May

2

Iron Man

May 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment

OK, so I went to the preview showing of Iron Man. Was it worth it?

NO, it wasn’t.

It’s quite a clean movie and has some great effects, some good comic relief and some reasonable acting but the storyline is clunky and it dragged on way too much in places.

It’s not a BAD movie it’s just not worth staying up until midnight for!

My Rating: Rating: ★★★★☆☆☆

Compared to Transformers: Rating: ★★☆☆☆☆☆

Family Friendliness: Rating: ★★★★★★☆

Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆

 

Jul

4

Evan Almighty

July 4, 2007 | 3 Comments

Dr James Dobson had some negative things to say about Evan Almighty (read them at the Plugged In Mag’s review page here). Overall I do agree with him but at the same time I don’t.

Evan Almighty is a great story about a modern day Noah and it really makes you think about how we treat God and how well we listen and obey (or don’t, as the case may be).

Theologically there are some sections which miss the mark completely but those can be corrected by the Church. I’d much rather a movie which overtly teaches bad theology than one which subtly teaches it and teaches society wrong beliefs without them knowing they are being taught anything at all (Superman Returns being a fine example of this).

Go watch it. It’s fun.

My Rating: Rating: ★★★★★★☆

Family Friendliness: Rating: ★★★★★★☆

Overall Rating: ★★★★½

 

Jul

4

Transformers

July 4, 2007 | Leave a Comment

What can I say in 30 seconds?

Transformers is …… ummm…….

OK, I loved it, it’s awesome.

There’s a couple of scenes where they use bad language or crude-ish jokes which is a shame but overall my opinion is….

Will someone pay for me to go see it again?… please?…. preferably the next available showing!

My Rating: Rating: ★★★★★★½

Family Friendliness: Rating: ★★★★★½☆

CGI: Rating: ★★★★★★★

Overall Rating: ★★★★½

See Plugged In Mag’s review here: Transformers

Feb

12

Has he never heard of second breakfast?

If you’ve never read J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ then what have you been doing all your life?

If you HAVE read it, this movie will bring to life on the screen what the book conjured up in your mind.

I don’t think they could have done a better job.

The scary-looking creatures are, well, scary looking but the message is that there is a big difference between good and evil and evil is VERY bad – and the message is put across effectively.

My Rating: Rating: ★★★★★★½

Family Friendliness: Rating: ★★★★½☆☆

Use of foot-hair: Rating: ★★★★★★★

Overall Rating: ★★★★½

See Plugged In Mag’s review here: Fellowship of the Ring

Feb

5

Open Season (2006)

February 5, 2007 | 1 Comment

No rabbits were harmed in the making of this movie (or so they say)

Sony Pictures certainly tried hard with Open Season but although the animation is great, the story just isn’t up to scratch when compared to Pixar productions.

However….. this movie does win the oscar for ‘Best use of rabbits in a movie’.

There are some sequences which may scare younger children but most will find it fun and amusing - as long as they are under 12.

My Rating: Rating: ★★★★☆☆☆

Family Friendliness: Rating: ★★★★★½☆

Use of Rabbits Rating: Rating: ★★★★★★★

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆

See Plugged In Mag’s review here: Open Season

Jan

30

Cute, sweet and sad all at the same time

Because of Winn Dixie is a sweet, family friendly movie that somehow manages to mix sweetness and sorrow in together and leave you feeling good about life.

It’s safe for all the family and, while you may not want to watch it every day, is compelling enough for every parent to be able to watch it with their kids without going insane.

Well worth watching, and your kids will probably watch it again and again and again……

My Rating: Rating: ★★★★★★☆

Family Friendliness: Rating: ★★★★★★★

Overall Rating: ★★★★½

See Plugged In Mag’s review here: Because of Winn-Dixie

Jan

29

Mr Deeds (2002)

January 29, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Strangely enjoyable!

I avoided watching this movie for years assuming it was going to be a ridiculous, foul-mouthed piece of hollywood junk that would simply be a waste of a couple of valuable hours.

When I finally watched it I found that, in many ways, I was right - but at the same time I was quite wrong.

There is just way too much cussing in the movie. I don’t have any idea why hollywood seems to think that a movie is improved by adding in cuss words. They are just not necessary. Cut them out, please!

What is great about this movie though is the strength of Mr Deeds’ (Adam Sandler) conviction in the need for strong moral values.

Deeds comes from an idyllic small town where traditional family values are still, well, valued and the movie does a great job of showing how modern society has moved away from them and how much it needs them back!

Ok, so Deed’s imposes his values on people through his fists, but what else do you expect from an Adam Sandler movie?

All around, not a bad film but way too much bad language for the kids. 

My Rating: Rating: ★★★★★☆☆

Family Friendliness: Rating: ★★☆☆☆☆☆

Overall Rating: ★★½☆☆

See Plugged In Mag’s review here: Mr Deeds

Jan

29

… you forgot about a little thing called the music, man!

On the Positive side: This movie is AWESOME. It clearly shows that the trappings of fame are less important than the music - and I think that this is a lesson that many ‘wannabe celebrities’ need to learn.

Dewey, played in an amazing performance by Jack Black, loves rock music and when I say loves, I mean he LOVES rock music and his love of the music and rejection of everything that accompanies it is infectious and uplifting.

The movie is upbeat, entertaining and fun. Even my wife enjoyed it and she doesn’t even like rock music!

On the negative side, there was just a little too much ‘worship’ of the ‘gods of rock’ including a prayer to the god of rock near the end of the movie. There were also a few minor cuss words, not enough to ruin the movie but more than were necessary.

A great movie to watch with 10-18 year old kids to start discussions about the appropriate way to think about celebrities and ‘famous’ people.

 

My Rating: Rating: ★★★★★★½

Family Friendliness: Rating: ★★★★★★☆

Overall Rating: ★★★★½

See Plugged In Mag’s review here: School of Rock

Jan

26

Harrowing and violent - yet essential viewing.

In the beginning God created - everything, mankind included.

Man decided to reject God and accept sin.

God sent His own Son to die for us and take the punishment for our sin.

We simply need to accept Him and repent of our sin to return to a relationship with God.

However - most of the time, we don’t really appreciate what Christ did for us. We don’t appreciate how or what He suffered to bring us salvation.

This movie shows it and all its ugly, sickening horror.

In my opinion, it is essential viewing (at least once) for everyone so they can gain a deeper understanding of God’s love and what He was prepared to do for us. 

My Rating: Rating: ★★★★★★☆

Family Friendliness: Rating: ★★☆☆☆☆☆

Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆

See Plugged In Mag’s review here: The Passion of the Christ

Jan

26

Surprisingly thought provoking.

The other X-Men movies were pretty good, I guess, so I went to see X-men 3 at the drive-in theater expecting much of the same.

I came away thinking that I had seen a good story with some fantastic special effects, possibly not as good a movie as the original X-men but worth watching all the same.

However, I also realized I had just seen something designed to make us think about our outlook on the world.

Just because someone is ‘different’ does that mean they need to be ‘fixed’?

Watch the movie and think about it.

My rating: Rating: ★★★★★★½

Family Friendly: Rating: ★★★★☆☆☆

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆


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