Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Top Ten Movies of the Class

1. V for Vendetta
2. Shawshank Redemption
3. Gone with the Wind
4.Psycho
5.The Simpsons
6.The Great Debators
7.The Graduate
8.Cinema Paradiso
9.Ben Hur
10.Citizen Kane

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

I gave this film a 6 out of 10.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly was released in 1966. This film was a western... but actually filmed in Italy, which as a viewer, drove me crazy. This film was a parody of a western, also called a spaghetti western, and I didn't like how everything was wrong. The horses, the terrain, and the accents.

This film has Italian actors such as Eli Wallach as Tuco, Lee Van Cleef as Angel Eyes, and a Italian director, Sergio Leone. The American actor, Clint Eastwood as Blondie, did an alright job. This film was about an assassin, Angel Eyes, sent to kill someone for money, but then he comes across Tuco and Blondie who are on the same agenda.

I wasn't a big fan of this film at all. The dialogue was bad, and the filmography wasn't that great either. The acting was okay for the sixties. I just... overall did not like this film.  

The Shawshank Redemption

I give this film a 9 out of 10.

"When they send you in here for life, that is what they take." That quote from the movie is my favorite. I enjoyed this film very much. Maybe it was because the story was simple. The director laid the story out right in front of my face with a few easy symbols throw in. The story line was fantastic and it made me cry.

The Shawshank Redemption is a film based off a book by Stephen King. It is directed by Frank Darabont, and has a cast of Morgan Freeman as Red, Tim Ribbons as Andy Dufrense, and Bob Gunton as the Warden. The film was released in 1994, and is about a man that goes to prison, whose name is Andy Dufrense, for murdering his wife. He befriends Red and many other prisoners during his time there. After he makes the prison easier to live in, he escapes and moves to Mexico.

I really liked this film. It had inspiring quotes, an attention grabbing, heart tugging, story line, and it was a film that was very easy to watch (camera angles and such).

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

V for Vendetta

I rate this film an 8 out of 10.

"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof." A quote from V in V for Vendetta. This film is full of questions and answers.. But the right answer to the question is hard to find. V for Vendetta was directed by James McTeigue and the main characters are Natalie Portman as Evie and Hugh Veaving as V and the idea from V for Vendetta came from the graphic novel, V for Vendetta.

This film is about a country that believes that the people have to fear the government. Surveillence cameras are everywhere and the government takes away everything the citizens of Europe have to give them hope or to freely express themselves. Then a terrorist named V come in and kills everyone that has done him and the rest of the citizens wrong. The film is filled with fight scenes and awesome quotes.

I couldn't stop the assumtions and the questions that I kept conjuring in my brain. I really liked this film and would love to see it again. I liked how I felt the same way that V did. Not that violence solves problems, but we both agree that people should have the freedom to express themselves and not be afraid of the government. Why does the government have to fully control everyone? The governent should be like our parents; to guide us and help us grow.



Tuesday, November 1, 2011

The Great Debators

I rated this film a 9 out of 10.

A story about a team that is the underdog and goes through some hardships, but gets back on their feet and wins is what all people want to see on the big screen. The Great Debators fits in this mold, but breaks it at the same time. The Great Debators is filled with an all-star cast featuring Denzel Washington as Mr. Tolson, Nate Parker as Henry Lowe, Jurnee Smollett as Samantha Booke, and Denzel Whitaker as James Farmer, Jr. Denzel Washington also directed the film.

This film was released in 2007, but is based on the time of 1935 when Jim Crow laws were prominent in southern Texas. In a nutshell, the debate team of a smaller negro college goes on the excel and beats one of the best colleges in the nation. They had their ups and downs. Which is why the film/story fits into the category with other films like Friday Night Lights and Remember the Titans. But this film breaks the mold because of the seriousness of Jim Crow laws that are seen in the movie.

One scene in the film I will always remember is when the debate team and their coach, (Henry Lowe, Samantha Booke, and James Farmer, Jr with Mr. Tolson,) are driving to a college for a debate and they come across a group of white men lynching a black man. I cried. Why do people hate others because they are different? The black man in the scene seemed to be hanging on a structure that looked like a cross, like Jesus. I thought this was a serious symbol because I believe that Jesus was killed because he was believed to be different just as the black man had been to the white men. The black man most likely didn't do anything wrong, just like Jesus.

I felt this film deserved a 9 out of 10 for several reasons. One, the acting was done very well. I felt all the characters were played well. Two, the film itself was nice. The scenes were easy to watch, and the lighting was good. Three, it is a story that not many people know about. Debate teams are not as important to society as football or basketball or other major sports are. Four, the history in this film brings to the surface the wrongness of the actions of the southern white men of 1935. How cruel they are. I'm just glad that this is 2011, and not 1935. Yes, there is still racism in the world, but we don't just... Lynch people when we feel like it.
Quote- "An unjust law is no law at all." spoken by James Farmer Jr, I believe.

A source I used: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427309/