Saints and Soldiers: The Void Review

Jon Pardew Movie Review: 7/10

Rated: PG-13
Sexual Content: 0/10
Violence: 5/10
Profanity: 2/10
Drugs/Alcohol: 3/10

Saints and Soldiers takes place toward the end of World War II.  Two tank destroyers are ambushed by the Nazis.  Sgt. Jesse Owens, an African American soldier, gets mixed up with the unfortunate events and is not treated too kindly by some of his comrades because of the color of his skin.  His comrades later come to realize that they are wrong for judging Owens based on his skin color.

Story: 7/10

It seems that there are an unlimited amount of stories that you can pull from World War II.  I appreciate that Saints and Soldiers is a story about letting down your guard and accepting others as people.  I was not aware that African American soldiers were treated unfairly in WWII.  It isn't something that is often brought up.  It seems that racism is a constant battle and it is great to see movies that work to establish the equality of mankind.  

Acting: 7/10

For a locally made movie, the actors they got did a great job.  It might not have had big names in it but some of the actors really made the story believable.  K. Danor Gerald (Sgt. Jesse Owens) could really get into character.  His monologue he performs about his father and his race blew me away.  He may be going places in his acting career.

Cinema Photography: 5/10

Most of the movie was filmed in Utah.  It was somewhat of a distraction to see Utah in the background because I wanted to believe that it was Germany that I was seeing.  People who are not familiar with the Utah landscape will have a better time and not be distracted by this.  There are some great shots taken, and it is fun to see real tanks in action.

Visual FX: 4/10

You have to know that there are not a lot of VFX in Saints and Soldiers: The Void.  The few that they had looked good enough.  This wasn't a big budget film and it is grittier because of that.  The VFX may not have been spectacular, but they didn't distract you from the story.  

Written by: Jon Pardew

Into the Storm Review

Jon Pardew Movie Review: 5/10

Rotten Tomatoes: Nothing Yet

Rated: PG-13
Sexual Content: 2/10
Violence: 7/10
Profanity: 5/10
Drugs/Alcohol: 3/10

Into the Storm is about the devastation of major tornadoes.  Storms start hitting in a small town and you follow a father and two sons, a storm chasing crew, and two outlandish back-country red-necks.  You see how each person deals with the storm as lives are threatened and the super storm lays waste to everything in its path.

Story: 2/10

You would not want to go to this movie if you are expecting to see a great story.  It has its moments where characters demonstrate bravery eluding to some character development but that is overshadowed by the giant tornadoes and VFX.   Also, the eye of the tornado is not the only hole in this story.  There are more than a few things that didn't connect and it will take you right out of the movie if you are paying attention.

Acting: 3/10

Into the Storm's actors consist of people you may not heard of besides Richard Armitage (aka Thorin Oakenshield) who plays the father.  Perhaps because most of the actors are relatively new to Hollywood, their performances seemed rather amateur.  Most of the time I didn't feel like any of them were in any real danger even when giant tornadoes were sucking people into them.  I did enjoy the red-necks performances.  They brought the element of humor to the movie in a good way.

Cinema Photography: 4/10

The movie starts by being filmed by home video cameras, sort of in the style of Cloverfield or Earth to Echo as if it is going to be a 'found footage' type movie.  The problem with Into the Storm is that it was not consistent.  Most of the time you are seeing what the characters are filming and it brings more intense emotions because it seems more real.  Then there is a sequence of footage that blatantly is not filmed by any of the characters and it immediately reduces the intensity and made it feel messy. 

Visual FX: 8/10

The VFX are the best part of Into the Storm. Although not groundbreaking, the tornadoes did look spectacular and scary.  One tornado catches on fire which is something I have never seen before and so it was new and looked impressive.  The destruction and debris flying around looked intense, probably the closest it looks to experiencing a real tornado.   

Written by: Jon Pardew   

Earth To Echo Review

Jon Pardew Movie Review: 6/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 53%

Rated: PG
Sexual Content: 1/10
Violence: 3/10
Profanity: 2/10
Drugs/Alcohol: 1/10

3 friends are faced with moving out of the town they grew up in because a freeway will be built right through their neighborhood.  They are dealing with their emotions of leaving each other when their cell phones start doing strange things.  They decide that their phones are showing them a map and decide that their last night together will be following the map on their phone for one last adventure together.  Their phones lead them to Echo who is an alien who is hurt and needs help.  After their discovery, their night quickly turns into a rescue mission to save Echo and help him get back to his spaceship.

This movie will be compared to big name classics like E.T. or Stand By Me.  If you look at it that way Earth to Echo does not stand a chance.  That being said, I enjoyed to movie with my 3-year-old son who absolutely loved it.  It is very shaky due to their style of filming.  The whole thing is filmed by the three boys passing the handheld video-camera back and forth or you are supposed to believe that the boys are filming.  The adventure goes by quickly.  It only happens in one night which limits your time to get to know Echo.  He is cute and likable so when the movie is over you might feel like you needed more time with the little robot alien.

The story is enjoyable.  If it was made to tap into the nostalgia of being a tween, then it did the job.  Most everyone knows what it is like to have to move and say goodbye to your best friends.  If you have to move from your home when you are young like these kids, it can be really difficult.  In helping Echo, they were able to forget about their emotions during their last night together and have an adventure.  Echo taught them that goodbye doesn't have to be forever.    

Written by: Jon Pardew
     

Transformers: Age of Extinction Review

Jon Pardew Movie Review: 1/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 20%

Rated: PG-13
Sexual Content: 3/10
Violence: 7/10
Profanity: 5/10
Drugs/Alcohol: 3/10

All transformers are now being hunted down by humans and destroyed.  Their parts are being salvaged and studied.  A company in the U.S. has now unlocked the secrets and can build their own transformers.  Optimus Prime is discovered by Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), who is a junk yard inventor.  Much to his daughters disagreements he helps the barely alive Optimus Prime.  When it is discovered by the government where Oprimus is located; Cade, his daughter, and her boyfriend get mixed up in a terrible transformer movie. 

A few months ago we bought a new vacuum.  We had heard about the quality of the Dyson brand and we were excited to try it out.  When I had used for the first time I was very impressed with how much dirt it sucked off the floor.  Transformers: Age of Extinction sucked much deeper then our vacuum.  In fact it was like watching a Transformer movie being sucked up a vacuum and hitting the cyclone tube.  The movie was all over the place and much of it didn't make sense.  The dialogue was even worse as the silly one liners could make you squirm.  It was as if they all took Horatio Cane's lines from CSI: Miami, chewed on them and spit them out.  The VFX were...okay with the exception of one part were there was a demonstration of some new technology.  It was being shown how they can now turn a ball of transformer material into anything and it didn't look real at all.  It looked like a cartoon!  I was surprised to see such low quality on a movie that had an extremely large budget. If there was one thing good about this movie, I would have to say the explosions.  Although the explosions were big and spectacular, they still just reminded me of the mess the

movie was.

There was one part where they ended up at The Hole in the Rock Store located close to Moab Utah. I had to laugh as I have been by this store many times.  It was fun to see it in a movie.  I just wish it was in a better movie.

Written by: Jon Pardew       

Jersey Boys Review

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Jon Pardew Movie Review: 7/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 50%

Rated: R
Sexual Content: 4/10
Violence: 4/10
Profanity: 8/10
Drugs/Alcohol: 7/10

Jersey Boys follows the life of Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young), Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza), Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda), and Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen) as they come together to create music.  Tommy DeVito, who is heavily involved with the mob in New Jersey, puts together a singing group with talented Frankie Valli and bass singer Nick Massi.  Later they bring in the key to their success Bob Gaudio who can write, sing and play the keyboard.  Bob wrote chart topping hits for the group such as: "Sherry", "Walk Like a Man", "Big Girls Don't Cry" and many others.  Jersey Boys covers the rise of The Four Seasons.  You see what they went through to become legends.  You also watch their experiences as issues came up and bad feelings are developed toward one another which ultimately leads to their fall and breakup.    

The cast of Jersey Boys was fantastic.  They could not have got a better group of talent for the job.  The actors sing all the songs in the movie, they sound just like The Four Seasons and they got that Jersey accent down perfectly.  The story flowed well with one exception towards the end where the movie jumps back in time to cover some issues that developed and then jumps forward again.  Nick Massi's rant at the end was great as he finally lets out years of built up anger towards the group.  The makeup at the end was not very impressive when they jumped forward to the 90's, at a time where the characters were much older.  Maybe it was an artistic move since the movie is based on the play, but they looked like young men with makeup on instead of genuinely aged men.

I was impressed with Frankie Valli's attitude throughout the movie.  Who knows if this is how it really happened, right? "Everybody remembers it how they need to".  But in the movie, Frankie took responsibility for all of Tommy DeVito's mess.  Tommy got into a lot of trouble and it was admirable what Frankie did.  He demonstrated true friendship without asking for anything in return.  He felt that although Tommy had a lot of problems he was the one that got him off the streets of New Jersey and that was enough.  Frankie had his back no matter what even when Tommy was stabbing him in the his own back at some points.  Life was rough for them, but the ones who worked hard came out on top in the end and gave the world great music along the way.  I still am unable to get "Can't Take my Eyes Off of You" out of my head.

Review Written by: Jon Pardew

How to Train your Dragon 2 Review

Jon Pardew Movie Review: 9/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%

Rated: PG
Sexual Content: 1/10
Violence: 3/10
Profanity: 2/10
Drugs/Alcohol: 1/10

How to Train your Dragon 2 continues the adventures of Hiccup and Toothless.  Not interested in the new games that the village Burk invented, the two are out charting new territory.  They run into other people who trap dragons and later Hiccup has a run in with his long lost mother who is also a dragon lover and trying to save them from the trappers.  Hiccup and Toothless join his mother in her efforts, The village of Burk joins in as well as they have epic battles with the trappers.

How to Train your Dragon 2 is visually stunning.  As you watch your breath is taken away at the scenery and the art.  It makes you want to be there with Hiccup and Toothless.  The way the snow looks, I would say that it is better than the snow in Frozen.  Hard to believe, but the art and animation really are amazing.  The story is darker than the first and opens up for a 3rd movie to make the franchise a trilogy.  Hiccup's story becomes more interesting as he and Toothless discover more about themselves and who they are.  

Sometimes it is required of us to step up and do difficult things.  Stoick is urging Hiccup to be the leader of their village.  Hiccup doesn't feel that he is good enough or strong enough to do it.  We can relate to that as we are given opportunities to do hard things.  Truth is, you never know what you are capable of until you put yourself up against the difficult task at hand.  You might even surprise yourself at how strong you really are.  It is the experiences that strengthen us.  Of course it is always nice to have good friends to stand by you just like Hiccup has Toothless.  So next time you are confronted with a difficult responsibility, take courage and trust a little in yourself.  It is amazing what people can do.

Written by: Jon Pardew   

Edge of Tomorrow Review

Jon Pardew Movie Review: 8.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 90%

Rated: PG-13
Sexual Content: 2/10
Violence: 6/10
Profanity: 5/10
Drugs/Alcohol: 2/10

Edge of Tomorrow is an action packed sci-fi war movie, and it is awesome!  Major Cage (Tom Cruise) does not want to go to the front line of battle against the alien army.  He is arrested and forced to go anyway. Though very inexperienced as he is he manages to kill some aliens before he dies.  He then wakes up at the beginning of the previous day.  Something happened that caused him to be trapped in a time loop.  He then tries to find Rita (Emily Blunt) every day for training.  It is up to Cage to find a way past the enemy on that looped day and destroy them.

Edge of Tomorrow is loosely based on the Japanese military science fiction light novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka with illustrations by Yoshitoshi ABe called All you Need is Kill.  They even pay homage to the book by naming the main character Cage.  The character in the book is named Keiji, but the Americans pronounce it Cage. All you Need is Kill was published in 2004 and it was Sakurazaka's breakthrough novel.

Edge of Tomorrow is a great summertime movie.  There is a time loop but you don't lose interest because it is executed very well.  Tom Cruise does an excellent job at taking you through the time loops and making you wonder how many times he has been through this even though it is your first time seeing it happen.  The actors do a good job to bring you into the movie and experience real battle with aliens.  The design of the aliens were magnificent.  They are creatures that will haunt you.  The movie was also surprisingly but pleasantly funny.  There were about 5 or 6 times that the theater had a good laughing moment and a few more times when everyone cheered making it fun to be there.

This movie does not ask you to think much.  There is no deep philosophical idea behind it but it does make you want to have the ability to start over every day until you are able to complete a task perfectly, like a video game.  Imagine if you could have a redo on taking your final exams until you got a perfect score, or repeating a job interview until you come out doing it right and getting the job.  Perhaps you are in the middle of a huge battle with an alien army. Another interesting thought, today marks the 70th anniversary of D-Day. I wondered how much that was planned for the release of Edge of Tomorrow since the human army attacks the aliens on the beaches of France and it looks much like a D-Day type invasion. Coincidence? Probably not.    

Written By: Jon Pardew

The Fault in our Stars Review

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Jon Pardew Movie Review: 8/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 79%

Rated: PG-13
Sexual Content: 6/10
Violence: 3/10
Profanity: 6/10
Drugs/Alcohol: 4/10

The Fault in our Stars is the love story about Hazel Grace and Gus.  Hazel has cancer and she is talked into attending a support group.  Not very interested, she goes and that is where she meets Gus.  Gus is a cancer survivor with a prosthetic leg.  They soon start dating and fall in love through shared adventures including a trip to Amsterdam to meet Hazels favorite author.  

There is not much to criticize about The Fault in our Stars.  Except that it made it rain inside the theater...but through much of the sobs and tears you often find yourself laughing at the witty dialogue and subtle jokes. The movie is about a serious illness which gives it a very real life feel.  To see how one can stay positive in the midst of excruciating pain made me think.  Made me think about my life and how I get so mad when the guy with the license plate that says L8ER cuts me off on the way to work.  I get so mad and yet it is over something so small and so insignificant.  

Love is infinite and so are memories.  In our lives, we get the opportunity to love.  Even if we are only given a short amount of time to love somebody, it is still infinite. In The Fault in our Stars Hazel talks about infinities.  About how some infinities are bigger than others.  If you look at all the numbers between 0 and 1, for example: 0, 0.1, 0.12, 0.121 and so on.  You can see that there are infinite numbers in between.  The numbers between 0 and 2 are also infinite but it is a much bigger infinity.  Even a short moment with a loved one can stretch forever.  That infinity is not as long as other infinities, but it is still infinite.  Confusing?  I know, but the movie tells it better than I do.  At one point in the movie Gus tells Hazel that even if she broke his heart, it would be an honor to have his heart broken by her.  He knew that his precious moments in life are only worth living if he made the memories that would last forever and found a love that would stretch beyond time.  Those were his intentions, and it didn't matter that Hazel was terminally ill.  If he found infinite love, then death would not cause that love to stop.

I don't like most chick flicks, but this one held my attention and gave me some things to think about.  I found it to be a much better experience than I originally thought.  

P.S. Today is my sweethearts birthday!  Happy birthday Ali May!  Just want to say that I infinitely love you!

Written by: Jon Pardew

Maleficent Review

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Jon Pardew Movie Review: 6/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 46%

Rated: PG
Sexual Content: 1/10
Violence: 4/10
Profanity: 2/10
Drugs/Alcohol: 1/10

Maleficent is a, "this is how it really happened" narrated story of Sleeping Beauty.  The story goes way back to when Maleficent was a child and a loving fairy.  The world of the fairies and the kingdoms of man are separated due to differences.  Things start to change when Maleficent meets a human boy in her young years and they become friends.  The story of Sleeping Beauty doesn't happen until much later and of course, it is different than you may think.

Maleficent is an enjoyable family movie that is interesting and fun.  Angelina Jolie actually did a good job portraying the sorceress/fairy.  I was nervous about how she would do but after seeing the movie, I was very satisfied with how she did.  However, I don't think that Maleficent stands against other blockbusters this year.  I liked the story very much but there are a few things that were bothersome.  

Here are my 3 criticisms:  Maybe it is just me but the CGI doesn't seem to be up to the industry standard.  The fairies looked cool, they just didn't look like they were really there.  When I can tell that something has been drawn in, it takes me out of the movie.  Another thing is that the character development seemed to be pushed aside.  It was hard to feel for the characters when you don't know much about them.  Finally, The resolution to the conflict was a little cheesy to me.  I wish that Disney didn't take the movie in that direction. For my part, I could see it coming a mile away.  When you see it, you will know what I mean. 

Taking this story and turning upside down to show why Maleficent is the antagonist was fun.  You should not see someone for who they appear.  You know the saying, "Don't judge a book from its cover".  Judgment can come so harshly sometimes.  The thing is, most likely the judgments come because others do not know your past and what made you the way you are.  Maleficent may look bad, but wait, is she really?  You have to look past peoples horns and when you do, you might find a genuine person.  Someone who has, just like you, experienced bitter pain and anguish.    

X-Men: Days of Future Past Review

Jon Pardew Movie Review: 9/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%

Rated: PG-13
Sexual Content: 3/10
Violence: 7/10
Profanity: 5/10
Drugs/Alcohol: 3/10

X-Men: Days of Future Past begins in the future where mutants are being wiped out by high tech mutant hunting robots called sentinels.  A group of mutants gather in a secret location with a plan to send Wolverine's conscious back to his 1973 self to alter time and try to create a more peaceful world between mutants and humans.   

As far as X-Men movies go, I enjoyed watching this one the most.  The story of Mystique was developed more as you see her struggle with her inner demons as she has to make the most difficult decisions.  The action sequences were really cutting edge!  The way the portals were portrayed in the fighting scenes was unique and it was cool to see how Blink used them in fighting the sentinels.  Quicksilver was also a highlight!  Watching him at the pentagon was especially fun, maybe the best scene in the movie, definitely the most memorable.    

There is a quote from Professor X that was rather profound.  He says "Just because someone stumbles and loses their path, doesn't mean they can't be saved".  Some of the mutants were struggling to find themselves and needed to know that there is still hope for them.  Many people go through the same thing.  They find themselves lost on the wrong path.  The struggles in life can be used to build us up.  We need to find the hope that we will be able to withstand the pains and find better days because they do come.  Of course we will not have to go back in time and cause the course of the future to change but we can have hope for ourselves and what is to come for us.  Then, just like in X-Men: Days of Future Past, we will find those brighter days and we become better people for withstanding those hard times.  

I am also happy that X-Men: Days of Future Past was made because it opens up a whole bunch of doors for more movies.  It will be fun to see where the next one takes us!      

Belle Review

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Jon Pardew Movie Review: 8/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 83%

Rated: PG
Sexual Content: 2/10
Violence: 1/10
Profanity: 3/10
Drugs/Alcohol: 2/10

Belle is a story based on actual events.  In fact the painting that was painted in the movie was based on the real painting.  The actual painting hangs at Scone Palace in Perth, Scotland, is owned by the present Earl of Mansfield and in 2007 was exhibited in Kenwood during an exhibition to run alongside events marking the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act 1807.

The movie starts when Dido Elizabeth Belle is a child.  Her mother, believed to be a Spanish Slave, had just passed away and her father who was a Royal Navy Captain had come to claim her.  He left her in the care of his uncle the Earl of Mansfield, who lived with his family at Kenwood House in Hampstead, just outside London, England.  There, she grew into a young lady confused about herself and where she fit into society because of the color of her skin.  

Belle is a good historical chick flick type movie.  The dialogue was executed very well AND captured the time period.  The way that the English courted in the middle 1700's was a curious thing to witness as well.  Finding a match was a very different affair than we see today.  Among the rich, courting was very political and formal with heavy involvement of their parents to insure that all went according to plan.  

 

Belle shows that the influence of one and change the course of the world.  Dido died just years before the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act.  Her influence on political affairs surrounding slaves is evident.  She inspired her uncle and her uncle loved her very much.  I enjoyed his comments at the end of the movie about is personal beliefs and basically saying that slavery is not right.  He held one of the highest positions in the government so his statements were very poignant.  If you get a chance to see this movie, do so.  You will be happy you did.

Blended Review

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Jon Pardew Movie Review: 6/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 11% - no love from the critics

Opening: May 23rd

Rated PG-13
Sexual Content: 5/10
Violence: 3/10
Profanity: 4/10
Drugs/Alcohol: 4/10

Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore star together once again in a movie where the two of them fall in love with each other.  This time in Africa!  Jim (Adam Sandler) is raising three girls and working at Dick's Sporting Goods, while Lauren (Drew Barrymore) has her own closet organizing business and is raising two boys.  The movie starts while they are on their first date.  It is a blind date that goes horribly wrong.  They later run into each other again at a convenience store where they confirm their despise for each other.  Things get interesting when Jim finds that the store clerk mixed up their cards and shows up at Lauren's house to switch them back.  While there it is discovered that a blended family vacation wont work out for Lauren's friend who is dating Jim's Boss.  Jim over hears this and on his way out calls his boss and buys the vacation from him while Lauren talks her friend into giving her the trip inside.  They then run into each other in Africa and find themselves in a variety of awkward moments and heart-warming family situations.

I'm not going to lie, I like seeing these two together in a movie.  Blended was probably my favorite.  It has all the gags and silly things that you would expect from a Adam Sandler movie and the story developed nicely. Once they were in Africa, I was rolling on the floor laughing and trying not to "get a zebra stripe in my underpants".  Then I would crack up again at every time  Terry Crews came on singing!

I really enjoyed Adam Sandler's character.  All the things that seemed to label him a stupid man would come full circle and show that those "stupid man" things had deeper meaning.  For me it was a breath of fresh air because I am tired of seeing men portrayed in the media as lazy, grumpy or stupid.  Sandler's character had some of these but there was always a meaning behind them.  Really, he played a very responsible single father who tried his best to be there for his girls.  It spoke clearly about how we should not judge somebody before we get to know them.  Everybody has their own experiences in their own lives and they are molded by those experiences.  Just because somebody does things a certain way, that is different than the way we would do them does not make them bad or lazy.  It probably just means that their past experiences molded them a different way.  

Godzilla Review

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Jon Pardew Movie Review: 9/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 73%

Opening: May 16th

Rated: PG-13
Sexual Content: 1/10
Violence: 5/10
Profanity: 3/10
Drugs/Alcohol: 1/10

IMDb: The world's most famous monster is pitted against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.

Godzilla is a monster with a lot of history and depth.  He is also one of films most famous of monsters with his 32nd film out this weekend.  Godzilla was created by Tomoyuki Tanaka as a message about the effects that nuclear weapons have on our world.  In an interview in 1985 Tanaka summed up the symbolism of Godzilla: "In those days, Japanese had a real horror of radiation, and that horror is what made Godzilla so huge. From the beginning he has symbolized nature's revenge on mankind".  Some also believe that Godzilla is a representation of the United States itself, since the U.S. is who dropped the bombs.  

In the new film, director Gareth Edwars explains that Godzilla is a representation of a force of nature.  That he comes to bring balance to nature.  He is not really our enemy, but not necessarily our ally either.  He comes, does his job, and then leaves.  There are things that happen in nature that are out of our control.  Hurricanes, tornadoes, or sharknados are all devastating and terrifying.  They impact those who live through them and in many cases cause people to start their lives over.  After these incidents people come together to help one another out to rebuild.  Balance does seem to be restored as people forget themselves and help their neighbors.  It would be nice if it could always be that way without having a "force of nature" wreak havoc on us.  Perhaps we should be a little more caring.        

I highly enjoyed the movie.  I got excited the first time Godzilla was revealed and chuckled like a happy idiot when he roared.  I was all revved up for the final showdown at the end and was very happy with it.  The movie isn't perfect, but by the end, it is extremely satisfying.  Godzilla's final blow, and you will know what I mean when you see it, was insane and the best part of the movie for me as it brought out my unshakable nerdy side.  Godzilla 2014 is a nice edition to the franchise. I recommend seeing Godzilla and when you do tell me your thoughts, I would love to hear them. 

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Review

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Rotten Tomatoes: 56%

Opening: May 2nd

Rated: PG-13
Sexual Content: 1/10
Violence: 5/10
Profanity: 3/10
Drugs/Alcohol: 2/10

IMDb: Peter Parker runs the gauntlet as the mysterious company Oscorp sends up a slew of supervillains against him, impacting on his life.

Pardew Review Rating: 7/10

The general consensus of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is that it is sub-par.  I would have to agree.  Spider-Man was always my favorite super hero.  So I am somewhat disappointed, but there are still some spectacular scenes that will keep me a fan.  The standoff with Electro was was absolutely electrifying to see ;).

By the way, and this is important; if you wait until the end of the credits for a rumored sneak peek of X-Men or bonus footage for the next Spider-Man you may be disappointed.  Depending on where you are, the scene may not be there.  Instead they want you to pull out your phone during the credits and use the app Shazam.  By "Shazaming" the song that plays during the credits you will be able to access the bonus material on your phone.

The thing that I like about Spider-Man is that he is not the perfect hero.  Spider-Man makes mistakes and has to learn from them.  This lack of perfection makes it so that he is unable to save everyone all the time.  

Nearly every comic book super hero has to deal with the death of a family member.  The difference is that these other super hero's do not become hero's until much later in their lives.  Peter Parker on the other hand is becoming a super hero at a younger age.  People he cares about die while he is a super hero causing him to question who he is, or what he is trying to become.  Even with his biggest downfalls and his greatest losses, he is able to pick himself back up, learn from all of it and become a better hero.

I think that most everyone wants to do something great in their lives.  Leave their mark on the world.  Having ambition is a great thing.  In all the efforts that you may have to be a great somebody, you might trip a time or two.  You might find yourself in an emotional free-fall.  You may start questioning who you are and what you are trying to become.  It's okay to go through all that.  Every time you pick yourself back up, kick the dust off your shoes and push forward towards your own personal greatness, you gain a better sense of who you are and who you are going to become.  With that, you are on your way.

Transcendence Review

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Rotten Tomatoes: 19%

Opening Weekend: $10.9m

Rated: PG-13
Sexual Content: 2/10
Violence: 6/10
Profanity: 7/10 F one time, some uses of S, B, A, and D.
Drugs/Alcohol: 4/10

IMDb: As Dr. Will Caster works toward his goal of creating an omniscient, sentient machine, a radical anti-technology organization fights to prevent him from establishing a world where computers can transcend the abilities of the human brain.

Transcendence explores the dangers of technology.  This could have been a great, but everything that was built up to be awesome, withered and fell apart.  I really wanted to like this movie!  Even the love story between the two was interesting until about the middle.  In my opinion they would have done better to split this story into two or three movies.  That would have made the third act much more enthralling and interesting.

Transcendence also tries to show the power of love.  Evelyn Caster will stop at nothing to save her dying husband even if it means uploading his conscious to a AI system.  When it proved to be a success there was the question of whether or not the system was really him.  That question lingers until the very end of the movie.  Once he is online then he essentially becomes a perfect being and you wonder if the AI version of him has the capability to love Evelyn back.  

With seeing what Will Caster does with his new power, I found myself pondering human error and what a good thing that is.  If we all were able to upload our brains to the internet so that all the information out there was accessible from our minds, would there be room for human error?  A fourth grader could access all the answers to his multiple choice questions on his math test.  If you wanted to be a helicopter pilot, you could just find the files on the internet that contain all the information about the helicopter and how to fly it and there you go; they are in your brain instantly.  Part of the joy in life is being able to learn, grow, stretch, reach, mess up, start over,and finally complete our goals.  This makes us better people.  If we take out the experiences we go through and we reach our goals without that I think that we would become unsatisfied.  Hard work, effort, and human error; all these things are there for us to struggle through this life and ultimately live a life that would bring us joy.

Transcendence is a 4/10

The Other Woman Review

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Rotten Tomatoes: 44%

Opening: April 25th

Rated: PG-13
Sexual Content: 7/10
Violence: 4/10
Profanity: 6/10 - 1 F mouthed not voiced.  Various S and A and B.  A man is flipped off once.
Drugs/Alcohol: 9/10 - Lots of drinking.

IMDb: After discovering her boyfriend is married, Carly soon meets the wife he's been cheating on. And when yet another affair is discovered, all three women team up to plot mutual revenge on the three-timing SOB.

I'm not a fan of movies about people cheating on their spouses.  That being said I thought it was respectable to see Carly (Camron Diaz) drop the guy she had been dating after she found out he was married.  She was falling in love with him, yet he was married so she dropped him.  She had a line drawn and would not cross it showing that she had some moral standards.   

So, as you can probably tell, this got me thinking about boundaries.  When I was a kid I didn't have to have my own boundaries because my parents set them for me.  They were known for a different name, and I didn't particularly like them, but they did keep me safe. Yep, Rules! As an adult there are no boundaries so we set them for themselves.  Why do we do this?  Well, I suppose it is to keep ourselves safe.  That is what Carly did when she dropped that guy in the movie.  If only she was a little more stricter with her standards she could have saved herself a lot of embarrassment.

Nicki Minaj was annoying, but we knew that before she was even in movies right. I give this one a 5/10.

Bears Review

Rotten Tomatoes: 91% so far

Opening: April 18th

Rated: G

IMDb: A documentary that follows an Alaskan bear family as its young cubs are taught life's most important lessons.

This movie is about a mama bear, and it made me think about moms.  So I want to dedicate this post to my mom who is my favorite mama bear.  Happy early Mother's Day mom!

The love of a mother is one of the greatest things in life.  There is no doubt in my mind that I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for my own mother who encourages me.  The mama bear in this movie has to protect her cubs from danger, find food for them in harsh environments, and teach them how to open clams for the tasty bite (its not as good as salmon).  Much like the life of people, it is nice to have a mom there to teach you things, keep you safe, and prepare your food.  The mama bear's job was not an easy one, and neither is the job of our own mothers.  I recently saw a job interview on youtube.  I decided to share that video here:

After seeing that little video, I wanted to take my chance and thank my mom, and moms everywhere, for the job that you do.  You truly are remarkable people.  Oh, and mom, I love you.  See you at the Mother's Day brunch in a few weeks.

So if you enjoy bears in nature or you enjoy moms, check out Disneynature's Bears.  I give it an 8/10

Heaven is for Real Review

Rotten Tomatoes: 50%

Opening: Today!

Rated: PG
Sexual Content: 2/10
Profanity: 1/10
Violence: 2/10 (medical situations)
Drugs/Alcohol: 0/10

IMDb: A small-town father must find the courage and conviction to share his son's extraordinary, life-changing experience with the world.

Heaven is for Real is based on a book written about actual events that took place in a small Nebraska town.  The book was published in 2010 and was a New York bestseller.  It was written by Todd Burpo (The little boy's father) and Lynn Vincent.  The book tells how the boy began saying he had visited heaven.

Have you ever been afraid?  I recall instances when I was young and finding myself in the dead of night, scared hoping for something to soothe my nerves.  I've grown out of that kind of thing now, but as an adult I have experienced different kinds of fears.  My thoughts turn to times of great need, when life seemed to be out of my control and there was intense uncertainty of my future.  Right now my life seems to be a little more balanced. I look back at those times of uncertainty and fear, and I almost feel like much of the fear that I was experiencing was unnecessary.  As long as I take a stand and march through those storms, I eventually make it through, and everything turns out okay.  At least it has so far.

I think faith is a wonderful thing, but it takes work to obtain.  As a child, I was afraid at night because of some unforeseen thing and it just seemed like morning would never come.  The hours slowly passed and eventually I would see the first rays of sunshine and know that everything was okay.  These were faith building moments.  I came to know that although it might seem that the sun would never rise, it always did, and I could trust that. 

Heaven is for Real is about the trials of developing faith in Christ.  A father asks his son if he will be afraid, and his son replies, "as long as I am with you, I wont be afraid".  The little boy already had faith in his father.  Later in the movie, after his near death experience, the boy will help his father through those trials of developing faith in Jesus Christ.  He tells his dad, "we don't ever have to be afraid".  Why? Perhaps through his near death experience he realized that heaven is like waiting for the sun to rise in the dead of night.  Whether you are afraid or not, Heaven is there so why be afraid?  It was interesting to see what trials the father had to go through to cement his faith in Christ.

I give this one a 6/10                        

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Review

 Rotten Tomatoes: 50%

Opening Weekend: $13m

Rated: PG
Sexual Content: 4/10
Violence: 3/10
Profanity: 5/10 S-1, A-2, 3^rd Commandment broken on one occasion
Drugs/Alcohol: 4/10

In my personal opinion, this movie should have been nominated for best film at the Academy Awards and maybe have even won.  I found The Secret Life of Walter Mitty to be way better than Gravity or 12 Years a Slave, but that is just me. 

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty comes from a short story written for The New Yorker by James Thurber in 1939.  It was made into a film first in 1947 starring Danny Kaye.  The 2013 version of the film is tells a very different story of the likable daydreamer.  After losing an important negative containing the picture for the cover of the last Life Magazine to be issued, Walter finds himself adventuring through unknown lands in search of the photographer.

Walter is a very imaginative guy.  He imagines himself doing astonishing things. However, his real life does not start until he jumps into a helicopter piloted by a very drunk man.  He takes a risk.  From that point in the story life becomes real; not imagined anymore.  Don’t we all come to this point in life where we need to decide to take a risk?  Jump onto that moving helicopter and leave our old self behind?  It takes courage to be that person we imagine we could be. 

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is about real life.  A profound quote from the movie is, “beautiful things don’t ask for attention”.  I noticed that there is a lot of product placement throughout the film that just seemed out of place. See how the Cinnabon compares to the homemade clementine cake his mom made. Also seeing a Papa Johns in scenic Iceland was almost an eyesore. Perhaps all this was intentional.  Perhaps it was to say that commercialism is not pretty because it screams for attention.  A life portrayed on Facebook or eHarmony is not real life and it is not the life that matters.  The life that matters is the one that is beautiful, the one that does not ask for attention. 

  

“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel.  That is the purpose of life”.

 I rate this movie a 9/10