"To Kill a Mockingbird"

I thought this movie was really entertaining and I think it did a good job of portraying the main parts of the book.  I saw that a couple of other details were not added into the movie which I think might of given each character more depth.  Such as Scout's Aunt visiting and hounding her about being a lady, Scout's relationship with Ms. Maudie as she matures, and Jem's relationship with Mrs. Dubose which could have shed more light on what kind of person/ character Mrs. Dubose was rather than just having her appear as a grumpy old woman.  Also they should have added Scout and Dill's budding romance.

One thing that I noticed was that the story was being told by an older Scout, I'm not sure whether I noticed this while reading the book or not, but it made me want to see and meet the older Scout.  I don't think the book features a part about Scout being older and looking back at the end.  I just remember reading about Scout walking Boo Radley home and finally realizing that you don't know a person until you step into their skin and walk around in it.

My favorite part of the movie was when Scout finally met Boo Radley.  To me it seemed like the climax of the story because in that moment it showed how much she had matured.  At the end of the movie she finally understands what it means to walk in someone else's skin to understand who they are and what they are going through.  Overall I think the movie was good, but unlike the book, the message of the story doesn't seem very clear.

"Precious"

At first I thought the movie was too dramatic for me, with the vivid scenes of Precious' abuse and rape.  I felt confused on whether or not I should have spoke up that I couldn't watch it.  But at the same time I thought that it would be wrong to do so because that would be refusing that that really happens in reality and I was choosing to ignore it.  When is it okay to refuse?  Is it ever okay to refuse to see a movie like that?  Now after watching the movie, I'm glad that I didn't back out because it's a movie that carries such an important message, especially for girls.  In such a harsh reality I don't think many of us realize just how precious we are and this movie really helped me appreciate what I have even more, to love myself more, and to empathize with everyone because you can't tell what a person is going through through their physical appearance.

Throughout the movie I was really disgusted with Precious' mom, but towards the end of the movie I felt a bit of reluctant sympathy for her.  She seemed to need some kind of psychiatric help when she started to repeat over and over that it wasn't her fault and to give her baby back at the end of the movie.

One thing that I was confused about was the man that Precious always daydreamed about.  Who is he and why does Precious like him?

"Monty Python and the Holy Grail"

I thought this movie was really funny but a little over the top when it came to certain scenes.  When the men were collecting the dead and another man was trying to hand off an old man who wasn't dead yet and in the end someone knocked him out, I felt that was a bit cold-hearted even though the situation made it seem funny.  Another scene was when King Arthur came upon a dark night that fought him until he was nothing but a torso, I'm a bit squeamish when it comes to blood so seeing all his limbs fall off and the really fake blood spurting out, I couldn't help but cringe a bit.  But I think overall the movie was humorous.
My favorite part in the entire movie is when the king pretends to ride a horse and his servant makes the sound of a horse's hooves with coconuts and in the background a really adventurous song is playing.  Also when King Arthur comes upon a man who at first he believes is an old woman and then this man exclaims that he is being repressed.  But is there an overall point that this movie is trying to convey?  The story line didn't really seem to be really clear.  Also the setting of the story was confusing because at first it seemed as though it was set in the past when kings did rule.  But then there were a couple scenes that showed people from modern society.  Then at the end the police arrested King Arthur.and it was brought to attention that the camera man was a person present when the police turned off his camera.  Were they all just role playing the entire time?  Or was it intentional to have two different times at the same time?