ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Jude Law

Captain Marvel: Nothing to Prove

by Leave a Comment

There’s a lot to be said about longevity. Over the last ten years, Marvel Studios has released twenty-three films. Halfway through, many talked about superhero fatigue and yet, they’re still a seventeen-billion-dollar juggernaut that has fans coming out in numbers for the next wave.

As we drew closer to the much anticipated Avengers: Endgame, Marvel sent us back in time to the nineties for Marvel’s next origin film, Captain Marvel. After Infinity War, one of the biggest questions was, if Fury knew her beforehand, where was she? That question is definitely answered in this film (among others, like Fury’s lost eye). However, the film came with some early (and unwarranted) controversy. We now live in a world where taking to the interwebs and bashing a film one has not seen because of ‘made up’ reasons is okay.

Now, what about the movie itself?

First and foremost, thank you Marvel for that wonderful opening tribute. And THANK YOU STAN LEE!

As a film, Captain Marvel doesn’t land in the top five of Marvel films. It’s an above-average origin film that has funny moments and some good action scenes. Some of the CGI could have been better, but overall it is definitely a good film to watch. There are some tender and heartbreaking moments as well. Like all other origin films, Captain Marvel contains a message where the hero must find themselves and choose which path to take. This one stands out in that story because her path to get there was different. The twist is both expected and surprising at the same time. Though not perfect in terms of film making, this is easily the second most influential film Marvel has released.

The film isn’t the “social justice warrior” hogwash that “those people” will have you believe. It is, however, a film that inspires and empowers women, and rightfully so. It’s no coincidence that Marvel/Disney decided to release it on International Women’s Day. As a male, I cannot begin to fathom this era in films. But as a father to an eight-year-old young girl, I am thankful that, for her, there aren’t just princesses that need a prince or damsels in distress. My daughter now has princesses that are strong and courageous. She has leaders, Jedi, rebels and warriors in a galaxy far, far away. She has  Wonder Woman. She was warriors and tech genius in Wakanda that look like her. And she now has a Captain.

All these heroes have something in common and is what stands out in Captain Marvel. They have nothing to prove. They are strong and don’t need affirmation from men to prove it. They remind me of Queen Esther, as they are here ‘for such a time as this’. Forget the “rules” of the past. Kick open the door and present yourselves as worthy because your people, the next generation, needs you. This doesn’t mean that men are not wanted or that we are inferior. But as men we need to support and empower the women around us. The world is a better place with both strong men and women. When we value others by their own merits and not the standards that we place based on ours, we as a society can overcome.

Captain Marvel is a fun film that serves a deeper purpose than just film. Men, see it and enjoy. Appreciate that it isn’t for us, and that’s ok.

Again, THANK YOU STAN LEE….this film embodied your spirit.

Special features on the Blu-ray/Digital combo pack include commentary on the film, six deleted scenes, and a gag reel. But fans of the film will enjoy the special features about the heroine and heroes, “Becoming a Super Hero,” “Big Hero Moment,” and “The Origin of Nick Fury,” as well as a few bonuses, “The Skrulls and the Kree” and “Hiss-sterical Cat-titude.”

Captain Marvel – Putting the Super in Human

by Leave a Comment

“There is nothing more dangerous for a warrior than emotion.” (Yon-Rogg)

A new superhero comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain Marvel brings us the MCU’s first woman superhero, a soldier in the midst of an intergalactic war who ends up on earth and becomes ground zero for that war. Ah, but all may not be as it seems at first.

We first meet Vers (rhymes with fears, played by Brie Larson) in her dream. She seems to be haunted by some dreams that come from her past, which she doesn’t remember. All she knows is that the last six years she has been training as a warrior for the Kree. She trains with her commander and mentor Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) who keeps pushing her to not use her ability to throw proton beams, except when needed.

She is being sent on her first mission to rescue another soldier from the enemy Skrull. But before she goes, she has to meet with the Kree’s Supreme Intelligence (Annette Benning). Vers ends up captured, tortured as the Skrull leader Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) seems to mine her mind for information from her past (which triggers bits of memory in her), escapes from their ship and crash lands in a Blockbuster store on earth in 1995.

Once she communicates with Yon-Rogg, who starts a rescue mission, she is discovered by young S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Eventually Vers realizes that she must team up with Fury to trace back the mystery of her past. She discovers she was an Air Force pilot named Carol Danvers who was part of a secret project and was killed in a crash. She traces down her friend Maria (Lashana Lynch) who was also a pilot. But Talos is also trying to find Vers again. At this point the twists start coming into play. Oh, and there’s a cat (sort of).

The journey from Vers to Captain Marvel requires her to rediscover who she is and what she is. It also requires that she come to terms with the very emotions that Yon-Rogg has been trying to have her bury. It is only after she finds her human side that she is able to make the transition from soldier to superhero. It is not so much a matter of power as it is of confidence, attitude, and compassion.

A part of that transformation is not just discovering her humanity, but embracing it. That means accepting the emotions that come so naturally to her—including fear, compassion, and even love. These are things that Yon-Rogg tried to suppress in her, but they become a kind of liberation as Vers becomes more than she knew she could be—and discovers that she has already been more that she knew.

The phrase “only human” comes up at one point, but for Captain Marvel the idea of being human is not about being “only” human. Her humanity opens up for her a new range of possibilities. It is only in being human that she becomes superhuman. This is emphasized visually near the end when Captain Marvel hangs in space in a pose very similar to paintings of the Ascension.

Within the Judeo-Christian creation story, humankind is created in the image of God. It just seems wrong to think “just human” when we have that understanding. Instead we should consider that fully understanding our humanity allows us to see the divine within ourselves—the superhuman.

Note: There are two scenes embedded in the credits. The first, midway through the credits, sets the stage for Avengers: Endgame. The second, at the very end, is a humorous scene, which may or may not have something to do with Endgame. There is also a montage of Stan Lee at the very beginning of the film, which got a bit of applause at the screening I attended.

Photos courtesy Marvel Studios

Vox Lux – Losing Innocence, Personal and National

by Leave a Comment

Vox Lux is a story of the loss of innocence. It is also a reflection on the possibility of losing one’s foundational values along with that innocence. While we see this play out in the life of a girl and the woman she becomes, it may also give us pause to think about society and nations and what we all may be becoming.

The story is told in two acts. The first begins in 1999 at a school on Long Island. A student comes into the classroom where Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) is studying. The other student has a gun and when it is all over, Celeste is the only survivor in the classroom, but with a bullet lodged by her spine. When she performs a song at the wake for those who were killed, it goes viral. Soon she is involved in the world of music and traveling with her older sister Eleanor (Stacy Martin) and manager (Jude Law) to Europe to make music videos. Eleanor introduces Celeste to clubs and all that goes with them. Slowly the nice, religious girl she was before the shooting erodes. The first act ends with news of 9/11.

Act 2 jumps ahead to 2017. Celeste (now played by Natalie Portman) is an international pop star. After a few troubled years she is seeking to make a comeback. The day of the opening concert there is a shooting in Europe in which the gunmen wore masks from one of her videos. This brings a new level of chaos into the schedule for the day with press and some time to be with her daughter Albertine (Raffey Cassidy, now playing her own daughter). We soon see that Celeste exhibits every negative stereotype of a celebrity: she is self-absorbed, rude, abusive to those close to her, and on the edge of falling apart.

One might think this is a story of the Faustian allure of celebrity. While everyone seems to kowtow to the adult Celeste, she also has to put up with paparazzi (a love/hate relationship), loss of privacy (which feeds her ego), and demands from press, her manager, and others. Albertine is raised by Eleanor and Celeste’s parents, because Celeste is incapable of caring for anyone but herself. As the day of the show winds on, she spirals out of control. Is it because of the shooting or is this just her celebrity drama being lived out? In the end, we see it is all about living with fear of failure, and if she can overcome that fear.

While the sixteen year jump leaves out a lot of history from Celeste’s life (some of which is filled in during conversations), we know that the road to where she is now started when she allowed herself to be lured by the pleasures that she was not yet equipped to deal with. She loses the very values that made her who she was—and who the world wanted to know and hear.

But this is not just a story about celebrity debauchery. It reflects the way society may change when it loses itself through chasing after illusory goals or descending into fear. The specter of 9/11 is only mentioned at the end of Act 1, but that helps us put the timeline into perspective. The terrorism of 9/11 was in effect the end of innocence for the world, but especially for the U.S. We didn’t change suddenly as a result, but if we look at the fearful, angry portion of society that seems to be prevalent now, it traces back to that loss of innocence. As such Celeste represents what we as a society are in danger of becoming. Like Celeste if we give rein to our fears, we as a people risk losing ourselves to anger and malice. Have we already abandoned the foundations that have made us the people we believed we were, or can they be regained to help us become again the people we wish to be?

Photos courtesy of Neon

teenFish#2 – Counting THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD

by Leave a Comment

Have you ever really wanted to know what goes on in the mind of today’s teens? Not just ‘what are they thinking?’ but how they feel about life’s issues? About truth? About where God is in the world today? At long last, ScreenFish is proud to announce teenFish, a new podcast series that lets teenagers speak about media that matters to them in their own voice. Hosted by Daniel Collins (Infinity Warm-Up), teenFish will be air the first Sunday of every month and invite local youth to engage the truth and lies of the shows and films that excite them.

The Wizarding World expands again with the release of the next chapter in the FANTASTIC BEASTS saga! In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans of raising pure-blood wizards to rule over all non-magical beings, Albus Dumbledore enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. This month, Daniel welcomes Riley and Mackenzie to count THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD as they talk about all things from the world of Harry Potter, the lies we tell and what makes the villain evil.

You can stream the episode above, on podomatic or on Spotify! Or, you can download the ep on Apple Podcasts, Google Play or more!