Movies I Want to See - Fall/Winter 2009 edition

I wanted to make it official - like I do this every season or something - by naming this the Fall/Winter 2009 edition of "Movies I Want to See". Hmmm....maybe I've just created a new category for my blog!

Returning to the purpose of the post, I have to say it: there are a lot of movies already released, or soon to be released, that I want to see in the theaters. Now, the question is: will I actually see all of these movies in the theater? Um, no. The thought of paying $9-10 a pop makes me cringe inwardly and outwardly. However, I do want to share with you a list of movies that I'm anticipating seeing and as I said before, some are already released. If you've seen the released ones, let me know what you thought! If you're looking forward to some of the unreleased films, let me know if you're going to dump a load of cash into Cinemark's pocket to go see it; maybe I will too!

The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Top of the list, no arguing with this. Call me a nerd, call me immature, I don't care what you call me, just get to the theater to see this movie. I can guarantee you won't be disappointed.



Whip It
Drew Barrymore + Ellen Page + Kristen Wiig + Juliette Lewis + Jimmy Fallon = ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I have to see this; pronto!



Brothers
I adore Natalie Portman and both hunky Jake Gyllenhall and Tobey Maguire are excellent actors.



Date Night
How could anyone resist Steve Carrell and Tina Fey in a movie together? It'll probably be cheesy but I don't care - I'll watch anything these two are in.



Grown Ups
Again, funny people all in one movie - I can't resist. However, the inclusion of Rob Schneider might be enough to keep me from watching this one. Yuck.



Gentlemen Broncos
The fact that Napoleon Dynamite is on my list of must-see movies automatically means that I want to see this one. Will be it be stupid? Yes. Will I regret paying $10 to see it? Possibly. Will I laugh horribly loud and maybe even snort? Absolutely.



The Fantastic Mr. Fox
This sounds great; lots of well-known actors lend their voices and it's getting a lot of great reviews.



*EDIT: I left off a few that I meant to include...sorry!

The Last Song
Please don't laugh that I want to see a movie with Miley Cyrus. Though I do wonder if she knows what to do with her mouth when she's not laughing or talking, I can appreciate her effort to dig in deeper with her acting roles. Plus, I like the story line of this.



Despicable Me
I like to enjoy a decent animated file every once in awhile.



Sherlock Holmes
Um....Jude Law, Robert Downey Jr., Rachel McAdams...yes please.



Avatar
I'm not really a sci-fi fan but I'll make an exception for this one, especially since it's directed by James Cameron.



The Road
I really really really thought the book was excellently written. I would read it again. I hope my expectations are not too high for this film but I do not fear that I'll be disappointed with Viggo Mortenson and Charlize Theron in the cast.



Shutter Island
Martin Scorsese; enough said.



9
I really like the trailer; sometimes that's just enough to convince me I should see it.



I think that's enough for now. Hopefully these won't weigh down my loading time too much; I'm sorry if it does!

Convicted by the Care Bears

The weirdest thing just happened: I was convicted while watching a Care Bear clip featuring Dark Heart (a Care Bear villain in the famous 80's cartoon).

Before you jump to conclusions, I don't typically watch Care Bears on YouTube. I was actually reading a new blog post from The Resurgence about "following your heart" and the blogger embedded the Care Bear clip in the post. Check the post out here when you get a chance. It's a great read about the very common and - in my opinion - overused phrase, "follow your heart".

Here's the clip:



This is Dark Heart's line that got me, just as he was morphing into a huge scary cloud:

"Nooooooooooo! Get away from me!! Keep your kindness and affection to yourself!!"

Ummmmm, so....yeah. That's in me. For a long time. Slightly hidden - for the most part - underneath congenial friendships and pursuits of deeper relationships.

As the words reverberate in my ears, and the sound of the voice in the video morphs into my own in my mind, I see more clearly all of a sudden. These words appear in my heart and head when relationships get deeper; you know, when the inevitable "history of my life" (i.e. testimony) comes up over coffee or dinner. Or, when you become more intentional with your time with friends and you know you have to open up about the junk [you were/currently are] sitting in.

There's this catching feeling, this anxiety, this instinctual response to push people away that rises in me when intimacy begins to root in any kind of relationship. It's especially strong when those people are freely gracious, kind, generous and loving. I don't think I've been completely oblivious to this in me - I actually have fought quite hard against it in commitment to my home group through the years - but I am still surprised that it's still there in such severity. And more so, I'm surprised how quick I was to recognize that silly little cartoon villain as myself.

Wow. Who'd a thunk it? Empathizing with Dark Heart from Care Bears.

What I like about the little clip, though, is that Dark Heart didn't get to stay...well, dark. He was forced to confront the light. Say what you will about the Care Bears (I'll admit it's a bit cheesy, even for young kids), the allegory is great in this clip. (It's not perfect though - Jesus is definitely not a Care Bear.)

In the same way, I do not get to remain as my own version of Dark Heart. There is always something - really Someone - who forces Light into the dark.

"For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness." Psalm 18:28

"If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,' even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you." Psalm 139:11,12

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:1-5

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" John 8:12

"I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness." John 12:46

"Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." Romans 13:11-14

I could insert many, many, many more references to day/light versus night/darkness from the Scriptures but I'm sure you get the point; or maybe like me, you're a bit thick-skulled and have to hear these truths over and over again. Either way, the truth is clear - Christ is the light in my Dark Heart. Though I may perceive that the darkness will overcome me, that the Dark Heart in Angela will dominate, the truth is that I no longer walk in darkness but rather in His light.

When the anxiety, the catching feeling, the instinctual response to push away attempts to thwart intimacy in my relationships with others - or even my relationship with Him - I have faith that the dark heart no longer reigns. There is nothing to fear in relationships when He is the Light of my life. There is no reason to run back into the shadows with shame and guilt over the past. I do not have to waste one moment on worrying about whether or not I am good enough or pretty enough or smart enough or funny enough. This desire to push/run away out of fear of rejection or fear of being hurt after opening up - it disappears in the light. My focus is not on myself but is instead on the blinding and glorious Light of the World.

Instead of bellowing "Get away from me! Keep your kindness and affection to yourself!!", I can accept the love and affection of my friends and family with open arms. In the process, it makes me that much more able to give my love and affection to them - and others - in return.

Good ole' Spurgeon

I think I've talked about my favorite devotional here before; it's called Morning and Evening by Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I've read through it completely once and am working on my second time through it now; the passages are never old or redundant. Because Spurgeon was a 19th century preacher from London, his speeches/writings are not always the easiest to understand. Therefore, the version I have of the devotional uses updated language, revised by Alistair Begg (also from London, now based in Cleveland; a good modern-day preacher, as far as I know and have heard personally).

Anyhow, when I picked up the book this morning, I thought about how I would like to just re-read the morning passage from yesterday; it's my favorite in the entire book. (Crazy as it seems to me, I haven't posted on that passage specifically but have typed up others here and here.) I relented and moved forward, though, knowing that God has blessed this minuscule obedience many times by providing just the right word for me at just the right moment.

Today's passage was just what I had to hear today, especially after some stressful times yesterday and the great teaching I received last night in class. I thought I'd type it out for you today; put it out there and share it in case it brings some things to the surface for you or just reminds you of where true strength comes from. Enjoy!

Morning passage from November 4th

"For my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

A primary qualification for serving God with any amount of success, and for doing God's work well and triumphantly, is a sense of our own weakness. When God's warrior marches out to battle, strong in his own might, when he boasts, "I know that I will overcome - my own ability and my self-confidence will be enough for victory," defeat is staring him in the face. God will not enable the man who marches in his own strength. He who reckons on victory by such means has reckoned wrongly, for "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6) Those who go out to fight, boasting of their ability, will return with their banners trailing in the dust and their armor stained with disgrace. Those who serve God must serve Him in His own way and in His strength, or He will never accept their service. Whatever a man does, unaided by divine strength, God can never own. The mere fruits of the earth He casts away; He will only reap corn the seed of which was sown from heaven, watered by grace, and ripened by the sun of divine love. God will empty out all that you have before He will put His own into you; He will first clean out your granaries before He will fill them with the finest of wheat. The river of God is full of water; but not one drop of it flows from earthly springs. God will have no strength used in His battles but the strength that He Himself imparts. Are you mourning over your own weakness? Take courage, for there must be a consciousness of weakness before the Lord will give you victory. Your emptiness is but the preparation for your being filled, and you are being humbled to prepare you for being lifted up.

When I am weak then am I strong, grace is my shield and Christ my song.