Airplane!

The 1980 comedy starring Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty quickly became a hit and is revered as a cult classic in many circles. The film is about Ted Striker, a former pilot in the Air Force, and his love for Elaine Dickenson, a stewardess (back when they were called stewardesses <--fyi, stewardesses is the longest English word one can spell using only their left hand, in proper hand position.) Ted follows Elaine onto a plane, trying to mend their broken relationship, only to be found crucially important, as he is the only one aboard that can not only fly the plane, but isn't suffering from the food poisoning that struck down the pilots and navigator. The movie is filled with so much stupidity and randomness, that it's easily one of my favorites.

What can we learn from such an odd movie? In watching Airplane! I was reminded of how in control of our lives God is. Ted's love story with Elaine, which he recounts to anyone who has ears, is one of many ups and downs, but because of everything that happened to him, the fateful raid Ted organized that killed 7 men, the flying experience, the fact that their relationship was bad and Ted felt he had to go on the plane to get Elaine, and his choice of dinner saved that plane full of people.

Jeremiah 29:11 says: "I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

This was written by Jeremiah during the reign of Babylon, as the Israelites were being forced out of their homeland (again). Jeremiah was writing to reassure the Israelites that God is in control, and His plan is perfect, and to trust in it.

All of the things that happen to us in our lives, we may not understand. We might not know why our dad lost his job when we were kids so we didn't get to have much, or why our best friend died at a young age, or why we couldn't go to this one thing this one time, but God knows. He has a plan for all of us. We may not know the ending, and it may not make sense at all (much like Airplane!) when we're in the thick of it, but, surely, God knows what He's doing.

He does know what He's doing. And don't call me Shirley.

Next week: Amazing Grace

The Addams Family Values

The whole family is back in an all new adventure, this time, with a new addition: Pubert Addams, the new mustachioed baby boy. In search of a Nanny, they hire Debbie, (Joan Cusack) a woman who seems normal enough, but also seems to fit in perfectly with the Addamses. Fester falls head over heels in love with Debbie, who, as luck would have it, is a serial killer known as the Black Widow, who marries rich bachelors and then kills them on their wedding night, making it look like an accident.

Needing to get closer to Fester, Debbie tells Morticia and Gomez that the children told her that they wanted to go to Summer Camp. Falling for the ploy, Wednesday and Pugsley are shipped off to Camp Chippewa. "Chippewa. It's an Indian word. It means Orphan," Wednesday informs. While at camp Wednesday meets Joel (Andrew Krumholtz) a fellow social outcast. The two become somewhat romantically interested in each other, as romantically interested as two elementary aged kids can be. They're interested in each other for who the other person is. Pugsley, Wednesday, Joel and a small band of kids are the only ones at Camp Chippewa who act like themselves and aren't afraid of what people think about them. They are who they are and that's fine with them.

Wednesday and Joel devise a plan to create chaos during the performance of the lead counselor's play about the first Thanksgiving and end up tying one of the more annoying girls to a stake and pretend to light a fire beneath her.

Meanwhile, back at the Addams'...

Fester and Debbie get married, and Debbie, after several unsuccessful attempts at killing Fester, makes him swear that he will never see his family again, because it would make Debbie too upset. Fester, thinking Debbie actually loves him, agrees, to make her happy. He thinks that if he does all the right things, Debbie will love him more. He's changing who he is to be who he thinks Debbie wants him to be.

These two relationships are complete opposites if you couldn't tell. The Bible says that man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart, so we don't need to completely change who we are to be accepted by others. Sure we may have to change some things or alter some of our habits or behaviors, or even our looks some times, to be taken seriously, or to respect others wishes, but not to seek approval. If you have to completely change the person you are to be accepted by someone else, you don't need their acceptance anyway.

Next Week is Airplane!

The Addams Family

I was watching this the other day, and I was wondering how I was going to connect it to spirituality, and it wasn't until I had finished the film and was thinking about it that I came up with the overarching theme: Love, and how it can change someone.

Gomez Addams (Raul Julia) had a fight with his brother, Fester, 25 years ago, and Fester subsequently took off in anger. Now with a family of his own, wife Morticia (Anjelica Huston) and children Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) Gomez, feeling great guilt for driving Fester away, has been trying to reach Fester on the other side to make right what he has done. Knowing of their great fortune, the Addams' lawyer (or something), Tully (Dan Hedaya), who owes a large sum to his loan shark, Abigail Craven (Elizabeth Wilson), decides to steal the money from the Addams'. Tully notices that Craven's son, Gordon (Christopher Lloyd) looks a lot like Fester. He devises the plan that Gordon infiltrates the manor, wins their trust, and absconds with the money. Gordon goes in with full intention of following through with this plan, but after being welcomed with such joy and passion, and love that this family has for one of its own, Gordon is transformed into Fester. He becomes this whole new person from what he was before. He turns from a man who wants to dupe these people, to someone who truly loves them because they love him for who he is, or who they think he is.

That's what I got out of the Addams Family. Next week, The Addams Family Values

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

This one was difficult to think of something to connect with spirituality, but I think I may have a pretty good one. I think we should all be more like Ace.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is a film about Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey), who is, you guessed it, a Pet Detective. He takes cases involving animals, such as the one he is completing at the beginning of the movie: a couple who had recently divorced, the wife got the dog, but the husband took off with it, and Ace goes in and retrieves it. He's also planning on catching an Albino pigeon which has a $25,000 reward upon return. His case for the duration of the movie: Snowflake, the mascot for the Miami Dolphin has been kidnapped. He has narrowed it down to someone on the team that went to the Super Bowl in 1984 due to an orange emerald he found in Snowflake's tank that came from the championship ring.

No matter how many people think (or know) that Ace is crazy for thinking the things he does. He is so set on solving this case that he can think of little else. He is so singly focused, it's almost inspiring. He doesn't let anything get in his way of accomplishing this goal.

That's what I pulled out of Ace Ventura. This is a short post, but it was a difficult one to come up with spiritual connections. Don't worry, later ones will be better =P

Next Week: The Addams Family... =]

10 Things I Hate About You

This 1999 film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Julia Stiles, and Heath Ledger (moment of silence), a modern day remake of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, depicts Cameron (Levitt) as a new student. He is shown around the school by Michael (David Krumholtz) who tells him where all the groups hang out. Cameron sees Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) and falls instantly in like. Michael breaks the news to Cameron, that Bianca isn't allowed to date. This rule changes however, when Bianca's father says that she is allowed to date, but only after her sister, Kat (Stiles) does. There's only one problem: Kat is the proverbial shrew, a girl who rejects every single popular trend and instead, forges her own path and doesn't care what anyone thinks of her. She's not afraid of dying without ever having a date. Cameron and Michael devise a plan to talk the school psycho, Patrick (Ledger) into dating Kat so Cameron can date Bianca. Comic mishaps and romantic comedy tragedies ensue.

This movie is a very humorous and interesting film. I got a few spiritual ideas while watching, but not many. Cameron sees Bianca and all he sees is her looks. He completely overlooks her attitude toward others, her shallowness, and her complete lack of, well, intelligence, i.e., one of my favorite lines, "There's a big difference between like and love. Like I like my Sketchers, but I LOVE my Prada Backpack." Later when he gets to know her, and she changes a little bit, he begins to like her for who she actually is and not for just what she looks like. This is a problem many people have, including King David, who had an affair with Bathsheeba after he saw her bathing from his balcony. Later David wrote many Psalms about this time in his life and how difficult it was for him to shake these feelings of lust.

Near the end of the movie Kat reveals to Bianca that she actually dated Joey Donner, (Andrew Keegan) one of the characters that is also trying to date Bianca. Kat tells Bianca that she did things that she isn't proud of right now and it destroyed her, so Kat, knowing that their father would treat them equally, chose not to date so Bianca wouldn't have to go through the hurt and pain it can cause. Bianca gets mad at Kat for never telling her this and not allowing her to experience things for herself. I thought of God when she was saying all of this. God gives us the freedom to make our own choices. He gives us the ability to choose to love Him, because if He forced us to love Him it wouldn't be true love. Without choice there is no love. God let us choose to love Him so we need to make the right decision and choose to love Him.

Next week the movie is Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Oh dear, this might be a chore =P

3:10 to Yuma - Spiritual Connections

Throughout the film I kept thinking of Dan Evans as a sort of Jesus figure. He obviously carries this image as he's the hero of the story, but also for some other reasons. When Jesus came to earth most of the Jews rejected him because they thought the Messiah was going to be someone who was going to come and be a big war hero and overthrow the oppressive rulers. William, Dan's son, didn't show him the respect he should have as a son to his father, saying that he wasn't going to get things done about Hollander taking their land away, is like the Jews attitude toward Jesus when he came.

Once Dan has successfully gotten Wade from the inn to the train station without being shot they're sitting there waiting for the train to come, Dan just says, "You know, I ain't stubborn." Wade asks what he's talking about and Dan replies that he's not stubborn like Wade had accused him of being for keeping his family on that dying ranch in the middle of the desert. Dan explains that his youngest, Mark, was diagnosed with tuberculosis and the doctor told him he needed to be moved to a dry climate. Even though it's hard on the family Dan is keeping his family there because it's the best thing for his son. God is like that. We may not know why things are the way they are, but I believe that God knows what he's doing and what's best for us. Even if we don't know why we're in a situation, God knows what's best for us, so we should trust him in everything we are given.

Right before Dan takes Wade to the train station from the inn Wade tries to strike a deal with Dan. As Dan is going to be paid $200 upon return, Wade offers him $400 to let him go. Dan says, "So you figure that's my price, do you?" and Wade responds, "No. No I reckon it's a thousand." There's some silence before Wade actually gives him the offer of $1,000, plus $10,000 from Hollander's coach he had held up at the beginning of the movie. Dan, not sure if he believes him jokes, "Will that be in a bank note, Wade? Or would you be kind enough to make a deposit for me?" and Wade, straight-faced, responds, "Cash. All you gotta do is open that door and let me walk out." You can see Dan's mind going back and forth in the look on his face, actually considering trading the lives of the people that died to help him get Wade where he is now for a fortune (at that time). This is a decision we face, though not to that extreme, everyday. We have the choice to go on and do what we know we need to do for the greater good, or do the easier thing, which may seem to be profitable to you at the time.

Dan is called, on several occasions, referred to as "The one who walked Ben Wade to that station when nobody else would." Jesus was the one who walked our sins to the cross when nobody else COULD.

These are the spiritual connections I made while watching the film 3:10 to Yuma.

Next Week's Film: 10 Things I Hate About You: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0147800/

3:10 to Yuma Premise - Contains Spoilers

The film 3:10 to Yuma, starring Christian Bale and Russel Crowe is a western action movie, rated R for violence and language. This isn't a children's movie. Lots of shooting and lots of swearing.

The film is set in the late 1900s, during a boom in the railroad industry. Rancher Dan Evans (Bale) lives on a patch of land owned by a man named Hollander (Lennie Loftin), who has been trying to get Dan to move off of it so he can sell the land to the railroad company for more money. The film opens with Hollander's cronies, led by Tucker (Kevin Durand) burning down Dan's barn in the middle of the night. Dan and his oldest son William (Logan Lerman) go into the burning barn and get as much horse tack and horses as they can before the barn collapses. William attempts to pull a bag of feed out, but Dan tells him to leave it and just as Dan pulls his son out of the barn the roof caves in right where William was standing. Dan assures William that he'll take care of it, but William doesn't believe him.

Meanwhile, Ben Wade (Crowe) and his outfit, led by Charlie Prince (Ben Foster) attack an armored payroll coach headed for Bisbee, AZ, killing all but one of the hired Pinkerton agents with it.

As morning rolls around, Dan, along with his two sons, in search of their herd that Tucker let loose the night before, stumbles upon the scene where Wade is robbing the coach. Put in an interesting position, Wade strikes a deal with Dan, the outlaws take the boys' horses into town and they bring their cattle back home. The outlaws ride off on the Evans' horses.

Dan tends to the injured Pinkerton, Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda), and carries him into Bisbee, not knowing that that's where Wade's gang was headed as well. They find their horses cinched up where Wade had told them he'd leave them for them, and mount up, heading into town.

Charlie has already tricked the marshall and his men into checking out the coach they had just held up, so there isn't a lawman in the town. The outlaws stop for a celebratory drink at a saloon, and Wade decides to get cozy with the barmaid, while Charlie and the gang take off, promising to wait for him on the outskirts of town.

Dan, after getting McElroy into town, brings him to the town doctor, who is actually a veterinarian (Alan Tudyk) who removes the bullet from his stomach. After the procedure is done, Dan crosses the street to the saloon where Hollander's office is. Meaning to go in and talk to him about undamming his water supply, but being rejected, Dan decides to take matters into his own hands, goes back to his horse, grabs his shotgun, and walks back into the saloon, just as the marshall gets back into town. The marshall sees what's happening and gets his men to surround the saloon, which, unknown to them, holds Ben Wade.

Wade comes downstairs just as Dan bursts through the doors, shotgun in tow. Remembering Dan from earlier, Wade humors him by paying him for the cattle that died when they were caught in the crossfire, and for the lost days work of him and his boys. As all this is going on, Dan sees the marshall's men closing in on the saloon. Just as the negotiations are done, the marshall's men come in and arrest Ben Wade, saying he's going to be put on the 3:10 train to Yuma prison the day after tomorrow to be hanged and made an example of.

They need a group to escort such a notorious criminal. Tucker and the man from the railroad, Grayson Butterfield (Dallas Roberts) volunteer to take him, along with McElroy. Still wounded, the marshall insists the doctor go too. Dan says that he'll take him as long as he'll be paid 200 dollars upon his return. Butterfield agrees to this and the plan is set.

Charlie comes riding into town, shooting randomly when he sees that Wade's being put in the marshall's wagon, then rides off. Knowing it's not going to be a safe journey, the group decides on a plan. The marshall takes off in the wagon toward Dan's ranch and the group take another man from the railroad out to the ranch on horseback.

Once the wagon gets out to Dan's ranch, the wheel gets stuck in a rut, and the marshall calls out to Dan for help. Tucker, Dan and the man from the railroad come out to help him. They open the door to the marshall's wagon, take Wade out, take his hat off, and give him the railroad man's hat and coat. The railroad man dons Wade's hat and takes his place in the wagon and they take off again. Charlie, who had been following the wagon from Bisbee, thinking Wade is still in the wagon, follows.

The group sets out that night. Shortly after the group leaves, William sneaks out of bed, takes his own pistol and his horse and follows the group.

During the night Tucker, who's annoying Wade as he's keeping watch over him during the night shift, so he can't sleep either, is attacked by Wade who kills him. With no time to bury him, the group must move on.

The outlaws catch up with the marshall's wagon, carrying the fake Wade. When they realize its just a decoy, they set the wagon on fire and demand the railroad man tell them where they're taking Wade. He finally tells them they're going to Contention to put him on the Yuma train.

The next day, after McElroy says a few choice words to Wade, Wade attacks him, knocks him off his horse and throws him down a ravine. Wade takes McElroy's gun and is holding the group at gunpoint when William comes in, holding his pistol to Wade's head. He talks Wade out of killing the men, and Dan takes McElroy's gun away from him.

The group, on their way to Contention, decides to take the pass through Apache country, against the wishes of Wade, who says they're going to get killed by the Apache. They go through, but are attacked during the night. Wade escapes and takes Dan's gun and uses it to kill the couple braves attacking the group. He then knocks Ben unconscious and takes off.

Wade gets caught up in a railroad operation heading through some mountains when he's recognized by someone whose brother he killed. They begin torturing him, when the group comes and pulls some sweet moves and gets him free, because, as Dan said, there's no reward for getting him halfway there. Once Wade's back in their possession, at the cost of the life of the doctor, they continue on into Contention.

The outlaws, right behind them, come across the same group and get through in much the same way, except with a lot more killing.

Now in Contention, they book a room at an inn across town from the train station. Still an hour before the train is scheduled to come. Butterfield gets a small group together from people in the town to protect Wade from being taken by the outlaws.

And speak of the devil, the outlaws roll in. Once they find out where Wade is and how many people are protecting him, Charlie gives the town of Contention a deal, $200 for anyone who kills one of Wade's captors. The protectors begin dropping like flies. First the marshall of Contention leaves, and is shot by the townspeople, then Butterfield says he's going to get out while he still can, and then Dan tells William he can't go and has to stay when he takes Wade to the station.

There's a very long drawn out gunfight as Wade and Dan make there way from the inn to the train station, but we find out how Dan lost his foot, and see a whole new side of Wade. When they finally get to the station, the train is late, so they have to wait for it to get there. When it does, Dan runs Wade out to the car, and Wade gets shackled in, just as the gate is shutting however, Dan is shot in the back by Charlie, who caught up with them. As he's turning around, Charlie empties the rest of his six shooter into Dan and he falls to the ground, nearly dead.

Wade steps out of the train, knowing he deserves to die for the crimes he's committed, and having grown close to Dan, he's a little angered by Charlie's actions. Once Charlie gives him his gun and belt back, Wade whips out The Hand of God, the name of his pistol, and shoots all the members of his party, leaving Charlie for last. Once they're all taken care of, he gets back on the train and back into the gated car, as William runs in and collapses over his dying father.

William cries as he says "You did it dad, he's on the train because you brought him all the way." The train begins to move and Wade whistles and his horse follows the train, ready to bring him back once he escapes from Yuma prison for the third time (assumedly)