I’ll be straight up, with that title – I couldn’t decide between a Fast 5 and a Star Trek V (awful film), so I went with The Land Before Time…an amazing film that spawned a 13-sequel musical franchise for kids where our heroes end up in sharp-tooth territory, sing loudly about being afraid…and don’t end up dead. I get it, it’s for kids, but man, the first film – the non-musical set the bar really high, everything after was rubbish. But I digress, onto the post!
News broke yesterday that Steven Spielberg will be directing a movie for Warner Brothers based on DC’s Blackhawk (a property I know next to nothing about), but is focused on a team of fighter pilots (lead by Blackhawk) and takes place during World War 2. I won’t lie, I am VERY interested in this. Spielberg is a great film-maker and excels at the fantastical (amongst other things), and having that with a World War 2 setting could be great entertainment. There are some broader questions – like does this connect to the DCEU (is there still a DCEU? WHAT IS GOING ON WARNER BROTHERS?!) or will it be its own thing? I don’t know how it could be connected outside of some cameos from Wonder Woman’s World War 1 team-mates, so perhaps a stand-alone might be better. Either way, until I see some bad news (or bad trailers), colour me interested!
This looks like a great popcorn movie. Giant Shark doing giant *movie* shark things? ✓. Jason Statham being Jason Statham when he can’t roundhouse kick(/destroy like 5 dudes on a basketball court) his foe? ✓. Rainn Wilson? ✓. Shark Week reference? ✓. Fun B-movie plot with a A-movie budget (that’s not sullying the great thing it came from)? ✓! But most importantly, doesn’t feature friggen sharks in or around tornado’s? ✓✓✓!!! I am in for this flick.
So this dropped on netflix recently without a huge amount of hype, and my incredible wife and I decided to give it a shot – and we ended up binging all 10 episodes over the weekend. Now my only comparison is the great bad movie from 1998 starring Joey, Thunderbolt Ross, Commissioner Gordon, and Gretchen Weiners, and I don’t know much about the original show – so I had no vested interest, it just looked like it could be a good sci-fi show. And it was. Except for Parker-Posey’s character (and so-so performance), who was misused and not well developed – that bogged the show down a little. The rest of it was really solid. Great performances from the cast (especially the dude playing Will), really solid story, good action, and great special effects and cinematography. The best part though was easily Robot. Robot won the dang series. I look forward to season 2 if there is one. Danger, Will Robinson.
So I saw this the other weekend with our buddy Matt (from Carboard Koinonia), and for the most part it’s a really enjoyable movie. However, I’ve heard some people say it’s a return to ‘classic Spielberg’, and I’d disagree. Without spoiling, I found that when the story was outside of the OASIS (the virtual reality where all the awesome nostalgia driven stuff happens) that the film lacked heart, and its message (if there is one) is small – which is not the case with classic Spielberg (Jaws, ET, Close Encounters, Hook, Jurassic Park all have a genuine heart). That’s not to say that stuff is bad, it just didn’t have the same ‘bite’ as the OASIS stuff did. But I’d still recommend this movie – heck, it features The Rex, King Kong, the Delorian, friggen MechaGodzilla (I fanboyed out at that), and a whole bunch of other references – how can’t I. It’s a very fun movie. It’s a really solid Spielberg movie too. Just not a ‘return to classic’ one.
I was gonna talk about Avengers Infinity War, but what is there to say? I’ve got my ticket, it looks excellent, and I really hope it delivers.
I’ve seen a bunch of discussions about the church come up online recently, and some going to ‘churches are bad and why do they need money’. While some churches and preachers have abused and twisted money (looking at you Creflo Dollar and the ‘prosperity’ movement), not all have done this. Heck, I’d say not most or even half. The church (both your local and Megachurches) does A LOT of good work my friends. The money goes towards running food and clothing banks, hot meal programs, drop ins, spaces for community programs, summer camps, community outreach, counselling, missions and missional outreach, and then the practical building costs (or if they don’t own, rent), AND paying staff. Heck, the church does a lot of non-money related work in food drives, partnering with local agencies, sending volunteers, supplies, and help when needed amongst many other things. A LOT of good work goes on in churches, and most do this as an expression of their faith (and not with the caveat of ‘I’ll do this if you let me preach at you). The Lord has been able to do so much good through the church, and praise be to Him for that.
Hope you enjoyed the post and that you’re having a wonderful week! God bless my friends!