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Reviews
The Legend of the Sky Kingdom (2003)
Thank you Nathaniel and Matthew!
Two of my students in Children's Church had their mom give me a copy of this movie -The Legend of the Sky Kingdom- to watch, saying, "Marylynn will love this movie." Well, they knew me well and they were right! More importantly, I believe they know why I'd appreciate it so much. This highly creative, greatly imaginative movie depicts the message of the salvation of Jesus Christ in a highly unusual medium.
Before we come to know Jesus (Prince Ariel in this movie's case), we're serving an evil master and going nowhere. When we realize there might be something more - a sky kingdom we've never heard of before! - we'll do whatever's necessary to get there including stepping out in faith on a bridge that's invisible before we can begin. The life's journey includes pitfalls along the way, like the Jungle of Despair and the Desert of Desolation.
What the writer and producers from Africa (Zimbabwe) of this movie did must surely have been a first. They had a very small budget and so they created a genre - "junkmation" - in which they used all kinds of junk to create their characters and scenery. Brilliant. Thank you, Nathaniel and Matthew, for sharing this movie with me. And thank you and congratulations to the creative geniuses behind this movie. I truly believe God gave them their talent, but more importantly, they used it to bring His loving and exciting message to children in a way never heard of before!
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Did you see the same movie I saw?
I'm not Johnny Depp's number 1 fan, but that NOBODY could have been a better star in the Pirates of the Caribbean series is a no-brainer. He was truly stellar and swashbuckling, fun, delirious, and exciting. Without a moment's hesitation, you could literally BELIEVE he was Jack Sparrow.
Let's put it this way, though, about Depp's starring role in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I could have been a more exciting Willy Wonka than Depp! I thought the movie was palpably slow and plodding. Deep Roy was great as the 165 Oompa Loompas, but it seemed that whenever "they" were about to perform, there was a hesitation and they couldn't quite get in gear.
Most of all, it just wasn't fun; to me, it was bland and personality-less. Did anybody else see it this way?