12 Angry Men

 I love that movie. So complex, and the black and white aspects add a certain depth that color would just diminish. 
-Alexandra McManus

First, I just want to say that ever since I was young, I lived this delusion that my taste in movies was more sophisticated than that of my generational counterparts because I appreciated the distinct qualities of a black and white movie. I still believe this about myself, mainly because those of my friends who don't watch black and white movies BECAUSE they are black and white are missing out on an entirely different side of cinema. I cannot justly say that I have seen a recently made movie that took place solely inside a jury room, and still managed to be completely captivating. The fact that this movie was limited only to a jury room made the movie completely dependent on the complexity of the characters. They did not disappoint. Almost every one of the jury members had some kind of chip on his shoulder. The whole of the movie consisted of eleven men, unanimous in their verdict of guilt for a defendant in what appeared to be an open and shut case, who were one by one, convinced by one man that while the evidence SEEMED irrefutable, a closer examination of details showed that there was plenty of cause for reasonable doubt. Also, it discouraged the idea of putting a man to death based on
A. ignorant and ill founded prejudices
B. personal relationships with one's OWN children
C. the fact that you've got tickets to the baseball game and just wanna get the hell outta there so you can get good seats.

 It's definitely got the type of morals you'd want to instill in your children.

All and all, i'd say it was a solid seven. I still kind of wish it hadn't JUST taken place in a jury room, even if it did make for some very strong characters.

And who said the first two years of college were full of useless preliminary classes??

Judging by the title of this blog, I'm pretty sure it would be completely redundant to spend this first entry writing about what it is i'll be using it for. I got this idea from my English 211 teacher, who requires us to keep a blog for her class. She didn't actually give me the specific idea to watch movies from a list that was compiled by The Yahoo Movies Editorial Staff (YMES, since I’ll probably be referring to it a lot), but the blog idea definitely inspired me. While she was detailing the specifics of our blog assignments, I was thinking about what I'd write about if I had my own blog, and I must say I can't help but feel a little Julie/Julia-y about the whole concept of watching something, and then blogging about it. I mean sure, there are the obvious differences, but I'd be lying to myself if I said that I could have come up with this idea before I saw the movie (which, in my humble opinion, wasn't too bad). At any rate, it seemed like a semi-entertaining thing to do with my spare time (which I'm just overflowing with, what with my 18 college credits, and my assloads of homework).
     I feel as if it should go without saying, but just in case it doesn't let me just throw this out there: I am not claiming to be a movie critic of any sort. My opinion should have no worldly value to you, so if you are one of the 100 people that may or may not accidentally stumble across this blog, please don't be upset if I write something unsavory about a movie you like. I am but a sophomore college student who, like most college students, is spiraling deeper and deeper in to debt every year, and hardly ever has anything important to write about.


In case you wanted to gaze upon the list from which I will be watching these movies, here's the link
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/100-movies-to-see-before-you-die.html