Jigsaw, 2017

One of the things I often hear is,  "how great it must be to get to do movie reviews." Most of the time that is correct, it is an awesome thing but what a lot of folks don't think about are the times that a part of doing reviews are movies you know prior to sitting down in the theater that you know from the outset you are going to hate and ultimately at the end of the experience after the credits have rolled, you were correct. 

The Saw series is a horror series that with exception of the first one, (which I didn't like) I have hated  with all the sequels, prequels and everything else associated with the franchise. I was so excited when I heard they had concluded the series only to recently find out it was all a lie and that for the love of money they resurrected it with the new release of Jigsaw, the character behind the Saw movies who supposedly died in the last feature of Saw.

If I had to point out any aspects of the film that were quite good it would be the sound in the picture. Horror movies have mastered the use of sound as a character to scare the viewer. The use of sound and music to draw upon emotions is a trait many styles of film and directors could learn from.

There were other attributes of this movie that were better than expected. To the surprise of many,  Jigsaw can be seen as a continuation of the television show The Glades. The star of that show, Matt Passamore takes on the character of Logan Nelson in Jigsaw which is a similar role for him. He has either been typecast so plays the same character from one role to another or this is the only kind of role he can play It isn't that he is a bad actor, in some ways he is the best part of Jigsaw which features a decent cast including, Tobin Bell as Jigsaw, Callum Keith Rennie as Detective Halloran and Hannah Emily Anderson as Elanor Bonneville among others. Then again the sound and score is exceptional and the special effects are real enough to make one cringe throughout the movie which has as a feature, torturous deaths.

I had to wonder when watching this movie about a few things, one is the desire to see what I would consider violent, gory torture porn portrayed in such a real way that it was hard to watch. I also had to question the viewers in the theater who find humor in this with their literal laugh out loud some have through the most gruesome scenes. What has moved a segment of society to find humor in this type of imagery? 

There were other attributes that had me thinking. One of the themes  is the justified judgment of those who seem to deserve to die and be tortured in the process. In some ways Jigsaw is portrayed as a God like character handing out judgment to those who have sinned in a horrible way. It plays on a philosophy of an evil judgmental God. The problem with this is that the character is virtually void of love, redemption or forgiveness of those who have done wrong. I am also reminded though of the words of Jesus who complicated things, teachings such as, "those without sin cast the first stone."  He also said things like "while some talk of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, I tell you to love one another."  Then He went so far as to say, "that if you look at a woman and desire her, you are guilty of adultery," and "if you are angry at someone, then you are guilty of murder."  Under those guidelines, whom of us wouldn't Jigsaw find some justification for killing and torturing?  I would like to see a movie that finds redemptive attributes of at least a few characters, Jigsaw provides none.

We live in a world where it seems as if we are motivated to violence, from politics to religion and from one sporting team to another. Is it any wonder that concepts of civil discourse have been lost and are so desired by some in our world? 

Let me make clear if I haven't already, seeing this movie was a job, there was little fun about watching Jigsaw. I don't think I can clarify enough how much I dislike this series.  While it was a tad better than most of the other films in the series, there are far better films to see in my opinion. Unfortunately, this film, during October will do a fair box office and likely make money, otherwise, they wouldn't keep making them. Personally, I wish for a major flop so they would quit making these movies but I don't expect that, I expect profits to keep driving the franchise.  I hope for at least characters deserving of redemption and something positive to come about other than spending time feeling guilty about watching a type of vile, torturous pornography.

On a scale of 1 - 10 while some positives regarding film making, for the 3 letters in the word YUK, I give a lowly not worth it 3

To see the trailer for this movie, click on the following video, if it doesn't appear, try the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPP6aIw1vgY



BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR OUR NEW CHILDREN'S BOOK, HAROLD THE ANGEL, NOW AVAILABLE  AT AMAZON, BOOKS A MILLION, BARNES & NOBLE AND OTHER MAJOR RETAILERS

Also make sure to check out the new video VLOG The Movie Guys and look for the syndicated television show of the same title in your community. For more information check out the pages at Facebook by clicking here.  The Movie Guys

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.


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

The Virtual Pew Sermons

The Virtual Pew News