Nov. 27, 2005 - Movie Reviews

Boy it's been a busy couple of weeks!  I haven't blogged nearly as much as I've wanted to.

 I just got back from visiting relatives in Arizona, and I must say, I had a few eye-opening experiences.  (Don't worry; this isn't a 'what I did on my Thanksgiving vacation' report.  I'll get to the video stuff momentarily)

 My family and I stayed at one of my uncle's house.  He's the pastor at a church in Fountain Hills.  While there, my aunt "made" us watch several movies at their house. (Notice that I put 'made' in quotations.  It doesn't take much persuading to get me to watch TV.)

 The selection was interesting:  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory starring Jonny Depp, The Parent Trap starring Lindsey Lohan, and Freaky Friday starring Ms. Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. (Forgive me if I spelled their names wrong.  I don't really care if I did.) My reviews of the movies are as follows:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was by far the best of the lot.  While I don't usually watch any of Tim Burton's works, I thoroughly enjoyed the quality of the special effects, and most of the humor.  Albeit, some of it was a bit crude, and parts of the movie were a bit intense.  My dad had to take my three-year-old brother out of the room when the gum-chewing girl turned into a blueberry.  If that hadn't freaked him out, the next part with the squirrels would have.  I was even shocked at that scene. (If you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about.)  However, I think they did a very good job of showing the consequences of improperly raising children, and the very strong message of family first was very pleasing.  Zack's Rating: 5/5

I only saw the tail-end of The Parent Trap, but I did see it when it was in the theaters.  The behavior of the twins was inexcusable (but you have to admit, it was pretty funny at times.)  Zack's Rating: 3/5

 If Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was the best of the lot, Freaky Friday was the worst.  The immodest dress of the girls, the blatant teen-rebellion being portrayed as "cool," the heavy-metal soundtrack, and the poor language were absolutely appalling.  I have read the book a couple of times and I can tell you that the movie was nothing like the original story.  In the book, the daughter was in need of an attitude adjustment, so the mother switched their minds (how it is done is not explained, nor is it needed to be), and the daughter learns what it is like being a mother and taking care of two children.  In the movie the mother and daughter are switched by the matron of a Chinese restaurant (Oriental magic is implied as the cause) and it is the mother who learns to let here daughter be herself, and to respect her, basically, disrespect for authority.  Although the actresses did a superb job at portraying the other, I would not recommend this movie to anyone.  Zack Rating: 0/5

 Most of the family gathered over at my grandmother's house the day after Thanksgiving.  My Mormon uncle from Idaho showed us a movie filmed at river in northern Idaho called The Same River Twice, I believe.  By the looks of the packaging, the film was made independently.  The production values were superb, and there were several funny moments.  The basic premise is:  Five men go rafting down this river and along the way, become as close as brothers.  During a tragic accident on one of the rapids, one of the men is drowned.  Thirteen years later, the four friends, along with their families, go down the river again, in memory of their friend.  To tell any more would spoil the story, but one part in particular caught my attention.  One of the men has a daughter who has Muscular Dystrophy (sp?).  While telling the rest of the party of this, one asks why their OB didn't "check the fetus" to see if it was normal, the implications being that they could have aborted the baby.  Another in the party asks if he regretted letting the child live.  His reply was, "I wish I could make her better.... but no, I don't regret it."  Zack's Rating: 5/5

 Isn't pretty sad that the Mormon uncle is showing better movies that the Christian minister uncle?  Don't get me wrong, I mean no disrespect to either of my uncles, but Christians need to wake up!  What is wrong with this picture?  It should be the Christians who show and recommend movies with strong moral messages, instead of showing the garbage of Hollywood.  Better yet, we should be showing movies with strong Christian messages that are confronting the evils of the world, instead of embracing it! 

 On December 10, I'll be teaching the first ever Zack Lawrence Christian Video Academy.  It's only open to the local area right now, but, Lord willing, I will soon be offering similar classes to Christians nation-wide.  If you're in the Antelope Valley in Southern California (Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill, Leona Valley, Pearblossom, Little Rock, Rosamond, etc.),  and you're interested in attending, e-mail me at zack@lawrencemultimedia.com and I'll send you a registration form.

 In Christ,

Zack

EDIT: Registration for the Dec. 10 class is now closed.

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Jan. 9, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Anonymous

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints....and we are a Christian Faith.
Jesus Christ is my savior and I have been Baptized by immersion and know that he died for all of us....
I truly enjoy your blog...and I think you would be VERY pleased and impressed with many of the films that "mormon" artists produce. Please look into them....I would love to hear what you think.....I usually agree with your reviews/critiques 100%.....

thank you!
april (amogk@hotmail.com)

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