A very interesting mix, I know, but when it rains, it pours.... movies!
Barnyard (2006) Directed bySteve Oedekerk
Saw this with the nephews and a friend.
My major grief with this film is that the main characters were male...and were cows. As if children needed to be misled anymore. This film was teeming with an overwhelming amount of adult humor. Milk was substituted for alcohol and the film relied on a multitude of stereotypes to carry the characters through. The wise old donkey was voiced by Danny Glover and the wise cow who was the main FEMALE cow's sidekick was voiced by Wanda Sykes. It seems as if computer animation, excuse me.... computer animated animals... is the only way to make a children's film these days. One technology has replaced another, provingthat children alwasy love talking animals that tell too many adult-targeted jokes. But never fear...there is a TV series of Barnyard in pre-production["Barnyard" (2007) TV Series]. Oh, I can barely contain myself. All I can say, is mothers....teach your children the reality of cows and udders before they become udderly misled....
Foreign Correspondent (1940) Directed byAlfred Hitchcock
Saw with a classmate for my class on Short Shelf-Life Actresses.
If ever one didn't believe that it's possible to fall in love in a minute flat, this movie should set you straight again. The feminist in me was slightly disturbed that the male character sent the female love notes 10 minutes after meeting her.... one of which read "Do you believe in large families?" The lead female was a little too naive for my tastes and it was obvious why the actress, Laraine Day, didn't make it as a big star from this role.... the character was flat and a pushover. The majority of the film (all but the first five minutes) took place in Europe but the last minute and a half was gung-ho American to the extreme, a call to action for the U.S. to get their butts in gear and get involved in the war.
Week End (1967) Directed byJean-Luc Godard
solo viewing for film director class
This movie, to put it a little more politely, is a major mind-screw. I know it is supposed to be a political and social condemnation of the deteriorating French society, but what with all the burning car wrecks, plotting murder, Alice in Wonderland shtick and cannibalism, I wasn't sure quite how to handle it. I hope you are more intelligent than I am and can figure out all of the references that Godard makes to multiple works of literature, cinema and then-contemporary events.
Laura (1944) Directed byOtto Preminger
in-class viewing for short shelf-life actress class
A mind twister, a whodunit to the extreme. It's hard to give any details without going into the plot, but it did feature too many May-December romances for my taste. The lead female was involved in at least three romantic entanglements. If only every person was that irresistible.... we might have a lot more problems on our hands. A film noir. That means look at the use of shadows....among other things
Digging to China (1998) Directed byTimothy Hutton
solo viewing to research Cathy Moriarty for above class
Cathy Moriarty yet again plays the woman who smokes and drinks too much. Guess what? She dies less than a third of the way through the movie. The movie is about her two supposed daughters, specifically the youngest, Harriet and her befriending of Kevin Bacon playing a mentally handicapped man in the 1960s. I wonder how many actors and actresses hope to gain some recognition by playing this ever-intriguing role. The film relies on the misunderstandings most people had or have about the mentally handicapped. It was nice to see that some characters were not as judgemental of Bacon's character Ricky. The film is nothing extremely special, but a nice uplifting cutesy movie to watch on a popcorn night.
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