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.

Post #9

Today we finished watching the Seventh Seal, and it had what I considered a dramatic but appropriate ending. Block never learns what will happen after he goes with death, and he shouldn't. The message of the movie is that we cannot know, and so we can believe whatever we choose. Jons maintains his belief that the afterlife brings only emptiness and nothingness, but we see a change in him as well in that he becomes very solemn as he greets death. In his view, his existence is soon ending, and he feels he must spend his last moments in the best way that he can. I have a question about Jons's girlfriends reaction to death however. I do not understand her loving and almost sensual reaction to the arrival of death. It seemed to me that she was enjoying life, and yet she was the only one who seemed truly happy to go with death. If someone could help explain that would be great.

Post #8

The concept of playing chess with death is very interesting to me. Chess is a game which requires the right amount of daring and caution, much the same way that life does. Block is also playing as white in the game, the color that moves first. In chess, the player using the black pieces must often follow and react to the moves of white. I think the fact that Block is playing as white symbolizes the way that everything we do in life causes something else, and that our actions always have a reaction. Death is also playing as black, which is ironic because it is very similar to the term "black death" which was destroying Europe at the time. I also think that the fact that the film was shot in black and white is significant. It is another example of the ideas that i have listed above.

Post #7

Up until today's viewing I felt that Manny and Buck were being portrayed in a somewhat positive light. Its true that they are convicts in a maximum security prison, but it seemed to me that the had the aura of generally good people who had a rough past. While its true that there is good in both men, i felt it became clear that they had their fair share of flaws. Almost as soon as he meets her, Buck asks for sex with the new girl, demonstrating that he truly is a rapist. For his part, Manny attempts to force Buck to go back outside and stop the train. He beats him unmercifully until he finally comes to his senses and stops. I felt that today we got a true taste of the types of people aboard the Runaway Train.

Post #6

Though it may not be the most cheerful outlook on life, existentialism seems to me to be the most logical. First, there is the fact that all existentialists do not have exactly the same definition of their belief. This makes the philosophy flexible and appealing to many different types of people. Second, it is not a totally negative idea. Existentialists believe that is all life is insignificant and meaningless, than any life choice is equally valid. This is a very empowering idea because it says that you make your own life, and no other person or group of people can judge the way you lived. The arguement against existentialism is that all life has a purpose, and that we are working to become a perfect species. However, there are many events that have occurred in human history that are possibly too horrible to dismiss as part of the learning curve towards perfection. A clear example of this is the Holocaust. Despite this event that many consider the greatest tragedy in human history, society has proven that it has not learned from its mistakes. Genocides took place more recently in Bosnia and Darfur, and the world was unable to come together in time to prevent disaster.

Post #5

I found it interesting how virtually every character that Mr. Thompson interviews has negative feelings towards Kane after he died, while when he was alive everyone seemed to love him. The movie hints that Kane could have practically any woman that he wanted, and had people clamoring all over him to be his friend. The only men who have stood up to him so far are Jed Leeland and Jim Gettys. Leyland ended up in a nursing home begging visitors for cigars, and Gettys was an unpopular and disliked man his entire life. I'm very interested to see what thoughts the elusive "rosebud" has on Mr. Kane.

Post #4

Though I could appreciate all quiet on the western front as a well done movie, I have so far enjoyed Citizen Kane much more. The character of Kane is much more charismatic and controversial than any of the characters from the previous movie. The acting is much better, though this may be partially due to the fact that Citizen Kane was made more recently. The plot is also much more difficult to predict. So far, I have no idea who or what rosebud could be (no one tell me), but I felt that i knew that each of the soldiers would die before All Quiet on the Western Front ended. I am very much looking forward to continuing this movie.

Post #3

I thought the choice by the director to make the main characters Germans added to the anti-war agenda. At that time, many of the viewers would most likely dislike the characters because of their background. After watching the film however, they would have seen how the German soldiers were really very similar to the Allied soldiers. In this way, I feel that the movie was very successful in capturing an anti-war sentiment and showing that we are all really more alike than we think.

Post #2

I thought the scene where Paul and the other soldiers spent the night with the French women was funny on the surface, but had a deeper, more somber meaning as well. When we saw the men showing up in togas carrying sausages, they looked ridiculous. In peace-time, the women would have most likely never opened the door to them. But during WWI many people in France were starving and willing to jump at any opportunity for more rations. These women were willing to sleep with Paul and the others so that they could eat. Despite the language barrier, the soldiers were able to convince the women to sleep with them because the offered them food.

Post #1

I thought the most interesting part of the scene we watched today was the hospital scene. When Kemmerick begins convulsing and Paul runs to get the doctor, the doctor did not even know who he was. This is yet another example of dehumanization. Even when the orderly says that Kemmerick has an amputated leg, the doctor still does not recognize him. This shows the way that soldiers are merely turning into numbers rather than people. The doctor also just allowed Kemmerick to die without even attempting to save his life. The doctor views him as just another man dying in bed 26.