Election

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

Election is a film that takes a look into a high school presidential election in a small suburban town. The film takes on some controversial topics such as infidelity, anti-establishment and homosexuality that were also examined in many other films of the late 90’s. In that sense the film has a similar feeling to late 90’s films such as American Beauty and Fight Club to a certain extent.

2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.)and summarize the content.

The New York Times review of Election titled, “Election (1999) film review; The Candidate: Dirty Tricks and Even Dirtier Minds” is an excellent and accurate review of the film. The article makes sure to acknowledge the film as a dark comedy and definitely recognizes how each individual actor played their part. The article also states that the entire film is a satire of the American electoral process. And even though the film has its fair share of goofy moments, none of them really take away from the story of good and evil that is portrayed in the film. The article then goes on to describe some of the basic plot points and introduces each one of the main characters and fairly describes each of their roles in the film. The article then finally concludes by making a connection of the films black comedy to the Wes Anderson film Rushmore.

http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C05EFDF133AF930A15757C0A96F958260

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

The New York Times article about Election is very accurate and very to the point. I agree with most of the things the writer of the article had to say about the film as well as the characters. However one thing the article pointed out that I did not notice when watching the film was that there were not any African American students at the school. Even in a place such as Nebraska it would be highly unlikely that the school would be filled entirely with white people. This could possibly be a message that the director of the film was trying to illustrate about the American voting system back in 1999. Aside from that one point the article definitely seemed to get the point of the movie and did not seem bothered by the quirkiness of some of the characters, especially Matthew Broderick. Broderick seems to drive the film with his unintentional comedy which is what really makes the film work. The New York Times article seemed to get that, which is a key part of understanding the film for what it is intended to be.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

The 90’s film Election is a highly entertaining black comedy featuring a younger Matthew Broderick and a young Reese Witherspoon. The film takes place at a seemingly average suburban town in Omaha Nebraska where Broderick is a school teacher that learns to despise one of his own students named Tracy (played by Witherspoon). The irony used throughout the film is one of its strongest points and is what makes the film so funny. The film starts off with Broderick trying to explain to his class the difference between morals and ethics before he ultimately is forced to face the reality of morals and ethics in his own personal life. Also each of the actors helped bring the script to life. The loser teacher, the uptight Tracy and ditsy jock all add up to make for a great comedy team. Overall the film was good and a definite change of pace from typical comedies. Election not only strived to be funny in bizarre ways, but it was also able to do so by commenting on the American electoral system.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( x) I have not handed in this assignment for any

other class. 2) (x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other

classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) (x ) If I used any passages word for word, I

put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 4) (x

) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in

the text of the paper. 5) ( x) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally

read. 6) ( x) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in

another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) (x ) I did not

so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 8) ( x) I

checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and

ideas used in my paper.

Name: ____Joe Katulak__________________ Date: _5/5/15

Three Kings

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

 The film Three Kings is an excellent example of proper film form. The film takes place at the end of the Gulf War in the Middle East, so in order to make a war zone like environment believable, the content needs to be very strong. The film seemed to use all practical effects and real guns for most of the movie, keeping everything very realistic. Everything in the film from the blood, Iraqi civilians, up to the exploding cow was realistic; making sure the audience is never taken out of the environment of the film.  As previously stated, the believable and realistic effects are necessary when making a film in a realistic war zone, and the film Three Kings did an excellent job of having the proper content to match the story.

2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content. You may use the library or the internet.

The article from Christian Spotlight about Three Kings had a different style of review than most other websites, but the review was still true to the film. The website reviewed the film for exactly what it was but paid closer attention to detail regarding anything that could have been related to strong republican beliefs or any Christian philosophies. The article recognizes the film as a strong political satire and states that “Most Republican conservative Christians will find troubling and offensive”. The article does also recognize that there are many elements of the film that are supposed to be viewed as a black comedy, which the review is rightful in doing so. There is also intended to be an overwhelming impression that the film is overly offensive. The article wrapped up by giving the film a morality rating of 2 (very offensive) but they still gave it 4 out of 5 stars for “moviemaking quality”.

http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/pre2000/threekings.html

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

Overall the article had no influence on my opinion of the film but it was definitely interesting to see how an extremely religious group would comment on a war movie. The writers of the article are clearly conservative and hold traditional conservative values. It was mostly interesting for me to notice how much material they found offensive that I may only think of as mild mannered. Acknowledging the fact that there are over 50 uses of the “f word” is pretty insane from my standpoint. It is simply a word, and the fact that the review made it a point to count the number of times the word was used is simply comical. Also the article points out, and is offended that there is a brief shot of a man’s buttocks.  A butt is something that every single person born on this earth has, so I feel that there is no need to take that much offense to a part of a person’s body. However, even though the article does somewhat criticize the film for being offensive, everything stated about the film is true, just with a different point of view on the subject matter which is completely respectable. To sum up, this article was a very interesting look at how some other political or religious groups may view various films that are put out each year from Hollywood.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

David O. Russell’s film, Three Kings appeared to be a very realistic take on the gulf war accompanied by some good Hollywood story telling. The film seemed like it had a lot of similarities to Stanley Kubrick’s war film Full Metal Jacket. Both films show a side of war that many other war films do not cover. The beginning scenes of Three Kings demonstrates some of the partying that goes on behind the scenes in war zones and also shows how heavily involved the media has become in wars, much like how the media gets involved in Full Metal Jacket. The four main actors do a great job of supporting the story, especially Mark Wahlberg and Spike Jonze, who not only add the element of comedy to the film, but also make the audience care for them as well. The good cinematography paired with the use of practical effects also helped for making a believable story. There was a lot of handheld camera work with zooms being used every so often which I think helped give a sensation similar to what it would be like shooting in a real warzone. Overall the film was very entertaining and a terrific satire on the war Gulf War, and will most likely hold a place among some of the other great war films of our time. 

He Got Game

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

Spike Lee’s film He Got Game utilizes the different settings as a very important aesthetic of the film. The different settings in the film go hand in hand with the emotions of each of the characters. For example, in the two scenes where Jesus is basketball with his father (once when young, and once when older) the darkness and emptiness of the basketball court makes the mood of the scene a little more moody and eerie.  Also the college environments Jesus is placed in are filled with parties and girls throwing themselves at him, which are essentially there just to appeal to him and influence him to attend a certain school. The same thing can be said about the agent’s house. The sports agent is clearly flashing all of his high priced items to try and entice Jesus to join the NBA early. Having specific or convincing settings is a requirement to help change the way certain characters and the audience think about a scene, and Spike Lee did a good job of using the various settings to help tell the story of He Got Game.

2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content. You may use the library or the internet.

The article form ESPN titled, “Ray Allen mulls 'He Got Game' sequel” discusses the recent talks between NBA star Ray Allen and Spike Lee about making a sequel to He Got Game. Ray Allen played the role of one of the lead characters in the film, Jesus Shuttlesworth.  Spike Lee has been in constant contact with Ray Allen and the two of them have been discussing the possibility of making a sequel to He Got Game over the past few months (at the time the article was written). Both Allen and Lee are aware that most sequels that come out are filled with fluff, and the two want to make sure that if they do create a sequel that it has a solid story to follow up the original film. Allen also made it known that if a sequel were to be released at any point that Denzel Washington and Rosario Dawson would be required actors to make the new story work.

http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/10260224/ray-allen-spike-lee-mull-got-game-sequel

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

It is definitely interesting to hear that a possible sequel to He Got Game is being considered. I am usually not a fan of sequels, especially ones that take place over fifteen years after the original film. However I feel that Spike Lee is a good enough director and admires basketball too much to go through with making a sequel and not give the film his all. He Got Game was a great story on its own though and I don’t think that it would be really necessary to add on to what has already been done. Then again I am not Spike Lee and have no idea what kind of story he may be thinking of to follow up the original film. If the film does end up ever getting made I could see this heavily influencing my opinion on Spike Lee. Every one of Spike Lee’s movies that I have seen does an amazing job of telling a story through moving pictures, and if he were to sacrifice the story telling aspect in any way just to make a sequel I think it would definitely hurt his reputation.  Ray Allen is 39 years old and is most likely towards the end of his career, and being that the story of He Got Game was heavily based on Allen’s character getting into college basketball/ The NBA it would be interesting to see what kind of story the sequel would have. Overall it was interesting to see that Spike Lee has been thinking about a sequel for He Got Game, but I am still unsure of what a sequel to that film would look like.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

Even though I think He Got Game has some flaws, the film is a very good twist on a somewhat traditional sports movie. The film is about a high school sports phenomenon that needs to make a tough decision on what to do with his basketball career after high school. However the twist comes when the basketball star’s father, played by Denzel Washington is a prisoner released on the condition that he has to convince his son, who he has not seen in years, to attend the governor’s al ma matter in exchange for being able to leave prison early. The film did many things great but there are two things that I think could have been changed or removed all together that would have helped improve the story. I was really intrigued by the dynamic between Mary (the daughter), her father and brother. She is the first main character that Denzel Washington see’s after he is released from prison but I feel like she was easily forgotten. She was very forgettable in the second and third act, if she was even there at all. Also the Dakota character played by Milla Jovovich was completely unnecessary.  I failed to see what actual purpose she had with story besides being sexual relief to Denzel Washington. Aside from those two issues with the story I thought the film did a great job of portraying the struggles that Ray Allen’s character and Denzel Washington’s characters had to go through. Also the music and cinematography were great as in most of Spike Lee’s films. I also really thought the ending was another great way to put a twist on traditional sports movies that usually finishes with a happy ending. We see that the governor probably had no intention of ever releasing Denzel Washington from prison even after Jesus choses the governor’s al ma matter. Even though I thought the story had a few flaws, the overall story was great and a good change of pace from most sports movies. 

Fargo

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

Fargo is the perfect Midwest, crime thriller created by the Coen Brothers. Joel and Ethan Coen worked together on the film, both helping to write and direct the film even though Joel was the only one given credit for directing. The Coen brothers got their start in the movie industry with their first crime film Blood Simple. Since then, the Coen brothers have written, directed and produced many timeless classics such as Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski and No Country for Old Men. However before they entered the film making industry, they each attended separate colleges. Joel, the older of the two brothers studied film at NYU, while Ethan earned a philosophy degree at Princeton University. The Coen brothers are a very accomplished team of film makers and have yet to announce any plans to retire.

2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.)and summarize the content. You may use the library or the internet.

The article from the Huffington Post titled, “5 Stories You Didn't Know About 'Fargo,'” As Told By The Movie's Main Villain”, is an interview with Peter Stormare, the actor who played Gaear Grimsrud in Fargo. In the interview we get a very close look at some of the things that went on behind the scenes during the making of Fargo. From the first question of the interview we learn that Stormare gave some advice to the Coen brothers that they actually used; the Coen brothers are known for following their own script very closely. In one of the final scenes with the wood chipper, Stormare advised the Coen brothers to have his character push the leg through the wood chipper with a block of wood which would be more realistic and also give his character a weapon to through at the police officer. Stormare also mentioned that even though the film was not based off of one true story, the Coen brothers have said that the idea for the story and characters were based off of things that they have witnessed or experienced growing up in the Midwest. Stomare also states how his character in the film, and Steve Buscemi’s character were completely opposite of how they were in real life; Stomare being the loud one and Buscemi being the quiet one. One of the most eerie responses from Stomare was about an incident that occurred after they had finished the cop killing scene. Apparently after they had finished shooting that night, the Coen brothers offered to take everyone to town to get pancakes. Buscemi and Stomare were still driving together in the same car and actually got pulled over by a police woman. Stomare said the incident went down similarly to how it went in the film, just minus the killing. Overall this interview was very interesting and gives a nice behind the scenes look to what goes on during the making of a Coen brothers film, especially since the Coen brothers seldom talk about their own work.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/17/fargo-movie-trivia-interview_n_6880346.html

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

The article did not change my opinion of the film at all (I already think very highly of the film and the directors) but it gave a very interesting look into what goes on behind the scenes of one of the Coen brothers dark crime dramas. I always enjoy watching Peter Stomare in the Coen brothers films so it was especially nice hear from him about what it’s like behind the scenes. It is nice to hear from one of the cast members that there actually is some truth to the opening titles of the film that state the film is based off a true story. I remember feeling a little betrayed when I first found out from the credits that the film and all of its characters were fictitious, so it’s nice to know that there is some truth to the opening titles. The anecdote about Buscemi and Stomare was pretty amusing as well, it doesn’t change the story for me at all but it does help prove that a lot can happen in the middle of nowhere. Lastly the article confirmed that the strange symbol in the credits was put there actually to give credit to the artist Prince. Even though he was able to make it into the film due to his record company, it is nice to see that the Coen brothers were able to give their friend Prince some type of credit in the film.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

Fargo is a brilliant piece of storytelling that has already withstood the test of time and will continue to do so for many years to come. The opening scene of the film sets up the whole story so perfectly. It fades in from all white to a barely visible snowy road with the epic theme song playing to introduce one of our main characters driving none other than the tan Sierra. Besides just introducing the main character, the opening scene sets the world and the environment that the movie will be taking place in. Then in the next scene where we finally meet Jerry Lundegaard and the two villians, Lundegaard’s strong over exaggerated accent lets the audience know that we are in the Midwest. The characters in this movie really set the audience in the Midwestern environment but more importantly, each character has their own distinct personality and character traits that serve a specific purpose in the movie. We see how Jerry’s sleazy personality ultimately leads to his downfall and how Carl Showalters’s loud mouth leads to his downfall. The characters and cinematography are outstanding throughout the film, but the brilliance of the film all leads back to the script written by the Coen brothers. The story itself is incredibly interesting; a man wants his own wife to be kidnapped to gain ransom money from his father in law. This is an incredibly interesting jumping off point, which is essentially the plot point the drives the entire story. The Coen brothers do an outstanding job of making the audience believe the story is true from start to finish and could not have been done without the great script, crazy characters, beautiful cinematography and last but not least the epic score.  Fargo is a near perfect example of how to tell a story with moving pictures and deserves a place in film history with some of the best.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) (x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 2) ( x) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) (x ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 4) ( x) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 5) ( x) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 6) (x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) (x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 8) ( x) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: ____Joe Katulak________________ Date: ___4/7/15______

Dazed and Confused

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

Richard Linklater is for sure one of the best directors and story tellers since the 1990’s. He does an excellent job of taking stories with very little or no plot and making them interesting. He knows how to create characters that appear realistic but also have their very own unique personality. Dazed and Confused, Boyhood, and Slacker are three of his more popular movies that follow the idea of telling a story without much of a plot. Dazed and Confused follows a group of high school students on the last day of school, and while it’s a highly entertaining movie there is little very little plot compared to many typical Hollywood movies. A similar concept is used in Slacker, as well as Linklater’s latest film Boyhood. Both films follow a similar story structure without much of a plot but in the case of Boyhood and Dazed and Confused, Linklater does an amazing job of telling his stories through the development and growth of his characters. Linklater also has the great ability to make his dialogue sound very natural which makes the movie very easy to relate to as an audience.

2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content.

The article from The Hollywood Reporter titled “Richard Linklater Spills Secrets on His Films, From 'Dazed and Confused' to 'Boyhood'”, discusses some of Linklater’s more well known works and how he became the director that he is today. Linklater made his first experimental film in 1991 called Slacker. The movie does not really have an actual plot but it was made on an extremely small budget of only $23,000 and is now seen as a cult classic. That led Linklater to his next film Dazed and Confused. Linklater included a lot from his personal life in Dazed and Confused as he would have been 16 years old at the time when the movie took place. Dazed and Confused is a little more structured than Slacker but still lacks a traditional plot line that most movies have. "I've largely replaced the notion of conventional story with a time structure," says Linklater. Dazed and Confused was not instantly recognized by critics and audiences but quickly gained a following once it was released on video. Linklater’s overall success from Dazed and Confused let him to work on future movies such as Before Sunrise, Waking Life, Scanner Darkly and his most recent Boyhood, which all follow loose story structures and reasonably low budgets. Even though his movies appear to have lose stories, Linklater focuses a lot on getting the movie right on the script first which he thinks gives his films a lot more structure than many people think. Linklater has his own style of writing and directing and it the reason why he has been able to make so many unique pieces.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class.

The article from The Hollywood Reporter which summarizes Linlater’s more memorable films and gives insight to him as a director. Linklater’s style is definitely apparent in his 1993 film Dazed and Confused. Dazed and Confused has a fairly lose plot line as do many of Linklater’s other films. Even though there is little plot in the film, the final product was most likely very similar to the original script that Linklater wrote. The article definitely supported my current opinion of Linklater as a writer and director. In my opinion he is one of the great auteur style directors of our time. He knows how to create these great stories that may be based off of true events or personal stories and he knows how to put the thoughts from his mind onto the screen. He is a visionary in the true literal sense of the word, and Dazed and Confused makes that very apparent. Linklater was able to take some of his own personal experiences from high school in the 1970’s and capture them with a great cast of characters.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/richard-linklater-spills-secrets-his-757621

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as aresult of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

Richard Linklater’s film Dazed and Confused, sheds a light on what it was like to be a teenager in Texas in the 70’s. The film has a great set of characters, and without them the movie would be nothing. Even though the film takes place in the 70’s, many of the themes and events that take place in the film can apply to teenagers from any time period. One of the other reasons why the film is so great is because it is such a good hangout movie. The dialogue between the characters is so smooth and natural that at times when watching the movie you feel like you are actually with the characters in each scene. The also does a great job of not singling out any particular group or clique, when watching the film as an audience you get to learn about all the different groups that make up a school as a whole. You see the freshman, misfits, stoners, and jocks all interacting in one place, giving you the feeling of what it what be like to be at that school. Lastly, one of the biggest reasons why the characters are developed so well is because of the script that was written by Linklater. The banter back and forth between characters makes the movie flow very well and the comments he makes on school and authority figures reassures you what life would have been like growing up in the 70’s. Overall, Linklater’s film is a cult classic and I think will forever be seen as a movie that defines what it’s like being a teenager in the 1970’s. 

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( x) I have not handed in this assignment for any

other class. 2) ( x) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other

classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) (x ) If I used any passages word for word, I

put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 4) (

x) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in

the text of the paper. 5) ( x) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally

read. 6) (x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in

another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) (x ) I did not

so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 8) (x ) I

checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and

ideas used in my paper.

Name: _____Joe Katulak_______________ Date: __3/31/15________

Unforgiven

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

Unforgiven is a classic American Western. We follow Clint Eastwood as he searches the west to hunt down and kill a couple of outlaws who slashed up a woman’s face. This film can be seen as a revitalization of westerns being that it showed respect many of the great early westerns such as Stagecoach and The Searchers. All of these three movies follow the tale of an outlaw, played by Clint Eastwood and John Wayne in their respective movies. The Searchers and Unforgiven both have a very obvious connection being that the outlaws in each of the stories are out looking for men that have done some kind of wrong to a woman.

2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content. You may use the library or the internet.

The article “Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven and the Western Tradition” is a review of the film Unforgiven and is a critique on Westerns and how Unforgiven fits into that category. The article states that the film attempts to justify the motives of Munny, and does a fairly good job even though his actions are not in fact justified. However the article also states that some of the motives of the main characters do not add up with typical westerns. The article states that the motives for each of the characters in the film were either for glory or money which is opposite of traditional westerns. The article states that a typical western is about a man of leisure and that involving a desire of material wealth will take away from the story. Also the article makes a point to say the Munny does not start off alone as a typical westerner does; Munny begins his journey with the kid and Ned. Overall the article appeared to be pleased with the film but ultimately seems to be rejecting it as a true western.

http://www.cod.edu/people/faculty/pruter/film/unforgiven.htm

 3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

This article was a good review of the plot of the story and brought up some good points critiquing the film as a western that I had not previously thought of. However there were a few main points that I did not completely agree with. The writer of the article makes the point about how Munny doesn’t start off on his own unlike many other westerns. This is a point in which I half agree on because even though this is true, I still see Munny as a lone ranger type simply working with others. This same type of situation can be compared to The Searchers in the sense that both characters end up working with other people in order to complete a shared objective. A similar argument can also be made regarding the pursuit of wealth. In Unforgiven, Munny, Ned and the Kid are on this hunt for the sake of getting a reward. The search for wealth or a reward can also be said about The Good the Bad and The Ugly, another one of Clint Eastwood’s films. The article was a good critique of the film but I think it didn’t see the bigger picture of the film. I see the film as a very classic western tale that uses many concepts of traditional or classic westerns.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

Unforgiven is a near perfect modern take on the classic western genre. Many comparisons can be made to this film especially from classic westerns such as, Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Good the Bad and The Ugly. I see the film as some kind of combination of all three of those films. There are saloon shoot outs much like in Stagecoach, a man searching the west for a woman or in this case fighting for a woman similar to The Searchers, and lastly making a long journey for money like in The Good the Bad and the Ugly. Out of all of these three films I especially see a strong connection to The Searchers. The main characters in both films appears to be fairly alone in their lives, even though they each have some kind of family with them in the beginning. Also both films seem to focus heavily on the journey to their final destination and then when arriving at their final destination the story they thought they knew has changed. For example, Munny heard a list of terrible things that happened to the one prostitute from the kid, when fact the story was much exaggerated. More important than the final destination of both characters is the concept that both the protagonist are looking to provide some kind of rescue or salvation to a woman, which each film executed very well. The film was directed and acted wonderfully by Eastwood and in my opinion he left the movie feeling like a true western.  

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( ) I have not handed in this assignment for any

other class. 2) ( ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other

classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) ( ) If I used any passages word for word, I

put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 4) (

) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in

the text of the paper. 5) ( ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally

read. 6) ( ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in

another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) ( ) I did not

so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 8) ( ) I

checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and

ideas used in my paper.

Name: _Joe Katulak_______________ Date: __3/10/14________

Sex, Lies, and Videotape

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

“Sex, Lies, and Video Tape” is one of the earlier films written and directed by academy award winner Steven Soderbergh. Soderbergh left his home in 1963 to move to LA to start his career in the film making industry. He got his start in the industry with a documentary and two short films, which ultimately led him to write and direct his first feature film, “Sex, Lies and Videotape”. Since then, he has worked on and directed much more well known titles such as “Gray’s Anatomy”, “Erin Brockovich” and “Oceans Eleven”.

2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content. You may use the library or the internet.

The article from indiewire titled, “How Steven Soderbergh’s ’sex, lies and videotape’ Still Influences Sundance After 25 Years” takes a look at how Soderbergh’s film heavily influenced the Sundance Film Festival and independent movies all together. “Sex, Lies, and Videotape” was done on a relatively small budget of only 1.2 million and was a big help in the beginning of the independent film movement. Soderbergh shot the film in a very natural way and even operated the camera for parts of the film. The high approval of his film at Sundance helped turn Sundance into an “industry event”. Even with Soderbergh’s big success in Hollywood, he has recently retired from film making to explore other forms of art while he still has the chance. Soderbergh also left commenting on how increasingly competitive the film making industry is becoming since more and more small budget films are being made separate from the big studios.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/how-steven-soderberghs-sex-lies-and-videotape-still-influences-sundance-after-25-years

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

Overall this article from indiewire gave me a little more insight and respect to Steven Soderbergh. I have a very similar opinion on the movie industry to what he does and I think it is very interesting that the article explored that. Since Soderbergh showed “Sex, Lies, and Videotape” at Sundance, the film making industry has definitely changed for the better in my opinion. Sundance lets filmmakers showcase their films that were most likely not funded by big movie studios. This gives filmmakers the chance to show their work to a large audience and even potentially sell their movie to make money off of it. This is great because now all filmmakers, including writers and directors now have more freedom to make the movies that they want to make, where as if they went through the studio system, the movie might not have been made all together. Sundance has helped give birth to many popular films and cult classics such as “Reservoir Dogs” and “Memento”and is currently very influential in the film making industry.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

“Sex, Lies, and Videotape” is a great examination of what individuals think about privately regarding relationships and sex. The story itself is very intriguing as it examines parts of human psychology that I would assume is interesting or a curious topic to many people, including myself. The film is not really graphic in any way but the audience still gets the allusion of intimacy between a lot of the characters. This is especially prevalent at the end when we see the final tape of Graham and Ann. I specifically liked how Soderbergh went about showing the final tape. He went in an almost non- linear approach, by showing it later on as opposed to when Graham and Ann were actually shooting the tape. With all that being said the film was intriguing, entertaining and is also a staple in independent film history.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( ) I have not handed in this assignment for any

other class. 2) ( ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other

classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) ( ) If I used any passages word for word, I

put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 4) (

) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in

the text of the paper. 5) ( ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally

read. 6) ( ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in

another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) ( ) I did not

so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 8) ( ) I

checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and

ideas used in my paper.

Name: __Joe Katulak_____________________ Date: _3/4/15_________

Do the Right Thing

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening

Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” was a great piece that had a lot of meaning to both Spike Lee as well as the black community. Lee grew up in Cobble Hill Brooklyn and went to Morehouse College where he made his first film. Lee started working in the film making industry writing and directing his own movies that started as small budget pictures. His first feature titled, “She’s Gotta Have It” was made on only a 175 thousand dollar budget. “Do the Right Thing” was Lee’s third feature after “She’s Gotta Have It” and “School Daze”. “Do the Right Thing” received great reviewers by critics as it did a great job of showing that issues of racial discrimination and black identity still needed to be dealt with.

2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content. You may use the library or the internet.

The CNN article written by Todd Leopold takes a look back at Spike Lee’s film, “Do the Right Thing” and how it is still relevant in society today. The article starts off by discussing how the film originally impacted viewers after it was first released in 1989. In 1989 many critics and movie commentators believed that the film would cause trouble and riots, much like the one happened at the end of Lee’s film. However that was not at all the case; the film provoked talk among more urban communities and was seen as a reason to start a change for many. One of the great things about the film is that it is something that everyone in America can emphasize with, said Roger Ebert. The last major point that the article drives home is that race issues are still here in America, and even though we have a black president, racial discrimination is not over in America.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

This article from CNN definitely influenced and altered the way I perceived Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing”. The first time I saw the film I thought it was a little self-righteous of Spike Lee to make a film that seemed to be promoting violence in urban communities. However, after watching it a second time in class and reading the article, the film stands for much more than that. The film explores how racial discrimination still is potent by both blacks and whites in urban environments. Also the film does a great job of exploring abuse of power and police brutality, which is shown in the film by the NYPD. This is most definitely still a problem as there have been ongoing cases in America about police brutality. Overall the article form CNN did a good job of summarizing the movie but more importantly establishing the deeper meaning of the film.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/20/spike.lee.right.thing/

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

Spike Lee’s film “Do the Right Thing” is a great examination of how New York City was culturally back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. The film explores what it’s like in an urban NYC community on the hottest day of the year. The film does an excellent job of conveying through pictures that it really is the hottest day of the year; the warm bright colors used in the film help portray how hot it really is outside. Because of the temperature, tempers flare up and conflicts arise out of small issues such as a bike rider bumping into a person of the street, and a pizza place only hanging up pictures of famous Italian people.  What makes the film so powerful though is not just the small conflicts, it’s the racial discrimination that arises from these small conflicts that show how people from that time period are, and how they behave. Issues shown in the film such as rioting is a product of the environment and how police choose to use force on citizens. This is still an ongoing issue in cities in the United States today and is the biggest reason why the film should be seen and understood by everyone.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( ) I have not handed in this assignment for any

other class. 2) ( ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other

classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) ( ) If I used any passages word for word, I

put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 4) (

) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in

the text of the paper. 5) ( ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally

read. 6) ( ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in

another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) ( ) I did not

so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 8) ( ) I

checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and

ideas used in my paper.

Name: _Joe Katulak__________________ Date: _2/24/15_________________

Blue Velvet

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

David Lynch shows his dark side once again in the mystery, crime thriller “Blue Velvet”. The use of dark imagery really sets Lynch’s style apart from most other directors, and that feeling is definitely prevalent here in “Blue Velvet”. It appeared that many of the scenes used a lot of natural light in combination with some small additional light sources to give the film a very dark and surreal feeling. Also the use of violent imagery is definitely present throughout the movie. Because of Lynch’s style, he was never really afraid of going too far in the film when it comes to violence. His use of violence, specifically domestic abuse, really help to drive along the story.

2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content. You may use the library or the internet.

The article from the New York Times, titled, “David Lynch, Still Disturbing After 20 Years”, discusses David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet” and how dark and surreal it was compared to many other mystery movies that were made around the same time. Terrence Rafferty, the writer of the article mentions how the violence that takes place in the film is not something that is entirely new to audiences, but the way that Lynch goes about telling his story is a little more twisted and surreal than most. Lynch does a very good job of transitioning between a light hearted teen drama, and a dark twisted mystery which is definitely apparent when scenes transition between daytime and nighttime. The writer also points out that what is so interesting about “Blue Velvet” is the reaction from audiences in 1986 as well as today. Even though movies have changed a lot since 1986, things that are weird or strange have proven to stay weird or strange throughout time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/26/movies/26raff.html?_r=0

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

Overall, I agree with what the author had to say about the film. Saying that the film is still disturbing even after being out for over twenty years is definitely true, and an excellent point made by the writer. “Blue Velvet” uses themes that are common in even today’s movies which is why the film can still be appealing to movie watchers today. The article definitely supported my opinion on David Lynch, and actually made me more curious about his work. Knowing now the reputation that Lynch has with making movies, I’m curious to see what some of his more bizarre work contains.  One thing I was really happy about was that the article mentioned how the film goes back and forth between the feeling of a teen drama and a dark crime thriller. This is the exact feeling that I had during the movie. Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern’s characters each give the film a very 80’s vibe without much a feeling of darkness.  However the parts with Dennis Hopper's character are much more dark and give a much more uncomfortable feeling to the audience. Overall this article from the New York Times summarized and described “Blue Velvet” very well.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

“Blue Velvet” is an 80’s movie but not your typical one.  The film is a straight up mystery thriller that has a very different tone than what many people assimilate with other 80’s movies. In one of the opening scenes, the character Jeffrey finds a severed ear out in an open field, leading him to start asking questions to the local police. This scene does a great job of setting the tone in the movie, and Lynch builds off that tone throughout the movie, while also increasing suspense. Also, fairly early on in the movie we see Dorothy Vallens getting abused in her apartment through the point of view of Jeffrey. This scene also sets up some other potential events that happen throughout the movie but in my opinion it increases dramatic tension and suspense. Pulling off scenes like this is what I think gives Lynch a style of his own. Some of the takes in scenes where there was abuse appeared to be very long, making them almost uncomfortable to watch,
but in a good way. And being that “Blue Velvet” is a mystery, Lynch does a good job of making sure the audience is aware of everything that the main character is aware of. Overall “Blue Velvet” is a great mystery thriller and I would recommend it to anyone who likes dark and mysterious stories.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 2) ( ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) ( ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 4) () I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 5) ( ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 6) ( ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) ( ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 8) ( ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: _Joe Katulak_________________ Date: __2/17/15________

The King of Comedy

The King of Comedy

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening

As mentioned in the text, “The King of Comedy” is one of Martin Scorsese’s most underrated films. “The King of Comedy” came out in 1982 following two of Scorsese’s biggest films of all time, “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull”.  In “The King of Comedy” Robert De Niro plays a very different role than he has in some of Scorsese’s previous films but he still plays it just as he does in any of his previous films. Rupert Pupkin, the main character in “King of Comedy” is a calmer but still slightly psychotic character so he is not too different than some of the other roles De Niro has played under Scorsese.

2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content. You may use the library or the internet.

The article, “'The King Of Comedy' At Tribeca: Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis & Martin Scorsese Celebrate 30 Years Of Cult Classic” takes a look back at “King of Comedy with interviews and comments from director Martin Scorsese and some of the main actors from the film. The film was screened in New York in 2013 at the Tribeca Film Festival and had Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis in attendance to watch the thirty year old film. Scorsese, De Niro and Lewis each had interesting facts to mention about the shooting in the movie. For example Scorsese never intended for the movie to be a comedy despite the fact that Lewis mentioned he was constantly laughing hysterically behind the camera during scenes. Also Lewis brought up the fact that there were certain scenes where the characters were able to adlib their own scenes and make up dialogue on the spot. The best example of this is a nine minute scene where De Niro’s character is in Lewis’s characters house.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/28/king-of-comedy-tribeca_n_3172426.html

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

The article from the Huffinton Post about “King of Comedy” is a great behind the scenes looks to how some of the movie was made. Overall the article made me respect the acting performances a little bit more after finding out that there were portions of the movie that were adlibbed. Being able to shoot an entire nine minute scene without a script is an extremely hard task for an actor to do and it only makes sense that De Niro and Lewis were able to pull it off. Also one of Scorsese’s comments made me think about the movie slightly differently. Scorsese is mentioned early on in the article that the film was not meant to be a comedy, and that quote made me look at the film in  a slightly different way. When you look at “King of Comedy” in comparison to another Scorsese/De Niro movie such as “Taxi Driver” or “Goodfellas”, there is a similar level of comedy in all three films but like Scorsese said it was not meant to be a comedy.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

“The King of Comedy” is another great Scorsese film that was able to nicely follow up “Raging Bull”. The film follows Rupert Pupkin, another obscure character played by De Niro, who definitely has some psychopathic tendencies. The story is easy to follow and at the end the audience is left with a very satisfying ending depending on each person’s perception. I see the ending as very straight forward but there is potentially another school of thought for the ending that it was all in Rupert’s head and that he never really made it as a comedian. To me the ending comes off pretty straight forward because of how the ending was shot and editing. In the previous parts of the movie when Rupert is talking to himself, the audience is clear on the fact that he is talking to himself even though the film cuts to and from shots of Rupert talking to Jerry Langford. When it comes down, the acting of the three main characters is what sells the movie. Each actor plays their own character perfectly and helps sell the movie as dark and twisted as Scorsese intended it to be. 

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( ) I have not handed in this assignment for any

other class. 2) ( ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other

classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) ( ) If I used any passages word for word, I

put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 4) (

) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in

the text of the paper. 5) ( ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally

read. 6) ( ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in

another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) ( ) I did not

so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 8) ( ) I

checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and

ideas used in my paper.

Name: ____Joe Katulak_____________________ Date: _2/11/15_________________

Raging Bull

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

“Raging Bull” was filmed in 1980, but if it is compared to other films from the same time period it would show little or no resemblance. Some of the other big movies from that time period include “Back to the Future”, “The Terminator” and “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back”, and while they are all good in their own right, the aesthetics of “Raging Bull” make it feel like it was shot in a completely different time period. At a time when blockbuster movies were starting to get popular, Martin Scorsese took a very different and dark approach from blockbuster movies at the time as well other sports movies from the time. Scorsese made the decision to shoot the film in black in white to further separate from other sports movies of the time like “Slap Shot”, “Bad News Bears” and especially “Rocky”. Scorsese also took a different approach from other sports movies because he relied heavily on the drama that was occurring outside of the ring instead of primarily focusing on just the boxing matches. It is Scorsese’s approach to the film that really separates it from almost any other film from the time period, especially any other sports movie.

2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content. You may use the library or the internet.

The article “Brutal Attraction: The Making of Raging Bull” from Vanity Fair gives a terrific insight to how the film was made and what kind of challenges the cast and crew had to go through to get the film made. The article discusses the creation of the film from beginning to end. It discusses how De Niro first gained interest from the book by Jake La Motta. De Niro goes through many real life transformations as a person to make this role feel authentic. He trained like a real boxer and even had sessions with the real Jake La Motta to make his performance the best it could be. The article also discusses some struggles Martin Scorsese goes through while making the film such as a near death moment in a hospital. The article even goes up to the final editing process and shows how much Scorsese came to care about the final product of the film. To sum up, this article from Vanity Fair goes in depth and truly captures the feeling of what it was like to make Raging Bull.

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2010/03/raging-bull-201003#

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

The article from Vanity Fair titled, “Brutal Attraction: The Making of Raging Bull” essentially solidified my opinions of Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese. De Niro and Scorsese are both masters of their craft and the article gives great examples of why that is the case. De Niro simply becomes Jake LaMotta during the filming of the movie which is what makes his acting so great. De Niro would request to have time alone to himself for weeks, just help him learn his character better. And since the film is a boxing film, De Niro trained and worked with the real Jake La Motta to become a boxer and actually fought in three boxing matches (he won two) which shows his dedication to his character which is a trait that not many actors can possess.  Even though the article talks a great deal about De Niro and his dedication to the film, it also talks about how slowly but surely the film turned into another piece that Scorsese would hold close to himself. The article had come to mention how picky Scorsese would be in the editing room and that he needed to be able to see and hear every little detail that was supposed to be in the film, which is a simple example of how his work comes out to be so great. Overall the article gave great insight to the film and supported all of my previous feelings about Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese.   

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull will go down in history as one of the greatest dramas and boxing films of all time, and for good reason. As an audience member watching the movie you are being taken into the ring and out of the ring unlike any other boxing movie has shown before.  In Raging Bull we see how boxer, Jake La Motta and his animal like character come to deal with his wife and brother outside of the boxing ring.  Not many sports movies have shown such a gritty and raw home lifestyle that at times Raging Bull becomes hard to watch because of the tense and realistic feeling that De Niro brings out in his character. Also the way the camera was used in the fighting scenes gives the audience an intimate feeling that most other sports movies don’t have. There are close ups of punches and blood being spilled, which gives the audience a very intimate feeling, like they are in the ring themselves watching La Motta fight. Lastly the choice to shoot the film in black and white sets it apart visually from all of the other movies that came out in the 1980s. Being that the film takes place in the 1940s, the choice to shoot black and white definitely enhances that feeling that movie is taking you back in time. Raging Bull is simply one of Scorsese’s masterpieces and will go down in history as one of the best films of all time.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( ) I have not handed in this assignment for any
other class. 2) ( ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other
classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) ( ) If I used any passages word for word, I
put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 4) (
) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in
the text of the paper. 5) ( ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally
read. 6) ( ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in
another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) ( ) I did not
so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 8) ( ) I
checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and
ideas used in my paper.
Name: _Joe Katulak_______________ Date: __2/3/15________________