Donnie Darko

by tiffanyMovie Reviews, Reviews, Start with the BestPosted on No Comments

With Halloween right around the corner I felt like a Halloween themed movie was in order. After a long search on Netflix, I was surprised that I could not find any real horror movies that were also on my Start with the Best project. I did find and watch Donnie Darko, which I’m counting as a Halloween movie, if only because the climax is on a Halloween night.

This was my first time watching it and as the movie start I wondered how many scenes it would take to start the real action. The setting up of the movie seemed rather dragged out but as soon as I had the thought that this was going to be a long stretched movie a demented and evil-looking bunny was standing right in front of Donnie. This is where the film starts to pick up. A mysterious plane engine falls from the sky and the idea of time travel is talked about.

In this film time and time travel is the main subject that is looked upon. I first noticed this when the audience is first introduced to the school. Time is slowed and sped up just enough to notice a change. The date is also shown every few days to show how many days until the main action will take place.

The film also plays with the fourth wall when Donnie, the main character, looks at Frank. the scary bunny. This is a great element which, although it usually is out-of-place in most movies, feels perfectly placed while helping to make Donnie’s character seem more unstable and at the same time more knowing. It is almost like he is looking directly at the audience while he looks at Frank.

This is such an interesting and great movie. I was once told that I would like it by a friend and he was right. This is a movie I will be watching again.

If you want more information about this movie you can go to The IMDB page for Donnie Darko.

If you are interested in buying this movie, here is a link to the amazon page.
Donnie Darko

4 movies down 324 to go.

Wizard of Oz

by tiffanyMovie Reviews, Start with the BestPosted on No Comments

There is no movie like this week’s movie. It is an iconic classic that is also one of my favorite movies of all time. I could have written this review with out even watching it again, but it is my favorite movie, so I watched it for the hundredth time. This week’s movie is The Wizard of Oz.

Now I knew I loved this movie and that it is a great movie so I asked myself “what makes this movie great?” As soon as the movie started I realized the details and quality of the scenery. The farm had real chickens, pigs and horses. This is a farm that looks real, and growing up next to one I know what a real farm looks like.

A movie can have good scenery and still have the possibility of being a bad movie, though. That is, of course, not true for this movie. During this viewing I noticed the foreshadowing in the farm hands and the fact that Dorothy was a dreamer. She wanted to find her own life, so she ran away only to find that her life was with Aunty Em.

All through the movie I looked for weak parts, because I knew that the story line is great and the acting is superb. I wanted to learn something from this watching. What I found was that each and every scene was needed. I have watched some movies that add scenes for what appears to me to be time wasters. It is like some producers want a movie to match their time. This was not the case for this movie. Each scene was either setting up the movie, introducing characters or moving the characters along in their journey.

Another thing I saw in the viewing, that I hope I saw before, was that it was the journey that taught the characters about the things they were missing. Scarecrow wants a brain, but comes up with the plan to get Dorothy out of the Wicked Witch’s castle. Tin Man is searching for a heart but is the one that is usually crying or being emotional. Lion desires courage, however, he is the one will to lead the three men into the castle. Finally, Dorothy wants to go home and at the end of the journey when she thinks all is lost, she finds all she needs to do is open her eyes.

I was surprised to find two areas that stuck out as not high quality. The first one was the wires. While Scarecrow is on his pole there is one, I’m assuming to keep him up. A few times I saw a wire attached to Lion’s tail to make it move and stay raised. The other time was with the flying monkeys; as they take Toto away you can clearly see the rigging. The only part that took away from the movie was seeing the rigging, mostly because that was the most noticeable. The other area that was not high quality was the make up. I noticed edges and bald cap lines on some of the actors. I did not feel like the make up took away from the over all quality of this movie. It was just something I noticed.

Even after noticing the two weak areas, I love this movie. That is because it is not about the background, special effects, or technical side of it. This movie is about the story and characters that jump off the screen and ask you “what are you searching for?” Then no matter what you answer this movie tells you to search deep within yourself because what ever will make you happy is there. Whether you think you need to be smarter, braver, or more caring, you already have the tools inside you. It is the journey called life that will teach you how to use what you have to shine and become who you want to be.

For more information you can you to The Wizard of Oz on IMDB
If for some reason you do not own this movie yet, I suggest you buy this version.The Wizard of Oz (Three-Disc Collector’s Edition)
It has wonderful extras both on the DVDs and as hard copy photographs and publicity materials.
3 movies watched 325 to go.

Fight Club

by tiffanyMovie Reviews, Reviews, Start with the BestPosted on No Comments

This week’s movie is one that I’ve watched many times before. It is a dark and twisted film called Fight Club. Now although the first two rules given in Fight Club is not to talk about Fight Club I plan to talk a lot about it, because as the opening credits started I realized I did not talk enough about last week’s movie. What am I doing if I’m not learning and really writing about the movie? So this weeks movie review will be more in depth and analytical.

First I want to start with the theme and feeling of this movie. I realized during this viewing of the movie, that this is a form of dark poetry meant to make you ask the question, “Does what you own, own you?” It also makes you wonder who are if you? Who you think you are may not be who you actually are. The world as you know it may not be reality. That was true at least for the narrator of this film, who never revels his true name.

The fact that you can watch most of the movie not knowing the main character’s name is truly interesting. I watched it knowing the plot and trying to figure out how that was possible. How did the creators side step him giving out his name and no one finding it out on screen. I found that there was only two times anyone even asked him his name or who he was. The first time the scene switched to him waking up on a plane. The second time he described himself instead of saying who he was.

The narrator’s lack of name is one creative way of hinting at a major plot development that if I talked about would wreck the entire movie for a new audience, so I will not go into specifics on that topic. Just know that if you watch it for a second, third, or tenth time you find new details about the narrator’s mental health.

Besides the theme of identity crisis, this movie is also a revolt against conformity and main stream advertising. The characters, primarily Tyler, call for a revolution and total freedom from society’s conventions and rules.  The narrator and Tyler’s relationship is even built on the foundation of trying to break away from the norm. They start a fight club to feel alive; a fight club that grows into it’s own army to start a revolt against materialism and greed.

Now, just like the narrator displays his thought process I will do the same as I jump to the next and final point abruptly. This is great film and a wonderful piece of art, however it is dark and strictly for adults only. If you do not like swearing, violence, sex scenes or bloody scenes you most likely will not like this film. Of course, I usually do not like swearing, sex scenes or overly bloody scenes but love this movie for the quality, theme, character development, and plot.

For more information about this movie you can go to Fight Club’s IMDB page.
If you would like to buy this movie here is a link to do so. Fight Club

2 movies down only 326 to go

Amelie's movie review

by tiffanyMovie Reviews, Reviews, Start with the BestPosted on No Comments

At roughly 2 hours long Amelie is an engaging and delightful movie, even if you don’t understand French, which is the language spoken in the movie. The cinematography is a perfect fit for this film as it is quirky yet beautiful; simple and clean yet creative and imaginative. This film is a dance between the simple everyday of the characters involved in Amelie’s life and the complex reality of how they interact with and feel about each other. The story ties everything together in a fun love story not told before. All in all if you are looking for a well done quirky comedy I would point you to this one.

My favorite part of this film is the fact that the title character reminds me of myself. Locked in an introverted personality Amelie dreams and creates stories much too wild and detailed to be true, partly to protect herself and partly because that is simply how her mind works. She observes ordinary moments and finds the extraordinary in those moments.

Although Amelie is the main character, as the title suggests, the entire cast shines in this movie. Whether it is the Glass Man who encourages Lucien, the grocery delivery boy, to be an artist, or the staff at the Two Windmills, where Amelie works, everyone is believable and melts into the world the film takes place in.

You would think that there would be on area of the film that was not as good as the others. Every project and team has a weak leak. Well, if Amelie’s crew had one I could not see it. The script and plot keeps you engaged and chuckling. The acting, although I could see the possibility of it falling short, soars above what is expected while it brings the story to life. The editing made sense and was well done leaving nothing out. It seems like the team of this film all knew that this was a artistic film with a quirky storybook feel to it.

If you would like more information about it you can check it out at Amelie’s IMDB page
If you would like to buy this movie you can simply follow this link   Amelie

That being said I would rate this a 9.5 out of 10. Now only 327 movies to go.