Movie Review: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Soren is a young barn owl who dreams of becoming a Guardian of Ga'Hoole. He knows their stories by heart, and yearns for the day when he can fly and discover the island on which they live.

   That dream is cut short however, when he and his brother fall from the nest while branching when their parents were away. They are captured by "The Pure Ones" and made to serve them. Soren, by choice, goes to be a "picker" and mine metals for the Pure one's Army. It seems as though his dream of meeting the guardians will never be realized.

  Escape is the only option for survival, but Soren cannot yet fly. In time though, he learns how, and with his friend manages to escape the fortress. His sole mission is to find the Guardians and alert them of the terrible things the Pure One's are doing.
   But there is a greater enemy than even Soren or the Guardians know of, and he is determined to enslave all the land with his power and might. And with a new weapon...

Not even the Guardians can stop him.

Things I liked
   This movie is packed with biblical qualities and traits. One which stands out the most is the character of Soren. He is a barn owl with a love for the old tales of the guardians. He loves their bravery, their courage, and their oath to protect the weak. We see that play out in the movie, as he adores these characters, he embodies their oath and mission.
   This is translated into a young owl who is meek in his natural abilities, merciful to his brother who is not kind nor appreciative when Soren tries to help. This trait of mercy stands out the most to me, because even when his brother makes extremely bad choices, he still stands ready to forgive and provide that second chance.
   We also see Soren use his strength and will to serve others rather than himself. He stands up for a young elf owl, and suffers the same fate as she does because of it. He has faith in things not yet seen, which is shown to be a powerful parallel to one's own conscience and spirit. It is shown to believe because you know something is right, rather than require proof with your own eyes.

   In one scene, we see an old owl willingly sacrifice his life for the lives of two owlets. He is killed by the "Pure Ones" who are the antagonists in the film. What I enjoyed about the portrayal of evil in this movie was it was so realistic. Initially, it looks beautiful, desirable, and right. Then, because of selfishness some owls choose to join the pure one's we see how filth, corrupt, and dark the evil truly is. They say "Honor is just a form of weakness." Later we see poetic justice in regard to that quote.

War is depicted in a way which puts an excellent perspective as not only how awful it is, but why it is appropriate to engage in war. One of the Guardians tells Soren about the battle Soren has dreamed of his entire life:

"War isn't glorious, amazing, or even heroic. It's merely doing what's right. And doing it again and again."

In that one quote the essence of wars are captured, and when war does come, there is no victory celebration, no heros to be had, only owls doing what is right. And that is defending the weak who are unable to defend themselves.

No profanities are used in the movie.

The final thing which I enjoyed was the stunning brilliance and artistry of the movie. I believe this very well could be the greatest animated film done in terms of art. It is some of the best eye candy I've seen in a while.

Things I didn't like
There is one crude attempt at humor where an owl gets pinched in the groin.

There are some battle scenes, and the most we see is feathers fly. A few owls do die, one in a terrible manner. Since these are not people, it did not bother me very much, but for the younger kids, it is pretty intense and they might be scared a bit by the battle scene at the end.

Closing thoughts
Rarely I find a movie where I can recommend it to others wholeheartedly. The Legend of the Guardians is one of those rare films.

This movie embodies and advocates so many Christian qualities it is astounding. Mercy, faith, compassion, forgiveness, meekness, honor, truth, family values, and more. It shows evil for what it truly is, even in the fact it looks nice on the outside, but inside, it is horrible. Then we see good in all of its glory, and how it prevails over darkness. It shows war as something terrible and sad, necessary only to protect others. And frankly, this is the best animated movie of all time... In my opinion.

They speak of their "Gizzard" which equates to our soul and conscience, and we should always listen to what it says is right, rather than what others say or our head tells us. The parallels are astounding.

So if you haven't seen this movie, and want something clean with lasting messages presented in a beautiful and memorable way. Pick up "Legends of the Guardians", you won't regret it.

Movie Review; Pirates of the Caribbean 4, "On Stranger Tides"

If you have seen the previous three pirates movies, you will know the last one faded off with Jack searching for the fountain of youth. Well, he is back, and the fountain of youth is desired by more than just Jack... the english, spaniards, barbossa, angelina (daughter of blackbeard and past love of Jack's) and the dreaded blackbeard are also in search of this legendary spring. The ships are cast off, the alliances are made, and the quest for eternal life has begun. During this quest you will see mermaids, zombies, and the incredible story writing with many of the unexpected twists we have come to expect from the Pirates series. If you are wanting to see another incredible Jack Sparrow story, you won't be disappointed. But while the stranger tides bring stranger quests... there is a disturbing darkening of the waters as the film progresses....

Things I liked

In this movie, there is a missionary, captured by blackbeard, to provide protection from God on their journey. While this man in abused, ridiculed, hurt throughout the entire movie. He remains true to his God, and is the only honorable character in the movie. He makes many sacrifices so the captured mermaid survives, and is the only one who treats her as a person, not an animal. His worldview is flawed at times, and solid in others. I was pleasantly surprised to see a "religious" person in a film to be shown as a person of good character and values. Standing up for what he believes, and respected for it.

Things I didn't Like.

   It seems in all movies now there is an expected level of relational, violent, and language content. The previous pirates films had all of these things, but in moderation. Of all the pirates films this one is by far the most sensual, violent, and crude in terms of language. I was sorely disappointed by the amount of junk Disney and the new director put into this movie. Mainly, the relationship between Jack and Angelina. There is hardly a line between them without a suggestive move, word, or look. They dance, on the ground at times, and the entire time neither will commit to the other. It is a most disturbing relationship between them, and made to look like comedy to an unsuspecting viewer. The past relationship between Elizabeth and William is a beautiful one compared to the one presented in this movie. The "relationship" is the most killer part of the movie in my opinion.

Be warned however, this is not the only place Disney has raised the desensitization bar.

The violent content in Stranger Tides was like none I had ever seen before in the past pirates films. No longer is death a horrid thing we should be disheartened at (even in war) but a thing to be laughed at and not taken seriously. Men, standing up for their country, are shot and made to look like fools. Blood is brought into this film, along with a small amount of gore... The swordplay is no longer lighthearted and humorous as we saw in dead man's chest, but a deadly spar with the intent of death.

Mermaids are not the innocent girls we find in the little mermaid, but deadly killers who feast on human flesh. One scene there is a battle and many men find their deaths being drowned, bashed, clawed, or bitten by these beautiful and seemingly innocent creatures.

Language such as b-----d, b---h, d----t, are brought into the movie with the likes of blackbeard and angelina.

There is vodoo in the movie, as used by blackbeard, there is little used, but is present nonetheless.

Back to the Mermaids real quick... They are newcomers to the pirates scene, for reasons I can't tell you without ruining the story. However, one mermaid is captured and when it is out of water... has legs... and no clothes... nothing that would give it an "R" rating is shown by the camera, but there is a considerable and inappropriate amount of skin seen by the viewers, even after the missionary "clothes" her but placing his shirt around her, there is still, throughout the rest of the film, a large portion of body shown.

Closing Thoughts

I enjoyed the story and adventure of the quest to find the fountain of youth. the ending is very satisfying (which surprised me), and the characters are... in character.

However, the new light (or lack of) disney has cast this most recent addition of the pirates series left me with a feeling of discomfort and unease. My conscience was stricken after I watched this movie.

Clearly, as with many movies of this nature, there is an underlying purpose of desensitization to death, morals, and relationships. Little by little, bit by bit, Pirates has descended from a ruthless comedic adventure to a disturbingly dark quest.