Sunday, January 06, 2008

Movies

Most of you that read regularly already know that I am not a big movie fan. Chris generally goes to the movies with friends and I usually wait until they hit the discount bin at the rental place or Wal-mart. In spite of that, I've been to the theater twice in the past week and watched a couple of others on DVD. The two trips to the theater may have tied my 2007 total!

I took Hannah and her friends to see I Am Legend last week before school started and then Chris, Hannah and I saw American Gangster the other night. They were both good movies. American Gangster was a long movie at 2 hours and 45 minutes. It seemed a little hard to follow at the beginning as it told separate stories of the good guy and the bad guy, but they came together nicely and I enjoyed the show. I Am Legend had quite a bit of action and (as my teen daughter and her friends would say) a sad ending. I think that Will Smith has come a long way from his Fresh Prince days.

The two DVDs that I saw were The Prestige and a disturbing documentary type film called Jesus Camp. The Prestige was enjoyable--not only because of the magic theme--I thought it was a good movie. Jesus Camp scared me. I work with kids at camps and try hard not to do the very thing that is purposefully done in this movie. I hope that I never have to stand before God and explain how I manipulated the tender hearts and minds that were entrusted to my care for a week. I want to teach kids and believe that God has called me to that purpose. But I have no desire to brain wash them or guilt them into doing something that they don't understand. I do agree that we should begin to teach our kids about Jesus at a young age. I don't believe that taking a page from the militant Muslim's playbook is in the best interest of our kids, our country or our faith.

That's four movies in '08 and it's only the 6th. I'd better pace myself.

Tomorrow, January 7, puts the retirement eligibility at 4 yrs. That's a mere 1,461 days.

I've been putting off sending in this computer for some warranty work. They tell me that I'll be without it for about 10 days. It's time to send it in. I'll try to keep up with reading your blogs when I get a break at work and may even have the opportunity to seize my daughter's 'puter long enough to write a short post.

'Til then...
John

6 comments:

Amanda said...

You're doing well with 4 movies done for 2008 already. I am SO FAR BEHIND in terms of cinema OR dvd movies. Hopefully I'll get more time for them this year. I do love movies!

Kevin Gilmore said...

I haven't seen Jesus Camp...I'll put it on my list.

I looked at some links related to the film and the disgraced pastor, Ted Haggard, who was in the documentary. Not a good example for Christian camps.

There are some very good Bible camps out there. Our daughter has been attending them for 8 years and to her, camp is the highlight of her summer. She'll be a jr counselor this year for the first time.

I hope you're not using the Geek Squad at BestBuy for your computer repairs. I've had my share of disappointments with the Geek Squad in my part of the world. Check my blog to see what I mean.

Sicilian said...

John . . . . I am even worse than you . . . sitting down and watching a dvd is painful enough. . . . I have got to have something to do while I watch . . . . Sweetie hates it so I do try to sit down and pay attention. . . . however that usually results in sleep . . . I am a lost cause for movies.
You will be missed while you're computer is in the hospital.

Ciao

NathanRyder said...

I have heard of Jesus Camp, but it didn't have a wide release in the UK. There's a TV channel over here that shows feature documentaries quite regularly so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I think The Prestige is one of the best films of the last few years for many, many reasons. I might see I Am Legend this week, but I'm still debating seeing it because the book is one of my favourites.

Unknown said...

My husband has been wanting to watch I am legend but I am bit hesitant as I don't want to watch particularly violent and unpleasant things for a while.

But I loved 'The Prestige' and 'American Gangster' both were good movies although American Gangster was violent Denzel Washington's acting in it was remarkable.

John A Hill said...

Amber, I Am Legend is not as violent as you might think. It's a good story with a mankind survives kind of ending. I'd say go ahead, humor your hubby (always) and see the flick.