James Harleman's Blog, page 13
May 11, 2013
People that shape IRON MAN: three
As covered in our first two posts, Tony Stark is fraught with anxiety: he’s worked to reconcile his past and toils on a legacy for the future, but can’t rest in today. His misplaced identity is further confused by two ghosts from his past who come back to haunt him… but thankfully these are outnumbered [...]
May 10, 2013
2 Demons + 1 Savior = IRON MAN 3
“A famous man once said we create our own demons…” As mentioned in our first post about Iron Man 3, Tony Stark faces the existential question of “how then shall we live?” having had his life turned around and death averted in the previous, MARVELous entries. The anxiety-amplifying conflict in his present, however, comes from [...]
May 9, 2013
3 aspects of IRON MAN’s trilogy
“I have a lot of apologies to make… I can’t sleep, and when I do I have nightmares. Honestly, there’s a hundred people who want to kill me. I hope I can protect the one thing I can’t live without…” Robert Downey Jr. expressed worry about movie franchises and how a character can get stale. [...]
April 30, 2013
Add More IRON to Your Diet
“SUIT UP!” – Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother You can add ACDC’s “Back in Black” to your playlist and get into a groove for the next rocking Iron Man film. Hopefully Iron Man 3 blows away our expectations even more than the trailer blows up Tony’s palatial home. You can always pre-funk with [...]
April 23, 2013
Removing the blinders from our OBLIVION
“Are you an effective team?” You get up, you brush your teeth, you do your job. You come home to a loving companion, have a good meal, and sleep well because you have a promising future in a brand new place right around the corner. And yet… something isn’t right with the world. You can’t [...]
April 18, 2013
Why SUPERMAN still looks good at 75 years old…
(Honestly, I don’t think Clark looks a day over 30.) Although there are a great number of combinant cultural factors why Superman has endured 75 years, celebrating his birthday today and waiting breathlessly for the upcoming Man of Steel filmthis summer,I think the deepestsecret of his longevityis how obvious a parallel his story structure shares [...]
April 13, 2013
WWE and Theology
“Greatness is never given: it is earned. So you work harder, dream bigger… chase, capture, and conquer history.” – John Cena, Wrestlemania 29 Legacy and redemption: these were the themes that emerged as the catalyst and conflict that was Wrestlemania XXIX as Duane “The Rock” Johnson faced – and lost – to John Cena in [...]
April 4, 2013
Goodbye to an inspiration
Roger Ebert understood the power of story. Before the internet had tubes, before Apple Trailers and Facebook, DVRs and XBox Live… before all the ways we can access movies and movie trailers… and before Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes aggregated what reviewers and viewers were saying, the single best source I had growing up for a [...]
April 2, 2013
Les Miserables: a Life Worth Living
In our first review of Les Miserables, we focused on the clash between Javert and Valjean, between law and grace. We didn’t touch on Fantine’s part in the tale, and now that Anne Hatheway took home a Best Supporting Oscar (and we all can take home the film on Blu-ray and DVD) it’s time we [...]
March 30, 2013
Pacific Northwest Cinemagogue Conference
It’s my hope that, eventually, you stop listening to me. Encouraging feedback from pastors, filmmakers, students and homemakers has provided some of the most potent fuel to keep the fires burning at Cinemagogue. What especially gets me thrilled is when I hear stories of replication: stories of others using story as a springboard to conversation [...]
