Scott Leman

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Great action and visual effects, but nothing else. The plot is very predictable with no surprises. In order to set up for the climax, the movie has to put the protagonists in some kind of danger. In this case, Kong's right hand gets injured. However, this does not upset the audience in the slightest because we already saw in the trailer that he gets a mechanized glove. To create suspense and set up for the climax, the movie also has to have convincingly terrifying villains. Scar King had a lot of potential because he seemed like the type to use his brains rather than his hands, which is just what this franchise needs! We already have two powerhouse villains in Ghidorah and Mecha Godzilla, why not have a villain who uses tactics, strategy, and some mind games? Scar King would be so perfect for all this because he resembles a primate and uses intricately crafted weapons which hints at a high IQ... But nope, he does not do any of that. Instead, this movie has some of the worst villains in the franchise history. Scar King does not convince me as a terrifying villain at all (because his supposedly strongest suit: intellect is not used at all). If we're talking about raw power output, he is dwarfed by the previous villains. Sure he's more agile and even knows a little "martial arts", but Kong seems perfectly capable of dealing with him before Shimo got involved. Yes this is a smart move from Scar King because he didn't need to fight Kong by himself, but in the eyes of the audience, this is a villain who is not on par with the protagonists, which then destroys the suspense and undermines the climax.

Murphy’s Law Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. Letting nature take its course maybe, but stay true to yourself since your decisions also play a part. Murph’s always had it in her, the drive for knowledge, the acute observation… All that made the miracle possible. Information Supposedly information only goes one way into the black hole and not out so there’s no way to bring back any information, say, critical data of a formula to “crack the code”. Maybe the paradox is that it’s meant to be impossible so that it’s impossible to manipulate gravity at will or travel through space-time. The cause and effect relation may work both ways. Do not go gentle into that good night Against the vastness of space, humans seem so small and fragile. Our efforts in space exploration seem so trivial. But a good thing about passion and belief is that they are not quantifiable, not comparable to the vastness of space. One’s will is infinitely strong? If one chooses so. Therefore, do not go gentle into that vast darkness without a raging heart to explore just a bit more especially when the survival of mankind is on your shoulders. To what degree is a human willing to sacrifice his lives, sometimes even his families’ lives to save those of others? The hardest thing on earth may be to sacrifice oneself for a cause, for the livelihood of others. Seldom do people realize how terrifying it is to not only see death right in your eyes but to choose death voluntarily. In the movie, the captain cannot make that choice. He thought he could but choosing death is so opposite to our natural instincts. Our survival instincts are embedded in our DNA. It takes great mind power to overcome this survival instinct. Cooper, however, is able to make that choice. He detached himself into the black hole to let Brand go to Edmund’s planet. He sacrificed himself for the survival of humanity. He sacrificed the chance to ever see his family again, which is indeed powerful considering how much he loved his kids. Cooper was going back to earth because he believed he found a new habitable planet. After the tragedies, however, he must have changed his mind. He made the biggest sacrifice that he can make, the chance to see his children again.

Why does Britain still has queen Elizabeth when nearly all of continental Europe went through revolutions that dethroned their monarchy? The French Revolution is a famous example of that. This show made a modest attempt at answering that question, depicting the British aristocracy's relationship with their butlers and maids. Although history happened because of a combination of factors and influences, the British monarchy, the house of Crawley at least, proved more sympathetic and compassionate to their servants than their continental counterparts.

This is a very deep film and definitely not just a romantic comedy. Many people didn’t understand the grand scheme of intricate themes at play and so the movie left them confused and irritated. “Why does everyone seems so odd and everything so difficult?” Let’s start with Amelie, the shy and caring protagonist. As a person who were kept at home and never had any friends, Amelie grew up to be an introvert. Being an introvert, however, doesn’t mean that she has no love in her heart. She cares about the people around her and wants to bring happiness to their lives. That’s why she works in secret, sewing their lives together, mending the wounds. And then everything changed when she met someone with a similar interest. He collects photos of strangers, putting them together in an album. He too cared about others and their lives and stories. However, being an introvert, she has to play little games with him like leaving notes and giving directions to get to know him better. She couldn’t talk to him because she isn’t used to intimate relationships and talking to people casually. Or maybe she knew it from the start that he is the guy and just wants to see how far he’d go for her. As a final act Amelie makes him meet the mysterious photo guy who turns out to be a technician. She brought joy to her future boyfriend’s life by solving the mystery that’s been puzzling him, as a way of saying “I care about you too”. The story is also about giving happiness and receiving it, as seen in the old man’s recording encouraging Amelie to take the chance. Amelie brought joy to the old man’s life, and he returned the favor. A heart warming tale indeed.

"I think therefore I am." I think, therefore I exist. I guess that is true for all the people who live in the Matrix because they still have their conscious will. But the manner of existence is important here. If one never realizes that he or she is living in virtual reality and that they are actually like plants in a greenhouse, does that count as existing? The movie brings out a brilliant question, what is reality? If reality is simply people feeling things and having emotions then a machine can simulate that by stimulating the neurons in our brain. This is exactly what Aldous Huxley wrote in his masterpiece "Brave New World", where people gave up hope and courage, and even complex emotions. They opted for eternal, drug-induced, fake happiness. What is happiness? One can never truly understand happiness unless he or she experiences the other side of happiness too. Just like you can't fully appreciate and understand the value of life unless you realize that one day death would come. However, the other side of happiness is sadness, disappointment, and rage. These things are considered harmful in the society that Huxley wrote and are therefore avoided. Ecstasy can be induced because our emotions are just neurons firing in our brain. But does ecstasy count as happiness? In a world where people gave up the courage to dream and to be disappointed, people can never truly experience happiness. In the Matrix, people still have their free will and they still feel things. But you can already see that some of them refuse to believe that their world is virtual reality. They refuse to doubt, to question, to risk having the meaning of their life taken away. After all, what's the meaning of your life if you live in virtual reality? Helping others won't work because you're helping simulations. Saving the world doesn't matter because the world is virtual. The question comes, which is better, to live in a safe, controlled virtual reality, or a dangerous and mostly disappointing real world? The society in Aldous Huxley's book made a choice. They chose the former option. I think pretty soon we'd have to consider that question too. The movie is eventually about courage, the courage to see the real world with your own eyes, to acknowledge all the good things and bad things that come with it too. Some people don't have that courage. They don't want the negative emotions, the pain, and the suffering. But happiness is only real when being compared with suffering and pain. In a world without disappointment, there is no dream and hope either. In a world without pain and suffering, there is no true happiness either.

The whole movie is about Ben dealing with his fear of the unknown future and the pressure from his family. He is confused and awkward at times because that's really who he is, a shy graduate who has no idea what to do after college. Then he meets Mrs. Robinson and he suddenly gets a taste of the adult world. In the adult world, there's adultery, betrayal, loss of traditional values, etc. Ben finds Mrs. Robinson charming and pleasing besides the sexual pleasure because he has never done something like this before. All he did is following his parents' directions and this is the first time he does something that's out of his parents' knowledge or control. That may also be why he likes "darkness". He is afraid of being seen and judged by others. But he instantly regrets it after meeting Elaine. He is shameful of the things that happened and had to take some time to gather enough courage to go to Berkley and chase his true love. When they leave in the bus in the end, both Ben and Elaine's emotions went through a subtle change from exhilaration to contemplation. Ben especially was emotionless. Maybe they're thinking about future. What's the future for them? How much of a chance do they have of surviving in the real world? No one knows. But making impulsive decisions with passion or love despite what the future holds may be a fundamental part of teenage years.

Before the awkward product placement, the awful plot, and the rediculous rebirth of Megatron came this classic TRANSFORMERS piece that shows the awesomeness and the true potential of a film directed by Michael Bay. The romance is there, the actions are there, the good old US military and their weapons are there... Besides these, we also have a plot that's not complicated but is also interesting to explore, including the history of Transformers and the lasting effects of that legacy that transcends time. All in all, my childhood favorite and an actually enjoyable watch.