The Golden Compass

A new controversial movie will be released worldwide next month. The movie is called The Golden Compass and is based on the first book of a trilogy written by English author, Philip Pullman, titled His Dark Materials. The movie is a distant cousin or rather imitation of previous fantasy successes such as Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

In regard to the controversy, there are two clear sides. Pullman is a declared atheist and has admitted unabashedly that the theme of his books is "to kill God". To reenforce his theme, president of American Atheists, Ellen Johnson, described The Golden Compass as being a movie about questioning authority, going on to to acsert that that message ought to be taught to children.

On the other hand, Bill Donahue, head of the Catholic League, is imploring families everywhere to boycott the movie on the premise that the movie is completely anti-Catholic and anti-religion. The movie portrays a group of bad men called in the film "the Magisterium". The group is made up of a Pope and Bishops who convene regularly to plot kidnappings of small children. They do so in order to carry out scientific experiments like separating the soul and body.

After Tuesday night's premiere of the film in London, The Guardian pointed out that the film has,"No other challengers as this year's big Christmas movie." Christmas: a holiday theoretically remembering the birth of the Son of God -- no doubt an inappropriate occasion to teach young ones about the best way of eliminating him...

Hollywood holding on...

"As the home stretch of the movie year arrives, Hollywood has rarely been more in need of a holiday pick-me-up," said Wall Street Journal columnists, Peter Sanders and Sam Schechner. In their article titled Hollywood's Quality Glut
Fall's films fizzled. Can 'prestige' movies save the holidays? , they comment on the fight for gold and glitter as the last films of 2007 make their way to the theatres. With all eyes on opening night box offices sales, this is no small wonder for America's largest industry that makes its bread from supplying pleasure to the masses.

Some of the front-runners in the race include Seinfeld's animated Bee Movie, which reccounts the tale of a young Bee that sues humanity for stealing honey from bees. Then there is American Gangster (see previous post) and Will Smith's sci-fi epic, I Am Legend -- Smith's heroic journey in a post-apocalyptic New York. In addition New Line Cinema's The Golden Compass is aimed at the amateur audience with the basic theme of two adolescent in a quest to kill God. Finally, there is the last of the Bourne Triology (refer to previous posts) as well as another triology of anti-war propaganda, with movies like In the Valley of Elah, Rendition, Redacted. Lastly, old English revivals make there way to the screen: Beowulf and Grendel -- soon to be the supplement to high school English course -- and Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

What's my analysis? I agree with Mr. Sanders and Mr. Schechner in so far as most of the movies that people will shuffle themselves into see between now and the oscars seem to be made of limited creative material, yet packed full of star self-inflation and millions of dollars of computer graphics. While bees sue humans, Denzel, Russell and Mr. Smith shoot-up the streets of New York (what's new?) and two children try to eliminate the existence of God -- very nietzschesc. Meanwhile the Anti-war, Bush and military crowd press their agenda, while Angelina Jolie portrays Beowulf's "sexy mother". As for Queen Elizabeth, I don't think that the average American, Japanese, or Russian movie-goer cares much for her golden years, but at least Cate Blanchett is still employed...

American Dreamer

The hottest movie to be released this Fall is, without a doubt, American Gangster, due in theatres this November. Starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, the film recounts the story of a clandestined druglord, Frank Lucas (Washington) who is sought out by a unpopular cop, Richie Roberts (Crowe). It seems as though, both are the best of professionals in their respective trades, making for a power-house movie packed with drugs, guns, blood, and money.
But behind all the drama, it is worth asking, what's the point? Sure the movie is "based on a true story", but somehow I doubt that a history class somewhere will be analyzing the ex-gladiator and ex-boxer duke it out on the screen in class. Additionally I doubt that the average movie goer will leave the theatre wanting to read-up on the life of the Lucas Family history. So we have a film, American Gangster which gives the masses an action fix, while presumeably pumping them up with values like "honesty" and "family" and the "American Dream", all the while blowing up cars, buildings and people -- some dream.
I guess the only answer left is "That's entertainment" with the true-story adjective nonetheless, implying to the audience that movies are in fact, a productive experience, at least for the pockets of Hollywood...

Bourne Immortal

The newest movie of the Bourne triology, The Bourne Ultimatum, was just released yesterday in Italy.

Once again starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, the film is an action pact melodrama, tracing the steps or rather riding the shoulder of an ex-CIA agent, who can't remember who he is, where he is from, or how he got to be involved in the life-threatening chase that takes him from Moscow to Morrocco, Sweeden to Spain, Paris, and England. Bourne is in and out of cars, trains, planes, boats and motorcycles, sometimes walking but most times running, as his tries to evade his predetors who seek to kill him. He is one man against the system, that being the CIA, which finds Bourne to be extremely dangerous, for reasons that aren't quite clear to the viewer. (Perhaps in the first of "the Bourne's", debuting almost five years ago, the cause can be noted but anyway...)

Bourne keeps running, jumping, shooting, crashing, and finally limping to New York City, as he employs his cell phone trickery to out smart the guys who should be the most intelligible in the world. Bourne breaks into CIA headquarters where he not only reveals the dirty secrets of the bad guys, but finds out who he really is: a boy from Missouri named David Webb. And that is the climax of the story. In short, The Bourne Ultimatum is a Gobal Village Thriller, using an orginal and fast-paced plot to create a sense of total confusion, not only for the protagonist but the viewer as well.

While people eat their popcorn, Hollywood grows fatter, as the gumbi farm boy from Missouri takes on the CIA. But other than that, nothing in the film relates to the reality of man. It merely keeps him on the tread mill of entertainment, running until the next sequel to the Bourne sequels come out...