Henry Cavil, you’re suave and cool, but you ARE allowed to express emotion!

This is my review of The Man from U.N.C.L.E!

The Man from U.N.C.L.E is based on the 1960’s TV show of the same name.  Henry Cavil, who you may remember as Superman from Man of Steel, plays an American agent named Napolean Solo (who is not related to Hans Solo), who must team up with a Russian agent named Illya Kuryakin, played by Armie Hammer.  Solo and Kuryakin must protect Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander) in order to find her scientist father and prevent a cataclysmic global event.

Halfway through this movie, it occurred to me that the filmmakers were going for an Ant Man/Guardians of the Galaxy spy flick, but those two movies have two major ingredients that are missing from The Man from U.N.C.L.E: A consistent quirkly tone and characters with three-dimensional personalities.  Sometimes Man from U.N.C.L.E wants to be an action comedy and other times it wants to be a spy thriller.

The Hits
This movie really should have been called “Fun Things To Do With A Camera: The Movie.”  There are some very impressive shots and nicely-choreographed action sequences.  I was especially entertained by one scene where Solo and Kuryakin are trying to escape while on a boat.  Also the witty banter between the characters is well-delivered and the funniest scenes were when one character would do something mundane like eat a sandwich while another character fights off danger in the background.  For the most part, the saavy 60’s humor got me to chuckle.
However I happen to be a child of the 90’s watching a 2015 film that tries to recapture the essence of a 60’s TV show.  The end result: I took three short naps during the movie.

The Misses
Why does Hollywood always resort to expositonal dialogue?!  There has got to be a smoother way to deliver information about the characters.  I know that if I walked up to a good friend of mine and said, “Hey such-n-such, who moved here from the great state of blank fifteen years ago!  How are you? Tell me, did you fail that test because you didn’t study or because you’re harboring a dark secret that will factor into the plot later…” my friend would probably ask me if I had lost my marbles, to which I would reply, “Yes, I have lost my marbles after sitting through Man from UNCLE!”  Hey, Hollywood screenwriters, people don’t explain each other’s backstories in real life.
My biggest issue with the movie is that because everyone is trying to imitate James Bond, they all look completely uninvested in what they’re doing. I have no problem with Henry Cavil being a calm and collected, but if he’s not going to show some fear when he’s drugged or act like he’s in some kind of pain when he is being electrocuted, then why should I feel concerned for his survival?  Alicia Vikander looks inconvienced half of the time, as if she got dragged into the movie by her agent.  If the characters never become passionate about what they’re trying to accomplish, then why should the audience?

I wish I had more to say, but honestly, Man from U.N.C.L.E is a functional, passable popcorn flick that you’re not going to remember after the credits roll.  If you enjoy the original 60’s show and can appreciate modern films that attempt to recapture the time period, then you’ll probably enjoy this movie.  As for me, I’d rather just watch Guardians of the Galaxy on Blue-Ray or wait for Ant Man to come out on DVD.

Saint Barbara, pray for us.

The second greatest trick the Devil has ever pulled is appearing in broad daylight to a world that is too desensitized to notice.

This is my review of Black Mass, as originally published on The Catholic Response (TCR).  http://www.thecatholicresponse.us/tcr-review-black-mass/

Based on the 2001 book titled, Black Mass: Whitey Bulger, the FBI and a Devil’s Deal co-written by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill, Black Mass is the true story of notorious Boston mobster Jimmy “Whitey” Bulger, the leader of the Irish-American Winter Hill Gang who goes from small town hoodlum to full-on kingpin; he’s like the Godfather of Boston.  In the 1970’s, Bulger formed an alliance with the FBI through his childhood friend/agent, John Connelly.  The purpose was to have Bulger be an informant and help the FBI nab the main Italian-American gang, the Angiulo Brothers, who had Mafia ties.  This allowed Bulger and the Winter Hill Gang to run amok and do what they pleased behind the FBI’s back. 

The Hits

If you want to see some superb acting, you’re going to enjoy this film.  All of the actors are at the top of their game.

Joel Egerton was a pleasant surprise as the scumbag John Connelly.  His descent into moral ambiguity and selfishness was illustrated perfectly by Egerton’s thoughtful performance.  His unwillingness to see Whitey Bulger’s clear-as-day deception is a perfect example of William Wilberforce’s poignant words, “You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know.”

I owe Johnny Depp a thousand apologies for discounting him.  I had lost hope after seeing him play too many cartoonish characters.  Johnny, you need to be picking roles like these more often.  He is unrecognizable as Jimmy Bulger.   The choice to give him charcoal gray eyes and stiff, thin hair gives him a menacing presence throughout.  Jimmy “Whitey” Bulger is the Devil incarnate, the Prince of Darkness walking in flesh.   What makes him frightening is how he is both very human and demonic at the same time.  He’s not a mentally-unstable lunatic who is incapable of empathy.  He is capable of making the choice to love another person, such as the mother of his only child and his brother.  He is capable of caring for others and being loyal to them.  Living honorably is not out of his reach.  He could turn his life around and do what is right if he wanted to.  So why doesn’t he?  Because he lives by his own code.   The personal boundaries of others mean nothing to him.  The world is his stage and everyone in his life is an uneasy audience member who must comply.  He makes rules that are pleasing to him and if you don’t go along with his self-serving sanctions, you are dead.   He tells his son, “It’s not what you do, it’s when and where you do it, and who you do it to or with.  If nobody sees it, it didn’t happen.”  Remember this quote, because I’m going to talk about it later.

I happen to be a huge fan of The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch.   When we are first introduced to Billy Bulger, I was very happy to see that the actor playing Senator Bulger is Benedict Cumberbatch.  Like in the Imitation Game, Cumberbatch delivers a great performance.  Then again, it’s Benedict Cumberbatch; you could cast him as a pizza guy and he would still steal the show.

The music is amazing.  It’s a dark, sweeping score that settles into your ears and chills you to the bone.  The cinematography is gives the movie a sense of place.  You really feel like you’re treading the damp streets of Boston, looking over your shoulder for the shadow of Whitey Bulger.  There are so many memorable scenes with powerful performances that I wish I could do a scene-by-scene analysis of the film.  For now, I’ll just say that I’m still thinking about a lot of the scenes long after I’ve seen the movie.

The Misses

Joel Egerton’s character John Connelly never tires of reminding we, the audience, that he’s a “Southie,” that he grew up with Jimmy and Billy Bulger and their loyalty knows no bounds.   Repetition gets annoying and can hinder the cinematic experience.

This movie is trying to be both a gangster movie and a character study of Jimmy “Whitey” Bulger, but places more emphasis on the gangster crime drama element than the character study.  American Sniper and The Imitation Game succeeded in delving into the psychology of Chris Kyle and Alan Turing, but Black Mass shows us that Whitey Bulger is the Devil on earth without getting inside his head.  I know that he plays by his own rules, but I don’t know what led him to be that way.   I know that he has an unquenchable thirst for violence, but I don’t know what motivates his bloodlust.  Then again, it could be like the Screwtape Letters, where trying to get into the anti-hero’s head is basically giving Satan himself an invitation into your brain.

The Catholic Response

This movie is the greatest portrayal of Satan that I have ever seen.  The entire movie reminded me of 1 Peter 5:8,“Be sober and vigilant.  Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  One of Whitey Bulger’s tactics is luring his victims to a calm, quiet location, making them feel that they are safe with him before he violently strangles them to death.  If one of his associates crosses him, he will accept their apologies and trick them into thinking they have been forgiven.  That is when Bulger will put a bullet through said person’s head.  Like Amy Elliot Dunne in last year’s Gone Girl, once Bulger knows you, your life is his to ruin.  As Christians, we acknowledge that this is how Satan operates; he seeks to command our lives by enticing us into a false sense of security the way a spider wraps its meal into a warm webbed cocoon so that it rests peacefully while being eaten alive.
Another similarity between Whitey Bulger and Satan is how they use their words to justify their actions.  Throughout the film, Bulger uses careful wording to make his actions seem like they are intended for a greater good.   Even in the third act, he tells someone, “You’re going to hear a lot of stuff about me—that I killed people and did a bunch of stuff—that’s not true.  You know me.”   He agrees to help the FBI nab the Italian mob, making himself seem like an agent of good when in reality he is continuing to build his own evil empire behind their backs.  John 8:44 speaks of Satan in this way: “He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.”  Hmm, a murderer from the beginning…looks like Satan and Bulger have plenty in common.  Remember that line that Bulger says to his only child, “It’s not what you do, it’s when and where you do it, and who you do it to or with.  If nobody sees it, it didn’t happen”?   He is basically saying that the morality of an act, whether it is inherently good and evil, is dependent on the circumstances surrounding the act in question; this is one of Satan’s favorite lies.  Also notice how Bulger is telling this to an impressionable child; Satan also targets the young and naive.  He tempted Eve when she was young and vulnerable.  He attacked Saint Padre Pio ever since he was five-years old.  The youthful Saint Gemma Galgani awoke to Satan’s hands on her bed.  Satan starts his temptations early and will not relent, especially when it comes to targeting God’s most faithful servants.
During my second viewing of the film, I noticed something that I hadn’t picked up on; There are three times where Bulger is seen standing near an image of Jesus, and one time where he is close to a statue of Our Lady of Fatima.   When he is near the Fatima statue, he is turned away from it and standing in the darkened area of a hallway while Our Lady is facing the light.  Meanwhile, in the three times where he is standing by a picture of Jesus, his back is always turned away from Him.  The one time that he does say Jesus’ name, it is hissed through his teeth in a moment of anger.
Our Faith assures us that Satan despises Our Blessed Mother more than anything, and that he flees at the very mention of Jesus’ name.

It’s been said that the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he doesn’t exist.  However, I think the second greatest trick the Devil has pulled off is appearing in broad daylight to a world that is too desensitized to recognize him.  Today’s secular audience will probably never see Whitey Bulger as a type of the Prince of Darkness in the flesh, and if that’s not a sign of the times… I don’t know what is.

That being said, I think that it would serve a lot of practicing Christians well to see Black Mass.  If there’s any movie that shows the darkness that we are up against it, it’s this one.  Johnny Depp’s menacing performance makes Jimmy “Whitey” Bulger more monster than man and depicts the true nature of Satan’s power.  Seeing the enemy is the first step in knowing how to fight back.

Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina and Saint Monica of Hippo, pray for us.

I once read a book on Saints that described Saint Rose of Lima as being so beautiful that she would literally turn heads and have her fellow villagers staring at her as she walked into town.  If you’re a fan of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, this description will probably remind you of the Little Town/Belle song: “there she goes again, that girl is so peculiar…”
Thanks to scientists from the University of Saint Martin de Porres and the Brazilian Anthropological and Dental Legal Forensics Team who reconstructed her face, it turns out that Rose was indeed a head-turning beauty.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/is-this-what-saint-rose-of-lima-looked-like-43764/

This is the story of Saint Rose of Lima!

What if I told you that her name wasn’t really Rose?  Actually, her real name was Isabel de Santa Maria de Flores…or Isabel de Flores for short.  She was one of Gaspar de Flores and Maria d’Olivia’s ten children.  She was named after her godmother, Isabel de Herrara, but she was such a beautiful baby that she was often called “Rose.”

If it feels like I’m beating you over the head with how beautiful she was, that is an intentional move because Rose herself was constantly reminded of her beauty. Her mother made a wreath of flowers that she placed on her daughter’s head.  She couldn’t take two steps without someone commenting on how lovely she was.
Rose was the kind of person who was uncomfortable with praise.  She was a humble soul, so vanity and superficiality did not sit well with her.  Another factor could be that she was being praised for the wrong reasons.  Her family gained popularity by having a gorgeous daughter and being the town eye-candy made her uneasy.

Rose was a working girl.  When her family fell on hard times economically, Rose pitched in by selling the laces and garments that she sewed.  She grew flowers and sold them at the market.  Like Saint Joseph, she was content with working hard and using her earnings to help out her family.

Rose was also a devout Catholic.  She looked up to Saint Catherine of Siena and spent hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament, falling in love with Jesus.  To be loved by her Savior was more rewarding to her than the compliments of her fellow Peruvians.  The sincerity of seeing inner beauty and rejecting the world’s definition of attractiveness reasonated with her.  Rose sought to please Jesus with the beauty of her soul, even if it meant sacrificing her physical appeal.
When she was old enough to be pursued by suitors, that was when she knew that she had to act fast if she was going to be a faithful bride of Christ.  It became her mission to make herself look as unattractive as possible.

Her fair complextion was the first to go when she smeared pepper all over her face. Long hair was the mark of feminine youth, so she chopped off her dark locks, and I can imagine that her short hair didn’t look like the stylized pixie-cut of Hollywood actresses.  She rubbed lime on her delicate hands, inducing terrible pain.  To put it lightly, she looked like a wreck by the time she was done de-beautifying.
The townspeople couldn’t understand why she would want to do such damage to her appearance.  Her parents, who had planned on marrying her off, were not thrilled when she told them her desire to be a perpetual bride of Jesus.  The only person who took the time to understand where she was coming from was her brother Ferdinand.  All we know about him is that he readily defended his sister whenever he came across the uncharitable gossip of others.

They say that weak people don’t end things themselves; rather, they wait for others to put an end to things for them.  However, Rose was anything but weak.
The array of suitors who sought to court her continued to grow and being single wasn’t an option in her day.  To put an end to the pursuit of her once and for all, she entered the Third Order of Saint Dominic.  Donning the habit and taking a vow of perpetual virginity, she confined herself to a small garden hut that became her oratory.

Now here comes the part of her life that often gives people the perception of Rose as being too extreme; the self-mortification.  She wore a silver wreath with sharp points on the inside, symbolizing the crown of thorns on Jesus’ head.  She cut back on sleeping to just two hours a night so that she could devote more time to prayer. Meat was not on her personal menu, for meat was a delicacy that she felt undeserving of.  Instead she took to chewing on bitter herbs in order to weaken her tastebuds.  When she was outside, she would drag a heavy wooden cross across the garden.
Are all of these actions extreme?  Yes, they are.  However, look at it this way: Think of someone in your life who you really love and admire.  It could be a friend, a family member, anyone you want.  Imagine that person was in the hospital, suffering tremendous pain.  You care for this person, so you want to stick by them and go through their journey with them.
Rose loved Jesus.  He was her friend, her mentor, her inspiration, her everything. His Crucifixion was an agonizing ordeal and He had to endure it alone.  The thought of her Savior being struck and humiliated broke her heart.  She felt unworthy of the comforts of life because her soul was paid for by Jesus’ sacrifice. Her practice of self-mortification was her way of going through Jesus’ Passion alongside Him.

Rose’s own personal Passion came to an end when she was called home to Heaven on August 24, 1617 at the age of 31.