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I heard they are making another "Avatar" movie with even more elaborate digital techniques that enhance 3D like never before. The first "Avatar" was outstanding, in my opinion, as it transported us to a new world, a fantasy world, with amazing characters and phenomenal physical and spiritual qualities not common in the real world. Even though second and third sequels are seldom as good as the first, I look forward to the new release. I look forward to the release of all good movies, and the wait is usually long because good movies are in the minority of the menagerie. But I did find three in the last couple of weeks that were worth seeing. The first, "Little Boy," is a 2015 production which, for whatever reason, I missed in 2015 and so I went to find it at Barnes and Noble one afternoon. They didn't have the movie on hand so I ordered two, thinking of my kids, and they arrived for pickup in a couple days. That very evening we watched it downstairs on our own big screen. I recommend it highly. "Little Boy" centers on a little boy by the name of Pepper Busbee, age 7, who adores his dad, who is his best friend, and together they go on huge adventures, most of them make believe but they become very real in the mind of the little boy. Without telling you the rest of the story, and most certainly not the ending, I can safely tell you that it's about Pepper's life in a small California town after his father is drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II. We don't often see war through the eyes of a child. If you want to borrow my copy of "Little Boy," let me know and I'll even give you a bag of microwave popcorn to go along with it. Mainstream critics gave the movie negative reviews, of course. That often means the film is top shelf. The second movie, "Hillary's America," was playing at Eden Prairie Center, and we went to see it as soon as it came out in July because such a film is often pulled after only a few short days. Mainstream critics aren't talking much about "Hillary's America," but the theater was full. Apparently, word got out. "Hillary's America" is a documentary of which nobody can refute the facts, at least not honestly. The facts are in the annals of history books, encyclopedias, and libraries across the nation. Some facts have been muddled and mangled in recent decades, and so "Hillary's America" is a good reminder for us. And then we found "The Innocents" playing at the Edina Landmark 4 Theater. Interesting it is, that this is also a World War II movie, and also about faith. Based on real events, as recorded by a Red Cross doctor, it takes place in Warsaw at the end of the war, in winter, within the walls of a Polish convent, where Benedictine nuns are surviving the ravages and rape of war. It's haunting, and ultimately uplifting, as the human spirit rises to meet the challenges of reality. I suspect the next flick we'll see is the remake of "Ben-Hur" which is coming to theaters in August -- August 19th to be exact. I've got the old 1959 "Ben-Hur" in my classic movie collection and it will be tough to beat. But most likely the purpose of the remake is not to beat the original, but to bring it to life once again for a new audience. Maybe you recall that the most famous actor in the original "Ben-Hur" was Charlton Heston. The other actors are familiar to me in face but not in name. I went online to watch a trailer of the remake and, sure enough, mainstream critics are predicting the movie to be a disaster, which means it's probably pretty good. From the trailer I can see there are bloody violent scenes -- remember the chariot race? -- and so you don't want to have your little ones in the audience. But it would be okay for my two oldest grandchildren Addie, 13, and Gunnar, 11, to see it. After all, "Ben-Hur" is based on the greatest story ever told and they know that story very well. Besides, in our world today we've become familiar with realities more gruesome than in the movies, like beheadings -- even of an old Catholic priest in France as he was saying Mass -- and the killing of cops across our nation without mercy -- none of it based on the greatest story ever told but on the worst story ever told. In the theater of life, we don't get to see the ending like we do at the movies. But we do get to wrap up one day at a time and that's enough for me. |
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From the Editor |
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Dedicated to the sunshine of truth, the moonshine of meeting deadlines, and the starshine of Victoria. |
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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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Sue’s Album A symphony of photos and fewer than a thousand words at www.VictoriaGazette.com |
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August 2016 |
