United 93 Response

Part 1

I enjoyed the movie United 93, although it is not the kind of movie that I would normally watch.  Unlike many movies that we have watched this year United 93 is not as much about the characters as it is about the story.  Because of this, the movie was able to change its focus to better detail the events of that day.


Part 2

I don't think that I was filled with hope or despair after watching United 93, however it did make me think.  I though about how I would have reacted if put in a similar situation, which is something I can never truly know.  I also thought about how unprepared the US truly was for attacks on home soil.


Part 3

I think that they mean we should never forget what happened, in relation to the attacks.  When we were attacked the US was caught with our guard down, so I think that they mean we should never allow that to happen again.

The Lone Survivor Response

Part 1

I only saw the first half of this movie, and from what I saw I didn't really like it.  I felt that the characters were fairly underdeveloped and that there was not very much story going on.  I also felt that in many of the scenes it was hard to tell what exactly was going on which left me more confused about the movie.


Part 2

I think that the greatest pitfall of not portraying real events accurately lies in the hands of the film makers.  The film makers are ultimately responsible for communicating to the public how accurate the movie is and if they do not do that it is a problem.

The Hurt Locker Response

Part 1:

Overall I enjoyed The Hurt Locker, but there were things that I liked and didn't like about it.  I enjoyed the overall story of the unit, and the problems that they faced in the war.  I also think that the movie did a good job of portraying the war itself, and what it was like for the soldiers.  I didn't really like the protagonist of the film however.  I understand that in the beginning of the movie the audience was not meant to like him, but unlike most people I don't fell that the movie ever actually undid that for me, which detracted from the experience.


Part 2:

I don't think that the film had a very big effect on me.  However, I think that the most memorable scene for me was the one where the company is hiding out in a ditch for what appears to be most of a day in a combat situation.  This was memorable for me because I think it really gave a good idea of what these soldiers had to go through in the war.


Part 3:

I think that the Hurt Locker is meant to mean the struggles of the soldiers deployed in Iraq.  The soldiers had to be constantly alert, and always be scared that they could loose their lives.  There was also lasting mental symptoms such as PTSD, and many soldiers were unable to adjust back to normal civilian life.

Apollo 13 Response

Part 1:

I really enjoyed watching the movie Apollo 13.  As a kid I always used to want to be an astronaut and have been really interested in space, so anything having to do with space automatically gets extra points from me.  I mainly enjoyed how rather than choosing to focus on one of the more successful launches in the Apollo Program this movie chose to show the one that didn't work out.  I also liked how the movie showed the many problems that the astronauts faced, and how they had to go about fixing them, such as the air filter breaking.


Part 2:

I think that the theme of this movie is to not give up.  This is a fitting theme becasue despite the countless problems that the astronauts of the Apollo 13 mission faced, they never had the option to give up, and that ended up saving their lives in the end

Parkland Response

Part 1:

I thought Parkland was a very well produced movie.  I really enjoyed how much attention to detail went in to making this movie very accurate, while still making it feel like a movie and not a documentary.  This amount of detail really let you connect with the characters in different ways than other movies.  I think that I would probably recommend this movie to anybody who is interested in the Kennedy assassination, and wants to see it through a different medium.


Part 2:

I was unable to get in contact with a relative that was alive for the JFK assassination at the time of writing this, however after reading a few other responses to this question I think that I have a bit of an idea of the general consensus.   Most people seem to have been at work or school when they heard the news, and generally stopped what they were doing when they found out.  It didn't seem to have that big of an impact on most people's daily lives, but did get them to think a bit more about their safety.

Kill the Irishman Response

Part 1:

I really enjoyed Kill the Irishman.  I think that it did a good job of conveying the story of Danny Greene in an interesting manner.  There were very few dull moments in the film as it was fairly short, but I also see that as a bit of a downside because I would have liked to know a bit more about the story of Danny Greene.


Part 2:

I think that I would describe Danny Greene as a man who gets what he wants.  I think that this shows how determined to do whatever he is going to do no matter what stands in his way.  This can be seen in how he takes on the Italian Mafia in Cleveland, which was a huge power at the time.

The Godfather Response

Part 1:

I am glad that I got the opportunity to see this movie in this class.  This movie is often portrayed as a "classic" which I never got the opportunity to see.  That being said I enjoyed The Godfather, although there was not much that really stood out to me.  I did like how much the story tended to focus on developing the characters.


Part 2:

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Part 3:

I don't think that the fact that the story of the film is told from the inside is what gets this considered as a "classic".  I personally think that what makes so many people like this film is the development of the characters, and the interactions between them.  I also think that a film is a "classic" if enough people like it, so in that respect it should be called one.

42 Response

Part 1:

I surprisingly liked this movie.  Although I usually don't enjoy sports movies I was still able to find this one entertaining, because although it was a sports movie it focused more on the characters rather than baseball.


Part 2:

I think that Jackie Robinson helped this country, but it wouldn't have been different if he had not played baseball.  Robinson was able to show people more about equality, but if he didn't have the opportunity to play the US would probably still be in a very similar position to where it is now due to other civil rights movements.   I disagree with the quote "a life is not important except the impact it has on other lives", because although it might not be important to other people, it is most likely what the person living it wanted to do.


Part 3:

Jackie Robinson's values can be very important in life.  Using these values can help get past obstacles because they help you to be strong, and not be swayed by what is going on around you.  This allows people to really do what they want to do in life.

War Horse Response

Part 1:

War Horse was also a decent film.  It was fairly enjoyable to watch, although I didn't find it to be sad like was originally told to me.  I thought that the movie had a much more uplifting feel than a sad one.  I liked the story of the movie, and how it focused on many people and not just one main character, although I did find it a bit unrealistic that one horse would be able to make it through all of that alive, and then be able to find its original owner.  I also generally like movies about World War I, as I find it very interesting compared to most other wars.

Glory Response

Part 1:

I found Glory to be a decent movie.  I think that it portrayed the "feel of the times" very well in displaying the racism and other struggles that the 54th regiment Massachusetts had to go through.  With that being said I felt that the movie was very predictable, which slightly detracted from the viewing experience.  I also think that the movie could have focused on developing and telling the stories of more of the men.


Part 2:

This question really confuses me.  I don't think that there is ever really a good reason that a person would choose to die for purely their country.  What some people would call dying for one's country, especially in this movie, is really dying trying to help themselves.  The men of the 54th were there not for the country, but because they wanted to get out of slavery.


Part 3:

The significance of this story is that it shows how far African Americans needed to come in this country to be considered equals to Caucasians.  It shows the struggles that they went through, and how they worked just as hard as any other person in the war to fight for their freedom.

Braveheart Response

Part 1:

Overall I think that I liked Braveheart as a movie.  I thought that it did a good job of telling the story of William Wallace, even with many of its inaccuracies.  I really enjoyed the nationalistic pride for people's home countries that was displayed.  I also enjoyed the score that accompanied the movie, which helped to really place the viewer in Scotland with the characters.


Part 2:

Wallace was implying that you shouldn't just go through your life without a purpose.  This can be applied to the Scottish quest for independence, because that was Wallace's goal in life, what he felt was his purpose.  This can be applied to my own life by applying goals for myself and attempting to achieve them.

The Gladiator Response

Part 1:

     Generally I thought that The Gladiator was a fairly good movie.  It did a good job of communicating the story of Maximus in a very engaging way.  On the other hand I found some of the scenes (especially ones that included slow motion) to be a bit hard to follow.  I also found that while the generic story of Rome was not terribly inaccurate, it was somewhat unbelievable that a single man, who was a slave, would be able to defy the emperor of Rome.


Part 2:

     I'm not sure what theme to give this movie, because as I was watching it I wasn't analyzing it for one.  Although I'm sure that there are many themes that could be pointed out in this movie I just personally can't see any right now.

Initial Thoughts

I am taking this class because it seemed interesting, and I expect to see many movies that I otherwise would not have gotten the opportunity to see.