Wednesday, July 18, 2012

A Busted Summer

Sounds like a negative title, but is a reference to the summer season being Blockbuster movie time. It's been a month since my last "review" and I've gotten through a few movies to mention on.
Before I get to that though, I just want to make a comment. I write these as one of the only proofs that I can give that I do something more then work & prep for Internship. I don't do a lot else, but I do have some other interests and am doing other activities while the weather is warm.

Now, onto the movies, the list of new releases rounds out at 5 so this will be a long one. Read it through, peruse the titles or skip it all together, no big deal.

MACHINE GUN PREACHER
A few weeks ago when I was at work I saw "Machine Gun Preacher." I had seen a couple trailers for it before it went to theaters but didn't hear a peep about it anywhere after that. Knowing the basic storyline & that it wasn't publicised made me want to see it more then most new releases. The story centers around the life of Sam Childers, an ex-convict who wasn't really reformed after getting released from prison. It's R rated so it gets gritty about some of the details. Then he reaches his breaking point.
His wife, who had come to Christ while he was in prison, led him to church & it seems like he is saved. The sequence of in the movie gets a little bit awkward but that's where the story gets good. He hears a missionary speak of his work in Africa & determines to go over & do relief work. The story unfolds as Sam (played by Gerard Butler) gets involved with the rescue of child soldiers from the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army).
It's based on a true story & doesn't shy away from some content that isn't representative of Christ. That said, it is reality of the world we live in. There's no nudity & language isn't terrible. It's a story worth knowing about but discretion should be taken

ACT OF VALOR
I heard about "act of valor" from my older brother a couple months ago. When I was making arrangements for travel to Colorado I was pretty sure I would have a 3 hr wait at the airport before my flight so I got a couple Redbox movies, this was one of them.
The premise is that the movie follows active duty Navy Seals. I thought that meant it followed them through actual missions, but national security & bureaucracy probably made that impossible, understandably.
Instead the movie is about theatrical versions of missions with the real Navy Seals as the main characters. Some parts are over the top & not too close to what realistic would probably be but the use of characters in the movie is the best part. To show what it's like for active duty soldiers who are very highly accomplished is an admirable film concept. The fears & struggles with family & the dangers that they enter themselves into for our sake makes it worth watching.
At the end there is a lengthy tribute to soldiers who have fallen in the line of duty. For no other reason then as support for soldiers I would say it's worth a viewing.

SHERLOCK HOLMES - GAME OF SHADOWS
This was the other movie that I chose for my trip down to Colorado. Well I have a mixed bias about it. Robery Downey Jr. is one of my favorite actors but the first Sherlock Holmes movie was a failure in my opinion. Despite that, I figured travelling would be as good of an opportunity as any to see it.
I don't have a lot to say about the movie. I thought it was better then the first. As far as content goes nothing stuck out as offensive but I was a little distracted through out the viewing so I may have missed some. Um, yeah that's all I have, moving on.

LAST SAMURAI
This one doesn't fit the bill as far as being recent but I hadn't seen it before so it qualified with my personal qualifications.
The conclusion of the movie didn't surprise me but how good this movie was really did! Honestly, I was super impressed. The four fold positive impression follows: 1) Does a good job of portraying the struggle when people from different cultures come into the same sphere of living. 2) I would count it among Braveheart & Saving Private Ryan for the battle scenes, super cool. 3) Clean. No sex, very little language. 4) Shows the competition between traditional forms & the forward movement of technology & time.
I've seen it once and it already ranks as one of my favority movies. I've got nothing more to say. It's good!

THE AMAZING SPIDER MAN
Let me just say, I wasn't too excited about a remake of a trilogy that just end 3/4 years ago but then I started seeing trailors and I became excited. I still didn't want to put down big bucks cuz I thought it may fall flat so I slipped in for a $5 showing at one of the close theaters after work this week.
I didn't mind the first two movies from the earlier trilogy but this one out classed them. It did a better job of back story. The acting was better. The action was better. It was sort of like a Dark Knight spin on Spiderman, without going all kinds of dark & crazy, it was more edgy though.
Since its still very new I don't want to get into too much detail for the sake of not being a spoiler but I liked it. Comic book movie fans won't be disappointed if they go.

Well, there it is. It's mid - July, The Dark Knight Rises comes out on Friday & there are a couple other movies I'm anticipating watching this summer. It's been a good summer for flix so far and the blockbusters will keep on coming.

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