Unreliable Ideas: Collecting some other posts

MOVIES WORTH DISCUSSING

‘Australia’ rated M
In northern Australia at the beginning of World War II, an English aristocrat inherits a cattle station the size of Maryland. When English cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn stock-man to drive 2,000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country's most unforgiving land, only to still face the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by the Japanese forces that had attacked Pearl Harbor only months earlier.

In 1939, the aristocratic Lady Sarah Ashley travels from Great Britain to Australia to meet her husband Maitland Ashley in northern Australia. The husband's drover comes to the city of Darwin to bring Sarah to their farm; however, when they reach Faraway Downs Farm, they find that Maitland was murdered. Sarah befriends Nullah, who tells her that the administrator Neil Fletcher is stealing her cattle; has killed her husband; and is working for the cattle baron King Carney. Sarah fires Fletcher and his men and together with Drover, Nullah and a group of loyal employees, they ride together to take the cattle to supply the army and win a tender in times of war. But the ambitious Fletcher has other intentions and uses Nullah to press Sarah.
www.imdb.com

I may be alone in this but I really enjoyed the film and think it’s got some great themes and insights in trying to describe the Australian pschye, story, values, influences and history in a fable of ‘Gone with the Wind’ proportions.
Is it the best work Baz Luhrmann’s done? No way
Does Nicole Kidman deserve the slaying she’s received in the media? No way

There are tearful moments, schlock, corn, wide landscape expanses, insights into indigenous culture and a cameo or feature from just about every recognizable Aussie actor in history!! Step aside from the hype and give it a chance… though at 2hrs 40 it is an ordeal!!

‘Gran Torino’ rated M
Walt Kowalski is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighborhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy an old man, who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors, a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition. When his neighbor Thao, a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gang member cousin, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Thao's family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighborhood.
www.imdb.com
This film is about cultural and generational change, themes of redemption and relationships.

‘Seven Pounds’ rated M
'Ben Thomas' [Will Smith] has a secret where even the previews talk about how he took only seven seconds to ruin his life. We pick up the unfolding story in this film where it seems Ben has chosen a range of people to help out in life, seemingly out of his capacity as an IRS [Tax Ofice] Case Worker.
This moving film comes from the 'Pursuit of Happyness' team and has a similar grain and feel whilst Will Smith works hard to create the depth and complexity of his character who is surprised by the girl he meets who is in need of a heart transplant.
As the truth about Ben and the reasons for and nature of his helping become clear, this turns into a very moving and thoughtful story of one persons attempts to make a real difference in the lives of others.


Will Smith quote:
"Usually with the films that I make there are ideas that I connect to, but lately I've been dealing with the bittersweet in life because it feels more natural. You don't ever get it really the way you want in life. That really fascinates me. As an actor, there are certain parts of a character that you create, and you train yourself to have those reactions and then it becomes hard to stop them when the role is over. You have to retrain yourself. My character in this film is like hot grits. You know you can't shake them off and when you do, it hurts."

SPOILER ALERT
While I found the story had weaknesses and some aspects were simply implausible, it is a 'fable' in the truest sense and offers reflections on:
life
mistakes
that things don't always go well

There are challenges awaiting many thoughtful viewers and the films climax is sudden and definitive!!

‘Defiance’ rated M
On the run and hiding in the deep forests of the then German occupied Poland and Belorussia that was World War II, the THREE Bielski brothers find the impossible task of foraging for food, weapons and survival, not just for themselves but for a large mass of fleeing Polish Jews from the German war machine. The Bielski brothers, living with the fear of discovery, contending with neighboring Soviet partisans and knowing whom to trust take on the responsibility as a guardian angel that is a fascinating insight into the true events of a small independent group of defiant band-of-brothers. Consisting of women, men, children, the elderly and the young alike hiding in makeshift homes in the dark, cold and unforgiving forests in the darkest times of German occupied Eastern Europe, Defiance is a beautiful reflection of dedication, sacrifice, desperation and hope.
www.imdb.com

‘Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’ tbc
“Once again I ask too much of you Harry!” Dumbledore
Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts turns out to be quite the exciting year. First off is the arrival of a new teacher at Hogwarts, Horace Slughorn, who is a bit more useful to Harry than he realizes. Next, Harry obtains a Potions book which used to be belong to the very mysterious Half-Blood Prince. Harry finds that the Half-Blood Prince's ancient scribbles are written along the margins of almost every page, giving Harry advice on how to improve greatly on his Potions work, and also teaching him a few helpful (and dangerous) spells along the way.

Amidst this, Harry is starting private lessons with Professor Dumbledore, during which Harry learns the dark secrets of Voldemort's past, hoping that they could use these secrets to find a way to defeat him.

Harry's year gets even more stressful with the suspicious actions of Draco Malfoy, who has been sneaking around the school doing, so Harry assumes, Voldemort's bidding. Harry quickly becomes determined, and slightly obsessed, to find out exactly what Malfoy has been up to and putting and end to it.

Yet, during this time, Harry and his friends go through daily life, busy with school work, Quidditch, (in which Harry has been made captain of the team) and of course, romance. Ron has found a new girlfriend, Lavender Brown, a perky (if not obnoxious) Gryffindor student, and Hermione is not happy about it. Ron and Hermione's friendship takes a toll throughout the school year and Harry, as usual, is stuck in the middle. Harry, meanwhile, is facing a romantic dilemma of his own: he realizes he is falling for his best friend's sister, Ginny Weasley, who is unfortunately dating Harry's classmate, Dean Thomas. Harry's pining for Ginny and Ron's hilarious relationship with Lavender give this story a large dose of reality.

Throughout all the school drama, however, the obvious darkness of Voldemort's impending rise to power is always apparent. The incredible action-packed climax is sure to leave the audience stunned and, inevitably, prove that you shouldn't trust everybody who you think is good and also prove that not everyone can manage to survive.
www.imdb.com

As the Harry Potter series becomes darker and more layered the movies are for older and older readers/young people. There continues to be controversy in Christian circles [and no doubt some will criticize our choice to consistently draw attention to these films].
The plain truth is the books and films have been hugely popular and have maintained the theme that although the premise is one of magic, the test is of very human values and choices… indeed these stories are about ‘who we are and who we will be’!!
We must be engaged in our culture and context seeking to find where God is emerging and allowing God to transform, question and cajole us through whatever medium God’s values are in evidence! Don’t miss the boat!

‘Pink Panther 2’ tbc
Steve Martin seems very excited in the chat show circuit about the results of his second tilt at Inspector Clouseau of the Pink Panther series!! Peter Sellers and friends are a hard act to follow!
My own story through High School was one of attending every Pink Panther film with good mate Graeme or others and literally leaving the film having fallen to the ground, rolled in the aisles and laughed until we cried and our sides ached! Some of those films have travelled better than others but the innocent premise and sight gags just struck a chord!!
The one snippet I’ve seen involved Clouseau, the bumbling French detective ‘standing in’ for the Pope at St Peter’s until he stumbled over the balcony, snatched the corner of a carpet banner hanging down and entertained the gathered throng with his attempts to escape a fall and certain death. It did look funny!

‘Terminator Salvation’ tbc
Set in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor is the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright, a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind.
www.imdb.com Warner Bros Films

Aussie Sam Worthington joins Christian Bale, Helena Bonham Carter and others in this latest installment co-written by James Cameron but Directed bu McG.

An action movie fable which always has surprising potential for thinking about the consequences of our values, decisions and societal choices!!

To go deeper with credible movies and use films well in worship, discipleship and youth ministry programs you should check out:
The Internet Movie Database www.imdb.com
Darren’s Digital Orthodoxy http://digitalorthodoxy.com/index.php?Doo=ContentView&id=1
Hollywood Jesus http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/
US site with reader contributors and [1] often helpful slant on lots of good films
Rotten Tomatoes http://au.rottentomatoes.com/
Usually succinct and honest reviews
Damaris http://www.damaris.org/cm/home/damaris
Reviews, clips, Talk Sheets etc
UCA NSW Synod INSIGHTS magazine
http://insights.uca.org.au/reviews/resources/a-m/faithandfilmresources.htm
Film and faith resources and reviews from Adrian Drayton
100 Films with a faith angle, see what you think http://artsandfaith.com/t100/
Or to find sites fitting your impressions, explore http://www.cmu.ca/library/faithfilm.html

MUSIC WORTH HEARING

“Life in Technicolor/Lost/Viva La Vida” Coldplay
Check out the latest clip for ‘Life in Technicolor’ as Coldplay laugh at their own reputation for ‘over the top’ concert experiences as the local church hall marionettes explode into a full on rock show.

“No Line on the Horizon” U2 album
OK, the word that comes ot mind is “underwhelmed”
Someone should have gone to Morocco, walked into the studio and said to Brian Eno “put down the headphones, step away from the panel and walk out of the room backwards and you get to live!”
Basically U2 have produced quite an ambient record with a few interesting tunes out of familiar themes without really including a track which will reverberate around the world and take their reputation, concerts, efforts towards a better world or soaring faith explorations to any greater heights!!
That said I liked “Surrender” and “Cedars of Lebanon” as tracks for use in coming weeks and at Easter, without any sense of “must do”!!

“You Found Me” The Fray
Although already nabbed by various TV dramas to wallpaper their adverts, the Fray have again produced a track of self examination, connection and a mood which invokes serious thinking about who we are, how we connect with others.

“Caught in the Crowd” Kate Miller Heidke
News Ltd, the Education Dept and other partners in NSW/ACT have been running an ‘anti bullying’ campaign with a range of sports and media stars and their stories. Along came Kate MH with performances on radio capturing the attention of teachers and parents as a song written from the perspective of the bystander, apologizing for inaction in the face of bullying at school!!

“Raise the Alarm” The Living End

“Whoa, whoa...
I may not believe in God,
It doesn't mean I'm a lesser person.
I still have a heart,
And I know what it feels like to be broken.

I may not believe in Jesus,
But I believe in sacrifice.
Life doesn't always stand a reason,
And no one ever gets a chance to live it twice.

But I'd rather risk my fate,
Than to lose my faith,
In the lovin', the hatin',
The constant debatin',
The chaos, the calm.
Raise the alarm.”

So what’s that lyric doing on this list?
Well, the deal is, what do you make of this perspective?
How does it challenge an exclusive view of the Christian faith as guardian of values,, morals and all things good?
How do you see this song lived out in the lives of people today?

What is ‘the good news’ in this context?
How do we have the discussion about being good c.f. being a builder of the world lived according to the values of God out of the perspective of afith in that God and personal relationship with Christ inspiring your reflection and action.

“The Fear” Lily Allen*
Superficiality, fame, getting ahead… is this what it takes?
Explore values, pop culture but be warned about the lyrics and language*

“Use Somebody” Kings of Leon
Ready to move from the superficial to something of substance?

“Right Round” Flo Rida feat. Keisha
Different readers will relate to different songs. From an analysts point of view this song is an interesting grab of pop culture in a cover with the usual rap workover!!
On another level it’s yet another track about values, what matters,a dn looking for direction in life. It’s just hit No 1 in the ARIA charts at the time of writing.

RESOURCES
NOOMA DVDs
Rob Bells’ series of 7-14min reflections on various topics relating to discipleship, life and faith are on the whole edgy, open, sharp and useful for reflection, discussion, worship and making a point beyond the superficial.
Not very title in the series is as useful as others and tastes, perspectives and needs will vary BUT the website has great summaries and preview clips to point you in the right direction!!
http://www.nooma.com/

Bushfire Reflection Resources
Check out Darren’s coherent collection of stuff from a variety of sources in the wake of the Victorian Bushfires and relevant to follow up for any kind of natural disaster
http://blog.digitalorthodoxy.com/?p=1015

“Downtime: Helping Teenagers Pray” Mark Yaconelli
From his stream of contemplative youth ministry resources and ideas

Changemakers TEAR
http://digitalorthodoxy.com/index.php?Doo=ContentView&id=186
Read about the study series at Digital Orthodoxy

WEBSITES

‘Fresh Expressions’ treasury of resources from this C of E/Methodist movement for creating new forms of church and transformation across the UK
http://www.freshexpressions.org.uk/index.asp?id=1

http://www.pastor2youth.com/
http://www.thesource4ym.com/
http://www.youthspecialties.com/
http://www.youthministry.com/
http://www.egadideas.com/
http://blog.digitalorthodoxy.com/
And sign up for the Youth Leader Email with regular ideas and resources
http://www.rethinkingyouth.blogspot.com/
http://280slides.com/