Movie Showtimes Map

This is a cool mashup using google maps (I think) and movie showtimes (from somewhere?).  Zip code is the easiest way to seach.  Seems much quicker and easier to use than other movie showtime sites.  I have not cross-checked the accuracy of the showtimes against anothes site like fandango.

Visions of a Post-Apocalyptic America

For some reason, I just finished reading two different books set in America after a cataclysmic event of some sort.  Both books were engaging and caused me to think about the world we live in and the future that I foresee.  First, my reflections on the books themselves, in the order I read them:

World Made By Hand by James Kunstler:  I was captured by the very first chapter of this book and honestly, the title caught my attention at the library.  I read this in about five days – pretty quick, given my more recent reading pace.  The story centers around the characters of a small upstate New York town trying to survive in post-apocalyptic America.  One of the strengths about the book is that the story does not focus on what has happened (that is, the cause of the apocalypse), but where the main characters are now and how they deal with an uncertain present and future.  Similarly, there is not a lot of politisizing on the cause of the destruction/apocalypse – which is only alluded to in the narrative.  I was concerned that we would get a rant or several about oil/global warming/overpopulation/radical religions/etc…somewhere in these pages.  Therein making the story a cautionary tale.  This is surprising especially given the authors others books, particularly his non-fiction work (although I have not read any of it).  In many ways, this absence, is why I found the story so compelling.  I was able to imagine the world that the characters inhabited and consider the reality of their day to day struggles.  Unfortunately, at the end of the book, I was left wondering what the point of the story was or even what the main thrust of the story-arc.  There was suspense, romance, redemption, etc…and religion/Christianity played a large role in the story, but there seemed to be several storylines that were presented and then dropped.  And then the book just kind of ends.  Still, I really enjoyed reading this book and found an engaging story, even without a larger story being told.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy:  I have been interested in reading this story after watching the Cohen Brothers adaptation of McCarthy’s No Country For Old Men.  The Road also has been made into a movie with Viggo Mortenson playing the lead and will be released Thanksgving week.  In terms of writing and story-telling, McCarthy’s work is far superior.  As with World Made by Hand, something has happened, most likely a nuclear holocaust that results in a nuclear winter.  Again, there is no direct mention of the cause of this event or even any inkling of the reasons.  It is about a father and son on the road simply surviving day by day and the various things they encounter on their way headed south.  The landscape is bleak and sparse and the dialogue and writing reflect that, establishing the mood of the entire book.  A friend called it dark and sobering and he is right.  And yet, there was a light that shone forth from the charred landscape, depraved survivors, and a seemingly hopeless situation.  The father’s love for his son is nothing less than heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.  In the coldness of nuclear winter is the warmth of this love that drives the story to its conclusion.

My reactions as a Christian to these books:

• My faith causes (or should cause) me to look at the future without fear of what might happen or might become of us.  This does not mean that nuclear holocaust will not happer, nor worldwide economic collapse, but I have the promise of Romans 8 firmly implanted in my heart:

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
36 As it is written,
For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

These promises do not guarantee health & wealth or the absence of nuclear holocaust or whatever might come.  The above passage actually recognizes that there are some circumstances that we might face that might be described as quite bleak.  And so, as a Christian, I have to recognize the potentiality (not probability) of the visions presented in these books, even while hoping in the goodness of God’s will.  This is not something you would ever hear Joel Osteen say, as there is a huge difference between holding onto the promise of God to “never leave, nor forsake us” and the message that God wants you to prosper, period.  In this way, these books are closer to a truly Christian position than some who read the bible in parts and misrepresent the purposes of God.

• Neither book painted a kind picture of “fallen” humanity.  Both stories contained truly depraved characters and actions (for this reason, these books may not be appropriate reading for all audiences.  As with any type of media, discernment must be exercised).  Either this does not comport with the prevailing notion of the universality of benign humanity or humanity is solely conditioned by its environment (e.g. desperate times call for desperate measures).  I do not know if this reflects “postmodernism”, whatever that means,  but it is not that far from the biblical notion of total depravity.
• I found it intersting that in both stories, God is not “dead”.  He may not figure prominently at all times, questioned at others, but He is not written out of either story.
• While I do not think that McCarthy intended to write a “Christian” novel, in many ways he has.  At one particular point when the father wonders if he could kill his son to save him from the horrors of what others could do to him, I thought of Abraham & Isaac, but primarily the Father who gave us His Son for us (Romans 8:32 – He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?).  The context and purpose are different, but the heart of love out of which the actions and thoughts of that father echo the Father’s love for sinful humanity.

Reflections on The Dark Knight

I had an opportunity to see the most popular film of the summer movie season last night with a few friends, The Dark Knight.  Here are a few of my reflections, none earth-shattering.  There aren’t any real spoilers here, but feel free to come back after you’ve seen the movie.  Also, a reminder:  I do not make movie recommendations, only reflections (use your own discernment in consumption of media).

• The movie is long and intense, though not long-feeling.  Without looking at the time, at one point I thought we were at the end, when in reality there was another hour or so.
• The special effects and action sequences were very good and served the story-telling, rather than being the whole of the story (like so many movies this day).  We often marvel at special effects, when really we are being short-changed on so many other cinematic fronts.  Less is more (this applies to gore and suspense, as well).
• The movie was not very comic-book esque, though based on comic books.  In some ways, this makes the movie feel more real and thus effective in drawing us into the movie.
• The Dark Knight is, well, dark.  Yet, the feel of darkness is not artificially achieved by cinematic techniques.  I think about Batman (1989) and how everything takes place at night and the city is always dark and dingy.  In this version, I appreciated that there was a lot of daylight and many scenes that took place during the day.  This made the real darkness, that which resides in the heart of man, more real and more effective.  Another comparison here might be No Country for Old Men with its almost sepia tone.
• Though the movie was dark, I did not walk away feeling hollow like I did after watching No Country for Old Me or There Will Be Blood.  There are similarities here for sure, but there was something else at work (heroism? – even if it is conflicted)
• The dialogue was extremely tight and well written/performed.  I can’t think of any seriously cheesy lines!
• There were a few places where the dialogue was hard to hear over the score.  I don’t know if this is an individual theater issue or a sound editing issue (No Oscar for you!).
• I can understand why much has been made about Heath Ledger and his performance – it is hard not seeing him win the Oscar posthumously.  All of the acting performances were well done, but his stands out.
• More specifically on the Joker, I thought there was something interesting that happened with his character.  Spoiler Alert:  In two different scenes he tells how he got his scars, but the story was different each time.  After hearing the first, it is possible to have some sympathy for the Joker, but after the second, any sympathy is removed and it is hard to know the truth (it may be neither, I don’t know if this is explained in the comic books or not).  The point is:  that is incredibly effective movie-making.  I felt something and then had that yanked away.  Also, it possibly points us to the debate between nature & nurture.
• A few reflections from a Christian worldview:
  • The movie is accurate: darkness and evil are real and it resides in the hearts of men.
  • A hero is needed in this world, but one that incorruptible (Dent/Two-Face illustrates this).  In this way, we can see Jesus as the ultimate hero.  Jesus also stands in contrast because he is “the light of the world”.
  • Character, integrity, honor all matter and we celebrate these things when we see them.
  • I appreciated the current of hope, even in bleak times, that runs through the movie.  This theme is even the ending point of the movie.  This is a biblical current.
  • Negatively, there possibly a worldview of humanism present – that man is good and can do the right thing (e.g. the ferry dilemna).  While man can do good and the right thing, the God of all grace and good can easily be removed from the picture.  This may be unfair criticism – I will have to think some more on this.

What did you think of this movie?

You might also read this review of the movie from Christianity Today.

Just what we need…

…another movie about Jesus.

Paul Verhoeven, the director of such movie classics as Basic Instinct and Starship Troopers is interested in making a movie about Jesus. I read about it here and saw mention of it on wikipedia, as well. Here is an excerpt from the article:

From a recent interview conducted by Richard von Busack before an appearance by Verhoeven in Santa Rosa, Calif.: “The message of Jesus is the way he lived. That he ultimately was killed was something that just happened. By seeing it as a sacrifice we diminish the importance of what he’s thinking. Putting the cross and the resurrection at the heart of the story has diminished the importance of Jesus’ message.”

In Verhoeven’s version of Jesus’ life, Jesus is the product of a Roman Centurion’s rape of Mary. Whether this creative fiction on his part or he actually believes this to be the truth, I do not know. It should not surprise us that Verhoeven is a member of the Jesus Seminar. Either way, this is one movie that I hope never sees the light of day. If it does, it will stand in a long line of media that denies the divinity of Christ in favor of his humanity. This has always been heresy and it still is.

The Cross of Christ (and the vindication of the Resurrection) is central to any other “message” of Christ. The Cross both validates the place of those messages and gives power for their fulfillment. They cannot be separated so easily and maintain their importance. Furthermore, the notion, that the crucifixion is something that just happened requires a radical re-reading and reduction of Scripture (which the Jesus Seminar is very much in favor of).  I am attaching a Good Friday homily preached in 2007 that addresses this topic – click on continue reading to see that.

No Country for Old Men

Disclaimer: I do not recommend popular books or films to people – we all must exercise discernment. I only comment on what I have seen or read.

I watched this movie last week. I had a free evening when the wife and children were away and I knew that this was a film that Lydia would probably not want to watch or enjoy if she did. I was right.

I was curious to see what all the buzz was about, as the film won the oscar for best picture, Javier Bardem won the best supporting actor oscar, and the Cohen brothers won for best director(s). While I have not seen any of the other pictures nominated in the best picture category, I can see why this movie won these awards.
So here are a few of my thoughts on the movie:

1) It is incredibly well done in all aspects: acting, directing, the overall feel of the movie. It all works.

2) This is not a typical “hollywood” movie, with accompanying ending. All does not end well.

3) The movie is very violent.  Not in a Saving Private Ryan kind of way where the violence is expected and anticipated, but in a context more familiar to most of us.  Of course, violence is always lurking in the darkness of our society – we would just prefer to ignore that fact and shut our eyes/ears to it.

4) There are some incredible scenes, especially when Chighur (Bardem) is in the gas station with the attendant.

5) I felt empty inside after watching the film.  I also made sure my doors were locked (someone reminded me that wouldn’t have mattered, but I wasn’t thinking logically).  In that way, the movie works. You do feel something that is not typical of most box-office movies, even if it’s emptiness.

6) I’m not sure if I am better for having seen this film or not. I did seek out some takes on the movie and appreciated this one from Christianity Today.

If you saw the movie, what did you think? How did you feel after watching it?