An Essay on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and its Season 3 finale

At front and center, Clark Gregg as Director Phil Coulson

    I’ve never missed an episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. In its first season, I was a staunch supporter. It was an exciting new window from a different corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Moreover, I thought the idea of the developmental “slow burn” was just more risk-taking genius from Marvel Studios. Every week I would shake my head about the ratings decline. AoS is the little-show-that-could. Despite a seeming distance, the continuity of the show is integrated with the movies. There have been a handful of guest appearances by characters like Nick Fury, Maria Hill and Lady Sif (From Thor). In the film, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Cap discovered the deeply-embedded infiltration of Hydra within S.H.I.E.L.D. and following that, the tie-in to AoS was gripping. Winter Soldier directly unraveled the life of Phil Coulson and revealed a Hydra double agent on his team in Grant Ward which made for some very tense interactions for the seasons to come. In case you didn’t know, it was Coulson who prepared the Helicarrier for Nick Fury in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

    But I want to talk about the recently wrapped third season which at the finale welled up gladness in me. For those who don’t watch the show, I need to quickly illustrate how Coulson is still alive after being impaled by Loki, and how the third season takes off.  

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Agent Coulson in Project T.A.H.I.T.I.

    Phil Coulson did die in The Avengers. During the course of AoS, we learn that before the Battle of New York, Coulson and Nick Fury were involved in implementing a device for the express purpose of “resurrecting” an Avenger killed in battle. A device that Coulson resigned work from with a recommendation for it to be shut down. Because Director Fury held such value for Coulson, he ordered for him to undergo the process. This is a concept that delivers on the gruesome. In flashbacks, Coulson is seen laying on a gurney with his scalp opened as S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors look on. A metallic device massages his exposed brain amidst his agonized cries for death. He returns with implanted memories of having been well-rested referring to it as “the magical place.” On a mission to save one of his agents, Coulson discovers the corpse of a Kree in a S.H.I.E.L.D. compound. It’s the alien whose fluids were drained to create the medicine that restored his life. 

Coulson discovers the Kree corpse

    After the events of Winter Soldier, Nick Fury reunites with Coulson and names him acting director with the task of rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. The revelation of the Inhuman phenomenon develops further, essentially leading to one of their agents, Daisy Johnson to be reborn as an Inhuman (She becomes the character, Quake who originated in the comic book). During the third season, Grant Ward continues his operations as a rogue Hydra agent and in vengeance assassinates an ally and love interest of Coulson. Coulson is consumed with an uncharacteristic vengeance and tracks Ward down.

At right, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury 

Brett Dalton as Grant Ward

    Grant Ward is murdered by Director Coulson on Maveth. Maveth is a planet mostly covered in darkness where an ancient and extremely powerful Inhuman was banished centuries earlier by the Kree. It turns out that Hydra started out as a branch of followers that embraced this Inhuman as a deity and developed a religious, crusading organization around him. Over the centuries, this sect of Hydra found a way to transport members to the banished Inhuman under the false impression they were making noble attempts to return their “god” to rule. But later, we discover from a high ranking Hydra officer that “followers” were actually sent to “satiate” their god. The Inhuman devoured these men. It gets very interesting and causes me to wonder about Red Skull’s reactions to this legend since he led the modern day reformed movement. This new revelation about Hydra brings to it a new depth that makes it more of a compelling mystery.

Maveth

    Coulson leaves Maveth, but the body of Ward is inhabited by the Inhuman later to be known as Hive. Hive returns to earth and begins to amass an army of Inhumans under a kind of hypnotic sway. He can manipulate the pleasure centers of their brains and turn them into acolytes with a religious fervor. Hive takes on the attributes of a certain world leader or Anti-Christ. In fact, as the episodes progress it’s no longer subtle. The content of the episodes reverberate like different notes on a piano that is the song of Christ-- His return, the defeat of the Anti-Christ and the monumental sacrifice He made for the forgiveness of the entire world—all played out in the words and actions of the characters in various ways. This is the real reason I’m writing this blog. Not so much to herald the courage of the show runners, because you see, I don’t know for sure why they would- or even could- write such a story like this. Or how it could even be sanctioned without a fight… if that. Whatever took place in the writer’s room, whether they realize it or not, the latter part of the third season undeniably gives glory to Jesus Christ. For a show on network TV to do this is astonishing! The reason that it is astonishing is because the world is increasingly hostile toward Christians. Several months ago, I read an interview Brett Dalton gave where he describes how people thought the monologue he delivered made him sound like he was "... born again, devout, off-my-rocker..." That's the attitude I'm talking about. I only know, that I know, what God says about Himself is absolutely true: that He is in control. As hard as it is to believe for anyone in these very troubled, harsh times we live in. My reaction would surely prompt many to say something like, “Well, you only saw what you wanted to see.” Okay.

Brett Dalton as Hive

Chloe Bennett as Daisy Johnson/ Quake

    Imagine if I wrote a TV script called, Hamilton. Hamilton is a regular brother from a Brooklyn projects neighborhood, who just happens to be a prince. Hamilton’s dead father talks to him through a Ouija board and tells him that his uncle murdered him. In my script, I write that Hamilton becomes insane with despair; drinking and smoking weed, stunted by indecisiveness on how to deal with his uncle’s treachery. How can he guilt-trip his own mother about marrying his uncle? In my script, I write that Hamilton stands one night in front of the corner bodega, declaring to himself aside a sleeping drunk, “To act or to delay, that is my prayer…” Take in all of that and you would be within your bounds of good sense to assume that I am lifting much of my content from Hamlet. Of course, I might say you only want to see what you want to see.

Daisy Johnson under sway with Hive

    Agent Mack finds Daisy in her cell. In their last encounter, Daisy was under sway with Hive and brutally beat Mack, even using her powers to fracture his bones and nearly killing him. But after Daisy comes back, Mack refreshes his commitment as her partner. Mack restrains her in loving embrace, and tells her that he forgives her. She breaks down in sobs, murmuring how she doesn’t deserve it. Note, the same conflicted and tormented Daisy finds Hive again and falls to her knees before him asking him to take her back. He doesn’t. He says to her that she’s been made impervious to his power. But this act from Daisy portrays the painful reality of sinful addiction and the hopelessness to break free of it. Legions of Christians testify today that the power of Christ broke them from all kinds of addictions. The real Satan can create a false sense of this which mirrors what Hive can do. The real Satan cannot undo the salvation of a true, genuine Christian. What Hive gives to his followers seems substantial, but just like in real life it doesn’t feed or satisfy the gnawing of the soul. Chloe Bennett plays Daisy/Quake. She’s a very young actress, but it needs to be said this may be her best acting yet. I repeatedly was moved to tears because of the sorrow that she conveyed. That one scene with Mack choked me up. It was undeniable. I’ve known that sorrow personally. There was nothing gratuitous about her performance. Marvel take notice, please. 

Henry Simmons as Mack

    Daisy Johnson is guilt-ridden by the horrible betrayal she has committed under the sway of Hive. I find it interesting that she condemned Grant Ward for his betrayal and it must’ve been grating for her to realize she was somehow guilty of much of the same. She doesn’t see how she can go on. She’s got an idea on how she can atone which is to give her life to destroy Hive. It was at this point, I expected the show to go in the clichéd direction of finding redemption through selfless deeds, which most of the world still believes is the answer to eternal life. But my heart leapt at what happened next. My chest heaved with emotion. A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent named Lincoln-- also an Inhuman and Daisy’s lover pushes her out of the ship. Bleeding and weakened, he catapults Hive and himself into space where a deadly blast would take them out leaving the earth unharmed. Director Coulson remarks to an inconsolable Daisy, “He’s dying for all of our mistakes.” Before detonation, the recurring scene of a floating cross attached to a chain in zero gravity.

Luke Mitchell as Lincoln

Scene foreshadowed throughout the third season
with floating cross.

The true face of Hive

THE BASIC CHARACTER OF S.H.I.E.L.D.    

    The placement of Coulson’s body to be reanimated by machines is one of the more unsettling, darker aspects of S.H.I.E.L.D. and reveals further how this organization is less heroic than presumed. That’s some indication to me how Hydra could’ve remained hidden for decades. The writers are very honest in manifesting the true spirit of S.H.I.E.L.D. which finds more expression in the weariness of the agents in what they say and what they do. They are isolated and without peace. The team has repeatedly expressed their desire to see Ward dead and in later episodes voice their approval of his murder. Coulson’s likability falls for me. Evil always wins when we choose to practice it against our enemies. I don’t condemn the character, but I firmly condemn the celebration of that thinking. I’d like to see how Coulson will deal with that failure in his life. I applaud the honesty of the characters, but it’s the amorality of the show that has waned my interest in it now. No matter how much a show glosses its work with handsome and beautiful, talented and charming people, the true essence of who they’re playing is like sudden and piercing body odor. It can’t help but be sensed. S.H.I.E.L.D. recruits the brightest, the most talented, but with special attention to the most apathetic, the ruthless and cynical. Because of this, I was initially puzzled as to where the show was going next, but the crescendo of this third season really was wonderful in a surprising way.

    God is so very compassionate in giving the world every reason to believe that the cross is true. Scholarly, professional men have tried to prove that Christ was a myth and came away deeply humbled and saved. They receive a power that causes them to walk in love and truth. Religion can’t duplicate that. Neither can society. 

   

    I think that Marvel Studios ought to make Phil Coulson, Daisy Johnson and Melinda May a significant part of Avengers: Infinity War, with actual appearances in those movies. You can’t leave AoS out when Thanos arrives. Plus, I am looking forward to see Coulson appear in the upcoming Marvel‘s Iron Fist. 

KEY EPISODES FOR THE THIRD SEASON ON MARVEL‘S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.:

Episode #9- “Closure”

Episode #10- “Maveth”

Episode #11- “Bouncing Back”

Episode #12- “The Inside Man”

Episode #15- “Spacetime”

Episode #16- “Paradise Lost”

Episode #17- “The Team”

Episode #18- “The Singularity”

Episode #19- “Failed Experiments”

Episode #20- “Emancipation”

Episode #21- “Absolution”

Episode #22- “Ascension”

THE TALENTED WRITERS FOR THE EPISODES LISTED

Brent Fletcher, Jeffrey Bell, Monica Owusu-Breen, Craig Titley, Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon, George Kitson and Sharla Oliver, DJ Doyle, Lauren LeFranc, Chris Dingess and Drew Z. Greenberg.

The throwing off of nobility in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

    I really want to avoid being redundant.

    There are likely thousands of blogs and commentaries about Batman v. Superman… and I would like to make my contribution distinctive and maybe put things into a sobering perspective that most readers would approve. I’ve been a Batman fan since Michael Keaton put on the cowl. The atmosphere, the reigning triumph of a broken man taking to the night set to the rousing operatic music of Danny Elfman kind of changed my life. Between repeated viewings of my VHS copy and sequels, I collected nearly every Batman related comic title, and that went on for nearly a decade. I responded to the character. I didn’t lose my parents to gunfire and all of my aspirations of becoming a superhero thankfully found expression in other outlets. But it’s the brutal crushing, the emotional tragedy in the character's life that I felt kinship with, and how that made him a man needing to bring change. Life can bring about terrible losses. I've faced wickedness that passed for good, betrayal from friends and girlfriends and of course, the never-ending supply of little "men" who bully. That suffering had the potential to raise up an ire to oppose injustice in my walk of life, but by doing good. No matter the temptation to do evil, Batman stayed steady even when his heart was broken. You catch a glimpse of what I’m talking about in the movie, Batman Begins. One of my favorite scenes is when Bruce is being initiated into the League of Shadows. But to become a member he has to demonstrate his allegiance by executing a criminal. Ra’s Al Ghul hands him the sword and Bruce says, “I’m no executioner... (and the fact that he is not, is the reason...) it separates us from them." Please watch the following scene for yourself to see what I mean:

Footage from Batman Begins

Batman image from DC Comics

    This is the nobility of Batman and the core of my deep admiration for the character. In that is woven a dark regality that for me is not demonic, but more like kingship. His cowl is proportioned almost like a crown and a battle helmet, his long cloak accentuates a nobility and when he leaps into battle, the cape expands like avenging wings. The coolness of Batman is built from the momentum of his commitment to doing what is right. Proverbs 19:12 describes a king's rage like a roaring of a lion. Many verses in Proverbs describes a good king as in the hand of God. There’s a dignity in his fighting movement. I recall in one comic book I read years ago how Batman was rising back to his feet with his arm around his torso after taking a massive hit that threw him against the wall. He described pain like fire, but he rose back up to meet this opponent that was huge. Every boy and young man looks to someone to show him how to walk and behave like a man. In Batman, I initially found manhood. I’m not wholly proud of that. But I think guys who read comic books are looking for that because it’s an essential need for all young men. Comic book guys have a definite sense of justice and they yearn for it in real life, even if they don’t usually have the first clue how to wield it. They want to be the guys who save the day. They want to see the underdogs win. It’s the reason why two poor Jewish guys who were fed up with crime and injustice created Superman in 1933. Superheroes are more than just colorful costumed science fiction. Superheroes represent hopes we don't talk about anymore. As time went on, these characters just got better and more personal, set with care by really gifted, brilliant writers and artists. The game got stepped up more and more, and now we’re seeing them appear on the big screen like we imagined when we were kids. We're having a blast! We love Marvel and gosh darn it, we love DC (even though we hate on them sometimes).
 

    But I’m not convinced that Zack Snyder loves these characters. In fact, I think he hates Superman.

Christopher Reeve in 1980's
Superman franchise

    On one hand, Snyder put Superman in new and compelling story possibilities which I’ve always felt that Hollywood was too timid to do. With the direction and atmosphere of the Christopher Reeve movies and Superman TV shows (I couldn’t sit through Smallville), Hollywood seemed more interested in keeping a rigid mystique than putting him through potentially controversial challenges. When they did consider thinking out the box for a Tim Burton directed, Superman Lives, the ideas were for a Superman who wore a black suit, capeless and wielded razor sharp S shield weapons, played by Nicholas Cage.

Nicholas Cage in costume tests to play
the title character in "Superman Lives"

Snyder broke through, but he clearly shows no respect for the character. That’s the problem with Batman v. Superman… I don’t think we should go crazy with comparisons, but it’s important to note that Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios started as a fan and he has a protecting love for those characters. As a fan he fully understands the desire and devotion of Marvel’s readers, and how failing to stay close to the source material has left a string of bad movies. Feige has proven Hollywood wrong... and in a very satisfying way. The failure of Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. to simply care enough is justifiably comic-book-geek-infuriating.

Behind the scenes look at the Superman suit
for "Superman Lives"

    But is it a horrible movie? It’s such a good movie that it causes me to forget long enough that Batman murders people without hesitation. Ben Affleck is so exciting as Bruce Wayne and Batman that I literally forgot that unsettling twinge when I see the Robin suit and instead of it holding Tim Drake’s bowstaff, it holds a vicious weapon that could rend a person’s flesh to bloody shreds. This alone threatens to bring the DC Cinematic Universe caving in on itself and I have to attribute this to Zack Snyder. I liked Watchmen and Man of Steel. I recall in one of the interviews with Snyder, I think as an extra for the latter, he remarked with a kind of sneer about who is to say what is good and what is evil. That made me very uncomfortable obviously as a Christian, and yes as one who respects the integrity of character. This confirms a seeming embarrassment felt for Superman in Hollywood. Is Snyder qualified to direct a Superman movie? In one interview, Snyder responds to the outcry of how he handled the character saying, "... I was trying to grow up their character." Snyder continues to make his disdain known by referring to Superman's upbringing with his comments, "It's sort of the Kansas morality, that black and white, unrealistic morality of fighting crime." Snyder has a real bad attitude about what's important to Superman. 

    If Kevin Feige were the head of the DC slate of films, do you think that Zack Snyder would be directing Superman, much less any of these movies? 

An increasingly decrepit Batman reaping
what he's sown in the graphic novel,
The Dark Knight Strikes Again

Scenes from The Dark Knight Returns

    




    




    Under Snyder's direction, Batman becomes more than a version of The Dark Knight Returns, but he gets to be his own version of Deadpool or the Punisher for the blood thirsty R rating lovers. With the success of Deadpool at the box office, Warner Bros. soon announced an R rated cut for Batman v. Superman seemingly to show they were down with the Deadpool program. Some fans rationalize this brutal and ruthless Batman because of the inspired source material: the graphic novel, The Dark Knight Returns. Look. That book is not part of main stream canon, for one, and two, the sequel The Dark Knight Strikes Again was a muddled, nasty mess. In it, Bruce Wayne has degenerated into a deformed Batman looking like the curdled result of what he reaped in the previous book. In that particular series, Batman literally walked away from his humanity and is a lumbering monster who dominates his army, has humiliated Superman and kills Dick Grayson without hesitation!  ‘nuff said! But that’s an alternate universe. Just like the stellar series, Batman Beyond is an alternate reality. It is not canon.

    I felt every growl watching Ben Affleck play the role. I breathed it all in when he stood standing next to the shining bat light, watching in the rain. I savored the catastrophic beat-down that he gave to the Russians in the warehouse when he goes to save Martha Kent, which is truly the greatest Batman fight ever orchestrated in cinematic history, hands down! But this Batman gave up his crown by branding criminals like cattle sending them into the prison populations to be murdered like convicted pedophiles. Despite the intoxicating theme, “Beautiful Lie” by Hans Zimmer at the beginning of the movie, it doesn’t undo the loitering disappointment I feel in that this Batman doesn’t care anymore about compassion that separates himself from the bad guys. Now he’s the bully. Ra's Al Ghul would be proud of this Batman. How does Superman befriend a guy like that? He doesn’t. Moreover, how does Superman even overtly consider killing Batman to save his mother’s life? Of course, the sorrow of having his mother kidnapped could push him to entertain the idea, but for him to casually remark, “No one stays good in this world…” is beneath the character. It's something I expect for Deadpool or Punisher to say and their cynical amoral fans to scream in delight about. That kind of awkward, forced dialogue shows up again when Bruce Wayne gets inspirational at the funeral. These are the cynical versions of the World’s Finest according to Zack Snyder. DC needs their own Kevin Feige.

Kevin Feige, President of
Marvel Studios

    I first saw this movie when it had the red carpet premiere at Radio City Music Hall and I admit that something did feel off. But like I said, it’s so well-made that you forget these iconic characters aren’t being treated with respect. Because there is no honesty about the characters, then the story becomes misaligned and the sentiments are insincere. A part of you wants to enjoy the illusion more to avoid the realization that the film makers didn't really get it. But not all is ill-conceived. How hard would it be to present in an eventful way an underwater creature that looks exactly like a normal, blond white guy? While I preferred the classic, Jason Momoa as Aquaman is a stroke of genius and completely unexpected!

Alan Ritchson as the classic Aquaman on Smallville

Jason Momoa as Aquaman in the DC Cinematic Universe

    Comic book fans can be fickle and notoriously rabid when it comes to anything that diminishes their favorite superheroes, but I’ve always been one to pull for the underdog. It could be possible that the DC Cinematic Universe can improve from here. After Iron Man was released, Marvel Studios had a string of modest hits, the least of which was The Incredible Hulk. The difference between the two is clear. Marvel has a handle on the compelling portrayal of their characters within the bounds of the source material. Warner Bros. has taken what are very damaging liberties that will hurt the franchise more later. I’m still hoping that DC will clear their own unique path and take their cinematic properties more seriously, hopefully with an overseeing presence that cares about the characters and potentially remove Snyder from his directing duties. 


May 23rd, 2017 12:38am

    A few hours earlier, I read the news that Zack Snyder had stepped down from directing Justice League because of the tragic suicide of his daughter, Autumn Snyder in March. Apparently, he was doing the best he could to meet his obligation while coping with what I can only imagine is a horrific emotional ordeal. I am genuinely mournful for Mr. Snyder and prayerful for him and his family. He has passed directing duties to Joss Whedon and from what I understood in the article, it will be "... minimal and... adhere to the style and tone and the template that Zack set."

The Hateful Eight

"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." - John 8:44

Spoilers ahead.

It’s like coming into a room inhabited by worthless and unreasonable men and women. All of them sitting in a hot mess, glowering at you. That’s what rehashing the Hateful Eight feels like.

But there’s an opportunity here for me to write this pseudo-review (I came late and missed Chapter One). The characters reflect the title successfully in their expressions of duplicity and spite, and Tarantino pulls you all the way in like a master storyteller at the halfway mark of the movie, with a sudden left-field “whodunit” scenario. I took greater interest when I heard the production resembled a stage play. It was almost like watching Black Mass, which is a film 2 + hours long of keeping company with barely restrained rage and graphic murder despite Johnny Depp’s most gripping portrayal.

Kurt Russell as John Ruth and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Daisy Domergue

As a prisoner caught by Kurt Russell’s bounty hunter, Jennifer Jason Leigh’s face is progressively stained with bruises, blood and gore. Her two front teeth are gone. She has a severely unpleasant way of talking. She is the walking dead; rotted to the core and degenerating. She’s like the black heart of the movie waiting to be cut out. Samuel L. Jackson is Major Marquis Warren, a former union soldier and now a bounty hunter who takes notice of a confederate general, in the haberdashery they take shelter in, Sanford Smithers, played by Bruce Dern. Warren recalled that Smithers infamously executed black soldiers in cold blood, and so during dinner, he attempts to strike up a friendly conversation with the general about family. But soon it’s clear that he’s feigning neighborly kindness. Warren leaves a pistol at Smithers’ side and walks toward the end of the room testifying of an encounter with Smithers’ son. It’s an absolutely horrifying account of humiliation in the freezing snow made more deplorable by the fact that Warren might’ve been lying very convincingly about the whole meeting. In the depiction, I wondered how an actor in the rightness of his mind- no matter how talented and skilled- could simulate that depiction. That might make me sound squeamish and square, but I rightly disagree. It’s of sound mind and health that I note it. It makes me sad that there are diehard fans that will purchase this movie and enjoy a viewing of that scene over and over again, rave about how great it is and not be hurt mentally in some significant way. Worse, not try to live it out on some enemy. Is that far-fetched? Not in this age. As a writer, it’s always difficult to make decisions that would be at the expense of character—and I believe that Marquis Warren could’ve done what he described to the general. What’s troubling to me is not enough people are sickened by it. 

Bruce Dern as General Sanford Smithers

In New York City, there are inner city children who have to live through commonplace emotional and mental horrors because the parents of their school mates have taught them to be wicked and apathetic. To step out and do something about it brings about a self-righteous backlash, despite children and adults hurting. Now, what I said would be viewed as judgmental and horrible—even though it’s true. No amount of trouble or poverty can justify the actions that cause people to suffer in this city. Most people don’t want to think about that, but watching a flashback of Marquis Warren forcing a man to demoralize himself is, well, somehow that’s cool. “That’s acceptable.” The horror is further compounded by the face of the general who is receiving this story about his son as true. The general snatches up the gun, but Warren shoots him dead in self-defense. The movie on the whole is more of a horror than a western, in the traditional sense of blood and violent murder.

Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren

The Hateful Eight is extraordinarily perverse… but critics raved and gave the film mostly positive reviews. Yet, they gave mostly negative reviews to the movie, War Room which still garnered over 70 million to date.

But Quentin Tarantino has talent and skill enough to captivate in such a strong way that he causes me to forget the stomach-turning disgust I feel. A poisoning of coffee leads to a new high in tension for the movie. Guns are cocked and aimed in that haberdashery surrounded by an unforgiving blizzard. It was brilliant! Then Marquis Warren is shot in his groin and I am truthfully relieved. How fitting. How absolutely poetic. I breathe easier despite the fact he’s on the floor grasping his mid-section and whining in agony. As the Psalm says, the wicked withering away like grass… having repeatedly rejected redemption. As a matter of fact, there is one scene of a pole with Christ on the cross partially concealed by snow, as if out of reach from the Hellfire Eight. From there, it’s edge-of-your-seat writing and vision with exciting precision to a satisfying ride and conclusion. True to form by the end of the movie, the demonic hatred in the last surviving men in the room is seen in taunting smiles at Leigh’s character as she is hung by her neck.

These characters are compelling, but you don’t celebrate them. You don’t enthrone them anymore than you would Tony Montana.

One of my co-workers complained to me that the movie was “… boring, but it was still good.” I know what he meant. There’s a lot of banter for backstory at the beginning. I think it’s well-placed for character. I like it. I’m not speaking as an authority on writing, but I think too often movies are formulaic and Tarantino’s work is not… and it still succeeds.

To read the full plot, you can click here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hateful_Eight

Tarantino

     I’m fascinated with Quentin Tarantino’s artistic process. I’ve thought a lot about the brutal violence in his movies and the reasons why people might be drawn to them, and if some are justified in saying he is a major threat to decency.

     I think immoral influence is potentially strengthened in a society that's increasingly amoral. Our society is still rewriting what is good and evil and when that happens the guardrails of ethics and morality wear away and all kinds of calamities take place. The worst casualties will always be the children. In this, Tarantino potentially becomes a huge false light for people who’re feeling weak and need to piggy back over what they perceive to be strength. Inherently, we all look for what would help us to be strong or feel better about ourselves. We can stitch what ideas we find and adopt a makeshift truth. Genuine truth is getting harder and harder to discern without real light, and as a result, anger and fear can express itself in some form of violence.

     It’s primal. Because we live in a society that wants to murder. We drench our hearts and minds with music, cinema and video games that will feed the fantasy from a safe distance. Look on the comment boards of entertainment websites, and you’ll read cleverly perverse things. They come from hearts that need to contradict, to hinder and to break spirits. 99% of these guys wouldn’t say it to someone’s face on the street. People spew their hate at the first throbbing opportunity. Murder is a heart desire; a state of mind, not just an act. The time is coming when murder will actually be sanctioned throughout the world.

“… but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.” – John 16:2

     Tarantino’s forte is revenge fantasies. I enjoy Kill Bill because of the inherent desire for justice I have. That’s true for everyone. It’s written not just in our DNA, but even in our souls because we were made in God's image. Revenge is not something God is opposed to. Most all of Tarantino’s characters are active in physical murders and no one in their right mind would or could befriend them and stay healthy. But God is the great avenger and He has all the right to be. Christ will return as the avenger in a way that no movie has ever portrayed the hero of the day. No one is going to injure him or be allowed to put him on a cross again. That time has passed. We all want to be recompensed for what was stolen from us. God hates injustice more than anyone. We can’t see beyond the darkness when we tell ourselves we have a right to revenge and knowingly can’t stomach facing the same punishment for similar crimes we’ve committed. I tell you the truth when I say that if Beatrix Kiddo fatally crashed her car into a tree at the end of the movie, she would not have seen heaven. That needs to be said. Because most of the country is under an illusion that God is near-sighted, and uses a faulty rating system to earn heaven. God is clear: “Don’t touch revenge. You can’t handle that and you don’t know how to wield it properly. That’s My job.”

“Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,' says the Lord. – Romans 12:19

     Tarantino is not wholly correct when he says that music and film can’t inspire crime and murder. They can and they do. Yes, there’s mental health and gun control to consider. Music and words can inspire people to do positive things, but in the absence of truth, the same can happen toward acts of hate. There’s too much evidence to the contrary in the last century alone. Adolf Hitler was an engaging orator in Nazi Germany. Many young men worship gangsters real or fiction. A celebrity can inspire fans to hate and reject a person or group if words aren’t chosen carefully. The sweeping comments about the police made by Tarantino recently come to mind. In the absence of true light and courage, you grope in the dark and find yourself a role model who only appears strong, but has only learned how to hide their weaknesses better. I don’t believe that taking a war against Tarantino is the answer. People want authenticity. They want light… if they’re thirsty and sensible enough. That’s Christ.

     Self-righteous anger is a major weapon used to keep people down. The use of intimidation and passive-aggressive warfare is more common. Excuses are made for doing evil. Not for mercy’s sake, but for self-interest and promotion of a clique cause. When moral people risk the wrath of these types and take shelter in God, knowing who God is and walking with Him, then accountability begins to take shape again. Accountability is not being enforced because we’ve made many excuses. There is no humility and the discipline of children is deficient. None of this can be improved without God and we’ve tried for so long to do it without Him. Accountability shows you where the lines are and it helps temper-flaring males grow into godly, strong and loving men. Accountability shows women that they too can’t abuse their power. Accountability really ticks off people who love their sin, love their excuses, love their causes and their arguments. Accountability improves the quality of life. The iPhone does not. When accountability grows and people fight for that, then people can see Quentin Tarantino for what he really is: an incredibly talented storyteller and entertainer, but not a proponent for morality and decency.

The movie, Her

I finished the movie feeling like I’d spent the evening in thrall with an amazing woman. And then we broke up! That’s how watching the movie, Her might make you feel. 

Joaquin Phoenix is Theodore, a sensitive and talented personal letter writer who walks through the haze of melancholy music, video games and distractions to battle loneliness. He’s not pitiful, I think. He’s reluctantly facing divorce from his wife and it's dealt him a debilitating blow. He purchases an advanced operating system which is an intuitive entity with the charming voice of Scarlett Johansson. The OS calls “herself” Samantha. Very quickly, Theodore and Samantha develop feelings for each other. It is a bizarre relationship. It is brow raising. I'm overlooking any vulgarity to isolate on the thing that consumed me throughout the film. 

I’m not meaning to do movie reviews— if I do them, I’m not in it to prove what’s good or what isn’t. But Her has such an emotional and honest profundity that I find it overshadows the themes. I care about themes. I had a hard time finding the words. I was heart sick. But not in a sad way.  

Actress Samantha Morton
played the O.S. before being
replaced by Johansson.

I scanned some of the reviews and of course, I saw mention of the idealization of women and the obsession with technology. I also caught some pretty nasty hate comments about how people who like this movie are “… pretentious pseudo intellectuals..." and worse. But unabashedly, I say the relationship between these two characters was the height of what love could sound like without resistance from the flesh. It was giving without fear of disapproval. There were no mind games, no manipulation and no milking of the ego. This story inadvertently tapped into what love may sound like at least at an imperfect, but human peak. I mean it’s as close to what love ought to look like. Samantha’s love was utterly selfless, if not naïve. By saying that, I know I’ve already infected it with an insecurity. But I need to say that because her character was not altogether human. Obviously naïve, no matter how intelligent or how much knowledge Samantha could accumulate in her programming she can never know what it’s like to have a human soul or be a physical woman. There are movies that make you pause. You got to catch your breath and sit for 45 minutes. This is the one that did it for me. What makes this movie such a find is the exquisite intimacy between Theodore and Samantha. I'm not talking about sex. Is it embarrassing to openly discuss that everyone has experienced that perfectly intoxicating sense of love and acceptance from the opposite sex? I thought about that and it shouldn’t be. There was a pure and completely loving acceptance of Theodore. It was in her words. There was no judgment. No pretense. Even when she was leaving him, it was completely compassionate. I think someone ought to say what so many people are afraid to say aloud. That deep, deep down every single breathing soul yearns for that kind of love—the thing that Theodore was looking for when he wanted to have sex with Emily to fill that "small hole" in himself. There are men and women who don't experience intimacy at all anymore for whatever reason. That is a horror. So I won't mince words here, when obviously ultimate fulfillment can only come from God. But you can’t duplicate what the actors created; it astounds me what they did. Something that is so hard to create between people in everyday life: genuine intimacy and rapport. Actress Samantha Morton originally played the role of the A.I., but director Spike Jonze decided to replace her with Johansson. You can't fake rapport. These two actors, they had it. People still go to watch theater to experience that kind of intimacy between characters, which is something I think the theater has lost. If Her were a stage play, I’d probably see it two more times. It’s perfect for the stage. That is the potential of what true theater can be. Without egos and the ability to be vulnerable with some excellent, heartfelt writing to boot. This script is a masterpiece and it won an Oscar for best screenplay. I love this performance by Johansson more than I like her as Black Widow.

Here is a short scene:

I confess I want to love like that. At all times. I'm still not talking about sex. What a glorious way to live and what honor it brings to God. Words have tremendous power. Too often I see the careless way we destroy with our mouths when we can build each other up with deliberate inclination.

While Samantha grows in her programming, Theodore has stopped growing. The reality is that at some point, Theodore would’ve wanted a real life relationship with a woman. It was inevitable. But isn’t that what we do? We settle. We camp out in a hole. Because we don’t think it could possibly get any better than this and we don’t want to hurt anymore and we don't want to hurt the other person. Who can deny the longing? Everyone has felt it and it’s there underneath all of the emotional scars and information overload. However trite it sounds, there is no more wonderful thing than having the close love and companionship of someone who loves you so without reservation.

One of the best lines in the whole movie.

Reexamining Shallow Hal

I remember the response to my MySpace review of Shallow Hal made me feel badly for liking it.

Jack Black plays Hal. He’s a fairly successful guy, but his major drawback is that he rates the worth of women solely by their physical appearance. But we like him because he’s not a complete cretin.  He finds himself stuck in the elevator with real life motivational speaker, Tony Robbins, and he tells his life to him. Robbins offers to plant a hypnotic suggestion in Hal’s mind that would cause him to see only the inner beauty of the women he encounters. I couldn’t help but be annoyed when Mr. Robbins put his hand over Hal’s head and roared, “Devils! Come out!’ I note the silliness of actual demons being afraid of Robbins simply because he raised his voice. But I digress. Hal leaves the elevator. He meets and entertains a slew of women while his friend, Mauricio looks on in gaping astonishment. Jason Alexander hilariously plays Mauricio, wearing a Velcro toupee and spouting the best lines in the whole movie. In one scene, Mauricio frantically tracks down Robbins to get him to reverse Hal’s “brainwash”, describing to him the ugly women he’s meeting.

“Who says they’re ugly?” Robbins asks.

“Bausch & Lomb.” Mauricio retorts.

Hal meets Rosemary, a super obese sweetheart played by the beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow (who wore a fat suit for some scenes). Hal can only see the absolute beauty of her soul which is the spitting image of Paltrow. I still love this movie. Because we’ve all been fat and ugly in our lives and we’re all caught up in this maniacal pitch of what is lawfully beautiful. In one scene, a friend of Hal dates a nurse named Tanya who works in the same ward as Rosemary. To everyone else, she appears as this physically gorgeous woman. But in Hal’s sight, her inner self appears as decrepit and repulsive-looking. Nan Martin who played the unattractive Tanya passed away in 2010. I couldn’t help but wonder. How did the producers present this part to her?

“So Ms. Martin, basically the part we’d like for you to play is an extremely ugly version of Tanya…”

Brooke Burns as Katrina (Inner Beauty)

Actress Nan Martin
as Tanya

There’s a cruelty about this, but if the heart motivation was ever right I can recognize the courage in it too. It’s one of the artistic aspects that I admire. All of the pretty actresses had their unattractive counterparts and they probably had to watch each other’s mannerisms. That must’ve been uncomfortable and a potentially great way for them to bond. Brooke Burns is notable for playing pretty Katrina and then putting on a prosthetic nose and teeth for her scenes as unattractive Katrina. 

Brooke Burns as Katrina
wearing prosthetics

But her performance as Katrina overall is consistently delivered with a trembling, insecure laugh and nervous tics. I think she deserved recognition for not playing up Katrina as a joke, but as a sweet, but damaged human being. It’s her portrayal that makes it hard to resist feeling a protective love for the character-- you can’t help but feel a little bad for laughing. Well, I do anyway. It’s that sort of deeply human expression that I recognize in these characters and potentially, I think the actors did too. That’s one reason why Shallow Hal should be acknowledged. Ultimately these characters just want to be loved and they want to have purpose. They've been trained to feel worthless because they laugh a little strangely or gawk embarrassingly. We can laugh with them, but I don’t see them as a mistake. God knew what He was doing. Anything less is cruelty. I had severe cystic acne growing up. While it has cleared up tremendously, as an adult I still have minor breakouts. It’s one of those hard things I have to live with and a thing that some people have a hard time getting past.

"(Save me) from what?!"

"From what? From a pack of stampeding buffalo! That's from what!"

So maybe my friends back in MySpace land didn’t understand how I could rave for this movie. It's likely the Farrelly Brothers did create the human aspect of this movie as a way to make the fat jokes more palatable. Years ago, that genuinely bothered me. I needed to know if they really cared. People are cynical for a reason. If Beyonce never met Jay-Z would she date a lowly average-looking songwriter, even if he was secure and had a heart of gold? I think a lot of men secretly hope so. As for me, I think anything is possible with God when it comes to love. I also think that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. I know there are men who genuinely are attracted to overweight women. But after Hal is brought back to his original state of mind by Mauricio, Hal leaves Rosemary alone in the restaurant and starts to avoid seeing her as she truly looks. Later, Rosemary is seated by the phone in the hospital with her back to us. She hangs up the phone and bows her head to cry after Hal brushes her off again. That’s a real moment. I mean it’s excruciating. Anyone whose ever been dumped or who decided to end a relationship knows it. So Rosemary is not just a “punch line” in the movie, even if the Farrelly Brothers always intended it. The only reason to dismiss this movie is for the disbelief that the Farrelly Brothers are sentimental. Or it’s just easier to be in the nook of our seasoned cynicism.

Even if it doesn’t mean to, does Shallow Hal truly show us that love can transcend physical appearance? I’ll wrap it up this way…

There’s a Vietnam vet named Dave Roever who I heard speak at my former church. He’s a funny, inspirational guy. He went to war because of his conscience, but he intended to come back home in one piece to be a minister. His life changed when he picked up a white phosphorous hand grenade that exploded in his hand, and tore through his face, chest, arms and fingers. He dove into the water to put out the flames that engulfed his body. In the infirmary, he tried to kill himself but it didn’t take. He didn’t think that his beautiful teenage wife would want him. But he recounted to us how his wife came to see him, leaned down and kissed him, saying, “Welcome home, Davey.” They’re still together today. I’m not going to pretend that I would know what to do if my girlfriend or wife was disfigured. But I do believe that love goes beyond a beautiful body and prestige. It’s a very right enablement given by God. 

Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow bump into each other
at an art show a few days ago

A writerly observation about Avengers: Age of Ultron (and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel's Daredevil and Agent Carter)

Major Spoilers Ahead

I thought it was good, but I wasn’t blown away. It’s not terrible. It’s a fun, exciting movie. I really liked the foreshadowing for the fallout to come, the introduction of Vision and the presence of Baron Von Strucker. I have a lot of little complaints, but more worthwhile is an observation which I want to point out about Marvel Studios media.

Thomas Kretschmann as Strucker
Avengers: Age of Ultron

Baron Von Strucker is a Hydra leader whose secret base is attacked by the Avengers. Later, he’s murdered by Ultron in his jail cell. Thomas Kretschmann appeared briefly as Strucker in Captain America: Winter Solder.  I wished we might’ve seen him stay in the role a little longer because I can only imagine how exciting his work might’ve proven. The company benefits when it gives its actors ample opportunity to grow in a role—Marvel Studios has become like an unofficial repertory company of actors. The audience benefits because we don’t get a one-shot baddie who cackles and shakes his fist only to get blown up. I don’t need a tear jerker on how the villain became, but Kretschmann was striking to me as Strucker and he got offed too soon. The same thing happened in the recent season two finale of the TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. where a whole crop of exciting-and-ready-to-bloom characters were wiped off the board in one fell swoop. What? Why?

Ruth Negga as Raina
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

What Marvel Studios has been doing since 2008 is a radical form of entertainment. These guys are underdogs who tipped over the haterade. I’ve been a staunch supporter of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. since the first season. I loved Agent Carter and Daredevil. Like any company or group that blazes a new trail, there’s always going to be those areas that lack.

B.J. Britt as Agent Antoine Triplet
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The work done by actors to develop these characters cannot be taken for granted because they make the story and cast better. This is especially true for the villains. The second season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. saw this crowd of new characters who never got a chance to come to some fruition. Three examples of thrilling and engaging talent who gave their characters great life were B.J. Britt (Agent Triplett), Ruth Negga (Raina), and of course, the great Edward James Olmos (Robert Gonzalez). Most disappointing of all is the exit of Olmos -- who may be the only positive and talented Latino male actor to ever appear on this show. I was excited to see Olmos involved in Captain America: Civil War next year when it crosses over with … S.H.I.E.L.D. The gravitas of Olmos is universally noted. Why are the most compelling characters on … S.H.I.E.L.D. being killed off? The killings are premature and fatigued… like Age of Ultron.

I read a Forbes review about Age of Ultron that described the movie as “…played like an obligation…” like a checklist to get over with before getting to the really great part. I’m aware that Joss Whedon confessed in interviews he was exhausted from making it.

I think with time and season, killing off characters does work. 

Vondie Curtis-Hall as Ben Urich
Marvel's Daredevil

In Marvel’s Daredevil, investigative reporter Ben Urich is murdered before he can expose Wilson Fisk as a crook. In the comics, Urich is Caucasian so I was particularly excited that Marvel cast Vondie Curtis-Hall. He just deserved that role! I was shocked when his character is murdered, but it wasn’t premature. I was hoping to see Curtis-Hall as Urich interact with Spider-Man in the second season of Daredevil. But Curtis-Hall had duration of time to give an appreciated, noted performance. Same thing in Agent Carter, for the tense office scene where S.S.R. chief Roger Dooley is unable to take off a vest put on him by the villain. The vest is rigged to blow and there is no way of getting it off. Shea Whigham portrays Dooley like he was born and raised from mean streets; tough-as-nails and hard working. The accent sounds like a guy from the suburbs who’d put a bat to your head if you threatened his family. He’s the type that wants answers short and quick, little-to-no empathy, but later we see softer moments appropriately woven. Nothing awkward and forced which was masterful, as he expresses love for his estranged wife and how deep down he worries about his agents. Whigham is so cool; he doesn’t play Dooley as a bland cop suit. It’s awesome! So when Dooley jumps out of the window to save his team, it feels earned in a sense. It sucks, yes, because we love the character. It’s not gratuitous.  

Vincent D'Onofrio as
Wilson Fisk
Marvel's Daredevil

The main cast of Agent Carter
Shea Whigham as Roger Dooley is seated second from left.

Consider the decision to allow Vincent D’Onofrio to play Wilson Fisk in a way that I don’t think the comics have shown. Fisk is a complete stoic, except in moments of rage. D’Onofrio made him genuinely scary by portraying him as a man so repressed in his boyhood anguish and is awkward as a result of it. When he would lose it, you cringed. I think Baron Von Strucker given some time could give us “a little color.” The character of Raina deserved more time in her clairvoyance and to potentially appear in the movie, Inhumans.  A lot of exciting characters and interactions on ...S.H.I.E.L.D. were wiped out.

Raina transformed into an Inhuman
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

I actually sucked my teeth at Tony Stark when he tried to convince a stunned Bruce Banner into activating the Vision. Robert Gonzalez played by Olmos gives a succinct and satisfying assessment of Tony Stark on the second-to-last episode of …S.H.I.E.L.D.: 

"Want to talk facts? Ultron was created because people were too close to Tony Stark. They were blinded by his charm. They trusted him. Never even thought to look at what he was working on. And the Avengers- they let one man do whatever he wanted and the world was almost destroyed for it. We’re S.H.I.E.L.D. We’re better than that.”

Edward James Olmos as Robert Gonzalez
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Come on! That monologue commands a hush. It's reason enough for me to believe that the death of Gonzalez is premature on the show. 

I tend to notice these trends of fatigue. I’m not always right, but you can usually tell from the trailer. I felt it when they advertised The Dark Knight Rises to death. It felt like a lack of confidence then. I think Christopher Nolan is great and I liked …Rises. But it’s the lesser of his trilogy.

Or maybe Avengers: Age of Ultron is like one of those movements in symphonic music from the great classical composers centuries ago, where you had one really bad or dissonant section, which made way for that beautiful and intoxicating allegro and sonata that was to come. Maybe that’s Marvel’s plan. I forget the name of the composer who I learned was said to have done this. It’s been many, many years since I sat in music history class.