Carols Corner (Archive) - The Light - a community of believers

Oz: The Great and Powerful

movie reviews from a spiritual perspective

Carol Wong, March 12, 2013

First and foremost, this movie is very powerful visually. I was drawn into the story because of the obvious connection to the original "Wizard of Oz" movie that we have all come to know and love. The initial black and white cinematography is very effectively done and I felt immediately taken back to the time of Dorothy and the dry dustbowl of Kansas.

We meet the original "Oz" - Oscar Diggs, who disappointingly is only a magician and con-artist. Diggs barely gets through his show when a little girl in a wheelchair asks him to help her walk again. Of course, we know the truth about Diggs’ deception and he is found out to be a "womanizer" as well. Diggs is swept off into a tornado in a hot-air balloon, and thereby begins his adventure, and ours in the land of Oz.

Silver Linings Playbook

movie reviews from

a spiritual perspective

Movie Review: “Silver Linings Playbook”, Carol Wong, November 26, 2012

Don’t overlook this movie because of the other bigger “blockbuster” type movies that have come out recently. This is a real gem and it deserves to be seen!

It has to do with one man’s journey back to reality after having a meltdown when he finds out his wife is having an affair. The man, Pat, is played by Bradley Cooper, who is excellent and remarkable in a very different role for him. Pat is a man on a mission to win back his wife who has put a restraining order on him. First, he has to come back to his parent’s home and learn to adjust to living with them again. His parents, played by Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver, try to be supportive and yet it is obvious their son’s mental illness has taken a toll on them and they still are not convinced their son is completely healed. Pat tells them he has a plan and it has to do with finding the “silver lining.” His obsession is to win back his wife, and nothing, not even after meeting a new girl, Tiffany, played by Jennifer Lawrence, is going to stop him.

The Dark Knight Rises

movie reviews from
a spiritual perspective

Carol Wong

The Dark Knight Rises, Carol Wong, August 30, 2012

I have to say upon viewing this movie, I felt a sense of being “let down” rather than feeling uplifted. (Spoiler alert ) There are no “happy endings” for Bruce Wayne, Batman, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, etc. and there are really no funny or humorous moments to lift one’s spirits in this definitely mostly dark and sinister of the Batman trilogy.

Argo

movie reviews
from a spiritual perspective

Carol Wong, October 19, 2012

Argo is an awesome movie. It is a movie that will take you back to November 1979, during the Iranian takeover of the U.S. Embassy. During that time, a secret CIA operation was formed to rescue six diplomatic employees from Tehran.

I am a huge fan of movies that give a more personal and in-depth look at historical events. Granted Hollywood takes dramatic license with the actual events but I felt that the basic story and premise of the movie held true. It helps that this movie places the viewer right in the middle of the action so it feels like we are watching the events unfold as it happens. Also helpful was a narration that explained how the Ayatollah Khomeini came into power. It appears that the British and American governments helped put the Shah’s family in power. After being deposed, the Shah wanted to leave Iran, and he was given asylum in the U.S. while being treated for cancer in October 1979. The Iranians were outraged and wanted the Shah to return to Iran to stand trial. On November 4, 1979, militant Iranian students gathered around the U.S. embassy, several of them scaled the gates and forced open the gates and the students took over the U.S. embassy and took all those left in the building hostage.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

movie reviews from a
spiritual perspective

Carol Wong, June 30, 2012

This was not going to be my next choice for a movie review. I was going to review “Prometheus” but I was so disenchanted with how that movie went, I had to find an alternative. This movie is a delightful adventure! It concerns six senior citizens from England who are looking for an alternative to the retirement scenario that awaits them in jolly old England. Judi Dench plays a widow whose husband has passed away and left her in debt. She is the narrator of the movie, and it is through her eyes that we see the rest of the group become residents of the “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the beautiful and elderly.”

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