The Movies: Movei Reviews, Batman Begins, Saving Private Ryan, Shawshank Redemption

Introduction

Thank you for stopping in. Here is a collection of three great movies: Saving Private Ryan, Shawshank Redemption and Batman Begins. I have covered these movies in different ways before, but I have chosen to place them all in one small book, which you can use at anytime and be reminded of the great plots, story and actions that they inspired.
These reflections are a total of twenty-three chapters of eye-opening questions about the plots and characters of each movie. If you like this movie review then keep coming back or better follow me on twitter at clintonrlefort and keep up with the latest additions to my Kindle books. From time to time, for no specific reason, I update these books, so be sure to check back so that you can get the latest updates. I hope you will enjoy these reviews as much as I have enjoyed writing about these great stories.

I. Moral Character
Saving another man’s life in the face of death requires moral character (Gabbard 131). When soldiers give their lives for the sake of another, they teach a silent lesson of morality and virtue. Their actions say that the war is about “building character and not about brutality and stupidity” (Gabbard 132). Rather than putting the emphasis on death and dying, the hero puts the emphasis on virtue and life. Captain Miller fights for freedom and valor. In the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan virtue and heroism seem to be void of any meaning. Steven Spielberg paints the war as ugly and horrific in the opening minutes of the movie. As the pressure of war sets in on the small group of soldiers led by Captain Miller both the virtuous and vicious characteristics of the officers are revealed. A sharp contrast is made between Captain Miller and Corporal Upham; while Captain Miller ultimately faces the enemy fire in order to bring down the enemy tank, Corporal Upham fails to pull the trigger on the enemy only an inch away. Captain Miller remains a stable model of determination and courage under fire while Corporal Upham shows an increasing growth of fear and lack of nerve in the face of death and ill-treatment.
Virtuous human characteristics were often spoken about by the noted WW II historian Stephen Ambrose. Ambrose was person most responsible for the view of heroism in the movie Saving Private Ryan (Gabbard 132). Ambrose is the author of around 200 hundred works on World War II. Ambrose has a unique style when dealing with World War II stories. He obtains his war facts by interviewing WW II veterans and shares their “anecdotal accounts” (Gabbard 132). Ambrose also shares the “catalogue of horrific and the antiheroic aspects of war” (Gabbard 132). Captain Miller and a small group looking for Private Ryan show the human side of being a soldier. These war stories sometimes show the “criminal incompetence of those who made command decisions” (Gabbard 132). WW II veterans base Ambrose’s style of writing about WW II on private recollections of WW II events.