HoodedHawk

Ok, it’s rare that I make movie recommendations because people’s tastes vary. However, I have to make an exception: The movie “Fireproof” is wonderful. Went today with my two older boys. I didn’t tell either it was a Christian movie – just that it was about a fireman and that the scenes I saw involved pulling people out of burning buildings or moving cars out of the way of trains (all true).

It’s about a couple (the man is a firefighter) who are going through a tough time in their marriage, and how he tries to get back together – with God’s help. Wonderfully done; I didn’t find it “preachey” or over-the top. I don’t think I’ve ever shed a tear in front of my kids before; I told them I had allergies (they didn’t buy it and are still ribbing me). What got me is that my oldest son’s only comment was “I liked it – but I didn’t cry I held it in”. High praise from a 13-year old.

Made my top ten list.

http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/

A giant, donut-wielding Homer Simpson has been painted (in water-based, biodegradable paint) next to a 17th-century pagan chalk drawing. The 180-ft pagan drawing in Dorset, England is known as the “Cerne Abbas giant”, and is a pagan symbol of fertility (he “stands out”). Local pagans are not amused. The Homer painting will wash away when it rains; it’s one of many stunts pulled to advertise the new Simpsons movie coming out.

George Clooney is producing a miniseries for the SciFi Channel based on The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. Stephenson will be adapting his book into the screenplay. I’m really looking forward to this, since The Diamond Age is a great book (Hugo Winner!). yay.

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Went to see the film “A Scanner Darkly” today. It’s based on the novel of the same name by Philip K. Dick. Whoa. Great movie. I knew the movie was coming out this week, so I recently re-read the book; I found the movie to be really faithful to the book.

The movie uses a neat type of animation, “rotoscoping”; it is shot live-action, and then “animated” over that. The effect is really neat – you can definitely tell the “live” actors underneath. It’s especially appropriate for this movie because the plot revolves around a set of people addicted to a (new) drug, called Substance D.


Keanu Reaves plays Bob Arctor in the film; Arctor is an undercover cop, living with a couple of stoners. His girlfriend (Winona Ryder) is his dealer, and he’s basically trying to find out who her supplier is. The problem is Arctor is also taking Substance D (hey, he’s undercover and has to fit in), and it starts to affect his brain.

It’s not an “action” movie – it’s got great dialog, and I found the pace just right. Robert Downey Jr. is over the top as Barris the pseudo-intellectual, and Woody Harrelson is hysterical as Luckman. The scenes involving conversations and interactions between Barris and Luckman are hilarious. But the movie is quite serious. Dick based a number of the characters in the book on the people/friends made during his own drug-experimentation phase.

Highly recommended.