response to the response to violence.

I like what peter Chattaway says about violence and the questions that need to be asked about it.  The "who is the appropriate audience" question is a really good one. I think that the answer could be anyone who is not offended by it, and anyone who is mature enough to handle it.  Merely asking if we should allow it in film takes away the entire possibility of movies that speak against violence by showing it. Movies like Saving Private Ryan and Pulp Fiction.

Another good point is that there are definitely other violent forms of media that we do not censor.  I read some very violent books as a child, things like redwall and the chronicles of narnia.  In redwall the creatures actually get a bloodlust where their eyes turn red and they kill until there is nothing left to kill. this is an awfully violent thing, but the series is a children's series nonetheless. Some music even, things like pink floyd and gillian welch that seem safe for children, are actually quite violent. in Pink Floyd's dog's of war it is all about kill of be killed mentality.  Gillian welch sings about killing a man and vanishing into the night.  not really things you want kids to do, but they don't get censored like a film would if it had the same ideas.

they seem to disagree on when violence is unnecessary and when it can prove a point.  one viewpoint says we should turn off the violence in things like saving private ryan, but the other says we need to see these horrible truths about the world in film, or else they mean nothing. if a film shows only the good side of life, what good is it?  but also there needs to be some good because only the bad side desensitizes and depresses us.  

I think that violence in films is okay because the viewer should discern wether or not they themselves are okay with it before they see the film.  I have an aunt who walked out of the movie V for Vendetta in theaters because of its violence.  I think that instead of complaining about it so much, people who are offended by it should just be like her and walk away from it.  She agreed that it was a good movie, at least what she saw, it was just too violent for her. I like how she didn't judge the movie on its violence content.  More people should do that so that we don't have violent debates about it.  People should not condemn films for everyone because of violence content, they should just recognize that they themselves don't like it and also see that it can bring about realizations of humanity that could not happen without it.  

review the reviews, man. (Pan's Labyrinth)

I chose this film because It has beautiful costuming, and also great believable characters who make you feel real emotions for them you wind up caring about these people by the end of the movie. Guillermo Del Toro tried to use Computer Generated Images as little as possible, the Faun, for instance, is an actual man with a huge costume on and tons of makeup. the Faun could then actually interact with the little girl, so she can better display fear and later love and hatred for him. I believe that it is partially the amazing set designa nd costumedesign that leads to the real emotion in the actors, if you had a man with a green suit on instead of an actual faun, the emotions towards them would be lesss real for sure.

1) http://www.kids-in-mind.com/p/panslabyrinth.htm

This review is entirely made of lisings of every slightly sexual scene, every little piece of violence or gore, and every time someone in the movie uses a substance deemed inappropriate for children. it is so cautious for children that even when "We see a girl's bare leg when her robe slips open slightly.", there is a note of it. I understand keeping our young one's safe, but have you been to the beach lately? there is a very small section at the end of the review that tells us what this movie should bring to discussion, things like "Oppression, imagination, creativity, difficult pregnancies", but i feel like more of the review should be about these things and what to talk about with them or something. It is easy to tell by the r rating the film got that it is not appropriate for small children to see, there is a lot of gore and hard things for a young mind to grasp. yes, even the Faun is frightening. So, tell us how to use the movie to talk with our kids about things like Oppression, the Spanish civil war, difficult pregnancies. This review is supposed to help, but it really does a poor job of it in my book. I would list the criteria, but it is really only things like profane language, gore, and sex that they seem to care about.

2) http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061228/REVIEWS/61228001/1023

Roger Ebert gives this film a very good reating, four out of four. He certainly seems to have enjoyed the film with what he wrote about it as well. He enjoyed most the storyline and how well it flowed. Of Ofelia's three tasks to prover herself he says," (they) do not arise like arbitrary plot obstacles; they are organic to her (and the movie's) development". He likes a good flow in a story it would seem, as well as good cinemetography. he very much enjoyed one of the early scenes where a fairy flies from a mountain in a story Ofelia is telling, through a forest, to the windowsill of the room she is telling the story from. This links the story with reality beautifully, and also makes Roger Ebert very happy. Thirdly, he enjoys the allusions to other mythology in this modern Myth. he pointed out twice where Del Toro alluded to other Myths, and each time he seemed to enjoy that as well. He likes an intellectual film it would seem. Ebert says that the story line is "narrative maze, with multiple stories that branch and eddy, flowing apart and back together again like the a stream tumbling down a rocky hillside or, more aptly, blood spilling over a craggy boulder". I think this shows well that he values a good story in a film, as well as good detail, both of which are in Pan's Labyrinth. He really didn't have anything negative to say about the film, though. Neither do I.

3) http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2006/10/13/pans_labyrinth/index.html Stephanie Zacharek

Zacharek also enjoyed the film, in fact i wan't able to find a credible reviewer who didn't. Her only reason for disliking it was also her biggest one for liking it: "Del Toro's imagery is so vivid and concrete that it's likely to change the color of your sleep" She really likes how vivid and real the story is, also how well the real and the fantasy are interwoven in the story. She says that the how creepy the story is is also a good thing, because it becomes a story that you never forget. I know that this is true because I have experienced it along with her. It is an unforgettable story, and it does haunt your dreams like she says it will. She also tells of how each thing that shows up in Ofelia's Imagination can be related to one of the things that happened in the Spanish civil war, which is really cool and makes me wish that i knew more about history than I do. this is a good review as well, it brings to light some things only a professional reviewer could put words to and also lets the imaginations till have some of it.

4)http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20008778,00.html entertainment weekly

"I don't see why it shouldn't sit on the same altar of High Fantasy as the Lord of the Rings trilogy — it's that worthy."- sums up the entire review. It starts describing how unforgettable the Pale Man, the one with eyes on his hands, is. Of this, Lisa Schwarzbaum says that it "is the most thrillingly creepy humanoid I've seen since the creeps in Hellboy." I haven't seen Hellboy so I don't know what she is talking about, but I can agree on the thrillingly creepyness of the beast. She also seems to like how well the story is written, how well the magic of Ofelia's world controlls what is real in the story. Captain Vidal catches her attention, and how everything about him is recognizable as cold and cruel, from his wardrode to the look in his eyes to every action that he makes.

5) http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/10345062/review/12987263/pans_labyrinth

rolling stone-

this review is fairly short, but it gets the point across that the author enjoys the intense characterizations in Ofelia and her new step father, he is the very definition of a sadist, and she the adolescent.  The author also loves, like the other reviewers, how Del Toro "means for us to leave Pan's Labyrinth shaken to our souls. He succeeds triumphantly"  This reviewer also told of how amazing the costume, makeup, and CGI in the film are.  The weave together brilliantly to make the film what it is.

top ten

Amelie- This film is very good because it has a very real person in it and the story is believable and interesting.
Saving Private Ryan- This is a very good film because the characters all have real pain, real anger, real hatred, real love, and also the story is very intriguing.
The Lord Of The Rings trilogy- every one of these films is incredibly well written, the story line is amazing, and most of the actors fit their roles well.
Little Miss Sunshine- it is a good story that makes you think about what we value in family and why.
The Dark Knight- Good movie, and it makes you think about humanities motives, insanity, and the nature of a hero.
The Science of Sleep- this film has little plot, decent characters, but amazing art.
seven sunny days- i've only seen one clip of it, but it is a documentary about extreme skiers doing exactly what they were born to do. I like it because of the freedom that they give themselves.
Pirates of the Caribbean: the curse of the black pearl- good plot, entertaining, good to watch while doing something else.
Darjeeling Limited- great plot and characters, it makes yo think about what siblings are and the nature of faith even a little.
Pan's Labyrinth- this film has amazing costumes, such as the faun, also explores well the nature of power and humanities reaction to it.