Tag: movies

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The Dark Knight Rises

Yesterday, Michelle and I watched the third and last installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy. I am a big fan of Batman and of Nolan’s first two Batman films, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and it’s no different with this latest and lastest.

Gotham City is no longer the crime-ridden city it once was. Because of the Batman’s and the police’s effort, the organized criminals have been all but wiped out. However, due to the events in The Dark Knight, the Batman is Gotham’s most wanted and hasn’t been seen in years. Of course, he’s still there, in his Bruce Wayne persona, in his manor. And just when you thought he can’t get any more dark, brooding, and tormented, he is. Yes, Christian Bale remains the best Batman.

However, under the peace and order, in the sewers, in a veritable subterranean city-under-a-city, lies a growing threat. Led by a mysterious villain named Bane, an army is hard at work and growing in strength. Bane can’t really measure up to The Joker of Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight but he can certainly stand on his own. He seems to be a brute but reveals a quite sophisticated plot to destroy Gotham City.

Bane’s plot unfolds and eventually culminates in extreme mayhem as Bane and his army of criminals battle it out with Batman and his army of policemen. Think Transformers but a whole lot less convoluted. And if there’s anything better than real military hardware it is Batman’s gadgets.

Christopher Nolan’s Batman films were never your ordinary superhero movies. The story was definitely not simplified. The politics and social commentary is especially not something the average superhero “graphic novel” fanboy deals with on a daily basis. This is a serious film that just happened to be a superhero movie.

Rating: 5/5

 

 

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Soldier of God

Soldier of God takes place in the Holy Land during the time of the crusades. It takes off in the aftermath of the Battle of Hattin, probably the single, most disastrous defeat for the crusaders. René, a member of the Knights Templar was wounded during the battle, captured, and taken for ransom.

For those unfamiliar with history, the Knights Templar is a Christian military order that gained fame (and notoriety) during the Crusades. All members of the order take take vows of poverty, chastity, piety, and obedience. The knights of the order are practically warriors priests. In fact, they’re the elite troops among the crusaders.

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Underworld: Awakening

If I look back the past few years, I’d be hard-pressed to name an action actress more badass than Kate Beckinsale. Yes, the lead of romance movies like Serendepity and Pearl Harbor. Now, after a short absence, she’s back in the franchise that launched her action career.  She reprises her role as Selene, a vampire “death dealer” (that means exactly what it says). The story  is frankly ho-hum: The humans found out about vampires and lycans and, with the help of UV flashlights and silver bullets, set out exterminating them. Fast-forward 12 years later and Selene awakens from cryo-stasis, freed by a mysterious benefactor and soon after escapes from captivity. She later finds her liberator, not her mate as she expected, but her progeny. She also finds a world where humans are still vigorously hunting the remnants of the vampires but strangely less so the lycans. Digging through the mystery, she finds a powerful pack of lycans planning on harvesting her daughter as a source for biological fixer-uppers. That’s a big no-no and she proceeded to shoot and slice through the lycans in the coolest, most impossible, matter-of-fact way possible. Did I say Kate Beckinsale is badass? Hell, yeah!

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Fireproof

Today, I found myself again not knowing what to do. So I prayed for guidance and called my parents. We had a long talk about many things. I followed it up with research. Which somehow led me to the movie Fireproof. I remembered having it on my hard drive a long time ago. I checked and it’s still there! And so I watched.

It was uncanny, the similarity to my situation. You could change the names and certain details and it would be like it is about Michelle and me. There are many things to learn from the movie. But the top three for me are:

  1. Change begins with us. If we must wait for others to change before we do, then we can’t answer the question: When will they change? And maybe we never will. But if we take it upon ourselves to change, we can, we can do so now.
  2. Love is unconditional. We should not look for reciprocation. We should not stop loving because of rejection, or perceived rejection. The love of Jesus is for everyone, he gave his life for everyone, for those who accepts Him and those who rejects Him. So must we. I love Jeanne unconditionally but I was blind to the fact that I should love Michelle the same way.
  3. Marriage is a covenant. During the wedding, I vowed to be true to her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. To love her and honor her all the days of my life. It is how God intended it to be. And by making my vow, I made a commitment to her and to God. As soon as I saw this, I put back my wedding ring on and I resolved that though I have stumbled, I will pick myself up and I will strive towards how He intends it to be.

Fireproof is highly-recommended watch for everyone. Through it, God provided me guidance. I’m sure it will do the same for others, too.