OSCARS!

Gadzooks, film fans!  Here it is Oscar Sunday and I haven’t posted a single word about any of the Best Picture nominees.  I know you’ve all been waiting with baited breath to read my opinions of films you haven’t seen.  The suspense must be killing you!  Well, rejoice!  After three weeks of silence (during which time I started a new career … more on that later … maybe), I’m back with volumes of inane prattle regarding popular culture.

Now, I realize that when it comes to discussing these films, I’m coming a little late to the party.  You can find hundreds of thorough reviews and plot recaps elsewhere.  So, I will forgo writing a well-reasoned, argumentative review for each film and, instead, I’ll simply throw a bunch of random thoughts at you.  Worse yet, instead of writing nice, flowing transitionary sentences between my ideas, I’ll be making use of that age old bane of verbosity: the bullet point!   I know.  I’m still in shock myself.

So, without further ado (probably), here goes...

CAPTAIN VERBOSA’S MUSINGS ON THE 2012 BEST PICTURE NOMINEES

(in alphabetical order … with loads of spoilers)

AMOUR 

- Yeah, I didn’t see it.  Fail.

ARGO

- I loved the use of black and white storyboards to bookend this film.  During the prologue, we’re given a broad strokes retelling of the history of Iran starting with the days of the Persian Empire up to the present (well, up to 1979 anyway).  Much of this history is communicated through black and white sketches, and at first, I was wondering why the film-makers went for such a comic-booky feel.  Later in the movie, the storyboards and conceptual art for the CIA’s fake sci-fi film become a major plot point, and that’s when the prologue clicked for me.  And, of course, the last shot of the film features the one storyboard drawing that Ben Affleck’s character saved for his son back home.  I just thought it was a cool framing device.

- Speaking of that last shot, I totally geeked out when I saw all those vintage Star Wars action figures on the shelf.  Actually, throughout the entire film I was distracted by the kid’s SW poster and SW bedsheets.  But then to see an actual 12” Boba Fett figure from 1980 … do you have any idea how much those are worth now?!  If I were Ben Affleck, I’d ask if I could trade in my Golden Globe and just keep the Boba doll.

- Anyway, back to the movie itself, those last thirty minutes were intense!  I can only remember a few films that have literally had me on the edge of my seat.  (The only two that spring to mind are Apocalypto and The Hurt Locker.)  The moment that did it for me in Argo was when our heroes are on the shuttle bus headed to the plane and the bus driver can’t get the gears to shift.  It was a cheap little moment of suspense but it got my heart pounding.  And it demonstrated just how deeply I'd invested in these characters.  The fact that Affleck and company were able to build tension and suspense in a movie based on true events is a testament to their skills as storytellers.

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

- This is a tough film to evaluate.  Am I supposed to feel sorry for these characters who live in such abject poverty?  Or am I supposed to celebrate their free-spirited, fiercely independent existence?  The movie made me ask a lot of questions and I think that’s one of the features of good art.  It just wasn’t much fun to sit through. 

- There’s no denying the fact that nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis gave a remarkable performance as Hush Puppy.  Truly, she carried the film.  Those long, silent glares broken by moments of wordless, impassioned shrieking … it was simply haunting.  This young actress has an energy all her own and it will be interesting to see what projects she takes on next.  I also hope that being nominated for an Oscar at the age of nine doesn’t mess up her childhood too much.

- I don’t really have much else to say.  I’m still kind of processing this one.  It’s a movie that sticks with you long after the closing credits, and in my experience, that usually means it’s a well-made film.  I’ll just close by saying that I loved that briefest of flashbacks we got of Hush Puppy’s mom.  Any woman who blows away a gator with a shotgun and then cooks it up on the grill is quite the memorable gal indeed!

DJANGO UNCHAINED

- Where to start with this one?  Maybe with a disclaimer.  If you’re a fifth grader who knows me from church camp and you’re now reading my blog, please don’t take my discussion of these films as an endorsement of their content.  Actually, that’s a pretty good disclaimer regardless of your age.  This movie is offensive.  Yup, that’s all I’m gonna say.  There are debates raging about whether or not it’s racist (it is, against both black people and white people), and about whether or not it’s overly violent (again, yeah, its is).  It’s also a well-crafted revenge flick, a decent neo-Western, and the most accessible Tarantino film to date.  Take it or leave it.  (If you’re that aforementioned fifth grader, definitely leave it.)

- The performances here were strong across the board.  Christoph Waltz was predictably brilliant.  Maybe as Americans we’re simply in awe of well-spoken, multilingual Europeans, but this guy just can’t seem to do any wrong.  And it was so refreshing to see him play a good guy!  I particularly liked the dynamic between Waltz’s bounty hunter and Leonardo Dicaprio’s plantation owner.  The truly civilized, moral man is the gun for hire while the real thug is the upstanding Southern gentleman hiding behind the veneer of culture.  Would somebody please just give Dicaprio an Oscar nomination already?  He’s come a long, long way from the pretty boy in Titanic and he deserves it.

- Speaking of performances, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to look at Samuel L. Jackson the same way again.  In just a few months, he went from Nick Fury, the coolest of the cool, to Stephen the House Slave, the slimiest of the slimy.  That, ladies and gentlemen, is acting!

LES MISÉRABLES

- Close-ups galore!  And you know what?  They totally work.  I was impressed with the amount of singing that was performed in simple, lengthy close-ups.  Other directors would have swirled the camera around or cut to busy montages during the many solos, but Tom Hooper trusted his actors enough to just point a camera at them and let them emote.  And emote they did!  Much praise has been given to Anne Hathaway for her heart-rending, single-shot rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream,” and deservedly so.  Equally enthralling is Hugh Jackman whose Jean Valjean is transformed both physically and spiritually throughout the film and whose vocal performance mirrors that transformation.  And, as others have pointed out, Russell Crowe may not be the greatest singer in the world (who knew Maximus was a tenor?), but his Javert is nonetheless a commanding, relentless presence.

- As far as the themes of the film and musical go, it’s my understanding that they reflect those of the original novel fairly well.  I’m coming incredibly late to the Les Mis analysis party and I’ve never read Victor Hugo’s tome, so any statements I make here will probably come off as fairly obvious.  However, what struck me most this time through the musical was how perfectly this story demonstrates the struggle between Law and Grace.  Valjean, of course, represents the sinner who has experienced grace and who can now give that grace to others.  The law is still important to him and there are still consequences to his past actions; he goes to great lengths to see that another man is not punished for his old crime.  However, he is not bound by his former identity as a thief under that same law.  By grace, his new identity is that of a saint, which Marius declares in the film’s finale.  (I never caught that line before in the musical: “Your father is a saint.”)  As a saint full of grace, Valjean imparts life to those around him, including Cosette, Marius and even Javert.

Speaking of Javert, he definitely represents the letter of the law.  There can be no grace, no redemption, and no new identity in his eyes.  A thief is always a thief, a sinner always a sinner.  It’s interesting that both Valjean and Javert appeal to God as they struggle to come to terms with law and grace.  However, while the former finds mercy and forgiveness, the latter reveals in his solo “Stars,” that he ultimately has more in common with Lucifer, the accuser.  And, of course, Javert’s inability to accept mercy leads to his own literal fall from grace and tragic demise, accompanied in this rendition with a rather grisly “crunch.”

Again, this is all old news.  It’s just that as I watched this story play out once more, this time on the big screen, it clicked with me how the fates of these two men perfectly illustrate the outcomes of Law and Grace.  As the Apostle Paul wrote in 2nd Corinthians 3:6, “the letter [of the law] kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

LIFE OF PI

- Another big fail on my part.  I missed this one in theaters but I plan to catch it when it hits Redbox.  Still, I can’t say that I’ve enjoyed an Ang Lee movie since Crouching Tiger.  We shall see.

LINCOLN

- I really wish Steven Spielberg hand’t made this movie.  I wish he’d made a ten part miniseries instead.  Seriously, if John Adams gets his own HBO series (which was phenomenal, by the way), then why not Abraham Lincoln?  The level of talent involved in this production, on both sides of the camera, was staggering, and I wanted more!  I’d love to see this cast and crew’s take on Lincoln’s entire political career, not just the final month of it.  For me, the narrow scope of this film was a minor disappointment.  I realize that the Thirteenth Amendment was a pretty crucial piece of legislation and the story of how it was ratified by Congress is indeed fairly dramatic.  I just thought a movie called Lincoln would have more … you know, Lincoln.

- Speaking of President Lincoln, it’s pretty amazing how they were able to clone him and persuade him to be in this film.  I mean, they could’ve just cast an actor who kind of looked like him.  Of course, then we would’ve been reminded of that actor’s former roles from time to time as we were watching the movie because, after all, no actor is good enough to actually become a character.  No, the cloning route was the right way to go.  It was so nice to forget about an actor playing a role and just watch the real Abraham Lincoln walking around onscreen.  (In other news, looks like it’s an Oscar three-peat for Mr. Day-Lewis.  Congrats.)

- All in all, my response to Lincoln is typical of how I felt about most, if not all, of this year’s Best Picture nominees.  I really liked this movie.  I was impressed with the level of craftsmanship and the skill of the storytellers.  I even got pretty emotionally invested in the characters…  But I just wasn’t wowed.

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

- This may go down in history as the movie where sweet little Jennifer Lawrence cussed out Robert De Niro ... and did so masterfully.  What else can Ms. Lawence add to her resume?  She’s played the action heroine in a billion dollar hit franchise.  She’s been nominated for Best Actress twice.  And now she’s laid the smack down on America’s quintessential Goodfella and come out on top.  Where do you go from there?

- I thought it was awesome that Bradley Cooper’s costume for most of the film was sweats and a trash bag.  Classy.  I also enjoyed his reaction to the ending of A Farewell to Arms.  Classic.

- I appreciated that this film had a happy ending.  After all the junk the characters went through, it was nice that there actually was a silver lining.  However, I just wish that the happy ending hadn’t been contingent on Bradley Cooper’s character finalizing his divorce.  The whole arc for his character led up to him realizing that his marriage was beyond salvaging and then moving on.  This may be the most realistic outcome in today’s world where “irreconcilable differences” has become as common a phrase as “til death do us part.”  I was just bummed that the movie worked hard to make me root against this marriage in particular and the institution of marriage in general.

ZERO DARK THIRTY

- A movie based on the mission that took down Osama bin Laden could’ve been terribly exploitative.  There could’ve been slow motion shots of Old Glory waving in the wind with the strains of “God Bless The USA” swelling in the background.  The raid on bin Laden’s compound could’ve played out like a first-person shooter video game with a kill cam capturing the jihadist’s demise in blood-splattering bullet-time.  The director could’ve been Michael Bay.  Fortunately, Zero Dark Thirty avoids all of these grave missteps. 

- Despite the political uproar the film caused in Hollywoodland, it seems to me that Zero Dark Thirty is really an exercise in restraint and balance.  It would’ve been easy to open with video footage of the second hijacked plane slamming into the World Trade Center.  Instead, the film begins with chilling audio recordings of 911 calls from the people inside the towers.  When it comes to the sensitive issue of waterboarding, the film-makers may have been tempted to demonize the CIA and its methods.  Or they might have gone the Jack Bauer route and glorified the agents for their tough interrogation techniques. Instead, the torture scenes here are bleak, dismal affairs which seem to dehumanize both the Al Qaeda detainees and the American operatives.  Yes, crucial information is gleaned from the more psychological techniques, but at what cost to everyone involved?

- The death of bin Laden is also carefully handled.  The terrorist’s corpse is never shown in close-up and the gore isn’t sensationalized.  The SEAL team assigned to the raid is simply doing their job and the soldier who pulls the trigger isn’t even immediately aware of the significance of what’s just happened.  In the end, that’s what Zero Dark is really about: people doing their jobs in hostile situations, whether they’re CIA analysts or Navy SEALs.  I appreciated that about the film.  It’s less about the controversies or politics back home and more about the actual people on the front lines of the “War on Terror.”

- With all that said, I wasn’t as engaged by this narrative as I’d hoped.  I listed The Hurt Locker above as a movie that kept me on the edge of my seat, and the director of both films, Katheryn Bigelow, definitely knows her way around an action sequence.  She does a decent job of choreographing the climactic raid here.  There’s just not a lot of dramatic tension or surprises, perhaps because we already know how it’s all gonna go down.  Rather than the thrilling anxiety I felt while watching The Hurt Locker, my main impression from Zero Dark Thirty was one of pervasive, mounting dread.

So there you have them: my thoughts on the Best Picture nominees.  Hooray.  I’d write more of a concluding paragraph here, but the Oscar telecast is starting in just twenty minutes and I gotta go see if I out-predicted all my friends.  Time to endure three hours of Hollywood phonies!  But, hey, at least I already missed most of the Red Carpet Show!

What's so super 'bout the Super Bowl?

It’s that time of year again: time to gather around the TV with friends on a wintry Sunday afternoon and root for our favorites, all while consuming way too much junk food.  I am, of course, referring to the Academy Awards.  What other annual, overly-hyped televised event could possibly be on the horizon?  As far as I’m concerned, it’s all about Oscar season, folks.  And, naturally, I assume that you must be as excited as I am.

What’s that you say?  Watching the Academy Awards isn’t exactly a yearly tradition in your household?  You don’t see the point of spending four hours viewing talented but grossly overpaid celebrities compete for top honors in a mostly arbitrary contest?  You’d rather not listen to the commentators’ endless critique of every little, inconsequential detail?  And you’re sick of all these stars celebrating and patting each other on the back for simply doing their jobs?

To which I reply … wow, you make some pretty good points.  But, then, why do you watch the Super Bowl?  Don’t each of your objections regarding the Oscars also apply to the Big Game?  Both telecasts feature people who earn millions of dollars doing jobs that don’t produce one iota of practical benefit to humanity.  Both cultural events are rife with pomp, glamour and tradition that are ultimately meaningless.  Even the outcome of both contests doesn’t really amount to much. Five years from now, most folks will have difficulty remembering who went home with either the Super Bowl ring or the Best Picture statuette.  And, at the end of the day, both events really just exist to sell advertising time; the only difference is whether the ads are for the F-350 or the Prius.

So, now that we’ve had our imaginary argument and we’re still friends, I’d like to recommend that you tune-in to the Academy Awards this year.  And here are a few reasons why I think you should do so.

First of all, believe it or not, the Oscars are still kind of culturally relevant.  There’s no denying that movies inform our society in a dynamic way.  As humans, we’ve always been suckers for a good story.  Throughout the ages, narratives have instructed, entertained, captivated and inspired us.  This may be one of the reasons that the greatest Teacher who ever lived so frequently employed stories or parables in His teaching.  At any rate, stories are important to us.  And in our hyper-visual society, the cinema is one of the most significant venues where these stories are told.  (To be more accurate, these days it’s the cinema, or your iPad, or your X-Box, or your Netflix queue, or your AppleTV…)  Through whatever medium we watch them, movies continue to tell us a lot about who we are as humans, not to mention who we wish we could be.

So movies are (relatively) important.  And every February, the Academy Awards roll around and tell us which movies are the most important.  But why on earth should we take their word for it?  Well, for one thing, the awards are voted on by people who have actually worked in the film industry.  The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is made up of around 6,000 individuals who’ve attained a certain level of expertise creating motion pictures.  We’re talking about cinematographers, set designers, make-up artists, film editors, producers -- in a word, professionals.  Presumably, they know their craft and they know when it’s done with excellence.  That’s why winning an Oscar means more than winning an MTV Movie Award (which is voted on by viewers) or even winning a Golden Globe (which is voted on by a handful of journalists).

On a side note, this is another reason why I recommend watching the Academy Awards: it’s the only awards show that represents the opinions of a diverse field of professionals.  It’s not a bunch of pre-teens voting (like Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards).  Less reliable still, it’s not just a gaggle of actors voting (like the SAG Awards).  These days, awards season in Hollywood stretches from January to June, and there are a slew of telecasts competing for your viewership.  The nice thing about watching the Oscars is that you can just skip all the rest.  Catch the one awards show that actually counts and then get on with the myriad of more important things in life.

So, we’ve established that the Oscars are kinda, sorta relevant and that the Academy kinda, sorta knows what it’s talking about.  Then why, you ask, haven’t I heard of ninety percent of the films that they nominate?  Why don’t they honor popular movies that people actually go see?  Why are their selections always so artsy-fartsy?

Once more, my response is, good point.  But, please, let’s not start arguing again.  I’d just like to point out that there hasn’t always been such a disconnect between what the Academy honors and what most Americans enjoy.  Since the late 1920s, when the Academy first started handing out some form of “Best Picture” award, the top Oscar has often gone to movies that were both critically and commercially successful.  Films like Gone with the Wind, The Sound of Music, Rocky and Forrest Gump were huge hits with both casual movie-goers and Academy voters alike.  In recent years, however, the Best Picture winners all seem to be movies that a much smaller percentage of the population has actually seen.  Truth be told, it’s been a decade since a genuine blockbuster was named Best Picture.  2003 was the last time that the highest grossing film of the year -- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King -- was also the highest honored.

So, what are we to make of this?  Has the American movie-going public lost its taste for complex storytelling and excellence in the cinematic arts?  Have we become so accustomed to watching explosions light up the screen every six minutes that we’ve stupidly confused spectacle with substance?  When you consider the over-reliance on computer generated effects and the overabundance of comic book movies that have marked the past fifteen years, this becomes a very real possibility. (And this is coming from a guy who enjoys a good comic book.  Crappy CGI, not so much.)

Or does the fault lie with the Academy members?  Has their mission to honor and preserve high art actually resulted in an elitism that views commercial success with contempt?  In their admiration for innovation and their disdain for tired formulas have they somehow lost touch with the narratives that speak to us most?  Or are they just a bunch of flaming liberals who are completely out of step with America’s heartland?  

These are all excellent questions.  And, fortunately, I don’t have to answer any of them.  Seeing as this is my blog, I’m just going to tell you what I think.  And I think it’s actually a good thing that the Academy nominates movies that most people haven’t seen.  Personally, I look forward to the announcement of the Oscar nominations each January because it supplies me with a list of quality films to go check out.  Although often obscure, these are generally well-crafted, well-told stories that a league of professional storytellers are recommending to the public.  And honestly, the reason most of us probably missed these movies in the first place is because we were all in line waiting to see Captain America Meets Captain Kirk In Middle-Earth On The Quest For The Revenge Of The All-Spark 2.  (Having just made up that title, I have to confess that I’d probably pay to see that movie … as long as J.J. Abrams directed it.)  The point is, the Academy Awards provide me with an opportunity to add a few gourmet dishes to my otherwise steady diet of junk food cinema.  And I appreciate that.

So, why not watch some of the Best Picture nominees this year?  Why not check out some of the most highly regarded performances or the most creative screenplays?  I think you’ll be glad you did.  You can find a complete list of the nominees here…  http://oscar.go.com/

The 85th Annual Academy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC beginning at 4:00 PM Pacific on Sunday, February 24th.  Oh, and speaking of flaming liberals, Seth MacFarlane will be hosting.  Hmm.  On second thought, if you’re easily offended, maybe you should just disregard the last 1,500 words.  This may not be the best year to start watching the Oscars after all!

Oh, and by the way, go Niners!

Concerning Wizards

In my recent review of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, I noted that there aren’t any human characters with speaking roles in the film.  This raised the question, if Gandalf isn’t human then what is he?  And what about Radagast and Saruman?

Glad you asked!  You could, of course, find this information elsewhere, and I don’t purport to be a Tolkien expert, just a lifelong fan.  However, this inquiry gave me an excuse to dust off my copy of Tolkien’s magnum opus,The Silmarillion, as well as his Unfinished Tales.  Both of these works were published posthumously by J.R.R. Tolkien’s son Christopher, and both contain much more detailed information on Middle Earth and its millennia of history.

Here, then, is a very brief (and overly simplified) breakdown of Tolkien’s mythological cosmology.  There is the One, Eru.  He is the Creator of all.  Beneath Him are the Valar, powerful spirits to whom He entrusted the care of His creation.  Of these, Manwë is the leader.  The evil Vala is named Melkor or Morgoth.  He entered creation with the intent of turning it to his own glory and undoing all the beauty which Eru made.  In Christian terms, we would refer to the Valar as angels, and Manwë would probably be the archangel.  Melkor is definitely the Satan figure.  However, Tolkien was creating myth and his Valar have much in common with Greek and Roman gods.  Still, his universe remains monotheistic in that everything is created and exists for the One, Eru or Ilúvatar.

Anyway, getting back to the question of Gandalf, below the Valar in rank are several less powerful spirits.  These are referred to as the Maiar.  They entered the world (or Arda) along with the Valar and they pre-date the creation of Elves and Men.  As far as The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are concerned, readers encounter Maiar of varying levels in the forms of Sauron, the Balrog, Gandalf and his fellow wizards, and possibly even Shadowfax the horse!

So, how did Gandalf the Maia (or Olórin as he was originally called) end up roaming Middle Earth in the body of an old man?  Well, he was sent there as an emissary of the Valar along with four other wizards or Istari.  This was after Sauron had already forged the One Ring and as he was attempting to conquer Middle Earth.  The Istari came from Valinor, the Blessed Realm across the sea, on a mission to encourage and inspire the races of Middle Earth in their struggle against Sauron.

At this point, allow me to quote a passage from Professor Tolkien’s work as his words are far superior to mine.  This is the scene of the Istari’s commissioning in Valinor.  Manwë has called a council of the Valar and the Maiar and is seeking emissaries to send to Middle Earth.

***

“Who would go? For they must be mighty, peers of Sauron, but must forgo might, and clothe themselves in flesh so as to treat on equality and win the trust of Elves and Men.  But this would imperil them, dimming their wisdom and knowledge, and confusing them with fears, cares and weariness coming from the flesh.”  But only two came forward: Curomo [or Saruman] … and Alatar [one of the two blue wizards]…  Then Manwë asked, where was Olórin [Gandalf]?  And Olórin, who was clad in grey, and having just entered from a journey had seated himself at the edge of the council, asked what Manwë would have of him.  Manwë replied that he wished Olórin to go as the third messenger to Middle-earth … But Olórin declared that he was too weak for such a task, and that he feared Sauron.  Then Manwë said that that was all the more reason why he should go and that he commanded Olórin [to serve as the third emissary].  But at that, Varda [Manwë’s wife and Queen of the Stars] looked up and said, “Not as the third.”  And Curomo [Saruman] remembered it.

The note ends with the statement that Curomo took Aiwendil [Radagast] because Yavanna [the Queen of plants and animals] begged him, and that Alatar took Pallando [the second blue wizard] as a friend.

Unfinished Tales, Ballantine Books, 1992.  p. 410

***

Well, I hope that answers the question of Gandalf’s identity.  I’ve been re-reading that chapter on the Istari and I still have several thoughts swirling around.  Perhaps I’ll post them later along with a few more passages from Tolkien.

For now, let me just remark that I see a type of Christ in Gandalf.  Now, I understand that this is certainly not a new or shocking idea.  After all, the wizard later lays down his life for his friends and then is raised in a glorified body, becoming Gandalf the White.  The Christ parallels don’t get much clearer than that!  (Except, perhaps, in the case of a King who has the hands of a Healer and who, well, Returns.)

Anyway, it’s just that as I read over the details of Olórin’s incarnation, I was reminded of the One who took on flesh for me.  Like Gandalf, Jesus left the Blessed Realm, emptying Himself and being found in the form of a Servant.  He faced the confusion, “fears, cares, and weariness coming from the flesh” and yet without sin.  He had no place to call home but was regarded as a wanderer and a pilgrim.  And ultimately, when no one else could, He courageously took a stand against evil and overcame it.

Of course, unlike Gandalf, Jesus isn’t just a lesser spirit or angelic being.  And this is where the True Myth far outshines Tolkien’s legendarium.  Christianity dares to assert that The One, the Creator Himself, all-powerful, limitless, infinite God took on the limitations of flesh and dwelt among us.  And we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The true Incarnation is simply astounding.  YHWH Himself entered human history and changed everything forever.

Now that is a story worth telling.

An Unexpected Enjoyment

Surprisingly, I thoroughly enjoyed the first cinematic installment of The Hobbit.  This is mildly shocking considering my initially negative response to each of The Lord of the Rings films.  Folks who knew me in college can attest to how spitefully I nit-picked each of those movies (and this blog post comes with the sincerest of apologies to those friends who were courteous enough to endure all of my joyless griping back then).  I always told myself that my ill-will toward Peter Jackson’s trilogy arose from my lifelong adoration of J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary masterpiece.  That may have been true, however, it seems to me now that there was also a large dose of academic arrogance behind my attitude.  Simply put, I was a film student and I hated everything.

Now, a decade later, I’m pleasantly surprised to report that I had a blast watching The Hobbit.  The only negative aspect of my viewing experience was that, afterward, my mouth rather hurt from smiling so much.  Seriously, I sat through the majority of the movie with a big, dumb grin on my face -- a big, dumb grin that would have appalled my snobbish film school self.  This probably says more about me than the film itself, but at least the movie earned that grin and kept on earning it throughout its considerable running time.

There’s so much to like about The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  It’s big, bold and imaginative.  Right from the start, with a flashback to the glory days of the dwarves, the film catches your breath and surpasses your expectations.  You think you’ve already seen a massive subterranean city with Moria?  Well, wait ‘til you get a load of the cavernous realm of Erebor and its magnificent Arkenstone!  You think you know all there is to know about elves?  Wait ‘til you witness King Thranduil ride over a ridge mounted regally on a moose!  Creative flourishes like these will surprise and delight audiences already well versed in the visual trappings of Middle Earth.

Of course, more than anything else, it’s the characters that keep us coming back to this mythical land.  And, happily, the cast of wizards, dwarves, hobbits and elves doesn’t disappoint.  Whereas The Lord of the Rings dealt extensively with various races of men, there isn’t a single human character with a speaking part in this first film.  However, that doesn’t stop the inherent humanity of these roles from emerging thanks to some wonderful performances.  Sir Ian McKellen is predictably excellent as he reprises the role of Gandalf.  Richard Armitage brings both nobility and surliness to his turn as Thorin Oakenshield, creating the most badass dwarf to ever grace the silver screen.  (Sorry, Gimli.)  Another stand-out is Ken Stott as the loyal but world-weary Balin.  And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Sir Christopher Lee, whose return as Saruman the White doesn’t amount to much more than a cameo, but who still has gravitas and presence to spare even at ninety years of age.

In the end, however, the film belongs to the hobbit himself: Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins.  His was an inspired piece of casting and Mr. Freeman seems even more at home in Bag End than Sir Ian Holm before him.  His domesticated fastidiousness is surpassed only by his evident longing for something more, something “out there.”  In a slight departure from the book, it is not Gandalf who ultimately “nudges” Bilbo out the door and onto the start of his adventure.  Rather, this scene plays out more reflectively as Mr. Baggins surveys his safe, familiar hobbit hole all the while holding his unsigned “burglar’s” contract and considering the unknown thrills and danger that it represents.  Mr. Freeman plays the moment of decision brilliantly and communicates all we really need to know about our protagonist without speaking a word.  The immense enjoyment I found throughout the film is due in large part to Martin Freeman’s terrific performance.

Of course, An Unexpected Journey is not a perfect movie.  It tries a bit too hard to inject Bilbo’s light-hearted adventures with the same sense of urgency and high stakes as Frodo’s later, darker quest.  As far as the source material goes, The Hobbit is a very different book from The Lord of the Rings.  The former is an episodic collection of bedtime stories for children.  The latter is a sprawling war epic for adults.  One wishes that Peter Jackson had made this distinction in his approach to the material.  Indeed, I couldn’t help but imagine how a single, fast-paced Hobbit film might have turned out compared to the ponderous, plodding trilogy that Mr. Jackson and company have planned.

Still, this first installment of The Hobbit gets the job done when it comes to entertaining audiences and welcoming them back to Middle Earth.  On a personal note, it also raises my esteem for Peter Jackson as a devotee of Tolkien.  I may not care for his directing style or agree with some of his choices in adapting the books to film.  However, I can’t deny the attention to detail or the amount of sheer love that he and his crew put into these productions. 

Nor can I deny that Mr. Jackson and his fellow screenwriters firmly grasp the major themes of Professor Tolkien’s work.  My absolute favorite scene in An Unexpected Journey is another dialog-free moment in which an invisible Bilbo has his blade within inches of an oblivious Gollum’s throat.  In the end, of course, Bilbo spares the wretched creature’s life and this moment becomes the crux of Tolkien’s entire saga.  As Gandalf will later remind Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring, “It was pity that stayed [Bilbo’s] hand.  Pity, and mercy: not to strike without need… The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many...”

The inclusion of Bilbo’s compassion for Gollum gives me hope that Peter Jackson understands that these stories are about so much more than just epic battle scenes.  And this glimmer of hope has allowed me to truly enjoy a Peter Jackson film in the theater for the very first time.

Or maybe I’ve finally just chilled out.  That’s a distinct possibility as well.  ;)

"Why I Left The Rest"

So, this will be old news for some of you, but I have stepped down from my position as program director at Cowboy's Rest. Don't panic! I still love Jesus and I'm still super excited about what He's doing at The Rest. You can read more about my reasons for leaving in the following note. Thank you all for your support and prayers!

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Dear Friends,

Chelsea and I want to let you all know that we have stepped down from our full-time positions at Cowboy’s Rest Christian Camp.  This is not a decision we made lightly.  I’ve been involved with Cowboy’s Rest since before its founding in 1999, and the camp has played a vital role in both our lives.  (After all, we first met on the stairway between the upper and lower lawns.)  Beyond that, we sincerely love the ministry of Cowboy’s Rest and all the people involved in it, both campers and staff.  That’s what made this choice so difficult.

However, after taking quite a bit of time to pray and seek godly counsel, it just became evident to us that, as a couple, we’re not called to full-time camp ministry. The craziness of the camp schedule, while a ton of fun for a week or two, can put a strain on a marriage when it’s kept up month-in and month-out.  That probably sounds like whining, but it’s simply a reality we’ve both had to face.  During this season in our lives, we just need to take a step back to focus on our relationship with the Lord and our relationship with each other.

So, what this decision means is that we won’t be at camp next summer.  What it does NOT mean is that we’re upset or disgruntled with Cowboy’s Rest in any way.  The Board of Directors and the Senior Staff have been nothing but supportive throughout my past decade of employment.  Both Chelsea and I are very grateful for their wisdom, encouragement, and friendship in our lives and for their godly leadership of this ministry.

Our decision also does NOT mean that we’ll never serve at the camp again.  Both of us are looking forward to helping out in a volunteer capacity in the near future.  Believe me, I’m planning to get lots of mileage out of that aggravating phrase, “I’m just a volunteer.”

Finally, and most importantly, our leaving Cowboy’s Rest does NOT mean that the ministry of the camp is over.  Far from it!  Plans are already in full swing for summer 2013, and it’s very exciting to hear the new ideas for rec games and activities that are being tossed around.  If you want to get a head start on planning for camp, check out our 2013 calendar here…

http://cowboysrest.org/CALENDAR.htm

And remember, registration officially opens on February 1st.  That’s just two months away!  Keep an eye out for summer camp updates here…

http://cowboysrest.org/SUMMER.htm

Beyond summer camp 2013 (which, did I mention, is going to be awesome?), I’m confident that the ministry of Cowboy’s Rest will survive my departure because it’s never been about me in the first place.  CR is Jesus’ camp.  He is the One who founded it and who has kept its gates open.  He’s the One who has graciously worked in thousands of hearts and lives over the years.  And He’s the One who should receive all glory and praise for the amazing things that happen at The Rest.  I’m simply grateful to be one of the tools that He has used to accomplish His work, sometimes in spite of myself.  Both Chelsea and I are praying that the Lord will continue to use Cowboy’s Rest in a mighty way for decades to come, by His grace and for His glory.

So, there’s not much left to say … except, thank you.  Thank you to everyone who has made this job so much fun that I feel kind of guilty for getting paid.  Thank you to all the staff members who have worn ridiculous outfits, endured countless Opener rehearsals, and worked criminally long hours, all to show the love of God to His children.  Thank you to all the campers who have cheered “just a little bit louder,” who’ve sat through torturously drawn-out Closers (“And in eighth place…”), and who have consistently refreshed our hearts with your sincere love for Jesus and your hunger for His word.  And thank you to all of you who faithfully pray, promote and financially support the ministry of Cowboy’s Rest.  By God’s grace, I know the best is yet to come.

And now, it’s with fond memories and overflowing gratitude in our hearts that Chelsea and I say farewell to the Rest.  If I could, I’d get up on that chapel stage one last time, raise the microphone to my lips, take a deep breath, and then tell myself…

“YOU ... ARE … OUTTA HERE!”