Later tonight we’ll find out if Avatar is selected by the Motion Picture Academy for the award of Best Picture. I had a chance to see Avatar in 3D a few weeks ago and I would love to see it again in the IMAX format (although the IMAX versions still seems to be sold out in my area). So what did I think of the movie and should it be selected as Best Picture? (continue reading…)
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Category: Movie ReviewsNote: This review of The Blind Side contains some details about the movie content and plot.
Watching The Blind Side was not really a high priority for me. I had seen no advertising about it and the little I did see did not portray the plot as particularly exciting. Still the recommendations from viewers who had seen it were uniformly encouraging. So on a day after watching the Baltimore Ravens lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers I had a chance to see the movie. Did it live up to the recommendations? (continue reading…)
I belong to a movie watching group and one of their discussion threads covers the member’s favorite movies of all time. When I read through the lists of the other contributors, I realized how different my tastes were and I thought I ought to generate my own list. Many of my selections are older movies.
So how did I arrive at the order? I generally evaluate a movie (as I do books) by how often I’m willing to watch it. If I watch a movie many times, the movie (or movie series) will make it to the top of my list.
So what are my top 20 movies or movie series in reverse order? (continue reading…)
Disclaimer: This review contains content and plot information so if you plan on seeing this movie, you may wish to defer reading this review.
The Valley of Elah is a dark, troubling movie. Although I hesitate recommending it to others, I found it to be thought provoking.
So what was the movie about? (continue reading…)
It was about a year ago when a friend of mine asked what I thought of Peter Joseph’s movie, Zeitgeist . Zeitgeist is a movie that has been viewed by more than 50 M viewers and has propagated by viral marketing (i.e. one viewer after another emails the link to their friends because of its startling and controversial message). The movie itself is divided into three sections. The first part claims that Jesus and his life is a “recent” version of an astro-theological myth that has been replayed many, many times in the past. The second part claims that the 9/11 catastrophe was orchestrated by the United States, and the final portion makes claims about an international banking conspiracy.
Now let me say at the outset that I watched part 2 only once and never watched part 3, so I have no comments to make on these. So what are my thoughts on part 1?
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed opened in Canada last night. I had family visiting so I went to the late showing to see what all of the internet buzz was about. In the end I think it is an excellent documentary that draws attention to the academic blacklisting of researchers who have demonstrated the audacity to reference or provide data that supports Intelligent Design. Although I knew of several of the individuals interviewed, there were many I had not heard about. As a person with one foot in academia, and who is quite familiar with the grant and publication peer review process, I could readily understand how that process could shut the door on any researcher who wanted to investigate a blacklisted topic such as Intelligent Design, however, what surprised me were the examples where this process was also applied to journalists who had attempted to highlight the plight of Intelligent Design researchers. The fact that journalists also have had their careers threatened for writing sympathetically on Intelligent Design was chilling. (continue reading…)
Last night I watched the movie Prince of Peace God of War directed by John Campea. The movie consisted of a series of interviews with a variety of people, primarily theologians in which they discussed Christian perspectives on Pacifism and the concept of a Just War. I’ve been thinking about the arguments they presented ever since, especially since we see frequent tragic accounts of Canadian casualties in
“We have to run the ramp of reason before we take the leap of faith.”
Bruxy Cavey November 18, 2007
I frequently read Chemical and Engineering News, a publication of the American Chemical Society. Most of the articles deal with science in general and chemistry in particular, but occasionally a letter-to-the-editor will appear in which a colleague attempts to reconcile or perhaps differentiate science and religion. At some point in the letter a statement will appear which I will paraphrase as “science deals with facts while religion deals with faith”. Now I, as a person with a foot in both camps do not find this particularly conciliatory. My personal sentiment not withstanding, one needs to ask “Is this a true and accurate description of science and religion?”. (continue reading…)
On the plane back from Frankfurt, the airline played the movie Evan Almighty. Never having been impressed by Hollywood’s portrayal of anything to do with genuine religious faith, I was wondering what this visual fare was going to mean. Was it going to be the usual Hollywood mixture of deliberate blasphemy combined with a pejorative characterization of Christians as unintelligent, herd-following hypocrites? (continue reading…)
Not everyone is happy in Hobbiton! It seems Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema had a falling out over the distribution of the proceeds from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Wingnut Films apparently has had a long standing lawsuit requesting an audit from New Line. See [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6173178.stm]. Fans are up in arms about the threat to The Hobbit and have filled out a petition in protest.
I would love to see a version of The Hobbit that is consistent with the quality and characterization of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. If this has really comes down to money then I blame both sides for not compromising. I blame Peter Jackson because he has made plenty of money from LOTR. Jackson says in his open letter: