filmbuff-05706 Reviews

The Thorn Birds (1983)

Gone With The Wind With A Priest.

[10/10 · 27 May 2024]

I live with my Grandma, and one of her close friends owns The Thorn Birds. I've always had interest in seeing it, but it runs for 8 hours and 7 minutes, and to be honest, that has kept me from seeing it. (And yes, I say that even though I watched the 9.5 hour films Dekalog and Shoah in January.)

That last factor is probably what made me pick up my own copy at Goodwill last week- and my Grandma and I watched it together in its 4 parts- Part 1 on Wednesday, Part 2 on Saturday, and Parts 3 and 4 today, the day before Memorial Day. When it ended, my Grandma gave it an 11/10, and I gave it a plain 10/10- it is one of the best epics and mini-series ever made.

The Thorn Birds follows Father Ralph, a priest who has fallen in love with Meggie, the niece of an aristocratic friend of his. At first, this love is a bit creepy- as he meets her as a young child. His obsession grows to the point that he convinces the rich aunt to pay for tuition at his Catholic school, in which Meggie later gets a bedroom next to his.

Without giving too much of the plot away, Meggie grows up and she and Ralph admit to being in love. She gives him many chances to give up being a priest and chastity for her, but Ralph insists that he must love God more than her, and to give up the priesthood is to give up God, and to idolize Meggie above God, thus leading to one of the most epic and complex romances since Gone With The Wind.

And speaking of Gone With The Wind, The Thorn Birds is an epic in scope and scale as the 1939 film. For instance, it has beautiful scenery, particularly on the farm of Dogrehta.

The performances are well done too- understandable considering the talents of Christopher Plummer, Barbara Stanwyck, Piper Laurie, Jean Simmons, and so forth, and most certainly from Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward, who play Ralph and older Meggie.

Their romantic tension is what carries the movie most- they clearly express their desire for each other, but Ralph's dedication to the priesthood is what keeps them from being together.

If I had to nit-pick anything, it would be that at 8 hours, the movie did feel a little too long. That said, I can't name much that could be taken out. My complaint has nothing to do with pacing or really even the length, it's just the patience of sitting through a movie that runs as long as a full time job- even though I watched it in 3 days.

I also wish Father Ralph had preached a little more, but again, I'm nit-picking and I don't hold that against the movie.

The Thorn Birds is a masterpiece and one of the best mini-series ever made, along with the likes of Jesus of Nazareth, Dekalog, Roots, and Chernobyl. (In fact, David L. Wolper prouced both this and Roots, while Christopher Plummer was also in Jesus of Nazareth as Herod Antipas.)

The Thorn Birds is a romance film that is twice as long as Gone With The Wind, but deserves to be named with it as one of the best love stories ever put to film.

Fun Fact: Henry Manchini, who conducted the Pink Panther theme, conducts the music for this movie too.

Black Narcissus (1947)

The Last Temptation of Nuns. Recommended for TV viewing at best.

[7/10 · 8 May 2024]

When I mention "Christian movies", you proably cringed as movies like God's Not Dead, Unplanned, and Left Behind came to mind. Since Black Narcissus deals with Anglican nuns, this is technically a Christian movie, but it should not be ranked with those.

There are good Christian movies out there- The Apostle, Silence, Hacksaw Ridge, Lilies of the Field, movies like this. Black Narcissus is close to this side of the spectrum of Christian movies, although it still wasn't the best.

Black Narcissus follows 5 Anglican nuns- 2 of which are played by Deborah Kerr and Jean Simmons. While they are nuns, trying to serve God and not be part of the outside world, they struggle with temptations of being with a man or getting out of The Order.

Black Narcissus is a well shot and well acted movie. The nuns give good performances and an Indian character who converts to the Christian faith is a compelling role.

Although, I have to admit that by the 3rd act, I found myself bored. In fact, there were brief times where I checked the guide on my TV (TCM aired it) to see how much more of the movie I had to watch.

However, my Grandma watched some of it with me- and she was like: "Would you stop doing that?" So I got my phone and glanced at that instead.

I didn't hate Black Narcissus, mind you. And if you catch it on TCM, it's worth putting on if you can't find anything else. But apart from that, I can't exactly recommend it- I've seen more interesting religious films that deal with temptation- like The Last Temptation of Christ and Dekalog.

I give this a weak recommendation if it's on TV. Otherwise, I would say that "nun" of your money should immediately go to a DVD purchase.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

A Progressive Movie In 1967 Still Says A Lot About Society Today.

[10/10 · 5 May 2024]

As a film buff, I love old movies, but few are as enjoyable and relevant as Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

The plot, set in the present day, (present day being 1967), follows liberal parents played by Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. Their grown daughter comes home- with a surprise- a fiance. But not just any fiance- an African American one, played by Sidney Poiter.

They quickly fell in love, and within a few days they got engaged. Even though the daughter says that they will marry regardless of how they feel, she hopes that her parents will approve of her marriage to a black man by dinner time that evening.

Even with such a stretch of a plot (who would approve of a marriage of a couple who knew each other for a couple of days, regardless of the race of the other person?), such a plot point is besides the point, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner still manages to be a fantastic film- especially with the acting from Tracy, Hepburn, and Poitier.

For example, when Tracy makes his decision on how he feels on the engagement, he makes an 8 minute speech that never ceases to be riveting. There are also conversations between characters about the engagement that go on for some time without losing one's interest.

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner also has some touches that take you back to 1967- such as a trip to a drive-in diner. Also in the diner scene, Tracy accidentally backs into a black man's car, who shouts: "Do you know how much this is going to cost to repair?" Tracy chucks some money at him and shouts: "Here's $50, GO BUY A NEW ONE!"

When I watched this with my Grandma, I laughed and said: "$50 for a new car?" And she said something along the lines of, "That's inflation for you."

While $50 cars may be dated in 2024, the message of the film is not. Even when segregation was dying out of America in 1967, interracial marriage was still taboo, and illegal in some states. (The court case Loving V. Virginia, which made interracial marriage legal, was decided the same year.)

Hollywood actually had some guts to tell this story at this time, and that is a triumph in itself. It was even nominated for Best Picture, but lost to a lesser (but recommendable) Sidney Poitier film- In The Heat Of The Night. (To be clear, In The Heat Of The Night is a good movie, I just feel that Guess Who's Coming To Dinner is the better film.)

The fact that interracial marriage was controversial just shy of six decades ago shows how far we have come in that time, and that seems to be director Stanley Kramer's point even then. With excellent dialogue and performances, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner becomes a powerful story about progression and antiracism that says a lot about modern society, even 57 years later. And that's what makes it a masterpiece and a pleasure to watch.

George of the Jungle (1997)

One Of My Favorite Live Action Disney Movies, And One Of The Funniest. (MY 200TH REVIEW)

[10/10 · 4 May 2024]

When I was about 7 years old, one of the families that I know from church was having a garage sale, and my parents took me to it. They had some VHS tapes there (welcome to circa 2005), and one of them was George of the Jungle. As I paid for it, the father dared me to watch it without laughing.

I lost that dare. That would be like not laughing at The Birdcage or Airplane! George of the Jungle, despite being live action (save for the opening credits), should be ranked with the likes of Aladdin, The Emperor's New Groove, and Finding Nemo as one of the funniest Disney movies ever made.

The plot, based on an old cartoon, follows George, played by Brendan Fraser. He's been raised in the jungle, where his best friend is an Ape named Ape (voiced by John Cleese).

One day, he meets Ursula (Leslie Mann), the first human female he's ever laid eyes on. Although she is engaged to Lyle (Thomas Haden Church), George and Ursula fall in love as they experience his jungle, and hers- New York City.

George Of The Jungle was pretty much my introduction to all of these actors mentioned- save for John Cleese, who voiced the King in Shrek 2. They all give good performances, and Brendan Fraser makes for a good "Tarzan wannabe" as Ursula calls him at one point.

What makes the movie work best though is the laughs, which still hold up 18 years after my first viewing. George of the Jungle has many jokes that are either self-aware (like a scene where a villain and the narrator fight with each other, to which another villain is like: "will you stop fighting with the narrator?"), or the physical comedy of George smashing into trees and buildings. The movie even ends with a hilarious reference to The Lion King.

George of the Jungle is no cinematic masterpiece if compared to the best movies ever made (like Citizen Kane and The Godfather), but judging it as what is- a Disney movie that's not animated, George of the Jungle is one of the most entertaining, even as a 25-year-old. (I no longer have that tape, but I do have it on DVD.) It's a ton of fun regardless of how old you are, and that makes for a good family movie.

I have a personal dare for you that's just as challenging as my church friend's- leave this movie without the George of the Jungle theme song stuck in your head. You have my full permission to lose.

PS: There is also a direct-to-video sequel. It's okay, but I don't really recommend seeing it unless you really want to see it on Disney Plus or something. Otherwise, you can skip it and let the first movie stand alone.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

How The Director Of Parenthood and Apollo 13 Made A Fun Holiday Film.

[9/10 · 4 May 2024]

How The Grinch Stole Christmas is a film from my youth, but I haven't seen it in about 13 years, to tell you the truth. Even now, the movie is still quite merry, it's still very funny all thanks to Jim Carrey.

The Grinch hates Christmas, this you know, but that's because of the teasing he got for the green fur that he grows. It's thanks to a little girl named Cindy Lou that the Grinch learns holiday cheer, although the birth of Christ is never mentioned, I fear.

Jim Carrey is great in this part, it's more than alrighty, it's my favorite role of his, though in terms of movies, I prefer Bruce Almighty. There's also Jeffery Tambor as The Mayor, and the cute Taylor Momsen is the Cindy Lou player. Anthony Hopkins narrates, some of which comes from the Dr. Suess page, and Christine Baranski is in it- she's in my favorite comedy- The Birdcage.

But apart from the cast, there is much to praise, such as the jokes that will land for days. Some are crude, that I admit, but of course the little ones, those jokes they won't get. There's an "I'm going to throw up" line that I rather enjoyed, and the ab-libbing of Jim Carrey made him worthy to be employed.

But the best part besides the jokes is that the film has heart, it moved ME to tears, as the film nearly departs.

The camerawork is pretty, and the green and red glows, filmmaking is certainly something that Ron Howard knows. Of course that's no surprise, I know he is good, he directed movies like Apollo 13 and Parenthood.

It also has a couple of songs, like the You're A Mean One song, and there's also a tune called Where Are You Christmas that's not very long.

The start takes a little long to move the plot- that's my minor complaint, but this movie was fun, a bad one it ain't. It's a movie I would recommend and watch again and again, and I rate it a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Dekalog (1989–1990)

Ten Stories, Ten Commandments. Highly Recommended Regardless Of Your Religious Beliefs.

[10/10 · 31 January 2024]

One of my favorite film critics, James Berardinelli, has Dekalog listed as his 2nd favorite movie, topped only by Patton. While it's not that high for me, (it's near the end of my favorites list rather than the top), it is still an excellent achievement in foreign film.

This 10-part mini-series from Poland tells 10 stories, mostly disconnected in plot, but connected in theme- one of The 10 Commandments.

For example, the first story ("You shall have no other gods before me*") tells of an atheist father who trusts in technology rather than God, and a loss that such trust costs him. Story 5 is about a man who murders and gets the death penalty for it. Story 6 is about a man who falls in love with a married woman. And so on and so forth.

While God is mentioned here and there (mostly in the first 3 stories), Dekalog is actually a far cry from a religious movie. Dekalog is not to be considered as a God's Not Dead kind of faith based movie. (I consider it to be one, and will refer to it as a religious movie, but it technically isn't one IF comparing it to a poor film like God's Not Dead.) In fact, it's not a Christian movie thematically speaking, only in theme.

My takeaway from the movie was regardless of if the viewer is religious or not (and I am, mind you), The Ten Commandments still sets a standard of our morality, and breaking it by killing, committing adultery, stealing, etc. Makes one immoral.

Dekalog takes these themes seriously, but also forces us to see the challenges in following them. Take the 2nd story ("Thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain") in which a doctor is forced to swear to God that he is telling the truth about the state of a patient of his. We later learn that he lied under his oath- and the woman tells him that he better pray for forgiveness to his God for doing so.

Or consider how we can seek justice for the murder of a loved one, but is the death penalty a righteous way to get said justice? These are complex questions that Dekalog presents, but does not answer, these are moral conclusions that we are forced to ponder and make for ourselves.

Dekalog is long- nearly 10 hours in length- 1 hour per story. However, despite some slow moments in which no dialogue is heard, the hours go by decently, and they can be seen in parts. (I watched 1-2 parts at a time, and watched the last 3 all at once.)

No matter your religious beliefs, Dekalog is definitely a film worth seeing. Like I said, it is not a religious film traditionally speaking, but it takes religious ideas seriously. While the morality can be complex, we are better people for trying to follow them, and we hurt others when we break them- not just God, but our neighbors as well.

Dekalog is a long, morally complex, and emotionally draining movie. But it is a well made, well acted, and thought-provoking one as well, and it is one of the most rewarding cinematic experiences I have ever had.

Note: This is my 100th 10/10 review! :)

*The sections are not named by their commandment; I am just pointing out how the commandment and the story connect together.

The Visual Bible: Acts (1994 Video)

It Gives You A Deeper Understanding Of The Spreading Of The Gospel.

[10/10 · 30 January 2024]

The Visual Bible: Acts was made as a follow-up to their adaptation of Matthew. I suspect this movie was made since Acts is rarely adapted into film.

As much as I love the worthwhile films about Jesus and Moses, I also really love it when a movie is made about the other stories in The Bible. One of my Top 10 favorite Biblical movies is The Bible: In The Beginning. I also love ones like Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie and King David.

The Visual Bible: Acts is another great "other" Bible movie, and nearly as good as Matthew.

Like Visual Bible's film version of Matthew, Acts is straight from the NIV Bible. While Acts 8:37 has been omitted from the script as a result, the movie comes word-for-word from Acts- the story of the disciples spreading the Good News of Jesus to Jews and Gentiles alike.

All the actors are fine in their roles. The highlights are Luke- played by Dean Jones, who did Disney movies like The Love Bug and The Ugly Daschund beforehand and Peter- played by atheist actor James Brolin.

The Biblical accuracy is the most worthy of praise. In fact, in church, we are doing an Adult Bible study on Acts, and I have used clips to help me read the passages necessary to do the homework involved.

For those who love Biblical epics and want a break from Moses or Jesus for the theme, I highly recommend Acts. While it's long with a run-time of 3 hours and 13 minutes, it's well worth it and it gives one a deeper understanding of the spreading of The Gospel.

The Gospel According to Matthew (1993)

A Word For Word Masterpiece.

[10/10 · 24 January 2024]

*My 200th review on my page!*

The Visual Bible: Matthew gained my attention when I was about 7 or 8. It was for sale at the now closed Family Christian Store, and my Dad bought it. We had an intention of seeing it, but the 4 hour and 25 minute run-time kept us from doing so. He passed away when I was 9, and at no time did I ever see it.

I ended up finding a copy of it in high school at my local Salvation Army (I no longer had that old one) and it became one of my favorite Biblical movies.

The Visual Bible: Matthew is just that- a visual of the words of Matthew. The dialogue- narration and spoken, comes strictly from The NIV translation. My 1st of 2 nit-picks with the movie is that as such, some verses are removed- namely 17:21, 18:11, and 23:14, and the Bible tells us to never take away from God's word, and I find that contradictory for a movie being "word for word."

That aside, this is one of the best Biblical movies ever made. Bruce Marchiano is a more historically accurate looking Jesus, and one of the best actors to play him at that.

He also has some personality, something people criticize from actors like Max Von Sydow, who played Christ in The Greatest Story Ever Told. For example, when Jesus speaks Matthew 7:3-5, he says:

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

As he does this, he jokingly places a plank next to his eye, making him and his disciples laugh. This leads to my other nit-pick, in which he speaks to a crowd in The Sermon on the Mount scene, while it's narrated in Matthew 4:25-5:1 that Jesus ignored the crowd to speak to only the disciples.

My nit-picks aside, The Visual Bible: Matthew is one of the best Biblical movies ever made- and it proves that Scripture itself is all that's needed to make a powerful movie based on The Bible. While Pasolini's The Gospel According To St. Matthew is my favorite movie about Jesus (and movie period), this ranks up there with it as one of the best Jesus films ever produced. It is a word-for-word masterpiece.

Note: Because Matthew is writing the words, we cut to him saying the words of his text to some kids at times.

Fireproof (2008)

A Sanitized Love Story For Christians. (POSSIBLE SPOILERS)

[9/10 · 19 January 2024]

Some Christians love The Kendrick Brothers, others have problems with their films. I am a Christian who likes their movies, but some of them certainly have issues. Fireproof is one such movie. It's not without its flaws, but I still really enjoy it.

Fireproof follows a firefighter named Caleb who is in a failing marriage. His wife of 7 years Catherine and him fight all of the time, mostly because Caleb works at the fire station all night and does nothing productive during the day.

This leads to a huge fight that might lead to divorce. Caleb tells his Dad about it, and he gives him a book called The Love Dare- a 40 day plan where he has to do something nice for his wife without expecting anything in return.

For example, Caleb has to make her coffee in the morning, set up a romantic dinner, or in one instance when he wants to start a fight, he holds his tongue instead. However, he has to act quickly, because one of Catherine's co-workers is rubbing off on her in the middle of Caleb's plan.

Fireproof, in my view, is a very entertaining movie. I also appreciate the acting from actors like Kirk Cameron (who plays Caleb) and Erin Bertha (who plays Catherine). Some performances can be a bit corny (like from an actor who basically flirts with himself in a mirror), but plenty of the actors are okay for being non-professionals.

I also appreciate the 40 day plan aspect of the story. While no broken marriage could easily be patched in over a month, the point that spouses need to put the other person's needs first is a key message for any marriage- Christian or secular.

I also like the detail that the married couple is named Caleb and Catherine- these are 2 of director Alex Kendrick's kid's names.

While they may not match the action of a Tom Cruise or James Bond movie, Fireproof also has some neat action scenes- particularly when Caleb saves a little girl who is trapped in a house on fire, or when many firefighters rush to save some injured girls in a car crash that landed them in the middle of some train tracks.

There's also a funny scene involving a hot sauce called Wrath of God. I won't spoil this for you, but when a church friend showed this to me when I was 16, it made me laugh really hard!

Like I said, Fireproof is not a perfect movie. For example, the movie opens with a young Catherine saying that she wants to marry a man like her father, and her mother says that she will find a man who loves her very much.

The first time we see Caleb and Catherine together, they have a huge fight where Caleb screams in her face and calls her names. THIS is the man who loves her very much? What was their marriage like before this?

If I had written the script, I would have replaced that first scene with a brief montage or scene of Caleb and Catherine meeting and then falling in love and starting out as a happy couple.

Then, I would have a caption of "7 years later", and THEN that fight would be more fitting.

Catherine also starts to have an affair, and she stops obviously, but she never apologizes directly for it, in fact she only stops when she discovers a sacrifice that her husband made that her 3rd wheel took credit for. So, an apology moment would have been nice.

The movie also tries to cover some PG-13 topics and make them PG, which causes some sanitization of what is trying to be taught. For example, Caleb has a porn addiction which is alluded to when he stares at his computer but rushes to exit out when his wife comes in the room.

While I'm not asking to watch what Caleb is watching, the movie seems to make the topic of porn addiction family friendly, which is even more inappropriate in a way. That goes for subjects like adultery and divorce. The next Kendricks Brothers movie- Courageous is PG-13 while discussing things like this in broader focus, and I personally think that is a better movie, this being one reason.

One final thing I would like to critique is common in many faith based movies- the heavy handedness. For one thing, Caleb and Catherine are not Christians for a majority of the movie, and the movie implies that if you are a Christian, then you will have a good marriage. Just about my whole family is Christian, and many of my family members are divorced for one reason or another. So, that's definitely not true.

Caleb's parents are Christians though, and his father tells him that becoming believers is what saved their marriage. There is a scene where Caleb gripes that his wife has rejected his love over and over and over, and asks how anyone could love a person like that.

Caleb's father then leans against a cross- not at all being subtle, especially how he convinces his son to become a Christian right then and there in the middle of him asking for marriage advice.

I know I have critiqued a lot for a movie getting 9/10 stars. As a movie, I might give it about an 8, but judging this as a faith based movie, I think this is one of the better ones. Compare my 9 against God's Not Dead, not against The Godfather.

While Fireproof could have been written better in some areas, it's still a solid look at a Christ-centered marriage. I remember in a couple of high school classes, we were asked about our views of marriage- and both times I mentioned Fireproof.

Fireproof isn't flaw-proof, but it is certainly one of the better Christian movies out there. With its compelling drama and set up for an important message, Fireproof is a fine, faith based way to extinguish 2 hours.

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

This Should Have Won Best Picture, Not Just Nominated.

[10/10 · 17 January 2024]

Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my favorite Disney movies. It was one of my favorite movies to watch with my sister when we were kids, and it's still in my Top 10 favorite Disney movies today.

The plot follows a young woman named Belle, a bookworm who comes across a cursed prince who was transformed into a beast by a witch. He has captured her father, and she offers to take his place.

Little does she realize that her brave decision will be his redemption from the curse- which also affects his servants (including a teapot, teacup, clock, and candle)- for the curse can only be broken if someone can learn to love The Beast.

As an adult, one of the most appreciative elements of Beauty and the Beast is the love story. Most Disney Princess movies have a formula of the girl dreaming of a mystery prince, her finding the prince, and then almost immediately getting married.

Beauty and the Beast is not like that. Belle doesn't even like The Beast at first, and she refuses to have dinner with him the first night she lives in the castle. It takes some time for them to actually fall in love, and that's what a great romance needs.

Beauty and the Beast also has some great songs- like Belle, Gaston (where the villain's friends boast about how great he is), Be Our Guest, and the titular Beauty and the Beast, sung by Mrs. Potts when Belle and Beast begin to fall in love. There is also a wonderful rendition of the song in the credits by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson.

The animation is glorious as well- such as the opening shot of the castle and the stained glass images, the musical numbers, and the camera motion-like movements of the dance scene.

The cast also does a wonderful job as well. Most of the actors are mostly known only for this movie- but Jerry Orbach (Baby's father in Dirty Dancing) voices the candle Lumiere, and Angela Lansbury voices Mrs. Potts. Mary Kay Bergman voices a feather duster, and she would later do the female voices in the beginning of South Park. Yes, I'm serious.

All of these elements- the animation, songs, cast, and most importantly the well told story, were critically praised when this was released back in 1991. Siskel and Ebert both had Beauty and the Beast in their top 10 of the year, and another critic I admire, James Berardinelli (who created reelviews.net) says this is the best animated movie ever made.

In fact, it's his 58th favorite movie, and the only animated movie he gives 4/4 stars apart from the tragic but masterful Grave of the Fireflies.

With acclaim and quality like this, it's no wonder that Beauty and the Beast was the first animated movie ever to get a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. It would also be the only one for 18 years- then Up was nominated for 2009 and Toy Story 3 was nominated a year later.

Sadly, while it got such an honorable nomination, it did not win. Of all movies, The Silence of the Lambs won instead. That's a good movie too, but I have always considered that to be the worst decision the Oscars have ever made. Musicals and romances are more Oscar-type than horror movies, so I have always felt that this loss was quite the injustice.

In fact, animated movies were gaining popularity in the 90s, and this led to the Best Animated Feature category in 2001, which to me feels like the Academy just views animation as cartoons, and not a unique form of cinematic storytelling.

Regardless, Beauty and the Beast did get nominated, and I'm glad that it did. It's one of the best stories Disney has ever told, and this tale as old as time should forever be considered timeless.

The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)

More Of A Swear Show Than A Comedy Show, But It's Funny Enough.

[8/10 · 13 January 2024]

When it works, I really enjoy stand up comedy films. I think Eddie Murphy Delirious may be the funniest movie I have ever seen. I laughed so hard for the first 50 minutes of that movie that I couldn't laugh for the last 20 because my throat was so sore. Eddie Murphy Raw is nearly as hilarious.

Although, I don't exactly care for The Three Amigos (with Mexican comedians, not Steve Martin) for the persistent swearing near the end.

Why am I telling you this? Because what makes Delirious and Raw masterpieces to me are part of why I feel that The Original Kings of Comedy, while good (I do recommend it, keep that in mind), has some flaws.

The Original Kings of Comedy has 4 African American stand up comedians on a 2 night recording of their stand up tour. The comedians are Steve Harvey (who is more the host than a star, but he does display his own material), D. L. Hughley, Cedric The Entertainer, and Bernie Mac.

Steve Harvey really steals the show and is the best thing about it. In fact, while there is other good material here, I kind of wish this was just his act. Sure, you can get other DVDs of his act, but you get my point.

One bit that he does is about going to church as a kid. He had to go every day for service, for prayer meetings, for bake sales, anything. In fact, he went so frequently that he had to look for things to like about it.

Then he met a woman who said used profanity in the House of God, and she became his reason to go. That was probably my favorite joke in the movie.

Next, there's D. L Hughley. He talks about God as well in a humorous way, saying Jesus had to be black because turning water into wine is the most black thing a person could do. He has another bit about the difference between firing a white person and a black person from a job, that was funny too. (And I'm white, if that matters.)

Cedric The Entertainer was okay. He made me chuckle but not really laugh. That was one of my issues with the movie, for a stand up comedy, I felt the laughs were kind of lacking compared to Delirious or Raw.

He did have a funny bit about how black people don't get shot because they know how to run from a bad situation. If you run, black people run. Other than that, his section was so-so, with more chuckles than laughs.

Finally, we have Bernie Mac. He has a funny bit about raising his nieces and nephews, and how strange they are, and the first half of his act is pretty good.

However, his closing joke went on too long, and the subject was never really funny. The bit is about how black people use the word "mother-" Look, I'm not "afraid" of the word "mother-", but that's not funny. It's just cursing for the sake of cursing.

Wikipedia has a page for movies that have the most F words. The Original Kings of Comedy, according to this source, has 213 F-words total. I've seen very good movies with more than that (Casino has almost twice that), and Eddie Murphy Raw has just a few more than that (and he's the only F-word user!)

So, I am not condemning this movie for HAVING numerous curse words. I don't care about that, I knew it was foul going in. However, what I AM condemning HOW it's used.

When Steve Harvey told that church lady story, his use of MF in that has a purpose, and makes you laugh. Bernie's pervasive use of it is just foul, disgusting, and pointless. In fact, I kind of wonder if he was just TRYING to make a record by adding that "joke."

So is The Original King of Comedy the funniest stand up movie ever? No. (Eddie Murphy Delirious still holds that crown.) Is it more concerned about saying the next curse word than the next joke? Sometimes. (And the movie also has some behind the scenes segments that slow the humor down as well.)

But all things said and done, there are laughs to be found here, and the jokes that do work make it worth seeing. While this movie is no King, it's entertaining enough and it will leave you at least chuckling and smiling a fair amount.

Friday Night Lights (2004)

Cliche But Worth The Watch.

[8/10 · 13 January 2024]

I'm not a regular viewer of sports movies, mainly because I have no interest in sports whatsoever, however there are sports movies that I really enjoy- such as Hoop Dreams (that's the best sports movie ever made in my opinion), Field of Dreams, The Sandlot, The Blind Side, Remember The Titans, and so forth.

I was expecting to enjoy Friday Night Lights to rank with these, because critics like Larry King named it one of the best sports movies ever made. With acclaim like this, I was expecting a movie ranking with Hoop Dreams. For me, the movie was good, but it didn't quite make it.

Friday Night Lights, which is based on a true story, tells of a high school football team that succeeds in an economically depressed town.

From a filmmaking standpoint, FNL is very well made. The cinematography is well done, and the acting is very good, especially from Billy Bob Thornton and Derek Luke.

However, Friday Night Lights, while good, has its cliche moments- even if it is based on a true story. There's a scene where a kid gets injured and there's a conflict of whether he is able to play or not. There's also the disapproving father who doesn't root for his son's passion for football.

Moments like this made the movie predictable in some areas, and that's why I rated this an 8 out of 10. (I watched this with my Grandma, she gave it the same rating.)

While I don't share the acclaim of critics like Larry King for Friday Night Lights, it was good and worth a watch. As for my enthusiasm and recommendation, I am in no rush to see it again, however if I was channel surfing and it was on TV, I'd watch it.

That said, suppose this was on and Remember The Titans was on another channel, and I had to pick between the 2, I'd pick Remember The Titans.

Still, judging it on its own terms, Friday Night Lights is a worthy film in the sports genre, and should a chance arise to see it, it is worth the watch, despite its predictable elements.

Penelope (2006)

A Wonderful Modern Fairy Tale That This Man Found To Be Very Touching.

[9/10 · 10 January 2024]

I watched Penelope a few months ago, and really enjoyed it. For the record, I'm a 25-year-old male, and Penelope is basically a fairy tale. That doesn't matter though, Penelope is a wonderful modern fairy tale that this man found to be very touching.

Penelope (played by Christina Ricci) is a pretty normal girl- save for the fact that she has a pig snout for a nose. You see, her ancestors were cursed by a witch whose daughter was rejected for her ugliness- the curse saying that their next girl in their family would be born with a pig snout, and she would only receive a normal nose when someone loves her despite (or rather for) her peculiar nose.

Penelope's mother (Catherine O'Hara) is then determined to find her daughter a husband, unfortunately all the potential husbands run away when they see her abnormal facial feature.

Penelope has some wonderful actors- Christina Ricci giving one of her best performances, along with The Addams Family, Casper, and Monster. (This is pretty light-hearted compared to those!)

Catherine O'Hara, who also played the Mom in Home Alone, is very good too, as is James McAvory, Reese Witherspoon, and the like.

I also loved how unique the story was. While it clearly had some Beauty and the Beast influence, the overall plot of a girl rejected for her pig nose was an overall very original idea.

In fact, what touched me most in the story was how Penelope's curse was broken. The movie sets it up like someone has to fall in love with her for the curse to break, but how it actually happened made me beam and even slightly teary-eyed.

On that note- as I watched the movie, I kept thinking- who wouldn't love Christina Ricci with a pig nose? And who wouldn't want to be the husband of the one girl on Earth to have a snout for a nose?

I do have some minor critiques of the movie- like there are references to suicide and unfaithfulness- which I found to be a bit unnecessary in a movie for kids. (Nevertheless, I recommended this to a church friend who raises an 8-year-old girl. I thought the movie would be perfect for her.)

There was also a time or 2 when I felt the movie drag, but these moments were quite brief- the movie was very engaging as a whole.

These small quibbles don't affect my high recommendation at all. Penelope is a great family movie, and no matter if you are a girl or a boy, or a child or an adult, Penelope is a wonderful movie with a touching message.

Raging Bull (1980)

One Of Martin Scorsese's Finest Works. (MILD SPOILERS)

[10/10 · 9 January 2024]

Martin Scorsese is my favorite director, and Raging Bull is one of his finest works. When it was released, it was a highly praised movie from critics- so much so that while it was released in 1980, Siskel and Ebert both named it the best movie of the entire decade.

While I don't think I would rate Raging Bull THAT high (my favorite Scorsese movie came out in 1988- The Last Temptation of Christ), it is still a masterpiece worthy of the praise it has been given.

The movie follows the real life of Jake LaMotta, played by Robert DeNiro. Jake is a boxer with a fit of rage that he uses in and outside of the ring. His rage eventually breaks all of his relationships- to his wife Vicky to his friends to his brother Joey (played by Joe Pesci in his and DeNiro's first Scorsese collaboration.)

Many of Martin Scorsese's films are complex character studies- whether it be the Catholic vs. Gangster guilt of Harvey Keitel in Mean Streets, to Jesus Himself in Last Temptation, to the greedy characters of Goodfellas, Casino, or The Wolf of Wall Street, and Raging Bull is no exception.

Jake LaMotta is not a good man, but we still sympathize with him, or at least I did. Jake has pressure as a middleweight champion (we see time cut back and forth with his weight going up and down and his brother getting on his diet habits to maintain it), and he has anger issues that are quite startling.

For example, when Jake dumps his first wife for Vicky, he constantly suspects and accuses her of cheating- after all, how could someone as beautiful as her not be sleeping around with other men?

This causes many violent reactions from Jake- from breaking a bathroom door down with one punch, to hitting his brother to the ground while he is having dinner with his family, to violent matches at boxing matches- one of which causes blood to splatter on the announcers. (Really Hershey's syrup since it was made in black and white.)

His whole life is intense, and full of jealousy and rage. This causes him to lose all that he has- and forces him to reflect on his poor choices.

Martin Scorsese is no stranger to Catholic imagery- from Mean Streets to The Departed to most clearly in The Last Temptation of Christ, Scorsese has integrated Catholicism and Catholic guilt into many of his stories- reflecting not just Scorsese's characters, but Scorsese himself.

Raging Bull has the same type of imagery- Jake's houses are full of images of Jesus and Mary, and crucfixes. It's a sense of irony that a man so apparently devoted to Christ is full of envy and violence.

We see this in the end of the movie as well- when Jake loses everything- words from The Bible itself close the film- John 9:24-26, in which The Pharisees question how Jesus healed a blind man, and they call Him a sinner. The healed man replies: "Whether or not He is a sinner, I do not know, all I know is that I once was blind, and now I see."

I saw this after 2 hours of violence, rage, and profanity- and I thought "What the..." and I pondered for a while- how such a random Biblical quote could be used to close Scorsese's boxing film- especially since no other film of his ends with Scripture?

As I thought more about it, it made more sense. Jake is blind to how his anger affects others, until he loses everyone. When he lost everything he held dear, he was able to see the damage he caused and couldn't fix. Jake is indeed a sinner- he was blind to it before, but can see it now. Sadly for him, it's too late.

Raging Bull is a powerful character study, and in analyzing it I have had no time to praise the performances, direction, and black and white cinematogaphy, done because of an error in the color of boxing gloves in the 1940s. Of course, since Scorsese was behind the movie, it's all excellent as well.

In fact, the story is so compelling, that I even found myself glued to the couch I was laying on, and forgetting at times that I was even watching a movie.

Such is the power of Raging Bull, which is not just one of the best movies of the 1980s, but one of the best of all time, and it's one of the definitive motion pictures of Martin Scorsese's career.

Inherit the Wind (1960)

Keep In Mind: It's A Movie, Not A Documentary.

[9/10 · 3 January 2024]

Inherit The Wind is a movie that I have had a love-hate relationship with, and just seeing it again for the first time in quite a few years, it's more on the love side.

First off, I should say that I'm a Christian who believes in a "literal" interpretation of The Bible. I'll get into that later. I also love movies. Since Inherit The Wind is a movie about creation vs. Evolution, it has always intrigued me.

While I loved it in high school, I learned about the actual Scopes Trial in which the movie is based, and I started to dislike the movie. However, I decided to see it again, and my mind was changed once again.

Inherit The Wind is loosely based upon the 1925 court case known as The Scopes Trial. The case followed a teacher who agreed to lie about teaching Darwin in his classroom after a Tennesse state law made it illegal to do so.

This led to a challenge to the law, which later made it illegal to ban evolution from schools on the basis that it goes against The Bible's teaching of creation in Genesis.

Inherit The Wind takes this historical event and twists many things. In the movie, a teacher who rejects a small town's religious zest diliberately teaches his class that "man descended from a lower order of animals."

He's arrested for this, and gets an agnostic lawyer named Henry Drummond to defend him- he's played by Spencer Tracy, and he defends the teacher's "right to think", and for his students to think about the clash between science and faith.

Then comes Fredrich March as Matthew Harrison Brady, a politican who believes in Biblical literalism, and comes to fight the teacher's views on Evolution. Thus begins a court case battle of science and religion.

These actors, Tracy and March, and other key stars like Gene Kelly, Dick York, and Harry Morgan to name a few, all give fantastic performances. The cinematography is beautiful in black and white, and the movie is all around very well made and engaging.

There is also some great suspense, such as a scene in which Dummond challenges Brady on his knowledge of The Bible- which I will dig into later. As a Christian, this scene has many thought-provoking questions for my faith, while also being a bit harsh and biased.

This is why I used to dislike the movie, and why I have subtracted a star from my rating: Inherit The Wind is a very one-sided movie in many ways.

All the religious people in the town are hateful and bigoted, for example in one scene they harass the teacher while he's in jail (the real teacher didn't spend a minute there), and they sing to the tune of the National Battle Hymn of the Republic (a pro-North song sung by Southerners) that they will hang him to a sour apple tree for rejecting Genesis.

A fictional preacher also appears in the movie named Jeremiah Brown. His daughter is the fiancee of the teacher, and the teacher is against Brown for preaching that an unbaptized child who drowned is in Hell.

I can sympathize with the teacher here, as baptism is not a requirement for salvation- the repentant thief on the cross was most likely unbaptized, and Mark 16:16 says that "those who believe and are baptized will be saved, but those who do not believe will be condemned." So, this preacher isn't much of a theologian.

When Brady is on stand, Drummond asks him many questions about The Bible- where did Cain's wife come from- Genesis 4:16? Drummond says that has never phased him and he'll leave that to the agnostics to figure out. (Many creationists point to Genesis 5:4, which says that Adam and Eve had daughters, and state that incest was not an issue at the time as Adam and Eve were the only humans on Earth.)

Drummond also inquires about the impossibility of Joshua making the sun stand still in Joshua 10 or Jonah being swallowed by a whale, or as Brady corrects, a large fish. (Fun Fact: In the real trial, the real Drummond- named Clarence Darrow, misspoke here and asked Williams Jenning Bryan about Jonah swallowing a whale.)

Brady says pretty much what I would here, that God is all-powerful and He can do with logic and physics as He pleases. Of course, back to my bias point, he is humiliated for making this statement, and creationism loses in court that day.

Another problem that I have with this scene is that earlier in the movie Drummond wants some scientists to testify about what Evolution is, and Brady makes the objection that the case is about Evolution being taught against the law, not on if it is true, so the testimony should not be allowed. (In real life, Darrow renounces his own scientists on this basis.)

Back to the movie though, it barely covers what Evolution is, apart from mentions of man evolving from apes, slime, and protisas. Basically, it shows why Young Earth Christians reject Darwin, but then brush it aside to point the finger at The Bible.

In other words, the movie is like: "Yeah- I believe we came from slime, but that's not as silly as Cain having a wife!" If the movie's message is that one should think about their own beliefs, and it's going to mock Christianity, shouldn't the movie tell us more on what Evolution is?

Returning to Brady's testimony- I also don't like that Brady says that sex is a sin. While there are sexual sins- lust, adultery, and so forth, sex between a husband and wife is a gift from God that an entire book of The Bible- Song of Songs- celebrates.

I've given a list of flaws regarding how Christians are portrayed, but that's my only main issue. Many people think that this movie is true to the real case, and it's not. If you are going to watch it, keep in mind that Inherit The Wind is a movie, not a documentary.

If you are watching this movie for facts, then avoid it and look to Alleged for a closer re-creation of The Scopes Trial. If you want great performances and filmmaking with a thought-provoking take on science and religion, then I highly recommend Inherit The Wind.

Fun Fact: The movie's title comes from Proverbs 11:29: "He who causes trouble on his house will only inherit the wind."

Mean Girls (2004)

I'm A Guy, And Mean Girls Is So Fetch!

[10/10 · 29 December 2023]

I'm 25, and I saw Mean Girls for the first time when I was 16. My Pastor has a daughter named Gretchen who is my age (this review is a day-early birthday gift for her), and this is one of her favorite movies.

I actually saw the movie because of her enthusiasm for it, and to my surprise, (I'm a guy after all), I loved it too. Even now, it's one of my favorite comedies. And I don't think it's a "guilty pleasure" or anything, it's legitimately a great comedy and teen movie.

The movie stars Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron (pronounced "Katie", not Caddy, that's one of her pet peeves!), a girl who goes to high school after being homeschooled in Africa.

She befriends a clique at the school, headed by a brat named Regina George. She then fits in with them...until she falls for Regina's ex-boyfriend Aaron.

Mean Girls, which is nearly 2 decades old, is still a hit with many teens and adults today. Much of this can be credited with the iconic lines that are still quoted today, like:

"Oh Danny Devito! I love your work!", "Karen, you can't just ask people why they're white!", "On Wednesdays we wear pink", "Get in loser, we're going shopping...", and I'm sure I could name a few others.

In fact, my friend Gretchen will say that something awesome is "so fetch", just like Gretchen from Mean Girls does, and so if I hear her say that I jokingly snap: "Stop trying to make fetch happen, Gretchen! It's NOT going to happen!"

These lines and numerous moments make the movie very funny, hence why this is one of my favorite comedies.

The cast is great too, and not just Lohan. Other clique members are played by actresses Racheal McAdams, Lacey Chabert, and Amanda Seyfried, and the like. Most of these stars got into other roles later on, but this was at the start of their careers.

Other notable actors include Tim Meadows, Amy Poehler, and Tina Fey, who also wrote the funny and clever script.

As an adult man, most movies aimed at teen girls haven't really appealed to me, but Mean Girls is a fantastic exception. I think what ultimately makes it work is that whether it's 2004, 2024, or 2054, this movie will always resonate with the teens who watch it.

From the lessons on the dangers of cliques, false friends, and simply growing up in high school, Mean Girls has a lot to say for the teens of all generations- and that's what makes it such a great movie in the teen movie genre.

Christmas Vacation (1989)

Christmas Vacation Is A Blast.

[10/10 · 23 December 2023]

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is one of the best Christmas movies ever made, and beloved by many. I know people who have traditions in watching it, like an elderly friend who used to watch it on Christmas Eve before going to bed.

The movie follows Clark Griswald (Chevy Chase) who hopes to have the perfect at home family Christmas. Unfortunately, a rodent in a tree, dry turkey, stapling lights to the house, being trapped in the attic, and an unexpected Christmas bonus is not what he had in mind.

Christmas Vacation, as the movie is briefly called, is one of the funniest Christmas movies ever. This can be attriubited to John Hughes, who wrote the script, and who would write Home Alone a year later. There are many funny scenes in the movie, such as the ones mentioned above.

The cast is also enjoyable- such as Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Mae Questel (aka Betty Boop), Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Doris Roberts, and EG Marshall- who actually passed away the very day that I was born.

Probably due to the PG-13 rating (which comes from some sexual humor and a single F-bomb near the end of the movie), I didn't see this as a kid. However, in the last maybe 8 or 9 years, I have seen it quite a few times- maybe 5 or so times.

I know that this review is pretty short, but this would be best enjoyed without much more detail. Just go watch it and have fun- it's a blast.

A Christmas Story (1983)

"You'll Shoot Your Eye Out Kid."

[10/10 · 23 December 2023]

A Christmas Story is one of the most beloved Christmas movies ever made, and rightfully so. It's funny, quotable, and simply so entertaining that it deserves the acclaim that it has had these last 40 years.

The story being told is narrated by a man named Ralphie, who is reminiscing on the best Christmas he ever had- in which he desired a Red Ryder BB Gun more than anything. Unfortunately, his Mom, teacher, and even a mall Santa tell him no, because he'll shoot his eye out.

In between Ralphie's quest to get his gun, there are iconic scenes in which a friend of his sticks his tongue to a frozen pole, Ralphie gets a bar of soap for swearing, his Dad wins a sexy lamp as an award, and more.

These iconic scenes are part of the charm that the movie has. There are also famous quotes, like "You'll shoot your eye out", "Fra-jeel-ay...it must be Italian!", "Ovaltine? A crummy commercial?" and "I triple dog dare you!"

But apart from famous lines and scenes, there is other merit to A Christmas Story as well. One prime example is the actors who do great work- Peter Billingsley as Ralphie, Darren McGavin as The Old Man, Melinda Dillon as Raphie's Mom, Scott Swartz as Flick, and so forth.

There's more that I feel like sharing, but I am worried about spoiling too much of the plot.

When I was really little, I was aware of this movie's existence and wanted to see it, but my Mom thought I was too young for it since it revolves around wanting a gun and it had quite a bit of swearing. Luckily, I have had plenty of time in my teen and adult years to see it, in fact I have now seen it over a dozen times- it's that enjoyable.

If your kid is under 8, that may be a little young for them to see A Christmas Story. Otherwise, this would be a great movie for families. Even 4 decades later, this still manages to charm and entertain audiences, and there is good reason. It's a holiday treasure.

Bambi (1942)

Even With A Famous Murder Scene, This Is Such A Sweet Movie.

[10/10 · 19 December 2023]

Bambi is one of my Top 10 favorite Disney movies. What makes that so impressive is that this was the 5th Disney movie ever made (following Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Dumbo).

Despite being such an early work for Walt, and a hardship due to WWII's effect on the company, it's such a wonderfully crafted movie that few of the company's movies have matched in the years since.

Bambi's plot is not very complex. It follows a deer who will grow up to be Prince of the Forest. We see him grow up and discover nature and befriend a rabbit named Thumper and a skunk whom he names Flower. As he grows older, he learns the responsibility of being a prince.

Bambi is a gorgeous movie to look at, nature being a huge factor. Consider the snow in Bambi's first winter, the flowers in which he meets his skunk friend, or the rain in the Little April Shower scene. The fact that it's all hand drawn makes it all the more impressive.

The cast does a nice job with their parts, but most of the actors wouldn't be familiar to audiences today. A big stand out though would be Cammie King, who played Scarlett and Rhett's daughter Bonnie in Gone With The Wind 3 years earlier. She voices Young Faline, who grows up to be Bambi's love interest.

The music is also nice too. It's not a musical per se, but there are a couple of nice songs, like Love Is A Song and Little April Shower. There's also a catchy score piece called Gallop of the Stags that I listen to on YouTube quite often.

The movie is also very cute and the last time I watched it, I beamed throughout it all...except the scene that everyone knows about regardless of if they have seen it.

Yeah, let's address the elephant in the room, or in this case, the deer. In case you didn't know, this movie is most famous for a scene where Bambi's Mom is shot by a hunter in the middle of the movie. (Actually, 40 minutes into a 70 minute runtime, so 57% into the movie.)

Like many other Disney classics, Bambi shows kids in a dark but necessary way that death is a natural part of life, even tragic death. And the scene is off-screen (the gunshot is heard, that's about it), so the scene is dealt with in a way that it won't truly traumatize little kids.

With its cute story, animation, characters, nice music, and a key lesson on life and death, I have no hesitiation in making this one of my Top 10 favorite Disney movies.

While it's a classic, I don't think it's as regarded today as Beauty and the Beast or Lion King or a modern one like Frozen or Moana. If you love Disney movies and have never seen Bambi, I can't recommend it enough. Even with a famous murder scene, Bambi is such a sweet movie, and one of the greatest achievements in Walt's personal career.

Note: This is being posted on the 67th birthday of an elderly friend of mine. This is her favorite Disney movie, so this is my birthday gift to her! :)

American Beauty (1999)

The Danger Of Dissatisfaction....A Christian's View On Why This Movie Is A Masterpiece.

[10/10 · 18 December 2023]

I first saw American Beauty when I was 17, about 8 years ago. It was interesting, but the plot was a bit creepy. But as time went on, I grew to appreciate the movie, and it's now one of my absolute favorite movies.

American Beauty is about a 42-year-old man named Lester Burnham, played by Kevin Spacey. He's in his mid-life crisis, and he hates his life. He hates his job, his realtor wife argues with him and they don't have sex (she even has an affair with another realtor), and his daughter Jane and him have a broken relationship.

Lester does not like any aspect of his life, and says that choking the chicken (to be less crass) in the shower is the highlight of his day. But then he meets a friend of Jane's named Angela, a gorgeous 17-year-old who, he thinks, will be the key to his satisfaction.

American Beauty has a clever way of showing desire- the color red. The Burnham's have a red door- their house is one of desire for happiness. Carolyn even cuts perfect roses in a covetness for happiness.

When Lester lusts for Angela, we see rose petals surrounding her in his fantasies. When he has a chance with her near the end, we see roses near them. And when he sees what he truly desires, we see roses again. These are just a handful of examples for Lester.

His wife Carolyn desires sex, but can't get it. At the dinner table, roses are in-between her and Lester, showing that she can't reach what she desires. But when she cheats on Lester, we then see them eat together with no roses on the table. Instead, Carolyn wears a shirt with a rose pattern. She got what she desired, while Lester has not- the roses are further away from him.

These clever symbols kind of tell their own story, and enhance the one told plainly.

As a Christian, and simply a person with morals, I remember how uncomfortable I was with the movie when I first saw it. Lust is a sin, how can I admire a movie that, while well-made, is about a married man lusting over a teenager?

However, the more I watched it, the more I realized that this immorality makes it one of the most moral movies I have ever seen.

You see, American Beauty is a story about the danger of dissatisfaction- with your marriage, with your job, with your life. That greed and dissatisfaction leads to downfall- to lust, to adultery, to greed, to immoral behavior, to selfishness.

When we look to God or selflessness instead of material things to be happy, then life has more meaning, more meaning than ogling over teenagers or getting a new car or job. We learn this from Lester's actions, and it's not too late for us.

American Beauty is a dark, unhappy movie. But it's a powerful and thought-provoking movie that makes you think long after you watch it.

The tagline of the movie is "look closer." When you do, American Beauty has an effective message to give- the danger of dissatisfaction.

Nil by Mouth (1997)

A Profane But Powerful Masterpiece.

[10/10 · 15 December 2023]

I had heard of Nil By Mouth for some time, and I bought and viewed it exactly 4 weeks ago having seen a few clips and reviews of the movie. Going into it partly blind, I was astounded by the movie. Even now, it sticks with me very deeply. Nil By Mouth is an underrated masterpiece.

Written and directed by actor Gary Oldman (who does NOT star in the film), the British movie follows Ray (Ray Winstone), a man with a wife and daughter. He loves his wife Valerie (Kathy Burke), but he is also fond of alcohol, and after a few too many drinks, he is prone to violent fits of rage, ranging from biting his brother-in-law's nose to kicking a pregnant Valerie to the point of miscarriage.

Valerie wants to leave, but Ray keeps convincing her that he'll change, thus continuing a disturbing cycle of rage.

Nil By Mouth is at its core your everyday story of spousal abuse, but its performances and the drama make it so compelling and cinematic.

Ray Winstone (who would later do movies like the first Narnia movie and The Departed) gives a chilling and complex performance as Ray. Yes, he is a monster when he drinks, but there are brief moments where a Dr. Jekyll side to him exists when booze doesn't bring back Mr. Hyde.

In a key scene near the end of the movie in which the title becomes relevant, Ray confides in a friend that his Dad was just as abusive as he is now, and his alcoholism caused a doctor-written sign that nothing could be fed to him by mouth. "Nil by mouth."

Ray says that sums it up- he can never remember a kiss, hug, or kind word from his old man's mouth. While this does not excuse Ray's abusive actions, this forces us to sympathize with him.

Valerie is played by Kathy Burke, who won a most deserved Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for the performance. She loves Ray, but is obviously distraught at the beatings Ray gives her after his drinking.

Any sympathetic person can feel her emotional or physical pain as she is beaten to a pulp- bloodied, bruised, and swollen by the man who is supposed to shower her with love. What is astonishing is that she still stays with him for so long, excusing his actions to others. (In one scene in which her face is half swollen, she says that she was hit by a car to protect Ray.)

In a powerful scene near the end of the movie, Valerie tells Ray that she doesn't want to be with him because he hates her. "I don't hate you!" "Well I don't feel LOVED!" This leads to a powerful speech that results in a surprising and satisfactory ending.

As great of a film this movie is, Nil By Mouth is not for everyone. If constant profanity offends you, then this should be avoided- Nil By Mouth is one of the Top 10 most profane movies ever made- with reportedly 428 F words and 82 C words. (For the latter, I think there was probably more.)

While I don't care for swearing, I felt that this fit the characters- I'd estimate about 300 or more of the F words came from Ray when drinking or enraged. The language shows that Ray's drinking causes a lack of control of not just his rage, but his mouth.

And since that is the environment of the dialogue, I got used to it after a while and it fit the story. Ray's beatings were far more terrifying than some 4 letter words.

Nil By Mouth is also not for those looking for a pleasant movie experience. Those traumatized from abuse would certainly have trauma triggers watching it. Others will find it hard to look at the screen at times.

That said, for those who can take the dark and gritty spousal abuse and dialogue, Nil By Mouth is a profane but powerful masterpiece.

King of Kings (1961)

A Majestic Biblical Epic.

[10/10 · 11 December 2023]

King of Kings is considered to be one of the most iconic and beloved Biblical movies ever made. While I don't think it's flawless, I still agree with the sentiment.

King of Kings, of course, is about the life of Jesus as told in The Gospels. In this movie, Jesus is played by Jeffery Hunter, who also starred with John Wayne in The Searchers.

King of Kings came in the middle of the Biblical epic craze of the 50s and 60s, preceded with the likes of The Robe, The Ten Commandments, and Ben-Hur, and followed with movies like The Greatest Story Ever Told and The Bible: In The Beginning.

Oddly enough, this was the first film from this era to show Jesus's face and have him speak. In The Robe and Ben-Hur, he barely speaks (if at all) and his face is never shown. (The King of Kings from 1927 showed his face, but that was from the silent era.)

The movie shows many scenes from Jesus's life- The Gospels, The Sermon on the Mount, the story of John The Baptist, and most of all The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus. (This tends to play on TCM on Easter due to its wonderful portrayal of Holy Week.)

Many of these scenes are well done, with excellent acting and cinematography, costumes, and sets. These elements make King of Kings one of the best-looking Biblical films ever made.

Some of the actors deserve recognition as well- such as Jeffery Hunter as Christ (as already mentioned), Robert Ryan as John The Baptist, Rip Torn as Judas (yes, really), and Orson Welles as The Narrator, who insisted on pronouncing "apostles" as a-POST-les" with a hard "t". (Fun Fact: His narration lines were written by author Ray Bradbury.)

As far as Bible movies go, I rate this a 10 in entertainment and worth in seeing. If you are a Christian or enjoy movies of this type, I highly recommend it for Christmas, Easter, or casual viewing.

However, there are some critiques that I would like to mention. For one thing, Jesus preaches to a crowd of thousands in The Sermon on the Mount scene- and this is one of the most iconic images in the movie.

This is Biblically inaccurate, as Jesus preached to the disciples only- see Matthew 4:25-5:1. The only Jesus movie that I have seen get that detail right is my favorite one- Pasolini's The Gospel According To St. Matthew.

There's other unbiblical stuff in the movie- such as a scene where a centurion recognizes Jesus as the baby who should have been killed, one where Mary tells Jesus that He will never finish making a chair- referring to His death, and scenes where Barabbas causes insurrection against the Romans, which causes his arrest worthy of crucifixion.

That final example is in The Bible, but the dialogue created for it detracts from Scripture, and further detracts from the focus on Jesus. For a movie called King of Kings, we don't see much of the Kings of Kings himself.

These critiques do bother me, but I don't let it destroy my overall enjoyment of the movie. There is still much Biblical accuracy and worth in seeing it, so as long as you know what's Biblical and what's not, I don't see any problem in seeing the movie. That's why I am rating the movie a 10/10 despite these minor complaints. This is much better than something like The Chosen.

King of Kings is not the best Jesus movie I have ever seen (I would rank ones like The Gospel According To St. Matthew, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and The Passion of the Christ higher), but I would still rank King of Kings as a favorite. With the power and beauty this movie contains, King of Kings is a majestic Biblical epic.

NOTE: TCM is playing this on Dec. 17th 2023 from 1:30-4:30pm EST for CHRISTmas.)

The Chosen (2017– )

Why Do Christians Like This?

[1/10 · 11 December 2023]

Being a Christian who goes to church nearly every week, I hear a lot about how great The Chosen is. I love Biblical epics, so I gave the first episode a shot. It was very boring and nothing Biblical happened. All I can ask myself when the show comes up is "Why do Christians like this?"

As I have read more about the series, that seems to be the whole show- a non-Biblical series about Jesus. On YouTube, there is a great channel called WWUTT (When We Understand The Text) that has critiqued The Chosen a few times.

For example, in their video "What's Wrong With The Chosen?", it's exposed that Jesus tells Matthew to write The Beatitudes in Matthew 5 down, instead of Him preaching it in the Sermon on the Mount.

Another point is when The Samaritan Woman sees Jesus and says "you're here to preach at me" and Jesus says no- except in the Gospel of John , He IS there to preach to not just her, but her whole town.

There's also a scene where Jesus and Nicodemus have their talk that leads to John 3:16, and Nicodemus asks: "Is the Kingdom of God really coming?" Jesus replies: "What does your heart tell you?" This is laughable, because Jeremiah 17:9 says: "The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?" Why would Jesus ask a mortal man to trust his heart when God the Father inspired a prophet to write that we shouldn't even trust our hearts but God alone?

It's stuff like this that makes me cringe at the existence of The Chosen. God told us long ago to never add to His word or take away from it- see Deut. 4:2. In Revelation 22:18-19, God says that anyone who adds or removes from God's word will be removed from the Book of Life.

I also find it ironic that this is so beloved, because one of my favorite Jesus movies is The Last Temptation of Christ, was hated by many non-viewing Christians who didn't like that it wasn't Biblical. (I have a review of this movie on my page explaining why I enjoy it; it's off-topic for this review.)

The Last Temptation of Christ was banned in many countries and many theaters playing it were picketed and burned and such for being an unbiblical portrayal on the life of Jesus. Why isn't The Chosen given the same cold shoulder? (I'm not advocating for violence against The Chosen of course, just a similar outlook- you get what I mean.)

All I'm saying is, if The Last Temptation of Christ isn't a proper way to look at The Gospels, then The Chosen isn't either. I haven't seen much of it (but some of it I indeed have), and it's one of my least favorite shows.

If you want a SERIES on Jesus, then watch Jesus of Nazareth or The Bible mini-series. But I wouldn't recommend The Chosen if it were the only Jesus film on Earth.

Reverse Recommendations: Apart from series, watch a Jesus movie like King of Kings (1927 or 1961), The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Gospel Road, Godspell, The Jesus Film, The Visual Bible: Matthew, The Gospel of John, The Passion of the Christ, The Nativity Story, anything like this.

In fact, my favorite Jesus movie (and movie period) is The Gospel According To St. Matthew, directed and adapted by Pier Paolo Pasolini, the most accurate Biblical movie I have ever seen.

Best yet, read about Jesus from the Word of God itself, from Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. I've read many comments that this show brought more people to reading The Bible, even Christians- and while it's great that they are reading The Bible more, it's depressing knowing that it takes a blasphemous show to make that happen.

Summer of Sam (1999)

If Spike Lee Made A Scorsese Movie.

[10/10 · 1 December 2023]

I have to confess that even though I love famous movies and follow the work of many directors, I'm not too familiar with Spike Lee. I have seen his most acclaimed work, Do The Right Thing, which deserves such acclaim. As for Summer of Sam, it is a thrilling movie that made me sweat from intensity, and despite a run-time of nearly 2.5 hours, the plot was investing enough for it to go by very decently.

Summer of Sam has 2 main plot lines. 1 refers to the title, in which a killer who refers to himself as the Son of Sam kills people in New York every night over the Summer of 1977, claiming that a 2,000 year old dog is commanding him to do so. (I've read complaints that the movie focuses on the victims of the Son of Sam, but not to much on Sam himself, but I personally think that makes the title of SUMMER of Sam fit.)

The second plotline intercedes the first, following Vinny (John Leguizamo) and his Italian-American friends, who all intend to uncover and arrest the Son of Sam, while accusing each other of being the secret killer.

Vinny also has a problem with his wife of 2 years Dionna (Mira Sorvino). He claims to love and desire only her, however before they were married, he hooked up with many women, and he can't stop his sex addiction. So while he claims to love only her, he has sex with numerous other women.

If this movie sounds intense to you, you're right. I watch movies with a blanket over me, and about 50 minutes in I finally put it away because the intensity made me sweat too much. Even turning on the air conditioning didn't fix that right away, but that is a compliment to the movie that contributed to my investment into the story.

Speaking of sweating, this movie also has a connection with Do The Right Thing, in which both plots center on New Yorkers on a hot day rebelling over injustice in their respective communities. In Do The Right Thing, the community was African Americans. Here, the community was Italian Americans. This connection, whether intentional or not, really stood out to me.

The actors all do a great job in their roles. 2 actors really stood out to me. One is John Leguizamo's role as Vinny. While I obviously don't approve of his adulterous nature, I still sympathized with his character's addiction and temptation and hoped he'd truly change.

He also has a friend named Ritchie (Adrien Brody) who is deeply concerned about the murders- he is the other standout performance of the film.

Spike Lee even appears in the film as a news reporter covering the murders. This is a well done role also, as is Mira Sorvino's as Dionna.

Summer of Sam also had a fantastic soundtrack throughout, with songs like Boogie Nights and There But For The Grace of God Go I. If I ever found the soundtrack for Summer of Sam for cheap, I would most certainly buy it.

For the purposes of recommendation, I feel compelled to mention this. If you do not care for heavy profanity in movies, then this is NOT the movie for you!

I just recently watched this movie because I got it at a used DVD store in my city. I had a chance to see it before when I received numerous DVDs from my cousin that a friend gave him. However, many of the DVDs were scratched or missing the disc, so I had to throw many of them away. I saw this in there and threw it away without checking it.

That's because I originally heard of this movie from a list on Wikipedia that ranks the movies with the most F words, and Summer of Sam is in the Top 10.

I enjoy certain movies with numerous F words (I kept movies from my cousin like Eddie Murphy Raw and Monster) but that seemed like overkill. However, I do also enjoy movies like Casino and The Wolf of Wall Street, so it later felt hypocritical to avoid this on that basis.

I saw it at a thrift store recently, and avoided it again, but something compelled me to try it anyway, considering my appreciation for other crime dramas. I called my local used DVD store and asked if they had it, and they did. I bought it and watched it a couple nights later, and that led to the praise that you are reading here.

In fact, while the profanity was abundant and sometimes made me blush, it didn't exactly bother me, and that may have to do with knowing about it in advance. This is not a complaint or flaw, but a warning to those who would be offended by that. Again, if you are such a person, Summer of Sam is most definitely NOT for you. (Granted, the first 6 minutes and other moments are F-word free.)

Crime dramas are one of my favorite film genres. My favorite is Pulp Fiction, along with movies like Scarface, Goodfellas, Casino, The Departed, and Monster. Summer of Sam has earned a place with these. In fact, with its Italian-American characters, this feels like a movie that Martin Scorsese would have made. This is basically Spike Lee's equivalent to Goodfellas.

For those who can handle the constant, colorful language, shocking shooting scenes, and the occasional sex scene, and who enjoy the likes of Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese (in terms of style), Summer of Sam is a film that is not to be missed.

Christmas Again (2021 TV Movie)

It's....CHRISTMAS DAY!

[10/10 · 25 November 2023]

One of my favorite comedies of all time is Groundhog Day. Christmas Again is a Christmas/Disney take on that plot, and, on its own, it makes for a fantastic TV movie. This is my favorite Disney Channel Original Movie, despite it being a recycled premise.

The plot centers around a girl with a beautiful name, Rowena. (I know that's an odd thing to note, but every time her name was said, I beamed. I love that name now.) Anyways, Scarlett Estevez from Bunk'd plays Rowena. She has a stepmother now and is upset that she has to have to do Christmas differently since her new family is joining them.

After having a horrible Christmas, she tells a Santa that she meets that she "wishes to have her Christmas again!" and wakes up the next morning to find out that Christmas has in fact started over. And it does the next day. And the day after that. And the day after THAT. And the day after....

This annoys Rowena at first (she meant that she wanted Christmas the way it was in the past), but then she finds ways to change up her Christmas, and then she later learns how to use her curse to have a joyful and meaningful Christmas later on.

The highlight of Christmas Again is Scarlett Estevez herself. She does a wonderful job in her role as Rowena and is very convincing when nessacary, such as when she needs to cry near the end.

In fact, I began to watch Bunk'd on Disney Channel if she was in the episode, and I also enjoy later seasons in the series now.

Back to Christmas Again, the movie is also very funny. There are many moments where I laughed out loud. For example, one day to mix up Christmas, Rowena casually goes into the freezer and eats ice cream from the carton and sprays whipping cream in her mouth as her family stares in shock and horror.

Apart from how well acted and entertaining the movie is, there is not much else I can say to highly praise the movie without spoilers. The movie was simple yet entertaining, and even touching.

If I had to criticize anything about it, it would be that the plot IS recycled, not only from Groundhog Day, but with Pete's Christmas with Zachary Gordon of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. That said, Christmas Again actually takes a spin on it, and makes the repeated holiday a wish, not just a curse. Therefore, I don't count that as a flaw.

Christmas Again is a wonderful holiday movie, and it even made my top 10 favorite holiday movies. I hope it will be released on DVD one day- 2 years have passed and it hasn't happened yet. In those 2 years as of now, I've seen it 4 times.

Not all Disney Channel movies make it to DVD, but Christmas Again should be an exception. This is a festive film that deserves to be cherished again, and again, and again.

*Edited from my review posted on 12/4/22.*