Harvey

A pleasant and well mannered-man, Elwood P. Dowd, is in the constant company of one of his best friends, Harvey. Harvey is a six-foot 3 and a half tall inch rabbit whom is claimed by Elwood to be a pooka. A pooka is defined in the movies as a,"Fairy spirit in animal form, always very large. The pooka appears here and there, now and then, to this one and that one. A benign but mischievous creature."

                                                  Movie cover for Harvey, pictured here is Elwood and Harvey.



At the start of the movie you get the impression that Elwood, is crazy, as both  his sister Veta and Myrtle May claim, but further in viewing the movie you realize others can see him. Others including the doctor and Veta, though she is ashamed to admit this, and only sees him sometimes. Knowing this lead me to believe that Harvey is real, but only if you believe he is real. This concept can be related to the bell from the Polar Express that only rings for those who believe in Santa, or from Peter Pan where not believing in Tinker Bell can kill her.Personally, I think that Elwood has the belief of Harvey to possibly fill a void that was caused by the death of his mother.

                                              Elwood marveling at his portrait of himself and his companion Harvey



James Stewart plays Elwood, the pleasant man that instantly becomes your friend and dinner guest with just one conversation. Elwood is mainly beloved by everyone at first conversation, until he introduces you to his "very good friend," Harvey. This beloved tall white rabbit is played by himself. Veta the sister who tries countless times to commit Elwood to the mental institution is played by Josephine Hull. Lastly is Myrtle May, the young woman and daughter of Veta, who never thinks any guy will fancy her is portrayed by Victoria Horne.

The Grapes of Wrath

                                                              The Joad family loading up their truck to head for California in search of jobs



  A tragic, gloomy, and joyless tale about the Joad family. The grapes of Wrath takes you through the 1930s lifestyle of an "oakie" suffering through the dust bowl and the great depression. While viewing this movie you hopelessly watch as the Joad's struggle to find jobs, a place of residence, and food to eat. As the Joad family migrates from Oklahoma to California they lose family members along the way such as the deadbeat husband/soon to be father, the former preacher, a senile grandfather, and an olden grandmother.

                                                                                      Pictured here is Ma' Joad, Tom Joad, and Pa' Joad
 


Though this movie may seem depressing, just know that throughout the movie it manages to get even more depressing. Although I did love the movie, I felt as though the Joad family deserved some happiness, or just a glimmer of hope. Toward the end what was left of the family had been completely torn down, and lost all optimism. While the family was hopeless, I was filled with hope and even anxious in viewing the ending in expectations for a happy ending, but was left with a horrible cliff hanger that gave no inside to the rest of the family. 

                         Pictured here is casy, "A fellow ain't got a soul of his own, just little piece of a big soul, the one big soul that belongs to everybody,

Ma' Joad is the one that keeps the family strong and most of the time keeps them going, all big decisions are made mostly with Ma's choice. While Ma' is the caretaker of the family Pa' seems distant and little is know about him through the movie except that he is looking for work like everyone else. Tom Joad, the main character, is a recently incarcerated man who in my opinion becomes the symbol of freedom for the people going through tough times. My favorite character is Casy, the sweet and innocent preacher who lost the spirit, even though he never says why he l believe it had to do with the Great Depression.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark is an exciting action packed thrill ride, with a hard to follow plot. The movie takes you through Indiana Jone's quest for the last Ark that the Nazis also seek. While also engaging in these shenanigans he finds lost love, his recent ex girlfriend Marion. While succeeding in both obtaining the Ark he also manages to obtain his lover's heart.

                                                                      Raiders of the Lost Ark movie cover



With vibrant characters portrayed by some influential and others not so influential actors. I found the role of Indiana Jones played by the Fantastic Harrison Ford was very well done, frankly I don't think the Fantastic Ford could have done a better job. While on the other hand, you have Karen Allen who plays Marion. Allen did not do such a great job, and provided little to the plot. A better Raiders of the Lost Ark movie would be less love and more face melting.

                                          Face melting scene with the Nazis after the ark had released it's power


While viewing this film I felt connected to the actors, mainly Indiana Jones. His victories were my victories, and when in trouble I even felt defeated as he did. The special effects were nothing compared to the films today. But when viewing an older film one must take into consideration that 1981 special effects, were limited due to the lack of today's technology.