The blog of Logan Tyler Smith

  Paths of Glory is about a French Colonel in World War I is forced to carry out a suicidal attack by his superiors. After the attack goes predictably south, the Colonel must defend his men from a seemingly inevitable and tragic court martial.  The film is a step up for Kubrick in a lot of ways; it’s heartbreaking, humanist, and particularly intense (especially in its final moments). The film also features a particularly electrifying performance from Kirk Douglas as the Colonel, which does the rest of the film a great service.  The film is hard to watch - and I say that primarily as a positive. The film evokes a special emotion from it’s audience, particularly during the beautifully sad final act (the final scene is a particularly human take on the emotion of war).  But because of this, it certainly can be itself a turn-off for some people or audiences who like more positive endings. The film is so beautifully executed, however, that I truly don’t care either way....

The Killing is about a career criminal who plans an elaborate heist of a horse racing circuit in order to settle down with his girlfriend and finally go straight. But when one of his accomplices tells him scheming wife of the plan, the heist quickly becomes more complicated.  The film is full of solid twists and turns, presented with clockwork precision both in technical prowess and storytelling proficiency. There is tension at every corner and the more a complication gets exploited, the more emotion you feel for the characters (even acknowledging they’re criminals and liars).  The film may be created by a director years from creating some of his best work, but it’s still a rosetta stone for everything Stanley Kubrick would later create; it has impeccably framed shots, morally ambiguous characters, and a realistic, documentary-like view of what happens when people engage in criminal behavior. Nonetheless, we root for the characters like we do in any heist movie.  However,...

  In “Sixteen Candles” a teenage girl shows predictable angst after her family forgets her birthday. After an unwanted romantic pursuit by a geek and while trying to get together with a guy she likes, she ultimately sees the value in her family and unpleasant circumstances that will inevitably turn pleasant.  Sixteen Candles is, to put it simply, surprisingly funny. Fueled by an effective pursuit by the young Molly Ringwald and injected with strong writing and dialogue, the film more than stands on its own.  The two greatest strengths of the movie are the writing and the acting. Completely revolutionary at the time, the writing humanizes most of the characters (the aforementioned Ringwald is great, though Anthony Michael Hall as a geek practically steals the scenes he’s in, also).  While I stand by my statements about the characters being well-written, not all characters are written equally (an asian character and the main love interest both are a bit stereotyped/unp...