Reviews

That's a really long name for a movie. It makes typing up a review mildly annoying, but oh well. I'll make it through (It's one of those times I'm grateful for the copy and paste technique). Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a movie that definitely caused me to raise an eyebrow when it was first announced. I of course was a 5-year-old at one point. I loved that little book. But did it really need to be made into a movie? I remained skeptic for a long while, but slowly the idea grew on me. Casting news and trailers helped ease my skepticism to the point where I actually thought that this could be a fun little family film. And turns out it is. No, it's nothing special. It's very cliché. Surprisingly boring at times with no twists, turns or surprises. Not that emotionally moving like it could've been. But it's not a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad movie. It's decently fun and, most importantly, the kids are going to love it.

I don't need to tell you what this movie is about. You've read the book. Alexander has a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. But then he realizes that it's not so bad. Boom. Movie done. But how does this make it as a full-length movie? Well, after Alexander has his bad day, he wishes his bad day on his family because they seemingly aren't paying him any attention. So in fact we have two days that are terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. And that actually is the movie. It's only 81 minutes long, so it flies by pretty fast and there comes point where you wonder if they could've made it a touch longer. But it works decently. As expected, it's pretty much 81 minutes of gags. Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad things happening to this family on this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. And they are supposed to make you laugh through it all. The problem is I really wasn't laughing too hard through the whole movie. There's a few laugh out loud moments. But mostly just constant chuckles throughout. And the big reason for that is because it's one of those really annoying moments where the whole movie was in the trailer. I actually laughed at the trailer when I first saw it. It was great. But I wanted more and the movie didn't give me any more. Turns out that in order to make the trailer, they took all the funniest gags from the movie and threw them together in the trailer. And because I watch a lot of movies and thus see a lot of trailers multiple times, I felt like this was the 20th time I was watching this movie and thus it was actually kinda boring. It didn't help that I knew exactly what was going to happen.

But do you know what, as I was sitting watching the movie, I began to think about the target audience. This is not a movie that is made for adults. Sure, I think that adults can enjoy it, but this is a family- friendly movie that is made for kids. No, the story isn't amazing. But kids don't need an amazing story. Sure, the movie is very predictable. But kids don't need an unpredictable movie full of twists and turns. Yes, it's cliché. But cliché isn't so cliché when you're young. Yes, the whole movie was in the trailer. But how often does your 7-year-old sit down and watch trailers? Exactly. It's all going to be new for them. Sure, there's only going to be a few laugh-out-loud moments if you are an adult. But as long as it makes the kids laugh out loud, isn't that all that matters? And as it turns out, I ended up being one of those creepy old guys sitting there in a kids movie by himself with a theater full of kids. And I can tell you by first hand account that all the little kids in my theater were busting out laughing the whole entire time. "That was such a good movie!" said a little girl behind me as we walked out of the theater. I can't give this movie a harsh grade. It was made for the kids and the kids absolutely loved it, so it was successful in it's purpose.

In the end, did I enjoy Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day? Yes, I did. Was it cliché? Yes. Was it super predictable? Yes. Did they show the whole movie in the trailer? Yes. Did I laugh out loud for the entire movie? No. Was it as touching and movie as it could've been? No. Did we really need a movie adaptation of this book? No. But we got it. No changing that. And as it turns out, it's another Disney movie that the kids should fall in love with. So here's my recommendation. If you are an adult with no kids and this movie didn't look super interesting to you, then I wouldn't say you need to rush out and see it. There are a whole lot of movies coming out and this one could be looked over for now. But if you are a parent with kids who has been waiting for a really good movie that your kids will enjoy because the family audience has been neglected as of late, then I would say this movie is a must see. Disney knows how to make movies that kids enjoy. That was their purpose here and they succeeded. So I'm going to give Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day a 7/10.

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Last weekend I was rummaging through showtimes, deciding what I wanted to see when suddenly I noticed that a movie called 16 Stones was an option. I never heard of it before, but upon brief research I learned it was about a group of Saints in the early days of the LDS church who went on a journey to find the 16 stones that lit up the Jaredite barges. Wait what? Did that really happen? Suddenly my curiosity was piqued and I almost saw it that night. But I waited. Then during the LDS General Conference over the course of the next couple of days, the movie was advertised pretty heavily between sessions. I also noted a billboard or two advertising the movie along I-15 here in Utah. So all that did it. At the very least, I knew that a lot of my LDS readers would be curious about this movie after having watched General Conference, so I figured I'd do my duty and inform that crowd what I thought of the movie. Because, you know, I'm a nice guy like that. Turns out I got really bored really quickly, but I hung in there. Now I'm here informing you that this is a movie that you should just avoid as it's one of the worst LDS-themed movies that I've ever seen. It's right down there with The Singles 2nd Ward and Sons of Provo. That bad.

I'm a pretty big fan of church history. I especially like learning more about stories and events that happened in church history that I didn't know about. It gives me a greater respect knowing everything people went through as well as good insight knowing how people thought and believed back then. That there was the biggest draw from this movie. I had never heard of an event in church history where there was a group of people that went out and searched for the 16 stones. I wanted to know more. Uhhh... turns out there is a reason why I never heard this story. It didn't ever happen! Yes, this movie is purely fictional. Once I realized this I was really disappointed. No history to be learned here. This event didn't happen. What it is is National Treasure, Mormon style. It's set in the early days of the church. Joseph and Emma Smith are even in the movie. We have this kid named James who decides that he wants to go search for the stones because he is convinced that finding it will stop all the persecution going on. His two friends, Elaine and Thomas, join him and the three of them are off on this big treasure hunt that lasts the whole movie.

In theory, this premise could work out. I personally enjoyed both National Treasure movies and even though the things they were searching for could never be found in real life, it was still a lot of fun anyways. Same here. No way in heck is someone going to actually find the 16 stones unless God wanted it to happen. It's kinda like a golden plates type of thing. But yet, if done right, a movie searching for these objects could be a lot of fun. The problem is, everything about this movie is just off. It's definitely a low-budget movie, but that's no excuse. I've seen plenty of amazing low-budget movies. But this is a low-budget movie where you wonder how much effort was actually put into making this. The script is horrendous. The dialogue is clunky and forced. And worse of all, the acting by our three main characters is so bad that it's hard to watch. I'm not really sure if it's their fault or if it's a case where they have nothing to work with and no talented directors to help them. Possibly a bit of both. But whatever the issue is, it makes this hard to watch.

I suppose I can appreciate the intentions behind this film. No big name directors or big name actors. A very low-budget movie where they were just trying to make this inspiring film. And it does have its moments where you feel good after a speech from Joseph Smith about faith. But overall, you need more than just good intentions to make a good movie. Take The Book of Mormon Movie for example. The director there had this amazing vision of bringing the Book of Mormon to the world by making a movie. Love that idea. There's a lot of great, inspiring movies that could be made from the Book of Mormon. But the execution of that was so bad that you wish the director would've just kept that vision to himself and not acted upon it. Same thing here. A Mormon-style National Treasure movie where they are searching for the 16 stones could be a lot of fun. But it isn't. Bad script. Bad acting. Bad story. No interesting drama. Nothing good about this film. I mean, I was literally the only one in the theater Wednesday night during the showing and I took advantage of that and played around on my phone for the last half of the movie. I even took a little quiz that told me how I died in a former life and posted in on my facebook. That was more interesting than the movie I was watching. I'm giving 16 Stones a failing grade, a 4/10.

I am a pretty big sports fan. Despite this, though, I can be fairly picky with my sports movies. A few general questions that I always ask. First, why was this movie made? There are a ton of great moments that happen in sports, but not all of them deserve movies to made of them. And along with that, sometimes an ordinary event is glorified in the movie, which causes you to raise an eyebrow when you learn the actual events. Next, how faithful is this to the actual events? Yes, I know this is Hollywood and they are going to change things. But if they change things too much, it can be a problem. For example, if the actual person portrayed in the movie doesn't like what Hollywood did with them, that is a problem. Finally, sports movies can be really cliché and predictable because there are only really two options for the ending -- the team/player succeeds in their goal or the team/player fails, but a lesson is learned. So what else do you bring to the table that will give your movie substance and avoid being just a cliché sports movie?

Going into Million Dollar Arm, I was actually really excited because Disney had been raving about this movie for quite some time. I'm happy to report that it passes this test with flying colors. First off, yes this is a movie that deserved to be made. And no, it's not just an ordinary event that was glorified. And while I'm at it, it seems pretty accurate to the actual events. This is a movie about a sports agent named JB Bernstein. He's in a pretty dire situation and needs to make a huge splash or else business-wise he is in a lot of trouble. Using Yao Ming's situation as inspiration, he decides to go on a quest to get the first Major League Baseball player from India. Just like all of China followed Yao Ming's journey in the NBA (he made the all-star team even when he didn't play most of the season because of fan voting in China), an MLB player from India would be equally as huge with how many people live there. With this idea in mind, Bernstein sets up the competition called the Million Dollar Arm, which is essentially a try-out where the top two throwers would get to come to America with the opportunity of trying out for an MLB team.

Is this a predictable sports movie? Of course. The events of this movie took place just a few years back and a quick wikipedia search can tell you all about these two players. But the point here isn't to throw a curveball at audiences. The main focus isn't even on telling the world about an extraordinary event that happened less than a decade ago. It's all about relationships. Bernstein is a single man that is all business at first. What he seems to have missed is that he's brought two human beings halfway across the world just to make a successful business move. These two Indian boys are still teenagers that have never been away from home, at least not so far away from home. They are scared, nervous, alone, and don't even know the language at first. This is an emotional roller-coaster for everyone involved and watching it unfold is touching and beautiful.

What makes this movie work is the performances from all the actors. It's a grand slam performance. Starting from the top, Jon Hamm plays JB Bernstein and if this movie came out in the fall, I'd say he'd be a good contender for Best Actor at the Oscars. It'd be a deserving nomination. Lake Bell plays the neighbor/love interest for JB. She does a fantastic job as the mediator between JB and the boys, helping JB come down to earth to treat the boys right. Finally, our two Indian players, Rinku and Dinesh are played by Indian actors Suraj Sharma and Madhur Mittal. These two are the stars of the show. From the very beginning, you become emotionally invested in them and their journey. You want them succeed. You cheer for them when they perform well. You are devastated when they slip up. You scream inside at Jon Hamm when he treats them poorly. You fall in love with Lake Bell when she takes them in. Sharma and Mittal are fairly new in the acted business; however, they are not unrecognizable. Sharma plays the lead role of Pi Patel in Life of Pi and Mittal shows up in Slumdog Millionaire. There's also other great performances in this movie from the likes of Aasif Mandvi, Alan Arkin, Bill Paxton and Tzi Ma, but this will suffice.

Overall, Million Dollar Arm is a movie that is a must see in my opinion. Yes, there are a ton of huge summer blockbusters in the next month or two that will all fight for your attention, but don't let this movie slip past you. If for some reason you find yourself tired of all the huge blockbusters, then this is definitely a movie that you should check out, because it will be a breath of fresh air. Even if you are not a sports fan, I think this is a movie that you will love, because like I said, it's all about the relationships in the movie as opposed to the historical sporting event that is portrayed. If this movie were to come out at the end of the year, I would think it would be the type of movie that contends for an Oscar nomination or two. It's that good. It will certainly join the ranks of all the great sports movies. My grade for Million Dollar Arm is a 9/10.

For more reviews like this, go to drogemiester.blogspot.com

This holiday season brought audiences several great movie options to see. Out of all of them, earlier today I believe I shave seen my favorite. Not War Horse, Sherlock Holmes, Tintin, Mission Impossible, or Alvin and the Chipmunks. The winner is We Bought a Zoo. Now to be fair, I haven't seen Mission Impossible 4, but despite all the great things I've heard about it, I don't think it will strike a chord with me like We Bought a Zoo did. It is such an inspirational story with a powerful message. And it gets quite emotional in several spots. Now I'm not an emotional person typically and I've never actually cried in a movie, but this movie almost broke me. My mom, who cries a lot during movies, certainly was crying in a few spots, so its a tearjerker.

We Bought a Zoo is based on a true story. Specifically the memoir of Benjamin Mee, which is his story of, as you can guess, him buying a Zoo. There are some noticeable differences in the movie and in the real life story as I have looked at it afterwards, but those changes were adapted only after the approval of Benjamin Mee himself, who still owns and lives in the Zoo he purchased. In the movie, Benjamin, played by Matt Damon, is going through some serious family troubles. Namely, his wife the he dearly loved has just recently passed away which has made life for his young family really difficult emotionally, especially for him and his teenage son. Seeking to get away from life a bit, he decides that he wants to move and falls in love with a certain country house some 9 miles outside town. Before purchasing it, he quickly learns that it is a somewhat broken down and struggling Zoo. Despite his background as an adventurous person, he has no knowledge of Zoology. However, he decides to take on the task to help renovate and re-open the struggling Zoo. With that said, yes it is a story about a Zoo, but telling a story of how a man renovated a Zoo is not the point of this movie. It is a story of courage. A story about moving forward in life despite the difficult times. Lastly it's a story about maintaining good relationships with your family and those around you. There are a few taglines in the movie that really just jumped out at me that I will remember and use in my own personal life to help me.

Now We Bought a Zoo isn't without its flaws. There are times when I was slightly bored with it and times where it seemed to move slow. I wasn't a big fan of some of the acting by several of the more minor characters. But overall it was a very well done film. The strongest part of the movie was certainly Matt Damon. He has become one of my favorite actors recently and in this he gives a very good performance. If the Academy Awards were up to me, I would give him the Oscar for best Actor after this performance. I hope he at least gets nominated because he deserves it. The cast around him was also superb for the most part. Scarlett Johansson did a great job in the lead female performance, that being Kelly the lead Zookeeper. Elle Fanning did a great job acting as one of the younger crew members of the Zoo. Lastly, Benjamin's two kids ages 14 and 7, were done quite well. His 14 year old son Dylan, played by Colin Ford, even looked and acted like a young Matt Damon. The score in this movie was absolutely beautiful. It really made the movie. In my opinion it is one of the best scores of the year. The cinematography was also great. I especially loved the animal shots in the movie.

In conclusion, We Bought a Zoo is no action-packed, high suspense adventure movie. If you are looking for that, go check out Mission Impossible or Sherlock Holmes. What it is is an inspirational family movie that I really enjoyed. I highly recommend you check it out. I give it an 8 out of 10.

The Work and the Glory series by Gerald Lund was written as a historical fiction series. They are wonderful in the sense that they teach you a whole lot about the history of the church while making it entertaining to read by inserting a fictional family for you to follow. I have read the books and highly recommend them. The movies, however, got increasingly frustrating. The first movie I actually thought was very good. The second movie was a little disappointing. The third was plain out frustrating. Frustrating in the fact that it had so much potential and was almost epic, but missed the mark. The acting was great. And it was well casted. The whole Steed family was done almost exactly as I portrayed them in my mind. The problem in the movie was the script. Now I know that the books were really long and I'm not one to complain at every little detail left out, but the movie totally hashed it. It was poorly transferred from book to movie. If the movie were done exactly word for word to the book, it would've been at least a 5 or 6 hour movie, but in that situation I think its fair to at least make the movie 2 hours or 2 1/2 hours long. But no, this movie was only 90 minutes. And of that 90 minutes about half of it was a story line that was not in the book at all. That means they took a huge book and turned it into 45 or 50 minutes, thus leaving out 3/4 of the book. Thus the story line with the Steed family is only loosely followed and the historical aspect that makes the series so perfect is portrayed only half-heartedly at best. Extremely disappointing. But I'm giving this a 5 out of 10 because the acting is great. The actors do an amazing job with what they were given. And its still a touching message of family unity and brotherhood in the trying times of the early Saints. But overall, I would suggest you to read the books and skip the movies. I normally like a movie franchise based on a book series to finish the series and turn all the books into movies, but after this poorly done third movie, I am so glad that they stopped there and didn't continue to make all 9 books into movies.