Film Flash: Captain America - Brave New World

 

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

One of the better post-Endgame MCU movies.  Intrigue and action, but a weak third act.

Sunday Best: Superbowl Ads 2025

 While I've come to enjoy football more over the last few years, the main draw of the Super Bowl for me has always been the commercials.

This year I wasn't horribly impressed.  I don't think any of them will make a lasting cultural impression.  But these are my thoughts:

Best Trailer:  MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FINAL RECKONING

Only a few new shots in this trailer, but I have to say that all of the high-flying action has me incredibly excited.

Weirdest - MOUNTAIN DEW

This commercial was so weird that I found myself laughing out loud at how ridiculous it was.  

Most Nostalgic - Instacart

I loved seeing all the old mascots throughout the years.  It was fun to find the very obscure ones from my childhood.

Funniest - Pringles

Like the Mountain Dew Commercial, this was so over-the-top ridiculous, but I couldn't help but find it incredibly funny.  What can I say?  I have a weird sense of humor.

Most Emotional - Google Gemini

This ad really got to me.  At first it was just the usually schmaltzy.  But the last shots where the father is crying in the car and then his daughter hugs him and turns back into a little girl... that got me right in the feels.

Favorite Commercial - Dunkin

Readers of this blog know what a big Affleck fan I am.  I think this was also a really good ad that took a pot shot at the more expensive coffee houses: "How much to wait a half-hour to get my name spelled wrong on the cup?"  I don't know why, but I loved that line.

All of these are my own subjective feelings.  What are your thoughts?

Trailer Time: The Accountant 2

I really enjoyed The Accountant when it originally came out.  Despite its weak third act, I enjoyed the characters and their arcs.  The main character was fascinating to me with a solid performance by Ben Affleck.

When they announced a sequel, I wasn't very sure.  But I really liked this trailer.

One of the things that this movie does is that it brings three very dissimilar characters from the first movie and it forces them all to work together.  Our three leads shared very little screen time in the first film.  But now, it feels like a real progression of their stories and not another rehash of the first.  I like how each of them brings something very different to the dynamic and I can see some fun interplay between a fed, a hitman, and the Accountant.

This  movie has the same writing/directing team as the original, so it seems like the put a lot care into these characters.

Thoughts?

Film Flash: Love Hurts

 

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

Quan's charismatic "Jackie-Chan-esque" performance carries this charming (though too violent) B-movie action/comedy

New Evangelizers Post: Jubilee Year 2025

            

I have a new article up at NewEvangelizers.com.  

This is the Year of Jubilee!

The Jubilee is an ancient tradition from the times of the Old Testament. It was a special time that occurred once every 50 years. During a Jubilee, all land was returned to its ancestral owners.

In ancient Israel, when you bought property from someone, it did not mean that you owned it permanently. Instead, it was much closer to our modern idea of leasing or renting a property. Essentially this meant that you could not own someone else’s land for more than one generation.

At the Jubilee Year, all the “leased” land would be returned to the family of the one who sold it. In addition to this, any Israelite who had was purchased by another Israelite was to be set free.

The Jubilee was a time of freedom and renewal. It was a way to prevent families from falling into generational poverty due to the bad decisions of their fathers. It was a time when debts were cleared and people could begin again.

Jesus clearly makes reference to the Jubilee when he quotes from Isaiah while preaching at Nazareth. He speaks about “The Year of the Lord’s favor…” (Lk 4:19) which is how the Jubilee is described in Leviticus 25: 10-13. He also uses the language of liberty to captives and letting the oppressed go free. These also are references to the Jubilee.

The Good News of Jesus is that He brings freedom. The Jubilee is a manifestation of that freedom in this world.

In 2025, Pope Francis has called for Jubilee Year. The last Jubilee Year was in the year 2000. It is a tradition that a pope calls for a Jubilee every 25 years. In that year as well, the Jubilee Doors were opened at the Vactican. Pilgrims who travel their are able to obtain an plenary indulgence, which is the full remission of temporal punishment for sin. This is in keeping with the idea of setting captives free in a Jubilee. This time, the captivity is sin.

Pope Francis write “For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door” (cf. Jn 10:7.9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as “our hope” (1 Tim 1:1). (Spes Non Confundit, 1). This Jubilee Year coincides with the Year of Hope. Pope Francis sees a strong connection between the Jubilee and Hope.

The Jubilee is often accompanied by a pilgrimage. The symbolism points to the hope of reaching the destination of the journey. It also involves a reaching out of our places of comfort in the hope of a better world. Pope Francis writes about the young people of today are crushed by despair. and that “For this reason, the Jubilee should inspire the Church to make greater efforts to reach out to them.” (Spes Non Confundit, 12).

He also writes about how the poor, migrants, the elderly, and the sick need the hope of Christ. We are called to pilgrimage to them and share this hope. Christ can help set them free from the prison of spiritual darkness. Our calling to to pilgrimage to them with that hope.

Pope Francis also has called upon world leaders to emulate as much as possible the Jubilee spirit of forgiveness. “I propose that in this Jubilee Year governments undertake initiatives aimed at restoring hope; forms of amnesty or pardon meant to help individuals regain confidence in themselves and in society; and programmes of reintegration in the community, including a concrete commitment to respect for law.” (Spes Non Confundit, 10)

While governments have a responsibility to enforce the laws and administer justice, Pope Francis reminds us that even those who break the laws are still children of God. I know people who are involved in prison ministry and they speak to me about the deep hunger for God found there and the need for hope.

What are some things we can do in this Jubilee Year?

You can read the whole article here.

Sunday Best: Spring Movie Season 2025

  We are in the odd time for theatrical movies.  Summer is when a number of the big blockbusters are released.  Fall and Winter are when we see more of the prestige pictures.  But the spring season is strange.  Yes, there are some bigger movies coming out, but it always feels like this is the time when studios keep their powder dry and get ready to fire their big guns later.

That isn't always the case.  Deadpool, I believe, was a February release.  And that film went on to do some amazing business.

So here are some of the movies that are coming out along with my level of excitement.  My ability to get out to the theater may be limited this time around.  But I will try to get to the ones that really excite me.

Here is a list, with a few brief thoughts of my own, including on a scale of 1-5 stars my likelihood of seeing it in theaters (1 being “Not at all” 5 being “Cannot wait!”).

February 7th

Love Hurts (*****)

This movie seems like it is hitting on all cylanders.  It feels like an American Jackie Chan movie in the best possible way.  And I have such a sense of good will towards Ke Huy Kwan.  It looks like a great date movie: action and romance.

February 14

Captain America: Brave New World (****)

There has been a lot online hate for this movie and I know that it has been plagued by a lot of expensive reshoots.  Despite that, I am rooting for this movie to do well.  I like Anthony Mackie and I am hopeful that this will be a fun thriller like The Winter Soldier.

Paddington in Peru (*)

I haven't seen any of the other ones, though I heard good things about them.

February 21st

The Unbreakable Boy (***)

This could be a sweet family film about autism.  I don't know if it will be good, but I think I might take a chance on it.

The Monkey (*)

Nothing about this seems appealing to me.

Febrary 28th

Last Breath (**)

This looks like ti could be a fun thriller, but I think I will wait for streaming.

March 7 

Micke 17 (*)

This movie looks truly awful.  I don't why people keep saying that this director is good or interesting.  I am going to go out on a limb and say that this is going to bomb big time.

March 14

Novocaine (****)

This movie looks odd and violent in the best possible way.  It feels like a comedic John Wick.  And I find Jack Quaid quite charming.

 

March 21

Snow White (**)

Like the new Captain America, this movie has been getting a lot of online hate.  Except in this case, I tend to lean with those who are skeptical.  

The Alto Knights (**)

This seems like an interesting story, but I don't know that I want to pay theater prices to see it.

April 4

A Minecraft Movie (*)

Not only is this movie not for me, it also looks really, really stupid

April 18

Sinners  (*)

This could be a strong, stylized vampire thriller, but it does not seem to be my taste

April 25

The Accountant 2 (****)

I really liked the original and I always watch it when it comes on TV.  I'm also a big Affleck fan, so I am hopeful this will be part of a second Ben-aissance

Thoughts?

Trailer Time: Jurassic World Rebirth

The previous Jurassic World Trilogy petered out with a whimper (albeit a multi-billion-dollar whimper).  The first movie was a bit silly, but also a great deal of fun.  The second one was very stupid and the third was slightly less stupid.

This reboot feels very much like The Lost World.  This makes sense, since I heard that some of the people who made The Lost World are helping make this one.  Like that original sequel, this looks like to be, at heart, a heist movie set on an island of monsters.

Some of the visuals look nice and scary.  The shot of the man in the hazmat suit trapped in the room with the dinosaur was the stuff of nightmares.

Normally I would be a little weary of the trope of the no-nonsense girl-boss.  But Scarlett Johansson is one of the few actresses that I think can pull it off well.  Not only does she has she built up a pop culture cache as Black Widow, but as she demonstrated in Fly Me To The Moon, she has enough charisma and star power to carry a movie.  The rest of the cast seems fine, though I would like to see more.

Overall, I'm hoping that this is going to be a return to form for the franchise.

Thoughts?