Freedomland

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

Freedomland is too long, and dare I say it, overdramatic, to be any good. Think The Forgotten—oh wait, Julianne Moore is in that too, and Flight Plan, and you’ll be thinking of two films that have done this mother-loses-her-kid routine much better. And poor Samuel L. Jackson, he dragged me into this movie with his tough guy with a heart of gold act, but I walked away disappointed by him too.

Brenda Martin (Moore) shows up to the hospital bloodied and disoriented, sharing her story with officer Lorenzo Council (Jackson) and dragging the audience on a two hour quest to find her lost son. If you haven’t seen the movie yet and care to, stop reading! Otherwise, the fact that her kid is already dead and buried remains just out of reach for most of the time but nevertheless provides most of the film’s taut suspense.

The side stories and themes proved much more interesting to me than the actual search for the kid. Council is a God-fearing man…who flat-out drove me nuts in every Biblical reference! Have you ever had a well-meaning Christian tell you that something awful that just happened to you was caused by God because you needed it or because of something you did? Or worse, have you ever had a Christian say that God needed one of your loved ones so that he took that person (usually a child) to heaven? That’s ludicrous but it’s one of those lovely sayings that makes everything about Christianity distasteful to those who are not.

Council’s beliefs seem to be the result of his own negligence. Martin is not the only neglectful parent in the movie and Council’s loss seems to have changed him into something that is sometimes less obvious, but equally as wounded. While we are deafened by the overacting screams of Moore, we can lose sight of the pain that forms Council’s theology.

Additionally, Council’s role in the community drew my attention. He serves as sort of an ‘inside man’ for the black community in the police force but he is perceived as betraying his own people by ‘selling out’ in looking for a white woman’s son. The way in which race is juxtaposed and forced up against itself throughout the film bears watching. As anger boils, the community’s response becomes more and more real and less and less veiled. Here, black and white still don’t like each other—they’ve just been pretending to get along, while the predominantly white police force holds all the power. Now faced with their segregation, the black community fights back.

Because Martin’s predicament, child and all, results from her lusting after a young black man and the reciprocation of his attention, the racial situation shows the roots of problems within the way that we interact. Quieting her child to continue her affair, Martin subjugates the needs of her child for her selfish gain and continues after a ‘forbidden’ relationship with this black man. Because their relationship is a betrayal of another relationship and because their racial differences would have been perceived as wrong by the community, she takes the actions she does to the detriment of her son.

Freedomland shows that even when we attempt to hide our sins, they find a way of creeping into the forefront. The core values of the community can be undone by our sins and everything can fall apart, but in the end, the truth will be dragged out into the light.

— Overview

Date Movie

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

Having done everything they can to horror flicks (maybe not, Scary Movie 4 is coming soon!), Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg attack the chick flick motif. Mixing every movie from the last ten years with the word “wedding� in the title, plus a few more widely watched romantic comedies, Date Movie strikes at the heart of all of our stereotypes, only to return full circle in the end.

Extremely overweight Julia Jones meets goofy yet handsome Grant Funkyerdoder in her father’s little diner—but her insecurity drives her to Dr. Hitch for help. In a strange twist, Hitch takes her to a “Pimp My Ride� body-do over and she is suddenly slimmed down. We should be aware of the rude amount of expectations put on our bodies when it comes to ‘attractiveness’—specifically women. Even more so, we should be aware of the ridiculous stereotypes that Hollywood puts on love: you must be slimmed down and perfect-skinned to meet “the One.�

When Julia re-acquaints herself with Grant, she takes him to interact with her family, but her father’s expectations of the perfect spouse seem to set them apart. As a black man, Eddie Griffin’s Mr. Jones wants his daughter to blend all the parts of her genetic background (black, Japanese, Indian and Jewish), showing the impractical expectations often exhibited by families in the dating process. Things get worse with the Funkyerdoders, where we see the completely hands-off approach to raising a family…truthfully, I never would’ve made it as a hippie.

Enter Andy, Grant’s ex-fiancee of three weeks—once again, how do we date and meet people? We’re constantly bouncing from one relationship to another—and nowhere more quickly than we are in Date Movie. Thanks to these creative minds we see how ABSOLUTELY ABSURD IT IS! Here we get the Australian/New Zealand pop star Sophie Monk as our attractive villain—who is every absurdly awful aspect that we love to hate. Of course, Grant’s going to have second thoughts because he barely knows Julia, right? And he remembers all the sex that keeps being brought up and alluded to by our guides to dating foolishness—so nothing Julia does seems to measure up.

So, what can we gain from this movie besides a few cheap laughs? I would argue that the comic look at our foolishness often allows us the easiest way to critique ourselves. Serious drama seems too heavy at times but cheap laughs (think Saved’s look at Protestant Christianity) has something to say too.

Date Movie says look past the outside and respect yourself for who you are. Date Movie says it might be more than sex that makes a relationship work. Date Movie says that bouncing from relationship to relationship means that we never have the ability to be ourselves in the meantime. And Date Movie says that while we need our family’s advice and love in every way, choosing the right “One� is up to us. And no “chick flick� will ever be the same again.

— Overview

Running Scared

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

From the very beginning, we are drawn into a frighteningly violent story where the dangers of bringing your work home with you are much scarier than the average extra paperwork. Running Scared’s frenetic cinematography sucks the audience into a seamy, sordid world of mob violence and police corruption. Through the eyes of two boys, best friends Nicky and Oleg, we watch the downward spiral of Joey Gazelle, smalltime mobster, as he tries to keep his occupation and his family separate. With that said, I’m going to blow the ‘surprise’ ending in the next sentence, so read on at your own risk!

Joey is a cop deep undercover and what we can later realize how deep Joey has gone in losing himself. To get in with local mobsters, Joey has done some terrible things—and in the process, it appears that his worldview deteriorated too. He doesn’t appear overly kind toward his wife Theresa or his son Nicky, and certainly treats with the Russian Oleg and his family with disdain. I’ll imagine young, idealistic Joey the new police officer as idealistic and moral—he’s lost some of that in twelve years undercover.

Now, faced with threats against Theresa, Joey first seeks out the gun in an act of self-preservation and rises to self-sacrificial status. His sacrifices toward the end doesn’t provide any dramatic ‘aha’ moment because it’s overshadowed by the actions of Theresa and Oleg. Theresa’s execution of the pedophile couple shocks us out of the typical macho violence by providing some justice at the hands of Theresa.

The true ‘moment’ of the movie occurs after Theresa kills the pedophiles and challenges Joey to be something, more than just marginally (rather pathetically) bad. Now that she has faced down true evil like she has never seen, Theresa wants him to rise from his mediocre badness and be good for once. A great opportunity for change—Joey takes it—and the recognition of Theresa that even little ‘sin’ can’t be ignored, means that two lives are changed in this instant. This moment unlocks the good that has been buried and he takes over—with a bit of help from his little Russian buddy, Oleg.

Having defended his mother, and later, a prostitute, with his new-found handgun, Oleg must later stand ‘as a man,’ and defend Joey. While quite a few people look away when pain threatens someone else, Oleg never does. He gets John Wayne better than his father and comes to understand the better meaning of what it takes to be an “American cowboy.� American cowboys stand together, show a willingness to sacrifice it all, and rise to the occasion when they’re called to it.

While the violence of Running Scared sickened me in the same way that A History of Violence did, there was a redemptive theme to this that History lacked. Family really did stand together and could overlook the sins of the father—and the father was the most appreciative for that forgiveness! Searching for one thing (a gun), Joey found something different (another son), and his life is forever changed. I guess the saying is true, if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.

— Overview

Flyleaf

New to the national scene, rockers Flyleaf is touring with P.O.D. and brings the vocals of Lacey Moseley to the public ear. With her clear sounds and their hard-rocking beats, this band is certain to grab the attention of rock-minded listeners. What happens when you examine the lyrics of Flyleaf’s songs? You might be surprised what you find, considering some of their future traveling mates, but maybe not.

The clarity of Moseley’s vocals is added to by the lyrics of “I’m So Sick,� as Flyleaf boldly proclaims that with thoughts from their heart, they’re on a mission to make them known. Recognizing that selfishness clouds her thoughts and feelings, she rages on about the dilemma facing her. “If you want more of this/We can push out, sell out, die out/So you’ll shut up/And stay sleeping/With my screaming in your itching ears,� promises Moseley. It seems that complacency is an everyday value the band just won’t accept, so the listener is forewarned that they can run, but if they listen, they’ll be forced to hear.

The story of Layla shames Moseley’s narrator into recognizing the good in her own life in “Fully Alive,� where the girl sung about is happy to love life and be fully alive—even if just for a moment. This self-examination continues in “Perfect,� where Flyleaf recognizes its “perfection in weakness� within the strength of the other. That strength is exhibited in “Cassie,� what I’ll assume is a tribute to the Christians killed at Columbine. The well-documented example of those who knew that claiming Christ would mean death, this high school student dies for believing in God. Flyleaf is setting the bar pretty high for itself—calling for something to believe in worth dying for, and accepting the responsibility for the consequences.

“I’m Sorry� alludes to some past incident that bears marks of trauma, but Moseley’s words bear signs of recovery and healing. Flyleaf’s terminology implies that like a snake’s skin, the past will be left behind—even as the pain of the past is the other’s now. And the working through of Moseley’s pain is accompanied by, if not facilitated by, forgiveness of the abuser. That seems to be appropriate only in light of “All Around Me,� where the love and passion that the singer feels for the other causes a personal experience that can only be described by those who’ve felt it for themselves. That personal experience extends back from the abstractness of the other/Spirit to “Red Sam’s� interaction with the beating that Christ took before his death.

Flyleaf’s response in worship in “Red Sam� continues in their reverence in “There For You,� as the understanding of incompleteness and lacking rise again in Moseley’s singing. Unable to be real and transparent in the ways that the other is, Moseley longs to speak back the words of love that the other says.
The final song, “Breathe Today,� serves as a summation, or a call to follow that Flyleaf wants to leave their listeners with, a challenge to move past the fake behavior and live in a real relationship.

Flyleaf rocks pretty well—and their message, crying for reality and responsibility deserves being heard. It seems that they might have something to say and hopefully folks will listen.

P.O.D.: Testify

P.O.D. kicks off their latest rap-rock album, Testify, with “Roots in Stereo,� announcing that they have a message to share and that they’re willing to take it to the streets. Sonny sings that he will share the message of Jah’s love until his life is over, and his enthusiasm is uncontrollable. While examining the dying social existence around him, he encourages his listeners with the news that “redemption is on its way,� so share what they know because a “little light in a lot of darkness goes a long way.�In “Lights Out,� the band ‘reps’ itself to everyone who doubts, alluding to the end of the day when their score on the videogame will speak for itself, even when the store closes. The critics have had their chance to deride the band, but now the latest album is out and P.O.D. will represent itself.

“If You Could See Me Now� contains the human side of a conversation with an Other who is not present, as Sonny struggles with life and its hardships. He knows that he needs the Other and wants to proves that he can continue in what he’s doing. Sonny carries on conversations that seem directed at one who wronged him (hmm…an ex-bandmate maybe?) and with God as he continues the struggle between what is easy and what he is called to do. He adds to our vision of this conflict with “Sounds Like War� as “peace, love and harmony� war with his own nature inside of him

The harshness of the latest P.O.D. lyrics gets stepped up in “On The Grind,� as the group and its guests ‘battle rap’ for what they believe. They aren’t too modest but their straightforwardness blends well with the upbeat rock that their instruments play as well. In ways that “Jesus Walks� didn’t, “On the Grind� successfully navigates the journey of carrying the love of Jesus to the streets. The group seems devoted to taking their message back to the streets that they came from, and that’s a pretty encouraging mission.

That mission still raises questions that get published in “This Time� as Sonny asks if they’re where they need to be or if they have tired of looking in the right places? He used to run for different reasons but now runs to share the love he knows, because it is worth it and it might be his only chance. Rather boldly, P.O.D. extends this challenge to others in “Mistakes and Glories,� chanting “Sweep the Leg!/If you don’t stand for something/Sweep the leg!/Then you don’t stand for nothing.� The group’s earnestness is admirable as well, as the group’s mainstream vibe is widely accepted.

“Let You Down� is an open admission that the journey is tough—and certainly chock full of pitfalls when nightly appearing on stage to thousands of people. Channeling David the psalmist and Jamaican flavor, “Strength of My Life� clears up any doubts that the toughness of the journey will derail P.O.D. “Mark My Words� is a fiery, apocalyptic close (that references Narnia) and clearly shows the evangelistic fervor P.O.D. feels.

It’s obvious P.O.D. won’t be for everyone, but with hard-hitting sounds and lyrics, it’s tough to ignore their place in the music world today. And while they may very the clarity of their message from song to song, it’s obvious that they have a message and that they’re here to testify.

Aqualung: Strange and Beautiful

The next Coldplay, or so we’re told, will be Aqualung. With Strange and Beautiful as the album by which to compare the one with the other, it does seem that audibly the two are similar. I’m still one that has to read all the words to really ‘get’ an album, to really read into the artist’s meaning, and so the following review will be my ‘Maybe the Next Coldplay’ review of Aqualung’s album.

There’s a haunting sound to “Strange and Beautiful� and one can’t miss the subtitle “I’ll put a spell on you.� Much like the Police’s “Every Move You Make,� the watcher observes his love from afar and longs to love (and be loved), with an almost ‘stalker-like’ quality. Like a prince or a magician, Matt Hales’ promises to put a spell on the object of his affection so that when she wakes up, love will be realized.

In the next two songs, “Falling Out of Love� and “Good Times Gonna Come,� relationships are not going well but Hales believes things will be alright. In “Brighter Than Sunshine,� he realizes that he didn’t really know what love was about and didn’t believe in destiny, but having met this other, he sings, “What a feeling/in my soul/love burns brighter than sunshine.� Because of their relationship, everything is okay. Like Coldplay, this interchange probably revolves around a woman but can definitely express the love of another, or other. Hales experiences a more fleeting love, as he reprises the down-and-out relationship in “Breaking My Heart� and “Tongue-tied.� He remains hopeful, praying and waiting, but he’s dashed by the failures in love that he is experiencing.

Aqualung’s world is misassembled in “Left Behind,� where the world was once destroyed and put back together incorrectly, and he mourns a yesterday that would have led to tomorrow being completely different. His salvation in “You Turn Me Round� comes through a relationship with another and he recognizes that someone has to be around to catch him in “If I Fall.�

Going back against everything he’s moved toward in the album, Hales says that it’s “Easier to Lie� than tells the truth, because he doubts he can give the other what they need. He does continue to strive toward what is right and noble, but he’s faltering presently. Interestingly enough, it’s that desire to provide for rather than receive what we’re given in love that seems to drive spikes between our relationships with other people, and even with God. As he recognized in “If I Fall,� we’re unable to do it on our own—a positive outlook within Aqualung’s lyrics, but one that is often fleeting.

Aqualung doesn’t make any strong move toward faith but relationships seem to bolster his confidence. He does say it’s better to believe in something than nothing in “Extra Ordinary Thing� but that doesn’t send hope washing over me. The songs portray someone blown about or thrown around by the ways, grasping onto something that he hopes will anchor him. That idea makes sense (an aqualung being something that allows divers to be submerged longer than they could naturally exist) but I’d hoped for him to move past that to some sense of stability.

The stability of the album can only be found in relationships—and they appear as ‘flavor of the week.’ Rather than making friendships and developing trust, these relationships appear to be fleeting and ones that are ‘in lust,’ rather than ‘in love.’ That said, Aqualung has a great sound and he’s searching for something—I can’t wait for the next step along the way.

Storyside B: Everything and More

Trying out Storyside B: Everything and More, one encounters a blend of old and new thought and some pop that rocks. I didn’t expect to like it, but reflecting on the subjects of a few of our forums here at Hollywood Jesus, I think it fits pretty well!

“Everything and More� speaks of the other who takes all the blame, editing in the reminder that we get to make our own choices and sometimes we make mistakes. We could call those mistakes sin, but as Storyside pushes toward, the focus isn’t the individual mistakes, it’s about the focus we put on different priorities that shape our lives. They sing, “What do you live for? Is it something you stand for?/Is it everything that you believe and more?� I was drawn to this refrain because it pushes us past intellectually accepting to something that we would choose to die for (tragically) or live for (in an everyday sort of way.)

In “It’s Not Over,� the band pushes us toward recognizing the opportunities that we sometimes miss because we’re not paying attention. Still, the overall movement is hopeful (it is about grace, isn’t it?) that we’re born again in a situation where we can succeed and make the right choices. The missed opportunities haunt Storyside in “Miracle,� where they sing, “A miracle is in my hand/I hope I don’t throw it away again.� It seems the first point would be determining what is miraculous—and that requires accepting the movement of God within our lives even when we can’t see it.

That movement gets highlighted in “More to This Life,� as we’re urged to recognize God through prayer, and accept that all shame will be taken away by that grace. This requires faith but also a humility that we all lack. Laying down what we want to take up what God offers is to moves, one letting go and one taking up. We’re quick to say we want what is best or what good could come but we often neglect what we already fill ourselves with that keeps us from the greater good. Storyside’s “Hold me down� desires for this surrender and recognizes the dilemma that we’re in, longing to be better than we are. The final result is “In Your Eyes,� where after a long prodigal journey, we’re welcomed home because the other never left us.

More evangelical than many of my previous bands have been, Storyside blends a healthy criticism of modern day Christianity with a desire to share the grace they’ve experienced with others. All of us long to be forgiven and to have our shame erased but we lack the strength to make the first step. As I said, the forum jogged much of this discussion, as we reflect on what it means to explore God with our whole heart, our whole mind, and our whole soul. Storyside demands that we do all three—exploring God with all that we are.

Yellowcard: Lights and Sounds

After a three year hiatus, Yellowcard returns with Lights and Sounds, a rock-and-roll upbeat mix of searching lyrics and sounds that resonate. The band picks up where it left off on Ocean Avenue and some will be disappointed that much remains the same. For fans of the previous albums, it’s just what they’ve been waiting for!

After opening with the instrumental “Three Flights Up,� the band sees the world coming “Down on My Head,� and they’re trying to figure out where they stand. For the time being they’re stuck between the beginning and the end—a problem that carries over into “Sure Thing Falling.� Here, Ryan Key sings about the difference between heroes and crooks and the desire to define yourself as one or the other. Later, he sings “He can take you all the way to church this time/But don’t forget you summed it up in fifteen lines…Of all the places I’ve looked in.../I’m finally finding out how…/Sure things fall/All sure things fall.� Defining yourself from what you aren’t is just as important as defining yourself by what you are. Here, Yellowcard remains stuck in the middle.

Some of their confusion can certainly be attributed to their coastal change to Hollywood, here portrayed as a “City of Devils.� Still, the gospel of love comes shining through with the admonition: “You gotta love someone more than yourself.� Key admits that he feels “like I don’t belong and I/Can’t tell right from wrong and why/Have I been there so long.� Interestingly enough, it is in those moments of crisis and change that we find ourselves seeking for real things to grasp and hold onto while we’re grappling. Knowing that we have to look outside ourselves seems like a good place to start.

Momentarily diverting to “Rough Landing, Holly� and “Two Weeks From Twenty� (an anti-war song), Yellowcard comes back to its quest in “Waiting Game.� Once again, the song seeks out the real you, a desire to be known and seen for what is truth. Light shines in to wipe the doubts away—another Biblical (and straightforward) image of light as a means of making truth known.

In “Grey,� Key sings that “we used to see/with wide eyes maybe everything/was meant to be this way/will it even change/or are we stuck here on our own.� We once saw with wide eyes as children but now our cynicism has clouded our judgment and made us doubt what we once believed.

This ‘stuckness’ is an isolation that Yellowcard alludes to in “Word, Hands, Hearts,� observing a world in a fix that can’t be undone by quaint words or actions. Key cries out for someone to “lead on to save me, lead us all there/Find me some answers one nation beware/Can’t tell the difference between myth and man.� Does Yellowcard question the myth/reality of religion or of country? It seems that today the ideas may be tied together, one where religion and patriotism have become combined together for many. But the religion of country can sometimes undo the faith in things greater than ourselves. Key asks pointedly, “So do we dare now/Raise our voices loud/We’re searching for something that cannot be found?�

It seems to me that the same elements invading Lights and Sounds are the ones expressed frequently by U2 (see “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For� as a choice example.) Whether one enjoys the Sounds of Yellowcard, the questions raised are worth asking. Socially active periodically through Ocean Avenue, Key and company seem full of more self-examination here, and their music is better for it. We will continue to search until we find what we’re looking for—the Lights will show us the way.

Firewall

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

Firewall is vintage Harrison Ford…even if Harrison Ford is pretty vintage himself! Taut with suspense, this film pits Ford’s family man Jack Stansfield against the evil manipulator Bill Cox (Bettany.) While Stansfield’s family involves a pair of children and a wife, and Cox’s crew incorporates various standard henchmen, the film is a two actor show. Within the context of the film, Stansfield has overseen the firewalls electronically built to protect his bank, but can he provide a human firewall to protect his family?

We know what is coming thanks to the many television advertisement spots leading up to the latest Ford blockbuster’s release date. Mashing the sentiments of Air Force One into the security scams frequently hitting the big screen, Stansfield must break through the security systems that he helped create to save his family, held hostage within their own home. It’s pretty straightforward but it still serves up a pretty entertaining tale.

The basic premise leaves us with questions about how far we would go to save our loved ones from danger. Most of us would answer quickly, all the way! Stansfield surrenders his job security, his responsibilities and any morals that he previously held to—all for the sake of his family. What is a more interesting movie conundrum is for whom would we go to such lengths?

Who do you know or possibly not even know yet, for whom you would sacrifice anything and everything? I remember a story about the question posed this way: Who would you walk across a wooden beam lying on the ground to save? Who would you walk across the same beam to save if it was held ten feet off the ground? Or twenty stories off the ground? Or twenty stories off the ground in the midst of a hurricane? The gospel story of Jesus Christ says that he would walk across in the midst of the hurricane to save anyone, you or me or someone who completely rejected him. That’s one heck of a firewall!

So, we watch this film about sacrifice and heroics and wonder if we have what it takes to be a real hero. While the technical babble that accompanies the heist part of the film is beyond me, and the security behind our banks is hopefully more sound than what could be undone by an iPod, the movie’s realistic interplay of danger and suspense keeps us engaged with our own self-examination. If we are realistic in this examination, we may discover that we are not the firewall but that others or the Other serve as the firewall for us. Somehow, knowing that I am not the biggest, nor am I the final word, makes me feel a little more secure in my constantly changing world. Take another look at Firewall, and you might just be inspired.

— Overview