Non-Christian related movies

Yes, the series does come with English subs but not English dubs. Because of that you do need to
keep an eye on the lower part of the screen (although sometimes [seldom]) the subs move to the
top of the screen LOL then you are left wondering where to look next haha) and that means you
may miss key glances or facial expressions, and also a lot of rewinding is required if the dialogue
moves fast, too fast to follow and get the details. Then there is the matter of the characters all
having at least three names and not always being called by the same name, nor does the spelling
of their name always match what it sounds like in the native tongue, so that can be confusing. One
guy had the name of "Gang" at the end of his string of names, and it was not until I was passed half-
way through the 16 part series that I realized it was a single person (the baddest of the bad guys) and
not a gang of bad guys LOL. Still I would highly recommend it, and it is very highly rated for good reason.

I have been watching a lot of foreign content lately, so am quite used to reading subs. My daughter
and I used to watch a lot of anime together, and even when English dubs were available, we preferred
hearing the original language (Japanese) because sometimes much gets lost in dubs. My daughter had
quite an advantage over me because she did not have to read sub titles .

One of my personal longtime favorites is 1994's "The Crow", starring Brandon Lee. I remember when it first came out, kids at my school were raving about it like crazy. I really wanted to see it, but my Mom refused to take me. I was extremely disappointed, to say the least.

Then, about a year later, I learned it would be playing on broadcast TV for the first time. Mom and my younger sister were both out shopping, so it was just me in the house...and within the first few minutes, I was completely engrossed in the story. Anyone who hasn't seen this really needs to, especially if you like romantic stories. Yes, its mainly a revenge tale, and it was rated R for a couple of reasons (mainly pervasive language and very brief nudity), but the over-arching theme is summed up in the movie's final narrated line: "If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die...but real love is forever." Here's the trailer, for those who have lived under a rock the past 30 years.

Carpenter is arguably most well-known for the original "Halloween", which made Jamie Lee Curtis a household name. But my personal favorite is "Escape From New York". Kurt Russell was largely associated with his Disney work at the time, and he was eager to part from his squeaky-clean image. Other actors considered for the main lead included Kris Kristofferson, Jeff Bridges, Chuck Norris, Nick Nolte, Tommy Lee Jones, and Charles Bronson. In the end, Russell chose to model his performance on Clint Eastwood.

escape l a was fair, but did not have the gritty , raw feel that escape from new york had.

They made the right choice , but I think Bronson would've also made that role work.

Big Trouble in Little China was another Kurt Russell classic. It was a well written strange mix of comedy and Japanese Samurai action.
He really got into those roles and seemed to genuinely enjoy them.

big trouble in little china came out when i was a teen, saw it multiple times.

still holds up pretty well...

Brandon's Dad was the great on screen martial artist who acted. Brandon portrayed his personal masterpiece in this movie that would have touched his Dad's heart. Even though he was also a martial artist, he surpassed Bruce as an actor.

This is his last interview.
He explained one of the most important subjects in an extremely profound way...death.
This brought me to tears when I learned that he died after my Dad and I listed to this interview. I'm so glad that Dad got saved. I sure hope to see Brandon there too.

I think the theme of 3 Samurai came from the Lone Wolf and Cub movies.

Have you ever seen any of them?

nope, have not.

They're a vintage classic Japanese action adventure series that portray feudal Japan. A widowed executioner and his boy are pursued by hit squads of the emperor's assassins. It's over the top and a few American movies were later based on them.

There are also the Blind Swordsman series and the famous movies by Kurasawa.
Many famous westerns were based on the same plots as those Easterns/ Samurai movies.
My martial art teacher introduced me to them. I learned that there was a lot happening in the Japanese cinema in the last century besides giant monster movies.

I was in high school when this was all the rage. My friends were very into The Crow. Our school had a contest for Halloween for who was best dressed as The Crow. I remember my friend Crystal dressing as The Crow and entering the contest. She didn't win, but she had a lot of fun.

I am certainly no stranger to the Halloween movies. When I was 4 years old, my mother took me trick or treating. After a while she told me, "We have to hurry home, Halloween is about on." I can remember that evenly clearly. I seen them all up until 2018, when I lost touch with them. The first 2 were the best of them, imo.


I found Escape from New York, Escape from L.A., and Big Trouble in Little China all to be entertaining.

Speaking of Bronson, I've been reacquainting myself with the Death Wish movies lately. I like Bronson's acting.

My favorite Kurt Russel movies! 🙂👍
Now you're talking.
The Death Wish and Once Upon a Time in the West were his best movies IMHO.
In Bible times there were the Revengers of Blood. When capital crimes were committed, a family member of the victim would pursue the killer. I suspect that's why many identify with Charles Bronson's characters. That seems to be the theme of many action movies.

Well, they played by different sets of rules. Even though both were supposed to be set in the future (1997 and 2013, respectively), "New York" was more dystopian and depressing, while "L.A." was slightly more optimistic. Many times, Carpenter has described his political views as "inconsistent", saying he is against authority figures while also in favor of big government, admitting this "doesn't make any sense". He's been critical of Donald Trump, and has blamed modern U.S. problems on unrestrained capitalism.

According to "celebrity evangelist" Dylan Novak, Carpenter said in 1998, "I’m an atheist, but I have a great fascination with this issue - over God and whether there is one or not. I come to (my belief) personally for my own reasons and my own decisions. But I respect anybody who believes anything, I don’t have the ultimate answers about anything." However, in a documentary created for the 2003 DVD release of "Escape From New York", Carpenter rejected the idea of Christian morality outright. Kurt Russell didn't put an explicitly-religious spin on the subject, but he brought up the phrase "no man is an island", saying both he and Carpenter rejected that, feeling that some part of themselves were like islands, and they preferred to live that way.

Kurt Russell is great! First movie I seen him in was Silkwood, which came out when I was still a child.

I agree about Bronson. I know I've already mentioned it here, but Once Upon a Time in the West is my second favorite movie of all movies. I don't think I could ever get tired of that movie. Bronson was certainly at his best. Death Wish is excellent too. I'm on a Bronson kick lately, so I'll probably be getting with some more of his movies soon.

That's because LA's prissy, and NY's gritty

Another film I really like is the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. Apparently, it was primarily based on two books - "Man in Black" from 1975, and "Cash: The Autobiography" from 1997.

Now, I generally tend to avoid a lot of biopics, mainly because they're either too slow, or there's so much done in a certain running time that you almost feel its an assault on your senses. Also, some screenwriters and directors aren't always honest with how they depict their subject, and fans of the true story can easily feel put off by that. Thankfully, most of this movie avoids both traps - director James Mangold showed several of Johnny's personal failures, including his traumatic childhood with an emotionally abusive father, later addictions to drugs and alcohol, and the implosion of his destructive marriage to Vivian Liberto, mother of his first four daughters. The film's depiction of Johnny literally pinning Vivian to the floor and screaming in her face drew criticism, and two of Johnny's kids publicly argued against the movie's generally-negative depiction of their mother.

Of course, the main storyline isn't just about Johnny, or even his career, though both are shown frequently. Instead, director Mangold really wanted to focus on Cash's relentless and almost-obsessive romantic pursuit, regarding fellow entertainer June Carter. Mr. Phoenix and Mrs. Witherspoon both sang all their own parts for the picture, and many of the scenes between them show her either rebuffing his repeated advances, expecting him to be a better man in spite of himself, and even a rare moment or two of genuine sympathy. Mangold did brush a little bit of June's personal history aside though, only touching on it briefly - she'd already been married twice before meeting Johnny, having one daughter from each union.

Finally, there remains what is perhaps considered the most-condemned aspect of Johnny and June's lives, at least in Christian circles: the movie makes almost no references to either of them accepting Jesus, and using their musical talents to tell others about Him until they both passed away. The on-screen story ends with Johnny basically putting June on the spot during a 1968 stage performance at the London Ice House in Ontario. After that, a title card reads as follows...

In 1968, "At Folsom Prison" became one of the most popular recordings of all time, outselling the Beatles. That same year, John and June married and settled into the lake home in Hendersonville. Two years later, they had a son, John Carter Cash. For the next 35 years, they raised their children, recorded music, toured and played the world together. June passed in May 2003. Four months later, John followed.

Now, that's a good ending and all, if you're aiming for a simpler dynamic that revolves around a complicated love story. But in truth, Johnny and June remained committed Christians during their later years. While Johnny's initial conversion happened at age 12, the pressures of fame and his various addictions kept him spiraling out of control for a long time. But he recommitted later on, and it was actually June who played a major part in that. Johnny was even close friends with evangelist Billy Graham, starting in the 1970s.

I still enjoy most of the movie, but on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd probably give it a 7, mainly for ignoring the last 35 years of the main characters' lives.

A few weeks ago i saw Tenet.
It's a sci-fi movie made by Christopher Nolan (one of my favorite directors).
It's not exactly a time travel movie but more of a time direction movie.
The protagonist has to face himself several times in the movie in a timeline (or universe) which runs backwards from our POV.
It's an interesting movie, some would say long but it keeps you engaged.

Tenet (2020) - IMDb

My favorite of his is "They Live."

Hmm... intriguing.