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Reviews
Fahrenheit 451 (2018)
Just not good!
Watched this on the airplane. I was excited to see it because I enjoyed the 1966 movie. But this was just not interesting at all. As with the recent "Murder On The Orient Express" one would be better served watching the original.
Against the Wild 2: Survive the Serengeti (2016)
An Africian Adventure
When I was a kid Saturday and Sunday afternoons were filled with old movies about adventures in Africa or other exotic locations. Tarzan, Jungle Jim, Bomba the Jungle Boy, even the 'Road' films with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. AGAINST THE WILD 2: SURVIVE THE SERENGETI is reminiscent of these movies.
Emma and Ryan Croft board a small plane to visit their father at the mine where he works. The airplane is shot down by Rebel fire and crashes, severely injuring the pilot. The two children, along with the mine owner's dog, must make their way to civilization and safety by traveling through the dangerous African bush. Their journey is fraught with danger and wonder as they rely on their wits to survive.
AGAINST THE WILD 2: SURVIVE THE SERENGETI has some spectacular scenery, and up close interaction with wildlife. Although there are scenes of children in peril they are not so intense as to cause nightmares. In all this is a good family movie especially for the hard to find safe things to watch ages of 5 to 12.
Legends from the Sky (2015)
Good Syfy story for everyone in the family
At first the notion of a science fiction movie with Native Americans seems a little unusual. However, in the context of this film it makes sense. "Legends From The Sky" explains how some of the mystique surrounding Native myths could have come about. But this isn't just a movie about Navajo's, it's about many American tribes and even about people from other nations who seem to have supernatural abilities. There is a pretty good story about a black-ops department of the government and their over reach into the lives of peaceful people with some unexpected plot twist that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. The photography is impressive. Especially the scenes shot in the state of Washington. There are some remarkable aerial shot of the Navajo Reservation with striking visual effects. And the humorous situations the protagonist finds himself in helps break the tension as the story takes us on a roller-coaster ride of intrigue and suspense. It's fun. It's mysterious. It's exciting. It's a good film for everyone in the family.
More Than Frybread (2011)
Not Just For Native Americans
I saw this movie at a special showing at Utah Valley University. The program plays like a documentary, even the organization which the story revolves around, WWFA (World Wide Frybread Association) looks and sounds like the real deal, however the entire motion picture is scripted and comes from the mind of the writer/director Travis Holt Hamilton.
The mostly Native American audience howled with laughter as the events of this 'mockumentary' unfolded. I thought this was due to the fact that it was a film about other Indians however, I have to admit after a few minutes I was also captured and drawn in to the story by the quirky characters and found myself laughing along with everyone in the room. The story follows five frybread experts from various Native Tribes in Arizona as they compete for the state championship. They are all funny, well developed characters, each actor playing their part to the max. I was impressed with all of the central actors and was amazed to learn that, for many of them, this was their first feature film performance. The director did an excellent job pulling out great performances from the entire cast.
"More Than Frybread", like many other films shown at festivals or in special showings sponsored by university clubs, has a low budget. I like watching show like this to see what up and coming filmmakers can do with small budgets. I've found that they have to be more creative and better story tellers than 'Hollywood' with it's mega-budgets, big name stars and flashy computer graphics. "More Than Frybread" doesn't disappoint, it's fun, family friendly and delivers a nice message without being 'in your face'.
Red Tails (2012)
Beautifully shot ... very poor dialog
Just saw Red Tails. It looked great, special effects were wonderful, and unlike so many movies lately, really added to the whole experience. A good overall story, but very shallow in showing an arc of how the Tuskegee Airmen won over their critics. I trust that the incidences depicted were true, however the dialog was some of the worst I have ever heard. It was so corny it made the lines spoken in the war movies of the 1940's sound like Shakespeare. Some of the acting was weak mostly coming from the pilots. Even the more experienced actors seemed to be 'just going through the motions'. Subplots seemed to be wrapped too neatly and this coupled with a bad screenplay had people in the audience laughing 'at' not 'with' the movie.
Christmas with a Capital C (2011)
Good Christmas movie
The message of 'Christmas with a Capital C' was timely and important. Where many Christmas movies are heartwarming, this program presented definable ways to deal with those who call Christians simple, narrow-minded, and ignorant but who themselves are mean-spirited, arrogant and intolerant. I thought using the example of how Christ treated others as a guide for these townspeople really embodied the spirit of Christmas.
Acting was solid in the leads a little weak in the supporting players. Daniel Baldwin was great in his role. I'm sorry to say, I know people just like him.
On the whole, I thought this was one of the better movies this season.
A Christmas Wish (2011)
Pretty good TV Christmas movie
Our family likes to watch Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel. While most of the shows are similar it is a safe network to view family style programs. Some of the shows are so bad we just laugh at poor writing, cheap production values and just plain bad acting. Watch "The National Tree" and you'll know what I mean. "A Christmas Wish" was on par with some of the better programs. While the story was familiar to many Hallmark movies the dialog was a cut above. The show was actually filmed during the winter instead of summer with fake snow scattered around. There were some cute moments which caused us to laugh out loud (in a good way), but perhaps what this Christmas movie had that the others did not was the true meaning of the season. Although not over bearing it did mention the birth of Christ and the importance faith plays in our lives. Overall a good effort.