May
07

Review: Fireproof (B)

FireproofThe 50% divorce rate is a commonly quoted statistic…that’s not quite accurate.   It’s a predictive rather than descriptive stat — a guess as to how today’s marriages will turn out tomorrow.  Factors like age and education at the time of marriage and number of previous marriages also vary the divorce rate such that a single round number isn’t too useful in judging a relationship’s potential.

Even so, you don’t need statistics to know that “marriage” is in trouble (and not because of “teh gays”).  Marital failures are happening in every neighborhood of every city, and stretch across all races, religions, and social classes.  Couple that with a falling marriage rate and the trend for successful, long-term married couples can look bleak even if the specific numbers are up for debate.
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Apr
20

Review: Cleanflix

CleanflixIt was the late 90′s.  Ray Lines was constantly getting approached by friends to edit the nudity out of their VHS copies of Titanic.

Where other editors were literally using scissors and tape, Lines had experience in broadcasting and knew how to use modern technology to do more effective film editing.  He could see the demand for “sanitized” copies of films like Titanic and The Matrix and the business opportunity it presented.   Together with Allen Erb, Ray Lines founded Clean Flicks, a company devoted to editing and selling Hollywood movies with the profanity, sex, and violence removed.  Edited movies turned into big business in Utah Valley (85% LDS) with Clean Flicks franchises — and competitors — popping up almost overnight.  But what happens when Hollywood gets word and tries to put an end to the edited movie craze?
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Apr
12

Review: Children of Joseph

Children of Joseph is a 35-minute DVD produced by the Joseph Smith and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society.  It was created in 2011 by many of the same team from Emma Smith: My Story, and is available through Netflix and Amazon, as well as for purchase through the Historical Society’s website.

When Joseph Smith Jr. was killed in 1844, he left behind five children and his first wife Emma who was pregnant with the sixth.  In the difficult times following The Prophet’s death, Brigham Young led a large group of Saints to the West, although Emma and the children stayed behind in Nauvoo, Illinois.  Over the next 150 years, relatively few of Joseph Smith’s posterity became involved with the Utah branch of Mormonism, although today over a hundred of his descendants (many of whom were previously unaware that they were related to Joseph Smith before being contacted by LDS missionaries or family history researchers) have become members.
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Apr
03

Coming April 6th — Redemption (PG)

This Friday (April 6th) Redemption — written and directed by Tom Russell — will appear in select theaters. (The movie’s official site and Facebook page have more information)

Redemption is based on a true story involving a convicted criminal sent into exile and a lawman who is conflicted about how to treat him.  How do you respect someone’s humanity while respecting the demands of justice at the same time?

Redemption originally screened at the LDS Film Festival in January — here’s my original write-up where I gave it a B at the time. (It’s a borderline B+, all things considering;  some of the weird tangents and choppy editing rubbed me the wrong way, along with sound issues that probably weren’t the fault of the film.)

I’m moderately surprised the film got a PG rating, and apparently without any cuts.  I thought the (admittedly limited) violence and general tone were more in line with a PG-13 film.  Regardless, Redemption is an excellent film that’s worthy of support (even though I’d still consider leaving the young kids at home).

Below is the official trailer:

Mar
18

Review: Scout Camp / Down and Derby

Written and directed by Garrett Batty (director of a handful of Mormon Messages video shorts), Scout Camp is a low-key and mostly realistic valentine to Scouting, released direct to video in 2009.  Scout Camp has obviously been created by filmmakers who are fond of their own Scouting experience.  While it is not as in-your-face as The Last Eagle Scout, Scout Camp will likely appeal to the same audience:  current and former Scouts who will smile and reminisce about their own positive Scouting memories.
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Feb
20

Nobody Knows / Unicorn City This Week

Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons — a documentary created by Margaret Young and Darius Gray will be broadcast on the Documentary Channel this Tuesday, February 20th.   Nobody Knows chronicles some of the stories of early black Latter-Day Saints (including Elijah Abel, the first black priesthood holder, ordained in 1836) and addresses some of the hard issues raised by the black LDS priesthood ban instituted in Brigham Young’s time until rescinded in 1978.

Nobody Knows (official site, my review) is highly recommended for anyone who is interested in learning more about a little-known but significant area of LDS history, and hearing the testimonies of many faithful black LDS today.

Less significant, but still noteworthy:  Unicorn City, a local film about gamer geeks creating a role-playing utopia out in the wilderness will have a small, local release in Utah theaters this Friday, February 24th.    My favorite film out of the LDS Film Festival this year, Unicorn City isn’t deep by any means, but is a lot of fun and  accessible even for those who don’t know what LARP or MMORPG means.  It’s well-written and well-produced — worth checking out even if you’re skeptical about the quality of recent local films.

Feb
13

Review: The Last Eagle Scout

[Viewed January 27th, 2012 at the LDS Film Festival.  Screened version was described by the director as "95% complete".]

Kels Goodman is a maverick filmmaker in any sense of the word. As writer (with Danna Tanner), director, producer, editor, and the sole financial sponsor, Goodman has been working on this “weekend warrior” project for most of the last decade, and The Last Eagle Scout is the culmination of a LOT of time, energy, and money.
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Feb
01

LDS Film Festival 2012: Day 4

Notes from Day 4 of the 2012 LDS Film Festival:

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Jan
29

LDS Film Festival 2012: Day 3

Notes from Day 3 of the 2012 LDS Film Festival:
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Jan
27

LDS Film Festival 2012: Day 2

Brief reports from Day 2 of the 2012 LDS Film Festival Read the rest of this entry »

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