Good Surprise: Stranger Than Fiction
When I worked at Hillcrest, we would often sit around after a big event or trip and recap how it had gone. It's easy to remember and want to talk about the negative aspects, so we would be very intentional about bringing in the positive aspects as well. One of the questions we asked a lot was: "Who surprised you in a really good way?" There would always be students or leaders who would surpass our expectations, and it was helpful for us to bring those people up so that we could affirm them.
Well, yesterday's blog entry was a real downer. I'm still torn up about the whole situation, what with it ruining Christmas and all. In an effort to change the mood, I'm going to blog about some things that have surprised me in a really good way recently.
This past weekend, Stacy and I had the opportunity to go on a date. The grandparents took the little one for the evening, and we hit the town. The town I am referring to is none other than the great metropolis of Emporia, Kansas, which happens to be the metropolis that is nearest to my in-laws. In planning our date, I was disappointed to find that the movie selections were quite meager. Not only that, but going to a movie was "plan b". Our first choice was to go mini-golfing, but for some reason the outdoor mini-golf place in town didn't anticipate a run of 70-degree days in late November, so they were closed.
In the end we decided to go see "Stranger Than Fiction". I had only a rudimentary understanding of what the movie would be about, but it seemed like the only thing playing that we would have even the slightest chance of enjoying. I must say, the movie really surprised me.
I think that this movie is for Will Ferrell what "The Truman Show" was Jim Carey. Both funny guys, and both were able to find a script that let them be funny with depth. "Fiction" took a lot of risks, and most of them paid off. It was probably the most original movie I've seen since "Memento", and was so unlike most of the stuff big studios release that both Stacy and I were pretty shocked when we left the theatre. Now, the plot is by no means believable. You really have to suspend reality going into the experience, or you will probably hate the movie. But if you can let go for a little bit and let yourself get lost in the striking characters, it ends up being a very enjoyable couple of hours. It really is a fantastic piece of story telling.
I think people should support the movie, if for no other reason than it will show Hollywood that people really want cinematic experiences that are new and fresh. Or, if you don't want to tell Hollywood that then you can feel free to go watch James Bond have sex with women and blow things up in the 21st installment of what has to be the most redundant movie franchise in the history of movies.
Well, yesterday's blog entry was a real downer. I'm still torn up about the whole situation, what with it ruining Christmas and all. In an effort to change the mood, I'm going to blog about some things that have surprised me in a really good way recently.
This past weekend, Stacy and I had the opportunity to go on a date. The grandparents took the little one for the evening, and we hit the town. The town I am referring to is none other than the great metropolis of Emporia, Kansas, which happens to be the metropolis that is nearest to my in-laws. In planning our date, I was disappointed to find that the movie selections were quite meager. Not only that, but going to a movie was "plan b". Our first choice was to go mini-golfing, but for some reason the outdoor mini-golf place in town didn't anticipate a run of 70-degree days in late November, so they were closed.
In the end we decided to go see "Stranger Than Fiction". I had only a rudimentary understanding of what the movie would be about, but it seemed like the only thing playing that we would have even the slightest chance of enjoying. I must say, the movie really surprised me.
I think that this movie is for Will Ferrell what "The Truman Show" was Jim Carey. Both funny guys, and both were able to find a script that let them be funny with depth. "Fiction" took a lot of risks, and most of them paid off. It was probably the most original movie I've seen since "Memento", and was so unlike most of the stuff big studios release that both Stacy and I were pretty shocked when we left the theatre. Now, the plot is by no means believable. You really have to suspend reality going into the experience, or you will probably hate the movie. But if you can let go for a little bit and let yourself get lost in the striking characters, it ends up being a very enjoyable couple of hours. It really is a fantastic piece of story telling.
I think people should support the movie, if for no other reason than it will show Hollywood that people really want cinematic experiences that are new and fresh. Or, if you don't want to tell Hollywood that then you can feel free to go watch James Bond have sex with women and blow things up in the 21st installment of what has to be the most redundant movie franchise in the history of movies.