Title: "Michael Clayton"
Director: Tony Gilroy
Producer: Sydney Pollack, Steve Samuels, Jennifer Fox, and Kerry Orent
Editing: John Gilroy
Composer: James Newton Howard
Starring:
- George Clooney as Michael Clayton
- Tom Wilkinson as Arthur Edens
- Tilda Swinton as Karen Crowder
- Sydney Pollack as Marty Bach
Plot and Critical Review: The story opens as Michael Clayton, an attorney with a gambling problem, leaves a late night poker game. He works for the prestigious New York City law firm Kenner, Bach & Ledeen as a "fixer", someone who rectifies difficult situations, often through unconventional or expedient methods. Michael is summoned to meet with an anxious client who believes he has struck a pedestrian with his car and left the scene. After Michael leaves, he pulls off to the side of the road after some aimless driving. He climbs a hill to look at some horses, gazing at them, when his car suddenly explodes.
The story flashes back to four days earlier, when Michael received news that he owes $75,000 to organized crime figures represented by loan shark Gabe Zabel , due to a failed attempt to open a bar with his brother Timmy. Then he is called with the news that one of the firm's leading attorneys, Arthur Edens, suffered a bizarre mental breakdown in the middle of a crucial deposition in Milwaukee involving a class action lawsuit against the firm's largest client, United Northfield (or U-North), an agricultural products conglomerate. Dispatched to fix the situation, Michael gets Arthur out of jail and learns that his friend, who is a manic-depressive, has stopped taking his medication. Michael plans to take Arthur back to New York for medical care, but Arthur flees and reaches New York on his own.
Karen Crowder, U-North's general counsel, retrieves Arthur's briefcase and discovers that he obtained an internal U-North memorandum documenting the company's culpability for manufacturing a cancer-causing herbicide, the subject of the lawsuit. When Karen learns that Edens refuses to cooperate and cannot easily be committed to a mental health institution, she decides to hire two operatives to follow him, including tapping his phone and installing bugs in his apartment. This surveillance and the firm's review of documents in Arthur's office reveals that he is building a case against U-North, his own client. Karen tacitly instructs the two operatives to murder Arthur, which they set up to look like a suicide.
Michael is distraught at Arthur's death, but becomes suspicious when he accidentally learns that U-North was planning to settle the lawsuit and that Arthur had purchased a plane ticket to New York for one of the plaintiffs, Anna. Michael breaks into Edens's apartment and discovers a receipt for a large copy store order. At the store, he discovers that Arthur had ordered one thousand copies of the memo incriminating U-North. Michael takes a copy and leaves, but the two hit men are tailing him and, having obtained their own copy of the memo, inform Karen of the situation. Michael is about to show his boss, Marty Bach, what he has discovered, only to be confronted with an offer of a contract renewal and an $80,000 bonus that will cover his debt; Michael holds the check in one hand and the memo copy in the other.
As Michael plays poker that evening, returning to the film's proper opening, one of the hit men is seen rigging his car with a bomb. As Michael leaves the game he receives a phone call summoning him to a meeting with the client in Westchester County who committed a hit-and-run. He is followed by the hit men, who have trouble tracking him. Knowing that he is nearby, but not his exact location, the hit men detonate the bomb. An unharmed Michael runs back to his car and throws his personal effects into the fire. He later gets a ride back to New York with his estranged brother Timmy.
Later, at a U-North board meeting, Karen proposes approval of a new settlement agreement. Michael is waiting for her when she steps out of the conference room, and he tells her he has access to copies of the U-North memo and that he knows about her role in Arthur's murder and the attempt on his own life. Admitting that he himself "sold out" Arthur for personal gain, he demands to be paid off personally by her for his continued silence for $10 million. Karen reluctantly agrees. Michael then reveals the live cellphone in his pocket and walks away as police officers arrest Karen and U-North's chairman. His brother, the NYPD detective, had been covertly listening to their entire conversation. Michael leaves the building and gets into a taxi. He tells the driver, "Give me $50 worth. Just drive." After a few minutes his face reveals a hint of a smile and then the film cuts to credits on black.
"Michael Clayton" is a film that peels back the veil surrounding the world of New York law firms. Inspired by Tony Gilroy's impressions of said firms during the development and production of "The Devil's Advocate" (which he directed), "Clayton" presents with dazzling honesty a world that holds up the banner of justice but is willing to do whatever is necessary for it's own gain. In a world of letter-splitting and enormous financial gain we see that people will go to any length to achieve victory. Here we find Michael Clayton caught in the midst of personal and professional moral dilemmas that not only threaten his integrity as a lawyer but threaten his life as well.
"Clayton" was an exceptional film that was decorated in kind for its crisp and fluid production. While it made just under $100 million worldwide while it was in the theaters. It received over 30 nominations from the top cinematic review boards including 6 nominations from the Academy. Tilda Swinton received the Oscar for Best Actress, the only Oscar "Clayton" won and the only Oscar Swinton has yet received. The film also attained top rankings on many of the "Top Movie" lists for 2007. In a time when cinematic interests were turning to the fantastic and romantically dramatic "Clayton" presented a quasi-courtroom-drama that stood above the rest by its ability to convey an engaging narrative that left the viewer cinematically satisfied and morally challenged.
My Rating: 8/10
The "Reel Revelation": "Containing The Truth"
On the posters distributed to advertise "Michael Clayton" are written the words "THE TRUTH CAN BE ADJUSTED." This tag-line would define much of the suspense and moral tension that would make the film as popular as it became. As we watch the plot spiral out of control we also watch Clayton respond in kind, becoming more and more desperate to do whatever is necessary to keep the lid tight on the billion-dollar case his firm is slowly losing control of. And when the truth finally comes forward, when all of the key players cannot look away from the clear definition of right and wrong, of the good and the evil being committed around them, they either scatter or try to contain the truth, to bend it to their will. Is there a more desperate act the losing party can perform than to reach out of the coffin of defeat and attempt to convince the world of their innocence? Sometimes it works! Sometimes the truth can be contained and people can be convinced of something altogether untrue. But this is not true for all measures of truth, I assure you.
Maybe you've felt a certain way, been convinced of a certain feeling or inclination, or perhaps done something you were determined to keep hidden from the world. What kinds of things did you do to contain the truth? Did you spread lies contrary to what actually was, what had actually happened? Did you ignore the truth and push all of the conviction and angst as far away as possible...or as deep into your heart as possible so that you wouldn't feel the biting guilt any longer? What did you do? More importantly, did it work? Did the truth remain "contained"? If you're able to answer "yes" to that question then you've either attained an amazing ability to lie or you're very close to doing what you've been aching to do all along; confess.
The truth will come forward, and we must not fight against it when the time is right. Perhaps you've been in a relationship and have kept something from a person you love very much. After years of keeping this piece of information a secret you've gotten use to simply omitting the truth but feel the tinge of guilt every time you look them in the eye...you know you have something to share. Why live with that guilt?! 'It's not that bad...i've gotten use to it,' you say! This is not the way of peaceful living. In the graves where we lay the truth to rest dwell forces of great and terrible power. Those words are not too strong for those of us who have tried to contain what has always been meant to be set free.
For those of us who live under the Word of God and experience it's power in our lives we must strive to be open vessels of the message God has placed in us through the testimony of the Gospel. If you've ever tried to keep a lie a secret, try to keep the Truth of all Truths hidden from the rest of the world! Even the early Christians who could not openly share the Word of God and had to shroud their identities as believers in Jesus rejoiced in the Word of God because they knew it would one day pierce through every sinful barrier the world had built up against the greatest truth of all; Jesus saves and there is no other. This is the Truth that cannot be contained, not by the wicked will of man or the sordid agenda of this world. Let this Truth become the Truth you carry within you and share with all you encounter.
Lord, for trying to keep the truth a secret, we pray you forgive us. May the Truth of your Word contain our lives, that we may serve you every day. Amen.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
"The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King"
Title: "The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King"
Director: Peter Jackson
Producer: Fran Walsh, Barrie M. Osborne, and Peter Jackson
Editing:
Composer: Howard Shore
Starring:
- Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins
- Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf the White
- Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee
- Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn
- Liv Tyler as Arwen
- Andy Serkis as Gollum/Smeagol (Serkis gave a voice and physical reference for the character)
- Hugo Weaving as Elrond
- Cate Blanchett as Galadriel
- John Rhys-Davies as Gimli
- Billy Boyd as Peregrin Took
- Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc Brandybuck
- Orlando Bloom as Legolas
If you've not seen the first two Lord Of The Rings films it may be helpful to visit the following websites:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Fellowship_of_the_Ring_(film)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Two_Towers_(film)
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx3Tx7sgTss
Plot and Critical Review: The film begins with a flashback of how Sméagol acquired the One Ring, before his degeneration and name change to 'Gollum', taking Frodo and Sam to Minas Morgul. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf, Théoden and Éomer meet up with Merry, Pippin and Treebeard at Isengard, now under the Ents' control, and Gandalf deduces that Saruman will pose no further threat. They also recover the palantír. Pippin's curiosity gets the better of him at Edoras, and he looks into it. The vision he sees (of a dead white tree in a burning stone courtyard) alerts Gandalf that Sauron is planning to attack Minas Tirith, and he rides off there with Pippin. In Rivendell, on her way to the Undying Lands, Arwen has a vision of her son by Aragorn and convinces Elrond to reforge Narsil, the sword that cut the Ring from Sauron's finger long ago. She then forsakes the gift of immortality to be with Aragorn; her fate now rests with the outcome of the war.
Gandalf and Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith to find the steward Denethor mourning over Boromir, and Pippin swears loyalty to him in recompense for Boromir's sacrifice. Meanwhile, the Witch-king dispatches his immense Orc army from Minas Morgul, heralding the start of the war, as Frodo, Sam, and Gollum begin climbing the stairs nearby. The Morgul army drives the Gondorians out of Osgiliath, and Faramir is forced to take a doomed ride to reclaim the city. Near Minas Morgul, Gollum convinces Frodo to send Sam home in the belief that he wants the Ring. At the urging of Gandalf, Pippin lights the first of the beacon signals to Edoras, alerting Théoden and the rest of the Rohirrim and prompting them to ride to Dunharrow to prepare for war. While preparing for battle in Dunharrow, Aragorn meets Elrond, who presents the future king with the newly reforged sword Andúril. Aragorn then sets off with Legolas and Gimli to brave the Paths of the Dead, enlisting the help of the cursed Army of the Dead in capturing the ships of the Corsairs of Umbar (Sauron was planning to use the corsairs to launch a surprise attack on Minas Tirith while the defenders were preoccupied with the Orcs). Théoden rides off to war with six thousand riders, unaware that Éowyn and Merry are also part of the army.
The Morgul forces, composed mostly of Orcs, begin the siege of Minas Tirith, and many missiles are traded, while the Witch-king and the other Ringwraiths on their Fell Beasts also attack, destroying siege weapons and sowing terror among the defenders. The Morgul army break into the city using the enormous battering ram Grond. At the same time, Gollum betrays Frodo to the large spider Shelob, but Sam returns to fight her off. Sam believes Frodo is dead and takes the Ring from him, but when Orcs from the Tower of Cirith Ungol take Frodo, Sam overhears that he is still alive. At Minas Tirith, Denethor has gone mad and prepares a funeral pyre for himself and the unconscious Faramir. Gandalf and Pippin arrive on the scene and manage to save Faramir, but despite Gandalf's best efforts, Denethor dies. The Rohirrim arrive and charge into the Orcs, but the Witch-king responds with a counter-attack, attempting to rout the Rohirrim with the forces of Harad, including the immense Mûmakil. The Witch-king descends on Théoden, fatally wounding him. Aragorn finally arrives with the undead on the captured Corsair ships and proceeds to annihilate the Orcs and Mûmakil, while Éowyn and Merry kill the Witch-king. Théoden dies of his wounds, and Aragorn holds the Dead Army's oath fulfilled, releasing them from their curse at last.
Sam rescues Frodo from Cirith Ungol, which is mostly empty following a fight between the two factions of the Tower's Orc garrison over the mithril shirt, and they begin the long trek across Mordor to Mount Doom. Gandalf realizes that ten thousand Orcs stand between Cirith Ungol and Mount Doom, which will prevent Frodo from reaching his destination. Aragorn proposes they lead the remaining soldiers to the Black Gate to draw the Orcs away from Frodo's path. Sam carries Frodo up to Mount Doom, but Gollum arrives and attacks them, just as the Men of the West furiously battle the Orcs. At the Crack of Doom, Frodo, instead of dropping the ring into the lava, succumbs to its power and puts it on, disappearing from sight (the act alerts Sauron, and sends the Ringwraiths racing towards Mount Doom). Gollum renders Sam unconscious, seizes Frodo's finger, and bites it off. As he begins to celebrate reclaiming the ring, Frodo gathers his strength (and his senses) and charges at him. After a brief struggle, they both fall over the edge. Gollum falls into the lava flow with the Ring, while Frodo hangs onto the edge of the cliff. Sam rescues Frodo as the Ring finally sinks into the lava and is destroyed. The Tower of Barad-dûr collapses, Sauron's essence fades and then explodes, destroying him for good, and the Orcs, Ringwraiths and the remaining forces of Sauron are killed in the ensuing shockwave and earthquakes. Frodo and Sam are stranded as Mount Doom destructively erupts, until Gandalf arrives with the Eagles, and they awake in Minas Tirith, reuniting with their friends.
Aragorn is crowned King, heralding the new age of peace, and is reunited with Arwen. The hobbits return to the Shire, where Sam marries Rosie Cotton. Frodo, having finished writing the story of the Lord of the Rings and still exhausted from his quest as the Ring-bearer, decides to leave Middle-earth with Gandalf, Bilbo, Elrond and Galadriel at the Grey Havens, leaving his account of the story to Sam, who peacefully continues his family life.
"Return of the King" is one of the most successful films of all times. It was decorated with 11 Academy Awards which ties it for having recieved the most awards with "Ben Hur" and "Titanic". Some believe that the Academy held back as long as possible before decorating any of the "Lord of the Rings" films with anything but technical awards. They could not hold back their jubilation any longer, it seems. This is no small thing. "Return of the King" was also the first fantasy film to recieve the Oscar for Best Picture. To date it is the second highest grossing film of all time second only to "Titanic".
There is no way to justly state how important this film is within the context of a film review. Because of Peter Jackson's bold vision and his even bolder attempt to make three world-class films at the same time, the way motion pictures are produced will be forever changed. Jackson is looking forward to co-directing and co-producing a film trilogy with Steven Spielberg (can you imagine?!) retelling "The Adventures of Tintin." Let us keep a weather eye for that cinematic spectacle.
My Rating: 9.5/10
The "Reel Revelation": "...Beauty That No Shadow Can Touch..."
What is the most beautiful thing you've ever experienced? To clarify, of all the things you've ever touched, heard, tasted, etc., what would you define as the most beautiful of them all? No doubt each of you would give a different answer to this entirely situational question. A painter, for example, might say that a single brushstroke of blue on an otherwise undefiled white canvas is the most beautiful of all things. To a musician a phrase of Mozart or Chopin might very well take the cake. For a baker...a cake! You can see how this could go on and on. While all of these things are no doubt beautiful to those who cherish them they can all be defeated, overturned, and altogether ruined. Canvases can be burned, music can be silenced, and cakes eaten. Where can we find beauty, then, that cannot be undone so easily? Where is the beauty that, as Samwise so tenderly defined, no shadow can touch?
If we look to the Earth, to begin with, we may find ourselves satisfied but ultimately disappointed. The forests are disappearing, you know, and the rivers are becoming polluted as a result of our waste and excess. The fields are being tilled and planted with crops while the oceans in all their beauty are under constantly assault from human threats. (That's as enviromental as i'll ever get, I promise.) While much of the natural beauty we observe will last long after we pass from this mortal realm it too can be defiled by the greed of mankind and the destructive powers of nature itself. The Psalmist proclaimed the beauty and grandeur of God as being like the beauty of the Earth, not the Earth "her"self.
What of the "immortal" and "everlasting" beauties we find in the arts? Music will last forever, won't it? People will always write, paint, sculpt, weave, and carve, won't they? Indeed, they will. But the beauty of their creations (and the beauty of the arts in general) will fade with time. Even now we only uplift the "greatest hits" of the music of the past and only regard the finest pieces of art as being "masterpieces". In time even the most glorious songs and paintings and sculptures and tapestries of this age will pass away. So where then will we find "beauty that no shadow can touch"? We must look to what will not fade. We must look to what will last forever.
God's Word will last forever. Regardless of how it is uplifted and praised or persecuted and denied it will never cease. God established a covenant with Noah, for example, and plaecd a rainbow in the sky to declare that God would keep his word and never send a flood to destroy the Earth again. This is an everlasting promise, and God sealed it with the beautiful rainbow. Rainbows come and go but God's Word will always declare God's favor for us and toward us.
Jesus will last forever. Along with God, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, he completes the eternal and everlasting Trinity. Jesus was the "express image" through which all things were created. Jesus is the beauty in all things that are beautiful. Perhaps you've heard the saying "All truth is God's truth"? How about "All beauty is in Jesus, through Jesus, and with Jesus." When all the things we consider beautiful today are gone tomorrow, what will be left of them but the express beauty of God which made them beautiful in the first place? Even as we learn to love one another we must first learn to find and have fellowship with the presence of God in the people around us; we fall in love with what is the most beautiful in the people we know. While we come to love and cherish the personalities, talents, opinions, and abilities of our friends and family we must first Christ through those we know. As was stated in the novel (and later play and film) "Les Miserables," "to love another person is to see the face of God." There it is.
In God alone will we find beauty that no "shadow" can touch, a beauty that cannot be defiled or destroyed by the sinful nature of this world. Were such beauty left in our hands we would have no doubt ruined its magnificence by now as it is the way of the greed of man to take what is most beautiful, call it his own, and parade it as if it were a prize. The dazzling brilliance of the beauty of God is for all people and it is without price or compromise. Enjoy it, but do not merely enjoy the expression of God's beauty, enjoy the Beautiful One himself and give your thanks to God.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
Director: Peter Jackson
Producer: Fran Walsh, Barrie M. Osborne, and Peter Jackson
Editing:
Composer: Howard Shore
Starring:
- Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins
- Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf the White
- Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee
- Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn
- Liv Tyler as Arwen
- Andy Serkis as Gollum/Smeagol (Serkis gave a voice and physical reference for the character)
- Hugo Weaving as Elrond
- Cate Blanchett as Galadriel
- John Rhys-Davies as Gimli
- Billy Boyd as Peregrin Took
- Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc Brandybuck
- Orlando Bloom as Legolas
If you've not seen the first two Lord Of The Rings films it may be helpful to visit the following websites:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Fellowship_of_the_Ring_(film)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Two_Towers_(film)
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx3Tx7sgTss
Plot and Critical Review: The film begins with a flashback of how Sméagol acquired the One Ring, before his degeneration and name change to 'Gollum', taking Frodo and Sam to Minas Morgul. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf, Théoden and Éomer meet up with Merry, Pippin and Treebeard at Isengard, now under the Ents' control, and Gandalf deduces that Saruman will pose no further threat. They also recover the palantír. Pippin's curiosity gets the better of him at Edoras, and he looks into it. The vision he sees (of a dead white tree in a burning stone courtyard) alerts Gandalf that Sauron is planning to attack Minas Tirith, and he rides off there with Pippin. In Rivendell, on her way to the Undying Lands, Arwen has a vision of her son by Aragorn and convinces Elrond to reforge Narsil, the sword that cut the Ring from Sauron's finger long ago. She then forsakes the gift of immortality to be with Aragorn; her fate now rests with the outcome of the war.
Gandalf and Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith to find the steward Denethor mourning over Boromir, and Pippin swears loyalty to him in recompense for Boromir's sacrifice. Meanwhile, the Witch-king dispatches his immense Orc army from Minas Morgul, heralding the start of the war, as Frodo, Sam, and Gollum begin climbing the stairs nearby. The Morgul army drives the Gondorians out of Osgiliath, and Faramir is forced to take a doomed ride to reclaim the city. Near Minas Morgul, Gollum convinces Frodo to send Sam home in the belief that he wants the Ring. At the urging of Gandalf, Pippin lights the first of the beacon signals to Edoras, alerting Théoden and the rest of the Rohirrim and prompting them to ride to Dunharrow to prepare for war. While preparing for battle in Dunharrow, Aragorn meets Elrond, who presents the future king with the newly reforged sword Andúril. Aragorn then sets off with Legolas and Gimli to brave the Paths of the Dead, enlisting the help of the cursed Army of the Dead in capturing the ships of the Corsairs of Umbar (Sauron was planning to use the corsairs to launch a surprise attack on Minas Tirith while the defenders were preoccupied with the Orcs). Théoden rides off to war with six thousand riders, unaware that Éowyn and Merry are also part of the army.
The Morgul forces, composed mostly of Orcs, begin the siege of Minas Tirith, and many missiles are traded, while the Witch-king and the other Ringwraiths on their Fell Beasts also attack, destroying siege weapons and sowing terror among the defenders. The Morgul army break into the city using the enormous battering ram Grond. At the same time, Gollum betrays Frodo to the large spider Shelob, but Sam returns to fight her off. Sam believes Frodo is dead and takes the Ring from him, but when Orcs from the Tower of Cirith Ungol take Frodo, Sam overhears that he is still alive. At Minas Tirith, Denethor has gone mad and prepares a funeral pyre for himself and the unconscious Faramir. Gandalf and Pippin arrive on the scene and manage to save Faramir, but despite Gandalf's best efforts, Denethor dies. The Rohirrim arrive and charge into the Orcs, but the Witch-king responds with a counter-attack, attempting to rout the Rohirrim with the forces of Harad, including the immense Mûmakil. The Witch-king descends on Théoden, fatally wounding him. Aragorn finally arrives with the undead on the captured Corsair ships and proceeds to annihilate the Orcs and Mûmakil, while Éowyn and Merry kill the Witch-king. Théoden dies of his wounds, and Aragorn holds the Dead Army's oath fulfilled, releasing them from their curse at last.
Sam rescues Frodo from Cirith Ungol, which is mostly empty following a fight between the two factions of the Tower's Orc garrison over the mithril shirt, and they begin the long trek across Mordor to Mount Doom. Gandalf realizes that ten thousand Orcs stand between Cirith Ungol and Mount Doom, which will prevent Frodo from reaching his destination. Aragorn proposes they lead the remaining soldiers to the Black Gate to draw the Orcs away from Frodo's path. Sam carries Frodo up to Mount Doom, but Gollum arrives and attacks them, just as the Men of the West furiously battle the Orcs. At the Crack of Doom, Frodo, instead of dropping the ring into the lava, succumbs to its power and puts it on, disappearing from sight (the act alerts Sauron, and sends the Ringwraiths racing towards Mount Doom). Gollum renders Sam unconscious, seizes Frodo's finger, and bites it off. As he begins to celebrate reclaiming the ring, Frodo gathers his strength (and his senses) and charges at him. After a brief struggle, they both fall over the edge. Gollum falls into the lava flow with the Ring, while Frodo hangs onto the edge of the cliff. Sam rescues Frodo as the Ring finally sinks into the lava and is destroyed. The Tower of Barad-dûr collapses, Sauron's essence fades and then explodes, destroying him for good, and the Orcs, Ringwraiths and the remaining forces of Sauron are killed in the ensuing shockwave and earthquakes. Frodo and Sam are stranded as Mount Doom destructively erupts, until Gandalf arrives with the Eagles, and they awake in Minas Tirith, reuniting with their friends.
Aragorn is crowned King, heralding the new age of peace, and is reunited with Arwen. The hobbits return to the Shire, where Sam marries Rosie Cotton. Frodo, having finished writing the story of the Lord of the Rings and still exhausted from his quest as the Ring-bearer, decides to leave Middle-earth with Gandalf, Bilbo, Elrond and Galadriel at the Grey Havens, leaving his account of the story to Sam, who peacefully continues his family life.
"Return of the King" is one of the most successful films of all times. It was decorated with 11 Academy Awards which ties it for having recieved the most awards with "Ben Hur" and "Titanic". Some believe that the Academy held back as long as possible before decorating any of the "Lord of the Rings" films with anything but technical awards. They could not hold back their jubilation any longer, it seems. This is no small thing. "Return of the King" was also the first fantasy film to recieve the Oscar for Best Picture. To date it is the second highest grossing film of all time second only to "Titanic".
There is no way to justly state how important this film is within the context of a film review. Because of Peter Jackson's bold vision and his even bolder attempt to make three world-class films at the same time, the way motion pictures are produced will be forever changed. Jackson is looking forward to co-directing and co-producing a film trilogy with Steven Spielberg (can you imagine?!) retelling "The Adventures of Tintin." Let us keep a weather eye for that cinematic spectacle.
My Rating: 9.5/10
The "Reel Revelation": "...Beauty That No Shadow Can Touch..."
What is the most beautiful thing you've ever experienced? To clarify, of all the things you've ever touched, heard, tasted, etc., what would you define as the most beautiful of them all? No doubt each of you would give a different answer to this entirely situational question. A painter, for example, might say that a single brushstroke of blue on an otherwise undefiled white canvas is the most beautiful of all things. To a musician a phrase of Mozart or Chopin might very well take the cake. For a baker...a cake! You can see how this could go on and on. While all of these things are no doubt beautiful to those who cherish them they can all be defeated, overturned, and altogether ruined. Canvases can be burned, music can be silenced, and cakes eaten. Where can we find beauty, then, that cannot be undone so easily? Where is the beauty that, as Samwise so tenderly defined, no shadow can touch?
If we look to the Earth, to begin with, we may find ourselves satisfied but ultimately disappointed. The forests are disappearing, you know, and the rivers are becoming polluted as a result of our waste and excess. The fields are being tilled and planted with crops while the oceans in all their beauty are under constantly assault from human threats. (That's as enviromental as i'll ever get, I promise.) While much of the natural beauty we observe will last long after we pass from this mortal realm it too can be defiled by the greed of mankind and the destructive powers of nature itself. The Psalmist proclaimed the beauty and grandeur of God as being like the beauty of the Earth, not the Earth "her"self.
What of the "immortal" and "everlasting" beauties we find in the arts? Music will last forever, won't it? People will always write, paint, sculpt, weave, and carve, won't they? Indeed, they will. But the beauty of their creations (and the beauty of the arts in general) will fade with time. Even now we only uplift the "greatest hits" of the music of the past and only regard the finest pieces of art as being "masterpieces". In time even the most glorious songs and paintings and sculptures and tapestries of this age will pass away. So where then will we find "beauty that no shadow can touch"? We must look to what will not fade. We must look to what will last forever.
God's Word will last forever. Regardless of how it is uplifted and praised or persecuted and denied it will never cease. God established a covenant with Noah, for example, and plaecd a rainbow in the sky to declare that God would keep his word and never send a flood to destroy the Earth again. This is an everlasting promise, and God sealed it with the beautiful rainbow. Rainbows come and go but God's Word will always declare God's favor for us and toward us.
Jesus will last forever. Along with God, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, he completes the eternal and everlasting Trinity. Jesus was the "express image" through which all things were created. Jesus is the beauty in all things that are beautiful. Perhaps you've heard the saying "All truth is God's truth"? How about "All beauty is in Jesus, through Jesus, and with Jesus." When all the things we consider beautiful today are gone tomorrow, what will be left of them but the express beauty of God which made them beautiful in the first place? Even as we learn to love one another we must first learn to find and have fellowship with the presence of God in the people around us; we fall in love with what is the most beautiful in the people we know. While we come to love and cherish the personalities, talents, opinions, and abilities of our friends and family we must first Christ through those we know. As was stated in the novel (and later play and film) "Les Miserables," "to love another person is to see the face of God." There it is.
In God alone will we find beauty that no "shadow" can touch, a beauty that cannot be defiled or destroyed by the sinful nature of this world. Were such beauty left in our hands we would have no doubt ruined its magnificence by now as it is the way of the greed of man to take what is most beautiful, call it his own, and parade it as if it were a prize. The dazzling brilliance of the beauty of God is for all people and it is without price or compromise. Enjoy it, but do not merely enjoy the expression of God's beauty, enjoy the Beautiful One himself and give your thanks to God.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
"The Last Of The Mohicans"
Title: "The Last Of The Mohicans"
Director: Michael Mann
Producer: Michael Mann and Hunt Lowry
Editing: Dov Hoenig and Arthur Schmidt
Composer: Randy Edelman, Trevor Jones, and Daniel Lanois
Starring:
- Daniel Day-Lewis as Hawkeye/Nathaniel Poe
- Madelline Stowe as Cora Munro
- Russel Means as Chingachgook
- Eric Schweig as Uncas
Plot and Critical Review: In 1757 during the French and Indian War, the British and French are battling for control of North America. Though they are bound by law to join the militia to aid the British, many settlers are reluctant to leave their frontier homes and families defenseless against Huron Indians allied with the French.
Chingachgook, his son Uncas, and Hawkeye, his adopted white son, visit the Cameron household. Jack Winthrop joins them and tells Hawkeye that he is gathering volunteers for the British army. The next morning, Jack and a group of others go to Albany, New York, to obtain terms from General Webb, who agrees to grant them leave if their homes are attacked. Satisfied, the volunteers join the British forces at Fort William Henry, sixty miles north of Albany.
Cora Munro and her sister Alice have received word from their father, Colonel Edmund Munro, the commander of the British garrison at the fort, to meet him there. A native guide named Magua and a detachment of British soldiers commanded by Major Duncan Heyward escort the women on the trail. However, they are ambushed by Hurons led by Magua himself. All of the soldiers except Major Heyward are quickly killed. He, Cora and Alice are rescued by Hawkeye and his companions, who have been tracking the war band. Magua prepares to shoot Cora, but Hawkeye distracts him. Magua and the surviving Hurons scatter into the forest. The rescuers reluctantly agree to escort the survivors to Fort William Henry. Along the way, they discover that the Cameron homestead has been razed and everyone killed, though nothing has been stolen, a sure sign of a war party.
When they arrive at Fort William Henry, they find it under siege by the French. They manage to sneak inside. When Munro scolds his daughters for joining him, they realize that Magua has deceived them for unknown reasons. Munro tells Heyward that the fort can only hold out for three more days. Their only hope is to get a messenger through to General Webb at nearby Fort Edward for reinforcements.
Hawkeye tells the colonel and the colonials about the attack on the Camerons and the colonials demand that he release them to defend their homes, as General Webb agreed. Munro refuses, so Hawkeye helps Jack and his friends desert. Hawkeye, who stays behind to be with Cora, is arrested for sedition and sentenced to hang.
Several days pass. As the fort is on the verge of falling, the French commander, General Montcalm offers Munro surrender terms. The garrison and their families are offered safe passage to Albany, on condition they return to England and no longer fight in the war. Munro reluctantly accepts, after Montcalm shows him an intercepted message that Webb has refused to send aid.
As the British march away, they are ambushed by a much larger force of Hurons led by Magua. Before Magua personally cuts out Munro's heart, he tells him he will kill the colonel's daughters so that his family will be extinguished. Earlier, it is revealed that Magua’s village had been destroyed years ago by British soldiers led by Munro, resulting in the death of his children and his wife marrying another man when she thought Magua was dead. Magua himself was made a slave.
Hawkeye, Cora, Alice, Uncas, Chingachgook, Heyward and two other soldiers escape and hide in a cave behind a waterfall, but Magua and his men are close behind. With their gunpowder wet, Hawkeye and his two companions jump into the falls, knowing their presence would precipitate a hopeless fight. Heyward and the two women are captured while the remaining soldiers are killed.
The prisoners are taken to a Huron village, with Hawkeye, Uncas and Chingachgook in pursuit. Magua is bargaining with the sachem when they are interrupted by the arrival of an unarmed Hawkeye running the gauntlet of hostile warriors. With Heyward translating, Hawkeye convinces the chief that Magua is acting for himself, rather than the Hurons' best interests and traditions. The chief agrees and renders his judgment: Cora is to be burned alive to atone for Magua's dead children; Magua is given Alice to be his wife so that both bloodlines can continue. Heyward is to be returned to the British in the hope of avoiding reprisals. Hawkeye is given safe passage in recognition of his bravery. Desperate, he pleads to take Cora’s place. Heyward, out of love for Cora and newfound respect for Hawkeye, deliberately mistranslates, offering himself instead. When the chief accepts, Magua curses him and leaves with Alice and his men.
Uncas immediately follows the war band to rescue Alice, while Chingachgook waits for Hawkeye. As Heyward is being burned at the stake, Hawkeye stops at a safe distance and shoots Heyward, ending his suffering. They then set off in pursuit of Magua.
Uncas catches up with Magua's band alone. He kills several men before engaging Magua in single combat. Magua kills Uncas, dropping his body off a cliff. Alice throws herself off the cliff after him. A devastated Hawkeye, Chingachgook and Cora witness their deaths from a distance. Finally catching up, the two men slay several warriors. As Hawkeye holds the rest at bay, Chingachgook duels Magua and avenges his son.
In the final scene, Chingachgook and Hawkeye engage in a spiritual ritual to send Uncas' spirit to his ancestors. With the death of Uncas, his last blood relative, Chingachgook names himself 'the Last of the Mohicans'.
My Rating: 7.5/10
The "Reel Revelation": "Great Love - Great Gifts"
Perhaps you're familiar with some of these sayings: "You're a great cook!" "You're a great kisser!" "You're a great person!" "You're a great liar!" No doubt you've probably also heard the expression "You're a great lover!", but it was probably in reference to something "else", right? What if a person says "You're a great lover!" and was specifically referring to the way you love the people around you, the way you respect your friends, family, and even those who are strangers? How would you feel? In the Gospel of Mark a young man of great wealth came to Jesus, called him "good teacher," then asked him a question. This is not so bad, right? Jesus was a good teacher! The young man asked a good question too! Before answering the question here's what Jesus said: "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone." (Mark 10:17-18) Even though a person might posses a certain skill that would qualify them as being a "great cook", for example, Jesus sets the standard on what "great love" is.
Shortly before Jesus' betrayal he spoke to his disciples about the love they should have for one another. He spoke these words: "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:12-13 NASB) While his words seem a tall order Jesus himself displayed this "greater" love when he willingly gave himself up to be crucified for our sake. For Christians this is the end-all expression of the highest and most righteous love; to give up our lives for someone else. At first one might ask "Why should I, Jesus died for everyone, why should I die to save someone else?!" Good question. While our own death cannot achieve salvation for another person, we are able to "lay down" our lives for others in more common-place ways than you'd think.
If you're familiar with "The Last Of The Mohicans" you'll no doubt remember that dramatic scene when Heyward "mistranslates" and takes Hawkeye's place on the pyre to save Cora's life. Because of Heyward's sacrifice both Cora and Hawkeye survive and live together in happiness. This is a by-the-book example of what Jesus suggests "greater love" should look like. Heyward's sacrifice is for no merit of his own but is done out of the love he has for Cora and the respect he has for Hawkeye. It is extreme, however, and a daunting example if this is the only way we can achieve "greater love." Jesus does make reference to the literal sacrifice of one's life for another's, that much is true. In the ancient world this was not terribly uncommon. But we may also consider that Jesus is encouraging his disciples (and us) to make a change of heart; to love others in such a way that we lay down our own good for the sake of those around us. This is the nature of true love and is the nature of true Christian community; a family in which people serve each other before themselves.
When was the last time you served the interests of another person before your own? Think, now. Immediate answers might include instances like opening the door for a stranger at a restaurant or buying someone coffee. Those are wonderful acts of kindness and we need far more of them in this troubled world. They also indicate that you're well on the path to displaying the "greater love" of God. Well done. While Jesus doesn't distinguish between small acts of kindness and big acts of kindness I encourage you to condition your heart in preparation to do something difficult for those around you, something that will demand a sacrifice on your part for the sake of others. It's easy to "lay down your life" in ways that are convenient and don't demand much time or energy, and God will honor and bless those actions. But will you be ready when someone comes along and needs your help in a significant way?
Jesus calls us to readiness, to prepare our hearts to do whatever is necessary for our brothers and sisters and for those whose names we do not yet know. Prepare yourself well.
See you Monday - E.T.
Director: Michael Mann
Producer: Michael Mann and Hunt Lowry
Editing: Dov Hoenig and Arthur Schmidt
Composer: Randy Edelman, Trevor Jones, and Daniel Lanois
Starring:
- Daniel Day-Lewis as Hawkeye/Nathaniel Poe
- Madelline Stowe as Cora Munro
- Russel Means as Chingachgook
- Eric Schweig as Uncas
Plot and Critical Review: In 1757 during the French and Indian War, the British and French are battling for control of North America. Though they are bound by law to join the militia to aid the British, many settlers are reluctant to leave their frontier homes and families defenseless against Huron Indians allied with the French.
Chingachgook, his son Uncas, and Hawkeye, his adopted white son, visit the Cameron household. Jack Winthrop joins them and tells Hawkeye that he is gathering volunteers for the British army. The next morning, Jack and a group of others go to Albany, New York, to obtain terms from General Webb, who agrees to grant them leave if their homes are attacked. Satisfied, the volunteers join the British forces at Fort William Henry, sixty miles north of Albany.
Cora Munro and her sister Alice have received word from their father, Colonel Edmund Munro, the commander of the British garrison at the fort, to meet him there. A native guide named Magua and a detachment of British soldiers commanded by Major Duncan Heyward escort the women on the trail. However, they are ambushed by Hurons led by Magua himself. All of the soldiers except Major Heyward are quickly killed. He, Cora and Alice are rescued by Hawkeye and his companions, who have been tracking the war band. Magua prepares to shoot Cora, but Hawkeye distracts him. Magua and the surviving Hurons scatter into the forest. The rescuers reluctantly agree to escort the survivors to Fort William Henry. Along the way, they discover that the Cameron homestead has been razed and everyone killed, though nothing has been stolen, a sure sign of a war party.
When they arrive at Fort William Henry, they find it under siege by the French. They manage to sneak inside. When Munro scolds his daughters for joining him, they realize that Magua has deceived them for unknown reasons. Munro tells Heyward that the fort can only hold out for three more days. Their only hope is to get a messenger through to General Webb at nearby Fort Edward for reinforcements.
Hawkeye tells the colonel and the colonials about the attack on the Camerons and the colonials demand that he release them to defend their homes, as General Webb agreed. Munro refuses, so Hawkeye helps Jack and his friends desert. Hawkeye, who stays behind to be with Cora, is arrested for sedition and sentenced to hang.
Several days pass. As the fort is on the verge of falling, the French commander, General Montcalm offers Munro surrender terms. The garrison and their families are offered safe passage to Albany, on condition they return to England and no longer fight in the war. Munro reluctantly accepts, after Montcalm shows him an intercepted message that Webb has refused to send aid.
As the British march away, they are ambushed by a much larger force of Hurons led by Magua. Before Magua personally cuts out Munro's heart, he tells him he will kill the colonel's daughters so that his family will be extinguished. Earlier, it is revealed that Magua’s village had been destroyed years ago by British soldiers led by Munro, resulting in the death of his children and his wife marrying another man when she thought Magua was dead. Magua himself was made a slave.
Hawkeye, Cora, Alice, Uncas, Chingachgook, Heyward and two other soldiers escape and hide in a cave behind a waterfall, but Magua and his men are close behind. With their gunpowder wet, Hawkeye and his two companions jump into the falls, knowing their presence would precipitate a hopeless fight. Heyward and the two women are captured while the remaining soldiers are killed.
The prisoners are taken to a Huron village, with Hawkeye, Uncas and Chingachgook in pursuit. Magua is bargaining with the sachem when they are interrupted by the arrival of an unarmed Hawkeye running the gauntlet of hostile warriors. With Heyward translating, Hawkeye convinces the chief that Magua is acting for himself, rather than the Hurons' best interests and traditions. The chief agrees and renders his judgment: Cora is to be burned alive to atone for Magua's dead children; Magua is given Alice to be his wife so that both bloodlines can continue. Heyward is to be returned to the British in the hope of avoiding reprisals. Hawkeye is given safe passage in recognition of his bravery. Desperate, he pleads to take Cora’s place. Heyward, out of love for Cora and newfound respect for Hawkeye, deliberately mistranslates, offering himself instead. When the chief accepts, Magua curses him and leaves with Alice and his men.
Uncas immediately follows the war band to rescue Alice, while Chingachgook waits for Hawkeye. As Heyward is being burned at the stake, Hawkeye stops at a safe distance and shoots Heyward, ending his suffering. They then set off in pursuit of Magua.
Uncas catches up with Magua's band alone. He kills several men before engaging Magua in single combat. Magua kills Uncas, dropping his body off a cliff. Alice throws herself off the cliff after him. A devastated Hawkeye, Chingachgook and Cora witness their deaths from a distance. Finally catching up, the two men slay several warriors. As Hawkeye holds the rest at bay, Chingachgook duels Magua and avenges his son.
In the final scene, Chingachgook and Hawkeye engage in a spiritual ritual to send Uncas' spirit to his ancestors. With the death of Uncas, his last blood relative, Chingachgook names himself 'the Last of the Mohicans'.
My Rating: 7.5/10
The "Reel Revelation": "Great Love - Great Gifts"
Perhaps you're familiar with some of these sayings: "You're a great cook!" "You're a great kisser!" "You're a great person!" "You're a great liar!" No doubt you've probably also heard the expression "You're a great lover!", but it was probably in reference to something "else", right? What if a person says "You're a great lover!" and was specifically referring to the way you love the people around you, the way you respect your friends, family, and even those who are strangers? How would you feel? In the Gospel of Mark a young man of great wealth came to Jesus, called him "good teacher," then asked him a question. This is not so bad, right? Jesus was a good teacher! The young man asked a good question too! Before answering the question here's what Jesus said: "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone." (Mark 10:17-18) Even though a person might posses a certain skill that would qualify them as being a "great cook", for example, Jesus sets the standard on what "great love" is.
Shortly before Jesus' betrayal he spoke to his disciples about the love they should have for one another. He spoke these words: "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:12-13 NASB) While his words seem a tall order Jesus himself displayed this "greater" love when he willingly gave himself up to be crucified for our sake. For Christians this is the end-all expression of the highest and most righteous love; to give up our lives for someone else. At first one might ask "Why should I, Jesus died for everyone, why should I die to save someone else?!" Good question. While our own death cannot achieve salvation for another person, we are able to "lay down" our lives for others in more common-place ways than you'd think.
If you're familiar with "The Last Of The Mohicans" you'll no doubt remember that dramatic scene when Heyward "mistranslates" and takes Hawkeye's place on the pyre to save Cora's life. Because of Heyward's sacrifice both Cora and Hawkeye survive and live together in happiness. This is a by-the-book example of what Jesus suggests "greater love" should look like. Heyward's sacrifice is for no merit of his own but is done out of the love he has for Cora and the respect he has for Hawkeye. It is extreme, however, and a daunting example if this is the only way we can achieve "greater love." Jesus does make reference to the literal sacrifice of one's life for another's, that much is true. In the ancient world this was not terribly uncommon. But we may also consider that Jesus is encouraging his disciples (and us) to make a change of heart; to love others in such a way that we lay down our own good for the sake of those around us. This is the nature of true love and is the nature of true Christian community; a family in which people serve each other before themselves.
When was the last time you served the interests of another person before your own? Think, now. Immediate answers might include instances like opening the door for a stranger at a restaurant or buying someone coffee. Those are wonderful acts of kindness and we need far more of them in this troubled world. They also indicate that you're well on the path to displaying the "greater love" of God. Well done. While Jesus doesn't distinguish between small acts of kindness and big acts of kindness I encourage you to condition your heart in preparation to do something difficult for those around you, something that will demand a sacrifice on your part for the sake of others. It's easy to "lay down your life" in ways that are convenient and don't demand much time or energy, and God will honor and bless those actions. But will you be ready when someone comes along and needs your help in a significant way?
Jesus calls us to readiness, to prepare our hearts to do whatever is necessary for our brothers and sisters and for those whose names we do not yet know. Prepare yourself well.
See you Monday - E.T.
Friday, March 27, 2009
"Kramer vs. Kramer"
Title: "Kramer vs. Kramer"
Director: Robert Benton
Producer: Richard Fischoff and Stanley R. Jaffe
Editing: Jerry Greenberg
Composers: Paul Gemignani, Herb Harris, John Kander, Erma E. Levin, Roy B. Yokelson, and Antonio Vivaldi
Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman as Ted Kramer
- Meryl Streep as Joanna Kramer
Plot and Critical Review: Ted Kramer, a workaholic advertising executive is just given his agency's biggest new account. After spending the evening drinking with his boss, he returns home to find his wife Joanna in the process of leaving him.
Ted is left to raise their son Billy by himself. Ted and Billy resent each other as Ted no longer has time to carry his increased workload, and Billy misses the love and attention he received from his mother. After many months of unrest, Ted and Billy begin to cope with the situation and eventually grow to deeply love and care for one another.
Ted befriends his neighbor Margaret, who at the beginning had counseled Joanna to leave. Margaret is a fellow single parent and the two become kindred spirits. One day as the two sit in the park watching their children play, Billy falls off the jungle gym and severely cuts his face. Picking him up, Ted sprints several blocks through oncoming traffic to the hospital.
About a year after she walked out, Joanna returns to New York in order to claim Billy, and a custody battle ensues. During the custody hearing, both Ted and Joanna are unprepared for the brutal character assassinations that their lawyers unleash on the other. Eventually, the courts awards custody to Joanna.
On the morning that Billy is to move in with Joanna, she comes to the apartment and tells Ted that, while she loves Billy and wants him with her, she knows that his true home is with Ted. The movie ends with the elevator doors closing on the emotional Joanna, as she heads upstairs to talk to Billy.
"Kramer vs. Kramer" is one of the many excellent films produced in the "courtroom-drama" style. Films of this type are normally produced on a very small budget while a tremendous amount of time and finance is placed upon the screenplay and cast of actors and actresses. "Kramer..." does not disappoint. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Avery Corman (who oversaw development of the screenplay) this film served as a cinematic interpretation of a novel that started a wide-spread change in thought regarding child-care, child custody, and equality between the genders concerning how children are raised. If you add two unbelievably talented actors to the mix of an excellent screenplay and impeccable directing you have the necessary combination for a landslide success. Enter Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep filling the roles of Ted and Joanna Kramer.
Both actors were already well known and moderately decorated when they took on this project, but it was the success of "Kramer..." that launched their careers. Hoffman won Best Actor, Streep Best Actress, and the film took Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Hoffman went on to receive multiple nominations and an additional Best Actor award for his work in "Rain Man". Streep went on to win another Best Actress award for "Sophie's Choice" and holds the record for most Golden Globe nominations (23). She is widely regarded as one of the most talented actresses of the modern cinematic "age" and much of her success comes as a result of the achingly dramatic role we see in "Kramer vs. Kramer".
My Rating: 8.5/10
The "Reel Revelation": ""
I've been staring at the blinking cursor for over an hour. The movie has long since finished and the title menu stands at attention on the screen in front of me. I am simply without words tonight. This film stirs up a myriad of topics and thoughts within me. Where do I begin?! Perhaps a reflection based on the social injustices of child custody. What about when two people are right...how do we decide between two equally convincing truths? Maybe a reflection on what to do when we have to left someone go, when there's nothing left to do but "release" someone/something we've dearly cherished and loved? They're all good ideas but none of them seem sufficient to me. Whenever I set out to write a "Reel Revelation" I attempt to attend to a pressing spiritual matter which will benefit all who read my words and to do justice to the film, to represent a topic of spiritual importance which I have derived from what i've seen. Tonight I am unsure I can write something that will represent this motion picture in deserving fashion. While I am convinced i've wasted a paragraph telling you something that might not do any good for my credibility or your interest in what I have to say, I hope this helps you to see into the process of my review writing.
When i'm stuck with a particular project i'll often fall back on poetry as it helps me to convey a certain thought or emotion without having to explain it as I would normally explain a film-inspired idea in these "Reel Revelations". Tonight I offer a poem i'd nearly forgotten about. It's one that I wrote quickly but ended up spending much time pondering. It touches on many subjects and I hope it challenges your life.
"Honesty"
E.D. Thompson
Saying is not doing
Honesty is not confession
Though confession often leads us to it
Confession is looking
Honesty is knowing
God helps us to do all these things
Honesty is doing
Saying is confessing
And confession makes our words known
By itself
Saying is not enough
Confession is not enough
Honesty is not enough
When we say what we are
Who we are
Where we are
And confess honestly
Then we do
For the Kingdom of God.
(c) Blue Tassel Publications - 2008
See you tomorrow - E.T.
Director: Robert Benton
Producer: Richard Fischoff and Stanley R. Jaffe
Editing: Jerry Greenberg
Composers: Paul Gemignani, Herb Harris, John Kander, Erma E. Levin, Roy B. Yokelson, and Antonio Vivaldi
Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman as Ted Kramer
- Meryl Streep as Joanna Kramer
- Justin Henry as Billy Kramer
- Jane Alexander as Margaret PhelpsPlot and Critical Review: Ted Kramer, a workaholic advertising executive is just given his agency's biggest new account. After spending the evening drinking with his boss, he returns home to find his wife Joanna in the process of leaving him.
Ted is left to raise their son Billy by himself. Ted and Billy resent each other as Ted no longer has time to carry his increased workload, and Billy misses the love and attention he received from his mother. After many months of unrest, Ted and Billy begin to cope with the situation and eventually grow to deeply love and care for one another.
Ted befriends his neighbor Margaret, who at the beginning had counseled Joanna to leave. Margaret is a fellow single parent and the two become kindred spirits. One day as the two sit in the park watching their children play, Billy falls off the jungle gym and severely cuts his face. Picking him up, Ted sprints several blocks through oncoming traffic to the hospital.
About a year after she walked out, Joanna returns to New York in order to claim Billy, and a custody battle ensues. During the custody hearing, both Ted and Joanna are unprepared for the brutal character assassinations that their lawyers unleash on the other. Eventually, the courts awards custody to Joanna.
On the morning that Billy is to move in with Joanna, she comes to the apartment and tells Ted that, while she loves Billy and wants him with her, she knows that his true home is with Ted. The movie ends with the elevator doors closing on the emotional Joanna, as she heads upstairs to talk to Billy.
"Kramer vs. Kramer" is one of the many excellent films produced in the "courtroom-drama" style. Films of this type are normally produced on a very small budget while a tremendous amount of time and finance is placed upon the screenplay and cast of actors and actresses. "Kramer..." does not disappoint. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Avery Corman (who oversaw development of the screenplay) this film served as a cinematic interpretation of a novel that started a wide-spread change in thought regarding child-care, child custody, and equality between the genders concerning how children are raised. If you add two unbelievably talented actors to the mix of an excellent screenplay and impeccable directing you have the necessary combination for a landslide success. Enter Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep filling the roles of Ted and Joanna Kramer.
Both actors were already well known and moderately decorated when they took on this project, but it was the success of "Kramer..." that launched their careers. Hoffman won Best Actor, Streep Best Actress, and the film took Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Hoffman went on to receive multiple nominations and an additional Best Actor award for his work in "Rain Man". Streep went on to win another Best Actress award for "Sophie's Choice" and holds the record for most Golden Globe nominations (23). She is widely regarded as one of the most talented actresses of the modern cinematic "age" and much of her success comes as a result of the achingly dramatic role we see in "Kramer vs. Kramer".
My Rating: 8.5/10
The "Reel Revelation": ""
I've been staring at the blinking cursor for over an hour. The movie has long since finished and the title menu stands at attention on the screen in front of me. I am simply without words tonight. This film stirs up a myriad of topics and thoughts within me. Where do I begin?! Perhaps a reflection based on the social injustices of child custody. What about when two people are right...how do we decide between two equally convincing truths? Maybe a reflection on what to do when we have to left someone go, when there's nothing left to do but "release" someone/something we've dearly cherished and loved? They're all good ideas but none of them seem sufficient to me. Whenever I set out to write a "Reel Revelation" I attempt to attend to a pressing spiritual matter which will benefit all who read my words and to do justice to the film, to represent a topic of spiritual importance which I have derived from what i've seen. Tonight I am unsure I can write something that will represent this motion picture in deserving fashion. While I am convinced i've wasted a paragraph telling you something that might not do any good for my credibility or your interest in what I have to say, I hope this helps you to see into the process of my review writing.
When i'm stuck with a particular project i'll often fall back on poetry as it helps me to convey a certain thought or emotion without having to explain it as I would normally explain a film-inspired idea in these "Reel Revelations". Tonight I offer a poem i'd nearly forgotten about. It's one that I wrote quickly but ended up spending much time pondering. It touches on many subjects and I hope it challenges your life.
"Honesty"
E.D. Thompson
Saying is not doing
Honesty is not confession
Though confession often leads us to it
Confession is looking
Honesty is knowing
God helps us to do all these things
Honesty is doing
Saying is confessing
And confession makes our words known
By itself
Saying is not enough
Confession is not enough
Honesty is not enough
When we say what we are
Who we are
Where we are
And confess honestly
Then we do
For the Kingdom of God.
(c) Blue Tassel Publications - 2008
See you tomorrow - E.T.
Title: "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"
Director: Steven Spielberg
Producer: Frank Marshall, George Lucas, and Kathleen Kennedy
Editing: Michael Kahn
Composer: John Williams
Starring:
- Harrison Ford as Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr.
- Shia LaBeouf as Henry "Mut Williams" Jones III
- Cate Blanchett as Irina Spalko
- Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood
Plot and Critical Review: In 1957, Colonel-Doctor Irina Spalko and a convoy of Soviet agents posing as U.S. soldiers infiltrate a military base in the Nevada desert. They force Indiana Jones to lead them to a crate in "Hangar 51", which holds the remains of an extraterrestrial creature that crashed ten years before in Roswell, New Mexico. Indiana attempts to escape but is foiled by his partner George 'Mac' Mchale, who reveals that he is working with the Soviets. After a fight and an elaborate vehicle chase through the warehouse, Indiana escapes on a rocket sled into the desert, where he stumbles upon a nuclear test town and survives a nuclear explosion, by hiding in a lead-lined refrigerator. While being debriefed, Indiana discovers he is under FBI investigation because of Mac's Soviet ties. Indiana returns to Marshall College, where he is offered an indefinite leave of absence to avoid being fired because of the investigation. At a train station, Indiana is stopped by greaser Mutt Williams and told that his old colleague, Harold Oxley, disappeared after discovering a crystal skull near the Nazca lines in Peru. Indiana and Mutt go to a local diner, where they discuss the legend of how a crystal skull was stolen from the mythical city of Akator (called El Dorado by the Conquistadors), created by the Ugha tribe at the behest of their gods, and that whoever returns the skull to the city's temple will gain its power. Mutt passes Indiana a letter from Oxley, which contains a riddle written in a dead Latin-American language. Soviet agents approach them, and a chase commences on the college grounds. Indiana realizes that the Soviets were trailing Mutt to get him to decode Oxley's letter.
In Peru, Indiana and Mutt discover that Oxley was locked in a church-operated psychiatric hospital until the Soviets kidnapped him. In Oxley's former cell, Indiana discovers clues to the grave of Francisco de Orellana, a Conquistador who went missing in the 1500s while seeking Akator. Indiana finds the crystal skull that Oxley hid in Orellana's grave. The Soviets capture Indiana and Mutt and take them to their camp in Brazil where they are holding Oxley, and Mutt's mother – who turns out to be Indiana's old love, Marion Ravenwood. Indiana learns that the Soviets believe the skull, which magnetically attracts even non-ferrous objects, is from an extraterrestrial life-form and holds great psychic power; Oxley has suffered a mental breakdown due to over-exposure to the skull's powers. Spalko reveals the specimen stolen from Hangar 51 also has a crystal skull; Spalko believes that returning the skull to Akator will give the Soviets control of the skull's psychic power for use in warfare. As the four attempt to escape from the Soviets, Marion reveals that Mutt's real name is Henry Jones III and that he is Indiana's son. They finally escape, leading to a lengthy vehicle chase involving a sword fight between Mutt and Spalko, Mutt swinging on vines with monkeys, and a swarm of killer siafu ants. Escaping on an amphibious vehicle and surviving an attack by Ugha warriors defending the temple, Indiana, Mutt, Marion, Oxley, and Mac arrive at the Temple of Akator, a Mayan-style pyramid in the Amazon rainforest. Claiming that he is a CIA double agent working against the Soviets, Mac enters the temple with Indiana and the group, but he is actually leaving a trail of homing devices for Spalko to follow.
The group enters the temple (finding among other things, a chamber containing artifacts from nearly every period in ancient history) and Indiana uses the skull to open the door to a chamber tomb, where thirteen crystal skeletons, one missing a skull, are seated on thrones. After the Soviets arrive and again reveal Mac's complicity, Spalko places the skull onto the skeleton. It begins communicating to the group through Oxley using an ancient Mayan dialect. Indiana translates this to mean that the aliens want to reward them with a "big gift". Spalko approaches and demands to "know everything". The beings grant her request and begin to transfer their collective knowledge into her mind. As a portal to another dimension appears over the room, Oxley regains his sanity and explains that the aliens are interdimensional beings who taught the Ugha warriors their advanced technology, such as agriculture and irrigation. Indiana, Mutt, Marion, and Oxley escape from the temple, but Mac and the soldiers are sucked into the portal. The skeletons form into a single alien which continues to feed Spalko with knowledge; however, the collective knowledge of the thirteen beings is too much for Spalko. Her brain and body ignite and disintegrate – her scattered essence absorbed into the portal as well. The temple crumbles, and a flying saucer rises from the debris and disappears as the Amazon river floods the valley. After they return home, Indiana is reinstated and made an associate dean at Marshall College, and he and Marion are finally married.
If there are two men who are familiar with the difficulties in producing sequels in a series of films, they are Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. They've both received the high praises and bitter criticisms of films that were exceptional and those that "just didn't make it." This Indiana film rode the fine line between those two critiques. While some fans loved the "old school" feel of the stunt-based effects and the classic Indiana lines and gimmicks, others criticized Spielberg and Lucas for not taking the series to the next level with the technology available to them. Many scrutinized the "over-the-top" nature of the film. The term "nuked the fridge" was adopted in light of Indiana's altogether unlikely escape from a nuclear blast. I tend to think that fans were being too judgmental as the first three films all involved elements that were clearly far beyond reality. Lighting bolts from the Ark? Dark priests removing beating hearts? The holy grail?! It has been the nature of Indiana films to present situations which were over the top. No doubt the first three films caused so much hype and expectation about the fourth that some were unable to see the film for what it was; a classic Indiana Jones movie directed in the style of an old sci-fi B-movie.
While it received no attention from the Academy the film won a score of lesser-known and more sci-fi/fantasy-driven awards. Even though it didn't bring home Oscar the film grossed over 750 million dollars and is presently rated as the 23rd highest grossing film of all time. Composer John Williams commented that composing the score for this film was "...like sitting down and finishing a letter that you started 25 years ago." Many agreed in feeling that this film represented the end of a particular style of movie-making, one that pushed the limits of cinematic development forward leaps and bounds in its prime. We give our thanks to Steven Spielberg and George Lucas for their diligence and creativity.
My Rating: 7/10
The "Reel Revelation": "Any Last Words?"
In the course of this wonderful film there are two instances of mortal danger in which different characters offer up "last words." The first is when Indiana stands before the guns of two dozen Soviet soldiers and offers up the "I Like Ike!" remark. The second is when Indiana and Marion wander into a dry sand pit (not quicksand, as Indiana would say) and Marion tells Indiana that Mutt is Jones' son. What a time to drop that load of truth, eh?! In movies it makes plenty of sense to save the important stuff until the very end; until death is near and nothing but the honesty remains. This makes for dramatically fulfilling scenes that reach beyond the screen. But what works in movies doesn't always play out in real life so well. While your last words may very well be important, don't wait until the end to say what you need to say today.
No doubt you've been in a situation which demanded your honesty, a situation which commanded you to say the most important thing in a most important moment. The moment came, your heart raced, your lips opened, you drew a deep breath and...and you said nothing. The moment passed and you realized that you had missed the mark. Oops. Your hesitation was justified however, as it is rarely easy to gather the courage necessary to say the most difficult (and consequently most important) thing. Here's a list of some of the things you might have a hard time voicing:
- "I love you."
- "You never knew this, but I was the one who..."
- "I'm sorry for when I..."
- "What happened was a mistake..."
- "I can't believe what you said to me..."
- "I don't think I can do this anymore..."
- "Luke, I am your father."
No doubt this is a tiny sampling of the many things you've had a difficult time mustering the courage to say. If you read any of those and thought to yourself "Yes, I know how that is!" then you are not alone.
Why do people wait until the last moment? I don't just mean death, of course. By "last moment" I mean the final moment at which the possible seems...possible! We've all seen the love-stricken young man confess his love to a woman the night before she gets married. What is that about?! She's getting married the next day, remember...what does he have to lose? There is a certain curious comfort that comes when you feel like you have nothing to lose and can say whatever you please. While that sense of confidence may enable you to do many things, you must not wait for it to come before you'll say what needs saying today.
The ministry of the Gospel is a ministry of forgiveness, reconciliation, and the spreading of Truth. We cannot wait to ask God for forgiveness; we must confess our sins and receive God's forgiving grace today! While it is not always easy to approach God and tell him all the things we've done wrong it is necessary that we be forthcoming with our trespasses. If we can approach the Lord of Lords then surely we can approach one another and say the most difficult thing now, while the time is right, and before we lose the opportunity to give voice to thoughts that ought not wait until tomorrow.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Producer: Frank Marshall, George Lucas, and Kathleen Kennedy
Editing: Michael Kahn
Composer: John Williams
Starring:
- Harrison Ford as Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr.
- Shia LaBeouf as Henry "Mut Williams" Jones III
- Cate Blanchett as Irina Spalko
- Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood
Plot and Critical Review: In 1957, Colonel-Doctor Irina Spalko and a convoy of Soviet agents posing as U.S. soldiers infiltrate a military base in the Nevada desert. They force Indiana Jones to lead them to a crate in "Hangar 51", which holds the remains of an extraterrestrial creature that crashed ten years before in Roswell, New Mexico. Indiana attempts to escape but is foiled by his partner George 'Mac' Mchale, who reveals that he is working with the Soviets. After a fight and an elaborate vehicle chase through the warehouse, Indiana escapes on a rocket sled into the desert, where he stumbles upon a nuclear test town and survives a nuclear explosion, by hiding in a lead-lined refrigerator. While being debriefed, Indiana discovers he is under FBI investigation because of Mac's Soviet ties. Indiana returns to Marshall College, where he is offered an indefinite leave of absence to avoid being fired because of the investigation. At a train station, Indiana is stopped by greaser Mutt Williams and told that his old colleague, Harold Oxley, disappeared after discovering a crystal skull near the Nazca lines in Peru. Indiana and Mutt go to a local diner, where they discuss the legend of how a crystal skull was stolen from the mythical city of Akator (called El Dorado by the Conquistadors), created by the Ugha tribe at the behest of their gods, and that whoever returns the skull to the city's temple will gain its power. Mutt passes Indiana a letter from Oxley, which contains a riddle written in a dead Latin-American language. Soviet agents approach them, and a chase commences on the college grounds. Indiana realizes that the Soviets were trailing Mutt to get him to decode Oxley's letter.
In Peru, Indiana and Mutt discover that Oxley was locked in a church-operated psychiatric hospital until the Soviets kidnapped him. In Oxley's former cell, Indiana discovers clues to the grave of Francisco de Orellana, a Conquistador who went missing in the 1500s while seeking Akator. Indiana finds the crystal skull that Oxley hid in Orellana's grave. The Soviets capture Indiana and Mutt and take them to their camp in Brazil where they are holding Oxley, and Mutt's mother – who turns out to be Indiana's old love, Marion Ravenwood. Indiana learns that the Soviets believe the skull, which magnetically attracts even non-ferrous objects, is from an extraterrestrial life-form and holds great psychic power; Oxley has suffered a mental breakdown due to over-exposure to the skull's powers. Spalko reveals the specimen stolen from Hangar 51 also has a crystal skull; Spalko believes that returning the skull to Akator will give the Soviets control of the skull's psychic power for use in warfare. As the four attempt to escape from the Soviets, Marion reveals that Mutt's real name is Henry Jones III and that he is Indiana's son. They finally escape, leading to a lengthy vehicle chase involving a sword fight between Mutt and Spalko, Mutt swinging on vines with monkeys, and a swarm of killer siafu ants. Escaping on an amphibious vehicle and surviving an attack by Ugha warriors defending the temple, Indiana, Mutt, Marion, Oxley, and Mac arrive at the Temple of Akator, a Mayan-style pyramid in the Amazon rainforest. Claiming that he is a CIA double agent working against the Soviets, Mac enters the temple with Indiana and the group, but he is actually leaving a trail of homing devices for Spalko to follow.
The group enters the temple (finding among other things, a chamber containing artifacts from nearly every period in ancient history) and Indiana uses the skull to open the door to a chamber tomb, where thirteen crystal skeletons, one missing a skull, are seated on thrones. After the Soviets arrive and again reveal Mac's complicity, Spalko places the skull onto the skeleton. It begins communicating to the group through Oxley using an ancient Mayan dialect. Indiana translates this to mean that the aliens want to reward them with a "big gift". Spalko approaches and demands to "know everything". The beings grant her request and begin to transfer their collective knowledge into her mind. As a portal to another dimension appears over the room, Oxley regains his sanity and explains that the aliens are interdimensional beings who taught the Ugha warriors their advanced technology, such as agriculture and irrigation. Indiana, Mutt, Marion, and Oxley escape from the temple, but Mac and the soldiers are sucked into the portal. The skeletons form into a single alien which continues to feed Spalko with knowledge; however, the collective knowledge of the thirteen beings is too much for Spalko. Her brain and body ignite and disintegrate – her scattered essence absorbed into the portal as well. The temple crumbles, and a flying saucer rises from the debris and disappears as the Amazon river floods the valley. After they return home, Indiana is reinstated and made an associate dean at Marshall College, and he and Marion are finally married.
If there are two men who are familiar with the difficulties in producing sequels in a series of films, they are Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. They've both received the high praises and bitter criticisms of films that were exceptional and those that "just didn't make it." This Indiana film rode the fine line between those two critiques. While some fans loved the "old school" feel of the stunt-based effects and the classic Indiana lines and gimmicks, others criticized Spielberg and Lucas for not taking the series to the next level with the technology available to them. Many scrutinized the "over-the-top" nature of the film. The term "nuked the fridge" was adopted in light of Indiana's altogether unlikely escape from a nuclear blast. I tend to think that fans were being too judgmental as the first three films all involved elements that were clearly far beyond reality. Lighting bolts from the Ark? Dark priests removing beating hearts? The holy grail?! It has been the nature of Indiana films to present situations which were over the top. No doubt the first three films caused so much hype and expectation about the fourth that some were unable to see the film for what it was; a classic Indiana Jones movie directed in the style of an old sci-fi B-movie.
While it received no attention from the Academy the film won a score of lesser-known and more sci-fi/fantasy-driven awards. Even though it didn't bring home Oscar the film grossed over 750 million dollars and is presently rated as the 23rd highest grossing film of all time. Composer John Williams commented that composing the score for this film was "...like sitting down and finishing a letter that you started 25 years ago." Many agreed in feeling that this film represented the end of a particular style of movie-making, one that pushed the limits of cinematic development forward leaps and bounds in its prime. We give our thanks to Steven Spielberg and George Lucas for their diligence and creativity.
My Rating: 7/10
The "Reel Revelation": "Any Last Words?"
In the course of this wonderful film there are two instances of mortal danger in which different characters offer up "last words." The first is when Indiana stands before the guns of two dozen Soviet soldiers and offers up the "I Like Ike!" remark. The second is when Indiana and Marion wander into a dry sand pit (not quicksand, as Indiana would say) and Marion tells Indiana that Mutt is Jones' son. What a time to drop that load of truth, eh?! In movies it makes plenty of sense to save the important stuff until the very end; until death is near and nothing but the honesty remains. This makes for dramatically fulfilling scenes that reach beyond the screen. But what works in movies doesn't always play out in real life so well. While your last words may very well be important, don't wait until the end to say what you need to say today.
No doubt you've been in a situation which demanded your honesty, a situation which commanded you to say the most important thing in a most important moment. The moment came, your heart raced, your lips opened, you drew a deep breath and...and you said nothing. The moment passed and you realized that you had missed the mark. Oops. Your hesitation was justified however, as it is rarely easy to gather the courage necessary to say the most difficult (and consequently most important) thing. Here's a list of some of the things you might have a hard time voicing:
- "I love you."
- "You never knew this, but I was the one who..."
- "I'm sorry for when I..."
- "What happened was a mistake..."
- "I can't believe what you said to me..."
- "I don't think I can do this anymore..."
- "Luke, I am your father."
No doubt this is a tiny sampling of the many things you've had a difficult time mustering the courage to say. If you read any of those and thought to yourself "Yes, I know how that is!" then you are not alone.
Why do people wait until the last moment? I don't just mean death, of course. By "last moment" I mean the final moment at which the possible seems...possible! We've all seen the love-stricken young man confess his love to a woman the night before she gets married. What is that about?! She's getting married the next day, remember...what does he have to lose? There is a certain curious comfort that comes when you feel like you have nothing to lose and can say whatever you please. While that sense of confidence may enable you to do many things, you must not wait for it to come before you'll say what needs saying today.
The ministry of the Gospel is a ministry of forgiveness, reconciliation, and the spreading of Truth. We cannot wait to ask God for forgiveness; we must confess our sins and receive God's forgiving grace today! While it is not always easy to approach God and tell him all the things we've done wrong it is necessary that we be forthcoming with our trespasses. If we can approach the Lord of Lords then surely we can approach one another and say the most difficult thing now, while the time is right, and before we lose the opportunity to give voice to thoughts that ought not wait until tomorrow.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
"The Hunt For Red October"
Title: "The Hunt For Red October"
Director: John McTiernan
Producer: Mace Neufeld
Editing: Dennis Virkler and John Wright
Composer: Basil Poledouris
Starring:
- Alec Baldwin as Dr. Jack Ryan
- Sean Connert as Cpt. 1st Class Marko Ramius
- Scott Glenn as Cmdr. Bart Mancuso
- Sam Neill as Cpt. 2nd Class Vasily Borodin
- James Earl Jones as Vice Admiral James Greer
Plot and Critical Review: Marko Ramius, a Lithuanian, is captain of the Soviet Navy's newest Typhoon-class ballistic missile submarine, the Red October, equipped with a revolutionary silent propulsion system known as a caterpillar drive. A naval veteran with nearly 40 years of experience, he is considered the best officer in the Soviet Navy. At the start of the movie he is shown taking the boat out to sea, ostensibly for its first exercise with other units of the Russian Fleet. The captain, however, has another plan—to navigate the submarine to the coast of America in order to defect, as he considers the Red October to be a first-strike weapon that cannot be left in the hands of the Soviets.
To achieve this, he must murder Ivan Putin, his political officer, who alone amongst his officers was not hand-picked in support of this action. With the ship's doctor, Yevgeniy Petrov, and cook, Igor Loginov, as witnesses, Ramius takes the late political officer's missile key, granting him sole control over the ship's missile systems. After this is done, Ramius reads substitute orders to his crew to support the mission (stating they will conduct missile drills off the coast of New York City and then sail to Havana for shore leave), and begins his long journey. He is at first discovered and tracked by the USS Dallas, an American attack submarine, but upon activation of the caterpillar drive he is able to break away. Meanwhile, Soviet authorities read a letter posted by Ramius prior to his departure, announcing his intention to defect. The Soviet Navy immediately puts to sea to locate and sink the Red October. One of the ships that joins in the hunt is the Alfa-class attack submarine V.K. Konovalov, captained by a former student of Ramius. This causes a stir in Washington, D.C. when the activity triggers a reciprocal deployment of U.S. assets, as Russian intentions are unclear.
At this point, Central Intelligence Agency analyst Jack Ryan, who had been researching the submarine as a project, puts forth the proposition that Ramius may be defecting with the Red October. The President's National Security Advisor, Jeffrey Pelt, suggests that Ryan go to the North Atlantic Fleet (to prevent the risk of the Soviets overhearing their radio transmissions) and somehow make contact with the submarine before the U.S. is forced to sink it. At various points throughout the film, Pelt is conversing with the Soviet ambassador, who first requests American assistance to locate the Red October, and in a subsequent meeting, is instructed to ask the President to help them find the sub and destroy it, falsely claiming that Ramius' letter declared his intention to attack the United States on his own authority. Meanwhile, Red October is moving through the Reykjanes Ridge when its silent drive suddenly fails; Ramius realizes that there is a saboteur aboard and must carry out his original plans quicker, while not alerting the saboteur.
Ryan, who has arrived on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise in the North Atlantic, is greeted with less than enthusiasm by the ship's captain, at least partly because, despite being a civilian, he is wearing a naval officer's uniform at the request of the CIA director, Vice-Admiral James Greer. The naval task force commander, Rear Admiral Painter, criticizes the captain's objections, remarking that Ryan had been a Marine officer and a Naval Academy graduate before service-related injuries forced his medical retirement. Acceding to Ryan's request to be delivered to the attack submarine USS Dallas, which has been tracking the submarine, they put him on a helicopter which takes him to its location.
After surviving an attack from Soviet Naval Aviation's Tu-142, the Red October finishes its journey through the underwater canyon, where the USS Dallas, through the efforts of a diligent SONAR operator, Ronald "Jonesey" Jones locates it again. The arrival of Ryan forces them to break contact with the sub, whose officers have meanwhile deduced that the Dallas had indeed found the characteristic signature of the Red October's drive, and was able to locate her.
Shortly after Ryan's arrival, the Dallas receives orders from the Pentagon (based on the information from the Russians) to sink the Red October. As the boat prepares to fire, Ryan convinces the captain of the Dallas, Bart Mancuso (Scott Glenn), to make contact with the Red October to facilitate the defection. Through use of morse-code and sonar pings, the Red October and Dallas agree to head south towards the Grand Banks.
The plan goes as follows: Ramius and his Chief Engineer stage a false reactor overload to force the vessel to surface and as Red October surfaces it is confronted by a Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, and sent a morse-code message via signal lamp not to submerge, or be fired upon. Ramius keeps only the officers loyal to him on Red October, and orders the rest of the crew off, claiming that he and the officers are going to scuttle the ship, rather than let it fall into the hands of the U.S. Consistent with the charade, an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter launched from the frigate fires a torpedo towards the Red October, but Admiral Greer, on board the frigate, detonates the torpedo before it hits the submarine.
Ryan, Mancuso and Jonesey travel to the Red October via DSRV Mystic and offer any support they can provide. Once Ramius realizes that he can trust them he formally requests asylum for himself and his officers in the United States of America, which Mancuso grants. All goes well until Soviet torpedoes are heard in the water, from the Konovalov that has also found the Red October. After the first torpedo is fired upon the Red October (it does not acquire its target because it had the incorrect ranges), Ramius orders Ryan to steer the ship directly into the second torpedo's path. Everyone else insists that Ryan not do so, but Ryan reluctantly complies. When the torpedo hits the hull, it breaks apart without detonating, and it is finally realized on both sides that the maneuver was a tactic to close the gap before the torpedo had a chance to arm.
Concurrently, the saboteur, revealed to be Loginov, shoots at the captain, missing and instead fatally wounding the executive officer, Vasily Borodin, along with damaging the fire control panel (leaving Red October unable to return fire). An alarm reveals that Loginov has headed into the missile launch area, and Ramius realizes that Loginov intends to ignite a missile launch mechanism, which would destroy the Red October. Ryan and Ramius go after Loginov, while Mancuso takes command of the Red October to deal with the external threat. As Ramius predicted, the Konovalov fires another torpedo which arms at launch. While chasing Loginov, Ramius is shot and injured, leaving Ryan to search for him in the submarine's missile bay. As Loginov attempts to (and nearly does) detonate the launch mechanism of one of the missiles, he is gunned down by Ryan. Meanwhile, USS Dallas and Red October make a series of evasive maneuvers, causing the torpedo to target the Konovalov instead and destroy it. The crew of the Red October who had evacuated and were on board a U.S. Navy rescue ship witnessed the explosion and believed it to be the Red October that had been destroyed. Ultimately the submarine finds haven in the Penobscot River in Maine, and Ryan flies home—too exhausted to consider his fear of flying as he had not had a decent night's sleep since before the film begins—with a teddy bear that he had promised for his daughter.
In my review of "The Abyss" I commented how the pressure (literally) of the ocean depths is exciting to me. This film is full of that sort of pressure from start to finish. A power-house cast and special effects drive Tom Clancy's novel to the extreme. It is a magnificent film. When I was in high school I rented "The Hunt..." from Blockbuster and kept it for 75 days...yes, there was a late fee to be paid. This is one of my very favorite movies, an excellent display of casting, editing, and communicating political and emotional tension in physically tense moments. The action is perfectly married to the Soviet paranoia and American "objective", this film is a true action-drama.
My Rating: 8.5/10
The "Reel Revelation": "Full Ahead, Flank!"
When someone says "flank" in the nautical world they are referring to the a speed a particular vessel can achieve that is beyond its maximum operational speed. If Captain Kirk had served on a submarine instead of a star ship he would have said "Go to flank!" instead of "Scotty, give me more power!" While a ship moves much faster at flank speed it also burns up fuel at an incredible rate and can remain at flank speed for a short period of time due to the super heating of the engine and its components. Vessels of every kind (especially submarines) should only be taken to flank speed when in moments of severe danger; being chased by an aircraft or when in combat with another vessel.
What is your "flank speed"? We all know how it feels to push ourselves to the maximum, know that we're at the peak of our efficiency, and then push ourselves a little bit further. At first we feel like we are flying and our speed is beyond belief. Suddenly anything can be achieved at a moment's notice; all of our gifts, talents, and powers are working at maximum efficiency. And then, suddenly, we realize that we're running low on fuel, that the pistons and gears are running at a nearly uncontrollable rate...that we cannot maintain our speed for much longer. What happens to vehicles that run at uncontrollable speeds? They have "accidents", but what happens when we're running at super-speeds cannot be called an accident as we knew full well what would happen. We pull ourselves out of the wreckage and come face to face with the stifling reality that we've hurt ourselves and, most likely, failed to really achieve anything.
There are times when we must "hasten" to accomplish a certain task, times when we will be called upon to act with speed and careful aim. When God calls us to a task that must be accomplished with speed, however, he will give us the fuel (or whatever you want to call it) necessary to remain safe and the wisdom to remain aware of our performance. God will never summon us to a task that will compromise our effectiveness as servants of the Gospel. Even those who go to their death for the sake of the Gospel do so under the protective hand of the Father, and their courage is great, indeed. Those who are in congregational ministry (or full-time ministry of any kind) know how easy it can be to run at "flank speed" and become easily "burned out." It's quite possible we've all met people so "on fire" for God that they feel they can accomplish anything. While their enthusiasm enables them to do much for the Kingdom of God they will certainly find themselves short on energy, inspiration, and patience as the "engine" of their life overheats and breaks down.
Like any runner set upon a long race we require pacing. Like any nautical vessel set upon a long "steam" (voyage) we require a sensible and wise plan of resource consumption. If we do not take the time to check the speed at which we're living we will find ourselves on the side of the road, a wreck for all to see, and will have to endure the difficult and often painful process of personal repair. Let us be thankful that even when we crash and burn, God, who is faithful, will lovingly collect our shattered lives and reconstruct us in his own image; in the image of Jesus.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
P.S. - Today's review is dedicated to my good friend and co-worker, Paul Collins, who shares my love of submarine films, in particular "The Hunt For Red October."
Director: John McTiernan
Producer: Mace Neufeld
Editing: Dennis Virkler and John Wright
Composer: Basil Poledouris
Starring:
- Alec Baldwin as Dr. Jack Ryan
- Sean Connert as Cpt. 1st Class Marko Ramius
- Scott Glenn as Cmdr. Bart Mancuso
- Sam Neill as Cpt. 2nd Class Vasily Borodin
- James Earl Jones as Vice Admiral James Greer
Plot and Critical Review: Marko Ramius, a Lithuanian, is captain of the Soviet Navy's newest Typhoon-class ballistic missile submarine, the Red October, equipped with a revolutionary silent propulsion system known as a caterpillar drive. A naval veteran with nearly 40 years of experience, he is considered the best officer in the Soviet Navy. At the start of the movie he is shown taking the boat out to sea, ostensibly for its first exercise with other units of the Russian Fleet. The captain, however, has another plan—to navigate the submarine to the coast of America in order to defect, as he considers the Red October to be a first-strike weapon that cannot be left in the hands of the Soviets.
To achieve this, he must murder Ivan Putin, his political officer, who alone amongst his officers was not hand-picked in support of this action. With the ship's doctor, Yevgeniy Petrov, and cook, Igor Loginov, as witnesses, Ramius takes the late political officer's missile key, granting him sole control over the ship's missile systems. After this is done, Ramius reads substitute orders to his crew to support the mission (stating they will conduct missile drills off the coast of New York City and then sail to Havana for shore leave), and begins his long journey. He is at first discovered and tracked by the USS Dallas, an American attack submarine, but upon activation of the caterpillar drive he is able to break away. Meanwhile, Soviet authorities read a letter posted by Ramius prior to his departure, announcing his intention to defect. The Soviet Navy immediately puts to sea to locate and sink the Red October. One of the ships that joins in the hunt is the Alfa-class attack submarine V.K. Konovalov, captained by a former student of Ramius. This causes a stir in Washington, D.C. when the activity triggers a reciprocal deployment of U.S. assets, as Russian intentions are unclear.
At this point, Central Intelligence Agency analyst Jack Ryan, who had been researching the submarine as a project, puts forth the proposition that Ramius may be defecting with the Red October. The President's National Security Advisor, Jeffrey Pelt, suggests that Ryan go to the North Atlantic Fleet (to prevent the risk of the Soviets overhearing their radio transmissions) and somehow make contact with the submarine before the U.S. is forced to sink it. At various points throughout the film, Pelt is conversing with the Soviet ambassador, who first requests American assistance to locate the Red October, and in a subsequent meeting, is instructed to ask the President to help them find the sub and destroy it, falsely claiming that Ramius' letter declared his intention to attack the United States on his own authority. Meanwhile, Red October is moving through the Reykjanes Ridge when its silent drive suddenly fails; Ramius realizes that there is a saboteur aboard and must carry out his original plans quicker, while not alerting the saboteur.
Ryan, who has arrived on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise in the North Atlantic, is greeted with less than enthusiasm by the ship's captain, at least partly because, despite being a civilian, he is wearing a naval officer's uniform at the request of the CIA director, Vice-Admiral James Greer. The naval task force commander, Rear Admiral Painter, criticizes the captain's objections, remarking that Ryan had been a Marine officer and a Naval Academy graduate before service-related injuries forced his medical retirement. Acceding to Ryan's request to be delivered to the attack submarine USS Dallas, which has been tracking the submarine, they put him on a helicopter which takes him to its location.
After surviving an attack from Soviet Naval Aviation's Tu-142, the Red October finishes its journey through the underwater canyon, where the USS Dallas, through the efforts of a diligent SONAR operator, Ronald "Jonesey" Jones locates it again. The arrival of Ryan forces them to break contact with the sub, whose officers have meanwhile deduced that the Dallas had indeed found the characteristic signature of the Red October's drive, and was able to locate her.
Shortly after Ryan's arrival, the Dallas receives orders from the Pentagon (based on the information from the Russians) to sink the Red October. As the boat prepares to fire, Ryan convinces the captain of the Dallas, Bart Mancuso (Scott Glenn), to make contact with the Red October to facilitate the defection. Through use of morse-code and sonar pings, the Red October and Dallas agree to head south towards the Grand Banks.
The plan goes as follows: Ramius and his Chief Engineer stage a false reactor overload to force the vessel to surface and as Red October surfaces it is confronted by a Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, and sent a morse-code message via signal lamp not to submerge, or be fired upon. Ramius keeps only the officers loyal to him on Red October, and orders the rest of the crew off, claiming that he and the officers are going to scuttle the ship, rather than let it fall into the hands of the U.S. Consistent with the charade, an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter launched from the frigate fires a torpedo towards the Red October, but Admiral Greer, on board the frigate, detonates the torpedo before it hits the submarine.
Ryan, Mancuso and Jonesey travel to the Red October via DSRV Mystic and offer any support they can provide. Once Ramius realizes that he can trust them he formally requests asylum for himself and his officers in the United States of America, which Mancuso grants. All goes well until Soviet torpedoes are heard in the water, from the Konovalov that has also found the Red October. After the first torpedo is fired upon the Red October (it does not acquire its target because it had the incorrect ranges), Ramius orders Ryan to steer the ship directly into the second torpedo's path. Everyone else insists that Ryan not do so, but Ryan reluctantly complies. When the torpedo hits the hull, it breaks apart without detonating, and it is finally realized on both sides that the maneuver was a tactic to close the gap before the torpedo had a chance to arm.
Concurrently, the saboteur, revealed to be Loginov, shoots at the captain, missing and instead fatally wounding the executive officer, Vasily Borodin, along with damaging the fire control panel (leaving Red October unable to return fire). An alarm reveals that Loginov has headed into the missile launch area, and Ramius realizes that Loginov intends to ignite a missile launch mechanism, which would destroy the Red October. Ryan and Ramius go after Loginov, while Mancuso takes command of the Red October to deal with the external threat. As Ramius predicted, the Konovalov fires another torpedo which arms at launch. While chasing Loginov, Ramius is shot and injured, leaving Ryan to search for him in the submarine's missile bay. As Loginov attempts to (and nearly does) detonate the launch mechanism of one of the missiles, he is gunned down by Ryan. Meanwhile, USS Dallas and Red October make a series of evasive maneuvers, causing the torpedo to target the Konovalov instead and destroy it. The crew of the Red October who had evacuated and were on board a U.S. Navy rescue ship witnessed the explosion and believed it to be the Red October that had been destroyed. Ultimately the submarine finds haven in the Penobscot River in Maine, and Ryan flies home—too exhausted to consider his fear of flying as he had not had a decent night's sleep since before the film begins—with a teddy bear that he had promised for his daughter.
In my review of "The Abyss" I commented how the pressure (literally) of the ocean depths is exciting to me. This film is full of that sort of pressure from start to finish. A power-house cast and special effects drive Tom Clancy's novel to the extreme. It is a magnificent film. When I was in high school I rented "The Hunt..." from Blockbuster and kept it for 75 days...yes, there was a late fee to be paid. This is one of my very favorite movies, an excellent display of casting, editing, and communicating political and emotional tension in physically tense moments. The action is perfectly married to the Soviet paranoia and American "objective", this film is a true action-drama.
My Rating: 8.5/10
The "Reel Revelation": "Full Ahead, Flank!"
When someone says "flank" in the nautical world they are referring to the a speed a particular vessel can achieve that is beyond its maximum operational speed. If Captain Kirk had served on a submarine instead of a star ship he would have said "Go to flank!" instead of "Scotty, give me more power!" While a ship moves much faster at flank speed it also burns up fuel at an incredible rate and can remain at flank speed for a short period of time due to the super heating of the engine and its components. Vessels of every kind (especially submarines) should only be taken to flank speed when in moments of severe danger; being chased by an aircraft or when in combat with another vessel.
What is your "flank speed"? We all know how it feels to push ourselves to the maximum, know that we're at the peak of our efficiency, and then push ourselves a little bit further. At first we feel like we are flying and our speed is beyond belief. Suddenly anything can be achieved at a moment's notice; all of our gifts, talents, and powers are working at maximum efficiency. And then, suddenly, we realize that we're running low on fuel, that the pistons and gears are running at a nearly uncontrollable rate...that we cannot maintain our speed for much longer. What happens to vehicles that run at uncontrollable speeds? They have "accidents", but what happens when we're running at super-speeds cannot be called an accident as we knew full well what would happen. We pull ourselves out of the wreckage and come face to face with the stifling reality that we've hurt ourselves and, most likely, failed to really achieve anything.
There are times when we must "hasten" to accomplish a certain task, times when we will be called upon to act with speed and careful aim. When God calls us to a task that must be accomplished with speed, however, he will give us the fuel (or whatever you want to call it) necessary to remain safe and the wisdom to remain aware of our performance. God will never summon us to a task that will compromise our effectiveness as servants of the Gospel. Even those who go to their death for the sake of the Gospel do so under the protective hand of the Father, and their courage is great, indeed. Those who are in congregational ministry (or full-time ministry of any kind) know how easy it can be to run at "flank speed" and become easily "burned out." It's quite possible we've all met people so "on fire" for God that they feel they can accomplish anything. While their enthusiasm enables them to do much for the Kingdom of God they will certainly find themselves short on energy, inspiration, and patience as the "engine" of their life overheats and breaks down.
Like any runner set upon a long race we require pacing. Like any nautical vessel set upon a long "steam" (voyage) we require a sensible and wise plan of resource consumption. If we do not take the time to check the speed at which we're living we will find ourselves on the side of the road, a wreck for all to see, and will have to endure the difficult and often painful process of personal repair. Let us be thankful that even when we crash and burn, God, who is faithful, will lovingly collect our shattered lives and reconstruct us in his own image; in the image of Jesus.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
P.S. - Today's review is dedicated to my good friend and co-worker, Paul Collins, who shares my love of submarine films, in particular "The Hunt For Red October."
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
"Godfather Part III"
Title: "Godfather: Part III"
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Producer: Francis Ford Coppola
Editing: Lisa Fruchtman, Jane Jenkins, and Roser Mussenden
Composer: Carmine Coppola (F.F.'s Dad)
Starring:
- Al Pacino as Don Michael Corleone
- Andy Garcia as Vincent Mancini
- Eli Wallach as Don Altobello
- Talia Shire as Constanzia "Connie" Corleone
- Diane Keaton as Kay Corleone
- Joe Mantegna as Joey Zasa
There's no sense in me trying to explain to you the plot lines from the first two "Godfather" films. If you've not seen the first two (don't worry if you haven't, I watched them for the first time just recently) you can follow these links to excellent Wikipedia articles on both films:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfather
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfather_Part_II
Plot and Critical Review: The film begins in 1979. Michael Corleone is now 59 and feeling tremendous guilt for indulging in his ruthless ambition over the years, especially for ordering the murder of his brother Fredo almost two decades ago. Although his previous conquests have made him a very rich man the thoughts of his children, their future, happiness, and his legacy are the only things keeping him going now. His adopted brother Tom Hagen is now dead (it is strongly implied that Tom's death was a natural one) and the Corleone compound at Lake Tahoe has been abandoned. Michael and Kay divorced in 1959, and Michael gave her custody of their children, Anthony and Mary. He has since returned to New York City.
The violent criminal element of the Corleone family has been largely abandoned, ostracized by Michael as well as the public, which no longer romanticizes the gangster lifestyle. In an attempt to break with the past, Michael creates a charity, the Vito Andolini Foundation, in memory of his father.
At a lavish party following the ceremony, Michael and Kay have a somewhat uneasy reunion. Anthony tells his father that he is going to drop out of law school to pursue a career as an opera singer. Kay supports his choice but Michael initially disagrees, wishing that his son would either finish law school or join the family business. Anthony steadfastly refuses, stating that while he loves his father, he will never be part of the family business (much like Michael's initial relationship with his own father). Michael eventually, though somewhat reluctantly, acquiesces to Anthony's wishes. Meanwhile, Vincent Mancini, Sonny Corleone’s illegitimate son, shows up at the party. He is embroiled in a feud with Joey Zasa, the Corleone family's mafioso muscle. What remains of the old Corleone criminal empire — once the most powerful Mafia family in the nation — is now under Zasa's stewardship. However, the Corleones' old neighborhood in Little Italy is in ruins, and has become a slum. In Michael's study, Vincent and Zasa tell him about their feud. The discussion grows violent, with Vincent accusing Zasa of mocking Michael behind his back. Michael makes it clear that he is not a "gangster" and that whatever bad blood exists between Vincent and Joey Zasa is none of his business, and must only be settled between them. He asks the two men to make peace with one another. They embrace, but Zasa insults Vincent by whispering "bastardo" in his ear. Enraged, Vincent bites off part of Zasa’s ear. Michael agrees to take his nephew under his wing. The party concludes with a family picture where Michael asks Vincent to join the rest of the family.
That night, two men break into Vincent’s home, after Vincent has spent the night with a journalist (Bridget Fonda). Vincent kills one in order to frighten the other into revealing Zasa as the man who sent them, then kills him. Michael seeks to buy the Vatican's shares in Immobiliare, an international real estate holding company. He negotiates the transfer of $600,000,000 to the Vatican Bank with Archbishop Gilday, who has plunged the Holy See into tremendous debt through his poor management and corrupt dealings. While in the Vatican, Michael learns that several influential parties oppose the deal for many reasons, not the least of which is his extensive criminal history.
Don Altobello, an elderly New York mafia chief and old friend of the Corleones, tells Michael that his old New York partners of The Commission want in on the Immobiliare deal. A meeting is arranged at an Atlantic City hotel, and Michael appeases most of the mafia bosses with generous payoffs. Zasa, however, gets nothing. Furious, he declares that Michael is his enemy. Zasa storms out with Altobello close behind, attempting to calm Zasa down. Minutes later, a helicopter hovers outside the conference room and sprays the room with machine gun fire. Most of the other mob bosses are killed but Michael, Vincent and Michael's bodyguard, Al Neri, escape. Back at his apartment in New York, Michael is told that those mob bosses who escaped the massacre quickly made deals with Zasa. As Michael considers how to respond to this hit, he suffers a diabetic stroke, and is hospitalized.
Though they are cousins, Vincent and Mary begin a romantic relationship. Unbeknownst to Michael, Vincent plots revenge against Joey Zasa. During a street fair, Vincent and his accomplices kill Zasa's bodyguards, and Vincent, disguised as a police officer, murders Zasa himself. Michael, still hospitalized, berates Vincent when he finds out. Michael also insists that Vincent end his relationship with Mary because Vincent’s involvement in the family puts Mary's life in jeopardy. Vincent agrees.
The family takes a vacation to Sicily in March 1980, in preparation for Anthony's operatic debut in Palermo. Michael tells Vincent to speak with Don Altobello and to make known to him his intentions of leaving the Corleone family. Altobello supports the idea of Vincent switching his allegiance, and introduces him to Don Licio Lucchesi, the man behind the plot to prevent Michael’s acquisition of Immobiliare. Michael visits Cardinal Lamberto to speak about the Immobiliare deal. Lamberto convinces Michael to make his first confession in nearly thirty years in which he tearfully admits to ordering Fredo's murder.
Touring Sicily with Kay, who has arrived for Anthony’s operatic debut, Michael asks for her forgiveness. As they both admit that they still love each other, Michael receives word that Don Tommasino, his Sicilian friend and ally of the Corleone Family for over half a century, has been assassinated, signaling that a new round of violence is about to begin. Cardinal Lamberto is elected Pope John Paul I, which means that the Immobiliare deal will likely be ratified, due to his intention to "clean up" the dealings of the Vatican. The new Pope's intentions come as a death knell to the plot against the ratification of the Immobiliare deal, prompting frantic attempts by the plotters to cover their own tracks. Vincent tells Michael what he has learned from Altobello: Lucchesi is behind the plot against the Immobiliare deal, and a master assassin known as Mosca da Montelepre (the man who killed Tommasino), has been hired by Altobello to kill Michael. Vincent wants to strike back, but Michael cautions him, saying that if he goes ahead with such a plan, there’ll be no going back. Vincent insists on revenge, and Michael relents. He makes Vincent the new don of the Corleone family, telling him to "call yourself a Corleone." In exchange, Vincent agrees to finally put an end to his relationship with Mary.
The family travels to Palermo to see Anthony perform the lead in Cavalleria Rusticana at the renowned Teatro Massimo. Meanwhile, Vincent makes plans to seek revenge against the Corleone family's enemies. Interspersed with scenes from Anthony’s performance are the brutal murders of the enemies of the Corleone family.
- Frederick Keinszig is assaulted by Vincent's men, who hang him to make his death an apparent suicide.
- Archbishop Gilday has the Pope's tea poisoned. The Pope drinks it and dies.
- Don Altobello eats a poisoned cannoli that his goddaughter Connie gives him. He soon dies a silent death as Connie painfully watches.
- Al Neri shoots Archbishop Gilday as he climbs a spiral staircase.
- Finally, Calo approaches Don Lucchesi and whispers into his ear "Power wears out those who do not have it" before stabbing Lucchesi in the throat with his own pair of glasses, killing him before he is killed himself by Lucchesi's bodyguard.
Mosca, the assassin hired by Altobello to kill Michael, descends upon the opera house during Anthony's performance, killing three of Vincent’s men, but the opera ends before he has the chance to kill Michael. The assassin retreats to the opera house facade’s staircase, and tries to shoot Michael there. At the same moment, Mary is confronting her father about the forced break-up with Vincent. Two shots suddenly ring out. The first hits Michael in the shoulder. The second hits Mary directly in the chest, and she dies calling out to her father. A vengeful Vincent kills the assassin with a single shot. As Michael weeps and cradles Mary's bloody body in his arms, Kay screams in agony.
The scene dissolves to a short montage of Michael's memories, the first being a dance with Mary, the second being a dance with his first wife, Apollonia, and the last being a dance with Kay-symbolizing the women he has lost. The film ends in an unspecified year showing an aged Michael seated alone in the front yard of his Sicilian villa. He slowly puts on a pair of sunglasses, drops an orange from his hand, slumps over in his chair, collapses to the ground, and dies, completely alone.
There's no more word space for a critical review. See for yourselves the capstone to Coppola's masterpiece.
My Rating: 8/10
The "Reel Revelation": "Father, Forgive..."
After so many years of chasing the goal of the gangster and ignoring the consequences of his actions (outside of the bullets that chased him because of the men he killed/had killed) Michael Corleone's life slows down and he has time to reflect. At long last he is able to lift up his eyes and look at what his life has become. He sees the beauty of his children, feels the hurt of his divorce from Kay, and remembers all of those who have been lost to the "family business." And he remembers Fredo, his brother, whom he ordered to have killed. During a telling moment of pure emotion Michael confesses many of his sins to a priest during which he delivers these classic lines: "Father, I have sinned... I killed my brother... I killed my brother... I killed my mother's son... I killed my father's son..." Suddenly he realized the weight of his sin and the toll is has taken on his life, having been left untended for so long a time
Elsewhere in the film Michael also offers up this tender plea while sitting beside Don Tommassino coffin: "Goodbye my old friend. You could have lived a little longer, I could be closer to my dream. You were so loved, Don Tommasino. Why was I so feared, and you so loved? What was it? I was no less honorable. I wanted to do good. What betrayed me? My mind? My heart? Why do I condemn myself so? I swear, on the lives of my children: Give me a chance to redeem myself, and I will sin, no more."
Michael's heart was searching in the right direction but the redemption he was seeking could be found in the lifeless corpse of a mafia boss. His penitence was true, but the grace necessary to turn his life around could not be given by a dead man. He was much closer in the confession scene when he faced God (to some degree, at least) and asked for his forgiveness. All of the right pieces were in the place but the most important piece was missing; the presence of God.
We all carry around burdens that weigh us down. There are things within our lives that we've carried for so long their weight has become a part of our lives. We commit sins we don't call sin, we use foul worlds but we don't admit to cursing, and we live in the dark when God has called us into the light. You can only live this way for so long until your life will crumble just like Michael's did. I wish there was another alternative to offer, that I could say "...until your life crumbles or you...get a new job and your disposition returns." That is not the way of things. Sin has but one cost, one "wage", and it is death.
Confession is one of the most important elements of the Christian life. Not only do we invite and adversely nurture divisions between ourselves and God (on our end, not God's, of course) when we fail to confess our sins to him, but we drive others away when we're not open with our neighbors about our wrongdoings toward them. To make matters worse few things are as difficult as telling someone "i'm sorry" and meaning it. We are far more likely to generate an endless list of reasons to defend our position...to make what we did right and acceptable...long before we'd ever admit we've done something wrong. We fool ourselves and pull the cloak of ignorance further over our eyes. Only God can rescue us from this destructive cycle of living.
Lent is a season of reflection. What do you reflect on? Reflect on Christ's death on the cross, yes! Reflect on God's presence in your life, yes! Also reflect on your own sin. Be mindful (and honest!) of the things you've done that have brought pain into the world. When you feel conviction or shame don't back away, offer your heart to God and pray for him to absolve (wash away) your wickedness. It is one of the devil's most clever traps; to convince a Christian that by saying "Lord, have mercy..." on Sunday morning their hearts are clear of darkness. While a sin may be forgiven we will still wrestle with the inner turmoil of what that sin does to us long after the sin itself has been dissolved away by the blood of God's precious Son.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
P.S. - I apologize for the length tonight. Here's a video about forgiveness and saying i'm sorry that some may find helpful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_bdMecxias
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Producer: Francis Ford Coppola
Editing: Lisa Fruchtman, Jane Jenkins, and Roser Mussenden
Composer: Carmine Coppola (F.F.'s Dad)
Starring:
- Al Pacino as Don Michael Corleone
- Andy Garcia as Vincent Mancini
- Eli Wallach as Don Altobello
- Talia Shire as Constanzia "Connie" Corleone
- Diane Keaton as Kay Corleone
- Joe Mantegna as Joey Zasa
There's no sense in me trying to explain to you the plot lines from the first two "Godfather" films. If you've not seen the first two (don't worry if you haven't, I watched them for the first time just recently) you can follow these links to excellent Wikipedia articles on both films:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfather
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfather_Part_II
Plot and Critical Review: The film begins in 1979. Michael Corleone is now 59 and feeling tremendous guilt for indulging in his ruthless ambition over the years, especially for ordering the murder of his brother Fredo almost two decades ago. Although his previous conquests have made him a very rich man the thoughts of his children, their future, happiness, and his legacy are the only things keeping him going now. His adopted brother Tom Hagen is now dead (it is strongly implied that Tom's death was a natural one) and the Corleone compound at Lake Tahoe has been abandoned. Michael and Kay divorced in 1959, and Michael gave her custody of their children, Anthony and Mary. He has since returned to New York City.
The violent criminal element of the Corleone family has been largely abandoned, ostracized by Michael as well as the public, which no longer romanticizes the gangster lifestyle. In an attempt to break with the past, Michael creates a charity, the Vito Andolini Foundation, in memory of his father.
At a lavish party following the ceremony, Michael and Kay have a somewhat uneasy reunion. Anthony tells his father that he is going to drop out of law school to pursue a career as an opera singer. Kay supports his choice but Michael initially disagrees, wishing that his son would either finish law school or join the family business. Anthony steadfastly refuses, stating that while he loves his father, he will never be part of the family business (much like Michael's initial relationship with his own father). Michael eventually, though somewhat reluctantly, acquiesces to Anthony's wishes. Meanwhile, Vincent Mancini, Sonny Corleone’s illegitimate son, shows up at the party. He is embroiled in a feud with Joey Zasa, the Corleone family's mafioso muscle. What remains of the old Corleone criminal empire — once the most powerful Mafia family in the nation — is now under Zasa's stewardship. However, the Corleones' old neighborhood in Little Italy is in ruins, and has become a slum. In Michael's study, Vincent and Zasa tell him about their feud. The discussion grows violent, with Vincent accusing Zasa of mocking Michael behind his back. Michael makes it clear that he is not a "gangster" and that whatever bad blood exists between Vincent and Joey Zasa is none of his business, and must only be settled between them. He asks the two men to make peace with one another. They embrace, but Zasa insults Vincent by whispering "bastardo" in his ear. Enraged, Vincent bites off part of Zasa’s ear. Michael agrees to take his nephew under his wing. The party concludes with a family picture where Michael asks Vincent to join the rest of the family.
That night, two men break into Vincent’s home, after Vincent has spent the night with a journalist (Bridget Fonda). Vincent kills one in order to frighten the other into revealing Zasa as the man who sent them, then kills him. Michael seeks to buy the Vatican's shares in Immobiliare, an international real estate holding company. He negotiates the transfer of $600,000,000 to the Vatican Bank with Archbishop Gilday, who has plunged the Holy See into tremendous debt through his poor management and corrupt dealings. While in the Vatican, Michael learns that several influential parties oppose the deal for many reasons, not the least of which is his extensive criminal history.
Don Altobello, an elderly New York mafia chief and old friend of the Corleones, tells Michael that his old New York partners of The Commission want in on the Immobiliare deal. A meeting is arranged at an Atlantic City hotel, and Michael appeases most of the mafia bosses with generous payoffs. Zasa, however, gets nothing. Furious, he declares that Michael is his enemy. Zasa storms out with Altobello close behind, attempting to calm Zasa down. Minutes later, a helicopter hovers outside the conference room and sprays the room with machine gun fire. Most of the other mob bosses are killed but Michael, Vincent and Michael's bodyguard, Al Neri, escape. Back at his apartment in New York, Michael is told that those mob bosses who escaped the massacre quickly made deals with Zasa. As Michael considers how to respond to this hit, he suffers a diabetic stroke, and is hospitalized.
Though they are cousins, Vincent and Mary begin a romantic relationship. Unbeknownst to Michael, Vincent plots revenge against Joey Zasa. During a street fair, Vincent and his accomplices kill Zasa's bodyguards, and Vincent, disguised as a police officer, murders Zasa himself. Michael, still hospitalized, berates Vincent when he finds out. Michael also insists that Vincent end his relationship with Mary because Vincent’s involvement in the family puts Mary's life in jeopardy. Vincent agrees.
The family takes a vacation to Sicily in March 1980, in preparation for Anthony's operatic debut in Palermo. Michael tells Vincent to speak with Don Altobello and to make known to him his intentions of leaving the Corleone family. Altobello supports the idea of Vincent switching his allegiance, and introduces him to Don Licio Lucchesi, the man behind the plot to prevent Michael’s acquisition of Immobiliare. Michael visits Cardinal Lamberto to speak about the Immobiliare deal. Lamberto convinces Michael to make his first confession in nearly thirty years in which he tearfully admits to ordering Fredo's murder.
Touring Sicily with Kay, who has arrived for Anthony’s operatic debut, Michael asks for her forgiveness. As they both admit that they still love each other, Michael receives word that Don Tommasino, his Sicilian friend and ally of the Corleone Family for over half a century, has been assassinated, signaling that a new round of violence is about to begin. Cardinal Lamberto is elected Pope John Paul I, which means that the Immobiliare deal will likely be ratified, due to his intention to "clean up" the dealings of the Vatican. The new Pope's intentions come as a death knell to the plot against the ratification of the Immobiliare deal, prompting frantic attempts by the plotters to cover their own tracks. Vincent tells Michael what he has learned from Altobello: Lucchesi is behind the plot against the Immobiliare deal, and a master assassin known as Mosca da Montelepre (the man who killed Tommasino), has been hired by Altobello to kill Michael. Vincent wants to strike back, but Michael cautions him, saying that if he goes ahead with such a plan, there’ll be no going back. Vincent insists on revenge, and Michael relents. He makes Vincent the new don of the Corleone family, telling him to "call yourself a Corleone." In exchange, Vincent agrees to finally put an end to his relationship with Mary.
The family travels to Palermo to see Anthony perform the lead in Cavalleria Rusticana at the renowned Teatro Massimo. Meanwhile, Vincent makes plans to seek revenge against the Corleone family's enemies. Interspersed with scenes from Anthony’s performance are the brutal murders of the enemies of the Corleone family.
- Frederick Keinszig is assaulted by Vincent's men, who hang him to make his death an apparent suicide.
- Archbishop Gilday has the Pope's tea poisoned. The Pope drinks it and dies.
- Don Altobello eats a poisoned cannoli that his goddaughter Connie gives him. He soon dies a silent death as Connie painfully watches.
- Al Neri shoots Archbishop Gilday as he climbs a spiral staircase.
- Finally, Calo approaches Don Lucchesi and whispers into his ear "Power wears out those who do not have it" before stabbing Lucchesi in the throat with his own pair of glasses, killing him before he is killed himself by Lucchesi's bodyguard.
Mosca, the assassin hired by Altobello to kill Michael, descends upon the opera house during Anthony's performance, killing three of Vincent’s men, but the opera ends before he has the chance to kill Michael. The assassin retreats to the opera house facade’s staircase, and tries to shoot Michael there. At the same moment, Mary is confronting her father about the forced break-up with Vincent. Two shots suddenly ring out. The first hits Michael in the shoulder. The second hits Mary directly in the chest, and she dies calling out to her father. A vengeful Vincent kills the assassin with a single shot. As Michael weeps and cradles Mary's bloody body in his arms, Kay screams in agony.
The scene dissolves to a short montage of Michael's memories, the first being a dance with Mary, the second being a dance with his first wife, Apollonia, and the last being a dance with Kay-symbolizing the women he has lost. The film ends in an unspecified year showing an aged Michael seated alone in the front yard of his Sicilian villa. He slowly puts on a pair of sunglasses, drops an orange from his hand, slumps over in his chair, collapses to the ground, and dies, completely alone.
There's no more word space for a critical review. See for yourselves the capstone to Coppola's masterpiece.
My Rating: 8/10
The "Reel Revelation": "Father, Forgive..."
After so many years of chasing the goal of the gangster and ignoring the consequences of his actions (outside of the bullets that chased him because of the men he killed/had killed) Michael Corleone's life slows down and he has time to reflect. At long last he is able to lift up his eyes and look at what his life has become. He sees the beauty of his children, feels the hurt of his divorce from Kay, and remembers all of those who have been lost to the "family business." And he remembers Fredo, his brother, whom he ordered to have killed. During a telling moment of pure emotion Michael confesses many of his sins to a priest during which he delivers these classic lines: "Father, I have sinned... I killed my brother... I killed my brother... I killed my mother's son... I killed my father's son..." Suddenly he realized the weight of his sin and the toll is has taken on his life, having been left untended for so long a time
Elsewhere in the film Michael also offers up this tender plea while sitting beside Don Tommassino coffin: "Goodbye my old friend. You could have lived a little longer, I could be closer to my dream. You were so loved, Don Tommasino. Why was I so feared, and you so loved? What was it? I was no less honorable. I wanted to do good. What betrayed me? My mind? My heart? Why do I condemn myself so? I swear, on the lives of my children: Give me a chance to redeem myself, and I will sin, no more."
Michael's heart was searching in the right direction but the redemption he was seeking could be found in the lifeless corpse of a mafia boss. His penitence was true, but the grace necessary to turn his life around could not be given by a dead man. He was much closer in the confession scene when he faced God (to some degree, at least) and asked for his forgiveness. All of the right pieces were in the place but the most important piece was missing; the presence of God.
We all carry around burdens that weigh us down. There are things within our lives that we've carried for so long their weight has become a part of our lives. We commit sins we don't call sin, we use foul worlds but we don't admit to cursing, and we live in the dark when God has called us into the light. You can only live this way for so long until your life will crumble just like Michael's did. I wish there was another alternative to offer, that I could say "...until your life crumbles or you...get a new job and your disposition returns." That is not the way of things. Sin has but one cost, one "wage", and it is death.
Confession is one of the most important elements of the Christian life. Not only do we invite and adversely nurture divisions between ourselves and God (on our end, not God's, of course) when we fail to confess our sins to him, but we drive others away when we're not open with our neighbors about our wrongdoings toward them. To make matters worse few things are as difficult as telling someone "i'm sorry" and meaning it. We are far more likely to generate an endless list of reasons to defend our position...to make what we did right and acceptable...long before we'd ever admit we've done something wrong. We fool ourselves and pull the cloak of ignorance further over our eyes. Only God can rescue us from this destructive cycle of living.
Lent is a season of reflection. What do you reflect on? Reflect on Christ's death on the cross, yes! Reflect on God's presence in your life, yes! Also reflect on your own sin. Be mindful (and honest!) of the things you've done that have brought pain into the world. When you feel conviction or shame don't back away, offer your heart to God and pray for him to absolve (wash away) your wickedness. It is one of the devil's most clever traps; to convince a Christian that by saying "Lord, have mercy..." on Sunday morning their hearts are clear of darkness. While a sin may be forgiven we will still wrestle with the inner turmoil of what that sin does to us long after the sin itself has been dissolved away by the blood of God's precious Son.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
P.S. - I apologize for the length tonight. Here's a video about forgiveness and saying i'm sorry that some may find helpful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_bdMecxias
"First Knight"
Title: "First Knight"
Director: Jerry Zucker
Producer: Hunt Lowry and Jerry Zucker
Editing: Walter Murch
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Starring:
- Richard Gere as Lancelot
- Sean Connery as King Arthur of Camelot
- Julia Ormond as Guinevere
- Ben Cross as Prince Malagant
My apologies for missing Saturday night's review. After fighting with whatever ailment I had (which I am just now fully recovering from) and a wonderful but terribly exhausting fundraiser dinner at church I needed my rest. This week, however, looks to be an exceptional one with movies implementing diverse production styles, thematic content, and celebrity power. I hope you enjoy the reviews and spiritual reflections and enjoy God's presence with you as you read.
Plot and Critical Review: The film's opening text establishes that King Arthur of Camelot, victorious from his wars and reigning supreme, now wishes to marry. However, Malagant, a Knight of the Round Table, desires the throne for himself and rebels.
The movie opens with Lancelot, a vagabond skilled with the sword, fighting in small villages for money. Guinevere, the ruler of Leonesse, decides to marry Arthur partly out of admiration and partly for security against Malagant. While traveling, Lancelot chances by Guinevere's carriage on the way to Camelot, and helps spoil Malagant's ambush meant to kidnap her. He falls in love with Guinevere, who refuses his advances. Guinevere is subsequently reunited with her escort.
Later, Lancelot arrives in Camelot and successfully navigates an obstacle course called the "Gauntlet", which wins him an audience once again with Guinevere and her husband-to-be, Arthur. While staying in Camelot, Guinevere is kidnapped by Malagant's followers and imprisoned in an oubliette. In a daring rescue attempt, Lancelot feigns the role of a messenger only to escape with Guinevere and return her to Camelot. Once again, Lancelot tries to win her heart, but is unsuccessful. On the journey back to Camelot, it is revealed that Lancelot was orphaned and rendered homeless after bandits attacked his village, and has been wandering ever since.
In gratitude, Arthur offers Lancelot a higher calling in life as a Knight of the Round Table. Lancelot accepts and takes Malagant's place at the Table. Arthur and Guinevere are subsequently wedded. However, a messenger from Leonesse arrives, with dire news that Malagant has invaded.
Arthur leads his troops to Leonesse and successfully defeats Malagant's forces. Lancelot wins the respect of the other Knights of the Round Table with his prowess in battle. Upon returning to Camelot, Lancelot feels guilty about his feelings for the queen, and in private announces his departure to her. She grants him a kiss, which turns into a passionate embrace, just in time for the king to interrupt.
Lancelot and Guinevere are charged with treason. The open trial in the great square of Camelot is interrupted by a surprise invasion by Malagant, ready to burn Camelot and kill Arthur if he does not swear fealty to him. Instead Arthur commands his subjects to fight, and Malagant's men shoot him with crossbows. A battle between Malagant's men and Camelot's soldiers and citizens ensues, and Lancelot and Malagant face off. Wounded and disarmed, Lancelot seizes Arthur's fallen sword, which he uses to kill Malagant.
The soldiers and citizens of Camelot win the battle, but Arthur dies of his wounds. On his deathbed, he asks Lancelot to "take care of her for me" - a double entendre referring to both Camelot and Guinevere. The movie closes with a funeral raft carrying Arthur's body floating out to sea, which is set aflame. (Wikipedia)
My Rating: 6.5/10
The "Reel Revelation": "What I Say - What I Do"
When Lancelot stands before King Arthur and declares that he wants to remain in Camelot everyone is ecstatic except Guinevere. She alone knows that Lancelot is staying to pursue her, a pursuit she cannot resist for much longer. Yet everyone else believes that Lancelot has changed his ways, that he's decided to forsake the life of a rogue and enter a community where he will be treasured and cherished. Lancelot's deception is something we have all entertained and most of us have probably committed ourselves.
Have you ever seen an opportunity in front of you and realized you could probably get whatever you wanted out of said opportunity if you put up a front? An example: Let us say you desire object B. An opportunity arises that will allow you to achieve A and B, although you can't touch B until you've achieved A. You decide to take advantage of the opportunity but you must, of course, present yourself as desiring both A and B in equal measure. In the hypothetical "interview" for this theoretical "opportunity" you declare your unceasing longing to have A and B, to achieve them together, and to do well. All the while you smirk within, knowing that as soon as you've had A you'll toss it aside and run after B like a fool. Even though that seems a silly paragraph, are you with it?
This was Lancelot's aim. He was chasing after Guinevere (our B, in this case) but he had to become a member of the high council and a citizen of Camelot (A) before he could have B. Even though he was chasing after true love, his dishonesty ended up costing him dearly when Arthur caught Lancelot and Guinevere together.
What we say and what we do must be one in the same. If we say we will do one thing, let us do it! If we make a promise, let us keep it! If we take an oath, let us remain faithful to it! And even though there is always the possibility that new desires and interests will grow out of the experiences we encounter, let us remain mindful of the tasks that are around us in the moment. It is so easy to get caught up in the future; to dream too far and too fast of the things to come so that we suddenly lose motivation for what is right in front of us. Perhaps it's necessary, returning to the A/B scenario, that we achieve A before we can have B. The reason for that necessity need not be known. What we must know and treasure within our hearts is that God will set everything that we need before us; nothing will be kept so far out of our reach we will have to put on masks of dishonesty to achieve what God will provide. This ought to keep us from doing what most people have welcomed as second-nature, that is hiding under masks of dishonesty and chasing after the empty promises and short-lived pleasures of the world. In God alone we find our peace and in him we need not try to present any deception for he knows us as we are.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
Director: Jerry Zucker
Producer: Hunt Lowry and Jerry Zucker
Editing: Walter Murch
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Starring:
- Richard Gere as Lancelot
- Sean Connery as King Arthur of Camelot
- Julia Ormond as Guinevere
- Ben Cross as Prince Malagant
My apologies for missing Saturday night's review. After fighting with whatever ailment I had (which I am just now fully recovering from) and a wonderful but terribly exhausting fundraiser dinner at church I needed my rest. This week, however, looks to be an exceptional one with movies implementing diverse production styles, thematic content, and celebrity power. I hope you enjoy the reviews and spiritual reflections and enjoy God's presence with you as you read.
Plot and Critical Review: The film's opening text establishes that King Arthur of Camelot, victorious from his wars and reigning supreme, now wishes to marry. However, Malagant, a Knight of the Round Table, desires the throne for himself and rebels.
The movie opens with Lancelot, a vagabond skilled with the sword, fighting in small villages for money. Guinevere, the ruler of Leonesse, decides to marry Arthur partly out of admiration and partly for security against Malagant. While traveling, Lancelot chances by Guinevere's carriage on the way to Camelot, and helps spoil Malagant's ambush meant to kidnap her. He falls in love with Guinevere, who refuses his advances. Guinevere is subsequently reunited with her escort.
Later, Lancelot arrives in Camelot and successfully navigates an obstacle course called the "Gauntlet", which wins him an audience once again with Guinevere and her husband-to-be, Arthur. While staying in Camelot, Guinevere is kidnapped by Malagant's followers and imprisoned in an oubliette. In a daring rescue attempt, Lancelot feigns the role of a messenger only to escape with Guinevere and return her to Camelot. Once again, Lancelot tries to win her heart, but is unsuccessful. On the journey back to Camelot, it is revealed that Lancelot was orphaned and rendered homeless after bandits attacked his village, and has been wandering ever since.
In gratitude, Arthur offers Lancelot a higher calling in life as a Knight of the Round Table. Lancelot accepts and takes Malagant's place at the Table. Arthur and Guinevere are subsequently wedded. However, a messenger from Leonesse arrives, with dire news that Malagant has invaded.
Arthur leads his troops to Leonesse and successfully defeats Malagant's forces. Lancelot wins the respect of the other Knights of the Round Table with his prowess in battle. Upon returning to Camelot, Lancelot feels guilty about his feelings for the queen, and in private announces his departure to her. She grants him a kiss, which turns into a passionate embrace, just in time for the king to interrupt.
Lancelot and Guinevere are charged with treason. The open trial in the great square of Camelot is interrupted by a surprise invasion by Malagant, ready to burn Camelot and kill Arthur if he does not swear fealty to him. Instead Arthur commands his subjects to fight, and Malagant's men shoot him with crossbows. A battle between Malagant's men and Camelot's soldiers and citizens ensues, and Lancelot and Malagant face off. Wounded and disarmed, Lancelot seizes Arthur's fallen sword, which he uses to kill Malagant.
The soldiers and citizens of Camelot win the battle, but Arthur dies of his wounds. On his deathbed, he asks Lancelot to "take care of her for me" - a double entendre referring to both Camelot and Guinevere. The movie closes with a funeral raft carrying Arthur's body floating out to sea, which is set aflame. (Wikipedia)
My Rating: 6.5/10
The "Reel Revelation": "What I Say - What I Do"
When Lancelot stands before King Arthur and declares that he wants to remain in Camelot everyone is ecstatic except Guinevere. She alone knows that Lancelot is staying to pursue her, a pursuit she cannot resist for much longer. Yet everyone else believes that Lancelot has changed his ways, that he's decided to forsake the life of a rogue and enter a community where he will be treasured and cherished. Lancelot's deception is something we have all entertained and most of us have probably committed ourselves.
Have you ever seen an opportunity in front of you and realized you could probably get whatever you wanted out of said opportunity if you put up a front? An example: Let us say you desire object B. An opportunity arises that will allow you to achieve A and B, although you can't touch B until you've achieved A. You decide to take advantage of the opportunity but you must, of course, present yourself as desiring both A and B in equal measure. In the hypothetical "interview" for this theoretical "opportunity" you declare your unceasing longing to have A and B, to achieve them together, and to do well. All the while you smirk within, knowing that as soon as you've had A you'll toss it aside and run after B like a fool. Even though that seems a silly paragraph, are you with it?
This was Lancelot's aim. He was chasing after Guinevere (our B, in this case) but he had to become a member of the high council and a citizen of Camelot (A) before he could have B. Even though he was chasing after true love, his dishonesty ended up costing him dearly when Arthur caught Lancelot and Guinevere together.
What we say and what we do must be one in the same. If we say we will do one thing, let us do it! If we make a promise, let us keep it! If we take an oath, let us remain faithful to it! And even though there is always the possibility that new desires and interests will grow out of the experiences we encounter, let us remain mindful of the tasks that are around us in the moment. It is so easy to get caught up in the future; to dream too far and too fast of the things to come so that we suddenly lose motivation for what is right in front of us. Perhaps it's necessary, returning to the A/B scenario, that we achieve A before we can have B. The reason for that necessity need not be known. What we must know and treasure within our hearts is that God will set everything that we need before us; nothing will be kept so far out of our reach we will have to put on masks of dishonesty to achieve what God will provide. This ought to keep us from doing what most people have welcomed as second-nature, that is hiding under masks of dishonesty and chasing after the empty promises and short-lived pleasures of the world. In God alone we find our peace and in him we need not try to present any deception for he knows us as we are.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
"E.T. the Extra Terrestrial"
Title: "E.T. the Extra Terrestrial"
Director: Steven Spielberg
Producer: Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy (Mrs. Steven Spielberg)
Editing: Carol Littleton
Composer: John Williams
Starring:
- Henry Thomas as Elliott
- Robert MacNaughton as Michael
- Drew Barrymore as Gertie
- Dee Wallace as Mary
I submit my apologies to you all for failing to post a review yesterday. I was feeling increasingly ill and couldn't even sit up for an extended period of time. Yesterday we missed "Driving Miss Daisy" but as was the case with that film and "Die Hard" (which we missed on Wednesday) i'll try to revisit those reviews in the future; perhaps on Sundays when i'd otherwise be "off." I'm glad to be feeling better and return to the reviews with a tremendously special picture. I remember watching this movie with my sister who was terrified of the very first sequence in the forest and refused to watch the rest of the film. I hope she's gotten over that fear and is willing to give it a watch for this film is nothing short of miraculous.
Plot and Critical Review: The film opens in a California forest as a group of alien botanists collect vegetation samples. U.S. government agents appear and the aliens flee in their spaceship, leaving one of their own behind in their haste. The scene shifts to a suburban California home, where a boy named Elliott plays servant to his older brother, Michael, and his friends. As he fetches pizza, Elliott discovers the stranded alien, who promptly flees. Despite his family's disbelief, Elliott leaves Reese's Pieces candy in the forest to lure it into his bedroom. Before he goes to bed, Elliott notices the alien imitating his movements.
Elliott feigns illness the next morning to avoid school so he can play with the alien. That afternoon, Michael and their younger sister, Gertie, meet the alien. Their mother, Mary, hears the noise and comes upstairs. Michael, Gertie and the alien hide in the closet while Elliott assures his mother that everything is all right. Michael and Gertie promise to keep the alien a secret from their mother. Deciding to keep the alien, the children begin to ask it about its origin. It answers by levitating balls to represent its solar system, and further demonstrates its powers by reviving a dead plant.
At school the next day, Elliott begins to experience a psychic connection with the alien. Elliott becomes irrational due partly to the alien's intoxication from drinking beer. Elliott then begins freeing all the frogs from a dissection class. As the alien watches John Wayne kiss Maureen O'Hara in The Quiet Man, Elliott's psychic link causes him to kiss a girl he likes in the same manner.
The alien learns to speak English by repeating what Gertie says in response to her watching Sesame Street and, through Elliott's urging, dubs itself as "E.T." It enlists Elliott's help in building a device to "phone home" by using a Speak & Spell toy. Michael starts to notice that E.T.'s health is declining and that Elliott is referring to himself as "we." On Halloween, Michael and Elliott dress E.T. as a ghost so they can sneak it out of the house. Elliott and E.T. ride a bicycle to the forest, where E.T. makes a successful call home. The next morning, Elliott wakes up to find E.T. gone, and returns home to his distressed family. Michael finds E.T. dying in the forest, and takes the alien to Elliott, who is also dying. Mary becomes frightened when she discovers her son's illness and the dying alien, before government agents invade the house.
Scientists set up a medical facility in the house, quarantining Elliott and E.T. The link between E.T. and Elliott disappears as E.T. appears to die. Elliott is left alone with the motionless alien when he notices a dead flower, the plant E.T. had previous revived, coming back to life. E.T. reanimates and reveals that its people are returning. Elliott and Michael steal a van that E.T. had been loaded into and a chase ensues, with Michael's friends joining Elliott and E.T. as they attempt to evade the authorities by bicycle. Suddenly facing a dead-end, they escape as E.T. uses telekinesis to lift them into the air and toward the forest. Standing near the spaceship, E.T.'s heart glows as it prepares to return home. Mary, Gertie and "Keys" (Peter Coyote), a government agent, show up. E.T. says goodbye to Michael and Gertie, and before entering the spaceship, tells Elliott "I'll be right here," pointing its glowing finger to Elliott's heart.
"E.T." was a film far ahead of it's time. Spielberg had already experimented with the "Human meets Alien" idea with "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." When "Close Encounters..." released in 1977 Spielberg was already renowned in the cinematic world as being a "mover and a shaker" with works like "Jaws" and an upcoming Indiana Jones series. "E.T." was one of the early films that proved to the entire motion picture world that Spielberg was going to do great things with his career.
"E.T." was nominated for 9 Oscars but received 4 - Best Original Music Score, Best Sound,Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Visual Effects. It was nominated for Best Picture but was beat out by "Gandhi" which won 9 Oscars including every other award for which "E.T." was nominated. When asked about "Gandhi"'s victory in director Richard Attenborough said this: "I was certain that not only would E.T. win, but that it should win. It was inventive, powerful, [and] wonderful. I make more mundane movies."
My Rating: 8/10
The "Reel Revelation": "I'll Be Right Here..."
The final words of E.T. express the same sentiment Jesus communicated just before he ascended into Heaven. Before E.T. got on the spaceship to return home with his family he told Elliott "I'll be right here" and pointed to his (Elliott's) heart. Just before Jesus ascends into Heaven he promises his unceasing presence to his disciples (and us) through the Holy Spirit. I am not drawing a line of comparison between these two people...E.T. is NOT Jesus. But their words are spoken out of love, everlasting, and meant for us.
We've all had to say "goodbye". Losing a person (for whatever reason) can be one of the most difficult things a person can experience. The grief that accompanies the death of a loved one can seem just as difficult to bear as when we lose someone like a friend a lover. Those in working environments based upon a community of people working toward a common goal know how hard it is when even one person is lost. In each instance we say "goodbye" and secretly wonder 'Will I ever see that person again?' More often than not the cold answer is "No." Must it be this way? It is not this way with Jesus, and it ought not be this way with one another.
As I mentioned in the "Reel Revelation" from "CSI" there's no way to escape the fact that people will fail us. So also we must come to accept that people will enter and exit our lives. But do we really have to endure that deep sense of emptiness within when they're gone, the "hole" that they used to fill? I've come to believe that you can get back the time you lose in relationships that fail; likewise with people who you know but end up losing. What you can't get back, however, is the part of yourself that you invest in that person; the love, affection, and trust you take out of your heart and place in theirs. If you want to achieve a sense of confidence that the people you lose "aren't really gone forever" then you must be aware of what you invest in them before they're gone. While nothing can replace their physical presence, what representation of them is left within your life? What representation of yourself do you leave in theirs?
Jesus spoke words of love, performed miracles, taught about the Kingdom of God, and offered himself up to die in the greatest act of love anyone has ever known. You can bet that when he ascended to Heaven (remember, the disciples thought he was really gone but would return shortly) they thought on the things Jesus said and did to remind themselves of his love. It is my deep hope that we would also treat each other with such love and respect that if, God forbid, we have to leave one another (for whatever reason) the "part" of us that remains with those we love is enough to give them the assurance that we're not really gone at all. Not that others might have a "sense" of our "presence" or any of that mumbo-jumbo, but that when we go we will be remembered as we were, in completion, and so always "be right here" with those we love.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Producer: Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy (Mrs. Steven Spielberg)
Editing: Carol Littleton
Composer: John Williams
Starring:
- Henry Thomas as Elliott
- Robert MacNaughton as Michael
- Drew Barrymore as Gertie
- Dee Wallace as Mary
I submit my apologies to you all for failing to post a review yesterday. I was feeling increasingly ill and couldn't even sit up for an extended period of time. Yesterday we missed "Driving Miss Daisy" but as was the case with that film and "Die Hard" (which we missed on Wednesday) i'll try to revisit those reviews in the future; perhaps on Sundays when i'd otherwise be "off." I'm glad to be feeling better and return to the reviews with a tremendously special picture. I remember watching this movie with my sister who was terrified of the very first sequence in the forest and refused to watch the rest of the film. I hope she's gotten over that fear and is willing to give it a watch for this film is nothing short of miraculous.
Plot and Critical Review: The film opens in a California forest as a group of alien botanists collect vegetation samples. U.S. government agents appear and the aliens flee in their spaceship, leaving one of their own behind in their haste. The scene shifts to a suburban California home, where a boy named Elliott plays servant to his older brother, Michael, and his friends. As he fetches pizza, Elliott discovers the stranded alien, who promptly flees. Despite his family's disbelief, Elliott leaves Reese's Pieces candy in the forest to lure it into his bedroom. Before he goes to bed, Elliott notices the alien imitating his movements.
Elliott feigns illness the next morning to avoid school so he can play with the alien. That afternoon, Michael and their younger sister, Gertie, meet the alien. Their mother, Mary, hears the noise and comes upstairs. Michael, Gertie and the alien hide in the closet while Elliott assures his mother that everything is all right. Michael and Gertie promise to keep the alien a secret from their mother. Deciding to keep the alien, the children begin to ask it about its origin. It answers by levitating balls to represent its solar system, and further demonstrates its powers by reviving a dead plant.
At school the next day, Elliott begins to experience a psychic connection with the alien. Elliott becomes irrational due partly to the alien's intoxication from drinking beer. Elliott then begins freeing all the frogs from a dissection class. As the alien watches John Wayne kiss Maureen O'Hara in The Quiet Man, Elliott's psychic link causes him to kiss a girl he likes in the same manner.
The alien learns to speak English by repeating what Gertie says in response to her watching Sesame Street and, through Elliott's urging, dubs itself as "E.T." It enlists Elliott's help in building a device to "phone home" by using a Speak & Spell toy. Michael starts to notice that E.T.'s health is declining and that Elliott is referring to himself as "we." On Halloween, Michael and Elliott dress E.T. as a ghost so they can sneak it out of the house. Elliott and E.T. ride a bicycle to the forest, where E.T. makes a successful call home. The next morning, Elliott wakes up to find E.T. gone, and returns home to his distressed family. Michael finds E.T. dying in the forest, and takes the alien to Elliott, who is also dying. Mary becomes frightened when she discovers her son's illness and the dying alien, before government agents invade the house.
Scientists set up a medical facility in the house, quarantining Elliott and E.T. The link between E.T. and Elliott disappears as E.T. appears to die. Elliott is left alone with the motionless alien when he notices a dead flower, the plant E.T. had previous revived, coming back to life. E.T. reanimates and reveals that its people are returning. Elliott and Michael steal a van that E.T. had been loaded into and a chase ensues, with Michael's friends joining Elliott and E.T. as they attempt to evade the authorities by bicycle. Suddenly facing a dead-end, they escape as E.T. uses telekinesis to lift them into the air and toward the forest. Standing near the spaceship, E.T.'s heart glows as it prepares to return home. Mary, Gertie and "Keys" (Peter Coyote), a government agent, show up. E.T. says goodbye to Michael and Gertie, and before entering the spaceship, tells Elliott "I'll be right here," pointing its glowing finger to Elliott's heart.
"E.T." was a film far ahead of it's time. Spielberg had already experimented with the "Human meets Alien" idea with "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." When "Close Encounters..." released in 1977 Spielberg was already renowned in the cinematic world as being a "mover and a shaker" with works like "Jaws" and an upcoming Indiana Jones series. "E.T." was one of the early films that proved to the entire motion picture world that Spielberg was going to do great things with his career.
"E.T." was nominated for 9 Oscars but received 4 - Best Original Music Score, Best Sound,Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Visual Effects. It was nominated for Best Picture but was beat out by "Gandhi" which won 9 Oscars including every other award for which "E.T." was nominated. When asked about "Gandhi"'s victory in director Richard Attenborough said this: "I was certain that not only would E.T. win, but that it should win. It was inventive, powerful, [and] wonderful. I make more mundane movies."
My Rating: 8/10
The "Reel Revelation": "I'll Be Right Here..."
The final words of E.T. express the same sentiment Jesus communicated just before he ascended into Heaven. Before E.T. got on the spaceship to return home with his family he told Elliott "I'll be right here" and pointed to his (Elliott's) heart. Just before Jesus ascends into Heaven he promises his unceasing presence to his disciples (and us) through the Holy Spirit. I am not drawing a line of comparison between these two people...E.T. is NOT Jesus. But their words are spoken out of love, everlasting, and meant for us.
We've all had to say "goodbye". Losing a person (for whatever reason) can be one of the most difficult things a person can experience. The grief that accompanies the death of a loved one can seem just as difficult to bear as when we lose someone like a friend a lover. Those in working environments based upon a community of people working toward a common goal know how hard it is when even one person is lost. In each instance we say "goodbye" and secretly wonder 'Will I ever see that person again?' More often than not the cold answer is "No." Must it be this way? It is not this way with Jesus, and it ought not be this way with one another.
As I mentioned in the "Reel Revelation" from "CSI" there's no way to escape the fact that people will fail us. So also we must come to accept that people will enter and exit our lives. But do we really have to endure that deep sense of emptiness within when they're gone, the "hole" that they used to fill? I've come to believe that you can get back the time you lose in relationships that fail; likewise with people who you know but end up losing. What you can't get back, however, is the part of yourself that you invest in that person; the love, affection, and trust you take out of your heart and place in theirs. If you want to achieve a sense of confidence that the people you lose "aren't really gone forever" then you must be aware of what you invest in them before they're gone. While nothing can replace their physical presence, what representation of them is left within your life? What representation of yourself do you leave in theirs?
Jesus spoke words of love, performed miracles, taught about the Kingdom of God, and offered himself up to die in the greatest act of love anyone has ever known. You can bet that when he ascended to Heaven (remember, the disciples thought he was really gone but would return shortly) they thought on the things Jesus said and did to remind themselves of his love. It is my deep hope that we would also treat each other with such love and respect that if, God forbid, we have to leave one another (for whatever reason) the "part" of us that remains with those we love is enough to give them the assurance that we're not really gone at all. Not that others might have a "sense" of our "presence" or any of that mumbo-jumbo, but that when we go we will be remembered as we were, in completion, and so always "be right here" with those we love.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
