Pulp Fiction

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
10 December 2015

Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction is a crime drama action film released in 1994, starring John Travolta, Uma Thurman, and Samuel L. Jackson, directed by Quentin Tarantino. Pulp Fiction is largely regarding as one of the best films of all time and I really can't disagree. It's the gritty story of the lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits that intertwine as four tales of redemption. Everything about this movie is fantastic, the writing, plot, acting, cinematography, everything. Travolta and Jackson are both fantastic and the dark humor in the back through the movie is fantastic. Tarantino is one of my favorite directors and this is one of his best movies. The cinematography is one of the best parts of the movie, and the shot I picked really tells a story in itself. If you've ever seen anything about this movie, it's this picture. Everything about this shot is perfect, the lighting, outfits, perspective, lighting, everything. If you've never seen this movie, which I'm sure is not the case, go watch it, it's fantastic.

Time Lapse

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
10 December 2015

Time Lapse

Time Lapse is an action thriller made in 2014 starring  Danielle Panabaker, Matt O'Leary, and  George Finn, directed by Bradley King. Time lapse is about three friends and roommates discovering a camera developed by their now dead neighbor that can take a picture one day in the future. Naturally, Japser (George Finn), the drugie troublemaker, uses it to bet on horse races, but as his bookie catches on, the friends become far too intertwined with this machine, and are forced to do unthinkable things to protect their secret. Personally, I loved Time Lapse, but it's not for everyone, it was slow building, dark, and frustrating, but it was incredibly suspenseful and thrilling to watch. The characters were likeable and the performances by each was very believable and well done. The cinematography wasn't great, but a few shots really stood put to me. This shot shows the bookie first seeing this machine, and the look on his face is really telling of the emotions in the movie. It's a dark shot, as is the whole movie, with an artificial light from the machine. The whole movie was a lot like this and definitely did its job as a thrilling horror. 

 

Spirited Away

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
12 November 2015

Spirited Away

Spirited Away is a hand animated film created by Hayao Miyazaki in 2001. It's about a little girl who discovers a magical world in order to try and save her family from a curse, and the girl ends up making many friends and overcoming challenges beyond her years. I thought Spirited Away was very good, I loved the story, the characters were very likable, but the animation was easily the best part. Scenes were consistently beautiful and very well thought out, the textures were pleasant, and overall it was a very, very good movie. I would say they used hand drawn animation to make the movie feel more personal, to make you real invest in the characters and become immersed in the story. 

This shot really tells a lot of things about this film. First off, the drawings are beautiful, it's very colorful and detailed. Secondly, it shows all the friends that she made along the way, and really tells a story in itself. Everything about this movie was very pleasant and happy, and it was overall just a very good movie, one of Miyazaki's best, though I still prefer My Neighbor Totoro

Tucker and Dale vs Evil

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
5 November 2015

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is a comedy horror making fun of slashers about two friends going to their vacation home in the woods. They have the look of serial killers, but are actually sweet normal people just trying to fix up their house. College students are camping in the woods at the same time, and the two guys ultimately end up accidentally kidnapping one of them, leading the college kids to thinking they are serial killers. After a series of unfortunate events involving a woodchipper, spear, nail, and gun, most of the students are dead, Tucker and Dale are completely confused, and Dale is fully in love with the girl they're helping. The lead college kid catches on fire and tries to kill them, fails, and Dale and the girl begin dating, because of course the do. The movie is hilarious, the acting is good, as is the writing. It's very clever and very good.

Futurama ep. 1

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
5 November 2015

Futurama: Space Pilot 3000

I'll preface this by saying that Futurama is one of my favorite television shows ever, and I love every episode equally. Futurama is one of those shows that doesn't really have to reach for ideas, everything feels natural, the characters are likeable, and the writing is excellent. Episode one is as good of a place to review as any, even the pilot is great. The show starts with "Fry" in a pizza restaurant working as a delivery boy, he goes to make a delivery on new years eve, 1999. He arrives, it was a prank, and obviously he becomes frozen for a thousand years. He wakes up in 3000, goes on a large adventure through "New New York" trying to escape from a purple haired Cyclops with his new robot friend, "Bender",  bending robot. They eventually all meet up, and become the new delivery crew for Fry's elderly nephew. The episode is hilarious, the jokes are quick, the characters develop as the episode goes on, and it introduces you to the premise of the show very well. 

Satan's Little Helper

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
5 November 2015

Satan's Little Helper

This may be the worst "horror" movie of all time, and that's what makes it so wonderful. The premise is incredibly stupid, a small child is obsessed with a video game about being a helper to Satan, and when a serial killer dressed up as Satan walks through his neighborhood on Halloween, the small child knows what he must do, befriend this man, obviously. The kid is completely oblivious to this man obviously not being Satan, and also obviously actually a serial killer committing crimes, and the kid is just going along with it, in complete blissful ignorance. It takes the serial trying to kill his entire family and causing "entrails"(large gummy worms) to fall out of his father before the kid finally discovers the truth, and also apparently how to act as well, the kid actually acting might be there scariest part of the movie because it's so surprising. The camera work is weird, the acting is non existent, and the entire movie feels like a surreal fever dream more than a movie. It's the funniest thing I've watched, and I attached a clip that I think sums it up perfectly. 

The "star" of the "film"

Survive and Advance

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
5 November 2015

Survive and Advance

For the last few years, ESPN has run a series of documentaries about different things in sports, each done by different directors, about widely different topics. They span all sports and cover many different topics, each with different underlying tones and themes. Almost all of them are fantastic, and Survive and Advance (2013) is no different. Survive and Advance tells the story of Jim Valvano and the 1983 NC State Wolfpack defying all odds to win the championship over powerhouse Houston. I once wrote almost 2000 words on Jim Valvano and this story, so I'm very farmiliar with this documentary and this story, and this documentary is probably the best source there is to learn more about Jim. The cinematography is great, the music fits perfectly, interviews are well timed and meaningful, and the classical clips perfectly progress the story and by the end you're completely invested in the story. It honors Jim perfectly and is 100% worth watching.