Reviews With Mike Furches: peter jackson

Showing posts with label peter jackson. Show all posts

Friday, August 21, 2009

Inglourious Basterds

If Quentin Tarantino were a politician, there would be no ifs, ands, or buts about it; he would be the unequaled king of sound bites. There is simply put, no single director or writer that in my opinion has the ability to write, or direct a more memorable short sequence in movies. I would go so far as to say, it is possible that there has never been anyone more skilled at creating short memorable scenes than Quentin Tarantino. Unfortunately, while those types of things make memorable movie scenes, while they make lasting memories, and incredible movie trailers, they don’t necessarily make great movies, and for many, that has been one of the criticisms of Mr. Tarantino by many of the movie going audience. Of course many of those have never sat through a full length Tarantino movie and for those who go expecting nothing but blood, gore, in your face language and shocking reality, they have missed out on an incredible talent Tarantino has, and in my opinion don’t get nearly enough credit for, he also knows how to tell a memorable story.

Inglourious Basterds is a story that takes in World War 2 France. In the opening sequences we see the German SS troops come upon a small country dairy farm where a father is questioned about harboring Jews. It doesn’t take long before we see the father give in and the Nazi “Jew Finder,” Colonel Hans played with evil delight by Christoph Waltz shows that he is not a man to be trusted.

One of the young Jewish girls hiding underneath the floorboards, Shosanna Dreyfus, escapes and we later see her in the picture as a theater owner.
Tarantino using an unusual style in having various acts, or stages in the movie goes next to a sequence featuring The Inglourious Basterds commanded by Lt. Aldo Raine played brilliantly by Brad Pitt. Let me make clear here, this role for Ptt, while not as long as I would have thought from the advance trailers of the movie, is by and far my favorite character for Pitt in any movie up until this film. He plays in a absolute terrifying comedic way the role of Tennessee native Aldo Raine. He has one goal, one purpose, to kill Nazis. In the process he wants 100 scalps from each of the men under his command, and he does mean real scalps, and for those very, very few, who live, he wants to make sure he and his men leave a lasting impression to let the whole world know they once served for the SS in the Nazi regime.

Eventually, while the characters portrayed in the two primary roles never meet, they do by happenstance have the same goals, which ultimately result in them taking part in some history changing movie magic. In the process, the viewer is taken through an almost operatic telling of not only part history, but part what if. In other words we have an impression of the brilliantly, twisted mind of Quentin Tarantino telling us what could have been if these characters and events had lived in the way he presents. It is what makes movies magical, and it is one of the things that make Tarantino brilliant.

Now before this gets to sounding like a Quentin Tarantino man crush, let me make clear a few things, while I have the utmost respect for Tarantino, while I enjoyed this movie, while I got caught up in the hype, I have to say, this isn’t my favorite Tarantino film as many have hyped. In fact I don’t even know if this is among the top 3 or four.

In typical, and for many, unknown, Tarantino style we see a lot of dialog in Inglourious Basterds. In most of Tarantino’s movies this leads to some interesting character development. For whatever reason, this doesn’t seem to occur here. We go through the movie not really knowing and having an understanding of the characters. This is especially true for Lt. Aldo Raine. There are other characters though where this is the case, remember it isn’t just Lt Aldo Raine, there are a number of Inglourious Basterds but unfortunately, we don’t really know that much about any of them. Only that they are Jewish and a few of them have a reputation. The jumping back and forth between stories didn’t quite work for me either, that is until the stories merged. On this point, let me make clear, I think that while Tarantino has done this type of thing before, I don’t think there were as many transitions in his films. I think one of the story arcs could have been left out to leave more room for character development.

Inglourious Basterds presents a side of evil that in many ways resembles real evil. I couldn’t help but notice that evil, when confronted with revenge and hate, even with the guise of justice, often becomes a blurred image confusing reality. I can’t help but think of Jesus teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. If someone is angry at their brother they are just as guilty as the murderer. I found myself having a hard time enjoying the evil being perpetuated against even the evil characters in the film. I think that is a part of what Tarantino tries to do though, that is to confront at times particular common notions of things like justice through violence. I am not sure as Tarantino marches to the beat of a different drummer, it is one of the reasons I like his work he is so hard to figure out, yet so dedicated to his work.

I liked Inglourious Basterds, it was worth the price of admission just to see Brad Pitt. Those sound bites, those short lines and scenes will be one of the enjoyable things about this movie that I remember. Seeing a scene where he speaks Italian in a Tennessee accent to a German officer is hilarious. There were a surprising number of scenes that had the audience laughing. Yet, I have to admit, I was disappointed, maybe it was the idiot sitting in front of me that kept using his cell, or if it was just the lack of character development, I am not sure, I just know that for me, compared to the other Tarantino films, either as an actor, writer, director or producer, I can personally think of several of them that I liked more. It was still worth it though, because even when a genius is off a little bit, you are still in for something special, and that is certainly the case with Inglourious Basterds.

On a scale of 1 – 10, start with a ten, take a way the three stooges which he loves, and you end up with a rather enjoyable 7.

The following is a trailer from the movie Inglourious Basterds, just click on teh video, if the video don't work, click on the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02OD8YnzzmE

Interview with Brad Pitt on the Today Show from France
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YloLnrITsyw

Click here to follow The Virtual Pew on Twitter

Click here to visit Mosaic Wichita, the Church in Wichita Kansas where Mike is the pastor.

Click Here to Go to The Virtual Pew Daily Verse and Read The Bible in a Year Passages

Click here for booking information to have Pastor Mike come speak or perform, from speaking to music or magic, something for all groups.

Click to visit with Pastor Mike regarding any of your needs. He will respond to each request personally, and if need be refer you to one of our other pastors.

Click to visit and join the new group The Virtual Pew, at MySpace. Become a part of a different kind of Christian group, check out the page for more information,all welcome, including those who are not followers of Jesus.

Click to visit the Virtual Pew Website and become a part of that ministry.

Click to subscribe to my blog

Click to visit and join our sister group at MySpace Hollywood Jesus.

Click to visit Mary Jane Furches' new MySpace Page

Now for those that do not know, make sure you check out the numerous articles and blogs by checking out the archives. If visiting The Virtual Pew or MySpace they are archived on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down to where you see newer or older listed under archives and then click there. There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free e-book pre edit version of The Keystone Kid at mike@thevirtualpew.comYou can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ and on the front page down on the left side you sill see our store. Your purchase provides needed funds to The Virtual Pew. If you do not see something to purchase you can click on the search engine, (do not put anything in the search box at this time). You will be taken to Amazon where you can search for anything you desire. Hopefully you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.

Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word.Here is our contact information

The Virtual Pew
P.O. Box 17731
Wichita, KS 67217

Click on the following links to learn more about The Virtual Pew

Donations to The Virtual Pew

http://www.furches.org/donations/index.html

The Virtual Pew

The Virtual Pew Blog

Personal Furches Web Site

Mary Jane Furches MySpace Page

Mike Furches MySpace Page

Mike Furches MySpace Blog

Hollywood Jesus

Reviews With Mike

The Virtual Pew Sermons

The Virtual Pew News

MySpace Hollywood Jesus Group

MySpace The Virtual Pew Group

The Virtual Pew Live Radio Web Page

To Subscribe to The Virtual Pew Live Feed

Phone Number to Call During The Virtual Pew Live Show, (Please never call prior to the start of the show) - (646) 716-8587

Phone Number to Call During The HJ Live Show, (Please never call prior to the start of the show) - (646) 716-8853

To Subscribe to The Virtual Pew Live Feed -http://www.blogtalkradio.com/feeds/thevirtualpew

To Subscribe to HJ Live Live Feed –http://www.blogtalkradio.com/feeds/hollywoodjesus

Saturday, August 15, 2009

District 9

On the tails of one of the worst movies of the summer, and one of the worst science fiction films I have seen in years comes a breath of fresh air. Simply put, District 9 gobbles up and blows to bits the lack luster film GI Joe. For those daring to see the two films, you will see unfortunately what science fiction has become in GI Joe, and what it used to be in all of its amazing glory in District 9. This film directed by Neill Blomkamp, reflects on his childhood in South Africa. District 9 gives a reminder of the horror from the years of Apartheid, but a haunting revelation that the actions of prejudice, hatred, and lack of compassion still exist.

Since I am into comparisons today, I will discuss the concept of special effects. It seems as if many movies are driven on visual, especially CGI special effects. Unfortunately in many of those stories we loose the concept of story; it is as if what we are seeing on screen has as much nutritional benefit as a candy bar from the grocery store line. Yet somewhere, even though we enjoy the candy, we know there is a gourmet meal awaiting us that would cause us to reflect on the great Julia Childs. District 9 is such a film, we may enjoy the candy, may even prefer the candy, but once we bite into that wonderful full course meal we like to stay seated around the table because not only has the food been exquisite, but the time, company and surroundings have been life touching. That is what we can obtain from District 9. For many, they may not like a full course meal as much as a snickers bar, but the truth is, we all know the well balanced meal is better for us.

District 9 never forgets the concept of what it is, even with its unique presentation. The movie starts off in what appears to be a documentary, following the lines of many recent films such as Quarantine, The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, and others. Yet it transforms quickly from what appears to be a news broadcast to a full blown motion picture that flows and draws the viewer in, in epic proportions. The largely unknown cast helps bring this perspective to a point of reality. While there are more than enough gross out moments of blood, gore, and brutality, that helps drive home the horror of oppression. We also see aliens, referred to as Prawns in all their glory, in all their oppression. I won’t tell you what role they take, but what I will say is don’t go into the film expecting some lackluster CGI driven effect movie without story, without intent to challenge your brain to think outside the box.

Technically District 9 is near perfect. From the direction of Blomkamp, the use of sound, visual cinematography, a haunting concept, and brilliant acting from a cast, many of whom have never acted. This includes the leading role of Wikus played brilliantly by Sharlto Copley takes on everything in this movie. He plays the part of an insecure happy go lucky guy recently promoted on his job to oversee the transfer of District 9 a refugee camp for aliens who arrived some 20 years earlier to a place outside of the Johannesburg City Limits. We see him go through every gambit of emotion and ultimately develop to a sort of super hero figure while all along the way displaying deep human emotion. We see this character, this movie; develop along the way of this fascinating 2 hour film.

One of the beautiful things about District 9 is we see a character change, a character who ultimately becomes both human and alien. He ultimately has the ability to bring about change and instead of running from his responsibility to redeem the poor, stand up for the unjust, and be an instrument of salvation; he takes on the challenge, but at a great cost. We see displayed on screen a true Messiah Figure which will bring about deliverance in the manner of Jesus Christ. In that process we see the importance and reminder for each of us; we see the attempt to provide salvation, a transfiguration and a deliverer to the poor. I don’t know the intent of Blomkamp in his writing and direction of District 9, but there are ample spiritual reminders that seem to resemble awful closely the historical figure of Jesus Christ. What we see is bloody, violent, and heartbreaking, so don’t think this is your average Sunday school savior portrayed on screen, it isn’t, but it is a character many correlations can be drawn from. It is one of the beautiful aspects of quality and real science fiction, it draws from real experience and real knowledge to draw spiritual truth, whether the oppression to the poor, or the need to stand up and speak out against atrocities that plague society, unjust governments, overly aggressive militaries or any other form of atrocity you can think of that exists in society.

District 9 is a special kind of film. It respects the origins of its style, involves the best of all worlds, including special effects, quality acting, and thank goodness, a great story. I will see this film again, likely in the theaters to experience again, one of the closest things to a perfect film this summer. I hope the movie brings people back to a point of reality, it is a prime example of how a movie can incorporate entertainment, special effects, and more while at the same time provide meaning to the movie going experience. This is easily one of the best movies of the summer, it is certainly an early Oscar© contender for 2010. I only hope fans give it a chance, with the entertaining marketing campaign for the movie I think they will get them into the seats early on, the reviews and word of mouth hopefully keep it beyond that. District 9 is a great film, addressing serious issues during a time where we could use the reminders of all that is going on around us, from aggressive politicians who care little about the people, to a society ignoring the needs of the poor, including those in need of health care, and a society where we justify the doing of harm to others based on our own individual needs which bring pleasure to us. District 9 will take you beyond a I don’t give a damn attitude, to a place where maybe, just maybe, we can consider which side of the fence we stand on, a me versus them attitude or a place where we consider taking on the concepts of God in all religions to care for the poor and less fortunate amongst us. Of course in a society where individuals have become God which can establish their own set of guidelines, we run into the risk of seeing the danger of doing nothing. I can only hope and pray that the society we largely see in District 9 is not a true representation of who we are.

In a closing note, today I don’t have a lot of hope as I see a community of people in Wichita Kansas opposing the development of a new center in Wichita to feed the homeless. It seems as if they would rather have the liquor stores in their communities and have nothing to do with helping the poor by the establishment of an additional feeding program for the homeless because it will make their neighborhood look bad. I guess we all live in our own Johannesburg’s we all have a part of an Apartheid system where we can stand around and do nothing. May God help us all!

On a scale of 1 – 10 for the near perfection I give a very enthusiastic 9 for Disctrict 9.

The following is the original short film that District 9 was based on. Click on the link below if the video don't appear below, if the video appears, click on the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlgtbEdqVsk