Movie Review: The Identical

This is a story of twins, one of whom is adopted as a baby.  The story focuses on Ryan Wade, the son of a preacher (Ray Liotta).   Preacher Wade wants Ryan to follow in his footsteps, but Ryan has musical ambitions, and a great Elvis-like voice.  He continues to pursue his dream, and eventually finds his identity, in more ways than one.

The main themes are being true to yourself and forgiveness.  I was also  impressed with how respectful Wade was toward his parents.  

I found the story very entertaining, and attention-grabbing....I was eager to find out how it turned out and my patience was indeed rewarded with a very fitting and appropriate ending :)

I highly  recommend The Identical!

Acting KUDO's to Ray Liotta for a  great performance, and to the make-up crew for aging him and Ashley Judd over the years.

http://theidenticalmovie.com/

Movie Review: Prince of Persia - PG13

King Sharaman has two sons, Garsiv and Tus. He adopts Dastan as a boy because he is impressed when Dastan helps another boy in trouble. The real story begins 15 years later, when Dastan leads a successful invasion of a holy city, based on false information. It is at that point he acquires a special dagger that has the ability to turn back time, giving its owner great power.  Soon after, Dastan is framed for killing his father with a poisoned cloak.  His brother Tus becomes King.
Dastan must then flee until he can clear his name.  He is pursued by both of  his brothers and their army.  He is accompanied by Princess Tamina, from who tells him of the powers of the dagger, and how to use it. He is 'aided' by Sheik Amar, who threatens to turn him in for the reward, but actually helps him. Amar is somewhat comical, and one of the most entertaining scenes is the ostrich races he runs.

There was plenty of action, and the special effects were dazzling. As you might expect, the two standout actors were Ben Kingsley as Uncle Nizam and Alfred Molina as Sheik Amar. 

No content warnings.  There were no sex scenes, and no objectional language.

An excellent movie.

http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/princeofpersia/

Movie Review: The Tooth Fairy - PG

cross-posted from A Catholic View

Derek Thompson (Dwayne Johnson) is a hockey player who is known as the "tooth fairy" because he knocks out other players' teeth. He used to be an NHL player, but after a broken shoulder he was sent down to the minors to recover and is still there. After he dashes a little kid's belief in the "real" tooth fairy, he is sentenced to be a "real" tooth fairy for a week (which is later extended to two weeks) He has an invisible spray, amnesia dust (only erases the last few seconds of memory), and a magic wand.He even has a tooth fairy coach.

For a film that is simply entertainment, there's a lot going on in it. Derek can be self-centered and hurtful, but being the tooth fairy changes that somewhat. The whole idea of his "sentence" reminded me of both penance and purgatory. He has hurt a few people with his harsh words, but he is also able to atone for that by helping those people achieve their dreams.

There are no content warnings; this a very family-oriented movie.

A definite "must see"!

http://www.toothfairy-movie.com/

Movie Review: Law Abiding Citizen - R

cross-posted from A Catholic View

Warning:possible spoilers

Clyde Shelton and his family are the victims of a home invasion, and his wife and daughter are killed. It is understandable that he would seek revenge against the guys who did it, and it is also understandable that Clyde is angry when the DA has to make a deal with one to obtain his testimony against the other. At first, Clyde is a sympathetic character, but when he decides to target the ADA and others in the criminal justice system, he becomes irrational and as such, is just another killer.

A very engaging plot, and lots of action. Not a dull moment. I really enjoyed the movie and recommend it.

Content Warnings: During the initial attack on his family. there is a rape. The full attack is not shown, but it is clear what is occurring. As you can tell by the previews, there is plenty of violence, particularly explosions. The goriest murder, including torture, is shown in the first half. There is offensive language, in particular the F word is used quite a bit.

http://www.lawabidingcitizenfilm.com/

Fr Barron on the Christ figure in "Grand Torino"(spoiler alert)