Morris- Patriot Games

In Patriot Games, I can count at least six different families. Family is an important part of this movie because it is the driving force behind why people take the actions that they take. When their families are threatened, people in this movie will stop at nothing to make sure their family is safe or avenged.

One family is the Millers. The entire movie is based around Sean Miller's quest for vengeance against Jack Ryan for killing his brother. Sean even turns his back on his family of the IRA faction to exact his revenge in the end. It is because Miller cannot let go of his anger that Jack Ryan is forced to continue protecting his family throughout the movie.

The inciting incident occurs in London when Jack Ryan kills Miller's brother. The reason this happens is because Ryan's family is threatened by the IRA faction's placement of the car bombs. Ryan attacks the Millers to stop the bombs from going off to protect his family. Then, his family is attacked directly because of this action, causing him to attack the IRA faction again by re-joining the CIA and attacking their base camp in North Africa.

These families going back and forth in their threats is one example of family creating plot points within this movie.

Morris- Frantic

In Frantic, Harrison Ford plays an American in Paris whose wife goes missing. Because of the culture difference, no one seems to believe she has been taken, leaving Ford's character Dr. Richard Walker to find her on his own, leaving him "Frantic".
This movie has several elements of film noir including anxiety, isolation and helplessness, especially in the scene where Walker goes through the suitcase. The wrong suitcase that his wife ended up with is the only clue that he has to where his wife is, so he goes through it.
This scene is in the beginning of the movie after he has found his wife's bracelet so he knows she has been taken. Also, he is the only one that believes finding her bracelet is a clue to her disappearance. He is isolated as an outsider, isolated in his belief that his wife was kidnapped and isolated in his room. He is anxious, and does the only thing he can think of, break into the suitcase and look for clues. He is helpless, and needs to find something to do to find his wife.
This is an example of psychological entrapment because he is doing things that he would not normally do. He rifles through a stranger's bag because he is desperate to find clues. Going through the suitcase leads him to the Blue Parrot, and on the trail to finding his wife.

In this scene, the key lighting suggests the suspense within the scene. The framing is tight on Walker and the suitcase, and the camera proxemics is close to the subject. This all suggests how Walker is in a psychological entrapment.

Morris- Presumed Innocent

In the last sequence of the movie, Presumed Innocent, Rusty Sabich finds the hammer used in the murder of his mistress, Carolyn. He knows now that his wife, Barbara, committed the crime for which he was put on trial. This scene is important in terms of his guilt because had he not had an affair, his wife would not have become a murderer and the woman would still be alive.

Knowing that it is your fault that someone is dead cannot be easy. Rusty now has to face the consequences of his actions which have been somewhat non-existent since his wife found out. The guilt manifests itself in the scene as his expression changes and he just sits there while his wife describes how she committed the perfect murder, a murder that she intended to wake him from his zombie-like existence, so they could move on to being a happy family once again.

In the last courtroom scene, Rusty’s voice over states, “there is punishment.” Although neither Rusty nor Barbara has faced punishment by the law, they have each other as punishment. Barbara has to live with knowing that her husband will always prefer Carolyn to her, and with killing another human being. Rusty will have to live with the guilt that the woman he loves’ death was because he loved her, and having to live with her killer.

Morris- Witness/Mosquito Coast

The two movies Witness and Mosquito Coast involve the relationship between a child and his patriarch.

In Witness, this relationship is between Samuel and his grandfather, Eli. Because the characters are Amish, they are used to a patriarchal society. The older generation of men are supposed to have the most knowledge because they have experienced the most since they have lived longer. Eli tries to teach Samuel about their culture and the difference between their world and the outside world in the scene when John Book's gun is on the table. Eli's message is that killing another man is wrong.

Since Samuel has witnessed the brutal murder of a man, his experience has surpassed his grandfather's. When asked if he would take a life, Samuel says he would only kill a "bad man" and continues to explain that he has seen what bad men do. Samuel knows more than his grandfather concerning this topic.

In Mosquito Coast, Allie Fox has taken his family and moved them out of society and into the jungle to a place he created. He is the leader of the family, and he is very smart (an inventor) so he is well respected by his children, especially his son Charlie.

Charlie's perspective of his father changes when Allie says that America no longer exists. Charlie knows his father is lying and is angered by the fact. When Allie burns down the church in the end, Charlie has to come up with an idea to save his family. Charlie sees that his father can no longer take care of the family and he has to step in to lead them.

Both boys have learned how to be men from their patriarch, but because of new experiences, the boys have surpassed them in their knowledge of the world.

Morris- Blade Runner

In the last scene with Roy Batty, a lot is explained about Roy's character. Throughout the movie Roy is seen as the leader of the replicants on Earth and he is perceived to be the worst of them. It's his mission that they are on. The Roy that we see in this scene contradicts everything the audience is shown throughout the movie.

Roy's mission is to find a way to live longer than his four years. When he confronts Dr. Tyrell and finds out that he cannot extend his life, he kills him. Then, he heads to see Pris because she is all he has left. When he arrives at the apartment, Roy finds her dead and gets into a fight with Deckard. At the end of this fight, Deckard is about to fall to his death, and Roy saves him.

While they were fighting, Roy knew his time was coming. He started to short circuit and lose the use of his hands. The reason I think Roy saved Deckard was so there was a human that could pass on the knowledge that Deckard had gained about replicants. Roy was not bad. He had thoughts and emotions like humans and put in his position, any human would fight for their life like he had. Roy had nothing to gain from letting Deckard fall to his death, but by saving him, Roy knew that someone would understand his kind better.

The dove in this scene represents peace and innocence. Roy has saved Deckard and shown that there is peace between him and Deckard. Roy is also at peace with dying. When the audience sees this side of Roy, it shows his innocence as a being. He did not ask to be created or given the knowledge that he was, and all he wanted was to have more time.

Morris- Bridge Scene

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom begins with the title character being up for anything as long as he will achieve "fortune and glory". When Indie is asked, or rather told, by the head of the village to go to Pankot Palace and retrieve the stone that had been stolen, Indie does it only because he realizes the stone's value to himself. He does not believe that the stone was the source of life for the village.

Once Indie sees the stone's power at work and even experiences it himself, he starts to believe in it. This new found belief is what saves him on the bridge.

When Indie is hanging on the bridge with Mola Ram, his only hope is his belief in the stone's power. Throughout his journey, he has seen what the stones can do, and he developed a belief in something more powerful than himself. He no longer dismisses the villagers' desire to have the stone back because he knows how powerful it really is. Indie surrenders himself to the power of the stone, trusting it will save him, and he is right. The stone catches fire and Mola Ram falls to his death.

To complete his journey, Indiana Jones returns to the village with the stone and the children as he was supposed to. Willie asks him why he returned the stone instead of putting it in a museum, and his answer shows that he has changed in his journey. He took others into consideration before himself. Although, he also says that he will keep looking for "fortune and glory" which shows that there is more to his transformation to come.

Morris - Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi

In Return of the Jedi, we first see Leia disguised as a bounty hunter. She uses Chewey as a ploy to gain access to Jabba the Hutt's lair so she can rescue Han Solo. Leia is both goddess and temptress in the Star Wars trilogy.

In this movie, she plays the goddess to Han, giving him a reason to be a hero. She is the female that Han wishes to impress and in this aspect, it is because of her that he is a better person.

For Luke, Leia plays the temptress. When Luke is leaving to go after Darth Vader, Leia tries to get him to run away. She tells him that it is too dangerous and wonders why he must confront Vader. This is a test of how dedicated to his journey Luke is; Leia gives him the opportunity to run from his mission, but he proves that he is worthy by refusing to back down. Also, while Luke is refusing to fight Vader, Vader threatens to try to turn Leia to the Dark Side since Luke is refusing. Luke's anger gets the best of him, going against the Force and he attacks. Leia is acting as the temptress here because his love for her as his sister overwhelms him and he allows himself to use his anger which is a trait of the Dark Side. Luke catches himself in this mistake, and returns to the path of his journey.

Leia is very heroic in this movie. She goes to Jabba's to rescue Han, chokes Jabba to death with the chain he had around her neck, rides a hover bike, and kills storm troopers. She is a strong female character instead of the damsel in distress. When she is being a fighter, she has her hair up in braids, but when she is being more of the goddess figure, she has her hair down to appear more masculine and feminine respectively.

Leia's role in Return of the Jedi is complex and extremely important for the plot's progression.