Angels & Demons

Yesterday, I sat down with my daddy and we watched Angels and Demons together. Now, I'm not sure how historically accurate/just plain accurate the story is (I mean, duh, I know that this never actually happened in real life, I mean certain aspects of it like the Illuminati conspiracy, which I looked up, is an actual group but some aspects of their story are fictitious) but I thought the whole plot was just fascinating. It's just that I wish I knew more about the topic to know if certain things in the film were true or not.

So here's a brief summary. I'm telling it based on what had happened in the film.

Okay, basically, the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church has died and there is a conclave to elect a new Pope. Meanwhile, at a CERN facility,  Father Silvano Bentivoglio and Dr. Vittoria Vetra are working on the development of the antimatter which can power cities with just one speck. They succeed; however, Father Bentivoglio is killed and the antimatter is stolen. The four Preferiti, the four Cardinals that are most likely to become Pope, are kidnapped. The kidnappers are the same people who stole the antimatter and are part of a group called the Illuminati. The Illuminati, in this particular film, again, I don't know a lot about their history or anything, but in the film, they are an underground movement who, during the Renaissance, had worked to support the sciences. Of course, the Church did not particularly like the advancement of science and did all they could to stop it, including killing some members. Now, the group was getting revenge. They threatened to brand the Preferiti and kill one each hour. At midnight, the antimatter would run out of batteries which will cause it to explode and "Vatican City would be consumed by light." So, the Vatican calls in Robert Langdon who helps to interperet the clues leading to the places where the four Preferiti would be killed. Thus begins the "race against time" to rescue the four Preferiti. I'm not going to tell you the ending, but it's some crazy stuff, and it also turns out that the bad guys are attacking from the inside.

The whole time while I was watching this film, I was mindblown. Especially at the end. I always knew that behind every institution is imperfection. It's unavoidable since people are not perfect. But, it's pretty crazy when you think about it. There are so many things that we don't know about, that are kept secret from the public (Watergate, anyone?). And even when we, the public, sort of "know about it," the facts might be a bit twisted. The thought is pretty scary. You probably don't know what I'm talking about right now...So, you should definitely watch the film. Usually, I can't sit through films like this. Too many historical facts/things I don't understand. But I thought it was pretty interesting.

Chicago

Maybe you've heard of a little song called, "Cell Block Tango" or maybe "All That Jazz." Well, those songs come from a little musical called Chicago. Chicago is a Broadway musical that was adapted into a film in 2002 that won six Academy Awards. The film stars Renee Zellweger as Roxie Hart, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly, and Richard Gere as Billy Flynn.

Chicago takes place in the roaring twenties where jazz was all the rage and vaudeville was extremely popular. Roxie Hart is a housewife who has ambitions of becoming a showgirl on Vaudeville. She goes to a club with  Fred Casely, with whom she has an affair. He promises to get her on Vaudeville through his connections; however, he reveals that he lied about his connections and that he was going to abandon her. Enraged, she shoots him three times, killing him. She is put in prison where she meets a famous showgirl, Velma Kelly, who is arrested for killing her husband and sister who were having an affair. The women at the Cook County Jail tell their tales of how they killed their loved ones through my favorite number in Chicago, "Cell Block Tango." The next day, Roxie's naive husband, Amos, who is completely devoted to her finds enough money to hire one of Chicago's most prominent lawyers, Billy Flynn, who is known for his "smooth talkin' ways" and his method of making celebrities out of his client in order to win support from the public. Through Billy, Roxie becomes famous which makes Kelly jealous. The two begin a rivalry. By the end of the film, the court rules that Roxie is not guilty. She is no longer famous and therefore, is left with nothing. At the very end of the film, she sets off to find a career in Vaudeville. After Velma is released as well, the two decide to work together in a two-person acts. Although the rivalry between them still exists, Velma insists that in show business, competition and rivalry is something that can't be avoided.

Overall, I really, really like this film because of its amazing portrayal of Vaudeville, and all the glitz, glamor, and craziness of the Jazz Age. With all of the scandal, seqins and jazz, it's like you're in Chicago in 1920 with all of the flappers and showgirls. The music is great, and the cast is also terrific. Catherine Zeta-Jones is amazing, and of course Richard Gere is fabulous. Here's the trailer. Enjoy!

Dances with Wolves

A couple of nights ago, I watched Dances with Wolves with my mom. It was one of her favorite films growing up and it was the first time I had seen it, and it was terrific! At first, I was like, "Boo, another historical fiction film, eww," but I watched it anyways, and I'm glad I did.

Dances with Wolves takes place during the time of the Civil War and is about a Union lieutenant named John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) who is assigned to a psot in South Dakota, where a tribe of Sioux Indians live. He is fascinated by their lifestyle and decides to abandon his lifestyle to live with them. At first, the Sioux are not very friendly (duh, since the government was trying to relocate them, and didn't treat them so nicely), but Dunbar proves to be a good person, so they become more accepting of him. Dunbar's new name becomes, "Dances with Wolves" and he falls in love with a white woman who was raised by the Sioux (her family's home was ambushed when she was young. She ran away, and the tribe took her in). As Dances with Wolves is enjoying his new life, Unnion soldiers arrive and attempt to take the Sioux land. And then things get crazy.

Dances with Wolves is just beautifully made. The cinematography is well-done and helps to emphasize the scenery which is just gorgeous. It also won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Here's the trailer. Enjoy!