Review of THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN

STORY: Four children return to a magical land to help a prince foil a takeover.
MESSAGE: Force is necessary against evil. Coming together under strong leadership brings about victory, and a little disciplinary magic from a very able wizard also helps one's chances. Trust in a higher power and trust in friends wins the day. Our differences, united, are our strengths.

WIN: The children took responsibility and did what they needed to do, as best as they could given their talents and education. Belief in the rightness of their efforts, belief in powers beyond what we can see and belief in the competence of each other were positive traits (in this cynical world which wants us to believe that it is "adult" to deny anything spiritual could happen.) At the end, the movie fell a little away from this, implying that the older children should now occupy themselves with "adult" pursuits. (This reminds me of the current day athiest who finds belief in things beyond perception as childish.) The lion caused things to happen by himself (as a spiritual being) without vias (such as magic wands or potions.)

LOSE: The hierarchy failed to follow the common sense of group organization. Inefficiencies were created by having too many leaders, some of which were followers with the title of King or Queen. This appeared to be as result of a psychological (illogical) idea that hierarchy is bad and we should all be equal, so that none of us are offended. In reality, a group functions best when it unites under a common purpose put forth by a sole leader, so that the group as as a unit with a single forward direction. Also, a lot of blood was shed before the magic wizard (lion) was called upon to help, which is inconsistent with a well-meaning wizard who would be more pro-active than that.

EFFECT ON ME: It was disturbing and patronizing. It didn't sit well with me. I guess it covertly attacked what I value.

Sincerely,
Becky Mate
Script Consultant
www.virtueinthearts.com

Review of INDIANA JONES: CRYSTAL SKULL

INDIANA JONES: CRYSTAL SKULL - STORY: Indiana answers a call for help in rescuing a friend and an artifact in Mayan territory, but then discovers there is more that is near and dear to him at stake.
INDIANA JONES: CRYSTAL SKULL - MESSAGE: Being educated in practical things, being resourceful wherever one is, thinking on one's feet, being courageous, being willing to try new things, ability to defend oneself against enemies, being able to understand enigmatic communication, a high IQ, being decisive and resolute separating friend from foe, feigning coorporation while looking for a means of escape, following your passion, seeking to know more beyond the knowledge you are fed, and belief in powers beyond our own can result in successfully getting out of pickles, a little wiser than one was before. Love is eternal and family is important. Wishing to use the power of higher forces for evil will destroy a person. Greed and betraying friends will lose.
INDIANA JONES: CRYSTAL SKULL - WIN: The resourcefulness and intelligence and other positive traits in the main character are consistent with the actions of able people. So is completing his challenging tasks. He also has a healthy respect for seeing what exists without doubt or prejudice or "it can't be." His opponent, a Russian woman, correctly portrayed the common evil of disrespecting spiritual ability in her wish to use it as a weapon against those who opposed her country and communism.
INDIANA JONES: CRYSTAL SKULL - LOSE: The movie used petty theft and disobedience to portray the youth as self-determined, and made them seem like desireable and positive traits. What mitigated this message was that Indiana countered his theft, countered his attempt to gain alcohol, countered his hot-headedness and countered his rejection of education. But, there still is the idea that it takes a bit of wildness to be a hero. There is some truth to this, but the positive kind of "wildness" (meaning going against the status quo, mores or authority) is in the direction of defense of what one loves and what is right. If wildness is selfish or self-destructive or needlessly destructive of others, then it is only irrational behavior, not heroism. Fortunately, the youth, thereafter, did behave bravely and heroically and brought all his talents and education to help himself and the group. There is slight promotion of irresponsible promiscuity, but the character eventually takes responsibilty for this. What needs to be realized is that the audience is asked to "be" the hero during the movie, with all his behavior and traits. If a hero does vast good, he could be someone we want to emulate, and, if we don't differentiate, we might adopt his negative as well as positive traits. (In order to be James Bond, for example, we might think we need to not only be daring, but alcoholic and promiscuous. Fortunately, people do know right from wrong and aren't completely influenced by the movies.) The skull and its power seemed destructive, which would be inconsistent with able people, although they had a clever way of getting assistance in getting themselves home.
INDIANA JONES: CRYSTAL SKULL - EFFECT ON ME: It made me want to act more decisive, intelligent and resourcefully to do the right thing. It gave me respect for good movie writing and made me want to return to my niche, writing short stories, rather than writing movies. It made me feel clever, because there was certain humor that you would not get unless you compared the first movie with this sequel, and I did, so I patted myself on the back. In other words, the movie knew I was a fan and played to that, so I felt glad to be a fan, and happy to be thusly entertained.
Sincerely,
Becky Mate
Script Consultant

Review of SPEED RACER

SPEED RACER - STORY: A young, idealistic race car driver goes after racing industry corporate greed by going pedal-to-the-metal towards being the best racer.
SPEED RACER - MESSAGE: Pursuit of ultimate competence, doing the right thing despite contrary advice, keeping one's sights on what one wants to accomplish, passion and persisting despite the attacks from those around one are what wins the day. Friends and family are instrumental in bolstering up our confidence, yet competence and success are the best at bolstering self-confidence. Bad guys make mistakes which get them in the end.
SPEED RACER - WIN: With its rather melodramatic and/or comic book approach to characters, it was easy to see the bad guys from the good guys. The good guys stood up to the bad guys and sought to defeat them by fluorishing and winning. The drink for the winners of the Grand Prix is milk (not alcohol.) Alcohol was positioned with the bad guys. Constructive activities by the good guys and destructive activities by the bad guys were easily differentiated. The main bad guy was very good at being sweet on the outside as a deception for his cruel side. The hero, along with his family and friends, correctly reflected social personalities. The hero, when a child, took even a roll-over in stride, thinking it was cool, meaning he was so into the game of it all that no small thing would phase his interest in the sport.
SPEED RACER - LOSE: The hero's brother made some choices I'm not sure about, such as fighting deception with deception, which included deceiving his family at great cost to them. But the guy is at heart a good guy, so in a sequel he could turn around and tell all. His role as protector of the hero on the racetrack was vital, but it leaves us with the idea that the end justifies the means, and in this case, the means was a bit more drastic than required by the story, and a bit more deception than a good guy would likely display. There was no other religion than passion for racing, (except one small scene of a Christian-like funeral and the scene where the hero has to get in touch, practically spiritually, with his car to determine how to get it started again.) The hero put himself down a couple of times, saying, "Racing is all I know how to do."
SPEED RACER - EFFECT ON ME: It rekindled my passion for what I love to do, and gave me hope for my success. It also made me a little nostalgic for the clear-cut morality of the 40's and 50's, even though "corny" by today's standards, it is nonetheless closer to the ideal. It made me want to explore new ways of looking at movie writing or storytelling, rather than long and linear, since audiences today have mastered the art of grasping details and fleshing them out with imagination.
Sincerely,
Becky Mate
Script Consultant
www.virtueinthearts.com

Review of IRON MAN

IRON MAN - STORY: A genius inventor, head of a weapons manufacturing company, discovered his weapons are falling into the wrong hands. He begins to switch the direction of his company away from weapons, but must first build a weapon that destroys the person behind the weapons falling into the wrong hands.
IRON MAN - MESSAGE: Use your talents for constructive, not destructive things. Decide friend from foe, and act accordingly towards them. Do the right thing. Be proud of your accomplishments. Utilize the help of your friends. Competence, honesty, diligence, attention to detail, resourcefulness, failure to admit defeat, an aesthetic sense, ability to possess wealth, genius, courage and high necessity level win the day.
IRON MAN - WIN: The positive aspects of the hero seemed consistent with his high level of ability. The fact he persisted with tweaking machine designs (despite physical injury) was one of the positive traits. Another good thing was that he didn't wish to harm innocent people with his weapons, but it didn't go into why not (which is a hint at his spiritual beliefs without really stating it.) The film showed that someone better organized, and people acting as a team, can win over an opponent who has bigger weapons.
IRON MAN - LOSE: The film promoted that promiscuity was a trait of the hero, which is inconsistent with someone of high ability. In other words, a womanizer would know his mistreatment of women was wrong and would limit his own power. Even the reporter he had a one-night-stand with didn't fault him for it, having her own acceptance of promiscuity. The film promoted alcohol use at a party -- even the loyal, sweet, pure assistant sought to drink alcohol, which positions alcohol as cool, rather than an addicting drug used to drown pain. (Although she did turn to alcohol when somewhat emotionally rebuffed.)
IRON MAN - EFFECT ON ME: It made me value my own talents and made me want to help my own talents grow. It reaffirmed my belief that Mankind is possessed of more ability than we've tapped into, for if one individual can be a genius and heroic, then we are not, as a species, "merely a higher form of animal." I also felt more self confident, perhaps because the movie validated a lot of the positive values I respect in myself and others, and because it showed that one man can make a difference by the choices he makes.
Note: There is a short scene at the very, very end of the credits.
Additional note: I saw this movie at the new Pacific Theatres in the Americana outdoor shopping mall in Glendale. The mall is very aesthetic and fun. The theatres are clean and new, mostly like other modern theatres. One feature I liked was that there were a couple of single person restrooms near that end of the 18 theatres so one could run out and run back in and not lose a lot of movie time walking a long way to a restroom.
Sincerely,
Becky Mate
Script Consultant
www.virtueinthearts.com