A Moral Inventory

Is it wrong to have favourite sermons?

I hope not, as I have one, and its on my iPod, and I listen to it often.

J-man, gave a talk on 1John1:5-2:5, titled "Take a Moral Inventory". It was Justin's 2nd last talk at Christchuch St Ives.

It's filled with many pearls of wisdom:

1. Christianity is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.
2. Take a moral inventory where we don't compare ourselves against other people, but against our Lord Jesus Christ.
3. Start with God, end with resolve.
4. God is faithful and just and will purify us from unrighteousness.

and many Moffattisms:

1. A Bonhoeffer quote.
2. A nice joke: "Church is not full of Hypocrites......there is plenty of room up the front and down the sides"
3. "Take sin and leave it in the tomb"

The talk can be downloaded here and is well worth a listen.

Miss your sermons J-man!

Does anyone have any favourite sermons?

Jim

2006 Film Anticipation Review

In January last year, I wrote about the 20 films I was most looking forward to in 2006.

I saw most of them. Below is a brief comment on each, whether I saw it or not.

Coming soon - top 20 most anticipated films of 2007, but until then.......2006 in review....

1.Casino Royale
Loved it. Best 'Bond' yet, as well as a very enjoyable film whether part of a franchise or not.

2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dean Man's Chest
Hmmm. Enjoyable, but unfinished. May just have done enough for the next chapter to make the most anticipated films of 2007 list.

3. The Da Vinci Code
Saw it once. Disliked it. Saw it again. Hated it.

4.Stranger than Fiction
So, only got to this one in 2007. But you know how much I loved this film.

5.Superman Returns
Too long. Way too long. But still, was pretty cool.

6.Zodiac
Delayed....AGAIN. March this year though!

7.Poseidon
Didn't see, but from what I have heard, glad I didn't.

8.Mission Impossible 3
Enjoyable popcorn action film.

9.The Departed
YES! I love this film. When can I see it again?

10. The Visiting
Ummmm? Where did this film go?

11. Inside Man
Ohhh - another great film from last year!

12. Lady in the Water
Ok - not everyone's cup of tea. But it was mine. For those who love details in films. This is worth the watch.

13. American Dreamz
Oh how I hated this film. I don't turn many movies off. I can probably count them on my hand. This one was one of them.

14. For your Consideration
I still need to see this!

15. Lucky You
Delayed, comes out soon people.

16. Munich
Saw it once. That was enough for me.

17. Hostel
Urgh - was I really looking forward to this film? Ok, my mistake. Still, good concepts, but poorly executed.

18. Cars
Vroom, Vroom, Vroom. I love PIXAR.

19. A History of Violence
Meh. Probably one of my biggest disappointments of the year. Such good reviews, but I really did not like this film.

20. The Break Up
I'm embarrassed this was on my list? Why was 'The prestige' not on my list? See 'The prestige' instead of this film!

Stranger Than Fiction

Every year, I see close on 25 films at the movies and about the same on DVD. Every year, there are films which I really enjoy.

This year (so far) I though 'The Queen' was fantastic. Last year, it was 'V for Vendetta' the year before that was 'Crash' and 'Batman Begins'.

But every now and then, a film will come along, which is even better then that. A film which is in a league of its own. It doesn't happen every year, but it happens. In 1999, it happened with "Fight Club". In 2005 it happened with "Garden State".

And in 2007, it may just have happened with "Stranger Than Fiction"

"Stranger Than Fiction" tells the story of Harold Click (Will Ferrell in a restrained role, yet still so familiar) as an IRS agent who wakes up one morning to hear his life being chronicled by a narrator (Emma Thompson) only he can hear. The Narrator, a nearly forgotten author of tragic novels, is struggling to complete her latest and best book, unaware that her protagonist is alive and uncontrollably guided by her words. Harold soon hears the Narrator say that events have been set in motion that will lead to his imminent death. Harold enlists the help of an English professor (Dustin Hoffman) to help him discover whether he is in a Comedy or a Tragedy. Harold also finds unexpected comfort in a burgeoning romance with a defiant audit subject, Ana Pascal (Gyllenhaal).

Below are 3 reasons why this film is brilliant and could find its way into my top 10 within time.

1) Originality and Script - this may have been done before, but not to my knowledge, by I love the idea of someone's life being narrated and that person being able to hear it. But what makes it even better is the cleverness of the script. The intricacies it pulls us into. The ability for the Narrator to use sentences which are both humors and clever and the character to respond to that accordingly.

2) Acting - I love Will Ferrell, but lets face it, Anchormanm while funny, is not brilliant acting. Im sure Ferrell is really like that in person! But here, here we see a character obsessed with numbers, a lonely man, a man with frustrations and a man with feelings. Ferrell nails this role and makes this film. Hoffman is exceptional, as always. His timing of lines is impeccable, and facial expressions perfectly suited to the role. Thompson is on her game here as well. One scene in particular (I wont name it), but just blew me away.

3) Filming - For those familiar with "Fight Club", one of my favourite scenes is the Ikea catalogue scene at the beginning of the film. I love the techniques here of words and images appearing, but as if they are part of the environment the character is in. This happens throughout the film, and its so eye catching and clever in the way and times it happens, it was just a pleasure to watch.

I could go on and on about this film. I have no idea why this has not been nominated for more Academy Awards. Seriously. Best Film, Best Director, Best Screen Play, possibly even some best actor nominations. But would the Academy ever nominate Will Ferrell? Or a Will Ferrell film?

I want to see this film again.

Jim