Coram Deo ~

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Category Archives: Movie Reviews

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The movie ratings are based on a number of criteria, including the message and worldview the film portrays, the overall quality of the film and acting, in addition to the amount of violence, sexuality and inappropriate language included. Be sure to go to www.kids-in-mind.com or www.pluggedinonline.com if you want a detailed breakdown of a movie’s content.


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My Review of the movie “LIVING”

Living, rated PG-13
***

I was not aware of this film until reading Brett McCracken’s annual article of his top films, on which Living was listed. Based on his recommendation, my wife and I decided to watch the film, and we were glad we did.
The film is a British drama English language adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 Japanese film Ikiru (To Live), which itself was partly inspired by the 1886 Russian novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy. Living was directed by Oliver Hermanus.   
Mr. Williams, played by Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest), is a senior London County Council bureaucrat in 1953 London. He lives a lonely life, taking the train to and from the city each day. He routinely sits at his desk in the Public Works department, surrounded by piles of paperwork. A group of women petition the council to have a site developed into a children’s playground. Williams’ newest employee Mr. Wakeling, played by Alex Sharp (The Trial of the Chicago 7), is assigned to accompany them with their petition from department to department, eventually ending up back at Williams’ desk, who adds the petition to his pile of paperwork, likely never to be addressed again.

All of this changes when Williams receives a terminal cancer diagnosis. He does not tell his son Michael or his daughter in law Fiona, who live with him, about the diagnosis. Instead, he withdraws half of his life savings and goes to a seaside resort town, where he meets Sutherland, played by Tom Burke, an insomniac writer. Sutherland then takes Williams out for a wild night on the town.
With that out of his system, Williams returns to London where he runs into a former team member Miss Margaret Harris, played by Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education), who took a new position at a restaurant while Williams was away. Slowly we see their friendship grow as the two take walks and dine in restaurants. At the same time, Williams is inspired to do good before he dies.
Nighy is excellent as Mr. Williams. He received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his performance. Kazuo Ishiguro also received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Content concerns include some drunkenness and exotic dancing.
Living is a well-acted film that shows how Rodney Williams was inspired to change his life for the better (though there is no mention of God), in the time he had left after a terminal cancer diagnosis.


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My Review of THE BOYS IN THE BOAT

The Boys in the Boat, rated PG-13
*** ½

The Boys in the Boat is a well-made inspirational film based on the best-selling book by Daniel James Brown. The film was directed by two-time Oscar winner George Clooney (Argo, Syriana). The screenplay was written by Mark L. Smith (The Reverant).
The film is set in 1936 during the depression. It focuses on the University of Washington Huskies eight-man rowing team. Coach Al Ulbrickson, played by Joel Edgerton (The Stranger), needs a winning season to keep his job. The best rowing team in the country will represent the United States in the Olympics to be held in Berlin in front of Hitler.
The film revolves around Joe Rantz, played by Callum Turner (Fantastic Beasts films). Jobs are hard to find. Turner lives in poverty, sleeping in an old car and patching holes in his shoes with newspaper, and doesn’t always have money for food. He is taking classes to be an engineer at the University of Washington. He has been on his own after being abandoned at age fourteen by his father. He barely has enough money to eat and if he doesn’t find a job soon, he will no longer be able to continue his college education, having fallen behind in paying his tuition.
Sitting behind him in his engineering class is Joyce, played by Hadley Robinson (Little Women). Joyce reminds him that he had a crush on her back in the fourth grade.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****
The film shows a growing romance between the two.
Joe hears about a way to get a job by making the eight-person rowing team at the university, so he and a friend go to the tryouts, which are physically grueling. Neither had any previous rowing experience, but Joe does make the team, which gives him a room and a job.
Peter Guinness plays George Pocock, the wise and likeable mentor and maker of the boats that the team will row.
The film takes us through a few of the team’s races, beginning with the battle against the University of California Bears. The junior team outperforms the varsity team, and the coach makes the controversial decision to use the junior varsity team, instead of the varsity team, in an important race. If things go badly in the race, it could cost Coach Ulbrickson his job.
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The film has themes of sacrifice, hard work, and teamwork. The film is given a PG-13 rating for some adult language, including the abuse of God’s and Jesus’s names.
None of the actors had any rowing experience prior to making the film. They trained for five months.
The film features a solid cast, with particularly good performances by Turner, Edgerton, and Guinness. It also features some excellent historically recreated settings, and period costumes.
The Boys in the Boat is an enjoyable, though slightly predictable underdog story that the entire family can enjoy, with the understanding that the film does contain some adult language.


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MOVIE REVIEWS and NEWS ~ My Review of WONKA

Wonka, rated PG
*** ½   

Wonka is the delightful musical comedy prequel to the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory film starring Gene Wilder (1971). The film tells the original story of Willy Wonka. Inspired by Roald Dahl’s Wonka books, the film was directed by Paul King (Paddington, Paddington 2), and the screenplay was written by King and Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2).
Willy Wonka is played by Oscar nominee Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name, Beautiful Boy). Willy’s mother, played by Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water, Blue Jasmine), tells him that every good thing started with a dream. Willy travels the world, spending seven years finding the best ingredients and perfecting his chocolate making craft. Now he has come to a great city to open his own chocolate shop.
The main villains in the film are three powerful chocolate business owners – Slugworth, played by Paterson Joseph, Prodnose, played by Matt Lucas, and Fickelgruber, played by Matthew Banton. The three control the chocolate making in the city as well as the corrupt police force, led by the chief of police played by Emmy winner Keegan Michael Key (Key and Steele). Continue reading →


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My Review of Surprised by Oxford

Surprised by Oxford, rated PG-13
** ½

This film, based on the 2013 book Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir, is the true story of Caro Drake, a young American woman who earns a scholarship to the University of Oxford for her postgraduate studies. Her goal is to earn her PhD in Romantic-era literature. Ryan Whitaker (son of the Christian music artist Michael W. Smith) directs the film. The film opened with a brief interview with the author (who appears in the film), and author and podcaster Annie Downs.
Caro, played by Rose Reid, has grown up without any religious faith. Her Mom is a Roman Catholic, and her father was arrested by the FBI when she was only eight. Early on at Oxford while with her friends, she meets Kent Weber, a Christian, played by Ruairi O’Connor, and misinterprets a message she sees pop up on his phone. After that, she wants nothing to do with him, though he continues to pursue a friendship with her. She has unmet longings and eventually agrees to his request to read C.S. Lewis’ book Surprised by Joy; we then see their relationship budding.  But between the growing relationship and her contemplation of the Christian faith, she is distracted from her studies and faces the possible loss of her scholarship. She dives back into her studies, but wisely accepts the counsel of Provost Regina Knight, played by Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey).
The film includes beautiful scenery of Oxford and the Cotwolds, both of which we visited in 2019. It is part love story and part Christian conversion story, though the film never really fleshes out her actual conversion. Most of the film moves along slowly, but then the film ends abruptly. It is well made and acted. Caro’s story has been compared to C.S. Lewis’ famous conversion nearly a century ago at Oxford. The film includes some PG-13 adult language and talk about sex.
The film was in the theaters for just two days. Hopefully it will be available on streaming soon.


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My Review of the Movie ~ The Essential Church

The Essential Church, rated PG-13
****

This documentary follows three pastors – John MacArthur from Grace Community Church in Los Angeles, and James Coates and Tim Stephens from Canada – as they refuse to suspend worship services during the COVID pandemic, and as a result face consequences from their respective governments (fines, imprisonment, legal action). The film was written and directed by Shannon Halliday.
The film shows that God, not the state (King, etc.) is the head of the church. It shows the hypocrisy of state and local officials ordering houses of worship to shut their doors while permitting – and at times participating in – destructive riots to sweep through major cities unchecked.
The film focuses on why Grace Community Church initially complied with the restrictions, and how Martyn-Lloyd Jones’ commentary on Romans 13 helped lead the elders to change course, and re-open. It follows the lawsuits leading to the church’s ultimate legal vindication. The film explores the struggle between the church and government throughout history, such as the Scottish Covenanters of the 17th century and the Great Ejection of 1662), and some of the people who sacrificed their lives for what they believed in. Continue reading →


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My Review of The Miracle Club Movie

The Miracle Club, rated PG-13
**

The Miracle Club is the story of three women that share an unhappy past, with secrets and regrets that go back forty years. The acting performances are strong, but overall, the film is heavy with sadness.
The film is directed by Emmy nominee Thaddeus O’Sullivan (Into the Storm, Shetland, Vera), and written by three-time Emmy nominee Joshua Maurer (Georgia O’Keeffe, And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge), Timothy Prager, and Jimmy Smallhorne.
The film is set in Dublin, Ireland in 1967. Two-time Oscar winner Maggie Smith (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, California Suite) portrays Lily. She still mourns the death of her nineteen-year-old son Declan, who drowned in the sea forty years ago. Lily and Eileen, played by Oscar winner Kathy Bates (Misery), are lifelong friends. They live in a close-knit neighborhood with their husbands. Continue reading →


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My Review of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One, rated PG-13
****

In the seventh, and latest installment of the Mission Impossible film series, based on the popular television series that originally aired from 1966 – 1973, Ethan Hunt, played by four-time Oscar nominee Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick, Magnolia, Jerry McGuire, Born on the Fourth of July), and his team have the mission of saving the world from an artificial superintelligence known as The Entity. This action thriller, though a little long at two hours and forty-three minutes, was nonetheless exciting from beginning to end. It’s my favorite film of 2023 thus far. However, we won’t know just how everything ends until Part 2 arrives in theaters June 28, 2024.
The film is directed by Oscar winner Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Top Gun: Maverick) and written by McQuarrie and Emmy winner Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers). The film’s release was delayed multiple times, ballooning the cost of the film to an estimated $290 million.
Continue reading →


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My Review of the Movie ~ Sound of Freedom

Sound of Freedom, rated PG-13
***

Sound of Freedom is based on a true story, and helps to grow awareness about the reality of the global sex trafficking industry. The film was directed by Alejandro Monteverde and written by Monteverde and Rod Barr.
The film is based on the true story of a Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard, played by Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ), and Founder and CEO of Operation Underground Railroad. Ballard, a father and husband, leaves his job at Homeland Security just ten months before earning a pension. Instead of catching pedophiles, as he has done 288 times before, he pursues a little brother Miquel, played by Lucás Ávila, and his sister Rocio, played by Cristal Aparicio, who have been trafficked, traveling to Mexico and Colombia.
Ballard is helped by Vampiro, a former cartel leader, played by Emmy nominee Bill Camp (The Night Of). Mira Sorvino plays Ballard’s wife Catherine.
Themes in the film include sacrifice, sexual abuse, sex trafficking, and hope.
Content concerns include a small amount of adult language, violence, and sexual situations (though nothing blatant is shown). Continue reading →


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My Review of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, rated PG-13
** ½

The fifth and final film in the Indiana Jones series, the first in fifteen years, and the first not directed by Steven Spielberg, features the soon to be 81-year-old Oscar nominee Harrison Ford (Witness), reprising his iconic role. The film was enjoyable, but lacked the spark to be more than just “OK”. The film was overly long at two hours and thirty-four minutes, and featured too many chase scenes that frankly began to get boring.
The film was directed by two-time Oscar nominee James Mangold (Ford v. Ferrari, Logan), and written by Jez Butterworth (Ford v. Ferrari, Spectre), John-Henry Butterworth (Ford v. Ferrari), David Koepp (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) and Mangold (Logan, Walk the Line). The movie looked great, and cost approximately $295 million to make. Continue reading →


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My Review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – Rated PG-13
***

The third, and possibly final Guardians of the Galaxy film is an entertaining and exciting film about friends willing to risk their lives to save one of their own. The film, which cost $250 million, is once again written and directed by James Gunn, who has left Marvel and is now running DC Comics.
Rocket, voiced by Bradley Cooper is the key figure in this film. We hear a lot about his origin story. As a baby, Rocket is a test subject for the High Evolutionary, played by Chukwudi Iwuji, who sees himself as a god-like figure who aims to create a perfect species to live in a perfect society called Counter-Earth. Rocket displays intelligence and aptitude beyond the other animals that have been created and the High Evolutionary wants him back.
The Guardians have established their headquarters on a rebuilt Knowhere. However, they are attacked by Adam Warlock, played by Will Poulter, a genetically-engineered super-being. During the attack, Rocket is seriously injured. He will soon die due to a kill switch that was embedded in him by the High Evolutionary. The Guardians decide that they have to travel to the Orgoscope, headquarters of the High Evolutionary’s company Orgocorp, in hopes of finding an override code to save Rocket. Continue reading →