Final Blog Review
In the class History v Hollywood, we viewed a wide variety of movies. There were many I liked such as Zero Dark Thirty, Forrest Gump, and Platoon. But there were also a few movies I didn't like such as The Help and Top Gun. No matter the genre of the movie we watched, all movies had something in common: influence from the media. The media and Hollywood play huge roles in determining our history and our opinion on many different. These influences trickle down into our everyday lives too.
One of the best examples of this is the movie Platoon. Prior to the Vietnam War, America had never lost a war. America got their butts kicked in the Vietnam war, and while the fighting was going on over there, there was fighting at home too. There was a huge divide between those who supported the war and who was against it. This dispute was demonstrated in the movie between the two famous characters Sgt. Elias and Sgt. Barnes. Everyone flocked to the theaters when Platoon was released because it was the first war movie to be released after the tough loss in Vietnam. Everyone wanted to know what Vietnam was like, and Platoon portrayed it as extremely bad. The consensus today is that Vietnam was an awful war. The Pentagon did not endorse this movie for a number of reasons. Believe it or no, the Pentagon plays a big role in many of the war movies released today.
A movie that was endorsed by the Pentagon was Top Gun. In this movie, state of the art technology and true American bravery are in full display. I personally did not enjoy the movie, but it did leave me with a sense of Patriotism, and that is exactly what the Pentagon wants. The reason so many movies ask the Pentagon for help is too drive up the profit. If the Pentagon is going to spend all of this money for a movie, they had to have power over the script. They often make many changes so the movie is to their liking. The Navy took advantage of the favorable publicity that Top Gun garnered. Outside the theater, there were tables to sign up for the Navy. I do not have a problem with the Pentagon making the army look good, but I do have a problem of them taking advantage of it. Think of all of the people that signed up to fight based on a movie.
The media affects every corner of our lives, and even Hollywood too. We are constantly watching movies such as Saving Private Ryan, or even Platoon that "rewrite" history. The media has much more influence compared to Hollywood. Majority of the population believed that we were one plane ride from Ebola affecting the entire nation. That was not the case. Every week there is a new story that the media uses to get good reviews, and this is not entirely helpful. History is written by those in Hollywood and those in charge of improving ratings for CNN.
Friday, June 12, 2015
The Help
The Help is a movie about black maids in the heart of Mississippi prior to the civil rights movement. The movie also has a very interesting premise. It is a movie based on a book, about a book being written. The antagonist is very clear from the beginning. Hilly Holbrook, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, is a borderline racist from Jackson, Mississippi. She is extremely manipulative and controlling. Everything has to go her way, and it is quite funny when things don't. Howard does an excellent job of making the audience hate Hilly Holbrook. She starts initiatives such as making maids use their own bathroom. When things in the movie don't go her way, everyone gets a nice laugh. For example, she asks Skeeter, played by Emma Stone, to put her bathroom initiative in the newspaper. In return, Skeeter places toilets from the junkyard all over her property.
It is very moving hearing what the maids have to say about their lives. During that time period, no one ever asked or even cared for that matter. African Americans were not viewed as equals in the south, even though legally, they were. One of the maids, Aibileen (Viola Davis), was brought to tears when Skeeter Published the book about her. She said it felt so good for someone to ask and care about her.
I did not really enjoy the help. I found it very confusing, but it was still entertaining, especially the ending. Everything works out perfectly, and Holly Davis even "eats shit" which is one of the best parts of the movie. I would rate this movie 5 out of 10.
The Help is a movie about black maids in the heart of Mississippi prior to the civil rights movement. The movie also has a very interesting premise. It is a movie based on a book, about a book being written. The antagonist is very clear from the beginning. Hilly Holbrook, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, is a borderline racist from Jackson, Mississippi. She is extremely manipulative and controlling. Everything has to go her way, and it is quite funny when things don't. Howard does an excellent job of making the audience hate Hilly Holbrook. She starts initiatives such as making maids use their own bathroom. When things in the movie don't go her way, everyone gets a nice laugh. For example, she asks Skeeter, played by Emma Stone, to put her bathroom initiative in the newspaper. In return, Skeeter places toilets from the junkyard all over her property.
It is very moving hearing what the maids have to say about their lives. During that time period, no one ever asked or even cared for that matter. African Americans were not viewed as equals in the south, even though legally, they were. One of the maids, Aibileen (Viola Davis), was brought to tears when Skeeter Published the book about her. She said it felt so good for someone to ask and care about her.
I did not really enjoy the help. I found it very confusing, but it was still entertaining, especially the ending. Everything works out perfectly, and Holly Davis even "eats shit" which is one of the best parts of the movie. I would rate this movie 5 out of 10.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Apollo 13 film review
Apollo 13
"Apollo 13" is a movie documenting the extraordinary event of the Apollo 13 moon mission during the spring of 1970. The director of this movie took so major liberties when creating this movie. Going to space is not that exciting, and neither is sitting in a small room for a few days waiting to return home. The director had to make this movie exciting, so it was necessary to take some liberties.
In the movie, the astronauts begin to but heads. This never happened during the actual event. In reality, the astronauts remained positive throughout the entire ordeal. In the film, pilot Jack Swaggart and "Fredo" begin to argue. Astronaut Jim Lovell has to be the peacemaker throughout their extraordinary journey through space. This conflict, combined with many exhilarating experiences such as creating a makeshift CO2 filter (which actually happened) ended up making the movie extremely exciting and a huge success. Not only that, but a few famous quotes or phrases were coined because of this movie. After the explosion on board, astronaut Jim Lovell played by Tom Hanks says, "Houston, we have a problem". Ed Harris who plays Gene Kranz the flight control also has a famous quote. He says to one of his employees during the ordeal that "Failure is not an option." These two quotes are phrases we've used ever since.
"Apollo 13" is a movie documenting the extraordinary event of the Apollo 13 moon mission during the spring of 1970. The director of this movie took so major liberties when creating this movie. Going to space is not that exciting, and neither is sitting in a small room for a few days waiting to return home. The director had to make this movie exciting, so it was necessary to take some liberties.
In the movie, the astronauts begin to but heads. This never happened during the actual event. In reality, the astronauts remained positive throughout the entire ordeal. In the film, pilot Jack Swaggart and "Fredo" begin to argue. Astronaut Jim Lovell has to be the peacemaker throughout their extraordinary journey through space. This conflict, combined with many exhilarating experiences such as creating a makeshift CO2 filter (which actually happened) ended up making the movie extremely exciting and a huge success. Not only that, but a few famous quotes or phrases were coined because of this movie. After the explosion on board, astronaut Jim Lovell played by Tom Hanks says, "Houston, we have a problem". Ed Harris who plays Gene Kranz the flight control also has a famous quote. He says to one of his employees during the ordeal that "Failure is not an option." These two quotes are phrases we've used ever since.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Top gun film review
Top Gun
No did not have the best time viewing this movie. I found it very confusing. Everything happened extremely fast and I did not take interest in either of the plot lines in the movie. Even the best scene in the movie was confusing. When Maverick is fighting the Russian Pilots, planes are constantly zipping around and I had no idea what was going, but it was still exciting.
In this movie, the Navy is portrayed In a very favorable fashion. They are the cutting edge of teachmology and the superpower of the world. They square off against the USSR and emerge victorious, despite the challenges prior to that. This is a very feel good movie. Even though Gooses ends up dying, everything worlds out in the end. Still, I did not enjoy this movie.
No did not have the best time viewing this movie. I found it very confusing. Everything happened extremely fast and I did not take interest in either of the plot lines in the movie. Even the best scene in the movie was confusing. When Maverick is fighting the Russian Pilots, planes are constantly zipping around and I had no idea what was going, but it was still exciting.
In this movie, the Navy is portrayed In a very favorable fashion. They are the cutting edge of teachmology and the superpower of the world. They square off against the USSR and emerge victorious, despite the challenges prior to that. This is a very feel good movie. Even though Gooses ends up dying, everything worlds out in the end. Still, I did not enjoy this movie.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Forest Gump
Forest Gump
In the movie 'Forest Gump' several big points in history are depicted. One of them being desegregation of University of Alabama. In the movie Forest comes across a big commotion on University of Alabama. This event is the desegregation of his school. The National Gaurd was needed for this to happen as University of Alabama was in the Deep South. The main opponent to desgregation was George Wallace. He was governor of Alabama during the time and his famous quote was "Segregation today. segregation tomorrow. segregation forever!" George Wallace then decided to run for Presidemt. He had a very loyal supporting group in the South. While running, he was almost killed. Someone attempted an assassination on his life, but only paralyzed him, he then pulled out of running for President. Another reference to history we see is Elvis Presely. Elvis stayed at forests house and while their, Forest danced to his music. During this time in his life Forest wore braces and danced by moving his hips. Elvis completely changed much of the modern culture. Swinging hips and dancing like that was completely unheard of and 'Forest Gump' documented this revolution.
One of the biggest themes in this movie is the contrast between different populations in the U.S. during the 70's. Forrest Gump represents the majority of Americans. He was a straight-laced soldier who fought in the Vietnam War. When he returned he found a job. Meanwhile, Jenny represents the counter culture during this time period. After going off to college, Jenny finds her way to California and becomes a hippy. Hippies was not very common during this time period. They were known for experimenting with psychedelic drugs. This idea lead into the disco age with even more drugs including cocaine. It was this group of people who were at a greater risk of contracting the new and scary AIDS virus, which Jenny ultimately died from.
Forest Gump was portrayed as the average American but his life was anything but average. Forest was involved in many pivotal parts of American and world history. Tom Hanks did a great job of playing the dumb kid from Alabama turned into a star football player, war hero, ping pong player, and philanthropist. This was one of Tom Hanks' first movies that was a huge hit, and he played a big part in it. While recovering from his famous injury when something "jumped up and bit" him, he picked up ping pong. Forest eventually made it on the American ping pong team and was involved in ping pong diplomacy in which relations between China and the rest of the world were opened, especially the U.S. Forest is portrayed as the person who, with the help of dumb luck, caught President Nixon's men breaking into national Democrat headquarters. This ultimately lead to the resignation of Nixon as President, the only person in American history to do so.
I loved this movie, and so did many others. It won 6 Oscars including the prestigious best picture award. Tom Hanks did an excellent job of playing dumber-than-a-rock Forest Gump. My favorite part about the movie was how much American History was tied in. References to many important people and events in American History were made such as the founder of the KKK and the integration of southern schools. Somehow Forest was involved in all of these events. This is one of my favorite movies, and I'd give it a 10 out of 10.
In the movie 'Forest Gump' several big points in history are depicted. One of them being desegregation of University of Alabama. In the movie Forest comes across a big commotion on University of Alabama. This event is the desegregation of his school. The National Gaurd was needed for this to happen as University of Alabama was in the Deep South. The main opponent to desgregation was George Wallace. He was governor of Alabama during the time and his famous quote was "Segregation today. segregation tomorrow. segregation forever!" George Wallace then decided to run for Presidemt. He had a very loyal supporting group in the South. While running, he was almost killed. Someone attempted an assassination on his life, but only paralyzed him, he then pulled out of running for President. Another reference to history we see is Elvis Presely. Elvis stayed at forests house and while their, Forest danced to his music. During this time in his life Forest wore braces and danced by moving his hips. Elvis completely changed much of the modern culture. Swinging hips and dancing like that was completely unheard of and 'Forest Gump' documented this revolution.
One of the biggest themes in this movie is the contrast between different populations in the U.S. during the 70's. Forrest Gump represents the majority of Americans. He was a straight-laced soldier who fought in the Vietnam War. When he returned he found a job. Meanwhile, Jenny represents the counter culture during this time period. After going off to college, Jenny finds her way to California and becomes a hippy. Hippies was not very common during this time period. They were known for experimenting with psychedelic drugs. This idea lead into the disco age with even more drugs including cocaine. It was this group of people who were at a greater risk of contracting the new and scary AIDS virus, which Jenny ultimately died from.
Forest Gump was portrayed as the average American but his life was anything but average. Forest was involved in many pivotal parts of American and world history. Tom Hanks did a great job of playing the dumb kid from Alabama turned into a star football player, war hero, ping pong player, and philanthropist. This was one of Tom Hanks' first movies that was a huge hit, and he played a big part in it. While recovering from his famous injury when something "jumped up and bit" him, he picked up ping pong. Forest eventually made it on the American ping pong team and was involved in ping pong diplomacy in which relations between China and the rest of the world were opened, especially the U.S. Forest is portrayed as the person who, with the help of dumb luck, caught President Nixon's men breaking into national Democrat headquarters. This ultimately lead to the resignation of Nixon as President, the only person in American history to do so.
I loved this movie, and so did many others. It won 6 Oscars including the prestigious best picture award. Tom Hanks did an excellent job of playing dumber-than-a-rock Forest Gump. My favorite part about the movie was how much American History was tied in. References to many important people and events in American History were made such as the founder of the KKK and the integration of southern schools. Somehow Forest was involved in all of these events. This is one of my favorite movies, and I'd give it a 10 out of 10.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Platoon Film Review
Platoon Film Review
"Platoon" is a movie directed by Oliver Stone. The film depicts The Vietnam War, a war that Oliver Stone fought in. "Platoon" did an excellent job of depicting the conflict going on in Vietnam along with the conflict in the U.S. I enjoyed watching the movie. It was very good entertainment and even offered some valuable insight from someone who was involved in the conflict.
In the movie, we get a vivid picture of the fighting in Vietnam. The Vietnam War was a very hard one for the U.S. And this was evident. The U.S. Had trouble defending the guerrilla tactics of the Vietcong. The weather and foreign land was also brutal. Many of the enemies that the U.S. Was fighting were often the men of tiny villages. When these villages were discovered, they were often destroyed. When this was showed on TVs at home, the people did not like this. A divide was created at home. Many citizens were protesting the war. This divide was portrayed thought the characters of Sgt. Barnes and Sgt. Elias. Barnes was a brutal killer who only considered about mirdering the enemy. Elias meanwhile showed some compassion. During the movie, this conflict between the too characters became explosive and violent. Ultimately, Elias was killed by Barnes. Vietnam had a huge psychological impact on many who fought. The main character Chris Taylor battles to maintain sanity.
Tom Berenger plays the antagonist in this movie, and he does a great job at it. He shows no compassion for any of the actions going on. He even opposes the compassion that is shown. William Dafoe plays Sgt. Elias. Sgt. Barnes played by Tom Berenger and Sgt. Elias are exact opposites in this movie, and these actors do a great job of showing this.
Vietnam was excellent and entertainment and excellent insight. I'd give the movie a 8 out of 10 rating.
"Platoon" is a movie directed by Oliver Stone. The film depicts The Vietnam War, a war that Oliver Stone fought in. "Platoon" did an excellent job of depicting the conflict going on in Vietnam along with the conflict in the U.S. I enjoyed watching the movie. It was very good entertainment and even offered some valuable insight from someone who was involved in the conflict.
In the movie, we get a vivid picture of the fighting in Vietnam. The Vietnam War was a very hard one for the U.S. And this was evident. The U.S. Had trouble defending the guerrilla tactics of the Vietcong. The weather and foreign land was also brutal. Many of the enemies that the U.S. Was fighting were often the men of tiny villages. When these villages were discovered, they were often destroyed. When this was showed on TVs at home, the people did not like this. A divide was created at home. Many citizens were protesting the war. This divide was portrayed thought the characters of Sgt. Barnes and Sgt. Elias. Barnes was a brutal killer who only considered about mirdering the enemy. Elias meanwhile showed some compassion. During the movie, this conflict between the too characters became explosive and violent. Ultimately, Elias was killed by Barnes. Vietnam had a huge psychological impact on many who fought. The main character Chris Taylor battles to maintain sanity.
Tom Berenger plays the antagonist in this movie, and he does a great job at it. He shows no compassion for any of the actions going on. He even opposes the compassion that is shown. William Dafoe plays Sgt. Elias. Sgt. Barnes played by Tom Berenger and Sgt. Elias are exact opposites in this movie, and these actors do a great job of showing this.
Vietnam was excellent and entertainment and excellent insight. I'd give the movie a 8 out of 10 rating.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Zero Dark Thirty film review
Jack Chicalo
Zero Dark Thirty Film Review
"Zero Dark Thirty" is an action and history movie, but it covers a relatively recent part of history. "Zero Dark Thirty" covers the arduous journey taken in order to track and kill Osama Bin Laden. It was on of the finest hours of our country, killing the man responsible for the deaths of over 3000 innocent people.
"Zero Dark Thirty" was an excellent film. The intelligence and cleverness of the characters was what captivated me the most. The zombie starts with recordings that took place during the actual event of 9/11. It servered as a reminder of the misery our country felt on that day. Then the main character, Maya (Jessica Chastain) was at a mysterious Black Site torutring a detainee. He mentions the name Abu Ahmed, and she locks on to locating him. She belives he is the key to finding Osama Bin Laden. It turns out her inclination was right. Despite many doubting her, she stayed true to locating him and all of her hard work payed off. The CIA states that a team was responsinle for locating Osama Bin Laden, but "Zero Dark Thirty" pins it all on her. All of maya's work culminated in a single raid on Osama Bin Laden's Compound. At the time of the raid, Maya was the only one who was positive that Osama Bin Laden was hiding out in a city. Many of her peers had their doubts. The raid was succsessful and Osama Bin Laden was killed.
Jessica Chastain did an excellent job of playing the character Maya. In real life, Maya had to be obsessed with the idea of capturing and killing Osama Bin Laden. Jessica Chastain does an exquisite job of demonstrating this quality. Her performance was truly worthy of an Oscar nomination. Throughout the movie, Maya is seen as emotionless, almost like a machine. Up until the very end of the movie, Maya finally displays some emotion as she cries in the back of a cargo plane. Jessica Chastain shows how Maya was overcome with emotion.
This was not the only bloodshed throughout the journey. Maya was actually almost the victim of a terrorist attack on a Marriott in Pakistan. She survived with hardly a scratch. Another close call was when she was pulling out of her house. A group of me began unloading their clips at her car. Maya was only saved by her bullet proof class. Maya's coworkers were not so lucky. One of her colleagues thought she had a lead from a doctor of Osama Bin Laden's. It turned out to be a suicide bombed which became the deadliest day in CIA history.
Their is a lot of emotion involved in watching "Zero Dark Thirty". Maya has a true sense of determination, not letting anything stop her in her goal of find Osama Bin Laden. Her colleagues say that life is a lot better when you agree with Maya, which is a very telling fact. Even when her life was at stake she wanted to continue gathering intelligence in Pakistan where it is not safe. Patriotism is also a very big theme in this movie. Defeating one of our biggest opponents makes a very good movie.
This movie was worth the watch. I'd give "Zero Dark Thirty" 9 stars out of 10.
Zero Dark Thirty Film Review
"Zero Dark Thirty" is an action and history movie, but it covers a relatively recent part of history. "Zero Dark Thirty" covers the arduous journey taken in order to track and kill Osama Bin Laden. It was on of the finest hours of our country, killing the man responsible for the deaths of over 3000 innocent people.
"Zero Dark Thirty" was an excellent film. The intelligence and cleverness of the characters was what captivated me the most. The zombie starts with recordings that took place during the actual event of 9/11. It servered as a reminder of the misery our country felt on that day. Then the main character, Maya (Jessica Chastain) was at a mysterious Black Site torutring a detainee. He mentions the name Abu Ahmed, and she locks on to locating him. She belives he is the key to finding Osama Bin Laden. It turns out her inclination was right. Despite many doubting her, she stayed true to locating him and all of her hard work payed off. The CIA states that a team was responsinle for locating Osama Bin Laden, but "Zero Dark Thirty" pins it all on her. All of maya's work culminated in a single raid on Osama Bin Laden's Compound. At the time of the raid, Maya was the only one who was positive that Osama Bin Laden was hiding out in a city. Many of her peers had their doubts. The raid was succsessful and Osama Bin Laden was killed.
Jessica Chastain did an excellent job of playing the character Maya. In real life, Maya had to be obsessed with the idea of capturing and killing Osama Bin Laden. Jessica Chastain does an exquisite job of demonstrating this quality. Her performance was truly worthy of an Oscar nomination. Throughout the movie, Maya is seen as emotionless, almost like a machine. Up until the very end of the movie, Maya finally displays some emotion as she cries in the back of a cargo plane. Jessica Chastain shows how Maya was overcome with emotion.
This was not the only bloodshed throughout the journey. Maya was actually almost the victim of a terrorist attack on a Marriott in Pakistan. She survived with hardly a scratch. Another close call was when she was pulling out of her house. A group of me began unloading their clips at her car. Maya was only saved by her bullet proof class. Maya's coworkers were not so lucky. One of her colleagues thought she had a lead from a doctor of Osama Bin Laden's. It turned out to be a suicide bombed which became the deadliest day in CIA history.
Their is a lot of emotion involved in watching "Zero Dark Thirty". Maya has a true sense of determination, not letting anything stop her in her goal of find Osama Bin Laden. Her colleagues say that life is a lot better when you agree with Maya, which is a very telling fact. Even when her life was at stake she wanted to continue gathering intelligence in Pakistan where it is not safe. Patriotism is also a very big theme in this movie. Defeating one of our biggest opponents makes a very good movie.
This movie was worth the watch. I'd give "Zero Dark Thirty" 9 stars out of 10.
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