Reviews With Mike Furches: March 2021

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Last Chance U Basketball, A Near Perfect Season

Netflix has become a staple for many around the world in the area of entertainment. They not only bring us quality movies, they also bring quality series and documentaries. As an athlete for many years and now a fan, I have greatly enjoyed the Last Chance U series that looks at various Junior College Sports seasons. Up until this season, football and this season for the first time, Basketball has been the focus. So, it is as a former college athlete and as a film reviewer I review this particular season.

I must say, as a former athlete I have binged and loved every season. Basketball is the 6th season in the series but is being considered as season 1 for basketball. Each season focuses on a particular school and follows the schools team throughout the season. This season has the documentary team following ELAC (East Las Angeles College) and the team and coach John Mosley. I have to say, the coach John Mosley is one I personally loved above and beyond any coach in any other season, largely due to the emphasis on his faith as a Christian.

There are clearly players that seem to put up with Coach Mosley's actions and faith but as the season goes on and comes to a tragic end, it also becomes clear at the impact this coach has had on many a young men that recognize the honor of playing for him. This season, more than any other, has a positive reference of a coach that actually cares above and beyond for his players and does not go overboard with his coaching style. Sure, there are unique attributes with Coach Mosley, but he gets the job done.

There are things I would like to know, for example, the series follows ELAC's season to obtain the California State Jr. College Championship, yet I know that a few miles away from me in Hutchinson Kansas they have a National Jr. College Championship Tourney. Never in the series was that tournament mentioned. It forces me to assume that the California Champion does not participate in that tournament.

As anyone who follows sports will know, the ending of this story is not encouraging and is somewhat of a letdown. I'll say about it is that the season recorded is the 2019/2020 season. You can figure it out. What I will say is the impact of some things have/had a tremendous impact on some that prepared their entire lives for a moment.

Coach Mosley is the star of this series. Sure, there are basketball players we become intrigued with along with assistant coaches but there is just something likeable about Coach Mosley. I loved that Netflix covers and portrays his deep Christian faith in such a beautiful and real way without exaggerating or diminishing his faith. We see a man dedicated to his players, his family and making constant sacrifice, yet, above all, dedicated and committed to his faith. He even goes so far that he sought guidance from his pastor before accepting the opportunity to do the series.

I loved this series and this season. Coach Mosley is the type of coach I would want my children to play for. One to push them to the extreme, overcome the obstacles and all along the way, keeping a focus on faith while loving and giving his players a chance. He exemplifies grace as a coach like no other season up to date.

During the season of March Madness while I review this, for the perfection of the game of basketball, I give a perfect 10 as a series for the letters in the word, basketball. - 10

To see the trailer for this film click on the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-YCKtBb0L4

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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

To follow Mike's Band, Pastor Mike and the Demon Slayer Blues Band, click the following link:
To see the video for the trailer of this movie, click on the following link:
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The Courier, When Enemies Become Friends

The Courier is a movie released in 2020 but just now hitting theaters due to Covid. While it is late to the screen, it is a film that is a great reminder of the times that were. Set in the early 1960's we see the story unfold where the Cold War between The West was at a most heated moment with Russia. We came so close to a nuclear war that would have been devastating for the world. It was a time where the world realized the pressures of societal interaction and the importance of understanding that not everyone on our planet plays fair. When that happens one must take actions that may not resemble morality. Thus was and still is the case where nations don't abide by ethical ways.

The Courier is a terrifically acted and directed film that looks at the actions of a businessman who undertook the role of a spy for the British Government which provided valuable information to the United States specific to the Cuban Missile Crises where the United States and Russia came extremely close to Nuclear War. This true story is acted brilliantly by the principles Greville Wynne played by Benedict Cumberbatch and Russian General Oleg Penkovsky played by Merab Ninidze. The intensity that builds through the film is beautifully directed by Dominic Cooke. While this is not what I would consider an action packed movie it is filled with drama and intensity.

One of the beauties of this film is the understanding of the possibility of brotherhood despite taking place during a time when that was not seen so much as possible and so much hatred was prevalent around the world. There was a desire and sacrifice made among some, including a regular guy trying to make a difference that resulted in the lives of many around the world being saved. Yet, their story with many today goes unknown. It is one of the beauties of good historical film; to reeducate perception to an understanding of reality; a reality such as the world around us could do harm.

Surprisingly the Cuban Missile Crises is merely the backdrop of the story. The real story focuses on thefriendship built between two individuals trying to prevent a devastating war. I think of the Bible teaching that tell us to love even our enemies. This is an excellent representation that if we take the time to get to know our enemies, we may discover we may be more friends than foes. Of course we have to be careful as the reality is there are those who would do us harm. It becomes difficult as to who we can, and can't trust. When we discover a real friend though, that friend will stick with us until the end.

I strongly recommend this movie. We live in a world where there is so much discord and an unwillingness to get to know each other because of who they voted for, where they go to church, or the fact that they may have a differing experience than ourselves. The possibility of friendship may not seem to have a world changing impact, but, it will for those who make the effort and if we work at changing our own individual worlds, can have an impact on the world around us.

On a scale of 1 - 10 for the fact that I had to reflect after seeing it, I give it a well deserving 7 for the number of letters in the word reflect. - 7

To see the trailer for this film click on the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeYElSu3gEc

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Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Murder Among The Mormans, A Netflix Series

Over the years Netflix has not only developed into a top notch movie studio but they are also presenting some of the best series and documentaries around. Delving into the real life crime dramas such as Making of a Murderer, Crime Scene, The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel and most recently is Murder Among The Mormons they are leaving a mark.Over the years, I have done hundreds of movie reviews possibly thousands. One of the things I pride myself in is that I have less than 5 times included a spoiler, this series is as difficult a review as I've ever written while not leaving a spoiler, the ending is so critical to understanding the story one almost has to give it away.

The Mormon church among "Christian" churches has had it's fair share of criticism and speculation. Many place The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints into one of three groups, a part of the legitimate Christian church, a sect of the church, or a cult. With that in mind it is worth the readers time to do some research into all aspects of this thought for their understanding this group and their history. It can give a truly deeper appreciation of the series.

The series follows the discovery of important documents that on one hand places at odds with the church, and on another supported other aspects of the church. As important historical documents are "discovered," including the famous white salamander prophesies as supposedly delivered to the churches founding prophet Joseph Smith. This document is verified as legitimate by the church and contradicts much of the original teachings of the church. As this and numerous other officially declared truthful documents are discovered, two grisly murders involving pipe bombs in Salt Lake City and a third apparent attempted murder using a bomb on the individual who had spent years in research in the discovery of these documents took place. Thus begins the speculation of the possible involvement of the Church of Latter Day Saints in this murder spree.

This is limited series covers three approximate 1 hour episodes. The first episode and a half has the viewer asking questions as we are drawn into the story. For many it will support positions they have had, for others, it may cause them to question the beliefs they have had. Minds likely won't be changed if one stops watching the series here. It is in the final episode and a half the story unravels and takes the viewer into even more questions. Questions like the nature of evil, hatred, deception and much more.

I'll be honest, over the years from various groups I had heard stories and held to those things as truths. This series in the detailed explanation of these crimes and interviews changed my mind about some of those things and had me at the conclusion thinking I was wrong and needing to say, "I apologize, I was wrong!"

That's how deep the reported findings and historical findings played into the religious landscape and mode of thought among many Christians regarding the Mormon church. If anything, it is a reminder for me, and should be for others to not jump to conclusions about things we have heard that is reported as truth, even when those things are studied and reported to be authentic.

I wouldn't say this is the best Crime Drama that Netflix but it's up there especially if you like this type of story. It is a fascinating documentary especially since so many of the people involved are interviewed and so much national effort was placed on the story.

This is an easy and worthwhile documentary to watch even binge. It raises questions not just about the church but it is a crime drama that comes to a conclusion that has the viewer thinking. One doesn't have to be religious to enjoy this documentary. I even wonder if a person having no religious convictions will have the same response as someone who falls into one of the categories I mention about the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints above. Those things we ponder and wonder about after the show are among the things that I believe makes a good documentary, and this is a good documentary.

On a scale of 1 - 10 for the conflict and struggle I've had, I give an 8 for the number of letters in the word conflict. - 8

To see the trailer for this film click on the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE34_44piaU

To Donate via Pay Pal, donate at paypal at mike@furches.org

To Donate via Cash App, donate at $MichaelFurches

Saturday, March 6, 2021

Coming 2 America Review, The Power of Family

Coming 2 America is a follow up to the wildly popular Coming to America which was released in 1988. Some 30+ years later Eddie Muphy has returned with Arsenio Hall, Wesley Snipes, James Earl Jones, John Amos and numerous others for the Amazon Prime movie. The new additions to the film, especially Leslie Jones adds to the already fun filled humorous cast.

In Coming 2 America, Eddie Murphy is the soon to be King obtains the throne from his father played by James Earl Jones. As he discovers that the country of Zumunda has a tradition of the throne to be handed down to a son. While he now has three daughters, he doesn't have a son. This has him at odds with his rival, General Izzi played by Wesley Snipes who has threatened to take the nation by force. Eddie Murphy's character, King Akeem finds out that he has a son that was conceived during the time he was in America. His son, as he discovers later, Lavelle has a mother played by Leslie Jones, who is great, and an uncle, a street shyster played by Tracy Morgan. The family returns to Zumundu and thus a the humor.

One of the things many need to get used to is the new criticism and cancel culture that has come about by many in the Gen Z population. There is already some criticism of Murphy and the American actors taking on a role that has them pretending to be African. It's acting, we can't cancel everything we don't like but that is a whole other pet peeve. I just wanted to address that point from the start and get it out of the way.

This is one of those movies where we shouldn't expect a great movie, it is intended to bring laughs but while some may be critical of streaming networks like Amazon or Netflix doing movies, this is an example of how they are doing good movies in many cases. It would have been fun to see this one on a big screen as the quality of sets, action, editing, sound and so forth are as good as anything on the big screen. The cast for a comedy in particular is outstanding. While there are some weak moments in the acting it is still quite enjoyable.

I especially enjoyed the concept of discovering family. We see bridges being developed among the characters. For example we see Eddie Murphy's character and family have to accept and come to relate with their new family whom they knew nothing about. While King Akeem's one night stand with Mary, played by Jones, was just that a one night stand, King Akeem takes on th responsibility of bringing his son back and being responsible. Of course one wonders if his intentions are pure, but as the movie plays out that question is answered. We the viewer see the strength of family, coming together, forgiveness and what real love can look like among families.

We may be approaching a time in movies where the healing of broken relationships is a prominent theme and if that is the case, it's a good thing. We are at a time when healing and acceptance needs to occur. In this movie, in a fun way, (I laughed all through the movie,) we see this take place with the characters and despite their differences we see the power of family.

I've got some friends who I've heard from and seen on social media that didn't like this movie, but, the majority of those that stick with it did. I loved it for what it is and believe that humor has a unique way of tearing down walls and causing people to think. I think the themes addressed are vital for today's world.

On a scale of 1 - 10 and the concept of coming together, for the letters it takes to spell together, I give it a very enjoyable 8.

To see the trailer for this film click on the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5lrkdvEZGg

To Donate via Pay Pal, donate at paypal at mike@furches.org

To Donate via Cash App, donate at $MichaelFurches

Friday, March 5, 2021

Raya and The Last Dragon Movie Review

It was with some hesitation that I decided to see the new Disney movie, Raya and The Last Dragon. This animated movie has been pushed heavily by Disney for some time and it is now available via theatrical release and on Disney+. I decided to see the movie on the big screen.

Raya is a fantasy tale with Asian influence that takes place after the disappearance of Dragons in the world. One village has the remaining stone that is thought to contain the spirit and essence of Sisu, the last great dragon. The people of all nations, all a part of the world called Kumandra worship Sisu but are divided by geographical location, beliefs and more, much like in today's world. It is here we see Raya, the princess of the Heart tribe and her father Chief Benga. Chief Benga has a dream of bringing all people back together as it was before the loss of dragons. His only problem, while he is willing to work with other tribes they are not and prefer to hold onto their differences. After an accident and the release of evil spirits called the Druun, evil is set loose on earth and the spirits turn everyone they come into contact with to stone. Thus begins the quest of Raya to gather the pieces of stone that contains the spirit of Sisu to hopefully bring unity to the world.

One of the things about this movie is the beautiful animation, but before I go there, I HAVE TO COMMENT ON THE OPENING SHORT PRIOR TO THE MOVIE, ONCE AGAIN. Much like the opening scenes in UP, the opening short story in Raya is nothing short of brilliant. It has to be considered for an Oscar for best short. It is the most beautiful, touching scene since Up and the short itself makes the ticket to see Raya worth the cost. Without too much detail, while there is no dialog, the animation and story will bring tears to your eyes. It's beautiful!

Now as to be expected, with the union of Pixar and Disney in recent years no one does animation nearly as beautiful and brilliant as Disney. The animation in Raya, for the most part is fantastic, at times, trend setting and as realistic as any animation seen in years. As I mentioned though, I said, for the most part. Unfortunately, there are aspects of animation that were lackluster and fall short to the excellence most scenes contain. In what should have been among the most beautiful scenes with the best animation, one would think the scenes with dragons would be among the best, but unfortunately the dragons were bland and nothing to write home about. The same can be said for the voicing of some of the character. I didn't care for the voice of Sisu and while I recognize the talents of voice actors, there was nothing really special in the voicing of any of the characters. There is no doubt, that ultimately, it is the story and some innovative animation scenes that are the stars of this movie.

We live in a world where we in America ask questions and make comments about getting along, not hating, coming together, unity and so forth. In those regards, the movie addresses themes that we can learn from. While we may talk about getting along, specifically in America after our recent political history, are we willing to give up something important to us to make unity happen? Or will we hold on to what is so important to us that we ignore the potential and lives of others, despite their beliefs. Can we quit throwing blame and condemnation and find ways to bring about needed change to our world? These themes, and the potential consequences of finding reasons to hate as opposed to love, permeate the themes of Raya. I am reminded of the Bible verse that states, No greater love has any than this, their willingness to lay down their life for another.

Raya is a film I recommend for the big screen as opposed to the television streaming option. When the animation is good, which is most of the time, it is amazing and deserves to be seen in large screen format. Unfortunately, if not for the animation and the brilliant opening short movie this movie would score around a 5 1/2 on a scale of 1 - 10, still better than average but not great. However, because of the short movie Once Again the movie experience here is better.

On a scale of 1 - 10, for the willingness of the princess warrior Raya to sacrificially bring about love and show that love to others over her own needs; I give a 7 for the letters in the word warrior, for it takes a warrior to sacrificially love. 7

To see the trailer for the movie click on the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VIZ89FEjYI

To Donate via Pay Pal, donate at paypal at mike@furches.org

To Donate via Cash App, donate at $MichaelFurches

You can donate via paypal at mike@furches.org or cash app at $MichaelFurches

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

To follow Mike's Band, Pastor Mike and the Demon Slayer Blues Band, click the following link:

https://www.facebook.com/TheDemonSlayers

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Thursday, March 4, 2021

Chaos Walking Review

Chaos Walking is a new Sci-Fi Fantasy with an apocalyptic feel. While it is not going to be nominated for any awards, the story of a planet some light years from earth that is populated and rustic is entertaining and a good escape. Upon the arrival of Viola a young woman played by Daisy Ridley, Todd, played by Tom Holland a young man on the planet comes across her after her space ship crashes. He is shocked and confused as there are as far as he knows, no women on his planet.

The makers of the film is creative in the way the story takes place. One may expect expensive sets and a lot of special effects but there are actually few. This is where the movie has an apocalyptic feel. The direction and editing does a solid job here and the sets we see largely takes place in forest scenes. While there are some forms of transportation from the past, most of the settlers on the planet are dependent on horses and their simple lives are centered around gardening. It is here that Chaos Walking comes across as a futuristic western.

Mads Mikkelsen plays the mayor of a town where Todd is from, his son played by Nick Jones, seeks to do away with Viola. The Mayor is threatened and disturbed due to one of the unique attributes of the story where the men can hear and see each others thoughts but women can't have their thoughts read. This is another area where the film does a good job at presenting a futuristic story without tons of special effects.

While the movie is entertaining and quite enjoyable there are some drawbacks specifically where the story is not developed as nicely as I would have liked and it is lacking in character development.

There is a provoking concept presented though through one of the characters called Preacher. He is one that has a hatred and lack of understanding of women and preaches hell fire and damnation, seeking to destroy women and anyone who protects them. His focus is on evil as opposed to the good or possibility of good of those around him. He comes across as evil and in one scene with his hatred and desire to kill we see the primary character Todd develop a hatred for Preacher. We see the need to show love to others and we see a perspective of preachers and religion that many in society have as a result of the focus on damnation and perceived hatred many seem to have in today's world. Ultimately there is a price to pay when hatred is a primary focus whether we want to accept it or not.

Chaos Walking, directed nicely by Doug Liman is an entertaining film. It is far better than I was expecting but that doesn't mean it's an epic film. It is one worth seeing if you like futuristic themes. It is one of the more entertaining ventures into this genre I've seen in some time. I suspect the movie, based on the novel "The Knife of Never Letting Go" the first book in the Chaos Walking Trilogy will have the other stories told. If there are more, I'll be going to see them.

Chaos Walking is a movie I found enjoyable, it's one worth walking to the theater to see so for the number of letters in the word walking, on the scale of 1 - 10, I give it an enjoyable 7

To see the trailer for the film, click the following link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWgGkpp5ReU

To Donate via Pay Pal, donate at paypal at mike@furches.org

To Donate via Cash App, donate at $MichaelFurches

You can donate via paypal at mike@furches.org or cash app at $MichaelFurches

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

To follow Mike's Band, Pastor Mike and the Demon Slayer Blues Band, click the following link:

https://www.facebook.com/TheDemonSlayers

The Movie Guys

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The Virtual Pew Blog

Reviews With Mike

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The Virtual Pew News

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Last Chance U Basketball, A Near Perfect Season

The Courier, When Enemies Become Friends

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Murder Among The Mormans, A Netflix Series

Saturday, March 6, 2021

Coming 2 America Review, The Power of Family

Friday, March 5, 2021

Raya and The Last Dragon Movie Review

Thursday, March 4, 2021

Chaos Walking Review

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