Although the Cohen brothers have many elements to their films that make them smart, witty and overall entertaining the one thing I could get over was how much the location of the character had to do with the film. In the first movie we saw Raising Arizona the use of jokes or the traits of the characters was funny but as I saw more Cohen films the characters were still funny but at the same time I wanted to see something new or I wanted the humor to be different not just based on realistic character in an unrealistic situation. Although I will say I did not have this same opinion until I saw Fargo which may have hit me in a more personal way seeing how they were portraying somewhere so close to my home and places where my family are from. I think one part of me wanted different humor but at the same time I took the attitude of its all fun and games until you get made fun off.
While the humor of the films came largely from the stereotypical person from the different areas of each film there were some other aspects of the films that I didn’t love like the ending of the films. I didn’t like how things were so unrealistic and just sort off ended, in a way it seemed like they had this well thought out interesting movies but didn’t put as much effort into the endings. The endings weren’t terrible I just want the films to be witty in its entirety and I didn’t feel like all three films accomplished that.
In the end I do have a few things I like to criticize but overall I enjoyed the films for the most part. I don’t think I will be making it a priority to see more Cohen brother films but I am not against them and they have a lot of good qualities. Also I have to say I would have maybe not had the complaints about the location and endings had I not seen all three in a row, it just made little things more reoccurring and stand out. Overall the unit was enjoyable and I think the Cohen brothers do good work.

Robert Altman has many signature film techniques, at least from what I have seen in the three movie we watched in class, one technique of his was having the closing scene not only wrap up the story up like most movies but his ending leave the viewers feeling content but also starving for more detail. This was the case in all three movies the long goodbye, the player, and Nashville. In the long Goodbye we get the information we have been waiting for but at the same time we get a new insight or a new side of Elliot Gould’s character, with him killing the man he had been standing up for the whole time.
In the player we get a little twist too, Altman really makes you think there is nothing left in the film then the phone rings and the pitch is thrown for a movie about a producer that kills a director and everyone’s hearts skips a beat. Even though the phone call doesn’t faze anyone it kind of unofficially reviews the whole plot right before we see the fairy tale ending for the biggest jerk in the world.
Lastly in Nashville the closing scene is crucial and really brings the movie full circle while having the first attempt at revealing any sort of plot. Barbara jean is assassinated which is devastating to a lot of people but at the same time a relief because she was bursting at the seams, we also see other characters realize there destiny all in this short few minutes.
While each Altman film has its own personality and has different techniques used I think the endings that Altman uses are great and really add to the whole film despite the fact they are only a few minutes long. The viewer feels satisfied but not completely informed.

Now after seeing a few more Kubrick films I finally have more of an understanding of his classic style and what make a Kubrick film a real “Kubrick film”. This movie “Eyes Wide Shut” had some main elements that you would expect from Kubrick such as the psychological states of characters, sex, soundtrack and all the shots. Out of the three films we have seen so far this ones plot doesn’t necessarily revolve around the psychological issues like the other two even though they have a strong presence in the flow of the story. As the plot unfolds we find more out about different problems occurring in Alice and Bills relationship including detailed dreams/ fantasies, real occurrences, and just the challenges of marriage. Also to no ones surprise sex plays a huge role in this story, in fact it keeps the movie moving and is responsible for getting the characters (for the most part Bill) in bad situations that lead to the next issue drawing more and more characters in. The lat two elements that come across in this film that are undeniably a trait of Kubrick are the soundtrack and the different shots used, In my opinion these two things go hand in hand to make the unique suspense Stanley Kubrick is known for. While the interesting Music or sounds used always draw you in and the shots just add to that and make it impossible for you to take your eyes off the screen. One thing that really gets me about all theses films is how through out the whole thing you as the viewer are gathering information about these characters and getting inside their head and in all three there is always a huge, sometimes unpredictable but creative non the less ending tying everything together. In the end this films offers a deeper but not always bright look into peoples personal lives while using a variety of techniques that can be seen in other Kubrick films.

A common theme in Citizen Kane is working and pulling ahead in the business world. The movie is about Kane’s life which is consumed by work, and gaining power. Although there have always been big business people that spend the majority of their time working. This has been common amongst Americans, with women in the business world, the economy crash and a variety of other reasons Americans have been working a ton. This goes along directly with Kane’s lifestyle, after his second wife leaves him your really see that Kane does not know how to have a relationship, he only knows how to work. This brings up an interesting question; at what point do we stop working, and save time for other activities? Even though Citizen Kane came out in 1941 the heart and meaning of the story are still relevant to people in the U.S. today.

In the film another obvious thing is that Kane has no shortage of stuff as seen in the finale scene with the crane shot showing his statues, furniture, and other random items just stored in the his Manson, although most people don’t have the extreme amount of stuff Kane has, it brings up yet another issue today in the U.S. and that is people depending on and defining themselves on their material good. Everything in Kane’s world revolves around money and showing he has a lot of it (his estate, building and opera house, ect). While in America today people also want material goods and know our culture is built around that, between the internet, and cell phones. The Movie Citizen Kane show how that money, and goods can’t bring you happiness and they don’t make your life perfect sometimes they are just a distraction from the pain people feel, as we see in kane when he realizes he has lost his childhood.

http://www.bls.gov/tus/charts/work.htm ( American working hours )

http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=737 ( Material goods)

_{http://www.ombwatch.org/budget/images/Wall_street_floor.jpg} ( picture)

Modern film

One thing about movies made these days is that they concentrate so much on how the film looks, which is important but if the look is replacing the quality of the story or the acting then there is a problem. Also that people are using things that are appealing to the eye to cover up depth in the story, there are some movies that look good and also have a good story line but over all there are alot that are lacking in what should really matter and what really makes a movie good. Critics are getting to easy on movies and the expectations for quality have been lowered.