All In All

I cannot believe this term is already over!

I had a fabulous time in this class and I am so glad that it was taught my none other, Mr. Bennett! I loved the sarcasm and wit that went on in that class - but most of all I loved the atmosphere of this class. Everybody felt at ease and comfortable to say what they felt and allowed themselves to get sucked into the films.

I also loved the movies all this term. It was great to step out of my realm of " clicheromantic comedies" and actually be exposed to all these type of film genres. I loved the fact that I saw movies that I would have never otherwise watched if it wasn't for this class. I saw movies that made me think and question myself (The Seventh Seal and Asphalt Jungle) and movies that made me cringe (Runaway Train and The Simple Plan - they were my favorites) - even movies that exposed to things I would have never imagined possible (Dark City andMemento) and the classics of course (Citizen Kane and Unforgiven).

All in all, I am very glad that I have taken this class and now every time I watch and film, I'm always the one person pointing out "Oooh, look guys - the director did this on purpose!"or smiling every time the camera swivels because I know the reasoning behind it!

Thank you for a wonderful term guys!

The Atomic Cafe

I really am enjoying this documentary, because (like Diana said) it makes me realize how this is real life. That we, humans actually did this.

What I really am enjoying about this documentary is how it exposes war as a game. Much like the previous film, it shows how at the time no one took this concept of war seriously, at all. Especially the part where they show this war in a positive, humorous light just shocked me.

The part of the movie that shocked me the most is the execution of the "Soviet Spies". The way they described the process in such a matter-of-fact manner just shocked me to no end. I could not perceive how these people were killed, and how the rest of the world took it so lightly. Propaganda is seen simply as a game - not even as a publicity war - but just as a game!

Dr. Strangelove

To be honest, this wasn't my favorite movie of all time.

I enjoyed the acting in every character, but I didn't really understand the irony of war time portrayed throughout the movie.

I did see what the director was trying to do at most points of the movie - but not really in this one.

However, I found the overall portrayal of Dr.Strangelove to be very amazing. I feel like all his unconscious actions were made on purpose - to show what he was truly feeling inside.

Also, the character of the President was portrayed very well because it showed how such a person with "considerable power" has really none at all when it comes down to the final decisions.

And lastly, the character of the officer who wasn't allowed to make the major decision demonstrated how it's not official-ranks that get you places but th decisions and steps you make to achieve your goals.

A Simple Plan

The minute the film finished the only thing that I could think of was: would I have taken the money?

It seems like the answer is simple after watching the movie - but certain things still get stray me off from a direct answer. People always think they are the exception. Don't deny it. You (whoever is reading this), you think you are special.

I know I think that I won't get caught up in a killing parade and kill my closest ones. But how true is that? Sure, maybe I am not a killer. And sure, I've never even had the desire to kill someone but am I capable of it? Once again, the answer is: sure.

And that's what's really scary about "the Simple Plan".

The fact that that could be anyone.

You don't necessarily have to be a killer to kill.

You don't have to be a stealer to steal.

And worst of all you don't have to be good if you are a good person.

Which is what really made this so-called "simple plan" so ironically complex. The fact that until you are left with the one person you truly trust (yourself) everyone else must go.

Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.

Leonard... Lenny... Killer... or Victim?

In the end of the movie, I was really surprised to see that Leonard had been the reason for everything in the plot line. That he created this life for himself.

It was just truly unbelievable.

Firstly, I was in a really tough position because I'm not used to liking a character to hating him in such a short amount of time. His role as the protagonist to the antagonist was reversed so quickly!

And who was he really?

Was he killer?

Or was he simply the victim to his memory loss?

In the end, I came to the conclusion that to me, he was poor killer. Someone who you take pity on. He was a slave to his own hand. He made himself the killer. He turned himself into someone who wasn't him, with his own knowledge. That was so sad. Seeing how he created this labyrinth of life for himself was just pathetic and cold and sad.

And last of all, the whole end of the movie was just surprising. No one thought it would lead into him creating the facts himself. It was a beautiful thing to do - to create a tragically poor killer. Or an evil victim?

Memento

This film really struck me. Not just with its' plot-line or the acting but with the actual way that it was filmed.

I loved how it started from the end and went to the beginning. I've never seen a film like that before. On top of that, there was this sort of repetition that could be found throughout the movie. The scenes with him taking picture, or him talking on the phone with "Teddy". This repetition served as a sort of parallelism between the film and Leonard's fleeting memories.

Also, it was very interesting how the theme of the movie was discovered in the very end. Usually, there are hints throughout films that tell us what the director is trying to show/teach us but this lesson came in the very end. When he wrote under Teddy's picture, "Do not believe his lies". That was a very scary moment. Because it shows us how not only how memories can be deceptions but also how a person can control his life. By writing down that one thing, Leonard changed everything.

Lastly, a point that really took me aback in the film was what Leonard said, "There are no such things as memories. There are only facts." Is that true? Don't memories lead to facts? Can't one not exist without the other? Can't both be altered? And ultimately, I believe that to be the reason in Leonard's figurative demise - he didn't have both. He only had the facts. Which are really useless without the memories.

Dark City

I really was appalled with this movie. I couldn't stop talking about it the whole week. It was definitely one of my favorite movies. It brought about such concepts - that I never thought people thought about. I always think about how, for all we know, we could be living a dream. We could wake up at any moment. And who's in control?

I loved that someone else thinks those thoughts besides me. It was a movie that gave me something to think about. A chance to escape from reality.

I enjoyed how "Dark City" was filmed. The fact that it begins with a man in water (rebirth, and signifying that he is resistant to the aliens like the water) and how he scoops up the goldfish and puts it in the water. This ambiguous beginning gave the viewers a chance to decide what we thought of John Murduch, ourselves.

I appreciate how the viewer can interpret the whole film as he/she wants. It represents that you are who you make yourself, which every viewer recognizes in the end. That's great; the fact that the lesson of the movie is what the viewer realizes by himself/herself without it being stated openly.

And lastly, I love how in the end, both main characters, the man and the woman, end up together anyways - as if the director was purposely trying to add in the concept that fate exists.

"O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?"

Edgar Allen Poe, 'A Dream Within A Dream'