Is a hard but excellent movie about a Mother dealing with the murder and rape of her daughter.
It is not all dreary there is some great banter as well. Excellent Cast with more than one Academy nominees. Hard R for language and such.
***** star movie, 2017 number 45
Lady Bird: Another mixture of comedy and drama of a coming-of age story of a high school student who calls herself Lady Bird. Again, great cast and story. I give it **** star, 2017 Movie 46
The Last Jedi: IT's Star Wars! of course its good! ****star; 2017 Movie 47
Same Kind of Different Than Me is a very good movie and true story./ Well acted and directed and it will give you all the encouragement you need to help those less fortunate. ***1/2 stars 2017 Movie 38
Thor- Ragnarok: Ok movie about super hero stuff. OK popcorn movie. **1/2stars 2017 Movie 39
Murder On the Orient Express: Great remake and very enjoyable. Great cast. ***stars, 2017 Movie 40
Daddy's Home 2: Guilty Pleasure ***stars 2017 Movie 41
Wonder: One of the year's best movies. great story about coping and bullys. Great cast. The boy star is the same kid from the great movie "Room". I give ****stars; 2017 Movie 42
Roman J Israel, Esq: Anything by Denzel Washington is good. ***1/2 stars; 2017 movie 43
Last Flag Flying: Great Movie, Great cast, and one of my favorite directors. blends two stories of Vietnam war and Iraq and the effects on veterans and families. *****stars, 2017 Movie 44
NOTE: I have lost interest in reviewing movies other than keeping count. When the internet stopped the copying of the movie posters, etc. The fun went away.
American Assassin and American Made: Two "American" Movies that could not be further from each other or could they. Both are about recent events.
"Assassin" is about a guy wanting to revenge is girl friend's death by terrorists and becomes a killing machine for the CIA.. He is a Jason Bourne typr. Great action. 2017 movie 32 I give it ***1/2 stars.
American Made is the Tom Cruise reinactment of the drug runners and gun runners during the Iran-Contra Affair during the Reagan years. It is a humorous tale of a tragic time. 2017 movie 33. I give it **** stars.
"Blade Runner 2049" will be one of the year's ten best movies. It takes place 32 years after the original story. The original story continues but I was amazed at the craftsmanship of the film (which was what I remembered about the first). I enjoyed this 3 hour movie and give it ****1/2 stars. 2017 movie 34
"The Foreigner" is Jackie Chan's version of "Taken".(but better). It is also a revenge movie about terrorists. Great story and action. *** stars. 2017 movie 35
"The Mountain Between Us" is an intimate story of a small plane that crashes in the rockies and the survival of two strangers thrown together in a strange situation. Two main characters and a dog who acts well too. Tense and well photographed. 2017 movie 36. *** stars.
"Subburbicon" is the strange Coen Brothers/George Clooney movie starring Matt Damon. It is 1957 Suburban life told in the fashion of movies like the Coen Brothers' "Blood simple" or "Raising Arizona". It is a good story told over the top with a second story going in the background all the while. You will probably want to proceed with caution. I like movies like this but doubt that many are. **** stars. 2017 movie 37 I may rate it higher later.
The Mayor of Pittsburg made the following statement: (NY Times)
"If you're a gold star mom, the idea of kneeling through the national anthem is beyond disgraceful and is a cause of emotional harm, but if you're a mom who lost their child the streets of America, the idea of kneeling is saying to you that your voice is being heard."
Steve Martin once offered this: "Be so good They can't ignore you."
I am getting recharged this week. I went to Vegas and the region around. There is genius in this desert wasteland. To compete in this intense entertainment environment, everyone has to be at the top of there game. Businesses struggle for notice but the great one's can't be ignored. We ate at Wolfgang Puck's Spago Restaurant. We went to see Blue Man Group. We shopped at the Fashion Show Mall on the Strip. Everywhere is excellence next to those who are ignored.
This setting shows me that I need to be so good, that I can't be ignored.
"Logan Lucky" Fun Fun Fun A summer heist movie like Ocean's 11 and by the same director. Killer cast and great cameos, several NASCAR drivers make fun appearances. It is the tale of a laid off redneck that robs the Charolette Motor Speedway during the CocaCola 600. Danial Craig (007) steals the show.
Excellent summer flick. Four stars, 2017 Movie 30
"Hitman's BodyGuard" Another fun movie but R rated for extreme profanity and bloodshed. But it has Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson so you should not be surprised. Crazy car chases and witty dialogue. 3 stars; 2017 Movie 31
"So. We have a vulgar, unstable yoyo with a toxic ego and an attention deficit problem in the White House, and now we can see that government by Twitter is like trying to steer a ship by firing a pistil at the waves, not really useful, but what does it add up to? Not that much if you ask me, which you didn't, but I'll say it anyway."
Dunkirk: This is one of those movies that I can't use the word: Enjoy. I appreciated it. I thought it was very well done. I thought it captured World War 2 in a thoughtful and real way. It is a great depiction of History as it told one of the most important events in British History. Witness it for the lesson it is. I give it ****1/2 stars. 2017 Movie 29
Atomic Blonde: 007 becomes M16, a lady spy with much attitude. Charlize Theron plays it well. Great summer action movie.
I give it ***1/2 stars, 29017 movie 28
Spiderman Homecoming: Like it much more than I planned to. Super-hero movies work better with humor. This had humor. I give it ***1/2 stars 2017 Movie 27 Dispicable Me 3 I like the Minions. I like taking the grandkids to a funny movie. A good day spent.
I give it ***stars. 2017 Movie 26
Experimental Theology: Mercy: I think we too are the people who, on the one hand want to listen to Jesus, but on the other hand, at times, like to find a stick to beat ot...
"Baby Driver" was a song in 1970 by Simon and Garfunkel:
"My daddy was the family bassman
My mamma was an engineer
And I was born one dark gray morn
With music coming in my ears
In my ears..."
The Movie is about a young guy who walks and drives with music "coming in his ears" by iPod.
He is a getaway driver for a gorp of robbers. The gang led by Doc (Kevin Spacey) and the gang played by Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, and others. Baby is played by Ansel Elgort and his girl friend, Lily James: Two actors we will see much more of.
This his a fun, action movie where the songs on his iPod are the soundtrack of the story and are constantly discussed in the witty dialogue. No CGI here. All action is man-made.
This is favorite movie so far. It gives me the same smile that "Hell or High Water" did last year. (Also a movie about bank robbery!)
I grew up with the "Mummy". The black and white, late night, 10:30 on KOTV starring Boris Karloff. The Mummy wrapped in rags and dragging his feet as he wondered up on unsuspecting people to strangle them. Why didn't they run? He was so slow.
Now comes the 2017 version. This Mummy is female and fast. She is something you can't escape.
Enter Tom Cruise. the thing that makes this movie fun is that there is humor. The dialogue makes it fun. Great Summer popcorn movie. Great set up for the Sequel: Coming Soon.
Baywatch: Its what you would expect in that it is good looking people, juvenile humor and water,
Popcorn movie I give it **stars. 2017 Movie #19
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales If only. It is mildly entertaining and needs to be the last. just OK. I give it ** stars out of five. 2017 Movie # 20
Wonder Woman: finally a super hero with a heart. It is well written and acted. Gritty World War 2 scenes. Great banter with the cast Chris Pike was great with W Woman. Enjoyed it in a similar way of "Ant Man". Great action flick. I give it **** stars. 2017 Movie #21
Alien Covenant: Yes another Alien. This movie is actually a prequel to the original. Even though I knew all about the Alien, it was still scary as crap. Great Sci-Fi ! Ridley Scott does great work with space movies. I give it ***1/2 stars. 2017 movie # 22
This is a movie that you won't see so I did, Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 16% and most of the reviews were bad. BUT I liked it.
The "Circle" is a mega company. Think Apple, FACEBOOK, Microsoft and Twitter as one company.
The campus depicted in the movie was in San Francisco area and the campus was patterned after the new Apple campus that is under construction. Also Tom Hanks plays a cross between Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.
They have developed a new system called "SEECHANGE" for a transparent society. Everything we do, say, see, or write is recorded and in some cases shared with the world. What could possibly go wrong?
While this sounds far-fetched, we know that the world is headed this way. It is a very thought provoking story.
One scene shows Emma Watson, the new up and comer at the Circle who has decided to be the test person who puts everything on the web "Live". Her childhood friend who has avoided social media makes a light fixture out of antlers for her parents. She shows it on her live feed and instantly her friend is accused of abusing animals and he gets hundreds of death threats.
It reminds me of an old Twilight Zone story.
This is where we are headed: For example when I use google for blog photos, no matter what I search for, if I scroll down far enough someone has posted porn photos. Lets say in the future I get pulled over for speeding and the officer runs a scan of my life. The read comes back that I have seen child porno on my computer and suddenly a traffic ticket becomes catching a pervert.
Far Fetched: Not at all. The ideas presented are scarier than a Zombie Movie.
As a kid, "Ber Rabbit and Ber Fox" was one of my favorite Disney Stories. The Rabbit was always being hunted by the Fox. When the day came that he was caught, he pleaded with the Fox to do anything to him except, "Please Mr. Fox, Don't throw me into that Briar Patch!" "Anything but that."
As the story goes the Fox gladly tossed him into the patch only to learn that the "Briar Patch" was the Rabbit's home and place of safety.
Now in 2017 I became Ber Rabbit!
Having been in a protracted battle with my ex-employer who sued me for leaving his firm, sued my new firm, etc. he sued for 300,000 dollars plus attorney's fees (another $200,000). It finally came down to one email that seemed to help Ber Fox. My attorney recommended filing for protection under current bankruptcy laws. I first thought that all was lost but as the smoke cleared nothing happened. Everything in my firm and my personal life was protected except for one Briar Patch:
The Briar Patch: We owned and were about six months from paying off three "Time Share properties that we bought years ago. Two properties were paid and one in Florida was still fluid. Of course if you've ever bought such a property, you know that maintenance fees are forever and in our case about $200 a month. We have been trying to get out of them ever since our daughter went to work for Hilton. Through Hilton Friends and Family, we can stay at a Hilton property for less than at the timeshare! BTW you can NEVER sell a timeshare for their worth.
Ber Fox however wanted to take something (anything) from me and so he settled for TAKING my timeshares. He even had to pay $8,000 for the privilege and take up the maintenance payments.
"Please Mister Fox whatever you do, Don't take my timeshares!"
Haven't been posting lately. Life is getting in the way, but I am going to the movies.
Needed some escapism so tow movies come to mind:
One is "Going in Style" about three retired friends who worked together for years and now in retirement. They find that they are cheated out of their pension and decide to rob the bank that ran their pension. While there are meaningful discussion of retirement in these times and the heartless corporations, etc., it is a good comedy. When you have Morgan Freeman, Michael Cain and Alan Arkin you have the A team. Enjoyed it and give it ***1/2 stars. 2017 Movie 14.
"Fate of the Furious" is a comedy action movie that while the story lacks in
every way it is fun to watch this cast play with cars. It is the height of bad fiction when someone decides to "flip" a switch and take control of all the cars in New York City no matter that the are parked. Ok Escapism and time with popcorn. I give it **1/2 stars. 2017 Movie 15
"Gifted" is a thoughtful and thought provoking story of a gifted child and the battle for her future and to control her life. Great acting. Great writing. Great honesty. I highly recommend.
**** stars. 2017 Movie 16
"Guardians of the Galaxy 2" is why I go the the movies. It is a comedy Sci-Fi movie of "Old friends and their escapades." The 80's soundtrack is great. There are great cameos of 80's stars. It was simply a delight. Stay through the credits because there are 5 additional scenes shown.
As a rule I do watch Scary Movies. The slasher, or zombie or high body count teen thrillers are not for me. There is some that appeal to me such as the last two movies that I viewed.
"Life" is the story of a group of astronauts on an International Space Station that receive a specimen from a Rover Robot that has come from Mars. It contains a microbe that is believed to be proof of LIFE on Mars. They will study it in Space and not risk bringing it to earth. Ok so far?
All I need to say is: For what comes next, think of "Alien". It gets wild, wooly and scary.
The end is a big surprise but getting there is half the fun. Great popcorn movie.
I give it ***1/2 stars. 2017 movie
13
The next is "Get Out" a fil that gets great reviews but little attention. He have thought about this a long time before going. (Nothing else good in our area). Glad I did. Let's take about three different stories: "Guess whose coming to Dinner?, Stepford Wives, and lets just say "Twilight Zone". Mix well and add some dark comedy. Great Movie. The horror and scary feeling is in your mind more than on the screen. It is well crafted and well acted.
I attend a church that was founded on a principle of being a place of refuge for those who were shoved aside by the Pharisees that live among us. This was not our central principle but because of the void that existed, it brought many into our midst that were shunned because of divorce, or disagreement with leadership, or family troubles, or personal demons that others found revolting.
We grew as a body and empowered many who had lost their hope in finding a family.
Then comes change. We gained many who looked for a home until we captured that market.
We then looked in our community and found a college nearby. We invited them in. They came looking for a home away from home. We have tried to be that. Strangers ask questions.
We don't always have the answers but we studied.
Through our study of the Bible we began to open worship to female participation. A place of refuge for those shoved aside.
We have had some of our long time members leave recently.
I ask, "Do we believe in GOD WITH US or GOD FOR US?
I have watched closely those who leave and ask the questions,
"Did they leave so that they could do a better work somewhere else?
OR Did they leave so that they could be more comfortable?
OR Did they leave so that they did not want to change?
Weird collection of movie: An aging superhero, a monster from my youth and a Shack.
"Logan" is of course the "Wolverine" of the X-Men series. And as any animal, he is getting long in the tooth. This is one of those stories of passing the torch to a younger version of him although a girl. It is a fitting end for Logan. I had to see it through but lets face it Logan needs to rest.
2017 Movie #10 I give it ***stars.
"The Shack" is a movie that I dreaded like i dreaded the book. Having dealt with the death of a daughter (actually never finishing), it is not entertainment. The movie in many ways is better than the book because it condenses without missing the point. The gist of the story is the importance of our connection with God and our friends and family. People debate the theology that is implied in the book, but the message is much simpler. Sometimes we have to get out of our way and our mind and open up to God and open up to see those who love us and need our love. Hate and guilt and grudges keep us bottled up. I loved this version of the story.
2017 Movie #11 I give it ****1/2 stars
Ok, "Kong, Skull Island" is a pleasure of my youth. I loved King Kong as a kid. It was the first story of greed and men who just want to make money if it it risk people and things. King Kong was one of those Things. This retelling is filled with Hollywood A-list actors and is great action fun. not was what I needed to end the week. AND I liked it in 3D.
I had seen seven of the eight movies nominated for Best Picture this year. I only lacked: "Moonlight". I thought I knew enough about the story But I DID NOT!
"Moonlight" is one of the best movies of the year. Great acting and directing. Great Camera work.
The story introduces us to a small black boy (Little) in Florida and follows his life in three acts. child, high school and adult. He is a frail son of a mother on drugs who is forced to figure out life on his own.
He is neglected at home, bullied at school and at play. The Big kids torment him and call him "Faggot", chase him and beat him.
In one opening scene he takes refuge in an empty apartment
and is found by the local drug dealer.
The dealer is very sensitive to the boy and he and his wife becomes the safety net for
Little. He even teaches him to swim and offers protection. The dealer is not the typical
stereotype and they become friends. The dealer even lectures his Mother. All is well until Little realizes that the dealer sells to his mother.
He does have an encounter with a boy from school but the boy later is told by the Bullies to beat him up.
We watch him grow into a man without love or direction.
FYI: He becomes a dealer and a Big guy. Great but sad story about misconceptions of people and their hearts.
"Gold" the movie is true tale of searching for Gold. Matthew McConaughey stars and literally transforms himself into a totally different guy. He adds 50 pounds and a bald head to play a third generation prostector. It is also a movie about greed, fraud, and being blinded bt GOLD. It is like the Wall Street debacle and wall street even has a role in this.
Great story, action and ending. It doesn't get good reviews but it is a movie goer's movie.
Experimental Theology: Liturgies of Affection: In yesterday's post I talked about how we need liturgies of affection, habits and practices that help us to love others in the expansive...
I haven't commented about the president 0r the state of civility in this country- or more to the point the state of my Republican friends that support the changes at hand on FACEBOOK.
To start at the beginning of the change: I suffered through George W Bush. He was our President during a difficult time after 911 and I tried to be a good citizen. I did make fun of him at times for some of the crazy things he said without thought. But he was my President and the leader of the USA.
When Obama won and took office, I was pleased. He was the best available person for the job. But from the beginning the Republican party openly said that they would fight against all of his ideas. And they did! I watched an 8 year ugly attack. My friends said that he was not THEIR President because he was after their guns and their freedom. It was stated freely that he was going to try to become an emperor and end democracy. Many said that he was not legit since he was not born in the USA and they had Donald Trump to quote. They said that he was not Christian and was Muslim.
The last 8 years of attacks were not based on facts.
Facts have become irrelevant in our new society. True is what I believe. Don't muddy it with facts.
I have 8 years of this.
Now to my great surprise Donald Trump is the President. Funny thing is: Those that NEVER accepted Obama as President say well now we should all come together and support him. Anyone who does not is unpatriotic. I am confused. I was taught by these people that facts don't matter and never mind that they did not support the president for eight years , its my job to do it.
Trump can joke about molesting women and I'm told "Boys will be boys" but my Facebook is filled today with photos that people are deriding President Clinton because they think he was gawking at Mrs. Trump? Bad Guy!
Trump is my President. He Stole it fair and Square in the current "Facts". He didn't need help but if the Russians, the FBI director , and Wikileaks want to show themselves , OK.
He is my President but he has NOT earned my respect for him as a man or as a Christian.
I am frankly appalled at my Religious friends who believe that he was place their by GOD.
I know the scripture that says that God allows any ruler to govern. He allowed Saul to be Kind even though David was his choice. He told Samuel that the people wanting a King was there rejection of HIM- GOD. He gave them what the wanted. The rest is History.
My point is that GOD doesn't see the world like you and I. Donald Trump has proven his ignorance of scripture and shows no relationship with GOD.
Christians like him because he is against abortion and NOT supporting people on welfare. In their minds these items out weigh Humble, Kind, Compassion, etc.
I enter this time with NO exceptions of a Government for the people. I hope that I am wrong, but so far I am not.
In 1977 I read a book by Ray Kroc called "Grinding it Out" it was about the making of McDonalds. I was amazed by it because of Kroc's ability to see an idea and look at the possibilities. Now a movie is out called "The Founder" telling the same story with additional items added. The Movie matches the story in the book. I would recommend these to anyone that owns a business or competes at a high level in business.
While I would never condone some of his actions, he was driven man. He was not someone you would contract with without a team of GOOD attorneys. It does tell the story of how two brothers changed the fast food industry and how another man bought their idea and franchised it to the world.
The movie is well acted and well done. Starring Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc (He's perfect for this) it has a great cast.
I read the series of book by Dennis Lehane about Joe Coughlin. The book was a great read and the movie followed it very close. Like "GodFather" this is a crime family movie with all the violence you would expect. Ben Affleck directed, wrote the screen play and stars. I liked the book and the movie.
Eagerly waited for "Lion" the rue story of a small boy lost in India who finds his mother 25 years later. This is a tremendous story that is superbly told. I was fortunate to see an interview with the actual people of the tale. A five year year boy follows is brother to a train station where they searched under the seats of empty cars for loose change, etc. The boy falls asleep a wakes up 1,500 miles from home in a different country. He next gets sent to Australia and as a 30 year old man decides to find is childhood home and family.
This is a great story of adoption and of life. it is not lost on me that two of the first movies of the year dealt with the loss of a child only to be followed by a story of adoption. My life.
Great movie and stay for the credits to see the real characters.
James Taylor says in The Secret of Life: "The thing about time is that time isn't really real. It's all on your point of view. How does it feel for you?"
You and I say that we are so-o-o-o busy.
I have a Christian brother who is a retired, emty-nest, no part time job guy who always says that he can't make meetings for his church family because he doesn't have time.
I hand out bulletins at our Church worship on Sunday. I get there at 9:00am and worship begins at 9:30 am. I have watched everyone's patterns (of current attenders). I quit passing out these programs at 9:45 am because about a third of our group gets there after 9:30! The families that come late are consistently late at the same time each week. They are NOT late! They attend when they want.
These include "leaders".
I went back and revisited Psalms 122 to verify that David did not say:
"Let us go up to the house of the LORD when we are good and damn ready!"
Psalms 121 "the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."
" I was in the Air Force a while and they had what they call "Policing the Area." that's where you looked around and if there's anything wrong here, there or anywhere, you took care of your own area. And I think that's a pretty good thing to go by. If everyone just takes care of their own area then we won't have any problems.
BE HERE. BE PRESENT. WHEREVER YOU ARE, BE THERE.
And look around you and see what needs to be changed."
In the bog post that was republished below, Richard Beck makes this statement:
"The magic is found in simply showing up. Week after week, year after year. It is hard and often tedious. You're frequently tired and have other things to do. It take discipline, commitment and sacrifice. It's a marathon, not a sprint. You just keep showing up. ..you show up and light a candle in the darkness. On the surface, the fidelity of simply showing up looks small and boring. But I've come to see it as powerful and revolutionary as mustard seed, to use Jesus' way of describing the kingdom of GOD."
For me this was heavy stuff.
In my local church we are always concerned about the lack of attendance for various events and classes that are created. On Wednesday night's we even started preparing meals for those with kids who are rushed to get to Bible classes. We try to make things easy: so donuts and coffee on Sunday.
Mr Beck used the term Fidelity. I haven't used that word lately so to the dictionary I ran.
Yikes! Fidelity is simply: "The quality of Faithfulness or Loyalty."
As a "progressive Christian" I remember almost laughing at my forefathers who considered a "Faithful Christian" one who attended all church services. I was too enlightened for that because I thought to be faithful was much deeper. I have been schooled.
The failure of our society that reflects in our church bodies is the absence of loyalty and faithfulness.
We are only loyal to self and when asked to participate we say, " WE will if we have time." If I deem it important to me I will unless i find something I would like to do.
As Woody Allen once said, "80% of success is SHOWING UP"
I am embarking on a personal study of this subject because I need it.
Hillary Clinton said, "Showing up is not all of life but it accounts for a lot,"
Remember Moses at the Burning Bush. He had many reasons why he could not lead Israel. God basically said, YOU NEED TO SHOW UP. I WILL TEACH YOU WHAT TO SAY AND DO.
