JEllen

Member since 6/10/2007, last signed in awhile ago.

"Are you watching closely?"

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Personal statement:

I was dazzled by Star Wars in 1977, and have loved movies ever since. I majored in film production in college. I am an artist who works mainly with oil paints. I do portraits, landscapes, still life, and a few abstracts.

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Interested in:Action, Adventure, Comedy, Comedy Drama, Drama, Fantasy, Reality Show [TV], Science & Technology, Theater

JEllen's movie tags

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Re: Top five favorite Soundtracks
By JEllen in Movie Soundtracks
"I don't think I can narrow my favorite soundtracks down to five. So I will post my five favorite movie composers, with some examples of each.1. John Williams (Star Wars, Raiders, Jaws, Close Encounters) 2. Vangelis (Chariots of Fire, Bladerunner) 3.James Horner (A Beautiful Mind, Titanic) 4.Michael Nyman (The Piano, The End of the Affair) 5.Phillip Glass (parts of Truman Show) " [More]

Re: Top Five deceptively intrig ...
By JEllen in Top 5
"I remember being very excited by the preview for Greystoke. The trailer used the music from Mars by Holst, which has a great driving beat and builds to a great crescendo. But the actual movie? Very weak and meandering. I was puzzled because huge chunks of the preview were not in the movie, including a scene with a large fire. I guess they cut them because of length? Comparing expectation to results, it was a huge disappointment. " [More]

Re: 1408
By JEllen in Coming Soon
"The movie 1408 certainly scared me. Despite the PG13 rating, it is tense, claustrophobic, and very creepy. John Cusack gives a great performance. The ending is a little weak, but overall it is definitely worth seeing. " [More]

Re: Overhead Shots - Top 5
By JEllen in Top 5
"Good questions! The type of overhead shot I had in mind was straight down or close to straight down. But then American Beauty was more of a crane shot wasn't it? Tracking is fine by me, the LOTR one is a pull back. Point of views from helicopters are pretty common, I wouldn't necessarily count those, especially if the helicopter is part of the plot. Is that too arbitrary, LOL? " [More]

Re: 7 Up Series
By JEllen in The Documentary
"I've seen the whole Up series so far, and I think it is marvelous. My favorite is 35Up, it contains a great balance between the earliest stuff and the adult years. But even 49Up was filled with surprises that kept me guessing. If there is a weak one in the bunch, I think it is 14Up, because there's not as much material to work with yet, and fewer contrasts. " [More]

American Beauty

Overhead Shots - Top 5
By JEllen in Top 5
"What are the five most impressive overhead shots you remember? My list is: 1.The Untouchables - The shot where Capone is getting a shave.2.Psycho - The murder on the stairs.3.Elizabeth - shots in the castle straight down which make the figures tiny.4.LOTR Return of the King - It's a tracking shot where the camera starts at Gollum's eye, and pulls straight up through the ring.5.American Beauty - shot of the suburbs.I also recall a movie, or several movies, with straight down overheads of big cities - but I can't remember the names. Maybe I'm remembering Koyaanisquatsi? " [More]

Murder by Death

Re: Top 5 films from your child ...
By JEllen in Top 5
"I loved Murder By Death Too, but didn't see it till I was grown up.Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back were the big ones from my childhood. Sorry to be repetitive, but they really did influence a lot of kids. Before those came out I didn't take much interest in films, although I do remember Sleeping Beauty and Bambi, both of which scared me a little bit. " [More]

Re: Top 5 Guilty Pleasure films
By JEllen in Top 5
"Hmmm, guilty pleasures, huh? Okay, hold your nose for mine because most of these were just hated by the general public. 1.I Love You To Death - I know it's not cool to enjoy someone being almost murdered over and over again, especially since it's a true story. But I can't help it, I laugh and laugh. Thought the cast was great. 2.Man in the Iron Mask - Two Leos are better than one. And those luscious costumes.3.The Village - Again, I like the cast. And I was scared by the red hooded monsters. Though I admit the townspeople should have had New York accents.4.The Time Machine - not my favorite movie, but maybe not as bad as the critics said.5.Titanic - Did I mention I like Leo? *snicker* At least a few people liked this one! Okay, now that I've obliterated my credibility as anyone's expert, I'll move on... " [More]

Re: Top 5 Tear Jerking Scenes
By JEllen in Top 5
"The top five tearjerking moments that came to me are: 1.Gallipoli - I burst into tears as this one ended. First movie I saw that really impressed upon me the horror of war. 2.Purple Rose of Cairo - while a funny and witty movie, the end was so quietly tragic. 3.Truly Madly Deeply - again it's a comedy, but the scene where Nina cries her eyes out at the therapist's office always gets me. 4. The Pianist - Almost every scene sears into you. 5.Brazil - when you realize Sam has only escaped in his mind. " [More]