This is another one out of my comfort zone. I'm not really a big horror person, so I didn't really like this movie. Granted it did scare me and freak me out. Sometimes I feel like horror movies turn into slashers and there's just graphic stuff everywhere. So with this movie, I feel like they did a good job of holding that back and allowing you to just be freaked out. You don't see the violence at first, it's just these little clues and hints. When I was researching Orson Welles for the midterm he had a great quote about holding things back from the audience to keep them invested. By building things up, you keep their interest and engage with them more than if you just give it all away. Though he wasn't referring to horror, I think this concept applies for Paranormal Activity.
This fits into the category of film that we talked about in the beginning of the year where- oh wait it's realistic. Yes, it's filmed like it was an at-home film project documented by a blogger- or I guess the "found footage" style. Because of that, there were a lot of things that bothered me about the film style while watching it. The film style was very choppy, somewhat shaky or terrible angles. Yes, I know that that was the point. It still bothers me. (Oh great now I'm a little film nerd that's like oh wow this film is not pristine enough for my eyes to view. Just kidding but it did slightly annoy me.)
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This movie was definitely out of my normal range to watch. On a lot of different levels. But I still enjoyed it a lot. The only reason I watched this is because my friend is into MMA and got excited when the trailer came up on Netflix, but I'm glad I did. All of the editing and shots are really clean. Even though I am not into fighting/MMA at all, I could appreciate the art of it. The cuts are insane during the fights. There were a lot of match on action shots, but the way they did it in this was impressive. It didn't come off as someone got lazy in editing and decided to just use match on action, they were really clean. Some of the story line seemed a little- okay a lot- unrealistic. Would he really be doing this just to keep a promise to a fellow inmate? It seems a little overkill to me that he just had enough money to rent from the house that kid was staying at, know exactly where to fight at in order to meet James, and then buddy up and be his rival just enough to get close to his best friend's wife? I don't know, it just seems like he's a little too superhuman. That brings up another point. How did he even get to be such a good fighter? He doesn't seem too old, so what's his background story as to how he's basically this superhuman and why did he end up in jail the first time? Maybe they explained it and I just didn't pick up on it but it seemed pretty abnormal. I guess that's sort of the point.
My overall opinion is that the plot is just a device for the fight scenes to exist in. Don't get me wrong, they're really good fight scenes. But the plot supporting them doesn't hold up too well. There are some interesting twists, I'll give it that. Definitely not an Oscar movie or anything though. I might make several posts on this, because right now the goal is just to remember all the movies I watched. List: Midway, Red Notice, Nightmare Before Christmas, Home Alone, Nancy Drew, Spiderman No Way Home, The Lady From Shanghai, 2 other Nancy Drew movies, and other stuff I completely forget about. The Lady From Shanghai is the only re watch. Everything else was new. This will be very brief since I forget some of these movies, so I'll just try to go through them one by one and add in any commentary. Midway- I was actually really impressed with this. I appreciated a lot of the beautiful shots and techniques. Normally I'm not a war movie person but Midway was really good. I also didn't understand some of the background of it so it was a little frustrating to not know the larger context of what was happening. Overall you didn't need that much context because I was still able to enjoy and appreciate the movie. It just made me wish I had read something (or had an overview from my brother) about the Battle of Midway before watching. But according to my brother, it was really historically accurate except for the fact that it was raining when one ship found out about Pearl Harbor and the submarine part in the actual battle had happened hours before. There were some impressive tracking shots and match cuts so it was a really pretty movie. Once I understood who every person was and that some people weren't the same people it was really really good. I would watch it again. Red Notice- I'm gonna be completely honest, I have absolutely no idea what happened in this movie. I know there were eggs. This one character (the one who was in jail with the Rock) was incredibly annoying. This leads me to think it wasn't all that remarkable (or maybe I was just not paying attention, which is another possibility. But was I not paying attention because the movie was boring?) Anyway. It was alright I guess. Nightmare Before Christmas- On the list of "movies everyone else has seen and I have no idea why but I guess I'll watch it." It should have stayed on that list. The story and point was okay. It was neat to see because there was a lot of German Expressionist vibes. I saw a lot of Cabinet of Dr. Caligari little additions in there. I must say it was really weird. Home Alone- I'd seen this before, but it was in the basement of one of my father's relatives at some random Christmas party I don't remember. I was maybe 5. As a young child surrounded with strangers I was not comfortable with, watching this movie about a kid being left behind and battling strangers was... slightly unsettling. I think a lot of movies have been ruined for me by being a small child when viewing them. Watching it this time was pretty good. I liked it. Again he could have just called the police the entire time and the issue would have been over. I think he was out for blood. I didn't remember the mom being so concerned about trying to get back to him, so I was glad to know she was so worried. I had this notion that the parents didn't even really realize they left Kevin behind, so it was comforting to know that wasn't exactly the case. Nancy Drew- Okay these were a random purchase at a book store in Owensboro, Ky when my brother and I decided to go to a book store. I have always loved reading the Nancy Drew books (except for the last couple of ones where the publisher's daughter wrote them just because she got tired of the actual normal author writing them and so completely ruined them, but that's a story for another time) so I thought this would be interesting. They were all great! There were 4 total. At first, Ned's name being changed to Ted was really messing with me, but by the last movie I was used to it. I liked how they seemed much more realistic to what a teenager could do. Overall a great Powell family watch. We all loved them. Nancy isn't a full adult, and still has to rely a little on her parents for support. Not many other depictions of Nancy Drew include the whole she's still a minor she can't really do that aspect. I loved how there was the disguised element in each one. Even Ted's annoying little siblings turned out to have some good in them after all. Spiderman No Way Home- Okay granted I probably should have watched more previous Spiderman movies before watching this, so that might be why I was a little confused. But overall the plot seemed to be a little pointless. Like yes I get the fact that he needed to have people forget he was Peter Parker. But there seemed to be no need to fix all of the monsters first. Like they don't need to be saved, they already died. In their universe, they don't exist. So what are the repercussions for ununaliving all of these characters? I feel like that causes so many more problems than it solves. They died in their own universes for a reason. But if you simply used the box then I guess there would be no need for the other two Spidermen. I did really like seeing all three of them together. There were some really good moments. But I also am really annoyed an confused with why certain aspects needed to happen. For example, when they said everyone will forget that Spiderman is Peter Parker, shouldn't that just separate the two in people's minds? They would know Peter Parker exists, and they would know Spiderman exists. They just wouldn't know the two are the same. Or was it that everyone forgot Peter Parker existed? Wouldn't MJ still know she knew Spiderman? Because she Peter when he was being Spiderman. I don't know this is all very confusing. Like do people still know Spiderman exists? Does he have an identity? Where does he live now? Also Aunt May's death was so unnecessary. I get that that's kind of the point in order to make Peter question just using the box. But maybe it was also a nod to the other two Spidermen. Bottom line, I thought some of the plot points were really stupid and unnecessary. The Lady from Shanghai- I've already seen this one before when I was doing my midterm project. Rewatching it wasn't as good as the first time. Broke away from my Christmas marathon to watch The Stranger. Picture the vibes from The Scarlet Letter where the creepy old devil guy is being evil in the woods. His eyes just focused on hatred towards Hester and seething with evil old devil man in the woods energy. The allegory to evil and death and repentance. This whole feeling is PERFECTLY captured in the beginning of The Stranger when Konrad Meinike, an old "associate" of Kindler's, finds him and they talk in the woods. Meinike just has this look in his eyes and you think he's the devil reincarnate. I don't remember what type of rhetorical device this is, or if you can even have rhetorical devices in films (wait you most definitely should be able to because it's a form of storytelling), but this is definitely one. At least from my perspective, I thought Meinike was going to kill Kindler or worse. I saw him murder Mr. Wilson, the guy who was following him, in like the first 7 minutes. I definitely thought he was bad news. (Well he was, just not for the reasons I originally thought.) Then he creepily sits in Kindler's house with Kindler's fiance and is just utterly terrifying. Doesn't mention any name, doesn't mention his intention. Then randomly leaves. Then corners Kindler in the woods and I think here we go end of the world. But no. Meinike wants to convert him. He begs him to change and starts praying. (Situational irony maybe?) Anyways then Kindler just chokes him to death. That was a shock, you think for a moment he's trying to be redeemed but no. It's so scary too because you just had a scene where Kindler is in professor mode, laughing with his students and having a jolly good chat. Then mere minutes later he strangles a man while praying. The way he is introduced and shaped as an evil person is so brilliant. You never hear him say he's a Nazi, he never talks in German in his sleep. You're just shown actions. It's so so so well done. For example when he sticks Red in the basement the night that Red (his fiance-now-wife's dog) finds the body he buried in the woods and unapologetically lets his commanding cold-hearted self slip out as he tells Mary that he's in charge and knows what's best. You can tell she's never experienced or witnesses that side of him and it scares her. It's also her dog, so this plants the seeds of doubt and distrust in her mind. Then again when he yells at her for telling Noah to meet him in the clock tower and specifically says "If he goes up that ladder, he'll die! His blood will be on your hands!" This is the moment she realizes he never loved her. Just how sick and twisted to be guilting the person you planned to kill when they didn't die. Wow. That was good. Oh and the part right before that where he comes home and you see her shadow on the wall but thinks she's dead at the clock tower. Hold on let me try to find a shot. Finally found one! It's so haunting. Also I don't know if you can apply this to films or if there's a different name for it in film, but chiascuro. I am not remembering how to spell it, but I mean the Italian art term for contrasting heavy shadows with intense highlights to create an intensely dramatic effect. They do it in this film, it's so good. There are so many other brilliant things I would like to point out but I don't want you to read a whole book so I'll try to mention them as briefly as possible. The portrayal of Kindler eventually cracking down and losing his sanity- when he breaks the clock in his house, writes a list of step by step killing Mary, accidentally drawing a swastika while in the phone, etc. is done so well. Mary's loss of sanity is also really really good especially when she breaks the pearl necklace. The maid faking a heart attack so Mary doesn't die is so well done and that character is so sweet. The guy that owns the shop and plays checkers. He is amazing with his little cap and just oh wow he's great. Noah- best brother out there. Couple things that bother me: I was not the most impressed with the detective/CIA/whatever guy Mr. Wilson. In a story where everyone else is so realistic and well developed, his whole omniscient I know everything and her dad and brother will obviously agree and want to help tone was a little frustrating. He took a huge risk in telling Noah and Mary's father about all this. It paid off, but it seemed to me he was a little too open. Then again that could be explained by time being of the essence because he didn't want Mary to get killed. Ok I really need to stop otherwise I will have a whole book but basically this movie is so good. Orson Welles is really talented. I've always wondered what it's like to direct something and also star in it and how that vibe works. Man this movie was great and I loved it. Wouldn't really recommend it to anyone though just because it takes a very specific taste to watch and enjoy this movie. Oh holy cow I forgot to mention how the angel and devil on the clock come to his demise and it ties into how he couldn't turn away from his evil and because he refused the to turn to God that's what stabbed him in the heart like wow that was good too. More pictures below because this is just so good (vulnerability on that ladder shot) I needed another comfort movie this week. Hence, White Christmas. I really tried to judge this movie as a film and criticize it, but it was really hard since I've grown up loving this movie. But criticism isn't necessarily negative. To start, I absolutely love the plot and premise. It might not appeal to all, but I grew up as a future recording artist with a WW2 obsessed brother, so it hit a sweet spot for me. Like other little girls, I also took dance lessons, which inspired me to replicate the dances in White Christmas as best I could. Looking back on them now, the dances and choreography still hold up. There's a blend of new and old with jazz, tap, traditional ballroom, some swing, and even the dreaded "not dance, it's choreography." All of these styles together really creates a neat package for the viewer. This image right here. So much to talk about. First of all the costumes are simply gorgeous, and that goes for the entire movie too. It all looks very classy and elegant. Secondly, this number, "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing," is one of the cutest and most wholesome things ever. Everything about it gives me nostalgia and memories I've never experienced. Pure release of dopamine. Thirdly, the dancing is so smooth. From what I could tell, there were only 2 takes from when they started dancing. 2 TAKES FOR THIS MASTERPIECE! The song also builds so organically. Some of the other songs in the movie seem a tad forced but this one has just the right amount of chemistry as they dance and it still fits within the plot. Danny Kaye is also one of my most favorite actors even though this is the only movie I've seen him in (that I'm aware of). His acting is so pure and genuine, he carries out the character so well in his awkward little moments- a lot like Donald O'Connor in Singing in the Rain. I wonder what that archetype is. Okay wait I found what I don't like. I don't know if this is just musicals of the era or what, but it seems like there's always this unnecessary scene that has nothing to do with the actual plot and just serves to show off the actors. The whole Broadway sequence in Singing in the Rain does it, there's a dream sequence in On The Town, etc. (Or maybe I'm just mad at Gene Kelley). But there definitely was not a need for the whole Mandy situation going on. It doesn't add to the plot, there's no character development. Judy is wearing her costume for it when her and Bob get into a fight, but that is literally the only significance to the story. She could be wearing normal clothes and be fine.
There is the whole miscommunication where if the housekeeper had only listened in on that private phone call for 30 more seconds or just not listened in at all Judy wouldn't have run away to New York. I think I've already established that dramatic irony can sometimes aggravate me to the point of not liking the movie but I don't mind it here. In fact it works, showing off Emma's personality as the well-meaning housekeeper and Judy's integrity of doing the right thing for the old general. Judy and Bob may not be the best example of a healthy relationship, but I do like how the stress of show business and the pressure to get married and raise a family combat each other when placed together. I think it reveals a lot about our society in lots of ways, obviously a lot deeper than just "Hollywood is not the best place to have a family" but I am too tired to really get deep into it. My point was just that in a time where Hollywood is so idolized, the movie doesn't hide this aspect. Maybe it was on purpose and it was all just a ploy. Hmm. Anyways I really do love this movie and kind of grew up on it. OH OH OH - I love the scene where Judy started her new job in New York and Bob comes up to see her and she's just thrown off but still has to sing her song. It does a really really good job of showing her struggle. She is uncomfortable Bob is there watching. She has to sing this song about how a man didn't love her right while the man she loves is sitting in front of her. She still can't really admit that she loves him. It's so good. She's also absolutely gorgeous. Now I'm done. Love the movie :) It must have been the weather or the half snow thing going on, but this weekend I was in a Christmas mood. This is really hypocritical because normally I'm a strict Thanksgiving first person but something in the air had me in the Christmas spirit. I really didn't know anything about this movie. My expectations were an old Christmas movie about traveling around and then falling in love somewhere along the way. Somehow I had expectations for a big city, don't know where I got those but yeah. Before I forget, let me just say that I loved the plot so so much and probably not for a healthy reason. I'm always afraid to do things/ask things or basically state my opinion because I don't want to offend people or inconvenience them which is really not good. But anyway there's all this unknown stress around just not exactly communicating because I don't want to get on the wrong side of people. So I REALLY relate to the whole miscommunication because you can't say no building the whole plot. Like I REALLY relate to it. Because I have that tendency, seeing a movie with that plot was pretty funny and I enjoyed it. too conveFor overall shots, it seemed a little basic. OH WAIT NEVER MIND. There's one shot of the stairs where someone's walking up and someone else is walking downstairs and I wasn't expecting it because it was pretty cool. I don't know what shot that would be called though or if it even has a name. There were a lot of little surprise moments, I loved the preacher bit. I was thinking that Felix and Nora would eventually have a little romance. On second thought I'm glad they don't because they didn't need to. It would have taken away from the movie. Also this movie was so so cute. The whole cow thing <3333. I was really expecting the nurse to ruin it. The only thing I was slightly confused on was how the nurse got Mr. Yardley in on the whole thing to begin with. It just seemed a little too convenient for Mr. Yardley's reputation of being stodgy and cold. Okay the romance in this is actually adorable. THE BABIES ARE SO CUTE. EVERYONE LOVES BABIES. Elizabeth being super awkward around babies is very amusing.
The scenery is really pretty as well. The sleigh ride scene was gorgeous, especially with all the horses lined up. Did people really just leave their horses out and they wouldn't walk away? Felix was so good. Overall the humor was pretty good. Definitely not for everyone though, you'd have to be in a certain mindset. Now I'm on a Christmas/old musicals kick because after this I watched White Christmas and got "16 going on 17" stuck in my head. I don't know how to describe this but this movie is just one of the ones that makes you feel good. Is there a term or something for that? Or is there like a type of director that goes out of their way to try and make a feel-good movie? Oh wait that's probably a dumb question because you'd have to have your intentions to do that while making it. Yeah okay never mind on that. Anyways I really loved this movie and it's already on the list of my favorite uplifting movies that I can turn to. Here we go. I was going to have an interesting scary movie to review this week- one that was definitely out of my comfort zone. It was going to be Hush. But I fell asleep and woke up about 15 minutes before it ended very confused. This is the second time this has happened with Hush, so maybe I'm just destined to not watch this movie. Anyway the real star of the show was the first High School Musical. This was a first-time watch for me. (I know, it's hard to believe.) And of course I fell asleep during the horror movie but was up for every waking moment of this one. I digress. I would have probably really liked this movie if I was younger. Watching it with friends was definitely the way to go. If I had watched it alone (or at a more reasonable hour) I would not have enjoyed it as much. The plot is simple- effectively cheesy. Big basketball star Troy- whose dad is the coach- meets shy nerd Gabriela over winter break where they sing a duet together. Before their vacation ends, they never figure out where they're from. Boom, all of a sudden Gabriela's mom moves her to Troy's school. The basketball team and math decathlon team both have to battle it out for their star players. But Troy and Gabby really just want to sing in the musical together!! And no one knows they can sing!! And there is a brother sister duo that has gotten the leading parts for years!! Oh no! Loyalties and identities are questioned... Okay yeah this movie is not a cinematic masterpiece. I think we all know that. I must say a lot of references make so much more sense now. The music is actually not terrible, and kinda catchy. I laughed at how cheesy the plots and acting were, which wasn't intentional but added to my overall enjoyment of the film. Ha, it sounds so funny to call this a film. This is definitely one of the movies where the director was doing it for the company and money and not the art. I forget what that's called. Even though it's super cheesy, I still found it charming and almost quaint. It had this forcefully reminiscent vibe to it. The costumes are super funny, so I would watch it again just for that.
Overall this is just one of those movies that you should probably watch at least once in your life just to know you've watched it. Well, it's like that for anyone age 10-25. I wouldn't say this is quintessential for my parents to watch. Yeah definitely not. I was kinda of surprised about the harmonies. It sorta seemed like the producers just discovered harmonies and thought that no one would have heard them before and therefore be super impressed. But I like them. The songs aren't the greatest but they fit exactly where they need to. Solid 8/10 movie. Okay this is really frustrating. I tried to post this and looks like my entire thing didn't save so now I have to redo it all while being really mad at the stupid website for not saving my work. (Yes I know it was probably my fault for not checking to make sure it saved but at this point in time I'm blaming Weebly.) My apologies in advance for the snarky and annoyed tone this review will be in, because I really did enjoy the movie. Ugh. This actually makes me so mad. I wrote out this whole synopsis so you could understand the premise and everything... whoops looks like my work is just *not there* :))))) I'll try to redo this as best I can. Wait I might need to come back and take a second because this is inconvenient and I know it's good if this is the most pressing issue in my life at the moment but I really just need to take a sec. Im still so upset but at this point I just have to suck it up and write, but I never said I had to enjoy it. So this week I watched My Man Godfrey. I enjoyed it a lot and it was pretty funny despite having characters that I would normally dislike- for example Irene. She was a complete ditz who usually gets her way with fake pouting and hysterics. Normally I despise this character, but in this film it works. You can't hate her because she does such a good job. I also really like William Powell's acting, and no I'm not biased because of the surname. He's such a distinct character in the Thin Man movies- which I also love- so that's why I'm biased for him. Sidenote: my stomach has also begun to hurt like crazy :(( fun times Onward... This movie is a bit wacky just in terms of the whole synopsis and premise. At this point 40 minutes ago, we would still have access to the beautiful explanation I had already typed out. Alas that opportunity has passed, and now we get the undoubtedly less helpful version blinded by my frustration. So Godfrey is this rich guy who gets mad at the world and tries to drown himself. He's stopped by assorted homeless people living at the city dump. He decided to settle in with them and pretend to be a nobody just because it's finally teaching him and exposing him to the hypocrisy of the elite. That is something nice that the movie does a good job of touching on- the separation, ignorance, and frivolousness of the elite upper class, which I feel like is a common theme for this era. Anyways Cornelia and Irene, sisters from a very well to do (but verging on the edge of bankruptcy without knowing because their dad can't get a word in edgewise) try to get Godfrey to be their "forgotten man" needed to win a scavenger hunt at this stupid event for rich people to pretend to be charitable. He refuses to go with Cornelia, and later on goes with Irene to help her win. Oh also you don't know Godfrey is super wealthy himself until much later. Irene hires him as a butler and he soon finds out that the entire family is basically nuts. Irene falls in love with Godfrey but he refuses her advances because it's not proper in his eyes for hired domestic staff to have little affairs with the daughter of his employer. I chose this picture for a specific reason. I really can't remember what it was but I know I had a whole thing written out about it. I think it was about the brilliancy of Irene and how you still like her even though under normal cicrumstances she's super annoying. I really am trying to remember but it just doesn't work. This is literally the most frustrating thing in the world. Back on topicccccccccc I really am so mad at this point ugh. CARLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Oh my gosh he is wonderful. Best character in the whole movie. He ties everything together. He has literally no point in the movie except to just be this comical fellow and he is so funny. The second pic shows him acting like a monkey when the mom asks him to cheer Irene up by doing this. Oh my gosh I just realized this can be an allusion or whatever the word is to represent the exploitation of immigrants or just people of non-white ancestry and races to be viewed as entertainment and subhuman. Woah. It was probably not intentional because at the time that view was just normal but now it kinda hits. Anyway she asks him to do his monkey bit and he goes, "Fine. But just know my heart won't really be in it."
Okay that probably sounds so lame when I describe it but trust me it was good. Overall point- I really enjoyed this movie, it was funny and somewhat cute. I do wish Cornelia got what she deserved but I liked that the movie gave her another opportunity to realize what a brat she was. Overall Godfrey's lines are very witty and that just made it better. That house is also super cool and I wanna go to the restaurant the City Dump. Crap I forgot to mention in the synopsis part that Godfrey ends up saving the family's money, Cornelia finds out he's some hotshot and tries to blackmail both him and Irene, Godfrey ends up falling for Irene too, Godfrey turns the city dump into a super nice restaurant and employs all his old city dump friends, etc. As I'm typing Irene, the only thing going through my brain right now is Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Joleeeeeeeeeeeene. Someone help. This weekend I just wanted to watch a "thinking-free" movie. I didn't really have any expectations for this movie besides a quaint little taming of the shrew-esque feel good movie. It actually went above my expectations even though it was kind of what I expected. I resonated with it a lot more than I thought I would, especially during the beginning and end because of situations with both of my grandmas. I wasn't ready for the emotional vulnerability that comes with seeing a situation almost exactly like something in your own life, and thinking about both of my grandmas losing their connections with us and slowly getting worse is not an easy topic to deal with- on or off screen. Okay the music is cheesy, the music is really cheesy. When it first started playing during the opening scene I was thinking oh great here we go. But honestly the score is the only part of the movie that seems cheesy or forced. (More about this later). I wasn't expecting the movie to confront racism as much as it did either. The cars were exquisitely beautiful. I loved how you could tell time had progressed when different eras of cars were shown. I know it's probably a message about the passage of time being marked by something that's designed to move, but it was still cool. Remember the part where I said the music was the only thing that seemed cheesy or forced and that I would expand later? Here is later. This movie could have easily gone on to make Hoke and Daisy best friends for ever that always did everything together, but they didn't. They kept within the boundaries of Daisy's pride and "nonexistent" prejudice. In fact the only time she admits to Hoke that he's her best friend is when she starts to go senile, which is sad but oddly touching that the craziness is what brings out the truth she can't admit. Throughout the movie, there's this motif of eating at the table. Hoke is never allowed to eat at the same table as Daisy, even during a snowstorm and after Idella passes away. The only time they sit together is when Daisy is in a nursing home and Hoke feeds her the pie, which just really got me.
Overall this movie was really touching and I loved it. It addresses racism plainly, they don't try to hide from it, and Hoke and Daisy's friendship is presented very authentically. The cheesy music definitely got stuck in my head and will remain so until the next time we have bagels and salami, bagels and salami, bagels and salami for lunch. I really enjoyed The Trouble with Harry, I would probably describe it as a lighthearted dark comedy. It reminded me a little bit of the British show Fawlty Towers. It's definitely different than other Hitchcock films- supposed to be a comedy rather than the typical "suspense" Hitchcock is known for. With the genre change Hitchcock still manages to include some of his signature tactics. For example when the deputy arrives at Jennifer's house, Hitchcock has already set up the fact that the closet door swings open on its own. Sam is leaning against it, we presume to keep the door from opening and Harry's body falling out. As Sam finally steps away, the door swings open and you hear a band, assuming Harry just fell out. But nope, it's just the drying rack for Harry's clothes. Hitchcock still builds these little suspenseful moments and it's one of the things I love about his directing. Speaking about directing, I have to mention the actors. Each one was so good in their character and completely made the movie. If just one of them was off, it wouldn't work. I read that Hitchcock originally wanted Grace Kelly but ended up choosing MacLaine instead when Kelly wasn't available. I can see why Kelly would be in consideration, especially based off her performance in To Catch a Thief as the.. not saucy, but ugh I can't think of the right word! Dang it this is frustrating. But basically what I'm trying to say is that I can definitely picture her in Jennifer's first couple of lines where Arnie tells her he found a dead man and she's saying "good for him he finally did something right" and in the vulnerable "Oh Sam, Harry abandoned me." She would fit very well. But honestly I'm so glad she's not in it because then MacLaine wouldn't have gotten this opportunity. I think MacLaine spices it up a little for Hitchcock. Also sometimes it's annoying to see an actor play similar roles again and again so it made it nice for me too. I don't wanna say this is such a great family film because it's just lighthearted dark humor, but it's such a great family film. The whole room was chortling along, and overall I really liked it. Even knowing the ending, I think rewatching it would be worthwhile because then I can analyze everyone walking around Harry (literally and figuratively) while knowing the true outcome and little twists. Also Hitchcock's shots are so good. In the picture above when you can just see the feet and then later when you see the shadow of his feet as they're washing his clothes ahh it's so good! And one of my favorites lines:
"What do you call it?" (referring to Arnie's rabbit) "Dead." |
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