Juno

Juno was a very entertaining film. When I first watched this during the summer I felt that its corky comedy was the main thing that made me really enjoy watching it. Although, the topic that it posses is serious (teenage pregnancy), the way that the characters, especially Juno, reacted to this was both funny and heartwarming at the same time.
I really liked the character of Juno. She’s a down to earth girl who can be sarcastic at times but is usually funny.
When I watched this during the summer, the one scene that really bothered me was the part where Juno told her parents that she was pregnant. My initial reaction to that was “WHAT??” I thought that the parents’ calm manner was very unrealistic. I was expecting to see a lot of yelling and crying. However once I watched this in class again, I began to take into account that maybe these types of film are sometimes meant to be unrealistic in some sense.
Overall I really did enjoy watching Juno again. It’s a type of film where you can just sit back and enjoy what the movie has to offer you.

"I stick my neck out for nobody."

Casablanca is thought to be one of the greatest love stories of all time. After watching this film in class I can confidently say that I agree.
Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund were both lovers who met in Paris. Although they both had plans to be with each other, Ilsa abruptly left Rick with good reasons. Because of this, Rick is portrayed as a man who is cynical and refuses to help anyone. His only loyalty is to himself. However, that all changes when he meets Ilsa again in Casablanca. Bitter at first, Rick was told why Ilsa had left him. She had a husband, Victor Lazlo, who was believed to be dead but found out that he was actually alive. Ilsa felt that she had a commitment to stay with her husband and therefore had no choice but to leave Rick.
What made me see that this was one of the greatest love stories of all time was the sacrifice that Rick made towards the end of the movie. Normally, when I think about love stories I think about a film that has many intimate scenes and a happy ending where the two lovers are together forever. However, Casablanca is not even close to that. In the end Rick tells Ilsa to escape with Lazlo so that she can have a better life. This shows us that Rick’s love for Ilsa is so strong that he would give her up for her sake even though he may feel miserable without her. I think that’s the strongest element of love in the film. To have the courage and strength of letting someone go.
I really liked Rick’s character. Even though he was portrayed as a man who only looks out for himself, in reality he is a selfless man. Although he said “I stick my neck out for nobody” in the beginning of the film, in the end we see the nobility that he has within himself.
Overall I thought that Casablanca was a great film. I would recommend anyone to see it.

Piece by Piece

When I first saw this video my initial reaction was: “How the heck do they do that??” I own a Rubik’s cube at home but I have yet to completely solve it. I know that it takes A LOT of dedication and time to speed cube, but to me, being able to solve a Rubik’s cube at any amount of time is amazing enough.
I must say, this film did motivate me to try and learn how to solve it at a fast pace, however, watching the pros solving the cube at an extremely fast pace is much easier than actually having to solve it yourself!

Fearless

I have to say, Fearless is definitely one of Jet Li’s top film if not his best. The fighting scene was of course awesome and very engaging but what I really liked about this film was that there was actually a meaningful plot. A lot of action film nowadays just focus on the fighting scenes instead of developing a well made storyline.
The story starts off with a very stubborn and cocky martial arts master named Huo Yuanjia. Despite his excellent fighting skills, Huo misses the real point about martial arts which is to make oneself a better person and to resort to fighting as a last option. Because of Huo’s idea that everything can be resolved through fighting, he faces a personal tragedy one day because of this belief. His daughter and mother were both murdered because of revenge.
Because of his personal lost, Huo was deeply depressed and sort of gave up on life. However when Huo was living in a small unknown village, he soon discovered himself again and decided to go back to Tianjin. It was then that he truly realized the true meaning of martial arts. At the time of his arrival, Huo’s countrymen were being controlled by foreigners. The cultures that he knew were being replaced by those that were forign and most importantly the respect of his country was being destroyed by the outsiders. It was because of this that Huo would once again fight in competitions to regain the respect that his country has lost.
Overall Fearless is an excellent film. The movie presents itself with both intense fighting scenes and engaging storyline. I would highly recommend this film to anyone.

Dan in Real Life

I was reluctant to see the film Dan in Real Life because romantic comedy was not a genre that I often enjoy viewing. However, this film exceeded my expectations in every way. Steve Carell was brilliant in his role as Dan Burns, an advice columnist and a widower who falls in love with his brother’s girlfriend, Marie (played by Juliette Binoche). What’s ironic about Dan is that he is an expert on relationships yet he secretly hides the fact to his brother, Mitch Burns (played by Dane Cook), that he is seeing Marie and that they both have feelings for each other.
One of my favorite scenes from this movie was when Dan and Mitch were both singing the song Let My Love Open the Door. I though the scene was both funny and moving. The funny part was Mitch’s “gifted” singing abilities. The moving and dramatic part was towards the end of the song when Dan was singing alone by himself. You could tell that he was breaking up inside and that he really has a deep strong feeling for Marie.

Dan in Real Life proves to be a movie that has many moments of laughter and many moments of silence. It’s a film that grows on you and makes you feel sympathetic to the characters in the film.

Do the Right Thing

Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing is a film about the racial tensions that exist in a community. The film starts out as what would seem like a light and comedic storyline but as it gets to the end of the film the mood dramatically changes from light and comical to dark and serious. Do the Right Thing doesn’t really present us with a main character but it does present us with the details of how each character in the film acts around their own groups and other racial groups.
The strongest scene from this film was definitely when Radio Raheem was suffocated to death by the cops. This intense scene was what showed us the strong prejudice the cops had on racial groups. You could tell that the cops were violently suffocating Radio Raheem not solely because he was on the verge of killing Sal but because of their own anger and hate on his race.
In the end, the film shows us the point of view from two civil rights leaders: Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. I think that two of the characters from this film, Da Mayor and Buggin Out, each portray the ideas of one of the Civil Rights leader. Da Mayor, a man who advocates peace in the community shows us the values of nonviolence from Dr. King and Buggin Out who would often resort to violent conversations or actions shows us the ideas of Malcolm X. All in all Do the Right Thing presents itself with many controversial ideas but it does make us think about certain things in the end.

Rushmore

Rushmore, directed by Wes Anderson, is a comedy about Max Fischer, a student who excels in extracurricular activities but struggles in academics. The comedy in this film is different from the comedic films that you would think of. Rushmore is a quirky film. The actions and the characteristics that each character portrays may seem normal in the film but they are definitely abnormal in the real world.
What I like about this film is that there are some valuable lessons we learn from Max’s situations. One in particular is the friendship between Max and Herman Blume. In the film, Max is in love with a teacher named Miss Cross. Herman however feels the same way about Miss Cross and as a result both of these two characters clash into a battle. Their friendships turns into a dangerous competition which shown when Max tried to kill Herman by messing with his brakes. However, what’s important is that in the end, Max decided to let go of his anger and move on. By moving on Max and Herman become friends again which shows the important idea that broken friendships can always be healed.
Rushmore overall proves to be a film that may not be all too realistic and serious but it does teach us some important lessons such as searching for what you love and doing it for the rest of your life.

The Dark Knight

This is easily one of my favorite films of all time. The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, is the sequel to the film Batman Begins. The story continues with Bruce Wayne, as his alter ego Batman, who still continues to be Gotham’s guardian. However, Bruce finds that protecting Gotham poses a tradeoff; his crime fighting activities severely interferes with his personal life, especially with Rachael Dawes, Bruce’s love interest.
To me, what sets this film apart from other superhero movies is theme of this movie. Although superheroes films are mainly about the action, the Dark Knight provides the audience with more than just the intense fighting scenes. The theme of The Dark Knight is how a man is pushed to his limits to do whatever is necessary. The Joker, played brilliantly by Heath Ledger, is Batman’s most interesting and yet difficult enemy. Unlike other criminals who have a certain purpose to do what they do, the Joker however is a man without a logical purpose. In fact his only purpose is to show that the world we live in is really a “dog eats dog” world. Throughout the movie the Joker always pushes Batman to commit the one deed that he refuses to do which is to kill.
The Dark Knight also shows the delicacy of balance between good and evil. During the interrogation scene, the Joker stated that Batman completed him. This to us shows that without Batman there is no Joker and vice versa. It’s sort of like yin and yang; wherever there is light there must also be darkness.
Overall The Dark Knight challenges us to think about the role of human nature and to what extent would we commit something that we would never think of doing. This film sets apart from many superhero movies because of the amount of substance that it contains. I would urge anyone to see this film.

Elephant

I thought that Elephant was a very different film compared to the previous films that I’ve seen before. Elephant is a film based on the Columbine school shooting. There are many perspectives shot from this film. Many of the scenes were repeated over and over again, however, the perspective of each scene was different. I felt that the dialogues of each characters were very simple and in a way unrealistic. However, I think that having a more complex and realistic dialogue was not the main focus for this film.
Gus Van Sant shows us the danger of adult negligence. Alex and Eric are both teenagers who face problems in school. By having no guidance from the grown ups, both these troubled teenagers turn to violence as a way of solving their problems. In one scene, while Alex and Eric were both eating breakfast, the image of the parent’s face were not shown. Instead the only thing visible was their body. This represented the fact that these parents were ignorant of their kid’s problems.
Overall Elephant is seen to be a very controversial film; however, I think that the message of school violence is pretty strong here. It’s a film that teaches us the negative effects of adult negligence.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, directed by Julian Schnabel, was a truly inspiring film for me. It was a film that made me think that life shouldn’t be all about work and stress but it should be about enjoying it and living it to the fullest because we don’t know what the future stores for us. Jean Do was a man who lived a very comfortable lifestyle but he had many regrets in his life. After having the stroke and only able to control his left eye, Jean Do could not make amends with his love ones that he hurt.
What I find so inspiring about this film is that Jean Do had the determination to go on even when all progress seem impossible. With only the blink of his left eye, Jean Do wrote a book about his life with locked in syndrome. I feel that this film motivates us to never give up even when life throws something hard at us. It makes us think what we would do if we were in Jean Do’s shoes.
Overall this film was a different (in a good way) experience for me. It made me think about the things I take for granted. I would highly recommend this film to anyone.

High Noon

I thought that High Noon was one of the better western movies. Although I felt kind of bored during the beginning of the movie, my thoughts changed once the story got more in dept. The film was actually short but the characters that we meet throughout the film was very detailed, especially since it was not a very long film.
The character of Will Kane shows us how one man attempts to fight injustice even when he is left all alone to do it. High Noon shows us that society is selfish and that it easily forgets the good deeds that a man does. Although many agreed that Will was the best Marshall and a man who has done many good deeds for the people, they all forget this once they are faced with trouble. Instead of helping Will fight, they hide until everything is over.
Overall High Noon exceeded my expectations. I thought that it was a good film that had a lot of substance in it considering the length of the film.

Miyazaki's Spirited Away proves to be one of the most brilliant anime films of all time. My initial thoughts about the film was that the story line would not be that sophisticated and that the audience of Spirited Away would be mainly for kids. However, Spirited Away was not only sophisticated but also, the audience was really for both kids and adults.
The movie starts off with the character of Chihiro, a small girl who is very dependent on others. In the beginning of the film Chihiro is on her way to her new home with her family, however on the way there they encounter a place that has much delicious food. Little did Chihiro’s family know that the food was actually prepared for the spirits. As a result of eating the food, Chihiro’s parents were turned into pigs. After the incident Chihiro somehow exits the “normal” world and enters the realm of spirits also known as the spirit world. Her mission from there on is to help her parents turn back into humans again. Along the journey we see an evolution that Chirhiro undergoes.
What I love about this film is the meaning that it gives to the audience. It shows the values of friendship and how kindness makes a difference in a person’s life. Spirited Away had two versions. One was the English version and the other was a Japanese version. Although both were somewhat similar, I thought that the content of the Japanese version was much darker. Unlike the ending of the English version, the Japanese ending leaves the audience with many questions. Overall I enjoyed watching Spirited Away and would recommend this film to anyone.

North By Northwest Balloon!!

This cracked me up!

North By NorthWest

I thought that North by Northwest was one of the best films I have ever seen. My first impression of this film was that it was going to be long and boring but it turned out to be the total opposite. I've only seen a few of Hitchcock's films before, but if I were to see more of his works, I would definitely think that North by Northwest would be one of top films. The story delivers a lot of suspense. There were so many small hints in the film that after talking about it, I noticed these hints. That’s how complex the film really is. My favorite part of the film was the attack scene. I thought that the airplane chasing Roger was very unique. Unlike many movies, this scene did not need a song to promote a sense of suspense to the audience. To me, that shows a lot about the power of this scene. Overall North by Northwest was a great film. Even without the modern technology that we now have, North by Northwest proved that a good storyline is much more important than good visual effects.

What Dreams May Come

What Dreams May Come is one of those films that I initially expect to be decent but after watching, it surpasses my expectations in every way. The film tells the story of Chris Nielsen (Robin Williams) and Annie Collins-Nielsen (Annabelle Sciorra), both of whom are devastated parents who lost their children because of a tragic car accident. Tragedy, however, strikes again when Chris Nielsen dies in a car accident, therefore leaving behind his wife.

What I love about this film is that it gives us viewers a very different perspective about life after death. The scenes in this movie are very inspiring and emotional. After Chris Nielsen’s death, the movie shifts its setting from earth to heaven. From that place we feel a sense of peace, happiness and security. But later on the movie shifts its way into a place of eternal damnation. From that setting our mood changes from happy and peaceful to sadness and fear. Overall I thought that this was a strong movie filled with many stunning and beautiful visuals.