In God We Trust

Posted on December 25, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

"In God We Trust" is the key to Kris Kringle's freedom in Miracle on 34th Street.I recently watched the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street for the first time. I’d seen the 1947 original before, so I was fully expecting a recreation of the famous court scene. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find something totally different. There was no direct proof that Kris Kringle is actually Santa Claus based on physical evidence from the post office. Instead, there was a beautiful illustration of the fact that we, as a country, already believe in a Being we can’t prove the existence of.

You can watch the scene here. It’s less than two minutes in length, and it’s well worth your time on this fine Christmas Day. Continue reading →

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Now That’s More Like It, James Cameron

Posted on December 20, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

It’s no secret that I hated Avatar. I saw it on Christmas Day in 2009, and I was sorely disappointed. James Cameron has written and directed some of my favorite films of all time, including The Abyss, Aliens, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. So it was truly frustrating to watch a genius filmmaker recycle old ideas from his previous films in the most simplistic way possible in Avatar.

That movie made piles of money because everyone else in the world was distracted enough by the beautiful visuals to look past its bland story and characters. So here we are 13 years later with a sequel entitled Avatar: The Way of Water. I watched it on Thursday, December 15, 2022 with some friends of mine who were holding me to a promise I made many years ago.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m committed to watching every Avatar sequel. Going into the theater, I was expecting to be in immense pain as I would be once again disappointed. However, my worry soon evaporated when I found myself enjoying this film. I’m not saying it’s the greatest movie ever made or anything like that. But it’s not dull, and it’s much better than the first one. I actually found quite a lot I enjoyed about it. And I’d like to talk about the things that won me over. Continue reading →

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How the Grinch Stole Christmas Improves on Multiple Viewings

Posted on December 13, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

The first time I watched the 2000 version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, I wasn’t impressed. The off-putting character designs, Jim Carrey’s strange voice, and the forced sentimentality all combined to make me dislike that movie from the start.

However, having children often allows parents to revisit old things and give them another chance. In this case, my kids recently wanted to watch this movie, and I couldn’t help catching a glimpse or two of some scenes as they watched it. And I was shocked. Instead of finding the performances grating, I found them endearing. It was my wife who helped me put into words the change of perspective I had. I’ll save that reveal for later. It made all the difference, and I’m excited to share it with you.

So let’s find out why How the Grinch Stole Christmas improves on multiple viewings! Continue reading →

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Final Destination Is Unique Among Movie Series

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

“You either die a hero, or you see yourself live long enough to become the villain.” Those wise words were ironically spoken by Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight, arguably the greatest Batman movie (if not comic book movie) of all time. The filmmakers and studio couldn’t take their own advice, though.

Plenty of Batman movies (of varying degrees of quality) have premiered since that one. The Dark Knight Rises, The Lego Batman Movie, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, and The Batman. And there will likely be plenty of other adaptations of the Caped Crusader in the future.

In truth, it’s impossible for Batman to end on a high note. When he has an artistic and financial triumph like Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, it just leaves fans craving more. Plus, he’s too well known to leave alone for long. Continue reading →

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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Spa

Posted on November 29, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Life doesn’t always go the way we expect. Take, for example, my most recent visit to a spa.

The older I get, the achier I feel. My shoulders tend to get extremely sore from time to time. To combat this, I’ve been getting massages every few months. My favorite place to get a massage is at the Seasons Salon and Day Spa in Orem, Utah. I’ve tried numerous other massage places, but I keep returning to this one because they always do the best job. I say this as someone getting no compensation to endorse them. I’m an impartial judge.

Two Thursdays ago, I set an appointment with them to come in as soon as they opened on Saturday, 11/19/2022. Little did I know that something wholly unexpected was about to happen that day. A funny thing happened on the way to the spa, if you will. Not funny haha, but more like strange and unfortunate.

I was approaching in my car but, as I was waiting at a stoplight, I noticed something odd. There were ambulances and firetrucks with their lights on blocking the entrance into the parking lot of the spa. I decided it would probably be best if I turned into a grocery store parking lot just before the spa. It looked like there was a major fire engulfing a building. So I got out of my car and started taking pictures. Here’s what I captured as I got closer to the source. Continue reading →

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Miracles I’ve Seen This Year

Posted on November 22, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Every day is a miracle. I am grateful for every opportunity I have to keep living and being better. This Thanksgiving, I would like to acknowledge some of the biggest miracles I’ve seen this year. Continue reading →

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George McFly Makes a Good Point

Posted on November 15, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I never show my work. What do I mean by that? After all, I post a new article on this website every single week without fail. I mean something similar to what George McFly says to Marty McFly during the cafeteria scene in Back to the Future. Let’s talk about that scene and see if it might hold some important lessons we can learn from. Continue reading →

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There Are No Accidents

Posted on November 8, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I like to record the miracles I experience in my life. I have received so many over the years, I can hardly keep track of them all. This one truly humbled me, and I want to share the lessons I learned from it. Continue reading →

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Whoso Discovereth The Sword in the Stone’s Chiasmus Is King

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to claim a Cinematic Chiasmus article as totally my own. I haven’t done that since Quigley Down Under in April 2021. All the ones I’ve done since then have been inspired by either an amazing reader of mine named Jordan or my own smart son. But I’m finally going to do something that was inspired just by me today by explaining the chiasmus of a Disney animated classic called The Sword in the Stone.

I remember enjoying that film as a kid, but I hadn’t seen the whole thing in many years. So I found it interesting when I had a good feeling about it all of a sudden a few weeks ago. I had been watching the sword-pulling scene over and over again, and I decided to check out how the film began. To my delight, I found that it was remarkably similar to the ending. And then as soon as I saw Wart fall through Merlin’s roof, I knew I was onto something big.

This chiasmus is pure magic, so let’s sit a spell and see how it goes. Continue reading →

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What Is Best in Life? Finding Conan the Barbarian’s Chiasmus

Posted on October 25, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I’m no longer surprised that my reader Jordan is an amazing prognosticator. He’s proven to be an expert at finding films that follow a chiastic story structure, meaning that the first half and second half mirror each other perfectly. Being right once or twice could be written off as a coincidence. A lucky guess. But not five times in a row. At some point you have to recognize greatness and brilliance. This is no accident.

Tron, Escape from New York, Dreamscape, and Akira all proved to be examples of Cinematic Chiasmus. And now I have another feather to add to Jordan’s cap because I found the chiasmus in Conan the Barbarian. The 1982 Arnold Schwarzenegger classic is the latest film he suggested I analyze, and it proved to be exactly what he claimed it would be.

So let’s take the plunge and go through Conan the Barbarian’s chiasmus. Continue reading →

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