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.