"Courageous" shows us Kendrick Bros. have made it in Cinema....

Kendrick, pictured here in a scene from "Courageous"

Well, they did it.

With all of Hollywood laughing in their faces, critics tearing their films apart and the audience baffled at how such a poor quality movie appeals to them, they did it.

The Kendrick Brothers have made a worthwhile film.

Now this will not be the review that Alex Kendrick will frame and hang in his church office or Stephen will place next to his computer (It wasn't a PERFECT movie), but it's their best film so far. It has all the dreadful trademarks of a Sherwood Pictures flick: Uninteresting opening shots (this one was bad even for them, it was like wathcing a youtube home video at first), abrupt plunge into the story, acting that makes you cringe every 5 minutes and Kendrick's direction is less than stellar. But they somehow find a way to distract you from all that yet again (and with only a $2 million budget. I might add, which still foils my mind!) I think they have found their niche with providing Christian-themed stories (filled with preachy lectures and over-emphazised themes) nestled safetly in the hold of exciting action sequences and cool effects. They present yet another movie christians can go to without feeling embaressed at the box office.

First they harken back to the audiences that raved for "Remember the Titans" and "Friday Night Lights" by playing on the High school football/rigors of school life plot in "Facing the Giants", then they cover the seldomly covered but painfully clear issue of pornography and it's effects on marriage built inside the life of Firefighters in "fireproof". Now they stick with the subject of public service by telling the story of 4 Cops in a small southern town in "Courageous". The story centers on Police Officers Adam Mitchell (Kendrick), Nathan Hayes (Ken Bevel), Shane Fuller (Kevin Downes) and David Thomson (Ben Davies) who come from different backgrounds and stations in life but all share in their day-to-day struggles with being a good father to their children and husband to their wives. They excel as Cops in keeping peace and curtailing crime on the streets, but many of them find they have little effect in their own homes. Later on in the story, Javier Martinez (Robert Amaya) a down-on-his-luck construction worker adds a "non-law enforcement" Character to the plot, but stuggles to find a share with the 4 leads in the main stream of the story. One day Mitchell, whose shortcomings as a father are made very apparent come to hurt him when his young daughter Emily (portrayed by an adorable and delightful Lauren Etchells) is killed in a drunk driving accident, tearing Mitchell and his family apart and putting even more strain on his relationship with his already estranged teenage son Dylan (Rusty Martin). Mitchell comes to the decision that he must make a conserted effort to play a larger role in his son's life and be an example to other men to follow in his footsteps and become the fathers that children grow up to revere as true men of character and strength.

I'll start with the negatives that i didnt mention above: first of all, is Javier a Main Character or not? Most would assume that because of the amount of the story devoted to him and the integral part he plays in the rest of the lead's plots, he is. But, he's not included in the movie posters, we stumble onto him after the first 20 minutes of the movie and you're not sure why they have him in a movie about Cops and living a life as a father/Cop. The only reason I can come up with is they didnt want the movie to be labeled "Another shoot 'em up, good cop/bad cop story that is pervasive in movies and is downright cancerous in Television! Another negative is the role the wives play in their husband's lives. They add banter scenes and all but only Javier's wife adds story and depth to his story. The biggest disappoitment is with the ex-girlfriend of Thomson, who he abandonded after an unplanned pregnancy occurs. Hints and signs of a reunion and possible reconciliation are apparent, but in the end that entire part of the story falls flat on it's face and nothing is resolved or answered. But for all it's faults, the movie is overall a big success and a big step foward for the Kendricks. The special effects and action sequences are top notch and rival any action film, the cinematography gets better as the movie progresses and the story has such a great message of revival of fatherhood and a nostalgic look at what fathers really thin of their kids. This will be a movie that will stay close to the dvd players for years to come and is a benchmark for christian filmmakers can literally shoot for.

Oscar Predictions for 2011!!!

So the time that all moviegoers love is here, the Oscar weekend!!! The gamour will be flashing, champagne will be flowing and hundereds of movie professionals will be dying to hold "Oscar" at the end of the night. This year is unlike most any other in recent memory because, almost every major category is well-contested, VERY. I'm not very sure with any of the picks I have as in years past. Most times you'll hear people like me say, "Well, the academy couldn't get away with NOT nominating that person or film, but it won't win." Not the case this year! Ok, so without further adieu, here's my predictions for the 83rd Annual Acedemy Awards!

Best Picture: The King’s Speech. This film is my baby for this year’s
Oscars; it just had that special balance between artistic beauty and
masterful storytelling. I have it winning another 5 Awards and ending
up the big winner of the night however, you could make an argument for
every film nominated for this honor; it’s too bad 9 films have to lose. The
dark horses for this award are both Winter's Bone (with the support of
diehard indie film fans I'm sure.) and "The Social Network" which suprisingly
stole the show at the Golden Globes. I even could see the summer smash hit
sequel Toy Story 3 winning, even though it is only the third Animated film to
be nominated for Best Picture (Beauty and the Beast and last year’s Up being
the other two.) But the King's speech is not only a historical epic, but a BRITISH
historical epic plus with a star-studded cast and fine directing, it's just enough for
a landslide victory.

Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech. Oh dear Colin has gotten
so, so close to winning an Oscar and yet has fallen just short. But
this year he will get over the hump and finally win the most deserved
award for his portrayal of embattled but strong King George VI. This
is, yet another category in which any of the leading men nominated
could easily win, especially James Franco’s powerful performance in 127
Hours.

Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone. In only her 5th movie
made for the big screen, Jennifer Lawrence scores a performance for the
ages as rough and tough teen Ree Dolly in a film also with the ability
to win best picture. While many will lock in Natalie Portman’s creepy
and heart-wrenching role in Black Swan, I have to give it to Miss
Lawrence who, only 2 years ago was a supporting cast member on the
short-lived TBS sitcom, The Bill Engvall Show.

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter. Without a doubt,
Christian Bale gave us the best performance of the year by a long shot
with his gripping and sometimes haunting presentation of
Boxer-turned-crack head Dicky Eklund. The man goes from playing the
gigantic screen presence Batman in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight to
loosing almost 80 lbs and playing a smooth-talking, crack-addicted
dreamer who’s well past his prime. This is probably the only no-brainer
of the entire Awards.

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, The Fighter. Between Mark
Wahlberg’s quiet yet engaging character Mickey Ward and Christian
Bale’s pathetic but encouraging underachiever, Amy Adams brings a sort
of toughness to a Sports movie that I haven’t seen since Adrian Balboa
in the Rocky movies. She’s Charlene Fleming, a rough talking, hard
drinking barmaid who takes tips but no crap from anyone at all,
regardless of who they may be. A good mixture of tough individualism
and tender surrender to the love of a sensitive fighter, bravo Amy!

Best Director: Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit. Another category,
another neck-and-neck race for the statuary. Even though I and many
others I’ve talked to think nothing will ever compare to John Wayne’s
tour-de-force version of the incredible story, The Coen Brothers seem
to have a golden touch with their direction.
Tune in to ABC on Feb. 27th at 8p.m. for the 83rd Annual Academy
Awards, hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway who will be hosting
for the first time. Enjoy it and enjoy the movies!

"The Rite" scores big on effects, reasonable storyline

 

Anthony Hopkins delivers as Fr. Lucas Trevant, an unorthodox
Catholic Priest in the dark and dangerous ministry of
exorcism. Colin O'Donoghue costars

As the first movie to be reviewed on this blog, I think I chose a good one! The Rite, Starring Anthony Hopkins, Colin O'Donoghue, Alice Braga and Ciaran Hinds opened nationwide January 28th and I saw it yesterday. I was stunned from the very first frame of a quote by the late great John Paul II. Seeing this, I was under the impression that the church was in on the making of this film and that is evident throughout most of the film. O'Donoghue plays Michael Kovak, a disillusioned seminarian banging out a college education on the Church's dollar. The son of a Mortician, Michael sees the seminary as a means to escape the life of a Mortician-to-be. At the request of his superior, Michael travels to Vatican City to study for two months before he leaves the religious life. Skeptical and steadfast in the ways of the physical world, Michael is unmoved and downright aghast at the motives and the belief in Exorcism and Demonic forces taught by Father Xavier (Hinds) so he is referred to a Father Lucas (Hopkins) who is a real Exorcist who does daily exorcism rituals and healings daily in and around the City. Lucas takes Michael on as a sort of apprentice. What follows is a journey neither men will ever forget or remain the same after. The thing that struck me most about this film was the sharp diversion away from dozens of films like it, it doesn't TRY to scare you, it takes you on a fact-based journey that is scary whether you like it or not. With sound special effects and beautiful cinematography, the quality of the film is very apparent, along with wonderful performances by all, especially Hopkins. Now I know what you all are asking: Is it true to the Catholic faith? I would say it is at least 80% in line with all church teaching and I would even go so far as to say it teaches you things you wouldn't hear on Sunday in your parish. Besides, the ending is well worth the insulting undertones made by those around Michael and Michael's own lack of faith. But, with the given subject matter, Parents beware! I would suggest not letting anyone under 14 go, unless they are strong with the faith and then I would say 11 is pushing it. Great for young adults and middle-age Catholics. Overall I give the film by Mikael Hafstrom 4 out of 5 stars, well done all. It is 112 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for disturbing thematic material, violence, frightening images, and language including sexual references.