Good Will Hunting

 The other night I took the liberty of watching the classic "Good Will Hunting". As most of you probably know, the film follows Will Hunting, a 20 year old janitor who lives in Boston and acts like a thug, but consequently happens to be a genius. The film was written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, launching them into stardom. The film won the Academy Award that year for Best Original Screenplay, which was quite an achievement for young Ben (25) and Matt (27) and a testament to their natural talent, being that this was the first real piece they had ever written.

 The story itself is absolutely impeccable. It's one of those movies that I can watch over and over again without ever getting sick of. Damon and Affleck did such an incredible job creating a story with characters that were so multidimensional, they really help bring you in and keeps you invested in what's happening. It's astounding to me that these guys were able to write such an incredible piece at such an early age, given the stories complexity and overall genius. Good Will Hunting is a movie that will remain a classic for generations to come.

Paranoid Park

One of my favorite director’s is Gus Van Sant. Many people know him for his films like Good Will Hunting and Milk, but the one that I can watch over and over again is Paranoid Park. The movie is based off of the novel written by Blake Nelson. 

The film takes place in Portland, Oregon and the soundtrack stays authentic to it’s location. A lot of the soundtrack is Elliott Smith who is one of my favorite musicians of all time. He gained most of his popularity from Portland and played a big role in the music scene there. Since the movie doesn’t have a lot of dialogue, the soundtrack was crucial in the movie. Gus Van Sant has used Elliott Smith’s music in his past films as well, where his song Miss Misery was nominated for an oscar for Good Will Hunting.

Along with Elliott Smith’s music, Van Sant used a varitey of French composers and other artists to make complicated music for the scenes of skateboarding. The music made the skateboarding seem almost dreamlike and put it in another light. This movie is an example of how important sound can be. 

I also enjoyed his cinematography style. As seen in his his past films, Gus Van Sant used very long shots and uses different speeds through out the movie. He slows down the scene at major points in the plot. He also uses very soft lighting which gives the film a very eerie feeling which goes along well with the plot.

The movie is about a young skateboarder who accidentally kills a security guard while goofing off on a train one night. The film is about his guilt and how he deals with the horrible mistake. Paranoid Park is more focused on the cinematography and skateboarding rather then the plot itself. I love this movie and it will always be one of my favorites.