replete with games, movies, books, and other guilty pleasures.
Slumdog Millionaire
I have to say I was a bit disappointed in Slumdog Millionaire. It’s not that it’s a bad film, it’s just that it didn’t live up to the hype of a whopping eight Academy Awards. I suppose I should be happy to see that the American Academy would appreciate a film like this, but man, it must have been a poor year for movie . . .
The Duchess
You get what you would expect from Knightley — a good performance of the sort she excels at; but Fiennes impressed me more. I never really felt any chemistry between the Duchess and Charles, and that basically undermined everything for me.
Rocky Balboa
Heartfelt trip into the nostalgia of the Rocky franchise; doesn’t really blaze any new trails, but still a compentent sequel even after all these years. (I thought the subtle glimpses of Mickey during the fight were a particularly nice touch.)
Bridge to Terabithia
It wasn’t the fantasy film you might expect from the advertisements; it was something much better. A film about friendship, dreams and dealing with loss. A must-see for anyone with kids six or older.
4 and a half stars (out of 5)
Passion of the Christ
I think there are two aspects to how people will think about this film: 1. As a film, and 2. As a representation of the Gospels/Jesus.
As a film, The Passion of the Christ is an astounding achievement. I think everyone who comes out of the theatre will say that they’ve simply never seen anything like it. It’s not just a movie &# . . .
Braveheart
An absolutely perfect film. With action and romance perfectly blended, it has something for everyone, like the classics of old.
5 stars (out of 5)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Beatiful and captivating film. Nice to see this style of martial arts brought into the mainstream — actually, this is what I had always imagined Force-weilding Jedi would fight like… too bad George Lucas didn’t hire this choreographer…
Shadowlands
A few years ago, I had the pleasure to correspond with Douglas Gresham. (FYI, Douglas is Joy’s son — thus C.S. Lewis step-son — played by Joseph Mazzello in this film.) I had recently seen Shadowlands, and so I asked Douglas how “true to life” the picture was. He told me that some details (dates, places) . . .