One of the reasons I started this blog was that I realized that what Hollywood or the Film Industry sees as great entertainment, does not always coincide with what Mormons might feel is great entertainment. Over the years with Best Picture nominations like Black Swan, The Reader, and Brokeback Mountain, (although they lost, they won in other categories) I thought maybe it would be good to start a review site that discuses movies based on the values we hold and the entertainment we seek. You know, movies that are virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.
This is our first Oscar Season as an active blog so we wanted to review each of the Best Picture Nominees. But first, I wanted to mention my pick for Best Animated Short. I took my two oldest boys to see Wreck-It Ralph (our Review), but before it started we were treated to a short film called "Paperman." And you can view it below!
It was a beautiful and simple animated silent film about the sometimes serendipitous nature of love. Not a word is needed as the facial animations are so telling. After it ended I thought, if the house lights came on and it was time to leave, this alone would have been worth the price of admission. (Especially since we got in Free)
So here our Best Picture Reviews:
- Amour
Quality:
Content: 
Amour is about a husband who cares for the failing health of his wife after she has a stroke and loses control of the right side of her body. I was hoping for more of a story like The Notebook without the awful flashbacks. (Which I would have loved) But instead we get a dry unmemorable film. It have gotten rave reviews for it's realism, but just because a movie can make you feel as lonely and frustrated as the characters, doesn't mean it is worth you $15 at the theatre. It's the same reason I don't eat super spicy food. It is great that a chef made food so hot you get mouth sores, that doesn't I want to order it off the menu.
Amour has few content issues. The F-word is used once, and the wife is bathed who she is infirm by a nurse and we see her beast. [SPOILER] There is also some troubling content in how the wife dies. [SPOILER]
Content:
I wasn't even born when these events began, In fact I think my birthday newspaper cover story had to do with the hostage crisis. Luckily the film starts us with a brief history on Iran. It is very informative. To tweak a quote from Wreck-It Ralph, Just because we were the good guys, doesn't mean that we were good guys. The US started a coup to depose the current Shah and install our own. Turns out the person who was put in was not that greatest person. Read more...
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Going into Beasts of the Southern Wild totally blind as to what the plot was about was tough. I couldn't figure out if it took place in some post apocalyptic world, or if this was how people actually lived in our day. The story takes place in a community known as "The Bathtub." It is on the wrong side of the levies that protect more the civilized part of the south. Life in the Bathtub is harsh. Homes are made of driftwood, corrugated aluminum, and whatever other scrap materials people can find and built on precarious stilts above the ground to prepare for frequent rising floor waters. Read more...
One of the first westerns I ever saw was The Outlaw Josie Wales. Ever since then I have been a pretty big fan. I guess I am intrigued by the idea of dealing out Justice (and sometimes Revenge). In The Fellowship of the Ring when Galdalf tells Frodo, "many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment." I always think, "I could." But I am a pretty judgmental person. Speaking of Judgmental, some of you may be thinking, "wait, if this is a Mormon Review site, why is he reviewing an R Rated movie?" Well, I spoke to that in a past blog post in more depth, but for not I will leave it at this. If you choose not to see Django based on it's R Rating, then the MPAA has done it's job. But if you choose not to see it based on the content I review for you, then i have done mine. Read more...
Quality: 
I posted a few weeks ago about how I [was] Starting to Worry About Les Miserables. If you constantly compare the musical to the film you will be let down on a musicality standpoint as many of the actors are better known for that then for singing for a reason. But that is merely one thread in the tapestry of the film version. Read more...
One would think that spending 90 minutes watching someone at sea would start to get old. The Life of "Pi Chart" above does a great job letting you know how the time is divided. I will never forget that tiger's name because he probably says "Richard Parker" a hundred times. But these things don't really get stale. Because Richard Parker has claimed the main lifeboat as his, Pi must fashion himself a raft from supplies he is able to sneak out of the boat. Pi learns all sorts of tricky ways to use the supplies from a survival manual in the boat. These are all really interesting to watch. He is like an Indian MacGuyver! Read more...
Daniel Day-Lewis is superb in his character acting. Although I really have only seen photos of President Lincoln, his portrayal is everything I would imagine. Thin wry voice, his gait and walk of someone uncomfortable with their exceeding height. I did not see Daniel Day-Lewis, I saw Abraham Lincoln. Lewis is fantastic at this transformation. You take his biggest roles side by side and you almost cant tell they are the same person. Heck you compare them to his actual picture and you would not think so. Read more...
We have just a mini review here for you. Silver Linings Playbook was a little slow starting, but it did resolve well. After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano, Bradley Cooper, moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, Jennifer Lawrence, a mysterious girl with problems of her own. I had a tough time identifying with with that characters. Pat's family is a bit dysfunctional and it isn't the sort of entertainment I seek. The movie does take a turn when Pat becomes obligated to participate with Tiffany in an upcoming Ballroom Dance Competition.
I really love dancing! It is fun to see the character evolve as they get closer to their performance, but then so do the stakes. Bradley Cooper is endearing and fun to watch while his motives as a character weren't always clear, but maybe that's the point. The content is not the best. The language is crude with frequent F-words. There are some first fights, and a character talks about past sexual encounters in a promiscuous nature. There is a scene of brief nudity during a flashback that shows rear nudity of two characters engaged in a sexual act. Another character in engaged in compulsive gambling and characters drink alcohol socially.
The trailer makes it seem like the movie is all about the exploits of Seal Team 6. Instead 80% of the movie is the search for Bin Laden, and it is slow going. I would suggest brushing up on your Al Qaeda MVP's because I was pretty lost as they gloss over names and places of the middle east like they are common knowledge. Things pick up a bit about 45 minutes in as the lead analyst, Maya, gets closer. Then instead of interrogations we watch red tape bureaucracy with what appear to be popular high level officials, but I can't figure out who they are supposed to be. Once we meet Seal Team 6 at an hour and 30 minutes we see the movie you were expecting. Read more...
Our Picks:
After seeing all the Oscar Nominations, I have three picks for Best Picture. As for my personal favorite movie, I would say it was Les Miserables. For the best Family Friendly Pick I say Life of Pi. But for who the Academy will choose I say Argo. I was leaning toward Lincoln, but I don't know if it was solid enough. Daniel Day Lewis I think will get the Best Actor win though. Plus Ben Affleck deserved a best director nomination for Argo, but a Best Picture win will be just as sweet I'm sure.
Comment below, tell us who your pick for best picture is.
This post is sponsored by GlassesUSA.com. In order for us to be able to bring you movie reviews from a Mormon's point of view we need support from great readers like you. If you like what we do and wear glasses, check out GlassesUSA.com. They have great prices that you can learn all about on our recent product review of their service.
Quality:
Content:
One of the first westerns I ever saw was The Outlaw Josie Wales. Ever since then I have been a pretty big fan. I guess I am intrigued by the idea of dealing out Justice (and sometimes Revenge). In The Fellowship of the Ring when Galdalf tells Frodo, "many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment." I always think, "I could." But I am a pretty judgmental person. Speaking of Judgmental, some of you may be thinking, "wait, if this is a Mormon Review site, why is he reviewing an R Rated movie?" Well, I spoke to that in a past blog post in more depth, but for not I will leave it at this. If you choose not to see Django based on it's R Rating, then the MPAA has done it's job. But if you choose not to see it based on the content I review for you, then i have done mine. Read more...
Content:
I posted a few weeks ago about how I [was] Starting to Worry About Les Miserables. If you constantly compare the musical to the film you will be let down on a musicality standpoint as many of the actors are better known for that then for singing for a reason. But that is merely one thread in the tapestry of the film version. Read more...
Quality:
Content:
One would think that spending 90 minutes watching someone at sea would start to get old. The Life of "Pi Chart" above does a great job letting you know how the time is divided. I will never forget that tiger's name because he probably says "Richard Parker" a hundred times. But these things don't really get stale. Because Richard Parker has claimed the main lifeboat as his, Pi must fashion himself a raft from supplies he is able to sneak out of the boat. Pi learns all sorts of tricky ways to use the supplies from a survival manual in the boat. These are all really interesting to watch. He is like an Indian MacGuyver! Read more...
Quality:
Content:
 |
| The Many Faces of Daniel Day-Lewis |
- Silver Linings Playbook
Quality:
Content: 
I really love dancing! It is fun to see the character evolve as they get closer to their performance, but then so do the stakes. Bradley Cooper is endearing and fun to watch while his motives as a character weren't always clear, but maybe that's the point. The content is not the best. The language is crude with frequent F-words. There are some first fights, and a character talks about past sexual encounters in a promiscuous nature. There is a scene of brief nudity during a flashback that shows rear nudity of two characters engaged in a sexual act. Another character in engaged in compulsive gambling and characters drink alcohol socially.
Quality:
Content:
Our Picks:
After seeing all the Oscar Nominations, I have three picks for Best Picture. As for my personal favorite movie, I would say it was Les Miserables. For the best Family Friendly Pick I say Life of Pi. But for who the Academy will choose I say Argo. I was leaning toward Lincoln, but I don't know if it was solid enough. Daniel Day Lewis I think will get the Best Actor win though. Plus Ben Affleck deserved a best director nomination for Argo, but a Best Picture win will be just as sweet I'm sure.
Comment below, tell us who your pick for best picture is.
This post is sponsored by GlassesUSA.com. In order for us to be able to bring you movie reviews from a Mormon's point of view we need support from great readers like you. If you like what we do and wear glasses, check out GlassesUSA.com. They have great prices that you can learn all about on our recent product review of their service.
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