The Kingdom Come

Dallas, the long running television series that began in 1978 and ended in 1991 was revived on June 13, 2012. The new series picks up with following the lives of the sons of the Ewing brothers. If you have watched the original series, the Ewings are oilmen in Texas.

The ongoing theme in the show is a tension between elder brother J.R. Ewing and younger brother Bobby Ewing. J.R. is depicted as unscrupulous and power hungry whereas Bobby is depicted as principled and moralistic. The original show was the classic struggle between "good" and "evil" but it didn't have any particular political agenda.

However, the new series is loaded with political agenda. The sons of J.R. and Bobby resume the fight between brothers but this time the son of J.R., John Ross III, and the adopted son of Bobby, Christopher are at odds; not over power in general but over pursuing oil or pursuing "alternative energy". Now, I know the makers of the new series are just trying to make the show relevant but there is so much demonstrative bogus claims for alternative energy, that the claims within the show only feed into that entire issue. For example, early on in the first episode, John Ross finds millions of barrels of oil on the family ranch, Southfork. The problem is, supposedly the matriarch of the family, "Miss Ellie Ewing" stated in her will that no one will ever drill for oil on Southfork. This starts the fight.

This riveting portrayal of a true story of the stoning of an innocent woman in Iran will move even the most heartless person. The sense you will come away with is not simply that stoning people is barbaric; since of course our own Bible has commanded it at times; rather the blatant injustice and the plotting by evil men will make you want to expose every liar and hypocrite for who they are...no matter how "noble" and "holy" they attempt to depict themselves.

Molotov Mitchell, the man behind the fabulous yet provocative video segments; "For the Record" has made a feature length film called Gates of Hell.

The plot of the film is set in the year 2016 where a black group called the Zulu 9 decides to take on the abortionists whom target the black community (this is historically accurate -- see Margret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood).

Before I watched the movie, The Book of Eli (official website), I read a few one-sentence reviews/comments about it but didn't read any full reviews or synopsis.  I wanted to be as unbiased as possible.  However, the previews do make it look like a remake of Mad Max.

I'll try to review without revealing too much to spoil it.

The late 2009 big buzz in movies is a scifi action film called AVATAR.  The plot is the classic big guy against the little guy, underdog theme.  It is reminiscent of how Native Americans are portrayed as being victims of European expansionism.  An "avatar" is a character controlled by another person, much like any video game you might play -- the character you control is an avatar.  It follows your commands, but when you stop telling it what to do, it does nothing.  In the movie, scientists are controlling hybrid human-alien avatars in an attempt to gain the trust of the indigenous population of a planet called Pandora (alluding to Greek mythology of Pandora, the first woman, and the tale of a box that once opened let's out events that cannot be contained).  But there is also a military and corporate element that is attempting to mine resources from the planet, ironically from the main home site of the indigenous population.

Once you get past the not so nuanced play against the capitalistic mindset, the movie is really a remarkable feat.

Well my wife & daughter got me to go to a movie that they had seen a few days ago.  It is called Fireproof.  This is a Christian movie that is not focusing on "endtimes" nor is it trying to proffer some conspiracy within history, nor is it an overly metaphorical depiction of the Christian message.

Fireproof is a good movie for couples or young teens/adults in the dating mode.

Some of my previous website members may find it too "fundamental" but it has a good, solid practical Christian message & a positive impact on those viewing it.  Take your spouse & teen children to see it.  Website: http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/