< Anatomy of a Murder >-- The truth is never clear

Although I did not watch a lot of James Stewart movies,
I think most of them are really heart-warming and inspiring,
such as <It's a wonderful life> and <Mr.Smith goes to Washington>.
However, <Anatomy of a murder> is kind of different...
Undeniably, there are a lot of funny moments in this serious court theme movie,
but generally, it gives me a feeling about the darkness of the reality
and the irony of the judicial system.

What I love the most about this movie is that it points out the absurdity 
of the judicial system through little hints.
One of them is when the judge tells the juries to disregard certain testimony,
Paul Biegler's  (James Stewart) client, Lt. Frederick Manion asks him:
"How can a jury disregard what it's already heard?"
He answers: "They can't, lieutenant. They can't."
Another one comes from Biegler's partner, Parnell Emmett McCarthy,
when they are waiting for the final result from the jury.
He says: "Twelve people go off into a room: twelve different minds, 
twelve different hearts, from twelve different walks of life; 
twelve sets of eyes, ears, shapes, and sizes. 
And these twelve people are asked to judge another human being 
as different from them as they are from each other. 
And in their judgment, they must become of one mind - unanimous. 
It's one of the miracles of Man's disorganized soul that they can do it, 
and in most instances, do it right well. God bless juries."
The design of the judicial system aims to give everyone a fair chance 
to defend oneself in the court,
but I think human beings are not really reliable.
It is easy for us to be influenced by people's appearances, how they dress, how they talk,
or maybe just our personal feelings towards that person...
So how is it possible for twelve strangers from around the country
to decide whether this person is guilty or not? 
Even the people who are doing the investigation can hardly find out the truth,
how can the juries, who are just listening?
I think this is a very interesting question to think about.
In the same time, this system seems to be the best among others.
Unless we can establish some other kind of system that 
proves to be more accurate and fair...
(In conclusion, it's hard)

The ending also puzzles me, because it is so open-ended.
There are so many questions that the movie does not answer.
I try to figure out my own explanation, but I guess I need to watch this 
over and over again to try to find out some more key elements!
This is definitely a movie that makes you examine so many things in all the directions!
If you like court theme movie, check this out, you won't be disappointed!!

P.S. All the quotes here come from 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052561/quotes?ref_=tt_ql_3

< The Sting >-- Con artists and their game

Despite the fact that being cheated by somebody 

is definitely not a good experience,

movies seems to find the charm of it,

and the audience (at least me) always enjoy

watching the main characters set up a big con,

and how they successfully play on their rivals.

I watched a lot of movies about con artists,

and <The Sting> does not escape the basic formula for this genre.

(The main characters are in some kinds of troubles >> 

so they gather some of the friends that have different talents >>

set up a plan for their target >> succeed :) !)

However, I think this is one of the best and the most classical films about this theme.

The story itself connects very well;

every little part is like a piece of puzzle,

together they build up the whole picture,

and make the audience feel "Wow!" in the end.

Unlike some of the movies about this theme,

which often establish a lot of unsolved mysteries,

but in the end, those mysteries kind of faded away without making any sense at all.

This creates confusions and definitely make the audience hard to follow.

I love the whole movie, there are so many memorable scenes.

However, one of my favorite will definitely be the part when Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman)

plays poker against their mark-- Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw) on the train,

in order to let him falls into their trap.

In here, Gondorff pretends to be a drunk and kind of rude poker player 

in this "Gentlemen's game".

He not only successfully wins the game by cheating (Lonnegan also cheats),

but he also irritates Lonnegan, which is exactly what he wants.

Because he notices anger and greed are two weakness of human beings,

they cover your eyes and shut down your brains.

This allows Gondorff to play their next step to Lonnegan.

Therefore, I think we can say Gondorff is not just a skill con artist,

but also an amazing analyser who understands very well about human nature.

Besides Paul Newman, Robert Redford is another actor I like very much.
He played Johnny Hooker, a smart but lack of experiences young con artist.
A few times in the movie, he is so close to death,
fortunately, Gondorff saves him in the last moment.
There are a lot of other interesting characters,
who add more colors and amazements for the movie.

This is not only an exciting movie,
but also full with humors and wisdoms.
The collaboration between Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and
the director George Roy Hill is amazing!
They create great dynamic for the movie,
and the story, the characters are so convincing!
Their other famous collaboration is <Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid>,
though the story sets in a completely different circumstance,
but the audience can sure find a lot of similarities between the two.

Oh, yes! The music in <The Sting> also adds a lot of extra points for the movie.
It makes the movie even more alive!

Very handsome Paul Newman and Robert Redford :)

  

< Cool Hand Luke >-- A Natural-Born World-Shaker

This is definitely one of my favorite prison movies alone side with 

< The Shawshank Redemption >, < In the Name of the Father >, < The Experiment > etc.

However, unlike those movies, < Cool Hand Luke > seems

to be more casual and has a great deal of humors,

nevertheless, it is equally or even more memorable than some 

and extremely be-loved by the audience.

Lucas a.k.a. "Cool Hand Luke" (Paul Newman),

who is a decorated veteran, but also a trouble maker.

He was caught destroying public properties,

and was sent to prison for two years.

He soon becomes the captain and the bosses' nightmare,

because no matter how they punish him,

Luke just never give in... 

Luke is a very special man; he is a hero, but in an unconventional way.

He does not have powerful bodily strength or super brilliant mind, 

but there is no one, not a single person,

can make Luke conforms to the authority.

Just like his famous line: "sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand."

He fights his inmate Dragline even though he notices he is much weaker than him;

he bets a lot of money on a poker game even though he has a handful of awful cards;

he escapes from the prison again even though he understands he might get kill...

Although some of his inmates criticize that he has more guts than brain,

Luke nevertheless surprise and admired by his friends. 

He gives them hopes and courage for something they want to do,

but never do due to the authorities.

Luke is also a "real" hero.

He has inner-conflicts just like any one of us.

In one scene he tries to communicate with God,

in order to ask him for advices.

Because on one hand, he does not want to give in to the authorities,

but on the other hand, he also wonders why he cannot conform to the authorities

in order to live a more comfortable life?

Peeking the roof with one-eye,

praying for God's answer,

Luke eventually notices that God is not somewhere else,

but actually inside his heart.

He is the one who controls his actions and thoughts.

If you decide to do something, don't hesitate, follow your heart,

because you are the master of yourself!

Luke is not only the hero among his inmates,

but also the God of himself.

As Dragline describes him: "Hell, he's a natural-born world-shaker."

Amazing acting, thought-provoking plot, and interesting characters,

this is definitely one of the best Paul Newman movies!
And the interesting thing is, each time you watch,
you can find new things in the movie that you never notice before!

P.S. The 50 eggs part is so memorable and funny, I laugh whenever I think about it!

"Nobody can eat fifty eggs"

(That is true except for Luke!)