It's been awhile

Wow. I can't believe that I have not posted since March. Sorry to all my faithful readers who are probably no longer readers! Since I am such a movie lover, I'll rank from best to worst the films that I saw over the summer. Here we go....

1. The Dark Knight
2. The Incredible Hulk
3. Iron Man
4. WALL-E
5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
6. Prince Caspian
7. Kung Fu Panda
8. Tropic Thunder

You may notice that there were a few that are missing from an earlier post of the ones that I wanted to see, and some that are new. That's just how the summer goes I guess.

The Jade Giant Returns

Believe it or not I do actually like other things besides movies. But since I think we are on the verge of a great summer movie season, I can't help myself. Especially now that we'll start getting flooded with all the previews for the movies that will be coming out. Anyway, last night the preview for "The Incredible Hulk" premiered on the internet. What I liked about it was that it has the feel that the Hulk should have: Banner on the run, trying to keep himself under control, being chased by the military, etc. It also reminded me of the 70's t.v. show that I loved as a kid. I'm glad to see that the Abomination is in this as well, not some goofy thing that was in Ang Lee's "Hulk" of a few years ago. My only bone to pick is that the Hulk should look bigger & more powerful. I know that the cgi guys work on the effects until the last possible minute, so there's hope that his look will improve. But overall, this will be a good one. I am excited to see thw Hulk as he is meant to be seen......smashing stuff.

Spring Break Reading

I always look forward to breaks because it gives me a chance to break out of the routine and actually get some reading done. I have been wanting to read Atlas Shrugged for awhile now, but especially after reading Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series. I'm sure that I'll never watch The Incredibles the same way ever again. Hopefully I'll plow through it and can write a review soon, although I doubt I'll bring anything new to the discussion of Objectivism. Keller's The Reason for God is the next book that my small group is reading together. I only have to read a chapter a week, but the book is so engaging that I may have to read the whole thing and then re-read each chapter week by week. This is actually the first book by Keller that I will have read, but I am familiar with his work at Redeemer Presbyterian in New York. I am disappointed that there is no fiction that has caught my eye. Hopefully George R.R. Martin will get his next book out soon.

Movie Posters

I have always enjoyed the posters that go with the movies that I'm excited about. Here are two that I found that I think do a great job at capturing what these films will be about. If only I had not run out of wall space!

Grab Your Whip & Fedora

Unless you have been living under a rock, then you know that the trailer to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came out on Valentines Day. While Spider-Man will always have the #1 spot in my childhood heart, Indiana Jones will forever be a very close second. It seemed to be easier to predend that I was Indy than Spidey, because all I needed was an old hat of my dad's and a broken fan belt from the car. I don't know how many time I recreated the truck chase from Raiders of the Lost Ark in our front yard. I will never forget our summer trip to Montana and finding a real whip in a gift shop! My #1 Christmas present of all time was getting the 12 inch Indy figure when I was told before Christmas that mom was having trouble finding one. I still kick myself for getting rid of that one by the way. Trying for weeks to convince my mom to let me see this, only to have success when she learns that it's rated PG and not R. Ah memories. Anyway this trailer brought tingles to my spine and a tear to my eye. May 22 cannot get here soon enough. You can check it out for yourself at Yahoo Movies.

Summer Movies!!!!!

I love summer because I get to go inside a nice cool theater and enjoy movies. January to May can be a wasteland for a movie lover like me, but Cloverfield was a notable exception, so I anticipate the summer movie season a lot. Here are the handful of movies that I will be sure to see this summer:

1. Iron Man- May 2
2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull- May 22
3. The Incredible Hulk- June 13
4. The Happening- June 13
5. Hellboy 2- July 11
6. The Dark Knight- July 18
7. Star Wars: The Clone Wars- August 15th

I'm sure there may be a few more that I'll go see, but these are the ones on my radar right now.

Truth Made Simple

The Elders at Westminster Presbyterian are going through this book as part of our training. What I really like about this book is that Sproul does a great job of making the complex understandable and accesable to everyone. I can appreciate it because it takes our doctrinal standards found in the Westminster Confession of Faith and explains them in words that anyone could understand and appreciate. It's deep enough to take your time reading and contemplating, but also easy for anyone to read and understand, even without going to seminary!