LIam Neeson goes PC on Narnia

No one with any knowledge of either CS Lewis, the great Christian apologist, or his work would make such a ridiculous claim.
 Liam Neeson, the practicing Catholic who plays Aslan in the Narnia series said, "
 “Aslan symbolizes a Christ-like figure but he also symbolizes for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries. That’s who Aslan stands for as well as a mentor figure for kids – that’s what he means for me.”
What other religious leader gave his life for a sinner, was killed and resurrected to establish his Kingdom on earth with Peter as its leader?
This point of view has been roundly denounced by those who knew Lewis. A qupte in The Telegraph confirms this.

"Walter Hooper, Lewis’ former secretary and a trustee of his estate, said that C.S. Lewis would have been outraged by the claim.

“It is nothing whatever to do with Islam,” Hooper told the Telegraph. “Lewis would have simply denied that.He wrote that the ‘whole Narnian story is about Christ.’ Lewis could not have been clearer"

Stop playing games with Lewis' intention, with your brand of moral relativism, Mr Neeson, and stick to acting!
I will post my review of "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" here at mignight on Friday, opening day.
HT EWTN News
Read the entire story on Planet Catholic. 

The Better to See the Pope With: Reviewing "The Light of the World"

... We are sinners. But we should not take the failure to live up to this high moral standard as an authoritative objection to the truth. We should try to do as much good as we can and to support and put up with each other. ...

I remember reading Salt of the Earth, Seewald's first book of interviews with the Pope when he was Cardinal Ratzinger. At the time I was impressed by the straight forward honesty, clear sight, and mixture of common sense with intellectualism that characterized Cardinal Ratzinger. This is in spite of the fact that I am not fond of reading about question and answer questions or interviews in general. Because of that previous good experience, I jumped at a chance to read a review copy of Seewald's latest interview with Pope Benedict, Light of the World, although I really wasn't sure what sort of topics might be covered.

As most people know by now, Light of the World covers questions about modern times including, but not limited to, the sex scandals, relativism, the Church and Islam, ecumenism, global warming, contraception, AIDS, women priests, homosexuality, and relativism. In other words, if there has been bad press about it lately, Seewald asked about it.

The Holy Father gives honest and candid answers. If any reader ever wanted to ask the Pope questions ripped from the headlines, then this is just the book for them. More than anything I was impressed with the Pope's realism. He answered in a way that let us know he is completely aware of what people think about various issues for the most part. As he continually pointed out, he does not exist in a vacuum, and has meetings every day with people from around the world.

I was also impressed with Pope Benedict's thoroughness and balance when discussing issues. When faced with questions about negatives  he would usually end by gently reminding Seewald that there is much good about the Church that is not taken into consideration for just one topic. Conversely, when Seewald was praising the Church highly, the Pope rarely failed to point out others who deserved much credit or that the Church could do with improvement in various areas. All round, we see a well-balanced, thoughtful man who is thoroughly down to earth.

... Pastoral care, for its part, has to seek ways of staying close to individuals and of helping them, even in, shall we say, their irregular situation, to believe in Christ as the Savior, to believe in his goodness, because he is always there for them, even though they cannot receive communion. And of helping them to remain in the Church, even though their situation is canonically irregular. Pastoral care has to help them accept that, yes, I  do not live up to what I should as a Christian, but I do not cease to be a Christian, to be loved by Christ, and the more I remain in the Church, the more I am sustained by him.

Unfortunately, I was fairly disinterested in the topics which comprised the first two-thirds of the book. Perhaps this is because I have read enough of John Allen's commentary, GetReligion's analysis of bad news reporting, and Sandro Magister's reporting/analysis that I was not seeing much new information, other than to round out my impressions of Pope Benedict. Although the Pope's insights were interesting to a degree, once one absorbs a few key outlooks, then one sees them repeated for different topics. This is as it should be, of course, as we don't want someone who is capricious in attitude.

However, I was much more taken with the last third of the book which dealt with more general questions of life and faith. Again, this is simply where my interests lie. When the issues were raised about more general everyday issues like contraception, marriage after divorce, and whether the Pope believes what he believed as a child then I was captivated by the Pope's humanity, warmth, and honesty. Also, I was impressed that sometimes he simply admitted he didn't have an answer for a problem. Too, I admired him for saying that he knew he didn't have the capacity to be Pope. That he had to let Jesus lead him because God was the only one who could fill such an overwhelming role. These were all qualities seen in the first part of the book as well, but it was here that they struck me with the most force.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in seeing more of the Pope's nature, of hearing his direct answers to the tough questions of modern times, and for his thoughts on how to handle everyday issues. There were many answers that I mentally marked, thinking that those were approaches which I would try to reflect when asked questions about the Church. The things that I didn't warm to were only reflections of my own interests and not of the openness and excellence of this book ... which I recommend unreservedly.

So there are by nature many issues in which, so to speak, morality suits modernity. The modern world, after all, is not built solely out of the negative. If that were the case, it could not exist for long. It bears within itself great moral values, which also come precisely from Christianity, which through Christianity first emerged as values in the consciousness of mankind. Where they are supported—and they must be supported by the Pope—there is agreement in broad areas. We are happy about that. But that cannot blind us to the fact that there are other issues that cause controversy.

Christmas is a Time for Second Chances: Reviewing The Boys Upstairs

"Yeah, you've certainly changed." Kevin shoved aside his empty plate. "I remember when you would have been the kid bringing the knife into the church."

"Would you rather I spent the rest of my life in jail?"

"That's not what I would have rather had at all, and you know it."

Jay opened his hands. "You don't get it both ways. The thing that saved my conscience was the same thing that saved my soul."

Kevin shook his head.

"Please don't start this again," Jay said. "You know I can't stand it."

"I've told you I accept you the way that you are."

"You say that as though I have a disease." Jay looked at his lap. "I love you from the bottom of my heart, and I pray for you every day. I want nothing but good for you—and in return, you'll tolerate me. Like I'm an aged flatulent uncle you visit once a week for the sake of your long-dead grandmother."

Jay Farrell is a priest with overwhelming responsibilities and very few resources. He houses homeless boys in his rectory, runs a soup kitchen, and ministers to an inner-city parish. He is no stranger to overcoming big odds, but one of the most troubling obstacles is in his personal life.

Jay's brother, Kevin, is a cop who has seen so much evil that he's stopped believing in God and hasn't spoken to Jay for a long time. When Kevin stops by Jay's rectory to drop off three more needy children, it puts them in contact on a continuing basis as they must work together to help provide food and clothing for the newcomers.

Those are far from being the only problems which need solving. Nick's anger at the parents who abandoned him makes him lash out in anger at the other homeless boys. Holly is barely getting by on her waitress salary and has given up on ever finding love. The three children who are dropped off with Father Jay are trying to find a way to stay together instead of being split up into separate foster homes.

Although these are not the sorts of situations that I would normally choose to read about, I found myself being drawn into this novella through the characters' motivations and back stories. In uncovering what happened to Jay in Iraq, watching Holly's defense of a fellow waitress, watching for changes in Nick that would echo those we are told took place in another boy, and in wondering what is haunting Kevin about a simple memory of a lit front porch, I was pulled into a world with characters I wanted to know better.

Since this is ultimately a book about free will, second chances, and faith, I was quite interested in Lebak's handling of touchy conversations that echoed the sorts of situations we might face in real life. A confrontation with a family who uses God to dodge out of paying a bill and Kevin and Jay's struggles were absorbing without seeming preachy or out of place.

I also liked very much the honesty the priest shows with the children when they ask about his past. It is not only what they need to evaluate their situation and the choices they contemplate, but also an insight into the priest's ability to work with the children that have found their way into his care. Lebak made a gutsy choice in showing this good man taking care of these homeless kids. Many would think of  the recent sex scandals and choose a different plot. Seeing Jay caring for these children is a reminder that most priests are good men who want nothing more than to honorably minister to those in their care.

I enjoyed Lebak's previous novel, Seven Archangels: Annihilation, but I found that her writing style in this work flowed much more naturally. I especially liked the fact that she didn't tell us everything about what each character was thinking which left some areas open for further reflection, such as the very brief comments that Kevin receives which become a turning point in his thinking.

The downside is that this is only novella length, about 100 pages. It is crammed with plot points that have to be resolved in a fairly short time. Sometimes this resulted in important ideas being hashed out in a couple of pages of pointed conversation which would have been more naturally conveyed if the author had had the luxury of more pages to spread things out in. Also, there are some characters that it would have been nice to have more background on. For example, Mrs. D. is someone who I would have liked to know more about than we were told, especially given the important resolution she helps with at one point in the book. I realize these criticisms seem like a direct contradiction to my appreciation for the openness I praised in the previous paragraph but these are not moments of subtlety but of skimming over details for lack of space.

I definitely recommend this novella.  I would really like it if Jane Lebak wrote another book about these characters but took more time to ... breathe ... while doing so. I enjoyed what she wrote but want more of it. I could see this novella being the launching pad for a book or two along the lines of Jan Karon's Father Tim books but without the treacly sweetness and with more Catholic down-to-earth hardheadedness. C'mon Jane. Give us more!

The book comes out tomorrow, December 3. Go get it and get a discount until December 10 from the publisher.

"Get 25% off any purchase from today until December 10th.
Use code: HC2010D at checkout in the discount code box before going to Paypal."

That makes it $3.38 Canadian.

Movie Review: A Walk in my Shoes

A Walk in my Shoes airs Friday December 3 on NBC at 8:00 p.m. ET

From the beginning, we are introduced to two women who lead very different lives: Cindy Kremer is a widow with two sons, struggling as a waitress in a diner  to make ends meet.  Trish Fahey is an English teacher, and  is better off, with two kids and a husband,  but she is so wrapped up in herself that she doesn't listen to any of them, or anyone else.  She is very insensitive toward others.  In fact, she's pretty quick to judge others and tell them how to live their lives.  Well she's going to get her chance to do just that when a mysterious woman (Molly) and a car accident give Trish the chance to live Cindy's life.  Not only does Trish learn from the experience, she is truly transformed by it.

Although this is not advertised as a Christmas movie, I  think the timing is appropriate that it is airing just 3 weeks before Christmas.  I saw a number of similarities between 'A Walk in my Shoes' and 'A Christmas Carol'. 

The story is told in a very entertaining and purposeful manner.  I like the way the characters fit into the story.   Not a lot of character development is needed, because the characters are easy to relate to.  I like Jake, an ex-Marine who lives next door.  He plays a pivotal role, but his purpose is really made clear at the end. 

Many of us complain about the immoral and inappropriate content of TV shows and movies, and this is an opportunity to support a real family-oriented TV movie.  As it turns out, my nephews, ages 10 and 12 are staying over this weekend, and I will encourage them to watch 'A Walk in my Shoes'.  BTW, kudos to Walmart and P and G for sponsoring it.

http://awalkinmyshoes.com/a-walk-in-my-shoes/

A Walk In My Shoes - 2:33 TRLR from Moms4FamilyTV.com on Vimeo.

Movie Review: The Narnia Code

This documentary by Michael Ward purports to be about the secrets of the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis, but the majority of the film is a biography about the life of C.S. Lewis. After losing his parents at an early age, Lewis grew up in a foster home.  He was an atheist, and an educated man who attended Oxford.   One of his intellectual acquaintances (and influences in his life) was J.R.R. Tolkien,who eventually led Lewis to Christianity.

Much of the symbolism utilized in the Narnia movies has to do with the planets.  Studying the planets was the science of the times.  For example, in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" the snow symbolizes Saturn, and Christmas symbolizes Jupiter.  In "Prince Caspian", the trees and vegetation waking up, like spring, symbolizes Mars.   Even the month of March, when spring begins, was named after Mars.  

Lewis' studying of the planets and use of them as symbolism in his writing ties in with his Christianity, in particular, his favorite Psalm 19.  "The heavens declare the glory of God;
   the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech."

Whether you're a fan of the Narnia books or the works of C.S. Lewis, you will find this documentary insightful and informative.

http://narniacode.com/

Tangled (2010)

Should I see it?

Yes.

Short Review: One of the joys of being a father of a small girl is the privilege of indulging her girly side: attending her tea parties, complementing her when she wears a new outfit and taking her to see fun, light feminine films like this one.

Disney, the once monopolistic empire of animation, has fallen under the shadow of Pixar over the past couple of decades.  While Disney as a corporation controls Pixar, the Disney brand still suffers from the comparison.  While Disney has produced some more conventional looking films like Bolt and Meet the Robinsons, the productions made to replicate their majestic, classic works such as Bambi, Snow White, Cinderella and Pinocchio have been faded, forgettable efforts such as Mulan, Lilo and Stich.

With this adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Rapunzel, it appears Disney is attempting once again to recreate the success of their early 1990's revival (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and The Lion King).  While this won't most likely have the lasting power of The Lion King or The Little Mermaid, this is still a wonderful, enjoyable movie.

I should stop and alert you that this does not follow the actual fairy tale.  Rapunzel is a German tale and my Kraut brethren have a tendency to pump their stories with plenty of unpleasant details.  If you don't recall how the actual story goes, here is a summary:

A infertile couple who live next to a witch find plants on her land that help them conceive.  The witch catches the husband stealing the plant one day.  She agrees to spare the man's life if he hands over their daughter following her birth.  The father reluctantly agrees.

Rapunzel is born and given to the witch as promised.  The witch hides her away in a tall tower with only a small door high on top for an entrance.  The witch gains entry by standing under the door and calling "Rapunzel!  Rapunzel, let down your golden hair!"  The girl then drops her long hair and the witch uses it to be carried up into her room.

One day a handsome prince happens by and hears the witch calling to the girl.  That night the prince calls up to her and she pulls him up into her room.  The two quickly fall in love and continue their nightly, secret encounters.  Before long, Rapunzel admits to the witch that her dress has become too tight through the stomach (I guess that's one way of describing it).  The witch is infuriated and cuts off Rapunzel's hair and banishes her to the forest to die alone.  Apparently, the Germans were hardliners against single-motherhood.

The prince calls up, not knowing the witch is waiting in ambush.  The witch lowers the hair and the prince is pulled up to the room.  To his surprise, he finds the old woman instead of his love.  The witch pushes him out of the tower and he falls to the wild plants below and is blinded by the thorns.  He wanders the forest blind and alone.  Apparently, the Germans were hardliners against dead-beat dads.

The prince, alone in the woods, hears the sound of Rapunzel singing by a brook.  He finds her and his condition saddens the girl.  She cries and her tears heal his blinded eyes.  The two, reunited and healthy, return to his kingdom and get married and have children of their own.

Is it me or does the ending seem a little inorganic?  Sounds like someone wrote themselves into a corner and didn't know how to end their story.

In this friendlier version Rapunzel's parents are the royalty and she is their princess.  One day a "drop of sunlight" falls to earth and it raises a magical flower.  The conniving Mother Gothel finds the mystical flower and uses its properties to keep herself youthful for years. When Rapunzel is born, her mother suffers from the pains of birth and is near death.  The king's men find the sun flower and use its powers to spare the life of the queen.  Its application also provides the newborn Rapunzel with magical hair.

Mother Gothel, wanting her youthful elixir, steals Rapunzel (so she can sing her spell to make her hair give her youth) and hides the girl in a tower and pretends to be her mother.  Each year the royal couple hold a light show in memorial of their missing daughter.  Annually, Rapunzel watches the beautiful light show outside her tower window, not knowing it is intended for her.  Her dream is to one day see the light show up close.

Rapunzel's isolation is interrupted when a handsome thief who goes by the pseudonym Flynn Ryder finds the tower.  The two travel to the kingdom to see the light show.  The problem?  The local authorities, Flynn's criminal competition and the evil Mother are giving chase.

As you can see, this version has taken some broad liberties from the original source, but it works very well.  The script by Dan Fogelman (Cars) is remarkably tight and cleverly laid out.  Fogelman perfectly meshes all of the conventions of the fairytale with all of the requirements of a Disney production (the strong father/daughter relationship, the comical animal familiars (represented by a horse and a chameleon), the musical routines, etc.)  His dialog is sharp and he has his scenes cut down to the essentials.  Great work.

The production as a whole is quite fun and uplifting.  Children, in particular girls, will enjoy watching the movie.  It is a solid pick for family viewing.  The sunny disposition of the movie is infectious and a great change of pace from the usual schlock thrown out at the kids these days.  There is a wonderful absence of sexual innuendo, scatological humor or political references which have become so commonplace in "family films".  This is a straight-forward piece of entertainment that delivers.

Two cautions for Christians is the hint of paganism in the tale.  As mentioned, this has its roots in the old Teutonic tale which was derived from an Iranian myth.  The inclusion of mysticism in pretty much unavoidable.  I didn't find these elements to be too intrusive.  They are there but it isn't anything that can't be resolved by quickly resolved with a brief explanation to your youngster.

The other issue is how Flynn's thievery is handled.   He is supposed to be the romantic rouge character and this is used for humor throughout the film.  He is a mockery of the type.  However, the film never takes a strong position on his stealing.  It is just something he does.  There is no moral judgment made which means it provides passive support for it.  This is something that should be addressed for the little viewers. 

I highly recommend this movie.  If Disney keeps on this path, they may just get their groove back.

Click on the fire hazard to view the trailer

Click here to buy your copy of
You Are What You See:
Watching Movies Through a Christian Lens

I've just seen Voyage of the Dawn Treader

And I can't tell you a thing about it till it opens December 10.
Except this; make plans to see it with your family, its not to be missed.

Movie Review: Unstoppable - PG13

Based on a true story.

Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) and Will Colson (Chris Pine) both work for  the same railroad company.  The difference is, Barnes has just been given notice to retire early, and Colson is just starting with the company.


While they are on an assignment together, someone else allows a train to get lose.   The problem is this train has about 36 cars, and 9 of them are carrying a hazardous chemical.

The story is about efforts to stop the train, several of which fail.   There is not  much plot beyond stopping the train, but there is plenty of action, and I really enjoyed the interaction between Barnes and Colson.   Rosario Dawson is also very good as Connie Hooper.

A very entertaining movie.

http://www.unstoppablemovie.com/

Book Review: "Deceit" by Brandilyn Collins

Joanne Weeks’ best friend Linda disappeared 6 years ago and was declared dead.  One night, a mysterious stranger stops Joanne on the road and tells her that Linda was killed by her husband Baxter and to prove it, Joanne will need to use all her skills as a skip tracer to find the one witness to the crime:  Linda's foster daughter Melissa.

The two challenges that make the search more difficult are that Melissa doesn't want to be found, and if she is, the whole town of Vonita thinks Baxter is a great guy. 

The search turns out to be more difficult and dangerous than Joanne anticipated, and she soon finds herself the hunted one.

I like the characters:  Joanne is strong and clever, her sister  Dineen is supportive and sympathetic,  her friend Perry is supportive and clever,  Dan the District Attorney is very astute.  But I think the best developed character is Melissa.   

Joanne is a Christian, and sometimes struggles with it when she must use deceit in her job  as a skip tracer and it is thrown back in her face.

The story-telling moved at a good pace, and look for a big twist at the end.

A good story that I really enjoyed.

Movie Review: Cool It - PG

This is a documentary by Bjorn Lomborg, the author of "The Skeptical Environmentalist" (upon which this film is based) and the founder of Copenhagen Consensus Center, a think tank/environmental research center.. 

Bjorn has tried to bring some common sense and reason to propose solutions to  the issue of global warming.  While he acknowledges the problem of global warming, his point is that the consequences are greatly exaggerated by Al Gore in "An Inconvenient Truth"  and by other environmental alarmists.  As a result of his views,  He was attacked quite viciously, being labeled an environmental heretic, a liar, and the devil incarnate .  This reaction actually made me think of how Jesus was treated, of how irate people can be when confronted by the truth.

To support his position, Bjorn points to the goals set by the Kyoto protocol and by the European Union.  Their goal would  reduce global temperature by 2/10 of a degree by the end of the century.  Bjorn asserts that we can do as well for less.

The methods used by environmental alarmists are also challenged.  The main tactic can be summed up as FEAR.   The threat of natural disasters such as hurricanes and rising sea levels is augmented by an increase in malaria and the extinction of polar bears.  The scenes that really touched me were school kids drawing pictures of impending disaster and daily measuring their emissions.  It was heartbreaking to see children living in such fear.

What I really liked was that Bjorn spent quite a bit of the film discussing possible solutions.
Some of the proposed solutions include:

splitting hydrogen and oxygen

growing algae that produce fuel

nuclear energy which also burns its own nuclear waste

wave energy from the ocean

urban cooling

geo-engineering

Admittedly, not all of these ideas will provide the answers.  But some of them showed enough promise to at least merit further research.

I found Cool It to be very thought-provoking.  In the interest of full disclosure, I am very skeptical of global warming, but the part I liked most was the search for alternative energy sources, which I strongly feel we need to pursue to ween ourselves off of our oil dependency.

http://www.coolit-themovie.com/