Final Draft of Evaluation Essay

Amy Mihalich
Evaluation Essay
2001: A Space Odyssey
Never has a movie ever had such mixed reviews. 2001: A Space Odyssey was directed by Stanly Kubrick in 1968. This science fiction film was based on a novel by Arthur C. Clarke. While some believe that the film was a milestone in the film industry, others believed it to be the most boring film of all time. “2001: A Space Odyssey” did make a huge impact, but I was just not that interested in the story it told and could barely understand it.
I have to say that I lost my interest right at the beginning of the film, when all that is filmed are monkeys. I understood that Kubrick was showing the “Dawn of Mankind”, but could not understand why he needed to do it for twenty minutes. He showed the progress of how apes became more and more advanced, until a huge black object is placed before them. Kubrick then skips millions of years and shows a space shuttle in space, leaving us still wondering what just happened. While he does a great job of creating mystery in the film, he also creates much confusion.
The film does have an introduction of the monkeys, but lacks an introduction into the space section of the movie. It dives right into a space trip that we know nothing about and barely introduces the characters. He also has many irrelevant characters such as the people that Dr. Heywood Floyd, the main character at the time, are sitting and chatting with. He then is suddenly in a press conference in which we know nothing of the reason or the people there. This section of the movie left me confused on who the characters were and what the main story line was. The characters are all males, with females in the roles of stewardess or secretaries. None of the characters seem to show much emotion, even when the “HAL 9000” computer refuses to let Dave, one of the men on the mission, back inside the space shuttle.
I believe the main reason for my lack of interest was the lack of dialogue. The only sounds in the first half hour are that of apes. From then on, conversations came in short spurts while the other time was either taken up by silence, computer sounds or symphonic music. There were sections of the film that even had ear-piercing sounds for far too long. However, I do think that Kubrick did a great job of choosing to play symphony music because this created feelings of suspense.
Although the film did not intrigue me, one thing I was very impressed about was the technology. It is obvious how much time and effort the set designers put in to make the set look as real as possible. It is also impressive to think that this was done forty-one years ago, when props were usually made out of hokey objects. In the beginning of the space section part of the film, Dr. Heywood talks into a “voice analysis” device, something in which is still being worked on today. I am sure this amazed the 1968 audience. I thought that the most interesting piece of technology was that of the “HAL 9000” computer. This computer seemed to show more emotion than the humans themselves. Hal not only controls the whole operation, but also communicates with the men on the mission and asks them their opinions. I would say that Hal was more of a character than just a piece of technology.
Nothing confused me more than the ending though. The bright and colorful lights show that Dave is traveling quickly through space in his space pod. He then ends up in a room with old-fashioned furniture, leading the audience to believe that he had traveled through time. Dave explores the room to find an older version of himself, followed by another older version of himself lying in a bed. The black “monolith” appears and then shown is a baby in a womb. The movie finished, and I had not understood what anything meant.
Reviews have said that 2001: A Space Odyssey is the greatest science fiction movie of all time. I believe that these reviews probably came from filmmakers or people in the film industry. For people like me who are indifferent about science fiction, this movie lacked a plot, dialogue and could not keep my interest.

second evaulation draft

Amy Mihalich
Evaluation Essay
2001: A Space Odyssey
Never has a movie ever had such mixed reviews. “2001: A Space Odyssey” was directed by Stanly Kubrick in 1968. This science fiction film was based on a novel by Arthur C. Clarke. While some believe that the film was a milestone in the film industry, others believed it to be the most boring film of all time. “2001: A Space Odyssey” did make a huge impact, but I was just not that interested in the story it told and could barely understand it.
I have to say that I lost my interest right at the beginning of the film, when all that is filmed are monkeys. I understood that Kubrick was showing the “Dawn of Mankind”, but could not understand why he needed to do it for twenty minutes. He showed the progress of how apes became more and more advanced, until a huge black object is placed before them. Kubrick then skips millions of years and shows a space shuttle in space, leaving us still wondering what just happened. While he does a great job of creating mystery in the film, he also creates much confusion.
The film does have an introduction of the monkeys, but lacks an introduction into the space section of the movie. It dives right into a space trip that we know nothing about and barely introduces the characters. He also has many irrelevant characters such as the people that Dr. Heywood Floyd, the main character at the time, are sitting and chatting with. He then is suddenly in a press conference in which we know nothing of the reason or the people there. This section of the movie left me confused on who the characters were and what the main story line was. The characters are all males, with females in the roles of stewardess or secretaries. None of the characters seem to show much emotion, even when the “HAL 9000” computer refuses to let Dave, one of the men on the mission, back inside the space shuttle.
I believe the main reason for my lack of interest was the lack of dialogue. The only sounds in the first half hour are that of apes. From then on, conversations came in short spurts while the other time was either taken up by silence, computer sounds or symphonic music. There were sections of the film that even had ear-piercing sounds for far too long. However, I do think that Kubrick did a great job of choosing to play symphony music because this created feelings of suspense.
Although the film did not intrigue me, one thing I was very impressed about was the technology. It is obvious how much time and effort the set designers put in to make the set look as real as possible. It is also impressive to think that this was done forty-one years ago, when props were usually made out of hokey objects. In the beginning of the space section part of the film, Dr. Heywood talks into a “voice analysis” device, something in which is still being worked on today. I am sure this amazed the 1968 audience. I thought that the most interesting piece of technology was that of the “HAL 9000” computer. This computer seemed to show more emotion than the humans themselves. Hal not only controls the whole operation, but also communicates with the men on the mission and asks them their opinions. I would say that Hal was more of a character than just a piece of technology.
Nothing confused me more than the ending though. The bright and colorful lights show that David is traveling quickly through space in his space pod. He then ends up in a room with old-fashioned furniture, leading the audience to believe that he had traveled through time. David explores the room to find an older version of himself, followed by another older version of himself lying in a bed. The black “monolith” appears and then shown is a baby in a womb. The movie finished, and I had not understood what anything meant.
Reviews have said that “2001: A Space Odyssey” is the greatest science fiction movie of all time. I believe that these reviews probably came from filmmakers or people in the film industry. For people like me who are indifferent about science fiction, this movie lacked a plot and anything interesting at all.

2001: A Space Odyssey

Amy Mihalich

Evaluation Essay

2001: A Space Odyssey

Never has a movie ever had such mixed reviews. “2001: A Space Odyssey” was directed by Stanly Kubick in 1968. This science fiction film was based on a novel by Arthur C. Clarke. While some believe that the film was a milestone in the film industry, others believed it to be the most boring film of all time. “2001: A Space Odyssey” did make a huge impact, but I was just not that interested in the story it told and could barely understand it.

I have to say that I lost my interest right at the beginning of the film, when all that is filmed are monkeys. I understood that Kubick was showing the “Dawn of Man Kind”, but could not understand why he needed to do it for twenty minutes. He showed the progress of how apes became more and more advanced, until a huge black object is placed before them. Kubick then skips millions of years and shows a space shuttle in space, leaving us still wondering what just happened. While he does a great job of creating mystery in the film, he also creates much confusion.

The film does have an introduction of the monkeys, but lacks an introduction into the space section of the movie. It dives right into a space trip that we know nothing about and barely introduces the characters. He also has many irrelevant characters such as the people that Dr. Heywood Floyd, the main character at the time, are sitting and chatting with. He then is suddenly in a press conference in which we know nothing of the reason or the people there. This section of the movie left me confused on who the characters were and what the main story line was. The characters are all males, with females in the roles of stewardess or secretaries. None of the characters seem to show much emotion, even when the “HAL 9000” computer refuses to let Dave, one of the men on the mission, back inside the space shuttle.

I believe the main reason for my lack of interest was the lack of dialogue. The only sounds in the first half hour are that of apes. From then on, conversations came in short spurts while the other time was either taken up by silence, computer sounds or symphonic music. There were sections of the film that even had ear-piercing sounds for far too long. However, I do think that Kubick did a great job of choosing to play symphony music because this created feelings of suspense.

Although the film did not intrigue me, one thing I was very impressed about was the technology. It is obvious how much time and effort the set designers put in to make the set look as real as possible. It is also impressive to think that this was done thirty-one years ago, when props were usually made out of cheap objects. In the beginning of the space section part of the film, Dr. Heywood talks into a “voice analysis” device, something in which is still being worked on today. I am sure this amazed the 1968 audience. I thought that the most interesting piece of technology was that of the “HAL 9000” computer. This computer seemed to show more emotion than the humans themselves. Hal not only controls the whole operation, but also communicates with the men on the mission and asks them their opinions. I would say that Hal was more of a character than just a piece of technology.

Nothing confused me more than the ending though. The bright and colorful lights show that David is traveling quickly through space in his space pod. He then ends up in a room with old furniture, leading the audience to believe that he had traveled through time. David explores the room to find an older version of himself, followed by another older version of himself lying in a bed. The black “monolith” appears and then shown is a baby in a womb. The movie finished, and I had not understood what anything meant.

Reviews have said that “2001: A Space Odyssey” is the greatest science fiction movie of all time. I believe that these reviews probably came from filmmakers or people in the film industry. For people like me who are indifferent about science fiction, this movie lacked a plot and anything interesting at all.

Compiling a Portfolio

This weeks reading was about creating a portfolio. There are many different types of portfolio but the chapter concentrates on writing portfolio. You should include your best work in the portfolio along with free-writing, rough drafts, and reflections on your work. For paper portfolios, you need to label everything and rearrange your work from earliest to latest. You may also create an online portfolio as a website. It is also a good idea to include an explanation of the portfolio.

Evaluations 2

In the first section of the reading, the first evaluation article is about cell phones. The author presents a couple points of what the latest cell phones have to offer. Then the next section of the article is "how to choose" a cell phone. I was a little unsure of what the author was writing about, either how to choose a cell phone or to tell about cell phone's features. The next article was about a restaurant. Throughout the article she compliments on almost everything, then waits until the end to make suggestions and give critiques. The third article was a book review, in which the author waits until halfway through the piece to even mention what book she is reviewing. It seems like she is more talking about the personal life of the author of the book. The last and final article is a movie critique. It seems as if the author is giving a play-by-play instead of a critique.

Evaluations

In this reading, a person evaluates the show "Dawson's Creek." I have heard of this show, but never actually seen it. It looks to cheesy to me. The author makes the point that it brings up real issues that teens are going through, and that they deal with them in a respectable way, rather than the typical teen-show. Then he brings up a point on how critics said that the issues aren't appropriate for the audience, and argues that it is a good show for teens to watch. I believe the purpose of this was to show how to evaluate something.

our group

Our group is doing our project on self defense for girls our age. We are doing four different pages including, Tips for self-defense, Tricks to defend yourself, Facts and statistics, and Weapons. We researched different websites and pulled information from there. We are including different links for even more self defense information. Our group is almost finished, we just have to put it all together!