Posted by Chris on Jul 6, 2009 in
Church,
Culture,
God 
The follow up to Casino Royale follows Daniel Craig’s craggy, ice-cold Bond across oceans as he tracks down Vesper Lynd’s murderer. Royale is easily the best movie about Bond ever made, although not the best “Bond movie.” It takes place primarily over a poker table, and takes a few breaks for brutal fight scenes, and some of the best on-screen romantic dialogue I’ve ever seen.
Quantum of Solace wisely avoids any attempt to recreate the simple beauty and brutality of Royale, and instead choses to focus on the struggle between 007′s desire for revenge and duty to the Queen. It changes in the simple setting for vast deserts, mountain vistas and third world shanty towns. The movie also reveals the reboot’s series’ take of SPECTRE, a top secret evil organization called Quantum.
Quantum‘s strength is avoiding the preachiness and sentimentality, and instead focusing the cunning and perseverence that makes Bond Her Majesty’s finest. My favorite screen was when he dismantled a super-high-tech “conference call” in the midst of a performance of Puccini’s Tosca.
As Christ followers, we should explore with 007 the difference between justice and revenge. “‘Vengence is mine,’ says the Lord. Any that we attempt on our own terms will only provide a quantum of solace.
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Tags: Bond, movies, Quantum of Solace
Posted by Chris on Jul 5, 2009 in
Culture,
God 35 hours of flight have given me opportunity to catch up on three movies I wanted to see Watchmen, Valkyrie and Quantum of Solace.
Watchmen lived up to it’s hype as a painfully faithful recreation of the greatest graphic novel of all time. Alan Moore’s Cold War supernoir still stands up, traditional comic panels, mock newspaper clippings, memoire excerpts, and side stories create a multi-layered masterpiece. The movie took decades to produce, and recreates the original frame for frame.
A plot to knock off a few has-been crime fighters is revealed to be a cover for a nefarious scheme to deter the U.S. and Russia from nuclear war. I was disappointed that the space squid did not make an appearance.
Moore’s asking, “how can man be kept from destroying himself?” The suggestion: only through violence and injustice perpetrated by the wiser and more powerful. Valkyrie asks the same question by following one-eyed Tom Cruise in an assasination attempt on Hitler.
Directed by Bryan Singer (also known for excellent superhero movies, X-Men and X-Men United) Valkyrie follows dissident Nazis through a nail biting series of assasination attempts on the most hated man of the 20th century. Only through the sacrifice of noble men and women can destructive power be stopped.
While they are both excellent movies, we as Christians must be careful to adopt either ethic. The champion ubermensch of Watchmen would have us strive to force our values on others, through whatever means neccessary. However, history will tell us that this leads us to theocracy-at best Calvin’s Geneva, at worst, modern-day shri’a states.
Valkyrie is slightly more subtle. While the sacrifices made by the characters are noble, Christians should take deep consideration in emmulating them. Violence begets violence, and Christ’s teachings, especially those of the Sermon on the Mount, should give us pause whenever we look to violence as a solution.
All that being said, I highly recommend both if you’ve got an internation flight coming up. Next time, Bond.
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Tags: movie reviews, movies, Valkyrie, Watchmen
Posted by Chris on Feb 24, 2009 in
Culture 
It seems that more and more people are trying to have a social conscience these days. The message has finally gotten across to us: AIDS isn’t just for gay people, Africans need fresh water, your lifestyle is ruining the environment, etc. The younger generations, scorning their parents debt and divorce ridden lives, are less concerned with amassing stuff, and more concerned with relationships, experiences and making a difference. At the same time, we live in a flat and tolerant society, where it’s normal to have relationships with people of other beliefs and co-workers in another hemisphere.
The success of Slumdog Millionaire comes from its awareness of the social trends and the trendy conscience. It’s a powerful call to arms, but in a way that could not have been possible in past generations. Slumdog depicts the worst of India and the global economy. The majority of the movie revolves around kids living in a trash dump. But instead of showing a starving child with a fly on his face, it instead tells a story of redemption and hope. Though Jamal and Latika are a world away, their underdog love story is one we all want to identify with.
I believe that Slumdog will bring attention to the growing crises in the world’s megacities, and I believe that this younger generation will respond. We love Slumdog because it gives an unfiltered view of the worst this world has to offer, and its spirit of hope inspires us to make a difference.
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Tags: movies, poverty, slumdog millionaire
Posted by Chris on Jan 6, 2009 in
Culture 
This year I was pretty overwhelmed by the number of interesting looking movies. Limited budget led me to just pick one.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a beautiful movie. It was great to see CGI and incredible makeup used for drama and not just science fiction. Cate Blanchett (best acress of a generation?) is fantastic as always. I’m a huge Brad Pitt fan, but I felt a bit underwhelmed by his performance. It was a poignant reminder of the inevitability of old age and death. It captured the last American century in the way that Forrest Gump did, but without the charm.
Next on my list is Slumdog Millionaire. Then it’s probably back to Blockbuster for awhile.
What holiday movies did you see?
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Tags: Benjamin Button, Brad Pitt, holiday, movies
