Flying High With ‘Amelia’

I just viewed the Mira Nair movie Amelia, the film based on Amelia Earhart’s two loves – flying and, apparently, men – starring Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, and Ewan McGregor.

Despite a couple of flashback scenes near the film’s beginning that are a bit disorienting, and the annoyance of seeing Hilary’s hair change colors throughout the film — blonder with highlights, redder, then back to highlights, not to mention how Richard Gere’s hair went from nearly white back to light grey at a time when it should have remained the same — the film has merit in reminding us that we need two things in life: the ability to follow our dreams unrestricted and people who can support that dream.

Dishing About ‘Meatballs’

Liz Lane and I enjoyed discussing the meatier aspects of the fun, animated flick Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs on radio station Positive Hit Radio The Current.

Listen to this edited audio clip about the movie.

Audio Commentary:

— Laura J. Bagby

A Meaty Movie Experience

If you prefer the shorter audio version edited from the radio, take a listen.

Audio Review:

Here’s a movie that will give you something to chew on: It’s the new animated film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

In a coastal Atlantic fishing town called Swallow Falls, where life is dull and Baby Brent sardines are the daily sustenance, one budding scientist named Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live) dreams of bringing life back to his dreary town by inventing something that will bring him fame, fortune, and local approval.

But so far all his crazy gadgets – spray-on shoes, de-balding formula, a walking television, and a monkey thought translator – have made Flint the laughingstock of the neighborhood and caused nothing but trouble for him. Flint’s failed antics have earned him the ire of rule-conscious policeman Earl Devereaux (Mr. T, The A-Team); the disapproval of his technophobic father, Tim (James Caan, Sonny Corleone in The Godfather), who believes Flint should quit dreaming and take a job at the family-owned bait and tackle shop; and the mocking taunts of nemesis ‘Baby’ Brent McHale (Andy Samberg, I Love You, Man and SNL) who is the face on every can of sardines.

Spy Pigs: The ‘Force’ is With You

The FBI has a new pet project. And who better to be the next guinea pigs on a government-funded secret ops mission than… well… real, live guinea pigs?

In this first Digital 3-D movie from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, a federally funded crew of animal secret agents known as “G-Force,” trained by Ben (Zack Galifianakis) and his assistant, Marcie (Kelli Garner), has just been tasked with stopping power-hungry businessman Leonard Saber (Bill Nighy) from implementing his mission of world domination. The goal of G-Force is to locate and destroy Saber’s computer program called Saber Sense (also known as Clusterstorm) before Saber gets the chance to activate microchips in his worldwide line of household appliances and turn them into sinister killing machines.

‘Harry Potter’: Spells and the Spoken Word

Proverbs 18:21 says that there is the power of life and death in the tongue. We can bless and curse with the words we say. Words that are said with authority also have creative power to call things into being. We know this because God said, “Let there be light” and light came into existence. We know that Jesus was the “Word made flesh” and that the Bible is also called the “Word of God.”

So how does this relate to the latest box office release of the PG-rated fantasy film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?

The power of words in Potter is not Holy Spirit-driven. They are coming from the opposite spirit in the form of spells and incantations – things which the Bible considers detestable.

I discuss more about the power of words in Potter in this edited radio commentary from a discussion I had on the air with radio personality Liz Lane of The Current FM on Thursday, July 3o. Hope this discussion helps you weigh this film in the light of faith.

Radio Commentary:

— Laura J. Bagby

Magic and Lies in ‘Harry Potter’

I explain the dangers of practicing magic and some of the underlying spiritual lies in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” with The Current FM’s Liz Lane — namely, the fallacy that there is a distinct difference between white magic and black magic.

This commentary is an edited version from the radio interview from The Current FM on Thursday, July 30.

Radio Commentary:

— Laura J. Bagby

‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’: Overall Spiritual Concerns

I was really concerned about seeing this latest Harry Potter film at the box office for two reasons: one, I hadn’t read any of the books by J.K. Rowling or seen any of the previous films so I wasn’t sure I would get the gist of it, and two, I wasn’t sure if I would feel like my Christian beliefs just got assaulted. Would I feel like I had dishonored God by seeing this film? That was my main question.

Radio personality Liz Lane and I talked about the spiritual undertones of the PG fantasy film on The Current FM yesterday. Here is an edited version of our radio commentary abut the film:

Radio Commentary:

— Laura J. Bagby

‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’: A Well-Fashioned Comedy

Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) has a love for fashion. If it is anything designer, she’s got it. And she pays for all of it by credit card. (She has at least 12 of what she calls those plastic “magic” cards.)

Rebecca’s dream job is to work as a fashion journalist for Alette Naylor (Kristin Scott Thomas) at coveted Alette magazine. But when an icy, long-legged diva named Alicia Billington (Leslie Bibb) takes the only available slot at Alette, Rebecca ends up getting a job as a personal finance writer at sister publication Successful Saving.

Since Rebecca didn’t inherit wise money management skills from her frugal parents Jane (Joan Cusack) and Graham (John Goodman), saving money is a subject that she knows nothing about.

However, when she writes an article that likens money issues to shopping, Rebecca hits a nerve with her new boss, the handsome Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy), and the public; thus, getting her own financial column called “The Girl in the Green Scarf”.

What I Learned From ‘Shopaholic’

New stilettos, a fabulous Coach bag, a faux fur jacket – advertisers say we can have all this and more with that shiny plastic credit card… or maybe several of them. And time and time again, our culture has fallen victim to that trap. Never mind that we can’t afford these things, don’t truly need them, and don’t have anywhere to store them. We got the “cash back” and travel points. Plus, it’s “normal” to be in debt. Everyone else is, so who cares? Thus begins the vicious cycle we call consumer debt.

But knowing that our consumer debt can ultimately lead to business failures, foreclosures, divorce, bankruptcy, and even suicide, it is time that we have more voices speaking “enough is enough – there is a better way.”

The true call for change must begin with personal responsibility. That’s why I love Confessions of a Shopaholic (now out on DVD!). We are enlightened both about the scary potential consequences of out-of-control credit card spending and the way out of the debt cycle – all within the context of a funny romantic comedy.

‘Ice Age 3’: Not So Family Friendly

Me at Positive Hit Radio The Current

Sorry, parents. If you are hoping for a really great PG animated film to take the whole family to, Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs isn’t it. It’s scary in some parts for the younger children, particularly the 3-D version where the dinosaurs jump right out from the screen. And it has much more adult innuendo than this kind of film typically includes. I think it is disappointing. The only saving grace is that silly squirrel Scrat and the chase for his deepest desires.

I shared my thoughts last Friday on the air with radio personality Liz Lane from Positive Hit Radio The Current. This audio review is not the on-air version. It has been cut-down for the purposes of this blog. Take a listen…

Radio Review:

— Laura J. Bagby