Hey guys, just thought I would post some articles that I have written. Enjoy!

The Pursuit of Happyness – How Can we be Happy?

In Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith plays Chris Gardner, a motivated man living on the last of his means. Chris is constantly looking for a consistent quality of life, but seems to get beaten down at every road. A few times throughout the movie, Gardner expresses his thoughts on happiness, and whether or not it is actually attainable. Happiness can be looked at in many ways, but I will outline two of them: Short-Term and Long-Term happiness.

Short-Term happiness is achievable by anyone. Regardless of your age, gender, social status, economic status, etc. It can be experienced everyday. The exciting feeling of getting that paycheck, the excitement of watching your favorite movie, the internal joy of expressing gratitude, or it can be the motivational nudge received when you complete an activity/goal. We may not notice, but feelings of happiness occur often throughout our lives, we just need to know how to look for it. It can strike us when we need it most: In the Pursuit of Happyness, Chris gains short-term happiness when he sells each bone density scanner for $250. It is the happiness that he will be able to sustain his family for another month. And it also provides him with enough happiness to accomplish his long term goal of becoming a stock broker.

Long-Term happiness is much more difficult to notice in our everyday lives. 60% of our LT (long-term) happiness is predetermined at birth (genes, heredity), and the other 40% is determined by what we do in our lives. Some people are genetically inclined to be more happy than others. But regardless, we all have our long-term goals, set with the intention of making us happier. We tell ourselves, “I am going to finally be happy when I achieve this goal”. But when the goal is achieved, the happiness soon goes away, and we are looking for more things to make us happy. Long-Term happiness is very difficult to notice; and is a gift of living. Try to monitor your happiness levels for a day, and try to notice how happy you are.

We are all different in virtually unlimited ways, but we are all looking for happiness. Happiness can be experienced in life everyday, in both the short and long term. Look for both, and be twice as happy. The Pursuit of Happyness inspired me to write about the different types of happiness in our lives. Whether short-term or long-term, we all have something to be happy about.

I Am Legend – Analyzing Robert Neville

In I Am Legend, Will Smith plays the role of Robert Neville; the last man on earth after a terrible virus wipes out the human population. Will Smith does an excellent job portraying the loneliness and good intentions of Neville, and no one could have been better for the role.

Robert Neville is living a lonely life. Unlike an episode of “The Twilight Zone”, where the character goes crazy from being lonely. Neville keeps his sanity among the loneliness, able to find company in his dog Sam and an unusual yet interesting group of mannequins. In his research laboratory, he keeps all of the results of his failed attempts to find a cure. This shows his persistence, and ability to keep working when the chips are down. As expected, he loses most of his social abilities from being lonely for so long.

Despite being the last man on earth, Neville kept his hope and he kept his purpose: Bring back the human race. Where most people would see a mighty challenge with insurmountable odds, Robert Neville saw hope. He got his inspiration from listening to music (Bob Marley, in particular). This is given evidence throughout the way he talks about music, and all of the high-end audio equipment in his house. Neville’s emotional capacity was “superhuman”; because he was forced to go through countless tragedies. When the 2 other human characters enter the film, Neville is in shock and expresses it through anger (argument about God, throwing his food against a ledge).

Indeed, Robert Neville is an extremely strong character, with an emotional capacity that is beyond human comprehension. At the end of the movie, he keeps all of his focus on his mission (saving the humans), even if it meant taking his own life (theatrical ending). A truly inspiring movie character, and a great example for dealing with our life problems is Robert Neville. No problem is too large to overcome; never underestimate your own power.

K-Pax – Analyzing the Important Questions

K-Pax is an open ended film. It is an excellent movie, which can be viewed from many different perspectives. I chose to view it from a hopeful viewpoint, because that is who I am as a person. Throughout the movie, viewers will be forced to think, and to answer various questions. The main questions that I was faced with were: What is K-Pax? Who was Prot? What did the Blue Jay represent? Why did Prot take Bess to K-Pax? The are many possible analysis’s for each question, but here is my take on this beautiful film.

What is K-Pax? This is the main question on peoples minds after watching the movie. K-Pax was a spiritual location, with no physical presence (despite the coordinates and knowledge that Prot had). K-Pax is where everyone wishes they could be, but only temporarily. A spiritual universe with no attachments. There are no families in K-Pax, which makes it a quiet place for self reflection, only in the short term. As a regular human being, can you go to K-Pax? The answer is yes; we were all given the emotional and mental capacity to transport ourselves there. It is essential to know that you can only travel in spirit; through our dreams, hypnosis, or meditation. K-Pax is always there for us when we need it, and will never go away.

Who did Prot represent? Was he an alien, or just a special human being? He was a human being, with an extremely high level of spiritual enlightenment. He “travels” to K-Pax, and transports his knowledge to other people that he meets. He is on earth for the purpose of helping others, and to teach the patients that they have the power to heal themselves. One by one, he influences the lives of each person he meets (Just as he had set out to do). For others, he was a symbol of hope, mixed with knowledge. The most hopeful element of Prot’s nature was when he “brings” a Blue Jay to instill hope into everyone. Rarely does a human being exist who influences so many people. Also, due to his strong character and spiritual enlightenment, Prot is unresponsive to even the strongest medications. Suffering from a traumatic event in his past, Prot paved the way for a magnificent future on K-Pax.

What was the purpose of the Blue Jay? Prot repeatedly implies to the mental patients that the Blue Jay represents hope. It is a symbol from K-Pax, that anyone is free to enter, stay for however long they need, and leave filled with hope. For the patients, being cured was their main hope, and they all knew what the Blue Jay had come to tell them. A symbol in your everyday life can bring about great change. The next time you see a symbol with positive connotations (it could be a bird, a beautiful car, a flower, virtually anything), realize that it appears for a reason: so that you could look upon the symbol, experience joy, and make a visit to K-Pax.

Why did Prot choose Bess? And what happened to her physical body? Bess was a very mysterious character in the film. She did not speak to anyone except Prot (”I know who you are. You’re the Blue Jay!). But who was she? Bess was a spiritual being, already living at K-Pax. It is implied that she is most similar to Prot, which results in her “permanent leave” for K-Pax. But perhaps the greatest mystery of the movie, was the disappearance of her physical body. If K-Pax is only existent in spirit, why was Bess nowhere to be found? After pondering the subject, I reached a conclusion that she was never truly existent in the physical world, since the day she witnessed the accident. God gave her a physical body, and her spiritual connection with Him was extremely strong. When her spirit transported to K-Pax, she no longer needed a physical body. She can forever live in K-Pax, chosen by god. There are many supernatural elements to this explanation, but it is the most logical description for me. K-Pax exists only in spirit, and Bess existed mainly as a spirit.

K-Pax is one of the most thought-provoking movies ever made. It was made to be interpreted by its viewers. After watching the movie, you may have had many questions. After reading this article, I hope you have some of the answers. If you didn’t, don’t stop looking. Hope can be found in everything, just don’t stop looking.



What do you think guys? Any comments/questions/criticism about the articles? I will post more tomorrow. Thank you.

CJ7 – What is that Alien Creature?

From popular Chinese actor/director Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer) comes CJ7, a story about hope and love through the character of a boy and an alien. CJ7 is a great watch for anyone, which contains many golden and hilarious moments.

CJ7 is mainly a representation of hope. Dicky, the main character in the movie, is from a poor background. However, he is enrolled in an expensive private school, where he cannot seem to fit in. Upon receiving CJ7, a lovable alien character, he instantly becomes selfish, and wants the alien to take care of all of his problems. Some acts involve cheating on tests, and getting back at classmates. Eventually, CJ7 refuses to accommodate Dicky’s requests, knowing that life problems must be solved fairly and on your own. Towards the end, Dicky realizes that CJ7 was sent to him by God, as a token of hope. Even though he was in a tough situation in the present, things will work out in the future.

Also, CJ7 represents the need to look inside oneself for answers, rather than be dependent on God/other people to find the answers to our questions. At first, Dicky thinks CJ7 will permanently eliminate his life’s hardships. Soon, he realizes that is not the case. The alien was there to help Dicky find the answers to his problems from within, in order to build a better future for himself/his family.

Highly recommended, CJ7 is an emotionally uplifting foreign film, with a great message for everyone; portrayed by a cute, innocent-looking alien. Although Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer were not incredible movies, CJ7 surpasses both of them in many aspects. Hope is always around the corner, it just isn’t wrapped in such an obvious package.

Resurrecting the Champ – Essential Life Lessons

Resurrecting the Champ was a pleasant surprise for a movie; the acting of Josh Hartnett is exceptional, and Samuel L. Jackson is great as usual. The movie contains such an array of life lessons; what it takes to be a hero to yourself and those you love. It also covers the issue of forgiveness, and how important it is to forgive those who have wronged you. Finally, it teaches that while others may try to deceit/trick you, everyone is just looking out for their own best interests.

Champ (Jackson) is not who we originally thought he was. In fact, he is pretending to be someone else. A boxer named Tommy Kincaid impersonating Bob Satterfield, whom Kincaid believed to be better than him. Instead of trying to imitate Satterfield’s positive characteristics, he disregards himself as a person, and pretends to be somebody he’s not. In the end of the movie, Kincaid finally learns the meaning of self-acceptance, and becomes proud of his own identity.

Erik Kernan (Hartnett) is a sports/entertainment journalist for a living, and has the privilege of meeting celebrities/athletes on the job. It is revealed that Kernan’s main goal is to be a great father to his son. He often bends the truth about athletes that he meets, because he thinks it will make his son love him more. He wants to be the perfect hero, but doesn’t realize how unnecessary it is to strive for perfection. To be a hero as a father, you must demonstrate the key ability to give and receive love (think of a sponge). Fortunately, Kernan had this ability, and was a great father because of it.

Did Kincaid have a good reason to lie about his identity? No. Was it the right thing to pretend to be someone else, and risk a friends career because of it? Absolutely not! But Kincaid deserves the forgiveness he received from Kernan, because we all need forgiveness to get back on track. Kernan is undoubtedly angry about all of Kincaid’s lies, but still has the state of mind to save their friendship. If others do not forgive us for the wrong we have done, we will be stuck in a very awkward situation (sometimes worse). The key to remember is that we all act out of self interest, and we all make mistakes. Forgiveness may be difficult to give, but is best for all parties in the long term.

Everyone wants the best deal for themselves and those that they love. Kernan wanted a better job for himself, and Kincaid wanted to be a young championship boxer. Kernan took action by finding Kincaid, and hoping to elevate his journalist status through a controversial article. Kincaid just wanted to be praised by others. By giving Kernan false information, he was hoping to increase his social status and reputation. All actions are justifiable by the one taking the initiative. Not all people will understand why some actions are taken (crime, for instance), but the one who took the action will always have justification.

Resurrecting the Champ is a stupendous film, containing many essential life lessons. Some of them are self-acceptance, being a hero to yourself and others, how to forgive, and insight as to why some people take questionable actions. After you have watched the movie, take in all of the insight, and Resurrect the Champ inside of you!

The Great Debaters – Winning and Motivation

As an aspiring public speaker, I love movies like The Great Debaters. They cause feelings of awe for the hardships that the characters have overcome in order to achieve their goals. In The Great Debaters, a local college debate team overcomes many challenges in order to reach the rank of #1 in the nation. Great Debaters covers many life issues, including aspects of personal development and the motivation of winning.

Henry Lowe (Nate Parker) is shown as a troublemaker, with poor life aspirations. But Melvin Tolson (Denzel Washington) sees into his soul, and realizes that Lowe has great value to contribute to his society. The obstacles facing Henry are a bad environment, and a lack of belief from others. By the end of the movie, he receives what he lacks, and goes on to live a great life. Samantha Booke (Jurnee Smollett) is a very strong character, but lacking in confidence. Upon being selected to the debate team, she is helped by Lowe to regain her confidence. Finally, James Farmer Jr. (Denzel Whitaker) is a 14 year old ‘genius’, but is slightly immature. Upon being selected to debate for Henry Lower, Jr. gains the confidence to be the best that he can be. James Farmer Jr. goes on to start a movement for the equality of blacks.

What gave the debate team the necessary motivation to overcome so many racial difficulties in order to win? This was the job of Tolson. He is strict, and is always concise in his teachings. Winning is most important was Tolson’s strong belief. But winning from a final perspective was more important than winning each and every time. When Tolson leaves the team for the final event, he knows that they are properly motivated to win. The actors do a great job of expressing how motivated the characters are, and how badly they wanted to win.

The Great Debaters is not just excellent for its inspiring messages, but for the production values. Acting, directing, and editing were all excellent. The message gets across to audiences nationwide; winning for others is important, but nothing can compare to winning for yourself.

Sorry not directly responding to your comparatively lengthy comments. But personally I just wanted to point out that for me this forum isn't specifically about personal movie reviews (though others would disagree with me). Your commentary demonstrates that you have a passion for movies and that you reflect on them in depth and with considerable effort and intelligence.

However, with me personally being so busy and all, I usually focus my time on specific genres or movie topics that are more narrowly defined under the various threads and forums that are listed on this website. Your movie reviews under this forum aren't exactly discussing any general movie topic and thus I'm less inclined to review any of your movie reviews. When I post a message, I usually confine myself to a specific movie genre category on this website so that those movie fans who have a specific interest in that movie are more likely to review that message or thread.

Just an observation. Don't stop posting, but you may want to consider how you post your messages. However, it would be better to discuss this with a moderator because maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

Tabuno, thank you very much for taking the time to respond. I know exactly what you mean. I felt it would be best to post 1 large thread with my movie reviews, as opposed to having a bunch of reviews all over the place. Thought I could be more organized this way.

Thanks again!
Josh.

quote:

chezzy621
Upwardly Mobile Participant
Posted 04 October 2009 11:45 AM Hide Post
Tabuno, thank you very much for taking the time to respond. I know exactly what you mean. I felt it would be best to post 1 large thread with my movie reviews, as opposed to having a bunch of reviews all over the place. Thought I could be more organized this way.

Thanks again!
Josh.

My thought about posting would be to compile similar life messages together and then discuss the messages and then reference various movies that pertain to the life messages instead of the other way around.

I'm also not sure where best to post this:

Tarantino's 'Inglourious Basterds': Cathartic Potential for Personality Development 

A truly modern myth, 'Inglourious Basterds' is a dispenser of archetypes on a par with
'Spycatcher' and 'Star Wars'; this has apparently been overlooked by film buffs, who can easily get sidetracked by the selfconscious film references and moments of sheer virtuosity that abound in the movie. 

In dreams or Greek tragedy, no symbol is too extreme, because we are meant to be 
permanently affected at a deeper level. The limitless violence throughout 'Basterds' and 
the final purifying apocalypse in the Paris cinema offer a release from well-meaning 
educational attempts to explain Nazi and Second-World-War history and, more, an 
emotional counterweight to long-repressed horrific memories. In this sense the film is deeply moral, because it furnishes us with remarkable projection fields in the characters and the action, potentially leading to our transformation and growth. 

(Spoiler alert) Start with the denouement: bearing in mind that mythic death is always able to be interpreted as the collapse of the power exerted by unconscious forces over our conscious personalities, the conflagration in the cinema allows us to recognise - and reject - the control that negative, stultifying elements may have had over us. The deaths, even Hitler's, are not personalised, but the cumulative effect is shattering. The internalised demons have lost their power. Over the mayhem, in the film sequence made by the owner of the cinema, laughs the Eternal Feminine, reminding us how male bloodlust throughout history has completely neglected the compassionate component that the female archetype can provide. Her death signifies the (potential) integration of that element into the conscious.

The unbearable tension built up in the long sequences of cat-and-mouse verbal exchange in the first scene in the dairy farmer's cabin and the later scenes in the café and the tavern 
compel us to become emotionally involved, opening us up to the possibility of an identification with one of the characters as a representation of an urge inherent in our own make-up. The composure evinced by the Parisian heroine (despite the danger she is in) is 
a call to us all to find calm under stress. The poisonous charm and way with words of the 
SS Colonel compel us to remember occasions where we may have acted in a similar way, 
though without the shocking effects of his actions. The vanity of the young sniper who shot over two hundred individuals and was rewarded by a gruesome film glorifying his exploits can cause us through identification to examine the true motives for our own actions... 

Film is not required always to represent reality. It has become in this instance the 
contemporary equivalent of opera or Greek drama. 

quote:

Charlot
Slacker
Posted 18 October 2009 10:44 AM Hide Post
I'm also not sure where best to post this:

Tarantino's 'Inglourious Basterds': Cathartic Potential for Personality Development

A truly modern myth, 'Inglourious Basterds' is a dispenser of archetypes on a par with
'Spycatcher' and 'Star Wars'; this has apparently been overlooked by film buffs, who can easily get sidetracked by the selfconscious film references and moments of sheer virtuosity that abound in the movie.

In dreams or Greek tragedy, no symbol is too extreme, because we are meant to be
permanently affected at a deeper level. The limitless violence throughout 'Basterds' and
the final purifying apocalypse in the Paris cinema offer a release from well-meaning
educational attempts to explain Nazi and Second-World-War history and, more, an
emotional counterweight to long-repressed horrific memories. In this sense the film is deeply moral, because it furnishes us with remarkable projection fields in the characters and the action, potentially leading to our transformation and growth.

(Spoiler alert) Start with the denouement: bearing in mind that mythic death is always able to be interpreted as the collapse of the power exerted by unconscious forces over our conscious personalities, the conflagration in the cinema allows us to recognise - and reject - the control that negative, stultifying elements may have had over us. The deaths, even Hitler's, are not personalised, but the cumulative effect is shattering. The internalised demons have lost their power. Over the mayhem, in the film sequence made by the owner of the cinema, laughs the Eternal Feminine, reminding us how male bloodlust throughout history has completely neglected the compassionate component that the female archetype can provide. Her death signifies the (potential) integration of that element into the conscious.

The unbearable tension built up in the long sequences of cat-and-mouse verbal exchange in the first scene in the dairy farmer's cabin and the later scenes in the café and the tavern
compel us to become emotionally involved, opening us up to the possibility of an identification with one of the characters as a representation of an urge inherent in our own make-up. The composure evinced by the Parisian heroine (despite the danger she is in) is
a call to us all to find calm under stress. The poisonous charm and way with words of the
SS Colonel compel us to remember occasions where we may have acted in a similar way,
though without the shocking effects of his actions. The vanity of the young sniper who shot over two hundred individuals and was rewarded by a gruesome film glorifying his exploits can cause us through identification to examine the true motives for our own actions...

Film is not required always to represent reality. It has become in this instance the
contemporary equivalent of opera or Greek drama.

I've taken the liberty of copying your post and creating a new discussion under the DRAMA Forum. I looked up this movie on Internet Movie Data Base (IMDb) and check on the movie genre - they listed it as a drama - war. I was tempted to post it under Action-Adventure. I also attempted to FIND any other movie reference to this movie on this Website and came up with nothing (which is to say surpising, unless I did something wrong). Anyway, you can find your post under

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Whether or not this helps others to read your post who were interested in the movie I don't know. But if you would like me to delete the discussion, let me know.

Heh. I love looking for messages in movies. Also, there's a site called kids-in-mind.com that tries to explain messages, and here's some examples:

Hot Shots: Part Deux (1993): "Absolutely none."

Disaster Movie (2008): "Disaster movies are easy to parody, and parody movies are very easy to make."

Scary Movie (2000): "'90s horror flicks make fine fodder for a parody."

Scary Movie 2 (2001): "Horror movies provide excellent fodder for gross-out satires."

Scary Movie 3 (2003): "Satire and irony currently draw humor out of scatological, sexual and violent themes."

Scary Movie 4 (2006): "It's time to end this series of film spoofs."

Showgirls (1995): "It's alright to degrade women since they're worthless, sex objects."

Gamer (2009): "Human brains are not that different from computers and can be controlled."

Space Jam (1996): "Good will beat out evil on any basketball court."

South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (1999): "Intolerance and censorship are evil."

Saw III (2006): "Vengeance and revenge lead to more pain in the end. Movies that depict horrifying torture are evidently quite popular."

Saw IV (2007): "Movies depicting torture are very popular and generate many sequels."

Watchmen (2009): "Humans are inherently savage."

Jennifer's Body (2009): "Never accept a ride from men wearing eyeliner."

Drag Me to Hell (2009): "It's probably a good idea to say yes to a gypsy, or you will be cursed."

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009): "Dinosaurs don’t mix with the Ice Age."

Paranormal Activity (2009): "If you've got demons in your house, try not to antagonize them."

And sometimes, two films' messages can contradict each other. For instance:

The Informant! (2009): "Crime really doesn't pay, no matter how smart you are."

Public Enemies (2009): "Crime sometimes pays, but at a high cost."

Haha nice site Bonkfast, very nice one sentence reviews!

quote:

Bonkfast
Participant
Posted 25 October 2009 12:47 AM Hide Post
Heh. I love looking for messages in movies. Also, there's a site called kids-in-mind.com that tries to explain messages, and here's some examples:

Hot Shots: Part Deux (1993): "Absolutely none."

Disaster Movie (2008): "Disaster movies are easy to parody, and parody movies are very easy to make."

Scary Movie (2000): "'90s horror flicks make fine fodder for a parody."

Scary Movie 2 (2001): "Horror movies provide excellent fodder for gross-out satires."

Scary Movie 3 (2003): "Satire and irony currently draw humor out of scatological, sexual and violent themes."

Scary Movie 4 (2006): "It's time to end this series of film spoofs."

Showgirls (1995): "It's alright to degrade women since they're worthless, sex objects."

Gamer (2009): "Human brains are not that different from computers and can be controlled."

Space Jam (1996): "Good will beat out evil on any basketball court."

South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (1999): "Intolerance and censorship are evil."

Saw III (2006): "Vengeance and revenge lead to more pain in the end. Movies that depict horrifying torture are evidently quite popular."

Saw IV (2007): "Movies depicting torture are very popular and generate many sequels."

Watchmen (2009): "Humans are inherently savage."

Jennifer's Body (2009): "Never accept a ride from men wearing eyeliner."

Drag Me to Hell (2009): "It's probably a good idea to say yes to a gypsy, or you will be cursed."

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009): "Dinosaurs don’t mix with the Ice Age."

Paranormal Activity (2009): "If you've got demons in your house, try not to antagonize them."

And sometimes, two films' messages can contradict each other. For instance:

The Informant! (2009): "Crime really doesn't pay, no matter how smart you are."

Public Enemies (2009): "Crime sometimes pays, but at a high cost."

Personally, I'm more inclined to believe that there is more than one-liners to many movies so I'd tend not to really attend to websites that portent to be able to reduce most movies to such brief analyses.

I'll check out your site And btw, they're not mine. I haven't even seen all of those movies (in fact, out of those, I've only seen Space Jam, South Park, Watchmen, Jennifer's Body, Drag Me to Hell, Ice Age 3, Paranormal Activity, The Informant!, and Public Enemies and I have no plans to see any Saw films, Disaster Movie, or Showgirls). This came from a website called

Kids-In-Mind.com

The site is really supposed to be for parents so they know what's in the films their kids are watching. It's generally unbiased, but at the end of each review, they give the film's message, which could be something like "Be yourself" or "Follow your dreams". But as I see, it's obvious they didn't like Scary Movie 4 or the Saw films, and saw no positive message in Showgirls (what's an NC-17 film like this even doing a site called KIDS In Mind?) or Hot Shots 2, so they had to make something up.

However, I also do remember one site called "The Nostalgia Critic". His tagline is "I remember it so you don't have to!" He actually criticized Jingle all the Way (1996) and Pokémon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back (1996) for giving negative messages: The former he said had a message of "Commercialism brings families together" and the latter for using such a violent franchise to promote non-violence... then erasing all the character's memories ("Hey, now we can go back to fighting! We forgot the message!").

Here's my analysis:

For Jingle all the Way, I really don't think that it had the message of "Commercialism brings families together". Howard was a workaholic father who spent no time with his son Jamie, and Jamie wanted the Turbo Man toy more than anything in the world. Howard was so busy at work (though it wasn't entirely his fault this time, he got pulled over) that he didn't attend his son's karate class. His son would not forgive him, so upon asking what he could do to earn his forgiveness, Jamie said to get him a Turbo Man for Christmas. Turbo Man was a really popular toy at this time, and around Christmastime, most places were sold out, and he waited until the last minute. Here's one message:

Buy your Christmas presents in advance, especially if it's a hot-selling thing.

On top of it all, he lied to his wife saying he already had it, and later on, she found him breaking into Ted's house stealing his! Another message: Lies will be found out eventually.

As for the ending... he got the Turbo Man toy, and Jamie gave it up because "I have the real Turbo Man here!" (he said referring to his father, who was wearing a Turbo Man costume) That doesn't mean "Commercialism brings families together", what he meant was he loved his father more than Turbo Man, and he realized that his father cared about him more than he thought he did seeing the length that he went through to get him the Turbo Man, and that he should not have had to bribe him with an action figure for love. I don't know where he got "Commercialism brings families together" from, but nonetheless, I thought his review was kinda funny even though I liked the film.

As for Pokémon: The First Movie, I have sort of a mixed reaction to this one. They sorta crammed the "Fighting is wrong" message into our heads before erasing everyone's memories, even though what made the whole Pokémon franchise so popular in the first place was the fighting, but you could argue that the kind of fighting that normally occurs in this franchise is more like an honorable sport, whereas Mewtwo tried to pit the Pokémon against each other in a fight to the death. As well, I heard this "message" was actually jumbled in the translation - in the original Japanese version, it was something involving God (which they didn't want in an American G-rated movie), but I'll have to read up on that. Besides, the Kids-In-Mind message for Pokémon: The First Movie is:

"You can't clone “heart”; or, as one of the characters says, what you do with the gift of life determines who you are."

That's true. Mewtwo actually did say something like "Now I see that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are." What Mewtwo realized was that if he wanted to prove that the clones have as equal rights as the humans, this is not the way to prove it. In fact, it only shows that clones are inferior to humans if this is how they react to the circumstances of their birth. And the reason he erased everyone's memories is because... well, with what they went through, I don't think they'd want to remember this. It's not an excuse to go fighting to the death again.

quote:

Originally posted by tabuno:
Personally, I'm more inclined to believe that there is more than one-liners to many movies so I'd tend not to really attend to websites that portent to be able to reduce most movies to such brief analyses.

They're not really "one-liners", you see, Kids-In-Mind is supposed to be a site that analyzes the sexual content, the violent content, and the profanity in a film so parents know what's in the film before they show it to their kids. They also top it off with "Topics to Talk About", and then the films overall "Message". However, those were just pulled from the "Message" part, which normally can be "Be yourself" or "Don't give up on your dreams", but as you can see with some films, they just had no idea what to put xDD I also forgot another one:

Snakes on a Plane (2006): "Snakes can really mess up a perfectly pleasant airplane trip."

And on this subject:

Inglourious Basterds (2009): "Being totally merciless toward your enemy is justified if the enemy is really, really bad and merciless too. There are things more cruelly appropriate as revenge than killing someone."

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bonkfast,

Currently working on an NCIS Character Analysis series for my website, here are some of my last articles in the past weeks. Thanks for the awesome discussion guys!


Life Lessons from Spongebob Squarepants

It was 1999, I was 7 years old, and Spongebob Squarepants had just arrived on television. Spongebob quickly became one of my favorite shows, and looking back, I learned a lot of good lessons from watching the show all day. Now, when watching the show, I have noticed a lot of positive characteristics in Spongebob’s character. For one, he is the most optimistic character I have ever seen. He is also extremely supportive of all of his friends, regardless of what they think of him. If we could all grab a little piece of Spongebob’s optimism, the world would be a much better place.

1. Optimism – A cheery sponge with a shining personality. He is so optimistic, to that point that it gets annoying! When something bad happens to Spongebob, he never panics. He analyzes the situation, and sees it from the best point of view. For example, in one of the first episodes, and my personal favorite, “Pizza Delivery”, Spongebob and Squidward get lost while trying to deliver a pizza. Squidward immediately panics, terrified of being lost, and the possibility of never coming back home. Spongebob is completely optimistic about the situation, and has faith in his “Pioneer Navigation Skills” to bring him and Squidward back home. If Spongebob hadn’t been extremely optimistic, and allowed Squidward’s low energy to resonate with him, the situation would have turned out different.

2. Kindness – Spongebob also has a strong urge to help others. An example of this can be seen in an episode where he is asked to do a chore, building a telescope for Mr. Krabs. On that same day, he must go to Patrick’s birthday party, and help out Sandy with a business presentation. Out of the need to help others, and fear of disappointing his friends, Spongebob verbally commits to all 3 tasks. At the end of the episode, Patrick, Sandy, and Mr. Krabs find out that Spongebob was trying to juggle all 3 events at once, and they feel moved by his kindness.

3. Innocence – Another strong word to describe the lovable Spongebob Squarepants, is innocence. Looking at the kind eyes of the compassionate sponge, it is almost a given how innocent Spongebob’s soul is. Any wrong that Spongebob commits, will cause a huge bubble of guilt inside. Spongebob cannot live with any guilt inside, and he immediately confesses and apologizes for any wrongdoings.

4. Fearlessness/Bravery – Although Spongebob exhibits fear in many social/work situations, he has an element of stupidity mixed with fearlessness that makes for an interesting combination. A perfect example of this would be “Krusty Krushers”, where Mr. Krabs sends Spongebob and Patrick into a wrestling arena, where they are faced with champion wrestlers who are about 30 times larger than they are. The fearlessness of Spongebob and Patrick combined is inspiring, and no matter what scare tactics the wrestlers try out on our brave duo, or the pain they inflict, Spongebob and Patrick never let up.

5. Relentlessness – Spongebob is relentless, just ask Squidward! When Spongebob wants to play games with his angry neighbor, Squidward says “NO!” about 95% of the time. Spongebob keeps asking, literally dozens of times, until Squidward finally gives in. Spongebob knows that Squidward is a very angry and pessimistic character, but he treats Squidward as if he were a nice man, and a best friend (which he is to Spongebob).

I did not list all of the admirable traits of Spongebob Squarepants, because there are many different new things that we learn about Spongebob in each tiny 11 minute episode. What I do know, is that Spongebob, while having certain undesirable traits (annoying, curious stupidity), his good traits far outweigh the bad. Optimism is something that Spongebob bases his entire life off of, and that is why I admire him so much. I will forever have a place for Spongebob and his Optimism, Bravery, Compassion, Kindness, Generosity, and Relentlessness.



Groundhog Day – How Will You Choose to Live?

When I first saw Groundhog Day 2 years ago, I was awed at how inspiring a simple movie classified under the Romantic Comedy genre could be. But a movie like this cannot be put under a category. Seeing it for the second time today, I was still in awe at how amazing Groundhog Day is. Such a simple concept! A rude, foul weatherman lives a day of his life over and over again, for a period of time that is not specified. What results as the movie steers towards the end, is one of the most touching, heartfelt, and true cinematic experiences ever made. So many movies try to force connections between the viewer and the character these days, but Groundhog Day does not try this cheap film tactic. The script, characters, and acting all come together to form one of the most remarkable and inspiring film experiences you can have.

Groundhog Day poses many great questions: What if you relived the same day over and over again, unable to break the vicious cycle? Would you try to be sneaky, and use the day to your personal and selfish advantage? Would you take advantage of others? Or you would you be kind, loving, and courteous to others? Bill Murray’s character Phil, goes through many phases, including self-gain, depression, insanity, helplessness, anger, and most importantly, love. Why did the day repeat for him? It was most likely because he was a selfish person, with a very crummy attitude. Phil lived his life only to serve himself, and acted bitter and rude towards everyone he met. When he was put through the cycle, he was shocked at first, and only increased his anger towards others. God put Phil in the loop to change. To change his ways from hate to love. From the lowest to the highest level of being. He began to learn playing piano, learning French, and ice sculpting. These are all activities that require patience, determination, and dedication. With all the time that Phil had, he developed rock-solid emotions, and chose to use them towards good. When he finally broke away from the time loop, he finally knew the importance of caring for, and loving all beings.

For a Romantic Comedy, Groundhog Day is an extraordinary film. For that matter, Groundhog Day is extraordinary for any movie. It is an uplifting film, that should be viewed by every human being mature enough to appreciate its beauty. Anyone who feels they are stuck, depressed, in a rut, or doesn’t feel that life is worth living, think about Groundhog Day. Think about what Phil had to go through (the time loop must have lasted quite a long time to master the piano and ice sculpting)! Life is worth living, and it took Phil quite a long time to realize that. Save some time, and start living an extraordinary life today!

For any fans of NCIS, there is a complete NCIS Character Analysis series on the website, including Director Shepard, Director Vance, Abby, Ducky, Kate, Ziva, McGee, DiNozzo, and Gibbs will be posted tomorrow night. Hope you like it!

quote:

Originally posted by chezzy621:
For any fans of NCIS, there is a complete NCIS Character Analysis series on the website, including Director Shepard, Director Vance, Abby, Ducky, Kate, Ziva, McGee, DiNozzo, and Gibbs will be posted tomorrow night. Hope you like it!

You can find the sole NCIS fan in the TV forums, his name's Peter L. Williamson, or Autopsy Pete if you want to be informal.

2 new reviews added:

Hot Fuzz - A Perfect Society:

http://filminsight.net/2009/11...z-a-perfect-society/

Yes Man - Welcoming New Opportunities:

http://filminsight.net/2009/11...g-new-opportunities/

Thank you!