Captain Phillips

I LOVE THIS MOVIE. Like legit- LOVE. Nothing makes me happier than an amazing performance by my guy, Tom Hanks. He was completely robbed of an Oscar nomination, and all other awards. (Matthew Mcconaughey did kill it in Dallas Buyers Club though). Anyways, back to Tom. This was honestly such a great performance, script, and the other actors in this movie were spot on. I am also obsessed with the main Somali pirate, Barkhad Abdi. Obviously he is skinny and Somalian, but he completely got into his role of the pirate who somehow had the slightest tinge of morals. My favorite line is obviously when Barkhad says, "Look at me. I am the Captain now." It's iconic. And the fact that they kept Captain Phillips alive, and kept telling him that everything will be okay, you somewhat feel for this guy. Overall, A+ movie.

Argo

Even though this is the second time I've seen this movie, I still love love love it. Ben Affleck is amazing. I love all of the actors and actresses, especially the six Americans stuck in Iran. Most of the cast who played CIA members were very known, but it didn't take away from the movie. Honestly, the look of the movie and the costumes, accents, sounds, and feel of the movie added to the amazing script and great production. I think Alan Arkin has this dry wit about him that always makes me laugh, even when discussing a hostage situation. I have been so obsessed with this movie and am so glad we watched it!

I think that Ben Affleck made a movie for Hollywood. He wasn't making a documentary or like an exact retelling of a historical event. So while he did take many liberities with the film, I have no problem with it. While usually that type of thing bothers me, I still think he told the story to a generation that doesn't know that much about this time period. And by saying that it is "based of a real story" isn't a lie because it is a real story. Six Americans really did hide the Canadian Ambassadors home. Yes, he left a good chunk out, but it still made for a great movie. 

I do believe the filmmaker has some responsibility. But we also have to remember that it is the entertainment industry. It is meant to make one thing :money. So while yes, the topic and relationship with Iran is still sensitive, and while he took a lot of time and work to make a though out film, in the end, it's just a movie. It's a very sad world if a relationship with a country is strained because of something on the screen.

Apollo 13

Overall, I didn't really like this movie. I thought it moved very slow, and had too much going on and I had a hard time paying attention. I love love love Tom Hanks and think he is one of the best actors, but in general I was just bored by this movie. I thought Kevin Bacon was very underused, and that there was too many scenes that weren't needed. I do like when movies give some background to the characters but this was to the next level. The only scenes I really enjoyed were at the end when they were trying to get back to Earth, and they almost burned. When they landed and then seeing their families reactions did bring tears to my eyes, but the overall movie was somewhat slow and boring.

That is a ridiculous, stupid amount of money to be spent on space exploration. I think that is so ridiculous to be spent on exploring a place that provides nothing to the people of the United States. Sure it is cool to have gone to the moon, but I think that the money could've been spent on much more crucial and important things such as education, universal health care, fixing roads and highways, and more importantly, lowering the national debt. We are in this huge debt and people blame one or two people like the President, but then we look at our government as a whole who spend huge amounts of money on dumb things like space, and wonder why we don't have money!! NASA should not be funded by the government in the way it is, whatsoever. It should either be privately funded like a normal company, or decrease government support by a large sum.

I really could not care less about the United States not going to space. It does not matter that we may behind other countries in this area. I would much rather be spending our time, energy, and financial needs on other programs. It would look 100% better to be ahead in the education aspect instead of space. Space benefits next to nobody. The United States is so misguided in what is important. I'm glad they retired the space program.

Parkland

In general, I thought the movie was okay. Not the best, but it had the potential to be much worst. I thought the cast did the best with what they were given. Because to me, it seemed like the movie was about twenty-five minutes long. And while obviously it was great to see Zac Efron in a movie, I honestly think he was distracting. He added nothing to the role and isn't a good actor. Also, I just think there was so much other talent in this movie. Paul Giamatti is one of the most underrated actors out there. He has been in literally every movie ever. And he is so good at his job! But for some reason he is always cast as something minor. I was happy to see him in this movie showing emotion and dealing with tough decisions. But honestly, with a cast that includes Paul, Jacki Weaver, Tom Welling, Billy Bob Thorton, and Colin Hanks, this movie could have been better.

(will email you the interview as soon as I can get in contact with a grandparent!!)

The Pianist

Overall, I was shocked by how much I really liked this film. For once, I thought the film was just very real. Adrien Brody truly did an incredible job making us believe that he was sick, starving, and at some points, hopeful. I found it hard to watch in some points, because of the violence and actions, but obviously these need to be shown to understand the horror of the Holocaust. I cannot get over how real this movie seemed to me. I loved the accents, the use of speaking in other languages, the costumes; just everything! Other Holocaust movies show very attractive actors with an American accent, or a slightly mixed Russian sounding accent, with bodies that appear to be healthy and in shape. The director of this movie knew what he was doing when he cast Adrien Brody. This movie honestly seems like a documentary, because it seems so real.

I think in this instance, the Nazi saw a human being, with a soul and a talent, and somehow pushed aside the fact that he was Jewish. It was like he couldn't believe a Jew could be a human being. I think he saw the fear and doom in his eyes, but when he came to life playing piano, I think he realized this was a human being who could be spared. While the logic is somewhat twisted, this is what I imagine. I think that Szpilman trusted Hosenfeld with his life, because also at this moment, he was not a terrible murderer Nazi, but a human being who had treated him individually with kindness and mercy. And truly in this life or death situation, he had no other choice. Sometimes even the worst people have glimmers of good in them.

Defiance

Going into this movie, I was a little skeptical at first, only because I had never heard of this story, and little things like their accent and muscular bodies threw me off, since they were supposed to be starving. As the movie went on though, I did enjoy it and thought it was such an interesting story. It makes me feel proud to be Jewish when I see people like the Bielski brothers taking care of so many people and opening their arms and creating a community. The sense of community is one of my favorite parts of being Jewish. With that being said, I wish that the producers and casting directors for the movie chose men who remotely looked Jewish, to complete the rest of the cast who made sense. I think Daniel Craig is really attractive, and a perfect James Bond, but to me does not look like the part he was trying to portray. I do think Daniel Craig and Liev Schrieber did a good job though, I just wish their accents were better and more believable. I liked learning a new story, and then when I shared it with my mom, she had a tiny connection to the descendents of the Bielski family. 

The saying "revenge for revenge", makes me shake my head and get upset. I did not like, and do not believe in the killing that the Bielski brothers did. I don't believe in the idea of blood for blood. In a sense I understand where they are coming from, and in some cases of self defense it's a different story, just sometimes I feel that it is so hypocritical to kill someone who kills. I just don't think it teaches any lessons, and we will never get anywhere in life if we live this way. 

The Godfather

Overall, I really like this film. I knew it was a classic and was hoping it would live up to the reputation and legend behind the film. I thought it was very good, and that Marlon Brando and Al Pacino really stole the show with their excellent performances. I thought the plot and storyline were great, but I wish it hadn't been 3 hours. There was just some scenes that I didn't find so crucial to the plot. I also wish we hadn't watched with subtitles because sometimes I felt like I was reading those and not paying attention to the film. But it is such a good movie and truly lives up to the hype.

I think Vito Corleone plays the moral of the story because I don't really see him as a cold-blooded killer. I don't agree with violence in any situation, but I think that Vito does what he needs in order to maintain an ironic sense of justice. I think that he had a distorted sense of right and wrong, but at the same time never hurts an innocent person. I think when he died, all hell broke loose and too much violence broke out. At this point I think that Michael started to kill too many people and became too strict and violent in his actions.

What I learned is that in the sense of Vito, they only hurt and killed in revenge and to get back at someone who wronged someone else. Also I didn't really know that it was possible for the heads of the families to all get together and violence not to erupt. I also thought it was interesting how the police and government were involved and also like turn their heads to the corruption.

I think what makes the film a classic is purely the acting and storyline. The mob and crime families are usually not the norm for most people, so to get an inside look is interesting. But matched with Pacino and Brando in roles that seem born for them, it naturally is a classic film.