Reviews

Movies that are made to tell a true story rarely do. Therefore this is a movie that is based on truth but largely a product of imagination. It covers a true very intriguing story. But it stumbles in the telling the same way all true story movies stumble. Gaps in the true story are routinely filled with non truths. This story has an ending that no living person who participated has ever told any one. Yet facts are wildly fabricated and presented as true because "it's a true story" and accepted just as true as the truly true and verifiable parts are true. What happened to father and son explorers, who never came home and we're never found? We do not know even the part.

In the Perfect Storm, the boat and crew are lost at see and never seen. The movie however fills the gaps with fantastic scenes of gigantic waves swallowing the boat and crew.

Attention the one minor spoiler really doesn't spoil so much.

This is such a powerful true story and recent too. Making it into an equally powerful movie is difficult. Especially difficult when significant portion of the true story are sacrificed on the alter of Hollywood artistic license. This suffers from liberal artistic license because screenwriters, directors and producers fail at being able to bring to the screen a most unique story of perseverance, love, and sacrifice. I'm glad to know that the real story was so much more powerful. The actors do a good job Kidman always does Kidman, so she was there for the box office. The actor playing the girlfriend made me question whether she was even a character in the story. Weak to the point of forgetful.

We give 7 for the story but wish we could give 10 for all of it. The movie is worth watch but hang on through a very mixed-up confusing as soon as 20 years after the adoption. From that point forward you may wonder why most of the movie is flashbacks. I think they used most of them to pad the length.

Finally, minor spoiler that does not really spoil, Saroo did not find his home on Google Earth Pro. The way he actually did was so much more human.

Major Spoilers. The movie and the story does not deserve protection. Viewers do to avoid wasted time. So, skip this review if you think you might enjoy George Clooney squint and chew gum a lot.

I did want to like this movie. I like movies about professional killers who are so good even their clients want them dead. But they don't die. This film and story was weak in many ways. 1. It is obvious who is out to kill him in Sweden has to be in his network. 2. His contact acts like he doesn't know what he is asking but what handler would not know since he has to do the cleanup. 3. What was very contrived happens everywhere. Hardly anyone else is seen beyond who was necessary for the scenes. Production saved a lot of money and production time by having hardly any extras or crowds except at the end. The road both country and village are empty. A rare vehicle is seen. While walking streets, no one else is seen unless they are in the story. The priest is so very contrived he seems to be only a device. Like a spiritual conscious but not real yet he is there on purpose without a reason. No, shooting with left had from a two wheel Vespa scooter while steering with right hand on the throttle, Jack could not shoot out the tires. All other shooting with the 007 gun was with the right hand.

Very clever way to take the one sent to kill him. It's a good thing Jack had to make the rifle that was going to be used to kill him.

The ending is pathetic. It make all the rest of the super hit man skills worthless. Wounded in and bleeding the left side when that was the away side when he kills his handler. The girlfriend prostitute was beautiful and the second best actor. George had so few lines, but he was eye candy. Superheroes and secret agents don't die like that.

The Biblical story of shepherd David to King David is a thrilling story with all the element needed in a good true story of one's life. The movie, (which we watched in one sitting) was s better attempt than many of its kind. It covers most of the important touch points of David, BarJesse life. Only a few that should NOT have been left out were missing.

Is it that the screen writers failed to truly understand David's life and his place in the line of Messiah? Or did they rely on advisors whose respect for this most important story lacked dedication and conviction necessary tell the story.

Four stars because of thin scenes with few when multitude were called for. So 2 stars gone for the same motive - too few when more would be better. By the count of four holes that canceled the other four stars. 1. The movie's look lacked careful proper art direction. It did not fit the culture of the period that the story happened in. Samuel's alter, seat of judgment was so far off that the movie had a cheap sci-fi look. Almost like the first seasons of Dr. Who. 2. Casting was poor with the minor characters. The actor portraying Saul's daughter/David's first wife left so very much to be desired. Main character actors were better. Quayle did well as Saul. Are there really that many long haired blond women among the Benjaminites? And, with one major character. Young and old David did not fit what an Israelite would look like unless the few exceptions were there for the movie. Thankfully Bottoms was able to carry the role. 3. Staging of some key events were so off the clear record. Absalom death and the significance of how he died did the story an unjust play. The only true accurate is in the Bible. Was it too hard to find a way to stage it and to include Absalom's excessive arrogance as the why he died the was he did? 4. The Ark of Testimony or Ark of Covenant was the worst disgrace. I'm sure the reason it was not fashioned with two cherubim and their outstretched wings touching over and covering the Ark's Mercy Seat was to avoid unintentional blasphemy. If orthodox Jewish scholars were involved, it would likely they avoided any offense. Yet the name Yahweh - the holy name of God Almighty was spoken often and in ways that orthodox would consider vain. The Ark of Testimony was brought to a Tabernacle of the kind which Moses had fashioned with God's instructions. Further staging its place in Jerusalem in a room and the curtains open to give a view rather than the Holy of Holies.

Most overlook such petty matters, we do not.