(Note: lots of YouTube clips in this article, and they may not show up if you're browsing from a phone. At least I was having trouble with it)
I've written almost exclusively about movies in this blog, and while this post isn't technically about movies, I reserve the right to do whatever the heck I want on my own blog. So there. Anyway, I have undertaken the arduous task of ranking the best episodes in the history of The Simpsons. Now when I say history, I actually mean Seasons 1-11. I'm in the camp of Simpsons fans that think the show started to lose its quality somewhere in Season 9, and went into full-on tail spin mode in Season 12. I've watched every episode of Seasons 12-14 and have not seen a single one that was memorable. I quit trying to keep up with the show after that, save for a few more tries in the past couple of years. Suffice it to say, The Simpsons just isn't what it used to be, and after 500+ episodes how could it be? However, the first 9 seasons of the show are better than just about any comedy television show created (Seinfeld being its only other rival). The Simpsons first 9 seasons are witty, insightful, heartfelt, and entirely hilarious. My favorite episodes have a mix of some evidence of genuine love between the Simpsons family, something that was the heart of the show early on, and downright gut-busting laughs. I will never forget watching the "Cape Feare" episode for the first time in my room while my brother was sleeping. Trying to not audibly roar with laughter was no small feat. The Simpsons is one of my favorite shows of all time, and if you're looking to get into the show, here are my 10 favorites:
1. Homer at the Bat
This episode wonderfully mixes two of my favorite things: The Simpsons and baseball. Loaded with MLB player cameos, this episode was a landmark for the show, besting The Cosby Show for the first time ever in the ratings. When Mr. Burns makes a bet with the Shelbyville nuclear plant owner that his softball team will prevail in their upcoming game, he decides to bring in a few "ringers". The ringers are a 90's all star team featuring Ken Griffey Jr., Don Mattingly, Jose Canseco, Ozzie Smith, Roger Clemens, Darryl Strawberry, Steve Sax, Mike Scioscia, and Wade Boggs. Later in the series, The Simpsons relied too much on their guest stars as merely gimmicks, but the baseball players work so well here. The ringers all befall untimely fates and are unable to make it to the game, except for Strawberry, who is starting in right field over poor Homer.
Homer ends up saving the game in a manner that only Homer could do, but the star of this episode is really Mr. Burns. From his suggestions for the ringers all being stars from the late 19th century including someone named "Three Finger" Mordecai Brown (one of the best running gags on the show, Burns liking things that make him seem so hilariously old), to his Tony La Russa like decision to "play the percentages" by subbing Homer for Strawberry to get a righty-lefty matchup (side baseball note: as a lifelong Cardinals fan, La Russa's insistence on righty-lefty matchups would be absolutely maddening sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I love La Russa and he brought the Cards two World Series titles, but taking out a far superior hitter to play the right matchup always seemed boneheaded to me. But I digress). Homer at the Bat also signifies where the show really took off. Seasons 1 and 2 had some great episodes, but this Season 3 gem is a classic that stands up to any in the best years of the show.
2. Cape Feare
As I mentioned above, I'm not sure if I have ever laughed harder at a single half hour of television than I did the first time I watched Cape Feare. A Sideshow Bob episode, Cape Feare plays exactly like, well, Cape Fear. Bob is in the Robert De Niro/ Robert Mitchum role, stalking the Simpsons to once again try and kill Bart. The most brilliant gag of the episode came as a mistake. The episode was running a few minutes short, so the writers decided to just loop a gag where Bob is stepping on rakes over and over.
It's a joke that goes from funny, to tired, to hilarious. There are several more moments that are super funny including:
And:
Kelsey Grammer does a magnificent job voicing the annual episodes featuring Sideshow Bob, a maniacal genius who is somehow always bested by one of the Simpsons. Cape Feare is the best of those.
3. Last Exit to Springfield
Last Exit to Springfield is a great episode that I had almost forgotten about, except that I hadn't. There are several ALL TIME classic lines in this episode that I have always quoted, but forgot were in this one:
But last but not least, one of the most annoying and funny bits in the show (this clip loops it a bunch, but the actual bit in the show lasted a good minute):
This episode pits Homer as the Union president facing Mr. Burns to get back the Nuclear Plant's dental plan. Homer stumbles his way through the negotiations, but ends up coming off as a brilliant tactician to Burns. The Burns and Homer stuff is pure gold, and Carl and Lenny really have some funny moments, including this exchange after Homer is elected president of the union:
Homer: What does this job pay?
Carl: Nothin'.
Homer: D'oh!
Carl:... Unless you're crooked!
Homer: Woo-Hoo!
4. Homer Goes to College
Famously written by Conan O'Brien, Homer Goes to College crams every college cliche into one "zany" episode. In order to keep his job at the plant, Homer must pass one class at the local college.
Homer expects college to be like Animal House, and every other college romp. He immediately thinks that it will be all about pranks and fighting with the cantankerous dean, but is shocked by the reality.
Homer just ends up taking the lazy way out and cheats, but Marge insists he do it the right way to set an example for his kids. Homer is dumb, stupid, fat, and lazy, but he generally makes some strides to be a good dad. I'm not really a fan of how the show depicts gender roles within the family; Marge is the leader and the rock, cleaning up Homer's messes and setting the example for the family. This should be a role filled by Homer as the dad, but that's another argument. Homer Goes to College has tons of laughs, and that's really what it's all about!
5. The Cartridge Family
This episode shows that Homer and guns are a terrible and dangerous mix. After buying a gun, Homer generally uses it in every horrible way possible, appalling his family and even the NRA. His flippant regard for guns is funny because it's in a cartoon; in any other context it would be horrifying. Homer ends up choosing his family over the power of the gun, but only after some heavy consideration. Homer purchasing the gun at the gun store is one of my favorite bits of the series:
Also included is a great send up of soccer starting with this ridiculous commercial for an exhibition game to be hosted in Springfield:
Season 9 was hit and miss, but this one was brilliant.
6. Homer's Triple Bypass
Homer has always treated his body badly, and this episode highlights his dangerous overeating. Opening with Homer in bed gorging on a ridiculous amount of food, his heart turns from bad to worse as he needs a transplant. Lots of great Dr. Nick stuff, and some genuine emotion and love between the Simpson family. The scene where Homer is being fired by Mr. Burns is great:
7. Duffless
Another episode focusing on Homer's sinful indulgences, this one zeroes in on one of his greatest loves: beer. After Homer is arrested for DWI (NOT found DOA as Wiggum first states), his keys are taken away and he is sent to alcoholics anonymous. Marge pleads with her husband to stay away from beer for one month, in which Homer is tortured going through life without beer. The episode has a very sweet ending between Homer and his wife, where he realizes his family is much more important than beer (but then again he's back to swilling booze in the very next episode). Duffless introduces us to Homer's first experience with beer, a hilarious song in which Homer uses a fake ID:
Homer on beer is funny, and Homer without beer is equally so.
8. The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson
Another season 9 gem, this one shows Homer at his most enraged. After being forced to be the designated driver (and in the process being tortured by Duffman), Barney goes on a two month long bender that ends with Homer's car being parked between the World Trade Center towers. Homer has a deep hatred for New York, and despises having to go there. The physical comedy in this one is off the charts hilarious. When Homer decides to drive his car with the parking boot still on it, I completely lose it.
This one has no real sentimental or deeper value, it's just really really funny. This Luke Perry look-a-like in a musical about going into rehab won a Primetime Emmy.
Also, Homer really hates Mountain Dew:
9. Homer's Enemy
Homer's Enemy is one of the darker episodes of the series (along with another Season 8 episode called A Millhouse Divided, in which Millhouse's parents get divorced). Frank Grimes is a hard working man who can't really catch a break, which is the opposite of Homer. Homer is lazy and stupid, but seems to catch every break. Grimes is appalled by how much Homer has and all the things he's done. Homer tries to become friends with Grimes, but it continues to annoy Grimes to no end.
Grimes eventually goes insane at how Homer bumbles his way to a successful life, and it leads to his untimely death. It's totally dark, especially the "change the channel, Marge!" quip from Homer, at Grimes' funeral. This episode proved that The Simpsons could do dark comedy as well. Homer will drive you insane, and you will end up laughing at how oblivious he truly is.
10. Homer Badman
There might be some funnier episodes than Homer Badman, but the genius of this one forced me to put it in the top 10. After dropping off the kids babysitter, Homer reaches to grab a gummi bear that was lodged against her butt, causing her to claim sexual harassment charges against Homer. The media is absolutely roasted for the sensationalist embellishments they claim on a daily basis. Homer is treated instantly as a monster by TV and the newspaper, when his side of the story is actually true. This includes a made for TV movie released before any facts have even come out, depicting Homer as a total animal.
Don't get me wrong, the commentary is great but it's also extremely funny. Grandpa not wanting to recognize Missourah is something I often quote (especially now with Arkansas playing Missouri every year).
The list could go on and on. Generally any episode between seasons 3 and 8 is super funny. Most of these honorable mentions could easily make the top 10.
Honorable mentions:
Stark Raving Dad
When Flanders Failed
Lisa's Pony
Flaming Moe's
Burns Verkaufen der Draftwerk
Mr. Plow
Marge vs. the Monorail
Homer's Barbershop Quartet
Homer and Apu
Deep Space Homer
Bart of Darkness
Lisa on Ice
Itchy and Scratchy Land
Homer the Great
Bart vs. Australia
Radioactive Man
King-Size Homer
Team Homer
Homerpalooza
You Only Move Twice
A Milhouse Divided
Mountain of Madness
The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show
Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment
Bart Star
King of the Hill
Homer to the Max
The Mansion Family
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Taking off the Kid Goggles
Have you ever watched a movie or TV show many years after loving it as a kid only to realize, "Man, what was I thinking back then?" This is a phenomenon that I refer to as wearing "kid goggles". This is a term that I've been tossing around for years, which I may or may not have come up with (sometimes if you say things long enough you think that you started it). Taking off the kid goggles and realizing that one of your beloved favorites is actually horrible can be a traumatizing experience. And I'm not talking about watching a movie that's directed at kids as an adult and thinking it sucks, because there have been plenty of "kid" movies that are incredible (see: almost all Pixar movies, Disney classics, The Sandlot, Hook, etc.). I'm talking about watching a movie or show as an adult and wondering why in the world you ever liked (and in some instances absolutely adored) the piece of utter crap on the screen before you.
I think my most embarrassing examples are two Fox afternoon action TV shows, Power Rangers and Big Bad Beetle Borgs (yes, that second one is a real thing). From ages 7-11 I tried to watch these every time they came on after school (I know that age 7 was the starting point because both shows were rated TV-Y7, a recommendation that 6-year-old Drew felt was legally binding). One day after reminiscing upon my after school routine, I decided to at least look up the theme song to both of these. What I am about to show you may shock and horrify you, so proceed with caution:
OK a couple of things. First, how totally rad is that guitar riff on the Power Rangers intro? Was it recorded by Eddie van Halen or something? I'd like to also point out that Billy was always my favorite, being the "smart one", I guess I identified with him (he was also the nerdy one, which probably helped mold me into the movie blog writing nerd I am today). Big Bad Beetle Borgs is so astonishingly bad that I don't even know what to say. The line "BIG BAD BEETLE BORGS" as sung by the chorus from hell still rolls around my head every once in a while.
What's so funny about all of this is that I was in love with these two shows as a kid. After perusing some more clips of the actual show, it became abundantly clear that these two shows are the absolute lowest common denominator. Cheesy, stupid, somewhat offensive (you're telling me that it wasn't on purpose that in Power Rangers, the black ranger was black, the yellow ranger was Asian, and the red ranger had Native American heritage? Come on!), these shows had it all. Why was I so in love? Only one explanation. Kid goggles. As a kid, you really only require two things from a show or movie: slapstick humor, and the ability to identify with a character. That's pretty much it. You don't care if the dialogue is cringe inducing, or if every joke is as lame as watching Arkansas basketball road games, you just like it. In fact, I don't know that there was anything I watched that I didn't like.
In college I stumbled across Rookie of the Year, a movie I loved as a kid. It fulfilled both kid requirements to a T: abundant slapstick humor, and an identifiable character (a kid who gets to pitch in the majors? Yeah, 9-year-old me is way in). But after watching Rookie of the Year as an adult, or what I could sit through of it, I began to wonder what I was thinking back in the day. My kid goggles had been taken off, and Rookie of the Year will never be the same.
Here's another one: 3 Ninjas. Every boy around my age has seen this one, and has at one point wanted to actually become one of the 3 Ninjas. The movie has three kids being taught karate by their grandfather and using it to beat up the adult bad guys. Basically any 8-year-old boy's dream. I saw this one again in college on Netflix, and cruelly had my kid goggles ripped off. First off, if there is a record for saying "ay-ah!" in a movie, 3 Ninjasblows the competition out of the water. Every single punch, kick, or any other bodily movement is accompanied by this noise. The scene you're about to watch is what might be the most insane (not in a good way) movie scene ever, yet it didn't even stick out to me as a kid. Here it is:
The blocks, the dialogue, the dunking (dunking by a 5th grader?!) are all so insanely bad it's hard to fathom. Again, kid me loved this with all my heart. Wow.
Every once in a while you'll be pleasantly surprised with your tastes. I got The World Is Not Enough (James Bond movie with Denise Richards) for Christmas one year and probably watched it 50 times. Watched it again the other night, and despite the fact that Denise Richards is indeed the worst actress of all time, the movie is pretty good. Same goes for Batman: The Animated Series. This was appointment television as an 8-year-old, and after watching a bunch of the episodes again in college, I can say that my love was not misplaced. The writing and voice acting are really good, and any Batman fan will love them.
If you have a beloved childhood movie or TV show that you haven't seen since youth, I urge you to proceed with caution. Your childhood may come crashing down after realizing that hey, maybe the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV show on CBS isn't the greatest show ever. In fact, it's actually really, really bad. Dang it. There are the rare times that the nostalgia power is too strong; you might secretly know that Saved by the Bell is not exactly Seinfeld, but your emotional ties are just too strong to realize it (but let's get real, Saved by the Bell is a bad example because that show is one of the greats ever made. Mark-Paul Gosslear deserved an Emmy every year that show was on, but got totally snubbed. Bunch of hacks giving out those awards I tell ya). If you've ever had the thought, "Man I loved (insert show/movie) as a kid, maybe I should look it up on Netflix and watch it again!", I only have one piece of advice for you: just be careful when taking off your kid goggles.
Has anyone else had a movie or show ruined by taking off the kid goggles?
I think my most embarrassing examples are two Fox afternoon action TV shows, Power Rangers and Big Bad Beetle Borgs (yes, that second one is a real thing). From ages 7-11 I tried to watch these every time they came on after school (I know that age 7 was the starting point because both shows were rated TV-Y7, a recommendation that 6-year-old Drew felt was legally binding). One day after reminiscing upon my after school routine, I decided to at least look up the theme song to both of these. What I am about to show you may shock and horrify you, so proceed with caution:
What's so funny about all of this is that I was in love with these two shows as a kid. After perusing some more clips of the actual show, it became abundantly clear that these two shows are the absolute lowest common denominator. Cheesy, stupid, somewhat offensive (you're telling me that it wasn't on purpose that in Power Rangers, the black ranger was black, the yellow ranger was Asian, and the red ranger had Native American heritage? Come on!), these shows had it all. Why was I so in love? Only one explanation. Kid goggles. As a kid, you really only require two things from a show or movie: slapstick humor, and the ability to identify with a character. That's pretty much it. You don't care if the dialogue is cringe inducing, or if every joke is as lame as watching Arkansas basketball road games, you just like it. In fact, I don't know that there was anything I watched that I didn't like.
In college I stumbled across Rookie of the Year, a movie I loved as a kid. It fulfilled both kid requirements to a T: abundant slapstick humor, and an identifiable character (a kid who gets to pitch in the majors? Yeah, 9-year-old me is way in). But after watching Rookie of the Year as an adult, or what I could sit through of it, I began to wonder what I was thinking back in the day. My kid goggles had been taken off, and Rookie of the Year will never be the same.
Here's another one: 3 Ninjas. Every boy around my age has seen this one, and has at one point wanted to actually become one of the 3 Ninjas. The movie has three kids being taught karate by their grandfather and using it to beat up the adult bad guys. Basically any 8-year-old boy's dream. I saw this one again in college on Netflix, and cruelly had my kid goggles ripped off. First off, if there is a record for saying "ay-ah!" in a movie, 3 Ninjasblows the competition out of the water. Every single punch, kick, or any other bodily movement is accompanied by this noise. The scene you're about to watch is what might be the most insane (not in a good way) movie scene ever, yet it didn't even stick out to me as a kid. Here it is:
The blocks, the dialogue, the dunking (dunking by a 5th grader?!) are all so insanely bad it's hard to fathom. Again, kid me loved this with all my heart. Wow.
Every once in a while you'll be pleasantly surprised with your tastes. I got The World Is Not Enough (James Bond movie with Denise Richards) for Christmas one year and probably watched it 50 times. Watched it again the other night, and despite the fact that Denise Richards is indeed the worst actress of all time, the movie is pretty good. Same goes for Batman: The Animated Series. This was appointment television as an 8-year-old, and after watching a bunch of the episodes again in college, I can say that my love was not misplaced. The writing and voice acting are really good, and any Batman fan will love them.
If you have a beloved childhood movie or TV show that you haven't seen since youth, I urge you to proceed with caution. Your childhood may come crashing down after realizing that hey, maybe the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV show on CBS isn't the greatest show ever. In fact, it's actually really, really bad. Dang it. There are the rare times that the nostalgia power is too strong; you might secretly know that Saved by the Bell is not exactly Seinfeld, but your emotional ties are just too strong to realize it (but let's get real, Saved by the Bell is a bad example because that show is one of the greats ever made. Mark-Paul Gosslear deserved an Emmy every year that show was on, but got totally snubbed. Bunch of hacks giving out those awards I tell ya). If you've ever had the thought, "Man I loved (insert show/movie) as a kid, maybe I should look it up on Netflix and watch it again!", I only have one piece of advice for you: just be careful when taking off your kid goggles.
Has anyone else had a movie or show ruined by taking off the kid goggles?
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Zero Dark Thirty
As one of 2012's most controversial and talked about films, Zero Dark Thirty is not exactly what you'd expect, but still impressive. ZD30 is VERY well made, so much so that it feels documentary like. Just like two other big movies of 2012, Lincoln and Argo, ZD30 is telling a story that the audience already knows. Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces in May 2011, and everyone is familiar with what happened. But director Kathryn Bigelow does a great job keeping the intensity high, and the audience on the edge of their seats.
In the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, U.S. intelligence was able to pin point that bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist organization were behind the strike. ZD30 is the story of tracking down bin Laden and killing him. At the head of the search is Maya (Jessica Chastain) a young woman whose whole career becomes devoted to finding bin Laden. From 2003-2011 she is completely consumed by the search, at the expense of everything else in her life. The movie spans from initial intelligence in the wake of the attacks to the raid on bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.There are no spoilers to warn about because the story is out there, and happened very recently.
The first hour of the movie shows how the U.S. was able to obtain the initial leads on bin Laden, and it was largely done through the use of torture. The torture scenes are brutal. Not brutal in the way that the Saw movies depict torture, but I could feel the psychological effect it had on the men being tortured. Bigelow pulls no punches in showing water boarding, physical brutality, and psychological torture through the use of sleep and sensory deprivation. After the movie premiered, the buzz was around the use of torture in the film. Many thought that it glorified its use; the Americans use it to gain information, and the information leads to the killing of bin Laden, plain and simple. I didn't feel like the movie was taking a stand on torture either way. It felt to me like the filmmakers told the story that they had from descriptions of first hand accounts. Whether or not you agree with the use of torture to gain information, you have to accept that it was a means to an end in tracking down one of the world's most evil villains. It's hard for me not to take some sort of stand on the issue, but I felt like the people using it were doing so in a "war time" context, and I didn't find myself so appalled by their actions. But luckily I've never been faced with the choice of torturing another human being for information, or using other more humane, and possibly less effective, interrogation techniques when lives are at stake. I think that if I were faced with the issue head on, my perspective would probably change. In a perfect world, torture would never enter the conversation, but that is just not where we live.
Jessica Chastain is great as Maya, the woman who was largely responsible for finding bin Laden. She never gives up in pursuit of finding him, and her tenacity is what convinces her superiors that the search needs to continue. Chastain is great, and while I still think that I like Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook better, Chastain's performance is incredibly real and equally deserved of a nomination for Best Actress. The rest of the cast is made up of mostly unknowns or character actors (actors who you know you've seen but aren't big enough for you to remember their name; in ZD30 there's Harold Perrineau, Kyle Chandler, and Jason Clarke, all actors whom you will recognize when you see, but probably didn't recognize their names as I just listed them). I thought that the two biggest faces were James Gandolfini (The Sopranos) as one of Maya's superiors, and Christ Pratt (Parks and Recreation) as one of the soldiers in the team that took down bin Laden. After his portrayal of Andy Dwyer on Parks, it's really hard for me to take Pratt seriously. He is so goofy in the show that every time he said something in the movie I felt like he was about to say a classic Andy line ("Wow, sounds like you're going some tough stuff right now. Too bad there's not doctors for your mind."). The relative anonymity of the cast works in the favor of the film's documentary-like feel, in that you're never taken out of the movie by seeing recognizable faces. They all seem like the real people, and in a movie like ZD30, that's a very good thing.
At a run time of over 2 and a half hours, ZD30 is long, but is paced relatively well. It slows a little bit in the middle, but once the location of bin Laden is exposed, the movie really takes off. The last 30 minutes are as intense as you'll see, and you know the ending! Kathryn Bigelow was majorly snubbed for not getting a best director nomination, probably having to do with the controversy surrounding the torture depicted in the film. She won for The Hurt Locker in 2010, but her work is about the same in quality on ZD30. The Hurt Locker was more intimately focused on a few soldiers fighting in the Middle East, while this film is more about the story than the characters. Characters come in and out quickly throughout the entire film; I honestly think that Maya was the only person whose name I remembered. I could have used a little more connection with the people involved with the hunt, but the story is so engaging that the movie is still very good.
When this film was first announced, I was heavily expecting it to be a very politics driven film designed to help President Obama win re-election. Bigelow does an incredible job of staying almost completely clear of politics and telling a story that is incredible on its own. ZD30 is yet another fantastic 2012 film. The more I catch up on the very best of last year, the more I'm blown away at the depth and quality of films it produced across many genres. I keep giving high ratings to these films, but it's because they're all deserved! Maybe I should go see that terrible looking magician movie with Steve Carrell and Jim Carrey to get a little perspective. Oh well.
4/5
In the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, U.S. intelligence was able to pin point that bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist organization were behind the strike. ZD30 is the story of tracking down bin Laden and killing him. At the head of the search is Maya (Jessica Chastain) a young woman whose whole career becomes devoted to finding bin Laden. From 2003-2011 she is completely consumed by the search, at the expense of everything else in her life. The movie spans from initial intelligence in the wake of the attacks to the raid on bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.There are no spoilers to warn about because the story is out there, and happened very recently.
The first hour of the movie shows how the U.S. was able to obtain the initial leads on bin Laden, and it was largely done through the use of torture. The torture scenes are brutal. Not brutal in the way that the Saw movies depict torture, but I could feel the psychological effect it had on the men being tortured. Bigelow pulls no punches in showing water boarding, physical brutality, and psychological torture through the use of sleep and sensory deprivation. After the movie premiered, the buzz was around the use of torture in the film. Many thought that it glorified its use; the Americans use it to gain information, and the information leads to the killing of bin Laden, plain and simple. I didn't feel like the movie was taking a stand on torture either way. It felt to me like the filmmakers told the story that they had from descriptions of first hand accounts. Whether or not you agree with the use of torture to gain information, you have to accept that it was a means to an end in tracking down one of the world's most evil villains. It's hard for me not to take some sort of stand on the issue, but I felt like the people using it were doing so in a "war time" context, and I didn't find myself so appalled by their actions. But luckily I've never been faced with the choice of torturing another human being for information, or using other more humane, and possibly less effective, interrogation techniques when lives are at stake. I think that if I were faced with the issue head on, my perspective would probably change. In a perfect world, torture would never enter the conversation, but that is just not where we live.
Jessica Chastain is great as Maya, the woman who was largely responsible for finding bin Laden. She never gives up in pursuit of finding him, and her tenacity is what convinces her superiors that the search needs to continue. Chastain is great, and while I still think that I like Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook better, Chastain's performance is incredibly real and equally deserved of a nomination for Best Actress. The rest of the cast is made up of mostly unknowns or character actors (actors who you know you've seen but aren't big enough for you to remember their name; in ZD30 there's Harold Perrineau, Kyle Chandler, and Jason Clarke, all actors whom you will recognize when you see, but probably didn't recognize their names as I just listed them). I thought that the two biggest faces were James Gandolfini (The Sopranos) as one of Maya's superiors, and Christ Pratt (Parks and Recreation) as one of the soldiers in the team that took down bin Laden. After his portrayal of Andy Dwyer on Parks, it's really hard for me to take Pratt seriously. He is so goofy in the show that every time he said something in the movie I felt like he was about to say a classic Andy line ("Wow, sounds like you're going some tough stuff right now. Too bad there's not doctors for your mind."). The relative anonymity of the cast works in the favor of the film's documentary-like feel, in that you're never taken out of the movie by seeing recognizable faces. They all seem like the real people, and in a movie like ZD30, that's a very good thing.
At a run time of over 2 and a half hours, ZD30 is long, but is paced relatively well. It slows a little bit in the middle, but once the location of bin Laden is exposed, the movie really takes off. The last 30 minutes are as intense as you'll see, and you know the ending! Kathryn Bigelow was majorly snubbed for not getting a best director nomination, probably having to do with the controversy surrounding the torture depicted in the film. She won for The Hurt Locker in 2010, but her work is about the same in quality on ZD30. The Hurt Locker was more intimately focused on a few soldiers fighting in the Middle East, while this film is more about the story than the characters. Characters come in and out quickly throughout the entire film; I honestly think that Maya was the only person whose name I remembered. I could have used a little more connection with the people involved with the hunt, but the story is so engaging that the movie is still very good.
When this film was first announced, I was heavily expecting it to be a very politics driven film designed to help President Obama win re-election. Bigelow does an incredible job of staying almost completely clear of politics and telling a story that is incredible on its own. ZD30 is yet another fantastic 2012 film. The more I catch up on the very best of last year, the more I'm blown away at the depth and quality of films it produced across many genres. I keep giving high ratings to these films, but it's because they're all deserved! Maybe I should go see that terrible looking magician movie with Steve Carrell and Jim Carrey to get a little perspective. Oh well.
4/5
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Silver Linings Playbook
Silver Linings Playbook was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, and won for Best Actress (Jennifer Lawrence). Playbook is a romantic-comedy at its core, but is so much more. Set in Philadelphia, the story centers around Pat (Bradley Cooper) and his family, mental illness, love for Philly sports teams, grief, and relationships. It is easily one of the best romantic comedies I have ever seen, and doesn't fall into the normal traps and conventions that the genre brings. The movie was nominated in all four acting categories, and it was definitely deserved.
Pat Solitano has just been released from a mental hospital; probably a bit too early, but at his mother's (Jacki Weaver) insistence. Pat was appointed there after nearly beating a man to death. Pat walked in on his wife (Brea Bee) cheating with another man, became unhinged, and nearly killed him. Pat had undiagnosed bi-polar disorder, something his stay at the hospital was helping him to control. Upon his return home he is greeted by his OCD father Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro), who believes that Pat is good luck for the Philadelphia Eagles. Pat is trying to turn his life around and get his wife back. He's trying to find a "silver lining" to his difficult situation. At a dinner party, Pat meets Tiffany (Lawrence), a young widow who seems to be a bit unhinged as well.
Pat struggles through his bi-polar disorder, and the audience struggles along with him. When he has an episode, the editing is such that the audience feels suffocated. You want to help Pat calm down, but the nature of his condition won't allow it. I found myself feeling uncomfortable, especially in a scene where he frantically searches for his wedding video, and inadvertently ends up striking his mother. Playbook deals with mental illness head on. His father deals with OCD, and although it seems cliche to have a father and son deal with two mental illnesses that are used all the time in movies and TV, it works. Pat Jr. suffers, and his relationship with his father is strained because of what they both have to deal with. His father knows that a part of why Pat turned out the way he did is because of him. Several scenes of attempted reconciliation between Pat and his dad are incredibly moving and sweet; in fact seeing De Niro in such a vulnerable way is an unexpected treat. Pat is almost obsessed with the idea that he and his estranged wife are going to be together, despite the fact that she was unfaithful, and the minor issue of her restraining order against Pat. Living with a mental illness is not easy, and most probably don't fully understand it. You can see Pat's mother struggle with trying to deal with her husband and son. Director David O. Russell does a great job handling these heavy subjects with humor and an unexplainable lightness, something he also did in The Fighter.
Linked with all of these family issues are the Philadelphia Eagles. In the 2000's, the Eagles were the hard luck team of the NFL, losing three NFC championship games and one Super Bowl. The film takes place in 2008, and much of it revolves around the Eagles season, including some important bets made on games. It was touching to see how much the Eagles meant to the family, especially Pat's opening monologue where he describes Sunday as his favorite day of the week. As a major Arkansas Razorback fan, I've always felt that Arkansas' sports have brought my family together time and time again, and do the same for so many other families, as evidenced in Playbook.
Tiffany and Pat are both a mess. Tiffany has dealt with her grief through meaningless sexual encounters, and is trapped by her reputation as a "whore". But when Tiffany meets Pat, she sees him as someone like her. Someone that will be honest and not try to cover up feelings or inadequacies. Tiffany embraces her shortcomings and how she is messed up, and she likes Pat because he is trying to do the same. Tiffany promises Pat that she will help him get close to Nikki in exchange for help with a dance competition. This sounds a little bit dumb but it works. The dancing scenes are fun, and you can see the cathartic value it has for both. When Pat is with Tiffany, his episodes are less. He feels freer and so does the audience. The banter between these two is funny and real, and you can feel their connection. You can see the outcome from a mile away, but it's done in a way that make the ending feel satisfying, and not cheesy.
Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress for her performance, and I can easily see why. Her character is headstrong and stubborn, but Lawrence plays it so that you can always see her vulnerability right under the surface. Lawrence is quickly rising to super-stardom in Hollywood, now with an Oscar and an extremely bankable franchise, The Hunger Games, in tow. Lawrence is beautiful, but not in a Scarlett Johansson or Mila Kunis type way; she seems like the kind of person you could actually meet in real life an talk to. Her performance is impressive, especially since she is significantly younger than all of her co-stars. In fact, she is almost 15 years younger than Cooper, her on-screen love interest. It's not as weird as say, Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel in Yes Man (where Zooey clearly looks much younger than Carrey, an 18 year difference), but that is because Cooper's short haircut and scruffy beard just make him look younger. Cooper does a fine job playing totally against type. Normally he's the charming jerk (The Hangover, The A-Team), but here he's an extremely wounded, sweet guy with a crazy streak.
Playbook has a great soundtrack, wonderfully incorporating rock songs into the film, including one by Led Zeppelin. A great soundtrack and how it's integrated can be vital to a film's success. A song can totally make a good scene into a great scene. Stealer's Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle With You" is forever linked to the ear-cutting scene in Reservoir Dogs. The outro to "Layla" by Derek and The Dominoes is perfect for the scene in Goodfellas where basically everyone gets whacked. "Hero" by Regina Spektor is always a haunting reminder of the "expectations vs. reality" scene in (500) Days of Summer. These are just a few examples of how a great song choice can raise a scene's impact. Currently the Academy gives out awards for Best Original Song and Best Original Score, but I would suggest that they add a "Best Soundtrack" statue that would go to the best use of popular music in a film.
Silver Linings Playbook is a complex movie with a romantic center. It has tendencies of a serious drama and also a romantic comedy. I was very impressed by this movie, further evidencing how strong of a year 2012 was. It's a shame it took me this long to see it!
4/5
Pat Solitano has just been released from a mental hospital; probably a bit too early, but at his mother's (Jacki Weaver) insistence. Pat was appointed there after nearly beating a man to death. Pat walked in on his wife (Brea Bee) cheating with another man, became unhinged, and nearly killed him. Pat had undiagnosed bi-polar disorder, something his stay at the hospital was helping him to control. Upon his return home he is greeted by his OCD father Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro), who believes that Pat is good luck for the Philadelphia Eagles. Pat is trying to turn his life around and get his wife back. He's trying to find a "silver lining" to his difficult situation. At a dinner party, Pat meets Tiffany (Lawrence), a young widow who seems to be a bit unhinged as well.
Pat struggles through his bi-polar disorder, and the audience struggles along with him. When he has an episode, the editing is such that the audience feels suffocated. You want to help Pat calm down, but the nature of his condition won't allow it. I found myself feeling uncomfortable, especially in a scene where he frantically searches for his wedding video, and inadvertently ends up striking his mother. Playbook deals with mental illness head on. His father deals with OCD, and although it seems cliche to have a father and son deal with two mental illnesses that are used all the time in movies and TV, it works. Pat Jr. suffers, and his relationship with his father is strained because of what they both have to deal with. His father knows that a part of why Pat turned out the way he did is because of him. Several scenes of attempted reconciliation between Pat and his dad are incredibly moving and sweet; in fact seeing De Niro in such a vulnerable way is an unexpected treat. Pat is almost obsessed with the idea that he and his estranged wife are going to be together, despite the fact that she was unfaithful, and the minor issue of her restraining order against Pat. Living with a mental illness is not easy, and most probably don't fully understand it. You can see Pat's mother struggle with trying to deal with her husband and son. Director David O. Russell does a great job handling these heavy subjects with humor and an unexplainable lightness, something he also did in The Fighter.
Linked with all of these family issues are the Philadelphia Eagles. In the 2000's, the Eagles were the hard luck team of the NFL, losing three NFC championship games and one Super Bowl. The film takes place in 2008, and much of it revolves around the Eagles season, including some important bets made on games. It was touching to see how much the Eagles meant to the family, especially Pat's opening monologue where he describes Sunday as his favorite day of the week. As a major Arkansas Razorback fan, I've always felt that Arkansas' sports have brought my family together time and time again, and do the same for so many other families, as evidenced in Playbook.
Tiffany and Pat are both a mess. Tiffany has dealt with her grief through meaningless sexual encounters, and is trapped by her reputation as a "whore". But when Tiffany meets Pat, she sees him as someone like her. Someone that will be honest and not try to cover up feelings or inadequacies. Tiffany embraces her shortcomings and how she is messed up, and she likes Pat because he is trying to do the same. Tiffany promises Pat that she will help him get close to Nikki in exchange for help with a dance competition. This sounds a little bit dumb but it works. The dancing scenes are fun, and you can see the cathartic value it has for both. When Pat is with Tiffany, his episodes are less. He feels freer and so does the audience. The banter between these two is funny and real, and you can feel their connection. You can see the outcome from a mile away, but it's done in a way that make the ending feel satisfying, and not cheesy.
Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress for her performance, and I can easily see why. Her character is headstrong and stubborn, but Lawrence plays it so that you can always see her vulnerability right under the surface. Lawrence is quickly rising to super-stardom in Hollywood, now with an Oscar and an extremely bankable franchise, The Hunger Games, in tow. Lawrence is beautiful, but not in a Scarlett Johansson or Mila Kunis type way; she seems like the kind of person you could actually meet in real life an talk to. Her performance is impressive, especially since she is significantly younger than all of her co-stars. In fact, she is almost 15 years younger than Cooper, her on-screen love interest. It's not as weird as say, Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel in Yes Man (where Zooey clearly looks much younger than Carrey, an 18 year difference), but that is because Cooper's short haircut and scruffy beard just make him look younger. Cooper does a fine job playing totally against type. Normally he's the charming jerk (The Hangover, The A-Team), but here he's an extremely wounded, sweet guy with a crazy streak.
Playbook has a great soundtrack, wonderfully incorporating rock songs into the film, including one by Led Zeppelin. A great soundtrack and how it's integrated can be vital to a film's success. A song can totally make a good scene into a great scene. Stealer's Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle With You" is forever linked to the ear-cutting scene in Reservoir Dogs. The outro to "Layla" by Derek and The Dominoes is perfect for the scene in Goodfellas where basically everyone gets whacked. "Hero" by Regina Spektor is always a haunting reminder of the "expectations vs. reality" scene in (500) Days of Summer. These are just a few examples of how a great song choice can raise a scene's impact. Currently the Academy gives out awards for Best Original Song and Best Original Score, but I would suggest that they add a "Best Soundtrack" statue that would go to the best use of popular music in a film.
Silver Linings Playbook is a complex movie with a romantic center. It has tendencies of a serious drama and also a romantic comedy. I was very impressed by this movie, further evidencing how strong of a year 2012 was. It's a shame it took me this long to see it!
4/5
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Jack Reacher
Let me get this out of the way: I think that Tom Cruise is one of the best actors in Hollywood. My criteria for "best" being, "are they in good movies and do they do a good job in said movies?" Cruise absolutely fits this bill. Just take a look at his movies over the last ten years:
Jack Reacher
Rock of Ages
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Knight and Day
Valkyrie
Tropic Thunder
Lions for Lambs
Mission Impossible III
War of the Worlds
Collateral
The Last Samurai
Minority Report
I haven't seen Lions for Lambs or Rock of Ages, but all the rest of those are good to great (especially Minority Report and Collateral). He's done comedy, action, and drama, and has been consistently good in all of it. I don't think anyone will refute the fact that personally he's a total nutbar, but professionally, he's one of the best in the business.
Going into Jack Reacher I expected a charismatic performance from Cruise, some good action, and a serviceable plot. That is exactly what I got. Reacher is based off of the Lee Child book series about former military policeman Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise). Reacher is called in after a mass murder suspect asks for him by name during his interrogation. From his time in the service, Reacher knows this man to be a killer who has gotten away with murder, and wants to see him brought to justice. He reluctantly agrees to help the defense attorney (Rosamund Pike) investigate the matter, and starts to uncover the pieces of what actually happened.
Reacher is kind of your basic conspiracy movie. The plot moves along almost like an episode of Law and Order. The opening set of murders is shown, Reacher comes in to investigate, and there are some good twists and turns. If you're looking for a great police investigation movie like Se7en, then this movie will do nothing for you. Some of the twists were surprising, I just found myself not caring that much about them.
Where Reacher separates itself is, you guessed it, through Tom Cruise. He's the coolest and most confident person on screen every time he shows up. He's one step ahead of pretty much everyone; he's smarter, stronger, and more capable than any adversary. If this were any other actor besides Tom Cruise, I'd be put off by his superhero like ability. Actually, he's better than a superhero because superheros at least have one weakness. Reacher basically has no blind spots except for the fact that he's a minor hot head. Otherwise he does whatever he needs to and being a drifter who is "off the grid" in the first place, he has no real consequences except for death, which you never really feel is a threat. Cruise makes Reacher interesting because he's Tom Cruise. If you're a fan of his on-screen persona, you'll love it. If not, I'm guessing you will be less impressed.
Jack Reacher is a run of the mill action movie with an extremely charismatic lead actor. Much like Knight and Day, which was similar in its overall mediocrity, you will love or hate Jack Reacher based on how you feel about Tom Cruise. Personally, I love Cruise, and thought Reacher wasn't half bad.
3/5
Jack Reacher
Rock of Ages
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Knight and Day
Valkyrie
Tropic Thunder
Lions for Lambs
Mission Impossible III
War of the Worlds
Collateral
The Last Samurai
Minority Report
I haven't seen Lions for Lambs or Rock of Ages, but all the rest of those are good to great (especially Minority Report and Collateral). He's done comedy, action, and drama, and has been consistently good in all of it. I don't think anyone will refute the fact that personally he's a total nutbar, but professionally, he's one of the best in the business.
Going into Jack Reacher I expected a charismatic performance from Cruise, some good action, and a serviceable plot. That is exactly what I got. Reacher is based off of the Lee Child book series about former military policeman Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise). Reacher is called in after a mass murder suspect asks for him by name during his interrogation. From his time in the service, Reacher knows this man to be a killer who has gotten away with murder, and wants to see him brought to justice. He reluctantly agrees to help the defense attorney (Rosamund Pike) investigate the matter, and starts to uncover the pieces of what actually happened.
Reacher is kind of your basic conspiracy movie. The plot moves along almost like an episode of Law and Order. The opening set of murders is shown, Reacher comes in to investigate, and there are some good twists and turns. If you're looking for a great police investigation movie like Se7en, then this movie will do nothing for you. Some of the twists were surprising, I just found myself not caring that much about them.
Where Reacher separates itself is, you guessed it, through Tom Cruise. He's the coolest and most confident person on screen every time he shows up. He's one step ahead of pretty much everyone; he's smarter, stronger, and more capable than any adversary. If this were any other actor besides Tom Cruise, I'd be put off by his superhero like ability. Actually, he's better than a superhero because superheros at least have one weakness. Reacher basically has no blind spots except for the fact that he's a minor hot head. Otherwise he does whatever he needs to and being a drifter who is "off the grid" in the first place, he has no real consequences except for death, which you never really feel is a threat. Cruise makes Reacher interesting because he's Tom Cruise. If you're a fan of his on-screen persona, you'll love it. If not, I'm guessing you will be less impressed.
Jack Reacher is a run of the mill action movie with an extremely charismatic lead actor. Much like Knight and Day, which was similar in its overall mediocrity, you will love or hate Jack Reacher based on how you feel about Tom Cruise. Personally, I love Cruise, and thought Reacher wasn't half bad.
3/5
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Sequels That are Better Than the Original
Austin Powers in Goldmember and The Spy Who Shagged Me
The Austin Powers movies are DUMB. They are crass, low-brow, and stupid. They are also hilarious. The second and third installments are funnier than the first. They hone what works in the first movie and make the same jokes even funnier the second and third time around. They're like "hey, if you didn't think this was funny the first time, here it is again but way more to the extreme." Somehow this formula works. Dr. Evil and Mini-Me singing "Just the Two of Us" and "Hard Knock Life" are what comedy movies are all about.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Yes, this one is extremely obvious. The upgrade in special effects and story is readily apparent. T2 has some of the best action scenes of all time. The bike chase, the assault on Cyberdyne, and the final chase with the liquid nitrogen truck are all insanely good.
Aliens
Alien is undoubtedly a classic, and a great example of how good sci-fi horror can be. But Aliens gets the slight edge in my mind. It's still just as scary, but with more action and is more emotionally engaging. Plus Aliens has Bill Paxton ("Game over man! Game over!").
Wayne's World 2
I include this one even though I'm not sure it's actually better than the original. They're both pretty much the same in terms of quality. "When did you become a nutbar?" is one of the most underrated lines of any movie. It also has this:
The Empire Strikes Back
This one is obvious as well. Star Wars is great and generation defining, but it pales in comparison to Empire. This one has so many legendary scenes that people lose sight of its significance. Empire is darker, has better dialogue, and Darth Vader gets way more screen time. Plus it has maybe the greatest line in the history of film:
Leia: I love you.
Han Solo: I know.
Yeah. Han Solo is that cool.
Toy Story 3
All the Toy Story films are great, but 3 is the best one. Ken is one of my favorite characters from all the movies, voiced by Michael Keaton. There's some cool stuff about growing up and moving on in life, something that every adult can relate to. It's also totally hilarious!
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Bourne trilogy is an extremely significant movie franchise in the mid 2000's. This series almost single-handedly re-booted the Bond franchise. Its popularity pushed 007 into a more gritty and realistic style. Plus they set the standard for action-spy movies from then on, and Matt Damon became a mega-star. Ultimatum is the best and probably most remembered movie in the series. I knew a lot of people who saw this one without seeing the first two. It's pure action from start to finish, and it is done extremely well. Jason Bourne's fight involving a book is copied yearly. The "shaky-cam" style in this one and Supremacy was kind of "the thing" for a while in the mid 2000's. Everything from Cloverfield to The Shield used this technique to make the action on screen seem more real. Ultimatum is the best of the three because it has the best action, the best one liners from Damon ("If you were in your office right now we'd be having this conversation face-to-face"), and an extremely satisfying ending.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The first two Harry Potters are kind of bad. They're OK in the sense that they brought the magic of Rowling's books to life, but mostly they're painful to watch. The kids are really young and not very good at acting. Plus they both play out in almost the exact same way (Having Gryffindor winning the House Cup to end both movies? Really?). The third installment is leaps and bounds ahead of the first two. At the helm is a very skilled director, Alfonso Cuaron, and it really shows. The kids are much better at acting, and the pacing is much better. The final 20 minutes are the perfect way to play out the book on film. I think I like Azkaban as much as any of the Potter movies, save for both installments of Deathly Hallows.
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
The Mission Impossible franchise is somewhat of a strange animal. Based off of an old TV show, the first one came out in 1996, and was more story heavy. MI2 came out 4 years later, and with action super director John Woo behind the camera, the franchise took a turn for the worse (think slow motion doves and motorbike chicken). JJ Abrams, in his directorial debut, resurrected Ethan Hunt in 2006 and made the best film yet. But Ghost Protocol is the best of the 4. The scene on the world's tallest building in Dubai alone push it over the edge. Cruise acts like Tom Cruise, which is a really good thing, and Jeremy Renner is probably the best supporting role the series has seen.
Are there any I left out or any that you disagree with? Leave a comment!
The Austin Powers movies are DUMB. They are crass, low-brow, and stupid. They are also hilarious. The second and third installments are funnier than the first. They hone what works in the first movie and make the same jokes even funnier the second and third time around. They're like "hey, if you didn't think this was funny the first time, here it is again but way more to the extreme." Somehow this formula works. Dr. Evil and Mini-Me singing "Just the Two of Us" and "Hard Knock Life" are what comedy movies are all about.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Yes, this one is extremely obvious. The upgrade in special effects and story is readily apparent. T2 has some of the best action scenes of all time. The bike chase, the assault on Cyberdyne, and the final chase with the liquid nitrogen truck are all insanely good.
Aliens
Alien is undoubtedly a classic, and a great example of how good sci-fi horror can be. But Aliens gets the slight edge in my mind. It's still just as scary, but with more action and is more emotionally engaging. Plus Aliens has Bill Paxton ("Game over man! Game over!").
Wayne's World 2
I include this one even though I'm not sure it's actually better than the original. They're both pretty much the same in terms of quality. "When did you become a nutbar?" is one of the most underrated lines of any movie. It also has this:
The Empire Strikes Back
This one is obvious as well. Star Wars is great and generation defining, but it pales in comparison to Empire. This one has so many legendary scenes that people lose sight of its significance. Empire is darker, has better dialogue, and Darth Vader gets way more screen time. Plus it has maybe the greatest line in the history of film:
Leia: I love you.
Han Solo: I know.
Yeah. Han Solo is that cool.
Toy Story 3
All the Toy Story films are great, but 3 is the best one. Ken is one of my favorite characters from all the movies, voiced by Michael Keaton. There's some cool stuff about growing up and moving on in life, something that every adult can relate to. It's also totally hilarious!
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Bourne trilogy is an extremely significant movie franchise in the mid 2000's. This series almost single-handedly re-booted the Bond franchise. Its popularity pushed 007 into a more gritty and realistic style. Plus they set the standard for action-spy movies from then on, and Matt Damon became a mega-star. Ultimatum is the best and probably most remembered movie in the series. I knew a lot of people who saw this one without seeing the first two. It's pure action from start to finish, and it is done extremely well. Jason Bourne's fight involving a book is copied yearly. The "shaky-cam" style in this one and Supremacy was kind of "the thing" for a while in the mid 2000's. Everything from Cloverfield to The Shield used this technique to make the action on screen seem more real. Ultimatum is the best of the three because it has the best action, the best one liners from Damon ("If you were in your office right now we'd be having this conversation face-to-face"), and an extremely satisfying ending.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The first two Harry Potters are kind of bad. They're OK in the sense that they brought the magic of Rowling's books to life, but mostly they're painful to watch. The kids are really young and not very good at acting. Plus they both play out in almost the exact same way (Having Gryffindor winning the House Cup to end both movies? Really?). The third installment is leaps and bounds ahead of the first two. At the helm is a very skilled director, Alfonso Cuaron, and it really shows. The kids are much better at acting, and the pacing is much better. The final 20 minutes are the perfect way to play out the book on film. I think I like Azkaban as much as any of the Potter movies, save for both installments of Deathly Hallows.
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
The Mission Impossible franchise is somewhat of a strange animal. Based off of an old TV show, the first one came out in 1996, and was more story heavy. MI2 came out 4 years later, and with action super director John Woo behind the camera, the franchise took a turn for the worse (think slow motion doves and motorbike chicken). JJ Abrams, in his directorial debut, resurrected Ethan Hunt in 2006 and made the best film yet. But Ghost Protocol is the best of the 4. The scene on the world's tallest building in Dubai alone push it over the edge. Cruise acts like Tom Cruise, which is a really good thing, and Jeremy Renner is probably the best supporting role the series has seen.
Are there any I left out or any that you disagree with? Leave a comment!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Jesus in Movies and Television
I was recently watching the FX drama Justified, and an extremely beautiful and emotional scene from the episode has stuck into my brain. The character Ellen May, a Kentucky prostitute who has been involved in murder, drugs, and other unspeakable acts, sits down to talk with preacher Billy of a tent revival church about her salvation. Ellen May had attended an earlier service and was attracted to the gospel message that was shared. Her life until then had been one of brokenness and heartache. She hears of how Jesus wants her, and wants to heal her, and she is overwhelmed with joy at this new found truth. She goes back to her boss to tell her of how she has found Jesus and is quitting, but is quickly shamed and told that she can't possibly be saved after all the bad she has done. When Ellen May returns to tell the preacher how she is appreciative of his interest in her but cannot stay, he fires back with an incredible message. He tells her how there is not one thing that she can do that can make her unattractive to God and take her away from union with the Lord. As she weeps under the pressure of what she thinks are unforgivable transgressions, he encourages her that she is a beautiful and wonderful creation. He cites John 3:17, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." Ellen May realizes that this is what she needs, and changes her mind; she wants to follow Jesus more than anything. This scene broke me down into tears. To see this woman realize not only the weight of her sins but how God is totally jealous for her is a perfect vision of the gospel. That much like the adulterous woman at the well, there is no amount of sin that can make Jesus leave.
Justified is far from perfect in its depiction of Christianity, but it is certainly one of the best representations out there. The scene I described above is an exception to how Hollywood depicts my faith. Hollywood knows that over half of their audience at least claims to be Christian, so most shows and movies do not overtly stomp on the existence of God or faith. Most of the time characters are lauded for their faith in something. But generally it is a vague description of God and never an actual picture of the gospel. God is kind of "real", but in a very distant sense. A character might pray when they are in a time of dire circumstances and maybe something will work out, but He is shown to be more like a genie rather than a personal God.
Sometimes the "Christian" character will shove their morals down others throats, most of the time for no other reason than the fact that it's "right". The most prominent example of this in my mind is "Shirley" from the NBC comedy, Community. I really like Community. The characters are endearing and the show is hilariously self-aware. But I cannot stand Shirley. The main reason for this is that I simply do not find her character to be funny. But it also gets under my skin how the writers portray her as the "Christian" in the group. Pretty much the only time she tries to give advice is when she wants one of her friends to "do what is right". She is the buzz kill of the group, always coming down on her friends for doing sinful things and never giving a reason other than the fact that it's "right". Shirley definitely isn't the only example of the "uptight Christian" character in movies and TV. The reason this upsets me so much is that it continues to perpetuate what is wrong with the church today. People run from Christianity because they see it as a way to ruin their fun and control their lives. They see the Bible as strict rules that you are shamed for breaking. This is clearly not in line with what scripture says. Corinthians 10:23 says "'Everything is permissible'--but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible'--but not everything is constructive." Paul essentially tells the Corinthians that in their freedom in Christ, nothing is against the law, but that not everything will be good practice. Christ gives us commands to make our lives better. Read through the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7) and try to tell me that you will be worse off in life if you follow what Jesus says. His teachings enrich and give our lives joy, not rain on our parade and stamp out our fun. Being a moralist is about the worst way to go about faith; you get a bunch of rules but you don't get Jesus. TV and movie characters who are strict moralists look like fools because that is what they are for the most part; they don't understand that Jesus came to be an integral part of our lives, and to comfort and guide us.
Another common Christian character is that of the "zen master" Christian. This is sort of like the preacher in Firefly. This character understands the vastness of God and some of the basics of salvation. They say things like "God has a plan for all of us" and "you have to choose for yourself what you believe". These characters are generally shed in a good light, and are less offensive to me than the overt moralist. But they still don't understand the personal nature of Jesus Christ. They get that God is that real and that he offers salvation, but don't get that he longs for a daily relationship with each of us.
It is unfortunate that this is how Christians are depicted on screen because it can shape how people perceive Jesus. One interesting thing about film is that almost every movie or TV show where a character is in an existential crisis, it is because they are pouring their life into things that don't matter. Fight Club is a movie that is a perfect example. The narrator (Edward Norton) is obsessed with making his life "complete" with his perfect job, apartment, and appearance. Yet he is still unhappy. Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) is the destructive force that rips through this notion. He exposes the insignificance of these material loves and how small they really are. The movie harps on the plight of man, that he is tirelessly searching for purpose. It's right in showing that the purpose isn't "stuff" and being "complete", but it offers no real solution.
Often the character will be obsessed with work or money or sex, but will almost always come full circle and realize what does and doesn't matter in life. Movies tell you that your family and doing good for others are the things that matter, and if you devote your life to that you will be happy. While it's true that serving others is important (the second greatest commandment after all, Matthew 22:36-40), it ignores the fact that a life to glorify God is the only thing that brings true happiness. People are frail, faulty, and finite. They will eventually fail no matter how hard they try. Jesus is definitively everlasting, and the only thing in this world that can offer joy eternally.
The Jesus story is literally the greatest story ever told. Almost EVERY movie has themes that can be pointed to his sacrifice (laying down your life for another, stepping down from a position of power to serve, etc.). But as long as they do not acknowledge the truth about Him, I will always feel like there is missed opportunity. I love film, I love the stories in film, but they will ALWAYS pale in comparison to the story of my Savior; that he became a man, died for my transgressions, and conquered the grave to have a personal relationship with me. That is what will always matter.
Justified is far from perfect in its depiction of Christianity, but it is certainly one of the best representations out there. The scene I described above is an exception to how Hollywood depicts my faith. Hollywood knows that over half of their audience at least claims to be Christian, so most shows and movies do not overtly stomp on the existence of God or faith. Most of the time characters are lauded for their faith in something. But generally it is a vague description of God and never an actual picture of the gospel. God is kind of "real", but in a very distant sense. A character might pray when they are in a time of dire circumstances and maybe something will work out, but He is shown to be more like a genie rather than a personal God.
Sometimes the "Christian" character will shove their morals down others throats, most of the time for no other reason than the fact that it's "right". The most prominent example of this in my mind is "Shirley" from the NBC comedy, Community. I really like Community. The characters are endearing and the show is hilariously self-aware. But I cannot stand Shirley. The main reason for this is that I simply do not find her character to be funny. But it also gets under my skin how the writers portray her as the "Christian" in the group. Pretty much the only time she tries to give advice is when she wants one of her friends to "do what is right". She is the buzz kill of the group, always coming down on her friends for doing sinful things and never giving a reason other than the fact that it's "right". Shirley definitely isn't the only example of the "uptight Christian" character in movies and TV. The reason this upsets me so much is that it continues to perpetuate what is wrong with the church today. People run from Christianity because they see it as a way to ruin their fun and control their lives. They see the Bible as strict rules that you are shamed for breaking. This is clearly not in line with what scripture says. Corinthians 10:23 says "'Everything is permissible'--but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible'--but not everything is constructive." Paul essentially tells the Corinthians that in their freedom in Christ, nothing is against the law, but that not everything will be good practice. Christ gives us commands to make our lives better. Read through the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7) and try to tell me that you will be worse off in life if you follow what Jesus says. His teachings enrich and give our lives joy, not rain on our parade and stamp out our fun. Being a moralist is about the worst way to go about faith; you get a bunch of rules but you don't get Jesus. TV and movie characters who are strict moralists look like fools because that is what they are for the most part; they don't understand that Jesus came to be an integral part of our lives, and to comfort and guide us.
Another common Christian character is that of the "zen master" Christian. This is sort of like the preacher in Firefly. This character understands the vastness of God and some of the basics of salvation. They say things like "God has a plan for all of us" and "you have to choose for yourself what you believe". These characters are generally shed in a good light, and are less offensive to me than the overt moralist. But they still don't understand the personal nature of Jesus Christ. They get that God is that real and that he offers salvation, but don't get that he longs for a daily relationship with each of us.
It is unfortunate that this is how Christians are depicted on screen because it can shape how people perceive Jesus. One interesting thing about film is that almost every movie or TV show where a character is in an existential crisis, it is because they are pouring their life into things that don't matter. Fight Club is a movie that is a perfect example. The narrator (Edward Norton) is obsessed with making his life "complete" with his perfect job, apartment, and appearance. Yet he is still unhappy. Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) is the destructive force that rips through this notion. He exposes the insignificance of these material loves and how small they really are. The movie harps on the plight of man, that he is tirelessly searching for purpose. It's right in showing that the purpose isn't "stuff" and being "complete", but it offers no real solution.
Often the character will be obsessed with work or money or sex, but will almost always come full circle and realize what does and doesn't matter in life. Movies tell you that your family and doing good for others are the things that matter, and if you devote your life to that you will be happy. While it's true that serving others is important (the second greatest commandment after all, Matthew 22:36-40), it ignores the fact that a life to glorify God is the only thing that brings true happiness. People are frail, faulty, and finite. They will eventually fail no matter how hard they try. Jesus is definitively everlasting, and the only thing in this world that can offer joy eternally.
The Jesus story is literally the greatest story ever told. Almost EVERY movie has themes that can be pointed to his sacrifice (laying down your life for another, stepping down from a position of power to serve, etc.). But as long as they do not acknowledge the truth about Him, I will always feel like there is missed opportunity. I love film, I love the stories in film, but they will ALWAYS pale in comparison to the story of my Savior; that he became a man, died for my transgressions, and conquered the grave to have a personal relationship with me. That is what will always matter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)