1.18.2006
The End of the Spear
I find it ironic but important that the new movie "The End of the Spear" features a gay actor.
Gene Edward Veith makes a good point on his blog Cranach:
Personally I think this is a wonderful step forward for Christians in America. This one act of acceptance by the Christians involved in making this film will probably be heard very loud in the gay community, because they tend to stick together. It's my hope that Christians involved in culture will continue to make choices that show love and acceptance to gay people, because we have to get them to trust us before we can ever minister to them.
Think of it like the woman at the well - Jesus knew the woman was living with a man she wasn't married to when he started talking to her. But he didn't let her sin hold him back from conversing and ministering to her. When we expect gays to recognize they are in sin and repent before we allow ourselves to befriend them, we completely miss the point of redemption and grace.
For more information on the film, check out Veith's earlier post, How Murdered Missionaries Changed the Culture.
I find it ironic but important that the new movie "The End of the Spear" features a gay actor.
Gene Edward Veith makes a good point on his blog Cranach:
I hope the controversy will draw lots of gays to the film, where--like the Waodani tribes--they will learn about a Gospel of forgiveness.
Personally I think this is a wonderful step forward for Christians in America. This one act of acceptance by the Christians involved in making this film will probably be heard very loud in the gay community, because they tend to stick together. It's my hope that Christians involved in culture will continue to make choices that show love and acceptance to gay people, because we have to get them to trust us before we can ever minister to them.
Think of it like the woman at the well - Jesus knew the woman was living with a man she wasn't married to when he started talking to her. But he didn't let her sin hold him back from conversing and ministering to her. When we expect gays to recognize they are in sin and repent before we allow ourselves to befriend them, we completely miss the point of redemption and grace.
For more information on the film, check out Veith's earlier post, How Murdered Missionaries Changed the Culture.
1.04.2006
Thinking
The medusa lamp in my office is quivering right now. It is a bit chilly back here, but I doubt lamps notice that much. It seems to be shaking because i'm shaking. Allow me to trace the path...
Winston's foot: ADD and always shaking.
Winston's hip: currently slightly touching the desk
Desk has a computer monitor and Winston's laptop on it.
The lamp apparently is resting one of it's medusa lights on the monitor.
Thus shakage. The DVD is currently Generating Transition: VTSM #01, VOB#5. I think I have some more time to finish my thoughts.
Kind of funny how unrelated events aren't unrelated isn't it? For me it's a subtle argument for design in nature. It always seems that nothing happens accidentally, because we can always dig deeper and find something else. Think about your random thoughts - are they ever really random?
One fun thing to do is try and figure out what my brain [or someone else's] saw that triggered a memory or thought. It's always entertaining.
But everywhere I go it seems there's an explanation, even if I don't know it. Kind of like this DVD right now. I authored the DVD, telling what button to connect to where, how to play, when to play, etc. etc. But when I hit the "Burn DVD" button, I have no clue what the program is doing. But it does it, and it only does it because programmers who DO understand what needs to happen, told it how to make those things happen.
Very amazing. It's easy to pass things off as accidental, or coincidental, but it all too often seems to be a cop out.
A lot of times we want things to "just happen" or events to be true coincidences, because then it's still incredible, we can be amazed at how it happened.
We're afraid that explanation means mundane - if we can explain it then we have less reason to think of it as wonderful in the classic sense: wonderful.
That's another fun thing about Christianity. If I understand explanations of how things work, then I recognize how amazing they truly are.
So if you were to walk into my office right now, you might be taken aback that the lamp is shaking for no reason. Upon learning the reasons, you might say, "Oh, but it was funny when I first walked in," and feel a bit silly for thinking it so amazing that the lamp was shaking.
That's because you're letting the explanation remove the wonder, which is completely unnecessary. Because what if the whole purpose of me shaking my leg was so you'd be amazed when you walked in? And what if I'd succeeded?
If that's the case, then your mind can marvel at how little things work together to create seemingly amazing things. The explanation doesn't remove the wonder, it places it in proper context.
If God weren't real, I'd be let down a lot. I would be amazed at things in nature and life, and then find the explanations. And they would be mundane. Simple little things, leading up to something that just seems incredible because I don't know all the facts.
But God is real, so instead of the world being facts that steal my fascination and replace it with... well... facts, the world is full of designs, plans, thought.
Funny how all my rambles are the same, with different words. I need to study the first scientists, and see what they had to say about all this.
The medusa lamp in my office is quivering right now. It is a bit chilly back here, but I doubt lamps notice that much. It seems to be shaking because i'm shaking. Allow me to trace the path...
Winston's foot: ADD and always shaking.
Winston's hip: currently slightly touching the desk
Desk has a computer monitor and Winston's laptop on it.
The lamp apparently is resting one of it's medusa lights on the monitor.
Thus shakage. The DVD is currently Generating Transition: VTSM #01, VOB#5. I think I have some more time to finish my thoughts.
Kind of funny how unrelated events aren't unrelated isn't it? For me it's a subtle argument for design in nature. It always seems that nothing happens accidentally, because we can always dig deeper and find something else. Think about your random thoughts - are they ever really random?
One fun thing to do is try and figure out what my brain [or someone else's] saw that triggered a memory or thought. It's always entertaining.
But everywhere I go it seems there's an explanation, even if I don't know it. Kind of like this DVD right now. I authored the DVD, telling what button to connect to where, how to play, when to play, etc. etc. But when I hit the "Burn DVD" button, I have no clue what the program is doing. But it does it, and it only does it because programmers who DO understand what needs to happen, told it how to make those things happen.
Very amazing. It's easy to pass things off as accidental, or coincidental, but it all too often seems to be a cop out.
A lot of times we want things to "just happen" or events to be true coincidences, because then it's still incredible, we can be amazed at how it happened.
We're afraid that explanation means mundane - if we can explain it then we have less reason to think of it as wonderful in the classic sense: wonderful.
That's another fun thing about Christianity. If I understand explanations of how things work, then I recognize how amazing they truly are.
So if you were to walk into my office right now, you might be taken aback that the lamp is shaking for no reason. Upon learning the reasons, you might say, "Oh, but it was funny when I first walked in," and feel a bit silly for thinking it so amazing that the lamp was shaking.
That's because you're letting the explanation remove the wonder, which is completely unnecessary. Because what if the whole purpose of me shaking my leg was so you'd be amazed when you walked in? And what if I'd succeeded?
If that's the case, then your mind can marvel at how little things work together to create seemingly amazing things. The explanation doesn't remove the wonder, it places it in proper context.
If God weren't real, I'd be let down a lot. I would be amazed at things in nature and life, and then find the explanations. And they would be mundane. Simple little things, leading up to something that just seems incredible because I don't know all the facts.
But God is real, so instead of the world being facts that steal my fascination and replace it with... well... facts, the world is full of designs, plans, thought.
Funny how all my rambles are the same, with different words. I need to study the first scientists, and see what they had to say about all this.
12.13.2005
Things that make me happy
Thanks to General Psychology, I know that the tendency to act crazy in big groups is called deindividuation. It's where you are so overwhelmed and in the moment that you do things you might not normally do. I think it's kind of like being drunk on adrenaline. Or those times when I chase squirrels because, hey, it's a squirrel!
Next to me is the most beautiful girl in the world. She's sleeping at the moment, curled up with her head closest to me. I have to wake her up in 4 minutes. Don't worry. I'm not about to make a joke about her not being beautiful upon waking. That's the last thought on my mind. I just wanted to make that clear. I'm not thinking like that.
My favorite thing in the world right now is having her near. I forget that sometimes - isn't it funny how that works? Become so comfortable with something that it seems... uncomfortable? Only it isn't. You're simply having flashbacks to your previous "comfort." And for a moment you think it was better. This is called "hindsight bias" according to my GenPsych textbook. It is when you think the past was better than it was.
Can I seriously think that before I knew this treasure, this amazing person who complements me in every way imagined [i can only hope I'm as perfect for her], I was better off? At best it meant I could go be a guy with the guys and not have to worry about it. And I might not stay up as late on the phone.
In reality it meant I was alone. I didn't have anyone who wanted to hug me a lot, sit close to me, cuddle with me, talk to me always or just sit with me as much as possible. I didn't have someone who challenged me in a lot of ways, taught me a ton of things, and called me out on my little bad habits.
I was supposed to wake her up 2 minutes ago, and I will as soon as this is posted. Sitting here for the past hour as she slept just reminded me how beautiful it is now that she's mine.
Cheesy? Yeah of course - if you're not in love. But if you are, then you completely understand. She's mine, and I'm hers. Only sometimes I fail, because I'm headstrong and stuck in my habits. With that in mind, I'm learning to deindividuate myself from these stupid habits and traits, to become single minded with her. As much as possible.
I just needed to remind myself, and her if she finds this, that she's one of my favorite things. I don't need whiskers on kittens, raindrops on roses, or brown paper packages tied up with string. I have Hilary, and every day is more fun, and exciting.
When I was travelling around the country teaching speech and debate [no seriously, i did that], I had a tradition with Drew, my best friend on the team. That tradition involved our inability to sing coupled with our partial knowledge of the lyrics to "My Favorite Things." I'm told the result was hilarious, but we just did it so we could yell "WHEN THE DOG BITES, WHEN THE BEE STINGS, WHEN I'M FEELING SAD!"
Thanks to General Psychology, I know that the tendency to act crazy in big groups is called deindividuation. It's where you are so overwhelmed and in the moment that you do things you might not normally do. I think it's kind of like being drunk on adrenaline. Or those times when I chase squirrels because, hey, it's a squirrel!
Next to me is the most beautiful girl in the world. She's sleeping at the moment, curled up with her head closest to me. I have to wake her up in 4 minutes. Don't worry. I'm not about to make a joke about her not being beautiful upon waking. That's the last thought on my mind. I just wanted to make that clear. I'm not thinking like that.
My favorite thing in the world right now is having her near. I forget that sometimes - isn't it funny how that works? Become so comfortable with something that it seems... uncomfortable? Only it isn't. You're simply having flashbacks to your previous "comfort." And for a moment you think it was better. This is called "hindsight bias" according to my GenPsych textbook. It is when you think the past was better than it was.
Can I seriously think that before I knew this treasure, this amazing person who complements me in every way imagined [i can only hope I'm as perfect for her], I was better off? At best it meant I could go be a guy with the guys and not have to worry about it. And I might not stay up as late on the phone.
In reality it meant I was alone. I didn't have anyone who wanted to hug me a lot, sit close to me, cuddle with me, talk to me always or just sit with me as much as possible. I didn't have someone who challenged me in a lot of ways, taught me a ton of things, and called me out on my little bad habits.
I was supposed to wake her up 2 minutes ago, and I will as soon as this is posted. Sitting here for the past hour as she slept just reminded me how beautiful it is now that she's mine.
Cheesy? Yeah of course - if you're not in love. But if you are, then you completely understand. She's mine, and I'm hers. Only sometimes I fail, because I'm headstrong and stuck in my habits. With that in mind, I'm learning to deindividuate myself from these stupid habits and traits, to become single minded with her. As much as possible.
I just needed to remind myself, and her if she finds this, that she's one of my favorite things. I don't need whiskers on kittens, raindrops on roses, or brown paper packages tied up with string. I have Hilary, and every day is more fun, and exciting.
Untitled
Free Laptops
feel free to e-mail me - peacefulchaos AT gmail.com - if you have any questions. Thanks, humble internet.
Ok I know this is old school, but when you're a poor college student looking to give a really nice gift, you sink low.
I want to give an important girl in my life a laptop - as close to free as possible, for her to be able to continue to develop her photography skills. She needs more storage and editing capabilities than she currently has.
An Apple iBook if I've ever heard one... so I'm trying to get one through the freepay site. Let's see if it works. Here's my referral, you don't have to of course, but consider it an easy Christmas present.Free Laptops
feel free to e-mail me - peacefulchaos AT gmail.com - if you have any questions. Thanks, humble internet.
12.12.2005
Coldplay
How does Coldplay make such beautiful music?
They have the whole package it seems; their lyrics are beautiful but relevant, their music flows so well.
Examples? How does Chris Martin make howling so beautiful towards the end of The Scientist?
How did they know that 3 repetitive chords would have such a powerful effect in Fix You.
How do they make "For you I'd bleed myself dry" such a romantic thought?
Yes, I am continually in awe of the power of Coldplay. I'm beginning to regret that I was unable to see them in Birmingham or Nashville. It would have been amazing.
Go listen to Amsterdam, off of A Rush of Blood to the Head. It's a gorgeous song. Notice how it starts out with what seems to be a sonar ping from a submarine. The song starts out with a down note, a sound of sinking. And it ends with "You came along and you cut me loose."
I want to create stuff like this. You can't not appreciate their talent, even if you don't like their music. It's kind of like calling Van Gogh an amateur.
They have the whole package it seems; their lyrics are beautiful but relevant, their music flows so well.
Examples? How does Chris Martin make howling so beautiful towards the end of The Scientist?
How did they know that 3 repetitive chords would have such a powerful effect in Fix You.
How do they make "For you I'd bleed myself dry" such a romantic thought?
Yes, I am continually in awe of the power of Coldplay. I'm beginning to regret that I was unable to see them in Birmingham or Nashville. It would have been amazing.
Go listen to Amsterdam, off of A Rush of Blood to the Head. It's a gorgeous song. Notice how it starts out with what seems to be a sonar ping from a submarine. The song starts out with a down note, a sound of sinking. And it ends with "You came along and you cut me loose."
I want to create stuff like this. You can't not appreciate their talent, even if you don't like their music. It's kind of like calling Van Gogh an amateur.
11.20.2005
Hope in Disillusionment
I am disillusioned with the Christian subculture, this is true. But I don't think I've given up hope, especially in regards to music. Do I think the CCM industry will ever change for the better? No, I think it has a horrible model. But the musicians themselves might not get trapped into "good little Christian singer" models.
Time and again, the people that I find consistently being real in music, expressing faith and struggles and challenges and reality are the singer/songwriters.
It's been awhile since I listened to Chris Rice, but I just hopped on iTunes and found someone with a few of his cd's. Along with the poignant Untitled Hymn [Come to Jesus], his cd "Run the Earth Watch the Sky" contains this song called Me and Becky, and I feel it's lyrics are exactly one of the reasons I've come to this place, in regards to Christianity and "its'" subculture.
Becky has a house on Abundant Life Blvd.
A good name, good family, and butterflies in her yard
Becky loves Jesus and really wants to make Him proud
She tears up in church and she sings her harmonies loud
She’s got a Bible by the bed, a prayer journal, and a fish on the car
She makes sure to bow her head and give thanks in every restaurant
But is that enough?
C’mon Becky, let’s go for a ride
If I’m driving too fast then I apologize
But there’s a world out there that we left behind
Full of souls as important as yours and mine
Looks like a reckless road, and a sacrifice
And I’m crazy scared it may cost our lives
But then I remember Jesus died
So c’mon Becky
Let’s go for a ride
I’m rolling up to Becky’s house on my Sunday drive
I have to laugh to myself ‘cause it looks exactly like mine
I smile and wave at all the happy people strolling by
We’ve got the same walk, same talk, and the same sparkle in our eyes
‘Cause we’re thankful for the blessings, but maybe we could lay ’em aside
I am disillusioned with the Christian subculture, this is true. But I don't think I've given up hope, especially in regards to music. Do I think the CCM industry will ever change for the better? No, I think it has a horrible model. But the musicians themselves might not get trapped into "good little Christian singer" models.
Time and again, the people that I find consistently being real in music, expressing faith and struggles and challenges and reality are the singer/songwriters.
It's been awhile since I listened to Chris Rice, but I just hopped on iTunes and found someone with a few of his cd's. Along with the poignant Untitled Hymn [Come to Jesus], his cd "Run the Earth Watch the Sky" contains this song called Me and Becky, and I feel it's lyrics are exactly one of the reasons I've come to this place, in regards to Christianity and "its'" subculture.
Becky has a house on Abundant Life Blvd.
A good name, good family, and butterflies in her yard
Becky loves Jesus and really wants to make Him proud
She tears up in church and she sings her harmonies loud
She’s got a Bible by the bed, a prayer journal, and a fish on the car
She makes sure to bow her head and give thanks in every restaurant
But is that enough?
C’mon Becky, let’s go for a ride
If I’m driving too fast then I apologize
But there’s a world out there that we left behind
Full of souls as important as yours and mine
Looks like a reckless road, and a sacrifice
And I’m crazy scared it may cost our lives
But then I remember Jesus died
So c’mon Becky
Let’s go for a ride
I’m rolling up to Becky’s house on my Sunday drive
I have to laugh to myself ‘cause it looks exactly like mine
I smile and wave at all the happy people strolling by
We’ve got the same walk, same talk, and the same sparkle in our eyes
‘Cause we’re thankful for the blessings, but maybe we could lay ’em aside
11.15.2005
Stop Feeding Us Shallow Crap
I have ranted numerous times about my disillusioned-ness regarding the Christian Subculture.
Tonight I figured out a major aspect of my frustrations. Here's hoping I'm able to translate my clear thoughts into clear words.
Why am I so cynical about Christianity? I ask myself this all the time. Why do I hate things that are associated with the faith I hold so strongly?
The majority of what I see in Christian bookstores seems to undermine faith itself. I don't make that statement lightly.
If getting my spiritual life on track is diagnosable in 10 questions, and there are 5 easy steps to getting marriage right and solving problems and ministering to others, then why isn't the Bible written like that?
If life is good when I become a Christian and praise is all that ever comes out of my mouth, and it's just happy happy joy joy, then how how horrible of a Christian am I? What am I doing wrong, that life is so hard?
In truth Christianity is The Answer because to me, it is simultaneously Universal and Personal. God doesn't lay out the perfect life in His Word, He lays out the solution for mankind, and then provides a helper for the daily struggles.
His Word is not condensible into easy steps to an easy life where you have happy feelings all the time. God's Word has a depth unimaginable by our minds, a richness that invites us to study it, to dwell on it, to soak it in.
Christian Devotions and Christian Books that fill the shelves of Christian Bookstores take away from this. We get one side, we get explanations but not experience. We are no closer to God, we are closer to how God impacted the author at the time of his writing [the modern book].
These books lead to undermining the faith because they provide an alternative to the Bible, by telling us what the Bible means. Christian Bookstores are becoming like the Roman Catholic Clergy pre-reformation: the "divine" messengers that explain what God's word means.
But we don't need that. The commands of the Bible do not require great studying to understand. They do require time to read and build a proper picture of what God desires for our lives, but it is not necessary to know Greek and Hebrew to know that God loves me, Christ Died for me, and the greatest two commands in my life are loving God and loving my neighbor.
I am tired of shallow substitutions that sugarcoat or simplify. I am tired of bad music that is disconnected from the struggles that make up daily life. I don't want to read about how my life can be better, or simple ways to loving God more. I want to be challenged to think, challenged to change, challenged to live in a way that evidences I trust God.
There is so much Christianity in Christian Bookstores, that I just never feel Christ in them.
I have ranted numerous times about my disillusioned-ness regarding the Christian Subculture.
Tonight I figured out a major aspect of my frustrations. Here's hoping I'm able to translate my clear thoughts into clear words.
Why am I so cynical about Christianity? I ask myself this all the time. Why do I hate things that are associated with the faith I hold so strongly?
The majority of what I see in Christian bookstores seems to undermine faith itself. I don't make that statement lightly.
If getting my spiritual life on track is diagnosable in 10 questions, and there are 5 easy steps to getting marriage right and solving problems and ministering to others, then why isn't the Bible written like that?
If life is good when I become a Christian and praise is all that ever comes out of my mouth, and it's just happy happy joy joy, then how how horrible of a Christian am I? What am I doing wrong, that life is so hard?
In truth Christianity is The Answer because to me, it is simultaneously Universal and Personal. God doesn't lay out the perfect life in His Word, He lays out the solution for mankind, and then provides a helper for the daily struggles.
His Word is not condensible into easy steps to an easy life where you have happy feelings all the time. God's Word has a depth unimaginable by our minds, a richness that invites us to study it, to dwell on it, to soak it in.
Christian Devotions and Christian Books that fill the shelves of Christian Bookstores take away from this. We get one side, we get explanations but not experience. We are no closer to God, we are closer to how God impacted the author at the time of his writing [the modern book].
These books lead to undermining the faith because they provide an alternative to the Bible, by telling us what the Bible means. Christian Bookstores are becoming like the Roman Catholic Clergy pre-reformation: the "divine" messengers that explain what God's word means.
But we don't need that. The commands of the Bible do not require great studying to understand. They do require time to read and build a proper picture of what God desires for our lives, but it is not necessary to know Greek and Hebrew to know that God loves me, Christ Died for me, and the greatest two commands in my life are loving God and loving my neighbor.
I am tired of shallow substitutions that sugarcoat or simplify. I am tired of bad music that is disconnected from the struggles that make up daily life. I don't want to read about how my life can be better, or simple ways to loving God more. I want to be challenged to think, challenged to change, challenged to live in a way that evidences I trust God.
There is so much Christianity in Christian Bookstores, that I just never feel Christ in them.
11.14.2005
Once again I attempt to gather my thoughts
Isn't it redundant to be an existentialist Christian?
I have friends who convince me I should. But why? Why should I dedicate my life to a certain task in order to provide it meaning, when life intrinsically has meaning?
+===+
Someone here at the campus doesn't listen to music or watch movies unless they see a blatant Christian worldview.
I say way to inbreed your thought. Way to confirm what you know. What to make yourself feel prideful.
I'm of the opposite mindset. I dislike most stuff with blatant Christian worldviews or messages. Pisses me off in general. Makes me think about how shallow the majority of people who claim to hold my belief are. How disconnected faith seems to be from life.
I'd rather have to sift through convincing counter-arguments or sly messages, to continually be asking what is true?. I don't due this 100% of the time, but I prefer it.
+===+
I want to make a movie. But I want a camera. I want to be able to just take a camera out, and start filming. And start piecing together films, deciding what works and moves me and what doesn't. I feel limited and tied down without a camera. I have no creative outlet.
+===+
I'm not who you think I am. I won't be who you want me to be most of the time. Except that I will because I am weak-willed and you know that.
Hey but on the flip-side, I'm not really who I want to be.
+===+
I wonder if anyone still has this RSS feed? Or if they ever visit this site anymore... if not then it becomes a nice place to vent.
Isn't it redundant to be an existentialist Christian?
I have friends who convince me I should. But why? Why should I dedicate my life to a certain task in order to provide it meaning, when life intrinsically has meaning?
+===+
Someone here at the campus doesn't listen to music or watch movies unless they see a blatant Christian worldview.
I say way to inbreed your thought. Way to confirm what you know. What to make yourself feel prideful.
I'm of the opposite mindset. I dislike most stuff with blatant Christian worldviews or messages. Pisses me off in general. Makes me think about how shallow the majority of people who claim to hold my belief are. How disconnected faith seems to be from life.
I'd rather have to sift through convincing counter-arguments or sly messages, to continually be asking what is true?. I don't due this 100% of the time, but I prefer it.
+===+
I want to make a movie. But I want a camera. I want to be able to just take a camera out, and start filming. And start piecing together films, deciding what works and moves me and what doesn't. I feel limited and tied down without a camera. I have no creative outlet.
+===+
I'm not who you think I am. I won't be who you want me to be most of the time. Except that I will because I am weak-willed and you know that.
Hey but on the flip-side, I'm not really who I want to be.
+===+
I wonder if anyone still has this RSS feed? Or if they ever visit this site anymore... if not then it becomes a nice place to vent.
10.09.2005
A History of Violence
Let me just say first off, that no matter what my opinions of the rest of the movie is, I hate the way they casted the daughter. I didn't like the separation between her and her brother, and I think she was one of the least convincing child actresses I've ever seen.
David Cronenberg, who's films have a history of violence, here is trying to create something out of the ordinary for him, but extremely ordinary for everyone else, at least after the intro scene. We find the film starting with two cold-blooded murderers killing a country motel's staff. When one has to go back inside for some water, the daughter of the maid is standing there crying, and when the gun goes off to kill her, we cut to the aforementioned daughter, who is living throughout the film.
Viggo Mortensen comes in to comfort her, because she's had a nightmare. Completely believable as he tries to convince her there's no such things as monsters, but all the sudden the rest of the family decides to comfort her as well. And that's when we realize that the director wants us to believe this family is the quintessential middle American family. They eat breakfast together, drive to school and work together. Viggo's character Tom Stall owns a diner in the middle of Generic Small Town, USA. His wife works, but we're not really sure what she does [the movie later makes reference to her being a lawyer].
On this day, Edie Stall [Tom's wife, played by Maria Bello] drops Tom off at work. While they are going about their simple, small-town routines, Jack, their son is making the game-saving catch for the recess baseball game. This pisses the main jock off, so he threatens Jack in the locker room later on. He makes a typical skinny-guy witty comment, and crowd laughs, and the jock walks away, still pissed. Duh duh duh, subplot number one. Cut back to Tom, and he's getting ready to shut down the diner for the night.
After this day of work, his wife picks him up. He asks her where she's taking him, and she answers by telling him where the kids are. He smiles, and asks where they are going again. This leads into one of the most intimate, and weird sex scenes I've seen. While nothing is revealed along the lines of other R rated movies, I would venture to say this sex scene is a lot more worse than most you'll see in movies. Strong enough, that I wouldn't recommend the movie if you're offended by things of that nature.
So once we've been convinced that the Stalls are your most typical middle-American small-town family, with nothing to hide, it's time to be thrown a curveball. Only, Cronenberg masterfully reveals it, because even though you know what's coming, you never are sure until it happens. He keeps a good mix of predictability and surprise all throughout the movie.
The biggest controversy I could find in the movie, was the ending. Once the problems in the movie have been solved, the future of the family is left in question. Will Tom and Edie work things out? Will Tom be able to be a good father to Jack? You begin to think this is the real question of the movie, and then the credits roll, and these questions are completely unanswered. It pissed off most of the audience in the showing I went to.
But I find that Cronenberg explores the questions he has, and leaves the ones he doesn't care about unanswered. He spends so much time in the beginning of the film proving that the Stalls are so normal, only to shatter that as the film continues [the film's title lets you know more than I'm telling you, so I'm not giving away key plot points]. If you pay attention to the way the plot develops, you realize that normalcy will never return to this family, so if the director were to try and answer the questions you are left with, the film would become a family drama, instead of a compelling exploration of violence's effects on family, and our inability to escape our past.
Upon re-examination of my thoughts on the film, I enjoyed it. It's a new take on the idea of people running from their past, and it does a good job at looking at violence's effect on family, in many different ways. 4 out of 5 thumbs up.
But I still hate the way they cast the daughter.
Let me just say first off, that no matter what my opinions of the rest of the movie is, I hate the way they casted the daughter. I didn't like the separation between her and her brother, and I think she was one of the least convincing child actresses I've ever seen.
David Cronenberg, who's films have a history of violence, here is trying to create something out of the ordinary for him, but extremely ordinary for everyone else, at least after the intro scene. We find the film starting with two cold-blooded murderers killing a country motel's staff. When one has to go back inside for some water, the daughter of the maid is standing there crying, and when the gun goes off to kill her, we cut to the aforementioned daughter, who is living throughout the film.
Viggo Mortensen comes in to comfort her, because she's had a nightmare. Completely believable as he tries to convince her there's no such things as monsters, but all the sudden the rest of the family decides to comfort her as well. And that's when we realize that the director wants us to believe this family is the quintessential middle American family. They eat breakfast together, drive to school and work together. Viggo's character Tom Stall owns a diner in the middle of Generic Small Town, USA. His wife works, but we're not really sure what she does [the movie later makes reference to her being a lawyer].
On this day, Edie Stall [Tom's wife, played by Maria Bello] drops Tom off at work. While they are going about their simple, small-town routines, Jack, their son is making the game-saving catch for the recess baseball game. This pisses the main jock off, so he threatens Jack in the locker room later on. He makes a typical skinny-guy witty comment, and crowd laughs, and the jock walks away, still pissed. Duh duh duh, subplot number one. Cut back to Tom, and he's getting ready to shut down the diner for the night.
After this day of work, his wife picks him up. He asks her where she's taking him, and she answers by telling him where the kids are. He smiles, and asks where they are going again. This leads into one of the most intimate, and weird sex scenes I've seen. While nothing is revealed along the lines of other R rated movies, I would venture to say this sex scene is a lot more worse than most you'll see in movies. Strong enough, that I wouldn't recommend the movie if you're offended by things of that nature.
So once we've been convinced that the Stalls are your most typical middle-American small-town family, with nothing to hide, it's time to be thrown a curveball. Only, Cronenberg masterfully reveals it, because even though you know what's coming, you never are sure until it happens. He keeps a good mix of predictability and surprise all throughout the movie.
The biggest controversy I could find in the movie, was the ending. Once the problems in the movie have been solved, the future of the family is left in question. Will Tom and Edie work things out? Will Tom be able to be a good father to Jack? You begin to think this is the real question of the movie, and then the credits roll, and these questions are completely unanswered. It pissed off most of the audience in the showing I went to.
But I find that Cronenberg explores the questions he has, and leaves the ones he doesn't care about unanswered. He spends so much time in the beginning of the film proving that the Stalls are so normal, only to shatter that as the film continues [the film's title lets you know more than I'm telling you, so I'm not giving away key plot points]. If you pay attention to the way the plot develops, you realize that normalcy will never return to this family, so if the director were to try and answer the questions you are left with, the film would become a family drama, instead of a compelling exploration of violence's effects on family, and our inability to escape our past.
Upon re-examination of my thoughts on the film, I enjoyed it. It's a new take on the idea of people running from their past, and it does a good job at looking at violence's effect on family, in many different ways. 4 out of 5 thumbs up.
But I still hate the way they cast the daughter.
10.08.2005
9.22.2005
College
I don't feel grown up or responsible. And I probably am not really.
But I'm here at college, on my own, living the vida loca etc. etc. Freshman English is the most demanding class so far, but even in that arena I've gotten off easy. Next week I have a killer Western Civ exam [or maybe the next week?], and otherwise I am not too stressed about school.
I kind of think I shall reserve this space for movie commentary from here on out. I'm not too keen on writing about other stuff, and I feel repetitive if I just speak my thoughts.
So what's new on the movie side? Well right now, I'm watching Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, and I'm thinking that I don't understand it's brilliance. Yes Sam Peckinpah is a great director, and yes it's an interesting story line, but I just don't see what it's all about.
Next from Netflix is Gunner Palace, and I believe it will illicit some interesting response from my head o' heads.
Until then :)
I don't feel grown up or responsible. And I probably am not really.
But I'm here at college, on my own, living the vida loca etc. etc. Freshman English is the most demanding class so far, but even in that arena I've gotten off easy. Next week I have a killer Western Civ exam [or maybe the next week?], and otherwise I am not too stressed about school.
I kind of think I shall reserve this space for movie commentary from here on out. I'm not too keen on writing about other stuff, and I feel repetitive if I just speak my thoughts.
So what's new on the movie side? Well right now, I'm watching Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, and I'm thinking that I don't understand it's brilliance. Yes Sam Peckinpah is a great director, and yes it's an interesting story line, but I just don't see what it's all about.
Next from Netflix is Gunner Palace, and I believe it will illicit some interesting response from my head o' heads.
Until then :)
9.03.2005
8.08.2005
I am an indie snob
I get tired of hearing the same things over again, even if it comes from different people. Even if it's to audiences who've never heard the message before.
It's really kind of sad, to be so snobby like that. There are messages that need to be repeated over and over again, just because they are that important.
But i'm not hearing anything new, I'm not hearing anything interesting. One of these days I'll remember to actually listen to things, as if it were the first time I'd heard it. Then I might start learning again....
I get tired of hearing the same things over again, even if it comes from different people. Even if it's to audiences who've never heard the message before.
It's really kind of sad, to be so snobby like that. There are messages that need to be repeated over and over again, just because they are that important.
But i'm not hearing anything new, I'm not hearing anything interesting. One of these days I'll remember to actually listen to things, as if it were the first time I'd heard it. Then I might start learning again....
8.06.2005
Tag Line of an NYT Movie Review
"The Dukes of Hazzard" is the latest evidence that, for Hollywood studios at least, there can never be too much of a mediocre thing.
"The Dukes of Hazzard" is the latest evidence that, for Hollywood studios at least, there can never be too much of a mediocre thing.
7.29.2005
Unemployment
So I have no job. Actually, when I finish typing this post, and walk out the door, I will have no job. My first time in two years to not have a job.
I held my first job for two years. Retail sales associate at Family Christian Bookstore. Boring as crap. Quit that in May of 2002, when I was 17. Didn't get another job for a year and a half, until November of 2003, and that's the job I'm quitting today.
I owe a lot to this job. I've loved it, and it's bittersweet to leave.
I had more to write about this, but now I've got nothing. So I'm just going to go home, and watch a movie.
So I have no job. Actually, when I finish typing this post, and walk out the door, I will have no job. My first time in two years to not have a job.
I held my first job for two years. Retail sales associate at Family Christian Bookstore. Boring as crap. Quit that in May of 2002, when I was 17. Didn't get another job for a year and a half, until November of 2003, and that's the job I'm quitting today.
I owe a lot to this job. I've loved it, and it's bittersweet to leave.
I had more to write about this, but now I've got nothing. So I'm just going to go home, and watch a movie.