Tag: God

NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN – The Review

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How far does your faith stretch? If you’ve never considered your answer to that question, I highly recommend watching Katrin Gebbe’s NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN. The writer and director’s feature-film debut is a powerfully poignant meditation on that very question. This recommendation, however, comes with a warning of great caution. You are likely to be offended, but this is perfectly fine.

This German film’s original title is “Tore tanzt,” which translates in English to “Tore dances.” Tore, being the film’s central character, is played by Julius Feldmeier. Tore is a pale, lanky teenager who somewhat resembles Napoleon Dynamite. In an effort to find meaning and purpose in his life, Tore joins a religious group in Hamburg, Germany who refer to themselves as The Jesus Freaks. Tore is perfectly at home amidst the group, but it is apparent he is truly a lone sheep existing within a pack of wolves.

As Tore discovers the flaws and inconsistencies within The Jesus Freaks, he grows slightly disconnected but remains in denial of the truth. In the process, Tore finds what he hopes will be a refreshing reprieve with a local family. After helping to repair Benno’s car, Tore is invited to join them for a meal. Benno, played by Sascha Alexander Gersak, seems like a friendly, generous man at first, but does not subscribe to Tore’s spiritual philosophy, which proves only to be the beginning of their differences.

The upside of encountering Benno proves to be Tore’s meeting his step-daughter Sanny, played by Swantje Kohlhof. At first presenting herself as a typically cynical teen wrought with attitude and discontent, Tore somehow brings out a lighter, more caring version of herself, likely to have been oppressed since about the time Benno entered her life. Tore finds himself driven to save Sanny from the devastating physical and emotional abuse she endures from Benno, while constantly impeded by the inconsistent insecurities of Sanny’s mother Astrid, played by Annika Kuhl.

NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN is a film so thoroughly drenched in negativity and cruelty that the spiritual optimism of Tore fighting to retain his faith beyond all odds is often unbearable. While Benno’s onslaught of inhumanity comes on slowly, he’s relentless in his mission to emotionally cripple Tore, purely out of spite. Benno has no logical reason to hate Tore, but seems to actually enjoy subjecting him to one demeaning and monstrous ordeal after another. In this, Tore becomes something of an enlightened superhero of ordinary origins.

Despite the unsavory subject matter and the relatively tasteful depictions of despicable acts portrayed on screen, Gebbe somehow manages to invoke a sense of warmth and intimacy that sets the audience up for gentler slap to the face. The cinematography delves into a bleak but inviting yellowish color palette and the freely moving, natural camera puts the audience in the presence of Tore’s experience. We may not always want to be present, but that’s part of the unpleasant appeal of the film.

Gersak’s performance is subdued and withdrawn, making his brand of evil that much more unsettling. In his mind, whether conscious of it or not, his actions are perfectly acceptable. As a result, it seems he is able to fool everyone around him, except for Tore and Sanny. Feldmeier’s performance is also subdued. Tore is the yin to Benno’s yang. The are alike but contrary, like the proverbial superhero has his arch-nemesis. With Tore, we understand his drive and feel his struggle through his eyes as he struggles to maintain his strength and composure, whereas Gersak’s eyes accentuate the cold nature of the sociopath.

NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN, as the tile of this film, may be a perfect summation of Tore’s mindset, but is also perhaps the more literally ironic in recent years. I predict this will be a film the audiences will either love or hate. Few will be able to watch this film objectively, as intended — I believe — and in doing so forces the viewer to confront their own sense of morality. Despite the initial setup and context, NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN is not a film about God or religion, but is a triumphantly successful exploration of human nature and its opposing extremes.

NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN is currently playing in select theaters.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

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BLUE LIKE JAZZ – The Review

BLUE LIKE JAZZ is based on the New York Times best-selling book of the same title by Donald Miller, and an official selection in the SXSW (South By Southwest) Film Festival. This alone may be enough for some to count this film as an unwavering success, but despite the film’s valiant efforts, it is not without it’s flaws. That being said, the film is also far from being a waste of the viewer’s time… in fact, I encourage seeing this film for what it is, flaws and all, because it’s the kind of movie we rarely see in theaters, and one that is rarely as accomplished as this one has turned out within it’s distinct genre of storytelling.

Directed by Steve Taylor, BLUE LIKE JAZZ is a story of faith and how it collides with one’s struggle to find his place in the world. Marshall Allman plays Donald Miller, the central character and author of the book from which  the film is based. Donald is a young Texan man, a Southern Baptist with divorced parents, son to an uber-conservative Jesus-freak mother (Jenny Littleton) and a liberal intellectual atheist father (Eric Lange) whom he refers to as “The Hobo.” Life is peachy and grand for Donald, as he goes about his quaint little life as assistant to the youth pastor of his church… until he discovers a life-altering secret about his mother and the servant of God with whom he served. At this moment, Donald’s continuing collegiate course changes drastically, choosing to attend Reed College in the Pacific Northwest instead of Trinity Baptist in Texas.

This is the setup, having successfully framed Donald as the proverbial square, a holy-roller without a clue, but a nice guy who gets dumped on by those he loved. BLUE LIKE JAZZ presents itself in an oddly, often forced quirkiness, but given the nature of the film and the tone of the film, this forced quirkiness actually lends a certain pleasant peculiarity to the film’s charm, which permeates even the lower moments. From day one, arriving at Reed College, Donald is clearly a fish out of water, but this is carried over from his time in Texas, where Donald was already something of a fish out of water without truly realizing it. We’re introduced early on, perhaps subconsciously, to this idea of Donald being different from the average folk, falling somewhere between the two extremes. This may be slightly cliche’ in it’s execution, but once more… it works here.

Donald meets and befriends two fellow students at Reed College that ultimately hold extremely influential roles in his personal epiphany. Kenny (Jason Marsden) — aka, The Pope — is a wild card, a free spirit and a sort of rebellious anti-religious version of Donald, while Penny (Claire Holt) is a straight-laced, well-mannered do-gooder with whom Donald develops an infatuation with despite the unknown similarity they share. Donald struggles to reconcile between his being drawn into the life of parties and pranks that Kenny leads and the more righteous, conscience-driven life led by Penny. Somewhere in the middle is the relatively insignificant but welcome friendship Donald makes with a lesbian student named Lauryn (Tania Raymonde).

BLUE LIKE JAZZ plays out much like ANIMAL HOUSE (1978) meets ACCEPTED (2006) as a college film with lots of partying and craziness but with substance and a message, even if the message is heavy-handed. BLUE LIKE JAZZ definitely wears it’s heart on it’s sleeve, making no effort to hide it’s agenda as a film focused on making a statement. BLUE LIKE JAZZ stands up and proudly says “I’m a Christian and that’s alright, because we’re not all crazy extremists and I have a sense of humor about my life.”

Regardless of where you stand on the scale of religion, BLUE LIKE JAZZ is a film that can be appreciated for it’s willingness to expose itself and have fun with a topic otherwise taken far too seriously by far too many people. BLUE LIKE JAZZ is funny, light-hearted and quirky… until the final act, specifically the long, drawn-out ending scene when Donald has his ultimate epiphany. This scene removes itself from the lighter touch of the rest of the film, sinking into the preachy depths from which it had successfully avoided up to this point. My advice, enjoy the film up to this point, then bite your tongue during the end, followed by an intriguing and intelligent debate with a number of various outlooks on the film with others as you leave the theater.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

BLUE LIKE JAZZ opens today, April 13th in St. Louis at Wehrenberg Theatres.

More information about BLUE LIKE JAZZ can be found at bluelikejazzthemovie.com

BAD THINGS – Short Film Review

Writer/director Miles Trahan (IN DREAMS — 2009 Short Film) delivers BAD THINGS, a seven-minute short drama about two guys dumping a dead body in the woods. Wait… scratch that. This films not just about two guys disposing of a corpse. Sure, that’s what actually takes place on screen, but the devil is in the details, as they say.

BAD THINGS opens on two men, Peter (played by Ryan Castro, NEVER TOO LATE) and Paul (played by Justin Serrano), both in white shirts covered in blood removing a dead man from the trunk of their car. Peter and Paul carry on about faith and God, karma and redemption, taking two opposing viewpoints on the subject of understanding it all… the easy way, and the hard way.

The pleasant, peaceful setting of the woods in autumn daylight and birds chirping, contrasts with the darker deed being done. While the natural assumption would be to assume the two men are killers, Trahan presents the story in a way that does not answer the question for us… the audience is left thinking at the end of the film, wondering what’s really transpired in the time before the film begins.

I found myself rewatching BAD THINGS 3, 4 then 5 times, desperately trying to pinpoint tiny hints that may lead to an answer, to some better insight into Peter’s character and his uncertainty. Paul is calm and collect, while Peter is torn apart by what has transpired. The dialogue is what shines brightest in BAD THINGS, telling a story that is multi-layered. This is a film that requires the audience to read between the lines, refusing to hand over a clean, simple ending all wrapped up in pretty paper.

BAD THINGS is shot in a single location, over one extended period of time. The film begins as abruptly as it ends, and equally as open to interpretation. The HD-SLR video, shot by Iain Browne, looks great and the audio is equally crisp, complimenting the dialogue-driven story. Trahan shows a greater understanding of film as a thought-provoking art form, and I look forward to seeing his horizons expand into equally riveting subject matter.

I’m drawn to films such as BAD THINGS, films that make us think, not just about the story itself but of higher concepts. I’ve always felt philosophy and film are perfect bedfellows, a perfect artistic means to a greater end. Trahan’s film exemplifies this, but also further proves my point that the best cinema is often the least spectacular cinema. In other words… a picture may say a thousand words, but the right picture only needs to say a few.

Visit Magnificent Waste to view BAD THINGS, and for more information about the movie, the cast and crew. BAD THINGS can also be found on Facebook.

THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU – The Review

The concept of fate in cinema is one that’s been around for ages, even longer if you consider it’s prevalence in literature and longer yet when you consider that storytelling itself is nearly as old as the conscious man himself. So, this raises the question of how one makes a film about fate that’s not been done before, or more precisely… how to do it well?

Writer and first-time director George Nolfi had his head in the right place with THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU, given that it all began with Philip K. Dick. The film is adapted from Dick’s short story called “Adjustment Team” and carries the trademark science-fiction fingerprint of the late, beloved genre author. The film toys playfully with the idea of there being a creator, or more accurately a controller in this case, and a special breed of beings tasked with enforcing that creator’s plans.

Matt Damon (HEREAFTER, INVICTUS) stars as David Norris, a young up-and-coming politician with a penchant for being a loose cannon, but powers beyond his perception have special plans for him. The Adjustment Bureau is determined to see these plans come to fruition. Enter the girl… Elise Sellas — played by Emily Blunt (THE WOLFMAN, SUNSHINE CLEANING) — is a talented ballerina with a predetermined future of her own, but what neither of them know upon meeting and falling in love, is that fate will work to keep them apart at any cost.

Nolfi had previously written screenplays for TIMELINE, OCEAN’S TWELVE and THE SENTINEL, but his best-known work is likely THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM. Intentionally or not, BOURNE has it’s influences seeping through into THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU, and I don’t just mean with it’s shared star. The SteadiCam action and feel of controlled chaos in the film make it impossible not to recall Damon’s super-soldier-on-the-run trilogy, but this also isn’t detrimental to the story. This essence of following Norris in real-time in his mad dash to prove he is in control of his own life, collides successfully with the breaks in reality as The Adjustment Bureau defies the laws of physics as we know them, giving the sense of something surreal in the real world.

While the premise may sound cheesy or sappy on it’s surface, Nolfi managed to do a great job keeping the pretentious nature of such a story at a minimum, never taking itself too seriously, but also staying firmly rooted in reality. Special effects are used sparingly, only as absolutely necessary. To make up for the lack of high-dollar visual extravagance, the film employs some subtle visual queues and a well-planned color palette to help lead the audience through the shifting emotions and conscious progression of David Norris. Likewise, the original music from Thomas Newman plays a significant role in carrying the proper tone thought out the film; high-tempo pace with low-key undertones.

Damon and Blunt played off each other well. Damon upheld his more typical Bourne-esque persona, but it works here. Anthony Mackie (THE HURT LOCKER), who plays a troubled Bureau Agent named Harry, gives yet another understated performance that hits a nerve. John Slattery (MAD MEN) plays Richardson, the Bureau Field Agent in charge of Norris’ case, and serves as both a friendly conflict to Norris and a pitch-perfect source of comic relief.

In addition to a handful of well-placed and enjoyable celebrity cameos, Terence Stamp (THE LIMEY, GET SMART) appears in an extremely fitting surprise role that fans of his career should greatly appreciate. Overall, THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU feels awkwardly familiar, but coincidentally this adds to the effect of a story about accidentally stumbling upon the truth behind fate and free will.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Coming at You Next in 3-D… God!

This was the original intention, the master plan, if you will.  When God created the heavens and the earth and moved over the face of the darkness and brought forth light, he must certainly have known that thousands and thousands (not sure what the latest count is by Christian standards) of years later, some guy named James Cameron would make a movie that would catapult the world of cinema into the realm of 3-D.

That was the idea, right?  To have Paramount Pictures and Cary Granat, the co-founder of Walden Media, create a 3-D film about Genesis called IN THE BEGINNING.  Thus comes word from Deadline Hollywood of such a project, and, surely, it is good.  It’s been a blessed course for Paramount, Granat, and screenwriter John Fusco, who is moving up from writing about Billy the Kid in YOUNG GUNS and YOUNG GUNS II to penning the story of creation.  THE SEEKER: THE DARK IS RISING helmer David Cunningham is taking the directorial reigns on this one, and not even a film about the creation can muster up enough cynicism to claim THE SEEKER was a blessed film.  Far from it.

The budget for IN THE BEGINNING will be roughly $30 million, so don’t expect all kinds of CG talking animals and in-your-face explosions.  So, really, why 3-D?  If you’re not going to have Adam wielding a flaming sword to fend off the giant, Devil snake from blowing up the tree of knowledge, what the purpose of 3-D?  To get closer to God?  Surely you jest.

Paramount will serve as distributor.