I’ve just finished the 2^nd week of my NC State film course “Women in Film” which is being taught by Professor Ora Gellar . She is excellent. I had her for my film class this past spring. There are about 25 students and they are actively engaged in the course . And then there is me,  the Star Wars  “ Yoda” of the class .. just a little taller and less green. I’d prefer Obi-Wan Kenobi, I’m more his age and have my beard.

Below is a list of the movies we’ll view and discuss in class this semester:

1. Rome Open City (Roberto Rossellini, Italy, 1944)

2. The Blue Angel (Joseph von Sternberg, Germany, 1929)

3. The Diary of a Teenage Girl ( Marielle Heller, USA, 2015)

4. Rebecca  (Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1940)

5. Lady from Shanghai (Orson Wells, USA, 1947)

6. Gilda  (Charles Vidor, USA, 1946)

7. Coming of Age  (Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1943)

8. The Texas Chainsaw Murders  (Tobe Hooper, USA, 1974)

9. Halloween  (John Carpenter, USA, 1978)

10.  Daisies  (Vera Chytilova, Czech, 1966)

11. To My Sister (Fat Girl)  (Catherine Breillat, France, 2001)

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo  (Swedish version by Oplev or American Version by Fincher)

13. Spring Breakers  (Harmony Korine, USA, 2012

14. Girls (TV, USA) Eps 2, 5 & 8 from Season 1 and Ep 5 of Season 2 ( 2012-2013)

15. Zero Dark Thirty  (Kathryn Bigelow, USA, 2012)

As you can see it is quite a interesting lineup of diverse and even controversial movies which I look forward to seeing. I have only seen 5 of the 15 so a lot of new film to take in.

REVIEWS:   I have seen a couple of oldies but goodies on TV and briefly describe them below by borrowing from their summaries as set forth in IMDB:

SEVEN  (4.0)*** A 1995 film about two homicide detectives' desperate hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The movie takes us from the tortured remains of one victim to the next as the sociopathic "John Doe" sermonizes to Detectives Sommerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) -- one sin at a time. The sin of Gluttony comes first and the murderer's terrible capacity for torture and violence is graphically demonstrated in the dark and subdued tones characteristic of film noir. The seasoned and cultured but jaded Sommerset (Freeman) researches the Seven Deadly Sins in an effort to understand the killer's modus operandi while the bright but green and impulsive Detective Mills ( Pitt) scoffs at his efforts to get inside the mind of a killer.  

Suffice to say I have never seen so evil and complicated a serial killer or his diabolical plan in a movie before or since. The cinematography of the film is quite dark but beautiful, and throughout the film it is either night or raining or both except for two very brief moments. It is such an emotional movie that you can't keep from being caught up in what is happening.. The twist at the end is a total surprise… gruesome but brilliant.  Bottom Line: If you haven't had the opportunity to see Seven yet then you must at least rent it. It is so damn good that I know you will like it. The only reason you wouldn't is because you may be too  fragile to take something this hardcore

. WARNING:: It is Rated R for grisly afterviews of horrific and bizarre killings, and for strong language. In other words, not for the faint at heart.

TIME AFTER TIME (1979)  3.2***  It's 1893 London. Futurist H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) believes that the future holds a Utopian society. He also believes in time travel. He has just built a time machine which he is displaying to a group of skeptical friends, including surgeon Dr. John Leslie Stevenson (David Warner). Unbeknownst    to Wells or anyone else among his circle, Stevenson is Jack the Ripper. Just as the police are about to capture Stevenson, he uses the time machine to escape, with Wells being the only one who knows what happened to him. Not telling anyone  Wells follows Stevenson in order to capture and bring him back to face justice. Where Stevenson has gone is 1979 San Francisco. There, Wells is dismayed to find that the future is not Utopia as he had predicted. But Wells  also meets and is charmed by a young woman named Amy Robbins (Steenburgen). As Wells and Amy search for Stevenson, Stevenson conversely is after Wells to obtain the master key to the time machine.  Stevenson, resuming his Jack the Ripper murders will stop at nothing to achieve his desires, which places Amy in danger.

This is an interesting movie to watch because of the unique storyline: two famous characters in history traveling ahead in time and then opposing each other in the modern world. Time travel stories appeal to me, anyway, so it's not surprise I found it fascinating. Malcolm McDowell is particularly good as H.G. Wells and David Warner is chilling as Jack The Ripper. Mary Steenburgen is also appealing  probably because of her face and voice… and acting.

Rated PG

Clark