Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

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Somewhere over the rainbow, a bunch of menacing spaceships and killer robots threaten the peace and tranquility of the big city . . . soon, the world. They’re destroying buildings, crushing cars, and wreaking havoc. Who will be there to save the big city from the impending doom and destruction???

Never fear, Sky Captain (Jude Law) is here! Armed with his WW1 fighter plane -- which can also transform into a submarine -- Sky Captain, along with nosy reporter and ex-flame Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow), his right-hand gadgets man Dex (Giovanni Ribisi), and his British Foreign Legion colleague and OTHER ex-flame Franky Cook (Angelina Jolie), are ready to do battle to save the world from total annihilation.

Sky Captain is more than just another movie. This is more like an experiment. This is the first major Hollywood film to be shot almost completely using Computer Graphics Imagery (a.k.a. CGI). Law, Paltrow, Jolie and company did all their acting in front of blue screens. Once they were done, the rest of the film was “drawn in� as opposed to being shot. Needless to say, this flick pushes the boundaries of digital filmmaking. The CGI sets are beautifully rendered and each scene is layered with detail -- specifically, details that recall the classic filmmaking of the 1930’s-–1940’s era. There are even a few nods and tips of hats to classic films of that era: most notably The Wizard of Oz (“Over the Rainbow� plays during the closing credits).

Yeah . . . but is the film any good? Or has the director caught a case of “Star Wars Prequelitis� (tons of visual flash but little or no story)?

No . . . writer/director Kerry Conran has rather invoked the spirit of the original Star Wars Trilogy. We have a hero to cheer for, special effects that drop our jaws, and a seemingly invincible villain. Stir it all up and you have a story that keeps us on the edge of our seats. The only negative element in the pot is Paltrow’s Polly Parker. She's played like a Lois Lane prototype, but she comes across more as an annoying little pest than as a damsel in distress.

All in all, Sky Captain is a fun time to be had by those who are willing to take the ride.

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Napoleon Dynamite

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In a summer of full of ogres, killer robots, natural disasters and Spideys with multimillion dollar budgets, a little flick set in middle America with a most unsung hero has emerged from the pack as one of the genuine successes of the year. Napoleon Dynamite is a simple movie about -- let’s be honest folks -- a geek (Jon Heder). He and his brother Kip, a thirty-something-year old, chat room addicted doofus himself, live with their grandma and their pet llama where the daily item on the dinner menu is steak. Lots and lots of steak . . . although, as the flick goes on, we find that Napoleon also has a fixation with Tater Tots!

Grandma has an accident while on a "date" and Napoleon and Kip’s uncle Rico is summoned to take care of them. Rico is a total slimeball whose life is stuck in a permanent freeze-frame of the year 1982 when he was a star high school quarterback (or is it all a figment of his imagination?). Rico persuades Kip to join him on a get rich quick scheme selling Tupperware -- and eventually, herbal breast enhancers! It just may work . . . if Rico can keep Napoleon out of his hair.

Napoleon meets Pedro, a immigrant from Mexico, and they bond while demonstrating their skills in bike jumping. Napoleon gives Pedro the courage to do the impossible . . . whether it’s asking the prettiest girl in gym class to the big school dance or, ultimately, running for class president. When this pretty girl turns down Pedro, Pedro takes Napoleon’s neighbor Deb to the dance. Unbeknownst to Napoleon, Deb has a major crush on Napoleon but isn’t doing a good job hiding it.

When the film was over, I called my wife and told her that I had just witnessed the greatest geek film of all time! While most high school films get their kicks by laughing at the geeks involved, Napoleon Dynamite succeeds because our heroic geek is not involved in the joke at all. In his mind, he is Superman! A legend with "mad skills" who dances to the beat of his own drummer . . . both literally and figuratively. There are one-liners in this film that are destined to take their place in the "classic movie lines hall of fame." We’re talking gut busting humor, folks! And his act of loyalty to his best friend Pedro during the class president debate shall live in eternity. Other "destined to be classic moments" include: Kip’s adventure with a knockoff martial arts guru, Napoleon picking out his suit for the big dance, Pedro’s haircut and Rico recalling those football glory days of yesteryear on video tape. The funniest one of all involves Kip coming face to face with the woman of his cyberdreams . . . not to mention his ensuing transformation!

It seems that every summer, in the midst of the slam-bang heavy hitters, a simple story comes along and sweeps critics and audiences off their feet. With this film, this summer is no exception. Why in the heck is this little movie about a big geek experiencing all this critical and commercial success (at the time of this review, while all the other summer films are fading from the top 10, this one is climbing it’s way in)?

Maybe the answer is found by way of the Bible (1 Corinthians 1:27): "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."

God has a track record of using simple messages and simple men to impact the world. Just look at what He did with a carpenter from Galilee. Napoleon Dynamite is indeed a simple story about a simple guy whose life is a celebration of the greatness within him. The film’s simple message exemplifies two of life’s most important qualities: the ability to stay true to yourself and the inspiration that comes from being a faithful friend to others.

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Open Water

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The following review contains spoilers.

POP QUIZ, hotshots:
You book a last-minute vacation and manage to squeeze in some time for scuba diving. You get up at 6:30 a.m., join your party, and the boat makes its way out into the ocean. The hosts insist that you utilize the buddy system to keep from getting lost, but you and your sweetie decide that you're brave enough to do your own thing in the deep blue sea.

You finish chasing eels and baby sharks and make your way back to the boat. One problem: the boat is gone. The scuba party has left you behind. For the next 24 hours, it’s just you, your sweetie, and an ocean full of sharks hungry for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and then breakfast again. There’s no clear path to dry land. And . . . a storm is on the horizon as well.

What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?

For Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis), all they could do is stay afloat. And hope. And panic. And, ultimately, wait for the inevitable.

Open Water is a true-blue horror movie. Not because of the sharks. Not because of the sharks. Not even because it’s a typical blood and gore horror film. The real horror stems from the psychological terror of the situation: the guilt, the shame, the blame toward both themselves and one toward the other).

In the hours in which they bobble like wine corks on the open sea, Susan and Daniel go through a plethora of physical and emotional changes. Susan gets seasick and has to fight diarrhea from drinking the sea water. She also gets a scratch on her leg (stemming from a smaller fish . . . maybe a barracuda). Daniel is forced to monitor his lover’s sickness as well as keep an eye out for dangers under the sea. As time goes on, they begin to blame everyone from the "stupid tour guides" to Susan’s crazed work schedule, which forced them to take this trip instead of skiing. Ultimately, of course, they blame each other.

At the height of their terror -- and after a few near misses with some sharks -- we find Daniel reciting some very familiar words: “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done.� That’s a brilliant portrait of our human condition. Whether we be Protestant or Catholic, evangelical or atheist, believer or nonbeliever, there’s a part of us on the inside that knows exactly Who to call on when terror strikes.

But, as I said before, ultimately this couple was just awaiting the inevitable. Kudos to the filmmakers for not resorting to the usual blood & guts & slo-mo tracking shots of the sharks approaching and devouring their prey. Instead, the filmmakers use a combination of total darkness accompanied by booming thunder and streaky lightning to let us know that the inevitable moment has arrived. This technique leaves the audience nervous and terrified, biting their nails, and hanging by a thread while sitting on the edge of their seats. That’s Thriller Movies 101, folks!

I posed a question earlier. If faced with (as Agent Smith referred to in “The Matrix�) the sound (or sight/touch/taste/feeling) of inevitability, what would you do? Would you revisit your life and beat yourself up for the things you didn’t accomplish? Would you become angry at those you love? Would you become angry at the God who loves you for allowing you to step into this position? Or would you do as Daniel and Susan did: in their final moments together, after all the terror and anguish, they ultimately reaffirmed their love for one another. Once they did that, they were able to surrender to the inevitable.

Which leads me to my one criticism of the film: As we walked out of the theater, we looked like a funeral procession. Not that there’s something wrong when movies don’t have happy endings (Open Water is based on true events). But most independent films have a knack for sending their audiences out on a sour note. I personally would have preferred to see an ending with their friends and family talking about their life together and the love they shared: a love for each other, and for adventure.

Bottom line: Open Water is truly scary. This film wasn’t designed for quick jumps in seats, gory tearing of flesh, and easy scares. As I said before, it’s true-blue horror that gets into . . . let alone under . . . your skin.

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She Hate Me

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WARNING: This review contains frequent (but not detailed) discussion of graphic sexual content related to the film. Please use sound judgment and discernment before reading this review.

I’ve said this many times on the message boards here at HJ. We are not sin hunters. It is our responsibility to not condemn the world or its Hollywood films but instead find the redeeming and grace-filled qualities of these films. We believe that our reviews could perhaps point our readers in the direction of the light and life of Christ.

This is not one of those times.

In the words of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, when trying to rationalize his daughter’s love for one of the enemies and oppressors of his people, ‘there is no other hand!?

Spike Lee was once a great filmmaker. His late 1980’s through mid-1990’s films including Do The Right Thing, Jungle Fever, and Malcolm X showed the world the strength and diversity of African Americans. His films brought a very large measure of dignity and pride to African Americans. While previous images in American film presented us in a stereotypical and negative light, his films shunned those negative stereotypes and images . . . save one (more on that in a minute).

In She Hate Me, flashes of Lee’s former brilliance are evident. As Jack Armstrong (Anthony Mackie) witnesses a horrible tragedy in his workplace and is forced to act on this tragedy, we see a man holding fast to his convictions and standing up for what is right. As Jack “blows the whistle� on the corrupt practices of his company, and is unjustly punished for it (he’s fired from his job and his assets are frozen -- sounds like Enron, huh?), we look forward with great anticipation to see him be vindicated.

If the film had focused solely on this arc of the story (and there are tons of story arcs), then I’d have no problem recommending the film. Unfortunately, the situation that Armstrong finds himself is merely a setup for the main plot of this film . . .

. . . And that leads me back to those negative stereotypes of African-Americans that I mentioned earlier. The one stereotype of African Americans that has managed to stick with us from the days of slavery onward to the rap videos of today is the one concerning our sexuality. We have constantly been portrayed as oversexed animals with a libido higher than the Empire State Building. The African American male has been depicted as a “buck�: one who has a wanton sexual appetite and can satisfy numerous women in a single bound. His female companion is depicted as a “hot mama sex machine� that will drop her undergarments and get it on with a man before even finding out his name.

This image has found its way to Hollywood films (most notably in the Blaxploitation action films of the 1970?s) and, unfortunately, Spike Lee has bought into this image hook, line and sinker. The film that put him on the map is entitled She’s Gotta Have It. You don’t need to see the film to find out what “It� is. The majority of his subsequent films have all featured at least one highly graphic sexual scene. While Lee’s films may have desired to present reality, these graphic scenes have done nothing more but jolt the viewers.

So, 18 years after She's Gotta Have It, we find Lee continuing his pattern of (unnecessary) graphic sexuality in his latest film. The main plot: While Jack Armstrong is figuring out a way to deal with his unemployment and inability to access his funds, opportunity knocks on his doorstep in the form of his ex-fiancée Fatima (Kerry Washington), now a full-blown lesbian, and her lover Alex (Dania Ramirez). It seems that these two ladies desire to get pregnant and do not want to adopt or go to a sperm bank to do so. Fatima’s big idea: pay Jack $10,000 to impregnate them both . . . with Alex’s bundle of joy coming by way of artificial insemination and Fatima’s bundle of joy coming the old-fashioned way. After all, they were ex-lovers, right?

After wrestling with the decision -- and seeing the $10,000 in cash sitting on his coffee table -- in light of his situation, Jack agrees. Fatima gets another big idea: offer the same service to lesbians all over New York City. Charge them $10,000 each, and she’d get a 10% finders fee. Jack agrees yet again.

Of course, Spike Lee shows no restraint in showing us Jack’s deeds. As we’re being treated to Jack graphically servicing client after client, one stereotype after another is reinforced again and again. If that’s not enough, we are shown a flashback sequence in which Jack finds out that Fatima has a thing for her similar sex -- once again in a near explicit fashion. And, to put the icing on the cake, when Fatima is confronted by Alex about her feelings for Jack, their subsequent makeup will have the brave and crazy viewer wondering if they accidentally rented Showtime's The L-Word First Season DVD.

This film is chock full of uplifting messages in the midst of all this madness. We are shown the intimate struggle of Jack’s father, a diabetic (Jim Brown) and his mother’s (Lonette McKee) pain and resentment of his father’s sickness. We are also given a tribute to the security guard who was the catalyst to the Watergate scandal of 30+ years ago. Jack likens his situation to that of the security guard’s life. We find out that, as a result of practically saving the country, his life was destroyed in the process. We’re supposed to empathize with Jack because he looks to be headed down the same road. But we’re so worn out by all of this explicit sexual plundering that we don’t care anymore what happens.

Of course the ending is another unrealistic “They Lived Happily Ever After" Hollywood affair . . . although this ending is particularly out there! When it was over, all I could do is shake my head in amazement. It is clear that Spike has lost his compass. I long for the days of School Daze (which was the primary influence for me choosing a Historically Black College) and Do The Right Thing, when Spike Lee films were cultural events. Those earlier films forced America to examine herself -- to see if this country was living up to its promise as ‘the Land Of Opportunity? for all men.

But after seeing this, I can only hope that it will be Spike Lee will examining himself. Hopefully he can see that it is possible to make positive and relevant African American films without giving in to the need to include graphic sexuality. He is usually the first to point his finger at films that blatantly present African American sexual stereotypes, like Soul Plane, Booty Call, and others. After this film, and considering the body of his work, Spike needs to take that same finger, go to the nearest mirror, and point it at himself.

ONE LAST NOTE:

Many of you will wonder why I, as a believer, would review a film that I know contains graphic sexuality and present the review on this website. Once again, I state that we are not sin hunters. God hates sin -- but He loves sinners. This review was written in the spirit of love. I love Spike Lee as a filmmaker. His films have been some of the greatest influences in my life. His mantra in those earlier days was “Uplift The Race.� I wish for him to return to those days.

It is not my intent that the conservative believers among us would start finding every single film by Spike Lee and condemn them, and him, to eternal hell and damnation. Nor is it my desire that the more liberal believers among us would use this review as an excuse to live in a life that Jesus declared we’re dead to. Instead I hope this review would lead us to pray for Spike Lee and other filmmakers who insist on glorifying sexuality in their films. Prayer is our most effective weapon, not our words. And the Word of God does not condemn sex itself. It is a gift. But through Satan’s acts of perversion throughout the world, this gift has become a curse.

Two things I hope we can do as readers of Hollywood Jesus in light of this review:

Pray for Spike Lee. Ask God to give him the vision to make films to uplift African Americans and the world at large.

Use this review as a tool for discussion of the distortion of sexuality in the world’s society. Let these discussions be a springboard for prayer that God would restore us as nation, removing the curse and perversion now attached sexuality and restoring the gift of sexuality through faith in Christ and commitment to our marriages, our husbands and our wives.

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Collateral

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—Overview by Chris Utley
—Review by Matthew Hill
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—About this Film
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As the tagline on the film’s poster states, it truly did start out like any other night. Los Angeles cabbie Max (Jamie Foxx) starts off his route with an arguing couple that irritates him. Things pick up when he meets a beautiful lawyer (Jada Pinkett Smith) who is impressed by his knowledge of the fastest way to navigate the LA streets. He ends up getting a nice tip…and her phone number.

A few seconds later, Vincent (Tom Cruise) enters Max’s cab and offers him $600 to be his personal valet for the evening. About a minute or so after dropping Vincent off at his first “appointment�, some unlucky gentleman is dropped out of a window and onto the roof of Max’s cab.

It’s going to be a long night for Max.

Michael Mann, maker of “Heat� with Pacino and DeNiro and creator of the 80’s classic cop show “Miami Vice� is at the helm of this very gritty and very entertaining chess game. Shot on Hi-Definition Digital cameras, he does a really good job capturing the grittiness of the late-night streets of Los Angeles. The real stars of the show are Cruise and Foxx. They are given great dialogue to work with and Foxx holds his own against Cruise (in his first full blown role as the bad guy). The two end up in great conversations about fate and chance and seizing opportunities as they happen. The tension of the situation already keeps the audience at the edge of their seats. The two actors together keep the tension levels high.

Mann’s previous films have also been gritty affairs, be it the crime stories of Heat, or the plight of Jeffrey Wigand’s whistle-blower in “The Insider�. He abandons the flash and dash of Hollywood and focuses more on the characters in his stories. Rarely are they one-note characters. They have tremendous depth and range. “Collateral� is no exception. Foxx could have easily played the comic foil to Cruise’s straight man (especially since Foxx’s previous acting success stems from his comedy roles). But, instead, he restrains himself and gives Max strength and texture. You’re not forced to root for Max like other action films do by killing off or kidnapping those whom the main character loves dearly. You simply root for him because he’s a good guy trapped in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In real life, many good people find themselves forced into chaotic situations. There’s actually a popular book called “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.� Like Max in this film, our character in times of peril is ultimately judged not by our guilt and shame because we failed to avoid the chaos (early in the film, Max almost lets Vincent bypass his cab for another. One wonders if he regretted his decision); but by how we handle ourselves in the midst of the chaos. The big question: do we give in to the doom and dread of the situation or do we stand on the goodness, faith and truth that are within us? As Jesus says, “…he who stands firm to the end will be saved.� (Matthew 10: 22 - NIV)

In the end, audiences will flock to it (and rightfully so). Good performances, crackerjack action scenes and a compelling story make this a fun summer ride.

Links
—Overview by Chris Utley
—Review by Matthew Hill
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections