Animal Planet

Animal Planet

We’re watching Planet of the Apes.

No, not the Charlton Heston onethis one.

Only it’s supposed to be this one, from last year.

So we’re on the middle one, the “first remake” (excluding the 17 sequels to the Charlton Heston one) and it’s by Tim Burton, with all that that entails, from Helena Bonham Carter to claustrophobic sets — and I mean claustrophobic in a good way.

We’re watching for a church discussion group so it’s going to be interesting, and a little confusing perhaps, to have two and maybe all of these in mind when we talk. The Sunday School involves worldviews, using the Brian Godawa book as a rough foundation and asking questions about God, man, sin and salvation.

Who is God?
What is Man?
What’s wrong?
What’s the answer?

I’m enjoying it more than I expected to, but I like Mark Walhberg more and more all the time anyway. In this case, though, the movie is for me pretty compelling. The set does look like an over-decorated zoo exhibit — the stone looks fake — but this may be on purpose. Burton’s sets are purposeful in all ways, I suspect.

And the story, largely the same as the original, tweaks its tweaks in slight and helpful ways, as they should. The backstory of the chimp being sent into space, for instance, the revelation by the dying father telling us what we already know about what Wahlberg may “discover” at the end. But we already know it because we’ve seen Charlton Heston shrieking on the beach. Even the dialogue references — swapped from human to ape — aren’t annoying. I should add we’ve only see half of the movie so far …

And of course it’s not even the right one for the discussion, so we’ll probably see the 2011 version — a prequel to 2001? — this weekend, before church.

The class is really good, and it’s for junior high and high school kids. It runs these movies through the four questions, and honestly deals with what is good, bad, and ugly about them. A companion class for adults takes these questions to a broader level, to include all of culture.

It’s a pretty good church that can do this.

 

[The follow-up post to this one is here.]

Recent

Coyotes and Christians

I am not saying Christians are like coyotes. [For that, some could cut caustically to coyotes are like Christians — tricksters, roaming in the dark, feeding on the dead … ] Simply noticed — somewhat in passing, as it’s said, having attained, apparently … achieved? … some kind of state where nearly anything I hear,

Read More »

And Did Dostoevsky Say ‘Beauty Will Save’

Short answer: he did not. Neither did Prince Myshkin, that we know of. Likely both believed it. Beauty — in the person of Christ — will do so. And clearly D wrote of M in The Idiot to explore art and beauty and ugliness and salvation. But did he say it, and did he believe that

Read More »

What I Recalled Watching Netflix

[Television is educational.]   One Saying the same stuff over and over looks like you have different things to say. Two If you’re ever in a below-average film or streaming series, and you beat the tar out of a guy, in a house, and you gaze down in both some shock as also a certain

Read More »

Seeking the King

A line everywhere misattributed to Chesterton reads thus: The young man who rings the bell at the brothel is unconsciously looking for God. This line is not from the great [several senses of the word] man who recently celebrated his 150th birthday, but the mid-century most unmodern novelist Bruce Marshall. The words — which do

Read More »

Random

Drinking the Seth Godin … Milk

Motivator Manipulator Maven Which is he? I’m going with maven. Maven may be one of those words we’ve lost sight of, like integrity. Integrity means “wholeness” but we’ve reduced it to “honesty.” So too maven — which means “connoisseur” — has been ironicized, demeaned really, into something like “one who condescends” referring to someone looking

Read More »

True Romance

Mentioned last week the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, a term used in film to refer to a female — not a woman, mark you, but a girl or perhaps female, depending on the level of [im]maturity — who exists in a story not for herself, more deeply not as a Self, but only for the

Read More »

Total Recall

Don’t stop me if you’ve heard this one … There was a woman who claimed to talk with God — not to Him, but with Him. The tale was well-told around town, in which there was also a priest. The priest one day after Mass asked to speak with the woman and when they’d settled

Read More »

Events Full

Five weeks ago I gave six-weeks notice at the business journal. It came about five weeks in on the largest weekly increases in initial unemployment claims since the real estate recession. To date we’re just shy of 39 million in nine weeks, with, for me, one week to go. As at least one other person

Read More »

Related

Idea: Inspiration

They asked Newton* how he did it and he’s supposed to have said, I thought about it all the time.  * Yes, it’s Archimedes. Keep reading. Inspiration is for amateurs. Chuck Close You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. Jack London Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.

Read More »

In The Heart of the Drunkard

And away he went, to drink the value of his cross … I have been listening to Fyodor Dostoevski’s The Idiot on the iPhone, from Audible.com. It’s incredible. I just know I’ll have to read it as soon as I’m done with the audio. [I do irk myself somewhat on having become such a fan

Read More »

Ship of Friend

Two dynamics characterize the practice of contemplation: deepening concentration and expanding awareness. These two are one. They give birth to twins: inner solitude and loving solidarity with all. Martin Laird, A Sunlight Absence This post started a little rando, but its contents aren’t … heh — especially where its contents aren’t mine. Elsewhere — possibly

Read More »