Half-Shot Contest #6 - winner!!
Congratulations, Nick Alexander! Pearl Harbor is, indeed, the film, in which Josh Hartnett plays Danny.
This means, of course, that either "Nick" or "Alexander" will be your hint for the next Half-Shot. Stay tuned....
More specials: Ten mistakes. Frodo onstage. Pixar rats out. Paste. Porn. Lips. And James Cameron.
More Tuesday specials:
MUST READ
At Town Hall, Erik Lokkesmoe powerfully sums up ten... count them, ten... big mistakes that conservatives tend to make when they meddle (or fail to meddle) in the arts.
(Thanks for the link, Bubba.)
YES, BUT DOES BILL THE PONY GET TO SING A SOLO?
At last, The Lord of the Rings - The Musical opens to raves!
Okay, so maybe it's not exactly a musical...
"... the world needs to know what the concept is. It's not a musical. It's not a Stratford production. It's somewhere in between. If you come expecting a new Les Miz or Oklahoma -- it's not. But I think they've pulled out the poetry and the themes better than the movies."
THE NEXT PIXAR FLICK (AFTER CARZ) WILL BE...
... about a rat.
PASTE SCORES AN AWARD!
Plug plugs Paste! (That sounds like something bad, but it's really something awesome.)
DONE IN SECRET
Paste Magazine's Andy Whitman on the plague of pornography.
LISTENING CLOSER TO LIPS
I'm not at all excited about the fact that the new Flaming Lips' album is supposed to be full of Dubya-bashing songs. But that first single is almost irresistably cool. The only thing bugging me about it is the way the riff sounds borrowed from U2's "Dirty Day." I just had to register my enjoyment and my complaint.
DO YOU LOVE ALIEN? THIS'LL MAKE YOU EITHER ANGRY OR SAD OR BOTH.
From a new AICN interview with James Cameron:
QUINT: I remember before Paul W.S. Anderson did ALIEN VS PREDATOR it came out that you kind of made an offer to do another ALIEN film with Ridley Scott...
JAMES CAMERON: Yeah. Ridley and I talked about doing another ALIEN film and I said to 20th Century Fox that I would develop a 5th ALIEN film. I started working on a story, I was working with another writer and Fox came back to me and said, "We've got this really good script for ALIEN VS PREDATOR and I got pretty upset. I said, "You do that you're going to kill the validity of the franchise in my mind." Because to me, that was FRANKENSTEIN MEETS WEREWOLF. It was Universal just taking their assets and starting to play them off against each other.
QUINT: Milking it, totally.
JAMES CAMERON: Milking it. So, I stopped work. Then I saw ALIEN VS PREDATOR and it was actually pretty good. (laughs) I think of the 5 ALIEN films, I'd rate it 3rd.
QUINT: Ummm...
JAMES CAMERON: I actually liked it. I actually liked it a lot.
QUINT: You know, I hate it when movies don't abide by the continuity of their series...
JAMES CAMERON: When they make up their own rules.
QUINT: Exactly. They did that a lot with the alien incubation time, where from egg to chestbuster it happened...
JAMES CAMERON: In minutes, yeah...
QUINT: That kind of stuff really pissed me off with the movie...
JAMES CAMERON: Well, it starts to become a video game. It's like, "Okay, that can be in him and that can show up over here..." It becomes more metaphorical or more comic book. I don't mean comic book in a negative way, I just mean that it's working at a kind of mythic, metaphoric level as opposed to really trying to immerse you in reality.
I mean, I felt when I was making ALIENS I think the same thing Ridley was doing with ALIEN, which is... "I'm going to make you think this is real." Even though it is completely ridiculous deep space adventure. We were going to make you feel like it's real. It's a question of does the film take itself seriously or not.
KRAKEN: So you still thinking about doing something with it?
JAMES CAMERON: No.
Half-shot #7 Contest
Since Danny Walter correctly identified the Mad Dog and Glory shot, your hint for this contest is "Danny."
Which film is this from?
Danny Walter, you've won twice! You may not compete this time! Your power is too great!
Specials: Boycotts! Batman! Bono!
Tuesday specials:
DON'T GO READ THIS! (Now you're curious, aren't you?)
Sean Gaffney boycotts boycotting! Because, as they said in Field of Dreams, "If you protest, they will come." He also congratulates Cory Edwards, and so do I, for its continuing top ten success at the box office. Bring on Hoodwinked 2: Hoodwinked Harder!
GEEK ALERT: CINEMATICAL'S GOT BATMAN CASTING RUMORS
Who would YOU cast as Joker? As Harvey Dent? Here are some interesting ideas...
U-WHO?
CBN notices this meddling rock star called Bono.
"The White Rose" ... or, How to Prepare for the "Sophie Scholl" Release
I just received this from a reader:
Jeff. I've been reading your blog for quite a while now. Thanks for all the great posts. I was a pastor in Seattle for 12 years, now I'm in Canada. I'm also a good friend of Adam Walter (I love it when you link to Adam's blog.) I just finished reading a book, The White Rose, by Inge Scholl. Inge is Sophie's sister. It's a good companion to this movie. I think you would be interested.
Okay, thanks! Here's a link to the Amazon page for the book.
More about "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days"
a few more details about...
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
The true story of Germany’s most famous anti-Nazi heroine is brought to thrilling life in the multi-award winning drama SOPHIE SCHOLL-THE FINAL DAYS. Germany’s official Foreign Language Film selection for the 2005 Academy Awards, SOPHIE SCHOLL stars Julia Jentsch in a luminous performance as the young coed-turned-fearless activist. Armed with long-buried historical records of her incarceration, director Marc Rothemund expertly re-creates the last six days of Sophie Scholl’s life: a heart-stopping journey from arrest to interrogation, trial and sentence.
In 1943, as Hitler continues to wage war across Europe, a group of college students mount an underground resistance movement in Munich. Dedicated expressly to the downfall of the monolithic Third Reich war machine, they call themselves the White Rose. One of its few female members, Sophie Scholl is captured during a dangerous mission to distribute pamphlets on campus with her brother Hans. Unwavering in her convictions and loyalty to the White Rose, her cross-examination by the Gestapo quickly escalates into a searing test of wills as Scholl delivers a passionate call to freedom and personal responsibility that is both haunting and timeless.
Opens February 17 in New York and February 24 in Los Angeles.
Nationwide release to follow, including:
Film Forum, New York, NY - Opens February 17
Music Hall 3, Los Angeles, CA - Opens February 24
Cinema Arts Centre, Huntington, NY - Opens February 24
Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA - March 10 - 16
Sunrise Cinemas 11, Sunrise, FL - Opens March 17
Cape Cinema, Dennis, MA - Opens March 17
Varsity Theatre, Seattle, WA - March 17 - 23
E Street Cinema, Washington DC - Opens March 24
Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, HI - April 22-26
Flicks Theatre, Boise, ID - April 28 - May 4
Cinema 320, Worcester, MA - May 9 - 14
AWARD-WINNING!
- Academy Award Nominee, Best Foreign Language Film
- Winner, Best Actress, European Film Awards
- Winner, Silver Bear, Berlin International Film Festival, Best Director and Best Actress
- Winner, Lola Award (German Oscar), Best Film (Audience Award) and Best Actress
“CHILLING AUTHENTICITY! GRIPPINGLY PORTRAYED! Julie Jentsch is terrific! An ace performance!” -Derek Elley, VARIETY
“RIVETING! A heartbreaking yet stirring reminder of the perils, and glory, of courage. A magnetic lead performance!” - John Powers, VOGUE
“HARROWING! HEROIC! Exhilarating! Inspiring! Riveting!” - Kevin Crust, LOS ANGELES TIMES
“SHOCKING AND COMPELLING! It’s early, but it could be one of the best films of 2006!”
- Jeffrey Lyons, NBC’s REEL TALK
“The ultimate homage to the memory of these brave young people... The performances of Scholl and Mohr are full of life and very believable... The story has been respected in every way.” - L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO (Vatican newspaper)
In Love with Another 2006 Movie
... let me tell you this now:
The next movie that I will be raving and raving about, and exhorting everyone to get out and see, is the Oscar-nominated film out of Germany:
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days.
Remember how the best parts of The Silence of the Lambs were those scenes in which Agent Starling faced Hannibal Lecter and wrestled with him in debate?
Imagine a movie with at least an hour more of those confrontations--intense, furious battles of conscience and wits. When you watch Sophie Scholl face a Nazi interrogator in an epic battle, you'll be drawn to the edge of your seat. Julia Jentsch is already the front-runner for best actress of 2006, in my book. Her performance here is riveting.
My review will be posted at Christianity Today and I'll be writing about it for SPU's Response as well.
Further, let me say that Christians should spread the word that this is a must-see. It's as important a film about faith as anything since The Passion of the Christ. Fortunately, it's also very well made.
I'm predicting that 2006 is going to be twice as good a film year as 2005. It's only mid-January, and I've already seen THREE films that will probably have prominence in a year-end Top Twenty list - A New World, Tsotsi, and now Sophie Scholl: The Final Days. Must-sees, every one.
Half-Shot #6 winner - Danny Walter!
Danny Walter is, again, the winner of the Half-Shot contest, correctly identifying this shot as being from Mad Dog and Glory.
And yes, Robert DeNiro is playing a man named Wayne.
So, to continue with this trend, the next half-shot will have something to do with the name DANNY. (But Danny will be disqualified.)
If Christians want to make significant contributions to filmmaking...
William Romanowski, author of Eyes Wide Open, showed up in the pages of today's USA Today, addressing the potential for Christians to encourage productive dialogue through the medium of film.
Only when evangelicals agree to look at Hollywood not just as an evangelistic tool, or a harmless entertainment provider, but also as an important participant in cultural discourse will they understand that as a major share of the movie market, they are in a position to shape that vital discussion.
I would add that evangelicals who want to make a difference through moviemaking need to learn the power of beauty, of imagery, to provoke and challenge the viewer. It's one thing to make a movie that provokes us to participate in important conversations. It's another thing to cultivate viewers' appetites for spiritual nourishment by showing them images of such beauty that they must seek out the source of such inspiration.
After all, creation itself "pours forth speech" merely by the beauty of God's design. That's why Christ taught so much through metaphor... he saw profundity everywhere he looked, not just in the lessons taught at the temple. He wanted us to develop "eyes to see." Sometimes, imagery can say something entirely different, and far more affecting, than the script.
Half-Shot Contest #6: Your hint... "Wayne"
Since Wayne Proctor won the last Half-Shot Contest, correctly identifying a frame from The Unbearable Lightness of Being, the name "Wayne" is your hint for this frame.
What film is this moment from?
The winner gets to choose the film for the next contest.