Monday, January 28, 2013

4) Casablanca

"Casablanca" is a 1942 film about a place in Morocco during World War II. This is such a beautiful story. I love how the characters want to be together and you can tell that but they just can't! I am also such a history geek so I loved the historical aspect of it. I don't really know what to say except this is definitely a classic movie! One thing I have noticed about these movies is that the endings are all different. Nowadays it feels as if you can always guess how the movie is going to end. This is especially true with romantic movies. However, these old romantic movies really keep you guessing. I feel as if they are more realistic too. Nothing in this life happens according to plan, especially when it comes to love. You could love someone but they are with someone else. Someone could suddenly fall in love with you, but you think of them as a friend. Love is messy and unplanned. These movies show this because they show exactly how falling in love is complicated and sometimes doesn't work out the way you want it to. This particular movie shows how you can fall in love with someone but have someone else in the picture. Relationships are hard to get into, hard to keep, and even harder to get out of. However, my motto is to just do what makes you happy even if it's hard. For the fantastic Humphrey Bogart, it would have made him happy to be with Isla but he thought of her first. That is the ultimate man who can suppress his feelings and emotions so he can save his true love. It gets me every time. This could be my new favorite movie of all time so I recommend it to everyone and anyone.

"Casablanca" (1942)
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

7) Gone with the Wind

"Gone with the Wind" is fantastic! Okay so at first I was getting bored because the first 6 minutes are an overture and then a long list of the actors and actresses. Once I got into the movie however, I was transfixed! Such a classic movie and i now know what I've been missing out on. I felt very old fashioned watching this movie because I was knitting at the same time. Very productive day. Clark Cable is the definition of debonair and charm. He is the type of man a woman dreams of, or what this woman dreams of. His character Rhett is strapping, intelligent, and so dreamy! Scarlett O'Hara, the main female character, drove me nuts! Sometimes I liked her for I really liked her resolve and her confidence, but mostly i wanted to slap her. She flirted with everyone and was so infatuated with Ashley (who outright told her he didn't love her) that she missed the opportunity to have true love with Rhett. My older sister Brittany was Scarlett O'Hara for Halloween one year and i remember she looked really pretty in that big red dress with the red umbrella. I had no clue who Scarlett O'Hara was but i was envious of that outfit. I also liked how this movie was kind of like a western war movie but not boring with all the drama surrounding love. I also loved the classic line that Rhett says to Scarlett which is, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." I want to use that line sometime in my life because it is such an awesome insult! All in all, this is definitely a movie you need to see but get ready because it is really, really long.

"Gone with the Wind" (1939)
Directed by: Victor Fleming
Starring: Clark Cable, Vivien Leigh, and Thomas Mitchell

I have decided that instead of writing an insanely long summary of the movies i will put the trailer (if I can find one) and a link to a summary you can read. Also, I am so sorry I haven't posted in awhile but it is the start of the first semester and I have so much work! Stay with me though!

Summary Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031381/synopsis

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Already Viewed-"Wuthering Heights"

"Wuthering Heights" is the last movie that i have already viewed. This classic tale has been remade many different times. The two movie posters on the left are from 1939 and a remake in 1992. There is a new version that came out in 2011. The version of the movie that I saw was the 1992 one with Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort) and Juliette Binoche. I read this book my sophomore year of high school in Ms.Hurley's class again. I had her for two years in a row and that poor woman had to deal with my shenanigans for 40 minutes 5 days a week. Anyway, I adored the book and the movie. The movie did a fabulous job of following the book, even having the same actress play Catherine and Cathy. At first, I thought the book would be horrible because i had read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte freshman year, and that book was dreadful. However, Emily Bronte (Charlotte's sister) did a much better job! Her book wasn't too long and difficult and the plot was a winding road of intrigue, mystery, passion, and revenge. We watched the movie in class but I would consider it one of my personal favorite movies. Ralph Fiennes is amazing as Heathcliff and made me fall in love with the character more. Everyone in my class would make fun of me because i was head over heels in love with Heathcliff. Even though he was kind of abusive and scary, my heart melted for him. He is the original bad boy character that is just misunderstood and needed someone to love him unconditionally. It is a tad confusing trying to distinguish between Catherine the mother and Cathy the daughter because Juliette Binoche plays both characters. I thought this was perfect and an extremely artistic impression of these two characters. In the book, it says that Cathy looks so much like Catherine that she reminds Heathcliff of his lost love. By making the same actress play both females was genius! I could go on and on about this movie, but for all you hopeless romantics like me, you just need to watch it with a box of tissues next to you and some Ben and Jerry's to keep you company. For all you boys out there, watch it and learn how men used to show affection towards their one true love (just don't abuse them like Heathcliff abuses Isabelle).

"Wuthering Heights" (1992)
Directed by: Peter Kosminsky
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Ralph Fiennes, and Janet McTeer

SUMMARY:
The story follows the Earnshaw family who live in Wuthering Heights. There are two children in the Earnshaw family, a boy named Hindley, and his younger sister Catherine. Their father is extremely rich and travels a lot. When he returns from a trip to Liverpool, he brings back a homeless boy, adopts him, and names him Heathcliff. Hindley is jealous of Heathcliff because he feels his father pays more attention to the homeless boy than him. Catherine and Heathcliff become very close and spend a lot of time together. Hindley goes to college but returns three years later with his wife Frances after the death of their father. Hindley becomes the master of the house and forces Heathcliff to become a servant to them. One day Catherine and Heathcliff go to spy on their neighbors the Linton family when Catherine is attacked by a dog and stays with the Lintons until she is healed. She comes back a changed woman and starts to distance herself from Heathcliff and falls into the arms of Edgar. Frances gives birth to a son named Hareton and she dies shortly after, Hindley becomes a drunk. Edgar asks Catherine to marry him and she accepts. She tells her maid Nelly that she does not love Edgar but loves Heathcliff although she could never marry him because he doesn't have status or wealth. Heathcliff hears this and runs away although he missed the part of Catherine saying she will use her marriage to raise Heathcliff's status. He returns six months later a gentleman and much richer. He marries Edgar's younger sister Isabella as revenge against Edgar. Catherine has fallen ill and Heathcliff goes to see her secretly, after which she gives birth to her daughter Cathy and dies. Isabella flees Heathcliff and has a son named Linton, Hindley dies and gives Wuthering Heights to Heathcliff and guardianship over his son Hareton. Twelve years later, Isabella is dying and Edgar goes to get her son to adopt. This is when Cathy learns of Wuthering Heights and her cousins since she had never been allowed outside of her home, the Grange. Linton arrives and is very sickly and is staying at the Grange, but Heathcliff wants his son with him. He wants Linton and Cathy to marry so he can inherit the Grange. Three years later, he holds Nelly and Cathy hostage at Wuthering Heights and Cathy and Linton marry. Edgar dies and so does Linton. Hareton tries to be friends with Cathy but she retreats into herself. Lockwood who was renting the Grange comes back to Wuthering Heights after eight months. Heathcliff has died seeing visions of Catherine, and Cathy and Hareton plan to get married. Heathcliff is buried next to Catherine.

Sorry for the long summary but it is a complex story! Watch the movie with an open mind because you may hate Heathcliff but everything he does is to prove to Catherine that he is her true love and she is his beloved.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Already Viewed-"Fantasia"

"Fantasia" is a 1940 Disney produced film. This movie is basically a collection of 8 different short animated "stories" that are set to classical music. The idea for this movie came when Walt Disney thought that the iconic character of Mickey Mouse needed a boost. So he made Mickey a character in a short story called The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Then they decided to add other stories with it and made "Fantasia". This is such an adorable movie and it is really interesting how it can grasp your attention even though it's classical music. I really loved all of the little stories but especially the iconic Mickey part. The music is fantastic and the clips are just adorable  I saw this movie when I was young probably 8 or 9. I have no idea how this kind of movie kept me entertained at that age but now I consider it a classic children's movie. However, when I told my dad that this movie was on the classic list he said, "God that movie is boring!" I personally love it but everyone has their own opinions! It is a little boring now that I watch it and my attention span is much shorter, but it is such a nice movie! I am not quite sure why it is considered one of the top 100 movies but I think it is because this was such a different type of movie that really prospered. I am not going to write a summary for this movie because it is too complicated and it would require writing down the music and i can't read music notes. I am leaving a clip to the Mickey part so watch it if you would like!

"Fantasia" (1940)
Produced by: Walt Disney Productions
Story Direction: Joe Grant and Dick Huemer
Production Supervision: Ben Sharpsteen
Music Conducted by: Leopold Stokowski

The Oscars are coming up soon so I will have a special blog post about my reaction to the winners!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Already Viewed- "2001: A Space Odyssey"

I am going to come right out and say that this is the worst movie i have ever seen in my life. I saw this movie last year during spring semester. Honestly, this movie was so bad. It started with some apes beating each other up, then people on the moon, then a computer going to Mars, and ends with a fetus looking at the Earth floating in space. I was so confused the entire movie I had no idea what the plot was and what was going to come next. Then, the ending doesn't even tie everything together! The only consistent part of the movie was this mysterious black door.  The music was good and if you watch it you will recognize the music score immediately, but this movie should not be on any classic list. Unless you want a movie to make you fall asleep, don't watch this movie.

"2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968)
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, and William Sylester


SUMMARY:

The movie starts off in an African landscape with a group of apes (are apes called a pack or a family or a herd?). Anyway, a leopard attacks and ape and then another group of apes start screaming at the first group of apes. The first group of apes find a bone and realize they can hurt people with this bones. They use it as a weapon and defeat the aggressive group of apes. Now we are fast forward to a doctor man who is heading to the moon. At the moon station a group of scientists have discovered this mysterious black door which is the same one that the apes saw before they received the bone. Then as the scientists pose in front of the door it emits a loud piercing scream that hurts their heads. Now we are in a spacecraft that is headed to Jupiter. There is a very sophisticated computer system on this spacecraft called HAL. He is supposedly foolproof, but he starts to go crazy and kills one of the astronauts and almost kills the other. The one who is still alive disconnects HAL. When HAL is shut off it is revealed that intelligent life off of Earth has been discovered and that is why they are on their way to Jupiter to find out where this door is from. Close to Jupiter, the astronaut is in another pod and there is some weird light and he flies over a lot of different landscapes. He is then in a room with an older version of himself eating, then another older version of him sleeping, then he becomes a floating fetus staring at the earth.

As you can tell this movie skips to a lot of different places and is very confusing, but this is just my opinion.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Already Viewed-"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"

"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 1937 movie that was the first full length animated movie by Walt Disney productions. This movie is the definition of childhood. You might not have seen this particular version but I believe that almost everyone in the world has seen this movie and knows the story line  Growing up in a family with four girls, I have been watching this movie for years. However, it wasn't until Disney channel had this 1937 version on TV a few years back when I actually saw the original. It follows the same story line but the animation is just different. This is such a classic story not only for girls but for gentlemen as well. This is also the first movie i saw that taught me about true love. I mean the whole point of the movie is that true loves kiss is the only thing that can wake her up. This movie was my first exposure to love and to thinking that everyone does have a true love. This movie was the start of my fascination with love and has molded me into this person who believes wholeheartedly in true loves kiss.

Just to let everyone know it is extremely hard for me to write this post right now because I am balancing an ice pack on my shoulder against my cheek. I only have a couple more already viewed posts to do and I am working on some more of the movies I haven't seen already, so stay put!

"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937)
Directed by: William Cottrell, and David Hand
Starring the voices of: Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, and Lucille La Verne


SUMMARY:
This story is about a beautiful girl named Snow White whose beauty surpasses that of her stepmother the Queen. The Queen is extremely jealous of Snow White because she wants to be the fairest of them all. Snow White takes refuge in the forest in a house with seven dwarfs. She cooks and cleans for them, and they grow to love her. The Queen finds out where Snow White is hiding and disguised as an old woman, she persuades Snow White to bite into a poisoned apple. The dwarfs arrive at the cottage to find Snow White in a deep sleep and they place her in a glass coffin in the woods. The Prince who has fallen in love with Snow White, finds the coffin and kisses her. This breaks the Queens spell because of true loves first kiss.

Remember to let me know if there is anything you want me to change!

Monday, January 7, 2013

1) The Shawshank Redemption

So I have finally watched my first new movie! I watched it last night my two friends Catherine and Moira. They just got in the car and drove over when I got home from skiing in New Hampshire. They really wanted to watch one of the movies on my list so we decided to watch "The Shawshank Redemption". I have never seen this movie before but every single person I have talked to who has seen this movie said it was the best movie they have ever seen. I have to agree. This movie was so good and it deserves to be number 1 on the list! I have decided that from now on I will write a summary of the movie at the end of the blog so if you haven't seen it you don't have to read it but if you want a summary of some of the older, unknown ones then I will continue to write them. Anyway, C and M came over and brought pints of ice cream for all of us. They came over to also try and make me feel less anxious about getting my wisdom teeth out the next day aka this morning. For anyone concerned about my well being, I am fine just hungry! Anyway, I adored this movie. It was kind of disturbing how while we were watching it we fell in love with convicted criminals. Almost scares me for our future but you couldn't just not fall in love with Red or Brooks. I cried when Brooks died and when the warden made Andy go into solitary for two whole months. I love to watch shows like Dateline and 48 Hours Mystery, and my favorite part of watching these shows is to figure out if the accused did the crime or not. From the beginning of this movie, I could not figure out if he was innocent or guilty. I don't want to ruin anything but the way he escaped totally caught me by surprise. I honestly hated the top guard and the warden with such a passion it was scary. I HIGHLY recommend this movie to anyway who likes a good, heartfelt movie.
"The Shawshank Redemption" (1994)
Directed by: Frank Darapont
Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, and Bob Gunton

 Summary:
My friend Moira also asked me to keep these summaries brief so that's what I will do. This movie is about a man named Andy who is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, and sentenced to two life terms in prison. He befriends a man named Red who is also at the Shawshank prison for murder and a life sentence. The movie follows their friendship for many years in prison, and how they don't lose their minds. It eventually leads to corruption on the wardens part, murder by the head of the correction officers, and Andy's continuing pleas of innocence. It finally comes to light that someone else admitted in prison that he actually killed Andy's wife and lover. When Andy goes to the warden with the news that they need to investigate it further, the warden threatens him to keep quiet. By this point, Andy had become integrated in the wardens money corruption schemes. After spending 20 years in prison, he escapes and moves to Mexico. Red is finally set free after 40 years in prison and Andy left him money to meet him in Mexico. The end scene is the two friends shaking hands on a beach.

 I also want to apologize if it takes me longer to write these posts right now because I am in recovery but I am going to try to do one a day! If anyone has any comments on structure of my blog or if you want more of something or less, I just made it so anyone can comment on my posts. Please let me know what you want so I can make your reading more enjoyable!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Already Viewed-"Jaws"

So before I start this post about the movie "Jaws", I need to confess something....I made a mistake. I said that I had watched the movie "Psycho" already but the truth is I have only seen the funny new version with Vince Vaughn. For some reason i kept thinking "Psycho" was the movie "the Shining". I don't know why but I changed it on the blog and on my own list, but I apologize profusely! So I have actually only seen 8 of the 100 movies, which means more time being anti-social watching old movies or forcing my friends to watch old movies with me!
"Jaws" is a 1975 movie directed by Steven Spielberg starring Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss. This movie centers around a beach town called Amity where tourism is a major source of income for the town. This summer it will be hard for them to get tourists with a gigantic great white shark swimming around! After a young girl goes missing, the chief of Police named Martin Brody goes searching in the ocean for her. He stumbles upon her mangled body and after waiting for the coroners report it is declared that she died from a shark attack. Brody immediately wants to close the beaches for the safety of the public, but the mayor and other townspeople do not want to do that at all. They need the beaches to stay open for tourists to come and bring in the income. The next couple of days, tourists flock to the beaches and Brody anxiously watches the water for the shark. After a young boy is attacked by the shark, his mother puts a $3000 reward for anyone who kills the shark. After a town meeting, where the mayor agrees to closing the beaches for 24 hours. Many local fisherman try to find the shark but none are successful. A man named Matt Hooper comes from the Oceanographic Institute to help find the shark. On the fourth of July when many beach goers are swimming in the water, there is another attack from the giant shark. Finally, the mayor closes the beaches and Brody and Hooper receive the green light to hunt this beast down. They acquire the aid of a local fisherman named Quint and they all gather on his boat to look for the shark. After many failed attempts to get the shark, Hooper decides to go down in shark cage to entice the shark closer, then he will inject a harpoon filled with drugs into the shark. He goes in the cage and obviously the shark easily rips it apart, however, Hooper escapes and swims down to the reef. The shark attacks their boat and kills Quint, as the boat is filling with water, Brody throws one of Hooper's extra scuba tanks into the sharks mouth. He then shoot the shark many times before hitting the oxygen tank and blowing the shark up. Hooper swims back up to the surface unharmed and they paddle back to shore.
                   "Jaws" theme song:
This really is a classic movie. It's hilarious how this extremely fake looking shark caused so much fear in people who saw this movie when it came out. I will admit that after seeing this movie it did solidify my fear of a shark attack. I love going to the beach so it didn't hinder my swimming abilities in the ocean, but i never go out too far. I saw this movie in high school with one of my friends in my basement. I remember we were first thought that the shark looked so fake that we wouldn't be scared at all! The movie isn't scary when you watch it but you will never look at the ocean the same..especially if you watch shark week afterwards.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Already Viewed-"To Kill A Mockingbird"

The third movie that i have already seen is "To Kill A Mockingbird" a 1962 movie directed by Robert Mulligan, starring Gregory Peck, John Megna, and Frank Overton. This movie is based off of the book by Harper Lee and tells the story of Atticus Finch and his two children, Scout and Jem. Atticus is a lawyer who decides to represent a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman in a small, prejudicial town in 1932 Alabama. The movie, just like the book, has a lot of different side stories such as when a rabid dog comes into the town and Atticus shots it, and things from Scout's childhood. The main story, however, is Atticus trying to get Tom Robinson out of jail with an all white jury and a prejudiced judge. He shows a lot of evidence that proves that Tom is innocent of raping an illiterate white woman named Mayella Ewell (trying say that five times fast). However, because Tom is black he is easily convicted. When he is being "transferred" to a "safe state prison", he tries to escape and is shot and killed while he runs away. Throughout, the entire story Scout talks about the creepy man next door named Boo Radley who nevers comes out of his house. Scout, her brother Jem, and their friend Dill talk about all their adventures and how they are scared of Boo until one night after a Halloween dance at school. They are on their way home after a Halloween dance at school when they are attacked by some random person. Jem falls and gets hurt, but Scout just runs away. She ends up getting home to find Jem in his bed with a broken arm, in the shadow is Boo who had saved the children's lives. It turns out that Bob Ewell, the father of Mayella, attacked the children and Boo stabbed him to death, it also comes to light that Bob was the one who raped Mayella and blamed it all on Tom. The Sheriff decides that Bob fell on his knife and Atticus thanks Boo. Scout calls him a mockingbird because he does no harm and only does good.
      A clip of Atticus cross-examining the victim Mayella Ewell:

I really enjoyed reading this book and I think the movie really exemplified the books meaning. I read the book going into my freshman year of high school for my English class. I had Ms.Hurley for English class my freshman and sophomore year of high school at the all girls school I went to. She was such a funny teacher because she was really quiet and the class really walked all over her. I remember she made me sit in the front row because I talked too much to my friends and i actually started to pay attention at that point. Then when I had her for sophomore year she immediately put my seat in the front of the class. That is when I read the book and fell in love with classic books such as The Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye, Wuthering Heights, etc. I am mad that "Twilight" destroyed Wuthering Heights because Bella is obsessed with it. It's just not the same...just kidding I still love it! Anyway, i saw the movie my junior year of high school when I was sick and stayed home from school. It was one of those days where nothing is on TV and I had already watched everything recorded on DVR. So i was flipping through the channels when i found "To Kill A Mockingbird". Since I liked the book so much I decided I should give the movie a try. The movie is really good and the storyline is interesting, but there were some moments where it seemed to drag one. It would get slow at some parts and then pick up at others. All in all, I think its a really good movie but unless you like sitting for over two hours watching a black and white film, this movie is probably not for you.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Already Viewed-"The Wizard of Oz"

Number 2 on the list of 9 that i have already seen is the 1939 film directed by Victor Fleming, "The Wizard of Oz", starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, and Ray Bolger. This is the classic tale of Dorothy and her dog Toto. When Dorothy gets caught in a tornado, she is whizzed off to the mysterious land of Oz. She meets a scarecrow, tin man, and a lion who help her on her path to the emerald city. There she will meet the wizard of Oz who will help her get home. Along the way, the wicked witch of the west tries to stop them, because she blames Dorothy for killing her sister, the wicked witch of the east, and because Glinda gave Dorothy the wicked with of the east's ruby slippers. When they finally arrive to the emerald city with the help of Glinda the good witch, the wizard will only help them if they bring him the wicked witch of the west's broomstick. Dorothy is captured by flying monkeys and the wicked witch says she will die when the hourglass runs out. Dorothy's friends save her and she accidently splashes the wicked witch with water which makes her melt. The wicked witch's guards give her the broomstick, and the wizard grants her friends a brain, a heart, and courage. He even tells Dorothy that he will take her back to Kansas with him in his hot air balloon. However, Toto runs after a cat and Dorothy follows him, unable to stop the hot air balloon, the wizard leaves without her. Glinda tells Dorothy that she had the power to go home on her own the entire time, so Dorothy clicks her heels three times and repeats "there's no place like home". She wakes up with her aunt and uncle and their workers standing around her.
                                                           The original trailer is below:

I cannot remember the first time i saw this movie, but it was a big part of my childhood. I believe that this movie was a big part of everyone's childhood because it is such a well known movie. I do remember that once i went with my aunt Kathy and my sisters to blockbuster to rent the movie. This was probably in the early 2000s where you payed the fee before hand. So we got the movie and watched it, then kept it forever. I just looked at our drawer of forgotten VHS movies and i saw it there, with the blockbuster seal and all. Sorry you went out of business blockbuster, i really liked going to visit. Anyway, being a girl I, of course, loved Dorothy and even dressed as her for Halloween a few years in a row. Toto became one of the main reasons I really wanted a dog and I finally got one when I was 7 and I am thoroughly in love with her (even though she bites....but let's keep that a secret). This movie is just so cute, you have great songs that are really catchy, friends who help each other out, short people with candy, and the battle between good and evil. What more could you ask for! Oh wait, it has a secret moral to it, that no matter where you go there is no place like home. Good job Victor good job.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Already Viewed-"Schindler's List"

So before I start to knock off some movies from my list, I am going to talk about the 9 movies that I have already seen. Then after I talk about these 9 I will start to dwindle down the list!

The first movie that I have already seen is "Schindler's List". Movie from 1993(the year I was born), directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson, and Ben Kingsley. The movie is set in Poland during WWII. It centers around a man named Oskar Schindler, a greedy businessman who turns his factory into a refugee for Jews. He ends up saving roughly 1100 Jews from being gassed in Auschwitz. The first time I saw this movie was when I was in the 8th grade so about seven years ago. I remember we had to get our parents signatures in order to see the movie because it is rated R. We all got to have a day off from classes and the whole 8th grade class crowded into the auditorium. I remember I sat next to my cousin Ali and my crush at the time named Joe. I remember I was very giddy that I got to sit next to him and happy that I had decided to wear the jeans that hid my muffin top and made me feel skinny. When the movie started I thought there is no way I would be able concentrate when Joe was sitting next to me, especially when I was thinking of ways to flirt with him. However, once the movie started I could not keep my eyes off of it. Being in black and white, you would think it would be hard for a 13 year old to sit through it, however I was enraptured. I was just starting to become the history buff that I am today, and this movie jump started my desire to find out anything I could about WWII. I loved the actors in their roles, and I thought they each made their characters come alive. I hated Oskar Schindler at the beginning and then learned to love him at the end. I cried when at the end he said that if only he had given things up like his wedding ring so he could have saved more people. I despised Ralph Fiennes with a passion, especially when he was on his balcony shooting Jews for pleasure. Of course one of the moments that caught my eye was the girl in the red coat. Since the movie is primarily in black and white, the red coat that the little girl was wearing is significant. Many people have different opinions on what the red coat meant. Most say it represents the blood shed during this period, or how Schindler changes throughout the movie. For me, it represents the death of innocence. Not only because the person wearing the red coat was a young child, but because every person involved in this tragic period lost a part of their innocence. Call me unrealistic but I like to believe that ever person holds a part of their innocence throughout their lives. Personally, I am almost 20 years old and I still sleep with a teddy bear and wake my mom up when I have a nightmare. For all the survivors of the holocaust and their families, and everyone affected by this monstrous time, they all lost a part of their innocence. I think the red coat was there to show how even if someone survived this moment, they still were affected by the blood.
 All in all, this is indeed a classic 20th century movie and I highly recommend it to anyone, even those not interested in history because this movie shows how some people still felt something for their fellow human beings.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

The Beginning

Today is January 1st, 2013. To me it is crazy that it is all of a sudden 2013. I always think about how fast time seems to be going as I get to the ripe old age of 20. Even though 20 is a young age to me it represents how I am no longer the little kid who would run around naked, but I have some new responsibilities and running around naked would now be considered a crime. So to start off the new year and to accomplish something before I turn 20 I have given myself a challenge. Instead of my usual new years resolution to have a great year, I am being more specific. My friends from where i go to school made me make a bucket list of all the things I want to accomplish in life in November. So it seemed only natural that my new years resolution should be to cross something off of my list. A lot of the things on my bucket list are day to day activities that I want to carry with me for the rest of my life, such as making a difference. One thing on my list in particular is to watch all the classic movies of the 20th century. So my challenge starting today is to finish 100 classic movies of the twentieth century before I turn 20 on May 20th. I have found a list of movies from AMC and I will be posting the list below. If anyone ends up reading this and gets involved with my challenge, I will also be taking requests from people. If there is any movie from the 20th century that you adore, let me know, and I will add it as a bonus! Each movie that I watch, I will write a critique about it and voice my personal opinions about the movie. So if you are reading this and are not already bored with my challenge, sit back, grab some popcorn, and relax for this is going to be a crazy 5 months!

MY LIST FROM AMC (the ones crossed off i have already seen but i will write up something about them soon):

TOP 100 MOVIES OF 20TH CENTURY
1.      The Shawshank Redemption
2.      The Godfather (film series)
3.      Star Wars (film series)
4.      Casablanca
5.      It’s a Wonderful Life
6.      Schindler’s List
7.      Gone with the Wind
8.      The Wizard of Oz
9.      To Kill a Mockingbird
10.             One Flew over the cuckoo’s Nest
11.             Pulp Fiction
12.             Psycho
13.             Citizen Kane
14.             Rear Window
15.             Jaws
16.             North by Northwest
17.             Vertigo
18.             Apocalypse Now
19.             Taxi Driver
20.             Ben-Hur
21.             E.T
22.             The Bridge on the River Kwai
23.             Lawrence of Arabia
24.             Singing in the Rain
25.             The African Queen
26.             The Maltese Falcon
27.             Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
28.             King Kong
29.             2001: A Space Odyssey
30.             The Grapes of Wrath
31.             Some Like It Hot
32.             Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
33.             Raging Bull
34.             High Noon
35.             Blade Runner
36.             The Graduate
37.             On the Waterfront
38.             Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
39.             The Searchers
40.             Chinatown
41.             Bonnie & Clyde
42.             West Side Story
43.             NotoriousàAlfred Hitchcock
44.             The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
45.             Fantasia
46.             A Streetcar Named Desire
47.             Shane
48.             Sunset Boulevard
49.             All Quiet on the Western Front
50.             Rebecca
51.             Double Indemnity
52.             The Quiet Man
53.             The Philadelphia Story
54.             It Happened One Night
55.             Stagecoach
56.             Rebel Without a Cause
57.             The Adventures of Robin Hood
58.             The Third Man
59.             Roman Holiday
60.             All About Eve
61.             Red River
62.             The Big Sleep
63.             Easy Rider
64.             Midnight Cowboy
65.             Bringing Up Baby
66.             The Wild Bunch
67.             The Best Year of Our Lives
68.             Modern Times
69.             Duck Soup
70.             Yankee Doodle Dany
71.             The Night of the Hunter
72.             Annie Hall
73.             Paths of Glory
74.             My Darling Clementine
75.             Touch of Evil
76.             The Bride of Frankenstein
77.             His Girl Friday
78.             City Lights
79.             The General
80.             Wuthering Heights
81.             A Night at the Opera
82.             Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
83.             Meet Me in St.Louis
84.             An American in Paris
85.             The Gold Rush
86.             Top Hat
87.             A Star is Born
88.             The Birth of a Nation
89.             The Magnificent Ambersons
90.             The Lady Eve
91.             42nd Street
92.             Out of the Past
93.             Sunrise
94.             Ninotchka
95.             Greed
96.             Trouble in Paradise
97.             Letter from an Unknown Woman
98.             Nashville
99.             Intolerance
100.        The Crowd