The Gray Report

"You will recognize what Mendoza's conversion looks like when you watch the well-depicted transition from grief and despair to tears of gratitude, and finally, to shared laughter with his Guarani brothers in Christ. It is rare in a major movie to find forgiveness and faith so beautfully depicted. It is a cinematic jewel that any Christian would be thrilled to see, as I was." -- Tom Askew I found this picture and grabbed an excerpt on the same blog (http://dovemountaineers.blogspot.com/2009/11/mission.html). The author hit it on the head in terms of what this film does in dealing with themes of repentance and renewal. I liked this film for a few different reasons. The music, the sets, and the unique perspective of the standard "white men are evil" type of story. The music I recognized immediately from a Yo Yo Ma CD I used to listen to in high school. There are two distinct themes that are played throughout. One is a somewhat calm, dwindling series of notes eac...

So going into this movie I was very skeptical, and perhaps even swayed already that this wasn't going to be a very good movie because of the bad reviews I read. I like Christian Bale, however that doesn't really matter if I don't care about his character (which I didn't). The story goes something like this. It is post apocalypse England in the year 2020 or something. Dragons have been sleeping under the earth for a long time waiting for it to replenish itself so they can eat tons of folks. Apparently they come out and feed every few thousand years or something. Anyway, they come out and destroy everything and a little band of Brits survive. Then they meet this super had core American group (and there is a somewhat lame line like "oh, there is only one thing worse then dragons and that is Americans" and I wondered if that was supposed to be funny or something else) that kills things. Tons of folks die and the little group succeeds in killing the big evil dragon...

So I realized that I watch a great deal of movies. I really enjoy watching films but I have recently thought about how I hardly retain much about the stories I am exposed to and thus I am not gleaning all I can from my viewing experiences. That being said, I think it is time I start writing small reviews for every film I watch. This will keep me accountable for my watching, and will also help me think a little harder about what I saw and what was being presented. Last night I watched American Graffiti. This was one of George Lucas' first films ever to go to the theaters. Copolla, who later created the influential and industry changing Godfather franchise produced this film. It takes place in the early 1960's and the 2 hour film only covers one night in the lives of some growing teenagers. The film seems to be discussing the time in one's life when childhood has slipped away and the many crossroads that present themselves at that crucial time. Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, a...

In response to recent changes in my future plans and career aspirations I feel it necessary to try and grasp some of the key elements that are pointing me away from where I was, and toward where I want to be. I am afraid that I will leave out an item or two due to the fact that I have been thinking very deeply (or as deeply as I can) about it all and to record it here is simply not a possibility. Never-the-less maybe recording this will be helpful in collecting my thoughts and organizing my thinking so that everything might become more clear. The following articles show the sad fall of a filmmaker that wants to make it big, to share his dreams with the world. I think I had such aspirations for the majority of high school years. After the mission, and after talking to some people and observing some things I am beginning to understand the challenge that would be. Especially as a Latter-day Saint. Article 1: Richard Dutcher's farewell address. http://www.heraldextra.com/news/opinion/u...

Saying things you’d normally wouldn’t so as to fit in and stay unnoticed in a group. Leading a group in a direction you normally wouldn’t because everyone else appears to believe in the direction you are leading them. Appearing to believe in the direction you are being led in though you would never actually admit you agreed with it.

It is that time of day when the house is quiet, the table is half covered in pots, pans, and tuber ware with food scattered across. The car isn’t in the garage and the dog lies sleeping on the blue blanket. The sun lies somewhere back there, behind the cloud over those mountains. It makes some nice gold colors on the rocky face of the mountains outside of the window. I guess it is so nice because at this time of year there is a lot of plants and flowers in the back yard so the gold makes it seem sort of dreamlike. Yeah, I’ll do em I guess. Call it being nice or being bored. Does it matter? Approaching the sink I am nipped by the denting smell. The eggshells, scraps of mango, carrot peel, and chunks of tofu drip in my fingers. Oh yes, the trash is under the sink these days. Drip once, drip twice on the floor. The water in the frying pan trembles, shaking the crusty flakes of burnt egg. Yogurt and peanu...

I have established the fact that I am addicted to Lost . Using the phrase "addicted" is actually pretty serious when viewed in the context of the Church and in what that word's meaning has done to people. I recall experiences from the mission, literature, newspapers, general conference reports, and other things that clearly illuminate the negative nature of addiction. So what is it that is so addictive? Well the obvious is that each episode ends in such a way that one is left hanging in the most dramatic way. With technology these days (like my beloved Netflix account) one doesn't need to wait for the next episode but can merely click a button for the next while rapidly justifying the time it will take to see "just one more." As I have thought about why I am drawn to the TV series beyond the basic fact of its natural suspense, I have not fully arrived at a conclusion of deeper power within. However, there are a few things that present themselves as key indi...