"Farris Bueller's Day Off"

This film has many monologs where the actor talks to the camera giving advice to the viewers on how to skip school and on how to skate through high school by doing the bare minimum and have a good time. In "Farris Bueller’s day off" he is breaking through the fourth wall by inviting the audience in to his adventure. He is constantly instructing us on what he is doing in a very analytical way; however the other actors pay no attention to him when he has his insightful monologs.  It is little over the top with glamorizing deceit by manipulating every one he is around but very comical. The casting in this film was very well done I really couldn’t have seen a better actor for the part of Farris than Mathew Broderick. Also I thought it was perfect to see Charlie Sheen’s bit part in the police station for drugs, also another well casted part. I would summarize this as an obvious comedy for teens making fun of parents and teachers.

Hughes, J.  (1986). Ferris Bueller’s Day off. USA. Paramount Pictures

"Princess Bride"

                "Princess Bride" was an intellectual film with action, comedy, and drama. The action sequences are very classical with the lack of intensity and gore of modern films.  The largest aspect of this film was the story which is unparallel even today. This adds more to the content of the story with in a story being told to a young boy. The torture scenes were alittle barbaric but nothing in compareson to movies today. The scene didn’t show any blood just insinuated extreme pain from a torture device and a sinister torturer, some bloodshed is in the final scene between Inigo Montoya and his father’s killer.  With a title like Princess Bride you know this will be a drama between two lovers but this movie really covers all genera’s.  Comedy with the witty one-liners and guest appearances form actors like Billy Crystal for comic relief, action with all the sword play and conflicts between lovers, And a vengeance between a boy and his father’s murder. Two stories are being told one the princess and her lover, secondly the grandfather and grandson reading a book teaching him life lessons through the story. The dialog was very impressive in this film showing the skills of the actors to make it a comedy but not come across to ridicule.

Reiner, R (1987). Princess Bride. USA.Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

“O Brother, Where Art Thou”

The film “O Brother, Where Art Thou”, directed by Joel Coen and written by Ethan Coen, was based on the epic poem “The Odyssey”.  Many similarities to the poem are found throughout the film, such as the name of the governor in “O Brother, Where Art Thou,” and the king in “The Odyssey” is the same, Menalaius.  Also, you will notice similar scenes, for example the scene where the convicts in the film meet three tempting ladies washing clothes in the river, singing and luring the men to a trap similar to the one set by the sirens in “The Odyssey”.  However, the main similarities are found within the role of the main character in both stories; both were taken from their wives and both undertake an incredible journey to get back to her.  Both main characters in “The Odyssey” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou” were required to be disguised to keep from being discovered, and both had to deal with suitors pursuing their wives, causing even more problems for the characters.  The Coen brothers used an interesting approach to this film by setting it in the 1930’s whereas the poem dates back to approximately the 8^th century BC.

• Walsh, D. (n.d.). Whither the Coen Brothers?. World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved December 12, 2011, from http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/feb2001/obro-f10.shtml

• O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) - IMDb. (n.d.). The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved December 12, 2011, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190590/

Fagles, R. (1997). The Odyssey. New York: Penguin Books.

The Usual Suspects

 In my opinion, the movie “The Usual Suspects” is one of the best Mystery/Heist films of all time. This movie consists of a group of five criminals who are brought together because of a crime they were suspected to be involved in.  After that, this movie unfolds into an incredible mystery.  I can’t count how many times I have seen this movie and I still find it very enjoyable because of the different directions that the plot takes and the questions it creates. The director, Bryan Singer, and writer, Christopher McQuarrie, debated on whom to cast as Keyser Soze for a very long time. This was an unusual use of story and direction.  For example, on one hand you’re following the story that seemed to be secondary;  that of the five criminals committing crimes and whether or not they get away.  On the other hand, you’re following the main plot of who is Keyser Soze, which is a question that you don’t even realize that you want to know the answer to when you first start this film.  It is a question that the director creates in your mind when you are about a quarter of the way into the film, and it is only answered in the last three minutes of the film. The director’s use of story and direction make this film an incredible mystery/crime/drama film that will stand the test of time.

Internet Movie Database [IMDB]. (2011). The Usual Suspects (1995). Retrieved from IMDB website: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114814/

Pulp Fiction

Pulp fiction was a very interesting film that I really enjoyed.  It seemed to be portrayed in the typical Tarantino fashion, including his signature unorthodox timeline that he so often uses in his films.  I noticed that in the movie the first scene is in the coffee shop with the two robbers, and ends with Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta leaving the coffee shop.  However, this is not the entire time line of the movie.   In an earlier scene a boxer named Butch, played by Bruce Willis, has to go to his apartment to retrieve his father’s watch.  Butch, after finding his watch, runs into Vincent Vega, played by John Travolta, using the bathroom and is surprised to find him waiting for him.  In the course of his search, Butch finds a silenced machine gun that he uses to kill Vincent; however Vincent is still alive in the final scene, showing Tarantino's manipulation of the time line.

IMDB. (2011b). Pulp Fiction (1994). Retrieved from IMDB website: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110912/