Category: Culture watch

August 18, 2014

Unlikely heroes want to do better?

by Ted Giese When it comes to MARVEL it looks like movie-goers are “hooked on a feeling” and the studio’s big gamble bringing the cult comic book Guardians of the Galaxy to the silver screen has paid off. With an opening weekend that dwarfed recent…

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August 6, 2014

Hercules: not so strong on screen this time

by Ted Giese The new Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson 2014 film Hercules fits somewhere between Brad Pitt’s anti-supernatural, sword-and-sandal 2004 epic Troy and the cheesy, zany, over-the-top Kevin Sorbo 1990s television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. This new iteration of the Greek hero opens with…

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July 17, 2014

In review: Transformers 4 Age of Extinction

by Ted Giese If someone says the word “transformer” and the first thing that comes to mind is an electrical device in a covered box outside your house quietly transferring energy between two or more circuits, then the knowledge there’s a movie called Transformers 4…

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June 23, 2014

How to Train Your Dragon 2: Children’s fantasy, grown-up ideas

by Ted Giese Building on How to Train Your Dragon’s story of complimentary parts making a whole, and how a change of perspective can improve a person’s overall outlook on life, DreamWorks’ sequel How to Train Your Dragon 2 again focuses on themes of friendship,…

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May 8, 2014

Amazing Spider-Man 2: A David and Goliath tale

by Ted Giese The first words everyone hears as the closing credits roll following The Amazing Spider-Man 2 are from Kendrick Lamar: “And everyone knows the story of David and Goliath.”  These are also the opening words of Alisha Keys’ song “It’s On Again,” which…

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April 28, 2014

Heaven is For Real: Heart-warming film without a heavenly road-map

by Ted Giese Pulling into the number two spot at the box office on Easter weekend was the Christian-themed film Heaven is For Real, based on the popular book by the same name. The film, like the book, tells the story of young Colton Burpo…

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