When Harry Met Sally

Overall, "When Harry Met Sally" does not contain most of the typical cliches that are associated with romantic comedies, but it still does add to the overall idea that romantic comedies are possible because of some essential key elements. These are things such as sexual tension, conflict, and the two people ending up together by the end of the movie. The only one of the cliches that I saw was the scene near the end of the movie, where Harry was running to see Sally on New Years. The movie was actually very anti-climatic because they actually got together 3/4 of the way through the movie, instead of the very end of the movie. It was very interesting to watch the movie though because it was a little more realistic than the typical romantic comedies these days, it was more of a romantic drama in my opinion, because it was more introspective and moody instead of being funny and charming. It did help provide the context for many other romantic comedies, by providing the framework, showing what does and does not work, then allowing future writers and film makers to make the necessary adjustments to help make the genre more popular and mainstream.

The Thin Red Line

I think the one of the essential parts of a film is the plot. Without that, there is really no point in wasting your time watching it. The Thin Red Line, although visually stunning, was a complete waste of time and money. There was no coherency throughout the film, either from scene to scene, between actors, or parallel story lines. This film does however have great cinematography, and many great actors.

The lack of any coherent plot is just too much to overcome in my opinion, because it shows a general lack of vision on the director's part. I found myself questioning why this movie was nominated for so many awards, and why were so many big named actors involved in the movie when they all played such minor roles? Movies like this generally piss me off because I feel like I wasted my time watching them. I can understand if there are parts left out of the story that are essential to the plot, but this film doesn't seem to bother or care about that. It's all about the general disarray and chaos that was involved in the Battle for Guadal Canal in the World World II Pacific area of operations.

This film did actually add to the realism, because it showed how crazy and confusing things can get in the heat of battle, but it leaves you feeling somewhat empty at the end (if you can actually make it that far) because it doesn't make even a feeble attempt at pulling all the parts together. The Voice Over is a good example of this, because it is meant to add to the story, but it actually becomes distracting and pointless after a while, because you can't even tell who is talking!

There were many parts that had stunning cinematography and some good acting, but it seemed like there was far too much post-production involved which eventually watered down the whole point of the movie, which seemed to be that there is no good or evil, right or wrong, that all people are pretty much the same, it just depends what your beliefs are.

I do believe that every film you watch needs to be approached on a case-by-case basis, with a completely open mind, because that will allow you to take it all in and make your own judgments on the movie based on what you have seen and heard, not someone else's interpretation of what they have seen and heard. I do not think it is the responsibility of the filmmaker to create those expectations for me, I think it is their responsibility to create something that fits their own vision, and leave it open to interpretation by the consumer.

I think that Malick was able to pull off his vision for the film (probably by accident) because although totally pointless and chaotic, it enables the viewer to see how war affects those around them and back home, and how war is in fact totally pointless and chaotic. If that was his underlying message, than I think he was successful in communicating that message.

Pan's Labyrinth

I think that war was needed for this movie to work, because it provided the elements needed for you to understand why the little girl was so desperate to escape reality. Using Spain at that time was a good setting because it reflected the tension of that time which allowed you to believe and helped to understand what Ofelia might be going through and why she might not want to live her life based on her harsh reality. I liked the way Guillermo Del Toro implied that it was not by choice that Ofelia was living in a fantasy world, but that it was in some way a parallel life, because it also involved her baby brother and mother. It was a great way to show both the reality and fantasy worlds, and how sometimes they can intersect.

I believe that both reality and fantasy were needed in this movie, because each affected the other in various ways. For instance, when the little girl was hungry, and needed to eat, which is necessary in reality to survive, it screwed up her fantasy world because she had broken the rules set forth to her by the demon in the fantasy world. So in this case both were related and both affected each other directly even though they were in fact two separate things. That is why I argue that both things are actually running in parallel to each other.

The themes of obedience and disobedience where played out in several different ways, one example I could give would be the woman who was working for the Captain. It was obvious that she despised the Captain and everything that he stood for, but she was still obedient to him, because her friends and family where a part of the Rebel forces, and they needed her to help them from the inside. An example of disobedience would be Ofelia not obeying her mother and getting her dress dirty, being late, etc. which her mother knew would infuriate the Captain and draw his wrath. I think Ofelia's mother made the greatest sacrifice of all, because she risked losing the love of Ofelia by giving herself to the Captain, just so she could have a provide a good life for her son and Ofelia. This may have been what inspired Ofelia to also sacrifice her life, not only for her brother, but for her mother as well.

Robocop was mostly realistic violence...

When watching Robocop, I forgot just how intense and graphic it was. The violence was very realistic to me; it didn't seem to be as stylized and excessive as some movies that have been released in recent years. I don't think I have seen the movie in about 10-15 years, and I was very young when I did see it, so I only had a vague memory of what happened in the movie. I was pleasantly surprised when I was watching it. Although it was a little dated, I think it was still very relevant in today’s society because of the themes that were presented. I think that because I am so used to seeing such stylized violence recently in movies that I was a little shocked with how violent it was. I was a little surprised by this, because usually there's not too much in a movie that can shock me.
  I really liked "Robocop" because it had a lot of parts that I was actually very pleased with just how realistic it was. It's like they were really trying to make it seem like you were actually witnessing these brutal murders. Several parts in particular where particularly effective; such as the part when Murphy's arm was blown off by the shotgun, and also the part where they shot him in the head, which left the huge hole in his head, were two good examples. There was some stylized violence in the movie, but it was kept to a minimum in my opinion. My favorite part, the “money shot” of the movie as far as I am concerned, is near the end of the movie, when the bad guys are hunting down Murphy aka “Robocop.” One of the henchmen gets acid all over him, and stumbles around for added gross-out effect, then gets hit by his boss’s car. I think when he just disintegrates and splatters all over the windshield of his boss’s car, that was just such a great scene! I had to rewind and watch it over a few times for maximum affect. It's not what I would consider very realistic violence, like most of the movie was in my opinion, but it definitely was my favorite part of the movie.
  I think that "Robocop" can be classified as one of those movies that initially came out and tried to be artistic and unique, but in the end became food for the masses. That might seem like an odd statement, because I wouldn't consider the movie to be a huge blockbuster or anything like that, but I think just the fact that there were several sequels to the movie speaks volumes for the popularity of "Robocop." I think the popularity was a surprise to all, because with all the gratuitous violence, I am pretty sure that the film was not meant for a wide, mainstream audience.