The Ten Commandments (1956) is one of the best movies ever made. It’s ambitious, awe-inspiring, emotional, and respectful of its source material. Everything I could ask for from a Biblical epic. So it was all the more surprising when I discovered a major plot hole in the film on my most recent viewing of it. Continue reading
I was pleasantly surprised by Shazam! It wasn’t just the energetic humor or the emotional story at its heart that really stood out to me. I’m sure many people have already praised those aspects of the film. No, the best compliment I can pay Shazam! is that it doesn’t remind me of any other film I can think of. It doesn’t feel like a ripoff, homage, or any other kind of second-hand entertainment. It’s just its own thing.
When I see new movies, I’m on the lookout for similarities to other films. I can’t help it. That part of my brain never shuts off. I found Bumblebee to be an enjoyable rehash of The Iron Giant. Heck, I even compared Avengers: Infinity War to the original Star Wars. Every movie I watch today feels an awful lot like older movies, as though they’re coasting on what worked in the past. So I was shocked when I saw a story unfold that was full of fun surprises and unpredictable twists. Continue reading
As a praying man, I like to see the Almighty addressed reverently in films. But I also have a sense of humor, and so I don’t mind poking fun a little when it comes to conversing with God. With this in mind, I’d like to present nine types of prayer used in films, some of which are serious and some of which are humorous. I’m sure there are plenty of other examples and types I didn’t include, but let’s not get bogged down in the minutia or we won’t have a prayer of making it through. Continue reading
My apologies to Nate Hoffelder. He sent me an amazing idea for an April Fools Day joke, but I unfortunately couldn’t bring it to fruition in time. Instead, I have something equally amazing to talk about.
If you’re like me, you have heard rumors for years that a third Bill and Ted movie is coming, and you’ve dismissed them out of hand. It’s simply not possible to keep getting your hopes up only to have them dashed time after time. But now it looks like it’s finally happening. And it’s going to be called Bill and Ted Face the Music. The original writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon are back. Actors Alex Winters and Keanu Reeves are back. Everything is in place to make a solid final chapter in the saga of Bill and Ted. I am excited. Here’s what I hope to see in Bill and Ted 3. Continue reading
Gaston may have shot him with an arrow and stabbed him in the back, but it was Beauty killed the Beast in Beauty and the Beast (1991). I’d like to walk through the scene in which the Beast dies to explain what is going on beneath the surface. This scene means so much to me because it reminds me of my own experience losing and then winning back the girl who would become my wife. So I have a unique perspective on it that can explain some things most people wouldn’t pick up on. Continue reading
Prepare to meet a broken man who has been beaten down to the point of despair and whose cries of anguish and frustration are met with indifference. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a video quite so raw and heartbreaking as this one, and I felt compelled to talk about it for reasons I will discuss below. The video is nearly 27 minutes long, but it’s worth a watch because it’s like examining the shattered remains of a once-beautiful sculpture. You can see hints of nobility in his suffering. Continue reading
There are some movies that you can tell the filmmakers never intended to make a sequel to. They either just wanted to tell a solid, self-contained story or they wanted to eliminate the possibility that anyone would even attempt to follow in their footsteps. Here are 10 examples of sequel-proof movies that actually got sequels. Continue reading
Sometimes even heroes resort to cheating to defeat their enemies. As long as it’s serving a good cause or at least it’s being used against someone even worse than the person doing it, cheating can actually appear noble. Let’s look at nine films that rely on cheating to make winners out of losers. Continue reading
I grew up in a city in Washington State that was five miles from pretty much everything. To get to a grocery store, library, restaurant, or mall, I had to travel quite a ways. As a result, it was a fun challenge to try to run or bike places. My community college was about 20 miles away, so that always felt like quite a commute. A couple of times, I was crazy enough to ride my bike there.
I thought of myself as fairly speedy, but I could never keep up with the cars going past me at 40 miles per hour. If you’ve ever been on a long bike ride with nothing but you and the open road ahead, there’s a certain movie scene I think you’ll love.
I’m sure most people would say that E.T. the Extra Terrestrial has the best cycling scene when Elliot flies in front of the moon or when he and his friends elude the police in the early morning light. And there are plenty of people who love the climax of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and the “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
But for me there’s one scene that breaks away from the rest and wins by a mile, and that’s the truck-racing scene in Breaking Away. I like a lot of things about that film, but this is the only scene that really stuck with me. Continue reading
I’ve spoken at length about the brilliance of 1985’s Brewster’s Millions and what an insightful lesson it provides on the true value of money. Now I’ll balance that out by talking about the possible consequences of the events in that film. They might not be pretty.
Here’s a brief recap of the film. A nobody named Brewster stands to inherit $300 million from a long-lost relative on the condition that he first spend $30 million in 30 days and accumulate no assets in the process. He dumps millions of dollars into a political campaign telling New York City residents to vote for none of the above rather than electing a corrupt mayor. When he becomes the most popular mayoral candidate, he hastily drops out of the race. He then proceeds to spend the last of his $30 million just before the time limit expires, despite the best efforts of a law firm that wants him to fail. So the next morning he’ll wake up fabulously wealthy. Unfortunately, he’ll also likely wake up to a lot of problems. Continue reading
