“Wonder Woman” was much better than I was expecting. 🙂
Getting objectionable content out of the way first: There’s obviously Diana’s corset+miniskirt outfit, some innuendo, and a scene with & shot of a guy with nothing on.
There’s a little of that feminist “girls are better than guys” schtick, but part of that is because the Amazons are basically an elite military squad. World War I soldiers in the movie do plenty of fighting. Diana’s just better because she’s had years of specialized training.
Women in the regular military isn’t Biblical, but women stepping up in time of trouble or war to do strategic, warlike things is (Deborah, Jael, Esther). Diana sees a need in the war and she can do something about, so she does, which is Biblical. This, after her tribe ridiculously does not accompany her to the fight after spending their lives in training for that very purpose.
“If you know what is right to do but you do not do it, you sin.”
-James 4:17
Also, Diana’s incredulity at and passion against some modern war practices like politicians and generals sitting back in safe offices making decisions that’ll end thousands of young lives is a VERY welcome point.
Before seeing it, I got the impression that the film was going to bash us over the head about ending war, but thankfully it’s not just one big anti-war sermon. Diana comes to see that ending war isn’t possible; the Bible says as much. The end message is Diana learning to get used to fighting for the right and assisting humanity with all its faults and flaws and glories.
She finally understands there will always be evil to fight because humanity has been corrupted by the god of war Ares–and they continue to let themselves be corrupted. (Man’s sinful nature, as confirmed in the Bible.) There will always be the innocent, poor, and needy to save. There will always be justice to uphold. Who will fight for that?
That’s a message that echoes the Bible. Humans are complicated and God knows that. He helps us much more than we deserve, too. And He insists on our continued fighting the good fight, upholding righteousness, and “occupying till He comes”
“But judgment will return to righteousness, and all the upright in heart shall follow it.
Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?”
-Psalm 94:16
-Pictures via the Wonder Woman Movie Facebook page
“I’ll call him Oscar.”
“Oscar? You can’t name a lamb Oscar. You name a lamb Fluffy…or Cottonball…But you don’t name a lamb Oscar.”
-Paws & Tales kids radio show
“Ten days after I turned 8, got my lips stuck in a gate; my friends all laughed. And I just stood there until the fire department came and broke the lock with a crowbar and I had to spend the next 6 weeks in lip rehab where I met this kid named Oscar who got stung by a bee, right on the lips, and we couldn’t even talk to each other until the fifth week cuz both of our lips were so swollen. And when he did start speaking, he just spoke Polish, and I didn’t know but like 3 words in Polish, except now I know 4 – because Oscar taught me the word for lips.”
-Veggietales “I Love My Lips” silly song
Took me the longest time to figure out what Larry was saying in that ^^ monologue 🙄
“He’s my pet and his name is Oscar. He’s mine.”
-kindergarten girl, of a fly buzzing around the room.
You don’t want to hear how these giraffe puppets took so much time and hassle to make. You just want to see the cute picture. So here you go. 😛
Bright teal and cherry red hibiscus make me ridiculously happy. 😀
Going out of your way to step on and crunch the few dried deciduous leaves = fall in Southern California.
Wintery crafts are the best!
Me to two middle schoolers who were fighting: “It takes 2 to tango.”
One of the middle schoolers: “Yeah, but…but…it takes one to…play video games…”
If coffee is warmed in the microwave for 22 minutes instead of 2, the smell takes over 2 months to go away. 😛
“I call it, “Victory of Life”!” -kindergartener in a melodramatic voice, of a pattern she’d just decorated her paper with XD
According to a 1st grader, you can “speak Texas.” 😛
When the Carl’s Jr. root beer tastes like it’s been mixed with sweet tea 😕
Straightforward kindergartener: “Once I had something go in here [points to arm] that touched my blood to see if I could have eggs or not.”
“A hacker is someone who goes on a computer and makes your technology not work.” -2nd grader
Do you know how hard it is to arrange 7 things in a perfect circle?
Now a half circle or mountain, that’s not hard:
Speaking of 7, and of 7 stars, I really like how the symbol for Aragorn’s kingship is the same as Jesus’. 8)
I came across this verse in my daily Bible reading:
And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. -Revelation 1:16
I know, this review is late- sorry! Also, it goes without saying, but there are spoilers. Images are from the Hobbit Facebook page.
I feel like there isn’t much to say because, well, it’s basically one big battle. As the title reflects. But here are some thoughts. Before I get started, let me just get out of the way what I didn’t like about this movie and about the Hobbit trilogy in general.
• It’s too long and drawn out. It just feels…”stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread” (Bilbo in FotR).
• The Fili-Tauriel-Legolas love triangle. So ridiculous. And the tension between Legolas and his father Thranduil because the latter doesn’t approve of her. Legolas leaves in the end because of this.
• The title. It was supposed to be called There And Back Again (which would’ve been much better) but with the move to a trilogy, the title was changed to the current one. It made a huge deal of something that took a few pages in the book and sounded like any cheesy action flick.
And I was pretty annoyed that the killing of Smaug was over in like 5 minutes. Bard was such a hero and that part was so spectacular.
And then- whoop, it was done. That said, this movie was a satisfying ending to the Hobbit trilogy. The focus moves from killing the dragon and taking the mountain to international relations 😛 The Elves have heard of the turn of events and come bringing relief for the people of Dale (which is really decent of them, seeing as how Thorin’s company didn’t even offer after inadvertently unleashing the dragon on the town); they also wouldn’t mind some of the treasure that’s just been freed up. Dale’s mayor and Bard, leaders of the townsfolk, agree to seek some help from Thorin’s company in the Lonely Mountain, as they’ve suffered the brunt of the dragon the company stirred up, and were also responsible for killing it. These both are reasonable requests. But Thorin is so full of himself, proud, greedy, struck by gold lust, and absorbed with finding the Arkenstone and being the king that he rejects all attempts to talk. He ends up sending for reinforcements and his cousin Dain comes with a Dwarf army. Talk about a mess caused by selfishness and bad communication. Tensions abound. The White Council also makes an appearance as they go to rescue Gandalf and come upon the Necromancer in Dol Guldor. Elrond, Saruman and Galadriel get some epic fight scenes in. But they made Galadriel use the “dark” mode that was used in “Fellowship” to indicate how she’d become with the power of the Ring. That was weird as she had a strong, good power that she would’ve used to cast down dark powers; she wouldn’t have gone “dark.” There was a great line used by Galadriel in the White Council parts—
“I am not alone.”
While the evil feels confident against just one of the Council, Elrond and Saruman appear, showing that evil flees in the face of united goodness.
Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. -Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
So, battle lines are being drawn between the Elves and Men on one side, and the Dwarves on the other. Bilbo tries to smooth things over by giving the Arkenstone to the Men for them to bargain with, as he knows Thorin really wants it. He totally loses Thorin’s friendship over this. He is courageous and commendable, for all he wants to do is make peace.
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. -Romans 12:18
Ultimately, Thorin’s cousin Dain arrives with a mass of Dwarves ready for battle intent on “liberating” Thorin’s company from the Lonely Mountain where the Elves and Men have “besieged” them, and a battle appears imminent. Gandalf arrives just in time to refocus them onto the real threat, Azog and Bolg’s huge Orc army arriving just then. So, finally the Elves, Dwarves and Men join forces to defeat the real enemy. There were quite a few heroic scenes as the Dwarves rally behind Thorin, their rightful King. Thus, the battle that comprises most of the movie. It was filled with unrealistic but cool stuff, like Legolas jumping UP falling rocks like stairs. The killing of Fili and Kili was definitely not done in the best way either. They fell defending Thorin in the book, so I was expecting a heroic stand, but was quite disappointed. Fili being ambushed was really sad, and worked in the movie story, but Kili’s dying in defense of Tauriel was ridiculous and took the focus off the family bond among Thorin and his nephews. But everyone good had a hard time against their foes. Bolg fights Legolas and Thorin and Kili and Tauriel and still is ok. Thorin is killed because of a stupid mistake in not making sure Azog was dead. But it was nice that the book was followed in Bilbo getting knocked out on a rock, and the Eagles saving the day. 🙂 So it was sad because three members of the Company were lost. But Thorin and Bilbo part friends. Then Bilbo returns to his home in the Shire only to find his house a mess and his belongings being auctioned off as everyone thinks he’s perished. So it’s not as neat an ending as Return of the King, but it works. The messy houses fades into the scene in the beginning of Fellowship, as Bilbo is making party preparations and Gandalf comes to visit. And totally made me want to watch the LOTR saga again 😀
So though it wasn’t the best Middle Earth movie or even the best of the Hobbit trilogy, this was a nice ending to the Hobbit movie trilogy. And the ending song was just perfect. So sad 😥
I love this song. You probably haven’t heard it because it doesn’t commonly air on the radio. It’s included at the end of an episode of Insight for Living’s children’s radio show Paws and Tales. (Explore their site, listen and download episodes here.) In fact, each of those shows has a song at the end. I’m telling you, the lyrics and music are so good, those songwriters would win awards.
So, anyhow, here’s one of my favorite songs of the series, from the Paws and Tales episode “The Least of All,” a dramatization of the story of Gideon. Listen to it here.
I can, I can, with the Great I Am
I can do the unbelievable
I can, I can, and I know I will
‘Cause with Him all things are possible
Yes, with Him all things are possible
I see God’s power in a tiny seed
It grow and flowers and becomes a tree
So, in God’s hands, if I just believe
He’ll do greater things through someone like me
I can, I can, with the Great I Am
I can do the unbelievable
I can, I can, and I know I will
‘Cause with Him all things are possible
Yes, with Him all things are possible
A boy named David stood by himself
Overcame a giant ’cause he had God’s help
And Moses set God’s people free
He believed and The Lord opened up the sea
I can, I can…
So if God calls me to climb a mountain, I won’t turn away
I’ll follow Him ’cause, by His strength, He will make a way
That’s why I say…
I can, I can, with the Great I Am
I can do the unbelievable
I can, I can, and I know I will
‘Cause with Him all things are possible
Yes, with Him all things are possible
Yes, with Him all things are possible
With Him all things are possible
Lemon meringue tea? The things these kids come up with…
Okay so a group of 3rd grade girls was playing a game they called “Survivor’s Remorse.” Near as I could figure, they’d hold hands in a ring and spin in a fast circle. Some would lose their balance, let go the others’ hands and fall; they were dubbed the “remorsed” and whoever was left standing was dubbed the “survivor.” 😕 I wonder what they’d think of the real concept…
One 2nd grade girl to another: “Why is your hair all soft and smooth, like a polished pearl?”
Daycare boys discussing whether Power or Speed is “king.”
My littlest brother just substituted “deoxygenated” for “dehydrated.”
Then we were talking about planting apple seeds and growing apple trees. And he started out, “Plant tomato seeds, get tomato… tree…”
*some kindergarten girls are playing pretend*
K 1: “But when does she [a character] turn good?”
K 2: “At the end of the game.”
K 2: “That’s a long time.”
Here’s a couple more from my brother:
“I put salad dressing on everything. Except soup.” (He does.)
“Shouldn’t have told me that [piano] pedal makes it louder; now I use it ALL the time.” (He does.)
Kindergarten girl: “I love toys. But my [4th grade] brother doesn’t. But I think he changed his mind and still likes them.”
Reading about the Israelites in the wilderness, my littlest brother remarked: “They act like bad children. No, not like children—like bad adults.”
Gooz: “These plans are amazing! Papa Chuck thought of everything! This is going to be a great treehouse. When you get done with your treehouse, you gonna build this one?”
Stacy: “We are building that one.”
Gooz: “Where’s the big beam to hold up the roof? This has 2 windows and a rope ladder. Yours has a stick holding up the ceiling.”
Stacy: “…We got a little ahead of ourselves, but it’ll be good and strong when we’re finished. We’re the kind of builders who…work off a picture in their heads. What do you call those builders?”
Gooz: “Unemployed.”
-kids building a treehouse in Paws & Tales: “A Good Foundation”
I tell ya, Insight for Living‘s kids radio show “Paws & Tales” has some great writing. ^^
Older boy, trying to get the girl who has the ball to throw it: “Yoga class is over!”
One kindergartner to another, over some squabble they were having: “You’re making us want to cry and you’re breaking our hearts.”
Overheard in a kindergartener game of pretend: “Of course, you’re just born, so you’re 0.”
Kids are hilarious. But don’t underestimate them! Remember what Jesus said:
And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,
‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise’?”
-Matthew 21:14
I’ve seen it get so windy the stream of water from a water fountain was getting knocked around.
Kindergartener 1: “I’m scared of monsters.”
Kindergartener 2: “Monsters aren’t real.”
K 1: “I know. But I’m scared of spiders and snakes.”
K 2: “Spiders and snakes aren’t rea…”
:p
Kinder girl, a little confused on her announcement of her dog’s pregnancy: “I’m making new puppies. Um… I’m getting new puppies hatched.”
A 3rd grade girl was chatting with my coworker, and mentioned wanting to go to a “really good” college. My coworker asked “Oh yeah? Which one?” The answer: “Oxford.” #booyah
I’ve seen it get so windy a bee couldn’t fly straight.
Once I opened wordcounter.net and the page came up, containing the last college essay I pasted in there 3 weeks back 😮
Time for “Guess That Kindergartener-Mangled Word”! Here it is: “BEKUTOR.” And the answer is… “COMPUTER”!
Leprechauns and faeries. Easter Bunny and Father Christmas.
3 posts before this one is the first post in a mini-series about my trip to New York City this Fall 😀
“At Rome things can or cannot be done; when you are told anything cannot be done, there is an end of it.”
“It is much more convenient at Paris,—when anything cannot be done, you pay double, and it is done directly.”
-The Count of Monte Cristo.
I haven’t been to either Rome or Paris (YET), but nonetheless I thought that quote ^ was hilarious 😆
Good thing da Vinci studied birds to learn how to fly, and not dragonflies. Dragonflies’ flight is so erratic.
A 1st grade girl drew a picture of the Titanic at daycare. I asked if she was learning about that in class, and she nonchalantly said, “No, I just watched The History Channel.” So sweet that learning is so natural to her.
We were watching “The Jungle Book” in daycare, and one little girl asked, “Does he [Mowgli] grow up to be Tarzan?” Noooo…but…good question…
Talking to people from other counties is SO. Much. Fun. Not even sure it classifies as a “conversation” since they do most of the talking, but still. Plus, the accents!!
How come Dr. Pepper tastes so much like cherry? 😕
Speak life, speak life
Through the deadest, darkest night
Speak life, speak life
Though the sun don’t shine
And you don’t know why
-“Speak Life,” TobyMac
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
~Isaiah 55:11
Speak God’s Word. It won’t return void.
And because I haven’t put a picture in this post yet, I’ll close with this, which you may recognize as the 2012 National Geographic photo contest winner. I love nature photography and I LOVE tigers (so exotic, clever, and majestic!!) so I love this photo!
When the theme from a movie you haven’t watched in ages comes on the online radio station you’re listening to. Whoa, blast from the past.
Pretty neat to watch a girl with long, thick hair braid it up into something cool. Like, you can’t even see it and you’re doing such a good job :O
Ah, it smells like rain. 😀
I’m in a nautical mood. Just finished reading Treasure Island, visited a Maritime museum, saw ships in a bottle, spent some time at the beach, volunteered at a VBS with a Sea of Galilee theme, heard a presentation on “US history through maritime song,” visited a lighthouse…
Bullfrogs and butterflies
They’ve both been born again…
I’d like a boat ride. Or a ship in a bottle.
Did you know how they make ships in bottles? The boat part is small enough to fit through the bottle’s neck, and the sails are all folded down and attached to a string. The boat is slid into the bottle, then the string is pulled, and the sails go up. Voila! You’ve got a boat in a bottle.
You know what’s super cool? Taking pictures of the moon with your new zoom lens. 😀
A rockin’ Christian worship song (in English) song came on the radio and my littlest brother wanted to know if it was Spanish. 😐
Pineapple soda is a paradox. Like…this tropical, fresh taste of pineapple, and then this clearly artificial carbonated fizz.
*two younger brothers are playing with action figures*
Littlest brother: “Superman is losing.”
Older brother: “Superman doesn’t lose.”
Littlest brother: “I said losing, not lost.”
Wow! This is now my second favorite Marvel movie, after The Avengers. It’s especially relevant because of all the surveillance going on now. This movie finds Cap in an America dealing with freedom, restrictions, expanding government, privacy, and how to balance it all. And he doesn’t give up on an old friend, which pays off!
Few initial observations:
•The Falcon is a nice addition to the team – a real friend for Cap.
•Can I just say it’s really annoying whenever someone in Marvel “dies”? 🙄
•The Winter Soldier…wasn’t in the movie as much as I was expecting. The story turned out great anyway, but they only just opened up the possibilities with Bucky here.
I like how the privacy intrusions committed by SHIELD and the government all turn out to be bad, because Hydra is revealed to be in charge. The movie makes a excellent point about how complacency, apathy, and backing down results in a loss of our freedom.
Dr. Arnim Zola: “HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize was that if you tried to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. … HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. … People will fight for their freedom if people try to take it from them. But if you cause enough trouble, people will willingly give up their freedom for a more secure world.”
“Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of Liberty.” -Thomas Jefferson
Steve Rogers: “Don’t let control take the place of freedom!”
As SHIELD crumbles, Cap and Natasha Romanoff are forced to go on the run.
The unstable situation is reflected close to home for Cap as he observes Natasha’s style—one of being willing to do anything, to play the games and tell the lies, in order to stay alive and do her spy work. Cap, on the other hand, holds to moral standards. And that’s refreshing to see in this day and age.
Nick Fury: “Now Agent Romanoff is comfortable with everything.”
Natasha Romanoff: “I find that it’s easier to keep your true self buried under several layers of untrue selves, to protect yourself.”
Steve Rogers: “That’s not a good way to live.”
Natasha Romanoff: “No, but it’s a good way not to die.”
God doesn’t ask us to sway our standards with changing situations; following God’s Word ensures success.
The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. He will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established; he will not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies.
– Psalm 112:6b-8
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.
– Deuteronomy 23:4
Through it all, as Captain America fights for right, others join him. His dedication to truth, honesty, and friendship influence those around him to those things as well. His shining example is the cause of much good in this movie.
Steve Rogers: “The price of freedom is high, but it’s a price I’m willing to pay!”
The background: In the opening scene, it is noted that, in order for the dwarvish armies to join together to reclaim their homeland of Erebor, Thorin, the rightful king, must posses the Arkenstone to demonstrate his legitimacy. Thus, the quest of the 13 dwarves and Bilbo to the Lonely Mountain to find the priceless stone.
The plot: Things definitely heat up in this second installment of the Hobbit trilogy. Azog the white Orc is called away by superiors and Bolg takes over as the company’s new foe. And he is relentless in the pursuit. The friction between Elves and Dwarves comes to the forefront. Thranduil the proud, greedy King of Mirkwood clashes with Thorin who is still furious over the Elven king’s desertion of Erebor when it was under attack from the dragon. And a confrontation between the Dwarves and Smaug the dragon heats up to an inferno.
The hobbit: Bilbo, armed with not just “his courage,” as he remarks to Gandalf, but also with the magic Ring that grants its wearer invisibility, saves the Dwarves several times. Though it is tragic to watch how the Ring is slowly starting to take hold of him, influencing vicious actions.
The bad: The worst thing about the movie was the love triangle between Tauriel, and Legolas and Kili the dwarf. It made things rather ridiculous. Like, Tauriel, supposedly captain of the Elven guard, was totally irresponsible, immature and impetuous to leave her position and take off to follow a dwarf—and if she was like that she sure wouldn’t have become captain of the guard in the first place! And the scene in which she sang over Kili, with the slow-mo and glowing light, was totally, totally a copy of the scene in The Fellowship of the Ring where Arwen first comes when Frodo is hurt. So I’m disappointed in Peter Jackson for reneging on his promise to not make Legolas a part of any romance. The Tauriel character is cool, but the romance is unneeded in the story.
The book: I really liked how some things from the book were portrayed in the movie. Beorn the skin-changer is there, as a raging bear and a gruff man. Bilbo’s defeat of the spiders of Mirkwood with the use of his (newly named) sword Sting and the Ring is very neat. The barrel scene is there, though it is livened up with an Orc attack and swinging and jumping Elves everywhere. Lake town is really well done—so real and gritty looking. Bard the bowman gets fleshed out so much and even has a family; he’s a really nice character. The failure of his ancestor to kill Smaug in that attack so long ago weighs heavily on him, but he is a good, moral man who wants to do what’s right and refuses to be drawn in to or intimidated by the corruption in his town.
The action: There was a lot of fighting and action. I’m a big fan of the little band type of fighting (though I like the big army type too) and there’s a lot of that, with Dwarves, Elves, and Orcs all attacking each other. There are also major confrontations. Legolas faces down the huge Bolg and wields a mighty sword in the hand-to-hand combat. Gandalf confronts the dark powers at Dol Guldor in a battle of light against dark. The climactic scenes of Bilbo and the Dwarves in the dragon’s lair inside the Lonely Mountain are quite breathtaking. “Smaug the stupendous” is just that, plus being totally conceited. The vast underground chambers and piles upon piles of loose gold strewn all over, covering the floor, make for a dramatic setting for the showdown. The forges are lit and soon molten gold is streaming.
The lessons: A major development is the rapid growth of evil unexpectedly taking place. In the first movie, seeing Orcs was puzzling enough, but now their increasing numbers are plain alarming. Gandalf leaves to investigate further at Dol Guldor, the place where Radagast fought the Ringwraith and found the Morgul blade in the first movie. While the Dwarves and Bilbo are encountering Orcs, giant spiders and Smaug the dragon, Gandalf discovers that hundreds of orcs are massing at Dol Guldor and it has turned into a veritable fortress of the dark lord Sauron. This is bigger than any of them suspected.
“We’ve been blind…and in our blindness the enemy has returned.” -Gandalf
Things are clearly coming to a head. Evil has returned. It is growing. What to do?
Tauriel says it well.
Legolas: “It is not our fight.”
Tauriel: “It is our fight. It will not end here. With every victory, this evil will grow! If your father has his way, we will do nothing. We will hide within our walls, live our lives away from the light, and let darkness descend. Are we not part of this world? Tell me, Mellon [friend], when did we allow evil to become stronger than us?”
This is what every hero in Middle Earth thinks, and acts on. This is why there is a story to be told here at all. There is evil in the world. When it presses in, do we hide? Do we retreat? If we did, the darkness would overpower all. No, we must fight.
But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.
-Proverbs 4:18-19
The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
-Romans 13:1
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
-2 Corinthians 6:14
You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
-1 Thessalonians 5:5
And some pictures, courtesy of TheHobbit.com. (Click on pictures to bring up larger versions.)
Praising God for a wonderful year 2012 and praying for His continued leadership and blessing in 2013!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 4,700 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 8 years to get that many views.
Star Shining Forever 