Movies: April 2007 Archives

I should have listened to New York Times film critic Stephen Holden, who called "In the Land of Women" meek and mopey, "the film equivalent of a sensitive emo band with one foot in alternative rock and the other in the squishy pop mainstream." The film stars Meg Ryan in a relatively new role--down and out mom-figure rather than romantic lead--and Adam Brody (formerly of "The O.C.") as the all-purpose confidante for quite literally every woman in the film: ex-girlfriend, grandmother, and next door neighbors (Ryan as the mother and her daughter).

Despite the reviews, I figured--how bad could a movie be that stars Meg Ryan and Olympia Dukakis (who I love)? As it turns out, really bad. It's the worst movie I've seen in years. And I see a lot of movies.

Adam Brody--playing Carter Webb--is utterly unappealing in what I guess is the romantic lead--though there is nothing romantic about him or the part he plays. Nor is there anything comedic about Carter's character. Why so many beautiful, talented women are drawn to baring their souls to him is inexplicable. He doesn't do anything in the film aside from stumbling in and out of these women's lives. It's painfully clear is that Adam Brody can not carry a film. And since Brody is the epicenter of this "land of women," the movie falls on this fatal flaw.

Then there is the fact that though the movie is billed as a romantic comedy, it is an incredibly depressing film. The dominant themes are despair, death, cancer, and infidelity. I know--what fun on a warm spring afternoon!

I confess: I never watched "The O.C.," so perhaps I didn't enter the theater with the right sympathetic-to-Brody attitude like the rest of the "O.C." fans who made up the bulk of the audience around me. But even they shared my dismay. As the credits rolled and I got up to leave, one of the girls behind me quipped loudly and in appropriately high school melodramatic fashion: "That. Was the worst. Movie. Ever."

Yes, I silently agreed. Enough said. Brody gets a failing grade as confessor. I actually left the theater feeling angry. Save your money. There's nothing redeemable about this one.

The summer movie season officially kicks off (are you ready for this?) a week from Friday!

May 4th brings us Spider-Man 3—the summer's first movie release, the first anticipated blockbuster, and the first sequel.

Movie sites such as Moviephone and Premiere and papers led by USA Today seem to agree that this is the Summer of the Sequel. Since most movie-goers enjoy a certain kind of viewer-character relationship with the story's players, audiences are glad to return to see an old friend, which I see as a Good-News-Bad-News-Good-News situation.

Good News: Millions of us are genuinely curious to see what happens to Spidey, Shrek and his friends, Captain Jack and his crew, Danny Ocean's Twelve and their foe-turned-friend—number Thirteen, and Jason Bourne as Jason Bourne. Chris Tucker (Rush Hour 3) and Bruce Willis (Live Free or Die Hard) return as really-long-lost-friends, as its been awhile since their last reprise. Although It may sound goofy that we'd relate to a recorded image on the screen, it brings out the fact that we were created to be relational creatures, and while we may like watching things crash or lovers cry, it's the return of specific characters that we come back to and enjoy. I like that.

Bad News: Despite all of the buzz I hear about the independent film movement, it sure seems like sequels get the big budgets and backing. Since distribution is everything and risky themes don't fare well in a cost-benefit analysis, the films with the potential to say a lot rarely do. I don't like that.

Good News: Serials and movie trilogies (or quadrilogies and quintilogies!) allow more characters to interact in more settings amidst more plot twists with more characters, allowing deeper spiritual themes to emerge if directors and writers are so inclined. This allows us to go deeper with characters we relate to, and I like that.

Here are the dates of the Summer Sequels; I hope there's a whole lot in there for the reflective moviegoer on a spiritual journey:

• May 4: "Spider-Man 3" — Spidey vs. Sandman, Venom, New Goblin…and his darkside.
• May 18: "Shrek the Third" — Layers of comedy for every age group.
• May 26: "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End" — Likely not the end of anything!
• June 8: "Ocean's Thirteen" — Clooney, Pitt, Garcia, Pacino, Damon, Cheadle, Mac, Ellen Barkin.
• June 15: "Fantastic Four" Rise of the Silver Surfer.
• June 22: "Evan Almighty" — Morgan Freeman returns as God but Steve Carell is new as Moses.
• June 27: "Live Free or Die Hard" — Bruce "John McClain" Willis returns and is himself again.
• July 13: "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" — He keeps his clothes on.
• Aug 3: "The Bourne Ultimatum" — Paul Greengrass (United 93) directing Damon's defining role.
• Aug 10: "Rush Hour 3" — Chris Tucker’s first film since "RH 2" and Jackie Chan.

Of course, if there's anything of spiritual value to talk about, we'll be doing so right here at Idol Blogger and we welcome you to do the same!

One of the true joys of living in New York these days is the Tribeca Film Festival, started in the wake of 9/11 by none other than Martin Scorsese. This year's extravaganza opens on Wednesday, and as always, the festival's line-up includes a significant number of films that explore faith and spirituality, matters of the soul, moments of history, and life's biggest questions.

Some highlights, with description from the Tribeca website:

• "Hard as Nails": "This fascinating documentary follows unordained evangelical minister Justin Fatica on his quest to save America's soul. Fatica uses his Hard As Nails Ministry to promote the gospel to all Christian faiths and reach out to the MTV generation. His gruff style and unusual methods bring salvation to some, but seem troublesome to others."


• "Forging a Nation": "Accompanied by his mother, cousins, aunts, and uncles, the director retraces the steps of his Jewish ancestors, who fled Europe in the 1920's hoping to find in Argentina the land of their dreams. This poignant film journey uses the documentary as a singular tool to explore the multifaceted ways in which the Argentine nation was built."


• "Time and Winds": "This unforgettable, beautifully observed film is a lyrical and haunting portrait of life in a remote Turkish mountain village, where three preteens struggle with dreams and desires that are utterly specific and personal, and yet somehow universal. An extraordinary score by Arvo Pärt adds to the electrifying experience."


• "A Slim Peace": "When 14 women--Israelis, Palestinians, Bedouin Arabs, and American settlers in the West Bank--are brought together with the shared goal of losing weight, they find out they have far more in common than they ever would have imagined. A Slim Peace takes a revealing look at the universal struggle for acceptance, understanding, and personal transformation in a land of intractable conflict."


• "Passio": "A unique "oratorio for moving image and sound," and a dramatic meditation on the very act of seeing. This extraordinarily powerful film sets the music of Arvo Pärt's Passio--which has been called one of the last masterpieces of 20th Century music--against images carefully chosen from the billions created during the tumultuous century since moving image media first appeared. Its declared ambition is to manifest the neglected or repressed memory of the human race during this era." (And this one is showing at New York's extraordinary St. John the Divine Cathedral, with live music.)

Last year was Beliefnet's first at Tribeca, and we brought you reviews of some extraordinary films, like "The Saint of 9/11" about Father Mychal Judge, and "Sound of the Soul," about the Fez Festival of World Sacred Music, and covered a fascinating panel discussion called "What Would Jesus Direct?"

Stay tuned for reviews of this year's spiritual Tribeca offerings, or check it out yourself by perusing the whole lineup and buying tickets here.

If you haven't already seen it, make time for "The Hoax," a riveting film about Clifford Irving that's based on a true story. In 1971 Irving almost fooled publishing house McGraw-Hill into putting out his utterly fictionalized "authorized autobiography" of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes.

Watching Mr. Irving conceive the idea of the fake autobiography and deceive the big execs at McGraw-Hill and even the folks at Life Magazine into not only believing him, but buying and serializing the promised literary triumph for one million dollars (!!) is simply shocking. Was Irving simply a sucker for faith--in himself, that is--and his ability to pull off the almost-impossible?

Why did the big-time publishers put faith in Irving, who was only a poor-selling novelist and the last person on earth one would imagine Hughes choosing as his voice to the world? Didn't they ever hear of the phrase, "too good to be true?"Perhaps most stunning of all is watching Irving's own transformation from con man to believer in his own con.

If you like flicks in the genre of "All the President's Men," "Good Night and Good Luck," "Shattered Glass," and most recently, "Breach," go see this film. "The Hoax" stars Richard Gere (giving the best performance from him I've seen in ages--finally in a role that suits his age), Alfred Molina, Julie Delpy, and Hope Davis, is now playing in theaters everywhere.

Audiences will either find director Philip Gröning's "Into Great Silence"--an almost three hour film chronicling the silent lives of the Carthusian monks at Grande Chartreuse, a stunning but austere monastery perched high up in the French Alps--a masterpiece or the most boring movie they ever saw.

Like the days and nights of this tiny group of men (viewed by some as the most ascetic monks in all the world), "Into Great Silence" proceeds almost entirely without sound--save the pitter patter of the rain falling against windows, the crack of ice underfoot, or the wind howling under doorways and across the jagged mountaintops.

Aside from the voice of the natural world, audiences will hear only prayer in the form of traditional chants from the monks who populate this austere locale. Only in two instances do the men have "recreational" chatter, the first which comes nearly a full two hours into the film. As a result, their talk startles the viewer--it's almost moving to suddenly hear these disciplined men laugh and gossip.

The second instance comes just before the film's end and is the most endearing of all--it's almost worth sitting through the entire experience to get to it: Audiences are treated to a scene where the monks slide down the steep slopes of a mountaintop near the monastery. You can't help but laugh and delight with them in the simple and childlike fun, so unexpected after this window into their strict lives.

As I watched this virtually silent film, I couldn't help but think that watching the movie is an excercise in silent meditation. Audience members must each take a temporary vow of silence of sorts--committing to let the dark of the theater and the length of the experience take viewers into stillness of the monks who move silently through the ordinary tasks of their daily lives.

But it is not for everyone. Some people will hate it and walk out no doubt. This is a film whose entire purpose is to quiet the mind and not fill the screen with action, plot, and dialogue. But if I were you, I'd give it a chance. With the right attitude, you might find it quite profound and certainly unique.

You can see "Into Great Silence" at various film festivals across the country in the coming months.

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