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I went to the movies this weekend.

Actually, i drove four hours to go to the movies.  I went to Asheville to visit Nathan and Heather for a brief stay, pretty much for the sole purpose of seeing Eclipse with them.  More accurately, with Heather.  She and i have bonded over a mutual crush on Jacob Black, and this isn’t the first time we’ve finagled a way to see one of the Twilight movies together.

And it was fun.  There are two more movies in this series (Breaking Dawn is going to become two movies; it’s just too big of a book for only one), and i hope to be able to see both of them with Heather.  It may be difficult, since she and Nathan are planning to move to Alaska this year.  But i have a feeling there may be a trip to Alaska next year that coincides with the release of Breaking Dawn The Movie Part 1.  And then i can say i flew out of the continental US in order to see the shirtless hunk that is Taylor Lautner.

All of these movies should be seen with other Twilight fans.  The giggles and squeals can best be appreciated if you have someone else giggling and squealing along with you.

We went to the Saturday afternoon show, and the theater was not full.  There were seven of us; five true fans and two hangers-on who sat on the end together and mocked the movie, having their own fun.

It has been a year and a half at least since i read the books, and i had forgotten many of the details.  So i had fun re-experiencing the story.  The movie did an excellent job playing up the love triangle.  It was by far the best of the movies, so far.  Kristen Stewart even had a few moments of actual acting.

All-in-all, it was fun watching this story come to life.  I’ll be eagerly awaiting the final movies, particularly because i loved the last book the most.

Earlier this summer, my sister-in-law, Heather, and i had a bonding moment.  It was over a trailer for New Moon, which comes out at midnight tonight.  We watched the trailer together several times, both of us swooning over Jacob Black, Bella’s friend and confidante (who also happens to be a werewolf).

Jacob had a minor part in the first book/movie, but the second part of the story is all about him.  Edward, the vampire Bella is in love with, isn’t even present in most of New Moon.  While i was reading the books, i really fell for Jacob.  Most others seem to be Edward-crazy, but i’ll take the warm-blooded Jacob Black please.

A few weeks ago, Lance got me a gift for my new computer.  And I just know Heather will love it!  As it happens, she and Nathan are coming to visit us this weekend, specifically so we can go see New Moon together!! Isn’t that awesome?  So, in honor of her visit, and in honor of the movie’s opening, voila:

I first heard about this movie from my brother Nathan in our ongoing dialog.  I immediately put it at the top of my Netflix queue.  I’ll say up front that Nathan described it as “interesting” but he also said he didn’t think Ben Stein was completely fair.

The movie starts with a conspiracy theory.  The thing i hate about conspiracy theories is that if you say “that’s bogus” then you can easily be dismissed as just another person who doesn’t know what’s “really” going on.  Or worse, as someone who is helping perpetuate the conspiracy.  In this conspiracy, scientists are getting fired from jobs for coming out in favor of intelligent design.  Ben Stein seeks to be the hero who uncovers this vast conspiracy in the scientific world.

The concept of Irreducible Complexity is the core of Intelligent Design (ID) theory.  This is the idea that there are things that exist in nature that could not have evolved from a lesser life form.  If this can be proved, or failed to be disproved, ID proponents conclude that these life forms must have been designed by someone or something.  However, be aware that many peer-reviewed articles have debunked the theory of irreducible complexity.  Peer review is not given any face time in the movie, yet peer review is the backbone of the scientific community.  No articles supporting ID have been published in any peer-reviewed scientific journal.  Is it really a surprise that scientists are questioned when they come to conclusions that are not scientific?

After expanding on the conspiracy theory, the movie finally gets to irreducible complexity mid-way through the movie, focusing on the cellular level.  But it seems to offer, unsurprisingly, an unscientific look.  “We think these things are irreducibly complex” which i translate as we don’t understand how things could have evolved to this point.  “Therefore a designer must be present,” meaning we’ll insert God a designer as the cause for all the things we don’t understand.

The movie takes a turn at this point, and implies a belief in evolution will lead to Naziism.  Stein visits the site of an old concentration camp, and flashes horrific images from WWII.  It is completely emotional, fear-based and not at all focused on fact.  The acts committed in the concentration camps were absolutely atrocious, no doubt about it, and i don’t want to minimize that at all.  But it is complete propaganda to insinuate that the ideas behind evolution will lead to such atrocities.

The final big moment of interest was an interview with Richard Dawkins.  The interview was absurd.  In one question Stein asked Dawkins to give a percent likelihood that ID was incorrect.  Dawkins didn’t want to, saying he had no exact number he could give, but he could only give his opinion.  Stein pressed him, and Dawkins said 99.9%, again saying that was just his opinion.  Stein immediately turned around and said “Why 99?  Why not 49% or 44%?”  Dawkins immediately clarifies “you were the one who asked for a number, i didn’t want to give one,” yet the way it was edited makes Dawkins look defensive.  In the end, Stein took this and concluded that even Richard Dawkins thought ID might be possible.

In the concluding segment, Stein equates his attempts to bring down the walls between evolution and ID with tearing down the Berlin Wall.  I mean - Really?  The Berlin Wall?

I agree with Nathan, the movie was interesting.  At least in the sense that it made me want to read more and try to understand more.  I am not a scientist; i have to lean on those who know more and are doing research and are actually working in this field.  I guess i expected more from Ben Stein - more science, less propaganda.  But, i suppose i’m just perpetuating the conspiracy.

Some movies and TV shows we’ve seen this year, and my brief thoughts about them.

Food, Inc. Fascinating and disturbing.  Everyone should watch this.  The notion that a fast food hamburger is cheaper to buy than fresh produce is pretty bizarre when you think about it, but we the taxpayers are subsidizing this huge food industry which is what allows there to be cheap food.  Cheap food is good, but there needs to be more attention paid to food safety.

Away We Go A young couple travels to various cities visiting old family and friends, attempting to make a decision about where to move and have their first child.  Maya Rudolph and John Krisinski are wonderful in this, and the characters they meet are unforgettable.  It is a search for “home”.

Sunshine Cleaning A quirky, dark film.  A former maid service employee forms her own company, cleaning up the scenes of homicides and suicides.  The story explores darker human emotions such as insecurity and grief and how you can overcome them.

He’s Just Not That Into You A story about the search for love and how you sometimes find it.  Cute, but not particularly memorable.

30 Rock Enjoyable, though not deep.

Saved! An amusing portrayal of life at a Christian high school.  A teen decides to save her gay boyfriend by having sex with him, and becomes disillusioned when she finds herself pregnant and begins questioning the Christian ideals.

Guns, Germs and Steel A discovery channel mini series that asks why do we have wealth and plenty and “cargo” here while other societies are stuck in the third world?

Star Trek I grew up as something of a Trekkie, and i loved this story of the young Kirk and Spock, and am looking forward to how this series will continue.

AdventureLand Working at an amusement park is not all fun and games.  But wherever there are teenagers, petty rivalries and true love are bound to spark.

Observe and Report Seth Rogen plays a mall cop with some bi-polar tendencies.  The film is pretty dark and bizarre and revolves around the cop’s attempts to stop a flasher.  Can’t say i really liked this movie.

Earth Released on Earth Day, this film showed how different species migrate and care for their young.  We had seen a lot of the footage before, from other Discovery Channel TV documentaries.  It’s important for us to know how we are affecting the animal world.

Breaking Bad A Showtime TV series about a high school chemistry teacher in dire straights (a teenage son with a disability, a wife newly pregnant, diagnosed with severe lung cancer, needing treatment that insurance will not cover) who needs a lot of cash and turns to producing crystal meth.  Very engaging.

Yes Man An entertaining comedy about exploring your horizons.  The scene where he saves the guy from jumping off a building seriously made my cry.

Thin A documentary following girls in a rehab center for anorexia and bulemia.  Tragic.  Many of the girls have a background involving a severe incident such as rape or sexual abuse.  You just wish you could make them believe they are beautiful.  Self-hatred is so powerful.

Fargo An older movie i had never seen.  Excellent.

Pan’s Labrinth Billed as a fantasy for adults, i found it weird and dark and freaky.

Milk The story of Harvey Milk, and gay rights.  Harvey became California’s first openly gay elected official before being assassinated.

Jane Austen Book Club I think i would have connected more with this movie if i had read all of Jane’s Austen’s books.  It was still intresting to watch and compare to my own book club.

Kalifornia An interesting thriller.  Brad Pitt plays an excellent bad guy.

Lance & I are in the middle of watching a fascinating new series from National Geographic called Strange Days on Planet Earth.  Edward Norton (whom i absolutely love from Rounders, American History X & Fight Club) is the host/narrator.  He is excellent, and i love that he is doing this series.

This series is about strange events happening all around the globe and how they are connected.  A lot of the conclusions are related to how humans have interfered with the natural world, and how/if we can fix these things.  Below is one example of the issues they discuss.

Problem: Trees are dying in Yellowstone National Park.  In particular, Aspen trees.  No new trees have grown since the 1930s, and the old ones are slowly dying off.  Also in Yellowstone, there is increased soil erosion on riverbanks, and the beaver and songbird populations are way down and still decreasing.

Solution: Reintroduce wolves into the park.

I know, WTF?  Wolves?  What do wolves have to do with trees and birds and soil erosion?

The clue was that the only significant event in the 1930s in Yellowstone was the death of the last wolf.  And here’s how the progression goes.

1. Wolves kill and eat Elk.
2. Elk carcasses sustain life for scavengers & certain types of insects.
3. Songbirds eat those insects, and their population grows.
4. The Elk population is under control, so they don’t eat all the riverbank plants and Aspen trees.
5. As a result, the Aspens are recovering.
6. The river plants are also recovering, and soil erosion is decreasing because the plant roots hold it in place.
7. The beaver population is making a comeback because they needed the river plants in order to make their lodges.

This chain of events blew my mind!  How you get from Aspen trees to wolves is just amazing.  And that is how this entire series is presented.  Here’s a strange mystery happening in the natural world.  What could have caused it?  How is it related to other things that are happening?  It’s fascinating.

If you like science and nature shows, give this one a try.

I am not motivated to write individual posts for each of these movies, but wanted to pass along recommendations for the good ones i’ve seen recently.

The Wrestler - Very good.  Not your typical movie.  I commented to Lance that the story arc in some ways is the inverse of a normal story arc.  It’s been nominated for some Oscars.  Highly recommended.

Bigger, Stronger, Faster - a documentary about the use of steroids.  It was extremely well-done, and makes many thought-provoking points.  It changed my attitude, if not my overall opinion.

Slumdog Millionaire - I thought this was a very good movie.  All sorts of Golden Globes, nominated for many Oscars.  I’m not sophisticated enough to understand all the hype, but i did thoroughly enjoy it.

Notorious - A portrayal of the life and times of Biggie Smalls, or the Notorious B.I.G.  The lead actor did a great job, i thought.  Personally, while i know some of his music, all i knew about Biggie’s life was that it ended too young.  So i learned a lot about the Biggie-Tupac fued.  Well done.

I’m definitely on the Twilight bandwagon, and ever since the Twilight movie came out, i’ve been wanting to see it.  I thought i might get a chance to take my 12-year old cousin during the christmas break, since she told me at Thanksgiving that she wanted to see it.  The group that ended up going was: me, my mom, my aunt, the 12 year old cousin, and a 19 year old male cousin.  None of them had read the book.  My mom may even have had a preexisting bias against the series, because she heard it described as Harry Potter for girls, and she is not a fan of Harry Potter.

My reactions and comments - Bella was cast perfectly.  I wasn’t impressed with Edward until he smiled for the first time.  Dr. Cullen was a hot hot hottie.  I really enjoyed the interpretations of the rest of the Cullens as well; Alice was particularly well-done.  I liked that the movie really downplayed the petty dramas with the students at the school.  I loved that they really fleshed out the development of the relationship between Edward and Bella.  I loved the baseball scene and the introduction of James, Victoria and Laurent.  Overall, i just really enjoyed the movie.  I sensed there might be some awkwardness in a few situations for viewers who hadn’t read the book, but none of the others mentioned it.

Everyone else’s reaction - they loved it!  They liked that it had no curse words and that the characters can’t do anything other than kiss a little.  My mom and my aunt were both asking about the series, how many books there were, the name of the next book.  We may have some converts.

One thing that struck me during this movie is how extremely well-suited these books are to the big screen.  There were quite a few things about New Moon and Eclipse that i didn’t care for, but i can see those two books being made into quite excellent movies.  It may be, for me, one of the rare cases where i like the movies better than the books.

Lance and i went to see Religulous at the Galaxy Theater the night it opened. It promised to be a good movie, with my recent dealings with my family. Also, Bill Maher is just out and out hilarious. The Galaxy is one of my favorite theaters.

And it was a great movie. Not a documentary by any means. Does Michael Moore make documentaries? I think his films are often labeled such, though i would argue they are not “true” documentaries. Religulous is even less of a documentary than Moore’s films.

But it is interesting. Maher travels around the country and around the world, interviewing various religious leaders. About 40% of the film is focused on Christianity, and he then tackles Scientology, Mormanism, Islam, and Judaism. There were a lot of good jokes and poking fun at the various religions.

After watching it, i had to do some research. Maher had told the story of Horas, the son of Isis. If Maher’s depiction is true, then Horas existed a thousand years before Jesus and performed many of the same miracles, such as walking on water, being crucified and being raised from the dead. However, my research did not confirm or deny this story of Horas. There are conflicting accounts, and I could not find a good source to verify the story of Horas as Jesus. I also found that some of the quotes used, particularly of our founding fathers, were taken out of context.

Another factoid given is that 16 percent of the U.S. population is un-/non-/anti-religious, which is a larger segment than blacks (13%), gays (3%), or NRA members (2%). If that is true, i believe getting organized is in order! That is one of Maher’s messages near the end of the movie - a call to action.  Definitely a movie worth watching.

Speaking of getting organized, some people might be interested in this link regarding Kay Hagan’s bid for a NC Senate Seat. It all started when Elizabeth Dole issued a press release criticizing her opponent, Kay Hagan, for meeting with a group of law-abiding and responsible citizens, who happen to be non-believers. Be sure to read the comments of that post - that’s the best part! Readers of Friendly Atheist were so disgusted by Dole’s behavior that many of them, most of whom are out-of-state, have contributed money to Hagan’s campaign.

Since then, Dole has begun an outright smear campaign against Hagan, for being associated with and supported by web sites like “Friendly Atheist”. I guess Dole doesn’t think that everyone deserves representation. Vote for Kay Hagan in three weeks!

Last night (Friday), lance & i went to the Museum of Art to watch one of their summer movies.  They have a great outdoor amphitheater.  The movie was Into The Wild.

Sean Penn directs a critically acclaimed adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s best-selling book based on the true story of a spirited, but emotionally wounded young man who seeks freedom, joy, and healing in the great Alaskan wilderness.

First of all, the environment was great.  It was a crisp fall evening.  The sky was clear.  The stars were shining.  We found a good spot near the front to put our chairs, and covered ourselves with the blanket we had brought.  Before the movie was over, we would be shivering a bit.

The movie intself was great.  Emile Hirsch did a wonderful job portraying the young man who rejected a “normal” life and became a drifter.  He graduated from college, had a graduation dinner with his parents, then burned his ID, took off from Atlanta and headed west, and didn’t tell anyone.  He named himself Alexander SuperTramp, and introduced himself that way to everyone he met.  When his car became undrivable somewhere in Arizona, he burned his remaining cash and started walking and hitchhiking.

Alex is in search of experiences, and he finds them.  He also encounters several interesting characters and forms unique and lasting bonds with them.  The film and the character do an amazing job reminding us that there is a wide world out there that is full of beauty.  Alex eventually decides that his path will lead him to the Alaskan wilderness, “the wild,” where he wants to live alone for awhile.

This journey is captivating.  I loved this movie.  I’m going to try in my life to mimic Alexander SuperTramp in at least small ways, and strive to have more experiences instead of just sitting on my butt.

I watched this movie last night (sorry i watched it w/o you Lance, but really, you would have hated it). It’s been on my movie list for 12+ years, but it’s just not a movie i could ever get excited about. This is a Martin Scorsese film, even, but i never wanted to watch it. It was in my Netflix queue, and i guess we’re getting near the bottom of the barrel.

It’s basically the story of Jesus’ ministry, starting with his early internal conflicts about it and the decision to Go Forth and all that. It focuses on Jesus as a man, instead of Jesus as the Savior. We see the people following him, and the collecting of his disciples. We see some miracles and the cleansing of the temple. We see Jesus face temptations and overcome them. Until there is a final temptation as he is hanging on the cross. A “guardian angel” appears to him and gives him the opportunity NOT to die, but instead to go on living as a normal man, and raise a family. He succombs to this temptation, until the end of his life, when he realizes he should have died as God wanted him to. He prays, and God lets him go back and die on the cross as planned.

I did not particularly enjoy this movie. There are a few notable goods and bads:

Goods:

• Jesus really is portrayed as a conflicted individual. He is a man struggling with what he thinks God wants for him. He is anxious. He has fear. He is uncertain. I like that Jesus is not a good and perfect person.
• When Lazarus was raised from the dead, it was a very spooky “undead” moment. Lazarus looks to have partially decayed. It certainly put me in mind of vampires and other undead beings, whom Christians generally think of as evil. It also made me think of Aladdin and how the Genie can grant any wish, except 1) falling in love and 2) raising the dead. Raising the dead is something that generally has very negative associations and is something you’re not supposed to do. Why is it a “miracle” when Jesus did it instead of an abomination? Should he have done it in the first place? I just thought this film did a good job of subtley raising these questions, at least for me.
• Judas is portrayed as a loyal and loving friend. I loved this, because i have long been a believer that Judas has gotten a bad rap. I do not think Judas betrayed Jesus in the normal sense of the word. Sure, i think Judas was the one that told the Romans where to find him, so yes he technically “betrayed” him. But i think Jesus told him to do it, and Judas didn’t want to, but did it out of love. Jesus KNEW he had to die. He knew he had to be a martyr in order for his message to endure. His friends did not want that. But Jesus entrusted the job to Judas, his best friend, because Judas knew what was at stake. At least, that’s been my take on it, and i was happy to see it played out on screen.
• In the alternate life, when Jesus is a family man, he hears Paul preaching in the town square. Paul is telling of Jesus being crucified and then resurrected 3 days later. Jesus confronts him and says “I am Jesus, but i never died or rose again. You are lying.” Paul tells him it doesn’t matter what the actual truth is, he tells the truth as he wants it to be. And his made-up stories get people to believe in God. So he’s going to say whatever is necessary to get people converted. Well, well, isn’t THAT an interesting commentary on the church?

Bads:

• Jesus is played by Willem Dafoe, who i know from Spiderman. I couldn’t help but envision the Green Goblin much of the time when Jesus was talking. Especially when he was talking to his disciple Peter. Quite unfortunate.
• Jesus is not particularly likable. Why would anyone follow this tortured soul of a man? I always envisioned Jesus as a great orator and an inspiring person to be around. This Jesus was neither.
• Jesus is not consistent. Sometimes he’s insecure and unsure of himself and what God wants, and sometimes he’s enraged and talking about himself in the first person as God.
• There was an extremely bizarre part when Jesus comes out of the desert after fasting for 40 days and nights. He reaches INTO HIS CHEST and pulls out HIS BEATING HEART. I am not kidding. Just like in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. WTF?
• The title of the movie is The Last Temptation of Christ, so i expected more of the movie to be devoted to that. But most of the movie is just about the life of Jesus. The last temptation piece only takes up about 20 minutes at the end.
• There wasn’t any lightness in the movie, and it was hard to stay focused. Much of it was kind of boring in the beginning and middle parts. It didn’t REALLY catch my interest until the last temptation part started, near the end.

So anyway, i can’t say that i really recommend this movie, but i’m glad it’s finally crossed off my list. And there were a few interesting tidbits in it.