Movie/DVD Review: The Great Debaters.

Beliefnet.com came up with a list of what they call the "Most Powerful Christians in Hollywood."

http://www.beliefnet.com/gallery/hollywoodchristians.html

Right behind Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington graced the litany. Mr. Washington has been developing an impressive body of work, which he has characterized as his "ministry."

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/227/story_22778_1.html

Some might be surprised by Mr. Washington's inclusion in this list given the raw nature of some of his filmic work. Taking a closer look, however, his movies often point to basic morality at the very least, and sometimes, to religiously sophisticated, if not overly Christian themes, such as atonement, propitiation and salvation.

For example, my bro Jonathan Acuff at the oft-hilarious site, http://stuffchristianslike.net/, has unpacked the deeply religious or Christian themes lurking in Mr. Washington's Man on Fire. Find his insightful analysis here: http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/2008/04/183-movie-passion-of-christ.html

In this review, Mr. Acuff intriguingly and perhaps counter-intuitively posits that Man on Fire exceeds even The Passion of the Christ in evangelistic potential.

This lengthy introduction sets the table for The Great Debaters. This film carries strong moral principles centered around basically standing up for what is right--even at great personal cost.

As the title suggests, it presents a true story about an African-American debate team that went into Harvard to compete... and, well, you figure out the rest. I find fault with this movie, however, because it was not necessary to demonize (just about) every white person in the film.

Moreover, the film suggests, erroneously, that speaking more loudly somehow translates into speaking more eloquently. In one particularly disturbing scene, one contestant essentially screamed her speech--on the verge of tears. Despite this bellicose delivery, one significant line--that has been echoed in the current Presidential campaign--resonates well: "The time for justice is always right now." Indeed.

Despite its flaws, it's worth a viewing on cable or DVD.

The Great Debaters garners a "B."

Movie Review: American Gangster (mild spoiler alert).

I'll leave it to others to delineate comparisons between American Gangster and other gangster movies, such as The Godfather.

However, echoes of the signature splicing in the later film between church attendance and nefarious conduct outside of it could not be missed in the former. Current culture's fascination with mobster movies or television shows (viz, The Sopranos) puzzles me, but if you appreciate the genre, Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe and director Ridley Scott's latest offering should be in your viewing queue. Even if you don't like gangster fare, the combined presence of these giants in modern filmmaking alone should cause you pause to see it.

Based on a true story from the 1970s, American Gangster, explores Frank Lucas' rise and fall in the drug trade. Lucas' fall was hastened by Russell Crowe's character, Richie Roberts. According to the movie, which may or may not align precisely with reality, Roberts became a lawyer while working in law enforcement in New Jersey. In addition to performing the detective work, Roberts actually prosecuted Lucas. For example, the film shows Roberts delivering an opening statement to the jury as Lucas sat passively at the defense table.

Then, in a bizarre twist, Roberts signs up Lucas as his first client. According to an on-screen epilogue, Roberts successfully represented Lucas on appeal to reduce the very sentence that Roberts help obtain. Robert's motivation for this seeming flip-flop was not explained, but one could surmise that Roberts sought to repay Lucas' help in dismantling a larger operation (through information or testimony against co-conspirators), and more important to Roberts, clearing out the appalling corruption in the NYPD's drug enforcement unit.

This movie shows the cost of ethics to Roberts in particular, and his dogged determination to see them vindicated even at great personal cost.

American Gangster receives a B++