Digging Through Deja Vu

Writing is about to take off on the Weezer Rant. I haven’t posted a “Weekly-ish rant” in almost 2 months (haha, go figure, right?), but should be posting more frequently now. Hope everyone out there is doin well.  As for what’s been going on with me – well I just got a job a couple weeks ago. Before that I’d been doin plenty of odd jobs, predominantly yard work via Nate Moses or connections through him. Back in November I had applied to work at Level One again but was turned down.  Well they hired me again a few weeks ago, and Iam actually fairly glad to be back. It may simply be the fact that I haven’t had a full-time job in so long that I’m just thankful to have a regular income, but I’m trying to have a good attitude about it. I can’t believe I’m back again, but am thankful God has given me work. I will, however, actively be looking for other work opportunities, so if anyone has any – let me know PLEASE. I have also recently moved back home. At first it was only temporary to help out another friend who needed a place to stay, but being thrown under a bus financially this past 8 months really hurt, and it’s gonna help me a ton to have cheap rent for a few months. Life is still a little tuff right now, simply because it’s slow and trying. It’s sort of a Deja Vu moment, like i’m reliving my own life. Being back where I was 3 years ago seems like I took a step backwards in a way, but I’m trying to grit my teeth and see what God does with it all. What I’m  trying to do is just keep pressing forward towards my goals, doing my best along the way to worry about myself and being the best person I can be by God’s standards. One thing that is going well is church. Grace Church held its first service at the new Downtown location this past week (a photo is posted on my Twitter @theweez09). The building was packed out with visitors, and Matt Williams preached a great message on the vision for our church. He preached from Acts, emphasizing about what Paul said in regards to giving all you have for the cause of Christ. Just because we got a new building doesn’t mean we have arrived. Jesus needs us to spread His name in our new environment and be involved in our church body. Matt told us that 20% of the greater Greenville area is churched. 20% – and we’re the diamond stud on the buckle of the Bible belt. If every person in the Greenville area wanted to go to church next Sunday morning, we’d be 300,000 seats short – and you and I KNOW how many churches there are around here. What does that say about places like Boston, Seattle, and Las Vegas? This really got me excited about wanting to plant a church. Stuff like that always does. Hopefully I will have a chance to help out with the internship program at Grace this summer. My buddy Mitch Miller will be doing the internship there. Other than that, I’m trying to stay exercising, playing my guitar, and continuing to write. My goal now is to pay off some debt and save for the upcoming school year so I can be back at seminary again.

AND here we go with the categorical run-down:

Movies

As I have mentioned before, I only recently got a job, and since it’s been awhile since my last post, and since I’m a big movie guy anyways – there’s a lot here to dish out, so here it goes –

–  August Rush – a really good, family movie dealing with an orphaned boy who turns out to be a musical prodigy. Good story and characters make for a really good film I could basically recommend to anyone. 7.5/10

– The Majestic – Jim Carrey stars as a man who loses his memory and ends up in a small town he knows nothing about. The movie was decent, but being from director Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, the Green Mile) I expected A LOT more. 6/10.

– The Green Mile – Tom Hanks stars as a state prison guard who comes across a convicted murderer who has some extraordinary abilities. Frank Darabont directs this emotional drama showing showing us what miracles look like. Really enjoyed this one – 8/10.

– Law Abiding Citzen – Jamie Fox and Gerard Butler star in this suspense action flick about a man imprisoned for killing the man who murdered his family. The whole movie is about the lines between justice and the law. This movie was ok, leaving me with mixed emotions about the main characters. 5.5/10

– Goodfellas – regarded as one of the finest mob movies of all-time, Martin Scrosese’s look at crime in NY City is definitely a well-made movie with great acting performances. That being said, the movie was not very entertaining to me and did not hold my attention well. I realize that most critics love it, but the 1st priority of a movie is to entertain, and I was not. 5/10

– American Beauty – 1999’s winner for Best Picture is a comedy-drama that tells the story of a typical family that is going through many issues. Some of the subject matter is kinda twisted, so I wouldn;t recommend it for everyone. Kevin Spacey is great and the story is easy to follow, but I would certainly not say it’s worthy of a Best Picture nomination. 6.5/10.

– Fargo – The Coen Brother’s quirky black comedy set in a small Mineesota town follows the scheme of a married man to have his wife kidnapped to get a sizeable ransom from her Father. Inevitably, calamity ensues and it’s funny at times, disturbing at others. Again – a movie that deals with some odd subject matter at times, so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to the typical person, but I can appreciate a well-made film, while it wasn’t my favorite. 6/10

– Donnie Darko – a really odd movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal about a teenager who takes advice from a doomsday bunny. Sounds weird, cause it is. The movie is a cult-favorite, and a few guys I know LOVE it and tell me to watch it again, but I haven’t cause I hated it hahahahaha. 3/10

– Robin Hood – Ridley Scott’s big, bold new take on Robin Hood acts as a prequel to most typical Robin Hood flicks, drastically changing some of the key plot lines you’d come to expect out of this character. I was REALLY excited about this movie, and was REALLY let down, unfortuntely. the story was hard to get into for me and the movie just lacked the charm and script I expected. Russell Crowe is good, as usual, but that’s about it. 5/10

– Iron Man 2 – The follow-up to 2008’s smash hit had some big shoesto fill. In my opinon, Jon Favreau does a great job at keeping the same feel to the movie. Robert Downey Jr is perfect is his reprised role as billionaire tech wizard Tony Stark. Joining him is returning cast members Gwyneth Paltrow, along with new comers Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, and Don Cheadle. Really liked this movie. Great summer pop-corn, action flick. 7.5/10.

– Million Dollar Baby – Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this drama about an old boxing coach who revives his coaching career through a down-and-out 30 yr. old waitress (Hilary Swank) who wants to be a boxer. Morgan Freeman co-stars in this Oscar winning film that I thought was great. I would definitely recommend it. 8/10.

– The Proposal – romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock as a hard-core boss who ends up faking an engagement to her assistant (Ryan Reynolds). Cute movie, great for a date, pretty funny as far as romantic comedies go, so overall I would recommend it – especially to girls hahaha. 6.5/10

TV

LOST, a show that captivated audiences for 6 seasons has come to a close. Check out my previous post to  get the details and my take on the climactic ending.

American Idol comes to a close this week, poising Lee DeWyze and Crsystal Bowersox to face off in the season finale. Although it’s been a disappointing year in comparison to Seasons 7-8, Lee and Crystal are definitely deserving of the top 2 spots and should put on a great show for the finale. I don’t really care who wins this year, however.

The Office is still plodding along. I try to watch it every week, but honestly the show doesn’t amuse me nearly as much as it used to. I still love Jim and Andy as much as ever, but for some reason just haven’t found the show to be as captivating or witty as it is typically known for.

One new show I have been watching lately is Modern Family. They actually just had their season finale last week, but if you haven’t seen the show now is a great time to catch a few episodes and give it a shot. Basically it shows the diversity of the typical American family structure. The show features 3 related families. I personally enjoy the show for it’s clever writing and humor. Probably not for everyone but I don’t watch many shows so this is one I felt was worth mentioning.

Sports

In basketball, the Boston Celtics are currently up 3-1 on the Orlando Magic. The Celtics only need 1 more win to return to the NBA Finals. The Lakers are currently tied 2-2 with the Suns, so we could have a rematch of 2008’s NBA Finals.

In hockey the Pittsburgh Penguins have been eliminnated from the playoffs and the Stanley Cup finals is now set with the Flyers playing the Blackhawks. I could not care less who wins hahaha.

And in baseball, the Boston Red Sox continue to have a mediocre season thus far, though they have had some big victories recently. They are currently in 3rd place in the AL East behind the Yankees and the Angels.

Music

Not much to report here as far as new music. I would recommend this past week’s Glee episode for the performance of Les Miserables’ I Dreamed a Dream. It features Idina Menzel alongside cast-regular Lea Michelle. Fantastic performance here – Also, I was able to attend a concert over the weekend headlining Mayday Parade. They put on a great show and I would definitely recommend the band if you’re unfamiliar with them. They’re a pop/punk group, slightly emo but not whiney.

Like I said before, I’m going to try my best to write more, especially this summer, I have  started to be involved in another writing opportunity which I will go into detail about later, so some of my efforts will be channeled through that instead of the Weezer Rant itself. Anyways – thanks for reading, peace ->

Weez

LIVE together, DIE alone – The LOST Series Finale

(DISCLAIMER: if you haven’t seen the finale or watched any of the show, DO NOT read this lol, it will ruin it!!!)

LOST – a show that has enthralled audiences ever since Oceanic 815 crashed back on September 22, 2004 came to an end Sunday night. One of the most anticipated finales of all time would finally reveal the fates of our beloved castaways and reveal any last secrets the island had to offer us.

When we left everyone at the end of the last episode – What They Died For – Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sawyer were on their way to kill Locke, and Jack had just volunteered to be the next protector of the island after Jacob. Locke and Ben were on their way to find Desmond and destroy the island.  Back in the “alternate reality”, Desmond continues bringing people together, orchestrating something for the finale that we’re not quite sure of yet.  Then the finale begins –

On the island, Jack and Locke take Desmond to the heart of the island, lower him in, and have him remove the sort of rock cork in the center of it. Desmond is unafraid of the challenge because he has seen what is happening in the alternate reality, but when he moves the rock he finds himself still in the heart of the island. This causes the light to drain out and the island to begin to be destroyed, fall apart, and ultimately start sinking. This also negated the powers of Jack and Locke to not be able to hurt one another. As Locke attempts to leave the island, Jack engages him in a hard-core fight. Jack is wounded badly in the fight by a knife, but just as he is about to be killed, Kate shoots Locke who is then kicked off a cliff by Jack. As the island continues to self-destruct, Sawyer, Kate, Claire, Lapidus, Miles, and Richard attempt to get to and fix the plane before they go down with the island. Jack returns to the heart of the island with Hurley and Ben to try and reverse what Desmond did and save his friends. Jack established Hurley as the new protector, knowing that being exposed to the light would kill him. With reluctance, Hurley accepts the duty and lets Jack go. Jack finds Desmond alive down in the hole, and gets him the rope to be hoisted back out. Jack puts the cork back and the light returns, preserving the island and his friends. Jack lies in the cave. We see Hurley and Ben commit to running the island together, while the others take off on the Ajira plane.

Back in the alternate reality, Desmond has continued his mission of somehow making people “let go” and remember what happened on the island. He, with Hurley’s help, leads each person to a person who changed their life on the island. Each scene was super emotional. We saw Sayid reconnected with Shannon (Boone was there too), Sawyer reconnected with Juliet; Jin and Sun are brought to reality during their daughter’s ultrasound. Probably the most emotional one, besides the ending with Jack, was when Claire, Kate, and Charlie’s eyes are opened. While attending a concert featuring the musical talent of Daniel (Farraday) Widmore, Claire goes into labor and is assisted, just like on the island, by Kate. Charlie helps too and during the birth, Claire and Kate both are hit with the flashbacks of what happened on the island – a really, really emotional scene shared by these characters. As the show neared its end, everyone began to gather at the church where Jack’s father’s funeral was to be held. The casket had been delivered earlier that day.  Ben sits outside and makes his peace with Locke and says goodbye to Hurley. He tells him he isn’t coming in yet because he has some more things to settle. Jack and Kate arrive, and Jack enters through the rear of the church. As he places his hands on the casket, his eyes are then opened to what everyone else has seen. He remembers all that happened on the island. He is then approached by his father who tells him why everyone is there. They had all died, some before Jack and some long after. The place they lived was something they had created to find each other. The time they spent together on the island was the most important of all, and they needed each other to remember, to let go, and to move on. Jack then walks out into the sanctuary to find all his friends from the Oceanic flight. Everyone mingles and hugs as they are all finally reconnected. Intermixed in this scene is the final scene from the island. Jack finds himself out of the cave and alone on some rocks. He stumbles through the woods, finding himself back in the bamboo forest he first woke up in. Clenching his knife wound, he falls to the ground in that same opening. Back in the church, Christian Shepherd walks out the front door of the church, which opens to reveal a bright light which then begins to fill the church. As Jack lies on the ground, Vincent runs back out of the woods and lays down next to Jack. We then see Jack’s right eye close, and the series comes to a dramatic, emotionally charged close.

So what’s my take on the whole thing? First of all, I wanna say that the writers/creators of LOST are brilliant. Writing like this does not happen often. What they created, however, was a show so complex and with so many details that it was nigh impossible to answer everything. Also, it’s nearly impossible to please everyone. A show that could have taken us in so many directions is bound to disappoint some people who wished it went in a different one. Personally, I loved the finale and what they did with the ending. It’s ends in true LOST fashion, ultimately being connected by the characters and love, not mythology and mystery. Also typical to LOST, it ends with some room for interpretation. The “flash sideways” world seems to be a type of purgatory – some kind of holding place for the people who are already dead but haven’t passed on to the next life. Though I’m not completely sold on this idea, I like the notion that blowing up the bomb at the end of Season 5 created this alternate world. Juliet told Sawyer that it worked, though clearly they were still on the island. It did, however, create a reality that they all lived in which seemed to be free from the hand of Jacob. Desmond, because of his freaky “powers” got a unique taste of and look at this reality, prompting him to open the eyes of all his fellow castaways. Regardless of interpretation, I really enjoyed the way they wrapped things up. My only complaint would be that they shouldn’t have wasted so much time at the beginning of the season on things like the Temple. More time could have been used to go into more detail about the origins of the heart of the island, Jacob and his brother, and the purgatorial world that the characters “created for themselves.”

It’s weird for me to write about this. I don’t generally watch much TV, but for years now we have been immersed in this world. The characters are SO good and SO well developed that we feel like we know them all personally. I don’t typically cry during any movies, much less during a tv show, but this episode had me going at several moments, including the entire last 5 minutes. It was almost a Lord of the Rings moment for me when it ended. A world and story that’s so intriguing and emotionally involving, spanning several years, is finally over – so what do I do now lol? The characters finally found rest and a new life with each other – similar, to me anyways, to Frodo being taken to the Grey Havens after his incredible journey ended. It’s just hard to believe that Jack and the crew won’t be showing up again next season. SO again, I would just like to congratulate the creators and cast for presenting such a solid show. LOST will truly be missed amongst a sea of otherwise predominantly dull television programming.

Namaste.