The origins of the patriarchy and matriarchy of Duck Dynasty. Loved this this. Beautiful faith based love story.

The origins of the patriarchy and matriarchy of Duck Dynasty. Loved this this. Beautiful faith based love story.

Phil Robertson shot a lot of ducks in Louisiana, and somehow he made that into a movie.

I had absolutely no clue what anything was going in but honestly it was great… Like, genuinely great in ways I wasn’t expecting. The actors were so good, they were carrying this thing on their backs, and the story itself, the real story of Phil Robertson’s life, it’s motivating, it’s heavy, it makes you feel things whether you want to or not. But god, the writing. The dialogue specifically. It’s so frustrating because you can see what this could’ve been if the script just trusted what it already had.

Here’s the thing… the performances are there. The younger actors playing teen Phil and Kay, they had this chemistry that was just electric, like you could feel it through the screen, and I found this movie because of a clip of young Phil on Instagram and thought he was incredible, which is why I even watched it. They didn’t get a ton of screen time, and I wish they did, I really do, but I also get why they didn’t, the movie had to focus on the later timeline, the redemption arc or whatever you want to call it. Still, those two were so good, they might actually go somewhere in the industry if they keep at it. But the dialogue, man… they’d be in the middle of a scene, giving you everything emotionally, showing you what they’re feeling without saying a word, and then the script would make them explain it all anyway… As if we didn’t just watch what happen. And it’s not just one time, it’s through the whole movie… another example is this one scene where the camera uses this blurry effect around out character to trap you inside their head, tight focus, everything behind her blurred out, claustrophobic, and then as the conversation shifts the frame opens up and you can breathe again. It’s beautiful, it’s intentional, it works. And then someone says exactly what they just felt in the scene and it deflates the whole thing, and that happens over and over… like the cinematography was gorgeous, there are shots that are just stunning, the editing knows when to cut from chaos to these calm, reflective moments of older Phil talking about his past with a sunset behind him, just letting you sit with the weight of it. The sound design is solid. The score is… fine, I guess, it’s very southern generic but it fits the setting so it works fine… and while It’s not doing anything creative, it’s filling space.

I know a lot of people are gonna hate this because of the preachiness, because it feels like it’s being stuffed down their throats, and I get that too. If you’re not open to the conversation, if you’re not willing to sit with something that’s this upfront about what it believes, you’re not gonna have a good time. But if you can get past that, if you can just… listen, think about it, have the conversation with yourself or whoever you’re watching it with, there’s something here. Not because it’s gonna change your mind about God or whatever, but because wrestling with movies like this can teach you something about yourself. What you believe, what you don’t, why any of it matters.

It’s flawed. The dialogue needed another pass, maybe two, maybe ten. But the craft is strong, the actors are committed, the story is real and it earns the space it takes. Don’t judge it based on the beliefs of the people who made it, just watch it and see what happens. That’s all I’m saying.

Phil Robertson shot a lot of ducks in Louisiana, and somehow he made that into a movie.

I had absolutely no clue what anything was going in but honestly it was great… Like, genuinely great in ways I wasn’t expecting. The actors were so good, they were carrying this thing on their backs, and the story itself, the real story of Phil Robertson’s life, it’s motivating, it’s heavy, it makes you feel things whether you want to or not. But god, the writing. The dialogue specifically. It’s so frustrating because you can see what this could’ve been if the script just trusted what it already had.

Here’s the thing… the performances are there. The younger actors playing teen Phil and Kay, they had this chemistry that was just electric, like you could feel it through the screen, and I found this movie because of a clip of young Phil on Instagram and thought he was incredible, which is why I even watched it. They didn’t get a ton of screen time, and I wish they did, I really do, but I also get why they didn’t, the movie had to focus on the later timeline, the redemption arc or whatever you want to call it. Still, those two were so good, they might actually go somewhere in the industry if they keep at it. But the dialogue, man… they’d be in the middle of a scene, giving you everything emotionally, showing you what they’re feeling without saying a word, and then the script would make them explain it all anyway… As if we didn’t just watch what happen. And it’s not just one time, it’s through the whole movie… another example is this one scene where the camera uses this blurry effect around out character to trap you inside their head, tight focus, everything behind her blurred out, claustrophobic, and then as the conversation shifts the frame opens up and you can breathe again. It’s beautiful, it’s intentional, it works. And then someone says exactly what they just felt in the scene and it deflates the whole thing, and that happens over and over… like the cinematography was gorgeous, there are shots that are just stunning, the editing knows when to cut from chaos to these calm, reflective moments of older Phil talking about his past with a sunset behind him, just letting you sit with the weight of it. The sound design is solid. The score is… fine, I guess, it’s very southern generic but it fits the setting so it works fine… and while It’s not doing anything creative, it’s filling space.

I know a lot of people are gonna hate this because of the preachiness, because it feels like it’s being stuffed down their throats, and I get that too. If you’re not open to the conversation, if you’re not willing to sit with something that’s this upfront about what it believes, you’re not gonna have a good time. But if you can get past that, if you can just… listen, think about it, have the conversation with yourself or whoever you’re watching it with, there’s something here. Not because it’s gonna change your mind about God or whatever, but because wrestling with movies like this can teach you something about yourself. What you believe, what you don’t, why any of it matters.

It’s flawed. The dialogue needed another pass, maybe two, maybe ten. But the craft is strong, the actors are committed, the story is real and it earns the space it takes. Don’t judge it based on the beliefs of the people who made it, just watch it and see what happens. That’s all I’m saying.

It started so good then it ended in some Christian bullshit propaganda….bleh also I’m reading that he was a disgusting person for other things too soooooooo bye he might need something more than Jesus dumbass

It started so good then it ended in some Christian bullshit propaganda….bleh also I’m reading that he was a disgusting person for other things too soooooooo bye he might need something more than Jesus dumbass

One of the more interesting things going on in Cinema right now is this wave of decent to good Christian movies. Of course this is going to be totally ignored or downright denied by your average liberal LA or New York film critics. Regardless it's a really cool thing to watch unfold before your eyes. Especially if you grew up in a Christian home and were subjected to cinematic horrors that trump the worst "bad movie night" picture you could conjure up. 

This isn't an incredible film but it is competent and occasionally uses the camera to help convey feelings and emotion in an effective manner :O Pure fiction in most faith based movies before 2019. Unfortunately the awful blumhouse color grading turns the solid sets and filmmaking into a gray blob. Hit or miss acting mostly in the flash back sections. The main two actors were rock solid. 

Overall a much better movie than I expected. With Martin Scorsese jumping back in the Christ zone I imagine the Jesus train is just starting its engines.

One of the more interesting things going on in Cinema right now is this wave of decent to good Christian movies. Of course this is going to be totally ignored or downright denied by your average liberal LA or New York film critics. Regardless it's a really cool thing to watch unfold before your eyes. Especially if you grew up in a Christian home and were subjected to cinematic horrors that trump the worst "bad movie night" picture you could conjure up. 

This isn't an incredible film but it is competent and occasionally uses the camera to help convey feelings and emotion in an effective manner :O Pure fiction in most faith based movies before 2019. Unfortunately the awful blumhouse color grading turns the solid sets and filmmaking into a gray blob. Hit or miss acting mostly in the flash back sections. The main two actors were rock solid. 

Overall a much better movie than I expected. With Martin Scorsese jumping back in the Christ zone I imagine the Jesus train is just starting its engines.

sigh… i grew up on duck dynasty, leave me alone

sigh… i grew up on duck dynasty, leave me alone