Jaws

     

All you need to hear is John Williams' Jaws theme to get goosebumps, you dont even have to see those " lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes." The search for the human flesh eating giant carries on as a second death, one of a young boy, occurs.  I have seen Jaws numerous times and still get chills and scared to death when that shark jumps onto the boat near the end and swallows Quint right up. I think the crazy appeal and sense of horror comes from the fact that you know this movie is about a shark, you don't know how big he is or the markings on his body but you know he's somewhere out there. You already know more than the citizens of Amity do but you still feel uneasy any time the camera shows the ocean. And you won't see him until about 3/4 of the film have passed. 
     Quint is my favorite character in the movie... well, human character.  He is such an anti-hero, he's so  funny and scary at the same time you're not really sure how to size him up until you get to know him during the drunken stupor the three main characters get themselves into while on the boat. 
     Another dazzling aspect of this film is the use of special effects. Some might watch it now and chuckle but I still remain impressed to this day at how they handled the effects. I also appreciate the dedication from the set creators, I read that while filming the scene where they display the shark they thought was Jaws, they used an actual decomposing shark which must have reeked. But you never would have known considering the way the cast hides their disgust.  One other thing that is notable about Jaws is the "shark view" perspective of the camera while underwater. You don't see the shark but sense its ominous presence.
     Overall, Jaws is an extremely impressive film from a then-newbie director. It's so easy to see why this film has become such a classic and believe that it will stand the test of time so that even when we eventually have 4d tv's with 'smellivision', you'll still get goosebumps when you hear those two notes played in the film.
     

500 Days of Summer

     The new girl at work will always attract everyone's attention for the first few days she's there; but for Tom, it was more like the next 500. Summer isn't sure that she believes in love and isn't exactly gung ho for jumping into any kind of relationship. Needless to say, the two meet and begin this cycle of love me/leave me along for the next year and a half.
     Most notable about this film is the linear narrative displayed in a non chronological way. You jump to and from different days in Tom and Summer's relationship and watch it as it rises and falls and eventually settles on a park bench in the middle of the day. To me, the film represents 2 ways to look at love. One, you may be desperate to meet that someone and love everything about them once you snag them. Two, you aren't looking for love and have no expectations for it because it's not important to you. Then bam; Tom meets Summer and you get to watch their relationship struggle to find that equilibrium, to locate common ground.
     I think the music in this film found it's place almost as an accompanying mix tape to the movie. A mix tape needs to put a scene in the listener's ming, produce an emotional response and introduce an amazing new song or two. The indie tunes are a perfect match to the indie vibes of the film.