filmbuff-05706
Joined Jun 2020
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filmbuff-05706's rating
I'm a Christian who loves Biblical epics that are done well. My favorite movie of all time is Pasolini's The Gospel According To St. Matthew, and I love King of Kings, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Passion of the Christ, and Old Testament films like The Bible: In The Beginning, The Prince of Egypt, The Ten Commandments, and Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie. This list barely scratches the surface.
I even love The Last Temptation of Christ, which is not from The Bible, but it still made me consider what the human side of Jesus's dual nature was like. I have a whole review from a few months ago defending why I think that is a good movie.
Something that The Last Temptation of Christ has that Jesus Christ Superstar does not is a warning that it's not meant to be Biblical, and the fact that Christians bash Last Temptation more than this is a little concerning to me.
The Jesus of Jesus Christ Superstar is constantly referred to as just a man. Even the first song, sung by Judas, has him telling Jesus: "You've started to believe the things they say of you, you really do believe that this talk of God is true!" What, that Jesus was God in the flesh? Yeah, of course He knew that.
Even in a song that Mary Magdelene sings, she says that Jesus is just a man like many she's known before. You might be asking: "She knows other men who can perform miracles?" Well, here's the thing- this Jesus does not perform any miracles in this film.
There's a scene where lepers come to Jesus to be healed, and He says: "There's too many of you! Be gone!" Is this supposed to be the same Jesus who heals 10 lepers, one of whom returned to thank Him for it?
The movie doesn't even have a clear resurrection scene, but He might be seen in the background of the final shot. Even The Passion of the Christ, a movie focused on the suffering of Jesus, has an Easter morning scene!
When Jesus prays in Gethsemane, he asks God "why should I die?" and asks if He would be remembered after He died. Jesus literally came to Earth to die and rise again- who would be worried about being forgotten after that? And this song also makes Jesus seem self-centered.
It is true that Jesus prayed "if it be possible, let this cup pass from me", but He immediately followed that up with "nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." And he preceded to die for mankind.
I'm sure there are more problems with the movie, (I won't even get into how a bus and a pool party both appear in the desert), but you get the idea. I'll admit that there are catchy songs in the movie- This Jesus Must Die and King Herod's Song (performed by the principal in Billy Madison) both come to mind, but catchy music does not make up for blasphemy.
Andrew Lloyd Webber even said that he didn't see Jesus as God, just the right guy who came at the right time. Someone who thinks that about Jesus shouldn't be writing musicals about Him. Some people may say that this is just a movie, but then Hell is also just an eternal campfire, and this movie has a danger of decieving many. The fact that this has been remade on stage with a black woman playing the Son of God recently should speak volumes to that as well.
In King Herod's Song, he tells this movie's Jesus: "You are not the Son of God, you are nothing but a fraud." Well, the movie got that right at least.
Reverse Recommendations: See any movie in the first paragraph instead. 1973 also saw the release of 2 superior Jesus musicals- Godspell (which has the same vibe as this), and The Gospel Road, the story of Jesus narrated by Johnny Cash- I love this one. These are both better and less problematic Jesus musicals. Better yet- to get the real Jesus, read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John from The Bible.
I even love The Last Temptation of Christ, which is not from The Bible, but it still made me consider what the human side of Jesus's dual nature was like. I have a whole review from a few months ago defending why I think that is a good movie.
Something that The Last Temptation of Christ has that Jesus Christ Superstar does not is a warning that it's not meant to be Biblical, and the fact that Christians bash Last Temptation more than this is a little concerning to me.
The Jesus of Jesus Christ Superstar is constantly referred to as just a man. Even the first song, sung by Judas, has him telling Jesus: "You've started to believe the things they say of you, you really do believe that this talk of God is true!" What, that Jesus was God in the flesh? Yeah, of course He knew that.
Even in a song that Mary Magdelene sings, she says that Jesus is just a man like many she's known before. You might be asking: "She knows other men who can perform miracles?" Well, here's the thing- this Jesus does not perform any miracles in this film.
There's a scene where lepers come to Jesus to be healed, and He says: "There's too many of you! Be gone!" Is this supposed to be the same Jesus who heals 10 lepers, one of whom returned to thank Him for it?
The movie doesn't even have a clear resurrection scene, but He might be seen in the background of the final shot. Even The Passion of the Christ, a movie focused on the suffering of Jesus, has an Easter morning scene!
When Jesus prays in Gethsemane, he asks God "why should I die?" and asks if He would be remembered after He died. Jesus literally came to Earth to die and rise again- who would be worried about being forgotten after that? And this song also makes Jesus seem self-centered.
It is true that Jesus prayed "if it be possible, let this cup pass from me", but He immediately followed that up with "nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." And he preceded to die for mankind.
I'm sure there are more problems with the movie, (I won't even get into how a bus and a pool party both appear in the desert), but you get the idea. I'll admit that there are catchy songs in the movie- This Jesus Must Die and King Herod's Song (performed by the principal in Billy Madison) both come to mind, but catchy music does not make up for blasphemy.
Andrew Lloyd Webber even said that he didn't see Jesus as God, just the right guy who came at the right time. Someone who thinks that about Jesus shouldn't be writing musicals about Him. Some people may say that this is just a movie, but then Hell is also just an eternal campfire, and this movie has a danger of decieving many. The fact that this has been remade on stage with a black woman playing the Son of God recently should speak volumes to that as well.
In King Herod's Song, he tells this movie's Jesus: "You are not the Son of God, you are nothing but a fraud." Well, the movie got that right at least.
Reverse Recommendations: See any movie in the first paragraph instead. 1973 also saw the release of 2 superior Jesus musicals- Godspell (which has the same vibe as this), and The Gospel Road, the story of Jesus narrated by Johnny Cash- I love this one. These are both better and less problematic Jesus musicals. Better yet- to get the real Jesus, read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John from The Bible.
I bought Run Silent, Run Deep at a used DVD store a couple years ago on the basis that it starred Clark Gable of Gone With The Wind and Burt Lancaster, who I know best for Field of Dreams. It was also directed by Robert Wise, who made The Sound of Music 7 years later. These are 3 of my favorite movies.
The plot is pretty basic. Set in 1942, after the Pearl Harbor attack, the movie follows the struggle between Commander Richardson (Gable) and Lt. Jim Bledsoe (Lancaster), and Richardson's obsession with sinking a particular "Jap" ship.
From a filmmaking standpoint, the movie is shot beatifully in black and white. The camera work is also well done. In regards to this, the movie is superb.
The acting was decent too. I don't think Clark Gable's acting matches the likes of Gone With The Wind or It Happend One Night (both of which won Best Picture, by the way), but he still did well in his part. In fact, I think he was the best choice for the role, and I can't imagine anyone else taking his place.
I'm not too familiar with Burt Lancaster's roles, but he did a fine job as well.
The movie also had some funny moments. One I'd like to share is that Bledsoe has a picture of an immodest woman hung up in the sub. For good luck in training, he smacks her butt as he walks past it. As the movie progresses, the other men do the same. Each time this happened, I cracked up. (Although, let me make it clear that I do not condone doing that in real life.)
That said, this movie is much more of a drama than a comedy.
My critique of the movie is while it's good, the movie does feel slow and drawn out in places. However, with a run time of 93 minutes, I still enjoyed much of the film. I just found myself checking the clock a time or two.
Nevertheless, if you enjoy old movies or movies about WWII, this is well worth the watch. Despite its slow moments, it's compelling enough for either camp of movie watchers.
PS: I watched this movie with my Grandma, and she also said that she would rate it an 8 out of 10.
Bonus Recommendation: If you enjoy this submarine-set WWII movie, I recommend Das Boot even higher. That is one of my favorite war movies.
The plot is pretty basic. Set in 1942, after the Pearl Harbor attack, the movie follows the struggle between Commander Richardson (Gable) and Lt. Jim Bledsoe (Lancaster), and Richardson's obsession with sinking a particular "Jap" ship.
From a filmmaking standpoint, the movie is shot beatifully in black and white. The camera work is also well done. In regards to this, the movie is superb.
The acting was decent too. I don't think Clark Gable's acting matches the likes of Gone With The Wind or It Happend One Night (both of which won Best Picture, by the way), but he still did well in his part. In fact, I think he was the best choice for the role, and I can't imagine anyone else taking his place.
I'm not too familiar with Burt Lancaster's roles, but he did a fine job as well.
The movie also had some funny moments. One I'd like to share is that Bledsoe has a picture of an immodest woman hung up in the sub. For good luck in training, he smacks her butt as he walks past it. As the movie progresses, the other men do the same. Each time this happened, I cracked up. (Although, let me make it clear that I do not condone doing that in real life.)
That said, this movie is much more of a drama than a comedy.
My critique of the movie is while it's good, the movie does feel slow and drawn out in places. However, with a run time of 93 minutes, I still enjoyed much of the film. I just found myself checking the clock a time or two.
Nevertheless, if you enjoy old movies or movies about WWII, this is well worth the watch. Despite its slow moments, it's compelling enough for either camp of movie watchers.
PS: I watched this movie with my Grandma, and she also said that she would rate it an 8 out of 10.
Bonus Recommendation: If you enjoy this submarine-set WWII movie, I recommend Das Boot even higher. That is one of my favorite war movies.
I remember the hype that surrounded The Revenant a decade ago, and I always had interest in seeing it, but never got to see it until now.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, a man in a hunting party for animal furs. Their hunting grounds are on Native American soil, and they have to avoid them while they hunt. After Glass is nearly mauled by a bear, he is left for dead by his men, and Glass tries to find them for revenge.
That's the core of the plot, and there are times when the plot is engaging. There is one moment when Hugh is freezing, and he guts a deceased deer and sleeps in its carcass for warmth- this was a scene that really stuck out to me.
Leonardo DiCaprio gives a very good performance in many ways, although I got tired of all the grunting he has to do. I thought about how THIS was the movie that won him the Best Actor Oscar, and while there are impressive qualities to his acting here, I would say a role like The Wolf of Wall Street or Catch Me If You Can was more compelling.
Half of this movie is Leo just grunting- and I get it, he's in pain, he's crawling in snow, and such, and while there was much to admire about him in scenes where, for instance, he fights off a bear, I just think that he had stronger performances. That is to say, while he's good here, there are other roles that he should have gotten Best Actor for beforehand.
Apart from Leo, Tom Hardy and Will Poulter also have decent performances, but not as strong as the lead's. I also acknowledge that there is good direction and camerawork and so forth- the gore effects are effective too.
The Revenant surely has these merits, and for that I understand why this was praised at the time. However, half the time, I found myself pretty bored. I was forcing myself to stay awake, and I was kicking my leg to do so.
The movie has a ton of quiet moments, and that made me tired as well. I've read people call the movie fast paced, but I was surprised at one point that I hadn't hit the one hour mark!
To be frank, I was relieved when the credits started. Of course, The Revenant isn't the WORST movie I have ever seen. Far from it, I've seen way worse movies. But with the hype it had beforehand (critic reviews, the Oscar nomination, a teacher's recommendation upon release), this was quite a mediocre disappointment for me.
I understand why people liked it, and I don't think I'll be scowling at anyone who says that they enjoyed The Revenant. But we all have movies that we don't like as much as the crowd does, and it just so happens that, for me, The Revenant is one of those. With respect to those who liked this movie...I didn't.
Reverse Recommendations: As I said earlier, I think Leo gave us stronger movies with The Wolf of Wall Street (not for the easily offended) and Catch Me If You Can. I would recommend those 2 movies over this.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, a man in a hunting party for animal furs. Their hunting grounds are on Native American soil, and they have to avoid them while they hunt. After Glass is nearly mauled by a bear, he is left for dead by his men, and Glass tries to find them for revenge.
That's the core of the plot, and there are times when the plot is engaging. There is one moment when Hugh is freezing, and he guts a deceased deer and sleeps in its carcass for warmth- this was a scene that really stuck out to me.
Leonardo DiCaprio gives a very good performance in many ways, although I got tired of all the grunting he has to do. I thought about how THIS was the movie that won him the Best Actor Oscar, and while there are impressive qualities to his acting here, I would say a role like The Wolf of Wall Street or Catch Me If You Can was more compelling.
Half of this movie is Leo just grunting- and I get it, he's in pain, he's crawling in snow, and such, and while there was much to admire about him in scenes where, for instance, he fights off a bear, I just think that he had stronger performances. That is to say, while he's good here, there are other roles that he should have gotten Best Actor for beforehand.
Apart from Leo, Tom Hardy and Will Poulter also have decent performances, but not as strong as the lead's. I also acknowledge that there is good direction and camerawork and so forth- the gore effects are effective too.
The Revenant surely has these merits, and for that I understand why this was praised at the time. However, half the time, I found myself pretty bored. I was forcing myself to stay awake, and I was kicking my leg to do so.
The movie has a ton of quiet moments, and that made me tired as well. I've read people call the movie fast paced, but I was surprised at one point that I hadn't hit the one hour mark!
To be frank, I was relieved when the credits started. Of course, The Revenant isn't the WORST movie I have ever seen. Far from it, I've seen way worse movies. But with the hype it had beforehand (critic reviews, the Oscar nomination, a teacher's recommendation upon release), this was quite a mediocre disappointment for me.
I understand why people liked it, and I don't think I'll be scowling at anyone who says that they enjoyed The Revenant. But we all have movies that we don't like as much as the crowd does, and it just so happens that, for me, The Revenant is one of those. With respect to those who liked this movie...I didn't.
Reverse Recommendations: As I said earlier, I think Leo gave us stronger movies with The Wolf of Wall Street (not for the easily offended) and Catch Me If You Can. I would recommend those 2 movies over this.