Bomb

I really liked this movie.  I'm pretty sad that the movies about the mob are ending because both films that we showed are great.  I really enjoyed this movie because my dad actually had connections to John Nardi and told me stories about this time.  So I felt like I had a connection to this time as well because of the insight I got from him.  It's also sweet because this all took place in Cleveland, so we are kind of just living in a place where a lot of history took place.  All this together makes you really enjoy a movie.  I really liked the character of Danny Green as well, obviously, so it was just a great film to watch altogether.

This is tough.  Danny Green is a man who is going to get what he wanted.  He grew up an orphan and was not privileged at all.  He worked his way up, and worked hard.  He got involved with the mob but then eventually broke off.  He tried to get away from that lifestyle and just live a family life, but got dragged back in after a bad deal.  This is how the Irishman nickname came about.  After he got dragged back in, he took business away from the mob and they tried to kill him, but were unsuccessful.  He claimed it was due to the luck of the Irish.

How did you get him to do that? "I made him an offer he couldn't refuse"

This movie is now one of my favorite movies of all time.  I had previously not seen it, but have heard a lot about it from family and just people in general.  My dad used to always joke with me saying that the Godfather teaches you everything you need to know about life, and now I know why.  Marlon Brando did a great job at portraying Vito, and I loved how the movie was told from an insider only viewpoint.  It made you feel connected to everything going on within the family, and have a lot of suspense what would happen next because there were no events that tipped you off to what was going to happen.  I love learning about this time period and about organized crime, so I was very excited to finally watch this movie, and it definitely didn't disappoint.  This movie really made me wonder how much organized crime still exists to this day.  Something cool to think about in my opinion.

Vito Corleone is the moral center to this film because everything runs through him.  Not even just the business side of the family, but the moral and happiness of the entire family.  When he got shot the whole family started going down because their leader and loved Don was down.  He was the perfect man to be leading the family.  I think when he died the world lost a giant.  This was a respectable man who was very good at what he did.  He thought rationally and provided for his family.

I love the fact that the film is told from an insider's perspective.  It makes the film different than many other films, due to the facts I stated earlier such as feeling connected to the family and not knowing what the outside families were doing.  It was very unique in that aspect and I believe it to be ahead of its time.  This movie without a doubt deserves to be called a classic.  The amount of people that know of and love the Godfather is unreal.  It's part of America's history and the fact that it resonates with so many people still today just shows how great of a story it was.  I believe the true definition of a classic is a a work of art that is relatable in any time period and one that is well known and loved.

42

This was my 4th or 5th time seeing this film and it was still enjoyable for me.  The first time I saw this movie I absolutely loved it and thought it was put together very well.  The fact that I can still watch and enjoy speaks very highly of how well it was put together I believe.  I thought that the cast of actors did an excellent job of portraying their characters, especially, of course, Jackie Robinson and Branch Ricky.  Chadwick Boseman did an incredible job of showing the audience the struggle that Jackie had to go through on a daily basis.  He let his emotions go and the audience felt everything that he did.  All of this racism stuff is definitely still relevant today, especially after the Oklahoma University SAE fraternity being caught on camera being extremely racist.  We live in a bubble here at Orange where pretty much everyone is very accepting of diversity, and you think that's how the world is.  It's very weird hearing about other places and realizing not everyone is as accepting as you.

I think Jackie Robinson helped this country a great deal, and a lot of other people think that too.  I know this because on opening day of every season, every player wears the number 42.  If that doesn't show impact, I don't know what does.  Robinson was the perfect man for this job as he controlled his temper, and knew that what he was doing would change everything.  He allowed African Americans into the sporting world, but not just that.  It gave all African Americans hope.  This was shown with the example of Wendall and hoping to someday not have to sit on the third base line and type, and sit in the booth with the other white writers.  He was an inspiration to all.  I definitely agree with the quote.  I believe that if you're not living each day to make another human life better, then you're not living.  That's how you judge ones life.  Not by how much money or fame they have, but by how they impact the people around them.

Determination is a key value I think.  Determination is key because life is hard.  Things aren't always going to go your way.  It will knock you down, and challenge you until you think you can't do it anymore.  That's when you have to fight through all that adversity that you think you feel, and get by.  You can't do that without determination.  It's one of the most important human qualities that we could possibly possess.  Without it, we would go no where.  Another important one in my opinion is excellence.  There's no point in doing something if you're only going to half ass it.  It's a waste of your time and a waste of everyone elses time.  If you're going to do something, do it to the best of your ability because you form habits.  You can't just make up your mind when you want to be great and when you want to slack off.  It doesn't work that way.  You work to be excellent in everything you do.  I feel like determination and excellence go hand and hand, so that's partly why I like both of them.

The Power of Hope

I absolutley loved this movie.  The storyline was phenomenal, and Russel Crow did an outstanding job portraying the hard working Jim Braddock.  The beginning was a little slow, but quickly picked up.  The overall struggle of the Braddock family and Jim's perseverence to overcome the adversity that was striking them was truly intruiging.  His hard work and dedication seemingly just kept you hooked throughout the movie.  You felt his emotions, and were pulling for him the whole time even without realizing you were at first.  The movie just made me feel good about myself.  I felt inspired like I could accomplish anything that I wanted to accomplish.  All you need is a reason to do something.  A reason that you are willing to risk all that you have to accomplish the goal that you have set out to do.  Anything is possible.

People felt with Braddock because of his story.  Here was a man who was on top, then the depression hit and he basically lost it all.  He and his family struggled through the tough, tough times, but they never lost hope.  He always found a way to support for his family whether it was begging for jobs, or swallowing his pride and getting help from the government.  In my eyes, swallowing the pride was one of the most brave things he could have done.  Anyways, people could relate to the position he was in because they were struggling too.  All of a sudden, this man seems to rise from nothing, living his dream and providing for his family, living a cinderella story.  People thought of themselves as him, hoping one day soon that they too could find a way to provide.  It's just like in todays world.  People all the time look to athletes to provide inspiration for their daily lives.  We for some reason cling to these people who have made a name for themselves.  It's just inspiring how hard they have worked to get to this point.  These kind of people simply just strike hope into an ordinary person.  Hope that they could keep providing for their family.  Hope that one day they can retire and have no worries.  Hope that they can be the best person that they can be.  Many and any types of hope that there are, these special people give that to us ordinary people.  It's just the power of hope that keeps people going, because without hope, no one would work for anything.

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.