Reviews With Mike Furches: February 2010

Friday, February 26, 2010

Crazy Heart

On a rare occasion one gets the opportunity to see a movie that takes us beyond the point of imagination to the point of reality. Crazy Heart was just the gem that recently accomplished this for me. It was on a Valentines Day date that I decided to be a little crazy and take my wife to a movie that I had wanted to see. It was a movie that stars an acting tour de force that we both appreciated, and a musical force I have appreciated for some time. Crazy Heart stars in his Academy Award nominated role for Best Actor Jeff Bridges for his portrayal of Bad Blake. It also features the wonderful talent of Maggie Gyllenhall as his love interest Jean Craddock, and in supporting roles two favorites, Robert Duvall as Wayne and Colin Farrell as Tommy Sweet.

Crazy Heart is the story of long time Country, Americana singer Bad Blake who has inspired many with his music. He has lived a life dedicated to music and in the process of that life has let his family, his life, and ultimately his music suffer and stagnate. He depends on the hits of his past to make it by, from bar to bar, experience to experience, and from bottle to bottle. His addiction to the bottle and alcohol has become his best and only friend until he meets up on a tour of dumps and dives the relative of a piano player who happens to be a reporter. She is looking for a story on the relationship of Bad Blake and the star he helped get started, Tommy Sweet. In the process, Bad develops a relationship with Maggie and her son, and begins a comeback journey where he not only discovers himself, but the reality of his experiences and the effects on his life.

Crazy Heart is a beautifully filmed, brilliantly acted, and mesmerizing story filled with some of the best music to come along in a very long time. The musical direction provided by T Bone Burnett is brilliant. I personally have some friends that have worked with T Bone in the past so I have been a long time fan, but to take away from the value of the music in this story would be to miss the entire story itself, for it is in the music that Bad begins to discover himself and the music drives the story from both a visual and thought perspective for the viewer, as we hear the songs, we can feel, and know what Blake has and is going through.

T Bone Burnett is a Christian who does not wear his faith on his sleeve, that spiritual component of the film is not lost in the morality lessons presented in this movie. Jeff Bridges, in what could be the role of his life plays brilliantly the conflict in the character of Bad Blake. We see the importance of relationships, and the danger that can occur from driving those individuals away. We see the real struggle of alcoholism presented on the screen as well as anything in the last few years. We see individuals trying to escape from their past and hide their sorrows in the bottom of a bottle. Bridges presents the most memorable character I have seen this last year. He lives and breathes the character. He also does a great job at actually performing and singing the songs of Bad Blake.

In Crazy Heart we also see the value of love and second chances. Maggie played absolutely beautifully by Maggie Gyllenhall is a character that has had her own heartbreak. She is reluctant to place herself in a relationship where she will be hurt. While she doesn’t fully understand her own actions and their impact on the life of her son, she does understand the importance of having a good role model for him. As a result of the relationship that develops between her and Bad Blake they begin to pull each other out of the bad experiences of their past.

In one sequence we see Wayne, (Robert Duvall) and Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) out fishing. Wayne tells Bad, that we can’t always focus on the mistakes of our past, when we make the effort to do right; at that moment we have made the effort to improve our lives for the now and future. As we see in the development of the story, this doesn’t mean that everything one has done wrong is suddenly better, there is and always will be consequences for our actions. Those consequences don’t change, there is still the payment for our sins in some ways, because people, situations, circumstances are still impacted and we can’t always change those things. There is forgiveness, life and potential in taking that change and effort we make and moving forward. What we can have is a hope for the future which will help us either deal with, or forget the mistakes of the past. In this regard, there are not only lessons for Blake and Maggie; we as the viewer realize there is potential for change and hope for us. We have to realize though, it all starts with love, and ultimately dealing with the mistakes we have made. There is a powerful lesson here for people of faith. No matter what our faith, we have to be willing to admit, and change our mistakes and faults, we have to also be willing to seek forgiveness, yet in that process understand, while our lives will be better, there are no guarantees our situations will be better.

I have been asked, does Crazy Heart end good or bad, happy or sad? My response is two fold, first I never tell those kinds of things, I hate it for me, and I refuse to do it to others, no matter what they think. Then I say something else, it ends as it begins, as a thing of beauty that is real. That is the most impressive concept of the movie to me; it is simply real, from the music, to the effects of alcoholism, to the complexity of relationship. Crazy Heart is Crazy Beautiful.

While Crazy Heart could have been nominated for more awards in my opinion, it is a likely contender in the three areas it is nominated for, in fact, I have seen no movie that has as compelling nominees as the three for Crazy Heart, Best Actor, Jeff Bridges, Best Supporting Actress Maggie Gyllenhall, and Best Achievement in Music, Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett.

On a scale of 1 – 10, take those three award nominations, multiply them by 3; you have a very worthwhile and real 9.

To view the video, simply click on the video. If the video don't appear, click on the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0349E7kFEM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ1IxgjSLrM

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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.

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Friday, February 12, 2010

Michael Jackson's, This Is It

What I am going to say is going to surprise a number of people, heck Ill be honest, it surprised me, but here goes: I recently saw the most spiritual film I have seen in some time on DVD, it wasn’t just one of the most spiritual films I have seen in the last year, it is one of the most spiritual films I have ever seen. Are you ready for this; it was Michael Jackson’s, This Is It!

Now don’t get me wrong, I was never what I would call a huge fan of Michael Jackson. I liked him, I grew up with him, I was as taken in as most everyone else with the ‘bizarreness’ of Michael Jackson but as a student of psychology, as a musician who has been blessed to work with some phenomenal bands, I sort of understood why he was the way he was. This man from the time of a small child had a lifestyle thrust on him that very few people have ever understood. Even the so called King of Rock, Elvis Presley had somewhat of a normal childhood. Michael Jackson from a very young age never knew the reality of a childhood we could relate to and the danger to the development of ones personality is not lost on me. It is also certain, the perfectionist driving attitude of his father had some impact on him, not only psychologically, but in the music and life he lived.

Many critics of Michael Jackson will want to delve into his past, the accusations, of which he was acquitted of. I will simply state my opinion here, this discussion isn’t the job of a reviewer, maybe the job of someone in the judicial system or news press, but while we may all have opinions, this movie don’t address those issues, and I for one am glad it doesn’t, to have done otherwise would have us focus on various things, mainly speculation. I am going to comment on is the movie.

First, a pet peeve of mine, the review of a DVD needs to be done on the DVD. I go to the theater and stay until the end of the credits because I owe the people who read my reviews that courtesy of reviewing the entire movie. I try to research the movie, and share my open and honest opinion of the movie. Regarding DVD’s I realize, people work hard to get the money they have to either rent, or purchase a DVD. I want to know when I read a review, is the product worth the purchase? What is different than the theatrical version of the film, (unless a direct to DVD release) and I will admit it, as a film lover, as a DVD lover, I want to know about things like Easter Eggs and Special Features, why, because that is one of the very purposes for many to buy the DVD. I suspect that the overwhelming majority of people who purchase DVD’s are purchasing a movie they have already seen.

Now as to this particular DVD, while there will always be a loss of vibrancy in the transfer from the Digital Big Screen Version to the small screen version I think the transfer and vibrancy here hold up tremendously well. In fact, if you didn’t see the digital version in the Theater, you may find that the Blu-Ray, or HDTV version is even better than the screen you saw it on. I was extremely impressed with the video quality. The sound quality was also exceptional and as good as any DVD transfer of a live performance (albeit a rehearsal performance) I have seen. From the packaging, to the quality of the product, this DVD oozes with exceptional quality. The DVD also features some wonderful special features including two documentaries, the making of, and much more. It is a joy to see a DVD release that provides this, and for the fans of the movie, the special features alone will make this purchase worth while. I especially enjoyed the Memories of Michael feature that shows the impact he had on others. While one may not have the feelings towards Michael these individuals do, there is no doubt, he had a lasting impact on those he came into contact with.

For those who have been in a coma for the last months, This Is It is a movie that was put together rather quickly after Michael Jackson’s death. Jackson always filmed his practice sessions to review later on, and while I seriously had skepticism as to if this could be done in a professional way or if it was just a scheme to make money I was pleasantly surprised. This is a quality movie that tells a compelling story. This Is It is more than just a rehearsal practice of his concert tour that was to be, it is an exploration of the impact he had on the lives of others, while at the same time touching on his own drive for perfection. It also explores what goes into making a quality live concert performance, from lighting to sound, to rehearsals, to working with the band and beyond, including what would have been an incredible 3-D live version of the hit video Thriller. Unfortunately we won’t get to see this tour which may have been one of the best live performances ever given, from the staging to the production, I have seen nothing that comes even close, not even U2 a band I greatly love and appreciate or Pink who has a fabulous live show.

Some may ask why this film was so spiritual for me. It is quite simple, in a world filled with mediocrity, especially within the Christian subculture, I was blessed (I seldom ever use that word) to see an example of someone who took their life, their gifts so seriously. To see that person then want to share those gifts with others around them was an inspiration to the very purpose of what gifts are for, not to be kept to ourselves, but to be shared with others. We receive the gifts and talents, and then it is our responsibility to share those things. I doubt few entertainers, or public celebrities did this as well as Michael Jackson. We see examples where the stage manager for Jackson would give suggestions, but it is very clear, the single person responsible for Michael Jackson’s performances, his music, his dance, production and more was Michael Jackson. No one controlled the man, but the man found an incredible way to exhibit his opinions, listen to others, and give correction to others in a loving, non threatening way. What a great example for even some one like me who doubles as a pastor.

I could give accolade, after accolade for This Is It, and prior to the movie, while I liked Michael Jackson’s music I wasn’t really what I would call a fan. I am now though. It is sad now because we no longer have Michael with us outside of the footage and the music. While that is something, I see things like this and my heart breaks that so many in society either didn’t understand or didn’t give a chance to this real live, human being, who had issues, but instead of trying to understand those issues we were so quick to throw stones. Of course I would say that few of us will ever delve into perfection, into quality in order to share with others in the way Michael Jackson did. We can look at that in a variety of ways, but for me, I hope I can recall this movie when I think about taking shortcuts. When I think about throwing out a review instead of thoroughly taking seriously my readers, may God forgive me. When I think of doing anything half way as to give credit to myself instead of respecting those around me and giving them my best, may God forgive me. What do I think about Michael Jackson today, actually quite simple, I thank God for giving me a reminder, no matter how imperfect he was, for showing me what it means to take my craft, and the hearts of those that craft is created for more seriously. May we all learn lessons for that.

On a scale of 1 – 10, for the number of letters in the word brilliance, I give a very deserving and blessed 10

To see the following, just click on the video, if the video don’t appear, click on the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3au3dTn9Fo

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

The Edge of Darkness

Sometimes you see a movie trailer and you think immediately of another movie. Such was the case when I first saw the trailer for the new Mel Gibson movie, Edge of Darkness. A tough older man has tragedy strike his family, specifically his daughter, and a revenge mission of getting even ensues. Sound familiar? For me it did, it sounded an awful lot like the Liam Neeson movie, Taken. Taken was an on the edge of your seat two hour thrill ride. It was with that premise I thought, this may be a fun movie so I decided to see it on opening night. What I was to find out was that while there are similarities between these two movies, there is also a world of difference, not in a bad way, but it is just the way it is.

In Edge of Darkness we see an aging Boston homicide police officer Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) forced to investigate a tragic death that hits far to close to home. The investigation forces him to face the hard realities of his life as a police officer and a father. Instead of the action like one may be expecting from the movie trailers, what we have is action driven by dialog and story. Virtually all of the high octane action sequences are seen in the trailer with the movie offering nothing new. We see Gibson resort to a character driven plot that resembles more of a John Grisham novel than action movie. Edge of Darkness based on a popular BBC mini series tries to force the plot of a several hour mini series into a 2 hour movie.

While the direction, acting and cinematography are all adequate, for many, this movie will fall short. For those liking intense drama, mystery, and espionage you will find yourself enjoying the film for what it is. Gibson does a credible job, although not his best work as an actor and beautiful Bojana Novakovic does a good job as Craven’s daughter, Emma who also has a past and involvement that challenges Craven in the investigation of his life. The struggle, that need for discovery drives much of the drama that moves the film along. We see other characters such as the mysterious Jedburgh played beautifully by Ray Winstone. Winstone steals virtually every scene he is in, unfortunately, we don’t know much about him and that is one of the prevailing problems with the movie, there are just far too many characters we know so little about.

There are attempts to draw in spiritual parallels with most of the characters, including for most, the question of life after death. In these questions we see the development of some of the characters. While some will challenge the movie questions the eternal, even brining up the potential of ghosts, I challenge that inner struggle of not knowing, of desiring to do more while you are alive is really what is at question in Edge of Darkness. There is the concept presented that living near the edge of darkness may be necessary to ultimately being able to walk into the light at death which many relate to entering Heaven. In The Edge of Darkness, the concept of death and life beyond death is a prevailing theme. Questions abound such as; are we doing our best, doing what is right in order to ultimately move into the light? There has to be love of family, the desire to serve and care for others and ultimately being a part of fighting for justice, even at the cost of ultimate sacrifice. While we see the characters in the film do simple things like pray, wear prominent displays of crosses, we don’t see an overtly preachy film, and in fact, we wonder to some extent about what appears to be a lack of faith among the characters and the search for meaning and purpose in others. What we do see though are characters willing to sacrificially live out their beliefs.

The Edge of Darkness is a good film, but not a great film. It will find its niche if the word of mouth of those expecting a high action thriller don’t ruin the potential of others in wanting to see the film. It is unfortunately a situation where the trailers may hurt the film more than help it. While there will be that initial rush for those that expect something like Taken, there will be a great deal of disappointment if that is the expectation of those buying the tickets. Gibson does a credible job and there are memorable scenes. It just isn’t what most will expect and will unfortunately suffer due to the marketing efforts of the movie.

I am not disappointed I saw this film, but on a scale of 1 – 10 I can’t say it is really worth the $10 it cost for a ticket, now $6, maybe. So on a cost factor I give it an okay, but not great 6.

To see the trailer for The Edge of Darkness click on the video below, if the video don't appear, click on the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvRdGKxsmD8

Mel Gibson talks about the movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riefhsbkYPI

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The Waltons Movie Collection

In May of last year I had the honor of reviewing one of my favorite television shows of all time, The Waltons, Season 9. While I was somewhat disappointed with the DVD series from Season 9, due to the lack of special features, I still believe the series is worth watching. I could say many of the same things about the new DVD boxed set, The Waltons Movie Collection. While there are those disappointments there is also much to appreciate.

The Waltons Movie Collection covers 6 television movies from the series, ranging from 1982 – 1997. One of the really enjoyable things about the boxed set is we get to see sequences featuring all of the cast, including original cast with Michael Learned, (Olivia/Mother), Richard Thomas (John Boy), both characters that were either not in later seasons or were played by other actors as in the case of John Boy where the character was played by Robert Wightman. There is something about the characters I especially appreciated from this movie set, one is the incorporation of old footage and allusion to Grandpa, played by Will Geer who had died early in the series, and the inclusion of Grandma, played beautifully by Ellen Corby. Corby suffered a stroke in 1977 and was greatly limited in episodes afterwards, especially so in the movies, that said, I can’t help but notice the brilliance of this actress when she is on screen. I loved every moment of it.

Odds are, most people interested in this movie collection already know about the series. One of the most acclaimed, loved television series of all time, The Waltons are a Virginia family filled with love and what some may call ‘old fashioned’ values. The exploits follow the family from The Great Depression through World War 2 and into the 1960’s and beyond. This longstanding series featured the exploits of this family in a little mountain town.

In looking back on this set of television movies, I can’t help but notice the dating of the series created by Earl Hammer, (of which the John Boy character is based) It resembles a lot of television of the day, and unfortunately shows the progress that television has made over the years, from the acting, to set design, direction, special effects and beyond. What the new television shows don’t represent nearly as well is the classic storytelling and values presented in The Waltons. It caused me to ponder for this review as to what really were “the good ol’ days.”

Some assume the ‘good ol days’ are a representation of the time, yet, after review of the films, I see something different. In this DVD set and the original television series there is the concept of families staying together and having a deep love, and appreciation for each other. Now a days, we even see commercials understanding the influence of this series in the traditional good night comments included at the conclusion of each episode of The Waltons. We see other things though, like the prayers the family says at each meal, the importance of church, even encouraged by those not attending church on a regular basis, yet all of the characters value and respect those ‘traditional’ beliefs. When looking at The Waltons what we have isn’t much different than the ideals presented in the musical Fiddler on the Roof.

There was something else presented in The Waltons and is beautifully illustrated here, much better than the DVD Series 9. The Movie collection shows the respect given to people in authority, especially family. We see the conflict that comes about as children grow older, especially in the characters of Ben and his Father John Walton Sr. We also see this in the attitudes of others, not only each other, but their parents, friends and others. These growing-up events are one of the things that make The Waltons Movie Collection work. We see enough of a continuation in the movies that we see the grown up years of the children seen in the television series. We see the impact of how they were raised and the influences of the adults on their childhood.

The story presented over the years in this movie collection is one of the things that help us understand the incredible longevity of the series. While I am still disappointed in the non existent special features which would be so easily added, I love this collection. Most of which are centered on the holidays when family is so important. We see the family in their grown years, and the process of getting there. There are lessons that for me at least, cause me to reflect. Is it possible the respect once given to parents, to family, have been lost? In a world where more time is spent on a video game, and more time in the house instead of out of it, I wonder if we have lost something in regards to the importance of communication. I can’t help but believe the reason we long for programming like The Waltons in a world where we see too much ‘reality programming’ is because the reality we see portrayed on ‘reality television’ remind us of the negative of what we have become instead of the positive relationships we used to have? I don’t know the answers to all of this, I appreciate the convenience, I appreciate the technical advances, but I have to wonder, at what cost have these things come? In a series where we see families sit down to eat together, offering a prayer while holding hands, I don’t know if we can even comprehend it, after all, with dinner from a local fast food restaurant, eaten on the run while taking the kids to some kind of practice, I can’t help but think those things of convenience can be all that good.

Some think the ‘good ol days’ are something besides a simple faith with a respect and worship of God, and exhibition of loving each other. I don’t know; it seems The Waltons remind us it is exactly those things. I am reminded of the words of another who said that, Love God, Love Others! I just miss that message in today’s world, it seems like we hear more now about, Love Whoever, Love Me. Unfortunately, with that message, give me the good ol days presented in the DVD set, The Waltons Movie Collection.

With a retail price of $24.99 this is a set that is well worth the cost, pop some pop-corn, bring the family together, sit down and watch a few episodes. Then why don’t you do something really unusual, talk about life then, as opposed to life now. I think that you may just be surprised at what the kids think they would rather have.

To see some clips from the series, just click on the video’s. If the video don’t appear, just click on the link:

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVzd6wLr0QA

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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.

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