Critique of the Movie Matchstick Men
I recently read a review of Matchstick Men by Nicolas Bardot who said of the movie: “very touching but lacking a certain panache.” The Matchstick Men starring Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, and Alison Lohman, is the story of Roy (Cage) who with his “numerous disorders” and his partner Frank (Rockwell) tries to pull off a con job. Unfortunately, Roy’s daughter Angela (Lohman) suddenly shows up and things don’t go exactly as planned. Although Roy’s “disorders” are not mentioned specifically, I can’t imagine they would make his job easy in the first place, but throw a long lost teenage daughter into the mix and I can not wait to see what happens next. Matchstick Men is an adaptation from an Eric Garcia novel and runs one hour and fifty six minutes.
Bardot seems to vary on his opinion of this movie. He makes special note of John Mathieson’s photography declaring it as “superb,” as well as expressing delight in the soundtrack which was compiled by Hans Zimmer. Bardot seems to praise the movie for it’s depiction of anti-heroes, yet at the same time says that at times it becomes “slightly dull and uninteresting.” Despite his lack of glowing praise for the picture, Bardot expands upon the “expansive and spectacular” past pictures by Ridley Scott, the director. Having directed such films as Gladiator and Black Hawk Down among others, Bardot seems to think Scott has found a hidden talent in his new genre, comedy, declaring that his work on this picture is “marvelous.”
Although Bardot mentions the performances of Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, and Alison Lohman, I wish he had gone into more detail as to what was good about them, or in Cage’s case “unnerving.” He also refrains from mentioning other details such as setting, costumes, and camera angles which I would find interesting.
November 1998, written for FILM 220: Aspects of Criticism. This is a 24-week course for second-year students, examining methods of critical analysis, interpretation and evaluation. The final assignment was simply to write a 1000-word critical essay on a film seen in class during the final six-weeks of the course. Students were expected to draw on concepts they had studied over the length of the course.
McCabe and Mrs. Miller is the story of a man, John McCabe (Warren Beatty) who tries to set up a whorehouse/tavern in a small town in the Pacific Northwest in 1901. He meets an astute madam, Mrs. Miller (Julie Christie) who runs his business and shares in his profits. The business thrives and they develop a relationship. A mineral deposit draws powerful mining company men to the town to try and buy McCabe's holdings. He refuses to sell and they retaliate. He ultimately is mortally wounded in a bloody showdown with the mining company's thugs leaving Mrs. Miller all alone.
In recent years, the Homo Neanderthalensis were viewed as “subhuman brutes”, but are now seen as a different species from our own (Balter 2001). The Neanderthals were a branch of the Homo genus that evolved in Eurasia at least 200,000 years ago (Fagan 2010). The first Neand...
As the earliest extinct human relatives to become known to science, the Homo neanderthalensis have snatched a relatively iconic influence in human evolutionary investigations. A significance that has been enormously reinforced by the substantial behavioral and fossil record that has expanded since the original Feldhofer Cave skullcap and partial skeleton were unexpectedly uncovered in 1856, by miners working in Germany’s Neander Valley (Tattersall & Jeffrey 1999: 7117-7119). ‘The Neanderthals’ is the informal classification of a particular group of large-brained hominids whom inhabited Europe and Western Asia between 130,000 to around 35,000 years ago. Complementary human populations lived at the same time in Africa and Asia. The Neanderthals were a highly successful race for a substantial period of time, but this situation chang...
My own opinion on this issue is that from the evidence at hand, there is no way to know for sure whether or not the Neanderthals were our species. From the skeletal evidence, it is clear that they were anatomically different from modern humans, and we know that this is because of geographic isolation. We also know that they have been found in the same locations, and it appears at the same time. If they were truly part of our species, then there would have been blending of the two types in these places. Trying to determine this from fossilized bones from a tiny percent of the population, limited DNA, and imperfect dating methods is impossible. Even if anthropologists think they are sure of either viewpoint, there may be evidence out there that will prove them wrong. So at this point in time, I think both scenarios are equally possible.
The movie of Of Mice and Men had many differences while still giving the same message that the book was portrayed to have. One of the major differences was that Candy never came into the room when Lennie and Crooks were talking to each other. This was major because Crooks never found out that the plan was true about the little house. In the book after he heard Candy talk about it he wanted to get in on the deal. Also the movie it never showed Lennie have his illusions of his Aunt Carla and the rabbits when he was waiting by the pond.
The fourth paragraph of this article displays a descriptive choice of words to describe the film Star Wars, most likely to meant to evoke emotion. Obershneider uses intense words such as “memorable characters,” “sweeping saga,” “blazing special effects,” “massive success,” “enduring impact,” “revolutionary quality,” and “groundbreaking editing.”
In today society, beauty in a woman seems to be the measured of her size, or the structure of her nose and lips. Plastic surgery has become a popular procedure for people, mostly for women, to fit in social class, race, or beauty. Most women are insecure about their body or face, wondering if they are perfect enough for the society to call the beautiful; this is when cosmetic surgery comes in. To fix what “needed” to be fixed. To begin with, there is no point in cutting your face or your body to add or remove something most people call ugly. “The Pitfalls of Plastic Surgery” explored the desire of human to become beyond perfection by the undergoing plastic surgery. The author, Camille Pagalia, took a look how now days how Americans are so obsessed
Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is now one of the top sci-fi movies and a perfect standard of the neo-noir genre. The visual Los Angeles is an astonishing sight and immense in detail. The action on an extensive proportion is truly ingenious. Ridley Scott is a substantial director in film history who doesn’t hold back in his movies. Blade Runner is a very exciting sci-fi film noir combination with a suspenseful and tense story that runs so deep in its conflict has led to cults. Overall, Blade Runner is a movie that will keep on your toes and force you to think about your humanity in an interesting yet confusing way.
The origin of modern humans is one of the most widely debated concerns in the area of paleoanthropology. Ever since the discovery of the Neanderthal in the mid 1800’s, scientists such as Charles Darwin and many others have been overly curious about the similarity of man to certain great apes and how over long periods of time have evolved from different archaic forms of humans up to today’s homo sapiens.
make us see exactly what he wants us to and this film is a very good
Like a contemporary Dorothy, Romancing the Stone's Joan Wilder must travel to Columbia and survive incredible adventures to learn that she had always been a capable and valuable person. Romancing the Stone (Robert Zemeckis, 1984) is part of a series of 1980s action comedies that disrupted previous expectations for female heroines. These female protagonists manage to subvert the standard action narrative and filmic gaze, learning to rescue themselves and to resist others' limited vision of them. Not only did these action comedies present strong female characters, they also offered a new filmic experience for female audiences. The commercial success of comic action heroines paved the way for women to appear in serious action roles--without the personal sacrifices required of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley. Figures like Joan Wilder serve as an important link between previous strong yet feminine screen personas and current female stars.
Spielberg has shown his ability to differentiate himself from other filmmakers through his unprecedented ability to technological changes. Clearly many filmmakers have attempted to emulate both the artistic and managerial styles of Spielberg, but his ideas have been transformative. Based purely on the numerous accolades Spielberg has received, he has differentiated himself from others. What really differentiates himself from other filmmakers are his unrivaled cinematic techniques. His ability to use high tech computer graphics and complex editing techniques show his desire to produce inspirational works of art. As a result of his collaborative, yet controlling nature, Spielberg has been the first filmmaker to produce things in certain instances.
The simple answer is the film met its genera’s expectations. Meeting expectations has a lot to do with personal preference. When expectations are not met, critiques
Star Wars (1977) is one of the world’s most successful films of all time. It has made a terrific impact on popular culture since its release. Furthermore, Star Wars changed the narrative and aesthetic style of future Hollywood films. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, illustrates how cinema has evolved since Fred Ott’s Sneeze (1894). Ultimately, this essay will explain the set up of Star Wars and how it connects to cinema history, in the point of views of the: narrative and cinematic style, genre, auteur theory and the global film industry.