Newsletter #00049

All right, well I had started to write a newsletter and then lost it all. That is super frustrating, just let me say that.

Anyways, if you don’t already know, Brad, Josh and myself are each putting out a newsletter tonight. We are also all doing our first movie reviews! I haven’t read Josh’s yet or Brad’s, although I did skim through Josh’s newsletter just to steal his grading system. So here’s my review for you all!

Movie: Secondhand Lions

Storyline: 9.5/10
Acting: 9/10
Humor: 7.5/10
Captivation: 9.5/10
Rewatchability: 9/10
Overall: 9.1/10

I am the one who recommended this movie for our first review, which is probably why my ratings are so high. However, this is a movie that I firmly believe does deserve the ratings I’ve given it.

The basic storyline of this movie is pretty simple. It takes place in approximately the 1960s in Texas. Walter, the young son of a single mother, is brought to live with his two eccentric uncles in an attempt to find out where they have kept the fortune they are supposed to have accumulated. I could go further and summarize the movie, but I don’t think I need to, because it is not just the basic plot that makes the movie what it is, but rather, all the little details.

During the movie, Walter’s uncle tells him a story—a fantastic story of sheiks and the French Legion, of being kidnapped and saving a princess. This is the story of his uncles’ lives.

Or is it?

As Walter, and the audience watch the movie and hear the story it seems hard to believe that the story could be true. Although with uncles as crazy as his, it just might be.

This is one of the key elements of the movie and one of the reasons I love it so much. Throughout the entire film, Walter has been subjected to lie after lie from his mother and struggles sometimes to know what to believe, and what not to believe. It is then that one of my favorite scenes comes about, in which Walter’s Uncle Hub says something that really stuck with me. He tells Walter that,

“Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good; that honor, courage, and virtue mean everything; that power and money, money and power mean nothing; that good always triumphs over evil; and I want you to remember this, that love... true love never dies. You remember that, boy. You remember that. Doesn't matter if it's true or not. You see, a man should believe in those things, because those are the things worth believing in.”

I think that quote right there really captures the essence of the movie. Whether or not the story about his uncles was true doesn’t matter. What matters is that Walter, and everybody really, believes in things because they are important to believe in.

As a writer, I tend to live in my own world, and even though sometimes people might tell me to get my head out of the clouds, or live in reality, I still essentially choose to believe in things like good triumphing over evil, or that love is like in the fairy tales, whether or not it actually is. And while it may seem crazy to some, I don’t think I would want to live any other way because sometimes I think the world needs a bit more childish innocence. And I think that it is that quality in people which fuels optimism and creativity, while those who bog themselves down too much in reality lose sight of the good in life.

I hope that wasn’t a bit too hectic or out there for you guys reading this. I didn’t really mean for my movie review to get so off track, but that’s why I like this movie so much. It’s a movie that retains a sense of wonder and creativity and imagination and that is something that I always enjoy when watching a movie or reading a book.

Anyways, this entire newsletter wasn’t really supposed to be just my review, but that’s all I have for you tonight. Hopefully next week I’ll have something better for you all.

July 2-2009
-By Kasey