Men in Black: International

Going in: I expect it'll be good but not up to the originals. I went on what 6/13 with River. Hoping the movie will be a solid 7.

Popcorn: 7/10. This was about what I expected. It's a fun movie and some laughs. But I think I would have had more fun if it were at home on DVD. If you're only going to see 2 movies this year, I'm pretty sure this won't be one of them. If you see a movie a month, there's not much else out there so I'd grab it.

Art: 7/10. Good acting and some examples of outstanding editing. Story lacked any contrasting viewpoints and didn't have much substance to it.

Acting: 5/6. You've got a powerhouse cast so yes, they were all amazing. I was worried it would have been Thor: Ragnorak on earth. And it kind of does. Chris Hemsworth basically plays Thor in the MIB without godlike powers. Tessa Thompson was a delight though. It was still enjoyable.

Music: 3/4. Stylistically, this was a callback to the original themes. And it wasn't in your face but still noticeable enough to enjoy it. Other than that, though, the music didn't push too much until the end.

Filming: 3/4. Some of the landscape shots here were really pretty. And the nighttime shots, even though looking back, I can tell they were studio, still had some high quality grain to it. It was a nice break to see that.

Art Dept: 3/4. All of this is pretty straightforward. The CGI was a little cheesy in some places, but that almost added to the film rather than detracted.

Editing: 4/4. Okay, full marks for editing. There was a fight scene that was choreographed between the two leads and the transitions were well done. It didn't make you sick to watch it, but my first thought as a filmmaker was "Oh, that's cool." And it wasn't fancy, just well edited.

Story: 4/8. Okay, so there was some good plot (MIB has never been short on that) and the characters were decent. What I had a hard time figuring out was theme. There was no dramatic argument I could see. There were some oft-repeated phrases, but I don't see those as a unifying thread. There was more than a fair share of coincidence. Relationships between two characters were discussed but never shown. I almost wonder if the story grew in complexity because of the premise but needed a simplification.

Directing: 4/6. I don't think of this as a bad movie, but it wasn't really super exciting either. Everything came together; it just felt like it was missing that extra umph.

Production: 3/4. Always a good premise and it mostly delivered. I just wish there had been more interesting substance to it.

Thematic thoughts (major spoilers):
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I couldn't pick out a theme, per se - but there was an often repeated phrase: the universe puts you in the right place at the right time for a reason. So, we're going to get into some God-talk here because this is a contrast within Christianity that is about this very saying.

One side contends that God is in control over everything: Everything happens for a reason. I would say this is a rephrasing of the above. Most of this philosophy comes out of the Scholastic movement in the 15th century. An extreme version of this is Calvinism. But this also means then that God is controlling and without compassion. Selfish even. And while God has every right to be that way, it's a contradiction with the God we see in the Bible.

Many people have this idea that there's a God in the Old Testament who's brutal and unyielding and another God in the New Testament who's loving. But it's the same God. In the Old Testament, He constantly tells His people "Come back to me". He puts up with their bad behavior for much longer that I think any human would. And in the New Testament, Christ will judge us. There will be an accounting.

All that to say that God throughout the Bible is loving and compassionate while at the same time not ignorant of people's actions. Saying that He controls everything is inconsistent.

On the other side is a more atheistic/humanistic approach where we are in control. What happens is a result of our doing. This lines up with observation. When a criminal commits a crime, it's his doing. But it doesn't account for people who change overnight. Some change from unkind to Mother Theresa while others go from Gandhi to the devil.

I would put forth there's another possibility, a synergy between God and mankind. When mankind cooperates with God, the supernatural happens. Humans go from being good to being excellent or from rotten to whole. When that collaboration stops, things snap in the other direction. And I don't think you need to be a saint or even religious for God to move. Due to abuses in the church, some people will never grace the door of a gathering ever again. But they will still follow the principles that God says to follow and God will still work.

I heard a priest say once that we'll be surprised in paradise. Christ will greet the most beat down, anti-Christian people and say "You made it!" with an embrace. It's not because they have this knowledge of God. But live the Christian life as much as they can with what they've been given. They may not call it the Christian life, but it is that nonetheless.