32nd Favorite Movie - The Empire Strikes Back

Make sure you have read the first post in this series ("My 50 Favorite Movies") before you read on...

The Star Wars series has had a big impact of my life as a kid as well as an adult. When I was little, I had the Darth Vader carrying case full of action figures. As an adult, I went to the midnight premiere of each of the last three movies, even sleeping in line overnight on the sidewalk in Westwood with Rob R before The Phantom Menace. But I must say, taken individually, The Empire Strikes Back is the only one of the six films to make my list. And since this is my list I can do whatever I want, so while back at #40 I included the entire Indiana Jones series as one film, here I just want to point out the merits of Empire. Here is why Empire stands out above the other Star Wars films:

A New Hope: too cheesy (special effects, dialogue, and story)

Return of the Jedi: too cutesy (ewoks)

Phantom Menace: too boring (all that talk about trade embargos and the Federation and the Senate... show me one 7 year old kid who can explain what is going on in this movie. I think that is partially why the last 3 did not catch on with this generation like the first 3 did. Also more options like Harry Potter and LOTR now)

Attack of the Clones: too nauseating (dialogue between Anakin and Natalie Portman)

Revenge of the Sith: too anti-heroic (who are you supposed to be rooting for in this movie?)

Empire is the best in the series and one of the best films ever made, in my opinion. For starters, it is just beautiful to behold. From the white plains of Hoth to the green swamps of the Dagobah system to the final light saber background against that blue-orange background... you can tell that there was a lot more money and technology available when they filmed this in 1980 compared to the first one in 1977.

And don't forget that this Star Wars film has:

*the first appearance of Yoda
*the immortal line, "Luke, I am your father"
*the carbon-freezing of Han Solo
*the first appearance of Bubba Fett, who became the coolest character ever who got less than 5 minutes of screen time
*the peak of the Han-Leia romance and banter

Here is how I would rank the films:

1. Empire
(drop off)
2. A New Hope
3. Revenge of the Sith
(drop off)
4. Return of the Jedi
5. Attack of the Clones
6. Phantom Menace

Anyways, it is a bit sad to me that this series is done. I wonder what my kids some day will think of these movies? I'm guessing probably the same thing I thought of Lone Ranger and Buck Rogers and other childhood heros from my parents' childhood: bo-ring.

How many people will this feed?

Danny and I had guests over for dinner on Saturday night. Looking at this picture, can you guess how many people we had over? If it helps you estimate, we also made three boxes of cous cous. Does it surprise you that we only had 4 guests? I counted, and we made 5 kebobs per person, and that wasn't even using all the meat and vegetables we bought. I have an issue with being paranoid that we won't have enough food for guests, and Danny is very patient to let me buy enough food for twice the people we invite. In my defense, the three boxes of cous cous was his idea. His favorite line is "I used to eat one box all by myself" and then I remind him that he probably ate nothing but cous cous.
Anyway, dinner turned out to be yummy and we had a great time with our friends from church. Danny and I always enjoy time with other adults when we get it!

34th and 33rd Favorite Movies - Good Will Hunting & Rounders

Make sure you have read the first post in this series ("My 50 Favorite Movies") before you read on...

Ok, so I was just about done writing this a minute ago when my finger hit the wrong key and somehow sent my browser back, and when I went forward again everything I had written was gone. Super frustrating. I guess now I know to click that "Save As Draft" button more often.

Last week was one of the few times I have missed a week in my movie countdown! The reason? I just didn't feel like blogging. Today I still don't feel like it much, but I know I gotta give the people what they want. Seriously, will all of you rabid fans please stop calling and flooding my account with emails? I think that I have reached that part in my list where I am getting sick of writing the articles each week... and I'm not even to the top 30 movies yet. But I am betting that my excitement level will pick up again once I get to the top 25 or so because those ones I REALLY care about.

Good Will Hunting brought instant fame and a lifetime of work in Hollywood for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. If you recall, they won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for writing it. Nobody had even heard of these two guys and they go and write and star in one of the best films of 1997. Pretty amazing. This one has some classic lines in it, among them: "how 'bout them apples?" "it's not your fault" "I had to go see about a girl" and Steve (Stew) B's favorite, "I'm telling you, you're suspect". I think this movie is one of Stew's favorites. Stew, if you're out there can you verify that?

Rounders, also starring Matt Damon, beats Good Will Hunting out by an Ace kicker in my book. How much you like this movie probably depends on how much you like poker, though. I have been getting more into it lately by playing online with play chips (I am quite proud of the 50K I have amassed at PartyPoker.net) and reading a book about the history of the World Series of Poker that Bethany bought me for Christmas. I truly believe that this movie is the biggest reason for the poker boom we have seen in the last few years. In 1998, the year the movie came out, 352 people paid the $10,ooo entry fee to the World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas. Last year, there were over 8,000 entries - mostly amateurs and internet players. While the rise of on-line gambling and better television coverage has certainly contributed to poker's rise in popularity, I believe that the almost daily airing of Rounders on channels such as TNT and USA cannot be overlooked.

In Rounders Matt Damon plays a law school student who is also really good at poker, which probably happens more than you realize. Ed Norton plays his buddy, Worm. This is definitely one of those "dude flicks", seeing as the romantic relationship is pretty much cast aside and there is a lot of card games and talk about loyalty and respect. Fun movie, even if I still don't completely understand what Teddy KGB's tell is (yeah, I know it has something to do with the Oreos, but what EXACTLY?).

And if you think a pastor who likes poker is funny, how about a professional poker player who is a Christian and not ashamed of either his faith or his occupation? Daniel Negreanu, aka "Kid Poker", says, "it's not gambling if you win". He is estimated to have won over $4 million playing in tournaments and is probably one of the top 10 poker players in the world. I started watching him on TV and it is unbelievable how the man can just tell what 2 cards other players have. I started reading his blog online and even sat through an episode of Rob and Amber because he appeared in it. I like this guy so much I had to add him to my list of "Heros" on Myspace!

See you next week. Uhg. What did I get myself into with this list? Now I know how Desmond must have felt pushing the button (that's a Lost reference... if you don't get it, I feel sorry for you. Go rent Seasons 1 & 2. NOW!)

Resurfacing

You know how dolphins breathe air but stay under water for a long time and then resurface to get breath before going under again? Well hello, I'm dolphin girl. I feel as though I've been doggie paddling to keep my head above water, and then every few weeks or so I get to come up for air. I don't mean to sound like life is rough -- it's full of good stuff, it's just FULL. My new job is keeping me really busy but I love it. I'm taking a class on World Religions this quarter as I pursue my MA degree, and that has been an amazing experience! Youth ministry is really busy, especially since we had a weekend retreat at the end of January. The retreat was a ton of fun, but it took me a few weeks to recover from the lack of sleep!
Here's a picture from the retreat. Our tradition is to go inner tubing at a snow park, and each year we do one last run with the entire group, all 40-ish of us. I'm the blue dot at the top left, and Danny is the yellow blob at the bottom left!


So that's been my life lately: work, classes, writing papers, and playing with teens. The paper I'm working on next is about Judaism so yesterday Danny and I visited a Jewish temple for their Sabbath service. It was really interesting and a lot of fun, although we really disappointed the rabbi after service when we told him we were Christians. I think he got excited for some fresh blood at the synagogue. It was a neat service and they do so many things I wish we did in church. They had junior high students involved in the service -- even leading the Scripture readings. I think in churches we often make the kids sit still and be quiet, but I wish we let them participate in worship more. Another thing I admire about Jews is the joy they have in worship. Jews know how to party, and for all the right reasons! They ended the service with bread and wine to remember to be thankful for our daily bread and to celebrate life.


Speaking of celebrate, congratulations to Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo for winning the quarterback challenge at the NFL Pro-Bowl. Yup, that means my boy Romo is the best quarterback in the NFL. Peyton Schmeyton.

So that's been life lately. This has been a bit of a random post, and there's not much ground-breaking news to share, but thanks for keeping up with us! Now it's back to reading and doing laundry!

35th Favorite Movie - Frailty

Make sure you have read the first post in this series ("My 50 Favorite Movies") before you read on...

This is one of those gems that most people have never even heard of, let alone seen. It is a "make-you-jump" horror film, a touching family drama, a thriller with plenty of twists, and one of my many "spiritually interesting" films. But let me warn you: the subject matter is pretty heavy.

Bill Paxton (you may know him as the "No way, man!" guy from Aliens or the star of the show Big Love) directed and plays the father of two young boys. Their life is pretty normal until one day he has a vision in which God tells him that he and his boys are to serve Him by hunting demons. The only problem is the demons look and talk and act like people.

This is one of those movies where the less you know going in, the better. But I can tell you this much:

1. Frailty provides a great lead-in to a discussion about the nature of visions. To what extent would you do whatever God said if he appeared to you in a vision? Can or should a person's faith be based entirely upon receiving a "vision"?

2. Frailty is made sort of in the style of a Hitchcock film... dark subject matter, suspenseful, but no on-camera gore or nudity and hardly any language. The R rating is due pretty much to its disturbing subject matter.

3. Matthew McConaughey is in it. I thought knowing that might get some of you ladies to check it out.

That's about it. This one will freak you out, mess with your head, and give you something to talk about afterwards.