A Thousand Words (2012)***

After a magical Bodhi tree shows up in Jack McCall’s yard he must find out how to find inner peace before it sheds all of it’s leaves.

Worldview  2/10

The world view of this movie is derived from Buddhist philosophies. The most prominent manifestation of their religion is the tree itself. The Bodhi Tree  was a sacred fig tree located at Bohd Gaya in India. It was the location that Budha achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi. This tree is a frequent destination for Buddhist Pilgrims.

Bodhi, in Buddhism, is the experience of “awakening” or “enlightenment.” In Early Buddhism, bodhi carried a meaning synonymous to nirvana, using only some different metaphors to describe the experience, which implies the extinction of raga (greed, craving), dosa (hate, aversion) and moha (delusion). In the later school of Mahayana Buddhism, the status of nirvana was downgraded in some scriptures, coming to refer only to the extinction of greed and hate, implying that delusion was still present in one who attained nirvana, and that one needed to attain bodhi to eradicate delusion:^[1]

When it came to the apex of the film I was hoping that there would at least be a positive life change, even if it lacked a positive worldview. And yet, there was no basis for forgiveness or genuine change. It was a very disappointing moral arc. The great moment of change never really came. And the climax, because it had no basis, felt anything but genuine.

The language and sexual references were grotesque and uncalled for. The script not only could do without them, but it would have been a much stronger and more genuine film.

Other dangerous worldview elements include the concept of having a spirit guide, Creating one’s own destiny, and finding yourself in quietness or meditation.

Content 3/10

This was one that was not only inappropriate for children, but inappropriate for adults. There was a boat load of language that in context was supposed to be funny? Sexual references were scattered throughout and I skipped a scene that was obviously heading in the wrong direction. There are no redeeming qualities, and I regret having wasted my time on this one.

Technical 4/10

Not only did it lack a good worldview and was full of poor content, but A Thousand Words was just awefully executed. The writing lacked structure and foreshadowing. The scenes rarely flowed from one concept to the next. The acting was subpar, the editing was decent as well as the music, but the cinematography was less than could be desired. Overall it was less than mediocre.

Conclusion: Simple, don’t rent, buy or watch it. It was a waste of time and has practically nothing positive to offer. I’d love to have the time I spent watching it back.

As always, leave a comment below. Let me know what you thought of it. And stay tuned for next weeks review on Thor.

God bless,

Ryan

Forever Strong (2008)***** ****

Rick Penning(Sean Faris), a rugby player is sent to a juvenile detention center.  He is offered a chance to play rugby for the Highland Rugby team his former rivals.  It all comes down to the National Championship where he plays against his former team for the title.

When it comes to faith based, Christian films there is often an amateur quality about them that distracts from the overall picture.  But Forever Strong does not suffer from this stereotype.  It is a fantastic feature film that is engaging, inspiring, and filled to the brink with positive messages.

Worldview 9/10

There is clearly a Christian worldview at the center of this movie.  It may not recite scripture, but rather demonstrates the Word of God in action.  The writer, David Pliler, understands the art of scriptwriting and teling the story through pictures rather than lengthy dialogue.  There are many redeeming qualities to this film.   One of the most prominent themes is the focus on being a man of character on and off the field.  It’s an idea that plays out in ethics, service, self-control and numerous other attributes that compose one’s character.

There is also a strong emphasis on family.  The importance of heritage, honor and a respect for ones family that inspires an individual to do his best to respect ones family.

In the middle of the movie a philosophical idea is presented about the nature of individuals.  The coach, Larry Gelwix(Gary Cole), says, “God doesn’t Make a no good anything.”  There is both a truth to this statement as well as a pitfall.  The truth is that what God created was indeed very good.  God acknowledges this fact many times throughout the word of God.  The value of the image of God that is placed into the DNA of every human being is one that gives value to mankind.  We are truly sacred creatures created by a holy God.  And it is this image that encourages manners and respect for each other.  However, the pitfall is to believe that the natural tendency of man’s choices is towards good.  Although we are stamped with the image of God, man is a fallen creature and therefor our natural inclination is towards the desires of our heart which is towards sin.  And it is generally a harder choice to take the moral high ground because of this barrier.

The last element that I want to share from this film is the element of forgiveness.  There was a moment in the film that almost brought a tear to my eye.  It was a beautiful moment of genuine forgiveness that touched me deeply.  Forgiveness, when authentic, inspires one of the most powerful forces of emotion that I know of.  And I believe that true forgiveness can only be found in freedom given through Christ’s goodness.

Content 7/10

There is very little objectionable or graphic content.  There are a few scenes with underage drinking, a fist fight, and a car accident and death that may be too thematic for youngsters.  But the context and perspective the director gives to the content is one that sheds light into the evil deeds of men and encourages morality and Godliness.  It demonstrates the gravity of death, the consequences of pride, the rewards of honesty, and the honor of integrity.

Technical 8/10

The coloring and creative use of shots by Cinematographer T.C. Christensen tells a great story.  I especially enjoyed the symbolisms used in the dawn shot to move the story forward towards hope and new beginnings as well as symbolism found in the long shots focusing on loneliness and the underwater pool shot establishing a sense of reflection and deep thought.  The script was somewhat predictable but so well crafted that it was engaging and full of great moments at each plot point.  Also notable is the acting from Sean Faris, who had a very demanding role.  The rest of the cast was great as well and there were no weak links to speak of.  altogether it was technically very well done.

Conclusion:

This is an absolutely fantastic movie and I would recommend it to everyone.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope that those who get a chance to see it will also enjoy the same experience I had.  Check it out on Netflix, you’ll be glad you did.  Then let me know what you thought about it by leaving a comment below.  Thanks guys and stay tuned for another review next week.

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The Way (2010)****

Synopsis: The Way is Emilio Estevez’s(Writer and Director) unique story of Thomas Avery.

“Martin Sheen plays Tom, an American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son (played by Emilio Estevez), killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking the Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James. Rather than return home, Tom decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage to honor his son’s desire to finish the journey. What Tom doesn’t plan on is the profound impact the journey will have on him and his “California Bubble Life”. Inexperienced as a trekker, Tom soon discovers that he will not be alone on this journey. On his journey, Tom meets other pilgrims from around the world, each with their own issues and looking for greater meaning in their lives”1

1. Technical Excellence 6/10 Stars

When it comes to technical excellence The Way is far from extraordinary.  Although it received a nomination for its adaptation of Emilio Estevez’s book, it was a rather common screenplay with, according to my opinion, a week ending that left you longing for some sort of final explanation.  The music (Tyler Bates) was solid and featured some rather good montage music including a song from the talented band Coldplay.  The Acting (Martin Sheen, Deborah Kara Unger ) was overall very genuine and the characters had a good depth and arc in their stories.  The roles were not very demanding so it is difficult to say that any of their performances really stood out.  And yet they did the characters justice and did a very good job telling the story.  The Cinematography was above averaged but suffered from what seemed to be poor lighting on many of the scenes.  But what it lacked in cinematography it made up for in Editing.  With several great transitions and careful cutting the editor (Raul Davalos) created the perfect balance of pacing and brought the story to life.  Overall the technical aspects were just above average.

2. Worldview 4/10 Stars

The worldview of The Way is very Catholic in nature.  Even though the characters are essentially Atheistic and hold to Secular Humanistic ideas, the journey is a Catholic tradition and reveals much of the beliefs of the Catholic religion.  For instance at one point on their journey they deliver these stones to a pile at the foot of a cross.  And Tom says something to the effect.  “Lord count this token of my pilgrimage as a good deed so that at the judgement day my good deeds will outweigh my bad ones.”  It was a longer speech than that, but that was the gist of it.  Most Catholics believe in this idea of works based faith which is completely incompatible with the Bible and true Christianity.  The movie also talks about the idea of suffering and being poor in order to be proper pilgrims.  As far as I can tell, the Bible never calls a believer to suffer and be poor.  Rather God seeks to bless His children with joy and riches and abundance.  Just read the Psalms and proverbs and you will see a very different view from the suffering saint.  There are many other references that are Catholic that you should be weary of including some brief conversations about Miracles and the saints especially James.

On the actual characters worldviews you can see a Secular Humanist approach.  None of them believe in God, although Tom is an ex-Catholic.  They swear, smoke and drink like people of the world.  In fact almost every other scene includes alcohol or smoking.  Although there is nothing in the Bible that condemns the drinking of alcohol and is often praiseworthy of it, it does warn against the abuses of alcohol.  And in this movie there are a few abuses of alcohol which end Tom up in jail.  I will say this though, that in context it is rather negative towards his abuse of the alcohol.

There are, however, some very interesting statements that suggest a Christian worldview. And I would argue that any movie is based off of truths that can be found in the Bible.  Because logic and reason only exist in a world that  based on a perfect, inerrant God.  One of the positive elements in the movie is the discipline of children.  In a culture saturated with the idea that any kind of punishment is abuse, this was a breath of fresh air.  It is shown that by discipline Tom has grown to have a healthy attitude towards women when it comes to not hitting them.  And that a culture can redeem itself through discipline wrong and setting a good example by doing what is right.

There are various statements that are scattered throughout the movie that provide interesting insight to life and a skewed perception of life.  “Religion has nothing to do with this, nothing at all.”  This statement by a gypsy is very interesting because it assumes that an action can be a-religious or without religion.  Most Christians would hold that statement is untrue.  It was said well by Paul “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”  That statement assumes that you are either doing it for God or something else.  Either way it’s religious.  For if you are doing it for God then you are acting within the Christian religion.  If you are doing it for man you are clearly acting within the religion of humanism.  And if you are doing it for the collective spirit of mankind you are acting within a pagan religion.  So to say that an action is not religious seems to be an incorrect statement.  “Our Children they are the very best and the very worst of us.”  This is another quote from the gypsy. This quote rings true.  Children will indeed take after their parents.  It is a great reminder to parents and anyone of influence to make sure that they are being not just good or positive role models, but the best that they can be through the power of Christ.

3. Content 4/10 stars

This movie suffers from a common message about parents and children.  And that is that the parent doesn’t know much of anything about life and has unrealistic expectation of the child.  And that the child is free and unshackled to follow the heart and is experiencing the best of life.  This message is so prevalent in society that it’s no wonder we have such a rebellious epidemic.  And movies like this one are not helping the cause.

The movie in general is surprisingly clean when it comes to explicit sexual and violent content.  It does have certain implicit sexual content when it suggests that some of the characters are only wearing robes and in a scene where you assume that they are covering for each other when they are relieving themselves on the side of the trail.  The thing to watch out for is their use of language.  Several times the take the name of the Lord in vain, which is the worst language one can use.  And on numerous occasions they flippantly throw out a cuss word.

Conclusion:

Overall I would say that this movie was a waste of my time.  It’s not the worst movie you will find out there.  But for the few positive elements there is a lot of garbage to sort through.  I would recommend looking for better more redemptive works of art and entertainment.  But if you’re looking for an interesting Catholic/Secular/Humanist movie with an ok storyline then maybe this is the movie for you.

1. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441912/