I was going to review this movie, but Phil Plait (who will be at Dragon*Con this year! I’ll see you there, Phil!) did a great job and hit all of the high spots.
Except a few…
SPOILERS FOLLOW
Such as: (more…)
Month: June 2006
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Movie Reviews
I’ve been a critic of movie critics for a good long time now. I have found that they do not jive with my own views (usually) so there’s no real point in listening to them when I’m going to go see the movie anyhow and formulate my own opinion.
Then I moved to Atlanta, and started receiving the NY Times emails every morning. I have found the Atlanta Journal Constitution and NY Times reviews to be cogent and accurate (again, with my own humble opinions) so I’ve started relying on them for pre-viewing movie screening.
That does not, however, keep them from occasionally going off the deep end. For example, from the NY Times critic Manohlan Dargis concerning Superman Returns:
Mr. Singer expends much more time and many more resources to do pretty much the same, erasing part of the past to create what is essentially a new and considerably more sober sequel to the first two films, one that shakes the earthiness off Superman and returns him to the status of a savior. There’s always been a hint of Jesus (and Moses) to the character, from the omnipotence of his father to a costume that, with its swaths of red and blue, evokes the colors worn by the Virgin Mary in numerous Renaissance paintings. It’s a hint that proves impossible not to take.
I’m sorry, but I don’t believe I’ve ever taken the hint about Superman and the Virgin Mary. Silly me.
Apparently, there is quite a bit about the Superman/Virgin Mary thing. 91,800 hits as of today.
Jesus! (exactly)
Jenn and I saw this movie last night. Review to follow.
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I Hate Being a Cliche
“I’m getting old.”
I’ve heard that phrase. I’ve even used that phrase although I don’t really mean it. Not yet anyway.
However, last night, I managed to pull two or three muscles in my back while sitting on the couch. Yes, you heard it, I’m so out of shape that sitting on the couch is too much for me.
I need to get jogging again.
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Because the Bible Tells Us So
I was popped over to this site today from Pharyngula and I caught myself reading some of it. I don’t think this is the sort of faith that I could be a part of. Six-day creationists are just not with the program. However, that’s not why I’m posting.
If you look underneath their Doctrine>>Statement of Faith tab (emphasis mine):
The Bible
The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are the inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings. The Bible is the complete revelation of God’s will for the salvation of man and the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and life. The Scriptures are a unified whole. The Old and New Testaments must each be understood in light of the other.
I’ve heard of this before. It’s called biblical inerrancy and one aspect says what that quote says; the bible is literally the word of God, set down without error in the original manuscripts.
Which makes me ask: “Are you teaching your parishoners greek, hebrew, and aramaic?” I would think it dramatically important, if one believes in the inerrancy of the bible, to be able to read it in the original, untranslated version.
As you can probably tell, I do not believe that any version of the bible was directly inspired by divine will. We humans have way too many faults and foibles to receive that sort of radio message without inserting some static.
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Copa Mundial
Go Ghana! Oh, darn…
I’ve been watching plenty of World Cup Soccer this time around. The broadcast schedule has been convenient for me to watch at least a half-game during lunchtime at work. I didn’t see Ghana lose to Brazil, but I watched the second half of the Italy/Australia game on Monday. Penalty kick to win for Italy! Woo hoo!
World Cup Soccer has got to be some of the best sports to watch. It’s fast, it’s exciting, and there are no commercials. I love it.
Of course, if you live in the United States like I do, you don’t get most of the games on broadcast television. The only channel we receive at work that has the matches is the local spanish-language channel.
¡Gooooooooooooool! -
Intelligent Smoking?
Doing my morning read of the NY Times headlines email, I noticed the following article, “A Warning on Hazards of Secondhand Smoke.” Inside this article is found,
“I am here to say the debate is over: the science is clear,” Dr. Carmona said at a televised news conference…
Whoah! Whoah! Science? Since when does science have anything to do with public policy.
Better yet, where are the Intelligent Design nutjobs coming out of the woodwork to assist Big Tobacco in teaching the controversy. This seems like a perfect opportunity for them to show that cancer caused by smoking is “only a theory.”
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Blog Splurge!
I’ve been cleaning up my to-be-blogged-about list today, as you can tell if you read my blog. What with Rush Limbaugh being detained and the Israeli Defence Force moving into Gaza and all the other crap going on in the world (like this) it is sometimes difficult to talk about something cheerful and fun.
Like the story of Mr. Gorsky, which is not true, but still an amusing story. Plus, I like the crater.
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Pressure Tanks Are Not Playthings
“Holy Pressure Vessels Batman!”
Don’t do this at home. Gas pressure is not necessarily your friend. Take this article for example. This guy was killed by the air pressure alone. 140 pounds per square inch across your chest (approximately 12″x12″ on me = 144 square inches) will come out to be 10 tons of force on some important parts of your body.
So, if you’re retreading tires, please be careful.
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WWAD
This link has been sitting in my “to blog about” folder for a while. It neatly sums up my feelings concerning the media warriors and their interpretations of the facts surrounding us.
I hate being lumped in with a group and then told what I think. The problem stems from the old quote attributed to Benjamin Disraeli, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Give me enough data and I can prove anything, or at least seem to prove anything. Correlation does not imply causality, and just because Chronicles of Narnia did so well worldwide is not because we are all secretly seeking our savior.
What would Aslan do? Aslan would probably tell us to go jump off a cliff. Sometimes a movie is just a movie.
I wonder what it means that I’m such a big fan of Forrest Gump?