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Reviews
End of the Spear (2005)
I wish I could give this a heartier recommendation...
...than a 7, but I cannot in good conscience. The film is effectively poignant where it needs to be and is at best more engaging than its documentary counterpart "Beyond the Gates of Splendor," as well it should be. But at times the oversaturated hues of the jungle, melodramatic dialogue, and corny sentiment mar a promising story.
The second act is the real meat of the story and it works marvelously. If the others were as strong, this would be a real winner through-and-through. 20 minutes into the film, we're still waiting and wondering if it's not too late to catch another feature. But then we begin to learn about the Waorani cycle of violence and the consequences for its people. This is where the film comes alive and redeems itself, because it knows how to handle its characters, even if they seem a bit too "Hollywood" at times (you'll see what I mean at the end.)
In all, I wasn't disappointed, and if you miss it in the theatre you shouldn't be either. Just be sure to rent it.
Copper Mountain (1983)
Stupefyingly awful
In short, avoid this like the plague unless you're a glutton for pain and misery. This is the one of the worst films I've ever seen, and I've seen "Manos: The Hands of Fate." It's the antithesis of good cinema. You know it's a dud when you see the film crew in the reflections of the actors' sunglasses and hear two different songs clashing simultaneously over a skiing montage for several minutes.
You might enjoy it if you like hicks with huge aviators singing lousy renditions of classic songs or stock video footage of amateur skiers slogging down the slopes. Jim Carrey's character is a clumsy oaf who does impulse celebrity impressions, one of which was a pretty good Steve Martin, the rest of which were pathetically unfunny and instantly forgettable, like the entire film.
Skip this one.
Carman: The Champion (2001)
Could have been much worse...
First of all, this movie will draw comparisons to Rocky right off the bat. You might even see some familiar camera angles, poses, and scenes. What you will not see is great acting from a great script. But the boxing scenes are surprisingly well done and quite believable. Real punches don't sound like a sledgehammer smashing a tree stump as Conan O'Brien said of Rocky. They sound more like smacks, the harder ones like thuds. The fights are intense and the blood and sweat flows freely. And lo and behold, the fighters actually block some blows. They got that much right.
Christian movies have long held the dubious distinction of being preachy. Not only that, squeezing the "good news" in is often like throwing an iron bar into the gears of Big Ben: it grinds story progress to a halt. But the movie doesn't Bible-bash or get too wishy-washy at any point.
Carman, who also wrote the script, has some cheesy one-liners and clunky dialogue, but has good screen presence and is helped out by a decent supporting cast. The cinematography looks flashy with some nice earthy filters for the outdoor shots.
On the whole, this is one of the better Christian films to date. It's worth a look. 6/10.
2001: A Space Travesty (2000)
The title says it all
A terrible movie in every respect. It tries way too hard for laughs and doesn't know when to stop recycling the same jokes. I must admit that I did laugh at the end when the bird falls into the soup and the waiter comes over and rings its neck. The sounds it makes are hilarious! But the laughs came too little too late to save this travesty. 3 / 10 for the soup gig.
Crocodile (2000)
If you're eaten by a giant croc, wear bug spray
This movie is laughably awful. The crocodile defies gravity with amazing hang-time (it leaps about 30 vertical ft. over a police boat), plows down buildings, blows up trucks, eats people like gummy bears, and chomps a dock to oblivion. Leave alone the fact that crocodiles are generally saltwater creatures. Enter two grizzled, enigmatic yocals who know all about the killer croc (Why? no one really knows), but can't help hand-feeding the thing dead chickens. The action scenes consist of jiggley cameras and ketchup squirting from squeeze bottles.
The characters show no remorse for fallen friends and even cheer when a truck containing one of their peers is blown to kingdom come. Surprisingly, the acting isn't the worst thing about it; the screenplay is worse. You know from the beginning who will be alive at the end and who will be croc feed. Each character is easily compartmentalized so as not to strain the short attention spans of the teens and twenty-somethings this movie is targeted for.
Even Anaconda had redeeming moments compared to this garbage.
Rating: 1 / 10
Mercy Streets (2000)
A decent picture
Christian film makers still haven't found their niche in today's movie market, and I don't they will for some time. Yet Mercy Streets seems to have succeeded where others have fallen short. Despite a relatively outrageous plot and some hokey acting, the film boasts some fine direction by Gunn, a good cast (Eric Roberts, David White), and an intriguing storyline. It's squeaky clean as far as language, yet it doesn't detract from the script. There's no book somewhere that says that there must be foul language for characters to express angst, hatred, etc. This movie has a lot going for it, and it's a step closer to a piece of great film making. 8 / 10.