Tired of pillaging Pirates, swinging Spider-men, and revolting Robots? Scratching your head wondering if the "Silver Surfer" is rising because the "Surf's Up" on "Ocean's 13"? Just how many sequels, prequels, and comic book movies can the Hollywood meat grinder feed us in one summer anyway? Well, Seattle serves up even more film, arguably for those with more discerning taste, in an endless stream of cinema from May through June. The Seattle International Film Festival, purported to be the largest film festival in the United States, had 160,000 attendees in 2006 and likely more in 2007.

Dan Ireland, co-founder and Board Emeritus of SIFF, spoke candidly with me during an interview about the very first festival in 1976. "We didn't know how the reception was going to be, because it was our first year, but the moment we opened our door it was mind blowing; we had the respect of the audiences and the film critics at large in Seattle at the time. That year we got to introduce The Rocky Horror Picture Show … it's really wild to look back."

"Citizen Kane"
Starring Orson Welles,
Directed by Orson Welles
2 hrs. 23 min.

The film begins at the end… then proceeds to explore the life of a man in a series of vignettes, through the eyes of those who knew him… while this may not sound like a groundbreaking idea today, "Citizen Kane" was the first film to use non-linear storytelling like this. With its revolutionary writing and innovative use of lighting, contrast, and camera angles, many still consider it to be the best film every made, the measuring rod by which all other films are sized up and critiqued. It made sense, then, for Mars Hill's Film and Theology class to engage the picture to see not only why it has held such lasting impact on the film world, but also to examine its message about man's striving and achievement.

"Constantine"
Starring Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeaouf, Djimon Hounsou
Directed by Francis Lawrence
Rated R

Ah, Hollywood. While Hollywood often pillages books, television and comic books for film ideas, voraciously mauling the source material beyond recognition, the process never ceases to amaze me. Particularly in light of recent comic book adaptations that have been so successful ("Spider-man" and "X-Men" come to mind, as well as lesser known "The Road to Perdition" and "From Hell") I expected better from Francis Lawrence's Constantine. For every Doctor Octopus, however, I guess there's a Halle Berry in a ridiculous cat-suit.

"The Exorcist"

From a filmmaking perspective, the power of "The Exorcist", directed by William Friedkin and based on the book by William Peter Blatty, lies not in its gory visuals, or the flashes of demonic faces and images sprinkled generously throughout, but truly, ultimately, in the audio track. From the opening scene in Northern Iraq, with the sonic dissonance of a hundred pickaxes and the sound of hammers beating out metal on an anvil as the brilliant Max von Sydow struggles to choke down his heart medication, the film claws at your nerves in every scene. Even a harmless downstairs moment between Father Karras and the possessed girl's mother is made edgy by a rasping steam iron that hisses in and out like the demonic Linda Blair's hyperventilation. As the soundtrack alternates between Oldfield's seemingly mellow Tubular Bells and quick violin strings that strike without warning, the viewer is never allowed to relax, even when the scene is clearly removed from the source of danger. (It didn't hurt, either, that the Cinerama had the THX system maximized to the extent that the opening advertisement rattled my rib cage.)

LOST SOULS
Director—Janusz Kaminski
Maya Larkin—Winona Ryder
Peter Kelson—Ben Chaplin

When a demon-possessed serial killer's notes reveal the name of a man who is destined to be possessed by Satan to become the Antichrist, a young Christian named Maya Larkin (Winona Ryder) embarks on a quest to arrest the transformation of psychologist Peter Kelson (Ben Chaplin) into the devil incarnate. Ryder fumes, mopes, and stares at Chaplin in her attempts to "save" him, and Chaplin mopes and stares back; the two wander like lost actors in a movie that—save for some interesting visuals and cinematography—is just plain bad. Rarely scary and generally incoherent, the film is mediocre at best, and though it (surprisingly) tries to put a positive spin on Christianity, the plot and character development are so threadbare that no one will remember.

"MINORITY REPORT"
Starring Tom Cruise, Max Von Sydow, Collin Farrell
Directed by Steven "I apologize for A.I.—truly, I'm very sorry" Spielberg
Running Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
Released June 21, 2002
Rated PG-13

Steven Spielberg can actually be eloquent… when he steps down from the pulpit.

It's refreshing to see a tight, well-executed detective thriller set against a speculative future landscape (think "Blade Runner", but only superficially—both films are based on stories by Philip K. Dick) from which interesting philosophies and moralizing are culled merely as a byproduct of the polished narrative. Notorious of late for preaching through his films, Spielberg has once again concentrated on story elements first, allowing inherent messages to bubble to the surface naturally. Although the film IS thought provoking, the thrust of the story is character driven. A transparent agenda, evident in recent Spielbergian offerings, is replaced by intriguing cinematography, quality acting, and a classic "whodunit" mystery.

"M. Night Shyamalan's SIGNS"
Starring Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Cherry Jones, Rory Culkin, and Abigail Breslin
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Running Time: 107 minutes
Released August 2, 2002
Rated PG-13

A crop circle appears in a field near Bucks, Pennsylvania, and the owner must cope with the repercussions this has on his family, and eventually the entire world… all heaped on the plethora of deeper problems already festering in his heart.

"THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST"

Evocative.

There has already been so much said regarding the production of Mel Gibson's film, the subsequent controversy it has evoked, and the cross-denominational support it has engendered. One could talk endlessly about any one of these subjects. However, the flurry of emotions preceding and running rampant around the periphery of this film failed to capture or prepare the viewer for the undeniable power of the cinema experience itself. The only thing certain to overshadow this two-hour, nine-minute experience will be the inevitably strong reaction of every single viewer carried out of the theatre and into their communities well after the credits have rolled.

I saw the film with my wife, a few Christian friends, and a gaggle of theatre employees. Some of the latter made snickering remarks before the film began, teasing about weak people who would cry and be overly-sentimental about the movie's content. They seemed to have little interest in the film. We were not subjected to any trailers or commercials (apparently a decision made for ALL Regal Cinemas), merely a black screen and then the Icon Pictures Logo introducing the film. (What preview would one advertise before the death of Christ, I wonder? The latest Adam Sandler flick? Spider-Man 2? Without knowing for certain, Regal's decision strikes of understanding and respect). The film opened with a familiar quote from Isaiah, a prophecy written down 700 years before Christ. We then cut to the Garden of Gethsemane and, over the course of two hours, follow the Son of God from the garden to the grave.

I had a sermon to preach about Optimus Prime some day. For better or worse, WIRED magazine beat me to it. Pointing out that while geeks have Batmen and Star Trek toys in their cubicles, even the jocks have Transformers decorating their workspaces, WIRED writer Scott Brown explores the reasons why in the July print edition.

"…in 1986, the original Prime did something that distinguished him from most other cartoon heroes. He died. He died for freedom, for righteousness". Brown goes on to assert that American culture – American males – are looking forward to the July 4th release of the "live-action" Transformers movie for "more than galvanic summer thrills or simple nostalgia. They're looking for redemption, as men."

While Brown forgets to mention Optimus did resurrect from the dead to "light our darkest hour" in 1987, missing the exclamation point on his Semi-Christophany, he strikes a narrative chord that is unmistakable. Bouncing between comparing Prime to a father and "Our Father..." the WIRED writer demonstrates how this hydraulic hero became a surrogate object for kids to respect, mimic, and yes – even worship:

Consider this graphic Hollywood plotline: A man travels to Las Vegas to retrieve his cheating wife. On the way back to Los Angeles, the two stop at a rundown motel in Death Valley. During the night, a mob of sexual degenerates surrounds their cabin, threatening to sodomize the man. Hoping to appease the bloodlust, the man throws his wife outside—and when morning comes, the mob has left nothing of her but a corpse. The man cuts up her body and sends pieces of it to his friends… But that's nothing compared to the bloodbath that follows.

No, this isn't the synopsis for Saw IV or the latest Quentin Tarantino gore-fest. It's an update of a not-so-familiar biblical story from Judges 20-21. But imagine if that story were made into a film. How the critics would rant, Christian and otherwise. If told without flinching, the story would earn an NC-17 rating for sure; and there's probably no way to tell it in a fashion that would cut the rating to PG-13. Of what possible redemptive value could such a story be?