Movies

Do We Take God For Granted?

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments
The Hollywood Reporter

The Hollywood Reporter

The Oscars will be missing something this year – the greatest actor of our generation.

Despite two highly-regarded performances – as the title character in the harrowing “Captain Phillips” and as the legendary Walt Disney in “Saving Mr. Banks” – somehow Tom Hanks missed out on an Oscar nomination this year.

What’s the deal here? I must admit I have not seen many of the Oscar nominated films this year, including “Saving Mr. Banks”. And I know there’s only so many spots that can go out there for nominations.

But have you seen “Captain Phillips”? Tom Hanks is incredible as a reserved ship captain trying to maintain order as Somali pirates hijack his boat. The last scene where Hanks finally releases all the pent-up emotion he’s been carrying through the movie is an acting masterclass.

Even as someone who expects Tom Hanks to deliver an excellent performance in every movie, I was still blown away by his work in “Captain Phillips”.

I think maybe that’s why Tom Hanks didn’t get nominated for an Oscar this year. I think everyone who’s seen “Forrest Gump” and “Saving Private Ryan” and even “You’ve Got Mail” recognizes how awesome Tom Hanks is.

So when Tom Hanks does his usual excellent work, the audience is not surprised. There’s no overwhelming movement to honor what this amazing actor is doing because the world has been recognizing his outstanding work for decades.

I think we take Tom Hanks for granted. I know I take God for granted too. Continue reading →

How To Escape Your Groundhog Day

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

Groundhog_Day_(movie_poster)Have you ever watched “Groundhog Day”?

I think people underrate the Bill Murray comedy from 1993 because of the goofy title. But if you see it on cable this weekend, stop and watch. I bet you’ll get sucked in.

Bill Murray’s character finds himself stuck reliving the most inane day possible, over and over and over again. He can’t escape the day until he the universe deems he made all the right choices with his life.

It’s easy to get stuck in your own version of “Groundhog Day” – reliving the same mistakes over and over and over again. Continue reading →

When Is It Ok To Compromise Your Beliefs?

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

photo-11The greatest compromise a man and woman will ever face is on Movie Night.

Men and women are genetically predisposed to enjoy different movies. It’s a scientific fact. Or something like that.

Women wonder why “How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days” didn’t win an Oscar. Men question why every movie isn’t produced by Marvel.

My fiance and I have worked out a pretty common compromise to avoid Movie Night fights. We usually take turns picking out the movies we watch together.

Of course this means she often has to slug through quirky indie movies the critics love but are really just plain weird. And I fall asleep through cheap horror movies that belong on SyFy. But, you know, love and all that.

I believe a movie should be more than cheap thrills and entertainment. I want movies to transcend entertainment and move me emotionally and other nonsense.

Sometimes our movie choices flop. When she picks a bad movie I get a little angry that I wasted a couple hours of my life to watch a crappy film. I feel like I compromised my beliefs. Continue reading →

Tips For The Beginning Time Traveler

/ Alex Doriot / 6 Comments

ABOUT-TIME_NZ_A3_v1.inddYou may not be able to travel back in time. But you can change the future.

That’s the theme of “About Time”, the new movie starring Rachel McAdams which just hit theaters. My girlfriend and I saw the film this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The plot focuses on a young man who learns a secret from his father on his 21st birthday – all the males in his family have the ability to travel back in time.

The young man knows instantly what he wants to use his gift for: to find a girlfriend.

At first the possibilities are endless for how to use his new power. He’s able to fix those awkward dinner conversations, perfect the first kiss, even stop the love of his life from meeting a bad boyfriend.

Late in the movie things really get interesting. I don’t think I’m spoiling anything, but the question for the main character becomes “Instead of traveling back in time to fix my mistakes, how can I do things better the first time around?” Continue reading →

Why The Church Should Not Evolve

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

blockbuster_1250Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. (Matthew 24:35)

The video store is dead.

This is not really news. The video store has been on life support for years. And in some rural communities Mom and Pop movie rental shops are still hanging in there.

But after years of fighting a terminal, self-inlicted disease, Blockbuster finally decided to shutter its final 300 stores. Continue reading →

What You’re Missing By Missing The Reference

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

I know a few serial movie memorizers. It’s kind of a generational thing. Our parents didn’t have the chance to watch and rewatch their favorite movies on demand like we do.

Since now anyone can watch the Austin Powers Trilogy every night before they go to bed, movie quotes have become their own sort of lexicon. To twenty-somethings (especially males), learning to quote movies is an essential foreign language.

I don’t memorize movies well. I watch a lot of movies. I enjoy them. But I don’t rewatch a lot of them. And I don’t ingrain the dialogue to my brain. (Not judging those who do – in fact I’m often jealous of them.)

I’ve got a handful of go to movie quotes. But they’re not that original. I usually end up sounding like the recent slew of news anchors profiled on Conan who all thought they were being quite clever covering the news of Mike Myers’ new addition: Continue reading →

Han Solo, Ron Burgundy, and The Insufficient Resurrection

/ Alex Doriot / 3 Comments

Hollywood is obsessed with the resurrection right now. And I don’t mean a sequel to “The Passion Of The Christ”.

I’m talking about the resurrection of past successes. Take a look at just a few of the movies and tv shows getting ready to relaunch after years of dormancy:

Star Wars Episodes 7/8/9. Anchorman 2. A Dumb and Dumber Sequel. The Boy Meets World continuation Girl Meets World. The Veronica Mars movie. A new season of 24. Another new season of Arrested Development. Seriously – that’s just a sampling of the classics Hollywood is resurrecting.

You’d think I might be uncontrollably excited about a few of these. Anchorman is probably the funniest movie of the past decade. Dumb and Dumber is my favorite comedy of all time. But I’m pretty much dreading these sequels. Continue reading →

The Seal Of Approval

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like-button2A thumbs up. A like. A checkmark. A retweet. A gold star.

Seems like we’re constantly seeking a seal of approval. No matter if it’s a big budget movie, a work of art, a Youtube video, or just a simple Facebook post, our work is not validated unless it bears some mark of approval.

On the flipside, it can take years to recover from a bad review. Some poorly reviewed films go on to cult classic status. While others never do and dwindle in the $5 bargain bin at WalMart.

A bad review can go a long way in sinking movie. In recent years After Earth, John Carter, and Battleship have all been sunk by poor early buzz.

What would you do if God reviewed you? How would it influence your opinion of yourself, or your idea of purpose? Continue reading →

The Blockbuster Of The Summer

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

despicable-me-2-poster-01Seen any good movies this summer? What was your favorite: Iron Man 3? Despicable Me 2? Fast And The Furious 6? Something without a number in the title?

When advertising a new film, a marketing company’s job is to make you feel like you need to see a movie immediately. And now with Twitter if you don’t see a movie the moment its out you’re also subject to spoilers across social media.

In the summer season success is not measured in how much money the movie makes during the 8 or so weeks it sits in theaters. It’s all about the opening weekend. Continue reading →