The Invisible Man comes to us from Blumhouse Production Company. The story and vision are from Leigh Whannell, who has brought us the likes of Saw, Upgrade and the Insidious franchise. When it comes to horror movies this man has great direction. We have Elisabeth Moss as the main character Cecilia Kass and opposite her is Oliver Jackson-Cohen as the invisible man himself Adrian Griffin. Along with the two of them, there is Harriet Dyer, Aldis Hodge, and Michael Dorman. This cast is superb and knows exactly what they are doing to bring this story to life. Elisabeth Moss is incredible as she stars as the character that we follow throughout the film. This movie is classified as a horror sci-fi, has a 124 minute run time and is rated R for strong bloody violence and language.
The story follows a young woman as she tries to get out of an abusive relationship and away from her overprotective, controlling boyfriend. After his untimely passing, she begins to become haunted by a ghost of his former self, but we later find out that it might not be what it seems. She chances down what she thinks is this invisible man while everyone around believes she is going mad.

(SPOILERS)
This movie is tense from the opening scene as she sneaks out of his house in fear for her life. Elisabeth Moss does a phenomenal job as this character that is both terrified of her current situation while battling signs of PTSD. She goes above and beyond in her role and we are all the better because of it, at the same time every other character feels so real in their respective roles. This world feels lived in. It was intriguing to watch a movie about the invisible man and he is not the main character with a story arc. I know I mentioned it in my podcast but I want to bring it up here as well. When I thought about a movie about the invisible man my mind went straight to 2000 Hollow Man starring Kevin Bacon. This is not that, and honestly, we can forget about that movie. This is the movie about this story we’ve been waiting for. The cinematography is impeccable in every scene. The lighting conveys the tone of the movie perfectly. They shot the scenes in a way that make you think that this man could always be in the room. Any shot that is of an empty hallway or just the front yard makes you wonder if he is watching her, and in some ways watching you, and when they do reveal that he IS in the scene it is done tastefully. By tastefully I mean that it isn’t done in a cheap run of the mill’s horror movie way. One of the main reasons I do not like horror movies is that in my opinion there are times that they sacrifice story substance for a quick scare, but movies like this earn the times that it reveals our antagonist in some simple yet frightening ways. Some of which are truly terrifying. In one scene Celcilia is outside and you see her breath, then behind her, you see breath. I think that shot was in the trailer, but it was so subtle and not trying too hard that it worked well. I don’t want to reveal all the jump scares though.

I appreciated how they modernized the story that seemed relevant. This movie is very creative and original. To explain a little, instead of a potion that someone drinks to turn him invisible, it is simply a tech genius that creates a suit that allows him to become invisible with the use of many micro cameras. Not unlike the tech Mysterio used in Spiderman Far from Home if I’m being honest. It works perfectly for the plot.

Now let me comment on one aspect that I didn’t enjoy. And not that it took me out of the movie or ruined it for me. Just that I would have liked to see something else happen. But what do I know I am not a filmmaker. The movie ends with Celcilia getting revenge on the man who killed her loved ones and tormented her life. It isn’t the plot point that she kills him that bothers me, more how she handled it. The movie ends with her killing him, making it look like he committed suicide, but the part that I didn’t enjoy was the enjoyment she got from it. It went beyond a simple sigh of relief that her abuser was dead and she really seemed like she enjoyed killing him. Not to mention she left with an invisible suit. Making it seem to me like if there were ever a sequel she would be the one tormenting and killing someone else. It just seemed out of character to the person we had watched the whole movie.
It is rated R as I stated up top, obviously this is not a movie for the whole family. But even though it is rated R for bloody violence and language, it is not as bloody as I thought it would be and there isn’t as much language as I expected. This movie is rather clean which is a pleasant surprise. There are scenes where throats are cut and people are shot but they are not as frequent as one would expect in a movie like this, and as far as the language goes it uses some of the more abrasive language in alignment with films of this nature but again less frequent than I expected. There is also a scene with the main character in the shower but it is not used disrespectfully and moves on rather quickly. Scenes like this are still heavily debatable on whether they are needed or not but I digress.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this and it was well worth the renting price they were asking. I wish I had an opportunity to see this movie in theaters. Should you sit down with your significant other in a dark room and watch this movie? I say not only do that but REMEMBER THIS MOVIE. I even suggest movie your couch out a little bit so there is a path behind you just to add an extra layer of fear if there is someone behind you.

Thank you all for reading my review and please leave a comment on what you thought about this movie.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

God’s not dead came out in March of 2014. It is brought to us by Pureflix Production and was written by Hunter Dennis, Chuck Konzelman and Carey Solomon, and watching this movie you can see the collaboration behind it. Directed by Harold Cronk who brought us God’s not Dead 2 and God bless the Broken Road, provides the vision of the story and presents it in a clear and concise way that is a stable for the movies he has made. Especially considering the budget restraints that these lower tier christian films work with, it is very impressive. This film was made for a little over two million dollars, which may seem like a lot by most standards! but in the movie industry this isn’t much at all. Looking at a films overall gross is a good way to tell the popularity of a film, God’s not Dead made over nine million dollars on opening weekend and a gross worldwide of 64 million dollars. So at the end of the day this movie did okay for itself. Rightfully so, I cannot say enough about how well made this movie is, and how well it still holds up today six years later. It stars Kevin Sorbo, Dean Cain and David A.R. White.

 The story revolves around a young man, Josh Wheaton (Shane Harper) arriving at college. From the beginning he is faced with a dilemma of publicly pronouncing his Biblical worldview and his faith in Christ, in the form of his philosophy professor played by Kevin Sorbo. He is forced to choose between saying that God is dead so that the class can move forward with real, human philosophy without dealing with the weak idea that God is the reason for why we live our lives, or choosing the position that says he cannot deny God. He is forced to go into a debate with the professor over the existence and belief of God. The main character sees his life change in ways that he never thought it would, do to the decision he makes. There are also numerous side plots that revolve around the idea of whether God is important and central or a fools belief. There is a pastor struggling with being faithful to the mission God called him to and a young Muslim woman finding Christ and dealing with the familial fallout from that decision. All of which culminate in a tense and heartwarming ending.

Kevin Sorbo does a really good job playing, Professor Radisson, the movies main antagonist; and gives one of the best performances of any in the film. That’s not really fair considering his experience over a lot of the other cast members but looking at it objectively from a film perspective this is one area where the movie lacks. Not bashing anyone. Its just obvious at times when Kevin Sorbo, Dean Cain and some are acting opposite younger talent, it stands out at times. None the less, everyone conveys the message their characters were created so believably, any small acting issues that my inexperienced mind finds are truly inconsequentially. The story is a powerful one to anyone open to the points being made whether a believer or not.

This description is brief, there is a lot going on in this movie. Again, all of which the film maker handles really well. The score, as well as the actual music are utilized greatly to drive home the emotions of the scenes. And the dialogue, for the most part is realistic and not cheesy (like some christian movies have a tendency to be). one of the only issues I had with the movie, and not really an issue but just took me out of it a little. Being a christian movie, using film to convey a certain message (No different than any movie by the way!) the lens in which they painted the non-believers, people who are not Christians, is one that is specific and dare I say, extreme. Very cynical. One thought that kept coming back to me was that not all non-Christians are that cynical and overt. I understand that the movie has a limited amount of time to complete that story. So they need their characters to do certain things that will progress that story. But watching it this time it was something that stood out more than any other viewing. To be clear it does not take away from the moral of the movie or alter the points that the movie makes, nor is it disrespectful towards any group of people. I think my problem is just more the writing and what they had those characters say, that seemed out of place.  

All that being said, I am personally a Christian, movie lover. So I was gripped by the story and what it was trying to say. I also love movies that create an environment where discourse can be had. I would love to talk to anyone about the underlying themes of this movie. Movies like Prisoners (Huge Jackman) or Million Dollar Baby (Hillary Shwank) are some that come to mind regarding discussion starters. Maybe I’ll do these movies someday soon.

God’s Not Dead, Remember that movie! It’s encouraging and challenging all at the same time. It will leave you asking, “Where do I stand on the questions posed?”

James 1:12

 “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

The Way Back stars Ben Affleck as a man battling alcoholism and a failing marriage. In an attempt to straighten up he is asked to coach a high school basketball team because of his talents while in high school himself.

 It was released on March 6, 2020 and has a roughly One hour and Fifty minute run time. It comes from the visionary direction of Gavin O’Connor who directed the likes of The Accountant (2011)(also starring Ben Affleck) and Warrior (2016). Both of which are very good movies. Ben Affleck gives one of his most compelling acting performances of his career while he is supported by a cast of talented actors and actresses most of which are not mainstream, at least at this point in there careers. Most of the cast do a lot of work on TV. Which could change after this comes out. Nothing against TV, I just don’t watch many shows on television. Janina Gavankar plays Affleck’s wife who does an incredible job, she is most known for her TV work.

(SPOILERS AHEAD!)

 Jack Cunningham had amazing talent in high school basketball. But after turning down scholarships and having his life spiral out of control through drugs and alcohol. We find Jack, middle aged and battling with an alcohol addiction. Learning about his life and marital problems we watch him as he is falling apart, only to be turned around by his priest offering him a position to coach the basketball team at the high school he used to attend, in the sport he used to dominate. It works well until old old wounds, the death of his son primarily, works their way back into his life challenging the decisions he makes and where he will go from there.

 To say that Ben goes above and beyond in this role is an understatement. I think its common knowledge at this point that Ben Affleck has had some extreme battles of his own with alcohol, and it comes through in his performance. I don’t know what it is. But there is something about him that is so down to earth. He conveys the every man’s man. I buy him as this guy. Where with some other actors, Matt Damon to name one, sorry Matt, its harder for me to disconnect. The whole time I watched The Martian I couldn’t help but think that’s Matt Damon. But a really compelling aspect of this movie is that everyone feels real. I appreciate as well, that its not about the time or place in which the movie takes place. It was probably half way through that it occurred to me I didn’t know where we were in the country. As well the characters didn’t necessarily give off one distinct area demographic. Any of those details could have been changed and it wouldn’t have effected the main characters in any way.

 All the actors do a good job with the roles they are given. The chemistry between Ben and Jenina is very convincing as they play a couple who are dealing with loss. The boys who make up the basketball team are good, but are definitively the weakest part of the film. Aside from one or two boys, specifically Brandon Wilson and Melvin Gregg, the others are more cookie cutter characters from any sports related movie. It doesn’t take away from the movie just an simple analysis.

 To comment on one other thing, is this a sports movie or a character drama? To be fair IMDB lists it as a sports drama. But this isn’t Glory Road or Remember The Titans. Watching Jack Cunningham wake up and the first thing he does is take a drink. The last thing he does before passing out is drunkenly walk home from the bar aided by an old friend. It isn’t easy to watch, every sip is painful to see. But it makes the ending all the more rewarding, even if what we get at the end isn’t what we expected. Not necessarily in a bad way. This is a drama, the sports scenes more often than not cut away from the action to focus on our character. I can’t say it enough though, everything done is in the best way possibly. I just think the marketing was a little misleading.

 To give a content advisory, this movie is rated R for language throughout including sexual references. It is full of language. Almost every scene contains explicit language. The main character deals with anger and is constantly unable to watch his mouth even as the Catholic priest that travels with the team is giving him the stink eye.

 To end on a positive note, if you can look past the pervasive language, this is an extremely well made movie, with outstanding acting from our main characters. Ben Affleck is in a league of his own when compared to some of his other performances in the past. Boy he seems to get better with age. And the redemptive message that permeates the film is one that warms the heart to its core.

 At the end of the day I say Remember that Movie! The story of this man struggling with life is relateable, even if you aren’t dealing with the same battle that our character Jack Cunningham is. But his story will bring tears to your eyes.