Rescue Heroes

Today was a rainy day, so we took out the two boxes of rescue heroes that our landlords left for the boys. They spent all day playing and having adventures with these funny friends. I was glad that they could entertain themselves for so long!

Amused

WALL•E (2008)


Director: Andrew Stanton

MPAA Rating: G

What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, WALL*E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL*E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, WALL*E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets an adventure into motion. Joining WALL*E on his journey across the universe is a cast of characters including a pet cockroach and a heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots.

What can I say, it's Pixar - they have topped themselves again. A great movie with a wonderful loves story. It is by far my favorite the company has made so far. Wall*E has kept the humor and charm of other Pixar films, has taken the technical aspects to a new dimension, and has a grand story line to boot. And it is all accomplished with a minimum of dialogue. The only mark against this film is that it was a tad green-preachy towards the end of the movie, but not enough to leave a sour taste. Nonetheless, it is inspiring and hopeful. Will see again as soon and as often as I can...

Knudegaard Rating:
9 out of 10

Amused

The Kite Runner (2007)


Director: Marc Forster

MPAA Rating: PG-13

An unlikely friendship develops between the son of a wealthy Afghan businessman and a servant to the boy and his father. During a tournament, an unspeakable event changes their relationship forever.

Strong and powerful drama, with a window into prejudice, hate and redemption. Good script, nice acting and nice directing. A film with disturbing concepts and twisted ideas takes the viewer along the ride from 1970s Afghanistan to 1980s America - then back to early 2000s Afghanistan. If Shakespeare was a muslim generation-X South-East Asian, he might have concocted something like this. A film worthy of a look, but quite harsh to watch...

Knudegaard Rating:
6 out of 10

Amused

Evan Almighty (2007)

Director: Tom Shadyac

MPAA Rating: PG


with Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman and Lauren Graham

Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) is a Buffalo newscaster who was just elected to Congress. His slogan was to "Change the World". He moves his family to Virginia to start his new life. What Evan doesn't know is that his world was about to change. Evan prays for guidance in his new house and the next morning he begins to encounter strange things. First his alarm clock goes off at GEN 6:14, and then he finds a house warming gift, a box filled with old tools, at his front door. The next weird thing is a truck load of wood is delivered to Evan's house. Finally, God (Morgan Freeman) appears to Evan, and commands him to build an Ark just as Noah did before him, and fill it with animals to protect them against the coming flood. Evan believes he is under a lot of stress and that is causing him to go a little crazy. So it takes a little persuasion from God to get Evan to build an Ark.

It is a comedy about faith, hope and endurance - About listening and obeying God when everything tells you otherwise. God doesn't fail or falter, nor does His promises. The character of Steve Carell is bewildered, bullheaded and agnostic. God shows him sometimes gently, and sometimes harshly what His will is, and that He cares. Baxter is transformed into a person of deep purpose and strong convictions. No one believes in him, not even his own family - Evan continues his effort to build the Ark, and warns of the pending flood, even when he is suspended from Congress, ridiculed by the press, and ostracized by his own flesh and blood.

But God shows them bit by bit what faith is all about: "God: Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?"

The film is peppered with humor and wonderful one-liners, and is just as funny as most of the previous Shadyac creations. The script is written by Steve Oedekerk, an exquisite comedy veteran and creative scriptwriter. It is the chemistry between him, Tom Shadyac and Steve Carell that gives this project its elongated comic breath and believability. Put all the humor aside: despite being a sequel, this movie can hold its own - and has a stronger message than even Liar, Liar or Bruce Almighty. It is highly entertaining, but has some mildly crude language and humor. A younger crowd might not pick any of that up though. Evan Almighty is funny with a purpose, and definitely worthwhile...

Knudegaard Rating:
7 out of 10

Amused

The Bucket List (2007)


Director: Rob Reiner

MPAA Rating: PG-13

with Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman and Sean Hayes

Corprate billionaire Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) and working class mechanic Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) have nothing in common except for their terminal illnesses. While sharing a hospital room together, they decide to leave it and do all the things they have ever wanted to do before they die according to their bucket list. In the process, both of them heal each other, become unlikely friends, and ultimately find the joy in life.

The Bucket List is a quite charming movie where both Freeman and Nicholson get to show what they are made of. The characters are solid, the plot is engaging, and the overall tone is good. It is a story about regaining lost potential, and sucking the marrow out of life - not just for yourself, but for those around you. It handles the drama of life, death, personal crisis and fulfillment in unique way. The first act is a bit slow, but when the characters have established the motive for the film it picks up. The topic of faith is also brought up, and even though we do not see a transformed attitude in that area, faith is not ridiculed or undermined. Not a small feat for a secular Hollywood production. Set the foul language aside, the movie is worth while the watch.

Knudegaard Rating:
7 out of 10

Amused

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)


Director: Steven Spielberg

MPAA Rating: PG-13

with Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen and Shia LaBeouf

In a post World War II era, the Nazis have been defeated and the West faces the new threat of Communism. For Indiana it gets personal when he is kidnapped by the KGB and brought to a secret US storage facility to locate an autopsied alien body from a UFO crash. Reluctantly the epic hero finds what the foreign agents are looking for. Despite the obligatory betrayal and big guns, Indiana escapes from the Soviets and even bigger trouble. Because of government suspicion Indiana gets fired from his teaching job, and feels forced to leave the country. But before his departure, Jones is approached by a Brandoesque post-pubescent who wants a word. Communists watch Professor Henry Jones when the young man brings him a coded message from an old colleague, Henry Oxley. It seems that Oxley has been entangled it a bit of trouble. Led by the brilliant Irina Spalko, the KGB's tail Jones and the young man, Mutt, to Peru. With Oxley's code, they find a legendary skull made of a single piece of crystal. If Jones can deliver the skull in its rightful place, all may be well; but if Irina takes it to its origin, she might gain powers that would endanger the West. The aging professor and young buck join forces with a woman from Jones's past to face the dangers of the jungle, the forces of the Soviet Union, and the supernatural.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is part of a franchise of movies that is built on the concept of the early weeklies: a roller coaster ride that takes you through highs and lows ups and downs at a fast pace with new unforeseen twists and turns. That was the expectation I had when stepping into the movie theater. With Spielberg at the helm, with producers Lucas, Kennedy, and Marshall behind it, and Ford as Indiana – I believed there would be nothing stopping the usual thrill ride. I started watching the film, and kept waiting for the story to begin – then the film was over. I came in for the big drop and was left with the bunny hill. Most of the ride was lackadaisical, and I had to suspend disbelief a lot to get engaged. It was Indiana Jones meets Back to the Future meets Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Ford is staring to show his age, and is reminiscent of a sixties John Wayne character – a slow moving target dodging bullets and arrows. He has lost some of his puppy-charm, but has made up for that loss in an improved acting performance. The movie is a bit dark for an Indiana Jones flick, and having the KGB for antagonists works, but the ideological difference between the good-guys and the bad-guys are not as defined as in the preceding films. Overall, not bad for an action adventure movie, but it should not really be considered in the same league as previous editions. Better luck next time…

Knudegaard Rating:
5 out of 10

Amused

The Wager (2007)


Director: Judson Pearce Morgan

Rating: PG

Michael Steele (Randy Travis) is ten days from the biggest night of his life - He has been nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. Achieving the height of career success, Michael is cast in the role of a lifetime as the lead character in a struggle between good and evil. When rumors about his morality and faith run rampant will he buckle to temptation or fight to walk the path of purity?

This is a film based on the concept of Job in a modern sense about a man trying to live up to the principles of Sermon on the Mount. He has everything, but loses just about all trying to get to grips with reality. Great in concept, but wanting in execution. It is obvious that the movie is well intended, but it can be a bit hard to follow at times with the motivation of the characters often absent. The Wager would have benefited from a couple of more script overhauls as the story is dragging its feet for action, and coming to resolution unproportionally quick. The actors do well throughout, and the editing is quite decent. Cinematography could need a boost for sure. But not bad, I could see what they wanted to achieve with the picture. I will likely see it again, and God bless the filmmakers for trying to accomplish an A-list drama in Hollywood about Hollywood. We need more Christian movies with ambition!

Knudegaard Rating:
6 out of 10

Amused

Bella (2006)


Director: Alejandro Gomez Monteverde

MPAA Rating: PG-13

One Day Can Change Your Life.

An international soccer star is on his way to sign a multi-million dollar contract when something happens that brings his career to an abrupt end. José is now a cook at his brother's restaurant, and has retreated from the world to hide from his torments. A waitress at the restaurant, Nina, is struggling to put her life together, discovers she is pregnant - and also gets fired by José's brother Manny who believes her to be tardy. José leaves the job to follow her. Through this irreversible moment, their lives are turned upside down...until an impetuous action brings them together and turns a dreary day into an unforgettable experience. José recognizes something in Nina, and reaches out to her. In the course of a single day, he not only confronts his past but shows her how the healing power of a family can help her embrace the future.

This film is an oasis in the overly parched modern day world of entertainment. It is a great wholesome film that mainly gets it's rating because of its mature theme. Bella is void of crude violence, sex, nudity and crude language, and does not try to pander to its audience any of these cheapisms seen in a majority of Hollywood productions, European or independent films. It is pure quality from beginning to end, including script, directing, actors, cinematography, editing and overall feel. The characters are real and believable, and the story is grounded in true conviction. Bella is made with the passion that does not only make it great - but rather extraordinary.

The second most favorite film I have seen...

Knudegaard Rating:
10 out of 10

Amused

The Pirates of Penzance (1980) (TV)

with Kevin Kline, George Rose, Linda Ronstadt, Rex Smith and Patricia Routledge

The Broadway adaption of Gilbert and Sullivan's famed operetta is presented in this lively musical. It is the tale of a journeyman pirate who has just come of age and decides he wants to go straight. Unfortunately, his mentor, the king of the pirates, has other things in mind...

This is a stage performance of what later would be the motion picture The Pirates of Penzance (1983) with the same cast members with the exception of Ruth then being played by Angela Lansbury instead of Patricia Routledge (better known as Hyacinth in the TV-series Keeping Up Appearances.)

It is a good adaptation of the operetta by the infamous British playwright/composer duo, where the audience gets to enjoy the melodies that stick to your brain like crazy-glue. The quality of the recording is somewhat deteriorated and shows great signs of its age, but that does not take away from any of the performances. Some of the characters are perhaps a bit rough around the edges, and Linda Ronstadt is about as stiff as Queen Amidala in a George Lucas production. George Rose has a quick tongue, but seems to lack presence. On the other hand, Routledge and Kline make up for it all with their stage personas - even the Rex Smith Elvis impersonation is quite memorable. Would have been nice to see live though...

Knudegaard Rating:
7 out of 10