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Artemis Fowl: The Ways of the Father

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Blues Brothers, where are you?

Since I’m not a huge fan of the Artemis Fowl series, I’ve decided to allow someone who is the ability to share their thoughts. In this case, it’s my daughter Rebecca.

Here’s what she had to say . . .

I started reading the Artemis Fowl series one day in my sophomore year of high school and immediately fell in love with the sarcastic criminal mastermind that the books are named after. I loved the way that Holly Short used her wits to make the best of every situation. I ravenously devoured the series and was quite delighted–and at the same time annoyed–with the ending. When I discovered that Eoin Colfer was writing a second series starring some of Artemis’ family, I was ecstatic. Then I heard Disney was making a movie and began counting the days until it landed on Disney+.

I was able to watch Artemis Fowl recently and was immediately struck with the remembrance that Colfer made changes to the film so it would fit what he had originally planned for the series. If you’re a fan of the books, prepare yourself in advance for some deviations. Overall, the movie has top-notch CGI and is a thrilling fast-paced adventure that leaves you hanging off your seat, waiting for more. Thankfully, the movie paves the way for a sequel and is a good reminder that, as we prepare to celebrate Father’s Day, we need to be thankful for the dads in our lives.

Set along the shores of Ireland, a place where magic seems to be present everywhere you look and home to Fowl Manor, where Artemis Fowl (Ferdia Shaw) and his father (Colin Farrell) live, this movie shows the majestic wonder that is the surface world. Artemis does not believe in the fairies and magic, but grew up being told tales of them by his father. Artemis’ father is captured by a mysterious person and the world seems to come to the realization that the Fowls are criminal masterminds (which isn’t far from the truth, actually). The mystery person calls and makes a deal with the young Artemis Fowl: his father in exchange for a mysterious artifact of the fairykind.

Peek-a-boo!

Cut to the underground world, where it is discovered that this artifact is already missing, and we meet the young (at least in fairy years) Officer Holly Short (Lara McDonnell), the daughter of the fairykind traitor, Beechwood Short. Holly is assigned a mission to the surface world by gravel-voiced Commander Julius Root (Judi Dench) and, at the same time, Artemis discovers that the world of the fairies is real and he begins to put together a plan to save his father. This part is almost identical to how it is in the books, with Holly being captured and used as bait by Artemis for the fairies. Mulch Diggums (Josh Gad) is brought in, ultimately finds the artifact, and Holly uses it to save Artemis’ father from the evil Opal Koboi, and return home safely. At this point, cue Artemis and the others becoming a team and preparing to kick Opal’s butt.

Despite the fact that he is indeed a criminal mastermind, Arty’s dad loves him very much and tries to spend as much time with him as possible whenever he is home. It’s pretty evident that Artemis’ father wants the best for his son–even to the point that he’s already prepared the way for Artemis so that, in time, he will discover everything his father has prepared for him. To this end, Arty’s father has provided his child a journal with all of his notes inside. In the same way, Arty’s father is like our father in heaven. God has prepared the way for those who love Him and His Son Jesus while providing resources like the Bible to read and put into practice. In addition, Artemis’ butler and his niece Juliet are there (just like fellow believers) to help Arty along the way–no matter how uncertain life seems. It should give us great comfort, therefore, to know God is always there for us. Perhaps it would be a good idea, on occasion, to tell Him “thank you” for all He’s done.

Of course, telling Dad the same thing (and giving him a hug) wouldn’t hurt either . . . 

Saturday at #NBFF20

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Welcome back to the Newport Beach Film Festival presented by Pacific Sales. It was a full day for me, as you’ll see when you see the nine films I have to talk about. Okay, I’ll admit that six of them were shorts, but that still seems like a full day to me. Note that I’m including my votes for audience awards (Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor)

I started the day with a shorts program, “Irish Lads and Lassies Shorts”. NBFF always has a good representation of Irish films. (Screen Ireland and Culture Ireland are two of the Cultural Arts Sponsors of the festival.) Saturday is also a day with programs aimed at young people. These shorts all featured young actors and themes. The films in the program were:

  • All in Good Time, directed by Bonnie Dempsey. A story of two ten year-olds who magically communicate through notes in a bottle. The trick is they lived 100 years apart. Yet they manage to solve each other’s problems. (My vote: Excellent)
  • First Disco, directed by Helen M. O’Reilly. This is the story of a teenager who is due to go to her first school dance, but just got braces. How will she ever get the attention of the boy she has a crush on when she feels her looks are ruined? The film has a very pleasant soundtrack of 80s music. As I watched I though this would be a nice companion to the film Happy Face I saw at the festival on Friday. (My vote: Good)
  • Low Tide, directed by Ian Hunt Duffy. This one has a bit of a horror vibe. A father and son go out fishing, but on the way back the father demands his son jumps in the water to confront the sea monster below. It’s a life changing encounter. (My vote: Good)
  • Honest, directed by Matthew Roche. This one takes place in church. A young boy fears the Jesus at the front of the church, knowing that he is always watching him. It brings up questions of belief and what it means to us. (My vote: Good)
  • Cry Rosa, directed by Imogen Murphy. A mixed-race girl must deal with bullying in school because of her color. It is a story of finding the strength to prevail in embracing her identity and self-worth. (My vote: Excellent)
  • The Wiremen, an animated film directed by Jessica Patterson. In the 1930s as electrification is coming to rural Ireland, an imaginative girl thinks she sees a fairy circling a light bulb. Her grandmother warns her of the dangers of the electrical box, and tells a story of Wiremen, evil beings that come with electricity. But the girl is just too curious and may be in danger as she pursues the fairy. (My vote: Good)

The joys and trials of having a child are the focus of Babysplitters from director Sam Friedlander. Two couples both have a dilemma, they don’t agree on having a baby. Sarah (Emily Chang) is anxious to start a family, but her husband Jeff (Danny Pudi) is dragging his feet. When they meet with friends Don and Taylor, it turns out that Don (Eddie Alfano) is ready, but not Taylor (Maiara Walsh). They talk about if they could share a child, it would give them the joys of parenting, but still give them time to enjoy life. The plan becomes more and more complicated, and each complication brings new laughs. The sex scene removes romance and eroticism from the act with very funny results. Eventually the film makes it all work out with an affirmation of family and parenthood. (My vote: Excellent)

Go Back to China was another comedy about family. When spoiled party girl Sasha (Anna Akana) is forced to go to China to work in the family business, it is with great resentment. Her father (Richard Ng) is demanding and mercurial, but he also seeks to give Sasha and her various half-siblings the benefit of his lifetime of working. The father believes his financial support of his children is fulfilling his responsibility. But what of his absence and emotional abandonment all those years? It is a time of self-discovery for Sasha, as well as for her father. In the Q&A following the film, director Emily Ting, noted the autobiographical aspects of the film. She returned to China at age 24 to work in the family business. (The factory in the film is the actual factory the family owns. My vote: Good)

The Canadian Spotlight of the festival fell on A Colony (Une Colonie), a Quebec film from director Geneviève Dulude-De Clelles. This is a coming-of age, fish-out -of-water tale of Mylia (Emilie Bierre), who must go into town for high school. She has always been in a rural setting, and the large school setting is chaotic for her. She never quite fits in with the other girls, even with her cousin who is also at the school. She develops a friendship with another outside Jimmy (Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie), a First Nations boy who lives nearby. Together they discover that “coloring outside the lines” may be the secret to finding happiness. There are some family issues and backstory that could have been fleshed out a bit, but overall, this was a nicely done film. (My vote: Good)

Oscar-Nominated Live Action Shorts

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When it is time to award the best in films each year, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences include three categories of short films in their Oscar presentations. Most people don’t get to see many shorts. They play at festivals, and occasionally in front of a feature film. But short films are an art form worth attention. Many (probably most) feature filmmakers started out making short film. To tell a story in such a brief format takes skill. All the Oscar-nominated short films will be playing in theaters in special programs. To see where the films will be playing near you, go to https://shorts.tv/theoscarshorts/theatrical-release/

Here is a look at the five Oscar-nominated live action short films.

Detainment (Ireland 30 minutes, directed by Vincent Lambe). The film is reenactments based on the transcript of interviews of two ten year-old boys who in 1993 abducted a toddler from a shopping mall and killed him. The two boys have different personalities that come out in the questioning, one is fearful, the other defiant and aggressive. The two young actors (Ely Solan and Leon Hughes) turn in excellent performances as two boys who have gotten into trouble they never dreamed of.

My Reaction: This is a chilling story. The James Bulger case was world famous, in part because the two boys were tried as adults. It is hard to fathom what would lead two children to such an evil act. There is no psychologizing included. We just slowly get some of the facts. Just as the boys parents are overwhelmed as the truth begins to come out, so too are we the viewers.

Fauve (Canada, 17 minutes, directed by Jeremy Comte). Another film with two ten year-old boys. As they play in fields and in an abandoned plant and quarry, the two of them go back and forth trying to show dominance in their relationship. They eventually get into trouble—trouble that they cannot get out of on their own, but there is no one to help.

My reaction: As you see the tragedy coming, it’s hard to continue watching, but we keep hoping that there will be some help that will arrive in time.

Madre (Spain, 18 minutes, directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen). A mother is in her apartment when she gets a call from her six year-old son who is on a trip to the beach with his father. The father has gone off and has not come back. The boy is unsure even what country he is in. Slowly panic begins to fill the mother as she tries to find a way to get help to her son.

Ry reaction: The film does well to build the sense of fear and helplessness. We identify with the mother’s predicament and powerlessness. A very interesting premise that is well executed.

Marguerite (Canada, 17 minutes, directed by Marianne Farley). The story of an aging woman and the visiting caregiver. After learning that the caregiver is in a same-sex relationship, the woman remembers back to a time in her past when she was in love, but never admitted it. When she confesses to the caregiver, the caregiver’s response is a heartwarming act of compassion and love.

My reaction: There is a great sweetness to this film (as opposed to the darkness and intensity that dominates the other nominees). The tenderness, kindness, and love of the caregiver makes this my favorite of these shortlisted films.

Skin (USA, 20 minutes, directed by Guy Nattiv) is a story of racism, bigotry, violence, and revenge. When a white family goes to a rural grocery store, a black man smiles at the white child and plays with an action figure. The father is outraged and follows the black man to the parking lot and beats him. But later, a group of black men take their revenge in a unique way that sets the stage for tragedy.

My reaction: The whites in the film are stereotypical rednecks. They relish their guns and their hatred. I know that such people are real, but such blatant racism and bigotry are just too easy a target. The curse of racism in our society is far more subtle and systemic. The revenge aspect of the film also is far from redemptive. On the contrary, it become as large of an evil as the original act.

Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts

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When it is time to award the best in films each year, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences include three categories of short films in their Oscar presentations. Most people don’t get to see many shorts. They play at festivals, and occasionally in front of a feature film. But short films are an art form worth attention. Many (probably most) feature filmmakers started out making short film. To tell a story in such a brief format takes skill. All the Oscar-nominated short films will be playing in theaters in special programs. To see where the films will be playing near you, go to https://shorts.tv/theoscarshorts/theatrical-release/

Here is a look at the five Oscar-nominated animated short films.

Animal Behaviour (Canada, 14 minutes, directed by Alison Snowden and David Fine) takes us into a group therapy session with a leech, a praying mantis, a pig, a cat, a bird, and a gorilla, presided over by a psychologist dog. Each animal talks of the angst involved in its behavior, which is normal for that animal, but seems totally inappropriate to the other group participants.

My reaction: It was fun, but not especially deep.

The animated short that has probably been seen by the most people is Bao (USA, 8 minutes, Directed by Domee Shi), since it played in front of Incredibles 2. A Chinese mom, alone while her husband works is feeling a bit down, until one of her dumplings comes to life, first as a baby and then growing through childhood, into a sulky teen, and eventually into a young adult which is hard for her to take, especially when he brings home his fiancée.

My reaction: I really expect more out more out of Disney/Pixar. It was entertaining, and a times creative in its humor, but was lacking in the kind of human warmth that is so important to Pixar films.

Aging and memory are the focus of Late Afternoon (Ireland, 10 minutes, directed by Louise Bagnall). Elderly Emily spends her day in a chair, but from time to time younger Kate brings her something (tea, books, photographs) that trigger her memory of long ago. Each memory is only there for a short time, and she is back to a kind of blank present. But those memories tells her who she was, and of the love that is within her.

My reaction: Even a short film can trigger powerful emotions. For me, Late Afternoon triggered a bit of grief. My mother died a year ago after being lost to dementia, so the way Emily touched her past was meaningful and familiar to me.

One Small Step (USA and China, 8 minutes, directed by Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas) tells the story of Luna Chu, a Chinese-American girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut. Luna’s father encourages her every step of the way as he repairs shoes. But there are difficulties Luna must overcome, and inspiration she must find and implement if her dream will become real.

My Reaction: I’m a sucker for father/child stories and this is no exception. While Luna has center stage, we see her father’s love constantly supporting her and helping her toward her goal. It’s a nicely done film. It is also my favorite of the five.

Weekends (USA, 15 minutes, directed by Trevor Jimenez) is the story of a boy who goes back and forth between his recently divorced parents. It’s different at each home. Although neither parent seems unhappy to have the boy, they are also not especially affectionate. The boy just seems like a bit of baggage the two parents continue to deal with.

My Reaction: This is a very grown-up film. Even though it is a bit understated, there is also an intensity when we think of the boy’s perspective of really not belonging to neither parent. The child in this film seems to feel a bit orphaned, even though there are two parents in his life. That may well be the way many children of divorce experience that situation.

The Story of Us Ep. 2: Why Can’t We Just Get Along?

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(National Geographic/Maria Bohe)

War is not a topic many of us enjoy discussing, and it’s easy to see why. Tensions around the world are currently at a fever pitch as the US and North Korea play a game of chicken over nuclear weapons.  Drone warfare has made it as easy to kill real people as it is to grab a joystick and press a button.  Nobody wants to deal with the effects dueling groups of people can cause—we’ve seen it over and over throughout the annals of history. In the second episode of The Story of Us (National Geographic, 9 PM/8 CT Wednesdays and on demand), Morgan Freeman took a closer look at this issue and discovered some solutions on how to help make lasting peace a reality.

The episode, entitled “The Fight for Peace,” is an interesting juxtaposition of words.  Since Cain killed Abel in Genesis, fighting has been a part of society—for better or worse.  But a lasting peace is always desirable in the end.  Freeman made a trip to Ethiopia and watched two tribes conduct a peace ceremony to end fighting over livestock, pasture lands, and simple theft.  It was fascinating to watch and encouraging to see members of the rival tribes go off together as friends.  Later, Freeman visited Rwanda, the site of a ghastly genocide that killed upwards of one million people in a little over three months.  It took a lot to get things back to something resembling order, but reconciliation is finally starting to occur.

(National Geographic/Maria Bohe)

In some places, there is still tension in the air over past events.  One example is in Ireland, where Catholics and Protestants fought for decades and still segregate themselves for the most part (see the picture above of Freeman looking at one of the 30-foot tall Peace Walls).  Being together brings about the possibility of retaliation from either side.  In other cases, some tribes in South America believe the shedding of blood helps to end disputes.  Every year, they get together for a festival and after getting drunk, start fights with fellow tribes intentionally, stopping only when someone bleeds (but not killed).  Violent, yes.  But they seem to think it works.

Yet we know war isn’t the final answer. It’s going to be a worldwide issue until humans breathe their last breath.  So what will it take to keep peace in the meantime?  If we use the takeaways from the second episode of The Story of Us, we’ll have to eschew revenge and focus on communication, reconciliation, and forgiveness.  It might not be the easiest thing to do when we’re wronged, but it’s where God can enter the picture and make a major impression in someone’s life.  The Rwanda story was unique as the two individuals interviewed were from different tribes (and the man had killed the lady’s husband, brother, and two of her kids) and yet with God’s help, there was forgiveness and a peace that simply cannot come as a result of human intervention.

In fact, the apostle Paul told the Roman church the following: “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.  Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:17-21 NASB).”

It’s amazing how advice from two millennia ago can still be timely in an age of distrust and uncertainty. May we employ it before it’s too late.

NEXT WEEK: Episode 3: The Power of Love

 

Thursday (the final day) at NBFF

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I’ve reached the final day of the Newport Beach Film Festival. I’ve managed to take in a load of films, but there are a whole lot more I could get to. I finished off the week with a romantic thriller hybrid, a story of a police investigation that goes very wrong and the injustice a young woman and her family endure, and a very interesting program of shorts.

In I Hate the Man in My Basement, Claude is still grieving for his wife, but when he meets Kyra, he may have found someone who will help him move on in his life. The only thing holding him back is that he’s keeping the man who murdered his wife chained up in his basement, torturing him. Although Claude is generally a kind person, his anger towards his prisoner is excessive and violent. But as he begins to return to life and love with Kyra, he begins to soften toward his prisoner. But as long as he has this secret, he will never be able to fully move on with his life with Kyra. It made for an interesting blend of psychological thriller and romance.

You may know that I like to take in some shorts when I go to festivals. More than once I’ve seen Oscar nominated shorts at NBFF (including at least one that I know took home the prize). The festival creates thematic programs for the various shorts it chooses. The program I watched was called “Short Notes on Life.” The nine films from four countries had a bit of a philosophical bent with an eye towards the meaning and challenges of life. The films, which ranged from 5 to 17 minutes, were:

  • Smile, an Italian film that shows us four people, each in bed, as they worry or escape worry during their sleep or sleeplessness.
  • Breath (Respiro), also from Italy. A Syrian refugee seeking to cross the border, is instructed that the key to it all is breathing.
  • Anatomy, from Sweden. A humorous animated look at one man’s body and why he has become the way he is.
  • Dear Kid (Alskade Unge) also from Sweden. A woman is suspicious of a swimming coach’s relationship with one of the kids. Is there reason? Should she do something?
  • Dreamkeeper, from the US. A man who goes around through dreams, making sure everything is working properly, discovers a little girl who was managed to wander out of her dream. Before he can get her back, she gives him new insight into what he should be doing.
  • Glimpse, from the US. A young couple get a glimpse into their future. Would we really want to know what lies ahead?
  • Bathrooms, from Australia. What secrets are there in a family’s bathroom? The whole film is set in the bathroom, as we discover the hidden part of each family member’s life.
  • Ernie, from the US. A man who believes his life unimportant attempts suicide, but in the process discovers how his life can be meaningful. It’s humorous and inventive. The entire set is made out of paper and cardboard.

My favorites of the shorts were Glimpse and Dreamcatcher. To be honest, I would love to have Glimpse find its way to Oscar consideration. It was very special.

The final film for me this year was an Irish film, Out of Innocence¸ based on true events. When a newborn infant washes ashore, it is discovered that the baby was stabbed before being thrown in the ocean. As the police begin their investigation, a woman fifty miles away miscarries the baby she has been secretly carrying. In time, the police come to believe that the child she lost is the one found at the shore. They develop an elaborate scenario that involves the woman’s whole family. The police proceed in a very abusive manner to get confessions from each member. In time the tables turn and the police are being investigated for their actions. But in that investigation, the woman becomes the main focus – the victim as defendant. She becomes a cause célèbre for Irish women. The cry for justice had an important impact on Ireland. But it also had an impact on the young woman’s life. Police errors and abuse are not limited to any one country. I found it interesting that driving home after this film I heard a story from one of the West Memphis Three, who spent 18 years on death row for a murder he had nothing to do with. His story had many similarities to this film.

 

The Quiet Man – Battling for Respect #TBT

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quietman2

While John Ford might be best known for westerns like Stagecoach and The Searchers, he earned Academy Awards for other projects like The Grapes of Wrath and The Quiet Man. Now, Olive Films delivers the high definition transfer of the latter, a romantic drama/comedy set in Ireland.

When the Irish-American ex-boxer Sean Thornton (John Wayne) arrives in Ireland, he’s looking to find his way in his ancestral home. But he’s quickly sucked into a conflict between his new wife, Mary Kate (Maureen O’Hara), and her brother, Red (Victor McLaglen), over her dowry and land. Culminating in a battle royale between the two men, the story is ultimately the transformation of a couple’s relationship and a struggle for respect.

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Thanks to Olive’s attentive details, fans will experience audio commentary from Joseph McBride, a biographer of John Ford, and a tribute to Ford by Peter Bogdanovich. There’s also a tribute to Maureen O’Hara (with Ally Sheedy, Hayley Mills, and Juliet Mills) and a 1992 featurette written and hosted by Leonard Maltin.

Fans of older films will rejoice at the way this 1953 winner for Best Director and Best Cinematography translates on Blu-ray. With stellar performances by Wayne, O’Hara, and Best Supporting Actor nominee McLaglen (one of five additional nominations), the film shares a story that is still important today. What do we value? How do we earn respect? All of this matters, just not necessarily how we think it does.

Sunday at Newport Beach Film Festival

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after 16

The Easter Rising of 1916 may be the Irish equivalent of America’s Battle of Lexington. It marks the effective beginning of the road to independence. To celebrate and commemorate the centennial of the Rising, the Irish Film Board curated “After ’16”, a collection of short films that look at those events with various styles and perspectives. The collection showed at NBFF as part of the festival’s ongoing connection with Irish film. The shorts give a nice introduction to the events. The first two shown were both memoirs. A Terrible Hullabaloo features the memories of a 90 year old who took part in the Rising as a child. As we hear his voice over, we see the actions in puppetry. A Father’s Letter shares the memories of a 102 year old Jesuit priest whose father was one of the leaders of the Rising. He recalls visiting his father in prison just before his execution and the letter his father sent to his family. My Life for Ireland is an entertaining story of a young man trying to get to Dublin to take part, but ends up taking over a small town post office instead. Styled like a 1940s film it has a great sense of comedy about the situation. Granite and Chalk is a documentary about two spies for the British who might well have short-circuited the Rising if they had been successful. Goodbye Darling is the most poignant and artistic of the films. As her husband is leading a group of volunteers in the Rising, a pregnant wife is in her well-appointed home playing the piano. It really is very effective. Baring Arms shows various Irish people getting tattoos to remember the Rising and its leaders. The Cherishing reminds us of the children who were killed in the Rising. As two boys go off to loot the candy store there is tragedy that will mark their families. Mr. Yeats and the Beastly Coins tells of the creation in 1926 of Ireland’s first set of coins. The committee chaired by poet W. B. Yeats worked to give Ireland a distinctive set of coins, but it was a convoluted road to make it happen.

There was a good crowd for the showing of the documentary South Bureau Homicide that focuses on the homicide detectives in one of Los Angeles’s most violent neighborhoods. It shows their desire to work with the community and forge bonds. Not only the detectives, but some of the neighborhood community leaders tell their stories on screen. Many reflect a religious foundation for what they do.

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Papa: Hemingway in Cuba tells the story of a young writer who connects with the author Ernest Hemingway during the late 1950s when Hemingway is living in Cuba. Although the relationship starts out as hero worship, a true friendship develops, even though Hemingway is in the midst of a suicidal depression. This is the first Hollywood film shot in Cuba since the revolution. The film opens in theaters Friday.

The Innocents (Agnus Dei) is set in the aftermath of World War II. A female French doctor in Poland finds a convent with several pregnant nuns—the result of abuse by both German and Russian soldiers. The nuns do not wish to be discovered by the authorities. They are reticent to have any outside help and believe their vows of chastity must still be observed even in giving birth. Questions of faith and loss of faith—and of the lies that are told and crimes that continue to be committed in the name of doing good–all come into play.

For romcom fans the festival has Alex and Eve, an Australian film about a Greek Orthodox math teacher who meets a Lebanese Muslim lawyer. As they fall in love, their families are both trying to fix them up with spouses from their own communities. The conflicts really arise out of cultural issues. The religious aspects are treated fairly superficially. It follows the typical sweep of a romantic comedy, and tries to see just how close they can come to missing each other before they claim their happiness.