Day 193: Deep Impact

A comet is found to be heading directly for Earth and its impact will have devastating consequences unless it can be diverted away.

We experience the events through different characters. There’s the journalist who wants to make it big but then is shaken by what’s going to happen. There’s the kid who was the person to actually discover the comet. There is the shuttle crew who are attempting to destroy the comet before it reaches Earth. In these films, the crew who are trying to stop the comet (or whatever it happens to be) are always really brave. They accept that they have to sacrifice themselves (spoiler! The film was out in 1998 though, there’s no excuse for having not seen it) to save their families and everyone else and they do it without any fuss. When they’re saying goodbye to their families it just breaks my heart. How do you even begin to say goodbye to the person you love? Nothing would seem like enough. But I suppose it would spur you on because you'd know that they were going to be safe.

I really love this film. And all disaster films, really. I know they’re cheesy and whatever but I just don’t care. They make me sad. Partly because of the sadness of what’s happening but also because people can end up being so lovely and it’s sad that it’ll end. I had more to say about the film but all the crying has kind of knackered me.

9/10

Day 163: The Art of Getting By

George believes that there exists no point in life and so thinks that completing homework is meaningless. The teachers all like George but can’t keep defending his lack of participation. He’s given an ultimatum; complete a year’s worth of assignments in 3 weeks while also attending classes and doing exams, or be expelled. His new friendship with a popular girl at school disrupts his life but perhaps not in the worst way.

A lot of homework assignments are actually meaningless, I think. I’d say that a large majority of homework is only given out to justify the education system. Giving homework for the sake of keeping everyone occupied just doesn’t seem like the best way to teach kids. I understand that it can be useful to get them practising what they’ve learned in class but so much of it is just repetitive and mind-numbing. Why not set general tasks and let the kids create something that is individual to them? Although, I suppose, that would be difficult to grade. But so what? It shouldn’t be about grades, it should be about engagement with learning.

After becoming friends with Sally, George seems to find his motivation in life. Which is nice and everything, but we saw none of what caused that change. Apparently she’s amazing and he loves her but all she does is talk to him a bit and introduce him to her friends? And then she fucks the artist guy that George was learning from. I just don’t get how this helped him. That’s a failing on the film’s part though, I think. There was no chemistry between them and it seemed almost like it wouldn’t have mattered who the girl was, all that mattered was that someone took an interest in him. Obviously it helped him and that’s great but I just don’t think that’s a good way to go about it.

6/10