jump to navigation

Not like the movies March 8, 2011

Posted by David Hiran Watson in Movies, Random Thoughts.
2 comments

I’m listening to Katy Perry’s “Not Like The Movies” and there’s a line: “if it’s not like the movies, that’s how it should be”.

And I thought, “why?” Why should it be like the movies? Why this societal fascination that real life should be more like what we find in the movies? Or, perhaps, why aren’t the (mainstream) movies in this society more a reflection of reality?

Maybe because we are all wanting to get away from life? Or at least hide from life? Why? Maybe because life sucks? But as Christians shouldn’t life be to the full? So then should Christians not desire for life to be like the movies? Would Jesus watch movies if He were walking the world today? Or at least, would He desire life to be like the scripted template found in so many movies, like most of us desire on some level whether we admit it or not?

Anyway, these are just thoughts that go through my head sometimes.

Mila vs. Natalie January 26, 2011

Posted by David Hiran Watson in Movies.
Tags: ,
add a comment

Is it just me or do the actresses Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman seem to be in competition with each other?

First, they are both in Swan Lake, and they portray rival ballet dancers. Second, they are both the lead female role in two separate but similar movies about friends who sleep together, but try to remain just friends. Natalie Portman acts beside Ashton Kutcher in Friends With Benefits. And Mila Kunis acts beside Justin Timberlake in No Strings Attached.

I’ve seen the previews and apart from taking a different spin on the issue (one seeming more comedic than the other), they are the same movie. Now perhaps these two things are coincidence, but am I the only one who has thought about this?

I Heart Revolution May 22, 2008

Posted by David Hiran Watson in Documentary, Movies, Social Justice.
Tags:
add a comment

I saw Hillsong United: I Heart Revolution tonight. It’s supposed to be a documentary on worship and social justice. It was an interesting documentary – more of a cross between a documentary and a worship dvd. There was a lot of concert footage and about 90% or more of the audio track was songs sung at the concert(s) shown; every single song played is also on the I Heart Revolution cd. There was some good comments though on social justice, and connecting worship with justice in our Christian walks. There was an emphasis on how the two go together. There was also footage of some of the things the band did while touring – activities involving social justice (ex: spending time with the outcasts, etc), and things that were just plain old fun (ex: touring the city, clowning around on the sidewalks, etc). There was lastly footage of the people in the cities they visited – candid shots if you will. All three types of footage were mixed together and played over top of the audio track; the 10% or so of the time when the audio was commentary, the footage was usually of either the people commenting or the band being involved in justice activies. The other 90% of the time, the mixed footage was played over the song. It was a well-designed juxtaposition: concert footage of believers surrendered in worship against shots of the rest of the city. If you get a chance, check out www.i-heart.org.

DH

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian May 20, 2008

Posted by David Hiran Watson in Movies.
Tags: , , , ,
add a comment

I saw The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian tonight; it was a good movie, and although I read the book some time ago, from what I remember I felt they did justice to the book. There were some elements I’m pretty convinced they added in, but overall it was true to the story. Some of the guys I saw it with weren’t so thrilled with it, and were making fun of it even. That bothered me a bit, but upon reflection I think it’s because I loved the books, and found the whole Narnia-verse one that I was and am able to get into and ‘be there’. To then have someone cut it down was and is hard. I suppose the thing to remember is that everyone is entitled to an opinion, and we don’t have to let someone else’s opinions or thoughts steal our own. That said, I do agree with some of the comments that the movie, from a movie making perspective, wasn’t the greatest. It was decent, perhaps an average to slightly above average rating. I say this because I think the director could have done a better job with the storyline, and I’m not talking about adding in new elements to ‘spice’ things up. The fight scenes were good, well planned out and coordinated. I did feel like the story was a bit rushed; certain poignant scenes and the development of some of the characters were transitioned through quickly. I think The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was a better movie in terms of plot development, character development, theme development, etc. But, as I mentioned before, overall I still liked Prince Caspian and recommend you go see it.

DH

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.