Moonstruck

Moonstruck is an American romantic comedy, debuted in 1987, directed by  Norman Jewison, and written by John Patrick Shanley. It stars Cher, Nicolas Cage, Danny Aiello, Vincent Gardenia, and Olympia Dukakis.

The film was released into theaters on December 16, 1987 in New York City, and then nationally on December 18, 1987.  This film received many popular reviews from film critics, and went on the gross a whopping $91, 640, 528 at the North American box office, making it the fifth highest-grossing film of that year. 

Moonstruck was nominated for six Oscars at the 60th Academy Awards, winning for Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress.

Loretta Castorini, Cher, a widowed Brooklyn bookkeeper in her late 30s whose husband died several years earlier in a bus accident, decides that it's time to get married again. So she accepts the proposal of a nice, middle-aged fellow named Johnny Cammareri. Johnny Cammareri is not spoken well, quite afraid of life, and obviously not a perfect match for Loretta.  Loretta is convinced her first marriage was cursed because she and her husband had gotten married at City Hall; this time, she's determined to do things right and have a real wedding with everything (hopefully paid for by her father, as is customary for the father of the bride to do). She admits to her mother, Rose, that she's not really in love with Johnny. (To which Rose replies: "Good. When you love them, they drive you crazy, 'cause they know they can." Rose speaks from rueful experience; she suspects, with good reason, that her husband, Cosmo, is cheating on her.) Loretta is convinced that marrying Johnny is the safe and sure thing to do, she just wants a normal life. Until she meets his estranged younger brother Ronny, who tends the ovens in a neighborhood bakery. Loretta discovers that in startling contrast to the pleasant, mild-mannered Johnny, Ronny is moody and passionate; what follow are complications worthy of a comic opera.

Ronny Cammareri: I'm in love with you. 

Loretta Castorini: (slaps him twice) Snap out of it! 

This movie, to me, is a classic.  I couldn't imagine growing up without this movie!  The love story is my favorite; it is witty, hilarious, romantic, and full of relatable family scandal.  Cher and Nicolas Cage fall in love in a very passionate and very Italian inspired movie.  The movie itself is a less dramatic version of an opera, which they attend and complete the spell of their love.  They decide to get married, and it is the reality of a true love story. 

I would definitely recommend this movie to everyone and anyone. This love story is way more relatable, I think, to most people and their love stories.  Not everything works out as planned, and this story portrays that in a realistic and witty way.  There is so much scandal in love, and this movie also illustrates that fact.  Also, family is a heavy factor in your life, and if you are a certain nationality, sometimes even more so.  In conclusion, below, I have what is one of my favorite quotes of the movie: 

Ronny Cammareri: Loretta, I love you. Not like they told you love is, and I didn't know this either, but love don't make things nice - it ruins everything. It breaks your heart. It makes things a mess. We aren't here to make things perfect. The snowflakes are perfect. The stars are perfect. Not us. Not us! We are here to ruin ourselves and to break our hearts and love the wrong people and *die*. The storybooks are *bullshit*. Now I want you to come upstairs with me and *get* in my bed!

Angels, and Demons, and Ghosts! Oh my!

Supernatural focuses on Sam and Dean Winchester (played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles), two brothers who work through their familial struggles in order to save people and hunt things, namely ghosts, demons and other monsters that go bump in the night.  Though violent and very graphic in its later episodes, Supernatural also manages to tug at the heart strings.

With each season I watch, I become more impressed with the way religion is used in the show.  This show incorporates many different religions, ranging from Hinduism to ancient Pagan religions.  Episodes that utilize these religions are based on the folklore of these religions, so the audience is being exposed to many different religions they might not be aware of had they not watched the show.
    Though the majority of the series involves conflict in the Judeo-Christian religions, God is not actually present in the series.  God is mentioned in a few of the seasons, but He is always missing or absent.  No religion is portrayed as better or worse than any other.   Despite the show’s involvement with religion, writer, Eric Kripke, ensures that the show does not get preachy.  The audience is not being persuaded to convert to any religion.  Religion is simply being used as a tool to make the audience question their morals and the themes presented in the series.

One major theme presented in this film is whether one should act in order to save the greater good or to save a few of your loved ones.  With a fierce war happening in Heaven, Castiel (played by Misha Collins) is forced to choose between saving Sam and Dean or fighting for his cause to save the people of Earth.  Another interesting topic addressed in this series is the concept of fate vs. free will.  In Season 4, Zachariah, an angel on a serious power trip, attempts to make Sam and Dean follow the path that has been planned for them in order to stop the Apocalypse from coming.  Sam and Dean, however, fight against this plan in an attempt to follow their own path and save each other.  
     

Though the supernatural entities used in this show are unique to different cultures and religions, the themes portrayed in the show are universal.  Supernatural provokes questions of  what happens after we die and the importance of family, morality, and free will.

Morality's Place in Hollywood

If you had to ask me, at least a few hours ago, I would've said that there wasn't one. That morality and Hollywood were simply incompatible, that both could not exist at the same time. It seemed to me that Hollywood was run by a number of Gordon Gekko's and that "Greed is good". Sure, there are good, honest people trying to do good, honest things, but let's be honest, money is the name of the game.

That being said, the moral high ground IS in fact taken quite often, but less out of voluntary action and more the cause of the driving forces of impending blows to profit and "political correctness". Offend as few people as possible and reap as much profit as you can. I hate to sound cynical, because I certainly don't consider my self to be so, but I feel that this blasé effort to do some good within the medium, which undoubtedly has the ability to help an influence people exponentially, to be frustrating. A little proactivity with the old moral compass goes a long way. 

That's why I was so happy when I heard that Disney and Pixar had made alterations to the ending the upcoming animated film "Finding Dory" after some of the creators watched a documentary called "Blackfish". "Blackfish" is a documentary that addresses the dangers of keeping animals, specifically whales, in captivity in places such as the Sea World aquatic park. The folks at Disney were apparently so moved by what the saw, that they decided to rework the ending of the script, which in fact had the main characters of the film at a SeaWorld type place. Of the change, the people at Pixar stated that they didn't want to look back fifty years from now and see that this film had become something of a "Song of the South". 


If you haven't really heard of  "Song of the South", there's probably a good reason, as Disney doesn't exactly broadcast its existence. That's because today, the 1946 Disney musical is largely considered to be somewhat racist. But I digress. 

Now, that comment about Pixar not wanting it to be a "Song of the South" does suggest that Pixar has their best interests in mind. But here's what separates this instance from others: there was no public outcry, no online petitions, no focus groups. Heck, the script wasn't even released to the public. All this was was a few people who saw a documentary and felt so compelled to do some good. 

Now, I have no idea whether "Blackfish is wrong or right. There are arguments from both camps, with SeaWorld even releasing a public statement on the matter:

"Blackfish is billed as a documentary, but instead of a fair and balanced treatment of a complex subject, the film is inaccurate and misleading and, regrettably, exploits a tragedy that remains a source of deep pain for Dawn Brancheau's family, friends and colleagues. To promote its bias that killer whales should not be maintained in a zoological setting, the film paints a distorted picture that withholds from viewers key facts about SeaWorld – among them, that SeaWorld is one of the world's most respected zoological institutions, that SeaWorld rescues, rehabilitates and returns to the wild hundreds of wild animals every year, and that SeaWorld commits millions of dollars annually to conservation and scientific research. Perhaps most important, the film fails to mention SeaWorld's commitment to the safety of its team members and guests and to the care and welfare of its animals, as demonstrated by the company's continual refinement and improvement to its killer whale facilities, equipment and procedures both before and after the death of Dawn Brancheau."

But here's the kicker, I honestly don't care who's wrong or right. I feel that Pixar's heart was in the right place in this conscious, unforced decision to do what the people behind the film thought was right. That's enough for me.