Monday, April 21, 2014
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.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
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.
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.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
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.
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.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
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.
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.
Monday, March 3, 2014
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.
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.
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