Scary Movie

Scary Movie is a horror comedy film mixed with parody and satire. The director is Keenen Ivory Wayans, producers Eric L. Gold and Lee R. Mayes, and writers Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans,  Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg, and Aaron Seltzer. The movie was released in July, 7, 2000. The small group of teenagers in the film are played by Shannon Elizabeth (Buffy), Regina Hall (Brenda), Marlon Wayans (Shorty), Shawn Wayans (Ray), Lochlyn Munro (Greg), Jon Abrahams (Bobby), Anna Faris (Cindy), Cheri Oteri (Gail Hailstorm), David L. Lander (Squiggly), and Dave Sheridan (Doofy). 

The movie starts off with a teenage girl named Drew Decker (Carmen Electra) receiving strange phone calls while at home alone one night. Decker realizes the strange phone calls are of Ghostface. The killer then pursues her and Decker flees to the street where she gets ran over by her parents' car. The film is centered around six teenagers. The following day Cindy, her boyfriend Bobby, friends Ray, Brenda, Greg, and Buffy grieve and reflect on Drew's death. News reporters flock to the high school to report the murder and the mysterious whereabouts of the killer.Gail Hailstorm, a cocky news reporter, befriends Buffy's mentally disabled brother "Special officer" with hopes of learning more about the investigation. The group began to receive strange and threatening messages. Cindy discovered a note on her desk that read, "I know what you did last Halloween". One year earlier Cindy and her friends hit a man while driving down a highway and disposed the body down at the pier. They realized the killer was after them for revenge. As hard as they tried to hide and stay together, Ghostface refused to let plans on killing them fail. Greg was slain at Buffy's beauty pageant, Buffy  was decapitated in the locker room, and Brenda was stabbed to death by the killer and the audience in the movie theater. Cindy throws a party with the mentality of greater strength in numbers. The killer makes his move and stabbed Bobby. Cindy immediately came to his aid and grabbed her gun. Shorty (Brenda's brother) told Cindy and Bobby that everyone is dead. Ray Bobby and Cindy struggle to live. 

Scary Movie payed homage to several films such as Scream, and I Know What You Did Last Summer. The Wayans brothers poked fun at many films and programs from the 1980's and 1990's like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects, The Matrix, The Blair Witch Project, Friday the 13th and Dawson's Creek. The central characters are all parodies of characters from other teen horror flicks. The mask that the killer wears is based off of the movie Scream. The only difference with this ghost face is that it has a distorted face. The auto accident is straight out of the movie I Know What You Did last Summer. The character's name Buffy is taken from the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character Buffy was played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, who also starred in I Know What You Did Last Summer. Drew Decker   is based on Casey from Scream and is the first killed in the movie. Doofy is a spoof of Deputy Dewey from the Scream movies. Cindy is based on the main character Sidney from Scream. Bobby Prinze is based on Billy from Scream and his character's last name Prinze is taken from the actor Freddy Prinze, Jr. who played in I Know What You Did Last Summer.  Ray is based from the film I Know. Brenda Meeks is based upon Maureen from Scream 2 and from Friday the 13th. Shorty Meeks (brother) is based on Randy from Scream. Ray Wilkins is based on Phil from Scream 2. The names of the characters are spoofs of the characters in horror films. Gail Hailstorm is based upon news reporter Gail Weathers in the Scream film. The last name Hailstorm is a joke on the real character from Scream.  I love how the producer mimics the story line from all horror film franchises and meshes it into one hilarious movie. This type of humor is called a parody which imitates the style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule. Satire is especially evident throughout this film. Satire is human vice or folly attached through irony, caustic wit, or sarcasm, used to attack. Satire and its uses do not necessarily have to be funny. Mis en scene really did help objectify the story. From the dull-witted characters to the framing of the shot, it all came together to create a silly movie. Sound was an effective tool because its transition from one scene to another went smooth and the process of taking scenes and bringing them together. Sound effects were used to complement and reinforce. The camera positioning was also used in a funny manner. Such as when Cindy begins to scream and the camera gives us a close up of her face and the camera lens hits her forehead, she stopped screaming and said "Ouch!". Lighting and shadows helped set the mood. In the first scene of the movie, as Decker is running through a grassy field, the only light there is is that of the moon. The victims always died in the dark or in a shadowy area then there were those moments that ghost face would mop the evidence right behind the clueless teenagers. If you enjoy parodies, then I recommend that you watch this movie. I give this movie a 3.5.

Super Fly

Super Fly is a 1972 blaxploitation film and the genre is classic action and adventure. Super Fly is directed by Gordon Parks Jr., produced by Sig Shore, and written by Phillip Fenty. The film was released to theaters on August 4, 1972 and has a running time of approximately 91 minutes. Geoff Andrew from Time Out said the film was, "One of the most successful of the early '70s blaxploitation cycle". Ron O' Neal plays Youngblood Priest, Carl Lee plays Eddie, Fat Freddie and the dealer are played by Charles McGregor and Nate Adams. Julius Harris is the scatter, Sheila Frazier as Georgia, Polly Niles as Cynthia and Yvonne Delaine as Mrs. Freddie. The robbery victim in the film is played by henry Shapiro, K.C. as the pimp, and Jim Richardson as the junkie. Youngblood priest is a successful drug dealer residing in New York City, the capital of the world. Priest meets Fat Freddie and Nate Adams in his apartment to make their payments. Priest gives them a gun to go rob a mafia member after Fat Freddie discovers he is short on money. Priest tells his partner in crime Eddie he wants to leave the business, but after he scores big. He wants to gain one million dollars in four months. Eddie agrees to join Priest in winning big. Scatter, a friend and mentor to Priest, owns a restaurant and a retired drug dealer. The band The Curtis Mayfield Experience perform at the restaurant . Priest and Eddie arrive to discuss share his plans with Scatter and askes to provide him with thirty kilograms of coke. Eddie angers Scatter and next thing you know Scatter has a gun to his head because he said he couldn't help with providing the drug. Scatter finally changes his minf and they agree to a meeting time. Later, the three talk over a beer when Priest accidentally reveals to Freddie and Nate that he is picking up coke frome Scatter. That evening he has a romantic date with Georgia. The follwing day Freddie is arrested for assault and is forced to confess to narcotics detectives who found cocaine in his possesion. Freddie tells police about  Priest and Eddie and how they planned on picking up a key of coke from Scatter. Later on Freddie is released and tries to hid eout but gets hit and killed. Meanwhile at the park, Priest tells his lover Georgia how much he wants to leave his New York life behind and start a new adventure with her. A suprised Eddie and Priest see dectectives as they arrive to pick up a key of coke from Scatter. Eddie is arested while Priest tries to escape by walking down a dark alley only to be ambushed. The detectives make a deal with the pair and tell them they can operate but must make payments of $10,000 a month. Priest feels  uncomfortable, but Eddie happily agrees saying that 'the man' is on our side. After this scene there is a classic photo montage scene with Pusherman - Curtis Mayfield playing. While waiting for a potential buyer in a Harlem bar, three activists approach him but Priest isn't falling for their scam. The buyer arrives and they make a deal. By this time Priest has another girlfriend Cynthia. The pair get in an argument. Scatter arrives at the apartment to ask Priest for $20,000 in cash as he must leave town. Scatter is arrested shortly after and Priest meets with two mafia contractors to discuss business. Priest askes them for a contract for murder, his insurance policy. Priest tells Eddie the news that Scatter was killed, but suggests foul play and that the police were behind it in order to use him and Eddie to make larger buys and to stay in business. Priest desires to flee and get his half of his money.  Eddie gives him his money and in turn tells the police Priest is gone with a briefcase full of money. Priest exchanges the briefcase with a disguised Georgia, however by the time he makes it to the car the police are there. They detain him until narcotics police arrive but Priest has the assurance that his money is safe as Georgia is walking away. The finale scene is gripping and out of the ordinary.
Priest (Ron O'Neal) is a drug dealer hoping to leave the life behind after making one last big score. he is tough, but exposes his heart to two women Georgia and Cynthia longing for new life without really getting the details. His personality fits like one who would slap a bad guy down yet he also has a gentleness. Eddie is his partner. Their empire consisted of fifty people, whom are considered "family". Priest wants a life of normalcy and Eddie suggests that he makes one million dollars before he leaves. "Never a dude like this one! He's got a plan to stick it to The Man!" is the tagline to the movie. The phrase "stick it to The Man!" The man here is refering to the "suckers" and crocked cops. Priest and Eddie lead the lives they live is because there is little else for young black men to do and they refuse to play ball with the largely white institution figures that have been holding their communities down for so long. Without growth in the black communities, drug dealers and pimps are purely a part of daily life.
The role of Priest is intresting. The idea of a straight haired, light skinned actor and his calm energy soft spoken and cleverness as a drug dealer took the character to another level. Overall he portrayed some stereotypes yet infused the character with a hard-edged valour. The music in this film is phenomenal. Mayfield's soundtrack plays through many of Parks' long cuts and wide shotsallowing Priest's car to fill the frame and give a sense of smoothness to the grimy streets. Their wardrobe has a 70's feel . There is even a tangled-legs-in-bathtub love scene. The overall movie is like a drama in that it does'nt contain much violence.