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Ridley Scott

All the Money in the World – What Are Riches For?

January 4, 2018 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

“Everything has a price. The real struggle in life is to determine what that is.”

How do you determine the price of the important things in life? That question lies in the background all through All the Money in the World. “Inspired by true events”, it is a thriller based on the 1973 kidnapping of a grandson of “the richest man who had ever lived”, J. Paul Getty. But it is also an examination of the way money can shape or distort our lives.

J. Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer) is kidnapped off the streets in Rome. When the kidnappers call his mother Gail (Michelle Williams), her first reaction is that it is a joke. Paul has often joked that faking his kidnapping would be a way to get money from his tight-fisted grandfather and namesake (Christopher Plummer). The elder Getty enlists the aid of a former CIA operative, now his head of security, Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlburg), to get young Paul back. When Getty is unwilling to part with any of his fortune for Paul’s return, Fletcher and Gail become allies in trying to get save Paul.

The thriller aspect of the film, with various twists along the way, is compelling to keep our interest, but that just serves to lead us to consideration of the role money has in our lives. Do we see it as a means to an end? Can we use money to achieve happiness or to buy things we want? Or is money an end in itself? Does having wealth fulfill us?

Although Getty is exceedingly rich, in this film we see him as a miser. An early scene shows him in his lavish Roman hotel suite, with his laundry draped over bathroom fixtures. Why pay someone to do that? he asks. When he eventually does pay the ransom (negotiated down over several months while Paul is held captive and facing brutal treatment), it is based on what he can write off on taxes and as a loan to Paul. He uses his wealth as a weapon to punish Gail for the divorce settlement with his son.

Getty, at least as portrayed in the film, uses his vast wealth to acquire great art. He places his trust (and his hope for fulfillment and happiness) in possessions. He does not expect people—even his family—to provide those things. He only trusts in the tangible. The attitude that money has inherent value and should be obtained is something that Getty has in common with the kidnappers. They all consider money as more important than people. For Fletcher Chase and Gail Getty, money is only valuable for what can be done with it—and especially done to aid someone in need.

Wealth is a topic that comes up frequently in the Bible. At times it is seen as evidence on God’s blessing, but it is frequently seen as an illusion or even as a hindrance in our relationship with God. Some scriptures that could be appropriate to consider in thinking of this film:

  • The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 5:10)
  • It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. (Mark 10: 25 and parallels)
  • The Parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12: 16ff
  • The love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10a)
  • For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower fails, and its beauty perishes. It is the same with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away. (James 1:11)

Our attitude towards riches often shapes our spiritual lives just as much as it provides the trappings of our day to day lives. All the Money in the World gives us a chance to reflect on how our approach to money affects the way we understand so much more.

Photos courtesy of All the Money US, LLC

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Charlie Plummer, christopher plummer, inspired by true events, Italy, J. Paul Getty, kidnapping, Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Williams, Money, Ridley Scott

3.21 Attacking ALIEN: COVENANT

May 28, 2017 by Steve Norton 4 Comments

https://screenfish.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/3.21-Alien-Covenant.mp3

This week, Steve assembles his  Mikey Fissel (Reel World Theology) and Paul Muzzin (director, CHASING ATLANTIS) as they dig into ALIEN: COVENANT, Ridley Scott’s controversial sequel to PROMETHEUS. The film has proven itself divisive amongst fans and critics but has a lot more to say than people think (or does it?).

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.

3.21 Alien Covenant

A special thanks to Mikey (Reel World Theology) and Paul (Chasing Atlantis)

Filed Under: Film, Podcast Tagged With: Alien, Alien Covenant, aliens, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, David Fincher, Demian Bichir, horror, James Cameron, Katherine Waterston, Michael Fassbender, Ridley Scott, SciFi, xenomorph

3.16 The Meaning of LIFE

April 10, 2017 by Steve Norton 3 Comments

https://screenfish.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/3.16-Life.mp3

This week, Steve is joined by special guest and friend to the show, Wade Bearden (Seeing and Believing) to talk about whether or not there’s a meaning to LIFE, the newest sci-fi actioner to hit the big screen.  Yes, the film is tense but does it have something to say?  Plus, the guys give their top 3 remakes since the year 2000!  Only on ScreenFish.

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.

3.16 Life

A special thanks to Wade for coming on the show!

Filed Under: Film, Podcast Tagged With: Action, Alien, Deadpool, George Clooney, Jake Gyllenhaal, life, Rebecca Ferguson, Ridley Scott, Ryan Reynolds, sci-fi, science fiction

Seeing and Believing: SciFi Returns to the 80s

November 2, 2016 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

“There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?”   -Supreme Leader Snoke, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) Ph: Film Frame © 2014 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Right Reserved..

There’s always been a tension between seeing and believing.

Especially over the last few decades, there has been an increasingly heavy emphasis that truth exists only when we can prove things scientifically or experience them for ourselves. Over that time, this debate has caused a real tension between the church and the scientific community, seemingly forcing people to ‘pick a side’.

Unsurprisingly, this has also shown up on the big screen.

For instance, let’s just look at some of the most popular science fiction stories in recent years. Films like Prometheus, Interstellar, and The Martian have all been hits at the box office and explored questions of our purpose in life. In each case, the films shoot for lofty ideas but land on the idea that life is really about us and what we can do. (For instance, often called a ‘love letter to science’, The Martian also explains that, “if you solve enough problems, you get to come home.”)

martian-gallery3-gallery-image

In an interesting twist, even some of the most recent Biblical epics attempted to explain God’s interaction with creation in a more scientific manner. Films such as Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings and (arguably) Aronovsky’s Noah have both offered new depictions of the Biblical stories with a smaller focus on God and a greater emphasis on our human perspective and understandings as a source of hope.

Now, hear me out. I’m not, in anyway, taking a shot at science. Not at all. It’s our primary way of understanding our world. However, what I am noticing is that the pendulum of knowledge has swung so far in the ‘seeing to believe’ direction that our culture seems to have lost it’s ability to believe in anything other than itself.

But I think that the pendulum is about to swing back.

strangerthings4

All of a sudden, science fiction has opened the door a crack to admit that, sometimes, they don’t have all the answers. This year alone, there have been some substantial film releases that take a scientific approach that, although helpful and meaningful, isn’t always the final word on what’s real. Films like Jeff Nichol’s Midnight Special, Marvel’s Dr. Strange, this summer’s underrated Ghostbusters reboot or even Netflix’s massive hit, Stranger Things, have all fused a scientific worldview with an eye staring keenly into the spiritual.

Now, these films tell us that we have to believe to see.

Just look at Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

finn2

When rebooting the franchise, one of the most important factors in the film’s success was bringing back an emphasis on the mystery of ‘the Force’. Whereas George Lucas wanted to explain away this amazing power in his infamous prequels—remember Midichlorians?—the fans and director J. J. Abrams wanted the Force to be seen as mysterious. By emphasizing the power of the Force, Abrams breathed new life into an idea that had lost its grandeur, without taking away any scientific explanations the Lucas had introduced.

Science and faith were friends again.

Interestingly, all of these examples are ‘throwback’ feel to them. Whether they take place in the 1980s themselves or are simply reboots of old franchises, each case seems to point to a ‘simpler time’. With this in mind, one has to ask if, maybe, our world is wondering if, for all our advancements, we’ve lost something along the way. Is it possible that, with all we’ve learned, we’re starting to realize that there’s still something powerful that we can’t explain? Does God really fit into our scientific worldview?

Maybe, our culture has finally realized that, to understand our world, we need both seeing and believing.

doctor-strange-poster-slice-600x200

Filed Under: Editorial, Film Tagged With: Benedict Cumberbatch, Darren Aronovsky, Dr. Strange, Exodus, Finn, J. J. Abrams, Jedi, lightsaber, Marvel, Matt Damon, Noah, Ridley Scott, Star Wars, stranger things, The Force Awakens, The Martian

And the Nominees are… Important?

January 14, 2016 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

The 85th Academy Awards® will air live on Oscar® Sunday, February 24, 2013.
The 85th Academy Awards® will air live on Oscar® Sunday, February 24, 2013.

The announcement of this year’s Academy Awards nominations always brings with it the usual debates.  Who surprised?  (Straight Outta Compton!)  Who got snubbed?  (Ridley Scott!)

Momentum.  Controversy.  Favourite.  Underdog.  Every year, all of these words are used to argue about the Academy’s picks.  In fact, I’m even sure that I’ll address these issues as time draws nearer to the eventual opening of the envelopes.

Though really, the question for the Church today is something different…

“Should we care?”

revenant2

Most people give a resounding ‘No!’ to this issue.  After all, the Oscars is really nothing more than an opportunity for Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence and Brie Larson to gear up in Versace and Prada and walk the red carpet.  It seems to be frivolous fluff.  (See Globes, Golden) Besides, they haven’t seen the other movies anyways.

As a church, however, I don’t think we should be so quick to tune out.

Although the Academy has always been accused of being ‘out of touch’, the films that win (and are even nominated) demonstrate themselves to be cultural touch points.  Because everything is always a product of its own time, we learn a lot about the worldview and values of our culture from the stories it feels the need to tell.  Films like The Big Short, Mad Max: Fury Road, and The Revenant are films which speak our moment in time (even if they’re not set in it).  For the Church at large to ignore this fact is to miss an opportunity to engage Hollywood on their turf.

Christian Bale plays Michael Burry in The Big Short from Paramount Pictures and Regency Enterprises
Christian Bale plays Michael Burry in The Big Short from Paramount Pictures and Regency Enterprises

Art is a doorway to a culture.  The Apostle Paul knew that and would study the poetry and art of a city upon his arrival.  (Lest we forget the statue to the ‘Unknown god’ in Acts 17)  As Christians, we have been called into our world to speak hope in a relevant manner with humble hearts.  We don’t always like the messages we hear from the cinema–but that doesn’t make them less important.  How can we truly speak the Kingdom of God into a culture if we aren’t willing to listen to them first?  (After all, Karl Barth once said that the best theologians are the ones that “have a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other.”)

At the same time, I also think that the answer to our question about the Oscars can also be ‘No’ as well.  (Though maybe not for the reason you’d expect.)  The truth is that, as important as it is to engage the stories of our dominant culture, it doesn’t hold a candle to the truth of the stories of those in our nearest proximity and community.  In other words, although understanding the theological values inherent within The Martian and Room is a healthy exercise of the mind, the stories that matter most are the ones from the people we know.  To contemporize the Gospel, we must first engage our own world.  The values in our area may be entirely different than those that are revealed in this year’s Oscar race.

room1

Wrestling with the texts of those worthy of even being mentioned with the phrase “Best Picture Nominee” needs to be vital exercise within the church if it is to stay relevant.  Still, we also can’t assume they reflect the views of everyone we know.

And seriously, what does Ridley Scott have to do to get a win for directing?  Not even for Gladiator?  Throw him a bone, people…

martian-gallery3-gallery-image

Filed Under: Current Events, Editorial, News Tagged With: Brie Larson, Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Oscars, Ridley Scott, Room, Straight Outta Compton, The Martian

TIFF Hits: THE MARTIAN

October 1, 2015 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

The-Martian-book-cover

Are we truly alone in the universe?

It’s a question asked by a number of entries into the sci-fi genre.

However, The Martian is not like other films.

Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner), The Martian doesn’t wrestle with this question in terms of alien life on other planets. Rather, it is far more interested on what it takes to survive when you are alone–and whether or not we are alone spiritually.

The Martian tells the story of astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) who, on a mission to Mars, is accidentally left stranded on the surface of the planet by his crew. Alone and presumed dead, Watney opts to fight for his life, rather than cower under the circumstances. As NASA gets wind of his plight, they begin to move forward with a plan to bring their boy home, assuming that he can stay alive long enough to be rescued at all.

Far more Cast Away than Gravity, The Martian chooses to tackle its subject matter with a sober tone. In fact, one of the things that the film prides itself on is the fact that the various methods of survival Watney chooses throughout his experience are all scientifically possible. Although the term ‘non-stop thrill-ride’ doesn’t apply to this film, Matt Damon is charming as Watney and keeps your interest with his engaging asides to his journal. (Incidentally, while I admit the film is really well made and quite interesting to watch, I would also argue that this lack of action prevented the film from truly ascending to amazing heights. Personally, I just didn’t feel that the film carried much drama.)

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Similar to The Man Who Knew Infinity, The Martian is also a ‘love letter to science’. Interestingly, though, the two films differ in their spiritual dynamics. While Infinity pointed towards a joint venture between science and faith, Martian has no such goals. Faith is mentioned only in passing, and it’s always ‘someone else’s’. For example, Damon refers to the faith of another team member rather than his own. In another instance, during a scene at mission control, faith is mentioned but in the context of “well, hopefully, that’ll work.” Although this isn’t really a surprise–director Ridley Scott has explored faith issues before and clearly struggles with the idea–it does put the emphasis solely on the efforts of human achievement.

Matt Damon literally says at one point that, given impossible odds, he’s going to have to ‘science the [crap] out of it’… and manages to do so. Again, like Infinity, the world is broken down into a series of mathematical equations, yet the wonder is taken away, substituted with a simple pat on the back for the human race and what we’ve accomplished. While this actually makes for a fascinating film (and offers an encouraging view for human achievement), it does subtly inform the audience that life is ultimately about us.

Personally, I found that to be the most tragic part of the film.

martian-gallery3-gallery-image

 

The Martian

Starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain

d. Ridley Scott

(out of five)

Filed Under: Current Events, Film, Reviews, TIFF Tagged With: Matt Damon, Ridley Scott, The Martian, TIFF

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