Puss in Boots (2011) - M9.2/E7

I did not have high hopes for this show, especially not being a fan of the Shrek franchise (I stopped having a desire to watch them after Shrek 2). We got some free passes for a pre-screening and thought it would be fun to go as a family. Oddly enough not all of our kids enjoyed it, but my wife and I really enjoyed it. We were spared of bathroom/juvenile humor rampant in the Shrek movies, and were given a clever, inspirational animated movie, worthy of multiple views.  We saw it in 3-D, but there was nothing spectacular meriting paying extra for glasses, if anything it made our kids want to talk more during the movie.

The moral messages presented were much more complex than is typical in a children's feature. One particular event shows one of the characters being betrayed by a close friend and accused of breaking the law. This character, instead of seeking revenge or running from or fighting his captors, lets justice take its course to potential exoneration through the help and friendship of others. This is a topic I've been trying to comprehend myself. It seems cowardly to not step up and let people know they are in the wrong and that you are right, yet examples are plentiful in the scriptures of prophets (especially Jesus Christ himself) that are restrained by the spirit to not say anything to their captors/betrayers, knowing perhaps that whatever they say would be falling on deaf ears. This is what meekness truly is, it is not weakness by any means.

Beyond the events previously mentioned, we see further betrayal and revenge, beyond the simple "I'm upset at you and am not going to talk to you anymore."  These actions eventually turn into guilt and sorrow and a realization of what true friendship and brotherhood really is.

African Queen (1951)

Entertainment Rating: A

Great romance movie with no sex (explicit or implied). A little slow at first, but seeing Charlie and Rosie's relationship grow is very rewarding. My wife particularly liked the film because Rosie wasn't your typical damsel in distress that Charlie came to save. She's the one who came up with the plan to blow up the Louiza, worked side by side with Charlie even though she knew nothing about boats or metallurgy or explosives.

Moral Rating: 4

This was a fun story with depictions of virtue and integrity. Rosie’s prayer when they got stuck in the reeds was particularly inspiring when she told the Lord that they had done everything they possibly could and now left everything up to Him. Her prayer of faith was answered and their mission miraculously gets accomplished.

Avatar

Synopsis

A marine, Jake Sully, is recruited to assist in a scientific expedition on a distant planet. Once there he is virtually linked to an avatar that resembles the native inhabitants of the planet and is controlled by his brain. Jake becomes doubly involved in a business/military venture to gain access and information on a valuable mineral that lies in the heart of the home of the natives. As Jake learns the customs of the people he grows to love them and in the end must choose between his own race and the alien race.

Entertainment Value - A

Amazing effects, particularly with the 3D glasses, otherwise it wouldn't be anything too revolutionary. The only other 3D movie I've seen is Nightmare Before Christmas, and that was more of a reverse-engineered attempt and no where near as good as this was. If you think this looks interesting, the only way to see it is in 3D, and if possible try to see it in an IMAX theater. I'd probably see it in an IMAX theater.

Moral Value - Failure to Communicate? - 3

[Spoiler Alert]

A marine with a heart (stereotypically paradoxical) sees the damage that humans are inflicting on the alien planet because of their insatiable desire for a valuable mineral found at the heart of the native inhabitants' home. That lust is displayed as wrong, in that it destroys the home and lives of the natives. A very similar story to how the English treated the Native Americans when they arrived here and how other countries treated slaves - both of which are wrong.


There's a battle between scientists and businessmen displaying how insensitive businessmen are to anything natural; they are cold-hearted and greedy (very stereotypical).


Once Jake Sully really gets to know the natives he really becomes one of them and realizes the crimes the humans are committing and how he has facilitated their strategy for attacking the natives.


Jake was pretty naive to the culture, even though he wanted to save it. He knew that their species mated for life, and he couldn't have taken that into consideration when he mated with the "princess." Doing so was pretty heartless and cruel, not to mention wrong on all levels, even if the creatures had no marriage rites. Like all such scenes, this just shows that lust is purely selfish and not capable of any good.


Jake was courageous by choosing to take the side against his own race. Maybe he figured he had nothing to lose since he was only a crippled marine to them.


The story was very intriguing, particularly the extent to which James Cameron developed this alien planet, but nothing in it struck a motivational chord for me.

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events

Synopsis

Three children become orphans after a mysteriously caused fire ravages their home. They are put in custody of the Count Olaf who is constantly scheming to get rights to the fortune the children have inherited. The children stick together and try to solve the mystery of their parents' death.

Entertainment Value - B

Great job by Jim Carrey; even the children did a good job. This was a good family movie with a fun storyline and a lot of adventure..

Moral Value - Failure to Communicate? - 4

The movie does a good job showing the importance of family and that no matter where you are you can create a sanctuary, a place (not necessarily physical) of safety and refuge with those you love. Through the many trials they faced they continued to stick close together.

Gulliver's Travels

Rating: 5

I started reading the book and ended up getting about three-fourths of the way through it.  I can't remember why, I just felt like it was taking an eternity to finish it, so I set it down.  After watching the movie again, I think I have enough desire to pick the book up again and if nothing else, at least finish the last quarter of it.

This story has tons of lessons through it.  Most of them are political, as that was Jonathan Swift's purpose in writing it (as far as we know), but I think the comparison's he made to humanity several hundred years ago are still quite applicable today.  Human nature doesn't seem to change much, just the circumstances in which it exists.

After watching this I have a greater desire to be involved with what is going on in the political world, since that's the group that tends to run things in our lives.  The movie accurately portrays the type of resistance that we can expect from trying to discover errors in current processes and that it really takes the faith of a child to penetrate the clouded intellect of grown men.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Rating: 3

This movie was pure fun, just like the other three.  No real moral lessons presented, other than maybe the importance of knowledge and that, though it is important, it isn't the end-all of our existence.

We did watch this filtered, though I'm not sure we really needed to.  We ended up turning off the filter because we felt we were missing too much of the story, but it turned out we really didn't (I think the disc was scratched because it was a library rental).  There was a pretty clear distinction between good and evil throughout the movie.  This clear distinction doesn't automatically make a movie a good candidate for teaching a moral lesson.  I realize that life rarely presents us with situations in which we can clearly discern between good and evil.  It's when something we know is wrong (or is inherently wrong based on revealed truths) is presented as something that's okay or even good that the message becomes destructive.  Maybe showing us that it's perfectly fine to shoot, stab, trample, etc., people as long they're insignificant to the plot is detrimental to our spirituality.  

Though I didn't feel empty or bad inside (as I did with some of the movies we rated a "2"), I didn't really feel uplifted or inspired to do right, but I did end up with a smile on my face.