Hacksaw Ridge spills blood and faith in big amounts

Movie Title:  Hacksaw Ridge

Grade:  A

Rating:  R, 139 minutes

In a Nutshell: This is NOT your typical Christian movie.  Directed by Mel Gibson, this graphic, true story inspires faith and courage amidst a background of the brutal, horrors of World War II. 

The audience cheered and clapped several times during the movie to honor the first “conscientious objector" to receive the Medal of Honor, Desmond T. Doss.  The theater I sat in was also filled with veterans, based on their reaction and the comments I heard from them while we slowly walked out.

Uplifting theme: 

• “When the world is busy tearing itself apart, it doesn’t seem like such a bad thing to me to want to put a little bit of it back together.” – Desmond
• How well do you hold to your convictions?  How well do you show respect to those who do? 
• Bravery, cowardice, patriotism, friendship.

Things I liked:

• The star cast really knocked it out of the park on this one.  The acting really was stellar, led by Hugo Weaving, Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, and Dorothy Schutte.  Vince Vaughn was surprisingly effective. Hugo Weaving was absolutely amazing.
• Most people don’t much about Seventh Day Adventists. It was inspiring to watch a man truly live his religion.
• It reminded me a little bit of the faithful story in Saints and Soldiers, but with the gore and drama of Saving Private Ryan
• How do they film war scenes like this?
• I always love true stories where you get to see video footage and pictures of the real people the story is about at the end of the movie.
• Desmond goes to Fort Jackson.  I didn’t realize it was around during WWII.  My oldest son went there for his Army training too.
• Mel Gibson was a Hollywood hunk for many decades, only to be laughed at and dismissed in the past few years as a jerk and wackadoodle.  This film may be his comeback and apology.  It’ll be interesting to see if anyone is willing to grant him an Oscar.  Gibson is on par with his excellent work in Braveheart and Apocalypto  After a 10 year directing break, welcome back, Mel.
• There is a huge contrast between the sweet, innocent love story between Desmond and Dorothy during the first half of the movie and the brutal, gory carnage of the second half.   That stark contrast reminds me of the incredibly powerful movie “Life is Beautiful.”

Things I didn’t like:

• Does faith, patriotism, and courage have to be packaged with so much violence and gore to be appreciated?
• No guns.  No killing.  Where have I heard that before?  Oh yeah....Batman.
• You feel like your gut has been punched and your heart ripped out by the time you stagger out of the theater.

Here's an interesting trailer with Mel Gibson.  Did he get religion?

Interesting lines:

• “The U.S. Army does not make mistakes.” – 
• “You better come home to me.” – Dorothy Schutte (Teresa Palmer)
• “In peace, men bury their sons.  In war, fathers bury their son.” – Vito Rinnelli (Firass Dirani)
• “You didn’t kill him. “ – Smitty (I loved Luke Bracey in Point Break (2015) 

“In my heart, I did.” - Desmond

• “All I saw was a skinny kid.  I didn’t know who you were.” – Captain Glover (I chuckled to myself, because Sam Worthington's character in Avatar was all about "I see you.") 

Funny lines:

• “I have seen corn stalks with better physiques.” – Sgt. Howell (Vince Vaughn)
• “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. Keep climbing.” – drill
• “You’re like gum on a shoe, ain’t ya?” – Sgt. Howell
• “It’s a bit late for target practice, don’t ya think?” – Sgt. Howell 
• “I’m going to marry her. “ – Desmond

“Does she know it?” –  Bertha Doss (Rachel Griffiths)

Tips for parents: 

• This is NOT a children’s movie.  It’s rated R for extreme violence, gore, lots of scary dead bodies, and realistic war images.
• You see the rear end of a naked soldier.
• It’s surprising how little profanity there is, considering the movie is full of tough soldiers in horrible situations. 

Delivery Man now out on DVD

Delivery Man came out on the Big Screen several months ago, but today it finally hits the DVD market on your local store shelves.  If you missed it, now's your chance to catch a heart-warming movie.

Movie Title:  Delivery Man

PG-13, 1 hour 43 minutes

Grade:  B+

In a Nutshell:  A feel-good movie by Ken Scott, this film is based on the true story of a sperm donor who discovers he has fathered 533 kids.  Less than a year before this one hit theaters, Ken Scott made a similar French-Canadian film entitled Starbuck which hardly anyone in the U.S. saw, but was a hit with our northern neighbors.  Cue Vince Vaughn for box office magic.  There is a sweet and goofy charm to both movies that will leave you smiling.

Uplifting theme: 

• First of all, having kids really does make you better, as Vince Vaughn’s character David Wozniak says.  The film is not only about children searching for their father, but a father searching for meaning in his life.
• As the tag line for the movie says: “You’re never quite ready for what life delivers.”  We all have heartaches and joys along the way.  The lesson is to learn from them and become better each day.

Things I liked: 

• The movie asks some good questions that are worth discussing about adoption, donors, paternity and privacy.  Should adopted children have the right to know who their parents are since they never signed an anonymity clause?  What do YOU think? I'd love to read your comments below!
• How I Met Your Mother: The Complete Series fans will love seeing Cobie Smulders in the role of Emma.
• The misty-eyed sentiment is schmaltzy, but it still worked on me.
• Look at the kids’ expressions right after Vince says David was his lover.
• The likeable character Vince Vaughn plays has a heart of gold, despite his immature actions.  Thankfully, we get to watch him “grow up” and discover what’s truly important in life.

Things I didn’t like: 

• Where are all of the mothers of these 533 children? 
• So many films today treat fathers as invisible or irrelevant, so I must say that it’s nice to see one where fathers truly matter.  And they do.
• I wouldn’t say this film is a straight out comedy; it’s more amusing than hilarious.

Tips for parents: There is some content that warrants caution for parents of younger children: 1 F-bomb, some other milder profanity, drug use and masturbation are implied, and two men kiss briefly on the lips.