Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark was a decent movie. I was able to tell that it was an older movie because the special effects were not always the greatest, however, some of the explosions did appear pretty real. I can see how this movie could have been a stepping stone to action movies today because it had action and fighting to it but at the same time it had a good story line to keep people of all interest interested in it. I thought that the booby traps added some very neat things to the special effects of the movie. The movie was certainly entertaining and I can see why it was such a hit at the time especially if people weren't used to seeing movies with non-stop action. I also liked how there was humor slipped in with the action at different times.
In the review by, Roger Ebert, there are a lot of good points brought out. I think that the movie had a lot to do with Hitler and I think that there was significance behind the fact that Indy got the Lost Ark in the end instead of Hitler, much like how Hitler was defeted. I think that Americans liked how the Nazi's were mimiced and how there was satire in the movie because of how we were against Germany and the Nazis.
I think that there was supposed to be some symbolism in the snakes and spiders that appeared in the movie all of the time. I'm not sure what it would be but I think that it could be a representation of Hitler and the Germans and how they weren't liked but they still managed to be able to sneak around.
The theme of the movie had to do with both the plot and a character. The plot dealt with Hitler and how he wanted to get the Lost Ark. At the same time, however, the theme focused on Indy and how he almost single handedly found and saved the Lost Ark. I think that it is an exciting movie because it is the type of movie that some people would wish were true. It was also a movie that kept you interested because you never knew what or where the next scene would take you. You didn't know if Indy would be speeding down a road, facing a pit of snakes, dodging booby traps, of swinging from a vine.

Good Will Hunting

I thought that the movie, Good Will Hunting, was very good. I thought that it was good because it isn't like a lot of movies that I watch. I think that part of the central message might be that a person needs to find who they are and once they find and accept that they are able to go far with their lives. I think that there was credibility to the movie because it is something that definitely could be true. I think that the story line was exceptional, with having a troubled teen who doesn't think he can go anywhere in life and then having two guys, who are complete strangers to the boy, believe in him and show him that he is able to do great things. I thought that it was interesting how they added in how the psychologist had the same type of upbringing as Will did. I think that the movie could help people in society who think they can't go any further with their lives once they see what Will ended up doing with his.
I think Prof. Lambeau was the hero in the movie. He wanted to help Will and he sought out Sean in order to help him. He met the challenges of Will not cooperating with the previous psychologists and the troubles of when Sean told Will that he quit. I think the point where Sean told Will he quit was also the climax of the story because Will was not cooperating up until that point and it was after that incident that Will finally decided that he wanted to do something with his life and he finally allowed Sean to help him. The problem was resolved in the end by Will getting a job and deciding that he was going to go somewhere and be someone in his life. I think that Sean could have also been considered a hero because he did a lot to help Will and he made it his personal goal to be able to help Will.
Overall, I would recommend this movie for others to watch.

On the Waterfront

Last week we watched the movie, On the Waterfront, which I personally thought was an okay movie. I had a hard time getting into it and understanding what was going on at first but by the end I was eager to see what was going to happen. I thought that it was real interesting how they used such contrast in their characters. Like how the school girl was falling in love with such a notorious guy. I thought it was also good in the end when you could see that the once bad guy, Terry, ended up turning around and being the hero in the end so to say. I thought that it was interesting how the pigeons were in the movie. I think that part of the reason they were there was so the directors were able to show the audience the other side of Terry. I also thought that the symbolism in the jacket was very interesting. It was hard to catch on to it at first but by the end of the movie I was able to realize that when someone wore it they would get killed/hurt.

I thought that the first article, the movie review, was very harsh on the movie. I agree that at most times the people in the movie were kind of high strung but I didn't think that it was all the time like the article implies. I thought that the moods and attitudes where appropriate to the movie. In the second article, the one about the book, I thought it was interesting that the writer said that the pigeons were to show Terry's connection with the neighborhood boys. I never saw that as a connection but after thinking about it I guess that it could have been part of the reason it was put in the movie. I thought that the third article was interesting too. I think that most movies these days can be related to past movies. There are so many movies that have been made that it would be hard to make one that is completely original and that people wouldn't be able to relate to some other previous movie.

Casablanca

I thought that the movie, Casablanca, was an alright movie. It was definetly something different from what I am used to watching. The one part that I didn't like was that it was hard to understand what the people were saying sometimes because of their accents. I liked the fact that there was always something going on, it wasn't one of those movies that have the dull parts that you seem to drift off during. I was surprised by the fact that there was things I found funny in the movie. I thought that since it was an older movie I wouldn't understand some of the humor possibly but I did and I was impressed.
I think that the reason this movie was so popular when it came out is because people in the United States where able to relate it to World War II which we were just entering around that time. I think that it remains popular because it has different aspects that both males and females would like. There is a war over the love of the girl going on, so it has a romantic aspect to it. It also has action for people who like that type of film.