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Reviews

The Driftless Area: Meaning and Purpose Don’t Come Easily

April 19, 2016 by Jacob Sahms Leave a Comment

driftlessareaPierre (Anton Yelchin) arrives back in his hometown after his parents die. Soon, he’s drawn into the vortex of two powerful forces in town, and struggles to establish some element of control over his own life. The first force is one of mysterious beauty, Stella (Zooey Deschanel), and the second is one of anger and violence, Shane (John Hawkes). In this slow boiling thriller about relationships in small-town life, we can’t exactly guess how all of this will end.

In supporting roles, Frank Langella takes in or mentors Stella after a house fire, as the mysteriously opaque Tim Greer. [Seriously, when has Langella not been either mysterious or opaque?] On the other side of the equation, balancing out Greer’s more benevolent encouragement is Ciaran Hinds’ Ned, an accomplice in Shane’s dirty dealings.

Aimed at proving to be both metaphysical, funny, and dramatic, The Driftless Area feels at times as if it drifts, trying to get its footing exactly right. It’s not sure exactly where the meaning it wants will come from, much like its lead, Pierre. But in Pierre’s case, discovering his meaning may require him to take a stand, to fight back against the bullying. Sometimes, when you take a stand like that, you pay the price…

Filed Under: DVD, Film, Reviews

Standoff: Exactly What You’d Expect

April 19, 2016 by Jacob Sahms Leave a Comment

standoff

In the directorial debut by Adam Alleca (Last House on the Left), a grieving father defends a little girl in his own house while a hit man waits at the bottom of the stairs with a full arsenal of death. Fortunately, the father is the war veteran Carter (Thomas Jane); unfortunately, he only has one shell left in his shotgun. As the day wears on, he trades barbs with the hit man, Sade (Lawrence Fishburne), exposing more of their internal wounds than their external pain.

The plot itself revolves around the little girl seeing Sade execute someone for his employer. In an act of bravado, he removes his mask to show the terrified woman that she’s already dead because she’s seen him. With that one foolish maneuver, he sets the whole film in motion, absurdly, but it sets up the drive of the film.

While the film won’t score major points on plot curves, it’s certainly presented in a way that will appeal to fans of Tarantino … or Woo. Balloons float, pianos slam, and the slow drip build provides us some amount of emotional care for Carter and the girl, Bird (Ella Ballentine). But nothing you see here will surprise you – it’s just a question of how much you love Fishburne!

Interestingly enough, Carter and Bird exchange thoughts on the afterlife midway through the movie. Carter’s grief – and guilt – have driven him to the edge; Bird provides him with some small token of ‘belief’ or reason to live. She quotes a mantra of her father’s — “there’s no quit in me”– that becomes the movie’s pulse, forcing back both Sade’s evil and the darkness that threatens Carter himself.

This one won’t blow you away but you may find yourself engaged by the ridiculousness of it all!

Filed Under: DVD, Film Tagged With: Lawrence Fishburne, Thomas Jane

Podcast: Ordering the [MIDNIGHT] SPECIAL

April 19, 2016 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Midnight-Special-Movie

https://screenfish.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2.13-Midnight-Special-Wade-Bearden.mp3

This week on the show, Steve Norton welcomes Seeing and Believing co-host Wade Bearden as they discuss Jeff Nichols’ MIDNIGHT SPECIAL. Plus, the guys offer up their Top 3 Sci-Fi films of the 21st Century!

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

2.13 Midnight Special

Filed Under: Film, Podcast Tagged With: belief, Faith, film, indie film, Jeff Nichols, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Michael Shannon, Midnight Special, science fiction, SciFi

On Rey, Mystery and Spoiler-Driven Culture

April 18, 2016 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

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Poor Rey.

Whereas the entire world fell in love with her character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the film seems to have left her adrift amidst the (far from subtle) questions about the identity of her parents. Still, by leaving her on the Irish Isle of La Luke, the film’s finale leaves us with what seemed to be much more important questions. Will Luke train her in the ways of the Force? Is she more powerful than the young and reckless Kylo Ren?

Then, with the release of the trailer of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story last week, all of a sudden the issue of her mysterious origins was back in the spotlight once again. Taking place during the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Rogue One tells the story of a group of expendable crooks and smugglers who are enlisted to steal the Death Star plans. (Think of it as the Star Wars equivalent to David Ayer’s upcoming film, Suicide Squad.) Led by Jyn Erso, a young woman with a troubled past, they band together to do the impossible.

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But meanwhile…

While Rogue One doesn’t appear to address Rey’s journey at all, an interesting fan theory has taken the Internet by storm. Despite the unconnected storyline to Force Awakens, the web is abuzz with the rumour that Erso is, in fact, Rey’s mother. Recently, actress Daisy Ridley spoke out against this theory, claiming that “just because she’s white and has brown hair, it doesn’t mean she’s [Rey’s] mom.”

To be honest, I find it amazing that this mystery has lasted as long as it has. With the reveal of [Spoiler Alert… from 30 years ago!] Darth Vader as Luke’s father catching audiences completely by surprise (and believed by many as one of the greatest ‘twists’ of all time), the Star Wars universe carved out its place in storytelling history. Still, that era of filmmaking existed apart from the spoiler-driven internet culture in which we currently live. In this day and age, even if you have a great plot twist, it’s likely that someone somewhere has not only thought of it already, they’ve blogged about it online and sent the legions of inter-webbers into a frenzy. Gone are the days when a film’s surprises were special until it’s release.

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We want to know everything… now.

Living in the information age, we seem to have lost the joy and the impact of experiencing the elements of a story together for the first time. We want to burst the balloon of mystery before it ever gets a chance to lift off.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. In all seriousness, we are constantly being teased with tidbits to generate excitement and promotion for upcoming films and shows. Remember when the pic of the partial Millennium Falcon and X-Wing went viral during the filming of Force Awakens? There’s no doubt that that pic was released in order to send a message to the fans that their expectations were going to be met with the new film. New characters? Sure… but you’ll fall in love with them. What matters most is that we’re also going to resurrect the things you miss and love the most.

PAY-Star-Wars-Set

For the fans, it was intoxicating.

Still, while part of this is just plain fun to discuss, I also think that our spoiler-focused culture makes it far more difficult for a filmmaker to tell the story their way. Our desire to know the answer immediately—sometimes before the question is even asked—creates an environment that puts an emphasis on ourselves, rather than on the story itself.

We want to know everything because we feel like we own the story. It’s our story.

rey-daisy-ridley

But what if it isn’t?

What if the true power of story is admitting to ourselves that it’s bigger than we are? While we may like/dislike a film, there’s something to be said for admitting that we don’t need to know or understand every detail in advance. In doing so, we are most suited to become participants in a story, making it more powerful. As a Christian, I recognize that God is a better storyteller than I could ever be… and, if I trust that, I don’t need to know what’s coming.

So, Internet fans, by all means, feel free to have your fun. But remember that, whether or not Rey’s last name is Skywalker, Solo or even Snopes, it doesn’t matter in the end. Let’s let them tell us the story they want to, demanding it a certain way.

The story may even be more powerful that way.

Rey-art-1200x720

Filed Under: Editorial, Star Wars Tagged With: Force Awakens, Han Solo, jyn erso, Luke Skywalker, Rey, Rogue One, spoiler, Star Wars

Ride Along 2 – Free Blu-ray Copy!

April 18, 2016 by Jacob Sahms Leave a Comment

ridealong2

The brothers-in-law are back! Ben (Kevin Hart; Get Hard, The Wedding Ringer), a recently graduated police rookie, now aspires to be a detective like his soon-to-be brother-in-law, but James (Ice Cube; 22 Jump Street, Barbershop) still doesn’t think that he has what it takes for the job. He reluctantly takes Ben with him to follow up on a lead in Miami. Plans for a quick trip go awry when their unorthodox policing gets them into a compromising situation that threatens to derail a major case… and Ben’s upcoming wedding day. Also starring Ken Jeong, Benjamin Bratt, Olivia Munn and Sherri Shepherd. The dynamic duo of Cube and Hart renew their comedic connection in this bigger, better, and funnier sequel!

Between now and April 26, comment on the post below with your favorite Ice Cube or Kevin Hart film for a chance to enter! You must be eighteen or over to win. 

Filed Under: DVD, Film, Giveaways Tagged With: Giveaways, ice cube, Kevin Hart, Ride Along

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