Invictus movie review

Question: What's more impressive than a former freedom fighter being elected President after being released from prison? Answer: That same man being willing to forgive the people who imprisoned him. Welcome to "Invictus," the story of President Nelson Mandela and the South African Rugby team's momentous victory in the (Rugby) World Cup. The movie begins with the Rugby team witnessing Mandela's release. "Remember this day, boys," the racist coach says. "This is the day our country went to the dogs." His sentiments reflect the views of many white people living in South Africa, especially those government employees who were employed by President DeClerk, who supported "apartheid." President Mandela, however, is quick to assure them that he wishes for them to work for him. He even hires DeClerk's former bodyguards to bolster security, much to the chagrin of his three native security guards. Meanwhile, Francois Pienaar, the captain of the South African Rugby team, faces the challenge of leading the South Africa Springboks to victory in the midst of the change in government. Then, one night, he receives a phone call inviting him to have tea with President Mandela the following day. During his visit, Pienaar gets the impression that President Mandela wants the Springboks to win the World Cup. So begins the attempt to win while facing heavy odds. "Invictus" is a story of forgiveness and learning to forgive. It takes the African security guards a while to forgive the men they are working with. "Not long ago, these men tried to kill us," one of them tells Nelson Mandela, wondering why he had hired them. "Forgiveness starts here," the president answers. It takes a while for the rugby players, with the exception of Peinaar, to accept the change in government. "Our country is changing," the captain says. "And we need to change as well. "Invictus" is rated PG-13 for brief strong language. "f---" is used. A player complains that a can of beer tastes like "sh--," and Peinaar says the same thing when he tastes the beer. There is a scene where people are drinking in a bar. There is some sports violence, which is to be expected in a rugby match. There are a couple of scary scenes: one at the beginning initially looks like there's going to be an assassination attempt, but it turns out to be two men delivering a stack of newspapers, and one near the end in which an airplane pilot looks like he's going to crash into a rugby stadium, but he pulls up at the last minute.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets movie review

For those of you who have "National Treasure" on DVD, you may have seen the alternate ending. In it, producer Jerry Bruckheimer says that this ending was cut from the movie because the staff didn't want to give the impression that a sequal was coming. Indeed, a sequal wasn't planned. But, as with all successful movies based on fiction, a sequal was inevitable. After finding the Templar Treasure in the first movie, Ben Gates has restored honor to the family name. His father, Patrick, once skeptical of the treasure's existence, has had his faith restored. When we first see them in "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," the father/son team is finishing a presentation about Patrick's great-grandfather Thomas' heroism in preventing a slave-state extremist group called Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) from finding a vast amount of gold, and dying while doing it. The group included John Wilkes Booth, whose diary is missing some pages. After the presentation, a man in the audience holds up one of the missing pages from Booth's diary and claims that Thomas was, in fact, the mastermind behind the Lincoln Assassination. When the page fits in the diary, Ben and Patrick are compelled to find the treasure that Thomas died to protect, in order to clear his name. The sequal to "National Treasure" is entertaining and it provides some historical information that people may find fascinating. However, there are some points that people will find a bit unethical (breaking into the Queen's office, stealing a car, and abducting the President come to mind). These are done by the heroes. But if you watch the movie, you will see that the third unethical thing is not as bad as it sounds. "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" is rated PG for some violence and action. Four characters are forced to work together to balance on a very unstable platform. A man drowns (offscreen). We see John Wilkes Booth shoot Lincoln in Ford Theater. We see Thomas Gates get shot after burning some of Booth's diary pages.

The Blind Side movie review

Sometime's it is nearly impossible to see what God has planned when a career-ending injury is dealt to somebody. Case in point: What did God have in mind when He planned the end of Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann's career. A clip of that infamous play is shown at the beginning of The Blind Side, the movie adaptation of the book "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game." Michael "Big Mike" Oher (pronounced "Oar") is a homeless African-American teenager who usually stays at friends' houses. But there comes a time when those friends' wives want him to leave (Benjamin Franklin was correct in saying "Fish and visitors stink in three days."). One day, according to the movie, one friend gets his son and Michael into Wingate Christian Academy. Michael is almost rejected because of his extremely low GPA (0.6), but the football coach, Burt Cotten, intervenes. "Look at [our emblem]," he says. "'Christian.' We either take that seriously or we paint over it." His motives are revealed to be questionable later in the film, though. Enter the Touhys, a wealthy family whose head, Sean, runs a chain of Taco Bells. They give Michael shelter and later become his legal guardians. Based on a true story, The Blind Side focuses on Michael Oher's relationship with the Touhy family. Although it isn't considered a "Christian" film (such as Facing the Giants), The Blind Side is loaded with Christianity. There is a scene where the Touhy family prays before eating. There is also a Bible verse inscribed on the gate of Wingate, although it is slightly wrong ("With man, this is possible, but with God, all things are possible). It should be "With man, this is impossible." There are also signs of grace under peer pressure shown with Leigh Anne Touhy and her daughter Collins, as they face disapproval from their respective friends due to their taking Michael into their home. The Blind Side is rated PG-13 for one scene involving brief violence, and drug and sexual references. One of Michael's old buddies in an area of town called Hurt Village is part of a drug ring. He provokes Michael into a fight, which proves to be an easy win for Michael. Sexual scenes are not explicit. The most sexual you'll see is a husband and wife beginning to get it on.

Hero movie review

"Hero" is a fictional movie based on semi-actual events. Allow me to explain. There was a time when China was divided into warring states. During that time, the king of the state of Chin, Chin Shi, made it his divine mission to conquer all the other states and unite the country. During that mission, there was an attempt on his life by an assassin who failed. However, that assassin was not from the state of Zhou, as this movie tells us. Therefore, using this movie for learning history is not a good choice. Using the movie for entertainment, however, is a very good choice. The movie begins with a brief written dialogue about what is happening in Warring States-era China. It ends with "In every war, there are heroes on both sides." Then we see a man who introduces himself to us as "Nameless" (because he was never given a name due to orphanage) being escorted into the presence of Chin Shi. He is being honored for slaying three people who previously tried to assassinate Chin Shi. The king tells Nameless to give an account of his battles with these three. However, is his account really what happened? In order to find out, you'll have to watch the movie. This movie is purely for entertainment. However, there are some discussion questions you can consider: Chin Shi plans to unite the warring states by conquering them. Is his method acceptable? Why or why not? Near the end of the movie, one of the characters says that Chin Shi must not be assassinated. He later explains that having the states united would save many more lives than if the states kept fighting. Nameless shamelessly admits that his motive is revenge for his family's death. Is either character right?

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon movie review

"A sword by itself does not rule. It is manipulated by skillful handling." This line in director Ang Lee's international classic, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," sets the tone for this movie, which I recommend to any Martial Arts fan.

Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) is a legendary swordmaster in China's Jiang Hu (a class of warriors). He wields the awesome straight sword Green Destiny, which is sharp enough to sever a blade from the hilt. Master Li is currently in turmoil, first because he had a painful experience while meditating on Wu Dan mountain, secondly because he has yet to avenge the murder of his beloved mentor Master Pen by Biya Hu Ri (Jade Fox). As a result, he decides to leave the Jiang Hu world and entrust the Green Destiny to a good friend, Bel Lai Ye. His former compatriot and love interest, Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), who runs Sun Security Escort, offers to take the Green Destiny to Bel Lai Ye in Beijing and wait for Li to arrive after visiting his mentor's grave. In Beijing, Shu Lien meets Yu Shao Long (Zhang Ziyi), the daughter of recently appointed Governer Yu. That night, a thief steals the Green Destiny and gets away, despite being confronted by Shu Lien.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has quite a few plot twists that will have you wondering what's next. There are lessons to be learned from this movie, such as forgiving someone who has spited you, and learning self-control. "There are many things you can learn to do with the Green Destiny," Li Mu Bai tells another character. "But first you must learn to hold it in stillness." Even today, people wield powerful weapons, from the tongue to the tank. How often do we fail to hold our tongues in stillness?

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is rated PG-13 for martial arts violence and some sexuality. The sex scenes are few and far between. The violence is mostly kicking/punching action and swordplay, but there is a scene where a character takes a thrown bladed weapon to the forehead and another scene where a character stabs another character with a sword (although in this scene the camera is behind the stab victim).

Discussion:
1. In one part of the movie, a character uses the martial arts to attack people in a building. Why is it never right to attack people? In what ways should the martial arts be used?
2. Li Mu Bai has never professed his love for Yu Shu Lien, although he does love her. Or does he? In what ways do we see Li Mu Bai loving Shu Lien? Should love be kept hidden at any time? Why or why not?
3. Soon after we find out who Jade Fox is, we learn that she has been training a student with a stolen martial arts manual. How do we discern good teachers from bad teachers (in terms of morality)? If you were in this student's place, would you trust Jade Fox?
4. During a part in the movie, Shao Long's wedding parade is interrupted by a former lover. Does this lover really love Shao Long? Why or why not?

Braveheart Movie review

I remember watching "Braveheart" for the first time. It was the first R-rated movie I ever watched. For sure, Braveheart deserves its R rating, but that is no reason to avoid this movie. In fact, I recommend it to people in their late teens on up. It's certainly a profile on courage in the face of heavy odds.

It is the 14th century. Scotland has long been under the thumb of its more powerful neighbor, England. The Scots have been feeling that "thumb" more than ever in recent times, thanks to England's current monarch, King Edward "Longshanks." The movie begins with two Scots searching for a friend, who was part of a party of nobles gone to discuss peace terms with King Edward. The two discover that Longshanks' promise of peace talks was in reality a death trap. These two are father and older brother to the movie's hero: William Wallace (played mostly by Mel Gibson). After the two of them die in battle shortly afterward, young William is taken in by his Uncle Argyle, who teaches him how to use his brain as well as a sword. Years later, after the unjust execution of his wife, William Wallace starts leading a rebellion against the tyranny of England.

As I said before, "Braveheart" deserves its R rating. The movie is heavy on bloody battles and laced with obscene language ("Jesus" is used more than once, and so is "b****rd. "Arse" is used several times). There is one scene where the silouhette of a naked woman with a naked man is shown (although this is soon after a secret wedding, so this can be considered a tribute to the beauty of a wedding night) and two scenes of one or more Scots showing distain for the English army by showing it their bare buttocks. There is a scene where a man tries to rape a woman. There is a part in the movie where William is being tortured and disembowled.

Even so, "Braveheart" is a story of courage in the face of oppression. Just make sure kids aren't watching while you're watching.

National Treasure movie review

"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their future security." Before I watched Disney's "Nationial Treasure," I didn't know that this was in the Declaration of Independence. This sentence from one of our "national treasures" sets the tone for the entire movie.

Ben Gates (played magnificently by Nicholas Cage) is a member of a family of treasure hunters (although Ben would say they're treasure protectors) whose passion for seeking a particular treasure, called the Templar Treasure, has made him unpopular with scholars. When Ian Howe (Sean Bean) agrees to fund an expedition to the arctic to find a ship known as the "Charlotte," Ben takes him, tech-savvy Riley Poole, and others to find it. He doesn't find the treasure, but he finds a clue that leads him to believe that the treasure map is hidden on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Ben is reluctant to steal the Declaration, which he would most certainly have to do in order to find the map. Ian, on the other hand, is willing to do anything to get his hands on the treasure. All of a sudden, Ben has a rival who wields a gun and three cronies. After getting back to the States, Ben and Riley try to warn the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and American History specialist Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger), but their warnings go unheeded. Ben then sees he has no choice but to steal the Declaration in order to preserve it.

"National Treasure" is heavy on action and American history. It also begs the question "Is it right to steal something when you've warned those responsible for its care of the lurking danger?" One lesson that's definitely learned from this movie is "Don't give up just because you're told it can't be done." In the words of Thomas Edison, "I found a thousand ways to not make a light bulb. I need to find only one way to make it work." Ben is told twice that something couldn't be done: Riley told him that the Declaration couldn't be stolen because it was too heavily guarded and his father, Patrick Gates (Jon Voigt) tells him he can't find the treasure because it doesn't exist.

"National Treasure" is rated PG for Action Violence (including shooting and a man falling to his death) and Some Scary Images (including frozen skeletons on board a wrecked ship). The movie is well worth the rating, however.