It looks like Pixar can do no wrong.  This animated movie is worlds apart from their previous offerings.  WALL.E is set in a bleak future earth where everyone has left and is now living in space because of the accumulation of trash.  So the backdrop for this movie is not exactly fun and games.  Add to that the fact that there is very little dialogue and it is somewhat stunning that this movie is so well received by every age group.  That’s not to say that it shouldn’t be.  It is amazing how the very human emotions of joy, loneliness and love can be so clearly communicated by animated robots.  But those messages come through loud and clear… and then some.  WALL.E ends up being a heart-warming and thoroughly enjoyable movie whether you sit in a high chair or a lift chair.  But beyond the simple enjoyment, there were some pretty cool lessons that shine through as well.

DOING YOUR BEST AT WHATEVER YOU DO

WALL.E is a robot all along, doing a thankless job.  And yet in the midst of all this isolation and with no incentive whatsoever, WALL.E never fails to do a great job.  As you watch the opening scenes, you realize that he has learned to copy the structure he sees in the buildings humans left behind, and build replicas out of trash.  It’s not enough for him to simply clean up and make cubes out of trash.  He creates out of trash.  How much better served would we all be if we would make the best of our situations… and even learn to be creative at it.  How much would our attitude change.  Maybe we’d become a bit more like WALL.E who we see whistling on the way to work.  The New Testament gives us just that sort of advice when we are challenged to do whatever we do “as unto the Lord”.  The task is not relevant.  The attitude with which it is tackled is.

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

When WALL.E first spies the object of his love, I was immediately reminded of the biblical story of creation.  The Bible tells us that Adam was created first and God put him to work.  But Adam noticed he didn’t have a partner, another one like him.  Then God makes Eve… and I’ve always imagined Adam sort of flipping out when he first lay eyes on her, saying “Way to go, God!”  WALL.E was all alone at the beginning of the movie but on that fateful day that his love interest showed up he was immediately smitten.  I about fell out of my super-comfortable theatre chair when she said her name was EVE.  I have to think that was no coincidence by the creators (pun intended) of the movie.  It was clear that WALL.E was out of his league, but that didn’t stop him.  And through a variety of circumstances that unfold througout the movie, he consistently shows unconditional love, come rain or shine (literally).  Wouldn’t it be cool if we, as Christ folowers could live liek that.  We are urged to througout the New Testament.  That is one of the key ways that we are supposed to represent Jesus Christ to the world around us.

UPDATED INFORMATION - It appears as though the director, Andrew Stanton,  may very well have been processing this movie through a spiritual lens himself.  I just found this quote from an interview with him that I thought I would pass along to all of you:

“…what really interested me was the idea of the most human thing in the universe being a machine because it has more interest in finding out what the point of living is than actual people. The greatest commandment Christ gives us is to love, but that’s not always our priority. So I came up with this premise that could demonstrate what I was trying to say — that irrational love defeats the world’s programming. You’ve got these two robots that are trying to go above their basest directives, literally their programming, to experience love.

With the human characters I wanted to show that our programming is the routines and habits that distract us to the point that we’re not really making connections to the people next to us. We’re not engaging in relationships, which are the point of living — relationship with God and relationship with other people”

IT’S NEVER TO LATE TO RISE UP

As the movie unfolds, we see that all humans live in “hover chairs”.  They don’t walk anywhere.  I’m thinking that I may be in training for that lifestyle when I plop down in my recliner every night.  Anyway, at one point, the captain of the space ship realizes that they need to return to earth.  But the auto-pilot tells him that they cannot return.  It’s a matter of surviving.  The Captain then summons up the courage to say, “But I don’t want to survive.  I want to live!”  How many people have simply settled for surviving because they’ve given up on living?  No matter what your situation or condition (heck, these guys could barely walk anymore after all that hovering), it’s never too late to start living.  We were never meant to simply survive.  That is not why God created us to live.  And when sin entered the equation and messed that up, Jesus Christ said in John 10:10 that he came to restore us to that original design… that we might live, and live to the full.

CONCLUSION

There is much to enjoy about WALL.E and I encourage you to take it in either in the theater or on DVD.  Enjoy the laughter and the real human emotion.  But don’t miss the lessons either.  There’s plenty to go around.

Ben Stein! You know him as a writer and a savvy businessman worth millions. What you may not know is that he is taking on Darwinism and the theory of evolution in a new movie coming out on April 18th, called “Expelled”.

I have added an entire page that gives you links to go explore the movie, what it’s all about, watch trailers, win free tickets, and gather resources that you may find helpful. Click on the “Expelled” tab at the top of the page and dive in.

If you have a few minutes, watch the super trailer. If time is short, watch the teaser trailer. Either way, you’ll get an idea of what this movie is up against and what he’s taking on.

Did you really see what you thought you saw? Do you really know what you think you know?

Lesley and I took advantage of a rare opportunity to take in a movie while we were in Chicago. The first day there, we had a few hours before the evening session and decided to go on a “date” and see a movie. We settled on Vantage Point. As a movie, I thought it was not only interesting, but timely, since it dealt with terrorist issues. It had its share of language, but as movies go these days, the language was very subdued. As a side note, I really appreciate that. I have never thought that obscene and foul language necessarily added to the development of the story, which, after all, is what a movie is. Back to the movie. There was one dramatic device that got a little irritating, but it could be overlooked after the second or third instance since you began to understand its place and the reason for it.

The gist of the story is about Read the full story

Didn’t feel like being “brain-engaged” tonight (I was down in St Louis today, more on that tomorrow), so here’s my review for AI-Hollywood

• Brooke White - She was first out of the chute tonight and did a great job. What’s remarkable about her is that by her own admission, she has never seen an “R” rated movie. Lot’s of people would think that’s weird, and the judges even made fun during the first round of auditions, but you can succeed in this world without buying into everything the world offers.
• David Hernandez - Sand “Love the One You’re With”. The guys pretty good.
• Amanda Overmeyer the “Rock-n-roll nurse” - She recently had a car wreck and had 12 staples in her head. When asked if she had learned anything she said, “Do it right the first time because you may not get a second chance.” Tru-dat. She sang a smoky version of “Light My Fire”
• Josiah- we met this kid in the auditions living in a car. He did a surprisingly good job in the first song tonight, but as he was preparing for the second round, he was struggling. Late at night he confessed to the camera that we was “just really defeated”. It didn’t look to good, but he pressed on and made it to the final round of cuts. Great illustration of do your best and leave it at that.
• Christy Lee Cook - Saw her in the very first audition show. She is from Oregon and sang “Amazing Grace”. Really like her.
• Michael Johns - This guy did an awesome version of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. ANYBODY that can sing Queen has got to have a good voice.
• Carly Smithson - This is an Irish gal that made it before and then didn’t because she didn’t get her Visa (not a credit card…the immigration thing). She did a pretty good version of Heart’s “Alone”
• Asia’h Epperson - This 19 yr-old gal tried out in Atlanta despite recently losing her father. I thought she was good in Atlanta. I thought she was great tonight. Really soulful, rich voice.

We’ll find out tomorrow night the final 24. Those are some of my favorites. As much as I like music, I think the thing that draws me to this show the most is seeing people succeed. I’m a sucker for feel-good stories like Rocky, and Rudy, and the story about the 1980 hockey team, “Miracle on Ice” (All movies I highly recommend by the way). I just see that same theme every time one of these people do well on AI.

I know…..I’m pathetic.

In my previous post about the Super Bowl, I touched on the game and lessons learned (I am after a all a football nut and a spiritual leader). However, I still love to watch the commercials during the game. USA Today came out with their annual listing of the top commercials from the game this morning. I think they gather viewers together and they score the commercials and then they average them all out to come up with the list. Here’s my list:

• Favorite(came in 3rd on the USA list) - The Bridgestone ad where the squirrel ran out into the road and screamed when it was about to get hit by a car. I thought it was a hoot
• Weirdest (24th USA list) - AMP Drink commercial where the tow truck driver stuck the jumper cables on himself. Very strange
• Loudest Response by viewers in our house(9th USA) - Unibrow woman using peanuts as perfume
• What the heck was that? (38th USA) - Career Builder’s commercial where a woman’s heart jumps out of her chest
• Worst(bottom 5 USA) - tie; Audi ad of guy waking up in bed with a car grill under the sheets…I know it was a take-off of the Godfather, but it still made no sense to me; GMC Yukon, total waste of ad money
• Movie I’m most anxious to see (based on SB commercials) - tie between “Wall-E” and “Leathernecks”

To view the whole list, click here. After you’ve reviewed it, add your own list in the comments below.