It's a Wonderful Life

I am sure that most of you are aware of the movie "It's a Wonderful Life". It is one of the most iconic Christmas films since the beginning of the movie industry. It is truly a heartwarming and forever cherished film that will never be forgotten. No matter who you are or what type of movies you like to view, you can never go wrong with "It's a Wonderful Life". This movie stars the actor James Stewart who plays the character George Bailey. It also stars Lionel Barrymore who plays the notorious character named Mr. Potter. "It's a Wonderful Life" is a classic black and white filmed Christmas story made in 1946. It was directed by  Frank Capra who based the story on a book written by Philip Van Doren Stern which is called "The Greatest Gift". This movie has helped me and many others learn the true meaning of Christmas. We all need to be thankful for everything that we have in our lives, and most importantly the people we get to share it with. I have came to realize how fortunate I am to also have a wonderful life. Sometimes you just have to understand that we all have a purpose in this world, no matter what that may be. It seems that the world would just not be the same without the existence of anyone of us; we all have an impact.

George Bailey is a well-known modest owner of a private building and loan company (bank) in his town. His efforts as the owner have helped to keep his local town alive, preventing it from being taken over by Mr. Potter, a wealthy man known for his infamy. One day, George leaves his Uncle Billy to watch the bank while he is out as his brothers wedding. As he is gone, a large number of customers decide to withdraw all their money fearing that the bank may soon be unable to pay back their investments. This is formally known as a bank run. When George comes back he finds out that they have just lost $8000 threatening bankruptcy. George refuses Mr. Potters offer to buy the bank at half its value. After taking his frustration out on the rest of his family, George goes out on a long walk at night contemplating his situation and even considers suicide at one point. He begins to think that his wife and children would be better off without him. However, he soon runs into an angel sent from heaven named Clarence (Henry Travers).  He shows George what things would have been like if he had never been born. George finds out that the town would have been controlled by Potter and that most of the people he loves would have been miserable, ruined, and even dead. George soon realizes that he does have a purpose in this world, touching the lives of many people. At that moment he knows that he can not desert all the people that love him. When George returns home as a revitalized man, he is greeted by his loving family, friends, and towns people who all chip in to save his bank's financial ruin. George is stunned by their generosity, realizing that he truly has "a wonderful life". "Its a Wonderful Life" has always been a tradition in my family to watch during the Christmas season.  It is by far one of my favorite movies, in which I will be sure to pass onto my own family around Christmas time. Here is a preview of the movie: "It a Wonderful Life". Hopefully this movie means as much to you as it does to me. I wish you all a merry Christmas!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

This is by far one of my favorite comedies of all-time! If you have not seen it yet, then I recommend it to anyone who likes to have a good laugh. The film was made in 1987 and was directed by John Hughes. It stars two of my favorite comedians, Steve Martin and John Candy. By the way, John Candy is actually Canadian and is one of my countries most beloved and cherished actors. He is most recognized for his witty humor that can be appreciated by people of all ages. Steve Martin plays an uptight, sarcastic, and very pessimistic person by the name of Neal Page. On the other hand, John Candy plays a very friendly and optimistic person named Del Griffith who tends to easily form attachments to people. These two characters are basically the exact opposite from each other in every single way; however, their lives seem to still collide with each other while they both try to get home for Thanksgiving. Previously, I wrote a blog on the movie "Due Date" that was just recently released to theaters less than a month a ago. "Due Date" seems to have used nearly the exact same storyline as "Planes, Trains and Automobiles", also including characters with very similar characteristics. But by far, the original, "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" was much better. Anyways, it is a great movie full of hilarious scenes, a plot spinning ending, and two great actors who have helped to turn Comedy into what it has became today. It is definitely worth checking out!


The main premise of the story is about two very different characters by the name of Neal Page and Del Griffith, who bump into each other on the way to the airport while trying to catch a cab. In turn, Del ends up mistakenly taking Neal's cab in which Neal had just bribed another man for it, for over a $100. This of course is not the best start for their problematic journey together. Soon after, the two of them end up running into each other again, this time at the airport, where they are both scheduled for the same flight. Before being able to depart to chicago, their plane gets caught in a bad storm forcing them to land halfway to their destination. Later on in the movie, Neil has no choice but to pair up with Del, leading them on a long and crazy journey together to try and get Neal home for his Thanksgiving Dinner with his family. To change it up a bit this week, I thought I would include some of my favorite quotes in the movie. Hope you enjoy!


This quote involves a scene when Del and Neal are waking up after sharing the same bed together in the only motel room they could afford:
Neal: Del... Why did you kiss my ear? 
Del: Why are you holding my hand? 
Neal: [frowns] Where's your other hand? 
Del: Between two pillows... 
Neal: Those aren't pillows! 

Another one of my favorite quotes in the movie is when Del talks to a police officer that had just pulled him and Neal over for speeding in their completely trashed rental car that had caught on fire the previous night before, but surprisingly still ran great:

State Trooper: What the hell are you driving here? Del: Well you see officer, we had a small fire last night, but we caught it in the nick of time. State Trooper: Do you have any idea how fast you were going? Del: Funny enough, I was just talking to my friend about that. Our speedometer has melted and as a result it's very hard to see with any degree of accuracy exactly how fast we were going.

One other great quote in the movie is when Neal complains about all the stupid things that Del does and in return he asks Del to try to name one thing that he doesn't like about him:

Del: You play with your balls a lot. Neal: I do NOT play with my balls!Del: Larry Bird doesn't do as much ball-handling in one night as you do in an hour! Neal: Are you trying to start a fight? Del: No. I'm simply stating a fact. That's all. You fidget with your nuts a lot. Neal: You know what'd make me happy? Del: Another couple of balls, and an extra set of fingers? 

Those quotes are hilarious, and trust me, there are many more as well. "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" is a really great movie that I have came to appreciate more and more over the past  several years of watching it sporadically from time to time. It seems to get funnier the more I watch it, which is something that does not happen to often in comedies. Here is a preview of the movie to help you decide: "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles". You will not be disappointed!

Braveheart

After doing a project in my film class on the movie Braveheart, I though that it would make sense to blog about it. It stars Mel Gibson playing the role of a Scottish highlander named William Wallace. Mel Gibson does a wonderful acting job making his character very believable. He directed this movie as well, which is pretty amazing seeing as though he was the main role in the movie too. One thing that I really like about most of the films that Mel Gibson makes is that they tend to be related to something something that it very personal to him. In Braveheart's case, the movie relates to his own Scottish heritage. For this reason, the movie is somewhat based on true events from a historian standpoint. In this movie, William Wallace fights along side his army to keep Scotland's freedom from the neighboring imperialistic country of  England in the 1200’s. It was released in 1995 winning best picture and several other awards. This is actually one of my favorite movies, which I can take in some of my own Scottish pride. Although some may feel differently, I think that it deserves to be a well respected film. It has a great, inspiring storyline that will astonish you. Every time I watch this film, I am just amazed at how far people will go to fight for their country. In many ways, it has allowed me to appreciate my own freedoms in America, which is unfortunately something that a lot of people seem to take for granted. If this sound likes the movie for you, then I would definitely recommend that you consider it.

As always, here is a basic summary of the main plot of the movie Braveheart. The movie begins in the 1280 A.D. when King Edward "Longshanks" of England has taken over most of Southern Scotland. As a young child, both William Wallace's father and brother are killed in their village by the English during this terrible period. After being raised with his Uncle Argyle (played by Brian Cox), he eventually secretly marries the women of his dreams named Murron (played by Catherine McCormack) to avoid primae noctis. To prevent any further trouble, Wallace tries to live a discrete life with his wife as local farmers. Shortly after, two British soldiers in their town nearby, try to rape Murron. In turn, Wallace fights them off causing the men to run away. However, the british soldiers try to stop Wallace and Murron as they attempt to flee the village. As Wallace fights the men off, Murron is unfortunately captured, and she is sadly accused by the villages magistrate for assault and executed on the spot. When Wallace finds out he becomes enraged, wanting his revenge. Wallace and his men ride back into town and kill all the british soldiers, including the magistrate. However, Wallace soon realizes that it was not enough. Tired of the English's harsh rule, Wallace forms his own army of Scotts that are all willing to risk their lives for their countries freedom. William Wallace and his men do more damage in their revolution then the British ever imagined possible. I really recommend that see this movie, you will not regret it. Every time I watch it, I continue to become more and more inthralled by its amazing story. It is one of those movies that everyone should take the time to at least see it once in their life; however, once you see it I am sure that you will be wanting to see it again. Here is one of my favorite quotes in Braveheart, spoken by William Wallace in efforts to motivate his men before they go into battle:  “Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!” This quote seems to give me the chills every time I hear it. In fact, it is so inspiring that it makes me want to join in and fight along with them if it were possible. Here is a preview for everyone to watch: "Braveheart". I hope that you guys decide to see this one. Take my word for it. As always, thanks for reading! 

Gone Baby Gone

After seeing "The Town" and really enjoying it, I thought that watching "Gone Baby Gone" would also be a good idea. This is mainly because both movies were directed by Ben Affleck, who for the most part seems to direct great movies."Gone Baby Gone" came out in 2007 and was based on the book written by Dennis Lehane. The screenplay was also written by Ben Affleck. Who knew he was so talented? I for one sure didn't.  And with no further surprise, I thought that "Gone Baby Gone" was great. Now I wouldn't go as far to say that it was better than "The Town", however, I am sure that it could be very arguable. It was really well-done, starring Ben Affleck's brother, Casey Affleck, playing Patrick Kenzie. His character plays a private kidnapping investigator, not associated with professional criminal investigators. One thing that I was able to admire outside the actual movie was that Ben Affleck could have easily played this role, however he instead passed it onto his brother for his own chance at some fame. I also think that it would be much easier to direct a film when you are not starring in it. The movie also stars Ed Harris, and the forever cherished Visa commercial guy, Morgan Freeman. Ed Harris plays the character Remy Bressant, a undercover investigator. Morgan Freeman plays Jack Doyle, head of the kidnapping division in the police department. As you can see, it has quite a good cast, making it an even better movie. "Gone Baby Gone" is a movie perfectly suited for any viewer looking for somewhat of a analytical movie to watch, that will require some thinking in order to properly understand it. If this sounds good to you, then I would definitely recommend it.

As always, here is a little summary to help you get more of a feeling for the storyline of the movie without ruining it for you.  The movie begins with the private investigator Patrick Kenzie and his partner and girlfriend Angie Gennaro. Both of them see a breaking news cast on TV reporting the possible kidnapping of Helene McCready missing daughter Amanda. Jack Doyle, along with Remy Bressant and many others, are put on the kidnapping case to try to find the girl and her kidnapper. Later on, Helene's parents hire both Angie and Patrick to take on the case, seeing as though they need all the help that they can get. After taking on the case, they are looked upon as outsider who have no experience, by the professional investigators. However, soon after, Angie and Patrick discover that Helene has been doing some drug deals on the side with her boyfriend Skinny Ray, who she had just stolen over $100,000 with from their head drug lord Cheese. Angie and Patrick suspect that it was Cheese who had kidnapped Amanda in order to get his money back. In turn, Captain Jack Doyle makes a supposed deal with Cheese that they would exchange the money in return for Amanda without the involvement of any other cops. Upon making the deal, Doyle's investigators Remy Bressant and his partner split up with Angie and Patrick. After hearing gunshots by the investigators, Angie and Patrick rush over to find out what happened. The investigators said that upon making the deal, there were gunshots fired and Amanda accidentally fell off the cliff into the Quarry, where she supposedly drowned. Of course this is not the full truth behind the storyline, so there is much more for you to find out, along with one of the most unexpected twists that I have ever seen in a movie. Here is a preview to help you decide if this movie is worth watching: "Gone Baby Gone". As always, thanks for reading! Hope you guys enjoy this one!

La Bamba

To continue my interest in the origins of rock and roll music, I decided to Netflix the movie "La Bamba". After enjoying the movie "The Buddy Holly Story", I knew that "La Bamba" could have just as much potential, seeing as though they shared similar stories. "La Bamba" is about the short, but illustrious life of the young Hispanic Rock N' Roll singer known as Ritchie Valens. Valens is played by the actor Lou Diamond Phillips, doing a great job on his role. The movie goes into detail about some of his teenage life, his rapid growth to fame, and of course his passing. If you read my previous post on "The Buddy Holly Story", then you would be aware that Ritchie Valens, as well as the Big Bopper and Buddy Holly, all died on a horrific plane crash in a blizzard. Unfortunately their influential efforts on Rock N' Roll came to an end, but their music will never be forgotten. Ritchie Valens brought his own special twist to Rock N' Roll, changing up the beats of several songs such as "La Bamba", which of course is where the name of the movie was derived from. His roll on Rock N' Roll will always be remembered and greatly appreciated forever.

The movie begins in southern California in the year 1957, where Valens works on a peach vineyard with his mother and brother. Ritchie is a very confident and determined young man when it comes to his love for music. He continues to promise his mother that he will get her the home of her dreams when he becomes rich and famous. Later on Valens Brother Bob, who is somewhat of a rebellious young man, ends up betraying Valens by sleeping with his girlfriend. However, in Valens good nature, he decides to forgive his brother, later moving to the west coast of California with him and his mother Connie. Valens and his brother continue to share a distraught relationship throughout the movie, mainly due to the fact that Bob felt that his mother had always appreciated Ritchie more. Soon Ritchie meets a girl that he falls in love with named Donna, who he later writes a song about. Further on in the movie, Ritchie Valens is discovered by a small time record producer at a dance. This is where Valens gets the extra boost he needed to help develop his music career, making him one of the most popular singers in 1958. The movie goes on to tell you more about his life as a musician, his unfortunate death, and the mourning of his family. There is definitely a lot more to this movie than I already told you so I would definitely recommend you see it. It is truly a great movie that I am sure any music lover will enjoy! Here is a short preview to help you decide: "La Bamba". I hope that everyone enjoys this one as much as I did!

Unstoppable

I just saw the movie "Unstoppable" in theaters this weekend and I thought that it was actually very good. I would probably say that it was fairly predictable, but I was still able to really enjoy it. Not only that, but ever since I was little and got to go on a passenger train ride with my Dad, through the Rocky Mountains from Vancouver to Calgary, I have grown a great passion for trains. So as you can see, this movie came to be quite enjoyable to me and as well as my dad. Train lovers or not, I'm sure that you'll still love this movie. It is a 2010 American Action-packed thriller with the occasional input of humor that for the most part would be appealing for the majority of movie-goers. "Unstoppable" was directed by Tony Scott and written by Mark Bomback. It is also based on true events, so in other words it is fairly dramatized. The movie stars Denzel Washington who plays the character Frank Barnes, and Chris Pine who plays the role of Will Colson. They both seem to do a great job with their parts in the movie. I'm sure that you will not be disappointed with this one.

Frank Barnes is a 28-year veteran train engineer who has just been given a 90-day forced retirement notice with half the benefits. On the other hand, Will Colson has just been given a job offer to work for the company in the same Fuller yard. On his way to work, Will tries to call his wife but she refuses to pick-up, purposely avoiding him for the past couple of weeks. Later on in the movie, you find out that this was because he was suspicious of her cheating on him when she refused to let him see who she was texting one day. After leaving her in anger, he later finds out that she was just texting her friend and not the man he threatened. Later on in the movie, Will is still learning how to be a train conductor so he is teamed up with Frank to help teach him the daily routine on how to properly operate a locomotive engine. While on their train schedule, Frank and Will are warned that there is an unstoppable, unmanned train close by, head-on in their direction, put into motion by human error. They soon find out that this train is also carrying several carts of highly toxic and explosive chemicals, dramatically increasing the danger of this problem. In turn, they are asked to stop at the next siding to let the train pass them without collision, but Frank was confident that they had too large of a load to fit. Instead, Frank and will decide to stay on the main track, just getting off in time on a cleared RIP track further down, allowing the unmanned train to safely pass. After seeing the train pass, Frank notices that the last carts coupling is still open realizing that they could stop it if they catch up to it in reverse, latch on to the cart, and pull it in the opposite direction. Will decides to stay with him to help out the most that he possibly can, feeling that it is a chance for him to win back his wife, and stop the reckless train. While this is going on, there also are several other failed attempts to stop the train, one of which included the death of Franks close friend. This is when the movie really starts to get good, becoming quite the rollercoaster ride (or I guess I should say train ride). It is also really interesting to see two very different characters (Frank and Will) open up to each other, both realizing that they could die in their attempt to stop the runaway train. I really recommend this one to anyone who is interested in the story line.  Here is a short preview to help you decide: "Unstoppable". I Hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!

Forrest Gump

"Forrest Gump" is probably one of the best movies of all-time. If you have not seen this movie before, than you are really missing out on a great cinematic adventure. It is by far one of my favorite movies. It was based on the book "Forrest Gump", written by Winston Groom. The novel was also very well-done with a couple aspects in it that were not included in the movie. However, I feel that "Forrest Gump" is one of the very few movie adaptation’s that was even better than the book. This is something that you rarely get to see in movies that were based on books; usually critics who have read the book beforehand tend to criticize the movie, but in this case it became an American classic. I think one of the strongest attributes of this movie is that it has such a wide-range appeal to all viewers. This is mainly because it covers nearly all major genres of movies in one film: this includes comedy, romance, drama, action, and even historical non-fiction. Also, Tom Hanks did a wonderful job playing the role of Forrest Gump, stating that it was the best roll that he has ever played. Forest Gump is considered to be borderline mentally challenge.  Like Forrest says, "Stupid is, as stupid does." However, he never let his limitations prevent him from accomplishing amazing things. It was truly miraculous to watch Forrest Gump’s simple character grow to have such a big heart. Through all his many adversities, he still was able to keep a positive outlook on life. To be honest with you, this is one thing that I have learned from Forrest Gump: you just need to have a little faith, and never give up on your dreams. Like Forrest's mom told him, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get."

I'll give you a short summary to help you decide if you would enjoy "Forrest Gump" as much as I did. And trust me, you will! The movie starts out in the year 1981, where Forrest Gump begins to tell an older lady (as well as many other people further on in the movie) the story of his life to help pass the time. He begins by talking about his childhood. This is when the movie flashes back, eventually leading up to him discussing his story at the bus stop. It then progresses onto more of his life, leading to the climax of the story, and the ultimate resolution. He talks about how his mother was able to convince his principle to get into his public school, even with his fairly low IQ. On his first day of school, none of the kids on the bus would let him sit down next to them except one girl name Jenny. She will become his best friend and protector throughout their close relationship as children and later on as friends. Soon Forrest will grow to love Jenny more than he himself could understand. As a child, the doctor gave him leg braces, thinking that it was the best way to help "straighten him out". One day while walking with Jenny, a group of bullies road up on their bikes and began to throw rocks at him. Forrest resists to movie until Jenny yells, "Run Forrest, run!" This is a reoccurring motif throughout the movie. Forrest takes off while being chased by the boys on their bikes. His leg braces ripped right off and he was able to run faster than ever. This is when Forrest discovers one of his first miraculous talents. The movie goes on and eventually Forrest graduates high school. After being chased in a truck by the same, but older bullies, Forrest ends up running accidentally across the University of Alabama’s football field during their practice. This is where the coach discovers his amazing speed, seeing that he could outrun a hail-marry. He was soon given a football scholarship to Alabama, where he becomes the star players of the team. After graduating, he ends up enlisting into the military during the Vietnam War, not really knowing any better. This is where he meets one of his best friend name Bubba who convinces him to get into the shrimping business with him after the war. This is also where he meets the character Lt. Dan. Later on, Forrest Gump ends up getting caught in a Vietnamese ambush with the rest of his platoon, where he listens to Jenny’s advice to just run when he gets into any trouble. After making it to the shoreline, he realizes that he had left Bubba, so he ends up running back into the dangerous ambush. On his way, he runs into several other injured American soldiers, rescuing them as well. Finally after finding Bubba, he takes him to wear it was safe with the other men, however it was too late. Forrest is given the Medal of Honor from President Nixon for his tremendous bravery. Forrest ends up keeping his promise to Bubba, by establishing the "Bubba-Gump Shrimp Company” with Lt. Dan. Forrest ends up making a fortune off their company and as well as his investment in "Apple", which he believes to be some sort of fruit company. Forrest continues to spread his generosity by giving Bubba’s Momma, Bubba’s share, and also donating a lot of the money to charities, as well as a new hospital in town and a gospel church. I think I have already ruined enough for you, and trust me there is much more. This includes Forrest Gump’s accomplishments, such as running all across the United States from coast to coast, being a world champion ping-pong player, and eventually marrying the love of his life, Jenny. Please do yourself a favor and watch this movie. There is so much more to it than I already discussed with you. It is full of beautiful screenshots, a great soundtrack, lots of symbolism, and even a great historical outline of this time period. Not only that but this movie also won several awards, including "Best Picture" at the Academy Awards. Here is a preview of the movie for you to see: "Forrest Gump". I cannot stress my point any stronger! You will love it!

In the Name of the Father

As I walked in on my Dad watching TV, the movie "In the Name of the Father" came on. My Dad strongly recommended that I watch it with him because he said it was very well done. So I thought "Why not? I still have to make a blog on a movie anyways". After watching the whole movie, I found it to be great!  "In the Name of the Father" is based on the true story about the Guildford Four and was directed by Jim Sheridan. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis (playing Gerry Conlon), Emma Thompson (playing Gareth Peirce), and Pete Postlethwaite (playing Giuseppe Conlon). The setting of the movie first takes place in Northern Ireland during the problems between an Irish terrorist group known as the IRA, and the British government. The IRA formed to try and reunite Northern Ireland, which is part of Britain, with the rest of the predominantly Catholic Republic of Ireland. During this time the IRA was an extremely violent group that tried to intimidate the British through violence. The main premise behind the story is the false conviction of four young Catholics and their family, who were wrongly convicted for supposedly being the IRA terrorists who bombed the Guildford Pub, killing five people. The conflict in the film is between the British police who try to cover up the fact that they arrested and convicted innocent people, and the victims fight to reveal the truth and free themselves from this injustice. It is a really well done movie that if you have not seen it yet, I would definitely recommend that you do so.

Now that you have heard my own comments on the movie, I will give you the main description of it so that you can decide if you would enjoy watching this yourself. The movie begins with the main character Gerry Conlon, a Catholic, who lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Of course during this time the IRA was stirring up a lot of chaos in this area, in efforts to unite Ireland. During this time, Garry Conlon was messing around with the British Military, getting involved in riots. His father, Giuseppe Conlon, feared for his safety, getting him to move to England to live with his Aunt Anne Maguire, for the time being, until things settle down back home. In his stay in England, he decides to live with a group of hippies instead of with his aunt. After getting in a fight with one of the hippies at this abandoned house, Gerry and his friend Paul Hill, who is also from Ireland, go out for the night to blow off some steam. They decide to spend the night on a bench with a homeless man named Charles Burke (a key character in the trial), who they were with while the incident of the Guildford Pub bombing happened. Later, they ended up bumping into a female prostitute who was inconsiderate towards Gerry. As she drives off in a car, she accidently drops her keys without noticing. In spite, Gerry robs her apartment, taking a large stash of her money. Coincidentally, Gerry and Paul ended up buying some extravagant clothes with their money. They were linked to the bombing through the supposed evidence of being falsely accused by the same hippie that they argued with the previous night, and also being some of the few Catholic's in that area. This was enough to get a warrant, so that they could try to force them to confess.  After visiting back home, Gerry and Paul were interrogated by the police, who took them back to Britain to be to be question about the bombing. The criminal investigators harassed and tortured them mentally and physically to try to get them to confess to a crime that they did not commit. In his son’s defense, Gerry's father Giuseppe Conlon came to try and negotiate with the police to see what the problem could be. However, he and the rest of his family were arrested instead for supposedly supplying the "Guildford Four" with homemade bombs. Eventually, Paul Hill is forced to confess to a crime he did not commit when the police shove a gun down his throat, forcing to do so or else they would kill him. Soon after, Gerry Conlon is also forced to admit to the same crime that he also did not commit, threatening to kill his father if he did not do so either. For the most part, the investigators just wanted any possible group to be labeled and put in jail for this horrible crime in order to keep the angered English public satisfied. The movie really picks up in pace after this, leading them to a court trial where they are accused for the bombing. Each of them are sentenced to prison for years, including Gerry's sentence for a lifetime. Eventually, a lawyer named Gareth Peirce puts her faith in their case, devoting years of her life to get an appeal with the proper supportive evidence to get them all out of jail. This is where the movie really begins to get good, so I won't ruin anymore for you, but you should definitely go watch it to find out. Here is a little preview that you are welcome to go watch: "In the Name of the Father". I hope everyone enjoys this one!

3:10 To Yuma

I have seen this movie a couple of times before and I just saw it the other day again in my film class. The amazing thing about "3:10 to Yuma" is that I can watch it over and over again and I don't seem to get any less intrigued. In fact, I think it gets more interesting because I continue to look harder for symbols, foreshadowing, and other meanings throughout the movie. And this is something that you don't get to see too often in movies. It stars two great and popular actors, Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. Christian Bale plays the character Dan Evans who would be considered the hero of the movie. On the other hand, Russell Crowe plays Ben Wade, who represents more so of a villainous character. Both their roles are played perfectly and to the tee, really allowing you to become intrigued by their character.  It is definitely one of my all-time favorite westerns, so if you like western movie, I would definitely recommend it!

Before you decide whether or not you would like to see "3:10 to Yuma", I'll just give you a short summary on the basics of the movie. A husband and father of two named Dan Evans is going through many problems. This includes a drought in which has caused his farm to be greatly hurt, and nearly completely dried out. Due to the drought he and his wife become broke, making it very hard to support their sons. His eldest son has lost all respect for his father, which really seems to take a huge toll on Dan. Later on in the movie Dan and his two sons bump into a posse of rebellious criminal cowboys, of which had just robbed an armored cart. Their gang leader Ben Wade is well-known for being a notorious killer and stealer. After making terms with each other, the gang goes off on their own to a nearby town. Later on the sheriffs arrive at the scene where Dan helps to lead them back to the town in which they came from where the gang had just left to. Dan walks into the local bar to sort out a couple of things that Wade owed him after killing some of his cattle, while at the same time letting the sheriffs surround  the bar to capture Wade. They burst in forcing him to surrender. The next step to the story was transporting their prisoner Wade to a train station way out of town, leaving to Yuma at 3:10. Dan quickly takes up the job for $200, along with a couple of other men. He knows that by completing this job he can win his families respect and get them enough money to provide a good environment to support them. This is where the story really gets good leading to quite the journey. Also, you get to see a strange relationship form between Ben Wade and Dan Evans. Even though these men are very different, they still seem to share great respect for each other. Through their respect, you get to see the thin line between good and evil. It is full of great action, symbolism, and the close relationship between good and evil. I really recommend that you go see this movie! Here is a short preview to help you decide: "3:10 to Yuma". Trust me, you won't be disappointed!"

Due Date

This weekend I decided to go see "Due Date", which was just released to theaters. Seeing as though this movie was made and directed by the same people who did the movie "The Hangover", I felt that this too would have to be pretty funny. It also stars Robert Downey Jr., who plays Peter Highman, and Zack Galifianakis, who plays Ethan Tremblay. I’m sure you all know Zack Galifianakis from "The Hangover", which he was hilarious in. And not only that, but I'm sure you are familiar with good old Robert Downey Junior’s role in "Iron Man". They are both great actors who seemed to really work together quite well in "Due Date". You also get to see some of their similar humors from past movies that they stared. After watching the movie I was quite pleased with the outcome. It was fairly good, although I would not call it "Hangover" good. It was still very funny though, with lots of great scenes and lines that would be hard not to break-out laughing at. I definitely think it is a movie that is well-worth the time and money. If you’re looking for a new movie to get a good laugh out of, then "Due Date" is for you.

Anyways, I'll just give you an outline on the basics of "Due Date". In the very beginning of the movie, Peter Highman is on the way to the airport to try and get home to Los Angeles to see his wife deliver their expected baby. Upon his arrival to the airport he opens the car door of the cab, when all of the sudden a car zooms by and rips the door right off. At that time a man by the name of Ethan Tremblay gets out of the passenger side of the same car, knocking his own bags into Peter's, where they accidently switch paper bags. While Peter is going through security he gets his paper bag flagged over and checked. The security guard ends up confiscating his bag, which was not his, because it had marijuana and a bong in it. Later while boarding the plane, Peter bumps into Ethan again who coincidentally is bumped up to first class, right in the seat behind him. As the passengers are told to shut off all their cell phones before the plane embarks, Peter tries to finish a text to his wife. Ethan leans forward and advises him to shut it off seeing as though it is part of the airlines protocol. However, Peter refuses to saying that he just wants to finish up his last text. Ethan loudly continues to try and get him to shut off his phone, saying that the attendants may suspect him to be a terrorist trying to set off a bomb. Peter asks Ethan to please be quiet, saying that you should not say those words on an airplane. I found it hilarious when Ethan continues to repeat himself causing a commotion on the plane, to the point where Peter is asked to step up to the front of the plane. Peter refuses to move, so the plane air Marshall gets up and tells him please come with him and drop the phone. Peter persists that it is not a bomb, waving it around in the air. He is than shot by the air Marshall with a rubber bullet. Later, both Peter and Zack are put on the no-fly-list, restricting them from being able fly home. Zack rents a car and offers Peter a ride to Los Angeles, seeing as though he is going there to because his father had just died and he promised him that he would pursue his acting career. Peter left had his wallet and suitcase on the plane, leaving him no choice but to travel with Zack. This is where the story really gets good, filled with tons of hilarious scenes. One of the funniest things about this movie is Zack's ignorance to his stupidity and his unbearable personality, and Peter's smart-ass humor. If you like comedies, I know you will all really enjoy this movie! Here is a brief preview of the movie: "Due Date". Hope everyone enjoys it!

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

I heard many mixed-up reviews on this movie before watching. I thought I would go out and rent "The Goods" myself to really see how it is. When it came out it was marketed like crazy, and by just judging the commercials it actually looked rather funny. However, after watching this movie, it just may be one of the worst comedies I have ever seen. In fact, I don't even think that "The Goods" deserves to be considered a comedy because I barely laughed once. I don't usually blog about bad movies, but this one was so bad that I just had to share it with you guys. Now I don't know if you have seen it or not, but I am sure you will agree with me if you watch it yourself. This movie was so bad that I actually fell asleep in it and when I woke up I had to rewind it back just so that I would have enough valuable information to blog about it. If I had to pick out the funniest part of the movie, it would be the fact that it was funny how bad some of the jokes were; it was as if they were trying too hard to make you laugh. I really cannot explain why it was so bad. I guess it is just something that you will have to see for yourself (if you feel like watching an hour and a half of pure torture).

Anyways, I will just tell you the main storyline of the movie. "The Goods" stars Jeremy Piven who plays a mercenary named Don Ready. The other main star in the film is Ed Helms playing the character Paxton who has his own Backstreet Boys style band called the Big Ups. I quite like both of these actors who have played many good roles in past comedies; however, they were terrible in this movie, sparking no humor at all. In the movie, Ben Selleck's car dealership is having business trouble and will be forced to foreclose unless he is able to sell at least 211 cars before the end of July 4th weekend. Paxton and his dad Stu try to buy the dealership from Ben hoping to put him out of business seeing as though they own a competitive car dealership nearby. Instead, Ben Selleck decides to hire Don Ready and his team who convince him that he does not need to sell the company because with their skills they can sell out the whole car lot. At the same time Don is determined to do so in order to win over the love that he has for Ben's daughter Ivy Selleck, who is engaged to Paxton. The team will do everything they can to sell out all the cars for Ben's dealership, going through many obstacles and using many obscure techniques to do so. One of these techniques is advertising on a TV commercial that Ben has Testicular Cancer and that all he wants to do before he dies is sell all the cars at his dealership. In my opinion, that is just messed up. Did they really think that a serious matter such as cancer would be funny to viewers! Well there you have it! That is the movie and if it sounds good to you than go see. Trust me when I say this, "Don’t do it to yourself. It really is not worth your precious time!" But here is a short preview of the movie anyways: "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard". Believe me, you will really hate it!

The Buddy Holly Story

Ever since doing a little research on the musician Buddy Holly for my project "The American Dream through Music" I soon became very intrigued by him. This weekend I decided to rent "The Buddy Holly Story", to get a further understanding on his short but meaningful life. I found this movie to be very interesting and really well-done. Of course it does not 100% accurately display Buddy Holly's musical career, but it is definitely pretty close. Buddy Holly is played by the actor Gary Busey, who does a rather good job in portraying Holly's character. In fact, all the singing in the movie was actually done by Busey himself, which is quite amazing when you come to think about it. This movie displays Buddy Holly's life from the age of 19 to 22 years old, showing you his rapid success in becoming one of the most famous Rock N' Roll stars of all time in just a few years. His music will lead to generations of new singers who will come to idolize his huge influence on music. If you are a big fan of Buddy Holly or just interested in knowing more about how he shaped Rock N’ Roll, then I would definitely recommend you go watch this. It will truly give you a whole other appreciation for music and most importantly in this case Rock N' Roll.

The movie begins when Buddy Holly is just 19 years old and graduated from High School. With his great passion for his new style of music, he hopes to someday be able to share it with everyone across the world. In the opening scene, Buddy Holly plays with his band at a roller rink while being put on the live local radio station. After getting tired of playing plain old country style music he decides to step it up a notch, showing the people what he is really capable of. He begins to perform "That'll be the Day", and before you know it the whole place is up on their feet and dancing. People on the local radio also hear it, so the broadcaster decides to send it into the Nashville’s record producer. Teenagers across the town become in love with his new music, but he is soon looked down upon by many of his older adult figures across the town who call it the Devils music. However, Holly is confident in his music and knows that the kids who are enjoying it the most won’t always be kids forever, so before you even know it everyone will be listening to it. Later Buddy Holly and his band are sent down to Nashville to make an album. However, Holly becomes frustrated with the record producer, knowing that he will only play his music his way and no other way, so he and the band backs out on the album. Buddy than is offered to produce music all on his own in New York City by a man named Ross Turner (played by Conrad Janis). Buddy Holly and his band accept the deal and soon begin to make several albums with the producer. Buddy Holly and his band members become known as "Buddy Holly and the Crickets." In less than a year’s time their music is being played across the world, soon becoming known as Rock N' Roll. Nearly two years later Buddy Holly's band begin to miss being away from home for so long and start to feel over shadowed by Buddy's fame, so they decide to break up Buddy's band, leaving him. By this time Buddy Holly is now married to Turner's secretary, Maria Elena Santiago (played by Maria Richwine) who soon becomes pregnant with their child. Buddy is convinced by his record producer Ross Turner to go on the 1959 Winter Tour for five weeks in order to get is name heard across America. Buddy Holly has his last concert, along with the famous performers the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, at a winter dance in Clear Lake, Iowa. At the end of the concert Buddy Holly plays his final song, "Not Fade Away", and says his farewell to the crowd with "Thank you Clearlake! We love you. C'mon....we'll see you next year!” The movie ends with a caption saying that after the concert their bus breaks down, so the three of them end up chartering a plane together, which crashes that very night causing all three of their deaths. This day has ever since than been known as "the day the music died." Sadly, this is a very true statement and it is a tragedy that could have so easily been prevented. Hopefully this is a movie that you may too be interested in, that will help you understand Buddy Holly’s strong influence on today’s music and the beginnings of Rock N' Roll. Here is a preview of the movie: "The Buddy Holly Story". Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

A Perfect World

I could not help but to blog about one of my all time favorite movies, "A Perfect World." I'm sure that most of you have not heard of it but I definitely recommend that you go watch it. This film came out before I was even born, in the year 1993. One of my favorite actors, Kevin Costner, stars in the film playing the character Robert Haynes, also known as "Butch". My dad and I have been big fans of many Kevin Costner movies ever since he visited our house a few different times, a couple years back. That was a pretty amazing experience to meet a well known celebrity, especially at the time. Kevin Costner is sincerely a really nice guy on and off the camera. This is something that we really came to appreciate about him.  The movie is directed by Clint Eastwood, who usually seems to make excellent movies all the time. Eastwood also plays the important role of Texas Ranger Red Garnett in the movie. Another key character in the movie is T. J. Lowther, who plays a young eight-year old boy named Phillip Perry in the movie. Anyways, this has become one of our favorite Kevin Costner movies and I thought I would share my own comments on this movie, seeing as though I hope that after reading this blog, you will try and make the effort to see it as well.

This movie takes place in Texas in the year 1963, around the season of fall. Two criminals, Robert Haynes, nick named Butch, and Terry Pugh (played by Keith Szarabajka) just managed to escape from Huntsville Prison. During their prison break, as they are running from the law they bump into a house where Butch pursues to kidnap a young boy named Phillip Perry from his Jehovah's Witness family, seeing as though they were in need of a hostage. On the beginning of their long Journey together, Terry Pugh tries to molest the young child, leading Butch with no choice but to shoot his fellow convict. The boy soon comes to appreciate Butch for saving him from Pugh's treacherous actions. Together, Butch and Phillip become fellow accomplices to each other, doing everything they can to run from the law. Their pursuing police chase was lead by Texas Ranger Red Garnett. In this time period, Butch and Phillips become best of friends learning more about each other than you could ever imagine in such a situation. Soon you come to realize, just as Phillip does too, that Butch really is not as bad of a person as he is made out to be in the beginning of the movie. In actual fact, he is a kind hearted and protective man of great morals, who learns a lot from Phillip, just as Phillip learns from him. This strong bond between the two of them will become some of the most cherished days of Butch and Phillips life, teaching them more than you could imagine. It is truly an amazing movie that you must watch to find out about the rest. It has given me a very different outlook on life in which I will always be grateful for; sometimes you just have to dig deep to find the truth about people. This is something that "A Perfect World" perfectly demonstrates. You are welcomed to check out this short preview of the movie: "A Perfect World". I cannot express my love for this movie any stronger. Do yourself a favor and go watch it. You will not regret it!

The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones is based on the Book, which was written by Alice Sebold. I was the best-seller in the year 2002, so it was quite well known then. In 2009 it was released to theaters and directed by Peter Jackson. The film did not receive the best reviews from critics though; however, it still made over $43.5 billion. One problem that I had with the film was that the acting was kind of cheesy especially from certain characters. Besides that though, "The Lovely Bones" deserves more than it was made out to be. Overall, it had a very interesting plot that tried to display the different aspects of the book, such as the "in-between". Also the visuals were beautiful and it was packed with a whole bunch of great symbolism throughout the movie. If you haven't read the book, I think you will quite like the movie. However, if you did read the book you might be a little disappointed by the way it is perceived in the movie. Either way though, I recommend you go watch, and find out for yourself.

The movie takes place in 1973, in a small town named Norristown, Pennsylvania. It begins with the main character Susie Salmon (played by Saoirse Ronan), who is a young 14 year old girl who lives a very normal life, and dreams of becoming a photographer. One day when she is at school one of the boys in her class named Ray Singh (played by Rice Ritchie), whom she has a crush on, approaches her and slips a note into her textbook, asking her out. Of course, happier than ever, she says yes, and when they are about to kiss, they are interrupted by a teacher yelling at their classmate, Ruth Conners (played by Carolyn Dando) for drawing what he perceived to be inappropriate pictures. Later on that day, Suzie is dismissed from school, where she follows her daily path home as she normally does. On the way home as she is walking through a cornfield to get to her house, her neighbor, Mr. George Harvey (played by Stanley Tucci), approaches her out of nowhere. He says that he wants to show her an underground fort that he had just built for all the neighborhood kids. Of course, seeing as though she knew him already, she did not think much of it and pursued to go with him. Mr. Harvey leads her down into the fort and shows her around. However, she begins to get become fairly uncomfortable in his presence and manages to elbow him as he grabs her and then runs away. Susie runs through the cornfield and to her neighborhood street where she bumps into her classmate Ruth Conners. She continues to run seeing her dad, screaming for him, but he does not answer. She then goes home and finds Mr. Harvey bathing in a bathtub covered in mud, unable to see her. There she finds her lucky charm bracelet next to the sink which is filled with blood. This is when she breaks down crying, realizing she had never made it out of Mr. Harvey's underground den; he had murdered her and she is now in the "in-between". This is when you die but your spirit has not yet fully accepted your death and wishes to stay here until they are ready to leave their love ones behind. In the "in-between", Susie does everything she can to try and give her father signs of her spirit and help him discover her murderer. The movie progresses quite a lot from here on, becoming very interesting. I won't ruin anymore for you so that you can watch it yourself. Here's a little preview of the movie that you are welcome to watch: "The Lovely Bones". Thanks so much for reading! Hope you enjoy this one!

The Hangover

I thought I'd do the Hangover this week, seeing as though it is one of my favorite comedies out there. I love this movie so much, and anyone who thinks otherwise is absolutely crazy. By far, this is the best comedy that has come out in years! And I'm so excited, because I heard that they are filming a second Hangover, which should be released soon. Hopefully it will be just as good as the original. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Stu sings "Stu's Song", also known as the Tiger Song. Go to this link to watch a short clip of this scene from the movie: "Stu's Song". I play the piano, so the first thing I persisted on doing after watching this movie was devoting the rest of my day to figuring this song out. It's always hilarious to be able to play it and sing along randomly with friends and family. If you still haven't come around to seeing this, you better go out and rent it. 

This movie stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, and Jeffrey Tambor. The main plot of this movie is about four friends who travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor party for their best friend Doug. This includes Doug (Justin Bartha) and his best friends Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and soon-to-be brother-in-law Alan (Zach Galifianakis). Doug is also lent the use of his father-in-laws Mercedes to drive to Las Vegas for the weekend. Upon their arrival in Las Vegas they check into the hotel Caesars Palace, where of course one of Alan’s famous stupid lines is said to the hotel check in desk clerk, “I’m sure you get this a lot, but is this the real Caesars Palace?" This is just one of my many favorite lines in the movie.  Anyways, the four guys check into a large villa at the hotel, where they leave later to pursue one wild night. But before starting off this night, Alan serves them all a drink in which he secretly slipped in what he thought to be ecstasy, but turned out to be ruffies. The movie than flashes forward to the next morning where they all wake up, not remembering a thing about last night. They soon discover that the groom Doug is missing, whose wedding is scheduled to occur the next day. Before you know it, the three guys set out on a crazy hunt through Las Vegas, trying to trace their footsteps and find Doug. On this journey they will run into tons of hilarious, plot twisting, and as Alan would say, "classic mix-ups". Here's a little preview of the movie: "The Hangover". Trust me, if you haven't seen you’ll love it!

The Social Network

I just saw this movie this weekend, and I was really surprised by it. My first impression was that it would be just a boring movie about some computer nerd who one day out of nowhere just decided to make "Facebook". In actuality, it was much more than that and it turned out to be quite a great movie. "The Social Network" is based on some true events dealing with how Facebook was created. The creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, said that a lot of the movie was fairly exaggerated and not made out like the actual story. However, there was an actual lawsuit from the Winklevoss Brothers who accused him of stealing their idea, and they made over 65 million dollars from it. The cast in this movie includes Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Brenda Song, Max Minghella, Rooney Mara, Rashida Jones, and Armie Hammer. The main character, Mark Zuckerberg, is a very bright and nerdy student at Harvard University. In 2003 he gets the idea to make a website where students all around Harvard can go to, to rate the attractiveness of female undergraduate students attending Harvard. He did so, along with the help of his mathematical genius friend, Eduardo Saverin, who in turn helped him to figure out the computer algorithm for the access of his website, FaceMash. Before you know it the website is live, and up and running. In just under a couple of hours, FaceMash already had over 22,000 hits, so much that the networked crashed. Later on, the Harvard administers find out that it was Mark Zuckerberg's fault for the crashing of their network due to high traffic, giving him 6 months of academic probation.

Mark Zuckerberg soon gets a lot of attention for setting up this sight and is eventually sought out by a group of club members at Harvard. These guys included, Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss, identical twins and members of Harvard's rowing team, and their business partner Divya Narendra. They were interested in seeing if he would consider setting up a Harvard Connection social network, called "ConnectU”, which would be targeted to Harvard students who had the email service "harvard.edu". In this you could set up your own profile, where you could chat with friends and upload pictures for them to see. It had some of the same characteristics that Facebook now has today. The instant the Winklevoss’s and Narendra asked if Zuckerberg was interested in creating this site, he said yes. More excited than ever about this idea, he ignored the twins and Divya, creating the website himself, for his own benefit, because he believed he could do a much better job of it without them, seeing as though their team could not handle its complexities. Mark receives help from his friend Eduardo Saverin, who sponsors the initial costs of running the website. They came to the agreement of splitting their shares in the website: 70 percent for Mark Zuckerberg and 30 percent for Eduardo Saverin. After nearly a week of putting it together, it was finally finished and streamed live across the Harvard Network. This soon becomes very popular in just days all across Harvard, making Zuckerberg one of the most well-liked students there. Of coursed angered by Mark Zuckerberg’s actions, Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra will all try to sue him for stealing their idea for the website. This movie will progress into the rapid rise of Facebook’s popularity, the loss of friendships, and lawsuits against Zuckerberg’s company, Facebook. It was really a great movie! You guys will probably love it. It's also very interesting to see how this one website became so popular, so fast. Here’s a preview of the movie that you are welcome to check out: "The Social Network". Hope you enjoy this one!

Catch Me If You Can

Once again, I have decided to blog about one of my all time favorite movies. If you have yet to seen this, than you better go out and rent it, because it's great! This is a true story staring Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays a man by the name of Frank Abagnale Jr.. At the age of sixteen, Frank’s dad, Frank Abagnale Sr. (Christopher Walken), loses the granting of a loan due to IRS tax fraud on his part. This forces his family to move into a small apartment due to their budget restrictions. At this time, Frank Jr. is posing as a substitute to teacher to make a little extra money. This is the beginning of his many soon to come scams to make money. When Frank Jr. finds out that his mother had been cheating on his father for the past year, he becomes furious with her. They soon get a divorce leading Frank Jr. to rebel against his parents and run away. He does not resort to come home for years.

On his own at the age of 16, he soon begins to run out of money, which is something he cannot depend on from his own family. This leads him to one of his most ingenious scams as an airplane pilot. This impersonation as a pilot alone, allows him to scam the Pan American World Airways into paying him over 2.8 million dollars! He did this in under a year’s time by posing as a student interested in becoming a pilot and researching everything he could about plots, so that he could disguise himself as one. By doing this, he began to illegally make himself fake checks that appeared to come from the Pan American Airlines, which they thought that he was one of their employees. This skillful crime of check forgery will lead him to being soon investigated by the cops, specifically Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), an FBI bank fraud agent, who slowly begins to track down Frank with the help from his past acquaintances. This turns into years of him being chased down by the FBI with much struggle. Franks long avoidance from the police was mainly thanks to his several changes in impersonations of different careers such as, a doctor in Georgia, a lawyer serving as a Louisiana attorney, and parish prosecutor. The plot becomes more and more interesting throughout the movie so I won't ruin anymore of it for you. Like always, here's a preview of the movie: "Catch Me If You Can". You're going to love it!

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

This is another great film that I saw this weekend! It is a sequel to the film Wall Street that came out in 1987. Before you see the sequel to the movie, make sure that you watch the first one. Even though you will still be able to fully enjoy the second film on its own, it still really helps to see the first because you are able to pick up on a lot of scenes that reflect back to the original, and you will be able to understand the plot a bit better. "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" deals with four main characters throughout the film. Gordan Gekko, played by Michael Douglas, is released from prison on October 22, 2002, after an eight-year prison sentence for illegal insider trading and security fraud. Jake Moore, played by Shia Lebeouf, is a Manager at a well-known stock brokerage firm called Keller Zabel Investments. His girlfriend, Winnie Gekko who is played by Carey Mulligan, is the daughter of Gordan Gekko, who she has refused to ever involve herself with, ever since her brother’s death while he was in jail. Winnie's brother killed himself under substance abuse, and she blamed her father for it because she believed her brother committed suicide thanks to the lost connection of his father while in jail. One other main character is Bretton James, who is played by Josh Brolin, and is a CEO of Churchill Schwartz, a competing brokerage firm with Keller Zable Investments.

When Gordan Gekko is released from jail, no one, including his own daughter, ends up coming to pick him up. He realizes that he has been slowly forgotten over the years and this is something he will remember throughout the movie, leading to quite the twist. The movie jumps to the year 2008 where right off the bat, you are able to quickly figure out Winnie's hate for her father just as Jake turns the Television on with Gordan Gekko advertising his new book, "Is Greed Good?” Jakes boss, Luis Zabbel who is played by Frank Langella, ends up giving Jake a huge raise of nearly 1.5 million dollars, in thanks for all his help as a great, loyal employee and friend. Due to the stock market crash that same year, Luis Zabbel is forced to either sell his company at a terrible price to his hated rival, Bretton James, or declare bankruptcy. Luis Zabbel becomes very depressed and eventually leads to committing suicide in a subway, before work. This was extremely hard on Jake, seeing as though Luis Zabbel was like a fatherly figure to him. Jake later on decides to take Luis's advice in the beginning of the movie, proposing to Winnie, and she happily accepts. After secretly meeting with his soon to be father-in-law, Gordon Gekko, he announces his proposal and tries to make the effort to reunite Gekko with his daughter, Winnie. Later on Gordan Gekko helps to convince Jake to get pay back on Bretton James and his brokerage firm, for in his mind, murdering Luis Zabbel. The movie begins to get better and better, and it eventually leads to quite a twisting plot. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in seeing it after reading this article. Here's a short preview of the movie: "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps". Trust me, you'll love it!