More movies
Watched two movies this week that I thought I'd pass along . . .
My mother-in-law recommended Facing the Giants, a movie about a high school football coach who inspires his players through his faith in God. While it would be easy to dismiss this movie as just a religious flick, I think it's more than that.
Here's the skinny - Coach Grant Taylor is having a rough time of it. His football team hasn't had a winning season in 6 years. There's a bad smell in his house. His car keeps breaking down. And he and his wife, Brooke, have been trying to conceive for 4 years, with no luck. Then, he discovers that parents of his own football players are trying to get him fired. AND that HE'S the reason that he and Brooke can't conceive.
Grant starts praying. And God answers, telling him to start with his football team and "bloom where he's planted." So Grant does. And things start happening. A new truck makes its way into Grant's life. He and his wife remove a dead animal under their house that's causing the smell. The team starts winning. Etcetera, etcetera.
OK, now I know this sounds a little too pat. But it works. Why? Because the movie shows just how dramatic faith can be.
Some caveats - While the actors playing Brooke and Grant Taylor are good, most of the rest of the cast clearly has little performing experience. The film could have benefitted ALOT from a more seasoned cast. Also, you can tell that the director is new to feature film. Some of the shots didn't work, particularly the scenes where Grant reads the Bible aloud (to himself) and prays aloud. I think that perhaps showing the words, having him praying to himself without hearing every word, etc., would have worked better here. Prayer is something very personal, and I realized while watching the movie that we RARELY see depictions of people praying on film (other than the, "Please God don't let him die," variety).
Of course, there were some stilted moments as well. Another faculty member at the school comes to get him to show him what is happening on the football field. The faculty member launches into some rather lengthy explanations to bring both Grant and the audience "up to speed." I remember thinking, "Dude, this is a MOVIE. Don't keep trying to TELL us stuff. SHOW US. We're smart enough to figure it out."
All of that said, though, this is a very moving film. I really enjoyed it, and I think it demonstrates the power of faith in film. You CAN make a compelling, entertaining, dramatic, artistic movie about faith. Now, where are all of them, people?
The second movie I watched was Wild Hogs, which was throughly entertaining. Smart casting on this film - each actor brings something very different (and a different audience) to the core group of four guys who hit the road on their motorcycles for a middle-age-crisis trip. No wonder it did pretty well at the box office. Martin Lawrence and Tim Allen provide the "comedian" power, and Bill Macy and John Travolta have acting cred.
The movie tells the story of Doug (Allen), Dudley (Macy), Woody (Travolta), and Bobby (Lawrence), four friends who get together on the weekends to ride motorcycles. Due to various things going on in each of their lives, the guys decide to take a 2,000 mile road trip to the coast together. On the way, they cement their friendships, learn more about each other and themselves, et. al.
This was a fun ride. While the plot itself is no dynamo, the characters (and the way the actors portrayed them) made it worth watching. When Woody "accidentally" blows up a biker bar, Travolta's freak-outs are pretty dead on. Macy is, as always, soooo true.
A fun family flick. Break out the popcorn for this one.
My mother-in-law recommended Facing the Giants, a movie about a high school football coach who inspires his players through his faith in God. While it would be easy to dismiss this movie as just a religious flick, I think it's more than that.
Here's the skinny - Coach Grant Taylor is having a rough time of it. His football team hasn't had a winning season in 6 years. There's a bad smell in his house. His car keeps breaking down. And he and his wife, Brooke, have been trying to conceive for 4 years, with no luck. Then, he discovers that parents of his own football players are trying to get him fired. AND that HE'S the reason that he and Brooke can't conceive.
Grant starts praying. And God answers, telling him to start with his football team and "bloom where he's planted." So Grant does. And things start happening. A new truck makes its way into Grant's life. He and his wife remove a dead animal under their house that's causing the smell. The team starts winning. Etcetera, etcetera.
OK, now I know this sounds a little too pat. But it works. Why? Because the movie shows just how dramatic faith can be.
Some caveats - While the actors playing Brooke and Grant Taylor are good, most of the rest of the cast clearly has little performing experience. The film could have benefitted ALOT from a more seasoned cast. Also, you can tell that the director is new to feature film. Some of the shots didn't work, particularly the scenes where Grant reads the Bible aloud (to himself) and prays aloud. I think that perhaps showing the words, having him praying to himself without hearing every word, etc., would have worked better here. Prayer is something very personal, and I realized while watching the movie that we RARELY see depictions of people praying on film (other than the, "Please God don't let him die," variety).
Of course, there were some stilted moments as well. Another faculty member at the school comes to get him to show him what is happening on the football field. The faculty member launches into some rather lengthy explanations to bring both Grant and the audience "up to speed." I remember thinking, "Dude, this is a MOVIE. Don't keep trying to TELL us stuff. SHOW US. We're smart enough to figure it out."
All of that said, though, this is a very moving film. I really enjoyed it, and I think it demonstrates the power of faith in film. You CAN make a compelling, entertaining, dramatic, artistic movie about faith. Now, where are all of them, people?
The second movie I watched was Wild Hogs, which was throughly entertaining. Smart casting on this film - each actor brings something very different (and a different audience) to the core group of four guys who hit the road on their motorcycles for a middle-age-crisis trip. No wonder it did pretty well at the box office. Martin Lawrence and Tim Allen provide the "comedian" power, and Bill Macy and John Travolta have acting cred.
The movie tells the story of Doug (Allen), Dudley (Macy), Woody (Travolta), and Bobby (Lawrence), four friends who get together on the weekends to ride motorcycles. Due to various things going on in each of their lives, the guys decide to take a 2,000 mile road trip to the coast together. On the way, they cement their friendships, learn more about each other and themselves, et. al.
This was a fun ride. While the plot itself is no dynamo, the characters (and the way the actors portrayed them) made it worth watching. When Woody "accidentally" blows up a biker bar, Travolta's freak-outs are pretty dead on. Macy is, as always, soooo true.
A fun family flick. Break out the popcorn for this one.
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