Jerry Howell

Who hasn't heard the song "Amazing Grace"? Even if you've never attended a church service, you've probably heard it in some form or another. I can remember a scene in According to Jim where that hymn was played on a harmonica during a funeral of sorts, and an episode of Home Improvement where Jill alluded to it. Most songs have a story behind them, and "Amazing Grace" has quite the history; after seeing this, you won't hear that hymn the same way ever again! Better yet, the production values and story were better than usual for a Christian film; the performances were all outstanding, especially the lovely Romola Garai as Barbara. However, what I didn't expect was for some problematic content to be thrown into the mix. While I knew there would be disturbing descriptions of slavery, as that was a deplorable practice, I was bothered by some of the female characters' low-cut outfits, as well as several utterances of profanity, including British crudities "b----y," "b------s," "arse," and right many uses of the h-word not in reference to the place. Despite its problems, it was still a great movie; however, with a bit more decorum, it could have been much better.

This flick was of interest to me for two reasons: One, my mom is a longtime fan of Broadway musicals, especially this one, so, I grew up hearing the songs and knowing the story. While I've never read the Victor Hugo novel--I know; what kind of reader am I?--I've become familiar with it thanks to its various interpretations. Two, Anne Hathaway is an old Hollywood "flame" of mine. In March of 2005, she replaced Hilary Duff as my number one favorite female celebrity after I saw Ella Enchanted thanks to a friend's recommendation. (Believe it or not, not only was that friend of the male gender, he was a former drill sergeant; no joke!) So, when I saw this recently at a garage sale, I knew I had to give it a whirl.

In short: I was blown away. The grand scope of the story; the performances, especially from Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, and Samantha Barks; the authentic sets; the musical numbers; pretty much everything about this flick wowed me. Better yet, it portrayed faith in God in a positive light; so much so, I almost felt like I was watching a Pure Flix production at times. An appearance by original Broadway cast member Colm Wilkinson was a plus. Not since the celluloid adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera have I been this impressed with such a film. Despite their popularity and my penchant for Disney Channel media, even the High School Musical and Camp Rock flicks didn't have such an effect on me.

However, I did have one quibble: There were certain moments that I found unnecessary. I understand that violence and sex were a big part of the original novel, and any faithful adaptation would have to be at least "PG-13"; still, there were a few brief scenes that could have been left out, and that would have embarrassed me if I'd had a friend--especially one from my church--watching it with me. So, discerning viewers may want to proceed with caution.

I'm a sucker for a story.

Seriously, anytime I hear, read, or see a story--in any form--I always want to know what happened next. I still remember years-old incidents where somehow--flipping channels, being at a friends' house, a technical problem, etc.--I saw only part of a movie or show; to this day, I wonder what happened before or after what I saw. True, some tales are not worth telling; if it's morally offensive, I don't want to hear any part of it. However, as long as it isn't sinful, pretty much any story can grab my attention.

So, despite the critical drubbing this movie got, I found it to be a captivating tale of redemption, with a charming historical setting. The performances were wonderful, and the production values were amazing. It seems to me that the critics were just too hard on this movie because it fell into the genre of Christian cinema. I would say that we need more films--and, for that matter, television shows--like this.

Then again, I'm such a sucker for a story that I stayed up past midnight to finish watching The Witches of Oz, which had the worst special effects I've ever seen, so, maybe I'm not a fair judge. To adapt an old song lyric, "Here I am now; entertain me!" That's what this movie did; you may feel differently.

(I do want to issue a content concern: This film has a surprising amount of violence; more than I would expect in a "PG". The initial shock I had while watching this is akin to what many people felt when Prince Caspian first came out. While there's no blood or gore, the intensity of the action made me feel like this should have been "PG-13" instead.)

First off, a little personal history: All the way back in 1995, I received a computer game as a Christmas gift called Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon. My mom didn't even know what it was; I still can hear her saying, "What is that? A golf game?" Despite its title, it had nothing to do with any sport; Putt-Putt was actually an anthropomorphic purple convertible that actually gets launched on a rocket to the Moon while visiting a fireworks factory. As the game progresses, that titular vehicle does everything from save an alien from moon goo to play the arcade game Bear Stormin' to meet up with an abandoned NASA Rover...and, eventually makes it back to terra firma. I quickly got addicted to that game, and soon got my hands on not only other Putt-Putt titles, but also others from the same developer, Humongous Entertainment. One of their games, Let's Explore the Airport, I awaited owning for well over a year, playing the demo to death the whole time. Words can't describe my excitement when my mom randomly decided to purchase it for me as an end-of-school reward.

Fast forward to 2004: I hadn't touched any Humongous Entertainment games in years, but I did fondly remember playing them on my first Mac, which was long gone. That November, I went with some friends from church to see The Incredibles in theaters, where the trailer for the first Cars flick was unveiled. As you can imagine, those Putt-Putt games were the first thing I thought of; it was almost like a 3-D version of a childhood favorite. I actually didn't see Cars until well after it came out on DVD, but I enjoyed it, particularly the vehicle-themed spoofs of other Pixar films during the end credits.

That was years ago; the Cars franchise is now a trilogy, and I'm just now seeing the second outing. What did I think? Honestly, I had a blast with it; the action and intensity was on point, and Mater's triumph over dire circumstances was very inspiring. I loved the voice actors, especially the female British spy, Holley Shiftwell. As usual, the animation was excellent. Despite what some people may think, I think this is another winner from the studio that pioneered computer animation; it was vastly superior to the last one I sat through: the dreadful, nerve-grating Incredibles 2. If you like family-friendly action/adventure flicks, this one is for you.

Me and this second Star Wars prequel have an interesting history. (I know; I say that a lot, don't I?) My first time seeing it was actually in an IMAX theater at a local museum; at the time, that place had the only supersize movie screen anywhere close by. What I didn't know until after it was over was that the IMAX version actually was shortened; as soon as me and my brother-in-law walked out of the theater, one guy said to his friend who saw it with him, "So...how much did they cut out?" Still, despite the hate this movie has gotten--it was widely considered to be the worst of the saga even before the prequel trilogy was finished--I enjoyed it; the action sequences were spot-on, and it's interesting to see the start of Anakin's journey towards the Dark Side. True, the romance was a bit overdone, but, this series isn't about lovey-dovey scenes anyway.

The one complaint I did have is that it feels a bit...well, oversexed. Between seeing Anakin shirtless and Padmé's various immodest outfits, it seems that the makers were trying to provide unnecessary eye candy for viewers of both genders. Also mildly disappointing was the single profanity; the only one in the entire prequel trilogy!

Let me start by discussing my history with this story, both in book and celluloid form: I was recommended the original novel in second grade, but couldn't get into it; I was too enthralled by computer games and television for it to interest me. In sixth grade, my homeroom teacher made it required reading; I was a bit hesitant to try it, but, when I did, I enjoyed it so much that I read the sequels later on in middle school, even though it wasn't required. To this day, that's the only book that was required reading for my entire class--at any point in school--that I actually liked. When the ABC telefilm came on, I started to watch it...but, then it got too late, and I had school the next morning, so, I taped the rest...and never watched it. Later on, I got the DVD from the library, but, it took multiple attempts to finish it. As an adult, I read/listened to the entire Time Quintet again, and it still held up, even though I wasn't too enthused by L'Engle's other works, especially A Ring of Endless Light, which I didn't care for even in DCOM form. When I heard that Wrinkle was getting the big screen treatment, I was curious what the House of Mouse would do with it; would they bring new life to it like they did the Muppets, or would they butcher it like they did Star Wars with The Last Jedi?

Unfortunately, I have to say that this falls into the latter category. To me, the best thing about this film was seeing Rowan Blanchard (Girl Meets World) in a role that was very different from Riley Matthews. If only she had gotten more screen time. The rest of the movie falls flat. Oprah Winfrey's performance was awful; while Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling were attractive, they also were just awkward here. The flick also takes too much liberty with the novel; so much so, I'd hate to see Ms. L'Engle's reaction to this if she were still alive. As it is, she probably was turning in her grave at this movie's release. Not only was the story butchered, but the Christian elements were removed as well. Fans of the books who are also part of the Way will likely be disappointed by that. Yes, the special effects were good, but, you can get that pretty much anywhere these days.

In short: Go read--or listen to--the book and its sequels; don't even bother with this mess.

Synopsis: Continuing where the first film left off, the Incredibles work together to defeat the Underminer...only for it to result in serious destruction of the city. When superheroes are made illegal, the Parr family thinks it's time to hang up their super-suits...until Bob (Mr. Incredible) and Helen (Elastigirl) get contacted by a wealthy businessman who wants to change that law. He selects Elastigirl to be his "it" girl, and she soon saves the day...only to find out that an old nemesis, known as Screenslaver, is bent on her and her family's destruction. Who could this evil villain be? Will the Incredibles be able to save the day once again?

The Good: Pixar basically pioneered the computer-animated film, so, it's no surprise that the animation here is beautiful. The decades-old setting brings some old-school charm, particularly when the kids are seen watching the vintage Saturday morning cartoon Jonny Quest. As you'd expect, the action was spot-on.

The Bad: If only the rest of the movie matched up. As much as I love female superheroes, Elastigirl was annoying here; her voice nearly drove me bonkers. Violet's adolescent tantrums were just as ingratiating. The villain here wasn't very convincing, either. Some content concerns popped up as well: Though I expected violence, profanity (including misuses of God's name) and occasional crudity simply weren't necessary.

Conclusion: I first saw The Incredibles in a packed theater back in November 2004, and had a blast with it; so much so that, the following March, I begged my mother to buy the DVD when it was released. We popped the movie in one night...and never watched it again; soon after, I sold it at one of our garage sales. On the small screen--which really was small; we didn't have a very big television set back then--it just wasn't the same; it was almost as if I were watching Barney and Friends instead. Despite that, I had heard great things about the long-awaited sequel, so, I figured, why not? Well, I hate to say it, but Pixar got it wrong here. Yes, the animation was fabulous, but, these days, you need more than great visuals to win me over. While the content concerns were minor, the problems lied in poor voice work, annoying characters, and a sub-par villain. Part of me says they shouldn't make an Incredibles 3; then again, that would give them a chance to redeem themselves for this second outing.

I've never been a fan of Kim Possible. Even back when I watched Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens, and Raven practically every day, I only watched one full episode one time; everything else I know about the show and its characters comes from endless Disney Channel commercials, or tail ends of episodes I saw while waiting for one of my favorites to start. My problems with it are twofold: One, I'm not a fan of Kim's usual style of dress; the Mouse network would never have allowed a live action heroine to consistently dress that way. Two, while I'm all for strong female characters, Kim is too much of a Mary Sue, whereas her best friend is unacceptably dimwitted. On Lizzie McGuire, Gordo may have been a different sort of best friend, but, at least he was smart. Even the fact that my second top celebrity crush, Christy Carlson Romano, voiced Kim wasn't enough to make me a fan.

Still, the show had its admirers; otherwise, it wouldn't have lasted nearly as long as it did. So, some time ago, when I saw this at a garage sale, I thought: Why not give it a chance? This one definitely had its moments; the animation was great, and the plot was rather convoluted. However, the problems I always had with the show were present in multiple ways. Not only was Kim too perfect of a heroine, but Shego was the only smart villain around. Yes, Ron may have saved the day, but, he did it by accident. When the movie opened with a suggestive cheerleader routine, I knew this wasn't going a very good production...and it wasn't. It was fun at times, but, I don't think I'll bother with any more Kim Possible episodes again...and that's a longtime Disney Channel fan talking.