War Horse

Honestly, I really did not enjoy this film.  The plot did not keep me entertained throughout.  It was just following a horse's story while it paved its way through the battlefield of world war one.  The love story between the owner and horse was cute and all, but it was pretty expected and for some reason I just couldn't get into it.  I never really got emotional, or felt for the horse as it went through its struggle, or for the boy as he joined the war and reconnected with his horse.  I also don't feel like it taught me much about the war, other than the fact that a lot of horses died.  Overall, just not a movie I would recommend or want to watch again.  However, it does apply to things today because horses at that time were like dogs in todays day and age.  Horses used to be soldiers best friends, and now dogs are always with soldiers and the bonds that are formed are great.

Glory

I enjoyed this movie very much.  I thought the character selection was great, and that the actors portrayed their characters well and accurately for the time.  I'm always a fan of Denzel Washington so I enjoyed his part going from an ignorant kid, to becomming a man with honor.  The movie did a pretty good job of showing you initially how the african americans were treated, before they earned the respect of the white folks around.  I enjoyed watching the transition, and in the end, felt a very warm feeling seeing how Denzel Washington's character charged after Shaw.  I thought it really showed the bond that was formed, even though they were two different races.

People are willing to fight and die for our country so often because of how great of a nation we are.  We are truly one of a kind in terms of what we stand for, and the freedom we grant.  Everyone who fights for our great country knows not to take this for granted, and is willing to risk their lives to keep the great people of our nation safe.  It is truly a blessing to have so many people step forward and protect us.  I think that the people of the 54th Massachussetts are heroes.  They paved the way for future african americans, and showed how great our nation really was.  The fact that they were discriminated against but saw a more perfect picture that was America is truly inspiring.  They were fighting for so much, and they deserve to be called heroes.  I think Shaw is a hero too because he was the first to lead an african american squad.  This took a lot of guts and he led them with honor.

I think the significance of the 54th is massive.  It paved the way for future african american groups and showed how united our country could be.  Going from slaves to fighting in the war is just incredible.  Not only did they fight, but they made a name for themselves by fighting with honor and pride.

Not Every Man Lives

Part One:  Overall, I thought it was a very interesting movie.  The time period of when the Scotts were rebelling against England is not a time period that is regularly covered in history class.  In fact, I can't really remember ever learning about this time, so it was very eye opening.  I thought that the battle scenes throughout the movie were very intense and I could count on being entertained by them.  However, it just felt like the plot and entire movie for that matter just dragged on for an unnecessary amount of time.  With that being said, I still enjoyed the movie.  I thought Mel Gibson acting as William Wallace was great.  He was the ideal leader and motivator that the Scottish people needed at the time.  He knew what he wanted, and he was going to go get it by getting all of the other Scottish people to follow him.  I thought the whole situation that Scottland was in was very similar to the way America formed.  Both breaking away from England by leaders getting the population to fight back and gain the freedom they deserved.

Part Two:  I really enjoy this quote.  I think Wallace was saying that yeah everyone can live and go through life without meaning and then die.  However, if you really and truly want to live, then you need to live with the freedom that you deserve.  And that's how he was motivating people.  By showing them that they have so much more to live for, and that they needed to seize their freedom and start to truly live.  This applies to my life because you need to enjoy yourself and do the things that you love.  You can't just go through the motions and live a boring life.  Anyone can do that.  It takes you doing the things you love, and being with people that matter around you to truly live a good and fufilling life.  You can die at any moment.  Will you be happy with the life you will have lived up to that point when the time comes?  That's the real question.

Part One:  Overall, I really enjoyed this movie.  I think that is a great mixture of intense battle scenes, with all the other stuff that goes on.  I think it was put together very well.  Also thought that Russel Crowe did phenomenal in the movie at portraying a character who works his way up after having everything, and getting it taken from him.  Not many people could have pulled it off.  I really enjoyed the battle scenes, but also the struggle of Lucilla as she had to please Commodus while being in love with Maximus.  It always adds something to a movie when an event like this is taking place.  I also thought that the actor who portrayed Commodus did very well, after learning how weird Commodus actually was.  I've already seen this movie, but I never mind watching it again as I seem to always get attached, so I guess that's a good thing.

Part Two:  I think that the theme or moral to this story is that the good will always rise above the evil.  Maximus had everything, but it was all taken from him by Commodus.  Even when his situation looked very dark, he still found a way to fight his way back up.  He emerged as the most popular gladiator, and was inspiring many people.  In the end, he ends up killing Commodus who I think desrved to die, therefore ridding everyone of the evil.  Even though Maximus dies, I believe his dying shows that it's worth dying for the good of man kind.  He saw a vision that was Rome, that was shared by his Hero Marcus Aurelius, and he fought to the death to make that goodness happen.