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RE: The Book of Eli - 1/28/2010 11:44:44 PM
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ManimalX
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quote:
ORIGINAL: relady
quote:
One thing I guess I didn't catch in the movie was the reasons for the shaking hands being a bad sign. One place seemed to hint at it being a sign of those who had started eating human flesh, but I'm not aware of that having been a sign of cannibalism among, well, cannibals. Did anyone else catch the reason for it? It is a sign of cannibalism. Haven't checked out the veracity of that on my own but have been told that someone who consistently is a cannibal would develop that as a "symptom". Like I said, don't know if that's true or not.
I believe someone in the film mentioned the cannibals getting "the shakes" when they were around other people and hungry. Either addiction shakes or just a result of eating a steady diet of human meat I would guess, though I don't know of any actual medical ailments that result from eating human.
_____________________________
"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" - Psalms 14:1
"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" - 2 Cor 10:5
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RE: The Book of Eli - 1/31/2010 9:56:19 PM
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BamaJAF
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The movie would have been perfect without the half dozen or so f-bombs dropped. That was my only complaint.
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RE: The Book of Eli - 2/2/2010 9:30:46 AM
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thebaker
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we discussed the movie a bit in my bible study class last nite. we're studying revelation and we were on chapter 8, the trumpets. we were discussing the destruction of a third of this and third of that which was basically the food and water supply. and because most of us can't imagine a major shortage of food and what the end result would be like, the teacher brought up this movie and talked about how the people were hunting each other and resorting to cannibalism, which i had completely missed. i noticed the couple were cannibals, but i never caught on that others were and that the attacks were due to them hunting each other as opposed to just being ruthless savages with nothing better to do. although i'm sure some were.
it's a movie i'll have to get in 3 months when it comes on dvd. and since the class will be in session until june, i'll be able to watch it again while still studying revelation.
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RE: The Book of Eli - 2/2/2010 10:25:37 AM
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GodandGuns
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the first outlaws who used the girl as bait were cannibals as were the next group the girl was with later on in the movie.
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RE: 5 out of 5 stars, 100% - 2/2/2010 11:06:37 AM
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EJA
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quote:
ORIGINAL: ManimalX
quote:
ORIGINAL: tsnody2001
quote:
"May I ask what condition it is in?"
"It's beat up... but it will do the job"
Yeah, that was pretty cool. I wasn't quite positive his Bible would end up being what it was (I don't want to give it away), but I had an idea it would when he said that coupled with the fact that the copy that the enemy got ended up being what it was.
One question: Was Denzel's character at one point blind? Did God heal him. I don't want to ask any more because I don't want to give away the movie.
SPOILER
He was blind the whole movie. He hints that he lost his vision along with many others in "the flash" 31 years ago. God has been guiding him and protecting him ever since. That's why his statement of "I walk by faith, not by sight" ends up being so awesome!
If you go see the movie again, watch closely. You will see him occasionally run into a corner of a wall, or a dresser, or accidentally kick a can in front of him, or a rock. He is acutely aware of sound. He reacts to feeling the sun on his skin and face, and at one point looks directly up into the sun without squinting. There are lots of clues that he is blind, but they are very subtle. I may not even have noticed some of them except I had read a review that didn't warn me of spoilers and it mentioned that he was blind. So, I was looking for clues throughout the film and found them.
This was a great movie!
MORE SPOILERS
Good catch on the details pointing to his blindness. I do think though that he not only had heightened senses (consider Marvel's 'Daredevil') but it seemed to be that he actually had supernatural sight on occasion.
Denzel really did not play him blind. You saw Eli look directly into peoples eyes and such.
I think his occasional supernatural sight and senses (smell, hearing, strength, stamina and uncanny markmanship) were all part of God's hand of protection on the characters life (like Samson, when the Spirit of the Lord came mightly upon him).
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RE: 5 out of 5 stars, 100% - 2/2/2010 5:57:50 PM
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ManimalX
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That is exactly what I thought, too, EJA!
Eli recounts God's instructions, saying that God told him, "Go west. I will protect you." Eli obeyed that simple command out of faith for 31 years and God's promise never failed!
_____________________________
"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" - Psalms 14:1
"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" - 2 Cor 10:5
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RE: The Book of Eli - 2/12/2010 4:28:50 PM
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adr144eam
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I don't know how to express my feelings about this movie. My dear Christian friends haven't seen it yet and my non-christian friends don't really understand the spiritual sense of it so I am left silent without anyone to talk to. I have read many post about this movie with great disappointment (God said so much to us today in it). I really enjoyed reading the post here this was the best discussion online that I found. I am 40 plus and this is the best movie of all time (I've seen a lot of movies) BC and AC lol (before and after I received Christ in my life).
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RE: The Book of Eli - 2/12/2010 4:58:58 PM
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adr144eam
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I agree with Paul fully
The complaints are really amusing and then they say they really enjoyed it. Violence is a part of life that we (Cain and Abel) brought upon ourselves therefore we are in a constant war against the enemy and God didn't give use the spirit of fear, but told use to put on the full armour (sounds like violence to me)
quote:
ORIGINAL: ManimalX
I am going to see this tomorrow, and am excited. It sounds like a great story and I love Denzel Washington. It is always nice to see a successful "A-list" actor who is a Christian, and "Eli" sounds like it will be putting that faith on full display.
Paul Asay over at Focus on the Family's Plugged In Online wrote,
quote:
The Book of Eli is, perhaps, the most explicitly Christian film I've seen come out of the secular film industry since The Passion of the Christ. Indeed, it's something of a Sunday sermon wrapped in a Mad Max adventure.
http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/intheaters/bookofeli.aspx
It is amusing: the complaints I read about the film from Christian sources complain about the violence but praise the message, while the reviews from secular sources praise the action and complain about the Christian theme.
Then, I guess there are those Christians like me who understand that violence isn't necessarily an evil thing, that it is something that has and will be used by God and isn't something to be scared of.
Slight spoiler
I think a post-apocalyptic story about the last existing Bible and the man who protects it on faith while being divinely protected himself, obeying God's command of him for 31 years even without knowing any of the details is an awesome story idea.
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RE: The Book of Eli - 2/13/2010 11:30:43 AM
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VinceGuaraldi
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An interesting piece of fiction.
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RE: The Book of Eli - 2/14/2010 10:32:59 PM
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init2win
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From what I've read, Kuru (a form a TSE or mad cow's disease) is spread by cannibalism. It causes physiological as well as neurological effects that ultimately lead to death. It was endemic among the Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea and signs of it are truncal ataxia (unsteadiness), joint pains and shaking of the limbs.
Trembling is present in almost all patients with transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.
Hope that helps clarify the hand shaking thing.....I loved the movie!
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RE: The Book of Eli - 2/15/2010 3:10:18 AM
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ManimalX
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That is a great explanation. Thanks, init.
_____________________________
"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" - Psalms 14:1
"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" - 2 Cor 10:5
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RE: The Book of Eli - 2/18/2010 5:35:56 PM
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rockitd
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Wifey and I saw it for Valentine's Day. It was surprisingly very pro-Bible and faith. I was a little hesitant when I saw billboard's that said "RELIGION IS POWER" because of how the world views us that way. However, it is TRUE about RELIGION but not about CHRIST. I loved the use of Scripture and prayer and that we indeed "walk by faith and not by sight".
The giving up the Bible to save his protege was indeed "laying down one's life for a friend" and the revelation of it toward the end was awesome!!! While they did surround it with other books of "faith", I was grateful that the BIBLE was central.
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RE: The Book of Eli - 2/18/2010 8:43:39 PM
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ManimalX
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Yeah, the brief flash of the Torah and the Koran felt a little awkward for the movie, almost like it was thrown in at the last minute as a pacifier or something. The whole movie was about the Bible and its importance, but then it gets put on a shelf with other "holy" books in almost a Baha'i sort of way.
I kind of rolled my eyes and dismissed it since it was so brief and "tacked on".
_____________________________
"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" - Psalms 14:1
"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" - 2 Cor 10:5
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RE: The Book of Eli - 2/21/2010 7:57:34 PM
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rgod
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I too thought that the shot of the Bible next to the Koran seemed odd - very different from the rest of the movie which was completely pro-Christian. I understood the Torah being there given its relationship to the King James Bible - even though I thought that director/producer/editors probably included the shot to be ecumenical.
SPOILER ALERT
That being said, I got a lot out of the film. I don't have anyone to talk to about it, so I'll write here. Sorry this is so long.
1. I thought the whole idea that the "earth is a wasteland" wasn't only just the setting of the story, but is a good picture of the spiritual condition of man without God. Even the colors - all of the browns and grays - in contrast with the rich greens and the colors used in Alcatraz - the prison which ironically was the only place where there was freedom. I loved this because it was so very consistent throughout the movie and it worked psychologically. When I started watching the movie, the first few thoughts I had was "I really want to get out of here. I hope this movie is short." Now I understand - it was the bleakness of it that made me feel uncomfortable. And yet, is that not how we feel sometimes when we are longing for Home? I was reading Hebrews this morning and reflecting on the verses about us simply traveling through here - being on sojourn here - and looking forward to the City of God. And here is Eli, the christian, walking by faith and not by sight, traveling through this wasteland, trying not to get sidetracked - it reminded me a little bit of "pilgrim's progress" in that way. He was clearly not making his home in the any of the towns or places in the wasteland, but rather was continually pressing to the place that God would show him. Likewise, this is to be our attitude as well. We are strangers here on our way Home.
2. It is interesting, that Eli met Solara - who would later become the first new evangelist - after he had been walking for 31 years. Years after he had been absorbing the book, night after night, day after day, committing it to memory, being strengthened (faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God). So, when he met her and entered the town, the Word was in him. He could resist the temptation of women, of power, of comfort; he could share food though he was probably hungry, show compassion, be honest - though he probably could have killed every person in that town and gotten anything he wanted. He did this even in the midst of having to be ruthless so that he could escape the town. It was the way that he treated Solara - the marked difference between he and the others - that made her hungry to know what was in that Book, and to know God. If he had not been changed, but simply carried the book west, he might not have survived the journey - because he needed Solara to help him. Similarly, we are to ingest the Word and let God change us so that in a sense we are living Bibles as Christ shines in us.
3. I think that, even though the movie was about the preservation of the Word - reminiscent of how the Word was transmitted and kept throughout the millenia when it was written - the fact that a movie goer who doesn't know Christ might enjoy or like Denzel's character, which had become conformed to the image of Christ (only with a lot more ammo and knives), is a witness and testimony of itself. In other words, there wasn't a lot of scripture that was quoted, but rather, the main character lived it out on screen - with all of his human frailties and flaws. The things that we admire - that we say are "heroic qualities" - self sacrifice, helping others, standing up to evil, all of these things are Christian and are things that we might take for granted - until they are shown in contrast with things that are evil.
4. Often, we are taught that knowledge and literacy equals civilization. And yet, the only other literate man was brutal. (I personally think Solara's mother was literate too - she smiled when she read the words of the bible even though she said she "couldn't remember braille.") He controlled people by fear instead of trying to help and love them. The result? The thin veneer of civility was gone in a nanosecond his henchmen were out of the way. Real civilization is a matter of the changes that God makes in the heart of man.
5. I was thinking the other day about the length of time between a promise that God might speak into our hearts and the fulfillment of it. I was asking God about that; to be honest I was a little frustrated. I know that God's timing is not ours and I think that this movie was a nice example for me. I'm pretty sure it doesn't take 31 years to walk from the east coast to the west coast. (I was reading about it taking maybe about 6 months.) Eli is blind, so I'm pretty sure that might have taken a bit longer. Maybe he had more obstacles, etc. Even if it were 20 times as long, given the circumstances, that's still about 10 years. But His walk (another metaphor - the "Christian walk") is so much about preparation, I think. Not only did he have to know the word so that just in case it was ripped from him, he would be able to recite it. But he had to learn how to defend himself. Perhaps he helped others along with way as he was walking. Even the fact that he DIDN'T help the couple who the gang killed and raped at the beginning of the show was important. Had he gone down to help them, the series of events that led to him going to the town might not have occurred. The timing of his going through town came at the right time for him to meet Solara - had he been there 10 years too soon, she would have been too young to go with him. The book was locked; perhaps he didn't even know why it had to be safeguarded that way. Yet, if the book had not been locked, he would not have escaped. Similarly, in our lives, there might be a long journey between call and fulfillment. Yet, along the way, God develops us, helps others. He might ask us to do things that don't make sense. He might even tell us not to help at a specific time. Yet, in the end, as we continue to walk and when we get to the destination, we can look back and see His wisdom and protection.
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RE: The Book of Eli - 2/22/2010 3:31:39 PM
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rockitd
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@Manimal...totally agree, although the Koran steals heavily from both the Koran and Bible.
rgod...great insights. I recall the words of Jesus to the Pharisees after healing the blind man: "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind" ( John 9:39). The Braille Bible was brilliant!!! And the importance of hiding the Word in our heart is the one thing the world will never be able to take away, if and when Bibles are ever banned as they are for so many of our brethren around the world.
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He'll finish what He started Phil. 1:6
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RE: The Book of Eli - 2/23/2010 12:51:40 AM
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ManimalX
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rgod: for the record, that was a brilliant and insightful review. As a product of "instant gratification" American culture, I especially struggle with God taking His time between promise and fulfillment. I've said it before and I'll say it again: one of my most frequent prayers is, "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief."
It is good to be reminded of God's timing.
_____________________________
"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" - Psalms 14:1
"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" - 2 Cor 10:5
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RE: The Book of Eli - 2/24/2010 9:21:59 AM
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rgod
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Thanks ManimalX and rockitd. I enjoyed reading what each of you wrote concerning this movie, as well as what the other posters wrote. I think it is interesting how the Lord can use a movie, book, play, conversation, or even just an observation of something that occurs daily, and use it to speak to your spirit.
rockitd, thanks for mentioning John 9:39. I think that sums up the movie perfectly. And ManimalX - I've struggled with that too. I spent part of Sunday morning reading from Hebrews 3, 4, 10, and 11 and thinking about how we have to press through, with faith, until the very end. I don't think that anyone can do it apart from the Lord. I know I can't.
< Message edited by rgod -- 2/24/2010 9:31:01 AM >
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The Way Out Is In
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RE: The Book of Eli - 2/24/2010 2:46:27 PM
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rockitd
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Amen, rgod. In Him we live, move, and have our being. I, too, want to say, "I've fought a good fight, I've finished my course, and I have kept the faith."
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RE: The Book of Eli - 3/25/2010 4:54:54 AM
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mariamaria
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I saw this some weeks ago..Although the plot was good it just didn't pul me in. There was some thing about it, not sure what , that didn't keep my interest.
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RE: The Book of Eli - 4/21/2010 10:12:27 PM
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rowenah14
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I liked the movie but I guess I didn't notice many of the finer details that others have pointed out. I'm glad I read this thread and I'm definitely going to watch the movie again when it comes out on dvd!
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It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
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RE: The Book of Eli - 5/5/2010 4:56:07 PM
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faithvictory
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I haven't seen it yet- but hope to see it on blu-ray from netflix.
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RE: The Book of Eli - 5/10/2010 10:18:19 AM
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risingangel
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quote:
ORIGINAL: BelleWeather
Kevin Costner had "Waterworld."
John Travolta hasn't lived down "Battlefield Earth."
Arnold Schwarzenegger has had his share.
Mel Gibson cut his teeth on them.
Will Smith is on a roll with them.
And Denzel Washington is on the march west in another soldier of misfortune movie with "The Book of Eli"--which could be a Chicago area Yellow Pages, in this hypocritically violent kitch-a-pa-loosa.
The Hughes prove they have no original ideas--slo-mo striding away from explosions, combat scene choreography stolen from Park Chan Wook's superior "Old Boy," comic book styling, "Fahrenheit 451" manoeuvrings, the landscape resembles the video game "Fallout" to a striking degree, awful casting choices (Mila Kunis), Denzel Washington's pretentious recitations, and the character Eli's empty insight and moral authority not in evidence--I could go on, but why bother?
Emo much?
Anyway, I really liked this movie and am glad I watched it.
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