Cinemann Volume 2 Issue 2

Table of Contents

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Cinemann: Volume VII, Issue 2

Editors in Chief

Senior Editor

Matthew Taub

Associate Editors

Hannah Jun

Alexandra Saali

Production Manager Victoria McKaba

A Letter

Charles Scherr Emma Garcia Nicholas McCombe Savannah Smith

From

The

Faculty Advisor Dr. Deborah Kassel

Editors:

Hey everybody!

It may be getting cold outside, but things here at Cinemann are just heating up! This issue offers insights into Johnny Depp’s newest film The Rum Diary, an examination of Hollywood soundtracks, an extensive profile of Ryan Gosling, and a piece written by our very own Dr. Kassel on her five favorite movies! We’re excited to share these perspectives with you, but not nearly as excited as we are for the upcoming onslaught of holiday movies. Look for the next issue in print and be sure to get to a theater near you soon!

Best, Alexandra Saali and Matthew Taub P.S. Check out our new blog at http://hmcinemann.tumblr.com/ Cinemann 3

Imageshack

“The amount of alcohol

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consumed in this film is astounding, perplexing and troubling.�

THE RUM DIARY

Troy Siprelle comments on Johnny Depp’s newest film

I expected The Rum Diary to be entertaining but nothing new- just Johnny Depp starring in one more absolutely insane movie.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by Depp’s newest flick, which broke from the typical movie mold the star is attracted to. While allowing yet another nutty demonstration of his talent, this film reached beyond the emotional depth of an anticipated Johnny Depp movie and aimed to send a moral message.

The first shots are of a trashed hotel room; half-drunk bottles of alcohol and an assortment of other detritus are scattered about.

Here, we meet Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp), struggling out of bed and into the daylight of San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1960. This very hung-over and bloodshot-eyed man has to go to work.

Poor guy. He has recently been employed by a doomed newspaper, staffed by a rather eclectic bunch- with varying degrees of sobriety and sanity. Kemp and his colleagues, men of intense greed and corruption, struggle together against the native islanders for control and an atmosphere of pervasive party and drinking throughout the film.

The Rum Diary is a highly appropriate title for this film as there is at least one character drinking in every scene. More commonly, multiple characters and multiple drinks are featured. The amount of alcohol consumed in this film is astounding, perplexing and troubling. How could anyone drink so much liquor

and not keel over? Who would want to? Why? These are the kinds of questions the audience is confronted with watching the film. Kemp at one point in the movie argues that, “there’s no such thing as 470 proof alcohol”. His coworker proves him wrong by guzzling down 470 proof booze. Impressed?

The movie focuses on Kemp, his various escapades, and misadventures in Puerto Rico.

He briefly gets involved with Aaron Eckhart’s character, Sanderson, a cutthroat businessman and is almost always accompanied by the newspaper’s photographer Bob Sala ( Michael Rispoli). Complications arise when Depp’s character becomes obsessed with Chenault, a flirtatious blonde American and Sanderson’s fiancée played by Amber Heard. The characters are engaging for the most part, and I found myself sympathizing greatly with Kemp who often seems to be thrust into situations beyond his control and stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The cinematography is well planned and engrossing in an occasionally unattractive way, but I noticed the boom dipping into the frame twice, which is bad moviemaking and unusual for a big budget Hollywood movie. In conclusion, I highly suggest Bruce Robinson’s latest foray into movie directing since 1992 to anyone with a spare afternoon and $15 extra dollars in their wallet, but it’s not a movie to see over and over again.

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Movie Profess

So

ional Vs Popula rA

encefalus

“A soundtrack can carry a visual along, be an unforgettable addi-

contained tracks by pop bands su

tion to the film and sometimes there is a small moment of some-

Desire. Not to fall behind, the so

thing really great, which exist as beautiful music on its own mer-

Friends With Benefits, and Brid

it.” These are the words of Hans Zimmer, a German composer

popular music composed by vario

who has scored critically acclaimed titles ranging from the Lion

as Fitz and the Tantrums, and Se

King (1994), to The Dark Knight (2008) and Inception (2010).

such as Blondie and Britney Spe

But why, is it that in the past few years has the film industry been

Overall these films had a yo

edging away from traditional film composers such as Hans Zim-

Just as a film is carried by it soun

mer, and moving towards younger more popular artist?

along with the soundtrack and th

Let us take for example the soundtrack of the movie

popular artist within the film com

Drive. Staring Ryan Gosling, the movie was a hit in box offices

uted to the fact that they being “p

nation-wide, but what was unexpected was the successful of it’s

of creating pieces that resonate w

soundtrack, composed by Cliff Martinez, who also is the drum-

an age. And this can been seen w

mer for the band Red Hot Chili Peppers. The soundtrack also

soundtrack, to Friends with Ben

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oundtr

acks:

l Comp osers s.

Artists

cltampa

uch Chromatics, College, and

and Bridesmaids pop soundtrack.

oundtracks of other films such as

desmaids contained nothing but

the modern day, as opposed to orchestral pieces that accompa-

These soundtracks all emulate genres that are popular in

ous popular indie bands, such

nied a majority of films. Not only do these soundtracks appeal to

emisonic as well as pop singers,

a younger audience, but give the film a more modern tone, one

ears.

to which a viewer can relate to. This allows the to more easily

ounger-youthful vibe to them.

viewer to feel like they are truly a part of the movie, and immerse

ndtracks, the viewers are pulled

themselves in the visuals. Even though a majority of recent film

he visuals, as well. The rise of

releases still remain true to the tradition of having an orchestral

mposing business can be attrib-

soundtracks. As the general population continues to further dis-

popular� artist, are more capable

tance itself from orchestra music, the appearance of pop within

well with the audience of this day films will become more common as well.

within Drive’s electronica themed

nefits indie-sounding soundtrack,

By Champ Darabundit Cinemann 7

Two Part Movies

By Cora Bae

T

he night that revealed how the adventures of the three famous friends would end finally came.

Millions of fans from all over the world have read the books and it was now time to watch the ending of the movie series. As I stood in line with my friends along with more than a hundred people, I waited anxiously to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

Looking around at the people standing in line, I realized that many fans were yawning or close to falling asleep on the sidewalk. I checked my watch and realized we were an hour away from midnight. Tired, I asked myself, “Is this really worth it?” I decided that I should just stay, considering that we were so close to getting into the theatre.

The more tired I became, the higher my expectations for the movie rose. Though I am a firm believer that movies are never as good as the books they are based on, I hoped for an epic finish to the series that millions grew up with. I convinced myself that because the last movie was in two parts, it would be more detailed. It would be a better movie.

But is that true? Are movies better when they are split up into two parts?

One could argue that because they are longer, they are more detailed. Still, can’t less mean more?

A movie split into two parts isn’t necessarily any better than an average full-length film. In some ways, it

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can be annoying to watch. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was released on July 15th 2011, close to six months after the first part came out.

For those who did not follow the books but only the movies, Part 1 ended with an abrupt cliffhanger.

After watching the last movie of the Harry Potter series, I was completely satisfied with how the director, David Yates, chose to depict the end of Ron’s, Hermione’s, and Harry ’s adventure. However, its being divided into two films did not convince me that it was better than what it would’ve been if it were a single movie. Although almost everything in the book was covered in the two parts of the movie, the division seemed completely unnecessary to me.

Though I thought that dividing the movie into two films was unnecessary, I understand why the studio chose to do so. The Harry Potter series is the most successful in film history. By splitting the movie, both premieres attracted relatively the same amount of people, doubling the amount of money that would have been made if it were just a single film.

At the same time, splitting movies into multiple parts is not necessarily a bad thing. One of my favorite movies of all time, Lord of the Rings, is a multipart film and I look forward to seeing two-part movies coming out in the near future, such as Breaking Dawn. The splitting of a movie does not necessarily make it worse, but it is also sometimes unnecessary.

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“ W

His versatility has expanded and instead of simply playing anguished souls, Gosling now plays magnetic beings.

ith stars like Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Tom Cruise reaching middle age and beyond, Hollywood is on the prowl for a new set of leading men to fulfill all of its dramatic, comedic, and action needs. One of the top contenders is without a doubt Ryan Gosling. The Canadian actor has long been on the radar but it wasn’t until the last two years that he has proven he has the talent and more importantly the drive to be a Hollywood A-lister. With five very different films released in the last two years, he has shown an extraordinary amount of range and depth in his craft.

Gosling has had a long career, debuting in 1993 at the age of thirteen on the popular children’s variety show The Mickey Mouse Club – now famous for grooming future successful performers like Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and Brittany Spears. After several stints on Canadian television (Goosebumps, Breaker High, Flash Forward) and headlining Fox’s live-action children’s series Young Hercules in 1993, Gosling decided to foray into film.

Gosling found mainstream success with the iconic romantic movie The Notebook in 2004.

The Notebook, which followed the generic formula of an average romantic movie, had every reason not to be the hit that it was. But with rather beautiful cinematography, a strong script, and a combustible chemistry between Gosling and Rachel McAdams (the two ended up dating for several years), The Notebook became the sleeper hit of the year. In the glow of all the award shows,

”

it seemed that Gosling was poised for mega-stardom.

And yet the years passed, and none of Gosling’s movies had matched the commercial success of The Notebook. Instead of taking advantage of his new commercial potential as many would have, Gosling continued to star in indie movies like Half-Nelson (2006), Fracture (2007), and Lars and the Real Girl (2007). For the next three years Gosling didn’t even act at all, instead releasing an album with his band Dead Man’s Bones in 2009.

Then, 2010 happened. Out of nowhere, Gosling seemed to be everywhere with a seemingly astounding workload. Claiming to have more energy and confidence in a recent New York Times interview, Gosling appeared in All Good Things (with Kristen Dunst) and Blue Valentine (with Michelle Williams) in 2010 and Crazy, Stupid, Love, Drive, and The Ides of March in 2011.

What is more impressive than appearing in five extremely satisfying, award-winning films (Blue Valentine was nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress at the Academy Awards and Drive won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival) is that Gosling performed in five totally different roles.

He nailed improvisational drama in Blue Valentine, smart romantic comedy in Crazy, Stupid, Love, and dark political drama in The Ides of March. His versatility has expanded and instead of simply playing anguished souls, Gosling now plays magnetic beings. He’s doing what he did with The Notebook seven years ago but now with the critical acclaim to accompany the commercial success.

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Another possible reason for Gosling’s recent spate of terrific films is the excellent direction he’s been receiving. The upcoming movies that Gosling is attached to, The Place Beyond the Pines and Only God Forgives, are directed

by Derek Cianfrance and Nicolas Winding Refn respectively, who previously directed Blue Valentine and Drive respectively. Gosling’s recent press conferences and interviews (particularly AOL’s Unscripted interview with Refn and the Toronto International Film Festival press interview with the entire cast of The Ides of March) show a close relationship between Gosling and his directors.

Gosling brings a certain charisma to all his characters. He comes off as a little edgy but entrancing to both other characters and the au-

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dience. His characters often exude a danger, an intuitive omniscience, and/or unpredictability.

In Blue Valentine, when Dean (Gosling) threatens to jump off the bridge to get Cindy (Williams) to confess her secret, my mind déjà-vud to the scene in The Notebook when Noah (Gosling) forces Allie (McAdams) to ask him out or he would fall from the Ferris Wheel. Obviously the intentions and situations were completely different, but Gosling exudes a cool authoritative energy in the high-panic situations his characters have intentionally placed themselves in. All of his characters have something special about them, and his individual films mold the specialness into something more detailed and unique.

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With several more movies slated for release in 2012 and 2013, Gosling’s burst of energy and inspiration doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. With nearly two decades of acting under his belt, this success was a long time coming. 2010-11 has seen Gosling mature as a celebrity, dealing with the stresses of Hollywood and still succeeding artistically. He is crafting a foundation for a strong career in Hollywood because he took

his time and fine-tuned his craft, placing it before anything else. Now, having gained some experience, Ryan Gosling is ready to conquer Hollywood.

~Hannah Jun Cinemann 15

Asked to narrow down my favorite films of all time to a mere five is like being told that I can choose to save only two children from a population of 10,000. Spanning the gamut of genre and year, my affections are multiple and wideranging. In sundry mood, I might venture as far as Film Forum for something eclectic or just cross a couple of streets for a more mainstream experience at the local multiplex. But now the threat of the ultimate hypothetical stands before me. Faced with my own cinematic version of Sophie’s Choice, I will bite the proverbial bullet—and make my selection.

…And it’s not pretty. But my personal list does feature Life is Beautiful (1997), as one of the rarefied few I will never see again precisely because it was so powerful the first time. There is no scene more heart-rending or hilarious than when the father (actor and director Roberto Benigni) deliberately mistranslates the Nazi guard’s instructions, turning death threats into a promise of lollipops so that his son will be spared the unthinkable reality of life in a concentration camp. It is one of the film’s most uncanny of feats—to have tragedy and comedy in reciprocal play, so that the tears from one emotion flow into the other. This story of a parent who gets his child through the horrors of the Holocaust by making a joke of it elicited the criticism of some

reviewers who thought it blasphemous to make light of such a serious subject. But Academy Award winner Benigni is after something much more complex—the euphoria and catharsis that is generated in this curious crucible of pain, laughter, and hope.

Hope is the life force that sustains “Saving Private Ryan”(1998) about an American squadron during World War II whose mission is to rescue a mother’s only remaining living son. The film implicitly asks us to consider the unthinkable: How many is too many—when five men have to sacrifice their lives so that one can survive? We watch as one by one, the hapless troops are picked off in pursuit of the missing soldier it is their job to save. I have never seen a death scene more unnerving than the sequence in which a Nazi soldier slowly inserts a knife through a young American soldier’s chest, penetrating his heart with eerily gentle calm. “Shush, Shush,” he says with avuncular kindness, as if he were administering a vaccination instead of driving in a lethal blade. The Nazi clearly has been brainwashed to believe that he is doing good by “exterminating” this unwanted. Enacting on screen “the banality of evil,” Spielberg shows us how perverse societal conditioning might allow an entire nation to justify what is morally heinous.

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Francis Ford Coppola accomplishes a similar paradox by bringing us a Mafia family that turns violence into romance, homicide into a matter of honor in the Godfather trilogy (1972, 1974,1990). As the audience, we are simultaneously repulsed and riveted, horrified and hopeful that the murderous members of this family will go free. Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), at first an upstanding citizen, finds himself turning full blown criminal in avenging his father-- perpetuating a cycle of vengeance that culminates in a remorseful yet unsuccessful attempt to come clean. By the time he repents and tries to make things right, the cycle of revenge has already been activated and there’s no stopping the beast…

…Or the iceberg which sinks Titanic (1997)--but not the film of the same title which “will go on,” like the Celine Dion theme song in my memory. As a young, head-strong woman battles her own conflict between wealth and love, seizing the day and playing it safe, we watch the world’s most infamous passenger ship head to the bottom of the ocean floor.

Suspense is regenerated and amplified at every twist. Obstacles seem to arise faster than the water, as Rose (Kate Winslett) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) axe their way out of manacles,

dive into sub-freezing temperatures for submerged keys, all the while dodging the shots of a deranged fiancé. This breathtakingly paced film about one of history’s greatest maritime fiascos is enhanced by a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack.

But for a full musical score you’d have to go back to 1965 to The Sound of Music. What’s more romantic than seeing Christopher Plummer serenade Julie Andrews in the moonlit glow of a white gazebo as they discover their hidden passion for each other? Even if you’re not 16 going on 17 (like so many of you), how can you escape the adrenaline rush every time Plummer tries to talk down the young soldier (and former love interest of his daughter) into blowing the whistle on a perfectly color-coordinated set of innocent children hiding in a monastery? Who is not moved by the Reverend Mother’s alto-rich injunction to “climb every mountain” as she belts out inspiration across the Alps? Along with “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,” this film is also “one of my favorite things.”

~Dr. Kassel

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