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Amazing Grace (2006)
Worthwhile Movie
Watching this movie gave me chills, finding out how the slaves were treated on-board the slave-trade ships, which stank like hell!
Learning the life of Wilberforce is truly inspiring: how we need such politicians in America today, politicians with faith, integrity and tenacity.
I recommend this movie to people of all ages, and would like more movie studios follow the suite, and produce contents that will last.
The only draw back of the movie is the Reality Check - the fear of showing some graphic scenes of the slave trades (corps, blood, human excrement, etc.) lest it gets an "R" rating. However, for people with some imagination, such graphic scene could be filled in by our minds. However, the director could tone down the graphic by using black-n-white footage for such scenes, but at least show it. That's my take of it.
Over all, it's a very constructive, beneficial movie for all ages. Take the kids to see it, and you never know who among them may grow up to be the next Wilberforce in America, or in any other country that need them - maybe in China - who knows?
Dark Command (1940)
Again, the Texan Wins
John Wayne (playing Bob Seton, a cowboy from Texas) and Claire Trevor (playing Mary McCloud) paired marvelously in this movie. The love at first sight ended happily, despite the detour of another marriage. Set in the times of the American Civil War, the story told of turmoil, courage, uncertainty and unswerving love.
When Bob Seton arrived in this small town from Texas, he meant to just pass by this Kansas town on his way to something big. However, some children singing a patriotic song along the road stopped him, and together with him and his carriage, the entire traffic on the street. Mary McCloud (Trevor) happened to be in this traffic, so she rode forward on her horse to urge Bob's carriage along. That was their first meeting, from which Bob never pulled away.
To stay, Bob had to find a job, and the office of local Marshall happened to be up for re-election. So Bob decided to try his luck. Unfortunately, his competition, Mr. Will Cantrell, the ambitious schoolteacher, and also a cunning killer, saw Bob's competition at two levels, professional and personal. Will was also waiting for the opportunity to take the office of local Marshall, and also was openly and actively seeking Mary's favor. Mary treated Will as a friend, but not as an object of love.
The Civil War broke out at this time. While Mary was half-heartedly led to marry Will, her life was not a happy one. Being from the South, the McCloud family was under pressure from the towns folks to move out, especially after Mary's brother Fletch (Roy Rogers) killed a man in a bar fight, but was acquitted by the jurors in court. Meanwhile, Cantrell was riding all over Kansas with his guerrilla collecting his spoils as his personal gain. Once discovered by Bob, Cantrell led an all out attack on the town. Under Bob's leadership, the defense was successful. Bob killed Cantrell in the fight. Curiously, Cantrell's mother (Marjorie Main) was on Bob's side. While lying on a sofa, she raised her hand to block Will's shot at Bob.
Bob took Mary McCloud, riding westward to Texas, back to his own ranch to set up his own family.
This is a marvelous family movie, and I whole heartedly recommend it.
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
Fact or Fiction?
The book of The Da Vinci Code has been out for a couple of years, and people have had plenty of time to check out the so-called "facts" presented in the book.
The main lie in Da Vinci Code is that Jesus was secretly married to Mary Magdalene. Is that fact or fabrication? Let's check out an eyewitness' account and think about it. According to Apostle John, who was the eyewitness of the crucifixion, Jesus made arrangements for Mary, his mother, while hanging on the cross. Mary Magdalene was standing right next to her. Yet, Jesus made no arrangement for her. If Jesus were secretly married to Mary Magdalene, wouldn't he at least have said something to her before he died? But John recorded nothing that Jesus said to her or about her.
Dan Brown based his assumed marriage on an account in one of the Gnostic Gospels, written hundreds of years after the death of Christ, using someone else's name (Thomas, Judas, Philip, etc.) who clearly did not write it years after their death. The account said Jesus kissed Mary Magdalene
(then the page was torn, and the account was incomplete). But Dan Brown's highly imaginative and heavily polluted mind jumped to the conclusion that Jesus must have kissed her on her lips, which led to the conclusion of this assumed marriage. How do we know Jesus did not kiss her on her forehead or on her cheek? I for one would rather believe the person who lived with Jesus for years, and not give any credit to an account written under a pseudo-name by someone who lived hundreds of years afterward.
So this lie alone by Dan Brown, deliberately and purposely presented, would disqualify this book, or the movie for that matter, as a historically accurate account. In fact, judging from the motive of writing this book, I would not hesitate to say that Dan wrote it to satisfy his anti-Christian bias; and so did Hollywood in producing this movie out of the same bias. If this book were written about Mohammed or about Islam out of even less amount of bias, Dan Brown will certainly be living in hiding now, like the author of The Satanic Verses' author Salman Rushdie still does today. But has Dan Brown ever thought about his own eternity? Though Dan Brown is making $millions now, can he take one cent with him when he dies?
American Beauty (1999)
Art does not justify moral lies!
What a depressing story! That's where a society is headed without God and without moral compass! All these families in the neighborhood were dysfunctional! The only hero the movie provides dies at the end, without touching on the real solution! Seems like the story promotes "Follow Your Instict" as a way of life, but notice: all such approaches lead to disaster. They all lead to having someone else in bed with you outside the marriage, not knowing that the consequence of which will be either abortion, or the broken family. That could hardly be offered as our Teenagers' suggested path of life.
No matter how truthful you are to life's ugly passions, it's still the dark side of human psyche. The entertainment industry should be more responsible on the subject matter they present in their products. Let's have some art with moral backbone! Yes, we all have lustful thoughts, but that does not mean that we need to give in to these evil guidance. I for one, prefers to follow what Bible teaches, and deny myself, and resist the temptations of lusts originated from the eyes and the flesh. A society without God is a society lost without directions and without compass of life. Let's take charge where your life leads you, and stop the lies (as presented by the movie at the end)of an after-life that's peaceful, no matter what standard you subscribe in life. Lester's consciousness after being shot should be presented as being in Hell, as being in torments, instead of being in peace, because that's the obvious truth when judged from a Biblical standards.
Art does not justify moral lies! Beware of the moral poison packaged in artistic bottles.
Shi mian mai fu (2004)
Much Ado About Nothing
***** Spoiler Alert *****
Beautiful cinematography, impressive actions, framed again in a hollow story line - that's what I came up with after seeing it. What futility! The most inconsistent part of the movie is how Jin, who is supposed to deeply love Mei (Ziyi Zhang), fought with her before her initial capture with such zeal. I guess any Gong Fu movie will emphasize its fight scene like this.
What's more, love has been elevated in the story above loyalty, knowing full well that the lack of loyalty leads to the death of many comrades. For love, the emotion-bound triangle in this movie all met their ultimate death with seeming futility. Nobody gained anything out of it -- all gone with wind like scattering snow. Under this ambiguous love story, Mei holds an ambiguous love for both men, causing them to die at each other's hands in pursue for her. That's vanity, not love.
The whole story seems fake, and unbelievable, except for those Gong Fu nerds and unrealistic lovers.
Charade (1963)
Intriguing, and Compelling
Suspense to the end! What we see is truly wonderful story telling, and fantastic acting by all actors. Put yourself into the shoes of Regina (Reggie) Lampert, and you'll find this espionage story filled with surprising twists and turns.
Mixed with romance, this suspense movie deserves modern day attention on its story line, its acting and its conservative way of showing murder without horror! Stimulate the intellect, not the flesh! Witty dialogs are peppered throughout the whole movie. That alone will draw the audience back to the theater again to catch more details.
Why can't Hollywood give us today more movies like this, which lingers in your mind for days, instead of the eye and flesh stimulators which leave a bad taste in the audience's soul?
Go rent/buy this movie, and watch it with your friends and children. You won't regret it. The only thing I had against this movie is that it makes U.S. embassy look like a motel: anyone can use an empty room in it to stage a show. How real can that be? You be the judge and tell me after you watch it.
The High and the Mighty (1954)
Courage + Knowledge = Lives Saved
Just watched this film over the Labor Day weekend, and enjoyed it. It showed in a very exciting way what experience can do in cases of emergency like the one in this movie: lives saved.
I enjoyed the suspense, the interpersonal conflicts, and the nature-man contest in this movie. Well written and well acted. This film definitely is watchable by the whole family of all ages without having to explain to the kids what in the movie is acceptable and what's not.
On top of the above, this movie is quite a fine cultural reflection of the era in which it was produced. People in the old days looked decent, courteous; even the "gun slinger" on the plane looked professional - none of those pants-hanging-down-on-the-butt type of no-good slugs and bums we see today that make your eyes sore, whose only purpose in life seems to be putting graffiti over everything around us, from walls to your spirit.
Although we enjoy better technologies today, we definitely do not have better neighbors to share them with than the old days.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Unconvinced
The story just looks forced to me:
- How could Anakin's marriage to Padme be a secret one if they slept on the same bed without even trying, or attempting, to hide it from the public knowledge?
- Multiple Jedi masters, including his trainer Obi-wan, failed to find out what was bothering Anakin and giving him the nightmare, before Sith Lord saw through him and exploited his weakness: it just didn't hold water to me.
- How Anakin eventually bowed to the Sith Lord was simply unbelievable. A proud, insubordinate, but nevertheless clever and insightful Anakin (as portrayed in previous episodes) should easily see through the lies of the Sith Lord than to fall for the dark side. Remember, he drew the sword on the Sith Lord once, and later on, seeing another master drawing sword on the dark Lord should confirm his righteous faith rather than to arouse his suspicion on the Jedi order.
- How Anakin's conscience could stand killing young-lings (children in training to be Jedis) is beyond me. He was supposed to be "deceived" by the dark side, and tricked into doing evil to gain knowledge of dark side to protect his wife from dying at childbirth. But that clearly did not provide license for his conscience to permit the slaughter of innocent young-lings in the Jedi temple. And when his wife finally died, didn't he feel betrayed by the Sith Lord? What did he do about it? Nothing! He continued with the Dark side!
In short, I felt coerced to accept Anakin's acceptance of the dark rule.
Francis (1950)
A Mule Wiser Than the General
A young soldier Peter Stirling was saved from the Bermese jungles in war time by a talking mule, but nobody believed him until the intelligence information from the mule saved the whole base from Japanese bombers. The truthful soldier Stirling didn't know how to lie about his source of information, the talking army Mule, Francis, so he was treated as a lunatic and led to one after another hilarious situations where the mule is the only one that appears sane. In the process of all this, the mule assisted in uncovering a spy, Mareen, who pretended to be lost among the jungles, but was actually...
Perfect family film, even amusing to the adults. If people all have enough sense as this talking mule does, the world will be a much better place than its present condition.
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Wild West in Its Reality
I couldn't believe what I saw when I first watch this movie! This is real art, with superb acting, and a script that touches reality of life.
Talk about Rodney King beating in L.A. - he really deserved what he got if he were back in the 20s in light of this movie. Watch how a random woman got shot by the cop in the transient camp! The Cops then really deserved the bad press as they get today for what LAPD Rampart Division did. Now, it seems the streets are ruled by criminals, and the cops are in bondage with all kinds of red tapes the bureaucrats created.
None of the actors today can really show the image and faces of the people in 1920s except these from 1940! After all, they were only 20 years after the fact, like what we can remember about Reagan era of the 1980s.
Watch this movie to learn about what the Wild West really was like in the '20s! 10 out of 10 on my scale of evaluation.
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
Propaganda
This film is the result of a biased mind: this is the reason we'll always disagree whenever politics is involved.
Did Michael Moore lie to the people? Yes. Was he truthful to the people and to the interviewees? No. We all know how to edit an article to say what we want it to say. In Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore presented the materials, interviews in edited forms, according to people who were interviewed; therefore, Michael's presentation cannot be trusted. If he seeks to impress people, publish a tabloid. Else, tell the facts in their complete form, without editing, and let the people make their own judgment. Don't cheat people out of $10 to watch propaganda, and exploit their 9/11 emotions.
He owes an apology to the victims of 9/11 in the U.S. and to the families who have sons and daughters serving in the military. He does not deserve to live in our country if he does not pledge allegiance to the causes to defend it. His passion, judging from this movie, is with and for the radical Muslims. I don't trust him.
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES...
...So did I see it in "The Passion of the Christ" today.
This is not a politically correct movie to please man, or to suite man's taste; therefore, there'll naturally be people vehemently against it. What did Jesus really go through and experience in His Passion? The reality is: brutal, bloody, shameful and horrifying, exactly as we saw it in this stunning "documentary", or maybe worse, which Jesus willingly went through for the sins of yours and mine, according to the scriptures. In fact, Mel Gibbson already toned down this movie's graphic depiction to keep it from slipping into X-rated class. Historically, all the crucified in Roman times hang naked on the cross: the most shameful way to die; but Jesus endured such extreme shame, which he knew before it happened, and still kept his heart free from hatred. Words fail to express such depth of love: because Jesus did it to fulfill His Father's will "according to the scriptures."
Now that I have seen the movie today, I can honestly say that all that "anti-semitic" propaganda about this movie in the paper you read was some personal vendetta. From this we can see how anti-Christian the media can be, spinning such a work of love into a work of bias, according to their wicked heart.
James Caviezel did a marvelous job depicting the role of Jesus; so did everyone on the set. Mel Gibbson must have rehearsed them over and over to to get to right, and to truly show the humility of Jesus during His Passion. Not a moment did I see a trace of hatred in his face throughout the torture. The director of "The Passion", Mel Gibbson, must truly have carried a very heavy heart throughout the making of this movie to produce such a coherent work of love from beginning to end. Though he may not earn any award -- though he more than deserves one -- from man in this world for making it, what ultimately counts is how God view it in eternity, "according to the scriptures."
Powerful movie: not to be entertained by, but to be reminded with. Go see it for yourself what happened 2000 years ago. You'll never forget it once you see it. Remember, what you see REALLY DID happen "according to the scriptures."
Grease (1978)
See something from the 1950s
Grease is a nice movie/musical to catch a glimps of the U.S. high-school life in the 1950s - it helps explain what we have inherited from those young people of yester-years.
Though well acted, the story emphasized too much on the party aspect of the school-life, making it look like effortless and sensual. Instead of showing some National Grandstand of dance at some high school gym, why not present some students working towards winning some international championships of some math/physics contest, or some design contest. For a few minutes I though Danny was about to go into some sports and win Sandy back through his achievements, but instead Sandy returned to him through his flop on his hurdle running track! Quite motivational, isn't it? ...and then Danny's pursuit in sports ended in the movie right there!
Maybe I am well beyond teenage years when I watched this movie, but I can't help but notice a complete absence of parents in this movie except Frenchy's brief mention of her Daddy as the only man (male) she trusts. No wonder the kids in the '50s loved it. How every youth wished they could be just doing what they wanted, like in the movie, instead of being "ordered around" by their parents and teachers!
Well, that was my few cents of cold words. Still, the movie is worth seeing, to learn about what the kids in 1950s did and liked. I rated this movie 6/10.
Qiu Ju da guan si (1992)
Qiu Ju Could Got Murdered
The movie is a comedy, and a comedy only. Should the content go a bit deeper, it will surely be banned. In the communist system (under which I was raised), the "face" (reputation), not the truth, is supremely important. If the ruling government (or person) is portrayed by a story in any unfavorable light, the movie will simply not meet any audience except the censor review board.
In this movie, only a village cadre is selected as the bad guy, who kicked someone's private part. Then Qiu Ju, the victim's wife, went on a pilgrimage to seek justice for her husband. What if this bad guy is the mayor of a major City or higher? In that case, Qiu Ju may very likely get murdered and disappear into thin air. One person's life in China is not viewed precious like in the West. Power-play removes anyone in the way: even LIU Shao-qi, the 2nd-man in power before the Cultural Revolution of 1966, was gotten rid of because he endangered Mao's position (like to see a movie on that story, but it's guaranteed banned material in China).
Qiu Ju is admirable because she is earnest and persistent. Getting to one level without seeing justice done, she moves on. For the majority of the people in China, they would have given up. If this spirit gets into everybody in China, we will see a revolution. The student's movement in Beijing (1989) was one of such, and the result: blood shedding. Whole country learned from the incident to shut up. Where is Qiu Ju's persistence then? When will the freedom of speech (like what we enjoy at this forum) be granted in China? When will the Internet be truly open to the average Qiu Ju in China?
So to get this movie approved and circulated, the bad guy in this movie got what he deserved: put in prison, though Qiu Ju only demanded an apology from the Village-head. She would hate to find the village-head tortured in prison (Qiu Ju may not know it, but oh yes, there is severe torture in China's prisons all over the country) or even sent to labor camp where one would wither away. The truth behind this movie is: China's bureaucrats never listen to people's voice. And why would they? They are appointed at high levels, not elected. If you cannot have free speech publicly, how can you do anything according to conscience publicly?
Enjoy Qiu Ju's story and its colorful and rich portrayal of life in China, but don't follow her spirit if you are in China: you could get... (oh
help... help me... someone is pulling my plug... !!!)
On the Waterfront (1954)
What a Mess without Love (and Law)
A superb movie, reflecting the reality of life without Love (and Law)!
I watched this revealing story with my wife and children, and wondered how people survived in those days when law was hijacked by thugs - in this case, the "union leaders" motivated by greed.
Watch this movie and you'll appreciate what courage is, and what real religious conviction can do in a society full of strife and corruption. Thugs can intimidate people with death, but if life on earth is only a passage then such intimidation will lose its hold on people. Father Barry (Karl Malden) played a key roll in this story, quite unlike modern flicks that put priests (or any religious character) in a comic (or despicable) light. Faced with ruthless blood shedding, only a person with true convictions, such as Father Barry, will have something meaningful to say to the bystanders. Karl gave a very persuasive performance for his role as a priest. I enjoyed it very much.
Another transforming power in this world is love. Terry (Marlon Brando)was transformed in this story from being a thug to a brave testimony on the witness stand against the union leaders, under the guidance of Father Barry and influenced by the love of Edie (Eva Marie Saint, her first and award winning movie appearance) whose brother he had helped kill earlier. What a picture that shows "Love is stronger than Hate." Edie threw away hate to embrace love for Terry is one truly beautiful image on silver screen that will linger in my memory for ever.
The whole movie can be summarized by Father Barry's words beside a fallen (murdered) dock worker that if we do not love our fellow citizens instead of killing them, we are crucifying Christ anew and are not worthy to be called Christians. A world can only be built on love, laid out by the Golden Rule that Christ gave us - Love thy neighbors as thy self, and do unto others as thou wouldst others do unto you. In the absence of such Love, Law needs to take its place, and in the absence of Law, mess or anarchy ensues.
Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002)
Take your kids to it for an adventurous ride...
Kids (non-video-game-addicted) will enjoy this clean and fantastic adventure thoroughly. Though not very strictly sticking to the Biblical records, and mixed in with lots of writer's interpretation of the story, Jonah's life in this movie is still not too far fetched as many such movies tend to be. All in all, this is very good family movie for all audience!
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
A Reflection of prison life, and what Hope is
Though the prison system in the US may have changed by now under extreme "political correctness", but still "seeing" is believing. Twenty years are a long time, and the odds are against any one that plots an escape: the longer the time, the less believable an escape is. Perhaps the too neatly arranged escape hurt this movie's credibility, still the movie succeeded in being an entertaining window into a morbid world which may be too dark for the outside to see. If I agree with one thing in this movie, it is "Never give up hope", as Andy states it.