Tag Archives: Character

Commentary

I recommend the movie Battle: Los Angeles to my readers

2 Comments

ECM recommended this movie to me and I saw it and it was AWESOME.

Here’s a review.

Excerpt:

“Battle: Los Angeles” takes a big “what would happen if” premise – in this case, a massive alien invasion – and then fulfills that premise by taking it seriously. Not self-seriously. The movie is lots of fun, but it stays true to the terms it establishes, telling the story through the eyes of one Marine platoon assigned to rescue civilians in Santa Monica.

[…]Essential to the movie’s success is Aaron Eckhart, who plays a Marine staff sergeant as though he were in a World War II movie: no camping it up, no comedy, no winking at the audience, no smiling. He’s just a tough guy, with lots of emotional scars, who is very good at his job. Eckhart’s commitment to the movie’s reality, which is as fierce as the sergeant’s commitment to his men, takes what otherwise might merely have been outlandish and makes it believable, and frightening.

[…]Advisory: The aliens are ugly, and there are a lot of dead bodies. But these have to be the politest, cleanest-talking Marines ever. They don’t even curse at the aliens. They want to take back Los Angeles while avoiding an R rating.

The movie features a very positive portrayal of military professionals, especially of the U.S. Marines – the Wintery Knight’s favorite military branch.

I am not saying that Battle: Los Angeles is a courting movie, I am saying that this is a FUN movie, and recommended for children ages 16 and up. The PG-13 rating is a little low, because there is some swearing and one F-word. But there is also a V-22 Osprey! Several of them, in fact!

When it comes to movies, I am a stickler for realism, especially with spy movies and war movies. The new James Bond movies are not spy movies, they are stupid movies. Danger Man and Secret Agent shows with Patrick McGoohan are real spy shows. Real war movies are movies like Gettysburg and We Were Soldiers. Battle: Los Angeles is science fiction, but the movie has a realistic scope, and there is no ridiculous video-game style running and gunning. The weapons and vehicles were realistic, although the tactics could use some work. (I saw little suppressive fire and flanking, for example).

The story is very plain and believable. Simple objective for the mission, easier to follow, and showcasing U.S. Marine initiative and ingenuity. If there is one thing that the Corps drums into their recruits, it’s to accomplish the mission by any means necessary, and to take the initiative to act without orders if necessary. That’s why the Corps makes new Marines read books like “A Message to Garcia” and “Riflemann Dodd” – to drum into their heads that what superiors want from them is RESULTS, not questions. Find a way to achieve the objective. Think for yourself.

Just FYI, here’s my list of movies that I do use during courting:

  • Rules of Engagement (Samuel L. Jackson)
  • Bella
  • Henry V (Kenneth Brannagh)
  • The Lives of Others
  • United 93
  • Taken (Liam Neeson)
  • Cinderella Man
  • The Blind Side
  • Cyrano de Bergerac (Gerard Depardieu)
  • Amazing Grace (Ioan Gruffudd)
  • Gettysburg
  • We Were Soldiers
  • Stand and Deliver
  • Blackhawk Down
  • The Pursuit of Happyness
  • High Noon

If you don’t want to see a good heroic conservative action movie, watch one of these.

News

Does government dependency make people happier and more moral?

6 Comments

Here’s a funny story in the UK Daily Mail. (H/T The Blog Prof)

Excerpt:

A jobless couple rake in £95,000 in state benefits a year – and even have breakfast delivered to the door each morning, courtesy of the taxpayer.

The money – five times the starting salary of a teacher – goes to unemployed Pete and Sam Smith and their ten children, who live in a rentfree four-bedroom house.

[…]The Smiths were moved last month by the local authority from a house in Bath, which the landlord accused them of wrecking, to the large house in the Bristol suburb of Kingswood.

But Mrs Smith, 36, complained that the house was too small, the breakfast portions too stingy and said she could afford to buy her brood only one Nintendo Wii games console between them.

She claims she is also forced to pay £100 a week to keep her five cats in a cattery.

‘It’s very cramped here,’ she told the News of the World. ‘We’ve been told we might not be given a new house for another nine months, which is ridiculous.

‘The breakfast supplied by the council isn’t like proper hot food. It’s usually eggs, beans, tinned tomatoes and cereal, which isn’t really enough for us all and we have to heat it up ourselves.’

[…]Mrs Smith receives up to £140-a-week child benefits for her children aged from four months to 14 years.

The family also get disability living allowance, carer’s allowance, tax credits and income support.

The total with child benefits is £44,954. They then receive a £950-aweek bed-and-breakfast deal where the council pays for breakfasts delivered to their home, which comes to £49,400 – a total of £94,354 a year.

You may want to read this Arthur Brooks column that argues that it isn’t money that makes people happy – it’s the freedom to work, save and spend how you please. Arthur Brooks is the same guy who previously wrote a book showing that those who oppose redistribution of wealth give far more in charity than than those who support it. You can read about that in this article.

Podcasts

Audio of Greg Koukl’s talk yesterday in Ottawa

Leave a comment

This is audio from his morning address in the 9 AM service at the Metropolitan Bible Church in Ottawa, Canada.

The link is here. (40 minutes)

This is basically an introduction to Greg Koukl’s idea of what an ambassador should be. He focuses on 3 topics: knowledge, wisdom and character.

An amazing women’s Bible study

I got a very interesting report from a person who saw my announcement post and attended the event. He met a woman there who had taught FOUR CLASSES in a row on Lee Strobel’s book “The Case for Faith”. The Case for Faith! And she also uses the DVD. The attendance ranged from 20-50 women! I thought women didn’t like apologetics… but I guess there are some places where they do!

Greg Koukl’s organization is Stand to Reason.