Add This to Your Netflix Queue: The Dark Knight

Actually, don’t wait that long.  Fork out some jack and go see it in the theater.

My wife and I went to see this on our anniversary last week.  We waited until the sold-out shows were over.  The theater was still crowded.

Yeah, I know.  There was a ton of hype about this movie.  Heath Ledger’s death only increased the expectations.  For me, it definitely delivered.  And I loathe superhero movies.

If you haven’t seen the move yet, a few spoilers follow:

“The Dark Knight” is a dark movie (and I’m not just talking about visually).  Gotham City is a city on the edge.  No one notices when a bus crashes through a bank wall.  The Joker is simply the Joker (if Ledger were still living, he would, in my opinion, still deserve an Oscar nod).  Little to no backstory (he gives differing accounts as to how he got his facial scars).  He’s over the top evil because he’s over the top evil.  The “White Knight”, DA Harvey Dent, succombs to evil over the death of his girlfriend (becoming Two Face).  Bruce Wayne gives serious thought to hanging up the cape because he’s a faceless, outcast hero… only to find it necessary to re-suit up when all other hope fades with the fall of Harvey Dent.  There’s a lot of death, a lot of colateral damage.  Yet, there is hope (the closing scene when the passengers on two boats are given the chance to blow up the other so they may live show that there is still good in Gotham), thus proving that not everyone is like the Joker.  In the end, Batman voluntarily becomes the outcast again, taking the gloom of the city upon himself (although not a perfect parallel, some definite parallels to Jesus can be made from the dialogue in the closing scenes).  Very dark, at times depressing, but certainly worth seeing.

Add This to Your Netflix Queue: Rocket Science

My wife picked this little gem up at the movie store (so, it didn’t really come from Netflix).  She said it looked very “Napoleon Dynamite-ish”.  Well, in a very dark comedy sort of way.  It’s way more like “Little Miss Sunshine.”  It’s got the dysfunctional family, the outcast kid, the psycho big brother, and supremely, wickedly funny dark comedy.

It’s the story of Hal Hefner, a kid who fits in nowhere–at home, at school, anywhere.  His father walks out on his mom, who then falls in love with his best friend’s dad–an Asian-American judge (who provides some of the greatest comedy in the movie with his laughing at everything).  Hal also has a huge stuttering problem… and is recruited by the school’s top debater to join the debate team (that’s just funny, I don’t care who you are… a stuttering kid on the debate team).  The entire movie is about Hal’s efforts to “find his voice” in the world, and his realization that life shouldn’t be “rocket science”, although he discovers that it really is.

The thing that sparks Hal’s quest is his infatuation with Ginny, the debate star who recruited him.  To her, life is about competition and winning.  She uses Hal to destroy the school’s debate team… she transfers to another school, leaving the team in shambles (the team finds out on the way to the year’s first debate… and they take the short bus.  Hilarious!).  He has fallen in lust with her (he successfully made out with her in the janitor’s closet that he routinely hangs out in to get away from all the stress of school), and is totally rejected by her.  He sets out on a quest for revenge–he recruits the school’s legendary debator who dropped out of school after blowing the state competition the year before.  They form and unlikely pair, entering the state competition as a home school team… and are quickly disqualified (but only after Hal gets about two minutes into his opening argument–he found his voice by singing the argument).  The movie ends with Hal telling his dad (who moved out the year before) that life shouldn’t be so tough.

Combine that with a great cameo by Jonah Hill (a fixture in Judd Apatow-produced films like Superbad, Knocked Up, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall–his line about joining the philosophy club is hilarious, but only if you dig philosophy:  “We read everything, but no Hegel.”) and a soundtrack by the Violent Femmes, and you’ve got a great little funny film. 

If you dig independent films and dark comedy, this is one to check out.

Rocket Science in rated R for language and sexual content (thankfully, there’s no nudity).

Add This to Your Netflix Queue: Sweeney Todd

I hate musicals.  I loathe them.  With a passion.  “Grease” makes me want to puke.  “The Sound of Music” makes me want to disembowel myself with a wooden spoon.  “Fiddler on the Roof”, well, it’s been decades since I’ve seen it.  But I’d probably hate it, too. 

“Sweeney Todd” is not an ordinary musical.  I watched it.  And I loved it.

It’s a Tim Burton film, which (if you know anything about Tim Burton) means it’ll have a certain edge to it.  You definitely know a Burton film when you see it.  And this one is no different.  Visually, it’s magnificent–dark, brooding, haunting.  Yeah, I hate singing movies.  Johnny Depp isn’t the greatest singer.  But, for me, it’s the story that drives this film.

Don’t worry, no spoilers here.  It’s simply the story of a barber (played by Depp) named Benjamin Barker, who has all a man could want.  A beautiful wife.  A beautiful child.  Both are taken from him by a notorious judge (played by Alan Rickman, who is frickin’ awesome in everything I’ve seen him in–most notably the bad guy in “Die Hard” and Professor Snape in the “Harry Potter” films).  Banished for life, Barker returns to London to exact his revenge.  His insane desire for revenge has completely changed him, morphing him from Benjamin Barker to a man who now calls himself Sweeney Todd.

This film is all about the destructive nature of vengeance and revenge.  It graphically shows the extreme of what can happen when a wounded person seeks revenge, and allows that need for revenge to consume him.  Revenge blinds.  Revenge depraves.  Revenge consumes.  Revenge devours.  All that one hopes to gain from revenge can, and most likely will, be lost.  It’s just not worth it.  And that’s just part (although a huge part) of the film.  There’s also an element of using deceit to get what you want (as with Helena Bonham Carter’s character), which usually doesn’t come out the way you want.  Especially for her…

If you like musicals and horror films, this is definitely a film to see.  If you’re like me, and can’t stand musicals, but like good movies, give this one a shot.  You’ll either love it or hate it.  And there are certainly lessons to be learned from it.

“Sweeney Todd” is rated R due to graphic bloody violence.  Lots of jugular slashing with a really cool razor blade.  If you can’t handle blood, don’t see this film.  There’s a lot… but it’s used for (for lack of a better term) cinematic effectiveness… and it’s really effective!

Add This to Your Netflix Queue: The Bucket List

Rob Reiner has done some pretty decent movies:  The Princess Bride is a classic (”Hello.  My name… is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die.”).  The Story of Us is a great film about the struggles of keeping a marriage together.  The Bucket List is a good film about the reality of death, and living your life to the fullest before it’s too late.

Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman (two of the greatest actors of all time) team up as two unlikely hospital roomates who are diagnosed with terminal cancer.  Freeman’s character starts writing a bucket list–a list of things to do before you kick the bucket.  Nicholson’s character, a wealthy business man who privatizes hospitals, decides to finance an excursion to fulfill everything on the list.  On the way, they skydive, drive their dream cars, and travel around the world.  In the process, Morgan Freeman rediscovers his love for his wife, but then succombs to the cancer.  He asks Nicholson’s character to finish out the list, which he does before dying himself… many years later.

The movie isn’t perfect.  You don’t see much of the real affects cancer can have (which was probably intentional).  The premise is kind of far fetched.  Having said that, the film has some really good scenes about faith and existence and living with purpose.  It’s a tough watch at points, but can definitely start conversations about facing death, life after death, and living life the way it should be lived now.

Add This to Your Netflix Queue: The Darjeeling Limited

It’s been awhile since I posted about a movie.  It’s simply because I haven’t seen one worth posting about in awhile.  After many weeks, I finally have one…

I haven’t seen all of Wes Anderson’s movies.  I do, however, own his previous movie, “The Life Aquatic.”   It took several viewings for me to appreciate “The Life Aquatic.”  Once I did, I found it to be one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen.  Wes Anderson is an aquired taste.  You either love his stuff, or you hate it.  Such is the case with “Darjeeling.”  It’s filled with very subtle, dark comedy (the shoe shine boy running away with one of Owen Wilson’s shoes is hilarious… because he’s crippled in the movie.  If you don’t think stuff like that’s funny, don’t bother with this film).

“The Darjeeling Limited” is about three brothers who haven’t spoken since the death of the father, which took place a year before the setting of the film.  They come to India to try and patch up their relationship.  They find out it isn’t so easy.  Through a series of funny mishaps (Wilson’s shoe gets stolen, the conversations between brothers that show they don’t trust each other, the running “let’s make an agreement” gag, getting kicked of the train [which is the basis for the film's title], etc.), the brothers realize that their rivalry won’t die.  It took a death to split them up; it takes a death to bring them back together.  The brothers rescue some children from a river, except one dies.  This tragedy brings the guys back together.  They go visit their mom, who is in a monestary, to try and convince her to leave.  She does leave… but not with them.  They end up gettting on another train, and the movie ends.

This is a good film about grace, forgiveness, and maturing from life’s rough spots.  The scene in the airport bathroom where Adrian Brody is shaving, Jason Schwartzman is trimming his mustache, and Owen Wilson removes his bandages is classic.  Wilson sees all the cuts from his accident, and says (and I’m paraphrasing), “Still got a lot of healing left to do.”  Adrain Brody replies, “But it’ll sure add a lot of character.”  The symbolism is obvious–the brothers have a lot of emotional and relational healing to do, but the process is maturing them.  At the end of the movie, they run to catch their train, dropping all of their luggage in order to get on–another great visual of the power of grace and forgiveness.

It’s a slow moving film with dark humor, so if you’re not into that stuff, you’ll hate it.  But if your sense of humor is a little twisted, you’ll dig it.  Hop on the Darjeeling Limited! 

OK, that was corny…

Add This to Your Netflix Queue: I Am Legend

Actually, don’t wait.  Pony up the dough and go see it in the theater.  Or rent it if you’re reading this in ‘08.

It’s that flippin’ good.  I don’t like zombie/vampire movies.  I don’t really dig Will Smith movies.  I really dig this movie.

Since I talk about Jesus for a living, I tend to spot spiritual undertones in film, TV, and music.  This movie has stuff like that all over it–especially at the end.  But I won’t spoil it.  Go check it out for yourself.

Add This to Your Netflix Queue: Sicko

I’m not a huge Michael Moore fan.  I disagree with a lot of his politics.  His documentaries aren’t entirely balanced… but they do make you think really hard.  Sicko made me think REALLY hard!  He makes a very intriguing case for… dare I say it… socialized health care.  He tackles all the major questions:  is it really bottom-of-the-rung care, do doctors still get adequately compensated for their work, does the average person drown in taxes that lives in a country with socialized health care, etc.  He looks at the history of our current health care system, looks at how jacked up it is, and even takes a stab at Hilary Clinton (who has remained very quiet since elected to the Senate after all the big to do early on in the Clinton administration about socialized health care).  He doesn’t look at any of the shortcomings of socialized health care, but he does expose some overblown claims that many of our politicians make about the “evils” of socialized health care.

The end of the movie really makes you think:  how is it that the Al Qaida prisoners of Guantanamo Bay (pardon if the spelling’s wrong) benefit from socialized medicine that our tax dollars pay for, but some of the heroes of 9/11–who ruined their health by volunteering at the Ground Zero recovery effort–are rejected by their health insurance, and have to suffer in pain?  What does Moore do?  He takes them to Cuba, where they all get free health care that isn’t barbaric–it’s state of the art. 

Love him or hate him, this documentary will make you think about our present health care system, which is jacked up.  Is socialized health care the answer.  I don’t know… but at least I’m thinking through it more than I was last week.

Now go check out the following post about taking the scenic route…

Add This To Your Netflix Queue: Christmas Edition

Christmas is only eleven days away!  So hurry up and get your shopping done, and take some time to view these modern Christmas classics:

Elf
According to Netflix, this is their most popular Christmas rental of all time.  It’s no wonder why.  Will Ferrell is a freakin’ comic genius in this movie.  There’s nothing like a middle aged white dude in tight yellow pants screaming his head off about Santa to get you in the Christmas spirit.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
One of the most quotable movies of all time.  Makes you feel fortunate that you  have the genetics that you do.  As cousin Eddie would say, “I don’t know about you, but I sure am enjoyin’ it.”  Merry Christmas.  Go check your s****ers.

A Christmas Story
You’ll shoot your eye out.  One of the best.  My kid walks around saying, “Fra-gee-lay.  It must be Italian!” all the time.  I’m so happy that I can’t put my arms down!

A  Christmas Carol (1984 edition with George C. Scott)
For some reason, I love this one.  George C. Scott was the perfect Scrooge.  The ghosts are perfectly creepy–especially Marley and Christmas Yet to Come.  Pour some hot cider and wassle and be reminded that Christmas is a time for selflessness, not selfishness.

Christmas With the Kranks
It’s not in the same league as the ones above, but the scene with Tim Allen after a Botox injection nearly made me piss my pants and forget who I was for half an hour (OK… gotta stop with the Christmas Vacation quotes…) and is completely worth viewing the movie for.

The Nativity Story/The Passion of the Christ
If you’ve got nearly four hours (and make time if you don’t have time), or can only choose one or two, watch these two (and watch them back-to-back).  A wonderful reminder of what Christmas is really all about.

Speaking of which, go check out the following post about some Christmas presents Jesus got…

Add This to Your Netflix Queue: Premonition

I’m not a huge Sandra Bullock fan, and this isn’t the tightest of movies (there’s a lot of stuff that you have to assume), but the premise is pretty cool–a woman goes through the week of her husband’s death… and the days are out of order.  Throughout the ordeal, she discovers a lot about faith (the scene with the priest in the church building is an awesome conversation starter about faith), what is truly important, how to forgive, and how fragile life really is.  If you’re married and/or a parent, this film will cause you to step back and take a look at your life, your faith, and your priorities.  Not an Oscar nominee by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly worth a view…

Now go read Psalm 11 and then the next post…

Add This To Your Netflix Queue: Amazing Grace

If you’re into films based on historical events or biopics, check out Amazing Grace.  It’s the story of William Wilberforce, the dude who almost singlehandedly brought down the slave trade in Great Britain in the early 19th century.  You also learn the backstory for the song “Amazing Grace,” which was written by Wilberforce’s preacher, John Newton–a former slavetrader turned preacher.

It’s definitely not an action film, so it’s that kinda slow historical drama.  But some killer memorable scenes and great performances.  If you dig this, also check out Amistad (a mid-90’s Spielberg film), which deals with the American slave trade.  Check out the trailer below, and then hit up the following post for today’s Bible reading…