Planes, trains and Automobiles

What happens when two men from two totally different worlds meet? If you're not already guessing, trouble! In this hilarious Fillm fit perfect for the holidays, directed by John Hughes; a man named Neal Page (Steve Martin) is just trying to get home to his daughter to honor her thanksgiving dinner request when at every turn he's seems to come in contact with a heavyset talkative Man named dell Griffith (John Candy) over and over again.   The story starts off with Neil, On his way to the airport to catch a flight home but first he had to catch a cab outside and ended paying a very greedy man $75 for a cab he couldn't catch. That's when he first noticed the goofy Del, "steal" his cab. Neil began to chase after the taxi driver and Del screaming "give me back my cab, that's my cab!!" When Neil finally got to the airport he saw Del again who was extremely apologetic, and at this point Neil was anxious to just jump on a plane and go! When he got on the plane the flight attendant made his day much much worse stating that there were no more seats in first class and she would be more than happy to direct them to a seat in coach, when Neil had already paid for a seat in first class. After admitting defeat and was ready for coach, the only seat left was next to Dell Griffith. The man who would manage to ruin the next few days for him, time again was on the plane with him. As the adventure goes on , Neil grows more and more impatient with Dell and the rediculous things that continue to happen to the two. Over time Neil develops a soft spot for Dell and begans to realize that Dells his best friend. The story ends with the two finally making it to Neil's house for thanksgiving dinner. I definitely highly recommend this film to watch during the holiday season. 

Sugar - Emanuel Luck

Sugar is a movie where a Dominican baseball player has the ability to go the America the land of the free, the land of he great to play baseball for the minor leagues and depending on his skill the Majors.  Sugar gives the viewer almost a back story of his life and lets us watch how he progresses as a baseball player from when he started in DR and how far he has gotten now.  In this movie we get to know the main character on a level that most movies can not provide.  As the movie develops we learn his weakness and how they seem to out weigh his strengths.  While for most of the movie his ability to accurately through a ball gets him recognition the minute he has any real challenge he seems to lose his edge.  While it is true that he got hurt not allowing him to train physically, it was never his body that was the issue it was his mind.  If he trained his mind while his body was recovering he would have been able to play on a level never before thought possible.   

Overall just like any other movie it has flaws but overall it was really good.  It had drama, action, character development, struggle, and most importantly a change for the better for the protagonist. If I could rate this movie I would give it a 6.9/10.

Rocky - Emanuel Luck

Rocky has to be one of those movies that foreigners see and think "Ah this is what America must be like".  While Rocky is an all Time American Classic, there are a few things strike me as odd.  The first one being that the only reason Rocky was chosen to fight Apollo Creed was because he was white, his name the Italian Stallion was the reason he was chosen not because he was a great fighter or any thing of that value, he was just white and the champion who was black thought it would be a great idea.  Another thing that struck me as odd was how Rocky had on of the best training montages in all of American film.  His training was iconic and inspiring and I am pretty sure it caused at least one person to leave his seat and do push ups and the aisle of he movie theater while watching it.  I do not know how they did it, but much like everything else on the planet we do not understand I suspect either aliens or Illuminati.

Rocky to me even though it had a few issues here and there is one of the best actions movies of its time and raised the bar pretty high for any other movie that came after it. If I would rate this movie I would give it 7.8/10  

Prior Film Experience- Emanuel Luck

I always had a thing for movies and I really do enjoy watching them.  Movies have a way of taking you out of reality and putting you into the director's world; how he/she see’s things or how they want the world to be.  One of my favorite movies is The Matrix and lucky for me it is a trilogy.  The whole entire concept of the movie was taking the viewer out of his comfort level and showing him a possible universe.  The Wachowski Brothers created a world that they thought of, then created it.  To me that is just incredible I would have never been able to create something of that level, in some sense they seem to see the world in a different type of way.  Often times when viewers watch this movie they see just what is presented in front of them.  But most of the time the director and producer have done more than just what they have put in front of you.  They have hidden a message that only few see and only viewer can get.  Maybe that is why I love the Matrix so much. It had tons of hidden messages just waiting to be discovered.  I remember one time I was watching a short film on the analysis of the Matrix and this guy went in on just one small scene of the Matrix, like he spent at least 12-14 minutes just talking about how the glasses wore when Neal was offered the pill had two different outcomes. The first lenses showed if Neal denied the pill and how he flips off Morpheus then walks away, and in the second lenses it shows Neal accepting his fate as the chosen one by taking the pill.  But to me that is the crazy thing. If you didn't look for it you would have never found it almost like a secret hidden right in front of you.

Often times when you think about movies, your favorite movie might appear, or a scene from an iconic movie might pop through your head but to me the question often is, what was the movie suppose to do for me as the viewer?  When I saw Selma, I was inspired.  I left the movie theater feeling as if I could do anything, and that I was proud to be a black man.  The movie also did something for often races watching it though, it showed and gave a glimpse of the black struggle making it uncomfortable for them so that they could one better relate and two not forget when they left their seats. And to me that is what a movie is supposed to do. It is supposed to bring out emotions and change views and change hearts, even if it was just for the few hours screen time it had, it was suppose to do something, something important, something that would allow me to be taken out of my world even if it was only for just a short time.

Alien - Alyssa Beckam

Alien is a science-   fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scottt this movie is about a alien that stalks and kills the crew of spaceship except one the main character Ripley and cat that happens to be in space also.I really don't watch science fictions movies and This movie had to be my least favorite movie so far it didn't catch my attention whatsoever but I recommend people who like science-fictions horror movies to watch this movie.

Psycho - Alyssa Beckam

In this movie Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock a phoenix secretary Marion Crane stole $40,000 from her employer to run away with her boyfriend as she was escaping she went to the car dealer she traded her car in so she can buy another one and as she was at the car dealership the looks on her face looked guilty and suspicious which made the cop and car dealer ship owner look at her some type of way but they let her go anyways and as she escapes she goes to this motel call bates motel and that when she got introduced to Norman Bates as shes checking in at the motel she goes by an alias when checking in as they started talking he invited her to dinner its obvious that Norman has a crush on Marion and compares her to a bird . It was interesting to see how she would act guilty and suspicious around the cop and the car dealership owner but can act perfectly fine towards Norman and have a conversation with him but throughout the scenes I noticed that Norman would be acting weird and a little off . In a conversation that Norman and Marion had she tells him that shes going back to Phoenix as scene goes on she got in the shower she was stabbed continuously but as she was getting stabbed continuously you cant see who was doing the stabbing but it was either Normans mother or Norman who was doing the stabbing you could only see the shadow of the person but turn to find out it was Norman dressed up as his mother. This movie had to be the most twisted and suspense movie I ever watched but it was one of my favorite. 

Elaine N. Touch of Evil

At the beginning of the movie, I was confused on the fact of the bombing and how at the border the guards did not check the car. Also, the guards are the border did not acknowledge he women in the car when she said she hears a ticking noise in her head. Then,  the car blew up like the guards could of tired to prevent the bomb from exploding.
  I also had a weird feeling of the detectives.  I was not a big fan of the movie because of the plot. I did not like how the main detective Quinlan in blaming an innocent man for a crime he did not do. It was easy to tell he moved items in the bathroom to make it seem like there was actually some potential evidence.  
Also, Vargas wife is so easily persuaded by those Mexican men and held her "hostage" but did not really hold her captive. She allowed herself to be taken somewhere not public with the men because their conversation had to deal with her husband, it was that easy. 
The ending was well played when Vargas and the other detective got Quinlan to say his plan on tape. I knew he was going to die because if not he was going to kill someone else since he was drunk or seemed to be acting like he was.
Rotten Tomatoes has a high 93% of audience who enjoyed the movie. I would of liked the film if it was done differently in how the plot was protrayed.

Stardust: An Unusual Twist on Common Folktale

The 2007 romantic fantasy adventure film, Stardust, from Paramount, is directed by Matthew Vaughn and based on the novel Stardust by Neil Gaiman. It comprises of an ensemble cast including Charlie Cox, Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Mark Strong, Sienna Miller, and many more. The film is narrated by Ian Mckellan. In 2008, it won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. It has mainly received positive reviews and grossed $135.6 million on a $88.5 million budget.

The film starts off with two separate worlds, divided by a stone wall. This wall divides the magical world from the normal world. There is a wide open gap in the wall that is guarded by an old man with a staff, a man who Dunstan Thorn out witts and manages to get passed. Dunstan enters the magical world, coming across a village where he comes across a slave who says she is a princess. She gives him a white flower that she says will give him protection and he in return tries to free her. She cannot be freed, the chain cannot be broken. She in return wants a kiss. They enter the carriage and close the doors. Nine months later a baby was left at the wall for Dunstan, his name: Tristan.

The film jumps forward eighteen years later to Tristan working as a shop boy and in love with a girl named Victoria who does not return his love.

He takes her to a field for an early birthday present and there they see a falling star, to convince her not to marry another he tells her he will cross the wall and retrieve the star for her.

She agrees. He sets off, only the guard is prepared for him this time and he doesn’t get passed.

Tristan learns the truth about his mother and reads the letter she left him, in it she left him a babylon candle that when he lights it he just has to think of where he wants to be and it will take him there.

Meanwhile, the star is in a crater on the magical side of the border and the star is a person. She was knocked out of the sky by a necklace that the king of Stormhold threw, claiming that the son who recovered it and returned it to the ruby color would be his successor, right before his death.

Tristan crashes into the star whose name is Yvaine, although first unaware she is in fact a star.

In this film everyone is after the star, for she will bring eternal life in an unconventional way. Tristan and Yvaine face many obstacles in this spellbinding adventure full of twists and turns including three trickster killing sister witches, pirates with a cross dressing captain, and prince brothers vying for the throne.

This film is truly out of this world. It’s very unique, I’ve never seen another film like it. Ultimately, it has a beautiful ending and can be considered a sweet film, even with all the wacky bits and pieces leading up to it.

The American Dream in Rocky and Sugar

Rocky (1976) sports drama film directed by John G. Avail dawn and both written and starring Sylvester Stallone. After finding out our class was going to be watching this movie I was excited, being that I had never seen the film before and knowing it was legendary. This film tells the story of the American Dream, started boxing at age 15 the Italian Stallion (Rocky) was basically an under dog. In the beginning of the film Rocky was called a bum not only by people in his neighbor hood but also by one of his previous trainers. Which he saw his self as something more and that's what he wanted to show people, "All I wanted to do at any fight was prove I was no bum, that I had the stuff to make a good pro". Which he later got to do so after getting the shot at the world heavyweight championship against Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed an undefeated fighter. But this whole opportunity was to prove that's America is still a land of opportunity. Which is similar to the movie Sugar 

Another sports drama film. Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Miguel Santos aka Sugar being played by Algenis Perez Soto is a Dominican pitcher struggling to make it into the big leagues and helping his family out of proverty. At age 19 Miguel gets his break to the United States and plays for the minor league system. In both films they seem to be about heroism and realizing your potential, taking your best shot and sticking by your girl. Rocky is in love with a shy girl (Talia Shire) who he ends up being with, she ends up staying by his side through the whole fight, sugar sticks by his girl also while he's in the U.S and she's in Domicinan Republic. Both of these films have twist to them which I believe makes them more valuable. In Rocky towards the end of the film most people will guess Rocky will end up winning the fight against the undefeated Apollo Creed but he doesn't, in Sugar the cliche ending would be Miguel making it into the major legaues. But in both films that isn't what happens, it's about what it took to get there, the effort, actions made after. This is why I believe both films are great, you can still be an underdog without saving the day, you can still be a man worth more than a good hand for pitching. 

Man on Wire - Jezabeth Perez

Man On Wire 

                                                              

Man On Wire is a British-American documentary directed by James Marsh that follows Philippe Petite as he and his accomplices retell the events that lead to Philippe's great walk across the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in 1974.

Who in the right mind would say they'd want to walk across two building standing at hundreds of feet tall on a wire ?  

Philippe Petite is a self taught high wire walker who at the age of 18 discovered that the Twin Towers were being built and made it his goal to one day walk across them.Ever since that day he devoted all his time into perfecting his high wire walk and constructing the perfect plan that would allow him to walk across the Twin Towers that stood at 1,368 and 1,362 feet tall

Man on Wire was not only made up of interviews it included footage from higher wire walks that Philippe used as preparation such as his high wire walk across Northern Dame Cathedral and the Sydney Harbor Bridge.  

But not everything was a success, during one of Philippe's s observations of the Twin Towers he encountered some problems which at the end turned out to be in his favor. On August 7th Petite accomplished his goal, he walked across the twin towers for 40 minutes as NYC Police tried to remove him.

Overall,  I feel that this film leaves you thinking that anything you put your mind to is possible as long as you have the willpower to face the obstacles put in front of you because not only did Philippe have to break the law but he had to wait six years to accomplish his goal of walking across the Twin Towers.

Prior Film Experience Katie Sullivan REDRUM

My prior film experience was when I came to MBA and Joined Film Club. This is a 1980 movie directed by Stanley Kubrick. In the film, the main character Jack Torrance (played by Jack Nicholson) is a struggling writer, former school teacher, and recovering alcoholic that takes a job as an off-season caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel.

His young son Danny becomes possessed and has psychic abilities to see things in the past that have died in that hotel. Although Danny is close to his parents, he does not tell either of them about his visions because he senses that the care-taking job is important to his father and the family's future. Danny soon realizes that his presence in the hotel makes the supernatural activity more powerful, turning echoes of past tragedies into dangerous threats.The hotel becomes locked in as they're in the middle of a bad snow storm. Jack becomes crazy and is influenced by the hotel. A month passes; while jack's writing goes nowhere, Danny and Wendy explore the hotel's maze. Wendy becomes concerned when the phone line goes out due to the heavy snow. Danny starts to have frighting visions. Jack starts to have violent outbursts. He gets drunk and tries to kill his wife and  his son.

I really enjoyed the film when I first watched it in film club. I went back to film the next year and watched it again. I have seen this film twice and I want to watch it again sometime soon. This is a movie that I don't get tired of watching and is one of the scary movies that I can actually watch and be fine. I think that this move should definitely be an annual film club tradition because it is one of my favorite movies and It is just awesome. I am so glad that I was introduced to this movie in High School and hope to watch this movie again for sure.

Alien 

I was not present for most of the movie, but from what I was able to see I did not enjoy it at all. I'm not a sci-fi movie type of person. I personally would not recommend this movie anyone but if you enjoy science and are into the whole sci-fi planet earth type thing then this movie is for you. In the movie the crew of the commercial star ship Nostromo our on a journey to do some investigation on other living things. But on there way they get a distress call from an alien vessel. Part of this movie have jump scares but in reality they are not scary at all. The crew's nightmare begins when they come encountered with a nest of eggs inside of the alien space ship. A organism from within the egg jumps out and attaches itself to one of the members sending him into a coma. Now this organism or so you call an "alien" is living with them and it just keeps growing and trying to kill the members on the space ship. Everyone is basically on their own now because they are trying to save them self. Towards the end of the film there are some survivors but they had to fight that alien in order to live because they wouldn't have made it.  It must be a nightmare having to live through that.! 

From what I was able to watch if you have a weak stomach, don't enjoy jump scares, or gruesome scenes, then this move is not for you because a good portion of this film is filled with all of that. For example in one of the scenes you have an alien living inside one of the crew members which eventually pops out of him and its just disgusting.! But I mean everyone is entitles to their own opinion and likes on movies this is just how I feel. 

Alien

I was not present for some parts of this movie, in my opinion of you were going to waste $11 and some change on this at the movie theatres. I'd say you were wasting your time. If you like sci-fi movies possibly this is the movie for you. But if you're into horror I wouldn't recommend this. The jump scares are not even scary, you'd get more of a laugh out of the squeamish people who jump than an actual scare from the intended "jump scare". The vessel Nostromo gets a distressed call from an unknown planet, and the seven man crew goes to explore it little do they know when they are returning home that one of their crew mates brought the alien with them. Their is tension within the crew mates which doesn't make it easy to live together. They all did play their roles pretty well, and their personalities were very realistic. Since I am not a sci-fi fan I may be seen as biased reviewing this movie. But it's up to you.

Creature from the black lagoon - Luz Avila

Creature from the Black Lagoon was not entirely what I expected. The idea of an unknown creature lurking in the Amazon and killing people was a great idea and different for the time is what created which was 1954 but the cast and rest of the plot was not interesting.

The main protagonists were; Kay Lawrence, David Reed, Carl Maria, and of course the famous Gill Man. I couldn't connect with this movie. I knew the crew was there to gather artifacts and do further research on the creature but they didn't seem to be doing that at all when they were out on the boat in the middle of the river.


The crew itself wasn't making sense at all and didn't seem to be professional at all. The creature was out in the open repeatedly and they couldn't injure or let alone capture it properly. If you are searching for this creature I am sure that it won't be at the bottom of the deck so I didn't understand why the crew kept going down there. Also, Kay Lawrence, a useless protagonist, decided that the best time to take a swim was when no one was near and with an unknown lagoon monster. Honestly, what? How is she on the crew and what is her part? The main men of the crew David Reed and Carl Maria were annoying too. They just argued like teenagers (I would know since I am one).

Aside from the "professional crew" let's talk about the Gill man who couldn't swim or act. The only good part about the creature was the costume. When in the water it couldn't swim...at all. You could see the actor struggling to maneuver in it. He also seemed to forget what he was doing because so many of the actions were delayed like the parts where he hits the lantern.

Overall the movie disappointed me. It was not 7/10 stars which is what IMDb thought. I don't think I would even rate it. I am hoping for a modern day version to come out soon.

Rocky The American Dream

Rocky was an amazing film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. The overall gist of Rocky shown throughout the film is the idea of the "American Dream," meaning that anyone from anywhere is capable of anything and can make something of themselves from nothing if they are determined.

The film starts off with  Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) the protagonist, living day to day in a tight apartment with little to no friends, who loved to practice the sport of boxing. Rocky lived life like a bum taking in what ever cash he could get even if it meant being a "leg breaker"  for men in the Mafia. "leg breaker" is the term Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith) used to describe Rocky's job. Mickey acts of this sort of "father figure" for Rocky throughout the film. You can tell Mickey deeply cares for Rocky and thinks he's a bum wasting his talents and slandering his reputation. Language and reputation count for a lot in Philly 1976 and still do today. In the film, Rocky was seen hassling a man that owed mob solider, Tony Gazzo money. When the man gave Rocky the cash and Rocky left him untouched with the exception of taking his money. This says a lot about Rocky's character, it shows Rocky's kind heart.

Rocky continues to live day to training as usual until one day the Boxing heavyweight champion of the world, Apollo Creeds (Carl Weathers) opponent withdrawals, leaving him without one. Apollo then comes up with the bright idea of letting a local boxer have a shot at  the tittle. Rocky's name "the Italian stallion stands out the most to Apollo and he is selected. From the start Apollo never took Rocky seriously and thought he'd finish him off early and Rocky started to believe the same. As Rocky was training he came up with a new goal, and that Goal was to last the rounds/go the distance. Basically stand to the very end with Apollo Creed. He does at the very end and shows that with will power and determination alone anything is possible. Rocky is truly an example of the American Dream.

Sugar

Corey Rogers

What are dreams? Dreams are fantasies that are waiting to become realities. Dreams are what keeps hope alive. But Sugar that is not the case. Growing up in the Dominican Republic, Miguel Santos grow up playing football with the neighborhood kids. With his amazing skill at pitching he went to a training camp to see if major league teams would draft him. With the camp being a rigorous place, many people quit before they actually get drafted. Even though Miguel headed the camp he learned a new pitching technique and he was drafted to the Kansas City Knights (Royals). Thinking that he was going to be the star of the team he was shocked to find out that there were people there that are better than him. With a rookie mentality he believes that he would be the best pitcher in the league, but when he wasn't able to strike anyone out he fell into a dark place. He would enter the field only to lose game after game and to get boo'd on and off the field. This caused him to have more problems. With his rep plummeting fast, he started taking steroids. With nowhere else to run, instead of talking his problems out he ran away from Kansas to New York to live a new live.    

Kassandra C- my universal monster

                                                                  Frankenstein

Frankenstein was a universal monster which novel was published anonymously in London in 1818 which second edition was published in France in 1823. Frankenstein was created and released by Mary Shelley. In 1910 Thomas Edison produced the first film of Frankenstein. But for years after in 1914 the original film was destroyed in a fire where the film was declared forever lost. More than 60 years later, Wisconsin film collector discovered that his archives included a nitrate print of the rare movie.
 Where the movie was rediscovered again.

The "Universal Studios series,"  started off just as Frankenstein relieved in 1931 on to Bride of Frankenstein 1935 Son of Frankenstein 1939 The Ghost of Frankenstein 1942 Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man 1943 House of Frankenstein 1944. Went on to be a loved film and one of the most famous monsters ever created.  Frankenstein is known as a film by an obsessed scientist dr. Henry Frankenstein yes he attempts to create life by assembling a creature from body parts of the deceased. Which Frankestein succesed in giving life to his monster, but confused and traumatized the monster Escapes into the country and begins to wreak/ destroy everything in its way. Where Frankenstein Has to confront its tormented creation, to bring everything to a stop. 

I believe Frankenstein is a great film to watch and to learn about but sadly they don't show the movie as much as before. Kids in this generation and next generation probably wouldn't even know a film/movie was ever named Frankenstein. 

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles- Comedic Effect and Underlying Message

The 1987 American comedy, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, directed by John Hughes opens up to Neil Page, portrayed by Steve Martin, at work waiting for his boss to dismiss everyone so he can catch his flight to Chicago for the Thanksgiving holiday to be with his family. The problem is, so is everyone else. Catching a taxi to the airport is next to impossible, just goes as far as paying a lawyer for the cab he hailed only for it to be stolen right from under him. He goes as far as to chase the cab and open the door mid-ride scaring the occupant inside: Del Griffith. It takes Neil longer than necessary to get home due to many hilarious circumstances getting in his way,  the biggest being Del Griffith, portrayed by John Candy, who annoys him to no end at the beginning. As the film progresses, Neil slowly warms up to Del due to his good-natured personality. According to Del, what you see is what you get with him. Try as these two characters might to go their separate ways, fate keeps bringing them back together with a series of unfortunate events.

This film uses the comedic devices of physical comedy and surreal comedy for comedic effect. The situations that the two characters are put through alone is hilarious, it's just too much. How can one person, Neil Page, be so unlucky in his trials of finding a way home.

The director, John Hughes, is known for directing films that have some sort of underlying message. I predict that the underlying message of this film is to cherish your family because you can't get those moments back. Neil Page is shown working in another state, and in his trials to get home he misses his daughter's Thanksgiving pageant at school, a moment he never intended to miss, but due to unforeseen circumstances, has. I think that John Hughes has written and directed this sweet hilarious comedy for a reason, I think it has an underlying message. The message having to due with family, created friendships, and unfortunate events.

Alien- Jump Scare, Gore, and more

In the 1917 science-fiction thriller, Alien, directed by Ridley Scott stars Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, Tom Skerrit as Dallas, Yaphet Kotto as Parker, John Hurt as Kane, Ian Holm as Ash, Harry Dean Stanton as Brett, and Veronica Cartwright as Lambert. These characters are aboard the spaceship Nostromo, a commercial spacecraft, when they come across a first thought to be distress signal, later determined by Ripley to be a warning. The characters Dallas, Kane, and Lambert investigate the other spacecraft, a mistake in itself. Once inside they find alien remains and Kane comes across alien eggs, one of which a creature springs out from and attaches to his face through his space helmet. Kane is brought back to the ship where Ripley denies them entrance but Ash, the science officer, breaks protocol and lets them in. This is the first if many mistakes he makes. The next letting the little alien escape after it rips through Kane. It is later discovered that Ash isn't even human, he's an android which made sense when it was finally revealed because he broke protocol not caring for the others and then he showed no empathy when Kane and Dallas died. His lack of empathy and breaking of the rules is what ultimately made me aware that something was amiss with him, and it was only proved correct when he tried to kill Ripley and was discovered to be a robot.

This film was not one of my favorites I am sad to say, the concept of space travel and alien life form was is an interesting idea though, I'm just not a fan of jump scares or gore which this film had no shortage of. As a avid film watcher, certain characters in this film also really disturbed me, I couldn't understand some of the character's motivation for some of their actions, and as someone watching the film with no background knowledge into the characters insight or thought process, it was frustrating. Some actions made sense, but others just seemed confusing and questionable. Watching this film was frustrating and just hard to get through due to the gore and the constant jump scares that you knew were coming. The jump scares were the worst the moments leading up to them the music shifted to something a bit darker and the camera would never focus on one area for too long, it was always switching angles creating impact for the jump scare. 

This film had so much going on, if you like jump scare and gore then this movie is probably for you. However, if you don't enjoy jump scare or gore, or are squeamish and have a weak stomach, I'd avoid it, some of the scenes are gruesome. To each their own. Personally this movie is not for me, but I can appreciate it setting the precedent for other films, so much so, the story-line alone may now be considered cliche. 

Rocky

Rocky Balboa is a small-time boxer who lives in an apartment in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his career has so far not gotten off the canvas. Rocky earns a living by collecting debts for a loan shark named Gazzo, but Gazzo doesn't think Rocky has the viciousness it takes to beat up deadbeats. Rocky still boxes every once in a while to keep his boxing skills sharp, and his ex-trainer, Mickey, believes he could've made it to the top if he was willing to work for it. Rocky, goes to a pet store that sells pet supplies, and this is where he meets a young woman named Adrian, who is extremely shy, with no ability to talk to men. Rocky befriends her. Adrain later surprised Rocky with a dog from the pet shop that Rocky had befriended. Adrian's brother Paulie, who works for a meat packing company, is thrilled that someone has become interested in Adrian, and Adrian spends Thanksgiving with Rocky. Later, they go to Rocky's apartment, where Adrian explains that she has never been in a man's apartment before. Rocky sets her mind at ease, and they become lovers. Current world heavyweight boxing champion Apollo Creed comes up with the idea of giving an unknown a shot at the title. Apollo checks out the Philadelphia boxing scene, and chooses Rocky. Fight promoter Jergens gets things in gear, and Rocky starts training with Mickey. After a lot of training, Rocky is ready for the match, and he wants to prove that he can go the distance with Apollo.

Sugar

Like many young men in the Dominican Republic, 19-year-old Miguel "Sugar" Santos (Algenis Perez Soto) dreams of winning a slot on an American baseball team. Indeed, his talents as a pitcher eventually land him a slot on a single-A team in Iowa, but culture shock, racism and other curve balls threaten to turn Sugar's dream sour.

In the Dominican Republic at the Kansas City Knight’s Professional Baseball Academy in Boca Chica, several young men train diligently in hopes of being selected by a team in the United States. Nineteen year-old pitcher Miguel Santos, who is nicknamed Sugar is surprised when a coach demonstrates an unfamiliar spiked curve ball. In addition to training and physical workouts, Miguel and the other athletes receive daily English lessons based on baseball terminology. Before a big game, a nervous Sugar vomits on the field, but then pitches well, only to be pulled when he throws the ball directly at a cocky batter. Reprimanded with the catcher later, Sugar is then surprised to learn that he has been selected for spring training at the Knight’s camp in Arizona. Sugar and several other academy ballplayers make their first airplane flight and are met in Phoenix by fellow Knight’s player, Jorge Ramirez. Over the next few days, Sugar’s pitching solidifies and he becomes friends with Brad Johnson, a well respected athlete who played college baseball at Stanford University. Weeks later, one of the Dominican Republic players, Antonio, learns that he is to be sent back to Boca Chica, while Sugar finds out that he, Jorge and Brad have been selected to move up to the Knights’ minor league affiliate, The Swing, in Bridgetown, Iowa. That night, Sugar telephones his mother to relate the good news. A few days later, in the unfamiliar lush Iowa farmland, Sugar moves into the home of Earl and Helen Higgins, an elderly couple devoted to the Swing who annually offer lodging to a young aspiring player. Settling into the season, Sugar grows closer to Brad, who teases him for not being familiar with historical baseball greats, including Puerto Rican legend, Roberto Clemente. One day, instead of taking the team bus to the away game, Sugar hides, then takes a public bus to New York City. With the team looking for him, Sugar finds a dingy room in a hotel to stay in. Days later, Sugar offers to do any clean-up work for free at a carpentry shop so that he could use some equipment to make his mother a small table. Through Jorge, Sugar joins a neighborhood baseball team, the Bandidos, who play in Robert Clemente Park. Happy to be on the field again, Sugar contentedly accepts his fortune and looks forward to whatever his new life has in store for him.

Psycho

I really enjoyed watching this movie. It was a bit of horror, but then again it was more suspenseful. Norman Bates, which was played by Anthony Perkins, was a twisted individual. From the stuffing of the animals, to the popping out every time you turn around. It was like, if you were trying to do something, there he was. I felt as if Marion Crane, which was played by Janet Leigh, was a little bit of crazy too. First stealing the money and trying to avoid the same cop a couple of times. I honestly though she was not going to take the money, but once she packed her bags up, I knew that was exactly what she was going to do. Norman was such a gentleman, catering to Marion's needs and introducing her to the living conditions she accepted to. In the end, I did not expect that to happen. Norman Bates dressed up as him mother trying to kill Lila Crane. Always expect the unexpected!

Sugar


This film was about Miguel Sugar Santos. He was born Dominican Republic and played baseball, went to the States to play on minor leagues baseball. His first team was Kansas City and he moved in with some white people, flirted with the white chick but she was a holy freak and needed to be married. He stopped playing baseball because the system treated his friends bad and he did not want to be a victim so he set out to plan his own destiny. Then, ended up in a restaurant and he started to talk to another girl. This movie didn't really have any pizzazz to it or suspense to it. I could not relate to the movie at all either because I don't like baseball.

Psycho

 Psycho was an interesting movie, this movie was interesting to me because, Psycho isn't your typical horror film. Their is definitely  a plot twist with the serial killer. One thing that caught my eye was when Norman said " A boys best friend is his mother" and that was kinda suspicious. All this time his mother was alive and killing people but Norman was quick to clean her "mess". Even though this guy had a split personality and his mother's side took over. But was this because his mother died? Didn't he kill his mother? It was like he was afraid of his mother, but in all honestly he was afraid of himself.

Psycho was about Marion Crane and she stole a lot of money and try to run way with it then the ended of at a motel run by a guy named Norman bates  and he liked her but his mother didn't killed her because she is a psycho. Norman cover up the murder of Marion. i didn't expect her to die because she is the main character she suppose to be the focus of movie. Norman seem mentally ill because of what his mother do, killing and he have to cover up it. it was worried how Norman was the one who did all that killing a he  was  be able to do it that and hidden it.

Alien Megan Poulin

Alien was a movie about 7 people trapped on a spaceship with an alien. One of the people who was on the ship went out on a distant planet. There he got too close to an egg and was attacked by an alien. The alien attached itself to him and burrowed inside him. He was the first to die and then, spoiler alert, the rest of the crew is picked off. Everyone dies except for the main character Ripley and the cat that for some reason is in space. The cat was most defiantly my favorite character. I'm glad they got to live. 

I enjoyed this movie it was very suspenseful. The paranoia that the alien could be anywhere is what scares the audience. It could attack at any moment. Jump scares are fun, but true fear is paranoia. The kind of fear that makes you go home and leave the lights on when you go to sleep because the alien might be in your house. This movie, I feel, invoked true fear. Not the kind of fear that just makes you scream, but the kind of fear that makes you feel troubled and that's what paranoia and suspense is. I enjoyed this movie very much. I like scary movie until I get home and its dark. I didn't find it a gory and gut-wrenching as other seemed to have. I've definitely seen worse. One thing that I didn't like about this movie was the fact that Ash was a robot. It just made no sense to me and I didn't get it, but I've never seen any other Alien movie so I guess that's why. 

Psycho

Psycho
I feel like Psycho was the most interesting film we watched so far. Psycho is unlike other horror films, it takes the typical serial killer and gives it sick twist. In the beginning I thought that Marion was gonna be the protagonist of the film because everything seemed to wrap around her. I thought, maybe this gonna be an ordinary car chase kind of movie where she runs all around trying to dodge cops but when the "mom" just up and kills her... I was not expecting that.
I figured something was wrong with Norman once he said "A boys best friend is his mother" For some reason that just seemed off to me. I was fooled because I genuinely thought that his mother was alive, still interacting, "killing" these people, the fact that Norman was so ready to clean up her mess kind of second it. This guy was really talking to himself, going back and forth, I dont remember if they explained how he got that messed up in the film. I remember the doctor was explaining how he had a split personality and how the mother side of him took over but did he have that side because of some Mommy issues ? Did he create that side once his mom died, even though he was the one who killed his mom? ( if Im not mistaken ) Its so surreal , it seemed as if he was afraid of his mother but he was afraid of himself.

Alien (Julia Anderson)

Alien (1979)

This is my post about the movie Alien including my opinions and ideas about it. So what I got from this movie was nothing. I didn't like this movie at all. But what really reached me the most was when the group finds out they are with a robot... the robot was on a mission to get an alien from the plant of aliens. What really surprised the crew was when they found out that the order left the crew as being expendable (they didn't care if the crew was killed for not.) My question was why? Why did they not care if the crew came back alive or not? What was so important about this learning about this alien that they didn't have any respect or care for what happen to the crew that went? My theory is that they put people they didn't care about losing on that ship to get this thing so that they could really figure out what it is but what doesn't make sense was that if the alien successfully killed all the crew on the ship how would the humans get to the alien not knowing if it is there or not.

Leading to my connection to this movie and Psycho is that they are both crazy things killing people.  Mr. Baits in Psycho was trying to replace the void in his life because his mother was gone. He became her and he killed many people as her. In  Alien the company is responsible for all the deaths of the whole crew expect person, which the alien killed. All to get the alien. This is my Blogger post for alien. 

Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back (comments during the movie)

Image: The Robot Maria from Fritz Lang's Metropolis

We started the movie and Luz first asked a question about why C3PO was gold and we then came to an agreement that he was actually made of brass most likely because brass would make a harder shell to contain the wires and internal skeletal structure while keeping a good polished finish that we see on him. Despite this agreement on the metal, the particular color choice from the director for brass is most likely to single him out from other protocol droids. The empire's protocol droids (which are the only other apparent protocol droids in the movie) are a silvery color which can be seen from viewers as a "standard" for today's basic stainless steel and the brass gives C3PO a unique look and as gold vs. silver, a more elite look.

Another interesting comment that Luz made was that the Empire reminded her of Hitler, and as far as I know the Empire's costumes were actually designed to resemble the Nazis' but I'm not entirely sure.

Luz screams when Luke loses his hand

I think it's slightly notable that Luke so quickly accepted Vader as his father when he is in space and on the Millenium Falcon and that he even addresses Vader as "father" when they are speaking through the force before R2D2 fixes the hyperdrive and they take off.

Rocky Silva, Edgar

      In the film Rocky is about a boxer who tries to be someone(a famous boxer). But instead he is an 30 year old who is a load shark collector. But he not one of those who beats up for the money. Rocky is more sympathetic for people because he knows hard its can get it for who struggle with money. And then theirs a girl Adrian who Rocky has a crush on, but Adrian is to shy to say anything to Rocky. Then a big thing happens to Rocky where he is challenged to fight a big famous boxer Apollo Creed. And Apollo Creed is only doing this for bigger fame.
     Then in while in training a few problems happen. Adrian and her brother have a fight of she never had a life because she was to shy, to speak to anyone. But it all it gets sortied out Adrian s brother gets at the boxing house and Rocky continues with his training. And in the end of the movie the fight happens, Rocky comes in with a mile of screams. But when Apollo comes in, his on a float with confetti shooting everywhere.       Rocky and Apollo Creed fight for a while, at the end of the fight Rocky beats Apollo. But Apollo wins the fights. In the Rocky only wanted one thing, as he stood in the ring with the reports swarming him yells the name "Adrian".                                                                                                                      
      

Elaine Negron - Ending of Sugar

I enjoyed watching the movie Sugar. The ending was unsatisfying to me because Miguel ended up staying in New York and joining a team of runaway baseball players. I thought and I hoped the ending was going to a cliche one, meaning Miguel would go back to Dominican Republic or go back to making it in the Big Leagues. Although the film did not meet me expectations I recommend the movie; it's enjoyable, and the boys make funny Spanish jokes. I was expecting a better ending with  Miguel being very satisfied with his decision. I feel like he did the decision he made out of jealousy towards his friend, who was doing better as a pitcher due to the rotation during innings. 

This movie could be compared to Rocky based on the theme of the American Dream. Miguel's  American Dream being the life he made for himself in New York. Miguel got himself a job, a girlfriend, and a spot on the "runaway" baseball team. It was still a good ending based on understanding how Miguel felt about everything, he was still trying to have a good life in the States. Moral of the story is to follow what you believe is good for you, because Miguel thought the best thing for him was to leave the team and start a new life. I was hoping to see more of Miguel and his girlfriend back home, While watching the film, I expected to see more of his background story on how he started to fall in love with baseball. His passion for the sport until his adulthood. 

   

Elaine N. - Universal Monster

I

The Phantom of the Opera is a very intense movie; it successfully combines the genres of drama, love [romance], and music all in one movie. The Phantom of the Opera was originally the French,  Le Fantôme de l'Opéra. The novel was originally written from September 1909 to January of the following year.

The main plot of the story line is that the Phantom lives in the opera house and falls in love with a chorus girl Christine. During rehearsal the lead is instantly full of rage because of the way her singing is going, she leaves and the directors are left without a lead on opening night. Christine is given the lead part due to her singing abilities, leaving the phantom satisfied. The phantom is a monster because he kept Christine hostage from her true love, the phantom was desperate for true love.  He loved Christine because she was pure and he taught her how to sing.

This movie holds meaning for me; I had to watch every detail and pay particular attention to the performances and sets, especially the theater. The main reason being is that my sister's Sweet 16 will be based on this movie. I enjoyed the movie based on the love story because Christine and Raul haven't seen each other in awhile, still having that true love proving the old adage "absence makes the heart grow fonder". 

There was always a side of me that said, Christine had some love for the Phantom because she would be memorized by his voice. Raul on the other hand really did have Christine heart; she loved him forever and always. Christine as soon as she saw Raul thought of their past.