(Display Name not set)June 2006 Archives

Of the two time-travel related movies available this July 4th weekend--and sans the existence of a wonderful July 4-ish movie like "National Treasure" or "Independence Day"--here's why I highly recommend "Click" over its play-with-temporal-reality competition, "The Lake House."

First, I'm a guy: Though "Click" is fairly close to chick-flicky, it's not quite there. Next, "The Lake House" offers a love story and barely delivers, while "Click" promises stupid Adam Sandler humor and overdelivers with emotion and affection. Also, "The Lake House" advertised romance and depth, but "Flick" actually delivered more of it (or at least it was less concocted).

For those who love timeshifting movies, "The Lake House" never even gives a reason or cause for the magic mailbox, changes the rules of time travel (or mailbox travel?), and then breaks them anyway, while "Click" at least makes sense within the timewarp fantasy it creates. Finally, "Click" moves from the typical Sandleresque absurdity to some real meaning by the power of timewarp, while "The Lake House" loses more credibility as it goes along and falls off the table at the end. With all respect to my fellow Idol Chatter blogger Donna Freitas, I found "The Lake House" to be disappointing, while "Click" was at least unpainful.

Why write about either one? There's something deeply spiritual about the possibility of conquering time and space, transcending time, or overcoming the boundaries of our three dimensions. It is something that only God has done in history thus far, and our fascination with it is one of the closest flirtations with deity that we entertain in our pop culture. In the meantime, though, I think I'll go rent "Back to the Future," "Contact," "Minority Report," "The Final Countdown," "Frequency," or even "The Terminator." They're all light years better than "The Lake House," and at least a few clicks stronger than Sandler's latest.

With the amount of TV that most of us watch, it's inevitable--much as we try to resist or deny it--that the small screen shapes our worldview and our national conversation. To that end, a significant cultural leader passed away this weekend. Aaron Spelling was 83.

The producer of such megahit television shows as "Charlie's Angels," "The Love Boat," "Fantasy Island," "Dynasty," and "Beverly Hills, 90210" gained a reputation from critics as being a formulaic producer of "jiggle TV." According to the critics, he was after ratings more than writing, prioritizing superstars over substance. He was known as a crowd-pleaser, but I always saw him as an unbelievable crowd-shaper, and I believe that he affected your life and mine more than we knew.

Our parents may have seen him act in "I Love Lucy" or "Dragnet." Just about everyone from the Baby Boomer generation not only watched his shows but probably acquired their television-watching habit itself from his creations, including "Starsky and Hutch," "S.W.A.T.," "Hart to Hart," "Vegas," "The Rookies," "The Mod Squad," and "T.J. Hooker." I think the "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble" put the "made-for-television" movie genre back on the map, and probably kept John Travolta's career barely on track at the time. "Charlie's Angels" once gained a 50-plus ratings share--for a rerun.

For those slightly younger, "Dynasty" may have been the first exposure to Spelling's work; it influenced not only TV ratings but countless magazine and tabloid covers for years. "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Melrose Place" introduced an entire younger generation to Spelling's work, as did "7th Heaven," which completed the circle (at least in my family), as my kids got hooked on it and still are.

If Spelling's shows didn't float our boat, certainly the stars he discovered have. A list including the likes of Julia Roberts, Joan Collins, Heather Locklear, John Forsythe, Linda Evans, Farrah Fawcett, Shannen Doherty, Luke Perry, Jennie Garth, Jason Priestly, Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson, William Shatner, and his daughter, Tori, were all discovered or re-discovered through one or more of Spelling's productions. Imagine how our shows--and our culture--would be different had these actors not had a career (or second career) launched through Mr. Spelling.

In all, he produced and/or had an executive role in almost 200 television series and movies, which at one point earned him the "Guinness Book of World Records" citation for the most credits as a television producer. Though most of the records in the "Guinness Book" can be considered irrelevant, I think Aaron Spelling's is one that matters more than we realize. He shaped what we saw and who we saw--and to some degree the values we've chosen and role models we've adopted--more than even he probably realized.

Those who knew him say he just enjoyed selling and producing a good show. I think we know he did both--and quite a bit more.

A British singer borrows an American president's phrase when painting graffiti on Israeli property that is characterized by Palestinians as a land grab. I'm not sure what I am more struck by: the scope of history, politics, music, and culture that came together in that one act, or the fact that some graffiti on a faraway wall made headlines across the globe.

Reuters reports that Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters ("The Wall," "The Dark Side of the Moon") "scrawled 'tear down the wall' on the concrete panels of Israel's West Bank barrier on Wednesday." He was doing some touring before performing a concert that drew an estimated 50,000 Palestinians and Israelis. His red spray paint and marker pen--and the phrase he borrowed from President Reagan's famous reference to the Berlin wall--attracted quite a bit of attention.

"'It's a horrific edifice, this thing,' Waters told reporters as he stood beside a section of the barrier in Bethlehem. 'I've seen pictures of it, I've heard a lot about it but without being here you can't imagine how extraordinarily oppressive it is and how sad it is to see these people coming through these little holes… It's craziness.'"

Israel says they've built the wall to protect against suicide bombers. Palestinians see it as a thinly veiled attempt to claim more land. Whatever your thoughts or mine, simply the fact that a rock icon made a graffiti comment about it has drawn more attention to the conflict than the latest exposé by "60 Minutes" or "Nightline."

Waters's concert, incidentally, was moved from Tel Aviv when some of his fans complained about him playing in Israel. Instead, he performed in the Arab-Israeli village Neve Shalom, which literally means "oasis of peace." His graffiti and accompanying statements certainly didn't decrease the number of cars braving the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway and Route 3 between the Latrun and Nahshon intersections to hear another rendition of really old songs by really old guys.

While an avalanche of “reality TV” shows fill our airwaves, I’m still glad for seasons like this, when the truest reality TV—sports television—has a large presence. Rarely is that presence greater than the once-every-four-years season of World Cup soccer, the NBA playoff finals, the NHL playoff dinals, and the U.S. Open of golf. In this season thus far, here are my top most and least inspiring moments from the events, which are as authentic and unrehearsed as “reality TV” can get:

Most Inspiring #5: Phil Michelson taking responsibility for his blown opportunity at the U.S. Open, calling himself an “idiot.”

Least Inspiring #5: Michelson blowing his lead by making very poor choices down the stretch.

Most Inspiring #4: The U.S. scoring its first point ever in Europe in World Cup soccer, despite being a man down.

Least Inspiring #4: Brazil’s heralded “Renaldo” showing himself to be embarrassingly old and out of shape, a living icon and soccer brand that is clearly less sharp than the young man who replaced him

Most Inspiring #3: The Edmonton Oilers coming back from a 3-games-to-1-deficit.

Least Inspiring #3: The fact that relatively no one was watching Edmonton come back from its 3-games-to-1-deficit, as NASCAR has officially replaced the NHL as our fourth major sport.

Most Inspiring #2: Miami coming back to win three in a row after being down 0-2.

Least Inspiring #2: The fact that neither my Lakers nor my Clippers are in it!

Most Inspiring #1: The beauty with which some of the international teams play soccer and the international golfers play golf, and the reminder to all of us Americans that we are not the only ones on the sporting planet.

Least Inspiring #1: Every World Cup soccer player who takes a dive hoping to induce a penalty on the other team, and the prospect of the U.S. not making it into the rest of the tournament. In soccer--with all respect to millions of sacrificial soccer moms--we’re barely a blip on the international screen.

I’m sure there are some inspiring baseball stories, too, but we’ve got the rest of the summer and into the Fall to talk about those. And these other sporting events, perhaps because they’re more rare, seem to be more memorable, and more inspiring.

The American Film Institute is conducting another one of its "ballots," this time searching for the Top 100 Inspirational Films of All Time. It's called "100 Years... 100 Cheers," and serves as an addition to prior efforts listing the best all-time films, biggest stars, most passionate films, etc.

The ballot includes 300 films, most of which you'd expect, such as "Hoosiers," "The Shawshank Redemption," "Gladiator," "A League of Their Own," and "The Magnificent Seven." I was also glad that two of my favorites, which often go overlooked--"The Natural" and "The Mission"--were also included.

The winners will be announced as part of a televised show on CBS later this month. I'll opine more on the Top 100 and Top 10 when the show's airing gets closer, but today I'm going to whine about those that didn't even make the nomination list. There are types of films that just aren't generally included on these lists, even though they should be. For example:

Why aren't there more "guy" movies? Why can't the significant and interracial friendship of the "Lethal Weapon" series be included, or the selfless heroics of John McLean in the "Die Hard" trilogy, or the justice hunters like "Dirty Harry," "Rambo," and anything with Steven Seagal in it?

Why aren't there more "chick flicks"? I know there are some, but I sure haven't seen 'em!

Why aren't there more "money" movies? Money is something that occupies much of our thoughts and time, and it's inspiring to see the good guys get even ("Trading Places'), or to see somebody stand up for something ("Wall Street"), or to have our eyes opened to realities we were previously unaware of ("Rollover," "Sneakers").

Why aren't there more series or sequels? How many young people have dreamed bigger dreams and aspired to loftier goals after seeing the heroics of James Bond, Laura Croft, Jack Ryan, or Captains Kirk and Piccard?

Why are some under-marketed little pictures ignored? "Victory" may have been a tad corny, but it is the most beautiful soccer film ever made--while managing to be a sports film, war film, and inspirational movie all at the same time. "Brian's Song" may have been made for TV, but most people watch feature films on DVDs today anyways, and James Caan brought honor to the role of a prideful man dying of cancer, while Billy Dee Williams' Gale Sayers vulnerably emerged as the reluctant hero we all have the capacity to discover within ourselves.

Finally, why aren't there more "action" movies? "Crimson Tide" isn't the kind of touchy-feely movie that usually is called "inspiring," but by making heroes of both the CEO and the CXO, the commander and the junior officer, the white man and the African-American, both Hackman and Denzel made a case for the kind of leadership and courage that stands up against even friends and peers, which is the toughest of all, while showing that we all need both a "pat on the back" and a "kick in the butt." Harrison Ford's threesome of "The Fugitive," "Blade Runner," and "Air Force One" all had the common thread of seeking justice no matter what the cost. The "Terminator" films inspired many young men to fight for what's right, regardless of the cost.

Lastly, I think Warren Beatty's "Heaven Can Wait" shouldn't have been ignored. Everyone has a destiny, said the story, delving bravely into the question of God's interaction with our human decisions, resulting in something called "probability and outcome"--which didn't exactly solve everything for me but sure evoked some worthwhile spiritual questions.