My Bechdel Test Theory

So today in my AP English Language class we talked about the Bechdel Test. For any of you who don't know the Bechdel test is a list of 3 criteria that have to be passed in order to pass the test for any given film. Those three criteria are:

1. Have at least 2 women, by name in the film.
2. Those two women have to talk to each other.
3. And talk about something besides a man.

We wrote down our favorite film at the beginning of class, and now are supposed to write a blog on our favorite film and how it does with the Bechdel Test.

Ida Review

Ida Review

The other day, the local indie film theater near me started to play a small Polish film. I was told I should go see it and not to look up anything too big about it. So I followed the advice and went in almost completely blind. Really so many movie are better going in with no prior knowledge of what is going to happen, and this one is no exception.

Original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Review

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Review

Seeing as it's the 40th anniversary of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it seems only appropriate to review it. So how to talk about a horror film staple that has defined the genre of horror movies ever sense it was released? What can I say that hasn't been said before? Well I have a pretty simple answer to that, I thought after seeing plenty of what are considered the scariest horror films of all time I knew exactly what I was getting into the first time I saw The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I couldn't have been more wrong.

Top 10 Tarantino Characters

Top 10 Quentin Tarantino Characters

I cannot think of another writer who every character they write is perfect, besides Quentin Tarantino. I truly believe Tarantino has never made a bad character. That being said this was an extremely hard list to create, I mean I had so many characters to choose from. These are the ten that Tarantino has both written and directed that I believe are his best writing and directing examples. So sorry Natural Born Killers you are out of this.

Enemy Review

Enemy Review

Right off the bat, this is one of the most thought provoking movies made in a long time. It took me minutes to pick my jaw up after watching this the first time through. I had no idea what had just happened, so I had to go and watch the movie twice straight through. When a film is able to do that, it did something right.

Enemy has a very intriguing quote at the beginning,

10 Movie Masterpieces made in the last 14 Years

10 Movie Masterpieces made in the last 14 Years

Masterpiece is a word I do not like to throw around a lot when talking about movies. The more one uses it the less of an impact it has. But it was a few days ago, I had a discussion with a buddy of mine, and he was saying basically that there are no more movie masterpieces made anymore. It was a rather lengthy conversation in which a lot of different films were brought up. When talking the films never really went before 2000 from what we were talking about. So, that got me thinking that I should do a blog post on 10 films which I consider to be masterpieces made from 2000-2014. They are ranked in as good of an order as I have been able to get them into. I have switched a number around a few times and think I have the proper order finally. Saying that, I know my friend does not consider all these films "masterpieces" and neither will probably anyone who views this, but I do. And, for anyone who has not seen some movies on this list, I highly recommend all of them.

Top 10 Uses of Classical Music in Movies

The 10 Uses of Classical Music in Movies

Classical Music in movies can be a real gamble, if done right it can fully capture and elevate the mood of the scene and the movie as a whole, if it doesn't fit it feels like a failed experiment in movie making and takes you out of the movie. The classical music moments below are my favorite. All that are below are powerful and dramatic uses of some of the best classical music ever created (of course in my opinion).  These are some of the times the gamble of putting classical music in a movie works for me. Quick note I will attach the youtube video for each piece and if I can find one with the movie in it I will use that, but some are just the song without the film, so I am sorry ahead of time. But no more waiting, let's get to the music.

Top 10 Movie Shootouts

Top 10 Movie Shootouts

May contain some spoilers!

Let's be honest, who doesn't love a good gunfight in the movies. Movie shootouts are some of the most fun parts of lots of movies. And when executed properly they can be a work of art. This list is devoted to my top 10 best movie shootouts. No rules as long as all sides have guns it goes, no time limits or entity limits, nothing. Let the bullets fly!

Oscars in Review-1998 Best Actor

Oscars in Review-1998 Best Actor

In this post I will review the Academy's pick for Best Actor for 1998. 1998 is one of the Oscar's worst years it has ever had, they just seemed to get everything wrong that year. Usually in these posts I focus on the winner and the one that I thought should win, this time I will look at a few others who were nominated as well (sorry Nick Nolte you are the only one left out). I will briefly look at the performances before sharing my thoughts on why Roberto Benigni won.

Top 5 Jon Voight Performances

Jon Voight has been in movies for a long time now. He has given some amazing performances, and then some not so amazing. Regardless he is a man to be celebrated for his contributions to film. Jon Voight can go from quiet to really loud and crazy, and he does it well.

Jon Voight has that instantly recognizable face which makes lots of people go "Oh, it's him!" but they do not know his name. Which is a real shame because even though he has been in some really bad movies (I'm looking at you Transformers), his great movies do not get enough love with audiences nowadays. In a small attempt to change that (at least among some of my friends) here are his 5 best performances.

The Top 5 Steve Buscemi Performances

Top 5 Steve Buscemi Performances

Warning: May have some Spoilers

Steve Buscemi is one of those odd actors who play the quirky weird characters in movies. Even though this is the case, he can dominate the screen whenever on it. This doesn't happen often so the need to celebrate it when it does happen is high. 

Steve Buscemi never gets enough love, only 1 Golden Globe, and not even an Oscar nomination. That in it of itself should be worth jail time, okay not really. All I am trying to say is that steve Buscemi has definitely earned at least one in my mind, his characters are always easy to remember and often the best of the films. So without further ado, the top 5 Steve Buscemi performances.

Oscars in Review-1995 Braveheart vs. Apollo 13

Oscars in Review-1995 Braveheart vs. Apollo 13

In 1995, Braveheart beat Apollo 13 on Oscars night. In this post I will review the academy's Best Picture Oscar winner, and Apollo 13. This will be an attempt to shed some light on why Braveheart might have won over what I consider to be the superior film. The Basic plot and themes will be listed below.