All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth. . .
but what I got was a lot of movies.
I got a lot more than movies actually, but for some reason this year I got a lot more movies than I usually do. The funny party about this is that there seems to be a recurring theme in these movies. Let's see if you can guess it?
Most recently I got The Last Dragon from my best friends, who have known me longer than anyone who is not related to me. This movie was very important to me in my formative years. It's a martial arts flick, but it also portrays a black young man who's a little odd as the good guy. That sounded fine to me, and I can't name any other film that did that. The fact that HBO showed this movie at least twice a day didn't hurt either. Now I can watch it over and over on my own whims, and share it with my sons they're old enough to know how (and more importantly when) to throw a punch.
Before this I got The Lord of the Rings Special Extended DVD Edition from my sister. This little bundle of joy nearly made me cry. It's got 132 additional minutes that didn't make it into the release of the movies, bringing the total showtime to almost 12 hours of movie. *drool* Then I get to enjoy 12 hours of commentary (at least, I haven't checked to see if there's more than 1 commentary). THEN there's another SIX DISKS of 'making of' stuff I get to enjoy. This pretty much means you won't be seeing another blog entry until about March, thanks sis! The story of these films center around 2 themes, a) friendships and peoples undying loyalty to each other, and b) people doing what they know is right, even when they're scare to death to do it.
The final movie I received this season will probably give away the point of this blog entry, but I got and I love, the movie Hero. The movie is about . .. well, see my other blog entry all about it. The funny thing is, I didn't really expect to get this one, but was very happy when I did, and watched it the first night I had it, then watched it again the second night I had it. I really like it, but now I'm sensing a theme running through my movie selection this year.
What's up with all this hero worship? Is it just me? Or is it just that it's really hard to tell a story in a movie without a hero? I'm certain there are some out there that don't have what you would commonly call a hero (LA Story? Clerks? Oscar? Clue?), but for some reason I'm drawn to all these very typical 'guy' movies. Why is that?
Because I like heroes. I'm still not entirely certain how to define the word, but I find it inspirational. Is a hero a larger than life figure who saves the world or an ideal that is on the bring of being snuffed out? (Gladiator) In the movies, usually yes, but in real life, not so much.
In life I think hero's are just people doing what is right when no one is looking. That's when it matters most. It's very easy to be courageous when there aren't any consequences or you know you'll be successful. It's much more difficult to risk something near and dear to you knowing that you might fail and lose both what you're risking AND what you're striving for. That's what I believe is the mark of a true hero, and even more so when this risk is taken in a situation where no-one would ever know if they chose just not to try.
Which brings me to the next question, what would I do if and when I'm faced with a situation to do what is right or wrong, and no-one would ever know how I chose? Would I have enough character to do what is right when no-one is looking? Would I cave under the pressure and risk? Am I hero? I don't know, and part of me hopes that I don't have to find out . . . . but then, where's the fun in that? Life without risks and challenges is meaningless, but we know the value of peace and prosperity, and sometimes they come at the cost of conflict (history has proven this many times, I'm not sure what we're proving in the present).
So am I a Hero? I do not know. But I do know that I really, really enjoy movies about them.
I got a lot more than movies actually, but for some reason this year I got a lot more movies than I usually do. The funny party about this is that there seems to be a recurring theme in these movies. Let's see if you can guess it?
Most recently I got The Last Dragon from my best friends, who have known me longer than anyone who is not related to me. This movie was very important to me in my formative years. It's a martial arts flick, but it also portrays a black young man who's a little odd as the good guy. That sounded fine to me, and I can't name any other film that did that. The fact that HBO showed this movie at least twice a day didn't hurt either. Now I can watch it over and over on my own whims, and share it with my sons they're old enough to know how (and more importantly when) to throw a punch.
Before this I got The Lord of the Rings Special Extended DVD Edition from my sister. This little bundle of joy nearly made me cry. It's got 132 additional minutes that didn't make it into the release of the movies, bringing the total showtime to almost 12 hours of movie. *drool* Then I get to enjoy 12 hours of commentary (at least, I haven't checked to see if there's more than 1 commentary). THEN there's another SIX DISKS of 'making of' stuff I get to enjoy. This pretty much means you won't be seeing another blog entry until about March, thanks sis! The story of these films center around 2 themes, a) friendships and peoples undying loyalty to each other, and b) people doing what they know is right, even when they're scare to death to do it.
The final movie I received this season will probably give away the point of this blog entry, but I got and I love, the movie Hero. The movie is about . .. well, see my other blog entry all about it. The funny thing is, I didn't really expect to get this one, but was very happy when I did, and watched it the first night I had it, then watched it again the second night I had it. I really like it, but now I'm sensing a theme running through my movie selection this year.
What's up with all this hero worship? Is it just me? Or is it just that it's really hard to tell a story in a movie without a hero? I'm certain there are some out there that don't have what you would commonly call a hero (LA Story? Clerks? Oscar? Clue?), but for some reason I'm drawn to all these very typical 'guy' movies. Why is that?
Because I like heroes. I'm still not entirely certain how to define the word, but I find it inspirational. Is a hero a larger than life figure who saves the world or an ideal that is on the bring of being snuffed out? (Gladiator) In the movies, usually yes, but in real life, not so much.
In life I think hero's are just people doing what is right when no one is looking. That's when it matters most. It's very easy to be courageous when there aren't any consequences or you know you'll be successful. It's much more difficult to risk something near and dear to you knowing that you might fail and lose both what you're risking AND what you're striving for. That's what I believe is the mark of a true hero, and even more so when this risk is taken in a situation where no-one would ever know if they chose just not to try.
Which brings me to the next question, what would I do if and when I'm faced with a situation to do what is right or wrong, and no-one would ever know how I chose? Would I have enough character to do what is right when no-one is looking? Would I cave under the pressure and risk? Am I hero? I don't know, and part of me hopes that I don't have to find out . . . . but then, where's the fun in that? Life without risks and challenges is meaningless, but we know the value of peace and prosperity, and sometimes they come at the cost of conflict (history has proven this many times, I'm not sure what we're proving in the present).
So am I a Hero? I do not know. But I do know that I really, really enjoy movies about them.
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