Goodfellas (1990)

I absolutely loved this movie and I’m really glad we got to watch it in this class! Even though I did my oral report last week on the professional life of director Martin Scorsese, this was actually one of his films that I had never seen. I was really impressed by many different aspects of this film, so I think I’ll just jump right into it.

First, I loved the character Ray Liotta played of Henry Hill. I thought it was great how it showed his progression in the mob and how his status within the mob continued to grow. I also really liked how it followed his character’s life from a very young age and showed just how young he was when he got involved with the mob. Hill seemed to love his life, and expressed his feelings to the audience about them as though they were his true family. I must admit, this mob did seem to act like family because they spent holidays and birthdays together, were at each others' weddings, helped with issues outside of their jobs, and did other things that families do for each other. The only thing that struck me as something family probably wouldn’t do was all the brutal violence that the mob enforced on outsiders or people that caused problems for their mob family members.

As brutal as it seemed, I felt as though the violence was necessary in order to tell this story because it made it seem much more realistic. At times, I even forgot that I was watching a movie because it seemed so real and I felt like I was right there. I believe the camera angles really helped with this feeling of being right there. For example, when Henry takes Karen on one of their first dates alone the camera follows the couple as they walk through the kitchen and get their own private table at a restaurant. The camera is so close to the couple that you can see Henry paying the waiters and doormen to let them in and basically give them whatever they want. The most interesting part about this whole process, along with getting the feeling that you are a part of the mob, is that the members of the mob are treated like celebrities all over New York because everyone knows who they are and what they are capable of. Many people go along with whatever the mob says because they know that they could get killed if they cross the wrong person, so it seems as though they have gained their respect out of other people’s fear of them. It was odd to see this side of the mob because it was not glamorized in any way, which is what we have seen in other movies such as Bonnie and Clyde. Although both fall under the “gangster/mob” movie genre, Bonnie and Clyde is much more funny and light-hearted. Those two are celebrities but the movie only shows the fun side of being a criminal. Goodfellas shows the more gruesome side of the mob and how, even though they may be celebrities, they still have to deal with unpleasant things like murder.

Overall I found this movie to be really entertaining and interesting to watch because of the characters, camera angles, and even the violence. Martin Scorsese really did a great job in showing a different side of the mob, and wasn’t afraid to show brutal violence in order to get his point across about the New York mob. He succeeded in realistic demonstrating how powerful the mob can be, and how dangerous a life they lead every day.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

This week our class got the opportunity to watch the film “Bonnie and Clyde,” and I really enjoyed it. I thought it was very interesting how the movie was funny but had such a serious underlying theme of scheming, robbery, and criminal activity. But with all movies, there were things I really liked about this movie and some things I really didn’t like.

I really enjoyed the characters of Bonnie and Clyde, especially Bonnie. Her raw sexuality mixed with her comedic dialogue really kept my attention during this movie. I thought it was interesting how her sexual advances towards most people seemed to entice them immediately, such as C.W. Bonnie and Clyde decide to add C.W. to their gang of bank robbers when they meet him at a gas station and Bonnie gets him interested in joining simply by flirting with him. However, she doesn’t seem to get everything she wants by flirting. She is never truly able to convince Clyde to fall in love or have sexual relations with her until much later in the movie, when they are celebrities for their crimes. In fact, the director made it seem like the only reason why Clyde decided to have a sexual relationship with Bonnie was because they had finally made names for themselves. I found this very odd considering Clyde claims throughout the movie that he is not a “lover boy.” But once the two of them have their names out there for the public to know about, he is alright with having a sexual relationship with Bonnie.

I also really enjoyed the overall comedy in this movie. The combination of characters, music, dialogue, and content in this movie was just a great combination that I found really seemed to work out. Even though the movie revolved around this band of robbers that continuously escape death, it was very fun to watch. However, there were some aspects of this movie that I really did not find enjoyable at all.

To start, I absolutely hated the character of Blanche! Oh my god…I don’t know if I’ve ever hated a movie character as much as I hate her because she was so annoying! In the beginning she seemed fine as Clyde’s sister-in-law. But after a while, all she seemed to do was be afraid of getting caught and scream a lot for no reason. She was the only character in the gang of robbers that did not contribute at all, and that really bothered me. I was very pleased when Bonnie, Clyde, and C.W. separated from Blanche and Buck simply because Blanche was gone! I was sad to see Buck die, but glad that Blanche stayed by his side and got caught. I also didn’t really like that this film didn’t follow the true story of Bonnie and Clyde. I feel like it would have been more enjoyable had it followed the story a little bit more accurately. I understand the idea that the director wanted to add the comedy and other “artistic” aspects to make the film more interesting, but he could have at least followed the story a bit closer to the truth instead of leading the audience on to believe this was all the exact truth.

Overall, I found this movie very enjoyable and fun to watch. I think the majority of the class would agree with me when I say this film was definitely worth watching.

A Place in the Sun (1951)

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t like this movie at all. I felt very disappointed and distracted by various elements of this film, especially the music. It always seemed to be overly dramatic at points in the film that weren’t THAT dramatic, like the instance where George and Alice go to the courthouse to get married. The marriage licensing office is closed due to the Labor Day holiday, and the only thing the director really needed to do was show the sign and then the characters’ reactions to the office being closed. But instead, the camera zoomed into the sign and played some of the most dramatic music I’ve ever heard. It was music I would imagine would be playing if the world were about to end, but really, the marriage license office was just closed for the day. Even though this was meant to be a dramatic film, I just thought the use of drums and string instruments used were too dramatic for it.

I was also extremely disappointed in the lack of character development. For such a lengthy movie, you would think the director would have focused a bit more on certain character development. But at the end of the movie, I felt like I barely knew George, who the movie was entirely about! It was obvious that he led a double life with two girlfriends and was dealing with the consequences of his choices, but it seemed as though he had underlying issues with his mother from whom he was distanced. Every time he would call her, he never seemed like he wanted to talk to her or update her on his life, but it’s never clear why he doesn’t want to talk or what happened in his past that made him and his mother so estranged. It just seemed weird to me that this relationship was never really discussed in depth, and it truly bothered me that the audience never finds out more about his mother.

Elizabeth Taylor’s character of Angela is also not very well developed. It’s clear that she comes from a wealthy family that likes to throw extravagant parties and have a good time, but the audience never really finds out about her personal life. She falls in love with George, at which point she has only known for a few days, and then seems to dedicate herself to him and make him happy. The audience never learns about her personal goals, hopes, dreams, or anything else like that, and I really wanted to know more about her. She seemed almost mysterious, but I hated that we didn’t get a chance to learn more about her. The audience knew much more about her overall family and their lifestyle than they did this main character, and this seriously bothered me.

Although based on a true and tragic story, this movie was a flop for me. I had high hopes for it, but the lack of character development and overuse of overly dramatic music seemed to kill it for me.

Double Indemnity

I was very pleased to discover that I really enjoyed this film. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting to get much from this type of movie because they always seemed so cliche and boring to me. But Double Indemnity kept my attention the entire length of the film and even had me at the edge of my seat at times. I felt like the director and writer of the script did a fantastic job at making this film suspenseful but not scary, which was what really kept me engaged in the movie. But I found the most interesting aspect about this film was how many rules the director broke in terms of following the Motion Picture Code. Originally, it seemed like the code restricted director's from any kind of creativity on-screen. They couldn't even show a married couple laying in bed together; most of the time they had two twin sized beds in their shared bedroom, which is now seen as absurd. The code restricted sex, violence, drugs, and pretty much anything with a negative connotation attached with it. But this movie definitely went against the code. It involved a couple having an affair, suggestive language, and even a planned-out murder. Now, I can understand why the Motion Picture Company created and tried to enforce the code. But sex and violence were things that audiences wanted to see! They viewed going to the movies as a way to escape from reality and see things they wouldn't normally see in everyday life. In that sense, I can also understand why many directors of film noir genre movies made the choice to break the rules of the code and include these things in their films as tools of entertainment. But there are still some things I do not really understand about film noir movies.

After discussing the typical traits of movies that fall into the category of film noir, I was still confused about a few things about this particular movie. Just after the main characters in this film commit the murder and dump the dead body on the railroad tracks, they have problems starting their car. While hearing the engine having trouble starting, I could feel my heart drop into my stomach. Then I realized that I was on the criminal's side because I wanted them to get away with it! Now, I'm pretty sure being sympathetic to a criminal isn't a good thing (and I'm pretty sure it also goes against the code), but I really wanted that car to start! I couldn't really figure out why I was so passionately on their side, but I was wondering if anyone else felt this way? Or better yet, why did the director want the audience to be sympathetic with the criminals of the story?

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

This week our class watched John Ford’s 1940 film titled “The Grapes of Wrath.” I must say, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this film and I’m still not sure if I liked it or not. But, like most films, there were some things I found very enjoyable and other things I really didn’t enjoy much.

To start, I really enjoyed some of the characters as they seemed to bring a comedic, light-hearted feeling to it. I think my favorite character was Grandpa because he was so out there and a bit odd. His odd behaviors were funny and entertaining to watch, and I feel as though his character lifted the spirits of the other family members. I was pretty disappointed when he died so early into their trip to California, and I think his death really affected the family’s trip because they no longer had their funny and crazy grandpa to make them laugh. I also found the character of grandma really entertaining because of her hilarious mannerisms. I believe there were even a few scenes where she didn’t have any dialogue, but would simply stick her tongue out or make a weird noise. To be honest, I think the grandparents were the two most entertaining characters in the film. Without them, I’m pretty sure I would have lost interest in this film much earlier than I did.

After both of the grandparents died, I found it extremely difficult to focus on the film because I just thought it was so boring without those two characters. The story itself wasn’t too bad, but it just seemed to drag on and on. I think I tend to lose interest in movies that are revolved around such depressing themes. I tried really hard to concentrate and look for other things within the film that I liked, but I couldn’t get passed the fact that nothing seemed to go right for this poor family! I mean, there were a few times during the film where I found myself saying, “Really? Come on! Something has to go right for them, right?” During their long journey from Oklahoma to California, both of the grandparents died, they had numerous car troubles, and they were low on food and water for the majority of the trip. Seriously? And just when you think nothing else worse could happen, things somehow get a lot worse once they arrive in California. Connie up and leaves his wife because he couldn’t handle the pressure of not being able to find work and living in different camps, Jim Casy gets killed, and Tom gets in a fight with one of the camp officers which forces the family to sneak out leave that camp the next night. Once I realized things were probably never going to go well for this family, my interest in the film dropped dramatically.

After thinking about it, I don’t think I enjoyed this film very much because it was so depressing. I think I would have been more interested in this film if good things would have happened to the Joad family every now and then. But the fact that almost nothing good happened to the family throughout the movie just made it less enjoyable for me.