"God, they're like those women in the Bible, you know, with the stones."

Death of a Cheerleader (UK Title)

(also known as "A Friend To Die For")

1994; USA; 87 min.

Director: William A. Graham

Screenplay: Randall Sullivan, Dan Bronson

Music: Chris Boardman

Cast:

Angela Delvecchio - Kellie Martin

Stacy Lockwood - Tori Spelling

Agent Gilwood - James Avery

Priest - Eugene Roche

Mr. Delvecchio - Andy Romano

Jill Anderson - Margaret Langrick

I ended up watching "Death of a Cheerleader," because I was bored, sick, and flipped the channel to ABC Family. Why I kept watching the movie - I don't know. I guess I wanted to see what kind of an actress Tori Spelling was, considering I've seen her on her reality TV show. Many people consider her to be a prime example of nepotism, due to the fact that her father is the late Aaron Spelling. The plot of this movie happened to be somewhat interesting. The plot begins with queen bee, Stacy Lockwood (Tori Spelling), knocking on a woman's door to ask if she can use her phone. Stacy, the quintessential example of "the most popular girl at school," says that her friend that she was with has been acting really "weird" and wants to try and call for someone to pick her up. When her parents don't answer the phone at her house, Stacy is offered a ride home from the woman's husband. What is interesting about this scene is that I thought that the man was the killer, however, I was wrong. Stacy arrives home and is assaulted and fatally stabbed. The movie then continues with a flashback to one of the first days of high school. We see many teenagers sitting in the auditorium, and the camera focuses on a stereotypical goth, depressed Monica Whitley (Kathryn Morris). The camera then pans over to Angela Delvecchio (Kellie Martin), who is sitting with one of her friends. After an inspiring speech by the Principal, Angela tells her friend that this year will be the "best year ever." Angela wants to become the editor of the yearbook, to be a cheerleader on the school's team, and to be part of the Larks, a service group of popular teen girls. Angela doesn't get selected for neither the yearbook nor the cheerleading team. However, all of the girls that Angela aspires to be, especially Stacy Lockwood, do. The rest of the plot unfolds as Angela tries to fit in with the catty, obnoxious Stacy and the popular crowd. 

This movie (I don't even think it can be called a film) is extremely predictable. The movie wants you to think that a certain person committed the crime, however, personally I thought that the killer was obvious from the first moment we see the person. Throughout the whole film, the blame is put on one person. This person's character then develops in such a way that her act appears to be believable. However, this person doesn't turn out to be the victim. I'm sure that the confession of the killing is supposed to be shocking, although, it was definitely not surprising whatsoever. This movie is definitely not of the best quality. Maybe it's the cheesy 90s over-exaggerated high school scene that takes away from the success of the movie. One thing that I actually find clever about the movie is the way that the director shows perspectives. At first, you see the crime through the victim's eyes, and later, through the criminal's. This helps to connect the story and convince the audience that the killer really was who it was. Otherwise, the cinematography and effects in this movie were pretty bad. 

What I find most upsetting about this movie is that it's based on a real event. I'm absolutely horrified to think that this actually happened. This movie actually happens to be extremely upsetting when you look past the fake blood and awful acting. After seeing the movie, I was quite disturbed and found the movie hard to stomach. This movie is not light-hearted. I guess the movie aims to show the effect of bullying, and in that respect, it does, although to an extreme extent. I wouldn't recommend this movie unless you're willing to deal with the possibly upsetting elements of it. 

iRate: 0.5/5 cheerleaders

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P1_mlwXYcQ&feature=related

*SPOILER ALERT: For some reason, the trailer happens to show who committed the murder, so if you want to be "shocked," don't watch it.

"I didn't realize you were an art collector. I thought you just collected corpses."

North By Northwest
1959; USA; 136 mins.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Screenplay: Ernest Lehman
Music: Bernard Herrmann


(A Shorter Version of) The Cast
Cary Grant - Richard Thornhill
Eva Marie Saint - Eve Kendall
James Mason - Philip Vandamm
Jessie Royce Landis - Clara Thornhill

Currently in class, we have been watching Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest," a film about Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant), an advertising businessman, who becomes engulfed in a world of police chases, murders, and mistaken identities. I haven't finished watching the last segment of the film, but so far, it's an intriguingly genius plot. A huge part of the success of the film's plot is not only the witty writing, especially between the coquettish Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) and her sexual prey, Roger Thornhill, but also the directing by Hitchcock. He really knows how to craft "psychological terror" scenes, and by doing so, he makes the film enjoyable. My movie taste has previously not been extremely varied - I'm definitely one for romantic comedies. I'm hoping to get exposure to new genres that I wouldn't usually watch. While this movie does have moments of comedy and romance, the action and drama is certainly very thrilling. I thought a good way to start my first film post would be to a visual image that really struck me in the film (everyone likes pictures, right?):

"The Crop-Dusting Scene"

This scene occurs when Thornhill is sent by Eve Kendall to meet up with George Kaplan. Since I don't want to give too much away about the plot, I'll tell you about the cinematography during this scene. Hitchcock uses mostly long shots of the barren land to demonstrate just how alone Roger is during his quest for Kaplan. The area around Roger is eerily quiet, which is demonstrative of Hitchcock's nature to put make his audiencce uncomfortable and scared. Hitchcock also uses close up shots of Roger to portray how fearful he is while he is being chased by the crop-dusting plane. This scene is extremely suspenseful and shot impeccably. The sound in the scene is limited to that of the plane and other noises that one would encounter in nature. This scene is one of the most famous in American film, and rightfully so - it is wonderfully constructed.

"North by Northwest" is a fabulous story of Roger Thornhill's trek Northwest (coincidence? I think NOT) across the United States. One of my favorite aspects of the film is how it truly gives you a feel for that particular era in the past. I'm looking forward to seeing the ending of the film!

iRate (so far): 4.5/5 mistaken identities

Trailer: http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/35655/North-By-Northwest/trailers

*NOTE: My rating system is from 1 to 5, with 1 signifying an awful film, and 5 meaning an amazing film. I will be using different objects that relate to the film instead of the typical "star" ratings (hence, the "4.5/5 mistaken identities").