Due to unforeseen technical problems, I was unable to be involved in the last hour of class and missed the last presentations. I am very sad about this but from what I have read so far they seem great! 🙂 This week’s movie was Matinee and it really drove me into a happy depression as if I was replaying the memories of a loved one. Going to the movies was a huge part of my childhood and young adult life and is even a thanksgiving tradition in my family. I was in a Deja Vu moment for half the movie replaying all of my favorite movie theatre experiences.  Some of my first dates, spending time with my family, spending time with my friends, and even a crazy gimmicky moment when a mermaid in the movie walked into the theatre and gave everyone free candy shell necklaces. Could you ask for anything more? I don’t think I would have reminisced as much if I had gone right before this pandemic happened but it feels as if I haven’t gone in years due to Alfred’s limited theatre selection.  I thought the way the main character describes this experience at movies was a rather refreshing view. I also felt rather connected but also discounted to the film and at the same time because we are in very similar situations but also very different. A pandemic and a missile crisis are similar but disease and bombs are too very different things. Overall I thought it was a great way to round out the semester before our last viewing and our last blog.

The readings for this week were eye-opening I especially liked Castles gimmicks. I had never really thought of this to be a tool and film directors and producers could use to engage there audiences more. I wasn’t for personal gain but to help the audience have a more indulgent viewing experience. It really connected back on some of the other readings we’ve had throughout the semester such as the Alamo draft house where they used a similar gimmicky tactic to draw their audience in. Overall I miss being in our “midnight movie” class setting where people would be reacting to other people reacting to the movie.  In my personal opinion having this class online really takes the fun out of watching these somewhat horrible but also great, extremely entertaining movies with all of you.

Everyone knows the classic love story where the girl unexpectedly meets the boy of her dreams they have their ups and downs but it’s nothing that they can’t solve with a hug and a kiss. This wacky romantic perfect ending story that we all know way too well.  This love story has been engraved into our brains since the day we are born. Sid and Nancy is a different story, a real story where you see the nitty and gritty even when you don’t want to. You see the toxicity addiction and dysfunctional love. Being in a toxic relationship it’s hard you have really high highs and really low lows. You can never get out of them and if you do it’s very hard because even when you’re at those very low moments who can forget those high moments. Sid and Nancy depict this better than any movie I’ve ever seen. They don’t sugarcoat it like all the other movies so you see who the main characters truly are. I’m not gonna lie, this movie is very hard to watch and I don’t think I’ll be watching it again. It’s not because the movie is not a beautiful movie, this movie is beautifully shot and has a great soundtrack but is hard to see. Especially in this time when we don’t wanna see any more reality then we are already getting. As I can tell my mom every day I only want to hear three bad things today so that I can hold onto the shred of happiness I still have left.   

The readings that went along with this movie you’re more enlightening then sad it almost helped me tie this movie With the drugs and the fans and the rock and roll Back to cult cinema in a way. It helped me figure out why cult cinema was using these drugs to convey emotion. Which really brought out the audience because I’ve never really seen a film like this A film that showed everything. You can choose whether this is a good or bad thing for yourself. I personally think it’s a movie worth watching at least once. 

*POSTED LATE WITH PROFESSORS PERMISSION*

This viewing is exactly what I needed a confusing distraction leading my mind awake from the harsh realities of life and leading to the mind-boggling cinematic thrill that is Valerie and Her Week of Wonders. The film is a beautiful rendition of a young woman blossoming into womanhood and what comes along with that. The readings really helped to expand my knowledge of what the director was doing what is very short cuts in quick edits to help keep the viewer in the viewpoint of being almost enchanted. The score that also went wrong with the film was so beautiful you couldn’t help to think that you were in a magical place. The plot was all in all confusing and the readings did not clear up any questions or clarify any of the plot and discrepancies but when the director did this he left it completely up to the audience to interpret this and the way they wanted to. it’s a “loose plot“ which I find more appealing than a plot that tells you exactly what’s gonna happen is exactly why it happened. All in all, it was a beautiful film and I had a lot of fun watching it with all my family members. my dad just kept yelling at the TV say what’s going on I don’t understand I guess he doesn’t like foreign films.  All in all, it was funny to watch and funny to watch people’s reactions while watching it.   

This movie also surprisingly tackled a lot of troops in the cult film world such as the fantasy trough the blossoming into womanhood troll on the older woman had a few tropes as associated with her character and I felt that the movie was really using these tropes to there advantage. Such as putting blood on a flower to be compared to a young woman turning into womanhood and also using a priest as the bad character in the film.

We also had a few presentations this week one was about blade runner which I found particularly interesting so I went to go watch the movie and I was blown away. It in a way is kind of like Valerie and Her Week of Wonders because it keeps you one your toes the whole time second-guessing yourself the whole time on what’s happening.

The way the movie used light was particularly interesting to me at certain points in the movie there was a certain light used and in more dramatic points of the movie there were other lights used and throughout the movie, the characters would get into darker life and some characters we are placed in brighter light I thought it was particularly beautiful the way the director uses this method of filming.

By: Victoria Empson