Blog 15

 

 

This has been an interesting semester.  Blogging on a topic that I enjoy has been a fun experience, and I really have learned a lot about a subject that I thought I already knew everything about.  Although I have liked blogging, I don’t think I will be doing it in the future.  Unless Facebook blogging counts.  I sometimes write Notes on there about different things.  But I don’t think I will keep up with this site or make a new one for myself.  I will probably delete this after the semester is over also.  I just don’t really feel the need to give my thoughts to people online.  If I want to express my opinion to someone, I will tell one of my friends or family, or join a group that supports what I am passionate about, not talk about it online.  Although words are powerful, I think that being active about something is better than just talking about it online.  It’s sort of like people blog about change, but they never actually do it.  Now I know that is not necessarily always true, a lot of people get out there and get something done.  But for me, I’d rather just get out there and do it first.  Like I said, blogging has been fun and a cool experience for this class, but I don’t see myself doing much, if any of it in the future.  Of course, that could always change down the road.  Who knows.  Maybe I’ll come to love writing and want to blog all the time.  Maybe

 

http://www.ucd.ie/quinn/t4cms/i_love_blogging-787805.jpg

Blog 14

During the four months of writing these blogs, I have read a lot more about different movie topics than I ever would have on my own.  I have learned all about subjects like movie piracy, gender roles in films, remakes of classic movies, and which movies have been converted from books.  They have all been very interesting because I’ve always thought of myself as a movie buff, but it wasn’t really true.  Now I know that I need to be well rounded in the movie subject before I can be a real expert.  One of the most interesting topics that I wrote about was remakes of films.  Specifically horror movie remakes.  I had no idea just how many people have blog sites dedicated to watching and critiquing the horror movie original and remake.  Some sites were very passionate and it really sounded like their hearts were in their blogs.  I’m still not sure whether I am all for remaking good horror movies, but I can’t say that some of the remakes aren’t way better than the originals.  I think it just depends on who the director is and how they remake it.  I am definitely going to keep reading these blogs because they are interesting and amusing to read.  Another topic I enjoyed researching was which movies were based on books.  I really had no idea just how many films came from books.  I really love reading books first before seeing the movie version, so I think I might start looking up upcoming movies and reading the book before watching the movie if possible.  I’ve enjoyed looking up information on my favorite subject for this blog and I can’t wait to keep learning more about movies and what different people think of them.

Blog 13

Everyone loves to go to the movies theaters right?  We like to take our families and buy a bunch of popcorn and candy and a coke and get lost in a movie for a couple hours.  But with today’s prices at the theaters, fewer families are being able to go out and enjoy a movie night with their loved ones.  I went to a movie the other night and spend $9.50 just for one movie ticket.  I can’t imagine wanting to go on a date there and spend $18 just for the ticket, and then wanted to buy popcorn which is like $6 and then a drink thats like $7.  Going to the movies has become way too expensive and I don’t like it.  Thank goodness for the invention of things like Red Box where they have all the hottest movies for $1 a night.  You can go rent a couple movies, watch them, and return them within 24 hours and only have spent $3 bucks.  It’s quite amazing.  And you probably already have popcorn and soda at home, so you don’t have to spend money on that either.  Still, it’s sad that people aren’t able to go have a cathartic experience at the movies anymore and are forced to sit at home and watch movies there.  I say that the movie industry (who already makes tons of money) needs to lower their prices so regular middle class families can start going back to the theater to watch movies!!!!!!!!!!

Blog 12

There is not a day that goes by where I do not hear at least 1 movie quote from a friend or as I pass by someone on the street.  Among my group of friends, we find it amusing to throw film quotes into our everyday conversation, and have a nice chuckle at it every time.  It seems like even if we say the same quote like 10 times in the same day, it is still funny.  This is probably be the case because my friends and I are movie fanatics and love to quiz each other on who knows what quote and who doesn’t (those who didn’t know the quotes would ultimately FAIL).  Now even though we quote tons of movies amongst ourselves, we know when to not do it in front of others.  We definitely don’t want or try to be “That Guy.” “That Guy” takes it upon himself to quote the movie incessantly for the next six months.  He uses every opportunity to slide a quote into the conversation whether it actually fits or not.  Quite often the quote that he chooses comes directly from the movie’s previews so everyone is already familiar with it regardless of whether they have seen the movie.”  So I guess what I’m trying to say is that it is definitely okay and very fun to quote movies in your group of friends, or even to yourself if you want to… but try to not quote too excessively in front of other people because they might find it quite annoying (unless they are total movie buffs and love quoting too… if that is the case, forget everything I’ve said and quote away!!!).

 

A few quotes from movies that I like and use often…probably too often:

Night at the Roxbury: “(1)So, I was standin there, waitin to use the payphone, when the guy, who was on thephone, turns around and tips his hat…like this…(2)and WHO do you think that guy was? (1) EMILIO ESTEVES! (2)the mighty duck man I SWEAR TO GOD…i was there! (1) Of course you were there! You were the one that screamed the breakfast clubbers name. (2) I was like EMIIIIILLIIIOOOOOO!!”

American Pie: “Oh! And this one time….at band camp…”

Blog 11

 

This movie poster of “Fuel” for the Sundance Film Festival winner is a proposal to help the world go green.  The movie industry is really trying to help with the whole change the way you live to help the planet because they are an extremely large industry here in the United States.  Many movie companies have started changing lights and outlets in their buildings to help the change, as well as making activities for the actors and actresses to go outside and do inside of watching TV or movies and being cooped up inside the studios (sort of hypocritical since they are making movies for people to stay inside and watch, but oh well, at least they are trying right).  Actresses from The Suite Life on Deck say that the producers made a flag football team so they can play everyday on set.  This ad is a proposal because it is making people, yet again, think about how important changing our lives and going green can be.  It is a good visual not only because it is about going green, but a lot of people really like movies (like myself) and love to look at different movie posters.  Often posters get put up in rooms and houses.  This poster would be a good poster to go up in someone’s house so they can think about going green everyday!!  The movie its self is proposing that we change our fuel in our cars so that we can cut down on all the gasoline we use as a society.  I definitely want to go rent this movie as soon as I can so I can find another way to go green and help out our planet!!!

 

Image: http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/fuel-movie-poster.jpg

Blog 10

 

Most people love to watch movies.  Whether it is a movie in your own home or out at a theater, movies are a nice way to forget your troubles and get wrapped up in a good movie.  What most people don’t know about the movie they are watching, it that it is probably based off of a book.  And most likely, the book was a lot better than the movie simply because they directors cannot put in all the details in an hour and a half movie.  Now I understand that not everyone enjoys reading so they would much rather just see the movie.  But they are definitely missing out on details of the story that might make the movie more enjoyable to watch it they had already read the book.  The first example that comes to my mind are all the Harry Potter movies compared to the books.  The books are so long and in depth, with so much detail, that I thought the movies did not do the books justice.  My Grandma went to see the first movie when it came out, and she was very confused and really didn’t understand what was going on.  Once she read the book and then re-watched the movie, she fully understood what happened and it really helped her fit all the pieces together.  Another book I can think of where the movie did not do a good job following the book is the Twilight series.  I have started the books but have not read them fully.  The people that have read the books greatly dislike the Twilight movie because they say that there are so many details not included in the movie that you really need to fully understand the storyline.  My advice to avid movie watchers, if it’s not TOO much trouble, read the book before you watch the movie.  It will most definitely make your movie watching experience better to know every single detail that the author intended you to.

Here’s a list of a few movies that were based on books:

Chronicles of Narnia

21

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Dark Knight

He’s Just Not That Into You

Iron Man

Marley & Me

Nick and Norah’s Infinate Playlist

Speed Racer

The Other Boleyn Girl

The Ruins

Blog 9

Walt Disney was by far the most important person in the children movie industry.  He was known for his imagination, creativeness, optimism, and his self-made success in Hollywood.  The Disney company produced all the classics we love such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,  The Jungle Book, Mary Poppins, 101 Dalmatians, Old Yeller, Sleeping Beauty, Lady and the Tramp, and so many more.  His ethos comes from his lost background in the art business.  Since he was a very small child, Disney was always drawing, and trying to get his art out there for the world.  He was also a photographer and loved nature and animals.  Once he picked up and went to Hollywood, he produced the “Alice Comedies” and became an known Hollywood figure.  This was the start of his long business in the entertainment industry.  In 1937, he produced the first full length animated musical Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and started the children’s musicals trend.

I believe that Walt Disney is well known enough where they aren’t really a lot of people who do not know who he is.  Possibly people in third world countries that have never watched TV or movies might not know him.  I don’t think everyone knows his full biography.  I didn’t even know a lot about him until I read this article about him.  People just know him as the father of children’s movies.  He is an inspiration to all people in the movie business and I think everyone should read his biography.

Sources:

http://www.justdisney.com/walt_disney/biography/w_bio_short.html

Blog 7

I found an article of evaluation on the movie Mighty Joe Young.  The person who wrote this raves about how good this movie is.  He says that the movie drew him in with the story line and he likes how intelligent the gorilla is throughout the entire movie.  He evaluates the movie by talking about how amazing the graphics are and how he likes the “grand display of computer-generated images, animatronics, and explosive action scenes with a little bit of romance and comedy mixed in for good measure.”  He also brings in the aspect African heritage.  He says that all the music (the opening credits, the movie throughout the movie, and the end credits) has a lot of African drums and it really uses the area that the movie is based in to bring out the heritage.  The movie also sweeps the land and shows how beautiful it is.  With the beautiful land and the music, it shows the rich African culture.  This author says that the movie is definitely an adventure and that “this movie is certainly worth viewing again and again.”

Blog 6

Heavy profanity and nudity.  Why is it that almost all movies have to include these two elements?  It’s like directors and producers can’t make a good movie without adding someone dropping the F bomb or a naked women on the screen.  It doesn’t add anything at all to the plot!!  In my opinion, it takes away from a good movie.  Back a couple decades ago, they didn’t feel like they needed to include profanity and nudity because #1) it wasn’t accepted in that time period and #2) people went watched a movie for the story line and not for the dirty language.  Also, kids movies are suppose to be clean for the innocent eyes that watch them.  They are suppose to teach children good morals and values but unfortunately, they are giving kids another message.  For example, several years ago, my mother and I went to see Antz in theaters.  For those of you who don’t know, Antz is an animated children’s movies about a colony of ants.  We were enjoying the movie until all of a sudden one of the characters said a curse word.  We were both extremely surprised and disappointed by this because the movie was rated G and was suppose to be for children.  I stumbled across another blog where someone said this about Antz: ”Great! Violence, crude language, big time acters for voices. Not as good a movie as Bug’s Life, but I still like Antz more.”  I feel so bad that someone would be happy and excited to have cursing in a little kid’s movie.  I definitely do not understand it.  Why can’t movies be clean like they used to be?

Blog 5

This cartoon works to deter people from pirating movies or illegally downloading movies.  It is amusing how the cartoon plays with the word “pirate.”  It shows Arnold getting arrested to selling pirated movies and shows people that you will get arrested for selling illegal movies.  Many people do not believe that they will get caught while selling illegal movies, but that is probably not the case.  The longer you sell illegal movies, the possibilities increase that you will be caught.  I view this cartoon as a witty form of satire.  Everthing’s An Argument says that satire is the “humor college students create” and I believe that this cartoon could be created by a college student and it also reaches out to college students.  In the book, it also states that an argument might “satirize or parody a position, point of view, or style” and this cartoon makes a good point of showing Arnold’s general thinking of not every getting caught.  I think that this is a general belief because we don’t know anyone first hand that has gotten arrested or a fine from illegally pirating movies.  This cartoon forces people to see the truth about downloading movies and makes them think twice before doing it themselves.