Month: May 2017

Books / Movies

Essentially the Same

VinceLeave a comment

A couple of weeks ago, as we were leaving the church building, our pastor called me over and said, “Don’t you think that Harry Potter is essentially the same as LOTR, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones, just set in a sorcery and wizarding context?” As I stared at him blankly, he said, “Something to think about. Might make a good blog post.”

I was staring at him blankly because his question was the literary/movie equivalent of asking him, “Aren’t all religions essentially the same?” It’s not that the question is difficult, it’s that there are so many things racing through your mind it’s hard to know where to start.

Movies

The Empire Strikes (Redux)

VinceLeave a comment

I wrote this four years ago for a friend's movie site. That site is no longer, so I'm re-posting this here, for reasons I'll get into at the end.

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I watched Mary Poppins live in a sit-down movie theater upon its first release. I was a first-grader, and I was mesmerized. There were several indelible scenes for me: the pulling of the lamp out her purse, the animated penguins and the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, the floating in the air at the uncle's house, the rooftop chimney-sweep serenade of Mary, and most of all how sad I was at the end when Mary went away and left the children on their own.