Matt Jones' Random Acts of Verbiage

Yes, this is a bit behind the times, but I figured I might as well say something about the movie “Saved“. Overall, I liked the movie, but didn’t really think it was overly clever or profound. The message was pretty lame but it did have a few good things to say.

Mary (Jena Malone) is a good Christian girl who goes to a good Christian high school in Baltimore where she has good Christian friends, mainly Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore), and a perfect Christian boyfriend, Dean (Chad Faust). Her life seems perfect, until the day that she finds out that Dean may be gay. After “seeing” a vision of Jesus in her pool, she does everything in her power to help him turn straight, including offering up her virginity. But none of it helps because Dean’s caught and sent to a “degayification” center and Mary ends up pregnant. It’s during her time of need that she becomes real friends with the school’s set of “misfits,” including Cassandra (Eva Amurri), the school’s only Jewish girl; Roland (Macaulay Culkin), Hilary Faye’s wheelchair bound brother, and Patrick (Patrick Fugit), the skateboarder son of the school’s principal, Pastor Skip (Martin Donovan); whilst Hilary Faye turns her into a social outcast. (from IMDB)

What is lame is that if a Christian had made this movie, they could have used much of the material, but ended up at a legitimate message. I felt the message was similar to Dogma: be a hippie. Both of those movies, I feel, had a (in some places) decent critique of Christianity, but followed the critique through to the wrong conclusions. Commenting on the Christian sub-culture, which Saved was doing, is not exactly uncommon nor unwarranted. I think that Christians should be making comments on the Christian sub-culture because it can be dangerous and blinding (in many of the ways portrayed in the movie). The problem is that while there is a Christian sub-culture, most Christians aren’t actually part of it. Most Christians are not that blind. Of course this is in my experience dealing with other Christians, others may feel differently. Ok, that was a bit of a digression from what I was talking about: the message. The hippie message that comes through in this message is (like Dogma) one that says if you are a good person and are good to others, you will be happy and will also make God happy. Unfortunately that isn’t the Christian message. The “true” Christian conclusion to this movie is that the characters would realize they are all fallen and sinner and must repent and figure out what it means to call themselves Christians and how that will effect their relationships with real people in a real world. At least that is how I see it.

There were a few interesting points and comments made and I thought I would share a few. Hilary (the “good” Christian) is upset at Mary because she has been “turning from her faith.”

H: Mary, turn away from Satan. Jesus, he loves you.
M: You don’t know the first thing about love.
H: [throws a Bible at Mary] I am FILLED with Christ’s love! You are just jealous of my success in the Lord.
M: This is not a weapon! You idiot.

I think this is a really interesting exchange that comments on the “holier than thou” attitude that many non-believers feel believers have. I especially think that comment about Hilary not knowing the first thing about love is especially important. I do think that this is a ligitimate problem in the Christian community. Christians can contiually say they are doing things in the Love of Christ. While that may be true, it may not actually bring glory to God or actually represent the Love of Christ. Christians always need to be asking what it means to Love as Christ does and figure out how that will actually play out in the world around. Mary’s response after having the Bible thrown at here is interesting in that Christians have so often been accused of using the Bible as a (usually figuratively speaking) weapon. How have you used it as a weapon (and don’t deny that you have)?

Another good quote comes from Culkin’s character, Roland. Hilary has just vandalized so as to tarnish the reputation of Mary and her friends and Roland makes the comment:

You have everything, what are you afraid of?

This makes me think of the Prodigal Son when the brother is upset after the return of the son who has wasted all that was given to him and is welcomed back into the family with open arms. Don’t be that brother!

I will mention one more quote that I thought was interesting, there are others in there as well. Mary points out something interesting:

Why would God make us all so different if he wanted us to be the same?

Indeed.

So overall, I think the movie was worth watching but do feel that it had a lot of potential that was just wasted. Not a very accurate portrayal of most Christians, but still had a few points worthy of pondering. And I leave you with this:

Hilary Faye: You know, secondhand smoke kills.
Cassandra: I’m counting on it.

heh.

Shalom

Tonight I watched Field of Dreams. I had forgotten what a great movie it was with some classic lines. I really enjoy baseball quite a bit and memories of playing catch with my dad are some of my fondest, this movie is one that I will always come back to.

You know we just don’t recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they’re happening.

This statement from “Moonlight” Graham (Burt Lancaster) can sometimes seem cliche, but coming from him, it seemed to have more impact (not sure why). And just because something is cliche, doesn’t mean it isn’t full of truth.

I’d wake up at night with the smell of the ball park in my nose, the cool of the grass on my feet… The thrill of the grass.

“Shoeless” Joe (Ray Liotta) really knows how to say it (If you like baseball of course)!

There are a lot of good lines in this movie. One of the funniest I think is when Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) is trying to kidnap Mann (James Earl Jones):

Mann: I’m going to beat your head in with a crowbar until leave.
Kinsella: You can’t do that.
Mann: There are rules here? No, there are no rules here. [Mann comes at Kinsella with a crowbar]
Kinsella: You’re a pacifist!
Mann [stops before he strikes and pauses]: Shit.

Come on now, that is funny (sorry if you are offended by profanity).

Go out and watch the movie again, really, you know you want to.
I will leave you with Mann’s final (and moving) monologue.
Shalom

Ray, people will come Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won’t mind if you look around, you’ll say. It’s only $20 per person. They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they’ll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game and it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they’ll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh… people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.

Do you really want to read another? Well here are my thoughts that can be added to the ocean of thoughts already out there.

I saw Revenge of the Sith last Sunday at Seattle Cinerama with some good friends and I must say I enjoyed the third (or sixth) installment from Lucas. There was good and there was bad, a light and dark side if you will.

Where the lines cheesy? Yes. Did I expect that? Yes. Was it better than the first two Episodes? Yes. Is it annoying when I ask questions and then answer them? Yes. Ok, here is my take on the cheese factor of Star Wars. It has ALWAYS been there. I am still not too sure why people were so surprised when Episodes I and II had horrible lines (although I suppose I could be the poor acting from Christensen). Sith had some classic cheese moments: Padme’s “hug me” was right up there (although not pulled off quite as well) as Leia’s “hold me”, Vader’s “noooooo” was quite intense, and I am not sure if it was as cheesy or not as cheesy as Luke’s “noooooo” (after being told “I am your father.”).

I do give props to Lucas for bridging the two series’ pretty well with a minimum of holes. I was impressed that Leia could remember her mother being “sad” – must have been the force through the womb. R2 also didn’t seem to remember Obi-Wan and visa versa, I guess they had Obi’s memory erased with 3P0′s. Yoda also seems to be under the same memory spell because he didn’t remember R2 either. Oh well, no biggie. I can over look the others because bridging the gap was a large task.

Grievous? Ok, he was kind of a cool character, but what was with his tuberculosis? I just assumed it would be explained, so I waited, and then I waited some more, and then I saw credits…

“I have a new mission for you.” What? I know Lucas wanted to bridge the movies well, but this just felt out of place. Yes, it totally explains how Obi-Wan and Yoda can come back to help our young Luke, but it felt very constructed.

The special effects were great, as should be expected from Mr. ILM. The fighting scenes were very intense and exciting, they made (Old) Vader’s, (Old) Obi-Wan’s, and Luke’s lightsaber abilities look anorexic.

Chewie’s cameo was great, especially since he carried Yoda around. And did anyone else see the Millennium Falcon at one of the docking ports?

My biggest disappointments: Vader’s reveal in Episode V will now have very little impact. Yoda’s reveal about the sister Skywalker will also have little impact. These two facts make me sad. As Kim suggests, I will make my kids watch IV-VI first and then I-III.

Oh, AND, Cinerama didn’t show the Narnia trailer! How LAME is that?

I look forward to seeing it again! If anyone wants to go, let me know, I will be down.
Shalom

The family book and dvd/cd exchange! If you want to know what this is all about, see this post. Click here for the post on the selection for March.

The month of April brought me a book and a DVD from Jill. Her selections were The Red Violin and Hallelujah! the Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes by Maya Angelou.

First off we have The Red Violin. This is a movie that I really enjoyed and I hadn’t seen it in a long time. The music was beautiful and flows with the movie very well. The premise is that a Violin maker – Nicolo Bussotti (played by Carlo Cecchi) – loses his wife and child during the child’s birth shortly after making the “perfect” violin. The movie then follows the violin to a boy’s boarding school / orphanage, travelling gypsies, an english composer and soloist, to communist china and finally found and put up for auction. Throughout the movie there are flashbacks to the wife talking to a “fortune teller” that reads her future that the violin closley follows. There are also flash forwards to “present day” as the auction approaches and Charles Morritz (played by Samuel L. Jackson) tries to determine the “Red Violin’s” authenticty. Violin is a great movie with a well written script that is really made complete by John Corigliano’s original music and the wonderful performance by Joshua Bell on the solo violin. Bottom line, watch the movie. There are a few “awkward” scenes where the English composer needs “inspiration” to create his music. Other than that the movie is pretty clean and very watchable.

Next up is Maya Angelou’s cookbook. Now, I am not much of a cook so I didn’t actually make anything from the book (maybe sometimes I will…). What makes this cookbook different are Angelou’s stories from her life experiences that are peppered throughout. You may have noticed, but I am not a 77 year old African-American woman from the south so the stories were great to read as they were quite difference from anything I have experienced. Angelou’s variety of dishes is matched by her variety of life experiences ranging from Cold Potato Salad to Caramel Cake and being slapped by her teacher (and then seeing – along with her entire class – her Momma [actually her Grandmother] walking down to the school and slapping back) to dealing with (and standing up to) racism while visiting England.

In 1903, Momma had been married five years and had two sons. One bright morning, her husband told her that he was elacing. He explained thathe had recieved a call – the Call – to preach. To study and prepare for that awesome responsibility, he had to travel to Ada, Oklahoma, where an elderly preacher he had met at a conference woudl school him. Years later Annie Henderson found that the old Oklahoma preacher had had a beautiful and marriagable daugher and that my grandfather quickly began to court her. When it was legally possible, he married the daugher and never returned to Arkansas.

My grandmother was left with a two-room shack, a lively four-year-old who would later become my father, and a two-year-old boy who was crippled.

…[To make money while also trying to be with her children Momma slowly builds a small meat pie business that ends up serving many of the hungry workers in their town. Maya grew up in the building where the business was run for over 60 years!]…

Momma told me, “Sister, the world might try to put you on a road that you don’t like. First stop and look behind you. If nothing back theremakes you want to return, then look ahead. If nothing ahead beckons you enough to keep you going, the you have to step off that road and cut yourself a brand-new path.”

I would recommend this book both to read interesting stories about a time and culture that you have no experience with and also because the recipies look quote delicious!

Shalom and Happy Mothers’ Day!

My mom’s side of the family is doing something different this year for birthdays. In stead of buying something for everyone else, we pick a book and a cd or dvd that we particularily like and we send that around to all the different family members. So each month we get a new book to read and a dvd to watch or cd to listen to. Through this we will gain some more insight into the person who picked it as well as have an introduction to stuff we may not have had much experience with before.

Here are the picks that I will be sending around:
Michael Crichton’s “State of Fear” – A fun adventure that hopes to give a more realistic approach to views on global warming. Crichton’s biases are definately against global warming, but his point of the book is more along the lines of listening to scientific information and not emotion. Public policy and our understanding of the environment should be informed by science and not opinion. Basically a proper balance of “enviornmentalism” and reality should be held. This description doesn’t really make much sense, so just go read the book, it is a quick read that is interesting and fun.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – I found this to be a very interesting movie about relationships and memories. It was well made and well acted, was nice to see Jim Carry in a more serious role. Check it out.

I will (hopefully) write a brief review every month on the book and cd / dvd that I received. Should be a pretty interesting experiement!

Shalom

Via USA Today:

Already watched all of the deluxe Lord of the Rings DVDs? There could be more coming, but not for a couple of years. Plus, a tale of two Elvi….But once the great ape [King Kong] tale is unveiled Dec. 14, he has some unfinished Lord of the Rings business to tend to — such as an ultimate DVD collection of the extended versions of the Oscar-winning trilogy, not likely to arrive in stores for another two or three years….”I don’t want to add more footage,” Jackson says. “There’s as much in there as we want. Eventually you are just going to go backward and weaken the films.” Instead, he would prefer to simply show the unused deleted scenes (and, yes, there are more than a few leftovers) and explain why they were cut.

The Rings master also would like to include feature-length documentaries, put together by longtime associate Costa Botes, on the making of the movies. “There are no commentary or interviews. It’s like a reality TV show,” Jackson says.

The largest still-untapped source of amusement are the bloopers — or “bleepers,” as Jackson calls them. The flubs previously were shown only during private farewell tributes for major cast members as they took their leave of Middle-earth.

Marketing genius… sounds like he is turning into George Lucas! Joking aside, I think this will be really cool, as long as you don’t have to buy the extended editions with the extra stuff as I already bought them! If he is turning into Lucas, we will have to buy the Extended Edition DVDs as well. Either way, this is still cool news.

I now leave you with this lovely … not sure what you call it … lovely bit of humor? (via this guy.):

Coming home for the holidays usually entails eating lots of food and watching lots of movies. I figured I would take a few moments to comment on those flicks that I have seen this break thus far (who says thus?).

The Phantom of the Opera
I wasn’t too sure what to expect from Phantom. I really enjoyed the musical and wasn’t sure if it would transfer to film. I was pleasantly surprised and how well they had done. A few of the local papers (The Seattle Times and The Tacoma News Tribune) gave Phantom fairly poor reviews (although I can pretty much assume I will like a movie of Soren Anderson from TNT doesn’t like it). Both said something along the lines of the movie being too extravagant and overdone. Ummm hello!? (Wow, that is soooo early 90’s) Have these people seen Phantom in the theater before? It is supposed to be extravagant and overdone (After all it is France in late 19th century!)! I can almost guarantee that if you liked the musical, you will like the movie. The script and music was pulled straight from the set. The girl who played Christine (Emmy Rossum) had a great voice and was quite the looker if I do say so myself (come to find out she is 18, of course). Raoul (Patrick Wilson) was also quite impressive (although wasn’t as attracted to him) – he also reminded both me and my mom of the guy that played Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar. I would say the only somewhat disappointing part of the movie was the strength of the Phantom’s (Gerard Butler) voice. I think I am used to Michael Crawford’s voice that the role of Phantom was pretty much made for, his voice was always strong at just the right moments and I felt Butler was somewhat lacking in that department. If you had ever thought you would enjoy the musical, then go see the movie, I think you will enjoy it.

Ocean’s Twelve

Ocean’s Twelve was quite an enjoyable sequel to Ocean’s Eleven. I enjoyed the sequel a bit more than the first in that there were more clever jokes and a few more plots twists that I thought were done very well. The “inside” moments between Clooney and Pitt were … savvy (I guess you could say). They also played Julia Roberts’ pregnancy very well that fit with the flow and feel of the movie. I guess I don’t have too much to say about the movie. It was good, clever, funny, what else do you need? The plot kinks they throw in will make you want to go back to make sure you got everything. Check it out.

The Polar Express

The Polar Express was worth the money, especially if you see it in 3D at IMAX. Seeing it in the regular theater it was just another cartoon was a nice message. There were parts that I thought “well this is just here to show off 3D” but didn’t do that much for me in the regular theater. When I did finally see it at the IMAX at Seattle Center, I was pretty impressed. The 3D effects really added to the experience in a worth while way. I am not too sure why Tom Hanks was every single character including the women, the train, the snowman, and the Christmas tree (ok not really). If there hadn’t been a cameo by Steven Tyler, I just don’t know what I would have done. I am not too sure if I will buy this when it comes out on DVD, it was good, nicely animated, worth seeing, but not sure if I need to again, I can just read the book.

Return of the King: Extended Edition

The Trilogy is finally complete. With Return of the King: Extended Edition Peter Jackson has achieved an amazing feat. I should preface this by saying this version is not for the moderate Rings fan. The extended version is around four hours, yes, you heard that correctly. Let me tell you, all four hours are incredible. The theatrical version I was already impressed with and I was really looking forward to seeing the extended version. Embarrassingly I will admit that I actually brought my entire entertainment system (sans TV) home from Canada to Bonney Lake just to watch the Extended Edition. (Insert laughing and finger pointing here) I was glad that I did. The added scenes (as with the previous two extended versions) added so much to the production. Character insights and plot cohesion where greatly added to by the additions. I think my two favorite additions were the battle at Pelennor Fields (such an amazing battle scene in the original that was even better in the extended) and the Mouth of Sauron (great scene from the book that was done very well). There were numerous additions that I was pleased to see. I am still upset that Jackson didn’t like the return to Hobbiton, it was one of my favorite scenes in the book, but I won’t hold that against him. There is also the addition of the commentaries and conclusion to the appendices. The parts of the appendices that I have seen are quite emotional. It is really nice to see what the cast and crew went through and how close they became. There is also a funny Easter egg with an interview between Dom and an unsuspecting Elijah. The Trilogy makes a wonderful conclusion with this extended edition and any fan will definitely have to add this to their collection.

I have also been watching Seinfeld seasons 1 and 2 on DVD and they really are classic. That show set so many trends. “I don’t want to be a pirate!” And Happy Festivus! Let the Airing of Grievances commence!

I was also introduced to Arrested Development over break by my sister. She got the first season on DVD and we have been watching them. I must say, I saw a bit of the first episode when if first came out and it just seemed too strange to me and hadn’t watched it since. Let me tell you, this show is stinking hilarious! Give it a second chance if you stopped watching it! It will be well worth your while. It is very original and clever and the humor is right up my alley, for some reason, and I am not really sure why, but it vaguely reminds me of Family Guy, let me know if you can figure that out.

Movies next up:
The Muppet Christmas Carol – I love this movie
Hero – just released on DVD, great stuff (you can check out my brief comments on Hero here.)
Whatever else comes up…

Hope your pre-Christmas preparations are going well!
Shalom

PS – this has nothing to do with this post but I found this quote on this guy’s blog and thought it was funny:

If you’re listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you’re a bigger moron than they are.
- Alice Cooper, Rock Star

[UPDATE: The original post and comments are no longer available. Sorry!]

Andy and I went to see “The Villiage” yesterday and I beleive we both enjoyed it and yet feel that there was something missing. The movie made some wonderful comments about culture and our response to it. For those that have not seen the movie, I will porbably be talking about things that will spoil the movie for you, so stop reading!

The premise is that a group got together because of some sort of tragedy in their lives (murder, rape) and decided that they should form their own community and go live on their own. In order to maintain the level of seculsion they desired they (and here is the plot twist that Shyamalan like to use) created “creatures” in the surrouding woods to keep people from venturing outside of their safehaven. The charade is kept in place by keeping the story alive as well as using costumes to physically show that the creatures did, indeed, exist.

One of the great things about this movie is that these people wrestle with the notion that they are completly cut off from society and still have to deal with pain and suffering. They have to make decisions to either stay in their villiage or leave out into the unknown towns. In order to keep the innocence of the villiage they are often willing to suffer pain. The greater good of the idea wins out over the immediate need of a few individuals. It was really nice to see them struggle with these things.

When attempted murder creeps into their fair community they have to revise this idea. One of the daughters (Ivy), who is blind, is informed of the charade and is allowed to leave to community to fetch medicines to prevent infection of the victim (who is her intended). The intended murder is also an interesting comment, but I am not entirely sure what comment Shyamalan is intending to make. The man that intends to kill is mentally handicapped (Noah). It was also interesting because he is also killed off later in the movie, I have never seen a mentally handicapped person killed off in a movie, in this manner, before (that I can think of anyway). I don’t know if Shyamalan is suggesting that in a perfect society only those with mental illness could possibly commit such a heinous crime or of he was suggesting that this man was simply an extreme of what we all are. In once sense we are all mentally handicapped in that we are apart from God. We are all fallen and depraved and therefore sin. Noah is merely an extreme of what we all are and manifested his fallen state in a very drastic way that was not common in such a tight knit community.

One theme, that Andy pointed out, was different from Shyamalan’s previous films. His previous films have been about incorporating the supernatural into every day experience. Also, he is usually pointing out the goodness in man that that good endures through these supernatural expereinces. In this film, the supernatural is fake. The goodness of man is not there, the fact that it is lacking is the reason the people leave and form their own community. When Ivy leaves the safehaven of the woods she runs into a park ranger who is very kind and portrayed as innocent. This is opposite of what the community left and could lead to the belief that their reasons for leaving were invalid. As the park ranger goes to get her medical supplies he is talking to his superior (Shyamalan’s cameo) who is reading a news paper filled with articles about the horrible goings on in the world leaving you with the feeling that their actions were justified.

The theme of coming into enlightenment has been a common theme in many movies, including Shyamalan’s. People are in the darkness, the unknown and are somehow enlightened to what the truth is and it changes their lives. This film was different. Darkness was almost considered good or enlightened in itself. They were perfectly happy living in their own world, essentially in darkness about anything else in the world. They only character to leave is Ivy who is blind. One great comment that her father makes as people are questioning why she is the one to leave is that she is more capable than most the people in the villiage. Even through her blindness she can see and has a clear vision of what she has to do. In effect, more enlightened that others. I haven’t really developed this line of thought too much, and not completly sure what to do with it.

There are a few other themes that were also very well done in this movie that I won’t talk about (relying out the outside for salvation to mention one). The last one I want to mention is the idea of utopia and if it is possible, what would be the conditions for keeping that idea alive. I have already somewhat talked about this at the beginning, but it is important to mention again as it is what made Andy and I, although I think moreso with Andy, unsettled. The premise of the Villiage is that they have created a utopia, a safehaven of innocence, if you will. The utopia did have its sorrows but they could still be deal with in the context of the idea of utopia. But the utopic state came crashing down with the actions of Noah. So what would be the conditions that they keep lying to their childern and community memebers? When Noah died (actually, inadvertantly killed by Ivy, who did not know it was him) he was masquerading as one of the “Creatures” and chasing after Ivy. She, now thinking the “Creatures” actually are real, kills him. The elders (who are the only ones in the Villiage that know of the farse) decide that Noah has re-affirmed their tale and the “Creatures” can go on living and maintaining the borders of the community. Andy, at least when we last talked, was quite unsettled by this, or didn’t know what to do with it. WIth all the evidence against their utopic idea, they they cannot escape the things that they originally left for, they still continue on. If the reason for their community had been shown to be invalid, it seems that the town would collopse. But for some reason they decide to continue lying to everyone to keep the idea alive. I guess this is where uneasiness has left me somewhat. I feel that, to them, the idea was still good and their secluded lifestyle will still be better than that outside.

There are a lot of things brought up in this movie that were very good and I did enjoy it quite a bit. I hope people have discussed the ideas brought up!

I also want to briefly mention the movie “Hero.” This is an amazing movie that deals with war and sacrifice. It is incredibly beautiful and the martial arts were stunning. It is a Chinese movie that has been out for about a year over there that for some reason, did not get picked up over here. Finally, of all people, Quentin Tarantino brought it over for the US (and Canadian!) audience. It is similar in genre to “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” but I think I actually liked it better, and I really liked CT,HD. So essentially what I am saying is, “Go see this movie!”

Ok, back to reading,
Shalom

[UPDATE: Original post and comments are no longer available. sorry!]