Post #16

The Atomic Bomb is a topic that has always interested me. I used to feel that the use of the atomic bomb in WWII against Japan was justified, but after watching this movie, I'm not sure I feel the same way. The images shown in the documentary were startling and gruesome, and it made me realize that they enemies in a war are just as human as we are. I understand that war is a part of human nature, and that it will not ever come to an end, but the hydrogen bomb is too powerful a weapon for human hands. No other weapon could have brought about the end of life on the planet, and there are simply too many incompetent people in power. Even now that the Cold War is over, terrorist organizations and leaders of unstable countries are attempting to acquire nuclear capabilities. It only takes one bomb to start WWIII.

Post #15

Dr. Strangelove was an interesting movie because it went from having a serious and very ominous feeling to being a joke. The overall message of the movie is a solemn one, but many moments are very comical. For example, the conversations between the president and the Russian prime minister are hysterical. The captions on the nuclear warheads saying "handle with care" and the cowboy pilot are all intended to be funny. Yet the climax of the movie is when the bomb explodes, and it sets off the doomsday device, thus bringing about the end of the human race. I saw a movie called "failsafe" that was very similar to this one in which America accidentally destroys Moscow with a H bomb. Rather than begin a nuclear war that would prove to be the end of the world, the president chooses to explode a bomb on New York in order to balance the disaster.

Post #14

Everyone has had the thought of suddenly acquiring huge sums of money at some point in their lives. The choice that we are told to make is to turn the money in to the police, but that is a very difficult thing to do. The $4 million that Hank, Lou and Jacob find was clearly obtained in some illegal way, and as we learned later it was in fact ransom money. Though the risks are present, people tend to focus only on the potential positive outcomes and avoid the negative ones. Hank brings up the fact that they could all go to jail, but then makes the decision to keep the money. When he asks his wife what she would do in the situation, she says she would return it; until she sees the money for herself. She then becomes the mastermind of the entire operation, the one who comes up with the most clever ways of hiding the paper trail. However, if it were me in that situation, I would take the money. I admit that I would have no qualms about whether it was "right" or "wrong", but only if I could get caught. I would have immediately left the country and bought a home on a Caribbean island. Yet if I were to encounter the money later in life, or if I had a happy and loving family (as Hank does), I might turned the money in. At the beginning of the film he even says that he didn't realize it at the time, but he was generally happy. The decision depends both on the person and the specific situation that the money is discovered.

Post #13

The concept of Memento is very interesting, but I think that the nature of the film makes it very vulnerable to plot holes. The idea of memory itself is a very murky field, as Leonard reveals when he says that memories are not as reliable as facts. A major flaw that I have noticed already after only watching for one day is the fact that Leonard can remember his condition. He makes several references to the fact that he had an "injury", which implies that he was not born with his condition, but that it was in fact brought on by some experience or trauma. He also mentioned at one point that he can not remember anything that occurred after this injury for any extended period of time. If both of these statements are true, it logically follows that he should not remember the injury at all, and also that he should not remember that he has a handicapped memory. This may be revealed later on in the film, but as of yet it is unclear how this one particular memory is not lost.

Post #12

Thus far, I've tried to avoid simply stating my opinions about the films we've watched, but Dark City is now definitely my favorite. In all of the other films that we have watched so far, I have been able to predict most everything that would happen (with the partial exception of Citizen Kane). With Dark City, I was shocked over and over again by the latest plot twists. At first, this film seemed very much like a classic noir, but we discover Murdoch's mysterious telekinetic powers and meet "the strangers". Next we see the tuning. I thought that the way the strangers turned the two poor people into part of the upper class was very interesting. It brings up a whole idea of whether or not people are born with any of the characteristics that they develop in the future. This film seems to take the position that experiences are a more image-shaping force than genetics. Finally, we then see that the entire city takes place on a rotating object in outer space. This part was extremely unnerving, because I realized that if we as humans were actually living in a situation like Murdoch and the others, we would have no way of knowing. Perhaps we are just part of some giant experiment, performed by greater beings than ourselves.

Post #11

Film Noir is a genre that is very new to me, so I was very excited to start the Asphalt Jungle. The movie is challenging to follow, but is shaping up to be very good once the actual plan goes into action. I think Emmerich is very foolish to believe that he could manipulate Dr. Riedenschneider so easily. Dr. R already suspects him, and has made an ally in Dix if a potential problem arises. I also think that for a man who is supposedly so intelligent and powerful as Emmerich, he is making remarkably stupid decisions. Though getting involved with the plan at all is not a good idea, I can understand it because he is getting desperate, and also because if he did not back the plan there would be no movie. But by making a deal with Brannom (which he also may not intend to keep, though there is no evidence of this as of yet), he is setting himself up for failure even if the team succeeds. If they are successful and steal the riches and stones, he must still somehow sneak away to a far off country without the others catching him. I find it highly unlikely that he will make it out of this movie without either dying, going to prison, or acquiring none of the take. Also he has been shown cheating on his wife with Marilyn Monroe's character (I forgot her name), and since this film was made at the time of the Hays codes, something bad must happen to him by the end.

Post #10

I think that there is a parallel between the Schofield kid before he kills the cowboy and Will before he was married. The kid seems intent only on killing and developing his reputation, and Will seems to pity him. I think this may be because Will sees himself in the kid, and hopes that he won't make the same mistakes as he did. After the kid kills the cowboy, he seems to have a much more real view of the nature of his profession. Killing is never easy, even if it may be justified. Will and Ned know this, and now the kid does as well. I also think it is significant that the kid opens up to the fact that he had never killed before. It says a lot about they way that the experience has changed and matured him.