"Into the Great Pyramid" (2002)

A National Geographic documentary--seems to be built for a TV audience, meaning places for commercials to happen and a lot of hype to try to keep the audience watching past the commercial.  One of the documentary's assumptions is a typical train of thought; it's the thinking that human civilization has gone from simple, primitive thinking and slowly advanced to more complex thinking to our present age.  I tend to favor the reverse.  I think the past was more intelligent than we are and we tend to lose that knowledge the more time progresses on.  At very least, post-flood folks are going to be just as intelligent as we are, not less.  It's a common assumption in thinking, but one I find erroneous.  If a person can ignore the several erroneous assumptions that show up in documentaries, this being one of them, then the rest of the information they present can be quite interesting.  In this documentary, the show surrounded 3 aspects.  Two of this were hype "we are now going to open/look for the first time ever..." types of things.  I don't doubt they were exciting discoveries--quite agree in fact--but could've been done without the hype.  The third aspect of the show didn't involve this, and I found a little more tasteful.  It was a play by play report of discoveries made across the grounds.  I liked it because it included the questions being asked at each point before more discoveries were made, then shows the next set of discoveries made.  This process repeats itself up to the date of the documentary's filming.  It presents the questions along the way, but fast forwards through the archaeological process.  I know that process takes time--I don't pretend it doesn't--but it was more conversational to hear than the other 2 parts.  The other 2 parts were framed like someone getting ready to bang open a pinata which may or may not have anything in it, by a person who has never hit or seen a pinata before.  The 3rd part was like a chap sitting next to you around a fireplace talking about what he's thought and been up to for the last few years.  I much prefer the fireplace chap.  Documentary includes reenactments and computer models to help explain a few things.

"Alice in Wonderland" (2010)

How much have I enjoyed this movie?  I don't even care on the first watch-through to form any sort of opinion about how it is as an adaptation because I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Very colorful.  Music was nondescript, but that's okay this time.  I like how they tied it in with her life in London--the context of the stories anyway.  Very colorful.  (And, yes, I know I said that once already.)  How they changed Alice's dress/costumed her was intriguing to watch.  I still like the Cheshire cat as one of my favored characters in this tale.

And how come potions never have ingredients like sausage, or sugar, or ketchup??

"Soul Surfer" (2011)

Typical inspirational story based on a true life one.  What made this movie nice was, first, the family wasn't a dysfunctional one--normal emotional reactions and faith struggles, but nothing overdone.  Second, who doesn't love gorgeous waves being surfed on?  The theology favors commercial-inspirational; look past it and just enjoy the movie as entertainment.  Some pretty infectious characters; I want to hang out with all of them.  It was also nice to get to know Bethany for quite a bit of movie before the shark attack--that they didn't put the shark attack right at the very, very beginning.  Nice movie.

"Iron Man" (2008)

I didn't know what to expect going into this movie.  Had seen no previews, read practically zilch, and only knew that a number of sequels had been made.  Definitely grittier world background than I expected.  (Though, if I had no expectations, what was I comparing it to?)  Yet, the final battle lived up to the "larger than life" part of superhero movies.  This was definitely a visual movie.  Maybe that goes hand in hand with technology-and-mankind type investigations.  That doesn't mean sound wasn't there, or that there was only the occasional diegetic song.  That means the music and the sound was successfully invisible to the predominance of the visual stuff.  It also means that for me to hear it, I'd at very least need to watch it a 2nd time--and very likely, watch it with my eyes closed.  At least that's what it would take for me right now until I develop faster ears for listening to invisible sound.  It's very likely that in a movie like this, sound that was more visible would detract from the attempt to make this superhero world more likely, more "real"--a detraction that might make it seem more cheesy.  A good balance of action and soft, of I-gotta-figure-this out and people maneuvering.  And enough sustained suspense that I had to pause it a time or two, but only for a moment.  That's a good thing for me, and the sign of a good balance of things in a decent movie.  Nice job.

SPOILER ALERT:  Sound did make one story appearance.  The device that Obie used to paralyze people for all appearances just made a sound--a sound that told the audience it was a bad thing.   Meanwhile, there was no sound that story-wise said this was a good thing.  Granted such may not have fit into the plot, but it bears mentioning.  In a highly visual movie like this with nearly invisible sound, is sound totally a bad guy weapon?  I can think of other superhero movies and TV episodes where sound was a bad guy's weapon--several easily.  But sound as a good guy's weapon?  Nope, only cotton and earplugs.  Aren't there any good guys that use sound?  Perhaps one.  Wasn't there a cartoon space team of humans made part robots where one was a Texan?  Seems he might have fought with a guitar.  Maybe.  Not sure.  But that's the only one I can think of compared to all of the bad guy examples.

"Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981)

The music (so well known, especially in band circles) is definitely in the spirit of The Adventures of Robin Hood.  It keeps things rousing yet light-hearted without getting too hokey.  It was fun hearing the French horns get to be part of the truck chase scene along with the trumpets (which play throughout).  I've already seen a couple of the other Indiana Jones movies, but it was nice to finely see the first.  Harrison Ford was definitely a little younger then.  The movie is good, but I think the music is part of what made the movie great.  Honestly, picture the movie with a radically different sound track.  I don't think it would've had the same pizzazz.