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MARVEL MAY: WHAT MAKES A HERO GOOD?
âWhatever happens tomorrow you must promise me one thing: that you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier but a good man.â ~ Dr. Abraham Erskine in âCaptain America: The First Avengerâ Itâs May, and if youâre a story-loving, movie-going geek (like me) that usually brings two thoughts to mind: âMay the 4th be with youâ and âwhereâs my Captain America t-shirt?!â The former is due to May 4th being designated as Star Wars Day (the reason for which is far too complicated to explain on this blog post đ); the latter because forâgive or takeâa decade, superhero lovers everywhere have had a Marvel Comic movie to flock…
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MOVIE NIGHT WITH THE ERWIN BROTHERS: I CAN ONLY IMAGINE
âAnd forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.â ~ âThe Lordâs Prayerâ To be honest, I Can Only Imagine is not my favorite movie to watch. Not that it isnât a great film. As with Woodlawn, Momâs Night Out, October Baby, and, Iâm sure, I Still Believe (though I havenât gotten a chance to watch it yet), if it was made by the Erwin Brothers itâs going to be fantastic. I Can Only Imagine is certainly no exception, evidenced by the fact it became nothing short of a âChristian Blockbusterâ during its theatrical run in March of 2018. The production is top-quality, the acting excellent (Dennis Quaidâs performance…
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MOVIE NIGHT WITH THE ERWIN BROTHERS: WOODLAWN
âThe Good Book says, âWhere thereâs no vision, the people perish.â That means people canât live without hope. They need it like they need air. I say: go give it to them.â ~ Mr. Nathan in the movie “Woodlawn“ âRevival comes through repentance.â My Dad spoke these words just a few minutes ago as we were discussing this movieâwhich, we both agree, is about the best ever made (though 1959âs Ben-Hur will probably always hold the top spot in my book đ). His words set me thinking. We as the people of God have been praying for ârevivalâ for years. We write books about it, sing songs about it, blog…
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MOVIE NIGHT WITH THE ERWIN BROTHERS: MOMâS NIGHT OUT
âHardworking mom Allyson has a crazy night out with her friends, while their husbands watch their children.â ~ IMDB description of âMomâs Night Outâ âThe hand that rocks the cradle rules the worldââŚbut what happens when the baby in the cradle goes missing? đ Thatâs what Allyson and her fellow moms discover when they try to take one night off from their hectic lives only to have everything that can go wrong go absolutely wrongâand then some! But, before I can continue this post, I feel like I need to clarify something⌠The above-mentioned missing baby is perfectly safe throughout the course of the entire movie and is returned to…
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MOVIE NIGHT WITH THE ERWIN BROTHERS: OCTOBER BABY
âA beautiful and naĂŻve college freshman sets out on a road trip with her misfit friends to discover herself after she learns that her entire life is a lieâ ~ Google description of the movie âOctober Babyâ This month, March 2020, two of my very favorite filmmakers, brothers Jon and Andrew Erwin, are releasing their fifth movie into theatersâŚand, though âI Still Believeâ (the true story of award-winning Contemporary Christian Artist Jeremy Campâs love story with his wife as she battled with cancer) doesnât come out till March 13, I thought it would be fun to celebrate by discussing each of their films and the impact they have had (and…
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WHY STORIES?
âBecause when you read a book as a child it becomes part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does and IâveâIâve gotten carried awayâŚâ ~ Kathleen Kelly (played by Meg Ryan) in the Warner Brother’s film “You’ve Got Mail” Stories have power. I know that. Most of who I am or what I believe can be traced back to a story I loved as a kid or teenager. From warrior courage in âPilgrimâs Progressâ to heroic chivalry in âBambiâ, selfless kindness in âHeidiâ to dogmatic perseverance in âHomeward Boundâ, honorable sacrifice in âThe Chronicles of Narniaâ to supernatural power in âThis Present…
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“FROZEN II” AND MY ACHE FOR GLORY: PART THREE
âO God, You are my God; earnestly do I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory.â – Psalm 63:1&2 (NKJV & YLT, combined) Thirst. Hunger. The Desire of our souls. Inside every human heart lies an unquenchable longing for something we canât describe, canât explain, and canât live without. An ache for glory. In Part 1 of this blog series, I talked about how Queen Elsa (from Disney Animationâs latest film Frozen II) goes on a search that…
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“FROZEN II” AND MY ACHE FOR GLORY: PART TWO
âI have always been so different, normal rules did not apply. Is this the Day? Are you the way? I finally find out why?â Itâs a powerful revelation. After journeying âinto the unknownâ, facing her fears and taming the wild spirits of wind, fire, and water (earth comes later with the help of her sister, Princess Anna), Queen Elsa of Arendelle has finally reached the culmination of her search: an icy cavern hiding the source of the mysterious Voice she has left her kingdom to follow. As she plunges deeper and deeper into the frozen temple, she begins to sing a hauntingly gorgeous ballad entitled âShow Yourselfâ appealing to the…
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“FROZEN II” AND MY ACHE FOR GLORY: PART ONE
I want to talk about this picture. I want to talk about the story behind this picture. And I want to talk about why I feel the way I do when I look at this picture. The best way I can describe it is an ache. For the few reading this who donât already know, the picture is of Queen Elsa of Arendelle: the colorful, sparkling kingdom in Disney Animationâs latest movie Frozen II (the wildly anticipated sequel to 2013âs Box Office Phenomenon Frozen). Queen Elsa is an Ice Queen. Literally. She can turn things to ice along with a slew of other cool (pun-intended) magical powers. In the first…
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UNPACKING “UNPLANNED”
(This Post was originally posted on Facebook April 4, 2019. “Unplanned” is no longer in theaters but is now available in digital and DVD formats) âUNPLANNEDâ No matter how hard I try, I keep struggling to find words to express the impact this movie has had on me. But Iâm going to try one more time because Iâve got to find a way to say it somehow. âUNPLANNEDâ is the kind of thing that touches everyone a little differently. Itâs more than a movie: itâs a space of 2-hours that will forever define your life. Like Abby Johnson herself, what you see will change everything. I honestly donât know how…