Cool Hand Luke

I thought Cool Hand Luke was a really good movie. I think the directors made a good choice in picking Paul Newman for the lead role. He's very attractive and pleasant to look at. But also, he has good acting skills and really captured the part well. He was very likable, and I found it very easy to sympathize with him. Throughout the whole movie, you find yourself cheering him on, even when he's doing something rebellious and against the rules. Not to mention, he has a killer smile too! I also thought the supporting roles did a very good job. Dragnet was also a very likable character; the first time I really appreciated him was the fight scene, and he let Luke win by just walking away. I think that at this point, he had realized how different Luke was from the rest of the guys, and earned a new respect for his persistence. All of the other prison mates secretly wished they were brave enough to stand up to the guards in the same way Luke did.

I thought there was a lot of good symbolism throughout the whole film. Things like the color red, the constant fan, Luke's smile, and the references to Jesus just make the film that much more interesting.

The ending of the movie was really good also. Although it was sad that Luke was shot and killed, I feel the movie wouldn't have been the same without such a dramatic ending. In the end, Luke still won the battle between prisoner and authority; they never succeeded in really breaking him. During the fight scene between him and Dragline, he says that the only time he would stop fighting was if he killed him. In the end, this is essentially what happened. He continued to fight the idea of conformity up until the last minute.

Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock's movie Psycho was a very great film. I understand why it would be classified as one of the best horror films. For the time period it was created, the plot and storyline was very advanced and well thought out. The idea of multiple personalities, and the gruesome twist of preserving his mothers dead body added a lot of suspense and a very suprising twist at the end. The majority of viewers watching this for the first time wouldn't expect that for an ending. I liked the effect of the black and white. I think it added a creepiness factor to some of the scenes, such as the ending scene, and the murder scenes. I think if it had been in color, the murder scenes would not have the same effect.

The scariest scene by far was the one where the detective is climbing the stairs and the mother comes out of the room and kills him. The music played a huge role in this scene. The music played during this scene resembled the screeching of a woman's scream. It was suprising and caused a lot of poeple to jump and scream out of suprise.

In my opinion, one of the best parts of the movie was the very end part when it focused in on the murderer's face. It added to the creepy factor and definately brought the character to life. Also, the special effect of adding in the skull mouth had a really powerful effect. I thought this was a really good movie, and was suprised at the fact that it actually scared me. I would reccomend it to anyone.

King Kong (2005)

Now that I have viewed both versions of King Kong, I can definitely say that I preferred the second one, made in 2005. Although the first one was entertaining, I found myself much more intrigued and entertained by the newest one. The creators did a really good job on the special effects, and computer-generated animations. The sets, characters, and creatures all seemed so real. Kong looked like a real creature, and this definitely made a huge difference in the ability to connect with him. The story became more real and believable and sucks the viewers in to all the action.

As a viewer, I felt way more emotionally attached to the more modern Kong. Because of the advances in technology, the creators were able to make Kong seem more life-like, and he showed a lot more emotion. In the old version, I saw Kong more as the villain, and when he fell off the building I felt bad, but it didn’t seem like a great loss. In contrast, in the newer film Kong is shown to be more of a good guy. You are able to sympathize with him, and feel bad as he is hunted down and brought back to New York. I felt a tremendous loss as he falls to his death at the end, and this is because of the emotional attachment you have grown throughout the film. I enjoyed the more modern twist of the relationship and bond that Kong and Anne form. I thought it was a nice change from the classic romance story that usually takes place.

The creators of the film did a really good job at recreating the time period in which the original film was shot. It was very believable and brought viewers back in time. I thought they were very accurate in doing this, and it just added to the overall effect of the film. The one change I didn’t like though was the natives. I thought they were unnecessarily scary, with all the eyes rolling back in the head. But overall, I thought this was an excellent film, and would recommend it to everyone.