Oscars

I was wrong on the best picture winner and I am very happy about that. Very glad that Argo won and was very happy for Ben Affleck who has often been marginalized during his career. He is a talented filmmaker and deserves to be treated as such. As for the show itself there were way too many musical performances. The 2013 Oscars apparently thought they were the 2013 Grammy awards. The length of the show was astronomically long! The presenters were mostly boring, lackluster and completely out of place. The Oscars needs to generate some more interest in some of their awards because watching a show for almost four hours to see essentially five big awards is quite a terrible way to do things. In regards to Seth McFarlane, he was witty, crude, and downright sensational. He was able to put some life into this awful telecast and make the host at the very least seem relevant again. He will never be allowed to host this show again because his humor was too accurate and biting. The man is a genus and in my opinion was the best Oscar Host since Bob Hope. Thoughts?

Best Picture

Just so it is once again on the record Les Miserable is winning the best picture tonight though it may not be announced until 1:00 AM. This oscar telecast is borderline unwatchable with and endless parade of awards that no one cares about and time begin wasted to promote all of the 10 best picture nominees simply to sell the films. That is what the Oscars are about selling the films pure and simple. The true artistic and great films of the year hardly ever win the best picture award. Notice how long is spent showing previews for the best picture nominees and also notice how the awards are being spread out amongst different films so that the films can sell themselves as academy award winning films.  I will explain this further in class during our next meeting. Seth McFarlane remains the only good thing about this telecast.

Oscars

Seth MacFarlane's opening monologue was brilliant! Funny, edgy, and just brilliantly put together. Including William Shatner as Captain Kirk was a nice touch as was incorporating Channing Tatum, Charlize Theron, Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph Gordon Levitt. He also showcased his brilliant singing voice and demonstrated how effortlessly he was able to transition from comedy to music. The song choices were great and give credit to the above named stars who participated in that opening. Truly excellent.

Best PIcture Winners

http://www.indiewire.com/article/watch-a-retrospect-on-all-84-best-picture-oscar-winners?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Indiewire+Awards+Season+Roundup&utm_content=#.USpWLYstiyU.facebook

My Week With Marilyn

Looking at a specific time period in a persons life is a great way to focus a screenplay and create a highly entertaining Hollywood film. So many stories have been told about Marilyn Monroe and yet this film seems fresh, fun, and as such a hint of sadness to it. The film follows a young British man named Colin who is trying to break into the movie business. Thanks to his family connections he is able to get a job as a third assistant director on Laurence Olivier's new film which also stars Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn Monroe takes a special shine to Colin and the two spend a week together. Kenneth Branagh is one of the most underrated actors of the last thirty years and he is great as Sir Laurence Olivier. Eddie Redmayne is also excellent in his role as Colin the naive boy who falls in love with Marilyn Monroe only to have his heart broken. Of course it is MIchelle Williams who steals the show as Marilyn Monroe. Although Williams does not look exactly the same as the real Marilyn Monroe she is able to capture her star persona and mix it with an excellent portrayal of letting us see how severely damaged of a person Marilyn Monroe was. . As such it is Williams who anchors the story and is able to leave the audience once again awe of what Marilyn Monroe was really like. Emma Watson also takes a small but pivotal role in the film in which she proves that her role to stardom is already underway. It is a very tight and engaging period piece that should have gotten more recognition that it got. Check out My Week With Marilyn.

American Pop

This animated feature film was released in 1981. It was an animated feature with adult orientated content. Very much like the movie Heavy Metal. Essentially it was R rated content in the animated world and for that alone it is worth watching to see how a Hollywood animated film would handle making an animated film for adults. This was before Japanese anime really took hold in the American film market. The animation is also very crude and lacks background depth that we take fro granted in animation today. It weaves together a great story of how an immigrant comes to America escaping great peril and how despite his talent suffers several tragedies that essentially leads him to adopt a life of crime. It then follows his son, his grandson and his great grandson over the course of a roughly forty year period. There are times when the film's story works remarkably well and then there are times when it falls flat on it's face. The film is anchored but it's soundtrack which does serve as a great historical account of how American music developed into Rock N Roll even if some of the song choices are spotty at best. However, other song choices work remarkably well. The film's plot does serve as a good anchor of American history leading us through early European immigration from the turn of the twentieth century through the prohibition movement to World War I and World War II as well as into the 1960s Hippie generation. What is very strange about the plot is that eventually the film's heroine achieves his success by being a drug dealer and this is how he is able to transition to another life. All I can say is that there are many strange themes that Hollywood tackled especially in films from the 1960's onward through the early 1980s. This film is worth checking out for a variety of reasons even though at times the plot does fall flat on it's face. This film despite these flaws does hold a special place in my heart because as a boy I vividly remember seeing the film advertised on several tapes that I rented from Blockbuster video and as such it become a film that at some point in my life I had to see because the visual imagery I saw in the previews as a kid fascinated me. Check out American Pop.

Oscar Night

I will be blogging during the Academy Awards on Sunday. As such I will make a few predictions right now which will probably prove that I know Hollywood better then most people or that I have no clue about how Hollywood actually works. Prediction one Les Miserables sweeps every major category it is nominated for. Jennifer Lawrence wins best actress. Hugh Jackman wins best actor. Anne Hathaway winds best supporting actress. More thoughts coming!

The Perks of Being A Wallflower

Quite simply put I was completely blown away by this film. It was funny, touching, and at times exceptionally disturbing. Yet it handled the emotional changes in an almost seamless way. Most films that deal with deeply troubling issues of abuse of any kind tend to let the shock value of a certain event or events take center stage but that is not done in this film. The main character Charlie through his friendships learns to experience life in a new way and learns to let go of his guilt. It is rare to have a film this emotionally powerful work so well as a film. A lot of people are talking about the film's soundtrack which is brilliant and in that regard along with it's high school setting comparing it to movies like The Breakfast Club. The difference is that although The Breakfast Club is a great movie it does not take as sincere and as deep a look into the darkness of bigotry and adolescent abuse as The  Perks of Being A Wallflower does. The character of Patrick does a wonderful job of showing how humor and flamboyance are often a cover used to deal with much deeper issues like anger. Anger at an ignorant world around them that will not let people like Patrick be who they are. Emma Watson has found the perfect movie to break away from the world of Harry Potter. She portrays an extremely complex, endearing and loving character in Sam. There is a resilience in her character that gives her an inner strength that few female characters ever truly display in mainstream Hollywood films. The ensemble cast was great and every character filed their role perfectly. Paul Rudd was perfect in his role as Charlie's quasi mentor/teacher. It was also nice to see it mentioned how there are an outstanding number of teachers who truly care about and inspire their students. So often behind every success story a teacher has had some small role in helping to develop and shape people who have gone on to utilize their talent and achieve great things. Few films are able to blend comedy and tragedy seamlessly together and hold your attention for the duration of a film. That is to me what makes this film so truly special. Lastly, this film is about the journey and character transformation of Charlie. Charlie is easy to miss and he is easy to make fun of. A true wallflower to say the least. But what a brilliant job this film does to show us how cruel, stupid and ignorant students can be in high school and how most of this hate and bigotry comes from their parents. What a great way of examining and letting it unfold over the course of the film as to why Charlie is the way he is. Also add in some Hollywood magic and in many ways like the ending of Little Miss Sunshine if you do not have a smile on your face at the last scene after enduring Charlie's journey I don't know what to say. Absolutely brilliant!

Skyfall

First and foremost James Bond has never been my favorite film franchise. I respect it's longevity as a franchise as well as respecting it's rightful place in film history. However, I have personally never been a massive fan of the franchise. That all began to change when Daniel Craig took over as the new James Bond. I was captivated by his performance in Casino Royale and really enjoyed the film. Skyfall has become one of the most anticipated and hyped movies of the year. My expectations were pretty high and I was excited to see this film. Overall, I think Skyfall was a good film that fell a bit short of being great. The bad? The movie was quite long and at times, especially after the film's opening sequence, was quite boring. It did not advance the plot in any meaningful way. In fact it actually takes the viewer out of the narrative because the real meat of the story does not develop until much later into the second act. The film's plot could have been tighter. Daniel Craig although solid in the role does not really bring anything extra special to this film. Granted James Bond is one of the most formulaic and rigid film characters that exists. So the fresh face of Bond with Daniel Craig was worn out by this time in my opinion. Now for the good and borderline great. Javier Bardem was simply astonishing in this film. His screen presence for me was the closest thing I have seen on film to Anthony Hopkin's performance in The Silence of The Lambs. In fact I think the film missed an opportunity not to introduce this villain immediately in the film and give us way more screen time with him. His entrance into the film however, is the stuff of movie legend and was exceptionally well done. In short this film is worth watching just to see Javier Bardem. He is exceptional! The opening title sequence with Adele's beautiful song Skyfall was brilliant and was one of the most brilliant opening credit sequences I have seen in a long long time. The images in the sequence also foreshadow major events in the film which was exceptionally well done. Judi Dench as M is beyond terrific as always and her story in the film was handled incredibly well. The film also looks beautiful and the camera work was exceptional. Sam Mendes proved that he can be adept at making an action adventure type film that is quite good. His other work includes American Beauty, Revolutionary Road, and The Road To Perdition, just to name a few. My only other gripe was that Ralph Fiennes also was deserving of way more screen time then he receives. Overall, I think Skyfall could have been a truly great film but I think it falls short of that goal. However, it was definitely a good film and one of the better entries into the James Bond franchise. Well worth watching!

Happy Gilmore

There was once a time when Adam Sandler was considered to be very funny. In my humble opinion there is no finer display of this then in Happy Gilmore and in Billy Madison. These two particular films really showcased that Adam Sandler could in fact carry an entire film and that his star power would resonate with audiences for years to come. What Happy Gilmore reminded about Adam Sandler is that he was at one point not afraid to put his characters in ridiculous situation, act immature, and in many ways come off as completely wacky people. This film gave us the infamous fight between Bob Parker and Adam Sandler. A scene that has become a classic moment in comedy. Carl Weathers has a great turn as Happy's instructor. One may forget that Ben Stiller takes a small but exceptionally funny role as the head of a nursing home who forces the residents there to make bootleg merchandise that he sells on the side. This film will never win a major award, it has been panned by most film critics and yet this film is exceptionally well known and beloved by a wide array of people. It reminds us that not every film needs to take itself so serious and that movies can be light, fun and enjoyable. Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore remain two of my favorite movies of all time.

Flight

Denzel Washington once again turns in a truly terrific and heartfelt performance in Flight. Portraying a severely flawed and damaged human being while at the same time being able to convince us that this very same character is all the more tragic because of his extraordinary talent is something very few actors can pull off. As such there are few actors in the business if any who are better then Denzel Washington. A truly tragic fall from grace is the cornerstone of any great tragedy but what makes Flight unique in these regards is that we get to only see one real instance of the incredible talent that William "Whip" does in fact possess. Essentially, when we meet William is already damaged almost beyond repair. The fact that people suffering from various forms of addiction are usually severely emotionally depressed people who abuse substances in order to make up for their own feelings of inadequacy amongst other things is a key theme to the film. Like any great character portrayal the real enjoyment of watching Flight is waiting to see if William will ever finally accept personal responsibility for his own actions. Lastly, Robert Zemeckis may perhaps be the most underrated American filmmaker. His films have included The Back To The Future Trilogy, Forrest Gump, Cast Away and Who Framed Roger Rabbit amongst others. Zemeckis has a great knack for telling a story and using all of the cinematic techniques at his disposal to create extremely vibrant and detailed worlds that in many ways resemble reality but in fact feel very much like they are rooted in a fairytale. His settings always make us slightly aware that this is not reality but instead a tale designed to make us wonder at the magic of film and maybe learn an emotional truth along the way. Check out Flight! Thoughts?

Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane has aruably become one of the most polarizing films amongst young film students. Academically and critically the film has won much praise for twice topping the AFI top 100 list of best American movies. As such this film is often a staple of first year film studies across universities throughout the country. I cannot help but wonder if the film suffers from being on top because automatically a film student is looking for flaws in the film. To be fair most film's are viewed in relation to how they present their narrative. As such the film is essentially a biography on William Randolph Hearst who was one of the most influential and wealthiest men in American history. Orson Wells made the film as a loose biopic that really exposed how a person like William Randolph Hearst could turn into such a tortured and seemingly angry soul. In fact Citizen Kane came under attack from William Randolph Hearst and thanks to his influence he was able to basically ensure that the film could never become a commercial hit. A powerful social and political figure using their influence to bury a "fictional" film is worthy of it's place in cinematic history. However, the true greatness of Citizen Kane is really apparent in the film's innovative use of shadows, lighting, deep and soft focus and many other seemingly new cinematic conventions that became staples of Hollywood films even till this day. Now I would also argue that it is not the most compelling narrative film of all time, however, I do think it tells a complete story that is highly engaging. The film makes sharp social and politcal commentary especially in regards to the idea of money being able to influence and buy elections. A recent movie that in many ways attempts to do the same thing as Citizen Kane did is The Social Network. After watching Citizen Kane put the Social Network on not too soon after and I think you would be suprised at how closely those two films resemble each other. Now if you do not think that the Social Network is a great film I have nothing left to say to you. Just kidding. If you watch these two films I think you will see how far the influence of Citizen Kane and Orson wells really did reach.

Intoduction to Motion Picture Production

Our first paper will be due on Thursday February 21 2013. It will be on music in film. I will explain this in class tonight. There is a link to the paper specifics at the bottom of the page near the course syllabi. I will give you a hard copy of this tonight in class.
Thank you,
Professor Giordano

Non-Fiction Screenwriting Class

The Bowling For Columbine paper will be due on Tuesday February 12. If you need the handout for the paper that I gave out in class you can find it available at the bottom of this website near the course syllabus.
Thank you,
Professor Giordano

Hollywood Blockbuster News

The Star Wars A New Hope paper will be due on Thursday February 20 2013. Please watch the film before then and you can find the link below for the paper specifics. Thank you.

Professor Giordano

Assignment

Please post a response with your first name and please list the number of films that you have seen on this list and the number of films that you have not seen on this list. I would also like you to list the film on this list that you like the most and the film on this list that you like the least. Thank you.

Professor Giordano's Top 150 Films

Below please find a list of what I believe to be the best 150 films ever made. A few words of caution about this list. There are two more films then there should be. This list is not in order and hence even though a film may appear listed with a number that does not mean that is where I would actually rank it. Lastly, any best of list is highly subjective and meant to spark debate and hopefully inspire people to watch these films. I hope that you will examine this list. 

1) City of God (2002) 

2) Singing in The Rain (1952)

3) The Wizard of Oz (1939) 

4) A Clockwork Orange (1971) 

5) 2001 A Space Odyessy (1968)

6) Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

7) Clerks (1994) 

8) Slumdog Millionaire (2008) 

9) Braveheart (1995)

10) Gladiator (2000)

11) Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 

12) Star Wars A New Hope (1977)

13) Ben Hur (1959)

14) The Ten Commandments (1956) 

15) The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 

16) Amélie (2001) 

17) Big Fish (2003)

18) The Exorcist (1973)

19) The Godfather (1972)

20) The Godfather Part 2 (1974)

21) Goodfellas (1990) 

22) The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

23) Frankenstein (1931) 

24) Interview With a Vampire (1994) 

25) Schindler's List (1993) 

26) Saving Private Ryan (1998) 

27) Jurassic Park (1993) 

28) Jaws (1975)

29) E.T. (1982)

30) Blade Runner (1982) 

31) L.A. Confidential (1997)

32) Indiana Jones: Raiders of The Lost Ark (1981) 

33) Sin City (2005) 

34) The Dark Knight (2008) 

35) Psycho (1960) 

36) North by Northwest (1959)

37) Rocky (1976)

38) Donnie Darko (2001) 

39) The Lion King (1994) 

40) Spirited Away (2001)

41) Pulp Fiction (1994) 

42) Being John Malkovich (1999)

43) Alien (1979) 

44) Airplane (1980)

45) The Matrix (1999) 

46) Dark City (1998)

47) The Sixth Sense (1999) 

48) Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

49) Forrest Gump (1994) 

50) Malcolm X (1992)

51) Do The Right Thing (1989)

52) American History X (1998)

53) The 25th Hour (2002)

54) All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

55) Back to the future (1985) 

56) Groundhog Day (1993) 

57) Fight Club (1999)

58) The Social Network (2010)

59) Seven Samurai (1954)

60) American Beauty (1999)

61) Requiem for A Dream (2000) 

62) Oldboy (2003)

63) Amadeus (1984) 

64) Kill Bill Volume 1 (2003)

65) The Princess Bride (1987)

66) The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

67) Downfall (2004)

68) Monsters Inc. (2001)

69) Harry Potter and the deathly Hollows Part 2 (2011)

70) The Wrestler (2008)

71) Brazil (1985)

72) Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)

73) Fargo (1996) 

74) The Big Lebowski (1998)

75) Casablanca (1942)

76) Gone With The Wind (1939)

77) The Usual Suspects (1995)

78) Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

79) Ed Wood (1994)

80) Ghostbusters (1984)

81) Aladdin (1992)

82) The Dirty Dozen (1967)

83) History of the World Part 1 (1981)

84) Spaceballs (1987)

85) Carlitos Way (1993)

86) Unforgiven (1992) 

87) Ran (1985)

88) The Grapes of Wrath (1940) 

89) Once Upon A Time in the West (1968)

90) Mission Impossible (1996)

91) Love Actually (2003)

92) Sideways (2004)

93) As Good as It Gets (1997)

94) El Mariachi (1992)

95) Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)

96) American Pie (1999)

97) Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)

98) Doctor Zhivago (1965)

99) Scream (1996)

100) Halloween (1978)

101) The Lives Of Others (2006)

102) Citizen Kane (1941)

103) Life is Beautiful (1997)

104) Bonnie and Clyde

105) King Kong (1933)

106) Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

107) Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

108) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

109) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

110) Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)

111) Blazing Saddles (1974)

112) Young Frankenstein (1974)

113) Toy Story(1995)

114) Pinocchio (1940)

115) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

116) Paths of Glory (1957)

117) Dr. Strange Love or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

118) The Shining (1980)

119) A Bronx Tale (1993)

120) Hotel Rwanda (2004)

121) Les Miserables (1998)

122) Chinatown (1974)

123) One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

124) Rosemary's Baby (1968)

125) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

126) Animal House (1978)

127) Midnight Cowboy (1969)

128) The Graduate (1967)

129) Spartacus (1960)

130) The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966)

131) Reservoir Dogs (1992)

132) The King's Speech (2010)

133) Good Will Hunting (1997)

134) X Men First Class (2011)

135) Aliens (1986)

136) Twelve Monkeys (1995)

137) It's A Wonderful Life (1946)

138) The Best years of Our Lives (1946)

139) The Great Escape (1963)

140) Scarface (1983)

141) Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)

142) In The Name of The Father (1993) 

143) The Truman Show (1998)

144) Alice In Wonderland (1951)

145) Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country (1991)

146) Star Trek (2009)

147) A League of Their Own (1992)

148) Hoosiers (1986) 

149) American Psycho (2000)

150) Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

151) Persepolis (2007)

152) Akira (1988)