Free Guy Review

 

So I went to see this with my wife last night.   Pleasantly surprised.  Pleasantly surprised.  I hadn't been out for a date in a while and the wife and I decided to eat a nice dinner out and then catch this movie and it was very good.  My wife wants to watch it again, and I have to agree, this movie does what many CGI modern movies don't do : cater to a well-written script and not rely on CGI effects to carry the show.   Ryan Reynolds is a guy who lives in a video game.   I'm not going to spoil this, but slowly he realizes he has a free will! This causes a lot of development for those who expect NPC (Non-Playable Characters) to actually just do what they are told.   Overall this movie delivers on drama, action, comedy and romance and that is a tall order to fill.  If you are looking for horror that is about the only genre this movie won't fill (and I'm thankful for that).  Overall though the message is rock solid.   I would recommend this movie to reflect on life in the real world and realize that God's gift of a free will is really something you shouldn't waste.   Recommended.

Learning From The Year 2020

Wow, 2019 was my last post.  Definitely need some updates.  So here it goes:   As you can tell by the posts movies are not my main hobby to review anymore.   I much prefer good Kindle books that stimulate me to think and occasional funny TV shows on Amazon Prime (Life in Pieces - I'm looking at you!).  2020 was a crazy year as most people know so I won't go into the boring ways to spend time when nothing is open.... yawn yawn yawn.  The good news is that life is getting back to normal - the media continues to ignore real news stories that don't support what they want you to know and vaccines are heavily being pushed but masks are slowly losing encouragement and people are thankfully returning to life before the crazy 2020 year.  

Change is good, so I'm thankful for all the people who are getting vaccinated and how businesses are staying open and returning to operations like before that crazy 2020 year.  So what can we learn from these crazy times of pandemics?  

1.  Remote work is a viable option for many companies.  My company was one that allowed me to work from home and I was deeply thankful for that during the past year.   I'm noticing even larger companies are becoming more open to that and that is great news for those who have that option.   I transitioned to another company in the last few weeks, and finding work that allowed remote work was a lot easier than I was prepared for.    I'm glad to see that remote work is getting more promotion in 2021 and hope that despite Tim Cook telling his people they all have to return to work 3 days of every work week,  that companies will continue to remain open to remote workers who get much accomplished for them.

2.  It is important to stay focused on the vision you have during times of stress.  Stress can do many things to people and many people resort to unhealthy ways to cope with it.   It totally made it difficult that gyms across America closed which limited people in this country from working out when they lived in a place that couldn't support many exercise equipment devices.   I used to own a treadmill myself and then I tried to move with one, and realized they are a total pain to move around and make the whole moving process much more painful.  Lesson learned - pay a gym  (when open and available) to keep and maintain the heavy exercise equipment and never worry about breaking your back as you try to move it down a flight of stairs!  All that to say - stay focused on your life goals when times get stressful and restaurants, gyms and companies shut down.   Focus on what matters.   Quality time with God and your family - and don't ignore outside friendships due to fear of illness.   A little care goes a long way.  If Zoom isn't your thing (not always mine - not going to lie),  take a risk and meet people in person.  Life is more meaningful when you focus on things and people outside yourself.

3. Healthcare is not going anywhere.  I work in IT .  That being said through 2020 I realized that healthcare is not going anywhere.   If you are not nauseous over blood maybe consider a career in healthcare if you are open to a job switch.

4. Stay Open to Future Opportunities - yeah the past was not a blast.   But 2021 has a lot of potential regardless of the state of the pandemic.  I'm glad things are re-opening and people are starting to socialize again (including churches) - but I'm open to gaining some new hobbies, learning some new games, and maybe teaching myself to draw.    Staying open to new opportunities, new hobbies and for me - a new job opportunity has helped me to to adapt to the changes ahead.   And guess what?  Things won't stay this way forever.   Even after COVID is a history book page,  things will continue to change and the better I can adapt to that fact, the easier the future will be handled.   God is still at work in this world, and that always keeps the future interesting.   If you are bored with where you are - maybe ask God for a chance to join Him in something and then keep your eyes open!  Here's to an exciting year ahead!

When You Need More Time : A Review Of Multiplicity

Yes I realize this movie came out a long time ago.  However,  I enjoyed re-watching it mainly because I thought Michael Keaton was a great actor for this role.  I also was surprised that in a comedic-sort-of-way I probably related more to this movie now then I would have 15-20 years ago.   Basically the premise is Michael Keaton (Doug in this movie) is swamped at work and with family responsibilities.  He has so much going on, he agrees to clone himself and see what happens. The results make for a good movie which I won't spoil in this review.

This movie was funny and relate-able in a good way.  Most family guys will identify with Doug.  His wife wants to go back to work,  his job keeps getting larger and his family responsibilities just keep growing.  What better way to solve this than to clone yourself?  Except this movie also shows that the easy solution isn't always the right solution. 

In the process of trying to juggle the consequences of his decision to keep cloning himself,  Doug realizes some important facts. 

1.  Life may be hectic but it is more rewarding through the chaos: I promised no spoilers for those who haven't viewed this 90s movie.  I'll just say taking the easy route doesn't always turn out the best route in the long run.

2. More time does NOT equal more fulfillment :  this principle was underneath the whole movie.  Sure his solution gave Doug more time, but it caused other complications that weren't worthwhile.

3. In Conclusion:  Great movie to show the consequences of cloning human life in a funny way.  I'm not in favor of cloning human life.  God created life and I don't think cloning is His design even if we figure out a way to safely do it. 

That being said,  I enjoyed this movie and thought it made its point,  wrapped up nicely and was a worthwhile watch. Some movies are stupid and a waste of your time.  This movie was funny and illustrated some key truths that made it a fun movie to watch without feeling like I wasted 90 minutes of my life.  If you haven't seen it (which most people probably have),  you may enjoy Multiplicity.

Associations Make a Difference - A Review of Baby Driver

It has been several weeks, but I finally got around to watching the movie Baby Driver.  This is the story of a young man who drives fast and is basically the driver for a group of criminals even though he would prefer to be an "above board" young man. The main character who is mainly known as "Baby" has suffered a lot in his past with losing his parents, and although he has suffered much emotionally chooses to lose himself in his iPod for a lot of the movie.  When he is stressed - Baby turns on his iPod to an appropriate song.  When he is happy he picks another tune that matches his mood.  After a while, you see that music is how Baby has coped through his tough childhood and how he adapts to stress in his adult life. Unfortunately for Baby,  he has gotten wound up with many less than legal people.  Even though he wants to live right (or so the movie portrays) his hands and actions are tied in with men and women who seem to want to keep him doing criminal things due to his skill with the car wheels.  This movie is exceptional at illustrating the principle that 1 Corinthians 15:33 so clearly states:

Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” (NASB).

Baby wants out of his life of crime, but criminals don't like to see people changing from what profits them. Kevin Spacey plays one of his crime bosses and does a decent job showing the tension between wanting to give Baby a chance to cut free, and the greed that happens when someone proves to be more useful when you have them "under your thumb".  Without giving away the ending,  I will make some remarks about this movie:

1. This movie does a great job showing how music can be helpful for coping with emotional pain.  The soundtrack was very well put together, and I have to admit I give extra credit to any movie that can pair a good soundtrack with a good scene. "Baby Driver" does indeed do that,  but unfortunately it can leave the impression that a good song is all you need to get you through tough times.  While I agree music helps, it shouldn't be our only source of comfort nor does it bring true healing.  The Truth alone can bring healing, and Truth is a Person (John 14:6, John 8:31-32)

2. Some of this movie falsely conveys that you have to compromise to do the right thing.  I don't want to add any spoilers, but this movie does paint a picture for Baby that leads the viewer to believe he HAS to compromise in order to get out of a criminal way of life.  Of course this isn't true,  there is always a way out for those who are trusting God (1 Corinthians 10:13).  Even when things look deadly, God can get you out.  Read the book of Daniel for true stories of this happening.

3. I applaud the writers and director for showing to some degree the truth of Galations 6:7-8 : "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." (NASB) Many crime movies show the bad guys getting away with it all. They ride off into the sunset and crime in the movie appears to pay off. Of course that is just in the movie. Thankfully "Baby Driver" doesn't paint that picture, but it does show some of the pain and consequences that crime can produce. It was a wild ride showing the story, but it kept me engaged despite some violent moments. The soundtrack was very well chosen, and although

I don't think I would watch it more than once, I did think it showed some key principles from the Bible being worked out in the lives of the characters. Although I wouldn't classify this movie as an edifying example of cinema, it still was better than average in my opinion. Too bad they couldn't tone down the bad language and violence a bit to illustrate the story more artistically and tastefully. I would give this 3 out of 5 stars.

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.