Journal Entry #2

For my second journal entry, i watched and reviewed the movie Finding Nemo, which was released in 2003. I choose this movie to review because it was an animated movie and i thought it would be interesting to critique. The main characters of the movie are Nemo, who is taken away by a net from fishers. Nemo's father, Marlin, is set on an adventure to find his son and get him back to his home. On the way, Marlin encounters Dory, a forgetful fish that annoys Marlin, but ends up saving his and his sons life in the end. What Marlin doesnt know is that Nemo is in a cage with other fish that were also captured. The fish in the tank listen to Nemo's story and create a way to get him out and back into the ocean. The plan goes well and Nemo is back in the ocean, now all that has to happen is Nemo and Marlin somehow meet up in the large ocean.

The directors of the film, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich really used sounds and incorporated them well to set the mood right for each scene, also known as nondigetic sounds. For example, when Nemo is being chased by fish that want to eat him, the music gets high and intense, which sets up the audience to become intense. The director also uses low-angle shots very well. When Nemo is in the cage with the other fish, Gill, who is a wise older fish, is shot from a low-angle. It gives Gill a powerful look and it portrays him to be extremely important.

Another reason why this film is in the top 100 greatest movies is because of the great colors incorporated into the movie. The ocean is bright blue and the seaweed is very colorful, it makes it seem like the place to be. All the fish are differently colored, so it makes it easy for the viewers to not get confused between fishes.

Some negatives to this film is how the film is targeted towards infants and young children, but it has moments where even im scared to watch. When the fish encounter the large shark, the teeth shown by the shark is visually frightening to look at and young children are not going to be excited to see that. Another reason why critics say this is a weak film is because the pace of the movie is slow. I felt like when i was watching it, I got really tired of watching and just wanted to go to sleep because there were not enough exciting and adventerous moments when Marlin is on the way to find Nemo. If an 18 year-old cant stay awake during the movie, how is a 3 or 4 year-old going to?

Journal #1

Rita Kempley's review of The Shawshank Redemption was one of the reviews where the writer was extremely positive towards the movie, but also gave the movie critique in a negative way.

The first I saw this movie was on Spike T.V. I knew it was highly regarded as a great movie and my dad loved it, so i had to watch it. As I was watching it, I became more and more frustrated because of the reason Andy (Tim Robbins) was in jail. Andy was wronlgy accused of the murder of his wife and was placed in a maximum-security state prison in Maine. Andy was a very intelligent young man and used his talents to help the prison guards and the warden out with their taxes. In prison, Andy meets Red, (Morgan Freeman) who eventually becomes his best friend. They create a special bond where they can tell each other anything and everything. The question everyone asked to Andy is why are you in prison. Andy tells them he is not guilty and of course none of his buddies believe him. But, one day a young man comes into the prison and tells everyone a story about the real murderer of Andy's wife and Andy demands to have this young man tell the warden. The warden asks this young man if this is true and he says, but instead of the warden helping Andy, he decides to kill the young man who knows the truth about Andy. As all of this is going on, Andy was collecting sharp tools, which helps him carve a hole into the wall. After 21 years of being in prison for a crime he did not committ, he used the tools he collected to escape through the hole to freedom. Red was later released and they went to the promise land together, the ocean.

This movie was exceptional because Andy's character was so brilliantly played. He was very mysterious and the audience never knew what was going to happen next with Andy. Red's character grew into a intelligent man when Andy taught him life lessons and how he could actually contribute to the world if he were to get on the outside again. Rita Kimpley's review was a mirror image of my opinion. She thought it was exceptional and also kept the audience thinking and on the age of their seats.

Kimpley explains: "Mostly, though, it reminds us of that we all hold the keys to our own prisons."

Kimpley expresses that people are sometimes wrongly accused and you just have to deal with it. I totally agree with that because life somtimes throws you fastballs that are unfair, but you just have to deal with them. Whether you committed the crime or not, you just have to look to the future and hope for the best

Rita Kimpley summarizes: "Whether or not he pulled the trigger, Andy blames himself for causing his wife's death; his redemption comes as he learns to give of himself over the course of this marvelously acted and directed film."

One comment of Kimpley's I did not agree with was when she said that this movie gives hope to prisoners all around the world. This movie is semi-unrealistic, and that is what a lot of other critics said also. But for the most part, I would have to agree on most of everything Rita Kimpley expressed in her review.

The Legend of Bagger Vance

http://youtube.com/watch?v=v2w5-meDjFk

The Legend of Bagger Vance is a movie about a younger superstar golfer named Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon) who gets his chance to face off against two of the greatest golfers to the play the game, Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen. Bagger Vance (Will Smith) is Junuh's caddy and helps Junuh deal with his problems and inspires him to play the best he can. In this scene, there are many examples of close-ups and speed of motion. When sir Bobby Jones is making his practice swings, the camera zooms in on Junuh's face to show his emotions towards Jones and also zooms in a Bobby's face to emphasize the focus and the importance of the shot. After Bagger Vance speaks with Junuh, Junuh goes up to hit his ball and the fairway starts to move closer and the people in the background start to evaporate. That is an example of speed of motion because it zooms in on Junuh and also emphasizes that he is starting to focus and that is why the fairway moves closer and the people evaporate.

Dumb and Dumber

The best movie of all time is Dumb and Dumber

Dumb and Dumber is a comedy about two idiots that live in a small Rhode Island town. Harry Dunn, played by Jeff Daniels, is a groomer who gets fired within the first ten minutes of the movie and his friend, Lloyd Christmas is a limo driver that falls in love with the person he drives to the airport, Mary Swanson. In the airport, Mary leaves her suitcase and Lloyd believes she has left it there by accident. Trying to be a hero, he grabs it and tries to bring it to her. But, the briefcase was actually meant for ransom money to the kidnappers of her husband. So with Mary's briefcase and Lloyd in love, Lloyd convinces Harry to travel across the country to Aspen, Colorado to return Mary's briefcase. When they get to Aspen, Mary starts to fall for Harry and Lloyd gets jealous and their friendship is at risk.

This is one of my favorite movies because the plot is hilarious and always keeps me laughing. Unlike the newer movies, like Superbad, where the plot is stupid and the humor is immature and lame. Dumb and Dumber is one of those movies that i will show my kids and they will think its hilarious. It is a timeless piece and the movie will never get old. I also like it because Jim Carrey is one of my favorite actors and he is outrageously funny in this movie.

Critics say.. its either outrageously funny or just full of bathroom humor. Most critics say it lacks a solid plot and it is a extremely offensive movie. There is one critic from San Fransisco that says it was the funniest movie of 1994, but one critic from the Washington Post says that the movie was written by the lugheads themselves.

pedophilia