Movies

Water For Elephants

I read the book, Water For Elephants, before I went to see the movie.  To see my review of the book, you can read it here. The movie, like the book, was not disappointing.  Most of it was everything I pictured it to be.

 There were some things about the movie that were better than the book.... they left out all of the porn scenes. Yay!  I mean, I really couldn't see them including some of the things they mentioned in detail without it being rated X, haha.  They also left out all of the harsh cussing, so no F bombs and using the Lords name in vain like in the book. So I highly recommend watching the movie if you chose not to read the book for these reasons.

The book was better than the movie in that it helped you connect with all of the characters much better. The movie only made you feel connected with the 3 main characters. So when people were getting killed and tossed off trains, you didn't feel that same since of loss like you did when you read the book. If that makes any sense.  The book obviously goes into more detail and I understand they can't fit the whole book into a 2 hour movie.  So you lose a connection with the rest of the characters because of this.

All in all, the movie was magnificent!

Soul Surfer

[The real Bethany Hamilton on the left. Actress Annasophia Robb, on right, played her in the movie.]

I remember watching all the news stories on tv when this really happened. It touched my heart and I remember thinking what amazing strength this girl had, how she said her faith in God is what keeps her strong, and her accident has never held her back.  I was so excited when I heard they were making a movie out of her real life story.

This movie touched me in such a deep way, even days after I have watched it, I still can't stop thinking about it.  The movie is about Bethany Hamilton and what happened to her when she was out surfing with some friends. A shark bit off her left arm and they rushed her to the hospital to save her life. She had been competing in professional surfing championships and even after the accident, she carried on and continued to compete.  What amazing strength this young lady has. She gives all the credit to God though. Her and her family are strong Christians and live their life serving the Lord.

[Carrie Underwood plays Sarah, her Youth Ministry Leader.]

Carrie Underwood played Bethany's Sunday school teacher, who was always there encouraging Bethany no matter what life may throw at her. She also was involved in doing missionary work overseas and Bethany really had a heart for missions work, too. After her accident, she went to Thailand to do outreach work after the Tsunami.  This part also really touched me since I use to live in Thailand and also do missions work there. I really felt this movie speaking to me in so many ways and I'm glad they left in how involved God was in their lives and didn't try to water it down to make it more * palatable* for some viewers.

I highly recommend the movie, for anyone of all ages. One of the best movies I've seen in years.