Trailer Time: Transformers - Age of Extinction

I am a Transformers fan and I love the visual sensibilities of Michael Bay.  But there has always been an immaturity to the Transformers movies.  

I'm hoping that by excising Shia LeBeuf from the series and adding action/comedy/drama actor and devout Catholic Mark Wahlberg, that this might be the best in the series.

Plus: Dinobots!

The Worf of Starfleet

I know that it is the first day of Lent, but Christ reminds us that we should not look gloomy when we are fasting.  I take that to mean we should smile and have joy in the solemnity.

With that in mind, I give you: The Worf of Wall Street.

New Evangelizers Post: Resolution in the Abstract

I have a new article up at NewEvangelizers.com

The Lenten season is always a struggle for me, so I reflected quite a bit on why we go through it every year.  The below article is the result.

I am not qualified to write this article.  I will freely admit that up front, lest anyone accuse me of presenting a better picture of myself than what is found in reality.  But truth is truth and the truth is unavoidable.

We are now more than two months into 2014.  I’m sure that many of us carried on the tradition of selecting a resolution for the New Year.  How is that holding up with you?

If you are anything like me, that resolution to improve your life fell by the wayside rather rapidly.  In my spiritual life, I can recount several times this has been the case.

I’ve left the confessional with the words of the Act of Contrition echoing in my mind: “And I firmly RESOLVE with the Help of Your grace to sin no more…”  And yet time after time I return to that dark corner of my Church and confess those same sins again.

I know what I’m supposed to do.  I know who I’m supposed to be.  And yet for the life of my resolutions dwindle to dust.

Why is that?

Because resolution is an abstract thing.  It is an act of the mind, a concept of behavior we would like to have or an image of the person we would like to be.  Positive mental imaging is important to achieving any goal, but the image is not the reality.

You can read the whole thing here.

Sunday Best: Oscar Night 2014

Because I have no life, I will live tweeting the Oscars tonight.  You can follow me at @CatholicSkywalk to watch me try to come up with something original and witty (but usually failing) about the night's proceedings.

I've already posted my made up Oscar Game in a previous post.  In it I also stated my predictions, but I gave no reasoning.   Now I'll walk you through my thought process, and we'll find out tonight how far off base I am.

BEST PICTURE: American Hustle.

Of the nominees, Gravity is clearly the best movie.  But this year I think its between Gravity and 12 Years a Slave.  The latter has received a lot more publicity lately and it has embarked on a rather unique Oscar advertising campaign.  I think the smart money is on 12 Years a Slave.  But I think that there is going to be an upset like Crash over Brokeback Mountain.  The Academy loves David O. Russel.  Even his mediocre movies get lavish praise.  After Silver Linings Playbook, their desperate to give him an Oscar win.  I think that this long term love affair will overpower this new and bold nominee.  And American Hustle is actually Russel's best movie and one of the better movies this year.

BEST DIRECTOR:  David O. Russel.

I think this could be split.  It's a 3-way race between David O. Russel, Steve McQueen, and Alfonso Cuaron.  Like I said, Gravity won't win Best Picture, but no can deny the visual power the movie.  It will win Best Cinematography, but it might possibly snag  Cuaron a directing Oscar.  McQueen might win for the emotional power of 12 Years a Slave.  But my whole argument for American Hustle's win is the affection the Academy has for Russel.  They will give the Oscar to him.

BEST ACTOR:  Matthew McConaughey

McConaughey is having a career Renaissance.  Back in the late night 90's, he came on the scene and starred in a number of high profile films.  For a while it seemed like his career plateaued.  But he has made a comeback in movies and television.  And his performance in Dallas Buyers Club has garnered nothing but accolades.  Also, Academy voters like it when an actor starves themselves for a part.  Chiwetel Ejiofor or Christian Bale might pull out an upset, but I think that this is McConaughey's year.  

BEST ACTRESS: Cate Blanchette

The Academy loves Woody Allen.  I don't think the recent allegations by his adopted daughter will affect this race.  And from what I've heard, Blanchette gives a heck of a performance.  But Amy Adams has been in a critical darling for a long time and has been nominated several times without a win.  If the Academy makes this a David O Russel night, then Adams can win.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:  Jared Leto

He's going to win.  Playing gay is the best way to earn an Oscar.  Christopher Plummer, Tom Hanks, Sean Penn, William Hurt, Philip Seymor Hoffman...  It is not a surefire rule, but it definitely increases the odds.  It's like my theory that the best way for an actress to win an Oscar is to be an attractive woman who uglifies herself e.g. Charlieze Theron, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cottilard, Hillary Swank, Julia Roberts, etc.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:  Jennifer Lawrence

The Academy loves her as well.  And with good reason.  She also gives one heck of a performance in the movie.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:  Spike Jonze

I don't think that Her is going to win any other award besides this one.  But Jonze's script is fairly original and they like his writing..

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Steven Coogan and Jeff Pope

From everything I've read, Philomena is very anti-Catholic.  So the Academy should eat that up.


Those are my reasons for the major awards.  Again, I'll do a post Oscar analysis next Sunday to see how far off I am.

Film Review: The Lego Movie

Most people who have seen The Lego Movie love it.

I am in the minority.

I don't mean to be a contrarian.  I don't mind liking things because they are popular or mainstream (I guess I'm an anti-hipster).  And I wanted to like The Lego Movie.  But the more I watched, the more I was turned away.

Now I know that you shouldn't read too much into a movie meant for children.  But I could help but feel the biting cynicism underneath the colorful veneer.  First of all, let's start with the main villain: Lord Business (Will Ferrel).  In the movie he steals a special substance called "the kragle" from its protector, a Gandalfian sage named Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) who prophesies that a chosen one will rise to stop him.

Lord Business becomes President Business and looks suspiciously like the Republican Presidential candidate during the development of this film.  While the movie is filled with plenty of silly gags, there is a cynical sneering at politics and corporations.  I'm not saying that these institutions should be off limits to criticism, but it seems oddly out of place for a movie aimed at children.

I remember Charlie Rose was interviewing Steve Jobs and John Lassiter about all of their success at PIXAR.  They talked about how animation lets you explore themes and topics that you normally couldn't because of the fantastical nature of animation.  Rose seemed very excited about the idea of putting political messages into cartoons.  Jobs and Lassiter were aghast at this idea and said that putting politics into a cartoon dates it too quickly.  If you want it to last, you have to make the ideas universal.  And I don't see that really in The Lego Movie.

The story focuses on Emmet (Chris Pratt) a horribly average, optimistic Lego man who accidentally becomes the Chosen One, much to the chagrin of rebel Wild Style (Elizabeth Banks).  The two of them go on high octane adventures through different worlds in order to defeat Lord Business.  Pratt particularly does a great job of giving Emmet a strong gee-whiz attitude without coming off as obnoxious, but endearing.

To its credit, the script is witty.  And there are some real, genuine laughs.  Particularly, Batman (Will Arnett) steals every scene that he's in.  His heavy metal song is hysterical.  And there are some funny surprise cameos throughout.  But that is also part of the problem.  While fun, cameos from Dumbledore or Milhouse or Green Lantern, make the movie feel like its winking at you.  It tries to buy your affection by joking with you about random bits of pop culture, kind of like a Saturday Night Live skit.

The plot moves forward in standard hero journey fashion.  There is a twist in the 3rd act that I cannot reveal here.  It is one of the most enjoyable parts of the film, but it is also one of the most frustrating.  I know that sounds like a contradiction, and it is.  But the twist is helpful in explaining the overly simplistic characters and storytelling that comes before it.  But it is frustrating, because it adds a whole meta dimension to the story that would have ruined something like Toy Story.

One of the other big drawbacks of the film is a logistic one.  The movie wants you to invest emotionally in the characters.  But the Lego people are so blocky and have limited facial expressions.  The animators do what they can, to their credit.  But the deadness of the eyes is never full overcome.  Even Pixar was able to make a robot like Wall-E feel like he was alive.  I always felt a bit distant from the story.

Ultimately, the movie is about creativity versus stagnation, especially regarding Legos.  And when that point sank in, I could appreciate the movie a little more.  But in the end, it felt hollow.  It was too generic to be special and too cynical to be timeless.

2 out of 5 stars.

Trailer Time: Godzilla

The second trailer is better than the first.  I like how you still don't get a full shot of Godzilla.  In the first few Alien movies, you don't get a very clear shot of what the entire xenomorphs look like.  Later, they showed you more and they were less scary.

I find this Godzilla terrifying.

And Cranston's voice over is awesome.  To quote the meme going around the interwebs: Godzilla is the one who knocks!

Harold Ramis Is Gone

photo by Justin Hoch

Russel Ziskey.

Egon Spengler.

Harold Ramis.

I didn't know about him as a director and writer until years later.  As a kid I watched Stripes and Ghostbusters over and over again.  Ramis was hysterical in his deadpan delivery.  Standing next to Bill Murray, he might have been mistaken as the straight man.  But he was every bit as funny, he just had a different style.

And he had a a wit to his writing that melded perfectly with the comedic sensibilities of his day.  But when he wanted to, he could be heartfelt.  Groundhog Day is not only a showcase for Bill Murray's acting talent, but it is a beautiful meditation on how only goodness can make man truly happy.

From what I've been able to gather, he and Murray had a falling out after that movie.  It's a shame, because I think that they made one of the great movie pairings.

I know that in the grand scheme of things, making movies isn't the most important job in the world.  But I can't help but feel like a part of my childhood has gone with him.  It is strange how we can develop an affection for people we have never met.

And I'm sad.

God rest his soul.