Soul Surfer

Overview:  Looks like our girl from "Bridge to Terabithia" (Bethany Hamilton) has grown up into a kick-butt surfer in Hawaii, and thank goodness she's now a corn-fed (say-about-ten-hail-Mary's-a-day) Christian.  one day when she was lollygagging in the ocean pretending to be "Whale Rider", a shark with a simple appetite came up and bit her arm off.  With all sympathies towards Bethany she's lucky that the shark was an idiot, because he only wanted a nibble instead of the four-course meal, just like when a hobo tried to kill me for a dollar on my honeymoon.  Due to her new found one-armness, Bethany's dreams to become a professional Surfer look quite bleak.  Will her Dennis Quaid help her reach her dreams, and will Bethany allow it?

The Good:  When I was a kid my mom paraded my red-hair around because it was so beautiful, and it reminded everyone of Autum and blood, this movie does the same thing for Hawaii.  The whole time the two of us were thinking "We should visit that place because it is so gosh-darn-dangit beautiful".  The settings are gorgeous and the Surfing dance offs are breathe taking, but that's probably because I grew up in San Francisco where the water was so cold that I come out looking like Edward Cullen.  Although cheesy, the acting is pretty pleasant thanks to AnnaSophia Robbs, Dennis Quaid, and the almost fully dressed Helen Hunt.  This movie made me want to pursue my dreams, and take a bite out of the arm of life. HA! Dark.

The Bad:  Just because I said the acting was good thanks to the three people mentioned above, that doesn't mean the same compliment applies to Carrie Underwood.  Her acting was about as stinky as an un-wiped bottom, and the two of us agreed that she only signed up for this role because it's a chance to earn some extra dough, even if it goes bad; she makes most of her money with music anyways.  One last thing that I find annoying in cinema is when movies become too religiously preachy like this one, which shouldn't annoy me because i'm a staunch Mormon, but it makes me want to chew on a tree regardless.  I don't want to feel like I'm in Sunday School when I'm watching a movie that takes place in Hawaii, I want to feel like i'm swimming with fishes that don't want to chew my arm off;  "Soul Surfer" should take notes from "The Other Side Of Heaven", because that movie is about religion yet it avoids being preachy.  What C hated about this movie was the lack of Katie Perry's "Fireworks" song, I had to sing her some Enya to calm her down.

The Ugly:  Excusing my rant about hating Carrie Underwood's acting career, this movie is pretty good.  I also exaggerated how preachy this movie was (only slightly), it's just sometimes red flags of "What the heck?" get sent up.  This is a fairly good movie with an engaging plot and one heck of a good ending.

"127 Hours" comparison:  I love comparing this film to "127 Hours" because both of them are about loosing limbs.
-differences: "Soul Surfer" focuses more on the before-and-after effects of having and loosing an arm, and it is freakishly cheesy.  "127 Hours" is more about the intensity of the moment, and focuses more on the man's will to live.
-Simularities: they both loose arms.  The point to each of these stories is to not go Rock climbing, or Surfing... ever!!!

3 out of 5