When aimed by acclaimed filmmaking iconoclast Bobcat Goldthwait, well, everyone had better dive for cover.

Following Frank, a middle aged office drone recently diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, and Roxy, an exuberant, bloodthirsty teenage girl, we witness a spree of trigger-happy murders that take us from the home of a spoiled Virginia Beach starlet to a massacre of the studio audience of an American Idol type game show. Along the way, Frank and Roxy leave a trail of corpses. Their victims include anyone unfortunate enough to merit the pair’s annoyance: snotty teens in a movie theater, a hate radio DJ, “anyone who wears crystals,” and even that guy who double parks in a full lot. They even target a preacher and his flock holding up protest signs that read “God Hates Jews” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers”—a clear diss of Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church.

But as the body count rises into the high dozens, we see that Frank and Roxy are no different than their victims. Hypocritically, the pair objectifies objectifiers, mocks mockers, and silences the petty and banal with violence that is as shallow and superficial as it is brutal. As Frank and Roxy gun down the cast and audience of that Idol-ish show, we can’t help but feel that they are committing the ultimate indecency, the paramount rudeness. As they are riddled with bullets by a group of police, we see them receive the same “justice” they gave to others. Maybe more.

If their victims are petty, then Frank and Roxy are too—their vigilantism as lacking in class as the most banal of reality television idiocy. While this irony is clearly intentional, it does not save the film. Rather, it muddies its message. While memorable, the satire here is not carefully aimed. Instead, it seems like an extended rant, taking cultural potshots at anything and everything that a “decent person” (read “Bobcat Goldthwait”) would find annoying. It lacks the sharpness, the precision that leaves viewers feeling that they learned something about themselves.

I cannot recommend the viewing of Goldthwait’s film. Nor can I commend its raging polemic against the shallow end of our society. Satire should be a sniper rifle, not a shotgun, and there’s not enough left standing when this film’s smoke clears to justify the persistent, often cruel violence.

Still, I can appreciate Goldthwait’s dark vision of our common American problem. Sometimes it takes blood and bullets to highlight a tough truth. And the truth of our growing cultural bankruptcy is tough.

The real value of the film comes not from Frank and Roxy’s bloody “solution,” but in their eloquent indictment of the worst things in American culture. Their words are memorable, and we ought to listen carefully. (The following quotes come directly from the film.)

• With Frank, we Christians ought to react against the “‘oh no, you didn’t say that!’ generation, where a shocking comic has more weight than the truth.”

• Like him, we need to ask “why have a civilization anymore if we are no longer interested in being civilized?”

• Like him, we should hurt and weep that “nobody cares that they damage other people.”

• With him, we should be genuinely heartbroken that “we reward the shallowest, the dumbest, the meanest and the loudest. We no longer have any common sense or decency, no sense of shame. There’s no right or wrong. The worst qualities in people are looked up to, celebrated. . . . We’ve lost our kindness, lost our souls.”

Frank’s right. We have lost our souls.

But for me and my siblings in the family of Jesus, Frank and Roxy’s flipped fingers to these elements is not an option. We follow Jesus, who loved vastly beyond our definitions of merit, sense, or decency. He redeems our common foolishness, our deepest indecencies. We look to him for renewal.

Like Frank realizes, our bankrupt situation demands drastic action. But unlike his selfish and bloody methods, there is hope for healing and redemption through the work of Jesus and the growing life of the church. There’s a more redemptive solution than AK-47s in the hands of a sad man and a foul-mouthed little girl.

Paul Pastor is assistant editor for CT’s Church Management Team and Global Publishing initiatives. You can find him interacting with culture, creativity, and intentional living at his blog Sparks and Ashes.

So reads the first paragraph of an interesting story in the New York Times about the unusually high number of Broadway productions that might appeal to a faith-based audience. Faith shows up overtly in such shows as “Leap of Faith,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Sister Act” and “Godspell,” and less so in shows like “Memphis,” “The Lion King,” “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” “Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark.” And yes, even the controversial “Book of Mormon,” with all of its profanity, has a "faith element."

The article quotes Tom Allen of the marketing firm Allied Faith & Family, which targets the faith audience. Allen says that "Broadway is having its first faith moment," and that his firm -- and others -- are looking for effective ways to measure just how much people of faith are turning out for these productions. He has proposed a “faith-based discount” in order to track such sales, but so far, no production has taken him up on it. (The Chicago arm of Allied Faith & Family is testing the same idea, with a "faith discount" to Million Dollar Quartet, a show that includes some nods to faith, now playing at the Apollo Theater. Readers can save up to 35 percent on tickets by clicking here and then typing “FAITH” into the field marked “Promotions and Special Offers.”)

Is it working? Hard to tell . . . yet. Thomas Viertel, a producer on “Leap of Faith,” said the jury's still out, but he likes the idea. "Producers have never really tried to reach audiences of faith beyond the traditional sales to groups from synagogues and churches,” he told the Times. “I think there’s a whole new market out there. It can be risky to take the time to find it, though, because commercial productions need to bring in money fairly quickly to survive.” He added, “And not all religious shows will have wide appeal.”

In a press release, Aronofsky thanked Paramount and Regency "for backing my team's work to breathe new life into the biblical epic. I rejoice that Russell Crowe will be by my side on this adventure. It's his immense talent that helps me to sleep at night. I look forward to being wowed by him every day."

The filmmakers promise "a close adaptation of the biblical story of Noah's Ark." The screenplay was written by Aronofsky and Ari Handel, and revised by John Logan (Gladiator, Hugo.)

NEEDTOBREATHE won the Group of the Year award, and Laura Story's "Blessings" was named Song of the Year. Story also won Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year, which Switchfoot won Rock Album of the Year for Vice Verses. For a complete list of winners, click here.

The Dove Awards will air Tuesday, April 24, on GMC-TV.

Presidential election years usually bring a slate of political movies, and S. Leo Chiang’s Mr. Cao Goes to Washington is a riveting entry into that genre. Featuring seemingly unprecedented behind-the-scenes access, Chiang’s film follows first term Vietnamese-American Republican Joseph Cao as he defends his Congressional seat in an historically Democratic (and largely African-American) Louisiana district. Cao’s willingness to put personal convictions above party loyalties alternately alienates first his Republican donors, when he is the only Republican Congressman to vote in favor of Health Care Reform, and later his Democratic constituents, when he rejects the Senate version of the same bill for reinserting abortion funding. The film advertises itself as an examination of whether or not bi-partisanship is possible in a politically polarized age, but it is really about a more fundamental question: in a representative government, should an elected official vote with his constituents, his party, or his own conscience?

Two strikingly different films depict adolescents thrust into intensely competitive environments, facing long odds to try to attain a dream and build a life. David Redmon’s and Ashley Sabin’s Girl Model begins with a room full of girls in Siberia, most wearing only their underwear while “competing” for a chance to be discovered by a talent agent. As the happy winner is sent to Japan, ostensibly for two pre-arranged photo shoots, she—and we—get a crash course in the realities behind the dream of glamorous cover shoots and luxurious lifestyles. The documentary is intensely disturbing, and the filmmakers have had to answer charges from one subject unhappy with how she was portrayed
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While Girl Model left many in the audience angry at how adolescents are exploited, Bess Kargman’s First Position was the proverbial crowd pleaser. It profiles a half dozen competitors in Youth America Grand Prix, a prestigious global ballet competition culminating in scholarships and contracts with the most famous dance companies in the world. With lots of generous dance footage, the film is sure to interest ballet fans, but even those unfamiliar with the intricacies of classical dance will find themselves rooting for kids who have defied stereotypes by working and sacrificing for years in hopes that a few minutes on stage will change their lives forever.

Macky Alston’s Love Free or Die evidences the director’s desire to, as he told Christianity Today, “humanize not just gays and lesbians but also Christians” by charitably representing the full range of responses within the Episcopal Church of America to its first openly gay bishop, Eugene Robinson. As the son of a Presbyterian minister who, for much of his life, had objections to same-sex unions, Alston sought to make a film that acknowledged Robinson’s courage without demonizing those who voted against him.

Finally, if there was one sure fire hit at the festival, it was Seth Keal’s CatCam, a short film about Jürgen Perthold, whose curiosity about what his adopted stray cat did all day prompted him to invent a micro-camera attached to Mr. Lee’s collar. The results are both strangely artistic and surprisingly emotional as a rare cat’s eye view of the world makes its owner rethink his relationship with the animal whose love he ultimately cannot resist.

Kenneth R. Morefield, a frequent contributor to CT Movies & TV, is the editor of Faith and Spirituality in Masters of World Cinema (Volumes I & II) and the founder of 1More Film Blog.

Can't wait to hear it? Then check out the four-song preview sampler at NoiseTrade.

The academic turned screenwriter borrowed a phrase from Lewis when he said he hoped the film would be faithful to the faith of its subject while stripping the “Christian” genre label of some of its “stained glass and Sunday school associations.” Markos said it was important to him to depict Lewis’s actual conversion experience, noting that previous works such as Shadowlands have tended to focus on the end of Lewis's life. He also said the film deals with Lewis’s interactions with famous atheist Bertrand Russell in order to emphasize Lewis’s work in apologetics and the effect of that work on the church.

Markos said that the most difficult change for him to make in the screenplay was cutting the character of Owen Barfield, who was influential in Lewis’s shift from atheism to theism. In later versions of the script, Tolkien’s character subsumes Barfield’s. In spite of such changes, Markos remains confident that Lewis scholars will recognize the core truth of the narrative and enjoy several “inside” references. Since much of the film takes place after Tolkien's The Hobbit has been published, lines of dialogue that prefigure what the audience knows is to come should be a source of delight for many familiar with Lewis's story.

Markos said he wants his project to remain true to Lewis’s and Tolkien’s friendship, as contemporary films that depict male friendship are increasingly rare.

Three Agree films is hoping for a 2013 release of The Lion Awakes to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of C. S. Lewis’s death. Here's a "concept trailer" for the film:

Kenneth R. Morefield, a CT film critic, is an Associate Professor of English at Campbell University and founder of 1More Film Blog.

A Christmas Carol has already had many film adaptations over the years, including animated versions and even one with The Muppets (a quite awesome version, I might add!). But we're not sure what Charles Dickens would think of the upcoming adaptation called Scrooge & Marley, which filmmakers are billing as "a modern-day variation" on the story. "Recounted from a gay sensibility, with heart, comedy and music," they promise that the production brings "a fresh perspective that will appeal to audiences of every persuasion."

And if you're wondering, yes, Scrooge himself will be gay.

Two-time Emmy winner Bruce Vilanch, a writer, songwriter, and actor, and David Moretti (The Lair) head up the cast. Moretti said, "Christmas movies hold a very special place in my heart as I have a handful of favorites I've watched every single Christmas since I was a little boy. My hope is that Scrooge & Marley becomes that for the gay community. It's a sweet, classic story of redemption ... with a little glitter."

The film will be shot in Chicago next month. Richard Knight Jr. and Peter Neville will direct. Knight and Neville deliver their pitch for the film (and fundraising) here:

Our review noted a subtle "faith vs. science" angle between a Yemeni sheikh and a British scientist. Most of that element is played out in this scene -- a clip made exclusively available to CT:

It's been almost six years since we posted our list of Top Ten Jesus Movies, but it still gets a surprisingly high amount of traffic every month. Apparently there are a lot of people who want to know what are the best movies about the Son of Man. (FWIW, our Top Ten Movie Robots list, seven years later, also still gets a lot of hits every month.)

One of those Top Ten Jesus flicks was a TV miniseries simply titled Jesus, which aired on CBS in 2000. Starring Jeremy Sisto in the title role, the film was "kind of like The Last Temptation of Christ without the heresy," our top 10 listmaker, Peter T. Chattaway, wrote. "That is, it presents Jesus as a haunted and vulnerable human being who struggles with romantic attractions (to Mary of Bethany, this time) and a growing awareness of his destiny—but instead of fleeing God, he always chooses God's will for his life. Some viewers found Jeremy Sisto's interpretation of Christ a little too casual and buddy-ish, but this is one of the few Jesus films to understand that being human is about more than having emotions and dancing at parties; it is about finding God's will, and following it to the best of our ability. Note also the scene where Satan visits Jesus in Gethsemane and, taunting him with visions of nations and churches committing atrocities in Jesus' name, tries to convince him his death on the cross will be in vain; this is a far more sobering 'last temptation' than anything imagined by Martin Scorsese."

Sisto is joined by an impressive cast that includes Jacqueline Bisset as Mary, Debra Messing as Mary Magdalene, and Gary Oldman as Pontius Pilate. The film will air on GMC three times (all times Eastern): April 1 at 7 p.m., April 6 at 9 p.m., and April 8 (Easter Sunday) at 1 p.m.

Click here to watch the trailer.

Miller says his team interviewed "all sorts of people who have a dog in this fight, from theologians to pastors to death metal musicians to exorcists to people who claim to have seen hell first-hand."

Here's the trailer:

Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s Miss Representation highlighted a group of strong, nuanced, and thoughtful films at the recent Women’s Film Festival in Brattleboro, Vermont. A compelling, persuasive argument about how the media shapes cultural attitudes toward women to the especial detriment of girls, Representation avoids partisan politics—Condoleeza Rice and Nancy Pelosi both appear. It deftly mixes personal testimonies from women in the entertainment industry, interviews with academics and social policy makers, and young people who talk candidly (and often heartbreakingly) about how it feels to grow up in a sex-saturated culture.

Two short films, Angel for Hire and Eggs for Later, deal with the moral implications of fertility technology. Partially a biographical sketch of Noel Keane, the Michigan lawyer who drafted the first surrogacy contract, Angel is most interesting when it shows how implicit conflicts of interests between the prospective adoptive parents (who prioritize the life and health of the unborn child) and the surrogate mother (who may prioritize her own financial and health interests) when complications arise in a surrogate pregnancy. Eggs is a bit more introspective, in part because Marieke Schellart is both documentarian and subject. Thirty-five and single, Schellart hears of a new technology that allows women to harvest their own eggs and freeze them for later insemination and implantation. While most of Schellart’s friends and family are supportive of her attempts to extend her fertility window, her father raises questions and concerns that she struggles to answer. Even if science could enable her to become pregnant after she has stopped ovulating, has she considered the consequences of pushing back not just pregnancy but motherhood?

Additional films of note at the festival included Living Downstream, Carol Channing: Larger Than Life, Aung San Suu Kyi: Lady of No Fear, and Jane’s Journey, about anthropologist Jane Goodall.

Kenneth R. Morefield, a CT film critic, is the editor of Faith and Spirituality in Masters of World Cinema (Volumes I & II) and the founder of 1More Film Blog.

Details like these help make the first thirty minutes of Pray for Japan compelling, leaving viewers with nothing to say but simply, “Oh my God.” The documentary releases to limited theaters for just one day—Wednesday, March 14, the one-year anniversary of the disaster—as a fundraiser, with all money going straight to relief efforts in Japan.

Pray for Japan recaps the fateful details with amazing footage and interviews. (The film is largely in Japanese with English subtitles.) The tsunami is only a prologue, however, with the film predominantly focused on what happened in the following weeks as people fought to survive and somehow return to a sense of normalcy.

But Pray for Japan starts to falter for its remaining hour, its scope too limited for a tragedy so big. Some might argue that narrowing things helps scale down the nation’s tragedy to a more personal level, but there are too many topics left untouched. There’s no mention of the Fukushima crisis, no stories related to the Japanese government, and no reports of the impact on Japanese industry.

The film focuses on the portside city of Ishinomaki in the northeast, and specifically reduces the tragedy to four topics. After a middle school locates its student body (all miraculously accounted for), the faculty searches for a place to continue the children’s studies and community. Meanwhile, an 18-year-old learns that most of his family didn’t survive, and resolves to honor his five-year-old brother’s death while bringing his community together. A shelter led by a local councilman and assisted by Pakistani volunteers strives to maintain order and civility among its survivors. And in the least focused subplot, domestic and international volunteers assist the community.

Like many documentaries, Pray for Japan settles into a rut, bouncing between the four threads every five minutes with short poetic interludes in between. These stories are good for ten minutes each, but are not enough to sustain a 97-minute film. There’s no question that this film could have told many more stories to better hold the audience’s attention.

It’s interesting that it’s not titled Remember Japan or Save Japan or something else entirely. There’s no spiritual component to this film, aside from a celebratory funeral that is more cultural in tone than religious. But clearly, the film’s content alone is a good reminder that we should indeed continue praying for Japan, and helping in any way possible.

Here’s the trailer:

Check it out: