Beasts of the Southern Wild

     Beasts of the Southern Wild begins in a fictional off-the-grid community known as The Bathtub. In the community lies a young girl named Hushpuppy facing orphanage. Her mother is gone and her father, Wink, is a carefree reckless spirit who doesn't even live in the same home as Hushpuppy. Most of the time Hushpuppy is left to fend for herself. We're shown her cooking her own food and living on her own.

     There's a school (boat) where Hushpuppy is taught by Miss Bathsheba, who tells the kids, "Learn to live with one another, and adapt!"

     Soon, Wink comes down with an illness, and suddenly - in a very convenient time that coincides with the plot - reality falls apart and a massive storm brews, ice caps melt, basically 2012 all over again. Hushpuppy believes that reality falling apart and Wink becoming sick are related.

     Elsewhere, prehistoric beasts start to come out of the ice caps and begin to roam.

     More elsewhere, back at the Bathtub, instead of the community freaking out they decide to party to their deaths, woohoo! The next morning they find their community almost completely submerged.

     Wink decides to teach Hushpuppy about fending for herself, teaching her how to fish with her bare hands. Unfortunately it ends with Hushpuppy injuring her hand.

     The next morning, Wink was seen sneaking out with a giant garfish filled with explosives. In essence he was going on a kamikaze mission to blow up the leeve keeping all the water in, basically draining the Bathtub. Miss Bathsheba realizes this is a bad idea and tries to stop Wink. The results are bad - the Bathtub is dead.

     And meanwhile, the beasts thawed from ice are roaming the lands....

     Right afterwards, the Government captures the people of the Bathtub and essentially subjects them to imprisonment hospitals. They're gloomy and sad, and the government tests the people of the Bathtub and quickly find out Wink is dying. Hushpuppy finds out.

    It hits her that Wink isn't the superman dad she thought he was. He's on his deathbed, but Hushpuppy sees a light and figures she should chase it for some reason. Something about her mother or something. Suddenly a mysterious boatman picks her out of the water, they go to a nightclub, there's a woman with eyes like her's, there's a moment of love.

     Hushpuppy returns to her father, but she meets up with the beasts. They have a moment of primal understanding and they go on their way.

     Hushpuppy shares one last meal with Wink, she returns to her friends and family as a hardened warrior and they go into the Southern Wild as a pack.

     Honestly this movie didn't make much sense to me, I wasn't a fan of it at all and the story was extremely difficult to follow.

THE COREY CLUB

The "breakfast club" written and directed by John Hughes was a reality comedy movie about a group of teenagers attending Saturday school (detention). I liked this film because I feel like it introduced the many different stereotypes of kids in high school through the different students in detention. For example John bender is known in school as the "bad kid" he misbehaves in school and doesn't listen to any authority. When he opens up to the other kids in detention and tells them his story you can see and understand why John acts the way he does. Another example in the movie of this was Andrew.Eventually they wind up opening up to each other and we find out who everyone is and what kind of character they are. Later on in the film, some of their more hidden traits come out. For instance, Bender becomes softer and is a bit more friendly towards the group (as opposed to him being a complete dickhead before) Hell, Claire kisses him! Andrew winds up becoming interested in Allison after Claire gives her a makeover.

At the end of the film, the group finally does the essay and signs it as "The Breakfast Club" and leave it for Mr. Vernon to read. There were two similar but different letters in the beginning and end. It shifted from antagonizing to the letter realizing that the group is similar in their own ways.

I personally enjoyed this film, it's rather funny and I especially like Bender. I think he's my favorite character 

Beasts of the Southern Wild by Walatsebi Kofi-Mensah Lomotey

This movie was abnormal so it caught my attention. This little girl with tons of pets and stray animals surrounding her in this place of what looked like hurricane ruins. This place was called the bathtub. The mini lesson before viewing this movie was “Utopia.” The bathtub was their understanding of an Utopia. This is where people actually lived. They ate healthy and depended on what the waters brought them. This place was very makeshift and tarnished. It was weird to me because the people loved it so much. I don't see how you could love such a dump like they lived in. I have to live in the condition of public facilities, sewage, and definite places to get resources. What I learned from this movie is that not everyone has the same mind set and thinks the same. What I might think is normal others might think is crazy. The father absolutely despised the real world. I guess he just felt like the way he lived was the best way. People from outside their utopia tried to have them evacuated from their homes which caused stress and anxiety. All these people wanted was their piece of mind in their own free space. I felt bad for hush puppy because she already didn’t have her mother and her father was dying. I also felt bad because I feel like she didn't grow up in the right environment but at the same time it had its perks. I think living in the conditions she did made her strong and independent even at her young age. In all utopias there comes a point where you have to be strong. Life is not easy anywhere thats why people try to find their utopia and their nirvana.

Winter's Bone By Walatsebi Kofi-Mensah Lomotey

This movie was a waist of my time. I truly hated this movie because I just don't see the point its trying to get at. This movie is about a teenage girl who has to take care of herself and her siblings because her mother is mentally ill and her father is missing and wanted for cooking meth. This girl teaches her brother and sister all the skills and tools necessary to survive. Since Ree’s father has missed his court date, the police are threatening to take their house. Ree goes out in search of her father but there is absolutely no luck. This makes it even harder for her and her family to survive. Ree finds out that her father was killed because he was going off to tell other drug cookers. She is taken to retrieve her dad out of the pond with the people that beat her up earlier in the movie. This movie was just too confusing. I did not understand any of it. When Ree was getting beat up I had no idea why. Also, why was her father missing?

Jaws by Walatsebi Kofi-Mensah Lomotey

 The 25 foot long juggernaut that they call Jaws was the menace of the waters. The thought of him is frightening let alone the sight of him. When you see him you will be in shock; You won't be able to even move.
When the movie jus started, I hated it. But as the movie went on it got more and more interesting. The shark killing that child in the lake was a spark. After that, the mother of the child that got killed put a bounty for the sharks head. This sparked a town-wide shark hunt for all the shark hunters. One of the local shark hunters killed a big shark that people thought was jaws so they felt safe. That is until Matt Hooper, a marine biologist,  determined that it was in fact not jaws. Even though it wasn't the shark, Vaughan was did not care and refused to close the beaches. This is when the shark attacked again and Brody's kid witnessed the vicious attack. When this happened they hired the professional shark hunter Quint to hunt the shark. Hooper, Brody and Quint all go on the hunt to Jaws. The hard part wasn't finding Jaws, it was trying to contain him and catch him. This part of the movie was without a doubt the climax. I especially enjoyed the nail biting part when Hooper was brave enough to go in that cage... which was extremely stupid. When Quint died I was shocked. I really thought he was going to at least injure Jaws but he is TOO BIGG!!!!
If I didn't know there were more sequels to this movie I would be very unhappy at the ending.

Jurassic Park - Dean Artusa

Jurassic Park was always thought to be a good movie from me, its something that I watched for the first time when I was very young. And at the time it was VERY scary, but watching it now I still feel like its scary but I already know what is going to happen. My favorite scene in the movie has got to be the kitchen scene, this is because the children are very afraid but they're still very agile and outsmart the dino's by making certain noises with objects and distracting them. It's got to be the most intense scene in the movie because it was so unpredictable, its hard to know what happens next especially since we have already seen at least one character die.
This movie's budget was $63 million which is a lot of money and it did insane in the box office by getting over 1 billion dollars. Which is a surprise because I feel like something about dinosaurs would do that well! But I look back at the movie and notice that the special effects and animations are VERY good for a movie from 1993. I would definitely watch this movie again and I look forward to seeing the newer addition.

Tree of life

  so a man named Jack who didn't have the best childhood. His father, Brad Pitt, was extremely demanding and strict. He raised his son to only say yes sir. On top of that he wasn't allowed to talk unless told he was allowed to which is such a throwback, I mean I speak my mind without being asked, I'm very opinionated. Good thing that wasn't me because I would definitely not survive, he'd probably see me as a crazy rebel child or something LOL. What I rally didn't like about the movie was the fact that it was like the man is in charge and he's allowed to do whatever he wants. I mean it was real because it used to actually be like that but I still hate it. He was just violent and unpleasant to be around. Although Jack went through tough childhood he was able to humble himself and accept everything with his father by forgiving him which I have a lot of respect for him for doing. To be honest I wasn't a very big fan of this film. The beginning was alright but it just didn't peek my interest in any way. I will say that it was very artistic and tasteful but just not my cup of tea.this movie is the shit i love every suspenseful moment.

JP BLOG

Jurassic park, this was one of my favorite movies as a child. I enjoyed movies about animals that were suspenseful and action packed. The beginning of this movie grabbed my attention because it opened with a woman being pulled under water by an unknown force, and then another scene  where a young boy is killed by the shark. Both of these scenes set a plot for the movie, and easily grabbed my attention. I honeastly if your LOOKING FOR A THRILL SEEKING ADVENTURE YOU HAVE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE. 

CROOKLYN

The movie "Crooklyn" directed by spike lee was a comedy/drama about a lower class family growing up in the ghetto. The movie follows the young girl Troy and her family. She's raised with her four brothers and their mother and father take care of them.The mom was one of my favorite characters in the sense that she was so straight to the point and so blunt with her kids. If you thought she was going to take no for an answer, you must of thought wrong cause what she says goes and there definitely was no way around that. I love how even though she was dead, the film kept bringing her back to the kids making them feel like she was always watching them.  Troy was definitely my favorite character she was funny and her personality was amazing. I could relate to her in a sense where I have siblings and when my little sister was born I had to change her diapers, wash her clothes, give her baths and clean up everything after her. When Troy's mother died, in a way she passed the torch to her as the glue of the family. I thought this passing of roles was incredibly powerful and integral to the story of this family. In general, I think this a great movie that positively shows an regular black family, which in my opinion that has gone threw struggle and much pain.

Jurassic Park Kevin Zayas

Jurassic Park was one of my favorite movies watched in this class because I've always enjoyed it as a child. One of the things that I liked most about this movie was the dinasours, because they have always been my favorite animal. One scene that I've always remembered was when the power goes out causing the electric fences to stop working, which  allowed easy access for the T-Rex to attack the tour group. This was the most exciting scene in the movie because it was suspenseful, loud, and very action packed. 

Heather Bailey: Crooklyn

I honestly loved watching this movie I thought it was very funny and also realistic to a point where it could become relate-able to many people. I loved the way the kids acted towards each other and it was amazing to see how great these children we're at acting. It made it feel like they we'rent acting at all that this was some real footage of a family. The mom was one of my favorite characters in the sense that she was so straight to the point and so blunt with her kids. If you thought she was going to take no for an answer, you must of thought wrong cause what she says goes and there definitely was no way around that. I love how even though she was dead, the film kept bringing her back to the kids making them feel like she was always watching them.  Troy was definitely my favorite character she was funny and her personality was amazing. I could relate to her in a sense where I have siblings and when my little sister was born I had to change her diapers, wash her clothes, give her baths and clean up everything after her. But my ultimate favorite part of the movie was definitely being able to see the cultural divide between the north and the south when they had to move to their Aunt's house. It was entertaining to see how they all reacted to the certain changes that had to be made. For instance her aunt was so strict that Troy couldn't even get her ears pierced. To me, that's a little over board but hey that's how it is down there. I relate to that because when i moved from Connecticut to Florida when i was younger it was such a new world for me and i didn't understand how you're only a couple states away and the life and the people we're completely different.

crooklyn by Elijah Mendez

The movie "Crooklyn" directed by spike lee was a comedy/drama about a lower class family growing up in the ghetto. The movie follows the young girl Troy and her family. She's raised with her four brothers and their mother and father take care of them. She learns a lot by watching her family members' problems. Some of the big events that affected her and made her become who she is at the end of the movie was when her father and mother split up for a while, when she had to move in with her aunt, and when her mother passed of cancer. when Troy's mother passed she took responsibility and took on the mother role of the house. At the end of the movie you see her talking to her brothers as if she was the mom. I think this was a bitter sweet ending because although her mother died she took everything she learned from her and used it to help her family. 

Heather Bailey: Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom

Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom was one of the most action packed movies we watched this year. It was filled with entertaining and captivating fighting scenes with dramatic phrases and heroic acts by Indiana Jones that just made my eyes never wanting to leave the screen. I personally thought some of the fighting acts we're a little cheesy and you can certainly tell it wasn't real but it gave a funny kick to it. Almost made me want to watch the movie even more than before. The movie is basically about a village who knows how heroic and courageous Indiana is that they ask him to find a precious stone for them. Which leads him into a really weird and crazy cult where they use lost children as laborers working in the most horrible conditions and where they even rip out peoples hearts! Maybe its just me but if I was Indiana Jones, I would have been out! I would not be able to fight through all the things he had to go through just for some stone. But I mean hey, like I said he's a courageous man and he'll do anything that he feels is necessary and helpful to someone in need. Honestly knowing that I wouldn't do all those things but Indiana would, just made the movie ten times better and through out the movie you'll definitely be shocked even a little scared with what he encounters with this crazy cult. It's definitely a movie to invest you're time in.

The breakfast club by Elijah Mendez

The "breakfast club" written and directed by John Hughes was a reality comedy movie about a group of teenagers attending Saturday school (detention). I liked this film because I feel like it introduced the many different stereotypes of kids in high school through the different students in detention. For example John bender is known in school as the "bad kid" he misbehaves in school and doesn't listen to any authority. When he opens up to the other kids in detention and tells them his story you can see and understand why John acts the way he does. Another example in the movie of this was Andrew. Andrew is the school jock, his dad pushes him too far and forces him to wrestle. It's almost as if this dad is living vicariously off his sons achievements. When all the kids open up to each other Andrew explains how he feels about his father. He hates that his dad pushes him so hard with wrestling and feels like his dad only cares about his wresting career not him. When all the kids shared their problems with each other all of them started to understand that no matter what someone's situation is everyone has their own problems and no one has a perfect life (as much as you want to). This is why I enjoyed watching the breakfast club and why i related to the film. 

Heather Bailey: Jaws

For me, Jaws is such a classic. I could probably watch that movie over and over again and never be unsatisfied or bored. Yes, the movie is quite predictable in how a lady goes into the ocean and never comes back.Then when the sheriff wants to keep it on the down low but you know, has to tell the mayor. Then everyone finds out and goes crazy.  Then a creepy sort of guy who's like obsessed with sharks goes on a hunt with two other men to find this man eating shark. It's obviously not that shocking and in some cases for people it can be boring. But it still doesn't take away from the fact that the movie is just awesome. I mean in some cases predictably is not necessarily a bad thing in a movie because even though you know whats going to happen you still want to sit there, eyes fully dedicated to the film and wait for the outcome. That's how most old movies are. I'm just kind of a fan of classic movies that even though there film work is not you know the greatest or not even that, its just not like movies now. But anyways, i still think Jaws is a great movie and i would recommend it to anyone.

Jaws by Deana Tavares

Jaws, was so BORING! I felt like going in the ocean and fighting a shark, if that makes any sense. The movie started off so predictable, a couple of teens at the beach and a girl goes for a swim but of course doesn't return.  The word went from the sherif straight to the mayor of the town and OF COURSE no one wants to pay it any mind until more attacks started to happen. But even so, the mayor cared more about the town making money from tourists than he did for the safety of his town, what a good choice of a mayor! Well good job now because this shark gave them plenty of attention. Three men go out onto a big boat to try to catch this ferocious creature. The three men had a couple encounters but it only turned out bad because he ended up destroying the cage that one of the guys was is with some type of poison, I mean he got out okay but seriously.The shark began to destroy the boat and the fisherman ended up falling and being eaten, one of the men threw an oxygen tank into the sharks mouth and the officer put a bullet through it and the shark was blown into pieces.
I don't know I just find movies like this to be cheesy. Back then it must have been really cool to watch but I wasn't impressed and it was just so predictable. Not my cup of tea, sorry!

Temple of Doom By Deana Tavares

I have never watched an Indianna Jones movie in my entire life, I guess I thought I wouldn't like it much.However I was pleasantly surprised because I ended up really liking the movie. It had its funny moments but was really an action movie. If I am going to watch an action movie it has to be action from beginning to end and in this case it wasn't. It was a bit boring in the beginning so thats the only thing I'd say I didn't like about this movie.  To be short and simple, Indiana Jones is asked to find some weird magical stone by this village. He ends up running  into this insane vulgar cult that rips peoples hearts out and has what I would call, children slaves. Of course the hero saves the day and everything goes back to normal. The other thing I hated about this movie was the bugs. I have like a phobia of bugs so I couldn't even look when they were stuck in that nasty trap. Overall it was a good movie, worth a watch, but not my favorite.

Jurassic Park Deana Tavares

Clearly bringing dinosaurs back to life is not a good idea considering they did years and years ago. It's called selective pressure, THEY ARE GONE FOR A REASON. Hammond's scientists should have left dinosaurs in the past. To go as far as bringing them back to life should have automatically told you it was going to be a disaster. Even Grant knew that. Of course Speilbergs films are always a hit but the very beginning of this movie was quite a bore to me. The initial start of the disaster starts with the tour of the park itself. The dumbest part to me was the Hammond wanted to keep the tour going even though a storm was about to hit, how typical! On top of that he really needs to check his employees because the work the employee was SUPPOSED to do wasn't done correctly, the whole thing shut down! Then he out of nowhere can't be found, it was just fishy.  Ray attempted to help by getting into the system but only the employee knew the password (can't remember his name). It really made me wonder what his motive was. Fortunately, Grant, Ellie, Malcolm, and Hammond,  get away on a  helicopter. They should have just let nature be nature and leave the dinosaurs alone. I mean HELLO they are gigantic creatures that could crush anything and anyone in seconds! I love love love this movie although I believe that trying to bring back living dinosaurs was a huge mistake!

The Tree of Life

This film is about a man named Jack who didn't have the best childhood. His father, Brad Pitt, was extremely demanding and strict. He raised his son to only say yes sir. On top of that he wasn't allowed to talk unless told he was allowed to which is such a throwback, I mean I speak my mind without being asked, I'm very opinionated. Good thing that wasn't me because I would definitely not survive, he'd probably see me as a crazy rebel child or something LOL. What I rally didn't like about the movie was the fact that it was like the man is in charge and he's allowed to do whatever he wants. I mean it was real because it used to actually be like that but I still hate it. He was just violent and unpleasant to be around. Although Jack went through tough childhood he was able to humble himself and accept everything with his father by forgiving him which I have a lot of respect for him for doing. To be honest I wasn't a very big fan of this film. The beginning was alright but it just didn't peek my interest in any way. I will say that it was very artistic and tasteful but just not my cup of tea. I am more of a horror film kind of girl!

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club. Neither a club nor is there breakfast.

The movie starts off with a wide shot of the school - Shermer High School - and then reveals that there are five students in Saturday detention. The principal, Mr. Vernon, gives them an assignment where they have to write about "Who they think they are" and what they did to receive detention in the first place.

At first, the five just goof off - they dance, they fight, they tell stories (like about Bender's father) and one shakes dandruff out of her hair to create a pile of "snowflakes." Fun.

Eventually they wind up opening up to each other and we find out who everyone is and what kind of character they are. Later on in the film, some of their more hidden traits come out. For instance, Bender becomes softer and is a bit more friendly towards the group (as opposed to him being a complete dickhead before) Hell, Claire kisses him! Andrew winds up becoming interested in Allison after Claire gives her a makeover.

At the end of the film, the group finally does the essay and signs it as "The Breakfast Club" and leave it for Mr. Vernon to read. There were two similar but different letters in the beginning and end. It shifted from antagonizing to the letter realizing that the group is similar in their own ways.

I personally enjoyed this film, it's rather funny and I especially like Bender. I think he's my favorite character because he don't play by no rules yo.

I Got Bored

Previously in my viewing of The Tree of Life, I had gone into detail justifying my reasons for liking this film. To most people, it will likely seem strange and unusual upon watching it for the first time, and I am not exempt from this viewpoint. But on the other hand, this is the aspect that I liked about it. The seemingly nonexistent storyline intrigued me, along with the breathtaking shots of the ocean, outer space, volcanoes, mountains, and other vivid imagery. The cinematography was the most beautiful I have ever seen. The glimpses of a storyline, intertwined with these shots, signaled that the movie had some sort of meaning, however it was unclear as to what it was.

After about an hour of dreamy landscapes and emotion-inducing scenes, along with sparse lines of poetry, this all changes. The plot comes in, and it begins to look and feel more like a typical movie. This point is where I began to lose my attention.

Put simply, this film is about a man named Jack, who had a depressing childhood. His father, who I recognized as Brad Pitt, was nothing short of an a**hole most of the time, in my opinion. He was extremely strict and oppressive, demanding that his son treat him with the utmost respect, requiring him to say "yes sir," and only being able to speak when instructed to do so during instances such as dinnertime. I for one could not be happier that I wasn't raised like that. Clearly this upbringing made a negative impact on the entire family, including the father's wife in this overtly traditional family. The man was in charge, and he could basically do anything to her, including violence, without an issue. Jack also witnessed tragedy among his friends, one of whom died by drowning in a pool. But despite his sufferings as a child, he was able to forgive his father. The class did not quite get to the ending of the film, therefore I am unsure of how it finishes, but I did read that Jack begins to appreciate life as it is, hence the movie's name. People die, people get sick... it happens. But life must go on.

Overall, The Tree of Life is not a bad film, although it would not be high on my list of films to re-watch. The first half is absolutely stunning and captivating. Future cinematographers should definitely get a good look at Terrence Malick's film. But for those who want to see action, a fast-paced plot, or a non-symbolic premise, look elsewhere. This film is like a poem mixed with abstract art: it can be interpreted in many different ways, and everyone sees it differently.

The Breakfast Club-Julianna Migliaro

There is one reason in particular I believe as to why this movie has been known as an all time favorite. That reason long story short is because each character represents the typical stereotypes of high school, whether it be the "criminal," the "athlete," the "basket case," the "princess," or even the "brain."

These different kids are put in detention, only seeing one another for what's on the surface, highlighting how they think they know one another just from what they see. Throughout the movie, the characters develop, telling one another their different stories-their struggles at home.

The criminal figure's name is John Bender. He's from a troubled working class background, and is a victim of child abuse, particularly by his father. While it seems at the beginning that he dislikes the others, he is very upset when Andy doesn't believe his imitation of life at his house. He also falls for the girl Claire, the princess of the group, by the end of the movie.

Claire, the princess of the group, is snobby and stuck up and admits to not having the desire to hang out with anyone who is not popular. She does later admit she feels pressured by her friends. During detention she helps Allison fix her image and respond to Andrew's feelings towards her. Claire ends up falling for Bender, the rebellious teen that she originally hated. 

Allison Reynolds is known as the "basket case." She is the most socially isolated and claims to have no friends. For the first half of the film she is quiet, save for occasional squeaks of fear and a few random outbursts, and contributes nothing to the conversations between the others. Later on she opens up, particularly to Andy. She is from a lower-middle class background and is neglected by her parents.

Andy Clark is the athlete in the group. He also has a tumultuous relationship with his father who is always pushing Andrew "to be a winner". He is popular at school and at first is timid to befriend all the other students in detention. By the end of the film, he is able to admit that he has not been allowed to think for himself and he begins a relationship with Allison. 

The brain of the group is Brian Johnson. He comes from a upper middle class background. At home, Brian is pressured by his parents to be a perfect academic and to get accepted into a prestigious university. The pressure he deals with everyday causes his great distress and depression. He tries to keep peace in the group. He writes the ending letter and gives the group the name "The Breakfast Club."

The lesson of the movie is to not judge a person just by their appearance, and that is one thing I truly admire of it. I love that the movie is so popular, the message is strong. Maybe one day society will finally begin to accept people for who they really are, no matter their background, and without stereotype.

The Ozark Mountains: Methamphetamine and Family?

As a huge of fan of Jennifer Lawrence, I was very excited to watch this film and it didn't disappoint. Set in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri,  seventeen-year old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) is taking care of her two younger siblings and her mentally ill mother. Her world is shaken up when her missing father does not show up for his court date as a result of getting busted for cooking methamphetamine and put their home up for bond. Essentially, if he doesn't show up, they will lose the house. On a mission to save their home, Ree seeks the help of her uncle Teardrop, who rejects her request at first.  Ree then  goes to the local drug kingpin and distant family member, Thump Milton, who refuses to see her. One of the strongest aspects of this movie is the level of suspense, and how each scene leaves the audience wanting more.

As the movie progresses, Ree becomes more aggressive in her attempts to get answers from Thump, leading to a vicious beating from Thump's wife and her sisters. Teardrop rescues Ree from Thump's home and convinces him that she won't "cause anymore trouble". Teardrop reveals to Ree that her father was killed because he was going to inform the cops about other meth dealers in the area in return for a lighter jail sentence. With no options, left, Ree tries to join the army, but ultimately can't because she would need to leave her brother and sister behind.

In the most terrifying scene of all in my opinion, Thump's wife and his three sisters arrived at Ree's doorstep offering her the opportunity to get a piece of her father's remains to prove that he is dead to the bondsman. I was blown away by the cinematography in this scene as Ree traveled on the boat across the marshy river in the middle of the night. When Ree had to reach in and cut a piece of her own father's dead corpse, I got chills. It astounded me how indifferent Thump's family, especially his wife, could be to Ree's pain and generally human life. That scene was like something out of a horror film. At the end of the film, Ree is able to prove that her father is dead with his remains and gets to keep the home. Teardrop reveals that he knows who killed her father, which is foreboding in the sense that the audience knows he will go after that person, which will lead to his inevitable demise. Teardrop's fate is highlighted when he plays his dead brother's guitar at the end.

I think this movie is special because it wasn't predictable. Ree's character was definitely heroic, but not in the conventional sense. In the end, she compromised with the people who killed her father to protect her family. I think Ree's character is groundbreaking in the sense that the morality of her actions is not clearly black and white. Ree was put in a difficult decision and she had to do whatever she could with what little options she had. Most people think they know how they would act in a situation like this, but I believe that they would be surprised how differently they would act if it were actually happening. Although I found this film to be terrifying, not in the horror film-esque way, I really appreciated how realistic and simple it was. It challenged me to think beyond a typically idealistic approach.

Crooklyn: Life in '70s Brooklyn

With the exception of Malcolm X, I was not impressed with any of the Spike Lee films I had seen. Surprisingly, I enjoyed Crooklyn very much. Taking place in '70s Brooklyn, the film focuses on the life of a black couple and their five children. The mother is an outspoken, strict school teacher, in comparison to the jazz musician father's calm and easygoing manner, especially with the children. I think the film did an awesome job of developing each character and giving them their own unique qualities. For example, I remember the oldest brother who was really passionate about basketball and loved the New York Knicks. I also remember the brother who would never eat his dinner. These little details made me feel connected to the characters.

In general, the film centers around the only daughter, Troy, and her perceptions of the world around her. The setting of the film, Brooklyn, plays a very important role in telling the story. The intermingling of different cultures and poverty are  especially highlighted in this community.For example, Troy's family did not get along with the white tenant living next to them, which culminated into numerous heated altercations. Within Troy's home, the relationship between her parents becomes rocky, primarily over financial issues. Subsequently, her father moves out for a while. During the summer, Troy's parents decide to bring her down South to stay with her aunt and uncle. During her stay, Troy learns how to act more like a "proper lady" and sheds many of  her "ethnic" qualities, such as her braids.

When Troy returns home, she finds out that her mother has cancer. Subsequently, her mother dies. I found the moment when Troy's oldest brother comforted her at the funeral to be particularly powerful, as it showed the importance of family in supporting one another during hard times. I think the most important takeaway from this movie is Troy's transformation from beginning to end. In the beginning, Troy behaved like a girl her age typically would: immature and irresponsible. At the end of the movie, there was a scene in which she was combing the tangles out of her brother's hair like her mother did, and warned him to not stay outside too late. When Troy's mother died, in a way she passed the torch to her as the nurturer, caretaker, and protector of the family. I thought this passing of roles was incredibly powerful and integral to the story of this family. In general, I think this a great movie that positively portrays an urban black family, which in my opinion is few and far between nowadays.

Jurassic Park- Michelle Ford

Jurassic Park was released in 1993 directed by Steven Stielberg. I've watched it before but I didn't remember what happened. It's a park where you can take tours and look at different kinds of dinosaurs. A couple of them got out of control, killed people and destroyed the park. I don't usually watch these types of movies, so I wasn't focused as I should have. But other than that, the movie was good and now I'm happy dinosaurs are extinct.

Jurassic Park: isaiah rutherford

The movie jurassic park is a movie about a man who is looking for approval to open his dinosaur theme park with dinosaurs that are rebirth through extracting the blood from a mosquito that was frozen in sap for years and this man brings two scientists to approve the park but things go wrong when dinosaurs breed and start getting let out and going rogue. i look forward to seeing the rest of the movie and how it plays out.

Kyle W "Beast of the southern wild"

This movie was dope i enjoyed it. I liked how Hushpuppy the main character had a amazing imagination she believed she can do anything and everything in her little mind. Her imagination was focused on saving her father and their sinking home in this terrible storm. She's a savage she lived and held in down in a storm that i know many people lives were cut short in. She never gave up on saving her father this little monster lost a home, boat, most of her clothes and her dad at the end to a disease that made him quarantined and he made sure Hushpuppy escaped even if he had to stay and die. I know this film touched many lives and inspired them at the same time.

Kyle w jurassic park

I never seen Jurassic park ever i know a lot of other kids watched it as a kid. The movie was straight it wasn't all that, as i thought it would because of all the advertisement i seen throughout my whole life. When, i was younger i would hear kids talk so much about it and i would feel left out because i seen it. The movie was overrated to be honest because it wasn't anything like i heard all my life. All my life i thought the dinosaurs were friendly in the movie. Untill i watched the movie for the first time and seen people hiding and running from dinosaurs. The dinosaurs looked very angry and real in the movie their facial expressions would change when they seen their prey. The only part in the movie that i remember watching is when the two kids were stuck in the kitchen with two raptors. I think i seen this part on youtube a while back too. I liked this part the best because the girl uses the reflections on the kitchen equipment that's stainless steel to make the raptor think he would ram into her but he smacked the dishwasher i think. When, i first seen clip on Youtube i thought she was stuck on trying to close to door and the dinosaur was in pursuit to kill her. This part in the movie had the most suspense and kept your eyes posted. The film was straight overall.

THE DINOSAURS ARE COMING! THE DINOSAURS ARE COMING!

Wise scientists often have a serious problem with the manipulation of nature. Their (truthful) concern is that Mother Nature will always prevail, and by changing the natural properties of something, there could be detrimental repercussions. This standpoint becomes evident in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park, a 1993 classic. Trouble is spelled right from the beginning when a worker is depicted being attacked by a dinosaur. Clearly the beasts are dangerous.

The viewer is introduced to Dr. Grant and his partner Ellie, who are in the middle of an excavating dig. They are stopped by John Hammond, who supports their work. Right away, I noticed his giddy, jolly personality, along with his unbreakable love and excitement for his new park. It is called...Jurassic Park. He literally kept repeating the phrase "spared no expense" when discussing this paleontological attraction. Of course, he could not resist inviting Grant and Ellie to the park. They rode in a helicopter along with a lawyer, who had come to investigate the recent dinosaur attack. Accompanying him was Dr. Malcolm, who loves to joke around in the most serious manner. His concern, however, about the fact that Hammond's scientists have brought dinosaurs back to life is nothing to be toyed with. As Grant said himself, the ferocious species and humans are millions of years apart, and now all of a sudden they've been brought together. Uh oh.

Nonetheless, Spielberg did a fantastic job of foreshadowing in this film. The beginning might have seemed a little boring, but if you truly tune into it, you will find that it is quite the opposite. It sets the scene for the disaster to come:

Put simply, everything begins to fall apart during the visitors' motorized tour of the park. Despite the fact that a tropical storm is on a direct path to the island near South America, Hammond insists that the tour continue. This backfires on him when the high-tech system begins to fail due to a disloyal worker, Dennis. He supposedly did some work on the system, fixing bugs that've been on his to-do list for quite a while. He cautioned about this causing the system to temporarily shut down, and then disappears; he is nowhere to be found. The cars with the tourists in them come to a halt. That's not good. Ray, who I've always called the Black guy, tries to hack the system, but Dennis has set a password that he cannot figure out. HOW SELFISH.

(SPOILER ALERT)
At the end of the film, after several vicious dinosaur attacks and numerous deaths-by-dino, Hammond, Grant, Ellie, Malcolm, and two young kids go home on the helicopter, fleeing the island ruled by these prehistoric creatures. I noticed a change in Hammond's personality: at first, he was more interested in making money and promoting himself than safety, but this mindset did a 180 as disaster unfolded. While this is better than him being a jerk all of the time (like the mayor in Jaws), it was too late to save people. By being stubborn and not heeding Grant, Malcolm, and Ellie's concerns early on, he made the fatal mistake of letting the manipulation of nature perpetuate. His scientists had performed a sort of selective breeding, in which they only allowed female dinosaurs to be born. That was a bad idea.

Speaking of Jaws, Spielberg had made Jurassic Park very similar to this historic film in many ways:

• Both movies start off with a disastrous scene. In Jaws, a teen girl ends up getting unexpectedly attacked by a shark. In Jurassic Park, an adult male ends up getting unexpectedly attacked by a dinosaur. 
• Incorporated into both films is the battle between the wise and the greedy. Mayor Vaughn in Jaws refused to shut down the beaches initially, and restricted the time that they were closed when he had no choice, all in the name of money. With the upcoming 4th of July weekend, he was looking forward to tourists flocking to Amity Island (note: Jurassic Park also takes place on an island) and spending their money. Hammond in Jurassic Park is eager to open his new park to rake in the dough, despite his billions that he already possesses. He risks the safety of his acquaintances by making them guinea pigs for his glitchy automated tour. Both characters' moves end up costing lives, therefore, they end up losing money instead of making it. 
• With that being said, each movie also has characters who sense impending doom. Brody, as well as Hooper in Jaws can tell that the shark is nothing to be taken lightly, and Dr. Malcolm, Dr. Grant, as well as Ellie show their valid concerns about the reincarnation of the dinosaurs. 
• Both films have a signature element: in Jaws the soundtrack is legendary, and the unique vibration of water in a cup, as well as jiggling jell-o when the dinosaurs are near, certainly are memorable aspects. 
• This list is getting long. 

I could go on for pages comparing and contrasting the two films, but that would take too long. Let's just say that I could feel the Spielberg vibe in both of the pieces. Yet, the differences in setting, characters, storyline, and beasts definitely set them apart. I would highly recommend watching both. The beginning may seem slow, but what good movie doesn't start off this way? 

Jurassic Park

I remember watching Jurassic Park as a child and being scarred for life. I was excited to see it again but I didn't really remember much about it. I definitely did not remember how boring the beginning of the movie was. I was not intrigued at all. I couldn't really pay attention too it but I still had a general understanding of what was happening. Then the dinosaurs started attacking. I loved the suspense in the movie once things started getting interesting. In my opinion, the dinosaurs looked cool and realistic. The scene that really had me on the edge of my seat was when to two kids were eating and then they saw two dinosaurs and had to sneak away from them. It was really suspenseful and kept my attention.

I generally enjoy films about dinosaurs and have seen a few. I'm not sure if I've watched the Jurassic Park sequels but I think I'll check them out if I get the chance. Overall, I really enjoyed it and I'm glad we watched it in class. I would recommend it.

Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was a very entertaining movie. I've heard about these movies millions of times before but was not interested at all to watch them, however I did end up enjoying it. It was action-packed with comedy too. I wasn't really into it at the beginning but as we got more into the movie it got better. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is asked by a village to find some mystical stone which causes him to find this crazy cult who were very weird and disturbing. They ripped out peoples' hearts and had forced the lost children into labor.

One of the most cringe worthy scenes was when they got stuck in the booby trap and Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) had to touch all the bugs to get to the handle. I hate bugs. It freaked me out more then when the crazy cult person ripped out that guy's heart. That scene was pretty weird. I'm glad with how the movie ended and overall enjoyed it.

A Cinematographer's Dream

The lights are out; the theatre is dark. As everyone stares impatiently, elaborate cinematic scenes flash on the screen, switching frequently but gracefully. The audience does not know why this is happening, or what all of this imagery is supposed to mean, but it sure is fancy. This movie, my friends, is called The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt. I was absolutely dumbfounded when I found out that the film had been playing for about an hour. "An hour of nothing," I thought. The IMDB synopsis that I read was far from detailed, further supporting my point. But the time sure went by fast. 

From the very beginning of this film, it was clear that it was going to have a pronounced emotional depth. There was not a single second in which I didn't feel anything emotionally, nor were there long periods of boredom. I kept watching and waiting, anticipating something to happen. Where's the storyline? Never before had I watched anything like this, and while some students were clearly agitated at the nontraditional, artsy approach to filmmaking, I sat there completely intrigued. It felt almost like an art gallery, but with video instead of stills. Having worked with cinematography quite a few times in my senior year, I continued to wonder how all of the dramatic shots were achieved. A significant portion is undeniably CGI - it looks too vibrant and perfect to be real (how should I know, I've never seen outer space in person?) but regardless of the methods used to produce everything, the result is beautiful. It must've taken quite some time to pull this off. Oh, and did I mention the poetic language? It was abstract, much like the imagery, only increasing the dramatic, emotional feel to this film. It was as if I was travelling the whole time, from hot, fiery volcanoes, to outer space, to New York City. It felt as though the entire world was represented somehow, somewhere throughout the movie. 

Now comes the big question: did I actually like what I saw? Well, the answer is yes. It took me a while to come to this decision, but I genuinely did enjoy it. I felt something the whole time, but I honestly have no idea what. Either way - whatever it was - it was great. So far, I would highly recommend this film to anyone and everyone. If you're tired of typical moving pictures, check this one out. Be patient, and you probably won't regret it.

Kyle W Winters white bone

Another weird movie film studies watched was Winters White Bone. I couldn't tell you how much i disliked this movie from the beginning to the end. Winters White Bone is set in a setting of the woods. The protagonist is a girl Named Ree who is on the move to find her father because their family is in danger of being repossessed. People beat her up tease her, look down at her, and she looks after her young brother and sister in a cabin but she still fights to find her father. The neighborhood recognized Ree father and herself as a opp just because the father broke the code. The neighborhood does not like and wont accept the fact that she wont give up on looking for her father so they continue to keep testing her. The movie is mostly about a woman being able to do a mans job because back then men were the main genders and do things woman couldn't. So this movie was to even the score and show everyone that woman can do just as much as men can do.

kyle w crooklyn

A Spike Lee joint "Crooklyn" was released in the year of 1994 but was taken place in a summer of 1973. The main character name was Troy (A girl) it took me a while at first because when i first heard that name i thought it was a boy because she had brothers. Troy has brothers that's older and some are younger but she is the one the mother and father expects most from such as; cleaning,cooking etc house wife duties. The brothers would usually watch t.v in the bedroom and sing to the soul train channel. The father was a jazz musician who was really supported by his wife she paid all the bills and etc and even told the father that. He didn't like the fact that he wasn't the bread winner but he tried to be. With the household being this way made the mother real strict towards the kids and father, giving everybody in the house a peace of mind. One summer Troy was sent down south to one of her aunts to stay for the summer. A whole lot different from Brooklyn New York Troys hometown. Living in the apartments and being used to a stoop in front of the house, Troy wasn't use to having a back yard to play in or wearing dresses with pig tails on the side of her head. The aunt would hurt Troy's feelings saying mean things and Troys uncle would tell Troy her Aunt didn't mean those things.This made troy want to go home back to Brooklyn New York, so she got a plane ticket from her Aunt and uncle and they picked her up from the airport and brought her back home. Than, the mother died at the end of the movie and everyone took it hard but Troy could still hear her mothers voice.

kyle w indiana jones

I never seen Indiana Jones before i only heard about it from people. The movie was dope cant front i enjoyed the western look of the movie. Steven Spielberg did a good job creating this movie. Indiana Jones is all about him and a night club singer named Wilhelmina teaming up together and adventuring over to a small Indian village to recover a sacred stone witch was stolen. Where they got the title of "The temple of doom" is from the sacred stone being taken too but the temple of doom is a booby trap. I watched and played a lot of James bond games and this is real similar to it. What i mean by this is James bond being out numbered but always find out a way to escape an ambush. In the beginning of Indiana Jones the temple of doom they were in a club and the stone was taken because they were out numbered and they ambushed Indiana Jones by shooting up the club and Indiana Jones didn't have a gun so what he did was hide behind a statue with Wilhelmina while the dude was still shooting at him he manged to knock over a huge shield that rolled away towards the window and they ran behind it while they were getting shot at and manged to jump out the window and meet shorty the lil Chinese boy who helps them on the adventure also.

 

Indiana Jones x Myles Snider

Recently, our class just finished watching the classic film, "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" I noticed that Steven Spielberg did an excellent job. In this movie, Indiana Jones has a new adventure but this team he teams up with a night club singer named Wilhelmina. Together, the two go to a small Indian village where the sacred stone was stolen. Along the way, they discover the Temple of Doom, which happens to be a booby trapped temple.

Personally, I do love the way this film was directed, although I've honestly never been into the whole Indiana Jones stories, but this film in particular kept my eyes open. It was action filled, suspenseful and full of different mysteries, which is what a movie should have to keep it's audience interested. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone to watch because I think it is a film that most would find enjoyable especially if you're into the action genre.

Beasts of the Southern Wild x Myles Snider

As our class watched the movie "Beasts of the Southern Wild",  I couldn't help but notice how wonderful Quvenzhane Wallis was in this picture. The movie is about a little girl with a wild imagination, who's reality gets changed after a storm occurs. She is desperate to help save her father, and sinking home, so she has to survive different epic conditions.

The message that this movie gives me is to keep on persevering. This tiny hero in the movie kept persevering and stopped at nothing. She had such a beautiful mind, and heart and wanted to help her father get through his sickness. So many people can be inspired from such a movie too, people go through things everyday and need the strength to move on and persevere, so this movie definitely sends an inspiring message to it's audience.

Winter's Bone by Myles Snider

While watching the movie Winter's Bone, I was very moved. The movie is about a girl named Ree that is set out to find her father after their family is in danger of being repossessed. This movie has theme of perseverance. I noticed this theme because she never gave up looking for her father, and along the way, she meets many obstacles, and since her father broke the code, the neighborhood did nothing but make matters worse.

Another theme I found in this movie is gender roles. Gender roles plays a big part because the gender roles in the community were traditional, where the men were more dominant and the females were more responsible of everything. Ree challenges this by being more dominant and going out to look for her father, with all the obstacles, she doesn't give up and the community doesn't really like the fact that she's doing that, so they try to see if she has any men that can do it.

Overall, I like the fact that this movie shows that it's not impossible for a woman to do a man's job. Back then, it wasn't allowed for a woman to do a man's job. So I really like how this movie takes that idea and shows that a woman can do whatever a man can.

Chicago _ Rob #turcioonfilm

I never really been the type to enjoy musical movies, but director Rob Marshall's Academy Award-winning Chicago really caught my attention. I didn't just like it because the movie had pretty women in cute dresses, dancing around... that might be part of the main reason, butt [sic] I liked how the director used dance scenes and music to start off the scene and show an idea of what's gonna happen next in the story-line. 

My favorite character is the lawyer, Billy Flynn as portrayed by actor Richard Gere (of American Gigolo and Pretty Woman fame) because he is so slick and basically lies about almost everything to try and set his clients free. He charges $5,000, and he makes the claim that he wins every time. 

If you're like me, and don't really like musical movies take my word on this and watch this movie. Chicago AKA "the windy city" blows Hairspray away (pun intended), and it's not annoying to watch 

Man on wire _rob

This is an Academy Award-winning documentary on how this man, French national Philippe Petit, started rope walking and had an idea to walk from one tower in NYC to the other tower connected by a tight rope  (the Twin Towers AKA WTC),  so he and his crew sneak up to one tower once it was finally built and try to plan and map out how there going to pull this stunt. 

Well they find a way and make a plan, even after completing such a great accomplishment some one had beat him in dubhai [explain please]. My honest thoughts about this documentary is even though I didn't like this documentary a whole lot [why not?], a ton of life lessons can be learned like even though what he was doing was extremely dangerous and a record he followed his dream and fought for what he believed for, if everyone had that mental thinking of I'm going to get what I want done and fight so hard for it then more people would probably do more with there life and accomplish their dream .

Sharkk! :o_RT

I've always been a fan of director Steven Spielberg's summer blockbuster Jaws and the theme song that comes with the shark, "dun dun' dun dun ..." as the beat becomes faster, the shark emerges, coming closer and closer to the boat the Orca. This is quite a thrill and builds a ton of suspense as to what will happen next in the scene. 

The main idea of the movie is to catch this massive great white shark and earn a substantial amount of money for doing so, so this fisherman and his crew set off to catch this deadly sea monster in hopes to earn the reward, but as the movie carries on they find out that maybe it won't be that easy to catch this beast after all.

This is a great family movie to watch [do you want to qualify this; although it received a PG rating, would it be appropriate to watch with my five year old? Before a beach vacation?); in my opinion it will always be a classic favorite for many. Whoever hasn't watched this is truly missing out on a great movie.

Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom

This film really caught my attention. It had me on the edge of my seat and paying attention to the entire story line. My favorite character from the film was the little asian boy that followed Indiana Jones around. He was hilarious to watch due the crazy actions he did and whatever came out his mouth. I loved how he came at the perfect time and when Indiana and the girl fell out the building and caught them in the car. I though it was crazy seeing a 8 year old driving a car. This movie had a perfect blend of romance, action and humor. This has to be one of my favorite films we watched this year. 

Crooklyn

Crooklyn, in the beginning, I did not enjoy the movie. I wasn't connected to the actors and the plot. However, that was due to the fact that I missed the intro of the film. After restarting the film, I was able to understand the story line and know where the main characters came from. As the film progressed I was more connected to the film and ended up enjoying it. However, one part I did not understand was did the family just send the girl to the brother's house in the south? None of the brothers stayed there which made me question why she was the only one to stay