The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013): Mormon Movie Review

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   The Desolations picks up pretty quickly where we left off in the first film.  Now on the run with a pack of fierce orcs close behind we follow Bilbo as he journeys with Ganldalf and his 13 Dwarf companions to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.  If you missed The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, I highly suggest you pick it up on iTunes or Amazon or at least read our review and synopsis.

The Wolverine (2013): Mormon Movie Review

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   I chose the Spanish movie poster to represent this review of “The Wolverine” because Wolverine: Immortal is such a more fitting title.  Summoned to Japan by an old acquaintance, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) becomes embroiled in a conflict that forces him to confront his own demons.  Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality, emerging more powerful than we have ever seen him before.
    We were treated to a Wolverine film in 2009’s X-men Origins: Wolverine.  While that film is a prequel of sorts this film follows the events of X-men (3): The Land Stand.  Logan (Wolverine) has lost all purpose after the events of The Last Stand and lives a secluded live in the mountains of Alaska.  He is constantly haunted by nightmares of his lost love Jean Grey (Famke Janssen).  And I mean constantly! She has so much screen time she is featured in some of the movie posters.  Because I am fundamentally against the movie trope where a girl leave the good guy for the bad boy this relationship is continually problematic for me and I loathe seeing it on screen.  (See my pending article asking why is James Marsden the perpetual cuckold?)  

Iron Man 3 (2013): Mormon Movie Review

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   This review will be a little image light. I'm out at Fathers and Sons Campout, but had time to frame it up before I left. Now I'm watching my boy play as I write my review on my iPhone. Ain't technology grand?


   Iron Man 3 takes place shortly after The Avengers. Tony Stark (Iron Man) is haunted by the events that took place in New York City. Now a new threat appears and makes things personal for Tony. 

Titanic (1997): Mormon Movie Review

Guest Post from the Mormon Movie Guy.  He writes a great blog similar to ours reviewing movies from a Latter-day Saint Perspective. The review was written by him, but the star ratings were applied based on my interpretation of his review.

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Like Avatar, director James Cameron’s other box-office giant,Titanic was a pop-culture phenomenon that mixed technical precision with oversimplified characterizations, artistic grandeur with merely average storytelling. It’s a very good film towards which excessive backlash was directed because it was heralded as an exceptional one. Though the supporting characters are broadly written caricatures (with Billy Zane’s evil fiancé the worst offender) and the central rich/poor romance is derivative of Lady and the Tramp, Cinderella, and any number of Jane Austen stories, Kate Winslet (Finding Neverland, Sense and Sensibility) and Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception, Catch Me if You Can) have an undeniable chemistry. She gives a nicely conflicted performance and he is more youthful and carefree here than we’ve seen him since.

  

The attention to period detail is astounding, from the lavish recreation of the ship itself to the wardrobe. The visual effects mostly hold up all these years later. James Horner’s musical score is justified in its iconic status: it’s beautiful and sets the tone perfectly. The sound design is terrific. Of course, when it comes to the actual sinking of the ship (which occurs almost in real-time) Titanic becomes a true work of art, expertly balancing tragedy with majesty. Scenes of passengers preparing for imminent death have deep emotional resonance, and the spectacle doesn’t disappoint. The 3D here doesn’t add much to the experience, though unlike most 3D the picture thankfully here remains clear, vibrant, and sharp. For fans, this is well worth re-experiencing on the big screen.

Content:

 Titanic 3D is rated PG-13. It contains plenty of peril and disaster, with people drowing and freezing to death, falling off and down a ship, and being crushed (not graphic) by debris. It is unecessarily crass, with some language (including one f-word) and a raised middle finger. It also carries the implication of sex between its unmarried romantic leads as well as an extended scene of exposed female breasts during a sketching session. Parents should be warned.

MESSAGES TO DISCUSS: The love of riches can lead to arrogance and entitlement, while God would have us remember that we are all beggars before Him and should help one another (Mosiah 4:16-25). True love is cherishing someone for who they are or want to be, not trying to change them into who you'd like them to be (Gordon B. Hinckley- "The Women in Our Lives"). Death may arrive at any time; we must always be prepared to meet God (Romans 5:12; Alma 34:32). While those without the Gospel may believe sex with someone they've recently met can be romantic, and while Hollywood screenplays portray it as such, in real life it usually leads to disappointment and heartache (Jeffrey R. Holland, "Of Souls, Symbols, and Sacraments").



Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace (1999): Mormon Movie Review

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As a loyal fan of Star Wars, I of course think "The Phantom Menace" is the worst one.  And as loyal fan I could't give it anything less than 4 stars.  Even "How I Met Your Mother" has a gag about this when Marshall proves his friends will agree with everything he says.

   I could go on and on about what is wrong with this movie and some of it's redeeming qualities, but that can be found all over the net.  I instead want to focus on the aspect of the re-release being in 3D.  I took a focus group of 2 of my sons and thier buddy.

   The 3D effects were more mild than I was expecting.  I was expecting a Pod Racer to blow up and parts fly into my face or a lightsaber to singe my nose hairs.  Instead the 3D was more subtle.  Instead of pulling the foreground closer, the background seems to get pushed back.  I actually perfered this, it seemed less like a gimick and more like a picture enhancement.     

Edit: A Featurette explaining this tactic found after original posting.

   One thing that caused me to get distracted was the images still were blurred at times if they moved too fast.  I don't quite know if I perfer 3D to normal HD, but it was certianly worth seeing.

   The boys loved the movie!  Watching them crack up at Jar Jar Binks helped me realize that Star Wars is a kids movie.  Even though I have grown up and my standards have changed I can't expect Star Wars to always change with me.

   If you like Star Wars you will not want to miss the experience to see it in theatres, especially if you have kids.  There is no scheduled date for the release of subsequent episodes so if you don't have kids yet, consider it an investment to motivate LucasFilm to release future episodes. 

Content:

Like I said above Star Wars is meant for kids.  As far as content goes; the worst word said is "poodoo."  It is not overly violent and there really is no adult content.  This movie is safe for all ages and you wouldn't bat an eye at seeing your Stake President there in the row behing you.