Memento by Christopher Nolan

Memento is the first movie that I saw by director Christopher Nolan. Its the story of a man who's wife has been raped and murdered and is trying to solve the mystery of who did it while he battles short term memory loss. The way he is able to cope with day to day life, and his investigation, is by taking polaroids of people and locations and jotting down notes on them. What makes this movie so incredibly memorable is the way the movie is told.

Christopher Nolan opts to tell the story in reverse. Each scene ends with the first few seconds of the beginning of the previous scene so that the audience can connect the two scenes together. This all might sound very confusing, however in the first three scenes the structure of the film is exaggerated so that the audience is familiar with the film's vocabulary and is able to follow along for the rest of the film. This ingenious way of telling the story helps us as the audience see the world through the main character's eyes of not being able to remember what happened 5 minutes ago.

To help us cope with experiencing a story backwards there is another story line that is told normally, chronologically from beginning to end, and is intercut through out the reverse story line. This story line is shot in Black and White so that we can immediately identify it. The music is also different here, its cold and repetitive, which is very different from the main score, which is sad and lonely.

This is a very unique film and is one that definitely has to be watched if you haven't done so already.

The Shining by Stanley Kubrick

The Shining by Stanley Kubrick is a great example of excellent directing!! There are many Kubrick trademarks throughout the movie and these, plus many other aspects, are what make it such a great movie. First and foremost, the directing is phenomenal- we've all heard of how he grilled and drilled the actors through hundreds of takes until he got the performance he felt was needed for each scene. I'm sure in some takes when Shelly Duval's character is completely falling apart there is some real frustration and despair taking place.

The shot choices, as well as the pacing, are excellent. He used a lot of long takes in the film, mostly to increase tension. Although the Steadicam was used in a few movies before this film, The Shining was where the Steadicam became a tool for storytelling. When you needed to move the camera you were always limited by the tracks of the dolly or the length of the crane - until the invention of the Steadicam. With a Steadicam you can mount any camera on it and it mechanically stabilizes the motion while the operator walks, or even runs with it allowing directors to move the camera whichever way they choose. The Steadicam was used extensively throughout The Shining, allowing us to move with the characters. The Steadicam work in the final scene is among film's most memorable moments.

The music and sound effects are remarkable as well. From the excellent original musical score, to the classical pieces, to even the sound effects of Danny's tricycle as it goes over hardwood floor and then soft rugs, Kubrick sets the tone of the film. Another interesting observation is the amount of shots with mirrors there are in the film, which leads us to believe not everything is alright in the mind of the characters.

Based on the novel by Stephen King, The Shining is an excellent movie which I recommend to everyone. This is one of my favorite works of director Stanley Kubrick.

Sleepy Hollow by Tim Burton

Well since it's the month of October and Halloween's around the corner, I re-watched the movie Sleepy Hollow by director Tim Burton the other day. One of the things that I really like about this movie is the combination of Mexico's Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography and the atmospheric effects to achieve a very distinctive tone throughout the movie. I feel the cooler, unsaturated color palette, as well as Lubezki's use of light, shadows, and atmospheric effects really portray a feeling of suspense and eeriness which helps us as the audience connect with the story.

The direction, acting, art direction, sets, and music are excellent throughout in this story based on Washington Irving's American folklore tale, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," in one of my favorite works by director Tim Burton.

First Post!

Hello world! This is my very first entry in the world of blogs, so please bear with me.

Probably the thing that I enjoy the most in life is telling, or listening, to a good story. No doubt that this is the reason why I have such a passion for watching movies. As the years have passed, I have grown to love several aspects of film more and more, and have tried to come to understand it- from the audience's perspective, as well as the auteur's.

I will be selecting movies that have somehow left an impression on me, and will discuss certain key ideas on why I think they are great, or where I would have liked to have seen something different. This will be, by no means, a "Best," or "Top Movies" list. There will be old movies, recent movies, classic movies, bad movies, movies of no particular genre, and also in no particular order. Most importantly, these will be movies that have a particular style I enjoy, and some that execute ideas very well.

I hope to point out certain aspects of these movies that you haven't seen or experienced and hopefully generate some new thoughts and ideas.