True Grit

Another excellent film from the Coen Brothers.

The Coen Brothers & Jeff Bridges Talk True Grit

The iconic filmmakers and leading man talk their new film, morality and American Shakespeare.

The Fighter

Strong acting anchors one of the best films of the year.

Watch the The Tree of Life Trailer

The first trailer for Terrence Malick’s long-awaited The Tree of Lifehas hit those good old interwebs, and it’s a doozy.

Regardless of whether or not the film is well-acted (although with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn as the stars, that’s a pretty safe bet), it looks like The Tree of Life will be an epic, visually stunning tale. Check out the trailer below.

The Tree of Life hits theaters on May 27.

The Worldview of an ELF (via Will Ferrell)

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Another disappointing entry in the Chronicles of Narnia film series.

Black Swan

The newest film from Darren Aronofsky is a remarkable vision almost undone by a bit of indulgence.

Watch Inception in Real-Time

This one makes our heads hurt a little bit.

YouTube user Weikang has put together a four and a half minute video that boasts all the action of Inception in real-time.

The split-screen sequence shows each level of the dream unfolding simultaneously, so confused fans can determine just what was happening at each point in the flick. That’s all well and good, but when willChristopher Nolan give us a straight answer about that spinning top at the end?

The Day God Killed Ron Santo

I spent the day helping @ the Santa Shop and having lunch w/the kids.  Nothing special.  Just a regular old friday.  We were going to be having our last DO class that night and I was going to have to brush up on my notes and prep work later, but now was for spending w/my babies.

I'm not even sure why she caught my eye, but she did.  A little girl in her brother's pee wee football jersey traversing the lunch room to dump her tray.  I read the name on the jersey back and retain it for some reason. It was Santo.

As the day matures, I'm found in front of this silver rectangle making my final notes for tonight when I see it.  Chicago Cubs icon Ron Santo dead at 70.  Odd coincidence I think to myself as I pause to take the moment in.

Couple this happening w/the basis for our yet to be discussed material for friday night and you start to realize why the moment hasn't left me and compels me to write this.  Our movie was not an exceptionally good one nor altogether bad either, but it explicitly illustrated our connectivity to a very near God tho He seem distant, through seemingly random events that neither appear to have purpose or connection w/much anything.  Thoughts are provoked of His glorious providence revealed through very common and mundane scenarios.  The example for us was a bad stucco job in the film...for me it was the death of Ron Santo.

Let us not lose sight of God's perfect justice as we long for His grace especially in regard to us, our families and friends.  Not one of us deserved the last breath that we just experienced or the next one coming, but by his common grace He grants it.  We all have stood and some continue to stand in cosmic rebellion of the Almighty and deserve nothing from Him save His judgement and our destruction.

Ron had 70 years.  Some have had more and some have had much less, but all deserve none.  Not one.

So the question I ask is did God kill Ron to help illustrate the inner workings of His will for me and my class or for some other reason?  After all, He is all-powerful as well as all-knowing, so He killed Him directly or allowed it to happen indirectly, but either way He is culpable in this act.  So which is it?

The only answer I can arrive at is yes.

God's perfect will continues to happen in a very imperfect world for a million and one reasons all @ the same time.  It not only allows for our decisions to matter, but for them to have been predestined as well.  We catch glimpses of these happenings all the time, but shoo them away labeled as coincidence or circumstance.

It's as if we cry out for God in the forest only to miss Him because of the trees.  Our lack of reverential discernment for our loving Father leaves us wallowing all the while He is ever present.  His creation screams His graciousness, while we cover our ears.

This should bring us comfort as His children.  We matter to God.  If we could only remain cognizant of that and live it.  Not because we have to, but because we get to.

For His glory...

our joy...

and others good.

Henry Poole Is Here

Henry Poole Is Here is a 2008 American drama film directed by Mark Pellington. The screenplay by Albert Torres focuses on a dying man whose religious neighbor insists the water stain on the side wall of his house is an image of Jesus Christ.

The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was shown at the Berlin International Film Festival before going into limited release in the US on August 15.

In chapter 3, The Face of Christ, Henry is introduced to his new meddling neighbor Esperanza who claims to see the face of Jesus imbedded in the stucco wall of his home.  She wastes no time in calling her priest and calling Henry to recognize this all-too-obvious God-sign.  Henry claims that he won't ignore the 'sign' but his neighbor instead, but is too self-involved to pay much attention to either.

Psalm 119:25-32 (The Message)

^25-32 I'm feeling terrible—I couldn't feel worse!
      Get me on my feet again. You promised, remember?
   When I told my story, you responded;
      train me well in your deep wisdom.
   Help me understand these things inside and out
      so I can ponder your miracle-wonders.
   My sad life's dilapidated, a falling-down barn;
      build me up again by your Word.
   Barricade the road that goes Nowhere;
      grace me with your clear revelation.
   I choose the true road to Somewhere,
      I post your road signs at every curve and corner.
   I grasp and cling to whatever you tell me;
      God, don't let me down!
   I'll run the course you lay out for me
      if you'll just show me how.

In chapter 9, You can never go home again, Esperanza takes Henry to his childhood home in the hopes that he'll make some sort of peace with his past.  Instead, Henry finds that it truly means nothing to him now and that he's really left with nowhere left to hide.  The scene completes with images sky-ward, but without Henry's hope in much anything larger than himself we're left with Dylan's resonating words...'it's not dark yet, but it's getting there.

Psalm 40:11-12 (The Message)

 ^11-12 Now God, don't hold out on me,
      don't hold back your passion.
   Your love and truth
      are all that keeps me together.
   When troubles ganged up on me,
      a mob of sins past counting,
   I was so swamped by guilt
      I couldn't see my way clear.
   More guilt in my heart than hair on my head,
      so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.

In chapter 19, Miraculous Gifts, Henry comes full circle in making peace with his past in realizing the ever important present and that he is blessed with a potential rich future.  We also see God's providence in very tangible ways and hopefully ways that we can relate to.  His gifts are ever present, it is our ability to witness them that isn't.

Jeremiah 29:11 (The Message)

I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.