FIREPROOF

This Saturday, we went to see Fireproof at the theater. If you are familiar with Facing The Giants, you've probably heard of it. The movie stars Kirk Cameron. He plays a firefighter, who willingly sacrifices his wellfare everyday for the good of others, but at home, is far from heroic and letting his marriage crumble. He and his wife cannot get along anymore. He blames her entirely. She blames him entirely. They are both ready to call it quits. His father steps in to help. I can't give away the story for those who haven't seen it, but it was a really great movie. The characters are real people facing real problems in life -- there's no soft-pedaling that. It shows the emotions they both go through and the changes they face in their life. Whether you are married or single, this movie has a message for you. If you are married, I don't doubt that it will make you think about your commitment to your marriage and if your attitude toward your spouse might need some adjusting. If you are single, it will definitely make you think about what a serious, lifelong commitment marriage is, and that when you say "I do", it is for the worse as well as the better. The movie has light-hearted moments that make you laugh out aloud, and moments where the tears will fall. I recommend it to everyone. Visit www.fireproofthemovie.com for more details.

Luther

Last week, we finally saw the movie Luther. When it was on at the theater a couple of years ago, we had planned on going to see it, but just never got around to it. We were going through movies at the library, saw it on a shelf, and checked it out.



I thought this was a really good movie. It brought the story of the Reformation to life for me. The first time I watched it, I thought it was a little confusing. You would definitely have to know something of Luther's life and the history of what was going on at the time to keep up with the story. For the first thirty minutes, the plot kind of skips along too fast, but once he is settled at the school they begin to take more time and it is easier to follow. I liked the actor who played Luther, too.



What was interesting was to see those times come to life. Common people had no Bibles. Most church services were in Latin, which only the well-educated understood. Luther himself, even after becoming a monk, had never seen a copy of the Bible until going to the theological university. On October 31, 1517 he nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church. He protested the selling of indulgences,held that the Bible is the only source of truth, and that salvation is a gift only God cam give, not something we can buy or earn, and stood before the Diet of Worms on April 18, 1521, to defend his several writings. Because he would not recant, he was excommunicated from the church, which in essence, made him an outlaw. He translated and published the first Bible in the language of the common people, an act which changed the Christian world. Even after reading my history books, I had never realized that the Reformation caused such upheaval, almost war. The movie showed the chaos, and the number of people who died.



The only part of the movie I didn't care for was when he and his wife became engaged. She pretty much proposed to him! I can't imagine a woman being that bold in that day and age, and from what I've read of the real story of how they met and married, it was totally off-base. It was a really good movie, though, showing how God used one man to change the world.

More vacationing.........

Well, Aunt Sherry is here and Aunt Bett and Uncle John. I had to work over the weekend, so I was really tired at first, but now I am free to relax as much as I like. :) I'm not sure what we are going to be doing. Today, I think we're going to the mall. It will be nice to see the inside of another department store for a change.

Aunt Sherry has already done quite a bit of movie watching with us, with both Gods and Generals and North and South over the weekend. I've already made a post about how much I love North and South, but I could go on and on about it. As for Gods and Generals, it is a very long movie, and there are a lot of battle scenes that might bore someone who isn't a history enthusiast like me, but the faith of Stonewall Jackson and the sight of the bloodshed and tears will move anyone. It gives the viewer such a good look into the Civil War. They were real people, facing the real, agonizing choices to take sides in a war against their brothers. They were real women and children, alone at home while the men were at war. The soldiers were real men that got shot down by the hundreds in every battle. It's definitely a thought-provoking look at the past.

Cranford

I have to say, I really enjoyed this movie. It was better than the new Jane Austen movies. Watching it in three parts was rather annoying. I missed the first ten minutes of the first part, so had to figure out why Mary was staying with the two old ladies, and I was a little confused at first with the story here, the story there, the story at the estate. Everything moved around a lot, but I got used to it. It was neat to see so many characters from other favorite movies come back in this one. The main young man in this movie was Mr. Bingley in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice. I liked him a hundred times better in Cranford. I haven't read the book, so I can't compare how they stayed with the story or added to it, but I really enjoyed so many of the characters and the stories that wound throughout their lives. Now, this was a sad movie. There are several very sad deaths and just -- sad moments. I cried twice during the last part. I think it is a good thing when a movie can make you cry in the sad moments, though. That means it has really captured what the character is going through and made you feel it, too. So, I thought the movie was very good. I can't wait to see it again -- with the additional thirty minutes on the DVD!

A few good days

I did a lot of things on my to-do list this weekend. I found a home for a few things that were out of place in my room. I worked on my new drawing and made some progress. I went for a walk yesterday, but it was so windy I felt like I was going to be blown over any moment. I went through a lot of my writing last night, editing and thinking over what my next step should be. I'm in a difficult place with my writing now. I came to a place where I was fresh out of ideas, so I stopped working on continuing the story and have been working mostly on rewriting the beginning for a few months. It really needed it. Since then, I've come to a place where I'm out of ideas in the rewriting of the beginning and I was beginning to despair of ever getting anywhere with this mountainous project. After looking through my work last night, I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. I figured out how much more I need to do to rewrite the beginning, and was pleasantly surprised to realized that it's not much! Only three or four chapters. So, that gives me incentive to keep steady work on it.

I watched the movie version of The Woman In White yesterday. The book was so good that I hoped the movie would at least be comparable. Ugh. It wasn't even close. The girl who played one of the main female roles was Molly from Wives and Daughters and James Wilby from A Tale of Two Cities was also in it. Still, the movie wasn't good. I could deal with the slight alterations they made to beginning, but about midway through, everything got so mixed up. They seemed to just make sure the main points of the story were similar to the book without caring how many twists and turns they used to get there. Why couldn't they just go by the book? The book is so great. It's like a Dickens, a Sherlock Holmes mystery, and Jane Eyre all in one.

I have quite a collection of hymn arrangements and am thinking about making a recording of them this summer. I wish I had made it before I got carpal tunnel syndrome in my hands and was able to practice and play more than I do now. It's a lot harder for me to play now. One of my friends has made a couple of recordings and she tells me it's really fun and worthwhile, so I might give it a try later this summer. I'll just need to pick my favorite arrangements. The choices I have are:

In The Garden

It Is Well With My Soul (arranged with Claire de Lune)

Holy, Holy, Holy

I Will Arise And Go To Jesus

As The Deer

All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name (arranged with the Hallelujah Chorus)

The Lord's My Shepherd

You Are My All In All

This Is My Father's World

Near to the Heart of God

O, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

We Gather Together

The Old Rugged Cross

Jesus Loves Me (arranged with Clarie de Lune)

How Great Thou Art

I Am A Poor, Wayfarin' Stranger

The Water Is Wide (a duet with my sister)

I have another arrangement of It Is Well, but I would have to learn it first. My two hardest hymn arrangements are How Great Thou Art and Poor, Wayfarin' Stranger. Because my hands aren't as limber as they used to be, I don't think I could try both of them, but I would definitely try to get How Great Thou Art ready. With all these hymn arrangements, I actually don't have one of Amazing Grace that I enjoy. I have one in a early level 1 book that was okay and then a hard one that my teacher gave me when I asked her for one, but I never liked it. It's just chord chord, cho-ord chord, with no pretty melodies at all. Out of all these, which would be your top 5 to compile into a CD? And, do you have a favorite that you don't see listed? I have two books of hymn arrangements that I haven't learned yet, so it might be nice to learn something newjust for the project!

Charlton Heston 1924-2008

Last night, we lost one of the greatest actors of all time, Charlton Heston. He starred in the epic classic Ben-Hur among many other great movies. He held conservative political views and campaigned for conservative candidates. He was president of the National Rifle Association and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

"Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life. He was known for his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders and resonating voice, and, of course, for the roles he played," Heston's family said in a statement. "No one could ask for a fuller life than his. No man could have given more to his family, to his profession, and to his country."

He was a handsome, talented actor and a good man who stood for what he believed in. We will always remember him.

Sense and Sensibility --Masterpiece Theatre

Thursday, I finally watched the new Sense and Sensibility. It had been so long since the last new movies that I almost forgot it was coming on. I was excited to see it, but a little skeptical, too. The old S&S with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet is one of my favorite movies. It would be very hard to improve on. Still, I had heard a lot of good reviews, most saying this version was even better than the Emma/Kate version, so I couldn't wait to see if it really was.



The first fifteen minutes of the film felt like watching the exact same movie, only with different faces and voices -- and another unnecessary scene at the very beginning before the credits. The dialogue was the same almost word for word. I know they were based on the same book, but they should have changed it around a little. I like Mrs. Dashwood very much and Elinor, also. No one, however, will ever be Marianne for me but Kate Winslet.

Anyway, there were a lot of things that I really liked. I liked the new Colonel Brandon so much! I also liked Edward Ferrars. I was used to Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman in those roles, but never particularly liked either one of them. I didn't like the new Willoughby at all. He didn't strike me as anything like the romantic hero Willoughby is supposed to appear to be. In this version, you can't imagine why Marianne would prefer him to Colonol Brandon except that he's a little younger.



I think they have a good beginning for the movie. I missed the little scenes that show Elinor is still thinking of Edward and Willoughby's departure wasn't as dramatic. I'm looking forward to the second part next week.

Christy: the TV series

I remember when this series came out in the early nineties. I loved it then. I couldn't wait to see the next episode and was so disappointed when the series was cancelled after only two seasons. They didn't even let me know who Christy finally decided to marry, David or Neil! When my mom bought me the complete series on DVD for Christmas, I wondered if I was going to like it as much this time as I did then. My sister just knew she was going to hate it. We worked through the series one episode at a time and finished it just a few weeks ago. Just like before, there just weren't enough shows -- and Gabrielle liked it. When the final episode left Christy trying to decide between David and Neil, she spun around in her chair and said, "THAT'S HOW IT ENDS?!?!?" lol.

I really enjoyed the series. It isn't perfect, of course, and this time I can see why it ended -- aside from the David/Neil dilemma, they had probably carried the story as far as they could for a TV series. I just wish they had wrapped it up with good movie that tells the story of who Christy finally chooses. Hallmark did make two movies a few years ago that tried to do that. I checked them out from the library to sort of "finish" the series. In my honest opinion, neither one of the movies is very good. If you haven't seen the series, you might enjoy them, but if you are used to Kellie Martin as Christy, Randall Batinkoff as David, and Tyne Daily as Miss Alice, the replacement actors in the movie just don't fill their shoes. The movie Christy has a rather arrogant, I'm-so-smart attitude that was in stark contrast to the TV Christy's sweet personality. The movie David was even worse. He just had no personality at all. Only having the original Neil in the cast helped the movie. He was one of my favorite characters from the series anyway. Then again, I liked all the characters and actors in the series. :)

Mansfield Park

Last night was the last new Jane Austen movie for me for a while. I think they are showing the old Pride and Prejudice in five parts for February and March before they show the new Sense and Sensibility. I was looking forward to this new adaptation of Mansfield Park. I was afraid that it was going to be too far off from the story when I saw pictures of the cast last week. Why have they got Fanny's hair down? Not just down, but with a modern, shaggy haircut. Well, when I watched it last night, her hair didn't bother me like I expected it to. I think the logic behind it was that she was supposed to be a poor relation who didn't have the time or servants to style her hair in the ornate styles the other women wore. I liked the movie pretty well. My complaint with it was that it moved so fast. It seemed to dive headfirst into the story and leave the audience to figure out who everybody was and what was going on. They didn't change the story much, they just left a lot of things out. If I watch this on DVD, I might like it better, because I read somewhere that PBS is cutting out several minutes of the movies to fit their programming schedule. I thought they picked great actors to play Henry and Mary Crawford, but the way they portrayed Fanny's character was a little confusing to me. She was supposed to be so shy, quiet, and reserved. Why was she running all over the house chasing the dog and giggling then? But when she interacted with the other characters, she seemed more shy and quiet, so I didn't let it bother me too much. To sum it up, I think I'll watch this again when it comes out on DVD. it wasn't exactly perfect, but I liked it anyway. :)

Do They Make Good Movies Anymore?

I like to watch Fox news sometimes. One of my favorite shows is The O'Reilly Factor, which comes on weekdays at eight 0' clock prime time. The host, Bill O'Reilly has lots of interesting guests, debates, and strong opinions. I agree with most of his viewpoints, but not all of them. My main reason for liking his show is that he presents the news honestly, with no slanting to the left or right, and he covers stories big and small that I would never hear about on other news channels. Last week, during one of his guest segments, he asked the man's opinion about the just-released Oscar nominations. I thought he had something really interesting to say. He talked about how gory, dismal, gross, etc, all the films were that were nominated this year. I had never even heard of any of the movies. He said (I'm paraphrasing) that the only movies that get made these days are scary horror flicks and that there just isn't any place for the fun B-grade movies that people loved years ago. He mentioned 1939, the biggest movie year in history, when Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (everybody should see Mr. Smith -- it is one of the best movies ever!) were all nominated for Oscars and how none of those movies would make it today.



Unfortunately, he was right. Most of the movies made today are all scary, blood, and grossness. When I see the commercials for these, I wish they made more movies like they did back in the fifties. Even when movies of nice books like Jane Austen's are made, they have to throw in a bad scene or two. I don't watch a lot of new movies. Before I go see one, I read about it at Plugged-In Online to make sure I want to see it. I have found a few new movies lately that are good. I'll have to post about them sometime, but my favorite movies are mostly the old ones. Alfred Hitchcock did several suspense/thrillers that are good without all the blood and grossness. There are so many great romantic comedies in black-and-white: Father of the Bride, Roman Holiday, Mr. Blandings Build His Dream House, to name just a few. Then there are the old musicals, the westerns, and the historical dramas. They just don't make movies like those anymore. That's why I like having a classic movie channel. ;)

Northanger Abbey

Last night, I watched Northanger Abbey. I was really looking forward to seeing this because I have just finished reading the book and learned to like it very much. In the book, Catherine is a young girl obsessed with Gothic novels. She loves them. They are pretty much all she thinks about. Jane Austen wrote the book in a sarcastic, humorous kind of way to make fun of girls who let themselves get so caught up in silly novels. Anyway, Catherine is invited by her neighbors to travel to Bath with them and she, of course, can't wait to set out on this adventure. While in Bath, she becomes friends with a silly, shallow girl named Isabella and her brother John. Catherine quickly learns to dislike him. She also meets Henry Tilney and his sister Elinor. Their father invites Catherine to visit them at their home so she goes to stay at Northanger Abbey.

There were some parts of the movie that I didn't appreciate -- for a review that covers all the scenes click here (including one scene that was not shown on my station - PBS must have edited that one out). If they had left out the passage from a book Catherine reads aloud and removed one other scene, this movie would have been a great adaptation of the book. I thought the actors were all great for their roles. Catherine was exactly as I pictured her and her dresses were beautiful.

To sum it up, I liked most of the movie and the actors were great. Ninety-five percent of the time, it was a really fun, sweet movie. I just wish director Andrew Davies hadn't felt the need to "embellish" a simple story so much. I find that really annoying. It isn't necessary and it doesn't improve the story at all.

Persuasion -- the movies

I finally got to watch the new Masterpiece Theatre version of Persuasion Thursday night. I rented the old version with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root from the library so I could watch it first and compare the two. It has been years since I have seen the old version because I didn't like it the first time I saw it. I liked it much better this time. The storyline seems to drag in some places and go by too quickly in others -- if I hadn't read the book, I wouldn't have known who most of the characters were. At first, Ciaran Hinds didn't seem to fit the book's description of a handsome young sailor, but I got used to him and enjoyed his portrayal of Captain Wentworth. Amanda Root as Anne was harder for me to get used to.

When I watched the new version, I saw the good things about the old version a lot better. Amanda Root, though she made it plain that she lived with heartache, was a living character that touched people's lives and sought to make the best of her life. In the new version, Anne (don't know the actress's name) hardly said a word and seemed to live in a daze. All her feelings were shown to us through watching her write in her journal. I did appreciate some scenes that really showed her "anguish of heart", but she had no personality. Most of all, she had the worst hairstyle I've ever seen in a Regency movie. It looked like she'd dunked her head in water and put it up while it was dripping wet, but it never dried through the entire movie. Ugh. Captain Wentworth was okay. I've heard other reviews say he looked too "pretty" to have been at sea for ten years. I did like in this movie that the secondary characters' roles were clearer, her sisters' personalities were more true to the book, and the beginning of the story is explained clearly enough that you aren't left in confusion.

Final verdict: I like both versions. The Ciaran Hinds version is slower and quieter. The newer version is more dramatic with better filming. I'll be watching both again. :)

National Treasure

We went to the movies to see National Treasure: Book of Secrets today. The first National Treasure is a great movie, so we were hoping that the sequel would at least be nearly as good. I actually liked it pretty well. Sometimes sequels are overdone, with exaggerated plots and characters to try to make the old story interesting again. This one had an interesting story on its own and built upon the first movie well. There were a few action scenes that were overdone, a car chase in particular, but I still thought it was good. The biggest flaw with the movie was that the main characters, Ben and Abigail, had been living together since the story left off in the last movie and had broken up at the beginning of this one. They left it open for a third movie at the end, but it would probably be better if they left it alone. After two times, the same story can get old.

The first National Treasure is definitely the better of the two. In that one, Ben is searching for hidden treasure by clues on old documents and historical monuments. One of my favorite things about the movie (and the second one, too) is how they highlight so many historical documents and places, making you really look at them for details you never noticed before. I always want to go to Washington and all the other historical places in America when I watch these movies. Wouldn't it be neat to see the Declaration of Independence in person? I think so. Anyway, I definitely recommend the first movie.

Just a few ramblings.......

I don't have anything in particular to post about today. I've been a little bit lazy this week (getting over a bad cold is always an excuse for me to be lazy), but I have managed to get some writing done and a new drawing finished. We bought the Christmas cards this week. I signed them all two days ago, but I haven't addressed them yet. I think I will spend this afternoon doing that. We went out shopping a few times this week also and the weather was actually almost warm! I want to go to a craft store and the fabric store sometime. Even though I keep receiving all these sales flyers from Joann's and Hancock's, so far I just haven't gone.

I have seen a few good movies in the last week. One was The Polar Express. I love that movie. We went to see it in 3D when it was at the theatre. Now that was really cool -- especially when the train was going down the 79 degree grade. It was like a roller coaster! Another was an old movie with Jimmy Stewart, The Shop Around The Corner. I saw this on TCM for the first time a couple of years ago and it has become a favorite since. It is about a man and woman (Jimmy Stewart and I-can't-remember-her-name) who have been exchanging letters anonymously for sometime. Come to find out, they work in the same gift shop and fight all the time. It's a really nice old movie. I also like A Charlie Brown Christmas. I always feel sorry for the poor little tree, too!

I checked out a few Christmas books from the library, too. I enjoy reading Christmas short stories a lot. I began A Christmas Carol this week. One book of short stories in particular is very good. It contains Christmas chapters from different books, such as The Pickwick Papers, Christmas on Plum Creek, and Little Women.

An Old Favorite

Friday, I watched one of my favorite old movies, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. It is a movie about a family who lives in a tiny New York apartment. They find a farm with an old house on it and decide to buy it and remodel the house. The experiences they have as they try to build their dream house are hilarious, but also things that happen in the real world of building houses and remodeling -- I've seen enough shows on HGTV to know that. :) I have lots of favorites among Cary Grant's movies, but this is definitely around the top of my list.

Pride and Prejudice

Yesterday, we decided to watch all six hours of A&E's Pride and Prejudice. I had been wanting to see it again for a while and it was a good day for it because I didn't have anything in particular that I needed to do.

There was a new version of Pride and Prejudice made last year, with Keira Knightly playing the lead as Elizabeth Bennet. Most people that I know prefer the A&E version. I do too, but I don't dislike the Keira version. She did a good job as Elizabeth. The main reason I prefer the A&E version is that it's just plain prettier. The dresses are prettier, the music is prettier, the houses are prettier, and everything in general is more elegant. In the Keira version, the ladies' hair always looks like it's falling out of place, the windows are dirty, the yards are muddy, and the dresses are a lot plainer. I'm sure it's meant to emphasize the way things "really" were back then, but I like to see everything look neat. So, this is another one of my favorite movies! Everyone should watch one or both of the two versions. Each is unique in their own way and both are good.

The Nativity

We watched this movie Sunday night. When it was on at the theater last Christmas we never got a chance to go see it, so we decided to rent it while it was available on cable. Some movies I've seen that were supposed to be based on the Bible took way too many liberties, but this was actually a good movie. It wasn't perfect, but it was good. Definitely worth seeing. The journey to Bethlehem really portrayed what it must have been like. I had never given it enough thought, but seeing Joseph struggle to lead Mary on the donkey up rocky trails until his feet were bleeding and how they had no shelter at night in the open plains, made me think about it. I liked it. Despite some flaws, but it was mostly accurate and a lot of dialogue came from Scripture. There is a much better review of it at http://www.pluggedinonline.com/movies/movies/a0002990.cfm.

A Great Movie

I love this movie. We rented it from the library this weekend, so I got to watch it again. It's not about the Civil War, as the title might lead you to believe. It's about the north and south of England -- a young woman who goes from living in a small, beautiful country town in the south to a manufacturing city in the north in the middle of the Industrial Revolution. I love the characters in the movie and the actors are great. I read the book by Elizabeth Gaskell after I saw the movie. In some ways the book was better, because you could understand the characters more completely, but in other ways, the movie was better. The book had a lot of discussion about the industrial progress of the age, the factories, etc, and while it was good to get the historical context, there was a little too much of that for my taste. It got a little boring. : ) Most of the book was very good, though. I recommend the book and really recommend the movie.