After all this extensive discussion on the “is it good” question, I feel as if one question needs to be asked: Is it really that important? Don’t get me wrong–this distinction is a very important one for me, but it seems that this is not a universal feeling. What if you don’t care whether a film you’re watching is ‘good’ or not, as long as you like it? And what if you’d rather not even make that distinction–you’re happier just accepting each film in terms of the enjoyment it brings …

I was trying to keep nice and quiet down in the front row today while the massive debate over ‘masculine’ films raged all around. Both sides had valid points (yes, that does sound like a cop-out, doesn’t it), but I was having a pretty hard time with them. While it is true that a film may appeal mainly to a certain gender, I completely disagree with the idea that this is due to the unwillingness of women to expose themselves to violence, gore, sex, etc.
This question is a tricky one …

As promised, I will now explain the oh so cryptic Charlie Chaplin cookie comment in my previous post: “Charlie Chaplin is the chocolate chip cookie of movie stars.” However, I will do this in list form. Ponder this for a moment. If your favorite actor/actress were a desert, what would he/she be? I think this question is deeply relevant to our lives and deserves serious, intense thought.
Charlie Chaplin: chocolate chip cookie (Simple– a universal favorite. Satisfying and enjoyable but not overwhelming. Joy-inspiring. Easily accessible. Addictive. Cute.)

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And this can be continued. …

I’ve spent a while reflecting on the discussion of Valentino’s appeal–both in class and in Craig’s blog–and decided to make a list of the ten most iconic actors and actresses, in my opinion. I intentionally chose iconic rather than greatest, because I think there is a significant difference between the two. ‘Iconic’ is more about recognizability and enduring influence on popular culture rather than skill or importance to the evolution of the film industry in general. (For example, Veronica Lake was iconic, while Bette Davis was great.) So here they …

So the FTC group presentation on Wednesday got me thinking about the different types and functions of voiceover narration. There is a huge difference between the type of voiceover in the beginning of Little Women and the type used in Amelie. There seem to be two basic types of voiceover narration: narration by a character in the film itself and narration by an anonymous outside person. (Much like first-person vs. third-person narration in a novel.) So far so good. But what about function? Voiceovers can be used for any (or …

And the results…
ACTOR: Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland)
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine) (yay, my long shot won!)
ACTRESS: Helen Mirren
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jennifer Hudson
ANIMATED FILM: Happy Feet (Ha! Take that, Cars! Reserving judgment until I manage to see both.) (Robyn may be right.)

ART DIRECTION: Pan’s Labyrinth (Hooray!)
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Pan’s Labyrinth (Huzzah!)
DOCUMENTARY: An Inconvenient Truth
FOREIGN FILM: The Lives of Others (sniffle)
ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP: Pan’s Labyrinth (!)
ORIGINAL SCORE: Babel
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Departed
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Little Miss Sunshine
BEST ANIMATED SHORT: The Danish Poet
BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT: West Bank Story (I’d like to see this–it …

Why is it that nobody watches the Academy Awards anymore? Even my MOST film-obsessed friends have responded to the suggestion with a disdainful look or roll of the eyes. Granted, it’s not the most reliable source of film judgment, but it’s fun to watch! (Not all the red carpet stuff. That’s boring.) But for years now, I’ve had a tradition of watching the Academy Awards. It’s always interesting to see which clips they pick for each nominee, watch the host crack bad jokes, and root for films you want to …

I’m copy/pasting a reaction I wrote for another class on this, because I think it ties in well:
Having attended both the film screening on Wednesday and the reading on Thursday, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about Nokuthula Mazibuko’s work. What I was expecting for both was very different from what it ended up being, at least for me. I thought that the film would be centered on the violence and injustice of apartheid and the specific student protests that ended tragically. However, the compilation of interviews and photographs …

After giving it a full class session and five minutes of thought, I’ve decided to say that all four girls are essential to the novel. Not because this is necessarily what I believe, but because I’m stubborn and contrary. On the whole, a rather excellent reason for doing something, in my opinion.
Youngest to oldest. (Saving best for last, obviously. Can you tell I’m an older sibling?)
Amy: Every family needs a whiny, misguided, pretentious, but occasionally adorable little girl. But she represents more than pure entertainment value. Jo is altogether too …

First, quizzes! We can settle this “who do you identify with the most” question with a truly ungodly number of internet quizzes!!! (WARNING: some of these are ridiculously bad and/or horribly spelled.)
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
You can even comment with all 15 of your results! Really, you can ;)
Come on, you know you want to… especially you, Dr. Campbell.