Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: I love this movie

When I found out the next movie we would be watching would be Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, I was very disappointed. I was expecting an extremely boring movie about planes, trains, and cars. However, when I saw the image for the front cover of the movie which was this:

I was surprised and curious as to what this movie was about. I assumed it was a comedy because the two main characters were Steve Martin and John Candy, who I have seen in different movies before that were mostly comedies.

The film starts out with Neal, played by Steve Martin, who is trying to get home from New York to Chicago for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, a lot of things go wrong for him, such as losing a cab and his plane ending up being delayed. The cause of most of his frustration is because of a strange guy he met named Del, (John Candy). Throughout the movie, he ends up going on an unwanted, crazy trip with a stranger who sells shower rings and it's pretty hilarious.

This scene really stood out to me. Neal rants about Del's annoying habits and you can see how hurt Del is by the look on his face. I can see two sides to this scene. I can see the comedic side of the story as Del does annoying things in the bed and Neal gets extremely frustrated and starts complaining about all the annoying things. This part was pretty funny. However, then the scene turns sad when you see Del's face. He is clearly hurt by Neal's words and when he says what he feels it made me feel bad for him. He may be weird or annoying, but he is a nice guy and a good person. You have to accept people for who they are. You have to look for the good inside others. 

This was probably the funniest and most surprising scene. After Neal gets a rental car to see that it's not there, he has to walk all the way back to the airport. I wasn't expecting Neal to freak out like that and dropping a ton of F bombs out of nowhere to the lady at the desk. The last thing she said to him made this scene even better.

By the end of the film as they are finally departing ways, the mood seemed sad. Neal gets on his train and starts thinking about his family. Then he starts to think about Del and how he said he hadn't been home in years. He immediately goes back to the train station and Del is still there sitting alone. He admits to Neal that his wife has been dead for eight years and that he has no home. This part broke my heart and I could tell from Neal's face what was going to happen next. Neal brought Del to his house for Thanksgiving. This ending was really great and I loved it.

This is probably one of the best comedies I've ever seen. I couldn't stop laughing at certain funny parts and the ending was so touching, I teared up a bit. I would rate the film a 10/10. I'm really glad we watched it and I hope we watch more comedies in the future.

Stranger Danger

 

 Neal Page is having a bad day. His goal is to get home in time for Thanksgiving, but he just can't seem to get there...

In the hilarious comedy, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Neal Page is in New York City, ready to catch his flight home. But first he must take a cab, and in the blink of an eye, Del Griffith, a shower curtain ring salesman, "steals" it from him. So much for catching his flight on time. When he finally gets to the airport, he disappointingly finds out that he is taking the same flight as Del, whom he already holds a grudge with. Arguing with the flight attendant, he ends up getting sent to the coach seats on the plane, and guess who he is next to? None other than Del Griffith. 

The whole time he is there, Del is obnoxious. Neal, being the uptight business man that he is, was in no mood to talk to anyone, yet Del keeps running his mouth. Aside from that, his large frame squeezes Neal's slim body into the middle seat. This is going to be a long ride...

The journey is perpetuated when the flight gets diverted to Wichita, Kansas, and Neal scrambles to find a hotel room. This reminded me a lot of Home Alone [interestingly the writer-director of PTaA John Hughes also wrote Home Alone, and the exterior shots of the MacAllistor Chicago home and Neal's house are one in the same; excellent observation/connection Malik], when Kevin's mother vainly attempted to get a flight back home once she discovered that he had been left all by himself. I find it interesting that these movies' plots are polar opposites: in this movie, the main character (Neal) is trying to get back home to his family, and in Home Alone, the family is trying to get back to the main character (Kevin).

But the two films share one similarity: it took a while for each of the families to be reunited.

Since all hotels were booked, Del offered Neal to stay in his room, and of course, he had no other choice but to. Unsurprisingly, he quickly became annoyed at Del's personality. He had terrible hygiene, smoked, and snored obnoxiously as he slept. Oh, did I mention that they shared a queen size bed? Yeah, it wasn't pretty.

Neal eventually reached his breaking point, and yelled at Del for his annoying behavior. Del was on the verge of crying, and he asserted that he was not going to change. He liked who he was, and so did his family. Predictably, the hostility settled after a while, and the two men became semi-friends (frenemies). As they were sleeping, a woman had come into the room, and stole the money out of both of their wallets. Neal had over $700 with him, and Del had over $200. Neal accused Del of stealing his cash, but he sound found out that he was wrong. Del really wasn't a bad person - he was unintentionally obnoxious. He would never steal anything from Neal; he unknowingly "stole" the cab back in NYC by accident.

Despite their financial loss, the Neal and Del hitched a ride to the train, which would take them back to their families in Chicago. Unexpectedly, the train broke down. Once again, so much for getting home to his family for the holiday. Let's try Plan C: a Trailways bus. Fun.

The title of this movie is very deceiving: it sounds boring, but in reality, it is not. As soon as I heard it, I assumed that this would literally be a documentary about planes, trains, and automobiles. But it turned out to be a hilarious 1987 comedy. Thanks Mr. Monahan [You are most welcome; it is a pleasure to have you as a part of MBA's film studies]. 

Sugar: The Dream, The Goals, The Vision

     "Making diamonds requires an enormous amount of pressure, this theme is proven in Sugar"

The movie Sugar starts off by illustrating for the viewer an image of the baseball camp in the Dominican Republic. From the very beginning we get a glimpse at the amount of importance baseball has in the community and for the families. Sugar, the protagonist comes off as a dreamer whose future not only affects him, but his entire family. After improving upon his already harnessed skills Sugar is recruited by an american minor league team. Not only is this his first time in America but this is also his big shot at making it to the major leagues.

Sugar starts off doing well as he takes all of the things he's learnt in the D.R. and fully utilizes it to the most of his ability. Along the way however, as most star immigrants, the pressure rushes to his head. After he is seriously injured his rapid decline from the road to fame begins. Sugar realizes this as he tells his mother that he is planning to stay in America and pursue other careers outside of his baseball dream. Even though his mother expresses her concern for her son's future, she ultimately tells him to follow his own path and find his dream.

Lastly, Sugar quits the team by abandoning his bus as he tries to find some sense of meaning in his life. This strong desire leads him to a carpenter shop when he gets a job and once again feels as though he belongs. While he past relationships with others besides his family seemed genuine, they soon proved false as events unraveled. Sugar's search for authenticity is finally solved with his "new family" and even his take on life. The movie ends on the note of Sugar realizing that he can do the things he loves for himself without the approval of anyone.  

An Uncertain Future

In our last class, we finished Alfred Hitchcock's thriller, The Birds. As I stated in my previous post, I was extremely excited to see what would happen next. I was particularly hankering to find out why the birds were attacking the people of Bodega Bay and if Melanie was the cause of the chaos as the movie subtly hinted at. We left off at the scene when Melanie and Mitch found the schoolteacher, Annie Hayworth, dead on her front-porch after the bird attack. Following this traumatic and highly emotional scene, Mitch, Melanie, and Cathy retreated to the Brennan home. Mitch frantically boarded up every crevice of the home as the birds ruthlessly tried to break through the doors and windows. 

When the bird attack unexpectedly ceased, every one was left physically and emotionally shaken, wondering if the terror would ever stop. Soon after, everyone fell into a much-needed, but cautious slumber . In conventional fashion of horror movies, Melanie went upstairs to the attic after she heard some strange noises characteristic of birds. When Melanie opened the door to the attic, the birds viciously rushed at her, pushing and pecking until she was left bleeding on the floor. Fortunately, Mitch and Mrs. Brennan were able to save Melanie from the attack. The brutal attack on Melanie is the breaking point for everyone, and Mitch makes the executive decision to leave Bodega Bay once and for all.

But to leave, they must get past the birds. When Mitch opens the door of the house to get to the car, he is faced with the horrifying image of thousands of birds scattered in front of him, almost waiting in anticipation. Surprisingly, Mitch was able to safely get past the birds and get a radio signal from the car. The radio reported that other bird attacks had happened in small areas surrounding Bodega Bay, and that the U.S military would possibly get involved. At the end of the film, Mitch and Mrs. Brennan are able to get a severely traumatized, Melanie, in to the getaway car. But before leaving, Cathy requests to bring the love-birds because "they didn't harm anyone". The film ends surprisingly with Mitch driving the entire family away from  the home. We see a long-shot of the the truck driving into the distance across the narrow dirt-road. Night is just about to break.  The ending shot is eerie as the birds begin to squawk frantically when the car is no longer in sight.

Like my peers, I was perplexed and slightly disappointed by the loose strings left at the end. There is no resolution to the bird attacks. Most notably, it is never revealed why the bird attacked. Although mildly frustrating, I appreciate the ending of The Birds because it enhances the bizarreness of the movie and leaves a lot to the imagination. In my opinion, horror movies are all the more terrifying when there is no resolution to the problem because you feel as if that problem exists after you leave the theater, even if it is fiction. 

In my personal opinion, I think that the love-birds were the cause of the birds attacking because wherever Melanie went with the love-birds, the other birds started acting strangely. I noticed at the beginning of the movie as Melanie was walking in the city towards the pet shop, the birds were flying strangely in the sky, which captured her attention. This was before she even arrived at Bodega Bay. We can speculate all we want, but we will most likely never find out the truth, as that is what Alfred Hitchcock probably wanted. Ambiguous endings really mess with the mind, and I find that oddly intriguing and powerful. The unknown has always fascinated me.

Hitchcock v. Hitchcock

Watching the movies The Birds and Psycho, you can see the distinctive qualities of Alfred Hitchcock's work. Straight off the bat, however, these two movies contrast one another in the fact that Psycho was in black and white, where The Birds is in color. I find the fact that Hitchcock made Psycho black and white for the sake of art and realism admirable.

I question, however, how it was that black and white was considered more realistic than that of color.

In both of these movies, it's evident Hitchcock's love for playing with one's mind. For example, in Psycho, the director keeps the viewer on edge with suspense and wonder on just how it is that the mother's supposedly dead, but is yet shown murdering numerous people. In The Birds, we never really know why the animals are attacking humans. The ending is left more open-ended than anything, leaving people to come to their own conclusions.

In both movies, it was a minor observation to note that the main characters each have mother problems, whether it was abandonment or death, or even a mental instability. Also, both movies incorporate some form of a love story, whether it cause a murder in Psycho, or serve as a source of strength in The Birds.

If I had to review the works of Hitchcock as an individual, I'd say that his movies were the most interesting and intriguing movies we've watched so far.

Unfinished Ending

Today I watched the final part of The Birds, which left me both disappointed and curious. Where I had left off last class, the massive flock of birds had fled the house, or at least that's what I was fooled into believing...

Alfred Hitchcock is notorious for being the "master of suspense", a title which he is undoubtedly deserving of. Suspense was definitely implemented in the final part of the film, as Melanie made her way around the dark house, slowly. Every thirty seconds or so, she heard a sound, definitely emanating from a bird. The birds were somewhere in the house. But where were they hiding? With my eyes glued to the screen, I saw Melanie slowly walk up the stairs, and I could tell from the sound that the birds were behind the door to the right. She creeped towards it, and slowly opened the door. She gasped when she noticed that the birds had torn through part of the roof, and that is when they unleashed their fury and attacked her. She tried to reach for the door handle, but wasn't able to turn it. Luckily, Mitch came to her rescue, but another obstacle stood in the way: as it turns out, the birds hadn't left the outside of the house either. 

They were all sitting around, surrounding the house, perfectly still. Mitch eased his way out into the horde, being careful as to not make any sudden movements or noises, and managed to get to Melanie's car, which he would use to take her to the hospital. Cautiously, he drove up to the front of the house, and gently closed the car door. He was going to escort Melanie and his mother to the car; immediately I was worried that one of the women, if not both, would scream out of fear, and cause the birds to attack once again. Fortunately, they stayed quiet, and carefully drove off into the distance. The end.

Whoa wait! Did this movie seriously just end like that? It's like one of those books that is a great read for most of the way, and then cuts off all of a sudden, leaving you in eternal suspense, forever asking all of those unanswered questions. The end.                                                                                                                                                                                         

When Birds Attack

In our viewing of  another Alfred Hitchcock thriller, The Birds, we watch as pandemonium ensues when birds start attacking the small town of Bodega Bay, California. Set in 1963, the main character, Melanie Daniels, meets a wealthy lawyer, Mitch Brennan, in a local pet shop. In their first meeting, the attraction between the two is as clear as day. While viewing this scene, I was very intrigued by Melanie's impetuous, spur-of-the-moment behavior. Not only does she initially pretend to be a salesperson in the pet shop and let a bird out of the cage without much thought, but she decides to purchase two lovebirds and bring them to Mitch for his little sister, Cathy. Personally, I think it takes a lot of guts to find a stranger's address, drive all the way out to their home, and try to secretly deliver a present. In my opinion, Melanie is a very unconventional female lead because she goes after what she wants, particularly her love interest. Often times in films, the male lead is the one to make the first move and approach the woman. That was just a little tidbit I noticed.

Looking at the bigger picture, when Melanie arrives in Bodega Bay, the birds in the area become increasingly aggressive and hostile. In the first incident as Melanie is rowing her boat into the Bodega Bay harbor, a gull comes bites the top of her forehead, breaking the skin. In a second incident while the kids are playing at Cathy's birthday party, the birds promptly attack again. All seemed tranquil and normal until one night when Melanie and the Brennan family were lounging in the living room. Suddenly, a massive amount of birds started swarming the house from the chimney. For the time period, I think the visual effects of this scene were pretty awesome. The use of isolated diegetic sound also enhanced this scene and made it all the more intense. When Mitch reported the incident to the sheriff, he failed to believe them.

True to the dark and sinister nature of Hitchcock films, things continue to get worse. When Melanie visited the schoolhouse to pick up Cathy at the request of a shaken Mrs. Brennan, she noticed a large flock of crows starting to gather on the school playground, almost like they were waiting to begin their terror. Melanie quickly informed the teacher, Annie, who instructed the kids to behave as if it were a fire drill and run home as fast as they could. As soon as the children fled the school house, the birds began to attack, viciously biting and knocking everyone down in sight. Melanie and the viewers realize that something is definitely not right with the birds.

In our last viewing of The Birds in class, Melanie and the other people in the restaurant were arguing over  whether or not the birds were attacking purposefully. The semi-peaceful mood is broken when a bird smashes into a gas pump, causing gasoline to flow out into the parking lot . Ironically, a man was smoking a cigarette as the gasoline was nearing his car, which resulted in a major explosion. Chaos ensued as the birds started to attack again. In one of the most harrowing moments of the film, Melanie and Mitch find Annie dead on the stairs of her home. What a way to end!

I am very excited to continue watching this movie in class. I want to know why the birds are attacking and, if and how they will be able to stop them. Is Melanie responsible for the birds attacking as the film is hinting at? How much worse can things get?