Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Annabelle Creation

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Back in 2013 I did an initial review of the movie, The Conjuring which can be seen by clicking this link. As a part of the story which focused on real life paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren was the backdrop of a story related to a doll, Annabelle. The story of Annabelle has now gone on to inspire 2 movies of its own, Annabelle and the new Annabelle Creation. As was intended with the movie that brought about the story line, The Conjuring, along with each of the story lines in the subsequent movies has had as a surprise to many, a deep, Christian based theme dealing with good versus evil and the existence of not just God but also evil.

Horror movies for me have for years been among my favorite to review due to the overwhelming message of good versus evil, light over dark and Christ power to conquer evil and Satan like no other style of story. The irony of it all is that no other form or style of movie has generated as much controversy among my many readers and friends as the genera of Horror. In many ways, while some may not like the concept, I believe it is sad as it is an easy way for many to ignore the reality of evil in our world and if Paul was correct in his comments in his writings in the Bible, we need to remember, especially those like me who say they are followers of Jesus that:

"We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world." Ephesians 6:12. 

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It seems as if in this verse and many others in the Bible there is a recognition that there are evil forces all around us that we are engaging in battle with. This isn't just a part of the Judeo Christian values, it is a prevalent theme in many religious belief systems including Islam, Hinduism and others.

Those themes are especially evident throughout the movie Annabelle Creation. While this movie is not based on a true story such as The Conjuring is, it is based on a real character, the Annabelle doll, although the doll in the museum still ran by Lorraine Warren is actually a Raggedy Ann Doll. It should be noted that a tribute of sorts is paid to the real doll in this movie despite the use of the "scary" doll and image throughout the film.

www.thevirtualpew.comThis movie is not for everyone, the opening scenes include a horrific scene of death of a child, something not seen in such graphic detail normally in movies. A part of that is the horror of the story though and one of the things that draws in the viewer to the family and characters in the movie.

In the movie a family who has experienced a horrific death of a daughter decides a number of years later to take in a group of young ladies and children in the form of offering their home up as an orphanage. While in the home a number of scary things begin to happen and the spirits which had been invited into the home earlier start haunting the inhabitants of the home. It becomes clear early on, these aren't ghosts doing the haunting but demonic forces.

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From this point not much likely needs to be said other than the direction for Annabelle Creation does not disappoint. There are numerous scary sequences but it is supported with some good acting, especially among the child actors in the film including Talitha Bateman who plays a young polio victim during the early to late 1930's named Janice. The girls are supervised and given support by Nun, Sister Charlotte played by Stephanie Sigman. Another technical aspect the film excels at is its music and sound. There are few films that show the power of quality sound and music like horror and in many ways these aspects become as much of a character of the film as does any of the actors on screen.

www.thevirtualpew.comThere are many aspects of this movie which would be interesting to sit down and engage in a meaningful conversation about. For example, does evil truly exist? What forms of evil exist? How does on conquer and defeat evil? Why do horror films always seem to have as a representation on the ways to defeat evil a cross, bible or other references to light and Jesus? How has faith impacted the attitudes of those in our world regarding evil? How seriously do people of faith take evil? As you can see I could go on and on with questions of this type. 

 Annabelle Creation presents a side of evil to the extreme, a side where we see the comparisons of faith in virtually every scene in the movie, where crosses are intentionally shown, whether on the side of the road or on a doorway behind a nun.

www.thevirtualpew.comMovies can get people to think and Annabelle Creation is no exception. This movie gets us to think about evil and the ultimate way it can impact people and the world around us. I do think that while those themes are addressed there were some issues related to the film that were a bit of a let down. The direction could have been a tad better and at times, I felt it played on some horror aspects a bit too much and I would liked to have had more questions answered. While those are my preferences, some will see this as a positive thing as they like imaging their own conclusions and answers, I understand that but I just felt it a bit lacking.

Annabelle Creation is not as scary as some make it out to be, although there are those jump out of your seat, cover your eyes moments. It is entertaining though and holds your attention and for me, even some time after seeing the movie, has me asking myself questions, contemplating my own faith and the reality of evil. That is a well worth while concept, like it or not, believe it or not. 

On a scale of 1 - 10, for the perfect number, or so some say, I give it a deserving and entertaining 7

To see the trailer for the film, click on the following video, if the video doesn't appear, try the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KisPhy7T__Q



The Virtual Pew and our other work is supported solely by the kind contributions of others. You can click on the donate button below to give any amount to this work that does so much more than just post articles on the net; I draw no ongoing salary from the church I pastor, Mosaic Wichita which is predominantly a homeless church; I am grateful for any small amount you can contribute to help with this ministry.  Believe me, there is much more going on than most realize. I will also provide information to verify the ministry and income that comes into this ministry and work.  Thanks and feel free to share any material from The Virtual Pew, I only ask that appropriate credit is given and a link to the original site with the materials provided.

Click here to read about, and order the book, The Keystone Kid

You can also order the book at all major retailers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble and so forth. It is available via e-book for .99 Cents or if having a way to download, can download the full audiobook at soundcloud.com and simply going to Mike Furches / The Keystone Kid. The audio version of the book is available for a free download.

http://www.mosaicwichita.com/#!store
Click here to visit the web page The Virtual Pew

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There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free audio book link of The Keystone Kid at mike@furches.org You can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/.

Hopefully, you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.

Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word. Here is our contact information

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Wichita Kansas, 67214
Email: mike@furches.org

Click on the following links to learn more about The Virtual Pew

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Logan Lucky

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Logan Lucky is a new film now in theaters directed by Steven Soderbergh known from the Oceans 11, 12, and 13 movies. The formula involving detailed robberies of banks and casinos seems to be a formula that has worked for Soderbergh. Logan Lucky follows that formula in some ways but instead of high profile criminals who specialize in robbery this movie has rednecks from West Virginia working together to rob a NACAR event in Charlotte North Carolina. On the surface this would appear, as is presented in the trailers, for the film to be a rather entertaining comedy. While there are comedic moments, the laughs are few and far between and despite an incredible cast, the movie falls somewhat short in many areas and at the same time, surprisingly good in others.

The cast is quite superb in Logan Lucky. The movie features the talents of Channing Tatum as Jimmy Logan and his brother and sister are played by Adam Driver and Riley Keough. This misfit family has a history of tragedy and when Jimmy Logan, a past football hero, loses his job while working at Charlotte Motor Speedway due to a pre existing condition related to insurance costs, he decides it would be possible to rob the Speedway and get away with it. He solicits the help of Joe Bang, a prisoner at the local prison played wonderfully by Daniel Craig. This role by Craig is alone borderline worth seeing the movie for. Craig's character recognizes the need to bring in additional help so he brings in his cousins, Joe Bang and Fish Bang played by Brian Gleeson and Jack Quaid. There are other notables in the film such as Seth McFarlane, Katie Holmes, Hillary Swank and many others that have star power written all around them. Unfortunately, outside of Craig, few actually deliver on their performance in quite the way one would want.

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One of the things I did like about the film, other than some of the technical aspects like sound-track, and Daniel Craig was the story line between a father, Jimmy Logan played by Channing and his ex-wife Bobbie Jo Chapman played by Katie Holmes and the custody issues related to their daughter, Sadie, played by Farrah Mackenzie. So many times, especially in comedies the relationship between parents in a split marriage and their spouses is played in a devastating way, here though, you see the ex's getting along, doing what they perceive to be best for their daughter and the relationship between the new husband, Moody and old husband Logan is nice to see on screen. It is clear the dynamic of a split marriage can work if effort is made. All parties here have the best interest of the child at heart and listens to and respects the input from each other in regards to the welfare of the child.

www.thevirtualpew.comThere are other aspects I liked in Logan Lucky, the importance of working together, respecting those you love and the individual talents of each person in a particular situation. The group intending to rob the speedway recognizes the role of each other if they are going to be successful. This reminded me of a comment from Francis Chan I had heard on the same day on the importance of the church using the talents of the people in the church if they are going to be effective in carrying out the mission of the church. Just as in life, or in a place of work, team or any other concept where people work together, the theme of using each others skills, to the best of ones ability and working together is an important skill set to learn if one wants to be effective in what they are doing.

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All in all, while there are some impressive aspects about Logan Lucky I liked and while a seemingly convoluted story does come together in the end, I was still disappointed. For a film with so much potential, there should have been a better story line, I felt the movie and direction had issues from the beginning. Was this to be a comedy, action film or what?  The clarity of that never happens and I left the theater thinking, it was okay, had some good moments, but all in all, was disappointed.

In a summer filled with blockbusters it will also have some flops, so on a scale from 1 - 10 for the letters in the word flops, I give a somewhat lackluster, 5.

To see the trailer for the movie, just click on the video below, if that doesn't work just click on the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPzvKH8AVf0




The Virtual Pew and our other work is supported solely by the kind contributions of others. You can click on the donate button below to give any amount to this work that does so much more than just post articles on the net; I draw no ongoing salary from the church I pastor, Mosaic Wichita which is predominantly a homeless church; I am grateful for any small amount you can contribute to help with this ministry.  Believe me, there is much more going on than most realize. I will also provide information to verify the ministry and income that comes into this ministry and work.  Thanks and feel free to share any material from The Virtual Pew, I only ask that appropriate credit is given and a link to the original site with the materials provided.

Click here to read about, and order the book, The Keystone Kid

You can also order the book at all major retailers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble and so forth. It is available via e-book for .99 Cents or if having a way to download, can download the full audiobook at soundcloud.com and simply going to Mike Furches / The Keystone Kid. The audio version of the book is available for a free download.

http://www.mosaicwichita.com/#!store
Click here to visit the web page The Virtual Pew

Click here to follow The Virtual Pew on Twitter

Mike Furches on Faceboook.

Click here to visit Mosaic Church where Mike is Pastor

The Keystone Kid/Virtual Pew Message Boards

Click to subscribe to my blog

There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free audio book link of The Keystone Kid at mike@furches.org You can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/.

Hopefully, you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.

Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word. Here is our contact information

The Virtual Pew
1249 N. St. Francis
Wichita Kansas, 67214
Email: mike@furches.org

Click on the following links to learn more about The Virtual Pew

Donations to The Virtual Pew

The Virtual Pew Blog

Personal Furches Web Site

Hollywood Jesus

Reviews With Mike

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Friday, August 4, 2017

Stephen King's The Dark Tower


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Okay here goes, this will be one of those reviews that Pharisaic Christians will blast, put down, and on social media condemn and unfriend me for. Why? Because it is a review of the new Stephen King film The Dark Tower. Many will ask what in the world is a Christian reviewing such a horrible horror author like Stephen King for? Well I will tell you unapologetically, it is because horror tells a spiritual story like no other genera in my opinion. I also happen to think Stephen King often times tells a great story, mixed in with tons of spiritual symbolism, far more often than not pointing to the battle of good versus evil and in the case of The Dark Tower with symbolism that clearly points to a Messiah, Christ figure. I only wish that Stephen King could end a story as well as he tells it, there are times he does but I often find myself disappointed with the endings of the movies based on his stories.

The Dark Tower is loaded with star power, specifically Matthew McConaughey, Idris Elba, and Jackie Earle Haley among others. The movie is based on one of Stephen Kings most popular series of novels, The Dark Tower series.  King, while known for horror also writes some provocative thriller's. That is what The Dark Tower Series is, unfortunately, from the git-go, this shortened, 90 minute movie falls short in about every way imaginable with the exception of spiritual symbolism. 

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Idris Elba is the primary actor playing the part of The Gunslinger. Elba first came to my attention in 2005 with his role in the wonderful film The Gospel, a modern day parable of The Prodigal Son. He has been in the press a lot lately for various reasons. His star power continues to rise and he was the reported replacement for Daniel Craig as James Bond in the 007 James Bond series. Unfortunately, at least at this time, Elba will not be taking on the job of Bond but he has enough star power to make the first weekend of The Dark Tower a contender for the weekends box office champion. Unfortunately, due to the lackluster story, and the convoluted editing and direction, I don't expect that will carry it past the first weekend.

The storyline in The Dark Tower is essentially void of plot and character development. It is as if Sony Pictures knew they had a flop of a movie and rushed it to screen to get what they could out of it as opposed to making the movie that King and the story itself deserved. 

www.thevirtualpew.comOne of the bright points, if not the only bright point of the movie is the spiritual symbolism which is heavily sprinkled throughout the story. There is enough of a story line to understand the classic battle of Good versus Evil. This is especially so in various ways such as, just as there is a division between Heaven and Hell, in the movie, there are different dimensions with ways to cross those dimensions involving if you will, heavenly forces seeking to either kill and destroy, or to save humanity. The Gunslinger, (Elba) is a Christ figure who alone can defeat the evil Man in Black, played by Matthew McConaughey. The Man in Black is a clear representation of Satan, he seeks to destroy earth and all of her inhabitants. He seeks to do so by using the innocence and power of children to ultimately destroy the Dark Tower, he knows once it is destroyed, destruction will reign down on earth. He uses demon like characters and evil disciples to carry out his commands. His primary obstacle is in finding and destroying an innocent and perfect child. Lucas Hanson, played by Nicholas Hamilton is that child, one who is not understood and picked on and abused in many ways. While he has a loving mother, he doesn't know his father, only a step-father. Nicholas realizes what is going on in the dimensions around him from the visions he has been having. He ultimately hooks up with The Gunslinger and together they join forces to save the earth and humanity.

www.thevirtualpew.comIn the story, just as in faith specific to Christianity, battles have to be fought and victories won, often those victories come at a cost. I won't give much away other than to say I did love the illustrations specific to giving oneself up to the protection and direction of a savior and the sacrifices that savior makes, including going through what resembles a water baptism, and taking marks onto both of his hands (strongly resembling crucifixion marks) to ultimately defeat evil after an apparent resurrection from the dead.

Over the years Stephen King has been heavily criticized by many Christians in particular for the "evil" they say he promotes, yet, in many of his stories there is strong Christian symbolism and that symbolism doesn't stop with The Dark Tower. I just wish there had been a story that had gone with it and better direction. In all honesty, the first thirty minutes of the movie for me was so boring that if I hadn't been there with a friend, and there for the purpose of reviewing the movie, I would have left the theater or gone to another movie.

The Dark Tower is not a good movie, it is not a movie I could encourage anyone to see. It is a movie

however that I would gladly bring up the spiritual symbolic points I have in my review here. My personal recommendation is that if you are a fan of the books, that at best pay for a matinee, or even better, waiting until the movie is streamed for free on your streaming provider of choice. I hate to give a bad review to a movie I was anticipating so much but the most horrific part of this movie, isn't the story, it is the movie itself.

On a scale of 1 - 10, for the 3 nails used to crucify Christ and the one spear that pierced his side, I give a very disappointing 4.



To see the trailer for the movie, click on the following video, if the link doesn't work, try the following url:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjwfqXTebIY




The Virtual Pew and our other work is supported solely by the kind contributions of others. You can click on the donate button below to give any amount to this work that does so much more than just post articles on the net; I draw no ongoing salary from the ministry I do; I am grateful for any small amount you can contribute to help with this ministry and ongoing costs.  Believe me there is much more going on than most realize. I will also provide information to verify the ministry and income that comes into this ministry and work expenditures that go out.  Thanks and feel free to share any material from The Virtual Pew, I only ask that appropriate credit is given and a link to the original site with the materials provided.

Also be on the lookout for our new children's book coming out Winter of 2017 titled Herald The Angel. 

Click here to read about, and order the book, The Keystone Kid

http://www.mosaicwichita.com/#!store
Click here to visit the web page The Virtual Pew

Click here to follow The Virtual Pew on Twitter

Mike Furches on Faceboook.

Click here to visit Mosaic Church where Mike is Pastor

The Keystone Kid/Virtual Pew Message Boards

Click to subscribe to my blog

There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free audio book link of The Keystone Kid at mike@furches.org You can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/.

Hopefully, you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.

Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word. Here is our contact information

The Virtual Pew
1249 N. St. Francis
Wichita Kansas, 67214
Email: mike@furches.org

Click on the following links to learn more about The Virtual Pew

Donations to The Virtual Pew

The Virtual Pew Blog

Personal Furches Web Site


Reviews With Mike

The Virtual Pew Sermons

The Virtual Pew News

Thursday, August 3, 2017

War for the Planet of the Apes

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A number of years ago I did a review at Hollywood Jesus on the reboot of Planet of the Apes.  The original movies goes back to my youth and has a special place in my heart. After putting my faith in place of priority in my life, the analogy of being delivered with heavy allegorical associations of Jesus and Moses has been abundantly clear from those early movies. I wrote about this to some extent in my original review of the initial reboot of the Planet of the Apes. My review on that page linked here can be seen by scrolling down the page.  Over the last number of years there has been a more successful reboot of the series and the apparent conclusion to that series, War for the Planet of the Apes, clearly continues that theme, of being delivered. That was abundantly clear in this movie in that immediately after my viewing, I heard several people sitting behind me, in a packed out movie house, some weeks into the movie being in theaters, talking about that very theme. Caesar was just like Moses, delivering his people from a place of captivity, both literal and spiritual, to a promised land.

War for the Planet of the Apes is an outstanding achievement in film. The CGI is so good that it was virtually impossible to distinguish whether the apes in the film are real or not.  There has to be a ton of credit given to the CGI and special effects crews, as well as the actors such as Andy Serkis. His portrayal of Caesar in this movie is one of the reasons the Academy needs to consider an award for roles of this nature. We can't stop there though, CGI and special effects alone should not be a driving force behind whether one sees a movie or not. There has to be story and other aspects to keep the viewer interested in more than just eye candy and on those levels, along with cinematography, a spectacular score, acting and thought provoking themes that has this 2 1/2 hour movie flying by as if one has just finished watching a 30-minute series on television, this movie delivers. 

www.thevirtualpew.comI must also comment on the supporting cast, the young girl, Amiah Miller who plays the human Nova is outstanding and she doesn't say a word the entire movie. Then there is the laugh out loud funny moments provided by Bad Ape played brilliantly to comedic perfection by Stephen Zahn. The only not quite up to par acting part is surprisingly done by Woody Harrelson who plays the human antagonist Colonel. Yet, while Harrelson is not quite up to his award winning performance, his part is so well written that in the end, you can't help but have gone through a wide gamut of emotions regarding his character. Tremendous credit has to also be given to the direction provided, Matt Reeves does an outstanding job.

www.thevirtualpew.comWhile War for the Planet of the Apes could stand as a stand alone movie, it is however beneficial to have seen the pervious renditions of this reboot. They help explore the entire journey these characters have been through and display the captivity, lack of understanding and imprisonment and treatment from the humans over the years. The apes are in many ways, an allegory of many in society who have been abused, not understood and taken advantage of. The movie illustrates the power of the many when they come together, it also illustrates though the importance of a leader who is often needed to bring the masses together.

As stated in the first part of this review, this movie, this story, is in many ways a retelling of the people of the Hebrews and their deliverance from bondage by Moses. It is also the story of a messiah figure who is willing to give up their lives, to make sacrifices for the ones they love. Just like in the Bible that messiah has disciples who will follow him until the end of the earth, even willing to give up their life in the process for the one they love, believe in and follow. There is ultimately the willingness to offer life to others despite their guilt. These are often ones which could be perceived as being worthy of death, yet, in that willingness of a messiah and his followers to ultimately offer love, with forgiveness, there is the love and willingness that will allow the individual to make the decisions they make, even if those decisions ultimately lead to death.  It is a free will decision being offered, not forced and ultimately on the receiver of that gift as to what to do with it.  

www.thevirtualpew.comThere is a reason that people who I have no idea who they are, are talking about the themes related to Moses and Christ after this movie. They are that clear and intentional. One only has to ask, will the metaphor used in the movie, which can be applied to our individual lives as a viewer be taken seriously? What route will we take regarding the decisions we are faced with on a daily basis, ones that can lead to serving, or intending to be served, ones that lead to freedom, or, will ultimately lead to imprisonment? Will we choose the paths before us that can lead to the promised land, the ones that lead to a spiritual and life freedom? 

www.thevirtualpew.comThose types of themes that make this movie well worth watching and thinking about. It is those themes that still has this movie doing extremely well in the theaters and thus, some weeks later, has me motivated to write about it. Is it worth seeing? You bet it is, even if you don't like stories of this type, or at least think you don't, you may find yourself pleasantly surprised at how good this movie is.

On a scale of 1 - 10, to take my last review of a movie which I gave a 6 to, I am turning this review upside down and giving this wonderful film a delightful 9.

 To see the extended video trailer for this movie, click on the video, if this doesn't work, try the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilhnNa-DrIk


The Virtual Pew and our other work is supported solely by the kind contributions of others. You can click on the donate button below to give any amount to this work that does so much more than just post articles on the net; I draw no ongoing salary from the ministry I do; I am grateful for any small amount you can contribute to help with this ministry and ongoing costs.  Believe me there is much more going on than most realize. I will also provide information to verify the ministry and income that comes into this ministry and work expenditures that go out.  Thanks and feel free to share any material from The Virtual Pew, I only ask that appropriate credit is given and a link to the original site with the materials provided.

Also be on the lookout for our new children's book coming out Winter of 2017 titled Herald The Angel. 

Click here to read about, and order the book, The Keystone Kid

http://www.mosaicwichita.com/#!store
Click here to visit the web page The Virtual Pew

Click here to follow The Virtual Pew on Twitter

Mike Furches on Faceboook.

Click here to visit Mosaic Church where Mike is Pastor

The Keystone Kid/Virtual Pew Message Boards

Click to subscribe to my blog

There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free audio book link of The Keystone Kid at mike@furches.org You can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/.

Hopefully, you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.

Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word. Here is our contact information

The Virtual Pew
1249 N. St. Francis
Wichita Kansas, 67214
Email: mike@furches.org

Click on the following links to learn more about The Virtual Pew

Donations to The Virtual Pew

The Virtual Pew Blog

Personal Furches Web Site


Reviews With Mike

The Virtual Pew Sermons

The Virtual Pew News

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Bender, America's First Serial Killers?



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This review of Bender is going to be somewhat tough, in fact, it may be one of the toughest reviews I have ever written because I have dear friends I love and value who worked on the movie. I must state, my reviews always have tried to be respectful of those who pay money to see a movie, I know how valuable a dollar can be and for that reason have an obligation to share what I think about a movie, even if having friends work on that movie.

The movie Bender is a retelling of a historical story that took place in Southeast Kansas during the 1870's. A family of individuals, some of whom were immigrants from Germany settled in Labette County and established a sort of respite and store for travelers out of their home where they offered lodging and sold staples. This family became known as what many have called America's first serial killers. The family consisted of John Bender, the father, his wife Elvira, their daughter Kate who was a reported psychic or spiritualist and a son John Bender. It was reported that it is likely that John and Kate Bender were actually husband and wife and only pretended at times to be brother and sister. The family would lure people into the house, place them in the seat of honor and then bludgeon them to death with a hammer from behind a curtain.  John and Kate were the primary individuals involved in the bludgeoning although some research shows that murders took place for many years in various locations by other members of the family. Unfortunately in the movie, John is a much younger brother of Kate.

The story is a fascinating one that many people haven't heard of, especially when concluding that there is no compelling evidence as to what happened to the family after they were discovered for the murders. What has come about is one of the great mysteries and stories of the American West and one of the first, if not the first incident of serial killers in American history.
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Bender is an Independent Film that has been anticipated for many people over the last many years. Especially within the advent of the horror and thriller genera there has been little that deals with this time frame. For the willingness to finally take on the story, John Alexander and JC Guest have to be given credit for their willingness to bring the movie to viewers. It is a story many have looked forward to and a story worth telling.

Virtually everything about the film from a technical perspective is exciting to see, especially since knowing some of the people involved in the making of the film as well as knowing a bit about making film. Things that are usually terrible such as sound, lighting and so forth in Indie film is actually done quite well. I have to also give kudos to the willingness to shoot on location as the location and cinematography are a part of the story and done quite nicely. It is rare to see the quality of these things in a first time filmmakers independent film. It is here however, that the praise starts to have some drawbacks, for it is in the other areas that there are problems, problems that don't go so much towards things like the quality of acting as it does to the quality of script and directions those actors must have received.

For me the script and some of the acting was poorly done, it was as if the actors either had bad direction or were simply reading a script.  Knowing some of the actors in the film and the quality of acting they have done previously and since, I can't believe that they are responsible for the poor aspects in this area, but instead believe, it is largely from direction.  Even with discussions with some of the crew and actors, they expressed these concerns. One of the primary stars in the film I have had discussions with stated, "Well it was the first film for the director so he did as best as he could."  This actor knew that the film was weak in areas. The scripting and little dialog help contribute to that feeling.  While the film looks, and at times, sounds like a quality film, the script the actors have to work with and little dialog that actually takes place shows shortcuts that hinder the enjoyment of the movie, even with such a dark subject.

www.thevirtualpew.comOne has to question at times history as well as the relation one has with their neighbors. There has to also be questions of where does evil come from and how does one person impact another. Were all of the Benders prone to killing? Was it a learned behavior? What was it about their since of morality that justified the numerous murders they committed? While the movie hints at 11 or 12 murders, the family in reality was connected to as many as 21 murders and some speculate many more as there is some belief that if the family did escape the murders would have likely continued. There is also speculation that murders were committed prior to the episodes on the Southeast Prairie of Kansas.

One of the compelling aspects presented was the willingness of the community to come together, even against one of their own who had attended church on a regular basis and presented themselves as good, caring Godly people. There was a willingness of the community to stand up for what was right and to come together, of course it would be questionable as to the right way to do that, with or without a vigilante force would be one of the questions. As one looks at the history of these vigilante groups in the Bender case and the stories that came back one can also question the reasons people seek self serving attention the way they do but none of these fascinating concepts of the real story are covered. Others not addressed in the movie that would have made for more compelling story had to do with John Jr. being played by a young actor that is an obvious younger brother to Kate as opposed to the reality that many speculated and stated that John and Kate were actually married. There was the aspects of Kate's involvement in spiritualism and perceived prostitution. While these things are hinted at, at the relatively short 80 minutes the film lasts, there was much more to the story that could have been added.

www.thevirtualpew.comI wanted to like Bender, I love and am fascinated by the real story, I am pleased that some of those I know did a good job with what they had to work with, I would have just liked to have seen them given more. It isn't a "Gawd awful" project, but it is a movie that will have people wanting more.  Thankfully there is a lot about this family available with some simple research. Hopefully it is a story that a big budget production company or even a smaller Independent Film Company will give time to that it needs with a much deeper focus on the story will take on in the future. I expect that for many, this movie will fall a bit short. For me, my recommendation will be to either rent the movie via one of its sources or wait until it is available for free via streaming sources. Unfortunately, for me, I purchased the film via Amazon Streaming services through my Prime account. I am not horribly disappointed, but I am not overly thrilled about watching it again however. Until then, do some research, check out this fascinating story that many have never heard.

On a scale of 1 - 10 for the letters in my thought of 'just ok,' I give a somewhat disappointing 6


To see more about the Benders, Check out the following video by clicking on it. If the video doesn't work, click on the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLSiIPFFchk


To see the trailer for the film, click here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0s5lOHliQY



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