Dark Knight Rises (2012)

I watched the movie “The Dark Knight Rises”. This movie continues the plot of “The Dark Knight” and talks about a new evil appears to against the Batman and the Gotham City. After taking the responsibility of Harvey Dent’s death, The Batman disappears until a new evil guy names Bane shows up. After finding out Bane is building an army in order to destroy the Gotham City, The Batman engages with him. Unfortunately, Bane is so strong that the Batman is defeated. After the fight, Bane breaks the Batman’s back and throws him into a prison locates in the bottom of a cave where people can barely gets out. At this moment, the Batman has to overcome all the difficulties and defeat Bane to save the people in Gotham City. I like this movie because of the character, The Batman. I believe that he is not only a person with high-tech outfits, but also a symbol of justice. When facing evil, he never quits but sacrifices himself to protect the public even though his body is already wounded terribly. Meanwhile, he suffers from the lost of his parents, friends and lover and he shows us the determination of protecting the thing that is important to him.

Ying Xiong (2002)

The movie Ying Xiong talks about a warrior called Nameless who lives in the ancient China. During that time, China is separated into seven countries. As being the strongest country, Qin continues to annex the rest of other countries. Unable to defeat Qin’s army, some of the countries decide to assassinate the emperor of Qin to stop Qin’s expansion. Meanwhile, emperor of Qin claims that the person who can eliminate the three most dangerous assassins, Broken Sword, Flying Snow and Snow can earn the prize of having a drink with the emperor face to face. Eventually, Nameless completes the emperor’s request and earn his chance to talk to the emperor face to face. This is another Jet Li’s movie which I really like. I think Jet Li makes the martial arts become a very important element in his movie. Especially when he use slow-motion to show his moves, I think that is quite impressive. Also, I found the plot of this movie very interesting. The majority of this movie is the conversation between the emperor of Qin and Nameless about the process when fighting against Broken Sword, Flying Snow and Snow. In fact, the conversation can be seen as three parts according to three different descriptions from the emperor and Nameless.

Office Space (1999)

Directed by Mike Judge

Office Space is the film which was made in 1990. It highlighted the feelings of different people who were working in the software house. I like this movie because it highlights the fact that young generation of the country does not prefer to work in the bureaucratic model. Most of the employees think that bureaucratic model often hinders the efficient flow of work. When the work is affected then certainly the company also will be affected. There was a character in Office Space with the name Ajay Naidu. He often looks irritated because of the fact that majority of the employees did not pronounce his name correctly. The situation reminds me that people of the company feels that they are useless people in the company because their fellow employees are not even interested in their names. As far as the situation of the movie is concerned it seems that majority of the characters are not interested in the work which they have been currently doing. Employee can only give maximum output when there is a personality job fit for that particular position. The story of the movie depicts that majority of the people switched the job of that software house. I understand that personal goals of those employees were not aligned with the goals of the company. Therefore it was the responsibility of the interviewer of the software company to identify their personality traits in order to find out whether the employees which they are hiring are the best possible man for the company.

The Legend of 1900 (1998)

Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore

The movie I watched this week is 1900. The story start with a newborn baby that is abandoned in a cruise ship names Virginian. Fortunately, the baby is found by Danny Boodmann who is a worker in the ship. Danny finally decides to adopt the baby and names him as 1900. Amazingly, 1900 is so talented that somehow he acquires the skills to piano and he becomes a pianist of a band in Virginian. Since 1900 and his music become popular among the guests in Virginian, his friend recommends him to expand his music on the land. Somehow, 1900 refuse to get off the ship and resist living on the Virginian.

There are few reasons that I love this movie. Firstly, the soundtracks are impressive. Especially when the movie comes to the part of “piano battle”. Every pieces of music in that piano battle is performed improvisationally and they are fantastic. And also in the scene when 1900 make a guess of stories of some individuals with music. Meanwhile, I really appreciate Tim Roth’s performance in this movie. I want to say that Tim Roth’s performance perfectly defines the character who is polite, talented and kind.

Cry, the Beloved Country (1995)

Directed by Darrell Roodt

In the village of Ndotsheni, the grass has been destroyed by cattle and fire, and the stream have all run dry. Women do farm work in front of their house. The young people has long gone. This is the setting of Alan Paton’s novel Cry, The Beloved Country. Stephen Kumalo is an elderly Zulu priest in the village of Ndotsheni who sets out to visit his ill sister, Gertrude Kumalo, in Johannesburg and to locate his son, Absalom Kumalo, who has not been in contact with the family since they left the village. After a period time of searching, Stephen discovers that Absalom is in jail, accused of murdering Arthur Javis, the son of a white landowner, James Jarvis. After Absalom’s conviction, Stephen returns to the village with Absalom’s wife and Gertrude’s son. The movie shows that true relief from sorrow does not come from reproach or punishment but only from forgiveness. This is illustrated by Stephen Kumalo’s forgiveness of his sister, his forgiveness of his son, and James Jarvis’s forgiveness of Stephen.

The movie shows that sorrow may have a long-term influence on peoples’ lives. To relieve their sorrow, some people express reproach or plan for revenge, which can be seen in Stephen’s first reaction to his sister and son. Unfortunately, Stephen’s action is not helpful on relieving his sorrow. In fact, his sorrow increases when he sees Gertrude cry after his reproach. Again, while meeting with Absalom, Stephen realizes that his reproach provides no help to relieve his sorrow. As a result, Stephen forgives his son and his sister’s sin because he understands that none of them has expected the tragedies that they have encountered, and Stephen’s reproach does nothing positive but only will hurts their feelings, so he realizes that forgiveness is the only way to relief his grief. Meanwhile, Jarvis realizes his sorrow can be released only through understanding and forgiving, so he forgives with kindness and love instead of reproach or punishment. In this novel, Alan Paton shows that instead of reproach and punishment, forgiveness is the only way to relieve sorrow.

The Kite Runner (2007)

Directed by Marc Forster

People often argue about what constitutes true bravery. Since bravery is one of the most valuable qualities in the human spirit, many people never stop seeking it. Some people frequently define bravery as facing danger with no fear, while others believe that bravery comes from sacrifice. This is the most memorable theme in Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, which starts with the friendship between Amir, a wealthy merchant’s son, and his friend, Hassan, who works for Amir’s family as a servant. In their childhood, bravery is seen as participation in the kite competition and defeating the opponents. Soon, Amir recognizes his weakness when he is too scared to rescue Hassan from a rape. The remorse leads him to accuse Hassan of stealing so that he will not need to face Hassan anymore. Later, after the Soviets invade Afghanistan, Amir and his father, Baba, leave the country and move to America. Unable to deal with his guilt, Amir finally decides to go back to Afghanistan for Hassan’s son, Sorhab, who lives under cruel domination by the Taliban. This novel shows that true bravery is not defined by fearlessness but only comes from sacrifice. This definition can be proved from Baba’s selfless love for Hassan, Hassan’s constant loyalty, and from Amir’s persistent attempts to rescue Sohrab.

The novel defines the meaning of true bravery. It is not entirely accurate to say bravery comes from fearlessness against danger. In fact, bravery can be seen only from art of sacrifice. Baba expresses more of his generosity and patience to Hassan than to his own son, Amir. Meanwhile, Baba never doubts about whether his concern is too much for a servant and can probably becomes the envy of Amir. Likewise, Hassan sacrifices his freedom, reputation, and eventually, his life for his master while constantly serving Baba’s family. Amir, as well, gives up his peaceful life and sacrifices himself back in Afghanistan for Sohrab. As a conclusion, Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner illustrated that bravery may have several definitions, but true bravery can be seen only from sacrifice.

 

Life Is Beautiful (1997)

Directed by Roberto Benigni

Many heroic deeds happen within a minute. As a result, many people believe that courage occurs only in a short time period. Unfortunately, only a few people realize that courage only comes from persisting in one goal in a long time period. In the movie Life is Beautiful, directed by Roberto Benigni, the protagonist Guido, a Jewish-Italian bookstore owner shows his courage of persistence. At the beginning of this movie, Guido is entranced by a beautiful school teacher, Dora. After a long time of courting, Dora accepts Guido’s love and they are married. Leaping ahead to five years later, during WWII, Guido and Dora live a wonderful life in Italy and they have a son named Giosue. When the war comes to Italy, the dark event occurs, Guido and Giosue are taken to a concentration camp. Dora, refusing to be apart from her family, insists to go to the camp with Guido and Giosue. In the concentration camp, Guido realizes both Giosue’s body and spirit will be damaged by the evil of the Fascists. In order to survive both mentally and physically in the concentration camp, Guido convinces his son that they are playing a game. Guido also mentions for his son that they have to follow the rules in order to win the prize, a real tank. This movie shows that courage does not come from temporal action but only comes from persistence in achieving the goal. This can be illustrated in Guido’s courting of Dora, his mental protection of Giosue and his physical protection of his son.

In general, the movie shows that courage can be displayed in a variety of ways. It seems to be true that courage can be seen from temporal action. However, courage is best illustrated by persistence in achieving goals. For example, Guido courts Dora for a long time but Dora does not welcome his attempts at first. Instead of giving up, Guido persists in attempting, and he eventually wins Dora’s heart. Similarly, Guido’s comforting of Giosue is not always effective. When Giosue decides to quit the game, Guido does not stop from trying but persists in expressing a positive attitude to his son. In addition, Guido never steps back from protecting his son physically. Guido keeps fulfilling his responsibility as a husband and father, and even goes as far as sacrificing his own life to save his son’s. Through these, the character of Guido in the movie “Life is Beautiful” shows the audience that courage only belongs to people who are willing to continually pursue a goal or personal beliefs, and above all, nothing can deter them from fulfilling their dreams.

Goal (2005)

Directed by Danny Cannon

The movie talks about a Maxican boy named Santiago Munez who chase his soccer dream. Santiago borns in Maxico and he is passionate about soccer. After his mother left, he moves to US with the rest of his family. Santiago lives a tough live in US. He works with his father as gardener in daytime and works in a Chinese restaurant as a waiter at night. Meanwhile, he plays soccer with his friends in the local soccer league. Occasionally, Santiago meets Glen Foy who is a former scout of Newcastle United Football Club. Glen believes that Santiago have the talent to play in professional football league so he earns a trial from the football club for Santiago. The movie focuses on Santiago’s life during his trial in England.

Soccer is one of my favorite sport and this is the reason why I watch this movie. I have the chance to know more detail of the inside of a football club. The movie shows me the players’ life on/off the field which I am really interested in. The most important aspect that this movie shows is the hardship that Santiago have met. When facing hardships, Santiago never quit but doing his best to overcome the difficulites. I kept thinking that he is so lucky that he meets Glen Foy who appreciates his talent. But sooner I realize that it doesn’t about luck, it is about all the effort that Santiago puts in to fulfill his life goal. That is the spirit this movie try to show the audiences.

The Internship (2013)

Directed by Shawn Levy

This movie tell a story about two sales man, Billy and Nick working at Google at Google after losing their job. Billy and Nick are sales man who sell product for a local watch company. Unfortunately, the owner of the company decides to close the company because business does not go well. As a result, Billy and Nick. However, both of them have a chance to work at Google as intern during the summer. All the interns are formed in groups and they are going to finish several projects assigned by the manager of Google. At the end of internship, the google manager is going to evaluate every group’s performance and only the group which performs the best will have the chance to work in Google as a formal employee.

An interesting aspect of this movie is that Billy and Nick do not know anything about computer technology. I can’t even imagine how they are going to work in Google, a company build upon on computer programs. But in fact, Billy and Nick have a valuable skill which can never learn from books — selling skills. It seems that Billy and Nick can convince people easily to buy the product that they try to sell. Also, Billy and Nick show the audience that the most important quality to be successful is not skills that people have, it is the determination and passion to pursue the goal in life.

One day (2011)

Directed by Lone Scherfig

This movie tells a romantic love story about between two people, Emma and Dexter. After their first meet on their graduation day of college, Dexter and Emma make an appointment to each other that they are going to meet and spend the day together on July 15^th. Even when they are unable to meet on July 15^th, they are still in touch with each other through phone. Dexter lives in a luxurious life with women and alcohol around but it is empty and meaningless and Emma lives a totally opposite life and she is always in love with Dexter. About 20 years later, when both of them have their own experience of life, they finally realized that they in love with each other. But when they become together, an accident makes them separate forever.

I like this movie but I can’t understand Emma and Dexter. I don’t understand why they are together after 20 years even though they like each other when they first meet. Unlike Emma, Dexter probably hasn’t realized that the person he truly loves is Emma. He probably just think that Emma is important to him and this can be seen from Dexter’s behavior when he is in sorrow. Dexter needs the comfort from Emma and this is why he needs to talk to her.

I hate the ending because it makes me so sad. But on the other hand, I am really happy to see that Dexter found a more meaningful life eventually. I really like one of the quotes from the movie that when a Emma’s ex-boyfriend Ian says to Dexter, “She made you decent, and in return, you made her so happy, so happy.” I finally realize that even they are separate from each other at last, but those memorable and valuable moments they share is the most important experience to both of them.