The Cloverfield Paradox is a confusing one

Movie Title:   
The Cloverfield Paradox

Grade:  D

Rating: Not rated officially, but it should be R.

In a Nutshell:   To call Cloverfield a trilogy is a bit of a stretch.  The three films are loosely related with a few connected Easter eggs, each one depending on the former films to garner fans and box office success. 

The fan base is small, as evidenced by the very limited theater release.  The biggest surprise is that the first time the trailer for the movie was ever shown was at Super Bowl LII (2018), which was the very same night the movie was shown on Netflix.

                                  

Tips for parents: 

• F-bombs and other profanity.
• Lots of violence.
• Gruesome, gory, gross deaths.
• Disgusting worms.
• Creepy, but helpful, dismembered hand.

Uplifting theme: 

• Teamwork, friendship, loyalty
• Sacrifice
• Humanity, family

                                        

Things I liked:

• I actually liked the first two installments in this franchise. I like that the three are different from each other and make you try to think.
• Chris O'Dowd has the best lines in the movie.
• The lovely Elizabeth Debicki has quite an entrance.
• This will be a fun movie to make fun of at a teenage late-night party.
• Some of the acting was good.

Things I didn’t like:

• J.J. Abrams is great at NOT telling you what’s going on.  Your brain will explode if you spend too much time trying to figure out any of this. It’s occasionally entertaining and mostly confusing, meant mostly for Cloverfield fans.
• David Oyelowo is too good for this silly script.
• You’d think that everyone on the space station would be able to speak the same language.  Tam (played by Ziyi Zhang) kept speaking Mandarin with no subtitles.  People spoke to her in English and seemed to understand what she was saying, which is just another odd element in the movie.  I’ve actually been trying to learn Mandarin, but subtitles would have been super helpful since I’m terrible at Mandarin.  
• Rumor has it that the next chapter in the Cloverfield story.  Next?  Yeah, you heard me.  Do we really want more of this?  There is talk of an entire Cloverfield universe.  (sigh)  
• Apparently, the Cold War is still going strong in the future.
• Multiverse nonsense.  There are way too many theories, dimensions, and timelines going on here for the average person to keep up with or enjoy.
• Some really dumb lines like, "We're going to survive!  We have to!"
• Cat fight in space.   ha ha
• The original title was “The God Particle.”  Then, it was advertised as "Cloverfield 3."  No wonder we're confused...so are the writers.   

Interesting lines:
* "If you're asking if I'd be willing to kill 3 people to save 8 billion, wouldn't you?" -  Jensen   (Elizabeth Debicki)


You can see my movie review for 10 Cloverfield Lane here.  

                                       

                         

                                            @trinaboice

Netflix has more shows to watch than you thought!

Below is a great article I just found by Glenn Beck that opens up a whole new world of movie-watching possibilities!

Did you know this? There are secret Netflix codes that unlock thousands of hidden movies and TV shows. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I search Netflix and think, “That’s it?” I just can’t find anything I want to watch. But there’s a trick I just learned. 

It turns out Netflix is a little like Big Brother. They’re watching, all the time, with an algorithm to learn your preferences. Based on your viewing history, they display shows that might be of interest to you. Which is great, really, unless you want to watch something outside of your normal fare. Let’s say you’ve been watching When Harry Met Sally non-stop for weeks (because who doesn’t love a good Rom Com, right?). 

Well, if you want to switch it up and watch a military action movie, your choices may be limited. UNLESS, you know that Military Action & Adventure movies are coded as 2125. Search with that code and your options explode. 

Here’s how it works: • You have to have a Netflix account. • Log into your Netflix account on a desktop computer (it might work on other devices…try it out). • Search with this URL and the genre code at the end: http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/2125. 

Here are a few more examples:
 • Biographical Dramas:  http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/3179

 • Classic War Movies: http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/48744 

• Classic Westerns: http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/47465 

• Vampire Horror Movies:  http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/75804 

This opens up a whole new world of entertainment possibilities. The LIST OF GENRES is on Netflix. Click a genre button and you can see the code in your browser URL address.

 Try it and let me know what you think. 

Four Blood Moons now available on Netflix

Movie:  Four Blood Moons

Rating:  PG

2 hours 30 minutes

Grade:    B-

In a Nutshell:   This documentary was a one-day theatrical release in a limited number of cities back in March 2015.  Now it is available to everyone on Netflix and Amazon.  

Based on the New York Times Bestseller of the same name, author and pastor John Hagee explained,  “The thing that compelled me to write “The Four Blood Moons” was when I saw the scientific information that NASA was putting out:  that it (4 blood moons) happened in 1493, that it happened in 1949, that it happened in 1967 and was going to happen in 2015.  Knowing history, I knew that these 3 dates  applied to Israel and are the Jewish people.”   John Hague

If you don’t know history, those dates correspond with the expulsion of the Jewish people from Spain, the creation of the Israel nation, and the Arab/Israeli 6^th day war.  The movie walks you through each of those significant events, pointing to an equally important event to occur Fall of 2015.

Uplifting Theme:   

*  The Bible announces that God made the sun and the moon to be used as signs in the heavens.   “What we notice in science is the more you research the record of nature, the more evidences you find for the handiwork of God and so, it’s not a surprise that we see increasing numbers of scientists looking at that evidence.” – Hugh Ross, Astrophysicist/Author

*  The tagline for the movie is: Something is about to change.  If he's right, what are you doing to prepare?

          

Things I liked:

* I liked the variety of experts in science, history, and religion sharing their "take" on this fascinating symbolism.  The format of the movie is documentary-style interviews, followed by dramatic reenactments to illustrate each of the pivotal moments in history.

*  The information is extremely interesting and should leave you hanging with anticipation to see what unfolds within the next few months.  Pay attention to the news!

*  Writer and Director Keith Merrill has made several beautiful films for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; however, this is NOT a Mormon movie.  In fact, no LDS theology is even mentioned, focusing, instead on doctrine and symbolism explained by Jewish rabbis and pastor John Hagee, who founded "Christians United for Israel." 

·          

Things I didn’t like:

·    At the end of the movie, you see that the majority of the reenactments were filmed in North Carolina; however, you won't be surprised that the film was produced in the Middle East somewhere, because the majority of the actors look like Americans with bad wigs and fake beards.  The actors looked like they were recruited by a small casting company who only hired locals who wanted to dress up in costumes.  In other words, the acting was pretty bad.

*  The scientific and historical evidence is presented to an audience that is pretty much already Christian and Jewish "believers".  

*  There is no strong call-to-action at the end of the movie, only that "something" is coming.  I would have liked to learn about several theories that the experts think might happen and then hear their ideas on how to be best prepared for certain scenarios.

Interesting lines:

·         “The Talmud states clearly that the eclipse of the sun is difficult for the nations of the world.  The eclipse of the moon is difficult for the Jewish people and express a difficulty for the Jewish people.” – Rabbi Shlomo Riskin

·          

Tips for Parents:  

*  Young children will mostly be bored.  

*  Teens who are interested in the subject matter will learn a little bit more about historical events.  There are inspiring and miraculous stories that are reenacted, which could be a good launching pad for faith-building discussions.

·          

Would you like to know more? You can read the New York Times best-seller by John Hagee:

 

 Here's another one that is a fascinating read by Jonathan Cahn. You'll find a ton of interesting videos on YouTube by him as well: