War Horse

Part I:
I really really liked War Horse. I thought the overall story was so touching and it really showed the powerful impact an animal can have on a human. I thought it was very interesting and difficult to see the treatment of horses doing war. It's definitely something that I had never really been aware of until this movie, and the true statistics were so shocking. I think it was awful how they treated the horses, and put them through such difficult labor and situations where they were almost guaranteed to die. The part where they were going to kill Joey when he was badly hurt from the wires was also something difficult to see, because he could have been nursed back to health. But I thought the way they portrayed the relationship between Joey and Albert made the movie so amazing. I loved the part where Albert was able to save Joey's life because his horse recognized the sound that Albert trained him with, and also the part where Joey is being sold off, and runs right back to Albert. I truly thought that portrayed the human animal relationship so well, and it was such a touching story to see.

Glory

Part I:     I truly thought Glory was a great movie with a great message. I thought the leading characters in this movie, including Denzel Washington Morgan Freeman and Matthew Broderick, played their roles incredibly. I think the movie truly represented what it was like for African Americans at the time that this took place. African Americans were still not treated equally after they received their freedom, and this is heavily prevalent in the war aspect. They were still looked down upon as if they were not equal to the white men, and this caused them to not get the opportunities to fight that they wanted. The strong cast of this movie really showed the emotion that men of this time were feeling. All they wanted was a chance to represent their country and fight for it, however they couldn't do that because of the color of their skin. The main character Col. Robert Shaw, really hit me emotionally. He is put in charge of a regiment of all black men, and he took this role whole heartedly. You see this in the way he cares about the men. When the men receive less pay, he says they all won't take the pay. When the men really need new shoes, he fights for his way to get them. When we meet another colonel in charge of a regiment later in the movie, we see how much he disrespects these men. Shaw can't understand this, and he wants to give his men the opportunity they deserve. The most important part of the movie was when Shaw fights right with his men at the end, and loses his life for it. I think Shaw's character was so essential to this movie, because he represented someone who was very radical for the time. He went against the norm, by leading his black regiment with heart, and treating them with equality.

Part II:
I think our country enables us to have a strong sense of pride from where we are from. This pride combined with bravery and passion enables this strong will for people to go to war. When someone has these combined traits, I believe that it makes them completely willing to fight and die for their country. I truly believe that the men of this regiment from the movie are heroes. Most of these men had been undermined all of their lives because of their skin color, yet they wanted the ability to fight and risk their lives for their country. I think this aspect is so incredible. They didn't want to just sit aside and do the labor of war, they wanted to do the fighting, even if it meant they would probably lose their lives. I believe that Shaw is also a great hero. He went against the norm, and whole heartedly took pride in this regiment, and treated them with the equality that they deserved. He cared about his men, and when they finally got their opportunity to fight, he fought along side with them. He risked his life even though he didn't need to, and I think this all makes him the greatest hero in the  movie.

Part III:
The significance of this story is in the history of African Americans in war, and also the bravery of all of the characters. This movie accurately portrays what it was like for African American men who wanted to be in war. The movie portrays the racism that occurred, and also men like Shaw who wanted to go beyond skin color. Shaw was different for this time, and acted beyond the pressure of everyone around him who truly didn't care about the race issue. I think this movie is so significant in it shows the history of African American's in our country, and also people like Shaw who wanted to be beyond all of it.

Braveheart

Part I: Braveheart was an interesting movie for me. I thought it proceeded fairly slowly to the action of the film. I think the overall plot was pretty decent, however, the movie wasn't very favorable to me. Most of the movie was fighting and I kind of had a hard time following what they were actually doing in the film. I hated at the beginning how the English officers thought they could use the girls, therefore I really liked how Wallace's secret wife really fought back and didn't take what they were trying to do to her. I think although she died towards the beginning of the film, she was really the whole protagonist of the film, and her character stuck with me. I also believe that Wallace's attitude throughout the film is very admirable. Initially everything that Wallace does is out of the desire for revenge from the execution of his secret wife, and after she is killed I think he truly feels he has nothing to lose. I think Wallace's cause is very admirable, he truly wants freedom from the repression of the English, and the wrong that they have done to the Irish people. I thought it was very interesting how Wallace had a minor affair with Isabella considering all he had done for the revenge of his secret wife. However, I think my favorite part of the movie was the ending. Wallace could have easily given up and surrendered, but his cause stayed true to him throughout the whole movie. When he was being tortured at the end, he held on to everything he believed in, and ultimately screamed freedom as his last words. He hallucinated his dead wife as he was dying, and I think that really tied in with the whole idea of why he did what he did. He fought for the freedom of the Irish, however it was instigated by the death of his wife. With everything that happened throughout the movie, instead of surrendering he found his time to do, where he would meet his wife again. Although I overall didn't really like the movie, I think there were good aspects to it and the overall plot was pretty good.

Part II: To me this quote completely envisions what Wallace's character was about. Wallace truly fought for his freedom, he easily could have just gone by with each day as every Irish man did, but he had a vision, and he wanted to live for it. With this quote he is saying that every man dies, but not every man lives. Wallace wants to really live by fighting for what he believed to be right. This is completely applicable to the fight from Irish freedom from the English tyranny. All of these men could've gotten by being under the control of the English, however, with them fighting for their freedom, whether successful or unsuccessful, would enable the Irish to truly live a life not wondering what if. They could fight for their freedom and maybe be unsuccessful and die, but at least they would be fighting for what they truly believed in and wanted.
I think the same thing could be very applicable to my life. Everyone wants to have a life filled with adventure and doing different things that you truly love. I want to experience everything I can while I have the opportunity and truly live my life to the fullest. I think this includes taking advantage of my last months in high school, going to college and finding something to pursue that I truly love, and then doing that after college. I think the biggest thing for me with this quote is that I want to live a life when I'm older that I'm happy with. I don't want to have a job that I hate. I want to do something that I truly love, which would enable me to truly live. This quote ultimately symbolizes everything I hope for in my life. When I'm old and on my death bed, I hope I can say that I truly did live by experiencing everything to the fullest and doing things that I loved.

Gladiator

Gladiator is an overall great movie and I think it really shows the integrity of the main character, Maximus. I love how ancient Rome is depicted in the movie. I've taken latin for years and this movie has many qualities that stay true to history of the Romans, and I think its so interesting to see a lot of qualities in this movie. I love seeing the scenes with the Colosseum and the gladiators, and gaining a sense of what entertainment was like for the Romans back at this time. I think the whole story of Maximus enables the audience to feel his pain and gain a strong compliance towards him. The events in the movie make me feel bad for Maximus in all that he has to endure. Marcus Aurelius entrusted Maximus so much, and knew that Rome would be taken care of very well with Maximus succeeding Marcus. When Commodus takes his father's life, you can feel the fear for Maximus. At the moment is when you begin to hate Commodus, and throughout the movie Commodus shows more and more awful qualities. He appears so creepy to his sister and her child, and overall comes off as an overly emotional man who should not be in charge of leading an empire, which his father knew. When Commodus has Maximus' family killed, I could truly feel the pain in Maximus. Throughout the movie, however, Maximus shows his integrity and doesn't stop fighting. Even at the end when he kills Commodus, he always dies with dignity and a sense of pride. I think this movie overall shows the hardships one man goes through and his integrity throughout the movie, while at the same time depicting a great history of the ancient Romans.

I think the moral of Gladiator is the integrity of Maximus. Maximus begins as an amazing gladiator for the Romans, and we can see his loyalty from his relationship with the emperor. When he is taken prisoner and his family is killed, he doesn't give up. He becomes a gladiator, and fights for himself, the Roman people, and what the emperor of Rome truly wanted. He endures so much throughout the movie, and you can truly see how strong and brave he is from the beginning, all the way to his death at the end.