Walking Tall Review

I didn't rent this movie, but saw that it was on one of my cable channels and thought I would DVR it and see how it was. Surprisingly I liked it! Granted it is a typical movie where the good guy comes in and cleans house, but overall I found it pretty enjoyable and thought the acting was a lot better than I expected. "The Rock" (from WWF) is the main character as an ex-military guy that returns home from the service and finds that his town is majorly corrupted by drugs and gambling thanks to a rich guy that is bent on making money and completely corrupting the town. After they try to be friends, "The Rock" realizes that friendship isn't going to happen between the casino owner and himself and decides it is time to stand up to corruption and clean his little town up. If you have ever seen the movie Road House (which I don't recommend unless edited on TV), you may be surprised to how similar the movie plots and characters are to each another. I was really amazed to see scenes that were so similar to Road House it almost could pass as a 2004 remake of it (without Patrick Swayze). All in all though, this movie is a triumphant story of how good characters can help clean up the bad influences of evil men. Don't expect an unpredictable story, but overall expect a redemptive one. Recommended.

Major League Review

Interesting... some movies I have such high hopes for end up dismal wastes of time for me. The movie on the right is one example. To be honest, I only could stand watching this movie for 1 hour (half of the length) before I just decided to turn it off as too stupid and pointless to continue. That may sound surprising coming from a guy who loved The Naked Gun movie, but this movie really disappointed me. Maybe it is due to the fact that I'm not into baseball that much. Or just found that a bunch of strange players acting stupid and swearing like sailors was just not hilarious... I'm not sure. Part of the movie is a dead serious storyline of one of the players trying to prevent his ex-wife (whom he still loves) from remarrying someone. You would expect this part to be kind of cheesy and have some funny lines mixed in as he tries to convince his wife not to remarry - but NO - the part was almost a drama in the midst of a weird comedy. I thought they should have made the whole movie crazy or just delete the subplot of the player trying to win his wife back - it just didn't fit into the movie framework (even though it was a noble thing to try). Plus this movie seemed to poke fun of Christianity in general. Let me explain.... there is one player who practices the Voodoo religion throughout the movie (including burning incense candles), and another player who almost prides himself of not being a "heathen" and praying to God rather than idols. Both the players are taking a dangerous airplane ride in stormy weather, and the Voodoo practicer is so scarred he makes the sign of the cross for safety. The "so-called" Christian player notices that, and looking above his porno magazine says something to the effect of "I saw that... don't think you can be fooling Him [referring to God] up there. He [again referring to God] knows everything." This line was obviously a total shot at hypocrisy in the Christian church and sadly this sort of thing exists. It wasn't funny to me because it didn't really convey the message that the Christian will be held accountable before God for committing adultry in his heart from reading a dirty magazine as much as the voodoo worshiper will be held accountable for worshipping idols. It also failed to show a Christian that really has a personal relationship with Christ and has turned from his sins (whether they are porno magazines or idolatry). It just made all Christians look like hypocrites. Sin is sin in God's eyes. Unfortunately, movies like this just seem to mock at the problems of hypocrisy without truly showing how stupid other sins are, or showing a redemptive way through faith in Christ how a person can be transformed and stop sinning. Due to messages like these - I have to say Major League is still in the minors in my book.

Three Men and a Baby Review

A classic piece of 80s material yet again. I really am a big fan of the The Three Amigos which came out around the same time as this movie, yet I hadn't seen this one even though quite a stir was made over it when it came out. I thought it was a cute movie, but not very laugh-out-loud funny. Mainly it gives an accurate picture of how total bachelors would babysit should they be stuck with the job of doing so. There wasn't too much to this movie other than showing the tender side of three guys that are living the party lifestyle. I would have to say Tom Sellect was probably the best in the movie. Steve Guttenberg seemed to have a "B" grade performance, and Ted Danson doesn't really get involved with the movie until it is half-way over. However, overall the movie is cute and has its funny moments. Whoever wrote it decided to put a subplot line in of the baby getting mixed up with drug dealers, and while it added some content to the movie, it really seemed more like filler to make the movie longer more than really contributing to the story. Also, the ending was kind of strange. I won't give it away, in case anyone HASN'T seen this movie yet (after 20 years), but I thought the living arrangement of the end was just plain weird. But then again, this movie isn't meant to be taken completely literally. For what it sets out to do, I would say it succeeds.

Deja Vu Review (it rhymes!)

I rented this movie after hearing it was pretty good from a friend of mine. I believe my friend was right. This was a little bit of a lighter sci-fi movie than Terminator or Blade Runner regarding time travel. Denzel Washington is an investigator for some law enforcement agency and has to investigate a tragic terrorist act that happened when someone set a bomb off a boat full of people. As he continues to investigate, he finds out that there are some people who have tapped into time travel and can recreate events after they happened with video from all angles. This - as you can imagine - makes solving crimes much easier and leads Denzel Washington to believe that he may be able to change history by observing the past. Of course everyone's dream is to do this, so it makes for an interesting story that one of the victims of the terrorist, happens to be an attractive girl that Denzel begins to fall for as he learns more about her. I won't give you anymore than that, but it turns out it is a fun flick that has its share of suspenseful moments. Maybe not as deep as Blade Runner or Stranger Than Fiction, but still worth the time to finish. Good action/sci-fi movie as long as you don't try to cross-check every detail of the story for accuracy.

Afterwards Music Review by Collective Soul

I decided to switch gears and mention a new CD that just came out that is noteworthy and well done. The Afterwards CD by Collective Soul is a CD that is worth buying. The music isn't poppy, yet it is interesting to listen to as well as fun. I ended up spotting it on Itunes (due to liking some of their previous work), and as I sampled some of their tracks I decided to buy one. Then I sampled some more of the tracks on this album and decided the whole album sounded very well done and was worth a purchase - so I completed the entire album on iTunes and am looking forward to listening to it on the commute into work. You may not like the sound, but I encourage you to at least try the samples on iTunes and see if it is a sound you may like. I look forward to listening to it over and over as I enjoy listening to the creative talent of these guys.

Blade Runner Review

Another movie you may have heard about that is pretty dated yet hailed as a classic in the science fiction realm. Harrison Ford plays in this movie about cops of the future that have to discern whether robots (who look identical to humans yet can not feel emotions) have invaded earth (illegally). Ford played his part well and reminded me of Hans Solo without as much sarcasm and wisecracks. Throughout the movie, the police officers usually test people to discern if they are robots by using a machine that watches their eyes, and then asking them several questions that would provoke an emotional response in a normal human. The robots obviously answer logically but not emotionally and that tips the police off to their identity. Although dated, it was definitely an interesting movie to watch and very well acted. It is kind of dark as the robots get murderous (similar to the Terminator movies), but not so much that the basic plot is lost in the action and violence. Unfortunately, Ridley Scott who directed this movie (also directed Gladiator), put a scene in this movie that was entirely inappropriate and therefore I don't recommend anyone watch this unless they are watching a TV edited version. It raised some interesting questions about artificial life yet the indecent scene just ruins the movie (in my opinion). Not recommend unless edited.

Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind review

After hearing about this movie with Jim Carrey I decided to see what it was all about. It was a very interesting, artistic movie that I think many people may like but others just won't get it. Jim Carrey has asked to have his entire memory erased of this one girlfriend he has had in his life. As the professionals are erasing his memory, he realizes that he really doesn't want to lose all traces of memory of her, and begins to try to store memories of her in different parts of his mind that weren't originally connected with memories of her. Elijah Wood (affectionately remembered as Frodo from Lord of the Rings) and Kirsten Dunst (MJ from Spiderman) are also in this movie. While slightly confusing - the movie still seems to make sense when it is all over. Don't watch this movie expecting a normal movie watching experience. It is very artistic, and kind of strange. Some people may welcome a movie that doesn't fit the normal experience, and others may walk away wondering why they just spent over an hour trying to make sense of a movie like this. I felt a little like watching a very artistic writer/director paint a unique movie style and found it intriguing, but not good enough to re-watch.

Terminator 3 Review

I have a confession that I haven't watched the very first Terminator movie, but I have at least seen Terminator 2. Although not my favorite movie of all time, it was interesting to watch Arnold protect the young boy and cool to the see the interesting effects. I decided to see what this one was all about, and see if it lives up to at least Terminator 2 with how well done it was. I was really impressed with the acting by Clair Danes and Arnold in this movie. This was a movie that Arnold really shines in. I was also impressed with how in shape he was in this movie. He hardly looks a day older from when Terminator 2 came out (about 14 years ago). Very impressive for a man of his age. Anyway, Terminator movies are kind of strange because although they try to spin them as action movies, they almost make them mild horror movies. This movie was no exception - lots of killing, lots of explosions and a lot of cool robots battles. In one sense, this movie was similar to Transformers. But in my opinion, Transformers was so much better. Perhaps it was lighter. Maybe because Transformers didn't take itself so seriously. I'm not sure- but Terminator 3 didn't disappoint. More of the same type of stuff as Terminator 2, but with newer more explosive special effects, and some great acting by Clair Danes and the young man (not to mention Arnold). Good high-budget special-effects action movie, but not a relaxing movie to watch. The ending also made plenty of room for a Terminator 4 movie. Decent movie, but not a must see unless you love the Terminator series.

GoldenEye Review

Another James Bond I decided to try. This was one of Pierce Brosnan's first movies as the new James Bond. To me, this movie seemed kind of LONG! There were some cool gadgets, and some action-packed parts, not to mention some glamorous women and ultra-nice cars, but the plot was too thin. There wasn't enough character development of James Bond to really like his character that much. I don't know - maybe I'm used to Daniel Craig in the latest James Bond and liked the amount of emotional attachment he had toward his girlfriend vs. Pierce's portrayal of 007. This movie was over two hours, and there were definite parts that you wondered why they had to add it to the movie. All in all, I don't think it was edited that well, and even though the special effects were well done, the whole plot leaves something to be desired. I recommend skipping this one. "Casino Royale" seemed much better to me for a different look at James Bond. One thumb up and one thumb down on this one.

Prayer - Does it Make Any Difference? Review

Most of what I post on this blog is movie reviews, but I just read a book that I highly recommend and thought I would share my thoughts on it. The book is by the author Phillip Yancey and is all about prayer. I have read many, many books on prayer and most of the books would fall into the motivational category as the authors encourage through using Scripture and testimonies the practice of prayer to God. Phillip Yancey takes a different approach... he humbly acknowledges that he isn't an expert and honestly invites us to ask some challenging questions about how prayer really works. What struck me so much about this book was its deep honesty. Why doesn't prayer work all the time? Does God still do miracles? If God knows everything and knows all we need, why do we still have to ask Him? I really enjoyed this book because I think, deep down, I ask myself many of the same questions. It is really easy to say "just believe in prayer and do it" but the questions sometimes still linger. God never says we can't be honest (from my understanding of the Bible) so to hear how Phillip Yancey processes these questions and the way He reconciles them with what the Bible teaches was inspiring to read - AND also motivating. I do believe in prayer and I believe that God does listen to us and answers our prayer when prayed in faith and love, and I think this book offered some well thought-out encouraging answers to the questions of many people who claim to believe in the power of prayer. Well worth your time to read.

Family Ties Review

One of the reasons my posts have been less, is that I have been pretty busy watching a classic sitcom from the 80s - Family Ties. I used to watch this show growing up and love remembering the stories of Alex, Malory, and Jennifer and their hippy parents. This show was not only funny, it also really showed a family that cared for one another and were willing to talk out tough contemporary issues. That is the beauty of this show in my humble opinion. It wasn't all about making fun of others, and talking about sex and nothing but sex (as some other sitcoms seem to dwell on). This show was about a family that loved one another and were willing to put differences aside and care for one another. It was a sitcom with a heart, and people obviously loved it by the fact that it went on for about 8 seasons (if I'm not mistaken). Although Michael J. Fox is pretty much the star of this show, the entire family were well-casted, and to me I find the episodes fun (not off-color for the most part), challenging and nostalgic as I remember when TV used to have much more substance and scripts used to be witty not just stupid and inappropriate. I recommend this show for a refreshing look at what the American sitcom used to be all about.

Hot Shots Part 2 Review

OK, maybe it is time for another type of comedy. I just keep getting this wacky ones with sight gags and spoofs of famous movies hoping for something as original as the Naked Gun. I watched the first Hot Shots and found it pretty funny. It was great to have Charlie Sheen poking fun of the Maverick character in Top Gun. Maybe it is just because I think Top Gun was to overdone and too stereotypical of an action movie where the guys never flinch in the face of danger. For instance, beach volleyball with a bunch of tanned Navy guys? PLEASE!!!! I'd rather skip that scene. More of Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise than I care to see. Anyway this movie on the right seems to make fun of Rambo and Rambo 2 almost the whole way through. For that I could see humor, but it just wasn't that funny. As I said above, maybe this type of comedy is starting to get old for me. At the right time I may have found it funnier, but when I watched this one, I barely laughed and found the story so stupid it wasn't funny. Lloyd Bridges can be funny, but in this one he was just plain dumb and his lines were lame. I thought the original Hot Shots movie was funnier. 2 stars out of 5 for this one. Skip it.

The Naked Gun 33 1/3

The final movie in the series, and I will say I found this one funnier than the 2nd one. It was interesting because it did star Anna Nicole Smith who has been in the news so much in the past, and of course O.J. Simpson is back again. Overall there were definitely parts in this that seemed like filler, but the academy awards show seemed to be the funniest part for me. There were some obvious movie spoofs, but all-in-all I found I laughed enough in it to not make it a complete waste of time (unlike the 2nd one). Again they seem to up the off-color humor which is unfortunate, but it did have its hilarious moments. Not the worst out there, but definitely not the funniest either. I probably wouldn't rent this one again, but I did find it the better of the two sequels they made in this series. If you want to save some time, skip straight to this one after renting the 1st one if you want to see what the series is about.

The Naked Gun 2.5 review

Well I said I would rent this, and rent this I did! What a disappointment. After watching the first one, I was expecting more of the same, and I guess it was - but the jokes just seemed to fall flat much more in this sequel. It had maybe two parts in the whole movie where I chuckled out loud. That isn't much compared to the first movie where I was almost crying it was that funny. Maybe because I was expecting more of the sight gags, and the humor seemed to be more off-color which didn't strike me as funny at all. For instance, there is an audience at this one show, that is falling asleep and they want to get their attention to warn everyone of a possible danger, so they decide to read sensual stories to get everyone perked up! Come on people, you can do better than that for humor. Sorry this was a Naked Gun movie that struck out in my opinion. You are better off re-watching the first - it is 10 times better.

Serpico Review

I decided to rent the classic 70s movie Serpico to see why it is hailed as one of the greatest movies about the police force (or something like that). I found it interesting (not very action packed) and kind of sad. It is based on a true story of a guy that wants to do the right thing (not take bribes and look the other way), and who loved being a plain clothes police officer. However, soon the other guys on the force decide they don't like what someone like Serpico does to their conscience. I liked what Serpico stood for, but I didn't like how he handled the conflict he dealt with. As the movie progresses, Serpico becomes very cynical and consumed with how much corruption seems to triumph. It ends up making him depressed and costing him his relationship with his girlfriend (who wanted to move on from talking about how corrupt things were). All in all, it was an interesting story, but I believe Serpico should have done something this movie fails to portray. Find good friends, keep living with integrity, depend on Christ for salvation, and don't underestimate the justice of the final judgement in life. Even though things may look bad, everyone will one day give an account before God. That is something to take comfort in.

Stand By Me Review

What the heck is all the hoop-la about this movie for? I had heard so many shining reviews, and was looking forward to a great story about some young boys with some moving emotional parts where the song "Stand By Me" plays resounding in the background. Instead I ended up watching a movie that was sad, and depressing about 4 childhood friends that swear like sailors even though they aren't even 14 years old, and that battle an evil Keifer Sutherland so that he'll leave them alone. Keifer Sutherland is no Jack Bauer in this movie. He is an immature dangerous teenager that thinks he is above the law and can do anything he wants to. Jack Bauer occasionally thinks he is above the law to protect others, but he isn't the punk character he portrays in this movie. Good thing, or 24 would probably have died out in the first season!!! On top of that, there isn't even one main part where the song "Stand By Me" is played in a moving manner!! Sorry, I'm gradually learning that when the critics say "Two thumbs up" you are better off skipping the movie, because most likely it is a sad, depressing movie that doesn't fit the normal encouraging flick that everyone loves but it deemed "artistic and different". They didn't quite say that about this movie, but I would definitely watch one of Rob Reiner's better movies like "The Princess Bride" or "A Few Good Men". Those seem much better directed and a heck of a lot more fun to watch.

Transformers Review

I went to the theaters for this one. I grew up with GI Joe and Transformers in the 80s, so I was curious what they did in the remake! Oh MY GOODNESS, this is one well-made movie!! The special effects are second to none, and I can honestly say I don't think I've seen effects this good since the Matrix movies came out. The story line is interesting, the effects are mind-blowing, and the music is rocking! This is a great summer blockbuster that is worth watching and very exciting for an action-adventure. Well done by Michael Bay.

Highly recommended if you have any interest in cool robots or remember the 80s toys at all. Well actually this is highly recommended regardless of your interests. Well done!

The Naked Gun Review

I know this movie has been around for a while, but I decided to rent it and see why they made 3 movies in this series. I can honestly say after watching the first one, I definitely want to watch the 2nd and 3rd movies - I was laughing so hard in this movie I was crying. A lot of the humor is sight gags, or just plain stupidity, but whatever they used, it worked very well in this movie to make a very funny result. I have also watched the Airplane I and Airplane II movies, and I was expecting this movie to be more of the same. However, having seen them both now, I think this movie is quite a bit better than the Airplane movies. I certainly laughed more, and even replayed a few scenes it was that good. I don't recall ever doing that with the Airplane movies. One of my favorite parts in this movie was the way the bad guy goes out!!! I found it laugh-out-loud hilarious the way the bad guy meets his end! The only drawback of this movie was some of the sex humor used throughout. Overall, the movie is very funny, but I wish they didn't have to resort to off-color humor. I still plan to watch the 2nd and 3rd movies as well.

Meet Joe Black Review

Ok, this movie was on TV and I have to admit it drew me in even though my wife and I started watching it about 1/3rd into the movie. It was actually better than I expected. I had seen some previews for it, and never really was interested enough to rent it, but I thought it had some great acting, great scripting and overall was a good movie with a memorable ending. What I liked so much about it was the deeper spiritual content that was found in this movie. Brad Pitt was supposed to be death personified, and some of the characters wouldn't even give him the time of day. They had a hostile approach to his character and found it annoying that Anthony Hopkins would be so attentive to his schedule and likes/dislikes. That to me is a pretty accurate picture of how people in our society feel about death. They don't want to think about it, they don't want to acknowledge that they will one day have an appointment with death, and they ignore it as much as possible even though death is inevitable in all of us. This movie was definitely geared toward the romantic side of things, but I found it entertaining enough to finish the 2/3rd I watched. Recommended for a creative look at the response of people toward death.

Fearless Review

A great martial arts movie if you are prepared for some great fight sequences with some good morals in the fighters. Jet Li played a lengendary fighter who took revenge without knowing all the facts. After he brutally killed someone, he realizes that revenge just means more blood and violence (which turns into an endless cycle). Jet Li played the character very well, and this movie showed true sportmanship in fighting and martial arts. It wasn't only fight scenes either. There is some good character development and even a touch of romance. Not as deep as a drama such as Stranger than Fiction, but still a good movie with a good moral, no bad language, and excellent acting. Recommended if you like martial arts movies.