The 4400: Rebirth

Episode 8, Rebirth, should’ve been called something like “Forgiveness,� or “Second Chances,� but if we’re going to talk about rebirth, we must start with nurse Edwin Musinga/Mayuya (Hill Harper, who is also CSI: NY’s Dr. Sheldon Hawkes.) Having fled Rwanda prior to his 4400-related disappearance, he returns with the ability to repair the chromosomes of babies with birth defects. The catch? Prior to fleeing Rwanda, Musinga stood by as Tutsis were murdered in his clinic, and did nothing.

In our ‘second chance’ episode, Shawn patches his relationship with Danny, Diane kicks April out but forgives her with some help from Maia, Richard seeks out the soldiers from his former unit, and Kyle ends up getting some help from his cousins. This reentry by Shawn into family life is manipulated by Ross, but for its obviousness, this particular reunion most easily spells out P-R-O-D-I-G-A-L S-O-N. Really though, the interesting thing is that Shawn agrees to go to the 4400 Center, so which ‘son’ is coming home?

Diane says people have to pay for their mistakes (because there are consequences) but Maia says that we only have a limited ‘family,’ so we need to overcome our frustration. In a figurative way, Diane buys back the diamond ring, redeeming the ring—and redeeming her relationship with Maia AND April. Forgiveness comes most easily from Maia who was actually used—exhibiting the principle that ‘a child shall lead them.’ Sometimes adults, even more than children, need a patient voice and someone to show them the way.

Richard’s troop members fall over themselves to make right their racist behavior from fifty years before, but the other officer who led the abuse remains bitter and racist. Richard shows the least amount of forgiveness, but his pain strikes me as the most severe. His willingness to reach out to Lee is driven by a desire to ‘force’ an apology, but Richard doesn’t seem like one to harbor much bitterness—he does in fact reach out.

Rwanda’s civil war has been depicted well (check out Hotel Rwanda or for a different African drama about race and reconciliation, In My Country; the U.S. version would be Crash) and finds a meaningful place here. Musinga’s crime is one of omission, not commission, but Baldwin can’t forgive him. Fortunately for Baldwin, the future folks have placed Musinga in a position where he goes home by extradition to execution or he stays and heals in the U.S., and gradually dies. His gift saps his strength, so justice is served—the difference is that Musinga makes the most of his choice by dying through healing others. While others question the worth of saving him, Musinga himself judges that his best decision is helping others.

In quite a few ways, the 4400 have proved that there is redemption for anyone willing to accept it. Some have to travel farther to find it (through time, space) but no one is free of guilt. No pun intended, but it's not black and white-- we are all gray. In the end, we can be assured that we have been bought back from the pawn shop—Jesus Christ wants to keep us in the family.

Must Love Dogs

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The many illustrations and philosophies of love collide in the romantic comedy Must Love Dogs, as recent divorcees Sarah Nolan (Diane Lane) and Jake Anderson (John Cusack) find themselves pushed into dating by their friends and family. The ‘game plans’ of each character’s supporting cast contradicts the natures of Sarah and Jake, but the obvious tension provides plenty of laughs for both men and women. Exploring the ups and downs of the reentry into the dating scene allows for a closer look at relationships, dating and love.

Sarah’s family, father Bill (Christopher Plummer) and sisters Carol and Christine (Elisabeth Perkins and Ali Hills) provide her support team, or rather her not-asked-for advisory squad, and try to convince her that the husband who left her wasn’t good enough. Jake has only his friend Charlie (Ben Shankman), who says that he is “free� following his divorce, but Jake gladly allowed his ex-wife to have everything in their divorce—he still loved her. We hear in Jake’s words a male belief that women already have their love epic written, and that he just didn’t fit into his ex-wife’s story. He longs to find a woman worth chasing over continents (as he watches his favorite film, Doctor Zhivago, over and over again), in a relationship that contains more than sex and lasts.

As the two main characters adopt the internet as their main form of ‘advertising,’ Sarah’s attention becomes diverted by the father of one of her preschool students, Bobby (Dermot Mulroney). Carol repeatedly pushes Sarah to date frequently, but Sarah believes that she made a decision to be married to her first husband and she messed it up, so maybe she doesn’t get any other chances. Unfortunately, I heard in her words about love and relationship the same thing that many people believe about their relationship with God—that it’s too messed up to be made right, that their mistakes can’t be wiped away, that God is too angry with them to love them. Jake tells her that the hurt people experience allows our hearts to grow, having experienced the pain, we reach even farther the next time. Unfortunately, in any relationships, it varies from person to person: some reach farther on the way back, others shrink further into themselves.

The pain extends to the other family members—Bill who looks merely for temporary companionship that will never replace his dead one true love, Carol who tells Sarah that even married couples can’t find the love they want, and Sarah’s brother finds himself kicked out of the house from time to time. Dolly (Stockard Channing) is one of the temporary loves of Bill, and she teaches Sarah some skills in bouncing back. She tells her that the internet is part fantasy, part community, and you can pay your bills naked. The ‘false’ dates that both Sarah and Jake go on prove that the internet can’t provide all you need to know, but it does provide the beginnings of community, something that websites like this one provide. There is safety for Sarah in the internet access, because her attempts with Bobby are…lacking.

At least with Jake, Sarah finds “rhythm, balance, and timing.� Betraying Jake in a moment of impulse, she betrays herself—and that is the greatest hurt of the whole movie. As Dolly tells her, when you love someone, you forgive them the greatest mistake. And once again, the movie exhibits truth-filled self expression as Sarah ‘dives in’ like Peter searching out the resurrected Jesus. Here we have the ultimate repentance, baptism and grace provided on Jake’s wooden ‘cross.’ It’s whole-ness, and his willingness to forgive her and begin again, that provide a meaningful example for all our relationships. Love does forgive the greatest faults: we have the example of Jesus to follow, and Must Love Dogs displays the example with humor, tenderness and hope.

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Sky High

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Class is in session at Sky High, and hopefully, a majority of folks will enroll. Seriously, I figured Sky High would be a fun, light-hearted, hero-joking jaunt, and it was. But it was also a tutorial the ins and outs of family, friendship, decision-making, child raising and more. Filled with laughs stirred by lines like “It’s not like I’m Wonder Woman� from the ever-smiling Lynda Moore as Principal Powers to the sarcasm of Coach Sonic Boom (Bruce Campbell), the humor isn’t simply about watching people fall down the stairs. Aiming for the stars, this coming of age super hero movie gets at least…(drum roll please)….sky high!

Will Stronghold (Michael Angarano) emerges from the shadow of The Commander (Kurt Russell) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston) AKA Mom and Dad as he enters high school. Unfortunately for him, he appears to lack the powers necessary to become a “Hero� and ends up as a “Sidekick.� This allows for two interesting observations. One, what do we need to experience as pre-parents to remember what unfair expectations feel like prior to becoming parents? We may know that we are “made in the image of God� and find our purpose there, but our psyche still gets a majority of its formation from the work our parents put into us. Second, as adults, we find the need to differentiate ourselves from others, and tend to stereotype people to make ourselves feel better. In this case, powers divide Heroes from Sidekicks—some powers aren’t worthy. The segregation is over ‘power’—that segregation has occurred outside of superpower world based on race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. cannot be ignored. That also collides with the gospel and quite a few letters of Paul: “the meek will inherit the earth� and the body is made up of many parts, none of which can survive without the other. Needless to say, all of this is well illuminated by the high school setting, but the same can be said of discussions around the water color, local work out gym, etc.

As Will comes out of his Sidekick shell, he begins to take ownership of his powers. Based on the preview alone, my wife turned to me and said, “that will illustrate Jesus coming into an understanding of who he could be�—and she was right. Will has a built-in arch enemy (Warren Peace played by Steven Strait) who hates him because of the relationship their fathers had [nice C.S. Lewis-ish illustration of God’s children vs. Satan’s children.] Will does remain the most compassionate superhero toward the Sidekicks, and that isn’t lost on our view of his development either.

Departing from the Will as Jesus motif, the pride of the father and the son causes the major conflict/danger in the movie. One brings a ‘trophy’ of a victory home; the other breaks his word by allowing someone into the “Inner Sanctum.� I also don’t believe that the adolescent Jesus would have bailed out on his friends when he got those powers, but the fact that Will called on them in his time of need is priceless. The Hero in all of us can best be seen in the resurrected heroic career of Ron Wilson, Bus Driver. More than anything, this movie continues to flip expectations upside down, and prove that everyone has opportunities and must make choices.

The fact that forgiveness wipes over the mistakes everyone made is the most important concept that can be taught here. Grace occurs in the forgiveness that the Strongholds show Will after his party and his breaking his word. Grace occurs again when his friends forgive him for jilting them momentarily for the cool crowd, specifically in Lana’s (Danielle Panabaker) love exceeding all of his mistakes. And finally grace occurs in Will’s closing voice over that informs us that his girlfriend became his enemy, his best friend became his girlfriend, and his enemy became his best friend. We should remember that each of us needs forgiveness and understanding, that our enemies are only baby steps away from being our friends. Thanks to Introduction to Grace at Sky High, we might just learn a little more for Life 101.

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In My Country

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In My Country depicts the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, and it’s DVD version is released hot on the heals of Hotel Rwanda. The two movies share much in common: the central thread revolves around the brutality of those in a position of authority against the helpless. This movie is driven by the characters played by Samuel L. Jackson and Juliette Binoche, as the two experience the hearings first hand and explore their feelings.

Langston Whitfield (Jackson) shows up at the hearings, sent by the Washington Post to report back to a country that seems less interested in the reconciliation process than one would hope. Whitfield’s own latent anger bleeds out in his reports back to the U.S. and in his discussion of the proceedings with Anna Malan (Juliette Binoche). Anna’s own feelings are complicated as she reports on the proceedings by radio, as her beloved country shows signs of cracking.

Anna admits that she knew what was happening to people during apartheid, but struggles with an “everyone was doing it mentality.� Her guilt covers her like a fog and Langston has no sympathy at first. As they watch the proceedings, they learn important lessons from an orphaned boy’s response to the murderous cop who confesses and from an old man who tells them that ‘what hurts me, hurts us all.’ Here are key ingredients of Jesus’ teachings to us: to turn the other cheek, to repent for our mistakes, and to treat others as we would be treated. Unfortunately, the two reporters also slide into an adulterous affair at the same time.

While trying to deal with his rage over the stories that he hears, Langston is told by Anna’s assistant, Dumi Mkhalipi (Menzi Ngubane) that not everything is black and white, but that sometimes there is grey. How we define our worldview can determine our understanding of black, white, and grey, but in the movie’s depiction of apartheid and the aftermath, everyone shoulders blame because no one is innocent. Rather than being judgmental, Langston is forced to recognize his own faults—only Anna gets this more clearly.

Langston stops from killing Colonel Henry De Jager (Brendan Gleason) during one of their interviews because of the model presented to him by two people: the old man who shared his story and Anna who takes the shame of the whole country on herself. Once again, the gospel of Jesus Christ shines through. Sharing truth in the form of the story makes for easier understanding and provides those who were not present to learn from the mistakes of the past. (Now, if we could only remember the Holocaust and be changed…maybe we could avoid our continual perpetuation of these annihilations.) And Anna’s ‘wearing’ of the shame is Christlike, as He bore our sins upon Himself, dying the death on the cross. Anna’s ability to move on and see the hope that awaits Africa is also Christlike, because in His resurrection, we can believe in hope and a future.

Before Anna gets to hope, she is forced to recognize her own mistakes—and once again, a story (from her mother) teaches her that any lie concealed will ultimately betray the whole truth. The scene depicting Anna’s reconciliation with her husband is painful but is necessary to show yet again the microcosm that the truth hearings depict in the thousands. Unfortunately for Langston and Dumi experience the perpetuation of violence, this time black on black. No one is safe from guilt when bad decisions are made. Now if only we could learn from stories like this and live in peace with one another…In My Country, a mansion, a Kingdom, a real place?

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The Bad News Bears

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The Bad News Bears is funny….if you like humor that is completely dominated by putting someone else down. The movie revolves around the verbal domination of one character over another, like one long putdown. It’s like being in middle school all over again except that the vocabulary the youth involved use is more what you would expect out of Old School or Bad Boys. And I would have found that acceptable, if there had been some dramatic turnabout in the last portion of the movie, but there wasn’t. I did find in the movie some moments to learn from though, so like most movies, it wasn’t all bad.

Billy Bob Thornton’s character, Morris Buttermaker, drinks, smokes, curses and sleeps around—and the audience joins the youth on his team in seeing these actions over and over again. He obviously recognizes his shortcomings and admits as much to various players over the course of the movie, but even by the end he refuses to change. Buttermaker and the team badger each other in terms of weight, skill, physical handicap, sexual preference, attractiveness, religion, economic level, and more. No category is left unblemished by the time these bad news bears are done with them. And the saddest part for me is that a group of young actors was encouraged to see this sort of behavior as funny. And what about the youth who will be taken by their coach to go see this ‘baseball’ movie?

That is probably my biggest problem with the movie—you expect that all the garbage, funny and otherwise, heaped on you over the first part of the movie is only to highlight the difference in the end. And it would if it was a family-friendly, sports-as-remedy-for-society movie, but it’s not. This movie lacks plot (I won’t blow the ending for those who’ve never seen the original or the show, but it’s atypical for a sports movie), and just sets you up for crude joke followed by putdown.

The few times that Buttermaker seems to be turning the corner, I was sadly disappointed. The first occurs when he tells an Armenian player that he should lie to his father—the father thinks baseball is a waste of time and that he’ll embarrass himself. The young man’s coach encourages him to lie, and this is positively reinforced at the end of the movie. The second occurs at the typical ‘pep talk’ time toward the end of the movie as Buttermaker appears to recognize that his blind ambition is negatively impacting the development of his players and allows everyone to play (as a true rec team.) Instead of continuing this upswing, the movie closes with vulgarity and a round of ‘non-alcoholic’ drinks for the youth. As if adults don’t have a hard enough time recognizing that it isn’t really “non,� now young viewers of the movie will struggle with the connection as well.

I referred this past weekend to my church softball team as the “bad news bears,� thinking I was referring to a group of non-athletes who worked hard but couldn’t seem to ever succeed. I was wrong though, because these BNB were crass, mean, and unsportsmanlike—the antithesis of who we should be as Christians. I hope that viewers will see the BNB and recognize that we often get blinded by what is right in front of us. It seems like competition can be one of those things, as can alcohol, sex, social standing and more. Hopefully as we criticize what is wrong with the BNB, we can see what’s wrong with us, and make the change. We should play hard, look toward what is best for others, and regardless of the score, everyone will succeed.

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The 4400: Carrier

The 4400 tension is ratcheted up again in the seventh episode of Season 2, “Carrier�—which means a season finale can’t be too far away! Shawn has a new ‘advisor’ in Matthew Ross (Garret Dillahunt), who manipulates him into starting a ‘Foundation’ within the Center to heal people instead of taking some time away; Diana Skouris and Tom Baldwin search for a disease-carrying returnee, Jean DeLynn Baker (Sherilyn Fenn); April manipulates Maia’s gifts to make money; and Alana and Kyle Baldwin spend some quality time together. Oh yeah, and the police continue the hunt for Jordan Collier’s killer…

Shawn is sooo easily manipulated in this one, and Lily Moore (Laura Allen) shows some true (selfish) colors her as well. Ross is bad news, and plays the part of ‘believer’ to Shawn, as in ‘the greatest faith in ten years,’ while telling Lily, that he is like her in not believing in the ‘special powers’ of the 4400 returnees. The good result is that the Foundation should serve as a healing center for Shawn to positively impact one sick person a day.

Circling around Baker are Biblical overtones, in conjunction with her ‘pestilence.’ We first encounter this in her conversation with the truck driver who tells her that she shouldn’t go to the 4400 Center for salvation, but that it can only be found in her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Possibly good advice, but this guy completely misses the fact that she’s blistering like crazy. She later expresses her beliefs, generally focusing around the book of Revelation, sharing that she has always been ‘toxic.’ Everything she touches literally dies in this episode—and she believes the 4400 future people have sent her on this mission. Baldwin gets points for positive vibes and compassion, as he tries to save her life, and point her to the options she has, the choices that she can make.

April uses Maia and the best part is that Maia figures it out! While April had previously exhibited signs of growing out of her old way of life under the watchful eye of Diana, she reverts back quickly. Starting off with small change, April’s lust for money quickly accelerates and Maia questions her intentions. The side note rule of this episode is kids will not be fooled!

Alana and Kyle make friends, against his skeptical response to the events of the previous episode. Her positive encouragement of who he could be (potentially), corresponds to the Kyle that she had created from Tom’s memories….and represents everything that he still might do. But there’s this nasty ‘murder’ that Kyle committed, and he recognizes his own handiwork on the news, even as he checks out medical schools.

Both Jean DeLynn Baker and Kyle Baldwin are struggling with fate, choices, and the future. Both have people tell them who they could be or who they are, and both make decisions accordingly. Problematically, but ratings appropriate, Kyle makes positive decisions at the same time as other actions intervene—as long as we go along with the 4400 or whatever being in control of his blackouts. Either way, our potential is once again a wonderful topic of discussion—who are you and who could you be?

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

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It’s a long story, but I ended up at the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants on THE last night possible in Richmond as part of a fundraiser. And so I went, rather unwillingly. The idea of sitting through a youth age book about coming of age turned into a movie is somewhere between root canal and broken bone on my pain tolerance level. But, regardless of my opinion to the contrary, the film was deeper than I might have imagined. Without further ado, here are my thoughts…

The Sisterhood is formed by three teenagers on the eve of their first summer apart. Each “sister� seems to represent a different perspective on adolescence, and possibly adulthood. Lena (Alex Bedel) is the shy, unassuming one; Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) is the rebellious, cynical one; Carmen (America Ferrera) is the boldly opinionated and self-sufficient one; and Bridget (Blake Lively) is the rambunctious, romance-crazy one.

Faced with the impossible task of missing each other, the pants that magically fit each of them one day serve as the tie that binds them and the movie’s four tangential plotlines together. Lena departs for her parents’ native Greece, falls in love with a college student against the wishes of her grandparents, and strikes out independently. Tibby receives the pants while working a boring 9-to-5 job at a Walmart-knock off and meets a young cancer-stricken girl named Bailey (Jenna Boyd) who helps her work on her Suckumentary film and learn about life. Carmen arrives at the home of her estranged father in the middle of planning his wedding to another woman, and encounters more family heartbreak than she can handle. And finally, Bridget pursues a college counselor at her soccer camp until she loses her virginity and any piece of mind she might have had before.

At least two of the girls have lost a parent to death or divorce, and all four of them are ‘coping’ with their teenage angst by hiding behind masks. Regardless of whether the masks are meekness, cynicism, self-sufficiency or sexual promiscuity, the masks are broken down by the events of the summer. The more remarkable portion of the movie is that when the masks fall away, it is the friendship that the girls share which brings them back into reality and allows them to move on. Rather than simply feeling like a traveling revival, the movie shows that friendship can allow drastic change to occur and folks can still ‘resurrect’ themselves in community. Isn’t that what the church should be?

While each girl bravely moves past the obstacle presented to them, Tibby’s loss, Carmen’s separation, and Bridget’s regret are represented realistically and not merely brushed over for cinematic pleasantry (some may be bothered by the wrapping up of Bridget’s story). The truth is that we all make decisions that have consequences, good and bad, and we have to deal with them. Who will stand with us to face them and dance with our joy when we find success? Real friends with love and grace are the answer I find—a traveling family over the ups and downs of the road we walk—no one should walk alone.

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The Island

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By Michael Bay standards, The Island was everything I expected: lots of stuff blew up, the bad guy was formidable, and in the end, the good guy walked away with the girl (okay, sailed away…) But this movie was more than that, because included in it were questions and commentaries about our society: What would we do to prolong our lives? How do we measure what our life is worth? How do we define “human?� I think that it does succeed on asking these questions, but if you are looking for exact answers, then you better skip this one.

Our hero, Lincoln Six-Echo (McGregor) has many questions but few answers are provided by his ‘supervisor,’ Dr. Merrick (Bean). Lincoln serves as our prototype for adolescence, as he comes into consciousness of his situation within the Institute. He wants more than to wait for his number to be called so that he can leave for “The Island,� and to leave his meaningless existence working in the “Labor Department.� You see (and if you’ve heard any buzz on this one, you know), Lincoln is a clone and his life is about to get turned upside down.

Soon, Lincoln rises through the lower levels of the Institute, chasing a butterfly…Lincoln rises in his awareness, his own self-consciousness, as a caterpillar leaving his ‘safe’ cocoon. Along the way, he receives wisdom from Max (Buscemi), who tells him that Merrick has a “god complex,� and defines “god� as the guy who ignores you when you wish for something that you really want. While a very unfriendly view of God, this deity per se fits the experience of the folks who live in the Institute (especially once they leave) and those who work there, even those who know the truth.

When Lincoln and his ‘buddy,’ Jordan Two-Delta (Johannson) flee the Institute into the real world, they discover in a Truman Show sort of way that everything they’ve been taught so far is false. Each clone we see die has a strong desire to live that is squelched for the financial wellbeing of the Institute, and the benefit of the sponsors who have paid for them. These sponsors have the clones made for $5 million each, for spare parts as they fail or new skin grafts when they start to look older. Lincoln and Jordan flee this end but no clones aid them: their awareness has not been changed and they still yearn for the Island. The gospel of life and truth has been withheld from the clones for so long, that a severe break must occur before they believe in real life.

As the two ‘aware’ clones flee, other clones who were friends of Lincoln’s start asking questions that reflect their elevated consciousness. In contrast, Max implies that the clones were better off in their ‘perfect’ situations without regret and pain. Our awareness to the social situation grows as well: we find that sponsors don’t know that their clones do feel pain and do grow mentally, because Merrick tells the world that the clones are comatose and thoughtless. Merrick’s worldview is driven by money, as an example of Max’s belief that people will do anything to save themselves. Max’s own actions contradict his own beliefs—he is the first example of sacrificial love we see.

And so the opposing worldviews collide repeatedly by the end of the movie, as the car chases, explosions, and suspense climax back in the Institute. Lincoln and Jordan choose to ‘free’ the other clones, rather than walking away with their own freedom. Merrick at the same time expresses his ‘God’ complex fully—because they are the only two powerful enough to create life and because he can take it as well. At the same time, Merrick struck me to be more like Hitler than God, as he sent ‘defective’ (i.e., conscious) clones to the gas chambers below the Institute. The other interesting comparison I have to slavery/extermination arises from Djimon Hounsou, a black man who plays a slave hunter to Merrick. Fortunately, he comes to a John Newton-type revelation and turns his energy to freeing others.

So, I leave you with more questions than answers…What right do we have to create life and for what reasons? How do we determine from a birth perspective what is human and what is not? How do we define God, or godlike qualities, and can they be different for different people? We each have the opportunity to seek out the truth and to share those truths with others, freeing them from the darkness we’ve escaped ourselves. The escape has its price but the alternative seems hopeless without it. The answers are worth searching for, and the way can be lit by explosions, and much more.

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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

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First, I have to admit that I only vaguely remember being shown the 1971 version of the movie then titled, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. Second, I went to see Charlie & The Chocolate Factory to escape the heat and figured that a Johnny Depp movie seemed like a good cure. My initial reactions to the movie were on its color, tone and how Tim Burton-ish it was. Hours later, looking back over my scrawled notes, I have begun to appreciate it, as one might savor a rich chocolate—and that seems to be the point!

Willy Wonka reopens his factory and sends out five gold tickets, as anyone who has seen the trailer will recognize, but the tickets follow a midlife crisis by the big-hearted recluse, played to the hilt by Johnny Depp. His first four recipients are the glamorous antitheses of our hero Charlie Bucket ( Freddie Highmore), whose only selfish act is to buy his last candy bar out of hunger. [Even Grandpa Joe has more of an agenda than adorable Charlie, who would opt to sell the ticket to buy his parents and four grandparents food.]

The drive behind the Wonka fortune appears through a series of flashbacks with the formidable Christopher Lee as dentist Wilbur Wonka. The excesses of Halloween candy are forbidden to his overly protected son, and the darkness of Wilbur’s home is only matched by the puritanical joy he seems to take in depriving his son. When Willy runs away, Wilbur promises to not be around if he should come back, moving the whole house to prove a point. If Roald Dahl’s signature character is an orphaned boy, then Willy is that boy: Charlie, our hero, is loved completely and absolutely, in the midst of the Bucket family poverty.

The Oompa-Loompas (one and all played by Deep Lot) appear prepared for the four ‘naughty’ children and their sugar-coated demises. While each child appears to use their free will to succumb to their temptations, the reclusive Willy Wonka and his henchmen seem prepared for what happens next. One by one, the characteristics of the first four cause them to fall. Charlie appears simply happy to be there, with no temptation to fall into, just soaking up the radiance that the factory’s internal activity provides. Here is a picture of heaven and hell: the location is the same but the results are drastically different. One set of people (the greedy children) get exactly what they desire but fall dangerously when allowed to get what they want. The other set (Charlie) live through the same experience, but ‘stay on the path’ that leads to an offer by Willy.

Faced with his greatest temptation, Charlie chooses family over control of the factory, much to the dismay of Willy. Family is important to Charlie but Willy can’t understand that—if all fathers are like Wilbur, then why would Charlie want to stay? I found myself asking the same questions about faith and church. If I had an abusive relative, would I look differently at God the Father? If I had been beaten down by a legalistic representation of faith in church, would I eagerly run to the next meeting of faith?

The beauty of the Chocolate Factory is that it brings Charlie and Willie together. Drawn back to Charlie, Willie finds encouragement to reunite with his father and make peace. Still further, the two lovers of chocolate share in the love that the Buckets have, transplanted within the factory. Apparently, you can have both chocolate and family, just like I was treated to entertainment and values. Once again, there are side notes on does and don’ts within the movie, but the overriding theme is that of community, and that of love.

MOVIE
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BOOK
—Review: WonkaMania

—Blog: Kevin Miller
—Blog: Tom Price

Rebound

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Coach Roy (Martin Lawrence) finds himself banned from college basketball when he throws one tantrum too many (a la Bobby Knight). The standard reclamation project is the Mount Vernon Junior High School Smelters, with its hapless team and low expectations. Don’t expect much difference from The Mighty Ducks but laughs and heartwarming moments abound.

Depending on what you want your kid to learn, Rebound could be the movie for you. In the process of learning more about himself, each member of the six person team of Smelters receives some positive encouragement from Coach Roy. For the overly confident, self-focused leader, Roy dispenses the ‘I-was-just-like-you-but-here’s-how-I-had-to-change� speech that comes at a time when Roy himself seems to need the lesson again as well. For the stressed out kid, Roy inspires a confidence that belies the situation. For the shy, tall, and uncoordinated giant, Roy reminds him that everyone wants to be loved and basketball can provide him that (and it does!)

Some of the humor, and the religious interjection into the movie, comes when Coach Roy pays a flamboyant preacher-type to come and pray for the team. Not for a lack of spirit, the preacher prays that if the team can’t win well by itself, that God allow the legs of the other team’s best players to be broken. Obviously, the caricature is meant to be a spoof of what is quite ridiculous: the adult inclination to put God one team or another, and to blow the ability for children to repeat out of proportion. Some will discount this as commentary because it is done for laughs—but how many of you, preparing to step on the field, prayed with a team where God was clearly only for your team? The truth is that this sentiment carries off the sports field and into our churches—God doesn’t take sides, He loves everybody!

In the other prayer, Coach Roy yells at the heavens when the bus has a flat tire, because he doesn’t know how to change it. He moans that ‘you are trying to ruin me’—his focus is still on himself at this point, as he seeks to be reinstated into ‘real’ coaching. The answer to his prayer comes from his team—they come off the bus to fix the tire themselves. Filled with humor, the illustration of prayer being answered by people who hear the prayer and see the need is well put here. Rather than some ‘supernatural/miracle’ action, the flat tire is fixed by people who are present at the place of need and have the ability to fix it. Just another lesson to take note of in this standard for sports nuts.

So to wrap up, I’m not going to sell Rebound as a great movie—but the laughs are worth it, and so are the moments of inspiration.

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections

The 4400: Life, Interrupted

In the strangest 4400 Episode yet, Tom Baldwin wakes in an alternate reality where no one has ever heard of the 4400 and he has just returned to work after a traumatic hostage situation. C’mon, even the people who haven’t watched the show have heard of the 4400!!!!

Baldwin discovers a strange door in the Jordan Collier (his governor here) Museum of Fine Arts that no one else can see, but that appears to showcase a body on table beneath a white sheet. Captured by Diana and NTAC, Baldwin is encouraged by his ‘wife,’ Alana Mareva (Karina Lombard), to stop talking about the 4400 so that NTAC will let him go. Once they are clear of security, she tells him that she knows she is not his wife, that she is of the 4400, and that they must be in an alternate universe.

Eight-plus years later, Baldwin marries Alana but sees the door again. She begs him to let go of the door because they have stability in their alternate life and success continues to find them there. Baldwin ends up going through the door, regardless of how it will effect his present life—and ends up conversing with those who sent the 4400 (but only through the body of Alana).

The alternate universe is a creation of Alana’s mind where everything is perfect and the relationship is the 4400’s agenda. The future people know that trauma is about to impact Baldwin’s real-world life and that he needed someone he could count on, so they ‘gave’ him Alana. When he asks what if he doesn’t want to leave, but would stay in the easy, perfect world? The future people reply: then they picked the wrong man.

Anyone who has been watching the show KNOWS (gut feeling!) that Baldwin will make the right choice and go back. Faced with the easy, comfortable road, how many of us would choose to take the harder road? The path to a deeper, fuller life never runs through an easy pool but rather a whirling river. Whatever the agenda of the 4400, Baldwin keeps rising to the occasion.

—Overview
—About this Series and Cast

REVIEWS
—The 4400: Life, Interrupted (on blog)
— The 4400: As Fate Would Have It (on blog)
—The 4400: Suffer the Children (on blog) ok
—The 4400: The Weight of the World (on blog)
—The 4400: Voices Carry (on blog)
—The 4400: Season 2, Wake Up Call (on blog)
—The 4400: Season One (on blog)

The 4400: As Fate Would Have It

Maia foresees Jordan Collier’s assassination and NTAC springs to action to provide protection. Collier rejects their advice after ‘consulting’ baby Isabelle and ends up being shot, apparently by Kyle Baldwin! The main sidebars to Collier’s assassination are that Shawn is called out by Kimmy as a fake when he claims that he can’t heal everyone, because it would be too draining.

With the death and ‘resurrection’ of Collier, many questions arise. Collier tells Shawn that Isabelle lies—in general or just to him? Did the baby really tell Collier to go through with the celebration, and if so, why? What purpose does Collier’s death serve for Isabelle and does she act on behalf of the 4400? Who orchestrated Collier’s death—someone human-present (possibly Collier himself or those opposed to him) or someone human-future (controlled by the 4400)? If the 4400 are involved, then how do Kyle’s blackouts work and who is really responsible?

The absence of Collier’s body brings even more connection between Jesus and Collier, but his actions are far from pure. Having been ‘really dead,’ based on Shawn’s inability to bring him back, the absence of his body offers the option of ‘conspiracy theory,’ i.e., a body moved or a staged death, or the possibility that Collier came back from death. A woman working at the 4400 runs to tell Shawn and Tom that the body has disappeared, similar to the events of Jesus’ resurrection.

All that is clear when the dust settles is that Shawn has taken over the 4400. He appears to be pure of heart and was groomed by Collier to take over in the event that Collier was no longer able to run the Centers….one question remains: is Collier a mastermind or a martyr?

—Overview
—About this Series and Cast

REVIEWS
—The 4400: Life, Interrupted (on blog)
— The 4400: As Fate Would Have It (on blog)
—The 4400: Suffer the Children (on blog) ok
—The 4400: The Weight of the World (on blog)
—The 4400: Voices Carry (on blog)
—The 4400: Season 2, Wake Up Call (on blog)
—The 4400: Season One (on blog)

The Fantastic Four

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film

Arrogance versus humility. Evil versus good. Dr. Doom versus the Fantastic Four. These are the polar opposites played out in The Fantastic Four, the latest Marvel comic to surface in the 21st century on the silver screen. Many of the characters from the preceding films actually made their first appearances in Fantastic Four comic, the first of Marvel’s creations. Here, the movie version exceeded my expectations, and serves the spring board for what Marvel hopes will be a movie dynasty like Spider-Man has become.

Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) wants people to feel small and inadequate around him, and the back story presented shows us that he and Dr. Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffud) has clashed with his one-time schoolmate. When Richards and his side-kick, Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) propose to join in exploring a solar wind storm with creative powers, Doom sees a money-making possibility and the group, including Sue and Johnny Storm (Jessica Alba and Chris Evans), encounter their fateful change from ‘ordinary’ into fantastic. Each actor perfectly displays the characterization of their individual hero as laid out in the comics, and rather than caricaturing them in the short time on film, their presentation of their gifts augments their inner selves.

The underlying tension previously felt between Richards and Doom is ratcheted up, as Doom refused to abort the mission and now seeks to use the accident for his own gain. Doom’s egomaniac behavior increases with his paranoia (akin to the Green Goblin’s behavior in Spider-man), as he emotionally and physically begins to behave less and less like a man (he thinks of himself as a god.) On the flipside, Richards blames himself but Grimm/The Thing, says that it was a freak of nature, and Richards becomes focused on finding a ‘cure.’ The creative powers of the storm drew out the inner gifts of these five individuals and forced them to explore the possibilities. From the time of the storm on, the movie plays with the opportunities, exploring how they could be used for selfish gain or turned outward for the better of others.

The strains of ostracism and acceptance that become more and more apparent in the X-Men movies also run in the movie. Grimm’s wife rejects him, but a blind woman becomes his close friend. The police want to arrest Grimm and the others on the bridge, but the crowd applauds their effort. The comics themselves made many critiques of the human spirit and the movies continue their efforts. This spirit always seems to first be afraid of new ‘gifts’ or ‘talents’ received through adolescence or accident (see Peter Parker in Spider-Man) but grows to view the opportunity as positive. Johnny is portrayed as the hotheaded one (he’s the Human Torch!) but he voices that maybe they were given the powers for a reason, for a higher calling. Richards and Sue become the movement to focus that doing good for others, rather than self.

The two most explicit religious reference come in the bar scene where The Thing meets Alicia, the blind woman, and later when Sue confronts Doom. The Thing says that ‘if there is a god, he hates me’ and she replies, ‘she’s not into that. Bein’ different ain’t so bad sometimes.’ Ben Grimm grew up Jewish (check out the Fantastic Four: Remembrance of the Past) but his understanding of his present state conflicts with his understanding of Yahweh’s love. Alicia’s response comes at god from a different angle, but more so, her blindness allows her to see The Thing’s hurt and to love him without being afraid. Doom asks Sue if fate turned them into gods so that they could reject the gifts, and she says, ‘You always thought you were a god.’ At which point, Ben returns from the ‘dead’ as The Thing to prove that love trumps evil one more time.

This love outside of normal circumstances, appearance or expectation drives Richards into the machine he built to provide the cure, and drives Ben Grimm back into it. The beauty of the Fantastic Four is that it depicts friends as family, and family as tighter than arguments or trouble, bigger than expectations or struggles, and stronger than greed or evil. The depth that we get to know the Fantastic Four is purely foundational because the movie must introduce us to five key players, and even X-Men couldn’t do that. We’re watching the foundation being laid here, and it makes for a good prologue, not necessarily a stand-alone movie like Spider-Man 2 or Batman Begins. But the strength of the movie is that four stand as one against Doom, and the evil he represents. The Fantastic Four isn’t the greatest movie ever made, but it still serves the purpose of ‘the super hero movie,’ to prove that good always wins in the end, sometimes you just have to wait a minute.

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections

Review by Kevin Miller
Review by Maurice Broaddus