The Hurt Locker

I actually enjoyed the movie more than I thought I would.  At first I found the movie kind of boring and I wasn't very interested, but looking back and as the movie progressed, I enjoyed the movie.  I really liked how close the movie got to the action and I think following the bomb technician was such an interesting perspective.  I felt the suspense of every bomb he was cutting and couldn't help but watch to see if he was going to do it.  I would recommend this movie to others even if they're not interested in war movies, and I would tell them to continue watching past the first parts.

I am really unsure about what the "Hurt Locker" means.  I think it could possibly mean that in the time of war you are metaphorically locked in pain, both physically and mentally.

Captain Phillips

I really, really enjoyed this movie.  I thought the acting in it was incredible, not only by Captain  Phillips, but also by the pirates and I felt like I was watching a pirate attack as it was happening. I had heard a little bit about the issue with the pirates, but I didn't know the exact details, such as that they wouldn't kill anyone, they just held them for ransom.  This was such a recent event in our history that I think the movie was so intense to watch. I felt sorry for how the Samalians were treated in their own country, but I do not think this gives them any right at all to do what the traumatizing deeds that they did. I would without a doubt recommend this movie to anyone who is old enough to not be frightened too much by the movie.

Apollo 13

I liked the movie Apollo 13 a lot.  I learned a lot about the mission to space without the movie being a boring documentary.  I really liked the main character. Not only was his acting incredible, but I liked the person he portrayed.  I liked when he was talking about the trip being a "successful failure".  For me, I feel like I would be so disappointed to have all of the buildup of going to the moon, and then all of a sudden it be taken away from me because of one lose coil. I feel like being on Apollo 13 would put the situation into perspective, however, because it was a matter of life or death.  The movie I felt was a little slow at times when they were in the spaceship and there was one part where the main character walked on the moon, and being unfamiliar with the mission, I was a little confused but the movie quickly explained that it had just been a hope of his.  I would recommend this movie to people even if they have no interest in the story.

I think NASA's budget of over $9 billion dollars is absurd. I understand that a lot of research happens on the moon, however, I feel like the research is not necessary.  That money could go toward so many other things.  Everyone always talks about how bad it is to have so many homeless, hungry children and adults, yet all it is is talk when even a quarter of NASA's budget could make such a difference in the world.

I do not think that we need to stay ahead of other countries when it comes to traveling to the moon because it is not such a huge thing.  Everyone knows that the United States is capable of traveling to the moon, so I think the US should let other countries go to the moon while we improve other technologies that could be more beneficial.  I also think it is a terrible belief that the US should have to stay ahead of other countries because all of the countries should be working together,

Parkland

I thought Parkland was an okay movie.  The movie definitely taught me more about the assassination of JFK, but it did not keep my interest the entire time.  I felt parts of the movie were a little slow and hard to get through.  Most of the movie, however, I thought was interesting and extremely informative.  I think the acting in the movie was incredible, especially by Zac Efron.  I think his acting was so good because it really showed how young and innocent he was until this incident and how hard he fought to keep JFK alive.  I think the movie was very informative, but I would only recommend it to people interested in the topic.

The Pianist

I thought The Pianist was a pretty good movie.  I thought the acting was incredible.  The movie at times was hard to watch because how detailed it was. The only part that I didn't like about the movie was how all of a sudden years had passed.  Overall, I thought the movie was really good and would recommend it.  I think it is so amazing how he was able to survive through such a hard time.   I also thought it was awesome how many non- Jewish people helping him survive. I could not even begin to image how traumatizing it would be to live during such a hard time and witness everything he did yet still fight to stay alive.  The part that moved me the most was when the Nazi even helped Szpilman stay alive and not only did he just let him live, but he provided him with  a coat and food.

Honestly, I can not even begin to think about what was possibly going through Hosenfeld's mind when he allowed Szpilman to live and not turn him in.  I think that Hosenfeld possibly saw the struggle in Szpilman's face and realized that the Russians were coming soon anyways so killing one Jew wouldn't make that big of a difference.  I also think that Hosenfeld probably didn't like the Jewish population, but wasn't as extreme as Hitler and he only became a Nazi to save his own life and because it was what he was taught to be correct. I think Szpilman trusted Hosenfeld with his life even though Hosenfeld was a Nazi and Szpilman has been running from them for five years because he had nothing left.  I believe that Szpilman gave the Nazi his trust because he had no one else in the world and he was running out of hope so he decided he had nothing left to lose.

Defiance

I really enjoyed the movie.  Defiance was totally different than I expected.  I thought the movie would really impact me and show me how traumatizing World War II was.  However, I loved how the movie showed the people surviving on their own.  Defiance was like no movie I have ever seen.  I loved how they didn't glamorize the woods where they broke away and hid, but instead showed that the brothers even fought among themselves with the trauma they were facing.  I can't even describe the movie or do it any justice, but I would most definitely recommend the movie to every teen or older.  I want to say that the movie taught me to never give up hope, but I feel like that isn't fair to say because I have never, and hopefully will never, know what the Jews went through.  

When Tuvia says, "Our revenge is to live",  I think it is obvious by what he means.  To me, Tuvia means that there is no point trying to fight back against the Nazis because that is just sinking down to their level.  Instead, stay alive and the Nazis will be extremely angry because they don't want any Jewish people alive, but then the Jewish people never did anything wrong.  The Jewish people can not be blamed for anything, but are getting the best revenge possible.  Humanity and revenge can coexist and it is proven by what I mentioned above.  To live is doing nothing in the wrong of humanity, but still getting the best possible revenge on the Nazis.  I do not think revenge is an act of humanity because I do not think either thing can be defined perfectly. I think that people can be humane and still get revenge, but in a way that is not doing anything wrong.  I don't feel like I can properly answer if revenge is ever an act of humanity because I think it is a gray area, but I do think both can coexist.

The Godfather

I did not like the movie, The Godfather.  I thought the movie was somewhat confusing to follow at times.  The movie itself did not really capture my attention.  I can't really pinpoint what I didn't like about the movie, I just over all was not interested.  I personally would not recommend the movie, even though the movie is supposed to be a classic.  I think the movie has a huge reputation and I was expecting a lot more.  I thought the acting in the movie was pretty good, but nothing about it was amazing.  Overall, I was pretty disappointed in The Godfather, however, looking back on the movie I don't think it was as bad as I thought it was while I was watching it.

Vito Corleone was not only the center of his family, but also of the movie.  Vito Corleone was the man that would make deals with others and everything needed his permission.  He also always was worried about protecting his family and close friends.  I think Vito Corleone's role in the family was to be the center, and he definitely was portrayed that was in the movie, but I don't think that he was a very intriguing character.  I did not like how Vito just collapsed and died in the garden with the tomato plants.  I thought it was so disappointing considering he had just survived multiple bullets and then died by just collapsing. I would have much rather seen him die in a dramatic encounter with the 5 families and had a huge shoot out where it was a big deal that he died, especially since we was the center of the film and family.  I think the world became a better place when the Godfather died because I don't think Michael would have survived much longer and I think their family would have almost vanished.  The family would definitely have faded out because the Godfather had all of these favors people owed him and all of these plans and I do not think his once so innocent son would have been able to handle it.

I think it is a very interesting perspective to have the movie be told from the inside, however, I do not think it was as genius and creative of a plan as everyone makes it seem.  It did, however, help me learn more about organized crime and how everything was handled, but that was only because I knew nothing about organized crime.  I guess being told from the inside view is the reason so many love this movie, but I definitely don't think it deserves to be a "classic".  In order to be a classic, I think a movie must leave almost every viewer feeling a strong emotion and have the viewer also be feeling those emotions throughout the whole movie. I don't think these characters could cause anyone to feel happy when they were happy or sad when they were sad.  This movie should not be considered a classic in my eyes.