My Reviews Galore: Nacho, Click, & The Judge
"Nacho Libre"
My initial thought when I first saw this movie advertised was, "that movie's gonna suck". But then I learned it was loosely based on a true story so it begin to intrigue me. Not enough to see in the theaters but enough to rent. So last weekend I made the trip down to the local video store and picked it up. After the kids went to bed, Beth and I begin watching it. She was asleep in 15 min. I wasn't even tired and it was all I could do to stay awake. The premise is about a guy who becomes a pro wrestler by night to earn extra money to make better food for kids at an orphanage. It was made by the same guy who did "Napoleon Dynamite" which is 100x better then "Nacho". The movie never really took off because the jokes were the same all the way through. I thought the best parts were the strange sub-characters and weird camera angles ala "Dynamite". 1 Star
"Click"
I've always been a huge Adam Sandler fan since watching him each week on SNL way back in the early 90's. His movies though have gotten a bit stale as of late so I was really excited when I heard this one might be as good as some of his first. It was good, but no where near as good as his original masterpieces: Billy Madison, The Wedding Singer, Happy Gilmore, The Water Boy, and Big Daddy (listed in order of my favorites) The plot revolves around a guy that leads a very busy life. So with the help of Christopher Walkin, he discovers a remote control that will allow him to fast forward through time. The remote could do more but they never really touch on that. In the end, he is finds out how many great parts of life he is missing as he loses control of the remote. The ending has a good, but over-done message, and is very predictable (Beth called it as soon as he went to the store to buy a remote) 2 stars
"The Judge Who Stole Christmas"
I am now dumber and further away from God for having read this book. OK, maybe not further away but I'm sure not closer. This book was on several "must read" Christmas book list so I thought I'd give it a try. It focuses on a small town in Virginia that is at odds with the ACLU over the use of a nativity scene on government property. This book is as cheesy as the title and will go down as the worst book I read in 2006. I kept finding myself laughing out loud at how ridiculous the book and story was getting. The author supposedly is an accomplished attorney and writer but if I were to gauge him by this book, I'd say he's not very good at either. 0 stars
Now for a post review rant
That book is what is wrong with Christian art. Art being books, music, whatever. It's all so watered down and pathetic. Why would any non-christian (or christian) pick up something like that book and think, "Hmmm, that makes me want to follow Jesus." or "that really challenges me to live my life differently"? What's worst is the whole book is based around the argument of church v. state. It really bothers me when Christians wrap their whole faith walk around fighting against abortion, homosexuality, and the right to pray in school or set up nativity scenes. Is that all that Jesus came for? Did He come to bring clarity to those 3 issues. I'm not saying that any of them don't have a place in a followers beliefs, I'm just saying they don't need to be top 3. Heck, I'm not sure if they should be top 30. There is so much more to live for then wasting emotion and mental energies on isues that I'm not so sure Christ would have spent as much time on as some people have.
My initial thought when I first saw this movie advertised was, "that movie's gonna suck". But then I learned it was loosely based on a true story so it begin to intrigue me. Not enough to see in the theaters but enough to rent. So last weekend I made the trip down to the local video store and picked it up. After the kids went to bed, Beth and I begin watching it. She was asleep in 15 min. I wasn't even tired and it was all I could do to stay awake. The premise is about a guy who becomes a pro wrestler by night to earn extra money to make better food for kids at an orphanage. It was made by the same guy who did "Napoleon Dynamite" which is 100x better then "Nacho". The movie never really took off because the jokes were the same all the way through. I thought the best parts were the strange sub-characters and weird camera angles ala "Dynamite". 1 Star
"Click"
I've always been a huge Adam Sandler fan since watching him each week on SNL way back in the early 90's. His movies though have gotten a bit stale as of late so I was really excited when I heard this one might be as good as some of his first. It was good, but no where near as good as his original masterpieces: Billy Madison, The Wedding Singer, Happy Gilmore, The Water Boy, and Big Daddy (listed in order of my favorites) The plot revolves around a guy that leads a very busy life. So with the help of Christopher Walkin, he discovers a remote control that will allow him to fast forward through time. The remote could do more but they never really touch on that. In the end, he is finds out how many great parts of life he is missing as he loses control of the remote. The ending has a good, but over-done message, and is very predictable (Beth called it as soon as he went to the store to buy a remote) 2 stars
"The Judge Who Stole Christmas"
I am now dumber and further away from God for having read this book. OK, maybe not further away but I'm sure not closer. This book was on several "must read" Christmas book list so I thought I'd give it a try. It focuses on a small town in Virginia that is at odds with the ACLU over the use of a nativity scene on government property. This book is as cheesy as the title and will go down as the worst book I read in 2006. I kept finding myself laughing out loud at how ridiculous the book and story was getting. The author supposedly is an accomplished attorney and writer but if I were to gauge him by this book, I'd say he's not very good at either. 0 stars
Now for a post review rant
That book is what is wrong with Christian art. Art being books, music, whatever. It's all so watered down and pathetic. Why would any non-christian (or christian) pick up something like that book and think, "Hmmm, that makes me want to follow Jesus." or "that really challenges me to live my life differently"? What's worst is the whole book is based around the argument of church v. state. It really bothers me when Christians wrap their whole faith walk around fighting against abortion, homosexuality, and the right to pray in school or set up nativity scenes. Is that all that Jesus came for? Did He come to bring clarity to those 3 issues. I'm not saying that any of them don't have a place in a followers beliefs, I'm just saying they don't need to be top 3. Heck, I'm not sure if they should be top 30. There is so much more to live for then wasting emotion and mental energies on isues that I'm not so sure Christ would have spent as much time on as some people have.
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