Movie Reviews: UP and The Hangover

UP
Rating: PG for some peril and action.

Pixar has done it again. They’ve gone and made a great animated movie that keeps your attention, makes you laugh out loud and has some sentimental value in the end. In their latest flick we’re taken on a journey of an old man who has recently lost his longtime wife and has been forced to sell his home to a new developer. Instead of giving up and walking off into the sunset at the local retirement home he decides to attach thousands of helium balloons to his house and he heads off to an exotic location that he and his late wife always wanted to live.

This was a great story about seeking adventure in life and pushing yourself to move on to the next season of your life. We don’t want to be people who get so stuck in routine and the monotony of life that we miss out on our dreams and aspirations.

If you have the chance you should totally see this in 3D. It was my first full length feature film in 3D and it was amazing.

The Hangover
Rating: R for pervasive language, sexual content including nudity, and some drug material.

This crude comedy is set in Las Vegas when three friends take a buddy for his bachelor party for a night of partying and regrettable moments. The movie shows the guys heading to Vegas for this great night of debauchery, but then skips over the actual party and picks up the next morning. Three of guys wake up in a drunken stupor and realize that the soon to be groom has gone missing. The remainder of the movie is them trying to figure out what happened the night before and retracing their steps so they can find their missing friend. The thing that really bothered me about this movie is that there was no accountability for their actions. Throughout the film and even in the end; no one has to take any real responsibility for their actions. This frustrated me because real life is full of consequences for our actions and we can’t expect to live in sin without taking responsibility for our choices.

Look at Your Shoes Moments:
The whole movie is filled with crude jokes and lots of swearing, and not only that but there are a few moments of nudity. A lady breastfeeds in front of the guys and in another scene a naked man jumps out of a trunk and starts beating the guys up. The worst scenes of nudity were in the credits when they show pictures of what happened at the bachelor party.

The Hangover is one of those movies that has the lure of comedy and nonstop laughter, but there is a cost to seeing it. You’ve got to really ask yourself, is it worth watching a movie that contradicts many of your values about marriage, purity, and self control. Plus because of the nudity, crude jokes and constant swearing a movie like this could be a stumbling block for many and my recommendation is to avoid it all together.

Bigger than Just You

This last weekend we talked about the story of David and Goliath from 1 Samuel 17. Our discussion covered the common issue of identifying the things in our lives that seem huge and immovable, but with God nothing is impossible. We discussed that God enables us to achieve the things he’s asking us to do no matter how large or intimidating it may initially seem.

Recently I had a discussion with my wife April about the topic of David and Goliath and we started looking at the story from a different angle. So often we look at this legendary story with the perspective of our problems, our issues and our hurdles in life. If you look at the story, Goliath is harassing a much larger demographic than just David, he’s taking on all the people of Israel. This got us thinking that instead of just dealing with the “giants” that only affect us personally, what if there were large obstacles, enemies, or issues that were affecting a larger group of people. Such issues as human trafficking, local homelessness, starving families, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, domestic abuse, etc. are all things that affect a larger demographic than just you personally. As Christ followers let’s be people who start stepping up and challenging these issues.

I’m not saying get on your soapbox or pull out a picket sign. I can’t think of anytime when the love of God can be effectively shared through shouting at someone or holding a sign.

What I’m really challenging us to do is start praying about a realistic need that you see in your community, the nation or even the world. Allow God to stir up a passion in your heart for something specific. Then start praying about what you can do to help those affected. Let’s be a people that put our faith into action and show the love of God in genuine and practical ways. So don’t just stop at praying for someone or giving money to an organization, but start taking practical steps to bring about a change. As we start stepping up and making a difference we’ll start seeing the destruction of these “giants” and “Goliaths” in our society that used to seem so immovable and intimidating.

Good Further Reading:
1 Samuel 17

James 2:14-26