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______