Eat Pray Love

“Eat Pray Love” Takes Us Down a Cleverly Crafted but Deceiving Path of Self-Discovery

By: Tyson Anderson

Rating: 6.5/10

Overall:

Despite being well-written and well-acted, “Eat Pray Love” centers on a false theme of trying to “find yourself” by focusing on selfish needs and desires. The movie is based on a memoir written by Elizabeth Gilbert about herself.

Thumbs Up:

I almost wish I could start with the Thumbs Down portion of this movie because that is the stuff I want to focus on (not that I like focusing on negative things). However, I must first acknowledge the movie and how well made it is.

“Eat Pray Love” is not a fairy-tale romance about love at first sight and how everything works out well until the wedding and they lived happily ever after. Personally, I LOVE happy movies! Life is happy, in my opinion, and everyone should do well to focus on the positive aspects of life. That being said, life DOES have its conflicts. “Eat Pray Love” does a fabulous job at realistically presenting these problems. Are marriages always smooth as peanut butter and free of conflicts? No. Is one always going to be traveling around the world seeing the sights?  No. Where can true happiness be found? These questions are asked by Elizabeth Gilbert, who does not make the right decision in dealing with these problems.

I found myself caring for the characters in the movie, all except for Elizabeth Gilbert, which I’ll talk about later. The other characters were still flawed, but at least were trying to work out their problems in the right way. They focused on helping others. There’s Elizabeth’s husband who, when she tries to coldly divorce him, tries as hard as he can to keep her and convince her he’ll be better. Elizabeth’s friends try to knock some sense into her by telling her that problems are not to be run away from, but rather overcome. In India she meets Richard, a Texan, who focuses on helping her find peace. Even her hunk of a Brazilian Bamboo seems to know what life is all about. She just doesn’t get it.

Thumbs Down:

Apparently, after Gilbert’s book came out many women were “inspired” to leave their “dreary” and “boring” lives behind to travel the world and “find themselves” through spiritual re-awakening and whatnot. What a terrible and misguided message to send to people.

Is life about finding oneself? Yes! But the Savior showed us the true path to finding happiness: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Isn’t that what life’s all about? Forgetting yourself in the service of others? Although “Eat Pray Love” does show the negative results of selfish behavior, it makes running away from life seem so exciting and enticing! You get to go to exotic places! Meet handsome men! Eat great food and not care about getting fat! It’s so SAD to me that women found this inspiring. It’s even sadder that women actually took this to heart and left their husbands for what they believed was a “real” life. A TRUE feminist would realize the awesome power and strength that is in women and use that strength to build others up! My wife Brittney is the biggest strength to me; I learn so much from her every day. Anybody who tries to show “individualism” by running away from problems and turning his or her back on loved ones can only be defined as cowards and pathetic. I speak to men too; although this movie had a woman “protagonist” the same applies to the male species.

Is it fun to go on vacation? Yes. Is it good to question yourself and your status in life? Yes. Is life all about traveling to exotic locations and experiencing thrills and parties and all that comes with those? Heck no. And anybody who thinks so needs to slap themselves in the face and get back to what life truly is about: growing in love and charity for others so that we can become more like our Savior. Sorry if it seems like I’m preaching a little bit but with all that’s going on in the world we do not need a movie that instills in people the desire and need to leave the safety and security of a loving spouse to go meditate in  India and eat food in Italy!! I find myself getting kind of mad as I write this…..maybe I should stop.

After All is Said and Done…

Anywho, the bottom line is that self-discovery is accomplished by focusing on the needs of others and following the example of Christ. Giving in to selfish desires only leads to misery, and although “Eat Pray Love” does show a portion of that, in the end it teaches that life is all about “letting go”…and that includes letting go of the ones most precious. A well-acted and well-written movie…all focused on a terribly destructive theme.

This film is rated PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexual references, and male rear nudity

A Guy's Dream Apartment (Remember, this is for a scholarship, read the previous blog for more info)

We as men like to keep things simple. That in itself is a simple fact. Our minds cannot comprehend too many things at once; what a terrible situation it would be if we found ourselves having to talk to someone while watching the basketball game! It just doesn’t work out.

          This is why I consider this Regency Apartment to be my dream house as a guy. Heaven forbid it should actually have a description of the apartment! That would be abominable! My brain would explode from the overdose of information and thus end my quest for simplicity. And thank heavens it doesn’t give me the square footage! I mean, how big does an apartment need to be to fit a couch and a Wii? Hats off to Regency for leaving THAT useless information off! It certainly spared me the trouble of using my brain to imagine the size of the apartment.

          And now my favorite part: there’s no price on the apartment! It’s free!! I love not having to work to get anything I want! There’s a reason why “free” rhymes with “glee”. That’s right- I’m a poet. So the fact that I don’t have to pay for anything really tickles my love handles.

          All that I need to know about the apartment is its address and what’s listed on those featured amenities. We got a pool for washing dishes and clothes (See! I’m hygienic-I keep my stuff clean!), a weight room (I lift every day…), a grill patio (gotta have my grill!), and it’s beautifully landscaped…perfect to play hide-and-seek and 007!

          So all in all this is absolutely my dream apartment; I don’t have to think about anything! It’s perfect for a guy like me. Now I get to tell my wife that I’ve got everything taken care of. Thanks Regency! Here’s the link: http://www.vacancy.com/utah/provo-apartments/regency-apartments

         

Scholarship Post

So right after this post I'm going to put up a short essay about why I think a certain apartment complex is my "dream apartment".  This does not reflect the true feelings of my heart, but is for a scholarship that I found online. The scholarship people said that it could only be done on a blog...and well...this is the only blog that I have! The website said to be creative in the way I wrote the essay, so you might find a wee bit of sarcasm in it. This has nothing to do with movies...but hey I'm a student and I need money!

My Top Ten Favorite Action/Adventure/Epic Movies

1.    The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (favorite movies period)

2.    Indiana Jones Trilogy (trilogy means not the 4^th one…)

3.    Mask of Zorro (Did I tell you that I am Zorro?)

4.    Gladiator (edited….. “Are you not entertained?!”)

5.    Braveheart (also edited…. “FREEDOM!!!”)

6.    Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (yes most of these movies involve people with swords…)

7.    Mission Impossible 3

8.    Casino Royale

9.    Back to the Future Trilogy (“88 miles an hour!!”)

10.     Batman Begins/The Dark Knight

Honorable Mention: The Bourne Trilogy, The Incredibles

Non-Movie Review Posts

Once in a while, you’ll find me posting things other than my movie reviews. These posts might include lists of my “favorites” (could be movies, directors, writers, etc), or movie news, or little trivia nuggets about movies. The purpose of the latter topic will be mainly to show off my vast knowledge of movies and the useless facts that are stored in my head. Praise for me is welcome. Enjoy!

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

“On Stranger Tides” Plunders the Spot for Best “Pirates” Sequel

By: Tyson Anderson

Rating: 7.5/10

Overall:

This is the day that you’ll always remember as the day that a “Pirates” sequel was almost really good! Savvy?

Thumbs Up:

There are actually many good things that I have to say about the recent adventure of Jack Sparrow in the Caribbean. Although I am not a big fan of fourth movies (I prefer trilogies...after three films you know the studios are losing creative brain cells) “On Stranger Tides” actually improves on its two predecessors “Dead Man’s Chest” and “At World’s End”.

And how does it improve you may ask? Well first and foremost, writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio wisely bring the story back to a quest-driven tone as Jack Sparrow, along with others, seek after the fabled Fountain of Youth. This direction is a few steps up from the convoluted storylines that plagued the last two “Pirates” films. Although there were still times I wasn’t completely clear what was going on in this film, most of the time the story was easy to follow. Simple plotlines make for great entertainment in adventure movies. Only if you’re Christopher Nolan can you pull off the complicated while still delivering the goods…ex: “Inception”.

Another way “On Stranger Tides” surpasses the other sequels is that it throttles back on the special effects and uses characters instead of computers to entertain. As much as I enjoyed the Kraken in “Dead Man’s Chest” and the huge whirlpool/ship battle in “At World’s End”, I’d much prefer a good ol’ swordfight between Jack and a Spanish pirate woman! How cool is that!? Her name is Angelica and she’s played by Penelope Cruz, who brings fire and a lot of fun to the Pirates adventure. She’s the perfect match-up for Jack Sparrow, and when the two of them are together on screen it’s a blast to watch! It’s reminiscent of the on-screen chemistry between Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones in “The Mask of Zorro”, one of my favorite movies of all time (He’s young and vigorous…). Also, the interactions between Sparrow and Barbossa are great, making you wish they spent more time together during the movie! All in all, the dialogue between the main characters is quite entertaining.

Despite criticism from other reviewers, I very much enjoyed Ian McShane as Blackbeard. How grateful I am that the writers chose to bring a well-known pirate into the story, instead of relying on little annoying weasels like Lord Cutler Beckett to supply the villainy. Blackbeard is really a bad guy, as seen by the way he mercilessly executes a mutinous member of his crew. Although I would’ve liked to have seen more character development from him (more on that in Thumbs Down), his character was a fun addition and brought some needed menace to the movie.

The best scene in the movie that really put it above the other sequels is the eerie and spellbinding attack of the mermaids. We’ve all seen different interpretations of mermaids, but this has got to be my favorite. They’re like vampire Ariel’s! If any of you have seen the live-action “Peter Pan” movie with Jason Isaacs, the mermaids in it closely resemble these monsters; however, the “Pirates” ones are much more deadly. The scene where they attack the boats of pirates makes for terrifying fun. ♪Part of your world….*vampire shriek*!!♪

Thumbs Down:

Despite the many plusses about the new “Pirates” movie, there are some downfalls to it:

It was missing a really, really good action scene. One thing about Gore Verbinski (director of the first three) was that he could come up with some pretty sweet action sequences. I loved the swordfights in all 3 movies because they were extended and had some great choreography. The fights in this movie are pretty good, but the terrible lighting shadows the choreography and the length of the duels are just not satisfying enough. The final fight at the end is especially disappointing; if I watch a movie about Pirates then I expect to see some swash-bucklin’!

As much as I enjoyed the Blackbeard character, there were just some things missing about his background. Why in the world does his sword have supernatural powers? Where did the zombies on his boat come from? Where did he come from? Why is he so evil? I like having my bad-guys to be more than one-dimensional goons.

I’m a huge fan of Hans Zimmer and his score of the third “Pirates” ranks up there in my favorite soundtracks. However, I did not notice anything special about his score for this movie. It reminded me of John Williams’ score of the last Indy movie: a re-hash of all the old themes with nothing new to offer. Of course the old themes are great, but come on! Give me something new to chew on! Shame on you, dear Hans.

And last but not least, a comment or two about objectionable content. This is the first Disney movie to ever contain a reference to any sort of sexual content in its MPAA rating (this film includes “sensuality and innuendo”). Honestly, I didn’t find too much sensuality and innuendo in the movie; my main gripe was with the mermaids. Why do they have to be topless?! Yes of course their chests are barely obscured by their long flowing hair, but there are definitely some “almost!” moments. I didn’t appreciate that very much. At least Ariel had a bikini top! Stick with your original interpretation, Disney.

After All is Said and Done…:

This is my list the “Pirates” series from favorite to least:

1. Curse of the Black Pearl (9/10)  2. On Stranger Tides (7.5/10) 3. At World’s End (7/10) 4. Dead Man’s Chest (6-6.5/10)...depending on my mood.

Any debaters? Bring it on!

This film is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action/violence, some frightening images, sensuality and innuendo

Cars 2

“Cars 2” Races Ahead of Predecessor…Which Doesn’t Mean a Whole Lot

By: Tyson Anderson

Rating:  7/10

Overall:

“Cars 2” genre switch into the spy movie adds some fun and excitement that was missing from the first, but lacks the heart that beats throughout other Pixar classics.

Thumbs Up:

Overall, I rather enjoyed watching “Cars 2”. I went in with low expectations due to the less-than-enthusiastic reviews I had read about it, as well as my own disappointment in the first movie. In my mind, if there was any Pixar movie that DIDN’T need a sequel, it was “Cars”. I know there are those out there who absolutely love the first movie (one of them is married to me), but honestly it bored me to death, even if it was cute.

Luckily, “Cars 2” kept me entertained from start to finish. Skating over into “Incredibles” territory, the movie is packed with some fun action scenes. We’re treated to a spectacular opening scene at an off-shore oil rig, with secret agent Finn McMissile (voiced by Michael Caine-perfect choice) attempting to sabotage the evil Professor Z. It’s totally old-school James Bond, complete with guns, gadgets and explosions. And if anybody knows me they know I love guns, gadgets and explosions…so I was having a good time. The other chases and escapes throughout the movie are fun too, especially adding in the goofy clumsiness of Mater.

Mater, the loveable tow truck from the first movie (it’s like tow-mater…without the tow) is now the star of this movie, tagging along with Lightning McQueen as the duo travel around the world to participate in a race set up by Sir Miles Axelrod (don’t you love these names) to promote his newly developed alternative fuel. Little do they know that the race is connected to a scheme by Professor Z to stop the fuel from going public, forcing everyone to keep using oil. McMissile, attempting to stop the evil Professor, tries to make contact with an American spy and mistakes Mater as the contact. Mater’s interactions with McMissile and his woman counterpart Holly Shiftwell are pretty funny, even if they’re reminiscent of “The Man Who Knew Too Little”, “Dumb and Dumber”, and probably thousands of other movies. There’s a hilarious part where Mater is introducing McMissile, McQueen, and the Queen of England to each other, poking even more fun at some of the names the writers created for the characters.

And of course beneath the chases and explosions there’s a great message about friendship as Mater’s little adventures threaten to ruin McQueen’s performance in the race. An old Italian couple (Italians know how to keep friends-you scratch my back I scratch yours) reminds him that “To find a friend is to find a treasure”. This is absolutely true and is a good reminder to us all to be better friends to those we love and care for.

And now for the best part of the movie…..actually, it wasn’t even the movie itself. There is a HILARIOUS Toy Story short before the movie starts, all revolving around the Toy Story characters creating a Hawaii vacation for Ken and Barbie to enjoy. If anything, go see the movie just to see this. It made me want to root for a “Toy Story 4”!

Thumbs Down:

Despite the fun spy story of “Cars 2” and the cool-looking locations, the movie just lacks the originality and heart that makes Pixar so great! The first movie had some originality to it, but didn’t engage me in the lives of the characters. This one engaged me, but mostly because of the fun action that was happening. All the other Pixar movies really allowed you to care about the characters and what was happening in their lives, but this movie revolved more around the plot and storyline. Instead of coming away thinking “Wow that was great!” it’s more of a “Well that was fun” type of response. Of course that’s a whole lot better response than what we get from tons of other movies out there, but I expect more of Pixar.

For the objectionable content….hey it’s Pixar, come on! But, I must say that the action in Cars was in my mind a bit too intense for the G-rating that it’s given. There’s one scene where an agent car is “tortured” with heated fuel until he explodes. I don’t know if I would want my 5-year old seeing that (I don’t have a 5-year old….yet). This movie deserves a PG rating, on par with “The Incredibles”.

After All is Said and Done…

“Cars 2” is a fun movie to watch and in my mind is much better than the first; however, it lacks the originality that makes Pixar movies so loveable and memorable. Go see it, but really see it for the Toy Story short at the beginning.

This film is rated G

X-Men: First Class

“X-Men” Deserves First Class Seat on Superhero Plane

By: Tyson Anderson

Rating:    8/10

Overall:

“X-Men: First Class” brings intelligence and heart back into the “X-Men” franchise, giving us a movie that is exciting and thought-provoking (imagine that!), while unfortunately being bogged down by some inappropriate content.

Thumbs Up:

Going into “X-Men: First Class”, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was interested in how the story tied into the historic Cuban Missile Crisis and what fun gimmicks would go along with it; however, in my mind an “X-Men” movie without the delightfully ripped and animal-like Wolverine was, in my mind, not a real “X-Men” movie. Thankfully, I was proven wrong.

I’ll start with the film’s two main characters: Charles Xavier (played with perfect optimism by James McAvoy- I’d never heard of him) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender, with deadly precision), more commonly known to us as Professor X and Magneto. The two were previously played by favorites Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, respectively, so these two young actors had big shoes to fill. Needless to say, they did so flawlessly, creating a new picture of these well-known characters and not resorting to merely mimicking what once was done by Stewart and McKellen. The movie follows their separate stories as Charles lives a life of luxury with loving parents and a wonderful education, while a young Erik witnesses the murder of his mother in a Nazi concentration camp, turning him into a monster of rage. This is to the delight of Dr. Sebastian Shaw, a doctor in the camps who takes a great interest in the abilities of Erik to control metal. The background story of Erik is riveting, and really gives you insight into why he becomes the Magneto that we all know. His “Nazi Hunter” scenes are fun to watch, reminding me of Daniel Craig’s James Bond as the now young adult Erik seeks vengeance on those Nazi leaders that stole his life away. His number one target is Shaw (played by a scary Kevin Bacon), whom he comes THIS close to knocking off before Shaw escapes. This encounter allows Charles (who’s assisting the CIA) to meet Erik, and they begin to form a friendship.

The relationship between Charles and Erik is my favorite aspect of the movie. I loved seeing the origins of some of their interactions in the later movies, including their chess playing. Charles is the central “good guy” of the movie, preaching forgiveness and discipline. There’s a very touching scene where Charles uses Erik’s memory to show him that love makes him far more powerful than rage ever could, and we get to see an Anakin Skywalker side of Magneto (I feel the good in you….). The two characters’ differing viewpoints on life are very evident today, as people seem to take sides on seeing the world as a cold hard prison where it’s every man for himself (Magneto), or as an opportunity to learn from mistakes and grow in the process (Xavier). I love movies that make you ponder these questions in life while giving you an exciting story, as opposed to just throwing a mindless action movie at you (similar to the “Wolverine” prequel, though the mindless action was fun).

The action scenes were enjoyable as well, though not as frequent or dazzling as in other “X-Men” movies. The training of the mutants is a lot of fun, as Charles and Erik use different methods to push the fragile youth to realize their potential. There are new and familiar mutants in this movie, but director Matthew Vaughn is careful not to pack the movie full of them, allowing enough time to let each mutant’s power shine. Banshee in particular is really cool and makes me wish I could scream supersonic waves. I would have a blast with that.

The plot and storyline are fun too, revolving around the Cuban Missile Crisis and the mutants assisting the CIA in stopping nuclear war. The music score wasn’t doing anything spectacular for me until the climax at the Cuba blockade, when the mutants really show off their powers. There’s a distinct X-Men theme that gets repeated and it gave me goosebumps. I’m such a nerd.

Thumbs Down:

Before I get into the objectional content of the movie, probably my only other complaint about the movie is that I wish there could be more cool fight scenes with Magneto. There’s a little taste of this as he quickly dispatches some Nazi generals in Argentina with a knife…but think about how awesome it would be to have Magneto face off with a bunch of assassins and defeat them by manipulating the metal they had. Anyways, enough with my rambling.

Violence: The violence in this movie can get pretty intense, especially in the beginning and end scenes, all dealing with Magneto. There are brief flashes of Magneto being tortured by Shaw as a boy; but the main violence comes when he’s exacting his vengeance on Nazi leaders. He torturously extracts a tooth filling from one man, and stabs another man twice in the hand with a knife. I’m not a big fan of torture scenes; they make me squeamish, so this to me was no good. Also, at the very end of the movie Magneto sends a coin through a man’s head, and it’s done in slow motion so that you see the gash in the head and the coin as it comes out the back (the coin’s a little bloody). There’s very little blood, but it’s pretty graphic nonetheless.

Sexual Content: This is the one that bugged me the most. It seems like every X-Men movie has to have some sort of sexual content in it, which I find stupid. This movie contains some scenes inside a Vegas Strip Club, and although nothing graphic is scene there are a lot of scantily-clad women. Also, Mystique tries to seduce Erik by lying naked in his bed (you only see her shoulders). I’ve never been bothered by her almost-naked blue form, mainly because she looks like a poison-ivy frog, but others might be. The worst scene happens when Emma Frost (a mutant that also has telepathic powers) seduces a Russian general by stripping down to her lingerie and then creating a scene in his mind where she’s straddling him and he’s making out with her. This kind of stuff just ruins movies!

Language: To be honest, I don’t remember there being much swearing in the movie, except for the stupid 1 F-word (said by a famous character in a cameo appearance) that writers these days think HAVE to be in every PG-13 movie.

After All Is Said and Done…

“X-Men: First Class” is one of the best superhero movies and is the second-best “X-Men” movie (behind X2). The story, acting, and action are great, but the movie suffers from some inappropriate scenes that take away from the fun of the film.

This film is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some sexual content including brief partial nudity and language