http://blogs.elsweb.org/serena "Not the fuzzy end of the lollipop." Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:32:45 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I can often be overheard declaring my passionate love for rack focus shots. (Why yes, I am a film geek.) But it wasn't until recently that I really asked myself why. For those of you reading who may not know exactly what a rack focus shot is, I'll explain it ... http://blogs.elsweb.org/serena/2007/07/19/rack-focus/ Just a shameless plug for my online portfolio :) www.serenae.com http://blogs.elsweb.org/serena/2007/07/08/portfolio-online-now/ Just finished Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) and I feel like I need to watch it several more times just to catch everything that was in it. I'm not sure what I expected, but it was certainly more philosophical than I thought it would be. Some great lines, ... http://blogs.elsweb.org/serena/2007/07/01/it-happened-once-and-so-it-will-be-forever/ “All creativity can be understood as taking in the world as a problem.” I know we already talked this one to death, but I'm feeling the need to explore it further. We explored the nature of the statement, but not really the statement itself. We asked what was meant by ... http://blogs.elsweb.org/serena/2007/06/28/creativity/ Working on a new post, but in the meantime I thought I'd post something I wrote for International Cinema about The Vanishing. Comparing original French and Dutch film to American remake. Possible spoilers. All numbers in parentheses are page numbers in the book Dead Ringers: The Remake in Theory and ... http://blogs.elsweb.org/serena/2007/06/22/the-vanishing/ TWELVE ANGRY MEN... from a different perspective. This is an assignment for my small group communication course, so I'll be examining this film (which happens to be one of my all-time favorites) for its group problem-solving elements. Fun! - Lesson One: The flaws of having appointed leaders The most immediately apparent lesson involving ... http://blogs.elsweb.org/serena/2007/06/10/lessons-anyone/ So my carefully thought-out (ha) opinion of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End... I've heard quite a lot of complaints about this film, but I think maybe the issue here is that their expectations were too high. I went in expecting it to be fun, not good, and my expectations ... http://blogs.elsweb.org/serena/2007/05/29/pirates-3/ It's Friday night, I'm done with my blog post of doom, and somehow I find myself in front of my computer wanting to write another film blog post. For my international cinema class, we watched Fallen Angels on Wednesday afternoon. I haven't stopped thinking about it since. Every time I ... http://blogs.elsweb.org/serena/2007/04/27/fallen-angels/ Alas, my only blog about Vertigo was cut cruelly short due to a sudden strike of inspiration. But fear not! For now all shall be revealed. Hopefully. There has been a lot of focus, both in class and among prominent film critics, of Hitchcock's use of color in Vertigo. However, I ... http://blogs.elsweb.org/serena/2007/04/27/shades-of-gray-and-red-and-green/ Carmen, I'd like to apologize for any confusion I may have caused with my discussion of the Vagina Dentata theory. I have not been saying that I believe this theory, or that it's psychologically/socially valid, just that it's an interesting viewpoint to examine. I believe that it is very important ... http://blogs.elsweb.org/serena/2007/04/24/clarification/