At the Movies: Music & Lyrics

If cinemas go the way of drive-ins, Bobby and I will share in the culpability. We rarely go out to see a movie. A film has to have really good buzz or cinematography that demands a big scope before you’ll find us sitting before the silver screen.

If the actors are tried and true favorites, we’ll just buy the movie when it comes out on DVD. If it has potential but there’s still some doubt about its multiple-viewing worthiness, we’ll just rent it.

We have a pretty large DVD library. For us, the decision to buy or not to buy is multifaceted. There are the rare DVDs for which we are willing to pay the full $20. However, most of the new releases we purchase are the $14 ones we pick up on Tuesdays (the weekday movies are always released) at Wal-Mart.

A good portion of the movies we own, we didn’t buy when they were first released. They have to hit the $9.99, $7.50 or even $5 displays before we plunk down our hard-earned greenbacks for them. Thanks to a sale at Best Buy, Music & Lyrics recently fit in the $7.50 category.

We usually like Hugh Grant and his costar in this film, Drew Barrymore, has made some cute movies, but neither of them were enough to completely sell us on a film. We had originally rented this just because it sounded sweet. And sweet it was.

A friend of mine wrote about it while it was still being shown in theaters. [Here’s her take on it.] The two main characters are winsome, the dialogue is witty and the music is good. It’s a trip down memory lane for people in their 30s and 40s who remember when there was “U2 and Blondie and music still on MTV”. I dare you to watch it and not hum “Pop, goes my heart” or “Way back into love” for days afterwards.

[Do you recognize the "other guy" in Pop? He's currently one of the stars of a hit TV show.]

The Secret of Sequel Success

There’s a 1996 movie called Multiplicity where a man whose life is out-of-control busy decides to clone himself to get everything done. The problem is each clone is of continuing lesser quality than the preceding one.

That’s usually the case with sequels: Start with a good idea and then water it down into a bad movie. I loved the first Matrix, but the second and third installments were disappointments. I loved the original Pirates of the Caribbean and even liked the second installment, but the third wasn’t so hot.

However, there are success stories. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is wonderful. The Bourne trilogy left me hoping they make a fourth! And then there’s the Oceans’s 11 sequels. The first was great, the second blah, but thankfully the third came full circle with another fun movie.

So how does one sequel succeed while others fail? It’s all in the formula. When movies stick to the original formula, you’ll have success. Deviate from the formula, flop city. The Ocean’s movies are a good example. The first and third movies were breezy, fun flicks with lots of inside jokes and old movie references. The second installment tried to inject a serious subplot. Kiss of death – they tried to add an ingredient to a recipe that was fine as it was!

We recently saw National Treasure 2. It is just about as much fun as the original. The writers kept the basic plot and just changed locales and it worked.

[Warning: Minor spoilers ahead] When the movie opens and Ben and Abigail are broken up, red flags went up. “Oh no!” I thought. “They’re changing things!” But my fears were groundless. Ben and Abigail’s breakup just helped to recreate the playful tension present between the two characters in the original. And Riley was still comic relief.

This is where Pirates messed up. Will and Elizabeth are the central lovers, Capt. Jack is the comic relief (even if he is a hero in his own right). The sequels muddied the water in the second and didn’t clear it up properly in the third. Mess with the formula and you get uneven results.

The lesson: If it ain't broke, don’t fix it!

Which brings us to another upcoming sequel which has me a little nervous. I loved the Mummy movies. The first and second did a marvelous job of sticking to the formula and both were fun films. The upcoming third is changing things. Rachel Weisz, Oscar firmly in hand, declined the third installment. Then the writers changed locales and in doing so they have omitted two of the main characters from the old movies – heroic friend Ardeth Bay and archnemesis Imhotep. This gives me pause. Replacing an ingredient (Rachel Weisz) was challenge enough, but omitting two others as well could ruin the meal!

Maybe as the Writer’s Strike continues, these insights will occur to the idled scriptwriters and we’ll get more successful sequels in the future!

Sears: Epilogue

Seems my voodoo pins are working! An AP story today says:

CHICAGO (AP) — Sears Holdings Corp. told investors Monday that it would likely post fourth-quarter earnings well below Wall Street forecasts as eroding sales push its profit down as much as 57 percent. The retailer said it expects to earn between $350 million and $470 million, or $2.59 to $3.48 per share, for the quarter ending Feb. 2 — far less than the $4.43 per share sought by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Sears earned $820 million in the fourth quarter a year earlier. [Entire story here.]

Don't mind me, I'm just sitting here gloating.

Sears Saga: Conclusion

Thanks for all the concern about my culinary impairment!

A new oven is in place. My opinion of Sears is still extremely poor. I told the local store General Manager even an "I'm sorry" would have gone a long way in easing tensions and she said, 'Well, realistically you're not going to get that.' 'Nuff said.

I put a protest on my account and had what little finance charges that had been applied credited back. I will be closing my account this week.

Sears dodged a bullet. As those of you who know me can attest, normally I would have fought the former Wishbook company tooth and nail until they begged for mercy!! With everything else going on right now, I just don't have the energy to mount the fight. They will simply lose a 25+ year account and get a whole lot of bad word-of-mouth publicity from this disgruntled customer.

I do take comfort with the rather dismal stock market reports regarding Sears. In November, the company said its third-quarter profit shrank 99 % because of declining sales and weak margins at its Sears and Kmart stores. This past Friday (01/04/08), Sears closed down 5 points to $104 which was within a few points of a two-year low and down considerably from the 2007 high of $191. Slumping sales at Sears and K-Mart aren’t helping their bottom line or 2008 forecasts. According to Yahoo! Finance, Sears Holdings has a current Overall Rating of F (Lowest Rating).

So, I'll let the free market handle Sears.

Well, actually I may stick voodoo pins into their sales circulars (until my pastor husband catches me, that is!!)

Not Just Another New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve usually finds Bobby and me surrounded by friends. We enjoy each other's company, laugh, enjoy some adult beverages and usually, at some point in the evening, sing. This continues until 11:45 when the television is turned on and we keep tradition alive by watching Dick Clark's countdown while a crystal ball descends in New York City.

This year we again watched Mr. Clark do his 10-9-8. . . bit, but we only shared it with my Mom and only after a visit to the hospital. Bobby's Mom is in ICU. Thankfully, we have the hope of bringing her home in a few days. Other familes in that part of the hospital don't have that hope. They didn't celebrate on 12/31/07.

On New Year's Eve 2007, there was another group of people not out at parties. My Mom-in-law was being attended by some wonderful, caring nurses. There were doctors on duty, night guards at their desk and myriad other people that I have never thought about or needed before who were working and serving as a New Year approached.

This year I resolved to never again take for granted a New Year's Eve of frivolity. I also resolve to remember and be grateful for those who work and serve as one year passes and another begins.

Harry Potter - Volume 8?

Attention all my fellow Harry Potter fans!

J. K. Rowlings has given us a glimmer of hope that we may one day get to renew our friendship with the Hogwarts gang. Read about it here.

Sears Nightmare Continues

When last I spoke with a Sears representative, I was assured my problem was being addressed and I would have a new oven delivered on Christmas Eve.

Surprise, surprise - the local store has no record of any such delivery order. Calls to delivery central show there are no records whatsoever of a delivery order for me.

Sears lied. Again. Not only was I without an oven for the Christmas holiday, but I will also be without an oven into the New Year.

Locally, the salespeople have gone above and beyond to try to assist me. Under their breath, they whisper my experience is rather typical. I called the credit card line to put a protest on my account and a statement that I would not be paying another red cent until this situation was resolved. THAT customer service rep said, "I wish I could tell you this experience is unusual, but it's not."

I called the local store general manager and supposedly a new stove is to be delivered this coming week. I'll believe it when I see it.

Shop at Sears at your own risk.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington is one of my favorite actors. Not only is he handsome and charming, but he selects roles with meaning. I appreciate his professional body of work, but it was upon learning more about him as a man that his status as one of my favorites became set in stone.

I recently saw him on an episode of Oprah discussing their joint collaboration for the movie, The Great Debaters. As he talked, but more as the young stars talked about him, I was again reminded why I have such as high view of this thespian. The young stars quoted “Denzel-isms” such as, “Do what you have to do so you can do what you want to do.” Their affection and respect for him came through loud and clear.

This week, I came across an interview with him on Beliefnet.com that again affirmed my affection for the star. Read it here.

And, since it’s the Christmas season, catch him in The Preacher’s Wife for a fun holiday movie.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas - Sears Style

I had originally planned to make this entry a Night Before Christmas spoof, but levity is not the order of the day currently.

In October, I purchased a brand new 2008 Kenmore confection oven. This wonderful thing had three racks! I was so looking forward to my Christmas baking. Then last Sunday morning, I tried to preheat my oven for a breakfast casserole and . . .nothing happened. I pulled out my manual, tried all the troubleshooting tips . . . nothing. The week before Christmas and my brand new 2008 oven had died.

A call to the national Sears helpline brought the news that the soonest a repair person could be out was New Year’s Eve! So much for Christmas Dinner, much less any baking. Undeterred, I called Sears at Fayette Mall where I had purchased my oven and a wonderful gentleman I know only as “Abe” took up my cause. Within an hour, I received a call from Sears’ customer service. From “Mabel”. [Cue Grinch theme.]

Mabel said a repairperson would be out if possible on 12/19/07. I told her that was a concern as well because if the repair was not easily fixable, I'm still looking at being without an oven on Christmas. I reminded her their policy was replacement within 90 days. I was told I would have to pay a 15% restocking fee. I would have to PAY to have their policy enacted. Further, when I expressed concern that this threw a wrench into my Christmas plans, she said, "Ma'am Christmas isn't until next week." I told her I was well aware of when Christmas was and I didn't appreciate the condescension. While Christmas may be next week, Christmas baking occurs this week! To add further insult, when I thanked her and said I was going to pursue it with the local store and hung up, I picked the receiver back up and discovered she hadn't hung up and REFUSED to hang up until she gave me Sears' Make A Wish sales pitch. I said, "Are you kidding me? After all this do you think I'm interested in further participation with Sears?" She said, "I'm not hanging up until I finish." She actually held my phone hostage! It was SURREAL.

Now, more angry than disappointed, I again call the chivalrous Abe who got his department manager, “Scott” involved. Finally a most apologetic man named “Albert” called and said a brand, spanking new oven is to be delivered and installed on Christmas Eve.

Word to the wise, Sears shoppers.

A Catalog Christmas

I've become a fan of Internet and mail order shopping. While others spend Thanksgiving evening scouring the sales circulars and setting their alarms to hit the road early on "Black Friday", I can kick back and watch football, go to a movie or warm up some turkey and stuffing for an evening snack gleeful in the knowledge that the following week with a few clicks on my trusty mouse, I will have purchased a good portion of my gifts in a matter of minutes on the Monday after Thanksgiving - Cyber Monday.

Starting in September, my mailbox is flooded with mail order catalogs. I have my favorites I carefully peruse (Signals for one). However since magazines sell/share mailing lists, I'll received dozens of others which will quickly be tossed in the garbage. I was all set to toss one of these when the phone rang. As I talked to the caller, I absentmindedly flip through the pages of a doomed NorthStyle catalog.

Then it happened. An item caught my eye. A little more than I wanted to spend on a knick-knack, but I liked it. More than that - I wanted it, perhaps because it reminded me of my beloved Yellowstone. This past weekend, my newest Christmas decoration was delivered:



For some reason, this just makes me giggle with delight!

The Golden Compass Bombs

The Golden Compass, a movie based on a series of anti-Christian novels, is bombing at the box office. That's great news! While the movie has been sanitized of the anti-Christian dogma of militant atheist Phillip Pullman’s novels, the concern for many Christian groups is that the movie will inspire kids to want to read the books. Pullman acknowledged to the Sydney Morning News in 2003 his novels were “about killing God.” He wanted his series to become the anti-Narnia, the anti-Lord of the Ring.

In the Golden Compass, the church is the ground zero for evil and the heroine’s parents are the villains. Surprisingly for a movie based on books by an atheist, the film has included a lot of spirituality - of the occult variety. The movie’s web site (and future marketing efforts in toys, etc.) push the occult. Kids can discover their personal daemon (pronounced “demon”), an animal embodiment of their soul outside their body. Mystic accoutrements abound.

The advertisers for Golden Compass were hoping to tap into the Narnia/Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter audience. No such luck and the $200 million dollar Nicole Kidman film is going down in flames. How appropriate!

Grandmothers are Getting Younger

I no longer feel badly about being immediately recognized as "grandmother material" on a recent trip to Hobby Lobby. Seems grandmother material can be under 30 these days. Here's a grandmother at 29!

Boo on The Bachelor

I don’t watch the Bachelor. I hate the show. No, really, I HATE the show. However, I caught the “After the rose. . .” segment Tuesday night. Ugh.

This is some kind of chauvinistic fantasy world. Here’s this guy presented with a 25-member harem. All these women basically parading around marketing themselves to this guy, “Pick me, pick me.” How exactly is this different from a bordello? [After all, later on in the season they have the “spend the night” date.]

After the Final Rose. . . a show where women come back to face the guy who dumped them so he can dump them again!

Ladies! Where is your pride? Where is your self worth?

What’s this “Pick me” garbage? I remember the Grey’s Anatomy episode where Meredith pleads with Derek to “Pick me. Love me.”

What happened to “Deserve me. Prove you rate me.”

That’s not arrogance. That’s self respect. And frankly, to this middle-aged married woman, that’s a commodity of which my younger sisters are in desperate need!

Harry, Heroes and HIS-story

One of the perks of being married to a minister is that you get lots of impromptu Bible studies. Our dinner table conversations often center on Scripture. What makes these conversations even more interesting is that my hubby Bobby is so very strong in the Old Testament and Biblical symbolism.

As a couple (and at church) we have read books on the Bible from a literary perspective. One of my favorites is A House For My Name by Peter Leithart. We can affirm what my childhood pastor taught as the "Three I’s" (inerrant, infallible, inspired) but also recognize that God works through means. In selecting writers, God selected their specific personalities and perspectives which would shape how the inspired Word would be written. Likewise, the various authors of Scripture used literary structures to convey their messages (acrostic poems, chiasms, etc.).

The more I study Scripture from a literary perspective, the more convinced I become that there are no original stories – all storytelling is in actuality a retelling of The Story.

Like Scripture, so many of our favorite fairytales and romance movies end in a wedding (or the lead up to the wedding). As Leithart has pointed out, Sleeping Beauty is a picture of the Gospel: The prince slays the dragon to rescue his princess as Christ slayed the dragon (serpent) and rescued his princess/bride (the Church). This is found throughout cinematic history.

My hubby and I watched an interview with J.K. Rowlings of Harry Potter fame and she said she was reticent to discuss her faith until after the series concluded. This was as the final book was being released and people were speculating about who would live and who would die. Bobby, having never read the books, said with complete confidence, “Well obvious Harry will die and resurrect. He has to. He’s the chosen child, the Chosen One.” Obviously.

I’m a fan of the television series, Heroes. During the November 5th episode of Heroes, I had an epiphany. It was during an exchange between Angela Petrelli and Peter when she tells him that he was the most powerful of all of the heroes. In the comic strips, a light bulb would have appeared over my head at that moment! Of course. Obviously. Peter is the series’ messiah. And Sylar is the antichrist.

Peter is the second son (like Jesus can be seen as the second Adam). He is responsible for the redemption of the 1st son, Nathan. He is the most powerful. He absorbs powers in a positive fashion. Sylar isn’t a Hero. He’s a wannabe. He’s a fake. He takes powers in a negative fashion as a destroyer. Ultimately, the battle will be between Sylar and Peter.

I’m not going to look for symbolism beyond that at this point. However, Heroes is written as a comic strip/graphic novel. That genre has a history of biblical themes, intentional or not (Superman, anyone?). I haven’t read interviews with the creators/writers of Heroes, so I don’t know their worldviews and expecting a consistent parallel with Scripture from a secular source is silly. But I’m looking forward to Heroes more than ever now.

Halloween

One of these days, I'm gonna throw a Halloween Party. Not a Harvest Party. Not a Fall Celebration Party. A Halloween Party. I will ask that my guests dress up as devils in red suits, witches with warts, any of the traditional costumes. All the things my childhood church would have frowned on!

Why the rebellion? Because we are letting the New Agers and pagans take away OUR holiday - All Hallow's Eve or Halloween. (November 1st is All Hallow's Day or All Saints Day). There were Christian reasons for the costumes once upon a time. For a good article on this, go here.

Of course, today much of the Christian origins are lost. Little girls are opting for tramp wear instead of angel wings. But, we can recover it. I'm convinced of that. And one day, I'm gonna throw a Halloween Party!

At the Movies: Disturbia

I loved Disturbia! I was a little reluctant to rent it fearing its target audience would be teens and twenties and thus “too young” for us to enjoy. Wrong! It is a teen comedy movie, but it’s also a boy meets girl movie and a buddy movie. A loose remake of Hitchcock’s Rear Window, it’s one of the most suspenseful films I’ve seen in a long time.

Shia LaBeouf plays Kale Brecht a smart young man who has withdrawn into a world of anger and grief following a tragic accident. A teacher pushes the wrong button and Kale slugs him and thus earning house imprisonment. Limited to his home and a 100-yard radius outside, boredom pushes Kale into the role of a voyeur. He fills his days spying on the neighbors, one of whom may just be a murderer.

Throw in beautiful new neighbor Ashley, best friend Ronnie (scene stealer Aaron Yoo), a domesticated Trinity as mom (the Matrix’s Carrie Ann Moss) and a brooding and menacing neighbor (David Morse) and you have the ingredients necessary to keep you laughing and biting your nails for a wonderful 104 minute thrill ride.

While Jimmy Stewart was limited to a long-range zoom camera, our young sleuths live in the 21st century and avail themselves of technology and the Internet. (There’s blatant product placement throughout the movie, but it doesn’t get in the way of the storytelling.)

Shia LaBeouf is outstanding. I had a hard time believing this was the prankster from Even Stevens. He actually made me forget I was watching an actor – I just saw Kale.

Disturbia proves that old-time thrillers can still be made, that gore isn’t necessary and the PG-13 rating isn’t at all as limiting as R-rated directors want to insist.

[For a parents’ guide to Disturbia go here.]

Best Spaghetti Sauce - EVER

A friend of mine posted this recipe back in the summer as "the best-tasting spaghetti sauce." After having the pleasure of tasting it - she's right!! Here's the recipe. She has other recipes on her site that you might be interested in (she's a good cook!).

Skunked

When driving home at night, I’m going slower than I usually do. Living out in the country, I know at any time some critter can pop up out of the brush and onto the road in front of you. So the other night, I wasn’t surprised to round a curve and see a skunk in the middle of the road in front of me.

The little fur ball was in no hurry to get out of my way, so I honked my horn. The skunk bared its teeth and sprayed! Thankfully, I was out of range. He was still in the road, so I revved my engine. He walked a little further, snarled and sprayed again.

We repeated this process twice more and by this time, I’m irritated! “You little silly thing! I’m trying to protect you. You’ll get hit if you stay on the road,” I grumbled from behind the wheel.

Then it hit me. The Lord had just given me an object lesson. How many times do I growl and snarl when my plans are thwarted? I’m sure the Lord looks at me and marvels, “You little silly thing! I’m trying to protect you.”

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Is This For Your Granddaughter?

It's amazing the damage five little words can do. There I was minding my own business at Hobby Lobby. I had picked up a cute little "Baby's first Christmas" ornament to send to a dear friend. I was full of warm fuzzies thinking about Elaine and Ella Rose. That's when the attack occurred.

The cashier picked up the ornament and said the appropriate, "Oh, how cute!" Then she stabbed five dagggers into my heart:

"Is this for your granddaughter?"

Immediately the girl knew she had stepped into a mine field! Perhaps it was the color draining from my face. Perhaps it was the sharp intake of breath I had upon hearing the vile question. But really I think it was the blood spurting from my wounded ego that began to pool on the floor at my feet that gave it away!!

Is this for your GRANDDAUGHTER?!!!!

I've never lied about my age. (I'm 45.) I've never evaded questions about my age. And, truth be told, it is completely within the realm of possibility for me to be a grandmother.

BUT. . .

I don't want some cashier at Hobby Lobby confirming that fact!

Aarrgh.

If I Could Turn Back Time. . .

I returned from a brief visit to Gatlinburg to find a friend had tagged me for a Table Topic: “If you could relive a time or event in your life, what would you choose?” Since Rosie listed five, I took that as a precedent and have listed my five times/events I would love to relive:

#5 Summers on my grandfather’s porch listening to family and family friends spin yarns and tell tall tales. I’d love to hear those stories again and ask the questions as a child I so wish I would have asked now that I no longer can.

#4 (tie) A late spring afternoon sitting with Bobby at the back of the Jefferson Memorial. Looking out at the spring blooms and the coral, lavender and pink tinged clouds as the sun set while we shared our hopes and dreams.

Late one early spring evening in Gatlinburg, Bobby and I are sitting around the fountain in The Village after the shops had closed and other visitors had gone to their hotel rooms and we are once again sharing our hopes, dreams, fears, desires and plans.

#3 On our honeymoon, Bobby and I had the wonderful opportunity of touring Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany. As a little boy, Bobby had seen a photo of this castle and couldn’t believe it was an actual place! As a teenager, he had traveled with his family to Germany and hoped to visit the castle only to arrive as the gates were closing. This was a crushing disappointment, but years later it made sense. The Lord had planned for Bobby and his new bride to experience the fairytale castle together. I was so thrilled for him, thrilled to witness the fulfillment of one of his dreams, and then it happened. I fell in love with the place too. Now we refer to it as “our castle.”
#2 My wedding day. I know it’s corny, but there you go. I enjoyed my wedding. The ceremony was God-centered, not us-centered which is what we wanted. We had a church-shaped wedding cake because the Church was such a part of us as a couple. The songs all had such meaning for us. One special song, My Tribute, was played during the prelude: “How can I say thanks for the things You have done for me? Things so undeserved, yet you give to prove Your love for me. . .all that I am or ever hope to be, I owe it all to Thee.” As we went to dinner that evening at the Brown Hotel, we passed a conference room and a soloist was singing that song. It was like a hug from God.

#1 Time with my Dad. Dancing with him. Listening to him singing or imitating someone or telling a story. Telling him I love him one more time.