The way my friend described this movie was true – it’ll make you laugh and it’ll make you cry – at the same time. I enjoyed this movie because it portrayed reality and conveyed convincing emotion. Two themes were really well executed. The first was how does a person deal with cancer and the confrontation of death. Adam, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, did an awesome job with his character. While at times he seemed a little flat, two moments really made it for me. The first was when his fellow chemo treatment friend Mitch dies. Death becomes a reality and he wrestles with his possible impending death in the scene with his therapist Katherine. Then, the night before he has his surgery, he takes Kyle’s car and drives it the wrong direction on the highway. I liked this scene even more because it portrayed the struggle of apathy, recklessness, and hopelessness that was running through his mind. It was as if to symbolizing taking death face on, only to break down and admit that he couldn’t do it. I felt like the script and directing did a wonderful job of bringing up this issue without it feeling forced and portraying how he deals with it in a very real way.

The second theme that I really loved (and evoked the most tears) was how cancer affects those around the cancer patient. This was subtly played in the beginning with just his girlfriend cheating on him because she couldn’t handle the stress. You slowly begin to see it affect everyone else and the theme is fully developed at the climax of the movie. Katherine brings it up when she points out that Adam is being a dick to his mom because he never calls her back. His mom is taking care of a husband with Alzheimer’s disease and a son with cancer – she has no one to talk to and he’s feeling like she won’t stop calling him. This is fully revealed when he finally asks her how she’s doing and she says she’s been going to a support group for parents of cancer patients. The moment that really got me was after he accused his best friend Kyle of trying to use him to get laid and then takes him home. Adam finds a book “Facing Cancer Together” in Kyle’s bathroom. The book was not only bookmarked towards the end but contained other markings and notes. Kyle seemed like the goofball that didn’t emotionally ‘get’ Adam’s cancer but here you see him as a true friend who has been doing his best to try and help Adam and who, at the same time, was faced with the possibility of losing his best friend. It wasn’t just Adam that was dealing with cancer but it was affecting everyone around him.

I left the movie thinking about these two things. How would I face death and would I be this kind of friend to someone or have these kind of friends in my life? I’d like to think that with Christ, I would not be afraid of death. As Adam says in the movie, “We’re all going to die. You’re (Katherine) going to die, hopefully much later than me.” That’s reality – we will all die and it is with confidence that I know that this life is just a shadow of what’s to come. I also hope that I would be a good friend to someone in such a situation. They don’t really show you what a real friend does in this situation and I think that’s the point. There isn’t a right way to be a good friend in such a situation but I think it’s about the person’s character and the fact that they try. But I really don’t know – I don’t know how I would react if it was me or a friend going through this and I think that’s the whole point of the movie.

Michael is troubled teenager. He was taken from his drug addicted mother at a young age and bounced around from foster home to foster home. Eventually his guardian enrolls him in a Christian school but he is soon kicked out of his home. With no place to stay, eating left over popcorn found in the gym, the Tuohy’s take him in. They give him a place to sleep and eventually adopt him as part of their family. They give him help in school, clothes to wear, and teach him how to play football. Eventually, he becomes All-State and recruited by a D-I school. He was drafted in the first round of the NFL and currently plays for the Baltimore Ravens. Michael was given a shot at succeeding in this life by people who learned to care for him. His teachers went out of their way to educate him and turn him from a D student to receiving A’s and B’s. He was taken out of the Memphis projects and given a safe environment to mature and grow as a person.

This is my story – in a spiritual sense. I was born into a world of drugs, crime, sex, and violence. If left there, I would waste away and die. But Jesus rescued me. I was homeless and he gave me a home. I was naked and he clothed me with white linen. I was abandoned and he gave me a spiritual family. He took what would have been a wasted life and transformed it. He poured himself out for me, changing my life and transforming me. He took me from obscurity and worked with me to the point where I was recruited and a first round draft pick for his Team. I’ve just begun starting to play; there is so much more to be done. This is just the beginning of The Story. It’s not just Michael’s story, or my story, but it can be your story too.

I would give it a 6/5 for pure action stand point. The Spartans were freakin’ ripped and they just man-handled the Persians. The fight sequences were great, but I wish they were longer. Compared to Gladiator in choreography, it seemed much simpler and not as intricate. But those Spartans were men.

Onto what I really loved about the movie. One of P.Min’s favorite movies is Saving Private Ryan because it depicts what happens when people who aren’t ready are sent into Spiritual War. I feel like this movie shows what it’s like to send people who are ready to fight into battle. One scene I really like: (script taken from the graphic novel).

Daxos: We expected Sparta’s commitment to at least match our own!
Leonidas: Doesn’t it? You there — Arcadian — what’s your profession?
Arcadian: I am a potter sir.
Leonidas: And you, Arcadian, what is your profession?
Arcadian: A sculptor sir.
Leonidas: And you?
Arcadian: A blacksmith.
…
Leonidas: Spartans! What is your profession?
Spartans give a war cry
Leonidas: You see old friend? I brought more soldiers than you did.

This exchange made me think of the verses:

Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs?he wants to please his commanding officer. 2 Timothy 2:3-4

Spartans were breed to be fighters. They were not involved in civilian affairs. This is what these verses talk about. Christians need to stay focused on the fight, not get entangled in all these worldly affairs. The Arcadians called anyone with a shield and sword a soldier but they were involved in the world and not skilled as soldiers. The Spartans’ primary identity were soldiers. I feel like many Christians dust off their Bible and go to church or even small group but their true identity, profession, is of the world. Too many Christians get caught up in civilian affairs and lose their kingdom focus. The Spartans had an undivided passion for fighting. In the same way, Christians should have an undivided passion for God and the advancement of his kingdom.

Leonidas to Ephialtes the Hunchback: Your father should’ve taught you how our Phalanx works. We fight as a single impenetrable unit. That’s the source of our strength. Each Spartan protects the man to his left. From thigh to neck with his shield. A single weak spot and the phalanx shatters. From thigh to neck, Ephialtes.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Each man in a phalanx, the Spartan fighting unit, not only protects himself but the men around them. As they fight together, they are impenetrable. Christians must be the same way. We don’t just watch out for ourselves. It’s not an individual thing but we fight together. There is power when we work together, synergy. As the Spartans fought, it was an incredible picture of unity.

Another awesome exchange:
Leonidas: Dilos. I trust that scratch hasn’t made you useless.
Dilos: Hardly my Lord, It’s just an eye. The gods saw fit to grace me with a spare.

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. Matthew 5:29.

The scenario doesn’t exactly fit the verse but they saw losing an eye in battle as expendable and would keep on fighting. In the same way, Christ calls us to cut off the things that hold us back, though we may feel they are as important to us as our eye. We should be willing to sacrifice such things for the greater purpose.

There were many other good analogies comparing the Spartan soldier to that of a Christian soldier. Definitely a movie worth watching for more than just the action and is something that could really be thought about.

I loved Lucy’s character – she reminded me of childlike faith. She’s the first to believe. She trusts Thomas and affects his heart. She win’s him to the good side. She loves her brother Edmond – she’s the first to welcome him back. She loves Aslan – she wanted to use her potion on him and it was her idea to follow him. You could feel the love she has for Aslan as she cries over him and seeks him at the end while he walks away on the beach. Truely child-like faith. We need to love Jesus and others like this.

The dynamics of the Pevensie family models real life and our spiritual families. They said and did things to push Edmond away. Their lack of love and care drove him to the White Witch where he sought temporary satisfcation from worldy pleasures. How often do we turn people away by the way we act causing them to look for love elsewhere. How often are people driven away from God because his children drive them away.

Satan crafts such convincing lies. The White Witch tells Edmond what he wants to hear. She plays his anger towards Peter to win his heart. Such sweet lies warps his thinking, even when he finds out that she’s evil.

Sin might be satisfying but it’s so empty. I loved the scene when Edmond first encounters the White Witch. She makes him some hot drink and Turkish delights. They bring a smile to his face and bring him great pleasure but when Ginarrbrik throws the cup, it turns back to snow. Sin is emptiless and lacks substance. It might have satisfied him at the moment, but all it was is snow. And he craved it for the rest of the movie. It’s so addictive. That pleasure, empty pleasure that must be continually replenished because it’s so fleeting.

The life Edmond was promised was not what he received from the White Witch. He was promised kingship but he jailed and bound. He was promised rooms full of turkish delights but received stale bread and frozen water. Following the lies of the Enemy lead to an empty life. Empty promises leave us unsatisfied and imprisoned and clinging on to a hope that will never be fulfilled. True fulfillment is only found in Christ, when Edmond has his fill of toast and becomes a true king of Narnia.

Lucy encounters Father Christmas. He gives her a small little dagger. The Word is the sword of the spirit and it’s only as powerful a weapon as the wielder can use it. If that’s how I handle it, it’s only a dagger in my hand, wow. There’s a war out there and a small little dagger like that won’t do anything. It was rebuking thinking about what the Word of God looks like in my hands. I makes me think of P.Min during Market Place describing it.

Peter gets the real deal. But even then, he doesn’t know how to really use it. The way he uses it in the beginning against the wolves vs. the end when he uses it in battle. The difference betweening knowing/having, and being trained with the Word. I want the Word of God to be a mighty weapon to which I can withstand and engage the Enemy.

Susan gets a bow and it reminds me the passage “Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.” – Psalms 127:4-5. I just thought it was funny that as I saw the movie, and thought of Susan’s motherly nature, her weapon is the analogy to children. Haha – draw your conclusions from here lest I get berated for being chauvinistic.

Peter comes to the rescue of Susan and Lucy against the two wolves. Aslan takes care of one but says to let Peter to handle this by himself. I thought of our engagement with sin and temptation. He’s right there, he’ll help us in need and won’t let us take on more than we are able. But we need to learn how to fight. If Aslan protected him, he may not have been prepared for war. In the same way, we need to learn how to fight and overcome so we will be prepared for bigger challenges.

Before the battle begins, the White Witch says “Take no prisoners.” Isn’t that the attitude of war? There are no prisoners in this struggle of ours. We’re fighting for the souls of men and Satan has a take no prisoner attitude. Life and death is on the line for people. We need to take the spiritual state of people seriously because their life and soul is at stake.

Peter asks Oreius, his duel-wielding Centuar commander, “Are you with me?” “To the death”, responds Oreius and they lead the rush into the Enemy. When Peter falls down during the retreat and the Enemy is coming, Oreius turns around and rushes headlong to protect his king. He feeds my heart. Loyalty to the death. He fights to his death to save his friend. Do I fight to my “death” for my friends? When the battle looks bleak and they’re struggling, do I rush headlong to their aid forgetting the cost? I want friends like this. I need to be this kind of friend.

Peter draws swords with the White Witch and she man-handles him. It just goes to show how strong the Devil is and we cannot overcome without Christ. Aslan comes to his rescue when the outcome looks bleak. He won’t let us die.

As the battle rages on, and at times it looks grime, I remember that the Battle is already won. The outcome is already determined. In our struggle, it looks grim at times, we fall and feel defeated. We need to remember, I need to remember, that the battle is already won. We will triumph in the and I want to be standing my ground on that day.

Aslan frees those who the White Witch turned into stone. As he goes around the castle breathing new life into them, I am reminded of this reference: “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” – Isaiah 42:6-7. He comes to set the captives free and breathes new life into us so that we can fight and stand by his side. He frees us from the prison of sin and the grip of the Enemy.

Overall, I liked it. I was able to connect with the characters. It was a little drawn out but the action was intense and through out. No spoilers here since we all know Anakin kills the Jedi and becomes Darth Vader. We all know Palpatine is Darth Sidious and we know that Padame dies giving birth to twins Luke and Leia. If you didn’t know that, now you do. I like this movie but I wished Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman would talk less or George would write better scripts. There were just way to many cheesy lines. There were also some cliche’ shots. It would have been better if they didn’t talk. Nevertheless, the emotion showed through. Anakin makes a great conversion to the dark side, slipping, slipping, slipping away. With his conversion, you see how dark and manipulative Palpatine is. Cleverly engineering the war and the fall of the Replublic, rise of the Empire, and the demise of the Jedi. He manipulates, twists, and lies to Anakin, using his evil powers of persuasion to warp him into the Dark Lord Vader. I couldn’t help but despise him and his evil ways. I liked how both Palpatine and Anakin kept transforming, becoming darker and darker as they crept more and more to the dark side and their truth self showed. You feel the pain and betrayl Anakin causes Obi-wan and Padame. One thing I didn’t like was the attitude of the Jedi and the Counsel. They were just so clueless! Couldn’t Yoda and Windu sensed more? Honestly, if there are all light Jedi’s, don’t you think ‘balance of the force’ would be to increase the dark? or lessen the light? How blind and foolish! I really liked when the Emperor called Yoda blinded by his arrogance. The Jedi were clueless, very un-Jedi-like. I wished they added more references like this to give a reason why the Jedi couldn’t see this coming.

I did like how this parallels life. Often times sin and evil creeps up on us. It warps the way we see things, what we believe. Anakins was warped into thinging the Jedis were traitors and what he believed was a lie. The dark side came slowly and preying on what he loved. It turned his desire for himself and his pride, not others and what’s right according to the Jedi Code. How sin corrupts us, entering when we let our guard down and compromise our ways. We listen to lies that tell us what we want to hear instead of the truth. Oh how the dark side corrupts! This movie showed the power of the dark side and it’s absolute power to corrupt those who crave absolute power. This was definately the Dark Side’s day of triumpth. It’s a good thing there’s ‘A New Hope’ for the galaxy and us.

I’d give this film an 80%. I loved the story telling. The ‘tell it as it is’ dark voice-overs often with witty one-liners. A great example was Lucille, with her hand cut off and eaten in front of her, says as she embraces Marv that all she can think about is getting a smoke. Oh yeah, this film is gruesome. Limbs hacked off, blood spewed, axes, saws, knives just as common as guns and bombs. These guys know how to interrogate and torture. ‘Sin City’ is not for the faint of heart as it contains graphic violence and nudity.

Two grips keep this from being an excellent film. ‘Sin City’ is a collection of 3 stories. Different stories, different characters only the same city. I would have liked it if the stories were intertwined. Sure the characters made cameo’s in the other stories but I felt something was needed to tie it all together. They could have used location to tie it all together. Give Basin City, Old Town, and Roark’s farm more personality so when they say that took the dame to Roark’s farm, you’re already cringing at the gruesome events that will/already took place there. Secondly, I didn’t care for the second story too much. Clive wasn’t the tough guy as Marv and Hartigan were. He was emasculated by the stunning and deadly Miho. She was the one who saved him time after time and cut up the badies into pez-dispensers. Nevertheless, this is a good film, one I wouldn’t mind watching over and over again.

Despite all these shortcomings, there are some redeeming things. I’m learning from Pastor Min to see movies in light of the Bible. There was another concurring theme besides the stupid love storys (Helen’s story was part of the Illiad). What captures the theme is what Archilles’ mom says to him while he decides to go to Troy. She says (and I paraphrase) If you stay and find a nice wife, you’ll grow old, and have children. Your children will know you and maybe you’re grandchildren, but after that, will their children remember you? Your name will be forgotten. But if you go and fight, you can make a name for yourself. A name that will last throughout the generations.” It makes me think, will I be remembered through the ages? Am I a man of great faith who will be remembered? A man like John Piper, Billy Graham, Jim Elliot? How many people will thank me in Heaven? Will I make am impact in another person life? There are three things that last throughout the ages, God, his Word, and People. Am I investing in that last one? It reminds me of the song by Nichole Nordman, Legacy. I could see in Archilles, the purpose for his life. He had a goal, an objective, and he was going to be the best at it. He was driven by a purpose. He fought for a reason that lasted. It was not based on a person or something temporal, but something that would last. Do I fight for a purpose or do I fight as one beating the air? Seeing this theme really struck me and was almost enough to make it a great movie. I would suggest this movie if you haven’t read the Illiad or are familar with the story, or if you want to see this theme. The fighting isn’t on the level of LotR, the script is decent but there are cheesy poses, like poster boy poses. Helen is hot though as she’s supposed to the beautifuliest in the world. All in all, I’d say wait for the DVD to come out.

Big Fish is a story about stories. Larger than life stories that stretch your mind and expand your vision of truth. It tells it in such a way that what is true, becomes unreal. You question reality and truth. It tells of a story that is larger than life but you learn it’s not that large. It is a good thinking movie. But more importantly, there were the Christian aspects of it.

There were many good lines in the movie. It talks about goals and desires. It emphasizes hard work and dedication. In the beginning of the movie, the father is confronted with the option of knowing his death. If he sees how he dies, he will become fearful of his death. If he knows how he dies, he will become unafraid of all else. Profound thinking. Is this how we live our Christian life? We know where we’re going to end up. We know that what’s after this is better. There is something better coming. Are we afraid of getting there? Are we afraid of the bumps and bruises we may endure on the road to what is better? If you know how you’re going to die, would you be be afriad of anything else? You’d be invincible until then. I am invisible until the will of God is done in my life.

A goldfish can never become a become a big fish in a small environment. It needs a big place to become that big fish. The Big Fish needs the opportunity to rise up. It cannot become big while staying in a small place. This is so true for people. If we never push ourselves, we will never achieve. If we never stretch ourselves, we will never see how far we can reach. If we limit our experience, we can never become big. “If we allude hardship, greatness will allude us.” Combine these two view points and you have the recipe for an unbelievable life. You can try anything without fear. Expand your horizons. Know no limit. Live without fear.

Tell a story so much, it becomes real. It becomes who you are. You become the story. That was the leaving point of Big Fish. Maybe there was no truth to the story. Maybe there was. Maybe the Big Fish comes from a relativist, you can think up the truth. Imagine you’re walking down a road and you meet a stranger. You beginning talking and this stranger tells you all these riduculous unbelievable stories. Stories of people coming back to life, uncurable diseases being instantly healed, lame people walking, blind people seeing with a touch of the hand. Incredible, such things can’t happen. What happened if the stranger told you he himself was dead and had come back to life? Ridiculous. Absurd. There couldn’t be an ounce of truth. What if he ate dinner with you and then he vanished. Poof. Gone. Then what? Would you believe the rest of the stories? If the food you fed him had disappeared, you had shook his hand, you heard his voice, saw his form, smelled his presence, would you deny his existence? Would that give credibility to his story? Tell a story so much, it becomes real. It becomes who you are. You become the story. But keep the story fresh and it’s awe inspiring. Keep the story new and it’s exciting. Don’t let the story become old hat, then it loses it’s flavor. It loses the reality.

Hopkins and Hidalgo win the race. However, I think the movie would be MUCH better if they had come in second or even third and I’ll support this reasoning. The reason why Hopkins was invited to the race was because he claimed to be the best long distance racer in the world. He was the best in the US but has not competed in the Ocean of Fire, a 3,000 mile race across the Sahara. Well, the reason for him to race was to prove his greatness against the fine breed of Al-hattel (sp?) So anyways, he’s not in the race for the cash, though it is a nice sum of 100k USD which a lot back then. So he enters the race and all the Arabians wish him dead. They don’t think he can make it. Everyone’s against him except for a girl which adds stupid love to the story. So Hopkins SHOULD be racing for pride and for survival. Really, he shouldn’t even be able to finish the race. It’s like a month long race through the desert, he shouldn’t be able to survive let alone win the race. It should be more dramatic that he survives. Everyone’s shocked that he even makes it halfway. He nearly gives us maybe 1 mile from the finish line. He perseveres with the hallucinations of his ancestors and encouragement from another rider. It should be more impressive that a man finishes the race, rather than wins it besides the fact that’s it predictable that he wins it. I believe that him winning just adds the the American pride. We think we’re the best. Everything that we put into our minds must feed our insasitable ego. The guy goes across the Atlantic to a place far away to a land where he’s never been and conquers the elements better than those who have already traveled it before. Get real. This could be like Rocky good. Rocky doesn’t win in his first movie. Why’s the movie good then? Because it’s about a man who makes something of himself.

Another subplot was Hopkins finding himself. He’s half Native American and hides it most of the time. He identifies with the Native Americans but does not truly embrace that side of himself. In this race, he discovers who he is. A side of the movie that should have been built up more. As his name of Far Rider (which doesn’t just refer to the fact that he rides far races, but that he rides far to finds himself) describes, he’s come along why and through this race, finds himself and develops his character. This part was ignored largely with a passing reference to the girl calling him Blue Child at the end of the race and him holding his Native American good-luck-charm-symbol flag. Him losing would place larger meaning to him not just racing to win but to find himself.

This movie had the potential to be great. America needs to understand that the underdog does not always need to win to make for a great story. Hidalgo losing would place more emphasis on the major themes and developments that the movie is building. Besides, it keeps the viewer on their feet to *surprise* see the protagonist lose instead of win. I’d rather see some serious thought and character development than a feel-good I win against one million odds predictable movie.