The Cokeville Miracle

The Cokeville Miracle

Non-spoiler information

Date watched: 6/19/2015

My rating: 10/10

The count of times I have seen this at time of this review: 1st

Likelihood that I will watch this movie again: Absolutely

I classify this as a true life inspirational story

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate above this: None that I can think of

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate lower then this: The Other Side of Heaven

This is a story based on a true life event in the town of Cokeville Wyoming. A historical overview and examination of motive is presented, but it is primarily a story of what happened to the survivors. 

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First and foremost, I am heavily biased towards this movie. It is a movie about people of my faith and it deals with things that I hold most sacred and special. Much of what is presented in this movie resonates strongly with me and rings true. I don't expect that will be the case for everyone that watches this. My rating for this movie goes beyond the acting, to the message that was delivered to me, and that message hit a home run. 

Nevertheless, I found the acting to be very good, especially for children. There are incidents of the children recounting what they saw, and happened, which include stories of Angels and family members that guarded and protected. These stories are told in a matter of fact manner, not in a dramatic, you have to believe me manner. In fact, the children show some reluctance to share the story, which I found believable. 

There is a part of the story where the main protagonist, a father and member of the Sheriff's department, is investigating what happened. He has been collecting spiritual evidences and he says, perhaps the greatest miracle was that there was no police officers around when this went down, because if he had been there (he was about 2 hours out of town when he received notice), he would have burst in there and probably would have gotten most or all of them killed. I had much the same feelings when the event was rolling out - I wanted to go in and beat the living crud out of the hostage keeper. I realized that this is what is wrong with many of us - we let anger inflame our emotions and do what the adversary would have us do. One of the major messages of this movie is that a calm word turns away anger - the bomb went off accidentally and without emotion. There were many incidents where anger was turned away by inspiration from the teachers and other adults present. The principal was non-confrontational and consoling and that kept immediate violence from happening. 

I believe in God, miracles, Angels, and that our family members are still alive in the afterlife (what I call the Spirit world). I believe that our family members care about us greatly, but are under a strict law of intervention, and only under unusual circumstances are they allowed to directly interact with us. I don't know the details of this law, but I believe that it exists. I also don't know why tragedy occurs in this life. I have my guesses about some things, faith in others, and knowledge of a few, but I suppose that if I knew all the answers, I would have no purpose of living in this worldly existence. 

As I was watching this movie, my thoughts were also there for the poor people that were slaughtered in Charleston South Carolina a few days ago. I served my mission in South Carolina and Georgia and I love those people. Many of the people I met and interacted with are people of faith and love. I especially loved working with the African American people. In fact, I found them to be the most open to conversation, discussion, and brotherhood. It greatly pains me that another madman (in some ways similar to the madman portrayed in this movie) killed those worshipers. My prayers are for those families, friends, and neighbors that are suffering from the tragedy that occurred. I hope and pray that we can turn away from violence and be healed with love and unity for each other. I hope that we can limit the attention on the wicked man, and instead grow together as neighbors.

The Avengers - Age of Ultron

The Avengers - Age of Ultron

Non-spoiler information

Date watched: 5/12/2015

My rating: 6/10

The count of times I have seen this at time of this review: 1st

Likelihood that I will watch this movie again: Probably

I classify this as a comic book movie

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate above this: X-Men X2

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate lower then this: Spider-Man

The follow-up to the smash hit Avengers, this movie picks up from the plot lines of that movie, as well as several of the "solo-shot" Avenger movies such as Captain America: Winter Soldier. This movie continues to build the Avenger world carefully, perhaps a bit too carefully.

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I enjoyed this movie, especially the references to the coming conflict with Thanos and the Infinity Gems / Gauntlet. However, that strength also is a weakness: how much buildup can there be, without some deflation, or missing the target? I will make my point in several different examples.

The first is the invulnerability of most of the characters. In the first movie, Hawkeye was temporarily subverted by Loki, and Agent Phil Coulson was (apparently) killed. As a fan of comics, one of my biggest complaints is that no one really dies. If a character is viewed as interesting, the character will be resurrected or brought back to life in some manner. My case in point is Gwen Stacy. For decades, Marvel resisted bringing her back to life, but finally their "collective will" was broken and they just couldn't help themselves. They did the same thing by bringing Agent Coulson (a well liked character) back in Agents of Shield. What this means is that there is no real pathos or grief when a character dies - we don't know if they are really dead, and we don't want to be fooled by their death. Several major characters have suffered death in the comics, only to be brought back to life again after a discrete amount of time (mourning?).

The second is measuring the power of these characters, and then conveying that to the audience. This is almost always done in contests of prowess. Unfortunately, these are so subjective and almost impossible to measure except in death or dismemberment.  Perhaps this is why these movies always escalate to some grand destruction (the wholesale mayhem that occurred in the city in the first Avengers and then the somehow topped mayhem of lifting an entire city from the ground in this show). The problem for me, is that I then don't identify with the characters. Take for instance Quicksilver in this show: he dominates a couple of the Avengers early on and from my position, I was wondering why he didn't just finish off the whole team? Then, in the casualties of the mayhem, they kill him off. Why? He wasn't quick enough - but he was faster then anyone else on the team, and they come off without a scratch (figuratively, not literally as one of the best ways of showing that the heroes have suffered is to scratch up their shield paint, or tear their uniform). I know that we are supposed to swallow incongruities like this left and right to enjoy superhero movies, but sometimes it comes too close to the surface to ignore.

The third is actually the culminations of the ideas I presented in the first two. In real life, we do at times build to a crescendo of doom, but how do we identify with or make context with a cosmic being that will be engaging with the team in the near future? The comics usually deal with this by reducing the main story to a dialogue between a few characters. For instance, in the comic version of the Infinity Gauntlet released in 1991, Thanos is the main antagonist, with the Silver Surfer being his main foil. Other characters became part of the tapestry. This allows us to examine the mind of Thanos and the Silver Surfer and build their story together. This seems to be highly unlikely to happen with the pending conflict. We will be dealing with a large cast of characters, in 120 - 180 minutes. The Avengers have succeeded so far because they have developed their characters back stores and such in their own movies (except Hawkeye and Black Widow). Then they weave their stories with the main movie, as they did with this one and its predecessor. The problem is that they have grown the cast of characters, and hinted a change of the team for the future.

The inevitable result (for me) is that the build-up leads to a bust. In this movie, the only time Ultron really presents much menace is at the beginning, when he is in a twisted shell of a form, and the Avengers are caught flat footed (because of the machinations of Tony Stark and to a lesser extent, Bruce Banner). After that scene, Ultron no longer seems very threatening. Sure, he throws a seemingly endless stream of bots at the Avengers, but none of them are worthy of him. Also, Ultron chooses to keep his same form and doesn't really surprise. I found it a little hard to believe that the Avengers actually had a safe house that he couldn't find.

Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable movie to watch. The highlight for me is the offline conversations that occur - the surprising relationship development of Banner and Romanoff; the tension between Tony Stark and Thor, and the around the table camaraderie of them all, culminating in them each doing the "Excalibur" challenge with Thor's hammer.

Mad Max - Fury Road

Mad Max - Fury Road

Non-spoiler information

Date watched: 5/15/2015

My rating: 8/10

The count of times I have seen this at time of this review: 1st

Likelihood that I will watch this movie again: Certainly

I classify this as a sci-fi movie with a post-apocalyptic setting

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate above this: hard to decide, I will go to general sci-fi and select Aliens.

Marginal movie of this genre that I rate lower then this: Blade Runner.

This is an action packed movie from start to finish, with the exception of a few small moments of dialogue and reflection. This movie does an excellent job of conveying its story without dialogue, based on imagery, themes, symbols, and pathos.

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The first few moments of this movie establish the theme, story, and feeling quickly. There is the narration to establish what happened to the world and why. Then we focus on Max. Several things are quickly conveyed without words: mutation is part of this world (the two headed lizard), Max is a wanderer in a wasteland (the customized car, Max taking a leak close by, Max eating the aforementioned lizard). Since Max consumes the lizard, it is clear that "beggars can't be choosers" as far as food stuffs are concerned. Then, Max detects enemies, jumps in his vehicle, and is quickly chased down and captured. This encapsulates about 3/4 of what occurred in The Road Warrior, in a couple minutes of screen time.

The next several scenes establish that this society captures victims they encounter in the wasteland, subjects them to ritual and branding, and assimilates them into their warrior society, with analogs to Jannisaries or perhaps Stockholm syndrome victims. Despite a super human effort by Max, he is unable to escape because of strictly geographic reasons - he is trapped high up in a fortress of rock. Even if he was able to escape, it is hard to believe he would remain free for long.

Also established quickly is that there is a genuine organization based upon the necessities of life: food, water, and shelter. These were never clearly established in the previous three movies. Then, a trade envoy is sent out. It is clearly a trade envoy, as the cargo includes water and "mothers milk" (more on that later). However, in this violent world, the trade caravan is heavily guarded with a battery of fanatics (again, more on that in a bit). The trade destination appears to be another establishment that specializes in fuel.

Much of this information is obtained visually by careful observation. Some dialogue and ritual reveals this information as well. For instance, it is established that the warlord that controls this society (Immortan Joe) has a local monopoly on fresh water (it is established later that much of the surface water supply is contaminated by radiation; Immortan Joe has overseen the construction of a deep water well). This monopoly not only provide trade material with neighboring civilizations, but also provides control of the local populace. Now, one thing that bothered me was when the water was released, the rag tag populace orderly walked forward to receive the truly overwhelming need of water - without water, humans will quickly die in an arid location. To perpetuate this incongruity, Immortan Joe give some speech about not trusting in water. I am pretty sure that the general population would care less and they would be rabid for water, which I didn't see evidence of. Sure, they all came forward, but not with the urgency I would expect, especially with the duration that the water was turned on for them (about 30 seconcds maybe, in a rabidly falling waterfall, with no obvious basin to receive it - the receivers must hold out bowls to catch as much as they can, or I suppose dredge up water from the mud and sand).

On the other hand, Immortan Joe's monopolies on a couple other "resources" are more easy to understand, but they are more repugnant as well. First, Immortan Joe controls many human wet nurses, who he milks like cows. They are seen relaxing while this is happening. Then, a bottle of product is handed to Rictus Erectus (who is Immortan Joe's younger son). He smells and then samples the milk and seems to deem it as good. A later scene of Max discovering the "mothers milk" in the trade tanker, finding out what it is, and then drinking it further establishes that there isn't a lot of discretion in dietary intake in this world. It also further establishes that not only is the "mothers milk" used to support the local population, but is a valuable trade commodity (or perhaps a ration for the convoy members).

The other resource that Immortan Joe controls with an iron fist is reproduction of children with untainted (by radiation) women. This becomes the crux of the whole story, the rescue of these women from the control of Immortan Joe, with the original goal being the delivery of these women to a "promised land". The delivery from the cruel chastity belts symbolizes the terror, humiliation, and slavery that Immortan Joe held over these women.

I have already covered much of what I enjoyed about the movie. There is a back story that is implied and for me, quickly absorbed to bring color to the flight of the wives and their savior, Furiosa. Now, my biggest concern with this movies are some incongruities. Max is probably somewhere between 35 - 45 years old in this movie (Tom Hardy himself is 38). The disaster happened sometime in the past, enough that new societies, understandings, and so forth could occur. For the group controlled by Immortan Joe, it was enough time for a religion to be constructed that binds the warrior tribe closely to Immortan Joe. It was enough time for many of these "war boys" to be born and conscripted into the ranks, with the strong brainwashing that makes them fanatical to the cause they are serving.

Also, Furiosa was kidnapped when she was a girl from the location they are attempting to flee to, and apparently named Furiosa at that time. Now, it is possible that she was named that before the disaster, but it seems unlikely. Therefore, lets presume that she was born after the disaster. She appears to be somewhere in her 30's  (Charlize herself is 40). Therefore, it is difficult to reconcile Max being born and living before the disaster, in fact a Police bull (so presumably at least 18) at the time of the disaster.

The other concern I have with the movie is Nux, who is a war boy that is driving Max out to battle. At first he appears to be an adversary to Max. Then he seems to treat him as a fellow brother. Finally, when he fails Immortan Joe, he quickly joins the group after befriending one of Immortan's wives. I found his quick change of heart a little difficult to swallow. However, it is somewhat explained by what he perceives happens to one of the other wives, and also his failure to carry out his mission, which he clearly believes to be a holy mission. Perhaps these revelations cause him to have a rapid change of heart.

To conclude, I found this movie to be a multi-layered cinematic feat. I usually am quite bothered by super action flicks, but this one has a soul, with so many layers that made it believable and cathartic to me. I do not want to live in a land like this, and so I want to do what I can to avoid this kind of catastrophe.