Kevin's Watch

Well you get the idea, in anycase: The Prophecy, End of Days, The Seventh Seal those kinda movies.

The Order

Pretty darned impressed! Heath Ledger finally proves he can act! Yes he was good in The Four Feathers but he's improving with every film. I love Peter Weller (Screamers) too. Much better that your run of the mill church oriented Good/Evil flicks...well anything is after Arnie's The End of Days. Might rival or be better than Armageddon but misses the Stigmata, Prophecy category, just barely--probably cause it could have been longer, a little more intricate and the girl's role should have been a bit more complex and mysterious. The actress is beautiful, though not well known to American audiences, and even tho she's white the lighting in the beginning of the film makes you swear she's Lisa Bonet straight out of Angelheart.

I'm 7 chapters into The Da Vinci Code and the beautiful cinematography switching from New York to Vatican City and the secret intrigue feels very similar. Good mystery, well acted, beautifully shot--not enough plot--too bad, it could have been a masterpiece. At least it tried to wrap it's story up at the end and for that I'll have to rank it higher than Depp's The Ninth Gate.

I was very disappointed by End Of Days. It had the potential for greatness, but whether it was the inept script or direction, the film just blew itself up at every opportunity. One of Arnold's worst stinkers.

I revere Bergman's The Seventh Seal, on the other hand. It's one of my ten or so all-time favorite movies. It tackles the big questions of mortality, faith, existence...without being preachy. It's also a visually haunting film, in glorious black and white. This movie is NOT to be confused with The Seventh Sign, that Demi Moore picture which I have not seen, and have no interest in ever seeing.

The Seventh Sign isn't as bad as it sounds I was fairly impressed by it-I'd almost rank it with Armageddon (not to be confused with the sequels) for tension and action. Yes the Seventh Seal is a classic. Another one with potential was the one with Kim Bassinger called Bless the Child, or something like that...

I have to agree with MM's opinion of End of Days. I have been an Arnold fan since Conan. The film's story is its biggest weakness. Arnie's perfomance isn't all that bad. The Seventh Sign I have seen more than I'd like to admit. It is a favorite of my wife's. Not a bad film at all. I agree with danlo. Stephen King's The Stand seems to dance in the same hall as many of those danlo mentioned. Though it suffers from mini series itis, I enjoyed a lot of the Stand. It helps that Gary Sinise is one of my favorite actors.

I rented The Eighteenth Angel a few months ago. It sounded good, but the story dragged and the acting was pretty lame. It was filled with religious themes, astrological symbolism and crazy geneticist monks. Unfortunately I lost track of what was happening, but from what I gathered, the monks were speeding up an ancient prophecy that stated Satan could re-enter heaven when 18 beautiful angels walked the earth. The 18th girl would be the portal/vessel for Lucifer to re-enter heaven. The monks sped things up by using the faces of lovely young people on other bodies.

The Order was surprisingly good. I love the concept of the rogue priests who not only smoke, drink and curse, but also desroy the undead! Cooly enough, this order was accepted, reluctantly of course, by the stiff hierarchy of the RC Chruch. I thought the Sin-eater idea was well done--it wasn't overplayed or overdone with too many special effects.

The Ninth Gate is one of my favorite movies. I love the understated acting and contrived action. The ending is a little mysterious, but to me that's part of the movie's appeal.

I saw the Seventh Sign years ago, and from what I can remember it wasn't too bad.

TOM C wrote:Stephen King's The Stand seems to dance in the same hall as many of those danlo mentioned. Though it suffers from mini series itis, I enjoyed a lot of the Stand. It helps that Gary Sinise is one of my favoite actors.

Gary Sinise is incredible! I thought he was great in The Stand. I thought Laura San Giacomo pretty good job too.

Oh, man, I can't believe we ended up discussing Demi Moore more than Ingmar Bergman. Ah, well, it's my fault for mentioning her film.

I did see that Kim Basinger movie, Bless The Child. It was very average and forgettable. Like End Of Days, I think it was a movie that tried to cash in on the end-of-the-millenium crowd. And failed.

Another of my all-time favorite films involves a decidedly Eastern faith: Little Buddha, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci with cinematography by the great Vittorio Storaro. This movie came and went so fast in '94, a lot of folks may not have heard of it. A summary:

Lama Norbu comes to Seattle in search of the reincarnation of his dead teacher, Lama Dorje. His search leads him to young Jesse Conrad, Raju, a waif from Kathmandu, and an upper class Indian boy. Together, they journey to Bhutan where the three children must undergo a test to prove which is the true reincarnation. Interspersed with this, is the story of Siddharta, later known as the Buddha. It traces his spiritual journey from ignorance to true enlightenment.

It's a gentle, contemplative film that is no hurry to tell its story. With two masters of cinema like Bertolucci and Storaro at work, every scene of the movie is a grand composition.

See my new thread on Gibson's "Passion of The Christ" for some additional religious movie discussion.

I agree that Bless the Child fell apart in a few places-had alot of potential but tended to shoot itself in the foot.

One movie that was well thought out and well acted, however, was The Third Miracle with Ed Harris and Anne Heche. I don't know if many people have seen it but it had an interesting message and some good twists and turns.

My favourite religious-type movie of recent years probably has to be Kevin Smith's Dogma. Having some background in Christian theology and mythology myself, I really enjoyed seeing a movie based on that stuff that was made by someone who actually knew a bit about it. It was also really funny, and a pretty good story (although there were a few very silly bits and a couple of glaring plot holes... still, it could have been very much worse).

Another funny thing about Dogma is that it's probably the most comic-book-like movie I've ever seen. I can't recall seeing any other movie that looked and felt so much like a comic book (not a superhero comic, but more in the Sandman / Preacher vein), not even movies based on actual comics.

Theo

I love the Prophecy--I LOVE Walken. I didn't mean to confuse people earlier--The Armageddon I refered to earlier is part of the Warlock--Julian Sands trilogy (nothing to do with space or Bruce Willis)...

danlo wrote:I love the Prophesy--I LOVE Walken.

definitely on my "desert island" movies list. yet anOTHER role seemingly WRITTEN for Walken!! and Stoltz. not to mention Viggo's little bit part! and i believe my man Roberts is in Prophecy II.

as far as exploration of the darker side of biblical epics go...The Prophecy has to be my favorite...and i did like Seventh Sign as well.

www.imdb.com/title/tt0466909/

Check the release date.

prob'ly have to see it. just to see how they do.

13 Moons. I don't want to give any of it away. but there are three priests and one has his faith tested.

The Third Miracle was excellent.

I also really liked Defending Your Life with Albert Brooks. Very funny movie.

End of Days, like The Seventh Sign, had it's moments.

Matrixman wrote:I revere Bergman's The Seventh Seal, on the other hand. It's one of my ten or so all-time favorite movies. It tackles the big questions of mortality, faith, existence...without being preachy. It's also a visually haunting film, in glorious black and white.

Amen! Testify! (well, it is a religious thread)

www.imdb.com/title/tt0087835/

danlo wrote:The Armageddon I refered to earlier is part of the Warlock--Julian Sands trilogy (nothing to do with space or Bruce Willis)...

I did wonder about that

Have to agree with Theo about Dogma, thoroughly enjoyed it. (Was recommended to me by my grandmother, a devout (if that's the word ) athiest.

What about Stigmata? I remember that not being bad, although it's been a long time since I saw it.

--A