Mommy Brain

I posted a review of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley at Books and Movies, if you’re interested.

(Grace is Gone was provided to me by Special Ops Media for the purpose of review.)

I consider myself a huge John Cusack fan, and I already thought he was a terrific actor. In Grace is Gone, Cusack gives his most brilliant performance ever.

Cusack stars as Stanley Phillips, the manager of a home improvement store. He is taking care of his two daughters, 12-year-old Heidi and 8-year-old Dawn, while his wife Grace is deployed to Iraq. One morning, he opens his door to two military officials and the news that his wife has been killed in action.

Stanley doesn’t know how to tell his daughters that their mother isn’t coming home, and so takes them on a road trip. During the trip, he learns how to talk to his daughters, how to enjoy them for the first time. And all the while, he knows that he has to tell them the truth.

This is a simple film, and occasionally drags a bit in pace, but is well worth watching for the performances – not only for Cusack’s but for the two young actresses who play Heidi and Dawn. Regardless of your opinion of the war, we can’t forget that each person fighting over there leaves a family behind. While I watched this movie, I couldn’t help thinking that Stanley Phillip’s family represents thousands of families who have lost someone in this war, thousands more whose loved ones have been wounded or disabled, and even more whose marriages end because of long deployments.

Grace is Gone is rated PG-13, and is available on DVD today, May 27th.

(Stargate Infinity: The Complete Series was provided to me by Special Ops Media for the purpose of review.)

We’re big fans of the Stargate: SG-1 series here at our house. Kevin has watched the first seven seasons on DVD, thanks to Michelle and Don, who own them and are generous with their DVD library. I’ve watched many of the episodes with him, especially the ones that feature Michael Shanks as Dr. Daniel Jackson. But, I digress. Ahem.

Stargate Infinity: The Complete Series is a cartoon series that was produced based on the Stargate concept. It takes place later in time than the live action series. My boys have been watching an episode or two a day since it arrived in the mail, and are enjoying it very much.

A generation after the SGC first stepped through the alien device known as the Stargate, the universe has become a much different place. The war with the evil parasitic Goa’uld is won. The once top-secret Stargate Command and its work have been declassified, and beings from other worlds are living and working among us.

But now there’s a new threat from a warrior race known as the Tlak’kahn, and when SGC veteran Major Gus Bonner is convicted of a war crime he didn’t commit, he must lead a group of young SGC cadets through the Stargate to protect the life of an Ancient from their hostile new enemies. Along the way, the team visits unknown worlds and cultures, learning that life—no matter where you are in the universe – may never be easy, but should always be cherished.

Inspired by the blockbuster feature film and its two popular television spin-offs (Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis), Stargate: Infinity further explores the universe through the eyes of those few who are brave enough to venture through the mysterious Stargate.

Noah’s review: Stargate Infinity is more fun than the real series of Stargate. It’s got different characters, but it’s really fun. It’s about one ongoing mission, but that’s fine. I love it. 4 and a half stars.

Jonathan’s review: In Stargate Infinity, the team travels to different places through the Stargate. You might like it, there’s lots of stuff that’s exciting. 5 stars.

Josiah’s review: I like it. 6,000 stars.

Stargate Infinity: The Complete Series is available now on DVD.

I actually finished all but one of the books on my Spring Reading Challenge list, and that was because I hated it. Here’s where I ended up.

I continued reading:

~ The Oxford Book of American Poetry (I’m up to William Carlos Williams, chronologically.)

~ An Incomplete Education: 3,684 Things You Should Have Learned but Probably Didn’t by Judy Jones & William Wilson (I’m actually close to finishing this. I’m almost finished with the Science section, then there’s World History and Lexicon. Lots of very interesting stuff, most of which I’m sure I’ll forget quite soon.)

~ The Intellectual Devotional by David S. Kidder & Noah D. Oppenheim (This one will take all year, one page a day.)

I finished:

~ Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – related post (Finally! And it was definitely worth it.)

~ Heart of Darkness & Selected Short Fiction by Joseph Conrad – related post

~ Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick – related post

~ The Quiet American by Graham Greene – related post

~ The Best American Short Stories 2007 edited by Stephen King – related post

~ The Ordering of Love: The New and Collected Poems of Madeleine L’Engle – related post

Started, but didn’t finish:

~ The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (I tried. I made it to page 56. Ugh.)

The Quiet American is the first of Graham Greene‘s works I have read. Now I know why he is considered to be brilliant. I will be reading more from Greene.

Alden Pyle is the title character, and we are told in the first chapter that he has been murdered. Thomas Fowler, a British journalist living and working in Vietnam, tells us the story of his strange relationship with Pyle. Pyle was an American, and his exact business in Vietnam is not truly understood until the end of his tragic story. He and Fowler meet, and Pyle falls in love with Phuong, the young Vietnamese woman that Fowler is living with. The story of their love triangle plays out against a background of international intrigue and horrific violence.

This novel takes place in the ’50s, the years before the Americans enter the Vietnam War. The French are fighting the Communists, and the Vietnamese peasants are caught in the cross-fire. Greene demonstrates how naive idealism can be, how a black-and-white view of the world can lead to horrific abuses and tragedies. Pyle truly believes that what he is doing in Vietnam is right, that the “collateral damages” are worth it in the end. His self-righteous determination to stick to his mission forces Fowler to choose sides, even though he had determined to remain disengaged, an impartial journalist. The fact that his choice also gives him the benefit of Phuong’s companionship only adds to his guilt and despair.

The Quiet American would make a good companion read with Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, which deals with American G.I.s during the Vietnam conflict.

4 out of 5 stars.

I’m talking summer movies at Books and Movies. Click on over and tell me which ones you’re dying to see.

Well, they didn’t accept our offer on that house. Actually, they countered our offer with the stipulation that we list our house with a realtor if we didn’t have a signed purchase agreement within two weeks. We want to give it more time before we decide to give thousands of dollars to a realtor – thousands of dollars that could pay off my “new” van and some other debts so that we can afford the bigger house. So, we let the offer expire, trusting that if that’s the house for us, it will still be available when we do have a signed offer on ours. And if not, there must be another one out there, right?

We survived the weekend with our nephews. Actually, it went really well, and was much easier this year since Andrew is now potty-trained. They all got along fine, except for the typical meltdown once Mommy had picked them up. Isn’t that always how it goes?

This will be a quiet weekend before another busy one, when we’ll be watching Michelle and Don’s boys so they can have some away time. Of course, it will be a gaming weekend. If it’s anything like last year, the boys will surface long enough to eat and sleep and I’ll have lots of hours to read. If it’s nice, I’ll be really mean and force them to get some fresh air in there, too.

Other big news: Natalie is going to sleep-away Bible camp for the first time this year. She’s going with one of her best friends in July. It’s reasonably-priced, not too long of a drive to drop off and pick up (about 3 hours), and comes highly recommended by friends from church. So. I’m trying not to think about the fact that, at age 11, she is more than ready for this. I’m trying not to think about five days with her away from home. She’s been gone that long once before, but she was with my parents, so while I missed her, I didn’t worry. And I’m promising myself I won’t worry this time, either. Snort.

Lots of links to share with you this week:

~ Ellen Page is set to play Jane Eyre in a big screen adaptation. Hmmm. I loved her in Juno, but I’m not sure what I think of this. I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, though.

~ Angela Hunt at A Life in Pages linked to this harrowing, death-defying video. Don’t watch if you have a problem with heights.

~ Any Firefly fans out there? Kevin and I love it, and just recently watched the complete series on DVD all over again. I get angry every time when I think of how the creator, Joss Whedon, and the cast were treated by Fox – and by how it was prematurely cancelled before it was given a chance. Grrr. Well, apparently, Whedon is ready to give the network another try, and his Dollhouse is set to premiere on Fox in January. The trailer looks intriguing.

~ If you’re expecting, Chronicle Books is having a Nursery Sweepstakes.

~ Don’t forget to enter my book giveaway.

Update: This is a blog where you can watch a video of Steven with Maria. On the main web site, the family asks that, in lieu of flowers, any gifts be redirected to Shaohannah’s Hope, their organization that cares for orphans and helps families to adopt.

From the Tennessean:

Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest child died Wednesday afternoon after being struck by a car driven by her teenage brother in the driveway of the family’s Williamson County home.

Maria, one of the Christian singer’s six children, was taken by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt Hospital, which confirmed the death, according to Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The 5-year-old was hit by an SUV driven by her teenage brother, she said. Police did not give the driver’s name.

The teen was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser down the driveway of the rural home at about 5:30 p.m. and several children were playing in the area, McPherson said. He did not see Maria in the driveway before the vehicle struck her, she said.

“It appears to be a terrible accident,’’ McPherson said.

No charges are expected, she said. The accident was witnessed by two other children; the entire family was home at the time, McPherson said.

I can’t even imagine. Steven Curtis Chapman’s music helped to bring Kevin and I together. His song “Go There With You” was played at our wedding, and we have followed his career eagerly ever since. This is beyond words. Please pray for this family.

The kids and I went to see Prince Caspian on Monday, and we loved it. That in itself is going to get me in trouble with some fans of the Narnia books, I know. I have read several reviews of the film of Prince Caspian in which bloggers are upset at some of the changes.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

We read Prince Caspian a few months ago, so the plot wasn’t too recently fresh in my memory. Here are the changes I noticed:

~ Peter gets into a fight in the train station in London before the kids are whisked away to Narnia. There is a reference to resentment at being treated like kids when they had been adults in Narnia.

~ Lucy’s sighting of Aslan in the forest is a dream.

~ Caspian and Peter attack Miraz’s castle, resulting in the death of many Narnians.

~ Caspian and Peter continually struggle for control – Peter is more surly than I remember in the book.

~ There is a brief flirtation between Susan and Caspian, culminating in a kiss before Susan leaves Narnia.

~ Susan fights in the battle scenes.

The only change that bothered me was the surliness in Peter’s character and the stupid kiss at the end. Unlike other reviewers, I didn’t think the other changes made much of an impact on either the Christian themes of the film, or Lewis’ original story. Aslan is less visible in this film, which to me makes sense because there are few people left who believe in him.

I also thought Aslan’s absence and hesitation to act demonstrated the way God asks us to mature in our relationship with Him. Rather than “What will Jesus do for me?” it becomes “What would Jesus want me to do?”

The fact that Susan, being a girl, fought in the battle scenes was not an issue for me. I’m not a feminist by any stretch, but Father Christmas did give her a bow after all. I know she didn’t fight in the book, and I read the director’s reasoning for changing that, which was basically political correctness, but still, it didn’t bother me. Does that make me liberal in my theology about women? I don’t think so – this is a book, right? A movie?

Which leads me to something I’ve noticed in the posts I’ve read on Caspian. Many people love The Chronicles of Narnia – myself included. But there seems to be a tendency to elevate them to a level that is almost scriptural. Yes, there are allegorical elements in Narnia – Aslan is a Christ picture. But, these are still fictional novels written by a person – they are not inspired Scripture. It seems that some of the backlash I’ve seen about the changing of elements of the books in order to adapt them to film has been almost hysterical – as if someone had changed the Gospel story itself. I love the books, but when I see devotion to them that is akin to worship, it makes me worry.

Anyway, I’ve rambled enough. To recap, the kids and I loved the movie. The kids didn’t even notice the changes, other than the kiss between Susan and Caspian. They all sat, enthralled, through all 2 hours and 22 minutes of it – even Josiah, my 7-year-old.

I thought it was casted well. Miraz was wonderfully menacing, Caspian seemed a little old but still played the part well. Peter Dinklage, as Trumpkin, was brilliant. He made me cry. Oh, and I can’t forget Reepicheep. He nearly stole the show. The kids loved him, of course.

If you’d like to read some other opinions on the film, Sherry at Semicolon has compiled a list of other bloggers’ reactions.

(Hiya Kids! A 50s Saturday Morning was provided to me by Special Ops Media for the purpose of review.)

The kids and I have not had a chance to watch Hiya Kids! A 50s Saturday Morning yet, but I didn’t want to wait any longer to at least give it a plug. If your parents regaled you with tales of Howdy Doody, Roy Rogers, Flash Gordon, Lassie, and more, then you’ll want to check out this DVD. (Or, if you’re old enough to remember them yourself, then this DVD will be a walk down memory lane.)

What were some of your favorite Saturday morning rituals when you were growing up? Some dreamed of a chance to be in the “Peanut Gallery” of Howdy Doody. Some begged their parents for a dog just like Lassie. Many wore cowboy hats to watch The Roy Rogers Show. In the 1950s, television was new and exciting, full of imaginative shows for children. Looking back, these shows had a significant impact on the children of the first TV generation and helped to shape the medium as it increasingly became a part of our culture.

On May 6, 2008, Shout! Factory will bring a sumptuous collection of the best kids’ TV programs from the infancy of the genre to every home through the DVD release of Hiya, Kids!! A ‘50s Saturday Morning. The 4-DVD box set is packed with 21 complete episodes culled from some of America’s iconic television classics, including Kukla, Fran And Ollie, Howdy Doody, Lassie, Annie Oakley, Flash Gordon, Time for Beany, The Paul Winchell Show, The Roy Rogers Show, Captain Z-RO, The Rootie Kazootie Club, Winky Dink And You, Super Circus, Andy’s Gang, The Cisco Kid, Sky King, The Magic Clown, Kids And Company, Junvenile Jury, The Pinky Lee Show, and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. Each DVD from Hiya, Kids!! is designed like a Saturday morning programming block from the era, with shows for the very young first on the menu. As the older siblings “wake up,” the programs become more and more “sophisticated.