Annapolis

—1. Overview
—2. Cast and Crew
—3. Photo Pages
—4. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—5. Posters (Current Films)
—6. Production Notes (pdf)
—7. Spiritual Connections
—8. Presentation Downloads

Annapolis is part GI Jane and part Cinderalla Man, and not just because Jordana Brewster bears some resemblance to Demi Moore. The long-standing naval institution gets a not-so-glamorous showing in what may or may not serve as an ad for years to come. The individual story of Jake Huard (Franco) is tied with the class of plebes who hope to become midshipmen and to that of their Marine-turned-Midshipmen drill sergeant, Lt. Cole (Gibson.) While certainly a story of one man’s intention to become an officer, it is also a story of self-discovery, friendship and second chances.

I went to the movie sort of unwillingly. A few months ago, the trailer grabbed me as not-half-bad but today I had a few other things I was more concerned with getting done. But I went to the film anyway, and discovered that James Franco might have more to him than being Spiderman’s nemesis and that the movie wasn’t just a glamorous push to up enrollment for the Navy. Huard’s father has raised a son who is prepared to make a man out of his son by all means necessary, as both of them still struggle with the death of Mrs. Huard. Jake has a certain authority complex about him that also seems to breed a quitting mentality: he would rather than walk away than grind against authority he doesn’t feel that he can change.

Getting into Annapolis is the younger Huard’s dream and promise to his dead mother, and only occurs after much perseverance. His three bunkmates are Twins (Shannon), Loo (Fan), and Estrada (Calderon), but his full attention is on Ali (Brewster.) He observes the defiant Estrada’s counteraction to the racism of the superior officers and Loo’s by-the-book understanding of leadership and compliance. He grows closer to Twins and Ali through his own struggles but remains determined to get through Annapolis on his own. Only after his own frustrations boil over, does he learn from Lt. Cmdr. Burton (Wahlberg) about what it means to be a part of the community and cooperate together.

Huard learns quite a few coming-of-age lessons that are presented poignantly and with humor, but grows in stature as a man and a hero. He is certainly presented as entering the military to find himself, but does not completely come into his own until he begins training for the Brigades, an all-out boxing championship where regardless of rank, all are equal. The boxing ring becomes symbolic of those moments of crisis and character building that everyone experiences: some learn to grow, others succumb to the challenges and temptations. Even more importantly for Annapolis, Huard’s experience shows that no one can get by on their own.

The theme of growth and community resonate from within Annapolis’ story, as Huard shakes off the bitter self-doubt that his father’s life has passed down to him, and he learns to see himself through the eyes of others. In one of the greatest scenes of the film, Huard has frustrated the class’ superior officers and finds himself alone on the rain, doing up-downs. But his efforts, team spirit and defiance have had an impact on the other plebes, and he is soon joined in the rain by others, doing up-downs beside him. In that moment, the superior officers have achieved what they hoped for—a leader has risen up and a standard has been set.

Hopefully we can learn from the trials of Jake Huard, ‘plebe no more.’ We are all equal, none greater than the other, and accordingly, we cannot accomplish our goals without each other. When one struggles, we all struggle, as Jesus said, ‘what you have done to the least of these, you have done to me.’ We stand and fall as one!

— Overview

End of the Spear

—1. Overview
—2. Cast and Crew
—3. Photo Pages
—4. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—5. Posters (Current Films)
—6. Production Notes (pdf)
—7. Spiritual Connections
—8. Presentation Downloads

The End of the Spear packs a powerful, emotional punch that unfortunately will not be discovered by the flocks of people who swarmed theaters in search of the Passion of the Christ. There’s no big name director, no widely-known historical epic, and no R-rating. Instead, there’s simply a story of love that extends from one generation to another, isolated within the hidden jungle of the rainforest, but finally pulled out into the open for everyone to see for themselves.

This is the story of Mincayani of the Ecuadorian rainforest and Steve Saint, but it’s also the story of the five missionary men who were brutally murdered by Mincayani and his tribesmen. Born into a culture of death and of fear, he had been taught no ways other than those of killing and revenge. Early on, he aids in the escape of young Dayumae but watches her fall in with a group of missionaries. Years later, Mincayani will be reunited with Dayumae, but only after he’s killed Steve’s father.

The depiction of the story lulls us to quiet reflection of the simplicity of the Waodani tribe and the beauty of the jungle. The backdrop for the whole film is beautiful and helps compensate for the sometimes subpar acting and dialogue. The story itself continues to shine through though, as there are subtle pointers toward the endline along the way.

Faced with the murderer of his father, our narrator and sometimes lead is faced with a choice, now an adult. Having watched his father prepare for his missionary efforts, he reflects on the truth that his father “knew where he was going.� He also has the wives of his father’s missionary friends and his Aunt Rachel as role models for peacefully sharing the gospel that he knows. Still, faced with the murderer of his own father, the young adult Steve must choose between revenge and peace.

This seems like the required ‘critical moment’ (otherwise, why would it be a movie?) but the adult Steve is also faced with the choice between returning to America (his adopted home) or staying amongst the Waodani after his aunt’s death (in his childhood home.) At one point, a key convert to Christianity, Kimo, asks Steve if Steve is in fact part of their family? Family, it seems, when defined within the gospel that the murdered missionaries lived, taught and died, extended beyond cultural, geographical or social lines. Within this new gospel-lived community, family rose above it all.

Viewers of the movie will find themselves faced with real choices. Will you choose revenge or forgiveness? Retribution or mercy? Leaving or going? Family or isolation? The answers will not be the same for everyone, but the overarching push of the movie is toward love. From I Corinthians, we see that ‘love is patient, love is kind’ and many more things that follow. More importantly, with love, we learn that we will never fail—the Saints never did.

— Overview

Underworld: Evolution

—1. Overview
—2. Cast and Crew
—3. Photo Pages
—4. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—5. Posters (Kate Beckinsale)
—6. Production Notes (pdf)
—7. Spiritual Connections
—8. Presentation Downloads

For about the first fifteen minutes, I really thought that Underworld: Evolution was going to be cool. The pre-history of the Lycans and Vampires set centuries before showed the races extreme distaste for each other, but it also set up the relationships, in their treachery and loyalty. But I was wrong, as the movie shamelessly used barely edited scenes from the action of the first movie to catch the audience up to speed. And then the movie's barely written plot exposed my lack of connection to the characters and their development.

As a Protestant Christian, I like blood. Hmmm...maybe I got someone's attention. What I mean to say, still obtusely, is that blood is important. Not just from an obvious, if you run out of blood, your blood stops being 'healthy,' or your blood no longer flows through you importance, but in a blood as payment sort of way. In an old school literal sense, blood was required as sacrifice, or the death of animals in the Old Testament of the Bible. Christians are sort of past that now thanks to the death and resurrection of Jesus, but blood is still important. And it's important in Underworld.

So, having already blasted The New World, let me say something positive about a perfectly awful movie. Michael (Speedman) is both werewolf and vampire, and Selene (Beckinsale) urges him to drink blood to keep himself from lusting after living human blood. He disregards her suggestion because (fancy that) drinking blood is repulsive to him-- he's a new vampire, I believe because of her saving actions in the first flick. But, because he disregards her instruction, Selene must later cut herself for him to drink and be healed. Here, in this monster/gore/pointless flick lies the truth that without the sacrifice of blood, you're going to die. Other examples of this blood-giving occur throughout the movie in opposition to the blood-taking done by the villains. The truth remains that sacrificially sharing blood has positive results.

To wrap up this pitiful movie (and equally pitiful review), I can't ignore the positive impact of Selene having received blood from another pivotal character, who willing aids her as our hero. Because of this transfusion, she becomes capable of existing within the light-- an obvious detriment to the life of a vampire-- and her closing remarks focus on how she no longer fears the light. Just as Jesus Christ entered as the light of the world (Gospel of John), He also claimed that all that was good would occur within the light while things that were evil would take place in the dark. Not to confuse the church services that end after dark with evil, let's keep in mind that this was figurative! Still, there is an evolution going on in Selene and Michael that is turning back the old way of killing for a new way of coping, and providing an analogy to the gospel of Jesus, where all that is good exists in the light.

— Overview

The New World

—1. Overview
—2. Cast and Crew
—3. Photo Pages
—4. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—5. Posters (Colin Farrell)
—6. Production Notes (pdf)
—7. Spiritual Connections
—8. Presentation Downloads

The New World wasn't quite what I expected. That might have been my own distraction or maybe false advertising, but I went with the hope of saying a dramatic interpretation of the Jamestown settlement of the early 1600s. Instead, I found myself as an observer of a misguided love triangle, with Captain John Smith (Farrell), Pocahantas (Kilcher)and John Rolfe (Bale.) As an observer, I never felt obliged to get involved, and I never really understood why this particular story was worth two plus hours of my time.

Maybe this was just a bad movie-watching weekend for me, because my soon-to-be posted review of Underworld: Revolution will probably be a bit lacking for positive aspects as well. Maybe I should read other reviews before I go to a movie, or maybe I'm just too grumpy to be writing this weekend. But the fact of the true history behind this movie (for me) is that discovering a new world and new people is naturally exciting! So, what about this movie sucks the excitement out of the story? (Don't get me wrong, this movie could win for "Best Documentary Not Done by National Geographic" (if it's history worked), but it is billed as a "sweeping adventure.")

There is little adventure, little action here. Instead, we spend much of the movie watching Pocahantas through the eyes of Smith and Rolfe as they walk silently behind her. Often their voices are used over the beautiful scenes of wilderness that these three walk through, but little is actually said. As a friend said while watching the movie with me, you can grow tired of watching Farrell as 'brooding actor.' This is really the strangest stalker movie ever! Love is not always about words but having conversations certainly helps build relationships. The relationships here seem strained, and by the time we meet Rolfe, they certainly come across as faked.

The bright spot for me, was the representation of the Native American faith. The movie opens with Pocahantas addressing 'Mother Spirit' as she asks for the words to share that will express her story. Here, their story still appears attractive, prior to the invasion of European influence. Christianity certainly doesn't come across as a wondrous, growing faith, because the efforts made by those Europeans are brutish and corrupt. Watch the settlement community disintegrate (multiple times) and 'convert' villages of Indians and Pocahantas herself. You're left wondering how people could make decisions in the name of God (any 'good' really) that result in the pain that these people are made to feel.

Instead of showing me a 'new world,' the movie showed me an old one that has been corrupted by outside influences and seemed better off beforehand. The New World also showed me that history books can actually be more interesting and colorful than film, and that someday soon, high school students will be bored to tears watching it, like I was watching The Birth of a Nation. I do hope that those Christians who go to see the movie will reflect on how their faith is shared-- is it offered or forced upon?-- and that others will not experience Christianity the way that Pocahantas did.

— Overview

Glory Road

—1. Overview
—2. Cast and Crew
—3. Photo Pages
—4. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—5. Posters (Josh Lucas)
—6. Production Notes (pdf)
—7. Spiritual Connections
—8. Presentation Downloads

The Road to the Final Four is one of my favorite yearly events: watching college basketball from November to April is the best! Thanks to the wonders of cinematography, watching Glory Road makes the viewer feel like they’re watching March Madness, with the inside profiles of the 1965-66 Texas Western team but without the annoying voice of Billy Packer! With Josh Lucas as Don Haskins, Derek Luke (apparently a two-sport player, he was previously Booby Miles in Friday Night Lights!) as Bobby Joe Hill, and Jon Voight as Adolph Rupp, there is plenty of acting talent to spare.

Haskins is the epitome of the guy who just won’t quit. He loves basketball and wants to work hard like his dad, but he blows out his knee. He wants to coach but he’s a girl’s basketball coach (and not at a big-time program.) He wants to coach in the big-time, but all that he can get is a dorm parent/coach role at isolated Texas Western. He’s rough as a coach, but even in his roughness, the strong desire he has for his players to become men is apparent.

I can’t go any longer without pointing out the obvious: Haskins has a movie about his team because he started five black men in the NCAA Championship game against the University of Kentucky. Over a hundred years after the Gettysburg Address, the black men on this Texas Western team underwent enormous scrutiny and abuse—just because they were black. I hope that because of the fair but PG rating, that families will go to see this movie, and people will share with their children about the prejudices of the past, and of the present. The film itself seems to represent both sides in the race issue here: the white and black college students have to adjust in 1965 to getting to know people who are different from them. That’s okay, but too often, we settle for what we think we know, not what we could know if we showed love/compassion to others.

The seven black members of the team work through their differences with each other and show love by standing together. The white players are later included in that, as well as other adults around the program. Remarkably, by the movie’s depiction, this earth-shattering (at the time) team represented more than a team, or a school, or basketball itself. By standing for something more, this team moved from competition into heroics. Each player, coach and family member paid the price for their final victory, but the freedom that many people experience now makes their sacrifice justified.

Jesus Christ made a sacrifice that is bigger than that, and is eternal. The team took a stand because they needed it, while His was solely for others. Still, rather than cave to the opposition, the team made a stand for something bigger than themselves. Throughout the movie, we’re provided with the highlights of their sport accomplishments, the humor and poignant moments of their follies, and the growth of their love for the game and each other. Jesus came to save and set an example; we would do well to follow the example of the 1965 NCAA National Champions.

— Overview

The Ringer

—1. Overview
—2. Cast and Crew
—3. Photo Pages
—4. Trailers, Clips, DVD
—5. Posters Johnny Knoxville
—6. Production Notes (pdf)
—7. Spiritual Connections
—8. Presentation Downloads

I went to see The Ringer because I didn’t think Johnny Knoxville was half-bad as Bo Duke, the premise seemed funny yet redeemable, and I just like going to the movies. I walked away with this belief: everyone should go see The Ringer. It’s not the greatest movie ever, not the greatest soundtrack or acting, and certainly lacks the polish of an Oscar-winner. But you still should go see it—see, the Ringer has that immeasurable thing called heart, and lots of it.

In any other movie, Knoxville as Steve Barker would get all the credit for the movie’s laughs and poignant moments. With the Farrelly brothers pulling all the strings, Knoxville surely had the funny moments nailed down, but this is no ordinary film. As Barker finds himself financially strapped, he falls in with his uncle Gary (Cox), who scams with him to rig the Special Olympics. Steve is at first an unwilling accomplice but he succumbs under pressure (so we immediately recognize that he has ‘good’ qualities, but not immediately noticeable ‘heroic’ ones.) Here, he meets a motley crew of Special Olympians who accept him, catch him acting as ‘intellectually challenged,’ and still love him the way he is.

At the center of the action is the multi-Special Olympic winner Jimmy (Flowers), as the arrogant opponent hated by all, and Lynn (Heigl), a staff worker who befriends Steve aka Jeffy against the wishes of her fiancee. The dynamics or politics within the Special Olympics are hilariously played out as this ‘ringer’ becomes the hero of the other Special Olympians. The memorable moments of the film are often found within the training and growing friendships of this group, as Knoxville falls all over himself, cut down to size by the other Olympians.

Gary’s disdain for the participants in these Olympics is the outsider view of what it means to be intellectually challenged or special. The viewer, like Steve, begins to have an appreciation that grows throughout the film for those participants. While this is a movie, the situations that Steve and his crew find themselves in are realistically depicted to allow us to see the truth provided there. Who do we hold prejudices against? How do we demean other people? Which people do we know whose weaknesses we augment and whose strengths we ignore? How does our worldview cramp our style?

In the end, we know that Steve will learn a lesson, but I hope we all do as we watch. It might not be those who are ‘intellectually challenged’ whom we need to become more aware of, but it’s a good place to start. Jesus Christ made outsiders into insiders, drawing them out of the dark and into the light. (He also had a few lessons on greed, lust, anger and jealousy that the Ringer sheds light on.) We, like Steve, can make decisions too, about what we will go along with when it is wrong or what we will make a stand against for good. Sometimes, like Steve, we may learn that it takes teamwork to make a change.

—Overview