3rd Rock from the Sun

3rd rock from the sun is an old sitcom about 4 aliens on earth trying to "fit in". They were sent here to get information about the humans. I used to watch it here and there when I was a kid, but one night after not knowing what to watch, I decided to give it another try. After that, it totally gave me a different impression than I previously had. 



This comedy is actually very clever and you can learn a lot about humans. It can be very helpful if you are aliens walking among us. However, if you are not, there is a lot of cool and interesting things you can also learn. One of the first things that comes to mind is emotions. They are figuring out emotions for the first time and it is so clever. It is just genius how the writers give light to certain things humans do that we sometimes overlook. 




It just cracks me up to see these characters be clueless about things that seem so simple to us. I remember one episode, the characters come rushing into their home thinking it was the apocalypse or something because everyone was buying food and freaking out. 

HOWEVER, it was just thanksgiving. Once they figured out what thanksgiving was, they tried their best to have a "normal" thanksgiving dinner. And by normal, I mean completely NOT NORMAL. this show is very clever with what they are trying to say, or at least what I think they are trying to say. It makes you appreciate the human race, and be thankful for "human things.













The characters are so innocent and you can't help but love every single one of them. They are all so unique and different and it just give the show loose rains to work with. What I mean by this is that, they do say some offensive things about race, gender inequalities etc. But then you really can't get mad at them because they don't know any better. On the other hand, it also teaches good lessons. In one of the episodes Dick, the commander, was so confused about race. He has a secretary who is african American woman. One day when him, the secretary and one of his co-workers were talking about race and what they were, he was so confused why people are different races and he said that he didm't know the difference between the black and white woman. "All you people look the same" He said. He was meaning that all humans look very similar to him and he didm;t pick up on the difference in skin color. I think that scene is a very important scene. As much as this show makes fun of a lot of stereotypes, it also makes you realize that people really are all the same, and It shouldn't matter what race you are. We are all just humans.

Advice From Joseph Gordon-Levitt

I recently started watching interviews on makingof.com, a website I didn't know about until Arturo mentioned it in class. In an interview with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, he is asked about his company hitrecord.com and gives advice that I believe is the main focus and goal for Park students and should be my mindset. JGL says his advice starting at the 2:50 mark. He basically says that in order to be known, you don't have to move to LA, get an agent, and know people. He believes that you need to create an idea, go out and make something, and try to get it out to people. He uses the example of someone who had no agents, created a film, and was able to show it at Sundance. I think this interview with JGL is extremely valuable in terms of advice and insight into the movie industry. I've been saving up for a camera, possibly the Canon T2i, and I've been writing short skits and stories that I plan to create. Honestly, I've been slacking and like Arturo said, there's no reason why we shouldn't be creating something new every week or so. I'm also working on a script for a mockumentary that I want to film over Thanksgiving or Winter break. I used to make movies every week when I was younger with my friend Jason, a BU communications student, and we're collaborating again and hope to create the mockumentary.

CLICK THIS LINK TO WATCH JGL'S MAKINGOF.COM INTERVIEW


Also, check out www.hitrecord.org; JGL's website that features work from artists, filmmakers, and beyond. Maybe you can sign up and share your work there.
(P.S: Go out and see Looper. It's one of the better movies I've seen in years.)

My Favorite Movie

Over my break thus far, I have sat down and watched my favorite movie Inception directed by one of the most notable directors in the industry: Christopher Nolan. I mean not only was this movie well written, but the special effects and visual effects were tremendously well done. The first time I went to watch this movie I wasn't to intrigued to see it after watching the trailers. However, when I saw the movie, I left the theater totally mind blown. LITERALLY. I was so confused about what happened, but the story kept me on my seat and each minute that passed through the last scenes was a total nail biter more me. I watched the movie again and again and began to understand more of it and the hidden messages through out. I thought the characters were well picked for these roles. Leonardo DiCaprio played Cobb, the dream extractor and played an excellent leader of the group. Learning about his life through the plot made it even better and the story entertaining. Ellen Page showed true maturation through this film. After seeing her in Juno, I didn't expect her to do as well as she did, but she pulled off the part well. What can I say about Tom Hardy? An amazing actor with a lot of talent. I found his acting to be tremendously well-done and thought he did well playing the "bad-ass" of the group. Finally what movie isn't complete today without Joseph Gordon-Levitt? I remember watching him as a kid in one of my favorite child-hood movies "Angels in the Outfield." He has also grown up to become a really mature actor with the potential to do many different parts. I've enjoyed his roles and look forward to seeing more of his work in the future.

After a few awards at the Oscars in 2011 including best achievement in Cinematography, sound editing, sound mixing, and visual effects. I have to agree on all these awards because this movie produced excellent sound that followed the movie well. One of my favorite effects from the movie was the rotating corridor scene when Joseph Gordon-Levitt was fighting off an assassin. The scene consisted of a 120 foot long by 30 foot wide revolving corridor. The corridor was constructed of wood and was backed by steel tubing. I-beam rings with roller wheels were placed every 16 feet along the length of the corridor. The wheels were connected to two 55-hp electric motors, which were synchronized by a computer. The corridor would rotate every 10 seconds clockwise and counter-clockwise. The cameras were placed on tracks that were placed in the corridor to shoot the fighting scene. 

  

Looper

I went to the movies the other night with a friend. My friend was like "Hey, lets go see Looper!" and I responded with "I've never heard of that before, is it any good?" to which he responded "I hope so."

Don't worry, folks. It was a really good movie. In the beginning not only do they acknowledge and make fun of "blockbuster" movies with a comment about how there's no original stories anymore, they also comment on modern society. I strongly suggest you all go see it, because it was really good.

What I really want to talk about is how media, like movies and television, can criticize our current state and they won't necessarily be punished for it. Most people probably wont even know that they are criticizing our society. I have a few opinions formed on why this is so, but I'm curious- why do you all think that film and television can comment on society and 'get away with it'?

Inception

Inception written and directed by Christopher Nolan is a story about a man name Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio, who is a thief who has mastered the technological art of stealing valuable secrets from deep with the subconscious during the dream state. He knows that when someone is unconscious the mind is most vulnerable, so it is easy to get to the secrets people are holding onto. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in a tricky new world of corporate espionage, it has also made him an international criminal. This could cost him everything that he has ever loved in the world. Then he gets a chance to get his life back, but only if he can create the most impossible-inception. Instead of stealing someone's secrets he has to commit the perfect crime, Cobb and his team of specialists Arthur and Ariadne (Joseph Gorden-Levitt and Ellen Page) have to pull off the reverse: they plan to plant an idea in the persons subconscious instead of extracting their thoughts. If they are successful this could be the perfect crime, but it is a dangerous task no amount of careful planning can prepare Cobb and his people for the vicious enemy that seems to be one step ahead of them and who seems to have the ability to calculate their every move.

The story is very fast-paced and Cobb has to deal with his own feelings and thoughts about the world of deception he has been creating. He also has to take into consideration that as his plan becomes more complex, his own dreams begin to present themselves into the dreams. Soon the question becomes what is part of a dream and what is true reality.

I watched this quick paced film once and I realized that I needed to watch it again because I missed many things that were happening along the storyline. I would recommend it, but I think that it can be confusing at times. If you like techno drama this is the film to see.

References:
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Ariadne auf Naxos (1988) (TV), Following (1998), Catch Me If You Can (2002), Batman Begins (2005), Paprika (2006), La Vie en Rose (2007), The Dark Knight (2008), Shutter Island (2010)

Life is Worth It

Is it a love story or not? I'm talking about (500) Days of Summer one of my favorite movies from this past year. In the beginning someone might think that this movie is a really cute love story, however as the movie progresses you soon realize it is not just a hokey, fantasy love story, but an honest look at real life. It specifically shows that things don't always work out the way you want. Directed by Marc Webb, a great music video and short film director, he takes a chance by following a new track and creates an incredible feature film.

The film's references are: À bon chat, bon rat (1909), He Who Gets Slapped (1924), Modern Times (1936), The Seventh Seal (1957), Peeping Tom (1960), "I Spy" (1965), Persona (1966), Z(1969), Patton (1970), Heavy Metal (1981), Porky's (1982), "Knight Rider" (1982), Porky's II: The Next Day (1983), Porky's 3: Revenge (1985), "Small Wonder" (1985), Sid and Nancy (1986) (Tom and Summer talk about the tragic end of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen's relationship.), Dirty Dancing (1987), "Mr. Bean" (1990), Henry & June (1990), "Friends" (1994), "Nowhere Man" (1995), "King of the Hill" (1997), As Good as It Gets (1997), "Sex and the City" (1998), "Big Ideas" (1999), But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), Longitude (2000) (TV), High Fidelity (2000), Requiem for a Dream (2000), "24" (2001), Amélie (2001), "The Bernie Mac Show" (2001), "American Idol" (2002), "Monk" (2002), "Penn & Teller: Bullshit!" (2003), Bruce Almighty (2003), "The O.C." (2003), "Arrested Development" (2003), "Lost" (2004), "Rome" (2005), "Jericho" (2005), Rent (2005), "30 Rock" (2006), "Planet Earth" (2006), Clerks II (2006), "Dirt" (2007), King of California (2007), Superbad (2007), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)



"Sid and Nancy" (1986)

Throughout the entire movie the mood and the light really helps move the plot along. How the scene is lit really changes the mood and you can tell when things are going right and when they are going wrong. I really like that Marc Webb doesn’t place his sequences in a specific order of what a viewer might expect from this type of film He films his scenes so that there is a sense of good things happening throughout the story as well as the bad. It is easy to follow what is happening on the screen, but it is definitely a change to most movies that are love stories.

The Dark Knight Rises + Joseph Gordon Levitt

Okay, so while doing my usual movie stalking I found out that Joseph Gordon Levitt has signed on for "The Dark Knight Rises." Honestly, who else squealed when they read that? I mean, I'm used to Christopher Nolan reusing his lead actors a lot, but this just got me really excited. Joseph Gordon Levitt went from Indie modern day film noir of "Brick" to romantic comedy "(500) Days of Summer" to "Inception" and now "The Dark Knight Rises." He's becoming a big name actor, and personally, I'm pumped.