War Dogs from a Teenage Perspective : A Review of Max

I like dogs. I also really like working dogs.  The fact that people can train them to do important work always amazes me and enjoy seeing how loyal they do their jobs.

With that in mind, I decided to rent Max which is the fictional story of a German Shepherd that helped Army troups in war zones.  Max was a loyal dog who did his job well, but there were complications involving people to this story and Max is narrowly saved from death.

I initially rented this movie for my family.  However my kids were a bit young for the subject matter of this PG rated movie.  There are definitely complicated themes in this movie, and young children will probably not understand all that is going on.

Acting in this movie was well done. I believe the target audience might be teenagers and dog lovers.  There is definitely a teenage vibe coming from this movie as far as how to relate to other family members and deal with grief and distant parental relationships.  The other thing about this movie is that it is fiction.   I realize that the old show "Rin-Tin-Tin" was also fiction, but true stories have a little more impact I think.  I have also viewed the movie Megan Leavey which is another German Shepherd army dog movie.  That one was even less of a family movie, but both of them delivered in showing the value of trained working dogs in a war.   I liked them both.   I liked Max, but I also would have preferred A. either more true tales of working war dogs, or B. more of a kid-friendly look at war dogs and less teenage drama. 

Max was a good movie.  It showed the challenges of a war dog even showing the effect of PTSD on animals.  Don't expect mind-blowing plot points or deep philosophical points in Max and you will probably enjoy it quite a bit.  It shows the value of war dogs, and in some ways I enjoyed it more than the recent movie Megan Leavey.   Good movie and 3.5 stars out of 5. 

When Disney Tries Science Fiction Stories - Tomorrowland Review

Ok this movie didn't great reviews, but sometimes the reviews are wrong.  I rented Tomorrowland starring Hugh Laurie (from House), also starring George Clooney and someone who also plays in it is singer/actor Tim McGraw.    This starts out kind of interesting - but unfortunately the negative reviews are kind of true.  The main character - Casey Newton (played by Britt Robertson)  is a typical teenage girl and unfortunately they don't make her endearing AT ALL. She is annoying and never really grows on you as worth rooting for in this movie.  Tomorrowland has potential - but it is one of those movies where tight plot lines and good characters make or break the movie.  Unfortunately the movie plots kind of break the movie and the plot lines really never deliver the movie enough to get a high score.  Casey Newton screams most of the movie, and as the viewer tries to understand what exactly is happening, you never really feel for the characters. George Clooney's character is bossed around constantly and you feel like he never got off the ground.  Although he may have had a chance to develop as a younger version of himself, that story is left alone so that other less important pieces of the story can be developed.  Unfortunately the writers of Tomorrowland try to add in some mysterious pieces that come off like Terminator 2, yet still don't deliver as effectively as the characters in Terminator 2.   Sadly this is a science fiction movie that tries to show you the hopeful future, but has been done much better in other movies.  I wanted to like this Disney movie starring George Clooney and Tim McGraw - but I just couldn't.  So,  how could this scifi movie been much better and warranted a second watch?   Here are my recommendations:

1. Make Casey Newton scream and whine 75% less.  Yeah I realize teenage girls may accurately show the behavior of Casey - it STILL doesn't make a great movie watching her behave that way. It is annoying and disrespectful.

2. Make George Clooney have a more major role in the movie - show his younger self more in the movie, and develop an actual story rather than letting Casey's story overtake any sort of character development he may have.

3. Keep the message of hope, but make it build-up to the message much more throughout the whole movie.  Maybe remove some characters so the audience can be invested in the story and really see where it is developing to.  Instead we are left with a bunch of side characters all trying to make a hodge-podge of a plot into a semi-hopeful ending.    Not well executed. 

4. Never underestimate the power of a good screen writer.  I think this movie tried to do things well, but it just failed in many departments.  The special effects were nicely done, but people long for a good story.  Too many directors seem to think that special effects can make/break the movie.  They can't.   A good story is enhanced by them, but even a poorly produced movie has a chance if it is told well with good writing. 

Good science fiction is hard to pull off and rarely ever wins awards.  I wanted to like the movie Tomorrowland but unfortunately it wasn't one I would watch over again.   This one you may want to skip.  One thumb up for encouraging ending, and one thumb down for execution. 

Justice League - Did it Do Justice?

I heard reviews of this movie and decided to see what it was like.  I wanted to like it.  I think DC Comics heros have great potential to become some great movies (as Batman movies have already proved),  but yet this one just wasn't one I would re-watch and return to. 

First - a bit about the plot.  The plot is that Superman is dead (watch Superman vs. Batman to find out why that is), and it seems that Batman and Wonderwoman are the two main characters trying to fill in for him.  I do think that both Ben Afflect and Gal Gadot did great with the material they were given.  The plot is one bad guy (forget his name) is trying to get 3 powerful pieces so that he can get superpowers (who would have thought?) and take over the world.  The Justice League becomes aware of this and realizes he must be stopped before the world is no more. However, in order to stop this insane bad guy, they most rely on the strengths of all of the league characters to be successful.

Now that you know the overall plot, let me go into the 3 new characters : The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg.  Out of these 3 characters,  I think Aquaman has the best potential for a spin-off movie, and after watching a recent movie in the theaters see that a stand-alone movie of him is coming out soon.  Cyborg seems confused in this movie - either that or his introduction wasn't very well done.  The Flash in my opinion probably shouldn't have been included or his character and dialog should have been re-written.  His humor is juvenile and stupid.  His dialog is lame.  He comes off as annoying and really distracts from the story in my opinion.   Now to be fair,  maybe that is how his character is in the comic book stories, but in this story it just sort of distracted from the true character development of the others.   I like good superhero movies where the characters are good, the humor well executed and the action complimentary.  One of the better superhero movies for me was Ironman 3.   I also really enjoyed Captain America: Civil War.   These movies were able to intertwine many characters, great story and action, and keep the pace so you never got bored.  Plus you wanted to root for the heroes and didn't get lost in poorly written jokes that are poorly delivered.  Somehow I felt like Justice League somehow missed it in a few places.  I thought overall the movie wasn't bad,  it just could have been much better with some better writing for the characters and a tighter plot that made you care a little more about the outcome.

TLDR : Good movie, but not great.  Could have been better, but if you like DC comics you should still check it out.  If you are a Marvel fan mainly, save yourself the time.

Van Gogh biography movie review

So I had some extra time and had never seen Kirk Douglas in the classic movie "Lust for Life".   I decided at the click of several buttons which Amazon makes so easy to stream this movie and see how they portray the artist Vincent Van Gogh.    I didn't realize until recently that Vincent started out as a missionary, and this movie portrays that really well.  He tries to be a missionary but is turned off by the church approach to poverty.   Admirably, Vincent felt that to reach people it helped to live like them.  The clergy who was responsible for sending him to his mission field felt differently.  They thought he needed to be staying in nice hotels instead of beat-down huts helping the people he was attempting to witness to.   I have to agree with Vincent on that point.  Anyway, he left the mission field and started to paint.  Vincent was very blessed to have a brother who was a strong believer in his talent, and (at least in the movie) helped support him throughout his painting career. 

I thought Kirk Douglas did a wonderful job in this movie portraying Van Gogh.  He played the part very well, and gave me a deeper understanding of some of the struggles that Van Gogh dealt with.  Vincent Van Gogh was a troubled man who used art to express some of his frustrations and also used it as therapy.    Throughout the movie it showed Vincent Van Gogh as a troubled but brilliant artist.  Toward the end of his life he checks himself into a mental health asylum (very admirably) and stayed there until they deemed him fit enough to return to society.  The sad part is that they released him into society and he didn't seem to be ready.  He unsuccessfully attempted suicide, and didn't really seem to fit into society throughout the remainder of his life. 

Overall, I found this movie insightful and informative into the life of Van Gogh.  Most people are familiar with some of his paintings, and the guy clearly had talent.  Unfortunately,   he was misunderstood and troubled about several things in his life.  He didn't seem to understand how love could be one-sided, nor did he have many close friends other than his brother.  He was a great artist but sadly it appears from this movie that he may have left the abundant life offered in Jesus Christ to try to make sense of the world with art.  That didn't end up very well for him.

A Romance That Leaves You Wanting More : A Review of The Age of Adaline

My wife and I sat down to watch The Age of Adaline and I thought it started out very strong.  It had

excellent acting, an interesting story,  and a romantic plot.   My wife was hooked.  The story is about Adaline who through some freak accident never ages past the age of 29.  It was well told and really drew you into the story - that is -  until the last 30 minutes.  First of all I will say that Blake Lively did a wonderful job in the role she played.  She really helped the viewer be invested in the character and that is no easy feat in the modern world of movies.  However, unfortunately the plot of the movie didn't stay as strong as the acting talent involved. It was produced and acted very well, but the story seemed to fall short.  I won't be-labor the point,  but here are some issues I had with The Age of Adaline:

1. A Better Written Ending - just when I was emotionally invested in the characters,  the ending was taped on with very little thought of closure for the viewer.   It left me feeling like it didn't give the writers enough time to close up the story in a satisfactory way.   When viewers spend over 60 minutes watching a story like that,  you want something more.

That's it.  I just want some decent script writing.  The Age of Adaline drew me in.  I wanted to root for Adaline, but the way it tied it all up - I was disappointed.  I like romantic movies, and I was hoping this one would be another highly rated one - but unfortunately it failed in the writing department.  The script ends with a small indicator of change.   It didn't show me enough closure with everything else going on.  The viewers deserve more than that.  Hopefully Hollywood will take note.

An Exceptional War Movie : Review of Hacksaw Ridge

Let me start this review saying I have seen a lot of war movies.  I do mean A LOT.   My brothers and dad had me growing up viewing many war movies - some good - some not-so-good.  I was a bit hesitant starting this movie just because I didn't want to witness another gore-fest with no heart.   However,  this movie proved to be the opposite.  It surprised me in many ways and many positive ways.  It was edifying, encouraging and it was true.  These all made it stand apart from the average war movie.  The other beauty of this movie was that it showed the Christian faith can be a source of strength regardless of whether the Christian carries a weapon.  That was a powerful statement for any movie to make.

The story is of Desmond Doss a conscientious objector who entered WW2 and declined to carry a weapon but served the US Army by being a medic.  He was persecuted by his own fellow army guys.  He was ridiculed and beat by men on his side.  Yet he stayed true to his convictions and not only that - he eventually earned the respect of his fellow army guys, he demonstrated Matthew 5:5 in a way that is hard to deny.   Jesus said "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." in that verse - and Desmond Doss showed how that worked in real life.  Many people think "meekness" and "weakness" are synonyms.   They aren't.   Meekness is controlled strength and it takes more self-control to exercise meekness than anger.   Desmond Doss showed meekness is an amazing way in this movie.   It inspired me to stand by my convictions and not give up when God calls you to a mission.  Kudos to Mel Gibson for showing this with high production values.  If you are curious in how that looked, watch the movie.  I doubt you will be disappointed.

The Heroine Quitter: A Review of Bad Moms

Well, Paul added to our repertoire of movies by purchasing a Ruku. I am not the most technical side of this relationship. So, all I know is he went to Best Buy, came home and did some finagling and in Emeril fashion "BAM!" we have a one month trial period of all these popular recent movies. Our Netflix que is looking quite sparse lately. The Netflix selection is bland. I mean gluten free bread type bland. Yet, with many choices comes the need for discernment. Sadly, one night while searching for a flick that did not have animated characters and singing in it, I settled on Bad Mom's. (Spoiler alert: I blatantly reveal the movie ending). 

This flick was released around the same time that Mom's Night Out was out in theaters. I remember enjoying a trip with some MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) friends to see that flick, but I was curious about the other "Mom" movie from a non conservative point of view. I grew up in the 80's where I truly felt that Christina Applegate was my long lost big sister. In fact, when my real life Sister last visited we watched Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead for the 100th time. 

The beginning of this movie starts out with f-bombs every other word. I do tend to guard what I view and take-in from a media stand point quite a bit, so this was frankly a little shocking to me coming from a cast of women. It was really unexpected. Do women talk like salty Navy sailors in real life? The cast of women is quite impressive as far as talent is concerned too. The cast is filled with strong female leads: Mila Kumis, Kristin Bell, and Kathryn Hahn. All of these women have been perfecting their acting chops from a young age. They have experience on screen to blend their strengths with great comedic timing.

I really enjoyed the PTA meeting where Christina Applegate is discussing what foods are allowed to be brought into the school bake sale. Every Mom can relate to his ordeal of "appropriate" food with the list of allergies and concerns growing every year. Yet, we also have a stereotypical portrayal of stay-at-home Mom's as nosy busybodies or slaves to housework. What lies! Anyone can tell you, it is a choice between a husband and wife to have one person stay home and live on one income to raise your own children. It comes with sacrifice and difficult choices for your family. 

Yet, when I got to the midpoint of this movie I realized that I would label Bad Moms a "bleak comedy." See, black comedy would indicate someone dies. So, what do you call it when marriages die and it's applauded all through out the movie? I will call it bleak. This movie delves into joining the rest of Hollywood in the blatant attack on traditional values, conservatism, marriage, and men. Who is writing this garbage? Oh, it is Scott Moore and Jon Lucus (most known for The Hangover and other raunchy films which I haven't seen). Several times we hear Amy Mitchell (Mila Kumis) say she is going to do everything she can for her two kids as she contemplates her marital woes. 

Yet, this main heroine is totally befuddled with how she got to this point in her relationship with her husband!? She is, of course, just an innocent victim in her life. She hasn't dated her husband in the last several years. In fact, she can't even remember when they last had intimacy. She disrespects him and treats her husband like a child. There is no fight for her marriage. There is really no commitment on her part except to the children. She forgot that marriage has to be her first priority. As Dr. Laura says, "You have to be your husband's girlfriend first."

So, the film portrays there is only one option for a dysfunctional marriage and here come the Hollywood smoke and mirrors solution: being a single Mom is great!  How insulting. Yes, oh yes, there is the freedom I've been looking for! This marriage is too hard. Quit. This parenting gig is too hard. Quit. The heroine is a quitter. Why am I so surprised at this movie as it is a secular point of view? I don't know. I'm just hoping that if some of these third-wave feminist ideas have seeped into my worldview; I want to be aware of it and place my feet on a solid path of biblical based common sense!

If you are struggling in your marriage (and all marriages go through seasons) the answers you are looking for are in the Bible. Start looking for older women with strong marriages that you trust for counseling suggestions. If you find a counselor find out first if they hold marriage as a sacred covenant. Get help! God loves marriage. He created it and He will see you through. A great movie on this is, War Room. This movie is so good at illustrating the POWER of prayer through life that it will even make you want to clean out your precious closet space for a quiet prayer closet! If that is not your current season; lets use our energies to encourage our husband today and our single Mom friends. 

I give this a generous .5 out of 5 stars. 

Resources: 
Radical Womanhood by Carolyn McCulley 
Bible Verses about Training your Children
War Room 

A Well-Told Story : A Review of Rogue One

Although I didn't see this movie in the theater,  I finally received it on my Netflix queue and was able to sit down and review it.   I like the Star Wars stories and didn't really abhor even Episodes 1, 2, and 3.  I had mixed feelings about Rogue One because it wasn't going to meddle with the original story line but simply be an add-on story.  Fortunately,  I felt it was really well-done.    Here is why I think Rogue One did things right:

1. Focus was more on the story than on the special effects.  

Star Wars movies have a hard line to walk.  Not only are they compared to IV, V and VI constantly, but they have to balance a great special effects universe with a good story.  This movie seemed to have the winning combination so that I didn't feel I was watching a video game and actually cared about the characters involved.

2. Great humor used throughout without becoming a comedy

Without giving anything away, I thought the use of humor was great in this movie.   It had me laughing out loud several times and I think that added to the story.

3. Great acting from all characters

The bad guys, the good guys, and even the robots had great parts and played them well in this movie. It was refreshing to find such a well-acted movie with such high production values.

4. Noble effort to tie in other Star Wars stories

This movie did a great job giving nods to prior movies without tampering too much with the other stories.  It did the job just right of creating an add-on story without overpowering the original tales.

Overall - I was very pleased and a bit surprised as to how good this movie was.  I have enjoyed watching the rebooted Star Trek movies as well, but this one seemed to be a few notches above even the Star Trek ones.  If you have any interest at all in the Star Wars universe, you should at least give Rogue One a watch.

How to Cope With Grief : A Review of Collateral Beauty

So this movie just recently came out and I thought it might be good.  I admire movies that are less fluff and tackle deep life issues.  Collateral Beauty looked like it was just the ticket.  After it arrived, I sat down to view it and see if Will Smith came through again in a moving performance.  First of all,  I will say it is VERY well acted.  They have many big names working in this movie which means the quality of work is not to be questioned.
Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, and Will Smith to name a few (as mentioned earlier).

Basically the story is about Will Smith who plays a grieving dad who lost his 6 year old daughter.  He basically stops performing at his job and starts doing domino creations and then watches them all crumble.  This is one of those movies where pink slips are non-existent and jobs allow their employees and/or co-founders to do whatever they desire while they process their life changes.  Makes a great movie,  but I seriously question how realistic it is in the real world.  Anyway, Will's co-workers want him to process it and be productive so they hire a crew of 3 actors which are paid to portray the three themes of Will's life:  Time, Love, and Death.  These actors take on the challenge and try to work through the difficulties with Will Smith's character to the point of helping him grieve, as well as helping him to snap back into reality.   Here is what I liked about Collateral Beauty:

1. Great attempt at processing the grief of loss of a loved one.  I admire their desire to make this movie deeper than average, yet I still felt it left something to be desired.

2. Great acting and well-done writing for the script.  The cast for this movie was very well put together and it was executed well.  The writing went a level deeper than most movies, but didn't go as deep as possible.

3. Nice twists and turn to leave the ending well put together.   I don't want to give anything away but this movie offered twists and turns as it played out and wasn't just a standard movie with very predictable paths.  That definitely helped my overall rating.

Now that I have listed the positives, I will summarize what I didn't like about it:

Negative 1:  No mention of the afterlife.   The whole movie didn't even TOUCH the subject of whether there is life after death - even though the Bible clearly teaches that.   Eternity is a long time and all of us will have to answer to God and His Son Jesus for the way we used our life on Earth and how we chose to believe or doubt the claims of Christ.

Negative 2: Too short to be adequately invested in the main character - I like Will Smith and his acting, but at the end of the movie I didn't feel like I was emotionally invested in his character as much as I was in the movie 7 Pounds.   This could be because there was so much acting talent, it was hard to follow one character exclusively, or it could have been due to the writing.  I'm not sure.  I just know it was well done, but didn't quite rise to the level of 4 stars due to the number of stories, actors/actresses and the writing.

Negative 3: No mention of truth being an absolute or a Person.   Typical Hollywood.  They want you to feel good, but don't want to make anyone believe they need to make changes (unless it is to become more liberal in their thinking).  Truth is absolute.  Truth is a Person and His name is Jesus Christ (John 14:6).  Without believing this,  your life will just fall apart when you don't understand why things happened when they did.   Check out the Bible.  Truth can bring comfort  and God will never let you down.

So to summarize : I enjoyed watching this movie - but I thought it could be done better.  I would give it a solid 3.5 stars out of 5.

Life As A Mortal : A Review of Thor

I finally got around to watching this movie : Thor starring Chris Hemsworth as the main character.  I must confess I think Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins really helped the overall story.   Thor is the story of a cocky superhero who thinks the world revolves around him and his ego.  He gets a humbling lesson when he is thrown to earth for the purpose or realizing he needs to learn a few things.  Chrystal and I sat down and watched this story and overall we enjoyed it.  However, there are a few things we wished it did better,  here they are:

1.  More storyline about his adjustment to being a normal human - although there were some parts showing his challenge in adjusting to earth-life - we both thought there could have been more development in this part.

2. Definitely More Humor Would Have Been Nice - Thor didn't need to be a comedy, but humor is always welcome in strong and interesting stories.  Thor had a few moments of humor but could have been much funnier if they had chosen to write in more humor to the script and story.

3. Great Story Overall, but Probably Better if You Also Followed the Comics.  Neither me nor Chrystal follow the comics so we didn't know how far or close this was to the original comic book storyline.  Overall I thought it was a decent movie but probably no more than 3.5 stars out of 5.  I wish it got more overall, but it just wasn't as developed as I hoped in the almost 2 hour movie.   Did I feel it was a waste?  No, not that bad.  I just have seen better stories told in Ironman and Ironman 3 (I intentionally left out the dismal Ironman 2).    It was a good movie, and I don't think we wasted our time watching it - we just were hoping for a bit more.  Marvel has released so many quality stories it is hard to compete with all the different story-lines.  We still plan on watching the sequel however.

Blood is Thicker Than Water : Review of People Like Us

I recently watched "People Like Us" and thought it was refreshing.  The story of Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks as half-brother and half-sister definitely had some thought put into the script.  I am getting tired of half-baked scripts where writers don't have to have any depth of character development or emotional pull on the way others interact with them for the whole course of the movie.  "People Like Us" breaks the mold. It is the story of money, values, and the need to connect as a family.  Chris Pine plays an isolated son of a famous music producer.  He lives his life very separated from the family that helped him grow.  Elizabeth Banks plays the daughter of the music producer who was pretty much ignored in her lifetime because her father had another family.   This movie had depth. It wasn't perfect, but it was far more refreshing than 75% of the movies churned out today.   Almost 2 hours is used telling the story of Chris Pine the isolated son and his effort to rekindle with his half-sister played by Elizabeth Banks and her son.  I don't want to add spoilers to this review, but I thought it was well put-together and emotionally compelling.   Sometimes I like a violent action movie that requires little thought.   "People Like Us" was different - and some people would consider it "slow" to develop.  However, if you put the time into watching the story,  I think you will feel your time wasn't wasted.   For those who like thoughtful and emotional family dramas,  maybe you should check out "People Like Us".   The writing and acting do NOT disappoint.

Football and a Look Back : A Review of Touchback

Recently I added a movie that looked good - or so I thought.  I tend to enjoy good uplifting football movies.  From Remember the Titans to movies like Woodlawn - I'm all for a good sports drama that demonstrates the power of sports and a common mission to bring people together.  Touchback is different though in a good way.  Touchback sets itself apart because it isn't mainly a football movie.  Football definitely plays a major theme,  but overall there are many more aspects to this movie that help set it apart from the other movies like it.

Brian Presley stars in this movie about a high school quarterback who after having everything going for him,  gets a serious injury in his final game that changes his life dramatically.   Kurt Russell plays the coach in his life who helps him sort through what is really important in his life.   The rest of it is for the viewer to find out.   Without giving it away here is why Touchback got a very high rating in my opinion:


1.  Realistically balances the sports story with other aspects of living your life.   Like stated above, this movie isn't totally about football,  and in this case that is a positive thing.

2. Enough content to keep the ladies interested.  My wife wasn't sure she was going to like this movie.  She went into watching it expecting to possibly leave half-way into it.   She ended up loving it so much that she watched it twice and we now own a copy!  For a movie that features football, that is very impressive!

3.  Great lessons shown throughout that enforce the value of family, perseverance, and resisting what looks good now for a better goal long term.  These types of themes are hard to find in many flaky, stupid movies made today.

4. Convincing acting and tightly written story.  Many times positive value movies have a great message with some moving music, and decent acting.  I felt this movie was in a league above the average positive family movie.   Yes, it was a great family movie,  but it was also very well-written and acted out.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well this movie was put together.

Although this movie wouldn't be considered religious in the content,  the values it conveyed hit it out of the park and it was one I would love to watch again.  If you want a movie that I would describe as well-done, edifying and encouraging to watch,  you should check out the movie Touchback!  Two thumbs up from Paul & Chrystal.

Limitless: The Potential for Greatness

Wow, I could relate to the main character in this film. Brian Finch (Bradley Cooper) is a writer with years of "writers block." He has trouble getting....

Okay, I literally wrote that start of a sentence on June 21. This irked Paul to no end. I find it hilarious. If you watch this film, Limitless, life really can imitate art or art does imitate life. I related to the main character so much that it's a little too close to home for me. Brian Finch is a professional writer that cannot crystallize all the ideas in his head and get them to work in a coherent organized manner. Everyone keeps looking at him baffled as to why he can't "get it together" when he has so much potential. I empathized with the character because it shows how exasperating modern life is when you struggle specifically with executive function skills. As an adult, you are expected to do a lot of left-brained living (work, pay bills, clean house, and maintain relationships) that completely relies on your ability to use executive function skills. If you haven't learned these skills and you are a creative right-brained type it's hard to make a living doing what you love because of pesky details like deadlines. Trust me I know. The right-brained types are just trying to look the part and hope you do not notice the hula-hooping we did behind the scenes.

Sadly, Brian Finch succumbs to unhealthy coping mechanisms and is basically self-destructing. That is until he gets a hold of a 'miracle' drug called NZT that has not yet been released on the market. Suddenly, he can actually focus and retain all the information in his brain and make it work to his advantage. Is this movie take a look at ADHD and drugs such as Ritalin and Adderal? I think the movie points a finger at the pharmaceuticals. How they manipulate us, how we don't always know what is in the drugs we take, and how people become addicted to the quick fix.

Our society has a different definition of success than God's definition. When you accept the Lord God as your Savior your priorities become His. Therefore, even if you never get accolades from others: you will always be valued in the eyes of the One who matters.

Here is my movie review summary:

1. Obviously, I am fascinated by the educational information coming out about "executive skills." So, for that reason I was very glued to this story line.
2.There is one violent scene in the beginning and I thought that would be it, but sadly this movie right in the middle goes into a very violent scene because everyone wants to get a hold of this drug. It becomes gory! It was so intense I had to hide under a blanket. Yes, I know. I'm a wimp.
3. Pick your own ending twist. The end of the movie will leave you so perplexed that you will be loudly debating the last few scenes, re-watching the last few moments, and trying to figure out the conclusion of the film, which is awesome!

Three out of five stars.

Resources:

Reaching Your Full Potential by Charles Stanley (In Touch Ministries)

Finally Organized by Kathy Roberts (The Tidy Tutor) Ebook

When You Want to Do Life Over : A Review of The Illusion

Just recently watched the Illusion with Kirk Douglas.  This is the moving story of a screen writer/director (forget which) who is very old and on the verge of dying.

Great start,  right? 

 Anyway as you learn more about this screen writer/director you find out that he was a dad at one point in his life but decided to pursue his career rather than be a caring dad and is now realizing that was a poor choice in his life.  He has a son who is a romantic and has struggled not having a father figure in his life.  His son is actually a pretty nice guy and is in love with a mysterious woman who continues to pop up in his life.  Kirk Douglas plays the aged father and does a great job with his role. Found out this was Kirk Douglas' declared last movie.   Much of the movie is showing Kirk Douglas' observation of how his son grows up without him around.  He realizes that his son has a negative self-image continually spoken to him in his father's voice, because of one pivotal moment where his dad drives off to pursue his career rather than picking up his son for his allocated time of the week with him.   Here is what I liked about Illusion:

1. Great movie that depicts the power of a father in the life of his son.   Not having a dad is a rough way to grow up.  A positive father figure in a child's life is a powerful factor that is not always portrayed in movies today.

2. Kind of comes off a bit like Highway to Heaven or Touched by An Angel -  without going too much into plot details this movie resembles Highway to Heaven where an angel comes and shows you your life in way that makes you want to change it.  A Christmas Carol is also very similar in theme to some of the parts of the Illusion.

3. Great redemptive ending -  I admit I don't always like a miserable, sad ending just because it is realistic and artsy.   I'm not saying I love movies that always come out happy and singing songs - but a good story with a good ending makes me encouraged to see more movies that have values.  Illusion delivers with a great ending that makes you reflect on your own life and relationships and helps you to think about the choices you are making now in life.

4. For a romantic movie - it definitely kept my interest.  I don't love romantic movies all that much.  The occasional chick flick I can enjoy watching with my wife,  but overall I don't rush to turn on Romeo and Juliet just for good times.  This movie was different in that it spun an interesting romance that kept me intrigued by how it was going to turn out.   I actually thought it was a fun journey as the main character's son continues to pursue this woman who has meant so much to him throughout his life.

Overall - if you are looking for a good movie in the same category as A Christmas Carol,  you may enjoy watching The Illusion.   It had a great soundtrack and a redemptive story overall.  4 star rating in my book.

Tommy, Back rubs, and Ben & Jerry's

"Tommy, Back rubs, and Ben & Jerry's" Paul says, This is how a wise movie loving husband will convince his wife to sit down to a science fiction movie. These were the enticements to at least try to watch Edge of Tomorrow:Live, Die, Repeat starring Tom Cruise. I was very skeptical if I was going to enjoy this movie when he told me it had aliens. I think it may have been a childhood memory of sleepovers. In fact, my Dad convinced me to rent Alien at a little store known as Blockbuster. My girlfriends were sitting huddled together on the couch. The music was tense and at just the right pivotal moment my Dad popped up in our basement window with a flashlight glowing under him and all sorts of chaos erupted. 
So, for this movie, I sat all cozy with a kid cup of Cherry Garcia. We had to split the movie up in to two nights (which Paul really doesn't like to do), but the first night we started the flick I had to say "time for bed" because I try to unwind for an hour prior to bed. I held my ground that watching alien spiders pop out and try to take over the world is not unwinding 
The plot of this movie is really interesting in that Tom Cruise starts the flick as a completely unlikable character. He's a slough. As the movie continues though I realize how much more his character foibles are in all of us. He is the most unlikely person to become a war hero against alien invaders. In fact, the heroine, Emily Blunt in this story makes it clear that she "volunteered" to go to the front lines against the enemy. Most of us prefer to stay in our comfort zones. We let fear dictate our lives and as a result we are act cowardly: dodging responsibilities, difficult conversations, and making up lame excuses. 
This movie also made me think of time in the concept of one day of our lives. It's a reminder of how important it is to spend time reading the Bible to have a clear sense of God's calling and purpose for your life. That way when interruptions or disappointments come you can put them in perspective. So, in case you have your ice cream melting in your hand, I will wrap up my review of why I think this is the only science fiction movie I can remember liking this much and here is why: 

1. Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise in a uniform. Swoon. 
2. Emily Blunt. Okay, she is amazing.  She totally kicks butt in this film and the time lapses create an interesting quirky romance. 
3. A  plot that keeps this story and character development moving along as new details are revealed within action scenes. There was a repetitive nature to it that built momentum and plot twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. 

Great date movie. Goes well with Cherry Garcia. 4 stars. 

When Sequels Are Better Than Originals - A Review on Finding Dory

We recently took our daughters to their first theater movie : Finding Dory.   I like Pixar movies for the most part and am rarely disappointed watching them.  While I liked Finding Nemo, I was bracing myself for a sequel that wasn't quite as good as the original.  It is just the law of sequels.   Was Karate Kid II as good as Karate Kid? Was 2 Fast 2 Furious quite as good as the original The Fast and the Furious?  However, I digress.  Anyway I can honestly say that I thought Pixar hit it out of the park with this one, and the sequel was better done than the original.  The humor was great, the message of parental love despite having special needs was refreshing, and overall the story was fantastic.  It was refreshing to see a movie that I could show the whole family with no objectionable parts.  My daughters sat through the whole movie without needing to get up, and I think overall the entire family enjoyed the experience.   This is what Disney Pixar movies should be about.  This is why I pay theater prices for an experience like this.  Without giving the entire movie away, here are the highlights of what I liked in Finding Dory:

1. Good acknowledgement of the original movie 

This movie didn't rehash a lot of the Nemo story but you also saw how the various parts fit in with the original story.

2. Exceptional setting at an aquarium park with lots of children involved.  

For anyone who has ever gone to an aquarium park with children, the scenes throughout were very familiar as well as funny.

3. Great introduction of new characters. 

Loved the sea lions, as well as the fish and creatures that were at the park.  That added some funny new characters as well as some complex ones that really added to the whole story.

4. Great theme of unconditional love.   

Hard to find this all the time in modern day movies, but this movie really showed the need to unconditionally love others despite any special needs they have.  This was refreshing to see and well delivered throughout this movie.

In conclusion : I hope Disney/Pixar continue to keep up the quality and substance of movies like Finding Dory.  It was great to be able to take my kids to a movie that we could all enjoy.   Two thumbs up for this one.

What type of movie is this? - A Review of The Tourist

Johnny Depp isn't cranking out hits lately,  but this movie came out a while ago and starred Angelina Jolie alongside him.  What was this all about? - I decided to rent it and see if it was as bad as the critics seemed to think.  First off - the acting is good - it was the story that really lacked something.  Angelina plays a spy of sorts who is working with someone mysteriously who tells her to pick a non-suspecting tourist and try to make those who are following her believe it is the man she really intends to make contact with.  So she picks Johnny Depp's character who claims he is a math teacher from America.  He seems like a nice enough guy and although kind of clumsy kind of likes the idea of Ms. Jolie following him around and rescuing him from danger.   However, that plotline didn't save the movie from an overall lackluster journey.  Here is where this movie fell short in my opinion:

1. Like stated before it wasn't the acting - it was the story behind the movie that really was missing something.

The story had potential, but when you are making a movie in the same genre as The Bourne Identity or James Bond series, you have some high expectations to compete with.   Unfortunately, I don't think this movie has the same ingredients that made The Bourne Identity so great and it also tried to blend too many genres of movies like point #4 below elaborates on.

2.  Bad guys who are hard to take seriously. 

Are they meant to be funny and comedic or are they really trying to be threatening?  This movie kind of leaves you guessing and the result is that you aren't rooting that hard for the good guys to get away and come out ahead, because you don't know if the bad guys are going to be so stupid they will end up sabotaging themselves.

3. A twist that feels forced and not that surprising.

A good twist can really keep you guessing throughout the movie and make you feel a sense of surprise and admiration for the writers. This movie's twist (although it does contain one) - doesn't seem to deliver that result.  It feels a bit too forced and not really that surprising.  Compared to the ending/twist of Limitless, which is open to interpretation and almost makes you want to re-watch the movie, this movie doesn't deliver a satisfying one.

4. Not sure what type of movie this is trying to be.

I had heard spy adventure and comedy so I watched it expecting something like that - but after it was all over - I actually thought this movie came off more of a romance??  I prefer adventures, action movies and comedies all to romances - so that definitely took some stars away from my review.  In the end, I'm not positive what type of genre the directors/writers were going for.   I guess if you aim at too many targets you won't hit any of them.

Conclusion: while this movie wasn't terrible, it delivered a movie that left you thinking it could have been so much better.  If that is the best you can say about a movie - I would say this is no more than a 2 star rating out of 5.

How to Cope As a Parent - Rudderless

Even though I picked that as a title - I wouldn't recommend this movie for learning that skill.  I just recently watched Rudderless which is the story of a dad who loses his son early on in college and pretty much throws a lot of his life away with how it affect him.  He drinks too much and starts living on a houseboat.  He starts playing songs his late son wrote and in the course of discovering who he is,  he befriends another young man (about his son's age) and even starts playing in a band. This movie does a great job about showing the various ways parents cope with losing a child at an early age. Although the son died when he was about 20 years old - it took a tremendous toll on the dad and his way of dealing with it wasn't always admirable.

Here is a quick summation of what I liked about Rudderless

1. Interesting story detailing the grief of parents and how different parents grieve in unique ways at the loss of a child.

The son's mom and dad grieved in very different ways in this movie.  The mother ended up having another child whereas the divorced father took to drinking and removing himself from his business society.  He started working as a painter instead of a successful salesman and unfortunately drank way more than he should have.

2. Really interesting twist as the story unfolds.

This movie presents an unexpected twist into the whole story about mid-way through.  It blew me away and made the whole movie take on a different perspective.  Movies that can do that with good writing earn my admiration.

3. Good song-writing throughout the movie.

I thought the songs in this movie were above average.  They were typical alternative emo style music and were performed well throughout the whole movie.  This gave the movie a good artistic feel and made you appreciate the effort they put into song choices & writing.


4. Decent ending although not completely satisfying but fairly realistic. 

This didn't have a sappy ending, yet it didn't leave you feeling like it didn't close the movie right. It was a fitting ending considering the journey it takes you on, and although kind of sad, it still left you feeling like it was a good movie to watch unfold.

Dealing with grief throughout parenthood is a challenge for anyone.  Hopefully through it all, parents look to their Savior to help them find comfort and healing.  This movie didn't show that very much, but it did show the healing power of music on a grief stricken soul.

A Non-Boring Article on How to Kill Boredom

Boredom is something most people deal with at some time in their life.  It usually begins with a lot of excess time and can actually ADD to the stress in your life.  What to do? Where to go? How to plan? All these things can leave anyone in a state where they don't know if they should do anything and when/where to do it.  Boredom seems to start in childhood.  Children have lots of time to find things to do.  How creative they are in spending their time many times determines how bored they are as a child.  Young adults also face boredom.  This is usually remedied by reading, getting into a TV or movie, or spending time with others in their age group.   This article will try to diagnose the cause and list some ways that will help anyone avoid being bored on a continual basis.

The Causes of Boredom

I've come to the conclusion that most types of boredom are caused by one of three issues. Here they are:

1.  No Goals Set

This is the number one reason people get bored in my understanding. Without a goal - whether it be graduate college, beat a video game,  achieve a certification, or get married and have a family - many people just don't know where to go because they have nothing to aim for.  Goal setting is essential if you want to avoid boredom.  It is this first step that allows you to set mini-achievements to reach your goal that will kill boredom in your life.

2. Goals Are Set but No Progress Toward Them

This occurs when someone sets out to make goals but either makes them too long-term, or doesn't seek small enough mini-achievements to reach them.  Then this will develop into some great goals on  paper with no momentum to reach them.  It is important to set achievable mini-achievements so that there is some sense of accomplishment as you head toward your goal.  If you have goals and aren't reaching them, you may be stuck in boredom-land and be faced with an overwhelming understanding of how to reach the goals you have set.  It is time to break your goals into smaller pieces and be asking yourself : "What can I do today that will help me get one step closer to this goal?".   Mini-achievements should take no longer than 30 days to help you feel closer to your overall goal. 

3.  Lack of Responsibility

This is one of the key reasons children get bored so easily.  Suddenly when people become adults they are given the responsibilities to work a 40 hour week, raise children who depend on them, and take care of those who rely on them.  If you are someone who is reaching his/her goals on a regular basis but still find yourself bored often, maybe there are some ways you can add some responsibility to your life to help you stay involved with others.  Here are some ideas if you find yourself lacking responsibility:

A. Think about adopting a pet (cat/dog).  Pets add some definite responsibility to your life and they depend on you for love and support.  A nice cat/dog can really enhance your life and keep you busy if you find yourself not sure how to spend your time.  Dogs have to be walked on a regular basis and are really great companions, and cats can be great in their own way as well.

B. Consider Volunteering in Your Church or Community.  Churches are great places to get involved with others that share similar values, and volunteering can give you a chance to get out of your comfort zone and meet other people as well as serve those in need.  Habitat for Humanity is a great program to get involved in that allows you to help out with home repair and building with a group of people.   If you find yourself tired of Netflix and ready to branch out - consider looking up some churches or volunteer efforts near you to see how you can get involved.

C. Consider Adding a Hobby.   Hobbies can be a great constructive way to spend your time as long as they don't consume too much of your time and money.   There are hobbies out there for just about any interest under the sun.   My personal ones include : running for recreational purposes, playing chess, and watching good movies.  These all help me to recharge after a long day (or before in the case of running) and also give me an outlet that is different than my 9 to 5 job.   Hobbies can also be a great way to meet others who enjoy the same interests and all these factors help you in a major way to avoid the "b" word.

Being bored is a choice.  We all can creatively come up with ways to spend our time, and sometimes it involves branching out to meet new people, experience new things, or try different hobbies.  Netflix is fun, but after a while it can really pay off to turn off the television, shut off the video game console, and get involved with hobbies and responsibilities that don't just entertain you,  but actually grow and develop you.   Why not start one today?

Defying the Aging Process? - Only If Your Name Is Ben Button - A Review

Since I have been watching a lot of science fiction/fantasy lately,  I decided to sit down and watch this 2 hour 40 minute tale of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  It won several Academy Awards so I thought I would see what it was all about.  This is the story of a boy born as an 80 year old who gets younger by the year.  Brad Pitt plays Benjamin Button who is a man who starts old and gets younger and younger.  Brad was a good choice because his face is pretty young-looking so he played the part well as he is supposed to get younger instead of older throughout the movie.  Cate Blanchett also did a wonderful job playing his friend and lover as the years go on.  It was strange, but I found this movie in many ways similar to Forrest Gump.  The tale of a man who travels through many seasons of life to meet all sorts of characters.  At the end the drama wraps up the different lives of the characters that Benjamin Button had interacted with.   It seemed a lot like Forrest Gump in that way.   Unfortunately, despite winning 3 academy awards I failed to connect with a man who just can't stop getting younger.  Even the love story seemed shallow to me as Benjamin Button doesn't seem to know the meaning of the word "marriage".  Here is why Benjamin Button didn't get a high rating from my perspective:

1.  No moral compass for Benjamin Button.

 Call me a conservative if you will,  but Benjamin Button has no sense of right and wrong when it comes to women.  He has no trouble fornicating with harlots and sleeping with married women, or simply sleeping with women without even bringing up the subject of marriage.  I know this is a fictional tale, but despite some church attendance in the early parts of the movie, Benjamin Button seems content to not even think much about God at all throughout the journey of this movie. Not a great quality of the main character.

2. A movie so long that you almost feel your facial hair starting to grow (if you're a guy). 

 It was a definitely new twist to have a man born as an 80 year old and then get younger by the year. The problem was it takes so long to tell this tale that you feel like you are getting older spending over 180 minutes watching his fictional life.  If you are a man, you may just feel like your beard needs a shave after getting through the whole movie.  Ironic considering the main character is getting younger as you get older watching this story.

3. Lack of emotional connection to the characters. 

Maybe Cate Blanchett's character had some relate-able moments, but overall I failed to connect with many if any of the characters in this movie.  It was quite a story, but if you don't feel emotionally connected to anyone after 2.5 hours of your time, it feels like a wasted effort.

Conclusion :
I'm learning the hard way that the Academy Awards and Oscars don't seem to appreciate movies the way that I do.  In fact, when movies win awards like that - I'm almost inclined to skip them.  I have watched awarded movie after awarded movie and came away,  disappointed.  I'm not looking for a movie to be just edgy and go where no movie has gone before.  I'm looking for an edifying experience when I watch a movie.  Benjamin Button didn't quite come out a winner in that light for me.  Maybe the book is better - I don't know.   What I do know is that I will not be re-watching this tale.