Tag Archive - movies

Tree of Life: Great Movie that You Won’t See

October 7, 2011 in Other with 2 Comments

The Tree of Life is a great movie. But you probably won’t go see it.

It lacks a “clean” storyline with a nice, resolved ending.

It lacks a riveting “who-done-it” plot.

It lacks twists and turns in the plot with great action scenes.

Well, at least it does have a superstar actor in Brad Pitt! But it is a great movie.

Amazon’s page for the movie has the most succinct description of the plot, although it falls way, way short of what the movie is actually about (kinda makes me laugh to see a movie like this simplified into two sentences):

The Tree of Life is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950′s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father.

The power of this movie lies in the intersection of the spiritual and physical. There’s something else out there, so to speak, but it’s not aliens from outer space! (Special effects legend Douglas Trumbull [2001: A Space Odyssey and Close Encounters of the Third Kind] worked on this movie, which does not surprise me.)

You don’t get a clean integration of the spiritual and the physical in this movie. You don’t have a Patrick Swayze ghost talking to someone in the real world. Aliens don’t communicate via a nice keyboard melody and land on earth.

The greatness of this movie is how Terrence Malick tries to create with video what impressionist painters do with brushes. It’s not for everyone but if you like Art, you’ll love this. If you like poetry, you’ll love this movie. If you like a movie maker who is trying to hit a home run, you’ll like this.

Finally, this quote, which I just found but only confirms what I already guessed while watching the movie: “… Malick is a devout Christian and this is his big “God” film.”

Buy the movie here. I doubt you’ll catch it on the big screen ever again. You probably won’t watch it. But you should.

I talk about this movie in my book, available on Amazon. You should give it a read!

A survivor’s take on new Seth Rogen cancer movie, 50/50

July 14, 2011 in Other with 4 Comments

I would think it would be extremely difficult to make a movie about cancer. You could too easily fall into a tear-jerker melodrama but anyone touched by cancer doesn’t want to experience that all over again and what movie-goer wants to pay to get depressed.

Or, you could minimize the whole experience and just make fun of it all but that would be an insult to cancer survivors and misleading to anyone who is ignorant of what it’s all about. Like I said, it’s very difficult to approach this subject.

Yet I think this trailer shows a lot of promise.  First, the insanity of Seth Rogen is perfect for cancer (though he can get a little juvenile in his humor). You need someone who is wacky and crazy yet still stands by like a best friend.

But, they still bring the seriousness of cancer into the story. I especially like the haircutting scene – that brought some tears to my eyes because that’s almost how I did it two years ago.

I also like the touch of surprise and even anger that Adam, the lead character, displays when he finds out he has cancer. I wasn’t as young as him but was still young – by far the youngest person every time I was at the cancer clinic.

When Katie (his psychiatrist?)  asks him how he feels and he answers but she keeps digging, I got chills when he turns blunt in his matter-of-fact response. Perfect!

The kicker is how she tells him later in the trailer that how he responds and deals with it is the only thing he can control. That’s exactly what I said in a previous post.

I will go see this one and I hope they balance the craziness of cancer with the seriousness. Here’s the official movie website.

Does this movie look interesting to you? Will you go see it or rent it later? Tell me what you think.

(If you are fighting cancer, you must buy my book. Thanks for reading! You can subscribe to get updates here.)

 

Read about a Christian trapped inside The Matrix

June 17, 2011 in Faith, Other with 0 Comments

computer screen

“You have to understand – most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.”
- Morpheus, from The Matrix

I am stuck inside The Matrix. So are you. It wraps around us. We breath it in and out. But you have no idea what I’m talking about.

No, it’s not exactly the same as that Matrix movie. That movie got a lot right but there’s not a bunch of machines living off the body heat of humans.

They got one part right: we are imprisoned in our minds within an artificial reality known as The Matrix. Most people don’t call it The Matrix, though. The say “the world” or “reality.” But I like that term, The Matrix.

We are born into The Matrix. Born kicking and screaming into it! (We know we belong somewhere else.)

But we are trapped here, at least for a time. We don’t want to think about where we’re really going. You won’t stay in The Matrix forever. But he doesn’t want you to know that – the person that runs The Matrix. He’d rather you focus on yourself.

Every day The Matrix tries to bend our mind. It wants you to think about what stuff you can buy; what pleasure you can find today; how other people can help you get what you want. Anything other than what’s outside The Matrix.

But we will all leave The Matrix sooner or later – even he can’t control that part. That’s what this book says about it. But you don’t want to read about that, do you?

Continue Reading…

3 movies for inspiration in your cancer fight or other challenge

December 13, 2010 in Faith, Other with 0 Comments


I spent most of last year fighting cancer and the last thing I wanted to hear or watch was sad movies or songs. I remember participating in the survivors walk at our local Relay for Life event and I hated when they played ballads or sad songs over the PA system.

What I wanted was music and movies that gave me a fighting spirit! Here's a few of the movies that I loved watching and still watch today to get me pumped up:

1. Gladiator – Here's the basic plot: "When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by a corrupt prince, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge." I love the "against all odds" drama of this movie and especially like that he's one man going against a powerful foe. Although you might think the ending a bit of a downer, it's the fight to the finish that I like.

2. Band of Brothers – The fact that this is a true story is the real kicker behind this World War II recap of the heroics of the 101st Airbourne. These guys had to face injuries, extreme cold, lack of basic necessities and even death. What I identify with is that these are real-life people who were not superheroes but more likely your next-door neighbor! They rose to the occasion in a great way, making it through a savage war all the way to Hitler's deserted hideout in the mountains. Truly inspiring and the music is almost as great as the story.

3. Jesus of Nazareth – There are probably different versions of the life of Jesus but I think this one by director Franco Zeffirelli is the best. This movie really brings Jesus to life and does a great job portraying the apostles as people who were struggling to understand what was going on, just like many of us. 

Have any other ones you find inspiring? 
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