by Jason Joyner | Jun 29, 2007 | Blog, movies, reviews
I’m a big superhero fan. I’ve always daydreamed of doing something extraordinary to help people. So I have been a long time fan of comics and superheroes. I had the Super Powers series as a kid. Basically I’m a sucker for the resurgence of superhero movies over the last several years.
I will admit to liking the first Fantastic Four movie. It wasn’t high art, but a fun enough popcorn flick. I think the fun was seeing them discover how to use their powers and to work together as a team. Some comic movies aim for dark and brooding. Some carry a powerful theme, like the Spiderman movies. Others are meant like FF, just fun summer fare.
Unfortunately, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, can’t seem to find a groove and stick with it. It tries to be light at times. It tries to show the importance of relationships and the value of self-sacrifice. It tries to entertain. It fails on all counts.
I like Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba as actors, but they really don’t have chemistry and don’t show much interest in this movie. Alba in particular shows up to look pretty, but the acting is mailed in. The actors playing the Thing and Johnny Storm don’t take things as serious and they are the main parts worth watching through the film. Because the film tries to focus on the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm, it falls flat.
The Silver Surfer as the titular bad guy is amazing from a CGI aspect. Doug Jones does a great job with the movements of the Surfer, but the voice of Lawrence Fishburne only goes for gravitas without much else going for it. The action is fairly limited, and the payoff at the end of the movie with the arrival of Galactus is wasted, as we don’t really see the main baddie who threatens the Earth.
Doctor Doom wasn’t very popular in the last movie, but I thought he worked well until he started throwing one-liners. His return this time is pretty much limited to the one-liners, so he becomes a big disappointment in my opinion.
Overall, FF: Rise of the Silver Surfer will make an okay rental movie sometime this winter on a cold fall day (if there’s no football on, that is), but isn’t worthwhile as a summer movie experience.
by Jason Joyner | Jun 29, 2007 | Blog, movies, reviews
I’m a big superhero fan. I’ve always daydreamed of doing something extraordinary to help people. So I have been a long time fan of comics and superheroes. I had the Super Powers series as a kid. Basically I’m a sucker for the resurgence of superhero movies over the last several years.
I will admit to liking the first Fantastic Four movie. It wasn’t high art, but a fun enough popcorn flick. I think the fun was seeing them discover how to use their powers and to work together as a team. Some comic movies aim for dark and brooding. Some carry a powerful theme, like the Spiderman movies. Others are meant like FF, just fun summer fare.
Unfortunately, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, can’t seem to find a groove and stick with it. It tries to be light at times. It tries to show the importance of relationships and the value of self-sacrifice. It tries to entertain. It fails on all counts.
I like Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba as actors, but they really don’t have chemistry and don’t show much interest in this movie. Alba in particular shows up to look pretty, but the acting is mailed in. The actors playing the Thing and Johnny Storm don’t take things as serious and they are the main parts worth watching through the film. Because the film tries to focus on the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm, it falls flat.
The Silver Surfer as the titular bad guy is amazing from a CGI aspect. Doug Jones does a great job with the movements of the Surfer, but the voice of Lawrence Fishburne only goes for gravitas without much else going for it. The action is fairly limited, and the payoff at the end of the movie with the arrival of Galactus is wasted, as we don’t really see the main baddie who threatens the Earth.
Doctor Doom wasn’t very popular in the last movie, but I thought he worked well until he started throwing one-liners. His return this time is pretty much limited to the one-liners, so he becomes a big disappointment in my opinion.
Overall, FF: Rise of the Silver Surfer will make an okay rental movie sometime this winter on a cold fall day (if there’s no football on, that is), but isn’t worthwhile as a summer movie experience.
by Jason Joyner | Jun 5, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, fiction, movies, pop culture
I don’t intend for this blog to become a pop culture blog, but I do enjoy keeping up with things and seeing how it all plays out. I do think that the interaction between Christianity and pop culture is particularly interesting, and of course some of what I have done here deals with that. With that, I wanted to point out a couple of discussions or articles of interest.
Becky at A Christian Worldview of Fiction is tackling the ever-present topic of “What is Christian fiction?” See the post and comments that inspired it, then read her short story and dive into the debate.
Alex Wainer posts an insightful essay on Breakpoint talking about Christians and entertainment.
Those wishing to produce and market films to the large Christian audience looking for movies that aren’t hostile to their deepest beliefs should keep in mind several elements that set such stories on a promising path.
Read the full article to see the aspects he is espousing. He is speaking specifically about movies, but I think his ideas fully apply to all forms: music, fiction, comics, or whatever we strive to do.
From that article I discovered that Alex contributes to the Culture Beat, a blog that keeps track of pop culture and spiritual issues. Looks like a new one for my Bloglines feeds.
Check them out if you get a chance.
by Jason Joyner | Jun 5, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, fiction, movies, pop culture
I don’t intend for this blog to become a pop culture blog, but I do enjoy keeping up with things and seeing how it all plays out. I do think that the interaction between Christianity and pop culture is particularly interesting, and of course some of what I have done here deals with that. With that, I wanted to point out a couple of discussions or articles of interest.
Becky at A Christian Worldview of Fiction is tackling the ever-present topic of “What is Christian fiction?” See the post and comments that inspired it, then read her short story and dive into the debate.
Alex Wainer posts an insightful essay on Breakpoint talking about Christians and entertainment.
Those wishing to produce and market films to the large Christian audience looking for movies that aren’t hostile to their deepest beliefs should keep in mind several elements that set such stories on a promising path.
Read the full article to see the aspects he is espousing. He is speaking specifically about movies, but I think his ideas fully apply to all forms: music, fiction, comics, or whatever we strive to do.
From that article I discovered that Alex contributes to the Culture Beat, a blog that keeps track of pop culture and spiritual issues. Looks like a new one for my Bloglines feeds.
Check them out if you get a chance.
by Jason Joyner | May 7, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, movies
It is pretty “amazing” when a comic book/superhero movie can speak so powerfully into the human condition. (It really shouldn’t be – it’s not the source material that’s the problem, it’s the people who think Batman and Robin was a good idea). Yeah, it is a pun to describe Spiderman 3 as amazing, but that’s how I looked at it.
I got to see it Saturday night, and it was a very enjoyable movie from the “popcorn” perspective. Tobey Maguire gets to flaunt his stuff in some different ways, and the action and grapics are top notch. The story had a few wobbles in places, but overall I am not going to complain.
For the purpose of this post, I want to focus on the spiritual aspect. It has been noted elsewhere how each of the movies have delved into various religious motifs. S3 holds nothing back in dealing with the inner life and how we can be destroyed, not from the bad guys out there, but from our own evil impulses.
Spiderman is faced with the double barrel of pride and anger. The city is finally embracing him, and there is concern that he is getting a little big for his spandex. Then he finds that his uncle was killed by a different man than was thought, and Peter becomes fixated on revenge.
The famous black suit makes its appearance as an outward manifestation of Peter’s internal turmoil, giving him increased power at the cost of hightening his aggression. After some disasterous behavior, he realizes (while perched on a church) that he must let go of his anger and the alien symbiote that feeds off it.
Finally, Peter is confronted with his past, and he realizes his greatest power comes in forgiveness. The effect of what it does, not only for Spiderman but for the recipient, is nothing short of remarkable.
I have always loved superheroes – their powers and adventures a haven for my fertile imagination. However, we have access to the greatest power of all, and I think the lesson of forgiveness (and the battle within) will have a lingering effect long after the cobwebs are gone.
For more on this topic, Infuze has posted a Bible study based off of S3 that can be downloaded via a PDF file.
by Jason Joyner | May 7, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, movies
It is pretty “amazing” when a comic book/superhero movie can speak so powerfully into the human condition. (It really shouldn’t be – it’s not the source material that’s the problem, it’s the people who think Batman and Robin was a good idea). Yeah, it is a pun to describe Spiderman 3 as amazing, but that’s how I looked at it.
I got to see it Saturday night, and it was a very enjoyable movie from the “popcorn” perspective. Tobey Maguire gets to flaunt his stuff in some different ways, and the action and grapics are top notch. The story had a few wobbles in places, but overall I am not going to complain.
For the purpose of this post, I want to focus on the spiritual aspect. It has been noted elsewhere how each of the movies have delved into various religious motifs. S3 holds nothing back in dealing with the inner life and how we can be destroyed, not from the bad guys out there, but from our own evil impulses.
Spiderman is faced with the double barrel of pride and anger. The city is finally embracing him, and there is concern that he is getting a little big for his spandex. Then he finds that his uncle was killed by a different man than was thought, and Peter becomes fixated on revenge.
The famous black suit makes its appearance as an outward manifestation of Peter’s internal turmoil, giving him increased power at the cost of hightening his aggression. After some disasterous behavior, he realizes (while perched on a church) that he must let go of his anger and the alien symbiote that feeds off it.
Finally, Peter is confronted with his past, and he realizes his greatest power comes in forgiveness. The effect of what it does, not only for Spiderman but for the recipient, is nothing short of remarkable.
I have always loved superheroes – their powers and adventures a haven for my fertile imagination. However, we have access to the greatest power of all, and I think the lesson of forgiveness (and the battle within) will have a lingering effect long after the cobwebs are gone.
For more on this topic, Infuze has posted a Bible study based off of S3 that can be downloaded via a PDF file.
