Schindler’s List - Finally got around to seeing this. It’s solid throughout; hard to point out any real weaknesses in this film. There are no real slow points, and it actually comes across as a good blend of documentary and drama. I like how Spielberg didn’t really hold back in his presentation, and decided to highlight some of the more gruesome and terrifying events. Great filmmaking, but you can’t really call it enjoyable or escapist.

12 Angry Men - Fantastic. It’s great the way most of the film is shot in the jury room. It’s really quite amazing (and believable) to see every juror’s individual prejudices come out and influence each other, shifting attitudes. Many elements are captured well here, from the sheer pettiness of one of the jurors trying to get a verdict quickly so he can catch a ballgame (despite it being a murder trial) to stereotypes based on class differences. It’s an older movie as well, but it really holds up even today.

2001: A Space Odyssey - You know, I’ve liked all of the other Stanley Kubrick films I’ve seen, but really didn’t like this one. Apparently Arthur C. Clark was quoted as saying “If you understand 2001 completely, we failed. We wanted to raise far more questions than we answered.” I suppose that’s one way to make a film, and it might have been amazing back in 1968, but this just does not hold up well. Aside from that, there are a handful of elements that don’t piece together well, and Kubrick’s apparent obsession with the photography used just does not make it very watchable. All of his other films are directly engaging in some form or another; I’m just not sure what he was going for here.

Platoon - I actually only watched this because it uses Barber’s Adagio for Strings, and the resulting film has had ties into pop culture on occasion. My overall goal here is to become more familiar with cinema’s effect on American culture, but I think there are more powerful Vietnam films out there. I didn’t like the story since I felt it focused too much on American vs. American conflict instead of the larger picture. That could be accomplished in any setting, really. It’s obvious that war brings out the worst in people and society as a whole. However, this film uses a nameless, faceless enemy just as a foil to drive the action and plot forward. This is where films such as Full Metal Jacket excelled. Platoon was still good, but I was expecting more out of it.