"A Place in My Dislike Pile"

Ok, where do I start. here is my list of comments while watching the film yesterday:


I definitely notice the "screen wipes"...uhhhhhhg it's distracting....

im amazed how fast romance can develop

wait, why didnt they put the top up?


the scene where george goes to the party, i did not like some of those camera angles like the somewhat shot reverse shot between a girl and george and george mistakes her hello for her friends.

GEORGE IS A SCHEMING BITCH.

i think the bird sound effect right after the drums was a bit dramatic...uhhhgggg

there is an excessive use of the cross-fading transitions in this film. it's making my dizzy.

the drums and close up shots are over-the-top.....i want to die.

i did not like the close up shot of george crawling up to the camera.

so "hardly eating anything" is something?

"another woman stashed somewhere someplace".....im really hating all of things things....

fainting huh? oh, and how did the mother know that she fell in the first place?

anti-climactic ending...gahhhh



Anyways, as you can already tell, i did not enjoy the film as much as i wanted. I definitely thought the drmatic sound effects and music and close up shots were over-the-top. I do not like this film. enough said.

"Double Awesomeness"

So let me start by saying, one of the coolest things happened when i did a but of research into Barbara Stanwyck. but more about that later.

I really liked Double Indemnity. I liked the transitional shots, as well as the development and establishment of story and character; i felt that the characters stayed true to themselves as well as the story. For example, someone in class pointed out that Phyllis is a bit squeamish when it came to killing. I very much agree.

My favorite character in the film has to be Walter. I really resonated with his character because he was always thinking but at the same time he knew he had to "keep it cool" and not get caught. He almost sounds like a crazy man, though he did KILL a man, with the way that he narratively explained what he did to the recorder. He had that look of deep thought on his face. To be honest, I find myself making that face every now and then.

So, the best part is seeing Barbara Stanwyck work her magic yet again in a film, as a femme fatale no less; it was very rewarding. Yet, it gets better.

So, in my Sociology 372 class last semester, I got to watch A Star Is Born, featuring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, directed by William A. Wellman, a film about a young woman who changes her name and becomes a star. She falls in love with another actor yet her stardom goes beyond that of his and their relationship suffers. A Star Is Born is my favorite "Classic Hollywood" film.

After looking back at some old essays, and then researching Barbara Stanwyck, I realized that part of my essay last semester mentioned that people believe that the A Star Is Born film is based on Barbara Stanwyck's life.

So then I was like, "...Wait. 'Barbara Stanwyck' is not her real name?" It turns out, her real name is Ruby Katherine Stevens. who knew?

She's definitely one of my favorite actors, I've also watched The Lady Eve and Lady of Burlesque.


This really is a great surprise.

"Grapes of Dreams"

i found it really interesting that someone commented on the title and it's reference to the events in the film. It makes sense though, "many small dreams, all connected in the family."

I really loved the fact that music was used sparingly, and that if there was a n absence of music, there was sounds of nature conflicting with the sounds of machinery; a theme of what the Depression was all about. The theme song, or at least the song that comes on whever somthing important happens or something sorrowful happens, i've actually heard before. I can't exactly pinpoint where I've heard it before, but I want to say the 90's cartoon, Rugrats, specifically Tommy's mom humming it.

Anyways, another aspect of the film i really like was the dramatic lightin used on Henry Fonda's character; I loved the lighting in the scene in the abandoned house at the beginning, and the scenes where Tom reunites with Casy and When Tom kills the man that killed Casy. Those night shots were really dramatic and really, in my eyes, artistically juxtaposed.