Drama – Page 9 – Splatter: on FILM

DIVERGENT (2014) movie review

June 23, 2014October 25, 20154 Comments

One of my favorite people from my old clutch and brake days, Ellie, said of this movie’s book starter, “On a scale of Twilight to Harry Potter, it’s a Hunger Games.” – E.R.

Having seen the tween-focused trailer, I went into this film hesitantly with expectations of overplayed high school romance and war game whimsy. To my surprise, the story works, the actors act, the romance is underplayed, and I got sucked in by it all. I should’ve known that I could expect A-games from this cast. Ashley Judd and Kate Winslet don’t really make movies now unless they want to. They’re no slouches. In my opinion, they can wait to play great parts in potentially epic films with heart. Shailene Woodley first impressed the world as the anxty teen with Daddy Issues in The Descendants (2011). She’s not so far from that role in this film, but she starts soft and gains intensity as her character attempts to blend into a group that she was not born into. If actors in these films believe in the story enough, we believe in them. Then, voila’. Audience hooked.

Spielberg set us up with his film Minority Report (2002) to believe that the future is blue. This film caps the blue hue almost to colorlessness. Daunting as battle may be for a girl raised to be empathetic, her blood runs to courageous team Dauntless and therefore daily beatings and senseless seeming violence become routine. Take the hint. This film is too violent for children.

The army sector, though bold, does not allow for the bravery of critical thinking or selflessness. Once again, the post-apocalyptic scenario cannot seem to factor in faith. Why, with all of the Districts laid out by the Capital and the Factions divided by virtues and allegiance can writers never quite add more than the threat of the “human spirit?” Even the poverty laden and less civilized portions of our world nominate or relegate to a higher power either by choice or tradition. The set of “virtues” that each Faction bows to in this fictional fantasy are not enough to maintain allegiance. One group will seek the domination and worship of the rest. It is inevitable.So, a hero must rise up, mustn’t she? She begins as underdog, but fights to fit in and finally to find freedom. That is the essence of story. I see this story paralleled so often in the Bible as David fights Goliath and becomes King, as Daniel faces the lions and gains position in the kingdom, as Joseph is sold into slavery and eventually becomes second to the Pharaoh. I am always challenged when I read the Bible.

I am a Christian. By choice. And, it is not always a popular choice. At the heart of Divergent is the desire we all share: to be known and appreciated for our uniquenesses. Yet, culture too often demands elements of uniformity. The divergent is dangerous to the despotic. When humans are forced to agree and to lose anonymity, choice, diversity, we must recognize the potential for the power-hungry to abuse their power using fear as a weapon. Then, watch for the retaliation of inevitable revolt from those who value individuality. It is, as always, A Tale of Two Cities.

MALEFICENT (2014) movie review

June 20, 2014October 25, 20153 Comments

Maleficent is a fairy tale in the truest form of the word. It is about a fairy, one lone fairy whose heartbreak allows bitterness to rule her until protecting and mothering a young girl teaches her to love again. For, true love does conquer all.

I loved the parallels to the original Disney Sleeping Beauty: the costuming and casting, the bumbling three fairies, the lines from the old film, the power in Jolie’s voice and presence. Elle Fanning, favorite lovely of the fashion duo Rodarte and no longer known as Dakota’s sister, stepped easily into the sweet princess Aurora role.

The film is perhaps a tribute to the selfless love of sarrogate mothers or mothers’ hearts. Perhaps this was the carrot dangled before Jolie who was allowed to have all of her children in the film. Most played cameos, but her little “Viv” got to play tiny Aurora. Either way, it’s an inverted villain story. Maleficent is Disney’s Despicable Me. The villain is not cruel, just misunderstood.

My mother always said, “We all have two dogs inside us. The one that wins is the one we feed the most.”

I’ve been fascinated by the concept of writing the villain lately. A study of the film 3:10 to Yuma (2001) offered much insight. In the director’s commentary, James Mangold discussed the role of the villain as hero in their version of the story. They are equally as cause-driven. They share a path with the hero, but not the identical vehicle. A villain must believe that he or she is doing the righteous right thing for the sake of furthering what they care about. This is Russell Crowe’s role in 3:10 to Yuma. This is Redford’s character in Captain America: Winter Soldier. This is Magneto and Mystique and… Maleficent. The true villain of the film Maleficent appears to be the average Joe who lets greed consume him. The message continues: we all must choose which dog to feed.

Maleficent, too, gives in to the pain and vengeance and turns to the dark side, much like Anakin. But like Elsa in Frozen, her heart melts for the motherless girl in her sphere. She lashes out in helpless throttle allowing her control over nature to envelope and enthrone her. Parallels abound. True wickedness waits to be seen. Speaking of Wicked…perhaps all villainy eventually goes green.

XMEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (2014) movie review

May 26, 2014October 25, 20154 Comments

X1 & 2 Director, Bryan Singer redeems the time in his new origins film: Future Past. String theories aside, this virtual Delorean skims through time like a stone over lake waters rushing back to meet favorites Fassbender, McAvoy, & Lawrence, once again 70’s clad and dejected. Merging screen time with the greats: Stewart & McKellen proved seamless. Hugh Jackman, post Pilates and pre-adamanium, reveals all then mediates the mediums while hoping the future-clueless superhuman mutant leaders won’t shoot the messenger.

Not one character played scene stealer romancing the camera for a few seconds of personal glory, at least no more than deserved. It felt unified, cause-driven.

Perhaps Singer wasn’t the only player seeking redemption since X-Future Past screenwriter Simon Kinberg also wrote X3 (2006), a film which made me stand in the theater and beg for the 2 hours of my life back. All past is forgiven. We look to the future.

Back to moral basics, this premise pleads the value of all life. It reinforces a “live together die alone” higher concept. It seeks the return of all prodigals. …all while meeting my Dad’s requirements for kicking, explosions, robot-foes, and sic-fi joy.

BLUE BLOODS (TV Series 2010 – ) review

May 24, 2014October 25, 20154 Comments

Family dinners reflect the family business: all for one and one for all. All voices are of equal value and importance, but values will never be compromised. Tom Selleck leads the Reagan family as the Chief of Police of the NYPD. His son played by Donnie Wahlberg is the hot headed detective shooting instinctually from the hip like a proper cowboy cop.

Bridget Moynahan plays daughter Erin, who challenges the family perspectives as Assistant District Attorney. Her daughter speaks her mind while Danny’s boys ironically have learned to play well with others. The youngest Reagan, Jamie, gave up Harvard Law for the daily beat of a city cop after the eldest Reagan brother was killed in the line of duty. No spoilers here, the Pilot kickstarts post 911, post family funerals and back to work with each member of the Reagan household. Each grieving still, but working with vigor and passion to rid the streets of chaos and crime.

It’s a great show. It’s well written. And somehow, when I’m watching it, I feel validated in my work. I do bring my work home. Too often I’m left holding onto the pain of one student or another for the various reasons that come with life. One runs away, this one cuts herself, this one chooses to numb the pain of his dad’s death with drugs. Despite my prodding, praying, attempts to save the world one student at a time, I’m still often left crying into my pillow for the lost and lonely people in my path. I love my job, but it is so hard sometimes. That is why I somehow feel understood as Danny Reagan thrusts a bad guy to the ground but goes home to his wife fighting tears, grateful for his life. Erin wins a case but questions the system. Jamie goes to his grandpa for advice and love after a long day of making arrests.

Then, they all sit down again for Sunday dinner. No excuses. No one misses family dinner.

HEAVEN IS FOR REAL (2014) movie review

April 26, 2014October 25, 20153 Comments

In Heaven is For Real, I’m afraid it’s the end that doesn’t justify the means.

Parts of this film are really beautiful, and the characters are likable. The Burpos have a marriage worth fighting for. Greg Kinnear plays a quality good guy patriarch pastor to a tea. When he cries, we cry. He could be our modern Michael Landon. And like Landon, he is walking his Highway to Heaven. He agonizes over all while the world doubts.

This film shares the gospel truth about a midwestern pastor’s struggle with finances and health issues only to be throttled by his son’s near death experience. Little Colton starts discussing his visit to heaven: seeing angels and animals, meeting Jesus and other family members like the great-grandfather he never knew and his unborn sister.

Heaven Is For Real runs right up to an often unpopular edge: claiming Jesus as Lord, forgiver, redeemer.

But then it shrinks back at the last moment claiming heaven is in all of us. I’m sure the sweet family who wrote the book felt a drop in their stomachs when they watched the feel good ending praise the message of a Universalist religion rather than the gospel they preach.
We can put up with a whole lot of still shots of the front of their house and discussions on the back porch. But it is painful to watch a whole film stand up and make a point only to sit down and deny it in the final moments.

NOAH (2014) movie review

April 7, 2014October 25, 20153 Comments

You were imagining that the film would be better than the book? Never. If you went in with the expectation that it would be an accurate depiction of scripture, you didn’t do your homework. I knew when I read that Darren Aronofsky was writing / directing / producing that it would be a beautifully filmed, well acted, decent story in which I would at some point have to cover my eyes and scream “It’s too much!” And it was. And I did.

Expectations are funny things. We are taught in school as young readers to make inferences and as young scientists to make hypotheses. So we do this in life. We expect things. And ironically, we expect for things to go well. Like Sinatra, we want things to go our way. We cannot possibly gage the next top hit song or recording artist, but we vote on American Idol. People want a voice in popular opinion, but we forget the industry behind big decisions. We forget the power of persuasion, marketing, and media. We forget that directors get a script and film it as they see it. If they also write it, they are interpreting and adapting the literature themselves.

If you walk into Noah with the expectation that you will see the truth of scripture come alive on the big screen without human bias and interpretation, your expectations will be disappointed.
I told myself it would be about as biblically in tune as Inception.
I also read a load of reviews ahead of time. Perhaps I went in guns loaded to prove something and was pleasantly surprised at how professional filmmaking makes such a difference onscreen.
So I ask you to try something new… Be Pollyanna for a moment and look for the good.

I saw a gorgeous and accurate-to-scripture creation narrative. It did not leave God out. It did not excuse or dismiss sin. It did not try to explain it all. It simply showed the story.

The actors in this film were brilliant and on A-game all. Not a moment of cheese in the portrayal, even when playing opposite rock creatures. Talk about changing expectations: when you see rock creatures right away, you set aside your expectations and recall that this had the same amount of biblical connectivity as The Lord of the Rings. The creatures weren’t horrible. They were a mix between Ents and the Rock Biter from The Neverending Story.

Sure, humanity, including Noah and his family, lived like cave men in a post-apocalyptic looking setting in which the real evil is meat-eating…sure. And yes, old people have magic. Also the ark (built mostly by RockBiters) looked more like a floating Costco.

And of course there is that odd side plot to get the boys wives when they were already married in the Biblical account. (So we don’t have to worry about Ham.) And there is that bit about how Noah believes that God wants to wipe out humanity so animals can live, therefore, Noah goes Gladiator and murders people trying to keep them off the ark. That made me sad, because that’s the coolest part of the story! In scripture, Noah preached and built for 120 years begging people to get on the ark and would have taken any who wanted to come. But they only mocked him, and then God closed the door.
And, there was also that post-flood account on the boat…Noah who didn’t hear from God and assumed that God wanted him to end the human race and kill his grandchildren… I screamed, as aforementioned, “It’s too much!” Ridiculous. Come on. That family survived the cataclysmic inundation of the world. Let them live.

Then again. I’ve never felt so kindred with Bible characters as I did watching this film. I call them characters, but they were people like you and me. People. With fears and loves and desires and anger and the capacity for both great evil and great mercy. And those on the ark lived through the tragic death of all of humanity.

Tubal-Cain gives a speech begging God to speak to him. He says he is like God. He believes God’s silence equals rejection. That feels too familiar. No matter what belief people hold to, they crave a higher power and blessing. They want to be chosen, spoken to. They seek externality. How beautiful it is to see that the Bible is called God’s Word, and in it, He promises never to destroy the world with a flood again. He also says He “so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16).

RAGAMUFFIN (2014) movie review

March 15, 2014October 25, 20151 Comment

Who would play you in the movie of your life? The old campfire question suits when Sandra Bullock plays the benevolent mother to an unloved high school football player or when Judi Dench relives the journey of one Philomena seeking a lost son. But who will bravely take on the story of an alcoholic Christian recording artist who dies tragically in a car accident? Too much? Too messy? Too uncomfortable? Too many people continue to snub the Ragamuffin’s message…that we are all broken but that God still loves us.

I loved so much about this film, produced by the Mullins family and directed by a friend: David Leo Schultz. I loved the almost documentary feel intertwining real recordings of Rich Mullins telling his own story and playing live performances on stages across America. I loved the casting. Michael Koch owned the role of Mullins whole-heartedly. And my friend Amy Schultz debuted beautifully as Amy Grant.

I especially loved the truth in it. It’s not fluffy or cheesy or kitsch. It’s honest. And, I believe that it honors the hero of the film, but Jesus most of all.

I remember when Rich Mullins died. I remember singing his songs in church. He was a kind of praise song pioneer. I remember the judgmental looks he got for his unkempt, rowdy, boisterous, rebellious Christianity in his ripped jeans and bare feet. Most people who complain about the church or about Christianity will blame hypocrisy. Perfection is unattainable, and churches are made up of imperfect people. It’s easy to forget, but forgiveness and acceptance is a simple ask away. Rich Mullins knew this. He spoke directly to the church about being real with themselves and others so people would know that Jesus came to save sinners, not just the people trying to look perfect. Mullins was refreshing. He struggled, and everybody knew it. Something in his swagger, his stammer, his unabashed truth telling, and especially in his honest music has shaped me and given me hope to help me through my own set of problems by relying on the giver of peace.

Here are the lyrics to one of his songs that has carried me on multiple occasions: “Hold Me Jesus.”

Well, sometimes my life just don’t make sense at all
When the mountains look so big
And my faith just seems so small
So hold me Jesus, ’cause I’m shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won’t You be my Prince of Peace

Was Mullins the modern St Francis, the original hipster of sorts who refused to play by the imposed rules of Christian society? He certainly swam upstream in a current of Christian conformists in the 90’s. Rich Mullins allowed his stage to become a pulpit to draw the hearts of Christians back to Jesus and away from stuffy ritual and performance faith.
The Gandalf of this film is Brennan Manning, author of a beautiful book called “Ragamuffin Gospel.” Rich Mullins wrote the forward about honesty and frailty and how this concept of being a Ragamuffin had shaped and truly changed his life.

Be careful going in to this film…you might just end up confronting your own demons and find out that you are indeed a Ragamuffin like the rest of us. The daddy issues may resonate in your own heart. You may feel conviction, but more so the discomfort of God’s acceptance despite your imperfections. Watch out; you might just meet Jesus.

The DVD called Ragamuffin will be available on May 6.

For more info: http://ragamuffinthemovie.com/

http://davidleoschultz.wordpress.com/

GRAVITY (2013) movie review

March 2, 2014October 25, 20151 Comment

Value life. Value breath. Value grief and lessons learned, the voices echoing from those we’ve lost.

Film is craft, is art. It teaches and inspires. In this film by Alfonso Cuarón, we wear the helmet, floating unharnessed, fighting to survive one cataclysm to the next…for the whole film.

George Clooney and Sandra Bullock are the trustworthy protagonists. He is there for the ride, loving life, feeding hope. She is fearful until she can let go and quote, “No matter what, you’ll have great stories to tell, and it’s been one ‘hell of a ride.'” It is at that.

This film did more than offer the viewer a space suit and helmet. It begs one to know the gravitas required for survival, and it teaches us to appreciate those who keep us breathing

Tonight I am grateful for my sisters. One keeps me talking, and one keeps me breathing.

One brims with joy daily, always busy, always helping, always herding others onward toward adventures she dreams up or jumps on board with. She confessed to me recently about a night spent crying, agonizing about future and life. It humanized her, helped me to relate, saved me somehow. I found my tears and she called to keep me talking. She saved me then and on many other occasions, and I am grateful.
My youngest sister is full of deep wisdom and reminds me to allow myself to rest, to take in beauty, to appreciate silence and sunshine and music. She saves me and I breath once more.

So, who is your Clooney? To whom are you grateful for life-giving reminders? Survival is worth fighting for. Not just arrival at the next module or re-entry into the next atmosphere. Survival goes beyond the water landing and forces you to hold your breath long enough to resurface from the waters and to learn to walk again.

This film taught me that survival is in the next step and the next. It’s in letting go and moving on. It’s smiling at the future despite past pain. It’s in feeling the gravity of every moment and treasuring it as if it were your last.

PHILOMENA (2014) movie review

February 17, 2014October 25, 20152 Comments

In Philomena, the character arc is slight and unexpected. The title role, played gently and subtlely by the delightful Judi Dench, went from following blind faith to allowing bits of doubt to formulate questions that would eventually offer escape from her prison of fatalism. Her purposeful belief finally leads her to peace and the unexpected: true forgiveness.

Character arcs. I’ve discussed the pivotal nature of arc in story before. Think of a static character in terms his or her immutability or immunity to change. Static is the Matrix pre- red pill. I have learned that in order for a character to remain static they must never face conflict or at least refuse to learn from pain. The static character is either boring or external to the movement of the story.

When characters choose the change, they move from static to dynamic. They often get new names and see the world as broad and wide and find purpose despite challenge. They are interesting.In my recent viewing of August: Osage County, I left livid at every character for choosing in favor of cyclical, hateful, hopeless and in essence: static. Each could have deferred, rather, to hopeful and loving, inspired by discouragement to stop wallowing and to change. A recent discussion with someone who loved the film said she was given hope for Julia Roberts’ character when she chose to drive away. She faced the rising sun and stepped into life. Perhaps some arches are slight, but no less purposeful.

Philomena’s journey felt Herculean. She seeks to be known and remembered and therefore made whole. Her sacrifice feels worthwhile only if accepted by the one person it was meant for, her child.

The journalist’s arc is slighter still. Martin Sixsmith, played so well by Steve Coogan. The story goes, that he, the Muggerich to her Mother Teresa, must take Philomena on a journey, from which she must be given grace to move on and he must grow a heart.

It’s difficult to pin a Grinch face on one so polite and likable. His journey begins with a selfish attempt to reignite a lost career, but becomes a jolt for justice and eventually a friendship. At first he is as emotionally disconnected as the audience in the theater, but as tension builds and Philomena grows fonder, we race in with him through barred doors eager for the truth, angry at the revelation of it.

Some cruelty is inexplicable. We cannot forget of what we are all capable or the fact that without grace we too could fall prey to temptation. Philomena forgives not by fate, but in faith. For this arc, she will be remembered.

THE BOOK THIEF (2014) movie review

February 12, 2014October 25, 20157 Comments

At least with Titanic, you knew the boat would sink.

This film showed such perseverance of the soul, such hope in desperation, such light in darkness, such freedom breaking out with boldness, bursting through despite fear. It was gorgeous until…

…until the end.
The end, if you can call it an ending, attempted to jump 80 years or so into the future and relay the deaths of ALL OF THE CHARACTERS!
Never before have I seen a script invest in and develop characters and relationships so delicately, so painstakingly right up until the instant death of almost all.
Sure, there are gruesome war films. But this? Everyone dies horribly, too soon, only to be found by the one girl who loves them all. We have to watch the main character grieve again and again over each one. It was too much.

They all live through wars, but die in a moment? They fight to love then lose their lives? What is this, Downton? My apologies. I give Fellowes far too much credit for killing his characters when their lives are sweetest to them. War is never sweet. But life can be. I confess I’m on the constant watch for the sweetness of life. I hunt for beauty like treasure. I value words as the character Max did.

This film is not what I imagined it would be at all.
Skip the narration, choose the alternate ending and turn it off before the end of the war.

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