That Old Pair of Jeans

THAT OLD PAIR OF JEANS
By Fatboy Slim

All you used to do was put me down
But I found a way to pick myself up off the ground
And all you used to do was criticize me
But now I found the good and I emphasize it, see

You would always get so sensitive
And try to turn your transgressions into my guiltiness
But now I'm certain of the way I live
And what I'm responsible for in this twisted game

And it's such a shame
That you try to make pain
Another word for my name
Whether giving or receiving
It's one and the same
Just one more link
In your long-ass chain
But it's time to break
This drain on my strength and will
Time to jump off this negative cycle we've built
Gave my heart
But my self-respect you won't steal
Now it's time to let you go if you can't hear or feel me

So I asked my mama for her two cents
And then I asked my little sister and I asked my friend
Then I asked my papa once and I asked him again
Came to the consensus from all them opinions
That life is too short to be unhappy
And since I know what I'm worth there'll be no settling for dirt
Not when what I deserve is gold
If I want diamonds then I can't settle for coal and

Maybe I was just too strong to let go
Maybe I was just too weak to let it show
Maybe I was just too stubborn to say "No"
But whatever the case I can't take it no more

Sometimes I think maybe we'll patch it all up
Like a favorite pair of jeans that you won't give up on
And I hope maybe one of these arguments we'll make up
And start again like when we started this up
Back when everything was fresh
And every moment a blessing
I'd laugh at all of your jokes
You'd listen to my suggestions
One mind, one soul,
One common destination
Now we can't help but fight over the direction

You've gotta, you've gotta give me a little, little more line
(Repeat)

Batman: The Dark Knight (A-)

Starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman.
Screenplay by Jonathan and Christopher Nolan from a Story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer.
Directed by Christopher Nolan.

Rated PG-13 for strong violence, intense situations, and disturbing images.
NOT FOR CHILDREN, EVEN THOUGH IT'S MARKETED TO THEM.

You've heard it all. Dark. Brooding. Expansive. Heath Ledger rocks the house. Gary Oldman rules as a good guy for once. Aaron Eckhart is surprisingly competent.

This is an impressive movie. It will have a lasting effect on you, trust me. It's extremely ambitious in both its visual and thematic conception. It hits the target on the former. It has qualified successes in the latter.

But, again, you've heard all the raves. Why am I giving it an A minus?

Three things, and they all involve Batman himself. All are character issues and two figure significantly in the plot.

First of all, Batman seems to exist in the story mainly as a contrived counterpoint to The Joker. He's not developed much and he's not really that important to the movie if you step back and break it down. Eckhart's Harvey Dent is.

**SPOILERS** (For the twenty-three of you who haven't seen it.)

Second, he faces a false dilemma in this movie that drove me nuts as I watched him grapple with it. Essentially, The Joker announces that he will start killing people until Batman reveals himself. Batman/Bruce Wayne agonizes over this. "It's all my fault! People are dying because of me! He won't stop until I turn myself in!" He then shuts down the Batcave and destroys all his Batstuff.

Huh? Dude, the Joker was killing people BEFORE he made this little ultimatum. He will go on killing AFTER you turn yourself in. What's to agonize about? He's the bad guy, not you. Go catch him. Problem solved.

I hated that stupid gimmick and rolled my eyes as it played out. I didn't believe a minute of it. The only possible explanation I can come up with was that he was looking for an excuse to "retire" and The Joker gave him one. He'd calmly ride off into the sunset with Rachel Dawes as the Joker took over the city? Right. That ended up being a moot point, anyway. (And, btw, he sure didn't grieve very much over THAT development).

**END SPOILERS**

Thirdly (and I'm with Robert Downey, Jr. on this one), the epilogue makes no sense. Why does it have to end that way? Can't we just explain that The Joker drove Dent crazy?

Letterman

CBS is panicking over the state of The Late Show with David Letterman. They should. It has the lowest ratings it's ever had. And its quality is at its nadir as well.

I only see it once or twice a week, usually by accident. If we watch the news on our local CBS affiliate and wander out of the room for ablutions or chores after the weather, often Letterman begins while we're occupied. I'll stop and watch parts of his show as I pass through the living room. It's far from must-see viewing, though.

Dave's always kind of rubbed me the wrong way, I guess because he seems like someone I would not spend two minutes with in a social setting. He seems mean, self-involved, obnoxious - and even disinterested. Whenever he says something like "Of course, we're saddened to hear of it," he always has to add, "Yep, just sick to death I'm telling ya," to make you question his sincerity. Maybe that's a put-on but if it is he's doing a great acting job.

He has some funny gags, a few good regular routines (but some that he runs into the ground for years), and is actually a better interviewer than Jay Leno but his humor has gotten weaker and odder over the years. One especially appalling development has been the recurring skits portraying announcer Allan Kalter as an evil deviant. I'm no prude (by any means) but they are just too twisted and cheaply vulgar and I have no idea how they get past CBS's censors. I could probably deal with them if they were actually funny. But they're not.

What really befuddles me is how Letterman fills the spaces between those moments with things that don't even rise to the level of inane. He'll spend ten minutes out of an hour repeating a word or gesture accompanied by a drum or organ effect. If he tugs at his tie and clears his throat in an extremely exaggerated manner during the opening intro, he'll do that a dozen times over the course of a show as Paul Shaffer laughs his head off. I just don't get it.

That said, I'd probably still take him over Leno for talk or Conan for humor. But not by much.

DVD - The Bucket List (B)

Starring Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, and Beverly Todd.
Written by Justin Zackham.
Directed by Rob Reiner.

PG-13 for language and sexual humor

Buy it

Plot description from the cover:

In THE BUCKET LIST cancer doesn't discriminate in its choice of victims. It's equally eager in its attacks on kindly sage of a mechanic Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) and mean-spirited millionaire Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson). When the unlikely pair shares a room at a hospital they learn that they both have less than a year to live as a result of the deadly disease. Inspired by the words of a college professor Carter begins to make a "bucket list" of things he wants to accomplish before he dies. With Edward's limitless funds at their disposal the men embark on an adventure that takes them from Egypt to France to Hong Kong crossing items off their list as death grows closer.

There are enough problems with this picture, both in conception and execution, to prevent me from ever giving it an unconditional recommendation. Many real-life cancer patients find its portrayal of the condition either laughable or offensive. But I think it has just enough redeeming qualities - and messages - to it to make it worthwhile. However, if you find sappy, sentimental moments totally irredeemable, then you should just avoid it altogether.

Final score: B

Trailer:

DVD - Thank You for Smoking (B-)

Starring Aaron Eckhart, William H. Macy, Maria Bello, Katie Holmes (PBA), Sam Elliott, and J. K. Simmons.
Directed by Jason Reitman.

Rated R for pervasive language and for sexual situations

Buy it

Synopsis from the back of the box:

Aaron Eckhart stars as Nick Naylor, a sexy charismatic spin-doctor for Big Tobacco who'll fight to protect America's right to smoke -- even if it kills him -- while still remaining a role model for his 12-year old son. When he incurs the wrath of a senator (William H. Macy) bent on snuffing out cigarettes Nick's powers of "filtering the truth" will be put to the test.

I think the problem many people have with this film is that - unlike most moralizing Hollywood movies - it doesn't take a stand for or against smoking. While I think smoking is disgusting and practically crazy and I've lost count of the people I've known who died from it, I actually found this approach refreshing. It's essentially a cynical, amoral, libertarian satire on the American nanny state, corporate shills, and posturing politicians. In essence it boils down to this message: "Everyone's got a selfish reason for doing what they do and all information is skewed to the interests of the person providing it. Make up your own mind based on that. If you can."

Since I'm neither amoral nor very libertarian I was not thrilled with the main character (His motto: "If you argue correctly, then you're never wrong.") or the way he indoctrinated his son into believing "doing what you do best" is one's highest calling - even if it's for a horrible cause. But his blunt honesty appealed to my cynical side and was often quite amusing.

Based on the novel by Christopher Buckley.

Final score: B minus

Trailer:

Cyd Charisse 1922-2008

Cyd Charisse, technically speaking the greatest female dancer in movie history but perhaps the most underappreciated by posterity, has passed at age 86.

Classically trained and touring internationally as a ballerina in her teens, Cyd entered the movies during World War II and proceeded to conquer every style from tango to tap. Her elegant brunette beauty (in an era dominated by Marilyn Monroe look-alikes) and her reserved onscreen persona kept her from becoming a household name like dancer comediennes Ginger Rogers and Rita Hayworth. But dance legends Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire recognized her amazing skills and demanded Cyd play the female lead in their pictures after her breakthrough work in Kelly's 1952 masterpiece Singin' In the Rain. She made five films with Kelly and Astaire altogether, including Brigadoon, The Band Wagon, It's Always Fair Weather, and Silk Stockings. Unfortunately, big Hollywood musicals fell out of style soon after she made it to the top.

Words fail when you're talking about Cyd's dancing (or her legendary legs, insured for a million dollars by MGM), so I'll let the legend speak for herself:

"Flaming Flamenco" (with Ricardo Montalban) from Fiesta, 1947.



"Broadway Melody" Parts 1 and 2 (with Gene Kelly) from Singin' In the Rain, 1952.




"Frankie and Johnny" (with John Brascia and Liliane Montevecchi) from Meet Me In Las Vegas, 1956.



"The Girl Hunt Ballet" (with Fred Astaire) from The Band Wagon, 1957.



"Dancing Doll" from Party Girl, 1958.



I pray Cyd's dancing in heaven today.
.

Book - The Missing Ring (B)

Author: Keith Dunnavant

This book's subtitle is "How Bear Bryant and the 1966 Alabama Crimson Tide Were Denied College Football's Most Elusive Prize." The Tide were the defending back-to-back national champions in 1966. They were ranked first in both polls as the season began. They finished the season undefeated and untied - yet managed to finish third behind Notre Dame and Michigan State, who had played each other to a 10-10 tie in midseason. This book was intended to explore why that took place.

Dunnavant posits two reasons. The first is the most common argument: Notre Dame has been the most popular team in the country since the Jazz Age and routinely places higher in the polls than schools with superior records because they are the darlings of predominantly northern and eastern sportswriters. Irish head coach Ara Parseghian decided to play to preserve the tie against MSU - to sit on the ball with two minutes left to play - rather than fight for the win. His detractors claim this is because he knew they would treated well by the pollsters in spite of the decision. He was right.

The second argument is that the season occured during the height of the civil rights movement and there was a media bias against the still-segregated Crimson Tide team and against the entire state of Alabama, the bastion of Bull Connor and George Wallace. He believes the team fell from first place simply because of politics even before Parseghian's Machiavellian move.

Virtually no one who wears Crimson will argue with the first point. Many who were not alive at the time might not have considered the second but it makes sense given the climate of 1966. All that could have been covered in a book half this size.

But the 'The Missing Ring' also seeks to illustrate why the Alabama team deserved the title, not just why the other two schools didn't. It is filled with wonderful details about the players and coaches who comprised one of the best teams in college football history and the system Paul Bryant used to create it. Each chapter has a theme and spotlights players and games from the 1966 season that exemplify it. Dunnavant does a great job of setting the atmosphere of the times both on campus and in the state of Alabama and paints colorful portraits of many young men who have become mere names in the record books but are still alive to share anecdotes and attitudes.

My only misgivings about this book are Dunnavant's tendency to repeat himself, often verbatim (I lost count of how many times he used the phrase "Bryant used this tactic to great effect in molding a team into champions" - often on facing pages), his often clumsy attempts at foreshadowing, and his unabashed boosterism. I'm aware he's an alum but if he is going to build an effective case that Alabama was robbed of a threepeat he must try to at least feign objectivity. Dunnavant shows no such restraint when he arrives at the conclusion of the book. As he recounts Ara Parseghian's admittedly gutless decision to sit on the ball and trust his team's fortune to the pollsters' sycophantic relationship with Notre Dame, Dunnavant bursts into outright apoplexy, calling Parseghian everything but an Armenian. He sounds more like a blogger than a journalist.

There were plenty of people to quote if he wanted to include the labels gutless, cynical, cowardly, and shameful. Instead, he uses them himself. I kept wanting to reach through the book and grab Keith by the collar: "Don't do it! Hold off! Show some class. Let the facts speak for themselves. It'll just look like sour grapes if you go this route." But alas, the deed was done. It's like he had driven the ball the length of the field and into the edzone and then ruined it all with a penalty in the final seconds that negated the winning touchdown.

This was the only blemish on an otherwise fascinating book on Crimson Tide football history. I still recommend it, however, for the excellent player profiles.

Final score: B

Film - The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (B-)

Starring William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Ben Barnes, Peter Dinklage, Eddie Izzard, Liam Neeson.
Written by Stephen McFeely.
Directed by Andrew Adamson.

PG for epic battle action and violence

Having enjoyed the first Narnia film, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, I had eagerly awaited Prince Caspian. Being a huge fan of author C. S. Lewis, I had the same trepidation I'd had with the first installment over the filmmakers' faithfulness to the original material.

Well, the book had maybe one fight in it and one battle. This movie has about a hundred fights and a half dozen battles. I don't think a single solitary scene went by in which someone didn't either draw a weapon or hit someone or both. It has little or no blood in it but the body count is as great or greater than that in Braveheart. Even the swashbuckling mouse, Reepicheep, cracks jokes then kills his opponents by cutting their throats. The kids in the audience are busy chuckling during the slashing bit, though, so I suppose it's all good. A decapitation replete with rolling head in another scene, however, offers no such distractions.

I've got no trouble with all this on the face of it. It's a sword and sorcery war movie, essentially. Soldiers die in these things. But this movie is marketed primarily to children and Disney and the MPAA are blatantly gaming the ratings system by not assigning this a PG-13 - blood or no blood.

DVD - 27 Dresses (C+)

Starring Katherine Heigl (PBA), James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Edward Burns, Judy Greer, Melora Hardin (PBA).
Written by Aline Brosh McKenna.
Directed by Anne Fletcher.

PG-13 for language and sexuality

Buy it

Plot description from the cover:

From the screenwriter of The Devil Wears Prada, 27 DRESSES centers on Jane (Emmy winner Katherine Heigl), an idealistic, romantic and completely selfless woman -- a perennial bridesmaid whose own happy ending is nowhere in sight. But when younger sister Tess captures the heart of Jane's boss - with whom she is secretly in love - Jane begins to reexamine her "always-a-bridesmaid..." lifestyle. Jane has always been good at taking care of others, but not so much in looking after herself. Her entire life has been about making people happy - and she has a closet full of 27 bridesmaid dresses to prove it. One memorable evening, Jane manages to shuttle between wedding receptions in Manhattan and Brooklyn, a feat witnessed by Kevin (James Marsden), a newspaper reporter who realizes that a story about this wedding junkie is his ticket off the newspaper's bridal beat. Jane finds Kevin's cynicism counter to everything she holds dear - namely weddings, and the two lock horns. Further complicating Jane's once perfectly-ordered life is the arrival of younger sister Tess (Malin Akerman). Tess immediately captures the heart of Jane's boss, George (Edward Burns). Tess enlists her always-accommodating sister to plan yet another wedding - Tess and George's - but Jane's feelings for him lead to shocking revelations - and maybe the beginning of a new life.

This is a by-the-numbers rom-com confection sprinkled with nothing but charming, good-looking, talented actors. No new ground is broken. In fact, (except for an openly vindictive moment for Heigl's character) the existing ground is paved over with a thick layer of sugary glaze and cordoned off with "Do Not Touch" signs.

But that's okay. There's no pretension of aspiration to high art or even to a cursory correlation with reality here. Just lightweight disposable entertainment. And it does that well. I'm just not sure that's worth an hour and forty-five minutes of my life.

Final score: C plus

Trailer:

DVD - The Savages (B+)

Starring Laura Linney (PBA), Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco
Written and Directed by Tamara Jenkins

R for language, mature themes, and sexuality

Buy it

Billed as a dark comedy, 'The Savages' is certainly not standard movie fare but I think it's a film that we're richer for having around. Many have tackled end-of-life issues before but very few have done it like this. It is an unsentimental, unapologetic, slice-of-life depiction of two middle aged siblings, Linney (in an Oscar-nominated turn) and Hoffman, managing the rapid mental deterioration and death of their estranged, abusive father and the process - physiological and logistical - that entails.

It averts its gaze from none of the practical and emotional issues met by everyone whose family members live so long. From scatological problems to the appalling reality of nursing homes to the pressures of guilt, it covers the bases. It does punctuate it with moments of humor and sprinkles knowingly wry observations of sibling dynamics throughout. But there are no saccharine reconciliations or dramatic changes of heart in the last act to pull the punches. Things just happen and the people react as we all do - with integrity and responsibility in some areas and utter cowardice and flakiness in others. And with many things left unsaid.

My only real nit to pick is a slight sense of self-indulgence in the characters' professions. Everyone but the father is in the theater (or wants to be). It leads to a bit of inside humor that took me out of the movie a few times. (If you know who Bertolt Brecht is, it could open up another level of Hoffman's character to you. He briefly summarizes Brecht's epic philosophy at one point.) But it's not a huge liability.

Linney and Hoffman are, of course, impeccable but I believe Philip Bosco, who plays the largely silent role of the father, deserves praise as well. He speaks volumes with exhausted eyes and resigned yet pained stillness.

Final score: B plus

Trailer:

Film - Blue Like Jazz movie news

Jazzed About the Big Screen - CT.com

Essayist Donald Miller's best-selling book Blue Like Jazz has been adapted into a screenplay, with The Second Chance director Steve Taylor at the helm - and both men are pretty excited about it. - More >

I love Donald Miller's witty, disarmingly honest writing and Steve Taylor's satirical, iconoclastic music and film direction. This should be a terrific team-up. And a Christian movie I can be excited to tell my friends about.

DVD - Lars and the Real Girl (A-)

Starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner, and Patricia Clarkson.
Written by Nancy Oliver.
Directed by Craig Gillespie.

PG-13 for some sex-related content and some language

Buy it

This is my other favorite film of 2007. Knowing that, when I tell you this film's premise you will think I've officially gone off the deep end.

Lars is about a man who buys a "love doll" online and actually believes that she's a real woman. Got your attention? Good. Because even though that's the one-sentence description of the movie, it doesn't even begin to cover all that this movie is really about.

Lars (Oscar nominee Gosling doing a terrific job) is a nice guy and is extremely shy. He also has severe emotional problems. He finds it physically painful to be touched by others and ignores both their repeated hints that he find a girl and the subtle advances of a gangly coworker (Garner). Although he works at his anonymous computer job each day and faithfully attends church, no one is aware of just how serious his condition has become in the past few months. His pregnant sister-in-law, Karin (Mortimer, who actually drives the film), has suspicions, however, and since Lars lives in the converted garage behind their house, keeps unsuccessfully inviting him to have dinner with her and his brother, Gus (Schneider). In desperation, she finally tackles him in the driveway one night and insists he eat the salmon she's made. Later, Gus shrugs his brother's quirks off as "fine."

A shipping crate arrives one day while Lars is at work and Karin casually calls Lars at work notify him. Lars speeds home to open it and that evening announces that he has a lady friend he's met online and that he'd like to bring her to dinner that night. Ecstatic that he's not only reaching out to them but has found romance, Karin and Gus spruce the house up and anxiously await the arrival of Lars' friend. Their hopes are dashed, however, when they meet Bianca - a life-sized, fully-articulated, silicone pleasure doll. Lars explains that Bianca can't walk because she is paraplegic and can't speak English because she's a Brazilian missionary. Since Lars and Bianca are devout Christians and they don't want to give the impression of impropriety, he asks Gus and Karin if Bianca can stay in their house while she's in America.

Terrified that Lars is psychotic, Karin and Gus devise a ruse to get Lars help. They suggest a routine examination for Bianca by their small town's lone physician - who is also a psychologist. After interacting with Lars while she "diagnoses" Bianca, the doctor (Oscar nominee Clarkson in a pitch-perfect performance) suggests to the couple that Lars has not had a complete break. He is delusional, however, and there must be some reason why his mind created the delusion to protect him. She recommends strongly that they humor him until she can find out why. Although Gus has to be strong-armed at first, they eventually play along and soon the entire community follows suit in an effort to help Lars get better.

What follows is a thoughtful, charming, moving, and frequently understated Capraesque comedy that seldom goes for the cheap laugh. It gently reminds us not only of the lengths any of us may go to when we're hurting enough but also of what a family, a church, and a community can do for someone else in pain. There are a few scenes that stretch credulity even for a tale this fanciful but, generally speaking, if you're willing to buy into the premise, it can take you to a pretty nice place.

Final score: A minus

Trailer:

DVD - Juno (A-)

Starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner (PBA), Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, and J.K. Simmons.
Written by Diablo Cody.
Directed by Jason Reitman.

PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content, language, and a disturbing image

Buy it

Easily one of the best films of 2007. Possibly the best. It's a very stylized but not entirely fantastic spin on some very uncomfortable and potentially taboo subjects and whips up thought-provoking and ultimately rather positive results.

I have a habit of assuming everyone has heard the basic premise of every movie I review simply because I keep abreast of upcoming releases. Sorry. Here's Juno's plot according to the back of the box:

Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) is a cool, confident teenager who takes a nine-month detour into adulthood when she's faced with an unplanned pregnancy - and sets out to find the perfect parents to adopt her baby. With the help of her charmingly unassuming boyfriend (Michael Cera), supportive dad (J.K Simmons) and no-nonsense stepmom (Allison Janney), Juno sets her sights on an affluent couple (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) longing to adopt their first child.

There's something to chew on for those in all the generations depicted here. What is maturity? When do you need to grow up? What ways do you hide from it? Why do you want children? How do you do the right thing? And who's the right person to do it with? Everyone will get a jab of self-recognition at all the various stages in life. And apart from all that it's just plain funny, engaging, and touching. I didn't often find it a bust-a-gut, knee-slapping kind of funny but my face started hurting from smiling throughout the first half of the movie.

The performances are solid all around but Page owns the picture, playing Juno's wise-cracking bravado and her fear with equal skill. Her Oscar nomination was a no-brainer. There was a nearly-successful push for a Jennifer Garner supporting actress nom at the Golden Globes and that would also have done her thoughtful, conflicted work justice.

Let me say this: If you are put off by quick, sarcastic, graphic, pop culture-sprinkled dialogue, you may have difficulties enjoying Juno. It comes mostly from the main character and there's enough that some people my age couldn't listen to two lines of it without saying either "What? Huh? What is she talking about?" or "No child of mine will talk like that heathen!" They may want to watch Matlock instead.

Final score: A minus

Trailer:

Book - On Beyond Zebra (A)

Author: Dr. Seuss

Buy it

This book introduced "paradigm shifting" into my intellectual vocabulary before I even knew what such a thing was.

Many, many, many years ago (Nixon was President, I think) I read this and was changed. I can remember the images, the textures, the smells (Ah! The ditto machine and its purple perfume!) and all my surroundings. I was sitting in the elementary school library, facing northwest toward the door. Lured by the title and the premise, I had taken the volume to my assigned seat ("Library" was a class back then, as it should have been) and quickly devoured it.

The concept - that our 26-letter alphabet was an arbitrary collection and not a universal constant - had never entered my cartoon-addled mind. It sparked an awareness of similar cultural and philosophical constrictions that I have expanded and retained to this day.

Hats off to the Dr.!

Final score: A

Books - CT's 100 Great Books of the 20th Century

Here is a "required" reading list for Christians, according to the editors, staff, and contributors to Christianity Today magazine. These are books that had the most significant impact on Christian theology, practice, and devotion in the 20th century. Many were, and are, controversial. Some were not written by Christians but still had a dramatic influence on Christian perception of faith and society.

I've read seven of them over the years, started three, and own ten others, so I'd best get crackin'.

I've provided Amazon links for the Top 10. The Other 90 are in the first comment.

THE TOP 10

1. C. S. Lewis - Mere Christianity
"The best case for the essentials of orthodox Christianity in print." - David S. Dockery

2. Dietrich Bonhoeffer - The Cost of Discipleship
"Leaves you wondering why you ever thought complacency or compromise in the Christian life was an option." - Mark Buchanan

3. Karl Barth - Church Dogmatics
"Opened a new era in theology in which the Bible, Christ, and saving grace were taken seriously once more." - J. I. Packer

4. J. R. R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
"A classic for children from 9 to 90. Bears constant re-reading." - J. I. Packer

5. John Howard Yoder - The Politics of Jesus
"Some 30 years after this book was published, the church has found itself culturally in a more marginal position, and this book is making wider and wider sense." - Rodney Clapp

6. G.K. Chesterton - Orthodoxy
"A rhetorically inventive exposition of the coherence of Christian truth." - David Neff

7. Thomas Merton - The Seven Storey Mountain
"A painfully candid story of one Christian soul's walk with grace and struggle, it has become the mark against which all other spiritual autobiographies must be measured." - Phyllis Tickle

8. Richard Foster - Celebration of Discipline
"After Foster finishes each spiritual discipline, you not only know what it is, why it's important, and how to do it—you want to do it." - Mark Buchanan

9. Oswald Chambers - My Utmost for His Highest
"A treasury of daily devotional readings that has fed the souls of millions of Christians in the twentieth century. Future generations of Christians must continue to draw from this treasury." - Richard J. Mouw

10. Reinhold Niebuhr - Moral Man and Immoral Society
"Introduced a breathtakingly insightful, shrewd, and cunning realism about human sin, especially in its social expressions,
rooted in biblical theology and a penetrating appraisal of the dark era into which the Western world had entered." - David P. Gushee

The other 90 are listed in Comments.

DVD - Saving Sarah Cain (B-)

Starring: Lisa Pepper, Abigail Mason, Soren Fulton, Danielle Chuchran, Tanner Maguire, Bailee Madison, Elliott Gould
Written by: Brian Bird and Cindy Kelley
Directed by: Michael Landon, Jr.

Buy it

This adaptation of Beverly Lewis' novel The Redemption of Sarah Cain is another commendable addition to the oeuvre of family telefilm producer/director Michael Landon, Jr. Taking great liberties with the plot of the novel, the picture turns the usual Witness-esque story of the 'English' trying to adapt to the life of the Amish on its head. It places the devout orphans of the protagonist's recently departed sister in the heart of a major city and explores the effect it has on their hearts and their family dynamic.

The beginning of the film is worrisome due to extremely clunky, high school drama level dialogue that sounds like it was cobbled from a book of newspaper office cliches. All the editor (played with sorely-needed light humor by Elliott Gould of M*A*S*H and Ocean's 11 fame) needed was a cigar to chomp on and he'd be straight out of a comic book.

Fortunately, things improve dramatically once columnist Sarah Cain starts interacting earnestly with her sister's children. Landon's skill at drawing convincing performances from talented kids is highlighted throughout the rest of the film and, by the end, YOU may want to adopt some of them! And leading lady Lisa Pepper (unsung star of Anthony Hopkins' indie film Slipstream) is frequently good and shows great potential for success. She's very easy on the eyes (it's part of the Hollywood equation, folks) and definitely plays well opposite children.

My favorite part may be the flashback sequence at the end. I won't spoil it for you but it's very appropriate to the character and is beautiful, ethereal, evocative, and expertly photographed and edited.

Final score: B minus