Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda (2008 )
Rated PG
Starring Jack Black
Before we begin, let’s have a look at the check list. Jack Black comedy? Check. Cute animated animals? Check. An inept and unsuitable protagonist who is the “chosen one”? Check. Before you even walk into the cinema, you know what you’re going to get. You know how the plot is going to go and how its going to resolve. Only one question remains – will it be worth watching?
QRious?
If you live in Australia, you may have seen some funny looking Telstra ads lately. There’s a series of billboard posters of Olympic athletes, except where their head should be, there’s a funny looking box design. What’s this? What’s going on? Are you QRious?
Movie Review: Get Smart (2008)
Rated PG
Get Smart
Get Smart (2008)
Starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this movie. The 60s TV show is an absolute classic. But that humour worked best in a contained, smaller budget TV show. The Get Smart reunion movie in the 80s had all the hallmarks of the original, but the bigger budget and the changes in the world since the original left it feeling a bit lacking. The other thing that had me concerned was that the plot was allegedly about Max Smart on his first mission when all the “real” agents were put out of action. Suddenly I was thinking Johnny English and that’s not a good thing. So how was it?
Little Thinkers Jesus
Little Thinkers Jesus
I’m always keeping my eye out for Jesus in unusual places. Not the real Jesus (I guess I should be looking out for him too…) but pop culture representations of Jesus. I love Jesus toys. And I found a new one today. He can be found at The Unemployed Philosopher’s Guild. Mine looks a bit different to the one in the picture. My Jesus has really wild, all over the place hair. Very much not tame and under control like in the pic. My favourite part? He’s wearing a WWID bracelet. No that is not a mistype…
Alice Cooper – I Just Wanna Be God
Dragontown
The character of Alice Cooper is the villain of his show. You’re meant to cheer against him. He says things and does things that fly in the face of normalcy and decency. He is counter cultural and digs up those things we’d rather be left buried. And that’s a good thing. He challenges us to recognise the things in this world that we’d rather sweep under the carpet and ignore. And sometimes, whilst he’s delighting us with sick fantasies, he can reveal something about human nature that we’d rather he didn’t say. Because it’s true. I DO just wanna be God.
Movie Review: The Dark Knight (2008)
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight (2008 )
Rated M
Starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger
Okay, cards on the table. It’s a Batman movie. I’m gonna like it. I thought Batman And Robin was one of the greatest travesties to ever grace the silver screen and I still enjoyed it because it was a Batman movie. For months I’ve been avoiding the hype about The Dark Knight. I’ve avoided the trailers. I’ve avoided the viral marketing. I’ve avoided the news reports of Ledger’s untimely death. I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Batman Begins was a great movie. It had it’s problems, but I was able to overlook them. But the vibe was that The Dark Knight was in a totally different league. A much better league. So what did I think?
Blogs: Nathan Creitz
The article I wrote on WYD Laws has been linked to by a guy called Nathan Creitz. I don’t know Nathan personally, but his blog looks like it deals with some of the same issues as mine. He’s based out of Boston in the USA, so would definitely be able to comment on some of these cultural issues from an American perspective. Check his blog out at http://nathancreitz.blogspot.com/
Annoying World Youth Day Laws
Some people find me annoying. That’s just the way life is. I’m okay with that. But do I deserve a $5,500 fine for being annoying? Okay, so fining me for my personality may be going too far. But what about fining me for knocking on your door and asking you what you know about Jesus? Or handing you a leaflet at the train station letting you know what is happening at my Church? Some people find these things annoying. I think that they’re effective tools for starting conversations about the gospel. But what if me bringing up the topic of religion with you is so annoying that I could be fined or even arrested? That is what has got me concerned about these new police powers.
Alice Cooper: It’s Much Too Late
I once used the Alice Cooper song It’s Much Too Late for a high school chapel service. Each student was passed out a sheet of paper with the name of the song and the lyrics printed on it. I asked anyone if they knew who Alice Cooper was. Most of the teachers put up their hands. And one student. Just one. I was pretty sure he was just trying to get some attention. So I told him if he could tell me, I’d give him a couple of minties. His reply? “She’s a poet.” Me and the teachers laughed because he got it wrong on both counts. He is a popular rocker from the 70s and 80s. But some of my favourite work of Alice’s comes from this century. Like It’s Much Too Late.
Pop Culture Christ 
End of Month Review – July 2008
Behind The Scenes
It’s the 30th of the month, so time for another End of Month Review. I know July has 31 days, but WordPress’ stats work on a 30 day cycle, so this will be more accurate. A lot has happened on Pop Culture Christ this month, with the site receiving more than twice the hits it received during June.
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