This movie was released in the year 1962 and became a great hit in America. The movie was based on the best-selling novel of Harper Lee . What made it attractive was the fact that it reflects what America was like back then. In the year 1995, the movie was even selected by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the United Stated National Film Registry. There are so many things that happened in the film, but if you try to summarize them, all of them will just sum up to one thing: discrimination.

Synopsis: The Family of Finch together with the other characters in the movie lived in America during the time of  Great depression. When a young black man named Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman, Atticus Finch was assigned to defend him. Although Atticus Finch did a great job in proving that Tom did not do anything, the jury composed of white people gave a guilty verdict. Atticus tried to plea for the change of verdict, but Tom escaped from the jail and was killed. The father of the white woman that accused Tom attacked the children of Atticus namely Scout and Jem, but Boo Radley, a mentally retarded neighbor whom the children made fun with, saved them by killing their attacker. The Sheriff decided to promulgate that the death of the attacker was just an accident so that Boo Radley will not be put to jail.

2. The Reading Room

The movie was just simple yet there's something in it that will really make you watch. It is very different from the rest of the movies because this shows reality that "no matter how you try to be good, you cannot just please everybody."

Synopsis: "After the death of his beloved wife, Helen, wealthy African-American suburbanite William Campbell  finds that Helen has left behind a "living will" in the form of a videotape. As William watches the video, his late wife urges him to take his huge personal library down to the tough inner-city neighborhood and to establish a reading room. Though confused by this request, William does exactly that, only to find that none of his new neighbors seem inclined to read -- not until he posts a sign reading FREE SODA. Ever so slowly, a few "regulars" trickle into the reading room, among them an idealistic young special-ed teacher, a high-schooler studying for his SATS, and a little girl who hopes to get her mother to learn to read. For the most part, however, William's little sanctuary is the target of break-ins and the hangout for local gang members, and with this in mind it isn't surprising that several people encourage him to pack up and get out -- none more adamantly than the Reverend Rashid Rahim (played by , the film's director), a self-appointed urban activist who perceives in William a threat to his supremacy. Eventually, whether or not William stays or goes boils down to his attempt at "redeeming" a youthful thief named Javier -- and it is at this point in the narrative that William finally understands why Helen wanted him to open up the reading room in the first place." -- Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

3. Changeling

"A scene when Christine Colins found out that his boy was missing"

This movie is totally heartbreaking because of the many things that the main character has to go through. The events were related to the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, a kidnapping and murder case that was uncovered in 1928. This movie shows the image of the females in the society and how the Police department became corrupt. The writer of the said movie researched for relevant data in the historical records to be included in the script. The movie is suppose to win the Palme d'Or but the award went to Entre les murs ("The Class"). The movie lost by two votes because other judges doubt the legitimacy of the writers' claim that the movie was a true one.

Synopsis: Christine and his son were suppose to go to the movie house, but she was called by the office to report that day. As Christine departed for work, she never anticipated that that will be the day when her life will totally be changed. Upon learning that her son was missing, she called the police immediately. After many months of hopelessness, a boy claiming to be his son came out of nowhere. She knew that he was not his son but she just invited the boy to his house because did not know how to explain it to the authorities and to the media. As much as Christine would like to accept the fact that her son has been returned to her, she cannot accept the injustice being pushed upon her and continues to challenge the Prohibition-era Los Angeles police force at every turn. As a result, Christine is slandered by the powers that be, and painted as an unfit mother. In this town, a woman who challenges the system is putting her life on the line, and as the situation grows desperate, the only person willing to aid her in her search is benevolent local activist Reverend Briegleb.

4. Forrest Gump

Image Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/Forrest_Gump_poster.jpg

I have seen this movie when I was 12 years old and I still remember the scenes until now. The film was a huge commercial success, earning US$677 million worldwide during its theatrical run making it the top grossing film in North America released that year. The film garnered a total of thirteen Academy Award nominations, of which it won six, including Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Director, (Robert Zemeckis), and Best Actor (Tom Hanks).

Synopsis: The film begins with a feather falling to the feet of Forrest Gump who is sitting at a bus stop in Savannah, Georgia. Forrest picks up the feather and puts it in the book Curious George, then tells the story of his life to a woman seated next to him. The listeners at the bus stop change regularly throughout his narration, each showing a different attitude ranging from disbelief and indifference to rapt veneration.

On his first day of school, he meets a girl named Jenny, whose life is followed in parallel to Forrest's at times. Having discarded his leg braces, his ability to run at lightning speed gets him into college on a football scholarship. After his college graduation, he enlists in the army and is sent to Vietnam, where he makes fast friends with a black man named Bubba, who convinces Forrest to go into the shrimping business with him when the war is over. Later while on patrol, Forrest's platoon is attacked. Though Forrest rescues many of the men, Bubba is killed in action. Forrest is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism.

While Forrest is in recovery for a bullet shot to his "butt-tox", he discovers his uncanny ability for ping-pong, eventually gaining popularity and rising to celebrity status, later playing ping-pong competitively against Chinese teams. At an anti-war rally in Washington, D.C. Forrest reunites with Jenny, who has been living a hippie counterculture lifestyle.

Returning home, Forrest endorses a company that makes ping-pong paddles, earning himself $25,000, which he uses to buy a shrimping boat, fulfilling his promise to Bubba. His commanding officer from Vietnam, Lieutenant Dan, joins him. Though initially Forrest has little success, after finding his boat the only surviving boat in the area after Hurricane Carmen, he begins to pull in huge amounts of shrimp and uses it to buy an entire fleet of shrimp boats. Lt. Dan invests the money in Apple Computer and Forrest is financially secure for the rest of his life. He returns home to see his mother's last days.

One day, Jenny returns to visit Forrest and he proposes marriage to her. She declines, though feels obliged to prove her love to him by sleeping with him. She leaves early the next morning. On a whim, Forrest elects to go for a run. Seemingly capriciously, he decides to keep running across the country several times, over some three and a half years, becoming famous.

In present-day, Forrest reveals that he is waiting at the bus stop because he received a letter from Jenny who, having seen him run on television, asks him to visit her. Once he is reunited with Jenny, Forrest discovers she has a young son, of whom Forrest is the father. Jenny tells Forrest she is suffering from a virus (probably HIV, though this is never definitively stated). Together the three move back to Greenbow, Alabama. Jenny and Forrest finally marry. Jenny dies soon afterward.

5. Casper

Image Source: http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/070717/cgi/casper_l.jpg

For those who love family movies, Casper is one of the movies you can watch. Although some critics said that the movie does not fit its genre since it shows a comedy with serious themes of death. Nevertheless, the movie was a huge success grossing $100 million in the United States, almost twice its budget, and $326 million worldwide.

Synopsis: Carrigan Crittenden only inherited an old house but upon learning that there's a treasure inside the manor, she became interested in owning it. The only problem is that it's being haunted by ghosts, Casper (voice of Malachi Pearson), a friendly but lonely young ghost and his three obnoxious uncles, the Ghostly Trio: Stretch (voice of Joe Nipote), Stinky (voice of Joe Alaskey) & Fatso (voice of Brad Garrett). Dr. Harvey was tasked to do the job in eliminating the ghosts. The next day, Kat, the daughter of Dr. Harvey, became good friends with Casper. After a long time, they discovered that there is a reviving potion that can be used in reviving Casper, but as Casper was about to enter the reviving chamber, Dr. Harvey shows up as a ghost. Realizing that Kat needs her father alive, Casper uses the Lazarus machine to revive him, giving up his own chance of returning to life. The Halloween party begins and Kat ends up being the only person without a partner. A boy (played by Devon Sawa) appears before her and they dance. He reveals himself to be Casper, having been visited by the angel of Amelia Harvey (Amy Brenneman) and revived temporarily as a reward for saving her husband's life. Casper and Kat kiss just as Casper turns back into a ghost at the final stroke of 10, scaring all the Halloween guests away. However, he doesn't mind, and neither does Kat. The Ghostly Trio then start playing a rock and roll version of Casper the Friendly Ghost and Kat, Casper and Dr. Harvey dance around the hall. 

I have watched them all, and I must say that they are all good. Happy Holidays everyone!

The movie displayed unprecedented artistic mastery and pioneered such techniques as the close-up, long shot, chase scene, and climatic triumph of the hero. Yet, it also depicted Reconstruction as a lawless period because it politically empowered blacks, who were intellectually incapable of self-rule and consumed by their lust of white women. The Birth of a Nation, therefore, continued the dehumanization of African Americans that characterized national culture in the early twentieth century and fueled the rise of organized terror against blacks, particularly in southern states.

D.W. Griffith, a southerner whose father served as a colonel in the Confederate Army, based The Birth of a Nation on two novels that North Carolina minister Thomas Dixon authored. Those works, The Clansman and The Leopard's Spots, portrayed the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) as a heroic organization that saved white southerners from the clutches of sex-starved black rapists and the North's Republican rule. Griffith used the books as inspiration for his epic drama in part because the nation prepared to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Civil War's end. When filming completed, Griffith had produced the longest and most expensive movie ever made. It featured large outdoor battle scenes, nighttime fighting, and a celebrated twenty-minute ride by hooded Klansmen. The spectacle recreated cotton fields and an exact replica of Ford's Theater, employed thousands of extras with hundreds of horses, and used over 23,000 square yards of white sheeting.

Yet, it also conveyed the clear message that blacks could not be trusted with basic freedoms. The Birth of a Nation championed Klansmen as the heroes of Reconstruction who returned order and stability to a region ravaged by the Republican Party in the war's aftermath. The film also demonized blacks as the reason national reunion in the post_Civil War era took as long as it did, and provided justifications for the atrocities whites committed against blacks during the period. In various scenes, freed slaves assaulted whites on the streets, attempted to rape white women, prevented whites from voting, and used their political power to pass laws that legalized interracial marriage. The film's final version ran for ninety minutes and used twelve reels at a time when most movies were no longer than five reels. It cost over $110,000 to complete, but Griffith had his masterpiece.

The movie debuted on February 8, 1915, at Clune's Auditorium in Los Angeles under the title The Clansman. The local NAACP protested the picture because of its inflammatory and racist content and obtained a court order that delayed the initial screening. Several blacks boycotted the premier of The Clansman, but over 100 police officers stationed at the theater prevented violence. The presence of actors dressed as Klansmen who rode horses outside of the theater undoubtedly infuriated the demonstrators.

Yet, audiences and critics responded with such enthusiasm to Griffith's project that he changed its name to fit its grandiose vision before the film premiered in New York City. He now called his work The Birth of a Nation.

In the days before its New York premier, an enormous billboard that portrayed a hooded Klansman overlooked Times Square and deemed the film ''a red-blooded tale of true American spirit.'' But the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) tried desperately to have the film banned in their city before it arrived and produced numerous pamphlets that attacked the movie as racist propaganda. One such piece was titled ''Fighting a Vicious Film: Protest Against The Birth of a Nation'' and called the film ''three miles of filth'' (Lavender 2001). New York Mayor John Mitchell, however, ignored the protests. As black denouncements of the film mounted, Thomas Dixon planned to undermine his critics. He asked President Woodrow Wilson, a former classmate at Johns Hopkins, fellow southerner, and published historian, to view the film. On February 18, Wilson hosted the first private screening of a movie at the White House. He concluded that The Birth of a Nation ''is like writing history with lightning. And my only regret is that it is all so terribly true'' (Chadwick, 122). The film opened on March 3 in New York City to organized protests, but became the city's most financially successful film during the era of silent movies.

In some areas, black protests proved more successful than they did in New York. In Chicago, for instance, the mayor refused to give the film a viewing permit. Cities such as Denver, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Philadelphia followed suit, if only for a temporary period. Yet, is was during the Boston screening where opposition to The Birth of a Nation sparked a violent confrontation between blacks, whites, and local police. The Boston NAACP, in imitation of branches throughout the United States, tried but failed to obtain an injunction against any presentation of the film in the city. When the film premiered at the Boston Tremont Theater on April 17, approximately 500 blacks protested its arrival. Some blacks bought tickets to the show and pelted the screen with eggs when Klansmen appeared. Others ignited stink bombs near the movie's finale. When blacks refused to leave the lobby of the Tremont after the film concluded, police moved among the crowd swinging their nightsticks. The interracial brawl rapidly spun out of control as other blacks and whites quickly joined the fray. Mayor James M. Curley deployed 260 officers to stop the riot. The following day, Curley held a public hearing to discuss the film's future, which D.W. Griffith and approximately 25,000 blacks attended. Curley decided to ban the movie for one day, but NAACP leaders wanted it banished permanently. When the meeting concluded, the unsatisfied blacks moved to the Massachusetts State House and demanded that Gov. David Walsh make The Birth of a Nation illegal throughout the state. Walsh initiated a bill to ban the film and all racially provocative films, but the bill did not pass a legislative vote. The Boston NAACP organized no other protests of the feature. The Birth of a Nation had its most immediate impact on American race relations when it opened in Atlanta, Georgia. On November 24, 1915, a week before the film premiered in the Peach City, William J. Simmons revived the Ku Klux Klan by burning a 15-foot cross on nearby Stone Mountain. The group had virtually ceased operations when Reconstruction ended in 1877. On the morning the film opened in Atlanta, Simmons placed an advertisement soliciting members for his new organization in the Atlanta Constitution next to information concerning Birth of a Nation's premier. Simmons and fellow Klan members paraded in front of the theater where the movie opened and gave a 21-gun salute before the viewing began. Trains even brought rural residents to the city en masse to the event. Inside of the theater, vendors sold Klan hats and other related souvenirs. The movie inspired newly formed Klan chapters to redesigned their costumes and adopt the practice of cross burning in imitation of the heroes of The Birth of a Nation. In 1920, the Ku Klux Klan claimed 4.5 million members. The Birth of a Nation became the highest grossing silent film in cinema history, earning more than $10 million at the box office in 1915. By 1949, it had earned $50 million (Chadwick, 132). Yet it continued to attract protests in many cities after its original run ended. In 1938, a manager of an East Orange, New Jersey, theater planned to show the movie for a week at his facility. He stopped playing the film four days early because two prominent black physicians gathered a petition signed by 609 residents that demanded he cease. The petition claimed that interracial fighting erupted in local schools each day that The Birth of a Nation was shown. During the 1940s, the national NAACP continued to boycott any theater that screened the picture. Even its presence at film festivals and historical presentations sparked controversy. In 1978, a museum in Riverside, California, scheduled a viewing of the film but local blacks pressured city leaders to cancel it. An area Klan chapter decided to show the film in a nearby park as part of a recruitment drive, but over 200 citizens disrupted the viewing and attacked Klansmen with baseball bats and tire irons. The melee lasted over five hours and resulted in the hospitalization of five policemen. Two years later, twelve protestors stormed a San Francisco theater where The Birth of a Nation played, chased over 100 audience members out of the auditorium, and destroyed the film. In 1995, Turner Classic Movies canceled their broadcast of a restored version of the film because of the racial tensions that engulfed the nation in the wake of the O.J. Simpson murder verdict.

The Birth of a Nation has been selected for preservation in the United States Film Registry, but its importance far exceeds its artistic innovation. The movie seemingly justified white racism, perpetuated an atmosphere of racial hatred that lasted for decades, and inspired the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan. Few elements of popular culture have had the effect, positively or negatively, that The Birth of a Nation continues to have on American race relations.

The action is played out on a harsh, out of the way stretch of the coast of Uruguay, a landscape which reflects the lives of the family concerned. They have retreated there from the interfering interest of family, friends and other well-meaning people in their native Buenos Aires. Separated now from their former life by the Rio de la Plata, they involve themselves in marine conservation / research as 15 year old Alex, now sexually on the boil, heads towards adulthood, with serious decisions looming on the horizon, but who should make them?

Alex's situation becomes public knowledge, leading to inevitable cruelty and suffering. She (for that's how she has been allowed to develop to this point) is sexually at odds with herself and stops the medication that suppresses the masculinity within her make-up, and there is growing pressure to consider surgical intervention in spite of the laissez-faire attitude her parents have adopted until now, particularly her father.

The main issue revolves around the decision whether to intervene. Should the parents, medical expertise or society in general make a decision in the early days, weeks, months of a hermaphrodite's life regarding their gender, or should that decision be deferred until the person is old enough to make up their own mind? Should any action ever be taken, medical, surgical or psychological, or should the person be allowed to go into free-fall and find their place as a double-gendered person in a world of two strong camps into which they do not fit? Why should a hermaphrodite be forced to chose? By extension, why should anyone, no matter what their “disability”, have to be forced into the mould of their neighbours to gain acceptance?

The film, although harsh, is sensitive, though none of the characters is particular attractive. Each of the options available to the parents is distasteful, but there is the hint of the possibility of true acceptance and love, but only a hint. After all, what parent would be happy with their son falling for a girl with a penis?

When AIDS was discovered, it was believed to be a "gay disease." This common misconception lasted until as late as the 1990's. This movie exceptionally exhibited peoples' reactions to AIDS and how ignorant they were about it during the time period of the film. Not much was known yet about AIDS because not enough medical research had been done, so naturally the public was misinformed. A perfect example of this ignorance comes in the scene when Andy is reading court cases in the library and he sneezes and people feel very uncomfortable. This discomfort comes from the fact that people thought at the time that AIDS could be contracted by any kind of contact with an infected person. The librarian comes over to Andy and says, "Sir we have a private research room open, would you like to use it?" to which Andy replies, "No, would you like me to use it?" In this scene specifically, the film exemplifies the attitude toward gays and people with AIDS in the 1980's.

Along with not knowing how AIDS was passed along, at that point in time, people thought that AIDS could only be contracted by gay people, hence the name "GRID," or Gay Related Immune Deficiency. This led to a growing dislike of gays and a lot of discrimination. The film also portrayed this aspect of 1980's society very well. Outside of the trial on the first day when Andy leaves the courthouse there are people outside protesting against gay rights with signs such as, "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." There is also another example of peoples' emotions towards gays when in one scene Denzel Washington is inside a pharmacy and a gay man asks him to go out and have a drink with him because he likes that he is one of the few standing up for gay rights. Denzel responds with outrage and threatens to beat the man up. These scenes exemplify the discrimination gays went through in the 1980's.

Philadelphia is a film about the AIDS epidemic in the 1980's and its cause for discrimination towards gays and it portrays it just as it happened in history. Most people in the movie except close friends of Andy are hostile towards gays. Even the distinguished head of Andy's former law firm did not like gays. A smarter man like his character also shows how little people actually knew about AIDS at that time. A very educated man like the head of an enormous law firm does not know that AIDS was not only for gays and could not be passed through hugs, handshakes, or sneezes. Philadelphia excellently portrayed the social climate of the 1980's and peoples' lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS.

The Ku Klux Klan was involved in the film because they want Carl Lee dead and to be proved guilty, they were there when the trials were going on, and they caused trouble by shouting and throwing things outside. Another main issue that the film deals with is how wrong people were because if the jury was to be white then Carl Lee would not get a fair trial, they wanted to change the location to a place where they thought they would have a better chance but the judge said no.

Jake Brigance was at risk for defending Carl Lee because most people weren't on his side and the Ku Klux Klan would be after him and his family. Another main issue is the rape, it affects the whole of the Hailey family especially Carl Lee and his daughter, the two men that killed his daughter, (Billie- Ray Cobb and Pete Willard) treated his daughter in a disgusting way this made every one feel really angry and ruined the little girl's life, and she was only ten. The rape scene is what the whole film is based on and it makes every one hate the two men from the beginning and feel bad for Car Lee Hailey.

In the scene we are focusing on, Cobb and Willard are in jail and it starts of with the sheriff telling the two men that if there is any trouble he is going to integrate the prison. Meaning that he is going to put the two men in with the black men, they would most likely get beaten because of the rape.

After this, music comes on, it is a spiritual song "Take My Hand, Oh precious Lord". Then it is them walking into the court house they are just about to walk through when you see Carl Lee, all you can see at first is his eye looking at them, he closes his eyes, which shows he is scared and runs with a gun. He shoots the two men and accidentally shoots sheriff Looney in the leg and later has to have his leg amputated. When Carl Lee is running everything is in slow motion this adds to the effect as does the music. Every one drops to the floor scared and screaming but the screams aren't heard well because of the music. After this scene you see Jake Brigance arrive to his house covered in blood because he tried to rescue the sheriff. You hear his daughter say "Daddy"s home' and she sits on the step outside of his house.

This is a very significant secne because it is when Cobb and Willard are killed by Carl-Lee this has an effect on the rest of the film. It cinematic features make it seem really important because of the slow motion and all of the different shots. The music adds to the tension because it makes you think about what has happened to the little girl and what is happening at the time of the scene. It as frames and is minutes long.

In this scene the differences between John Grishams novel "A Time To Kill" and the film are that in a novel you can't make it slow motion so you have to describe to the audience which is what Grisham has done. He described the room so well and all of the tension and the people in it so that you can really imagine it. And it is also different because Looney doesn't crawl up the stairs and there isn't blood every where.

I think that Joel Schumacher has decided not to have so much blood in the scene because it looks less like Carl Lee is the bad person, he wants ever one to feel for him. I think that both of the scenes are very effective in different ways because you can't have music and slow motion in a book but you can still have the effects of good description and imagination. I think Joel chose to use slow motion in the film because he couldn't use words to describe the scene.