Sing - Movie Review

This animation is about an entertainment business koala who is about to have his theater foreclosed on. In a desperate attempt to keep his theater, he promotes a singing contest, but things are not what they seem. Also, in the storyline, we get to see into the lives of several contestants and their various plights, and most of us could identify with at least one of them. I, personally, identified quiet a bit with Rosita the pig. 

What a fun movie! I saw this with my 8 year old daughter and we both just loved it! There was even a time when I had to force myself to stop laughing because I thought I was starting to annoy people - if you go see it, it's the Koala car wash scene towards the end. Oh my! I'm chuckling here thinking about it!

The plot wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be so that made it even a better movie. And the music is fantastic. 

If you like reality shows like the Voice or American Idol you will really enjoy this movie. All the contestants have extraordinary voices. Meena - the elephant, all I can say is just "wow". I read that there are about 85 different songs in the movie, so the kids will be entertained.  

Here is a pretty funky "Sing" original by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande:

 To the Christian: This movie is a great movie to watch with the kids and will not be a hardship to watch for parents like other animations can be. All the songs are secular. Except if you want to count "Hallelujah" as a non-secular song. (K-love might. Don't get mad, you know it's true!)

A great topic to talk about with your kids is what common grace is. God has given all a common grace and one of those common graces is the ability to sing beautifully. Most singers are not saved, but can still produce beautiful music that can point us to a Creator. "How does God use music and other forms of art to reveal His beauty?" and "How can the world use it to influence us negatively?" are both good questions to ask your kids after watching this movie. 

There is nothing that really stood out to me as being inappropriate in the movie.

Star Wars - Movie Review

  

Don't worry, no spoilers!

My husband introduced me to the Star Wars movies, and I have been a fan ever since. My favorite character being Chewbacca. I just love him! Deep down inside, I think Chewy would understand me. 

Anyway, a couple of days ago, we saw the new Star Wars movie, Rogue One. And although the movie did start off a bit slow and was a little confusing because of the lack of introduction, we soon figured out what was going on. To help you out if you haven't seen it, the movie ties part 3 - Revenge of the Sith and part 4 - A New Hope together. If I would have known that going into the movie, it would have helped me a lot to understand what was going on.

I was a little disappointed that they didn't start the movie with the usual music score that will be forever famous in American culture. And like I said before, there was no traditional written introduction that helped us understand what was going on as the movie opened. I felt lost for about 20 minutes trying to figure out where exactly the movie was in regards to the series.

The director does do a great job in bringing back that Star Wars feel the older movies have. The CG is awesome, but it still feels "old", but not in a bad way at all. It's nostalgic and the director does a superb job in reproducing that, especially in the garb of all the characters.

The end of the movie was spectacular and reminds us that the hope that was given to the Rebellion in The New Hope - Star Wars IV, did come with a tragic cost. 

I recommend this movie to the star wars fan. You will love how everything ties together! It is not a good movie to start with if you would like to begin watching Star Wars movies.

To the Christian: The movie is great and clean! It also contains a good message of sacrifice and selflessness that you could talk about with your kids afterwards - if you decide to take them. As 21st century Christians we too are standing on the shoulders of many who sacrificed a lot for Christianity. A good subject to talk about would be how we got our Bible in English. I took my 8 year old daughter and she did mention that it wasn't as exciting as Star Wars 7 - The Force Awakens.  

Fantastic Beasts - Movie Review

I first picked up a Harry Potter book when I was a married woman and already had my first kid. I didn't grow up with these books like many others have, and I am kinda sad for that. Either way, I learned of Harry Potter when The Goblet of Fire was playing on a friend's TV while we chatted. The kids had finished watching the movie and the DVD was on the menu screen and the little shrunken human heads hanging from the bus driver's window kept warning the watcher to "mind ya head" in his little Caribbean accent. 

Once I began reading Harry Potter, I read all the books one right after the other and watched and anxiously waited for the movies to come out. My family loves Harry Potter!

This year I also read the screen play "The Cursed Child", a sequel to the Harry Potter anthology. It was a great book and now as I write, I am wondering why I didn't write a review on it. Hmm, that's odd. But I totally recommend it to the Harry Potter fan.

Anyway . . .

I say all this because I watched the Harry Potter movies with a lot of knowledge of the characters, their magical world, and the jargon used that I got from the books. Harry, Ron and Harmoine were already known to me because I had spent long moments getting to know them in the book series, so when the movie came along, it was "nice to meet you again". And of course! the books were far better than the movies, but the movies were also fun to watch, and frankly still are for me.

With "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", I didn't know the characters before hand so I felt a little lost during some of the movie, and I don't believe the director did a good job in developing the characters as we journeyed throughout the escapade of finding the "little" beasts that escaped from Mr. Scamander's well-traveled luggage/portal. I really like Eddie Redmayne (Newt) as an actor, but I had trouble understanding him in some instances. I am guessing his character is to be shy, but I had trouble hearing him (maybe it was the movie theater). I also felt that a lot of the movie was not in the magical world, so the magic that was done, felt awkward and so did the underground gangster goblins . We learned about the magic world with Harry, and I wanted to learn along with Newt Scamander and get to know him. I wanted to know more of the history of the beasts, but I was left wanting. I wanted to know more. More!

And there does seem to be more that is coming. Besides checking out IMDb - which does provide information of a second Fantastic Beasts coming in 2018. The movie did hint at a continuation of the series by showing us a bit of a relationship-gone-wrong between Newt and a "Leta Lestrange". According to IMDb, Leta is played by Zoe Kravitz, and I doubt they're going to cast someone like her, just to then not use her in the second movie. And I know it is not the end of Grindelwald, why use Johnny Depp for 15 seconds and not use him some more in the second movie. So, I am hoping that the second Fantastic Beasts will tell us more about all these characters and give us some more background and depth to them.

The beasts where great. I really loved the little shiny-loving platypus (I forget what they are called). He was so funny and cute. And the blue, feathered snakes that filled in the spaces and the four winged griffin were beautiful. 

The evil manifested and known as an Obscurial was also a very interesting take on the wicked characters Ms. Rowling is so good at conjuring. It is also a sad character due to the self-hatred one must endure in order to even produce an obscurial. An Obscurial is a dark phenomenon created by an abuse on one's magical ability. The witch/wizard suppresses their unwanted magic so much that the obscurial they create can actually kill him/her. I will not say more on this as to not spoil the movie.

I recently found a Harry Potter wiki page that helped a lot in regards to knowing the characters better. 

 I recommend this movie to the Harry Potter fan and to those who like magic and fantasy movies. 

To the Christian: I was afraid  when I saw "The New Salem Philanthropic Society" that they were going to really lay it on thick on Christians, but thankfully they didn't. Although, maybe the name is enough to oust us as jerks. There was also a subtle tinge of maybe the obscurial could be someone suppressing"who they are" (i.e. their gender) and that having an adverse affect by producing an obscurial. All of this plus the abuse given by the head mistress of the New Salem Philanthropic Society created the darkest obscurial ever known. So tying these things together, one could draw a conclusion to the church's abuse on those "different" from them. But, I really didn't take too much out of it. Maybe later we will know more from J.K. Rowling what exactly she was trying to express - like finding out way later on that Dumbledore was gay. Other than that, there are no bad words or anything too frightening. 

Moana - Movie Review

I didn't really want to see Moana, but I have an 8 year old daughter who has been wanting to see it for about 2 months now. She even marked the calendar, so there was no hoping she would forget. 

Moana is the newest Disney princess. It is a story of a young woman who will soon be chief of her tribe. But she is drawn to the ocean and was chosen by the ocean to return the heart of Tafiti that was taken by the demigod Maui. Maui is a narcissist anti-hero who thinks only about getting back his fishhook, and predictably he ends up being a good guy in the end. It is his fault that the islands surrounding Moana's are dying. We find out through Moana's grandmother that Moana needs to have Maui (who has been exiled to a deserted island for 1000 years) return the heart to Tafiti, but in order to get there, they must journey through very dangerous territory. Their last foe is the most scary and the CG on the volcanic Te Ka is outstanding. There is a twist at the end story when Te Ka is defeated that I didn't expect and that I won't share in order not to spoil the movie. 

This movie was not stirring at all. The plot was bland and the "villains" didn't really personify evil or hate like other Disney villains have so perfectly done before. Also, it really frustrates me the lack of strong male roles these princess movies have been producing. I get it that she's independent. I get it that the only wisdom in the movie comes from a grandma. I get it that her father is irrational and risks starving his people. I get it that Moana's mother and not her father encourages her to "seek out her heart". I get it that the other leading character Maui is a self-absorbed demigod male. And the ending (which I won't spoil, but I want to) just confirms my thoughts: men aren't needed and just ruin everything. No clear line between good and evil. No love between male and female partnership.

In the end, my daughter and her friends loved the movie. The chicken and the little pig were pretty funny. And the animation was great. I can't get over how real their hair looks. The music was not that inspiring, but like all Disney movies, the princess' voice and ability to hit super high notes was admiring.

I recommend this movie to little girls. Also, if it isn't obvious, Moana is Polynesian. So there is a lot about their culture that was nice to know. Although, I don't think they had female chiefs, but I may be wrong.

To the Christian: There is really nothing wrong with the movie. Disney is not proactively bashing strong males, they just seem to not think they're that important to make them co-heros.  

Magnificent 7 - Movie Review

This movie was good. It had tons of  flying bullets, great cinematography, well developed characters, and a satisfying ending. It was a stereo-typical good guys versus bad guys Western,but it wasn't at all banal. And the ending was explosive! The only problem that I did have with the plot though is that the villain identifies himself as a capitalist. It is only one small line at the beginning of the movie, so it really wasn't that big of a deal, but I was a bit on the defensive for about 10 minutes. Thankfully, the movie gets going. And just to clarify, the villain wasn't a capitalist, he was a tyrant, him saying he's a capitalist is very misleading. 

So the villain takes over a mining town, abuses and kills a bunch of the villagers and takes away their guns! I wanted a little bit of a "right wing" agenda there, but I never go it! I wanted Mr. Chisolm (Denzel) to tell them that they should never let anyone take away their guns. Actually, one of the first things the Magnificent 7 does for the townspeople is arm them to help them defeat their oppressors!  

I was grateful for the lack of sexual exploitation of women that tends to be the norm in Westerns. There were prostitutes, but they just floated around in the background and were not in many of the screen shots. The female lead, Mrs. Emma Cullen (Haley Bennet) is fresh and a natural beauty. She doesn't woo over any of the Magnificent 7 nor gives a forced faux-tough-girl-anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better perception. She's real and I enjoyed cheering for her throughout the movie. 

The movie ended well. I was a bit shocked about who died and who didn't die. There is some depth to the movie that wasn't obvious at first and I was glad for that surprise.  

I did expect the movie to be funny and it didn't let me down. The writers did a great job with the witty jokes and comebacks. The Mexican in the Mag 7 gang saying "cabron" all the time did get a little old for me. My mother is Mexican, and neither I or she speak like that - well maybe my uncle does. Either way, it was just over used. It was funny the first 10 times, but after that I was like, "I get it! You're Mexican!" Thankfully he wasn't portrayed as a stereotypical drunken, womanizer Mexican , oh wait, never mind. It was funny though! 

The acting was great. Ethan Hawke did a marvelous job portraying Goodnight Robicheaux, a Civil War hero suffering with PTSD.  

To the Christian: There were a couple of swear words and the name of the Lord was used in vain. The movie is violent, but not gory. People are killed with guns, explosives and arrows. There are some dirty jokes towards the end of the movie. The church plays as an undertone in the movie - both the opening scene that sets the plot, and the tragic ending of the movie take place in the church. And the preacher is portrayed to have respect among his parishoners. 

Recommendations: I recommend this movie to the Western lover and to those who prefer tragedies. Also any Denzel fans, the man still looks great - he's 61 years old! 

Exodus - Gods and Kings

When I first saw the trailer of Exodus, my heart was overwhelmed. In the trailer, I saw an enormous wave with water spouts in the background. I held my breath as the wave drew closer and closer to me and it seemed it was about to kill me. The sound of that mighty tidal monster invaded my ears and I knew I had to see this movie! This is my God - awesome, colossal, great, mighty, powerful etc, etc, etc!! This is the God that brought Egypt to its knees and who brought up a man to be used to free His people from bondage! I knew in my heart that this movie was not going to be like the vomit-inducing shame that was Noah. But Jeremiah 17:9 says that the heart is the most deceitful of all! I should have known! I ended up wanting to vomit and what a total loss!

I did know going into the movie that there was going to be some diluting of God and I prepared myself to leave a good size room for artistic interpretation. And I did. I really did. I wanted to like this movie, but in the end I don't recommend it for anyone who loves God's Word. The story of the Exodus is so good in and of itself and I was just prepared for some awesome scenes of God's power. But Mr. Scott utterly destroyed what could of been a phenomenal movie! He splurged 124 million dollars for goodness' sake! You will be disappointed. You will be angry. You will be frustrated. You will be sad. And you will want to vomit!

I am now going to list some of things I hated most of this movie. So if you plan on seeing the movie, please stop reading now.

1. Once you get to this next point in the movie, it all spirals out of control fairly quickly from there. Moses is exiled by Pharaoh and he meets Zipporah, Jethro, his wife and his daughters. Time passes (9 years) and during a bad rainstorm, three sheep start going up the mountain that is called "God's mountain", Moses follows. As the sheep ascend, a mudslide pummels Moses and he is all but submerged in the mess. His face is all that sticks out of the sludge. Close by a small bush ignites in blue flames and out comes GOD . . . . . in the form of an eight year old child with an English accent! I couldn't believe it! My gag-reflex was stimulated! This kid proceeds to speak with Moses and to make it seem deeper, the little boy is playing with these little rocks. The child piles these little rocks into a pyramid and guess how many rocks there are? I will give you one guess........ yes! 10! Gee, I wonder what that means! At first, I thought maybe that the little boy was like a messenger, like an angel, anything else but God, but Mr. Scott leaves no room for doubt. When Moses asks who he is talking to, the music crescendos, the camera moves in closer, it all becomes still and the child opens his mouth and says, "I am". This is where I threw up!

2. For having the sub-title of Gods and Kings, all gods are pretty silent and almost non-existent. There is no show down of my God is better than your god. Moses hardly interacts with Pharaoh and never duels with the priests. God doesn't command Moses to turn the water into blood using his staff. The water turns into blood by crocodiles that attack a boat and the people in it and then turn on each other. All the crocodiles in the Nile tear each other apart, and that's all folks. This bloody mess leads to the frogs leaving the Nile tormenting all. The frogs die and here come the flies. Then the remaining plagues proceed to torment both Egyptian and Hebrew alike. Both Gods seem to just stand back and let " nature" take its course. There is only one time that Moses communicates with Pharaoh before the killing of the firstborn and Moses does so by writing a warning in red paint/blood on the side of a white horse.  No battle of the serpents, no throw down of the priests versus Aaron and Moses, no warnings from Moses, no passion of exclaiming "Let My People Go!!" And no Pharaoh equally as passionate, digging in his heels and having his heart hardened saying ,"no!" The Hebrew God is silent, and the Egyptian gods are mute. And so are their messengers.

3. Moses battles with the decision of God killing the firstborn. Moses argues with God, well the kid who portrays God. Moses looks down and can't believe God is about to kill so many innocents, but God reminds Moses of the evil of the Egyptians and how His people have suffered 400 years of slavery. Vengeance is His! It just doesn't seem so serious coming from a little kid who tries to appear tough. There is so much depth in the Passover. So much meaning and foreshadowing of the ultimate Passover where the blood of the Lamb of God was poured on the wooden Cross, but again Mr. Scott blows it! God is just a fed up kid that's had enough. They killed Hebrew male newborns, so God takes their firstborn sons.

5. The last thing I will mention is the crossing of the Red Sea. Looking at the trailer again, I feel I was fooled. I think Mr. Scott made it appear that the Red Sea splits in the trailer, but in the movie it doesn't. What appears to happen is the tide recedes, ebbs and comes raging back with thunder, dark clouds, wind, water spouts and all. There are no walls of water on both sides, there is no dry ground (the Hebrews actually struggle in some areas of the crossing due to how high the water is in some areas), and there is no staff/rod in this scene. The Bible so specific about these things (Exodus 14:21-22). Also, just to top it off, the massive tide finally comes back while Ramses and Moses are fighting in the "dry"ground. They along with the Egyptian army are swept up my the colossal tide. Miraculously both Ramses and Moses survive.


There are so many other small things that really upset me within this movie, but these are the five that are the worse. This movie is offensive to me as a Christian. This wasn't even Scripture twisting, but out right lies. I do not recommend this movie and I will never see it again.

The only good thing I will say about this movie is that the CG was phenomenal and seeing Egypt in her glory was breathtaking. Other than that, I hated it!

Brave - Movie Review

Pixar did it again! Another great movie and this time the protagonist is a human and female. Yes, Merida is the defiant daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor. With a mop of wild red hair and a burning free spirit to match, Merida sets herself to run her own fate. Angered by her sudden betrothal and parent's search for a suitor, she embarks in making her own destiny. She defies tradition and female protocol by becoming an agile archer and ignoring proper feminine etiquette. But it is this stubborn spree that turns her kingdom upside down.

Full of laughs and Scottish wit this movie is a laugh-out-loud success. The scenery is just beautiful and the animation is fantastic! There are several times when it is a little difficult to understand the characters due to their Scottish brogue, but I think that might be the point. True to their feisty nature, there are several brawls and fights.  The movie also really takes us into their culture, including some cliches and cuisine.

The only thing that a Christian family might have issue with this movie is that there are two scenes where several rear ends are exposed. Because all the men wear kilts, maybe it was bound to happen. So yes, there are several men walking around at night and their butts are in plain sight. The other scene is of the King's red-headed, trouble-making triplet boys as they run around naked in a field, but again, it is only their rear ends that are shown and briefly. Towards the end of the movie the Queen mentions that she is "naked" under a tapestry and the King tells the on-lookers to look away. There is an older very heavy set woman that also has very low cleavage. It is not sexual in any way, she is just a rotund gal. There is a key that she hides in her bosom that the triplet boys end up getting from her and a brief close up shot of one of them diving in to get the key is shown. Also, for smaller children there is a very ugly black bear that is shown several times and one scene that includes a brutal bear fight that might be a bit frightening. There is no gore or blood though, but the bear does get hit several times with multiple arrows. True to most fairy tales, there is magic, spell casting and a witch, but nothing scary.

Overall the movie was fantastic! My daughter (4) never took her eyes of the screen. The movie has a great moral ending that we can all learn from.

Some subjects you can talk about with your children: Pride, Female and Male roles, Forgiveness, What haggis is made up of, Scottish heritage, Stubbornness, What is marriage

Rating: 8 stars out of 10
Length: 100 minutes
Rated: PG for for some scary action and rude humor

Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows - Movie Review

What a fantastic movie! Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law do a marvelous job in the second movie of Sherlock Holmes! If you loved the first movie, you will absolutely love love love the second one! I will even say that it is better than the first! This movie is definitely going on my Christmas wish list!

In the movie, Sherlock Holmes is dealing emotionally with facing the reality of his best friend (Watson) being married. There is also another crisis afoot and Holmes again menacingly lures Watson into another case. The cinematography is phenomenal and there are several "Holmes' views" in the movie where everything is done in super slow motion with pain-staking detail.

Of course, there are scenes that just plain crack you up and scenes where you're squirming in your seat. Thankfully the movie is free of vulgar language and sexuality.

There is a scene were Watson, at his bachelor party, becomes intoxicated. There is also another scene where both, Holmes and Watson are intoxicated. There is partial nudity scene of Mycroft (Holme's brother), walks around the house naked. His backside is shown, but there is NOTHING sexual about it. Some girls swing on some trapeziums but they are modestly dressed. There is smoking throughout the movie. There is a scene where Holmes dresses up like a woman and there are some sexual insinuations while Holmes and Watson wrestle on the ground. There is a pretty brutal torture scene where Holmes is suspended by a butcher's hook. There are several fight scenes where bones are broken.

Movie length: 129 minutes
Rating: PG-13

My Rating: 10 out of 10

Courageous - Movie Review

I was hesitant to see Courageous only because I am not really into tear-jerking movies. Well bring a whole box of Kleenex because you will need it! Even good old dad will be crying at this movie, especially dads with daughters.

The movie is about 4 police officers and one construction/factory worker that no longer want to fit into the stereotype of the passive American dad. The movie cites several times the shocking statistics of the effects of children being raised without the father figure. Here is more information on the facts of what are some of the consequences of children growing up without a father figure. The men in this movie go through many of life's hardships and battles and look to God and His Word for the answers on how to be great fathers. Who else but the ultimate Father to give you lessons on how to be a dad? Through their trials and several funny moments they turn their lives around by turning their heart towards God and what He expects of them as spiritual leaders. They become pro-active men, involved in the lives of their children. What a beautiful message!

Courageous is a Christian movie done by the same directors as Fireproof, Flywheel and Facing The Giants. The acting is a bit mediocre in a minimal amount of scenes but the message is forward, as it needs to be. The directors were bold  in developing characters that depend on Jesus and in displaying how the Bible contains all that is necessary to be a great father.

In a post-feminist, post-modernist world, the roles that God designed for men and women has been blurred through political correctness. Our boys are told that guns and playing with swords is violent. They are not allowed to horse play or rough house with their friends due to fear of "hurting" themselves. We don't let them get dirty, grimy, smelly, or muddy. We panic when they bleed or fall. We (mostly mothers) teach them fear of bugs, mice, germs and other crawly things. We run to protect them when they pout or don't get their way. And frankly mothers, we are raising little wusses. We have not allowed our husbands to be a part of their lives. Dads fill a special role in a child's life that only the male mind can provide. Guess what ladies, we are different from men and we will never be like them. Praise God! We raise boys, not men. Ever heard of a momma's boy?

Like Fireproof, there is a book you can buy that is based on the principles of the movie. If you are interested in buying the book click here. There is also a book geared towards women. For that book, click here.

I wasn't too surprised about secular critics giving poor ratings to the film. Most didn't bash anything but the Christian content. Many critics talked about how phony it was for someone to use in conversation how their faith helped them. Guess what! Christians talk that way. It is called Christianese. We reference things like faith, Jesus, the Bible, and use church jargon and cliches all the time. The secular critics, I guess, can't believe someone talks about their faith outside of church.

Courageous really tugs at the heart and the tear ducts. It is an excellent movie to take for the whole family, but be warned the movie is rated PG-13 and there are several scenes involving violence. The opening scenes involves a car jacking. There is a scene where a young man is "jumped" into a gang. There is a somewhat bloody gun fight scene towards the end. There are several references to drugs. The "d" word is used. A man gets tazed by a police officer. There are no sexual references and all the characters are dressed modestly. I do believe the PG-13 rating is a bit high considering other movies with stronger material have had PG ratings.

I highly recommend this movie to the Christian family, specifically the men. I also took several teens and they all enjoyed it. A younger child might get a bit bored because there is quiet a bit of dialogue.

Rating: PG-13 for some violence and drug content.
Running Time: 124 minutes

I give this movie an 9 out of 10 stars only because a few of the actors were camera conscious.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a movie that ties itself to the first Planet of the Apes that starred Charlton Heston. To me, it was more of a prequel movie to the original. It also answers a lot of questions that the 2nd Planet of the Apes that starred Mark Wahlberg left out. The movie with Mark Wahlberg really was annoying and strayed so much from the original that it frustrated me throughout the movie. If you are a purist and love your classics, I think you will really enjoy this new Planet of the Apes. Throughout the movie there are tiny moments that take you to the original, including some quotes from Charlton Heston.

The movie is about a scientist (James Franco) who is on the verge of discovering a cure for Alzheimer's. He uses chimps as his experimental subjects and notices a remarkable increase in neurological function and the brain seems to repair itself. Will, the scientist, acquires a baby chimp that he raises on his own. The chimp, Caesar, grows up and his intelligence, reasoning and IQ increase exponentially. Caesar struggles with his "identity" and because of an accident he is confined to an animal rescue type facility. There, he leads a rebellion with the other apes against the humans.

The movie does not have any sexual scenes nor does it have a lot of bad language, just the f--- word is used once. There are several scenes that are uncomfortable. One of the trainers abuses the apes several times and Caesar also gets abused by the apes he is confined with. Thankfully, it is very tame and not gory.

The animation and CG is phenomenal! Caesar's facial expressions are remarkable and there is no need for him to express himself with words. There are many times in the movie that you forget that the apes are only animation. The "battle" scene at the end is superb. You definitely root for the underdog throughout the whole scene. There are several very funny scenes and the movie definitely caters to those who love the original movie. The movie is sprinkled with references to the original and it definitely ties all loose ends that the original left behind. While the 2nd Planet of the Apes left you wondering and confused. This Planet of the Apes gives you an understanding of how we ended up with Planet of the Apes, the original, in the first place.

This movie does tug at the emotional heart strings and really emphasizes why man should never play God. 

I recommend this movie to anyone that likes sci-fi and who loves their classics.

For Christians: I do not believe this movie really caters to evolutionists. On the contrary, the apes "evolve" only because man tinkered with them genetically. The apes do stand almost erect like man, although there is no reason for them to stand straighter. The apes are given a more "human" like face but that is only to make clear of their intelligence. There is no mention of evolution and scientifically, genetic mutations do not add information to DNA.The apes did not get smarter because of evolution, they became smarter because of man.

I give this movie 9 out of 10 stars.

The movie is rated PG-13 for intense and frightening sequences of action and violence.
Running Time: 120 minutes

X-Men First Class - Movie Review

No Spoiler!

X-Men First Class is the prequel to the first X-Men movie. This movie gives a lot more information on many X-men and villains including Professor X and Magneto. It tells us the horrible treatment of Magneto (Erik Lehnsherr) in the Nazi concentration camps. It also gives us more information of a younger, girl-crazy Professor X (Charles Xavier). There are a lot of mutants in this X-men movie, but not as many as X-Men Three - The Last Stand.

The movie is about the villain, Sebastian Shaw manipulating the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. in starting a nuclear war. Shaw's ideology, basically, is that through a nuclear war, the humans will destroy each other and produce a huge amount of radiation giving mutants extra power. The X-Men get together to try and stop Shaw and his fellow followers in accomplishing World War III.

I have included a list of the mutants in this movie:
* Professor X (Charles Xavier) - power of telepathy
* Magneto a.k.a. Magnus (Erik Lehnsherr) - power to control and manipulate metal and magnetism
* Beast (Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy) - power of super-human strength, agility and intelligence
* Havok (Alexander "Alex" Summers) - power to generate powerful plasma blasts
* Azazel - power to teleport and immortality
* Mystique (Raven Darkholme) - power to shapeshift, ages slowly
* Riptide (Janos Quested) - power to spin quickly and project objects, can also produce whirlwinds
* Emma Grace Frost a.k.a. White Queen - power of telepathy, second mutation is power to transfigure into diamond-like figure
* Banshee (Sean Cassidy) - power to produce a sonic-scream, can manipulate his scream to assist in flying
* Darwin (Armando Muñoz) - power to adapt to any environment almost immediately
* Sebastian Hiram Shaw - power to absorb energy and transform it into raw strength
* Angel Salvadore a.k.a. Tempest - power to fly by using her insect like wings, her spit is also acid

The movie, in itself was okay. It was another X-Men movie, so if you like the X-Men, then you will like this movie. It's not corny like many sequels or prequels can be. The effects were also very good especially a flying scene featuring Banshee.

Unlike Thor, this movie did have a lot of cleavage and lots of women walking in very sexy lingerie. The character Emma Frost almost always is in bra and underwear and if she is not wearing that, she is wearing a skin tight leather suit, that shows lots of cleavage. In her diamond form, her breast are augmented considerably. There is also a scene where she is on top of a Russian colonel seducing him wearing only her bra, underwear and pantyhose and he in turn fondles her. There is another scene where Mystique in her human form tries to seduce Erik. He then comes over and kisses her, it is not clear whether they sleep together or not. Erik and Charles Xavier, while recruiting, go into a strip club where a lot of women are dancing half-naked and have a conversation with Angel Salvadore with a lot of sexual innuendos. There are several close up of women's bottoms only wearing underwear. Mystique also has augmented breasts in her mutant form.

The language really isn't bad except for one scene where Wolverine says "F--- Off!" to Erik and Xavier as they try to recruit him.

There are several scenes that involve drinking at bars. There is a bar fight that is pretty graphic and violent.

There is a lot of references to evolution and mutants being the next step in human evolution.

A great talking point in the movie is the line between anger and peace. Xavier constantly tries to help Magneto balance his anger and shows him how anger can suppress the good in us and even erase good and happy memories.

Overall the movie was okay. There are new mutants to see, but the story line does not follow the comic books at all. So any X-men fans will be let down, especially when you see how Xavier becomes crippled.

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some sexual content including brief partial nudity and language.

Running Time: 132 minutes

My Rating: 6 stars out of 10

Stay mutant and proud!

Kung Fu Panda 2 - Movie Review

If you liked the first Kung Fu Panda, you will like the second one. Although, it doesn't supersede the first animation, it doesn't really fall short of it either. It ranks just about the same, which is saying much in regards to sequels. It starts off a bit corny and the producers really drove home about Po's appetite and weight. We know he loves food and is fat, but they overplay those facts quiet a bit.

SPOILER ALERT: The movie focuses on Po's new life as the Dragon Warrior and his recent battle to discover where he comes from. It is obvious that his dad really isn't the Goose and Po asks his dad how he came to be his dad. Po then learns that his true family gave him up due to a prophecy about a panda stopping the then-future ruler from taking the throne. Due to the prophecy the evil albino peacock Lord Shen has all pandas killed, but Po's mother hides little baby Po in a crate of radishes where later on, Po's goose dad finds him and decides to adopt him. At the end of the movie it is insinuated that a Kung Fu Panda 3 will be in the making because we find out that Po's dad is really alive living in a panda community.

The movie touches on the beauty of adoption and the pain and sacrifice of parents giving up their children for their safety and betterment. It also reveals that anger and grudges hurt no one more that those that hold on to them. It insinuates (to those that are really paying attention) the power forgiveness and the bitterness an unforgiving heart can produce.

All the Furious 5 are in the sequel as well as Master Shifu. We see a more tender side of Master Tigress and there are plenty of laughs throughout the movie. 

There are plenty of fight scenes to keep the kids entertained and there is no vulgar language in it. There are a couple of "toilet" jokes, but nothing to graphic. The color schemes are great to keep the littler ones attention and there are some very tender moments of love, sacrifice and true inner peace. Overall it was a fun movie for the whole family.

Again if you like the first one, you will like the second. Although the second one was more of a tear-jerker for me. Yes I cried okay!!!

Kung Fu Panda 2 is rated PG for sequence of martial art action and mild violence

Running Time: 91 minutes

Rating: Rami (my 8 year old) gives it 9.5 out of 10 stars.  I give it a 7.5 out of 10 stars.

Hope you enjoy!!

Thor - Movie Review

Unfortunately, I do not know too much on Norse and Celtic mythology, but you don't really have to know much to understand and enjoy the new Marvel movie that came out. 

The movie "Thor" is based on Marvel's (Stan Lee's) comic book adaptation of the Norse god.

The movie stars great actors like Anthony Hopkins,  Natalie Portman and Stellan Skarsgard so the acting in the movie isn't as cheesy as Spiderman 3 was starting to get.  Although, if you are not into science fiction, the movie can be a bit too fantastical due to the fact that we are given two settings. One on earth and the other in Asgard, which is Thor's realm and home. It was a bit difficult to take Asgard too seriously just because most of us do not know much of Norse mythology.

There is some pretty good fight scenes, but nothing spectacular that we expect to see in "summer" releases. There was no awe factor to the effects and the plot was a bit predictable. Thor starts off as a rebellious, egocentric, war-thirsty son of the god Odin and predictably ends up tamed, humble and peace-loving. All, of course, with the help of the beautiful Jane played by Natalie Portman.

There are some pretty funny scenes and the lack of foul language and sexuality was very refreshing. There is one prolonged scene of a very cut and muscular Thor wandering around shirtless, but other than that, the movie is very clean regarding nudity, partial nudity or over sexualized comic-book attire.

The movie is rated PG-13 due to sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence.

I believe the Frost Giants can be a bit scary for smaller children as well as the monster at the beginning of the movie. There are a couple of scenes involving drinking and Thor gets drunk with the scientist Eric on earth. There is a very romantic kiss when Thor says goodbye to Jane. He kisses her on the hand (such a gentleman!), but she reaches for him and gives him a pretty good smooch. Other than that, the movie is clean, but not what I expected.

The movie is 130 minutes long.

IMPORTANT: Make sure to stay after ALL the credits are over. There is an important scene at the end regarding the Avenger's upcoming film.

STARS: I give it 6.5 stars out of 10. Rami gives it 10. I guess we know what my son is going to want to be this Halloween!

Rango - Movie Review - Maybe not for children

Rango is a movie about a suicidal chameleon that gets lost in the desert. He is a pet chameleon that fights boredom in his glass habitat by acting out scenes of chivalry and bravery. He is the director of these "plays" and gives insight to the inanimate objects that surround his abode. The scene changes abruptly when the car he is being transported in, runs into an armadillo and throws the chameleon and his tank into the burning asphalt of a road in the middle of a desert. The sun blazes and we begin hearing the songs of these little Mexican owls that sing throughout the movie speaking of the chameleon's certain death. The chameleon speaks with the armadillo roadkill who points the way to the nearest town. On the way he meets a possum type animal with a western dress and red curly hair. Her name is Beans. He then enters the cantina and decides to use his acting skills to play a tough guy. The chameleon has no name and chooses to call himself Rango when a crowd at the local "cantina" asks for his name. He gets the name from a bottle that says "Durango". The town is going through a drought and water is a precious commodity. Rango is made sheriff by the mayor after he accidentally kills the hawk that has been trying to eat him for a while now. As sheriff he leads a posse to figure out why there is no water. There are several high speed chases, and the animation is incredible. Maybe a bit too incredible. The creatures featured in this movie are very realistic looking and are a bit scary. All the animals look scruffy and dirty and some have very crude manners. Throughout the whole movie I was super thirsty due to how dusty and parched the whole scenery is. I was also a bit concerned with the mention of "cajones" and "huevos" several times. (In case you do not know, these are Spanish slang names for a specific male body part). There is a also very aggressive and violent snake that uses the word "damn" and the word "hell" is used three times by other characters. A desert toad looking thing also says "son of a b-" but the hawk shrieks to block out the ending of that word. There is also some racial stereotypes towards Mexicans and American Indians that are not funny. There is drinking, smoking and chewing of tobacco.

Overall, the animation was incredible and very detailed. The plot was a bit overused and didn't provide anything new and fresh. A neat aspect about the movie is that the actor's who played the voices of the characters not only provided their voices, but also acted out the scenes, including dressing up in western wear.

Rango is rated PG, but I believe due to its innuendos, stereotypes, scary characters, and language it should have a higher rating. This movie was marketed towards children, but I find that a child would be bored due to its lagging dialogs and maybe a bit scared by these "tortured" creatures. Also the foul language is inappropriate.

Running Time: 107 minutes

My Rating: 2 stars out of 10 - I only gave it that high of a rating because of the animation
Rami's Rating: 5 stars out of 10

Gnomeo and Juliet - Movie Review



The movie title Gnomeo and Juliet makes it very obvious what this movie is about.  It is an animated comical version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

In the movie there are the Red Gnomes and the Blue Gnomes that hate each other. They live on opposite sides of a yard and only a picket fence separates these family rivals. The movie opens with a small gnome with a huge hat making fun of the fact that - YES! in fact - this is another re-making of Romeo and Juliet.

The gnomes come to life once their owners look away and that is when they begin fighting each other and sabotaging the other's gardens. There are some very funny characters like a fountain frog and a pink plastic flamingo, but the movie is very predictable. There a couple of funny scenes and some adult humor also. In one scene the frog (which is a girl) asks Juliet how big is it, Juliet then goes "oh his hat". She goes on to elaborate that it's the color blue. Which is the worst thing imaginable because Juliet is a Red.

There is also a half naked little gnome that pops up here and there. He is wearing a thong and his booty cheeks appear to be sunburned. I am not sure what the purpose of him is, if not just for laughs. This little gnome, like the pink flamigo, has a latin accent. The little thong gnome does skip around and sings in Spanish "Tengo un bonito par de coconuts" which translated means "I have a pretty pair of coconuts". Not sure if I was offended by that, but the kids didn't seem to get it, they just laughed because his bottom was exposed.

Another important piece of information is that Elton John is in the musical score. Also, when the frog falls in love with one of the gnomes as it sings to her, she invisions the gnome wearing Elton John attire and wearing Elton John's famous style in sun glasses.

Overall the I give the movie 5 out of 10 stars. SPOILER ALERT: Although the movie doesn't end in the tragedy that Romeo and Juliet is infamous for, it does emphasize that love is worth fighting for. It does touch upon the power of forgiveness and how vengence can lead to destruction. My son Rami gives it an 8 out of 10 stars and my daughter Sofi slept through the whole movie, so I don't think she has an opinion.

By the way - Apparently I have to pay for a children's ticket when I am taking a toddler of 2 1/2. I didn't know that.

I wouldnt go out and spend 20 dollars for the family to watch this movie. I would wait for the movie to come out on DVD or rent it at a RedBox.

Movie is rated: G

Length: 1 hour 24 minutes