Legacy and The MUPPETS

May 16th, 2012

Muppets’ creator Jim Henson passed away on May 15, 1990 but his legacy lives on. I think a lot of people were initially skeptical when The Muppets trailer debuted, uncertain if the franchise could – or should – be refreshed for a new generation. Thankfully, the efforts of actor and Muppet aficionado Jason Segel (and many others) the film succeeded narratively and financially. Segel is quoted as saying the Muppets meant more to him than laughs, that in his youth they “shaped who he wanted to be”.

The same is true of me: I gleaned a lot of childhood wisdom from Kermit the Frog, a dash of adventurous spirit from Gonzo the Great, and ALL of my humor from Fozzie the Bear (seriously, pray for my wife). I bet Segel and I aren’t the only ones, either.

The AVENGERS: Red in Your Ledger

May 14th, 2012

“I’ve got red in my ledger; I’d like to wipe it out.”

 We can’t call our musing about The Avengers‘ narrative themes “fully assembled” without addressing the most obvious line stated by Natasha Romanoff, admitting that she’s done some bad things in her past and wants to “settle her accounts”. We’ve dealt primarily with Loki–how he’s right, how he’s wrong, and how we’re a lot like him– but Natasha has a standout moment in the film as well.

While most of us probably don’t have her super-spy past– using her skills for the highest bidder without regard for right or wrong–and our deeds might not be considered by most to be as heinous, her conundrum is a common thread in our existence: we know we’ve done wrong, and we have some vague hope that we can add weight to some kind of cosmic scale and tip it once more on the favorable side. Call it balance, call it karma, but as Loki points out: call it elusive:

“Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Drakoff’s daughter? Sao Paulo? The hospital fire? Barton told me everything. Your ledger is DRIPPING– it’s gushing red…

The AVENGERS: where we are Loki

May 10th, 2012

A friend of mine challenged my assertion that Loki was the best of the Marvel movie villains. As we debated (imagine the verbal equivalent of hammers, shields, and repulsor rays) it became clear he thought my comment of “best” meant I regarded Loki as the most formidable. Therein resided the misunderstanding. I enjoyed Loki as the villain for two reasons:

1. Tom Hiddleston’s nuanced acting provides one of the best performances in all the films, period.
2. The character of Loki, albeit flawed and perhaps not as formidable, is simply the most interesting.

One of the reasons I believe it’s most interesting is because it most closely resembles each of us at one time or another…

The AVENGERS: where Loki is wrong!

May 9th, 2012

Were we made to be ruled?

In our last post, we looked at Loki’s challenging assertion in The Avengers film: the idea that we were born to kneel, that we crave subjugation, and that we scramble madly for identity. We were made to bow before our God and Maker, yet we shackle ourselves to lesser “gods” – created people and things. We race around “freely” putting our identity in things that ultimately rule us. It’s obvious that in many ways, Loki is absolutely right. However, there IS one worldview that offers perfect relationship held in tension, that offers both freedom and servitude. The creator and God we obey humbly and bow before utters this unique command:

The AVENGERS: where Loki is right?

May 8th, 2012

“Kneel before me. I said… KNEEL! Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It’s the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life’s joy in a mad scramble for power. For identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.” - Loki

Were we made to kneel?

Let’s examine this, shall we? It’s not a particularly American sentiment, certainly. Even Optimus Prime would argue that “Freedom is the right of all sentient beings”. We don’t generally think of bowing to an Emperor or pledging our subservience to be in line with freedom (whereas other cultures have and do). Our first response to Loki’s statement is one that looks less like bended knee and more like a particularly raised finger. I suspect there will be rowdy cries of “hell, no!” in the theaters in response to Loki’s assertion.

The problem is, there’s truth in his words…

On your knees for THE AVENGERS: big movie, puny god

May 7th, 2012

“KNEEL! Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It’s the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation… You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.”

While this quote might apply to the Avengers film itself, how it utterly conquered the Box Office record and made all other movies kneel before it, the line is actually a pivotal quote from Loki as he makes an assembled group of humans kneel before him in the film’s narrative. Is there some truth in his claim?

In what could have been a mess of Marvel characters mashed into a film where all of them struggle to be the center of attention, director Joss Whedon rules and reigns over the various players with a knowledge of comic book art that frees them to serve a great story that is the sum of their cinematic parts. Conveniently, the film itself deals with human nature and what “freedom” means, if we were made to be ruled over and where our identity lies. The villainous Loki’s plans to be god of earth may not be what we need, but does this mean we shouldn’t bow to anyone? Maybe it just means, as the Hulk so aptly puts it, that Loki is a “puny god”.

In this video review, we examine how the Avengers playfully suit up to tackle these themes, hammer on the ideas, shield us from the wrong forms of slavery, and take aim at the “free servitude” our lives should reflect. Over the next three days we’ll address the following three spiritual facets of the Avengers in written review: how Loki is right, how he’s wrong, and why we are like Loki.

Watch on Youtube or using the browser below.

Out of the heart comes CAPTAIN AMERICA

May 2nd, 2012

While it’s not my favorite Marvel movie, I believe it’s the best-made of the Marvel movies thus far (we’ll see what Avengers does this Friday). From pacing to editing, story to cinematography, Captain America capitalizes on all the lessons learned from Iron Man to Thor and provides us a smooth, consistent narrative from start to finish. On top of that, it gives us some intriguing lessons about the heart.

I love the first Iron Man – it may still be my favorite in many ways – but the forced story progression of the third act (Jeff Bridges SMASH!) is a narrative weakness. I loved the scenes on Asgard in Thor, and think Tom Hiddleston’s Loki has been the strongest antagonist in the Marvel films, but felt the earth-side characters were skinny on authenticity and depth. Director Joe Johnston seems to know where potential weaknesses might be in his story and characters, but like Steve Rogers takes all those potential weaknesses and channels them into newfound strength. Taking the cheesy costume and war bond propoganda aspects of the Captain and turning them into the character’s struggle in the second act is genius, and the World War II setting provides ample ground to make us appreciate the scope and impact of this iconic character.

“Why someone weak? Because a weak man knows the value of strength, the value of power…”

Watching the Watchers of The Cabin in the Woods

April 24th, 2012

The Cabin in the Woods takes a step back from the stereotypical horror movie to look at those who watch this classic, recycling narrative, this movie’s meta-commentary provides unique insights and conversation starters on why WE culturally create and watch scary movies, what it appeals to or appeases within us (and others) and what part “sacrifice” plays in dealing with humanity and atoning for our corporate transgression.

Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly/Serenity and other endeavors involving Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon are sure to be pleased by this film, and I think it deserves three stars. Its content, however, is not for everyone.

The video review dances around the details and avoids the big spoilers: we’ll follow up with a spoiler-laden, written review later this week for those who want to go deeper. For more on why we engage scary movies and the horror movie in general, read this post.

Watch the review of The Cabin in the Woods on Youtube or on Cinemagogue here…

The Titans’ WRATH is watching this movie

April 15th, 2012

Here’s a thankfully brief look at Wrath of the Titans, considering the real wrath you’ll feel is the almost unbearable price of watching this movie. If push comes to shove and you really want fantasy/action, watch the “Clash” again instead, with comparably better direction and actors. Still, if you find yourself really bored or at the cheap theater in your neighborhood, however, there are a few points to chew on as Sam Worthington limps and flits across the ancient Greek CGI landscape.

The film isn’t sure what to do with the concepts of prayer, hanging the film’s major problem on our lack of it yet depicting “gods” that aren’t worthy of it either. Better yet, we find a the god of the underworld in a scene lamenting that there isn’t any life after death. Yes, I’m serious.

Less Iliad and Odyssey than idiots and audacity, Wrath of the Titans still winds up revealing some of our own culture’s confusion with prayer, and our collective fear that the material existence is all there is.

Watch on Youtube or using the browser below.

Katniss’ Hunger and Peeta’s Bread

April 9th, 2012

I promised a *spoiler-filled follow-up to the video review for The Hunger Games, as the ideas of identity and substitution can’t be fully discussed without wrestling key elements of the plot for the first film and entire trilogy. So, for those who are already fully vested (or those who don’t mind knowing how things end up after things start Catching Fire and the Mockingjay sings) count down from 10 and enter the arena below.

Someone noted on our Youtube post that I shouldn’t take the idea of Katniss’ substitution as completely paralleling Christ’s ultimate proxy, since Jesus substituted himself for the unworthy. Prim is presented as weak, but rather innocent, not a stranger or a sinner. The question, “would Katniss have offered herself in her sister’s place had her sister committed some crime worthy of death?” is thought provoking, but obviously not the focus of Suzanne Collin’s narrative arc for Katniss. (Maybe if she’d substituted herself for the mangy cat, Buttercup…)

However, someone else in the series does sacrifice quite a bit, for a character whose worthiness is questionable.