What In Tarnation?!?!?

Every year Entertainment Weekly has their critics take a look at the past year and list their favorite and least favorite movies, books, momments in TV, music, etc. I have decided to take a look back at the year as well. This time I will look at movies.

1. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - I have been upfront about being a Harry Potter fan on this blog. The second movie only improves on the first. I really enjoyed the darker feeling of the movie.
2. Lord of the Rings: Two Towers - Unlike Harry Potter, I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the first, but it is still a wonderful movie. This is the first movie that has a CGI character that I like, Gollam rocks!
3. Spiderman - What a fun movie that does justice to the source material. The casting was some of the best of the year. I am looking forward to more Spiderman movies, I hope that they realize that with great power come great responsibility (I love that line.)
4. Ice Age - I finally got to see this animated flick just last week and boy and I glad I did. It had the heart of Monsters, Inc. and the humor of Shrek.
5. Signs - Shyamalan is back on top of his A game. This alien invasion movie had some good shocks in it, it’s just too bad the ending had to be so contrived.
6. We Were Soldiers - Here is Mel Gibson again. This look at the Vietnam War was interesting.
7. Panic Room - I really enjoyed the look and the tension of this film. Yes, I did like the camera that glided through the house.
8. Minority Report - Cruise + Spielberg + Sci-fi story = entertaining movie.
9. The Ring - I thought it was twisted and I enjoyed the twisted ending, sue me!
10. Two fun sequels: Die Another Day and Star Trek: Nemesis - I am a sucker for series.

Now a look at the worst:

1. Time Machine - And it has nothing to do with the second row seats that I had to endure to watch this insipid movie.
2. Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones - Well at least the parts that were supposed to be a love story. Yoda kicked butt though!
3. Men in Black II - If I had wanted to see Men in Black, I would have rented it.
4. The Scorpian King - The Rock needs to keep with wrestling.
5. Crossroads/A Walk to Remember - Didn’t see these movies but I know that I would hate them.

A list of movies that I have not seen that could change these lists:

• All About Schmidt
• Chicago
• The Bourne Identity
• Road to Predition
• Catch Me if You Can
• Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

You can pick my picks apart in the comments.

This review uses Inviso-text to hide any elements that might spoil the movie for those who have not seen it. Don’t view inviso-text unless you want to have story elements spoiled for you. To read invisio-text, simply highlight.

Star Trek Nemesis is the tenth movie in the Star Trek franchise and the fourth featuring the Next Generation crew. My hopes were high for this outing because both the director and screenwriter are new to the franchise; I was hoping that they would bring something new to series. In that respect I was a little disappointed.

However, for an additional outing for the characters that I love, this movie was pretty good for this Trekker.

The story centers around the political upheaval on Romulus. Those governing Romulus have all been killed and the government has been taken over by a human that has grown up on Remus, a neighboring planet whose inhabitants are a worker class, lower than Romulans. The “twist” that you keep hearing about is that the human is a clone of Captain Picard. (A twist that should not have been advertised, then it might have actually been a surprise.)

Some things that I liked about the Nemesis:

• The characters are moving on, in fact this movie marks the departure of several of the crew from the Enterprise E.
• The use of the Romulans, they have been underused in the movies.
• More action!
• The crew spends most of the movie on the Enterprise. Previous Next Gen movie haven’t done that.
• Several “wink” moments for Star Trek fans.

Some things that I didn’t really enjoy:

• I read in an interview with the screenwriter, John Logan (Gladiator), that he was paying homage to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, but [inviso-text on] Data’s final scenes copies just too much from Wrath of Kahn. As a result there was no surprise that Data was going to sacrifice himself to save the ship (just like Spock), and that B4 would be Data’s replacement (similar to Spock’s return from the dead), and that B4 would take awhile to access Data’s memories (like Spock’s retraining). [inviso-text off.] I think I actually groaned when I realized what the movie makers where doing.
• The final moments of the movie feel rushed through and therefore doesn’t really give the audience, especially fans of the show (remember we have been with the characters for twelve years, the casual watcher has been watching the movie for a few hours), any emotional closure. It was like saying, “Well its been nice working with you,” after twelve years of close service.

Star Trek movies, I’m sure are not easy to make. First, you have to make a movie that will please the core audience and Star Trek fans (like myself) but also be accessible to those who are not familiar with all the Star Trek mythos, two goals which are in opposition with each other. Secondly, you must make a movie out of a TV series that had an ensemble for its characters. In a TV series, one week one character can be emphasized and the next week, another. However, in a movie, everyone has to share screen time in a two hour period, there are always characters that get short changed. I think that the creators did a decent job with the challenges they had to overcome. I would have to say that Nemesis is probably my favorite Star Trek movie with the Next Generation Crew.

Entertainment Value: B

Worldview: There is lots of drinking in the wedding. The movie brings up some interesting discussion of cloning and what makes a person who they are.

Review of Lord of the Rings: Two Towers coming soon.

ScreenIt!: Star Trek Nemesis
Read the discussion at Christianity Today

Rated: PG-13

Whew, what a week this has been.

For starters, the kids have been totally crazy. Just off the wall. My normally sedate class was evidently kidknapped by aliens and replaced with this unruley crew, I want my polite (most of the time) class back. When a child gets in trouble they have to put their name on the Not Responsible list. That means 6 laps at recess, each check adds 6 laps, the third check (which I got to this week, first time this year) includes writing a letter to mom and dad explaining why they are trouble, a written plan to correct the behavior, and an all expense paid visit with the principal. It is not a fun time and all of this is done during recess, not to mention the 24 laps! That would scare me enough not to get in trouble.

There are three possible external reasons that I have come up with for this dramatic change in behavior:

1. Weather changes - Weather has been a bit unpredictable (well, when is it predictable?) here lately. Weather changes definately has an effect on children behavior. Double that effect when snow (or even worse, the possibility of snow) is thrown into the mix.

2. Christmas! Who can focus on multiplication when there are sugar plumbs dancing in their heads. To read a pretty accurate description of what happens to normal children durning this time of the year, please refer to the entry: Twas the Days Before Christmas.

3. Friday the 13th. I don’t know why, but kids are accutely aware of this day. I don’t know how many kids asked me if we could move our test over multiplying the perfect doubles to a different day simply because of the day.

Next week doesn’t promise to be any better:

1. See reason one above.

2. Reason two is even closer!!!!!

3. I think the full moon is next week. I know some of you are freaking out because I list this as a reason, but ask any teacher, health professional or law enforcement officer, wierd stuff happens around the full moon.

4. Related to reason 2: The Christmas party is on Friday!!!

5. Friday is a half day and then we are off until the 6th. Well at least the kids are, I have to come back the 3rd.

In other weekly news:

-Saw Anything Goes at the St. Louis Rep. Third time I saw it and this was the best of the three. A-

-Shopping with the youth. C- They too are affected by the craziness.

-Saw Star Trek Nemesis tonight! I am still digesting it but I hope to have a review up at the Screening Room soon. Initial reaction: Sweet!

‘Twas the days before Christmas,
And all through the school,
The teachers were trying
To just keep their cool.
The hallways were hung
With Christmas art.
(Some made in November
To get a head start!)

The children were bouncing
Off ceilings and walls,
And seemed to forget
How to walk in the halls.

When out of the teacher’s lounge
With “holiday shirts”
And “jingle bell jewels,”
The teachers looked festive
Enforcing the rules.

There came such a chatter,
The principal went in
To see what was the matter.

The teachers were hiding
And trying to refuel,
On coffe and cookies
And treats from the Yule.

When what to their ondering
Ears do they hear,
But the ringing of school bells
It’s the children they fear!

More rapid than reindeer
The little ones came,
And the teachers all shouted
And called them by name;

Walk Vincent! Walk Tanner!
Walk, Tyler and Sammy!
Sit Jamie! Sit Laura!
Sit, Tara and Tammy!

To your desks in the room!
To your spots in the line!
Now walk to them! Walk to them!
No running this time!

So straight to their places
The children all went.
With fear of detention
Where they all would be sent.

With manuals of lessons
Cradled in arms,
The teachers began
To use all their charms.

But the lessons presented
All fell on deaf ears.
The children were thinking
Of Santa’s reindeer.

With a toss of their hands
They put manuals aside,
Went straight to the cupboards
Where videos hide.

And laying their finger
On the TV remote
They sat back to write
Their last Christmas note.

But you could hear them exclaim
At the end of the day–
Have a wonderful, happy day and
L-O-O-O-O-O-NG Holiday!!!!

Class dismissed!

Workin’ in an Elementary School
(sung to “Winter Wonderland”)

Children scream, they’re not listen’
When they go, we’re not missin’ em’,
In all of this pain, we try to stay sane,
Workin’ in an elementary school.

Christmas comes, they’re excited,
Though our nerves they’ve ignited,
They’re off of the walls, they run in the halls,
Workin’ in an elementary school.

In the lunchroom we can hear them yellin’
And we know that they are realy wound.
Someone hits, the other says, “I’m tellin’!”
And that is when our heads begin to pound.

Pretty soon we’ll be restin’
Cause our nerves, they’ve been testin’
We’re happy it’s clear,
It just come once a year
Christmas in an Elementary School!!!

Class dismissed!

Maybe there will be snow here in Missouri tonight.

Tech info that Anna can skip over. Dean had a link to this wonderful tool for MovableType. This plug-in will look at my entries on my front page and automatically link any scripture references to an online Bible. I don’t have to link the myself!!!

Now let’s see if it really works:

John 3:16
____

Well I got that question that I have been dreading all year from one of my students. No, no THE QUESTION. The question that I have been hoping that I would have to deal with this year, but it popped up the other day. Guessed what it is yet? Brace yourself… “Is there a Santa Claus?” Actually it was phrased like this: “MR. WRIGHT!!!!!!! Jake says there’s no such thing as Santa Claus, and there is, isn’t there?” UGH! Usually I use one of the oldest tricks in the teacher’s handbook to handle this one, by throwing the question right back at them and making them responsible for the answer instead of me. (I love that trick.) So I replied back, “What do you think, is there a Santa Claus?”

“Well YES!!!”

“Alright then, don’t listen to Jake.”

Basically, the student heard, “Yes, there is a Santa Claus.”

*sigh*
____

In the city of Chicago, one cold, dark night, a blizzard was setting in.
A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner. The people were in and
out of the cold. The little boy was so cold that he wasn’t trying to sell many papers.

He walked up to a policeman and said, “Mister, you wouldn’t happen to
know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep tonight would you? You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and down the alley and it’s awful cold in there for tonight. Sure would be nice to have a warm place
to stay.”

The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, “You go down the street to that big white house and you knock on the door. When they come out the door you just say John 3:16, and they will let you in.” So he did. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door, and a lady answered.

He looked up and said, “John 3:16.”

The lady said, “Come on in son.” She took him in and she sat him down in
a split bottom rocker in front of a great big old fireplace, and she went off.

The boy sat there for a while and thought to himself: John 3:16…….I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm.

Later, she came back and asked him, “Are you hungry?”

He said, “Well, just a little. I haven’t eaten in a couple of days and I guess I could stand a little bit of food.”

The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn’t eat any more. Then he thought to himself : John 3:16….. boy, I sure don’t understand it but it sure makes a hungry boy full.

She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bathtub filled with warm water, and he sat there and soaked for a while. As he soaked, he thought to himself:
John 3:16….. I sure don’t understand it but it sure does make a dirty boy clean.

You know, I’ve not had a real bath in my whole life. The only bath I ever had was when I stood in front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out.

The lady came in and got him. She took him to a room, tucked him into a big old feather bed, pulled the covers up around his neck, kissed him goodnight and turned out the lights. As he lay in the darkness and looked out the window, at the snow coming down on that cold night, he thought to himself: John 3:16…. I don’t understand it but it sure makes a tired boy rested.

The next morning, the lady came back up and took him down again to that same table full of food. After he ate, she took him down again to that same
big old split bottom rocker in front of the fireplace and picked up a big old Bible. She sat down in front of him and looked into his young face.

“Do you understand John 3:16?” she asked gently.

He replied, “No ma’am, I don’t. The first time I ever heard it was last night when the policeman told me to use it.”

She opened the Bible to John 3:16 and began to explain to him about Jesus. Right there, in front of that big old fireplace, he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there and thought: John 3:16. I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe.

You know, I have to confess I don’t understand it either, how God was willing
to send His Son to die for me, and how Jesus would agree to do such a thing.

I don’t understand the agony of the Father and every angel in Heaven as they watched Jesus suffer and die. I don’t understand the intense love for ME that kept Jesus on the cross till the end. I don’t understand it, but it sure does make life worth living.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotton Son, that whosever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

If you aren’t ashamed to do this, please follow the directions. Jesus
said, “If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Father.”

I got this as an e-mail forward today. The reason that I am posting it is this story was made into a play that the kids at my church did some time back and I played a pastor who answered the door to the child seeking John 3:16.

Good memories…

If you want to know more about John 3:16 click here.

Class dismissed!