“Mad Hot Ballroom”

“Mad Hot Ballroom” was an interesting look at how a ballroom dancing program in New York City public schools has had a positive impact on those 5th graders who participate in it.

The documentary told the story in a very effective way, cutting between footage of dance practice/competition with interviews with the kids and teachers who make it happen. It also did a great job setting the scene with shots of the neighborhoods where these kids are from. I thought transitions between all the different locations was one of the strengths of this documentary. The cinematography choices helped a lot in that regard. It was nice to end on a high note of the victory, but I would have liked a little more follow-up in the conclusion. Even just a montage of pictures with text and/or voice over right before the credits.

This 5th grade “Dancing With the Stars”, in essence, is an interesting topic for a documentary, and I thought the filmmakers told it well. It showed how much of an impact it has had on these kid’s lives, and it really captured the unique insights of the 10 year old mind well.

“Night Coffee”

“Nighthawks” painting story…

“Lola Rennt”

“Lola Rennt” has some of the most creative and unique cinematography and editing that I have seen in a film. It is fitting though, considering how unique the plot is and how the story is told.

 Because the film uses roughly the same sequence three times, with a few changes each time, it needed to be visually exciting. It was able to achieve that through the creativity in the cinematography. Lola was filmed running from a lot of different perspectives to curb the monotony of sprinting down sidewalks for long periods of time. It also cut well with the fast paced music to build the suspense and tension of the moment. According to imdb.com, the average shot length was only about 2.7 seconds, and there were 1,581 transitions in just 71 minutes of action, which kept up with the fast pace of the movie.

I am a little bit surprised “Lola Rennt” did not recieve more Oscar attention, but foriegn films do tend to have a harder time. The editing and cinematography were at least on par, if not better, than a lot of American blockbuster films.

“The Life of Kevin Carter”

   

“The Life of Kevin Carter” shows how tragic the life of a photojournalist can be. Kevin Carter was talented enough to win a Pulitzer Prize for his work, but the scars he carried were incredible. Even more incredible, many of those scars were a result of outside critics. These critics chastised him for not being a Saint, when he was merely a journalist.

A good point was made in the film that his photos actually raised more awareness for the girl and those like her. That alone does more for her plight than anything he could have possibly done as an observer. It is sad that his photo that should have done nothing but enrich his life as journalist was one of the biggest influences on his decision to commit suicide.

Kevin Carter is a perfect example of how psychologically demanding his profession can be. People like him who risk their lives, in many cases, to bring the world powerful images need to be supported.

My Top 10 Photos

My Top 10

 

 

Favorite Websites

5 of My Favorite Websites (in no particular order)

stumbleupon.com  Ultimate boredom curing website. It brings up a lot of sites I never would have found otherwise, and they are usually pretty entertaining.

imdb.com   Everything you would ever care to know about pretty much every film ever made. Love the random trivia too.

espn.com   All the latest, scores, news, and stats for pretty much every sport. Also includes columns and blogs related to sports.

facebook.com  Do I really need to say anything? Yay social networking, and it’s way less sketch/trashy than Myspace or any other site.

weather.com  It gives all the latest weather conditions and forecasts so that I know roughly what to expect when going outside. Also the definitive source for any weather related information.