Excellent Description of The Test Screening Process Often Ruins Movies

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/darren-aronofsky-paramount-spar-over-noah-final-cut-050000849.html

Breaking Bad Song From Penultimate Episode Tie In!

If you are a Breaking Bad fan you should watch this video immediately and become even more impressed with the brilliance of the writers and creative crew!

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/10/10/breaking_bad_s_felina_and_marty_robbins_el_paso_video_explains_how_the_breaking.html

Number 1 Horror Film

For me this is the ultimate horror film. It is also one of the crowning achievements of the entire motion picture industry! Unique, over the top, and the ultimate examination in celluloid form about Christian ideology. I refuse to believe that anyone can watch this film alone at midnight and get to bed right away. If you can you I am not sure that I want to know why you were not emotionally disturbed by what you saw. There is no horror film better then The Exorcist in my opinion and perhaps no film has ever been better then this one. William Freidkin's masterpiece! Domestically it is the most finically successful horror film of all time and the ninth highest grossing film of all time when e adjust for inflation. No other film will come close to being what The Exorcist was and continues to be!

Number 2

Checking in at number 2 is the often imitated but never duplicated "Psycho." Psycho changed the entire landscape of what a horror film was. It created the slasher genre of horror films and brought some truly wonderful ideological and Freudian components into horror films. I am very reluctant to put this as number 2 instead of number 1, however I am very partial to the number 1 film coming up next!

Den of Geek

This is the link to the articles that I am currently writing for the website Denofgeek.com.
http://www.denofgeek.com/tags/matthew-giordano
Also very proud of my former students and the movie "Catch of the Day" that they made and I am wishing them the best of success as they premiere their film at the Hot Springs Horror Festival tomorrow. Here is a link to their Facebook page check them out. They are truly very talented and I am very proud of them.
https://www.facebook.com/FuzzOnTheLensProductions?directed_target_id=0

Number 3

The number three greatest horror movie in my opinion is "Scream." Brilliant satire and brilliant horror film. It is easy to take this film for granted considering how many knockoffs it inspired (I Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legend). However, this horror film helped to bring horror back as a legitimate genre and arguably helped to usher in this current renaissance of horror related programing. Wes Craven is a master!

Mickey Mouse

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/09/17/why-disney-buys-all-the-premium-character-collecti.aspx

Number 4

"Halloween"

Still the perfect movie to watch on halloween night. There have been many imitators but nothing seems to stand up to this truly great horror film.

Number 5

Checking in at number 5 may be my most shocking choice but it is "Interview With  A Vampire" which I hands consider to be the best vampire movie ever made and it is one of my favorite films of all time. Tom Cruise is many things but as an actor I am massive fan of is and in my opinion this is his best role ever. I only wish that one day Lestat could show up in Bon Temps and do a little crowd control but alas that dream will never happen. This film looks fantastic, has an interesting story that spans several time periods and arguably has Kirsten Dunst's best performance ever and that is not a knock on her she is just out of her mind good playing an extremely sinister vampire named Claudia. Check it out and whatever else you do DO NOT WATCH THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED MOVIE!

Number 6

The original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remains one of the most disturbing horror films and arguably it's low budget gritty feel makes the film seem even more terrifying as if this was someones long lost home movie. Ironically the film is not as bloody as most people tend to think as the camera cuts away from the scene of actual gore more often then not. However, the frenetic pacing of the film makes the lack of blood almost mute because your mind fills in the rest. Great horror films are often able to use a combination of showing you something terrifying while also allowing your mind to run wild with the images that you are being presented with. I still remember where I was when I watched this movie for the first time and it was in a hot summer day just like the film so perhaps that is why it still is burned deep into mind. Check it out.

Number 7

Checking as my seventh favorite horror film is "Saw." An ingenious film that added intrigue and a bit of intellectual deep to the slasher/gore genre of horror films. Also made by the new king of horror Mr. James Wan (Insidious, Dead Silence, The Conjuring). This film is one of a kind an snot to be missed.

Number 8

The eight best horror movie or perhaps more aptly my eight favorite horror film is the American remake of "Ringu" which is of course "The Ring." Brilliant concept, excellent execution and a remake that actually does the original some sort of justice. Great twist at the end.

Number 9

Clocking in at number 9 is a film you will be watching this year called Hellraiser. One of the key themes of this disturbing film deals with the idea of beauty and pain being inextricably linked together. This is a Freudian idea known as the sublime.  I will keep this short but the visual imagery in this film remains breathtaking.

Welcome Special Cinema Studies Horror Class

Welcome to the classroom blog website in which we will be having various readings and postings throughout the semester. Please feel free to familiarize yourself with this site and please post a comment to any article that you find to be interesting. To start us off on the right foot I am counting down the top ten horror films that I believe to be the best. Clocking in at number ten for me is the original A Nightmare On Elm Street. 

Breaking Bad Review

Breaking Bad Season Five Episode Eleven Review

     

     If you are not up to date with "Breaking Bad" do not read this. I am warning you now. If you continue major spoilers will follow. For anyone who has ever doubted the extent of Walter White's manipulation what I'm shore will become known simply as "The Confession" scene laid bare what this man is truly all about. Walt is a cold, ruthless, and extremely calculating narcissist and everyone is fair game when it comes to his survival. Once again give the writers at "Breaking Bad" all the credit in the world for truly understanding the character that they have in Walter White and showing us how he is truly a mad genus who has no emotional center. 

     Hank and Marie's reaction to watching the confession was some of the most brilliantly restrained acting in recent memory. Where the shocked, angry, or just downright scared of their once seemingly innocent brother in law. "Breaking Bad" may have started as the story of a seemingly hapless individual who was going to turn to a life of crime for altruistic reasons but over the course of time we realized that this man has always been narcissistic sociopath who was simply biding his time. Better writers then me have raised that point but I would like to say that this last episode of the show did an excellent job of bringing Walter's manipulation to the forefront. 

     In this episode besides brilliantly begin able to turn the tables on his DEA brother in law Hank, we see Walter use different types of emotional manipulation to twist the people in his life to his will. He brilliantly and shamefully tells his son that his cancer has come back only to keep him from going to visit his uncle and aunt, he gets Skyler to go along with his confession tape, he has Saul Goodman eating out of his hand, and of course he gets called out by Jesse about his very nature and in a second when you think that this man whom we once thought to be a decent human being (how wrong we were) was going to admit the truth to Jesse for once he pushes Jesse further over the edge. 

     Everything seems to be once again going in Walter's favor and that is certainly no accident. Then those brilliant writers give us Jesse making the connection that Walter turned him against Gus and poisoned Brock. How refreshing is it to see Jesse react the way a person in this situation would most likely react to this news and go on a one man rampage ending with him about to burn down Walter's house and not so metaphorically burn down Walter's empire. It is episodes like this that make "Breaking Bad" continually stand out from the pack and rise above pretty much everything else on television. Well done indeed.

By Matthew Giordano

Malcolm McDowell

"Malcolm McDowell"

What a truly wonderful experience it was to meet Malcolm Mcdowell. He was a true gentlemen and it was absolutely remarkable to meet him!

Cloud Atlas

Cloud Atlas

     If The MatrixT, Forrest Gump and 2001 A Space Odyssey were combined into a movie Cloud Atlas would be the product that you would get. It is unfair of me to deny the originality that exists in this film and as such in my opinion this is the defining science fiction film of it's era. Having so many different narratives unfold over the course of an almost three hour movie is pretty much an impossible feat to pull off and yet somehow all of the stories do connect and relate to each other in both abstract and concrete ways. A lot of people hated this film and I can understand why. The narrative structure places great demands on the viewer to try to connect the different stories together and it is very hard to decipher at what point in time each of these events is taking place. As such this makes the film rather unique. 

     

     Additionally, this film deals with some serious philosophical and moral issues that do connect across generations. Such key concepts that are brought up throughout the film are why humans never seem to rid themselves of such horrendous institutions such as slavery. How rigid class systems always seem to instill their will upon society. How religion is too often a tool that is used for manipulation instead of it's intended purpose. It also examines how wealth produces greed which in many ways can have much longer repercussions for people then they might initially realize. Their are tales of personal responsibility, and quests for social justice found throughout almost every segment of this film. There are so many more issues within this film add well that this film demands multiple viewings which again is against the standard norm of Hollywood movies.

    

     This film does what the very best of science fiction can and always does. That is it makes question our basic essence as a species and makes us examine the future. Are we going to evolve as a species that deserves to survive and can we be a species that can achieve things that no other species could even safe to dream or are we doomed to fall into our animalistic natures and simply destroy each other. Lastly, this film takes a much more substantive and in depth look at Hinduism and the idea of Karma. The idea being that everyone lives multiple lives and that a person is either rewarded or punished in their next life based on their actions in the previous one. Part of my disappointment with the movie The Life of Pi was that it had a chance to examine Hinduism and other world religions in much greater depth then it attempted to do but instead choose to champion Christianity as the only true religion as so many movies tend to do in Hollywood. 

     

     This is why it becomes problematic for American audiences to understand different viewpoints because they are never presented with alternatives to their standard way of thinking. So while I think Christianity can be a beautiful religion it is just wonderful to see a hollywood film attempt to teach us about one of the worlds most popular religions and prevent the American public with an insight into the idea of Karma. This film also has a great message of redemption that certainly is one of the key concepts of any of the major religions. Tom Hanks plays multiple characters throughout the film and he starts out as an exceptionally cruel and vile human being. Yet throughout his multiple lives he is eventually able to become a better person and it is in that where a great hope lies for all of us. 

     

     The idea that we can transcend our surroundings and become better then what we are is a truly wonderful concept and this film executed it beautifully. Cloud Atlas is an exceptional film and I would dare anyone to try and deny the sheer technological wonder of it. This is a film for the ages!  

Written ByMatthew Giordano

Breaking Bad Finale

Breaking Bad Finale

With the return of Breaking Bad it is easy to for fans of the series to forget a very important aspect of the show that has been with it form the very start. The show would initially lead you to believe that Walter White is a good man who is down on his luck who through a series of unfortunate events begins a downward spiral that less to him becoming a drug kingpin. When you watch the show closely something becomes very apparent even form the beginning. Walter has been a psycho from the start of the series! That is part of the real genius with Breaking Bad. Walter was never a good guy and his pathetic life was always a fabrication. Right from the start you see that Walter is burning with extreme resentment and rage. He hates his ex-partners for stealing his glory, he hates his pretty much every member of his family, he resents working at a car wash and he truly seems to hate being a middle school teacher. Walter is probably the most narcissistic character to ever be on television. He has nothing but contempt for all of those around him whom he sees himself as being better then. He never truly sees the good that he does have in his life. 

The world owes Walter White and somehow over the course of the series it becomes apparent that "helpless" Walter was always a vicious narcissistic psychopath just waiting for an opportunity to strike. Ironically, in many ways Walter is no different then many successful businessman who also inhabit this kind of behavior. Does anyone remember Bernie Madoff? Additionally, Walter's life can be seen as being symbolic of any capitalistic venture that allows people to profit off of products that harm and kill people. Tobacco and alcohol anyone? I am very excited to see how this series wraps up in the end and I think there have been enough clues left along the way to show us where it is going to go. However, I will make one bold prediction and just say that everything seems to point to Walter dying or being destroyed. Somehow I think that Walter is going to be the only one standing at the end. But we shall see. This is one of the few shows that I am truly confident will end in a truly satisfying way. Remember my name!

Madmen

Madmen

         

         A single episode of Madmen contains enough intellectual punch that a professor could spend an entire semester simply examining the ideology and social critique that are ever so present in each precious minute of the show. It is astonishing how many psychological issues that the show touches upon. The role of women in the workplace, the feminist movement, societies treatment of women, the effect of the past on the present, infantile disorders, the Oedipus complex, the primal scene, sexuality being confused with violence, the perverseness of capitalism and the American family. 

          I could go on and on but it is rare to see a show be so absolutely critical about the ills of American society and yet at the same time be one of the most popular shows on cable. Madmen certainly has it's intellectual fan base but it has also moved beyond that due to the lavish costumes, excellent use of dialogue, and it's use of Dark Humor amongst other things. The show also serves as a great cliff note version of American history in the 1960s and it examines the changing of the American culture leading up to and during the Vietnam years. I wonder how many fans of the show actually realize just how deeply critical this show is of American society and if they truly understand how Don Draper has to lie to live the American dream and it leaves him unfulfilled, neurotic, and depressed. His alcoholism is only helping him to cope with his utter decay as an individual and as a part of society. Don Draper's life is a lie and the most powerful moment of the show for me came when he realized that and could not do it anymore. 

          But this post is not to get deeper into the ideology and psychology of the show this post is to praise this absolutely brilliant show and encourage everyone to jump on the bandwagon it is an exceptionally rare and special show and in many ways it has picked up on the groundwork that The Soprano's has laid down before it and taken it into a new and utterly brilliant direction. Madmen may be the best written show ever. That is saying something when one realizes that the show does not have a real narrative structure that connects any one episode or season together. In fact it is larger themes that connect each episode to the next one as well as the seasons to each other. I cannot express how brilliant of a show I think that Madmen truly is and if you watch the show and do not think about larger issues while you are watching it you are lost. Brilliant show!

Movies to Make You Cry

http://www.geekenstein.com/20-movies-that-even-real-men-cry-at/4/

"Red Wedding"

Do not comment if you have not seen this episode yet! Stay away if you have not seen it! You have been warned! Well the Red Wedding certainly has everybody talking and it was handled quite well. However, it is far from the most shocking thing to happen on the show! Remember that the main protagonist was murdered nine episodes into the shows run? I would also remind people that in the second season very earlier on the "benevolent" King Goffrey had a baby murdered! So I think that the real shock is for fringe fans of the show or for people who have not realized that anything close to a "hero" in Game of Thrones is essentially doomed. Yes I know nothing but greatly fear for a certain Targaryen girl! Also was it possible that Goffrey was actually wise when he mentioned to his uncle that  she could in fact pose the real threat to the realm? While we are on that subject I feel that Daenery's has clearly become the shows major heroine and that part of the tragedy of Game of Thrones is that noble families like the Starks cannot exist in a world like this. Anyone else hoping that Ayaa reunites with her faceless assassin friend? With that being said and I can say a whole lot more I have to say that overall season 3 has been very underwhelming as a whole. It is not as good as seasons one and two but it does seem to be setting lots of things up but my question to ask is what is coming? In the grand scheme of the narrative structure the "Red Wedding" was handled well but due to the long drawn out episodes in which nothing advances the plot forward I was too bored to care about it as much as I should. Although it was nice from a  plot perspective that Robb by breaking his vow actually paid for it. That was well done as most people, myself included probably forgot about the pact that he made with his eventual killer. However, when Robb made the decision to go back there, which lets be fair was a really moronic move, this was the inevitable conclusion. So while I am torn about season 3 and I was not "shocked" by the episode I do think that anyone who gives up on the show because their "hero" or "heroes" are gone should never have watched the show in the first place. One of the strengths that Game of Thrones did maintain is that the "Hollywood" version of punishing evil has no bearing in this world and that is still one of the key things that makes this show in it's own brilliant way an exceptionally realistic portrayal of how corrupt the hearts of men can be. Feel free to rant away!

The Greatest Comedic Filmmaker

http://www.npr.org/2013/05/20/182609040/mel-brooks-i-m-an-egot-so-i-don-t-need-any-more

Star Trek Into Darkness (Spoilers and Nerd Anger Found Inside Review)

Star Trek into Darkness was one of the most highly anticipated sequels that have come along for me in quite some time. The first time JJ Abrams took a stab at Star Trek in 2009 he made what is easily one of my favorite movies ever made and a film that I have seen multiple times. So as is usually the case when expectations are so high I was naturally disappointed with this film. If I am being fare and just not reacting emotionally then this was not a bad film. There were some impressive special effects, as well as solid performances across the board. Once the film gets underway there are times when it is compelling. The action sequences are excellent. The best part of the movie in my opinion was the battle on Cronos, the Klingon home world. However, the negatives to me outweigh the positives. The movie took way too long to get started and the first part of the film up until Kahn appeared was completely lifeless and useless. Additionally what was the major dramatic question of the film? To put it simply what was the plot of the film? Was it that Kahn, yes the worse kept secret in cinema that Benedict Cumberbatch was Kahn turned out to be true, was a evil genus who needed to be stopped? Because if that is the case they did a truly awful job of establishing Kahn as a character worthy of being feared. Benedict Cumberbatch was great as Kahn but he got to do next to nothing with the role. He needed more screen time, he needed a better back story and he was defeated way too easily. Nero was a far more complex villain from a story standpoint then Kahn was granted I will easily concede that Benedict Cumberbatch is a far better actor then Eric Bana. Also Peter Weller, who is usually excellent, arguably is the real monster here because he awoke a particularly dangerous man to exploit his savagery in the hopes of provoking a war with the Klingons (this angle was handled to perfection in the underrated Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country). Kahn is no doubt evil but the Admiral is the real monster. There is a paradox here because one of the key concepts of the Star Trek universe is that humanity has supposed to have reached a point in their existence where we are more enlightened and educated and as such people like the Admiral are not supposed to exist and if they do and can manipulate Star Fleet then how is this future not in fact much worse then our own? There was nothing to root for in this film because Kahn was to be feared essentially based on his reputation from the original films. How does that make any sense? To further hammer this fact home we get a cameo by Leonard Nimoy basically telling us that hey remember Kahn is very bad. That does not cut it. Also his cameo was great in the first film but totally just thrown in here as a cheap plot device. All of the originality and ingenuity of the recent remake were gone here. How about the massive plot hole left by the film in that several Kilngons were slaughtered by the crew of the Enterprise and Kahn and as such as the plot made abundantly clear simply setting foot on their planet would lead to an all out war. So I guess that sets up the sequel or it is just a terrible plot hole. Too many movies under utilize their most complex and interesting characters. By the time Kahn becomes the dangerous lunatic that we know he is he almost instantly gets defeated. No build up, no drama, and no tension. Hence no real reason to root for Captain Kirk and company to bring him down because they do it rather easily and we somehow know that there will be no real problem for them. Also how many times can the Enterprise be blasted by lasers and not get destroyed? Not all is lost in this film and it certainly does nothing to ruin the franchise. However, the totally wasted a major opportunity. Lastly, the end sequence of this film is quite powerful and at the same time unbelievably perplexing. Essentially we have the first Hollywood film since September 11 to incorporate a terrorist plane crash directly into the movie and pull almost no punches in showing the devastation that it caused. Kahn is a terrorist no doubt about it but then the repercussions against him are to put him back to sleep and we get a speech that should be powerful by Captain Kirk about not letting essentially terrorists change who we are as people but it was so quickly thrown together that it feels wrong. Honestly, Kahn deserved to die for his actions and I do not think that most people would have a problem with that. At the very least he could have been put in jail instead being put back in the cryogenic chamber to simply wait it out for some other commander to use him. There is so much more I can say and I should have known I was in for trouble with the overwhelming amount of positive reviews that this film got that is usually a red flag for me. Consider this there is a sequence in this film that is directly inspired by The Godfather III. Now granted it copied the best part of The Godfather Part III, however any film that looks to the third Godfather for inspiration is a colossal failure. I am a JJ Abrams fan but I am now worried about Star Wars.

William Friedkin NPR Interview

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2013/may/01/academy-awardwinning-director-william-friedkin/

Recent Television Shows

Highly recommend the absolutely brilliant show Rectify however, it is so emotionally depressing that it will wear you out. Also Spartacus the Starz series has just awful special effects combined with terrible dialogue and mostly horrendous acting. It is a very cheap version of 300 and yet it is remarkably popular. Lastly, The Vikings show despite my problems with it being on The History Channel is absolutely fantastic!

Silver Linings Playbook

     Silver Linings Playbook received massive notoriety during this past awards season due to the wonderful performance of Jennifer Lawrence. While the credit that she received for this role was well deserved the shock for me was how good the story was and how Bradley Copper just did a truly remarkable job. This was probably the best role that Bradley Cooper has ever ha din a mainstream movie and it really proves that talented actors or actresses can portray a wide range of emotions and talents when given the chance to do so. His acting ability and his dancing ability were impressive. 

   

  I guess the shock for me was that i was confident that Jennifer Lawrence was going to be good but Bradley Cooper impressed me and perhaps that was my fault for assuming that he was not capable of creating a memorable on screen character with some real emotional depth. This performance has made me look at Bradley Cooper in a  completely new way. The chemistry between Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper was excellent in my opinion. I truly enjoyed their chemistry and loved every second that they were on screen together. The supporting cast was also great! This was just a genuinely moving story about two broken people who are able to find each other and fulfill a massive void in each others lives.    

     The characters do not undergo a major personality transformation they instead accept each other for who they are and that was my favorite thing about the film. These flawed characters embrace each other and they deserved to be together at the end. As a Hollywood romance movie I thought that this film was fresh and exciting. I loved how these characters were not the typical Hollywood stars who are usually cast in love stories. If i have to sit threw one more Channing Tatum, love story I may never recover. If you have not seen this film check it out and hopefully be delightfully surprised at what you experience.

"Disorganized Labor"

     The American version of "House of Cards" is the best political television show that I have ever seen. It combines inside details of the American political system with absolutely superb acting across the board. It also at times sacrifices realism for it's narrative purposes which works great to always keep the viewer involved in the deeply complicated and yet ever so simple story. One of the key political ideas that this show nailed on the head is the idea of the "sound bite."Politicians and political movements rely more then ever on particular terms and phrases to push their agenda and fight their opponents. Staying on message is a vital key to success for political parties. Arguably ever since the invention of television and really ever since politicians started to use the media the importance of the "sound bite" cannot be understated. 

     

     Francis "Frank" Underwood becomes involved in a massive fight against unionized teachers in the show when he tries to pass an Education reform bill that essentially eliminates the collective bargaining rights of teachers. Frank seemingly loses this battle in the media at first and he even was embarrassed on national television in a debate with the teacher unions top man Marty Spinella. What turns the issue around in Francis's favor is when his wife Claire, played to perfection by Robin Penn, comes up with the term "Disorganized labor." Francis then instructs his fellow cohorts to mention this term when they do television interviews and he has his print media source use this term as well. Very quickly when a term is used by several different people over the course of several different media outlets in begins to stick in peoples minds whether they realize it or nor. This is why campaign slogans and newspaper headlines are always short. As such these terms begin to take on the false appearance of truth and what is dangerous about this is very often language is a weapon that is used for political gain. 

     Arguably, the most important weapon that a politician has is their words. How these words play out in the media is even more important to political gain and success. Additionally, the media is usually more then happy to oblige and let these terms enter into the public consciousness. Of course the term "disorganized labor" eventually helps to put more pressure on the unionized teachers and begins to push support away from them. The often maligned Noam Chomsky does a much better job at explaining how the system of "sound bites" works, especially in his book called "Media Control." I cannot help but be impressed at how "House of Cards" is able to make this insider political tactic so plainly visible to it's viewers. I commend the show for using it as a plot device and for being one of the only mainstream American television shows to reveal this practice and show how manipulative and deceitful it can be. You can learn so much about politics from watching "House of Cards." For that alone it should be earning it's place amongst the most important American television shows of all time.

Top Female Television Character

Checking in at number 1 i Arya Stark played by the wonderfully talented Maisie Williams. One of the fun things about Game of Thrones is watching how talented the child actors are on the show. Somehow Arya's character flies above the rest and has made her own distinctive mark on the show. Not content to let other people run her life and not content to conform to being the "lady" that she is supposed to be Arya has the courage of a lion and her bravery combined with her naivety makes her such a likable and unique character. There is great fun and sorrow in watching her become initiated into the terrible world of Westeros. She has been probably the only person to impress Tywin Lannister and her friendship with the Faceless Assassin was probably my favorite storyline in the entire series. No matter what story arc she is involved in ti remains interesting precisely because she is such a fascinating and non stereotypical character. She gets my vote for number 1 female television character currently on television. 

Top Female Television Characters

Checking in at number 2 is Keri Russell as Elizabeth Jennings on The Americans. As a devout secret agent of the KGB Elizabeth is at once completely predictable and utterly unpredictable at the same time. Keri Russell who's major claim to fame was in the very successful Felicity television series as embarked on a new journey and has created quite honestly one of the most fascinating and complicated characters ever on television. No longer Felicity, Keri Russell's character of Elizabeth. her American name, uses sex, lies and manipulation as a weapon as easily as most people would use a gun. She is truly remarkable in her devotion to her cause which is even more fascinating because with the hindsight of history we know that her side is going to lose and lose big time. This knowledge makes her character all the more tragic and terrifying. How a human being can be so blindly connected to a cause that devalues individuality and abuses it's power is not an easy task to achieve. Great job by a great actress.

Top Female Television Characters

Checking in at number 3 is Daenerys Targaryen played by the wonderful Emilia Clarke. The Mother of Dragons arguably has the best story arc on the show. She has also underwent a wonderful character transformation as she started as the little scared girl who was whored out by her brother, remember Viserys? In the end she would get revenge on him and a whole lot more as this stunningly complicated character never ceases to amaze and surprise all of those around her with her exceptional abilities. She has my vote for winning The Iron Throne but what will she do with it once she gets it? amazing character!

Top Female Television Characters

Checking in at number 4 is Michonne. Few characters have been ever been able to live up to the hype that surrounds them and fortunately this is not the case with bad ass Michonne. Her introduction into the series was mind blowing and her continued character development is one of the things that makes The Walking Dead such a fascinating show. When Michonne speaks, which is rare, you listen very closely because what she has to say always matters. An excellent character played by an exceptional actress Danai Gurira. It is impossibly to get tired of watching her slicing up zombies and sometimes people with her katana blade!

Top Female Television Characters

Clocking in at number 5 is Claudia aka "Granny" from The Americans. Played by the fabulous Margo Martindale "Granny" is the ultimate Soviet spy or at least she appears to be. Always calm and collected but as vicious and conniving as few characters can dare to dream of becoming. There is a strong distrust of Claudia by both Phillip and Elizabeth. One is sure that their not too far off in being convinced that Claudia isn't all she appears to be. Best moment calling Elizabeth by her true Russian name repeatedly to get under her skin. Wonderful character!

Top Female Television Characters

Clocking in at number 6 on my list of top female television characters currently on television is Fiona Gallagher. As the default matriarch of the Gallagher clan she is the glue that holds the dysfunctional family in line. Emmy Rossum is brilliant in this role and does a great job of displaying a wide arrange of believable emotions throughout each episode and in my opinion without her being the center of the show everything else would fall apart.

Top Female Television Characters

Coming in at number 7 on my list of top current female television actresses is Lena Headey who plays the always manipulating and clever Cersei Lannister.

Top 8 Female Television Characters

I am counting down my eight favorite female characters currently on television. Checking in at number 8 is Gemma Teller. Peg Bundy has come a long long way. Actually the underrated and brilliantly talented Katey Sagal has shown the world just how great of an actress she really is playing the matriarch of SAMCRO. Part Lady Macbeth, part overprotective mother, and completely original. Katey Sagal has created one of the most complex and interesting female characters to ever appear on television. The only thing predictable about her behavior is that fact that when she does not get her way she will find any possible means to correct that injustice. Somehow when the smoke clears and everyone else has fallen it seems impossible to think of Gemma not being there to guide the club in whatever direction she wants them to go in. A truly remarkable character indeed!

The Running Man

The Running Man

     The Running Man is a film that examines how television in the most extreme of circumstances can greatly affect a societies attitudes towards violence. In that regard the film was exceptionally prescient. Far from being a standard action film to showcase the talents of Arnold Schwarzenegger this film did an excellent job at examining the idea of reality television and  it's affect on a society long before the so called reality television craze officially began. The Hunger Games takes many cues from this underrated film as the basic plot centers a round a game show that has different bounty hunters hunt down and kill various criminals on live television. Schwarzenegger plays a man who has been framed and is considered to be amass murderer when he in fact refused a government order to fire upon innocent civilians. 

     It is amazing that this film hit upon how video footage as well as photography can be altered for various purposes and how people seem to blindly accept what they see on television as the truth. One of the most fascinating things about Arnold Schwarzenegger is that he his a big profile conservative who very much like the late Charlton Heston starred in a lot of action/sci-fi films that have very strong liberal messages and themes. One of the things that i admire about Arnold Schwarzenegger as a film star (not as a man because his womanizing destroyed his family) is that his films hold up much better over the years then his predecessors. It is hard to watch Steven Seagal movies now and appreciate their craft or appreciate how a pool stick is the most dangerous weapon known to man. 

     Arnold's films for the most part hold up because the films were excellent as was his acting in them. he played the role right and was the action hero icon of the 1980s and early 1990s. The Running Man is worth a look for how it portrays a culture fixated on television and reality television at that and on how the media manipulates information for it's own profit. Furthermore the films conclusion is very satisfying and in a way is truly epic for a science fiction/action film in that exposing the truth and bringing people together can get people to realize how they have been tricked and that society needs to change. Highly recommend this film!

Battlestar Galactica

Battlestar Galactica Ending: A Ceremonial Slap in the Face!

 

The Sci-Fi Channel remake of Battlestar Galactica committed the worst atrocity in the history of science fiction television. It took the age old concept of man playing God and having it blow up in his face and then actually added God into the mix. Not only did this dramatic turn of events essentially come out of nowhere, it also greatly diminished the dramatic tension in the series. It also took the always dreaded Deus ex machine ending and applied it to the show in a truly literal sense. This was a real shame because what really made Battlestar Galactica such a special show was in watching how the characters reacted to their changing environment and then had to adjust their own actions based on the new situations that they found themselves in. It was a human drama and the fact that certain characters of their own freewill would come to certain decisions really made the show exceptionally compelling.

Consider the character of Laura Roslin  played by the wonderful Mary McDonnell. It was wonderful to watch her being transformed from the soft spoken Secretary of Education  to perhaps the most noble and prideful President since George Washington. Also what a wonderful idea to have the character use the cancer eating away at her body as the catalyst to transform herself into a true “bad ass.” Mind you, this was also before a character named Walter White  would make an appearance on our television screens and help to change the face of television. This character transformation is made all the more powerful because Laura Roslin decides to change not because God made it so but because she rose to the occasion of the moment. Remember this is fictional programming we are talking about here so unfortunately cramming God into the plot in the rushed way that they did really hurts the show’s narrative structure.

What also makes this ending such a slap in the face is that the writing over the course of the show was actually quite good.  There were excellent cliffhangers, dramatic turns of events, major character changes, and we also had several major turning points in the show. In fact many of these dramatic turns of events would have been perfect endings to the series. Remember the discovery of the “real” earth and the enslavement of the colony by the Cylons? The fact that the show possess at least two excellent endings and chooses not to use them is just maddening. The writers  were also able to make the Cylons become more human than we ever thought possible when they become complex enough to have a fraction of their members not want to annihilate the humans. Essentially, the Cylons develop freewill and then we have another contradiction because if God gave man freewill and man created the Cylons, then the Cylons could not dvelop freewill because they were not created by God.

Moreover, this Deus ex machina ending is precisely the type of ending that good literary professors tell their students to avoid at all costs. As such it is very much a slap in the face across every fan of this show that watched every episode and even sat through the “Razor” movie. We are rewarded for being faithful viewers by having the final answer to everything in the show being that it was essentially God’s plan to have the cylons and humans coexist together on an alien planet that is essentially the earth that we grew up on. It is one thing to do this for a film over the course of two hours or so but it is like a kick to the gut to end an entire series like this. With that being said not every show needs to end in a definitive fashion but not tying up any of your loose ends and simply using the presence of God to explain everything is lazy writing.  

The question to ask  is was it the intention of the show’s creators all along to reveal God’s master plan or did the show’s creators not have any conclusive way to end the story? It makes The Sopranos ending look neat by comparison. I know there are those of you out there that actually like this ending. I cannot possibly see why but I understand that you are entitled to your opinion and I will respect that. Also, say what you will about Lost but the show’s conclusion does a better job of making the audience aware of it’s religious and spiritual undertones then Battlestar Galactica did. It really is a great shame because Battlestar Galactica did a great job of creating some truly compelling television and in my opinion it alos did a great job of paralleling the war on terrorism.

Perhaps it is too much to have asked that ultimately what could have doomed the Cylon race was their inability to have freewill and thus God’s presence could have been implemented into this show in a much more emotionally refreshing way.

Matthew Giordano

Jennifer Connelly

Jennifer Connelly: The Underappreciated Female Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp is considered by many to be one of the greatest actors of all time. He is also admired for resisting big blockbuster roles for years as he instead opted to choose roles in smaller more independent type films in which he played exceptionally eccentric characters. Some of the characters helped endear him to the public, Edward Scissorhands and other others remain bizarrely brilliant to this day Ed Wood, The Ninth Gate, Benny and Joon. Essentially his choice of roles allowed him to develop his acting ability and receive wonderful critical acclaim for years. It was not until The Pirates of The Caribbean the Curse of The Black Pearl that he truly became a legitimate blockbuster star and a true household name. I am aware of how popular he was especially amongst women when he was on 21 Jump Street. In fact I may have been one of the only young males in America who had his poster on my wall as a kid.

With that being said this is not a love letter to Johnny Depp this an attempt to prove that in many ways great female actors have been marginalized and overlooked for years.  It is no secret that male actors receive far more praise for the ability to portray different complex and engaging characters then most actresses do. Blame it on a patriarchal society, blame it on people thinking that Sandra Bullock is a good actress, (she talked with a slight southern accent in The Blind Side and people were like wow amazing) blame it on whatever you like. I would argue that the talented and truly exceptional Jennifer Connelly in many ways followed the same career path as Johnny Depp did and has created some of the most memorable film roles over the last thirty years.    

She first came to my attention in the bizarrely wonderful Labyrinth. A movie that I first saw at such a young age that I thought it was a figment of my imagination. I really thought it was all in my head and I actually developed a fear of mirrors for a while. It was not until years later that I saw the movie on HBO one day and realized that this film was in fact real and not something that was part of a bad dream that I had. I was both relieved by this realization and also even more disturbed when I realized that David Bowie was the Goblin King. Back to Jennifer Connelly she has never appeared in a prototypical blockbuster film, she was in The Day the Earth Stood Still remake which tried to be a blockbuster film and I have also tried to forget that she was in this complete disaster so we will call it a wash.

          When you examine her career she has not only been in some exceptionally wonderful movies but she has also created some fantastic characters. Requiem for a Dream, The Rocketeer, Dark City, the American remake of Dark Water, Mulholland Falls and of course A Beautiful Mind are just some of the great films that she has had significant roles in. What amazes me about Jennifer Connelly is her ability to play such diverse characters in such a wide array of films. She has also done a great job at for the most part in continuing to select roles that are both challenging and uniquely different. Also the fact that my wife’s name is Jennifer has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I was in love with Jennifer Connelly as a child. At least I think so.

Matthew Giordano

Inception

 

Inception Not as Original as You Think

Inception was quite a rare film in that it truly achieved the status of a blockbuster film while breaking one of the most fundamental rules of Hollywood films. Hollywood films are designed to tell stories that audiences make an emotional connection with as they follow the protagonist through their journey. In the movie Inception it is impossible to decipher what actually happens and what is simply a dream. Hollywood usually has pretty clear cut rules that dream sequences must be labeled as such so that the audience does not confuse their place in the plot of the film that they are watching. For that aspect I admire the film.

However, I believe that one fundamental problem with the film is that without the audience knowing what they should care about that therefore there is no real emotional connection that can be made to any of the characters in the film. Quite simply the movie also becomes exceptionally boring at times because there is no tension in the film because nothing matters within the context of the film. Essentially, one scene has nothing to do with another and yes that makes the film’s dreamlike qualities work well but it also makes for a very boring narrative. Furthermore, plenty of other films have examined the idea of a dream within a dream. The first A Nightmare on Elm Street film in my opinion handles this concept in a far better way than Inception did in every way imaginable. This truly interesting plot device works in A Nightmare on Elm Street because you have just essentially watched the character of Nancy have a nightmare. The dream never ends!

Additionally, other films that have dealt with the concept of examining dreams are the exceptionally underrated Vanilla Sky, Jacob ’s ladder, and even The Wizard of Oz which people tend to forget about. In fact almost any David Lynch film examines the world of dreams in their own unique way. Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive are probably his two best films that examine how dreams and reality can often become entwined. If we extend this line of thinking further to say that Inception is a movie that makes us question what is truly “real” and what is not, than we can talk about a plethora of films that have examined this very concept.

 Total Recall, The Matrix, The Machinist, Dark City, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Fight Club, Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams and even the brilliant movie If all deal with the idea that reality is just a construct of the unconscious mind in some way shape or form. Perhaps I am just cynical but all of the films that I have mentioned I believe have examined the same concepts as Inception did in one form or another. I also believe that the films that I have mentioned have done a much better cinematic job at bringing forward the idea of examining the nature of dreams or the nature of what reality is then Inception did.  

I just feel that the sweeping critical acclaim that Inception received was a bit premature. Especially in cases when Inception was being praised for being a truly original film, when hopefully I have just proved that this is not the case at all. Perhaps this stance is not as controversial as my stance that Star Wars Episode VI Return of the Jedi is a better movie then The Empire Strikes Back.

Matthew Giordano

The Walking Dead and the Rebirth of the American Western

                Never in the history of their existence has zombie related programming been so wildly popular throughout America. AMC has created an absolute ratings powerhouse with The Walking Dead that has changed the very idea of how many people a cable only network can reach. Almost fourteen million people watched the season finale and these numbers are impressive for network shows. This in turn has helped to push the networks to even try to compete with these cable shows by presenting grittier, darker shows for the American public and the world to consume. The recent Fox hit The Following is a good example of this. The question one should really ask is why is The Walking Dead so popular?

Is it simply that the quality of acting on the show is outstanding? Andrew Lincoln and David Morrissey are two particular standouts in my opinion. Is it that the show has a great story? Is it that there is a fascination with a post apocalyptic world that has developed very strongly amongst the culture since September 11? I would like to present some food for thought. Perhaps the true popularity of The Walking Dead lies in the fact that is has resurrected one of cinemas greatest art forms and an art form that has typically been seen as being distinctly American. To put it simply The Walking Dead is a very prototypical western.

All of the standard generic tropes of the western film are present in The Walking Dead. For one thing the iconography (visuals) constantly reminds us that we are in fact watching a western. For one thing Rick is a sheriff whom wears a cowboy hat and rides a horse. In arguably one of the shows finest moments this imagery is straight out of almost any western film that you could name. Additionally, other common traits of the western are gunfights, saloons, the empty vast landscape, the dastardly villain. These are all heavily present in The Walking Dead. Shane fulfilled this role in the first two seasons of the show with The Governor taking over this role in the third season. In season two of the show the character of Rick undergoes a major transformation when he blows away two guns in an abandoned saloon that is straight out of so many classic western films.

The most important and arguably the most distinctively “American” aspect of the western is the idea of conquering the frontier. This is one of the key myths in America’s mythology and the western was one of the best art forms that expanded upon this idea. Essentially, so many western films portray the American frontiersmen as good and noble people trying to civilize the hostile and uncivilized world that they find themselves in. This is exactly what is going on in The Walking Dead. Of course the “savages” who filled this landscape were Native Americans who were demonized in most of these films. John Ford’s The Searchers remains probably the best Western film to really examine this idea of what the “American’s” really thought about the Native Americans that they encountered. In the world of The Walking Dead the zombies take the place of the Native Americans as the savages who inhabit this vast landscape and are a constant threat to the settlers of this new world.

What makes The Walking Dead so fascinating to me is that it has reinvented the western film and it’s themes, plots and visual imagery make it very clear. Yet I think that many of the fans of the show have not reached this conclusion. I know that several of my students thought about this show in a completely new way once I brought this idea to them. Many of them said that they would never watch a western film because they cannot stand them and yet the absolutely love The Walking Dead. I am not proclaiming to be the only person to recognize this connection but nevertheless I would argue that the show’s popularity especially in America is very much rooted in it’s deep connection to western films. I also wonder if people needed to be reconnected with these myths and ideals after an event like September 11 or if perhaps since western films are in such great decline if the timing was simply right to bring back this ideology in a new and truly creative way.

Matthew Giordano