Sunday Best: 4th of July Movie

    (repost)

On this weekend before Independence Day, I thought we'd take a moment to look at movies that instill in us a sense of patriotism.

Right now, there is a great deal of strife that divides us.  But we are Americans and united we stand, divided we fall.  No nation is without sin.  But Independence Day should be a time to focus on what brings us all together and the ideals to which we strive.

These films are not necessarily about valor on the battlefield.  They are movies that remind us of American exceptionalism and how we live in the greatest country in the history of the world.


Captain America: The First Avenger

Some say that this movie is cheesy.  I say it captures a less cynical time in our culture.  Steve Rogers is the perfect embodiment of America.  He doesn't see himself as above anyone (I'm just a kid from Brooklyn), he always seeks to do more, and he lays down his life for the freedom of others.  I still get excited when I hear that Captain America theme as he and the soldiers he rescues come over the hill.


1776

Yes, there are a lot of fictionalized characterizations in this musical.  But you will be struck by the vision and genius of our founding fathers and how they put into words the necessity of a new nation.

Hamilton

While this story goes beyond our fight for Independence, the first act shows us how integral the ideals of freedom were to our founding fathers.  These men shaped not only their times, but ours as well.  Seen through the life of Alexander Hamilton, we can see so many facets of this flawed but brilliant man's life and how each our stories help shape history.

Glory

There are some movies that seem more patriotic than they are (Rocky IV) and there are others that are more patriotic than they seem.  Glory is the latter.  It seems like its about how horribly treated the first black regiment in the Union army was treated.  There is even a long dialogue about one of the main characters is so disgusted with America that he doesn't want to carry the flag.  But all of that is overwhelmed by watching the flag raised and rally the soldiers to battle.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

There is a lot of genius in this film.  Some look at it as too simplistic.  But watch it again and you will see the corruption and cynicism surrounding Jefferson Smith, even by his "friends."  And yet this movie is about standing up for what is right and making a difference and show what real statesmanship looks like.

American Sniper

Not only is this a harrowing account of war and valor, but it is a movie that will remind you that in the modern age, America is still a country worth fighting for.  Though we have our problems and our soldiers are not saints, there is an unsleeping evil in the world from which we are only protected by our soldiers.  It is a reminder that we have a debt to those who fight to keep us safe.

Apollo 13

I can understand people being cynical about the moon race in retrospect.  And just when that cynicism was sinking in, NASA had to deal with their greatest space crisis.  It is a movie about American ingenuity, determination, and ambition.  It will make you feel pride in what we are able to do.

Stripes
(TV version edited for content)

I dare anyone to listen to that theme and not feel more American.  Yes, in the post-Vietnam era there is a lot of humor directed at the military, but ultimately the movie is a love letter to our soldiers.  And I love Bill Murray's amazing performance as he delivers his "America" speech.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

This movie makes you appreciate the safety and freedom we enjoy in America and appreciate them those who put themselves into harm's way for

Hacksaw Ridge



One of the great things about this movie is the unquestioning patriotism of its characters.  Desmond Doss does not deny the righteousness of his country's cause.  And he wants to serve as best as his conscience will allow him.  Mel Gibson does a fantastic job of showing the horror of war without any romance or glamour while at the same time showing the soldiers with all of their righteousness and valor.  It also has a great intersection of faith an patriotism that doesn't equate the two but shows how each can benefit from the other.

Lincoln

I dare anyone to watch this movie and not be in awe of this great man.  Here we see the battle over slavery fought not only on the battlefield and in the political arena, but in the hearts and minds of men and women.  This is one of Spielberg's best movie in years with a performance by Daniel Day-Lewis that is for the ages.  There is something so quintessentially American about how Lincoln is portrayed.  There is no attempt to deconstruct him, but the is show with all of his flaws.  And through this, he pushes against seemingly impossible odds to remind us that in this land of freedom and opportunity, we are called to guarantee the same to all of its people.  That is the promise of America.

Thoughts?

Film Flash: Supergirl (2026)

 

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

Critics are wrong!  An enjoyable antihero-to-hero story that I liked more than expected.

Film Review: Disclosure Day

 

Sexuality/Nudity Mature

Violence Acceptable

Vulgarity Acceptable

Anti-Catholic Philosophy Mature

I have said it before and I will say it again: Steven Spielberg is the greatest director of all time.  

But that doesn't mean that every movie he makes is good.

And that is the case with Disclosure Day.

The movie centers around two main characters.  The movie begins with Daniel Kellner (Josh O'Connor), a computer specialist who has stolen something valuable from a shady organization led by Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), who has kidnapped Daniel's girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson).  This leads to a chase through the country where Daniel constantly calls his leader Hugo (Colman Domingo) for instructions to stay one step ahead.  Meanwhile, TV weatherwoman Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) is having breakfast with her boyfriend Jackson (Wyatt Russell) when a cardinal flies into their apartment.  After that, she begins to display clairvoiant powers and is also pursued by Scanlon's people.  Eventually the two stories converge as it leads to a world-changing event.

On paper, this sounds like the makings of a fascinating film.  But the movie just falls short.  It wants to explore big ideas, but it does it in such a shallow way that it doesn't work.

The action of the script makes almost no sense.  Characters say and do things that follow no real logical reasoning, but are done simply to move the story forward.  It feels almost like Spielberg wanted to talk about the big themes and the plot was a kind of afterthought, a nuisance that had to be dealt with in order to talk about his "big ideas."  But that is the core problem of the film.

Even as a devout Christian, I usually detest Christian movies.  It is not because I disagree with the themes or content.  The problem is that they aren't really movies; they are sermons dressed up like they are narratives.  It is absolutely true that your movie's theme is ultimately what your story is about.  But if you preach your theme rather than embed it into the plot, then you've compromised your art.  And that is exactly what Spielberg does here with Disclosure Day.  It is a Christian movie, except that you should replace Christ with aliens.

It is difficult to discuss the movie's shortcomings without getting into spoiler territory, but I will do my best to be as vague as possible.  But be warned:

SPOILERS AHEAD.

The movie is ultimately about the disclosure to the world that aliens exist.  Spielberg wants this movie to be a mediation on what this kind of revelation would do to the world.  But he builds the entire story to this revelation and he makes the reaction so incredibly uninteresting.

He wants to explore what would happen to people with religious faith if they found out that aliens were real.  We find out early on that Jane used to be a novice religious sister.  Now before I move on, I have to voice something which is a horrible pet peeve of mine.  It explicitly states in the movie that Daniel and Jane are engaging in a sexual relationship outside of marriage, and yet Jane is set up to be the main voice of the religious perspective.  It reminds me of the movie Contact, where the main Christian antagonist has sex with the protagonist and is lying in bed with her afterwards talking about his faith in God.  I find this so distasteful and a slap in the face to real-life Christians.  To be sure, we are all sinners and we all fall short.  My objection is not that movies like this depict believers committing sin.  My problem is that it depicts believers embracing sin as a fully integrated into their lives and then presenting that as the example of Christian living.  But I digress.

Anyway, Jane is supposed to be the voice of the Christian, but her theology is so shallow that it is almost laughable.  She says that disclosing the aliens would be horrible because it would telling people who believe in God that there are other "Supreme Beings."  Again, I don't mean to theologically nitpick, but what the hell does this even mean?  Even in the realm of science fiction, this isn't really an issue. I never saw an episode where Kirk felt the need to worship Spock.  Just because a species is technologically more advanced than we are, it does not therefore make them "Supreme Beings."  God is the Supreme Being because He is That Which Nothing Greater Can Be Conceived.  Not a single one of the aliens presented in this movie comes anywhere close to that.  What Christian would think this way outside of this script?  To be fair, her former superior Sister Maura (Elizabeth Marvel) has a more mature take on Christianity and aliens, but it feels too little too late.

Because of this, Jane is able to be swayed by the influence of Scanlon's mind control device.  From this point on, she is nothing but a problem and adds nothing really to the story.  Again, this parallel to Christian movies is strong: because she lacks faith in the aliens, she is subject to demonic influence.  In fact, the entire movie is like that.  Daniel constantly contacts Hugo begging to be given shelter and protection, but is repeatedly told that it isn't the right time.  In other words, he has to have faith that the aliens know what they are doing.  

Whenever the story writes itself into a corner, a miracle occurs.  That is not an exaggeration.  Margaret's new powers give her prophetic visions and then channels the dead loved ones of the villains to save the day.  In another example of the Christian illteracy of the story, when Margaret ends up with the alien-friendly group, one of them genuflects in front of her and does the sign of the cross.  She then shouts, "I will not be anyone's religion!"  Again, what Christian would worship the creature rather than the Creator?  And if the point is that the worshipper is not a Christian because they are believing in the aliens, then why do the SIGN OF THE CROSS?

If I wanted to be really mean to the movie, I could make a long list of all the contrivances and inanities in the plot, all the way down to the fact that Jane ends up saving the day by literally just walking past the bad guys and handing something to Margaret.  It's like the movie forgot that she was being chased by the very people that are surrounding Margaret to prevent her from disclosing the aliens.

There are only a few things that prevent this movie from devolving into a total disaster.  The first is that when Spielberg actually decides to entertain rather than lecture, the movie does well.  There is an incredibly chase scene involving a train that feels like vintage Spielberg.  There is also a moment where Margaret turns the good guys invisible that is filmed with tension, humor, and fun in the way Spielberg could do in his Indiana Jones movies.

The other things is that the performances are generally good.  O'Connor plays the in-over-his-head everyman very well.  Blunt does a good job of showing the internal revolution in her mind as it plays out in the world around her.  Firth is decent as the bad guy, but there isn't a lot for him to work with. The same thing is true of Domingo, who is there to be a calm center of faith in the film.  He feels like a Spielberg self-insert, who is literally directing the events of movie.

Also, Spielberg had the chance to do the funniest things in the world, but chose not to.  At the end of the movie, we finally have one of the aliens revealed.  At first he is obscured by a covering, but then we see him fully.  If that alien turned out to be ET, I would have laughed so hard and that would have been worth the price of admission.  But no, the alien is as generic as can be.  And the resolution of the struggle against the antagonist is so odd, it is like nothing I have ever seen in a movie.  I literally turned to my wife in the theater and said, "That's it?"

Steven Spielberg decided to de-emphasize storytelling in order to emphasize his theme.  Because he does this, he fails at both.

Film Review: Masters of the Universe (2026)

 

Sexuality/Nudity Acceptable

Violence Acceptable

Vulgarity Acceptable

Anti-Catholic Philosophy Acceptable

Have you ever had a friend who tries to tell the group a joke that he thinks is really funny, but the joke bombs?  And then to make up for it, that same friend keeps telling jokes, hoping one of them will land, but things get more and more awkward?

That is the biggest problem with Masters of the Universe

The movie is based on the famous cartoon and toyline.  Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) has been sent to live in safety on Earth after the kingdom of his father Randor (James Purefoy) is conquered by the evil Skeletor (Jared Leto).  Adam has been living on Earth for a decade searching for the Sword of Power, which he lost on the journey.  Everyone thinks he is crazy.  But then his childhood friend Teela (Camila Mendes), daughter of the head of the King's Guard Duncan/Man-at-Arms (Idris Elba), comes to Earth to bring Adam back to Eternia.  All the while they are pursued by Skeletor's forces until Adam can release the power of the sword and become the hero of Eternia: He-Man.

As an action/adventure movie, Masters of the Universe is actually pretty good.  The fight scenes are fun to watch with big, bright, bold heroes versus villains.  While Eternia feels a little too filled with CGI, the production design on it is very good and nice to look at.  The story isn't trying to re-invent the wheel.  It is a by-the-numbers hero's journey.  And perhaps this is part of being a Gen-Xer, but I couldn't help but get excited when I recognized a character from my childhood come onto the big screen like they just stepped out of my memory.  I particularly like how they didn't really compromise the over-the-top style of the characters, but tried to incorporate as much of their wild appearances as possible.

The performances also generally good.  Galitzine is perfectly likeble as Adam and he becomes our POV character for the entire movie.  In the cartoon, He-Man is the actual person and Adam is a persona, but in the movie it is vice-versa.  Mendes has good chemistry with him and the two work off well against each other without her trying to overshadow or girlboss him.  Elba always brings charisma and gravitas to everything he does.  Even Leto does a good job as Skeletor, so much so that I would not have known that it was him if he wasn't credited (granted his face is all CGI, but the voice performance is unrecognizable).  The only performance that is off is Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn.  I take no pleasure in this, because Brie is a very talented comedic and dramatic actress.  But she plays Evil-Lyn like she's doing an SNL parody.  But that performance is not the big problem with the movie.

The big problem is the script.

The movie wants to be funnier than it is.

Masters of the Universe is filmed like an action/comedy.  To be clear, this is not like a typical Marvel movie where it is an action movie with a lot of humor.  No, this movie is filmed like an action movie that is also built for laughs like Dragnet or 21 Jump Street.  Nearly every single scene is written and directed with comedic intent.  Nearly every scene ends with a punchline.  I came to this realization in a scene where He-Man is awkwardly fighting Trap Jaw (Sam C. Wilson) on a bridge.  Every time He-Man got injured, it would cut to a reaction shot of Teela or Duncan winces for comedic effect as if to say "That's gotta hurt!"   In fact, in the entire film there may be only one or two scenes that allow actual heartfelt emotion to breathe, but then it quickly backs off the more serious tone.  

And that isn't to say that I am criticizing this movie because it chose to be comedic, like Masters of the Universe is some sacred story that cannot be mocked.  I am perfectly fine with this approach.  My problem is that the jokes are nearly as funny as they should be.

Humor is horribly subjective.  If the jokes land it can elevate the material.  I mentioned in my Mortal Kombat II review that every scene with Kano made me laugh out loud.  The humor of the film helped overcome most of its flaws to make me remember it fondly.  Masters of the Universe was a movie filled with jokes that only made me laugh a handful of time.  If the movie had less jokes or if the more of the jokes landed, this movie would score higher with me.  In fact, I think if you removed a lot of jokes, it would not only help the joke-to-laugh ratio, but it would cut down its 140 minute run time.  And this could be done easily.  There is one scene where the heroes are doing a cool slow motion walk through smoke set to Queen's "Princes of the Universe."  You could easily cut from this to the subsequent fight scene.  But the movie instead decided to insert a sight gag that went on too long without a strong payoff.

This isn't to say the script lacks cleverness.  One of the smartest thing the script does is explain the silly names of the heroes and villains as the young child Adam not knowing their real names and so coming up with nicknames like "Fisto" and "Ram Man."  

The movie also has some nice things to say about heroism, manhood, and violence.  Adam as a child feels like he is not able to live up to his father's expectations because he is not a strong warrior.  This lingers throughout the entire movie, so much so that He-Man becomes the fulfillment of this primal, boyish desire for strength.  But the movie explores this a little deeper.  This isn't an eschewing of traditional masculinity, but an examination of it.  Duncan at one points says to Adam, "When war breaks out, it's not the poets that step up.  It's the man with the muscle.  He's not doing it for glory. He's doing it so his children can see another morning.  That is a man, as far as I can tell.  He stands up when he is needed."  I thought that this was a fantastic encapsulation of the masculine genius.  As summed up in the movie Camelot: "Not 'might is right," but "might for right!'"  The culminates in the final confrontation with Skeletor where He-Man tries to find a non-violent solution, but understands that sometimes someone must stand fight until the end.

Despite the flaws, I enjoyed Masters of the Universe.  I only wish it didn't try so hard to be funny.  There is so much potential for this franchise going forward as long as they stop focusing on jokes and instead concentrate of sci-fi action.  It's in the latter where this movie has the power.

Sunday Best: Best Father's Day Movies (updated)

  

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there.

There so many movies about fathers and fatherhood. And not all of those movies have something good to say. 

But here are the top 25 movies for Father's Day

25. Life is Beautiful

One of the great things about the movie is the father here is not manly in the traditional sense, but he express the masculine traits of protective fatherhood in his own way.

24. Les Miserables (1998)

You can see here how peaceful and fulfilling fatherhood is, so that the words ring true at the end when Valjean says to Cosette "I stole something... I stole happiness with you. I don't mind paying."

23. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Great movie about the redemptive love of a son for the father

22. A Quiet Place

This movie does such a wonderful job of showing the primary difference between fathers and mothers, but not in an antagonistic or competitive way.  The father in this movie knows that his job is to do everything he can to make sure his kids can survive in a world that is dangerous.  He will do this even if they hate him for it and he will give everything to keep them safe.

21. Shadowlands

The movie reminds us that he most important thing about being a father, even in a blended family, is to simply to be there for your child especially in their grief

20. Road to Perdition

What do you do if your son is evil and hurting your life? What do you do if your father is evil but he is giving everything to protect you? As complex as those questions are, the last line of the movie sums up everything.

19. The Godfather

This is more of a model of what not to do as a father. I know most people see Vito is he good father and Michael as the bad one, but it should never be forgotten, no matter how much Vito loves his children, he sets them on the road to hell.

18. It's a Wonderful Life

A beautiful model of what a father does to provide, even if it means giving up his own dreams

17. Dan in Real Life

While not a model of fatherhood, Dan reflects the wonderful stresses of being a dad of 3 daughters

16. A Man For All Seasons

As his daughter begs him to compromise his conscience in order to be set free and be with her, St. Thomas More must refuse her because he knows that a good father must be a model of morality

15. Armageddon 

Harry Stamper behaves as a father to his daughter and to his entire crew. He takes things into his own hands because he knows that his responsibility as a dad means he has to be the one to step up

14. The Way

A father who loses their only child is still a father and this movie shows how that bond is forever 

13. Man of Steel

It is important that the first word in this Superman movie is "man." It is about a hero is trying to learn first what it means to be a man. And both Jor-El and Jonathan say and do some foolish things, but they are completely devoted to their son and make him the man he is 

12. The Incredibles

A good father is not only a hero to his children, but he helps them become the heroes of their own story.

11. Rocky Balboa

One of the toughest transitions in fatherhood is going from being the protector so that your children can grow up. Stallone's speech right before the last act is a fantastic representation of that

10. Father of the Bride

Every dad I've spoken to who has had a daughter get married tells me that this movie captures that painfully hilarious insanity

9. The Pursuit of Happyness 

A dad who is not trying to gain riches apart from his family, but making every sacrifice imaginable to give his son a decent shot at life 

8. Heaven is for Real

Reverend Burpo is a fine, upstanding manly man of God, but God puts him through purifying fire and must learn that a good father will also learn from a child

7. Finding Nemo

A children's film that captures the terror of parenthood and the perpetual fear for their safety while at the same time showing the resilient love of a father

6. Cloak and Dagger

A boy comes up with an idealized fictional version of his father, not seeing the heroic everyday hero in front of him until the final line of the movie

5. Liar Liar

What Mrs. Doubtfire got wrong, this movie got right: a good father must be honest, put his children before his career, and be a loving man to his child's mother.

4. The Nativity Story

I always think of the portrayal of St. Joseph in this movie as a model of manhood to the Son of Man

3. Taken

This movie touched a primal belief in all fathers that they could turn into unstoppable killing machines to protect their kids

2. Field of Dreams

Most people would out this as the number one, and rightly so. Using the medium of baseball, the movie shows  that no matter how much we twist out fatherly relationships into knots, it is sometimes the simplest things, like playing catch, that mean the most

1. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

In a movie where the treasure is the Holy Grail, it would take something truly amazing to overshadow that. And Spielberg expertly understands that the real treasure is the relationship between Indy and his dad. Too much history and too many similarities keep them apart, but it's the acknowledgement of how they are the same and different at the same time. It all is there in the finale: Indy tries his best to make his father's lifelong dream come true even if it kills him. It takes his father's acknowledgement that his son has grown up (calling him Indiana for the only time) and telling him it is okay to let it go. And Indy knows I that moment what every child should know: that the child is he treasure of the father.

Film Flash: Toy Story 5

 

 

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

Better than the last one, even though Buzz and Woody become side characters to Jessie.

Film Review: Pressure

 

 

Sexuality/Nudity No Objection

Violence Mature

Vulgarity Mature

Anti-Catholic Philosophy Mature

This movie succeedes in taking something that is normally thought of as trivial into something fascinating and pivotal.

Pressure centers around the D-Day invasion.  James Stagg (Andrew Scott) is a British officer who is also the top meteorologist in his field.  He has been recommended to General Dwight Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) to advise about the weather for the planned D-Day invasion.  The window to invade is very narrow and if Stagg makes the wrong call it could mean the death of thousands at best or the loss of the war at worst.  To make things more difficult, one of his fellow meteorologists Irving Krick (Chris Messina) continually conflicts with Stagg's methods and predictions.  This leaves Eisenhower the unenviable task of deciding whom to listen to: does he go with his hopes or his fears?  As the deadline approaches the pressure (pun intended) mounts.

What this movie does so well is that it takes something as mundane as the weather and makes it absolutely fascinating.  The movie addresses this when Eisenhower's assistant (and implied mistress) Kay Summersby (Kerry Condon) says to Stagg that the weather is boring, he replies, "How can the weather be boring? It feeds us. The weather can destroy us. It controls our daily life. I don't think that's boring."  It is incumbent on the movie to make us care, not just tell us to care.  Movies like The Devil Wears Prada take something uninteresting to me like fashion and make me fascinated by it.  Movies like The Bikeriders tell me that I should care about a motorcycle club, but never really give me a reason why.  Pressure is more like the former than the latter.  Through Stagg, we are brought into the intricacies and complexities of meteorology in a way that doesn't feel condescending but also is understandable.

The story originated as a stage play and it has that confined feeling to it.  Almost the entire movie takes place in the Allied Command Center.  The movie is a drama about human beings being pushed to make an impossible decision on something as unpredictable as the weather.  There are no certaintites except that the wrong choice is disaster.  At one point someone asks Stagg if he is certain about his prediction and his says firmly that he is not because nature is not completely predictable.  

One of the things that makes this movie so interesting is that there are no villains in this movie.  While Krick disagrees with Stagg, he does so because he thinks he is right and wants what is best for the war.  He is just as confident and good-willed as Stagg.  General Montgomery (Damian Lewis) pushes Stagg to be less pessimistic in his predictions, but the general does so because he truly believes that delay would be disaster for the war.  While characters are hampered by ego and pride, all of the people who are fighting in the room are doing so because they genuinely want the best result and are all on the same side.  This is part of what makes the tension so wonderfully terrible is this horrible feeling that Stagg could be wrong and everyone else could be right.  Could Stagg, in fact, be the secret antagonist?  This is the lingering question for Eisenhower and the audience.

The performances are good all around.  Scott plays Stagg very much like Benedict Cumberbatch did for Alan Turring in The Imitation Game: he is the aloof genius who rubs people the wrong way because he thinks being right is the only thing that matters.  Fraser plays Eisenhower as a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.  Even though Stagg makes the prediction, it is ultimately Eisenhower's call.  Fraser plays him as a man who projects authority, even sometimes a bullying nature in public, but behind closed doors the doubts naw at him.  In those quiet moments, Fraser lets us see worry in his eyes.  Condon does a good job of trying to bring out the humanity in bother Stagg and Eisenhower in a way that is strong without losing her femininity.  Messina plays the Krick with a lot of bravado, but is able to add depths as the movie goes on.  Lewis plays Montgomery as fairly flat, but there isn't much for him to work with in the script so he does the best that he can.

Director Anthony Maras does a good job of taking this claustrophobic setting and making you feel the larger picture in the world.  There are occasional shots of the D-Day invasion and preparation, but ultimately, he needs you to feel the world outside without showing it to you much.  And he does this very well.  He understands that by focusing on the emotional tension of the characters that we can feel the how desperate the world situation is.

There is a small moment that could be seen as a slight dig at Christianity, but it is so subtle that I'm not sure that it counts.  There is a moment when most of the characters are praying in chapel on Sunday but Stagg only looks at them from the outside.  And since he is our point-of-view character, we see alienation from these outward displays of faith.  But like I said, it is so subtle that this could simply be in my mind as a viewer.  Also, the implication of the affair between the married Eisenhower and Summersby is subtle, but enough to make me uncomfortable in the fact that no one seems to have a problem with the morality of it.

Despite these small issues, the movie achieves its objective in drawing us in.  Stagg himself goes through an arc where he learns to rely on others and comes to respect those around him.  And in the same way, you as an audience member come to respect all of the men and women who worked so hard and chanced so much to stop the greatest war the world has seen.