Good show!

Despite the fact that we had company all weekend - not only my sibs for Thanksgiving and Friday, but a couple of Navy families on Saturday and a couple of church/school families on Sunday - we did get to watch a couple of movies. The new Star Trek was family fare - other than one skipped scene, which caused us to miss a rather important plot device in the interest of preserving what's left of our kids' innocence, or at least what's left of the space in which they know more than we'd like them to know, but neither they nor us want to admit.  I've never been a Star Trek watcher, even though at our first meeting my husband and I talked about the (3-4?) episodes we'd seen. Why this made us fall in love with each other is a profound mystery. Destiny? Providence?


But this movie made me want to go back and watch old episodes. The acting and special effects put Star Wars to shame. How Star Wars became so much more popular is also a mystery. Marketing?

The other show we watched is now on my list of favorites: Gran Torino. Even though the acting was stiff, the language obscene, and the special effects non-existent, the story outshone the technical flaws. The overtly Christian message makes me surprised the movie got some critical acclaim.  Or maybe it didn't, and I'm imagining that it did because this movie was recommended by several friends.  Maybe I loved this movie so much because the crotchety, blunt old man reminded me of my beloved grandfather, or maybe because this story of an old man's discovery of meaning at the end of his life gives hope.  Or maybe because you grew to love the characters enough to feel both the pain and the joy of the sacrifice.