"And the Winners are..."

Alright, yesterday I saw four more films at the AMC Best Picture Showcase, more fully rounding out my 2008 moving viewing. I'd share my picks and rationale for each category, but since I'm running out of time and it's my wife's birthday, I'll just share the essentials. So here are my pics for tonight's awards...

Leading Performances.
For Best Leading Actress, this is a really tough call. I'm torn here worse than anywhere else. I really (really, really, really, really) want Anne Hathaway to win for her emotional roller coaster role in Rachel Getting Married, but I don't think she'll win. Honestly, all five women here did an amazing job. Angelina Jolie and Melissa Leo played incredibly strong women pushed in life's most difficult circumstances. And Meryl Streep's vicious character in Doubt made me as furious as any other could. But at the end of the day, it is Kate Winslet who steels the show and will take the award with here incredibly complex portrait of an SS guard in The Reader. Winslet's win is secured by her additional strong performance in Revolutionary Road and the fact that this is her sixth Oscar nomination and still without a win. Tonight will be her night!

For the guys, strong performances here as well. Richard Jenkins was as lovable as he was pathetic. I kind of want Mickey Rourke to win for his comeback victory with The Wrestler. Brad Pitt's role was also complex and well-done. I'm torn slightly between the winner and Frank Langella, who plays Nixon superbly. But the winner will doubtlessly be Sean Penn, playing Harvey Milk in the biopic Milk. Penn captured the role from every angle. It was magnificent.

Supporting Performances.
For the ladies, I really liked Amy Adams in Doubt, though the role seemed a little too close to much of the same for her. Viola Davis and Taraji P. Henson likewise showed strong performances. In the midst of it all, I would really like to see Marisa Tomei win for her role in The Wrestler. Though she is my personal favorite, I think in the end she'll lose out to Penelope Cruz in Vicky Christina Barcelona, who will win because in the eyes of many "she's due" and Tomei has already one an Oscar that was thought by some at the time to be a joke.

And for the men, I am at a somewhat of a disadvantage here because I still have not seen Revolutionary Road. Yet I don't think it really matters because Heath Ledger seems to be a shoo-in. For good reason... He could not have played a more terrifying and electrifying Joker in The Dark Knight. The tragedy of his death simply reinforced the inevitability of his win. Nonetheless, Philip Seymour Hoffman was brilliant as usual. Robert Downey, Jr. gave an unpredictable suprise in Tropic Thunder, definitely urning him (together with Iron Man) my own personal award from "Most Entertaining Actor of 2008." I was not impressed with Josh Brolin in Milk, and, as mentioned, did not see Michael Shannon. But again, it's all somewhat pointless discussion because Ledger's legacy has this in the bag.

Best Picture and Director
Oscar history testifies that these two winners almost always go together. And for good reason since the success of the movie is due to the works of the director himself. This year all five nominations are the same for each of these categories. Again, I'm running out of time, so I'll cut right to the chase. Danny Boyle and his Slumdog Millionaire will take both of these and the large share of all awards tonight. Though I personally enjoyed Frost/Nixon the most of the five, the concept is not nearly as fresh as with Slumdog. Let me also say, that of all films of 2008, I thought Rachel Getting Married was the best, over all Oscar noms. But none of that matters anymore. Milk's breathtaking optimism, The Readers' complexity and depth, Frost/Nixon's precision, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button's glistening wonder will be no match for the fresh, energetic, invigorating, superbly crafted (though disappointingly predictable) Slumdog Millionaire. The fact that it is an Indian picture simply raises its attractiveness.

Anyway... I gotta put some candles in a birthday cake before the Oscars begin. Talk to you later!

Mad Dash to the Oscars!

I can't wait until next Sunday... the Oscars! The greatest night in movies!!! It's right around the corner, and both Justina and I can't wait.
This year's Oscar season looks very similar to previous years for us. The kinds of movies that tend to be nominated for the Academy Awards are (contrary to some tastes) the exact kind of films that we enjoy most... the creative art-house independent stuff. Since that's the kind of stuff we shoot for anyway, when the nominations are announced each year, chances are that we've seen at least a couple of them, though low-theater-attending-funds do make this a challenge at times. Then, once the noms are announced, we try to make a mad dash to see as many films as possible before the big night!
This year is no different. However it is a bit of an upgrade. Each year AMC Theaters shows all five best motion picture nominees back-to-back for the single price of $30, all on one day, on the day before the awards show. Though we've always wanted to, I've never been able because I worked in restaurant world and Saturdays aren't the easiest to take off... But this year, now that I'm out of that prison, we're on our way!
We've only seen one of the top five so far, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Each of the others, I've wanted to see, especially Milk and Frost/Nixon. I couldn't wait to see either of them from the first trailer. But I also thought Slumdog Millionare and the Reader looked good as well.
A couple weeks ago we saw Doubt and the Wrestler at a double-feature we went to. Both great films, but in different ways. Last night we rented Vicky Christian Barcelona and tomorrow we have Frozen River coming in from Netflix. I saw the Dark Night twice in the theater this summer and can't wait to see Heath Ledger take the win. Phenominal! Though, I must say, there are a lot of great performances up for supporting actor.
But the award I'm pulling for more than anything else in the entire show is Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married. That is actually my favorite film I've seen so far from 2008 (which could change after I've seen a few more...). Hathaway was spot-on. She was incredible. And I hope dearly that she wins, though, once again, she's up against some other great performances.
Anyway, I could ramble on and on, but I don't have much of an agenda other than to say that I can't wait for the Oscars! See you next Sunday night!

Blogging for West Hills

Well, it's official. Now I will be extra terrible at maintaining this blog. At West Hills, we are beginning a blog that will be linked to our new website with what will hopefully be weekly posts to correspond with what we're talking about at our Sunday gatherings. You can check out this blog at westhills.wordpress.com. I just put up my first post on it this week.

But since I don't keep up on things on here the best anyway, this will probably only make it worse. But nonetheless, I'll probably keep more personal things for this one.

Talk to you later and see you around.

Pray for the President-Elect

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." First Timothy 2:1-2

As everyone is most likely well aware, Sen. Barack Obama won the election yesterday and is now president-elect. Regardless of where we all stand individually within the political spectrum, I think we can all agree with the need to pray for our leaders and our nation.

We need to begin praying in new ways for President-elect Obama. Pray that as he begins setting up his cabinet and staff that the Lord would place strong believers in key positions around him, formally and informally. As our new president identifies himself as a Christian, pray that his faith would be strengthened in ways possibly not seen in the past. Pray that he would be afresh in prayer, humbly seeking God's direction for our nation. Pray that the stress of the job would not minimize time reading his Bible, but that it would draw him into it more fully. Pray that as Obama seeks to have an open ear to those of differing viewpoints, that he would be especially open to hearing and truly considering those of the Evangelical Christian church. Pray that in these and other ways, God would put his hand of blessing and direction upon the presidency.

I believe that we can agree on all of these prayers regardless of who we each voted for yesterday. Let's join together in prayer for God's favor on our president, our nation, indeed our world.

Let's seek His face...

Where is the Church?

The picture of the church in Acts 2 haunts me. It troubles me because as I look around, I don't see this church today. At least not often.

I'm thinking lately on what it would look like to find this type of people today. A church that is committed to Scripture and to intimate relationships (i.e. "fellowship") and to breaking bread and to prayer--not just to the acknowledgment of the importance of these things, but to actually highlighting them as a people. A church that actually sits in awe, captivated by the work God is doing around them--not just frustrated because he's not doing enough... A church that spends large amounts of time living life together. A church that shares possessions and sells belongings to ensure that none among them are lacking in the least. A church that gathers every day together. One that meets for prayer each day. That shares meals each day. Where its people open their homes each day. Join in communion each day. Take time to express gladness, thankfulness, and praise every day. A church that is on the edge of their seat before God among his people. A church that in the midst of this is seen favorably among neighboring nonchristians and is therefore continually expanding as outsiders become insiders.

I guess the real question is less "Where is this church?" and more "What can we do to daily become the church more fully?" What can we do? What changes can we make? What is my role? How does this set the pace of my day? How does this drive our primary gatherings on Sunday mornings? How does this make sense in our home groups? What does this look like in my living room? In my church building? As West Hills gathers? And as the global church connects?

Post your comments/ideas below if you want. But if you want to be really daring, invite another Christian sister or brother into your home and share face-to-face over a meal. Then pray together, sing together, and do the same thing tomorrow night with a larger group of 10, 20 or 50.