Many of the movies that have been viewed have focused on current issues particular to the time period of the movies. Each film portrays its own array of conflicts, disconnections, poverty struggles, and lack of resources. When these issues are the focus of the movies though, it creates an enticing experience that viewers can experience when they pay close attention to the movies. The movies I see as examples that are critical of institutions are Chinatown, Blue Collar, and Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. All of these films display many dysfunctions and frustrations occurring during a certain time in history. These two elements are not meant to set the plot of these films, but to establish the particular era of them. All three films are critical of institutions.

In Chinatown, the main character JJ Gittes (Jack Nicholson) plays a detective in the 1930s that falls into deceit, corruption, and murder. He is investigating a crime, but when someone chooses to be an impostor, Gittes has a much harder time solving the case he is assigned to. In this time period, there was not much technology to assist in investigating cases. This shows that Gittes is even in a more dramatic situation since there is lack of resources for assistance. What this says is that in this era, cases were not easy for police to resolve. Detectives’ jobs were harder based on the limited resources and that made issues more controversial. This was because they were not able to tell who was innocent or guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The other film with many dysfunctions is Blue Collar. The film focuses on three characters and they are Zeke (Richard Pryor), Jerry (Harvey Keitel), and Smokey (Yaphet Kotto). These three characters are having issues at their union job of working in a auto manufacturing facility. What happens is that they decide to steal money from the union’s bureau Safe. They believe that they are not getting paid equally based on the work they do. However, their robbery puts them in a shady situation. Once they commit the theft, the union realizes that they have lost ten thousand dollars due to a robbery. The dysfunction of this behavior is chaotic because it is still during the era of race discrimination in the 1970s and both Smokey and Zeke are African-American. Therefore, fingers are being pointed at a variety of characters due to the conflict. There are arguments, a death happens, and people lose their minds where they even break the vending machines of the auto plant. This chaos is caused by the fact that workers feel they are not getting paid equally or receiving the same benefits in the union.

Finally, the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore is critical of the workplace. Specifically, it portrays how difficult it was for women trying to find work. Alice (Ellen Burstyn) is someone who is trying to start her career as a singer. However, she has fallen into several bad relationships and is also trying to raise her own son. Her relationships are generally abusive and therefore, she is trying to flee away with her son to start a new life. The corruption she faces includes money and housing issues. The dysfunction she faces is abusive relationships and her chaotic son. Her son chooses to act out since he feels he is not getting attention from her. As she drives with him on the road, he does lots of screaming and has temper tantrums to provoke her. He does this to get her attention. The institution of family is also referenced here as a single mother struggles alone to raise her son.

Overall, the setting of all of these movies provides a backdrop to showcase a variety of different corrupt environments. A lack of resources, inequality, and racism during specific periods in history are incorporated into these movies, which make them critical of institutions. The effect that various institutions (e.g. police department, workplace, family, etc.) have on the characters makes the lives of these characters much more challenging. Each film illustrates how in society where not everybody believes in equality that people’s daily lives are impacted in serious ways.

Chinatown is a film that is more suspenseful being set in the 1930s because in that time frame, there were not as many new technologies. This element makes Chinatown more suspenseful because with the limited resources, the case cannot be solved fast enough. The reason why the film was set in the 1930s is because the 1930s had more corruption. Therefore, this allowed more looking back in that time period. If the movie took place in the 1970s (the film was made in 1974) the case would have been too easy. The film contains many evidence of a crime where the main character JJ Gittes (Jack Nicholson) falls into a herd of deceit, corruption, and murder.

The corruption in the movie is quite deep and unexpected because the case goes from seeming like a normal case to an actually really serious case. Gittes falls into situations with people who are risky such as Mrs. Mulwray (Faye Dunaway): a woman who hires Gittes because she suspects her husband is having an affair. He realizes this when he finds that the real Mrs. Mulwray is dead. Therefore, the case created by the impostor of Mrs. Mulwray develops a confrontational case for Gittes when his life can be on the line due to his behavior with the woman involved in the case. Since there is an impostor, Gittes cannot really distinguish the scenario between what is real and what is not. This adds to the corruption for Gittes because he does not know who he can trust.

The movie is a puzzle that leaves us thinking why the title Chinatown is the name of the movie. The film’s title comes in to show us that the corruption ends in Chinatown. The place is not really recognized much in the beginning of the movie. More towards the end of the movie, we find out that there is a connection with Gittes’s involvement with Chinatown. In the beginning though, Gittes mentions a story of being in a situation in Chinatown. Therefore, it is a metaphor for returning to Chinatown since Gittes stays there at the end.

Overall Chinatown is captivating on terms of corruption. Gittes is corrupted from the very beginning of the movie and his situation gets out of hand. Its setting and its lack of resources creates a dramatic conflict for Gittes. The lies of Mrs. Mulwray take Gittes by surprise. Therefore, Gittes ends up being in a case that is completely unorthodox on terms of what is real and what is not. The disorganization of the case is what destines Chinatown to be a classic because it leaves viewers thinking about how the case is going to end.

With honesty, “Jupiter Ascending” is a film that will be remembered for its technical elements where the action moments make viewers feel like they are flying with Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis. The visuals is more of its memorable aspect than its plot. Kunis plays a sci-fi type of cinderella that is very unexplained. Tatum comes in to rescue her from someone that is hunting her. He comes in on a futuristic jet-pack, has a laser-type pistol, and saves Kunis from a herd of aliens. In the end, I was captivated more by the visuals, because I saw this in IMAX 3D. That was probably a good option, because I would have lost my attention of the movie if I saw it in 2D.

The Wachowski brothers have been struggling. With their prior film “Cloud Atlas” (2012), (a great movie but boomed at the box office), “Jupiter Ascending” is an action-movie that is stunning with action, but the storyline and dialogue just lacks entirely.

“Jupiter Ascending” is about Jupiter Jones (Kunis). She is targeted by a wealthy son of a powerful family and he is Balem Abrasax (Eddie Redmayne). Then comes Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), a man who will do whatever it takes to prevent Balem from winning.

I kind of new this movie was not going to be great. It was advertised in the summer and got pushed back until now. I feel like just the sci-fi series with the Wachowski brothers needs some improvement. I mean I remember “The Matrix” and that blew me out of the water and so did “Cloud Atlas.” I guess just their ideas are not being viewed all that much. I still give them credits for their visual effects with this movie. Do not get me wrong they know how to put a great sci-fi film in IMAX.

This was so-so, a watch once movie.