The Message Behind the Movie

I am not particularly a fan of foreign  films, nor am I an elitist that hates anything but non-Hollywood indie films (although I generally enjoy indie films!).  But after re-watching Let the Right One In for the Nth time, I found that Netflix was suggesting lots of movies that sounded very interesting and turned out to be foreign films. Some I had seen before, but were worth re-watching. Some were just OK. Here is a list of some of the ones I have enjoyed. (NOTE: n my humble, yet accurate, opinon, subtitles are to be preferred over overdubs).

Let the Right One In (2008)
Oscar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl who turns out to be a vampire.

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
In the fascist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)
Part one of the trilogy. A journalist is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for forty years by a young female hacker.

Amélie (2001)
Amelie, an innocent and naive girl in Paris, with her own sense of justice, decides to help those around her and along the way, discovers love. (Warning: total chick flick.

Trollhunter (2010)
Film students tracking an alleged bear poacher discover he is actually an undercover troll hunter.

Arn (2007)
Arn, the son of a high-ranking Swedish nobleman is educated in a monastery and sent to the Holy Land as a knight templar to do penance for a forbidden love.

North Face (2008)
Based on a true story about a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Alps. Set in 1936, as Nazi propaganda urges the nation’s Alpinists to conquer the unclimbed north face of the Swiss massif – the Eiger.

Downfall (2004)
Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator’s final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.

The Seventh Seal (1957)
A classic film concerning a Knight seeking answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.

Das Boot (1981)
Nominated for six Oscars, this edge-of-your-seat dramatic triumph follows the trials of a German U-boat crew during World War II.

Green Who?

I was going to be so mad if Coldblood got his movie first. Now I feel much better.

I am so glad this amazing story was made into a movie. In April 2003, hiker Aron Ralston was hiking in Utah when a boulder fell on his arm and trapped him in an isolated canyon for 5 days. The story of his escape is amazing. Squeamish beware.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/127hours/

C. S. Lewis apparently needs to study his mythology more closely. According to BIG HOLLYWOOD:

“Liam Neeson, who voices Aslan, the resurrected lion in the upcoming film. The actor told the Telegraph in London that his character doesn’t necessarily represent Christ.”

Yikes.  Worse:

Dawn Treader producer Mark Johnson said, “resurrection exists in so many different religions in one form or another, so it’s hardly exclusively Christian. . . . We don’t want to favor one group over another … whether these books are Christian, I don’t know.”

The new Karate Kid was better than I expected. Great job guys! Jaden Smith was very good, he has picked up the mannerisms and willingness to be goofy from his dad which is nice. You can’t really remake a classic film and expect to replace it, but I thought they payed proper respect to the original without simply copycatting the script. Several nods were given to the original and some unexpected twists were thrown in as well without making themselves too obvious. I would have liked to have seen some cameos though – just for fun (like Billy Zabka as a janitor sweeping something!). Ralph Macchio was apparently offered one by Smith but did not wish to do something just to do it. I respect both men for their handling of this beloved 80′s movie.

The film succeeded in being more serious and epic than the original, but the development of a relationship between the kid and his mentor was not nearly as strong. Jackie Chan was pretty good too. Overall, worth seeing – but don’t trade in your original Karate Kid VHS just yet. 

The first trailer for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader premiered this Saturday!!!  For more information see NarniaFans.Com – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

I don’t usually post spoilers, but it’s hard to spoil a movie with an opening scene such as this:

“Hi. You’re early. I was just masturbating.”

“That makes me think of your vagina. I’m Mark, how are you?”

“A little frustrated at the moment. Also equally depressed and pessimistic about our date tonight. I’m Anna.”

“I hope this date ends in sex.”

“Not me. I don’t find you attractive. Come on in. I need to finish getting ready. While doing that I might realize I’m still horny and try to finish masturbating.”

How could a movie with such delightful repartee as this possibly fail? Easy, just add boring dialogue, uninteresting and virtually immutable characters, sizable plot holes, a predictable ending with zero emotional appeal, and you have “The Invention of Lying.”

In case the above attributes were not enough to ruin a potentially interesting plot, the film confuses honesty with gullibility, making a world of truth into one of stupidity. As my friend Ben pointed out, everyone telling the truth does not guarantee accuracy, thus the world would still have to exercise discernment. But discernment is not high on the list of this film’s creator’s skillset.

The film also openly attacks the Christian faith in general and belief in God in particular. One character puts it the most clearly when he says,

“I say F**K the Man In The Sky!”

Wow, what a thought-provoking script! Not.

In summary, this film is a complete piece of trash. It sucks in virtually every way that a film can suck.

First, WOW! Amazing visuals, just absolutely beautiful. I recommend seeing it in theaters – especially if you can see the 3d IMAX version – it’s really astounding. The digital is seamless and fully integrated with the live action. No plastic Jar-Jar Binks here!

Second, PHHHT! The above-mentioned visuals are pretty much the only reason to see the film. The storyline is about as politically  propagandish as it can get, with obvious references to the eco-liberal, fear-mongering agenda (capitalists / military = evil murderers that hate the environment, while aboriginal natives = peaceful, spiritual, loving, beings that live in complete harmony with nature). The characters are pretty much cardboard cutouts, not good for much more than propagating the popular “noble savage” and “evil capitalist/military” myths. The lines are drawn so clearly that one is forced into choosing sides, and there is not a modicum of evenhandedness in the story’s approach. Worldview-wise it’s a mess. Avatar presents us with a new-age/nature-loving/eastern mysticism mixture (all is one, life is energy flow, mother planet, blah blah blah). The only difference is that all this is couched in quasi-scientific terms (for philosophers, think emergent property theory applied to an entire planet!) Thus, Avatar’s storyline is seriously flawed both artistically, politically, and theologically.

But hey, it’s James Cameron. He’s not exactly known for his subtlety or theological acumen.

Bottom line: It’s 3D, it’s beautiful, there’s cool animals, amazing scenery, and robots blow things up. What more (besides truth) could you want?

I LOVE mountain climbing books, and a few of the movies have been good (Touching the Void is the best so far). But this one looks like it might be a contender:  The Wildest Dream

It is the story of George Mallory – a lost climber on the slopes of Mt. Everest who may have been the first person to reach the summit (30 years before Hillary!). It stars Conrad Anker - one of the greatest living climbers, and is narrated by Liam Neeson.

Coooool.