Shannon in Kansas City YT: KC Bible Study IG: @showmeshannon Twitter: kcshannonlee1
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I recently saw the Christian film “Running the Bases”. I can’t go into the plot without giving it away so this will be short. It’s a nice movie to watch if you’re bored. It’s light but dramatic. It’s family friendly. It was OK. “Running the Bases” was entertaining and watchable the way most Christian films are. However, the movie has some theological issues and has MAGA delusions.
“Kingdom of Heaven” is a 2005 Ridley Scott film starring Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons and Eva Green. “Kingdom of Heaven” is a good movie and you will enjoy it if you like these kind of movies. By that I mean historical, action packed historical dramas, involving warfare.
“Kingdom of Heaven” is about a young French widower, Balian de Ibelin who joined The Crusades in the 1100s. Balian was the illegitimate son of a nobleman Godfrey de Ibelin. Due to the high status of his father Balian was allowed in elite social circles once he reached Jerusalem. Balian became a military leader in the Christian army against Muslims in the battle for Jerusalem.
I decided to start slowly reviewing films from the early 2000s. The early 2000s was a golden era of cinema in many ways. I enjoyed “Kingdom of Heaven” both times I watched nearly twenty years apart. This movie has been on my mind recently because of current events in Israel. The fight over the Kingdom of Heaven continues.
Falling Down is a 1993 film starring Michael Douglas and directed by Joel Schumacher. It’s an interesting film and I think you would enjoy it. The film features a character named William Foster. William represents the common American man and the pressure of modern, urban life. The film depicts how William copes with his pressure. He didn’t handle the pressure he was under well.
William is in his late forties, has financial and family problems. William was divorced and didn’t make enough money to pay child support for his daughter. He drove a raggedy car. William is White and feels displaced by immigrants to his area. Oddly he identifies with a Black man that he saw protesting in front of a bank for being denied a loan. The Black man was arrested for protesting with a sign on the side walk after being told he wasn’t financially viable.
William coped with what he sees as injustice by going on a violent rampage throughout LA for an entire day. William was upset with things such as not being given change without buying something first and not being able to buy breakfast a few minutes after a fast food restaurant shifted to the lunch schedule. William was going through a recent break up with his wife. I’m sure marriage to William was no pic nic but his wife seems like what we now refer to as a Karen. They were likely a perfect match for each other but didn’t get along.
“Falling Down” is an interesting film especially from the current day lens. William snapped and went on a violent, armed rampage. It’s debatable on whether some of his actions were justified. Regardless of our judgement on his actions only a White man would be given the space he was given. For instance, the shop owner would have likely called the police on him immediately. I remember when “Falling Down” was a new film. The idea of going on a shooting rampage was shocking and sensational. It’s now commonplace. It seems to me that people use to manage pressure and emotions a lot better.
I recommend “Falling Down” it’s an interesting movie and a great film to analyze especially considering it was made thirty years ago.
Last night I watched the 2021 film “A Tale of Love and Desire”. “A Tale of Love and Desire” is French with English subtitles. “A Tale of Love and Desire” is a modern romance. It’s not my favorite romance but I enjoyed the film. Unfortunately there aren’t many romances being made these day and I love a good romance. I recommend “A Tale of Love and Desire” if you enjoy foreign, artistic films.
The film is a love story of two students at the Sorbonne who meet on campus and fall in love. Ahmed is a French man from a first generation immigrant family from Algeria. Farah is a foreign exchange student from Tunisia. The pair are from a similar cultural background but have different and surprisingly different viewpoints. A Tale of Love and Desire makes subtly commentary about immigration, identity, racism, traditionalism, feminism and sexuality. It’s an intelligent and thoughtful film with youthful sex appeal. I enjoyed it and recommend it.
I recently watched “Top Gun Maverick” and I recommend it. “Top Gun Maverick” stars Tom Cruise as Navy pilot Pete Mitchell who also goes by Maverick. Pete is an instructor that teaches aviation skills to a young group of elite pilots as they embark on a dangerous and complicated military mission.
The plot is fairly simple and the movie is well done. The cast is great looking and the special effects are sharp. There is a wholesome love story between Maverick and Penny, played by Jennifer Connelly. There are swear words but aside from that this is a film that a family can enjoy together. Tom Cruise looked great but my one complaint of this film is that I wish Tom had some gray in his hair. A little gray would have at his temples would have taken Tom’s sex appeal up a notch in this film.
Despite the lack of gray hair this is an enjoyable film. It’s not a film that takes a social or political stance. It’s an old fashioned movie where you root for a hero to succeed at his mission and love life. Tom Cruise and all involved did a nice job on “Top Gun Maverick”.
Pepsi has replaced their lemon lime flavored pop Sierra Mist. The new beverage is called Starry. Clear pop is my drink of choice when I have a carbonated beverage. For some reason I was kind of sad when i heard Sierra Mist was being taken off the market.
Evidently, Sierra Mist was having a difficult time competing with Sprite for market share of lemon/lime flavored pop. Pepsi decided to try and appeal to younger consumers by changing their clear pop formula and changing the marketing. Starry is what they came up with. I tried Starry over the weekend. This is my review of the new product.
My first impression of Starry is that it was flat. After a few more sips it reminded me of sparkling water. Starry is like sparkling water with lemon/lime flavoring and a bit of sugar. Starry is not as syrupy and sugary as Sprite, Sierra Mist and 7 Up. I don’t really like it but younger people may. They seem to be more health conscious than Gen X and Boomers.
I couldn’t tell the difference between Sprite and Sierra Mist in a blind taste test. I wasn’t picky and would drink either depending on availability. But I don’t think I would choose Starry again. I would choose something like orange, strawberry or root beer instead. Starry isn’t terrible once you get use to it but it’s still a downgrade from Sierra Mist.
RIP Sierra Mist 1999-2023
My Spoiler Policy: If the media is old or based on a book it is fair game but I will still warn you of spoilers. M3gan is a new release that is currently in theaters so I will give my review with sparse details as to not spoiling the plot.
I saw M3gan over the weekend. I recommend the film and I enjoyed it more than I expected I would. M3gan is about a nine year old girl named Cady who moves in with her career oriented Aunt Gemma who lives along and is a designer at a toy company. Aunt Gemma gave Cady a robot named M3gan (Model 3 Generative Android) as a companion. M3gan is Gemma’s creation and a prototype for a mass production of M3gans at her toy company.
The underlying theme of M3gan is that technology undermines parental authority in modern times. Institutions also challenge parental influence. A child and her toy are the center of this movie but adults can see themselves in Cady and ponder how much they are attached to technology and influenced by it.
Social media facetiously debated who is better between Chucky and M3gan. I think the better comparison is between M3gan and T-1000 from T2. M3gan is not a result of paranormal activity, demonic possession or witchcraft. She is a piece of technology with a purpose. M3gan is an action film and an old fashioned slasher movie.
Violet McGraw does great work playing Cady. Ronny Chieng did a nice job playing David, Gemma’s terrible boss at the toy company. He gave Mr. Spacely vibes throughout the film. Two actresses play M3gan. They are very talented as well. I was surprised to find out humans brought the android to life. I kind of thought it was a robot or CGI technology.
https://people.com/movies/who-plays-m3gan-in-m3gan-movie/
M3gan is an entertaining and thoughtful film with relevant commentary on modern society. It’s well acted and a good action and slasher film. I think you’ll be entertained by it. It’s worth your time and money if you’re looking for something to see at the theater.
This weekend I watched “The Laureate”. It was a little dry at times because I don’t care for films in this setting but it was an interesting story. “The Laureate” is about an English writer named Robert Graves who suffered from PTSD after fighting in WWI. At the start of the film he was a married man with a young daughter. His career and family life was respectable but he wasn’t satisfied.
Robert and his wife Nancy allow an American poet named Laura to move into their home and act as a tutor for their daughter. Laura is manipulative and a user. She also has mental delusions. Laura says she likes to challenge societal conventions but she is really just a selfish social climber. Her ambitions are more important than morals or family.
Laura thought she could position herself near Robert in order to achieve greater success for herself. Robert was in the flop era of his career. Nancy use to be cool but now she was a mousy housewife with a young daughter.
Nancy is a sucker who wants to be edgy so she opened her home and slowly her marriage to Laura who wreaked havoc on her life and ultimately destroyed her family. However, Laura was an effective muse and Robert’s career took off after meeting Laura. He is a writer of influential works from the WWI era.
The draw back of ” The Laureate” is that I don’t care for stories that take place in England around the 1920’s. Shows and movies like “Downton Abbey” and “Atonement” are very boring dark, quiet and dry to me. “The King’s Speech” would be an exception.
There was a point in this film that remind me of “The Color Purple” due to the exotic and exciting woman that moves into a married couples house. Both films take place around the same time period but the parallels end there. “The Laureate” is a good film. It’s interesting and it could start some good conversations. I recommend it.
I watched “Umma” starring Sandra Oh over the weekend. This is a great movie and I highly recommend it. “Umma” is a psychological thriller with many layers. This film touches on matters of family dynamics, particularly the mother/daughter relationship, ethnic identity, spirituality and paranormal activity. It would be a great film to watch with a friend or group because it could initiate interesting conversations.
SPOILER ALERT
Amanda and her daughter Chris live in isolation in what seems to be rural California. They raise bees for a living on a farm. Chris grows up believing her mother is allergic to electricity. This is a great setting and set of circumstance for an eerie film.
Chris grew up without modern conveniences and technology which makes her a social outcast among her peers. She is home schooled and her only companion is her mother. Chris later finds out with the help of a visitor to the town she befriends that her mother’s allergy is a lie. It’s unclear if the lie is deliberate or a figment of Amanda’s imagination.
Amanda had a tense relationship with her domineering Korean mother. In an effort to be different from her she distanced herself from her mother, extended family. In the process she rejects society as a whole. Amanda never married. She had her daughter with a White man who played little to no part in Amanda and Chris’ lives. She didn’t teach her daughter anything about her Korean heritage.
Amanda’s attempts to not be like her mother failed. She was similar to her mother in some ways and had a complicated and controlling relationship with Chris. She also had old world expectations of her daughter who was born and raised in California.
I hadn’t heard of this film at all before running across it at the library. This is a great film that I think you will enjoy. It is creepy and has scary moments so it’s suitable for this time of year. It’s also an interesting commentary about family relationships especially the ones we have with our mothers. I highly recommend it.
Maverick City Music is a popular Christian Contemporary band. Christian Contemporary music has fallen off sharply since the early 2000s. It all sounds the same and the singers are interchangeable. Maverick City fits the mold. Their music is typical Christian Contemporary and the singers are talented but their voices all have a similar quality.
I feel like most Christian Contemporary singers are male. They sound similar to a lot of Alternative Rock Bands from the 90s. A few sound like Joe Cocker. I enjoy Joe Cocker’s voice but there is a man who sounds just like that in the American Idol auditions every year.
This describes the men in Maverick City Music. The White men sound like they belong in alternative rock bands and the Black men sound like Joe Cocker and his sound alike American Idol hopefuls. There are a lot of people in Maverick City Music. It’s hard to tell exactly how many.
Maverick City Music ends up trending on occasion because the singers make questionable social media posts. They have made political statements that rile up so called conservatives, one of their wives twerked in a wedding photo, the same newlywed couple took a wedding photo that simulated a sexual position. Recently one of the singers posted photos on a party bus possibly in the nude. That’s not even to mention their affiliation with Kirk Franklin whose family matters have become public.
Then there is Naomi Raine who is the star of Maverick City Music. Her name never comes up in the mish mash and her voice is outstanding. She should leave Maverick City Music where it is and start a solo career. She carries the band on her back publicly and probably in private. I’m sure it’s exhausting.
I really don’t follow MCM very close and that’s how I know who the star is. It’s Naomi. The other people who’s names get circulated on social media are done so in relation to some sort of unnecessary foolishness they posted. I know Naomi because of her performances.
Naomi Raine carries MCM like Christ carried his cross with her beautiful voice. The rest of MCM is a distraction. The latest internet gossip about her band mate’s nude party bus photos would be a great opportunity to launch a solo career.
I don’t really care what happens with MCM because they sound like clowns. All of their problems start because of things they post on social media. It’s hard to tell if the members of Maverick City Music are even Christian because they were put together by entertainment executives the way Menudo and other boy bands were. We’re not dealing with the Mississippi Mass or Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir here.
Naomi deserves better. First of all the paychecks are probably kind of light with so many people in the band. She’s very talented and acts like she has some sense. She’s made a name for herself with her work as opposed to social media attention seeking and subsequent pearl clutching. I think she deserves a chance at a solid career away from the circus her band mates create every few months.
Shannon in Kansas City YT: KC Bible Study IG: @showmeshannon Twitter: kcshannonlee1 