Brokeback Mountain

While the film is set in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming, it was filmed almost entirely in the Canadian Rockies in southern Alberta. The "Brokeback Mountain" in the film is so named because the mountain has the same swayback curve as a brokeback horse or mule, which is swaybacked or sagging in the spine, is actually a composite of Mount Lougheed south of the town of Canmore to Fortress and Moose Mountain in Kananaskis Country. The campsites were filmed at Goat Creek, Upper Kananaskis Lake, Elbow Falls and Canyon Creek, also in Alberta. Other scenes were also filmed in Cowley, Fort Macleod, and Calgary. The film was shot during the summer of 2004.

Mark Wahlberg declined the starring role, saying he turned down the opportunity because he was "a little creeped out" by the homosexual themes and sex scene.


By: Sophia Juarbe

Since this week's discussion is about sex and censorship in film, I found an article that fits quite nicely with this subject matter. It's about some of the hidden sexual innuendos in some of the cartoons we all enjoyed when we were younger. Below is a video from the Flinstones which was one of my favorites growing up.



Here's a link to the full article.
http://www.asylum.com/2010/08/18/dirtiest-sexual-innuendos-in-childrens-cartoons/

My Rating System

After seeing This Film Is Not Yet Rated, specifically the scenes with Darren Aronofsky and Kevin Smith, I was inspired to develop my own rating system much like the filmmakers do in the film.

Mission: To inform potential movie goers, in a summarized form, about the content they are interested in viewing. This rating system does not restrict viewing in any way, only informs the potential viewer. Only films of feature length, released either in Theaters, Film Festivals, or straight DVD will be rated. The "Adult" rating does not refer to pornography, nor are any films categorized as pornography subject to be rated.

C- Children: Films rated "C" are mainly, if not solely, comprised of content that appeals to children under the age of 7. Films rated "C" are void of curse words, acts of gratuitous violence or hate. If a film implies an act of violence it is more likely to be rated "C," then one that displays it.

F- Family: Films rated "F" are mainly, if not solely, comprised of content that appeals to people of a variety of ages, ethnicities, creeds, and sexes. Films centered around characters in a family setting are likely to be rated "F."

T- Teen: Films rated "T" are mainly, if not solely, comprised of content that appeals to people between the ages of 13 and 19, but also to a variety of ethnicities, creeds, and sexes. Films centered around characters between the ages of 13 and 19 are likely to be rated "F." Films rated "T" have no restrictions on language.

M- Mature: Film's rated "M" can appeal to all demographics, but feature violence, strong language, and sexual content. There are no age restrictions on films rated "M." Films that feature the above mentioned elements, are likely to receive a "M" rating if the elements are implied.

A- Adult: Film's rated "A" can appeal to all demographics, but feature violence, strong language, and sexual content in a literal presentation. There are no age restrictions on films rated "A."

D- Documentary: Films rated "D" are not categorized as fiction and feature non scripted performances by those telling the story. "D" film can feature any content they so wish, and are not subject to the above ratings. If the film contains content that would typically be categorized as an "A" or "M" film, the movie must feature a brief list of it's content in the film's marketing campaign.

What's Yours?

Please tell me what you think of my proposal, and perhaps suggest your own.

Film Noir w/ a twist

Even though it's a bit of a stretch, I think "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" falls in the category of film noir. It has elements that most, if not all noirs have in common: the detective, the beautiful and seductive woman, and of course, the dramatic use of shadow (especially seen in scenes inside the detective's office).

The best part is, Who framed Roger Rabbit 2 comes out in 2012!

Research Paper

Action Flicks:

The testosterone driven cheap thrill of

mega explosions.

The action flick is a classic style of movie making that was popularized in the 70’s and 80’s and even the 90's. They hold a special place in my heart for two reasons, one, I’m a man and this is how it should be. Two, my earliest memories of television and movies are those of Rambo, The Terminator, Under Siege, Braveheart, Conan the Barbarian,True Lies, Die Hard, and countless others. My childhood heroes were Arnold Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Bruce Willis, Clint Eastwood, Steven Segal. I loved action movies as a kid and I still love them today. The best thing about an action flick is reliving that childish joy of seeing stuff get blown up and the bad guys getting beat up by your favorite action hero. There’s nothing like it, it’s almost primal and instinctual. I have a complete ten part criteria on what makes a good action flick but I’m going to focus the three most important elements of an action flick, over the top unbelievable action sequences, one liners and payoffs, and fighting is the answer to everything.

One of the biggest and most blaringly obvious things that define the action genre is well, action. Not just any action though, I’m talking over the top, bust your balls, edge of your seat, nigh impossible, heart pounding, head exploding, visual feast of moving cinema! This is what separates a manly man’s movie from Suzy’s tea party with friends bull crap that seems to plague the silver screen these days. The hero is put into an impossible situation and through incredible feats of strength, skill, luck, and pure hairy chest manliness, he manages to beat these impossible odds and do it with style. The biggest thing to remember about this is to suspend your disbelief, of course this crap is impossible, FOR YOU, but not for any action hero worth his manly salt. That’s what’s awesome about it, you can’t do it and even if you could you can’t get to see the awesomeness of it from the outside when you’re so busy missile diving through fiery explosions; they can and you get to watch it all go down. As an obligatory note, I must mention that all action sequences must end an explosion, violent kill, or combination thereof.

Usually precluding the climax of a great action sequence is one of the most iconic things of action flicks ever conceived and is rivaled by no other genre, either out of taste or pure lack of the ability to contain such pure unbridled manliness. I’m talking about one liners and pay offs. I can’t begin to express the skull crushing joy I feel when one of my favorite action heroes lets one these bad boys loose right before the fiery explosion filled climax to every good action movie. The best one liners are usually those that have been set up earlier in the movie, the hero will usually learn a phrase, mention something offhandedly, or even say something that defines his character as a whole. One of the most infamous and successful one liners to ever be utter by an action hero was “Hasta la vista, baby!” coined by none other than the terminator himself Arnold Schwarzenegger. I can remember so many people repeating this and countless parodies of it ensued. One liners are like the match that sets of the heaping mountain of explosives sitting directly on top of the main bad guys forehead and is always the most memorable part of any action movie. Everything builds up that one moment and a One liner personifies the climax of an action movie. Nothing is more manly than being able bust one of these volatile explosion starters out when you need to and flex those rippling muscles of manly genius.

However, at the end of the day talk is cheap and there’s only one thing left to do, kick some ass. The single most important thing about any and all action flicks is that the answer to everything no matter what, is either punching, shooting, blowing up, or down right annihilating everything in your way. It’s the action hero code of conduct. If there isn’t a way out, fight your way out, if your opponent is smarting than you punch him in the head and give him brain damage, if you’re outnumbered you’re never outnumbered just kick all their asses, and finally, when all else fails just dig deep down into the pits of your primal and beastly reserves of manly fortitude and find a way to blow something up in a fiery and spectacular way and MAKE everything else work. In any true action movie, violence isn’t just the answer, it’s the ONLY answer. So sack up some balls of steel, grab the nearest sexy woman near you, and go get your daily dose of pure unrefined testosterone driven thrill ride of mega explosions and manliness and go see an action flick today!

Mid-Term Exam Review

These are the areas we have studied so far this quarter that might be on the exam.

1. Beginnings of film and the silent era
2. Transition to sound - complications
3. Surrealism - definitions and examples
4. Expressionism - definitions and examples
5. Genre studies
6. The Horror Film
7. Film Noir
8. Point of view
9. Montage
10. Mise en scene
11. Film screen ratios

These are the films that were required viewing. They will be integrated into the test.

1. Films of the Lumiere Brothers
2. Films of George Melies
3. Edwin S. Porter - "The Great Train Robbery"
4. "Metropolis"
5. "The Passion of Joan of Arc"
6. "Un Chien Andalou"
7. "The Cabinet of Dr. Calagari"
8. "Eraserhead"
9. "Eyes Without a Face"
10. "Susperia"
11. "The Big Sleep"
12. "Laura"

The exam will be an objective test with multiple choice, true false, etc. Thanks for all the papers. I am reading them now and hope to have your grades by Monday.