Million Dollar Baby

Million Dollar Baby was the big winner at the Oscar's tonight so I thought I'd share my own review of the film. First off, I believe this movie was worthy of at least one of the awards it received. Hillary Swank was excellent in a very difficult role. I also loved the subtle music that supported the films most emotional moments. The movie is sad...and that's coming from an un-emotional guy.

I don't mind when movies try to get political on me, but I'm not a fan of when they exclusively use emotions to prove their point. And I felt like the ending kind of forced the issue. The circumstances surrounding her injury in the title fight was a little unrealistic in my opinion. This movie was, like Ray, too long.

Rating: 6.8
Status: Worth the Time

30 Hour Famine

I just got home from the 30 hour famine at our church. I'd say it was a big success. We have some good young adults and teen leaders who organized the event super well. I did the famine a few times when I was a teen and this was the most fun I'd had at one. I pretty much ran the slides/sound and spoke Saturday morning. The kids raised $2800.

Anyone else do the famine this year?

I Quit

Just so everyone knows and nobody can claim I'm only excluding them, I have an announcement to make.

I WILL NOT BE UPDATING ANY MORE ADDRESS BOOKS VIA EMAIL

The line must be drawn here!

The Search Begins

Sunday afternoon I was driving home from filling an empty pulpit when a vehicle started making strange noises and then stuttering. Unfortunately, it was the very same vehicle I was driving. I pulled into a parking lot and called for a ride and told the tow trucker where to take the motionless van.

The mechanic said it'd be repaired and ready to pick up the next morning. From past experience, I knew his predictions were very optimistic so I waited till afternoon to call. The guy on the phone said it was ready. I picked it up, paid the price, and drove back to work. A few hours later I started toward home, but strange noises accompanied me. By the time I reached the driveway the car was barely working at all. I was not impressed. Turns out, there was a mis-communication between mechanics. The van had only been fixed a little, it wasn't done. The guy on the phone/at the desk when I picked it up was mis-informed. It also turns out, they mis-diagnosed the problem and the real problem is bigger, but at least they gave me my money back.

So my search for a new car begins this week.

Donnie Darko

Hmmm...How do I describe one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. I can't. I'll let IMDB describe the plot for me:

"During the presidential election of 1988, a teenager named Donnie Darko sleepwalks out of his house one night, and sees a giant, demonic-looking rabbit named Frank, who tells him the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. He returns home the next morning to find that a jet engine has crashed through his bedroom. As he tries to figure out why he survived and tries to deal with people in his town, like the school bully, his conservative health teacher, and a self-help guru, Frank continues to turn up in Donnie's mind, causing him to commit acts of vandalism and worse."

Very strange. And strangely appealing. I really liked it actually. As I watched it I was trying to figure out what the movie was trying to tell me. Some of the points it made were interesting. Some confusing. In the end, I think I decided it was trying to make the point that we should stop making points. And oddly enough, that was the best point of all.

Rating: 8.3
Status: Must Own