Movie Review Double Feature: 50/50 and Courageous

Weekend before last, I spent most of my time at the movies, except I kind of forgot to write about it.  So, indulge me for a minute. 

On Friday, Amber and I went to see 50/50.  Now, I will be the first to admit that I wasn't initially excited about this movie.  The trailer looked too depressing, and I can remember looking at Amber in whatever summer movie it aired during and saying as much.  However, I happened to catch the writer, Will Reiser, and the cast on Anderson Cooper one afternoon.  Turns out, I was wrong.  The story was actually pretty funny for a movie about cancer, and I felt a lot better after watching the interviews because Reiser wrote it about his real struggle and he was still alive to tell about it.  I'm not usually a huge Seth Rogen fan, but since he was essentially playing himself (Reiser is his real-life friend), I didn't mind.  And Joseph Gordon-Levitt remains one of my favorites.  It was definitely worth seeing!  (And Anna Kendrick's character is basically how I would imagine Amber as a therapist.  We laughed about that as much as the movie itself!)  I give it three out of four completely arbitrary stars.

On Sunday, Mom, Lulu and I went to see Courageous.  I'm going to say something here that not everyone will agree with (and that's okay), but I really was not excited about seeing this movie.  I went because I wanted to spend time with my family, not because I was just dying to see this film in the theaters.  Generally, I feel that Christian movies are often not very good, quality-wise.  This one was better, I will admit, but it still felt a little openly manipulative at times.  These movies, because they tend to have a much smaller budget, also sometimes have the feel of it being a film student's final project and not a major motion picture.  Amber would probably be able to give a name for the technical issues, but I don't have much experience on that side, sort of having watched a lot of movies.  This felt like a great step the right direction though, as far as quality goes.  I want there to movies with Christian themes, however, I would also like them to be really great movies.  Overall, Courageous was very good, if a little scattered.  The plot meandered some, and it felt long at points, but I also have a pretty short attention span.  The message, however, was incredible.  We need more men to be godly men of honor, especially when it comes to fatherhood.  I see the need for it every single day. 

I have several movie or entertainment related posts planned whenever I am not talking wedding this week and next.  Ideas have been popping up everywhere, and I can't wait to share them with you all!