Collide Magazine

Opposite Way from Leeland is out today. We review the album in the upcoming issue of COLLIDE, but you won’t be able to read that for a couple weeks. I don’t want to wait that long to share a few thoughts on Opposite Way with you, so here goes.

• Front man Leeland Mooring and his band genuinely want to change the world. That sentiment infiltrates everything the band does.
• A lot of Leeland’s lyrics make the band sound more like revival preachers than rock stars.
• Most writers describe the band’s music as “worshipful,” but to me it doesn’t quite fit with the rest of worship rock sub-genre.
• Leeland wears its influences on its sleeve. It’s hard not to hear a blend of U2, Coldplay, and Delirious? on most of the songs from Opposite Way.
• I don’t love this album, but I don’t hate it either. It might continue to grow on me, but I don’t think so.
• When I listen to Opposite Way I hear potential, but that’s as far as I’m willing to go right now.

Anyone else have thoughts on the album?

Other albums out today include For the Love of the Game from Pillar, Never Going Back to OK from The Afters, and a new one from Erykah Badu.

The Great Debaters
Reviewed by Tiffani Barnes
Rating: 4 Stars

The Great Debaters is based on the true story of the 1935 debate team of the small, all black Wiley College in Marshall, TX. Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington directs and stars in this historical drama, which also includes fellow Oscar winner Forest Whitaker, Kimberly Elise, Nate Parker, Jermaine Whilliams, Jurnee Smollett, and Denzel Whitaker.

Professor Tolson (Washington) leads his underdog debate team on a winning streak through the Jim Crow south of the 1930s, overcoming adversity to become one of the first black teams to ever debate a white college. Tolson’s handpicked team later became some of the heavy hitters of the civil rights movement, which is foreshadowed by the team’s debate topics.

This film is reminiscent of the great inspirational sports films that have come before like Rudy, Hoosiers, Miracle, and Remember the Titans. However, in that spirit it can also seem a bit formulaic. Fans of these films will quickly recognize the pattern and, although predictable, it is nevertheless a satisfying film. The only rub in the film is that the team always gets to debate the side of the argument with which they agree.

Debaters is a solid drama with no shortage of Oscar buzz and for good reason; it is cinematically beautiful, well edited and impeccably acted. The major themes of the film include adversity, faith, activism, and respect. If you enjoy historical dramas and inspirational stories you won’t want to miss The Great Debaters.

You can find free downloadable clips from The Great Debaters at WingClips here. If you’ve seen the film, feel free to weigh in with your thoughts.

Tiffani Barnes, a graphic designer and multimedia producer at Infinitelightmedia.com, is the Faith Evangelist for iStockphoto (www.istockphoto.com).

Our Rating: 4 Stars

What’s Cool: The film’s three stars are fantastic. Tom Hanks plays Congressman Charlie Wilson, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays CIA operative Gust Avrakotos, and Julia Roberts plays socialite/activist Joanne Herring. Each actor turns in a great performance and gets the most out of Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay. Speaking of Sorkin, fans of West Wing and Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip will celebrate the return on his witty banter.

At face value, Charlie Wilson’s War is about a likable but lazy congressman who takes it upon himself to free Afghanistan from Soviet control in the 1980s. However, the film is much more than a history lesson. Charlie Wilson’s War demonstrates what can happen when the self-absorbed wake up to the plight of the world around them and take action. Through Wilson’s journey we see the importance, glory, and price of changing the world.

What’s Not: The film, like its protagonist, has a few character flaws. Charlie is a philanderer, we know that much from the trailer. But the camera comes close to objectifying women as much as Charlie does. For instance, Charlie’s office is staffed by a collection of bombshells (a more executive batch of Charlie’s Angels, as it were), and we simply laugh and think of him as a scoundrel. The camera, however, never misses an opportunity to linger a little too long on one of these bombshells, or ogle them via a slow zoom. At any rate, it seems as though Charlie’s indiscretions may have rubbed off on our director and his crew.

The Bottom Line: This film unfolds slowly, so action fans need not apply. Those who enjoy an intriguing slice of history, however, should get in line.

What happens when a rock writer, intrigued by the subculture and sales of Christian rock, devotes almost a year of his life to investigating a world he knows nothing about? Body Piercing Saved My Life: The Phenomenon of Christian Rock happens. A veteran writer for publications like Spin and The Washington Post, Andrew Beaujon decided to dive into a corner of the music world that was relatively unknown to him and most of his colleagues. The result is a fascinating outsider’s look at the roots, ideology, and major players wrapped up in the CCM cash cow we all know and love.

Stuck inside a beach house during a rainy vacation to the coast, I found myself riveted by Body Piercing. Beaujon’s perspective and observations, coupled with in-depth interviews with people like David Crowder, David Bazan (Pedro the Lion), Brandon Ebel (Tooth and Nail Records), etc., made for a great read. Along the way, Beaujon shares some his obstacles to faith (he remains an avowed non-believer), muses about the idiosyncrasies of the Christian subculture, and strives to understand what Christian music - and by extension the Christian life - is all about. If you’re curious about where Christian music came from and where it might be headed, it’s time to try Body Piercing.

I’ve often heard people talk about how God has revealed himself through Creation. They point to Psalm 19:1 (The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands) and Romans 1:20 (For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen…) to make their case. In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis argues that a house points to the architect who built it. During this discussion, I usually picture a generic sunset or the Grand Canyon and go on about my business. Then, last week I watched one of the most spiritual DVDs I’ve ever seen: the Planet Earth box set from the BBC.

As I watched, I couldn’t help but be moved by the beauty, complexity, and fragility of the world we inhabit. As I was introduced to landscapes, natural formations, and lifeforms I’d never thought possible, I found my eyes opened to new depths of God’s creativity. The project took an enormous amount of resources and manpower over the course of five years to complete the 11 one-hour episodes, but the results are stunning.

From the Northern Lights to African plains, Planet Earth seems like evidence that God is into visuals. As the aforementioned Scripture passages suggest, He uses that which is seen to speak volumes about that which is unseen. If you haven’t yet seen Planet Earth, and if you have some time to dedicate to watching the series, it is well worth your while.