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Reviews
Predestination (2014)
Trans Propaganda Wrapped in Swaddling Sci-fi Clothes
A movie before it's time:
Don't be fooled... this movie isn't about Ethan Hawke. It's literally listening to Sarah Snook tell her story of being born in the wrong body (body dysmorphia) and her life story towards her inevitable "gender affirming care".
Im not joking.. people will call me bad names at this point, but that's because they're terrible people. I'm not joking. That's literally the movie.
NOW... this movie came out in 2014 so, they couldn't come straight out and say "trans men ARE men", SO Sarah Snook is a hermaphrodite'.. of course. This movie is replete with Leftist meme... the pregnancy by a s**thead man who left her pregnant and thus destroyed her potential elite future ("If only abortions were a thing"). The affirmation of body dysmorphia... and the patriarchal a**holes in the power structure who just dont understand.
All that aside, this movie COULD BE a great sci-fi movie.. .BUT, the sci-fi part is a lie. This movie IS NOT about telling a sci-fi story.. evidence? It literally takes an hour to get back to any sort of sci-fi at all. Sci-fi IS THE MECHANISM to inject the Leftist message... you can be born in the wrong body and _______ (fill in the leftist meme).
Bottom line: its really not poorly done. The movie is well produced and the storyline (if we could ever get back to it) is actually interesting. BUT that's the point. ... the message... let's produce something high quality that we can push the agenda forward. NOT surprised, that this (its 2023) is hitting the Netflix / Roku run now. This is literally the message that the Left is pushing.
Hunting Ava Bravo (2022)
Suspenseful and Well Played Out - Not a Victim
First off, what makes this movie very good is the premise throughout the movie that this woman is *not* a victim: not only does she remind herself of that very thing multiple times, she also leans on an (unexplored) faith in "the Creator" to summon the courage to go on. In other words, her strength comes from BOTH an inner determination AND her leaning on a faith. In short, this movie quite openly steps past the current cultures pre-occupation with victimhood and hyperbolic (ironically faith driven) declaration of "all you need is found within yourself". As well, guns are portrayed not merely as killing machines but a tool for survival. It's quite obvious that whoever has the gun is going to depend on whether it's used for good or evil. For these reason alone, I'm not surprised by the low score. For me though, it's what made it a winner.
That being said, HAB, is an interesting and atmospheric experience. It is true that not much happens during the movie in the way of action, however it's what's taking place in the meantime that really matters: there were many times I found myself watching the actors' faces intently to "read" the dynamic taking place; fascinated with how scary that must have been for the character; surprised by the constant, shallowing and then deepening, of the characters motives. While other reviews lament what they determine to be "bad acting", I found myself engrossed in analyzing their movements and watching the interactions unfold.
The choice of music at the very beginning and then are a bit suspect... not exactly what i would have chosen, however the soundtrack and suspense track throughout the rest of the movie were spot on. There was one moment that I swore I heard a "knocking" (which added to the anxiety of suspense) but which turned out to just be a cleverly edited soundtrack.
In summary, this movie bucks the current cultures obsession with victimhood, creates a protagonist that is absolutely fine with surviving, and creates a message of leaning into one's pain to find the faith to press forward. In other words, a movie to sit and analyze in real time.
Feels Good Man (2020)
Fascinating but Ultimately 2D Exposition of Pepe the Frog
The first 45 minutes is actually quite informative in following the 4chan adoption and evolution of the meme - the mindset of those who first adopted Pepe and the emotional bond that was made. The next 45 however is essentially the reason Trump won: the lesson the left never learned; a minimization of the bigger conversation to a hyper-focus on the alt-right. In other words, the film does a good job of documenting the battle that took place with the alt-rights use of Pepe. However it's to the exclusion of the bigger campaign of those who do not agree with the alt-right but used Pepe to express hope and belief in a Trump victory over the rise of authoritarian and global Leftism. <-- the conversation that never takes place.
Much like reading a politifact "fact" check, the documentary quickly moves from history of the origins of Pepe into a breakdown and explanation of liberal narrative. As such, it leaves the 2016 experience of an entire swath of conservative and moderate voices misrepresented and lumped into a single basket of hate and aggression.
Let be me clear... This seems to be the way that the creator experienced everything and thus as a "Furie" documentary it tells his story quite well and accurately. However, as a "Pepe" documentary it fails to tell the whole story in anything other than a two dimensional, singularly aspected fashion - white supremacists used Pepe to promote their politics. This is of course true but only a small piece of a much bigger phenomena. Netflix will eat this up however and I imagine it will be viewed by millions and seen as the whole story before it's run is over.
In summary, this was a good documentary experience and I feel better informed after watching it. I would recommend it to just about anyone with the qualifier of its political leaning. But honestly, If you're politically liberal then you already believe the narrative portrayed in the second half of the documentary. If you're politically conservative (or have been since 2016) you are already aware of the narrative bias.
Midsommar (2019)
A Slow and Taxing View of Neo-Paganism & the Return to a Christless Europe
Just finished watching a movie called "Midsommar". It was slow, took forever to resolve, and was disturbingly pagan. I haven't decided if it glorifies paganism (as the end seems to imply) or if it is a metaphor of the loss of the power of Christianity in Europe and the return to it's immoral Christless and pagan past (which its disturbing nature and symbolism seemed to).
Whichever it was, the entire movie long I was struck by Romans 1 which talks about how God's judgment is just on those who have not known the Creator but rather became fools and worshiped the creation. The thought of what it must have been like to be a priest 1000 years ago bringing the light of the gospel to such villages is fascinating. Let us remember that such individuals brought Christianity to Europe and saved it out of such a culture.
Lasty, the movie struck me that, not only would God be entirely just in striking such people down for the evil they do, but that such people don't deserve a warning of death let alone the giving of His only Son for a mere chance that one might repent - but that is exactly what God did . The true weight of God's patience toward sinners became uncomprehendingly great watching this train-wreck play out.
That aside. I wouldn't recommend this movie unless you are somehow intellectually and prayerfully involved in better understanding the resurgence of paganism taking place in the world today. Let me make it quite clear that this is a picture of the world from which Christianity (Christ Himself) called humanity out and thus it took quite an emotional toll to sit through. I wouldn't call it entertainment but rather a stark picture of a Christless Europe.