Why I as a Christian will be seeing Beauty and the Beast.

Over the last 48 hours articles have surfaced indicating that there may be a gay character in the upcoming Disney live action movie Beauty and the Beast. As expected social media users have taken to venting their frustrations and exhalations of Disney in this respect. One popular response to this news has come from Christians and their response unsurprisingly has been something along the lines of "I don't think I'll be seeing this movie now."

Now I want to state firmly and for the record that I fully understand that from a Biblical stand point the act of homosexuality is a sin. There are many verses that coincide with this both in the New Testament and the Old Testament. That is not what I am disputing and if that is the only reason as a Christian that I should not see this movie then I must press the issue. There are many sins that are written about in the New Testament and the Old Testament that Christians as a whole have no problem with when they are indulged in film. Galatians 5 is one verse that shows us many of these sins.

For the Acts of the Sinful Nature are obvious: Sexual Immorality, Impurity and Debauchery; Idolatry and Witchcraft; Hatred, Discord, Jealousy, Fits of Rage, Selfish Ambition, Dissensions, Factions and Envy; Drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Now let me break down something: Christians believe that Sexual Immorality is the act of homosexuality, HOWEVER that is not all Sexual Immorality entails. It entails ANY and ALL Pre-Marital sexual relations that occur. So my friends I'm sorry if you enjoy movies like 50 shades of grey, The Notebook, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Twilight... I think you get the point. If the movie involves any sort of implied or otherwise premarital sex then the movie contains sexual immorality.

How about Witchcraft? More and more movies like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Aladdin and the like have explored the world of magic and witchcraft. Yet we as Christians flock to these movies with no issue. Once in a while we'll still see the occasional Christian saying that these movies should be avoided because of the obvious sin content that they contain. But we shrug it off  and say its just entertainment. Its not real.

Hatred, Discord, Jealousy, Fits of Rage, Selfish Ambition, Dissensions, Factions and Envy. Have any of you seen Star Wars? That list pretty much sums up episodes 3-7. If not a Star Wars fan about Batman vs Superman or Captain America civil war? How about Spiderman or movies like Mean Girls. Do not all of these movies contain at least one of these sinful natures?

Drunkenness: How many of you enjoy the occasional college humor movie like Superbad, or American Pie, or Idiocracy.

The obvious response to all of this well homosexuality is different. You're right it is. Because homosexual people are people who deal with real issues on a daily basis. Homosexuals are people who have been rejected largely by the church for their sexual preference. Homosexuals have had people stand out on corners with signs saying awful things such as God hates fags. They've had people tell them that their chances for disease and death will increase because of their sexual preference. For a millennia they have been rejected and ostracized by society and in the last 10 years that has started to go away. Yet Christians still hold onto "Well it's sinful so I won't be participating"

Allow me to challenge you that if you do not go see Beauty and the Beast because it contains one iota of a sinful act that you should turn off your TV and never turn it back on again. Let me challenge you that if you refuse to go see Beauty and the Beast because you believe the sinful act is in someway different than all other sinful acts, that maybe you should go read your Bible again.

God does not differentiate one sin from the other. Romans 3:23 says that All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Does that mean that we must celebrate sin? No. But please look at this another way. Put yourselves in the shoes of the homosexual people who have been ostracized and rejected by society and for some even their families. They see what you are posting on your social media as well. They see it and they are deeply hurt because they are just people trying to get by. And for many of them that hurt is turning to anger, not anger against the church but anger against God. With our Christian idealism and stubbornism we are turning away hurting homsexual people away from God.

So why will I be going to see Beauty and the Beast? Because sin is sin and maybe just maybe I can show the love of Christ by attending a movie that everyone expects Christians to boycott. So if you decide to go: Go with the love and the peace of Christ.

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. An Honest Review

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, an Honest Review.

Content:
Violence: 3 The Star Wars Universe is a Universe perpetuated by war. As such there are many violent scenes of star ships blowing each other up and intense hand to hand duels with energy weapons.

Blood and Gore: 2 In this particular installment of the series there is a male character whom we see begin hitting himself after he takes a bowcaster shot to the abdomen. The camera then pans to blood flecks on the snow beside him

Drug and Alcohol use: 1 There is some implied alcohol and drug use when our characters meet up with a cantina owner on a remote planet. 

Language: 2 A few uses of Damn and one use of Hell

Frightening Scenes: 3  There are killer space octopus' on board a freighter that kill and eat several gang members. This scene may be frightening for young children. A character attempts to reconcile with his son and is stabbed through the chest with a lightsaber. 

Sex and Sensual Materials: 2 There is no sex in this movie, there is however a Twilek slave who is with a Brute of an alien and it is apparent that she is in someway sensually/sexually involved with him. Very similar to the Jabba-princess Leia scene from episode VI. She is wearing skimpy clothing. There are several "moments" between two of the core characters of this film but nothing ever happens with them

Recommended for Teens 13 and up. Many of the thematic and cinematic elements as well as fantasy may be too much for some young children.

Rating: 4/5 Very Good Movie

Caution. The following will contain Spoilers. If you have not seen the VII movie of the Galaxy Far away franchise, turn back now to avoid any spoiling.

Plot: It's been thirty years since the empire, led by Emperor Palpatine, Dark Lord of the Sith has been crushed. In that time frame Luke Skywalker, the last of the known Jedi has left the known galaxy to restart the Jedi order. In Luke's absence however, dark forces have risen again to fill the power void left by the crippled empire. The new power has called themselves The First Order, and through might, like the empire before them, they intend to bring order to the galaxy. 

Review:

When the final credits rolled for Star Wars episode VI - Return of the Jedi back in 1983 - fans of the Star Wars trilogy anxiously awaited the day that the series would return to the screen in all of its glory. Sixteen years later in 1999 when Star Wars episode I ran for the first time, fans wondered if they would ever see a Star Wars that was reminiscent of the film that they loved. Episode I replaced much of the cinematic and story telling of the original trilogy with CGI and explosions. Fan's grew wary that they would never again see a film in the Star Wars Universe that met their expectations. 

That is until Star Wars episode VII: The Force Awakens came to the big screen. This movie having been released on December 18, 2015, has broken box office records on opening day and opening weekend. It is going for the record of most made. Below I will chronicle, the good, the bad and the ugly of this film.

The Good: How about we start off simple, there is no Jar Jar Binks. There is no character like Jar Jar Binks. In fact the mere mention of the awful gungan race is as far removed from this movie as this movie is from the prequel trilogy in terms of time line. 

Secondly: No where near the amount of  CGI of the prequel series. Like episodes IV, V, and VI before it this movie has returned to an era of practical special effects. What does that mean for the fans? Well for one the ships look real, because well... they are. J.J. Abrams did an amazing job of building and filming large and small models of our favorite ships in the Star Wars Universe. From X-Wings to the Millennium Falcon our favorite ships in the Galaxy far far away are back looking as they should. This isn't to say that there is no CGI in this film. But in comparison with the prequel trilogy it might as well not be there.

Third:  Back Story and dialogue. The most frustrating thing for the hardcore fans in the prequel trilogy is that the story progressed with little to no character development and the moments of dialogue between characters was just plain painful to watch. For many-a fan the pain caused by these moments of dialogue led us down a path to the dark side, but not the dark side that was intended by George Lucas. In the premier of episode VII not only does every character have a developed back story with thought. But the moments of silence and dialogue are actually enjoyable to watch. The characters have depth and are in no way one dimensional unlike the pining character of Anakin Skywalker in episode II. 

Caution the following contains spoilers. This is your last chance to turn back

The Bad: For many fans one of the most frustrating characteristics across all of the movies has been the whining that has permeated through both Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker. Well in Episode VII we are given no reprieve from the Skywalker family trait. "Whining is strong in my family, my father had it, I have it - and Leia, your son will have it." For fans of the extended universe it is no surprise that Han Solo and Leia Organa hook up and have a son whom they name Jason. However, due to Disney's elimination of the canon of the EU, that son's name is now Ben and he's about as whiny as ever in this episode of Star Wars. More than once we see him whining about the amount of pain he is in because of his pull to the light side (you guessed it, he renamed himself Kylo Ren when he went dark). And even goes so far as to nearly begin crying about his pain as he plunges his lightsaber through his father's chest. Which brings me to point number 2. 

Kylo Ren and his master have no true understanding of the dark side. Fans of the Star Wars Universe remember Yoda's quote in episode I: Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to the dark side. In the same way dark side fans understand that pain also leads to the dark side. We see this when Anakin is faced with such emotional trauma at the pain of losing his mother that he wipes out an entire camp of Sand People. Some may argue that the Sand People may have had it coming. This argument while valid, is still a path to the dark side. Pain is necessary to the dark side. So is fear. When Kylo Ren kills his father Han Solo he not only eliminates his pain (the pull from the light side) but he also eliminates his fear (the perpetual fear that Solo's life will pull him back to the light.). We can actually see that this nearly instantly weakens him as Chewbacca hits him with a well placed bowcaster bolt to the abdomen. As we all remember, he had no problem stopping a blaster shot earlier in the movie and allowed it to remain suspended for the entirety of the interrogation of  Po. It is clear that Ren understands the connection for pain and the dark side after the fact as he inflicts physical pain on himself in his fight against Rey in order to give himself more strength. However, the minuscule amount of physical pain that he is able to inflict simply isn't near enough to replace the emotional tear of his father's life. 

Another death star destruction sequence: Fans of the original trilogy have already seen the death star blow up twice. Well if that wasn't enough for you, how about Star Killer base? If you're confused Star Killer base is another death star with a more protected exhaust port... Oh and its about 100 times the size of Death Star 2.0 built into the side of a planet that is able to destroy entire systems at a time by destroying a star in the process. Against all odds the resistance is able to mount a defense against Star Killer base and in the last possible moment blow it up from the inside. You would think that The First Order would have learned from the Empire's mistakes about building such huge targets with one barely guarded weak spot. But I guess we'll see if in episode VIII they can come up with a better plan. Last but certainly not least: 

Han Solo's Death many fans going into the movie knew it was inevitable that one of the core characters would ultimately perish. While there were many rumors running about I can't say many were surprised to see Harrison Ford's iconic character fall to his death. However, being killed by his son who is being manipulated by a dark side user, because of his force sensitivity, all while being whiny just was a little too much. It almost seemed as if Ren wasn't going to go through with it. But we all know the story must go on.

The Ugly:

Rey has never used the force before and yet suddenly out of nowhere she is having force visions, using force persuade and force pull on Luke Skywalker's old lightsaber. Even the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy (Anakin Skywalker) had to receive training to begin using his force powers. Is J.J. attempting to say this unknown Jedi is somehow more powerful than Anakin or even Luke?

Finn breaks his programming without explanation: It's established in the movie later on that the Storm Troopers are no longer clones but are in fact taken at birth and programmed to fight for the First Order. However, it seems that the First Order's programming is having a bit of trouble as it appears its common place for the troopers to behave independently of their programming. Despite having no warning signs Finn for no reason at all decides after one battle that he's seen too much and breaks out a high value prisoner, steals a tie fighter and subsequently joins the resistance. While these events are possible they are not very probable.

Killer Space Octopus - Do I need to say more on this?

Finn gets shot down in Tie Fighter - Survives In one of the early sequences Finn is shot down by a Star Destroyer's canon in a tie fighter. I don't know if Disney decided that when Tie's get shot down that they are able to fall through the atmosphere of a planet and the pilot's are then able to eject, but in the entire movie series the only tie that we have seen that gets hit and survives is Vader's specially built tie advanced. All other tie fighter craft take one or two bolts from an x-wing and they go down in a fireball. The likelihood therefore of a tie fighter surviving a fully charged repulsor cannon shot from a star destroyer is beyond improbable. Add in falling through a planet's atmosphere, the gunner ejecting and somehow both passengers surviving I'm beginning to wonder if the force is somehow at play here.

Summation:  Overall the movie is very good. And still one of the better of the series. However, the movie in some ways leaves me asking whether Kylo Ren is going to be just another Vader. Good guy turns bad guy turns good. We've seen his powers weaken already. We've seen a non force user go toe to toe with him and survive. What we haven't seen is Ren having had a full understanding of his dark side abilities. We haven't seen Leia use any kind of force ability outside of knowing her husband had died. We have seen all of two minutes of Luke as he doesn't show up until the end of the movie. 

While this movie is one of the best of the series it still leads to many questions: Questions that we can only hope that Disney will attempt to answer in the coming years. However, for now fan's appetites for another great Star Wars installment are satiated, and we anxiously anticipate, not only the remaining two episodes in this trilogy, but also the stand-alone films that are set to be released in the coming years.

The Croods

Rated PG

IMDB Quote: After their cave is destroyed, a caveman family must trek through an unfamiliar fantastical world with the help of an inventive boy.



Content


Violence: 2 There are some scenes where there are Piranha fish. Also they are cavemen so there will be kicking and punching and what not


Blood and Gore: 1 very little. You do however see some whale walker bones


Drug and Alcohol Use: 1 None and no noticeable references


Sex and Sensual Materials: 3 In a few scenes the Crood daughter is shot at such an angle that it could be considered sensual. However, as this movie is aimed at younger children its unlikely that this will be a noticeable issue. Use discretion however.


Language: 1 None and very little in terms of referencing language. It was a nice surprise for a dreamworks film.


Frightening Scenes: 2 Some of the scenes with the Piranha fish and some of the scenes toward the end can be seen as sad/frightening. However, it is nothing too over the top

 

The Croods 

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you crossed a piranha with a bird? Or how about if you gave a whale legs? All of these questions and more can be answered by The Croods.

 From the creators of the Shrek series and How to Train your dragon comes The Croods. Don't be fooled by the name however, because the Croods are everything but crude. Despite the similarities in the animation to Shrek the movie has much more of a younger children air about it, with some thrown in adult humor. Not the kind that is typical of Dreamworks, however, but more humor that older generations can relate to (such as new inventions by the character played by Nicholas Cage).

While the movie is great for all ages it does have a down side. A major theme throughout the entire movie is a phrase that Crood father continuously repeats: "Never don't be afraid." Or if double negatives confuse you, "Always be afraid."

This movie is set in a prehistoric era where the last of the cavemen are dying out and a new "breed" of human's are beginning to emerge. The Croods largely due to the fact that they never leave their cave seem to be the last cavemen in existence and they are constantly battling with the environment just to eat everyday. Then the teen-aged rebellious daughter decides that one day she is not going to listen to her father's warnings and sneak out in the middle of the night in order to find out what the light is that she see's. After being nearly eaten alive (for about the tenth time this point in the movie) she meets a young stranger who warns her and her family of an impending doom.

Along with Belt and several other helpful characters that are met along the way, The Croods provides humor, and challenges for the entire family.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Rated PG

IMDB Quote: "Harry ignores warnings not to return to Hogwarts, only to find the school plagued by a series of mysterious attacks and a strange voice haunting him."

Content:

Violence: 4 There are several scenes of threats of violence and acted violence between individuals

Blood and Gore: 3 Messages are written in blood on the walls, there are also "petrified" or frozen bodies found (they are not dead just frozen by magic)

Drug and Alcohol Use: 1 There is no blatant drug or alcohol use. It may be implied in some instances that alcohol is being drank but it is not obvious

Sex and Sensual Material: 1 There is no blatant sexual or sensual material. There is reference to one of the main character's mothers "fancying" a man other than her husband. Other than that there is literally nothing to worry about in this category for this film

Language: 1 There are a few words for those viewers in the UK but for the viewers in the US there is next to nothing in terms of language. 

Frightening Scenes: 6 There are several intense scenes throughout this film, some of which are mentioned in the review. It is strongly recommended that parents view this film prior to allowing children view it.

Review Warning Contains Spoilers:

Spiders and Wizards and House Elves Oh My! In this second installment of Harry Potter, our hero travels back to Hogwarts for his second year at the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But before he can Win Guadium Leviosa things begin to go very wrong. First, he gets no letters from his friends, He can’t get on the train platform because of  some magic barrier and then Mrs. Norris the grounds keeper’s cat winds up petrified with a strange message written in blood beside her on the wall about the chamber of secrets and it being opened. Students around the school begin to drop like flies, and at every scene, there are spiders leaving in hoards. And lastly, the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher is utterly useless with just about everything he attempts to do

Hillarity and drama ensues in this film. We have cars that fly, witches that do their chores with magic and screaming mandrake plants. And if that’s not enough, there are huge spiders. Now we all know that when we say huge spiders that can be a relative term. The spider Aragog from this film puts the great Sheba from Lord of the Rings to shame and not only is it huge… but it talks! Within moments, you’re no longer watching Harry Potter but some twisted rendition of Eight Legged Freaks.

Some of the humor in this film with likely make you moan like Myrtle and make you wish that you hadn’t put this in your player in the first place. While other scenes are so intense that you are unsure of whether or not this film is actually supposed to be aimed at young children, as the rating would suggest. You find out if you weren’t paying attention in the last film that even wizards get detention, there are nonsense puns like Mrs. Sprout who grows plants in her greenhouse and lastly you find out that even among witches and wizards there is a level of racism and hatred.

Critique

Let’s be honest, its hard to find movies these days without some subtle political message imbedded within the context of the film. I never thought however, that Harry Potter would be used as a surrogate for teaching children that racism is bad. Why? Well it could have to do with both the UK’s and the United State’s history of burning witches at the stake. It could also be due to the fact that when you think of witches and wizards you don’t really think of racism. In some instances you may think of Hanzel and Grettle who are almost eaten by a witch, or Snow White who falls prey to her evil stepmother. But witches and wizards typically are not seen as racist… they’re just seen as evil. So when Chris Columbus along with J.K. Rowling insert this subtle racist behavior along with racial slurs against those who don’t have magic its slightly disturbing when you realize that they are talking about all of us.

This chapter of Harry’s life takes the previous installment and turns it darker by unimaginable means. If the parents of the previous film thought that it was too dark for their children to watch then I definitely recommend staying away from this one. I would not call this a standard family film. In fact to say that those under the age of 13 should not watch this I would call an understatement.

While the last film presented the happy and fun aspects that could be witchcraft this film plunges the viewer into a world of darkness and suspense as around every corner there is another who means to harm the hero and his friends.

Recommendation:

Under normal circumstances I leave my recommendations with some leeway for the parents to use their own discretion. However, this time I strongly recommend that this film not be showed to any individuals under the age of 13. While the film seems largely fun and games there are themes within the film that parents must be wary of especially if they have young children. While the film does teach the importance of accepting others (which as Christians we should do) it still has this undertone of hatred among individuals that I would not be comfortable exposing young children to.  It also has a large amount of darkness surrounding Harry Potter and his encounter with another of Voldermort’s games. I cannot emphasize enough that parents must approach this film with a different level of wisdom than they approached the previous film.

If you are unwilling to take my word for it, as always, I recommend screening this film before showing your children. 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

 

Rated PG

IMDB Description: "Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Content:

Violence: 3 There is very little violence in this film, and the amount that is in the film is usually done with an amount of humor. However, there are a few scenes that are slightly violent


Profanity: 3 If you're an American viewer there is really very little language in this film at all. Maybe one word that comes from one of the students. However, if you're an English viewer there are several more words used that are curse words. Parents should keep an eye out anyway to be sure that their children are not copying the used words in this film in case they are offensive.

Frightening Scenes: 5 Throughout the movie there are several scenes that could be seen as frightening or intense. I do not recommend that children under 13 see this film.


Blood and Gore: 2 There is no real blood or gore in this film. Only some science fiction type blood as well as a ghost who briefly pulls his head off to explain why his nickname is nearly headless nick


Sexuality/Sensuality: 1 There is nothing in this film that parents should be wary of, at least in this category.

Drug/Alcohol Use: 2 One of the main characters is offered his usual at a bar. He declines, there are however other patrons around that are implied to be drinking.



Review:
In the first edition to this Series Harry Potter finds out that, he is a wizard and that his parents were killed not in a car crash as he had always been told, but by he who shall not be named, the evil wizard Voldermort. He then finds himself whisked off to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and Wizardry by the giant Hagrid. From there waiting around every bend is a new surprise for Harry as his fame goes before him as the boy who lived. There are twists and turns around every corner with an incredible twist at the end that no one will be expecting.



For a science-fiction/Fantasy film this movie is pretty standard. There are wizards and they use magic. Overall, this film has witty comments, slap stick humor and intense scenes filled with awesome special effects that the entire family could potentially enjoy.

 The Big Question:

So what is the big fuss over the film? Well, the focus on the film is completely based upon the use of witchcraft and wizardry. However, the “witchcraft” in the film is not real witchcraft. The spells that are used in the film you cannot find within the pages of any real practicing witches book. No, the spells are simply Latin words strung together to sound like spells. So should Christians watch this film? I suppose that depends completely on one’s own personal conviction. There are elements of the film that Christians should definitely be wary of. One of those being that the film is completely based around the use of witchcraft and wizardry. However, I think there is something deeper that Christians need to be wary of and that is the different messages that the film is giving. One overriding theme in the movie but is subtly hidden by the genre is that witchcraft and wizardry is fun and opens up new doors of possibilities. While this message is ok from an imagination stand-point things begin to get a little hairy from a realistic Biblical teaching stand-point. The Bible clearly states that witchcraft is one of the acts of the sinful nature. Throughout the Bible, there are very clear boundary lines given and witches in the Bible are killed regularly by command of God. Verses in Timothy tell the reader to avoid every kind of evil.

So what is my recommendation? First, I do not recommend this film for any young children that do not yet possess the ability to separate what is real and what is fictional Witchcraft in the context of our world is a very real thing and something that Christians must be wary of. Secondly, if you or your child are simply unable to separate the fictional elements of this film or any other film from what reality is I do not recommend this film. Third and finally, if you have strong convictions against movies such as the Chronicles of Narnia, or Lord of the Rings because of their magic usage I do not recommend this film. However, if you are looking for a family film for a slightly older age group that has elements of fantasy and imagination this may be the film for you. My recommendation is that this film not be shown to anyone under the age of 13. And as always if you have reservations I recommend screening the film prior to showing it to your kids so you can decide for yourself if you believe your children are of the appropriate age to watch this.

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises

Content:

Violence: 8 This movie is a movie about a superhero. There are several intense scenes between the core character of the Dark Knight and the Villains of the movie. All involving fighting with fists, guns and other weaponry. 

Sex and Nudity: 3. There is a scene in this movie in which Bruce spends the night with one of the not so major characters. There is no real sex scene but you do see the after effects of the scene. You see Bruce in a bed with the other character, he is shirtless and he is holding her. There is a brief line of dialog and the scene cuts out

Frightening Scenes: 6 Much like every previous movie of Batman the movie is set in the dark city of Gotham. This movie much like the Dark Knight and Batman begins portrays Gotham city as much more of a criminalized city than an uplifting city. There are frightening scenes especially with the major villain in this movie. I would not recommend this movie for anyone under 13

Alcohol/Drug Content: 3. There is a scene in a bar, much like the last 3 movies, and scenes in which it is implied that Bruce Wayne is having a glass of Alcohol, other than that there isn't any blatant drug use. 

Blood and Gore: 3 I don't really remember there being any blatant blood in this movie but there are scenes in which people are being mowed down by gun fire and it is possible that there is blood splatter in the aftermath of those scenes as well as scenes between Bane and Batman. 

Review:

The epic batman series by Christopher Nolan comes to a close with the Dark Knight Rises, and much like the previous two films this one does not disappoint. The film opens as Gotham has slowly entered a time of peace. The Dark Knight has not been heard from in eight long years as the majority of the criminal underworld has been put behind bars thanks to the Harvey Dent act.

However, despite the peace that has occurred thanks to the law named after the so called White Knight of Gotham, Commissioner Gordan has reservations that he should tell Gotham that Harvey Dent was no hero. As many of you remember, Dent went from Gotham's District Attorney to Two Face in Nolan's second film.

As expected from any Batman movie, things slowly degrade into chaos as Bane comes on the scene and starts to shake things up. It becomes time for The Dark Knight to come back out of hiding and face the masked mercenary, but not without the help of Selena Kyle, or Catwoman and a young police detective whom Gordan names personally to his task force. 

This film has twists and turns to the very end, with an unexpected twist that will have comic book and game lovers kicking themselves for not figuring it out sooner. 

Critique

While the movie was reminiscent of the earlier films much of the movie almost became comical and unbearable. Fans of previous films scoffed at Christian Bale's voice of Batman whenever he was in a suit. Well they have something new to scoff at. Bane's voice in this film as well as Batman's and Catwoman's are all laughable. 

The voice of Bane nearly takes any fear that you should feel toward the character out of the equation, and Anne Hathaway seemed completely out of her element. The young actress who had done films such as the Princess Diary's was now expected to take on the role of a seductive Jewel Thief and honestly fell short on the seductive side of things. When Hathaway attempted to sound seductive it was borderline comical to listen to. 

To further the frustration of the voices, Bane was not well explained in this movie. Comic book, game, and cartoon lovers know that Bane is the result of taking what becomes known as Bane's syrum. This steroid not only gives Bane superhuman strength but also speed, agility and size. In the comics often Bane wore a pack that fed the syrum straight into his veins making him look borderline intimidating. In Nolan's rendition however there is no mention of Bane's syrum, only the elements of his mask seem to hold Bane's power. 

It would also seem that DC decided to incorporate elements of Marvel's Spiderman three as it seems that the majority of the movie Batman is not only complaining about how bad his life has gotten since the passing of Rachel in the previous film but he also is on the losing side of nearly every fight with Bane. 

Overall the movie was not the best of the Nolan series. However, it does end in a way that is so epic that I would have to spoil the entire movie just to tell you what it is. I'm not willing to do that and so in all honesty I recommend this movie 100%. Yes there are many elements to the film that leave much to be desired especially if you are a Batman comic book fan, however, there are huge plot twists in this film that leave you stunned in your seat. Nolan does a very good job of wrapping up the series and even leaves hints within the movie that he may not really be done yet. 

Once again because this film is a superhero movie it is really hard to gauge whether or not this movie is appropriate for your children if you have them. I would not recommend this film for children under the age of 13 because of the violent and frightening nature of this series. However, if you feel differently you do not have to take my word for it. As always I recommend you see this film for yourselves and decide for yourselves whether or not your children should see this film.

The Amazing Spiderman

Content:

Language: 3 There is some language in this film but not over the top for a PG-113 film

Sexuality/Sensuality: 3 There is a little bit of skin in this film, as well as a kissing scene, however, nothing in terms of nudity. 

Violence: 6 This is a movie about a superhero. The main thing to watch out for in this movie is the violence

Frightening Scenes/Images: 4 There are several scenes in which The Lizard can be seen as frightening, especially for younger teens/children

Drug and Alcohol Content: 1 None that was noticeable in the film. 

Blood and Gore: 6 There is some blood in this film and some Body mutation as well as Body mutilation

Review:


The amazing Spiderman is... well amazing to be honest. This fourth installment of the Spiderman series takes us onto a new track that those who grew up in the 90's will be more familiar with than the original series of the Incredible Spiderman. So what are the differences and similarities? Well for one thing the actor of this series fits the role of Peter Parker much better than Toby McGuire ever did. He looks smart, acts smart and is able to make more than one facial expression. The movie is filled with witty and slap stick humor that gives needed relief between moments of fast paced action.


*SPOILERS*
If you don't know already in this installment of Spiderman, Peter Parker's origins story is rewritten. Mary Jane the original female lead character from the first three films is not in this film which leads to the protagonist (Peter Parker) falling in love with another core character from the Spiderman franchise, Gwen Stacy. While it is a bit of a slow starter especially for those who were fans of the original series because of the origin story being so similar, the movie is done much better overall. Also the part that I'm sure you were waiting for in this edition the web-slinger faces off against one of his more famous foes: The Lizard or sometimes referred to as The Crocodile or Doc Croc in the comic books. For all those fans of the comics you know already that The Lizard is an experiment in cross genetics that goes horribly wrong for Doctor Curt Conner. The experiment was an attempt to regrow his missing arm but instead alters his body and mind. (For fans of the original series Doctor Conner is the same scientist who helps Peter analyze the goo from Venom).
*End Spoilers*


Overall the content of this film is pretty straight forward for another comic book superhero movie. Action, Violence and Language are pretty mediocre. There is no worry of F-Bombs (though you do think that they are coming in a few places but they are either cut off or unused). Unlike the original series there is a small amount of blood in this film. There is some skin in the film as well as the web slinger takes off his uniform top and he accidentally rips off a bystander's shirt when he first gets his powers.


This is another film I definitely recommend. However, parents I don't suggest this for children under the age of 13. But like before this entirely depends on your values so I suggest screening the film beforehand and determining if you believe this movie is appropriate for your kids.