Mulholland Drive review

After watching Mulholland Drive, the feeling I got, was similar to the feeling I had after watching Kill Bill. I felt this way because throughout, the movie was gripping, however after, I could not decide whether I liked it or not. For me, Mulholland Drive did what Kill Bill did with genres, to story. In Kill Bill, a mix of genres was a major part of the film, whereas Mulholland Drive focussed on story. There were parts of the film where I felt as if I was getting closer to working out what was going on, however the film repeatedly kept changing, preventing me from 'getting it'. The film presented three different films at once that each blended together to confuse the audience, one was the story of a budding actress trying to make it in Hollywood, the other was the story of a lady and her dealing with her sexuality, and the last was the story of a lady dealing with amnesia. The film also plays with your mental strength. There are scenes where you are informed of something, then led to believe something completely different. The scene in which Diane auditions, you are led into believing that her performance is not a performance but real life. Also, the theatre scene, you are initially informed that everything that proceeds is pre-recorded, however you are led to believe that it is live. The film plays with many Hollywood conventions and also plays with many worldwide beliefs that you have grown to accept.

Ed Wood review

A message that was present throughout Ed Wood was, never to give up. The film was more of a tribute to Ed Wood and never put him down for his unwell received films. We are constantly shown the optimism in Ed Wood and grow to like his character throughout the film. With a happy ending the film goes on to promote the fact that hard work pays off, and to never give up, or as Orson Welles puts it in his films, "visions are worth fighting for". Wood's reaction to every negative moment in his life is an inspiration and reflects Orson Welles' quote.

Kill Bill review

I watched Kill Bill all the way through, without wanting to take my eyes off it. Because of this, I believe it was successful. Whether I liked it or not, I don't know. The editing style used was definitely unique, and I haven't seen anything like it. If I had a problem with anything, it would have to be the story. It is in whole, a story of revenge. I don't know if it's just me being brought up with the traditional revenge stories, but when I see a 'revenge story' I always expect, and now want the message of the story to be that 'revenge is not the answer'. I did not feel this message from Kill Bill. I did however, enjoy the mashup of various styles, including Martial Arts, Japanese gangster and American Western films. I liked this, because it played with my expectations, for example the opening scene where Uma Therman kills her first target, I did not expect a fight within the household due to the setup and colours used, I didn't see it coming. And what a fight it was using a Chinese Wuxia genre, it was fresh.

The Fly review

The Fly for me, was successful in terms of concept. What happens when man takes technology too far? I wasn't too sure about the beginning of the film, as they reveal the death of the professor at the start. I feel this way, as half-way through the film, I genuinely would not have known whether he was going to die or not if it were not for the opening scene. The Fly also had a sense of role reversal as I felt the woman was the main character as she had more screen time and was ultimately trying to save her husband, albeit failing.