Prince Caspian Was Great

It started at about 8:05 pm and I got back in my car at about 10 minutes to 11 pm. The movie was long, but I was not bored at all throughout the movie. At times I was on the edge of my seat. Other times I enjoyed what was going on in terms of visual effects. Still others I was enjoying the battle scenes. This movie was good. It was very good. It had humor, violence, plot twists and surprises, and very fine graphics. To learn more about the movie, click here.

God didn't do this to us, we did

I am Legend is a very suspenseful movie. It has a sort of premise of Outbreak, only the airborne virus spreads globally. To be honest, I am a little nauseous from the movie. The mere thought of being stranded all alone gives me the shivers, but on top of that to have to protect oneself from the dangers of the night--the result of a virus that you were somewhat responsible for--makes for a terrifying combo.

I find it interesting that in the movie Will Smith prays with his family. His wife prays for him and the family before they part. Will Smith later comments, "God didn't do this to us, we did." This comment could mean a couple of things. It could mean that he is acknowledging faith in the existence of God and the failure of humanity to bring the situation upon themselves. But he could have meant there is no God and we have no one to blame for the situation except ourselves. In the end, however, he seems to concede to the existence of God.

What do we make of this movie? To find out, you will have to watch the movie. But it does point to a few things. It definitely points implicitly towards the value of companionship. It also points towards the care of humanity, which includes the care of the environment. It points towards self-sacrifice. But most importantly, it points towards the fallen state of humanity. We are imperfect, and we are otherwise incapable of fixing this demise.

If you don't mind zombie-like beings, you should be able to sit through this movie. I am Legend is scary in a graphical and psychological sense, so if that is your cup of tea this movie should be right up your alley.

Spider-Man 3: a short review of a disappointing movie

Needless to say, Spider-Man 3 was disappointing. It was slow, too dramatic, nothing innovative with Spider-Man's character in the action sequences, there were too many villains, and the story betrayed the comics/cartoon. Without spoiling the movie for anyone at this time, I'd have to say that the ending was not very good. The graphics and effects were unbelievable. The story, however, was not unbelievable. It lacked the quick-pace action and was filled instead with romance drama. It had an unnecessary cheesy atmosphere throughout quite a bit of it. And the emo style look for Peter while wearing the symbiont was a bit distasteful, even for Spider-Man. Unless you want to waste an unnecessary amount of money to see it for yourself by going to the theater, wait for it to come out on video. It is entertaining, but it is not up to the comics-made-film standard.

Family and Work: a short review of Click

Adam Sandler starred in a fantastic movie called Click. In this movie, Sandler plays a character that comes across a remote control that can help him evade the boring segments of life that prove to be a distraction to him as he strives to please his boss at work. In other words, he plays a workaholic who has lost his sense as a family man for the sake of an ungrateful employer, and finds relief to his distractions that keep him from his job in a remote that can almost dismiss them completely.

The movie is quite funny, but the story line is well worth your time, much like the movie starring Jim Carey, Bruce Almighty. In fact, both movies share script writers and film directors. This movie dramatically reveals the importance of family. The basic premise of this movie is to not live in such a way that you neglect your family as a whole for the sake of your job. Sandler's character missed out on family life because he wanted to devote himself to work but miss out on life's boring, aggrevating and frustrating moments. As a result, he lost his wife to another man, he lost his dad to old age and never had a chance to say goodbye, and by example he turned his son into the same workaholic coward of a man who puts work before his family. He missed out on life and on his family all because he wanted to work at his job without going through the various distractions along the way. But there is good news.

Sandler's character comes to this realization right before he dies in the movie. Only then we find out he had been dreaming all along! Sandler's character gets a second chance! So, realizing that he is on a path that he doesn't want to take, he makes some changes and devotes himself to his family rather than to his job. He put the dream's message--family first--into practice, and came home energized and ready to plan some family fun for the camping trip that he and his family had planned on, which prior to the dream he was trying to get out of for the sake of his job.

To be honest, this movie was hilarious, but it was also touching. Heck, I cried at the end when he died, because he came to the profound realization of the mistake that he made to put work before his family and seeing that his example shaped the way his son was living as a grown adult, he gave up his life support in a hospital--which meant death for him at this point--so that he could immediately get things right without hesitation between himself and his family, especially his son. The climactic point of redemption between Sandler's character and his family--his son, his daughter, their step-dad, and his ex-wife--gripped my heart. I couldn't help it; a single tear rolled down my left cheek. The moral of the movie was loud and clear to me: family first.

And so, this movie has actually touched my life in a way that I am very thankful for, as it has given me a gut-check to make sure that the way that I am living is not missing out on my family. Am I putting work and school before my family? Am I being a coward of a man by being a workaholic and placing my wife, parents, and siblings second? If so, some things must change; this is not an option, family must be first.

Pirates 2 - Certainly Disappointing

With one word I can sum up Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest: disappointing. The movie just simply could not stand up to the first installment of the Pirates trilogy. The story was not all that clear, nor did it have a true climax or resolution. In the end it simply left you hanging as if you had literally fallen off of a cliff. I left the theater asking myself, "That's it?" This story was definitely found wanting.

Because the story was lacking, I think that the producers tried to mask it by throwing in tons of visual effects, and also a flirtatious lust between Elizabeth and Jack, so that there would be some necessary tension to help carry the movie along. Ultimately, I found myself quite bored throughout the movie. The scenes were too unreal--yes, even for a fictitious film--that I simply could not suspend my disbelief. The fight scenes were too complicated; doesn't Bruckheimer know that "less is more?" This movie is turning out to be just like the Matrix trilogy, where the beginning was great, the middle sucked, and the ending was just mediocre. Unlike most of you, I wasted my time and money at the midnight showing--which means I also wasted my sleep--for this disappointing film. Will the third installment of this trilogy be able to redeem it as a whole, or will I have to fix myself to the first movie and reject that the others exist? Only time will tell.

The top ten reasons why Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was disappointing:
10. No true resolution
- This movie did not come to a close!
09. No true climax
- This movie lacked purpose!
08. Story was wanting
- The story didn't draw the viewer in as the first one did; it was boring.
07. Highly overdone computer graphics
- The graphics were too cheezy and unrealistic; it was not believable.
06. Too complex and busy fight scenes
- The viewer couldn't follow what was going on because too much was going on!
05. Too unrealistic choreagraphy
- Too many of the feats just simply could not be possible; it made it even more cheezy!
04. Tension of lust between Elizabeth and Jack
- It was not necessary and it detracts from the romantic love of the first movie.
03. Lack of explanations to tie-in the first and second installments
- Too many questions were left unanswered for understanding this film.
02. Too predictable, even Jack Sparrow
- The movie lacked the spontaneity that the first had; it didn't keep the viewer's interest.
01. Too dark; not enough humor
- Lacking in humor and abounding in dark, horrific images, it lost its airy touch.

Go judge for yourself. By the time I got home last night at approximately 3:30am, I was disappointed and angry with the movie. It just was a completely different world in comparison to the first movie, and I do not see how it will be redeemed by the third one.

Disney's Chronicles of Narnia

I just saw the movie and it was fantastic!

I appreciated that the theology was not toned down, muted, or otherwise deleted from the movie.

From the death and resurrection of Aslan, Aslan's travels to the witch's castle to save those already turned to stone, to the crushing of the witch's head, the movie was right on target in metaphor of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The movie is filled with such metaphors; CS Lewis was brilliant!

This is a great way for people to learn more about Christ and possibly come to know Him at a personal level.

Not only is the movie entertaining for Christians and non-Christians, but the movie also can serve as a segue into evangelism in explaining the true Gospel with the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a Gospel metaphor .

Perhaps this is true with other movies such as The Lord of the Rings series, however this movie is most clearly depicting the Gospel it is unmistakable, especially with some helpful guidance.

After seeing this movie I want to re-read the book that I read oh so long ago. Perhaps I will do a book review on it as well as a theology paper relating the book to Christianity. Stay tuned.