Back to the Future

My wife and I have been watching the Back to the Future trilogy this week. I had almost forgotten how good they were (especially for their time).

Marty and the Doc constantly hurl themselves through time in an attempt to right wrongs, avoid mistakes, and even cheat death.

Unfortunately, we do not get this luxury. Even if you had a flux capacitor and installed in your Delorian, you would still be stuck with the natural consequences (good or bad) for every decision you make.

Every choice is a fork in the road, a turning point with an alternate destination. Choose each step carefully, because there is no going back.

Cars 2-My Official Review

    
        "Cars 2" is one of those movies that I am divided on. On the one hand I see a movie that was not up to Pixar's usual high standards. However on the other hand I was thoroughly entertained as I sat there with my two kids laughing and enjoying the show. I do wish they had done more with Doc Hudson's death. They missed a chance to make a sad montage in the vein of "Up" and "Toy Story 3".

        This movie is more about Tow Mater than anything else and has a real clear message to be yourself. They go out of their way to show how a true friend doesn't try to change their friends, but loves them for who they are. As believers we should put this principle into practice. I am not saying that our friends should never change. I am saying that the thing that needs to change in all of us is our sin.

        Christ came to free us from our sin, not our personalities. As a believer I am to love my unbelieving friends even if they never choose to come to Christ. I cannot change them, only He can. It is my job to love them where they are.

Pirates 4--a (Christian?) Movie Review

 
        I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides at midnight on Thursday. I was not expecting much since I had not enjoyed a Pirates move since the first one. I was pleasantly surprised.
        It still contained the same amount of innuendo and drunkenness as the first three, but something was different. Blackbeard's ship contained a Christian missionary who actually lived his faith. I could tell that even though Blackbeard and Jack Sparrow disagreed with the missionary's world-view there was an amount of respect for him. Blackbeard would only tie him up rather than kill him. He was selfless and believed that anyone could be redeemed. This side story alone is worth the price of admission.

Thor: My Official Movie Review

        I went to see Thor last night in a newly converted digital theater. I will say two things about the technical side of the experience. First the 3D was TOTALLY unnecessary. I continue to maintain that what we are seeing is merely some 2D images at one distance while a few 2D images are viewed as closer.  This is not truly three demential. Do not waste your money on the 3D version unless it is your only option (as mine was last night). Second the sound was phenomenal. Even if you have to drive an hour to find an all digital theater it will be worth it. This was the best surround sound immersion I have ever heard in a movie.
        Now to the movie itself. It is very appropriate as a family film. When I say that I am not talking about violence (where actors are merely acting), I am talking about sexual content or profanity (where actors are actually nude or cursing). There is a difference in my book. There is some mild profanity in the film, but there was far less profanity in the movie than from the row behind me. Apparently the sound of crashes and explosions was so loud and clear that it inspired all kinds of adjectives from people in the theater.
        The story was as good as could be for an origin story. It turns out that he is not a god, but was merely viewed as a god by people from our world in ancient times (which is a good improvement from the legend). I am still not sure why Thor and Natalie Portman's character Jane Foster are so attached to each other by the end. I mean sure she was super impressed with him, but they never really had them fall in love in a believable way.
        The spiritual overtones are pretty heavy. Thor wants to give his life to save the Earth (like Jesus). Thor was originally filled with pride then becomes mortal until he denies himself to become new. This is the central plot of the human race in the Bible. We sin become mortal and if we deny ourself take up our cross and follow Jesus we put on immortality (Luke 9:23).
        I highly recommend this film as it ties in nicely to the Iron Man and Incredible Hulk movies. The stage is almost set for the Avengers in 2012. Thor is well worth the money. Are you going to see it? Will you shell out the money for 3D? If you see it let me know your thoughts on the spiritual themes and overall quality.

Soul Surfer--Spoiler Free Movie Review

        I saw Soul Surfer yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. It is the true story of Bethany Hamilton's fight to get back into surfing after a shark attack. Her arm is completely severed yet she has the courage and faith to keep going.
        There are a lot of movies about couragous people, but very few where people rely on faith. In the beginning they are singing "Blessed be the Name of the Lord" by the Newsboys. The line "the Lord gave the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord" is straight out of the book of Job.
        It is very powerful to see a young girl trust in God in the face of such pain and loss. What makes it even better is that it is a true story. It is essentially a film about faith without the cheese factor provided by most "Christian" movies. Very often the story is great and the acting is lame. This is not the case with a cast  containing Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), Carrie Underwood, and Craig T. Nelson.
        I went with just over 20 teens and parents. We laughed, some cried, and everyone enjoyed it. If you have some extra cash and a couple of hours this weekend Soul Surfer does not dissapoint.

Toy Story 3--Official Review

I was not looking forward to seeing Toy Story 3 when I first heard it was coming out. I thought "Oh No! they are going to kill a great movie series". I always hate when a sequel stinks so bad that they sour the movie(s) before it.

One example was Meet the Fockers, which was so terrible that I don't really have any desire to watch Meet the Parents anymore. Before "Fockers" was released I counted Meet the Parents as one of my favorite romantic comedy movies. Did you know they are actually making a third movie? Well they are not getting any money from me.

. . . Rabbit Trail . . .

Let's get back to Toy Story 3. When I saw the trailer I thought, give me a break, Andy is in college and still has all of his toys from his toddler years (Etch, Mr. Spell, Wheezy etc.). Then I saw the movie. Boy was I wrong!

--Spoiler Alert--

Most of the toys have already been sold or thrown out. This includes Bo Peep (sniffle). The three remaining soldiers decide to parachute out of the window rather than facing the trash can. It is emotional from the get go. The toys reminisce about their glory days when Andy played with them and even try to get his attention by hiding his phone.

I almost fell apart completely at the end. I fought a lump in my throat so big that to give in I would have been audibly annoying to others around me. Meanwhile the tear faucets were on with every adult in the theater (and very few kids). The emotional subject matter is above them in much the same way as the first 5 minutes of Up.

I think that it should have received a PG rating rather than a G. --Major Spoiler Alert-- The scenes with the freaky Big Baby (who my kids loved), the incinerator that threatened their lives, and the part where Lotso is fastened to the truck are definitely not scenes for a G movie.

If Toy Story had been a newer movie and not the CGI pioneer that it was then I would say Toy Story 3 was the best of the Trilogy. It has Toy Story 2 beat by a long shot (since it never explains how Woody doesn't know about Woody's Roundup or being and "old family toy"). I especially enjoyed the Return of the Jedi like scene where Big Baby tosses Lotso into the dumpster. Ken is also a new hilarious plus to this film.

I am not a fan of the Day and Night Pixar short at the beginning. The message of diversity was okay but the focus on living it up by lusting after girls or running to Vegas was also not G content. It was by far the worst of the shorts that Pixar has made.

This movie is definitely worth seeing. We saw it in 2D and it was awesome! I think the 3D craze is overrated and over-inflates and misrepresents where a movie lands on the highest grossing film list (i.e. Avatar). See it how you want, but make sure to see it. It is the best movie so far this year.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, the Monkey RULES!

AVATAR - Movie Review - With No Plot Spoilers!

Well I just returned from the much celebrated and highly advertised Avatar movie.  I had an enjoyable time watching this film (as I always do when I get a good seat in an uncrowded theater).  The experience was heightened by the digital theater I saw it in and also by the 3D glasses.

Avatar was filmed with virtual cameras, so that the director could see the finished product, as it was being shot on the green screen.  This is going to revolutionize the movie industry.  I can't wait to see the worlds that will be unfolded with this kind of technology.

I know that at this point most of my readers have not seen Avatar, so I will not give away any plot spoilers.  I thought that the special effects were great, especially when coupled with shots from New Zealand (where much of Lord of the Rings was filmed).  It was very difficult to think of any of what I was seeing as CGI.

There is an indigenous tribe called the Na'vi that the main character, a paraplegic named Jake Sully, has infiltrated by using a real living avatar.  There is no explanation of how the human can transfer back and forth from avatar to body.  It is like logging in to the Matrix except that this is supposed to be real life and not a computer program.  This should require the avatar to return to the lab to be logged out of its body but they do it from a distance somehow.

The movie itself felt like watching Dances with Wolves in Space.  The humans are evil and want to kill the very "green" blue people.  Even the tag-line at the end of the credits says that any similarity between the movie and real people or events is unintentional, although one can find a very purposeful connection to modern politics.  We are told by the military in this movie that we must do a preemptive strike to fight terror with terror.  This was an obvious reference to Iraqi since there were no acts of terror or any other mention of terrorism in the entire movie.

This is likely to become Al Gore's favorite Sci-Fi movie.  The movie speaks of the "mother" of the planet (in the form of a goddess).  It is said that there is nothing green on earth and that the humans had killed their mother (Earth).  Apparently they were bent on killing the mother of the Na'vi too.  James Cameron presents us with a world where all living things are one together (the force), one must be born a second time in order to be a full member of the tribe (Christianity),  and the great mother provides neutrality but in a pinch can use power to aid her followers (Greek mythology/Buddhism/Environmentalism).  They even commune with the souls of their ancestors.

Avatar is the best movie I have seen since 2012 and it may even be better.  It has a great story of forbidden love woven in.  All in all the movie is enjoyable and can spark some good discussions.  Such as, why is a movie with a PG13 rating, violence, and a good deal more profanity than most current fantasy films being marketed in McDonalds' Happy Meals?