Monsters University (2013)

***

An excerpt of a review recently posted on Schaeffer's Ghost:

We want the truth to be that anyone can do anything, that if you just set your mind on it and work hard enough, you can achieve your dream. But that’s not the real world. We have limitations. The world is full of little boys who wanted to play basketball like Michael Jordan. Many of them worked really, really hard at it. But to date, no one has pulled it off. If we tell them that anything is possible, that they can make their dream a reality, then how do they explain their failure? After all, failure is not always a function of ‘not working hard enough’. If insurmountable limitations exist, hard work, though morally beneficial, is just a hamster wheel to nowhere. Some dreams are beyond our power to achieve. That is life. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, ‘playing basketball like Michael Jordan’ isn’t the only worthwhile goal in the world. As children, we’re drawn to extreme goals—be the best, the brightest, the first. But these kinds of tasks fall to a very few individuals, and the majority of kids (even your kids), will never be the best at anything. And that is ok. There is no shame in merely being good, being bright, loving your friends and family, and working hard, even if you never win a gold medal for any of it.

Full review available here.

Epic (2013)

**

An excerpt of a review recently posted on Schaeffer's Ghost:

In a post Occupy Wall Street world, we’re used to hearing about the 99%, used to hearing about how those rich jerks owe it to us poor schlubs of the world to help us out and spread the wealth. We hear community touted right and left, but it is a community of entitlement. Community means I deserve. I am owed. I am entitled … to a house or a car or a bigger chunk of my neighbor’s paycheck. I have rights, and heaven help anyone who tries to take them away or infringe on them in any way. Community, in America, seems to be about what we can get. 

Not so in … Leafy-town or wherever it is that the story takes place. Here, the mantra is ‘Many leaves, one tree.’ As Captain Ronin explains it, this kind of community is one of service. America, with its ‘take take take’ attitude, has the community stick by the entitlement end. Ronin and his fellow Leaf-Men, by seeking to serve others, have figured out what we are still struggling to understand.

Full review available here.

Jurassic Park 3D (2013)

****

An excerpt of a review recently posted on Schaeffer's Ghost:

Man, I forgot how much fun this movie is. 

I don’t think I ever actually saw it in theatres. Twenty years ago (yes, it really has been 20 years), I was … ok, not that young, but still young enough that I think my folks may have had misgivings about letting me see a dude get ate up by a T. Rex on the big screen. Sure, I saw re-runs on cable, but there’s no doubt that Jurassic Park is one of those precious few films that really deserve to be seen on a 50+ foot screen. I am supremely grateful to Universal Pictures for giving the chance to rectify this tragically missed opportunity. 

If you haven’t yet seen Jurassic Park on the big screen, go see it. Now. 

If you have seen Jurassic Park on the big screen, go see it now anyway. It’s been 20 years, and you probably forgot how awesome it is. You may think you remember, but you don’t. Besides, this time it’s in 3D, and if you thought the dinosaurs were scary before … well, you’re in for a treat. I almost kicked the guy in front of me, is what I’m saying. Thank goodness I didn’t have popcorn in my lap, or I would have been wearing it. 

Full review available here.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013)

***

An excerpt of a review recently posted on Schaeffer's Ghost:

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone wants to be a movie about friendship, but it isn’t. Yes, Burt and Anton part ways, and yes, their reunion is touching, but during their separation, Burt doesn’t seem to miss Anton in the slightest. Rather, Burt’s journey, such as it is, is one of rediscovery. He has lost his first love—magic, and the sense of awe and wonder and delight that it brings. What was once a thing of joy and excitement has become rote. In his quest to enjoy all the things that magic brought him—money, fame, sex—he has forgotten the magic itself. 

As I watched the film, I was reminded of Christ’s admonition of the church at Ephesus. After all, anyone who’s been a Christian for more than a few years knows that, as with most life experience, the buzz tends to fade. We start off so full of wonder and delight—the God of the universe loves me and sent His Son to die in my place for my sins! Hallelujah! What a Savior! 

But as the years pass, so too does our irrepressible joy in the Gospel. We become so focused on the blessings we have received that we forget the One from whose hand we have received them. Our faith can seem, well, ‘old hat.’ Gradually, the wondrous things God in Christ has done—and continues to do—in us and for us begin to seem slightly less wondrous. Like Burt, we forget why we do what we do.

Full review available here.

Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)

***

An excerpt of a review recently posted on Schaeffer's Ghost:

I have not seen the TV spots and trailers for Jack the Giant Slayer, but I’m told that they were … not good. Allow me to assure you that the movie is nowhere near as bad as the marketing would apparently suggest. In fact, it’s actually quite good. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. Sure, it’s chock full of laughably CGI’d giants and a soundtrack that desperately wants to be mistaken for The Lord of the Rings, but it’s fun, darn it! There are some good one-liners along the way, the action sequences are fairly creative, and the casting is above-average for this sort of flick. Nicholas Hoult has grown up quite a bit since I last saw him in About a Boy (2002), and his wide-eyed, dreamy vibe is a good fit for the head-in-the-clouds Jack (who spends most of the film clad in what looks suspiciously like a hoodie, tee shirt, and jeans). Eleanor Tomlinson is likewise a good fit for Princess Isabelle—appropriately spunky, lovely enough to warrant Jack’s immediate infatuation, and intelligent enough to know an unlikely hero when she sees one. Ian McShane sheds his bad-guy persona in favor of an old-fashioned but genuinely affectionate father (though I admit it’s rather jarring to hear him deliver any line that’s not punctuated by pungent profanity). Bill Nighy does excellent voice work as Fallon, the leader of the giants (though I wish the CGI team had made more use of his face, and not just his voice). Stanley Tucci is positively delicious as the eeeevil Lord Roderick—though he should really shave the beard so as to maximize his mustache-twirling potential. But for my money, the real star of the picture is Ewan McGregor as the sprightly and stalwart captain of the guard, Elmont. He exudes that quintessentially British brand of courage, all bright cheerfulness and unshakable loyalty and unflappable sangfroid. I can’t remember Ewan McGregor ever being so likable. He was a delight to watch—and I’m not usually a big Ewan McGregor fan.

Full review available here.

A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)

***

An excerpt of a review recently posted on Schaeffer's Ghost:

To children, A Good Day to Die Hard offers the simple reminder that parents are fallible. They screw up. They miss out on stuff you wish they’d been around for, and they make all sorts of mistakes that drive you bonkers and, in some cases, cause you serious emotional pain. But at the end of the day, even loving parents get it wrong sometimes. Most goofs were probably more the result of boneheaded thinking and normal human error than of any actual malice or a desire to ruin your life. That doesn’t mean that what they did (or didn’t do) was ok. But at some point, you have to let go, accept them for who they are, and recognize their overtures of affection for what they are—even if said overtures involve offering to help you kill some Russian bad guys. [...] 

To parents, Good Day to Die Hard offers a modern day action retelling of Harry Chapin’s classic hit ‘Cat’s in the Cradle.’ If you prioritize outside activities over family, you pay a very real relational cost. Granted, we’d all be terribly disappointed if John McClane was too busy being a good dad to save Nakatomi Plaza from terrorists thieves, or save Dulles from whoever that psycho general guy was, or save New York from Jeremy Irons or save Lucy McClane from a less-than-terrifying Timothy Olyphant. Saving the day makes for great movies. It may not make for great families.

Full review available here.

Les Misérables (2012)

****

An excerpt of a review recently posted on Schaeffer's Ghost:

Javert, on the other hand, has no understanding of grace. He is upstanding, incorruptible, and an unfailing servant of Justice. But those in his path must realize that with Javert, justice is all they will ever get—no less than justice, but no more. Sins must be punished—‘Those who falter and those who fall must pay the price.’ He hunts Valjean relentlessly, and is unmoved by Valjean’s apparent change of heart. When Valjean has an opportunity to kill Javert and chooses to spare his life, Javert lets Valjean go (for the time being), and is immediately so horrified by his lapse of duty that he kills himself. 

Or at least, that’s what he tells himself. Really, even worse for Javert than the knowledge that he failed in his duty is the realization that he, Javert, received grace from a convict. A sinner spared his life, and now he must either accept this act of grace and the change it will inevitably bring about in his life (for grace accepted always changes us) or reject it. And, of course, this is what he does. Because the knowledge that he received grace from anyone, let alone a criminal, is too much for him to deal with. He is determined to stand or fall by his works alone, not by the grace of another. And so, like all who choose this approach, he falls.

Full review available here.

Skyfall (2012)

****

An excerpt of a review recently posted on Schaeffer's Ghost:

There are a number of recurring themes throughout the film, most notably the tension between young and old, past and future. Bond and M are seen as relics of a bygone age (and Bond himself is feeling his years in a way we haven’t really seen before). The British government has begun to question not only M’s leadership, but even the necessity of MI6 itself. Even within MI6 this tension is present—the elderly Q has been replaced by a younger model (Ben Whishaw, seen recently in Cloud Atlas) who prefers computers to silly gadgets, and sees agents as necessary only when a trigger must be pulled. But Silva is likewise a wiz with computers, and Bond and M eventually realize that in order to defeat him, they need to take the battle to their own outdated turf. 

The resulting film has, of necessity, a delightful throwback feel. We get precious little in the way of new gadgets (I only counted two, one of which is clearly mocked as anything but innovative), but we are reunited with an old friend of the vehicular variety, which more than makes up for Q’s unimpressive offerings. Plus we get to see Bond and company improvise their own arsenal of sorts, with impressive results. Michael Westen would be proud (as would MacGyver). Also, for those concerned about such things, I can confirm that Bond is still a martini man (shaken, not stirred), that he has not lost his flair for self-introduction, that he still knows how to use a Walther PPK, and that there’s still nothing like an Aston Martin DB5.

Full review available here.

Cloud Atlas (2012)

****

An excerpt of a review recently posted on Schaeffer's Ghost:

For the Wachowkis, the unifying theme of the stories is a sense of community and human connectedness. I was struck, however, by the portrayal of injustice as a universal experience. In each story, an injustice is being committed, and in each story, the characters involved must decide how to respond to that injustice. Some characters choose selfishness; others engage with circumstances in an attempt to bring about justice. So the fabricant/clone, when confronted with the horrible fate inflicted en masse on others like herself, chooses to take a stand in defense of those whom society as deemed ‘less than human’ and thus undeserving of basic human rights, or even life itself. This decision proves costly, yet the film clearly embraces the sacrifice of self for the pursuit of justice as honorable and right. This idea of self-sacrifice for the sake of justice recurs across several story lines—a young lawyer helps an escaped slave; a freedom fighter saves a helpless girl; a man risks his life to help the daughter of a friend; a woman risks her life for truth and to save thousands, perhaps millions; and a man undertakes a dangerous journey in exchange for a cure for a sick girl. In two of the story lines, this theme is rather muddled, as the victim and the savior are the same person, and, in one story, the perceived solution to the injustice is apparently self-salvation through suicide. 

Regardless of whether we agree with the means used to combat injustice—or even with the filmmakers’ characterization of certain events and actions as unjust—this experience of injustice makes an excellent theme, for it is common to all. If there is any universal constant in a fallen world, it is injustice.

Full review available here.

Looper (2012)

***

An excerpt of a review recently posted on Schaeffer's Ghost [WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS]:

At the heart of this highly enjoyable film is the idea that Love Conquers All. Future Joe waxes eloquent about his wonderful-but-now-dead (then-dead?) wife and how by her love she saved him from his awful life of drugs and crime. Similarly, Sarah is determined to love Sid unconditionally, and is convinced that her love will shape him and will enable him to control his temper and use his considerable powers for good. In this world, love is the greatest agent of change. How sweet. 

But difficulties arise. (Don’t they always?) Future Joe’s wife is murdered, and he is determined to avenge/save her, no matter the cost. He is perfectly willing to gun down all the little John Connors, even though he knows only one of them will become the man responsible for his wife’s death.  And we learn that watching Sarah’s death will be the major factor contributing to Sid’s ‘bad dude’ future. This love, the love that was supposed to save both Sid and Future Joe, turns out to have the power to corrupt and destroy.

Full review available here.

Total Recall (2012)

***

An excerpt of a review posted on Schaeffer's Ghost:

Let’s start with the basics: This is a fun movie.  Yes, Colin Farrell spends the bulk of the movie blundering about with a bewildered look on his face.  Fortunately, Farrell does bewildered extremely well, and his wide-eyed innocence and natural charisma endear him to the audience from the get-go.  Kate Beckinsdale has apparently not aged a day since Underworld, and it turns out she makes a far better villainness than a rom-com queen.  The screening audience reacted audibly every time she burst into a scene, hot on the trail of our leading man and ready to beat him to a bloody pulp.  Which she did quite believably on more than one occasion (take notes, Angelina Jolie in Salt).  Jessica Biel was sweet enough, but was ultimately a rather uninspired choice as the mysterious ‘dream woman’.  Bryan Cranston appears to have a gift for villainy, and Bill Nighy is utterly wasted on an unfortunate bit of speechifying.

 Full review available here.

The Raven (2012)

***

Well-known writer Edgar Allan Poe is flat broke and clean out of ideas.  That is, until someone starts using his stories as inspiration for a series of grisly murders in and around Baltimore.  When Poe's beloved (and unofficially betrothed) Emily is kidnapped, he must find a way to solve the mysteries--and write about them--before she becomes the final victim.  

In case you haven't guessed, this is not a terribly original plot.  It's been done on crime dramas like Bones and Castle, and to some extent in The Bone Collector. However, this is, to my knowledge, the first time anyone has dragged Edgar Allan Poe into the mix.  Poe, years past his classics like "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Pit and the Pendulum", is clearly plagued by writer's block (at least as far as his stories go; he's clearly still able to produce criticism and some poetry).  So of course he is required by the killer to resume his gruesome tales by writing up horrifying accounts of the various copycat murders for the Baltimore Patriot. Note the hints of Misery lurking in the background.

Grimm (Pilot)

***

Not a bad start.  Police detective Nick Burkhardt starts seeing unusual things and comes to find that he is one of the last remaining descendants of the Grimms and that, like them, he can see real-life fairy creatures for what they really are.  Also, he clearly wants to be Brandon Routh, though I'm not entirely sure why, since he shows more range in the pilot than I've seen from Routh in his last three or four projects (excluding his surprisingly entertaining turn in the delightful Scott Pilgrim vs. the World).