Captain Phillips

I liked how the movie'a setting and characters were almost completely accurate.  The film makers did a really good job in creating tention and I was off the edge of my seat when the pirates got involved.  I think Tom Hanks did a respectable job in playing captain phillips but he might have exaggerated a couple of things that might of actually not been true such as getting beat up in the life boat.  The moral of the story to me was that no matter what, the U.S. will never negotiate with terrorist and pirates.  The Navy acted fast and got in position to kill the pirates and they did.  Captain phillips was probably not the smartest captain in terms of staying away from the pirate invested waters.  Looking at it from the pirates prospective I believe the pirates had no other options to make money because most of the workers on the coast were fisherman and because of the polluted water the fish were not good to eat.  The people of Somalia had to turn to piracy in order to make money.      

Argo

Argo @**% yourself.  I thought that was best saying in the movie in my opinion.  Anyway, I really like the movie Argo because it kept me off the edge of my seat at the very end.  I did like how the movie started off with the hostage situation at the Iran U.S embassy.  The middle part of the movie was kind of boring because they were just thinking of plans to get the U.S government officials out of Iran.  I think a film maker has a responsibility to stay as true to the real story as possible.  There are some elements of a true story that can have liberties however there are other elements that have to stay true to the story.  Offending any character in the story could result in law suits and credit issues.  I think the little things can be at liberty when making a film such as clothing and equipment stuff.  The setting and the characters have to be spot on in order to be considered "based on a true story."  Ben Affleck's character kind of confused me because he was a CIA agent who had connections to Hollywood.  I feel like Ben Affleck's character portrayed the roles of more than one person who helped develop this Hollywood plan to get the Americans back home.  The airport scene at the end never really happened in the true story and I think Affleck is at fault for the element of the movie because he also directed it.      

Apollo 13

I liked how the movie was very authentic and showed how Nasa is able to get humans all the way to the moon.  The movie actually made me feel a little  claustrophobic because most of the movie was filmed in their spacecraft.  The crew was very lucky to get back to earth alive despite the coil that sprung open in the oxygen tanks.  The crew and mission control did an excellent job in getting back home safely. 

I think that Nasa should be continually funded because we have so much more to learn about space.  God forbid one day that the earth can't be lived on and need the ability to possibly live on another surface.

The increasing development of unmanned drones and spacecraft will not require any humans to explore space.  The technology is so advanced that we don't need humans to be physically there to witness what drones can.   

Parkland

I thought parkland was very authentic in terms of setting and costume design.  It made me feel like I was there on that day when JFK was assassinated.  The scenes with zapruder were spot on on terms of being accurate.  The hospital scenes I thought were out of text of the real story.  I do like the scene when the nurse puts the cross on JFK because he was catholic.  The intern Dr. And being played by zach Efron kind of took ruined the role of the doctor.  

When JFK was shot my mom was 2 years old and remembers seeing her mom (Grandma). Cry in front of the little TV screen in their home.  My grandma loved JFK and kept a picture of him him her house.  My family is catholic so when JFK was killed it really effected my family.

Pianist

I liked how the pianist showed how the Germans really treated the Jewish people living in the ghettos during that time.  Szpilman really fought his way through hell in order to survive this extermination of his people.  The movie made me feel really sorry for the Jewish people even though they did nothing wrong to deserve this torture.  I thought when Szpilman played the piano silently without  touching the keys was a symbol to me that all the Jews had been silenced and could no longer live peacefully.  When the German officer hofenfeld saw Szpilman play the piano he had some appreciation for him playing.  Hofenfeld also realized that the German war machine was failing and that defeat was inevitable.  Hofenfeld offered the only thing that was keeping  Szpilman alive and that was food.  Szpilman would have spared Hofenfeld's life if their roles were reversed.  

Defiance

1.  I really liked how the setting really made this movie feel real.  During most of the movie the setting was in the forest and it gave the movie a mood of secrecy and isolation.  The winter scenes that were shown made me want to get a blanket or stand near a fireplace because the characters looked like they were freezing to death.  I find it amazing the the Bielski brothers managed to take in all these Jewish refugees and were able to create a small community hidden in the woods.  I've never seen a WWII movie that ever showed Jewish people fighting against the Germans.  I never knew before that there was some kind of organized Jewish resistance force.  These Jews that followed the leadership of the Bielski brothers were Jews that wanted to be free and fight for that freedom.  These Jews would rather die in fighting against the Germans than being executed at a concentration camp.

2.  When Tuvia tells his followers that "our revenge is to live" he is implying that revenge can not be achieved through killing the Germans because it can not bring their lost family members back.  Tuvia says that if they survive it will bring shame upon the Nazis and gratitude to their own people. I believe that Humanity and Revenge can coexist, its just the way that revenge is carried out by those revenging.  Revenge is an act of humanity because at some point in our lives all of us feel the need to have revenge for something.  Revenge is part of humanity because it is felt by everyone who has lost something due to someone else.  In the film, the Bielski group captured a Nazi soldier and they took the soldier and beat him to death.  The Bielski Jews were saying, "this is for my parents", Or "this is for my husband", when they were beating the soldier to his death.  This is an example of how revenge is part of humanity in the movie.            

Godfather

1.  I thought that the Godfather was an excellent representation of early organized crime in the 1950s.  I actually liked how it started out in the beginning when Vito's daughter was getting married.  I like how the men talked business during formal events such as weddings and dinners in the movie.  Vito Corleone could grant his friends wishes because he had so many connections in New York.  If anybody failed or betrayed one of the families then they would be punished.  I learned through this movie that the business side of things have to be separate from personal things.  In the Godfather, both of those aspects got in the way of each other and created violence and hatred.

2.  Vito Corleone is the "moral" center of the story because he is the head of the Corleone family that makes everything fall into place for the family.  He is the one who had organized connections with police and judicial people behind his scheme.  He made things possible for his family.  I thought the way he died was unfortunate; it would have been better if he just died when he got shot.  I guess in the grand scheme of things, the death of Vito would make the world a better place but I believe it does not.  Vito desperately wanted to keep narcotics out of organized crime but other families thought it was an opportunity for bigger money.  Vito claimed that the reason for all this violence was the involvement of narcotics in the business.

3.  The main thing that is different from a "closed world" perspective is the relationships within the family and business partners.  Also, the connections that the families had with police and judicial officials was very clear.  From my perspective the movie isn't really a classic for me because I did not live during that time when organized crime was at its peak.  I might have a different opinion if I experienced hearing things on the news about organized crime and just being exposed to it from the "outside" world.