Your Mind Could Be A Crime Scene!

Some readers of this blog might also know my wife and I are movie reviewers. One of my other blogs, Frame by Frame: A Family-Friendly Guide to the Movies is very active with weekly movie reviews and other movie news along the way too.

The above graphic is from the poster of the new Christopher Nolan directed Inception movie.

That should tell you that we are movie critics of mainstream, also known as marketplace, movies. But then again, I also firmly believe that in order to truly effect the world, we must take part in what’s known as the marketplace. We are not called to be, as Thomas Merton once wrote, an island unto ourself.

For more on Merton’s thoughts about this see his book
No Man Is An Island.

Frame by Frame – A Family-Friendly Approach

When it comes to movies, since our angle is family-friendly, we don’t really have to screen every new movie that comes along. However, we do try to screen every G, PG and PG-13 rated movie. We’re always asking the question – “Is this movie family-friendly” – As for R rated movies, while we don’t screen many, from to time to time, we do screen them if they interest us, or if they’re getting a lot of push toward a younger audience. It really is a fine line we walk as believers on this journey through life and movie critics trying to make sure our reviews aren’t skewed just because of our belief system.

As you can well imagine, over the past few years we’ve seen a lot of movies. Through all of the screenings there have really been three movies that have stuck with me. While they were “good movies” when it comes to production aspects, some of the messages or images stuck with me.

In other words…some scenes have ‘invaded’ my dreams.

The flicks falling into that category include…

• I Am Legend – While I do not have a written review of the movie on Frame by Frame, I will say this, Will Smith was incredible in this remake of the old classic movie. While it was well done, there are some scenes, one in particular, that stuck with me. It took quite some time to get the image out of my mind.
• The Watchmen – While this movie was Rated R I knew we couldn’t ignore it because of all the hype surrounding the movie. So, I went and screened it. Again, it was well done, but some of the violence was very graphic and did stick with me. In order to finally get it out of my head, I just had to buckle down and write the review. Once the review was written, the images stopped invading my dreams.

Just this year, a third movie has been added to the list of movies that invaded my dreams for a time. Of course the movie was also one about dreams…

• Inception – It held the #1 Box Office spot for three weeks and again, it is well done. However, the premise of the movie revolves around the whole idea of invading the dreams of people to manipulate them. Of course it’s somewhat based on fact knowing that we are most vulnerable when we are sleeping. As a result, this movie did indeed invade my dreams for a few days after screening it.

Calming ‘Night Terrors’

As we journey through this thing we call life, it is true that we are most vulnerable when we sleep. That’s why it’s so important to have people praying for you if you undergo surgery where you’re put under. The mind is a powerful thing and we do not use much of our mind. But, our mind, especially our dreams, can be invaded by the enemy who looks to bring ‘terror’ into our life. As a result, even though we enjoyed Inception we will not buy it for our DVD collection.

It did invade our dreams for a short time.

Some people think movies are nothing more than mindless entertainment. While it’s true, some movies are great for a shear entertainment value. But, when they cross over into areas of the spiritual realm, we fellow sojourners need to exercise caution.

Of course as a believer we also walk a fine line when it comes to movies.

Some believe we are totally out of line when it comes to being movie critics, while others see absolutely nothing wrong with viewing any and all movies. However, reality is, we must always seek to find that balance. While we often say on our Frame by Frame blog we are not movie cops, I would hedge a little more on that comment here on this Fellow Sojourners blog. We are making our way through life and I would like to think along the way I’ve picked up and learned a thing or two when it comes to warning others about what to see and what not to see.

When it comes to Inception, while it is a “big” scenery movie, exercise caution if you see it. While it’s described as a sci-fi thriller, it also touches on areas about the mind we must be aware of. We are supposed to take “every thought captive to Christ Jesus”. When we do that, we keep the enemy out from invading our mind and most importantly, our dreams.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

I’m not a big Pirates of the Caribbean movie fan. I liked the first one, hated the second one, and tolerated the third. Now with rumors of Johnny Depp signing up for a reprisal of his Captain Jack Sparrow character, I’m dreading the fourth installment of a Pirates movie. However, even though I don’t really like the movies, I’ve always been fascinated with Captain Jack’s compass.

Throughout the first movie Captain Jack is chastised because his compass doesn’t work. It never points North. Instead it spins around and goes in different directions. But never North. However, even though the compass never points North, Captain Jack always ends up where he wants to go. By the second movie we discover the secret of the malfunctioning compass. The compass may never point North, but it does point to something more important.

Captain Jack’s compass points “toward what the heart wants.”

Searching For Direction

Many today are searching for direction in life. A quick scan of the landscape can result in worried hearts and troubled spirits. The economy is sliding, the job market is declining, and the government appears to be in shambles. Bankruptcies are at an all time high, and now many business are lining up for government bailouts. Everyone wants a handout.

Then on top of the economic mess, everyone seems to have an opinion on just about everything. Spin doctors are a dime a dozen and they all declare they have the answers to all our problems. The left say they have the answers. The right say they have the answers. Those in the church even declare they have the answers. In this sea of voices and endless noise, it’s sometimes very hard to decipher which is the correct answer. How do we truly discern what is true and what is false?

My good friend Ken Davis recently wrote a post on his Lite Post – A Seriously Funny Guy blog entitled Just Do It. While Ken talked about committing to doing something and then following through, I was reminded of the importance of focus. As life seems to swirl out of control it’s important to check our bearings. Take a look at our compass and make sure we’re still heading in the direction we should be heading. We need to make sure we’re still heading toward what not only our heart wants, but where our heart should be yearning.

Hearing Through The Noise

People are searching for hope these days. I addressed this search in an earlier post entitled Write It Down & Make It Clear. In that post I encouraged us all to remember the words of Jeremiah who said “God’s plans are not to harm us, but to prosper us, giving us hope for the future.” Those are wonderful words. But, what do we need to do in order to make sure our compass is leading us in the right direction, toward that hope? It’s easy to turn to various commentaries on the Bible, and even the words of man, to discover how we should navigate through this world. However, many times the books and voices do little more than add to the noise of the culture.

With this in mind, where do we turn?

How about the few verses ahead of the wonderful promise of hope found in Jeremiah 29. It’s here we discover some very practical suggestions of how to make sure we’re heading in the right direction. The people of Jerusalem found themselves in the midst of turmoil exiled in Babylon. Far from home, when it looked like the odds were totally stacked against them, they were encouraged to do some very practical things.

• Build houses and settle down
• Plant gardens and eat what they produce
• Marry and have sons and daughters
• Find wives for the sons and give daughters in marriage
• Increase in number, do not decrease

They also received some spiritual suggestions, to ensure their compass was pointing at their hearts desire.

• Seek the peace and prosperity of the city you live in
• Pray for peace and prosperity because if the city, and nation, in which you live prospers, so will you
• Do not listen to the spin-doctors who spin lies for they do not know what they are talking about

Many of the spin doctors of the day are proclaiming doom and gloom. The so-called people in the know declaring doom and gloom are found both inside and outside the church. As we attempt to stay the course in the days ahead, we need to make sure we’re not listening to the doom and gloom spin-doctors. If we truly want to walk in hope, we need to stay clear of those who spin their lies saying all is doom and gloom.

As we stay the course moving forward with “Hope for the Future” we will do well to seek peace and prosperity for the city, and nation in which we live. As the city and nation prospers, so too will we.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

I left the nail in the tire, parked the car, and didn’t drive it until it was repair time. Yesterday morning, a quick call to the Tire Spot had me rolling once again with a plug in the tire instead of the nail.

‘Stella’ Is Back on the Road!

While at the tire shop the manager took a look at my tires and quickly said, “Oh my, you need new tires.” I explained to him I knew that, but I plan to wait until the spring to replace the tires. After all, in a few more weeks I’ll be parking the car for the winter anyway. While I was waiting for the tire to be repaired I asked the manager how much new tires would cost. After chatting about the price, he then started telling me what the different letters on my race tires mean. Apparently the current tires I have on my ‘Stang are rated for 100 to 120 mph. He then said I could go up a grade to tires that are rated for 150 mph! Yee haw!

The need for speed! Sounds great to me! However, when I went home and informed my wife of the tire speed rating she just rolled her eyes. (I guess I won’t be upgrading to the 150 mph tires.) But then again, do I really need tires that are rated at 150 mph? Of course the boy inside of me that likes toys hollers “YES!” Then reality sinks in and I realize going 150 mph, while it might be fun for a few seconds, could get costly if I’m near a police officer.

In the classic 1986 movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Matthew Broderick’s character, Ferris Bueller says the ever-popular phrase, “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while you might miss it.”

Many people these days never think to slow down and look around. Instead, in this instant-popcorn microwave culture we live in, many feel a need for speed is better than stopping and looking around from time to time. Why is the Ferris Bueller movie so popular? Is it because it’s about a bunch of kids skipping school? That could be part of the reason. But, I think there’s more here than just what we see on the surface. Ferris Bueller gives us an example of someone making a transition from one portion of life, high school, to another portion of life, college. But, he wants to make sure he slows down long enough to see what’s going on around him too. He doesn’t want to miss out on the simple things in life, like taking part in a parade.

Are you feeling a need for speed today? Is life moving fast and you’re afraid you’re missing what’s going on around you? Why not take some time today and slow down for a while. Take a look around you and see a few things you may have missed yesterday.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

It’s going to be great fun, and it gives everyone an opportunity to tell others about movies you watched over the weekend. For more information check out the latest blog entry Movie Monday Blog Carnival on my Frame by Frame blog.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

This will be a weekly feature where you the reader can get involved, and also invite others to join in the fun too. Usually Friday’s are known as TGIF and it’s simply a time to celebrate finally arriving at the end of another week, with little thought of what to do for the weekend. Frenzied Friday brings a slightly new twist to that old idea. Yes, it’s nice the weekend has finally arrived. But what about the weekend? What kinds of things are planned for the weekend to bring some order, peace and calm. That’s the kind of post we’re looking for here.

It’s really easy to join us and here’s how it works. Do a post about your week and then tell us how you plan to unwind during the weekend. What are you plans. Put a link in your post, to the Frenzied Friday post here. Please use a permalink directly to the weekly post page, not the general url for my website. The easiest way is to simply put a line in your post that says something like;

This post is taking part in Frenzied Friday!

Then make that line a permalink to the post here. At the end of this post you will find a Mr. Linky box. Fill in the information in the box, and put the permalink of your post, again, not your general url, in appropriate box field.

That’s it! Please spread the word about Frenzied Friday and lets have fun encouraging one another for making it to the end of another week and giving some great ideas for weekend plans!

Dr. Rus

Frenzied Friday Post for July 18, 2008
“A Weekend At The Movies”

The big movie news this weekend revolves around the new Batman flick, The Dark Knight. Early box office predictions have this latest installment in the Batman franchise pulling in about as much money as the Joker steals in the movie. I screened The Dark Knight earlier this week on an IMAX screen. You can find my review of the movie on my Frame by Frame Movie Review Blog. But, believe it or not, there are a couple other movies worthy of note opening this weekend too. With that in mind, what do I plan to do as a wind down for Frenzied Friday heading into another weekend? I’m going to check out those movies.

So, what’s on the also opened this weekend list? Aside from The Dark Knight, the hit Broadway musical packed with ABBA classics, Mamma Mia hits the big screen. Meryl Streep, who admitted she already knew some of the ABBA song lyrics by heart, is the mother of a soon-to-be-wed girl who’s on a mission to identify her biological father. Pierce Brosnan also appears in this musical to hit the big screen flick. Lastly, something for the kids, the rated G movie Space Chimps opens up this weekend too. In this animated flick a crew of chimps travel through space and attempt to defeat a dictator on a planet far, far away. Space Chimps sounds like my kind of a movie spoofing Star Trek.

Then, on a somewhat humorous note, former Batman Val Kilmer has an independent thriller called Felon opening today too. While Kilmer’s movie has a limited release, the superhero from the 1995 movie Batman Forever jokingly said he’s kind of sad for Christian Bale because his movie will be number one at the box office instead of the new Batman flick. Yeah, sure Val. Keep dreaming.

What’s my weekend going to look like? I’m not going to see the Kilmer movie. But I think I’ll see Space Chimps tonight and then take my wife to see Mamma Mia tomorrow night.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

The life lessons in Prince Caspian are many. It’s C.S. Lewis, and that was his whole plan while writing the children’s books. He was looking to present strong life lessons for kids, through the use of allegory, fantasy and story. Lewis was a master writer and an incredible storyteller. Of course the Chronicles of Narnia series have proven this fact as they’ve turned into not only a classic collection of stories, but have also set the tone for what other writers aim at when attempting to write a children’s series.

I must admit I leaned over to my wife about half way through the movie and said I really need to head back to the books and re-read them. It’s been a long time since I’ve read the entire Narnia series. I easily tracked The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe movie because the book is so popular. But, I’m sure like many people, the remaining books in the series become fuzzy simply because they weren’t as widely read. With Walden already in pre-production for the third Chronicles movie, I think it’s time to blow the dust off my book series at home.

But what about the lessons learned from Prince Caspian. As I already mentioned, there are many, but for me, one lesson really stood out. Many times as we journey through life we want to recreate a certain situation or event so life will continue to move forward smoothly. In the midst of this political season many are looking for a return to the Reagan era. Others want a Clinton era, and still others simply want an era of change. Whatever the case may be, all too often we try to make things the same, expecting life to work out just like it did in the past. Now, I’m not saying we can’t learn lessons from the past, but we must remember this is called a journey. What does a journey mean? We somehow keep moving forward.

With this in mind, the strong lesson in Prince Caspian comes as a recurring theme experienced by Lucy as she searches for Aslan. Her question is always, “Why have you not helped us like you did before?” Aslan responds by saying, “Because I never do things the same way twice.” Wow! What an incredible reminder that something “new” is always ready to “spring up” right before our eyes. The words of Aslan in Prince Caspian reminded me of the words from Isaiah which declare, “See, I am doing a new thing.” While the new thing may be a scary new reality, when we understand and learn lessons from the past, the new thing will always strengthen us through this journey we call life.

A Fellow Sojourner,

Dr. Rus

Iron Man is a very strong movie. It gets off to a somewhat disjointed start, but in the end, it comes through with great special effects and a good story line. In a nutshell, without any spoilers here for those who have not seen the movie yet, Iron Man is created after Tony Stark, an arms dealer, has a change of heart and decides to right some of the wrongs his weapons company created. Of course this doesn’t go over very well with some inside the company, but this does not deter him from creating the Iron Man superhero.

Now I know what you’re thinking – How in the world can we find an encouraging message from a comic book hero? But here it is. In the middle of the movie Stark’s assistant asks him why he’s so determined to create Iron Man, even if it means he may die while trying to right his wrongs. In a somewhat off-handed comment, we discover a great truth. Downey Jr.’s character says, “Maybe this is why I didn’t die when I was kidnapped.” Wow! What an amazing statement. Tucked away in the middle of this sci-fi comic book hero come to life movie, we discover a statement about purpose and destiny.

Could it be Downey’s statement, via the character Tony Stark, speaks of purpose and destiny not only for Iron Man, but for himself as well? Who knows. But I do know this, the nugget of truth concerning purpose and destiny in the Iron Man movie is a strong message for anyone who hears it. It is true, we do all have a purpose and destiny. While we may not be a superhero, we can do our best to positively influence those around us.

A Fellow Sojourner,

Dr. Rus

A book containing excerpts from Merton’s thoughts on the vocation of writing was recently released entitled Echoing Silence. What an amazing thought. One wants to write, in order to encourage others along whatever journey they may find themselves on. Whether it’s a journey of joy, adventure, science fiction, or whatever, the writer writes, so one can be entertained, learn something, or be encouraged. However, at the same time the writer often finds himself in the midst of an echoing silence. Just how do the words flow into thoughts, sentences, paragraphs, chapters, and yes, even books.

It’s funny, I find myself in the midst of such an echoing silence these days. While it’s exciting to write and create, it’s at the same time somewhat scary to think I’m hanging my thoughts out there for all to see. Will people like what they read? Will they understand what they read? Will it even make sense?

However, it really is all about the journey we find ourselves on individually. For some, reading helps them along the journey. For others, writing helps them along the journey. Whatever the case may be, in the end, we can find encouragement in knowing that the Alpha and the Omega really does know what’s going on. In the end, He is the Author of Life and He truly is in our corner, even in the midst of what might seem like echoing silence, to run the race which is marked out for us so that we might hear those wonderful words of — Well done My faithful servant. Come, enter into your rest.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

As a result, some people are connecting more with the super heroes of the big screen. There are so many to choose from! The Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, X-Men, and that really just scratches the surface. Every time I turn around there’s a new super hero movie on the horizon promising better special effects, and larger than life heroes.

Of all the super heroes listed above, there’s one that really stands out in my mind as someone putting forth a message of discovering the hero inside of each one us, and that’s Batman. Why Batman you ask? I arrived at this conclusion after interviewing Michael Uslan, the Executive Producer of the Batman movies. As we talked about the full range of Batman movies and discussed the somewhat different take in the Batman Begins movie, Michael told me something very interesting about the new Batman character. He said he went to great lengths to make sure people understood that while Batman may be considered a super hero, he’s a hero with no special powers. Most big screen super heroes have some kind of super human quality, but not the Batman of the Batman Begins movie. As a matter of fact, when you watch the movie you discover he uses the resources around him, to in turn become the hero of Batman.

As I pondered that aspect of the character portrayed in Michael Uslan’s Batman I also discovered his underlying message. Everyone, that includes you and me, have within us, and around us, the resources we need to overcome any situation. It doesn’t take a super hero to overcome difficult situations, it takes a person with purpose and destiny, and the desire to pull on the good qualities within each one of us.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

At the beginning of the movie a particular line jumped off the screen at me and I quickly wrote it down. While the young writer was talking with the newspaper editor about why he couldn’t get more prominent placement in the paper, the editor replied saying; “I see a lot of typing, but not much writing.”

Wow! What an incredible thought!

During the past few days I’ve been contemplating that phrase. Many times we type and type and type, but very little really gets written. Of course as a writer, that is of great concern to me. But what does that phrase really mean? I’m sure there’s much more to it, but after a brief look at the phrase I think it hooks in with the idea that if all we’re doing is jotting down facts about any given situation, we’re just typing. But, when we go behind the facts, and discover how the facts in turn link to life, and dare I saw it, our own personal life, then we move into the area of writing.

The older I get the more I realize the importance of purpose and destiny. How are we affecting those around us? How are we living our lives? Are we simply typing the script of our lives moving from one random incident to another? Or, are we writing the script of our lives, interacting with life and growing through each and every experience.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus