http://cinemagogue.com redefining entertainment Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:10:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 engaging and exploring the connection between film, narrative, spirituality, creativity and Creator, images and imaging God. Pastor James Harleman clean Pastor James Harleman jh@marshill.com jh@marshill.com (Pastor James Harleman) ...redefining "entertainment" religion, tv, film, spirituality, Mars Hill Church, movie reviews, Christianity, Christian Movie Reviews +http://cinemagogue.com/rss.png http://cinemagogue.com/category/reviews-by-genre/sci-fi/ http://cinemagogue.com/2011/06/07/a-final-bit-about-tron-legacy/ http://cinemagogue.com/2011/06/07/a-final-bit-about-tron-legacy/#comments Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:14:27 +0000 James http://cinemagogue.com/?p=4185 http://cinemagogue.com/2011/06/07/a-final-bit-about-tron-legacy/feed/ 0 Greetings, programs! As we're steeling ourselves for a summer of mind-bending blockbusters that will take us from Ohio to Oa, I took one last visit to The Grid with several hundred attendees at a viewing of TRON: Legacy where I was asked to provide an ... Greetings, programs! As we're steeling ourselves for a summer of mind-bending blockbusters that will take us from Ohio to Oa, I took one last visit to The Grid with several hundred attendees at a viewing of TRON: Legacy where I was asked to provide an exploration of the film's narrative themes in greater detail than the previous, spoiler-free posts. At the outset, I refreshed our event attendees with an overview of the first TRON film and it's themes. If you're already familiar with that or have listened to the audio review of the first film, you can skip ahead to about 6:30m for the remaining 30-minutes on the film's artistry, acting, and biblical parallels of creators and creation, fathers and reconciliation. "Change the speed, alter the mood, electrify the boy and girls... OWN THE FILM on 3D-Blu-ray, Blu-ray, or DVD. Pastor James Harleman clean http://cinemagogue.com/2010/12/13/tron-proves-it-was-not-the-end-of-line/ http://cinemagogue.com/2010/12/13/tron-proves-it-was-not-the-end-of-line/#comments Tue, 14 Dec 2010 02:46:00 +0000 James http://cinemagogue.com/?p=3967 http://cinemagogue.com/2010/12/13/tron-proves-it-was-not-the-end-of-line/feed/ 5 In 1982, TRON was passed over for an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects because the Academy felt the movie “cheated” by using a computer (seven years later, The Abyss would win for it’s computer generated effects), In 1982, TRON was passed over for an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects because the Academy felt the movie “cheated” by using a computer (seven years later, The Abyss would win for it’s computer generated effects), showing how out of touch the Academy has ALWAYS been... Meanwhile, in the real world... 28 years later, Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Flynn in the upcoming Tron: Legacy, a film in which the son descends into the computer world his father created and – I’m guessing – likely winds up saving it. There is a reason this story has endured in the hearts and minds of the last few generations, and it wasn’t the acting or special effects... Let's see... a controlling master is seeking to deceive the world… to convince them there is nothing beyond the bits they can see, hear, and touch. However, a designer OF that world incarnates and walks among the people, performing miraculous feats and helping crush their oppressive ruler. He sacrifices himself to save them and then is seen ascending, his actions bringing light to a dark world. Is this the gospel? Not exactly, but in this lengthy audio review (with spoilers - come ON, it's like three DECADES old!) I got to explore the narrative nuances of Tron with a live audience of about 400 filmgoers. Enjoy! NOTE: The 30 minute audio exploration assumes you've watched the film and contains spoilers. Pastor James Harleman clean http://cinemagogue.com/2010/05/19/iron-man-2-the-legacy-of-howard-stark/ http://cinemagogue.com/2010/05/19/iron-man-2-the-legacy-of-howard-stark/#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 20:19:16 +0000 James http://cinemagogue.com/?p=3187 http://cinemagogue.com/2010/05/19/iron-man-2-the-legacy-of-howard-stark/feed/ 3 http://cinemagogue.com/2010/05/12/iron-man-well-suited-for-sequel/ http://cinemagogue.com/2010/05/12/iron-man-well-suited-for-sequel/#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 18:10:19 +0000 James http://cinemagogue.com/?p=3148 http://cinemagogue.com/2010/05/12/iron-man-well-suited-for-sequel/feed/ 6 http://cinemagogue.com/2010/04/05/district-9-showcases-unlikely-hero/ http://cinemagogue.com/2010/04/05/district-9-showcases-unlikely-hero/#comments Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:18:36 +0000 James http://cinemagogue.com/?p=2720 http://cinemagogue.com/2010/04/05/district-9-showcases-unlikely-hero/feed/ 2 As mentioned in my commentary on the Oscars and Cinemagogue's Top 10 for 2010, the surprising gem District 9 ranked high on the list; although it didn't make number 1, it DID boast the most unexpected story with the most intriguing character developme... As mentioned in my commentary on the Oscars and Cinemagogue's Top 10 for 2010, the surprising gem District 9 ranked high on the list; although it didn't make number 1, it DID boast the most unexpected story with the most intriguing character development I've seen in film for quite some time. The transformation of Wikus van de Merwe is handled superbly by Sharlto Copley, creating an engrossing protagonist who I loathed in the opening scene, and still didn't like for over two-thirds of the film. In the majority of science fiction and genre movies, Act 1 typically chronicles the character's "awakening": a physical, emotional and/or spiritual transformation of the character. They realize the world is not as they believed, or perhaps they learn that "with great power comes great responsibility", etc. Although District 9 deals with racism, xenophobia, social segregation, and more, the most invigorating element for me was that - well into Act 3 - Wikus is still only in the earliest stages of transformation on ALL these levels. I got to expound on this in a 30-minute presentation at a Film & Theology event for Mars Hill, and the recorded review is available. This narrative peculiarity led me to consider that, although most would refer to Wikus as an "unlikely hero", I wonder if he's more of a likely hero than we'd like to admit. The confident, cocksure, transformed savior that often swaggers into Act 2 of blockbuster movies is what we've come to expect, but when I look at most people in real life following 74 hours... after their eyes have been opened to a mind-blowing truth... they're still blissfully ignorant of MOST ramifications, and/or still kicking or screaming about accepting it. It could be, in a world where I believe that there is only ONE true, honest hero and savior, the rest of us participate in a way that looks far more Wikus than Wolverine, much more District 9 than Dark Knight. We're all scrabbling sinners, scrambling in varied stages of sanctification, looking up in wonder for the return of our own world's Christopher Johnson, and wondering with mixed hopes and fears regarding what that return is going to look like... Pastor James Harleman clean http://cinemagogue.com/2010/03/30/faith-sight-in-the-book-of-eli/ http://cinemagogue.com/2010/03/30/faith-sight-in-the-book-of-eli/#comments Tue, 30 Mar 2010 08:26:05 +0000 James http://cinemagogue.com/?p=2491 http://cinemagogue.com/2010/03/30/faith-sight-in-the-book-of-eli/feed/ 15 http://cinemagogue.com/2010/03/22/3-deep-cuts-3-fun-slices-of-eli/ http://cinemagogue.com/2010/03/22/3-deep-cuts-3-fun-slices-of-eli/#comments Tue, 23 Mar 2010 01:54:24 +0000 James http://cinemagogue.com/?p=2479 http://cinemagogue.com/2010/03/22/3-deep-cuts-3-fun-slices-of-eli/feed/ 10 http://cinemagogue.com/2010/03/15/seen-the-movie-now-read-the-book/ http://cinemagogue.com/2010/03/15/seen-the-movie-now-read-the-book/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:56:13 +0000 James http://cinemagogue.com/?p=2461 http://cinemagogue.com/2010/03/15/seen-the-movie-now-read-the-book/feed/ 12 http://cinemagogue.com/2010/03/05/our-savior-in-avatar/ http://cinemagogue.com/2010/03/05/our-savior-in-avatar/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:28:45 +0000 James http://cinemagogue.com/?p=2201 http://cinemagogue.com/2010/03/05/our-savior-in-avatar/feed/ 2 http://cinemagogue.com/2010/03/03/new-birth-blue-birth-in-avatar/ http://cinemagogue.com/2010/03/03/new-birth-blue-birth-in-avatar/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:25:43 +0000 James http://cinemagogue.com/?p=2147 http://cinemagogue.com/2010/03/03/new-birth-blue-birth-in-avatar/feed/ 3