You Only Live Twice

Movie Poster

I continued my James Bond movie viewing in the order of their release with the fifth movie in the series: You Only Live Twice. Once again, I borrowed this from my local public library. (Actually, they originally did not have this as part of their collection but purchased it after I donated $ and suggested this title as an acquisition). This DVD is not the latest release but dates back a few years.

DVD Cover

The special features of this DVD are essentially limited to a commentary hosted by a representative of the Ian Fleming Foundation. It consists of a series of edited interview clips and anecdotes by several members of the crew and cast (but not Sean Connery). I really enjoy these background information about the movie, almost as much as the movie itself.

Like the previous movie, James Bond is killed in the only sequence but comes back from beyond to save the day (of course!). The plot is largely centered in Japan and there are several Asian beauties that swoon for Bond. Also a neat aerial dogfight sequence with Bond in a specially equipped autogyro attacked by bad guys in helicopters. Of course, there is a bang-up battle at the end to climax the movie.

In watching the movie, I realized that the tune for the title song (sung by Nancy Sinatra) has been floating around my brain for many years as an unknown melody.

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Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Only_Live_Twice_(film)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR9N947b3F0
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Written Saturday 23 April 2016

The Quiet Earth

I originally saw this movie (The Quiet Earth) in the theater (probably the Cedar-Lee) when it was released in 1986. It's about a man who wakes up and finds he is all alone in the world-everyone else has disappeared. Eventually, a young woman appears and life looks more optimistic. A love triangle emerges when an aborigine also appears. But the event that caused the whole of humanity to disappear (with a few exceptions) is not over and threatens their existence.

I'm not sure what made me think of this movie and track the DVD down (I borrowed it through the inter-library loan program). I have a VHS copy in my collection buried in a box in storage. I think I was feeling lonely (surprise!).

DVD Cover.

The DVD was pretty basic: Movie, trailer/preview, producer's commentary (there was also a little booklet that included an essay). No closed captions or subtitles so I had to pay close attention to hear the dialogue. The commentary was very interesting since producer Sam Pillsbury also drafted the script based on a book (by Craig Harrison). He had a lot of details about the script, the set, and production.

After 30 years it was like seeing a new movie. I didn't remember a lot of the details or the ending (shown on the DVD cover and poster above). The Quiet Earth is a thoughtful movie that I am glad I watched. While it's not an action film nor does it have cutting edge special effects (they still look good) or weird alien creatures, it raises all sorts of issues regarding sexual relations, scientific responsibility and its relationship with military power. Worth a watch if you want to stimulate your brain.

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Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Quiet_Earth_(film)
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Written Saturday 23 April 2016

Did I Rediscover Jesus?

Back cover of the book, "Rediscover Jesus"

At the beginning of Lent this year, I reported that I promised to read the book, "Rediscover Jesus" during Lent. I had received the book from my friend, Fr. Hattie. My intent was to follow the recommendation of the author and read a "chapter" each day. I also promised Fr. Hattie that I would write to him at the start and finish of the book to report on its effect.

This is to report that I stayed true to my word and diligently read one chapter each day during Lent. So this post is my report to you readers of my blog of my thoughts after completing this book.

As a result of reading a chapter a day, I was reminded that Lent is actually more than 40 days. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday (nominally). If you check the Wikipedia article you will see that there are different ways of counting the 40 days as well as the identifying the start and end of Lent. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops provide this explanation regarding the length of Lent:

"It might be more accurate to say that there is the "forty day fast within Lent."  Historically, Lent has varied from a week to three weeks to the present configuration of 46 days. The forty day fast, however, has been more stable. The Sundays of Lent are certainly part of the Time of Lent, but they are not prescribed days of fast and abstinence."

Since Lent is more than 40 days, I actually finished the book on Palm Sunday (March 20, 2016).

Did I rediscover Jesus as a result of reading this book? In short, NO.

This book is more about its author, Matthew Kelly, than it is about Jesus. The book is typical Catholic Christian guilt and fear. Guilt that you are not perfect and not doing a better job. Fear that you will burn in hell because you aren't as good a person as you could or should be. If you want to "rediscover Jesus," my opinion is that you'd be much better off by just reading the Gospels. Try reading each one in a day or two; then go back and get into the meat.

Did this book affect me? Of course. After reading this book, I am different than when I started. Overall, I was disappointed by the book because I really wanted to understand this Jesus thing better. So many people claim to have a personal relationship with this character, Jesus. However, I have to even hear from Jesus. So far, Jesus is merely a character in some ancient writings.

I think that as a result of reading this book, I reinvigorated my interest in Jesus. More about that in another post (I think).

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Links:

http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2016/02/book-rediscover-jesus.html

http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-gift-book.html

http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/p/letters-from-fr-hattie.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent
http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/questions-and-answers-about-lent.cfm
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Written Saturday 23 April 2016