Category: reviews

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Movie Review: Linsanity!

Linsanity-680x365

Guys! You have to watch this documentary. It’s an amazing story that goes behind the scenes of that crazy, dare I say it, insane period of time when Jeremy Lin was burning up the basketball court and helping the New York Knicks break out of a losing streak.

I review it over at CatholicMom.com today. Here’s an excerpt:

Jeremy Lin’s story inspires. He overcomes failure, racial stereotypes, and the insecurity that leads to poor performance on the court. Although an excellent player, he misses opportunities to play on powerhouse teams in college, and then, when he does get picked up by an Ivy League school, gets passed over in the NBA draft.

Director Leong takes us behind the scenes to his childhood, interviews family and friends, former coaches, and Lin himself. The result is a beautiful story of multigenerational dreams, persistence, and ultimately, a trust in God’s perfect plan. We’re treated to Lin singing his favorite Disney tunes along the way, and a self-deprecating humor that reveals a great deal about his character.

We also see him hit a low point, as he fails to make his mark on two professional teams before being given one last, desperate, chance for success with the New York Knicks. He questions himself, “How am I going to be myself with everyone looking?” It emboldens him to play with abandon — to play for God, not himself.

I hope you go on over and read the rest here.

 

 

 

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a little lite rambling about Almost Human and Agents of SHIELD

It’s no secret I like science fiction. I like superhero stories, too. And fantasy, though I make no excuses for a mild dislike of Lord of the Rings. I think it’s like a million pages too long.

I know, a bunch of people just judged me and found me lacking.

Anyway, what Tolkien gets right (among other things — I know the work, I just don’t like it) is the authenticity of the relationships. The characters are likable and believable, and their actions are plausible in my world of suspension of disbelief.

I’m not necessarily drawn by special effects or explosions or cool gadgetry, though it’s entertaining enough. I like good strong characters, the more flawed, the more human, the better.

Which is why I mourned the cancelation of Firefly, stood by X-Files after the sixth season, stuck with Star Trek and all the iterations, including Voyager, when the less popular Deep Space Nine was better. It’s why I stood in line to watch a midnight showing of X-Men, forgave George Lucas for crappy writing, and hope for a reconciliation in the cinema world so Spider-Man can return to the Avengers.

It’s why I’m loving Agents of SHIELD even though many are complaining that none of the heroes show up. Well, consider this, the real stories are not the super heroes, but the regular heroes…the folks who have no super powers except those qualities such as sacrifice and love of neighbor that have them respond heroically. And by the way, the show is about Coulson, and his “humanity.” Is he now a cyborg or what? I’m enjoying the hints about his death and resurrection after the battle of New York. Give it a few more episodes, Father Roderick, I think you’ll learn to love the series enough to explore its Secrets [wink].

Which brings me to Almost Human. I’m loving it after only three episodes, partly because of the concept and mostly because of the developing relationship between Detective John Kennex, and his cyborg partner Dorian. Dorian is almost human in his response to things. It’s making for some hilarious exchanges. It’s a tired old trope in science fiction, but I think people return to the idea of computers with artificial intelligence and the development of robots with emerging human qualities to be an interesting way to explore the human condition.

We’re quick to assume that the real exploration takes place in the robot’s development of human qualities, but I think it’s the opposite, that the robot serves as a foil for the human to explores his own humanity. I saw an inkling in this as John Kennex and Dorian begin to bond after the first episode, and Kennex, especially, demonstrates an unwillingness to trust, and in many respects, a rejection of life because of depression after losing his partner. By the third episode, in which Dorian risks his “life” to save human hostages, Dorian’s regret at being close to destruction elicits empathy from Kennex, who observes the end of life is, indeed, tragic.

It flirts a little with the idea that all life precious. Whether or not Kennex attributes this appreciation for Dorian’s consciousness which does not have a soul, in a reflective moment, he begins his own healing. Coulson has a similar revelation in Agents of SHIELD when he risks his life to stay with a man until the very last minute so he does not die alone. There’s great humanity in that.

I look forward to both series unfolding and hope I’m not disappointed in the themes that develop.

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Gravity, and a song

space

I finally saw the visually stunning Gravity, a masterpiece for this child of 70s era science fiction. The effects were everything that people oohed and aahed about, and more. This, from the teenager who watched Star Wars over and over again and stood in line for hours to capture that long shot of the USS Enterprise in one of the lamest Star Trek movies ever made.

For this lover of sic-fi, space shots are eye candy. I saw it in an IMAX setting, and I’m still flinching from the debris field. So yes, this film captures what I’ve always imagined space to be. I won’t even stress over the fiction part, as I’ve heard people talk about the impossibility of the premise. Science fiction people.

But the thing that science fiction almost always gets right, no matter how cheesy the effects, is the human condition. Sci-fi as a vehicle for this analysis tends to work because it removes us, the frail, often broken and weak humans, from our comfortable surroundings and puts us in a position to face those weaknesses and dig deeper to find ourselves, who we are, who we can become.

I don’t suppose there’s anything more isolating than being alone in space. Even if you are out with a team, it’s still you against the universe, cocooned (or shipwrecked) in your own personal life-supporting suit. Gravity gives us this experience in spades — space is the perfect place for introspection. The backdrop of silence and eternity lends itself to a melancholic exploration of our mortality.

And here’s the thing, when faced with this end, do we choose hope or despair? Do we fight for the preciousness of life or do we give in to our fears and perish? Can we get past the creeping nihilism personified by Ryan, who, having experienced a deep tragedy in her life, merely “drives” on auto-pilot, with no meaning in her life? Or can we be like Matt, always looking for the prize (or vodka) at the end of the journey?

We don’t get any answers. But the questions raised are compelling enough to keep me wondering about my own journey. I’m not giving away a giant spoiler to reveal that Ryan doesn’t know how to pray, but I’ll add that not knowing how to pray is not the same thing as not believing in God. We’re hard-wired for that, even if we try to suppress it. You can’t be floating around the universe and be unaffected by the grandeur of Creation. At least I couldn’t. And it seems, neither can Ryan.

The audience sees, even if she doesn’t notice, that she’s accompanied on her journey by both a Christian icon (is that St. Christopher?) and Buddha. And, spoiler alert, the deus ex machina resolution to her plight could very well be God revealing himself to her in a manner she can understand. A bit much? Maybe. Maybe not. She does learn to pray, though, doesn’t she?

In the end, it’s the forces of gravity that bring her home. You could say that it was that moment of faith that, literally, grounds her.

The movie only hints at these spiritual themes. Perhaps it’s too generic to make a real impact. On the other hand, it can serve as a springboard for conversation. I would have enjoyed seeing it with friends who would have immediately started a discussion while the end credits were rolling. Instead you get a blog post 🙂

 

 

 

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