Risen

As I've mentioned once or twice before, I love me some movies. Going to an advance screening is something I've always wanted to experience. Being able to see a movie most people can't is cool.

I got to go to my first advance screening last night. The film was the new faith based flick Risen.

Christian movies are a really challenging thing to make... and rarely done well. It's easy to put the focus more on the moral/ message than on the characters and the story (a good story with real characters will convey a message better than a message with a story tacked on).

The best way I've seen to combat this is by setting your film around the life of Jesus. The story and the message go hand it hand. It makes for some really compelling stuff. Risen is a great example of that!

Risen is the story of a Roman centurion who is assigned the job of discovering what happened to the body of Jesus. It's a pretty clever set up really, take a story we all know... and add a slight twist.

It was a lot of fun to see Clavius (the Roman played by Joseph Fiennes) investigate the resurrection and wrestle with his own faith.

I also loved the way the disciples were portrayed. They really felt like sheep without a shepherd.

As is to be expected,
there was some poetic license taken. That being said, it was probably the best type of license you can take. It didn't change or effect the story in a negative way.

I give it a hearty thumbs up. However, I will say that the first 5 minutes does have a fairly intense action scene. Pretty brutal. I wouldn't recommend the beginning for kids. After that it's pretty tame... aside from shots of the crucifixion... again... which is to be expected!

It hits theatres this weekend. Check it out!

I Am An Old Man

O.K... that title is exaggerated. I am not an old man... I did just have a birthday though... so age is on my mind.

It's weird. When you're a kid, you think 18 year olds have it made... They can drive, grow a beard, watch the movie Spawn, have a girlfriend AND eat whatever they want. THAT is the life!

I've been over 18 for years... and still have never seen Spawn (and don't plan to!), can't grow a beard (and don't want to) don't have a girlfriend and try to eat healthy foods (with the occasional dash of ice cream... Seriously ice cream is awesome...).

None of those things are what they seemed at first glance. Well... I can't speak for the girlfriend thing...

However, I have found other things that I love. Working isn't as awful as it sounds as a kid... it's actually fun! Board games with friends are great. Playing on a worship team is awesome! Watching movies and getting caught up in the characters and stories is an experience unparalleled... so is making those stories for other people!

The things I thought would matter... didn't. It's all the unexpected and unforeseen things that have proven to make "growing up" great!

The best part is it hasn't stopped!

Buying a house, getting a girlfriend (or even a wife), career choices, car choices and maybe even kids... all of those are things that could very well happen in the next 10 years. And you know what? I feel like an 8 year old excited for that future.

But I have something going for me thing time that I didn't before. I'm excited for the obvious... but I know that none of those above things will be as good or bad as I expect them to be. They will be different. And that is why I am excited. I KNOW there will be surprises. Some good, some bad, but all of them unexpected and exciting.

That's what makes life so cool to me. So worth living. The surprises, the unexpected and the mundane. It all mixes together into this weird potpourri. It doesn't always smell great, but when it does, it was worth the stink!

I can't wait to see what's around the next corner.