Four Christmases - Family Dysfunction

"The bottom line is, no one can drive you crazy like your family. Still, you'll drive 100 miles in the snow, sit in airports for hours, just to be with them on the holidays. It's the human condition. We cannot deny them.“ -- Producer Jonathan Glickman

George Burns comically said, “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.” And I believe this is the very premise that the film is based. Family used to live closer together, now they don’t. Schools, careers, divorce and remarriage spread families all over the landscape. It is hard to stay connected, and especially so with broken families –which this film is about. Madeleine Albright wisely said, “I don't want to sound Pollyannaish, but I hope that out of a tragedy like this something good will come. I hope we understand we're one family.” This film is a terrific reminder of this truth, and it speaks to the responsibility we each have in maintaining loving connections.

As Vince Vaughn says, "Ultimately, the story is about what the holiday season itself is largely about: being thankful for your family—the good, the bad and the ugly of it—and being appreciative for the love you have. Of course, none of that has to get in the way of having a lot of fun."

Australia - Being an Agent of Change!

The main ideas in this epic film are:

1. The transforming power of life

2. Race and gender equality
(Nullah is a "half-caste”, Sarah wears pants)

3. Being an agent of change. “Just because that’s the way it is, doesn’t mean that’s the way it should be”

For me the most fascinating character was Nullah, a "half-caste," or a half-Aboriginal, half-Caucasian child. In the segregated society of Australia in the 1930s and 40s, interracial marriage was illegal, and the children of illicit bi-racial relationships were forbidden from living among whites or with their Indigenous families. The power of the film was that it gives full humanity to Nullah and celebrates a mixed family. I fully believe that de-humanization is the worst sin there is (Hitler comes to mind). This film is a reminder: “Just because that’s the way it is, doesn’t mean that’s the way it should be” Be a change agent. Be a drover!

Bolt - Power of Friendship

Bolt learns that his true superpower lies in his loyalty to Penny. True and unconditional friendship is rare and precious. To be deprived of it is to suffer incredible loneliness. The message that comes through loud and clear in the film: The journey to reestablish Friendship is worth every mile, no matter how brutal the road.

Bolt is an excellent example of how great cinematic art, story and talent can deliver a message about the value of friendship –the greatest superpower there is. As Irish poet Thomas Moore once wrote, “To the soul, there is hardly anything more healing than friendship.”

USE LONELINESS IN A POSITIVE WAY
Christian mystic and statesman Dag Hammarskjold said, “Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for.”

If Hammarskjold words were dramatized, Bolt would be the movie.

Twilight -Dying For Love

“I’ve never given much thought to how I would die. But, dying in the place of someone I love seems like a good way to go” –Bella

“And so the lion fell in love with the lamb.” Believe it or not, this great quote from the book had been changed for the movie! But Author Stephanie Meyer insisted it changed back, because so many girls had tattooed that very line on their ankles!

Why? Because this phrase speaks to the transforming power of love. It also speaks to the danger and verboten nature of love. Love is dangerous in a good way, because it changes everything. An ancient prophet spoke of a future time when love would so consume the world that “wolves will rest with lambs...” And this film captures that truth in a way that few other films ever have.

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”
--Carl Jung

Quantum of Solace - Trust and Betrayal

Review by David Bruce

Director Marc Forster: “The central theme is trust… Trust itself comes in many different shades. Who do we really trust? Do you trust yourself? Do we trust others? All human beings have trust issues because, at some point in our lives, we have all been betrayed.”

Quantum of Solace asks an important question:
How can you regain trust after betrayal?
Regaining trust is what this Bond movie is about. It has been said that if you cannot trust yourSELF, you can never truly trust anyone else. This is the problem Bond has. He cannot entirely trust himself let alone others. The screenwriters have it right, Bond has to begin with himSELF and then work out to others. Not only is this film is a good reminder of this, it is also a terrific action film. However, critics wanted more of a coherent story with the action.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Review by David Bruce

“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a fable intended to provide a unique perspective on the effects of prejudice, hatred and violence on innocent people, particularly children, during wartime.”--The producers

Critic Roger Ebert chillingly says this film “is about a value system that survives like a virus.” And this very evil ever-present human virus continues to inject us in Rwanda, Somalia, Palestine, Israel, Darfur, Zimbabwe and Iraq. This virus is PREJUDICE. And WE ARE ALL INFECTED. It was not limited to the Nazis.

Vermont Governor George Aiken noted that “If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other cause for prejudice by noon.” The only antidote is to “love your neighbor” --regardless who that might be. Death of prejudice begins in our heart. We Must Never Forget!

Role Models - Growing Up Can Happen

Review by David Bruce

Way back in 100 BC Publilius Syrus said, “It takes a long time to bring excellence to maturity.” It was true then and it is still true. And yet at the same time your age is no guarantee of maturity. Our heroes in the film Role Models are young adults needing to be just that ―young adult. The film points to the idea that “growing up” happens in relationship. Additionally, it points to play as an essential part of this journey to emotional maturity. It has always amazed me how comedy films can have so much truth in them.

Time + Relationship + Play = Maturity. Not bad, I like it.

Soul Men -Celebrating Friendship

Soul Men celebrates friendship. Mark Twain had it right when he humorously said, “The holy passion of Friendship is of so sweet and steady and loyal and enduring a nature that it will last through a whole lifetime, if not asked to lend money.”

Friendship should last a lifetime, but isn’t it weird how things, like money, can divide it? This is why poet Samuel Johnson so wisely stated that we “should keep friendships in constant repair.” Friendships, like marriages, require work. Friendships are so worth the effort, as songwriter Thomas Moore reminds us, “To the soul, there is hardly anything more healing than friendship.”

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one”
--C. S. Lewis

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - Connect and Do

Director / Screenplay Tom McGrath: “Audiences should find themselves in situations that they can identify with… parental issues, identity issues, love. I mean, we still want people to laugh—that’s our main goal—but we also want to move them a little.”

REALITY AND CHANGE
A good life goal is: Connect to the world surrounding you, and bring positive change to it.

This goal is played out very humorously in this film by those loveable characters.
(1) Stranded in Africa, they connect, and discover new friends and their roots.
(2) They decide to move forward in the light of their new realizations.
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecc. 9:10a NLT) Excellent God-stuff here!

“This is our purpose: to make as meaningful as possible this life that has been bestowed upon us; to live in such a way that we may be proud of ourselves; to act in such a way that some part of us lives on.”
--Oswald Spengler, philosopher

City of Ember - Salvation

“The mystery that unites all of our characters, is the secret of the City itself, and how it can be saved.” -- Director Gil Kenan

Tag line: "Welcome to the City of Ember. As a valued member of society, you have been chosen to keep the flame of humanity alive and burning brightly. Because of you, the human race can hope for a long and prosperous future."

Now that is a powerful life mission. I like it. It is a great motto for life. This noble mission may seem overwhelming, but can be reduced to simply: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you do, it will be said that you kept the “flame of humanity alive and burning brightly.” May this film so encourage you to do just that.

When the story starts, the City has passed its "expiration date" and all the provisions laid down by The Builders have begun to run out.

Who would you respond in such a crisis?

Has our culture passed its expiration date? Are there parallels here?

Body of Lies - Deception and Trust

DAVID IGNATIUS (Author): "A subject that has always interested me as a writer is deception, and the process by which we deceive our adversaries."

RIDLEY SCOTT (Director/ Producer): "Information is the bottom line, and the subtext of that could be that you cannot trust anyone, not even your best friend...”

Body of Lies points to a very painful truth. And as painful as the admission is, it is nonetheless true, we all deceive, we are all deceivers. Deception is very much a part of being human.

Body of Lies asks, “If even friends deceive us, who can we trust?” The best answer seems to be -Love! And love means exposing yourself to the pain of being hurt, deeply hurt by someone you trust.

It will happen. You will be deceived and hurt by trusted friends. ironically, you will do the same thing as well, so will I. That’s why love needs to be at the core of friendships. Trust cannot forgive, but love can. Love heals. Love restores. Love sustains.

ABOUT TRUST
1. In terms of self: “Love God and trust your feelings. Be loyal to them. Don't betray them.” --Robert C. Pollock, educator

2. In terms of others: “You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough.” --Frank Crane, film director