The progression of Film since 1965

Film will always be an art form responsible for pushing boundaries both technologically and socially. It can be seen throughout Film history that computer generated graphics, technology, and directors film style have been a major parts of the transformation of film over time.  We have covered many films throughout this course, however few have stood…

The Curious Case of Pandora

This week was an exploration into the world of computer generated imagery, or CGI. CGI has taken Hollywood by storm since some of its first uses in the 90’s. Since then, producers like James Cameron have started their own companies devoted to pushing the boundaries of modern applications of CGI within feature-films. Both The Curious…

Crouching Chainsaw, Hidden Massacre

Over the past two weeks, I have spent time analyzing both The Texas Chainsaw Massacre by Toby Hooper, as well as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon by Ang Lee.I believe that both Texas Chainsaw Massacre (TCM) and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (CTHD) were films that carved out unique spaces in their genre. On one hand, you…

Platoon : An Introspective

    This weeks cinematic mission took me back into the jungles of Vietnam, with the likes of Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, and Tom Berenger at my side. Created by Oliver stone in 1986, Platoon is somewhat of an expose on the culture within the units that fought in Vietnam, and how the environment, lack…

Some People Shine, Some Dont

Stanley Kubrick had taken on quite the task when adapting The Shining to the big screen. Hailed as one of the best directors of all time, Kubric left his stamp on many genres, one most importantly being horror. This week, I viewed The Shining, a supernatural horror that takes place in the haunted Overlook Hotel…

The Conversation : Coppolas Loser

  Another week, another Coppola creation that I am pleased to say is one of my new favorite films. Gene Hackman plays the fumbling Harry Caul in this interesting piece of commentary about the transformation of surveillance from a tool to an industry. In a time where the US was dealing with one of its…

Seven Samurai

I had the pleasure of viewing Seven Samurai this weekend by the fabled Akira Kurosawa, a director with over 80 writing credits to his name.  Originally released as Shichinin No Samurai,  Seven Samurai is hailed as one of Kurosawa’s best works and when reviewing articles about the movie, it seems to be a consensus that the…

Apocalypse Then, and Now

  My first memory of Apocalypse now came from a young age, on a night where my father was left in charge of me and decided that a pre-teen should watch this film. I would be lying if the nudity and ultra-violence didn’t stand out as I was young and had not experienced that kind…