The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Monday, November 20, 2006 - 5A Summertime for Jesus's children Blonde, badass and ... bowtied? FILM REVIEW 007 version 6.0 DANIEL CRAIG'S MODERN BOND SHAKES UP STALE FRANCHISE By PAUL TASSI DailyArts Writer There are no watch lasers or exploding ciga- rettes. There are no villains with schemes to blow up cities using satel- lites or start arace of super- * humans onthe moon. There are no one-dimensional Casino love interests named Jinx, Royale Christmas or Pussy. "Casi- At the Showcase no Royale" has returned and Quality16 James Bond to modern Columbia reality. Here, there's only a man with a gun, a villain who wants money and a girl, for once, with a brain. In his debut as Bond, Daniel Craig ("Layer Cake") recalls modern fictional spies like Jason Bourne or Jack Bauer more than the suave dou- ble O's of previous decades. Craig noticeably lacks both the smooth velvety charm of Sean Connery and the ideal tall-dark-and-handsome looks of Pierce Brosnan. Instead, his face is worn and full of nicks, and his blond hair and icy blue eyes might have cast him as a Bond vil- lain in earlier films. But Craig's new Bond boasts a kind of rugged mortality - a welcome change from the seem- ingly invincible 007s of the past who could kill an entire army of Russians with a wink and smile. Craig's Bond can bleed in a fight, feel remorse after a kill and even fall in love. His defining moment could seem quite ordi- nary, and may even go unnoticed by the casual viewer, but midway through the film, when Craig finally dons the classic Bond tuxedo and stares into the mirror with piercing eyes, he vis- ibly clicks into the role. It's enough to give you chills. "Casino Royale" is a modern-day prequel based on Ian Fleming's first novel, and rein- troduces the spy Fleming originally described as "half-monk, half-hitman." A newly minted double-O agent, Bond learns that his first target is Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen, "King Arthur"), a financier of international terrorism who man- ages the high-rolling assets of terrorists and then secretly uses them to bet on the stock mar- ket. When Bond foils his latest market plan, Le Chiffre is suddenly $100 million in the hole, and arranges an obscenely highstakes poker game to win it back before his clients kill him. Bond wrangles an invitation to the game, his $10 million buy-in brought to him by the breath- taking yet intelligent treasury worker Vesper Lynd (Eva Green, "Kingdom of Heaven"). Green actually ends up the sleeper star of the film, a true departure from the traditional "Bond girl" who brings a flirty coyness that catches Bond's interest. We soon discover that Vesper is key not only to this plot but the whole Bond legend, as her influence inadvertently changes how he leads his romantic life well into the future. The main misstep of "Casino Royale" is its lack of truly epic action sequences. Who can forget the tank rampage in "Goldeneye" or the battle inside Fort Knox in "Goldfinger"? For a Bond film to be a true classic it needs to have memorable action scenes, arguably the fran- chise's major allure, rather than purely relying on an actor's ability to fill the role. But after a brilliantly choreographed opening chase scene, the pace of the film slows until it ultimately grinds to a halt during the poker-game. The card game may be well shot, but it's the low point of the film, and far too drawn out. With a plot and characters anchored in a plausible reality, "Casino Royale" avoids much of the camp and absurdity that has plagued past films. Without the limitations of overtly ridic- ulous gadgets, cackling villains and shallow women, Craig is able to breathe new life into the franchise with a decidedly grittier take on the legendary spy. So how does he rank among the classic Bonds? Probably no one will ever catch Connery, but if anyone has a prayer it'll be Craig. Only time will tell. Welcome to Evangelical Chris- tian Camp for children in Mis- souri. Created as an attempt ** to stimulate small children Jesus Camp into accepting At the Jesus Christ Michigan Theater as their savior, Magnolia the camp is a successful mesh of magical fancy and old-fashioned churchgoing guilt. Some kids may come largely for summer-camp fun, but most are there for Jesus. "Jesus Camp" is not fiction. Documentary filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (both best known for 2005's "Boys of Bara- ka") attempt to leave out their own bias, but their concern with the subject matter is apparent none- theless. The film frequently forces its point with overbearing music and well-edited talking-head seg- ments. Sure, some of the kids might be having fun, but why must they be taught to borderline worship a cardboard cutout of George W? "Jesus Camp" depicts how capa- ble Evangelicals have become in competing for the soul of middle America by using both education- al and social methods, looking to step up their influence in public schools, popular cartoons and chil- dren's toys. Parents of this sub-sect understand that we are living in a visual age - they have their kids watch the "Creation Adventure" series and hug "Adam & Eve" dolls. A summer camp is just the next step. The film demonstrates how these children learn it is sinful to swear, lie or enjoy "devils' magic" (i.e. "Harry Potter"). They sob over the worries of hellfire and damna- tion. They are taught to scoff at the idea of evolution and global warm- ing. They speak in tongues. And they learn to reject Satan through the smashing of a mug. It's all nicely ironic. One of the camp's main organizers, Pente- costal children's minister Becky Fischer, derides "schools in Pales- tine teaching children how to put on bomb-belts," but then ponders why Americans don'tuse that same intense training for their children. By running this camp, she hopes to enlist children in her "army of the Lord." Strangely enough, many of these children are so well-trained as to be hyper-articulate (behavior almost bordering on OCD and ADD- related disorders) in their pontifi- cations on the joys of Christian Rock and spreading their religion. But, the film asks, is their religious devotion their own, or the product Doc examines extreme Christian summer camp. of shameless exploitation? "Jesus Camp" excels in its ear- nest attempts to explore that fine line. The film probes questions of consequence for organized reli- gion in today's world, whether it's a force of good or a detrimental zeal- ot movement. The film attempts to investigate that balance, focusing especially on the young children who are its target audienceand the political propaganda that makes up a large part of the curriculum. Such truths and tricky borderlines permeate "Jesus Camp," even if no answers are ultimately found. Classic Clouseau comes to the Michigan By BLAKE GOBLE locales i Daily Arts Writer case. When Before Mike Myers did Austin Powers and Eddie Murphy did the Klumps family, Peter A Shot in Sellers was the Dark the mas- Tonight at 7p.m. ter of comic character $6,75 frstudents, embodiment. He outdid all Atthe Michigan Theater other com- ics in his pursuits for a laugh, and remains a master of creating the humorous persona. "A Shot In the Dark" is the most obvious evidence of this fact. In Blake Edwards's 1964 classic, bum- bling Inspector Jacques Clouseau (a cultural icon to anyone over 30) returns to foil a murder mystery. Clouseau encounters nefarious nitwits, femmes fatale and exotic is found the firstc woman, Summer, suspectf seau, sec Selle Clou aC releasesI her steps au keeps body cou fixed. Bu characte n his quest to solve the In short, Sellers steals the show. Inspector Clouseau is a bumbling, a millionaire's driver fumbling classic of a slapstick shot dead, Clouseau is detective, a hubristic Frenchman detective on the scene. A who always nearly foils the case Maria Gambrelli (Elke he's solving. He slips on an over- "The Prize") is the prime sized spinning globe. He unsuc- for the murder, but Clou- cessfully flirts with women. He retly lovelorn for the lady, even finds himself wandering a nudist camp. Though this all may seem a bit obnoxious and a little cartoonish, 'rs's Inspector Sellers and his willingness to take a hit never stop making us laugh. "A tseau remains Shot In the Dark" marked just one ,ome d A icon. of many collaborations between director Edwards and Sellers. The two would make several more "Panther" flicks and great com- her in an attempt to track edies such as "The Party." but to little avail. Clouse- Sellers vanished into obscurity screwing up the case, the in his later years, due to his own nt keeps rising and little is self-loathing and antisocial behav- t what really matters is the ior. "The Pink Panther" series r of Clouseau himself. eventually would self-destruct due to repeat sightgags and predictabil- ity, but this original work remains pure. David Zucker ("Airplance") once said something to the effect that if you can make someone laugh at a fart in your movie, then you're doing something right. If that's the case, Clouseau's classic slapstick can do no wrong. I I~I Over 2 million sold! Flexfuel Chevrolets. 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