the-evil-cult

Today I watched Open Range. It was a pretty good movie. Many may not like it because it is a Kevin Costner movie (Costner seems to have many haters).

Open Range features a very explosive and action-packed climatic showdown near the end. Guns fire everywhere and bodies literally fly (which according to Mythbusters is not realistic). Before and after this showdown, the film develops the characters and plot. Free-graziers go through a town led by a tyrant whose men manage to kill one of them. Two of the free-graziers, played by Costner and Duvall, vow to head into the town and take down the tyrant to avenge the death of their friend. In true Western style, morality is settled by violence. However, in this Western, violence is used against the "state" and against the law, which goes against Biblical principles as well as putting the protagonist's actions into the realm of terrorism. Nevertheless, the American Constitution claims if government is corrupt then the people are to overtake it and that is why citizens bear arms.

To conclude, Open Range is a great movie. It is violent but there is nothing too gory, gruesome, or shocking. There is a romantic element to the movie attached, which is pleasant and satisfactory.

I am Legend is about a survivor of an infectious disease that has wiped out what seems like the entire human population. We look at the world from the eyes of Robert Neville (Will Smith) a virologist who has to cope with loneliness as he hunts for food and works on finding a cure in his underground laboratory. The symptoms of this infectious disease is aggressive, monster-like behavior.

I am Legend is a very anxious and suspenseful movie. This can be good or bad depending on what your preferences are. I was not happy with the number of times this film resorted to sudden bursts of sound. It may be an effective way to induce a reaction in the audience but it is cheap and manipulative. The MPAA gave this movie a PG-13, but I would caution parents about sending in little children because at times the movie is frightening. There is violence, loud gun fights, and blood. Many reviewers say the ending is poor, but I happen to think the ending is very creative and satisfying. All in all, a very good movie.

The Golden Compass takes place in what is described as a parallel world, so the rules of nature in this world is different to our world. In this world, an organization called the Magisterium threatens to dominate and gain a monopoly on truth. After they kidnap children, a young girl named Lyra goes off into the north to rescue them.

The special effects and imagery in this movie are very attractive. The story is a very interesting one, and the protagonist Lyra is played well by Dakota Blue Richards.

Like each Lord of the Rings movie, this movie is not complete. I did not realize this until after the movie ended. To have to watch another movie or read another book is disappointing. Personally I feel that a movie should be complete from beginning to end. This saves viewers the hassle of having to find every piece.

While watching the movie, many concepts are thrown in very quickly, many of which are confusing concepts about the nature of the parallel universe, for example, the daemons, as well as subplots like the fighting bears. These many things all thrown at you quickly can lead to confusion among viewers, especially for children. For me, it left me feeling detached from the movie.

Another criticism is the intensity of the movie. This is not a light movie as I expected. There is a lot of rough fighting, killing, and violence, and it is all performed with very loud music and sound effects. At the end of one scene involving fighting bears, a small child in the theater started screaming in fright.