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Entries in Movies & Television (14)

Monday
May112015

Dig

No, this is not an advertisement for summer archaeology opportunities. 

Essenes, Warren's Shaft, the Temple Mount, Dome of the Rock, the Foundation Stone, Well of Souls, and a red heifer. This is not the normal stuff of network television. Last week, the television show, Dig, ended its first season run of 10 episodes on the USA Network. When the show was first advertised, I was under the impression that it was going to be a miniseries, but evidently, it's going to be an anthology show--changing characters and contexts each season. 

The show centers around Peter Connelly (Jason Isaacs), an FBI agent stationed in Jerusalem after facing a recent family tragedy. While investigating a murder, Connelly stumbles across a conspiracy by an extremist group composed of both Christians and Jews whose common agenda could have literal apocalyptic ramifications if successful.

Now, if the above description sounds too sensationalistic, what I really appreciated about the show was that it really did not resort to sensationalism to entertain. Think of it as a DaVinci Code without the preposterous conspiratorial history and animosity toward organized religion. Most of the the series was filmed on location in Israel, and most importantly, archaeology was treated seriously. And if you want to brush up on your Hebrew, biblical or modern, there's lots of it--some with subtitles, some without.

I don't want to give away too many details, but I do recommend watching the first season. You can find most or possibly all episodes on USA's Dig website, and it is also available on iTunes. I have no doubt it will eventually be available on Netflix. There is some adult content that is not central to the storyline, so unfortunately, I cannot recommend it for the whole family.

See also the review from Biblical Archaeology Society, "TV Series 'Dig' Delivers Drama."

 

Questions, thoughts, comments, rebuttals? Leave them in the comments section. 

 

Wednesday
May062015

7 Quick Thoughts on Avengers: Age of Ultron (Minor Spoilers)

Kathy and I saw Avengers: Age of Ultron last Thursday night. I'm not offering a full review, but here are a few quick thoughts with some minor spoilers.


  • If there was ever a "What He Said" treatment of this movie for me, personally, it's David Betancourt's article at The Washington Post, "'Avengers: Age of Ultron':A fanboy's 11-point breakdown of the masterful sequel." I also appreciated Jessica Gibson's review at Christianity Today for her insights into the movie's treatment of the reality of evil in the world.

  • I'm not certain about the relationship between Bruce Banner (The Hulk) and Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow). I mean, what about poor Betty Ross?

  • I can't remember now where I saw this (my apologies for no link), but I read that director Joss Whedon is evidently a fan of ballet. In hindsight after seeing the movie, this definitely makes sense. Whedon likes to slow down expansive actions scenes so that the viewer can take a long look at everything going on at once. There's so much going on, in fact, that slow motion is the only way to begin to comprehend all the chararacters' actions at once. When I saw the first of these in the opening scenes of the movie, the word choreography came to mind.

  • At two hours and 21 minutes, the movie is quite full, but I've read elsewhere (again, I apologize for no link) that Whedon's original cut is somewhere around three and a half hours! No doubt ticket sales played a factor in the studio cutting it down over an hour (longer movies mean fewer showing, which means less money), but I really hope we get to see Whedon's entire vision for the movie one day in a Director's Cut Release.

  • I thought James Spader was perfect as Ultron. Having watched Spader on The Black Listfor the last two years (a role obviously taylor-made for him), I could even "see" Spader's facial expressions in the mechanical movements of Ultron's face.

  • Paul Bettany's portrayal of The Vision was wonderful, even though the character's origin was significantly altered from that in the comic books. I wish he had been in more of the movie. I also found it interesting that Kathy noticed the connection between The Vision and Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) even though she knows nothing of the characters' history together in the comic books.

  • Although Elizabeth Olson (Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver) had wonderful chemistry together, I think I still prefer the style of motion for the character a bit better as it was portrayed by Evan Peters in X-Men: Days of Future Past. And for what it's worth, I find it regrettable that there are "rival" versions of these same characters in different movie franchises. The movies would be better if the studios would cooperate a bit more together on issues like this. At least we're going to see a shared Spider-Man.


What about you? What are your thoughts about the movie? Love it? Hate it? Leave your questions, thoughts, comments, and rebuttals in the comments section.

Friday
Jun212013

New -Jobs- Trailer: Does It Look Any Better Now?

Released today: new trailer for -Jobs- with Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs. The clip released a few months back looked terrible. This first official trailer looks a bit better.

Thought? Opinions? Go!

Sunday
Feb262012

Go See Tyler Perry's Good Deeds and Support Homeless Youth through Covenant House

I haven't had a chance to see the movie yet, but I was contacted a few days ago with a request to alert my readers to the opportunity to see Tyler Perry's Good Deeds and at the same time support Covenant House, which provides food, clothing, shelter and support for homeless young people.

Here is a brief explanation from the correspondence I received:

Essentially, Good Deeds: Great Needs is an initiative to provide support for Covenant House, a non-profit organization that provides hearty meals, warm beds, and safe shelter to homeless youth.  We are partnering with Gift Card Giver, an Atlanta-based organization that collects unused gift cards and distributes remaining balances to non-profit organizations, will be donating all gift cards collected through Good Deeds: Great Needs to Covenant House. Also, in support of the initiative, Lionsgate has agreed to make a financial donation in support of Covenant House each time the Good Deeds:Great Needs video is shared through www.gooddeedsgreatneeds.com 

I'm certain Good Deeds is worth seeing, but I've followed Covenant House for many years, and I know for certain that this ministry is worth your support. So go see Good Deeds (it opened this weekend) and support the good deeds carried out through Covenant House. 

 

Sunday
Feb262012

I Cannot Write a Review for Safe House

I saw most of Safe House today.

I say most because in what I think was the final scene (Ryan Reynolds was sitting in Sam Shepard's office), suddenly the screen went white. The final scene (if it was the final scene) did not conclude. No credits. Just a white screen and then the advertisements that play between showings. 

There were only about eight of us in this screen, but my buddy got up to alert someone from Shelbyville's [Not So] Great Escape 8 Theater regarding what had happened. A representative of Shelbyville's [Not So] Great came in to inform us that they would correct the error and someone would come back in a moment to update us on the situation. 

Two people left, but the rest of us waited for about 10 minutes until another representative of Shelbyville's [Not So] Great came back into our screen. She told us that unfortunately, they would not be able to take us back to the point in the movie where we were when the movie ended. In fact, we would not be seeing the end of the movie at all.

This also meant we would not be watching the credits either.

Now...I did take my so-called "free ticket," but honestly, I was a bit put off. I mean, who knows if I'll ever see the end of Safe House. I'm not going to take my free ticket and sit through the whole movie again just to see the ending. I'm not going to rent the movie in a few months just to see the ending. Who would do that? 

I guess that means that I think Safe House was a bit too tedious to watch again so soon. But overall, did I like it? I don't know--I didn't see the ending. And an ending can make or break a movie, but that was taken from me, and evidently the crew on duty was not competent enough to fix it.

But I know this: I definitely don't recommend Shelbyville [Not So] Great Escape 8.

Friday
Feb102012

Act of Valor (A Review)

Courtesy of Grace Hill Media, Kathy and I saw a free advance screening of Act of Valor, an upcoming motion picture featuring active Navy SEALs.

Before the movie began, a representative from Grace Hill Media told us that everyone we saw in uniform in the film was an actual active soldier. That's probably a bit of an exaggeration; however, it is well-known that the eight principal Navy SEALs in the movie are the real deal. They're not just Navy SEALs, but active Navy SEALs. Since they are active, their real names are not used in the credits for the movie.

I don't know if it will be featured with the full release of the film, but in our advance screening, there was a brief introduction to the film from directors Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh of the Bandito Brothers production company. In preparation for the movie they spent six months with active Navy SEALs and came to the conclusion that actors could not convincingly portray what they observed. Having decided to use real SEALs in the characters' roles, they were given unprecedented access not only to the soldiers, but also to military equipment and locations. 

The movie's story revolves around a SEALs team's efforts to recover a kidnapped CIA agent and thwart a terrorist plot against the United States. Non-combat dialogue between the eight principal soldiers is the movie's primary weak point as these men are not professional actors. These scenes are somewhat reminiscent of the level of acting in recent films from Sherwood Pictures (not in any way affiliated with Act of Valor). 

However, the real advantage of using actual soldiers for the film comes in the combat sequences and provides a level of realism that I doubt any actors (of any caliber) could have offered. Kathy and I both found it absolutely fascinating to watch these professional soldiers in very realistic situations. Their skills for stealth, professionalism, and ability to make quick decisions were absolutely engrossing. 

Back in May of last year, if you saw footage of the White House staff watching Navy SEALs ambush Osama Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan via the soldiers' helmet cams, you have a glimpse into the reaction of our audience last night. The combat scenes were incredibly intense, and at one point I looked around the theater to see hundreds of wide-eyed movie goers with their hands in front of their faces, just like the President's cabinet earlier this year. 

I won't give away the ending of the movie, but I will say that it was a bit predictable at a certain level. Considering the title of the movie in the singular and considering that there is in the plot a formulaic adaptation of the old cop movie "I just have this last case to solve before I can finally retire!" shtick, the final scenes are not overly surprising. Nevertheless, even if predictable, they were still quite moving. Even though the story itself was fictitious, the reality never left me that these were real soldiers and the events in the film depicted the kinds of actual situations that our soldiers--and their families--find themselves in every day.

No doubt this movie will inspire a new generation of young men to aspire to becoming SEALs themselves, although the reality remains that achieving such status has even less likelihood than the average teenager's goal of becoming a professional athlete. The SEALs are clearly the elite of the elite in our nation's defense. In spite of the fact that this world can be a very dangerous place to live at times, I went to bed last night feeling much safer after seeing this film.

Act of Valor, rated R for strong violence including some torture and for language, will be released nationwide on February 24, 2012.

Thursday
Sep082011

This Was the Most Offensive Moment When Seeing Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, Part 2

No, it was nothing in the movie itself.

Even though Kathy saw the final installment of the Harry Potter series earlier this summer, I only got around to seeing it over the Labor Day weekend. We wanted to see the 3:45 afternoon matinee at the Cinemark Tinseltown Theater in Louisville, but we were running just a few minutes late. I hate getting to a movie late, but I was consoled by the fact that the movie had been out a few weeks, and we probably wouldn't have trouble getting a good seat. We got our tickets, and opened the doors to screen 18 at exactly 3:50. I was surprised that I didn't hear any sound coming from what at least should be previews to upcoming movies by this point. As we walked further in, I began to see a white glow coming from the screen and as I got closer I was surprised to see this:

Now, I realize this is not a great photo, but I had to take the picture for sake of proof. What we were seeing was an error screen with a button partially shown at the top that said "Restore Active Desktop."

Active Desktop?! What—does Cinemark run their theaters on the back of Windows 98? 

And evidently, although a number of people got up to report what was on the screen (while I sat in my chair smug in the satisfaction that I am a Mac user), it took a solid 20 minutes for them to fix the problem. 

I can only guess they were probably delayed from having to import the film into Windows Movie Maker. 

 

Questions, thoughts, comments and/or rebuttals are invited in the comments section. 

Thursday
Sep082011

Superman's New Costume

What are your thoughts on Superman's new costume without the traditional red trunks?

Here is a shot from the final panel of the newly rebooted Justice League #1:

And the new costume is not just in the comics. Here's a shot of Henry Cavill from the set of the upcoming Man of Steel (to be released in 2013):

No, Cavill's version is not going to lose the cape; this is a non-shooting photo. 

However, here's my thing: I realize that to moderns, Superman's traditional red trunks seem kind of like he's wearing his underwear on the outside of the costume if it's thought about too much. However, from a stylistic viewpoint, the red trunks always seemed to balance the costume. Is it just me now, or does Superman's new outfit look a little bit like he's wearing red boots with blue pajamas—something kids might do to pretend they're Superman?

The new costume in the comic books also sports a militarized collar. How's that going to work under Clark Kent's suit?

Your questions, thoughts, comments and/or rebuttals are expected in the comments below. 

Tuesday
Apr192011

Et tu, Cal? Gary Moore's Response to Cal Thomas’s Endorsement of the "Atlas Shrugged" Movie and Its Attack on Caesar

Gary Moore has given me permission to post his response to Cal Thomas' endorsement of the upcoming movie Atlas Shrugged, based on the book by Ayn Rand. If you're not familiar with Gary Moore, be certain to read his bio at the end of this post and visit his website, The Financial Seminary.

______________________

Et tu, Cal? A response to Cal Thomas’s endorsement of the Atlas Shrugged movie and its attack on Caesar

By Gary Moore
Founder, The Financial Seminary


Cal Thomas has famously disagreed with the worst excesses of the religious right, as have I. That may be why his recommendation of the new movie Atlas Shrugged cut like a knife.

In my mid-nineties book Ten Golden Rules for Financial Success, I noted that Rush Limbaugh had just published a cartoon of a character labeled “the religious left” bowing down to a statue of Karl Marx. I said that as funny but ungracious as that might have been, there are times the thought of Marx probably unduly influences the thinking of some leaders of mainline Christianity. Yet I also wrote that evangelical leaders too often experience a similar problem, which theologians call syncretism: mixing the teachings of Ayn Rand with our thinking as Christians. I now believe Cal’s endorsement of the movie based on Rand’s tome Atlas Shrugged suggests we’ve reached the point where our thinking and her teachings are virtually indistinguishable, at least in matters of political-economy.  That’s most unfortunate as it likely suggests The Economist was correct in 1999 when it published “An Obituary for Jesus” on Easter.

Theologians from Martin Marty on the left to Chuck Colson on the right have recently written that Rand turned the Bible upside down. She was a disciple of Nietzsche’s elitism so it’s understandable she wanted to be remembered as “the greatest enemy of religion ever.” Jesus told us to “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s” and Paul said to “honor and respect government” as it was instituted by God (Romans 13). But Rand told us there is no God and we’d have utopia on earth when we rid ourselves of government. That’s hardly conservative; and indeed, Rand was a self-described “radical.” Jesus taught the interests of our neighbors must be lovingly elevated to the level of our own interests. Rand taught selfishness is a virtue and charity toward neighbor should only be practiced in “emergency situations.”

That ethic highly influenced her close disciple Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve. Greenspan did his best to deregulate our S&L’s during the eighties, as well as Wall Street during the nineties and years leading up to the credit crisis and Great Recession. Many observers now doubt that deregulating our financial elites, as well as the CEO’s deified in Rand’s book and movie as human saviors, created heaven on earth. But we still share Rand’s belief that government is the root of all evil. So despite Einstein saying insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, America’s new economic and political “roadmap” to the future has again been prepared by another Rand disciple, Congressman Paul Ryan. The House recently approved his plan to further cut the top rate on our economic elite from 35% to 25%. Yet the most recent IRS statistics show the 400 highest income Americans only paid federal taxes of 17% on annual income averaging $345 million. That was down from 26% in 1992. As Leona Helmsley might have quipped, paying taxes is for suckers.

Of course, Rand’s teachings also have far reaching social consequences. As a fierce individualist, Rand advocated the legalization of abortion and drugs, both of which she reportedly used personally.  Believing there are no moral standards other than what we think there are, she thought it fine to have a most public affair with a close disciple. Yet she then thought it rational to excommunicate him from her movement when he thought it rational to have another affair. It takes evil genius to rationalize such selfish and contradictory confusion.

The Economist has just wondered if the growing inequalities of income and wealth might suggest Marx had a point when he predicted such would occur in capitalist nations. I included that hard question in a column I write for the financial ministry of the Willow Creek Association. But I did not suggest readers check Das Kapital out of the library for further study. As an Evangelical Lutheran, I’ve long been aware of evangelical reactions to suggestions we consider the thoughts of communist, socialist or even progressive Christian authors as even a blind pig occasionally sniffs out an acorn. To avoid potential confusion, we generally prefer authors who have seen the light. Despite the respect I have for Cal, I’m terribly afraid he’s just deepened the political and theological confusion surrounding Glenn Beck, who also advocates the contradictory teachings of Rand and Christ as Truth.

______________________


Gary Moore has a degree in political science, thirty years of experience on Wall Street and has written five books on the Judeo-Christian ethic of wealth management.  His article about Ayn Rand appeared in Christianity Today in its September 2010 edition. You can read more of his views, and see a video about Ayn Rand, at www.financialseminary.org .

Friday
Dec172010

True Grit 2010 (A Review with Comparisons to the 1969 Version)

Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross. Her performance is the unexpected surprise of this movie. Too bad the promoters of this film didn't have the decency to add her name to the movie poster.

After seeing an advance screening of the Coen brothers' True Grit earlier this week, I reflected upon other good movies I've seen this year. 2010 wasn't necessarily a stellar year, but there were some good films (Inception, The Social Network). Nevertheless, I can say without reserve that True Grit is easily the best movie I've seen in a very long time.

No movie is made in a vacuum, and that's especially true of any remake. But it's even more true of True Grit. This movie had haters from the moment that Joel and Ethan Coen announced they were making it. The original 1969 True Grit is not only associated with American icon John Wayne, but the movie became his only Oscar win in a career that spanned four decades. The True Grit character Rooster Cogburn is practically synonymous with John Wayne. Try to name Wayne's character in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance or The Shootist. I realize that the hardcore John Wayne fans among you can do that, but most who are reading this cannot.

But let's be honest: the 1969 True Grit was flawed. John Wayne read Charles Portis' 1968 book and immediately started pushing for a movie staring himself as the federal marshal. While the Duke's portrayal is laudable, the screenplay was hastily written, and some of the other primary roles were poorly cast.

It's no surprise that Glen Campbell is still better known for his singing than his acting. His portrayal of La Boeuf in the original movie becomes painful to watch as he delivers his lines with all the expression of a teenage actor in a bad high school play. Supposedly, Glen Campbell was selected for the role so that there could be an opening theme for use as a popular song on the radio promoting the film. Of course, it could have been worse. Originally, Elvis Presley was considered for the role. While I enjoy Presley's music much better than Campbell's, I can't imagine he would have been a a suitable choice either.

And clearly, Kim Darby, while a better actor than Glen Campbell, was simply not right for the role of 14-year-old Mattie Ross. Darby was actually 22 at the time. And while they tried to make her look much younger, she's never quite right. While she certainly captures Mattie Ross' determination, Darby does so with a little too much perkiness at times. She's simply not ever somber enough. And her boyishly short haircut, in retrospect forty years later, seems extremely out of place for a western taking place in 1880.

The Coen brothers have insisted that they weren't attempting to remake the 1969 film as much as they were actually making a new adaption of Charles Portis' original novel. Regardless of which movie version is better remembered decades from now, the Coen brothers have undeniably made a much closer adaptation of the book. From the beginning of the novel to the end, True Grit is the story of a little girl seeking to avenge her father's death, to bring justice to the man who struck him down. The book tells the story in retrospect from a Mattie Ross who is much older, remembering the events that she fell into when she was no longer quite a child, but also not quite yet a woman.

In the 1969 movie, Mattie is only the focus of the story until she meets marshal Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn. In that version, once John Wayne steps into the frame, the movie is clearly his until the final scene. While filming, he even told the crew, "This is my show; you're just along for the ride!"

The Coen brothers, however, stay true to the Portis' original source material. Everything in the movie is from Mattie's perspective. Young Hailee Steinfeld, who literally just turned 14 last week, delivers an absolutely remarkable performance as Mattie Ross, as if the character had simply stepped out of Portis' book. She every bit looks the part, from her long, braided hair to her ankle length black dress (Kim Darby's version of the character wore gaucho-style pants, I suppose for easier horseback riding). Steinfeld captures the spirit of Mattie Ross, somber and determined to bring her father's killer to justice. I don't believe I even saw Steinfeld smile until about 2/3 into the movie. She is very much the biblical ‏גֹּאֵל הַדָּם/"avenger of blood" (see Numbers 35:9-34 or the Wikipedia entry for "Goel") bent on securing her family's financial stability and bringing justice to her father's murderer. And while little Mattie Ross is looking for someone with "true grit" to help her track down her father's killer, Steinfeld's portrayal demonstrates to the audience that it is really Mattie who has the most grit of any of the characters.

Matt Damon portrays Texas Ranger La Bouef much better than his predecessor in the role. Although this won't be considered Damon's most memorable part, he has enough acting experience to keep the portrayal authentic, even if I did feel that his Boston accent may have briefly slipped through once or twice.

Certainly Jeff Bridges has seen a renaissance in his acting career recently. His portrayal of Rooster Cogburn will continue to give momentum to his recent acclaim. Surely, it would be intimidating to most actors to even consider taking a role so closely associated with John Wayne. I thought about this long and hard, and I really can't imagine anyone from today's crop of actors besides Bridges who could have pulled this role off. However, when we first see Bridges as Cogburn testifying in "Hanging Judge Parker's" courthouse, his delivery of dialogue was so very slurred that I wondered if he was going to be mostly unintelligible throughout the entire movie. Fortunately, though, having seen the 1969 version recently, most of his lines were familiar, and this allowed me to adjust my ears to Bridges' dialect.

There is a striking feeling of authenticity to the settings, props and dialogue throughout the entire movie. Careful attention has been given to every detail, much more so than the earlier version. Most of the actors' lines are taken straight from Portis' own novel. The particular and sometimes peculiar phrasings seemed to wash delightfully over me as I sat still waiting to hear every word of every sentence spoken. In fact, much of the dialogue that was also used in the first movie, simply makes more sense in the 2010 version of True Grit. The newer script has a much greater cohesiveness than the previous version.

Of course, while the unique dialogue seemed perfect for a Coen brothers movie (which I cannot adequately explain, but many of you will understand), there were a few times that the particular tone and enunciation seemed a bit more reminiscent of O Brother, Where Art Thou? than True Grit. Surely this was a directing decision, but it may have been a bit overplayed at times. Yet those who are familiar, know that the movies made by the Coen brothers tend to carry a style of humor that is never overt, but yet almost always subtly present in nearly every scene. Portis' novel contains a great amount of humor, especially in the dialogue of the exchanges between the characters, and this is simply better captured in the 2010 version of the movie than in its predecessor.

I won't give away the ending of the new version, but I will tell you that it's different than that of the first movie. The Coen brothers stay true to the novel. The 1969 version may have stayed more true to a certain actor's ego (no disrespect intended).

Although Kathy and I saw this movie for free, I would gladly pay to see it in the theaters again (something we rarely do anymore with the high cost of movie tickets). If you're one of the ones who feels as if it's almost an act against the sacred to remake this film, I urge you to set aside your cinematic piety. Westerns these days are few in the theaters, and good westerns even more rare. The 2010 version of True Grit is a welcome addition to the genre, even if it is a story we've been told before.

True Grit arrives in theaters nationwide on December 22.