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The Jevlir Caravansary

Month: October 2006

  • Three Movies over the Weekend

    Over the weekend my wife watched (or started to watch) three movies, and I thought I would comment on them.

    First was X-Men: The Last Stand. Just like it’s two predessors, this was a horrible movie, and I didn’t finish watching it. My wife managed to get to the end by skipping forward a lot. It didn’t get any better. I rate it a one. If you like pure special effects without a story, characterization, or any real consistency, perhaps you’ll be OK with it. Otherwise, pass. Since we got it from Netflix, we didn’t lose anything!

    Second, we watched Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties. Jody got this one for me, because I love the Garfield cartoon. Well, I confess I loved the movie too. It sticks with the easy-going humor of the cartoon. The story isn’t complicated, but it doesn’t need to be. The two Garfields may be one (or two) too many, but that’s all the fun. This is good for relaxing, just like those time when you read the cartoon section of your local paper. I rate this a four.

    Third was Take the Lead, starring Antonio Banderas. This is a really great movie, in my view, one that challenges us to do more with what we are given. I truly enjoyed the story just as entertainment, but when entertainment can be combined with the challenge to make more of ourselves, I call that great. This is a must watch.

    Note that I got all of these from Netflix. See the add in the right hand sidebar. The links on each title are to purchase the items from Amazon.com.

  • Book: Old Soldiers

    Considering that Keith Laumer is one of my favorite authors, and that David Weber is on my “read everything he writes” list, it’s not surprising that I found this book fascinating. Laumer was happy to go off in different directions with the bolo series, but those who have taken it up since his death have been trying to build a more coherent history around it.

    One of David Weber’s major skills is in description of combat and of the feelings of those who participate in it. He has definitely brought that skill into this portrayal of a bolo in the time of the Melconian war. A bolo commander who survived the death of her bolo, and a bolo whose commander did not survive are combined in protecting a colony mission designed to plant a human presence outside of the area of the war where the Melconians might not find it.

    Old Soldiers is a wonderful new addition to the bolo literature.

  • Fiction at Charisma Book Expo

    Well, I’m back from the Charisma Book Expo, a conference/expo sponsored by Charisma Magazine to be both a spiritual experience and highlight books and resources for the charismatic Christian market. What’s of potential interest to readers of this blog is that two of the major speakers at the conference have turned to fiction writing for one reason or another.

    Tommy Tenney has written a book titled Hadassah: One Night with the King, which has now been made into a movie titled just One Night with the King. I haven’t seen the movie as it has not been released yet, and in fact, I haven’t read the book. I just heard Tommy Tenney discuss them at the conference.

    The final night speaker was John Bevere, and while I’ve read some of his non-fiction books, I have been enough out of touch that I did not realize he has written and is about to release a novel of suspense, Rescued. He has also produced an allegory in audio theater format titled Affabel: Window of Eternity.

    I’ve talked a good deal about the value of fiction, though one of my major points is that fiction is valuable as recreation. My tendency is to recommend less explicitly theological fiction. Tommy Tenney’s book is primarily intended as a good, enjoyable story, though it is based on a Bible story and certainly has spiritual implications. Both of John Bevere’s fiction offerings are definitely in the form of explicitly Christian literature.

    I’m planning to look at all of these. This is not a review, but merely my impression after listening to the authors talk about their work.