Comments for mx3blog http://amfried.wordpress.com A blog for the Honors section of PSU's General Education course: Murder, Mayhem, Madness Wed, 16 May 2007 08:53:31 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Final Class by John Grandi http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/05/02/final-class/#comment-113 John Grandi Wed, 16 May 2007 08:53:31 +0000 http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/05/02/final-class/#comment-113 BBBBRRRRIIIIIICCCCKKKK!!!!!! BBBBRRRRIIIIIICCCCKKKK!!!!!!

]]> Comment on Suggest a film by Raff Campagnoli http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-87 Raff Campagnoli Thu, 26 Apr 2007 15:29:00 +0000 http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-87 sorry accidently hit enter. anyway, i feel that out of all the movies you could pick "Boondock Saints" is definitely the best one because it deals with all the topics that we cover in class and is extremely entertaining. Here's a trailor for the movie and ill let you decide for yourselves whether or not this movie isn't perfect for this class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlmFg2gp_X4 sorry accidently hit enter. anyway, i feel that out of all the movies you could pick “Boondock Saints” is definitely the best one because it deals with all the topics that we cover in class and is extremely entertaining.
Here’s a trailor for the movie and ill let you decide for yourselves whether or not this movie isn’t perfect for this class:

]]> Comment on Suggest a film by Raff Campagnoli http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-86 Raff Campagnoli Thu, 26 Apr 2007 15:24:43 +0000 http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-86 I love movies, especially ones dealing with murder, mayhem, and madness. So after thinking about all my favorite movies I feel the one that would best fit the requirement is "Boondock Saints". This movie definitely fullfills the requirements you listed and is very entertaining. Most people know what this movie is about, but incase you don't it's about two brothers who believe it's their mission from God to rid their city of all the "bad" guys, which are the Russian and Italian mob. This is perfect because all the people they kill are "bad" by any definition of the word and everyone agrees. So despite the fact that the two main characters are going around killing everybody, they are the heroes. This makes you think about is it ever right to kill someone, especially if they're causing so much damage to the world. This movie is also a good pick because it's so different from other movies of it's kind. Usually when you here about someone who's comitting mass murder in the name of God, they're labeled as insane, definitely not "saints". In this movie, that idea is turned around. You end up completely believing in the MacManus brothers. There's also quite a lot of mayhem and maddness. With Willem Defoe, Bob Marley, and David Della Rocco there ends up being many humorous parts of the movie as well, making it that much more grabbing. I love movies, especially ones dealing with murder, mayhem, and madness. So after thinking about all my favorite movies I feel the one that would best fit the requirement is “Boondock Saints”. This movie definitely fullfills the requirements you listed and is very entertaining.
Most people know what this movie is about, but incase you don’t it’s about two brothers who believe it’s their mission from God to rid their city of all the “bad” guys, which are the Russian and Italian mob. This is perfect because all the people they kill are “bad” by any definition of the word and everyone agrees. So despite the fact that the two main characters are going around killing everybody, they are the heroes. This makes you think about is it ever right to kill someone, especially if they’re causing so much damage to the world.
This movie is also a good pick because it’s so different from other movies of it’s kind. Usually when you here about someone who’s comitting mass murder in the name of God, they’re labeled as insane, definitely not “saints”. In this movie, that idea is turned around. You end up completely believing in the MacManus brothers. There’s also quite a lot of mayhem and maddness. With Willem Defoe, Bob Marley, and David Della Rocco there ends up being many humorous parts of the movie as well, making it that much more grabbing.

]]> Comment on Suggest a film by Ashley Shaw http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-85 Ashley Shaw Thu, 26 Apr 2007 14:52:21 +0000 http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-85 I think that a great movie to tie in a work of literature we read and discussed to a great extent would be Capote. I have not seen this movie, but I do want to see it, especially after reading In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. I think that the murders and murderers in this real life crime are perfect for our murder, mayhem and madness themed class. We all have our own visions of the scene and these murderers, but it would be nice to better visualize with a film based on the real life occurences. Also, Capote's personal obsession with the story is somewhat mad in itself. According to imdb.com, Capote was released just a year ago. There do not appear to be any A-list actors or actresses in it, although I could be mistaken. I would describe the plot of the movie, but for our class, this is self-explanatory. It is a deeper look at Capote's investigation into the brutal murders, with numerous interviews with the murderers, as well as the development of an unnatural obsession with Perry Smith. The film is 114 minutes long, which will work out nicely for the time frame we have. I think that rather than to open another can of worms with a film we have not discussed or topic we have not touched upon, why not delve deeper into something we've spent a great deal of time reading about..? Resource: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379725/ I think that a great movie to tie in a work of literature we read and discussed to a great extent would be Capote. I have not seen this movie, but I do want to see it, especially after reading In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. I think that the murders and murderers in this real life crime are perfect for our murder, mayhem and madness themed class. We all have our own visions of the scene and these murderers, but it would be nice to better visualize with a film based on the real life occurences. Also, Capote’s personal obsession with the story is somewhat mad in itself.

According to imdb.com, Capote was released just a year ago. There do not appear to be any A-list actors or actresses in it, although I could be mistaken. I would describe the plot of the movie, but for our class, this is self-explanatory. It is a deeper look at Capote’s investigation into the brutal murders, with numerous interviews with the murderers, as well as the development of an unnatural obsession with Perry Smith.

The film is 114 minutes long, which will work out nicely for the time frame we have. I think that rather than to open another can of worms with a film we have not discussed or topic we have not touched upon, why not delve deeper into something we’ve spent a great deal of time reading about..?

Resource: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379725/

]]> Comment on Suggest a film by Tracy http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-84 Tracy Thu, 26 Apr 2007 14:23:34 +0000 http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-84 I was going to suggest the movie The Shining.... holla! to Nicole for doing so. I've never seen the movie but its a classic tale of madness... with a little murder and mayhem mixed in. So my first choice would be to watch the Shining. Another movie I thought would be interesting to watch is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I'm sensing a Jack Nicholson theme here.... hmm... Anyways, although it doesn't involve a murder, there is a death in the movie (suicide I believe) and LOTS of madness, as it takes place in a mental institution. The basic plot of the movie is that Jack Nicholson's character gets put into a mental institution and throughout the entire movie is trying to get out. It deals a lot with the relationships he makes with the other patients, how he afftects them, and more importantly i think with the nature of the hospitals and how they treated patients for many years. It is a wonderfully made, and often funny, film with an all-star cast: Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd... and many lesser known but wonderful actors. The film was nominated for several academy awards and won Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Screenplay. NEED I SAY MORE??? I was going to suggest the movie The Shining…. holla! to Nicole for doing so. I’ve never seen the movie but its a classic tale of madness… with a little murder and mayhem mixed in. So my first choice would be to watch the Shining.
Another movie I thought would be interesting to watch is One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I’m sensing a Jack Nicholson theme here…. hmm… Anyways, although it doesn’t involve a murder, there is a death in the movie (suicide I believe) and LOTS of madness, as it takes place in a mental institution. The basic plot of the movie is that Jack Nicholson’s character gets put into a mental institution and throughout the entire movie is trying to get out. It deals a lot with the relationships he makes with the other patients, how he afftects them, and more importantly i think with the nature of the hospitals and how they treated patients for many years.
It is a wonderfully made, and often funny, film with an all-star cast: Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd… and many lesser known but wonderful actors. The film was nominated for several academy awards and won Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Screenplay. NEED I SAY MORE???

]]> Comment on Suggest a film by Samantha Bushey http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-83 Samantha Bushey Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:26:44 +0000 http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-83 The moving that I would suggest is called Striking Distance starring Bruce Willis. This is a great movie and it definitely fulfills the requirements for this class. Here is a direct quote from IMDB: "Tom Hardy comes from a family of cops and has just broken the cardinal rule--never speak out against another cop, which he did. Which now makes him persona non grata with the other cops. Presently there's a serial killer on the loose and when Tom and his father and some other cops corner him, a big chase ensues and when it is over Tom's father is dead, supposedly killed by the perp. Later a suspect is brought in whom Tom doesn't believe is the one but most of the cops just don't want to believe him or think that he's objective is clouded. Eventually he is drummed out and the only position he could get is at river rescue. Two years later he still sticks to his beliefs and apparently the killer is back but everybody doesn't believe him and some people think that he is copy catting the killer." This movie looks inside the mind of the killer while Det. Tom Hardy (played by Bruce Willis) is left alone to solve the case and prove that he is not the person that is committing all of the murders. It has been a while since I have seen this movie, but it is very applicable to this course as well as being a very interesting movie. It came out on video in 1993 so it is an older movie and I think that makes it an even better movie because it focuses on the crimes as opposed to being violent just because it could be done. Check out the review at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108238/ The moving that I would suggest is called Striking Distance starring Bruce Willis. This is a great movie and it definitely fulfills the requirements for this class. Here is a direct quote from IMDB: “Tom Hardy comes from a family of cops and has just broken the cardinal rule–never speak out against another cop, which he did. Which now makes him persona non grata with the other cops. Presently there’s a serial killer on the loose and when Tom and his father and some other cops corner him, a big chase ensues and when it is over Tom’s father is dead, supposedly killed by the perp. Later a suspect is brought in whom Tom doesn’t believe is the one but most of the cops just don’t want to believe him or think that he’s objective is clouded. Eventually he is drummed out and the only position he could get is at river rescue. Two years later he still sticks to his beliefs and apparently the killer is back but everybody doesn’t believe him and some people think that he is copy catting the killer.”
This movie looks inside the mind of the killer while Det. Tom Hardy (played by Bruce Willis) is left alone to solve the case and prove that he is not the person that is committing all of the murders.
It has been a while since I have seen this movie, but it is very applicable to this course as well as being a very interesting movie. It came out on video in 1993 so it is an older movie and I think that makes it an even better movie because it focuses on the crimes as opposed to being violent just because it could be done. Check out the review at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108238/

]]> Comment on Suggest a film by Aly Dethlefs http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-82 Aly Dethlefs Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:47:21 +0000 http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-82 My choice for the Mx3 movie to watch would be The Bone Collector. It's a 2 hr movie full of not only crime and murder, but the psychology of a murderer as well. There are also some great actors who compliment the movie as well: Angelina Jolie, Denzel Washington and Queen Latifah. The story is gruesome and creeps the watcher out, as a thriller and crime/ cop movie. We get the persepctive of the cop in the field trying to solve the crime, as well as the murderer and a past cop in the field. The movie hooks you until the end, and everytime you think you've figured it out a new twist occurs. It's like a movie verson of a CSI or Law in Order. There is the whole forensics aspect brought forward and all the interesting ways they were able to solve the crime. The detectives had to try and keep up with the killer and figure out a way to best him so he wouldn't be able to kill any others. We also get the background of the main character, Angelina Jolie's character, with her past and her fathers death. I enjoy this movie even though it does a great job at freaking me out, when I watched it for my forensic class in High School, everyone enjoyed the movie and thought it was a successful movie. Quote from IMDB: Quadripeligic ex-cop Lincoln Rhyme was looking forward to his assisted suicide when he got the news: some sicko was abducting people in a taxi and leaving them to die in particularly sadistic ways. With time counting down between each abduction and possible death, Rhyme recruits rather-unwilling Amelia Donaghy, haunted by her cop father's suicide and thinking she's next, into working the crime scenes to track down the killer. So yeah...let's watch The Bone Killer, rock on :) My choice for the Mx3 movie to watch would be The Bone Collector. It’s a 2 hr movie full of not only crime and murder, but the psychology of a murderer as well. There are also some great actors who compliment the movie as well: Angelina Jolie, Denzel Washington and Queen Latifah. The story is gruesome and creeps the watcher out, as a thriller and crime/ cop movie. We get the persepctive of the cop in the field trying to solve the crime, as well as the murderer and a past cop in the field. The movie hooks you until the end, and everytime you think you’ve figured it out a new twist occurs. It’s like a movie verson of a CSI or Law in Order.

There is the whole forensics aspect brought forward and all the interesting ways they were able to solve the crime. The detectives had to try and keep up with the killer and figure out a way to best him so he wouldn’t be able to kill any others. We also get the background of the main character, Angelina Jolie’s character, with her past and her fathers death.

I enjoy this movie even though it does a great job at freaking me out, when I watched it for my forensic class in High School, everyone enjoyed the movie and thought it was a successful movie. Quote from IMDB:

Quadripeligic ex-cop Lincoln Rhyme was looking forward to his assisted suicide when he got the news: some sicko was abducting people in a taxi and leaving them to die in particularly sadistic ways. With time counting down between each abduction and possible death, Rhyme recruits rather-unwilling Amelia Donaghy, haunted by her cop father’s suicide and thinking she’s next, into working the crime scenes to track down the killer.

So yeah…let’s watch The Bone Killer, rock on :)

]]> Comment on Suggest a film by Natalie http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-81 Natalie Tue, 24 Apr 2007 01:53:05 +0000 http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-81 I would have to choose Brick as my choice because it deals with murder (definitely), mayhem and a little madness. Brick certainly deals with murder because that is the basis of the plot - a girl, Emily, is murdered and her ex-boyfriend, Brendan, wants to know why. It's a basic plot but it is done really well, mostly in the style of a detective novel. As for the mayhem aspect, it is definitely there in the actions of the high school students, as well as the hero of the movie who is determined to find out what happened by any means necessary. Finally, there is an element of madness in some select characters whose actions are unexplainable besides they're "a little crazy." And while I don't want to give it away, the ending of the movie really takes all 3 aspects and combines them to blow you away. It's a great movie, and I think everyone would really enjoy it. Plus, it's a movie most people probably haven't seen, unlike 99% of the movies suggested. (Seriously, if I have to watch Silence of the Lambs or Sin City again ... they're both good but I have seen them way too many times) I would have to choose Brick as my choice because it deals with murder (definitely), mayhem and a little madness.
Brick certainly deals with murder because that is the basis of the plot – a girl, Emily, is murdered and her ex-boyfriend, Brendan, wants to know why. It’s a basic plot but it is done really well, mostly in the style of a detective novel.
As for the mayhem aspect, it is definitely there in the actions of the high school students, as well as the hero of the movie who is determined to find out what happened by any means necessary.
Finally, there is an element of madness in some select characters whose actions are unexplainable besides they’re “a little crazy.” And while I don’t want to give it away, the ending of the movie really takes all 3 aspects and combines them to blow you away.

It’s a great movie, and I think everyone would really enjoy it. Plus, it’s a movie most people probably haven’t seen, unlike 99% of the movies suggested. (Seriously, if I have to watch Silence of the Lambs or Sin City again … they’re both good but I have seen them way too many times)

]]> Comment on Suggest a film by Greg Goujon http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-80 Greg Goujon Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:35:16 +0000 http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-80 I personally feel that, "Sin City" directed by Frank Miller, would be an awesome choice for this class. Its total run time is around 147 minutes which would fit the class period perfectly. Even though it's very gory, I still think most of us can handle it. Quoted from Imdb: "Four tales of crime adapted from Frank Miller's popular comics, focusing around a muscular brute who's looking for the person responsible for the death of his beloved Goldie, a man fed up with Sin City's corrupt law enforcement who takes the law into his own hands after a horrible mistake, a cop who risks his life to protect a girl from a deformed pedophile, and a hitman looking to make a little cash." The story is played out like Capote's "In Cold Blood", there are many different story lines showed at different times but they are all interconnected and make the movie very dramatic and exciting. The cast of this movie is also star studded and the actors and actresses play their roles to a tee. You have actors like Elijah Wood who plays a really creepy killer and Bruce Willis playing as an aging cop. The characters are fun to watch and there are some moments when you can laugh and finally catch your breath. I think this is an over all great movie to watch. It is enthralling, dramatic, and fun to watch. I think the class will enjoy it. www.imdb.com I personally feel that, “Sin City” directed by Frank Miller, would be an awesome choice for this class. Its total run time is around 147 minutes which would fit the class period perfectly. Even though it’s very gory, I still think most of us can handle it.

Quoted from Imdb:
“Four tales of crime adapted from Frank Miller’s popular comics, focusing around a muscular brute who’s looking for the person responsible for the death of his beloved Goldie, a man fed up with Sin City’s corrupt law enforcement who takes the law into his own hands after a horrible mistake, a cop who risks his life to protect a girl from a deformed pedophile, and a hitman looking to make a little cash.” The story is played out like Capote’s “In Cold Blood”, there are many different story lines showed at different times but they are all interconnected and make the movie very dramatic and exciting.

The cast of this movie is also star studded and the actors and actresses play their roles to a tee. You have actors like Elijah Wood who plays a really creepy killer and Bruce Willis playing as an aging cop. The characters are fun to watch and there are some moments when you can laugh and finally catch your breath.

I think this is an over all great movie to watch. It is enthralling, dramatic, and fun to watch. I think the class will enjoy it.

http://www.imdb.com

]]> Comment on Suggest a film by Heather (didn't finish responding by mistake..) http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-79 Heather (didn't finish responding by mistake..) Mon, 23 Apr 2007 22:07:36 +0000 http://amfried.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/suggest-a-film/#comment-79 So this movie focuses mainly on two men who work for the Mass. State Police and certain issues arise due to lies and betrayal. The soundtrack to the movie is pretty killer too, featuring a boston based band called the Dropkick Murphy's. Centered around the mafia, dirty police and the occasional good guy who wants to make things right this movie has all the different aspects that make a movie worth watching. It is interesting, exciting, dramatic and memorable. So this movie focuses mainly on two men who work for the Mass. State Police and certain issues arise due to lies and betrayal. The soundtrack to the movie is pretty killer too, featuring a boston based band called the Dropkick Murphy’s. Centered around the mafia, dirty police and the occasional good guy who wants to make things right this movie has all the different aspects that make a movie worth watching. It is interesting, exciting, dramatic and memorable.

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