Atomic cafe

I thought this film was great and i loved the documentary style to get the message across. The end was phenomenal and I loved the sequences of clips that were in parallel with the song. However, I enjoyed Dr. Strangelove much more. While Atomic Cafe, has a more realistic approach, Dr. Strangelove uses a fictional situation, in which the connection between games, sex, and war are made. Dr. Strangelove. Atomic Cafe, may be more effective in getting the message across to the viewer, but in terms of entertainment, I thought Dr. Strangelove was actually one of the best movies I've ever seen.

Dr. Strangelove

Dr. Strangelove is a satire of the Cold War and MAD. It is one of the darkest comedies I have ever watched and I give credit to Kubrick for turning the end of the world into a comical movie. Anyway, the satire of the Cold War is depicted, especially, through the war room, which seems ridiculous in that the arguments between the Russian ambassador and the president are ridiculous and meaningless. There is a strong connection between sex and war, constantly referenced in the film. For example, the long cigars, airplanes, explosions, the coca cola, the essence, the dear john on the bomb, and the random comments throughout the film. Dr. Strangelove, the character, is a representation of a mad scientist, who could perhaps be one from history. He represents the dangers of technology and the detrimental effects on society, primarily destruction. At the end he mentions the 10 women to 1 man, another sexual inference. This is perhaps strange love, sex used as a process in a factory to produce offspring. I don't really understand why Dr. Strangelove constantly refers to the president as Mein Fuhrer. It seems as if he keeps messing up because he was once a Nazi. Perhaps it is a connection between Hitler and the president as well as the Holocaust to a nuclear genocide.

Dark City

This movie is some weird mix between a sci-fi and a film noir. The sci-fi element is contributed by the presence of the aliens and weird powers and the film noir by the extremely low lighting, which makes it feel like a black and white film, and the dark urban setting.
The scene with the ring showed the relationship between the couple. When the officer asks Emma if the ring is bothering her, she replies without a real answer, simply stating that she never takes it off. The ring is reflective of their relationship, which is painful in some ways, but will not cease to exist because their love is too strong.
A key motif in the movie is the maze. It seems as if the whole situation is a maze in which Murdoch is stuck. (By the way, Murdoch seems like a German name, which would agree with what Mr. Bennett said about this being a German expressionist film) It seems that the only way out is through Shell Beach, which may not even exist, except in his memories. We see this when he is told to go on the express and then when he asks why the train doesn't stop, the man says because its the express. The idea that the city can be manipulated, that its always dark, and that the people have an extremely limited memory suggests that the whole world is a maze that the aliens, or whatever the hell they are, have created and have continued control over. Even the people are controlled, which makes them more of an object than a human. Take the conversation between the alien leader and Emma, in which they talk about how an existence in which one had no memories to call their own would be tormenting. He gives the innuendo that such is her existence and everyone around her. In a sense, the aliens are like Gods except that now a human is presenting a dilemma. So, they might be better described as demi-gods.
One question I have is why they arr doing all of this. Are they studying the human brain or the psychology of human beings? That's what it looks like.

Asphalt Jungle

This movie creates characters, each with his own vice. Their vices all share a common root in the material world, whether it is money, alcohol, or sex. I started to pick up on the fact that this may also be an existentialist movie, with the existentialist being Doc Riedenschnieder. When the taxi insists they stop somewhere nearby, he says "lets wait till we get out of town." The taxi driver says, "I see your man who likes pleasures." Doc responds by saying, "What else is there in life?" Doc understands the simplicity in life. The manner he approaches every situation is so calm, it is almost confusing to the viewer. When he is being caught by the police, he shows little emotion. He understands the consequences that follow his actions, but at the same time he is not apprehensive to live and enjoy his life. This movie, much like many of the past few movies, uses criminals or morally ambiguous characters as the protagonists, and through the efforts of the creators, the viewer grows to sympathize with the characters, regardless of the inevitable fate of the characters. For example, Dix Handley is a criminal who seems excessively violent and perhaps abusive of his girlfriend. However, after he is shot, the reader hopes that he finally reaches his home. We know, however, that this won't happen. The asphalt jungle serves as a metaphor for the existence of crime in every urban city or setting. Crime almost seems synonymous with large cities.

Unforgiven

Ilya's take on the movie is that it is all about values in a monetary sense. My take on the movie is that it is all about values in an ethical sense. To me, the movie is questioning morality in every scene. Take the very first scene, for example, where the man cuts up a prostitute. Justice is not served because the sheriff only asks the criminals to pay a financial punishment. Murder or violence are not morally right. The fact that the women send assassins to kill the two men is not morally right. There is no justification in murdering them, especially when the victim isn't even that hurt. The morality behind Munny's acceptance of the assassination can be questioned. Munny is a confusing character because his character is blurred between a hero and a villain. Another scene that questions morality is the part when Ned asks Munny if he wants to go upstairs and join him in his enjoyment of the prostitutes. First of all, it was surprising for Ned to ask this because he seemed as if he was above those kinds of actions. Munny refuses, indicating the uncertainty of his character's rectitude. This movie seems to be stating that there are no heroes, because everyone possesses something malicious in their character. The movie also degrades violence. For example, Munny has seen this lifestyle and all of the consequences that follow. This is ironic because fun action-packed violence is expected in these western-type films. Rather than glamorizing violence, this movie has a rather pejorative take, much unlike most other westerns.

Oh yeah... and MSIT is in the championship. Surprising huh? Well, it's not.

Seventh Seal Cont.

As we see in the movie, Bloch distracts Death from killing Jof and his wife by using the knocked over chess pieces as a distraction. Death is well aware of what he is doing. Block believes this is his good deed, allowing his friends to escape death, but rather, as made evident throughout the entire movie, his friends are only delaying their deaths. Not to disparage the heroism of Bloch, but he's only allowing them to live another day because death can strike randomly. We see this when the wagon is driving away and there is a skull or mask on the back as it drives away. Death always hovers over us, and we can only do so much to prevent it.

Seventh Seal

Two additional quotes that I liked were, "You have black." "It's most appropriate, isn't it?" and "We must make an idol of our God, and call it fear."

In this movie, I, unlike some other people, enjoy the utilization of the chess game. I can already tell that it's impossible for Antonius Block to win the game. The message is clear. You cannot escape death. Block can only delay, not escape the inevitable. My initial prediction was that Block would win the game, but it would be one of those , "Win, Lose, what's the difference?" (Runaway Train) where he would still die. But, considering the chess game must remain a symbol for the struggle for life and death throughout the whole movie, I think Block will only be able to hold off his death for so long. In this way, the film is questioning God's existance or at least the uncertainty of his existance much like Block's search for meaning in the world and God. Block says he will defeat death with a combination of knight and bishop. He himself is a knight and I see the bishop as religion or faith. Block is saying he will escape death through faith. But, he will lose the game because he must as we all must. In a sense, I like to see it as Block playing chess with himself. You cannot win. You can never be sure of God's existance. You can't escape death. You cannot know anything until you are dead. And at that point, you may not even exist.