Extremely loud and incrediby Close: the movie

I finally got to watch this movie and I'm glad that I did.

Click her to see what I wrote about the book when I read that. 

The other night my daughter brought this movie home for us to watch.  I had wanted to watch it since it came out.  Needless to say that 9 11 has been an important happening in our lives.  To have a movie that attempted to tackle that from a young boys perpective really got my interest. 

The movie did an excellent job in my opinion in showing the grief of a young boy for his father's death in that disaster.  The boy has aspergers syndrome so you shouldn't expect him to act exactly like your average boy in his grief nor in his daily life.  I felt like the movie did an excellent job of showing this throughout the movie. 

Similar to the book the movie did an excellent job of showing how the father played by Tom Hanks was a perfect father for him, engaging his son and showing his son how much he was loved despite or maybe because of his peculiarities.  That is what really impressed me with the book was the relationship between father and son.  The father turns out to be an excellent model of how we must accept our child where they are and provide the love and security that wll allow them to flourish.  The father in this movie was trying to help his son learn how to interact with others (a typical weakness had by those with asperger's syndrom) and in that way stretch his son beyond his bounds. 

The book contrasted this good father (Tom Hanks) with the grandfather who had not been presnt in the fathe's life.   Much of that was absent from the movie and all the things I found objectonable in the book were left out as well making the movie more powerful in the showing the relationship between the father and the son who are the central characters (this despite the fact that the father is shown in flashbacks). 

The movie however flipped this lesson on it's head and did an excellent job by showing something else better than the book managed.  While the whole book and movie seem to be about that father son relationship, the end of the movie lets us see something tha we missed or didn't see clearly throughout the show, that is the mother's relationship to the son and how integral it is.  Sandra Bullock does a good job of acting the part of the mother who is left out of their child's life.

Toward the end of the movie the son says to the mother: "I ddn't know you could think like me." and she responds that she didn't know that either.  With that enlightening moment we are able to see some of the things differently throughout the movie.  Yes, the boy has lost a perfect father for him, but because of that loss we are now able to see that the mother can become that perfect parent for him too, and that is a revelation to both of the characters in the movie and maybe to the viewers as well.  This movie starts out being about the father-son relationship but ends up spotlighting the mother-son relationship.   It is a movie for both parents, a movie where both can feel valued and see their potential even with the exceptional child portrayed in the movie.   

I probably will not read the book again but I would watch the movie again and I would consider reading another book by the author.  By the way, be prepared to shed a tear at this movie. 

Watch the trailer below. 

The sound track is exceptional as well an is done by Alexandre Desplat

Soul Surfer--the movie

As I write this we just got back from a movie.  I rarely see a movie in the theater for a variety of reasons.  One is I am old enough to have a hard time paying nine dollars to see a movie.  Another is that too many movies have things in them that would embarrass me.  And third I usually only go to a movie with my family.

So my wife and I decided to go on a date today, Hooray!  We had been talking about going to a movie on a date since the beginning of the year but the couple times we looked at the current movies we couldn't find one that both of us would like.  Our tastes in movies run very different which I may have to blog about another time.  But this movie seemed to fit all the criteria (see the trailer at the bottom of this blog) and I had read a good review by Chris Hicks (click here to get to it).

And I was right!  It was really great.  But first there are two things that are important to note:  One: modesty is not embraced by much of Christianity and secondly surfer girls apparently are not high on the modesty meter either.  If you can accept that problem the movie was superb.  As Lisa and I discussed the movie afterwards we realized that the immodesty was not done at all in a sexual manner.  It is a bit jarring initially but is fairly easy to overlook because there is no sexual energy from the script, the actors or the camera work.  

I'm not a good judge of acting and all that so I'm not claiming the acting is great (although it may have been), but I was very impressed with the story which is based on a true story of a young woman who was just budding into a great surfer when she was attacked by a shark and her arm was bit off.  The young woman's name is Bethany Hamilton who is played by AnnaSophia Robb.  I remember reading about this young woman a few years ago and the courage she showed.  Helen Hunt from Mad About You was the mother and Dennis Quaid played the father, both showed some good and accurate portrayals of trying to be strong through such a harrowing experience. 

The movie shows that excellently.  I am amazed at how well they were able to show the struggles and difficulty overcoming both the mental and physical trauma (considering it is just a movie less than two hours).  It is amazing how they were able to picture the actress with one arm, it was digitally done (since the actress actually does have a left arm) but worked excellently. Incidentally at the end of the movie they have some video footage of the Bethany Hamilton (the real girl and her parents) which is enjoyable to see as well. 

The message, to not give up in the face of extreme difficulties, is well done.  The message that faith in Christ can help us through our trials is present, and may feel strong because it is usually left out, but is not heavy handed.  There was even some meaningful religious imagery shown after the attack in a spiritual experience she had.  The message that family is hugely important is grandly shown.  In addition the photography is beautiful (the scenery) and amazing (some of the surfing and shots underwater), thoroughly enjoyable.  In addition the music was great (I was especially attracted to the instrumental pieces as you might imagine and one pop song that was actually written by Bethany Hamilton according to the credits.  This movie is a great movie to impress on each of us including children that faith in Christ really can be a strength.  I recommend it highly.  This is a family friendly film, but I would suggest forewarning about the immodesty before going to see it.  This one is worth watching more than once. 

What I've been reading 3

Once again I'm enjoying some of my free time by reading some good books. 

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins:



I enjoyed this one the best of the three books in the series in my opinion.  In this book all the characters get to show their true colors and are forced to take a stand for what they think is right.  It is not always easy to tell what the truth is and decisions have to be made quickly and based on incomplete information.  As in real life these characters have feelings and some try to ignore them, some are overwhelmed by them and need help and support from others to live their lives while dealing with them and still others try to anesthetize themselves to keep from feeling them.  It seems realistic in a very foreign world and the book concludes on a good note.  I would recommend this series despite the distasteful idea of the competition of the killing games that is forced on the population.  It deals with important concerns like how to decide what is true and what to support and how much freedom a government should give it's people and how influential and important and individual can be.  A good read.  If young kids are reading this book I would recommend a parent read along so the hard topics (killing, government oppression and the associated feelings be discussed so the kids can understand). 

Snow Rising by Matt Baldwin



This is one of those books that are in a niche that I'll call "Self help fiction".  The style is similar to the Peace Giver.  And this book is equally as well done and covers important information.  This style of book seems to really do some good teaching and when you are done you feel like you need to read it again to let is settle some more in you.  I found lots of great things in this book.  The lists at the back unrelated to the story are well worthwhile as well.  I highly recommend this book if you want to figure out what you personally can do to help the problems in your life, particular problems with relationships in or out of the family. 

Hero by Mike Lupica














This is a fun book about a young boy finding and discovering he had super powers and determining what his role is in the world.  A couple adults try to tell him what to do with his powers and he has to determine which is trying to help and which is trying to hinder.  It is a quick and fun read.  It is a YA book that really is best for young people and not adults.  The feelings and situations of the main character are not gone into in a depth that would be preferred by this adult at least, or maybe I'm just accustomed to how Orson Scot Card writes.  A good kids book that doesn't trash families or government or anything and is not gruesome.  A generally wholesome book. 

This is an electronic format science fiction/fantasy magazine edited by Orson Scott Card. I'll list the short stories included in it separately with a brief synopsis. 

Respite--Rachel Ann Dryden--an interesting story about a married couple trying to reach safety.  Both the husband and wife think the wife is the strongest of the pair until a moment of truth comes.

A Rarefied View at Dawn--Dave Wolverton--This is an interesting little story about a young man nearing the beginning of adolescence.  He lives in a city with only women and girls and very few boys.  The qualities of men are detested in this city and men must live outside the city in primitive conditions while the ladies live productive and modern lives inside the city protected from the men by robots.

Loose in the Wires--John Brown--In this fantasy a brother-in-law back from the Peace Corps brings home god in the form of a beetle.  What then happens tests those who are sane. 

Trill and the Beanstalk--Edmund R. Schubert--A chess loving American finds himself out maneuvered by a Chinese person in the race to get the wealth of Mars. 

Night Walks--Robert Stoddard--a husband is treated for cancer and survives only to fall prey to depression that almost takes him and his wife's life. 

Taint of Treason--James Stone--A son's treason is needed to protect the family from the false accusation of treason by the king. 

Eviction Notice--Scott M. Roberts--This is a story about a Vietnam vet who can't shake the horrors of the war or the later abuse of his son until he finds a way for emancipation. 

Mazer in Prison--Orson Scott Card--This is the best story of the bunch.  If you are an Ender fan and wondered how Graff got to be head of the battle school this will answer your questions. 

Hopefully you are doing some reading as well. 

A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.
Henry David Thoreau

The death of texting.

Today I spent a little time on the Internet and came across a YouTube video that was put out by
AT&T entitled Don't text while driving documentary.  You can see it by clicking here. 

I am in the generation which finds the lure of texting barely comprehensible.  But texting while driving is clearly not good.  Take a look and see what you think. 

Grieving Dad

I’ve found myself thinking about Dad a lot more than usual the last couple days.  I’ll be at work doing paperwork and then be reminded that he is lying in the hospital and not aware for the most part what is going on around him and fighting for his life.  I’m not sure that he is fighting to keep his injuries from killing him but in this case he is fighting to have a conscious life.  To overcome his injuries so that he can participate in life and not just survive this accident. 

I think about some of the things we’ve done together in the past.  I realized that much of what he and I enjoyed together had to do with eating and playing cribbage or both at the same time.  There are lots of places we have been to eat.  As a matter of fact the last time we were out there in November we went to the Keys restaurant in downtown White Bear Lake and enjoyed breakfast together.  That might have been the first time that Lisa and I took him out to eat instead of the other way around.  Most recently in his weekly email he mentioned that he had found a German Restaurant that he enjoyed and a dish that was one he had last had in Munich.  I thought to ask him when and what he was doing in Munich but didn’t and so I don’t know, and maybe never will.  I did write him a quick email and say I would really like to go to that German Restaurant with him on our next trip out as there haven’t German Restaurants in our area for several years and I love German food.  He agreed we would have to do that.  That likely won’t happen now, at least not for a long time.  He may well not remember that restaurant after his fall. 

Grieving is such an interesting thing.  A person doesn’t have to die for us to grieve them.  We can already miss aspects of our relationship with them as life and age or accident or just change takes those parts away.  I miss these things and fear that we will never enjoy them like we have done for the past many years. 

Grief is not a terrible or harmful thing but rather is the human way of adjusting to changing circumstances that require that we modify ourselves to a new reality or at least prepare for a possible new reality.  It requires changing our expectations and maybe finding pleasure in new or simpler things.  I can do it; I can grieve for Dad and the loss of old times…but not with a smile.  L