• Drive – This movie had so much swagger. To call it “cool” would be an understatement.
• Hugo – A great film that helps make some history of the cinema into a palpable story.
• Super 8 – If there was an award for making a film most likely to have been lost by Steven Spielberg, this would be it. Great on all points.
• Warrior
• Crazy Stupid Love
• The Descendants
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1 & 2
• Moneyball
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• Hanna
• Real Steel
• The Adjustment Bureau

Not a bad list there. What were a few of your favorite films from this year?

This is a powerful movie. Clooney’s character is being pulled in so many different directions. His wife has had an accident and is lying in the hospital. His workaholic lifestyle has kept him from developing a deeper relationship with his two daughters. His extended family is betting on him to make a decision that will result in them inheriting a huge sum of money. He finds out that his wife, who is lying in the hospital in a coma, has been having an affair. That is quite a load to carry on your shoulders.

As I sat and watched this film I began identifying the stories that were happening to Clooney with those of the people that I help oversee. It helped give me insight into what they went through this year and gave me hope that the trials that we encounter help refine us into a person that is more closely connected to God and His purposes. Don’t allow bad circumstances to pull your faith and hope away from Christ.

What will it take for you to change your life and commit to a deeper relationship with our God? These pivotal circumstances that we have little or no control over can wreck your life…or they can help you get back on track with God. They will help you realize what is really important in life and what you should really be thankful for and focusing on.

Check out this video and share some thoughts about a pivotal circumstance that God has used to redirect your path.

How important do you think chemistry is to your teams that you work with? How are you trying to make it happen? Do you take chances? Do you let others watch and do you laugh at your mistakes? So much to think about when trying to get the chemistry right, but trust me, when you get it right, the littlest acts can have the best reactions.

The movie was a mix of art house film and action flick. The last film I would have categorized like this would have been The American with George Clooney, but Hanna had much more action. I would easily go back to the theater this week to see Hannah again. The acting, direction, and  look of the film were superb.

You really find yourself connecting with the characters. Highly recommend this one.

I must be becoming a gamer. I have been looking up maps and codes online to learn how to play the game better. As I am writing this I keep looking at the game console and then at the clock and then back at the console. It is 12:21 AM and I am considering playing a little more, but I know that I have a very long day ahead tomorrow and should go to bed.

So what kinds of games are you playing right now?

Book:
Yesterday I was listening to NPR and a listener described the book as, “smoldering.” I think that is the best description as this book is pretty long and has relatively few action moments. Most of the book is spent on the relationship between the main characters Edward and Bella. One of the things that I like about the book is that it breaks some of the conventional vampire rules and spends time humanizing the vampires instead of getting wrapped up in the gory details of feeding.

I can easily see why so many girls are wrapped up within this series of books. Slightly dorky and clumsy girl meets hot and intriguing vampire, who falls in love with her and helps her escape from the reality that has become her life. A lot of the girls that couldn’t wait for the movie to come out and talked about the book on Facebook best match the description above. I didn’t feel like the supernatural side of the story outweighed the human side of the story. The majority of the book is spent on the relationship between Edward and Bella and their burgeoning love. As I told my friends as I talked them into going to see the movie, “this is a love story with a little interlude with vampires.” I grew up reading Anne Rice during High School so this story seemed really tame and had very few vampire moments, but I liked what happened and where it went.

If you have the time read the book or get the audio version on iTunes, which clocks in at just over 12 hours.

Movie:
What a let down! I was expecting more from this film and would say that it delivered on nothing. The only casting choices that I liked were Edward, Bella, and Alice. The director brought out the vampires as being weird instead of just being outside the crowd, which are two different things. With very few supernatural things to create on film I thought that what we got was very hokey and cheesy.  I laughed aloud many times during the film, as did the couple sitting behind us. The film was very fragmented and seemed to introduce moments from the book without explanation. I also felt that there was too much over acting during the film.

Skip the movie if you can read the book. It will only stand to keep you away from the books, which are far superior.

*edited

• The Changeling, not Changeling
• Elizabeth: The Golden Age
• Knocked Up
• Hot Fuzz

     I have had a full weekend of film so far. I watched The Changeling last night with John and Paige. It was made in 1980 and is destined for a treatment by the MST3000 crowd. John got scared about half way through the movie and left. Sydnie got bored shortly afterwards so I was the only one to finish the movie. Elizabeth was a great film. I don’t really get into period pieces like this, but I tossed in and was happy I did. Trying to keep things light this afternoon by watching Hot Fuzz and Knocked up. I have seen both of these like 3 or 4 times before. It is amazing how much more stuff you pick up each time you watch a movie again.

How many movies do you watch in a week?

The theatre we watched Max Payne in had a brand new Christie projector in it and was probably the best picture quality I have ever seen. The movie looked incredible. Visually the film is amazing. There are scenes in the film that are breathtaking and the special effects were superb. Mark Wahlberg’s performance was weak though. There were moments when I thought he is just not mature enough to pull this scene off. Mark is the new Keanu in my opinion. Still this film was good, but not great.

The best part of the weekend was seeing the trailers for two of Clint Eastwood’s new movies. Go to www.imdb.com and check them out.

So how much did Biden give to charity recently? How about $995 in 2007, which was one of his most charitable years and $120 in 1999. You check out some other figures on giving here.

With corporations extolling their charitable interests more and more what role do you think the charity of our politicians will make in the coming years?