Christmas 2009

Hard to believe but it's Christmas again. The years seem to go by so fast. Didn't we just celebrate last Christmas like, yesterday?

One thing you'll always find aplenty is Christmas art. Stylized scenes of mangers and wise men and bright stars, shepherds in the fields, angels proclaiming the good news that the Savior was born in Bethlehem. In a cave, laid in a manger.



Truth is, no one really knows for sure when Jesus was born and it doesn't really matter. Not knowing the specific date doesn't take away the importance of the historical fact of Jesus birth or its significance. The important thing is that once a year the event is remembered, commemorated and celebrated. And that chosen date is today, December 25^th. It is, and always will remain, one of the two most important holidays on the calendar that make up the core of Christian belief.

Merry Christmas everyone.

For your information and mine, here is an article that addresses the issue better than I could, with other helpful links included.

Lyrics for two of the most notable Christmas songs are given below.

"Silent Night"

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

"O Little Town of Bethlehem"

O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight

For Christ is born of Mary
And gathered all above
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love
O morning stars together
Proclaim the holy birth
And praises sing to God the King
And Peace to men on earth

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may his His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel

Christmas 2008 style

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given..." -- Isaiah 9:6a KJV

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." -- Isaiah 7:14 KJV

In spite of all the consumerism surrounding Christmas these days, let's not forget the true reason for the season. Merry Christmas, everyone.

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As of today, I've officially entered the last six months of my thirties. Yay for me.

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So I'm sure you're all wondering what my Christmas was like, and what I did today. No? Well, I'm going to sum it up for you: Just about nothing.

I slept until about 8:00 and decided to finish off season two, disc five of Melrose Place before getting out of bed.

After a shower and breakfast, I played some Nintendo and read a few chapters of the book I was trying to finish before my brother came over at noon. We went over to visit with my younger sister and to see the house she's just moved into. We stayed for about an hour and then took off.

I went home to grab some lunch and look at the movie show times when my parents called. They were on the ship preparing for a three day mini cruise to the Bahamas, with my 91 year old grandmother and her friend. They're having fun, and my grandmother is doing relatively well for a nonagenarian. She even liked the Christmas present I sent with my parents for her.

After I ate, I read some more and got within a chapter of finishing the book before I headed out to the movies, where I saw a matinee showing of this movie, which was pretty good over all, though sad at the end. Perhaps I'll review it in detail once it hits DVD sometime in March or April, probably.

Since I had the book I was reading in my jacket pocket and only had a chapter to go, I decided to finish it in the parking lot of the movie theater, so that I could drop it in the library book slot on my way past. When I got home I called my ex to wish her, V and M a Merry Christmas and to confirm where and when I'll be picking the kiddoes up tomorrow evening.

After playing a few more games of Nintendo, I decided to sit and write this post for y'all.

As you can see, my Christmas has been a rather solitary one, unfortunately. Unlike last Christmas, which I spent in South Carolina, this has been quite a lonely day. I won't say depressing, but certainly not filled with the normal Christmas cheer. I enjoy my alone time but I tell you that it royally sucks to be single on a holiday such as this.

I hope you've had a blessed and truly Merry Christmas. God bless.

SNMR 5.28: The Nativity Story

The second SNMR feature for this weekend is "The Nativity Story"(2006, PG, 101 minutes), starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, Hiam Abbass, Ciaran Hinds and Alexander Siddig. The film was directed by Catherine Hardwicke.

PLOT SUMMARY: The year is 4 BC and children are being murdered in Bethlehem under the authority of King Herod. Specifically male children two years and younger, for according to the prophecy, a king will come out of Bethlehem ready to rule Israel.

Flash backwards one year to the tiny Galilean town of Nazareth, where a carpenter named Joseph has been pledged to marry a young girl named Mary. Mary has a visit from the angel Gabriel who announces that Mary, a virgin, will give birth to a son who will save his people from their sins. When Joseph learns of the pregnancy he vows to divorce her but relents when Gabriel visits him in a dream to reassure him that the child in Mary's womb is of the Holy Spirit. Several months later, Joseph must visit the town of his ancestors to register for Caesar's census. Joseph is of the house of David and must travel to the Judean city of Bethlehem more than 100 miles away.

Shortly after they arrive, Mary goes into labor. There is no suitable rooms available for them, so they set up in a grotto where Mary gives birth to a son.

MY OPINION: With movies like this, where the source material is so widely known and beloved by billions of people, variation from the central story is near to impossible. What this movie does well is flesh out the story of life in pre-first century Palestine and how difficult it must have been socially for newly betrothed Joesph and Mary, who is pregnant. They, by custom, are not supposed to start a family until after their first year of marriage. This film also does a good job of painting the historical perspective of the superstitious Herod and his uneasiness with Jewish prophecy.

One thing going for this film is that the two main leads look like they are middle eastern, unlike some other biblically-themed movies.

This is a good, solid film which won't wow you with special effects, yet will move you in subtly profound ways. It drags at times but is overall a very enjoyable 101 minutes of your life, should you choose to rent this movie.

*** out of *****

SNMR 5.27: "Scrooged"

For this week, we'll be reviewing two Christmas-y themed movies here at SNMR in the spirit of the holiday season. One movie tonight and one tomorrow night.

Therefore, tonight's first SNMR feature of the weekend is "Scrooged" (1988, PG-13, 100 minutes), starring Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, Alfre Woodard, John Forsythe and David Johansen. The film was directed by Richard Donner.

PLOT SUMMARY: Television executive Frank Cross (Murray) hates Christmas and everything to do with it. It's Christmas Eve and his network is performing a live version of 'A Christmas Carol'. It just so happens that Cross is visited by the ghost of his old business partner Lew (Forsythe) and three spirits, the ghosts of Christmas past (Johansen), present (Kane) and future. Through this redemptive process, Frank discovers his chance at living a meaningful life is not wasted.

MY OPINION: This offbeat take on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" certainly has it's moments. Murray is excellent in the role of Scrooge. Karen Allen is very believable as his long lost love. Three actors steal the movie for me: David Johansen and Carol Kane as the ghosts of Christmas past and present. I also thought Bobcat Goldthwait was excellent in his limited scenes. The rest of the supporting cast are good as well, with a lot of cameos by other well known stars, such as '84 Olympic sweetheart Mary Lou Retton, Buddy Hackett, John Houseman and others.

It's hard for me to believe that this film was released 20 years ago. Even though it will never top more serious versions of this classic story, it's still a good rent or even to add to your DVD collection. I found my copy of this movie in the $5 DVD bin.

I would love to see this film re-released on DVD with some special features like interviews with the cast and their takes on the classic story and their roles in this version.

*** out of *****

SNMR 5.26: "Surviving Christmas"

Continuing with the month long Christmas theme, tonight's SNMR feature is "Surviving Christmas" (2004, PG-13, 91 minutes), starring Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate, Catherine O'Hara, Josh Zuckerman and Jennifer Morrison. The film was directed by Mike Mitchell.

PLOT SUMMARY: Rich executive Drew Latham (Affleck) doesn't like being alone at Christmas. When his girlfriend turns down an all expenses paid tropical vacation for the holiday, Drew faces the real and frightening possibility of spending Christmas alone. On the advice of a psychologist (cameo by Steven Root), Drew travels back to his childhood home to make peace with Christmas disappointments past and decides to make an offer the father of the family (Gandolfini) can't refuse, much to the chagrin of his wife (O'Hara) and daughter (Applegate). With one swift shovel-blow to the back of the head, the fun begins.

MY OPINION: For many folks, the title will win you over (or at least make you curious) as we all try to get through the holidays. I had never heard of this movie before and found it only because I was at the library scouting out anything resembling a Christmas movie to review in this column this month and for over there on BIG SCREEN. I liked this movie, even though I don't really consider it to be a Christmas movie. It's more like a movie that happens to take place at Christmas. There are spots in the film where I couldn't help but laugh [and laugh hard] and there are spots where it was all I could do not to groan and roll my eyes at the stupidity/tastelessness of it. What makes this movie better than you might think is the comedic performance of James Gandolfini. Yes, James Gandolfini. Ben Affleck has never been one of my favorite actors, but plays his hogh strung, obnoxious character very well. Does a movie like this need a sappy romantic relationship thread in the story? No. Yet we have one all the same. Christina Applegate and Catherine O'Hara are very funny actresses and have some good lines, given the material. I got some laughs out of this film so I say that it is a worthwhile rental-- if you can find it.

**½ out of *****

SNMR 5.25: "The Holiday"

Tonight's SNMR feature is "The Holiday" (2006, PG-13, 136 minutes), starring Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Eli Wallach, Edward Burns and Rufus Sewell. The film was directed by Nancy Meyers.

PLOT SUMMARY: Iris (Winslet) is in love with a man (Sewell) who is about to marry another woman. Across the globe, Amanda (Diaz), realizes the man she lives with (Burns) has been unfaithful. Two women who have never met and live 6,000 miles apart, find themselves in the exact same place. They meet online at a home exchange website and impulsively switch homes for the Christmas holiday. Iris moves into Amanda's L.A. house in sunny California as Amanda arrives in the snow covered English countryside. Shortly after arriving at their destinations, both women find the last thing either wants or expects: a new romance. Amanda is charmed by Iris' handsome brother Graham (Law) and Iris, with inspiration provided by legendary screenwriter Arthur (Wallach), mends her heart when she meets film composer Miles (Black).

MY THOUGHTS: This is a totally believable, charming tale about two women who switch homes for the holidays and find romance in their new surroundings. The script is well written and has nice flow to it, though is a bit long at 2 hours 16 minutes. Winslet and Law are brilliant in their roles as brother and sister. Diaz's character is quite annoying, due to her snobbish Hollywood surroundings. I've never been a Jack Black fan and he is horribly miscast in a non-funny role. Wallach is excellent as the old guard writer of a bygone Hollywood era. Director Meyers also wrote the story and knows exactly what she wants from each scene. The making of documentary is well done. This is a good clean film.

*** out of *****

Merry Christmas

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your family, friends or whomever you were with today.

Back to business as usual tomorrow.