Best and Worst

Worst film of the class Taking a page out of my esteemed blogging colleague, Ben B., I would like to compare two wonderfully different insurance salesmen. Addressing Double Indemnity, Ben writes, “The whole premise of the insurance scheme is pretty cool but after meeting Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day I don't think an insurance agent can ever be a good hero.” I am in accordance with Ben that Double Indemnity was, in fact, the worst film of the quarter. In addition, I could never picture Ned Ryerson playing the role of Walter Neff. For some reason the idea of “Needle-Nose Ned” saying baby twenty times within the span of thrity seconds does not sound too appealing. If it does appeal to you, then by all means, take that opinion. But, I will agree to disagree with you. Best film of the class More than any other film we viewed, I enjoyed Last of the Mohicans the most. I came a day late so I missed the initial scenes. However, when I picked it up where I did, I became enthralled with the film. The obvious reason for my infatuation was the excessive yet very necessary episodes of violence and bloodshed. It’s shocking how such awful scenes can be shot and portrayed so poetically and aesthetically. When I think of the beauty of the violent scenes I am reminded of the film North by Northwest starring Cary Grant. In this film the director, Alfred Hitchcock shoots the love scenes between Grant and his femme fatale co-star, Eve Marie Saint, so violently with a great deal of tension, physical as well as emotional. This is in sharp contrast to the violent scenes that are depicted so gracefully, like the famous crop-dusting scene. There is no music, but it’s almost as if Grant and the plane are dancing opposite each other. One makes a move and the other one counters, like a poetic duel. As mentioned before, the same technique, in terms of the violent scenes at least, is used in Last of the Mohicans. The fighting scenes are almost like choreographed dances with moves and counter-moves. The director (Michael Mann) almost deceives the audience into not fully realizing the brutality and gore in the scenes by painting them so poetically and with such cinematic genius. It seems as if it is a very tough technique to utilize correctly, but Mann pulls it off remarkably well, making his film the most enjoyable