Plus I cried at the end.
ReplyDeleteHi, my name is Kevin and my favorite movie is Snatch. I like how there are many different characters and then eventually they all meet together at the end.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone! My name is Paige Montalbo. I'd definitely have to say my favorite movie is Casablanca. My reasoning is the same as those in class yesterday; it is dynamic, the score is AMAZING, its timeless, it has great characters and character development, appropriate for all ages, and a definite must see for everyone!
ReplyDeleteHello, my name is Dawn and one of my favorite movies is Father Goose starring Cary Grant. There is something about a curmudgeonous old person we all find endearing. Perhaps it is because we hope to be feisty yet loveable when we reach our twlight years.
ReplyDeleteGreetings. Andrew Medina here. My favorite book at the moment is Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls." The story is about a guerilla fighter in the Spanish civil war whose technical profeciency at demolition landed him with a special assignment to blow up a bridge as part of a larger strategic operation. The book depicts the uniquely vile nature of a civil war, along with the standard dilemmas faced by those tasked with leading others in combat. Although a war novel, the protagonist falls deeply in love and a good portion of the book covers their relationship blossoming. In the end however, both of their lives are ravaged by the conflict. The conclusion was so devestating and heart breaking for me. But it was faced with such couragousness by the protagonist that even though painful to come to terms with, it was also inspiring. I've never been so moved by a piece of literature before. Hemingway masterfully and accurately documented the true cost of war (lives shattered) which is why it's my favorite book.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is difficult to pinpoint one movie as being my favorite, the first movie that comes to mind is Steven Spielberg's "Empire of The Sun." Where do I begin? First of all, the story resonates on so many levels. It is a historical drama set in China during WW11. The main character (played remarkably by a very young Christian Bale) is a young boy named Jimmie. Jimmie and his parents are living in British controlled states in China. They are extremely rich, very naive and elitist, and living in a fantasy land. When Japan raids Shanghai, Jimmie is torn away from his parents and enters an internment camp for British citizens. Over the course of only a year or two, we see the transformation of Jimmie from a naive, bratty, rich kid to a hardened, jaded, street-smart survivor of an interment camp set along the backdrop of WW11, harsh internment camp environments, and the remnants of a bygone era (the era of an almost cloistered world that the British enjoyed before the invasion).
ReplyDeleteAlthough Jimmie becomes hardened, Spielberg lets him maintain remnants of boyhood. Jimmie's innocence is, at times, heartbreaking; at other times, oddly heroic.
The sets and cinematography in this film are captivating. Spielberg has a way of capturing the most poignant moments in history as well as in the personal lives of his characters. The scene when the British citizens are on a sort of death/liberation march as they stoically walk past the graveyard of their possessions... It is beautiful and tragic at the same time.
The characters are so realistic, so interesting, and so engaging. We can almost hear their internal dialogues. We can see their internal struggles between elitist habits and survivalism, between being jaded and wanting to help preserve a child's innocence, between making the harsh decisions to let their loved ones go so that they can survive.
The film, the characters, the story, the writing, the sets, the costumes... It's gripping. Heartbreaking. Heartwarming (at times). And, so powerful.
John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, and Nigel Havers also gives performances that are unforgettable... rich in subtlety and nuance.
Yes, I love this film.
Hi, I am Jack Harper. I have a difficult time selecting either a piece of lit or a movie to represent my best or favorite. I guess that one of my favorite books is Trinity by Leon Uris. This book deals with a topic I have researched for years: the Irish Famine. It is not a typical book, spanning more than 800 pages. Also, it is not typical in that I found it very hard to put down as I was reading it.
ReplyDeleteThe characters are well defined, the setting and time/place are true to life and the plot is totally engrossing.
As for film, one of my favorites is Schildler's List. This tells the story (made about 17 years ago in black and white) of Oscar Schindler,a German factory owner pre World War II, who tricks the Nazi's into allowing him to rescue hundreds of Jews, destined for execution in the concentration camps. His method, risks, and results are so well demonstrated and the use of B/W filming was enhanced with the addition of newsreel clips from that actual time in history.
Hello, I'm Brenda Cudd. First thing I wanna say, this site is annoying to work! Obviously I failed at it.... Anyway, My favorite movie is L Change the World. Its a live action spin off of the live action version of Death Note, which is an Anime. It was also produced in Japanese! And the subbing is way better then the dubbed version, always is. I like this movie for a number of reasons:
ReplyDeleteone: It's about L, and he doesn't die!
Two: Its Japanese, I'm an Anime geek.
Three: The way Ryuuk looks in this is EPIC, seriously. Ryuuk is a Shinigami so they use computer graphics to make him, rather then just a person.
Four: It's Death Note related, and at one time Death Note was my favorite anime/manga.
Five: The story is nice. L has to find out how to get the antidote for a man made virus that has sprung out of a companies control. Unfortunately they ruined the character for Near, but it can't be helped. Where in Japan will you find a caucasian albino ten year old with hair very close to white?
I have other movies I really like, but this one is ranked top at the moment, till I decide on a new one.
IF you read thank you! -Brenda
Hi, I'm Charlotte Cusack. While I don't have a favorite film, I do have a favorite book: "The Eight" by Katherine Neville, which was published in 1988. Set in 1972 and the late 1700s, it weaves together historical fact and creative fiction as it takes us from New York to France to Africa, and it incorporates chess, romance and adventure seamlessly. While it has the potential, I'm thankful a film was never made of it because it could never do it justice. I read "The Eight" every other year or so, and it never loses its magic and initial appeal.
ReplyDeleteHi I'm Jose Leon. Kind of hard to pick my favorite book but I think I'll say my favorite book would be Don Quixote. Don Quixote is an crazed old man who immersed himself in old romantic tales of knights, eventually Don Quixote loses it and enters a wacky adventure, believing he is a knight of an earlier age. Its silly but I really grew to like the character and his squire Sancho Panza. In all I liked the notion of someone trying to act as a knight in a world where they no longer exist and some humor him and others don't and come to conflict with him.
ReplyDeleteHi my name is Kyle Rasmussen. My favorite film definitely has to be 12 angry men. It had all the right qualities that makes it a great script, showing the well crafted work in a time past. this is evident in many films of that time, like sunset blvd, guess whos coming home for dinner and many more. Recently I saw a few films in the theaters, one being star trek. I believe these films are simply amazing for the fact that the cinematography is outstanding. The suspense given in the film was on par or above that seen in the film star wars. We are emerging in a world that is full of amazing cinematography but the decline of good script writing for entertainment, a world that is desensitized, fueled by hyperactive marketing and flashy screens.
ReplyDeletehi my name is patrick kim and my favorite film is arguably brotherhood of war. The film is about 2 brothers who are inducted into the army during the korean war. The film is very emotional because it personifies the rift created by the war and the formation of the DMZ
ReplyDeleteI can’t tell you a single flick or story that is my #1 favorite due to my wide variety of tastes, but if I had to make a top ten list of my favorite dramas/action films, “American Gangster,” starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe is on it. Keep in mind I’m a fan of “Blow” and “Training Day,” if that gives you a better idea of what I dig. This movie’s plot moved at a decent pace and the action entertained me thoroughly from beginning to end. I love how Denzel’s and Crowe’s performances created two protagonists that I rooted for the whole movie. I think Denzel’s diversity as an actor sets him far ahead of most actors today and his ruthless, stubborn personality in this film is a great example of this flexibility.
ReplyDeleteI hear the film was quite an exaggeration from what really happened, but the fact that the people were real made me willing to play along with Ridley Scott’s directing. I’m not surprised “American Gangster” was nominated for two Academy Awards and I think it is better than a few our class listed as our favorites the first week. It’s definitely not a chick flick, but I think even girls can appreciate the talent surrounding this production.
-Scott Pearson