The Wolf is the Lamb: Pulp Fiction's Saviour-type

"Redemption" is the grand theme of Pulp Fiction, and no discussion of Pulp Fiction's treatment of redemption (this being the 4th installment exploring the treatment) is complete without recognizing the saviour-type that Quentin Tarantino presents, who is none other than Winston Wolf.

I fully appreciate that some people might be uncomfortable with the idea of using gangster stories to portray Jesus or aspects of the salvation relationship; or, if that's not what Tarantino intended, then they might be uncomfortable with my interpreting the movie in this manner. 

I wouldn't presume to challenge you by saying "hey, what did you expect from DRD's Movie Musings? This ain't yo' mamma's prayer meeting"(although, by saying I won't say it, I just did, didn't I?) 

But, I will challenge you to read on, and then you tell us what you think.

Do spoilers spoil films?

 

Apparently, a study out of the University of California at San Diego suggests that "spoilers" may actually enhance the viewing experience, according to a recent Reuters article.
Ummm, yeah no.

We recognize some merit in the findings of the study, but will maintain that a first-time viewing experience should be the way the writer intended, which is allowing the story to unfold itself and discovering the twists when presented within the crafted story.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes: The Re-Launch of an age ol' classic

I mentioned before to the fair number of us "film fans" who follow this and other movie blogs, that there was one specific film I was looking forward to see this summer of 2011. 


As I predicted, I was not disappointed.

The Avengers - 5 films later, it all comes down to this

Well, since it’s been hinted at since the first Ironman movie, might as well address it.

The upcoming Avengers film, though not out till next summer, already has a huge buzz for fans for a little over 6 years now. Technically the anticipation for this film (according to some of the more diehard comic fans) has been much longer, though never truly realized until that extended ending trailer in the first Ironman movie. Since then, we have seen more hints and clips of the same sort throughout many other Marvel based films, like Ironman 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and most recently with the Captain America movie that just got released (Good film btw). And with all of the films now done and released, there’s only one thing left to do…Avengers assemble!!

Soul Surfer and the aftermath

We went out as a family to see Soul Surfer and I was pleasantly surprised by the manner in which it depicted a true story about a person who happens to have lost her arm to a shark...and happens to be a Christian. Her name is Bethany Hamilton.

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon (Looks like Mike got it right!)

{EAV_BLOG_VER:cce89a16ef0e9901} [ignore, but don't remove, this EA tag, thx]

When heard of this upcoming 3rd film, I wasn't sure how it would go, considering how the 2ND film for this franchise was a bit...off.

Then the early reviews came in from the critics. They were iffish to plausible in the rating for the film. Which of course made me skeptical of it.

But then I what alot of the general movie goers said about it after it premiered. Nearly all of them gave the film very positive reviews. Particularly the ones that grew up with the cartoon back int he 80's like myself. So for me, this was an unusual situation. The usual critics were indifferent towards the film, but the fans loved it. Hmmm.. Well you know me, even with off or iffish reviews, if it's a film I have a feel for I will go see it for myself, regardless of critical reviews.

Well let me say that this film is a vast improvement from the 2ND Transformers. Mainly because of 2 things:

Devil

It's been a long time. I'd given up on him, but M. Night Shyamalan finally did something worthy of his earliest successes.

Harry Potter for Christians: Plausible? or Just really Wrong?

I have to admit, part of this topic I feel strongly about, while the other, I’m a little conflicted.

In regard to the Harry Potter series of films and the novels they are based on, I do admit, not ever reading any of the books themselves (Yeah an avid reader myself, never taking the time to reading this series oh the irony!). However I will also admit to have seen just about every Harry Potter film that has been made so far, and I have to admit, what I’ve seen is quite good. I have at times heard from various people (usually from old school Christians), that looking at movies both in general and wizardry/magic based fantasy films are not only taboo, but are a steps into witchcraft and devil worship. Yes, for most of them, those are the exact words I’ve been told when mentioning I’m going to check out *blank* movie in the theatre. (Just ask a few of the other posters here, I’m sure they’ve heard just as bad if not worse). 

Clearly this type of thinking about films has been going around for many Christians for some time now. Just look at my “Film Limitations or Limiting Imagination” article about that.

X-men: First Class - A Class Act Movie indeed!

Well it’s been a while, sorry of that. With spring in full swing and summer just around the corner, I’m been busy with other projects as well as the usual day-to-day living.

Speaking of the spring/summer, the line up of movies for 2011 is proving to be a pretty lively one. There are several films I would (and most likely will) see before this year is up, one of which I saw with my significant other just a few days ago, X-Men First Class. 

Villians: The "necessary evil" for the Hero archetype?

In all honestly I’ve wanted to come back to these movie archetypes discussions for a bit of a while, just to balance out the discussions with the hero genres. It seemed only fair to do a focus towards the antagonists as well, since they are an equal and necessary part of storytelling, especially in movies.

Think about it, just how far and how good a film would be without the right type of villain or foe to show the endurance of the characters, the characterization of the antagonist, in comparison to the protagonist, and the storyline itself? In my opinion, probably not that far or that great.

Now I know I mentioned this before, but just to set the record straight once again this is not me glamorizing evil or its ideology, etc. This is just a discussion on the role of the antagonist in storytelling, and more specifically why we have them.

Prequels to Sequels... Yay or Nay?

In case any of you were wondering, here was the situation that brought me to this particular topic. I was out with two friends of mine not long ago and as usual our conversation eventually shifted towards media, and movies. We were all anticipating (and that the same time loathing) this year’s lineup for spring/summer seasons. At some point tin the conversation, one of us pointed out that lately, certain genres of movies have been over saturated within the last several years or so. In this case superhero type films, such as the X-Men based movies. With the X-men, there have been at least 4 affiliated films, in the past 10 years, with a 5th one “X-men: First Class” out this spring, and apparently 4 more confirmed titles out within the next 7 years or so. Yikes…

Sucker Punch, visual eye-candy with no substance, or something more?

Well, I guess with a movie this questionable yet visual, it was inevitable that someone to a review on it. And I guess that someone will be me…lol.

Some have said Sucker Punch is simply over-stimulated eye candy (in more ways than one) in a 120min extended fanboy commercial. Other say it’s a new rendition of GG live version of a anime, or a videogame. While even a few have compared its female empowerment ala fem fatale-ness approach is reminiscent to films like La Femme Nikita or Thelma and Louise. For myself, well…it’s hard to sum up a film like this, but I can try to put my two cents into what I felt about it.

The Soloist and the dignity of non-judgment

 

The Soloist, based on a true story, shines a heart-warming ray of light into squalor, blight and hopelessness.

The backdrop is Los Angeles, which ultimately serves as a metaphor for the human condition, and it's depressing. 

Throughout the film we are shown alternating images and vistas of beauty and ugliness, order and chaos, light and darkness: in one scene, the camera pans upwards from the literal underbelly of streets where the homeless Mr. Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (played by Jamie Foxx) lives to the bright shiny streets of downtown Los Angeles where Times writer Steve Lopez (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) works. There are plenty of more visually disturbing scenes to offset the bright, sunny beautiful scenes worth seeing almost for their own sake. But the screenplay is not the driving force of this movie. The driving force of this movie is, absolutely, the story - no car chase, no explosions, no '"big reveal" twist ending...just a heartwarming story.

Fustration with Hollywood..Plus other movie Pet Pevees:

I originally wanted to get back to the ongoing topics regarding hero/villain archetypes, (continuing with looking at the villain side of things so to speak), however I was compelled to get this topic out first. Ever notice that in many films (and TV series) both in the past and current that deal with or take place in history (fictional or otherwise) during ancient Rome, Greece, Norse, Israel, Persia, and even Egypt, more often than not, the actors always speak in strong proper English and/or Scottish accents? I mean I’m pretty sure the English language was not even in existence when the era of when these films are depicting. Yes I’m aware that it’s for the benefit for the audience and all, but way always that accent?