Matthew Kapusta
Cinematography
Silence Of The Lambs
Silence of the Lambs is about an FBI detective in training leading a case to catch the serial killer called “Buffalo Bill.” In order to do this she has to enlist the help of world renown serial killer Hannibal “The Cannibal,” Lecter. Much of the movie gives us clues and hints about the background of the main character Clarice and Hannibal. In order to get Hannibal to cooperate with the investigation the FBI had to give some demands to him and get him moved to a new institution. Clarice also had to give up a lot of personal information about herself in order to get Hannibal to trust her and make him willing to help.
My favorite parts about this movie was the use of camera angles in certain scenes. For example in the scenes with Clarice talking to Hannibal, the shot would be a close up of Hannibal and you could just feel how uncomfortable Clarice must have felt in the film. This film also did a very good job of making the person watching the film feel the stress of every stressful situation. One of the last scenes of the film you can especially feel this. Clarice is in the house of “Buffalo Bill,” alone and at first she doesn’t realize it’s his house. In this scene she has to try and find the serial killer and rescue the girl he has taken hostage. All of the background noise in this scene, the music, the dog barking, the scared girl screaming, all adds to the suspense, stress, and build up of what’s to come. Much of the lighting in this movie is also very well done. One scene that sticks out for me for the lighting is when Clarice is talking to Hannibal and his cell is pitch black and it’s almost like Clarice is talking to no one. The acting in this film was very good. Everyone that was casted for this film fills each of their rolls perfectly. I believe there was no better roll that was casted than Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. The way this character was presented is what made this film one of my personal favorite movies all time. I usually only like newer movies and those are usually my favorite movies but ever since I watched this movie I’ve been hooked on older movies and more classic movies.
I would definitely recommend this film especially to anyone who likes thrillers and a little bit of crime solving. There wasn’t a part in this movie I didn’t like. The plot moved along at a good pace and was pretty easy to understand but at the same time you really had to watch the movie if you wanted to completely understand what was going on and not to miss anything. Some of the things that stand out in this movie is small things and small hints they throw out during the film that may not seem too important but are very vital to solving and piecing everything together.
Good Will Hunting
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The movie Good Will Hunting is a film about a guy named Will Hunting who is a genius but doesn’t care about anything. He had a rough childhood and this has shaped him into someone who has trust issues and who doesn’t do anything out of what he knows and his comfort zone. If you think about it and really watch him on the outside you would think of him as the typical or stereotypical man but deep down he is different from the rest. It’s not just his extreme intelligence that sets him apart it’s also how he falls for this girl. He’s never felt that strongly for anyone and it scares him. He’s scared to open up to her he’s scared she’ll leave so when she leaves and asks him to come with her he doesn’t at first and just tries to get rid of her altogether. He was scared of that type of commitment and that she eventually wouldn’t feel the same way about him anymore. The story line of this movie is very compelling and you don’t even know the main story line until after he meets the girl. I really believe this is one of the best written movies of all time. You can pick out pretty much any line from this movie and use it as a quote to live by. Robin Williams was an excellent choice and did an amazing job in his part of the movie. I could feel all of his emotions and felt for him when all he wanted was to help this kid that was struggling and didn’t even know it. It was also a very good choice to cast Matt Damon as the lead in this movie. I can’t picture anyone else to play his part in this movie. Every important scene in this movie was shot extremely well and seemed like it was all done in only one take. This movie was really well put together in every way and really grabs you and pulls you in. It’s easy to connect with many of the characters in the film in one way or another. I feel that if a movie is able to make you feel what the characters feel and you’re able to connect with a movie then it is one of the best movies out there. Everything felt top of the line when it came to sound, lighting, editing. The whole movie just felt really smooth and well put together. You can tell a lot of time went into planning and getting everything right before the movie was even filmed. The location of the movie even was amazing. I’m not sure what city it was filmed in but I don’t think they could have picked a better film location. I would definitely recommend this movie to literally anyone as it has quickly become one of my all time favorites. I didn’t think I would like it all too much in the beginning but it grew on me fast and is deservedly one of the top 100 movies of all time.
Rocky
The top 100 movie I decided to watch and review was Rocky. Rocky is an all-time classic and one of my favorite movies of all-time. This movie follows Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone, an amateur boxer who is down on his luck and trying to make it as one of the top boxers in the world. This movie is a true underdog story from start to finish. After losing his fight early in the movie he was dropped by his trainer for a new young up and coming prodigy. This is basically Rocky’s rock bottom from here on out everything starts to look up. Rocky then finds the love of his life Adrian Pennino, played by Talia Shire, and as for his boxing career he gets a fight against one of the top fighters in the world Apollo Creed, played by Carl Weathers. Rocky then goes through his iconic training routine. Since Rocky is at the bottom of the barrel in the boxing world he doesn’t have all of the same top notch training equipment that Apollo Creed has. So instead Rocky uses meat as punching bags, he jump ropes and does his famous run of Philadelphia. Rocky’s unique training routine gains media attention which brings him into the eye of the people and slowly starts to become the people’s champ. This all leads up to the fight between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed and what a fight it was.
I really enjoyed and appreciated every aspect of this movie especially with how good of a job they did on such a small budget. The acting and the cinematography was so good not just in this film but across all films in this franchise. In fact I like to try and incorporate some of those inspirational speeches into my life and they have helped me get through some tough times. The lighting in this movie always felt appropriate. Most of the lighting was dark and bleak throughout the film as if it were to represent and show how down on his luck Rocky really was. The brightest part of the movie was at the end during the fight which to me symbolizes that he made it to the big time. Although everything in this movie was great my favorite part was still the acting and directing by Sylvester Stallone.
I definitely would and have recommended this movie to anyone. There are many aspects of this movie to like no matter what kind of movies you are into. You could only watch dramas, romance movies, action movies, or sports movies and this could be a film that you enjoy and fall in love with. This movie is an all-time favorite for me and I’m sure many others so it is no wonder that it is on the top 100 movies of all time list.