Movie Reviews Wasinee Siewsrichol
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Movie Reviews Wasinee Siewsrichol A Beautiful Mind A Beautiful Mind was written by Akiva Goldsman and Sylvia Nasar. This book is a true story about a genius mathematician named John Nash. John Nash attended Princeton University on the Carnegie Scholarship, and there, Nash was able to publish the Nash equilibrium. His theory laid the foundations for economics and evolution. The book was adopted into a movie, and it was directed by Ron Howard. John Nash was played by Russell Crowe, Ed Harris as Parcher, Jennifer Connelly as Alicia Nash, Christopher Plummer as Dr. Rosen, and Paul Bettany as Charles. I liked the way Crowe portrayed his character. John Nash was very socially awkward, and Crowe showed this by subtle actions such as the averted eyes when he talks to people. He mumbled and stuttered, and then stood with his back slightly hunched. This showed that he is not confident and is uncomfortable with the attention. The editing and music was great. Nash was in a bar with his Princeton peers. His peers make fun of Nash for not being good with the ladies. As Nash was thinking on how to be able to get a beautiful blonde woman in the bar, time stops for Nash. The director showed this by stopping all motions in the bar, and the only focus was on Nash and the girls. The tempo of the music started getting faster. In Nashs room, everything was moving except for Nash. Night becomes day, and the snow storm stops. The audience can see that when Nash is thinking, he thinks about nothing else except for math. His settings were blurred except for his numbers. Certain numbers, pages, or words in a magazine would be glowing. The movie did a great job in showing the progression of each character. After Princeton, Nash was able to get a job at Wheeler Defense labs at MIT. Nash was first introduced to the conspiracy when he broke a code to some top secret locations. As he was walking out, Nash saw a man in a dark suit and wearing a hat, and asks, "Who is Big Brother?". I loved the subtle reference to George Orwell's book, 1984. In 1984, Big Brother is the government. No one can escape from Big Brother because he sees all and knows all. At the end of 1984, the main character was also brain washed by Big Brother. This statement was foreshadowing Nash's impending illness. Schizophrenia is like Big Brother. A person cannot escape the hallucinations and the paranoia that comes with the illness. Schizophrenia is incurable, and it can take over a person's life. The audience sees that through Nash and his wife. Nashs wife, Alicia, grows increasingly irritable. Alicia is angry because of the unfairness of the situation and feels guilty at wanting to leave John. However, she feels that she has an obligation to stay and care for him because John is the man that she loves. She says that she can sometime see the traces of the old John. John acquires depression because his medications made him unable to work. Work was everything to Nash. He did not have any friends, and so Nash concluded that he was not meant for people. He did not like people, and the people did not like him. The only thing that made sense for Nash was math. At the end of the movie, Nash was able to come to the realization that there were certain things more important than work which was love. He said that he would not be there and winning all of the recognition and the Noble Peace Prize if it was not for his wife. I would give this movie an 8 out of 10, and I would recommend this movie to other people. Good Will Hunting Good Will Hunting is directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. This movie is about a man named Will Hunting, played by Matt Damon, who works as a janitor at MIT and has a gift for mathematics. I liked how unique the movie was compared to other films because it seems like everybody has their own inner demons. Typically, a movie is just focused on the main character and his or her problems instead of the entire cast. Professor Gerald Lambeau, played by Stellan Skarsgrd, was a famous mathematician who was the winner of a Field medal. Although he has the fame, he does not feel as accomplished. Gerald is jealous that Will has all of this potential and can solve a math problem in a day, but it took the professor and his team two years. Then there is the psychologist who graduated from MIT, but works at a community college. Sean Maguire, played by Robin Williams, has a few demons inside of him. First his wife died of cancer, and he was abused as a child. Even though he is a psychologist and he knows how to help other people, but he does not know how to help himself. It was not until Sean met Will that Sean realized how to let go. Will is like a younger version of himself. Will grew up in an abused household and in the southern part Boston. Will hides his hurt through his sarcastic ways and builds a barrier around himself. It was not until his best friend Chuckie, played by Ben Affleck, told him to that he is wasting his life being a laborer because Will has so much potential. Chuckie told Will that it was his dream to see Will leave and never say goodbye. I loved all of the characters in the movie because everyone is unique. However, I liked the character of Chuckie the most. Chuckie is one of those friends who everybody wants to have. A friend who will be brutally honest and risk losing a friend in exchange for that friends happiness. It is also hard to be a friend to a genius, but even harder to know that the friend is wasting his potential. The music in this movie was also played at the right time and creates the right mood. In the scene where Chuckie goes to pick up Will to go to work, but finds that Will is not there. The music that was playing made the audience feel like there is a new beginning. The ending was bittersweet, but the music made the audience feel hopeful, and that everything is going to be alright. Then after that scene is the scene where Sean is reading Wills goodbye letter. The music made a nostalgic mood because Will used the same words that Sean said to him. When Sean first saw his future wife at a bar, Sean gave up a very important baseball game in order to talk to this woman. Will is also giving up his friends and home in order to chase a brighter future and be with Skylar. Even though the characters, actors, and concept of the movie were fantastic, I did not find the movie to be the greatest movie of all time because the movie became boring at times, and I found myself falling asleep during some parts of the movie. The director and actors did everything right, but because of my own personal tastes, I would give this movie an 8 out of 10. It would not be one of those movies I would watch again, but I would still recommend this to other people. 2 Stand and Deliver Stand and Deliver is a film that is based on a true story about a high school teacher, Jaime Escalante, who takes on the challenge of making his students take and pass the AP Calculus exam. Edward James Olmos plays the main character Jaime. Escalante leaves his steady paying job in order to teach at Garfield High School, and implements a rigorous study schedule for the students that were considered illiterate. The other teachers had very low expectations for Escalantes students because the school was full of Hispanic students from working class families. The script writers and Escalante were excellent in this movie. The writers made the character Jaime feel more real to the audience. Jaime is full of charisma with his Hispanic accent and humor. I loved how he would sometimes insert some Spanish words into is speech, but the writers smoothly explained what the words meant. Although some words are not the most appropriate phrases to say in a classroom setting, Jaime talked to each of his students like they were his friends. As time went on, Jaime made each student feel like they were a part of his family. He believed in his students when nobody else would, and even staked his career when the AP board of education thought that the students were cheating. And in return, the students were able to trust him. This movie also took us inside a whole new world. Some of us are lucky enough to be able to sit in a nice clean school with a high graduation pass rate. This disparity is shown in the scene right after the pool scene. I liked how the director shows the people who do not have to learn math swimming in pools and having fun with their beach balls. The scene is bright and people are laughing. Then the scene transitions into a hot classroom. The students have to pass around oranges to keep cool because the air conditioner was not working. The students are sweating and the room is crowded because Jaime could feel the students agitation, but to lighten up the mood he says, Think cool.