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The Mighty Ducks, directed by Stephen Herek, is a sport and drama film released in 1992. This scene depicts where the movie starts to pick up the pace. Lawyer Gordon Bombay is required to coach a kids hockey team for community service after his DUI. Gordon rolls up in a fancy car right onto the ice where the kids are playing hockey. This speaks a lot to his character. In the background there is mysterious music playing which relates to the kids reactions when the car pulls up onto the ice. The kids slowly walk over to the car arguing with one another that they are in trouble. Gordon hops out of the car in a suit and stands eye to eye with the kids without saying a word for nearly six seconds. One of the kids finally says hello and tells him he's in the wrong place. There is a bit of humor when the kid makes a drug reference and tells Gordon they aren't buying anything. At the end of his line, he threatens his coach to be, which makes the entire team laugh. Gordon acts high and mighty when he says thanks, but I'm not leaving until I take care of business. He reaches under his jacket, which makes the entire team back away as if he was carrying a weapon. To the kids surprise, he pulls out a piece of paper and the kids skate closer. He introduces himself as the new coach and the kids all start to laugh. He seems a little taken back and embarrassed. The kids tell him no way and he goes "I'm afraid so dude". This is the second time he has tried to relate to the young team by saying "bro" and "dude". This leads me to infer he has never worked in this type of situation or with kids at all. Gordon proceeds to read the entire roster off the piece of paper he pulled from his jacket. The kids are all shocked and looking at each other wide-eyed. Gordon lays down the line by saying he doesn't want to be here. The kids continue to disrespect him and he asks if there's a goalie. Gordon tells the kids to show him what they've got and one of the kids tells him they suck. He tries to lay down the line again, establishing dominance, and says he'll decide if they suck or not. The kids go out and perform a comedic act all falling down onto the ice during the first face off. The camera zooms into Gordon's face when he says they really suck. The camera focuses in on one of the players who decided to commentate the game in a funny way. Gordon is seen during this shot behind the kid, he does not look impressed. The kids continue to fall over each other while comedic music plays. The music cuts out when the girl of the team pushes over the commentator and escapes the game to talk to their new coach. Gordon wants to know their record, but the girl says they've never won a game. The rest of the team joins her and asks Gordon what's next. Gordon asks what their old coach had them do and they replied he just yelled a lot. The kids imitate in a funny way how their last coach had a heart attack while yelling at them. The camera zooms up to Gordon, who's expression is like like oh great. He dismisses the team when he says he has a phone call to make and splits them up into teams for a scrimmage. He goes away very sarcastically when he calls the kids by you, you, and you. He disappears behind his car door to what he calls his office and the kids skate away making a mean comment.
This scene is one of my favorites in this movie because it represents so well how they started off. Bad equipment, no rink, no coach, and just a bunch of young teenagers trying to have fun. After watching the entire film, it's almost inspirational thinking back to this scene of how the journey begun.
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The Mighty Ducks: Coach Bombay Meets the Team
Documentary Critique: Curse of the Man Who Sees UFOs
"Curse of the Man Who Sees UFOs" is about Christo Roppolo who claims to have been videotaping and communicating with UFOs around Monterey, CA for several years. In 2013 to begin creating a film about his sightings. He contacted filmmaker, Justin Gaar, who was skeptical of the footage but intrigued. When a crop circle appears in Monterey County and becomes international news, Christo is validated in his belief of alien contact and Justin, shocked, begins investigating the source of the crop circle and how Christo knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's being contacted by his 'brother's from space'. The two travel up and down the central coast and through the central valley hunting for UFO activity. In their journey together Justin finds that sometimes aliens from space can tell us more about our own humanity than the people on Earth.
This was a very unique documentary. Christo is obviously just insane, he’s into weird things and his personality is crazy. He has a very interesting background. He has directed two horror films and his dog was in the Pirates of The Caribbean. I have always been very fascinated by space and the extraterrestrial. This documentary can be unbelievable at times, but what I like about it most is how they captured his personality. I also enjoyed how it wasn’t just about UFOs, it went into Christo’s background and why he is this crazy guy. His fiancée died of cancer and he feels guilty because he could’ve easily paid for her treatments. He was unable to do so because a while back his mom and brother stole over a hundred thousand dollars from his bank account and has never heard from them since. Christo contacted his mom to say he could use some of the money for his fiancées treatment, but she told him that she has disowned him and never again consider him as her son. This is all completely crazy, but it explains why Christo is so involved with filming UFOs. Christo is definitely not a great interviewer, I would’ve never noticed this before enrolling in cinema. He talks over the interviewee a lot and laughs in the background, which is very distracting. They did a nice job of filming the UFOs, if it’s actual footage. They were able to focus in nicely so you could see the colors and formation.
I’m not sure that I would recommend this film, but I appreciated it because of my love for space. It’s not the best documentary I have ever seen. I can’t say I really learned anything either. I just think it’s cool seeing a new perspective and just someone who really loves the subject and wants to share his love with the world. He’s definitely a wild guy, but it’s cool seeing his true side. In some documentaries, people may act differently than their true selves. His videos could be real, but they might not be. What stuck throughout was seeing Christo in his element and his real self.
Halloweentown: Bedtime Story Scene
"Halloweentown", directed by Duwayne Dunham, was released on October 17, 1998. This scene is from the first movie out of the series of four. It is a about a household of three kids, Marnie, Dylan, and Sophie. These kids live with their mom, Gwen, in the USA. Their Grandmother, Aggie, occasionally visits. The kids have never been allowed to go out on Halloween or dress up. This is because the kids come from a long line of witches, which they know nothing about. The movie starts off on Halloween night where the kids are begging to go trick or treating. Aggie also makes an appearance because she wants to start Marnie's witch training or else she will lose her powers forever. Aggie also needs help where she lives in Halloweentown, a dark and evil force has taken over. Just before Aggie leaves for home, the kids ask for her to read a bedtime story. The story talks about a fantasy world called Halloweentown, where their grandmother actually lives. The kids are so intrigued by the story they secretly follow Aggie home. The kids end up in Halloweentown, where they are in awe. In the end, Marnie is witch trained and they are able to defeat the evil force over the town.
The scene starts off with Aggie and their mother Gwen. Gwen is begging Aggie not to tell the kids about Halloweentown and to not tell Marnie about her witch training. The camera follows the 180 rule and keeps the actors looking into the shot. Aggie assures Gwen that she won't tell them a thing. There is a jumpshot to Marnie jumping into her bed and Aggie sitting on the edge of Sophie's bed. Dylan is visible walking to the doorway, but the camera does not focus on him. Dylan makes a dorky remark then is told to sit down and listen to their grandmother's story. Sophie hurries Aggie on about which story she's telling. Aggie tells the kids that it's one they've never heard (about Halloweentown). She explains that all sorts of different creatures live there rather than humans. Dylan interrupts with a snarky remark, but Aggie continues on. I noticed that the camera zooms into just Dylan's face when he's talking then zooms into Marnie and Aggie to capture their reactions. Aggie explains the different creatures living in the town, which excites the kids. Marnie adds her thought then the camera captures Dylan's eye roll. Aggie and Marnie make eye contact when she talks about witches. Just after their moment the shot captures the full group while Aggie explains that some witches are good and some are evil. She explains that not all creatures you see are mean, but sometimes you can tell by just looking at them. Sophie exclaims that she wants to go to Halloweentown. Dylan makes another remark that the story is not real. Aggie seems confused and looks at Marnie. Aggie comes up with an idea on the spot that she actually read this story somewhere. Dylan questions about the book she read and Aggie magically pulls the book out of her never ending bag. She shows the book off to the kids that is titled "Halloweentown". The camera focuses into each kids reaction while their mouths drop in shock. The scene ends with the kids admiring the book.
This scene is one of my favorites in the movie because it sets up how the kids find out about the magical Halloweentown. The scene is nothing spectacular, but it is watched each year by many kids. I would definitely recommend "Halloweentown", it's one of my holiday favorites. It is made by Disney so it can be a bit cheesy at times, but it's definitely worth a watch.