The "last movie I saw" thread

[Jeff Lebowski]

Well said, DH.

By the way, we are about 2 hrs into Avatar - The Way of Water and I wan't to scratch my eyes out. If you thought the first plot was absurd, you won't believe this one. I am biting my tongue because my son wants to finish it (the ocean shots are mesmerizing), but what a dud.

[Donuthole]

I believe Shaka is referring to what I said re sex-trafficking, i.e. to the extent the problem exists, it is unsolvable. I believe that to be true. I'm not pro sex trafficking, of course. We should (and do) have laws against it, and we should vigorously prosecute those who violate those laws. But I stand by my position that the problem, to the extent it exists, is unsolvable, much like drugs. To the extent there is a market for illicit drugs, people will find a way to get illicit drugs. To the extent there is a market for underage sex, people will find a way to get that. We are not going to stamp it out completely. My problem with Ballard/OUR is that they want us to believe that sex trafficking is as pervasive as drugs. It is not. It is not something that exists on a wide scale basis in the US. That it exists at all is horrific. But it doesn't exist in the US on any scale that merits more than the attention of normal law enforcement.

Ballard is a grifter because he promulgates lies about the pervasiveness of the issue, then uses the fear created by those lies to line his pockets. Whether they expressly state it or not, Ballard/OUR also lean into the idea that there is some secret underground cabal amongst Hollywood/DC elites that hundreds if not thousands of people know about and they allow it to exist to facilitate the sex trafficking industry. This is stupid QAnonsense.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I also disagree with the notion that we shouldn't attempt to tackle the problem of sex trafficking.

I am really curious who is promoting this notion. Who exactly are you disagreeing with?

[Northwestcoug]

Counterpoint: OUR barely addresses the problem of child trafficking by rescuing children and releasing them into an environment where they're likely to be preyed upon again. And at worst they may even be creating demand.

Anti-trafficking work is not a punch-pow battle between good and evil. It means finding kids who are being trafficked and getting them into comprehensive aftercare. It means actively creating a world where fewer and fewer kids are trafficked—the consistent labor of prevention. It’s passing safe harbor, affirmative defense, and vacatur laws, designed to provide safe transitions for victims or help them avoid the criminal justice system. Anti-trafficking work is providing support for gay and trans kids kicked out of their homes and therefore exposed to heightened risk of being trafficked. It’s pushing for racial justice. It’s writing and voting for policies that provide a safety net and economic certainty.

Anti-trafficking work, the kind that really works, doesn’t have an immediate satisfaction. It’s slow and steady. There are no starring turns.

https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/05/sex-trafficking-raid-operation-underground-railroad.html

[Shaka]

It's interesting that Ballard is so polarizing, even for LDS people. I hit an OUR fundraiser with a friend several years ago. They had a nice presentation complete with a film and a nice auction afterward. The event felt good to me and my friend spent several thousand dollars to win a Lake Powell trip. I've never met Tim but we have mutual friends and all speak highly about him. I did read one of his hypothesis books but really didn't enjoy its speculation.

Fast forward to last summer. I remember reading several negative posts here about Ballard/OUR. It was one of D-Hole's (he's prickly sometimes but I pay close attention to what he writes) posts that got me to start researching a bit. Later in the summer, I met a woman on a dating site who had her own anti-child trafficking organization. If I remember correctly her organization focuses on aftercare for the rescued. She had previously worked with OUR. I picked her brain and, thinking of D-hole's post, straight up asked her if Ballard was a fraud or legit. Her reply was that the organization made some mistakes early on but that Tim was a very good man and OUR does great work.

I know that Ballard/OUR was the focus of an investigation in Davis County which made his detractors excited. However, the investigation was dropped.

The movie itself is controversial with its release being blocked for several years. It has become politicized with some stating the movie is simply right-wing nonsense and Q-Anon adjacent.

Knowing all of this, I decided to see Sound of Freedom last night. It was impactful and worth the ticket in my opinion. If you separate whatever controversy surrounds OUR from the movie I believe even Ballard detractors will get something out of it. Two thumbs up from me. I also disagree with the notion that we shouldn't attempt to tackle the problem of sex trafficking.

[Donuthole]

I haven't seen it but the correlation in my "friends" group between "Promoting the movie on Social Media" and "Total Whack Job" approaches +1

Yeah, the Mormon social media feed takeover is super annoying. That the nutjob MAGATs are getting behind this doesn't surprise me at all, but lots of seemingly reasonable are people being fooled into thinking this is a good/noble cause and not anything close to the grift that it is. I sincerely hope an investigative journalist is 99% done with the piece that exposes this for what it is, but I fear by the time the heavy info hits, it will be too late.

[Maximus]

My wife and I went to it. I had heard of the guy and OUR but didn’t know much about it. What I’ll say is that it was a good movie and if it helps raise awareness I’m good with that.

I did do some googling after and have seen a lot of the articles, etc. that you all are talking about. I’ve been pretty disconnected from Mormon culture for several years so had no idea.

EDIT: The other thing I’ll say is that the movie did not mention OUR or any of the crazy stuff the actor and Ballard have apparently espoused. It was a pretty straight up “based on a true story” movie. For whatever that’s worth.

I like Tom Cruise movies too even though I think he’s a nut job. I’m a simpleton that way.

Hea a fraud. Full stop.

[Northwestcoug]

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. A fun ride, par for the course for those of you who grew up with the original trilogy. The endless searching for the next clue that if you think about it is just filler would probably turn off those without nostalgia. B minus.

[Donuthole]

My wife and I went to it. I had heard of the guy and OUR but didn’t know much about it. What I’ll say is that it was a good movie and if it helps raise awareness I’m good with that.

Raise awareness of what, exactly? The movie is propaganda for OUR to raise funds to line Ballard's pockets while he pretends to solve a a problem which is, to the extent it exists, unsolvable.

[Jeff Lebowski]

My wife and I went to it. I had heard of the guy and OUR but didn’t know much about it. What I’ll say is that it was a good movie and if it helps raise awareness I’m good with that.

I did do some googling after and have seen a lot of the articles, etc. that you all are talking about. I’ve been pretty disconnected from Mormon culture for several years so had no idea.

EDIT: The other thing I’ll say is that the movie did not mention OUR or any of the crazy stuff the actor and Ballard have apparently espoused. It was a pretty straight up “based on a true story” movie. For whatever that’s worth.

I like Tom Cruise movies too even though I think he’s a nut job. I’m a simpleton that way.

Tom Cruise is a great actor. And he never seems to age.

There is a difference between an actor with weird beliefs and a movie based on a story and organization that are questionable. YMMV.

[FMCoug]

Speaking of movies, I know a few people that are raving about the new "Sound of Freedom" movie about Tim Ballard. I don't have the hear to tell them that I can't stand the guy and think he is a total charlatan/grifter. Doesn't help that James Caviezel is going around spouting off QAnon BS as he promotes the film. But I am seeing good reviews and a high rating on IMDB (8.3!).

Anyone seen it?

My wife and I went to it. I had heard of the guy and OUR but didn’t know much about it. What I’ll say is that it was a good movie and if it helps raise awareness I’m good with that.

I did do some googling after and have seen a lot of the articles, etc. that you all are talking about. I’ve been pretty disconnected from Mormon culture for several years so had no idea.

EDIT: The other thing I’ll say is that the movie did not mention OUR or any of the crazy stuff the actor and Ballard have apparently espoused. It was a pretty straight up “based on a true story” movie. For whatever that’s worth.

I like Tom Cruise movies too even though I think he’s a nut job. I’m a simpleton that way.

[Commando]

Tell her tomorrow that his books are all a fraud too.

https://keepapitchinin.org/i-dont-bl...-deseret-book/

Ugh. Deseret Book needs to really knock it off. I mean bravo that they no longer sell certain works by 'the Artist' (forget his name) but they always dip their pinky into sale of these Gospel Hobbyist/Charlatan authors. Wouldn't hurt to hire a discriminating curator for their inventory.

[Commando]

As she was getting ready to leave the office today, one of my employees told me she was going to see Sound of Freedom tonight with her husband. She had already bought the tickets - which she said were hard to get. After we spoke about it for a while, she said "Thanks for ruining the movie for me."

I also would like to thank you for ruining the movie for her.

[Jeff Lebowski]

As she was getting ready to leave the office today, one of my employees told me she was going to see Sound of Freedom tonight with her husband. She had already bought the tickets - which she said were hard to get. After we spoke about it for a while, she said "Thanks for ruining the movie for me."

Tell her tomorrow that his books are all a fraud too.

https://keepapitchinin.org/i-dont-blame-timothy-ballard-i-blame-deseret-book/

[BigPiney]

As she was getting ready to leave the office today, one of my employees told me she was going to see Sound of Freedom tonight with her husband. She had already bought the tickets - which she said were hard to get. After we spoke about it for a while, she said "Thanks for ruining the movie for me."