Jane Eyre.

If you felt relieved because I didn't geek out about Star Wars, I have to apologize. 'Cause I'm going to totally geek out on you here. ;)

A few weekends ago, I went to see Jane Eyre with a couple of friends. If you haven’t read the book, or you don’t like movie spoilers, you probably won’t get much out of this post. =P Prior to seeing it, I decided to read the book – and let me tell you, the book is probably the best novel I have read all year. If you haven’t read it, you need to. =P It is so beautifully written – the way the characters are built, the way the story unfolds, the style it's written in...::sigh::

Ahh…words do not describe how enthralled I was with this book.

The movie absolutely did justice to the book – and – (are you ready for this?) – it was better than Narnia.

::gasp::

Yes, friends.

Don’t worry, I still love Narnia. But Jane Eyre was so, so beautifully adapted into film that it made the Narnia films look wishy-washy.

Obviously Narnia is a fantasy and Jane Eyre is a romance, so Narnia is going to be a little harder to put on screen, and they're really incomparable to begin with. But Jane Eyre was done so well. And Narnia was just….not. (with the exception of the first film, which was probably done just as well as Jane Eyre.)

AHHH. I love this movie so much.

Okay, here are the spoilers and where I get all nerdy. 8)

Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre and Michael Fassbender as Mr. Rochester were pretty near perfect. We all agreed at the end that Mia was not as quick and sharp as she could have been, and Mr. Rochester not quite as firm and shameful in regard to Bertha Mason – but overall they did a beautiful, beautiful job. The depth of character, the fierceness, the passion – it was all there.

Tech-wise, it was a *little* lacking. There were too many close-ups, the camera was shaky at times, and the score didn’t always quite fit. But it was never enough to bother me too much – only enough to notice it a little. Not a major pitfall. (like it was in Dawn Treader. Dawn treader was just so clearly lacking in tech.)

I was delightfully pleased with how creepy it was, but I thought it could have been a lot more, and this is probably the only thing that bothered me. I pictured Bertha’s scream to be so, soooooo so much louder/eviler, and it was a sort of quiet chuckle – which didn’t do much justice to how fantastically horrified I was when I read the book. Whoever acted her was amazingly perfect though.

This ties into the one thing that I reeeeealllyyy wanted to see on screen that wasn’t: Bertha never came into Jane’s room and tore up her veil. To me, this was a really key part in Jane’s story. There wasn’t as much suspense or tension over Bertha being there, and I thought there should have been a lot more. I was also disappointed because in the trailer, there’s a line Jane says: “I wasn’t asleep! I know what I saw.” Which is from the part where Bertha tears up her veil in the middle of the night. But it wasn’t in the movie, and that’s probably the only thing I “dislike” about it.

Okay, okay, maybe I’ll add *one* more thing to my list of “they-needed-to-add-this-for-it-to-be-perfect” and that’s the discovery that Jane is cousin to St. John, Mary, and Hannah. I reeeeeaalllyyyy wanted this in there so bad. Jane is going through all this emotional turmoil, she’s just left Thornfield, and as a reader your heart just aches with her. But then there was that point where she discovers she’s related to St. John and Hannah and Mary, and it’s this Jane you haven’t really seen before. She’s overflowing, she’s full of joy, she’s in this blissful happiness. And I so rejoiced at that section of the book because it was like a little light in the dark part – and I would have liked to see that in the movie.

I wasn’t pleased with who played young Jane. Her lips. Didn’t. Work. Just had to get that out. =P Her eyes looked a lot like Mia’s, and maybe that’s why they cast her. But her overall complexion wasn’t “Jane” enough for me. I imagined young Jane to be softer, quieter, and plainer on the outside – with that fiery passion on the inside that only came out when provoked. Because it seems that’s the way she was in the book more.

It’s rated PG-13 for the nude picture in the hall, which, honestly, I don’t understand why they needed it in the first place, because it absolutely did not add to the story at all, that I could tell.

The character building and conversations between Jane and Mr. Rochester were fantastic – and just how I pictured them in the book. Excellently, beautifully done.

A;sdklfja;djf I can’t get over how amazing Jane was. Her character arc was so well done, and she was played really, really well. So was Mr. Rochester.

Time-wise, it was 133 minutes, and it could have been 30 minutes more and I wouldn’t have minded. Prince Caspian, after all, was like 2.5 hours – and the book is like a quarter the size of Jane Eyre. :P The story moved very, very, very quickly, and it could have slowed down in a few parts to let things sink in. I would have liked more of the party at Thornfield, interaction with Miss Ingram, Jane & Mr. Rochester, etc.

Speaking of Miss Ingram. While I didn’t like who played her (she wasn’t very pretty, in my opinion, and in the book she’s like the epitome of beauty) I can understand why they chose to make her look uglier (she was still pretty, mind you) – but basically because they didn’t have enough time to build her character, so they had to use her outward appearance to build it, and I was okay with that.

The guy who played St. John was AWESOME. I really liked him.

Sets, costumes, it was all amazing. The guy who played Mason was pretty good. I never had a very clear picture of him in my head to begin with, so it didn’t bother me.

OH. There was one thing that bothered me in Mia’s performance of Jane – and that is when she’s at Mrs. Reed’s bedside and says “you are forgiven,” or whatever that line was. She said it with a lot of bitterness and hatred, which is absolutely not the way Jane said it in the book. It didn’t seem in the movie like she had really forgiven her.

One of my friends was saying that the biblical themes – Jane’s Christian upbringing and how importantly that played out in her life – wasn’t there. And while I agree that it wasn’t prominent, I found it very subtly portrayed in her character even though she didn’t say anything. That could be just because I’ve read the book, but I also think Mia was really well-studied in Jane’s character - it was portrayed in the way Mia played Jane. She knew those Christian values, even though the words weren't in the script.

On the whole, this movie was absolutely amazing. However, it does not work without the book. I am so glad I read the book before I watched the movie, because it made it so much more intriguing. It’s impossible for filmmakers to develop such depth of characters as there are in the book – in such a short time. But when you have such brilliant people acting it as were in the this film, you get that depth of character if you’ve read the book because you feel it in the portrayal of their character even though it’s not a very long movie.

I absolutely recommend seeing this movie – but ONLY if you’ve read the book first. I say this to anyone who tries to see Narnia without reading the books. The books have been, are, and always will be better than any film adaptation. And the films are so much more beautiful when you’ve read the book.

Especially when it's done so well as this. With Dawn Treader, I saw character depth because I knew what I wanted to see. But with Jane Eyre I saw that not only did I know what I wanted to see, but that the actors knew it too.

Okay, now it’s time for my quick Narnia-geek-out-moment.

1) Georgie Henley (who plays Lucy in the Narnia films) plays young Jane in an earlier adaptation of Jane Eyre. (You know I can connect Narnia to *everything.*;) And I just have to say: GEORGIE HENLEY IS NOT JANE EYRE. Her complexion, her face, her eyes, her whole being is just far too loved, cheerful, positive, and delightful to be Jane. Perhaps it’s because I know here as Lucy, but….man. She’s just not Jane. It could be the freckles. She does a fine job portraying sadness and grief – which I thought was wonderful at the part when Helen died. But she doesn't have character depth and she. Is. Not. Jane. :P

2) Let’s compare. With Prince Caspian, they said “let’s make a modern-ish, worldly sequel to the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe – and oh, look, there are lines from the book we can throw in there and call it Narnia.” With Dawn Treader, they said “let’s adapt this book into a movie – and oh, we’ll add this and this and this and this and this and this because it needs it and we’re not going to do any of that.”

See the difference? Prince Caspian was a movie with Narnia thrown in, Dawn Treader was Narnia with disastrous plot twists thrown in.

Jane Eyre was neither. It was like the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. “let’s adapt this book into film.”And they did it right.

::happy sigh::

Comment and tell me what you think, thought, or if you've read the book, or ANYTHING. (:

More pictures because I didn't want the top of the post to be crowded.... (:

Okay, done geeking out.

Jedithz don't lithsp.

Today is May 4th!

Which is supposedly Star Wars Day.

"May the 4th be with you."

Ahahahahahaha I'm so funny.

Actually, whoever thought of that was pretty genius, if I do say so myself.

Happy Star Wars Day. If I was obsessed I'd geek out with a nice long post, but I'm not. (I can see you rejoicing about that one.) But I thought you might be as amused as I was. They need to have a Narnia Day.

Alright, let's recap this whole life thing.

So.

::squint::

I believe there are still a few blog readers out there?

::squint::

Maybe just a couple. I've been rather negligent, haven't I?

(is that the right word? It sounds right, anyway.)

(just kidding, I looked it up on google, so it is the right word.)

I'm boring you, aren't I? Well buckle up, because I'm going to like post about all the tournaments, in like, one post. Are you ready? (that was too many likes in one sentence...)

The tournament season started out fast and furious this year with the Id-a-HO! tourney! In which Bec placed FIRST with her AWESOME humorous, she and her brother placed FIRST in duo, my dramatic placed 6th, and RAYMOND PLACED 2ND IN HIS ORIGINAL SPEECH! I also managed to BREAK IN IMPROMPTU, which was kind of amazing/shocking/amazing/shocking.


Despite all awesomeness of the tourney, I came home and promptly got a 101 F fever which refused to go away all week, despite the amount of work I had to do.

Barely following the week I was sick - was the Puget Sound tournament!! By far one of the most enjoyable, relaxing, and fun. I don't remember what my speeches got, except that I broke to FINALS in impromptu, and placed 5th. Yeah. Kind of mind blowing. My God is really awesome.

(this is DI....semis, I think? yeah, semis.)

My brother and his duo partner (who have like the most awesome duo ever) made finals for their duo. That was pretty epic.

Next I had a lovely 3-week break (in which I did NOT get sick!) until the NEXT tourney, which was at Seattle Pacific University.

This tournament was probably the worst tournament all year. Sort of an emotional roller coaster and I didn't break with any of my speeches. It was, however, the biggest qualifier in the nation, and Raymond placed very well in all 3 of his speeches. But God did some pretty amazing things at that tournament too - like teaching me that I'm not doing any of this in my own strength.


They gave us foot-long sub sandwiches (and nothing else) everysingleday for lunch. Yeah. I have a love/hate relationship with subway now, thanks to that.

After this qualifier, there was somewhat of a break, I believe, before the STOA tournament. This tournament was pretty laid back (could be because I didn't debate :P ) but I ended up breaking in ALL 4 of my events (crazy compared to last time) and...it was just really cool how when I wasn't in it to win, and was in it just for the fun of it and the message I had to share, that God was able to bring me farther with it.

This is our amazingly epic club sign. It used to be really dull, so we took it down and re-designed it on the back: starting a trend and thus influencing about 4 other clubs to do the same. None of them was as awesome as ours though. :)


This picture has a rather interesting story to it. From Left to Right is Paul, Micaela, Conor, and me. Paul and I were duo impromptu partners, and Michaela and Conor were partners as well. We were all wearing red, but the funny bit was that Paul's red matched Michaela's, and my red matched Conor's. Paul and Michaela were also both wearing grey, and Conor and I were in all black. Hehehe.
Duo impromptu is WAY TOO MUCH FUN. You go in, draw three places, three conflicts, and three sets of 2 characters, and combine them to make a really whacky story. It's great fun. :)

16th place for duo impromptu was NOT expected, and was ridiculously fun. This is the president of STOA, Mr. York.

This was either impromptu, dramatic, or original oratory, but I don't remember which. :P

This is the flier for the DO HARD THINGS conference in July. You should all come, because it's going to be AMAZING. And as you might be able to tell, I was just a little bit excited. :)


Okay, so maybe I'm *slightly* easily amused....

Lots of stories and pictures from regionals coming soon.... :)

Joy: an NCFCA/Stoa Original Oratory

An NC-st-orato-what?

NCFCA and Stoa are speech and debate leagues. An Original Oratory is a just a normal speech with nothing particularly fancy in it.

Since a lot of people have posted awesome speeches on their blogs, I thought I'd try doing the same. (I'll make you the judge of it's awesomeness or non-awesomeness) I posted an excerpt of it a week or so ago, but here's the whole thing.

Please pardon all of the parenthetical citations. Speech. You know. :P And for some reason blogger wouldn't copy the font/formatting from word, so I had to wrestle with it a bit. As a result, sometimes the font randomly changes.

Do you know why you’re sitting here, judging me today? Why am I standing here, giving you a speech? Why do you read books, watch movies, listen to music, or study a subject? If you analyze the “why” of everything, you can always trace it back to one thing: happiness. Everything you do is either to make yourself happy or to make someone else happy: whether consciously or not.

Baruch Spinoza, a Dutch Philosopher(Baruch, Wiki), said that: “what everyone wants from life is continuous and genuine happiness.” (Spinoza)

Why? Because when we are happy, it gives us a feeling of satisfaction; of contentment. It makes us feel secure not only in ourselves and our abilities, but also in the world around us. Different things make different people happy – laughter, friendship, surprises, gifts, vacations.

But what happens when these things are taken away? What happens when they’re gone? Should happiness really be our focus? Today, I would like to present to you a different kind of happiness: joy. However not even that joy should be our focus: rather that the giver of joy – that is Jesus Christ – should be our focus, because true joy can only come from a close relationship with Him. First we’ll look at our natural desire for happiness and how it actually hinders us in our relationship with God. Next, we’ll see how happiness contrasts with joy. Lastly, we’ll see how we can truly experience joy in our lives.

As human beings with a nature to love and be loved, we all have different things that we cherish and treasure, things that make us happy, or give us a sense of security and control, and we have to take great care that they do not hinder our relationship with God – becoming an idol, and keeping us from true joy.

Over the years, I’ve had multiple different understandings of what idols are. When I was little, I thought idols were simply things like Buddha, or anything that you declared better than God.

But the older I got, I discovered more idols competing for my worship. It wasn’t just things you obsess over. And it didn’t have to be something I blatantly put ahead of God. In fact, the idols I found in my life were things that became more subconsciously ahead of God. Things I didn’t quite notice had taken God’s place – like family, friends, and activities.

In his book, “The Age of Opportunity” Paul Tripp presents a new way of seeing idols.

Put your hand up to your face and look through your fingers. Now turn your head about to see what's around you. No matter how you turn, your view will always be distorted by your fingers getting in the way.

The same is true with idols. Whatever we idolize becomes the mask through which we filter everything. The thing that distorts or tints our vision to see things a certain way.

And these aren’t just any idols. They’re different for each person, but they are specifically what makes you happy.

I found this particularly prominent in my social media/online life. As I would go about my daily tasks, the little things in life that I enjoyed or found interesting I would find myself instantly writing it in my head as a facebook status or blog post – because that had become a mask through which I filtered how I saw everything. It was what made me feel good about myself and who I was. It made me happy.

Another example of idols is that of people. We often picture the person we love as if they were always right next to us – their voice plays in our head, converses with us, and gives us advice. Why? Because that person is someone we value, and thus someone who makes us happy and gives us that sense of security and belonging. Instead of seeing things through God’s eyes, we start filtering it all through theirs.

These are idols. They not only hinder us from God but they become our very motive for living.

I often ask God to become real to me. To satisfy me. I want to hear God speak to me – to show me His will. But the powerful realization is that…if I have all these masks up that I’m seeing the world through, how can I clearly hear the call of God? He can’t speak to me when I’m filtering everything, including His words, through the distorted views that I hold.

God cannot give me joy when my desire for happiness is my focus. Instead the mask through which I filter everything should be God Himself. I can’t even be seeking after joy – but rather Christ, who gives joy.

So what exactly is joy? We often confuse joy with happiness. Everyone wants to be happy. But according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word happiness comes from the word “hap”, meaning “luck” or “fortune.” (Online) Happiness or unhappiness is an immediate and natural reaction to a circumstance you are in. An immediate and natural reaction to a circumstance you are in. Have you ever noticed how one little thing can turn your day for the better – or for the worst?

I have little brothers. And I can be having a great day, and they can say one thing – and it can ruin the rest of my day. Sometimes it can ruin the rest of my week. Why? Because my feelings are based off of circumstances.

Joy, however, is different. Joy does not come from happenings or circumstances, and it does not disappear in the blink of a mood.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 says Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls—Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. (NKJV Hab 3:17)

In this translation, the New King James Version, the word “joy” is used as a verb: indicating that it is an action. Unlike the fleeting, temporary feeling of happiness, joy is a choice: driven by something so much more than just circumstances.

Pastor Earl Palmer, in his message “The Search for Joy”, looks at a definition of joy given by C.S. Lewis – He says that joy is a meaningful acceleration in the rhythm…of celestial experience. In the rhythm of our experience with God’s character. (Palmer)

Our experience with God’s character. How do we experience God’s character? When we strive for happiness, the results are the tangible things we can see and feel. But when circumstances turn against us, we don’t always know what God is doing or what the result is going to be – yet this is the confidence we have: that there is a greater, eternal purpose. Something that we cannot see that is far beyond our imagination.

This brings me lastly to how we can truly experience joy in our lives.

As we have seen, joy is not a feeling – rather it is a choice. But it’s more than just a choice: it’s total surrender to God’s will. It is not based on the worldly everyday events around you – but comes from God.

In summer of 2009, my family left our church – a church I had grown up in and learned from for years. Church ministry was something I had become really involved in and loved – and it was very hard for me to suddenly leave best friends, activities I had been involved in, and a place that had brought me closer to God. For a very long time, I let my immediate feelings rule me – to become the mask through which I saw everything. I was unhappy, depressed, and could not understand why God would take me away from something that brought me closer to Him.

But slowly, God began to show me a different way to see that situation, to take away the old mask and to give me a new one – and even today He continues to do so.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (NKJV 2 Cor. 4:15)

We may not know what God is doing – and we may not feel happy with our circumstances. But the apostle Paul says that we should be content, no matter what state we are in. (NKJV Phil. 4:11) Because this too, shall pass. Psalm 30:5 says weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. (NKJV Ps. 30:5)

It sounds cliché to say that I realized that God is with me no matter what the circumstance, and that He does have a perfect plan that only He can see. But this becomes such a beautiful truth when you simply don’t know what God is doing. It’s hard to choose to be cheerful when you feel just the opposite. But I discovered that when I was willing to give up my circumstance-based feelings completely to God – to surrender my desire for happiness for His desire for my life: He returned it with joy – joy that can only come from Him.

Happiness is a feeling – joy is a choice. We have seen how focusing on happiness can be an idol, and how happiness is different from joy. We’ve also seen how the choice of joy and a relationship with God can become real in our lives by seeking to the only One who can satisfy us completely. When we are willing to take that action, to come before God and surrender ourselves to Him, realizing that there is a greater – eternal – purpose that will bring glory to God: He will give us joy.

John 16:22 - Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. (NKJV John 16:22)

Redemption.

So, I have a dog.

His name is Caspian.

[*From the book, not the movie,* my brother would say]

He's super cute, absolutely gorgeous, and a source of great amusement in our family.




Really, what's not to love?

But he's got a rebellious streak in him, and he likes to take every opportunity to escape from his fenced area.

Usually, a quick drive around our neighborhood and calling his name a few times will prove effective.

But earlier this week, he got out again - and this time, despite 3 hours of driving, calling, and searching - to parts of the neighborhood I didn't know existed - it was getting dark and we still hadn't found him.

He hadn't come back the next morning, so we made something like 50 signs and biked all over the place, putting them up, asking around if anyone had seen him.

Later that day, mom decided to go down to the pound to see if anyone had heard news of him there - and guess who had spent the night in a doggy-cell?

Usually he doesn't wander any farther than our neighborhood, but they told mom he was picked up just off of one of the busiest streets just outside our neighborhood.

To get your dog out of the pound, you have to pay money. And we had to register him, too.

And when all was said and done, we'd paid quite a large amount of that green stuff. For what? A dog who had deliberately run away, hadn't come back, and hardly even cared? And even if he had cared, he couldn't even begin to appreciate the kind of energies (monetary and time especially) that we spent to get him back.

Yet - this is the very sacrifice Jesus paid for our souls - only so, so much more.

How often have I run away from my Maker? Deliberately chose what was wrong? Sometimes I just run around the neighborhood - but other times I stray all the way to the busiest of streets.

But my Savior - oh, my precious, beautiful Savior - He loved me enough to pay the price for my disobedience; but it was so much more than just a couple hundred dollars. He gave His life. For me, who so often deliberately chooses against Him. Who can never really return His great love for me. Who can't even fathom what He went through for me.

We love Caspian - despite his flaws, his lack of dedication, his will to run away. And we had to pay a lot of money to get him back, even though he barely cared.

But that's only a *tinytinytiny* picture of God's love for us - and how....how much He gave to redeem us.

I found this song just the other day, and...oh, it's so powerful. It's just a simple piano/voice arrangement, but oh, how beautiful it is.



My heart is so proud. My mind is so unfocused.
I see the things You do through me as great things I have done. And now You gently break me, then lovingly You take me and hold me as my father and mold me as my maker.

Chorus:
I ask you: "How many times will you pick me up, when I keep on letting you down?
And each time I will fall short of Your glory, how far will forgiveness abound?"
And you answer: " My child, I love you.
And as long as you're seeking My face, You'll walk in the pow'r of My daily sufficient grace."

At times I may grow weak and feel a bit discouraged, knowing that someone, somewhere could do a better job. For who am I to serve You?I know I don't deserve You. And that's the part that burns in my heart and keeps me hanging on.

Chorus
I ask you: "How many times will you pick me up, when I keep on letting you down?
And each time I will fall short of Your glory, how far will forgiveness abounds?"
And you answer: " My child, I love you.
And as long as you're seeking My face, You'll walk in the pow'r of My daily sufficient grace."
You are so patient with me, Lord.

As I walk with You, I'm learning what Your grace really means. The price that I could never pay was paid at Calvary. So, instead of trying to repay You, I'm learning to simply obey You
by giving up my life to you For all that You've given to me.

Chorus:
I ask you: "How many times will you pick me up, when I keep on letting you down?
And each time I will fall short of Your glory, how far will forgiveness abounds?"
And you answer: " My child, I love you.
And as long as you're seeking My face, You'll walk in the pow'r of My daily sufficient grace."

My Child, I love you.

Oh, the power in those words.

Have a blessed Easter, friends!

Impatience.

INSTALLING SPRING...IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST!

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Here we go again.

It's the week where you pack up about half of your life and drag it across the state.
Where your most prized possessions become your script submission forms.
Where you wear a suit day in and day out and don't look weird.
The kind of week where copious amounts of sugar, caffeine, and snack food is not unusual.
And where the only way you make it through is by the grace of God.
Prayers are most appreciated.

Tomorrow will be really relaxed, as will Friday. But on Thursday I get/have to do 4 debate rounds and 3 speech rounds. [insert appropriately already-exhausted-look here]

And somehow, I managed to forget to bring pajamas.

Again.

=P

Guess what today is?

April 8th!!! haha, bet you never would have figured that out by looking at the calendar or anything.

Actually, nowadays they look at cell phones and ipads. Huh.

Anyways. Today is April 8th. Well, actually, today is March 30th, but blogger has this spiffy and grand thing called "scheduled posts" and this is now set not to publish until April 8th. So in reality it really is April 8th.

This is weird. It's like I'm predicting the future or something.

Anyhow. Two very special things are happening today, and I shall award you brownie points if you can tell me the first one. The second one is not your duty to know, but you should know it anyway. (that was a contradiction, I think. oops. )

First off: DAWN TREADER COMES OUT ON DVD TODAY!!!

Oy, ain't it purty? I can't wait to get one. ;sladksdagh;adsf It's going to be so much fun and now we can have NARNIA MARATHONS. Anyone want to have one with me? I've always wanted to do that.

So, you should all go out to the shops and purchase your VERY OWN copy of this amazing movie. How cool is that? You can now legally own the movie in your home and watch it as many times as you please without having to trek down to the theatre multiple times. (not like any of you besides me would do that) (but you should still go buy it.)


Alright, next, a Very Awesome Movie is coming out today: Soul Surfer.

To say the least, I was rather ecstatic when I heard they were making this into a movie. It's about the life of Bethany Hamilton, who got her arm bit off by a shark while surfing, and today she's like a world-known surfer. I was hesitant about it at first, but as more clips have come out, it looks like they're sticking to Christian values and actually sharing Christian themes prominently in the movie. AFFIRMfilms is also in the production - they worked on Facing the Giants, Fireproof, The Grace Card, etc. All those awesome Christian films.

I'm excited about this film for a number of reasons:
1) AnnaSophia Robb is in it. I like her. :P
2) It's based off a true story
3) They promote Christian values
4) It's another good movie out there

Alright, so perhaps I'm being a little redundant. However, (for any of you who care to know) Carrie Underwood, who did the end credits song for Dawn Treader ("There's a Place for Us") stars in this movie as well. So you see Narnia really is connected to this in a roundabout sort of way. (I actually heard about this movie because Carrie Underwood appeared in our Narnia news feed during VDT's theatrical run. True Story.)

Trailer:



There's another movie coming out April 8th called "Hanna", which caught my attention for obvious reasons. It stars Saoirse Ronan, whom I'm a fan of only because she was in "The City of Ember." However, it...uh, looks really weird, and I'm not terribly sure about the values/themes presented, and it looks kind of dark. So, if any of you happen to see it, tell me what you think of it. You can't ever tell much from the trailers.

EDIT: so upon further investigation of the trailers and websites, it's apparently about a 16-year-old girl who is trained as an assassin all her life by her father, and then sent out into the world with one mission. (probably to assassinate someone.) It's apparently how she discovers that there's more to life than what she's been brought up to know, but that's sort of ambiguous. (it could be redeeming, making it a decent movie, but I doubt it.) Given what I know about it now, I doubt it's a very good movie.

Alright, that's all.

Oh! In case you were wondering, this post is scheduled because - guess what? I'm at a speech tournament. (no. way. I'm never at speech tournaments.)

Love, Hannah