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SOUL
TREKKING PASTOR STEVE |
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Page last updated 10-06-2008.
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Rating: * * * * At the beginning of this movie, I was thinking that there was too much exposition and I had a hard time suspending my disbelief of the premise, but about the time they were stealing the Declaration of Independence, I found myself wanting to see what would happen next and I was laughing out loud at the jokes. And, though the movie is over two hours long, I was never bored. To the contrary, I was delighted, charmed, entertained, and intrigued and thought to myself, "This film could go on all day and I wouldn't mind a bit." The leads generate real heat together in more ways than one, the comedy relief is hilarious, and the puzzles and situations are intriguing and often suspenseful. This is a fun adventure movie that you could take the whole family to (unless very young children would find parts of it too scary) as there is nothing objectionable in it at all. And, being from the Northeast, I absolutely loved all the settings and the feel of the film. I hope it does great at the box office! |
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Rating: * * 3/4 or * * * The first half of this movie has giggles aplenty for audience members of all ages as Garfield is his usual self-centered, sarcastic, gluttonous self in typical Garfield situations. The second half is a little bit of a letdown, though, as the fatcat is thrust into a Disney-fied plot where he has to travel into the big city to rescue Odie from an over-the-top, kid vid style villain. However, the young children sitting around me enjoyed the slapstick and Garfield's animal friends rallying to save the day, so maybe I wasn't the intended audience for that portion of the film. Bill Murray does a phenomenal job voicing Garfield. Forget the computer animation. It's Murray who brings the cat to life. The human characters have been changed somewhat from the comic strip. The Jon of the movie is much less dorky and comes across more as a slightly out-of-step, likable, normal guy instead of a clueless, nerdy loser. The onscreen Liz is approachable, friendly, and interested. These modifications are so the film's creators can shoehorn a love story in where one isn't really needed. Breckin Meyer does just okay in a thankless role and Jennifer Love Hewitt is gorgeous in a role that requires little else of her. The real stars of the movie are the unseen Murray and all the Garfieldisms. |
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Rating: * * * * The only people who will leave the theaters depressed after seeing this movie will be the men and women who charged with bringing Marvel and DC characters to the big screen, because this is the best superhero movie since "Superman: The Movie," and "Superman II," and arguably the best ever. It's hard to even imagine a future live-action movie topping this CGI animated film. Perhaps superhero sagas work best as animation and as drawings on comic book pages where there aren't any budgetary limitations ont he creator's imaginations and when nobody has to worry that things don't look "real enough" when flesh-and-blood characters are doing impossible stunts. Much as I loved the "X-Men" movies and "Spider-Man," "Daredevil," and "The Hulk," this movie simply blows them all out of the water. Its fantastic storyline is rooted in humanity and morality. It has the right mixture of satire and respect of the genre. It offers us characters that seem so real and that we care about. It provides real laughs, real suspense, real emotion, and imaginative superpowered action that puts you right in the middle of it all and even lets you feel, at times, as though you are living it. This movie was made by people who love fun, adventure, families, and superheroes. I'd love to see it again on the big screen and plan to be trekking to MacDonald's each week for my "The Incredibles" Happy Meal. Hurry to your theater, but remember, "No capes, Dahling!" |
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Rating: * * * 1/2 A good thriller that moves right along. Here's a pastor's column I wrote about it for our local paper: Could the story of "The Good Samaritan" work as a modern day thriller? Yes! I recently saw the movie "Cellular" in which a woman who has been taken captive by kidnappers must depend on an unlikely savior, a slacker beach boy whose cell phone number she randomly dialed. (In the original parable a Jew was beaten by thieves and was in desperate need of help. An unlikely savior, a Samaritan, whose people didn't get along with the Jews, took the time to get involved.) In the movie, the police are no help as they are too busy with other things or too corrupt. (Much like the traditional religious authority figures in Jesus' parable.) So the woman's fate and that of her family rest on the shoulder's of the young man. Part of the suspense near the beginning of the film comes from wondering whether the young man will help or not and, as the costs to him personally rise, if once involved he will stay involved. But he finally recognizes that lives are at stake and comes through like a hero. I left the moive doing some more wondering. If I were in the young man's shoes, would I have risked all that he did in order to help someone I never met and didn't know? In this day of Internet hoaxes, phone scams, con artists ripping off churches, and motorists being car-jacked or mugged, would I have even believed the voice on the phone? Are there people around me who desperately need my help and am I willing to sacrifice to give it to them? We probably don't know anyone who needs to be rescued from brutal kidnappers, but what about from bullies? And are there people around us who need a kind or encouraging word? How about material or financial aid that we could provide? Do some people need a listening ear? To know that someone cares? To know the God who cares? The kidnapped woman in the film needed to know that someone was out there for her. It's the hope that she clung to. When people provide others with that hope, Hollywood calls it "heroism." Jesus calls it "love." And he calls on us to be as loving toward others as he was and is toward us. A tall order to be sure, but then love isn't easy. Just ask the young man in the film. But those who love are guaranteed a happy ending by the time the credits roll. |
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Rating: * * * Up until the Big, Shocking Secret is revealed near the end of the movie, this film is an intelligent crime story about an everyman cabbie caught up in a nightmare. The acting is superior, the stylish and imaginative direction is superb, and the cinematography - well, let's just say that a city at night has never looked more enchanting, beautiful, mysterious, or dangerous and that Los Angeles itself is a main character in the movie. Speaking of characters, every one of them is interesting and unique no matter how much screen time they have. The literate script is interested in dialogue and the psychology of not only the characters, but also, what is happening between them and within them as the night progresses. There is violence and action, but it doesn't usurp center stage from the adult portrayals and explorations. And a set piece at a Rave puts all the "Sydney goes to a nightclub and shooting starts" moments of the TV series "Alien" to shame. The movie isn't afraid of taking unpredictable turns and people's stories and scenes don't always end the way Hollywood has conditioned you to expect. But then there's that Big, Shocking Secret, which in itself is an unbelievable coincidence, and all plausibility goes right out the window, along with our interest. And from then on, the film also immediately degenerates into standard "summer blockbuster/action-adventure" fare where plot holes abound and the characters are suddenly capable of performing superhuman stunts. It's as though the ending came from an entirely different movie and was just tacked on. Most of the movie rates four stars, but from the Big, Shocking Secret on, it only merits about one and a half. The film is worth seeing because when it's good, it is very,very good. But when it's bad, it's horrid. |
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For many hours after the viewing this movie, I was disquieted, but in light of its subject matter, this is not a bad thing. And now, more than twelve hours later, I am still finding it difficult to get a handle on my responses to the film. I normally go to the movies primarily for entertainment, but watching a Roman scourging and an execution by torture is far from entertaining. This doesn't mean that the film can't be inspiring, but the inspiration comes as one wrestles with it and its subject matter. You don't leave the theater feeling good with a song in your heart, nor with a sense of satisfaction or completion. You may, as I did, exit in a state of shock and bewilderment, overwhelmed with emotions and thoughts and conflicting opinions that I can't even yet fully express. Let me try to approach "The Passion of the Christ" from several different angles to try and give you my honest, "fair and balanced"/ "no spin zone" appraisal of it: 1. As a statement of his faith and of devotion to The Christ he feels saved him, Mel Gibson's movie is a crowning achievement, and I commend my Christian brother's courage for putting his vision out there and leaving himself wide open to the persecution that will always be the lot of a disciple of Jesus. I am grateful that the grace of God has touched Mel and that he wanted to respond to it. 2. As a movie, "The Passion Of The Christ" has both undeniable strengths and some unfortunate weaknesses.
4. As an evangelistic tool, the film is of some use - up to a point. The movie doesn't explain how or why Jesus' death healed us from our sins, nor the necessity of the sacrifice. (To be fair, this is beyond the scope of the film.) And if one is unfamiliar with the Bible, one may wonder who some of the characters are and what is really going on in some scenes. Several of the flashbacks, such as Magdelene's rescue and the Triumphal Entry may be incomprehensible. And, this is not a film which will lead your friends to "give their hearts to Jesus" before the end credits are finished rolling. But it may lead to some great discussions. This is my point: Don't count on the movie to convert anyone. Discussion and follow-up will be needed. But if your non believing friends are at all squeamish, DON'T TAKE THEM TO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!! And to the squeamish and non squeamish alike, you had better have an explanation ready as to why a defining moment of the Christian faith was an act of barbarism, butchery, and injustice, or even why we worship a God who planned all that. You may even have to wrestle with such questions yourself. As well as the question of, "If our sins demanded that kind of punishment, why is it that we can take them and The One that paid the price so casually?" And, "If Mel and his cast and crew celebrated Mass together every day as they made this film, why do we sometimes find it hard to give God an hour once a week?" So, do I recommend the movie? If you are led to see it, or are curious because of all you have read or heard about it, then go. If you don't feel that it is for you, then don't. One's own devotion to The Christ doesn't depend on a decision to attend, or not to attend, a movie. |
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My Pet Peeves With The Professional Critics I once heard a reviewer trash "Jurassic Park III" because it had "dinosaurs chasing people around." Excuse me, but what did this person expect from a Jurassic Park movie? I've also seen critics reviewing Star Trek movies by starting off with, "I'm not a Trekkie and never watched any of the series." They then go on to say that they hate the films. I remember a critic whom I normally greatly respect trashing the movie "X-Men" by saying, "Superhero stories should be light and funny." Obviously he hasn't read very many current comic books, has he? Critics, if you don't know anything about a genre or absolutely hate anything that comes out of a specific genre, maybe you should excuse yourself from reviewing certain films! Or let a fan take over for a column or two. But don't chastise a film for being true to its own premise and for reaching out to its own fan base. |
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