Reviews

It was fun and exciting, but there were problems with it. One of the main problems is that there were too many characters, and most of them from the previous movies aren't seen very much, other than Woody, Buzz and Bo Peep. The movie is also too centered on woody, and I thought it was rather disappointing that the movie ended with him leaving the others to stay with Bo Peep. This was a rather sad ending and not a good way to end the series.

Every once in awhile you find something that's not your style and not the type of thing that you're normally interested in, and yet somehow you seem to like it. For me, "Frozen" is a good example of this. As a 36 year old man, I don't usually watch fairy tale type movies anymore (the only reason why I saw this is because I was a substitute counselor at a summer camp and this was one of the movies they showed the kids). There are some things about it that I don't like, particularly the stuff with the trolls. Is the movie overrated? I would say so. But overall I think it's a great film with some really unique story elements and intriguing music, particularly "Let It Go".

I think it's interesting that the blizzard and chaos is caused not by the bad character, but rather by a good character who just doesn't know how to control it.

But what really makes it unique is how Anna is saved from the cold spell at the end. (Note that there are spoilers here). She is told that in order to save herself she needs an act of true love. It looks like it's just another one of those old stories where a princess needs a kiss from a man (a concept I have never liked). But in complete contrast to traditional fairy tale stories, it turns out to be something very different, in that instead of needing true love from another person, what she really needs is to perform an act of true love to someone else (or at least that's what ends up happening). It's a very special scene in that while she is literally dying from the cold she sees Kristoff coming and thinks that he is her only chance to survive. But at the same time the wicked prince Hans is about to kill her sister. So she has to make a decision of either save herself, or try to save Elsa, and she ultimately chooses the latter. She literally gives her life to try to save her sister. Giving your life for someone else is the greatest act of love that anyone can possibly do. The fact that she even still loves her sister at all after all the trouble she has caused makes it even more commendable. In a sense this sort of makes Anna a good example to follow (although she also makes some foolish decisions as well). The only problem with this is that it's easy to misunderstand what saves her. After she turns into ice, Elsa hugs her, thinking she's dead. It's only natural that she would do this. The problem is that this gives the false impression that it was the hug from Elsa that saves her (rather than the expected kiss from a man). This was what I thought at first. Some friends of mine thought this too, and felt that this made it inappropriate. It would've been good if the snowman or somebody had explained this better.

Unlike most people, I don't like romance stories. And while Frozen does contain some romance, I like it in that for once the romance is not what solves the problem at the end, and isn't really the main focus.

There may be a few very minor spoilers here, but nothing that wouldn't be seen in reading basic info about the film.

This is one of my favorite films, it's very inspirational and emotional. The fact that it's a true story (overall at least) is what makes it so special. Ironically, I think that my favorite part is the ending credits when it shows videos of the real Bethany Hamilton and things that she has done since the attack. It's truly amazing that she has become a champion surfer even though she only has one arm, it hardly seems possible. She is truly a living legend, and this movie tells the story quite well. Usually I don't have much interest in movies that are based on true stories, but this is definitely an exception.

As a Christian, there are a couple parts that I consider to be inappropriate, mainly the photo shoot. But most of the film is fully acceptable. I was worried that it would be like the movie "The Blind Side" which has a lot of bad language and inappropriate stuff. But thankfully that's not really the case. The fact that Bethany Hamilton and her family are Christians in real life is probably the main reason why. It's interesting that they insisted on having a couple Bible verses.

The shark attack, and the rescue are rather intense, so if you're sensitive to things like this, you may want to skip this part. I don't mind it, I probably shouldn't call it exiting, since it was a very tragic event, but I do enjoy watching it. The rest of the film is mostly gentle.

As a Christian, I fully agree with everything that this movie teaches, GOD is real, and it gives some good points about why, points that people need to think about, although some of the argument was simply a comparison of philosophers, which seemed a little pointless.

I enjoyed it more than I expected, and I would've given it a higher rating, perhaps an 8, except for one thing- I did not like what happened to the Professor at the end. Near the end of the movie he's beginning to realize that GOD is real, and is close to changing. But on his way to a Christian concert he is suddenly hit by a car and dies a few minutes later. A Pastor does lead him to GOD as he's dieing, so he does go to Heaven. But I would've liked it a lot better if he had made it to the concert and met Josh there. He could've gotten saved then, and changed his teaching style, becoming a new man. This would've been a much happier ending. I imagine that the writers considered this, but their goal is not simply just to entertain, but to lead people to GOD, and I do commend them for this. Perhaps they felt that the way they did it would be more effective, but it's not the way I would've done it, it was very painful this way.