Monday, June 7, 2010

The Searchers


Who knew I would love a Western film so much? But I do and I love John Wayne. He has a rugged bad-boy aura which is universally appealing. What I like the most about this film is the psychological struggle of an anti-hero Civil War veteran who is on a quest to find his kidnapped niece. The niece, who was captured at a young age by Native Americans after her family was killed, has begun to assimilate with her new 'family'. Ethan, her uncle, harbors a deep hatred for Native Americans and must decide whether or not rescue his niece or kill her. The same struggle occurs with the audience as the audience must decide whether or not they like John Wayne's character. Initially, he is edgy and dark but during his quest to find his niece, another side of Ethan surfaces - one that is softer and that is passionately committed. Hate him or love him?

Quote: Let's go home, Debbie.

Sunset Boulevard


What a creepy movie - and it gets additional creepiness points because it was filmed in black and white.

Sunset Boulevard recounts the story of a unsuccessful screenwriter (Joe Gillis) who becomes the lover/pool boy to a wealthy former silent screen star (Norma Desmond). Norma, a recluse living in a large but crumbling mansion with one butler, incorrectly believes she can make a comeback to the movies and commissions Joe to write the screenplay with which Norma will make her comeback. In this movie, Norma reminds me a lot of Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians. Long sharp nails, thin red lips, expressive eyes.

One thing I liked about this American film noir is that the story starts at the end (dead body in a pool) and then starts at the beginning of the story which eventually ends with the dead body in the pool. Films like this and Vertigo are too dark and cruel for my liking and they always leave me with an uneasy, shocked feeling. Apparently, film noir is a visual style as well as a story type so perhaps the visual approach is contributing to my unsettled stomach. Either way, I definitely won't be voluntarily re-watching these movies.

Quote: I *am* big. It's the *pictures* that got small.

*The September Issue


The glamour and the glitz. The high fashion and the low patience levels.

In this documentary about the largest issue of Vogue's year, I learned about magazine production as well as the world of haute couture. Designing clothes is no easy task especially when so many distinct interests and perspectives are considered and also considering that trends appear to be invented on whim. There was one scene of a group meeting where the editors were trying to come up with content for the Sept issue and one woman says something along the lines of 'What's in? Should we make it ______ in?'. Is that really the trend forecast? I always though it was more of an industry standard. From what I gather from the movie, it's not really so planned out.

This documentary is a bit disjointed at times (jumping from topic to topic) and I definitely didn't feel the sense of urgency that I thought would be there given the high profile nature of this job as well as looming deadlines and a catty nature of fashion. Magazines are planned so far in advance and changes/edits/additions happen as close to print time as possible. Maybe it was for the image of Vogue portrayed in the movie, but these girls weren't running to put things together last minute. It wasn't as chaotic as I was hoping or imagining.

Honestly, after a huge dose of fashion, I am always re-inspired to pay more attention to how I dress and to invest more money and effort into my image. I guess deep down, I'm just not that kind of girl. I don't think I am interested in that line of work but I think this documentary opened up my eyes a little bit about the world of magazine editing and fashion. I would have done fine in this world without this movie though.