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On May 4th, Secretary of State John Kerry – while giving remarks alongside EU High Representative Federica Mogherini – reminded the Assad regime in Syria of their commitment to allow humanitarian aid.
“To date, the regime has consciously and unacceptably blocked food and medical supplies from getting to people in desperate need,” said Secretary Kerry, “and I think it is clear that humanitarian organizations must be allowed access to serve the people who are in need.”
These remarks come on the heels of a horrific attack on an al-Quds hospital in Aleppo, Syria. Doctors, children, patients and medical personnel were killed as explosions turned the hospital, a symbol of hope, into a mound of rubble that looks all too familiar and is associated only with pain.
Oklahoma is a land which has seen its fair share of heart-wrenching disasters – some caused by nature and some by man. While we are privileged to have been spared from an attack by our own government such as this in Aleppo, we are no stranger to terror. Heartbreaking visuals of Syrian men carrying children from rubble remind us of events still fresh in our minds, but in every disaster we face, Oklahomans are quick to respond and give relief where needed.
Where faithful men and women in yellow caps alongside other civilian helping-hands descend on disasters in Oklahoma (and around the world), there is a group of individuals found in white helmets who respond after government air strikes and bombings in Syria. Described on the website as “bakers, tailors, engineers, pharmacists, painters, carpenters, students and many more,” the White Helmets are men and women committed to responding in crisis.
We are so often beleaguered by news of terror and war abroad that we become unintentionally desensitized to the fact that lost men, women, and children are dying without hearing the Good News. I am thankful for the work of our Disaster Relief volunteers and that they faithfully share the Gospel with those whom they help; I am burdened by how easy it is to distance ourselves from the Middle East and those who will not hear the Gospel before the next government air strike.
“What can we do?” you ask. Pray for strength for the White Helmets as they will inevitably face greater distress and terror. Pray that the Father impresses upon the heart of Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria, to allow humanitarian aid to his citizens. Pray that Christians in this area are given endless opportunities to share the Gospel and that the hearts of many will be softened and that they would believe.
Sometimes it feels like we can only do so much, and perhaps in tangible ways we are limited, but we must understand that such tangible aid is that which is limited; the ability to approach our Heavenly Father and intercede on behalf of those on the other side of the globe will render a much more lasting effect.
For more information on The White Helmets, visit www.whitehelmets.org.
Until I see a film such as this, which revolves around an air marshal, I never really think about the fact that there is an officer aboard the majority of flights I take. The air marshal in Non-Stop is Bill Marks (Liam Neeson), a down-and-out alcoholic who is emotionally unstable and just so happens to be an air marshal aboard a direct flight from New York to London. Shortly after reaching altitude, Marks begins receiving anonymous texts in which a passenger threatens to kill one person in the airplane every 20 minutes if $150 million is not transferred to a special account. What we have here is your good ole locked room mystery.
And so our journey begins.
The first act, if you will, takes place on the ground with Marks arriving at the airport, going through security and boarding the plane. I feel quite obligated to let you know that the very first shot of the film is composed of tightly-focused beads of water framed on a window, followed by a long (and do I mean long) focus pull to Marks sitting in his truck. I will go ahead and chalk this up as a failed attempt at an artsy exposition, followed by a highly mobile camera traipsing through the New York airport (presumably JFK, however, irrelevant) which makes one feel the need for Dramamine well before the flight departs. I have nothing against shallow focus, long pulls or even mobile cameras when presented tastefully, but the first act in comparison to the rest of the film feels like director Jaume Collet-Serra gave the camera to a few green interns who venerated the prologue of Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1988).
Once Marks confirms the threat is not a hoax, the situation is already grave. He is being framed as the terrorist, losing his identity, reminiscent of Collet-Serra’s 2011 film Unknown also with star Neeson. Grasping at straws to identify his terrorist passenger, Marks is made to rely and trust on several people whom he does not know. His trust is reluctant and wavering, but his morals are not. He is in charge of the passenger’s safety whether his badge and gun are in his possession or not; his (self-given) orders are to keep the passengers safe.
Though there are no references to religion or God, and the take-away is slightly shallow, there is a theme of moral utilitarianism that is intriguing throughout the rising action. That is, Marks does what he does because it will save the most people, and the terrorists do the same in order to reveal a greater weakness in security (alcoholic, emotionally unstable air marshal), thus tightening future security and saving future lives. So who is right? I think the writers John Richardson and Christopher Roach stumbled upon this theme, but the camera was not able to capture the very essence of this moral struggle.
Non-Stop certainly has its share of claustrophobic adrenaline-filled moments as well as “red herrings.” The hasty movement from scenario to scenario leaves little time to invest in any single character other than Air Marshal Bill Marks, Passenger Jen Summers (Julianne Moore) and Steward Nancy (Michelle Dockery). Perhaps Collet-Serra wants us to be as apprehensive in trusting the passengers as Marks stays throughout the film.
Non-Stop is rated PG-13 for “intense sequences of action and violence, some language, sensuality and drug references.” I give Non-Stop 7/10 stars.
I would love to say that Admission is a film with extreme and natural character development and a film where Tina Fey dazzles audiences alongside co-star Paul Rudd, but it is a film with Tina Fey and Paul Rudd.
Portia Nathan (Tina Fey) is an admission officer for Princeton University; she lives with her boyfriend of ten years, has no children, and is rather complacent. While speaking to high school students on a tour around the northeast, she visits “Quest School,” directed by John Pressman (Paul Rudd) and meets Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), an unassumingly intelligent student at Quest.
Admission is an adaptation of Jean Hanff Korelitz’s novel Admission. Adapted by Karen Croner (after a 15 year hiatus), this film lacks in the story department. Admission forces character development and prods the story to advance in a way that is unfamiliar with novel adaptations and is clearly carried by the cinematography of Declan Quinn.
Whether it is by encouraging students to change the world through Princeton or teaching students how to create sustainable irrigation at Quest School, a common theme throughout Admission is doing good, though never in conjunction with anything religious. With a few curse words sprinkled throughout the film, the most awkward and unnecessary scene consists of a conversation between Fey and Rudd while they are each taking a shower in separate stalls. The viewer sees only their head and shoulders, but with no advancing dialogue, this uncomfortable scene is pointless.
This film also has an excessive amount of cursing. Christians may feel too uncomfortable with the amount of swear words and it likely is not appropriate for teens. Further, the cohabitation portrayed in the plot sends the wrong message.
Aforementioned, the cinematography makes this film. Beautiful wide shots and deep focus break from the current mold of movies, but the technique used to give the allusion of a student being in the room while being weighed for admission was most clever. Each student appears in the office of Portia Nathan while she is reading their file, though not physically. Instead of Portia reading each student’s file aloud (unnatural), the figments of the students allow them to present themselves to Portia. Later while using this same effect, each student stands silent before the admission officers as they accept or deny admission to Princeton and upon denial, the floor opens and the student falls through.
Throughout Admission, the common theme of doing good is coupled with the fear of rejection. Introduced by students fearing denial to Princeton, the chance of rejection continues by resting on Portia. She fights for a job, is dumped by her boyfriend, gets pushed away by her mother and embodies the impending rejection of Jeremiah to Princeton.
Admission doesn’t try to make the viewer feel good by its conclusion; instead, it presents the idea of compromise and rejection as faced by people in real life, but with the only spiritual element consisting of a reference to Buddhism, the characters are left with only the hope of acceptance and success instead of faith in God.
Admission (Paul Weitz, 2013) PG-13 – 6/10 stars
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