Movie Reviews

My take on movies we've seen recently:

• Hancock - This is not your typical superhero movie. It shares the reactions and feelings of the people who have to clean up and pay for the destructive mess that a superhero causes when fighting for justice and saving others. Will Smith's superhero character carries more baggage than normal superheroes, and he is abrasive and rude. The movie has some language and is quite crude at times, but I liked this movie in the same way I enjoy the tv show House. However, I would not suggest this movie for children not yet in high school.



• Wall-E - Josh and the kids watched this movie while I was gone one night, so I watched it another night by myself. I was surprised at how deep it was and what a heavy message it had, IMHO much more so than kids' cartoon movies usually do. Although I liked it, it didn't really strike me as a movie for kids, not because of language or violence, etc., but because I thought it just wouldn't interest them. However, my kids really liked it and have been going around imitating robot voices and saying, "Waaaaaaaaaaaaall-E. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeve." Of course, the first half of the movie didn't have many lines anyway!



• Fireproof - I've heard so many good things about this movie, and I was looking forward to seeing it. From the glowing reviews I've read others write about the movie, I think I'm going to be in the minority. The movie had a wonderful message. I really liked its take on marriage being more than just romantic love and how it should reflect and portray God's self-sacrificing, unconditional love for us. However, I think the acting in Fireproof left something to be desired. With the exception of Kirk Cameron, many of the characters' acting abilities lacked believability which I felt was distracting at times. I do think Fireproof is a movie worth seeing, but you will have to ignore the sometimes-forced acting and concentrate on the message.



• Return to Me - I thought this movie started out slowly and disjointed. It did improve as it went on. The focus of the movie should have been on the young couple falling in love, but I felt the parts of the 4 old male friends were written and performed better and stole the show. I'd watch this movie again if it was on tv, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to watch it on DVD again.