Weekend Numbers - Down Again.

I feel sorry for Spike Lee's Miracle at St. Anna ending up number 9 on opening weekend with a box office take of only 3.5 million. He invested a lot of time, energy and hard work in this. Good cast, great story, and, well, oh well.

Eagle Eye came in number 1 with $29.20 million. Good, but not terrific.

Number 2 was Nights in Rodanthe at $13.60 million. Very good for a romancer.

At Number 4 was Fireproof with $6.51 million. Excellent really, for an independent film.

Fireproof - Saving Marriage!

Director Alex Kendrick said this film would be "a drama/romance about marriage. Our goal is to reinforce God's intention for marriage."

With 50% of all marriages in the United States ending in divorce, it is always good to see attempts made to turn that very ugly number around. I applauded where the filmmakers are coming from and the goal that they have. I hope this film helps married couples to work at their relationship. My heart also goes out to divorced singles, who may find this film painful. Divorce is painful.

Relationships are worth our every effort. Writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra correctly observed, “The worst reconciliation is better than the best divorce.”

Miracle at St. Anna - Love More Than War

Writer McBride tells us that the WW2 Buffalo Soldier weren’t the first African Americans to fight for the U.S., in fact, the term Buffalo Soldier dates back to the Mexican War. It was a nickname that the Native Americans gave to them.

All but forgotten to history, suddenly the Buffalo Soldier emerge into our awareness. Good things and service do not get the press. Bad things do. This movie reminds us that ultimately, despite the headlines, it’s good that has real eternal value. Thanks Spike Lee for this epic reminder!

Best part: Plagued by the boy’s traumatic past and language barriers, the characters must find a way to communicate. The soldiers speak English, the kid speaks Italian. Sam Train, a gentle giant comes up with this system of tapping. They connect!
LOVE KNOWS NO LANGUAGE BARRIER. LOVE IS DETERMINED. LOVE WILL MAKE A WAY.

Nights in Rodanthe - Never Give Up

I like what director George C. Wolfe says, "People go through a good portion of their lives making decisions and choices that are either good or bad, right or wrong, and they often feel that the state to which it brings them is permanent. It's as if they reach a certain point and say, 'Okay, this is my life; this is what I made of it and this is all I get.'"

The message in this film is: There is more! Never give up. Life will surprise you. Get out there and let it happen!

"Nights in Rodanthe" suggests that:

1. It's never too late to find that one true connection
2. It is never too late to regain the self you lost along the way
3. There is more than just living the life you thought you wanted-or that others expected of you

Bad Box Office

The box office numbers for this past weekend (Sep 19-21) were horrible:

1. Lakeview Terrace - $15.6M
2. Burn After Reading - $11.3M
3. My Best Friend's Girl - $8.3M
4. Igor - $8.01M
5. Righteous Kill - $7.7M
6. The Family That Preys - $7.5M
7. The Women - $5.31M
8. Ghost Town - $5.17M
9. The Dark Knight - $2.95M
10 The House Bunny - $2.8M

What happened?

Ghost Town - Life Is About The Living, Not The The Dead.

Director Koepp says, "We hit on the idea that traditional ghost stories actually have it all backwards. Ghosts don't stick around because they have unfinished business. They stick around because the living are not done with them yet, because they aren't ready to let go. Perhaps they died and left someone mystified or confused, and until the living come to terms with whatever that thing is, they are stuck here."

A terrific film with a great truth. Pincus' sole motivation in helping the ghost of Frank Herlihy break up the marriage of his widow is simply the promise that if he does so, Frank will make all the ghosts go away. Since Pincus is a curmudgeon, a cynical snob and a self-consumed loner, he agrees. But in taking on the task of helping Frank, he is transformed. He becomes relational. Life is like that. Life is transforming –especially if you take certain leaps of faith, even if, as in the film, your motivation is bit askew. Choose life –in all its fullness.

My Best Friend's Girl - A So-So Film That Explores Mind Change.

Kate Hudson sums up the point of the story, "Relationships are far from picture perfect in this movie. It's never picture perfect. Everybody's human. Everybody makes mistakes. This movie is willing to look at those messy things and allows you to laugh at them along the way."

Neither of the lead characters want to fall in love, but they do –and with each other. Ah, such is life. The thing you least want to do -you suddenly do. And the thing you crave - you grow distasteful of. And, as in this film, these flips usually happen within relationships. There is a Greek word for this: METANOIA! It means mind change or repentance. For Carl Jung it was “a process of reforming the psyche as a form of self healing.” I like that. I look forward to METANOIA (mind change) moments. As Norman Vincent Peale said, “Change your thoughts and you change your world.”

Lakeview Terrace - A Tale of Prejudice

Screenwriter Loughery thinks many people will see themselves in the characters he has created, "I think people will identify with the situation. Whatever feelings they have about race and color and relationships, they'll bring to the theater and they will compare it to the action we're seeing on screen."

But its more than just race and color and relationships. It is a tale of prejudice. Edward Murrow once said, “Everyone is a prisoner of his own experience. No one can eliminate prejudices--just recognize them.” And William James observed, “A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” Looking in a mirror and truly seeing ourselves is very difficult. We all have prejudice. Getting to know our neighbors -who are different from us, as in the film, is a good way to confront and overcome our prejudices. “Love your neighbor as yourself” is very good advice. Work at it and your life will be richer.

Igor - Learning From the Journey

This simple story has a powerful message. So the goal is to become a mad scientist! But in pursuit of that goal something good happens, due of the inner qualities of our hero.

The late Dr. Dale Turner once said, “It is the highest form of self-respect to admit our errors and mistakes and make amends for them. To make a mistake is only an error in judgment, but to adhere to it when it is discovered shows infirmity of character.” Learn from your life journey, make the corrections you know you must and experience the wonderful human that emerges with you. Even if your current goal is to become a mad scientist!

Righteous Kill - True Acting Greats!

Not many seem to be overwhelmed by the story in this film. It felt like a typical detective episode in some television series. Most critics agree on that, and so has the public, judging from the less than stellar box office.

That said, everyone is very pleased to enjoy DeNiro and Pacino on the screen together as partners, for the first time in a significant manner. Although I wished for a better plot, paying attention to these very gifted talents as they interact together was well worth the price of admission. True acting greats!

The Family That Preys - True Enough!

Fun stuff about a serious issue --family.

Writer and director Tyler Perry was born Emmitt R. Perry, Jr. But, Perry changed his first name to Tyler because of his troubled relationship with his father. Tyler has the ability of turning such family conflict into humorous, yet compelling stories. Tyler has said on more than one occasion that he writes out his life experiences. And he does a good job at it.

Here is another example. In this film the enemy of the family structure is the corruption and lust within the family itself. Here is an excellent reminder to be mindful of one's own house.

The Women - I Was in Heaven!

I really enjoyed this movie. It was total fun. Other critics did not give it high marks. So, why did I like it? Well, first, it was a 10 year labor of love on the part of director Diane English, she poured her soul into this and it shows.

Second, I was the only guy in the theater! As I walked in before the movie began, I said "Am I the only guy here?" and one of the gals in the audience responded, "Welcome!"

I enjoyed the film because of the audience. Being a guy, I do not get such opportunities to understand women in very many other contexts. I paid attention to their comments, when they laughed (and not), and what they reacted to. I was in heaven.

Burn After Reading: We Get to Laugh at Greed

The Coen Brothers do it again! And the public is loving it!

At the time of its release the USA was in the midst of the historic bailout of Wall Street! Serious business, indeed. So what people respond to is comedy. We need it in such depressing times!

These are days when you pick up the newspaper filled with stories of economic bad news and you feel like you want to burn after reading. Here is a way to do just that, watch a comedy called Burn After Reading.

For the astute, this film is about corruption in a physical place named Washington, involving the CIA (the feds). But it comes across in a non partisan, non accusatory fashion. We get to laugh at the greed and corruption that got us into the mess we are in, without feeling like we are having some political agenda cramped down our throats! It works, and gets its point across with a smile and a wink.

Dark Knight - Bright Knight

It is still hard to believe that Heath Ledger is no longer with us. I totally share the feeling of loss, that many have mentioned, as I viewed the latest Batman incarnation on the screen. Ledger's performance is truly amazing.

Critic's have come in with a 95% approval. And the public has kept this movie in the top ten for months. It is now revealing the Titanic. The Dark Knight has become a Bright Knight. I believe the real reason for this is the depth that this film speaks to our inner being in ways that we have not the words.

It is the film for which our words fail us.