Hey, here's a post less than a week after the previous one.
I went to see The Simpsons Movie yesterday. It is truly a laugh riot through and through, marred only by two things that really weren't appropriate or necessary and wouldn't show up on the tv show. But overall, lots of fun.
Spider-Pig. Spider-Pig. Does whatever a spider-pig does.
I finished watching Il Postino last night. Very enjoyable yet truly a European film. The movie is about a man, Mario, who delivers mail for the exiled (Communist) poet Pablo Narudo. The poet teaches Mario a little about poetry so that he might win the heart of local beauty Beatrice (the name sounds much more beautiful in Italian: Bay-a-treez-a). I am saddened to learn that the actor portraying Mario, Phillippe Noiret, died from an untreated heart condition the day after shooting completed, untreated so he could complete the film. Art imitates life. The film has a very poetical feel to it, quite appropriate considering its story. Beautiful scenery, beautifully shot, this is just a lovely movie to watch. Don't let its simplicity fool you; much like poetry, the surface hides a greater story, a greater attraction, a greater feeling.
Having read too many times about the greatness of Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal, I added it to the top of my Netflix queue. I've watched the first 20 minutes of it and will continue in a few minutes. All I can say so far is that it's interesting. I'm more than likely not smart enough to catch every subtle nuance or determine the full meaning of every symbol (or even catch most of them). We'll see how it goes.
It's not a movie, but I've been watching The Dick Van Dyke Show season one this week. It's so much fun. It is a shame that there really is nothing of this caliber out now. I do laugh at the separated twin beds for a married couple (so exactly how did Ritchie come along). But this is so smart and witty. Gilmore Girls and Will & Grace are the only recent shows that capture that style. C'est la vie.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
War
I found this movie, War, looking for Lionsgate's web page for 3:10 to Yuma, starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, but the link I followed was incorrect, so I saw the default movies at lionsgatefilms.com, featuring Bratz (rental in a few years), War, and Good Luck Chuck (nopers).
War stars Jason Statham and Jet Li, and is about an FBI agent (Statham) seeking revenge for the brutal slaying of his partner, perpetrated by an Asian mob guy (Li). It's probably pretty run of the mill, but Statham just rocks in everything he's in, and coupled with Jet Li, should prove very entertaining.
War stars Jason Statham and Jet Li, and is about an FBI agent (Statham) seeking revenge for the brutal slaying of his partner, perpetrated by an Asian mob guy (Li). It's probably pretty run of the mill, but Statham just rocks in everything he's in, and coupled with Jet Li, should prove very entertaining.
Friday, July 06, 2007
I want to believe it's true
Yay on my 200th post!
I receive an inspirational email several times a week. Sometimes they're drivel, good for nothing, hardly worth taking the time to read. Usually, they're thought provoking. Today's actually inspired a post. This is not the first time I've seen this story, but today it hit me differently.
The basic story (non-inspirational synopsis) is about a "challenged" boy named Shay whose dad asked some boys playing baseball if his son could play. The team of the boy asked was losing, so the boy said, "Sure". They caught up to tie the other team and still they allowed Shay to bat. Someone helped him bat, and both teams worked to allow Shay to run (the opposing team throwing the ball in the wrong direction, overthrowing, etc.) and finally make it home to score the winning run.
Having seen this story so many times and in slightly different forms, it's probably an urban legend and didn't really happen. Yet, I want to believe that a man hoped against hope that some random boys would be big enough to allow his son to have an experience he would not otherwise have, and I want to believe not only that the boys let him play, but they willingly gave up their own chance to win to enable this one kid to have an experience of a lifetime for him.
Isn't this what the Bible teaches us: That all of us have importance regardless of our ability to perform or contribute, that our existence is contribution enough and worth being loved. That we are to put aside our own selfish ambition and conceit to help build others up, to help make winners out of those the world deems losers. That we are to stand for the downtrodden and down-and-outs, to not just protect the same, but to embrace them.
I want to believe that I am there, that I am one who stands in the gap for those that others scorn. I know I'm not. Slowly, though, I can see my heart changing, not of my own volition, but by the working of the Holy Spirit. As I allow myself to be more open to God's leading, I can see my attitudes changing and the scope of my life shifting to become that person. Who knows where I'll wind up and what it will look like. I know, though, whatever it becomes, it is because of God working in me.
I receive an inspirational email several times a week. Sometimes they're drivel, good for nothing, hardly worth taking the time to read. Usually, they're thought provoking. Today's actually inspired a post. This is not the first time I've seen this story, but today it hit me differently.
The basic story (non-inspirational synopsis) is about a "challenged" boy named Shay whose dad asked some boys playing baseball if his son could play. The team of the boy asked was losing, so the boy said, "Sure". They caught up to tie the other team and still they allowed Shay to bat. Someone helped him bat, and both teams worked to allow Shay to run (the opposing team throwing the ball in the wrong direction, overthrowing, etc.) and finally make it home to score the winning run.
Having seen this story so many times and in slightly different forms, it's probably an urban legend and didn't really happen. Yet, I want to believe that a man hoped against hope that some random boys would be big enough to allow his son to have an experience he would not otherwise have, and I want to believe not only that the boys let him play, but they willingly gave up their own chance to win to enable this one kid to have an experience of a lifetime for him.
Isn't this what the Bible teaches us: That all of us have importance regardless of our ability to perform or contribute, that our existence is contribution enough and worth being loved. That we are to put aside our own selfish ambition and conceit to help build others up, to help make winners out of those the world deems losers. That we are to stand for the downtrodden and down-and-outs, to not just protect the same, but to embrace them.
I want to believe that I am there, that I am one who stands in the gap for those that others scorn. I know I'm not. Slowly, though, I can see my heart changing, not of my own volition, but by the working of the Holy Spirit. As I allow myself to be more open to God's leading, I can see my attitudes changing and the scope of my life shifting to become that person. Who knows where I'll wind up and what it will look like. I know, though, whatever it becomes, it is because of God working in me.
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