War Room review

After watching Fireproof and Courageous I thought I would rent the newest movie by the Kendrick brothers: War Room.  This movie has received quite a bit good press and even on Netflix it was getting 4.5 stars out of 5.   This movie is basically the story about a nominal Christian woman who meets an older Christian woman and learns how to really pray.  It effectively shows that many of life's battles can be found through prayer and was refreshingly Biblical as it talked about different themes like the power of Jesus' name, and how prayer can cause God to work in a marriage.

I've seen many of the Kendrick brother movies, and it is really cool to see that their production values keep getting higher and higher as each new movie is released and they continue to be profitable and effective.   This movie does not disappoint.  The story isn't boring (although at parts I wondered how much further it was going to go), the acting is well done and convincing and the message is a home-run for truth.    I know some reviewers have bashed this movie for showing an inaccurate view of Christian prayer.  I disagree.  The one article I read that seemed to bash this movie,  seemed more to be controversial for controversy sake rather than really making strong points against this movie or its message.  The bottom line : prayer to Jesus Christ does work when it is according to God's Word and many times miracles result.  Do all prayers get answered?  That is a complicated question but should not be a deterrent to taking God at His Word and praying while believing Him for your answer.

Overall I would give this movie 4 stars out of 5.  Why would I give it 4 instead of 5?  Mainly the constant use of crying in many scenes.  I'm not against tear-jerking movies,  but when characters are crying to emotional music in every other scene of the movie - it seemed a bit much.  Crying is a legit emotion I just think the writing in this movie may have used it a bit more than realistically happens.  I could be wrong - but that is why I give this 4 stars out of 5.   Great movie that has a very encouraging message.  Rent it and see.

The Theory of Everything Review

This movie is all about the famous scientist Stephen Hawking and his wonderful wife.  I knew a little about Stephen before I watched this movie,  but not a whole lot. The movie shows the struggles he and his wife had staying married while at the same time dealing with Stephen's diagnosis of Lou Gehrig's Disease. It was fascinating to see his life unfold and how he managed to stay sane throughout all the trials that came on his family.

I thought Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne both did a great job playing their respective parts.  It was interesting to see the dynamics between Jane Hawking who was of strong Christian faith, and Stephen Hawking who is and continues to be an atheist.  I was puzzled at first why Stephen Hawking was so resistant to believing in God, but as I watched more of the movie, I believe it helped me to see why he chose to remain an atheist.  While I adamantly disagree with his choice to doubt that God exists or that we should believe in His Son Jesus Christ for salvation,  I also recognize that repentance from sin is required for true faith to take root in a person.  Stephen Hawking seemed to not only reject a belief in God,  he also rejected the standards set forth in the Word of God and as far as I know still remains an atheist.   Mrs. Hawking carried on her faith as a Christian as far as I know (until the end of the movie at least).

I wanted to watch this movie as a tribute to how love can conquer the most challenging medical conditions.  I wanted to root for the two of them staying together.  Unfortunately, things didn't turn out that rosy in real life.  Despite staying married for over 29 years, divorce ends up occurring between them. I don't consider this a spoiler to the movie because anyone can confirm that on wikipedia since this is a real life story.  The acting in the story was great, and it definitely helped me understand more about the fascinating stories of Stephen Hawking and his then wife : Jane.   Just don't expect an incredible fairy-tale ending at the conclusion of the movie,  because this is a true story after all.

How To Be An Early Riser

OK I know some people don't care at all about getting up early,  and for those people - please feel free to read other articles on this site.  This post is all about how to get up early so you can be productive, achieve your goals first thing, and map out your day before most of America is even stirring.   I don't love getting up early,  but I do find it helpful to fit in things that I don't normally have time for (i.e. exercise) and achieve my goals.  First let me give you some of the benefits.



Benefits of Getting Up Early
1. You can accomplish more before the sun is up.
2.  Easier to fit in activities that are hard to schedule later in the day.
3. Optimal time to plan out the day before it really starts
4. If you have young children - great way to have uninterrupted time to do things.
5. May be easier to fall asleep at night (because nothing makes a 10 PM bedtime easier than a 4:30 AM wake up time).
6. If you live in a heavy traffic area (like myself) you can save a lot of time by traveling before 7 AM on the roads.

How to Get Up Early
1.  First always remember that caffeine can be your friend.  I try to have a cup of coffee, a 5 Hour Energy shot, or even a caffeine pill available as soon as I get up so that I can take it and make it harder to fall back asleep.
2.  Place your alarm clock (or cell phone) in a place where you have to actually get out of bed in order to turn it off.
3. Refuse to hit the snooze button. Simply REFUSE!
4. If you still have trouble staying out of bed, hide your alarm clock/cell phone so you have to get out of bed and SEARCH for it in order to make the blasted noise STOP!
5. Once out of bed and slightly caffeinated stretch a little to get your muscles moving.
6.  Try buying a specialized alarm clock like ones found at www.thinkgeek.com .   I once bought an alarm clock for Chrystal that would spin up a helicopter propeller and launch off the clock with the only key to turn off the alarm.  You then had to chase the propelling alarm key around your room in order to turn off the alarm.   She used it once, and then it somehow disappeared....  They also make alarms that will rumble your mattress like an earthquake I believe.
7. Finally reward yourself after 21 successful wake ups.  Waking up is hard, so if you can set a goal for 21 days and wake up early consistently you should reward yourself (not by sleeping in) in some way to reinforce your new habit.

I'm sure there are other great ways to accomplish the goal of getting up early in the morning.  Those are a few ideas that have worked for me.  For those who would consider themselves "morning people" - what are your strategies for waking up early?

Ragamuffin Review

This movie was recommended by my younger brother, and since it is available on streaming Netflix it made it really easy to start watching it and see what it was all about.  Ragamuffin in the true story of the Christian singer Rich Mullins (the writer of the hit Christian song "Our God is an Awesome God").  This movie starts out showing Rich's childhood with his tough dad,  shows how Rich became a Christian, how he came to write songs and rose to become a well-known Christian singer, song writer, and performer.  Although this movie is around 2 hours long, Chrystal and I both felt like it was very captivating and above the normal expectations for a Christian film.  It faithfully shows the ups and downs of Rich's life and how his childhood conflicts played a role in his struggles as an adult Christian.

What did I most enjoy about this movie?
It was refreshingly real.  It was transparent,  and it didn't paint the Christian life as problem-free with no trials whatsoever (because it's not). It showed some of Rich's weak moments but throughout the movie I felt like you still got a clear picture of God's hand at work in Rich Mullins life as he struggled to balance fame as a Christian with a burning desire to love people and live true to the Gospel.  It showed the value of Christian mentoring and brotherhood and overall I think it did a great job showing Rich's love for the Lord despite have some sin issues to work through.   The other thing I really liked about this movie is that it stuck with me for several days after watching it.  Not all movies do that, but the ones that do I like to think have something special.  In this movie, I felt like it was great testimony of an imperfect man who was changed into a new creation by a perfect God : Jesus Christ.  

Note: Not everyone will feel the same way about this movie I realize.  Some may feel it dwelt too much on Rich's sin and personal struggles and not enough on the peace and joy he had in Christ.  No movie will please everyone,  but I encourage you to watch it all the way through and make your own judgement.  We give it two thumbs up for a very well written and produced biography movie about the very authentic Christian man : Rich Mullins.  I look forward to meeting him someday.

Fast & Furious 6 Review (warning : contains spoilers)

OK, I realize I recently reviewed the movie Furious 7,  but since Fast & Furious 6 was about the only one I hadn't seen so I decided to rent it and review it to complete the entire series.

This story has the Fast & Furious team working for the good guys (always including "The Rock" Dwayne Johnson) against some evil international team that have equivalent talent and want to get their hands on dangerous government technology.  Sound familiar? It should - most of these types of movies have some sort of similar plot.   This movie really revolves around Letty (Dom's old girlfriend) who was assumed dead in prior movies, but now appears to have been merely given a case of amnesia to bring her back into the series.

I have to say - this episode in the series was not my favorite.  Although they tried to up the adventure and excitement with live tanks and aircraft, it didn't seem to have as much character development and heart as Furious 7.  Unless you are counting the whole Letty finding out her true identity as the main character development which the movie spends an ample amount of time on.  I started to tire of all the stunts and wisecracks.  The stunts were well-done just kind of over-the-top.  How is this different from other movies in the series?  I don't know - but it was.  There was one stunt where Letty and Dom fly through the air over a bridge, catch each other in midair and safely land on another car without a scratch. RIGHT.  That sort of stuff happens all the time over tall bridges.

One positive I liked about the movie is the acknowledgement of prayer before the meals as a group tradition in this movie.  My only problem is that that the gang seems to utter four-letter curse words whenever they are in danger, but when things all pan out in the end - they make time for thanking God?  Seems a bit inconsistent.  I would think they should be praying during the tough times as well as thanking God for the good times,  but the fact that they thank God at all is refreshing to see in any Hollywood movie.

Another issue I have is with Dom's love life.  He is seriously dating a new girl (thinking Letty is dead) but when he finds out Letty may actually be alive - his new girlfriend has no problem with him looking for her, and returning to Letty with hardly a second thought.  Seems like some poor writing got included in this part.  I highly doubt a serious girlfriend would encourage and be fine with allowing her boyfriend to look for and return to his ex-girlfriend without any sort of emotional toll taken.  She barely acted like she would miss him if he were to return to Letty.  Either that or she was really not in love with Dom at all.  Love seems kind of cheap in these movies at times.

So to sum up : I'm going to rate the 7 Fast & Furious movies in the order that I like them with the first being my favorite.

1. The Fast and the Furious (1st is always hard to beat)
2. Fast & Furious (4th in the series - loved the ending)
3. Furious 7 (great final movie to the series with a lot of heart)
4. Fast 5 (good intro of "The Rock")
5. Fast & Furious 6 (enough said)
6. 2 Fast 2 Furious (weak sequel in my opinion)
7. The Fast and the Furious : Tokyo Drift

So that is my official ratings of the entire movie series.  While they probably aren't going to win any Academy Awards,  they are fun movies about fast cars that can be enjoyable.

U-571 Review

U-571 came out in 2000 so it is a bit dated for a World War 2 movie.  I have not seen too many movies about submarine warfare other than Crimson Tide and The Hunt for Red October and both I have enjoyed.  This movie stars Bill Paxton, Jon Bon Jovi, and Matthew McConaughey so it has some heavy star power.  It is the fictional story of an American submarine who captures a German sub with a special decoding device. Since the mission was secretive they had to make the most of the situation and survive in the German submarine until they could escape safely.   The star of this movie is Matthew McConaughey and he really shines in his role as the submarine captain of his American crew.  The other stars who played the crew members also did really well as supporting roles.

One part of this movie I'm not sure I agree with.  During the movie, Matthew McConaughey admits to his crew he is not sure what the next move is.  He admits he is confused.  Later on one of his crew members has a candid talk with him and recommends he never shares that he doesn't know the next step to the whole crew because it would kill some of the morale of the crew.  I saw the point of the discussion,  yet I don't know if I agree.  Soldiers don't want to blindly follow orders.  Although it may not have been the best time to share that McConaughey's character didn't know the next step - I don't think it was terrible that he chose transparency with his men over acting like he knew everything.  I think any crew would rather you level with them honestly to making up things and pretending you know it all.  I've never served in the service, but I think having the honesty and transparency to admit you're unsure of the next step would help your men recognize your humility and humanity rather than acting like you ALWAYS know the next step as a commanding officer.  Just my perspective on the movie discussion.

The music in this movie is very well written.  The acting is top-notch.  If you like Jon Bon Jovi you may not want to watch this movie purely for his role in this movie.   If you have ever watched the movie Executive Decision with Steven Seagal you will understand when I say that if you watched Executive Decision for Mr. Seagal you will feel the same way about watching U-571 for Jon Bon Jovi's role.  He did a great job for the time he was in it.

I guess my only beef with this movie is that it is historical fiction.  It seems that war movies are more powerful when they are at least based on a true story.  U-571 doesn't even claim that.   It is a great war movie with fast moving action, a rousing soundtrack, and great acting and special effects.  However at the end of the day you just realize that it was a made-up war story with great acting.  I'm still giving it 2 thumbs up due to the shortage of good war movies being made.  A noble effort from all parties involved, and a great engaging story-line to follow.

Love & Mercy Review

I selected this movie because although I don't know much about the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson,  I was interested in learning more.   It stars John Cusack and Elizabeth Banks and I found this story very interesting and artistic as it recounted Brian Wilson's story.   The movie is broken into two different story lines - one with Brian in his younger days during his struggles with life and the Beach Boys group - and the second one was middle aged Brian starting to fall in love again (with the character played by Elizabeth Banks) and showing his relationship with his doctor (or psychologist) trying to control him. 

Random fact:  I found out from Chrystal that the Beach Boys had made several guest appearances on the show Full House.  I'm unsure if Brian Wilson was included in those guest appearances or not.

My summation:  Good movie - although kind of slow at parts in an artistic fashion, with good music used throughout the story.   Although I don't think John Cusack looks much at all like Brian, he played the part very well,  and the other supporting actors did a great job with the movie as well.  If you like the Beach Boys or any of their music,  you should consider checking out Love & Mercy.  Throughout the movie it resonated with the value of true friends and family, and included some great music along the journey.

Avengers : Age of Ultron Review

I decided after thinking the first Avengers movie was "OK" (not as hyped as it seemed to be) to give the sequel a shot.   This one involved an evil metallic man taking on the Avengers (does this sound at all like Fantastic Four : Rise of the Silver Surfer anyone?) All the Avengers are back for this one and even the Green Guy finds a bit of romance in this one.   So I don't want to spoil this movie,  but I will assure you that the Avengers are still alive at the end of it.   Why would I only give this movie 2 stars out of 5?  Why does this movie only get 1/2 a thumb up from Paul and Chrystal? Well to be honest : too many characters to develop any feelings for.  Due to the fact that this movie is following about 7-8 character stories (with some unity in the plot) it was very hard for me to care that much about any of them.  Even though this movie sucked 120 minutes of my life away,  I didn't really feel that involved in the story line nor did I find the evil metallic man that much of a scare or threat for that matter.  

Would I feel differently if I avidly followed "The Avengers" comic books?  Possibly but not guaranteed.  I honestly don't care of the Hulk finds true love, if Tony Stark learns to play well with others, or if Thor realizes he lives in the wrong time period (Captain America too).    I think this may be my final Avengers movie for review.   The first one was a 3 out 5 star movie.  I think this one would have to be a 2 out of 5.   Although Avengers: Age of Ultron features an all-star cast,  it sadly doesn't deliver in good writing.  My advice:  Skip this one and re-watch Iron Man 3 if you haven't seen it lately.

Inside Out Review

Just watched this movie tonight with the family and I have to say :  Pixar has created another great movie!  I've really enjoyed the Toy Story series and the Monster Inc. series so when this one came out I was eager to see what they had created next.  The story revolves around the different emotions inside a young girl's head.  The main emotions are : joy, sadness, fear, anger, and disgust, and this movie shows throughout the story how they each work inside the main character's head.   This could have been written to be a real sleeper,  but the writing is so clever that is never gets dull for one minute.   Besides that it was fascinating to see how they illustrated each emotion and how those emotions then played out in the real life scenarios.  I've never seen a movie quite like this one, and I think Disney and the Pixar studio pulled it off perfectly.   My two girls watched the whole movie without getting bored, and Chrystal and I both enjoyed watching the whole thing through.   The humor was great, it was touching as well as wholesome.  This is family entertainment at its best.   If you are looking for a great family movie that will entertain as well as make you think about the emotional pulls that go on in a family,  don't pass this movie up.  Two thumbs up from Paul and Chrystal.

What does change cost?

In light of the New Year holiday I thought I would continue to blog on resolutions and the cost of change.  Recently I pulled out $30 in 1 dollar bills for the purpose of motivating me to hit the gym every day of the month.   The idea I had was that I would pay myself $1 every time I successfully got up and went to the gym first thing in the morning.  After a month went by -  this had not worked out as well as I had hoped.  I came to realize that $30 dollars in ones does not motivate me as much as I thought it would.   Sure I might be able to buy something nice with $30 at the end of the month but it didn't get me excited to throw my sneakers on and head to the gym.  Which brings me to my question of the day -

1. What is the minimum amount of money paid daily it would take you to start a new habit?  
or
2. If you had a glass jar and could pick the amount of money that went into it every day you continued a new habit,  just how much per day would it take for you make the sacrifice to continue the habit all month?

I know for me it would be more than $1 a day.

New Years Resolutions : Worth making?

Well 2016 is upon us and it is the time when many men and women make a resolution to change something in their life.   Have I?  This year I have not.  I would like to lose some weight but avoided making any hard fast resolutions since I want my diet/exercise lifestyle to stick and I find New Years resolutions generally don't stick around much in my life.  I find that most people I have discussed this with focus on eating more healthy or hitting the gym more often in the coming year.  Some Christian friends may resolve to read the Bible through in one year.  All good goals and beneficial on many levels.  Here is my small case against New Years resolutions - and what to do instead:

1. New Years resolutions generally fall off by February and definitely by March thus feeding discouragement.

2. New Years resolutions can fall into tradition rather than true desire for change.

3. New Years resolutions encourage the false idea that the new year is the only time for meaningful change in your life.  Why not start something worthwhile in February, March or May?  

If you are serious about changing something in your life,  today is the best time to start that.  Not yesterday, not tomorrow, and not January 1, 2016 or 2017.   If you are relying on will power alone,  you have a hard journey for change.  I find that prayer to God Almighty and a strong social support group (such as a church) really help true change to come about in any life.  I'm not against making positive change,  I am against feeding into a tradition that discourages rather than encourages people to make lasting change in their life.  Happy New Year everyone.

Captain Phillips Review

Just watched this New Years Eve 2015.  I thought Tom Hanks did a wonderful job portraying Captain Phillips which is based on the true story that happened back in 2009.   Tom Hanks rarely disappoints in a movie, and I found the movie engaging and interesting as I watched the movie unfold.   For those who have their head in the sand during the 2009 pirate capture,  this is the story of an American captain by the name of Phillips (duh!) who was captured by Somalian pirates and held for ransom.   Chrystal and I both found the story well told and tense - but at the same time encouraging.   It was neat to see how the US Navy handled the situation.   I must confess I was kind of hoping for rescue similar to The Expendables movie, but it was probably much more the way things were.   One highlight of the movie was how Captain Phillips was such a good leader of his ship.  He was concerned for the welfare of his crew and his cargo and was serious about taking protective measures.  Not only that but this movie really showed how he also related well to his captors which may have helped him not get killed.  Rather than trying to harm the pirates any chance he got,  Captain Phillips tried to help them at times and encouraged them to do the right thing in the stand off with the US Navy.   Well acted and told very well - this movie did not disappoint.  Recommended.

Why the Fast and the Furious movie series is better than any superhero movie

OK, I just finished the movie Furious 7 and I liked it more than I thought. Yes, it was filled with impossible stunts and funny one-liners.  Yes, the team is almost doing Mission Impossible on wheels.  However, in light of the criticism this movie has received, it still was very likeable.  I think I know why.

1. The acting is not top-notch yet still very believable.
2. The story writing has heart, a lot of heart that helps you connect with the characters
3. The stunts are impressive and despite being impossible are fun entertainment to view
4. The CGI special effects do not distract from the fun of the movie
5. Good music to accompany the stunts and story.
6. The stunts never require overt superpowers just super cars!

It is my opinion that these ingredients of the Fast and the Furious series, make it more fun to view than ANY superhero movie.   Now I enjoyed the Batman series (Christian Bale versions preferred), the Superman series, and the Spiderman series as much as the next guy but what sets the Fast and the Furious movies apart is how much more relate-able the characters are.

Sure I don't race hot rods on the streets and do undercover work,  but the fact that none of the characters fly or have any super-human powers make me root for them that much more.  Most people know how to drive a car, and driving fast is a fantasy of many.   Most people want to belong to a fun group of people to share life with.  Most people do NOT fantasize about wearing spandex and spinning webs to fly between buildings.  Most sane people do not have two personas - one as Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, or Peter Parker and another as a hero that always saves the day.  That is why I like Fast and Furious movies - they appeal to the common man who enjoys adrenaline, fast cars, and a common bond with friends through good times and bad.  They aren't perfect and they basically are superhero movies without superpowers being exhibited (except walking away from terrible crashes), but for all they deliver I still think they have way more fun, entertainment, and heart than many superhero movies out today.

True Grit Review

Well it is time for a break from the burrito reviews to talk some movies.   I recently rented the True Grit movie remake that recently was released.   Although entertaining,  I found that it didn't quite live up to the hype surrounding this movie.   I first want to preface my review by stating that I do enjoy good western movies but am not a die-hard John Wayne fan.   I really enjoyed the recent movie 3:10 to Yuma that came out and was hoping that this western remake of True Grit was equally as good.  Unfortunately,  I didn't think it was as good as it could have been.   I like Jeff Bridges as an actor and I think he did a good job,  but unfortunately there were a couple scenes where he seemed to turn up his accent so thick or mumbled his lines so much that I had a hard time understanding him (and no,  I didn't turn on closed captioning).    Josh Brolin is a good actor but his part in this movie is so small it could almost be considered a cameo.   Matt Damon took on a different type of role for him and I feel delivered it well.   However,  overall I think the young girl (Hailee Steinfeld) gave one of the best performances in the movie.    Granted the script was mainly about her story,  yet she played her part very well and helped keep the story interesting with her convincing acting.   Having never seen the original movie all the way through,  I can't comment on how it compared,  but I did find the movie enjoyable to watch,  just not as great as I was expecting.   I would give this movie 3.5 stars out of 5.   

A Review on Burritos Part 2

Well the Burrito Boys have tackled another burrito and now I have finally sat down to write the second review.  For our second review we went to Moe's Southwest Grill and had the Moe's Monday Special.   For about $5.00 it is really hard to beat the value on a large burrito, plus chips and a fountain drink.   However,  that being said I thought it was necessary to do some comparisons to other burrito places in the area such as our last burrito from Chipotle.   Here is a listing of the pros and cons from Moe's:

PROS:  Hard to beat the value of one large burrito,  chips and a drink for $5.00,  Moe's offers ground beef which Chipotle doesn't have as an option,  Moe's will include guacamole which Chipotle charges extra for,  Moe's drink selection offers Mellow Yellow which is a very rare but tasty soda option,  and all Moe's burritos come with chips and salsa which is more than Chipotle offers.  Also one of the Burrito Boys made the remark that the steak at Moe's isn't as tough and dry as it seems from Chipotle.

CONS:  Although they offer burritos that are almost the same size as Chipotle,  the taste isn't quite as good.  After discussing this with the other Burrito Boys,  we came up with the chief reason why :  the rice.  Moe's offer's dirty rice, which has spices and flavorings.  While good,  we found the rice seasonings detracted from the overall burrito flavor,  rather than enhancing it.  Chipotle while more expensive,  does seem to keep the rice from overpowering the other wonderful burrito flavors.  Also all Moe's seem to have a tradition of yelling "welcome" when you walk in - some may consider this a friendly perk,  but I would prefer to not be greeted so loudly.  However, considering the value, these cons seem like things that are easy to overlook.

Overall,  I would give the Moe's burrito a 3.5 stars out of 5.   Maybe not quite as tasty as the burrito from Chipotle,  yet you definitely don't have to pay as much either.   Until the next burrito....

A Review on Burritos

It has been forever since I posted,  so I came up with something I want to write about.  BURRITOS!  Nowadays the burrito place is becoming as common as the hamburger place once was.  They are extremely tasty and rarely leave you hungry and unless you are turned off by Mexican food in general,  it is rare to meet someone who objects to a tasty burrito.    My co-workers and I (who will now be referred to as "The Burrito Boys") decided to try one burrito at a different place each week and review them.   This week the Burrito Boys decided to try Chipotle Mexican Grill.   I got a pork burrito with guacamole and my fellow Burrito Boy got a steak burrito with guacamole.    My burrito was very tasty and I thought I would list out the pros and cons of the burrito from Chipotle -

PROs:  Rarely hungry after a burrito from Chipotle,  each burrito packs about 1200 calories, ingredients taste fresh,  guacamole is amazing,  you may be able to maintain a healthy weight by only eating one meal from this place a day,  and don't have a loud greeting yelled out to you when you walk in.

CONs:  You feel really full and heavy after finishing one of their menu items,  guacamole costs extra (whereas many places include it at no extra charge),  no chips included with order, my fellow Burrito Boy felt the steak was a bit tough to eat,  at 1200 calories per burrito it is hard to consider how many people this would feed in third world countries,  unlikely to have any weight loss stories from consistently eating at this place,   beans can have after effects that I will not go into on this blog (but you may want to have Gas-X handy).

All in all - my review would be 4 out of 5 stars for a burrito at Chipotle.   I feel the food is high quality but if they offered a smaller size it would be nice.

Amazing Grace Review

This movie came out in 2006 and is a historic drama about the man William Wilberforce.   I had heard a little about this man growing up and was interested to see what Hollywood did with his story.  Overall,  I think they made a good period piece that didn't exclude things like William's faith which made him the man he was throughout history.   The acting in this movie is well done,  and although it isn't incredibly fast-paced as far as a story (few historic dramas can be),  it did deliver what it was intended to do which is give the biography of an astounding man who worked in England to abolish slavery.  I don't know if it is true or not but it shows several scenes of William interacting with John Newton.  If that is historically accurate it is news to me.   John Newton wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace" and used to be slave ship sailor before he became a Christian and changed his life.     I wasn't aware that he knew William Wilberforce,  but that is an informative fact if the movie wasn't taking historic liberties.    I thought this movie was well-done and showed the dedication of Mr. Wilberforce to overthrow slavery in England.   I would give this movie 3 out of 5 stars.  Worth a watch.

Iron Man 2 Review

I recently watched this movie after hearing much about it this summer but judging by the reviews from friends and relatives I decided not to pay a movie ticket price to view it.    After watching the DVD,  I feel I made the right decision.    First of all,  Iron Man 2 is not as good as the first Iron Man movie (but few sequels are).   Unfortunately movies like Spiderman 2 and The Dark Knight set the bar really, really high for superhero sequels.  In this case I believe the Iron Man series follows the more traditional sequel expectation which is that it doesn't surpass the original.    After watching this,  I feel the movie was kind of a let down for the following reasons:
1.  Tony Stark's character is just plain annoying and arrogant.  Robert Downey Jr. may just be playing the role really, really well if that is the character of the comic book hero - but to me it doesn't excuse the fact that he is a little too big for his britches.
2.  The ending of this movie is anti-climatic.   I don't want to give it away for those who may still watch this movie,  but I thought the enemy was built up to such a degree,  that the fast way he is destroyed didn't seem to be worth the watch in my opinion.    That's all I'll say on that matter.
Overall if you want a lot of special effects,  and you love the comic book character you may really enjoy this movie,  otherwise I advise you to save yourself 2 hours of your life.

Love Happens Review

I watched this with my wife tonight and boy, was I surprised (in a good way).  Love Happens as a movie is a well put-together movie about the need people have for one another,  and the ways people try to escape their hurt.   The acting in it was top-notch and the script was really well-written in my humble opinion.   Don't rent this movie thinking you will be getting a romantic comedy.  While it did have romance points,  it wasn't purely about the love between the two main characters.   This movie dared to tackle much deeper issues in life and for that - I have to applaud it.    I was expecting a fluffy, formulaic movie where everything turns up wonderful,  but this movie went in directions I didn't expect and tackled issues that many movies don't even touch (in a good way)!!  One thing I really liked about the movie was,  that even though the main character wasn't dealing with his own emotions and issues that occurred in his own life - he still was driven with a heart to touch other people and minister to their needs.   Rather than become self-obsessed he was still focusing on others which was a wonderful example of "loving his neighbor as himself" as the Bible teaches.    Since I don't want to give anymore away - I'll leave it at that and heartily recommend you go out and rent/buy the movie "Love Happens".   Movies like this aren't released that often.

Killers Review

I wasn't sure what this movie would be like, but I do like both Ashton and Katherine and the preview looked funny. Now that I rejoined Netflix again, I figured it is time to start up on the reviews. Why? Well watching movies is all fun and everything, but unless I analyze the movie and compare it to others as well as evaluate it from a Biblical worldview, I find movie watching can be a big useless time sink. This movie is about Ashton Kutcher who is an assassin in the movie. He falls in love with Katherine Heigl's character and the rest you will have to watch. My opinion? Did not like it. Something about this movie just didn't deliver what I wanted. The movie walks the fine line between action and comedy and didn't do it well. I wasn't sure if I should laugh or be concerned during intense action scenes and the overall delivery of the lines left much to be desired. I'm going to have to say this movie was definitely worth skipping. One character in the movie does nothing but drink throughout the entire movie. Is this supposed to be funny? Are we to laugh at murder and alcoholism? I suggest this movie be skipped based on poor delivery and objectionable material to laugh about.

Coach Carter review

This basketball movie was surprisingly much better than I expected. This movie is probably one of the more recent ones that I watched. It stars Samuel L. Jackson as the Coach Carter of the Richmond, VA high school basketball team. I went into this movie kind of skeptical because movies like this can tend to be fairly formulaic. This movie really impressed me, because it wasn't exactly what I expected and it really delivered. Coach Carter went against the grain and really believed that the values he stood up for had the potential to change lives. I was really impressed at the vision of Coach Carter and just how far he would go to make his point. Very well-acted by Samuel Jackson. Also having seen another basketball movie entitled "Glory Road", I felt this movie was volumes better. I don't know if it was the writing or the acting - but I just felt that Coach Carter was one of the best movies regarding basketball I have seen since the movie "Hoosiers". Although I can't agree with everything that goes on in the movie, I did find it fairly realistic and very motivational. Standing up for the truth isn't always popular and this movie does a good job showing that. Two thumbs up in my opinion. Like I said before, potententially the best basketball movie I have seen since "Hoosiers".

The Blind Side review

I went to see this movie when it came out around Thanksgiving in 2009 and really, really enjoyed it. It is an interesting story about a young man and the family who welcomes him into their home and helps him to become an NFL player. This is a powerful story and very well acted by Sandra Bullock. I think this is one of the best roles she has played and I'm glad she was nominated for best actress for it. I almost wouldn't call this movie a sports movie - just because the storyline really revolves more about Michael Orr coming into the home of this southern family in the movie and how they both learned from each other. Another true story that Hollywood did a really good job with. I felt this movie was well cast, well-directed and inspiring to watch. Very well-done and very moving. A definite recommendation in my book.

The Express review

OK, I've decided with my posts, that I'm going to cover quite a few sports movies and what I liked the most of each. The first one I'll be covering is The Express which is based on a true story (most sports stories tend to say this) about a star (Ernie Davis) running back and the coach that worked with him (played by Dennis Quaid). While Dennis Quaid isn't my favorite movie actor, I thought he did a really remarkable job in this movie as a gruff, no-nonsense coach who really helped to bring out the best in his player - Ernie Davis. Although this movie tends to be on the long side - I thought it did a good job moving along and drawing you into good character development. Another thing I really liked about this movie was that it didn't really have a fairy tale ending. The ending seemed true life and while it wasn't the "happily ever after", I think it did do the story of Ernie Davis justice. I say that - not really knowing much about Ernie Davis before watching this movie - so take that last statement with as much salt as you deem necessary. All in all, I liked this movie, and don't want to reveal the complete storyline in case anyone wants to watch it after reading this post. Many football movies have been produced, but "The Express" stands alone fairly well. Definitely worth a watch.

The Color of Money

To many, this movie may be considered a classic about pool that came out in the 80s. It has big names like Paul Newman and Tom Cruise so if you are a fan of either of those gentlemen, you've probably heard of it. If I understand it correctly, this movie is basically a sequel to the movie The Hustler with Paul Newman about a pool hall hustler (really?). Tom Cruise looks like he is a little younger than before he played in Top Gun, but it may have been after - I haven't checked the dates the movies were both made. Anyway the story revolves around Paul Newman finding out that Tom Cruise is a talented pool player and convincing him to go on the road with him in an attempt to win a lot of money by betting Newman's money on Cruise's skills at the pool table. Ultimately though, this movie seemed to be much more than about pool. Sure, pool is a great game but it explored complex qualities in each of the story's characters. Tom Cruise plays Vincent - a pool player who is very good and who knows that he is very good. He would rather beat everyone than lose a couple games so he could take more money home in the long run. Paul Newman, on the other hand, has been around pool halls longer and knows what you need to do in order to take home the most cash. He tries to teach his apprentice (Vincent) this, but finds it hard to get through to him at times. Martin Scorsese directs this movie, so there are definitely some big names associated with it. I thought it was well-done, but I found the ending a little disappointing, and was also disturbed that inappropriate scenes and bad language had to mess up the telling of this story. Due to these factors, my rating of this movie went down. I would give it 3 stars out of 5 .

Spitfire Grill review

I saw this movie many, many years ago, and decided to re-watch it due to me remembering how good it was, yet forgetting many of the details that made it as good as it was. Basically Spitfire Grill is about a woman who is released from prison and comes to live in a small town which (we come to find out) has some major issues going on among the townsfolk. As I watched this movie a second time, I realized it really resembles something you may watch on the Lifetime movie channel due to the story mainly involving women, yet the character development in it is very good and the acting very well done if you can make it through the slow parts. The woman's name in the story is Percy, and as she gets to know the town she realizes that they all have pains and fears of their own that make them critical and prone to gossip about any new person who decides to come live there. There is much more to the story than that, but I don't want to spoil the story for anyone who may decide to watch it. Overall I think the story this movie tells is very well done, and although it may not be the happiest of stories - it does a fairly good job showing how past experiences and past pain can really cause people to struggle with life situations. Like I mentioned before, there are some parts that are kind of slow, but if you are willing to sit down and give it some time, I think you'll find that it was a worthwhile movie to watch. I liked it, so I will give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

Chaos Theory Review

Since I've been watching several Ryan Reynolds movies, I decided to put this movie in our queue which is about a type A personality who does everything at a set time in a daily routine. Suddenly his wife decides to change the clock, and it completely changes his day and helps him to learn some valuable lessons from being unpredictable. Overall this didn't seem to be a real big-budget movie, nor did it really fit the catagory of laugh-out-loud comedy. I would describe it as a dramedy - mostly drama with some funny parts thrown in. I thought the acting was definitely done well, but what I really liked about this movie was the depth of the script and the overall message it conveyed. One of the main points of this movie, is - we are not masters of our own destiny. Things and circumstances happen to us that we can't always explain (imagine that!). I personally don't believe it is merely coincidence, I believe God allows things (note I didn't say causes) things in our life for an ulitmate purpose. God also may cause things in our life, but I don't believe He causes everything in our life to happen the way it does. Some things may be the result of my own stupidity, or evil forces (specifically the devil). Although He doesn't cause those things to happen, I believe God does allow them for his ultimate purposes to be accomplished in our life. Anyway - I digress. This movie explores what love is, and the main character learns some really interesting things about life as he knows it - all because his routine was upset. I recommend this movie, because it isn't your average. It actually explores a message that isn't always communicated in mainstream movies. Check it out - I give it a good 4 stars out of 5.

The Time Traveler's Wife Review

Chrystal and I decided to watch this one since it seemed to smack of romance and interest. However, it proved to be more disappointing than we were hoping for. The story is basically revolving around Eric Bana's character who happens to time travel (really?). He falls in love with a young girl and they eventually get married. Although this movie tries to come off as deeply romantic, I thought it only halfway delivers. It explores some interesting science fiction ideas, but nothing that mind-blowing to make it a must-see movie. Overall the previews led us to believe that it would deliver a much better movie than it did. I thought Rachel McAdams was very good in her role, but the rest of the movie was definitely worth skipping. I can't recommend this movie very highly.

Just Friends Review

I caught this one on cable, and wasn't sure what to expect. This movie actually caught me by surprise at how FUNNY IT WAS! Basically Ryan Reynolds plays a guy who was fat at one point in his life and was friends with Amy Smart, but has now moved on, lost the weight and become successful. He is interested in possibly becoming "more than friends" with Amy Smart's character - but doesn't know what that will look like, or if she feels the same way. Ryan Reynolds also plays in the newer movie The Proposal with Sandra Bullock, but I actually thought this movie was a lot funnier. It deals with the whole ladder philosophy of dating. For those who don't know it - the ladder philosophy says that girls will always have the guys in their life on one of two ladders - the "nice guy" friend ladder, or the "cute boyfriend" potential ladder (I'm sorry I don't know who originated this idea or I would give them credit). The problem is that many guys think they are on the potential boyfriend ladder, and sadly find out that they are only considered to be a "nice guy" by the girl they like and want to date/court/get to know/whatever else you term it. I won't give too much more away about this movie, but I was laughing so hard over scenes in this movie I was in tears - IT WAS THAT FUNNY. Very funny situations, and I originally thought this movie would be fair or just so-so. The fact that it was very funny was a welcome surprise. Check this out if you are up for a funny comedy about boy-girl relationships.

Knights of the South Bronx

I put this on my Netflix queue for obvious reasons for all who know me. 1. I love playing chess and have fun with playing a good game. 2. I like movies based on true stories that are inspirational. This movie was originally made for TV from what I understand and stars Ted Danson who becomes a substitute teacher in a NYC school and then ends up teaching his class the game of chess and helping them go to the multi-state championships. It was a good story, but I think it could have been made a little better. I thought Ted Danson did a decent job playing his part. Also all the kids acted pretty convincingly. However, compared to a movie like Searching for Bobby Fischer I think this movie lacked something. I'm not sure exactly what - it could have been character development or plot depth, but whatever it was - I didn't think it delivered as well as Searching for Bobby Fischer did. I recommend you see that movie before watching this one. This movie wasn't bad, it just was the lesser of the two chess movies.

Selecting the Perfect Box of Chocolate

Paul and I had a fun excursion to Georgetown this weekend. We decided to compare the chocolates from the Godiva shop with chocolates from Dean & Deluca. Both companies have their chocolates made by different chocolatier's in NY and then ship them to the stores. Surprisingly, the D&D chocolates created by Christopher Norman turned out to be more expensive and although the chocolates looked more artsy, the taste did not compare to the taste of Godiva. Also, the representative at Godiva was very enthusiastic, eager to let you taste samples, and informative. Godiva has improved their preferred customer club (of which I was already a member) to give more rewards. We hope this might help you pick out some delicious sweet treats for Valentine's Day. I would encourage you to try personalizing your gift by selecting what will go into your own box of chocolates. While we're not professional taste testers, we tried our best. Paul cleansed his palette in between tastings with a glass of red wine. I drank and swirled H20.

Here are our descriptions of the high caloric adventure:

1. The heart-shaped Sparkling Mimosa: Champagne and orange juice flavored chocolate cream in dark chocolate.

• Paul: Tasty orange creme; surprisingly strong flavor, but not overpowering.
• Chrystal: Buttery rich orange flavor with a champagne aftertaste. Love the heart shape. Only wishing the size was bigger! *Must have for V-day*

2. Double Chocolate Raspberry Truffle: Red and black raspberry puree in dark chocolate.

• Paul: Superb. One of the best blends of rasberry and dark chocolate.
• Chrystal: Very bold, rich, and intense flavor as if I'm biting into a raspberry. A small bite goes a long way.
  

3. Key Lime Truffle: Key lime ganache in dark chocolate.

• Paul: Not quite as the key lime flavor I was expecting.
• Chrystal: Too sweet for me.
  

4. Hazelnut Praline Truffle: Finely crushed hazelnuts in milk chocolate with toffee coated hazelnut pieces.

• Paul: Ties the raspberry truffle or exceeds it. Very rich.
• Chrystal: Milky creamy bite, delightfully smooth and light flavor. It's a good thing we only had 1 to share because these are so light and creamy that it would be easy to eat more.

Dean & Deluca:

1. Lemon Truffle: Lemon thyme flavor is enrobed in milk or dark chocolate.

• Paul: Very good lemon taste.
• Chrystal: Light zesty lemon flavor. Refreshing.

2. Passion Fruit Truffle:

• Paul: Not as good as I expected. Fruit was weak.
• Chrystal: Gross bubble gum flavor.

3. Caramel Apple:

• Paul: Tastes too artificial.
• Chrystal: I love the artistic design. It's surprisingly big enough to share. The candy coating is too sweet for me.
  

4. Champagne Truffle:

• Paul: Forgot to write down notes.
• Chrystal: Rich flavor, but lacks the champagne effervescence that Godiva's heart shaped chocolate has.

To wrap up our review and get you on your way to shop for your loved one. It's best when looking for a fine chocolate to stick with a shop dedicated to that. If you're putting together a box of chocolates we highly recommend Godiva's Raspberry & Hazelnut Praline Truffles with a few heart shaped Sparkling Mimosa's.

Publish Post

Gone Baby Gone review

When I sat down to watch this movie, I was hoping for an intense mystery movie about a search for a little girl. I can't give much commentary about this movie, because I turned it off about a half-hour into it. The language in this movie is very rough, and probably realistic. Although I was interested in this movie at first, the language just became too much of a distraction to me and I ended up opting to turn the whole thing off. Now, granted the writers and director were probably trying to show the reality of the street language. However, I don't like it when language seems to be written into a script just to merit a "R" rating. Maybe that wasn't the case, but I just found the foul language too distracting from the actual storyline to actually finish the movie. Well - isn't that real life, you say? Maybe it is, but I generally don't hang out in places where that type of language is used to that degree. It is not like I never heard foul words like this movie contained, it was just a choice to not intentionally choose to hear foul words in a movie that didn't necessarily need them to convey a story. This could have been a good movie (and maybe it turned out to be). I don't think I'll ever find out.

G.I. Joe : Rise of the Cobra Review

What a disappointment! I am sad to say I TRIED (key-work is tried) to watch this movie after watching the previews and being very fond of the toy in the 80s, and had to turn off this movie only a half-hour into the storyline. The acting is bad, the storyline is almost non-existent, and the CGI special effects almost seem like the whole thing is a giant video game. As I stated, I really enjoyed this toy when I was younger and had high hopes for the live-action movie. Maybe that was my problem. I had "high hopes". I was pleasantly surprised with the first Transformers movie and thought that this might follow in the robot movie's footsteps. However, after watching a sad half-hour of it, I realized that wouldn't be the case. It seemed the actors and their lines were over-the-top cheesy and the special effects seemed to be so overdone that it appeared the producer/writers may have been throwing in overblown special effects to make up for the pathetic storyline and the lack of good acting. I'm sorry, but I have to say SAVE TWO HOURS OF YOUR LIFE AND SKIP THIS MOVIE!! There - I said it. I would have liked to give this movie a higher rating, but I found it too sad to put a positive spin on it at all. Watch the cartoon movie if you long for a movie about this toy.

Notting Hill review

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope all my readers have had a great chance to eat some turkey, enjoy time with friends and family, and reflect on all the blessings we have been given.

While visiting family this week, I happened to sit down and watch Notting Hill with them. I personally like Hugh Grant's acting a little more than Julia Roberts but must say this movie was a pleasant romantic drama/comedy about a movie actress (Julia) who falls for a simple bookshop owner. I'm not positive this would be considered a comedy or just a romantic drama with some funny moments - but it still seemed to work well. Both Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant were very good at playing their roles, and they were supported by several very talented actors/actresses who made the whole story work really well. Although I don't think this was as good a movie for Hugh Grant as Two Weeks Notice, I do think he played his part well and it made for a good fairy-tale story about two people who have great chemistry together. There are a few off-color jokes throughout the story, but overall I think this was a very well-made and funny story that makes for a great overall movie. Two thumbs up.

Entertainment & Escapism

I was reading "The Simple Dollar" blog this morning and came upon a great post that I highly recommend. It is:
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/11/08/what-is-escapism-how-does-it-cost-me/ .
If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend you do before continuing my discussion below.

I would like to talk about it on my own blog in fact. Basically Trent (author of The Simple Dollar blog) talks about the difference between entertainment and escapism. I found the contrast very interesting and it made me think about my own media habits. Do I watch movies, listen to good music and play video games just to escape reality? Or are these ways for me to relax and have some fun in life without necessarily trying to escape reality? I believe personally, that I waffle sometimes between one and the other. I do enjoy movie, games, and good music but I think that the key to know if I am drifting from edifying entertainment into mindless escapism is one question: Am I trying to fill a void in my life with this activity? Every time I choose to sit down and invest time in a game, movie or listening to music I have to look at the fruit of the time spent. If I come away from the time, feeling more lonely, saddened and/or purposeless - that is a red flag that I have crossed into the land of escapism via entertainment. However, if after the time I feel like I've gained perspective or grown in my understanding of others and can then continue normal life-duties with a new perspective - I think that is well within the realm of edifying entertainment. Also, being a Christian I need to ask myself - is this something that I can glorify God doing/watching/listening to? Entertainment should never be used to fill a void. It does it poorly when used for that purpose. What entertainment can be useful for is to help bond with other people in your life, and keep your mind actively evaluating things instead of dwelling on the negatives in your life. I am a firm believer that you should never turn your brain off while allowing media to be seen or heard in your life (which is very prevelant in escapism). Everything listened to and watched should be evaluated and thought about. If the messages are agreeable - think about ways it could affect your own life, and if the messages are false/disagreeable you should be able to actively filter them from a solid worldview of Truth. In all these things, as a Christian I need to keep in mind what Paul says:

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. - Ephesians 5:15-16 NIV

Nights in the Rodanthe Review

Another Nicholas Sparks book makes it to the big screen. I decided to add this movie having seen 3 others movie adaption by this guy : 1. Message in a Bottle, 2. Notebook , and 3. A Walk to Remember. However, out of the four movies, I think this one was the lamest. This movie in many respects resembles "Message in a Bottle", but it came off a little more cheesy and formulaic. Basically the plot is Diane Lane's character is hosting a bed and breakfast in the Outer Banks, NC and Richard Gere's character comes to stay there to try to resolve some lawsuits he has with the family of someone he was a doctor for. During this time, he falls in love with Diane Lane's character and they have wonderful times at the beach, blah...blah...blah....BLAH. Ok, at this point (without giving away what happens) let me start to give my two cents - this movie is very formulaic and kind of boring. The character development just doesn't seem developed enough despite being well-acted and the plot is too simplistic. The movie is 1.5 hours, yet I think you can find better things to do with your time than to watch this movie. The overall messages conveyed from the movie are not very pro-marriage nor do they seem to accurately convey that love is committed in good times and bad, not just when you have butterflies in your stomach and are constantly day-dreaming about your lover. So my last words on this movie? Skip it.

The Scarlet Pimpernel Review

Due to my interest in Zorro, I noticed that Netflix recommended "The Scarlet Pimpernel" movie to me, so I added it to my queue and this weekend actually got around to watching it. Although the movie is about 2.5 hours, I found that I enjoyed the story and that the acting wasn't terrible. I think Jane Seymour is an excellent actress, and all in all, I thought this movie was pretty good. Basically the story is about an Englishman who is trying to save people from death during the French Revolution (I think). To do that, he (the Scarlet Pimpernel) must come up with a dual lifestyle much like Zorro, Batman or Superman in order to continue his job while remaining unsuspicious. To me this movie came off as a cross between "Pride and Prejudice" and "The Mask of Zorro". The first movie I'm not particularly fond of, while I love the Zorro movies. This movie had enough of the Zorro-like theme to keep my interest, but it had enough romance and fancy dancing to keep Chrystal's interest. So to sum it up - great movie. Out of 5 stars this movie wins a solid 4 in my book.

Vital Signs Review

I caught this movie on TV and as I started watching it, quickly got pulled into the whole story. While not perfect, and not very much like the comedy "Scrubs", it still seemed to be a fun movie with believable acting in my opinion. Basically the story follows several med students as they compete to be the most promising student in med school and prove to their supervisor doctor that they are the most qualified to practice. Although this sounds somewhat boring, I found it entertaining and watchable. I've never actually been a practicing medical student, so that needs to be weighed in light of all that, but I think it was accurate enough that it didn't have me scoffing about the unbelievability of the whole storyline. It did come off a little like a soap opera, but it seemed to work in my opinion. Definitely don't rent this movie if you are looking for unpredictable endings or a movie that goes in new directions, but if you are content to have a semi-believable medical story - you may just enjoy "Vital Signs". Also, I dock this movie several points due to some inappropriate love scenes.

2 Fast 2 Furious Review

After watching the 4th movie in this series, I decided to go back and watch the in-between sequels that Hollywood has produced and see if they were worthy additions to the "Fast and the Furious" movie series. I really like the first one, and the 4th movie I consider one of the better sequels I have seen, so I gave the 2nd movie a shot. I have to say honestly that I thought this movie lacked some ingredients of the 4th. I don't know if it was the exclusion of Vin Diesel or just a storyline that seemed a little less involving and more far-fetched, but something just didn't deliver in this movie. The main actress in this movie was also in the movie "Hitch" so I recognized her from that. Paul Walker is back and I'm glad that he agreed to come back for this one, because I think his character is a pretty important part to the whole "Fast and the Furious" series. Although this movie had its good moments, it just didn't live up to how well the 4th in the series executed (in my opinion), and could easily have been skipped over in my opinion. Still, if you like fast car movies and want to see some, but not all, of the ingredients from the first movie, you may want to check this movie out. I would give it one out of two thumbs up.

State of Play

This movie caught my eye, and I decided to throw it onto the queue and see how it delivers. Surprise, surprise! I thought it was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. First of all, the acting is phenomenal. Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, and Rachel McAdams all do exceptional at drawing you into an interesting story. Second of all, the story itself isn't too predictable. I like the fact that this movie kept me guessing all the way to the very end. Even when I thought I had figured it out, I learned new information until the credits rolled. Thirdly, this movie wrapped the mystery all up without feeling overly cute and predictable. It was an intelligent drama with a great storyline, and wonderful delivery. I highly recommend this movie, "State of Play".

The OC: Season 3, 4

I, Chrystal, was sick almost all of September. During this time, I was grateful for our many channels and embarrassed to admit hours of reluctantly watching SOAP network (what else is on during the day). Then I have to admit that I am hooked on season 3 of The OC. I think this show is a modern spin on Beverly Hills 90210. The show focuses on 4 designer clad teens and their parents. The main story line is about Ryan Atwood, a rough high school student from Chino, CA., that gets adopted by Sandy Cohen, an affluent Attorney General. Ryan has to adapt to his new environment and learn to mesh with the rich kids to make the most of the opportunity. Season 3 ended with the death of one of the main characters. Season 4 started with the young adults still processing the grief from losing a friend, but moving forward with their lives pursuing jobs and college. I love the witty humor between the characters and the great acting!

The Soloist Review

Paul's Review:

I just got this movie from Netflix and decided to see it hoping for a inspiring true story from two noteworthy actors. Before I go into it any further though, I have to vent a little. One thing that bothers me (quite a bit actually) is when you watch 30 TV ads for a movie that frame the movie in such a light that you come expecting a completely different movie than the movie delivers. I think the people who put the ads together for "The Soloist" did such a thing. The ads made it look quite a bit different and to come expecting a certain type of movie, when in reality the movie is very different than the previews lead you to believe. Overall I like both the actors Robert Downey Jr, and Jamie Fox, however the script and story (at least in the movie) left me disappointed. I haven't read the book so I refrain from commenting at all on that. Although there was talent in the acting, it didn't keep the movie from feeling slow and ultimately leaving you more down than you expected to be. Like I was telling Chrystal, there are two types of stories 1. the true stories that are very real, and 2. the fictionalized fairy tales told in a real life setting. I realize that is a very broad generalization but let me finish.... This movie definitely fits the first category a lot more than the second. If you go into the movie expecting realism instead of completely inspirational moments, you may like it. Otherwise, save your time and money and leave this movie alone.


Chrystal's Review:


Paul told me about this movie and I was intrigued by the plot because it is a true story and involves music. About 10 minutes into this movie, I realized that the plot was moving was very slowly. Sadly, I actually fell asleep once or twice, but was able to catch up to the story. I guess it would be unrealistic to show a relationship with a reporter and mentally disturbed homeless man happening quickly, so art was imitating real life. I suppose real life is not an action thriller most of the time. The movie focuses on what we learn when a selfish divorced reporter (Robert Downey, Jr.) "puts himself out there" and befriends a mentally ill homeless man (Jamie Fox). The movie does an amazing job highlighting that all relationships take work and commitment. I love how the movie points out that friendship is demonstrated not only in words or good intentions, but faithful action. The Bible says, "Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is really faithful." Proverbs 20:6. We also know that our Savior, Jesus, was called a "Friend of Sinners." The reporter in this story takes a lot of personal risks to befriend the homeless man; someone on the outskirts of society. So, I loved the acting and some of the key moments, but too slow to keep my interest or watch again.

Fast and the Furious review

OK, first of all let me start out by saying that I haven't seen all the Fast and the Furious movies. I only watched the first one all the way through, and thought it was entertaining - but never got around to watching and reviewing the 2nd and 3rd movie. From what I heard/read they didn't seem to really live up to the first movie, and frankly I never saw the need to take the time to watch them. When I heard that the 4th movie of the series was going to bring back all the original cast, I thought it would be worth checking out - and to be honest - I'm very glad that I did. Vin Diesel is back and so is Paul Walker. All the cast is pretty much back from the original movie, and guess what? The plot is decent as well. My expectations were pretty low for this movie, but I walked away pleasantly surprised at how well the story fit together. You could almost consider this movie the "true sequel" to the first movie. The plot was semi-believable (how believable do you expect from this series?), the cars were fast, the action was fun to watch and the ending was very well put together. I won't give it away, but I thought the way this movie wrapped itself up was the best I have seen since I watched "The Bourne Ultimatum". I really liked this movie, and if you enjoyed the original movie at all, I think you should definitely check out this one. Chrystal really enjoyed it as well, so I'm giving it two thumbs up.

Taken Review

Are you ready for an andrenaline kick? Taken may be the ticket for you. Basically the story involves Liam Neeson as a retired army guy that can really enforce security and protect important people, and his daughter. In the movie, he is divorced and really loves his daughter but doesn't get a lot of time to see her and spend with her. She is a typical 17 year old who wants to live it up and travel all over, while he is more cautious and protective as her dad. She ends up taking a trip overseas and doesn't tell him the whole story which opens the door for her to get kidnapped by some guys intent on selling her into the sex-trade market. This movie was really fast paced, and I felt developed enough of the characters that you really felt for Liam's character and sympathized with his love for his daughter. Good acting, and excellent action scenes make this movie fun to watch as well as intense. If you like movies that keep the action coming or TV shows like "24", you most likely will enjoy "Taken". I recommend it.

Innerspace Review

A classic movie directed by Steven Spielberg from the 80s. Innerspace is the story about a pilot that goes on a mission to be miniturized and injected into a bunny rabbit. However, things get dicey, and instead of being injected into a rabbit, the pilot (played by Dennis Quaid) is injected into a character played by Martin Short. Although this movie is classified as a comedy, I didn't find it that funny. Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan both play in this movie, and I thought that Martin Short did the physical comedy parts very well. However, it almost appeared that this movie's target audience may have been under my age. It is cute and relies on a lot of physically comedic scenarios to try to keep the laughs coming, and I found it OK - but not great as far a comedies go. I think my favorite Martin Short comedy still has to be "The Three Amigos". I believe that movie came out in the 80s as well. Of course one reason I may consider "The Three Amigos" a better movie was that my first watching of it was when I was quite a bit younger. Some movies leave a lasting good impression on you when you are young, but don't seem as impressive when you rewatch them several years later. 1 thumb up.

Conspiracy Theory review

I caught this movie on TV a few weeks ago, and actually was able to watch the whole thing through finally. I know my siblings have enjoyed this movie, but I had never gotten around to actually watching it. I liked this movie about Mel Gibson being a paranoid oddball who loves Julia Roberts character and confides in her what his theories are. The acting is well-done, and the movie has bits of humor sprinkled throughout with intense action scenes to make a pretty well-balanced movie to watch. One unique thing about this movie that I have to add, is that it actually motivated me to find out more about the classic book "The Catcher and the Rye". This book has a significant part in the movie, and made me want to find out more about the plot that surrounded it. Movies that actually pique your curiousity in reading the classics don't come around all the time - so that caused my evaluation of this movie to be a little higher than average. Good suspense, decent comedy parts, and an intriguing story make for a good movie in my opinion. 1.5 thumbs out of 2.

Lars and the Real Girl review

This is one of those quirky yet recommended movies that came out recently. I had heard some good things about the overall message and added it to my Netflix queue. I'm sorry to say I could not finish the movie. The message may be really good in the ending, yet I just couldn't bring myself to finish it in this slow-moving drama about a man who basically treats a life-size doll as his best friend. I think the acting was pretty well done, I just struggled to relate and stay drawn into the storyline due to the oddity of the whole plot. Sorry Lars, I lost my patience with you. As I watched Lars take his doll to the doctor, and to get a haircut, as well as to a holiday party, my mind began pondering the 1.5 hours I will never regain as I sat watching this movie. Not a very fast-moving or typical movie, yet if you have the patience, you may find it very rewarding. I didn't have the patience so therefore I give "Lars and the Real Girl", 1/2 thumb up out of two. Sorry Lars, I never did find out if he ended up going out with a real girl. Oh well.

Escape From Alcatraz

A classic Clint Eastwood prison movie. I just watched this movie and grew very fascinated with the Alcatraz prison as a result. I thought the acting performances were top-notch (what more can you ask from Clint Eastwood?) and the story was compelling enough to really draw you in. Basically Clint Eastwood plays a character that was sent to the Alcatraz prison due to poor behavior at other prisons. Alcatraz was known for being a maximum security prison with little hope of ever escaping successfully. Clint Eastwood plays the cool and collected prison inmate who won't let other prisoners take advantage of him, yet earns the respect of many within the prison. He slowly forms a plan to escape and I'll leave the rest for you to watch. Overall I thought this was a very well done prison movie, that kept me engaged, made me curious about other Alcatraz movies (there were many made in Hollywood), and wrapped up the story in a well-done way. Another thing I liked about this movie was that it seemed to show the poor conditions and sad states of prisons without becoming overly depressing and dark. I felt the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" was a little too dark and depressing. "Escape from Alcatraz" seems to avoid that problem while still giving you a feeling of realism from a maximum security prison movie. Two thumbs up in my opinion.

Fireproof Review

Chrystal and I rented this movie after hearing many positive reviews of the message and presentation of this movie. We were not disappointed. In this movie, Kirk Cameron is a fireman who doesn't really have a good marriage and heading down the road to divorce. As he talks to his parents, he decides to take the challenge of his dad, who gives him a "love dare" to practice learning how to love and care for his wife. This begins to work some great changes in his life as well as his wife's. We weren't expecting too much out of this movie because we knew that the production costs were probably a lot less than many hollywood movies - yet Kirk Cameron did a great job in his role and overall I believe the movie really delivers. Marriage isn't always a walk in the park as many romantic comedies portray. Times do become tough, and trials can threaten to disrupt a marriage. Yet this movie I believe accurately shows that with God's help - a marriage can be healed and can glorify God. Two thumbs up for a great movie with a great message!

Vanilla Sky Review

Pure genius. I saw this movie after taping it off of TV, and have rewatched parts of it almost 6 times! Now granted I saw the edited for TV version, and I can't endorse everything about this movie, yet the acting, the soundtrack, and the storyline get an exceptional rating in my opinion. Tom Cruise is a rich young man who has a lot of money and everything he ever wanted in life. However, due to some friendships in his life, and some bad choices, his life is changed forever. I won't say much more than that, but I loved the deeper meanings in this movie. Don't watch this movie expecting a chic flick, because you probably will be very disappointed, however - if you like movies that make you think about life - you will probably enjoy "Vanilla Sky" very, very much. Again - the acting is phonemenal, and the soundtrack was superb. I'm a big fan of directors that can match a good story with great songs. "Vanilla Sky" definitely does that with unexpected twists and quotes that will leave you thinking you need to rewatch this movie to really "get it". Two thumbs up!

Tropic Thunder Review

This movie is getting a lot of press. So I decided to rent it and see how funny it really was. Ultimately, I came away feeling like it was big let down. Now I know a lot of people won't agree with me, but this was one movie that it seemed the previews have almost given away the most funny scenes. Overall the humor was just comprised of actors cussing up a storm and yelling at each other, overcoming drug addictions and just plain being stupid. Some movies are very good at being so stupid that they are funny. I didn't feel that way for Tropic Thunder. It was amusing seeing Matthew McConaughey and Tom Cruise in this movie, yet they failed to save a movie that seemed too stupid to really be worth a rental. Granted, there aren't too many movies that actually spoof a war movie, yet this one could have been much funnier in my opinion - and ended up being overtly offensive for too few laughs. Not recommended in my opinion.