High Noon

Upon the completion of classic film High Noon, I sat back in my desk and began to think. Why is this movie a classic? I see no classical features or timeless plotline. This well-known western was nothing else but anti-climactic. Now I know what you are going to say; I just cannot appreciate a good western film. There my friend, you are wrong. I happened to watch the entire Blazing Saddles and absolutely loved it. Therefore, my conclusion is either 1) It is a movie better watched by contemporaries of the era it was produced, or 2) The film in general is just plain bad.

I am inclined to go with the former, if purely for Zinnerman's sake. My main complaint aside from the black and white is that the film in general was extremley boring. There was no action, and it was primarily a movie about one man walking around an old town trying to gain followers. The acting wasn't necesarily outstanding either in my opinion; there seemed to be no emotion whatsoever in many of the characters' voices. This holds true for all except Gary Cooper (Will Kane).

I will attempt to draw a parallel that in my head appears to completley overlap one another. As I watched this movie I was strongly reminded of the entire Harry Potter series, more specifically the 7th edition. For the obvious, Will Kane (Harry Potter) is the one good guy who resolves to face his enemy rather than run away and go into hiding. The enemy Frank Miller (Lord Voldemort) was first missing, and later arrived on the train to join his cronies (Book 4 when Lord Voldemort was brought back to life and summoned his death eaters.) There are still some of Millers' friends on the streets awaiting his arrival (Voldemort's followers who escaped the ministry of magic.) More specifically to book 7, as Kane walked alone to face Miller I was reminded of when Harry walked alone to the forbidden forest to face Voldemort. The overriding good vrs. evil, morality vrs. selfishness and loyalty questions are present in both.

This is the only good thing I can say about High Noon; it reminded me of my favorite book. Other then that, High Noon fans are on their own. I saw nothing good to comment on; even the camera while filming was shakey. I profusely apologize to all those who loved the movie, however, I have a distinct feeling that I am not in the minority here.

One Missed Call

Look closely! Do you see what I see? Look at the eyes. Now I bet you do and your stomach just dropped a mile downwards. Those faces for empty eyes look terrifying, don't they? Well don't get too excited. Don't let this picture fool you as it fooled me. I apologize for the minute or so anticipation you might have had to watch this movie if you are a thriller fanatic, but I assure you that is not what you will find here.

I recently viewed yet another thriller. Unfortunately for me, though, is the fact that it was absolutely horrible. Knock-off, corny, anti-climactic, bad acting, and confusing are but a glimpse from the long list of words I am sure I could come up with to describe this movie.

Now I know that one may tell me not to judge; I do not like scary movies. This is false. I happen to love scary movies...the night following the viewing however is a different story. One Missed Call was almost a precise replication of the well know The Ring, which when released was a very new and creative idea. The fact that some mysterious creepy dead girl could locate you regardless of your location, call you, tell you how many days you have left to live, and then kill you was intriguing; as you may remember America went through a horror film craze during the year this movie was released (along with The Grudge and some other classics).

The Ring, though terrifying, was amazing. While the story was definitely intricately planned it wasn't so hard to follow; there was clearly much thought put in behind it and the events unfolded well. In One Missed Call, I can not say the same. Not only was the story confusing, but it made no logical sense. Obviously scary movies are all fictional, however what sets a great scary movie apart from the rest is the very realistic qualities that they contain. One Missed Call had no such quality so to speak. Aside from the confusing and supposedly scary main plot, there was not even a sub plot. There was no greater message attempting to awaken its viewers, there was no romantic aspect to the film, there was no meaning except for a phone call with albeit a chilling ring tone.

This 'Missed Call' is a call dialed from the phone of the person previously killed. The message that is left is that of how the owner of that phone is going to die. You actually hear your own death. The phone call comes in on the date and time of your murder. This all may sound terrifying to you, but have no fear! All this mysterious killings are traced back to some little girl who tried to kill her little sister, and then died having an asthma attack which was caught on a nanny-cam. The sister, however, was in the hospital when it burnt down killing her mother. If you think this already sounds confusing, wait until you hear the rest. When the main character Beth Raymond (played by Shaynnyn Sossamon) who acts as the morally righteous protagonist goes to thehospital to try and uncover the mistery, she is attacked by a little baby. Who is this baby? Your guess is as good as mine. The movie ends with a close-up shot on a cell-phone, recieving a call playing the same ring tone indicating the killer.

Not only was I utterly confused throughout the entire film with the anticipation of maybe a concluding end, but I was left in conusion feeling as if I had just wasted two hours of my life. I do not suggest this movie. Your time is much better spent on worthier movies with meaningful and intresting plots.

V for Vendetta? Or Violence.

(SPOILER ALERT)

This renowned movie abruptly ended today with a bang, and I mean that literally. With parliament blown apart to pieces depicted as a beautiful event, I sat stunned in my seat as the credits rolled down the screen.

There is no doubt that this movie is fantastic. With such a cunning and innovative (though based on a theme perfected by George Orwell) plot-line, superb casting, and wonderful directing, how could it not be? Perhaps the special effects were done a little distastefully, and unrealistically, but over all I cannot deny that I was sitting on the edge of my seat throughout the entire film. I found some of the story convoluted and confusing at times but all in all I don’t think one need understand the intricate details to comprehend the entire purpose of the movie.

Interestingly enough, this movie introduces a few very large and controversial topics. The first of which: Can violence be used for good? To this I say: How should I know? This question has a multitude of answers, each of which differing depending on the eye examining it. Good is one of the most subjective words in the English language, apart from maybe beautiful, or bad. For instance, the Nazis firmly believed their violent acts were for the greater good of the world, although this meant murdering millions of innocent people. And Lord Voldemort believes that killing all the mud bloods is violence necessary to achieve ‘good’. Obviously, this is not so from our perspective. So can V’s actions really be justified on the basis of the greater good of the entire country? Personally, I don’t believe violence should be the means to any end, regardless. However, one might disagree. The fascist government implemented in Britain during this movie was flagrantly corrupt and infiltrated with greed and power-hungry individuals who had no ethics or morals regarding the citizens. I am not defending that the events which took place at Larkhill should not have been vindicated. However, I am certainly suggesting that the term ‘violence for good’ can never be accurately answered.

The next question that arises from this film is that of terrorism. Does this film truly promote terrorist actions during a time where we face real unmasked terrorists? I believe it does. Needless to say the people of a country should absolutely have the right to revolt against a government that does not work for them. Yet terrorism is not a subjective word like good. Terrorism specifically means the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes, courtesy of dictionary.com. Whether we agree with the ideals behind V’s mask or not, there is no way to disguise that he is in fact a terrorist. I acknowledge that some may feel threatened by this movie; that perhaps it promotes acts of revolution. Maybe people will begin to think clearly again, and realize what a government should really be about. I agree that V for Vendetta illustrates bombing a national building as glorious; this is a little unsettling. However, the fact alone that this movie is being released to the public shows how unlike the socialist regime demonstrated by the movie our society is. Many conflicting issues are ever-present in this almost-radical movie, however, I believe that all these separate ideas combine to form a film which provokes the watcher to think; that in itself is an excellent motion-picture.

V for Vendetta.

V for Vendetta. Excellent reputation. Stellar actors. Amazing director. Above all of that, an incredible reputation. The first day watching this movie in school I would agree with these descriptions of the movie. I found the plot extremley interesting - a fascist England with people who know the government is constantly feeding them lies - and the acting to be superb. I must admit, though, I am extremley biased becuase Natalie Portman is my favorite actress.

Second day. Still intriguing movie. The plot mirrored that of Orwell's 1984 and the events were unfolding quite intricately. V, mysterious man character behind the mask that reminds me of that in the Saw series, symbolized revolution and revolt, divergent thinking and Violence. Though obviously creepy, my opinion of him still was that his intentions were in the right place.

However, the days continued to unfold. We are now more than halfway through the movie and I am SERIOUSLY disturbed. Firstly, we were introduced to a first hand account of the detention facility where V was detained. The images shown here were scarring. Numerous people with shaved heads and the same exact red almost hospital gown look-alike forced into lengthy lines awaiting an injection that later kills them. The pit of naked dead people thrown on top of each other without a care in the world. As I watched in horror I was reminded of the Natzi concentration camps and the Holocaust museums I have visited. I am sure there was a parallel drawn there. The wrought iron and gray steel doors enclosing prisoners were soul-shaking. Later, our beloved Natalie Portman who represents the center of goodness and morality is captured and brought to a government facility where she is tortured and interrogated. We see her stripped of her identity, shaved, thrown and dragged around, bound and hanging to shower, shaking and bleeding, only to find out that it was all a test of V. These images were horrifying. However, the fact that V would submit her to this cruelty knowingly and willingly is even more disgusting. Is that how a radical really thinks? He believes in Violence for good, but that is certainly no good.

I must admit, because the depiction affected me so adversely the movie must indeed be effective in conveying a message. Obviously the directing is excellent. I however am apalled at what the movie is actually showing. Hopefully the ending is satisfactory and eases me a little more, however, unfortunately I'll say that the more uneasy I feel the better the movie is.