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Reviews
Le chant du loup (2019)
Impressive
I found this flick in Netflix. I hadn't great expectations from a French movie on submarines; therefore I was happily surprised, right from the start. For me the only drawback is that some CGI effects were not that good. After a brief interlude wherethe pace got somewhat slower, I just couldn't stop watching it. It reminded me of Crimson Tide in some ways.
Mary Magdalene (2018)
A New Age/Politically Correct/Postmodern tale
My wife and I watched this movie yesterday. I hadn't great expectations, but what we watched was far worse than what I could guess. I'm aware that the biblical data on Mary are scarce, and some imagination is needed to flesh out her story, but here imagination has gone wild and plainly contradicting the Scriptures.
What do we know about Mary Magdalene from the Bible? 1. She had been healed by Jesus (seven demons had gone out from her). 2. She and other healed women were following Jesus and the Twelve and were "contributing to their support out of their private means" (Luke 8: 1-3). 3. She was present, along with Jesus'mother and the beloved disciple (probably John) by the cross when Jesus died (John 19:25). 4. On the first day of the week she went to Jesus' tomb and found it empty. 5. She went to Peter and the beloved disciple to tell them about the empty tomb. They also saw it and left, but Mary remained weeping outside the tomb. There, she first saw two angels and then the resurrected Christ appeared to her and sent her to the disciples. 6. She did as commanded, and told them "I have seen the Lord" (John 20: 1-18).
What would we learn about Mary Magdalene from the movie? 1. That she was an atypical, even rebellious woman, who refused to marry and had her own brand of spirituality. 2. That her family thought she was possessed, but when Jesus went to heal her, he declared she had no demon (against Luke 8:2). 3. That Jesus himself baptized her (against John 4:2). 4. That Jesus asked her what should he say to the women at Cana of Galilee. 5. That Peter was jealous of her standing before Jesus (an idea perhaps taken from the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas, 114). 6. That she was present at the Last Supper (Thank you, Dan Brown, for The Da Vinci Code!). 7. That she found Jesus sitting by a cliff (against John 20:14).
Many other things may be noted, but I just want to comment on the movie's portrait of Jesus. I love Joaquin Phoenix, but his Jesus was awful. Too old (Jesus was on his early 30s), lacking joy, power and passion. Even when John said that Jesus had a seamless tunic (John 19:23-25), in the movie he always looks as a hobo. Indeed, a jaded, insecure, confused hobo most of the time. He even faints a couple of times (before the trial). He has to be encouraged by Mary.
In short, this movie is kind of a New Age/Postmodern/Politically correct tale, and even granting that, quite boring. We boldly endured it to the end, but the only interesting thing we noticed was, before the credits, a short comment on the wrong (or at least arbitrary) identification of Mary Magdalen as the sinner of Luke 7:36-50 and Mary of Bethany.
Mary Magdalen is a fascinating biblical character and she deserves a much better movie to tell her story.
The Mummy (2017)
Non-stop action
My wife and I watched this movie yesterday, despite some negative reviews. Although by now it has become quite difficult to come up with something altogether new with mummy flicks, I think they did a very good job. The plot was interesting and the choice of a female character as the mummy was certainly right. The acting and dialogues were good; the special effects were great. We loved the sets and locations. And of course, the plot reminded us about the very real existence of evil. We didn't really find a lot of humor (except at the beginning) but the movie is anything but boring. Therefore I gave it 9/10.
Lights Out (2016)
A good horror movie
My wife and I watched this flick without any particular expectation. The plot was relatively simple and straightforward. The acting was good by all the crew - particularly Gabriel Bateman and Maria Bello. The special effects were appropriate without exaggeration, which is good for me. It causes fear without lots of blood or dead bodies and without low blows. Another good point for this kind of movie is that they kept it short, and thus avoided being overly repetitive and boring. If you enjoy horror movies, this one is for you.
Criminal Minds (2005)
Enticing!
I like cop series, CSI, etc. Recently I began to watch Criminal Minds, from the first season, and I really love it. Unlike other series (like The Big Bang Theory) I like how the characters evolve in Criminal Minds. The newest episode I have watched is Entropy. All the characters are attractive, even with their peculiarities. Dr. Reid is lovable (so says my wife) but each of them has something special. Of course, the cases they investigate are complex and it is interesting how they combine CSI data with their combined profiling of both the unknown subject and his or her victims and, of course, the informatics magic of Penelope to close the net around the unknown subject. I particularly enjoy when the initial profile is wrong and makes them to think hard about any missing clue until they get it straight. Highly recommended!