This manga proves that even if the source material is not that good, a spinoff can make everything all right. It succeeds at being an epic comedy and Eren is actually a great main character. I shall review this when the series finishes. Overall 5/10
God’s Not Dead is a brand new film that arrived in theaters this year. I have to say that I had not heard of it until I went and checked it out a few days ago. It’s too bad that this film did not get more publicity as it does a good job of bringing Christianity back into the limelight.
The plot is what made the film very interesting for me. The main character is Josh and he arrived in a philosophy class only to find out that his Professor does not believe in God and he wants them all to write that “God is Dead.” Josh wouldn’t stand for this and he let the Professor know that he would not sign. The Professor then issues a challenge to Josh. He would have to debate the Professor in three different sessions to prove that God is Not Dead. Josh accepts and then sets out to win!
That’s the main plot, but we’ve also got a few other plots going. There is a reporter who is diagnosed with a serious medical condition and she doesn’t take it very well. One woman is a Christian, but her companion is not and he starts to get more vocal about it. There is a girl whose family has a different religion and there is tension when she starts to convert to being a Christian. Finally, we’ve also got a Pastor and a Missionary who are stuck as they can’t get their car to work. There are even more subplots that I could bring up, but you get the idea. There are a lot of things happening in the film!
I think that the film maybe overdid it with the subplots, but they were all pretty good for the most part. If I had to choose which plots to cut, it would be the reporter and the Muslim subplots. The film can only cover so much and eliminating those two would allow more screen time onto the main plot. Josh’s debate is definitely the most interesting part of the film, so any extensions would be cool.
As mentioned earlier, I love debates, so seeing a debate between a Theist and an Atheist was certainly interesting. After watching the film, I checked out a few real life debates and they can be pretty similar. Of course, in the professional debates there are a lot of rules to be followed and not all debates are very intense. In the film, we really root for Josh since the Professor is openly antagonistic. He gets so worried that he immediately resorts to threats after Josh’s opening speech. Josh definitely gained the upper hand quickly eh?
Now, while it is fun to see a Theist openly win a debate and prove God’s existence to the audience, it’s not mandatory for us. Whether or not the skeptics in the audience agree with Josh is besides the point. The really important part is that Josh had the courage to stand up to the class and honor God. I’m sure that many people would have found it difficult to go up against the Professor like that and it would definitely be stressful. Josh risked his academic future and also lost his “friend.” That being said, Josh’s “friend” wasn’t a true friend and he likely won’t be missing her in the long run. One should never let peer pressure stop one from doing the right thing.
Even if Josh had not openly won the debate, it should not affect our faith. The whole point of having faith in God is knowing that he will provide for us. We do not need to know everything about Christianity and even if we cannot prove some things to the non believers, it shouldn’t weaken our faith. As long as we believe the Bible to be the utmost authority on the events that have transpired and what God wants us to do, then that’s enough for us. Christianity can be made to seem complicated with many rules to follow, but it’s ultimately simple. Accepting God as your lord and savior is the first step and by reading the Bible, you can quickly learn to live in a way that pleases him. Being a Christian means having a personal relationship with the Lord and as long as you truly know him, that’s what counts.
There have been a lot of bad reviews for this film, but to be honest, could we expect anything else? If anything, that serves as a good sign to let us know that the film was well done. It’s the best Christian film that I’ve seen and now I can add it to the list of others like Fireproof and Left Behind. I also recommend the latter two movies that were mentioned. I also want to give a quick mention to the music at the end of the film. It’s a pretty good song and it’s very active. It’s the kind of song that helps a film end on a high note and you walk out of the theater feeling pretty good.
One of the only parts of the film that I had a little issue with was the part where this Christian made a living from duck (I’m pretty sure it was duck) hunting. It can be a little tougher for me to swallow that a Christian would make a living that way unless there was no other choice. The guy seemed proud of it, but he did make sure to say that he destroys them quickly so that they do not feel any pain. Still, I may not be able to wrap my head around it since I’m a huge animal person, but as mentioned earlier, it doesn’t really matter what I think about him being a Christian. I may not understand, but I won’t judge him on the matter. If he truly is a Christian, then that would be wonderful and he’ll be going to Heaven in the end. God is the only one who truly knows if a person is Christian so you must never let someone tell you that you’re not a Christian or that you need to be a better Christian if you are giving it your 100%. The notion of someone being a “better” Christian than someone else because of their actions is definitely not something to listen too. We all make mistakes and fall short of the glory of God after all. In the end, it’s about doing the best that we can and always trying to make him proud of us.
The film had a pretty small budget, but it’s managed to earn a pretty large amount so far. I believe that it’s made around 10x the original budget at this point, which is definitely remarkable. It’s an excellent Christian film and I highly recommend checking it out. It’s consistently earning more money each week so there’s a decent chance that you can still find it in theaters. If not, it’s still a very good opportunity to grab the DVD. It’s not every day that God gets the recognition that he deserves on the big screen and this film managed to pull off its messages quite well. It’s a good year to be a Christian!
Verdict: Excellent Film!
I highly recommend checking this film out!!!
So, it’s already been 75 years for Batman eh? Time definitely flies by! It’s good to see Bruce Timm bring back the classic Batman design from the 90’s and it’s still the best one. I miss Justice League and Batman TAS along with many fans. It’s a great homage and there’s even a plot that is fit into this short. Solomon Grundy has kidnapped a lady and he is working with Hugo Strange. After learning of this development, Batman decides to take them down.
Batman may just be a human, but he’s Batman! Solomon Grundy definitely doesn’t scare him and Batman came prepared. It’s rare to see him use Nerve Gas, but Batman did get prep time and that makes all the difference. I highly recommend checking this short out. It’s only a few minutes, but it manages to be 100x better than the current animations that are being done by DC’s rival. The animation really holds up and obviously the character designs are spot on. It amazes me how most current animations forget the basics. This is an excellent way to get started in the Batman mythology and longtime fans can also appreciate it.
Overall 8/10
This was definitely one of the most anticipated films of the year. If not for a certain other film that was arriving in a month, it definitely would have taken the title for me. I’m not going to deny that Spiderman has a slight shot at taking Captain America down….but it’s very unlikely! The Winter Soldier is definitely one of MCU’s best entries and it won’t be forgotten anytime soon! Spoilers approach depending on how you look at it…but I’d probably count them as spoilers.
The plot starts off with Steve Rogers as he humiliates the Falcon in a friendly jog. He’s called onto a mission and he takes on the mighty Batroc. Things get dicey from there as Captain America is told that SHIELD cannot be trusted. They’ve been infiltrated and now our Avenger must find a way to stop the world from falling into chaos. Good thing he’s got Black Widow and the Falcon to back him up! Another thorn in Cap’s side is the fact that an assassin known as the Winter Soldier is out to stop him.
The plot is definitely solid since conspiracy stories always have potential to be interesting. Still, we’re going to need a solid cast and some good fight scenes to make this work. Luckily, Captain America makes for a good main character. He may not be as charismatic as Iron Man or as epic as Superman, but Cap is a solid character. He’s finished adjusting to the new world in this film and he’s used to taking on missions. Has Captain America become the next GI Joe? Surprisingly, Captain America doesn’t seem to be the type to take prisoners quite as much as he used too.
It is loosely up for debate though since we can’t tell how badly he is harming his opponents. Captain America does hit a few humans with his shield in a powerful swing and I can’t see how they would be okay after that. He also throws his dagger into someone’s hand to stop him from pulling the alarm, which seemed to be added to make the film “gritty.” So, how much I like Cap really depends on how he handled the foot soldiers. I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he just knocked them all out, which saves his character. I can’t say that I care for his Steve Rogers “form” but it may be that he just doesn’t have an opportunity to get any really good scenes. We only get to see him panic when Widow steals his flash drive (Serious panic as he quickly attacked her) and then let the Winter Soldier humiliate him. Rogers definitely overreacts when the going gets tough.
Black Widow is one of the main supporting characters and this time she has her electronic stingers. I’ve never been a fan of the Black Widow and there have only been a few exceptions. She was all right in the Iron Man anime and she was tolerable in both of the Avenger TV shows. It was really the movies that made sure I was not a fan. She didn’t seem to have a reason to be in Iron Man 2 and her scenes in Avengers made me root against her. (Banner had finally found his safe haven!) I will say that she looks better here than in the other two films, but she’s definitely not going to be one of my favorite MCU characters. She’s the hardened SHIELD agent so she makes sure to hit villains once they’re already down. Amidst all of this, at least she got a decent role to herself unlike the next character…..
The Falcon! I’ve never really minded the character and he’s actually enjoyable in the comics…usually. The problem with his role in the film is the fact that it was completely filler. They did not need him to be in the film and things would have worked out. Just about anyone could have put on a pair of tech wings and then proceeded to save the day. In his climatic fight, he couldn’t even take the quick win. Strength isn’t everything, but there weren’t many other scenes for the Falcon to prove his toughness. The Falcon wasn’t a bad character…he was just out of place. I’m sure that he could be a decent assist character in a future MCU film.
Nick Fury is around and he gets the usual hype, but this is not his most commanding appearance. He gets into a fight with the Winter Soldier and he gets into a disagreement with Captain America which is pretty impressive, but also a dangerous way to play the game. If you’ve been watching the Agents of SHIELD, then you know that Fury can be a little…dicey. His decision to have Black Widow nearly compromise the opening mission was also shady. His ending is pretty tragic and sudden, but maybe it was the right thing to do. Fury is a decent character, but he made some pretty rookie mistakes towards the end.
Maria Hill gets a brief role towards the end. She doesn’t get to appear for very long, but she does play a critical role in the film. She takes out her opponents pretty easily and coordinates the plan at the end. I dare say that she looked a lot more impressive than Agent Sitwell.
The Winter Soldier was the hyped villain for this film. They make sure to throw loads of hints that he’s Bucky from early on. Of course, you may have suspected that from the trailers and TV spots. Nonetheless, I’m sure that it was a shock for some moviegoers. I can’t say that I would have been very shocked because I probably wouldn’t have remembered Bucky from the first film. He wasn’t very memorable and he wasn’t my kind of character. Why has Bucky turned to the dark side? You’ll need to see the film to learn that!
Captain America fights the Winter Soldier a few times and they’re pretty evenly matched. I’m more than a little skeptical at the Winter Soldier’s rifle knocking Cap away from his shield, but I can let that go for now. Winter Soldier holds his own in his fights against Cap, but that’s usually because of his metal arm. Still, the Winter Soldier is a pretty epic villain and he’s much better than some of the other MCU threats.
Director Coulson doesn’t get to appear, but I thought that he deserved a mention…carry on!
The Winter Soldier isn’t the true mastermind behind everything. The real leader is not quite as cool and he can’t really fight….but he can talk a really good game. The more “heroic” he started to sound, the more that I knew that he couldn’t be trusted. I can’t forget to mention the fact that Stan (The Man) Lee makes his triumphant return. Someone actually steals something while he’s on duty, but that’s probably bad news for the miscreant!
I would talk about Agent 13, but she doesn’t really do much in this film. She gets a few scenes, but she’ll likely get a bigger role in the next film. The writers will need to make sure that she is not too similar to Black Widow since that can be a quick mistake. As long as she doesn’t bring Rogers into the dark side, she should be a decent character. I can’t say that her final showing was very impressive in this film though.
I’ve heard that this was known to be a lot more violent than the other MCU films. I can’t say that I noticed while watching the film, but I suppose that it was more violent than previous installments like Thor and Iron Man 2. That being said, there were no scenes that really made me cringe like in the Avengers. I wouldn’t say that the violence was over the top and the worst scene in terms of violence would probably be Bucky’s flashback or Cap’s dagger throwing scene. The gunshots weren’t too bad since they’re just basic wounds that disappear quickly.
Admittedly, I completely do not remember the film having a soundtrack. I was probably too caught up in all of the scenes and intense battles. Winter Soldier’s theme is the only one that I remember, but it was pretty good. That’s enough to give the film a thumbs up in the music category.
The film did a good job in not increasing the outlandish Captain America feats. In Avengers we saw Cap block Thor’s hammer and also jump from an enormous height without a parachute. In this film, Cap looks tough, but it’s definitely more realistic. Jumping from the glass building may cause some concern, but it’s definitely a lot more believable. Cap had a lot of trouble with Batroc, but that’s just the way that the ball bounced I suppose. It does hint that Batroc is at around Winter Soldier level. The hand to hand fight scenes in the film were definitely fun and are some of the best in the MCU. Getting some more fights like this in the next Cap film would be fun and maybe he can try these tricks on Ultron in Avengers 2.
Naturally, you’ll want to stay after the credits! There are two scenes this time. The first one shows two fighters who have been captured and they’re basically at the end of their ropes. Who are they and what do they want with us!? I wasn’t really a fan of that scene, but the second one is pretty intense. We get foreshadowing that will come in handy if you missed part of the ending. It’s basically an alternate way to end the film.
The film goes pretty smoothly and there is only one slow part. Things drag on a little when Black Widow and Cap go to search for the truth. We get some hijinx at the mall and then we get an “epic” confrontation with an old foe. I’m not going to say that they should have cut out those scenes, but I wouldn’t have minded if they took up a little less time. They had a really unnecessary scene where Black Widow and Cap have to pretend that they’re dating and their conversations were pretty awful for a while. This is not what I want to see in my superhero films!
Overall, this was a very good film. There isn’t much in the way of negatives for me. I addressed the part of the film that was a little slow and Cap’s portrayal may be a little dicey. For once, I think it’s okay that the other Avengers didn’t appear since the threat was pretty minimal. (It was a big threat, but they wouldn’t have known the full scope of it) The fight scenes definitely gave the film an extra boost and it didn’t really fall into any major holes. Superhero films should aspire to be like this one and now Winter Soldier can join the elites! (Avengers, Ghost Rider, Spider Man 3) I can safely say that it is the best MCU stand alone film. If you’ve liked any of the previous ones, then I highly recommend it.
Overall 8/10
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