You Gotta See This!

Top 5 Movies I’ve seen in recent months (or the reason I don’t post on my blog as much as I used to):

1) The Dark Knight

Easily the best of the superhero movies – unless you count Unbreakable as a superhero movie. Heath Ledger is phenomenal – as all the hype suggests – but Aaron Eckhart needs some props, too. In fact, I would say Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two Face is the tragic star of the movie. A very fun movie.

2) Lars and the Real Girl

Ryan Gosling has got to be one of the best young actors in the biz. I’ve enjoyed all of his movies, which mostly include smaller films like this one. Here’s the premise: Lars (Gosling) is a delusional and extremely shy young man who can’t even handle eating a meal with with his own brother and sister-in-law. All this changes when Lars buys a sex doll, falls in love with her, and presents her to everyone as his real girlfriend (who happens to be a foreign missionary who is wheel-chair bound). This sounds worse than it really is. Lars is a moral and God-fearing man who asks his family to let “Bianca” sleep at their house, so as not to tarnish her reputation. When Lars’ psychiatrist (the always excellent Patricia Clarkson) insists that this is Lars’ way of dealing with his issues and that playing along will actually help him, his family recruits the rest of the small town to play along. This movie portrays community as well as any film I’ve ever seen. The whole town (starting with the church) works together to help Lars –  even to their own embarrassment and discomfort. I highly recommend Lars and the Real Girl, and as there is nothing objectional, it is fine for the family and is an excellent example of Christian love in practice (although you may have to explain what “Bianca” is, so use your own discretion).

3) Bella

This movie was promoted as a “Christian” movie along the same lines as Facing the Giants and End of the Spear…. which is why it took so long for me to watch it. In fact, the previews on the dvd were so cheesy that I almost gave up before I started. I’m glad I didn’t. Bella is a perfect example of what a truly independent film looks like. It was well written, well acted, and well filmed. It portrayed real Christianity without being heavy-handed. This was a very sweet movie that is well worth your time… but be careful guys, you may just shed a tear or two!

4) Get Smart

I’m not the kind of guy that likes stupid comedies. Sure, I’ll watch them with the guys, but I hardly ever watch them for my own entertainment. This is not a stupid comedy. This movie had legitimate laughs and never stooped down into the bathroom humor department. Part of the reason was that the main character – played by Steve Carell – was not a bumbling idiot, like many other comedys (see Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, etc). This could have easily been another Naked Gun, but it turned out to be more like a real James Bond flick with some serious belly laughs. In fact, some of the action was amazing. I think Carell is the funniest guy out there today, and he proves it in this movie. And anytime you let Alan Arkin loose, its going to be a good time.

5) Sideways

This film was a sleeper hit a few years ago. It was also an independent film that was well done on every front – although it is not as family friendly as Bella. I believe it was this movie that catapulted Paul Giamatti into the spot light and he well deserved it. He is a phenomenal actor and the other three main characters did an excellent job as well. This movie had the right mix of humor, bitterness, sadness, and intelligence… hey, just like real life. Some of the scenes were just out-right, laugh till your stomach hurts, funny and worth the rental alone… you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it. Be aware, though – this movie is rated R and contains some adult themes and language.

There’s a method to our modeness….

When I was in Bible College, I took a class on pastoral leadership. It covered everything from counseling to weddings to funerals. One of the topics we covered was baptism – not the doctrine, but the “how to.” In fact, one day we took a trip to the school pool for baptism practice. Being a proper Southern Baptist school, we would be practising immersion. Unfortunately, it was mid Februrary – in Kentucky – so it was much too cold to practice in the pool. Fortunately, though, there was a hot tub. So we all got in our swim trunks and commenced to baptizing. In a class of about 20 guys, it would seem that the best plan of action would be to pair up, with each team practising on each other when their turn came up. Nope. My professor had the bright idea that if everyone was able to immerse the biggest guy in the class, then they should be able to immerse everyone. That big guy was me. So for the next hour I was immersed into a hot tub about 50-60 times. Why so many? Well, when a 5′5″ 125 lb. guy has to immerse a 6′4″ 270 lb. guy, sometimes it takes a few (see 10 – 12) times. Which got me thinking….

If immersion is the proper mode of baptism, does being a weakling disqualify you from the ministry? Should ordination require some sort of fitness program? Maybe every church should require at least one staff member of significant strength… just in case. And what about the baptizee? What if Shaquille O’Neal became a baptist? I guess you could rig some sort of pulley system. And what if your in an area that doesn’t have an indoor baptismal? What about all the years leading up to the invention of the indoor baptismal? Is this why there are more Southern Baptists than Northern Baptists. Let’s face it… if I got saved 80 years ago in rural Minnesota, mid- January, I’m seriously considering Lutheran over Baptist. Of course, this leads us to more serious considerations: what about the disabled, the sickly, the elderly, the babies (oh, wait, nevermind)…

For the record, hot tubs are not meant for immersion… they’re not pools. They’re also not meant for strenuous activity… this is why there are not olympic sized hot tubs. So, needless to say, I was almost baptized to death that day. I was completely dehydrated, had a migraine, and my eyes were a pretty shade of red. But I did feel much better after a nice cool shower… hmmmm….