June 2008 Archives

"Wanted" is a an intriguing mash-up of "Office Space," "Fight Club," "The DaVinci Code," and "The Matrix." You could be forgiven for thinking that this Angelina Jolie vehicle was simply another sex appeal-fueled shoot-'em-up loosely based on another graphic novel (Mark Millar's "Wanted" series). It's ad campaign certainly suggests so and the film itself is definitely not short on violence; in fact, I would label it ultra-violent. But, this story of office drone Wesley Gibson (played with perfection by "The Last King of Scotland's" James McAvoy) who finds out that he is heir to a secret fraternity of super-assassins asks some very ethically minded questions, such as: Is it OK to kill one person if you know you will be saving a thousand other people and does absolute power always corrupt absolutely?

The premise is in no way groundbreaking, indeed "Minority Report's" version of the preemptive strike killing was far more coherent, but the manner in which the fraternity receives the information is unique: The Loom of Fate. Yes, the very same loom that the Fates of Greek mythology continuously cranked away on. It seems that back in the Middle Ages a group of weavers discovered odd patterns in the woof and warp of the cloth the loom was producing and by translating those anomalies into binary came up with a set of names targeted for assassination. The Fraternity members are sworn to carry out the commands of the cloth and follow the code of one death to save one thousand. Now Wesley has been brought in to The Fraternity to find and kill the rogue agent that killed the father Wesley never knew.

Most of us will be cooking out and watching fireworks this Fourth of July, but just in case your festivities get rained out or you're looking for something for the family to watch together, here are some of my favorite movies that celebrate our Independence Day and the quest for the American Dream.

[I am actually saving my very favorite movie about the American Dream and the immigrant experience for my DVD pick for this week, so check back later. In the meantime, feel free to start a discussion about your favorite 4th of July films in the comment box below.]

Avalon: This is a loving cinematic postcard to America as it tells the story of a man who emigrated to America on the 4th of July. It is als a sublte commentary on how family rituals and bonds have struggled and changed over the decades.

An American Tail : It's not up to the quality of a Pixar film, but who can resist this story of a lovable Russian mouse, Fievel, who moves with his family to America because they are told that "There are no cats in America and the roads are paved with cheese." Well, despite that false information, Fievel and family eventually end up loving their lives in their new home.

It's pretty much inevitable that sometime this summer you'll hear Katy Perry's hit single "I Kissed a Girl" blaring out of someone's car, or in a dance club, or in a department store, if you haven't already. And, if you aren't looking for any kind of spiritual enlightenment and just want to hear a cool song with a great beat and interesting lyrics, you just might find yourself dancing or even (gasp!) singing along to it, as I have.

However, as Beliefnet's Gospel Soundcheck blogger Joanne Brokaw points out, up until a few years ago, Katy Perry was known in the Christian music industry as Katy Hudson, daughter of two pastors, and released a self-titled, faith-based album in 2001. Obviously, this is causing a stir in some circles.

In a recent ABCNews.com piece, which explores Perry's conversion from Christian singer to sexpot pop star, Joe Levy, Editor in Chief of Blender magazine, says of Perry, "I don't think she fits in with other Christian music artists who transition to pop success. She didn't transition--she stopped dead, reinvented herself, became an artist who has nothing to do with Christian music. It's a footnote in her career. It looks like who she is now is who she wants to be, slightly outrageous and very cute. And right now that's working."

Bishop and popular author N.T. Wright recently stopped by "The Colbert Report" to debate the afterlife, once again proving no one does late-night religion better than Colbert. Here's how the discussion went:

I have been pretty much MIA at the cineplex this summer. There just hasn't been much that has made me feel I absolutely had to give up my beach time to go to the theater. But I am rushing to the theaters today to see a movie that holds great promise-- "WALL-E.". The story of a robot left on Earth after humans abandon the planet may not seem extraordinary, but it comes from those geniuses at Pixar and it is receiving glowing reviews for its animation and its storytelling.

Andrew Stanton, the Academy Award winning director and writer of 'Wall-e" just gave an interesting interview to Christianity Today about the spiritual and allegorical elements of the story-- like the character the robot falls for being called Eve-- while also discussing what, in his opinion makes for great, moral storytelling (it doesn't include using your characters to beat people over the head with a sermon but it does include being truthful to a value system).