Ferris Bueller's Day Off - M3.4/E6

This movie frequently comes up as one of the great movies of the past (IMDB - 7.9 and Rotten Tomatoes - 80%), and I keep thinking that maybe by re-watching it I'd understand where those viewpoints come from.  Maybe not a lot of great movies came out of the 80's or maybe I'm just missing it all together.  I like movies that make me think, and maybe I'm not thinking along the right wavelengths as those who praise it; but if a movie requires too much thought, it's not worth my time.

By all means, the story was fun and entertaining, it made me think back to high school (a fairly positive time period for me), so it definitely served its purpose.  It would have been more enjoyable on VidAngel given the amount of language (particularly religious profanity) throughout the show.  Otherwise, for a high school comedy, it was fairly clean.

Ferris is almost an idol worshiped by everyone in the movie, except for his sister and Principal Rooney.  Eventually the sister gives in and the Principal pays for his lack of devotion.  Ferris' example to his friend Cameron could be seen as a bit controversial.  He gets him to break all sorts of rules in the name of living it up and their soon parting when they graduate from high school.  The majority of the comedy comes from this unrealistic gushing adoration for the carefree Ferris.  His sister decides to take his side only after having a make-out session with a druggie in the police department...maybe being stoned is contagious?

Hugo (2011) - M6.9/E6

One reason I was looking forward to seeing this film was the fact that there was quite a bipolar response to it.  Uncle Orson nay-said it, while other notable critics found it entertaining.  These types of responses are usually fairer to read beforehand, as they don't tend to bias one's opinion, therefore providing a more genuine response.  Though Card does have a negative review of the film, his points are well-made and I even agree with most of them, but still found a way to enjoy the movie overall.

In short, Card summarizes, "So the movie we were promised -- Hugo the orphan repairs a mechanical man to receive a message from his father -- turns into a movie we would never have paid to see: sad old forgotten movie director gets a round of applause."

The one character I actually hated and cringed at every time he came on screen was Sacha Baron Cohen playing a crippled policeman.  I probably won't choose to watch the movie again solely for him, though the fact that the movie was very slow might  also be cause enough.

The style of the movie reminded me a lot of Finding Neverland, and you might enjoy this film if you enjoyed Finding Neverland.  The music and scenery are amazing, and the story not terribly deep, but endearing.

We're shown the importance of family and the fruits of hard work as we see Hugo lose his father and then take us with him on his quest to remain connected to his father.  We also see him work tirelessly (without pay) to keep the clocks running in the train station, which keeps him out of more trouble than he already gets into, and allows him to stay a little closer to his deceased father.   Through Hugo's courage and intellect, he brings hope to a man who's dreams had been crushed and in turn gains the friendship and love for which he'd been longing.

Watch it if you're in the mood for something easy going, but I wouldn't recommend buying it; go for RedBox or you check it out from your local library.

Midnight in Paris (2011) - M6.4/E7

I was looking for a DVD to spend my free Valentine’s Day promo code from Redbox. It had to be something semi-romantic, just for tradition’s sake. The choice was between Midnight in Paris and Captain America. A Woody Allen flick is easily passable, but I have to say that Captain America had probably one of the best/most realistic movie relationships ever depicted (at least as well as can be depicted in an action flick). Midnight won out, and it was a well spent 90 minutes of our evening.

Don’t let the PG-13 rating fool you, this is as tame as any PG movie I’ve seen. The trailer was a little puzzling, it really didn’t go much beyond saying that something magical happens at midnight in Paris, and then flashes some images of women not seen earlier in the trailer...hinting at some sort of infidelity. While there is some sleeping around, it’s completely off screen, and not even really implied.

Gil is a writer in search for meaning in his life. He thinks he’ll be able to work things out by going to Paris with his fiance and future in-laws (very unlikeable characters). Out of desperation, boredom, and just getting plain lost, Gil somehow finds himself in 1920’s Paris with the likes of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Salvador Dali, Gertrude Stein, Picasso, Cole Porter, and more. We see a common trend of people unhappy with living in the present, and it’s made clear that even if we were to live in the era of our dreams, that era would soon become the present and we would wish we were somewhere else again.

The only other Woody Allen film I’ve seen is The Purple Rose of Cairo, and it is very similar to this one; both are well worth watching. No strong moral message, but definitely not a negative one. It’s just a feel good story that depicts a lost character finding his true happiness by shedding the less important things in his life that keep him from it.

Real Steel (2011) - M3.8/E6

No real surprises here. The entire plot of the movie can be easily derived from the trailer. Even still, the fight scenes were pretty cool and the father/son bonding was nice (though a little contrived and unoriginal). At first I really liked the kid actor, but as the show went on it seemed that there was a little too much overacting.

Fathers should shoulder responsibility for kids they help bring into this world. This show didn’t make that strong of a point, since it pretty much showed that 11 years of absence from his son’s life was made up by a summer of attending some fights. How many loser-father’s are really brought back into contact with children they sired and then abandoned? I guess that makes this more of a fairy-tale than inspirational.

Again, it’s worth the $1.25 at Redbox, if you’ve got nothing else to watch. There is some violence, though mostly robot vs. robot; language and sex are minimal. Other than the main character getting beat-up for never repaying his debts, this show is probably alright for most audiences (even under 13).

The Next Three Days (2010) - M4.3/E6

I was told this would be a movie with an interesting moral dilemma, and though we are shown that the main character contemplates this dilemma, the dilemma shouldn't have existed in the first place.  This was a pretty intense thriller, more suspenseful than action packed, and worth a watch on Netflix if you subscribe to their streaming service.

A happily married couple's family is torn apart when random, coincidental events make it appear that the wife brutally murdered her boss. The husband, knowing she is innocent, resolves to do whatever it takes to get her out of prison.  He first exhausts all legal means and realizes that there is nothing that can be done to free her.  He then resorts to breaking her out of prison and undertakes some serious preparations to do so.  This is where the supposed dilemma exists.

John Brennan (faithful husband) forces himself to be willing to do whatever it takes to get his wife out of prison, and ends up falsifying medical records and killing people and committing arson (though those involved were drug dealers).  Initially he is extremely hesitant to commit these illegal acts, but forces himself into the mindset to follow through with his plan.  During the process, his relationship with his son and wife (even though in prison) is  stretched pretty thin and he almost loses his wife during the break out.

Is it really a measure of a husband's love for his wife to go to any end in order to rectify something wrongly attributed to her?  If my wife were innocently put in jail, I, too, would exhaust my legal resources; and if the law could do nothing to help her, what happened next would be in God's hands.  Being a firm believer in Divine intervention, I believe God would be able to help both me (my family) and my wife through such a trial of faith, and if He felt it necessary, could even change the hearts and minds of those falsely accusing her so that she would eventually be let out (though this would not be very likely).  Our relationship could continue to grow, and one day we would be reunited.

This may sound trite given that I've never been (nor will likely ever be) put in this situation; but I honestly believe that adherence to God's law and faith in God and His Son Jesus Christ is the most anyone can do to receive the maximum assistance in the most dire of situations in which we may find ourselves.

Hanna (2011) - M3.1/E6

This is nothing like a Jason Bourne movie, though that is what it seems like from the trailers. It's actually an interpretation of Grimm's fairy tales (the twisted original stories of the sweet Disney stories we're told as kids). There is no real resolution, and mysteries presented are revealed rather abruptly. Even with these short comings, it was so intriguing we hardly knew that two hours flew by.

There’s little to offer on a moral level. The violence was rather gruesome and didn’t contribute to any positive message in the film. This is just a story about how an ex-CIA operative shelters his daughter and trains her to be an assassin so that she can kill the one person they’re hiding from. It’s a little deeper than that and artistically appealing, so we think it might be worth at least one initial watch if you’re looking for an action flick and don’t mind a few bloody scenes. The featured user review on IMDB is worth reading after you’ve seen the film.

State Fair (1945) - M7.0/E6

Entertainment Rating: 6 of 10

This was world’s better than Rodger and Hammerstein’s Carousel, though not terribly entertaining for kids under 5 or 6 - not enough goofiness (with exception to the pickle judging, which our kids loved) or action or dancing. If you’re in the mood for a nice musical, this one’s worth a watch.

Moral Rating: 7.0

Margy doesn’t get stuck with her nerdy admirer, but ends up with the ever more experienced and worldly news reporter, who has decided to stop all his gallivanting around because he’s actually fallen in love this time. I find this rather lame and if anything, morally degrading, because this is not how love or relationships really work out in the real world. Young women should avoid the likes of the journalist, no matter how much they swear the young woman has made them re-think their life. Marriage is too long a commitment to not have both people fully prepared for it, before saying “I do.”