American Gangster

rough film, yes... film
it does not glorify drugs, it shows the lengths men will go to to be rich, to have power, it shows that all men are screwed up, even those who are faced with the task of law enforcement, they too are screwed up people... even the one guy who wound not steal money, he was faced with the fact that he had put his job before his family and finally realized he was no better... is any man any better?
This film shows the truths of Romans 1, 2, and 7...
interestingly a rendition of Amazing Grace is playing when the gangster is cornered outside a church...
its also a film about influence, how men influence one another...
at the end the bad guy stood alone, older, alone, on the street outside the gate of the prison he had just spent fifteen years in... no one to greet him, he was alone...

movies

Well, Becca is in town this weekend and Sweet Anna, Becca and I went to see "Becoming Jane". I really enjoyed the way this film showed Austen to be a woman of intelligence, passion and justice. She saw what should be done and did it. I found the direction to be just excellent and the script fantastic...

This week my friend John and I have been watching "Band of Brothers". I have found this series to be compelling in the manner that it looks at the effects of the war on a different man's life in each episode. In episode five, the leader of the band was experiencing PTSD in the Paris subway (which looked just like the yellow line in Budapest) and this series really make me get a sense of some of the feelings that these men experienced... There is little doubt that I thought of Vukovar on more than one occasion.

two interesting movies

so on Sunday sweet Anna and I did this movie marathon as the snow then sleet fell to blanket the region...

these two movies were both war related (one from WWII and the other from WWI)... both told interesting stories...

"The Couple" - one website says: "A WWII Drama about a German/Jewish industrialist who, in order to ensure his family's safe passage out of Germany, is forced to hand over his business to the Nazis." This is an accurate synopsis except they are trying to get out of HUNGARY not Germany. It is a fairly slow moving film about sacrifice... about terror... The thing that really struck me was the opening has film from the modern Auschwitz as one might see it should a visit (as I get to do, yet again, this summer)... I do recommend this, but be prepared, it is about dialogue, not action.

The second movie we watched was Joyeux Noël which takes place, as one web site describes it, in "France 1914. A moment of humanity that made history. "this website then says that "On Christmas Eve during world War I, the Germans, French, and Scottish are trying to make peace, so they bury their dead and play football." what this fails to tell us is that this is a story of love for brother, brothers, and lover which is manifested at great risk to self and comrade. Further, one of the most important moments to me is the midnight Mass in the middle of the battlefield. This was as powerful to me as "The Pianist" though in a different manner. Be prepared to do a lot of reading; the French and Germans speak their native tongue and the viewer is left to the subtitles... The Scot's accents are pretty thick as well, but the message of the film is truly worth the work.

A day of good film watching indeed.

007

I just realized that I didn't post about Casino Royale which I saw a couple of weeks ago! Ok, this is def. a movie not a film, I didn't go to this expecting to be challenged in some way to be more committed to changing the world or have better morals or make spiritual connections. I went to this because I have been watching Bond movies all my life. I can remember getting a 007 briefcase with all kinds of gadgets from... hmmm... was it 'From Russia with Love?' I would have been about 9, that sounds right...(with great train scenes through the then Yugoslavia... I need to go rent that)...
ANYWAY... I found this to be as tastefully done as any of the Bond flicks... I think that Dame Judi is a smashing 'M' and the new guy now has my vote for the second best... Connery will always be Bond. I do miss 'Q' though... it was great seeing the '64 A-M again... I'm told the original is in the Spy Museum in DC. The story was great... but, if you've seen the movie.. Montenegro does not have trains like that. I was reminded of the aforementioned 'From Russia with Love' a couple of times: the train, the scenery, the Adriatic... I went for fun, and was given such!

"Crash" and "Capote"

At a meeting last week a colleague was talking about a conference he went to on prejudice... he said the presenter said at the beginning that we are all prejudice... AMEN - finally, someone said it... OK, this post isn't about prejudice, it's about movies... ANYWAY! He said the presenter told them to watch "Crash"... I did... I was enthralled. 'nuf said.

Whilst (I love the word whilst) looking for "Crash", I saw "Capote" on the shelf... I had seen it on the shelf before and wondered about it... see, I'm old enough to remember the hu-bub about In Cold Blood, the book about which this film depicts the writing (what kind of grammar was that ?)... (OH, both of these are films, not movies... I should post about what I mean by that sometime) SO, ANYWAY... my wife and I watched "Capote" -- disturbing, very disturbing... at so many levels... the philosophy, the deceit, the violence. the emotional baggage EVERYONE in the film is carrying around - - in body as well as mind and emotion -- I DO NOT recommend it... the darkness of the thing... I expected Frank Peretti-esqe demons to jump out at any moment with their talons deep into the shoulders of EVERYONE! Can you read Romans 1?

a double feature

ok, so today I had the day off... I did some errands for a couple of hours... mainly ceo stuff... then i went to Greenberrys to grade some papers - not a table in sight... left, went to get meds... dr. has me on daily aspirin... i guess you know what that means... went to the video store... why do we call stores that rent mostly dvds "video stores" - old habits die hard i guess... so ANYWAY... rented and watched Archangel with Daniel Craig (the latest Bond) and loved it... looked to have been filmed completely in former Soviet Union... I thought I was back in Kyiv! Lots of historical stuff mixed with conspiracy theory, Moscow style - - - most significant line: "When you leave Moscow, you see how bad the real Russia has it." I think most of Eastern Europe is like that... SO, I took it back to get a credit and the lady asked about it... I told her I loved it 'cuz I'm into the whole Eastern Europe thing... good commentary about modern Russia... I do recommend it IF you can find it... THEN, later, when I picked up Chinese for dinner, I got National Treasure (turn your sound down before clicking this) which was just good fun! fairly mindless (unlike the above Archangel) adventure based on conspiracy and regaining the family credibility... haven't seen it? I suggest it for fun, with some interesting historical factoids.

I just saw "The Queen" - I wouldn't again.

"The Queen" review on the BBC was okay. There was only fair acting. I would guess the casting was problematic because the two main characters: Queen Elizabeth II and Tony Blair are SO well known. When I told a friend I was going, he said I was going to see the shots of London. Well, don't go for that reason, 'cuz there aren't any. A good 1/3 of the film is news footage from Diana. Anyway, there is some character development as the PM realizes what she has been and is up against and in ERII as she struggles with the apparent rejection. I found the other royals very UNbelievable, especially the hand wringing Charles and the cold queen mum, and Philip was poorly cast and poorly played, was this actor an American? or do I watch too much BBC on PBS? Don't spend the $8, wait for the dvd, unless you are a Diana devotee who wants to see the Royals bashed on the big screen.

Jesus Camp

Last night I joined a few people at the Virginia Film Festival and saw the documentary "Jesus Camp." I was troubled at several levels by this documentary. Here are some things that are bugging me:

Why did these people allow such access to their private worship? Are they so foolish to think that a documentary would further the cause of Christ or their cause? Did they think that Jesus would be served? Did they expect thier context and culture and theology to be explained? I differentiate because while they may be well meaning and devoted to God, their stuff really shows through in this film as being ill thought out. Thought? hmmm...

It irks me that both the film and the "moderators" (who were really commentators from UVa... lots of balance... yeah, right) failed to differentiate between groups as terms were thrown around: Evangelical, Fundamentalist and Pentecostal. Giving the Religious Studies prof her due, she did, when I asked, define the terms for the audience... she did clarify that Fundamentalists (over against fundamentalists, that difference will have to be another post) would never be caught dead in Jesus Camp as they have some very differing views. THIS IRKS ME because people ignorant of the different branches of Evangelicalism are being portrayed and represented by the figures in Jesus Camp. If Evangelicalism is an apple pie ('cuz it is American - ugh) then the guys of the Jesus Camp ilk are one bit of apple in the pie (if that)... one of my colleagues there thinks they are a whole slice... I disagree, if they are a slice, then a very thin sliver of a slice, indeed. Jesus Camp DOES NOT represent the vast majority of Jesus followers.

Now that I have ranted, here are some places you can go to see and hear more perspectives... first... the trailer

next, ABC has a report you can view that will give you a taste of the film and it furthers my thesis that Jesus Camp is a picture of all followers of Jesus. Again, I contend, it is not.

last, one of the people portrayed in the film is a preacher by the name of Ted Haggard, he has responded on a sponsored web page that they apparently paid to have Google show it first when you Google "Jesus Camp"...

Okay, I doubt if this blog has seem the last of this topic... Unfortunately.

tHE dEVIL wEARS pRADA

just saw it... interesting... able, smart midwestern girl faces choices about success over people in NYC... or... an "N" enters the world of "S" and struggles with being a "P" or a "J"... younger daughter tells me that her friends who have read the book were not crazy about the movie (it's not a film, sorry, there don't seem to be films out right now)... I went expecting a "chick-flik" (so sorry about using that, but I must within the context), which it was... but it was also about making right choices and being sucked in and about the end justifies the means... so go see it if you can, it was worth it...

did I post about Pirates???? saw that last week... entertaining....

so part of this vacation has been going to movies....

saw Superman Returns yesterday... it was fun... seems they went to great lengths to make it look like a comic book at times and real at other times... kinda cool... very entertaining...

if you must choose between these three movies, see Devil... that's my opinion...