Let's say you are sitting with your friends. One of them has upset you. What do you say to them?
a. You are my friend, but I do not have to take this from you. You are upsetting me!
b. Look, you're my friend, but I don't want to talk about this anymore right now.
If you chose the second option, you are normal.
If you chose the first option, you don't have the ability to use contractions, and you probably wrote the script for "Fireproof."
I admire what they were trying to do; the idea behind it. I acknowledge the fact that most of the people working the film were volunteers. And as a Catholic I would love to see more Christian films made and have them do much better at the box office.
But, unfortunately Christian movie make has become synonymous with bad movie making. We allow poor dialogue because we agree with the message. Which is all said and good for those who already agree with the message, but doesn't create a desire in those who don't.
Fireproof was a good movie. I enjoyed going with Therese and spending some time out. But their arguments were so bad that both of us broke out laughing at one point. The dialogue was so poorly written that it made it tough for the actors. Most of the acting itself was okay. I used to do a lot of theater, and I'm no Kirk Cameron, though I play him on TV. I probably could have done better than some of the actors in there, and I'm not all that OR a bag of chips.
I know at least one or two other peeps saw the movie. What did you think?
Sunday, October 5, 2008
These pretzels are making me thirsty
Posted by Recovering Soul at 11:48 AM
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8 comments:
- I think Chick-fil-A got an awesome free product placement deal.
- I think if Kirk Cameron doesn't kiss any other woman other than his wife, Chelsie Noble, perhaps she should have played the role of the wife.
- I found it hard not to roll my eyes at the woman playing Kirk Cameron's mother.
- I think I would like my money back for seeing the film in the theaters because we have now watched so much of it during the sermon series on marriage in church now that I've seen it all over again.
- I found the Three Stooges firemen characters pointless. Haha! Oh, but I'm sure even Jesus would have liked the old tomato juice/hot sauce pun.
- I totally respect Kirk Cameron and his faith. He's probably a million times stronger in it than I'll ever be. It still was hard for me not to want him to flash an old school Growing Pains smirk at the camera.
- I know a lot of people in attendance laughed at points where I'm pretty sure producers didn't want there to be laughter.
- There arguements seemed petty and small in light of the fact that we didn't really "see" any of the problems they were whininig about.
- IT WAS WAY TOO LONG.
- I'm waiting for a spin-off movie based on the neighbor couple.
- I could go on and on and on...
Well, Baby, as you know, some of the "emotional" scenes were cringingly awkward.
The dialogue painful.
And I found his conversion not very believable.
And I thought the doctor she liked looked like a poor man's version of Cary Elwes.
But it was a great outing with you and I enjoyed you, and enjoyed being able to watch a serious movie with you and not take it too seriously.
I love you.
Don't even get me started on why we've created a genre called "Christian" movies. Sort of like Christian music or Christian sculpture or Christian doilies in the living room.
I guess I shouldn't be commenting here, since I didn't see the movie. Perhaps I will someday, although I admit it might be just to make fun of it. I do occasionally make my own short films with other people, just because it entertains us, with "actors" that are paid in nothing but some pizza the nights that we shoot. I've realized that filmmakers see things from a very biased perspective. It's easy to think what you are doing is really great (script, acting, editing, etc), especially when everyone around you helping on the movie thinks so too. That's why Hollywood usually has test screenings and gets input from the "average moviegoer."
Because stuff that looks golden to the filmmaker often looks like crap to the guy who is shelling out $8.50 to see it.
Maybe the producers of "Fireproof" didn't pay the actors with the right type of pizza. Actors can be picky that way -- many of them prefer sausage to pepperoni, I've discovered.
No chance here, the closest theatre showing it is 2 hours away .... and nothing closer has plans to show it.
Hmmmmm. . . I dunno, RS. I can easily see myself giving the first answer, or something like it (OK, maybe using a contraction or two). Maybe I'm even less normal than I thought. . .
I haven't seen 'Fireproof', and I don't know if we will; we'll probably rent the DVD at some point. But I have seen 'Facing the Giants', by the same company (which my teenage kids love, btw. . .)
I don't think that 'Christian movie-making' is necessarily synonymous with 'bad movie-making'. I liked 'Chariots of Fire' a lot. And so, apparently, did the Motion Picture Academy. I also thought 'Bella' and 'Juno' were pretty well-crafted films, which, while not explicitly 'Christian' films, sent a pro-life message that ran counter to the 'prevailing secular culture'.
But, yeah - the plot-lines are usually pretty predictable (especially the 'victory while overcoming obstacles' theme), and the endings are always happy (was it absolutely necessary, in 'Facing the Giants', for them to win the state championship?).
But, as I said, my teenagers love 'Facing the Giants'. So, the message is getting thru, at least to some folks. So, it has its role to play, I'm sure. . .
Thanks for this good movie review of a possibly bad movie. It convinced me that I might have better luck finding a diversion/escape at Blockbuster.
D.
Fad - thanks for reminding me of many things I missed. I'm a huge Chick-Fil-A fan, so seeing that food was the highlight of the movie for me. :)
Both the neighbor couple AND the extra firement seemed to have no point.
TiH - it is always good to get out of the house and spend date time with you.
FTN - Maybe if WE determine what kind of pizza Kirk Cameron likes, he'll come make a movie with us next weekend. That would be kind of cool. We need to start working on the script, though.
xavier - I heard they opened it up a bit and got it into more theaters. Still not a huge release. You can wait for video.
Des - I loved the movie Bella. Never seen Chariots of Fire. And the people I know who saw Juno actually told me they did not like it, and there were no redeeming qualities. Can't confirm that myself. With all that said, as you pointed out, they are not "Christian genre" films. All the Christian genre films I have seen come across, to me, as cheesy. Maybe I'm just drinking the Hollywood koolaid.
digger - anything for a fan.
You really should see 'Chariots of Fire', if only because it was a BP winner. Its 'Christian-ness' is of a definite Scots-Protestant flavor, but inspiring all in its own right. Plus, it contains one of the great movie lines ever -
"God made me for China, but he also made me fast. And when I run, I can feel His pleasure. . ."
'Juno', I can understand why some folks wouldn't like it. Not everybody finds the 'smartass teenager' schtick clever/cute. And the subplot of the adoptive parents' relationship resolves in a pretty unsatisfying way. But 'no redeeming qualities' seems a trifle over-wrought. Life ain't perfect, and it doesn't always go the way it's supposed to. But life wins. . . The scenes surrounding her visit to the abortion clinic are worth the price of admission, all by themselves. . .
But hey, I was adopted, and my parents got divorced. And I'm a smartass, too! So, I liked it. . . ;)
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