The Monuments Men

When offered the chance to see the pre-screening of The Monuments Men, I jumped on it. Not only do I absolutely love WWII era movies, but the fact that it is a true story caught my interest, and I am a huge fan of some of the main actors. Putting Matt Damon, George Clooney, Bill Murray, John Goodman, and the talented Cate Blanchett in the same movie is a recipe for a fantastic film.

The overall movie was good.Great acting, good dialogue, with enough wit to keep you chuckling yet still touching your emotions with the somber tale of war.
The only problem I had with the film was the overall idea that was repeatedly pushed -- saving art is worth the life of a human. I understand the sentiment, but I disagree. The only thing worth sacrificing a human life for is another human life. That is all. No piece of art is worth a child's father, a wife's husband, a brother's brother, and mother's son.

Content:

Aside from that, I enjoyed the movie. A favorite aspect of mine was how clean the movie was. With only the S-word said several times, "Hell" scarcely used, and one man's thought "Screw the Germans", the language was very clean for a war-themed movie.
As far as sexuality, it was also very clean. Though several slightly suggestive remarks are made by a woman about "Anything can happen at night in Paris" and telling a man he could stay the night if he wanted, cheers erupted within me when the man walked out shortly after her saying that without so much as a kiss. While it was evident to adults in the film, I imagine her slightly suggestive remarks would fly over children's heads.




Violence was fairly low for a war movie. I was happy to see little blood and gore, with only one scene having it in abundance, and even then it was nothing compared to most war movies. Simply a hospital room of injured soldiers. Lots of blood but nothing graphic.




Overall, it was an enjoyable movie that I found entertaining and at the same time educational on ancient art. It is the perfect educational film for families interested in art and WWII. But while enjoyable, I wouldn't rush to the theater and pay to see it again, and recommend waiting until this one is on DVD before watching.

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Movie Review - Unplanned

The Review:

My Ranking: 8 out of 10

Ages: 13 & up

Unplanned told the true story of Abby Johnson, a former director at a Planned Parenthood facility. Believing 100% in Pro-Life, I was eager to watch this documentary and see what made this lady change her mind - what it was like believing that the murder of babies was okay and then suddenly one day realizing that that was totally wrong. What torment that must have been, knowing that you'd helped - and encouraged - the decisions that these women made! I was nearly brought to tears as I watched the documentary.

The documentary was great. I really liked watching it and learning about the life of this woman who was so wrong and confused in her understanding one day take a turn and help for the opposite cause. The documentary was easy to understand and held my attention easily. I found it informative while not being overly descriptive and graphic.

The content was pretty mild for what the documentary was about. Abby told a story about how she had a boyfriend and became pregnant before marriage and had an abortion. There was nothing explained into detail. Also, there are a few shots of some slightly graphic signs, saying that they are overboard. Other than that and the whole subject of the documentary, there is nothing to mention.

All around this was a great movie that was really great to watch; Abby's testimony was awesome. Purchase this movie HERE and check out the Unite For Life site - http://uniteforlifewebcast.org/

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The Way Home: A True Inspirational Story Review

The Review:
My ranking: 8 out of 10
Ages 5 & up


This week I watched The Way Home, a story about a family is crisis after their son goes missing and the way a community pulls together to help them search for their young child.

Dean Cain stars in this touching film as Randy Simpkins, a husband and father who is having a hard time balancing time at the office with time with his family. Just before heading out for a vacation with the purpose of spending quality time with his kids and wife, a tragedy occurs. Randy's wife, Christal, requests that Randy watch their youngest child, Joe, for a few minutes while she picks up some last minute things from the house, but when Randy turns his back for a few moments and checks his email, Joe disappears without a trace.
Unable to find their son anywhere, the Simpkins slowly go from concern to panic. Rescue men and their local neighbors begin to help them in their search and before they know it the entire community is there to hep them find their missing 2 year old. Faith is tested in ways no one could have ever imagined, and community pulls together to help in the crisis.


The Positive:
This movie easily received 8 stars in my review. It was captivating, heart renching, and all around an enjoyable film to watch. It was very neat to watch a community pull together so selflessly to help find the missing child. You wouldn't naturally expect that. It was very inspiring.

The Negativc:
The only complaint I had about it was the wife's attitude sometimes. Since she was the wife, I feel she shouldn't have been so bossy to her husband, as he is the head of the house. But that was just a minor thing. The actual story was very good, though.

To Sum It Up:
All in all, I'd recommend you purchase or rent this movie when it comes out on October 26th. It was a very good story and I really enjoyed it!

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