Film Review of Poseidon :: essays research papers

Poseidon, directed by Wolfgang Petersen, is an action-packed adventure thriller that is loosely the remake of the 1970s movie The Poseidon Adventure. It has the same basic story idea, but has completely different characters. And although the characters end up being dull and seemingly useless, the movie is very fun and exciting to watch. It takes place on New Year’s Eve aboard the cruise ship â€Å"Poseidon.† As the guests are counting down the seconds until midnight, a very large rogue wave is spotted. It hits the cruise ship and flips the entire thing upside-down, but it remains afloat. Most of the crew and some passengers die instantly, others are badly injured, and the rest are fine with the exception of minor injuries. One man, Dylan (Josh Lucas) decides he is going to get out of the ship through the bottom, knowing the ship wasn’t meant to stay afloat upside-down. And although reluctant at first, he allows a few others to join him, including Robert (Kurt Russel) – a former mayor and firefighter, Richard (Richard Dreyfuss) – a lonely gay man, Valentin (Freddy Rodriguez) – a ship employee, and Maggie and her son (Jacinda Barrett and Jimmy Bennett). Along the way, they pick up Robert’s daughter, Jennifer (Emmy Rassum) and her fiancà © Christian (Mike Vogel), Elena (Mia Maestro) – a friend of Valentin, and Lucky Larry (Kevin Dillon) – a poker player. While trying to make it through the ship, they are faced with many obstacles. The ship is filled with water, flash fires, debris, dead bodies, and more. And time is running out, they need to make it to the bottom of the ship before the entire thing sinks. Poseidon is basically based on the same concept as The Poseidon Adventure, being that the ship gets hit by a monstrous-sized rogue wave and flips over, and people try to get out. However, there are many differences. For example, the characters are completely different – i.e.: instead of a brother and sister, it’s a girl and her fiancà ©, instead of an old couple, its two people that meet for the first time and have an attraction towards each other. And you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone on the ship the size of Shelly Winters. The characters also seem quite dull in this remake. There really is no set-up to tell us why they are on the ship or how they got there compared to the original.

Arthur Miller’s Commentary Essay

Arthur Miller’s commentary helps our understanding of the play very much. Through more character detail he has made it possible for us to understand exactly how the different characters are feeling, and why they behave the way they do, as in the case of Abigail using the whole situation to her advantage, and being very manipulative and sly, all of which are characteristics that we don’t like in ourselves. For example, Abigail was using the whole situation to get back at John Proctor, she wanted him but he didn’t want her, and in trying to gain his affections, she involved all of the people of Salem. During the play Abigail had one goal (to get John Proctor) and she didn’t care how she achieved this. Throughout the play the contrast between light and dark is a prominent feature. In the footnote at the begging of act one Miller has used the image of light â€Å"There is a narrow window at the left. Through it’s leaded pains the morning sunlight streams. A candle still burns near the bed†¦ The room gives of an air of clean spareness.† This symbolises that everything is OK, there are no bad things happening. Light throughout the play is use to represent good. As the story line continues the mood and even the scenes themselves become darker and more evil, even the weather becomes more negative and depressing. Dark is used throughout the play to symbolise bad. For example, the courtroom is always dark; there are no open windows and no candles. In some cases certain characters bring light into a scene that was dark, like John Proctor. But when he is accused of witchcraft the light that accompanies him became a lot dimmer. I also think Arthur Miller makes it very easy for us to pick out good and bad characters at the beginning of the play. But some of the characters switch sides as the play goes on, at the beginning of the play I found Reverend Hale was very annoying. However as the play developed he was one of the people who could see sense in the situation. Towards the end of the play you could tell which characters were good, and which were bad. Arthur Miller also puts the audience in a very annoying position because we can see how wrong and how stupid the characters are being. The audience would get very angry at the fact that only John Proctor and Mr Hale can see sense, even though it takes two acts for them to see it. An example of this would be John Proctor’s reaction to Abigail stumbling in with a needle in her stomach, claiming that John Proctor’s wife is a voodoo witch. â€Å"Why she done it herself I hope you aren’t takin it for proof, Mister†. Abigail claims this to get back at John Proctor; the audience however are led to believe that she did it to herself, even though it is not actually said in the text. All of this would make the audience very angry, and would make us start to think why the characters aren’t doing anything about it. In this case I’m going to point out Judge Danforth because he is so wrapped up in his own little world and doing what he thinks is â€Å"right†. At first Danforth only frustrated me with his ignorance, but as the story line developed I found my frustration turning to anger and my anger into hate. Abby also frustrated me because she twisted the situation for her own benefit and to get at John Proctor  At the end of each act Miller leaves the play in a state of climax. At the end of act one Miller draws the curtain on the girl’s firing frantic and false accusations of witchcraft against many women in Salem, act three ends with the dramatic exit of Mr Hale â€Å"I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!† Through this approach it always keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. It keeps the audience swept up in the story line, almost like a soap opera today, where each episode ends with a dramatic last scene (cliff hanger), and ensuring they watch the next episode because they want to know what happens, I find it very frustrating. In fact, The Crucible is very similar to a modern day soap opera, in that its success as a whole depends on how involved the viewers, or audience, become with the characters and the story line. I also think that because it is based on history, the story might not be true to word, which adds fascination. The play was not only written to record historical events in Salem but was also written to warn people of modern day witch hunts, such as the McCarthy â€Å"witch† hunt (1950’s) in which people were asked to turn in anyone who was a Communist at the time. The naming and shaming followed a similar pattern of that in Salem.

Essay on Ancient Rome and Cleopatra - 748 Words

Cleopatra Read the following passage carefully at least twice. What does it tell us about Plutarch’s view of the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra? For Plutarch peoples actions, however trite, were great indications of a person’s moral character (Plutarch, 1914, p. 225). We can, therefore, assume that Plutarch would have placed great importance on the everyday activities of Cleopatra and Antony in reflecting the character of their relationship. Plutarch wrote 150 years after the events of Cleopatra and Antony and was therefore heavily influenced by Roman views of, not only, the couple themselves but also by Roman’s understanding and expectations of relationships, gender and race. Plutarch highlights the inseparability of†¦show more content†¦So in Plutarch’s eyes, Antony has failed to live up to his male role within the relationship. Roman’s believed that â€Å"A man’s whole being is moulded by the habits of his daily life† (Moohan, 2008. p. 27). To Plutarch, Antony’s activities such as fishing indicates Antony’s failure to live up to his honorable rank as a Roman general. He is clearly inferior to the man he once was when he hunted â€Å"cities, realms, and continents† (Plutarch, in AA100 Assignment Booklet, 2011, p.17). At times, Plutarch shows more concern with Antony’s behaviour than Cleopatra’s. Antony’s actions are described as â€Å"mad follies† and, although Cleopatra participates, it is Antony’s actions that lack reason, not hers (Plutarch, in AA100 Assignment Booklet, 2011, p.17). Romans viewed Egyptian way of life as inferior and â€Å"barbaric† compared to the civility of Roman culture as was reiterated by many Roman historians such as Cassius Dio (Moohan, 2008. p. 27). Therefore, Plutarch is more concerned with Antony’s actions as he expects more from a Roman man. As a woman and an Egyptian, Plutarch does not have such high expectations of Cleopatra hence why he is less focussed on her. This passage underlines the relationship’s negative influence on Antony and highlights the power dynamics of the relationship. Cleopatra is in control and outwits Antony, whereas he is powerless and idiotic. Plutarch makes sense of Antony’s behaviour with aShow MoreRelatedWhy was Cleopatra Famous?1282 Words   |  6 Pageswas Cleopatra Famous? Known for her love affairs with some of Rome’s most famous leaders, and wanting to be worshipped as a goddess, associating herself with the goddess Isis Cleopatra was a famous powerful queen in Ancient Egypt. Cleopatra was born as Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator to Ptolemy XII and Cleopatra V Tryphaena. She was born in 69 B.C.E in Alexandria, and later died there in 30 B.C.E. Because of the time period in which Cleopatra lived not very much is known of her. In ancient timesRead MoreThe Power of Cleopatra Essay1037 Words   |  5 PagesHow did Cleopatra rise to and maintain her power? 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