Luke Judge

Ratings by the Motion Picture Association of America are: (G) for general audiences; (PG) parental guidance urged because of material possibly unsuitable for children; (PG-13) parents are strongly cautioned to give guidance for attendance of children younger than 13; (R) restricted, younger than 17 admitted only with parent or adult guardian; (NC-17) no one younger than 17 admitted.

OPENING IN HOLLYWOOD THIS WEEK

“8: The Mormon Proposition” – An indictment of the Mormon Church’s involvement in the promotion and passage of California’s Proposition 8 and the religion’s secretive, decades-long campaign against gay rights. Narrated by Dustin Lance Black. Written and directed by Reed Cowan. (1:20) R.

“Cyrus” – A divorce vies for his girlfriend’s affection with her 21-year-old son. With John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei, Catherine Keener and Matt Walsh. Written and directed by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass. (1:32) R.

“Farewell” – The true story of a KGB colonel, disenchanted with Communism under Brezhnev, who gives top-secret documents to a French businessman working in Russia, helping to hasten the end of the Cold War. With Emir Kusturica, Guillaume Canet, Diane Kruger, Willem Dafoe, Fred Ward and David Soul. Directed by Christian Carion. (1:42) NR.

“Gangster’s Paradise: Jerusalema” – A look into the crime, corruption and transgressions of those looking to survive in the most crime-infested district of Johannesburg. With Rapaulana Seiphemo, Robert Hobbs, Kenneth Nkosi, Eugene Khumbanyiwa and Louise Saint-Claire. Written and directed by Ralph Ziman. (1:49) R.

“I Am Love” – Love affairs and power struggles affect the fate of the wealthy Recchi family during the turn of the millennium in Milan. With Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbriellini and Marisa Berenson. Written by Barbara Alberti, Ivan Cotroneo, Walter Fasano and Luca Guadagnino. Directed by Guadagnino. (2 hours) NR.

“Jonah Hex” – A scarred bounty hunter tracks a voodoo practitioner bent on liberating the South by raising an army of the undead. With Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett and Michael Shannon. Screenplay by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, based on the DC Comics character created by John Albano and Tobny DeZuniga. Directed by Jimmy Hayward.

“The Killer Inside Me” – A handsome, unassuming small town sheriff has difficulties juggling his girlfriend, a prostitute and the sociopathic tendencies inside him. With Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba. Screenplay by John Curran, based on the novel by Jim Thompson. Directed by Michael Winterbottom. (1:49) R.

“Stonewall Uprising” – Archival footage and interviews with original participants of the 1969 police raid on The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, causing a riot that instituted the beginning of the gay-rights movement. Directed by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner. (1:22) NR.

“Toy Story 3″ – Buzz, Woody and the rest of the gang try to stay together when Andy heads off to college. With the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf, R. Lee Ermey, Jodi Benson, Ned Beatty, Bonnie Hunt, Timothy Dalton, Jeff Garlin, Whoopi Goldberg and Michael Keaton. Directed by Lee Unkrich. In Imax 3-D. (1:48) G.

“The A-Team” – Former Special Forces soldiers attempt to clear their names after being set up for a crime they didn’t commit. With Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson and Gerald McRaney. Screenplay by Skip Woods, Joe Carnahan and Brian Bloom. Directed by Carnahan. (1:57) PG-13.

“Get Him to the Greek” – An ambitious record company executive has three days to escort an uncooperative rock legend to Hollywood for a comeback concert. With Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Elisabeth Moss, Rose Byrne, Colm Meaney and Sean Combs. Written and directed by Nicholas Stoller. (1:48) R.

“How to Train Your Dragon” – An animated comedy adventure of a misfit Viking teen who encounters a dragon that challenges his tribe’s tradition of heroic dragon slayers. With the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Kristen Wiig. Based on the book by Cressida Cowell. Directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders. (1:38) PG.

“Iron Man 2″ – Unwilling to divulge his secrets and technology with the military, Tony Stark forges new alliances and confronts powerful new forces. With Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke and Samuel L. Jackson. Screenplay by Justin Theroux.Directed by Jon Favreau. In IMAX. (2:05) PG-13.

“The Karate Kid” – After moving to China, a 12-year-old boy takes up kung fu to fight off the bullies. With Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan and Taraji P. Henson. Screenplay by Christopher Murphey. Directed by Harald Zwart. (2:20) PG.

“Killers” – A newlywed couple’s blissful suburban life is threatened when the husband’s former life as a gun-for-hire resurfaces to haunt them. With Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Tom Selleck, Catherine O’Hara, Katheryn Winnick, Kevin Sussman, Lisa Ann Walter, Casey Wilson, Rob Riggle, Martin Mull and Alex Borstein. Screenplay by Bob DeRosa and Ted Griffin. Directed by Robert Luketic. PG-13.

“Letters to Juliet” – A young American joins a group of volunteers in Verona who respond to letters written to Shakespeare’s Juliet seeking advice on love. With Amanda Seyfried, Christopher Egan, Gael Garcia Bernal, Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero. Written by Jose Rivera and Tim Sullivan. Directed by Gary Winick. (1:45) PG.

“Maramaduke” – The super-sized Great Dane’s canine life is turned upside down when his family moves to California. With the voices of Owen Wilson, Lee Pace, Judy Greer, George Lopez and William H. Macy. Written by Tim Rasmussen and Vince DiMeglio. Directed by Tom Dey. (1:27) PG.

“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” – A rogue prince reluctantly joins forces with a mysterious princess to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time. With Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kingsley, Gemma Arterton and Alfred Molina. Screenplay by Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro and Carlo Bernard, from a story by Jordan Mechner. Directed by Mike Newell. (1:55) PG-13.

“Robin Hood” – Robin and his merry band of marauders confront corruption in a local village and lead an uprising against King Richard’s army. With Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, William Hurt, Mark Strong, Mark Addy, Oscar Isaac, Danny Huston, Eileen Atkins and Max von Sydow. Screenplay by Brian Helgeland. Directed by Ridley Scott. (2:28) PG-13.

“Sex and the City 2″ – Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda take on a slightly more domesticated New York City. With Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Chris Noth, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Jason Lewis, Mario Cantone and Willie Garson. Written and directed by Michael Patrick King. (2:27) R.

“Shrek Forever After” – Shrek finds himself without Fiona in a twisted, alternate version of Far Far Away, where ogres are hunted and Rumpelstiltskin is king. With the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas. Written by Josh Klauser and Darren Lemke. Directed by Mike Mitchell. In IMAX 3D. (1:33) PG.

“Splice” – Two scientists develop an animal-human hybrid that threatens mankind as it rapidly evolves. With Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley. Screenplay by Vincenzo Natali, Antoinette Terry Bryant and Doug Taylor. Directed by Natali. (1:44) R.

charbens diane kruger, motion picture association of america, working in russia

We all honor and appreciate the soldiers who fight on our behalf. But can we also acknowledge the cost to them and to all of us? Can we look at both sides of the coin of what it means to be capable of waging war?

Those for whom fear is a vivid overpowering experience, which renders them capable of nothing else… after slapping a few of them (General Patton), we have called it “combat fatigue” and taken them out of the war. Yet at the same time we periodically ask the question, what would happen if everyone reacted to walk into terror?

We’re may be about to find out. The most likely generation to grow up without enough fear-normalized candidates is the youngest one, carefully protected from feeling fear. This generation, when faced with war, may simply refuse to fight. Or, if not, some future generation might. If so, it will be interesting to see what we call them… “cowards”?

Yet, if we think about it, who in their right mind would move toward massed horrendously destructive weapons capable of annihilating them? The answer is very simply only someone who has been conditioned to being terrified. We can pretend otherwise as we always have, or we can look more honestly at what increasingly is tying us up in knots. It might be said about soldiers, and war that we can’t do with, and we can’t do without them.

We have not reached that time when fierce combat soldiers are unnecessary, and may not for a long time, meaning 2 or 3 generations… perhaps more. Meanwhile can we analyze the perfidy of something we really need? Or must we continue denying that human life is very imperfect. When the only accurate way to understand it is to look at both sides of the coin, the pro and the con, the good and the bad?

Consider a slightly less severe manifestation of fear. Who do we think watches horror movies other than people for whom horror – usually some form of over powering terror – is not only normalized, but also sought after in conditions – home video – where we can revisit them as a fantasy – instead of a reality – and turn it off anytime we want? It doesn’t matter whether we do it; just that we can.

So what does it mean to be terror-normalized? It means literally that terror was a normal (repetitive) part of a child’s diet. Before we start pointing fingers at either the author for being so perverse in his viewpoint, or parents for being so nasty to their own children, lets get one thing straight. Terror is very easy for children to feel. It doesn’t even require abuse in the sense of active hurting. It only requires a fear stimulus, which normally happens to all of us. Children can invent terror prospects all by themselves simply by imaging the worst possible – which for them is things like murder and cutting the body into small pieces, etc. They invent these horrific possibilities because they don’t know what’s possible and what is very unlikely if not impossible. They learn to judge by inventing horror outcomes that are then refuted by wise reassuring parents. But what if no one defuses these time bombs? What if they become the normal worst-case scenario for a child, which they carry into adulthood and throughout their life? Then we’ve just invented a soldier, used to fear, expecting danger, and willing to walk into the teeth of that terror.

Neglect is the most common and damaging form of what we like to call abuse; though traditionally the word neglect has always seemed far more benign than abuse. Instead of beating or sexual intrusion, neglect is more like imprisonment in a dungeon without light or any other stimulus. We can change even an adult’s terror expectation by leaving them in such a place long enough. That’s why professionals regard neglect as the most underrated, and also the most powerful form of child abuse (excepting only sexual penetration of a child’s body). Neglect deprives the child of the psychic tools of managing reality, which nobody ever provided them. A child is left perpetually to fend for itself in terrifying circumstances, which they have no choice but to make a normal part of their life.

In contrast a beating is an enormous relief. Not only is it over when it’s done; it’s also possible to hate the person who did it. And one can even show it to someone else because we have the marks to prove it happened. But who can we blame for being neglected except our self? And where’s our evidence?

For terror-normalized people watching a horror movie, or fighting a war, provides them with the opportunity of externalizing in action what they carry about with them internally wherever they go. Indeed fighting in war gives them a reason for being. Carrying about a terror potential is intrinsically a heroic act, done, as everything is done, for the sake of loved ones who seem to require it by virtue of offering no alternative.

There are no easy answers to this awesome dilemma. Though perhaps it’s time to start thinking honestly about it. Like so many things in human experience, we’ve spent most of our time looking at the externals – and defining life by them – and almost no time at all looking at the internals… what really makes the human go round.

charbens combat soldiers, fantasy, feeling fear, long time