The Cider House Rules

The Cider House Rules was adapted from John Irwin's novel back in 1999. The film covers many controversial issues including; adoption, adultery, adoption, orphanages, and substance abuse. The film plays on the emotions of the audience and attempts to sway their opinions on these tough topics.

The main theme on the film The Cider House Rules is deciding what they right thing is even if it means breaking the rules. The main ambition of the movie is to convince the audience that abortion isn't always the wrong choice.  Right away this ambition wasn't so successful. All of the abortions at the beginning of the movie where mothers who just didn't want to have a child. That probably angered a lot of the anti-abortion audience. This ambition was successful because of the scene where Rose has an abortion because she was raped by her father. That made the audience feel sympathy towards her and made it seem alright. Dr.Larch taught Homer that it was okay to help the women because if he didn't someone under qualified would and that would hurt the woman and baby.

In my opinion I think the ambition was successful. This could be just because I was already pro-choice and this movie just proved my beliefs even more. It showed the circumstances where it would have been awful for the mother to carry out the pregnancy. Nobody wants to have their fathers child. They wouldn't be able to provide the compassion and love for the child without remembering back to the traumatizing moment.

Out of all the the approaches in the text, I'd have to say that the humanistic approach is used most in this film. The whole point of this movie is to change and influence the beliefs of the audience. Throughout the movie they are trying to convince the audience that they don't have to be anti-abortion. They are trying to prove that under certain circumstances it is okay to have an abortion.

One thing I really liked about this movie was that Toby Maquire was one of the main characters. It was so different to see him outside of Spiderman. I thought he played the part perfectly and really showed hard it was for him to deal with the abortions. I also liked how the movie showed how the director felt about the tough subjects. Obviously if the director was anti-abortion he wouldn't have agreed to do this film. It shows that he is pro-choice under certain circumstances.The movie is rated PG-13 because of all of the tough subjects. The movie covers a lot about abortion and even has some nudity scenes.

This movie has taught me that people go through so many tough situations. It taught me that there are so many rules that everyone needs to follow even if they aren't right. Sometimes a person has to make a tough choice to break the rules in order to do what they think is right. The movie kept me interested the whole time and made me really think about all of the circumstances. It made me think that maybe there are certain circumstances where it is okay to break the rules.

The Full Monty

When I first started watching The Full Monty I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I didn't even know what "Full Monty" meant...Don't worry, I got it know. After watching the movie all I could think about is how brave those six unemployed guys were doing something out of the norm in order to make some money.

This film covered quite a few different themes including; unemployment, suicide, obesity, and divorce. Each one of those themes are a little tough to cover so the movie had some humor to go along with it. The main characters of the movie are each struggling with their own issues. They are all unemployed, Gaz is fighting for visitation rights, and Dave is struggling with weight issues. I think that the point the director is trying to get across is just because a person is going through a rough patch doesn't mean they have to give up and be miserable. The men realize they need to come together as friends to be there for each other and to find a way to be successful again.  The director adds comedy into this film because it helps take the edge off some of the issues faced.

Personally, I think the movie was only somewhat successful. Yes, it made it me realize that being there for friends can be rewarding but it also promoted stripping as an easy way to make money. If Gaz is really trying to pay off his child support and prove he deserves visiting rights, I think there could have been better ways then doing the Full Monty. Otherwise, the  movie was super successful in the UK. It attracted a huge audience and even went on later to be made into a musical and a play. I think it grabbed the hearts of the audience and made them feel for the characters. It also showed that audience that when they are feeling down and worthless that it is their choice to stay that way or to do something about it.

The Full Monty is rated R because of all the swearing and partial nudity in the film. The rating could also have to do with some of the rough subjects dealt with in the film. Some people like to think that the violence, swearing, and nudity in films is causing there to be more problems with it in society today. I don't exactly think that is the case. I think movies  like this take what is already going on in the world and make it into something that everyone can relate too. Some of the issues they are faced with may be harsh but somewhere, someone else is going through the same problems. I also liked how there was a bit of comedy to go with this movie too, showing that its okay to laugh it off a little.

Overall, I don't think I will be watching The Full Monty again. It had good messages and taught good lessons but it didn't really keep me interested the whole time. I will say that the men in the movie did show just how brave they were by facing their own problems and by doing the Full Monty. I think it is the type of movie that you have to be able to relate to in some way in order to really appreciate it.

The Cove

The documentary The Cove is a real eye opener to what really goes on in the ocean. The film focuses on showing the audience just how many dolphins are killed a year and how eating dolphin meat could harm people. Ric O'barry, a former dolphin trainer, travels to Japan to expose the dolphin hunters for all of their horrible hunting practices.  The Cove persuades the audience to stop dolphin killings and  even won the Academy Award for Best Documentary back in 2010. I think directors of The Cove wanted to show the world just how brutal and wrong these killing are and they definitely got their point across. 

A few of the main themes in The Cove  are activism and animal rights. Throughout the whole documentary the audience is lead by a small group of activists in Japan. They protest for the animals rights and try to show how peaceful the animals could be if they weren't constantly being hunted and captured. One of the questions critics must ask themselves before watching a film is, "What is the film's level of ambition?". Basically, that just means what point is the director trying to get across and how he or she is trying to do it. The main purpose of The Cove is to stop the mass dolphin killings in Japan and around the world. The best way to get that message across is through a documentary showing exactly what is going on in Japan and how cruel the killings are. (Pg.405) 

In my opinion, I think the film succeeds in many ways. The Cove succeeded in making the audience aware of the killings. It played on the audiences emoticons and made them feel bad for the animals.Showing the audience the scenes of the mass killings  made them want to stop the killings. The one scene that really made me think about this was when the one dolphin escaped from the nets and was getting away. They could see it jump a few times while escaping and then they never saw it again because it died. The Cove has made a difference because so many people have already signed a petition to stop the killings. People are now aware of what is going on and what to make a difference. Personally, I thought the movie was almost to graphic to watch. It definitely played on the emotions of the people watching showing them how gruesome it was. They may have only shown all of the worst parts in order to make them feel even worse for the animals. It did really make me want to make a difference and help the dolphins thought. (Pg.407)

The Cove is a documentary that uses no narration. Everything is from an interview, real footage, and pictures taken. This narration lets the audience form their own opinions instead of listening to what they are are being told. They see what is actually happening and can make the decision on their own. The Cove is rated PG-13 more than likely for its how brutal the killings are. It also is rated PG-13 so that parents think that it won't be to much a a childish film and actually want to watch it. The film focuses on problems that are happening in the world today and really makes the audience feel like they need to make a difference. (Chapter 15)

The film The Cove has drawn attention to the mass dolphin killings in Japan and has started a petition to stop. I think without the documentary the world would still be the dark about what was going on. The documentary showed me just how far people would go just to make extra, easy money. It's not a film that will make a person feel good, but it is a film that will make them want to make a difference. I give the movie a thumbs up as it made me feel sorry for the animals and made me want to change the way things happen.