Frozen, Starring Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel, Turns Stereotypes on Their Heads

 

I love how this Disney princess movie turns stereotypes on their heads. Anna, second princess of Arendelle, falls in love with a handsome prince and plans to marry him. But Elsa, first princess of Arendelle, forbids their sudden marriage, unleashes her frozen power on the kingdom, then flees. Anna leaves Arendelle to find her sister with the help of Kristoff, an ice seller, who falls in love with Anna.

When Elsa accidentally strikes Anna in the heart with her frozen power, the only way Anna can be saved from death is by an act of true love. Thinking she must be kissed by her handsome prince, Anna pleads for him to kiss her. But he refuses, and turns out (spoiler alert) to be evil, bent on taking over the kingdom. He charges her sister Elsa with treason for Anna's impending death.

Then Anna realizes Kristoff truly loves her. She sets off across a fjord to find him. At the same time, Hans chases Elsa onto the same fjord, intent on killing her. Anna reaches Kristoff, but sees Hans is about to kill Elsa. She throws herself between the two and freezes solid, blocking the blow. As Elsa grieves the loss of her sister, Anna begins to thaw. Her sacrifice for her sister constitutes an act of true love.

It surprised me how the handsome prince turned out to be evil, breaking a stereotype. The screenwriters thought of a great twist in making sisterly love the key to saving Anna and subsequently Elsa instead of the love of a man, as it usually is in Disney princess movies. Frozen is my favorite movie of 2014 so far.

Noah, Starring Russell Crowe, directed by Darren Aronofsky

I saw this movie with a group of Christian and non-Christian friends. All agreed that Noah was entertaining.  From a screenwriter’s point of view, the writers had to expand the traditional Biblical story to fit three-act structure and give Noah and other cast members character arcs. Conflicts had to arise on the ark or else it would be a boring trip. While some ridicule the use of “rock people,” I thought they made the story more realistic. How else could Noah and two grown sons have built the huge ark in such a short time? (In the Biblical account, it took about twenty years for four grown men to do it, but screenplays usually condense timelines).

As a Christian, I have no problem with the writers adding or changing elements of the original story to elucidate the meaning of the story. How many times have preachers implored their listeners to “use their imaginations” to fill in what Bible characters could have been thinking or saying during their conflicts? Hopefully, viewers will be drawn to look into the original source of the story in Genesis chapters 5-10 and spiritual conversations can be started.

While the story carries an environmental message, it also conveys one of hope and restoration. Mankind was given a second chance to “do things right.” Wouldn’t most of us take advantage of a second chance to avoid mistakes of the past?

http://www.noahmovie.com/

Linsanity the Movie--An Inspiring Asian American Success Story about Jeremy Lin



A week and a half ago, I watched Linsanity the Movie about NBA basketball player Jeremy Lin. In February of 2012, he shocked the sports world with a five-game winning streak for the New York Knicks.

More shocking was the fact that he seemed to come out of nowhere. Undrafted and unwanted by the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets, he ended up with the Knicks and fully expected to be sent home. Then several New York players became injured or sick and Lin got his last chance to show what he could do. He amazed his teammates, opponents, fans, and the sports world by sinking baskets left and right, tearing up the court.

Sports commentators didn't know how to describe him. Unfortunately, some ugly racial stereotypes came out that actually started a dialogue on how Asians have been ignored or misrepresented. But the movie doesn't dwell on this. Lin credits his parents and his Christian faith for seeing him through good times and bad. His God gave him strength to do what he needed to when he needed to.

This inspiring movie gives hope to anyone the world has written off. No matter what your skin color or others' perception of you is, your dreams still can come true.

The Karate Kid Is Kicking

When I first heard they were remaking The Karate Kid starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, I thought, how can they call it Karate Kid when Jackie Chan does kung fu? I wasn't planning to see it, but got to view it for free when my nephew's kung fu academy performed before a showing.

I thought the opening scene was a good way to show backstory without telling it. Young Dre (Jaden Smith) stares at a growth chart marked on the wall. Milestones in his life and the dates are penciled in. In 2007, his daddy died. He measures himself and writes "Moved to China." That's all you need to know at the beginning.

Jaden's Dre is a very likeable character. At twelve years old, he is still a very sweet-looking boy. Dre is bullied by bigger boys who know kung fu. He persuades Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) to teach him kung fu so he won't be afraid of them. I had no problem with the bullies being Chinese, after all, they are in China.

If you've seen the original Karate Kid, you might remember catching flies with chopsticks, "wax on, wax off," and the crane position. The new version pays homage to these scenes in humorous ways.

I thought the movie was good. I wasn't sure if my teenage daughter would like it since she's not into martial arts movies, but she really enjoyed it, partly because there were lots of Chinese people in it.

I can understand from a marketing viewpoint that the name Karate Kid was kept to reboot the franchise and draw people in. There was one line in the movie drawing attention to the fact that karate and kung fu are not the same. But hopefully, the majority of viewers will be made aware there's a difference.

All in all, The Karate Kid is a good family movie. There's not a lot of blood, but some of the violence may be too much for younger viewers. My husband wants to buy the DVD when it comes out.