Upcoming Movies (Winter 08)

Last year around this time I listed some movies coming out in the winter season that I though were going to be interesting. As it turned out, I only saw two out of the six and only liked one of those (No Country For Old Men). So we will see this year if my forecast turns out better. So here is a list of movies that will be on my radar in the next few months:
(if you want more info on any of the movies listed below, just click the title of the movie and it will take you to the rotten tomatoes site)

Nov 12th
Slumdog Millionaire
Laura and I missed a free screening of this movie by about 10 minutes but I still would like to go and see it. One of the most interesting premises I have come across in a while and apparently it was well executed as it is getting great reviews.


Dec 19th
The Tale of Despereaux
It didn’t immediately stand out as a movie I needed to see but Laura thinks it has a lot of promise and on second glance I agree. Looks like a fun adventure story and looks to have a good premise and good visuals.

Dec 25th
The Spirit
Though I wasn’t overly impressed with 300, I think that Frank Millar has carved himself out a nice niche in the movie world, especially for a comic book writer. His latest offering looks promising, aided by the fact that it is based off of the work of comic’s legend Will Eisner.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
An interesting premise and the often under rated Brad Pitt should combine into a great movie.

Jan 16th
The Wrestler
Admittedly if I had just seen the trailer to this movie without any idea who the director was, I would have dismissed it. But it just so happens to be directed by Darren Aronofsky, who is one favorite directors (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, and the Fountain). So at the very least I can expect a movie that tells a story in a decidedly non Hollywood fashion. Though I am expecting something closer to extraordinary.

Mar 6th
Watchmen
As a fan of the comic of the same name by Alan Moore, I am definitely anticipating the film version come March. It looks to be extremely faithful to the comic (especially considering that Moore has distanced himself from any film adaptations of his work).

Praying for Augustine’s Conversion

If Augustine was right in suggesting that God created and is thus outside of time; can I pray for his conversion to Christianity in the same light as I pray for the conversion of Richard Dawkins? Meaning can I intercede for “past” events?



I asked this question to the group eating brunch at our house after church on Sunday. From that discussion (of which there were a variety of opinions) I came up with a range of consistent options that differ in how they view prayer* but keep the original proposition that the past and future the same:

A-If we view prayer as having no influence on God’s Will then we shouldn’t pray to change things in either the future or the past, but rather to see and be apart of God’s will no matter what happens or has happened.

B-If we view prayer as voicing our desires to God (the way in which we would like things to be, knowing that they might not correspond to God’s will due to our limited perspective); then we could voice desires for both the past and the future (no matter what the actual outcome of the past actually is).

C-If we view prayer as having the ability to change the outcome of things; then we pray for both past and future outcomes, but when praying for the past we pray for the way things actually happened (believing that we shaped the past just as we shaped the future).

I actually find a well rounded view of prayer through a combination of the above. “A” keeps us in perspective with God’s will, “B” deepens our relationship with God by strengthening our honesty with Him, and “C” lets us embrace our limited perspective and lets us pray with power and conviction concerning events (accordingly I think past prayers for C don’t work as well unless you slip into 4th dimensional thinking often).

Any thoughts or Scripture references that would support or correct the above train of thought?


*Note that I am just talking about the supplication part of prayer. Thanksgiving, adoration, and repentance are other important aspects of prayer not discussed here.

Christian Rights

Demand vs. Petition

I get uneasy anytime the church (individually or corporately) demands her rights, as if she had authority to demand anything for herself. However, I don’t see any problem in asking for them, pursuing them through appropriate channels, or being very grateful when they are given.

TMNT

As I mentioned in my Halloween post, one of the reasons I enjoy the holiday is that we don’t get off work for it. Meaning that work that day is very relaxed, everyone is in a lighter mood, and I get to work with the ninja turtles. I snapped this picture from my desk last Friday:

Here is a better picture of them:

Art and Theology

Over at Theology forum they are having a week long discussion on the artist Edward Knippers. I personally am really digging both his art and his theology of art.


More of Kippers art here: http://www.edknippers.com/

Halloween

I enjoy the holiday of Halloween (or Reformation day or Fall Celebration Day or whatever you what to call it). I enjoy the laid back atmosphere at work, the festivities, the candy, the slightly morbid atmosphere; but most of all I enjoy the creative traditions of making costumes and carving jack o’ lanterns. So first to the carved pumpkins:

Silhouetted Raven carved by Laura

Crazy Old Face carved by myself

Now my costume this year was a cardboard robot superhero type guy. It started with the claw and sort of snowballed from there. The final product included a working claw, a twin rubber band gun, and a helmet/breastplate. It definitely got some looks. Laura did the quick but beautiful medieval maiden.