True Grit, Stagecoach, and Unforgiven Comparisons

I believe Stagecoach and True Grit are similar in many ways which include them both being classic western films that accurately display the realistic events of the time period rather than a revised untrue portrait of the western time period. Both also have similar character roles that include related problems in the time period, which creates a suspenseful and exciting movie. Both films included similar settings throughout the films. The camera movement seemed to be similar except way more upgraded in True Grit. The costume and make up in both films fit the classic western cowboy and the weirdly dressed woman. Both films portrayed a lot of similar traits but differed in the story being told.

True Grit and Unforgiven have many comparisons that include one of the main characters is a drunken killer and is asked to kill a certain people. Another comparison of the films are the consistently similar settings, which along with the characters and Mise-en-scene, they all hint the time period. The costumes seemed to going for a similar look along with lighting in certain scenes like when its at a suspenseful scene and the villain is about to die with the gun pointed at them. The camera angles were consistently similar in the use of the tracking method. Also i noticed the sounds and music were similar in the sense that it hinted the mood and tone of the scene.

I believe that True Grit display more of a classic western instead of a revisionist western in traits that include the overall plot and message in the movie which in similar to the old west. The costume and make up along with the setting all hinted the time period and how life was along with the conflicts that can arise and how different it is to the present. All the characters traits were similar to the western time period which consisted of anything from how they spoke to the decisions they made. I thought it was very clear and well told classic western film that consisted of a very accurate description of the western time period.

Clips A, B, C, and D Evaluation

In clip A from oceans eleven i liked how they set a very good mood for the upcoming scenes so that the original settings would all tie into the story. They used very good key lighting in the clip shown, but also utilized the quality and direction of the camera along with the zoom lens. The composition in the clip was very good cause it set up a suspenseful scene after the clip to make you keep watching. The framing in the clip could have been better because the angles of the shots were weird at times but it was trying to create a certain shot on the characters. the camera movement was very well done and is clearly a crane or steadicam cause it was very clear and steady. Good sound and editing also in the clip.

In Clip B from Strangers on a train had very good story telling info along with meaningful settings that lead to later moments of importance. The makeup was very generic and original for this clip. The lighting i thought was very impressive becasue they used low and high key, along with fill lighting. But the direction and quality of the lighting made the biggest difference i believe. Average and unoriginal composition but wasnt terrible. I thought the clip excelled in perspective and framing because they utilized the lens and their lengths, along with great angles to back it up. The camera movement was good but ordinary and i didnt notice anything that stood out as being great movement. The editing seemed very time consuming and difficult but that made it just that much of a better film because of the scene editing.

In clip C from Silence of the Lambs, the clip sets a very important setting and plot in the movie. This movie is filled with twists and turns and unexpected events, which gives this movie an incredible plot and depth of info. The costume and makeup are also very scary but very creative for a horror film. The lighting is perfect in the clip and adds alot of suspense with the fill lighting and direction. The composition couldnt be much better in my opinion. Along with the perspective and framing in the clip which creates terrifying settings and scenes. Most of the angles and lighting are the same throughout the movie and the clip. I think they could've added a couple different lens or lighting techniques but the ones used defiantly fit the story. I believe the talent in editing this film was what made it so good because they do so many different shots and actions which seem impossible. The camera movement was also very good because they used the tracking method when the wanted to create suspense and a steadicam when it was calm scene.

In clip D from Magnolia it seems to have a good story telling depth and plot. I thought the zoom could have been utilized better in the clip. The lighting was very good and made sense for the different scene and setting for that clip. I thought the composition could have been better but was fine overall. They did a pretty good job of framing and using the correct angles when shooting the clip. The camera movement throughout the clip could have been better just because they didnt follow the scene like i would have or captured the important info in the clip. To long of duration between shots i thought as well. Editing seemed very well done and put together nicely for the story.

Best Picture Nominee Blogging Assignment

1.True Grit-True Grit was my number one choice for best picture because it displays punishment, life in the wild west, hardship, character, heart, friendship, and most importantly doing the right thing. The strotytelling merits in this film were excellent because they story took twists and turns when no one expected them, but still put all the peieces back together in a great way. All of the cast in this film had award winning performances because they all played their parts just way you would imagine them if you read the book. The films cinematic merits were also very well done becaus ethey stuck to a theme and kept displaying all the charateristics of a western film, even though i wish they would focus more on Tom Chaney then they did in the movie where he was only shown for a maximum of 10 minutes, which is the only down fall of this movie i feel.
2.The Social Network- i believe this was great story of a man who has always been on a different level smarts then anyone he comes into contact with. It shows his whole life leading up to the invention of facebook. But thing i liked about the film the most was the way it showed is flaws in life, which just shows everyone has problems and that not everyone has a perfect life in hollywood. the storytelling merits of this film was outstanding because it shows all the oppsticals leading up to his billion dollar site. The performance in this movie was also mind blowing because the main actor playing mark zuckerberg does a great job of being smarter than everyone and knowing his limits and the bright future he has in front of him and always stressing that money means nothing to him. The film based merits could have been better only because some the scenes of him being prosecuted got kind of old at times, also some pointless scenes that didnt make sense the first time watching the film. Overall great film and well made.
3.Inception-this was agood movie but i feel couldve been alot better and shorter in length because their were alot of pointless scenes and seemed like they would never end. It had great storytelling merits becaus ethe story is an award winning script becaus ethe theme and message behide the film was genius in my opinion. The performance i believe couldbve been better because the charcters were all so perdictable and didnt fit the charcters that i imagined if i had not seen the film. I believe the film based merits were the worst becausre it skipped around and was very hard to follow along with alot of pointless actions that have no explaination for unless you have seen the movie more than once.
4.Winters Bone-This wasnt a bad movie i just believe that the story behide it was very dark and sad through out the whole movie and it never got better which was really a turn off for me. The message behide the story was terrible to because her father was a meth cooker and they live in this excluded town with familys drugged up all the time, which is a terrible cinematic flaw. The stroytelling was ok but still was not very good only because of the drugs in the movie, but i believe this would be a great anti drug movie. The performances were good only by ree, anyone could be the drugged up hicks in the town, thats not hard. The film based merits were terrble because it was a terrible message and theme, not to mention their was never a climax of the story. becasue if their was it would be cutting her fathers arms off to prove he was dead and thats not a climax at all.
5.The kings speech- this movie was terrible because it is not realistic, how can you have that bad of a speech impedement and be the king, these do not match up and everything about this film was unrealistic and cheesy.The storytelling marits were ok becaus ethe message and theme in it were just a normal movies merits and were not out of the ordinary because you could predict what was going to happen next. The performance by the king was pretty goood but kind of easy and cheesy because all of his problems were unrealistic and made no sense at times. The film based merits were terrible because it skipped around alot and was very predictable and was overall a terrible plot and very simple.
6.Toy story 3-this was terrible movie, i am very mad i waisted my time watching this. all the other toy storys were aculley bareable to watch, this movie sucked and just killed toy story.The storytelling was just like the first 2 movies with nothing new. The performance were the exact same just with a few new charcters which i hated.The film based merits were terrible because the basically copied the first 2 movie. It is to bad they had to make a third movie and completely ruin the first 2 movies with such a terrible third one because i will never watch the first 2 again cause i saw the third one.

My First Movie Review

The Fighter
Brainstorming:Sad, hardship, opportunity, choosing sides, family, chocies, help, determination, new beginning, the right thing, morals, karma, underestimated, hope.
Review of The Fighter:This movie is about a man who is a professional boxer and his brother is his trainer who is a washed up boxer but has made some bad chocies after his career. The lead charcter mark whalberg has to go through hardships from his decieving family and problems that arent his. But when he finally decides to live his own life instead of helping people with theirs, is when he finds his true passion and talent in life without anyone their to get in his way, on his road to a championship title fight.

Alec Wojack`s OJ Simpson Collage

Final Project

My Prezi
http://prezi.com/ltdj5vqmzo4m/qualitative-research-project/

Discussion 1

My main characters name is Marcus Luttrell. He is a Navy SEAL that was was stranded in northern Afghanistan with all of Al-Qaeda after him. He was trained for the the U.S Navy in 1999. He became a SEAL in 2002 after serving in Baghdad. In this book he is very vocal and is a great leader. But not for long after he is stranded by himself and forced to live. Marcus Luttrell is one of the most courages men i have ever heard of and i have no idea how he lived through the suffering and hardship that he did. This book is a true story of how this war hero lived and everything on the way. After he was rescued in Afghanistan he was given the Navy Cross from the president. Marcus Luttrell is one of the most recognized war heros ever in U.S history.

Outside reading 6

I have just finished my book and i really liked it. It had a great ending
and i would recommend it to anyone interested in hockey because it has a lot of
suspense and is a good book ended with The 00-01 Jefferson Jaguars losing
in the Semi finals at state to the powerhouse, The Edina Hornets. Before even
going into the game they were the underdog but with 30 seconds left the captain
and star of the Hornets score a fluke goal to take the lead and ultimately the
game. The Jaguars season came to an end without counting the third place game
which they ended up winning. The next year they would make it to state also and
later win it. But not under the best Coach in Jefferson history. "Sats" as they
called him in the book was the most recognized coach in all of Bloomington. Some
say in the state of Minnesota. He was happy that year with the success they had.
Because before the season some called him crazy for the team he picked but know
everyone knows why he did what he did and how great of a coach he really
was.

Outside Reading 5

My last day in Green Valley. Thank you Jesus. I am getting closer and closer to the end of the book and it is getting really good. The head coach is skating them very hard in every practice for a good 2 weeks all preparing for one of there biggest games of the year. They are playing the powerhouse Edina Hornets. They are the #1 team in the state with a record of 29-1-1. One of the best records ever recorded in history. They will also be one of only 4 teams in all of Minnesota history to have a 30 win season. That is if the Jaguars lose again to them. In the last game of the year the Jaguars stood a decent 25-5-2. They were currently 5th in state and win there would put them in 4th going into the tournament. The game had just begun and the Jaguars came out flying and 2 minutes into the game got the first goal. It was the third period before anyone else score and Edina put up 2 goals quick to take the lead. But with 7 Minutes left the captain tied it up. Then before you new it was overtime and 42 seconds into the Jaguars scored a rebound goal to win the game and Stuck Edina with its 2nd lose of the season. The Jaguars seem ready for the State tournament coming up in 3 weeks and were looking to take the whole thing.

Outside Reading 4

I have continued to read my book in the most boring place ever...Green Valley, Arizona. It is getting very good as I continue to read about 9 or 10 hours a day. Right now the Jefferson Jaguars are 10-1 and are still #2 in state as Edina continues to roll over everyone they play at a stunning 12-0 on the year and a win in the holiday classic. As Jefferson’s only lose coming to the almighty Edina in a heartbreaking lose 3-2 with a goal scored by Edina’s star in the last minute of the game to hand the undefeated Jaguars there first lose of the season and to remain in the number 2 position in state. That was Edina’s only game that came with a 1 goal differences all the rest of them were at least 4 goal deficits. After that lose to Edina they had to back to the chalk board and they said what they did good and what they did bad in the game. Changed there gamelan up a little bit and a few days later tested how the new changes would work. They beat the number 5 Team Minnetonka in a promising game 5-2. Putting them a small step closer to that state championship. But it would not be easy. They would have to beat there best competitor Edina 1 month later. "That should be a tester for us" Sats says.

Outside Reading 3

I read my outside reading book a lot over winter break. Because I was with my grandparents in Arizona and me and my grandpappi would golf in the morning and get back to there house around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Also when we got back to there house I did absolutely positively NOTHING. But Lucky I got to read a lot of my book. Right now in the book it is still getting started and the team is still starting to develop in to one of the greatest teams in Minnesota hockey history. They list off most of the team that are going to be competitors in the league this year. The teams they named were Edina, Eden Prairie, Wayzata, and Minnetonka was some of the good teams this year. For the pre-season polls obviously Edina was #1 in the state and Jefferson was #2. Jefferson had a very young team that year so they had to develop more than most team and the kids and had never played with each other before and they had to learn quick because a lot was expected out of this team this year because it was the coaches last year after 30 year of coaching and he chose a very interesting team that year.

comments

Adam S 12/29
Charlie H 12/29
Joey K 12/29
Max I 12/29
Sammy L 12/29
Carl N 12/29
Jack M 12/29
Alex N 12/29
Sam J 12/29
Tom H 12/29

Outside Reading-Blades of Glory 2

I have continued to read my outside reading book, Blades of Glory. The more and more i read it the better and better it gets but some of it i do not really agree with. I mean i no that older hockey players chew and stuff but i did not think that high school kids did? especially ones that were that good. That stuff just ruins your skill and in the book it talks about how on the way back from one of there games all the players throw in chews and none of them get caught doing it. I thought wow how can a team that good do such a stupid thing like that. But i suppose it was just a bad decision. In the book i also love how it mentions Edina and in the book one of my hockey coaches is named in it so that was pretty cool. A lot of these players i recognize because they are either in the NHL or they are nationally recognized and because we live in Minnesota it is even bigger. Also it is pretty cool to know that i skate on the same ice as some of the NHL players do. Like Braemar arena or Bloomington Ice Gardens. Any of those rinks. I love reading a book that i can relate to and say that is a neighbor town of the one that i live in today and that ya i no who so and so is. It is just a really cool feeling for me.

Outside Reading-Blades of Glory 1

For the second quarter I am reading Blades of Glory by John Rosengren. It is about the 00-01 Jefferson Jaguars (from Minnesota) who are one of the most winning high school hockey teams in the nation and it tells there story of one of there most memorable years ever. The author was given full access to the team that year and could go with them wherever they go and he wrote this book about the team and how they struggle and strive to there ultimate goal, to win the state high school hockey tournament and hopefully play college hockey and maybe even the pros. But in Minnesota hockey is more than a game it is life. Every 1 in 113 Minnesotans play hockey and we produce the best hockey players there is in the game right now. When people think of Texas they think of football, when people think of Mexico they think of soccer, when people think of California they think of basketball and when people think of Minnesota it is hockey. Always has been and always will be. If you ask me I think it is because it is one of the coldest places in the US but until next blog. Peace

The Road Soundtrack

I think a good addition to the Road soundtrack would be “You can’t always get what you want” by the Rolling Stones because it kind of tells the story of the man and little boy. Also the tone kind of fits the one in the story and makes it sad because the man and boy just want to live in peace but can not because of the post-apocalyptic world. A Quote from the song is “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need”. I believe that is very true and that they are not getting what they want but that they are getting what they need to survive pretty much. A quote from the book is when “He went through the plywood lockers overhead but they were empty. There were drawers under the bunk and he pulled them out and looked through the trash”. This describes that they are trying to find things that possibly need or just things they might want. I think that “You can’t always get want you want” by the Rolling Stones would be a great addition to the soundtrack cause it goes with the book very well.

The Road-first thoughts

My thoughts on the road are that it seems like a pretty good book. It seems a lot like I Am Legend though just like Mrs.B said. I do like it is very descriptive about everything though. It is very interesting on some of the things being talked about and described to the fullest extent. Like a Raw pig. You could just say that there was a raw pig in the barn but not in this book. In this book it explained to the fullest extent. Like how the pig is bloody and its eyes have blood coming out of them and is hung upside down....I do not need to know that kind of stuff. Also it explains a lot of the same things over and over again. It kind of sees that everyday is pretty much the same thing. They wake up go through peoples houses or barns or stuff like that then they make dinner then go to bed. Same thing over and over again. But aside from gruesomeness and the repeating of everything, it is a pretty good book so far. A lot better than Siddhartha and the Odyssey so far...Hopefully it will be better because I can not stand another terrible book like the others we have read.

My Audi A6

An Audi A6 is hopefully going to be my first car. About 2 weeks ago my mom said your birthday is coming up in about a month and a half what kind of a present do you want. I told her theirs only 1 thing I want and that is a car and she told me well what kind and how much? I had already picked out the car I want online and it is at a BMW moterworks dealership in Minnetonka. The car I had picked out was a black Audi A6 4.2 Quattro for $8,160. With it comes tinted windows new tires and a great sound system. At first I was wondering why it was so low priced when it was such a nice car. Well it had 100,000 miles on it but it didn’t matter because it had just got repairs on it so it wouldn’t have a lot of repairs when I got it. My mom then said well we will see...so for my birthday hopefully I can get that car because I really want it and I will be really happy if I get it cause then if anyone wanted to race me they would just look at my car and say well im going to lose so never mind and I would never have to race anyone cause I would be unstoppable. I also looked in to getting NOS(from fast and the furious), but it turns out it is illegal so ill just get big subs in the car as well or just get a couple more cylinders so I can go fast...

Thoughts on the Odyssey #2

My thoughts on the Odyssey have not changed since the last time I posted but I have to admit it was a pretty good ending when Odysseus comes back and slaughters all the suitors and him and Penelope reunite. I hate the how the book leads up to all that. It was kind off a short but alright ending. For how it was leading up to it should have been The Dark Knight material...It did not even come close. But that’s alright because I am a very picky book reader and I don not like a lot of books if you have noticed Mrs. B. I liked how we watched the movie class though. That helped me a lot when it comes to the study guides, quizzes, and the test hopefully. Also I like the movie because the book was sometimes confusing to me with the way they talked it but that’s alright because we and the movie. I am Very excited for next unit though when we get to watch Brother Where art though. It should be a fun unit and we don not have to read a book which is always a plus in my book. It will be fun I am sure.

Thoughts on the Odyssey

My thoughts on the odyssey right now are that it is a very good book. I really like it. It is my kind of read because it is a lot of fighting and gore. It also explains our life today just in is everyday life. I do admit I would probably like the lliad more because from what I hear it is a lot more fighting and I love those kinds of books. But this book is just fine because I love how adventurous it is and how it moves very quickly. Also I love the names of the people in it. You never see people today walking down the street saying "o look there’s Telemachus son of Odysseus". No you just don’t see it. But a lot of what they did back then transferred over to how we do things in life today. For instance the houses, cities, islands, and countries. They also built there own ships just like we do today and they believe in a ruler just like we do. They believed in things to trade instead today we have money for that. But as of right now I am really enjoying the book and I love the suspense in it and it is kind off like a book written today just in the language they had back then.

Outside Reading 2

Last weekend I finished my outside reading book (The Ghost War). In the end I did not like the book as much as I wanted to but not bad. It was a very predicting book. You always knew what was going to happen next. They author tried to make it suspenseful but it really was not at all. As far as adventurous goes it was pretty good because it toke place all over the world. The main plot of the book I thought was very good but the way he told it, it kind of sucked. It is more of and adult book than a teenager book for sure. I would recommend it to people older than 30 years old because at times it was hard to follow as well. But I suppose it is my fault for choosing the book even though my dad recommended it to me. But I understand why he wanted me to read it. Because he is a lot smarter than me and understands things more than I do. Overall I would rate the book about 4 out of 10 for me. It was also pretty long so it was pretty painful to read at times. I would recommend it to you though Ms. B