Look Back: Class Feature Film 110

(This was my very first feature article about a class for the ICC Harbinger. It was for journalism class that had use writing/contributing to the newspaper to get a feel of what it's like working for the newspaper. It was literally cool and a bit stressful at times. But I learned a lot.)

Class Feature: Film 110

If you are a movie lover with interest in a different genre and you think you have a bit of Roger Ebert in you, than Film 110 is the class for you to take.

Film 110 is a course of breaking down feature films.  Students in the class get to view the film, analysis, discuss in class and write about parts in the movie from character to actor to even the writing and music scores of the film.  Such films like “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Forrest Gump,” “Gone in 60 Seconds”and“Silence of the Lamb” are just some examples of films that they’ll get to view.

“This course focuses on as a narrative art,” says Jennifer Richrath, just one of the instructors who teach Film 110. “It’s looking at how the story is told.”

She also said that they’re not trying to make movies and not really getting into the production of things but what they are looking at is the different elements and trying how the different elements that can contribute to the whole film.

In this course they take a look at a whole genre of films from classic to silent even from American to foreign films.

“I want to show films that students haven’t seen before,” Richrath said. “Exposed them to new film, not new like just recently made but more like the film from 1975 ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ that’s a classic that they’re not familiar with.”

There are students that seem to enjoy this class that never knew a class about film.

“I like movies,” said Nicole Foairty. “And I never knew that there were straightest to watching movies.”

For students who think that this is a class that only about just watching movies, it’s not. There are assignments where students will have to write about the film. Another would be a PowerPoint presentation about a director’s work. Also reading the course book is also recommended as well.

“What sometimes trips up students is if they come into a film course thinking that they’re just going to watch movies, eat popcorn and get an A,” Richrath said. “I can’t judge on how well they eat popcorn.”

One thing that Richrath want students to notice this semester is the visuals. Learning on why it was done like that or with a certain rhythm that’s being created by just editing in the film.

For example the 1989 German film “Run Lola Run,” set in German techno music during extreme fast pace as the lead character is running. Showing how editing fits with that kind of rhythm for it to show.

“It felt pretty cool learning the different lenses and techniques they use,” Foairty said.

Richrath encourages students to take this film class. She said that it opens the mind to a wide variety of films using critical thinking. By thinking critically by analysis and arguing a point about it, talking about it that the subject matter tends to level people to excitement if they want to be invested and willing to allow them to do that.

“There’s a lot more in different movie,” Foairty said.

Braxton vs. Red Super Bowl edition: The Blacklist "Luther Braxton No. 21" Part 1

In this Super Bowl post-show, the show did a fabulous job introducing the character of Raymond "Red" Reddington with breaking news reports.

As the episode started, Red turned himself into the CIA and was taken to an unknown place called the Factory, an oil rig out in the open sea. We learn that's where the CIA brings in criminals and does their torching. He brought Red in and placed him in a room with his arms and legs cuffed to the walls.

He wanted to inform Warren that Luther Braxton was going to break out. With the Warren being a bit cocky, he ignores Red. Too late, as soon as Braxton, played by Perlman, is back in his cell, he puts together a device to get him out.

In the meantime, Liz and the team wonder why Red is gone and being taken by the CIA. So when Ressler gets word about it, he informs them about it. Cooper sends Liz, Ressler, and Samar there.

Soon, Braxton makes his way out; he gets the rest of the guys out of their cells and moves on to start the system. He is on a mission to find something. That's what Red is trying to stop, at least.

Braxton is after the fulcrum, which is a blackmail document that contains secret information that will be very, very bad for National Security.

The worst part is when Liz, Ressler, and Samar make it there and are told to go back, and that's when the gunfire comes; Ressler and Samar are taken away, and Liz gets away. Ressler and Samar were born into a holding cell, where they were tied up with a chain around their neck.

As Red grabbed Liz, they went looking for a way to slow or stop Braxton down. They went down to the furnace room and blew up the generator. But just before that happens, Red tells Liz that if he can't stop Braxton, he'll discover he can't get the fulcrum without her.

I wonder if this fulcrum started at the time of the fire. Anyway, the generators blew up and shut down everything in the Factory. But as Liz gets up, Red is unconscious, and tries to revive him. As she does, she hides under a piece of woodpile and goes to Braxton's men and attacks but fails.

Then we see her taken into the room with Braxton and ask her about Red. After telling her he's dead. Red then gets up and soon knows that Braxton has Liz. He goes full rouge and shoots everyone in sight with a shotgun. Total awesomeness!

Soon, Red goes in and blasts his way into the room where Braxton and Liz are, and soon, Braxton's the one with a gun to his head. But it's that one moment that Braxton talks about Red and their past. Then he looks at Liz and puts two and two together and has an idea of what she is to him.

But we're cut off when a missile comes and blasts the place.

I find this episode to be super epic so far. It didn't disappoint at all whatsoever—also the perfect episode for anyone who has never seen The Blacklist. Forget the Pats and Seahawks; Red and Braxton are a rivalry. I also want to know who David Strathairn is playing as this mysterious figure in the CIA that put the missile ahead

There were two or three moments that I loved. One was when Braxton told Cooper that he was the warden. I got goosebumps all over. The second was when Braxton and Red chatted on the phone conference, and Red gave a Bruce Lee quote. It was an epic lousy guy-to-bad-guy conversation, and the other was when Red and Liz talked when they were in the furnace.

The conclusion of the two-part episode of this episode will air at its new night and time, this Thursday at 9/8c. And from the promo, it's one that you or anyone should miss at all. Braxton takes away Liz and is being drugged to look into her past. Could we finally know the truth?

You can catch The Blacklist Thursday night at 9/8c on NBC.

Five Reasons to Watch The Blacklist After the Super Bowl

We’re just a day way til the biggest sporting event in the country begins. The New England Patriots against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona. Who isn't excited about it? As I’m rooting for the Patriots, I’ll be looking forward to the Super Bowl after show which will be The Blacklist.

Yes, after the Super Bowl The Blacklist will air a two-part episode. If you haven’t heard of the show, it’s about an FBI most wanted criminal, Raymond “Red” Reddington (played by James Spader), turned himself in, he not only surrendered by gives the FBI a bit of interest when he reveals that he has a list of the most dangerous and vicious criminals that they don’t know. But he’ll help with only one condition, that he works only with a rookie FBI agent, Elizabeth Keen (played by Megan Boone). 

Now in it’s second season, the show is a massive hit, if you haven’t seen it, I recommend you to stay tune after the game.

1. The man that's Red

Bold, smart, class and wears the best hats, James Spader is the right guy to play Raymond "Red" Reddington. Can you think of anyone else playing this character?

2. Red’s monologues

If there’s something that you can’t get enough of it’s hearing Red’s amusing and dramatic monologues. It could be either during a moment of danger or when he’s confronting a blacklister or someone that he admires.

3. The criminals on the list

The criminals that are on the show are amazing and scary. These are the ones that are being caught but also hunting as well.  There's  names like The Stewmaker, The Judge, The Alchemist, Lord Baltimore and for this Sunday’s episode, the blacklister is Luther Braxton who will be played by Ron Perlman. Who wouldn't be afraid of this criminal?

4. One tough FBI agent

 Just like Red, Elizabeth Keen, is one tough character. She maybe nice and sweet on the outside but she can kick butt on the inside. This second half of the season we'll learn why Red is tied to her past. Which is one of the most asked question of the series.

5. The stories are thrilling 

The writing on this show is outstanding. The story lines and the characters that they writers come up with is so creative and fresh. It’s such a thrilling, action-packed show that keeps you on your feet and once you think what might turn out will go completely opposite.

If you haven’t seen The Blacklist, you can catch the first season on Netflix and you can catch up on this season’s episodes/recaps at NBC.com. Don’t miss The Blacklist when it airs after the Super Bowl, which is a two-part episode that will conclude on its new night and time Thursday, Feb. 5th at 9/8c. You really can’t miss it.

Always & Forever: Parenthood "May God Bless and Keep You Always"

Just six years ago, we were introduced to the Bravermans and now we say goodbye, as tonight was the series finale of Parenthood and the whole meaning of this series is staying together.

The wedding is being planned out with Amber, Camille and Sarah. Things at Amber's apartment is a bit crowed with all that baby stuff. In the meantime, Hank goes over to see Zeek and ask for his blessing to marry his favorite daughter. Of course, he accepts.

If you think I started crying after that, NOT! I started when the episode first started.

Later on Crosby and Jasmine comes by with gifts for Amber and Crosby tells her that the luncheonette is shutting down. Amber not to happy about it but she handled it.

As soon as Crosby got back to help Adam clear things out, Adam wants him to sign the last contract and then they'll be done. Tension between them comes in the air but it was gone by the time the wedding.

As the wedding was soon to be getting started Max takes everyone's photo. We have one of the best photo shoot scene ever on television. I bet that most of that was improv.

As we see Sarah walking down with Zeek, hands her to Hank, Zeek looks emotional as he walks to his seat and soon Sarah and Hank are married.

The party couldn't be any happier after crying for the first 25 minutes of the show. Crosby talks to Jasmine about him owning the Luncheonette, Camille and Zeek asking Amber to move in with them and even Max getting to dance with a girl that they both like.

As the wedding ends, we move ahead. Adam who we thought was going to get the job at the water company doesn't after Kristina offers Adam Head Master job at Chambers after seeing him cooking with the kids.

Amber is moved in with her grandparents.

But it was when we see Camille looking at Sarah's wedding photos. That's when she was talking to Zeek, until he never responded to her. She goes into the living room and well....he passed away in his sleep in his favorite chair.

The family celebrates his death with a game of baseball. It was the one thing that Zeek loved to do is to take his kids and grand kids to the ballpark. After each member dumps his ashes on the mound, they start playing baseball.

As we see them playing we see clips of each family's future. Joel and Julia not only adopted Victor's half-sister but they had another child. Crosby and Amber are doing well with the Luncheonette as the artists were recording "Forever Young" as it's playing during the montage.

Also Jasmine is expecting another child. Also we see Max graduate from Chambers and as Adam hands him his diploma, proud with the rest of the family cheering on.

And well Camille, she went to that cafe place in Italy, the place where Zeek was going to surprise her for their wedding anniversary.

As soon as the game was over, the family walks off heading home for what I think is another family dinner together.

I have't seen a finale this good since Friday Night Lights and ER. This was one of the best ever. I've loved this series from the beginning. This show was so original and keep true to real life storytelling.

Now, we have this show that will live forever as the Braverman family be. They may leave our TV screens, but they'll always and forever be in our hearts.

You can catch the series finale of Parenthood on nbc.com.

The Boyz and Gang: Tuesday Night Comedy Night

Parks and Recreations: "Grizzyl"/"Save JJ's"

As Leslie and Ben try to come up with a plan to complete with Grizzyl and get take the for sale park. When all of the sudden a droid comes knocking with a gift for Leslie. Creepy has it is for that to happen, it turns out that everyone in Pawnee was getting gifts from droids and that they were from Grizzyl.

Turns out that Grizzyl has been easy dropping on the phone calls, text messages and browser history and giving citizens what they want. Maybe this is what the CIA should be doing for all of us. There are a couple of things I would want right now.

So Leslie and the team try to find a way to stop them. As they took them to Perd's court tv show, Ron comes back to tell them that Grizzyl had gotten Ben to sign a contract with other small things that include easy dropping on the citizen's privacy.

April on the meantime was helping Craig to find a new intern for the parks department. Trying to scary away those that apply, she comes to terms and brought a lot more people to apply for the internship.

As soon as they did find it they tried to get a mistrail. After a tough day, Ben and Leslie talk and soon a knock at the door. It was Ron, in the rain with a broken droid because it came to delivery a gift for his four year old son, so he shot it and now wants to stick it to Grizzyl just like Leslie does.

As the next episode comes, the team comes together and think of a way to stop Grizzyl but another thing had take it's stop there and it was that the news of JJ's Diner was going to close. Leslie and Ron come together and have a rely save it.

Meanwhile it was one of the best moments of the episode and probably the last one. It's that time of the year...Treat Yo Self 2015!!! Tom and Donna went all out all the way to Beverly Hills.

Also with Lucy back and no broken up with her boyfriend in Chicago, Tom tries to go slowly and ask her out for Donna's wedding. They are now back together and are the it couple of the season, for me.

Later on, Leslie and Ron had a great idea and used it to get Grizzyl to take the abandoned south side area of Pawnee. They took it. And now things will get moving.

You can catch the farewell season of Parks and Recreation Tuesday nights at 8/7c on NBC.

Marry Me: "Friend Me" 

As the wedding is getting near, Anne has her bridemaids all picked up, all nine of them while Jake one has one. This made Anne sad and soon called up his old friends, the boyz to visit and have them as his best men.

Things take a tumble when the boyz take Jake out drinking and partying most of the week. It turns out that the boyz doesn't really like Jake marrying Anne. They think that she's not a right kind of person for him.

That turns Anne to go up against the boyz in a drinking game to see who knows Jake the best. Anne won of course and it turned out to be one hell of an episode.

You can catch "Marry Me" Tuesday night at 9/8c on NBC.

About A Boy: "About A Hook"

When Mr. Chris comes to Fiona and Marcus's house often for some time together. Marcus throws a fit about him. He tells Fiona that he's boring and talks to much. He's showing what all boys go through if they don't like the person their parents are dating.

Meanwhile Will is trying to get that one hook for a song to give to that music producer so he can have another hit song. After him and Andy try to figure it out a song, Will gets a knock at the door which turned out to be Marcus.

Marcus wants to stay with Will until his mother stops seeing Chris. That was not cool with Will at all. Hearing words like sweaty bed and goodnight kiss. It was driving Will crazy.

Will talks to Fiona and he agree to get them together in a nurture place, a restaurant. It didn't go to well with Marcus again when Will and Chris got a long with football talk.

Marcus left and went to sleep in his treehouse. Will told him that his mother still cares for him and played the voice messages on his phone, about five maybe ten messages. Marcus forgave his mother and soon the words love bubble came to Will's mind and turns out to be a good song.

I think that Fiona will be getting half of that song's earnings. In the meantime, this episode was very good and I love how Marcus took the episode. Still Andy is hilarious as Will's best friend.

You can catch "About A Boy" Tuesday nights at 9:30/8:30c on NBC.
 

The One: Eye Candy "HBTU"

Tensions and relationships rises as the hunt for the stalker/serial killer is on. As Lindy and Tommy look for Reese in his apartment. A couple of manikins sitting on the couch holding a wine glass.

When Lindy walks and looks around, she walks into a bunch of hanging teeth, one by one on a wire hanging from the ceiling like a decoration, which scared the hell out of Lindy and also me too,  but it wasn't Reese, it was one of the missing person that Lindy was trying to help.

As this episode goes, we see a bit of sexual tension between Lindy and Tommy as each butt heads. Tommy get up tight at times but I know where he's coming at. When a friend of yours is dead, you try and take care of that friend's girlfriend. Even if there might be something cooking there.

Later on the in episode, Lindy gets a package from the killer as he was next door. The package was a photo of her and her sister, before she was kidnapped.

Freaking out, she talked to Catherine about the last time she saw her sister and about that photo. It was later on that the photo was a mixed of other photos mashed together which Tommy put together and found three other murders.

With the three murders there was a connection that Lindy found that they were both on flirtual, the online dating service. Both of them are killed for their own personal flaws, they each lie about their appearance.

One was killed with his eyes taken out, the other his finger tips cut off and the last was killed and had her breast implants ripped out. Lindy found out by going back to Reese's place that the killer was looking for perfection and also to finish as well.

It was later that evening, Lindy got the surprise by Sophia as she threw a surprise birthday party. Soon 

enough the guy that Lindy is trying to avoid is there with a gift, Jake, the suspect. But when Lindy starts to feel funny, Jake sits her down and gets her a glass a water and soon the fire alarm goes off when a fire was set in the bathroom.

That was the prefect distraction for the killer to came and take Lindy without anyone noticing. When Tommy got there, it was too late and arrested Jake but he was let go. Lindy on the other hand was taken to a place and saw the killer kill Reese, but not without leaving a present for her and that gift was the bracelet that she gave her sister.

With three episodes in this series is getting pretty thrilling and full of suspense. I like how there's that tension between Tommy and Lindy because as those two butt heads, I think that they might fall for each other soon.

You can catch "Eye Candy" Mondays at 10/9c on MTV.

Family of Love: Parenthood "We Made It Through the Night"

Well guys, we made it through the night with this episode that was yet again full of emotion, from the first five minutes to the the end and to the promo for next week's series finale. Does it feel surreal?

This week's episode deals with a few things that tie up a few things before the series finale. Joel and Julia are moving back, but before things could get back to normal, they have to come to terms that things have happen while they were separated, like Julia sleeping with people and well, Joel didn't.

After telling their kids that daddy's back, Victor asked if it was going to happen again. It almost did, during breakfast, when Julia got a phone call from her boss and former lover. They finally talked things out the way it should, talking about it into the car.

Folks must of been going nuts with Amber and when the baby would be born. It also kind of answered my question. With the word that a death in the family was going to happen, my thought that it was either going to be Zeek or the baby, in television things can happen.

But thank god, I was wrong and the baby boy was born. The sweetest thing that a grandchild can due was name her child after her own grandfather. One of the most beautiful scenes throughout the episode was Zeek holding Zeek and the face he gave, heartwarming.

Well, I guess it's bye bye, to the Luncheonette, again! As the two ere about to get things back over there, while waiting for the baby the first time, Jasmine and Kristina talked about the guys and their business. As Kristina is Kristina, she has a problem with it and it turns out into a whole argument that upset Crosby more for Jasmine to tell Adam about his problem.

Things to calm down for the two women. It didn't do well for Zeek as for the first time, he could go between the argument, His health as we can call see is turning worst. As we first see him and Camille walking up the hill near the bay waters, he finally told her that he doesn't wasn't the surgery.

There are many scenes that made it emotional, seeing Camille painting a portrait of Zeek, I call it "The Father." I think its a masterpiece. While he was sitting he told her that it was time to tell the kids and that he wanted to have a family dinner with just the six original Braverman family.

While their dinner, they talked about the funny times, until Adam and Crosby argued about something, once again and soon Zeek couldn't take it again and went into the other room to lay down. Sarah walks in and talks to him, one of the most beautiful scenes was when she told him that Hank proposal to her. The one thing that he said was that he can't wait to walk her down the aisle.

The one thing out of this episode that didn't feel like wasn't sad was when Adam and one of the kids at the Chambers school was doing a Career week and he asked him to teach him how to cook French.

Just to prove a point to Max after he gave his stats about students like him won't get jobs and be losers.

Well, they proved him wrong and both made a chocolate French cake. As we saw them filled with excitement, we can see the other students learning from the other teachers. Something that makes you feel good and not want to cry with sadness.

There was a moment that Kristina and Adam talked to Max about and it was how much his stat about him and the other kids won't get jobs. What they told him was what we all proud to gave seen in him and that was see him grow so, so much.

We can see things a tying up just a bit before next week. Every single moment is a tissue moment. As I tweeted out after the show, the time has come, to come together one last time, to celebrate as one big happy family.

You can catch the series finale of Parenthood next Thursday at 10/9c on NBC.

Any thoughts about last night's episode?