Renewing the Media

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

'The Amazing Spiderman' - Not Quite Amazing

Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spiderman

Film Grade: B- (B for not a bad film, but seriously, you've got to come up with something better.)

Rewind 10 years back — way back, I know — and that’s when Sam Raimi’s Spiderman first came out. I don’t know about you, but I feel older saying that. Those 10 years flew by, nevertheless, and in movie time, that’s no time at all.

Filmmakers must be desperate for good material, then, because that’s hardly enough time to redo the film so soon — another “nail in the coffin” to their lack of originality, as film critic Leonard Maltin put it.

What’s different about this Spidey story, The Amazing Spiderman? Well, it’s slightly closer to the comic book in that Peter Parker dates Gwen Stacy in high school, instead of Mary Jane. There’s also a new villain.

Otherwise, it’s the same fill-in-the-formula superhero flick — Peter gets bit by a spider, becomes Spiderman, power and responsibility, etc. The trailer looked like it would explore more of Petey’s past; and while the film certainly hinted a direction, especially with the disappearance of his parents, it largely left it unexplored without tying in the loose ends.

As actors go, Andrew Garfield and Martin Sheen fit their parts especially, giving depth, sensitivity and quirks to their characters. Andrew Garfield is a less dorky Peter Parker than Tobey Maguire’s, but more perfectly captures the real teen struggles, in a kind of chagrined, nervous, and yet charming fashion. He is motivated to do good because he desires justice; he respects authority but still defies it; he knows in his head what’s right to do, but struggles ordering his heart to do it. All very relatable qualities that Garfield has no trouble making us believe in.

Emma Stone too adds a fresh face to the franchise, exuding confidence yet vulnerability. The film, however, leaves her skills without much breathing space and her character unexplored for the most part. Most of the film’s meat is focused on the romance between her character, Gwen Stacy, and Peter, providing all of the heart and humor. But its passion, while having the potential to lead to deeper themes, leaves it at just mostly passion.

The best quality of the film, undoubtedly, is Spiderman’s tale of using the gifts one is given for common good. It's a lesson we should all be reminded of from time to time. Uncle Ben, like in the first Spidey film, reiterates it saying, “We have a responsibility to (do good) if we have the power to do it.”

I guess, going into the movie, I was expecting a reason as to why they remade it, some drastic change or updating of the franchise, like Christopher Nolan did with Batman. I was as little disappointed then, that besides giving Parker the proper girlfriend per the comics, it didn’t look or feel any different. It’s certainly not a bad film; it’s just that we’ve seen the story told the same way before, with different actors.

To compare superhero franchises, Christopher Nolan reinvented the character of Batman, exploring philosophical questions and the deeper recesses of the human heart. Nolan treats the character of Bruce Wayne almost with reverence, as Wayne symbolizes virtue, and living out virtue when no one else believes in it — a far cry from Tim Burton’s Batman. In this film, director Marc Webb could have taken similar artistic rein — but merely recreates the same formula of his predecessor, lacking both creativity and a unique stamp of his own to put to the franchise.

Still, it’s worth a watch simply because Spiderman himself is a timeless hero. We relate to him, as he was a normal guy with normal struggles. That essence in this film — a normal guy living a heroic life —doesn’t fail to inspire.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Brave Review

Film Grade: B+

Pixar films have seldom sold audiences short — from Finding Nemo to Toy Story, Pixar has never failed to bring wholesome laughs with surprisingly deep messages, often stressing the importance of family. While Brave introduces Pixar’s first heroine and first period setting, it most certainly stays to true to those traits.

Brave is set in medieval Scotland, slightly past the Braveheart days (although blue war paint still runs rampant), but long enough ago when clans still came together to arrange marriages.

Which our heroine, Medira, beset with the wildest red hair in film history, won’t have. According to her father King Fergus, she “wants to stay single and let my hair flow in the wind as I ride through the glen firing arrows into the sunset” — which Merida’s mother, Eleanor, won’t have either.

To have mommy issues is no new subject in princess tales, but for a change, it’s because the princess doesn’t want to get married, when mother does. Because neither mother nor daughter can listen, Merida decides to use a witch’s spell to “change her mother … to change her fate”.

Well, the spell did change her. Into a bear. The only way to change her mother back would be to “mend the broken bonds caused by pride”, which didn’t mean re-stitching the family’s tapestry, as Merida thought. To undo the spell, Merida and Eleanor have to work together to transform themselves.

Measuring this film to Pixar's past list, Brave isn't exactly an A+. While it isn’t Pixar’s best, the film still has so many good qualities that make it worth seeing. (First of all, it's Pixar. Nuff' said.)

Second, the animation is an aesthetic work of art. Merida’s hair alone is a masterpiece, as the animators created two programs in order to achieve the wild look that is just as independent and strong as she is. Also, the film score and Scottish accents never got old.

Third, the film is refreshing. Not only does Merida kick away the typical princess gender role, she does so without rejecting her femininity. She never discards her role as a woman, but she does know she’s not fit to marry because she’s not ready. That’s a mature thing to realize. In this way, the film shifts the focus away from the distressing-damsel princesses to the film's theme of family importance.

The basic conflict in the film — Eleanor and Merida’s relationship — is typical. A loving mother wants to prepare her daughter for the responsibilities of the role she will have as a grown woman, teenage daughter wants her independence and freedom. Still, deep at the core of those differences, there is unconditional love. The love between a mother and daughter truly transcends all hurts, if we choose to let it go.

Which is the lesson learned in Brave. Family and forgiveness are essential, and the two often go hand in hand— which means we are constantly called to put aside our pride. The family is a messy and imperfect structure. Like the rambunctious clans in the film, we might fight a lot and we might disagree. But the bottom line is that good families love each other, and that is a precious gift.

The film’s trailer especially talks about “changing our fate” and how it is a brave thing to do. We learn in the film that changing our fate begins by changing ourselves. When we gain perspective for ourselves, when we allow ourselves to be transformed, we change our fate, and in turn, change those around us. To lay down arms, to listen, to gulp back pride, to lovingly forgive — that’s brave. And this film is a brave reminder.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

A Pro-Life Challenge

As an intern at my local newspaper, I was able to cover a pro-life rally at a city hall council meeting where I live. I won't go into what happened in the meeting, but I was struck by what I observed.

Throughout the meeting, several pro-life people were able to voice their beliefs and opinions, without interruption and hailed with applause. But when two abortion supporters rose to speak, the "pro-life" people in the audience booed them, cut them off, and shouted disrespectful remarks.

I know as Christians, we're fallen and imperfect, and sometimes, we're hypocrites. But when we are fighting so hard for something we believe in — in this case, against abortion — we cannot spew hate and then claim to follow Christ. It doesn't work that way, and it's totally counter-productive to what we're trying to accomplish here. The song goes, "They will know we are Christians by our love". I'm pretty sure Jesus wouldn't condone treating people of different opinions with such disrespect, and even hate.

I'm on the imperfect Christian lifeboat, and heck, I'll be the first to admit my imperfection. I can be a hypocrite too sometimes, we all can. But since I identify myself as pro-life, I take that belief into all areas. So here's a challenge, folks.

As a pro-life people, the term doesn't just mean that we are against abortion or euthanasia. It means we respect and value every life, even the ones that have different opinions from us. And treating them as people, with the respect they deserve as fellow brothers and sisters.

Second, we can't win any culture battle by fighting against other people. As someone in the crowd said tonight, we have to let God fight our battles for us, and do our part — that is, pray, first and foremost, and secondly, to do it the right way. We cannot allow the emotional connection to the pro-life stance get in the way of gulping back the self-righteous part of us that shouts "THIS IS TRUTH" to the world, while condemning those who don't have the ears to hear it.

I know for a fact we won't win anything. Period. God will. We might not even live to see that day, but it's not for us to worry. What we need to do is be the best Christian we can be, while leaving God to change the hearts.