(picture day)

That's it.
I've made a decision.

If a movie's got this kid in it,
I am going to love it.

Favorite Guest?

The only thing better than a documentary is a mockumentary.
And nobody makes them better than Christopher Guest.

Thought I'd put the list of films made by Guest and crew and see what you thought.
What's your favorite Guest movie?

• THIS IS SPINAL TAP
  
  
• WAITING FOR GUFFMAN
  
  
• BEST IN SHOW
  
  
• A MIGHTY WIND
  
  
• FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

I'm In...

At my house, we watch The Polar Express.
A LOT.

That's fine, because it has become my favorite all-time Christmas movie.

But every time I watch it, I come up with the same questions and I'm sure some of you smarties have an idea...

IS THE CONDUCTOR ALL KNOWING?

In short, is anything that happens on that train ride a surprise?
Or does he know everything...even when he's away from "The Boy."
I've been asking some of my friends about this and I've already heard some interesting theories.
Here's a sampling.

1. The conductor is all-knowing and the train ride happens every year to a child who doesn't believe.
2. The train is a time-machine...in fact, this theory supposes that "the boy" is actually the conductor as a child and now the adult version of that child is coming back to save himself, to remind him to believe.
3. The conductor isn't all-knowing, but he IS actually Santa Claus, so whatever happens is all good.

You got a theory? Is the conductor wise to everything that's going on? How do you know? What does the conductor do to make us think he's completely aware of every detail of that ride?

STAGE DAD

This is Finley performing last Sunday with "Snapshots," her Sunday morning class.


SNAPSHOTS Performance 12/14/08! from Bethel Bible Church on Vimeo.


She's on the far right.

Take note of a few things...

1. 00:11 to 00:44 - lays on floor, rest head right on floor monitor.
2. 00:44 to 01:39 - stands, mills around, sees Daddy's guitar, plays with stool.
3. 1:39 to 2:55 - tries to climb on stool, fails, dances, waves at Mommy, mills around.
4. 2:55 to 3:10 - tries to make a break for it.
5. 3:20 to 3:25 - walks over to Daddy's music stand, plays with pen. (Hear the laughter?)
6. 3:25 to 3:35 - volunteer Greg Kimmel dashes across the front and quietly encourages Finley to return to the group.
7. 3:39 - Finley glares at Greg Kimmel and shuffles back to Mrs. Cay. (Hear more laughter?)
   

I Know That Guy...

Famous actors that remind me of Lance Burch.

DANCE PARTY!

Jonah wasn't content to let Finley have all the fame for internet dancing, so he made his own. This video started kinda' impromptu in Finley's room, but Jonah BROKE IT DOWN. Enjoy!


Dancing Family from Kristen Wright on Vimeo.

007

Review: Quantum of Solace from Todd Wright on Vimeo.

SURPRISE

I remember being interested in "The Lookout" awhile back when I caught the trailer. You all know how I feel about heist films, right?

'Cause heist films are awesome.

I was able to catch "The Lookout" last week on TV and I have to say that it really surprised me.

This movie was so much more than I expected - it had more heart and a better story than I imagined.

So, it got me thinking.

What's a movie that pleasantly surprised you?

Who's Your Best Bad Bond...

I am not a die-hard James Bond fan...so please please please do not fill the comment thread with ridiculous trivia about the long lineage of actors to play 007, both worthy and not.

However, there are a few things I believe about the James Bond franchise.

First, Daniel Craig has saved the James Bond empire...and secondly...it's about time.

This happened because of two very very bad back-to-back Bonds - Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.

I understand that I'm presupposing that you agree with me that both of these casting choices were unfortunate and it's that supposition that fuels this question to you all:

WHO WAS THE WORST BOND?

Still A Tough Guy...

This looks really good!

I Love Working Here..

A lot of folks (Tyler and otherwise) have asked how we're liking Bethel. Our answer is always the same.

WE LOVE IT.

One of the most fun things so far about working here has been making these little short video clips to send to our people (via Facebook, the blog, etc.) We've tried some goofy stuff so far, but this most recent one takes the cake. I couldn't believe how great my co-workers were about shooting something like this and every time I watch it I'm grateful for these very fun (and funny) people that God's placed in my life.



Bethel Encourages Its Congregation from bethel bible on Vimeo.

Why This Movie Is Awesome...

I have a strange history with Superman Returns.

Early on, when I found out the film was in the works, I got really excited about it.

I was born in 1976. That places me squarely in the "child-of-the-80's" crowd. Which means Superman was the baddest cat I had ever seen.

There are lots of us out there - kids who grew up watching Christopher Reeve as the Man Of Steel.

When this new version came out, I didn't get to the theater in time, which was frustrating. However, once it came out on DVD, I couldn't wait to rent it.

And then I didn't watch it.

I'm not sure what happened - I think Kristen and I started watching it and then I had to a meeting at church or something (story of my life.) Unable to really dig into the Bryan Singer's new addition to the Superman mythology, I wasn't able to really decide how I felt about it.

Thankfully, it showed up on HBO or something last week and I recorded that dude! And I think I can safely say that I love this film. It's not perfect by any means, but here's why I think it's great.
1. BRANDON ROUTH
This kid pulled off Clark Kent flawlessly. I guess it could be said that Reeve did it flawlessly and this kid just copied that, but I'm still impressed. I think he mastered both characters masterfully. From vocals to the physicality to the smallest of facial expressions, Routh did a great job in this movie.
2. COMIC CONSISTENCY
I think the recent Batman franchise has done two things for hero movies...first off, it dialed down the silliness of comic book films, adding a more realistic texture to the films. For movies like Batman, that's a great thing. It's added a whole new dimension to that character. But, unfortunately, it's made us suspect of films that stay true to their comic book beginnings. "Superman Returns" does stay true. Every one of the original Superman films was silly - Lex Luthor wore silly clothes; Clark Kent looked exactly like Superman; the one-liners weren't all that funny. But we loved it. And Singer's film stayed true to those qualities. I just hate that so many cynics couldn't see or respect that.
3. SOUNDTRACK
I think one of the smartest things about this movie is its soundtrack. I love that the original scores were recorded with orchestra, and not modernized, looped up and made trendy. (I'm looking at you, Michael Bay...) I mean, come on...is there any cooler music than Superman? And don't say Star Wars. 'Cause it's the same song.

4. SKILLFUL ENDING
The old Superman movies had great endings. They were great because even though you could theorize that a sequel would come, but you were never sure. Superman Returns did that, too. They left lots of room for additional films, but didn't write themselves into a corner, thereby forcing themselves to make one.

REDBELT

I love David Mamet. In fact, The Spanish Prisoner and Heist are two of my favorite movies in the world!

His writing style takes some getting used to, but I think his movies are so engaging and memorable. His other notable works include The Untouchables, Glengary Glen Ross, Wag The Dog, The Unit (TV series,) and tons of other great stuff.

This summer, I realized that I had missed REDBELT...it opened the day after Iron Man, which probably wasn't the most fortunate release date. I caught the trailer online and immediately added it to my Netflix "queue."

I finally watched it Tuesday night and it was riveting.

I'm telling you - this movie is fantastic. It's got all the Mamet trademarks: choppy, realistic dialogue, conspiracy, great pacing and direction of actors. But this film's also got a ton of heart. It's a film about integrity and character in a world infested with greed and self-preservation.

Who would think this cerebral, often borderline neurotic writer/director could take a film about mixed martial arts and turn into an epic statement about sacrifice.

I also thought the fight scenes were so brilliant in this thing...really well thought-out and very realistic.

This may sound silly, but I think REDBELT accomplishes what so many fight films have failed to pull off. If all of that sounds like something you'd dig, I encourage you to check it out.

Best Of The Best...

Okay...

I'm asking three questions.

Three answers.

No explanation.

Just three answers.

Ready?

1. FAVORITE SPY MOVIE?

2. FAVORITE HEIST MOVIE?

3. FAVORITE MILITARY MOVIE?

Wanna' Make A Memory?

David Crowder Band's much anticipated live CD/DVD "drops" on Tuesday, August 19th...but...

The live DVD portion is being showcased on 100 theaters across the country on Monday night, August 18th.

And one of those theaters is the Carmike 14 in Tyler, Texas.

I'm not above a road trip.

Sure, it's a late night, but come on.

It'll be better than Batman.

Who's in?

...check it

News From Comic-Con...

Two exciting things from Comic Con, thanks to Risky Biz Blog.

#1.
The first full day of Comic-con featured the usual: screaming fans, studio pushes and...Tron?

Pretty much right after Disney unveiled its "Escape to Witch Mountain" sequel, the studio slipped in some footage of a potential reboot of the 80's fx title (only this time it's called Tr2n).

After the Witch footage, the Disney castle logo came up and soon enough, a race on those light cycles was under way.

Essentially, it was a redone version of a well-known sequence from the 1982 pic. The scene, from director Joseph Kosinski, is actually test footage to see how feasible a remake. The topper was the reveal of one of the drivers: none other than Jeff Bridges, who could be to be reprising his role from the original.

The footage blew many away. "That was a sweet surprise, said one industry exec. "It's not very often that you get to see something that you don't know about."

#2.
Comic-Con had its first taste of pandemonium...when Hugh Jackman showed up at the tail end of Fox's presentation.

While there were whispers that some kind of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" aspect would make an appearance, to the majority of the 6,500-person hall it was still a surprise, and they went berserk.

"I know what you're thinking," Jackman said. "This guy is way too tall to play Wolverine." a reference to fan reaction almost a decade ago when it was announced he would be playing the diminutive X-Men character.

Jackman said he wanted to be here "because without you guys I wouldn't have a career." and then he did something actors, and Hollywood types in general, don't do very often: He thanked a comic creator.

Jackman singled out "Wolverine" co-creator Len Wein, who stood up to cheers, and then waded into the crowd to shake the writer's hands. "From that hand came the character that gave me my career," he said.

Then he showed a made-for-Comic-Con trailer that killed. The crowd went wild when characters like Gambit and Deadpool were seen for a split second.

Jackman's appearance was brief but had Fox's desired effect: to win over skeptics and satiate fans.

"I am no longer suspect or angry about the movie," said one girl.

_____________________

The Tron thing doesn't do much for me, but I've been excited about an "Origins" film for Wolverine ever since the comic book series started making waves.

Anybody else interested in this besides Ross King and me?

Source: Jeffrey Overstreet

On Seeing Batman...

A few thoughts running through my head after seeing The Dark Knight.

#1. Heath Ledger is captivating in this. Folks around me were laughing at all the Joker's antics, but I couldn't. It was dark and brilliant and completely scene-stealing.

#2. Most punk kids don't really know who Gary Oldman is. They do now. I agree with those out there saying it's sad that Oldman's getting overshadowed by Heath. They're definitely on two totally different levels, but I had forgotten how good that dude really is.

#3. Folks who text all the way through a movie baffle me.

#4. The movie did feel a bit long. I kept thinking we were at the end...but no! More fighting! More explosions!

#5. I knew Harvey Dent was a component, but had no idea how big a role he was gonna' play. Pretty cool addition to the storyline.

#6. Great plot twist at the end...smart sequel planning.

#7. Let's just face it...the best previews are always the ones that run before superhero movies. It's like GUY-MOVIE-TRAILER-SEQUENCE. The Watchmen...Eagle Eye...Terminator...Twilight...Righteous Kill. Any of you see any others?

Take a "stab" at the poll over on the right!

Thank God!

Finally... a sequel!
The wait is over, gang. Who's with me?

di·lem·ma

I want to see this:



But Jonah would like me to take him to see this: