A satisfying Tarzan Adventure

A Spider home in a rotten desert tree.

CGI has changed the game in animal interaction with man films, as Mowgli was cute, Tarzan was overpowering. I had my love of reading sparked by the original Edgar Rice Burroughts novels in Elementary School. I would get a new one when I finished the one I was reading when we took a trip from Troy Alabama to Montgomery every month.

When I brought some of my library home after retiring those books came too, and are sitting in my closet as a permanent reminder that reading makes us full of imagination and promise.

How can we not like the repeated attempts to do the novels justice when the greatest Tarzan ever, Johnny Weismuller could not act his way out of a paper bag, I mean those early Tarzans were embarrassing, but I still loved the ideas they represented about our connection to those who birth us and those who raise us, and the animal nature we all share in the instinct for survival.

Loved the flashbacks, loved the rescue of the loving and confident wife, loved the attempts to modernize one of my favs, Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar.

Date Night Generational Fun.

So happy to be among the first to enjoy the movie "The Intern". Outstanding, touching and funny. The retired Robert DeNiro worked for forty years publishing Dex, and yes, I remember how important the yellow pages were and how completely outmoded most have become.

Anne Hathaway is so expressive and genuine in her acting that she wins your heart, and what can I say, all the themes of the changing culture, the honor of work, the importance of marriage and family, the pressure of work, all there and all well done.

Less than three days till on week on the Garden Isle of Kauai, and I know it will be relaxing fun, and special.

The Giver

Why was I not exposed to this novel before it became a movie. I missed the decades when it was required high school reading, being an adolescent book and me being a mature man. I was moved by it and picked up a copy last week to rewatch. Very well presented and powerful reminder that with all the evil and things that go wrong in the world there are so many positive experiences of love and beauty and truth that life is worth the risk.

Great message. Enjoyed the extras about how it took almost 20 years to get the book to the screen. And blue eyed Odeya Rush has such a bright acting future ahead.

1964 and 1969 on my mind

The was a Worlds Fair Shot

My family left New York State for Alabama in 1961, a real culture shock, and went back to visit the New York Worlds Fair in the summer of 64 which was the setting for the scene from Tomorrowland, of Its a Small World, which was the Unicef contribution to that expo. I still remember the 14 year old me trying to hurry my family up, which is what I still do in parks. Laura and her Mom were there that same summer and we wonder if my 14 year old self may have passed her 11 year old self on a walkway somewhere.

I still remember the NY State pavilion with its two tiered platform way up high, and the shock of seeing its rotting rusting hull last summer when we drove from JFK to Manhattan.

Then this morning I saw that the couple huddling under a wet blanket for the album version of Woodstock are still together after 46 years. Wow, and in my mind how much our world changed from 64 to 68 as Vietnam soured the nation and its youth and the election riots showed what would be the beginning of cultural divisions in our modern world that rage today.

Tomorrow Land

A long ago Disney pic.

Last time we did Disneyland we were told that Its A Small World was closed for the filming of a movie. We thought that was cool and this afternoon we enjoyed the scene filmed there and the whole Disneyesque style movie with an optimistic view of the future and human ingenuity. I thought it was well done with a great balance of message, action, and acting.

Hope your Memorial Day is blessed.

A Rare May Downpour

Museums are a treasure that keeps on giving to future generations.

As we were exiting the theatre last evening it was raining and we had to park several hundred yards from the entrance. We got wet, and on the way home the heavens opened for what would be recorded as an inch and a half. Our streets were flooded.

The Women in Gold was such a treat of a true story that built upon last years Monuments Men by showing a wealthly Jewish Family in Austria being destroyed and looted by the Nazi's with the approval of most of Christian Austria at the time. The flashbacks were so realistic and the emotions gut wrenching as you could feel the evil disdain of the oncoming hordes of uniformed Nazi's taking over the city of Vienna and scarring it for generations later as one woman fought to take back what belonged to her heritage and family. I love movies that go home with me and wake up with me and linger into my thought life for ever.

Star Trek Kid

Downtown Rocky Point from my hotel room.
I have always enjoyed Science Fiction and Star Trek was a favorite in all its different eras and forms. The newest remakes with a younger crew and amazing special effects have been outstanding.

Farewell Leonard Nimoy.

Am awaiting the release of Interstellar at the end of the month to own it. I often speculate that time travel and space travel will be a part of the next life. But that's because I enjoy Science Fiction.

Late to the streaming party

This is the tree where Indiana Jones consulted his map in the first movie.

So, I took the Sony Blu Ray player back and bought a Toshiba, and it works, so I have one more week of my Netflix trial month. We have enjoyed two movies, and I can see why the Netflix fortunes are soaring.

There are lots of smaller pictures that are quite good, and the old series you can watch. I have been enjoying my Amazon prime movies on the small tablet and now I can use the Amazon Account for those as well.

Not to mention watching Blu Ray quality movies. BTW Safe Haven was enjoyable as a romance built upon healing and loss.

Disclaimer: sounds like I am a movie nut, but in recent years we just have stopped renting and watching even our own. So this is a bit of a fun thing.

The Giver

I enjoyed this movie for the message and the fine characters. A utopian society created chemically by stifling our freedom to choose, feel, react and struggle with our human nature.

There have been gifted writers explaining the beauty of what we face in this life in terms of contrast. Freedom requires the existence of both good and evil and it will always be part of our earthly experience.

Reach and and touch a part of movie history

This afternoon we enjoyed our huge and wonderful Phoenix Museum of Art. They have a special exhibit of Hollywood famous movie costumes. The real things, not copies. Things like the motorcycle outfit that Arnold took from the biker in terminator, the real Darth Vadar suit, lots of movies you've seen or want to see. We spent over three hours including a walk through the permanent exibits. We always enjoy going there and learning about art and artists. No photos allowed.

We also notice how they are spending money to make it a better museum. They were remodeling a huge room and plastering partitions all over to create roomy galleries for future acquisitions.

True loves first kiss

Just thinking about how many movies have shared this theme in recent years after enjoying the retelling of the sleeping beauty story yesterday.

50 First Dates, an Adam Sandler movie with a sweet message. 'Theres nothing like a first kiss'

Enchanted, the musical where the sleeping beauty story is retold so well.

Frozen-no one falls in love at first sight.

Its corny, but as I type this on monday morning beside my movie date Laura, we are a 'love at first sight couple'. 'We are a I am going to marry that girl' I just took out couple. And we are 39 and 1/2 years toward being a couple for a full 40 years.

I believe in the power of true loves first kiss.

Gravity

Near Wiamea, northern Hawaii, atop a long dead volcanic peak turned fertile grassland.

I have been a Sandra Bullock fan since day one, the innocence, humor, self deprecation, cuteness thing. I already heard it was not really plotted but a survival amid real trouble film, and it worked for me, space is a very unforgiving environment, and all the things she did to get home were impressive acrobatically and theoretically. And the earth from space is a great backdrop.

The Descendents

This beach played a big role in the movie, its on Hanalei Bay in Kauai near the Princeville resort, also played a role in the musical South Pacific. The prewar pier still functions as a picnic and play area.

A powerful film, do not see if you are offended by profanity but it plays a role in the rebellion of the main charactar's children. Oahu, Kauai, play an inportant role in the drama about tragedy, disfunctional families, and family values, all portrayed with power and the traditions of hawaiian music, culture, and beauty in the backgroud. You see the high price of infidelity and the strength of family.The suffering in the movie created bonding and strength. We liked it.

Change we can't live with

This chuck of land used to belong to the coastline of Hawaii, but got stranded all alone.


All change is difficult. Risky something for the future, breaking a harmful habit, facing the inevitable decline we feel in aging.

The church is changing, society is changing, culture is changing, I am changing.

Some changes are worth resisting, some cannot be resisted, some should be embraced.

I have an acquaintance that left her marriage and her faith, reached out from traditional beliefs to a broader new age type of spirituality, and found it equally frustating. At this point she is only sure on one this, that she is living and still alive, and still about to live and love and experience the daily reality she faces.

That's enough of an anchor is times of great change.

Thoughts on watching Contagion

Here's the oldest heavy lifting picture in my set. I do not know when this was taken.

A movie about a deadly bacterial outbreak that kills millions does not sound like entertainment, but it was so well done that exploring a what if situation was fascinating.

The timeline unfolding as they searched for clues, a cure, and tried to manage the major cities where the outbreak began made for a suspensful two hours.

The fact that there were so many stars who died breaks the mold of most pictures.

The very real possibility that something like this could happen was chilling.

I would not want to be around when society collapses to the point of people killing each other for a meal. Without mutual respect and sharing we are all in deep trouble.

Movie Night

Our Texas Sage is blooming, as it does several times a year, never watered, fast growing and can be shaped by trimming. We love them.

We watched "The Journey of Natty Gann" a Disney feature from 1985 set during the depression as a little girl hits the road to find her father. It was an honest picture of both good and bad people she encountered during her dangerous trip over rail, road and whatever vehicle she could hid in with her pet wolf. I enjoyed seeing it again.

Our nine foot screen and Phillips Sound System make it real enjoyable for a room the size of our Bible Study room.

I am reminded of earlier generations of Christian who were warned of the evil influence of movies. I grant that one needs to be selective, but their are so many great stories in the cinema that my life has been blessed and benefited by Movies of all types.

Letters to Juliet

I watched Letters to Julia tonight. Its a romance and a story about love. Beautiful music, scenery in and around Italy, good acting. I am really a fan of young Amanda Sayfried from MaMa Mia and Dear John. Her innocence and sincerity really play well on screen. The connection to Romeo and Juliet, Italy, love rediscovered, were very touching.

I was saddened to see Amanda sharing her joy of working with sensitive and talented director Gary Winik only to find he died early this year of a brain tumor.

Eat, Pray, Love

My resting vacation has allowed me to relax a bit more, and I have been watching a movie or two, including the free Starz channels we have been given for a time. I have watched the Julia Roberts movie based on the best selling novel which I have in my library but have not read, first the last half and just now the first.

I loved the story of a woman searching for spiritual healing, the joy and beauty of the three cultures she experiences in a year. I have no need to criticize her search in eastern religion, not because I agree with her thinking, but because we cannot criticize the meditation others are doing if our Christian practices are not equal or better.

The Apostle Paul in IICor. 6 is reflecting on the difficulties of his own journey as a Christian Missionary. The passage is astonishing and will be the basis for my reflections this Sunday. Read it meditatively when you get a moment.

I returned to the gym for a 20 minute walk yesterday, to share with a few gym friends what happened, not to elicit sympathy but to share a setback on my journey to spiritual and physical balance. All I have is this moment, yesterday is history, and tomorrow is a promissory note we cannot cash. I want to live and grow, to eat healthy, pray truly, love unfeignedly.....That's Paul's phrase....and I think it is astonishing.

Tuck Everlasting

We had a movie afternoon at the study room today. Disney's Tuck Everlasting won a Scholastic Award for meaningful movies so they used it in High Schools for discussion.

This charming movie comes with a series of discussions throughout the movie about the issues raised in the story which was written by Natalie Babbit. A Family becomes immortal and ageless by drinking from a pool of water. Turns out not to be a blessing for them. The movie is beautifully acted and filmed. I will be interested to see how Pirates of the Caribbean IV deals with the fountain of youth myth.

Amazing Grace, the movie

This is the ledge in Kauai where Harrison Ford through Anne Heche in Six Days, Seven Nights, or at least their stunt doubles.

We began our movie season at SLCC on our 9 ft screen in the office. Amazing Grace was a drama of the English Parliment in the 1800s, but the actors, and the theme of abolition were so well presented that I found myself really involved with the story and so impressed that England had a man like William Wilberforce to end slavery without a civil war. They did a fine job of paying homage to John Newton, slave trader converted to pastor, whose song has been the favorite hymn of all time in most polls, and has been performed by hundreds of people in all musical styles.

We also were entertained by Toy Story 3, which is one of the most charming trilogies ever produced by Disney Pixar. I was laughing out loud and a six year old behind me was laughing out loud and she made me laugh out louder. Good times.