10. The Dark Knight-Joker chases Harvey DentThis sequence begins with Dent sacrificing himself to lure out the Joker. It ends with a flipped Semi, a wrecked Batmobile, and the Joker in custody. Dent, Batman, and Gordon left behind them a city devestated by the chaos of the chase. Chaos that the Joker was in control of the whole time.The effects team shut down parts of Chicago and flipped a real semi. Awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81LeooTiKI0

9. Aliens-Ripley vs. the Alien QueenThere is so much subtext going on in this battle of mothers. The technical effect of the Alien queen is masterful and a testement to the greatness of Stan Winston. The queen was essentially a giant puppet. One of the best Sci-Fi movies ever and a top notch action film to boot. This was the first r-rated movie my mom let me see. It kicked off my love of special effects and space marines. It carries on in my love for Halo

8. Return of the Jedi- Assualt of the Second Death StarI really do not like ROTJ. I hate the ewoks, the Jabba scenes are pointless, the whole endor battle is stupid, not to mention the scenes of the heroes among the ewoks. Did I mention I hate the ewoks?The one bright spot in the whole movie is the attack on the Death Star II, all of that is done with models and stop motion. Really amazing and thrilling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGMvadAFqLQ

7. Raiders of the Lost Ark- truck chaseIndy must rescue the Ark from the Nazi's. This scene is a throwback to all the great western and b movie serial chases Spielberg and Lucas grew up on. And it is injected with about 10,000 times more awesomeness. How cool is the whole Indy climbing on, over, under, behind, and in front of the truck? Again all done with practical effects and stuntmen. Awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQW14cbjD6c&feature=related

6. The Empire Strikes Back-Assualt on HothThis attack on th Rebel Base sets the tone for the rest of the movie, our heroes are screwed. From the first scene of the Super Star Destroyer to the first thud of the AT-AT feet, you know how scary the Empire really is. The rebel's do not have a prayer. Seeing this powerful empire be being defaeted by ewoks in ROTJ is blasphemy. The Empire in ROTJ is not the Empire of ESB. The Empire in ESB is a terrifying entity worthy of respect. Powerful and deadly. Good-bye rebel scum. Oh and one more thing, Han should have died as was originally inteneded.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWjj8EKTkWE

5. The Road Warrior-Final ChaseThis movie is the perfect hybrid of Sci-Fi and action. Here Mel is helping a group of Post-Apocolyptic survivors protect their gas. Mel Gibson rocks as a man on a mission tearing up everything in his way. Again all done with practical effects and real bodies in motion. This is why we see action movies, and the twist at the end is classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmf-HCCZYOg&feature=related

4. Saving Private Ryan-D-Day Battle and Guarding the BridgeThe 1st 20 minutes of this movie brought home the reality of D-Day. For years D-Day had been presented as a heroic and glorified triumph to be celebrated. Now we know it was hell. Men, some boys, never made it out of the landing boats. Youknow the rest. Spielberg puts us right there in the action and shows us what real heroes did. Ever wonder why super heroes comics flurished in WWII, casue the real heroes were experiencing something for more horrific, and we needed to be detatched from that reality. The guarding of the Bridge at the end of this movie illustrates what it meant for men to love and honor the man next to him in a battle. Hank's character's final words to the found private Ryan, "earn this" echo to any one that has lived through sacrifice. MOstly practical effects with some digital help, but all masterful stroytelling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDEeO57PpLEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?
feature=related&v=zFmDErnW-14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0WBZab8SWE&feature=related
Guarding the Bridge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLsO2ckxqEU&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRhqWtjuiao&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_CS-kedegA&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRPOlZob-hs&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnzzGGqkIpI&feature=related

3. Seven Samurai- the Final BattleIf you have ever seen a movie where one man collects a team of specialists to complete a task, it was becasue of Seven Samurai. Kurusawa's epic is quite possible the greatest film ever made. Hugely influential, Stunning cinematagrophy, great story, and thrilling action combine to make a movie that transcends genres, languages, and streotypes. Ever single frame of this movie could a professional photograph. This story of seven samuari protecting a village from bandits is heart-wrenching in its sense of what it means to be honorable. The final battle in the rain is beautiful, exciting, and sad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uu40a3ANFw

2. King Kong -1933-Kong vs. T-RexKing Kong was the 1st movie that made me love movies. I saw it when I was six and have loved it ever sense. It is a mixture of horror, sex, race, mystery, and fantesy. The hell of Skull Island is only bearable because you know that he is King Kong for a reason. Teh fight with a T-Rex proves just that. Stop motion pioneer Willis o'Brien is the special effects messiah. All work since this has been influenced be him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9im7lRUFQ_Y

1. Ben Hur- The Chariot RaceThe biggest, and best action sequence in any movie. ever. no comupters, no stop motion. Men steering chariots. This sequence took 3 months to film. Rumors persist that men died during it's filming. This scene plays out not just for the action but for the underlying plot of Ben-Hur racing for vengence against his former best friend (and lover?) Messala. It was all done practically with stunt men and real chariots. It still holds up as a thrilling spectacle of mayhem and blood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjxR40S4Tb0&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_O94EwEjfk&feature=related

Agree or Disagree? Have any suggestions?

King David and the Face of Paul

Post Modern archaeological scholarship has long discounted the King David of the Bible. This week we have two great articles on David's palace being unearthed and possibly the earliest icon of Paul.

follow the links:

http://www.aish.com/jw/j/48961251.html

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=102503

Terminator Salvation....

Saw TS yesterday and while the effects and action were great, the story was only so so. To me the most interesting character in the Terminator universe is Kyle Reese. John Conner is cool, but Reese is the man. Without Reese, there is no John Conner, both biologically and symbolically. In TS Reese is introduced living among the ruins of post judgement day LA. Being followed by this weird silent kid .Anton Yelchin (Chekov in Star Trek) does great channeling Michal Biehn' Reese. I wish the movie had focused on him. I think instead of following Marcus Wright and John Conner, let's follow Reese.
This new movie should be about Kyle Reese not Marcus Wright. Wright is a throwaway character that has no bearing on the Terminator mythos. His story is not remotely interesting regarding the whole Terminator history and he serves no purpose. Why introduce him and have him take story away from Kyle Reese?
Conner needed to remain a symbol, unseen. I love Christian Bale, but he really wasn't given room to breathe ( the directors fault). It would have been cool to have all the machines searching for Reese and the Resistance racing to find him before the machines. He could have been brought to Conner at the end and that would set up a real man vs. machines battle in movie 2 with everything working towards Conner sending Reese to 1984 in movie 3.

All of the blame for this movie lies at the feet of the director McG. He was woefully inept at tackling this movie. He doesn't know how to get actors to emote. He doesn't know how to convey simple messages through film. James Cameron is a master at using action films to convey simple truths. ex:
T2: value human life
Aliens: a mothers love for her offspring as well as being an allegory for Vietnam.
...just to name a few.

McG just wants to blow stuff up and it look awesome. Which worked for his other movies, the Charlie's Angels movies. And his explosion worked here, but I want compelling story. I want to care for the characters. In the last month I have watched T1 and T2 three times because they combine good storytelling with awesome action. I don't know if I want to see TS again. There are no big character moments in TS. I hope they can McG and get some one who can bring emotion to the Terminator Universe again.
I think I will post my alternative Terminator story and see if you guys think it would be better.
(probably not).

I am Blessed...

Yesterday, a friend of mine from the last school I taught at came to see me. He and I really had to rely on each other to get through our school year. Between our students selling drugs at school, holding scissors to other students throats, and attacking teachers, we needed to have each others back. Well I was let go from that awful school and he got a better job in Indiana. He was coming by to see how I was and tell me he was moving.
He was stunned at the behavior of the kids I teach now. He could not believe it. Total night and day.
He and I both have lost faith in Public Education. Government schools just do not do the job. We need to get rid of tenure, hold teachers and parents accountable, and get rid of unions. Unions are the bane of our society. They have ruined Detroit and public education.
My friend says if the public schools in Indiana are anything like the schools here, he will find another profession.
I am so blessed to be able to be where I am. If I can help it, my kids won't go anywhere near a public school.

Just to give an Idea of the quality of the private school i teach at:
2 students offered full scholarships to Pepperdine Univeristy
1 full Princeton scholarship
1 Vanderbilt scholarship
2 University of Alabama scholarships

over 3 million dollars in scholarships awarded to the senior class of 90 students last year. The largest public school, had a graduating class of 600 and under 1 million offered in scholarships to their students.

We offer honors Physics, Calculus, AP English and History.

Why anyone would choose public education over quality education is beyond me. I understand the cost aspect, but this is your kids future. Work for it. You do not want to look like this state.

Terminator Salvation and Two more biblical seals

Looking forward to seeing this movie despite the bad reviews. Maybe it will be a Waterworld kind of film.



In other news, two seals were discovered bearing the names Menachem and Shaul (Saul), Both in Jerusalem. All this proves is that those names were common in the 8th century BCE, it does not confirm the existence of Saul or Menachem. However only prominent men with those names would have had seals, so it could be them, but without some kind of declarative statement like, "I Saul, king of Israel..." there is simply no way to know.
here are the stories:
http://www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com/israelnews/christian/54-christian-news/1231-first-temple-period-seal-with-the-name-shaul-found-in-city-of-david-excavations.html

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1086601.html

Nothing new under the sun....

This scholar is pretty well known in biblical circles. He is very good at cutting down very deep, complex ideas and expressing them in a probing question. He believes most of the New Testament to be a forgery and claims the Resurrection never took place. His new book Jesus, Interrupted is a current best-seller.



A refutation of some of his claims:

1. NT a forgery- this one has been brought up before, church fathers distorted and excised parts of the Bible they did not like and formed our current canon long after Christs life.

-Simply not true. P52, the famed Ryland's Papyrus, is a fragment of a codex, or ancient book, dated from 90 AD to no later than 150 AD. It was found in Egypt. It contains John 18:31-33 on one side and 37-38 on the back. The 90 AD date seems most likely and if that is the case, that coupled with the fact that it seems that the 4th Gospel was in Egypt by the end of the 1st century, would affirm its very early acceptance as "canon". The Gospel of John is uniformly believed to have been the last Gospel written and then accepted as canon. This would mean that an early acceptance of John, which presents Jesus as divine, was understood among 1st century Christians. It was not the formulation of church fathers hundreds of years later. The second fact of the the fragment being from a Codex shows a clear break from Judaism (Jews used scrolls) just like what we see emerging in Acts and Paul's letters.



2. The Resurrection never happened. This has been floating around since the Resurrection.

- I really do not have enough space or time to really cover this. To really understand this, you need to study the Gospels and Paul's confessions. A few quick notes:

- Paul's letters are the earliest Christian writings. They pre-date the Gospels by a decade or more. Galatians is thought to be the earliest and contains what is the very first written account of the Resurrected Jesus appearing to some one. Simply writing off the resurrection appearances as visions is bad scholarship when viewing the complete context of scripture. The earliest Christians had nothing to gain by believing in Jesus and spreading the word. Paul's writings are certainly not the ramblings of a mad-man or one experiencing "visions" he has a deep understanding of theology and is able to string together complex religious systems into a coherent terms while making comparisons to known Roman and Greek customs (justification, logos, and adoption). Paul is not some back water hick claiming revelation and coming across as crazy, he is a very intelligent and well educated individual who knew he had experienced something profound. His testimony is the most important of all.
- Church tradition as far back as the end of the 1st century (Poycarp) , upholds that the twelve were subjected to torture and death, one does not endure such for doubtful visions or lies.

In the end Dr. Ehrman comes at the information from a bias. He has let his negative influences compromise his objectivity. Luke/Acts has been shown time and again to be one of the best ancient histories in existence, verified by several archaeological discoveries. You need to know that Ehrman is a fringe scholar and his beliefs, especially the conspiracy of Church Fathers to form their own Jesus, is not held by serious scholarship. The Dan Brownaphiles will no doubt embrace his stance but they need to be aware that he himself ignores empirical evidence to the origin of Christian beliefs.

If you want serious scholarship on the subject of NT reliability, evolution of Church thought, etc, any book by F.F. Bruce will suffice.

In 1989 I was watching the the Last Crusade....

Mike Cope has a good post about a pivotal year for the Churches of Christ. I have not read the books he mentions but I want to now. I hope that the CoC can become more open and more kingdom centered than it is now. We have made strides since '89, but we have a long way to go. Thankfully God is gracious and patient.