Jonah - On Stage! -- movie
Sight & Sound Theatres are building quite a reputation these last years with their impressive, epic-scale productions of Biblical events and characters. After seeing trailers and behind-the-scenes videos for their Samson, Moses, Joseph, and other productions a while ago, seeing their shows quickly moved to my must-do-someday bucket list. But Missouri and Pennsylvania are pretty far off the beaten path for me, so I couldn't contrive a way to go watch one anywhere in the foreseeable future.
Not to worry! Some awesome person out there had the great idea of filming some of their shows in theatrical quality. And then some other smart person thought of putting these filmed shows in one-night movie theater showings across the nation so we could go see what we're missing!
Our family went to see Jonah together, and believe me when I tell you, I didn't think it was even possible to say 'WOW' so many times in one event! The sets were impressive, and did the coolest things, ships came up out of the stage, whole multilayered, multilevel cities rolled on stage seemingly by themselves, an enormous whale swam over the audience to swallow Jonah, and I didn't even bother to try to count all the live animals throughout the whole thing. (Suffice to say they included guinea hens, camels, llamas, goats, parrots, a very well-trained donkey, and multiple horses.)
Costumes were great, the songs and singing (yes, this telling of Jonah was a /musical/, no less!) were catchy and felt Broadway level (the singing and dancing pirates on Jonah's and that 'Justice' song were my favorite!), the story was cleverly told, thoughtful and humorous, and there certainly wasn't a dull moment!
If you have an opportunity to see one of Sight & Sound's one-night theater showings -or better yet, an actual show!- do it, and take people with you! It's so worth it, and so neat to see these Biblical accounts told in a way that backs them as the history they are, and tells them in a family-friendly, entertaining, and memorable way.
The Case For Christ -- movie
After seeing this movie's trailer, it was definitely one of those 'this'll either be really good or really terrible' looking films for me - but I definitely wanted to see it. And thankfully, it did indeed turn out to be quite good.
Now, before you go see it and then complain that it was slow, keep in mind what you're watching - it's not an action-thriller by any means, nor is it supposed to be; it's built fairly like an document-drama, and the filmmakers did an admirable job of keeping the pace up and keeping you engaged through something that could easily have turned dry without a lot of care and attention. There aren't any car chases or explosions or angry mobs to create tension with; it's just one cynical man determined to prove (especially after his wife becomes a Christian) that the Jesus of Scripture is a religious fairytale and make a spectacle of his finds - and then the continued frustration of those plans as he gathers evidence and can't even begin prove what he wanted. And through careful storytelling, good acting, well-placed and well-worded relevant facts, and good cinematic pacing and editing, (and a great score) it held its own very well.
It's certainly something I'd recommend, and I'm looking forward to watching it again myself when the DVD comes out.
The Two Princesses of Bamarre -- book
I've quite enjoyed Gail Carson Levine's brightly colored, fantastical, humorous stories throughout my early teen years, particularly her short fairytales, and this was among the first of hers I read. I remember really liking it then, and being totally swept up in the unusual take on an adventure as it unfolded. I've been wanting to revisit for several years - but I was trying to keep my expectations low, since we all know how different things can be from what we perceived and enjoyed when exploring them in childhood...
Well, it was certainly a smaller book than I remembered - but aside from that, it really was just as good (and better, really) than what I recalled.
I absolutely love reading, so I go through a /lot/ of books; much of the time, they're fairly mediocre stories, but have good characters; or great plots, but with typical characters and...not fantastic?... writing; or a compelling plot and interesting characters, but a poor grip on and no understanding of their historical setting; etc. Then occasionally, there is a very good author with a great story that's not only fascinating, but also a pleasure to read for the skill of the writing itself.
Gail Carson Levine's writing falls into that category. What amazes me most about her stories is that she can communicate such a full, richly colored plot and characters and a fantastical world that's just the right size for the tale she's telling in so few and so seemingly ordinary words. There's no excess "fluff" to be seen, but nothing is dry or soulless; her stories are lively and entertaining and colorful as you would expect from someone using twice as many words, half of which you might have to look up to be sure of their meaning.
So a little something to read over the summer, that won't take you weeks to get through, but still gives you some entertaining food for thought, grab this one and let me know what you thought when you're finished. :)
So there you have it; a quick attempt to get somewhat caught up on the things I've been enjoying. :) And one more thing...how can it possibly be almost JUNE?!? O_o
(All pictures, etc. always belong to their original owners -- everything here is for inspiration only.)
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