Movie Review: Inception

I'm am staying at my in-laws this week while I take my final intensive class of the summer.  Last night presented the opportunity to go see the movie Inception starring Leonardo Dicaprio.  Many of my friends had seen the movie and raved about it.  I went in with high expectations even though I hadn't seen much about the movie ahead of time.

***Spoiler Alert....ok, so I am not sure I'm truly giving away spoilers, I'm just want to warn you in case you want to go into the movie with an untarnished mind.  I'd hate to plant an idea in your head about the movie unconcisously!***

I was blown away...and quite honestly don't know where to begin a post about the movie.  The writing was creative and original.  The movie was visually stunning.  The movie connected emotionally as you consider the relationship between Leo's character and his wife.  There was action and suspense.  It was a little strange, at first, to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page in such a serious/sci-fi movie. I still think of them in 3rd Rock and Juno. But- they were great in the movie. The entire cast was superb.



I thought the movie had a very postmodern feel as the story operated on three (vertical) levels rather than one linear storyline.  I think this mode of storytellling will be employed more in future movies and TV series (see Lost).  The movie, in my opinion, paid some homage to The Matrix with some of the slow motion shots and even the idea of "plugging in" and entering an alternate reality. (Likely there are other movies/books that follow this, I am just unaware of them)

The movie questions what consitutes reality.  Is reality found in our physical world or can it be found in our dreams?  I think the movie showed that there is nothing wrong with dreams, or our dream worlds, that if we are not grounded in reality (the need for a totem in the movie) then we can lose our mind and be unable to function in either world.

The idea of planting an idea in the head of someone while they are dreaming is fascinating . When do ideas form?  How do we determine which ideas take hold and which ones we discard? 

Here are some quick thoughts...

• Guilt played a huge role for Dicaprio's character.  His guilt created a world where he nearly inprisoned himself because he could not forgive himself. 
• Which reality will we choose?  Our physical world or our dream world?  Likewise in our faith- is our reality grounded in our faith in God or in our own worldly ways?  We have to choose which reality we want to live in.
• The whole idea of "Inception"...planting a seed without realizing it.  In Wesleyan thought- this prevenient grace.  In prevenient grace, God's grace is moving in us before we realize it.  That grace grows in our lives, it is watered and nurtured by the people of faith that God places in our lives.  God willing, it blossoms into a relationship with God.

What did you think of the movie? Love it? Hate it? Did you see any nuggets of Truth in the movie? Something else? 

Up...Up...Up....And Away!

Andrea and I finally saw the movie Up last night and it was fantastic!  For someone like me who really enjoys movies, we've really fallen behind on seeing any movies.  We might go to the theater about once a quarter.  When Abbie gets a little older, we'll be able to catch some good kid flicks.

Up was an all-around enjoyable movie.  While you probably already know that, it's a movie worth considering the messages/images that are in it.

1. Marriage- I loved that the movie showed marriage in a positive light.  Extremely positive.  Carl and Ellie were childhood friends who married and enjoyed a lifetime of love and adventure.  Even after Ellie died, Carl continued to express his love for Ellie.  Even though it's a cartoon, we need positive images of marriage and love.  It's important in our churches and our personal lives that we find our own "Carl and Ellie's" to be inspirations, mentors, and illustrations of how fulfilling marriage can be.
2. Life's Adventures:  Ellie and Carl had a dream to go to Paradise Falls because of their affinity for adventurer Charles Muntz.  Ellie had made an adventure book around this idea.  The final pages of the book called "What we did" was blank- wating to be filled.  Isn't that really how our live's are?  Our lives are blank pages waiting to be filled.  They are not pre-determined- yet God has a plan for us that  goes beyond what we could hope or imagine.  Do we continue to have a sense of adventure about our faith, our God, and our life? What kind of story do we want written in our book?
3. The Mundane:  The boy in the movie, Russell, when recounting memories of his father says "Come to think of it, it's the boring stuff that I remember the most."  How many times do we look for adventure, greener pastures, etc. when what is most meaningful is the day to day living of life together?  For me, some of my best times with my daughter are just laying on our living room floor and laughing together.  Sure, we could go to the park, or a play place, or the beach, but it's the everyday intentional living together that she will remember the most.  Can we find contentment in the mundane?  The routine?  Can we experience God while we do the dishes?  Mow the lawn?  Or are we waiting the the next big "experience"?

These are just a few thoughts from the movie. There are other themes that could be explored (Charles Muntz's obsession with this elusive bird (Kevin), What young and old can learn from each other). I'll definately be looking forward to watching this movie again!

DVD Review: The Wrestler

Relevant Magazine recently listed The Wrestler in their Top 10 Movies of 2008. Watching the movie, I would have to agree with them on their assesment, although one has to rummage through the pain and brokenness to see that this is a parable about the decisions we make, the possibility of new life, and the pain that humanity experiences. Mickey Rourke does an excellent job portraying Randy "The Ram" Robinson- who is a blue collar worker/entertainer who is 20 good years past his prime as a wrestler. Marissa Tomei is also excellent in the movie as Cassidy- a 40 something stripper who is a single mom of a 9 year old son. Here are some themes that I saw in the movie as well as some discussion questions at the end. I am sure I'm giving away a lot of the plot, so be warned if you've never seen the movie!

Purpose-
Randy and Cassidy are mirror images of each other in the movie. The are both past-their-prime entertainers (Wrestler/Stripper) who are looking for the glory they once had. They are both holding on by a thread for their survival. Randy survives a heart attack- only to go against his doctors orders to wrestle his former nemesis The Ayatollah for a 20 Year anniversary match. Cassidy wrestles between her job and her son. Both have a hard time imagining life outside of the life they know.

Significance/Relationship
Along with a struggle for purpose is Randy and Cassidy's search for significance- especially in the form of relationships. Randy has no one close to him and his bad choices have burned bridges with his daughter. This is so clear as Randy participates in an autograph session with other washed up wrestlers. The extent of his relationships are people want a piece of The Ram...reliving the glory of 20 years past...with no one really interested in him. When Randy has a heart attack- he has no one to tell (except Cassidy) because his lifestyle has left him alone.

Randy does reconnect with his daughter in the movie and it is a heart warming moment. They make plans to go out to dinner on Saturday night- but Randy ends up at a bar, engaged in coked-up sex with someone 20 years younger than him- and misses his date with his daughter. This really illustrated Randy's struggle with the "glory days" and moving on in life in significant ways.

Cassidy works the stage and the VIP area at the strip club, performing for men who pay for her services. We are given little information about her previous relationships, but through the movie she passes up the opportunity to make money to have conversations with Randy. Even then, she struggles to see Randy as more than a paying customer when Randy is interested in her and not what she has to offer in the club.


Exploitation
When Randy is speaking with his daughter as they are reconnecting, he tells his daughter "You're my girl. You're my little girl. And now, I'm an old broken down piece of meat." When you think about it, celebrities are pieces of meat for our culture that consumes their every move. We think they have it together because of their fame and fortune. We buy magazines that track every move of celebrities for our entertainment and enjoyment. We expect that these people (pieces of meat) will somehow bring us meaning, purpose, entertainment, happiness.

Randy's character had been physically and relationally exploited through wrestling. Cassidy's character had been exploited through her job as well. Both were pieces of meat that people paid for to make them feel better, to escape reality, or for entertainment.

What does this say about our consumer driven society. We do not only consume food, but each other. We look at people in a way that says "What can you do for me?" rather than seeing the value in their lives because they are created in the image of God.

Brokenness
Throughout the movie, the viewer is left with some graphic images of the broken world we live in as both Randy and Cassidy struggle to leave the life they were living and start something new. The brokeness in Randy's life was most apparent when he missed dinner with his daughter for sex in a bar bathroom. There was nothing meaningful or romantic in this scene. Nothing significant or meaningful. It was a vivid picture of someone who was so trapped in the life he was living that when faced with a decision- he continued in the cycle of brokeness.

This was also vivid in the movies ending. Cassidy, realizing that stripping was not the significance she was searching for, goes to the wrestling venue to find Randy and try to build a life together. She catches Randy before he goes out into the ring. Randy has a choice to make- to go out in the ring (and possibly die because of his heart), or to walk away and build a life of real significance with Cassidy. Randy chose the roar of the crowd over the one thing that really could have saved his life.

Identity
I just thought this was interesting....in two scenes Randy is called Robin. His boss at the grocery store has Robin put on his name badge rather than Randy. The boss claims he copied it off his W-4 form. Is it possible that Randy's character had so bought into The Ram persona that he forgot who is really was? Whether or not that is intentional- or I just read too much into it- it certainly is an area to explore.

The Wrestler is Rated R and has strong language, nudity, sex, and drug use in the movie.

Questions:

1. What does Randy mean when he tells his daughter that he is nothing but a piece of meat?

2. How are Randy and Cassidy mirror images of each other? How are they different?

3. How do the choices the characters make in the movie affect their future?

4. What is the one thing that Randy and Cassidy are searching for in the movie? Where do they look for it at?

5. What are some ways the Bible deals with purpose? Relationships? Significance? Redemption? Choices?

Seven Pounds for Holy Week

This past Sunday, Andrea and I watched the Will Smith movie, "Seven Pounds," while Abbie took her afternoon nap. It wasn't a movie I particularly wanted to watch, but I was intrigued by it's storyine, especially since we are in the midst of Holy Week leading up to Easter.

**Stop reading here if you've not seen the movie**

The basic premise of Seven Pounds is this: Will Smith's character (Ben/Tim) was part of an accident that killed seven people, including his fiance. Ben feels responsible for the accident and is living with the guilt he feels. He begins to offer random people gifts that only he can give. To one woman, a social worker, he gives part of his liver. To someone else, a lung. He gives a mother and 2 children his beachfront home as they begin a new life together after escaping an abusive boyfriend.

Ben meets a woman named Emily who has Congestive Heart Failure. She has been placed on an organ donor list, but because of her rare blood type, the docter tells Ben there is only a 3-5% chance that she will receive the heart in time. As Ben begins helping her out in little ways and they end up falling in love with each other. At the same time, Ben contacts a man named Ezra who is blind, yet gifted at the piano and stuck in a deadend job. It is here that we begin to see Ben's intentions.

The gift that Ben gives requires that he give up his own life. Ben ultimately commits suicide in a way that his organs can be harvested and Emily and Ezra are given a new lease on life. The movie ends with Emily staring into Ezra's eyes, knowing that they are they eyes of the man she loves and the of the one who gave up his life so the she might live.

This was, again, and interesting movie to watch as we prepare to celebrate Good Friday and Easter...where God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die so that we might live. It is certainly a fresh way to look at the idea of giving up one's life so that others might live. Jesus said in John 15:13 that, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 1 John 3:16 says, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." It is very clear in the movie that Ben was moved towards love to give his heart to Emily.

I wonder what initially motivated Will Smith's character to give himself away as a gift? Was it out of shame or guilt from feeling responsible for his fiance's and 6 others' death?

I believe that he was seeking penance what happened the night of the accident. Penance is, as Webster's puts it, an act of self-abasement, mortification, or devotion performed to show sorrow or repentance for sin. Will Smith's character's action resulted in the death of seven people...and his character gave the gift of life to seven people as an act of penance. While this act may have began out of guilt, by the end of the movie he is motivated by love.

While this is not a exhaustive look at the movie Seven Pounds, this may create some great discussion for you and those you watch the movie with. This is certainly a postmodern parable that we can relate to the self-giving love of Jesus Christ. If you've not seen the movie, this is a great week to rent it and watch it as we consider the sacrifice that Jesus made for each of us so that we might experience life abundant!