Bewitched

God is in control.

In Bewitched, Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kidman) is the new version of Samantha (from the orginal television series) and an actual witch who is cast to play the new version of Samantha (as a revival of the original television series)... wrap your head around that one!

What this allows the movie to do is have Isabel/Samantha have anything she wants at the snap of a finger (or, in the movie, at the pulling of her ear). As we see throughout the film, what she wants is a normal, non-warlock actor named Jack Wyatt (the Darrin character played by Will Ferrell). So she tries every trick in her book (of spells, that is). The dream house, the love spell, the tricks with the dog on the set... none of these truly accomplishes what she dreams of.

But when Samantha discovers that she must let go of her powers, tricks, and spells, and allow love to work "naturally" (or as I see it, to let God be in control), dreams come true.

Too often in our lives, while we don't have magic spells, we do try every trick up our sleeve to make things work our way. More often than not, the more we try, the less things work out for the best.

Letting go and letting God. It sounds so simple, but it is so difficult for many of us to grasp. I find myself wanting to control every moment of every day, every situation, and especially every dream I have. I find myself living too often by the phrase "If you want it done right, do it yourself." But Bewitched reminds us that letting go is letting God take control, and when that happens, great things do start to happen.

It's a risk, letting go. We need reminders every now and then to do that, even when we're sitting in an air-conditioned movie theatre this summer watching a remake like Bewitched.

Batman Begins

"Fear nothing. For nothing is concealed that will be revealed, nor secret what will be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in light. What you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops." Matthew 10:26-27

There is a scene in Batman Begins, when Bruce Wayne (played by Christian Bale) is walking around in a cave below his mansion and hears the sounds of bats all about him, echoing on the walls in the darkness. Bruce Wayne, we learn, is very afraid of bats (originating in a childhood experience which scarred him for life). When the bats in this cave start flying over his head, he ducks in fear. But then he remembers, "Fear nothing," and slowly stands while hundreds of bats fly around him, circling him and screaching.

In this scene, Bruce Wayne not only faces his fear, he embraces it. After a life running from his fears, he now lives the command of Christ in the Gospels: "Fear nothing."

The real story of Batman Begins is the confrontation and conquering of our inner fears.

On a simple, surface level, Bruce Wayne has a fear of bats. However, on a deeper level, he is afraid of deeper things. He fears his own inner guilt, his violent temper, and his family's reputation in the city. When the story begins, he is also haunted by the night when he lost his parents so much so that he has fled from Gotham half-way across the world to China.

Underneath the vigor and violence we see in him, Bruce Wayne is the walking embodiment of fear. Like in the Star Wars saga, this film employs the philosophy that fear leads to anger, anger to hate, and hate to suffering. With all his fear and supressed feelings, Bruce Wayne lets his life's goal become a search for revenge against those who made him feel this way.

The Scriptures speak about this foolish desire for vengence: "Do not look for revenge...for it is written, 'Vengence is mine, says the Lord.'" (Romans 12:19)

About a quarter through this movie, Bruce is put to the test by Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) and his mentor Ducard (Liam Neeson) to enact justice of a common criminal through capital punishment. He refuses to put him to death, citing that, above all, we must have compassion for one another. This is the first glimer of hope that Bruce Wayne is clearing his mind of fear, vengence, and hatred, and that he knows the Gospel call to love one another.

Slowly (but surely), as Bruce Wayne becomes Batman, he rids himself of fear, guilt, and anger. By no means is Batman the purest, most moral superhero; he is truly a dark knight and is very human underneath that pointy-eared mask. Revenge, fear, and anger continue to haunt him, but as he learns what true justice is all about (i.e., protecting the weak and vulnerable rather than fighting only for ourselves), those human shadows are cleansed away.

In the Gospels, Christ challenges us to rid ourselves of fear, guilt, and vengence. These are emotions of our dark side. They are not of God. Therefore, to give into them is to push ourselves further from God. When we find ourselves overwhelmed with guilt and fear, we must confront them, even embrace them like bats in a batcave. Batman Begins reminds us of the Biblical answer to facing our fears: that is to see goodness in all things, to act justly for love of others, and to walk humbly and selflessly with our God (cf. Micah 16:8).

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

"Have you not read from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must seperate." Matthew 19:4-6

It's been awhile since I've seen a movie that honored the sacramentality of marriage like Mr. & Mrs. Smith with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

I hate to give away the ending, but that's what made the movie for me. (skip this review if you don't want it all spoiled for you). In the end, marriage wins out. In the end, what God joined together, no one seperated (and, quite unbelievably in the final battle scene, neither did any handguns, rifles, shotguns, or bazookas).

The Smiths begin this movie like many married couples whose careers have eclipsed their intimacy. They seem to have buried themselves in secrecy and mostly from each other. One of the major plot holes is also one of the most telling signs of a marriage in trouble: It seems John Smith has never visited his wife at work in five or six years of marriage, nor does either spouse seem even curious about the details of each other's job.

Secrecy and a lack of concern all add up to a marriage without real intimacy. But as the Scriptures say, "the truth shall set you free." Once the two become aware of their secrets and once they fully concern themselves with each other's life in the movie, the truth sets them free to discover they not only have a career in common (albiet a very non-Christian job) but also a passion and intensity for their work and for their outlook on life.

One thing leads to another, and this discovery eventually (a few gunshots later) leads to a rekindling of intimacy and a reminder of the sacrament of married life.

What does this have to do with us, non-contract killers? While we may not share the Smiths' job choices, God has graced us with relationships that need nurturing and attention. With trust, there can be no secrecy. With love, there can be no lie. In this world where God made us for each other, we cannot afford to ruin that gift by ignoring the problem signs. When God calls us to marriage, it is our duty to give it all we have with all the passion He has created within us.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith reminds us of that gift. A must-see for all couples.

Madagascar

"Some friends bring ruin on us, but a true friend is more loyal than a brother." Proverbs 18:24

Although there is nothing too special about Madagascar that hasn't been seen in animated and children's movies before, it does bring back the theme of friendship in the best and the worst of times.

See if you can follow this: Alex the Lion (voiced by Ben Stiller) and Marty the Zebra (voiced by Chris Rock) begin this film as good friends at the zoo; then become estranged when they land on Madagascar; then come back together when a tribe of lemurs bring them to their home; then become predator-and-prey when Alex sees all his friends as food; then finally become friends again when Marty won't give up on a ten-year friendship. It's back and forth and back and forth, but the basic theme comes out in the end: friendship knows no limits or boundaries when it's really real.

Perhaps there might be a bright spot to the fact that this theme has been tried so many times on the silver screen: true friendship is a real gift of God. In such an individualistic age, I believe God wants us to rediscover the priceless value of community and friendship.

The hero of Madagascar? It's Marty, who choose to rekindle friendship despite the odds. He shows us it may be easy to be a friend in the good times, but it's much harder to keep it intact when the going gets rough (and when you might be "eaten" if you get to close).

In John 15, Jesus speaks a lot about real friendship. To Christ, friendship is "to lay down one's life for another." (v. 13). Marty the Zebra is a friend in the spirit of Christ in this film, and an example for all of us to follow.

The friendship theme might be an old movie formula, but it's a theme worth the repeat.

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

It's Friday, but Sunday's coming.

With apologies to Tony Campolo, who coined that phrase, this is the matra to say to yourself when searching for God in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. This remarkable third film can truly be called the "Good Friday" of the Star Wars saga.

(Spoiler alert! If you don't want to know what happens, go ahead and skip the next three paragraphs)

Beginning with a frantic space battle in the orbit above Coruscant, Revenge starts the action on a hyperdrive-level intensity which never seems to let up until the closing credits. Through the
course of this roller coaster, we see the horrors of a Star Wars universe:

• The horror of Jedi Knights being killed in cold blood by the very clones they have fought alongside in the Clone Wars.
• The horror of democracy thrown away by the members of the Galatic Senate for the supposed security of imperial control.
• The horror of innocent Jedi children being massacred by Anakin Skywalker because of the potential they represent.
• The horror of seeing the face of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine being horribly deformed by his own Sith lightning.
• The horror of seeing the great and powerful Yoda crawl away in shame and fear (!) from his battle with Darth Sidious, sadly saying, "I have failed."
• The horror of Padme dying in childbirth.
• The horror of Anakin Skywalker, the chosen one who Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan placed all their hopes on, turning to the Dark Side to become Darth Vader because it's simply the easiest, most seductive answer to his fears and ambitions.
• The horror of the armless, legless Darth Vader burning to cinders on the hardened lava islands on Mustafar, left to die in pain by his former master and friend Obi-Wan.

These are the horrors of the Galatic Republic's Good Friday. That is what George Lucas has given us in Revenge: a series of horrible, Good Friday events strung together in a nearly two and a half-hour movie ...but Sunday's coming.

(the spoilers end here...)

In the final moments of Revenge, there lies a promise. In those final moments, there lies an echo of what the prophet Isaiah said in the midst of the horror of exile: "Once more a remnant of the house of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors" (Isiaiah 37:31-32).

Lucas has given us a remnant, a band of survivors, on which we can redirect our hope after this Good Friday: Yoda, Obi-Wan, Luke, and Leia, who will together give us that exciting Easter Sunday experience on the Forest Moon of Endor.

We have all had our Good Fridays. We have all had those days when it all falls apart. We have all had those days when we feel like we are misunderstood by our bosses, our teachers, our parents, our superiors, the Jedi masters of our life. We have all had those days when we are face-to-face (lightsaber to lightsaber) with a friend or colleague. We have all had those days when we feel ashamed, defeated, saying, "I have failed."

If we let the saga end there, and often times in our own lives we do, we are left without God. Unless we put our hope in the remnant, the silver lining of our Good Fridays, we are left without God. In the midst of our worst days, we are always given a remnant, a silver lining on which to hang our newfound hope.

Between Episodes III and IV, George Lucas gave the Star Wars universe the hope of Yoda, Obi-Wan, Luke, and Leia. In your worst days, ask yourself... What does God give you?

May the force be with you.

Kingdom of Heaven

"What does the Kingdom of Heaven resemble? To what shall I liken it? It is the mustard seed which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and because the largest shrub..." (Luke 13:18-19)

Near the end of the movie Kingdom of Heaven, Saladin tells Orlando Bloom's character Balian that Jerusalem is both "nothing" and "everything." Poor Jerusalem.

It is "everything" for so many people: For Balian it means a chance at atonement for his sins. For Saladin and the Crusaders, it is defending or reclaiming the holy sites. For King Baldwin (the leper king, played by Edward Norton) and Godfrey (Balian's father, played by Liam Neeson), it is a hope for a "New Jerusalem," a Kingdom of Heaven.

How sad, though, that after battles and battles, it becomes a heap of stones signifying "nothing." No one really won Jerusalem then. No one really wins Jerusalem now, as seen on CNN.

The "New Jerusalem" dream of Godfrey and the King is something we can still dream of today. The Kingdom of Heaven is a reference to the many passages of Scripture where Jesus teaches about the "Reign of God." Many parables illustrate the beauty of this once and future kingdom. And this kingdom is not set by our rules, but by God's rules. There is one line in the movie where two people dialogue about the execution of a Muslim; one person reminds the other that it is our rules that demand his death for being an infidel; the other person wonders aloud if these are really the rules that Christ forsaw for the Kingdom of Heaven.

There is much in this film about Muslim-Christian relations that would do us some real good at this moment in our history. Perhaps this is a necessary, cinematic wake-up call for greater interreligious dialogue between our two great Abrahamic faiths instead of all this constant fighting and crusading.

"Let peace begin with me," says St. Francis of Assisi. So if our governments and leaders cannot do it, then it is our own duty to begin the peace process.

In our communities, let us pray for and pray alongside with our Muslim neighbors. Let us sit down and begin an honest dialogue on faith. Let us work side by side in social justice projects and serving the poor.

In our own way, let us build a Kingdom of Heaven here. Let us be that mustard seed of which Jesus spoke.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

"Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So, too, you must also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." (Matt. 24:43-44)

After watching the wild ride that is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the thought crossed my mind: what if the world really ends like that?

More questions followed: Do I have any alien friends who might save me from the earth's eventual destruction? Am I prepared for such an event? Would I be comfortable wearing just my bathrobe and a towel as I catch a ride on a passing spaceship? Should I be more compassionate next time I'm watching dolphins at the zoo?

What Hitchhiker's Guide does is pose a lot of questions. I've never read the book, and perhaps if I did, I might not have had so many questions like those above. Martin Freeman (as the main character of the story, Arthur Dent) is truly a great "everyman," more so than most actors because no matter how hard Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, or Kevin Costner tries to be an "everyman," they are still the ultra-famous Tom, Harrison, or Kevin up on the screen. This "everyman," however, plays it perfectly.

Arthur is just like us, caught up in the everyday issues of life - relationship worries, morning breakfast, and zoning regulations.

How often do we, like Arthur Dent, get caught up in that everyday routine? How often have we taken a look at our life and asked, "what's the meaning?" (and "what have I done with mine?"). Jesus tells us, in true Boy Scout fashion, to always "be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." (or in this movie's case, when the Vogon ship comes).

But do we really take Jesus seriously? Scientists say the end of the world could be millions of years in the future, and prophets of doom say it's coming any day now. Either way, the question remains: are we prepared and ready?

Beyond this question, Hitchhiker's Guide is full of theological pretzels dealing with creation, the meaning of life, life beyond our planet, the value of human reason and thought, artificial intelligence, the nature of religion and of religious institutions and churches, and the role that God plays in this giant universe. But what the movie ends on, what it seems to be all about, is that the one truth of the universe is "love."

Above and beyond the wild adventures of space travel, the focus of Arthur (and of love interest Tricia McMillan played wonderfully by Zooey Deschanel) is the search for love. This is quite a statement about love because Arthur is shown some amazing things about the ends of the galaxy and creation, but it all seems subpar compared to the search for true love.

This puts it in line with the passage from the first letter of John: "Let us love one another because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love." (1 John 4:7-8).

Perhaps as we take stock of our life in light of Jesus' "be prepared" message to us, we should take stock of how much we really see love of all God's people, our friends as well as those we do not like or those we do not know, as a part of our life. If this were the last moment and the Vogons were about to demolish earth, would I be able to say that I truly loved this world?

What a great question to ponder. Thank you, Hitchhiker's Guide!