Virtual Methodist

In an attempt to keep to the brief of the 10 Day You Challenge and my own self-imposed 30 Days of Thanksgiving, here are 3 films that I am thankful for having seen, for various reasons: 1) THE SEARCHERS: My mother loved John Wayne, and this, in my humble opinion is the best John Wayne film bar none. He may have got an Oscar for "True Grit", but that was because of his larger than life performance, and if truth be told, the recent Cohen Brothers' version is probably better. But "The Searchers" is a wonderful story with beautiful cinematography. Some have condemned it as racist because of its portrayal of the Native Americans in it, but it was a film of its time and probably reflected real attitudes in the old west... and actually is much more nuanced than many other old westerns. But I'm thankful for this film, not only because of itself, but also because of memories of my mum. 2) IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: If you don't like this Frank Capra cl...

I posted the most of this yesterday on the Flixster site which posts via facebook, so apologies to those who seem to be experiencing deja vu... However, I suppose that's how I felt watching Les Miserables on Saturday night. Despite my love of theatre I have never yet seen the stage show, and the book has taken up a substantial section of shelf space for decades without being read (I now have it on my kindle as well, just incase I have a free 3 weeks on a train some time). But because various bits of the plot have been used as sermon illustrations for years, and a few of the songs have become standards on various "songs from the shows" events I have been involved in, I knew most of the plot before entering the cinema to see it...  Did I enjoy it? Well, as I said to someone yesterday morning at church, after mulling it over for a night, "enjoy" is a word that wouldn't really come into my comments about it. There have been a lot of begrudging , and funnil...

After my trawl through my 2012 bookshelves yesterday, here's my awards for a hotchpotch of other categories: BEST FILM In terms of ratings that I gave to films this year on the Flixster site, there would be a four way tie this year, between " The Dark Knight Rises ", the final (?) part of Christopher's intelligent Batman trilogy, " Avengers Assemble " the first outing of Marvel's finest, and " Pirates: An Adventure with Scientists ", which saw Aardman at its anarchic best, and the slow-burning " Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy ". If I were to include those films I saw on video, then perhaps " Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" might be in with a shout, or even "Moneyball" , which must have been good to allow me to overcome my antipathy to Brad Pitt. But I'm going to stick to cinema releases, and if pushed I would probably say that "The Dark Knight Rises" gets my vote, as the most complete and complex f...

Ok… It’s the last day of 2011 and before I head out to perform my last clerical duties of the year, as per the tradition (ie. I did it last year…) I offer you an eclectic set of VM’s Awards of the Year… as if anyone cares… Anyway, last year kicked off with what was to be my (and many people’s) favourite film of the year – The King’s Speech , in which Colin Firth stammered his way to a p-p-plethora of awards… Still think Helena Bonham Carter was the best thing in it however… It took until the end of the year however for me to come across my favourite album of the year… it was a Christmas present to my eldest son from some discerning giver… What do you give a jazz trumpet playing teenager with pretensions at being a guitar playing rock god (when not studying for medicine or strutting the stage that is)? – why obviously Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton Play the Blues Live at the Lincoln Centre … Two genuine musical genii sharing the same stage… And as I am eventually carried out of...

Well, it's coming to the peak of the film awards season and in a year where every second film is in 3D the 2 most lauded are avowedly 2D, and focus on word and relationship rather than action and CGI. I haven't seen the mind-bending "Inception", nor experienced the feathers flying in "Black Swan", and I am hesitant to go see "True Grit" as I feel I would be betraying my mother who was John Wayne's No 1 fan bar none, but I have seen both "The Social Network", written and directed by the peerless Aaron Sorkin, and more recently "The King's Speech" and in my humble opinion, the latter deserves all the plaudits it has received so far, and should walk off with many effigies of Margaret Herrick's "Uncle Oscar" next week. It is essentially a powerful 2-hander, with the backing of a superb ensemble cast. For me the only disappointing performance in the whole film was Timothy Spall's Churchill which was a comple...

Last night was one of those rare evenings when my wife Sally and I had no childcare issues, and had cleared the diaries of work, so we headed off to see a film together. For ages I've wanted to see Avatar in 3D, and so wanted to catch it in the cinemas before it disappeared forever, or I have to spend thousands of pounds to install a TV/DVD system in the house to watch digital 3D at home if/when it arrives. Only problem... Sally booked the tickets and went ahead of me to get them while I found a parking space for the car, but didn't realise that it was Avatar 3D I wanted to see. So I arrived at the cinema and asked where we picked up the glasses? "What glasses?" asked Sally. Cue one enormous huff... If ever there was proof that I am an unreconstructed spoilt brat in a middle-aged man's body last night was it. I was determined I wasn't going to enjoy the film... And you know what... I didn't... But actually it wasn't simply because of a bad attitude... ...

Ben Myers on his Faith and Theology blog has initiated a "One Movie that..." meme... Here is my list, for what it is worth... Draw up your own and pass it on to 5 people to see what they will make of it... 1. Made me laugh: Shrek 2 2. Made me cry: Its a Wonderful Life 3. Loved as a child: The Forbidden Planet 4. Seen more than once: Star Wars (the original) 5. Embarrassed to admit I liked: The Quiet Man 6. Hated: Meet the Fockers 7. Scared me: Jaws (the last time I jumped in a cinema... I just don't go to "horror" films. 8. Bored me: Hoodwinked 9. Made me happy: Singing in the Rain 10. Made me miserable: Presumed Innocent 11. Afraid to see: 3 and Out in case it really was as bad as everyone said. 12. Character fell in love with: Rachel Weisz's character in the Constant Gardner 13. Last movie seen: Iron Man 14. Next movie hope to see: Speed Racer, Prince Caspian or Indy IV (I've got kids) I tag Glenn , Mark , Ross , Gareth , and Jools in anticipation o...