First Blood (1982)

        John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone), a Vietnam war vet ends up in a small town when looking for an old war buddy. The local law enforcement draws first blood, and gets into a battle they will soon regret. Rambo finds himself run out of the small town and eventually arrested for vagrancy. Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy) is the sheriff. Calling him a jerk is clearly an understatement. He tries to justify the way he acts because he believes he's protecting his town.

         PTS is one one of the things Rambo finds himself struggling with. We see some flashbacks early where it appears he's a POW. The way Rambo is treated by the law enforcement is what triggers the flashbacks. At first Rambo was cooperative but that changed quickly. Many of men and women returning home from war experience PTS. Due to this, it makes this movie that much more powerful, this is no longer about Rambo and him seeking redemption; there's so much more. Rambo was a part of an elite group of soldiers, and now he's the last one left. Which makes you realize how a lot of soldiers witness comrades die on the battlefield, and then have to find a way to cope with it. Another message that you might grab from this movie within the first fifteen minutes is, being in battle is one thing, but coming home is another. Rambo's buddy actually died of cancer. Its crazy to think you can hear bullets whizzing past you, and then you come home only to die from something else. The cancer was triggered due to agent orange exposure. Even though a solider never killed him Vietnam still did. Civilian life may have been Rambo's toughest challenge. He was a decorated war hero, so fighting in a war is what he has grown accustomed to, its all he knows. When a guy like that has to come home its not easy for him. Guys like him are important on the battlefield, but at home you become an average Joe. They find themselves working dead end jobs and are extremely unhappy.  A movie like First Blood (1982) is a must watch because even though it came out in 1982, its still relevant today. For example the brutality of law enforcement, it seems like every year we hear a tragic story about cops taking their jobs to the extreme, and killing some unarmed person.

        Sylvester Stallone needs more credit than he deserves, most people perceive him as some macho man who's not really intelligent. But, the thing is a lot of movies he played in he actually wrote them, and sometimes directed them. And if you think writing a movie or directing a movie is easy, then you are sadly mistaken.

The Wrong Man Favorites

The Wrong Man (1956)

Has anyone ever thought about what they would do if they were arrested and thrown in jail for a crime they didn't commit?  How would you handle the situation.  Maybe figure out a way to prove your innocence I would assume.  Watching this movie  will raise ones awareness level for this kind of thing. This is a story on a case of mistaken identity. You hear stories all time about how people serve prison sentences and get released after thirteen years, and turns out it the guy was innocent.  After losing a good chunk of your life those I'm sorry's just won't cut it no matter who they come from.  Alfred Hitchcock's The Wrong Man (1956) takes us on a roller coaster ride through a musicians life as he has been arrested for allegedly robbing a bank. Manny Balestrero (Henry Fonda) up until this moment had never committed a crime or been arrested.  This is based on a true story, and what I like is how right from the jump you know what to expect from this movie. There's no manipulation or nothing, it has all been told to you.  Like the character Wlater Neff said in Double Indemnity, (1944) "Straight down the line." There's nothing wrong with that.  Since we know what will happen, we just want to see the events that follow in a unique cinematic way.
The mind is a precious thing, it does so much for us, and we all take that for granted. What if one day you just had a mental break?  Your brain decided enough was enough, a big loss or some huge trauma could do it, and it can happen to anybody. You might wake up going through usual routine, and then you begin to think about how the fate of one man might be in your hands, and then sayonara? It might not sound like much reading this, but actually try and imagine this on a larger scale, maybe its your mother, father, husband, or wife? Now all of a sudden it seems a little more possible. The brain is like a catch 22 in a way, the brain is so strong and powerful, but at the same time its so fragile.
Alfred Hitchcock, the man is a genius.  I'm not saying this because others say so, I just simply go by what I see in his films.  What he really understands is human emotion, and he controls that. What he will do is use camera shots accordingly. This will make you feel how you are supposed to, which is harder than you might think. Next time pay attention to how he handles something like a romance scene.  Sometimes less is more, what he'll do is use one close up shot and he'll keep the camera there. Which allows the viewer to feel what they are supposed to feel.  I've seen many times in which a director  will  use a variety of shots on a kiss scene ruining the intimate moment.  Hitchcock also understood composition, we don't find ourselves looking at things we shouldn't.  Each scene he has the characters at nice angles which makes each frame more dynamic rather than static, and he never gives us those awkward tangents. With that being said, its hard being a director.  I'm not talking about working with a budget, finishing within the shooting days, getting the actor to do what you want, etc. Yes it's all challenging but if you can't convey the emotion you're looking for you'll lose the audience, period.  You can get everything right, fantastic lighting, great acting, great music, but if the choice of composition is incorrect for certain scenes it'll ruin you. In a way you have to know people, know how they feel in certain situations, and then show them by using the right camera shot. See the viewer doesn't know what shot he or she is looking for, but they know when it doesn't work because they won't feel the connection; and that's one thing Alfred Hitchcock could do.

Route 66: A Bridge Across Five Days

       "Sometimes everything gets sharper and takes on a meaning out of the day, Paradise street is ironic when you're on your way back to Spring grove state hospital, three going out and only two coming back." This episode of Route 66 starts out with the ending as its intro. Our main characters Tod Stiles (Martin Milner) and Buz Murdock (George Maharis) are taking this woman to a mental hospital whom they just met merely five days ago. We begin to learn about her through the flashback of her in the hospital. Lillian Aldrich (Nina Foch) has finally been released from a mental institution after 18 years, which believe it or not was half of her life. She tries to adjust to normal life, as if her life can be normal after what she has lived through for almost two decades. There is a lot of powerful things moving here, after she finally takes her first steps out of the institution she grabs a pile of leaves and begins to smell them. Its a thing almost all of us take for granted until its taken away from you. To be able to go outside, soak up the sun, smell the flowers and trees are things we must treasure.  Ms. Aldrich exited the hospital with no one by her side, no friends, and no family. Which leads to her struggling to adjust to everyday life. Her  run in with our two main characters only began to peel back the onion. Institutionalized is the perfect word to describe her state, she has become so used to not having freedom that this huge world is just too much for her. Its her against the world and she has no one to turn to, so she begins to confide into our protagonists. Once Tod and Buz entered her life we were then able to dissect her life, and found out the reason she entered the hospital. Ms Aldrich tries to confront her problem head on and when she fails, she decides enough is enough and wants to give up. This to her is going back to the hospital, how can one go back when you have already been medically cleared. Which means she just inst ready to face the world head on and would rather go back to her shelter.
A Bridge Across Five Days (1961), the meaning behind it is she's trying to get over. She's spent a good portion of her life in one place in which she has grown accustom to. So, even though the majority of us wouldn't even want to spend a night there its her comfort zone. She needs time to adjust which is why Tod and Buz will be so pivotal to her, as she she tries to build a bridge across to her new life. Its the separation between past and present, and not allowing yourself to go back. Richard Donner directed this TV episode, you're probably familiar with his other works in Lethal Weapon 1,2 & 3 (1987, 1989, 1992)or even The Goonies (1985). As whole I think he did a good job handling this TV episode, because honestly at times, I feel people don't really care about TV episodes, and it shows when it comes craftsmanship. Not here though, this a well directed show.

Looking through an open window but still feeling trapped; Do you pay such an awful price for shelter?

SPOILER ALERT: Key scene/very powerful too.

Scarlet Street (1945)

        2015 has arrived for quite some time and I've yet to post anything. Yes its sad to say I've been pretty neglectful to my blog. I know this is going to sound cliche when I say that I'm pretty bad with updating anything on social media, but actually its true. So, its time to make some changes, and be proactive. I was once told by an old college professor that updating your blog is pretty important, you shouldn't go months without posting, because you never really know who's viewing your blog, someone may want to get in contact with you or hire you. Inactivity says your unavailable, you're considered dead. A blog is a small representation of who you are, or what you do, so you should post accordingly. With that being said my blog is currently going through a metamorphosis, I used to only post my artwork scarcely, now there will be so much more brought to you frequently. You can expect movie reviews/analysis's. Which leads me to the picture above.
Scarlet Street (1945), its not my first written review, but my first written review seen on the internet. Scarlet Street in a nut shell is about an artist named Christopher Cross (Edward G. Robinson) who falls for an attractive woman that is conning him. Fritz Lang is the director. If you've seen any of his earlier works you know he's more than capable of getting the job done. Any young filmmakers or film enthusiasts out there should familiarize themselves with this guy if they haven't already done so. Scarlet street is a Film Noir. Noir consists of a few key elements, one is it contains a dark story, there won't be any Hollywood endings here. Two we have a femme fetale, which is our leading lady who is beautiful BUT deadly. Three, the fantastic lighting, or lack there of. Now Scarlet Street starts out with Christopher Cross looking for the subway so he can get home. He then sees a woman being hit by a man. Finding himself in that what would you do situation? While most people would watch, or record it today, he decides to intervene. This becomes his introduction with our leading lady named Kitty March (Joan Bennett) and her boyfriend Johnny (Dan Duryea). Christopher quickly becomes infatuated with her and mentions how he's an artist. Kitty then assumes he must be wealthy and sell a lot of paintings. After mentioning this to her boyfriend, Johnny gets the idea that she should continue talking to him like she's interested, and then mention her money troubles. Since he's so into her no way won't he give her money, and it will help the two of them come up in life. I wont mention much more in fear that, what is said will spoil it for my audience. But, there are a couple topics I want to discuss. Anytime I see a film about an artist I immediately gain interest, because I am an artist. I'm always curious to see if they will show the struggles an artist goes through, how your life is depended on what you create. The starving artist title is one hundred percent accurate because most people love art, but don't want to pay for it. Christopher in many ways went through what a lot of artists go through. He was constantly creating work which he felt wasn't good enough. See self criticism is a big thing for an artist, it is needed to better your work, but at the same time its your Achilles heel. It becomes hard to notice your improvement, at times you even forget that you're in a race with yourself, and when that happens you feel you're never good enough. Christopher's wife was his biggest critic, she never liked anything he did. This was due to the fact that she just couldn't understand. Since he wasn't creating "traditional" art, he was painting what he felt he saw. The hardest thing for an artist to do is create something and then have the courage to show it to someone, and then have them not understand it. When the negativity comes from someone you love it makes it worse. Which is why I am not surprised that he started to fall for Kitty. When someone likes your work they in a way earn a special place in your heart.
Kitty and Chris find themselves in relationships in which they are all about the relationship, and the other isn't. When you see the film you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. How many people have been in a relationship where someone is maybe abusive, or suggests you to do one thing because its for the better, so you do it. Or you'll do anything for that person? For example someone needs money, but you yourself barley have any. That doesn't matter though, you'll go get that money however you can. These are just a couple powerful elements in this movie, the most powerful one I can't mention because it'll spoil the whole movie, but I do recommend that this film should be watched. Edward G. Robinson handled business like he always does. Fritz Lang showed why he's a master at his craft by the way he handled scenes and developed the story, especially near the end. The final twenty or so minutes is captivating. The thing I loved most was the depiction of a man, in life you can have the highest highs and then in a matter of moments you're at your lowest. and then before you know it you're asking yourself"is life really worth living"?

Just look at this excellent composition! My favorite shot from the whole movie.