Mammoth

What does the title mean? If refers to the movie's $3,000 fountain pen made from ivory from a frozen mammoth. Not coincidentally, it's also the word for "mother" in Tagalog, a national language of the Philippines.

The first half of the movie I was convinced on awarding the film five stars, but in its latter half things started repeating themselves a bit, and the story started losing its emotional grip. Somehow I believe that due to the strong emotions on children, Mammoth will affect more those people who have children on their own. After all the biggest idea behind the story is that children and parents need time together.
The people in this film aren't ignorant or arrogant; they're aware of the often-awkward social boundaries that money creates. They know the unfairness of the Western system, yet they are powerless to change it. They unwillingly feel themselves becoming cogs in the machine, when- like the mammoth- all that'll be left of them in the end is bone. (Who knows, maybe one day human bone will become a commodity as well). The tragedy in the film is that Leo an Ellen are so wrapped up in their own worlds of pain that they don't recognize the true depth of Gloria's pain.
It shows the children collecting garbage and selling themselves for tourists in the Philippines, it shows both the beauty and the ugliness of the tourism in Thailand, and it shows also how a seemingly normal life in New York can be so filled with emotions that are not getting fulfilled. And also it shows that in a world full of technology that should keep people more easily connected to other people, people still need each other in person and not just as a voice, sms or email.

50/50

The movie 50/50 is a dark comedy that deals with an extremely serious issue, cancer.  The young and talented Gordon-Levitt portraits an 27 year-old radio journalist, who is diagnosed spinal cancer.   Adam sees his world falling apart after the news.  The odds were against him, he lived his whole life making sure to follow the right path, eating the right food, avoiding dangerous habits, and yet the disease got him.

Seth Rogen is in charge of most of the comical situation from the picture.  In fact, the actor is real-life close friend to the movie’s screen player, Will Reiser, who had faced cancer himself.  So basically, the movie is an autobiographical attempt to humor such tragic fate.

The movie flows almost awkwardly, switching from Rogen’s character ridiculous attempts to cheer up his best friend, to Adam’s realization of his disease.  The director tried to deal with the subject as light as possible, bringing up the “bright side” of cancer, as Kyle said, for comedy sake.

The relationships portrayed in the film gave the viewer an idea of how cancer not only affects the diseased, but also, the close ones.  Rachel, the unfaithful girlfriend, did not know how to handle the situation, choosing to hide away her real feelings, than actually breaking up with her boyfriend.  Kyle, the best friend, hid under his jokes in order to stay positive for Adam.  While the journalist’s mother chose to seek help in a specialized group, since her son kept pushing her away from his disease.

In general, the movie may make you shed a tear or two, and may leave you uncomfortable to laugh at some dark situations.  However, it grows on you.  It may not be a successful comedy film, but it successfully makes you wonder about life.  

50/50 Analysis

Cancer, one of the most tough diseases nowadays comes silently and suddenly, and that is the situation which Adam Lerner (Gordon-Levitt) needs to face in the movie 50/50. Adam is a 27 year old public radio journalist and he is diagnosed with a rare form of spinal cancer. Adam sees his whole life changing due to the cancer. He got the help of his best friend, his mother, and a therapist to handle the disease.

Cancer is really terrifying. It is the second disease that kills in the world (in 2008, almost 14%, or 7, 6 million, of all deaths were caused due to cancer, according to World Health Organization). It has more than 100 types and 60 organs can develop cancer. An interesting fact is that only 10% of cancer patients are hereditary cases and 90% of the cases are associated to environmental factors. Adam had healthy habits, so he got unlucky.

Another fact is that the older the person, more the chance of having cancer. 63% of cancer patients are more than 65 years old. Adam was 27, so he got unlucky again. 27 is an age where you probably left home a while and you are getting used to independence. In that moment cancer shows up to Adam, and he is thrown back into the position where you need to rely on people.

The cancer patient enters a stage of psychic reactions which is divided into five stages: denial, revolt, bargain, depression and acceptance. Those stages are present from the time of diagnosis, but they may vary from person to person. It is possible to realize some of these stages in Adam’s treatment period.

Science do not know to list precisely all the factors that cause cancer. However, it does know something: genetic inheritance, as previous said, is guilty for 5% to 10% of the cases. Smoking is almost a suicide: 90% of lung cancer comes from the habit. Obesity, physical inactivity, alcohol abuse, lack of fruits and vegetables are factors that are directly connected to the disease. It is possible to see that a lot can be done to prevent cancer and keep healthy, unless you got unlucky as Adam.