Expelled (2008)

This is a much welcomed injection of life into the evolution debate.

This film is a documentary of the blackballing and ostracizing of tenured and respected professors who dare to attempt to discuss the possibility of Intelligent Design. Although "documentary" bears a stigma of boredom (as does the name "Ben Stein" who writes, produces, and hosts the film), this movie is very engaging and fun to watch. There is an agenda here which is moved along by clever imagery and editing, but that doesn't bother me. The filmmakers do not try to hide their proclivity, unlike Michael Moore's films which bear the same level of expertise, but attempt to portray themselves as objective.

What I liked:
I appreciated that there is a definite exposure of the lack of objectivity. Intelligent Design proponents are described as "idiots" and "evil" by evolutionists. The ones we meet are actually very articulate and meek for the most part. The emotion involved shatters any false assertion that this is just about science. Something about the possibility of a creator strikes at the core of these evolutionists.

I also was glad to see the discussion about eugenics. I was floored when I learned about the American eugenics program in a class in college. It was just another dirty secret in our history no one seems to want to talk about, but it's worth remembering.

What I didn't like:
I understand the connection between Darwinism and Nazism. I agree that Hitler took Darwin's theories, applied them to his own agenda, and took them to their most evil end. I also believe that whenever someone says "just like the Nazis!" or "just like Hitler!", people stop thinking. It degrades discussion into a shouting match and people start rolling their eyes. I do agree there is a connection, I just think it might be better suited as an entirely separate project.

The climactic "confrontation" at the end also wasn't as exciting as I was expecting it to be. I didn't learn anything new about Richard Dawkins that we didn't learn from the previous interview. I think I would have rather had Ben Stein moderate a debate between Dawkins and whoever his equivalent on the Intellectual Design side would be. There's a real opportunity there to put on display who approaches the debate with presumptions and emotional instability and who come with an open mind and relative clarity.

Still, a great film that already has sparked much discussion... which is really the goal of this movie. Success!

Bullitt (1968)

Steve McQueen. Cool. Same thing, right?

There's a lot of good stuff in this film. I love how McQueen doesn't talk a whole lot in this movie. He speaks with his eyes and with his decisions. McQueen was a master at communicating (or manipulating) with minimal effort. His counterpart in the movie, played by Robert Vaughn, talks more than anyone in the film and comes off looking like a buffoon. No accident there, I'm sure.

The chase scene is the prize jewel that sits in the middle of Bullitt's relentless chase of justice. If you're looking for a Christian ethic in the story, the best one is Bullitt's unwillingness to compromise what is right and wrong. While in the midst of doing his job as a cop to find the truth, he becomes thrown into a political firestorm. Despite the threats of long term repercussions to his career, Bullitt continues to just do his job and find the truth. Even in the thrilling end, he doesn't let outside influences cloud his judgement to do what is right. And he doesn't regret one bit of it. There's much to learn from that kind of mindset.

The same production crew from this film next made "The French Connection" (different director) which is also a great film. The impetus for creating the chase scene in "The French Connection" (widely hailed as the best ever in cinematic history) was that the production crew was determined to top the chase scene they constructed in "Bullitt". They also later put together a rather nail-biting chase in "The Seven Ups", which turned out to be the only reason anyone would watch that movie.

If you're into any kind of police thrillers or action/suspense films, "Bullitt" is required viewing.

Nacho Libre (2006)

This was a very entertaining and charming movie, however it left me ultimately confused. The plot follows a Catholic friar moonlighting as a Luchador (Mexican WWF fighter) to support his orphanage.

I have to give credit to Jack Black for not being afraid to flaunt his flab and be a total goof ball for all to see (granted, he is making a ton of money for doing so). It was interesting to see the similarities this had with "Napoleon Dynamite". The Hess duo that wrote and directed both movies are creating a definite style that includes dynamic attention-grabbing shot composition, awkward heroes, and relatively clean content. I especially took note of the large number of shots with one character in center frame. This is not normal for Hollywood and they use it liberally to direct attention. It's unique, but I'm not sure if it will get old in future films. They also have an apparent affinity for "normal" looking people. Especially elderly people who seem to be near infirmity.

What confused me about the film, however, was its approach to spirituality. We seem to be constantly wondering about how seriously the main character, Nacho, takes serving the Lord. The treatment of religion is somewhat muddled. The quintessential example of this is a scene before a fight when Nacho approaches his Atheist partner with the line "I've been thinking... I'm kinda concerned about your salvation and stuff". When I heard this, I was intrigued that a discussion would follow about why this guy should seek God. Even if it was handled a little naively, it would be refreshing and would represent the gospel in mainstream film. I was utterly disappointed (and somewhat offended) when the scene ended with a sneak attack baptism that entailed grabbing a man's head and slamming it into a bowl of water. The gospel essentially became a punch line.

There was much praying, and thankfully prayer was not shown as some kind of 1-800-MIRACLE request line that delivers on demand. There was prayer followed by failure followed by growth and more prayer. This is much like it is in real life as our Lord uses circumstances to mold us on His schedule, not ours.

Like I started off saying though, due to it's sophomoric handling of the religious realm, this movie is entertaining, yet misguided.