Double feature: Heaven is for Real & Noah

So, I finally got to these two. Randall Wallace's (Braveheart) Heaven is for Real shows that other dimension we know is there, but did the kid really see Jesus and a bunch of dead relatives or was it that angel of light, the great distractor? I guess I buy that no one is old up in Heaven because age is a sign of deterioration and there's none of that up there. This film, based on a true story of a little boy who visits heaven during surgery to save his life, begs the question: Is there life after death? Also, why are some taken while others are left behind for a while? And, should we fear the hereafter? Will we see lost loved ones again? Moreover, if Jesus is the only one who can truly offer eternity, why is it so hard for so many to embrace that truth?

Perhaps Noah has the answer.

Yes, Noah. The film panned by most Christians as inaccurate, fabled and even dreadful. For me, the only standout inaccuracy was that they changed the most compelling part of the flood story and had Noah close the door to the Ark. (If you're curious as to who shut Noah, his family and the animals two by two in, get hold of a Bible and read Genesis 7:16b.) Well, despite this blaring omission, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Could've done without the Rock People - don't know what that was all about. Perhaps they're a metaphor for the Earth itself crying out to defend its position against destruction caused by sin and chaos. All right. Enough of those annoying CGIs. Let's get to casting.

The subtle pairing of Jennifer Connelly and Russell Crowe, formerly cast in A Beautiful Mind as husband and wife, is nothing short of brilliant. Here they are centuries ago as spouses facing a different sort of mindful drama. And, I just gotta say I love Russell Crowe as Noah. His portrayal shows the heart of a man who wants to please God. It is prophetic how he does an "Isaac" (See Genesis 22:6-13) with his granddaughters. And I love Emma Watson's soulful performance as his daughter-in-law. Then there's Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah, Noah's old grandfather, albeit a bit of a magic man.

The real beauty is that this story actually answers all the questions raised in Heaven is for Real. The flood represents death and the new earth life after death. It starts all over again but this time round, though the truth is still hidden in our hearts, it is up to us to enter God's ark. Well, that's how I see it. If you combine these two films, Noah finds out that Heaven is for real.Heaven is for Real trailer

Winter's Tale - the movie

While it's got nothing to do with Shakespeare's drama of the same name, Akiva Goldman's "Winter's Tale" (he directed "A Beautiful Mind") is about a beautiful heart. Though most critics see this overwrought story filled to the brim with sappiness, at its core, this is a fairy tale about sacrifice and repentance. Strange virtues for a society of selfies. Inspirational fodder for those of us who are, alas, hopeless romantics. Dreamers. Believers in redemption.

That there is an author out there, Mark Helprin, who can spin a story like a Grimm brother, and that someone got it spot on by pairing the handsome and utterly charming Colin Farrell with the, as his character Peter Lake said, "impossibly beautiful" Jessica Brown Findlay (otherwise sorely missed Lady Sybil of "Downton Abbey" fame) is not only brilliant but blissful. And then there is that white pegasus that goes by the name of Horse, a symbol of all that is good to fight all that is bad in the person of Pearly Soames (Russell Crowe) who receives orders from a comic book version of Satan (under-acted by Will Smith).

But, the sweet spot in the movie that might be sorely overlooked, especially by boys writing reviews who prefer something more action-packed, is that mystical and perfect tent built on various rooftops for a dying girl. What more could one ask for? Who doesn't like to sleep outside and watch the stars? And, better yet, gaze at the universe with someone like Colin Farrell in mind.

This movie will steal your heart, if you let the reality of the fable sink in.

Monumental "Monuments Men"

Dear Mr. Clooney,
I just saw a movie that may change my life. I'm not sure if it is the humanity or lack of humanity that moves me more.

Thank you for bringing "The Monuments Men" (from Robert Edsel's book of the same title) to the big screen with a cast, including yourself, who honorably retell a piece of unknown history of brave historians, tasked by FDR, who trek through war torn Europe in possibly the greatest treasure hunt on earth. Their mission: to retrieve art stolen by the Nazis and return plundered public and private artworks to its rightful owners, whether dead or alive. 

Aside from the joyous revelation that Hugh Bonneville (aka "Downton Abbey's" Lord Grantham) and Jean Dujardin ("The Artist") play important roles in the movie, let's just say Cate Blanchett's riveting portrayal, of a Parisian curator privvy to Nazi thievery of the world's priceless masterpieces and what she does with the information, takes the air out of the theatre. Too, Matt Damon's faithful James Granger and the German-Jewish soldier who eavesdrops on the Fuehrer's evil plans as our heroes attempt to outpace the Russians, after stolen art for early reparations.

But the real stars of this show sit in cloaked wheelbarrows and stockpiled frames signed by Peter Paul Rubens, Claude Monet, Michelangelo and Rembrandt, to name but a few. This well directed and written film brings the importance of art into focus and how the plight to protect civilization from extinction due to the ravages of war continues to this day. Like art itself, "Monuments Men" belongs to the ages.

http://www.monumentsmenfoundation.org
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-monuments-men-180949569