What does Pan’s Labyrinth say about “reality”, and our belief in what lies beyond the material world? Director Guillermo Del Toro, who will be directing The Hobbit and is about to unleash Hellboy 2: The Golden Army on multiplexes called this 2006 film a “spiritual sequel” to his thoughtful period piece The Devil’s Backbone.

There are differing ideas about the film’s religious influences. Del Toro himself has said that he considers Pan’s Labyrinth “a truly profane film, a layman’s riff on Catholic dogma”, but that his friend Alejandro González Iñárritu described it as “a truly Catholic film”. Del Toro’s explanation is “once a Catholic, always a Catholic”.

Cinemagogue’s monthly film event in Seattle will view the film in it’s entirety followed by an exploration of narrative themes and spiritual musings, of which this film has an endless supply. We’ll even reveal the truth of the story’s coffee-talk controversy - is the fantasy aspect real, or in the protagonist’s mind? If you look hard enough, the answer IS there, and Del Toro confirms it. Those local can join us Friday July 11, 7pm at Mars Hill Church’s Wedgwood Campus.

by James Harleman, Cinemagogue Editor-in-Chief

“The first Hulk movie was a failure!”

“The first one bombed at the box office!”

“The previous movie didn’t have enough Hulk!”

“The Hulk effects looked like crap!”

“Ang Lee’s movie was depressing!”

And so on… and so on… and so on. As The Incredible Hulk smashed into theaters June 13th, the old rants about Ang Lee’s ponderous epic Hulk emerged again, with some new whining that even the jade goliath himself would probably snort at. Seriously, it’s an interesting cultural study in media spin and short memories to see how both Hollywood and humanity are transformed, like gamma rays, by marketing and snappy judgments.

Think you have a TRUE memory of this corner of our earlier decade? Think again.

As I mentioned in my own Incredible Hulk review, I grew up watching the 70s television show with my Dad. I have read the Hulk since the late 80s, and own EVERY Hulk comic. Seriously. While I may not be the strongest one there is, I certainly have some qualifications when it comes to the adaptation of this green goliath. I walked out of Ang Lee’s 2003 magnum hulkus with my father and a warm smile on my face… and found out that almost nobody else got it.

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by James Harleman

One of my Top 10 films is John Carpenter’s The Thing. One of my guilty pleasures as a ten-year old television viewer was the man-morphing “Manimal”. The only film that made me cry in high school was Edward Scissorhands, and The Terminator will always be one of my favorite James Cameron movies, despite that bloated boat movie he made years later.

What do all these have in common besides my childhood? Despite different actors, directors, and producers they, and many more films, have Stan Winston in common. The special effects GENIUS passed away June 15th after seven years of battling multiple myeloma.

If Ray Harryhausen owned the special effects world up until the 80s, the crown definitely passed to Stan Winston in the 80s and he owned it well into the 21st century. This man designed Schwarzenegger’s stiff metal skeleton, made me believe Sigourney Weaver could go head-to-head with an Alien queen, made me tremble that a Tyrannosaurus could walk and terrorize again. The man took home three Academy Awards and had more nominations than I can remember. In many ways, he WAS special effects, and even in our new world of studios vying to make their mark in the 21st century with digital effects, he still built the suit Iron Man wore to wow us this summer in the blockbuster of 2008. It’s apropos, as one of his early gigs was designing the Mr. Roboto facemask for Styx.

It is men like Stan Winston, with such a visionary eye, an overabundance of creativity and imagination, that help me more fully appreciate our place as image-bearers of the Creator. This man got to create new animals, aliens, recreate events at Pearl Harbor, and even do makeup for angels and demons (albeit fictional). The honor to be designed with that spark of creativity, that impulse and attribute of God, is truly a wonder to behold in someone so gifted. Did he understand the true extent of his talents and gifts? I hope to find out someday.

Domo Arigato, Mr. Winston. You will be missed.

Recommended films featuring Stan’s handiwork:

* The Thing (1982)
* The Terminator (1984)
* Aliens (1986)
* Predator (1987)
* Pumpkinhead (1989)
* Edward Scissorhands (1990)
* Batman Returns (1992)
* Jurassic Park (1993)
* Interview with the Vampire (1994)
* Galaxy Quest (1999)
* Iron Man (2008)

“It’s been traveling twenty-two years to get here. And now it’s here. And it’s either heads or tails. And you have to say. Call it.” - Anton Chigurh

So the time has come to expand Cinemagogue and let it be more than my singular platform for exploring film, narrative themes, the gospel, and all these meaningless movies under the sun. I’m meeting Sunday with a small team of potential contributors who will hopefully allow us to explore classic films, indie films, DVD releases, and more. One of the main reasons I’ve done this for so long is a desire to see others think and discern when they engage. Seeing others growing to the point where they desire to contribute and teach is like icing on a cinematic cake.

Also, I’m prepping to show and teach on our big award winner for 2008 this next week with a live showing of the film and subsequent exposition. For those living in a cave (a cavern far from the Coen Brothers) that would be No Country for Old Men, showing Friday May 9 at the Wedgwood Campus of Mars Hill Church. This one will be tough. And fun. Hopefully it won’t get mixed in with the others and become just a movie. Which it is.

Cinemagogue isn’t just a blog… it features monthly film viewings at the MHC | Wedgwood Campus, followed by an expository exploration of narrative themes and spiritual parallels. Join us on April 11 at 7pm for the self-effacing Disney film “Enchanted” with Patrick Dempsey and Amy Adams, followed by a talk on fairy tales and spirituality. Calendar details are here. The film is rated PG.

I know what you’re thinking… every dude reading is rolling his eyes, wishing his wife would stop calling Patrick Dempsey “McDreamy”, and hoping his spouse doesn’t spot the syrupy cinematic offering. Trust me, I ONLY went out of a strained sense of obligation when my wife Kat batted her eyes and said please. Still, just as “The Incredibles” was a kids’ film that adults could enjoy without wishing for a hole drilled in their head, this mockish play on Disney conventions and exploration of feminism and femininity is actually… bearable! Even enjoyable. That’s right guys, go ahead and act all sacrificial and treat this like a date night. The truth is, you’ll actually have a good time. If you can’t make the event, we’ll post the audio review in a few weeks.

For the Oscars, the second time’s the charm.

If you don’t remember, last year’s Oscars were hosted by Ellen, following Hollywood’s lack of appreciation for Jon Stewart’s deprecating performance in 2006. One of her “gags” was juggling host duties with janitorial duties. Fortunately, if Ellen had anything to do with Oscars this year, it was strictly janitorial. Jon was back in full sarcastic force in 2008 for the 80th Academy Awards, helping keep the self-congratulatory, celebrity back-patting in perspective so that nobody took themselves too seriously. His opening monologue (below) hit everything from the writer’s strike to politics. Of course, some people in the audience were visibly not laughing. Oh well, it’s not Stewart’s fault they think of themselves more highly than they ought, or that their comedic comprehension doesn’t extend beyond a pratfall, or Country-Fried Home Videos. yeah, there’s your sign.

You can watch the opening monologue below:

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Unless you’ve been living in a cage, you know that the scribes are holding the entertainment world hostage. The Writer’s Guild of America Strike that began on November 5th continues to this date, and all we’ve felt so far are the ripple impacts that precede the vacuum. Many television shows will likely have incomplete seasons. 2009 films are being pushed back to 2010. Late night talk show hosts are revealing just how reliant they are on someone else’s words with varying degrees of improv. It’s enough to drive a viewer to drink… or, perhaps, to video games. (more…)

Almost a year ago, someone put a bullet in the symbol of our hope.

The superheroic icon of Americana was fatally shot in early 2007 in the pages of Marvel Comics. Steve Rogers, the flag-waving, World War Two hero was put in the ground by a conspiracy involving old Nazis and Soviets, yet punctuated by sins of omission and commission falling on our government and the other super “heroes” that populate the Marvel Comics world. Cinemagogue covered that event and press (which ranged from CNN to the Colbert Report - Stephen Colbert now has Cap’s shield permanently mounted on his wall) last year. America died, and everyone had blood on their hands. It was a controversial yet powerful statement to parallel our confusing and cynical times. (more…)

Sixty-one years old, but looking as tough as a truck-stop steak, Sylvester Stallone shouts and shoots a fifty-caliber cannon, converting Christian-oppressing pirates and perverts into pulp, parts, and puddles, before they can mutilate and murder the missionaries and mercenaries trying to bring light to a lifeless land. Standing atop the mountainside of meat, bone and bullet shells, Stallone sighs, looking like a leathery god as actress Julie Benz gapes upward in awe. There is no titillating tension in the post-traumatic exchange, but rather the look of a lost lady who has finally found a father figure to fend off our foes in this woeful world.

It’s been over a quarter of a century since John Rambo drew First Blood, and he’s not the only comfort figure from the 80s that has come back much like a father. In fact, Stallone was back in 2006 as Rocky Balboa, dealing with issues of aging, death, redemption and reconciliation with his son, played by Heroes‘ star Milo Ventimiglia. Additionally last year, Bruce Willis reclaimed the familiar role of John McClane, but instead of rescuing his wife, he returned as a father to liberate a captive daughter, dear daddy determined to let his little girl Live Free and make his enemies Die Hard.

Another father featured on the return circuit was the robotic Optimus Prime, daddy to latchkey kids through afternoon animation with programmed parenting that made even Wired Magazine comment. To bring things full circle from summer 2007 to summer 2008, Transformers star Shia LeBeouf will play son to another returning 80s daddy in this summer’s prime contender for top box office, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The intrepid ark-finding adventurer will uncover a biological find, and likely embark as a deadbeat dad on an upbeat escapade.

Is Hollywood having a love affair with Dad? It seems so, and it may have started when Superman Returned in 2006 to discover his little Kryptonian spawn with Lois. Fascination with dad seems sometimes to feature tension and a need for reconciliation, but ultimately looks to a father figure to provide a sense of hope and victory against overwhelming odds… to know that Dad is never far away, watching over us with protection, provision and love. Even when it’s not a literal dad in the narrative, it’s a dynamic, familiar hero figure from the 80s coming back decades later like a dad - or grandpa - offering the courage and stability of a “simpler” time… something and someone we can count on.

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I gave a New Year’s Eve lecture looking back at 2007, touching on the sheer inability for anyone to be a true cinema and television expert with the number of films and channels at play; this cinemagluttony isn’t really producing more creative content, just creating more work sifting through the detritus (I confess to liking Nicolas Cage, but having him appear in three action flicks in the same year - Ghost Rider, Next, and National Treasure: Book of Secrets - helped highlight the fact that they were all half-baked). Moreover, this glut - coupled with the plethora of games and online distractions - makes water-cooler conversations and relationship-building with neighbors more difficult as shared experiences are becoming fragmented. The entertainment economy is inhibiting close friendships, save for affinity-based conversations with friends who share our niche interests. Whereas shared experiences used to be ice-breakers for real conversation, they have become the conversation, and most of us are just skating on the ice.

Wait, you say, that blog title sounded funny… what’s wrong with you? Sorry, I almost got too deep there; I’ll save it for later. Skating along now…

My point was, as a pastor hoping to connect with more than just a singular demographic or affinity group, maintaining an overview of pop culture is nigh-impossible. Despite what a few of my friends believe, I don’t get paid to watch TV and movies all day. Thus entered “The Soup“… my rapid-fire, scattershot, parody portal into all things idol, chat, celeb, soap, sci-fi, pseudo-hip and “reality”… packaged and presented in 30 minutes or less with a snarky, Seacrest-sniping commentator who almost makes it palatable.

For those of you who already rely on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report for your window into what’s “really happening” in the world (or for those of you who actually read the news and have even less time to keep up with popular culture) The Soup has been a great way to keep a finger on the pulse of pop. I would not have known anything about the tirades of Tyra, the virulence of The View, the latest on Lohan, or the backsliding of Britney without this tiny gem that repeats just about every day of the week on the E! Channel. Within a few minutes I can have one eye on Sanjaya, keep up with the Kardashians, and find out what giant snake movie the geeks are watching this week on the Sci-fi Channel. Without The Soup, I might not have known about the challenges facing USAmericans when it comes to maps that everyone else was talking about. With this caustic clip show, spoofing even the overindulgent celebrity-chasing shows featured on their own network, host Joel McHale smirks his way through the weeks highlights, mocking just about every slice of contemporary culture that would probably make me drill a hole in my head (That would have worked if you hadn’t stopped me…” - Egon Spengler, on drilling a hole in his head, from Ghostbusters).

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