I received this issue of Film Capsules by Dr. Ed McNulty as an EMail from the Presbytery of Cincinnati and thought it interesting to pass along as information for all who did not have an opportunity to see it. ~ R.Lowry
in this issue
A Christmas Carol
The Blind Side
Precious
Where the Wild Things Are
2012
The Hurt Locker
Amelia
A Christmas Carol
Rated PG. Galatians 6:7-10
Dickens's great classic story has been filmed at least 25 times (including the numerous made for TV adaptations). However if the question should arise about needing another version, the first few minutes of this 3-D version provides an affirmative answer: what an exciting ride over the rooftops of Victorian era London, and then the camera swooping down through the crowded streets, around, over, and under signs, archways, buildings and people.
The old ghost story of the redemption of a wealthy miser might make one think of the story of Zacchaeus in the Gospel of Luke. Thanks to a voice cast as talented as the animators, the film is as timely as ever. Director Robert Zemeckis wisely sticks to the novel's dialogue, and composer Alan Silvesti deftly makes us aware that this secular tale is really Christian at heart by using several Christmas carols, the most notable one being "Joy to the World." Despite an overlong episode involving a chase through London's night streets, no doubt inserted to please young lovers of action, watching the film is a superb way to begin the extensive Christmas season.
The Blind Side
Rated PG-13. Mark 3:31-35
Writer/Director John Lee Hancock's story, based on the life of All American Football player Michael Oher, might seem like the made-up story of a sentimental novelist were it not true, and--to prove it--the director provides an album-full of photos of the real characters to accompany the end-credits.
When Memphis belle Leigh Anne Touhy is riding home one night with her family, she sees Big Mike, as Collins, her teenaged daughter knows him, walking along the street. It is winter but he is dressed in shorts and a t-shirt-no coat. The African American boy has been attending the same Christian school on a scholarship, but has no place to call home. Without much hesitation Leigh Anne invites him to stay the night at their home, and thus begins an odyssey that will change all of their lives. This is one of the most heart-warming stories to be seen, again showing how family is far more than a matter of blood, or race. This must-see film again shows that so-called sports films transcend the sport itself.
Where the Wild Things Are
Rated PG. Isaiah 13:21-22a
My fears that Maurice Sendak's ultra-short story would be spoiled in the same way that the bloated adaptation. How the Grinch Stole Christmas spoiled the Dr. Seuss story has been laid to rest. Although this adaptation is a few minutes too long, sagging during the rather plotless island sequence, Spike Jonze is to be commended. The director is a friend of the author, who asked him to do the film (Sendak collaborated on the project, being listed as one of the producers). After the unruly Max defiantly disobeys his mother, he runs outside, through the woods, and launches off in his little sail boat for a series of adventures on an island "where the wild things are." In this land of his fertile, and fierce, imagination he becomes king of an assortment of beasts. However, despite all the wild howling and enjoyable events, such as the building of a palace, the pull of home, seen as a secure haven of love, is strong, eventually exerting a stronger pull on his heart and mind.
2012
Rated PG-13. Mark 13:1-2
This science fiction film is a good example of the catastrophic or end of the world genre, relying mainly on incredible CG effects. The talented cast-John Cusack, Danny Glover and more-is overshadowed by the effects, coming at us at regular intervals, thus making the film seem like a roller coaster ride. Due to firestorms on the sun, Earth's temperature has been heating up, eventually causing huge earthquakes and tsunami waves. Warned three years ahead of time by scientific studies, as well as by a Mayan calendar supposedly ending in 2012, the governments of the earth have secretly joined together to build six huge metal arks to save a portion of humanity-the rich and the important. Before civilization is destroyed will our heroes manage to get to the Himalayas, the site of the ark construction due to the projected mountain-high height of the tsunamis? You will remember far longer the destruction of Los Angeles, California, Las Vegas, New York, the White House, the Eiffel Tower, and the Sistine Chapel and St. Peters, than you will the fate of the band of stalwart Earthlings.
The Hurt Locker
Rated R. James 4:13-15a
Probably the best film to come out of the Iraq War, director Kathryn Bigelow's film follows the details of Bravo Company during its last 38 days of deployment. The film is probably the most intense and suspenseful film you will see this year in that the three protagonists' mission each day is to defuse bombs planted by insurgents during the early days of the invasion. Indeed, the film focuses upon one man Sergeant First Class William James, the expert who dons the padded suit and, while his comrades guard him with their weapon (sometimes the bomber is present looking on!), actually figures out which cables to cut. His fellow soldiers despair of his heedless neglect of safety rules and his tendency not to listen to his radioed instructions. We receive the key to his seemingly reckless behavior by the quotation of New York Times reporter Chris Hedges that opens the film, "War is a drug."
Amelia
Rated PG. Proverbs 31:10-14.
Hilary Swank both looks and acts like the great "aviatrix of the 1920s and 30s. Opening with her ill-fated attempt to become the first female to fly around the world, the film flashes back to her meeting the man who will become her sponsor, mentor, and eventually husband, George Putnam, and then moves on to other events, such as her two crossings of the Atlantic Ocean. Very much the "New Woman" that emerged during the Roaring Twenties, Emily's marriage is as unconventional as her career. This is an engaging film that reminds us how women have had to struggle against the prevailing paternalism in order to win their own place in the sun. Amelia is a long way from the ideal woman that the writer of Proverbs described-which perhaps has both its positive and negative aspects.
Film Capsules is the Rev. Dr. Ed McNulty's synopses of current films plus suggested scripture readings with similar themes. Ed, an honorably retired member of the Presbytery of Cincinnati shares his work at the request of those who attended the Ministers Retreat held in October 2008. Fuller descriptions and discussion questions are available by subscription at www.visualparables.net.
