Reaction to a review of the film:
"'Secret Window' dramatizes the plight of Mort, who is suffering from writer's block." I believe that this is somewhat correct. The movie always showed Mort sleeping, in real life I do not believe a writer would be at home most of the time. I think they would be out exploring the world, hoping to get inspired by what they see. The review goes on to say "Much of the plot turns on Mort's getting his hands on a copy of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine to prove that he published his story before Shooter wrote his version." I also agree with this. It seemed like the whole movie was about Mort trying to find the proof to show Shooter that it was it book and that he didn't plagiarize it from Shooter. I felt like the whole movie was going in circles, sleep, proof, sleep, proof.
"It's the kind of thing that's fine for about 20 minutes, before your attention kicks in, or nods off." Lastly, I agree with this 100%! I was tired of the movie for the first thirty minutes, it was so predictable. It also was hardly scary, it was very similar to other movies I have seen. Overall, I think that this review, from New York Times, shows exactly how I feel about Secret Window. It didn't not seem like anything new, it wasn't scary, and it was very predictable.
Mitchell, Elvis. "The Secret Window (2004) FILM REVIEW; Beware of Amish Hitmen And the Anxiety of Influence." The New York Times 12 March 2004. Movie Review. 23 January 2011 <http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A07E5DB133EF931A25750C0A9629C8B63>.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Movie: Secret Window
Reaction to the film:
Secret Window started with the main character, Mort Rainey, in a car, unsure if he should drive back. It's an extreme close-up of his face, but when he drives in reverse we see the setting, he's at a motel, an establishing shot. He steals a key from the lobby of the Motel and goes into a room that has a woman and a man sleeping in bed, it shows a reaction shot when he storms into the room. Then there is a bird's eye shot and it shows where Mort Rainey lives, which is in a wooden cabin in the middle of the forest. Then there is a close up to a little open window leading into his attic. Scary music starts up and there is a high angle shot of Mort sleeping on the couch. That is when the sound of someone knocking at the door awakes him, and when he answers the door a man named John Shooter points a finger at him, accusing Mort of stealing his story. A reaction shot of Mort's reaction is shown, and he slams the door on Shooter, Shooter then leaves his copy of his story on Morts porch and drives off. Mr. Raineys maid comes to clean his house and finds John Shooters story, Sewing Season in the trash and puts it on the kitchen table. It starts to get dark and rainy and Mr. Rainey goes to the attic to finish his story, but he does not know how to end it. When he goes downstairs to get a drink, he sees the story on the table & takes it with him to the attic. When he observes it he sees that his story, Secret Window is the exact replica of Sewing Season. Once the maid leaves Mort goes back to sleep on the coach. When he wakes up his phone starts to ring. Amy, his ex-wife calls to ask if he's alright, she felt like something was wrong. When he hangs up he goes for a hike in the woods he sees John Shooter again. Another extreme close up is on Mort's face. Shooter says he's from Mississippi and that he wrote Sewing Season in 1997, 7 years ago. Mort rebuts by saying that he wrote his story, Secret Window in 1995. Now Mort has 3 days to prove to Shooter that he wrote the story or people would get hurt. Mort goes home and goes to bed, but when he wakes up he can't find dog anywhere, and that's when he finds his dog, killed with a screwdriver, another reaction shot is displayed. The next morning he buries his dog and goes to the police to tell them about John Shooter and his accusations. When he returns home John Shooter is there, he tells Mort to "fix the end of his story." Mort refuses and Shooter threatens that he's going to kill Amy if he doesn't. The next day Amy calls and says that he house has been burned down. Mort goes back to sleep. When he goes outside he finds Shooter hat on his porch and his car door open, with the keys in the engine. He gets in the car and goes into town and goes to the post office to get the proof that the story was written by him. When he gets home he starts to talk to himself and puts on Shooters hat. His conscience tells him "There is no John Shooter, you invented him." Mort screams back "LEAVE ME ALONE!" and his conscience says "you are alone.." John Shooter appears and goes on, "Everything that you're doing is wrong. I exist because you made me, you told me everything you wanted me to do. I did those things because you did not want to. Fix the story. Fix the ending." Then there is an establishing shot outside, his ex-wife Amy parked in his driveway. She knocks on the door, no one answers. She knocks again, and decides to enter. She calls out his name and goes into the attic, when the door slowly closed in on her. The whole attic has the words "SHOOTER" and "SHOOT HER" engraved on the walls. Mort has scissors in his hands, and talks like Shooter, with a Mississippi accent, he tries to stab her but she escapes and tries to start he car. He puts his scissors down and picks up a rock and throws it onto her car window, drags her out of the car, and stabs her with the screwdriver. Her fiance, Ted comes to the house looking for Amy but Mort hits him with a shovel and cuts it off with the shovel. After he kills his ex-wife. He has finally fixed the ending. He goes to the attic to finish the ending and says "The only thing that matters is the ending, and this one's very good, this one's perfect." The camera zooms into the small window in the attic, the secret window that outlooks the garden behind his house. Mort thinks to himself, "Every bit of her will be gone and her death will be a mystery, even to me." Mort buried his ex-wife Amy in the garden, the perfect ending to his story.
Secret Window started with the main character, Mort Rainey, in a car, unsure if he should drive back. It's an extreme close-up of his face, but when he drives in reverse we see the setting, he's at a motel, an establishing shot. He steals a key from the lobby of the Motel and goes into a room that has a woman and a man sleeping in bed, it shows a reaction shot when he storms into the room. Then there is a bird's eye shot and it shows where Mort Rainey lives, which is in a wooden cabin in the middle of the forest. Then there is a close up to a little open window leading into his attic. Scary music starts up and there is a high angle shot of Mort sleeping on the couch. That is when the sound of someone knocking at the door awakes him, and when he answers the door a man named John Shooter points a finger at him, accusing Mort of stealing his story. A reaction shot of Mort's reaction is shown, and he slams the door on Shooter, Shooter then leaves his copy of his story on Morts porch and drives off. Mr. Raineys maid comes to clean his house and finds John Shooters story, Sewing Season in the trash and puts it on the kitchen table. It starts to get dark and rainy and Mr. Rainey goes to the attic to finish his story, but he does not know how to end it. When he goes downstairs to get a drink, he sees the story on the table & takes it with him to the attic. When he observes it he sees that his story, Secret Window is the exact replica of Sewing Season. Once the maid leaves Mort goes back to sleep on the coach. When he wakes up his phone starts to ring. Amy, his ex-wife calls to ask if he's alright, she felt like something was wrong. When he hangs up he goes for a hike in the woods he sees John Shooter again. Another extreme close up is on Mort's face. Shooter says he's from Mississippi and that he wrote Sewing Season in 1997, 7 years ago. Mort rebuts by saying that he wrote his story, Secret Window in 1995. Now Mort has 3 days to prove to Shooter that he wrote the story or people would get hurt. Mort goes home and goes to bed, but when he wakes up he can't find dog anywhere, and that's when he finds his dog, killed with a screwdriver, another reaction shot is displayed. The next morning he buries his dog and goes to the police to tell them about John Shooter and his accusations. When he returns home John Shooter is there, he tells Mort to "fix the end of his story." Mort refuses and Shooter threatens that he's going to kill Amy if he doesn't. The next day Amy calls and says that he house has been burned down. Mort goes back to sleep. When he goes outside he finds Shooter hat on his porch and his car door open, with the keys in the engine. He gets in the car and goes into town and goes to the post office to get the proof that the story was written by him. When he gets home he starts to talk to himself and puts on Shooters hat. His conscience tells him "There is no John Shooter, you invented him." Mort screams back "LEAVE ME ALONE!" and his conscience says "you are alone.." John Shooter appears and goes on, "Everything that you're doing is wrong. I exist because you made me, you told me everything you wanted me to do. I did those things because you did not want to. Fix the story. Fix the ending." Then there is an establishing shot outside, his ex-wife Amy parked in his driveway. She knocks on the door, no one answers. She knocks again, and decides to enter. She calls out his name and goes into the attic, when the door slowly closed in on her. The whole attic has the words "SHOOTER" and "SHOOT HER" engraved on the walls. Mort has scissors in his hands, and talks like Shooter, with a Mississippi accent, he tries to stab her but she escapes and tries to start he car. He puts his scissors down and picks up a rock and throws it onto her car window, drags her out of the car, and stabs her with the screwdriver. Her fiance, Ted comes to the house looking for Amy but Mort hits him with a shovel and cuts it off with the shovel. After he kills his ex-wife. He has finally fixed the ending. He goes to the attic to finish the ending and says "The only thing that matters is the ending, and this one's very good, this one's perfect." The camera zooms into the small window in the attic, the secret window that outlooks the garden behind his house. Mort thinks to himself, "Every bit of her will be gone and her death will be a mystery, even to me." Mort buried his ex-wife Amy in the garden, the perfect ending to his story.
Monday, December 20, 2010
What My Mother Doesn't Know (207-260)
Summary:
Sophie starts to dream about her future, and Murphy is part of her future. She now starts to look at peoples personalities, and not just their looks. Murphy is always on her mind and she soon is invited to meet his parents. When she meets Murphy's mother she finds out that she is also Jewish, and they connect instantly. Sophie finds out that Murphy's name isn't Murphy, it's actually Robin. People only called him Murphy because they thought he was loser. After she spends the day at his house, they make another date, they are going to the movies. They continue to make dates. One of their dates is at the Charles River, they watch the sunset go down and talk about how they feel about one another. Winter slowly arrives in Boston and the first snowfall brings a foot of snow. Sophie and Robin spend a day building snowmen and going sledding. As school vacation begins to end Sophie does not know how to tell her friends that she loves Robin, she's afraid of how they'll react. In the end Sophie shows her friends who she loves, she runs to Robin and holds his hands, smiling at him. She finally grew out of the fear and she realized that she needed to grow up and think about what really mattered to her, her happiness.
Quote:
"I come to the sudden and very startling realization that all I want for Christmas is Murphy." (Sones 223)
Summary:
This quote truly shows the growth that Sophie has gone through. Children tend to want toys for Christmas, but Sophie wants Murphy. She is capable of understanding what someone could mean to her. This quote also shows that what she wants for Christmas is not a material, but actually something that she could have forever. Overall, Sophie has grown a lot and she makes decisions based on her thoughts, not from what she sees. She does not mind what the rest of the kids at her school have to say about her, all that matters now is her happiness. Sophie has grown from being a judgmental girl, to a thoughtful young woman.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
What My Mother Doesn't Know (156-206)
Summary:
Sophie starts to obsess over finding the boy that danced with her at the Halloween Party, that is the only thing that has been on her mind. Since she has no clue who it could have been she starts to believe that maybe he was just a jerk anyway, just to make herself feel better for a while. Zak, Sophie's best guy friend asks her out and she says yes. In the back of her mind Sophie wishes that she didn't, so a couple days later she tells him that it would be better if they just were friends. Hanukkah is celebrated in Sophie's family, but this year it's not the same, it's not celebrated with as much love. Sophie misses being able to celebrate her culture, a sign that she is growing up. This shows that she knows what is important to her, religion. For Christmas Break all of Sophie's friends are going on vacation, but Sophie isn't. She decides to have a vacation of her own, she roams the city of Boston. As she is exploring the Museum of Fine Arts, Murphy, the biggest nerd at her school, see's her and talks to her. They end up going out to get pizza and they go ice skating afterwards. When Sophie gets home she hopes that Murphy will call her, and when he doesn't she gets worried that he might never call. He calls the next day and they set up another date, one that Sophie looks forward too. During the date everything feels perfectly normal for Sophie and she loves that she can be herself with him, everything just feels right. This shows that Sophie is not childish anymore, and how she does not care about looks anymore, but she cares about personality.
Quote:
"This door was opening up inside me that had never been opened before, and his soul was walking right in." (Sones 158)
Summary:
This quote shows how deep Sophie felt about her mystery man. Sones uses a personification, describing Sophie's feelings. Sophie has grown a lot since the beginning of the book because she now looks at people's personalities instead of their looks, usually grown people do this. Her mind is not only thinking about one thing, boys, but instead of her art and her setting around her. She has made an effort to grow up and she has chosen to make Murphy a part of it, unlike before. Since Murphy was a geek at her school she never wanted anything to do with him, fearing her reputation would be ruined. Though now she realizes that it does not matter what people thought of her or Murphy, all that mattered was her happiness.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
What My Mother Doesn't Know (103-155)
Summary:
Sophie is feeling like she doesn't belong with Dylan anymore. She looks at him as a child now, not as an adult, and she wants to be able to have a serious relationship. When they break up, Sophie feels bad, but she can do nothing about it, she moved on. Halloween is coming up and Sophie and her friends are going to a Halloween party, Sophie want's to be the center of attention. She goes shopping for a Halloween outfit with her mom and ends up buying a flower pot costume, when she actually wanted to buy a stunning black dress which her mother did not approve. As the Halloween party date arrives, Sophie goes back to the store and buys the black dress that her mother forbid her to buy, and wears it to the party. Sophie dances with a boy in a mask, and she continuously thinks about who it could have been after the party. As Sophie waits for her mother to pick her up, a couple of tenth grade boys laugh at her and when her mom pulls up and sees Sophie in the dress she yells at her and tells her to hurry and get in the car. When they get home they shout and scream at each other, and finally her mom takes the dress and tears it into pieces. They don't talk to one another for days, and once Sophie finally is tired of it, she makes up with her mother.
Quote:
"He'd just look into my eyes and know how it feels to be buried under an avalanche of guilt." (Sones 153)
Summary:
Sones describes Sophie's feelings very accurately, and in this case she uses a hyperbole. Sophie believes that her dream man will just know how she feels, without even asking. This shows that she is still a child at heart, because this is one of the things she wished for. On the other hand, she understands what's right from what's wrong. Sophie slowly realizes that she is not a child anymore and she is going to have to act like a grown-up soon. She slowly stops fighting with her mother and learns that her mother will help her get through everything. Sophie is slowly growing up, mentally and physically.
Sophie is feeling like she doesn't belong with Dylan anymore. She looks at him as a child now, not as an adult, and she wants to be able to have a serious relationship. When they break up, Sophie feels bad, but she can do nothing about it, she moved on. Halloween is coming up and Sophie and her friends are going to a Halloween party, Sophie want's to be the center of attention. She goes shopping for a Halloween outfit with her mom and ends up buying a flower pot costume, when she actually wanted to buy a stunning black dress which her mother did not approve. As the Halloween party date arrives, Sophie goes back to the store and buys the black dress that her mother forbid her to buy, and wears it to the party. Sophie dances with a boy in a mask, and she continuously thinks about who it could have been after the party. As Sophie waits for her mother to pick her up, a couple of tenth grade boys laugh at her and when her mom pulls up and sees Sophie in the dress she yells at her and tells her to hurry and get in the car. When they get home they shout and scream at each other, and finally her mom takes the dress and tears it into pieces. They don't talk to one another for days, and once Sophie finally is tired of it, she makes up with her mother.
Quote:
"He'd just look into my eyes and know how it feels to be buried under an avalanche of guilt." (Sones 153)
Summary:
Sones describes Sophie's feelings very accurately, and in this case she uses a hyperbole. Sophie believes that her dream man will just know how she feels, without even asking. This shows that she is still a child at heart, because this is one of the things she wished for. On the other hand, she understands what's right from what's wrong. Sophie slowly realizes that she is not a child anymore and she is going to have to act like a grown-up soon. She slowly stops fighting with her mother and learns that her mother will help her get through everything. Sophie is slowly growing up, mentally and physically.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
What My Mother Doesn't Know (52-103)
Summary:
Her boyfriend, Dylan comes over and Sophie enjoys being able to spend time with him. Her mother also doesn't mind Dylan coming over being she trusts Sophie. Sophie believed she was in love with Dylan. When she would watch movies with him, she would watch him, not the movie, and she would embrace his beauty. When Dylan finally leaves and it gets dark Sophie goes up to her bedroom and looks at her ceiling, wondering if Dylan is looking up at his ceiling thinking about her. The next day her best friends, Rachel and Grace come over. They sit on her bed, laughing and talking, taking turns popping zits on each others backs, and Sophie feels left out, just as a child would. She even wishes she had zits on her back, hoping to fit in. A couple days after, Sophie gets into a childish fight with Dylan because he buzz-cut his hair and she didn't like it, though they make up with a kiss. During class, instead of paying attention Sophie watches Dylan. In Art class the teacher asked the students to draw one another, people were allowed to pick their own partners, Sophie picked Murphy. When they start to draw one another, Sophie feels a connection when they look at each other, but she doesn't want people to know since Murphy is a looser. Grace falls in love with a new boy named Henry, and she talks about him all the time. When he finally asks her out, she adds on that she talks to him on the phone for hours, this makes Sophie feel uneasy because she has never talked on the phone to Dylan for more than twenty minutes. Sophie goes to the county fair with Dylan but then wishes she went with her friends instead. The things she used to love about Dylan has started to annoy Sophie and she admits that she's dating Dylan for his looks not his personality. When she goes on a double date with with Grace and Henry she feels how she's lost connection with Dylan, like they've grown out of their relationship.
Quote:
"And my heart sank all the way to China." (Sones 80)
Reaction:
The quote above explicitly shows how Sophie felt, the background setting to this quote is when Grace told Rachel and Sophie about how she could talk to her boyfriend, Henry, for hours on the phone. Sophie felt letdown, since the longest she's talked to Dylan on the phone was for twenty minutes. This shows that it was like a competition to Sophie, even though Grace was her friend. Sophie always wanted to fit in no matter what it cost her. This quote is a hyperbole, Sophie didn't actually mean that her heart sank all the way to China, she meant that she felt really bad. It shows how childish Sophie is, how she thought she loved Dylan, even though she really had no idea what love was. Overall, Sophie was still a child in her mind, she didn't know what she wanted or better yet, what she needed. She just wanted to have more than everyone else, to be on top.
Monday, November 22, 2010
What My Mother Doesn't Know (1-51)
Summary:
Sonya Sones starts off her Bildungsroman story by introducing the reader to the main character, Sophie. She is the type of girl that does not know what she wants in life. For example, Sophie likes many boys at once and does not know how to commit to one relationship. Her two best friends, Rachel and Grace are very supportive of her, and in return Sophie tells them everything that occurs between her multiple relationships. Sophie likes Zak, Danny and Dylan, and because she is only in eighth grade she does not realize that boys are not her only intention. Though, the only reason why Sophie wants attention is because she is the only child in her family. Her parents frequently fight, her father drives off with his car, and her mother cries. This occurs almost everyday and Sophie can do nothing to help, this makes her feel helpless. Sophie is the type of girl that is starstruck by every boy she meets, not knowing how to make up her mind, just like a child. When a child needs to make a decision they do not know which to pick, thus making them just want both of the things that they asked for. Sophie is also very worried about her appearance, she feels like giggly blond girls have an advantage, they get more attention. Sophie has brown hair and eyes, she is also very tall. Overall, Sophie is just a girl that does not know exactly what she wants just yet.
Quote:
"We didn't know that we'd just become best friends. But we had." (Sones 12)
Reaction:
The quote that I picked is perfectly showing how Sophie is just a child. Children don't pick best friends, it just occurs, usually naturally, just as what happened with Sophie, Grace and Rachel. In my opinion, Sophie seems to be totally dependent on her friends for everything, especially support, and as young children we aren't independent. People become independent as they grow older and mature. Sophie has not matured yet and this quote displays this though. To continue, Sophie does not seem to know what she gets herself into, she does not think things through, which gets her into trouble. She also does not understand why her parents fight and why they want to divorce. As the story will continue Sophie will soon realize why people do the things they do and why certain people care and others don't, she'll grow to learn what she wants and what she actually needs.
Sonya Sones starts off her Bildungsroman story by introducing the reader to the main character, Sophie. She is the type of girl that does not know what she wants in life. For example, Sophie likes many boys at once and does not know how to commit to one relationship. Her two best friends, Rachel and Grace are very supportive of her, and in return Sophie tells them everything that occurs between her multiple relationships. Sophie likes Zak, Danny and Dylan, and because she is only in eighth grade she does not realize that boys are not her only intention. Though, the only reason why Sophie wants attention is because she is the only child in her family. Her parents frequently fight, her father drives off with his car, and her mother cries. This occurs almost everyday and Sophie can do nothing to help, this makes her feel helpless. Sophie is the type of girl that is starstruck by every boy she meets, not knowing how to make up her mind, just like a child. When a child needs to make a decision they do not know which to pick, thus making them just want both of the things that they asked for. Sophie is also very worried about her appearance, she feels like giggly blond girls have an advantage, they get more attention. Sophie has brown hair and eyes, she is also very tall. Overall, Sophie is just a girl that does not know exactly what she wants just yet.
Quote:
"We didn't know that we'd just become best friends. But we had." (Sones 12)
Reaction:
The quote that I picked is perfectly showing how Sophie is just a child. Children don't pick best friends, it just occurs, usually naturally, just as what happened with Sophie, Grace and Rachel. In my opinion, Sophie seems to be totally dependent on her friends for everything, especially support, and as young children we aren't independent. People become independent as they grow older and mature. Sophie has not matured yet and this quote displays this though. To continue, Sophie does not seem to know what she gets herself into, she does not think things through, which gets her into trouble. She also does not understand why her parents fight and why they want to divorce. As the story will continue Sophie will soon realize why people do the things they do and why certain people care and others don't, she'll grow to learn what she wants and what she actually needs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)