BraedenG33's Movie Review Thread

Hey MoFo community! This is my first review thread here, So we'll see how this goes. I watch movies quite often and I'll do my best to review everything I see if time permits (life will get in the way sometimes though, but again I'll try I promise! ). I'll also try my best to keep all my reviews spoiler-free, if there is something I want to discuss that includes spoilers I will spoiler tag it for those of you that haven't seen the film. I have a pretty wide taste in movies, from blockbuster action movies all the way back to the classics (which I hope in the process of this review thread to catch up on, as since I'm only 17, I have a lot of catching up to do). Mainly when I watch movies that aren't in theaters I will watch a bunch of movies by one director (with other movies mixed in that I may have just watched on a whim), as an aspiring filmmaker I like to study the great directors best work all at once to try and learn things about their style that I could eventually apply to my own films. I don't think this review thread will be as good as some of the other fantastic threads we already have in terms of quality formatting and whatnot, but I'll do my best to share my thoughts anyway.

So without further ado, let's wind back the clock for review number one with a very old movie that will be the first of many movies I'll be watching in the next week or so by the master of suspense himself:

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1935)

This is just the second Hitchcock movie I've seen (I saw Strangers on a Train a while back and I really liked that movie). This is also most certainly the oldest movie I've seen in it's entirety by a fairly significant margin (actually come to think of it Strangers on a Train might be the next oldest movie). I came in knowing nothing about it other than that it was Hitchcock and it was made in 1935 when he was still in Britain, and that it's widely considered one of his best films. I was expecting to appreciate it as a well made film for the time and to enjoy it enough especially since it is very short, but I was not expecting to be blown away by it.

Oh how I was wrong. I loved 39 steps. It was a brilliant film that (aside from the fact that it looked like a film made in 1935 based on video quality) really holds up for me today. It was a very gripping and exciting movie that kept me engaged the whole time and also on a technical level was masterfully crafted. Truly it is a masterpiece as it is touted to be, in my opinion.

Rating:

Hopefully I'll have more to say in depth about future movies, but there wasn't much for me to say about this movie, I really liked it. Also, it's 2:30 a.m where I am and I need to go to sleep I have school tomorrow.

The next movie I will be reviewing is...

Rear Window

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1954)

I think you'll find that as I finally delve into Alfred Hitchcock's filmography this week (I will be watching and reviewing 7 of his films) you will see a whole lot of me raving about how incredible these movies are (to nobody's surprise, as so far everything I've seen from him has been truly magnificent). I know it sometimes seems redundant to say 'I loved this movie' and such especially when it comes to these films which are already lauded universally as among the greatest ever made, but I really can't help myself. So far these films are absolute masterpieces in every sense of the word. Rear Window is no different, and is certainly my favorite so far.

Rear Window is a story about a man named LB Jefferies who, after suffering a broken leg that leaves him incapacitated and stuck in his apartment, uses a camera with a telephoto lens that allows him to peer through windows to see into the personal lives of his neighbors. During this process, he sees things go on in an apartment across the street that makes him believe a murder may have been committed. As the story unfolds we are left to watch the story unfold in bits and pieces as we can see through the perspective Jefferies, who soon gets his girlfriend Lisa and his nurse Stella sucked into the mystery with him.

The way in which Hitchcock has the narrative unfold is brilliant, innovative, and entirely unique. Leaving us essentially trapped in the apartment to only see from the perspective of Jefferies heightens the suspense of the film in how the story unfolds and Jefferies, and thus we the viewers, piece together what has happened. Hitchcock uses this technique of storytelling masterfully in how it is shot (the intercuts between Jefferies and what he is seeing in his camera) as well as how it is written, with the dialogue being used sparsely and only when necessary allowing the visuals to tell the story, which helps to build on the tension of the story further. Hitchcock's use of diegetic sound (sound which is not scoring the film, but actually exists in what is going on in the shot) also helps to build the atmosphere of the film.

This is the most thematically strong film I've seen of Hitchcock's. It touches on themes of the perverse and voyeuristic tendencies we all have, and the limits of personal privacy. These themes are ever-prevalent to this day, as personal safety vs personal liberty as it pertains to the government is an ongoing topic of debate today, with so much information readily available as technology has progressed, and also governments have become more invasive of personal privacy as the result of terror attacks such as 9/11 inciting great fear in citizens for their safety. As Stella says in the opening of the film "We've become a race of Peeping Toms." The film also touches on themes of marriage and commitment, as Lisa wants desperately to get Jefferies to marry her, but he doesn't think they're right for each other, that she is too perfect and he is too rugged. In Jefferies' observation of his neighbors he is seeing marriage in it's different forms: from the excited newlyweds pulling down the blinds in their new apartment to the bickering older couple who can no longer conceal their loathing for one another. And it isn't until he confronts the absolute worst case scenario of marriage that he is able to come to terms with settling down.

Overall, Rear Window is a fantastic, suspenseful, thrilling, entertaining, and deep film with an engaging story, interesting characters, and some of the best suspense ever put on screen, while also being equally brilliant on a technical level and in the uniqueness of the concept behind it. I absolutely loved Rear Window, and it is one of the best films I have ever seen.

Rating:

The next movie I will be reviewing is...

North By Northwest

3- North by Northwest

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1959)

Another brilliant film by Alfred Hitchcock, North by Northwest is a fast paced ambitious cold war spy action thriller. Roger Thornhill is a salesman who gets mistaken by foreign spies as George Caplan, an agent for the CIA who is tracking the spies. Then after being kidnapped by and escaping from the spies, Thornhill gets framed by the spies as a murderer and becomes public enemy number one. What ensues is a wild chase from New York to Mount Rushmore filled with twists and turns as more and more is revealed about the nature of these spies and Thornhill has to dodge the police and the spies pursuing him.

Hitchcock spins the complex web of secrets that make up the meat of this incredible and complex story masterfully. The use of dramatic irony (information that the audience knows but the characters do not) as it pertains to the identity of George Caplan was very effective. The film was in perpetual motion, paced flawlessly as the thrills never stop and the audience is constantly left on the edge of their seats. Every single shot in this movie was superbly and meticulously composed by the master auteur. There are some very impressive sequences in this film as well, with action set pieces in this film that are unbelievably well done, especially considering the time when the movie was made. The movie was also very well written, with great dialogue that feels organic and never bogs down the movie.

Cary Grant was a very effective and convincing protagonist, but it was Eva Marie Saint's performance as the sexy and mysterious Eve Kendall that steals the film in my opinion. Kendall is an incredibly complex and well developed character and Saint plays the role flawlessly. James Mason was also a very impressive antagonist as the cold, calculated, and intimidating foreign spy Phillip Vandamm.

The biggest takeaway from this film for me is just how new it feels. Many films from this time feel dated but not this one. The set pieces in this movie are some of the best ever put to film. The scene with the crop-duster in the farmland was unbelievable as was the fight/chase sequence on Mount Rushmore. Hitchcock truly pushed the boundaries of what was possible on film at that time and he does so marvelously.

Incredible action, non-stop thrills, an incredibly well written and complex story composed with technical superiority by one of the greatest auteurs in film history, North by Northwest is a masterpiece as are the other Hitchcock films I've reviewed. I'd probably rate it ahead of 39 Steps but slightly behind Rear Window, though still a phenomenal film that I absolutely loved.

Rating:

The next movie I will be reviewing is...

Vertigo

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Sorry I wasn't able to get a review out tonight, I'll try to make up for it this weekend, wasn't able to find time tonight to watch Vertigo like I'd hoped. Expect something tomorrow or the next day at the latest.