ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Bradley Cooper

6.02 Dancing with Danger in JOKER (100th Episode!)

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In a wild left turn for the DC film universe, director Todd Phillips’ latest film JOKER takes us back to Gotham City in order to witness the birth of the Clown Prince of Crime. When we first meet the titular villain, his name is Arthur Fleck, a failed comedian who has been isolated, bullied and disregarded by society. As things begin to unravel in his life (and his mind), Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the iconic DC villain known as the Joker.

This week, in our 100th episode, our SF team tells us what the site means to them, we announce a VERY special giveaway and Paul and Julie Levac stop by to talk about the dangers and brilliance of Todd Phillips’ foray into criminal madness.

You can also stream the episode above on podomatic, Alexa (via Stitcher), Spotify or Soundcloud! Or, you can download the ep on Apple Podcasts or Google Play!

GIVEAWAY! In order to enter our giveaway for a $100 gift card for the movies, please do the following:

  1. Answer the following question in the comments section: Who is your favourite DC Villain?
  2. Like/Share this episode on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
  3. For a bonus entry, rate/comment on us on iTunes.

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.

6.02 JokerDownload

A Star is Born: A Movie with Soul

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A Star is Born tells the story of veteran musician Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) who, stumbling into a bar after a show, discovers—and immediately falls in love with—struggling artist Ally (Lady Gaga). Having just about given up on her dreams as a singer, Ally has never had an opportunity to showcase her talent until Jackson charms her into the spotlight. As Ally’s career takes off, the two must fight to keep their relationship together against the trials of celebrity and Maine’s battle with his personal demons.

For his directorial debut, Cooper shows tremendous poise behind the camera, especially in his ability to shoot live performances which pop off the screen with vibrant colors. However, rather than get too distracted by the soundtrack (and it would be easy to do so), much of the film focuses intently on the faces of its leads. Although Gaga and Cooper are hardly inexperienced in front of the camera, the choice to concentrate on their faces refuses to let them escape behind the music. Given Gaga’s inexperience as an actress, one could argue this to be a risky move but Cooper’s direction and her surprisingly honest performance makes the most of these moments. This story is not going to be told solely by star power or the quality of the soundtrack. Cooper’s intent is clearly that this story is going to be told by the soul of their eyes.

And soul is an appropriate term, given the film’s interest in fighting to keep one’s own.

Co-written by Cooper, his vision for the film continues to remind us of the importance of finding your voice in a world that lusts primarily at surface imagery. World-weary from both his career successes and battles with his personal demons, Cooper’s Jackson Maine has been broken from all sides. Although, despite his ongoing struggles, Maine continuously reminds Ally that she must ‘have something to say’ in order to maintain her soul in an industry that cares little about anything but their ‘look’. As such, 2018’s A Star is Born proves to be an appropriate vehicle for Gaga. As an aspiring ingenue who’s star power begins to overshadow her talent as a singer/songwriter, there are several moments in the film that suggest Gaga reminding the audience of her own desire to share her soul with the world. Though her talent is undeniable (except from her father), Ally goes unnoticed until a chance meeting with Maine brings her into the limelight. As she begins to embrace her moment in the sun, Ally fights to maintain her credibility in an industry that embraces the visual.

It’s here that reality meets fiction.

Best known for ‘meat dresses’ and wild costumes, Gaga clearly seeks respect in a role that strips her down to the simple waitress from the local bar. As such, Ally becomes a conduit for Gaga to respond to her critics in her own voice. “I just want them to remember that I’m talented,” she cautions during one meeting with her image consultant. (In fact, this potential breaking of the fourth wall is even echoed in a brief but important cameo by Dave Chapelle whose character addresses ‘why he got out’ of the industry.) While the film is hardly a critique of fame itself—Ally and Maine both fully embrace their superstar status—it is a reminder of what people should be famous for. Maine and Ally both understand that the platform of celebrity means nothing if you have nothing to say to the culture at large. Though their lives have been repackaged for mass appeal, both stars recognize that it is their ability to share their soul that gives their music value. It is a reminder that the depths of our heart matters, not only for our own spiritual health, but also to make an impact in the world around us.

There is little question that Star has its eyes set on the Oscar race and, incidentally, all signs point to the fact that this is a reasonable assumption. Cooper and Gaga have worked diligently to craft a film that will make waves, both at the box office and during awards season. Make no mistake, however. While much will be made of the film’s incredible soundtrack and performances, A Star is Born still maintains its soul and has something to say to our culture.

A Star is Born is in theaters now.

Own A Star is Born on 4K UHD Combo Pack, Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD Special Edition on February 19. Special features include Jam Sessions and Rarities: “Baby What You Want Me To Do”, “Midnight Special”, and “Is That Alright”; the featurette “The Road to Stardom: Making A Star is Born,” and music videos for “Shallow,” “Always Remember Us This Way,” “Look What I Found,” and “I’ll Never Love Again.”

5.02 Messy Celebrities in A STAR IS BORN

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With A STAR IS BORN, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga have (re)created a timeless love story for modern times. Exploring the relationship between love and mental health (with an amazing soundtrack as well), the film is clearly gearing up for a run at next year’s Oscars. This week, Steve welcomes back Shelley McVea and Andrew Eaton to talk about love, celebrity and music with soul.

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.

5.02 A Star is Born

Thanks Shelley and Andrew for joining us!

3.19 Defending the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

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This week, Steve and comic guru Arnaldo Reyes celebrate their 2nd podcast anniversary to defend GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2. The latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe has wild colours and an awesome soundtrack but it also has a lot of heart–and even seems to want to talk about god (small ‘g’, of course).

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.

3.19 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Thanks Arnaldo for coming on the show!

 

 

All music from the soundtrack is copyrighted by Marvel Music, Inc.

Theme song is ‘Month 2 Month/Love St.’ by Connections.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2: Family, Redemption, and I Am Groot

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A few years ago, the idea of Guardians of the Galaxy was seen as a risk by Marvel that likely wouldn’t pay off. After all, a talking tree and raccoon…really? In the end, though, we were both pleasantly wrong and surprised. Director James Gunn gave us a fun and epic space opera that continues to entertain today. Ask any fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Guardians ranks as probably the best film (if not top 2 or 3) of the franchise. So with such huge success, a sequel was warranted and got the green light. But, with high expectations, can Vol 2 live up to the hype?

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 has probably one of the best opening sequences I’ve seen in a film in a very long time. From the start, you can tell that Gunn has taken the visuals to another level in this film and that the lightheartedness and fun of the previous film still takes center stage. It may have lasted a tad longer than it should have, but it was still a masterpiece to see. What makes this film (and its predecessor) so good is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously and allows the viewer to just sit back and enjoy the ride. But don’t let that fool you. What makes the sequel better is that the story goes much deeper than the original in the midst of all the fun. The film’s lightheartedness, bright and colorful scenery and background still has time to slow down and pull at the heartstrings of the audience. And best of all, it wasn’t a setup for other films.  Unlike other entries into the MCU, Vol. 2 truly stands on its own.

As we discovered in the first film, the Guardians aren’t your prototypical heroes. In Vol. 2, we continue to see their disfunction as a group but different events throughout the film bring them closer together than ever before. Throughout the film, they battle their own insecurities knocking down emotional, spiritual and even physical walls. They are more than friends. Over time, they have become family. With each member coming from a broken background or tragedy, they teach us that family isn’t just about blood. We don’t get to choose our blood relatives and sometimes that means we got dealt a bad batch. However, our kin doesn’t define who we are. Maybe we’re searching for a father figure even though our real dad is right there. Maybe we are looking to feel emotions that we’ve never felt or lashing out because all you wanted was a sister or a brother. Maybe you just think that love is something you can never have and believe that everyone will throw you away eventually, leaving your hurt and angry all the time. Real family, when you find it, brings you the true purpose, not some false ideal that someone else tried to force on you. Though our father, mother, friends, brothers, sisters may all forsake us, we are reminded of Psalm 27:10 and take heart in knowing that the Lord will take us in.

Can we fall so far away that we can’t be redeemed? Simply put, no… but it is our choice whether or not we want to come back from that pit. In this film, different characters are left with that choice and while some followed the path to destruction, others followed the path to redemption. There is a part in the film that captures visually my imagination of what it feels like to truly be redeemed in heaven. A real bright, colorful, fireworks display of celebration that can do nothing more than bring joy to your heart and a tear to the eye. It was a great job in taking these characters and expanding their development and showing true growth.

Of course, we can’t end without talking about little Baby Groot. Many felt that he was left this way for toy sales and (even though Gunn denies it), it is probably true. However, we can’t complain that he was left this way. Yes he was adorable, but it fit the overall theme of the film and didn’t feel like it was forced in order to sell more toys. Without question, he is going to be the favorite of many coming out of this film (as if he isn’t already) but, looking at the film as a whole, you realize that he truly fits the overall theme of family and redemption.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is now playing in theatres.

War Dogs: War is Money

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This isn’t about being pro-war. The war is happening. This is about being pro-money.–Efraim

In his latest film, The Hangover trilogy director Todd Philips dramatizes the unlikely rise of Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) and David Packouz (Miles Teller), who found loopholes in the military’s use of privately-owned weapons to build a gun-running empire. As international arms dealers, the two high school friends are highly successful financially, but the ethical (or unethical) decisions they make, and the secrets they keep, threaten to undo them.

Packouz longs to be successful after failing at his various career attempts, and feels pressure when his girlfriend, Iz (Ana de Armas), ends up pregnant. When his slick friend rolls back into town, he ends up being sucked into the casual violence Diveroli inhabits regularly. They deceive Iz, who is specifically anti-war, and make deals with the U.S. government that make them richer, Still, their plans are complicated when a deal is jammed up by new legislature. Flying to the Middle East, the two end up delivering the guns on their own, leading them deeper and deeper into the arms race. When they end up teaming with legendary dealer Henry Girard (Bradley Cooper), their company’s downward spiral begins.

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When does telling the truth ever help anybody? — Efraim

In this Warner Bros.’ release, the ‘based-on-a-true-story’ film gets a few special features on the home media Blu-ray/DVD, with Phillips’ “General Phillips: Boots on the Ground”, “War Dogs: Access Granted,” and “Pentagon Pie.” Fans of the film may find these helpful in seeing how the film came together, and may consider doing a bit of research on their own in breaking down how the strange story came to be – and how Hollywood made it even wilder.

Whether you approve of the Hollywood ‘take’ on the film or not, it’s clear that dishonesty catches up with our two antiheroes. It’s also abundantly clear that Diveroli’s influence leads Packouz down a dark and dangerous path (he does cameo in the elderly home concert scene). While the cover might make one think of Scarface, it may be more appropriate to consider this The Devil’s Advocate. Where we focus our time and attention tends to lead us – even when we say our heartfelt conviction believes otherwise.

Aloha: Are We Doomed To Repeat Our Mistakes?

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Bradley Cooper, left, and Alec Baldwin star in Columbia Pictures' "Aloha," also starring Emma Stone.
Bradley Cooper, left, and Alec Baldwin star in Columbia Pictures’ “Aloha,” also starring Emma Stone.

I knew going in that Aloha was… not good, as recognized by the 14% rating it has on RottenTomatoes.com and this lovely exploration of Sony’s thoughts (some ‘less perfect’ language there). This is Cameron Crowe we’re talking about, who has delivered hits like Say Anything, Jerry Maguire, and Almost Famous (although he was also responsible for the Kirsten Dunst/Orlando Bloom debacle, Elizabethtown)! But in Aloha, failed government contractor Brian Gilchrest (Bradley Cooper) returns to Hawaii, finds his long-lost love, Tracy (Rachel McAdams), wrestles with his military watchdog, Captain Allison Ng (Emma Stone), and frustrates a host of powerful leaders. All in all, it’s a socio-political commentary dressed up as a romantic comedrama, and it is a mess.

Problematically, Tracy is married to the monosyllabic Woody (John Krasinski), who cares for their children, Mitchell (Jaeden Lieberher, St Vincent) and Grace (Danielle Rose Russell), but is mostly emotionally absent. Brian obviously wants to reconnect with her, but what would that mean for Woody’s family? [The audience is made to believe Tracy is unhappy, so a little drama isn’t bad, right?] Equally troubling is the all-out come-on produced by Captain Ng, whose behavior swings between insanely interested, deeply insightful, and full metal jacket. This is the meet cute of the film, and what the wrapper on the label looks like, but it’s no more the main part of the movie than a good lei.

Instead, Crowe (who also wrote this) has a socio-political agenda that involves the military, outside contractor (Bill Murray), and the privatization of the satellite system in space. I’m not terribly political myself, but it’s easy to read the warning on Crowe’s agenda: we can’t do everything in the name of capitalism and call it good. It’s unfortunate though, because while the satellite provides Brian a chance to choose a different path for his life, it’s largely uninteresting. If Aloha is the missile sending the film into space, the actual payload is this political agenda, not a rom-com aimed to entertain us.

aloha2For that reason, I’d fail the film if I was grading it. I felt a little duped, like someone was trying to turn the lights off without me knowing it. It’s not (I don’t think) that the film is bad but that is intentionally aimed at something other than what it proposes. That doesn’t, however, mean that we can’t learn from it.

Brian finds himself in a situation, the result of several situations, where he can continue his downward spiral or he can choose a new path. He can fulfill all of the past patterns of broken behavior he has followed before, he can be the failure that he has proven to be in the past – or, he can make a change. Brian is potentially someone like a lot of us, who have a past habit of giving into an addiction, or running from commitment, or failing to show up in the big moments of our lives. And there are people who tell us that either we can change, or that we might as well give in and be the failure they expect of us.

Honestly, Brian’s situation is a lot like the case of Bre’r Rabbit to me: he’s stuck with Tar Baby, and he can’t leave or forgive himself so he’s doomed. He’ll never change because he doesn’t believe he can. He’s broken, sinful, doomed, whatever you will: he doesn’t believe in grace for himself or for others. Grace? Ah, now, the clues appear. Now, it seems when Crowe sticks to what he does best, weaving broken people together in a tapestry of relationships and choices, he can tell a story.

It’s just a shame Crowe couldn’t stick to the story he knew.

American Sniper: War Costs Us All Something

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american sniperRudderless Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) sees footage of the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings and goes from thrill-seeker to U.S. Navy Seal. While Kyle’s life appears to a blend of the thrills and the honor, Clint Eastwood’s film raises the story to levels of greater nuance. For all of its criticism for being a “hoorah” kind of film about military glory at all costs, the film itself shows the power of Kyle’s efforts and the costs of the sacrifices he made.

Just seconds after marrying Taya Renae (Sienna Miller), Kyle gets shipped off to Iraq in response to 9/11. His first kills (the ones shown in the trailer) set off a lifetime of internal struggle as he wrestles with his honor, duty, and service as a sniper protecting his fellow American soldiers, and the tearing of his soul as he takes the lives of others.

Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.–Genesis 9:6

Kyle ends up battling Mustafa (a fictional composite of Iraqi snipers who ends up making the film itself feel more personal), kill for kill, situation by situation, shot after shot. This is where the visual explosiveness of the film comes from, the action/thriller of the cinematic experience. It’s gripping for sure, and I remember that seeing it for the first time, it held me tight for hours after the credits rolled.

This is not like the war movies I remember watching sporadically growing up. It’s filled with dread and hopelessness, reasonably desolate, shot in darker, sandier hues.  The ‘victories’ don’t feel like winning, and the losses feel like they’ll never be overcome. Soldiers Kyle knows fall, and even the ‘enemy combatants’ who lose their lives carry more weight than the bad guys gunned down in the latest Liam Neeson flick.

american sniper 3But the truth is that the internal tension for Cooper’s Kyle, and for his relationship with Taya Renae, is even more moving. Kyle has two experiences in non-combat that make the film for me, the first occurs in-between tours with a man who credits Kyle with his life and the second occurs as he’s crossing paths with his own brother in transition. The first man approaches Kyle’s work as if he is part-angel/part-saint, while Kyle is shaken by being perceived as heroic; the second situation shows that what Kyle has marginalized in his own life has taken root and twisted his brother.

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.–Romans 12:19

I’m not sure, having read up on both Kyle and Eastwood, that Kyle would love the way Eastwood has depicted the internal conflict. But there’s clearly a difference in the cinematic Kyle’s perspective from his first tour to his last. Eastwood can clearly see the way that war hurts us, leaves us scars, even if the killing is done on behalf of the greater good or the innocent. 

american sniper 2Honestly, watching the film, I’m reminded of my conversations in high school when I was learning about Augustine’s Just War Theory. I’m reminded of the way that people have discussed the ways that Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as a pacifist, wrestled with the decision concerning assassinating Adolf Hitler. And I remember the startling end of Zero Dark Thirty, marketed as the “greatest manhunt in history” that culminated in the costs of such an obsession, violence, and methods.

Eastwood isn’t glorifying war. He’s not “hoorahing” his way through this one. Yes, he acknowledges that American values and security would not be the same without men like Chris Kyle who bravely, boldly, and authoritatively lay their lives down for the protection of others. But he wants to remind us that this costs us something, that war is not cheap, that lives matter even if they’re not the lives of people we know or like.

Watching American Sniper, I’m impressed by Eastwood, Bradley, and by people like Kyle. But I’m also reminded that Jesus’ words about violence and taking revenge are for our good. We can’t handle the responsibility of taking lives; we aren’t meant to be God, who decides who lives or dies. The cost is too great when we’re put (or forced into) those kinds of decisions.

Sorrowfully, for Chris Kyle, it cost he and his family everything. But it’s not like our hands are clean. Just like buying something produced somewhere that labor is unfairly provided with little-to-no compensation makes us guilty, our freedom at the hands of people like Kyle who are protecting us, makes us guilty, too. We have freedom because of men like Kyle, and until wars cease, we’ll be complicit in their struggle.

What will it take for us to make a change?

Pick up your copy of American Sniper on Blu-ray/DVD at Amazon.