Hey, didn’t you teach or write about that one movie that one time…?

Teaching Film and Theology for years, and contributing reviews to several websites, people have been asking if these reviews would ever find their way onto Cinemagogue. So, I’ll periodically be slogging through the old hard drive and placing these in archival form on the site, posting when an archive batch is dropped.

Be warned, these aren’t all movies I like, or endorse… some of them are just weak, and others aren’t for the timid. Two, however, number among my all-time favorites. Here’s the first of several batches featuring the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (though not the Eastwood film of the same title).

Citizen Kane
The Passion of the Christ
Hannibal
The Exorcist
Insomnia
Constantine
Final Destination 3

I don’t recommend a marathon mixing these; it would truly bend the brain. In any case, they’re some of my favorite reviews, if not films, so I hope you enjoy.

Tired of pillaging Pirates, swinging Spider-men, and revolting Robots? Scratching your head wondering if the “Silver Surfer” is rising because the “Surf’s Up” on “Ocean’s 13″? Just how many sequels, prequels, and comic book movies can the Hollywood meat grinder feed us in one summer anyway? Well, Seattle serves up even more film, arguably for those with more discerning taste, in an endless stream of cinema from May through June. The Seattle International Film Festival, purported to be the largest film festival in the United States, had 160,000 attendees in 2006 and likely more in 2007.

Dan Ireland, co-founder and Board Emeritus of SIFF, spoke candidly with me during an interview about the very first festival in 1976. “We didn’t know how the reception was going to be, because it was our first year, but the moment we opened our door it was mind blowing; we had the respect of the audiences and the film critics at large in Seattle at the time. That year we got to introduce The Rocky Horror Picture Show . it’s really wild to look back.”

The 2007 Film Festival’s catalog-sized playbook testifies to our cities worship-sized love of cinema, sporting a winged heart wrapped in a mission statement that informs the cinemaphile to “find true film”. What makes a film true? Well, SIFF’s companion site www.findtruefilm.com features a fairly humorous test to see what film is “true” for each of us, suggesting that a film’s “truth” is subjective for the viewer. I couldn’t help but notice this effectively mirrors our Emerald City’s normative disposition toward truth in all aspects of life, including our spirituality. (more…)

More than two decades after Hasbro, Takara, Sunbow and Marvel Comics combined forces, to unleash the most successful, holistic, cartoon/comic/vehicle/puzzle/robot marketing campaigns ever known to man, creating a towering titan of revenue that has ebbed and flowed for decades, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg have taken the steel-reinforced franchise one step further with a crowd-pleasing, comedic action tale released in early July: Transformers (PG-13).

 Indeed, the scale and rythym of this film draws unmistakeable parallels to another noteable July opener in 1996: Independence Day. Buttoned down U.S. government types, some rough-and-tumble military dudes, and a cast of earnest, salt-of-the-earth civilians struggle against a mind-blowing alien threat: sound familiar? This time, however, there are good and evil aliens… made of metal instead of flesh, and grappling in a civil war for a powerful “all-spark” cube that has fallen to earth. It holds the key to ruling the planet, and maybe the universe. From the Middle East to Middle America, the battle rages with unparalleled mechanical fury.

Much like the film named after our holiday a decade earlier, this transformed alien flick will not win any major Oscars, but serves up all the bombast and spectacle of a fireworks show with a demolition derby thrown in for good measure. It also helped me nail the reason this narrative has enraptured kids and stuck with them, even as many of us have grown to adulthood.

The film begins with a mysterious attack in Qatar, an amazing piece of visual work that immediately sets the bar higher than similar films that have preceded it, as a robotic nemesis seeks to infiltrate and appropriate government documents. Poised on the brink of World War 3, the Pentagon desperately seeks answers.

As with the comic and cartoon, however, the film draws us in to what’s really transpiring through the eyes of an adolescent boy who has typical American dreams… a desire to fit in, a cool car, a hot girlfriend, less intrusive parents, etc. What he doesn’t bargain for is that his new “car” opens his eyes to a world he did not know existed: a galactic war right under his nose, a nightmarish enemy, and hope for salvation - all hidden in plain sight. The steely, seemingly unstoppable Decepticons are here, and our only hope seems to be their shape-changing metallic counterparts, the Autobots, led by the inspiring, fatherly Optimus Prime.

How does one grade a film like Transformers? The original cartoon was uniquely high in narrative concept, but considerably low on plot; most characters were introduced with a line or two of dialogue intended to define their archetype, and then battle would ensue. (They should have just had their retail price listed for mom and dad with directions to the nearest Toys R Us.) Is it praise, then, that the translation to screen is fairly faithful? I honestly think so. This is not deep drama; this is a roller coaster riding on the most classic narrative: cosmic good versus unrepentant evil, as story that makes our human perspective closer to that of an ant looking up from his little hill. Man bears witness to a battle of epic proportion, perhaps with a degree of participation… but ultimately a humbling  awareness that there is something far greater than himself. (more…)

In the stories we’re drawn to, we gravitate toward characters we like, even when we don’t want to admit it. I can’t discuss the upcoming Transformers film without a confession about the other character I strangely identified with as a child: that nefarious backstabber, usurper, and generally inept fool that was “Starscream“.

“My time will come.” - Starscream, Decepticon Air Commander

As previously mentioned, I always looked up to Optimus Prime, as father figure and perhaps Savior, like millions of other American boys in the 80s. Part of me desired to be one of Prime’s entourage, and I identified with his little sidekick Bumblebee.

However, I can’t let it go without saying that there was another part in me that didn’t so readily identify with the wholesome side of this show. As there has always been something alluring about evil since a deceitful snake coiled around a piece of forbidden fruit, the power-hungry and seemingly “conscience-free” Decepticons provided a tempting alternative to the morals and faith my parents espoused. Worse, even amongst his own kind, Starscream was the lowest of the low… at a place I think we all hate to admit we’ve sunk to time and again.

The Decepticons were undeniably the black hats of the Transformers story. Still - even within their ranks - most of these warriors had unyielding allegiance to their evil, war-mongering leader Megatron. By contrast, the conniving, sniveling Starscream, with a serpentine voice that sounded just like Cobra Commander from the cartoon’s cousin program G.I. Joe, was clearly out for his own power and glory. Always looking to manipulate the situation for his betterment, deceiving “friend” and “foe” alike, he embodied the classic snake in the grass; for 30 pieces of energon, he’d sell out his own motherboard.

“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” - Mark 7

Although more machine than man, Starscream nailed most of these in his day, save perhaps the items that were sexual in nature (there were female transformers, but let’s be thankful the cartoon never went that direction). Always scheming, this mechanical maniac stole whatever he desired, attempted to murder those that stood in his way, coveted authority and power, deceived his comrades, envied Megatron’s position of fame and leadership, and perceived himself to be without equal. His desire was to be feared and honored by all, with no accompanying inclination to be a role model to others. (more…)