Spielberg’s back and Peter Jackson’s got him. In his best movie in years, Spielberg’s THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (produced by Jackson of THE LORD OF THE RINGS) is a glorious, grand animated adventure the whole family can enjoy. Read More…
We all know tht Piracy is rampant in Kenya ( amost 99% at the last count). Apart from the obvious 50 bob copies which are outright counterfeits, there are many other DVDs that would be difficult to tell from the original.However there are a lot of well meaning people who are sold pirated DVDs thanks to dishonest unscrupulous traders who take advantage of their ingorance. Read More…
Mark Driscoll goes after the men at his church who have attended for years and yet still abuse, neglect, and dishonor the woman in their life. Mark has had enough of this. Read More…
Synopsis:
At forty-something, straight-laced Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is living the dream–good job, nice house, great kids and marriage to his high school sweetheart. But when Cal learns that his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), has cheated on him and wants a divorce, his “perfect” life quickly unravels. Worse, in today’s single world, Cal, who hasn’t dated in decades, stands out as the epitome of un-smooth. Now spending his free evenings sulking alone at a local bar, the hapless Cal is taken on as wingman and protege to handsome, thirty-something player Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). In an effort to help Cal get over his wife and start living his life, Jacob opens Cal’s eyes to the many options before him: flirty women, manly drinks and a sense of style that can’t be found at Supercuts or The Gap.
It’s too bad this movie wanders away from the family-friendly umbrella. Steve Carell can certainly be a funny guy. At one point in the film he has learned his wife has had an affair and one of his co-workers checks on him and learns what has happened. “Oh, good, we were worried,” he says. “When I heard you crying in the bathroom I thought you had the big C (cancer) or something like that.” “Oh no,” replies Carell with impeccable timing and a touch of sarcasm, “my relationship has just fallen apart, that’s all!”
Unfortunately the morals in the movie break down too. The film basically portrays the idea that if your wife leaves you, the best way to get her respect is to have sex with several women in a row. I wonder how many women would agree with that. Certainly this movie caters to men and is more a “guy film” than a “chick flick.” One thing it is not, due to its frank sexual comments and innuendos and strong language, and that is it is NOT a family-friendly movie and does not earn our Dove Seal. Steve, why not try making another family-friendly film the next time like “Dan in Real Life”?
Content Description:
Sex: Casual sex, affairs and frank sexual comments; a woman catches a boy masturbating although the scene isn’t graphic; a girl admits to having slept with a co-worker; sexual slang is used several times; A teacher discuss the novel “The Scarlet Letter” and makes comments about sin and adultery; women pole dancing is mentioned; a man mentions making sweet love to a woman; sex between an unmarried couple is implied; passionate kissing between a few couples in the film; a man comments he was worried a woman might have AIDS; although not graphic a girl takes sexy pictures of herself to send; talk of sexual encounters.
Language: J-2; JC-1; G/OMG-30; F-1 (partial use of the word also); A-14; H-4; Crap-4; SOB-2; D-1; Slang for having sex-10; Slang for male genitalia-4; Slang for female genitalia-1; Slang for breasts-2
Violence: A character opens a car door and falls out onto the street while the car is moving but other than being a bit shaken he is okay; a character slaps another character a couple of times while trying to make a point but the character is fine; a father tackles a man to the ground, thinking he is involved with his daughter and a few characters are punched in the face and the entire scene is played as physical humor.
Drugs: Several drinking scenes including a woman gulping down wine; wine and beer and vodka and champagne are consumed; a man shops for liquor at a liquor store; a character is referred to as a “human Valium”.
Nudity: A lot of cleavage is seen; shirtless men; woman in a slip.
Other: A waitress admits to having spit in a customer’s drink; a woman lies about needing help with a water heater to get a man to come over; some disrespect shown to characters.
FILM SYNOPSIS: In the Old West, a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world. The Daniel Craig character slowly recovers from amnesia, discovering alien beings are kidnapping humans in order to study our weaknesses with the intent of later invading the entire planet. Harrison Ford is a grumpy land baron whose son has been abducted by the space creatures. Together they unite, along with an Indian tribe, to battle the intergalactic invaders.
I must admit to being wrong about my trepidations about this movie’s plot. I was concerned it might come across as a totally preposterous plot. The truth is, the movie is very entertaining and what I am frustrated about is the strong language and the fact the violence level hits a level three in our content rating, meaning we can’t recommend it for family viewing. It is intense and very violent in spots. A lot of people are shot or stabbed and blood is sprayed in a few scenes and mortal flesh wounds also are seen from time to time. However, the story keeps the human element in it; for instance, a main character’s son is kidnapped by the aliens as are others, literally yanked away by a cable device attached to a flying alien craft. All this and the mystery surrounding Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) and the alien band attached to his wrist and his loss of memory make for an entertaining tale. Just what happened to him and how were the aliens involved? And are the people who were kidnapped by the aliens still alive or now dead?
The film is to be commended for dealing with race issues. An Indian man defends Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) to his people as having been “a great warrior”. Later this same Indian man is mortally wounded and the Colonel cradles him in his arms, telling him he is like the son he always longed for, due to his integriy which is unlike the Colonel’s biological son. Lonergan has flashes of memory of his wife who died and in the movie meets a young woman named Ella (Olivia Wilde). He could fall for her but there is more to Ella than meets the eye.
The mixing of the super special effects along with the human elements in the story makes for an interesting movie experience. Ford is terrific as always as the gruff Colonel Dolarhyde and Craig plays the stoic Lonergan with intensity. It is a nice pairing of these two famous actors.
It’s too bad we can’t recommend this film for family viewing. The view of the canyon as the film opens is terrific and the cinematography and acting and direction is tight. And the film does explain why the aliens showed up in the first place. However, it wanders out of the family-friendly arena and therefore we are unable to give a final approval.
Sex: A kissing scene between a man and woman.
Language: GD-4; G/OMG-1; J-1; “Je*us, Mary and Joseph”-1; H-21; S-2; D-6; SOB-4; A-1; Slang for male genitalia-2; “Fool”-1; “Whore”-2
Violence: Several bloody flesh wounds are seen and one is stitched up in rather graphic fashion; characters are punched and stabbed and shot; blood is sprayed on a few occasions such as when a man is shot and blood is splattered on a window from inside a building; explosions from alien air craft and fires are started; the corpse of a cow is seen which is half gone; a character is disintegrated into ashes; a man punches another man in the mouth which knocks his tooth out and results in his bloody mouth; other fights; aliens are speared and shot and stabbed; many deaths.
Drugs: Several drinking scenes and a few scenes in which a character smokes a cigarette and another character smokes a cigar.
Nudity: A few shirtless men are seen.
Other: A man spits on another man; a few characters seem racist against Indians but one man learns how kind one Indian man is; greed for gold.
Captain America: The First Avenger” will focus on the early days of the Marvel Universe when Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving.) Read More…
I love movies. They combine the essence of all the other art forms, enabling storytellers to express joy and sadness, nobility and fear, love and hate, passion and romance, and hope and faith, sometimes all in the same film. But while they are modern man’s medium for relating parables to the masses, these parables are being treated with an ever increasing dose of secularism. Movies over the decades have reflected changes in the society, but they have also influenced those changes, often proving the adage “Not all change is progress.” Read More…
With more than 11 million albums sold worldwide, Hillsong LIVE returns with 11 new songs for its 20th recording, God Is Able, set to release July 26th on Sparrow Records. The album was recorded live along with thousands of worshippers gathered together in Sydney Australia and features new songs by worship leaders Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston, Darlene Zschech and others. Hillsong is known for such worldwide worship anthems as “Shout To The Lord,” “Mighty To Save,” “Hosanna,” “Desert Song,” and many more modern worship anthems sung by tens of millions every week in worship services around the world. I eagerly await each new Hillsong release and God Is Able is truly stellar and is now my top overall album by Hillsong LIVE. In my opinion, Hillsong has managed to release their newest best album with each release since Mighty To Save.
God is Able from the Latest DVD from Hillsong Music
God Is Able opens with a new song written and sung by Joel Houston called “Rise.” Right from the opening drum beat and Coldplay-style guitar riffs, I was hooked immediately. If you are looking for new worship songs to sing with fellow believers, this album is chock-full of congregational songs, especially the next pair of songs, the Brit-Rock style worship anthem “With Us,” and “Unending Love,” which features gorgeous female vocals that remind me of UNITED’s “Like An Avalanche.” The anthemic “With Us” has an instantly sing-able chorus, “O God, there’s no end to Your Love, there’s no end to Your Love, You’re with us, You’re with us, there’s nothing in this world that could take You away, You’re with us.” Amen to that! The lyrics are excellent and worshipful and for me, this track order is the best of all of the Hillsong LIVE collections and sounds the most like a Hillsong UNITED collection. The musical styles blend perfectly.
Nashville-based artists have been covering Hillsong to much acclaim and radio success, most recently Laura Story’s recording of “Mighty To Save,” Chris And Conrad’s recording of “Lead Me To The Cross,” Kari Jobe’s recording of “Healer” and Natalie Grant’s recording of “Greatness Of Our God.” For me, the stand-out song on this collection is the title track “God Is Able.” I can’t get enough of this song and the extremely catchy and worshipful lyrics, “Lifted up, He defeated the grave, Raised to Life, Our God is Able, In His Name, We overcome, for the Lord, our God is Able.” You’ll be singing along at the top of your lungs with the crowd and then at some point hopefully with your church congregation. It is an amazing song and this album’s “Stronger” in my opinion. “The Difference” has a UNITED rock style, like “Break Free.” “Alive In Us” is another catchy song featuring Darlene Zschech singing her heart out and reminds me of “Hosanna” musically. “You Are More” has another excellent female vocal and reminds me of “Desert Song” both in music and message. “My Heart Is Overwhelmed” features a sincere prayer, “I’m found in grace, In love’s embrace, My heart is overwhelmed.” This standard-bearing worship album ends with a gorgeous ballad sung by Darlene Zschech, “The Cry Of The Broken.” It is wonderful to hear Darlene singing great new worship anthems as her songs “Shout To The Lord” and “The Potter’s Hand” all but started the female worship leader genre.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
I’m impressed by the consistent quality and fresh worshipful songs from Hillsong. I’ve been singing “The Stand,” “From The Inside Out,” “Mighty To Save,” “Stronger” and many other Hillsong classics at my church for many years and I expect there will be several more worship classics from this album.This album is chock-full of congregational songs, especially “Rise,” “With Us,” “Unending Love,” “God Is Able,” “Alive In Us,” “My Heart Is Overwhelmed” and the gorgeous ballad “The Cry Of The Broken.” I eagerly await each new Hillsong release. God Is Able is truly stellar, my top overall album by Hillsong LIVE and my top worship album of the year. Every single song could be added to your Sunday morning worship set.
[pullright float=”alignright”] God is able DVD is available from famiflix.com [/pullright]
In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth – something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined. Read More…
PART II of HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS still has the occult elements that made the series such a controversial phenomenon, but this conclusion to the youthful adventures of Harry Potter contains some of the strongest redemptive aspects from the books. In fact, because the movie is a stripped down version of the last third of the seventh and final book, those redemptive elements perhaps stand out even more clearly in the movie. The problem is, the emotional highpoints from the book that made it into the movie get a bit lost in all the frenetic action. Also, the book’s message about the power of love is slightly diluted. Viewers who haven’t read the books may feel a little lost and bewildered.
The movie opens with the really evil, serpent-like head villain Voldemort finding the Elder Wand, which is allegedly the most powerful magic wand ever made. Cut to Harry Potter and his friends, Ron and Hermione, still looking for the remaining magical items (called horcruxes) that Voldemort has used to store parts of his soul to make sure he can always magically resurrect or restore himself if his body gets destroyed or terribly damaged. Apparently, there are only three remaining horcruxes.
Harry thinks one of the objects is hidden in the vault of Voldemort’s female minion Bellatrix Lestrange. All magical vaults are guarded by little elfish goblins, the bankers in the world of witches and warlocks. Harry, Ron and Hermione sneak into the vault with the help of a goblin, in exchange for a magical sword Harry has.
When they get to the vault, which is located deep in the bowels of the earth, they discover the vault is also guarded by a dragon. The goblins have trained the dragon, however, with some bells, so Harry and his friends are able to enter the vault and find the hidden horcrux, but not without some trouble. Even so, an alarm has been raised, so Harry, Ron and Hermione have to hop on the dragon and release it to escape with their lives.
With help from his friends, Harry figures out Voldemort’s nasty pet snake is the last horcrux and that the other remaining one is hidden away in a vast storeroom at their magic school, Hogwarts. They also believe that these bits of Voldemort’s soul can only be destroyed by teeth from the skeleton of the basilisk snake in the Hogwarts basement, which Harry killed in the second book and movie.
Harry and his friends have two problems. First, running Hogwarts now is Professor Snape, Harry’s old school nemesis and the man who killed his friend Dumbledore. Second, Voldemort is gathering his minions to storm Hogwarts for the final showdown with Harry. Professor Snape, however, is carrying a few important, surprising secrets that may tip the outcome in Harry’s favor.
PART II pulls out all the stops in telling the story of the final showdown between Harry and Voldemort. It’s probably the most exciting of all the HARRY POTTER movies. And, along with the ending to PART I when the lovable house elf, Dobby, gets killed, it’s the most emotionally powerful.
That said, except for an important subplot concerning Harry’s friends Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, the movie gives short shrift to the battles between Harry’s other supporters and Voldemort’s minions. Here, a couple tragic, heartfelt and important outcomes from the book get lost. Thus, for example, if you compare this movie to the final movie in the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, RETURN OF THE KING, RETURN OF THE KING is, hands down, the much better, more satisfying movie.
Also, more importantly, the resolution of the Professor Snape subplot, which is perhaps among the most emotionally powerful in the whole series, comes too much out of the blue in the movie. Consequently, it’s not as wonderfully done and heartfelt as it seemed to be in the book.
Finally, the final duel between Harry and Voldemort that decides their destinies is rather uninteresting, especially when compared with the one in the book. For instance, in the book, there’s far more drama in the final duel, which has some important revelations and a more visually interesting climax. [SPOILER FOLLOWS] Also, ultimately, Voldemort loses to Harry in the book because of his pride in his abilities using witchcraft, his arrogance, his greed for power, and his denial and disdain for the power of love. This really isn’t clear in the movie. Thus, the story’s premise is itself diluted.
The decision to delete this part of the book is very strange, because it fits in perfectly with the other original redemptive, allegorical material from the story that the movie includes. [SPOILERS FOLLOW] For example, in the movie, there are elements of sacrifice and resurrection that recall Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection in Holy Scripture. There’s also a major reference to King’s Cross Station in London, which is named after the story of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. Finally, in a waystation leading to an undescribed afterlife, Harry is able to talk with Dumbledore one last time. In that scene, Dumbledore reminds Harry about the power of love, which, in the book but not in the movie, actually impels Harry to offer Voldemort one last chance to repent.
Thus, while HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART II retains some of the overt redemptive aspects to the original, the filmmakers clearly don’t fully understand it or take advantage of it. Consequently, their movie is not as unforgettable, dramatic, powerful, and inspiring as it could have been. In fact, the ending, despite its positive aspects, which are many, ultimately comes down to a magical duel between the hero and the villain. In a strange way, this makes the climax seem slightly less redemptive, with a little too much focus on occult witchcraft and empty, impersonal magical pyrotechnics, than the original book on which it’s based. In one sense, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART II is like a Cliff’s Notes edition of the book.
Therefore, once again, MOVIEGUIDE® cannot recommend a HARRY POTTER movie and points instead to Peter Jackson’s extended movie version of THE LORD OF THE RINGS, which is now out on Blu-Ray. Better yet, people should read or re-read LORD OF THE RINGS, C.S. Lewis’s CHRONICLES OF NARNIA books or Tolkein’s follow-up to LORD OF THE RINGS, THE SILMARILLION, which contains a profound, rewarding, redemptive storyline on the fight between good and evil (including the seductive power of evil, arrogance, envy, and greed to pervert the good), the terrible judgment of God and the power of the hope that lies within us.
