You know... I guess there's a first time for everything. Yesterday, Phil and I went to the movies together for the first time ever. Uh... yeah... deadpan to the audience. But really... I'm not kidding...
I could probably go into the whole story, but I think I won't.. at least just yet.
We saw "Fireproof", which was very good. Now, let me be honest... I don't think I was totally sold on this movie from the promos, previews, etc. They kind of gave me the impression that it might be a whole bunch of sappy, evangelical garbage that sort of made me want to puke. I realize I am playing with fire here (pun intended). If you consider yourself "evangelical", we can talk. I'm probably not making fun of you at all. You'd just have to understand where I'm coming from. At any rate, while there were a few scenes that explained Christianity from a slightly different perspective than I would have, it was overall NOT garbage... in fact, it was great.
If you are going to see Fireproof, and I think everybody should, and you don't want to read any spoilers, than stop reading now.
Really... I'm going to ruin the movie for you, so don't read anymore if you haven't seen this yet.
Last chance to turn back... Here come the spoilers...
I was amazingly impressed with the intensity of the fire/rescue scenes. Seriously, I was totally enthralled and a little bit panicked!
I was equally impressed with the way this movie covered the struggles that Caleb and Katherine had with unfaithfulness and how real and how hard those struggles can be.
The Love Dare was, unquestionably, both very difficult and very effective. But in the end, it was obvious that both husband and wife must commit to the relationship to really make it work, and that having Christ as the very foundation of marriage is necessary in order to really understand love. That said, if there was any downside to this it was that we all have to realize that while Christ is our guide... our Lord... our King... He certainly never promises that we will never struggle again once we have accepted Him (which the movie didn't say, but it did give a very "everything is blissfully happy now" ending, and although we certainly experience moments of this, there are also times when we will struggle to even be content and to grasp the peace that was so sought after in the character's lives (and of course in our lives as well).
Still... how refreshing to watch something that, if it errors at all, errors on the side of wholesomeness. The message was powerful... and true I might add... Can't ask for a whole lot more than that.
Now... I also have to admit that "Fireproof" was not even the only movie I took in this weekend (go figure)! On Sunday afternoon, I went with a group of girls to see '"High School Musical 3". And if you haven't seen it... and if you've read all the reviews that say it's only mildly entertaining for nine year olds... well... you can't believe every review you read!
I loved High School Musical. I loved High School Musical 2 (though maybe just slightly less than the first one). And, I loved High School Musical 3! It, like it's predecessors, is squeaky clean, and it's really not nearly as corny as you might guess... for a Disney film (which I am rather partial to)...
Spoilers forthcoming...
Again... last chance to close your browser...
Here we go...
If there is one aspect of HSM3 that I enjoyed less than the others, it was the music. And you might think that's pretty important for a musical! That said, there were a couple of numbers that I absolutely loved, so it certainly wasn't all bad. In fact, none of it was really bad. Some of the musical arrangements just lacked the umph of the previous installments.
HSM3 endeared my to Mrs. Darbis, believe it or not. That was a surprise, no doubt.
I was, perhaps, a little disappointed in Sharpay's role in this film, as she really is my favorite character. However, I loved what they did with Ryan (continuing to build his character from the second movie), and I also loved where the story line went with Kelsey. Troy and Gabriella's story was, of course, dominant, and I was pretty impressed with the depth of it.
Throughout the movie, a whole new class of characters is introduced, and I really hope this does not mean what it inevitably does... High School Musical will not be the same if Disney attempts to make a fourth movie with an all new cast. I think they should quit while they're ahead... and maybe attempt, instead, to make a reunion movie five years down the road...
Overall, I think everyone should see this movie (and the first two). I think they're great. However, if you're going to see them, you have to check the cynicism that craves crappy movies at the door, because you won't get that with HSM... and, really... why would you want it?
Lisa
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