Film Review Essay

and producer, most famous for directing “Boyz N The Hood” (1991). This debut film of his made a big success both critically and commercially, which led to John winning the Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. In the following years, Singleton released two more films of a similar social topic: “Poetic Justice” (1993) and “Higher Learning” (1995) which also received mainly positive reviews. Latter work includes equally successful achievements like “Rosewood”…

Jean-Marie Burbee American Cinema FIL-110-OL010 Professor Allen Mentz American Cinema Final July 2016 American Graffiti: A 'Coming of Age' film that left its mark In 1973, Director George Lucas released a film entitled, “American Graffiti.” Although created in the 70's, the film itself chronicles the end of summer 1962 centralized around two men and their last days of childhood before they officially become adults and their various friends still in high school. This is a time in most of our…

The film The Wall is directed by Doug Liman which he also directed the film “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.” The Wall is led by three actors Aaron Taylor- Johnson as Sgt. Allen Isaac, John Cena as Staff Sgt. Shane Matthews, and Laith Nakli the voice of Juba an Iraqi sniper. The film is set in 2007 in Iraq at an oil pipeline where Sgt. Isaac and Staff Sgt. Matthews were called on to secure the area after they were informed there was a shootout. When the soldiers arrived, they encountered a sniper that was…

Pulp Fiction is a film directed by Quentin Tarantino, which stars John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, and Samuel L. Jackson, and it was released October 14, 1994. It takes a very different approach to film by using a vignette style with each vignette not necessarily in order. It follows the lives of several characters that revolve around the gang boss Marcellus Wallace, and how they intertwine. Vincent (Travolta) and Jules (Jackson) are two hitmen for Marcellus and they are charged with…

crippling American society. Chicago Sun-Times film critic, Roger Ebert describes this film as “a frontal assault” on spectators that exploit their feelings and leaves viewers shaken after watching (1973). Indeed, the sexual perversion and foul play to religious iconography provide an unsettling reaction. It is no surprise that the reaction to this film was met with shock; some warranting its rating to be changed from rated R to rated X as expressed by the reviews of Ebert and Vincent Canby of…

On September 29, 2000, A. O. Scott, a journalist for The New York Times, wrote a film review of the movie, “Remember the Titans”. His article, “How the Goal Line Came to Replace the Color Line,” presents a short but detailed analysis of the sport centered movie. “How the Goal Line Came to Replace the Color Line” is an article that is meant for everyone, regardless of race. In fact, Scott implores that viewers of all races will be infused with pride after viewing “Remember the Titans” because it…

directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The movie turned out to be a true masterpiece for all time and for any generation. This film can be reviewed and revised over time. The movie was shot gorgeously: believable, original, clean, interesting, in places its history is simply shocking. This drama reveals to us the criminal world of the mafia and remains the favorite and best film related to this topic. We see the godfather - Vito Corleone. He is the head of the family and the head of one large mafia…

none-too-serious, sword and sandal action flick. I’ve watched this movie perhaps a dozen times since the mid 80’s and I think it holds up well despite its age. After another viewing, I became curious what other people thought of it, and read a number of reviews from around the time of its original screening, and more recent ones to compare. The takeaway is that while Conan may have achieved a cult following, and is praised for its musical score, the movie itself isn’t widely regarded as well…

Nothing better than watching a typical Cinderella story about a maid who falls in love with a wealthy person, unless the movie is filled with stereotypes. When watching a Maid in Manhattan, you first see a maid that falls in-love with a wealthy man, but as you continue to watch and think about the details of the characters you start to see all the stereotypes that make the movie so entertaining. Before getting to in depth of analysis of the movie, let first ask ourselves ‘What is a Stereotype?’…

was Wes Craven's second directorial film after The Last House on the Left (I'm not counting his stint as Abe Snake directing The Fireworks Woman). Much like The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes has a gritty, low budget, violent look, having been shot on 16mm film. Given the budget of approximately $230,000, Wes Craven was able to craft a violent, sometimes humorous horror film that to this day is still quite popular among the horror crowd. The film has gone on to spawn a few sequels…