The Hurt Locker

I really liked watching The Hurt Locker.  I actually really enjoy watching movies like this that are intense and bring out a lot of emotions.  I liked how this movie wasn't just a typical war movie with constant killing, but instead was one that focused on a single person and their story of helping others.  I could never imagine being on the bomb squad and constantly putting myself in life-threatening situations.  I really didn't like how they killed Mark Wahlberg off in the first few minutes!  But by starting off the movie like that, it shows how someone can be alive and healthy one minute, and dead the next, through this job on the bomb squad.  I thought the actors all did an incredible job.  One part of the movie that was really sad and disturbing was when the main character found that little boy dead with a bomb inside of him.  I wish they would have elaborated on their relationship a little more, but it was very tragic.  Also, it's sad that he couldn't really function in the real world, like when he went back to his family.  It just shows how dedicated he is to his job. I think "the hurt locker" is where they're stationed.  They do risky things and they're bound to get hurt whether if it's physically or emotionally.  So wherever they're stationed during the war, it's the hurt locker because they're stuck inside of it and are bound to get hurt in one way or another.

Captain Phillips

I really loved Captain Phillips.  I thought it was an amazing action film that wasn't like your typical action film. The hero was an ordinary man and it was a very realistic situation.  I was definitely on the edge of my seat the entire movie.  Tom Hanks, as usual, did an amazing job.  Also, I thought it was incredible how spot on the actors were that played the Somalian pirates.  I would definitely recommend this movie to everyone because it's a really interesting topic, it's very realistic, it's filled with action, and it's just an overall amazing story.  I would honestly watch it again and again.

Argo

Although I didn't get to watch the entire movie in class, I saw Argo in the movie theater when it first came out.  I thought this was an excellent movie.  The topic is one that probably not too many people are entirely familiar with.  A lot of people have probably heard about the hostages, but not about the way that they were saved.  The movie kept me on the edge of my seat, even the second time watching it.  I think Ben Affleck did a fantastic job.  The movie was very real which I really liked because that added to the intensity and I felt like I was actually there watching all of this.  Everything about it was amazing!

Parkland

Overall, I wasn't crazy about this movie.  It had a lot of amazing actors (Zac Efron especially!) so it had the potential to be a really good movie, but it was somewhat dull.  I felt like the story of what happened was following exactly which is good if you want to make a documentary, but for entertainment purposes it made it somewhat boring.  I wish we watched the movie that was shown first semester about the conspiracy because that would've been very interesting.

Apollo 13

Overall, I didn't really like Apollo 13 that much.  The first day of watching I was interested because I like Tom Hanks and it was really different from everything else we've watched, but the following days I found myself having a difficult time paying attention.  There was a lot going on and it was all very scientific and confusing.  Also, it wasn't really exciting to just watch them sitting in a spaceship the whole time.  I know that's the whole point of the movie, but it got kind of boring without a change of scenery.

I think that spending $9.928 billion a year on NASA is a ridiculous amount of wasted money.  Although space exploration may be interesting, there are so many problems on earth that need to be addressed and so many more places that money could have been allotted that would have benefited this planet.  Think about how that money could be used towards education, to help the needy, health care, ect.  I just don't see how landing on the moon provides any benefit to us.  I feel like the United States was just so caught up in this competition to be the most advanced country that they spent their money on that rather than on more important things.  

Currently, I don't think that space exploration should a priority for the United States.  As I said before, there are so many other issues that need to be addressed.  I feel like the United States always feels like they need to be ahead of other countries in everything.  It's more important to improve the country as a whole than to explore space, which benefits almost nobody.  I think it's smart that they retired the space program so that we can focus more on the problems in our country.

The Pianist

The Pianist was definitely one of my favorite films in this class.  It's content was very deep and I had a personal connection with the movie since I'm Jewish.  I was on the edge of my seat the entire movie hoping that Szpilman continued finding ways to survive.  I liked how realistic this movie was.  There weren't a ton of extremely well known actors and the main character was just an ordinary man trying to survive rather than some strong guy that tried defeating all of the Nazis.  The end of the movie when he played the piano for the Nazi officer and then he helped him stay alive was very touching.  I think this movie is a fabulous depiction of what times were like during the holocaust and an incredible story, I would definitely recommend that everyone watches it.

I think Hosenfeld chose to help Szpilman survive because he saw him for his incredible talent as a musician rather than for his religion.  Once Szpilman played the piano, I think Hosenfeld realized that he was just as much as human as any other person and that even a Jew can have incredible talent and killing him could be putting such talent to waste.  I think Szpilman trusted Hosenfeld because, at that point, he had been through so much and needed something to believe in, so he put his trust in Hosenfeld, believing that perhaps not all Nazis are 100% heartless people.

Miracle

As someone who really loves feel-good, sports movies, I loved the movie Miracle.  A lot of the movies we watch in this class make me feel more disappointed in Americans, but this movie made me feel really proud to be a part of such an amazing country.  I think Kurt Russell played an amazing role as Herb, the coach of the USA hockey team.  He was able to put together a group of boys, some of which who weren't so fond of each other, and turn them into an amazing, gold winning, team.  I also really enjoyed learning about some of the other hockey players in the movie and how it touched on some emotional things.  For example, how Herb was the last one cut from the USA hockey team, but he finally got the gold medal he had wanted for so long.  Overall, I really loved the film!  I enjoyed rooting for the USA team during the movie and it made me feel very proud of our country once they won the gold medal.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys watching feel-good movies!

The "Miracle on Ice" is about a team of U.S. hockey players who were chosen to be a part of the USA hockey team for the 1980 Olympics.  Their highest goal was to defeat the Soviet Union, a team that was known to be the best as all of the players had played together for years.  During this time period, the U.S. was in the midst of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, which heightened the level of competition.  Also, the Watergate scandal just happened, there was a high unemployment level, there was high inflation, the energy crisis, and 52 Americans were being held hostage in Iran.  So Americans were going through a rough time period, but this miracle of a victory gave Americans something to celebrate and be proud of.  During my lifetime, I cannot think of an event that had quite the same effect on America as a whole.  I feel as if there have been terrible things that have happened, such as 9/11 and the more recent school shootings, that have caused the country to take a step back and try to make this a better and more safe country to live in.  But I cannot think of an event that made all of America celebrate.

Defiance

I thought Defiance was a spectacular movie.  As someone who is Jewish, I felt a more personal connection with the movie.  Something I really loved about it was how it really made you feel for the Jews and brought out a lot of emotions while, at the same time, keeping you on the edge of your seat as you never knew when another action scene would break out between the Jews and the Nazis.  As much as I loved the movie, none of the characters really stood out to me as spectacular but I did like Zus as he was full of action, like the time when he broke into the Nazi headquarters and shot all of the Nazis inside in order to get the medicine.  I would definitely recommend this movie to other people because it's an interesting story about the Holocaust that not many people know of, including myself.

When Tuvia says, "Our revenge is to live," he's saying that the best revenge the Jews could get against the Nazis is to continue to live on.  Being violent against the Nazis shouldn't be a form of revenge necessarily, instead, to show the Nazis that the Jews are strong enough to live on even after such a terrible genocide.  I don't really believe in evil forms of revenge.  Much like Tuvia, I believe in more positive forms of "revenge", like if someone doesn't like you, for example, "killing them with kindness" would be the kind of "revenge" I would be okay with.  But I don't think that humanity and revenge go hand in hand because people make mistakes and wrong each other and if there was always revenge, people would always be hurting one another.

The Godfather

I really enjoyed watching The Godfather.  Throughout my life I have heard about this movie numerous times and how it is considered a classic, but I never really made the time to watch it, so I'm happy that I finally got to see it.  I think the plot was incredible; I loved the way that it twisted around and it was so intricate, yet it all came together in the end.  Throughout the movie I was on the edge of my seat and wanted to see what would happen next.  I really loved the development of Michael's character.  He started off completely detached from the family business and was the typical good American soldier, but then made a huge transformation as he became the new Don.  I think all of the actors did an amazing job portraying members of the mafia.  Regardless if you enjoy classic movies or not, I think this is a movie that everyone should at least watch once.  Honestly, I thought I would really dislike it coming into it, but after watching it, I definitely want to watch part two.

Although Vito Corleone may not be a man of high morals, as the Don of his family, he set the standards for everyone else to follow if they wanted to be on his good side.  Whatever he says, goes.  If anyone denies the wish of Don Corleone,  they can expect either death or a great loss.  Also, as a man of high power, if you befriended him, he would do you a favor (which would have to be returned at some point).  Thus, he serves as the "moral" center of the film.  I was really sad when Vito passed away.  In a movie like this where you see the mafia from an inside perspective, it's easy to like the characters, even though from an outside perspective they would be viewed as horrible people.  I think that the death of Vito Corleone overall had neither a positive nor negative effect on the rest of the world as his family will continue to live on through Michael.

As I said before, this movie shows the inside perspective of organized crime.  From an outside perspective, organized crime comes across as a terrible thing, but from the inside, it seems like a family with different, more intense priorities.  From the inside, I even liked the members of the Corleone family and thought that, despite all of the bad they have done, they are still good people.  It's funny how, depending on who tells the story, your perspective on people can be radically different.  I think what makes this film so amazing in the eyes of nearly all who have seen it is the spectacular, intricate plot and the way in which you actually grow to like these people who would seem awful if you were to view them from any other perspective.  It's one of those stories that seems like it could just keep going and it evokes so many different feelings and thoughts regarding what's moral and what isn't.  I really do think it warrants being called a classic because whenever you hear the word "mafia", you'll think of this movie right away and it's something that everyone should at least watch once.

42

I loved this movie.  This was my third time watching it and it was just as good as the first.  It's one of those "feel good" movies that you could watch over and over again.  I thought the characters all fit their roles perfectly and the story, although historical, was portrayed in a very entertaining way that made me want to keep watching.  The content in it was really powerful and the movie really moved me.  It made me really happy when Jackie's teammates were finally accepting of him.  Even though I never felt like there was truly 100% acceptance from his teammates, I liked how they went from being completely terrible racists to people who understood that Jackie was just like them.  Jackie was a truly inspiring character as he continued playing the game he loved and standing up for his race as a whole, even though it seemed like the majority of white America was against it.  A small part of the movie that really bothered me was when a father and his son were at one of the games and you could see that the young son was bothered when the people around him began yelling racist things at Jackie.  But, once his dad began to yell with the rest of the crowd, he joined in as well.  This just showed how quickly and easily racism was passed on and it was sad to see it manifest itself in such a young child.  Overall, I loved the movie and thought it was very inspiring, making me question what my true purpose in life really is.

I think Jackie Robinson really helped break the racial barrier in sports in America.  When he was playing major league baseball, he had a lot at stake.  People were sending him and his family death threats, which can't be easy to deal with, and he received a lot of hatred.  When people shouted terrible things at him, he had to ignore them and be the bigger person, which had to be extremely hard to do.  We must learn from people like Jackie to do what you want to do and act in the most respectable way possible, regardless of what other people say or do.  He showed that if you're determined, you can persist through a lot of obstacles.

I could use Jackie's values to break a lot of my own barriers.  Determination is something that's very important to me right now since I'm a senior and will be in college next year.  I'm determined to complete my schooling so that I can be successful.  I'm sure there will be times where it'll be tough to stick to my studies when there are so many distractions, but with the right amount of determination, I'll be able to balance my school work and all of the fun things college has to offer.  Teamwork is also something that's very important to me as I'm a part of several teams, such as Mock Trial and the school tennis team.  Teamwork involves putting in good effort and being supportive of the other people on your team.  Commitment also ties in with teamwork because in order to be a good teammate, you need to be committed to the thing that your team is a part of.

I somewhat agree with Jackie's quote, "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other's lives."  I partially agree with this because the way you impact others is the way your remembered, and when you're gone, all that's left are memories.  Thus, the way your remembered is what most of your life summed up to, so it's important to leave a good impact on others so you can be remembered in a positive light.  I also think it's important to do some nice things for yourself in life, too.  You could leave an incredibly good impact on others but feel unfulfilled.  It's important to set personal goals for you to accomplish, too.

Cinderella Man

I think the title of this movie is Cinderella Man because James Braddock came from nothing after the Great Depression hit and worked hard to achieve success.  He was the underdog.  Unlike the ugly stepsisters in Cinderella, he didn't have everything handed to him.  He was faced with the devastating effects of the Great Depression and worked his way up to the top in his boxing career.  I really loved the story.  I thought it was a very inspiring and heartwarming movie.  I found myself developing feelings for the characters and I was rooting for the Braddock family as a whole, hoping they would work out their financial issues in such tough times.  I really did like James because he was a good parent and husband.  It was clear that he was selfless and would go to any extent to provide for his family, even if that meant taking on a job lifting heavy objects with a broken hand.  One scene that really showed how caring of a father he was, was when he gave his meal to his daughter even though he must have been starving.  Each family has their own struggles.  Several families today, and throughout history, struggle with financial issues, especially with the unemployment rate being so high and it getting more difficult to obtain a job.  I think our children will find it very difficult in the future to get jobs.  Everything is getting more and more competitive.  More schooling and skills will be required to get jobs.

Although stealing goes completely against my character, I would definitely stoop to that level if my family hadn't eaten in a week.  I wouldn't form a habit of stealing, though.  I would continue to search for job opportunities or find alternative ways to make money.  I feel like the ethics of this decision could be understand in certain situations.  If a family consisted of parents who were too lazy to work and make money to provide for a family, then stealing would certainly be unethical.  But if a family is truly undergoing a financial struggle and has tried their hardest to get a job, then I think an exception can be made and this can be considered ethical if it doesn't become habit.  I'm sure no one would feel good about stealing, but it isn't the worst thing that could be done if it came to a starving family.  I don't think anyone could say that they wouldn't steal in such an awful situation unless if they were actually put in that situation.

Although I feel bad for Max Baer's family after they had to deal with the negativity that was brought to Max from the movie, I definitely think it made the story more interesting that they changed his character.  The movie wouldn't be quite as interesting without an antagonist/"villain".  If Max was portrayed as a man devastated by his killing of his opponent, he would almost become a protagonist along with James and would take away from the suspense of the fight.  With a likable opponent, people watching the movie wouldn't know who to root for.  It's typical Hollywood and it cannot be expected that everything is portrayed accurately.  If it were, the movie would become more of a documentary.  I don't think that what they did was unethical, it was within their rights to do that.  Maybe to justify it more they could've had a written paragraph on the screen once the movie ended explaining Max's true character.  I don't think it took away from James Braddock's story at all, but only heightened the intensity.  But, if Max's true character was portrayed, then it would take away from James's story.

I thought the scene where Braddock begs for money from the same men that brought an end to his boxing career was sad.  I felt bad that it came to the point where he had to do that.  I'm sure it was humiliating for him and came across as a bit pathetic, but I'm sure it also took guts to admit how badly he needed the money and put himself out there like that.  I think he did the right thing by asking them for the money because it was a last resort and they were the exact people who left him broke once they ended his career.  Instead of stealing or taking from others who couldn't afford it, he went to those who could afford to, and should've, helped.  I think this moment helps define Braddock as "Cinderella Man" because he took matters into his own hands and found a way to provide for his family.

Tombstone

At first, I thought I would definitely dislike watching Tombstone seeing that it came across as the typical old western movie with cowboys.  As the movie progressed, though, I definitely began to like it more.  I think the actors did an amazing job overall.  Wyatt's wife perfectly portrayed the role of a distressed, crazy wife and I definitely felt badly for her.  I really enjoyed the friendship that Wyatt and Doc shared; it seemed as if they would risk their lives for each other regardless of the circumstances.  I got very emotional during the scene where Wyatt and Doc had their last conversation on Doc's deathbed.  Doc was a very likable character and seeing him die definitely upset me.  One thing I didn't quite like about the movie was Wyatt's relationship with Josephine.  I didn't think there was any romantic buildup, it was just very random.  Almost like a fairy-tale "love at first sight" type thing.  Also, it upset me how he was so clearly involved with her while he still had an obligation to his wife.  I think that he should've handled things with his wife before being with another woman.  I thought the gun fight was pretty weak and that the movie needed more action, even if it wasn't historically correct to have more.  A scene I really liked was when Doc, as sick as he was, dealt with Ringo himself.  It was extremely courageous of him and really showed how much he valued Wyatt's friendship.  Some parts of the movie were a little unclear to me and I think they should've made a point of clarifying more of what was going on.  Overall, I thought it was a good movie and definitely taught me a lot about this topic that I had never really known anything about.  I don't think I would recommend it to someone if they were just looking for a typical movie to watch, but if someone had a passion for history or western movies then I would definitely recommend it to them.

I think what makes an event legendary is if it sticks out in history/people's minds.  Using this movie as an example, if someone were to hear of the town "Tombstone", they will most likely automatically think of the gun fight that occurred there.  What makes an event legendary depends upon if it is memorable and sticks out in people's minds.  Much like the qualifications for making an event legendary, a person would be considered a legend if they are remember for a specific thing.  I think that Wyatt and Doc are definitely both legends for the way they ruled the west and definitely through their time in Tombstone.  I don't think that there is too much of the "Wild West" that appeals to me.  The people overall seem rather unintelligent and closed-minded and I feel like there isn't any privacy there.  The only thing that does appeal to me is riding around on horses!

Glory

I never thought I was a fan of older movies but the movie Glory showed me otherwise.  It's not when the movie was made that matters, but the content it displays.  The movie was very moving as African Americans fought for a country that had treated them so terribly.  They risked their lives, and were extraordinarily brave in doing so, for the freedom of potentially themselves if they lived through the battles, and for all other African Americans.  While the average white male fought simply for the Union or the Confederacy, African Americans fought for their race.  What they were fighting so hard for had so much meaning to them.  I was very touched and invigorated by the movie as it gave me an entirely new insight to African Americans finally being able to join the army, a topic I had never really thought of before.  I was inspired by the characters of the African American soldiers because of their bravery.  A couple of scenes really stuck with me.  One of these scenes was when they had their first battle in the woods and they were very empowered while fighting. You could tell by watching them that they felt a sense of freedom while fighting and that what they were fighting for amounted to so much more than what any white solider was fighting for.  They seemed fearless. And when they won the battle, they were cheering which I wouldn't think is typical for soldiers to do.  The other scene that stuck with me was the one that occurred the night before the battle at Fort Wagner.  Instead of fearing for their lives, the soldiers were singing and talking about how they weren't afraid to die, especially if it meant dying for their freedom.  That scene truly showed what these men were fighting for.  I would definitely recommend this movie as it has an amazing message and shows that for African Americans, the Civil War was so much more than a battle between two parts of the country, but rather a battle for the freedom of their race.

Personally, I could never join the military because it would scare me and I don't think that combat solves any problems, but I do have much respect for the people that care about the country and the people in it enough to risk their lives.  I feel like joining the army in the Civil War days was much different than it is today.  Back then, I feel like people joined because it was more common and considered the noble or patriotic thing to do.  America was a newly free country and people were motivated to fight hard in order to keep it together since they had already fought so hard to gain their freedom from the British.  To just give up on it would make those previous years of fighting all for nothing.  I do think that the men of the 54th Massachusetts are heroes not only because they fought for a country despite how badly they had been treated by its people, but also because they fought so bravely for their freedom.  I do think that Shaw is a hero for training and leading these men as it was a task I'm sure not many other white men would take on, but I do not think that he should have to be considered a hero for what he did.  But since racism and slavery were still were prevalent, he was a hero.

This story is significant because it shows how human African Americans are in a time when they were treated as less than human.  While white males were mindlessly killing each other off in battles, African Americans fought for something so much more important and meaningful.  The leadership of the 54th at Fort Wagner showed just how fearless those soldiers were.  When things were dangerous and risky, they charged ahead and continued to fight for what they believed in rather than backing down.

My Introduction

Hello, my name is Samantha, but people usually call me Sam.  A word that best describes me is caring because my friends and family play a huge role in my life and I typically put others before myself.  I play tennis both on Orange's team and with my family who are avid tennis players.  I also enjoy being with my friends, trying new things, and watching TV shows and movies.  My goals include going to college, making new friends, finding a career, eventually having a family, being the happiest I can be, and living life to the fullest.  Although school can be stressful, I enjoy being around my friends and learning new things.  My favorite classes so far have included creative writing, government, US history, psychology, and sociology.  What I dislike about school is the amount of stress put on students to perform perfectly.  I enjoy learning, but I dislike taking tests.  I feel like students would enjoy school more if they simply were able to enjoy the aspects of learning without the stress of being graded on tests that cover large amounts of information.  Rather, we should be able to show what we have learned more creatively through projects and papers.  I also think it's unhealthy how early we have to wake up and the amount of homework that we are given, which eats up our out-of-school time.  I think school takes away our childhood as it's the center of our lives.  As I do think it's important to learn, it's also important to enjoy life.  My favorite teacher has several qualities that make school more enjoyable.  He has the class discuss topics that are both thought-provoking and relatable.  His style is more laid back as he strays away from typical teaching methods and allows his students to learn through more interesting outlets.  Aside from the curriculum, he also teaches his students about things currently going on in the world and pop culture both new and old.  I have always had a strong interest in history, especially US history.  I love learning about historical events and interesting facts.  I think it's important to be educated on the country/world you live in.

I have mixed feelings towards humanity.  Part of me is extremely proud of all of the accomplishments that have been made and how diversity is becoming more accepted.  On the other hand, I'm extremely disappointed in the way humanity has treated people who are diverse.  On a more personal level, I have created the Young Feminists Club at school and have been involved in events promoting feminism outside of school.  Being a female, gender equality is really important to me and today inequality still persists.  I'm proud of how much more accepting humanity has been with diversity but disappointed with humanity for not being completely accepting.