True Grit

     True Grit is an American Western film and is directed by the Coen brothers. This movie stars, Hailee Steinfeld, Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin. Paramount pictures released the film, December 22nd, 2010.

     Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) is a fourteen year old girl. Her father has just been murderd by one of his hired hands. His name is Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). She sets out on a "mission", which is to find Chaney and kill him for killing her father. To help her, she hires U.S. Marshal Cogburn (Jeff Bridges). Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) decides to team up with Cogburn because he knows Chaneys hideout. Along their journey, Mattie comes across Chaney while fetching water by a nearby stream. Mattie shoots him, but he survives and brings her back to their hideout. Later on, Mattie manages to get her hands on a LaBoeuf's rifle and shoots Chaney. Does he survive or is he dead? You'll just have to watch the movie to find out! :)

     The actors and actresses are very believable in the movie. They all played their roles very well. Hailee Steinfeld played her role as Mattie Ross really well. Hailee had to play a very strong female role in the movie and she did really well, she was a character that really catches your attention. I think she should win an award for best acting in the movie. The costumes were very well done and matched each characters personality.

     I would recommend this film to people who really enjoy the Western genre. I personally do not like Westerns, but I really enjoyed this movie because it had a suspenseful plot and I was always wondering what was going to happen next and if she was going to achieve her goal of killing Chaney.

Singing in the Rain

     Singing in the Rain is a 1952 film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds. It was directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. The movie was released March 27th, 1952 and was based on the idea of the transition from silent films to talking ones ("talkies"). The basic plot of the film is about an actor named, Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) who is famous for silent films. One night, while being paraded over by fans, Lockwood jumps into a passing car where he meets a women named, Kathy Seldon. Later on in the movie, they both begin to fall in love with each other. Lockwood's next big movie, "The Singing Cavalier" is estimated to be a big hit with the public, but after a massive release from a rival studio of the first ever talkie called, "The Jazz Singers" the head of Monumental Pictures (Lockwood's studio) is forced to turn "The Singing Cavalier" into a talkie! The picture faces multiple difficulties over a period of time. The biggest problem was Lina Lamont's (Jean Hagen) high-pitched voice. Lockwood is forced to work with Lamont even though he despises working with her. The test screening for the film was a complete disaster with the synchronization of the voices and the actions on screen going haywire. Lockwood and Monumental Pictures are almost out of hope when Don't best friend, Cosmo Brown has an idea to turn the film into a musical called, "The Dancing Cavalier". Kathy agrees on becoming Lina's voice for the film to save Lockwood's career. Lina then becomes furious about Kathy and Don's relationship and almost puts the studio in jeopardy from her demands. At the end, the movie becomes a great success.

     I found that the characters played their roles well. The costumes were a nice touch and matched each characters personality perfectly. For example, Lina Lamont was always dressed in fancy, "high-end" clothing which told us a lot about her "status" in the movie. She was a rich and famous actress. Don Lockwood, for the most part was dressed in nice suites. He was a rich and famous actor. Kathy Seldon seemed like a "middle-class" woman so she dressed in your average everyday clothes. The costumes always make characters look more believable in a film. For the costumes in this film, they did fit in with the year that this movie took place in. The movie took place in the year, 1927 and one thing I did notice was that the girls in this film wore flapper dresses. 

     I usually don't like watching musicals, but I really enjoyed this film. I enjoyed the storyline, overall. The characters played their roles really well and they were more than believable. If I were to recommend this film, I would recommend it to anyone because I think the storyline is appropriate for almost all ages and it's a great family movie. If you're looking for a great film for family movie night, I would definitely recommend this one! This movie is now, definitely on my list of favourites. I would rate it a 9/10. 

My Fav. Movie (August Rush)

Friday September 14^th, 12

     My favorite movie is, “August Rush” directed by Kirsten Sheridan, starring Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. I like this movie because it has such a great story line and the main focus throughout the movie is how music can affect and change people’s lives. The basic plot of the movie is about a family who has been torn apart and later reunited by “following the music”. The actors in the movie played their roles well. They were very believable. Keri Russell plays Lyla Novacek, a cellist who plays for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. She didn’t actually know how to play the cello on set, so she faked it and it was very believable. I would recommend this movie to anyone of all ages. It is such an amazing story. I would rate it a 4.5/5 

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Movie review on the film: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

     The movie, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” is a 1920’s German silent horror film. It was directed by Robert Wiene. The movie was initially released February 26^th, 1920. The basic plot of the story starts off with two men talking with each other (one older and one younger (Francis)) and they are distracted by a woman named, Jane walking nearby. After seeing Jane, the younger of the two men starts off a second conversation with the older man, which he claimed to be a “recollected” story. There is a carnival in town and Francis and his friend Allan are off to go see the somnambulist, Cesare and Dr. Caligari. After seeing the somnambulist, Allan has been told he has till dawn the next to live. At dawn the next day, Allan is found dead, just like the somnambulist predicted. During the rising action, there are multiple murders in the town which then leads to an investigation to Dr. Caligari and the somnambulist. The story ends with a thrilling conclusion.

     Personally, for a silent movie in the 1920’s, I thought that it had a very well planned and “thought out” story line. It had many twists and turns throughout the plot, especially in the end. If you don’t think about what’s going on throughout the story, it will seem very confusing when it’s over. I think this movie really makes people think about what just happened because it is told as something that “supposedly” happened in the past (flashback). The sets, characters and costumes were all very believable and realistic and went along very well with the storyline. Since this was a horror film, the sets were made to look crooked. This effect gives the audience an “eerie” feeling when watching the film.

     Like I explained in the above paragraph, for a 1920’s horror film it was a very good movie and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would recommend this film to anyone who would like a different perspective on film because it’s pretty different compared to modern day movies. It also has a pretty decent story line which I would think would be appropriate for all ages.