Reign Over Me

Witwiwo:

What: Reign Over Me

When: The 24th of November, 2009 at approximately 9pm.

How Long: 2 hours, 4 minutes

Where: On the Testosterhome's kick-butt TV

Why (/Expectations): We were done with out Thanksgiving dinner, that's why! Gosh, what's with all the questions!? I'd heard it was good from a bunch of different people, but my expectations were relatively low.

What I ate while I watched: Swiss Cheese & Crackers (SO GOOD) and a Klondike Bar. Not in that order.

Starring: Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Liv Tyler, Jada Pinkett Smith. Also small appearances of Donald Sutherland and B.J. Novak, which were pretty good.

Director: Mike Binder (also the author)

Two Sentence Synopsis: Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler) lost his wife and three daughters in the 9/11 attacks randomly reconnects with his college roommate, the now accomplished dentist Dr. Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle). As Johnson tries to help the psychologically devastated Fineman, he discovers much about loss, grief, and relationship even in his own life.

My Favorite Part or Quote was:

Charlie: Are you a faggot?

Johnson: Don't say faggot, you just don't call people faggot that's rude.

Charlie: To a gay guy it is, to you it's just a funny word like poundcake or pickle... You really need some Mel. [ordering tickets] Yeah, I'll take one adult and one faggot.

How Fun It Was: While I would never label it a comedy, it had some oh-my-goodness hilarious moments. The above quote is once such instance.

The Positives: This movie was real. That is, it portrayed characters who were not unbelievable in their circumstances. Nothing seemed forced in the plot. While a lot of actions were surprising, I felt like I was watching something that actually could have or should have happened. The amount of comedy, the degree of grief--everything seemed very realistic. Stellar performances by Cheadle and Sandler, too. It was nice to see Sandler do some good work that wasn't a comedy--a lot of people don't realize how good of an actor he is.

The Negatives: Very few. There was some sexual innuendo, but I didn't think it was forced or grotesque. And there was some language that some people may find offensive, but again: I don't feel like it was forced.

The Theology, Philosophy, Morality or Application: Sadly, hardly a mention of God, but still it had a good point, that sometimes grief doesn't need to be "fixed" by a shrink or something, but kind, compassionate relationship.

One thing I learned: That, as a "fixer" of things, or someone who feels the need to control and fix things, sometimes I need to take a step back and find similarities in my own condition, instead of coming from a place of arrogance, and sit down with my fellow sinful man and community with him.

The Ending: For a feel good ending, I didn't feel like I was just being pleased as an American who's gotta have it all wrapped up well. I really felt like the ending was reasonable.

Go/Rent/Buy/Don't: GO SEE THIS MOVIE. At least rent it. But it is well worth the purchase.

The Prodigal God

Witwiwo:

What: The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith

Author: Timothy Keller

When: Earlier this month

How Long: 133 pages, 1 week.

Where: In my bed.

What I used as a Bookmark: The tag from the Walk In Love t-shirt I bought a few months back.

Why (/Expectations): I had thought it was an interesting title, supposing it was a fresh take on the famous parable. And the speaker at Summer Conference said it would be the best book I read this year, so my expectations were pretty high.

Two Sentence Synopsis: Timothy Keller takes a fresh look at the famous parable, which he renames the "Parable of the Two Lost Sons." Discussing both sons, but paying special attention to the older brother, Keller applies their attitudes to our own attitudes and explains how they relate to the Christian walk. [my bad on 2 epic-long sentences]

My Favorite Part or Quote was: "What makes you faithful or generous is not just a redoubled effort to follow moral rules. rather, all change comes form a deepening understanding of the salvation of Christ and living out the changes that understanding creates in your heart. Faith in the gospel restructures our motivations, our self0understandnig, our identity and our view of the world. Behavioral compliance to rules without heart-change will be superficial and fleeting." (pages 118-119)

How Fun It Was: Not really "entertaining," per sé, but it wasn't boring or unfun.

The Positives: It is a fairly fresh look at the well-studied parable, and Keller does a good job of relating it to readers today. He also skillfully incorporates examples from well-known literature to bolster several of his points.

The Negatives: The first portion of the book, explaining the parable, was a little old for me. That could just be because I've heard a lot of different messages on it recently, but almost the first half was fairly old news.

The Theology, Philosophy, Morality or Application: Impeccable. Keller presents good Biblical exposition and exegesis, and offers a clear and strong challenge for the modern Church to accept the Father's invitation to come and feast.

One thing I learned: Fond memories are no place on which to rest hope. In a quote from Lewis: "the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshipers." (page 94)

The ending: That is, the last two chapters, were actually my favorites and the most insightful.

Go/Borrow/Buy/Don't: It's definitely worth the borrow, and I'm glad I bought it, but I wouldn't recommend everyone follow suit.

I'm Reed Fish

Witwiwo:

What: I'm Reed Fish

When: 21st of September, maybe...or somewhere thereabout.

How Long: 1 hour, 33 minutes

Where: The Netflix instant queue/50" plasma-screen HDTV in my house.

Why (/Expectations): Some people who were over said it was a good flick; I had never heard of it before I watched it, so my expectations were fairly low.

What I ate while I watched: Nothing, unfortunately.

Director: Zackary Adler

Author: Reed Fish (based on his book)

Starring: Jay Baruchel, Alexis Bledel (hey! rhymage!)

Two Sentence Synopsis: Reed Fish grew up under his father's legacy as radio anchor in the small town of Mud Meadows. His engagement to Kate is complicated when Jill, his old high school crush, returns home.

My Favorite Part or Quote was: "Easy to get a beer gut when you own a bar. You don't even notice as it happens. Then all of a sudden, you look down and you can't even see your own damn shoes anymore. Yeah, I can't wait for that day."

How Fun It Was: Pretty funny, definitely not a comedy but definitely enough to keep it comical.

The Positives: Entertaining throughout, and emotionally engaging. It may have just been the way that Reed's sentiments and condition resonated with my own, but I felt like it really forced you to give a crap about how things ended up.

The Negatives: The ending, as I'll explain more later. That is my biggest and only major negative criticism.

The Theology, Philosophy, Morality or Application: Good points about living life, your own life. The application was more implicit though: you have to look at how the characters are acting and realize that there needs to be something better.

One thing I learned: That have been more of an ass than I previously thought. Also, that I can absolutely adore a movie and still not like it.

The ending: I didn't like it. At all. I completely think he should have ended up with the other girl. Or that the movie should have ended when his movie actually ended (you'll have to see it to know what I'm talking about).

Go/Rent/Buy/Don't: Well it's out of theaters, so you can't see it there anymore, but I definitely think it's worth the rental. I would buy it, but that's because it resonated with me.

As I have declared before, it is rare that something resonates with me so much that evokes heartfelt emotion. But when it does, it is powerful. This movie was such an occurrence.

Just Do Something

Witwiwo:

What: Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will
-or-
How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc.

Author: Kevin DeYoung

When: Last week.

How Long: 122 pages, 6 days (gimme a break, a chapter or two a night!)

Why (/Expectations): I'd heard about the book through Josh Harris, and his intro made it sound great. Plus the concept of God's Will is always interesting to everyone, so I was expecting a lot from it.

What I used as a Bookmark: A direct deposit notification from Winthrop.

Two Sentence Synopsis: Keving DeYoung explains how we often go about looking for God's will in the wrong way. Then, he illustrates how the Bible demonstrates we should search for God's Will, by just doing something.

My Favorite Part or Quote was: "Men, if you want to be married, find a godly gal, treat her right, talk to her parents, pop the question, tie the knot, and start making babies." (pg. 108)

How Fun It Was: Eh, he had a good bit of humor throughout, enough to keep the book from being dry, but it was by no means a "funny" book.

The Positives: Kevin does a good job of clearly and kindly poking holes in our notions about God's will and how we need to be looking for it. He uses a fair number of passages to illustrate it as well. And on of the biggest positives is it's short!

The Negatives: While he does use a good number of passages and stories from the Bible, I think he could always benefit from more. Not that he needs to explain every example, but maybe provide a list in the notes or something like that.

The Theology, Philosophy, Morality or Application: Excellent. Each of the verses/stories he used were well explained and exposited. Someone could say he used just random verses, but a general knowledge of the Bible (I think) makes it clear that what he is saying is accurate.

One thing I learned: Endnotes are often annoying to look back at. Also, God's will is surprisingly easier to follow than I previously thought.

The ending: Actually pretty interesting. He interviewed his grandfather to show how his long life followed God's will without being worried if he was following God's will.

Go/Borrow/Buy/Don't: I'd say buy it for sure, read it, and then let a friend borrow it. It's definitely worth the purchase.

WITWIWO Review System

WITWIWO (wit-WEE-whoa), an acronym for What I Thought When It Was Over is first of all really difficult to say with any other W-word, at least without sounding like a toddler. Which I do sometimes anyways.

Second, it is the review system which I will use for this review blog. I also plan on posting previews, songs, etc. that pertain to the entertainment I review or would review.


WITWIWO Review System
[What I Thought When It Was Over]
What:
*When:
How Long:
*Where:
*What I used as a Bookmark:
*What I ate while I watched:
*Director:
*Author:
*Starring:
Two Sentence Synopsis:
Why.
Expectations.
My Favorite Part or Quote.
How Fun It Was.
The Positives.
The Negatives.
The Theology, Philosophy, Morality or Application.
One thing I learned.
*The ending.
Go/*Rent*Borrow/Don't.

*Denotes category used only when it is applicable, either for book/literature/art reviews or movie/performance reviews

Do tell if you have suggestions.