Memento

This was certainly one of the most interesting and definitely unique movies I have ever seen. The director's choice to go backwards was really clever. To not know what happened before as opposed to after was a really new experience.

I feel bad for Lenny, to be stuck in such a state. But I do see that he is the villain here because he purposely set himself up to chase after the wrong guy. Originally, he did have justified intentions though.

I knew there had to be a flaw somehow though. If Lenny got into an accident, got his condition, how would he know he had his condition? He would have to find out later... but then he would forget anyways.

One thing I saw, was when they showed Sammy Jenkis sitting in a wheelchair in the asylum, for a quick moment, it was actually Lenny. I'm not sure what I believe anymore, This films seems to be a big metaphor for "everything is not what it seems" and that we never really know what we see or believe to be true, really is.

A quick note on my previous post

On the last blog post of mine, Mr. Bennett commented that it was John Locke's theory that I was speaking of, but I was actually talking about Rousseau. He believed that humans are born inherently good and that society is what corrupts them.
Just wanted to clarify (:

& what I said about the small kid, the choice to have the kid was really a smart idea. It's the Lord of the Flies all over again. Take the kids because they are what represents innocence to society. It really drives the meaning home and does a lot for the story.

Dark City

I have to say, this movie sufficiently creeped me out in the beginning. It was strange and suspenseful and different. I think that's what makes me really like it. I think this and Runaway Train are my current favorites. The fact that the beginning was so confusing and you had no idea what was going on really made it much better. If we saw the scene of John running around yelling for everyone to wake up at the very beginning, I feel like I probably wouldn't like it as much. The figuring out what's going on is one of the best parts.

The question of the human soul and our memories is really thought-provoking. I think our memories play a huge role in who we are and what we turn out to be. There's proven statistics that what happened in your childhood will shape the person you will be. For example, more people that were abused when they were children, abuse their own when they grow up. I think what this film is saying about John in the end when he turned out good despite the fact that he knows he is suppose to be a murderer is that all people are born good. This is someone's philosophy during the Enlightenment that I forgot by the way. Without any of his memories, he is essentially starting over and being reborn. He grew up to fight against what he was suppose to be and created his own life. This was an awesome movie :D

& I just have to say, that little kid... is just scary.

Deathly Hallows and Unforgiven

Well we were told we can post about any film, so one film I saw was Deathly Hallows, Part One this weekend. I already posted on Reuben's blog something I noticed while watching the film, but i'll reiterate it here. There was a scene in particular that stuck out in my mind. As the sidekick (Ron Weasley) and the hero (Harry Potter) walked inside a house, Ron asked Harry what they are going to do or something along those lines. He never gets an answer and they walk into the darkness of the house. It becomes clear later that Harry never really did know what to do and I found it really cool because before this class, I would have never noticed this.

As for Unforgiven, I spent a good hour on imdb.com just reading up on Clint Eastwood. It was out of pure entertainment because he really is an interesting person. He's against violence and never saw himself as a cowboy and yet, here he is, a cowboy and an assassin. He got his job in one of his starting roles on his way to fame because he just looked like a cowboy. He is a fascinating person and so is his character, Will Munny. Will is another one of those characters that is not all black and white, but somewhere mixed in the grey. He's not all good, but he's not all bad. I find those to be the best characters and the easiest to relate because who in the world is just ALL good? There's a little bad in us all.

As for the name, I noticed a lot of people posting on that. It's clear in the end that there is a very unforgiving nature in Will. He could have walked away after kicking the gun to the side from Little Bill's hand. He would have gone away unscathed. But Little Bill killed his friend, and for that, he has to die. I like that he didn't just walk away though. That would have been against his character to leave him there.

The Seventh Seal Ending

The Seventh Seal was an amusing movie to watch as well as extremely interesting. When Death caught up with the group at the end, it was fascinating to see all the reactions of the different characters. Antonius Bloch started to pray for help but of course, the existentialist of the movie, Jöns automatically went, praying won't help. At that point, the games are over, the chase is done. Death caught up with them like we always knew he would because Death is inescapable.
While watching the film, I found myself torn between two characters. The main character, Antonius, and the squire, Jöns. He spent the whole film searching for answers to these great questions, something I think everyone can relate to at least one point in time. However, I relate most to Jöns. I've mentioned before that I am more of an existentialist than anything else. The Seventh Seal was not my favorite film of the few we have already seen, but these movies are really thought-provoking and I am enjoying them.
And Mr. Bennett, you questioned before whether I did something to take off the security measure of typing in  the words when you comment and I did. I left a comment on that last post on how to take it off but I'm not sure if you've seen it. If you haven't, its there (: 

The Seventh Seal

Due to my obsession with Harry Potter, I just found out that the remake of All Quiet on the Western Front's Paul is to be played by Daniel Radcliffe- actor of Harry Potter. I love the actor, but I'm unsure how this will turn out. Hopefully, this remake will do the original justice.

As for the current film we are watching... I love the chess game going on in the background. I'm guessing it's there because the game is purely strategic. If you don't think ahead, most likely, you'll lose. Every move counts and I'm pretty sure it's all just a giant metaphor for the whole film. Death making a move in chess will result in him making a move in real life too. I'm curious to see who will win, although ultimately, we all know Death will.

Existentialism

What is the meaning of life?

There isn’t any.

Who is there for you?

Absolutely no one.

Why are we here?

We will never know…

And we should not care

We give our life its meaning

We decide what we want to do

We make our own rules

Rules of society do not apply

You are your own self

You are free.

I have to say, i love the idea of existentialism. I completely agree with the entire philosophy, depressing as it may be. It is true that this is basically saying we can go out on a killing spree and there would be no retribution in the end, but the fact of the matter is, no one would want to. I mean, I'm sure theres a few people in the world that would use this to their advantage, but for the vast majority of us, why would we? It wouldn't make us feel better or help us in any way. Humans, as a whole, are rather selfish people, and therefore would not do this. It's interesting to wonder what the world would be like if everyone was an existentialist. The world will probably be a lot happier. You may argue that if everyone does just what they want, then we wouldn't get anywhere but i'd have to disagree. There are always going to be people that dream of being teachers or successful business people or a leader in politics. The world would function as it does now but instead of being pushed by the pressure of parents or the want of money, it's our choice. Do we want to do this? Will we be happy with this decision?

As much as I agree with this philosophy, this also says we don't have a god to look to and while that may be true, humans are emotional beings. I think its okay to believe in God, because when there's nothing else to fall back on, there's God. We all need something to believe in when we have nothing left. 

Citizen Kane

I'm really loving these old movies. This is an interesting film as far as I can tell and has a lot of cool stuff. The news reel in comparison to the more recent kind i've seen in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is less as dramatic and less technologically advance, but also less dizzying. Its interesting that the entire story is told through the news reel so you catch some of it, but cant possibly catch all of it. It gives you something to look for, and a little prior knowledge as you watch the film, but doesn't spoil it for you.

The pitch of Kane's voice and the car horn was really funny. It was done really perfectly. His words turned to street noise so suddenly i was caught off guard. Something Mr. Bennett pointed out in class was the screenwriter's diction of "hot water". In literature, if something is repeated, you need to pay attention to it because it's significant in some way. It was also a very awkward line and catches your attention. I took it to mean two things, one: He's going to get in trouble very soon, and two: hot, so like a new flame. As we watched further, I saw that it can be taken both ways, and we also knew from the start he would in a love scandal from the reel. 

Kane's character is really what makes this so interesting to watch. He's a really round and dynamic character to use literary terms. He's always out to prove himself, like what his friend said about the opera house and the quotations around Susan Alexander being a "singer". Characters that are flawed are more human and therefore more easy to relate to which makes them really fun to watch. I'm still waiting to find what "rosebud" means...

Nothing Left to Live For

It's too bad Mr. Bennett decided to not point out everything and actually make us think instead of just reiterating what was already said in class.. haha just kidding!

With the end of the film, it was clear that everyone died for nothing (existentialism). He fought and survived all these years of war, but just as they begin to talk about an armistice, he dies. Paul had nothing left to live for anyways. His home could no longer satisfy him after seeing the horrors he has seen in battle. He started from a young age, all he knows now is war. He walks around town without anything to do, dissatisfied and with no goals. He's a living corpse. His friends, almost brothers, all died in battle. He is suffering no matter where he goes. He isn't even entirely sure why he's fighting. His death was inevitable but what was the purpose of his life? Grow up, go to war, die for nothing?

He had nothing left to hope for. The untouchable beauty of the butterfly is a great metaphor in the story. The butterfly not only represents beauty, but also a sense of freedom. It can fly off wherever and whenever it pleases. The small, simple movement of Paul's hand led to his death.

There was a lot of examples of dehumanization in the movie. That scene where the soldiers find that Kat is dead was definitely a great scene. They had a corpse lying maybe 10 feet away and they were playing cards! They list off his name like he is just another person on a long list of dead. The lack of emotion is a strong example of dehumanization.

Day 4; AQWF

What I was thinking about today is that war changes a person. This is something that we focused on in what we saw today. The boots proved that now, Mueller is just looking out for number one: himself. No one else matters. His friend's death doesn't matter to him as much as getting the shoes does. The doctor can't even identify Franz as a person. Everyone is just a living corpse.
The part after the death of Franz, the guy runs back to camp, almost exhilarated. His friend just passed away but he was so happy. This bothered him and I can understand that. But I also understand the reaction. The death of a close friend really makes you appreciate your existence and that you're still alive. I think this was a really good part of the movie because it showcases something real. This is a very real reaction to death and is pretty common as well.

Day 2; AQWF

I started this film off kind of apprehensive. It was not in the best quality and the color is not what I am use to. The low sound didn't help either. But the further into the film I got as we analyzed the way the film was made, the more I got into it. I love English class and so I really like analyzing the films for the camera angles, sound effects, and foreshadowing.
We all know today, that war tears people apart and changes them forever. You will get the physical marks of war, such as scars, but you also get the mentality of war. It changes your view on life forever. The leaving of the boys in the classroom to go sign up for war was pretty significant. They were leaving the calm and order of the classroom and heading out to the chaos and ruckus of the street outside. The papers flying everywhere and throwing them up in the air is especially significant. When we throw our graduation caps in the air, it means "it's over." That chapter of our life is done with now and it's time to move on. This applies to the paper thrown up. The boys are throwing away their former lives and everything they ever learned (because the papers also kind of symbolize their education) and putting it aside for war.

That is mostly all I have to say on the subject so for and I just want to make a quick note: the death of Behn was pretty obvious.

Until tomorrow then!
Jen Luu(: