Coen Bro's

One of my favorite scenes of any movie is the opening scene of No Country, up to where Chigurh leaves the police station. It's extremely effective at establishing Bell as the world-weary, old-time style sheriff and Chigurh as a cold-blooded, lunatic murderer. Bell's voiceover along with the long-shots of classic Western scenery does the former, while Chigurh's strangling of the policeman and the look on his face does the latter very well. I think this has to be the best introduction of characters that I've seen in almost any movie.

Hero

This is my favorite of Zhang's films so far, but the ridiculous acrobatics still bother me... alot. It just doesn't add anything to the movie for me I guess. But I did like the plot at least, and that's a very important part of any movie.
The only problem that I had with the plot was that the protagonist is nameless, I feel like that's so overdone nowadays, like in the book The Invisible Man and other things too. Other than that though, the plot seemed well constructed and had an interesting form (memories/stories).
One thing that I did appreciate with the cinematography was how Zhang used color in the flashbacks. For example, he used red extensively in the main character's memories, blue in Sword's (i think?) and different colors in other ones to make it easy for the viewer to follow who was telling the story, and also provide some insight into the characters themselves.

Wisdom Teeth and Gary Busey

After basically sleeping for two days after getting my wisdom teeth pulled, I'm finally ready to do the latest blog post.
As a follow up to my Steven Seagal novel, I want to write about another one of the greats: Gary Busey.
Known for his amazing acting in movies such as The Gingerdead Man, Dr. Dolittle 3, Homo Erectus and The Hand Job, Mr. Gary Busey (or the Bus as his fans might affectionately call him) has the ability to make blockbusters out of his sheer presence. In Under Siege he meets Steven Seagal in an epic clash that none will ever forget, so I highly recommend it.

Gary Busey also has a son, Jake Busey. Many of you have probably seen him in Starship Troopers, but you probably didn't recognize him. He's the blonde guy who's friends with Rico. Now you probably remember him vaguely but can't remember his face exactly. Well, here he is.

God. Or Steven Seagal. Or both?! DRAGONFLY WIZARDWORKS

I would like to dedicate this post to clarifying some issues in my last post, and also dedicate it to Steven Seagal. In my last post I said that I do not enjoy mindless violence, and I still completely stand by that statement. However, some people took that to mean that I don't like Steven Seagal. Honestly, I don't see the connection. Nothing could mean more than Steven Seagal's violence. There is meaning hidden behind every swipe of his fattened arms, and every sluggish twist or spin of his bloated torso and gut. Each slothful kick of his blimplike legs is jam packed with meaning. And you know why?
Because it's hilarious. This is the serious part of my blog and the part that might actually get points. Basically, Steven Seagal deserves tremendous credit for his movies, not despite how incredibly unoriginal and uninspired they are, but because of that "flaw". The sheer ineptitude of Steven Seagal as a director and actor are what make him truly great, or as he calls himself, "God". Whether or not the hilarity of his movies are intentional is debatable. But not really, obviously he thinks he's actually a good actor. Unless his entire life is staged as a joke, in which case he would deserve tremendous commendment for his dedication. But seriously, if you have ever watched the likes of Submerged, Urban Justice, Out for a Kill, Out for Justice (which he actually still looked athletic in), Black Dawn, and many many MANY other of Seagal's movies, and you enjoyed them because of how funny they are, you should thank Seagal in some way. Myself, I'd hug him every time I see him if I ever saw him. And I bet he'd like that. Because I bet he's a big teddy bear under that big meaty outside.
Also, I would like to point out facts that make Steven even more hilarious. He has always said that he is some kind of quaddruple million rank black belt or something ridiculous of Aikodo, but he has NEVER competed in a major tournament or shown his skills in anything but his movies. To contradict my own point of him being pathetic, he also broke Sean Connery's wrist preparing for some movie somehow.
Steven also claimed to be a official police officer in his home state of Nowhereville, which led to him attempting to board a plane with a firearm. He was denied that right because he wasn't a real federal agent.
He also claimed to be Archbishop Desmond Tutu's personal bodyguard during Apartheid. Don't think he really was..
He also claimed to have fought the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. His ex-wife has said that he never fought them but instead just yelled at some drunks.
To end, I leave you with this quote from Seagal, "I am hoping that I can be known as a great writer and actor some day, rather than a sex symbol." and this video of his music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qw5bKTBQE4

Clive owen has half a face

Apparently Clive Owen has half of a face, so blogger.com only shows that half. read below for my actual post

Westerns, Kung fu etc

Despite my knowing that the Movieman212121 (Ben Quimby) would strongly disagree with me, I have to say that I have never liked Westerns, Kung Fu movies, or most mindless shooter movies. There are a few exceptions to all of those, but for the most part that is an extremely true statement. I quake in my boots knowing that the Movieman disagrees with me, and that he may well rip my eyeballs out and feed them to his Moviedog, but that's the truth. I can't get behind the idea of mindless violence, even if it looks really really cool, because I always end up looking for the flaws in the movie rather than reveling in the badassitude of the main character. Because that IS what the movie always revolves around in those kinds of movies. But really I can't get away from the fact that Shoot Em Up has Clive Owen in it, and after watching Children of Men I don't think I could hate any movie with him playing the main character. So, there's the exception. So to end, here's a picture of Clive Owen.

Effects of Lighting

Lighting in film is an extremely effective way to get a point across without using words. Low key lighting can make characters seem sinister very easily or just make scenes far more dramatic, whereas high key lighting can bring eeriness to a new level.
The eerie effect of high key lighting is most effectively demonstrated in the movie Fargo by the Coen brothers. At several key points during the film, the Coen brothers take a long shot from a high angle in high key lighting with snow all around, and the effect is one of a kind. This kind of shot is part of what Fargo is known for, and a large reason for why I consider Fargo the Coen brothers' best piece of work.
The sinister effect of low key lighting, on the other hand, is shown in the movie we all just watched, Citizen Kane. One good example is when Kane is signing his Declaration of Principles, his face is completely in shadow, giving him a crueler visage than that of Bernstein and Leland next to him in the light. This foreshadows Kane's eventual turn to reporting dishonestly. Another example of low key lighting in Citizen Kane is the scene in which Kane tells Susan in no uncertain terms that she will continue singing. Kane towers over her and his shadow lies imposingly upon her entire body, not making her look sinister, but more weak and helpless.
So basically both high and low key lightings have different effects, and when used correctly are very good at producing those effects.