Even my own "angel" can be a little devilish

I can’t say I’m surprised at Hollywood’s current obsession with apocalyptic movies.  We are perilously close to the last date on the ancient Mayan calendar, and, many religions are braced for their particular interpretation of Divine Judgment.  It’s a climate that has fantasy and action writers in a creative frenzy.

Scott Stewart’s version of the end is definitely different than the ones preached from house to house, or shouted from street corners by various evangelists.  His movie “Legion” depicts a divine extermination of humankind sparked by God who is “just tired of all the BS.” 

I would have been too offended to watch a movie like this a few years ago.   Anything that didn’t meet the narrowly defined religious beliefs I’d adopted was taboo.  More recently I’ve discovered my own creativity is stimulated as I expand the boundaries of what I allow myself to be exposed to without judgment.   Still, I understand this approach to life is not for everyone, and I respect those who choose not to venture beyond the safety of their own beliefs.

In the movie, the archangel Michael is on a mission to save humanity.  He disobeys the command from God to destroy mankind.  After graphically discarding his wings he stocks up on an arsenal of weapons, and sets out to protect the unborn child that is mans only hope. The other angels are dutifully about their job, possessing the bodies of the weakest humans, and then killing off the rest.

Most of the movie takes place in the California desert at a remote diner called “Paradise Falls”.  That’s where the pregnant waitress, Charlie, and Jeep the young man who loves her (not the baby’s daddy) works.    There’s an assortment of other people at the diner, including Jeep’s Dad (Dennis Quaid), and the cook Percy played by Charles Dutton.   But, once the killing starts most of the other characters aren’t around long enough to mention.

Michael (Paul Bettany) arrives not long after the group manages to kill a demonic Granny who climbs on the ceiling and wreaks general havoc for the frightened customers.   The angel explains more possessed hordes will come, because God has sent his angels to kill off all humans, and that he is there to protect Charlie’s baby which will save the world of mankind.     The confused cook Percy who apparently never heard that version of the Apocalypse tells Michael in his “book” “the angels are the good guys.  Michael responds “Well, the truth I’m afraid is never that simple.”

Unlike most of the movie that part stuck in my mind.  I guess because I really think it’s true.  After spending so much of my life trying to conveniently label everything good or bad, black or white, right or wrong I’m now seeing more shades of grey.  Oddly, life now seems more colorful.  Oh well, I digress.

I did enjoy Bettany as a buff archangel.  One of his fight scenes with another angel Gabriel (Kevin Durand) was also interesting.   Clearly, the wingless Michael found himself at a disadvantage.  My only complaint is that the action movie could have used a few more action scenes. 

Before Michael’s  rebellion from heaven,  Gabriel warns him of the consequences of disobeying God’s orders.  He tells Michael, “If you defy him,  you’ll anger him for the last time.”  Michael who hasn’t lost faith in mankind responds, “Only if I fail.”  I guess he knows everyone loves a winner.

Anne Boleyn had a sister? Who knew? Certainly not me. It’s probably one of the many historical facts I daydreamed through in high school and college. History was always the bane of my academic life. It wasn’t until I’d actually lived through several historical events that I began to appreciate how knowledge of the past can help us on our course to a better future.

I knew a little about Anne, the consort queen of Henry VIII who was beheaded. The 2008 BBC movie “The Other Boleyn Girl” is a film adaptation of Philippa Gregory’ novel. The movie focuses on the rivalry between sisters Anne and Mary as they vie for the affections of the king.

It was entertaining to watch the royal romp. Social climbing parents and a Duke uncle attempt to secure the families aristocratic status by offering the sisters as mistress to Henry VIII. ( Eric Bana, the hunk warrior Hector in “Troy” is cast as a young slim King Henry.) Anne (Natalie Portman) who is portrayed as the elder sister (probably not true) was certainly the shrewdest. Rather than sleep with the king like her sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson) she plays hard to get. It pays off, at least for a while. Anne becomes queen, but in the end Mary gets to keep her head.

After watching the movie I was curious enough to try to dig up some facts on the Boleyn girls. No one knows for sure which was older, but some speculate it was likely Mary. The sisters were probably not as close as they’re portrayed in the movie. Contrary to the movie, Mary was not at her sister’s execution. And hopefully Henry VIII didn’t spend his entire youth chasing skirts (okay maybe he did).

Mary is almost virtuous in the movie, but historians indicate she may have had several affairs, including one with the King of France. He’s reported to have referred to Mary as “The English Mare” and “a great prostitute, infamous above all”.

It is a fact Henry VIII’s relationship with these women, especially Anne changed England forever. And while his pursuit for a legitimate male heir failed, his child by Anne did gain the throne. Queen Elizabeth I reined for 40 years.

It’s an entertaining hour and fifteen minutes, and you won’t find more sordid drama on the morning soaps, or reality TV. Just, don’t expect to pass an exam based on this movie which takes lots of liberties with the historical facts.

Quentin Tarantino’s new movie “Inglorious Basterds” is definitely not for the squeamish.  But my son assured me the plot weaves a really good story if you can get past the blood and gore.   Since, I’ve always found Brad Pitt rather easy on the eyes,  I settled down with a rented copy of my first Tarantino flick for my own evaluation.

Pitt’s character, American 1st Lieutenant Aldo Raine is the leader of a special group of soldiers whose role is to disrupt and instill terror among the ranks of Hitler’s Third Reich.
Their job is simple, kill Nazis, and as Pitt with a thick southern accent extols, “Business is good.”
 
Through the Basterds, Tarantino inflicts evil on what has been labeled one of,  if not the most evil regime history has produced.  So, despite acts of mayhem that include a brutal clubbing, and numerous  scalpings, the Basterds are our heros.  Whether I wanted to or not I found myself rooting for them from the beginning to the final graphic scene.   Now that’s something to think about.

It seems “Inglorious Basterds” bridges a gap in the human psyche between good and evil.  Two extremes on the same plane lies within each of us.  The movie shows certain circumstances can force any of us to one extreme or the other. 

Tarantino sets the stage for this journey into the depths of our individual shadows, or dark places with the first scene of the movie.  Think about the French farmer who has hidden a Jewish family for months.  

The farmer is clearly a good man, who has taken great risk to protect  his neighbors and friends.  He has made sacrifices no doubt to feed and shelter the five members of this family.  However, when faced with an ultimatum that could mean the certain death of his own family, the farmer makes a difficult choice.    He forfeits the lives of  five people to save his daughters.  I cringed at the scene, but did not judge the farmer harshly.  What if it had been  me looking the evil SS officer in the eyes, and facing the same ultimatum? Would I have chosen differently?  Would you?

A child, covered with her family members blood manages to escape the slaughter.   As a young adult she plots revenge on the Nazis who are responsible for her family’s death, and again my heart longs for her success. 

We know from history many of Hitler’s deeds in his quest to extinguish an entire race of people from the earth.  But, interestingly, in the movie it’s not the Nazis who perform the most deplorable acts.  It’s our heros, the Basterds. 

Their final mission to rid the world of Hitler and his evil regime on a single night, and bring the war to a swift end can not succeed without the help of the villainous SS officer.   To achieve this goal the Basterds jump into bed with the devil so to speak, and agree to the officers terms.  Terms that will ensure the officers own freedom and wealth.  In the end,  I was glad the Basterds came up with a creative albeit graphic way to upstage the villain. 

By the end of the movie I realized the distance between good and evil is much shorter than I thought.   It’s a  journey best taken through fiction.