fredschroeder-63011 Reviews

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

an incredible movie

[9/10 · 14 December 2016]

This film was truly remarkable. It revolutionized the craze for sci fi. The film's set design was incredible, to make it seem as if they were truly in the rounded ship, truly had no gravity, the realism throughout the film was astonishing. One aspect i always have noticed in the film would be the lighting aspects. in a majority of the scenes in actual rooms, since they are in space there's no light so no windows, the lighting comes from artificial sources within the room. what makes it odd however is the fact that the lights aren't in the ceiling, they're rather in the floor and the walls a majority of the time. The soundtrack for the film was also incredibly absolving, it drew the viewer in like the mythical sirens.

Rebecca (1940)

Rebecca

[9/10 · 7 December 2016]

I loved this movie. An early Hitchcock film, it resembles the certain suspense accompanying his direction. The eeriness of the old ms Dewinter, Rebecca, room allowed for the plot to build, a certain tenseness overtime those double doors popped up. the lighting was dark, a lot of the time it kept a majority of the shot in deep shadow. the deep shadow allowed for the idea of the unknown to build, similar to the threat of the old Rebecca. she was never explained, just mentioned and there are only reminders of her around the home. the eeriness builds with the coldness of the maid, the entire movie just build slowly upon itself. it is an excellent movie to preface the films Hitchcock was about to make, a wonderful predecessor.

Don't Bother to Knock (1952)

not a fan

[3/10 · 7 December 2016]

While the movie was artfully crafted it was not necessarily enthralling. The plot sort of dragged on, only peaking interest with Marilyn's acting. In this film she was slightly deeper than her previous roles, moving beyond simple sex appeal. her role in this film is deeper, darker. She is a babysitter, yet she is involved with a random man. she is deceptive in that she had spent time in a mental institution, she hid this from the bosses. the lighting and cinematography in this film were important in the making of marilyn's character. the shadows kept her hidden in certain points, attaining the certain feel of film noir.

The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

Art, not very entertaining

[5/10 · 7 December 2016]

This movie was a perfect symbol for the Hollywood it took place in. In 1952 Hollywood was filled with star actors and actresses, aiming to show their lives but ending up exaggerating the truth. this movie provided a look into the deepness, the bad within the beautiful of Hollywood. The amoral Hollywood producer intends to bring together the three former associates: an actress, a writer and a director, for his new project. The plot is told through their flashbacks, showing how the aforementioned producer during their careers mercilessly exploited. It is interesting to see what is actually happening in this "city of illusions". The story may not be true, but a number of illusions can capture the imagination. The plot wasn't particularly grasping however, it was a sort of dry truth.

Citizen Kane (1941)

Must See

[8/10 · 7 December 2016]

I loved the movie, the artfulness that Orson Welles crafts in his films is astounding in this film. The trick to his technique in Citizen Kane lies in mise-en-scene and the tools of film: lighting, framing, editing and angle. The most obvious and prevalent cinematic technique used in Citizen Kane is the lighting. The director meant for it to be a dark picture with very heavy contrasts, so he used single light source. The objective was to use simple lighting in order to give the scene a certain ambiance and in some cases, to further develop the characters with the use of shadows. An example of single source lighting is when Thompson is reading Mr. Thatcher's memoirs. This lone light source creates a sense of isolation which seems to accentuate Thompson's lonely quest. The way the light illuminates the room also says a great deal about Thatcher's personality, especially by how it illuminates the large portrait of him hanging on the wall. The movie is exemplary, Welles' was an artist, uniquely and precisely. It was a good movie solely because of this, the way he told this story, a simple plot, strewn with flashbacks, into an absorbing film is incredible.

It Happened One Night (1934)

Outstanding Film

[9/10 · 13 October 2016]

This movie is one of my all-time favorite films. The movie being made in 1934 meant that there were certain guidelines it had to be passed through before it could be released, as per the new law code that was created a few years prior. The movie does an excellent job of pushing the boundaries set by the law. The entire movies consisted of scenes that surely ruffled the feathers by many. The movie was meant to be a comedy and it certainly is, constant joking and almost goofy scenes made it nearly impossible not to chuckle. Both lead actors did excellent in playing their distinctive roles of being in love but pretending to not be, a classic early screwball romance comedy.

Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)

A Tad Dry

[5/10 · 13 October 2016]

Young Mr. Lincoln was a movie with hearty intentions, yet it fell flat in my opinion. To me, it seemed too stretched out, just because they could make the movie longer doesn't mean they should have. My biggest issue with the film was the lack of depth in the screenplay/script as well as a lack of passion in the main actor, Henry Fonda. the script was rather dry, and the next line was easy to guess, almost as if out of a children's book. I would have preferred a bit more intensive dialogue opposed to the short sentences given by most characters. The only scene that really drew my attention was the court scene. I felt as if the actor suddenly began to connect with his character in some way because the scenes had a different more sinister feel to them. all around the movie was okay but I wouldn't necessarily call it special.

The Mummy (1932)

Not for Me

[3/10 · 3 October 2016]

I wanted to like this movie a lot. I went into the movie knowing it was supposed to be one of the Universal Classics, right alongside with the 1931 Frankenstein. I especially expected the acting from Boris Karloff to be more present and deeply involved with his character. Unfortunately, for me at least, the movie delivered on neither of these things. The plot seemed like it would be easy to follow and at some times it was, however there were many times throughout the movie that I'd have to rewind and rewatch to understand what was occurring. The powers of the mummy were pretty vague as well, it seemed like he could just choose whatever abilities he wanted and then he could just magically do it. Boris Karloff may not have delivered with the majority of his role in this movie yet there was one thing he did extremely well. He definitely played an extremely believable creepy and eerie historian. The movie seemed like it was just replaying the same few problems over and over again, there was no real plot line except for that they had to keep the scroll hidden and safe. All around it wasn't my favorite movie, but there were enough scenes that I can't say I hated it. It's still worth the watch if you enjoy the 30's monster movies, Many DO regard it as a classic.

City Streets (1931)

Love, Lust and Beer lead to issues within a racketeering gang

[8/10 · 21 September 2016]

The movie is an absolutely wonderful piece. It was a great show of the truth behind the time period, including the degradation of women at the time. The emotion of the characters wasn't shown solely through the skills of the actors, but also the orchestrated soundtrack playing throughout. The sound effects of everything going on in the movie would have been relatively new technology at the time of filming, increasing the overall quality of the production. Lighting and camera angles also made many great shots possible, including the one of convoy barreling down the street(driving over the camera). Another is the shot in the prison where she could watch her cell mate get to the car to go home, that was an amazing shot that emphasized distance very well. All around the movie was excellent, especially knowing that many of the issues faced by the characters can be easily compared and likened to current gang and crime families.