Hi from Austin, Texas! I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your Spring Break. I am busy attending the SXSW Film Festival in Austin and naturally have a lot of movies to catch you up on. Before that post I have a couple films outside of the festival to post my review on that both happen to be inspirational true story films. Here goes:
Arthur the King
I’m not sure why the studio is hedging on Arthur the King but I saw this back on March 3rd and have been embargoed all that time. It’s too bad because I loved it and could have promoted it to my followers.
It is based on the true story of adventure athlete Mikael Lindnord who befriends a scrappy dog (he names Arthur) during his endurance race in the Dominican Republic. Obviously this is a movie that manipulates the viewer and is very sentimental and sweet but it totally worked in that regard for me. Particularly what happens at the end I felt such relief and gratitude it’s not ‘that kind of dog movie’ if you know what I mean.
There is also a scene involving a zipline that had me at the edge of my seat. Arthur the King is an inspiring story for the whole family that I highly recommend.
8 out of 10
Smile Worthy
Cabrini
I feel like in the world of film critics I’m one of the more open-minded individuals when it comes to faith-based films. I know the genre has a lot of weaknesses but it is improving and Angel Studios is a big part of that. They are making quality projects with good acting and impressive production values. Last year they had the massive hit The Sound of Freedom, which I did recommend, and now they have Cabrini.
Unfortunately I’d say this is more of a mixed bag. I’m right on the fence on it. Production-wise it’s very well done convincingly recreating turn of the century New York City all around. The acting is also good with Cristiana Dell’Anna standing out as the lead playing Francesca Cabrini.
The problem is because the lead is a literal Saint they don’t do enough to flesh her out and make her a vulnerable character we can all relate with. It’s a long movie and I wish I was more invested throughout that runtime. After all, even Saints can have flaws!
Still for its target demographic Cabrini is worth a watch but maybe wait until a rental
5.5 out of 10
Smile Worthy