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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Ben-Hur (2016) in Movies
Jul 15, 2019
Published in 1880, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is considered one of the most influential Christian books of the nineteenth century. The success of the novel led to film adaptations, most notably the 1955 academy award winning version of the film string Charlton Heston. Fast forward to 2016 and MGM and Paramount Pictures hope to see continue the success of this proven story with their newest film adaptation Ben-Hur.
The story follows a fictional Jewish Prince, Juda Ben-Hur (Jack Huston) as he is betrayed by his adopted brother and roman officer Messala (Toby Kebbell). Juda’s family is falsely accused of treason and Juda becomes enslaved by the Romans. Fueled by hate, Juda returns to Jerusalem seeking vengeance, until he unexpectedly finds compassion, forgiveness and redemption.
Walking into Ben-Hur, I did not know what to expect. I watched the 1955 version of Ben-Hur in 7th grade and did not remember anything accept the amazing chariot scene. That being said, this 2016 version of Ben-Hur stands on its own as a good film. Set in the time of Jesus, the story of Ben-Hur can be universally understood by people in all walks of life, religious or otherwise. That was something that I really appreciated about this film. Often stories set in a Christian setting can turn out to be distractingly preachy. However, Ben-Hur was the perfect blend of religion being hinted at throughout the story but never actually becoming the focal point of the story as a whole until redemption is found. Sure, it is there throughout for those who want it to be, but it also plays as a quiet catalyst for Juda through the compassion he sees in his wife Esther (Nazanin Boniadi) and Jesus (Rodrigo Santoro).
The film is acted well and the use of relatively unknown actors to play these major roles in an epic like this only works to strengthen the story as a whole. In fact, the most popular actor by far is Morgan Freeman (Ilderim) who has maybe 15-20 minutes of total screen time.
From a technical standpoint, Ben-Hur works not only visually with fantastic epic action scenes, but also in its pacing. The film’s pacing finds balance between intense action moments and the quieter exposition scenes that helps develop these characters, most notably Juda. We witness Juda’s transformation from naive prince, to a slave fighting for survival, to a man on a mission for revenge and the forgiveness he gains along the way.
Ben-Hur stands out to me this summer because at its core, it is a good coherent story told between impressive action pieces. Unlike so many recent summer blockbusters that are intent on showing off huge set pieces and not much more, Ben-Hur doesn’t forget that those action scenes are there to further the plot and tell a human story.
The story follows a fictional Jewish Prince, Juda Ben-Hur (Jack Huston) as he is betrayed by his adopted brother and roman officer Messala (Toby Kebbell). Juda’s family is falsely accused of treason and Juda becomes enslaved by the Romans. Fueled by hate, Juda returns to Jerusalem seeking vengeance, until he unexpectedly finds compassion, forgiveness and redemption.
Walking into Ben-Hur, I did not know what to expect. I watched the 1955 version of Ben-Hur in 7th grade and did not remember anything accept the amazing chariot scene. That being said, this 2016 version of Ben-Hur stands on its own as a good film. Set in the time of Jesus, the story of Ben-Hur can be universally understood by people in all walks of life, religious or otherwise. That was something that I really appreciated about this film. Often stories set in a Christian setting can turn out to be distractingly preachy. However, Ben-Hur was the perfect blend of religion being hinted at throughout the story but never actually becoming the focal point of the story as a whole until redemption is found. Sure, it is there throughout for those who want it to be, but it also plays as a quiet catalyst for Juda through the compassion he sees in his wife Esther (Nazanin Boniadi) and Jesus (Rodrigo Santoro).
The film is acted well and the use of relatively unknown actors to play these major roles in an epic like this only works to strengthen the story as a whole. In fact, the most popular actor by far is Morgan Freeman (Ilderim) who has maybe 15-20 minutes of total screen time.
From a technical standpoint, Ben-Hur works not only visually with fantastic epic action scenes, but also in its pacing. The film’s pacing finds balance between intense action moments and the quieter exposition scenes that helps develop these characters, most notably Juda. We witness Juda’s transformation from naive prince, to a slave fighting for survival, to a man on a mission for revenge and the forgiveness he gains along the way.
Ben-Hur stands out to me this summer because at its core, it is a good coherent story told between impressive action pieces. Unlike so many recent summer blockbusters that are intent on showing off huge set pieces and not much more, Ben-Hur doesn’t forget that those action scenes are there to further the plot and tell a human story.
Songs of Love and War
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Welcome to Castle Deverill, and the incredible sweeping story of love and family from bestselling...
Stirling to Essen: The Godmanchester Stirling: A Bomber Command Story of Courage and Tragedy
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On 11 April 1942, a stricken Short Stirling Royal Air Force bomber crashes into fields to the east...
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
I have almost nothing new to add, everything you've heard is true: the animation is almost religiously astounding for the time and even now (in spite of some expected hiccups for the rudimentary motion capture of the time: i.e. speed being an issue - anything that moves above 0.1 MPH has an unsightly motion blur all over it and all the running looks like mall-jogging), CGI wouldn't look this good for years and years afterward but the thing moves at a snail's pace with an oddly apparent avoidance of any sort of fun. Certainly still weird and visually prepossessing enough to get a pass (if this didn't have its unforgettable photorealistic animation it would suck just as hard as any other generic sci-fi fodder, this is home to some truly bracing imagery) - but what the actual hell were they thinking with this writing? All the characters are nonentities in their own story (delivered with similarly boring voice acting by an all-star cast, which most animated films would later replicate directly) and whatever remnants of a story are left behind in the rubble *do* have the potential to be poignant and thought-provoking but are rather just passively mentioned a time or two by way of banal exposition into a mess of things that don't add up to anything more than a stupid story. Can't believe they thought this would work with... anyone (especially fans of the character-driven games given that they turned this into some odd but rather bland alien film for some confounding reason lol) considering all the massive amounts of money they shoveled into it - and minus a few more points for being another tech-heavy future fantasy set in a world that's entirely grey and decrepit. However, the last half hour is some squarely invigorating, enigmatic spectacle that finds an intense beauty in how mind-boggling and glamorous it all is - you'd think the whole thing is always one second away from collapsing into the best of non-western genre surreality. In fact It seems almost unreal in and of itself to be watching something so conventional yet so unrestrained and auteurish. Really needed like eight movies to fully explore these themes but I'm also kind of glad they didn't - half epic and half yawnsville but the epic is more epic than the yawnsville is yawnsville.
Jcadden76 (64 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Fallout 4 in Video Games
Jun 15, 2018
The story (4 more)
The environment
The NPCs
The building aspect
The weapon and armor customization
So darn close to EPIC!
Fallout 4 is one of my favorite games that I have ever played. Somewhere between the building, the story, the side-missions, and the combat system - I was in love from moment one.
Now, a bit of a confession: this was the first Fallout game that I ever played. I am going to have to start working my way backwards through the series.
If you are new to this franchise, here is what to expect:
1. The story is interesting, in depth, and more than a little thought provoking.
2. The combat system is very straight forward and easy to use.
3. The building system is also top notch and once you get a handle on being a professional hoarder - you will become a builder extraordinaire.
4. Power-Armor is cool but it got old for me so I saved it only to use for big fights.
Also, due to the multiple endings for the game, there is a lot of chance for replay and using really cool mods to make the game different all the time.
Now, a bit of a confession: this was the first Fallout game that I ever played. I am going to have to start working my way backwards through the series.
If you are new to this franchise, here is what to expect:
1. The story is interesting, in depth, and more than a little thought provoking.
2. The combat system is very straight forward and easy to use.
3. The building system is also top notch and once you get a handle on being a professional hoarder - you will become a builder extraordinaire.
4. Power-Armor is cool but it got old for me so I saved it only to use for big fights.
Also, due to the multiple endings for the game, there is a lot of chance for replay and using really cool mods to make the game different all the time.
Jessica - Where the Book Ends (15 KP) rated What's Left of Us (Us, #1) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
This book is wonderful! The characters are easy to relate to and the story keeps you guessing. I was lucky enough to read this before it went to the editor and I absolutely loved it!
The characters of Asher and Beck are great. They are best friends and they both go through some pretty epic changes (which I won't share because I don't want to give away any of the story).
Enter Calla or Cal for short. She is the new girl in the neighborhood and she quickly befriends Ash and Beck. The three of them are inseparable. Of course being friend with two boys is going to lead to some drama, but that's just the tip of the ice berg.
Honestly, I wasn't prepared for this book. The story took me by surprise and the emotion involved just blew me away.
What's Left of Us is a Christian novel; however, be advised that religion and religious beliefs are NOT shoved down your throat. This is a great book about a group of friends that endure a tragedy and through the help of their religious beliefs manage to come out whole on the other side.
Give this debut novel by this talented new author a shot. You won't be disappointed.
The characters of Asher and Beck are great. They are best friends and they both go through some pretty epic changes (which I won't share because I don't want to give away any of the story).
Enter Calla or Cal for short. She is the new girl in the neighborhood and she quickly befriends Ash and Beck. The three of them are inseparable. Of course being friend with two boys is going to lead to some drama, but that's just the tip of the ice berg.
Honestly, I wasn't prepared for this book. The story took me by surprise and the emotion involved just blew me away.
What's Left of Us is a Christian novel; however, be advised that religion and religious beliefs are NOT shoved down your throat. This is a great book about a group of friends that endure a tragedy and through the help of their religious beliefs manage to come out whole on the other side.
Give this debut novel by this talented new author a shot. You won't be disappointed.
Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet
6.7
Rate It
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Readers will experience Nina LaCour's beautifully written piece about two Bay Area girls meeting via...
romance young adult
The Life of the Automobile: A New History of the Motor Car
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In this book Steven Parissien examines the impact, development and significance of the automobile...
Rachel Maria Berney (114 KP) rated American Gods in Books
Dec 4, 2018
We have always wondered, Neil tells us the answer.
I love a good epic book, I love a good story which has the various Gods in. Neil Gaiman gives us Godsand Godesses from all different cultures, they are friends and enemies, and they are not doing much now.
What a fantastic idea, Gaiman pulls it off superbly. His weird style of writing is a great fit to follow the journey of Shadow and Wednesday. It's a journey well worth telling and well worth reading.
Gaiman is not everyone's cup of tea, even if he is not yours you will enjoy this. If he is yours, why have you not read it yet?
What a fantastic idea, Gaiman pulls it off superbly. His weird style of writing is a great fit to follow the journey of Shadow and Wednesday. It's a journey well worth telling and well worth reading.
Gaiman is not everyone's cup of tea, even if he is not yours you will enjoy this. If he is yours, why have you not read it yet?