Movie: To Save a Life

Church made teen movie; looks pretty good:

One Sentence Movie Reviews

Four Christmases: The humor is strained at times (but decent), as is the plot (and yet it reminded me of my own life), but the subject matter is what makes this movie work (insofar as it is grounded in eternal reality).

Funny People: Though exceedingly crass, Apatow's movie pokes and prods well at what makes us happy, and, especially with this movie, what doesn't.

The Proposal: An old-school romance with modern sensibilities; it made me smile.

One Sentence Movie Reviews

Up: As down to earth as Pixar has been (the first 15 minutes are particularly touching); just wonderful.

The Taking of Pelham 123: What's a good word for contrived-edginess?

Valkyrie: The facts seem right, but there was little feeling to support them.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra: Like a big, athletic, dumb dog, and I love big, athletic, dumb dogs.

One Sentence Movie Reviews

Twilight: I don't get it.

Knowing: Intriguing plot, some truly harrowing cinematography, lame conclusion.

Yes Man: A covenant that leads, ultimately, to new life? Nice (and funny).

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Whereas the previous films have inserted humanity in ways that have made them feel disjointed, this one blends all elements seamlessly; a great movie.

We Are Morally Conservative, But Not Really

Ross Douthat, on Judd Apatow's new movie, Funny People:

More than most Westerners, Americans believe — deeply, madly, truly — in the sanctity of marriage. But we also have some of the most liberal divorce laws in the developed world, and one of the highest divorce rates. We sentimentalize the family, but boast one of the highest rates of unwed births. We’re more pro-life than Europeans, but we tolerate a much more permissive abortion regime than countries like Germany or France. We wring our hands over stem cell research, but our fertility clinics are among the least regulated in the world.

In other words, we’re conservative right up until the moment that it costs us.

Both “Knocked Up” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” were designed to hit this worldview’s sweet spot. There were threads of darkness in both stories, but for the most part they made their moralism look appealing by making it look relatively easy.

Still a virgin in middle age? Not to worry — you’ll find a caring, foxy woman who’s been waiting her whole life for an awkward, idealistic guy like you. Pregnant from a drunken one-night stand? Good news — the oaf who knocked you up will turn out to be a decent guy, and you’ll be able to keep the baby and your career as a rising entertainment-news anchorwoman. Frittering away your life on porn and pot? Fear not — your wasted twenties won’t stop you from being a great dad.

With “Funny People,” though, Apatow is offering a more realistic morality play. This time, doing the right thing has significant costs — but you have to do it anyway. This time, doing the wrong things for too long has significant consequences — and you have to live with them. It’s the first Apatow film in which love doesn’t conquer all. And it’s the first Apatow film in which you get punished for your sins.

John Hughes is Dead

He's not well known, at least by name. But he's dead. He was the undisputed king of the 80's comedy, writing screenplays for Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Great Outdoors and many others. Beyond his gift for writing funny comedy, he had a heart and wasn't afraid to bring that to his scripts. Movies like Uncle Buck, The Breakfast Club and Trains, Planes and Automobiles were as hilarious as they were human, compassionate. Hughes' movies are some of the only ones that I will watch over and over.

One of the funniest scenes in movie history:

Hope you knew Jesus, hope you trusted in him, John.

Gunga Galunga

Pick 'Em Up!

One Sentence Movie Reviews

Transsiberian: I am pretty sure Hitchcock came back from the dead to make this really great, tense film.

End of the Spear: Except for a few scenes, the movie was a mostly unmoving look at one of the most moving events in Christian history; and that's because they explained not at all why the missionaries were there in the first place.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop: Yes, I saw it; no, you shouldn't see it.

Who is the William Wilberforce for Today?

My wife and I finally saw the movie Amazing Grace. It's really a great film. The acting is crisp and real, the plot moves quickly and effortlessly, and it does a fine job of relaying what it was actually like in the days of the unfettered slave trade. It's purpose, in that sense, is clear: To make plain that there existed for a time, even in a largely solicitous and civilized nation, something unspeakably heinous. It is quite appalling that only a few dedicated men sought to end the practice. One of those men, William Wilberforce, almost single-handedly stopped the trading of men. His was truly a life in the world, but not of it. And I can take heart in that and remain hopeful about our own slave trades.

As I watched/listened to Piper say below "500,000 little girls," I wept in disbelief. It is actually possible that a nation so civilized could actually allow, and even vote for, infanticide? Yes, of course. Sin has no boundaries in the hearts of men. But whereas ridiculous men like Donald Miller can say ridiculous things like "abortion will always be legal," men like Wilberforce will continue to stand in the strength that God supplies and say, "Someday, it will end." Who will stand to fight in Wilberforce's place? For the first time in a long time more people are calling themselves pro-life than pro-choice. That is a good step. While I am not so naive to believe that all sin will be eradicated, I do believe that God does want to see practices like abortion, that are so incredibly odd and atrocious, end. May it happen even under President Obama's nose; may it even happen at his request.

Doug Wilson on Fireproof

Truly insightful:

(Fireproof) was a very successful motion picture tract. This was edifying propaganda, and when I use the word edifying I am not putting quotation marks around it. The word propaganda is, if memory serves, the Latin passive periphrastic, meaning "things to be propagated." Most made-for-tv movies and soap operas have low production values and they propagate the most frightful didactic drivel. This was a movie within that same genre that communicated the gospel clearly, and which walked people through some very basic and very real principles that contribute to the success of marriage relationships. It was not sophisticated at all, and revolved around a rudimentary come-to-Jesus appeal. And you know what? That is just what a lot of people need.

If I set myself to think of couples in marriages that I think would be greatly helped by watching this movie, I would run out of fingers inside of a minute. I can also think of Christians who would be offended by the schlock, but many of them would be those who know more about how a movie ought to be made than about how a woman ought to be treated. And they would rather watch a movie about a woman being abused so long as the movie was made right than to have the woman treated right in a movie that offended their refined sensibilities. So which is the altar and which is the sacrifice? Makes me think of Augustine's comment about rhetors who cared far more about avoiding grammatical misuse of the word man than they cared about their actual treatment of actual men.

Whole thing.

David and Saul: The Movie

Random thought of the day:

Why doesn't Hollywood make a movie of the account of David and Saul (and no, the 1964 version doesn't count)? Well, I know why they won't, but they should. I am almost finished with it in my devotional and it is really striking. It reads like a suspense/action novel. But what sets it apart are the incredible, gritty details. For example, 1 Samuel 27: 10-11 (emphasis mine):

When Achish asked, "Where did you go raiding today?" David would say, "Against the Negev of Judah" or "Against the Negev of Jerahmeel" or "Against the Negev of the Kenites." He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, "They might inform on us and say, 'This is what David did.'" And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory.

Most people don't remember David that way. And I want to see it in a movie.

Debating the Goodness of Religion is Killer

Or at least it looks that way in this clip, in the forthcoming movie (called Collision) on debates between atheist Christipher Hitches and (Reformed) Christian Doug Wilson:

I would really like to call that video what it is, but will make it palatable to all: BadDonkey. I have grown to love Wilson and am stoked about this film. It may have stemmed from a debate they had over at CT. Here.

HT: JT

Fireproof Review, Part 4

Continuing the riveting list of the good with respect to Fireproof...

9. Fireproof rightfully makes the point that men must lead. I don't need to explain to you that this idea is God's idea. So I was delighted to see this made plain on film. On the other hand, this was undermined a bit when they revealed that Caleb's mom was actually the one who did the love dare on his dad (and probably the reason they added it into the plot). Now it is abundantly clear that marriage is a partnership and that sometimes women are more to blame than men (see Gen. 3). But that does not make men any less responsible. And that idea seemed to come across in the movie.

10. It was so powerful to see a husband win back his wife. It wasn't some crappy tale of a woman finally leaving her awful husband and finding true love with some other guy. It was the display of the power of loving reconciliation. That is romantic. And it made the climax scene that much more touching.

11. I thought the writing and directing was much crisper in the second half the movie. Caleb's transformation was written extremely well.

12. For the most part the film was a balanced portrayal of real life. Some Christian films don't get the "world" at all and, rather than trying to understand it, make a mockery of it. Not so with Fireproof. Caleb was not surrounded by a bunch of Christians. He clearly worked in a non-Christian environment. Michael, it seems, was the one alone in his faith.

13. The scene with the destruction of the computer was especially poignant because it was an application of Matthew 5:30: "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell." He was doing what was necessary to live life in accordance with the Spirit and, accordingly, to save his marriage. I cheered in my heart at this scene and half-expected Catherine to come back right then.

14. Divorce is so rampant and accepted today that most people, when they hit rough spots, immediately believe that divorce is the only answer. Fireproof rejects this idea out of hand and says that all marriages are not only worth saving, but are able to be saved.

15. If I haven't been clear yet, the overarching point of this movie is that the gospel must be central to our lives. To see that displayed so well in a movie was amazing. Sadly, this biblical notion is not just a contrast to the world; it is a contrast to some preaching we hear today.

16. Kirk Cameron is undeniably hot.

As I have been writing this review I thought of some other good "Christian" films: The Passion of the Christ, The Nativity Story, Chariots of Fire. These films, as well as the others mentioned, are great flicks. Fireproof, I would say, stands with those films, at least in its distinctive genre. I know of no other film that displays the gospel in contemporary life so well.

On the other hand, it wasn't perfect. But for that matter, what film is? And why do I get the feeling like some people chastise Christian films just because they are imperfect? Yes, the substance of Christian film has everything to do with what we are about here and in eternity, but, goodness, let's give them a break. When their goal is to make plain the gospel and produce good art, I say "here, here!" and hope they continue their work. May God bless them.

Check out a few other good reviews of this movie: here and here.

Fireproof Review, Part Three

Not All Cheese

Most of the problems with Fireproof came in the form of over-acting, poorly constructed dialogue, or odd, rough editing (thus the cheesiness). There was, however, one plot problem, at least as far as I could tell. This is a minor quibble, but I didn't think that the reconciliation story-line with the mom was necessary. Of course they had to resolve it, considering the fact that Caleb was a jerk to her throughout the movie. I just didn't see the need to include that storyline at all. Reconciliation among family members is great and is a natural outcropping of conversion to Christ. But it seemed outside the scope of this work. The theme in Fireproof was not reconciliation, but martial reconciliation.

The Good

Despite my taking to task some of the elements of Fireproof, I still hold to my contention that it was a good film. O, how can I count the ways I love thee, Fireproof?

1. I thought the acting was (relatively) excellent. As we watched, my wife and I tried to determine who had been hired and who hadn't been. No, the actors were not A-listers, but at least a handful of them seemed professional (others had obviously come straight from choir practice). I was shocked to find out later that only Cameron was a pro.

2. Kirk Cameron was annoying in the Left Behind movies. Not so here. He showed some serious acting chops. And the dude can cry at the drop of a hat.

3. I'm sorry, but if you think those action sequences were anything less than brilliant, you are a snob. I was in suspense both times I watched the car and fire scenes. They might not have had the benefit of million dollar special effects, but it didn't matter. They made me appreciate firefighters even more than I already do.

4. As I said in the previous post, humor is hard to pull off. And Christian humor tends to be the cheesiest (usually for good reason). But Fireproof was different. I was only able to put on the too-cool-for-school act for a while before I burst out laughing a few times. For example, the scenes with Cameron destroying the garbage can with the audience of his neighbors were truly funny. Especially the "It takes one to know one" line. I also liked the scene interaction when Catherine and Caleb explained themselves to their friends. Lighthearted and well done.

5. Yes, the conversion scene was slightly stilted. But they did about as good of a job as is possible. The theology was solid and the buildup in music, camera movement and acting all seemed to make it work pretty well.

6. But more than that, it was placed in the plot expertly. Christianity Today's review of this movie, on the other hand, argued that the conversion scene felt "tacked on." I disagree wholeheartedly. In fact, I don't think the movie works without it. Peter Chattaway wrote, "What if someone were to follow the steps outlined in The Love Dare without being a Christian?" The answer to that seemed obvious in the film. Caleb could not have made the book, or his marriage for that matter, work on his own. The whole point of her coming back to him was not that he cleaned up the house, got rid of the computer, or bought her parents the medical equipment they needed. The reason she came back was because Caleb was a changed man. "I want what has happened to you to happen to me" she says near the end of the film. So his trusting in Christ was the true impetus to love his wife, not the book.

7. The theme of the movie was that marriages don't break, people do. This was all right-on and edifying. Husbands and wives need to learn how to make their marriage work. And that takes hard work. Caleb, and even Catherine to a degree, were highly selfish, working only for themselves. Christ changes people in such a way that they are able to make marriages work despite extended periods of difficulty. This movie was a slap in the face to the modern, western conception of love and marriage. Thank you.

8. CT also disregarded the blow-up scene between Caleb and Catherine. Chattaway writes:

Then there are the arguments that Caleb and Catherine have at home. These scenes are necessary, of course, because without them, we don't understand why their marriage is on the verge of collapse, or what hurdles Caleb will have to overcome in order to win his wife's love back. But when Caleb finally blows up at Catherine—his explosive anger being the thing that finally pushes her to seek a divorce—the outburst is completely out of proportion to what has come before. Yes, arguments have a way of escalating, but nothing we see of Caleb before or after that scene seems to suggest he has that sort of rage coiled up inside him. Instead of seeing a character, we see an actor playing one scene differently from all the others.

I am only picking on CT to make a point. Personally, I don't know if I have ever been so uncomfortable watching a movie in my life. No, I don't blow up like that. But I have said cutting things before, things I wish I could take back. It all felt too real, especially sitting next to my wife. The writers/director know exactly what strained marriages look like.

Per the comments from Chattaway, I totally disagree. (1) Married life means that normal social barriers no longer exist, and that is both a good thing and a bad thing. It is a good thing because you should have great intimacy with your spouse. It is a bad thing because comfortableness will allow you to say things to each other you would say to no one else. Volatile marriages don't need much to set off extreme anger. (2) And it is obvious why Caleb was set off. Catherine was poking at his most secret, most embarrassing flaw: lust. Whenever anyone uncovers our deepest sin, we either recoil, or we lash out. That's what happened here. All in all, I thought it set up the rest of the movie beautifully.

More numbers and a conclusion in a final installment later.

Fireproof Kiss

If you have seen Fireproof, you know about the very beautiful, tastefully done kissing scene near the end of the movie. I had wondered if the actors were comfortable doing that. I found the answer on the website:

What’s the deal with the kiss between Caleb and Catherine in FIREPROOF?

In a romantic scene in FIREPROOF, lead actor Kirk Cameron is actually kissing his wife Chelsea rather than Erin Bethea, who plays Catherine. Chelsea was flown in from Los Angeles just for that shot. The scene was filmed in silhouette and works incredibly well, with Chelsea wearing the same outfit and a wig to mirror Erin. Sherwood Pictures has upheld this standard in all their movies: actors and actresses should guard their own marriages while on screen the same way they would do in real life. That’s why you don’t see Coach Taylor (Facing the Giants) or Jay Austin (Flywheel) kissing the women playing the on-screen wives. Kirk also has long held to a principle that he would kiss no woman other than Chelsea. He was able to honor his marriage while making a movie that inspires others to do the same.

Fireproof Review, Part Two

Fireproof is the Citizen Kane of Christian films (notwithstanding the semi-Christian films like Bella and Amazing Grace). And I wish that were saying a lot. But, as we have already discussed, the bar has not been set very high. Nevertheless, I think it is probably true that Fireproof is a good film and should be heralded as such, especially considering the production limitations the film makers were under. And that might be what is most remarkable about the film: It was produced entirely by a mid-size church in Georgia. The writers and director are pastors on staff; the female lead is the daughter of the senior pastor; all the actors, except for one (Kirk Cameron), are members at the church; every on-screen extra and off-screen worker came from within the church. It is doubtful they had much money to make it. After you watch the film, make sure you check out the behind-the-scenes documentary. It all makes the film that much more remarkable.

But of course, it wasn't perfect.

I Don't Like Cheese

Fireproof suffers from those things that most low budget, amateur movies suffer from. There were instances of poor writing, awkward direction, harsh editing, neophyte acting. It definitely has a Lifetime Movie quality, at least in parts.

One of the hallmarks of good art is subtlety. And, unfortunately, there were times in Fireproof when subtlety did not reign. You know what I am talking about. When you are watching something, anything, and your brain promptly says to you "Well, that didn't seem to fit." There were several such instances in Fireproof. One scene, near the beginning, allowed us a glimpse into the burgeoning relationship between Catherine and Gavin, the doctor. As the two are flirting, the nurses close by not so subtly show their recognition through some non-verbal communication. And if it wasn't obvious enough, their gossipy disapproval, they had to then, redundantly, verbalize it.

One of the strong points in the film was that it was funny. Yes, funny. And funny is hard to pull off. Nevertheless, there were parts when the humor just felt out of place. While the scene with one of the firefighters grooming himself in the mirror and dancing was independently funny (kind of), it seemed out of place. Why are we watching this right now? It felt tacked on.

Conversions Never Work (on Film)

I am convinced that it is impossible to make a conversion scene that is not cringe-worthy. I have no idea why. I want to chalk it up to somehow being ashamed of the Gospel, but it doesn't seem to be that profound. Maybe the event itself is too profound to record on film. Maybe, hopefully, trying to show an event like repenting and turning to Christ is just not possible. Perhaps. At least with the conversion scene in Fireproof, Caleb seemed to come to faith too quickly. Even if it all finally clicked for him, how his relationship with his wife mirrored his relationship with God and Christ, it should have taken longer. But movies don't have weeks to draw out plots. So I am still holding to my original claim. Conversion scenes on film will always be cheesy.

Please, No

Finally, the worst moment. After Caleb's turn to Christ, he goes and speaks with his friend, Michael, another believer. He tells him, "I'm in." Bear hugs and yelling ensue. And then Michael, for no other reason than to make me really uncomfortable, says "You're my brotha from anotha motha!"

I'll post the final installment later. I am sure you will incessantly click "refresh" in your reader until it arrives.

Fireproof Review, Part One

After I rented Fireproof from Netflix, it sat on our entertainment center for three weeks. Now usually when I do this, it's because I've had no time to watch whatever we have rented. Not Fireproof. In truth, it scared me. Why? Because it was getting universal praise from Christians. That is a dubious honor in the world of artistic expression. For whatever reason, Christians, generally, are not very artistic. We try our hardest to be cutting edge and brilliant. But it never seems to work out that way. Now part of the reason is because our numbers are small compared to the rest of the world. The world generates the greatest art partly because it has a bigger pool of talent to draw from.

Too Literal

The other reason, I think, is because modern Christians are too literal. Stemming primarily from a backlash to modernism and liberalism in the last century, we explicate our beliefs in very simple, boxed-in ways. That is, we tend to be literalists. Someone once asked me why I can't stand country music. As I thought about it, I finally explained to him, "It's because country music is too literal." That is true of modern Christian art as well. Because we were so concerned to make plain the "fundamentals" of the faith, it seems that our art has followed suit. When we write music, the lyrics have got to explain the gospel, shot-gun style. When we paint paintings, they must be pictures of Bible stories, of Jesus with flowing hair and pretty smile, or of picturesque, unrealistic, unbelievable scenes of the home. When we write poems, they must explain all of biblical theology and it all must rhyme (with no allegory please).

Now contrast this with good modern art. Modern art is meant to evoke deep thought, guiding the viewer or hearer to see things in new ways, profound ways. It is meant to help the world look more deeply into those things which might have seemed prosaic before. And this sort of art is does necessarily buck truth. Many times good modern art is so good because it is so true. And, of course, good modern art tends to be good. (I am speaking generally here. So much modern art, it seems, has taken itself far too seriously and gone into a realm I would still consider art, but not art I would consider good.)

Christian Movies Tend to be Bad

All that to say, Fireproof scared me. It scared me because Christians have badly mangled the art of movie making, perhaps more than any other medium. And beyond the banality of their literalness, Christian movies just tend to be bad. I honestly don't know why this is. They are burdened, partly, by the desire to want to highlight the gospel. That is understandable and, in some sense, right. But it is hard to relate the gospel over and over in new and interesting ways. Writers and directors are hamstrung, in a way, and aren't able to spread their proverbial wings. Unfortunately, however, Christian movies have not progressed as much as they should have. While their cousin, Christian music, is making leaps and bounds in artistry, Christian films have remained boring, one-sided, and cheesy.

The main issue with Christian films, it seems, is that they fail to capture real life. Most Christian movies are conversion stories. Their only message, usually, is that bad people need to turn to Jesus. And always in these movies--always--the bad person turns to Jesus. And that is great. But when every story, every plot is the same, it leaves you feeling like Christianity is only about one thing. Now immediately we must recognize that Christianity is about one thing: Jesus Christ and him crucified. But Christian films seem to reflect the idea that Christianity is only about getting saved when, in truth, Christianity is about much more than that. It is about real life and real people and a real Jesus. He speaks into every aspect of life, not just into a one time event.

Some Good Ones

Recently, some movies have realized this and done a significant job relating Christianity to real life. They have also made some good art in the process. The End of the Spear, Amazing Grace, and Bella come to mind. And, thankfully, I can add Fireproof to that list. I am so glad I didn't chicken out and send Fireproof back unopened. I have since watched it twice (twice!) and just might watch it again. At least comparatively, it is great.

I'll post a full review later this week.

Spinal Tap, Meet Jesus

CT story here.

Fireproof Bandwagon

I am on it.