A Simple Plan

Finding money out of nowhere and then having it backfire is a tired and overused plot. It has been used in fiction, movies, and even games. However, this movie took a strange twist. Usually during movies like this, whenever more than one person finds a bag of money, they fight to the death for it. The characters of Hank, Jacob, Sarah and Lou change this.

Although almost everyone dies over the money, the characters of Hank and Jacob are the point of interest. Hank and Jacob form an alliance, without Lou. They work together instead of the "every man for himself" concept that is usually portrayed in these plots. Brotherly love is also a new addition to this. Hank never betrays Jacob either, Hank is forced to shoot him. 

A femme fatal is also something I have not seen in a rags to riches plot. Sarah, a strange addition, wants Hank to just take all of the money and run. I wonder if she was put in to force Hank to stay(the baby), or if she was just there to make him more evil.

Also, every plot like this usually has the idiot that they pin the blame on. Lou takes that position. Usually it backfires with the idiot getting all the money, or something ridiculous. However, Sam Raimi decides to kill him off, along with his wife. 

Who is Sammy Jenkins?

Sammy Jenkins is a pivotal character in the movie, allowing for exposition and insight for Leonard's illness and character. But who is he really?
It is my belief that Sammy Jenkins is Leonard. After all, the movie has so many different possibilities. Leonard could be faking his own illness, Teddy could be lying, and Natalie could have even stolen the money.
Several times throughout the film, Nolan decides to interchange Leonard's character with Sammy. One instance was during a flashback where Sammy was in a hospital; Leonard was soon imprinted over him. This happens again at the end, in which Teddy tries to tell the truth, and Leonard replaces Sammy in a flashback. This leads me to believe that Leonard's brain safeguarded him by creating a new identity. He couldn't deal with the fact that he killed his wife, so why not put the blame on someone else?
Teddy also repeatedly states throughout the film that Leonard is not really Leonard. It's who he "used" to be. This suggests that Leonard has gone through several identity changes. Perhaps each time he remembers what he did to his wife, he repeatedly makes a new persona. This is also further proved by Leonard stealing John G's clothes. Leonard states, "I'd rather be mistaken for a dead man than a killer."
If Leonard wasn't Sammy Jenkins, then what is the point of his inclusion? The only thing I can think of would be to remember his illness, yet Leonard remembers the incident, which is what gave him his illness in the first place.

Sway

As I was watching Dark City, I noticed some parts that seemed to have no actual significance to the plot. One of these scenes was Jennifer Connelly singing. At first, it seemed to just introduce the character; just showing that she's a singer. However, after thinking for awhile, I realized it held much more significance.
Connelly's first rendition is the song, "Sway". This song tells of a dance between two people, swaying along to the music. Connelly's lyrics are, "Bend with me, sway with ease. When we dance you have a way with me. Sway with me." This alludes to the relationship between the Strangers and the denizens of the dark city. The Strangers have the city in their grasp, swaying and playing around with it.  The people are their playthings without them really knowing it. People are just swaying along with the Stranger's needs.
Next, Connelly sings, "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes." This one is a lot more obvious. Its an allusion to whats actually going on in the city. The "thousand eyes" refer to the Strangers and how they are watching everything going on. Since the city is always dark, people are watching constantly. Every move, every action, all are recorded and studied.

Film Noir

While I have heard of the genre before, film noir is something I have never experienced. I've know its themes and how it usually deals with gangsters. However, I've never watched any film noir.
The Asphalt Jungle is my first venture into the genre. Honestly, I like it. The characters are likable, and its black and white nature adds to its grittiness. Although the acting is a little strange and I can't understand anything the Doc says, I think it has its own niche.
The characters are among my favorites from any film we have watched so far. Emmerich, though a bad guy who double-crosses the Doc and Dix, is given sympathy at the final moments before his arrest. He knows he's going to get whisked off to jail, yet plays cards with his wife. He could easily leave her behind and escape, yet doesn't. Also when the police come to his escort's house to arrest him, he tells her to tell them the truth. He's letting her off even though a statement from her could have helped his case.
The Doc is given a sympathetic moment as well. Right before he gets arrested, he gives a teenage girl several nickels. While it could be argued that he did it for his own perversion, I'd like to think that he did it to do something good before he got caught.
Even Dix has our sympathy. Throughout the film, Dix repeatedly refuses to even casually converse with Doll(?). By the end, he lets her join him in his escape. I also suspect that the director will work in a romantic scene right before Dix dies or gets caught.

Unforgiven

Now that we have finished the film, I believe I finally know why its called Unforgiven.

Some characters have a certain aspect about themselves that they despise. Munny hates his talent for killing, the Schofield Kid hates that he can't kill, the whores hate that they are powerless, etc. They obviously try to change, yet cannot change that which is impossible. After the Schofield Kid kills the guy who cut up the whore, he decides to stop adventuring. Munny recedes back to his angry killing ways after Ned is tortured and killed. The whores run away from Munny when he goes on his shooting spree, unable to help or stop him. These characters cannot forgive their personalities. Hence why the kid always tries to seem more badass and Munny tries to lessen the nature of his kills.

Other characters, like Little Bill and English Bob hate the world around them. Little Bill dislikes this Western world, attacking assassins and killing Ned. Being the sheriff, Bill believes that he must protect the world from rotten scumbags who come to collect money for kills. English Bob hates America in general. He believes that his mother country of England is better. Numerous times throughout the film, he is seen mocking America. For example, when first introduced, he scoffs at the assassination of the president, saying that if he were a king this would not happen. These characters cannot forgive human society; how they act, the people in it, even their morals.

Essentially all of the characters think something around them is unforgivable. At the start of the film, Munny and Ned think that the guy who cut the whore up was a scumbag. Munny cannot forgive Bill for killing the innocent Ned. Bill hates every assassin on the planet. The whores believe that the man who cut up one of theirs should die. In this movie all of their morals and beliefs clash, ultimately resulting in death and chaos.

Munny's Character

Is Munny really a good person? Several times throughout the film, Munny repeatedly states that his wife set him straight. However, despite this, he goes off to kill, some guy he's never heard of before. Munny is a premier example of moral ambiguity.
When we first see Munny, we see some grey-haired old man trying to herd pigs. He falls into the mud several times, further emphasizing his feebleness. Two seconds later, we figure out he's some cold-blooded killer bandit. At first it seems that he has changed, but when the Schofield Kid arrives and tells him about the reward money, Munny begrudgingly accepts. He grabs his partner and gets onto his task. Before they even reach their target, Munny and his partner start to converse. Munny talks about how he's so different from before, and how his wife helped him with that. While you can assume that Munny is talking to Ned(Morgan Freeman), you can tell that he's really talking to himself. Its like he's trying to console himself, convince himself that he never, ever would do any of that again. However, the fact that he willingly went out to kill some random guy and leave his kids with a woman that hates him for weeks on end, leads me to believe that he might not be all that good himself. Munny claims that he is only doing it for the money, for his kids, yet there is probably some hidden agenda inside him that wants to kill again.

The Seventh Seal

The metaphorical value behind the chess symbolism is really interesting. Although, I have not watched the entire film, there are already numerous instances of its deeper meaning.
Life itself can be described as a chess game between Death. Everyone tries to cheat death. Each player gets a specific set of options to fight against Death. However, Death has his own chess pieces; aimed to kill you. Similar to capturing a pawn or rook, people try to eat healthier, abstain from sex, and work out. This effectively rids Death's options, making his life harder.
This idea is heavily represented in the movie. Antonius Block is literally playing Death in a game of chess. The game however goes on and off; they keep playing at random intervals. This is another representation of life, as we don't constantly try to fight off death. We think about other things. We goes through our lives. Sometimes, we even give in to Death, eating junk food and purposely injuring ourselves. No one person can focus upon a certain thing at all times.
 Death, at one point in the film, pretends to be a pastor and makes Antonius Block give up his secrets of success. This ties into another theme of the film, Block's religious views. That scene shows his views upon God. He immediately saw a priest and confessed his deepest and inner thoughts. He trusts every imagery of God he can see. However, the priest actually turned out to be Death personified. This either foreshadows his eventual death with some religious aspect being at fault, or losing to Death at chess.
All in all, the film is pretty interesting, yet only at a metaphorical level. The film itself has gone pretty slowly. Sometimes I wonder why some scenes were shot at all, like the whole scene where the Jof(the juggler guy, whatever his name is) where he wakes up and wanders around for five minutes. Hopefully more interesting things will happen, like something added to the plot other than Antonius playing chess with Death.

Animals

I have one question after viewing this film: Is Manny an animal or a human (metaphorically speaking)? Is he some soulless husk of a person with savage tendencies, or is does he actually have a heart? 

There are several instances throughout the film in which he can be called an animal; he is at first caged like some dog, his manner of speech is similar to that of growling, he treats Buck as dead weight instead of a friend, he fights like an animal (the scene where he throws blood onto the guy who stabbed his hand), and several times throughout the film, Manny bears his teeth, like when Rankin leaves Manny's cage for the first time, we can see a glint in Manny's eyes and teeth, similar to that of a wolf or dog. Also, near the end, many loses his fingers trying to cut the wires of the train. This leaves him without opposable thumbs,  like several animals. 

However, with all of these scenes exemplifying Manny's animal traits, there is an equal number of humanization scenes. Manny dislikes rape and stops Buck from doing anything bad to the girl, he cares about Jonah and tries to take him with him, he eventually saves Buck and the girl from dying, and he even asks Rankin if  Jonah is safe during his final moments.

The parallels between these two raise further questions. Is it a statement on humanity and how close we are to animals? Is a side more prevalent than the other? Which side is the correct way of living?

Citizen Kane

Now, Citizen Kane is hailed as the best movie ever created. Under this title, it has gained much notoriety and even has references in pop culture. Cartoons like the Simpsons and Family Guy have mentioned it multiple times; it was even shown on the Sopranos. Unfortunately, these references spoiled most of the movie for me. (I've known what rosebud was since I was 10, even though I have never actually watched the movie.)
However, even after being spoiled and enlightened, I understand why this is a great film. As Mr.Bennett said, the acting is superb; people bounce off one another with amazing accuracy. The plot is both intricate and mysterious at the same time. Characterization is progressing, yet I can't form my opinion on it until the movie is over. Metaphors and symbolism is in pretty much every scene.
So far, I like this movie a whole lot more than All Quiet On the Western Front. The main difference for me is that Citizen Kane has a movie score. I'm not sure if All Quiet On the Western Front had a score, yet even if it did, Citizen Kane does it much better. The music adds much to the scenes, like at the very beginning, where creepy ambiance is played to portray Kane's house as scary.
Overall, this movie blows All Quiet On the Western Front out of the water. While both movies are notable classics, Citizen Kane is much more entertaining.

Windows and Doors

The windows and doors in this film serve a very important purpose. Every time the film shows a window or door, it is at a first-person viewpoint. It's like we are actually there, looking through the window. Whenever we see a door or a window, it is always at a different setting. For example, a window is our viewpoint  when seeing the school for the first time. A door is opened when Paul is about to be taken away for surgery. These viewpoints are coincide with existentialism in the film. You are given a distant look into someone else's life. A person could be dying, eating or even contemplating life. You can watch these instances but cannot do anything about them. Each person is responsible for his or her life. Even if you don't like the way things turn out for them, you cannot change or do anything about it.

The Butterfly

The final scene of All Quiet On the Western Front is depicted with the main character, Paul reaching for a butterfly. This gesture eventually leads to the demise of Paul.
Now, this ending really ties everything together. Paul, who has lost everything, his old life, his friends, tries to reach out for a butterfly. The butterfly itself represents the ability to move on, to change. A butterfly's life is to reach the age where it is forcibly changed, going through several stages of transformations. Paul's life reflects this butterfly, turning from a young recruit into a hardened battle warrior. They have both been changed, learning life lessons and becoming more mature. Paul can now have something that he can share his experiences, although it can't talk back to him. Unfortunately, when Paul sees this, he is shot right before he can grab it.

All Quiet on the Western Front

When we first viewed this movie, I was not impressed. The movie was in black and white, the acting was strange, and I was not a fan of the plot. As time passed however, I started to like it. Paul, Kat, and Franz are all likable characters. The camera work is ahead of its time, and the black and white isn' t all that bad. I hope to enjoy this film ever more as time goes on.